Yes, this is the end, my friends. Sorry for the delay in posting it; it took a little longer to figure out what I wanted to write than I expected. Look for more stories by me in the coming weeks. Thank you for all of your support during this short story!

Unlike the other chapters, the epilogue's title and the lyrics come from Jupiter One's Countdown.

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.

Blow Away

Epilogue: and so it begins…

Hey now, wake up!
It's a beautiful day.
Hey now, look up!
You're always turning away.
Are you falling asleep?
Hey now, wake up!
Are you looking away?
Hey now, look up!
Are you watching?
It's a brand new day,
And you shouldn't be fading away.

Although it didn't take nine months to complete all the paperwork, it did take an extraordinarily long time to complete all the trials and associated workload.

For the first several months, no one saw much of anyone. Sango was busy helping shoulder the workload while her father recovered from his injuries. Without a hitman waiting for him once he was released from the hospital, Special Agent Kuwashima had a long life to look forward to. On her end of things, Sango was finally promoted to field agent.

Miroku got his vacation, but he had to take it alone—the mayor's aide had yet to find the courage to ask out the admittedly very intimidating government agent. He was trying, though.

Goshinki survived his injuries and was transferred from the intensive care unit to the jail hospital as soon as he was stable. Byakuya, however, died from his gunshot wound before even arriving at the emergency room. Sometimes, the look on his face as she collapsed still haunted Kagome in her sleep, but it was starting to get better. Sesshoumaru had handled her case with the same grace he handled the several others that rose in the wake of Naraku's arrest. Charges against Kagome for her assault on the two thugs were dropped (the assistant district attorney theorized that Kagome's pregnancy during the trial had helped with the jury), and Naraku had been sentenced to life in jail. Three separate times.

With Kagura's help, all of the factories producing the new designer drug were shut down. After production was cut off and the drug supply was mostly confiscated by police, what was left disappeared into the underbelly of the city. Kagura was also useful in locating and arresting many of Naraku's accomplices. In return for her cooperation with the takedown of Naraku as well as the investigation afterwards, all charges against Kagura were dropped and most of her earlier crimes were expunged from her record.

It was a good thing, too, since some of the more gossipy city newspapers were reporting that the ADA Sesshoumaru Taisho was seen "gallivanting" around town with the stunning, red-eyed business owner.

As for the baby…

"What's a secret?" Inuyasha demanded the night Naraku was arrested, looking around at everyone in bewilderment. There was no way there was something else, another conspiracy, going on; he was just too tired from the last one.

"Oh, you see, dear," Kagome began gently in a sort of fidgety voice, reaching her hand out to placate her husband—or hold him in place in case he fainted or something. "There's something I've been meaning to tell you."

The policeman narrowed his eyes and since they were that warm, amber color, the effect was even more intense. No wonder so many people broke down when faced with him in an interrogation room. He was an intimidating man. Fortunately for Kagome, she'd known him since before he'd developed the attitude, so she was more than equipped to deal with him. "What have you not told me, dear?"

"Oh, it's good news!" Kagome assured him before hesitating. "Well, I think it's good news. I guess we'll find out if you agree with me or not."

"Just tell me already!"

"Fine! I'm pregnant."

Inuyasha visibly staggered, looking like his petite wife had just socked him in the gut. "You're what?"

"Pregnant. As in, with child," Miroku clarified immediately from his vantage point in the peanut gallery. His interruption earned him a glare from the couple.

"I think I need to sit down," Inuyasha said faintly, locating a chair nearby in the factory and collapsing into it.

"After all this," Sesshoumaru pointed out coldly, one eyebrow quirked at his little brother as he swept an arm around the room to indicate the chaos surrounding them, "you are brought down by the idea of becoming a father?"

"Inuyasha?" Kagome asked, her voice worried. She stood in front of her husband, trying to gauge how he really felt about this development. …Could he actually be unhappy? His expression seemed more shocked than anything else. "Are you okay with this?"

"Okay?" the policeman echoed. "Okay? Kagome, the idea that you're pregnant…? It just made everything better." He snapped his fingers, the sharp crack making everyone jump in surprise. "Just like that. Everything's fixed." Then the way he smiled—really, truly smiled in that way that made his eyes light up and the skin at the corners of them crinkle—made everyone else feel like it was all going to be okay, no matter how much paperwork and how many trials they would be forced to deal with in the coming months.

"You're going to be a father."

"I'm going to be a dad," Inuyasha agreed, reaching his arms out and wrapping them around his wife. He pulled her toward him, where he was seated, and rested his forehead against her abdomen. For several moments, everyone was very quiet, enjoying the nice, relaxing, peaceful, pleasant moment and forgetting about all the things they'd had to endure over the past twenty-four hours. Finally, Inuyasha spoke again, looking up at Kagome with a very perplexed expression. "Wait, does this mean we don't have to hire a pediatrician?"

Shortly after the final trial wound down, Inuyasha and Kagome's son was born. He looked just like his mother, but he had his father's eyes. Everyone expected him to have a good set of lungs on him and a stubborn streak as wide as both of his parents'.

It was on a night of celebration that the group got together for the first of many blowouts.

"I'll get it!" Kagome shouted, navigating her way through her small house toward the front door after someone rang the doorbell. Faintly, she could hear her husband shout something back at her, followed quickly by the yowl of their son. When she opened the door, Kagome found two people darkening her doorstep. She smiled warmly at Miroku before turning her attention on the squat, elderly woman. "Mayor Ito! It's a pleasure to see you again."

"Call me Kaede," the mayor grumbled good-naturedly, stepping inside and shrugging off her coat. Kagome, ever the good hostess, took it from her.

"And hello, Miroku," Kagome greeted, tilting her cheek in the aide's direction, who promptly smacked a kiss to it.

"Kagome! You look wonderful this evening."

"Apparently, motherhood is agreeing with me," she confided with a laugh, giving her guests a little twirl to show off her lithe body. "I'm just glad I can see my feet again!"

"I brought dessert," Kaede announced, wandering off in the direction of the kitchen to set her dish down next to the mound of food Kagome had been preparing all day.

"Please make yourself at home!" Kagome called after her, gesturing for Miroku to join her in the foyer. Before she could shut the front door, another group of people made their way to the doorstep—Sango, Kohaku, and their father. "Hello, hello," the young pediatrician welcomed, pressing against the wall to allow the family into her house. "I'll put your coats in the closet," she offered, collecting them. When Kohaku handed his over, the boy blushed furiously. Kagome couldn't help herself and gave him a small wink—which only made him blush harder.

They gathered in the living room, and the government agents both scrutinized Miroku. He, in turn, stood up a lot straighter. "Hello, Mr. Kuwashima," he addressed Sango's father politely.

"Special Agent Kuwashima," the older man corrected with a grunt.

Sango hid her grin at the men's interaction. "Kagome! How's the baby? Where's the ol' ball and chain?"

"The baby's great," Kagome told all of them. "Inuyasha's putting him down for a nap right now; you should see him. He actually does baby talk around our son. It's adorable!"

"Inuyasha? Baby talk?" Miroku echoed, collapsing onto the couch next to Sango. Her father sent him a look, complete with furrowed brow and a stern frown, and the mayor's aide quickly scooted a couple of inches away from the brunette.

The doorbell rang, but it was followed immediately by the guests entering on their own. Kagura and Sesshoumaru walked through the doorway together, looking almost as if they'd coordinated their outfits (Kagura's red high heels and Sesshoumaru's pristine red tie matched perfectly). "Kagome!" Kagura greeted extravagantly, coming forward to kiss the younger woman on both cheeks. "You're stunning. Where on earth did you get that gorgeous dress?"

"Hmm," Kagome hummed, tapping her chin and pretending to think very hard about that. "Why, I believe I bought it at your store."

"Ah, yes, that's where I've seen it before," the boutique owner replied with a wink. "Honestly, though, it looks infinitely more charming on you than it does on the hanger."

"Kagome," Sesshoumaru greeted simply once it appeared Kagura was done; he began to stoop as though he was going to peck his sister-in-law on the cheek. At the last moment, however, he seemed to think better of it and straightened back up. "Your house seems… clean."

Before Kagome could generate a response to that—it sounded like it was meant as a compliment—she was interrupted by the entrance of her husband.

"Okay, now the party can start!" Inuyasha hollered, crashing down the stairs. He breezed into the room, looking bright-eyed and in his element. "Did you tell them, Kagome?"

"Tell us what?" Sango asked pleasantly, looking around at the assembled group. Over the past year, they hadn't exactly grown close, but they had been connected in a way that they could never, ever forget.

Unable to contain his excitement, Inuyasha tapped a drum roll on his legs with his hands. "I," he began dramatically, sending a wink in his wife's direction, "have accepted a promotion to become a detective."

"Finally," Kagome tacked on with a fake groan, bumping her shoulder into her husband; he pretended to stumble, although everyone could see that Kagome was tiny compared to her well-built spouse.

"Detective?" Miroku repeated, grinning. "Wow, I thought you might be aiming to be the next chief."

Inuyasha snorted. "Eh, I think Totosai's doing great so far. Sure, he's a nuts, but… the next chief? Yeah, maybe when I'm forty."

"I'll divorce him by then," Kagome joked to the guffaws of the small crowd. "There is no way I could stay married to someone that old."

"Careful, girl," Kaede muttered, but her old face was stretched in a smile. "By the way, I hope none of you were expecting a key to the city for your bravery. Honestly, the key doesn't actually do anything."

"We just appreciate your appreciation," Sango told the mayor politely.

"She's a good one, Miroku, you should marry this girl."

"Mayor Ito!" the aide protested, the unflappable man looking, well, flapped.

"He has to have the balls to ask me out first," Sango shot back, winking at Miroku.

There was silence throughout the entire living room as the group tried to gauge just how exactly they were supposed to respond to that. Finally, Kagome couldn't hold it in any longer, and she howled with laughter. To Special Agent Kuwashima's extreme horror, Kagura and Inuyasha soon joined in.

"Ah, well, in that case…" Miroku began, flustered. "Lunch? Tomorrow?"

"I can't," Sango replied lightly. "I already accepted a lunch invitation for tomorrow. With Kagome."

Miroku wilted, defeated.

"But…" the brunette began coyly, glancing down at her hands twisting in her lap. To someone who could read people easily, such as Kagome, she almost appeared nervous. "How about the day after that?"

"Dear god, yes. …Please. I mean, yes, please."

"Alright, enough of this," Inuyasha interrupted, looking around at all the faces in his living room. A year ago, he never would have met these people or had a reason to trust and rely on them. He had been happy with Kagome—he would always be more than happy with Kagome, there was no doubt in his mind—but now he had so much more than a partner he barely talked to, a police chief that gave him the creeps, and a handful of fellow cops who respected but avoided him. Now he had a group of people who congratulated him on his promotion, who cared about his son, who gathered just to celebrate and have a good time.

As if sensing Inuyasha's newfound appreciation for life—or for his little slice of it—Kagome reached over and grabbed her husband's hand, intertwining their fingers together. She gave him a smile and leaned into his shoulder, also surveying this group of people who had a chance to become a community, a second family, for them.

"Let's eat!"