Warnings: Nothing

Disclaimers: I don't own Naruto!!

Chapter 9 "Happily Ever After? Maybe Not"

Lee handed her his number in exchange, "Thanks Sakura-chan!" He smiled and waved before leaving.

Ino entered the nice restaurant with Shikamaru, she had an idea of what he had planned, but you could never be sure. "Why did you take me here, Shikamaru-kun?" She giggled a little holding on to his arm.

"You'll see." For once the lazy male had took the time to do something nice and figure things out. If it wasn't for Ino he'd still be slacking off, but now he had an apartment and a job. He had a life.

As they were seated he simply smiled at the blond girl. He told her to choose what she wanted off the menu, and she could have anything, any price. She had a hard time choosing, but made it simple and not so expensive.

He grabbed her hand and laced their fingers. He seemed slightly nervous as the food arrived. "Before we eat… Ino… I want to ask you something, and it's really important."

She nodded gripping his hand. He was going to, wasn't' he? She waited patiently as Shikamaru took a small breath and reached into his pocket. She knew what was coming, she knew what he was going to ask, and she couldn't wait to say yes.

He blushed as he pulled out a small box; fumbling a little he opened it, and set it on the table. "Will you-…"

Before Shikamaru finished Ino squealed, "Of course I will!" She jumped up and hugged him, "How can I say no? I love you Shika-kun!"

He blushed, "I think that went well…" He kissed her cheek, "Eat your food, it's getting cold."

She kissed him hard on the lips, "I love you." She sat back in her seat and immediately slipped the ring onto her finger. As she ate she kept looked at the ring, or Shikamaru, she just couldn't keep her eyes off them.

A few days passed, and when it was least expected Sakura got a phone call. She picked up the phone, "Hello?"

"Hey Sakura-chan! It's Lee. How about a date tonight? And then I could show you my house afterwards, it's really nice." He said in his normal cheerful tone. He had a chance with Sakura! She would get to see his house! He had worked hard to buy and fix up the house, and he was proud of it.

"To-Tonight? Well… I don't have anything going on… So I don't think it'll hurt…" She twisted her hair and said, "What time?"

"How about six? If you give me your address I'll just come by and pick you up!" He was secretly rejoicing inside, and he couldn't believe out of all people, Sakura had agreed on a date.

Sakura felt uneasy when she first got in Rock Lee's car. She hadn't actually been on a date before. With Sasuke it was just small things like visiting at her house, or watching TV, and one thing she couldn't forget. Sex. She wanted to tell Lee about what went on between her and Sasuke, but kept all those memories locked up for the time being.

As they arrived at a small restaurant Sakura fumbled with the end of her skirt. She looked over at the male and smiled a little, "I like this place…"

He smiled brightly, "I thought you would Sakura-chan!" He hopped out of the car and hurried to her side. Opening the door he said, "It's not much, but it's a first date."

She laughed a little, "It's a little more than I expected…" She didn't know what to expect really, and Rock Lee seemed to be really good with this kind of thing. Had he ever been on a date before this? She got out of the car and smiled a little more, "Thank you Lee-kun."

The night flew by and before Sakura knew it she was in her own bed, unable to sleep because her mind was still on Lee. For the first time in a long time she was happy. Truly happy. Lee made her happy, and he was nice. Much nicer than Sasuke, and with Lee, she knew things would go slowly and a real relationship would develop.

Things seemed to go by quickly, and before Sakura knew it she had moved in with Lee. It had been a whole other year since their first date! Shikamaru's and Ino's wedding day approached...

Naruto felt the tears whelm up as the blond girl walk down the aisle. He wondered what it would be like to get married, and then he had an idea! He whispered to Sasuke, "Can we have a wedding?" Sasuke simply nodded as he watched the couple say their vows.

At the reception Naruto continued to talk to Ino about how he was going to have a wedding of his own and Ino thought it was a great idea! The two year old boy tugged at Ino dress and spread his arms, "Up! Up!" Ino was also happy because Sasuke hadn't been mean to her since the night at the club. Ever since she got with Shikamaru, they had been friends.

She scooped him up and smiled, "Hey Taku-chan! You're getting so big!" The boy was only two, and he was the cutest thing! Ino wondered what it was like for Sakura, knowing her child was there, but she never saw him, never cared.

Sakura had been invited to the wedding, but after hearing Sasuke would be there she refused to go. Being selfish as always, Sakura just couldn't face her fears, and Ino became very upset. She had decided, if Sakura was to ever get married, she wouldn't go and she knew Sakura would get pissy, but she did the very same thing!

Ino set the boy down and looked at Shikamaru... He knew what she wanted, and he knew she'd get it... A family. She smiled and hugged Shikamaru, "I love you... Forever and always, 'kay?"

Shikamaru kissed her nose, "Okay. If that's how you feel." He smiled, "I love you too." He hugging her back he whispered, "Don't forget it."

A/N I know I'm skipping through all this stuff fairly fast, but my main focus isn't on the weddings and dating... Although Sasuke's bachelor party will play a big part in what happens to Shika and Ino later on.

Sakura sighed, feeling guilty for not telling Lee what had happened with Sasuke, and she decided she would finally tell him. She sat at the table and watched lee as he read the paper. "Lee, hunny, can I talk to you?"

He set the paper down in a heartbeat and smiled at her, "Hai, Sakura-chan, go on." This was one thing she loved about Lee, he listened, and he actually made an effort to talk with her about it.

"Well... I don't know if you knew, but I dated Sasuke when I was in my last year of high school." She looked away.

He tilted his head, "I recall someone telling me about that. What's the matter? I don't think there's anything wrong with it Sakura-chan."

She looked back at him, "But somethings happened between me and him. Things I shouldn't have done, and the result was a child... I child I didn't want to keep." She lowered her voice, "He'd be about 2 now, and I haven't seen him since he was born, not even in pictures."

Lee took every word in and seemed to study them in his mind. The only thing he said was, "So?"

She blushed, "So, you're not... Upset?"

"It was a mistake, Sakura-chan, everyone makes them. The only thing I'm glad about is that I got you, not him." He smiled and grabbed her hand, "And to prove that, I'd like to marry you..."

"Ma-Marry me?" Sakura said wide eyed, "Are you serious?"

"Why wouldn't I be? If you want, you can pick out the ring... I want to get married soon!" He said cheerfully.

She gawked, and then smiled, "I can't wait!" She whispered, "I'm glad to be with someone like you Lee-san..." She couldn't believe he was okay with everything, and even though she wasn't pure, he wanted to marry her!

Sasuke's bachelor party seemed to come up quickly. Shikamaru and a few other people were invited. Ino worried something would happen, and bachelor parties were always crazy... Shikamaru was too committed, he wouldn't do a thing against her! Would he?

Shikamaru wasn't a heavy drinker, but when it came to being around his friends, that was a different story. After a while Shikamaru was drunk, and he couldn't get a hold of himself. What was he doing? He barely could think and everything was happening so fast! He was no longer around Sasuke, Neji, and Choji. He was with someone different, somewhere else...

Before he had known what had happened he realized that he had done something very wrong, something very bad, and he couldn't undo it. He couldn't tell Ino. When he was in his own bed, Ino seemed to be upset. She lectured him about drinking, but half way through it, Shikamaru was sound asleep.

A few weeks passed, and Shikamaru kept getting phone calls Ino seemed to shrug off and not pay an attention to. She was happy one morning, to announce that she believed she was pregnant. Shikamaru told her that was nice, and went to work.

Ino seemed confused. Shouldn't he be happy to? She looked at the TV which was off... Was he happy about having a family? Or was it too troublesome? She wanted to believe that he was pleased, but some part of her told her that he wasn't happy about something.

Shikamaru said a little irritated, "We have to make it quick... Or I'll be late for work..."

The girl crossed her arms, "Why is it always 'make it quick'? Hmm? I wanna have a little more fun than just a few minutes once a week... Maybe you should stop by, more often?" She slid her hand over his chest.

"I don't think we should be doing this at all!" He snapped, "I really think it needs to stop."

"But if it stops... Think about what I'll tell your wife, think about the things I would do..." She kissed him softly, "We won't get caught, and you know it."

"You never know Temari! What if something happens? What if I am caught? I don't want to loose Ino, and I don't want to be with you!"

"Shut up! That's all I hear out of you!" She sat on the bed, "Ino, Ino, Ino! Why'd you marry the little slut in the first place?"

"She's not a slut." Shikamaru whispered, "And I love her."

"Oh, whatever." She pulled him down by his tie, "Are we going to do this or not?" She smirked as she kissed him roughly and laid back on the bed with Shikamaru on top of her.

He whispered, "If anyone's a slut, it's you."

She only giggled at his comment, "At least I get what I want." She started to removed her clothes, "And you like it..."

He gulped, "I really think we should st-" He was interrupted by a kiss, and before he knew it, he did it again.

When Shikamaru got home from work Ino asked, "Baby? Are you okay? Because when I mentioned I might be pregnant, you sort of, ya'know, got weird about it..."

Shikamaru hugged her and kissed her, "I'm sorry, I was just really focused on work... I'm actually really happy!" He moved the strain of hair out of her face and kissed her again, "I love you... So much..."

The guilt stuck with Shikamaru, but what was he suppose to do? Temari would do something terrible if he tried to stop the affair. She would tell Ino, she would make him seem like the bad guy, or, knowing Temari she would threaten him, or Ino... Perhaps do something illegal. She was already, but Shikamaru was unaware of it, she was threating him as it was.

Ino sat in laid that night and said, "I really hope I am pregnant! Don't you?" She smiled happily, "I want a girl..."

Shikamaru nodded, "I hope so too... And a girl is what we both want first... Then I want one more, and I want a boy." He kissed her cheek and whispered, "I can't wait to raise a family with you, Ino-chan... You'll be a great mother."

"And you'll be a great father! I just know it!" She cuddled up to him, "You're everything I ever wanted... I know I can trust you."

As she said the word trust Shikamaru clinched his eyes shut... She needed to know, but no, he couldn't tell her! She couldn't find out, but at the same time he couldn't continue the affair. He truly loved Ino, and only Ino.

Sakura was happily married to Lee only a few months after Sasuke and Naruto. She couldn't wait, just like Ino, to have a family. This time, Sakura would be a mother, and she would care. She didn't have much guilt leaving Taku with Sasuke, and she didn't really care how he was raised. She never wanted him, but with Lee, she would try her very best. Luckily, Lee wanted to start a family too.

Ino was pregnant, and 4 months a long by then. Shikamaru seemed to grow more nervous about Ino finding out. The phone rang a lot, and when ever Ino answered no one said anything, but when Shikamaru answered there was always someone on the phone.

Sakura and Lee had been trying for a kid, but things weren't going so smoothly. They'd keep trying, but how long would it take to impregnate her? And Sakura had a feeling something was wrong.

When the phone rang one night, Shikamaru said, "I'll get it!"

Ino picked up the other phone to listen. She sat down on the bed and stayed as quiet as she could. Rubbing her slight bulge in the stomach area, from being pregnant, and listened carefully. It was a girl.

"Shika-kun... C'mon, you'll have time before work..." The voice begged, "Please?"

"I really don't know... Maybe she'll figure it out... You've been calling so much, why don't you just wait patiently... I'll come over there when I have the time, you don't need to call and ask every night!"

"Promise me you'll come a little earlier tomorrow." She demanded, "I want to do it longer than what I've been getting."

"Okay... Just stop calling!" He said quietly, "I don't want her to find out."

"I'll see you tomorrow..." She said satisfied as she hung up the phone.

Ino hung up the phone and started crying. She went into the bathroom and locked the door. How could he! How could he do this to her! Who was the girl, and why was she asking him to see her? She knew why, Shikamaru was banging this girl behind her back!

She sobbed into her hands and a few minutes later there was a knock on the bathroom door. "Ino... Are you okay baby?"

"No!" She snapped heading for the door.

"Is there anything I can get you?" He asked through the door and then without warning the door swung open and Shikamaru about lost his balance, "Bab-"

Ino choked on her tears, "You wanna get me something? Get me this. A divorce!" She covered her face with her hand and shook her head.

His eyes widened, "No! Ino!" He tried to hug her but she pushed him away. "You don't understand!"

She slid down on the floor and leaned against the door frame. Whispering she looked up, "I trusted you... I really thought you loved me... But... But... Here I am, being the fool..." She wiped away her tears, "I understand, I'm not good enough..."

"No!" He sat on the floor next to her and pulled her into his arms, "Don't ever say that!" He started crying, "Don't ever say you're not good enough... Baby, you're everything to me!" He rocked her in his arms, "I love you."

Ino struggled in his arms, "Stop lying to me! I don't want to hear this shit! I don't want to be in this situation, I want you out of my life... An-and my baby's life too."

"You can't decide that! The baby's mine too!" He cried even more, "Don't leave me, please! It's not my fault! She was threating me! She said she'd tell you that it was all my idea, and it wasn't, she's been forcing me into having sex with her! I-I don't want to! I really don't."

"Fuck you!" Ino spat at him coldly, "You want to fuck her, don't you? What am I? Stupid?" She escaped his arms, "Get out!" He kissed her, and she bit his bottom lip.

"Ow!" He cried touching his lip with a finger.

She stood up and snapped, "I don't want to see you anymore!" She started crying again, "How could I be so stupid? How?" She really didn't feel good and she bent over to puke. As she looked back up from barfing she wiped her newly fallen tears and then her mouth.

"Ino... I can't leave... I need to be here for you." Shikamaru said staring at the puke and then her. "Can't we just talk?"

Ino felt light headed and then she blacked out... When she woke up Shikamaru was lying next to her in their bed. Had that all happened? Or did she dream up their first fight? She realized Shikamaru was asleep, but she really needed to talk to him, and she didn't really want to stay in the same bed with him if he really had been banging another woman!

Spifftatic Ino