Bliss! by Trouble_In_Shangri_la

Wheels

Setting: Modern

Universe: Alternate

Extra note: Sesshoumaru has both arms.

Wheels

o0o

She lay there, hugging him while he made love to her. He held her legs up and ground his pelvis savagely into hers. Salty perspiration mingled and soft panting formed an off-beat harmony. His movements quickened, frenzied, and then he scrunched his face in the throes of an intense demon orgasm.

Nothing happened for her. It never did, not since two years ago.

"Kagome," Kouga withdrew and settled beside her, his black hair a disheveled tangle falling around his pointed ears. "I just can't do this anymore. It's not like it used to be...you're not enjoying it."

Kagome wrapped her arm around his neck, pulling herself over to lay on her side. His sweat smelled like fresh pine sap on a winter afternoon. "I try - "

He glared. "No. You've been bitter and selfish about the whole thing."

"Me?" She glared back, her eyes like twin storms. "Well...I-I'm sorry if I can't have a damn orgasm anymore! But why should that bother you, you've always taken what you wanted and rolled over anyway."

At that, Kouga got up and pulled his jeans on in one quick jerk. The coiling muscles in his tan back and chest flexed with his swift movements. He stepped into his shoes, glaring over his shoulder at her. "I'm leaving."

"Fine! If you're going to be this much of an asshole about it, don't bother coming back!"

"Feh." He pulled on his wifebeater and stomped towards the door. "Be careful what you wish for."

"Don't slam the - "

Kouga slammed the bedroom door and was gone. The picture of him and her she kept on the flowery wall crashed to the floor. It cracked right down the middle like a bad omen.

Tears stung in Kagome's eyes. The room still smelled heavily of Kouga's sex.

Rolling over, she dropped an arm to grab her pink panties and shoe hook. She used the hook to pull her underwear up to her hips, looking down to make sure they were on. Then she pushed herself up to sit and scooted over to the wheelchair waiting beside her bed. She couldn't feel the cushion. Anything below her breasts simply didn't exist to her anymore. As if her lower half belonged to another pretend body.

She still remembered the fateful day of the car wreck that killed Inuyasha and sent bone fragments from her fifth thoracic vertebra straight through her spinal cord.

It was raining hard and the wipers couldn't keep up. They were fighting about her agreeing to marry Kouga. Inuyasha was driving drunk - Kagome still regretted letting him drive at all that day - as his pick-up truck wove all over the road. The car ahead stopped. Inuyasha was too slow to react and tried to swerve. The truck hydroplaned and flipped right off the road. Her faulty seatbelt broke and she was thrown from the vehicle, landing back-first across a fallen log. They called her the lucky one.

Two weeks later she awoke in the hospital to the news that Inuyasha burned to death. Apparently the truck's fuel tank exploded before rescuers could get to him. He was covered in gasoline and the flames cooked his skin completely off. His last twenty minutes of life were pure agony. People tried to tell her he lost consciousness almost immediately, but she didn't believe them. The coroner could only identify him by looking at his dental records.

Her last words to him were, "You selfish asshole!" And he'd looked at her with such hurt in his eyes.

She never got to tell him that she was sorry and didn't mean it. Her injuries didn't allow for her to go to his funeral. All she could do was burn incense sticks around his picture and pray for his forgiveness.

Sometimes, late at night, she wondered if her prayers ever reached him.

And her relationship with Kouga? He was a rebound romance after Kagome heard Inuyasha mention he was dating Kikyou. It just...got serious. Kouga had no sympathy at all for her losses. All he cared about was his stupid construction job. Kagome figured she cramped his style because she didn't roll over and moan every time he kissed her.

Bitter tears filled her eyes. Some loyal wolf YOU are!

Shaking her head, Kagome rolled up to the closet to put on her gray business suit. In exactly two hours she had an interview for a potential secretary position at a huge business corporation. As she reached for her bra, her memory kicked her in the head. If she was going to wear a short skirt, she wouldn't be able to conceal a leg bag. She groaned to herself and fished in her drawer for a pack of incontinence panties. That way, if she didn't have a place to cath out her bladder, she wouldn't have to worry about peeing all over herself during the interview.

It happened at her last job without her even realizing it. She got fired for "being unsanitary". And Kouga wouldn't even help her file a wrongful termination lawsuit.

Well, I'll show him. This time he'll be the sorry one!

o0o

After fixing her braided hair for the millionth time, Kagome gave her wheels a twirl to propel herself off the bus lift and onto the sidewalk. Right in front of her stood the Toga Enterprises building - a glittering golden skyscraper that shone against Tokyo's blue sky. Its color made it stand out amidst the silver and black structures all around.

She was even more pleased to notice it had automatic doors and not a single step in sight.

Things were already looking up.

Kagome squared her shoulders and glided forward. The glass doors permitted her entrance. She squeezed her push rims to stop by the front desk, where a woman with thick glasses and too much makeup typed rapidly on her computer.

"Excuse me...I'm here for the ten o'clock interview with Mr. Toga. Can you please point me in the right direction?"

"Ahhh, you're Miss Higurashi? Take a left and go straight down the hall. He's waiting for you now." As she said that, the woman pressed a button on her telephone, "Mr. Toga, she's here."

"Thank you." Said an oddly familiar, low voice, "Send her in."

"He'll see you now."

Kagome bowed her head in thanks and pushed herself down the hall. The folder containing her resume and references rested securely in her lap, ready to be grabbed at a moment's notice. Her apprehension rose as she approached the door. She hadn't mentioned her disability and feared this huge executive would kick her out without even glancing at her application.

"Please don't block the hall," said the smooth voice belonging to Mr. Toga.

From the hallway Kagome could see the pale man sitting at his desk. The office appeared very, VERY neat with everything in a proper place. She swore she saw a....

It can't be. She rolled through the doorway, her eyes locked on his.

Sunlight poured through the panoramic window and lit Mr. Toga from the back. His silver hair glowed like platinum wire. Maroon stripes and a violet moon adorned his pretty face. He wore a black Armani suit with a white pinstriped shirt and a goldenrod tie that set off his gilded eyes. He sat with his fingers templed neatly before him, his expression as blank as unmarked paper.

He still looked the same. The years couldn't touch him.

Only when Kagome rolled up to his desk did he sniff and lift both eyebrows. "You..."

She gulped. "S-Sesshoumaru?"

A slow, rigid nod. "It is...nice to see you have recovered since the accident."

Of course he would know about it. Inuyasha was his brother. But holy hell, Kagome hadn't seen Sesshoumaru since the last fight with Naraku! To have him be her potential boss was almost too much to bear. Those eyes of his, as gilded as the skyscraper they resided in, were too much like Inuyasha's.

"Um...thanks." she swallowed, dumbstruck, her mouth sticky and dry. "Ah, you have your arm back..."

"Yes." He glanced at his left hand, "Some time ago I was able to retrieve my severed arm and reattach it."

She kept nodding like a bobble head. Her wits came back and she quickly handed him the file in her lap. "Here, it's my resume and references."

Sesshoumaru accepted the manila folder in his left hand. Placing it on the desk, he flipped it open and scanned each page. Kagome watched him run a long nail over the inked kanji characters. She noticed he cut his hair. Not short, but his previously knee length mane now fell to his shoulderblades. A plain black rubber band held it in a ponytail that lay draped over his shoulder like a waterfall against his coat lapel.

"Kagome...may I call you by your first name?"

She forced herself not to stare into his eyes, focusing instead on his crescent moon. "Of course."

"Good." He closed the folder and leaned forward, resting his elbows on the mahogany desktop. "I think you're perfectly qualified for this position. I see no need for a pointless interview when I know you already."

"Are you sure about this?" As soon as Kagome said that, she hated herself for it. Her face puckered as if she ate a lemon, "Sorry."

"The years haven't been kind to either of us." Sesshoumaru's small lips curled into a smirk. "So I can understand your bitterness. I can also tell you're desperate for this job."

"You better not be giving it to me out of sympathy or I'll - "

"Please," the demon lord scoffed, "I need a replacement for that fool you passed on your way in here. She seems more concerned about her hair appointments than answering the phones. So," his face faded to deadpan again, "Can you start tomorrow at eight o'clock?"

Relief washed over Kagome. She self-consciously smoothed a wrinkle out of her skirt, ashamed of how thin her legs had become. She looked up to find Sesshoumaru staring at her. "Sure. I can even start today if you want to go fire her."

The faintest chuckle shook his shoulders. Then his phone rang, breaking the spell cast by his amber stare. He settled a headset over his ears and adjusted the microphone to level with his mouth. "Excuse me, I have to take this."

"I can wait."

He nodded. And into the microphone, he started speaking English, "This is Mr. Toga - ahh, Donald," a pause, then a smirk, "how goes your show?" an even wider half-smile, "If she is claiming injury after having a few chips of plaster fall in her hair, perhaps you should have her examined for brain damage...although I really don't see anything there to injure."

He spoke English better than she did. She found the way his accent colored his voice quite pleasing.

Kagome chuckled softly and focused on his white credential wall. Framed certificates and plaques told her he'd majored in business, history, literature, mythology, theology and graphic design. And that was just the top row!

"I will check my email now."

Her eyes wandered to the laptop on his desk when he started typing. He somehow perfected the art of typing with the tips of his sharp nails. She watched his tapered fingers fly across the keyboard.

It all felt surreal like a weird dream.

Sesshoumaru going to college and now using a computer. Wouldn't put it past him, he IS very smart. She shook her head and smiled. Somehow, her mind never released the images of Sesshoumaru wandering the countryside in his flowing kimono and fur. It just boggled her mind to see him wearing a very dashing suit and doing business over the phone.

"Have them sell it to Microsoft. If Mr. Gates gets stingy, tell them who they are selling for and he will buy," his eyes gleamed, the cold look that used to mean 'kill'. "Thank you. Goodbye." He hung up the phone and switched back to his traditional Japanese. "My apologies for the interruption. That was Donald Trump and he needed advice for a transaction. So, where were we?"

Kagome blinked at him. Donald Trump from America? I guess Sesshoumaru still is as powerful as ever...

"I think I was just leaving, actually."

"Mm, well," Sesshoumaru dropped her file in his lap and angled his arms in a posture she knew all too well. She could only stare in shock when he pushed around the desk in a sporty, gold-framed chair that probably cost more than a family car. Much like hers, it was streamlined with a low back and lacked armrests.

Her vision blurred, forcing her to look up so she wouldn't ruin her mascara. "You...you're in a..."

He glanced down at his legs and arched a brow, then fixed his eyes on her. "Now you know how I felt when you came rolling in here in your little chair. I heard you were injured, but no one told me how seriously."

"Yes, but...you?" Kagome couldn't even formulate words right. "What? How?"

"A very stupid sneak attack right after the fight with Naraku. I was in my demon form, weary from battle...but I don't wish to discuss it. Let's just say I let my guard down when I shouldn't have." He looked up, his eyes filled with the same bitterness she felt. "Where are you injured, again?"

She stared at her lap. "T-five, complete. You?"

"T-five all the way to T-ten." He looked back at her, wryly amused, "I was extremely relieved when someone finally invented the wheelchair. I still have my first chair. Pure indian reed. It weighs fifty eight pounds with the iron push rims attached."

Kagome caught the humor in it and smiled, "Better than crawling on your belly, right?"

"Indeed." Sesshoumaru gracefully checked his watch. "I must go. I have a meeting that requires my attendance. Don't forget...eight o'clock sharp tomorrow, I'll be expecting you."

"I'll be there." She extended a hand, very business-like. "Thanks for hiring me."

His soft fingers encircled hers, the warm skin like satin. A few calluses dotted where his palms contacted his wheel rims. Kagome couldn't help but notice that even his hands were perfect and pretty.

"Good." Sesshoumaru withdrew and rolled past her, trailing with him scents of thyme, rose petals and success.

Kagome pushed her flustered self down the hall and out towards the bus stop. She simply could NOT wrap her brain around what she just saw.

Looking to the left, she saw Sesshoumaru roll into the sunlight, spin himself around and back up towards a polished black van. He glided onto the lift, locked the wheel breaks and snapped his fingers. Instantly the little elevator hissed, lifting Sesshoumaru up and backwards into the van without him needing to dismount. His gold-framed chair and push rims gleamed just like his skyscraper. The plush cushions perfectly matched his suit. If Kagome compared wheelchairs like cars, Sesshoumaru had beautiful Ferrari, while her gray aluminum frame with its worn cushions bore strong resemblance to a beat-up Ford.

Leave it to Sesshoumaru to be successful as hell even without the use of his legs. She shook her head. The bus arrived a moment later, scattering her thoughts to the wind.

o0o

-One month later-

Kagome's work schedule became a welcome routine in her life. Ever since Kouga started disappearing for days at a time, she needed to get out of the house that smelled, felt and tasted too much like him. Sesshoumaru grew tired of the smells that came off the bus with her, so he ordered a van to come pick her up in the morning at seven-twenty. She made a point to be dressed and waiting when the van pulled up to her apartment.

Every day she arrived at the building twenty minutes early. Just enough time for her to butter a bagel and start up the compact coffee-maker positioned strategically beside her desk. Sesshoumaru always appeared exactly fifteen minutes after her. She looked forward to seeing him roll through the automatic doors. He always, always, always tipped his head back and sniffed for his morning coffee immediately upon entering.

Kagome never failed to have it waiting. He liked his coffee with two sugars and a cream stirred into a gentle froth.

That morning, as he came gliding in, she smiled how the breeze made his bangs caress his moon and ears like teasing fingers. He made a simple gesture that had an aide scurrying to arrange his paperwork for him. There seemed to be an endless stream of people who waited in the shadows to assist him each time he raised a hand.

"Good morning," Kagome waved brightly.

"To you, too." Sesshoumaru lifted his mug and sipped. Foam clung to his upper lip, but a sweep of his pink tongue removed it. "How goes the market?"

Turning to the computer, Kagome blushed and brought up his stocks. Every number shone neon green. "Going up."

"Thank you. I'll be in my office." The demon lord leaned back and placed the coffee mug between his knees. When he pushed himself away, she noticed he never swerved for anybody. They moved out of his way. Those that didn't risked crushed toes or bruised legs.

The phone rang, startling her. She pushed the button and began her spiel, "Good morning. This is Toga Enterprises, you're speaking to Kagome Higurashi. How may I help you?"

"Kagome..."

Kagome almost choked on her bagel. "Kouga? What the - where have you been? Why are you calling me at work? Are you trying to get me fired?"

"Just wanted to say I'm moving out." Kouga's voice muffled, probably from him tucking the phone against his shoulder while he packed. "My stuff will be gone when you get home. I'm leaving my key in the dish by the door."

"I'm done crying over you." Her back stiffened.

"Yeah...but are you done crying over yourself?"

"Grr...go to hell!" With that, she hung up on him.

"Perhaps you should listen to him." Sesshoumaru appeared at the hallway's entrance, headset firmly in place. As usual his face showed no emotion whatsoever.

"What? You don't even know what's going on between that jerk and me."

"I heard everything. Though he could have said it better, he is partially right."

Kagome flushed at the knowledge of Sesshoumaru hearing the whole thing. The part of her that still loved Kouga berated her for putting him down. "I'm not even a woman to him anymore. It's so stupid...can we talk about something else, please?"

"Pity." He frowned. "What shall we discuss?"

"I dunno..." struggling, she blurted out the first stupid question that came to mind, "how do you stroll around without getting covered in girls?"

"Because," Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes. "None are worthy of me. They are all bubble-headed fools who want to marry my bank account. I can think of a thousand ways to spend my money, and none involve lavish weddings or expensive jewelry."

"Welcome to modern life."

"Of course." He mused, turning towards his office. "Carry on. If Kouga calls again, I'll have him cut off."

"Thanks."

Suddenly, he snagged a rim and spun himself around, gliding back without losing any speed. He changed directions so suddenly that his ponytail flipped off its perch on his shoulder and swung freely against his back. "I nearly forgot..."

She cocked her head.

"Are you doing anything tonight, Kagome?"

"No..." Kagome said warily, unnerved by his steady gaze. She became acutely aware of her heart pounding over the way his fingers touched his push rims. When had something that simple become so sexy? "Nothing other than the usual. Why?"

Sesshoumaru tapped his chin with one long finger. His small lips softened into a half-smile. "I have tickets to see a live showing of The Phantom of the Opera in the new convention center, but the business associate who was supposed to go with me had a miscarriage earlier this morning. So now I have a dilemma."

"I'm sorry about her loss. But..." She stared at him. "Sesshoumaru, are you asking me on a date?"

"It would seem so, yes." He templed his fingers and arched a thin eyebrow. "Think you can be ready at around six-thirty tonight?"

It took her a few minutes to remember she could talk. "Y-yeah, sure...what should I wear?"

The demon lord smirked and gestured for an aide. The young man bent while Sesshoumaru whispered in his ear. He nodded to the demon and vanished outside, reappearing with a silver shopping bag.

"I did some shopping before I came here today. This was intended for her, but since she isn't coming..." Sesshoumaru lifted the bag by the handles and placed it on her desk. "This should do for you, she wears your size." A pleased smirk bared the tip of one fang, "I will arrive to pick you up at exactly six-thirty."

If any other man presumed such a thing without asking, Kagome would have slapped him. But not this man. Not Sesshoumaru, the only person on the planet who didn't speak to her with that ugly veil of pity in his voice. He didn't because he heard it enough himself to hate it as much as she did.

And maybe, just maybe, Kouga would get word of it and see how wrong he was to leave her.

"I'll be ready, count on it." Her heart fluttered like a flock of butterflies loose in her chest.

The next time Kagome looked up, Sesshoumaru was rolling into his office.

o0o

Sesshoumaru had the finest taste Kagome had ever seen. She could only stare at the woman in the mirror and marvel at the lovely satin and chiffon covering her body.

The dress was two colors - the halter bodice gleamed black and the flowing skirt the same green as the one from her old school uniform. It had an open back and bared a hint of cleavage, but Kagome didn't mind. She was thankful he bought her something with a long skirt that concealed her leg bag, covered her atrophied legs and let her wear flat shoes. High heels tended to cause spasms anyway.

Truth be told...he saved her from wearing her lacy pink prom dress. That would have been embarrassing.

Kagome spread merlot-red lipstick across her lips, blotted and gave her makeup one last once-over. This time she made sure she wore waterproof mascara. Having read the book in High School and seen reviews of the show online, she figured it was best to wear something that wouldn't run.

I feel like a woman in this...I should get more tops like this that emphasize the good parts.

She smiled at herself and glanced up at the little photo booth pictures of her and Inuyasha. In two they were smiling, the other showed Inuyasha blinking and in the last one they both pulled a funny face.

The clock on the wall read six-twenty eight.

Kagome grabbed her purse and hurried to wait outside.

Exactly two minutes later, six-thirty on the dot, a black stretch limousine pulled up in front of her small building. The back door swung open and Sesshoumaru leaned out to wave her over. She obeyed as if under a spell, letting one of his ever-present aides push her to the door and transfer her onto the plush leather car seat. When she looked back, she saw the same aide fold her chair and place it in the trunk with Sesshoumaru's.

Sesshoumaru wore a beautiful, white mandarin style tuxedo with an amber button cover that matched his eyes. His hair hung in a loose ponytail at the nape of his neck, bound in place with a gold beret. He looked absolutely stunning against the limo's tan interior.

Kagome's hand brushed his pant leg when she adjusted herself on the seat. Pure silk. She'd never seen a silk tux before. "You look amazing. I love this tux on you, where did you get it?"

The door slammed and the limo eased forward. Out of habit, Kagome buckled her seatbelt.

"I have an excellent tailor." Sesshoumaru replied, pressing a button. The shade Kagome thought led into the next row of seats lifted to reveal a small bar and warm food she never laid eyes on before. Whatever it was, it smelled good. Sesshoumaru grasped something round in a pair of tongs and dug at it with a small two-tined fork. A moment later, he said, "Open your mouth."

She did so. He placed a small, squishy peace of meat on her tongue. Her lips closed and she chewed slowly. Salt, garlic and butter rolled around her taste buds. "Mmm...what is this?"

"Escargot," came his cool reply, though he had trouble pronouncing the word properly. He used the same little fork to spear a clam off its half shell and capture it delicately between his small lips. His jaw barely moved as he chewed.

Seeing him eat seemed so odd. She stared at the clams and realized they were raw. When Sesshoumaru offered her one, she, having dissected one in high school, politely declined. In its place, she allowed him to serve her a lovely plate of Fugu sashimi, shrimp and a teaspoon of Beluga Prime caviar with a croissant on the side.

"I thought you didn't eat human food."

"Ah, but humans didn't prepare this food. Jaken did." he said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Kagome captured a strip of Fugu between her chopsticks. "Jaken cooks?" She chewed a piece and marveled at how the faint tinge of poison in the meat made her tongue tingle.

"Surprisingly well. He knows both the correct and incorrect way to prepare Fugu...which is beneficial now and then." Sesshoumaru replied. He stretched his hand out again, this time producing two tall glasses. "Champagne?"

"Yes, please."

He lifted the bottle of Krug Clos du Menil from its icy home, tipped it slightly and popped the cork out. With his usual grace he poured out a bubbling liquid that perfectly matched his golden eyes and offered her a sizzling glass. "May I propose a toast, Kagome?"

"What's the occasion?" She accepted the smooth glass and stared at the rising bubbles. Right there in her hand was two thousand, four hundred American dollars worth of champagne. And he still had two more bottles that hadn't been opened.

A one-shouldered shrug. He raised his glass. "To magnanimity."

Kagome tapped her glass against his, her cheeks burning. "To liberalization." Then she took a sip and sighed as the liquid seared her throat in cool heat. Each time she swallowed the bubbling liquor, her nervousness about sitting right next to the most beautiful man on earth faded a little more.

o0o

"In sleep he sang to me,

in dreams he came.

That voice which calls to me

and speaks my name..."

The deep, pounding notes slammed into Kagome's sternum. Sesshoumaru never told her the the pipes for the organ extended around the room instead of just being situated in front. From their private "parking space" on the balcony they could both see the gleam in the performers' eyes and hear every sung note as if they were sitting right on stage.

Kagome's eyes fixed on the two figures sitting in a boat, watching them move and sing to each other. She thought the woman playing Christine's part had a magnificent voice. And the Phantom! Michael Crawford! She nearly swooned when his clear tenor voice exploded into the auditorium.

"...Sing once again with me,

our strange duet.

My power over you

grows stronger yet.

And though you turn from me

to glance behind,

the Phantom of the Opera is there

inside your mind..."

She noticed Sesshoumaru watching the stage with rapt attention, his delicate fingers tapping in time to the beat. His gilded eyes seemed intensely focused, yet fogged by memory. Then he caught her looking and smirked without turning his head, causing her to blush and fix her attention back to the actors.

Now and then, whenever she picked up the libretto, Sesshoumaru would lean over, place his smooth hand on her bare shoulder and whisper translations of the songs. His breath caressed her ear, awakening sensations she hadn't felt in almost two years.

Kagome thought she died and went to Heaven when he translated a few words of The Music of the Night to her, "Touch me...trust me...savor each sensation..."

She leaned towards him while her eyes remained fixed on the Phantom. Sesshoumaru's whispers continued, sending shivers down her spine. She was almost sorry when the song ended. He pulled away, but his cheeks seemed to have a hint of color that wasn't there before.

Erik, Kagome realized, reminded her terribly of Sesshoumaru and herself. The world shunned him for being different and treated him so badly that he became a recluse. She watched the poor, misguided Phantom's pain as Christine made her choice to go with Raoul.

She glanced over at Sesshoumaru. His eyes seemed moist, glittering in the dim lights.

On-stage, Raoul shouted, "I love her! Does that mean nothing? I love her! Show some compassion!"

And the Phantom snarled back, "The world showed no compassion to me!"

Tears suddenly erupted onto Sesshoumaru's striped cheeks. He never made a sound, there was just the two tears sliding down and a slight flaring of his nostrils. Kagome felt moisture course down her face as well. She reached into his lap and clasped his hand. Sesshoumaru said nothing, but gently interlocked their fingers.

"Are you okay?"

"Fine." His voice never wavered, "I think the air conditioning is blowing in my eyes, though."

She spared his ego by nodding in feigned understanding. "Me, too. Maybe they should adjust the vents."

"Indeed."

The beautifully acted musical came to a close and the actors all came out to take a bow. Kagome grinned, waving to Michael Crawford. Her heart soared when he smiled and waved back.

Sesshoumaru held the bridge of his nose between thumb and forefinger. Sweat created a faint sheen around his hairline. He sat himself up straighter, took a few deep breaths and muttered something to an usher. Then he gestured to Kagome and they wheeled out in silence. Kagome didn't realize he had a problem until they were back in the limo and well on their way to her place. He unhooked his belt and kept dabbing his brow with a handkerchief.

Kagome looked over, concerned when goosebumps broke out all over his face and hands. "Sesshoumaru, are you okay?"

Sesshoumaru's face looked really flushed. "No. I'm going hyper." He covered his hand with his jacket to check his catheter, shook his head and growled to himself. "Would you be so kind as to check my shoes? I don't want to risk placing my head lower than my heart."

"Okay. But if that doesn't help-"

"I'll have to flush my cath. If that doesn't resolve it," he made a dismissive gesture, "I'll tell the driver to take us to the hospital."

"Right." Kagome reached over and pulled his deadweight legs into her lap. She poked each shoe, noticing he wore plastic braces to keep his feet from deforming. Her fingers fit between the shoes and his thin socks.

Frowning, Kagome lifted his pant legs to find the velcro brace straps digging into his shins. "There's your problem. You strapped your braces too tight."

He mirrored her frown and examined his legs. "Ah, I suppose I did." the scowl vanished behind a shrug. "I was a bit rushed."

Relieved that it wasn't too serious, Kagome took Sesshoumaru's shoes, socks and braces off and massaged away the pressure marks. His legs weren't as atrophied as hers, but they trembled with spasms once the braces came off. If she had any feeling in her lap she might have been embarrassed. Since she didn't, she just held the backs of his legs in her hands to stabilize them. His calf muscles jumped like wads of jello against her palm and his heels made her chiffon skirt rustle. "Feel better now?"

His color was improving already. "Muchly, thank you. I do apologize for the spasms. They will stop when my blood pressure settles."

"It's fine, not like you can help it." Kagome said. She stared down at his long, narrow feet. They reminded her of Inuyasha's if she ignored the maroon stripes. "I...I had a good time tonight. Thanks for taking me out...you're probably the first person who..." then she got embarrassed and bit her lip.

"Yes?" Sesshoumaru met her eyes. They gleamed along with his hair every time they passed a street light.

"...who doesn't look at me with that disgusting 'poor handicapped girl' expression." Her cheeks warmed for the millionth time that night. "I've noticed nobody gives you that look when you go by."

Smirking, he poured champagne for two and handed her a glass. "They look at you that way because of how you carry yourself." He sipped his liquor and licked his lips. "Everything about you says, 'look at me, I can't walk. I can't feel my lower body. I can't reach that. I can't see over the people standing in front of me. I can't go up steps. I can't do this, I can't do that. I can't, I can't, I can't.' I know this, Kagome, because I went through it too. There were days where I refused to get out of bed and lay in the stench of my own bodily wastes."

The mental pictures he evoked made her eyes blur. "No..."

He nodded gravely. "And sex? I thought I would spend the rest of my life unfulfilled." A frown creased his brow. "I do not harden like I used to. Many women are offended that their visual tricks do nothing, but never realize that while my mind is aroused, my body doesn't follow." He pushed his legs off her lap and scooted himself over, as if what he had to say was meant only for her. "It would take invasive medical interventions if I ever wanted to father a child. But," his eyes leveled with hers, his champagne breath brushing her cheek, "sex can still be fulfilling for people like us."

"No, it can't." Kagome felt like Sesshoumaru just picked her brain apart, laid it out and reassembled it. Covering her mouth with one hand, she whispered, "Kouga and I...when we...I don't...I can't finish anymore. He left me because of it." Then she laughed bitterly, "Look at me, I'm doing exactly what you described."

"What does he do?"

She lowered her hand, "Pardon?"

He sipped his champagne, licking the bubbles off his upper lip. They were so close together that she heard the soft gurgle of his swallow. "When you make love, what does he do?"

"Well, uh," her whole face burned. She gulped from her glass, finishing it off. "He kisses me a few times, rubs my back and smears KY jelly between my legs to lubricate me. Then he does the deed and rolls over to sleep. He never did like to fool around before making love to me."

Bolder now, she went on, "Actually, I don't think he ever really satisfied me in bed. I...faked...a lot. Sometimes I feel like I'm just a glorified blow up doll to him. I can't seem to get it through his head that I don't feel anything down there anymore. No cramps, no friction, no pressure, nothing."

God, why am I telling him all this?

"Kouga...doesn't strike me as the type who knows how to handle a woman." Sesshoumaru set his empty glass down and offered to take hers. Then he fixed her in his piercing amber stare, reached up and brushed a clawed fingertip along her jaw, "Especially not a woman like yourself."

Kagome's heart flip-flopped against her ribs. "I - "

Suddenly, the limo jerked to a stop at a red light. Kagome pitched forward, only to find herself caught and held fast in Sesshoumaru's strong arms. His rose petal and thyme scent filled her nose. She met his eyes, blushing brow to chin as she watched lights from other cars play in his silver bangs.

" - I don't want to go home to my empty house tonight," she said. "Would you...come to my place with me? Just one night..." She didn't ask him to take her to his home because that felt downright rude.

"Hn." He flashed a sexy little smirk that bared the tip of one fang. And then, without ceremony, he leaned over and kissed her.

Kagome made a surprised noise in her throat. Sesshoumaru's small lips molded hers to his will. Sucking, massaging and teasing. He didn't try to shove his tongue down her throat. It was just his mouth; hot, moist and sensual like the first kiss she always wanted.

He drew back after a moment. She blinked and giggled. He wore more of her lipstick than she did. "Sesshoumaru...you've got, oh my," she grabbed a napkin off the bar and dabbed the red streaks off his mouth. "Sorry."

"I'm not offended," he said softly. Taking the napkin, he cleaned her mouth off the same way.

"Sesshoumaru..." She grasped his coat lapels and kissed him again. His hand snaked up to clasp the back of her head. He parted his lips. She opened hers. Their tongues met and waltzed gently in the middle. There was no war over whose tongue went into the other's mouth.

Sesshoumaru ended the kiss by softly pecking her lips. "Hand me the phone behind you."

Kagome did so, her mouth still tingling.

"Driver. You will drop us both off at Kagome's home." Then he handed it back and she settled it back in its cradle. "Kagome, you must forgive me for breaking the mood, but..." he glanced down at the bulge in his pant leg, "I think I need to empty my bag."

A laugh bubbled up in her throat. "I was just going to ask if you realized it was getting full. Must be the champagne." She felt for the bag concealed under her skirt. "I think I should dump mine too."

Sesshoumaru shot her a somewhat sheepish grin, his lips flashing a set of shocking white teeth. "It is nice to share company with someone who understands this problem." As he spoke he fished his leg bag up out of his pants and emptied it into a large, sealable container he kept tucked under the seat. Then he washed his hands with a sanitary wipe and turned to her, "May I?"

"Hm? Oh..." Kagome wondered if people could die of blushing. She hadn't let anybody handle this intimate part of her care since she got out of the hospital. Everyone she ever mentioned it to tended to get a little grossed out. But not Sesshoumaru. He understood because he was there once, too. She slowly moved her skirt up to expose her legs. "...yes, you can."

The demon lord's hands carefully unbound velcro strap holding the bag in place. He uncoiled the tubing and poured the liquid in the bag into the container he just used. If it smelled strongly to him, he didn't show it. When he finished, he secured the bag against her thigh and respectfully lowered her skirt.

Kagome smiled impishly, pushed his leg bag gently back into his pant leg and threaded the tubing down until it was hidden under his clothes.

He met her eyes and chuckled softly, a sound she liked a lot. "It's been so long since someone else has handled my tubing."

"I know..." her eyes crinkled, "me too."

Next thing Kagome knew, they were pulling up to her home. Sesshoumaru's door opened first. Two aides, one grabbing his arms and the other his legs, lifted him out and set him in his chair. His hair shimmered under the street lights as he rolled around to Kagome's side. Kagome smiled at the young human assistant during her transfer.

Sesshoumaru slipped all three men a 'small' tip for their trouble and told them to take the night off. They gladly obliged. Moments later, the limo sped away.

Kagome headed for the front door and unlocked it. Her western influenced home was cleanly decorated in earth tones with many photos on the front wall. Ever since Kouga left she had room to display her favorite pictures of Inuyasha on anything she could place a frame.

"I see you've erased all evidence of Kouga...all I can pick up is a faint hint of his scent."

She startled at Sesshoumaru's voice and moved out of his way. "Yeah. he took pretty much everything that was his. Good riddance, too."

Sesshoumaru closed the door, wheeled past her and turned as if to go back the way he came. He leaned over and melted her with a sensual kiss. As he kissed her he pulled on her wheel, carrying their chairs in a slow spin that matched their revolving tongues.

"Show me to your bed, Kagome," Sesshoumaru whispered in a husky tone that held many promises. He kept turning her wheel, making them whirl around each other like two binary stars bound by gravity. Her living room blurred against him. "and I will show you what Kouga could not."

Oh...her mind gasped. Her heart did things it hadn't done in forever.

"This way," she backed out of their spin and careened down the short hallway to her bedroom. Her crisp blue sheets and white pillows were still a little rumpled from the night before. The messy state of her bed proved quite embarrassing. "Sorry...I would've made my bed if I knew I was going to ask you to stay here."

"It probably would have ended up in the same condition anyhow." He rolled up to the foot of her bed, vaulted up and used his arms to walk himself across the mattress. His legs trailed lifelessly behind him.

Kagome laughed, "Guess so." She parked her chair in front of the nightstand transferred herself onto the bed beside him. He was already taking off his shoes and braces. Seeing this, she snagged her shoe hook and removed her shoes as well. "I used to have a water bed, but it didn't work so well for transfers."

"Definitely not." With that, Sesshoumaru took the beret from his hair and shook his head. His silver tresses tumbled all around his shoulders. He reached over and placed his hand lightly on her lower back. She knew because the open-backed dress began there and she heard his nails scrape the satin. "Tell me when you can feel my fingers."

"Okay."

At first, all Kagome heard was the soft crinkle of Sesshoumaru's fingernails running over the back of her dress. Then came the hiss of skin on skin. Suddenly, at the base of her shoulderblades, his touch "appeared" from nowhere. She shivered and leaned into it. "There..."

"Here?" He brushed his fingers back and forth. Right on the line between sensation and numbness. The difference was like him touching his own back and then hers.

Reaching out, Kagome began methodically unbuttoning his mandarin-style shirt. Soon his chiseled pectorals and abs peeked out amidst the white fabric. "Now you tell me when you feel my hand." She grinned wickedly and, placing her hand flat on his navel, caressed up towards his face.

Sesshoumaru didn't move. Her fingers traced his creamy skin, sliding slowly upwards. Perfect muscles rippled like liquid metal under his skin. His breath hitched when she reached his nipple line. "I feel you there..."

"That's the same spot my feeling stops."

Their eyes met in tacit understanding.

The next sound Kagome heard was the zipper on her dress going down. She unhooked the strip around her neck and slid herself out of the rustling material, watching it form a black and green heap on the floor. The dress didn't allow for a bra, so her bare breasts swayed gently in the open air. Her fists clenched at the unsexy sight of a catheter bag strapped to her leg. It didn't deter Sesshoumaru. He reached around her to unhook the straps, freeing the bag so he could slide her panties and knee-highs down in one smooth motion. She helped by grabbing each leg and pulling it towards herself. Now the pile on the floor consisted of her dress, stockings and underwear.

"You smell amazing," whispered Sesshoumaru, his moist lips trailing fire across her shoulders. His voice gained a husky tone that excited her from within. "Your scent drives me mad."

Rolling herself over, Kagome thrust her hands under the shoulders of Sesshoumaru's shirt and slid his jacket and shirt off in one motion. His sculpted upper body practically gleamed in her bedside light. He had absolutely no body hair, save for a line of silver fluff starting at his belly button and vanishing under the waistband of his pants. She noticed he lacked the erection most men usually sported at the sight of bare breasts.

"Um," Suddenly, Kagome felt extremely awkward. She fumbled with his zipper and carefully slid his trousers off his hips. He helped her by scooting himself back. All Sesshoumaru wore now was a pair of white boxers. His catheter tube protruded from the pee hole. "Um..."

Her fumbling seemed to amuse him. "You can just roll the bag up and push it through the hole when you slip them down."

She laughed at her lapse in judgment. "Duh! I knew that. Really!"

A moment later, Sesshoumaru's boxers joined their clothes on the floor.

Kagome couldn't help but glance down between Sesshoumaru's legs. His pubic hair splayed out and covered his genitals like a little loincloth.

"It's so fluffy," She giggled and rubbed her fingers through it, wondering if it once tickled to do that.

"That...is an odd description for it. But fitting, I suppose." He watched her, his lips curling into a smirk.

"I might have to call you Fluffy because of it." She smiled too, but it faded when she realized her touch did nothing to wake the sleeping dragon hidden underneath. "I thought touching you would..."

"No. That isn't how it works." Sesshoumaru took her hand away from his groin. He pulled her down against his chest. "The body is an amazing machine, Kagome, especially the nervous system. Damage it a certain way, like ours have been, and the remaining nerves take over. Sex isn't just between the legs anymore."

While he spoke, he trailed his fingers in small circles over her shoulderblades. Then he took her earlobe into his mouth. She closed her eyes as a tingling spread down to her breasts and lips. His burning tongue slithered wetly across the entrance of her ear. Shivers ran down her spine and she felt her nipples becoming erect. He turned her hands over and rubbed his fingers over her palms, trailing them all the way up to her shoulders and back down again.

Kagome thought she would combust. The world didn't have enough air to keep up with her heartbeat. "Ohh..."

Sesshoumaru dipped a finger between her legs. She blinked at him. He brought his fingers up level with her eyes. They were soaked in her musty-scented wetness.

Kagome's eyes widened in shock. She hadn't made that much juice since the crash!

The demon lord did something incredibly sexy. He licked her fluids off his fingers. Slowly, lazily, his golden eyes never leaving hers. Kouga used to look at her like that, but never again after the accident. Seeing it from Sesshoumaru made her feel wanted, needed and sexy again.

"Lie back." he whispered.

Settling down on her back, Kagome watched Sesshoumaru sit up and bend over her. His silver hair beautifully caressed his broad shoulders. He bent to press his lips to her mouth, then her throat and yet again on her collarbone. Each kiss made her tingle.

Then he wrapped his lips around her nipple...and the world as she knew it faded in a wave of bliss. She entangled her fingers in his hair. He moved over to the other breast, suckling it like the first, his movements slow and sensual. Every pass of his molten tongue spread fire through her bones. The exact same sensations she experienced when someone licked between her legs.

"Ohhh, that feels so amazing," Kagome sighed. "Don't stop."

Sesshoumaru reached up and massaged the other breast. Kagome's fingers fisted against his scalp. He swirled his tongue in delicious circles around her hardened teat. The tingling in her breasts heightened until, suddenly, prickling bliss exploded behind her sternum. Reality turned inside out. Her legs went into spasms. The deep pulsations of orgasm swelled through her heaving breasts, spread up into her head and flooded down both arms. She let go of his head and grabbed the bedpost, hanging on for dear life. He replaced his mouth with his free hand and leaned up to kiss her. His lips swallowed her cry.

An eternity passed before Kagome felt her climax beginning to ebb. Her senses slowly returned. She panted softly, recapturing the breath she stolen by his kiss. "Oh, God...oh my God...how..."

"As I said..." A corner of his mouth curled up, his amber eyes gleaming, "the body is creative about making up for its losses."

"So this would work for you, too?"

He nodded once. One lock of hair drifted across his collarbone and settled against his chest.

"Your turn." Kagome shoved him onto his back and assaulted his pointed ears with her tongue. He spread out wonderfully beneath her. She smiled at his feral growl, pecked his lips, nibbled on his adam's apple and blazed a trail of kisses across his collarbones, trying desperately to bring him the same sensations he brought her. His cheeks and chest began to flush. She sucked his index finger into her mouth, teasing it like she would another part of his anatomy. Each digit received a tongue cleaning. He bit his lip, trembled and moaned.

She loved his hands, they seemed almost too delicate to belong on his body. His tapered fingers were long and pale like jellyfish tendrils. She marveled at the soft webbing between his thumb and index finger. Her tongue could lose itself forever in that velvety strip of flesh. Oh, how she wished she could crawl inside his palm and live forever in its consuming warmth.

Sesshoumaru watched her ministrations through half-closed eyes. "Do I detect a hand fetish?"

She smirked, purring, "Maybe."

He chuckled.

Then Kagome remembered how amazing his mouth felt on her breasts. Maybe if I... She bowed her head and took his nipple between her lips. Sesshoumaru hissed at her. A definite sex flush appeared all over his face and chest. She began to suck it like hard candy. He gasped and squeezed her shoulder, his nipple hardening in her mouth.

"Aw," she nipped him, "Did I find a sweet spot, Sesshoumaru?"

Sesshoumaru grasped her hand, turned it around and led it to the new hardness between his legs. He fixed her in his amorous gaze, "Does that answer your question?"

Of course, the second Kagome stopped teasing him, his erection disappeared.

"Sorry..."

"No, it's all right." he guided her hands to his ears, "Just don't stop."

Her lips curved in a soft smile. Turning her head, she once again treated his left nipple like hard candy. She stroked his ears in the same rhythm as her rotating tongue. Her head was at such an angle that she saw a look of utter bliss wash across his pretty features. She got a huge giggle out of making his leg spasm by petting behind his ears.

"Your leg shakes just like a dog." She watched his leg jiggle, "Does it hurt?"

"I am a dog." he replied, panting, "and no, quite the opposite- " the rest of his statement got muffled by her lips.

Kagome moved off Sesshoumaru's mouth and nibbled her way across his pointed ear. He tasted so good, like salt and rain. Her hands continued to pluck at his nipples, making him shudder. He was putty beneath her. She had never seen him look so vulnerable. Here he was, a high demon and the most powerful business man in Japan, and her touch had him helpless in her arms.

"So close," he gasped, twisting his head on the pillow. His eyes were crimson when he next looked up, "Kagome..."

"Shh," she soothed him with a soft kiss. Cupping his face in both hands, she rubbed her fingers all over the backs of his sensitive ears.

Sesshoumaru clenched his teeth. His arms shot up to wrap around her, pulling her possessively against him. She slipped a hand down to stroke his nipple once again, noticing how hard it became since the last time her fingers brushed it. Sesshoumaru's moon began to glow, his markings growing jagged like open wounds. Sweat beaded on his brow. His clenched teeth separated into canine daggers. A low growl rumbled up his chest, vibrating off his elongating facial bones. She saw the change and sped up her caresses. His legs went into spasms. He arched his head back and gave in to his climax.

From Kagome's perspective, Sesshoumaru's orgasm came like a tidal wave that held its crest for an eternity. He hardly made a sound, he just panted hungrily and stared straight into her soul. It was almost precious. And then it was over. He relaxed against her pillow and pulled her into a warm embrace. His chest heaved over his pounding heart.

Kagome sighed against Sesshoumaru's neck. Beneath his skin, she felt his pulse throbbing like a jackhammer. "Feel better?"

"Mmhmm." His long eyelashes fluttered.

She blinked. "You didn't...you know..."

Sesshoumaru raised a thin eyebrow at her. "Ah...it will come out the next time my bladder empties."

"Oh..." her cheeks flushed, "I never read about how it works for men."

"I've had a lot of time to read about how it works for both sexes. It is how I found out we can still be sexual beings. Even someone with complete quadriplegia can experience an orgasm by having their ears and lips stroked."

"That's amazing..." Kagome mentally kicked herself for forgetting he was probably upwards of nine hundred years old, maybe more. Not that it matters, he'll be gorgeous until the day he dies. And I'm not even sure age can touch him- her thoughts dispelled when Sesshoumaru's warm palms settled on her back. She closed her eyes, touched a kiss to his chest and rested her head on the same spot.

A sigh blew past her lips. She focused solely on his rhythmic heartbeat. "Mm, you have the nicest skin I've ever seen. I know women who would kill to have skin like yours."

"Heh," Sesshoumaru's deep voice rumbled through his sternum. "I use rose water instead of harsh soaps when I bathe. But I think genetics has a hand in it as well."

She grinned and slapped his shoulder. He grunted in response.

Sesshoumaru's heartbeat and breathing motions soothed her mind. Kagome managed to mumble a thank you just before sleep crept up and claimed her.

o0o

Brrriiiiiiing-brrriiiiiing!

Kagome awoke to sunlight pouring across the bed. She was vaguely aware of Sesshoumaru still beside her. During the night they both shifted to lie on their sides, facing each other. By the look of it their cath tubes became hopelessly tangled while they slept, but she could tell them apart because Sesshoumaru's was dotted with blobs of milky semen.

The phone rang again. Kagome finally looked up at the stunning beauty shimmering inches from her face. He was already awake and gazing at her, his amber pools scintillating in the bright sun. She felt slightly disappointed at not getting a chance to see him asleep.

"Mm...that yours or mine?"

"I didn't bring mine with me," came Sesshoumaru's cool reply.

Brrriiiiiiing-brrriiiiiing!

Kagome moaned and pressed herself closer to the demon lord, rubbing her fingers down his back. A huge bite scar followed his damaged spine with fang marks at the top and bottom. As if something bearing massive jaws crushed his backbone. Her mind instantly conjured up horrid images of another demon bigger than his dog form snagging him in its teeth, shaking him like a toy and flinging his helpless body into the ground.

Brrriiiiiiing-brrriiiiiing!

The phone startled her back to reality. She blinked away her dark thoughts. "Sesshoumaru, could you grab my cell?"

A pale arm emerged from the sheets. Kagome soon found her phone staring at her. She squinted at the screen and groaned, pressing the 'talk' button. "What do you want, Kouga? Do you always have to call when I'm happy?"

"I'm just calling to see how you're doing," Kouga answered softly. "You weren't home last night when I came by."

"I went out."

"Went out?"

She frowned. "Yeah, out. On a date."

"Dating behind my back?!" Kouga's breath hissed over the airwaves, "I thought you were smarter than that..."

Throughout the whole thing, Sesshoumaru never made a sound. Only when Kagome's teeth clenched did he gesture for the phone. Kagome willingly handed it over.

"So you went on a date? Huh? With who?" she could still hear Kouga chattering away. "Kagome! Who did you go out with?" Then Sesshoumaru's ear muffled the earpiece.

"Someone who knows how to treat a woman," he purred into the mouthpiece. If Kouga said anything in reply, it wasn't loud enough to hear. Sesshoumaru smirked and hung up on him. A chilling gleam flashed through his amber eyes. "Kouga has no idea as to what he lost."

"Or what I've gained." Kagome grinned up at him. For the first time in two years she felt like a real, whole, honest-to-God woman, and it was all because of the one man who refused to show her pity. She pulled herself up to capture his lips in a slow, deep kiss. "Feel like repeating last night?"

Sesshoumaru smirked and pulled the sheets over their heads.

o0o

Familiar automatic doors swished to allow Kagome into the building. As she passed between the van and the doors, she noticed that nobody looked at her through pity-filled eyes. Instead, they just glanced at her chair and continued on with their lives without taking that sneaky second peek she always used to hate.

If only they knew what it took to change my way of thinking.

Kagome smiled to herself when she started the coffee maker. Rolling up to the desk, she flipped on the computer and brought up the Toga Enterprises stock quotes. Green, green and more green.

The doors parted again. Kagome looked up in time to see the breeze blow Sesshoumaru's hair sensually across his forehead. Today, he was wearing a dark blue suit that perfectly matched his crescent moon. He tilted his head back and sniffed for his morning coffee.

"Good morning," said Kagome. "You look amazing...as always."

Sesshoumaru glided over beside her, gently bumping her wheel with his knees. He leaned over and planted a gentle peck on her lips. "You already know how you look," his lips curled in a half-smile. He backed up, placed his coffee mug between his knees and gracefully turned towards his corridor. "I'll be in my office."

Heat flooded her cheeks. She watched him glide away. "Hey, Fluffy..."

The demon lord caught his wheel and spun himself around. The coffee sloshed in its mug, but luckily it didn't splash.

Kagome loved making him do that.

"Yes?"

He looks delicious. Kagome put her elbows on the desk and grinned. Her nickname actually made him blush! "...feel like coming to my place for dinner tonight?"

He arched a brow. "You know I don't eat human food."

"Yeah, I know, but..." she leaned forward, "what if I was dinner?"

Sesshoumaru's lips quirked and a possessive gleam passed through his gilded eyes. "I'll be there at six."

0 End 0

Quick notes:

Cathing is the act of inserting a catheter into the bladder to drain the urine. People with a spinal cord injury don't always have the ability to urinate normally or feel the signals they used to feel when they had a full bladder. Some may have a catheter all the time and others may go off to cath themselves at set times during the day(say, every two or three hours). Everybody is different. While one person might wet all over him/herself if they don't cath, another may have a bladder that overfills and results in them going hyper.

Autonomic Dysreflexia, also known as going "hyper", happens to those who have injuries at or above Thoracic 6. This includes those with a cervical lesion or thoracic lesions 1 to 6. People go hyper when something painful happens to their body below the level of injury, most commonly an overfull bladder, a full rectum, menstrual cramps in women or something harming the skin, such as a pressure sore or clothes that are too tight. This triggers a reflex reaction that causes the person's blood pressure to go up. As the blood pressure goes up the pulse slows and may become irregular. Because of the spinal cord damage the nervous system is unable to fix this situation. The only thing that will solve this and return the person's blood pressure to normal is finding the cause and getting rid of it, such as emptying the bladder, voiding the bowels or relieving the pressure or whatever else is damaging the skin.

The most common symptom is a sudden, pounding headache behind the eyes. Others symptoms include: flushing or sweating above the level of injury, goosebumps, a stuffy nose or heaviness in the sinuses, chills without a fever, blurry vision and nausea.

Everyone's experience is different. Some may just get the headache, others flush and still more wind up vomiting until they remedy the cause of their AD.

This story was written for every single person who lives with an SCI. You're still allowed to be sexy like everybody else!