A LITTLE DISCLAIMER: Most of the characters appearing in this fic are the property of Yoshihiro 
                     Togashi, Studio Pierrot, Fuji TV, and Shonen Jump Weekly. 

Yukina looked over at Hiei's sudden movement and knew from the convulsive swallow and her twins expression what was coming. She hopped off the stool to scurry around the bed to the wastebasket there. She kicked it so it slid under the high bed and stopped right between her twins feet just as he retched. She gave him a sympathetic look as she tracked the soft soled rush of the nurses feet closing on them fast. The nurse whipped through the curtain, her eyes on the still unconscious Kurama. She looked relieved when she saw it wasn't her patient getting ill, then her expression turned sympathetic also as she saw Hiei put his face in his hands and the wastebasket between his feet.

"Done?" the nurse asked gently.

Hiei nodded and she collected the wastebasket and hurried away. Yukina headed back around the bed as Hiei fumbled under the oversized T-shirt he was wearing and tugged the drawstring on his pants. She hid her grin as he let out a relieved sigh as they loosened. She had swapped her focus between Kurama and her brother over the eight hours she had been here standing watch. Hiei had slept straight through the whole time as his aura had shrunk and the babies had grown. He had only twitched and sighed in relief the two times she had loosened his pants for him. Now his aura was back to where it should be for a pregnant Koorime. A Koorime that was about half way through his pregnancy. She went so she stood behind her brother and gave him a soft hug as he slowly became aware of this fact.

"Hn..."

Hiei couldn't believe it. He was fat. He ran his hands over the strange shape of his body, pressing slightly. Well, maybe not fat. The muscle was still firm and hard, just pushed out from the space the babies took up inside him. He blinked as he felt something under his right hand, a series of flutters like the beat of a moth's wings that was gone before he was certain he even felt them. Was that one of the babies?

Yukina watched Hiei's hands explore his well rounded belly through the shirt. He wasn't really big yet, but obviously pregnant when he pushed the shirt flat to follow his distended contour.

"What happened?" her brother asked, obviously confused.

"You had a huge amount of rei at your disposal. The babies took advantage of it."

Hiei leaned his head back against his sisters chest and tipped his head up to look at her, concern in his dark eyes. "Is Kurama all right?"

"Not really. But he will survive. Hiei, what happened?"

Hiei scowled, the frown only accenting the beauty of his feminine features instead of making them fierce and menacing as she was sure he meant the expression to be.

"What do you think happened?" he all but snarled.

"I think you almost killed Kurama. I want to know why," she answered calmly but forcefully.

She had to know what happened. If Hiei had simply turned on Kurama in his sleep, then the two of them would have to be separated or at least well watched until her brother delivered his children.

"Yukina, don't scold him. It wasn't his fault," Kurama's soft voice broke the locked gazes of the twins.

They both focused on him as he raised his right arm shakily and frowned at the bandage wrapped around it with slightly glazed eyes.

"I should know better than to let an unconscious Koorime feed on me," he said more to himself than them as he let his arm sag across his chest, then turned his head and focused on Hiei.

"Are you all right? he asked.

Hiei looked at his sister, uncertain of what to answer. He really didn't know. Yukina smiled at Hiei reassuringly, then transferred the smile toward Kurama as she went to him.

"Yes, they are all doing fine," she told him as she settled on the edge of bed.

"Good. So, how am I?" he asked uncertainly.

He felt terrible, like a tattered spider web barely clinging to it's base in a storm wind and weaker than a newborn kit.

"Not as well as they are. But you will be all right, Kurama."

"Good." He managed to get his arm to move again and reached out towards Hiei.

He needed his lovers touch to anchor him to consciousness, and just for reassurance.

Hiei looked at Kurama's outstretched hand and then at his sister and chewed on his bottom lip. He never showed physical affection for his Fox in the presence of others, even Yukina. It was hard enough for him to do it in private! Kurama seemed to realize what he was asking and started to withdraw his hand and move it so his arm would rest more comfortably on the bed. Yukina was reaching to help him when Hiei intercepted it.

*Damn Fox! You're doing this just to embarrass me, aren't you?* he grumbled mentally as he laced his fingers into Kurama's and resisted the urge to lean down and kiss the back of his Fox's hand as Kurama's eyes closed.

"So, what happened?" Yukina asked again.

Hiei just ignored her, his way of telling her that it was none of her business and he wasn't going to talk about it.

"Hiei, I've got to know. If you..."

"It was this or loose all three of them, Yukina," Kurama interrupted, opening his eyes slightly and ignoring Hiei's glare. "He lost control of the Jagon and was too stubborn to let the kits go."

"Oh," Yukina answered in relief and glanced at the ward around her brothers forehead and tried to ignore the withering stare of the two eyes under it, thankful that it was directed at Kurama and not herself.

"It was a fair trade, Yukina. Get him something to eat, would you? Please? That has to be why he's trying to bore a hole through my head with his glare," Kurama managed a tease and a wavering smile.

Yukina nodded and hopped off the bed, knowing that most of her errand was to give the two some time alone.

"What, Hiei?" Kurama asked wearily as soon as Yukina had disappeared through the curtain.

Hiei took a steadying breath and tried to rein in his temper. Kurama had not asked if the babies were all right. In fact, his lover sounded annoyed that he hadn't let them die.

"You don't want me to have your babies, do you, Kurama?"

Kurama winced inwardly at the accusation in Hiei's voice. *Gods, Hiei. Don't start this now...please...*

Hiei almost growled as Kurama closed his eyes, a cold mask of calm settling over his features. The one that meant that Kurama was going to shut him out. It didn't happen very often and mostly when Hiei went hunting information about his Fox's past.

"Do you, Kurama?"

It was a fierce, hard whisper that struck too close to the truth. His dead kits floated up to hover in front of his closed eyelids. Three who never even got a name to take with them into the Reikai. The other four...Little Yana, Mako and Larai and Kobiashi...why couldn't he remember the happy times with them? Why was all he had left of them images of their deaths?

"I don't want to talk about this right now, Hiei," he managed to get out in a calm voice.

"Then don't 'talk' about it. I want a simple 'yes' or 'no'," Hiei persisted, determined to get his answer as his free hand went to scratch fiercely at the itchy skin on the sides of his belly.

"It isn't a simple question," Kurama swallowed hard, feeling his composure starting to slip as his dead kits refused to be banished back into the darkened corners of his memory.

"Yes, it is. For once, give me a straight answer, Kurama."

Kurama opened his eyes slowly and narrowed them at him slightly. "A straight answer. Fine. I don't know, Hiei. Is that what you wanted to hear?"

Kurama yanked his hand out of Hiei's grasp and pressed his forearm against his eyes, trying to block the memory of the kits out.

Hiei blinked. It wasn't what he wanted to hear but it was better than a flat out 'no'. Why couldn't Kurama just answer one way or the other? He blinked again as Kurama's composed features crumbled into pain and was so startled that he didn't resist the sudden jerk of the youko's hand out of his own. He watched his lover cover his eyes and swallow hard, then knew from the shuddering rise of Kurama's chest that he was crying. He frowned, then had a sudden flash of insight as his sisters voice telling him that Kurama didn't have any children overlaid the images of the nightmare that had spawned this whole rotten day's chain of events. And he knew.

Yukina didn't know how easily his Fox warped words. Kurama had told her that he didn't have any children. Any children now. Not that he had never had any. Stupid Fox! Why didn't you tell me? He leaned forwards and took Kurama's wrist to pull his arm away from his face. Kurama resisted but Hiei just continued to move it gently, not needing much force, until he had his lovers hand back in his own. Kurama turned his head away from him though his trembling fingers closed tight around Hiei's own. Hiei gave a fast glance toward the curtain, listening as he got up and grumbled to himself at how out of whack his balance was, then leaned across the bed and grumbled some more as his belly made him feel like he was teetering back and forth on the firm mattress. He kissed Kurama's cheek gently, then rubbed his own against the dampness of the tears there.

"I," and he stressed that word, "won't let anything happen to these babies, Kurama," and left it at that for the moment.

Kurama turned his face back towards him, his expression surprised and guarded. Hiei gazed evenly back into the bottomless depths of Kurama's eyes as he focused on the footsteps heading up the room. It was the healer. He growled softly as he tracked her almost noiseless tread and realized that she was definitely heading for them.

"I hate this place," he grouched as Kurama frowned at him while he wiggled, trying to get off the bed.

He'd be damned if he'd let a human see him being all mushy over Kurama. He had to kick his feet a little to get his weight to shift back down into his hips so he could slide off.

Kurama was still trying to figure out what to make of Hiei's statement when his lover wiggled off of the bed. Was it a threat? Or something else? Knowing Hiei, it was probably both. Kurama wanted to reassure him, but could not. Not yet. He knew in his heart that if there had been some way he could have saved Hiei and let the kits slip away, he would have done it. They were not 'real' to him yet, and he wasn't sure if he ever wanted them to be so. He didn't know if he was willing to give anybody the chance to hold that much power over him again, if he could ever open his heart that much again, if he could dare to love them. Hiei's fingers gave his own a reassuring squeeze, then were gone as a nurse slipped through the curtain and smiled at him.

Kurama's hand shook slightly as he turned the doorknob to let himself into the apartment. He rubbed at the tension that was almost a headache between his eyes as he shrugged off the shoulder strap of his satchel. It was stuffed full and heavy with a backlog of assignments. Gods, he was tired. He had thought that he was ready to go back. Physically, he was recovered, but his rei was still weak and it had been exhausting to try to take notes and concentrate on blocking out lecture halls full of undisciplined human auras at the same time. He hadn't realized how powerful his unconscious shielding had been until now.

His doctor had agreed to an early release from the hospital if he would take a week off from the University and just rest. He had enjoyed it immensely. Hiei had insisted that he could take care of both of them and he had done so quite well with two helping visits from Yukina. They had mostly just slept, eaten and taken long, slow walks when Yukina had given him the O.K. to be up and about..and avoided the subject of Hiei's advancing pregnancy.

It had shocked him when he'd gotten his first look at Hiei's new shape in the hospital. Hiei had gotten a wicked gleam in his eyes when the nurse had come in to fuss over him that first time. Hiei had turned sideways in his chair as the nurse had wrapped the blood pressure cuff around his arm and yawned loudly, bringing Kurama's attention back to him, then pulled the T-shirt tight against his body just as she had started pumping up the cuff. She had almost sent for the doctor at the reading. He had asked her to do it again, just to make sure, and had closed his eyes and shut that evil little youkai out as he had relaxed and taken some deep breaths.

Yukina had assured him that Hiei was all right and the kits had just taken advantage of the huge amount of nourishment he had so generously, if unintentionally, supplied. She also assured him that the kits had settled back down into what was regular growth for in-utero Koorime, even though he thought Hiei was expanding at an alarming rate. And so did Hiei. She had told them both not to worry when she had come on Friday to check on them and had simply up-ed her estimate on how far along Hiei was. Somewhere between eleven and twelve weeks. He rubbed harder at his forehead as he stepped up out of the entrance way and into the main room.

He still wasn't sure what he was going to tell Shiori tomorrow when he met her for lunch. That worry had gnawed at the edges of all his other woes all day and he pushed it aside once more as he glanced down to pull the folded section of newspaper out of the side pocket of his satchel before he leaned it against the end of the sofa. He and Hiei needed to have another talk about what was acceptable behavior in the Ningenkai. He looked up and registered the untidy piles of food on the floor of the kitchen behind the long piece of furniture for the first time.

*What in the hell?* he frowned, then realized he was looking at the contents of the refrigerator.

He stalked towards the appliance, seeing the faint glow of the light that came from the slightly ajar door and noticed that there was a towel tied to the handle that disappeared around the edge and into the interior. He yanked it open to see Hiei sitting cross-legged on a pillow inside, one of the richly illustrated childrens books he had bought for him open and propped on his very distended stomach. Hiei looked up from his book, blinked once, then reached for the towel and pulled the door closed. Kurama stared at the closed door for a moment, amusement warring with annoyance as he replayed that image in his head. His hands went to his hips as the annoyance won.

"Hiei! Get out of the refrigerator!"

"No." Hiei's muffled voice replied calmly.

"Hiei..." Kurama yanked open the door again, "you can't stay in the refrigerator."

"Why not? I'm hot. Isn't that what this thing is for? Making things cold and keeping them that way?"

"Things, Hiei. Not people," Kurama tried to keep his tone reasonable.

"I'm not a 'people'." Hiei reached for the towel again as he continued, "I'm a very hot, very pregnant Youkai and I'll stay the hell in here if I want to!" With that he pulled the door shut again.

"No, you won't!" Kurama yanked the door open again and glared at Hiei. "All this food is going to go bad, if it hasn't already. Get out."

He realized as they glared at each other that his weariness was making him snappish. He was about to suggest some alternate ideas for getting and keeping Hiei cool in apology when Hiei uncoiled and slid out. Kurama knew that dark look.

"Hiei, don't use your Rei!" he warned and retreated fast, knocking over food and containers as he backed.

He managed to bat the book off of it's trajectory for his head and held up his hands to block the egg that followed it. He turned and ducked his head as the shell broke and spattered him with white and yoke. The rest of the dozen hit on various vital areas of his body in blurred succession as he leapt to dive over the sofa. He thanked the Gods that Hiei was only throwing eggs. He peeked over the top and threw himself sideways as a carton of juice buzzed his cheek and continued on to spatter against the wall.

"Hiei, calm down!"

"I am calm."

Kurama crawled to the other end of the sofa and risked another glance over the top and ducked as Hiei saw him and launched a whole chicken at his head. It made a very ungainly flight to crash into the wall also.

"Hiei..." Kurama put warning into his voice as he looked over the sofa top again, worried that Hiei might realize that there were forks and knives very handy.

"Hiei?" His lover was standing very still, his hands on the side of his stomach and wearing a very perplexed expression.

"Hiei?" He came around the sofa cautiously as Hiei blinked twice, then seemed to focus.

"Kurama, come here!" Hiei whispered.

Kurama did, slowly. When he was in range, Hiei reached out and grabbed his hands and put them against his stomach. Kurama cocked his head, wondering what Hiei was doing, then he felt it. He felt them. Little bumps and pushes. Suddenly, in that one instant, they became real to him. These where his kits moving under his hands. His and Hiei's.

"Is this the first time you've felt them?" he asked back in an awed whisper as whichever one was under his right hand seemed to know it was there and kicked against it several times.

Hiei shook his head. "No, I've felt them move, but never like this. Ooof! Stop it!"

Hiei glared down as the kit under Kurama's left hand moved with enough force to bounce his hand off of his lovers stomach.

"I don't think they like you being upset," Kurama said softly as he pressed his hand back against Hiei's stomach and felt both of the kits shift violently again.

In fact, it felt like Hiei had an insane super ball bouncing off his insides as Hiei addressed his stomach, "Well, they had better get used to it!"

Kurama smiled as the kits responded with another intense series of maneuvers. The smile flew into a frown as Hiei flinched, his brows coming together as he let out a small hiss.

"Hiei, are they hurting you?"

Hiei shrugged one shoulder as he rubbed the top of his belly, then flinched again. Kurama swept him up into his arms and strode quickly for the sofa.

"Should I call Yukina?" he asked as he put Hiei down prone on the cushions, then knelt next to him and began to stroke the curve of Hiei's belly.

Hiei considered it as a tentative purr was coaxed out of him from the gentle, soothing feeling of Kurama's caress, then shook his head 'no' as the babies frantic movements started to slow. He blinked in surprise as Kurama put his cheek against the side of his belly and started to sing very softly. His purr fell into the rhythm of Kurama's lullaby and within seconds, the babies were still. He let out a mental sigh of relief and felt his eyelids get heavy as the song and Kurama's hands soothed him also.

Hiei snapped awake, then relaxed as he recognized the familiar darkened shapes of Kurama's bedroom. It still unnerved him to sleep so deeply that he didn't register when he was moved. It took him a moment to locate and place the fast whir that sounded through the room. It was from the fan positioned so that it would blow on him, the air deliciously chilled as it passed over the several large bowls of ice that were in front of it. It felt wonderful. It almost offset the heat of Kurama's body against his back. The babies shifted restlessly. They were hungry and when they were hungry, so was he.

*Fine. I'm going. Be still,* he grumbled at them mentally as he carefully eased out from under his lovers arm that was draped over his expanded middle.

He grabbed a set of the clothes Yukina had brought for him as he flitted noiselessly out of the bedroom. He saw that Kurama had put the refrigerator back together. He opened it and gave a quirked smile and shake of his head as he saw the prepared meal waiting for him. He had told Kurama again and again that he was well able to fend for himself. But he had to admit that his Fox's cooking was better than anything he could put together.

When he was done he started to dress, knowing he wouldn't be able to rest again until he had satisfied these bizarre cravings he'd developed over the last few days. He frowned at the crimson of the pants and shirt, both styled so that they would fit loosely over his pregnant shape. They were conspicuous, and he felt like he was outlined in light. Though Kurama had gotten that gleam in his eyes when he had reluctantly put on the sapphire blue set, the darkest of the maternity clothes that Yukina had let him borrow, when he had expanded beyond the limit of his own pants and Kurama's shirts. Kurama said he liked the way he looked in colors. He filed that away for the first evening he had his regular shape and body back.

He collected the flat tai-chi shoes that had also come in Yukina's care package and headed back for the bedroom window knowing that Kurama would hear the front door open and wake. His lover was still fragile and needed all the rest he could get. He had slipped out these last three nights without disturbing Kurama and hopefully by the time Kurama was back to his old, nosey and alert self, these cravings would have passed.