"Thank you, have a nice day!" Kagome Higurashi chirped as she handed a customer his change. Her cheery voice was at odds with her pale complexion and the dark circles under her eyes. When the last customer had the the convenience store, she slumped forward to rest her arms on the counter, her head cradled in her arms.

The bell above the door jingled. Kagome glanced up, blinking back the tears that threatened to fall. When she saw hair the color of moonlight, her heart stuttered as she gasped quietly. "What is he doing here?" Just as she was about to call Inuyasha's name, the male turned around. "Oh, not Inuyasha. Thank goodness."

Inuyasha's brother, Sesshomaru, browsed the shelves, looking a bit out of place in his well-cut business suit. Finally reaching the counter, he tossed a candy bar down for Kagome to ring up.

"I-is that going to be all?" Kagome asked, cursing her hesitance.

"Yes." How was it that this man could make you feel like an insect with just one word? Kagome had asked herself that question nearly every day for the last six years. As her husband's brother, he was around almost constantly, though he had never seemed to accept her. Especially after all of their dirty laundry was aired.

Kagome handed him his changed and smiled half-heartedly at her soon-to-be ex-brother-in-law. Sesshomaru sent her one last cold glance, then swept regally out the door. "Probably spying on me, trying to get more information for the trial."

In a few weeks, Kagome was scheduled to be in court, fighting Inuyasha for custody of their six-year-old daughter, Rin. What Inuyasha didn't know, what none of the Taisho's knew...was that Rin wasn't Inuyasha's. Kagome had purposely left Inuyasha's name off of the birth certificate when Rin was born, out of guilt that the man she had married thought her child was his. Oh, how she wished that were true! Her daughter's father was nothing like the soft-hearted, loving man her mother had married. No, her daughter's father was cold, uncaring; one night of passion had made her think she had changed him, but his about-face the next morning had made her see that nothing would ever change his ways.

Sesshomaru Taisho would always be an unfeeling, cold-as-ice bastard.

##############

Seven years ago, Kagome had been fresh out of college with a degree in office management. She had high hopes and applied to all the major firms in Tokyo. In the interviews, she was generally laughed out the door due to her inexperience. In the offices of Taisho and Sons, a law firm that had expanded to include research and development of major medicines, she had been eager but wary when she was given a six month trial period. Within two, she felt she had proven herself. She had her own corner office, though it was little more than a closet. Her door, usually open, gave her a good view of the comings and goings of the rest of the staff.

Sesshomaru Taisho was not one of the staff. He was the boss. Still, her eyes were drawn to him like magnets. His cool demeanor and calm assurance of himself were inexplicably sexy to the young girl. She had seen him tear into a man for a simple error that had cost the company less than Kagome made in one paycheck, but she had also seen him send the pregnant secretary home with pay because she was fighting to keep her lunch down.

Kagome had fallen hard. Though almost ten years her senior, the silver-haired son of Taisho made her heart flutter with even the smallest glance in her direction. For six more months, Kagome watched the man from afar, too shy to do any more. Finally, he noticed her. She had worn dowdy clothes that day, an old pair of jeans and a simple turtleneck, with little makeup. Her tennis shoes stood out in a sea of stilettos. She glanced nervously at the man of her dreams as she stepped past him in the elevator, then again as she stepped past when the car reached her floor. The door closed as Kagome bent down to pick up a fellow employee's dropped papers.

For a week, the heir to the Taisho empire watched the odd girl from afar. Finally, when he noticed his little brother sniffing around her direction, he asked her out. Kagome had been thrilled, ecstatic, to be asked on a date with the man of her dreams. She dressed with care that night, wanting to look perfect for the perfection that was Sesshomaru.

They ate dinner at a posh restaurant downtown, then walked along the pier to kill time. Their final stop for the evening was a late-night showing of the latest hit movie. Kagome had been on Cloud Nine, smiling so hard her cheeks hurt. When Sesshomaru dropped her off for the evening, she blushed and asked if he'd like to come in for a cup of coffee. To her utter surprise, he agreed. They spent an hour in her apartment, making small talk and drinking coffee. Finally, Sesshomaru moved toward Kagome and cut off her words with a kiss that blew her mind. For the rest of the night, they shared a passion so overwhelming, Kagome felt as if she would burst into flames.

The next morning, Kagome awoke to Sesshomaru leaving her apartment. There was no note, no explanation for his abrupt departure. She brushed it off, telling herself he had to be at work. When she got to work later that morning, he was nowhere to be found. She didn't see the man she had given herself to so freely until the next week. He had his arm draped around a dark-headed woman with shrewd red eyes and a permanent scowl. The ring on the woman's finger was all the evidence Kagome needed to feel her heart shatter.

Sesshomaru's younger brother, Inuyasha, found her in the supply closet, tears rolling down her face as she cried silently. With a soft voice, he coaxed her out of the closet and into his office. There, she summarized that she had seen her boyfriend with another woman. She felt guilty stretching the truth, but she didn't want to actual truth out in the open: She had been used and discarded by Sesshomaru Taisho.

Inuyasha was a very sweet man, and Kagome felt herself growing more attached to him. After a few weeks of casual dating, Kagome invited him into her apartment, hoping that it wouldn't turn into a repeat of his older brother. While the sex was good, it didn't have the explosions that she and Sesshomaru had experienced.

Two weeks later, Kagome discovered she was pregnant. She booked a doctor's appointment immediately, to see how far along she was, hoping the baby wasn't Sesshomaru's. The doctor confirmed her fears, however, when she told the quailing woman that she was over six weeks pregnant.

Kagome burst into tears, barely registering what the doctor was telling her about prenatal care. She handed the poor girl a handful of pamphlets and led her outside. With a kind look, she pointed down the hall. "The bathroom is right down there if you need a moment."

Kagome sniffled and nodded her thanks. After composing herself in the bathroom, she walked out of the office with her head held high. That night, she called Inuyasha and told him she was pregnant. She was honest and told him that the baby might not be his, but the male wouldn't hear of it. "This is our baby, Kagome. I'll take care of it, I promise."

A month later, Kagome and Inuyasha were married in a quiet ceremony with his parents and her mother in attendance. Inuyasha all but demanded that Kagome move in with him at his parents' home. From that argument on, it was all downhill. Inuyasha wanted her to stay home and be a housewife; Kagome wanted to keep working until she had the baby. Inuyasha wanted her to stop seeing her friends, saying they caused too much stress; Kagome told him that he was her stress and that Sango and Miroku helped relieve that stress.

For eight months, they fought like cats and dogs. And then, Rin was born. The moment Inuyasha looked at her, everything changed. She was his world now. She looked just like Kagome with her black hair, but she had the Taisho eyes in shape and the golden color. For once, it seemed Kagome had made the right choice. Inuyasha changed overnight, becoming more agreeable and causing less fights. He let Kagome do as she pleased so long as she took care of Rin. She quit her job at the Taisho firm and got a part-time job at a convenience store a few blocks away, working at night, when Inuyasha would be home.

Until that fateful night almost a year ago, when she caught Inuyasha in bed with his secretary. The couple had rarely had sex since Rin was born, but it wasn't out of lack of attraction. Life kept getting in the way. When Kagome caught Inuyasha with his other woman, she didn't even let the other couple know they had been seen. She had gathered her daughter and their things and had went back to the shrine she had grown up in. Days later, Inuyasha had called, furious, asking why she had left. The only word she said was the woman's name, Kaguya. Inuyasha froze on the other side of the line and thought furiously on how to keep both his women. Before he could begin to make an argument, the line went dead.

The next week, Kagome filed divorce papers. Inuyasha contested with a petition for custody of Rin. And now, here they were. A few weeks away from the worst day of Kagome's life, where she was going to unintentionally tear a family apart.

With a groan, she dropped her head back onto her arms. "I'm so sorry."

###################

The morning of the hearing, Kagome kissed Rin's head as she left the shrine. "But, Mommy, I want to go!"

"No, Rin. It's not a place for children."

"I want to go see Daddy!" the little girl protested.

"Rin, baby, I can't bring you. Stay with your grandmother and Uncle Souta and have fun, okay? Besides, it's just going to be a lot of boring old people saying boring things for hours."

Rin's eyes widened comically. "Ooooh. Okay, Mommy. I'll stay. But I want to see Daddy tomorrow, like he promised!"

Kagome sighed. He must have assumed he was getting custody right away. "We'll see."

With a backwards wave, Kagome started her trek down the stairs to her ride. Sango was parked at the curb, bobbing her head to some song on the radio. Opening the door, Kagome let her smile drop. "Let's go, Sango, and get this over with."

Sango nodded. "Am I still going to be a witness?"

"I don't know. Depends on what Kageromaru thinks."

"Okay. So, prepared for anything." With a decisive nod, Sango turned the wheel and entered traffic.

#####

At the courthouse, the waiting was the worst. Sitting in the back, waiting for their turn, Kagome watched the Taisho family. Inuyasha looked nervous, Izayoi looked worried, and Touga just looked mad. Sesshomaru was nowhere to be seen.

Finally, the judge called them forward. Without even beginning the hearing, he granted Kagome's divorce plea. Moving on to the custody, he asked for the first witness. Inuyasha took the stand and, when asked why he deserved custody, he spoke of how much he loved his daughter, and how he could take so much better care of her than Kagome.

When Kagome took the stand some while later, Inuyasha's attorney asked why he didn't deserve custody. With her head dropped as much as it could be without impeding her voice, Kagome said softly, "She's not his daughter."

Izayoi gasped. Touga rose to his feet, angry words beginning to spill forth. The doors to the courtroom burst open and Kagome raised her head. Sesshomaru strode up the middle aisle, into the front area, and stood facing the judge. "The child is mine."

Inuyasha cursed, wounded by the fact that his daughter wasn't his, but his brother's.

Continuing, Sesshomaru said, "Six years ago, the defendant and I shared one night together, resulting in her pregnancy. I have in my hand a DNA test, proving me to be the child's paternal match."

The judge beckoned Sesshomaru closer. Staring at the paper, he regarded the stoic male. "You do realize that this nullifies your brother's claim to the child, and at the same time, pulls you into the proceedings of this court?"

Sesshomaru nodded. "I do not want full custody of the child. Joint custody is agreeable, with weekend visitations. I believe she is best left with her mother at this age. I want her to simply know who her father is."

Kagome bit her lip, looking into her lap shamefully. She had felt that barb sting all the way to her soul. She looked up when she realized the judge had spoken to her. "I'm sorry, Your Honor. What did you say?"

"I asked, are you in agreement with his proposal?"

Kagome looked at Sesshomaru. He wasn't looking at her, but at the judge. Finally, Kagome nodded her head. "I am. But I need some time to tell her. I can't just barge in and say that the man she's been calling Daddy for her whole life is actually her uncle, and her father is actually a man she's only met once."

Sesshomaru winced, having felt that barb just as deeply as Kagome had felt the one aimed at her.

The judge gave his ruling and ordered the attorneys to draw up the paperwork. Kagome met Sango right outside the courtroom, dreading what she knew was coming. Not two feet down the hallway, it came.

"You bitch! How could you not tell me, all these years, that she wasn't mine? How could you keep that secret?" Inuyasha cried as he charged out of the courtroom.

Kagome turned with a weary expression. "Inuyasha, I tried to tell you she might not be yours. In fact, I told you more than once. But you were just so convinced she was yours that you blew it off."

"So you let it come out in the courts, in front of my family and friends, that Rin isn't my daughter, but my brother's?"

A child's gasp broke through Inuyasha's rage. Turning, he saw the little girl he had come to court to fight for, standing with Kagome's mother. The older woman had a look of pure sorrow and dismay on her face, having come upon the fighting now-exes just as Inuyasha had started his comeback. "I am so sorry, Kagome. I wanted to come pick you up, and she kept asking to see her daddy."

Kagome's eyed filled with tears as her daughter's face crumpled.

"Daddy...what do you mean, I'm not yours?" Rin asked.

Inuyasha looked at the little girl with sad eyes. "It means," he said as he dropped to a knee on front of her, "that I'm not the one who helped your mommy make you. I thought I was, and, baby girl, that made me so proud. But today, we found out that my brother, your Uncle Sessho, helped your mommy make you. Do you understand?"

Kagome's heart broke as she watched Inuyasha hold back tears. Rin burst into tears as she threw her arms around Inuyasha. "But I want you to be my daddy! I love you!"

Inuyasha lost the battle as tears rolled down his cheeks. "I love you, too, sweet pea. This doesn't mean I'll never be around. This just means I'll be Uncle Inu instead of Daddy, okay?"

Sesshomaru walked up to stand beside his brother. The hand he placed on Inuyasha's shoulder was immediately shrugged off. With one last hug to Rin, he stood. Turning around, he said lowly, "If you had been able to keep it in your pants, this would never have happened. You didn't think to even check up on her, did you? I bet you freaked when you found out she had been a virgin before you. Che. You don't deserve that little girl."

After Inuyasha had walked off, Sesshomaru stood, watching his daughter and her mother hug. "I know."

##############

A week and a half later, Sesshomaru drove up to Kagome's home at the Sunset Shrine for his first weekend visitation with his daughter. His hands were sweating. "She's six. Why am I so nervous?"

Getting out of the car, Sesshomaru glanced up the steps leading to the shrine. With a beleaguered sigh, he began the trek. Minutes later, he stepped onto the shrine grounds to see Kagome and Rin, both dressed in flowing sundresses, waiting for him.

Kagome nudged their daughter. "Rin, this is Sesshomaru...your father."

Rin clung to Kagome's dress. "Go say hello. He won't bite."

"Mommy, I want Daddy," the little girl argued.

Kagome's features twisted in a grimace. "Rin, I told you. Inuyasha isn't your daddy anymore." Grabbing the child by the hand, she firmly walked her forward to where Sesshomaru stood.

In an abrupt about-face, the six year old glared up at the man who was now her father. "Just because you're my daddy now, doesn't mean I have to like you!"

"Rin!" Kagome cried, turning to chastise the girl. The sound of Sesshomaru's deep chuckle had her freezing in her tracks. Turning back to the normally stoic male, she saw a slight smile on his face.

"It's alright, Rin. You can take your time and get to know me, then decide if you like me, deal?"

With her head cocked at an angle, Rin thought about it. "Okay, but don't try to bribe me. Da- I mean, Uncle Inu always tried to bribe me with candy when he wanted something. Like when he said bad words and didn't want me to tell Mommy."

Kagome just shook her head. "Rin, what would you like to do today?"

Rin grabbed onto her parents' hands and tugged them to the steps. "I wanna go to the park, and the zoo, and get ice cream and..."

Her voice droned on as Kagome and Sesshomaru shared a warm look. Both wondered if the other felt the butterflies in their stomach.

##################

Three years later

"Rin, get back here!" Kagome called to the nine year old currently running rampant through the house that would hopefully become theirs. A giggling laugh was her only response.

The realtor smiled. "It's okay. Happens all the time."

Kagome's face twisted in a grimace. "Ow."

Before the realtor could step forward to check on the woman, a tall male was beside her, supporting her while she rubbed her hand over her expansive belly. "I told you to take it easy, Kagome."

Kagome poked the male in the ribs, smirking when he jumped. "And I told you that nothing is wrong with me except for the fact that your progeny is very active, Sesshomaru. Rin was the same way."

The realtor smiled at the couple. "So, what do you think? Plenty of rooms for children or guests, a large master bedroom with its own private bath, state-of-the-art kitchen. This place is perfect."

Kagome smiled up at Sesshomaru. "I love it."

Sesshomaru smirked back at the tiny pregnant woman and looked at the realtor. "I believe we'll take it."

Grinning excitedly, the realtor began talking immediately about drawing up the paperwork. "I'll just leave you to get acquainted with the place. Lock up when you leave, if you will."

As the man's footsteps echoed through the house, Kagome looked up at her husband. "Who would have thought we'd end up here, Sessho? "

Sesshomaru smirked down at her. "I did. The day I walked into court with proof that she was mine, I had already planned to never let you go again."

Kagome stood there with her mouth open in shock. She began sputtering, "B-but you-! You never looked twice at me after that night!"

Sitting in a conveniently placed chair, Sesshomaru pulled his wife down to sit in his lap. "Kagome, I watched you every day. Even after you started showing your pregnancy, even when I thought you were lost to me forever, I watched to make sure he was treating you right. If I had thought for a second that you were carrying my child, I would have stepped in sooner."

Kagome teared up. "I kept wishing you would. Late at night, when Inuyasha was snoring beside me, I wished it were you instead. I felt so horrible."

Sesshomaru dropped to his knees in front of her. "As much as I wish things had been different, I'm glad that Inuyasha was the one to help you pick up the pieces. I owe my little brother a lot."

Kagome smiled through her tears. "He's happy now, right?"

Sesshomaru kissed her belly then looked up at her. "You know he is. He never would have met Kikyo if you hadn't split up. I think she's the only person in the world he's scared enough of to never stray."

Kagome sat in silence, just looking around them at the beautiful house she absolutely loved. "So, we're getting this, right? Because I already have so many ideas for decorating."

Sesshomaru smirked at his little wife. "Of course we're getting it, Kagome. Nothing but the best for my girls."

Kagome wagged a finger at her husband. "Hey, it might still be a boy. We still haven't gotten a good look at the sonograms. He or she just won't cooperate." With a saucy look she quipped, "Sort of like the daddy, huh?"

A squeal echoed through the house. Rin came running, thinking the baby was coming. She skidded to a halt in the hallway connected to the foyer her parents were in when she saw that her dad had picked her mom up and was spinning her around. "Daddy, is that safe for the baby?"

Sesshomaru turned his head to look at his beautiful daughter. "I'm being careful, I promise. Come here, Rin."

Rin dutifully went to her parents' sides, only to be thrown across Sesshomaru's shoulder and toted around in circles. The little girl looked at the happiness in her mother's face, the love shining from her dad's eyes, and felt like the happiest girl in the world.

This started out as a oneshot for the LJ-Dokuga community under the theme Convenience. I ran out of time, but didn't want to let the story go. So, here we go again. I know it jumped horribly, but I didn't want to go into a lot of detail. And I kind of want this one out of my documents so I can focus on ones that are on-going.

Anyways, enjoy.