«I never thought I'd be this happy in my life. I'm married to the man I love, I have three lovely children and a job as a High-Ranked Medical Ninja. My family and I live in a beautiful and spacious house near the river, where once the Uchiha Residents was. Me and Sasuke got married a few years after he came back to Konoha and ever since we've been inseparable. I also grew my hair out because he told me he likes to brush it with his fingers. Our son, Haru, is now seventeen years old and a Jounin-Level ninja. One of the three New-Generation Sannin, just like my late sensei and Milady, Tsunade-sama was. Ayame is sixteen. She became a fine kunoichi and she was also my student in medical Ninjutsu. Rin-chan is our youngest daughter, she just turned six years old. Sasuke says that she looks a lot like me. Sometimes, I think, 'Is this real? Or am I dreaming?'. I've been in love with Sasuke ever since the first time I saw him, but he always kept rejecting me. Nevertheless, I was determind to win over his heart and eventually succeeded. I already miss it so very much.»

Part 1 - "Despair"

"Mommy? Do you need anything?"

Ayame opened the door to her mother's bedroom while holding a tablet with a pot of water and a glass. Sakura wasn't feeling very well lately, so she took a break from her work at the Hospital and stayed at home. Sasuke was on a mission, as well as Haru. Rin and Ayame were the only ones who filled the silence of that big house.

"Oh, Ayame-chan. No, I'm fine."

The woman smiled at her child and asked her to stay for a while. White bed sheets were covering her legs and stomach and her whole body was wrapped in a peach colored bed-robe. She was feeling cold and her stomach was groaning in pain. At first she thought it was a mere cold, but she decided to take a closer look, just to make sure. Unfortunately, it turned out that she suffered from a very rare illness. She hadn't told her children, neither did she tell Sasuke. She wouldn't want him to worry while on a mission.

"Ayame-chan, would you help mommy to stand upright?"

"Yes!"

Ayame let down the tablet on the bedside commode and helped her mother to lift up her body to drink some water. She put Sakura's hand around her neck and blandly pulled her up. She purred some water in the glass and gave it to her mother. Sakura was starring at the crystal clear water with a gaze filled with pain. She coughed a bit and the water in the glass started shaking. Ayame patted her back and sat next to her on the soft bed. Sakura's hands were shaking and her eyesight got blurry for a moment.

"Is.. Is Rin-chan sleeping?"

"Yes, I made her something to eat and then she fell asleep immediately."

"Oh… that's nice… She has.. such a kind big sis…"

Sakura looked at her daughter and smiled innocently. Ayame knew how much pain her mother was going through, that's why she was waiting for her father to return as quickly as possible.

She started feeling dizzy and clenched her fingers around the glass, but she had no more strength left. She started coughing again and gasped for air while Ayame slightly hit her on the back to make the coughing stop. But Sakura couldn't see anymore. She slowly begun to close her eye lids and lost consciousness while dropping the glass on the bedroom's wooden floor.

"Mom? Mom!"

Ayame tried to wake her mother up, but it was useless. She had already passed out.

"Mommy!"

She placed her palm on the woman's forehead and felt it heating up.

"No, please! Mom!"

She didn't know what to do. She couldn't leave the house and let Rin alone. She had to call for help.

"Dad, please come back soon! I can't take care of mom by myself anymore!" she whispered to herself.

She went to the bathroom and washed her hands. For now, she would use some basic medical ninjutsu to lower the fever, but Sakura had to be taken to a hospital. Earlier that day she got informed that her father's Team would be returning from their mission today, which meant he would soon arrive back home. She could handle the fever until he comes back.

Ayame brought some wet towels as she left the bathroom and placed them on the commode.

"Hang in there, mom! Dad is coming back in a while. We'll bring you to the hospital."

She took one towel and put it gently on her mother's forehead to cool her down, then used jutsu to make the pain ease.

Rin woke up and walked into her parent's bedroom, hoping to be able to embrace her mother, but unfortunately she was being treated by her big sister.

"Rin, why are you awake? Go back to sleep!"

Ayame was still trying to heal her mother and Rin only distracted her. She couldn't worry about both of them, she had to focus.

"I.. I wanted to see mommy.."

"Mom isn't feeling alright. Go to the living room and wait for daddy or Haru to come home."

"Ok…"

The little girl slowly closed the door and from the corner of her eye she saw her mother laying in her bed while Ayame was holding her hands above her fragile body and used medical ninjutsu. She looked so pale and weak.

Waiting on the big sofa, she heard the door open and heavy steps walking in. It was Sasuke.

"Daddy!"

She jumped off the sofa-pillow and with her short feet she run towards the door the meet her father. She hugged him very tightly and pressed her tiny face against his leg.

"Rin-chan!"

He patted his daughter's head and kneeled down to pick her up. She rubbed her eyes with her small fist and sulked at her father.

"What's the matter?" he asked worried.

"Mommy is…"

"What happened with mommy?"

He walked towards the bedroom with his little princess in his arms and turned on the lights of the hallway.

"Nee-san says that she is sick and that I can't hug her."

"Mommy is sick?"

Sasuke frowned his eyebrow and looked at Rin's sad face expression. He changed the position of his arm to open the door and stepped inside his and Sakura's bedroom. He saw Ayame, exhausted from performing medical ninjutsu.

"Ayame, what is wrong with your mother?"

"Dad! You're back! Thank goodness!"

She stood up panicked and tried to calm herself down.

"Mom isn't feeling very well! We need to take her to a hospital immediately!"

Sasuke stood still for a moment, shocked from what he just heard from his daughter. He had been away for over three months, he didn't expect to find Sakura so washed-up. She was a medical Ninja herself, why would she get ill all of a sudden?

"Ayame, take Rin and bring her to Naruto. He can take care of her for a while. I'll take your mother to the hospital."

"T-T-To Hokage-sama?"

"Yeah, now hurry!"

"Yes!"

She dried her wet hands on her lap and took her little sister in her arms. Sasuke put his hand on Sakura's forehead and it seemed like the fever hadn't gone down, even with Ayame's first-aid treatment.

"Sakura, can you hear me?"

He stroke her cherry-pink hair very gently and waited to see her green eyes open to face him. She felt a light pressure on the top of her head and heard a familiar voice. It was her husband's.

"Sasu..ke..?"

She sluggishly opened her eyes and recognized a male figure sitting next to her. She couldn't even sense any chakra, that's how weak her body had become.

"Can you stand?" he asked concerned. She shook her head negatively.

"I'll carry you to the hospital."

He took a blanket from their wardrobe and wrapped her inside. It was a bit sloppy, but they had to hurry. Her body was burning up like fire.

Ten minutes later they had already arrived at the hospital. There was one single light bulb glowing above the entrance to the huge white building. Nobody would visit at this time of the day, it was already 9PM. He slammed the door with his shoe and looked for a doctor in the hall way, while carrying his wife in his arms.

"Is anyone here?"

He looked around, but the hall was empty. Walking upstairs to the second floor he yelled again and then felt someone's chakra coming from the office. It was Ino and Shizune. Holding Sakura tighter againt him, placing her head under his chin, he knocked on the door and Ino appeared.

"Oh Sasu- Oh my gosh, Sakura! What happened?"

The blonde saw her best friend in her husband's arms and trembled all sacredly. Her hands were shaking and her eyes opened up wide, like she just woke up, with rings under her eyes from the long working hours due to Sakura's absence in the Hospital for over a month. Sasuke stepped back a bit and begged Ino to take a look at her. She quickly informed Shizune and they both led the couple to a room.

"Put her carefully on that bed. She must feel dizzy. Her fever is high."

With light steps he carried her to the white-sheeted hospital bed. The room smelled like antiseptics, the stench caused him an unpleasant feeling in his stomach. Ino covered Sakura with one of the blank sheets and took out a needle to connect her arterials with the hydrolytic liquid and then took her pulse.

"Sasuke-kun, would you be so kind to wait outside?"

Shizune wore her gloves and got ready for examination. Sasuke stepped outside, unwillingly, and sat on a chair right next to the room, waiting for them to finish.

After a few minutes, Shizune opened the door and came outside. Sasuke stood up immediately and asked her right away.

"Sasuke-san, I need to talk with you."

He hastily pushed her aside and pulled the door to see what was going on. He saw Ino sitting on the second hospital bed right next to Sakura, with her elbows on her laps, holding her head and looking down in frustration. Sakura was sleeping very sound.

"Ino, what happened?"

"Sasuke, don't go inside!"

Shizune tried to stop him, but he forced his way through the door to rush to his wife's side. Ino slowly lifted her head and looked at him with eyes full of sorrow.

"Sasuke-kun, Sakura is… She's very sick…"

He sat on Sakura's bed and held her hand softly.

"What… do you mean..?"

He looked at the blonde Medic with a puzzled expression.

Shizune stepped inside and patted Ino's back, while Ino found herself looking down again. She wasn't feeling well. There was a huge knot in her belly, not letting her breath normally.