Hey everyone, long time no update, I know. Don't be mad! So originally, this was going to be the last chapter of A Hope And A Prayer and it was going to be a heck of a lot longer, but I haven't updated in so long, I've decided to split this into two parts. I'm kind of sad to be ending this but I didn't even plan for it to be continued in the first place and for what it's worth, I'm so glad for all the support you guys have given me for this. So anyways, without further ado, here is the beginning of the end of A Hope And A Prayer.


I woke up the next morning, feeling colder than when I fell asleep. I opened my eyes to see the bed and my hospital room empty. I sighed as disappointment washed over me. I was hoping Sasuke would at least be here long enough to say bye before his shift. I looked over at the wall to check the time. It was a little past nine. I slowly pulled myself up into a sitting position just as the door opened.

"Good morning, Naruto." Hinata smiled at me. She pushed in a cart that had a tray with some food on it. "I brought you your first plate for breakfast. You can go ahead and eat this while I explain how this is going to work from now on."

I watched as she set up a lap table and set the tray on top of it. I looked at the food, and my stomach immediately began to start churning. "What if I throw this up?"

"I've added some ginger supplements to help with the nausea, along with some other foods that naturally help with that." She gave me a smile as I took a bite. "So while you're here, you'll be having two meals a day with a snack in between for the first two weeks. Once those those two weeks pass, you'll be going up to three meals and two snacks."

The food was pretty good, especially for hospital food. I nodded at her to let her know I was listening as I began to eat more.

"Now, you'll also have to be exercising." I groaned and she laughed. "Don't worry, nothing too excruciating. We'll just be walking the grounds of the hospital. Walking two wings the first week and slowly increasing over your time here. At the end of each exercise, we can also go visit Tama. If you're up for it, of course."

I looked up at her from my plate and looked at her hopefully. "Really? I'm allowed to visit him?"

She nodded. "Of course. As long as you're not overexerting yourself."

I gave her a wide smile and was about to go in for another bite but then realized my plate was empty. I looked down at it in shock then back up to her. "I didn't even realize how much I ate."

Hinata giggled behind her hand. "Well I'm glad you ate it all. How are you feeling."

I stayed silent, focusing on my stomach but I didn't feel anything. "I don't feel like throwing up, so you're definitely doing something right."

"Of course she is, she's a doctor." We both looked towards the door to see Sasuke and Kiba standing in the doorway. I glared at the two of them as Kiba snickered and Sasuke smirked at me.

"Shut up, you two!" I crossed my arms over my chest. "What are you guys doing here anyways?"

"I just finished showering and getting ready for my shift. Came to say good morning." Sasuke came into the room and placed a light kiss on my forehead. "And to say bye."

"Bye bastard." I waved at his retreating form as he left the room. I looked at Kiba who was now standing next to Hinata. "What about you, dog-breath?"

"I'm here to help Hinata with your exercising." He gave me a toothy grin and I saw Hinata roll her eyes.

"Help her with what?" I asked with a snort. "I'm not that problematic, am I?"

Hinata shook her head. "No, he's just trying to make up for what he did last night."

"Oh, what did he do?" I leaned forward in my bed.

"Don't worry about it, blondie." Kiba gave me a glare and I smirked at him.

"Go see your patients, Kiba." Hinata said, gently pushing him away. "I'll see you later."

Kiba left reluctantly and it was just the two of us again.

"You ready to go out and walk around?"

"Wearing this?" I held out my arms to show her the hospital gown.

"There should be some scrubs in the closet that you can wear when we're walking around. I'll give you some time to change and then we'll go.' She left the room and I got up and walked to the closet where the scrubs were.

After finishing changing, Hinata came in just as I put on the hospital slippers.

"Ready to go?"

"Yep!" I followed after her we began to walk and talk. We went at a decent pace when I felt myself begin to tire.

I groaned as we turned down another hallway. "I feel so old. I'm already out of breath."

She stopped a couple paces ahead of me and waited patiently for me to catch up. "You're not old Naruto, you're pregnant. Getting tired easily is very common."

I groaned again as she began to walk again. "How much farther?"

"We're actually here." She stopped in front of a door and I had to take a moment to realize we were in fact, standing in front of Tama's door. I stood up a little straighter and took a deep breath to calm my nerves.

"Ready to go in?" She asked me and I nodded. She opened the door and I quickly followed behind her.

In the room was Kakashi and Iruka who were standing on one side of Tama's bed facing the door. Suki was sitting cross legged at the end of his bed. Tama was sitting up in his bed.

"Hey everyone, look who came to visit!" Hinata stepped to the side and I waved to the room.

"Papa!" Tama shouted happily.

"Naruto! How're you doing?" Iruka walked over to me and wrapped me in a gentle hug. I hugged him back.

"I'm doing good now, thanks." I smiled brightly at him.

"Glad to see you're doing well." Kakashi waved at me.

"Thanks." I smiled back at him then looked at Tama and Suki. "Hey guys."

Tama smiled widely, holding out his arms. "Hi Papa! I missed you! Daddy and Suki told me you were sick. I wanted to stay with you last night but Daddy said I had to get better first."

I walked over to him and wrapped him in my arms. "I know you wanted to, baby. Daddy told me all about it. But once both of us get better, we'll both be able to go home." I turned towards Suki who was quiet this whole time. She was looking down at her lap.

"Hi, Suki." I walked over to her and gently placed my hand on her head. She quickly turned away and didn't say anything. I frowned before taking my hand back, letting it hang by my side. I felt a sharp stab of pain in my chest at her rejection. The room was quiet and I bit my lip to stop myself from bursting into tears.

"Well, I gotta bring Naruto back to his room. He's still has a ways to go before he gets better." I was thankful for Hinata and I said my quick goodbyes to the room before following Hinata out of the room.

We stayed quiet on the walk back. When we reached my room, I headed to the bed, laying down and pulling the covers up to my chin.

"Can I get you anything, Naruto?" I turned to see her standing at the foot of the bed, looking at me with concern. I shook my head and she gave me a small smile in return. "I'll be back in an hour or so to give you your snack."

"Can we skip that today? I don't really feel like eating any time soon."

She pursed her lips and I could see her thinking about it. "How about we see how you feel after an hour and a half? If you still don't feel like eating, I'll just bring your dinner later on. Sounds good?"

I nodded and tried to give her a smile but it felt more like a grimace. "Thanks, Hinata."

She patted my leg before turning and leaving. As soon as the door closed, I pulled the blanket up over my head.

I felt terrible about Suki not talking to me. I felt myself begin to cry, instead of trying to stop it, I let it out. I wasn't sure how long I stayed under the blankets crying, but after some time, there was a knock on my door.

"Naruto, sweetie?" It was my mom. "Can I come in?"

I quickly wiped at my eyes and took the covers off my head. "Y-yeah." My voice sounded hoarse and shaky and I tried to clear my throat before she came in.

The door opened slowly and my mom stepped in. As soon as she saw me, she let out a gasp and hurried to the side of my bed. "What's wrong, Naruto?"

I threw myself into her lap and began to sob uncontrollably I wrapped my arms around her waist and she wrapped hers around my torso, gently rocking us back and forth.

"Does this have anything to do with Sasuke?"

I was too hysterical to give her an answer so I just shook my head.

She hummed in thought. "The twins?"

I nodded. She began to run her fingers in my hair and I felt myself begin to relax. "It's Suki." I felt her pause in her actions but then she began again. "She won't talk to me." My eyes began to water again. "I scared her so badly she can't even talk to me. I fucked up so badly, mom!"

"Naruto," I sat up and looked to see her frowning at me. "Things aren't as bad as they seem. She may be a little scared, but she still loves you. Nothing will change that."

I shook my head. "I can't stand her not talking to me, or smiling at me. She won't even look at me!" I felt my voice falter once again as I began to cry. "She's been so brave for her brother, she probably feels so alone now too. And I just made things so much worse."

"Just give her some time Naruto. She's still young and doesn't know how to process these feelings. Just keep acting like your regular self and soon enough she'll start talking to you."

I wiped at my eyes and sighed. "How do you know?"

She laughed. "Because I had to deal with something similar to you."

I stared at her with wide eyes. "Me? I don't remember not talking to you."

"You were so young, I wouldn't expect you to remember. The first time I ever spanked you, you cried and ran to your room. You refused to talk to me for a whole week because you were so scared." She laughed loudly. "I would watch you talk to your dad and brother, being so happy and then I'd walk into the room and you'd be so quiet. But I still talked to you like I always have and eventually you went back to your old self."

I felt embarrassed and could feel my cheeks heating up. "You really think she'll start talking to me, just like that?"

"If she's anything like you, I know she will."

I groaned out loud. "She's more like Sasuke than me!"

She rolled her eyes and stood up. "Then ask Sasuke to talk with her. Don't worry, everything's going to be fine."

I sighed and smiled up at her. "Thanks mom."

"Now, I'm going to be heading home, are you going to be okay?"

"Yes mom."

"Alright." She leaned down and gave me a hug and I gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I love you and I'll see you sometime soon."

I nodded. "Love you too."

I waved and watched her leave the room.

I spent the rest of the day watching tv. Hinata came in to check up on me, bringing me a snack and dinner a few hours later. I was feeling a lot better, the nauseous feeling not returning anymore.

I fell asleep pretty early and it wasn't until Hinata brought me my breakfast in the morning, that I woke up.

"Feeling hungry?"

I shrugged my shoulders, still feeling a little down about Suki. "I'm not, not feeling hungry."

Hinata giggled as she placed the tray in front of me. "Well then, once you finish eating we'll go ahead and walk around some more."

I groaned before relcutantly taking a bite. "But I'm so tired, Hinata."

"No getting out of this Naruto. Besides, don't you want to see Tama?"

I looked away, not wanting to answer. I took another bite, unable to look her in the eyes.

"Either way, I have to finish up a couple things and then I'll be right back to take you out."

I watched her leave the room and I slowly finished the rest of my breakfast.

By the time Hinata came back, I was just finishing changing into the scrubs from yesterday.

We walked the same route as before, my legs feeling more sore.

We reached Tama's room where I peeked my head into the doorway. Sasuke and Tama were the only ones there. Sasuke was sitting up in the bed, Tama sitting in his lap. Sasuke was holding up a book and even though I couldn't hear him, I saw his lips move as he was reading out loud. My heart warmed at the scene and I felt myself smile and not wanting to interrupt.

After some time, I felt a hand on my shoulder and I jumped. I quickly turned to see Hinata smiling at me. I stepped back from the doorway and sheepishly smiled at her. "Sorry, I kind of forgot where I was for a second."

Her smile grew a bit wider and she let her hand drop from my shoulder. "Go ahead inside. Sasuke will walk you back to your room."

I nodded and watched her walk away with a wave.

I lightly knocked on the door and both Sasuke and Tama looked up to see who it was. I gave them a shy smile and waved.

"Papa!" Tama sat up quickly causing Sasuke to flinch. I giggled before walking into the room.

"Hi baby, how are you?" I gave him a kiss on the head before leaning down to Sasuke and placing a kiss on his lips.

"I'm doing good. Daddy was reading me a story!" He took the book from Sasuke's hands to show me.

I looked it over to see it was Alice in Wonderland. "Alice in Wonderland? Do you like it?"

"Yeah! I like the Red Queen. Off with your head!" He made a slicing motion before he started to laugh. I looked at Sasuke who was smiling as well.

"I'm glad you like it. It's a good story." I sat down on the bed and laid down, cuddling into Sasuke's side. He wrapped his arm around me and Tama snuggled himself in between us.

"Daddy! Read to Papa and me!" He demanded, holding the book up for Sasuke to take.

"What's the magic word?" Sasuke gave him a stern look.

"Please can you read to Papa and me?" Tama said sweetly, giving him puppy dog eyes.

I laughed and joined in with the look. "Please, Sasu-chan?"

Sasuke gave me a glare and I laughed again.

"Sasu-chan!" Tama giggled and then began to chant it.

I laughed harder as Sasuke's glare narrowed more. "Look what you started!"

"Aw I'm sorry, Sasu-chan. I promise, Tama and I won't say it anymore if you read to us."

Tama nodded, holding the book up to him once again.

"Alright, everyone get comfy."

Tama squirmed for a bit and Sasuke and I laughed until he stopped and gave us a big smile. "I'm ready!"

Sasuke began to read from where he last left off with Tama. I was into the story at first but then I felt myself being lulled to sleep by his voice. It wasn't until I was being shaken awake that I actually realized I fell asleep.

"Hey, Hinata wants you back." Sasuke said, standing over me.

I blinked my eyes rapidly to clear the fog and turned to see that I was still lying on the bed, Tama spread out where Sasuke was lying earlier, fast asleep. I yawned before stretching. "Alright."

"Come on, I'll walk you back."

I nodded my head before standing up and taking his outstretched hand. We left Tama's room and began to walk down the corridor towards my room. "Has Suki said anything about me?" I asked after sometime, suddenly feeling shy.

He gave me a brief glance before shaking his head. "She's never told me personally, but Iruka says she's scared that you're sick like Tama. I haven't had the chance to talk with her since then."

I nodded my head and felt my eyes begin to water. I felt a gentle squeeze of my hand and looked up to see Sasuke giving me a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry Naruto, this weekend, we'll all sit down and talk to each other. We'll make sure she's knows that everything is going to be okay."

"I'd like that." I leaned my head against his shoulder and he wrapped his arm around my waist.

We reached my room shortly where Hinata was already in the room.

"I'll see you later, okay?" Sasuke gave me a peck on the lips.

"You'll stay with me tonight?" I asked hopefully.

He smirked. "We'll see."

I pouted and stuck out my tongue. "Teme." I turned to walk into the room when I felt a slap on my butt. I turned to glare at him but he was already walking away. "Asshole!" I yelled out.

"Naruto!" Hinata scolded from inside the room.

I walked inside and sheepishly rubbed my head. "Sorry, Hinata."

The weekend came quickly. I easily fell into the routine that Hinata set up for me. After the first two days, constantly walking was becoming easier, though I still got out of breath by the time I reached Tama's room. Suki visited one other time, still refusing to talk to me. I felt bad but Sasuke reassured me that everything would be better come Saturday.

Hinata woke me up Saturday morning, the same as normal. She set my breakfast out and waited until I began to eat before talking.

"So today, Sasuke will be taking over your exercise and diet plan. I'll be walking you to Tama's room where he'll be waiting."

"Oh, are you off today?" I asked, curiously.

"Something like that." She smiled at me and watched me finish.

Once I was dressed, we walked to Tama's room. The door was open and Suki and Tama were sitting on the bed, watching TV while Sasuke was sitting in the corner, phone in his hand.

"Have a good day, Naruto. I'll see you on Monday."

I said my goodbyes and waited for her to leave before stepping into the room. "Morning everyone!"

"Papa!" Tama shouted from the bed. Suki briefly looked at me before turning her attention back to the TV.

I bit my lip and stood awkwardly off to the side of the bed. "Morning Sasuke."

Sasuke gave me a small smile and stood up. He walked over to me, kissed the top of my head and grabbed my hand. "Morning Naruto."

I blushed at the attention before looking at him in surprise at he gently pushed me onto the bed.

"Now. We all have to have a talk." Sasuke sternly crossed his arms over his chest and I had to stop myself from snickering at the bossy look he was trying so hard to portray.

"Daddy, why?" Tama whined.

"Because I have a special surprise for you all, but we all have to be talking to each other.

"Can I have the surprise now? I talk to everybody. Suki's the one who's not talking to Papa."

Sasuke's mouth twitched as he tried not to smile and I couldn't help but laugh a little. "No Tama. The surprise is for everyone to enjoy together."

"Suki, just talk to Papa! I want a surprise!" He shouted.

"Be quiet, Tama." Suki hissed at him.

I turned around a little to face the twins. Suki instantly looked down at her lap and I reached out and placed my hand on her leg. I felt her tense under my touch but otherwise she didn't move.

"Baby, why won't you talk to me?" I gently pleaded with her. She turned her head away. "Did I make you mad?"

She was silent before she shook her head.

I looked at Sasuke who nodded at me to continue. I looked back at her. "Did I make you sad?"

She didn't move for a bit but then she turned and looked at me, tears in her eyes. "I'm scared, Papa."

A wave of relief washed over me as she finally talked to me. "Why are you scared?"

"I don't want you to be sick too. I don't like being alone." She began to cry and I quickly grabbed her and brought her into a tight hug.

"You're not alone though, Suki. I'll be back home in a couple weeks and then Daddy and Tama will be back home soon after. And then we'll have our whole family back together again. But for now, you have Iruka and Kakashi."

Tama crawled over to us and wrapped his own arms around her. "I love you, Suki. I don't want you to be alone, I promise to get better faster."

I smiled at the sincerity in his words. I felt a dip in the bed and looked over to see Sasuke who then wrapped his own arms around us. "Even though we can't be there at home with you, Suki, we'll always be here for you."

I leaned back into Sasuke's hold and looked down at our children. A feeling of pride swelled up inside of me and I felt myself begin to tear up.

"Papa, don't cry." Suki looked up at me, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. "I'm sorry for not talking to you."

I started to stroke her hair. "It's okay, baby. I'm just so proud of you two. My strong, brave babies."

The twins looked at each other and giggled. Tama then grabbed Sasuke's hand and gave it a light tug. "Daddy, what's our surprise?"

"Yeah! What is it?!" Suki chimed in.

Sasuke and I laughed at their anxiousness. He stood up and the twins looked at him expectantly. "We're all going to see Lego Batman and then go to Chuck E. Cheese."

I looked at Sasuke, in shock, as the twins began to laugh in excitement. "Wait, we can leave?"

He smirked at me. "Only for the day, but yeah, you two can leave."

I stood up and ran to Sasuke, throwing my arms around his neck. "Thank you!" We stood there for a bit until Tama impatiently stepped in between us, grabbing our hands.

"Come on, let's go!"

We laughed before I stopped, I looked at Sasuke. "What about clothes? Me and Tama only have our hospital gowns."

Tama looked down at himself then at Suki and giving a pout to Sasuke.

"You really think I'd forget something like that?" Sasuke rolled his eyes before walking to Tama's closet. He opened the doors and a duffle bag was tucked away inside. He pulled it out and I let out a breath of relief as I saw our clothes packed neatly away.

"Now hurry up and get dressed." He tossed me my clothes and I stuck out my tongue before going into the bathroom and changing.

After getting ready, we took the subway uptown to the movie theaters. After getting our tickets and some snacks, we found our seats in the theater. The twins enjoyed themselves, and I even caught Sasuke laughing here and there.

We then took the train to Queens and walked a short distance to Chuck E. Cheese. We got some tokens for the twins and let them go off to get play games. Sasuke and I found a table close to the games and sat down. He sat on the inside of the bootb while I sat next to him, leaning my head on his shoulder.

"So, how did you get us a day off to come out?" I asked looking up at him.

"I'm a doctor, idiot." He kissed the top of my head. "I can get you a day off whenever. Plus, it's not like they're forcing you two to stay there. It's just better if you do."

"Mhm." I turned myself so that my back was now leaning on his side. I pulled his arm up and wrapped it around myself. "You just wanted to keep an eye on your more troublesome family members." I heard him snort and I laughed. "But thank you. We really needed this." I brought his hand to my lips and gently kissed it.

"Anything for you, dobe." I felt his chin rest on top of my head and his other hand slide up to rest on my belly.

I sighed in content. It's been so long since I've felt so normal, and that we could all be together again as a family.

After almost an hour of just talking, the twins came back, a bundle of tickets in each of their hands. Before cashing them in, we all sat together and had some pizza and drinks.

We went to the prize counter after finishing dinner, and the twins each had enough tickets to get matching stuffed animals and some candy.

We reluctantly left Chuck E. Cheese and headed to the subway to go back to the hospital.

When we got out of the train station, Kakashi and Iruka were waiting to take Suki home.

"Bye Daddy, bye Papa!" She looked up at us with a bright smile then turned to face Tama. "Bye Tama!"

I squatted down and held my arms out to give her a hug. She ran into my arms and I held onto her tightly. "You're so brave and I'm so proud of you. Daddy, Tama and I love you so much baby, okay?" I felt her nod and I kissed the top of her head. "Now be good for Kakashi and Iruka."

She giggled as she pulled away. "I'm always good, Papa!"

"I know." I gave her a toothy grin. "Now go have fun!"

The three of us watched her walk away with Iruka and Kakashi and as they disappeared from sight, I felt heavier. I looked up as Sasuke gently grasped my hand and gave me a knowing look.

"Ready to go, Papa?" Tama smiled up at me, holding out his own hand for me to take.

"Yeah, let's go."


So, how did you guys like it? Like I mentioned earlier, I'm so grateful that you guys have given me so much positive feedback on this story. As always, if you like it please review and favorite and I'll see you for the next and final chapter of A Hope And A Prayer!
~tachiequillsluv/p