Sorry it took so long, finals week and then one of my parents' dogs attacked my mom and sister (we're talking Careflight had to be called) and then Christmas and then a new job. But everyone is fine and everything has settled down, so here is the next installment! Your reviews have been incredibly nice and made me feel guilty that I hadn't had time to update. But, here goes and hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. This fic is made purely for entertainment purposes and I make no monetary gain from this. No copyright infringement is intended.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Dream A Little Dream

Chapter 2: Clueless

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sakura looked at the line of kids in front of her. "Okay. I know you're Akane-chan. You're Keisuke. And now I need the names of the rest of you."

The four year old was a little boy who grinned widely at Sakura. With curly brown hair and dimples, he was absolutely precious. He pointed a chubby thumb at his chest and proclaimed with gusto, "I'm Sanosuke!" Sakura smiled in amusement and turned to the two year old.

The little girl hid behind Sanosuke, wary of the strangers. Sanosuke spoke for her. "This is Ayao. She follows me everywhere." He rolled his eyes and Kakashi felt his own smile creeping up on him. 'If nothing else, this week will at least be interesting.'

Sakura was about to ask the eighteen month old her name when the little child toddled up to Kakashi and lifted her arms in a 'pick me up' manner. The Copy Nin didn't know what to do, so he looked at Sakura questioningly. "Pick her up, Kakashi."

Kakashi lifted the little one and set her on his hip. The two engaged in a short staring match; Kakashi wondering what the child wanted and the child just observing with youthful innocence. Slowly, a smile crept across the small face and a tiny hand reached for Kakashi's mask. His own hand shot up to gently halt the little girl's actions and he gave his happy eye crease, letting go of her hand to wag his finger back and forth. "You can't remove my mask, little one."

Sakura watched the exchange with a soft and affectionate smile. Would Kakashi be a good father? He was certainly adorable with his new friend. She walked over and looked at the girl, who waved in greeting. "What's your name, sweetie?"

"Yuki! Yuki! Yuki! Yuki!" She began to clap and chant her name over and over.

Naruto chuckled. "Think her name is Yuki?"

Akane's little voice chimed in. "She doesn't know too many words. She only came here a couple weeks ago and the head mistress says no one really paid much attention to her."

Sakura's little smile slipped into a frown. How someone could be so callous was beyond her. Sure, she killed people when needed. But they were a threat to her village and the innocent people that lay behind its walls. She would never hurt or neglect a child. She looked back to the older kids. "And what about the two youngest ones here?" She wandered over to look at the one month olds in Sasuke's grasp.

Keisuke spoke this time. "The little girl is Hana. The little boy is Makoto."

Sanosuke looked at Sakura, the only one the kids (aside from Yuki) weren't completely terrified of. "When's breakfast?"

With a wicked smile, she turned on Naruto and Sasuke. "Well, boys? Hop to it!"

Kakashi set Yuki down and he and Sakura each took an infant from Sasuke. "I only changed Makoto before all hell broke loose out here." Sasuke informed them.

With a nod, Kakashi and Sakura set off toward the nursery. "At such a young age, I can't tell which one is male and which is female. We'll just have to check both, I guess." Sakura set one of the tiny, squirming bundles down on a changing table and Kakashi followed suit. "Okay, Kakashi. Before you start, one word of advice. After you open the diaper, let air hit the child and then quickly put the diaper back up. The first cool rush of air tends to make younger babies go."

"Got it."

Sakura had quickly changed her little one (they realized it was Hana) since it was wet it was obviously the one Sasuke hadn't changed. "Actually, since we're here. Let's go ahead and check Makoto, too. Babies this age need frequent changes."

She noticed Kakashi looking at the diaper oddly. "How do I do this?"

"You don't know how to change a baby?" There was obvious amusement in Sakura's voice.

"Well, besides the fact that I haven't changed a baby since a D-rank mission when I was a genin, I don't remember diapers looking like this."

Curious, Sakura gathered up Hana and stepped next to Kakashi. "Oh for Heaven's sake. Here." She handed him Hana and then looked to her former sensei. "Watch both for a second."

She returned a moment later, Sasuke in tow. "What's wrong?"

She pointed at the diaper with an irritated scowl. "Sasuke, just watch so I can show you how to change a diaper. This is on backwards, idiot."

Kakashi began to chuckle. "No wonder it looked different."

Sakura righted the diaper with efficiency and turned to Sasuke, amusement on her face now. "See? I really don't see how you managed to get it backwards. Wasn't that a bit difficult?"

Sasuke merely shrugged and headed back to the kitchen. Kakashi and Sakura followed and Sakura could already tell it wasn't going to be good. The smell of burning pancakes and overly strong coffee assaulted her senses and she grimaced as they entered. "What is going on?"

Sasuke flipped the blackened pancake onto a plate and handed it to Akane, who looked at Sakura with a pout. "Do I have to eat it?"

"No, of course not." She grabbed the plate and dumped the inedible object into the trash and then looked to the stove. "Sasuke, you can't cook pancakes on high! They need to cook slower on medium to medium-low heat!" She quickly turned the knob and looked over to Naruto who was…pouring ramen in a blender? What the hell? Afraid to hear the answer, but thinking she knew it anyway, she stood next to her blond teammate. "What are you doing?"

With a smile that clearly said he was proud of himself, Naruto turned to address her. "I'm making ramen for the babies' breakfast." The loud hum of the blender started up and Sakura recoiled in disgust.

"Naruto! Babies can't digest ramen! Look." She reached across Naruto to grab a metal container that read 'Formula.' "This is what babies eat. They can't handle anything else until around three or four months old. Ramen is a long way off." She went about scooping the formula into a small bottle and mixing it with cold water before setting it in the bottle warmer to the side.

Kakashi was impressed with how she was able to make a bottle while still holding a baby. Although he had noticed that a lot of women seemed to have more than two arms when taking care of little ones. He watched as she made up two bottles and handed one to Naruto and one to Sasuke. "You two feed the babies. Only one ounce at a time and then burp them."

"How do we burp them?" Naruto really was clueless. Although she could have gathered that from the ramen episode.

"Just put a cloth over your shoulder and hold the baby like so." She set Hana up on her shoulder and alternately rubbed and patted her back. "Do this for a few minutes and you should get results. If not, don't worry about it and give them another ounce."

The two trotted off and Sakura surveyed the scene in front of her with a sigh. "I'm going to end up doing all the work, aren't I." It was a statement, not a question.

Kakashi chuckled. "You could leave them to their own devices."

"Their own devices would end up killing these kids." She took a good look around the kitchen and whimpered. Pancake batter was smeared all over the countertop and Naruto had neglected to put the lid on the blender while he was pureeing the ramen so that had erupted onto the cabinets. "Kakashi, would you mind cleaning up the mess?"

Her pout was so adorable that he really couldn't resist. Not that he would have said no anyway. She wasn't supposed to have to do all this work, but like she said, the other two would undoubtedly cause harm to the kids. It wouldn't be on purpose, but their ignorance about childcare would do enough. "Sure. What are you going to do about this?" He poked at a blob of undercooked pancake and glanced at her.

She dumped the batter and began rummaging around for more bowls and pans. "I guess I'll just start over. These young ones need a good breakfast." She mixed up more pancake batter and Kakashi made another pot of coffee before he cleaned up the disaster area. Sakura allowed a smile at how domestic it all was. Danger and death followed them at every turn, but here she was making breakfast for a bunch of rugrats next to the man she loved. How utterly, sickeningly domestic.

After he finished with his part, Kakashi leaned against the doorframe and watched, similar thoughts running through his mind. He watched Sakura, the pink haired medic completely unaware, as she expertly flipped and plated pancakes and prepared different fruits in between.

Keisuke stepped up to her and tugged on her shirt. "Sakura-san, can we have bacon too?"

Sakura smiled down at the little boy. "Sure, sweetheart. If you'll get it out for me I'll be happy to make it."

That was it. Kakashi just couldn't resist the smile that burst through, wide enough that it made his cheeks ache. She was so maternal at this moment when all he had seen of her was a devastating temper and a mean right hook. It was such a change and he realized a welcome one. She was cute like this, cooking and taking care of kids.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Naruto set Makoto up on his shoulder and looked at Sasuke. "Hey teme, what should we do about Sakura-chan and Kaka-sensei?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You saw them at the restaurant and I know you were thinking what I was thinking." Naruto looked to his best friend in exasperation. "They were totally into each other."

Sasuke finished burping Hana and put the bottle back in her mouth before answering. "Are you really okay with Sakura and Kakashi as a couple?"

The Kyuubi container rolled his eyes. "Yes. It's better than those idiots that stare at her on the street or make comments about her in the bar. They treat her like a piece of meat. At least Kaka-sensei respects her."

Sasuke frowned as he remembered some of the less tactful comments he had heard. He certainly wasn't interested in Sakura romantically, but he did care for her and he made sure the bastards he encountered knew not to say such things when he was through with them. Naruto did have a point. There wasn't anyone else in the village that he could picture with their temperamental teammate. "So, what do you think we should do? I assume you have an idea since you brought it up."

Naruto cracked a scheming grin. "Oh, I have a plan alright."

Sasuke waited for a minute and when Naruto said nothing else he grew impatient. "Well?"

"Have you noticed the layout of the house?"

Sasuke didn't know where Naruto was going with this. "Not really."

"I looked around real quick while you started breakfast. There is a bedroom for the infants, one for the two boys and another for the three girls. There is another bedroom with two beds that we can share and another with a larger bed and then the head mistress' room. If we hide the sheets to the head mistress' bed and the sheets to one of the beds in our room, then those two will have to share a bed."

"You think that's a good idea?"

Naruto smiled brightly. "They just need a push. I don't think they'll do anything perverted, but if they're forced to be that close to each other maybe something will happen. Like they'll realize their feelings or something." He obviously thought it was a brilliant plan. Sasuke wasn't so convinced.

"I'll go along with it, but only because someone needs to do something about them. Sakura's easy. We already know she has a thing for Kakashi. But he's a bit trickier." The last Uchiha furrowed his brow in thought before lifting Hana to burp her again. "Where will we hide the sheets?"

Naruto's grin grew exponentially.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sakura hummed happily as she kept her watchful eye on the sizzling bacon. The smell of a delicious breakfast had lured all the children into the dining area where Kakashi was busy putting everyone in their seats and pouring glasses of juice or milk. Sakura's humming ceased and a grin formed as she watched her dangerous and deadly former sensei help the littler ones into high chairs, struggling with the confusing security straps and unwieldy food trays. Her gaze shifted to movement down the hallway and noticed Sasuke and Naruto emerge from the infants' room. "Breakfast will be ready in a minute, guys!"

Naruto glanced back to her as they hurried up the stairs. "We'll be right there, Sakura-chan! There's something we wanted to check out first."

She nodded without a second thought and went back to flipping the bacon. A few minutes later she felt a flare of chakra and saw a flash, but before she or Kakashi could react, Naruto and Sasuke entered from the backyard where the activity had come from. "What did you two just do?"

Naruto hadn't thought that far ahead and started racking his brain, but Sasuke answered calmly. "There was a patch of poison ivy in one corner of the yard and I burned it so the kids wouldn't get into it."

Naruto fought down the smirk. 'Nice one, teme. That would explain the burn marks in the grass.' Mad cackling bounced around in Naruto's brain. 'Now that Sasuke burned all the extra sheets, you two will have to share a bed.'

Sakura looked at them quizzically. "How did you get outside?"

Sasuke answered again. "Naruto spotted it from an upstairs window. It was easy to just jump down."

Sakura nodded. "Alright. Grab a seat. Food's done." She laid a few plates on the table full of pancakes, bacon and various fruit slices. She and the boys helped serve all the children before starting on their own plates. Sakura stopped in the middle of filling her plate. "I almost forgot!" She hurried over to the coffee pot and filled four mugs and started fixing them the way her teammates preferred. It was unusual for Sakura to make their coffee for them, but she was in domestic mode and it just sort of happened naturally for her.

As she set the mugs down in front of the three most important men in her life, Kakashi started to chew his lip. She was unbelievably beautiful like this. He would never want to see her tied down unwillingly, being a fierce and valuable kunoichi, but she had more of a maternal side than any other kunoichi he had met before. Sure Kurenai was maternal, but she was a mom, it wasn't like that for Sakura. He needed to keep away from that train of thought. Thinking about Sakura in that way too long would cause problems. He gave an eye crease at his former students' eager faces before taking a lightening fast bite of his food. The three blinked and then rolled their eyes. They should have known.

Sanosuke was seated next to Kakashi and had watched the piece of pancake disappear but didn't see where it went. "How did you do that?"

Kakashi looked down at the boy. "Hm?"

"Your pancake. It just vanished. Poof!" He made a gesture with his tiny hands and the Copy Nin chuckled.

"It didn't vanish. I ate it. You see, I've been wearing this mask for many years and have learned how to eat and drink fast enough that people don't see my face." The eye creased again as Sanosuke gave an awed, 'wow'.

"So why do you wear a mask? Are you disfigured or something?" Keisuke asked eagerly.

Naruto choked on his bacon as he fought down a laugh and Kakashi scowled at the Kyuubi container. "No, I'm not disfigured. I think it makes me more mysterious." He finished on a whisper and the kids gave an 'ooh' of interest.

Sakura shook her head with a smile and spoke to the children at the table. "So, do you guys do baths at night or in the mornings?"

Akane swallowed a mouthful of apple and answered. "At night. We usually get dressed after breakfast and then Keisuke and I go to school. I don't know what the other kids do. Probably play, I guess. But school's out this week."

Sasuke arched a brow in question. Was she serious or was this a trick to stay home? "Is school really out?"

Akane looked at him in confusion. "Yes. The school is just down the road if you want to see for yourself."

Then it clicked. "Oh, you go to regular school."

Akane and Keisuke nodded, while Keisuke elaborated. "Usually orphans are automatically enrolled in the ninja academy, but Akane and I don't want to be ninja."

Naruto looked up in surprise. How anyone could not want to be a ninja was beyond him. "What do you want to do then?"

Akane smiled brightly. "I want to be a teacher! I want to teach art class."

Keisuke took a sip of his juice before answering. "I want to be a horse trainer. I like horses and lots of people need them, right?"

Sakura could only smile and nod at the kids. "Those are both very impressive professions. I'm sure you'll both do wonderfully at them."

Sanosuke spoke next. "Well I want to be a ninja! Going on adventures and helping people and fighting off bad guys!" He started waving his arms like he was fighting and making little fight noises and Sakura laughed.

"Easy kiddo! Kakashi needs that eye that you're close to stabbing." She watched as Kakashi reared his head back again to avoid the fork that kept coming perilously close.

Sanosuke giggled as he calmed down. "Sorry, Kakashi-san!"

Sakura began to clear away empty plates and help little ones down from the table. "Why don't you boys help the kids get dressed and we'll go to the park."

Her statement caused a chorus of cheers from the kids and there was a flurry of activity as they all rushed to their rooms to find clothes. Kakashi helped her clear the table and voiced his concern to her. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Well, it's either get them outside to burn off some energy or keep them cooped up here where they can break things and make a mess. Plus, fresh air makes kids sleepy. We take them to the park and nap time will be a cinch. We let them play in the backyard before dinner and bed time will be easy as well." Sakura grinned at Kakashi and he chuckled at her.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

They returned from the park weary, the four ninja just as exhausted as the kids. They had planned on playing with them, but didn't realize that kids had an endless supply of energy. The kids went to bed easy. Sakura just tucked them in and they were out for the count.

She re-entered the living room to find her three boys passed out on the chairs and couch. Sasuke had one chair, hands folded across his stomach and head tilted back. Naruto had the other chair, head on one armrest and legs slung over the other armrest, looking every bit like he would hurt when he woke up. And Kakashi was sitting on one end of the couch, head propped in his hand. His even and deep breathing letting Sakura know he really was asleep. She smiled fondly and looked at the pile of dishes in the sink. As much as she wanted to curl up with them and nap, it looked like that wouldn't be happening. She would forgive them this time and let them rest. She threw a blanket over each of them before placing a soft kiss on each forehead and then made her way over to the kitchen.

Had she stayed longer she would have noticed Kakashi's eyes flutter open and a smile grace his features after she kissed his forehead.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A/N: Okay, it'll have two parts since this chapter was getting looooong. So, 'Clueless, part2' should be out by next weekend. Sorry for the wait, but after work I go pick up my daughter and then I have to drive home and cook dinner and after playing with her, her bath and bedtime I'm exhausted. So I only have weekends now for fanfics. (pout) Reviews would be great! Hugs & Kisses!