Hello, Lovelies.

This Author's Note is a bit of a doozy, but hang in there, the fun is just about to start.

This story is really special to me. I started writing it almost a year ago and I've finally, finally worked up the courage to post it. (Don't worry, I'm still working on the others, they will be seen to completion.) This one also a surprise birthday present for my Mama. (Yes, she's totally cool...reads AND writes fanfics too...but I won't disclose her identity, she's pretty paranoid about the internet. LOL) It's an early (or late depending on how you look at it) present and while I've let her read most of it up to the second chapter, everything else is a surprise.

I've modeled Sasuke and Hinata's relationship after her relationship with my own Dad, at least through my rose-colored glasses. I've tried to maintain their personalities as close to being in character as possible, but I feel like, with any fanfiction, liberties are always taken. The mother Hinata is in the story, is how I see mine. She's always gone out of her way to make me happy, keep me healthy and her unfailing love and support have seen me through some really, really ugly, Uchiha feelings kinda stuff. So I write this for her and please keep that in mind while reading and just enjoy the story for what it is. It's probably going to deviate from canon, personalities, etc. etc. I hope you all enjoy it and much as I enjoy writing it and finally... HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MAMA :)

My usual disclosure applies, I own nothing and no one, save the original characters, plot and some details about clan life or whatever. I don't profit off of anything and that's okay because writing makes me happy and I'm really excited to give this gift.


Prologue

In the small garden at the back of the cottage that had been built by their own hands, and rebuilt again to accommodate their growing family, worked a mother and her youngest daughter. The pair were comfortable in their silence, content to admire the beauty in the simplicity of it all. The woman remembered the mirrored scene from her childhood, where she would work in the expansive gardens of her familial estate. She smiled contently, knowing that she was far happier and at peace in their place in the world than she'd ever been in the manor where she grew into womanhood.

The two were similar in their looks, the most like her mother than any of her other siblings. The same blue-black hair, the same delicate ivory features, and the same soft-spoken, pacifistic way about them that often led Hinata to believe that she'd been reincarnated before her very eyes. Looking softly at her daughter, she watched the girl carefully tend to and collect the herbs on her list, meticulously caring for each one so as not to ruin their medicinal properties.

"Mama?" the girl asked expectantly, "I think I have to go to the other garden to get the valerian root."

She smiled.

"Alright darling, go ahead."

The little girl beamed brightly at her mother before collecting her basket and running to the edge of their property for the specialty herb. Hinata remembered fondly why her husband had insisted she plant the more dangerous seeds there.

It had been shortly after her eldest sons began walking…

.:.:.:.

Seventeen Years Earlier

Hinata, heavily pregnant with their third child, worked elbow deep in a sink full of water, washing the remainder of the dishes from their dinner.

From his place in the family room, Sasuke Uchiha read what was left of their correspondence from the Leaf. It'd been two years since they'd left and every so often, they'd be graced with letters and missives from home, requesting their presence or assistance, to which they'd always respectfully decline. They'd left under good terms, free citizens without shinobi contracts or familial obligations to tie them down.

"I wish you'd rest now," her husband sighed, knowing full well from her last pregnancy that when she began nesting, there was no stopping her.

She smiled, giggling softly, "Of course you do, but I'll only be able to finish these if you're minding the boys."

Hinata looked lovingly over her shoulder at her husband and where her thirteen-month-old twin sons should have been.

"Sasuke! The boys!"

The young father turned to their play area to find his toddler sons missing and his eyes activated instantly. Hinata, following suit instantly, searched the grounds of their home, desperately trying to locate their children.

Both parents ran out the front door of the small cottage to the expansive acreage that they'd so diligently searched for to build their forever home.

"Itachi! Neji" Sasuke shouted, taking his search in wide strides to cover the distance between their home and the surrounded forest. They'd chosen this location for is privacy; knowing full well that the nearest village, a small one near the coast, was a three-hour journey away by foot. Their closest neighbor, an older couple who'd served as both midwife and physician to those in this country, was half an hour's travel. Both he and his wife had preferred it to be so, considering they'd always been under such scrutiny in the Leaf. They wanted their children to be free to grow and learn without the prying suspicion of others.

Hinata knew that her girth would prevent her from moving as quickly as her husband, so she chose to rely solely upon her doujutsu to help her aching, fearful heart. Her gaze scanned the vast forest in front of them and she slowly turned her way around to the back of their home.

Her heart caught back up to her breathing when she saw the tiny chakra flickers behind their home.

"Sasuke! They're behind the house!"

They both ran, or in Hinata's case walked as fast as the child in her belly would permit, to the back of the house where she kept her garden.

There they were, surrounded by a small, freshly painted white picket fence, plants, flowers, herbs, fruits and vegetables of almost every kind that had been threatening to burst the seams of the small allotment. She'd been proud of the piece of earth; spending the majority of her last pregnancy cultivating it and helping it thrive. Now, she cursed herself for creating such a wonderful hiding spot for two small boys.

They stopped short of the slightly open gate to calm themselves. While they'd been near frantic with worry, the parents didn't want to frighten the boys. The wind in the trees and the sun setting into twilight reminded them how fortunate they were to have this sanctuary, that seemed to inherently calm their nerves instantly.

"Sasuke," she whispered, a small smile blooming on her lips, "listen."

He turned his attention to the garden. The precious sounds of two boys giggling and playing brought him an overwhelming peace and happiness that he'd been hard-pressed to find anywhere but here.

"Mama! Mama!" squealed a tiny Itachi, running on pudgy legs, flailing tiny hands to be scooped up by his mother.

"'Ook 'ook!" echoed Neji running to his father, waiving a daunting herb in the air, almost ready to gnaw on the thing to soothe his aching, teething mouth.

"OH!" Hinata gasped, situating Itachi on her hip and snatching the herb from her son.

The tiny boy, startled by the harsh reaction from his mother, began to wail, grasping hold of her leg for comfort.

"No baby, no. This is not for your mouth," she soothed, leaning down as carefully as her weight would allow, to rub small circles on the boys' back.

Sasuke picked up the boy, releasing his wife from her awkward stance and used his smallest finger to examine the toddler's mouth.

"It doesn't look like he's chewed on it," he said, turning to his wife, "what is it?"

"Valerian root," she replied, "the tiniest of bits wouldn't do much but soothe him to sleep but he's pulled up the whole thing, and that would be fatal. Can you check their chakra?"

Sasuke activated his Sharingan to examine his sons. Their chakra flowed brightly and without restriction. Their organs were functioning as they should, and he couldn't see any signs of the toddlers being ready for bed at any point in the near future.

"Hn," he said, "they're fine. But Hina, I think it's time for me to till further back for you to plant the more…challenging herbs."

She giggled at his exasperation. She had been worried, but she knew that in time, the children would learn not to eat certain things in her garden. They'd never been unsupervised before and she didn't plan on making it a habit. It was his love for her, and their children, that made her heart flutter, falling her ever more desperately in love with him.

"Yes, Anata, I think you're right— oof!"

Her abdomen tightened and turned hard. Itachi clapped and giggled.

"Baby! Baby!"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at his wife only to have them shoot back open.

"Hina? Is that…"

"Mhm," she strained, "you'd better go get Keiko-san, it looks like someone is anxious to join the family."

Her watery smile, weary gaze and the way she held their son just a little bit tighter was part of her beauty. He knew that he'd made the right choice two years ago when he'd let her into his heart and months before that when she'd lit up his soul enough to see what could be and, as he looked around, what actually was.

He nodded.

"Let's get these two to bed and you settled in, ne?"

She smiled and nodded in return, following him into their home.

.:.:.:.

Hinata smiled as the memories flooded her mind and senses. That was the night their oldest daughter, Mikoto, was born. The wind blew the few stray hairs that fallen out of her already messy bun. The vibrant blue-black was beginning to show flecks of gray. Her brow showed her concern for her children throughout the years and her hands reflected the many seasons of working her garden. Age never bothered her, as her life had been fulfilled and was still continuing to be so. She loved her children, adoringly so, more than herself. Her love for her husband had grown, changed and matured. It had evolved from the lust that had sparked the life of her eldest sons, into the love that created their daughter, and the romance that had lasted through the years.

"Kaachan," a deep voice interrupted her reverie, making her smile widen and brighten.

"Itachi, back already?"

He offered her his hand to stand up. She took it and once at her full height, brushed off her pants from the errant dirt that had gathered on her knees.

Itachi towered over her, almost taller than her husband. His eyes, like most of his siblings, were the coal black of the Uchiha. His hair had grown out to past his shoulders and he'd used leather ties to keep it off his neck and face. It was lighter than her own and tinged with brown making him more resemble her cousin than Sasuke would care to admit. He was lean and tall, built for the life of a shinobi.

"Hn," he smirked, "Touchan called training off early today. Apparently, there are people in the woods. Neji and I tried to tell him there are always people in the woods, but you know the old man, paranoid as ever."

She laughed, "He's just…very protective of you all."

"He does realize we're all old enough to kick ass on our own, right? I mean, Neji and me turned seventeen this year. Mikoto sixteen. Okay, so maybe Haru and Ryusuke might need a little help. Himeko is still the only one left. Otherwise, we got this!"

She shook her head.

"The Uchiha pride lives on."

Itachi laughed his bright laugh, which distracted Hinata from her other son's hurried approach.

"Where's Himeko?"

His Sharingan was active.

"Neji, what's wrong?" she asked, worry furrowing her brow.

"Where's Himeko, Kaachan?" he responded, more urgent.

"In the back garden gathering valerian, why? What's going on?"

He didn't wait to answer her, storming off toward the back garden, Mikoto, Haru and Ryusuke in tow. She turned back to Itachi, eyes questioning.

His expression had turned serious.

"I'll go see what's up. I think you should go find Touchan."

He left her then, to catch up with his siblings in their search for the youngest, and seemingly most vulnerable of their siblings.

Without another word, she headed toward the training grounds in search for her husband, ignoring the worry in her soul.

.:.:.:.

"Let's see," Himeko Uchiha whispered absentmindedly to herself, "where's the valerian root…"

Her deft hands worked through the various plants and herbs, careful of where she touched and how she maneuvered the somewhat toxic greenery. Finding what she was after, she took the shears in her basket and clipped exactly the amount her list called for.

"There," she placed the root into her basket, "I think that's all I need for now."

She sat back on her heels, looking around her at the quiet nature she'd grown to love. Himeko loved the peace of her home. Her family was large and…rather loud. So, when she had the opportunity to spend time with her mother in the quiet expanse of their gardens, she always took it.

She breathed in the crisp mountain air. It'd be fall and soon after that, they'd be in for the remainder of the winter.

A light rustling in front of her barely caught her attention. She didn't want to activate her Byakugan, not yet. She didn't want to draw unnecessary attention to herself, but she could sense that there was a person, maybe two watching her just beyond the boundary of the garden.

Humming lightly, she stood, wiping the dust and debris off her legs. She leaned over to retrieve her basket.

"Byakugan" she whispered, returning to full height, donning the defensive stance she'd learned from her mother.

"C-come out," she called into the woods.

Nothing happened.

"I-I know you're there," she continued, "so please c-come out."

The girl said nothing else as two figures, dressed in black stepped out into the clearing. The silver of their headbands glinted in the sunlight. The man was tall. Taller than maybe even her brother, with dark hair and a scarf encircling his neck. The woman was not as tall but definitely more so than her mother. Her mouth was pressed into a hard line. Her eyes were pale and reflective. Exactly like her own.

She gasped, "W-who are you? Why a-are you here!"

The pair in front of her sized her up intently. The expression on the woman's face changed from cold and calculating to…warm, almost endearing.

"We finally found you guys," the woman whispered.

"Hanabi, we can't be sure that this is the right place. It's best not to alarm the kid…"

"Really, Konohamaru! Honestly, look at her! She's basically Hinata. There's no denying who her mother is."

"Then you should be wary of who her father is," he replied.

"Tch, whatever, he's never scared me before so why should he now?"

Himeko was terrified, but she didn't dare show it. She could see her brothers and sister coming up behind her. She began stepping backward toward them, to make room for her brothers.

"Hey! Get away from our sister!" Haru shouted, as careless as ever. He was the most outgoing of them all, never afraid to say exactly what he thinks…the instant he thinks it.

The two Leaf shinobi turned to the group, eyes widening at the sheer number of children before them.

"There are six of you!" Hanabi shouted, "Did that damned Uchiha ever get off my sister!"

Itachi and Neji got in front of their youngest sister. Their eyes glowing with twin Sharingan. Mikoto scoffed, pulling her sister to her, wrapping arms around the younger girl's shoulders. Haru's Sharingan spun to life. Ryusuke's eyes narrowed, his fingertips crackling with lightning. Himeko's eyes widened in recognition.

Neji sighed, "Mikoto take Himeko home. Ryusuke, alert Touchan and Kaachan of the perimeter breach."

"Wait, wait, wait," Konohamaru said, pleading, "we really don't mean any harm. We've just come because—"

"Because the Leaf village has gone to shit and the new Hokage ordered the entirety of the ANBU to find your parents. We got him to chill with that until we can find you first. Believe me, you'll want us to bring you home, not them.

"We are home," Itachi said menacingly, "there's no reason for you to be here."

"Mikoto. Ryusuke. Go." Neji ordered.

The two siblings nodded. Ryusuke sped out of sight while Mikoto took Himeko's hand, dragging her back toward their home.

"Wait, Neechan," Himeko whispered, "that's…that's—"

"I know who that is," she hissed, "but we have to get you home."

"But what about Niichan? What about everyone else?"

"They can handle themselves. You have to be safe."

"Why?"

Mikoto plowed through the field as fast as she could towing her sister by the hand. She didn't say anything for a long while.

"Neechan?" Himeko questioned, her soft voice cracking her sister's hard shell.

"Because if they see you, really see you, they'll know."

"Know what?" she asked hesitantly.

Mikoto stopped abruptly turning to her sister.

"They'll know that you're the only one who has a pure Byakugan…"

"But you guys can do that too. Why c-can't I help? I-I can f-fight if I need to. I don't have the Sharingan but—"

She raised a hand to silence the younger girl.

"…and pure Sharingan. You're the only one of us who can simultaneously activate both. The rest of us have to switch between the two and even then, our Sharingan is dominant. They'll know that you're the only one who is the true heir to both clans back in Konohagakure and the Hyuga, Kaachan's family, will kill you."

The little girl's eyes widened, and she could feel herself getting dizzy.

"…that's not…I don't understand…why would they k-kill me?"

Before another word left her mouth, she saw the brilliant crimson of her sister's Sharingan.

"Sleep," she commanded, and Himeko fell to the influence of Mikoto's genjutsu.


Be kind to yourselves...there's only one you and that's pretty awesome.