So, I'm breaking my own rules already by adding this note (and its only chapter 3!) Something I usually state upfront that I didn't this time came back to bite me already. That is, I love writing and coming up with stories and such...if you don't like what you see, if you don't like my style or how I slightly bend the past to fit what I'm writing about THEN JUST DON'T READ IT. I could really care less that you don't like it and you on your high horse posting that you don't like it doesn't change a thing...it just makes you look petty and judgmental. There are others who do like it and read it. Move on and find a story that you do like, or better yet, go out and write your own. Constructive and positive comments are always welcome. I do read them all, and in the future, I will simply be ignoring those that provide no benefit.

CG

OlOlOlOlOlO

Sakura sat in her bathrobe at her kitchen table in her home at the Uchiha compound. The newspaper was on the table in front of her and she took a sip from her raised teacup.

"Good morning, Sakura," said Juugo, opening the door leading to the kitchen. Even though he lived in another part of the compound (pretty much right next door), it had become commonplace for him to visit Sakura and Sasuke's kitchen for breakfast and tea most mornings.

"Oh hi, Juugo," answered Sakura. "Big plans for the day?"

"No, not really. It's a normal workday," said Juugo.

"You may get paid for it, but I wouldn't call it work – not for you anyway," said Sakura, making small talk.

"Yeah, you're right," said Juugo, opening up the refrigerator to see what was in there.

"I made toast. Have some," said Sakura nodding towards a plate in the center of the table.

Juugo took a seat and took two slices. "Thanks. Isn't Sasuke up? I'm surprised you are sitting here alone."

"He was still sleeping when I got up. He got in really late though so it's understandable. They decided to come straight home from his latest mission instead of spending the night in the forest," said Sakura.

"And what about you...big plans for today?" asked Juugo.

"No, just work at the hospital," answered Sakura.

"Aren't you up a little early for that?" he asked.

"Wow, you know my normal schedule so well," she quipped. "I have to get to the hospital a little early this morning. I need to leave a little early for a fitting."

"So this is finally going to happen?" asked Juugo with a smile on his face. "It's about time."

"'Morning." Sasuke entered yawning, one arm stretching while the other scratched the back of his head. He also had a bathrobe on, but it was hastily tied and the two flaps were somewhat open exposing his boxers underneath.

"You look rough," said Juugo his friend and former teammate.

"Yesterday was a really long day," Sasuke said. "Not only did we spend half the day at full speed trying to get back here...we didn't stop for dinner, then ended up not getting in until 1am anyway."

"What was the hurry?" Juugo asked.

"Naruto was on the team," said Sasuke flatly.

Sakura smiled knowing exactly what Sasuke was referring to.

"I don't get it," said Juugo.

Sakura turned to her friend. "Ever since Naruto had his kids, let's just say he doesn't like to spend a lot of time outside of the Leaf. And if there is a chance to get back early, well, you better believe he'll be trying to take advantage of it."

"At least I get today off," said Sasuke. "It was the least he could do."

"He can do that?" asked Juugo.

"No, not really. But Tsunade won't question something like that. He'll report to her and tell her that he did give us the day off and she'll just accept it even if she wouldn't have done the same thing," explained Sasuke.

"She's trying to give him a bit more freedom as far as his leadership goes. It's part of the Hokage-training process," Sakura said.

"I see," acknowledged Juugo.

"I have to get dressed so I can get to work," said Sakura standing up from the table.

"I'll drop by for lunch," said Sasuke.

"Have a good day," said Juugo.

Sakura went back to her and Sasuke's bedroom and started to get ready. She loved her job at the hospital and was a bit scared at this next step she was taking, but she had already made up her mind that this wedding was going to happen one way or the other. Like Hinata had said, there is never going to be an absolutely perfect time to make this life-change. Besides, Sasuke had promised her that they would work together so that she could still continue working as a medical shinobi and as a member of Team 7 on their missions as much as possible.

Sakura stepped into the bedroom and the sight of the Uchiha symbol on the back of Sasuke's shirt tossed hastily aside caught her eye.

"He really needs to pick up after himself," she muttered as she went to pick it up. She ended up holding it up for just a split second as her mind caught on one particular thought.

I can't believe I'm standing here in this place. She briefly let her hand lightly brush the Uchiha symbol.

All that had happened since the end of the Fourth Shinobi World War suddenly flashed before her. Everything had led to this exact moment: Sasuke deciding to support Naruto in his final battle with Tobi, Sasuke's decision to return to Konoha because of his brother Itachi and all he believed in, and Tsunade allowing him to as long as he was open to some restrictions and punishment as a result of his past actions. Even after all that, Sasuke had to win back the trust of the Leaf as well as the other hidden villages. He was even accused of murdering the last two existing elders - the ones who had been a part of Itachi's order to kill his clan and the ones who had ordered the kidnapping of the Koshosuru twins - and he was able to get past all that as well.

These days, Sasuke was a jounin-level shinobi who was back to being fully trusted with the most secret of information. Team 7 was again whole and still did missions together when all their talents were needed.

The Uchiha compound had been rebuilt and was ready to be filled with the first generation since the massacre.

Sasuke had made amends to everyone he had wronged in the past whether officially called for or not.

Now she and Sasuke were engaged (him having asked her to marry him during a rather intimate moment) and were living together moving forward with their lives. Who would have ever thought everything would come together like this?

Sakura giggled. If only her 10-year old self could see her now. She had liked him since at least then. She first laid eyes on him when she was four and just entering the academy, but the first time she remembered even thinking that he might be good boyfriend material was about the age of 10.

It was probably puberty starting to kick in….

OlOlOlOlOlO

For Sakura, it was a regular workday. Nothing special was planned – just the normal rounds, checking on the patients she was responsible for. As she was entering one of the rooms, she noted that Tsunade and Shizune were down the hall talking to some of the staff. Sakura quickly changed course to find out what was going on. It was very odd for them both to be here at the same time.

"Lady Tsunade, why are you here? It's odd that you are in the hospital with all the other work that you…" Sakura asked as she approached her mentor.

"I wanted to check on the status of the two injured shinobi who returned to Konoha last night," Tsunade answered.

"Two?" repeated Sakura. She obviously hadn't heard.

"Nothing for you to worry about, Sakura," said Tsunade. "We have it all under control."

"Oh…ok," she said. Something's up, she thought to herself. Why are they being so stand-offish?

Sakura went on her way and finished up her own rounds. She saw Tsunade enter one of the rooms presumably to talk to the injured shinobi. Within 15 minutes she was back in the hallway again. This time she was apparently alone, but nonetheless, she wasn't making any effort to leave.

"Lady Tsunade?" Sakura approached her again.

Tsunade just exhaled as if she had been caught doing something again. "I'm just visiting the shinobi who were injured last evening, Sakura."

"I know, M'Lady. You've already made that abundantly clear. So why are you still here?" asked Sakura.

Then, from the back of the nurse's station emerged Shizune. "Lady Tsunade, are you ready to go-?" She stopped in mid-sentence when she saw Sakura standing there.

"You two are obviously hiding something," said Sakura. "Usually if you two know something, I'm in on it, too. Isn't that how we usually work?"

Shizune looked a little defeated by this time as well.

"I don't get it," said Sakura aloud noting the atmosphere.

"We were just going to get a bite to eat," said Shizune. "Care to join us?"

"Oh! Um, sure. Hold on a second," said Sakura as she rushed to do a few last minute things before she was able to head out for a bit.

The three comrades walked to a restaurant near the hospital, took their seats, and ordered their food.

Shizune gave Sakura a look.

"What?" she asked feeling a tad bit self-conscious.

"This is not yet public information," said Shizune. "The only reason I know about it is because of Kankuro. I made plans to meet with Lady Tsunade at the hospital after her visit, but your instincts are just too good, Sakura. I'd rather tell you as well rather than have you bug me or Lady Tsunade about it for the next few days."

Shizune and Kankuro had been dating long distance since the Hokage's dinner the night before Naruto's wedding to Hinata. Tsunade had hosted an event for the occasion and among those attending were the three Sand siblings. Shikamaru and Temari had already been dating, but the flirting that took place that night between Shizune and Kankuro was a sight to see. They had agreed to date ever since even though they both knew they had other obligations to their respective villages and being together for more than a week at a time on occasion would be very rare indeed. In fact, now that she thought about it, she would have tagged Shizune to give up everything and move to Sand to be with Kankuro way before she would have expected Shikamaru to do the same.

"What is it? Is everything alright?" asked Tsunade.

"The Kazekage's wife is….expecting," said Shizune.

"Gaara?" said Sakura aloud. She never would have considered him the type to marry let alone do what it took to actually make a baby.

"Good for him!" said Tsunade. "But that still doesn't explain why all the secrecy. Why is that news so important that you needed to tell me immediately...and privately?"

Shizune looked down for a moment.

"There's something else?" asked Tsunade.

Shizune started to speak, but her eyes were still averted. "I wanted to tell you as soon as I could in case I started wavering again. I-I'm thinking about…"

"You're moving to Sand, is that it?" blurted out Sakura not taking into account the serious turn the conversation seemed to have taken.

"Sakura!" Shizune yelled at her fellow disciple.

"Sorry," muttered Sakura.

Tsunade calmly picked up her tea and took a sip. "Is that it, Shizune?"

"Um, y-yes," Shizune answered.

"I don't know what you were expecting me to say, but I'm happy to hear it," said Tsunade.

"What?" both Shizune and Sakura said in unison looking at Tsunade with wide eyes.

"But…I would have thought you'd be upset if I left," said Shizune.

"I'll miss you and your company," said Tsunade. "But, I'm not a fool. You've followed me around all these years…even before we returned to the Leaf. It is about time you stopped doing things for me and thought of yourself. Go off, get married, have children…be happy."

"T-thank you, M'Lady!" said an obviously relieved Shizune. "E-excuse me for a moment." She got up and ran off.

"Where do you think she's going?" asked Sakura.

"To where we keep the messenger birds, I'd imagine," said Tsunade. "She's been acting weird for over a week now and I'm sure she'll want to tell Kankuro that it's over and she is free to go."

"Hm. I see," said Sakura, taking a bite of her lunch. "How did you know this was coming?"

"First I noticed she was acting funny. I wasn't sure what was going on, but figured she'd tell me eventually. But then, a few days ago, I caught her wearing a ring I had never seen before. It really looked like an engagement ring. I didn't get a chance to ask her about it and after that day, I never saw it again. I can only guess that perhaps she accidentally forgot to take it off before reporting to Hokage tower that one day," explained Tsunade.

"You are so observant, M'Lady," noted Sakura.

Tsunade took a sip of tea again. "I must say one thing about the situation though," she pondered.

"What's that?" Sakura asked.

"I'm happy Gaara already married a Sand shinobi. We can't afford to send many more of our best and brightest over there."

Sakura smiled at her mentor's comment. She knew it was true, even if it was said with an air of humor.

OlOlOlOlOlO

"Pregnant?" said Hinata to Sakura when they decided to walk to the nearby shopping district that evening. The twins were along for the ride as well.

"That's what Shizune said and with her direct connection to Kankuro, I'm sure it's not wrong," said Sakura.

"Speaking of Shizune and Kankuro…," started Hinata.

"Oh, they're getting married, too," added Sakura.

"Really?!" exclaimed Hinata.

"I found out earlier today," replied Sakura.

"How exactly is that going to work?" asked Hinata.

"How do you think?" answered Sakura. "She's leaving."

Hinata sighed. "Another one," she offered.

"Yes," said Sakura. "But what do you expect with such widespread peace in the world? Lots of chances to intermingle amongst the villages. I would expect a lot more shinobi will be leaving their homes to be with their loved ones eventually. It will probably be how it is from now on."

"You're right," said Hinata. "I've noticed it myself with a few new faces here and there around here. Usually it turns out they move here to be with someone they worked with from another village."

"It will just make the world more stable," said Sakura. "We'll be much less likely to be enemies if there are shinobi from all over the world living in all the villages together.

"Speaking of weddings," said Hinata. "How is yours coming along?"

"The usual," said Sakura. "It's a little difficult since we both don't want anything big…but we have so many people we should really invite."

"So it's a large-small wedding?" asked Hinata.

"Either that or a small-large wedding," joked Sakura back.

Just then Aiko started fussing in her stroller seat. She and Kiro were definitely getting older and could now be considered toddlers rather than babies. Hinata stopped, unbuckled her and lifted her up out of the seat.

"And pretty soon, you and many others are going to have little ones of your own," said Hinata. "Won't it be fun to have them all in the Academy at the same time?"