Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Chapter 1: The meetings.
It was supposed to be a quiet night. Sakura was counting on it, because all she wanted was to take a significant amount of the bitter coffee that was served in the hospital cafeteria while she relaxed on the comfortable sofa in her office, waiting for the end of the shift that would end in half an hour. Her plans were completely thwarted when a couple of nurses rushed toward her, pushing a stretcher that had arrived in the ambulance.
A car accident. Sakura sighed mourning the loss of tranquility and activated the medical mode instinctively, shifting all the attention to the unconscious woman on the stretcher before her. She shouted orders to the nurses as she hurried to the nearest operating room, willing to devote everything to save the life of that woman, who, despite being covered in blood, seemed to be too young to die that night in her shift.
Sakura did not care about the coffee, the rest or if the time to go home was close, she knew she would not leave the hospital so soon after entering the operating room. "Moegi-chan." Sakura called above the noise that had taken over the corridor after all the commotion. When the young orange-haired receptionist looked at her with a tired smile, Sakura sighed for the thousandth time that day. "I'm not going back home on time, please let Naruto know." Sakura did not wait to see her nod and disappeared into the OR.
Moegi had known Sakura a long time ago to know that she would not leave the patient alone until she was sure she was stable. And if the amount of blood on the woman was any indication of the near-death state in which Moegi imagined the woman was, Sakura would take time inside that room. She took the cell phone and sent a message to her boyfriend, asking him to tell Naruto about Sakura's absence that night.
When the cell phone screen flashed with an answer, an emogi ridicule she did not even bother to pay attention to, she sighed knowing it would be a long night. She realized that Sakura's sighing habit was completely contagious.
Kakashi put his little son in the backseat of the car and tried to drive as carefully as possible. He was still in a stunned state after receiving the call that his son's mother had been in a car accident and was undergoing surgery at the main hospital in Konoha. Looking at the sleeping son, through the car mirror he thought about how the boy would feel if something terrible happened to his mother, even if they were not very close.
Kakashi did not love her, he did not think he loved her at some point in their troubled relationship, but that did not mean that he wanted something bad to happen to her. He did not feel guilty for wanting her to suffer a little years ago when she hurt him more deeply than he would ever admit to anyone, but he never wished she would die. He knew that Sakumo loved his mother as much as he loved him, and he did not want to see his son in pain. This night would be long and he asked heaven to spare his son the pain of loss he knew very well.
He arrived at the hospital later than expected because of the chaotic traffic that night, he stopped the car in the parking lot and took the sleeping son in his arms as he walked slowly to the hospital reception. "Good evening! Nohara Rin entered the hospital about an hour ago."
Before he could continue the young receptionist gave a weak smile and Kakashi listened as the young girl explained how Rin had been taken to the hospital after her car collided head-on with another vehicle and how she was in critical condition but being treated by the best medic in the operating room. He realized that the girl was trying to reassure him and he was glad that her attempt worked perfectly.
Sakura was completely exhausted, but satisfied. The young woman was out of danger but unfortunately still unconscious. The self-induced coma could have been due to the trauma, Sakura did not know for sure, but she was at least relieved that the woman was breathing without difficulty and despite having scars that would probably be permanent, she was alive. That meant Sakura had done her job well. "Moegi." Sakura approached the front reception. "Naruto said something?"
"I asked Konohamaru to warn him, Sakura-chan. It was easier to talk to him than to Naruto who never looks at the phone." She said as she rubbed the eyes with obvious tiredness.
"You're right, thank you." Sakura replied. "I'm going home soon, will you want a ride?"
Moegi nodded frantically. "I'll leave the reception in an hour." She said with a happy smile and Sakura knew it was happiness to go home to sleep after a tiring day in the hectic hospital. Before Sakura could make a joke about her change of mood, she saw Moegi point toward a man sitting on a bench with a child in his arms. "He's waiting for news of the patient you saved." She said in a whisper.
Sakura stared at the white-haired man who was leaning back in the chair, juggling impressively to keep the little boy with white hair on his lap, comfortable. Sakura smiled unconsciously at the man, imagining that he was a good father. "I take care of him." Sakura said to Moegi as she walked towards the man who had the eyes closed, admiring his features as she approached.
"Excuse me." It was with the sound of a sweet voice that Kakashi was brought from the Sleep Land. He opened the eyes to be greeted by a beautiful pair of green eyes that looked tired as he looked better. "Are you Nohara-san's husband?"
Kakashi sat upright on the hard, uncomfortable bench, trying not to wake the sleeping son. "I'm an acquaintance of her, actually." He said in a serious voice as he cracked his back.
"Oh." Sakura looked at the boy drooling with the mouth open on the man's lap and felt like doing something about their obvious discomfort. "Can you come with me, please?" She asked sweetly and walked down the corridor waiting for him to follow.
Kakashi followed the woman who seemed to be too young to be a medic, but he decided not to judge, he stopped behind her at a door that had a sign with Haruno Sakura written on it, watching as she entered the small dark office, he waited for her switched on the light but was surprised when she turned on only the lamp that was on the table. He was even more surprised when she smiled at him and pointed to the sofa that seemed comfortable enough to sleep and he bet she used to do just that in that place. "You can lay him there." He heard her say as she pointed to the boy in his arms.
Kakashi was grateful for her concern for his son. He was really touched by her kindness and wondered if she happened to be a mother, that would justify her care. When Kakashi lay Sakumo on the comfortable sofa and covered him with a blanket the woman offered, he sat in the chair in front of the table, happy to be more comfortable than that bench in the hall.
Sakura pulled the cap off her hair and massaged her scalp lightly, closing the eyes with the sense of relief. She did not notice the startled look on the man's face in front of her as she saw the unusual hair color she had. When she opened the eyes and stared at him he had the same monotonous look on his face and she picked a paper he did not even notice she was holding all the time. "Well, you were Nohara Rin's contact in health insurance. Please tell me your name and the degree of kinship with the patient." She asked politely.
"Hatake Kakashi." He replied, realizing that he had not even introduced himself. "She's my son's mother." He looked at Sakumo asleep comfortably on the couch. "Thanks for that, by the way."
"Don't worry about it." She said with a tired smile. "Hatake-san." She started. "Nohara-san came to the hospital in a critical condition, the surgery took almost two hours because some ligaments in the muscles of the right leg were broken, she will have to do physical therapy, I suppose, but I can only confirm when she wakes up." She saw him nod and continued. "There was no organ puncture and she was very lucky."
"But." He said abruptly and Sakura realized he was not a stranger to bad news and somehow it made her feel sad for him.
"But she went into a coma, probably due to trauma, both physical and mental, which is not uncommon in cases of accidents like this." She scribbled some papers and looked at him again. "She can wake up tomorrow or in a few days, maybe weeks." When she realize that he did not appear to be shocked or too upset by the news, she felt the same sensation as before and thought that maybe he did not shake easily because he was accustomed to bad news. She decided that definitely needed a night's sleep if a completely unknown man were able to affect her this way in such a short time for no apparent reason. "You can visit her from tomorrow." She concluded. "Here are the visiting times of the hospital." She handed him a small piece of paper. The man accepted the paper and sighed wearily. "You have to fill out some paperwork. I'll be right back." Sakura said before heading out the door without waiting for his response.
A few long minutes later she returned with a briefcase under her arm and a paper cup in both hands. She handed him the briefcase and a paper cup with coffee, which he accepted with a nod of thanks.
When Kakashi finished filling out the paperwork, a knock on the door made Sakura jump. "Moegi-chan." She greeted when the girl opened the door and almost beat herself because she forgot to give the girl a ride. "Hatake-san." She turned to tell him that they needed to leave and saw him behind her with the boy asleep in his arms.
"I'll be back tomorrow at visiting time." He said, passing her. "Thanks for everything." He said earnestly before disappearing into the hallway.
"Poor man." Moegi said in a sad voice. "Having to see the wife in that state."
Sakura locked the door and walked to the elevator with Moegi behind her. "They're not married."
"Oh." The girl exclaimed in surprise. "Relatives?"
Sakura laughed lightly. "I don't know, they have a child together, apparently. It must be something complicated in which I don't want to get involved."
"Right." Moegi smiled. "Let's go home then."
It was the day off, and Sakura was more than happy to spend a lazy day at home, sprawled on the sofa watching movies while she ate everything she could find in the kitchen cabinets. But things hardly happened as she planned, which led her to be in the car with Sarada in the back seat and Kurama in a transport case in the front seat, driving as cautiously as possible, even trying to be fast, to get to the vet closer to home. She cursed Naruto in her mind for going out with his girlfriend while she stayed to take care of the animal he was supposed to be responsible for.
"Mom, I think it's going to rain." The seven-year-old girl warned as she stared at the dark clouds that were covering the city sky.
"That's Naruto's fault. That idiot." Sakura hit the wheel as she passed a red headlight.
"I don't know how Uncle Naruto can be blamed for the rain, but whatever you say." Sarada said with an amused tone.
"Don't tease me, brat." Sakura said with a laugh, happy to have Sarada to change her mood whenever it sour. "We're here." She parked in front of a vet she had found on the internet and frowned when she realized it was a clinic in a garage. "It's going to have to do." She muttered to herself and got out of the car with the transport case in a hand and Sarada's hand in the other.
"Good afternoon." She said absently as she looked around. She regretted judging the place from the outside, seeing the pictures of several happy clients and diplomas on the wall, the nicely maintained and clean place, she decided it was a clinic seemingly reliable.
"Haruno-san?" A husky voice made her look at the desk and she was surprised to see the handsome white-haired man behind it, wearing a white coat that suited him too well.
"Hatake-san." She greeted belatedly and felt her heart skip a beat faster and cursed herself internally for letting that man have that effect on her.
It had been two weeks since the Nohara Rin accident that made them meet that fateful night. Since then, Kakashi has been to the hospital a few times for Sakumo to see his mother unconscious since Sakura had said that talking to patients in a coma was good for them. Sakura always paid him a coffee and a snack for Sakumo, which she found unusual since he never offered to pay anything in the cafeteria once and never mentioned giving her back. In her hours of rest he would appear coincidentally and they would get lost in silly conversations while Sakumo played with the model of the human body she had in the office. She was getting used to his coming to the hospital.
"Vet?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Well, life takes us the odd ways sometimes." He said in a lazy tone, with which she was beginning to get used to. "What brings you here?"
"That." She set the transport case on the counter and smiled at the surprised look on Kakashi's face when she pulled the animal from within.
"A fox?" He asked genuinely surprised.
"Kurama." She answered.
"And what happened to Kurama?" He asked curiously, walking towards a door and Sakura followed him with Sarada beside her. Kakashi put the animal on the table and looked at her expectantly.
"Naruto left a pizza box on the sofa. It had five pieces in it and this little one devoured everything." She said, stroking the fox's head.
"This is bad." He stirred a few things and prepared a bag with serum. "I'll make him vomit and put him in the serum. He will need stay under observation after that." He explained the procedure while doing everything with a grace that made Sakura almost hypnotized. "Your husband should be more careful."
Sarada laughed, catching Kakashi's attention. "Oh sorry." She said shyly. "It's just that the idea of mommy married to uncle Naruto makes me laugh."
"Sarada." Sakura said in a reprehensible tone. "I'm not married." She told Kakashi without looking directly at him and lost the glow in the man's eyes, but that moment was not lost for Sarada who smiled knowingly.
Kakashi cleared the throat. "What made you have a fox? You know they're not pets." He changed the subject.
"That little thing." She stroked the sleeping animal. "He invaded our backyard to take refuge. He had a broken leg and Naruto, my best friend who happens to live in the same house as me." She clarified, not wanting him to think she had some kind of romantic relationship with Naruto or anyone. "He took care of him until he recovered. When he recovered, the rascal refused to leave and lived with us two years up to now."
"Wow." Kakashi smiled. "You need a license to keep such an animal, you know?"
"Are you going to arrest me for this?" Sakura joked, remembering that he had once said that he worked for the police.
"I could." He smirked, completely comfortable with the flirtations that had become frequent between them after his visits to the hospital.
"I'm still here." Sarada said in a serious voice, drawing the couple's attention.
Kakashi felt his cheeks heat up and felt ridiculous for being caught flirting with the girl's mother in front of her. "I have a son." He said a little louder than his normal tone of voice due to the nervousness.
"Mom said." Sarada said with an innocent smile, but Sakura knew she was planning something, by the glow in the shrewd girl's dark eyes. "Mom has been talking a lot about Hatake-san lately."
"Sarada." Sakura screamed and felt her face warm. She wanted a hole to open and swallow her and knew that her cheeks were blushing. She felt like a teenager again.
Kakashi put a hand on her back and guided them out of the room. "Let me introduce you to Sakumo, Sarada-chan." He opened another door and Sakura was surprised to see that it had access to his house. "Sakumo." Kakashi called.
"What is this, dad?" The nine-year-old boy appeared at the top of the stairs and looked at both of them. "Yo Sakura-san." He greeted her with a smile that was identical to his father's.
"That's no way to greet people." Kakashi reprimanded.
"You always greet everyone like that." Sakumo snapped back.
"Brat." Kakashi murmured. "There's a little friend here to play with you." He said cheerfully ignoring the mortal gaze he received from the two children and at that moment both, he and Sakura smiled, realizing that those two could have much in common.
Sarada went upstairs without waiting for an invitation and disappeared upstairs with Sakumo. "I think this may be the beginning of a beautiful friendship." Sakura said thoughtfully.
"Or our white hair." Kakashi nudged her with his elbow.
Sakura looked at his face and then at his disheveled white hair. "Really?" She asked with a laugh and he laughed with her.
"Come on, I'll pour you some tea." He led her into the small, cozy kitchen.
"Your house is beautiful." She said truthfully.
"I do what I can." He replied with a smile and loud thunder echoed outside the house at that moment.
"Damn it." Sakura grunted. "How long until Kurama is well?"
"At least an hour before I release you." He put a cup of tea in front of him and rested his elbows on the table, hovering his face very close to hers. "I think you're stuck here with me for a while, Haruno-san."
Sakura knew he was flirting with her and she should be accustomed to it because it had become a two-way street between them in the last few weeks, but his face was too close and his husky voice was sending chills down her body. "Sakura." She said in a whisper, clutching him even more. "Call me Sakura, Kakashi." She said in a provocative tone, not wanting lose to him, in that game they had created.
Note: This is my first AU, completely out of the canon. I dreamed with a part of this story and thought: Why not adapt to my favorite couple?! - It will be a few chapters, but it will have some drama and a happy ending.