InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Purity 4: Justification ❯ Baby Girl ( Chapter 102 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Bellaniece rolled over and smiled as she slowly opened her eyes.  Kichiro wasn't in bed, but he wasn't far away, either.  Sitting up with a stifled yawn, she arched her back, spotting her mate sitting in the window sill, staring out into the darkness that pervaded the world just before the break of dawn.  One leg raised, his foot anchored against the frame, he draped his hand over his knee and sighed.

"Come back to bed, lover," she coaxed.

Kichiro turned his head, his face lost in the shadows.  "Did I wake you?"

"No."

"Good."

Crawling out of bed, Bellaniece shuffled over to him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders, pressing her breasts against his back, and leaning forward to kiss his cheek.  "What are you thinking about?"

Kichiro made a face and shrugged.  "Nothing . . . everything . . ."

She sighed, resting her cheek on his shoulder.  "You didn't seem very happy about Ryomaru and Nezumi's baby," she ventured, careful to keep her tone neutral.  "Is that it?"

"Not exactly," he grumbled, ears twitching almost nervously then grimaced.  "Was I that obvious?"

Bellaniece smiled.  "No.  I'm just very good at reading my mate's emotions."

"Don't get me wrong.  I'm glad for them.  I am, really . . ." He snorted, raking his hand through his hair.  "I thought . . . I wanted . . . Damn it, just once I'd like to do something before that baka."

"It's hardly a race, Kichiro," she pointed out but refrained from laughing.

He scowled at her.  "I know that."

"I'm sorry."

He sighed.  "Don't be.  I know why you wanted to wait."

She tugged on his hands, and led him back to bed.  Kichiro stretched out and pulled Bellaniece into his arms but didn't close his eyes.

They were both still wide awake a few hours later when Kichiro's alarm clock sounded.  Bellaniece closed her eyes, pretended to be asleep.  Kichiro carefully slipped out of the bed, kissed her forehead softly, gently.  She didn't open her eyes again until she heard the door to the bathroom close as she glanced over at the clock.  'Eight,' she mused.  'It would be . . . seven in the evening in Maine . . .'

Bracing her feet against the bed, she pushed herself up as she reached for the phone.

"Zelig residence."

Bellaniece smiled as Gin's sunny voice greeted her.  "Hi, Gin.  How are you?"

Gin sighed.  "Belle!  I'm fine!  And you?"

Bellaniece's smile widened.  "Good, good . . . How's Daddy?"

"Cain?  Cain . . ."

A scowl quickly replaced the smile at the almost despondent sound of Gin's reply.  "Gin, you sound . . . a little down.  What's going on?"

"Oh, I . . . I'm fine.  I just . . ."

"Did you and Daddy have a fight?"

"No!  No, of course not!  Nothing like that . . ."

Bellaniece frowned.  "You can tell me, you know.  We're friends, right?"

"Well, I . . . It's nothing; it's stupid."

Bellaniece couldn't help the dismal little half-smile that surfaced on her face as Sierra's words echoed through her mind.  "If it is important enough to upset you, then it isn't stupid at all."

Gin sighed.  "He's just been working," she admitted quietly, a small catch in her voice giving testimony to her emotions even if her soft tone did not.  "He's been working a lot."

"On a new sculpture?  I mean, I know he has a habit of holing himself up for days—weeks—at a time . . ."

Gin uttered a choked little laugh.  "No . . . no . . . nothing like that.  In his office with these stacks of papers, files . . . I don't know what he's doing, but . . . There's a lot of them.  Just when I think he's nearly finished, Ben comes by only to pick them up and drop off more."

"Have you talked to Daddy about it?"

"No . . . He's tai-youkai.  I knew he would be busy sometimes."

"If you told him that it was bothering you—"

"I can't do that.  He tries so hard, and I don't mind . . . At least, I try not to mind too much."

Bellaniece sighed.  "I still think you should talk to him.  Daddy has a tendency to take himself way too seriously, and you're good at making him slow down and unwind."  She laughed.  "Do you know, I blew up that picture you sent me of the Daddy building the Snow-Gin?"

Gin groaned but giggled.  "He wasn't very nice about that.  He made me look like I was only about three feet tall."

"Maybe, but I can't remember the last time that Daddy played in the snow with me—if ever.  I mean, he used to take me outside and watch me play, but building a snow man?  I don't remember it."

"He was just humoring me," Gin replied almost apologetically.

Bellaniece laughed.  "I don't think so . . . Um, is Daddy busy?"

"He's in his office.  I can take the phone to him, though."

Hearing the bathroom door open, Bellaniece grimaced and shook her head.  "No, it's all right.  Just think about what I said, okay?  Try talking to him.  Maybe he'll understand better than you think."

"I'll think about it," Gin agreed though Bellaniece could tell that she'd said that more to reassure Bellaniece than because she really would.

"I'd better go.  Kichiro has to leave for work soon."

"Okay," Gin said.  "Thanks."

Bellaniece hung up and frowned at the phone.  Cain was buried under a mountain of paperwork?  Since when?  Why?  Sure, she knew that he had to do things in his office every once in awhile, but to believe what Gin was saying would imply that he was doing just that and little else.

Wrinkling her nose, she set the cell phone on the nightstand and stood up to go make Kichiro a pot of coffee.  She'd meant to speak with Cain; to try to get a feel for the situation.  She'd wanted to see if he was any closer to changing his mind about having children with Gin.  After talking to Gin, however, Bellaniece wasn't sure what to think.  Only time would tell, she supposed, but she really had wanted to be able to reassure Kichiro that it wouldn't be long before they could start a family of their own, too . . .

'Let's hope that Daddy's at least considering it now.  I mean, he and Gin have been married almost a year now.  Surely he's had to think about it already . . .'

'That's a huge risk, Belle . . . even if he has considered it, you know, don't you, how hard it would be for your father to take that sort of chance?'

'Even still, he has to realize Gin won't die like my mother did.'

'And you know from personal experience that knowing something and believing it are two entirely different things.'

'I know,' she agreed, rubbing her temple with one hand and pouring water into the coffee maker with the other.  'I know . . .'

'The best you can do is to encourage Gin to talk to him about it, and even that won't be easy.  Gin never tells your father things that she thinks might hurt him.  She loves him too much, just like you do.'

'That's nuts.  They adore each other.  They've seen for themselves, what happens when they don't tell one another things.'

'And you're one to talk, Missy.  You're no better at telling Kichiro when something's shoved a stick up your ass, either.'

"Yeah, yeah, you've made your point," Bellaniece grumbled.

"What's that?" Kichiro asked as he stepped into the kitchen, chin up as he tied his tie without the benefit of a mirror.

"Sometimes," she said rather dryly, scooping coffee grounds into the filter, "I really dislike my youkai voice."

Kichiro snorted and leaned down to kiss Bellaniece's cheek.  "Join the club, Belle-chan.  Join the club . . ."


Gin hung up the telephone with a soft giggle, rubbing her upper arms, giving herself a happy little hug as her mother's tidings brought her a much-needed smile.

'I can't believe it!'

'Neither can I . . . and yet I ask myself if this really is a good idea . . .'

'Oh, of course it is!  They'll be fine!'

'It's not them I'm worried about.'

'They'll be great parents.'

'I've every confidence that at least one of them will be a very good parent.'

Gin rolled her eyes and sighed.  'They've waited long enough.  I'm sure that they're ready.'

'I don't know, doll.  There's a good chance that the pup's going to end up being completely confused.'

'Children are blessings!  I only wish I lived closer.  A baby . . . Wow . . .'

'Maybe you should ask if you can go back to Japan to visit your family.'

She shook her head.  'Mama and Papa were just here a few months ago, and Cain . . .'

'The worst he could say is 'no', and even then, do you really believe he would?'

'Maybe not, but he's been so busy . . . I'd feel guilty, asking him to drop everything just to take me back home . . . and speaking of Cain, I've got to tell him!'

Running out of the studio and toward the stairs, she wondered where Cain was hiding.

'You mean you don't know?'

She bit her lip and shrugged as she hurried down the steps, the first strands of her excitement unraveling.  'He's in his office.'

'Where he's been for the last few weeks, it seems like.'

'He's just been busy.  He is the tai-youkai, after all."

'Still, doll . . . can you remember the last time you actually talked him into going for a walk or got him to leave the study for more than a few minutes?'

Gin's smile faltered, and her steps slowed as she shuffled toward the thick oak door.  'It's not that bad.'

Raising her hand to knock on the door, she hesitated before tapping softly.

"It's open," he called, his voice muffled, distracted.

Gin pushed the door and peered inside.  "Cain?  Are you busy?"

He didn't glance up from the papers he was looking over.  "Hmm?"

She swallowed hard, making her feet move forward as she stepped into the dark interior of what she considered to be Cain's domain.  "I just got off the phone," she ventured, hating the hint of shyness she heard in her voice.

"Oh?"

She cleared her throat and tried to sound cheerful.  "Um-hmm.  It was Mama."

"Mikio okay?"

Gin winced and sighed.  "Cain . . ."

"Hmm?"

"Do you want to go for a walk?"

That got his attention, at least for a moment.  He flashed her an apologetic little half-smile.  "I really can't, Gin.  I've got all this stuff, and I just want to get it done."

"Oh . . . Right . . ."

He grimaced and sat back, tossing the pen in his hand onto his desk.  "Come here."

She shook her head and pasted on a bright grin.  "It's okay.  I don't want to interrupt."

He ducked his chin, peering at her in his 'don't mess with me' sort of way.  'It must be a tai-youkai thing . . .' Gin thought absently.  'Sesshoumaru-oji-san has the same kind of look, doesn't he?'

"Come.  Here."

"I'll just . . . I'll go—"

"Gin."

She winced.  "I-I-Is that an . . . order?"

"No, it's a request."

She shuffled her feet, clasping her hands before her.  "Cain . . . Are you always this busy?"

He sighed and held out his hand.  Reluctantly, she made herself walk around the desk.  He caught her and pulled her into his lap.  "It's . . . I . . . I was gone for a long time, Gin.  I just need to catch up, maybe get a little ahead."

"It's my fault?"

He shook his head, kissed her forehead.  "Absolutely not.  Bear with me, okay?"

She relaxed against him and nodded.  "Okay."

"Just a little bit longer."

"Do you know when you might be caught up?"

"A few more weeks?  A month or so?"

She nodded but couldn't quite keep her ears from flattening.  "Will you be caught up by Thanksgiving?"

He opened his mouth then snapped it closed with a grimace.  Thanksgiving was only three weeks away.  "I want to be."

"No promises."

He sighed.  "No promises," he agreed.  "I'm sorry."

"Do you . . .? Would it . . .? Could I . . . spend time in here with you?  I'll be quiet, I swear.  You can work, and I can just . . . be near you."

Cain smiled.  "I'd like that."

She snuggled closer and almost smiled, too.  "So would I."

"Good.  Now . . . What did your mother have to say?"

Gin sat up at the reminder, eyes widening as she craned her back to face Cain.  "Ryomaru and Nezumi are going to have a baby!  Isn't that fantastic?  I couldn't believe it!  I mean, Nezumi will be a great mother, even if she's not really comfortable with girly things, and Ryomaru . . . I think he'll be a lot like Papa."

"Poor pup."

"Cain!  You take that back!"

"I wouldn't wish your father on my worst enemy, baby girl."

"I turned out all right."

"You turned out better than all right."

She giggled and cuddled against Cain's shoulder again.  "You think so?"

"Fishing for compliments?"

"Well . . ."

He chuckled then sighed, shifting just enough so that he could reach the thick stack of papers on his desk.

"Are you sure you can't go for a little walk?  The leaves are turning color now . . ."

He was going to decline.  She could tell by the way his back stiffened, by the tell-tale tightness around his eyes.  He stared at her for a moment, though, and pushed the papers away.  "A short one," he relented.

"Really?"

"Yeah, really.  Let me finish up this contract, and I'll go with you."

She kissed his cheek and hopped up.  "I'll go get a jacket and find Punkin."

He waved his hand as she skittered toward the doorway.

'It's not so bad,' her youkai pointed out.

'Of course it's not.  Cain loves me, even if he is busy.'  Gin grinned and whistled for Punkin.

She heard him before she saw him.  In the course of a few months, he had evolved from a gangly pup into a monster of a dog.  Standing nearly even with the top of Gin's elbow, the animal thought it was his solemn duty to watch over her any time she stepped out of the mansion, and Gin didn't doubt for a moment that Cain had something to do with that.  Though he never said as much, she knew that the incident with Cal Richardson worried him.  Cain had been loath to leave her alone after that, and then he'd brought home Punkin . . .

Gin shook her head.  Not for the first time, she wondered if the decision to bring home the dog had been based more on the desire to keep her safe or because he'd somehow been able to see past the carefully constructed façade to the longing that she tried to hide from him.

'He's your mate.  He should know you better than anyone.'

'He should know me, sure, but . . .'

She sighed.  But when she considered the idea that he'd brought Punkin home in an attempt to sidetrack her from dreaming about starting a family of their own . . .

'You're not being completely fair, are you?  Don't you remember how much trouble there was before?  When you tried to protect Cain from your feelings back then, do you remember what happened?'

'This is different.  I don't really have the right to ask him for children; not when I know that he still thinks about what happened to Isabelle, and even if he did make peace with that, it doesn't mean that he isn't still afraid.'

Her youkai sighed: a tired, wan sound.  'And we can be happy like this?'

Gin swallowed hard.  'I am happy.  Cain makes me happy.  He's all I need.'

'. . . Okay.'

Punkin came tearing through the house, the impact from his nearly two hundred pound frame forcing the table near the door to shake.  "Want to go for a walk, Punkin?" she asked as Punkin skidded to a stop beside her.  He barked in response, prancing around impatiently as Gin rubbed his knobby head before reaching for her jacket.  She was just shrugging it on when Cain ambled out of the study.

"You two ready to go?"

She smiled.  "Okay."

Punkin yapped, wagging his tail so hard that his entire body shook.  Gin laughed as Cain held the door open, and together they stepped outside into the brisk autumn afternoon.