It was eight hours in labor later, (the longest eight hours of his life) that the quiet hospital came alive with the loud cries of that of a infant.

How could it be that while the newly born creature was desperately overworking in filling its tiny lungs, all the air in Sasukes' seemed to leave his system at the sound as his chest began to tightened?

The door slowly opened, revealing a petite woman wearing scrubs. She said nothing, only smiled his way.

Sasuke Uchiha was finally a father.


When Daddy's Away...


Three months later~

The bright blue sky of the day quickly turned a dark velvety color, sprinkled with twinkling lights as far as the eye could see.

And it was under this perfect setting in which two people -very much in love- stood outside their balcony wrapped in each other's arms, unwilling to let the other go.

That is, until a familiar cry from inside the house broke the quietness of the darkening world.

Sakura pulled away first, but with a difficulty she always experienced whenever she was enveloped in the arms of Sasuke.

Not for the first time, Sakura thought she was the luckiest woman alive.

"It's my turn," she said, giving her husband a small smile.

She was not surprised when the man merely wrapped his arms tighter around her slim frame. "You coddle the boy too much, Sakura." Sasuke lightly reprimanded her, laying his chin at the top of her head, inhaling her strawberry-vanilla scent.

"Of course I do. I'm his mother." Opposite her statement, however, she made no move to disentangle herself from his grip.

"Give him another minute," Sasuke mumbled into her pink locks. "He will calm down on his own."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Another one of your Sasuke Uchiha ways of seeing things?"

"Listen."

She did.

Silence.

Hmm... perhaps he was onto something, after all.

"How did you know he would stop?" Sakura pulled away slightly to look her man in the eyes. They were closed, unfortunately. A small content smirk lined his lips.

"My mother was just like you. She once told me I used to cry whenever I could not sleep, and how my father told her many times to give me some space."

"So, you were a crybaby?" Sakura's teasing smirk softened her comment.

Sasuke blinked, looking down at her. "Don't all babies cry to sleep?"

She shrugged. "My parents told me I was a quiet baby." She paused. "Perhaps it is an "Uchiha" thing, after all."

"That now includes you, too, Sakura Uchiha." The words were blown into the pink shell of her ear, causing a shiver of delight, much to Sasuke's pleasure.

"Mmm... I love the sound of that."

"I love you."

Even though she had heard the words before, Sakura's heart rate would forever increase, causing the small flip-flop motion, as if her heart were doing back flips. Sasuke was a man of little emotion. But the rare times he chose to voice his feelings, rather than show her through actions or gestures, a happiness Sakura thought she would never experience anywhere else brightened her heart in more ways than she could ever fathom.

Sometimes Sakura would pinch herself whenever she found herself filled with so much love, so much happiness, thinking that this couldn't be real. She really couldn't have married the man of her dreams, bore him a beautiful son, had this perfect life going for her, could she?

But every time it was the same thing. She felt the pinch, but nothing twisted around her. This was no genjutsu, no illusion. It was reality; her life.

Their life, her mind corrected happily, drugged with the poison called love.

"I love you, too." Sakura stretched on her toes and proceeded to show him just how much.

As the endless blackness continued to stretch before them, Sakura had planned for the stars to be their only witnesses to the love that could overcome any obstacle.

"Sorry, is this a bad time?"

Well, almost only witnesses.

"Kakashi," Sasuke hissed, slowly turning to face his former teacher and moving to shield Sakura's barely decent form at the same time from undeserving eyes in the process. "Someone had better be dying."

"They are. Or rather, not yet, technically."

"Get on with it, Kakashi," the former student snapped.

"Sakura!" The silver haired man greeted his other student, ignoring the others' threat. "You're looking lovely, as always."

"Good seeing you too, Kakashi senpai."

"Where is that adorable son of yours?"

"Sleeping. Or, at least, he better be. I should go check on him." She flashed her father-figure a smile of departure. "It was nice seeing you again."

Kakashi lifted his hand as her form retreated further into the house.

"What do you want?" Sasuke bluntly asked, getting to the point.

"Is that anyway to talk to your mentor?" Kakashi sighed.

The Uchiha gave him a glare.

"One of my men had to drop an upcoming mission due to an emergency in the family. I am here hoping you could fill in for him."

There was a pause. Kakashi hesitantly looked at his former student. Sasuke's eyes were downcast and eyebrows drawn. There was also a grimness tugging on the ends of his lips, one which Kakashi hadn't seen since the birth of his son.

He could only imagine what the young man was thinking as Kakashi said, "I know this is last minute and-"

"He's too young," Sasuke muttered under his breath. Whether to himself or Kakashi, the older man didn't know.

Finally he just sighed and said, "What's the mission."


The nursery was dark -save for a lone nightlight in the corner- and quiet. But Sakura wasn't naive to think she'd find her son sleeping.

That would be asking too much of Sasuke's son. She rolled her eyes.

Instead, she found him lying on his back, his dark eyes staring up at his mobile. Sakura gave him a smile. "Hello, there, my baby boy. Have you been awake this whole time?" Reaching into the infant's crib, she slid a hand under the boy's back as the other cradled his head. He gave a small coo of appreciation as she slowly lifted him up.

Her breath still caught in her throat every time she got to hold him in her arms. He was just so perfect.

"Perfect in every way. Itachi."

Sakura remembered the night she had given birth like it was yesterday. Her whole body ached, but the pain seemed to dim at the sight of her newborn. It immediately dissolved once she held his tiny frame to her chest.

"What are we going to name him?" She had asked her husband, though her eyes never left her son's face.

There was a moment where he didn't say anything. At first Sakura thought he hadn't heard her -she was trying to keep her voice low so as not to disturb her sleeping son. Her mouth was already open to ask again when he said, "I was thinking..."

The uncertainty and hesitation in his voice was enough to wrench her eyes away from her bundle of joy and over to her husband. Having spent many mission with him, it was not something she was used to hearing. "Sasuke?"

"Itachi."

At first she was confused. What did Sasuke's older brother have anything to do with... And then it hit her. "You want to...?"

"If you want to." His dark eyes met hers, then looked down. "If you think..."

Sakura couldn't help but smile as she once again she looked down at the baby in her arms. "You'll have some pretty big shoes to fill," she whispered. "Your uncle was an exceptional shinobi, but I think you have what it takes to have made him proud." Looking up she caught the wide eyes of her husband, and nodded. "Itachi is perfect."

"Just perfect," she marveled, carrying him over to the rocking chair they had put in the corner.

The nightlight was enough to illuminate his features. Soft round cheeks, small button nose, almond shaped dark eyes. All framed by dark ebony locks.

"You'll have Konoha's female population eating out of the palms of your little hands," Sakura scoffed. "You are definitely Uchiha. That's for sure."

Sakura rocked the both of them for what seemed like hours. All the while, Itachi stared up at her with wide eyes. "You have your father's looks and silent demeanor. But what did I pass on to you, I wonder."

Lifting the baby slightly to get a better look at his face, she continued, "Smile, Itachi. Won't you smile for mommy?"

But the infant merely gurgled. He didn't even blink.

"Oh, yeah. Definitely your father's son," she sighed.

"You make that sound like a bad thing," a voice behind her commented.

Sakura tried not to chuckle but her smile betrayed her mirth.

"He's awake," Sasuke stated, moving closer towards his family. "Was he..."

"Yup. Like this when I found him." Out of the corner of her eye she eyed him as she asked, "Would you like to hold him, Daddy?"

He accepted the little bundle without any hesitance or prodding. The smile and gentleness that snaked their way onto his features was almost enough to bring tears to her eyes.

"What was that about earlier?" Sasuke's low voice penetrated the quiet and captured the attention of the three month old. Itachi looked up at the man with warped fascination. "The father comment."

"Just trying to get Itachi to smile. But he doesn't. So, naturally, he gets it from you."

"He is my son, Sakura," he smirked smugly.

"Well, he's mine, too. Is asking for one tiny smile too much?" Getting up from the chair, she stood by her husband, both watching the infant watching them. "He also looks a lot like you. Same hair, same eyes, same lack of expression whenever I talk to either of you."

"His eye color is a deeper shade of green than yours." Sasuke squinted into his son's eyes. The child went momentarily cross-eyed from the action. "Sort of."

"My son has my green eyes." She rolled her eyes. "Sort of."

"Didn't you say you were a quiet baby? He's quiet."

Itachi looked over at the pretty woman, wondering what was going on.

"What's the mission?" Sakura suddenly asked, fussing over her baby's shirt that had risen. "That's what Kakashi came here for, right?"

At the mention of work, Sasuke released a heavy sigh. "Ah. A simple retrieval mission of a stolen artifact. No more than three days, max."

"Sounds simple enough."

"...I'm thinking of declining."

"Sasuke-kun, why?" Sakura gasped. "Haven't you already agreed to do it?"

"Technically, no. I only asked for mission details and told Kakashi I would sleep on it."

"When do you leave? If, you go."

"Noon," came his muttered response. He was looking down at the little baby in his arms. The arms of someone who had taken lives, dealt several blows. Sasuke Uchiha was someone anyone couldn't have expected to become a father. But he was. So with good reason, his next words were, "He's still too young. What if he needs me. What if you need me?"

"Sasuke-kun," Sakura giggled, like someone who knew that he was overreacting, "no offense to you but, I'm a ninja, too, you know. I can look out for the both of us."

The man shook his head. "I know you can. That wasn't what I was referring to." He turned to look at his wife. His face was as serious as the times she had seen when she used to go on missions with him. Not something she had seen as of late. "You just gave birth three months ago. I don't think I should leave just yet. It's too soon."

"Look," she sighed. "I'm not going to lie to you and say I feel a hundred percent yet. But," she added in quickly as she saw her husband open his mouth, "nothing can ever stop me when it comes to the welfare of our child. Of that, I can assure you."

For a moment, Sakura was certain her husband would still fight her on the subject. She's was surprised, however, when all he did was nod and say, "You're right. I'll go."


Something wasn't right.

Sakura was still half asleep when she managed to pry her eyes open but instinct told her something was off.

After putting down her son for the night, she had walked into her room and collapsed with exhaustion. Caring for the three month old single-handedly was taking a toll on her, as was evident by how easily she could be tired out just by trying to get him to lie down.

The little Uchiha had fought sleep tooth and nail but lost the battle in the end. It was hard enough that he was always expecting his father in the night (like all other nights since Sasuke made a habit of visiting with Itachi since he was brought home from the hospital), but Sakura had been on her own, not knowing how well Itachi would take to the change.

Luckily, not all that bad. He was still sleeping soundly when she made her way into his room. Everything seemed to be as it should.

It must have been a bad dream that startled me, reasoned Sakura, recalling waking up with a bad feeling that something was wrong. You're just anxious for Sasuke's return. That's all.

It was the last night before Sasuke was scheduled to come back home and Sakura couldn't be happier. She had missed him terribly, this being the first time they had been separated since the birth of their son.

Over the lip of the crib, Sakura watched as her son slept peacefully with a smile on her face. Although the babe was not known for crying much, he still had his moments. Sasuke hadn't been wrong when he'd said Itachi was a quiet baby like she had been. Even the nurses at the hospital were amazed of how silent Itachi was, commenting that it would make it easier for the new parents to get some sleep.

It did have its advantages, Sakura had to admit. Most nights were spent catching up on much needed sleep or, other nightly activities. However, more often than not, the silence left her feeling unsettled. Like now.

As a doctor, she had spent her fair share around children from all ages. She knew they cried and whined and did everything they could to get your attention. But with her own child, he could be in grave danger and he wouldn't make a peep. His calm demeanor was always setting her on edge, her mind always coming up with the worst case scenarios.

Her husband had joked about it once. Saying she was being paranoid due to being a new mother. Although, she had caught Sasuke checking in on their son a couple of times whenever he thought she wasn't looking.

It was hard to focus Itachi for long. Sakura's senses were picking up something again, something that made the back of her hair stand on end. What was it? Was she really that paranoid? Or was there more to it than just glittery nerves?

Taking one last look at her baby to make sure he was still snoozing, Sakura turned on his mobile in case he woke up before deciding that a quick sweep of the house was in order. She grabbed a kunia out of her weapons pouch and proceeded down the stairs. First off, the kitchen.

It was quiet, it was dark. The hum of the refrigerator was to be expected but that wasn't were she was getting the uneasy sensation prickling her hearing. A rustling sound was coming from the direction of the living room. So she headed that way.

A man was rummaging through a drawer pushed in the right corner. He grunted as he shut it closed, as if frustrated. The man was of average height, with a black mask pulled over his head. From a distance Sakura could make out the lining of a sword strapped to his back.

Sakura's brows puckered. She couldn't sense any chakra, which meant he was probably a regular civilian. However, she needed to think about Itachi. While this guy may not have been a threat to her, her baby was only a few feet away. She needed to take this guy out quick and silently.

Suddenly, her words she had shared to her husband a couple days ago came back to her: nothing can ever stop me when it comes to the welfare of our child. Of that, I can assure you.

Quick and silently. She nodded. Two things she was very good at.


The Uchiha compound was swarming with ANBU within minutes of Sakura calling Tsunade to send a team over. She wanted to handle the situation as quietly as possible so as not to attract attention and ANBU were perfect for the job.

What she was not expecting, however, was her mentor to also tag along.

"Shishou," Sakura gasped. "What are you doing here?"

The blonde walked to the younger woman who Tsunade had come to know as a daughter. When Sakura had called to tell her what had happened, Tsuande was quick to react. She knew Sakura and Itachi were by themselves since Sasuke had left for a mission three nights ago, and her student was still delicate from her delivery, even if she said otherwise.

"You didn't think I would just stay in my office, did you?"

"I'm fine."

"And Itachi?"

Instead of answering verbally, Sakura handed Itachi over, who was awake with all the commotion. "Happy. Or as happy as an heir of Sasuke's can be, that is."

For a moment, the older woman said nothing as she smiled down at the baby in her arms. Tsunade always dreamt of having children with her once-love. She supposed this was just as good. "Well, hello there, Itachi Uchiha. Did all this noise wake you?" The babe made a grab at her pigtails as she rocked him from side to side.

She laughed.

Sakura silently watched the exchange for a while before saying, "Tsunade, I want you to keep this between us and ANBU." She further elaborated by adding, "Sasuke doesn't need to know."

Tsunade lifted an eyebrow. "He'll find out, Sakura."

"I know. But I don't want the first thing he hears to be that Itachi and I were in any danger." She snorted. "Which we weren't. The guy was hardly a challenge. Besides, I'll tell him... Just at a better time."

"Does this time include you using sex as the upper hand?" When Sakura didn't say anything Tsunade sighed. "As long as you know what you're doing," was all Tsunade had to say on the subject before returning her attention to the boy in her arms.


I'm as sick as a dog! R&R to help get me back on my feet!