Author's Note: Not even 1 review for last chapter...I know you guys like it because it's favored and stuff...so why not review a little...just a thumps up or something..

- chapter

Travelling alone was definitely easier. He didn't have to worry about being clean. He didn't have to worry about where he was going to sleep. He didn't have to worry about food for anyone but himself. Or perhaps it was travelling with men that was easier. Travelling with a woman was more annoying than anything else.

In the years that he traveled by himself he never carried luggage. But now, in the weeks that Sakura and him have been on the road, he currently had a cumbersome bag strapped to his back that weighed him down.

And on top of that, he had never stayed at inns but at least twice a week, she made it an effort to get them checked into some kind of bed and breakfast to wash their clothing, have a good meal, and to sleep in a nice bed.

Not to say he didn't mind it but it wasn't his idea in travelling. He wanted to stay off the radar. How could he do that when he was using his bank account every where they went?

They were currently eating a meal and she was talking. He nodded, instinctively now, paying attention to keywords incase a sudden test on his listening skills popped up. But his real attention was on the ninjas in the corner. They were whispering to each other and pointing in their direction. Young men, probably out on their first mission without a teacher. A laugh erupted from the group and one of them stood up, throwing down a straw. He was red in the face and took a last drink of his beer before drawing up courage.

Sasuke rested his chopsticks down and watched him approach.

"Are you listening to me?"

The stranger kneeled down beside Sakura and her eyes snapped to him in confusion. He had a bag full of coins in his hand and he rested it against her thigh, his fingers sliding on her leg, "Sorry for interrupting but my friends and I were curious if you'd like to ditch this guy and come up to our room. We promise a bit more fun than this one armed freak can give you. And a bit more money too."

Sakura punched him in the face and he somersaulted twenty times before crashing into the bar. She threw the bag of money at the group of guys, hitting one in the face and knocked him unconscious. "I'm married, dickheads." She pulled out the necklace from under her shirt and held up the ring. "See!"

Sasuke took a bite to hide his laughter.

The door to the cafe burst open, "We need a doctor! Is there a doctor anywhere?"

Sakura ran out after them.

Sasuke stood and threw money on the table. He approached the man covered in debris and bleeding from the mouth. He squatted down and casually picked pieces of wood off the young man as he sat up holding his face, bleeding profusely from his mouth and nose. "A word of advice. Always assume you are an idiot and weak."

"That bitch broke my nose!"

"Let me see."

The man took his hands away.

Sasuke grabbed the broken nose between his fingers, twisting. HIs screams stopped any conversation and his group of friends rushed to his aid.

"My wife went easy. Do not expect the same from me." Sasuke stood and caught the eyes of the others but they stepped out of his way, saying nothing.

He found Sakura a short distance away in a small hut on the outskirt of the village. The woman's screams were easy to follow and though it caused alarm at first he soon figured it out and stayed back, sitting at the base of a tree trunk, deciding not to get involved, and closing his eyes for a nap. He awoke, several hours later to the sound of celebration. He approached hoping only for free food.

When he arrived a group of men patted him on the back, greeting him as if they knew him. They thanked him, like he had done anything and told him how amazing his wife was. "You should have seen her." The father of the woman went on. "My wife gave birth six times and I've never seen a midwife with such know-how!"

"We got lucky today!" The husband agreed, drinking another pint of beer.

"When I learned our midwife was sick, I thought that was the end. SHe saved her."

"Come in, sit down, have a beer." Sasuke took the drink, sitting at their dinner table. The party still warred outside, all the family dancing in the courtyard to celebrate the birth of a new member. A woman approached with a plate of food, "She should be out shortly, but please, stay with us tonight. We must thank you for what you've done."

Sasuke nodded mutely though having no intentions of taking the offer. They brought him dessert and more to drink, keeping the fire nice and warm. He leaned back against the wall after filling his belly and waited for Sakura to emerge from the bedroom.

The door finally opened and Sakura had a wide smile on her face and a bundle in her arms. Her eyes were aglow and she looked down at it as she stepped toward him, "Look." She whispered.

Sasuke glanced at it but had no further interest.

Sakura touched the baby's fat little cheek with the tip of her finger, "She's beautiful." Her green eyes lifted and met his. He was surprised by the sparkle in her orbs, having never seen it before. "I want one." She whispered desperately.

With the way she looked, pure happiness blushed her cheeks and ignited her eyes, how could he deny her anything? He nodded once and she slowly walked away, humming softly as she went. He didn't understand why such a thing would make her so happy because he was perfectly content with how they were now but he remembered well his promise and if that's what she wanted, then that was what he was going to get her.

His stomach twisted in a knot. Why did he feel a ball of dread drop in his belly?

Sasuke felt he had dodged a jutsu. Months have past since they left the village with the baby and Sakura hadn't brought up the conversation about a baby again. He as sure as hell wasn't going to bring it up and as the days and weeks went by, the stress began to drift. He had been panicking the first week. The constant thoughts of what to do with a baby kept jumbling up in his head until he thought he was going to burst from so much pressure.

There were some crazy thoughts in there too, like what do babies eat? He knew breast milk but there had to be more right? They can't just live off breast milk? How would they know when it's hungry? Sure, it would cry but babies cry for everything. Would it point to Sakura's breasts when it's hungry? Or what if he was holding the baby, would it try and feed from him?

It was a sign. A sign that he wasn't ready for a baby. He needed to do research. He isn't a genius by chance. He read, trained, and battled his way to be the best. Do they have practice babies?

Sasuke handed his menu back to the waitress after he ordered.

Sakura shook her head with a polite 'No thank you' and handed over her menu.

"Why aren't you eating?"

She shrugged, "I don't want too."

"Why not?"

Her eyes shot up and she bit, "Because I don't feel like it."

Sasuke said nothing else as he took a sip of his water. She was apparently angry but upon retracing his actions the night prior that was no logical reason for it. They had sex last night and she sounded perfectly happy then. She kissed him good morning. So between getting dressed, walking down the stairs, and sitting, something had changed.

Sasuke did not care to think more about it as his meal arrived.

But then he felt Sakura's glare. "How can you eat that? It's disgusting."

He looked down at his food. It was eggs.

"You ate this yesterday."

She rolled her eyes and took a sip of her tea. Her eyes bulged then and something happened unbeknownst to him because she sprang up and ran outside.

Sasuke sighed but again grew careless. Women are strange and that he already knew. He ate without another thought.

When he left the inn, he found her playing kickball with some kids. She smiled upon spotting him and ran to him, "You ready?"

He was getting used to these mood swings. It was a sign that the honeymoon faze was over. He heard about this from other men. The woman pretends to perfect for the first six months, nothing fazes her, can't get angry about anything and then bam! She's pissed you looked at her the wrong way. And he knew this to be true because Sasuke knew she had a temper from the way she treats Naruto. He hadn't thought he would ever be treated the same but apparently the blinders of love do not last forever.

They were following a lead to the Black Ribbon hideout and were currently in the land of rivers and followed the course of one, their feet splashing in the water as they ran the length of it. The Takumi village was just ahead and when they saw the walls, they hid into the trees. "Let's find a way in." He looked over to Sakura but she was currently tiptoeing on the ground, "Sakura."

She waved a hand to quiet him. And he dropped next to her.

"I smell something really good. I'm starving."

"I don't smell anything. You should have ate back at the inn."

"Shh.." Sakura jumped up to a tree and Sasuke had no choice but to follow her. A mile south and there was a small camp of Black Ribbon members. Three of them sat around, roasting a deer. Sakura didn't wait for Sasuke to make a plan, she jumped down in the center of it. "Hey, you mind if I join you?"

They stood up, drawing kunais.

She took them all out easily, throwing them into a pile and wrapping them in wire, tying them against a tree. Sakura grabbed a big juicy leg off the fire and thanked them before jumping back up into the tree with Sasuke. She smiled wide, sitting down.

"You're being weird."

"You want some?"

"No."

She shrugged and happily ate the whole thing.

Sasuke watched the camp. It wasn't long until another soldier came along and found his friends tied up. Quickly questioning what happened and undoing the knot, they spread out to look for the intruders. But Sasuke wanted to know where the soldier had come from. Was there an entrance to the city somewhere close by? He scanned the wall but could see nothing from this distance.

He heard them crashing through the trees next to him. They were close but Sakura and him were well hidden by branches. As long as they were quiet, they shouldn't be found.

Until Sakura's snoring disturbed the air.

He slapped a hand on her mouth, waking her up.

"You fell asleep?"

"I'm tired. Let's just rest for a bit."

Sasuke was beginning to suspect something was wrong, "You slept all day yesterday."

"It was a resting day." She protested.

"Something's wrong. You should see a doctor."

"I am a doctor."

"Then what's going on?"

"Nothing. I'm fine." She sobered up, changing the subject, "Let's find an entrance."

Sasuke focused his attention on the men searching for them. He could hear them talk to each other. They were circling and perhaps they heard them talking but either way, Sasuke wasn't about to be taken for surprise. He jumped down into the camp, with Sakura at his heal, waiting for their arrival.

There was six now that came from the trees. All of them had a black ribbon on their arm and evil smiles on their faces. "We've got him." One said, "Master will be pleased."

He extended his sword. "Let's go."

Sasuke was unprepared when Sakura stepped close, leaning into his ear and whispering, "You look so sexy right now." He looked back at her in perplexity. She bit her lip, her cheeks red and her eyes shining with desire. He couldn't believe the audacity of it.

It was a distraction that the opponents took, diving off the branch and attacking. Sasuke barely dodged an attack, shoving his shoulder into his enemy and sending a jutsu of fire after him. He looked back at his wife, unsure if she was mentally stable enough to take care for herself but she seemed normal again in this instant slamming a fist into her adversary and watching him fly.

He brought his attention back, focusing once more on the fight at hand. He activated his ocular powers simply to make sure none of these baboons had any secrets he needed to concern himself with. Who ever was attempting to capture him either didn't take Sasuke seriously or wasn't trying that hard. Was he simply being lead to a trap? Why all the ninjas that were not even worth his chakra?

The one on his left had the most potential and that's the one Sasuke faced. The man stood still and prepared a jutsu. The entire ground gave way and rock began forming into hands, grabbing himself and Sakura. But Sakura wasn't pleased and she busted out within moments, slamming her fist into the hand that had him and freed him.

That's when he noticed it. Another tiny heartbeat inside of Sakura.

She was pregnant.

Susanoo took form instantaneously and wrapped Sakura up in a cocoon. She looked around in confusion but then realization hit and she placed a hand on her hip, annoyed as she watched Sasuke run through their opponents in lightning speed, slashing them down with single hits that dropped them.

Sasuke whipped his sword one last time to remove the blood and replaced it in its holster as he approached Sakura. Susanoo brought her carefully to the ground in front of him before dissolving.

Her smile was weak and intimidated.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

She waved her arm around, "Obvious reasons."

"You shouldn't be fighting."

"I can still fight."

"It's too dangerous."

"I'm not broken."

He looked her over, making sure she took no injury. The baby's heartbeat was fast but healthy. "How far?"

"Twelve weeks."

Twelve weeks that she could have gotten hurt. How many fights had they had? How many times had she fallen? How many times had she been hit in the stomach? How many times they travelled in the trees and she could have slipped and fell?

Sakura stepped toward him, but he took a step back, stopping her.

"Let's move, before others show up."

Sasuke wasn't mad.

He was just...taken off guard. He was allowed to have some personal time to wrap his brain around this new development. It might seem that he's mad due to the fact that he wasn't talking and he wasn't making eye contact and he wasn't listening but that didn't mean he was actually mad.

He wasn't mad.

When did it happen though? Why wasn't he aware of it? He tried to think of it. Twelve weeks ago. That was about the time they had left the village. Probably a week or two after that woman gave birth to the baby. So soon? So quickly? They hadn't even really talked about it. It had just been a nod, a random nod, not even a real nod, just a nod to get her to walk away.

What if he had hurt the baby? All the times they've had sex since then? Every single night, sometimes twice a day, and other stuff...with the fingers and the tongue. What if he had touched the baby?

Oh gross, what if he had touched the baby!

He didn't eat that night and he didn't sleep. He sat on a tree branch and no amount of swaying could get him to come down. He needed time to himself. He was allowed a moment. Sakura had twelve weeks to get used to the idea of being pregnant, he could at least get a damned day.

Should they go back to Konoha? No, no way would he allow his child be born there. The Council might take it. Or kill it, or do something worse. No. They would have to find somewhere else. But the fact remained they couldn't stay out here. They had to find somewhere.

When morning came, he watched Sakura from above. She made no move to get up. She slept late and so he went out and hunted, catching a deer to grill. It was after one when she popped her head up, having smelt food. She smiled tiredly. "My favorite." She whispered.

He had gathered water from the river too but she drank both reserves and he got up to fill them again. "I can do it." She chimed. But he continued walking.

When he got back, she was sleeping again.

This was definitely not going to work. They needed to find shelter. Staying in one place too long was never a good idea. He wondered where he could buy a wagon. He made a clone and sent it out to scout their surroundings.

Night approached again and this time, he laid down next to her. She popped open her eyes and sat up. "Oh no, I'm sorry." She went to stand, "Let's go, it's a full moon we will have some light."

He grabbed her arm pulling her back in. "It's too dangerous for you to walk at night."

"Why'd you let me sleep all day?" She hid her face in his chest. Her shoulders shaking, "I'm sorry. I swore I wouldn't let this affect you." She cried softly, almost embarrassed. Sakura pulled away, rubbing the water from her face, "I can't believe I'm doing this in front of you." Her lip trembled, "And it won't stop." She covered her face once more crying ridiculously heavy.

Sasuke hid his laugh as he kissed her shoulder. "It affects me. You cannot stop it from affecting me."

She sniffed and blew out air, trying to calm down. "I'm sorry."

"Stop apologizing."

She nodded and took another deep breath. Her tear filled eyes turning to him, "Are you mad?"

And though before he had constantly said he wasn't, he had been. He had been mad she hadn't shared it with him. He didn't want her to keep things like that from him. They were a team now. She needed to trust him. To rely on him. To believe that he would always be there for her.

But she wasn't asking about that. She wanted to know if he was mad about a baby. How could he be? It was what she wanted and therefore what he wanted. He shook his head.

A smile spread on her lips. "So you're okay?"

The fact that she even asked while going through all these hormonal and bodily changes, was exactly why he loved her. He nodded, kissing her, calming her.

Sakura took a deep breath in and sat up. "What do you want to do? Do you want to go back to Konoha?"

He shook his head.

"Then where? I don't want to have the baby in the middle of nowhere."

"I'll think of something."

Sakura nodded, yawned and stretched out against him, snuggling into his side as she closed her eyes. "I feel better, now that you know. Like all my stress is gone."

Sasuke stared at the sky. Stress. That was the word for the weight crushing his chest.