Chapter 9

This doesn't feel good…

Sakura leaned back against her pillows with her hands on her stomach. She was almost eight months pregnant and getting worried about what was going on that day. Ever since she had woken up she had been in slight pain that went from her spine around to her stomach. She was only 30 weeks into her pregnancy and she was hoping praying this was not another miscarriage. If it was, she wasn't sure how they would get through it this time. This was the week the last miscarriage occurred, and Sakura was not prepared for another one.

We can't lose you two…

Sakura took in a breath, forcing herself to sit upright and move to the edge of the bed. She had to get down the stairs, somehow, and tell Sasuke she was pretty sure she was in labor. It was early, but there was no way to deny it any longer.

Getting down the stairs was hard. Having two little people inside her was making it nearly impossible to get to the kitchen, which also meant it would be hard to get to the hospital.

Thank goodness we're close…

Sakura sighed as she finally got downstairs, leaning on the wall for a second when a contraction hit.

Gosh, that hurts. And their kicking isn't helping any…

Sakura didn't even have to walk the rest of the way to kitchen after Sasuke came into view, giving her a confused look.

"I thought you were still in bed, Sakura."

"No…we need to get to the hospital."

Sasuke blinked, before his eyes widened and he went straight to her, grabbing her free hand. "Please tell me you're in labor and this is not another miscarriage."

"You're correct."

Sasuke nodded, bolting up the stairs. "I'll get your bag and be right down!"

"All right!"

I hope this goes well…

When Sakura was admitted to the hospital, it was May 17th. When the twins were born, it was May 18th. Her labor progressed very slowly, but eventually got to the point where one of the twins was able to be born naturally. The second Sakura could, the first thing she said was 'is she all right?' to which the doctor replied 'oh, yes, he is perfectly fine! Small, but perfectly fine.'

When they heard her say 'he', Sakura and Sasuke looked at each other in pure shock, before Sakura smiled, though she was starting to cry a bit. All she could say was 'a boy, we have a son…', while Sasuke nodded and kissed her forehead.

It wasn't much longer before Sakura's doctor decided that they couldn't wait any longer for the second baby and started preparing her for a C-section. Sakura told Sasuke to wait in her room with their first child, which he gladly agreed to do. Since they knew anything could've have changed with the twins, they had boy names picked out just in case, and were able to use their pick for their newborn son: Keiji. Sasuke felt completely enthralled by this tiny person. Keiji looked exactly like Sasuke in every way, black hair and black eyes with

Ah… you're really cute, buddy.

Sasuke smiled as Keiji made a hiccupping noise, before snuggling himself into a comfortable position in Sasuke's arms.

A few moments later, Sakura was brought back into the room, but Sasuke knew there was no way she could possibly be awake at this point, not after the anesthesia and meds she was given to keep her from feeling pain as the surgery went on.

"How is she? How's the baby?"

The doctor just smiled. "Sakura is perfectly fine. She did very well. The baby is in the NICU. He was tiny and-"

"He? The… the baby was a boy?"

"Yes! You're now the father of two beautiful boys!"

Sasuke blinked, before laughing while he held Keiji close. "Really? Twin sons? I can't even… I don't believe it…does Sakura know?"

"Yes. She was awake enough once we got him out that she gave him a name right away."

"What is it?"

"Kazuki."

He nodded, still smiling and looking at Keiji who had drifted off to sleep. "Well… I guess we're going to need a lot more boys' clothes, huh, Keiji?"

A few hours later, after Sasuke had left to go and inform their parents that their new grandchildren were finally born, Sakura had gotten up to go to the nursery to see Keiji, and then hit the NICU to check on Kazuki.

Keiji was wide awake and being very playful. Every time Sakura would pull her hand away, Keiji would reach his up and grasp at her fingers, trying to get his mother to play with him again. Any time she looked away to speak with another nurse, Keiji would start whining until Sakura looked back at him with her smile. He would then blink, and continue to play with her hand.

Sakura loved how playful Keiji was, but was very glad that he fell asleep so quickly after having nursed because it meant she could go check up on Kazuki, at last.

"I'll see you soon, Keiji. I promise." Sakura kissed his forehead after she laid him back in the bed, before slipping out of the nursery to head for the NICU.

Please, Kazuki. Be all right…

"Oh, Sakura-san, hi." One of the young NICU nurses gave Sakura a smile as she led the new mother over the incubator that housed her younger, much smaller son. "Kazuki is doing very well. He can't fully breathe on his own yet, as his lungs weren't completely developed, but he's getting there."

Sakura nodded, smiling a bit as she sat in the chair beside the incubator, slipping her hand through the hole to take a hold of Kazuki's tiny hand.

So different from Keiji…

"Try talking to him, Sakura-san. I'm sure he'll recognize your voice and look over at you."

Sakura bit her lip, knowing it was unlikely Kazuki would look at her right away. He had so many wires attached to him that she would be very shocked if he could even move his head at this point.

"Kazuki… mommy's here, baby. I love you so much and I hope you'll be able to come home with my, daddy, and Keiji in a few days…"

Sakura watched as Kazuki started fidgeting and letting out little whimpers, before turning to look at her. Instantly, Sakura felt tears fill up her eyes as she looked at him. Kazuki looked absolutely helpless and scared, and it made her want to cry.

"It's ok, baby." Sakura smiled as she started to run her fingers over Kazuki's head. He continued to stare at her, completely confused as to why she wasn't holding him. "Everything will be fine, sweetheart. You're doing so well, Kazuki… I love you."

The next day, Sakura was still exhausted from seventeen hours of labor, and the people constantly coming in and out of her hospital room weren't helping. Kazuki had been moved from the NICU to the nursery earlier that day and Sakura and Sasuke were finally allowed to hold him alongside Keiji.

When her parents' came into the room, Sakura was glad to see them as they were the very first people that day to come in. Kizashi did nothing but dote on the twin boys and continually say 'now, which one of you is going to be Hokage and follow in your granddad's steps?' while Mebuki looked at them and smiled, saying how perfect they were and how they reminded her of Sakura when she was born. It was a good start to the day for Sakura.

The second Sasuke's parents' came into the hospital room, Sasuke was trying to joke and tell them that the twins really were girls, but Mikoto would have none of it, especially with the blue blankets the twins were wrapped in. The only comment that Fugaku made was how Kazuki reminded him of Sasuke when he was born, mainly for the fact that they were both very small. Sasuke sighed a bit while Sakura giggled, telling him it was all right.

After everyone had come in and left, Sakura sighed and leaned against her pillows, smiling.

"And why are we smiling?"

"I'm happy."

"I can tell. I bet you're tired too."

Sakura nodded, looking at the nursery beds and seeing Kazuki start to stir and throw his arms about. "Kazuki needs fed… he's getting unhappy."

Sasuke nodded, grabbing the younger of the twins and handing him over to Sakura so she could feed him. "Sakura."

"Hm?"

"Thanks. For… everything."

Sakura just smiled. "Thank you as well."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

END CHAPTER 9

Author's Note: THE BABIES ARE HERE, PEOPLES. :3
Did you like the little surprise that they turned out to be twin boys? :) Now they've got to buy a bunch of boy's clothes so the twins have things to wear! xD
THIS IS NOT THE END OF THIS, DON'T WORRY.
There is still PLENTY coming. :3

I think I may have to abandon weekly updates... I mean, I like giving you guys an update once a week, but, I think I might just give up on a certain day and try to update once a week.

All right, so, yeah. That's the chapter. Life is good so far. I'm not dead, obviously. xD Just sleep deprived and junk. My government course is nearing the end, thank God. I can't handle 'online discussions' that turn into internet debates. xD

See you next time, everyone~!