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{ dedication }
"Dammit, Ino," Sakura bellowed. "Don't give up on me now. Push!"
"Shut. Up. Forehead." Sweat collected on Ino's brow as she forced the syllables out through her clenched teeth. Her grip on Chouji's hand tightened, clamping down with bone-crushing pressure. "This fucking hurts, okay?"
"Well, I'm elbow deep in amniotic fluid with an up-close view of your vagina and you don't hear me complaining." Sakura blew wayward strand of hair out of her face and stared her best friend in the eye. "This baby is ready to meet his mother, so you damn well better get with the program, Pig."
"Fine," Ino said. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and did as Sakura asked. Red colored her face, as did lines of pain, but when the sounds of their child's first cry rang through the air, she slumped back into the lumpy hospital-issued pillows with a look of acute satisfaction. "Finally."
Sakura worked quickly, cleaning and clothing the wailing infant, while Chouji simply watched in awe, struck silent by the magnitude of the moment. The medic handed him the tightly wrapped bundled, a soft smile curling her lips. "Congratulations, it's a boy."
"Wow, I'm a father," Chouji whispered. Ino squeezed his hand lightly, the gesture laced with her fatigue, and he kissed her temple. "And you are absolutely beautiful."
"Are you kidding me?" Ino laughed wryly. "I'm a mess. I mean, just look at– ew, gross! Sakura, can you do something about," – Ino gestured to the bottom half of her body – "all this?"
"Yeah, yeah." Sakura replied as she tended to her adult patient again, removing the afterbirth and soiled cloths. "I can't believe it. Ino, a mother."
His wife's blue eyes glossed over, saline threatening to fall. "Surreal, huh?"
"A little, yeah. So, what's this strapping young man's name?"
Chouji gave the child to his mother and, as she ran a finger tenderly over his small patch of blond fluff, she answered. "Inoki... His name is Inoki."
Sakura turned away for a brief moment, clearing her throat and wiping her cheeks. Then she pressed a hand gently over Ino's shoulder. "Your father would be proud."