The Decision

Ino was pretty suspicious when she went into the hospital later in the week. Nothing was really different at all except for the feeling she was getting as she clocked in.

Some of the nurses still remembered the incident that happened between her and Sakura. Nosy, Ino thought putting her name tag on.

"Where are my files?" She asked shaking her hair back and getting into worker mode.

"Here." A young girl handed her three slender and empty folders.

"Where is the paperwork?"

"There is none yet. All the forms are up there in the nursing station." The girl explained pointing to the stairs. Ino gave them a fleeting look but turned her attention to the two other whispering nurses.

"Up where?" That sinking suspicious feeling was seeping deeper and deeper.

"Maternity ward. Didn't the Hokage tell you?" The girl frowned, giving the other nurses a questioning look. Ino turned back to the stairs. Why would she want her up there? She hand no experience in that specialized field.

"I was reassigned?" Her voice touched on incredulous. The three nurses exchanged looks.

"Maybe it's to keep you and Sakura apart." One of them boldly suggested. Ino's temper flared.

"It's not that. Mind your own business." She shot at the older gossipers and stomped away to the stairs. She never ventured to the maternity ward before. Actually, she avoided it. Crying babies and screaming mothers-to-be was not exactly her cup of tea. What was the Hokage up to? What was she planning? To sway her mind? Ino slowed her steps, her hand sliding across her flat belly.

Truthfully, she was still unsure if she would do it or not. The other day Sasuke made it perfectly clear that he was still weighing the decision. Ino had been mentally suppressing the life altering choice for a while now. She would have dreams about an empty crying crib rolling out the door. Other times it was soft giggling and she was sitting by the crib singing quietly.

Becoming a mother was a huge scare. Her thoughts would turn to her own mother. Her father had told her that she had left when Ino was barely four. I guess some people just aren't the parenting type Ino thought drawing deeper inside herself to find any memories of the woman. What was it that made her run? Was it because of me? And if I became a mother, will I be the same? She never really had any maternal feelings when it came to children. Well, maybe when it was Kai, but was the disinterest inherited? Can I love the kid enough? With no real female role model, how could I ever be someone's mom? I might screw the kid up and they could become some kind of ice cold killer or a sissy. And what of Sasuke? What kind of father could he be? He was finished with his revenge, but is he still chasing other shadows in his life? Could he be there for the kid when they needed him? Another thing, if they had the kid, could they actually work together?

She knew her pervious obsession with him was still on his mind, but could he see that she had changed? She wasn't the screaming fangirl these days but did he still view her as one?

Ino heard footsteps coming down the stairs. Looking up she saw a couple descending. Ino moved to the side as they passed her. Cuddled in the man's arms was a small pink bundle. Ino watched as the baby girl slept peacefully in his arms with her mother smiling peacefully, unable to tear her eyes from the little face. Something tugged in Ino, something primal and calming. She tore her eyes from the little family and continued up the stairs.

When she opened the huge white door that led to the maternity ward she took a deep breath and opened it expecting to hear unbearable noise, crying, screaming, chaos. But the floor was pretty…quiet. There was a certain peacefulness about the place. She headed to the nurse's station. Two kindly looking women smiled, one with graying hair pulled into a shoulder braid and a younger one about forty-five or so with young looking eyes and a young smile.

"Welcome Ino Yamanaka. The Hokage told us to expect you." The older one stood, coming around the crescent shaped desk.

"Thank you." She inclined her head. The older lady whose name tag read Kiki took her by the arm and escorted her to a nearby room. She knocked and Ino heard a muffled reply.

"Doctor, she is here." Nurse Kiki let Ino by. The doctor was a young guy she had never seen before. It was a bit odd because she thought she knew all the doctors. Maybe he was new? He looked up displaying bright moss green eyes and a sparking smile that almost rivaled Guy's and Lee's. Her first impression was mixed. He was a handsome man and he seemed like a nice guy, but something about him made her a bit wary. She didn't let her instincts rule her, but she took them into consideration most of the time.

"Oh, welcome. The Hokage told me about you and your great skills. I hope to witness them sometime soon." It was a nice dismissal and Ino gave a slight smile of farewell as Nurse Kiki walked her out.

"Your tasks will be simple enough. Nurse Myu or I will be with you the whole time to show you the ropes." Nurse Kiki explained as they arrived back at the nurse's station.

"What will I be doing?" Ino glanced at the empty folders in her arms.

"Starting files for the Leaf's newest citizens. Before the infants are released from the hospital we do some minor tests on them to make sure everything is alright." She shrugged collecting a pen from the desk. "Basic stuff like blood samples, shots, eye and hearing tests. We also do follow-ups with the new mothers before they leave, some healing to take away the soreness and swollenness."

Didn't seem too hard. Good thing, she didn't know if she could handle the delivery room. For some reason maimed ninjas with their guts spilling from their stomachs didn't seem as scary as a woman pushing a baby's big head out of their vaginas.

"The Hokage said you had good people skills. Its needed sometimes when we have to deal with parents."

Ino followed her down the hall. "This is our first room. Come on." The door squeaked open and in the room was a rumpled woman with messy brown hair and a short man with thick black hair that hung in his eyes. "Good morning! I'm nurse Kiki and this is Ino." The couple greeted them with friendly smiles.

"Nice to meet you." The woman said with a yawn.

"So you're ready to go home today? How exciting." Nurse Kiki gushed warmly. "We just need to start a file for your son and then you can take him out of here. Are you excited?" Her little brown eyes sparked.

The mother smiled looking tired but happy. "Not as excited as our two other boys. They keep asking us when their little brother is coming home."

Nurse Kiki chuckled and took an empty file from Ino. "Oh, they'll be happy today then. Can you fill this out?" She handed the file and two sheets of paper to the father. "Ino will retrieve your son and we'll begin."

Ino did a double take. "I will?"

"Three doors down turn right, two more doors and turn right again. Run along."

"Run along." Ino mimicked with a sigh as she shut the door behind her.

"Hino." Nurse Kiki peeked her head out of the door. "The name tag will read Hino." Ino nodded—Hino—can't bring them the wrong kid. How would that look on my first day here?"

Ino caught sight of the large peering window as she rounded the second corner. She slowed staring wide-eyed at the rows and rows of babies. Some were outright crying and others were oblivious to the noise and slept soundly. Again her hand went to her belly. Will it be that big? How can my little womb handle all of that?

"Excuse me." Ino's hand dropped and she turned to the voice. It was a young woman older than her but not by much. A head of long dirt blonde hair that was free flowing and bright violet eyes. Ino's conceit heightened as she instantly found flaws with this girl. A snaggle tooth, and her lips weren't as lush as her own. While her face was clear, Ino saw the outlines of her concealer around her hairline. She was short too and the top of her body was a lot smaller than her bottom. She still could be considered slender though.

"I'm sorry. Nurse Kiki asked me to get the Hino infant." Ino gave a practiced smile that masked her thoughts.

"Oh sure. I just finished feeding him so he should still be asleep." Keys jingled against the door as the girl turned the knob. It smells like babies Ino thought as she entered the nursery.

"You're Ino Yamanaka right? You and Sakura Haruno are often praised by the others since the Hokage made you her apprentices." Ino caught the unimpressed tone in her voice. Huh, whatever. She was probably jealous Ino thought smothering her cocky smirk.

"And you are?" Her question meant to sound haughty and she gave herself a little pat on her back when the girls face tightened in insult.

"I'm Hoshi Tazo. My family is the prestigious Tazo clan of East Fire Country." She explained like the knowledge should be well known to all.

Tazo Tazo…right the Tazo family that had their summoning scrolls stolen. Ino glanced at the girl. Well at least she's modest she thought sarcastically. They arrived at a little rolling bed where a sleeping baby boy was snuggled neatly in a receiving blanket.

"Here just sign this." Ino jotted down her name and began rolling him from the noisy nursery. Hoshi followed.

"I saw you the other day with Sasuke Uchiha. Are you two dating or something?" Ino mentally groaned. Great a fangirl with sharp nails.

"No."

"What were you two doing together then?" She asked in an accusing voice. Ino sighed and sped up her walk.

"None of your business." She shot with venom. Another smug smile tugged at Ino's mouth as the young woman sent her a glare.

"I hope you don't have any plans for him. I'll win him over, no doubt."

Ino snorted. "You and thousands of other girls." Hoshi stopped the rolling bed. The baby slid and Ino shot her a glare. Hoshi's ice cold purple eyes narrowed.

"I'm different than most of you immature girls. Don't think I don't know of your little obsession with him when you were younger. I'll succeed where you failed. He needs a strong woman with impeccable blood to replenish his clan. With our joining the Tazo clan will be the most influential family in all of Fire Country." She declared staring at Ino like she was a little bug.

Calm, don't kill the bitch. She cooled her temper with the very strictest restraint. Ino then shoved Hoshi's hand from the bed and continued.

"Whatever." Let the stupid broad think what she will. Still, it faintly bothered her to see that some things never change. Sasuke was still a bargaining piece that others would kill to posses. When she was younger she witnessed the pressure Leaf Village put on him. He had to live up to his name and be the ultimate Uchiha. It was only reinforced at the Chunnin exams when a fight almost broke out because Sasuke was going to be disqualified for being late. Now since his homecoming his fanclub returned full force to try and acquire his attention and capture his heart. Ino couldn't help but feel a little bad for him. Maybe that's why I never see him around—he's in hiding from the Hoshis in the village.

Once she entered the room, the parents became bouncy with delight.

"He's even cuter than the last time I saw him." The mother beamed at her husband.

"Hoshi! What are you doing here?" Nurse Kiki asked. The girl shrugged.

"Just making sure Ino didn't get lost." She replied sending her a self-satisfied look. Ino gritted her teeth. Little suck up! Making her seem incompetent in front of the patients and Nurse Kiki.

"Thank you." She said in all the niceness she could muster. Her reply took some of the sharpness of Hoshi's remark. Beat bitchness with innocence…that seemed to work. The girls cocky smile didn't seem as strong as before and Ino raised a brow. Go ahead…try me…

After she left Nurse Kiki got down to business. "It will all be over soon." She ran through the tests. The kid screamed in distress when he was pricked with needles and blood was taken from his heel. Ino's stomach clenched at the sight of the blood that welled into a little thumbnail that dotted his foot. Poor kid.

"See? All done." Nurse Kiki gathered everything and left the crying infant in his rolling bed. Ino's ears rang and it felt like her eyeballs were shaking. Jeeze what kind of lungs did this kid posses? For someone so small he was sure loud.

"Just a few more signatures and you're done Mr. Hino. We'll let your wife deal with the little guy. I'm sure she wants to feed him." The two left.

"Ino, could you bring him to me? I'm still a little sore." The woman held out her arms. Ino was horrified. Touch that little crying thing? He was all wiggly and loud. "Ino?" Ino sat her papers down and cautiously approached the screaming kid. "Just put your hand under his head to keep it from rolling and use your arm to support his body." She instructed with natural patience. When he was in her arms she felt a little pinch in her heart. He was so warm and light…She quickly gave him to his mother. The baby still mewed and Ino looked away when the woman began breastfeeding. Ino touched her chest. They have to suck on these? The only person who—gah—don't go there. Don't think about that.

"I covered his head so you can look now." The woman sounded amused. Ino blushed faintly as she turned back around.

"Sorry."

"It's okay. I can tell you never dealt with babies before." She grinned.

Ino picked up the two remaining files. "Not really. Babies are still a mystery to me."

The mom laughed. "Tell me about it. You would think that after two the third would be a piece of cake." She looked down. The child's black fuzz for hair peeked from the blanket thrown over his face. "But each one of them is different. A different blessing. I never thought I wanted to be a mom. I was petrified after I had my first. My mother was a good mom but I didn't want to be like her—you know the kind who packs you lunches the night before. Has cookies when you come home from school and a warm milk before bedtime. That was too much and I didn't want to be like that. But I think I'm doing a good job. My husband is in construction and always has time to spend with us. The kids seem happy and I know this little one will be a nice addition."

Ino felt warm all over as the mom stroked the kids head. The silent moment of reflection came to an end as Nurse Kiki and the father came back into the room.

"All finished." The nurse declared. The man looked flushed with excitement.

"Come on honey. The boys are waiting down stairs with your mom."

XOXO

Three hours later Ino left for lunch. It was kind of depressing to eat alone, But Sakura was no where to be found and everyone else ate before she did. She sat in a little place munching on some dried banana chips and lowfat yogurt while looking out if the front window as the passing people.

"Look Mommy! How pretty! Can we go in and look please?" A little four year old girl pointed to a shop across the way that displayed kimonos. She pulled her mother's hand and they happily entered the shop.

All around her Ino noticed children. Some sweet and cute, others loud and obnoxious.

"Brooding again?" Ino jumped. Her dried banana she was going to eat dropped to the table.

"Sasuke! Don't do that!" She hissed calming her heart. He was wearing a black shirt and dark blue ninja pants with grey shin guards. He sat across from her and seconds later the waitress who had been too busy to seat her when she first came in (painting her stubby fingernails) was standing by their table all smiles and fluttering eyelashes.

"Can I get you something?" She asked sweetly, eyes zeroing in on Sasuke.

"Tomato juice." She jotted it down and gave a huge flirtatious wink and smile before scurrying away to do his bidding.

"Tomato juice?" Ino raised a brow. He his trademark smirk slipped into place.

"Some kind of lunch you're having. Shouldn't you be eating more?" He flicked her banana chip that fell, across the table. Ino flushed a little, feeling like he was reprimanding her.

"I had a sandwich before." She defended. They sat in silence staring out the window together. The waitress showed up with his tomato juice and hovered over them like an annoying bee.

"Anything else?" She leaned on the table as if trying to block Ino from Sasuke with her big butt.

"No. Leave." It was rude but worked. The waitress giggled before leaving them alone.

"So…I've been thinking…" Ino awkwardly began.

"About this?" He withdrew a wrinkled sheet of paper which could only be the consent form. It was folded and he laid it on the table between them. Ino eyed it like it would jump and bite her.

"Yeah. About that. I think—well uh…I don't really…want you to sign it." She said softly placing her fingertips on the paper before quickly withdrawing them.

"Good because I didn't." He leaned back in his chair in one of those careless cool looking poses. Ino let out a breath, her pulse racing for some reason by his answer.

"I figured you wouldn't." She fiddled with a banana chip before looking up and meeting his gaze. He was still pretty expressionless but his eyes had a certain brightness to them that only a handful of people would notice. "It's not my ideal way of starting a family, but what's done is done and we can't change it."

"Would you want to change it?" He inquired.

"Yes." She honestly replied. "If I could go back right now I would change it." She and Sakura would be on talking terms and her ninja career would have progressed the way she wanted it to.

"You make it seem like it was all bad." He muttered taking a sip of his juice. Ino wasn't sure if she hit a sore mark with him. Was he a bit self cautious? She didn't want to make it seem like being with him was the all time worst experience.

"It wasn't all bad." She admitted. Some intense images wafted into her memory. "Perhaps if we had been more careful I suppose I wouldn't take it back." She said thoughtfully. And writing it off as a pleasant night would have been much better then what they were into now. "At least it taught me how much alcohol I can consume." She added.

"Is that all it taught you?" Ino shifted her eyes from the window back to Sasuke. Was he teasing her?

"It also taught me about that place. You know which one right? Above your—" He cleared his throat, glancing away from her. Ino grinned. Ha! I finally chipped his ice shield.

"Let's not reminisce too much. We have other matters to discuss." He dryly commented, eyes back on her.

Ino rolled her eyes. "Killjoy."

"It will take my last name. That is all I ask."

Ino raised a testy brow. "That's all?"

Sasuke pushed his juice to the side and leaned in slightly. "What is it now?" He seemed annoyed again. And how the hell could he have surmised that something was wrong? She wasn't that easy to read—was she? "Ino." He commanded her attention back.

"You think offering your last name is going to be enough? There's more to being a father that giving the kid you last name. And no, I'm not talking about money." She saw that argument begin to rise from him. "I'm talking about being there. You know, helping to raise it."

He raised a brow. "What are you suggesting?"

Ino huffed. "I'm not suggesting anything. I'm telling you what I expect. If we're going to do this, you can't be one of those part-time fathers that I'll end up resenting."

"What makes you think I'll do that?" He demanded without even raising his voice. His perfect features creased into a frown.

"I hope you don't. I'm just saying…"

"No, tell me the truth? What makes you think I'll do that?"

"Ino sighed, slumping in her chair and playing with her spoon. "Are you finished?" She finally asked. Sasuke looked confused. "I mean, is everyone you want to destroy…gone? Will you leave the village again if you find a new path to power?" Her shoulders tensed, waiting for his answer. Sasuke steadily stared as if weighing his thoughts.

"You're worried that I'll leave?" He finally asked. Ino's breath caught. Did she hear remorse? She was scared all of the sudden. He was supposed to be the strong one…

"I can't do this on my own." She almost whimpered. "I need you to do this with me. What if I mess the kid up? What if I leave like my mother did? Then what happens to the kid if we're both gone?" She was pouring her personal and impersonal fears out on the table. But to be fair to her pride, she had been harboring all these things since she found out she was pregnant. It was quite tiring…keeping all these things to herself. She couldn't even tell Hinata and she probably wouldn't have told Sakura if they were on better terms.

"This is not like you Ino." Sasuke commented and leaned back into his chair to watch her.

"I know and it scares me." She admitted in a soft whisper. "Aren't you a little scared?"

Sasuke quietly contemplated her question. She didn't get the answer she was looking for but she wasn't surprised that he wouldn't tell her his feelings.

"I won't leave." Was all he said.

"Promise?" She shot at him. He hesitated. "You have to promise."

"Whatever." He muttered.

"No, you have to say it." She glowered.

He gave in after an intense stare down. "I promise I won't leave. Happy?" His onyx eyes sparkled with exasperation.

Ino smiled and gathered her things. "For now." She chirped suddenly feeling energized and light.

"Hn." He stayed put when she stood. After disposing of her trash she looked back at him. He was silently watching the people walk by, his index finger swirling his tomato juice. Then she decided to do what she had stopped doing long ago. The urge rose in her and she walked behind his and threw her arms around his shoulders, chest against his back. She glomped him.

"Thank you." She murmured.

When Ino left back to the hospital, she missed the little smirk on Sasuke's face and the cold purple eyes that had been spying on them since her lunch had begun…