ohmygosh I'm sorry about the late update. Please believe me that out of all the bazillion things I did the past two weeks, I would have rather been updating this fic. Seriously. Life. GAH.

A huge roarin' thanks to all my reviewers. I usually thank each and every one of my reviewer friends personally, but unfortunately, this week my husband ate up all of our bandwidth streaming cheesy sci-fi and horribly campy detective shows. You see, I'm on satellite internet (EVIL) which means that for an ungodly sum of money, I only get to use 20 Gigs of internet a month. Since I'm a web designer and my husband is a bad tv whore, this bandwidth had died. I basically have enough to post this chapter and bitch about my internet to you, LOL. So in short, THANKYOUSOMUCHILOVEYOU and I'll totally write to you next time:)

I seriously hope and pray that I will be able to update next weekend. The next chapter is an absolute riot. Just know I will feed your guilty fanfic craving as soon as I can.

Until then, enjoy chapter ten. (oooh, I rhymed. Sick.) :)

Chapter Ten: Back Pain

"Your pregnancy is coming along just fine, Hinata-chan," Sakura beams, putting away her stethoscope. It's amazing how cheerful Sakura is today. Most ordinary mortals, after imbibing that much sake the night before, would have been hungover for days. Sakura doesn't even have bags under her eyes.

"You're blood pressure is a tad bit high, though. Have you been stressed out?" Sakura turns her inquisitive green eyes to Hinata: they feel like spotlights.

"N-no, of c-course n-n-not," Hinata stammers. She takes a deep breath. "Everything is f-fine."

"You sure? Having any troubles at home? I know those boys of yours can be a handful…" Sakura chews her lip and taps her pen on the clipboard.

"N-no." Hinata swallows thickly. "N-nothing like that."

"Well, maybe it's your diet, Hinata-chan. Try to cut back on saturated fats and increase your consumption of fruits and vegetables. Okay?"

Hinata forces a smile. "Of course. I'll do my best. Will that be all?"

Sakura grins and tucks her clipboard under her arm. "Yep. Hey, it's my lunch break—you want to grab a bite?"

What Hinata really wants is peace and quiet. But she can't bring herself to say no to Sakura, not after she's taken the trouble of doing her exam. "S-sure, Sakura-chan," Hinata answers, sliding off the table.

Half an hour later and Hinata finds herself at a sushi bar, Sakura on one side, Ino on the other. The smell of raw fish makes her nauseous, so she orders plain avocado rolls with extra pickled ginger. Just looking at her friends' platters sends her stomach roiling. The octopus tentacles look especially unappealing.

"So," Ino says around a mouthful, "how'd it go with handsome last night?"

Sakura smiles coyly and sips at her sake. "Well, he's no Sasuke-kun—" she slams down her cup and frowns. "But he's cute, and a good dancer. I know Sasuke-kun is my one true love…" Sakura sighs and leans her cheek on her palm. "But a girl can't be expected to wait around forever. Maybe it'll even make him jealous!" she squeals, her eyes twinkling.

"I don't think so," Hinata blurts out, absently pushing her food around her plate.

"Eh? Hinata-chan, why not?" Sakura whines. "I mean, everyone knows that Sasuke-kun and I are destined to be together. He just…ah…hasn't figured it out yet…"

Hinata almost chokes on her own spit while Ino rolls her eyes. "Like you said Forehead, you can't wait around forever for Prince Charming. I say try the new guy."

Sakura sighs heavily and pours herself more sake. "Yeah… Maybe. We'll see."

"Um… Um… Sakura-chan? D-did you m-meet him last n-night? At the c-c-club?" Hinata squeaks, suddenly going very red in the face.

"Oh yeah, totally," Sakura replies. "He's dreamy. Not as dreamy as Sasuke-kun of course—but still pretty cute."

Hinata squeezes her eyes shut. So Sakura has no idea what kind of club they went to last night.

Maybe she has a thing for gay guys.

Not that Hinata should judge, she thinks miserably, clutching her churning stomach. Just look at her excuse for a husband.

"Oi, Hinata-chan, are you okay?" Ino calls, leaning forward to peer at her. Hinata catches a whiff of Ino's breath—raw octopus and soy sauce with a hint of wasabi.

Without warming, Hinata throws a hand over her mouth and leaps out of her seat. She makes a mad dash to the bathroom, just in time to lose her meager lunch to the trash can.

#

She can deal with the nausea. She can deal with the aching feet. Even having to pee every five minutes isn't so bad.

What kills her is the back pain.

"Honey, are you sure you don't want to go to the doctor?" Naruto asks, massaging her back. Hinata turns away from him and winces: he's applying too much pressure, but she's too polite to say anything.

"I'll be f-fine, Naruto-kun," Hinata replies, forcing a smile. She gathers his hands in hers. "Don't worry about me. You'll be late for work."

"But—"

She kisses his fingers and stands up in one fluid motion from the couch. "Really. I'll be f-fine."

Naruto grins, kisses her on the cheek. "Just let me know if you need anything—anything at all. Okay?"

A light blush dusts Hinata's cheeks. She nods. "I will."

He gives her a quick hug—Hinata suppresses her groan of pain behind a taut smile—then he is gone.

Hinata sinks down to the couch once more, grunting and groaning, propping her feet up on the armrest. She doesn't understand—she never had this kind of back pain with the twins. Is something wrong? Hinata worries her lower lip with her teeth. Maybe she should go back to see Sakura…

"Mama? Mama, I brought you a hot water bottle," says Minato.

Hinata is drawn out of her worried thoughts and beams at her son.

"Mom, I made you some breakfast," calls Jiraiya, balancing burnt toast and orange juice on a tray.

Hinata sits up slowly and receives her gifts with a chuckle. "What thoughtful children! I feel better already." Her sons bracket her on the couch while she nibbles the edible parts of the toast. Is it just her imagination, or does her back feel better already? Maybe Sakura was right—maybe she has been stressed out. But what should she be stressed out about? She's got great kids, a wonderful husband…

Hinata sips her juice and leans back. She should relax more. Maybe she should get a massage.

"Mama?" comes Minato's small voice. "Why does daddy dress up like a girl and play wrestling with uncle Sasuke?"

Orange juice shoots up Hinata's nose. Her throat and sinuses burn as she sputters. "I'm s-sorry," Hinata wheezes, "Wh-what…?"

Jiraiya pouts, "They use a really strong genjutsu. I wouldn't be able to get through it with just the Byakugan, but brother used his sensory technique to help me."

"Why doesn't daddy want anyone to know that he takes baths with Uncle Sasuke?"

"I don't see what the big deal is," huffs the other. "We take baths together all the time and we don't use genjutsu."

"Yeah, and we're not allowed to wrestle in the tub, but daddy—"

"Y-you'll b-be l-late for s-school," Hinata interjects. Her stutter is so bad, she wonders if they can even understand what she is saying.

"But mom—" they whine in unison.

Hinata gives a sharp cry as her lower back goes out again. She writhes on the couch like a beetle that's been flipped over, limbs clawing the air. "J-just—go," she manages between clenched teeth.

The twins share a look.

"Are you going to be okay mommy?"

Hinata takes a deep, shaking breath. She wipes her clammy forehead with her sleeve. If she doesn't move for a little while, she'll be fine. She's sure of it. "P-please go to school. We'll discuss this—l-later."

"But mama, we're worried about you…" pouts Minato, tears springing to his eyes. Seeing him so distraught feels like a knife twisting in her heart. Despite the shooting pain, she takes the child's hand and squeezes it.

"It's okay, sweetie. Mama's going to be fine. I promise. Now please go to school. I'll see you later." She offers them a pained smile.

The twins shoot her one more worried look before kissing her on the cheek. "You mean you'll see us at the festival, right mama?"

"Mmmm," Hinata says, not really listening. She's not sure how much longer she can maintain a cheerful facade—the pain in her back is increasing. It's like being shot full of barbed arrows.

The twins stand there for one moment more before dashing out of the house, slamming the door behind them. Hinata hisses with relief as she lowers herself down, moaning until she finds a comfortable position.

Gods. They're only five, and they've broken a Jonin-level genjutsu—

And have seen their father dressed in women's clothing. With another man. In the bathtub.

The pain shoots along her entire spine, and Hinata cries out, flailing her arms. She feels like a beached whale. As soon as she can physically get off of the couch, she is going to march (waddle) right over to the Hokage's Tower and sit Naruto down for a talk. A long talk.

Bur for right now, Hinata thinks, as she clenches her teeth and clutches her back, she needs to ride out the pain.

Thanks for reading. Please review:)