“No Sora!” Kagome could only scream in warning as her daughter went barreling to the front door and straight into her father’s legs. She sighed giving up on ever restraining her daughter. Sora was exuberant and possibly too spoiled, more so by Sesshomaru than by her, but she was wonderful nonetheless. For three years she had been with them and Kagome loved every minute of it. Sora could never replace Rin for Sesshomaru but Kagome knew that he was content making new memories with his daughter and storing them with those old memories of a young Rin.
“Daddy,” Sora yelled when she was picked up by her father, “he kicked today!” Kagome giggled at her little girl and placed a hand on her bulging stomach. They’d kept warning Sora that she might have a little sister instead but the girl was adamant that she have a little brother. He nodded, turning to the stairs when she arrived.
“How are you?” Sesshomaru asked Kagome when he saw her. She knew what that meant. Did the baby give you any trouble today? How was Sora? Do you need help with anything?
“Good. Everything was fine. Sora learned how to count to fifty today. She might show it to you later?”
“Really?” He raised an eyebrow at his daughter who was squirming to be let loose. Letting her down, he watched as she ran away in the direction of the playroom. He couldn’t believe how fast she was growing up sometimes. She was now old enough to have her own bedroom farther away from theirs but she was a welcome presence in their lives. He walked towards his wife and lovingly placed a hand on her bulging stomach. He couldn’t wait to be a father to two. As if sensing him the baby kicked and Kagome let out a hiss.
“Is everything okay?” He asked carefully. When Kagome was pregnant with Sora there had been some complications. Kagome had to be careful of food intake and strenuous activity and had even had to be in bed for the last few weeks of the pregnancy. As a result he’d taken extra precautions this time and begged her to work from home.
“It’s all right.” She reassured him placing her hand on top of his. “I think the baby’s just excited to see you. And I’m only eight weeks away- this is normal.” He grunted, still not happy with her answer but taking it nonetheless.
“I have something for you.”
“What is it?” Kagome asked curious. They weren’t celebrating anything important today or anytime soon for that matter so what was it for?
“A braclet.” He explained pulling a rectangular box from his pocket. She opened it carefully letting out a gasp at the silver charm bracelet inside. There were two charms on it but she knew what they meant. The first was a little cloud with the words Sora etched onto it. The next was a tiny bud- she couldn’t tell what flower it was but she realized what it stood for- spring. Their next child was due in the Spring and he’d taken that into account. She carefully studied the charm and turned it over to see the word Haru etched on it.
“Is that the name you’ve chosen?” She asked carefully. He merely nodded and she threw her arms around him in a hug, careful of the box she still held.
“It’s perfect.” He wanted to correct her and tell her that it wasn’t the gift but the intended recipient who was perfect but the words didn’t escape his mouth. Sora, who had come out of the playroom, wedged her way in between the two of them to join the hug. He laughed at that and grinned when she saw the bracelet and proceeded to bug her mother about it. Echoing the sentiments of his father he realized that he did have someone to protect.
* * * * *
A/N: And with that the story draws to a close. Thanks for reading :)
Sora means sky and Haru means spring which is why Sesshomaru chose those two charms.