Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews guys. We got two or three more chapters till the end. I just finished Continues to Beat, make sure you check it out, as its a sequel to this. Thank you!

Chapter

Sasuke placed a hand over his wife's mouth. Her green eyes shot open in panic and he made a soundless 'Shh' and she dropped her head back against the ground, relaxing. Her hand went to her growing belly, a reassurance that the baby was fine. Sasuke shifted into a squatted position as he stared at the ceiling. They had taken cover in an abandoned cabin to escape the rain but now, there were footsteps on the roof and it made squeals in the rafters.

Sakura attempted to sit up. She stretched out a hand to aid her balance but only ended up falling back. Sasuke rolled his eyes and grabbed her hand, helping her sit.

"How many?"

"Thirty.. At least." He stood and extracted his sword.

"How far are we from the hideout?"

"Two miles."

"I can make it if I run."

"Run." He scoffed.

"I can still run." She bit back.

He smirked at her stubbornness. "No. Stay where you are. This won't take long." Sasuke activated Susanoo and the whole cabin was crushed by its chakra. As his shape took form, the roof cracked and gave way, the walls burst, the floor cracked. Rain bounced off Susanoo keeping the both of them dry as they stared at the pack of enemies before them. The Black Ribbon army had caught up to them.

Lightning began to flicker around Sasuke's form and the sky itself responded. Lightning hit the ground nearby feeling the charge of his chakra. The ninjas looked to the sky, becoming quite concerned by the events taking place.

Raising his sword straight to the sky, Lighting ignited his blade and stretched all around them, encircling him. "Kirin." He stated and the lightning returned to the sky, gathering in a ball before forming into a electric beast, roaring as it exited the clouds and came barreling down toward the ground. All thirty were struck and electrocuted, and within moments their bodies laid quaking on the floor.

The clouds receded with the last bit of thunder and the morning sunrise greeted them to start a beautiful day.

He deactivated Susanoo and turned around to Sakura. Her mouth hung open in shock and when he stuck his hand out, she almost pulled back. A moment past before her green eyes lifted to meet his black eye and a small smile stretched on her lips. She placed her hand in his. "Easy enough." She heaved to her feet with a groan.

Keeping a hold of her, Sasuke helped her climb over pieces of the broken cabin. His attention fully on where she put her foot next, he didn't feel the eyes watching him or sense the person hiding in the trees.

"I got it." Sakura growled.

"You have gotten clumsy."

"Yeah, well, you try walking with a 20 pound beach ball in your gut. It throws off your balance."

He left her in the middle of the road to get the horse. It tugged behind a full cart covered with a tarp. He steadied the horse, feeding it some oats out of his pocket. "Get on."

Sakura began walking, "I'm fine."

He took a big deep breath, counting down the minutes until she was no longer pregnant. She was nearly eight months now and everyday was a new Sakura. Some days were great. She was typically normal and happy, agreeable and smiling. He cherished those days. He could do no wrong and it usually ended up with a night full of moans.

Then they were days that began like this. Disagreeable, completely disregards his existence, and does whatever she wants. These days never end nicely. And there is usually some crying at some point.

Sakura reached into her backpack and pulled out a banana and a piece of chocolate.

He wearily glanced at her, "We will have breakfast when we get to the hideout."

"Yeah, in two miles. I'm hungry now."

He whispered under his breath, "Obviously."

Sakura snapped, "Was that a crack at my weight?"

"I didn't say anything."

"It's perfectly normal to gain thirty pounds. I'll lose it later."

He didn't say another word.

"Are you saying I gained more than thirty?" She bit her chocolate with vigor. "I didn't, you know. It just looks like I did."

He felt it too late. The intruder in the trees. He tried to grab Sakura's arm but it was a moment of instinct and he had forgotten his arm was gone. Ropes wrapped around their necks, pulling them apart. He hung from a tree on the other side of the road, watching Sakura struggle against the rope that was strangling her. He pulled out his sword and using his chakra to extend it, he cut her rope and watched her fall to her feet.

He cut his own, catching himself, yanking the rope from his neck. She made a move to cross the street, "Stay where you are."

Sasuke activated his ocular powers searching the trees for their opponents. There were two of them, he was sure of it. They had split up, one on each side of the road. They had taken him away from Sakura for a purpose. But he did not worry. Every soldier tended to underestimate Sakura. In her pregnancy state, she was thirty percent stronger than her regular. She could damage him if she intended. He had no worries for her, except to the fact she was accident-prone with her over-extended gut.

Sakura threw her head back, a hand on her belly while another fisted. "Come out you coward!" She screamed into the trees.

Chakra lines zipped out, spinning all around her and yanked her back against the trunk of the tree. He took a step forward but stalled. The lines were at her legs and shoulders, keeping clear of her belly. It was an indication they weren't attempting to actually harm her, only subdue her. They were using her as a trap and if he went toward her, he would fall into it.

She struggled desperately against them and it cut into her skin. Blood dripped down her arms and legs.

When Sakura's eyes met his in wild desperation, he responded in an even tone. "Calm down."

Sakura took a deep breath. Her emotions had gotten chaotic lately thanks to the little fetus growing inside her but she knew when to listen to his instruction. She unfortunately also knew when to ignore it and that led to many fights over the numerous months.

Sasuke searched the sky and he took a step back, feeling the arrows approaching. Two of them dropped at his feet. They had missed on purpose. Were they sending him into a different trap now? If he jumped up, like instinct instructed were they waiting in the trees? If he stepped further back, there was a tree behind him. Were they planning to use chakra strings the same way they did Sakura?

Two more arrows came and stuck the trunk above him. It was then he noticed a strange design on the arrows. By the time he made the assumption of their purpose, he couldn't escape. The arrows shot out a force field, connecting, leaving him in a tight square box. He touched it with his hand and it shocked him.

Two strangers dropped by their cart catching his attention. A woman pet the horse gently, calming it while the other sat against their stuff, relaxed.

"Who are you?"

"No one you'll know." She replied.

They were no insignia and no black ribbon around their arm. And for some reason, he couldn't see their chakra while stuck inside this box. "What do you want?"

"Nothing." She smirked, catching his eye, "From you." She patted the horse one last time before the two of them turned from him and went toward Sakura.

He performed a quick jutsu to break the box only to find that his chakra wasn't responding. A laugh came from above. His brows knit staring at the man. A third one?

"Your chakra is inactive in there, Uchiha."

"What are you doing?"

"Just wait and find out."

Sasuke stared across the street. Sakura's eyes were twitching back and forth between the woman and man approaching her. She pulled against the strings but it only dug into her skin. If she could only get a little momentum, she could use her strength to get out but the lines were too tight. Any more pulling and the strings would slip in and strike bone.

"It's better if you don't scream." The man on her right stated, He slammed his fist into her temple, knocking her unconscious.

Sasuke once again smashed a hand against the forcefield.

"It's useless, Uchiha. You cannot escape. Sit still and watch her die."

His eyes flickered over the ground, the base of the tree, the trunk, searching for weakness. This was an impromptu forcefield. There would be weakness.

"Look." The man prompted.

Sasuke glanced up as the woman took out a knife, placing it at Sakura's belly. His heart pounded in his ears. Time stopped. The world ceased turning. How could he stop this? What could he do? Why hadn't he been prepared? Why did he ever take Sakura out of Konoha?

A body appeared on the cart, "Why such a face, Sasuke-kun?"

Orochimaru stood there with a smile on his girlish lips, glancing behind him, "Oh, it looks like you have finally gotten a girlfriend, Sasuke-kun. I was beginning to worry."

The two that were at Sakura's side turned to him, "That's Orochimaru."

His snakes shot out, breaking the arrows.

Sasuke wrapped himself in Susanoo and with his giant hands, grabbed the three fleeing victims in one swoop and squeezed. With his Sharingan and Rinnegan staring down at them, they stared frightened, shaking in his hold. He only held them tighter as they cried and screamed until their bones began to break and blood leaked out of their mouths and nose.

He dropped their dead bodies to the floor.

"Such brutality, Sasuke-kun. You didn't even question who they were. But I would never turn away a fresh corpse." Snakes slithered across the ground to swallow their bodies up whole.

Sasuke went to Sakura and cut the strings. They were embedded deep into her skin and her body was soaked in blood. He left them in, cutting them carefully from both sides and laid her down as she gave way. "You will give her medical attention."

"Will I?" Orochimaru wondered. He chuckled when he received a glare, "Such a face, Sasuke-kun. Karin is here. She will help you."

Sasuke followed the white hazmat suit wearing weirdos to the medical ward. They carried Sakura's body on a stretcher and brought her into the hospital room. Karin was sitting at a computer when they arrived. She stood and upon noticing a bleeding pregnant woman, her hand went to her hip in confusion. "What does he want me do with that?"

"Save her."

Her body went stiff and caught Sasuke standing in the doorway.

"Sasuke-kun?"

She fixed her glasses. She hadn't seen him in nearly a year and she thought she would never see him again. Her cheeks reddened and her eyes went aglaze until he walked to the pregnant woman's side. Her smile fell. Realization was like a cold bucket of water tossed on her.

"I'm not a doctor." She said firmly, coldly. "I'm just learning."

Sasuke stared down at Sakura, unable to bring himself to touch her. She laid there passed out from the hit on her head and blood already began to ruin the new white bed sheets beneath her. With his rinnegan he watched her heart beat and the baby's. It was plain the blood loss was affecting them both. If nothing happened soon…

Sasuke looked up, "I need your help, Karin."

Karin didn't reply right away and he wasn't sure what she heard in his voice. Desperation? Fear? These emotions were new to him and difficult to hide.

She responded with a firm nod, "Get gloves on. I'll need you to assist me."

It took an hour to get all the chakra lines out of Sakura's fat tissue. Some had gone so deep they had almost touched the bone. Karin wasn't as good at healing as Sakura, nearly no one was but she had the basic down and could close wounds enough to stop the bleeding. By the eleventh wound however, her chakra was running out and Sasuke set his hand upon her, to feed off of him.

She put an IV in place, set up a fetal monitor and checked Sakura's pupils. Karin rubbed the sweat from her brow when it was all finished. "Now we wait."

Sasuke kept his rinnegan activated. It didn't matter that his chakra was draining faster than he could reproduce it. It became a basic need to watch her heart.

Karin attempted to say something but she didn't know what. She went to the door.

"Thank you."

She smiled, somewhat sadly, as she left.

Sasuke was leaning over her when Sakura opened her eyes. She pulled back with confusion, pushing him away, "What are you doing?"

He took a step back, feeling rather silly, having not realized he had been so close. "You're awake."

"Yeah." She stretched and groaned, holding her head. "I have a really bad headache." Then her eyes shot wide and her hands went to her belly. A relieved sigh escaped and she hugged the bulging belly with a soft tenderness. "What happened?"

"You were injured. We are at the hideout."

"Those weird guys."

He shook his head.

"Good." She sat up, looking around the room. "Is the baby okay?"

"Yes."

"And I'm okay?"

"Yes. You had lost a lot of blood but it's been twenty four hours. You need to eat."

Sakura threw the covers off of her and attempted to stand. Sasuke hurried to the other side of the bed, "What are you doing?"

"Getting up." She grabbed his shoulder when she got dizzy.

"You should rest."

"I've been resting. Now I want to eat and shower."

She looked down at what she was wearing and grimace, "A hospital gown, really? I hate these things. I hate it worse than actually being in this place. Get me out of here. Take me to where we're staying."

Sasuke clenched his teeth and let her go. "You are difficult."

She smiled warmly, leaning to kiss his cheek, "You know what they say, Doctors make the worst patients." She headed to the door.

Karin entered at that moment only to stall upon coming face to face with her patient. She blinked and fixed her glasses, "You're awake."

"So people tell me." She held out her hand, "I'm Sakura."

Her brows knit and numbly shook her hand, "Sakura, as in, Sasuke's old team mate, Sakura."

She gave a bland smile, "That's right. And you are?"

"Karin."

Sakura's smile fell. "Oh."

Their hands fell apart.

"I remember you now."

"Yeah, me too. You. You should, um. Be resting."

Sakura mumbled, "Everyone seems to want to tell me what to do today." She forced a fake smile, "Thank you." Sakura side stepped her and went through the doors.

Sasuke stepped up and Karin gave him a look, "Is she always like that?"

He smirked and followed after his wife.

He kept a good five feet distance, close enough to keep watch in case she trips on flat ground and far enough to get out of conversation.

It wasn't until about five minutes later, she turned to him with a glare, "I don't know where I'm going."

He was smart enough to hide his humor.

Sasuke pushed the door open to their loft, letting her enter first. It was three rooms, a kitchen, living room and bedroom. It was one of Orochimaru's chambers he used to impress his rich guests. It was still however, dark, gloomy and depressing, a characteristic no amount of charm could alter when underground. Only recently had Orochimaru upgraded to electricity and only in some parts of the tunnels. The lights did help make it feel a bit less morose.

He had someone bring in all the baby furniture they had collected over the months. The boxes of diapers and supplies they had bought. He had it all set up and when she entered the bedroom she went straight to the crib. Her hands resting on it.

He ordered food, giving her a moment to control her emotions. God knows she needs a bit more than a moment these days.

Sasuke leaned against the doorway. Sakura had changed into new clothes but she pushed her shirt up over her belly so she could rub the taunt skin flesh to flesh. He could hear a soft hum as she swayed side to side. She didn't seem to notice him, lost in whatever connection she has with the growing baby inside her.

It was a rare moment he didn't mind a pregnant wife. Watching her now eased much of the stress the horrible night before had brought.

Her eyes lit suddenly and a smile spread on her face. Sakura looked up searching for him. She approached and grabbed his hand, resting it on her tight belly. He felt the baby kick in greeting. Sure enough the little child was moving all around as if it was uncomfortable. "She's hungry." Sakura whispered.

Sasuke snapped his head up. "She?"

"I think it's a girl."

"How do you know?"

Sakura shrugged. "Just do. What do you want to name her?"

He shook his head.

"I'm thinking something with an 'S'. Match us."

"What if it's a boy?"

"There are a lot of s names for boys too. But it's a girl." She said determined.

Sasuke scoffed, "You don't know that."

"Yes, I do. I have intuition."

"Tsk."

"You have no clue what that is because you're a man. I'm the mother, I know."

He ignored her and got the door as the food came. He always made sure to order extra, not because she ate a lot at once but because an hour after eating, she's hungry again. And Orochimaru's ordering service wasn't exactly like a hotel chain. They had tempers and would do awful things to the food if they ordered too often. Technically, they allowed two times a day. Once in the morning and once at night. And nothing past midnight.

It doesn't help with the ordering service is done by Orochimaru's prisoners either but can't have the best of both worlds.

Sakura took a shower after they finished eating and Sasuke pulled off his shirt and laid down on the bed. He was exhausted. He hadn't slept last night as he watched over Sakura. Now he felt the weight of all that stress begin to drain and it left only a shell. He wanted to sink into the sheets and not wake up again for months.

Despite this being Orochimaru's place, he somehow felt safer here. He knew of the fallacies here. He knew of Orochimaru's weaknesses and strengths. He knew what the man wanted and how to make him happy. The lunatic wasn't half as bad as the Council. The Council wanted everything from everyone. It wanted secrecy and yet totally dominance. At least with Orochimaru, it was very clear what the man wanted, and Sasuke could destroy him in seconds if he so wanted. Orochimaru was one man. The Council was hundreds.

And he had spent a good chunk of his teenage years here. At some point, it had become a safe place.

The tunnels were closed and secure. Not like the open air at Konoha. Attacks could come from anywhere at anytime. Here, only two men can fit through at time. It was easier to see why this place provided more defense and at a time in Sasuke's life where he needed to protect, this was the best location.

The door to the bathroom opened and the light snapped off. He didn't open his eyes. He was ready for sleep.

Sakura however crawled on top of him and began kissing his neck.

"What are you doing?"

"What does it look like?" She whispered, her hand sinking down his stomach.

He snatched it before it got to his pants, "You just got out of the hospital."

"I'm fine." She whispered, her lips descending further down his chest. Her knee sank between his legs and pushed upward.

He shifted away, "Sakura."

She sat up. Her naked body present by the kitchen light pouring through the doorway. "You can go to the ends of the earth to have sex with me, but when I want to have sex, you shut off?"

The tone of her voice was on the edge between hurt and anger. He was unsure if she was still recovering, sex hadn't even filtered in his mind tonight. And yes, he was a bit tired. But he'd much rather have a night of moaning, then a night of yelling and crying.

Sasuke sat up and pulled her in, kissing her roughly. She responded in kind, her hands dancing hard over his skin, her nails digging into his shoulders to bring him closer. Her big belly however kept them distant. She grabbed his hand and brought it to her breast and he gladly squeezed it till she moaned.

She kissed his shoulder, "I want it now. No foreplay." She whispered, rubbing herself against him.

He sucked his fingers quickly before pushing them up between her legs and she gasped. But she was already ready. He laid down and Sakura pulled him out of his pants and sat down, taking all of him inside. She groaned as she did so, riding him slowly at first if only to stretch out.

Sasuke watched her. Her tempo increased within moments. Her big breasts bouncing. Her beautiful pregnant belly shining. She threw her head back moaning. He couldn't take it. It was too much.

He sat up, wrapping his arm around her to stop her, "Shit." He stiffened, keeping her still but it was too late.

Sakura looked down at him, "What happened?" It only took her a moment to figure it out, "You didn't? Really?" She whispered, dropping her head against his shoulder.

"I had a bad day." He panted against her breasts.

"Oh, you had a bad day?"

He pushed her off and got up on his knees. He grabbed her around the waist and lifted her up so she was on her hands and knees and yanked her back against him, pushing himself inside again.

"You can't-"

"Watch me."

Soon enough, she felt him grow stronger and her own pleasure started up again. Though they started off to rough start, he be damned if they finish that way. He had her forgetting about the ambush, about the day, the night, the moon, and stars, and had her thinking only about him.