Another chapter! Apologies in advance for the lack of dialogue, I got sucked into Sasuke's thoughts, and he wanted to angst and brood...so I let him. Enjoy!

There was dust in the room, thick layers of it that made his nose scrunch and his stomach churn. But he had a job to do, bothersome though it was, and he was damned if morning sickness would get the better of him today. He was still a ninja after all, and a deadly one at that. He could handle a bad smell, and he would keep his nausea under control.

If only he could have got Kakashi to come along too, or Hinata even, if he could have thought up some plausible reason for her. It would be much easier if he had somebody he could send in while he waited outside. But Kakashi was being weird – spending nearly half his time out on missions, and disappearing most afternoons until the next morning. He looked all happy too, which was really irritating, and he kept hanging around the ANBU administrative buildings, probably spending time with his girlfriend. Stupid man.

Hinata was being annoying too. She had extra training on at the moment, because her teammate was taking the jounin exams and she needed to help him. It rankled to know that Kiba held a higher rank than him, and probably always would, considering his 'traitor' status.

Actually, he was annoyed with pretty much everything right now, and the world seemed to be having a great laugh at his expense. The fact his father's study was both moldy and dark only served to confirm the impression. Though at least holding back the contents of his stomach distracted him from the unnerving familiarity of the room. He'd got used to living in Kakashi's modern apartment, and now he was back in all that stifling tradition, even worse than his current house, with memories in every speck of dust. It wasn't just the smell of the room that made him queasy.

He wouldn't have returned by choice, but Sakura had said it was vital for him to dig up the family history so she would be able to check for abnormal chakra development and genetic disorders. The last thing he wanted was to risk anything going wrong with this child after it had put him through all this trouble. This baby had to be perfect.

Finally, his stomach's protests won out over the residual traces of reverence from his upbringing, and he simply wrenched the time-weakened doors off all the filing cabinets, coughing and trying not to retch at the stench of old paper and damp.

For a moment he bent over, feeling the tiny press of the baby against his muscles as he flexed...or maybe it was just his imagination. After all, it wasn't supposed to be any bigger than his little finger at the moment. Slowly, he stood again, too concerned with holding the contents of his stomach in to feel any sense of achievement, and grabbed all the scrolls he could hold. He'd rather read them outside.

#

He glared at the plastic cup of ramen, and steadfastly ignored the enticing tendrils of steam that kept wafting towards him. There was still a minute to go, and then another for it to cool, and then...he scowled even more. Then he would eat it.

It wasn't that he wanted to. Well, maybe it was in part (though that wasn't him really, that was just his body), but mainly it was that Sakura had ordered him – ordered – to give in to any cravings he might have. Apparently it was his body telling him what it needed, and he couldn't risk denying it or it might damage the baby. He snorted with derision, but only succeeded in drawing more of the suddenly delicious smell into his nostrils. Why did it have to be ramen of all things? He wished he'd skipped his appointment with Sakura now, then he wouldn't have to demean himself by giving in to petty wants. It felt positively shameful to do something purely because he felt like it, and it weakened his self-control.

The room filled up with a high pitched bleeping, and he transfered his glare to the little timer before slowly, calmly, turning it off. At least he was allowed self discipline there. He wouldn't allow a single outward sign of his annoyance show, not even now, with nobody watching him.

Still, the noodles were delicious.

He slurped as quietly as possible, thinking over the appointment. It had been rather tense, partly because he just felt irritable, and partly because he didn't feel comfortable being female in public – recently he'd been using the henge whenever he was with Hinata, and at other times too, so as to appear normal to anybody watching. And Sakura had poked him and searched around in him, unbalancing him with her chakra, and made him listen to far more information than he really wanted to know about blood vessels and muscle development. Though it was interesting to know that in a few weeks they'd be able to find out its gender.

He wasn't sure what he'd prefer any more. He'd thought a boy originally, but that was before he'd decided to marry Hinata. Now, he felt undecided. After all, a girl would be brought up mostly by Hinata, and he wouldn't have too much to do with it, so he could still take missions. And if it was a boy...well what if it looked like Kakashi? He didn't know what he'd do then. Plus if it was a girl she wouldn't have such strong pressures on her to become a ninja, and he was suddenly worried that a boy-baby would end up like him whatever he did. It was out of his hands, but either option seemed to have more downsides than the other.

There was also the problem of its slightly accelerated development. Sakura hadn't been surprised the eyes had formed more fully than most babies, because the Uchiha records showed this was common in children who activated their sharingan. But it seemed to be forming all its chakra pathways faster than usual, and Kakashi hadn't bothered to come along to the appointment, so they weren't sure if it was normal. It didn't help that it was only the second ninja pregnancy Sakura had been assigned to, and she didn't have any more ideas than him.

It all came back to Kakashi though; the man had been practically avoiding him, and they hadn't had a chance to talk or train. The jerk. The idiot had knocked him up, yet he didn't even want to know about his own kid! What if it wasn't just some weird Hatake thing, what if their child had a problem? It was Kakashi's fault he felt so worried.

He knew Kakashi had larger chakra reserves than he did, but what if it was small compared to the rest of his clan? If that was the case, then the baby could have a massive chakra center forming, and drain him so low on chakra that he'd miscarry or damage it, and it would be Kakashi's fault for not bloody paying enough attention to him. It was their baby, both of theirs, and they should take responsibility for it together!

He pushed the last of his ramen away, suddenly sickened by the smell. He just wanted to lie down and not think about the kid any more. Huh. It wouldn't even be an 'it' for much longer, it would be a he or a she and somehow that made everything more real. He really was pregnant, and it was going to be his 'it', and he had to look after it and feed it and protect it and he had no idea where to start.

The bed looked warm, a lopsided rectangle of light on it from the afternoon sun. He lay down and buried his face in the pillow, replacing the scent of ramen with that perfect Kakashi smell, so much nicer than dust and filth and food. Maybe when he got back from his latest mission it would be okay again. Well, as okay as it had been in the first place.

Hinata would be back to normal soon too, once the jounin exams were over. It would all be back to normal. He'd get to train with Kakashi, eat out with Hinata, and hopefully get over this funny development in the baby. Then...he'd get back to the whole marriage business, and things would settle down again.

Everything would be okay in the end.

Yes, I am aware that Sasuke's thoughts are slightly silly. He's low on chakra, in mid mood-swing, and being thoroughly irrational. Plus he's in denial still...poor boy. Blame it on the baby!