Epilogue

"So, you're going to live here than?" Kagome asked as she sat across from Sango and Miroku.

Kohaku, Rin, and Shippo were off somewhere near by. Sango had been relived when Kohaku had suddenly come out of his shell at the sight of Rin, who had ran up to him the moment she saw him.

Kagome could tell that a great burden had been taken off of her chest and knew right than and there that Kohaku had not been adjusting well. She also noticed Miroku's hand had not slipped once. She hopped it was a sign of their relationship growing.

"Yes. The villagers asked us to remain and have even giving us this house in return for protection from Youkai and human attacks." Miroku answered.

"That's great." Kagome exclaimed.

"What about you Kagome?" Sango asked. "Now that Naraku is dead what are you going to do?"

Kagome sighed as she answered.

"I had always figured I would go home and return to the life I left behind, but that isn't exactly going to happen now is it? Having a child at my age, while not unheard of, is not really agreed upon either. Not to mention I would have no way to support us and I have no doubt in my mind that my child will stick out as much as Inuyasha does." She chuckled.

While there was sadness in her voice, there was very little pain. She was showing her pregnancy now and she had no desire to let her friends see her like this. Things had been easy for her so far, but the smell of eggs tended to make her sick.

She also felt slightly sick in the morning and tended to take a few extra minutes to rise. It had only been a month since Naraku's defeat and she was still feeling weak from the injuries she had taken and the power she had used.

Her wrist still throbbed and was done up in a splint. She could hardly wait to get to her mothers house so she could get some x-rays and get proper bindings.

"So tell me, what was it like having Inuyasha and Sesshomaru in the same house for a whole month?" Miroku asked.

Kagome chuckled.

"Let's me say this. If you didn't know they were brothers before, you would certainly know now. They did, however, take their conflicts to the dojo where the kids wouldn't see them.

"I must admit though, they did a great job keeping their tempers in check. Inuyasha was, get this, civil, and Sesshomaru didn't once insult him in front of the other lords. As for the rulers of the Eastern, Northern, and South Western lands, they left with respect for us all."

"That is good to have such close allies with such strong lords." Miroku said.

"Yes. That is true." She agreed.

"How is you relationship with Sesshomaru?" Sango asked, dreading the answer.

Kagome smiled, taking her by surprise.

"Good, actually. We had a talk and got several things off of our chest."

"He does not care for you." Miroku stated.

"On the contrary. He does not love me, but he does care for my safety. He said he respects me and I respect him. He has been very honest to me and has opened up a little. I think he appreciated having someone to confide in who he knows wont judge him. Not like some selfish hanyou's I know of." She said slightly louder.

"Keh. Who would want to confide in you?" Inuyasha asked as he walked in, Keade, limping badly, by his side.

Age had truly been catching up to the old Miko.

"Inuyasha." Kagome growled in warning.

He cringed.

"Kagome-sama, where is Sesshomaru?" Miroku asked.

"A few miles that way." Kagome answered, pointing west.

"How do you know?" Sango asked, wondering if there was more to Kagome's mating mark then any mere human knew.

"He told me he would be there and would be waiting for me." She answered.

"Oh."

Her friends actually looked disappointed. Kagome smiled as she looked at them noticing how much different they looked without the shadow of Naraku hanging over them.

Their laughter sounded sweeter and the tight lines on their faces were gone. There was no haunted look in their eyes anymore. If anything, they sparkled with the pure joy of life.

"It is as if a heavy burden we never noticed has been lifted from our shoulders. With new worries replacing the old." She though, rubbing her stomach. "Although, these are worries that are half pleasant." She thought as she removed her hand form her stomach to realize her friends were looking at her with a hint of laughter in their eyes. "What?" She asked.

"Have you thought of any names yet?" Miroku asked.

Kagome smiled. "A few." She admitted.

"When will you be able to visit?" Sango asked.

"I don't know. I'll try to visit at least once a month, and of course when the child is born." She answered.

"What does Sesshomaru think of this?" Miroku asked, concern in his voice.

"I don't really know." She admitted. "But, he has been over protective lately, and he said our child will be raised with the respect it deserves."

"I wonder if it'll have dog ears like Inuyasha." Sango wondered.

"Keh." Inuyasha snorted, being strangely silent.

"I hope so." Kagome said dreamily. "They are so cute."

"My ears are not cute." Inuyasha denied.

"They are so. And I hope my child has cute dog ears like yours." She said.

"They are not cute." He snarled, jumping to his feet.

"They are cute, right Sango-chan? Miroku-sama?"

"Leave us out of this." Miroku said, waving his hands defensively.

Keade sighed.

"When are you expecting Kagome?" Keade asked.

"Um. Let's see. June, July, August….." She started counting the months on her finger's, stopping on the ninth. "Mid February, I think, assuming Inuyoukai don't have a shorter period." She answered.

"Not a good time to be travelling." Miroku stated.

"No. But I know I will be alright. Besides, it is not like I have never tramped around in winter before, only this time there wont be hoards of youkai trying to kill me for jewel shards." She chuckled.

"No, only for the entire jewel." Inuyasha snorted.

"Inuyasha, what youkai has the power to beat Sesshomaru? As much as I know the two of you STILL don't get along, even you have to admit his is astonishingly powerful." Kagome lectured.

"Keh."

She sighed, wondering if she was ever going to win this argument with him. She was very thankful he had accepted her new life without any of the possessiveness Kouga had shown. He even went so far as to keep his rude comments about his brother to himself. For that she was eternally grateful.

It still felt strange being mated to Sesshomaru, but she was adjusting slowly. Things, she knew, could have been a lot worse. He could have thrown her in some long forgotten place of his estate and forgot about her, but he hadn't.

"Kagome. Who will be your midwife?" Keade asked.

"Um….. The thought never occurred to me, but I think Sekira. I would love for it to be you Keade-bachan, but…"

"I am not as young as I use to be and traveling in the winter is not good for my health." Keade answered for her.

"Kagome-sama." Came the cry of Rin as she came running into the hut, Shippo right next to her with Kohaku following more dignified and a slight light in his eyes that hadn't been there since Naraku's defeat.

"What is it Rin-chan?" Kagome asked as she took the flowers Rin had picked for her and artfully arranged.

"Ah-Un is here with Jaken." Shippo answered. "He said he has a message from Sesshomaru-sama."

Kagome frowned in worry as she stood up and headed out the door, Inuyasha and Sango following her while Miroku tended to Keade. The twin headed dragon and Jaken were waiting for her on the outskirts of the village.

"Jaken, what is it?" She asked concerned.

"Sesshomaru-sama had to leave to tend to business and has requested you visit your family now before returning home." He said officially, not once throwing out a rude remark.

Kagome nodded her head.

"Then I shall do that. Rin-chan, Shippo-chan, stay here and be good. I'll be back in a few hours." She said as she took several parcels from Ah-Un's back full of the cloth Sesshomaru and she had promised her mother in exchange for the goods they procured from her time during their last visit.

Inuyasha let her on his back before taking off to the well and jumping through. She frowned as a thought occurred to her then.

"Inuyasha?"

He let her down and turned to look at her.

"Sesshomaru told me never to allow myself to be touched by another male, yet, at the matting ceremony I had to dance with many, and he does not seem to mind your scent on me. Why?"

Inuyasha looked at her blankly, than realized she would have no way of known. He flushed slightly in embarrassment as he answered.

"The whole point of dancing with the other lords was to cover you in their scent. It's a ritual used to make sure the new lord and lady mate that night seeing as how the male can not stand the scent of others on his mate."

"And yours?"

"Sesshomaru is not some lesser youkai who losses control over the littlest things. My scent is not a threat to his claim, so it is easy for him to ignore it."

"Unlike Kouga's." She figured. "He found Kouga's scent a threat to his claim." She figured.

"Keh. I find Kouga's scent awful to begin with."

"Ah. So you are admitting you and Sesshomaru have something in common?" She teased as they walked across the courtyard to the door of her house.

"We have the same color hair." Inuyasha pointed out, surprisingly not getting defensive.

"So much has changed about him." She thought as they walked through the door and announced their arrival.

"Kagome." Her mother greeted warmly as she hugged her daughter, the Kimono thankfully, hiding her grown abdomen from her mother.

"Hay sis." Her brother greeted warmly as he came rushing down the stairs to hug her.

"Inuyasha, how nice to see you. Are things going well?" Her mother asked him.

"Naraku is dead and the jewel completed." Inuyasha answered with a wide grin.

"Hey sis, where is Sesshomaru?" Souta asked.

"Since when did you care about him?" Inuyasha demanded.

"Oh, come on Inuyasha. I like you more. Want to play video games with me?"

He looked to Kagome and her mother, knowing girl talk was about to ensue and quickly accepted, following Souta upstairs.

Kagome handed her mother her packages as she followed her to the living room and sat down across from her slowly.

"So, your quest is finished then?" Her mother asked as she opened the packages.

Kagome waited to answer as her mother gasped at the material and almost dropped it.

"Kagome, this is…."

"Worth a fortune in our time, I know." She smiled. "But we have lots as we trade in it. However, that is the crème of the crop. Just because I am now the Lady of the Western Lands doesn't mean I forgot about my origins, and who it was who raised me. Besides, I have another long shopping list and more film to be developed."

She could hardly wait to see this set, and she knew that this set would alleviate any lingering doubt about Sesshomaru in her mothers eyes. Seeing him face first in a pie would send her mother into fits of laughter, she just knew.

"Mom, I have great news I have to share with you, and I apologise for not having told you sooner."

"What is it dear?"

Kagome smiled up at her mother as she told her.

Her mother looked at her stunned for a second, then rushed around the table and hugged her warmly.

"When?" Her mother asked.

"I knew before our last visit, but I forgot to tell you, seeing as how I was having to keep my attention on Sesshomaru and Inuyasha. I thought for sure they would start a fight with each other." She answered. "Also."

She held up her bandaged wrist.

"My wrist was sort of broken during that last battle with Naraku. Can you make an appointment for me to get it looked at?"

"Of course dear. Wait right there."

Her mother left to use the phone and returned a few minutes latter.

"We're in luck. Dr. Hoji said he could look at it right now and would also like to do an ultrasound to see how the child is doing."

"Um.. Okay. But mom, my child is going to be a hanyou like Inuyasha. What is the ultra sound going to show?"

"At this point dear, nothing much other than if the child has a healthy heart beat and such. Come on then, let's get going. Inuyasha," Her mother shouted up the stairs, "can you watch Souta while Kagome and I run to town?"

"Keh. Only if you bring back lots of Ramen and four sets of those pictures." He called back down.

Kagome's mother looked at her as she flushed.

"Very well." Her mother agreed.

They left together, dropping the film off first before making it to the hospital where they were met by Dr. Hoji, who was an old family friend. They took x-rays of her wrist first, developing the prints while they did the ultrasound.

"Well, how does it look?" Kagome asked nervously.

"Good. Very good. Looks like you are going to have a healthy child Kagome." Dr. Hoji answered before asking her a bunch of questions on how she was feeling and other such things.

The x-ray results came in and he rebound her wrist, telling her it would take another couple of weeks for the bones to heal and complimenting on the work her previous attended had done.

They picked up the film and returned home. She groaned at the pictures and understood why Inuyasha wanted so many sets. When Sesshomaru saw these she just knew he would destroy every last one of them, after killing Inuyasha and the children.

Her suspicion on her mothers reaction was proven correct. Any man willing to suffer through that for the sake of his wife was clearly not a bad man. She left with Inuyasha, landing on the other side of the well around evening.

She gathered the children, gave everyone a hug, and left on Ah-Un, wanting to get home as quickly as possible with the completed Jewel still around her neck and no one to protect her should they come across something she could not handle.

Nothing of the sort occurred. They made it home safely, Sesshomaru returning shortly after.

"Where did you go?" She asked as they undressed for the evening.

"To deal with some business." He answered and didn't elaborate.

She didn't push as she settled into bed, curling up against him for warmth. Summer was quickly turning into fall and it was starting to get cold. She was just thankful he acted as a in-bed furnace or she would be freezing every night.

"A month ago I never would have even considered doing this with him, now it is just natural. It is strange, I don't feel like I'm in love. I just feel….. safe when I'm with him. Like nothing can hurt me our my child." She thought dreamily as she drifted off to sleep, curling up closer to her heating source. "He'd probably kill me if he knew I thought of him as a furnace." She chuckled to herself as her eyes finally dropped and a peaceful sleep claimed her.

This is the end of Midsummer's eve. The story continues in Midwinter's Eve, which I will now be going through and editing. Thank you all for reading and I would still love to hear any feed back on what you thought and way's to improve my writing. I still can not believe this story is now 6 years old and once again a huge thank you to all my reviewers and for the constructive criticism you have sent my way that has gone a long way towards improving my writing.