The Alliance

Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews. I'm still hoping to update this story about once every 1-2 weeks, but we'll have to see. It might be a bit more or a bit less. Happy reading.

Chpater Notation: This takes place a few months after the previous chapter. Suki is now five months pregnant.

Chapter 14

"Uncle, you realize that you're being utterly ridiculous." Neji rolls his eyes. "Please cease wearing a hole into the hospital's floors. I'm quite certain that Suki, Haru, and the child will be just fine."

After all, they had been given no reason to suspect otherwise and Suki was more than halfway through her pregnancy. Other than some Morning Sickness and a strange tomato fetish, Neji saw nothing wrong with her. Though Itachi assured him that the love of tomatoes was a lifelong obsession and not the result of pregnancy.

Neji wasn't entirely certain he believed that, but it mattered little. He had scarcely seen his cousin so happy and terrified before.

"I'm worried about my family as any dutiful grandfather should be." Hiashi scoffs. "Besides, I'm certain that Fugaku will agree with me."

Of course, he would. The Uchiha patriarch was also doing his damnest to destroy the hospital's floors with his pacing. If anything, the Hokage was even more frantic than Hiashi.

Something that Neji had never thought was possible, but apparently it was. Would wonders and horrors never cease?

"I do agree." Fugaku nods. "Though it does bring me comfort to know that thus far everything seems to be going normally."

Mikoto shakes her head in amusement. "If you believe he's overreacting now, you should have seen him when I was pregnant with Itachi."

"I'll take your word for it, Lady Mikoto." Neji tries his best to hide his snort, but he wasn't sure that he had managed it. The Hokage was now glaring at him in a rather open fashion.

Right. Hmm. It would be in his best interest to change the subject now.

Itachi sighs as he places his hand on his father's shoulder. "She'll be fine. Suki is strong and she's got Tsunade looking after her. The woman is the best medic in the Five Great Nations. Besides, Hideki is with her and the room is only so big. We can't fit both Clans inside it."

Fugaku frowns at that, but Itachi's logic couldn't really be denied because he soon nods in agreement. Thank goodness for Itachi, Neji muses. Otherwise he might never have lived long enough to meet his niece or nephew.

"Very well. I doubt they'll take much longer." The Hokage sighs.

True. It couldn't take that long to determine to do an ultrasound. Could it?

Meanwhile Hideki watches the screen with curious eyes. It was hard to believe, but Suki was already well into her second trimester. They were going to have a baby.

"Is everything alright?" He looks at Tsunade with anxious eyes.

She had gone silent for approximately two seconds too long in Hideki's view. Okay. So maybe he was exaggerating. It might be normal for medics to do that while looking at an ultrasound, but every second that passes by truly felt like a lifetime.

Tsunade smiles after checking the screen again. "Yes, everything is going perfectly. I do hope that the two of you have a large nursery prepared."

Suki raises an eyebrow at that. His wife had never been one for hospitals and now, Hideki was quite confident that the blonde woman was testing the limits of her patience. "We do, but I fail to see why that matters?"

Being ambiguous during an ultrasound of a pregnant woman wasn't likely to garner Tsunade many brownie points.

"Well, it'd seem like a good idea to have a bigger nursery than usual because you're having twins." The medic laughs softly.

Hideki couldn't blame her for laughing either. If his expression was anything like Suki's, it was only a natural reaction. Already his entire world was spinning and the Hyuga in question was worried that fainting was san all too real possibility.

"Twins?" Suki blinks.

Tsunade snorts. "Yes, that means you're going to have more than one child at a time. In this case two. You do know what twins are?"

Hideki knew there was no real mockery intended by the snorting, though. As far as he could tell, the medic was having a grand time and trying her best not to burst into laughter once again. Snorting could be a useful tool. Maybe he should try it out sometime.

"Of course, I know what twins are!" Suki all, but hisses at Tsunade.

Oh boy. This situation was suddenly becoming far too dangerous for Hideki's liking. Tsunade might be amused now, but knowing his wife's temper…that wouldn't last for long.

"Considering how much you're teasing the both of us, I'm going to assume that our children are healthy." Otherwise, Hideki would lock up all the medic's chakra points himself for wasting time. "Can you tell what gender or genders they are?"

After all, they were having twins. There were three possibilities: two girls, two boys, or one of each.

"Yes, of course." Tsunade nods. "Your daughter is shyer than her brother. It took me forever to get her to sit still long enough for me to tell, but you're having fraternal twins."

Was it Hideki's imagination or was Tsunade actually relieved about that? Never mind. She definitely was. The mind boggled at the possibility of having a child with both the Hyuga and Uchiha bloodlines running through their veins, but two that looked exactly alike…well, that was a frightening prospect to say the least.

"A boy and a girl." Suki smiles at that. "How perfect."

Hideki nods in agreement. "Very and I'm sure that the rest of our eavesdropping family will agree too." He sighs as he opens the door. "Really? We were going to tell you everything as soon as we got home."

"It's a damn miracle the hospital floors are intact." Tsunade rolls her eyes.

A few hours later, Suki sighs in relief as she and Hideki finally get some badly needed privacy. Something that was difficult to do when you and your spouse had been born into two of the largest Clans in the Leaf Village.

"Are you alright?" Hideki caresses her cheek. "I know they were all a bit much today, but they meant well."

Suki laughs softly as she leans into his touch. "A bit much is like saying that Anko only has a mild appreciation for fishnets. I know you're right though. They're just excited about the twins and I am too. I just wish they could be excited about their arrival in a way that didn't nearly make my eardrums burst."

"Well, at least it's over now." Hideki smiles at her as his hand slides from her cheek towards her stomach. "That and the nursery is ready for them. Both of them. I'd say that we'd need to buy two of everything now, but our family already took care of that."

Suki smirks as she leans into her husband's chest. "They're both going to be spoiled horribly. At the rate they're going, they could have started their own baby store."

Honestly, she'd never seen so many baby clothes, bottles, pacifiers, shoes, toys, and everything else in all her life. It was a wonder that even the Hyuga Estate could fit everything their family had gotten the twins and that was before they even knew that she and Hideki were expecting two children.

They had been going under the assumption that there was only one baby on the way. A fact that made their efforts seem even more fanatical.

"Yes, but I don't really see anything wrong with spoiling our little prince and princess." Hideki smiles as he kisses her forehead. "Their mother definitely doesn't seem to mind being spoiled. So why should they be any different?"

It was amazing really. How the man could sound so sweet and deviant at the same time was frankly beyond Suki's understanding at this point.

"I don't mind being spoiled as long as it's by you." She rests her head on his shoulder. "Besides, it's your job to spoil me. Just as it is mine to spoil you."

That was how she had gotten pregnant in the first place really. Hideki was nothing, if not attentive.

"I love you." Hideki wraps an arm around her as he gently rubs her belly. "And our children. Though I have to admit that if anyone had told me we would end up married back when we were in the Academy…"

Suki rolls her eyes playfully at that. "I feel the same way. I wouldn't have believed them, but it seems something good has come out of this alliance. Several good things actually, but do you think this will really work? That this will put an end to the bad blood?"

Hideki frowns at that as he leans down and kisses her still clothed stomach. "I hope that it does. This will solidify the alliance. That, and if all else fails, I'm sure that the twins will distract them from fighting with their adorableness. Have you thought of any names yet?"

"Mmm that is an excellent point. If they're anything like their father, they'll definitely prove rather distracting." Suki smiles rests her head on Hideki's shoulder…only to wince at his question.

What kind of mother was she? She was five months pregnant and hadn't thought of any possible names yet.

"Not yet." She bites her lower lip. "We've just been so busy with making sure that a civil war doesn't erupt within your family and planning for everything, that I haven't had any time to think of names yet. Do you have any suggestions?"

It was true, but the raven haired woman couldn't shake the feeling of guilt. She should have done this a long time ago. They should have discussed this.

"I'm afraid not. I figured we'd figure it out after we knew the gender." Hideki rubs the back of his head sheepishly. "Though I suppose that I should say genders now. So we'll need a name for a boy and a girl this time around. I guess we should have seen this one coming though."

Suki snorts and nods. He was right. How they had been 'surprised' by the fact she was having twins, she didn't know. It seemed silly in hindsight.

"I know. I know. Twins run in your family." She smiles at him. "That's alright. I'm sure that we'll come up with great names for them. Let's just not tell the others we don't have names picked out yet though."

She could only imagine the sort of chaos such a thing would garner.

"Well, I won't tell them, but you have to remember my family can see through walls. So it's kinda hard to keep a secret from them." Hideki smiles nervously.

Damn it. He was right. They needed to choose baby names and fast.