InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Waiting on a Wish ❯ Chapter 18 ( Chapter 18 )

CHAPTER 18

When she woke, it wasn’t because of morning sunlight seeping through the drapes -- her eyes slipped open to a room steeped in darkness. She lay still for a moment, staring blankly at nothing and wondering vaguely why she’d woken. The shadows cloaked everything save for the faint light drifting in through the doorway; that meant it was either really late or really early. Everything around her seemed quiet and calm. Nothing amiss.

But why was she so hot?

For a moment, her brow wrinkled as she tried to shake off the sleep-fog, tried to figure out why her entire body felt like it was burning. Acceding to the time of year, the apartment should be cool, but for some reason she felt swamped with heat, almost smothered by it. It had wrapped around her body, pushing the air from her lungs and adding lightheadedness to her disorientation -- and was she shivering? That didn’t make any sense. If she didn’t know any better, she’d think she was sick.

Her brow cleared and she blinked again.

Her eyes narrowed as she peered through the darkness, then rounded in sudden panic.

It wasn’t her. It was him.

InuYasha lay curled around her with his usual protective hold, the blankets tangled around them both compounding his weight -- except that tonight he was anything but relaxed. His arms dug into her waist like heated bands of metal, hard and unforgiving as they squeezed her rib cage, making it hard for her to breathe. He was fidgeting restlessly in his sleep, his fingers flexing between her skin and the sheets, and every few moments, faint shudders wracked through the intimate press of their bodies so that she felt them as if they were her own.

All of that alone would have been cause enough for concern. But the heat…

The heat coming off him in waves had her shoving at his shoulders, trying to push him far enough away that she could examine him. His skin burned, scalded to the touch, far hotter than was healthy for any living individual--human, youkai, or hanyou. His face seared into the sensitive skin of her neck, and the sweat filming his body slicked along hers as well, sealing them together.

“InuYasha?” Her voice came out a mere whisper as she reached up so her hands could frame his face, worry immediately swamping through her chest as she tugged at his burning cheeks. “Wake up!”

He didn’t respond. Not even a twitch of his ears or eyelids, not even when she shook him. He would have looked like he was merely asleep if it weren’t for the violent tremors. He was shaking almost as if he was freezing, but damp hair clung to his temples. Short, uneven heaves of his chest betrayed the raggedness of his breathing. He obviously had a fever, and she didn’t need a thermometer to know it was dangerously high.

Gods. He was seriously sick.

Kagome swallowed and started wriggling around, trying to free herself from his grasp. Worry and sudden alarm fueled her desperation as she tried to force his arms to unclamp from her waist.

She wasn’t sure what had brought on this abrupt spike in his body temperature, but she knew that it wasn’t normal. Normal fevers didn’t send the body into shaking fits; normal fevers didn’t leave a person senseless. She also knew that, hanyou or not, if she didn’t bring it down fast, he could die. She choked, and tears prickled behind her eyes as she glanced around the room, her mind working furiously for the best way to lower it quickly.

He shuddered, head tossing, then shifted, and her squirming finally paid off as she slipped from his arms. Loose now, she scampered off the bed before his seeking hands could capture her again. The moment she left, his restlessness increased and he turned over. The sheets twisted around his hips, his movements growing more violent as his fingers skimmed the sheets, as if reaching out, searching for something, an agonized frown twisting his expression.

She bit her lip hard, trying to think. He almost looked like he was seizing. Almost, but not quite; he didn’t look like he was a danger to himself, and that made dealing with the fever top priority.

She turned and dashed, stark naked, out into the living room, streaking for the kitchen.

Phone, phone, phone. Where’s the damn phone?!

She stopped. That’s right. He didn’t have one. Her palm smacked against the nearest countertop in frustration, and she glared across the dark shadows and angles of the apartment. Where was her phone? Probably in her purse. Where was her purse? It was nowhere in sight, and she didn’t even remember coming into the apartment, much less what she’d done with her stupid bag. She didn’t have the time to waste looking for it.

Bring the fever down. Have to bring the fever down, Kagome.

Frantic, swearing under her breath, she grabbed the first container she could find -- a small plastic bowl -- and filled it with water, taking precious seconds to make sure it was neither hot nor cold. Rummaging through drawers, she grabbed as many cloths as she could find and ran back to the bedroom, muttering constantly, alternating between unwitting imprecations and pleading for him to be all right.

She got back to the bed, set the bowl on the night table, and pulled a washcloth from the water. Hopping up onto the mattress beside him, she held the sodden cloth over his chest and wrung it out. The lukewarm water splashed against his superheated skin, and for one unnerving second, she could swear it sizzled.

She caught his wince as his eyes snapped open, and he inhaled on a gasp, jerking upright into a sitting position. A startled ‘eep’ left her throat as his hand -- too hot, almost literally burning -- wrapped around her wrist in a grip so tight that, for a moment, she thought her bones would snap. “Kagome!” His voice was low, distorted, filled with an almost desperate terror, lacking in air. “Get out of the way!”

She could see his eyes -- even in the dark they were glazed over, seeing things that she couldn’t. She swallowed, then leaned forward, ignoring the pain in her wrist, and used her free hand to press the damp coolness of the washcloth against the side of his face. “I’m here, InuYasha.” Heat immediately suffused the cloth beneath her palm and it sent a converse chill shivering down her spine. She drew a deep breath. “You have to calm down. Please.”

He was still trembling beneath her hands, but at her voice, his hold on her wrist loosened. “Kagome?” He blinked, and the glazed-over quality of his eyes faded as they focused on her. “You just….”

At least he was talking to her now.

“I’m here.” She couldn’t fight them anymore. The tears, already thick in her voice, slipped from the edges of her lashes. “Please, InuYasha, you’re very sick. Please lay back down.”

Another blink, and then he was staring at her with confused, horrified eyes, emerged from whatever fever-induced vision that had gripped his mind. “Kagome…” His voice sounded strange. Strained. Relieved. Packed tight with some unidentifiable emotion. His fingers slipped from her wrist only to grasp at her shoulders. Her eyes widened and she reacted on instinct, her fingers encircling his forearms as his gaze drifted over her body, taking in every inch of naked skin.

“You’re….” One hand dragged forward, claws trailing along her skin, over the slope of her shoulder and between the curves of her breasts. His palm flattened into the hollow between them, almost directly over the place where her heart beat a deep, thunderous rhythm against her ribs. “All right?”

He sounded like a little boy, begging for reassurance. She was afraid he was still hallucinating. “Of course I’m all right. InuYasha, you have to let me go! Lay down, okay? I’ll find my phone and call for help. You’re sick. You need treatment.” She swallowed back a sob, unsure of what was going on, but terrified by the unnatural heat radiating from his body. “Please!”

His eyes widened and complete awareness crept through the darkened amber irises, clearing away the last of the fog. “Damn.” He let out a ragged sigh, and his body slumped forward, his forehead coming to rest against hers, the heat of his skin smooth and stark. “Forget it. I’m fine.”

Her brow furrowed against his and she gave a hesitant sniff to stem the flow of tears. He sounded different now. Muted, responsive…regretful? “InuYasha?”

“Don’t go.”

He’d closed his eyes, so she couldn’t tell what he was thinking, but his voice told her that he was back with her -- her InuYasha had finally struggled back from whatever distant and bleak place his mind had taken him. But his muscles still trembled with the shock of the sudden fever, and his skin still felt like it could melt ice. “But your fever! We need to call for help so I can --”

“Kagome.” The way he interrupted her -- quiet, completely calm even though he still couldn’t draw in a deep breath -- silenced her more effectively than any yelling he’d ever done. “I’m fine. It’ll go away.” The hand not resting against her heart reached up and his fingers slid into her hair, capturing her head, exerting gentle pressure to keep her forehead pressed against his. His thumb grazed along her cheek, smearing the damp trail of her tears. “Don’t leave.”

“I…. But….” She hesitated. Every logical bone in her body screamed at her to get him help, and do it fast, because a fever that came on this fast could leave him dead even faster. Besides, he was acting so….

“Please.”

His voice had dropped to a gentle, aching whisper, and smashed through all her rational, responsible intentions.

Gods.

He needed her to stay with him. How could she do anything but stay?

Swallowing around the thick lump sitting at the bottom of her throat, she gave him her consent by wrapping her arms around his waist. “If you get any worse, I’m dragging you out of here by your ears,” she threatened softly.

She felt his nod, and he shifted, sliding his arms around her back and pulling her close into the severe heat of his body. He fell back against the bed and rolled, putting her beneath him, his forearms flat against sheets, his fingers weaving through the loose, inky spread of her hair. For a moment, he stared at her through the shadows, searching her features almost anxiously.

His lips parted, and he breathed out words that she had to strain to hear. “You’re alive.”

Her own lips parted then, to wonder, to question, but his nose was suddenly in her neck, taking in her scent, wandering down her body until he reached the dip between her breasts. The same spot his hand had covered before. Her heart gave a rapid, electric jump as his mouth hovered just above her skin, his breath damp, uneven bursts of warmth. Goose bumps prickled her flesh and she shivered, stunned that he could do that to her even while he was desperately sick.

He groaned, very softly, then pressed his face between her breasts. Instinctively, her arms went around his head, hugging him close. Her fingers stroked at his ears, offering the comfort he seemed to want. She noted with dismay that the skin underneath the fine layer of fur emitted its own searing heat. His arms slipped around her waist, holding her close, but not so tight that he cut off her air. He was gentler now, more in control and aware of his actions. That was reassuring.

They lay together for a few minutes of silence before she noted with shock that his skin didn’t feel as overwhelmingly heated as it had when she woke up. The deep-muscle tremors shaking his body faded; his breathing eased and the rhythm of his heart and lungs smoothed out. She swallowed again. He’d said he’d be fine. He’d sounded so confident, like he knew….

Maybe he did.

Slowly, all his symptoms disappeared, fading away as if they’d never been. His skin was cooling rapidly now -- she could almost feel his temperature dropping. A little while later, she could tell he was asleep again, the weight of his body over hers going completely relaxed and pleasantly heavy. For an instant, she was terrified, afraid she’d made the wrong decision and he’d slipped into a coma -- but his breathing was regular, and his temperature as normal as ever. Most importantly, his ears had started the odd, irregular twitching that always signified deep sleep. He was…fine.

Kagome stared down at him, at his head pillowed on her breast, at the peaceful expression of a dreamless sleep. Her arms tightened around his head, fingers entwining tightly into the silver, sweat-damp strands falling softly around them both. She held him close, the remnants of pure dread still threading through her spirit.

What had that been, anyway?

She’d never seen anything like that before. A fever was generally an indication of something else wrong with the body -- a sign of some foreign infection, perhaps some metabolic malfunction. They usually weren’t anything to be concerned about, except in extremely rare cases where the temperature climbed high enough to harm brain function.

But body temperature wasn’t supposed to fluctuate at those extremes.

She had no idea what to make of it, and she was disturbed that he seemed so used to it.

Had it happened before? Was that why he’d seemed so unconcerned? Oh gods, if it had happened more than once there could be something else wrong. Something neurological, maybe -- but for a youkai? She frowned, teeth chewing anxiously at her bottom lip.

She needed to take a good look at him. Get him to the clinic for a full check up, CAT scan -- maybe even ask Kaede if she knew of anything that could cause what she’d just seen. Tomorrow, first thing, she really would drag him out of here by his ears. She would have preferred to do it right away, but he was sleeping so peacefully now that she didn’t have the heart to wake him. It could wait a little while. After all, she didn’t have to get up for another….

She frowned and strained her neck to glance around the room. No signs of a clock.

She sighed and let her head drop wearily onto the pillow. No matter. She’d just make him come with her in the morning. Until then….

She let her fingers skim around his ear and it flicked at her, almost in irritation. For the first time since she’d woken, her features softened into a smile and she wriggled around just enough to get really comfortable.

Until then, as long as he sleeps like this, I guess it’s okay to just watch.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She opened her eyes to the bright glow of sunlight filtering though the drapes, and she was so disoriented that, for a moment, she could only lay unmoving and stare with a blank gaze, taking in the strength of the light permeating the room.

Opened her eyes?

Oh no. Had she actually fallen asleep?

Her heart slammed into her throat. Sucking in a breath, she jerked upright, her hands fisting in the sheets to keep them from falling to her waist as her eyes sought out InuYasha. She nearly jumped when she confronted the bleary golden eye glaring up at her from just beside her hip. Her abrupt shift had upset them both from a comfortable cuddle, dumping his head onto the mattress and his arm onto her lap, where it lay heavily across her thighs.

She blinked at him, and for a long moment they just stared at each other. Then, hesitantly, she reached down and brushed at the strands of silver falling over his forehead. “You’re awake.” Her fingertips skimmed over sin of normal warmth and she breathed a sigh of relief and felt the tension seep away. “How are you feeling?”

He blinked back at her, and his black brows crept upward. “Feeling?”

Kagome studied him, half-worried, half-impatient. “You had a very high fever last night.” Her throat tightened. “I was afraid you were having a seizure.”

The cautious look vanished abruptly and he blinked. “Fever.” His back muscles rippled, a subtle flex of contained strength, as he pushed up and turned away from her, his fists clenching in the mess of sheets and blankets that tangled across the bed. “I woke you up, didn’t I?”

She eyed the rigid muscles of his back and beat back a wayward yawn. “InuYasha?”

His ears flicked in a faint wince, then he surprised her by flopping back against the mattress with a weary sigh. “Shit. It wasn’t what you think.”

“Not what I think?” She frowned. “What are you talking about? You were sick last night,” she said firmly. “You had a terrible fever.”

His lip curled and she caught the flash of his canines. “It was nothing.”

She stopped. “Nothing?”

“It was nothing. It was stupid. Just forget about it. I’m fine.”

“Forget about it?” Her eyes rounded in disbelief. “You were burning up! You were hallucinating! When I tried to talk to you, you were barely coherent; if you’d been human last night, you might have --” She swallowed, feeling the anxiety come creeping back into her stomach. “You might have been in serious trouble.”

She waited for him to respond, but he just lay there, almost unnaturally still, his gaze trained stubbornly on the far wall. She dug her teeth into her bottom lip and glanced around. “If I’d been able to find my phone, you and I would be at the nearest medical facility right now.” She narrowed her eyes and slanted him a hard glance. “Where is my phone, anyway? I have to call the clinic and let them know that I’m --”

That got his attention. He jerked up onto his elbows to glare at her. “You’re not going to work!”

“Of course I’m going to work. And you’re my first patient, so….” She hesitated, looking around again, wondering how long it would take before she could schedule an MRI. Probably as long as it took to apologize for being late, if she could judge the time by the strength of the sun.

He snorted. “I’m fine. You should stay home and rest.” A pause. “You didn’t get much sleep last night.”

She ignored him. “What time is it, anyway?” She blew out a breath and slid towards the edge of the bed, dragging the sheet with her. Where had her clothes gone? She didn’t remember taking them off. Then again, save for waking to a hanyou in need of medical care, she didn’t remember much of anything after getting into the car last night.

She started talking, an absent, weary musing while she searched for her garments. “I’m supposed to be at work at nine, but if I’m late I can find a way to make it up -- just stay late or work a few extra hours on the weekend, maybe.”

“Hey!” The mattress shook and the sheets rustled. His voice moved, and she could tell he’d sat all the way up. “Are you even listening to me?”

She refused to look at him and scanned the carpet beneath the dais. “I listened to you last night. That was enough. This morning you’re going to listen to me.” she finally spotted the pile near the foot of the bed, her mind already preoccupied with more important things.

Anything could have caused his fever last night. A virus, a missed injury, maybe even a latent infection. It would all have to be checked for.

“Damn it, Kagome!” He griped at her bare back. “I can see that you’re still tired. You haven’t slept right in days. It’s stupid to be worried about getting to work on time when--”

She rounded on him, the sheets twisting uncomfortably around her torso, mussed hair flying into her face. “You idiot!”

Her enraged screech stopped him mid-word, and he gaped.

“I’m not worried about work! I’m worried about you! You scared me last night! I was afraid you were going to --” She stopped, slamming her lips between her teeth to keep herself from finishing the thought out loud.

He stared at her, the amber of his eyes tinged with shock, one ear at a funny angle and silver hair tangled about his bare shoulders.

She stared back, then slowly unclamped her teeth and let out a breath. “That’s why I want you to come with me. So I can do a few tests.”

The scowl returned instantly. “I ’m not going anywhere for some stupid examination. It was just a nightmare.”

“Then it won’t hurt you to let me make sure.”

Stubbornness lined his face. He crossed his arms. “I told you, I’m fine.”

Her knuckled whitened against the sheets. For a moment, she fought back tears born of pure frustration. “How do you know?! You weren’t fine last night!”

Just let me make sure you’re okay. Please.

He was giving her that unfathomable stare. Then he sighed and moved towards her. “Fine.”

She breathed a sigh of relief and let her shoulders slump as he came to a stop in front of her.

“You want to examine me?” His fingers closed over the fist still holding the sheet to her breasts and he tugged. “Examine me now.”

She blinked at him. “Huh?”

InuYasha tugged again and succeeded in loosening the sheet; it fell to her waist with only a minor reddening of her cheeks. He had a determined look in his eyes. “Examine me here. That way you’ll know that I’m okay, and you don’t have to stay and work when you should be resting.”

“But I don’t have my bag, or any of the equipment we use for some of the tests I want to do. It’s pointless to --”

His jaw clenched impatiently, and his hand tensed around her fist. “Those stupid machines aren’t going to tell you anything useful. It’s a waste of time.”

His tone gave her pause. She frowned. “Wait. How do you know that?”

He flinched and dropped her hand. His gaze fell away from hers.

She waited.

After a moment, his lip curled. “Because I’ve had all kinds of tests done before. When I was a kid. They never found anything wrong.”

“What happened last night has happened before?” Oh gods. He had been speaking from experience. What had he called it? A nightmare. She sucked in a breath. “When?”

He blew out an exasperated sound through his nose and rolled his eyes. “When I was real young. It was always the same thing -- a really bad fever, the same dream. My mother couldn’t figure out what was wrong with me, so my parents took me to a hospital. They did all kinds of stuff trying to figure out what was wrong with me, but everything said I was normal. Since there was nothing anyone could do, I just sweated them out until they went away.”

She felt her eyes go wide. “Normal?” She didn’t understand how he could be so nonchalant about it. Especially when she was so worried. “What happened last night was not normal. And if they went away, why are they back now?”

He shrugged, but didn’t quite meet her eyes. “Who cares? It’s not like they hurt me or anything. It comes, it goes, and I’m fine. I --” he hesitated, and the strangest look flashed across his face just before he turned to stare at the drapes on the other side of the room. His voice dropped to a mumble. “I barely remember them at all.”

He doesn’t remember?

She hadn’t asked about the content of his dreams.

Gaze troubled, she brushed at the strands of wild black hair falling across her face and studied the inflexible set of his shoulders. Something felt off here; his standoffishness seemed misplaced, and the uneasiness of it trickled down her spine like a droplet of ice water. She couldn’t tell whether he was uncomfortable, embarrassed, or even afraid, but….

Once again, it almost felt as if he were deliberately keeping something from her.

She opened her mouth to simply ask him about it -- and was sidetracked by a muscles-stretching, jaw-cracking yawn. Not wanting to draw his attention and give him more ammunition to argue about work, she sighed and let it go. She turned and slid towards the edge of the bed, being doubly careful to keep the sheet in place around her otherwise naked body.

He had called it a nightmare. Maybe he just didn’t want to talk about it. Maybe, like with his human night, he was afraid it would make him seem weak. That would seem a good reason for him to keep his nightmare from her. Then again, maybe he’d just had a bad experience with the last doctor he’d gone to.

Secretly, she grinned. The last doctor besides me, that is. She didn’t think his visit with her had turned out all that unpleasant for him.

Either way it didn’t matter. This was important to her. She wasn’t about to back down. He’d truly scared her last night, and she needed to see for herself that he was as healthy as he claimed. It wasn’t an unreasonable request. He could do that much for her.

“So they didn’t find anything when you were little. That was years ago.” Her feet hit the dais, then the carpet as she padded over to the pile of clothes. “It might be different now. We know more; we might find out what causes it if we just look.” She crouched down and started sifting. “It’s just a simple checkup.”

There was a moment of silence, then a flat, unyielding, “Forget it. I’m not taking any more of those stupid tests.”

She had an answer for him, a good one, and she would have used it if she hadn’t suddenly found herself staring at three different scraps of cloth consisting of her bra, shirt, and skirt, respectively. “InuYasha!” She shot to her feet and pointed wadded bits of bra-and-blouse at him with an outraged shriek. “You cut up my clothes again!”

He drew back a little from the small bundle in her fist, looking nonplussed. “So? You were sleeping and I didn’t want to wake you up. It was the easiest way.”

“So?!” She glared at him. “So how am I supposed to go anywhere if you keep cutting up all of my clothes?!”

He looked surprised. Then triumphant. A slow smirk curved his mouth and he crossed his arms. “Guess that means you can’t go anywhere, doesn’t it?”

She stared at him. “You can’t be serious.”

“Hell yes, I’m serious. You haven’t been sleeping right, and it’s obvious you’re still beat.” He scowled. “You don’t take enough care of yourself.”

It was becoming clear that they were having a repeat of yesterday’s early morning spat. Except this time, he seemed more determined to get his way.

She shook her head, just about fed up. “Never mind. Where’s my bag?”

“Still in the car.”

“You left it in the car?” She sighed and glared down at her ruined clothes. No wonder she hadn’t been able to find her phone last night. At any rate, she really didn’t feel like standing around draped in a sheet while they argued about leaving his apartment. “Could you go get it? At least I have my clothes from the other day,” she wrinkled her nose, “even if they are dirty.”

She refused to admit that he might be right about how tired she was: so what if she was a little tired? She’d done with far less sleep during medical school, and a few extra yawns here and there didn’t hurt anyone. More importantly, she needed to make sure that what had interrupted her sleep last night didn’t indication something more dangerous lurking in his system. She was confident that he would understand that -- just as soon as he fetched her clothes so she wasn’t standing around naked.

Note to self: establish a few clothing rules.

“No.”

“What?” Her head whipped around so quickly that her neck cricked. She winced, and the pain only aggravated her further. “What do you mean, “No”? I have to wear something.”

His shoulders lifted in a shrug before he reached out to tug at the sheet that she’d pulled nearly all the way off the bed. “Why? You’re not going anywhere.”

For a moment, she was speechless. “I have other obligations. You can’t make me stay here!”

One of his ears twitched, and in the space of a breath his expression went from arrogant to subdued. “It’s my fault that you’re so tired, Kagome. Stay and catch up on your sleep. They’ll understand if you need the day off.”

Whuh. Her outrage deserted her in one breath. She hadn’t been expecting guilt from him. Did he really feel that responsible for her? Her expression softened. “Well….” The past few weeks had been a little on the crazy side. Maybe he was right.

Then he stretched out across the comforter on his stomach, the movement lazy and self-satisfied. “Besides, I’m not going to the clinic. I don’t need you to tell me I’m healthy.” The tiniest hint of a smirk twisted his lips.

And maybe he was just being an arrogant jerk.

“Oooooh! You…. You!” Her patience snapped, and she threw the scraps of her clothes at him. Irritatingly, he didn’t flinch when they hit him -- he yawned and rested his head on his arms. The smirk didn’t budge.

Her eyes narrowed. This was a power play, plain and simple. He didn’t want to go. She insisted, and he thought he could get away with ignoring her. If she didn’t know any better, she’d think he was even enjoying it.

Her spine stiffened. Nope. No way was she letting this go.

She dropped the sheet so that it draped off the side of the bed. Her fists hit her hips and she glared at him. “Fine,” she clipped out. “I’ll go get my bag myself.”

His head jerked up. “What? You can’t go outside like that!”

She shrugged. “If you won’t go get me the bag that has the only wearable clothing I currently have with me, then I’ll just have to go get them myself.” She spread her hands, displaying her nakedness without as much as a hint of embarrassment. “As is.”

He scowled at her. “You wouldn’t dare!”

“Oh really? What are you going to do to stop me? Chain me up?”

A growl. “That’s stupid! Just stay here!”

Her mouth firmed. “No. You can’t keep me here if I don’t want to be here. I’m going to work, and you’re going to let me examine you like I do all of my other patients.”

He snorted, tone belligerent. “No.” He hesitated. “You don’t have the guts to go parading outside without any clothes on anyway.”

Don’t have the guts?! Infuriated, she sniffed and turned on her heel. “Watch me!”

“Bah. You know you wo -- hey, stop!”

She stalked out into the hallway, ignoring both the glare and the bellow he threw after her. “Kagome!”

High dudgeon carried her all the way into the living room before she realized what she was doing. Her heart slammed a nervous staccato into her chest, and her feet slowed on the carpet.

Oh gods. What was she thinking? Had she seriously just threatened to do something so utterly ridiculous? She couldn’t have found some other way of making a point with him? She couldn’t have threatened to steal his clothes and walk out nearly naked, at the very least? What had gotten into her, anyway?

Oh damn. Maybe he was right about her being tired. She didn’t seem to be thinking straight.

But was she about to admit it?

Not a chance in hell.

Now that she’d said it, she only had two options: back down and go back to the room, in which case further arguing about going to clinic would be moot because he’d think he’d won, or keep going until he stopped her. And he would stop her. Of course he would. Because if he didn’t react to her irrational threat the way she thought he would, she would have to parade herself through the building… naked.

Oh gods. Please let him react.

Her eyes darted around the room and landed on the keys, tossed carelessly onto the island in the kitchen. Oops. She’d forgotten she would need those to get into the vehicle.

Yep. Definitely not thinking straight.

Seriously. What was it about him that brought this out in her?

She sighed and picked them up, making sure they jangled loudly. Then, heart in her throat, lamenting her own fit of stubborn absurdity as she went, she walked over to the door. Put her hand on the knob.

Hesitated. Bit her lip. Prayed there was no one on the other side.

Stupid, stupid, stupid. I can’t believe you’re doing this, Kagome. Don’t open that door. You don’t have to play ridiculous power games with him to get your own clothes. Just go borrow some of his clothes.

She closed her eyes and sighed. But then he might see that as backing down. If I do that, he won’t realize that he can’t just force me to do whatever he wants because he feels like it, will he?

Tightened her fingers.

Besides, he’ll stop me. He wouldn’t dare let her run around exposed. It would go against every protective instinct he had.

Just like you wouldn’t dare walk outside naked?

The door started to swing open, and she stopped.

Oh for heaven’s sake! I can’t do this! This is just --

“Damn it, Kagome!”

His hand came from behind her and slammed the door back the few inches it had opened. She nearly shrieked at the bang.

“What the fuck are you thinking?! You were really gonna --”

A huge, relieved smile blossomed across her face. With the breath she hadn’t realized she was holding bursting from her lungs, she whirled, threw her arms around his neck and thanked him enthusiastically for saving her from her own stupidity. Noticing that he’d already donned a pair of jeans didn’t dampen her enthusiasm in the slightest.

She surprised him, and he tripped backwards over his own feet. They hit the carpet with a loud thud. He got over it immediately, however, and since he couldn’t yell at her with her tongue in his mouth….

She forgot to be angry: she forgot about his fever, that he’d held things back from her and tried to force her into staying with him. He forgot, too: he forgot all about her working too hard and that she’d been about to foolishly parade through a building of strange hanyou without any clothes on. They both forgot to finish their silly little squabble -- and Kagome decided that she had much better ways of convincing InuYasha to do things that he didn’t want to do.

He eventually took her to work. Late again (very late, in fact). And fully dressed in yesterday’s clothes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ < p>The oddest sense of déjà vu hit her when he dropped down near the clinic (no car today; they’d simply been running too late). He mumbled a curse and let her slide off his back onto the sidewalk. Kagome barely noticed her feet on solid ground; her eyes took in the scene before her and she wondered, somewhat absently, what had happened to the days when she would always arrive to work on time and with nothing but a heavy case load to worry about.

News vans took up odd angles on the street and in the small parking lot that they shouldn’t be taking. People with electronic equipment and plastic badges milled everywhere. Women standing in front of portable camera crews spoke with odd, vapid smiles into large microphones. The glass entrance doors were flanked by several black-suited gentlemen with rigid postures and dark glasses. More black suits stood in strategic groupings near the ambulance bay and around the building.

InuYasha shifted his stance, taking it all in. “What the hell is all this?”

“Not another rogue attack, I hope,” she murmured.

He slanted her a skeptical look. “Without me knowing? Miroku would have called.”

“Called?” She slanted a sharp one back. “Wait. Where was your phone last night?”

He shrugged, then tapped at his jacket pocket. His jacket had been tossed on the floor with the rest of his clothes.

Of course.

Kagome shook her head, bemused, and started for the entrance. InuYasha followed, no more than two steps behind her. Two of the men guarding the front stepped in front of them. One held up a hand. “This is a random security check. I need to see your identification.”

Random security check?

Behind her, she heard InuYasha let out a faint growl, and spoke quickly to cut him off. “I’m one of the doctors on duty today,” she said politely. “May I ask why we have such security measures today?”

Not even a glint off the slick surface of the shades. “ID, please.”

ID? Since when do I need my ID to walk into a medical facility open to the public? Annoyed, but not wanting to make an issue with a volatile hanyou at her back, she dug through her bag until she found the plastic badge with her picture and presented it to the man barring her way. He took it from her and held it out to another dark-suited man, who checked it against a clipboard, and nodded before returning it to her.

“Doctor Higurashi.” He tipped his head at InuYasha inquisitively. “And him?”

She rolled her eyes. “He’s a patient.” She arched a look over her shoulder, daring him to object. He glared back at her, but his mouth stayed sealed in its grim line.

Another nod and the man with the clipboard picked up a pen. “Name?”

Golden eyes snapped with impatience. “What the hell makes that any of your business?”

Kagome put a calming hand behind her, resting it lightly on a tense forearm, and sighed. “Takegawa InuYasha. Now could you please tell us what is happening here?”

Neither of the two so much as flinched. The pen scratched the paper for a minute before they handed her back her badge. “Tightened security for the duration of the tour. There have been some threats against Minister Nakamura’s life. Thank you for your cooperation.”

“Threats?” Kagome blinked as they ignored her and moved towards the nearest van. “Minister Nakamura? What tour?” She glanced back at InuYasha.

His eyes had gone to the clinic, and his scowl grown black. “Fuck. Remind me to stop bringing you to work.”

“You know what they’re talking about?”

His lip curled, showing fang. Irritation scrawled across his face, dripped from his voice. “Yeah. That guy’s the politician bastard who’s been giving the Alliance all the trouble. But what the hell is he doing here?”

“Politician….” Her eyebrows arched and her mouth dropped open as her memory clicked into place. “Oh! The man you were arguing with on TV.” She winced and aimed a hesitant gaze at the doors. “Maybe it would be better if you didn’t come in right now.”

He snorted, and his look told her not to count on him leaving any time soon. He snagged the badge still hanging from her fist and the bag from her shoulder and strode for the entrance. With a defiant yank, he opened one of the doors, then turned to look back at her with a raised eyebrow.

Sighing, Kagome hurried after him.

Inside, the waiting area hummed with a surprisingly low flow of activity. One or two more portable television crews milled around collecting sound bites, while a couple of print journalist took notes while interviewing the scattered few who obviously waited for attention to some minor emergency -- no regular patient remained. The occasional flash of blue-white light as someone took a picture punctuated the scene. Minister Nakamura and his expected entourage was nowhere in sight.

“Kagome! InuYasha!”

From her usual chair at the reception desk, Miso stood and waved them over. Sighing once again, Kagome tossed a low murmur over her shoulder. “I don’t suppose you’ll just leave now that you can see that everything is fine?” Something about this situation made her nervous, and his obvious agitation at hearing the politician’s name wasn’t helping.

“Keh.”

“Didn’t think so.”

Kagome lifted of her shoulders in resignation and walked over to join Miso in front of her computer. Miso’s face practically sparkled with excitement. “You’re late! But you couldn’t have picked a better time for it. No one but me even noticed because everyone’s been too distracted by this mess.”

Kagome set her bag on the desk. “What’s going on? I thought they weren’t going to let me into the building.”

Miso’s grin faded and she made a sour face. “Oh, the sunglass guys? They’ve been causing all sorts of problems since they got here -- because of them, we even had to cancel all regular appointments until later this afternoon. Can you believe that?!”

She sniffed. “They’re supposed to be protecting the Minister of Alliance Relations. He arrived out of the blue this morning with all these people and demanded a tour.” Her hands pressed against the desk as she leaned in and her voice dropped to a whisper. “They say the reason he has such a huge crowd of reporters is because no one knows what he’ll say next. He’s been openly attacking the Alliance for weeks now. Strange, isn’t it? Considering he’s the head of the government agency that’s supposed to help mediate situations with the Alliance.” Her grin returned full-force. “Can you believe all these reporters?” She flipped her curls and winked suggestively at InuYasha. “What do you think? Do I look presentable for television?”

The question jolted him, and his brows twisted. “How should I know?”

Kagome glanced at him, then bit at the corner of her mouth to keep it from twitching at his expression. “Why on earth would Minister Nakamura want a tour of this clinic out of all the others?”

Miso dropped the teasing grin and shrugged. “He’s been walking around for about thirty minutes now, and every once in a while he’ll stop and say something about how this place is a wonderful example of the way humans and youkai should work together, and how the Makiguchi group runs it so efficiently, and how the Alliance would be wise to benefit from this example.”

Kagome felt her blood boil. “What? He’s using this place to convince people that humans should have control over the Alliance?” Her dislike of Nakamura went from distant to personal in a heartbeat. “How dare he! We help the injured and sick here -- he has no business bringing us into his political battle. Kaede would never approve of something like this!”

“I don’t think he gives a damn what the old bat thinks.” InuYasha stepped around behind the desk, sniffing at the air. “Where is the dumbass, anyway?”

Miso studied him for a moment, surprised by the anger in his voice. “He’s in Dr. Hiraga’s office now, with all those reporters. I think they’re doing some sort of television interview together.”

“Dr. Hiraga?” Kagome couldn’t keep the dismay from her voice. She’d never have thought that Dr. Hiraga, despite his faults, would be the type of man to indulge in this kind of sensationalism.

InuYasha, much to Miso’s fascination, started pacing back and forth in the small workspace between the wall and the desk, a faint growl rumbling somewhere in his chest. Miso swiveled her desk chair all the way around and used her feet to keep the chair swinging in time with his paces.

Kagome eyed him uneasily. “InuYasha, maybe it would be better if you left for now and came back later. I can schedule an examination for --”

He stopped and shot her a glare. “No tests. And I’m not leaving until that Nakamura guy does.”

She folded her arms and tried reason. “But if he recognizes you, you’ll only end up in another argument on television. You don’t want that, do you?”

Miso’s chair stopped moving. “Wait. He argued with the Minister on television before?” She sounded offended. “When did that happen?”

InuYasha ignored the outburst. “Keh. Like I care what some stupid human politician has to say.” But he seemed to give her words some consideration. When he looked up, his hands had clenched into fists at his sides and his timbre low. “I don’t like this. We should leave.”

Kagome studied him for a moment. He stood so rigidly, his face lined with tension and black brows slashing down around his eyes. To anyone else he would have looked angry; to her he looked anxious. Normally, she might have just dismissed his concern as silly, but after last night….

She blew out a soft breath and nodded. “Okay.” She turned to Miso. “Do you have an open room we can go until the Minister is gone? Somewhere they’ve already gone through.” She didn’t even question that Miso would know where the Minister and his entourage had been. Her position at the front desk allowed her to keep track of the everything that went on within the clinic walls, from equipment and supplies to resignations and illicit liaisons.

Miso looked nearly as surprised as InuYasha at the question. “I think exam room four is open, but you’ll have to pass by Dr. Hiraga’s office to get to it.” She rolled her chair down the desk a bit and peered around the corner of the main hallway. “Everyone’s crowded around his office, so no matter which way you go….”

Kagome waved the detail away as she slipped the strap of her badge over her neck and grabbed her bag. “That’s fine. We’ll be in there until this place clears out. If anyone needs me, tell them I’m with a patient.”

InuYasha balked when she tried to pull him toward the main hallway that the reception desk guarded. “You want me to hide from that moron?”

“Um, guys?” Miso quietly tried to interject.

Kagome barely notice her voice. “I don’t want you to fight with him. This man obviously bothers you enough that you don’t feel comfortable leaving me while he’s here. I can’t leave because I’m supposed to be here, and since you won’t leave, the best option is for you to avoid each other until everyone is gone.”

He considered her pleading gaze for a moment, then seemed to relent. “Fine.” Taking a relieved breath, she started to turn away.

“Kagome?” Miso tried again.

“But I’m not a patient.”

Oh, I am so over arguing about this.

She whipped back around, impatience blazing blue fire from her eyes, and slammed her purse into his chest. “Listen, this goes both ways, InuYasha. If you want me to let you worry about me in the over-the-top way that you do, then you have to let me worry about you, got it? Nakamura bothers you? Fine, I’ll stay out of his way. You were sick last night, and because of that I’m worried, so now you’re going to let me make sure you’re as healthy as you claim to be. Otherwise, you can stay here and sulk and I’ll go do my job with someone else, and I don’t care if I run into this minister guy or not.”

His fingers clutched around the soft material of her bag, and his eyes narrowed. When she mentioned her worry, his mouth tightened and a muscle leapt in his jaw, but she didn’t fail to notice the guilt that flickered in the depths of his amber gaze.

Unfortunately, when she finally ran out of breath, it was Miso who answered.

“Okay, far be it from me to stop this little lover’s spat of yours, but you two are about to take on a much bigger audience than you currently have.”

A murmur of commotion punctuated her words as a small crowd of bodies poured out of the main hallway into the reception area.

InuYasha turned at the same time Kagome did, and they both stared at the television cameras, digital cameras, and quite a large number of people all trailing after the two men in front. Kagome focused on the man she remembered only vaguely from the last time she’d seen him. His silver-shaded hair glinted in the fluorescent lights, and his gray suite sat on his distinguished shoulders impeccably. He and a rather frazzled-looking Dr. Hiraga strolled along at a sedate pace, talking quietly together and fielding the occasional question from the reporters with a non-answer and an ambiguous smile.

Kagome practically felt the waves of dislike emanate from InuYasha when he spotted the politician. She took a surreptitious step backward and planted her body right in front of his. She wanted him to feel her presence the way she could feel his upset, wanted to be both obstacle and comfort. He seemed to get the message, because he didn’t move. She gave tiny sigh of relief. Dr. Hiraga might never forgive her if InuYasha caused an outburst that embarrassed the clinic.

Miso couldn’t seem to decide where she wanted to settle her eyes. They kept bouncing from the wall they stood against, to the slowly moving mass of people moving towards the door, and back again.

Dr. Hiraga glanced around, a strained smile on his face. His eyes skimmed along the room and fell on Kagome. They lit up. Her heart dropped from her chest.

Oh no.

She tried to communicate with a tiny, frantic shake of her head, but Dr. Hiraga was already speaking.

“Minister Nakamura. I have someone I’d like you to meet before you go.” He stopped and gestured for Kagome to walk over. The whole room turned to look at her. “Doctor Higurashi is one of our youngest doctors. She’s only worked with us for about a year, but she’s shown great promise, particularly in the field of hanyou care.”

Minister Nakamura stopped as well; his silvering head turned and his black eyes focused on her. Kagome hesitated. A queasy tension blossomed in the pit of her stomach. Nakamura’s face was pleasant and polite, but his eyes….

Their black depths surveyed her with an odd sort of remoteness that struck her as wrong. For the heartbeat they locked with hers, it almost seemed as if they held no spark of life at all. They released her, drifted down her body with a detached sort of curiosity. The sick feeling eased, but something else, something much more disturbing, took its place. It crawled across her skin and settled there, made her feel damp and dirty, as if she’d been coated by a thin film of cold slime.

She suppressed a shiver and drew back, instinctively rejecting the sensation with everything inside her. She didn’t even care that Dr. Hiraga was starting to glare at her hesitation.

Then she felt a warm hand on the small of her back, the prick of claws through her shirt. Steadying her. Grounding her. She inhaled, and the cold slime dissipated as quickly as it had manifested. Relief surged through her, and she could have kissed him for saving her -- would have, if it weren’t for all the people standing around watching and recording things. Nakamura’s eyes shifted, moved beyond her, refocused and narrowed with displeasure.

A faint tinge of desperation touched Dr. Hiraga’s impatience. “Dr. Higurashi.”

Another growl slipped from InuYasha. Kagome glanced up, nearly winced at the anger radiating from him as he glared at Nakamura, and realized that if she didn’t do something quick, he would. Drawing another deep breath, she summoned a polite smile and stepped away from InuYasha -- ignoring his palpable displeasure.

With a barely breathed “don’t” of warning tossed over her shoulder, she walked over to join Dr. Hiraga and Minister Nakamura, coming to a stop with a shallow bow. “Minister Nakamura.”

If he noted the brittleness of her manners, he gave no indication. “Dr. Higurashi.” This time when his gaze swept over her, she felt nothing but that vague uneasiness at the emptiness in his eyes. “So you’re the doctor that knows so much about hanyou. I must thank you for your fine example of human and youkai cooperation.” His eyes flicked back to InuYasha for a brief moment. “I see that you have an Alliance hunter in your clinic today. Is he a patient?”

She felt her back stiffen, but remained very aware of the cameras. Despite the informal feel of the interview, their every nuance was recorded. Her smile grew even more brittle. “I’m afraid, Minister, that as a doctor I’m not permitted to discuss such matters.”

He managed a genial laugh at her response. “Of course, of course. Dr. Hiraga tells me that you are the under the personal tutelage of the head of the Makiguchi Group, Makiguchi Kaede, and that your focus is on the more traditional and spiritual aspects of healing. Is this true?”

She darted a hesitant look at Dr. Hiraga, who seemed to be at a loss. “Yes. I have found that, especially for youkai and those with youkai blood, more traditional methods are more effective in healing wounds and the rare sicknesses that occur.”

“Indeed.” For a moment, she thought she saw a flash of something life-like in his disconcerting eyes. “And is it true that you actually possess a certain degree of spiritual power to aid in your healing methods?”

Shock parted her lips but closed her throat, and she set another look at Dr. Hiraga, this one accusing. He avoided her gaze. Still unable to formulate a reply, she stared at Nakamura in dismay, thoroughly embarrassed and at a loss for how to answer.

InuYasha suddenly appeared at her side, practically snarling at Nakamura. “And just what the hell makes that any of your business?”

Kagome struggled to hide the conflict of emotion that assaulted her. She didn’t want anyone else to see her relief that he’d intervened, or her abject horror at the knowledge that the situation had just gotten out of hand. Why had this silly issue about her supposed power been coming up so much lately?

Nakamura drew back, his expression faintly disgusted.

But not his eyes. Kagome heard herself query, from some normally silent part of her brain. What is wrong with his eyes?

All around them, reporters who had been content to get their footage with whirring cameras came alive, recognizing the players of the drama unfolding in front of them. Digital cameras clicked and flashed and people jostled for position as they waited to see what would happen next.

“InuYasha. The Alliance’s hanyou hunter.”

The man who stepped to Nakamura’s side startled her, as she hadn’t noticed him until he spoke. He had long dark hair that he’d tied into a ponytail at his neck, and black eyes that seemed eerily similar to the Minister’s. He focused a cool challenge on InuYasha. “This has nothing to do with you. We are touring a medical clinic that is particularly good at serving its community. That is all. You have no reason to attack my father.”

InuYasha barely spared the younger man a scathing glance. “You showed up unannounced and caused all kinds of problems for the people who work here. And he has no reason to attack Kagome.”

“Kagome?” Nakamura’s smile gloated silently at her. “I wasn’t attacking you, Dr. Higurashi. I was simply marveling at the intelligence of retaining a human doctor who also possesses the rare gift of spiritual power. I’m sure having such a human makes controlling your more unruly youkai patients easier. I only humbly seek to learn from the example of other systems to aid in my task to help improve the Alliance. Perhaps Dr. Higurashi has some suggestions?”

Kagome eye’s narrowed. “Minister Nakamura. I’m afraid I cannot comment on the state of the Alliance --”

“And yet you keep company with one of their hunters.”

Impossible to miss the censure in the Minister’s voice. Kagome felt her temper snap a few strings. “But what I can say it that Makiguchi Kaede would not approve of you, your stance, or your shameful attempt to use this place to further your political goals. So unless you require a medical examination, I suggest you get on with your business for the day, as I must do with mine. Excuse me.”

She didn’t even bother to bow before she whirled away, disgusted with the whole exchange and furious that her personal business had just been aired in a national format. To her utter shock, thick fingers grasped at her wrists and yanked her body back around. Nakamura ignored the sudden murmuring in the crowded room as his dark eyes locked with hers.

His grip squeezed near-painfully. His skin felt thick, clammy, rubbery -- like his eyes, almost unreal. And that odd, vaguely ill sensation knotted through her stomach muscles. She nearly winced, and to her surprise had to suppress a tiny groan of discomfort.

“An examination is an excellent idea. Perhaps, Dr. Higurashi, you could demonstrate your skill for me?”

Completely stunned by the liberty he’d taken and the unpleasant friction swirling in her gut, she glared at him, trying to find words harsh enough to impress on the Minister about his chances of her ever taking him on as a patient.

Her arm was wrenched free of his grip, and a strong hand pushed her away from Nakamura. Before she realized what had happened, InuYasha had his claws clenched in the lapels of Nakamura’s immaculate gray suit, and a dangerous note in his voice.

“You bastard! Don’t you ever touch her!”

Kagome had just enough time to draw a breath before the room downgraded from strained order to chaos. Activity and bodies erupted around her, people running and yelling. Cameras flashed and reporters started shouting questions. An army of black suites appeared out of nowhere to block InuYasha from her sight. She tried to yell, tried to tell them to get away from him, but her voice refused her commands. Confused, and suddenly feeling far more than vaguely ill, she stumbled.

Started to fall, only to be stopped by a pair of strong arms and a solid body.

Her stomach roiled violently and she pulled her knees in to keep herself from throwing up. She felt herself lowered to a sitting position on the ground, heard a calm voice inquiring about her health. Looking up, she locked gazes with the unmistakable blackness of Nakamura’s son.

The slimy feeling returned with a vengeance, coating her insides this time, and the sensations in her body went from sickening to sharp, piercing pain. She started to shake. Her vision hazed over. She caught the outline of lips moving, heard the younger Nakamura’s voice with a hollow echo.

“Gentlemen, I suggest we stop this foolish squabbling. The doctor is unwell.”

The pain branched up, though her chest, reaching small shooting points into her heart. She hit the ground doubled over, moaning in agony. Somewhere, she heard Miso, then InuYasha, and maybe even Dr. Hiraga call her name. And for some reason, she thought she heard Kaede’s commanding voice.

And then even her hearing hazed over, and she heard nothing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ < p>A/N: I hereby dedicate this to Akarii, to whom I still owe a drabble *sheepish* and to JR, to whom I promised anything and he asked for a chapter. Hee.

So. Chapter 18 everyone ^^. Hope this is all right. Four months since the last one, it better be, right? >_< Ah, I’m truly sorry it takes me so long. I’ll try to work on them faster, but the muse for this story is a shameless tease. (BTW, does this qualify as a cliffy? I usually try not to write those…. ) Thanks to everyone so much for hanging in there and commenting to and e-mailing me. You guys are totally wonderful for sticking with me. ^__^

Super, Uber, special thanks to Blackberry for kicking this through the beta grind even when she was tired. Now that’s dedication. I adore your help, and your comments. Keeps me so grounded. ^^

Anyway, I’m focusing all my (very little) free time on this story for the moment, because I’ve decided that I really want to finish it. The muses have been kinder than normal recently, so hopefully soon. Yah. Hopefully? Right now, though, I’m beyond beat and I’m going to bed so that I can get up in the morning and write this response paper for my American Lit class. Enjoy, everyone, and as always, comments and questions and communications are welcome.

~Quill ^^