A/N: Sorry for being late! I made some last second revisions and have been super busy. Enjoy!

Dig in to your future and hold on to the present.

Sesshomaru and Haru looked up at the influx of power, both inus lifting their noses into the air as if in attempt to sniff out the mystery. Haru now beginning the transition from toddler to child was taller and his language had grown. He still preferred to communicate in the manner typical of dogs, since Sesshomaru was his prime communication partner. However, he had retained many human like characteristics due to the influence of his adoptive brother and sister.

Rin and Shippo tended to play together more often, being more similar in age, but the two children spoiled Haru taking their roles as mentors and older siblings seriously. Rin almost seemed to mother Haru as if trying to fill the void Kagome left behind. Shippo used Haru as a training partner especially after Haru began training as well.

Even with his growing relationship with his siblings, Haru hated to be separated from his alpha. It was one of the more bothersome parts of parenthood, in Sesshomaru's opinion, but he dealt with it well enough. In a true pack the den mother or alpha female would stay behind with the young. Their pack was truly a unique situation in that regard.

"Daddy, what's that?" Haru inched closer to the source of power unable to recognize the power from the distance. Sesshomaru could tell instantly where the power had come from and could easily deduce what had caused the disturbance. Although he was wary of being incorrect.

"It came from Edo." Sesshomaru responded turning his golden eyes down to the pup at his legs. Now just below his waist the pup had lost a lot of his baby fat becoming leaner and thinner. His hair had grown out in a mess of curls reminiscent of Shippo's auburn hair. Sesshomaru left Haru's hair care to Rin and Shippo who often opted to cut it short to avoid having to detangle the curly mess on a daily basis. When it got too long, Rin pulled it into a ponytail behind his ears so it wasn't constantly in his face.

Next to him Sesshomaru watched the young pup's face furrow while he thought; his little eyes growing wide as he suddenly got an idea. Being so young his memories of Kagome were sparse, but like all dogs her scent would be ingrained in his little heart.

He was too young to truly understand that she may be back, but he knew Edo was his home away from home and he was worried for his family.

"We gotta go back!" He grabbed hold of Sesshomaru's hand and pulled him forward. Looking sharply at the pup, Haru dropped his hold on his father's hand but couldn't keep from doing an anxious dance as he jumped around. His alpha would choose his path, not he as a pup. Every now and then he forgot the hierarchy of order, but with only a sharp glance he would withdraw and wait, sometimes patiently.

"Come pup." Haru leaped into Sesshomaru's arms and held on tightly as Sesshomaru formed his energy cloud to fly on. With the pup in his arms he could not orb all the way which would be a far faster method of transportation, but he could fly in this manner. It would take a little over an hour pushing his top speed, but he was grateful that he was not too far.

Kagome had been happy to see Kaede still alive and well, if not a little tired. The old woman was aging quickly but still had enough spry and fight in her that she would be around for a few more years yet, at least. The two mikos caught up quickly as the older woman prepared food.

Trying to distract herself, Kagome began emptying her bag to sort out presents for her friends. Shippo and Rin loved the pokky she brought while Inuyasha began sniffing immediately at the few packs of ramen. Now that the well was closed, Kagome warned him there would not be any more ramen unless he managed to survive for 500 years.

The hanyou's ears flicked and dropped appreciatively before he scoffed at the notion that he might not last for 500 years. Kagome giggled as he ran off like a squirrel with his nut, probably to hide his ramen away from everyone else. Kagome mentally bet against herself on if he would outlast a week before complaining for more.

As Kagome was cooing over Sango and Miroku's twins she felt an oppressive aura drawing closer. She stiffened at the sudden realization only to look at her friends with surprise. All of them were watching her, Inuyasha with a side glance, while Sango and Miroku had quick sparing glances. Shippo, however, was watching her closely and when she caught him, he turned away to nudge at Rin. Bending down to whisper in her ear, Kagome watched a look of glee spread across the girl's face.

The aura that approached pulsed insistently against Kagome's aura but instead of spreading her aura outwards she retracted it in a reflexive motion. By now everyone had stopped to watch Kagome curiously. Only the oblivious sounds the twins made were heard in the small hut.

Looking hesitantly around, Kagome mustered her courage, "I think I'm going to go for a walk." Kagome didn't hear Shippo begin to protest or Rin's not so subtle nudge to quiet him. She had completely blocked everyone else out as she made her way out of the hut and into the surrounding forest.

From the window the rest of the taichi watched as a cloud dropped from the sky, near the edge of the forest.

Kagome disappeared towards that edge hesitantly the aura pressing against hers sizzling in that direction. Her mind swam with what she would find, what she would see. The possibilities seemed endless, but continuously did one hope resurface again and again.

Her heart was quickening at her anxiety.

The feeling only doubled at the yearning of the aura connected to hers calling to her as if a hand guided her. She was being pulled swiftly forward. Even the wind shuffled her along pressing her in the right direction.

With bated breath she closed her eyes and stepped forward one last time. The warmth and power that swept over her clothed her as if she had been naked as the day she was born. It hung about her powers and sizzled against her skin.

Something approached and there were gentle fingers gliding against her cheek.

"Why do you hide your eyes from me, miko?" The voice, the voice that spoke to her in her dreams, both waking and sleeping. It seemed deep and caressing as his aura probed deeper into her welcoming one.

"I don't want it to be a dream." She whispered back, truth hanging on her every word. The being was leaning forward soft flesh caressing hers and she knew it was his cheek. He was nuzzling her, welcoming her, and encouraging her.

"You were supposed to find me!" She had meant to be more upset, but her words sounded more like a gasp. Almost as soon as she said it, the warmth of his skin disappeared and she could almost picture him looking at her with those golden eyes like the sun as they bore into her.

"I have not been given the opportunity to look, only wait. You have returned, am I to assume it is for good?" Gods how she wanted to see him, wanted to see the way his lips moved with his words. She wanted to see everything about him, but still she kept her eyes dutifully shut. It could still be a dream, a reality she created to cope with her insanity.

"The well has closed." Her statement was met with a momentary silence. In the background she heard something else moving.

"It has closed before." He answered coolly.

"This time I am here for good. I belong here!" Her brows furrowed as she called out to him with determination. When she did not receive a response she took a step forward. Hesitantly, her hands searched for him, her fingers catching upon his hair until they met the silk of his haori. Up his arms, across the soft silk, and over the sharp ridges of his armor, they trailed. Her fingers hesitated at his collar, playing with the layers of his haori fondly.

Then hesitantly she reached out until she felt his warm skin and her breath escaped her.

His fingers took hold of hers and wrapped themselves around her palm. They lifted her hands until she felt something warm against them and gasped.

A sharp pain shot through her and she opened her eyes in shock only to see the pad of her middle finger bleeding with just a drop of blood. Her hand was still held against his pearly fangs, the obvious culprit for the sudden and yet exhilarating pain. Attached to those fangs was a pair of lips that smirked in satisfaction at seeing her eyes once more. She could have called him out on his sly trick to get her to open her eyes, but as she looked up she found herself lost in the sight of two blazing suns.

Her mother had always said to never stare directly into the sun and yet she could not help but look into two at once. They were captivating and alluring, entrancing her into their grasp.

Before she could think, she was against him, full flush, her face buried into his hard armor. Gently, his spare fingers lifted and caressed her hair, stroking its silken strands.

"I missed you." She whispered, but this time she didn't close her eyes. No, she wanted to enjoy the sight of him forever and she was afraid if she closed her eyes he would disappear. Never again.

Sesshomaru looked as if he wanted to say something and then stopped his heard turning at the softest whine to grace his ears. Smirking a little he inclined his head towards Kagome and then turned hoping she would follow his gaze.

She did and could see the outline of a small form hidden in the shadows of the trees. Gasping again she released Sesshomaru and began to step forward only to see the shadow retreat.

Her heart sunk drifting to the pit of her stomach. She knew from the second the slight sound of his whine entered her ears it was Haru and she ached to see him. When he backed away, she felt like dying then and there. Was he afraid of her? Did he resent her? Or was it that he didn't even remember her?

At the moment she couldn't decide what was worse but deep down she knew that if he didn't remember her at all it would hurt the worse.

"Haru, come here." Sesshomaru's voice was uncharacteristically soft as he gestured at the young pup. The pup's response was a soft whine that only the daiyoukai could decipher.

Tilting his head Sesshomaru stepped forward into the trees. There was a low growl and then the boy was pushed through into the clearing and the sunlight. He yelped, his brown eyes going wide as the woman got a good look at him. Using his demon speed he disappeared behind Sesshomaru who had just stepped out.

Using Sesshomaru's figure, the boy hid while Sesshomaru looked down. A soft sound almost like a sigh escaped the daiyoukai's lips and he turned to Kagome holding his hand out for her.

"Step closer, but slowly. While I am here he will not run." Casting a sharp glance at the pup, Sesshomaru watched the boy's eyes go wide and dart to the ground.

"Haru? Don't you remember me?" Kagome did as she was bade, stepping slowly in gentle even steps. Her voice quivered, a fact she could not control. She wanted so desperately for Haru to come bursting into her arms and yet he hadn't.

"Trust your nose, pup." Sesshomaru uttered in his low baritone, making Haru startle. For a second he seemed uncertain. But as Kagome was barely a yard away now and his father's shadow was enveloping him, he felt the safest. So, slowly he stepped out with his nose first hoping to catch a whiff of the strange female in front of him.

Even without his nose, he knew there was something special about her. Her eyes were the color of his dreams and her voice sounded like music. Mixed with the deep baritone of his father, his heart settled to an even peace and he felt comfort.

The feelings he had suggested she was alpha and yet the first scent he had of her was not that of his father's. If she were a true alpha female she would be laced with his father's scent and the scent of the pack. Instead she smelled like an outsider.

A gentle breeze caught her scent and carried it closer and he inhaled deeply taking in everything about this strange woman who wore strange clothes. She smelled so odd, a layer of dirt a grime on the outside and yet some sharp sweet smells underneath. He sorted through the scents catching the scent of his uncle and that of his brother and sister. They were faint but still present, not strong enough to suggest she had spent much time with them. The scent of others clouded her more strongly and he wrinkled his nose in jealousy at the thought that she had been with others.

A low growl escaped his throat and Kagome's eyes went wide. Sesshomaru arched an eyebrow, intrigued at the boy before him. He could tell the child was searching, searching for something to tell him the girl was safe.

The scent of his father laced in the woman hit him next, there was a fresh scent from the brief contact and yet there was an older scent laced into her very aura. He could smell his father clearly in her aura and so he explored further, taking in a deeper breath so he could fully sort through all the smells.

His father's scent was tied closely to a final scent, one that was even older. It was his own and he whimpered tenderly at the smell. For just beneath the lay of dirt, the clean sharp senses that were her perfume, his father's and his own precious addition, was her very powerful natural smell. She smelled sweet enough to make his mouth water and he fought back the rush of feelings and emotions he had tied to the scent.

Buried deep in his memories of that scent was love and happiness and yet sadness and anxiety. But deeper to all those was longing. He longed to be with the woman who possessed this scent and he knew instinctively that she must be his mother.

The kindness of her blue orbs confirmed it, that color that haunted his dreams. It was the same one he sought every time he looked at the sky and why he cried when it rained or darkened. It was because the deep vibrant blue was gone from the sky and with it his connection to the one whom he longed for.

"Mama?" He breathed, his word barely discernible to the daiyoukai. Yet somehow the miko had heard him, heard his anxious question, and nodding bent down to her knees.

With a swift leap he was in her arms, burying his nose into her hair and the crook of her neck and spreading his scent all over her. With a deep inhale he reveled in her pure and untainted scent feeling the warmth of her flesh upon his as she wrapped around him.

"Oh Haru, I missed you so much. I love you and I'm never leaving you again." She squeezed her little pup tighter, feeling the difference in the heaviness of his weight and the structure of his body. He had grown so much in the year that she had been gone, from a child just entering the toddler stage to a toddler becoming a child.

"Where'd ya go, Mama?" Haru mumbled into her neck and Kagome felt her insides churn.

"I didn't want to leave. I wanted to stay with you, but it doesn't matter now. I'm back and I'm never leaving you again." She brushed some of his hair out of his eyes and he gave a fanged grin. Looking up she met Sesshomaru's smoldering gaze. He seemed to be watching curiously.

Jealous of his mother's attentions being directed elsewhere, Haru pulled on Kagome's sleeve causing her to turn back to her annoyed little pup.

"Have you been good for your father while I was away?" Instantly Haru was startled and looked to his dad a little sheepishly. Sesshomaru's response was a raise of his eyebrow. Hurriedly, Haru turned back to his mother and nodded energetically.

"Haru been good, Mama! Haru stay with Daddy and Daddy teaching Haru to fight. I wanna show you, mama." Haru bounded away, looking back hesitantly as he made his way a few shy steps from her. Carefully and with much concentration he began to dance through the forms he had been learning. His small brow knit in meditation.

Kagome watched entranced for only a moment, until her attention was turned to Sesshomaru who also watched. Sensing her gaze his own darted to hers and she found herself looking away with a blush.

"You know I won't be able to stay forever." Her words cut the silence with her soft whisper. She hoped Haru had not heard as deep in concentration as he was. As she watched him continue his forms unhindered she mentally sighed in relief.

"The well has closed, where would you go?" It was less of a question and more of a statement. Still Kagome tensed as she reached to the side to glide her fingers across the skin of his hand. He did not retract the appendage and so she wrapped her hand around his and turned ever so slightly. He looked down on her curiously his eyes not betraying his feelings. She gave a sad smile then.

He was telling her his feelings through his actions. The way his aura caressed her periodically as if he was carefully checking her over for injury or harm. The way he let her express her own emotions to him. He did not have to reciprocate in a like manner, only to accept what she had to offer him. That acceptance was his own expression for his depth. For truly, who else could claim to be able to touch the great lord intimately and live to tell the tale?

"I'm human. I won't live forever. One day I'll grow old and die. Will the small amount of time I have be enough for a demon who can live forever?" She was serious now, her breathing harsh against his armor, fogging the metal as she spoke. Sesshomaru's face remained impassive except for the slight tilt of his head as if he were considering her words.

"It will suffice." Slowly he lifted her hand and brought to his lips for a soft kiss. Kagome's blue eyes widened at the intimate gesture before softening again as he bent closer and captured her lips with his own.

As he released her he brushed his cheek against hers until she could feel his breath against her ear.

"Allow this Sesshomaru to court you and make you mine." Her breath released in a gasp and she meant to pull away, about to ask him to reconsider, but he held her fast in place.

"This Sesshomaru would not ask if he were not sure, Kagome." The way her name sounded on his lips made her melt and even had she wanted to she could not say no. She had become his irrevocably long before he ever asked or made his intentions known. To hear it from his lips though, when it had been but a foolish fantasy only a short time ago made her want to whimper in happiness.

"I have been yours for some time." She replied and he took that as confirmation. He turned his head and she could have sworn she saw the slightest smile grace his lips. However, she had little time to ponder her new discovery when he captured her lips again.

They were interrupted as a sudden gust of wind and dirt smacked against their bodies. A low growl escaped Sesshomaru as he turned to assess the culprit. Kagome spit the bits of dust out of her mouth before waving away the dust cloud in front of her so she could see what happened.

What she saw was a bewildered Haru who had propelled the dirt against his parents as a finale of his last form, his feet digging into the ground as if he had just slid into place. His small eyes were wide with terror as he could see the anger in his father's eyes.

Sesshomaru stepped forward menacingly to scold the pup, unhappy at having been interrupted. He was stopped by Kagome's gentle hand and her melodious laughter that echoed in the clearing.

"Oh Haru, come here!" She took the boy into her arms again and laughed at his expense. In time, the pup began to relax until they were both giggling. Returning back to Sesshomaru she could see the demon lord was still unhappy and possibly even a little jealous at the attention Haru was receiving.

"Come on Sesshomaru, let's go back to the village. I'm sure Rin will be happy to see you." She smiled and he melted against her gaze although he refused to show such weakness. Before her though, he would be truthful, but only her. And maybe the pups.

"I'll also need to let my friends know of your intentions. I can't wait to see the looks on everyone's faces." That ghost of a smile was back on his lips. Kagome debated whether it was a smirk or a true smile, but just as soon as it was revealed it disappeared again as he reigned in his emotions. His aura though, couldn't have expressed more happiness.

As he turned to head towards the village, his head turned over his shoulder ever so slightly, he told her, "That will suffice."

Grinning to Sesshomaru and turning her smile to Haru she took the boy's hand and began to lead him towards Kaede's hut where she was sure all of her friends would be waiting on the edge of their seats.

"Tell them what, mama?" Haru asked curiously, his innocent brown eyes looking up at her.

"I'll tell ya when your older, Haru." Kagome said softly and smiling at him and just at life in general. She couldn't imagine being happier than she was at that moment, reunited with her friends and family.

"Are you going to have pups with daddy?" Kagome giggled as she saw Sesshomaru tense a little in front of them. His tension seemed more from apprehension than fear. The demon lord was a meticulous man who thought out all of his decisions thoroughly. He had no doubt considered the probability that they might one day have children of their own, but just the thought of raising another child like Haru at the moment made Kagome hesitate.

Yet she kept smiling to her son as she continued her way towards Kaede's hut.

"Trust me, you and your brother and your sister are more than enough for me to handle right now. But maybe someday." Haru seemed excited at the prospect of siblings and Kagome couldn't help but be excited over the same thing. She had learned a lot of what it meant to be pack and what it meant to have a pack. To a dog demon it was nothing short of necessity.

"Your friends are waiting, Kagome." Bewildered that they had arrived to Kaede's hut so quickly Kagome was brought of her fantasies long enough to smile at Sesshomaru sweetly before brushing past him and into Kaede's hut.

She would soon by surrounded by her friends and her family. No that wasn't quite right. They were much more to her that.

They were her pack.

A/N: That's it! At the posting of this final chapter you guys have put me at 190 reviews! I can't believe it! A special thanks goes out to all of my reviewers but especially those who have been with me since the beginning. You know who you are. ;)

Q1: Will there be a sequel/epilogue? (I got asked this a lot!)

A1: Although there is not currently one in the works, I left this story open with the possibility of one. However there are no guarantees.

Q2: Will you be writing more SessKag?

A2: I am currently working on a few pieces right now, but I cannot predict when they will be ready to post.

If there are any other questions let me know! I will post a Q and A to my profile for commonly asked questions.

Thank again and please review to tell me what you thought of the whole story!