I hope you enjoy this, sorry for the long wait... college is a bitch sometimes and work is not picnic either...

thank you for all your comments and a special thank you to those that wrote to me on myspace.

Chapter 21: What She Must Say

"You have to tell him, Sakura-Chan. He has a right to know." Naruto yelled as he paced back and forth in front of her, wearing a hole through the carpet in her living room. He would be leaving for Suna in the next few days and did not like facing Sasuke, knowing that he knew of Sakura's child before him, and he was the father.

It wasn't like Sakura liked the idea of keeping this from him, but this kind of news wasn't something you could tell the father in a letter. What was she suppose to do say 'Hope you're having a great time, we miss you a lot... by the way your going to be a father'? This was something that needed to be said in person, but by the time she sees him, it would be to late. "Don't you think I know that, Naruto; I know I have to tell him, but I want to tell him face to face, and we both know that's not possible."

"You've written to him three times since you found out a month ago, why can't you just tell him that way?"

"You just don't get it do you, this isn't something that can be said through a letter, How would you like it if Hinata told you that way, telling you that you couldn't be there for the birth, or help her through the pregnancy?" she screamed at him, her voice almost breaking, her stomach contracted and she grasped it and winced.

Naruto was at her side in a moment as she looked down into her lap, "Are you alright Sakura-Chan? You need to take it easy. What would he say if he were here?"

Sakura wiped at her eyes, still not looking up, "But he's not here, is he?"

Sakura sat upon the hospital bed; her appointment with Tsunade was about to begin at any moment. Her sensei insisted that she be the doctor to see to it that her baby came into the world safely. After four months she was no worse for wear, a little sickness here and few moments of numbness there, a normal pregnancy.

Tsunade walked in and smiled at her, "Lie down and we can begin." Sakura nodded and did as she was told. "I'm just going to do a quick check to see how the baby is progressing."

She watched as Tsunade placed her hands on her growing belly and began placing chakra into it. Sakura could feel the warmth of it flow into her body as she saw a smile on her sensei's face. "What is it?" Sakura asked.

"Would you like to know the gender of your baby?" she responded.

She thought back to Sasuke. He would want to know. Was it fair for her to know before him? She looked up at her, "Yes, please tell me."

"Well congratulations, you're going to be having a boy."

Sakura meet her sensei's eyes and gave a small smile, "That's great." She wanted to cry, she wanted to break down and never get up. A single tear rolled down her cheek and fell upon the front of her shirt.

She was enveloped in a pair of arms, "I know you wish he was here with you but you can't keep acting this way, you're having a baby remember, you need to be eating right and taking care of him. This little guy needs you right now more than anything."

Sakura shuddered, "I just wish he was here with me."

"You're having a boy?!" Naruto exclaimed, "That's great!"

She smiled, "Sasuke-Kun would like a son, don't you think?" she had to force her smile. She promised Tsunade sensei she would be happy about the new life growing in her, that she was starting a family with her husband that she loved with all her heart. In truth, she was happy, thrilled even. Sakura had always wanted to start a family with Sasuke, but her sadness overcame her with thought of him missing her entire pregnancy and birth of their first child. She knew how much this meant for him, the birth of his first son, the heir to the Uchiha line.

"Teme would be thrilled to know he is having a son." Naruto gave a small smile and placed a hand upon her head, "What would you say if I told you I had a plan for you to tell him face to face?"

She met his eyes, "What are you talking about, you know I can't leave the village."

His smile grew wider, "Well, Sasuke wasn't suppose to leave the hospital the night before the trial, but he did it anyway."

She knew what he was thinking, what he wanted to do. Go to Suna in a transformation Jutsu. "Naruto, I don't think switching places with you for a few days is a good idea, especially if Gaara is involved."

He still held his smile, "Who said anything about switching with me?" He looked behind her. Sakura turned to see herself standing in the doorway of the room. Her clone stepped into the room and approached her.

Taking a closer look she saw a blush on the cheeks, "Hinata, is that you?'

The Jutsu released. Smoke filled the room but soon cleared, showing the bashful Hyuuga. Sakura couldn't tell if this was genius or madness. Switching with Hinata was perfect. They were both medic and were taught by Tsunade. With her traveling with Naruto and Shikamaru, helping her keep the transformation in check, they could pull it off.

She turned to face Hinata, "Are you sure you want to do this, if I get caught, we could all get in trouble."

The white eyed Kunoichi approached her placing a hand upon her shoulder, "I would do anything to make you smile, you are one of my treasured friends. It is worth the risk."

Sakura smiled and hugged her. They had formed a plan.

They stood at the gate, the day had come. Naruto had placed the transformation Jutsu on her. It was safer that way with her chakra acting up because of the baby. Hinata was there, as Sakura. Two other shinobi and Tsunade were there to see them off.

"Be sure to tell him I miss him." She said to the blonde. Sakura could tell that even though those words were meant for those around, Hinata meant them for Naruto. She knew how much Hinata loved to go on missions with her blonde teammate.

He smiled and hugged her, "I will tell him, you just take care of yourself."

She smiled and took the few steps back to stand beside Tsunade. The gates opened. This was it; there was no turning back now.

Sakura ended up having to be carried a good portion of the trip. She leaned against Naruto's back and held on tight as they started their third day. Naruto insisted since the baby didn't seem to want her to hold down any food. Shikamaru just continued to repeat how troublesome it was that she had come. Sakura just stuck her tongue out at him.

They would reach Suna within a few hours. Sakura couldn't help but smile as she thought of what was waiting for her at the end of the journey. She was brought back to reality when Naruto suddenly stopped. "What's going on, why did you stop?" she asked.

"We got company coming; Gaara must have sent someone to greet us." He kneeled down, letting her slide off his back. He turned to face her, "How are you feeling?"

Placing a hand to her stomach, she smiled at him, "I'm doing fine, and the transformation Jutsu is still holding strong."

"Good, Teme would kill me if I let anything happen to you, and you're going to have to walk from here on. We don't want to run into anyone and them getting suspicious." He could only smile at her.

"How troublesome." Shikamaru said as he turned and continued to walk to Suna. Sakura and Naruto followed.

It didn't take long for them to run into those escorts that Naruto had spoken of. "Greetings Naruto-sama, Lady Hinata, Shikamaru-Sama, Gaara has sent us to see you to the village." They all nodded and followed. Sakura was glad that they were at least walking. Her chakra was low as it was with the baby feeding on it.

It was only about half an hour before they reached the gates. Temari was there waiting for them, or waiting for Shikamaru as the case may be. Sakura could feel the pain in her body growing. She needed to lie down, and soon. Naruto, beside her, could tell something was wrong. He reached over and took her hand as if trying to support her. It was all he could do at that point.

"Welcome guys, Gaara is waiting for you and Hinata." She said to Naruto. Turning to the lazy shinobi beside them, a smile grew upon her lips, "And you can come with me."

Shikamaru only smiled and went beside her. The two left without another word. Sakura and Naruto made their way to the Kazekaga's tower. Naruto still held her hand; he pulled her closer and whispered, "Do you need to sit down for a bit?"

Sakura smiled, "Yes, please. Just for a bit." Naruto lead her to a bench and sat with a sigh of relief. Naruto sat beside her. They sat in silence for a bit. "Thank you, Naruto. I know that this trip wasn't easy for you, having to carry me."

He only smiled that goofy grin she loved, "I would do anything for you and Sasuke, you two are the closest thing to a family I ever had."

Sakura took his hand, "Come on, let's go see Gaara-kun." She stood and pulled him, taking him with her down the road.

"Naruto, I'm glad you could come. It has been a long time since we were able to meet." Gaara said as he sat behind his desk.

Naruto smiled, "It's great to be here, as long as we get to train, I've been wanting a challenge for a long time." The red haired Kage only smiled then turned to Sakura.

"Lady Hinata, I'm also glad that you could join us here."

Sakura nodded, "I'm honored to be able to come." She hadn't seen Gaara in so long. She wanted to run and hug him, but held herself back. Hinata didn't know him as well as she did.

"Gaara, where is Sasuke right now?" she looked up at Naruto surprised at him.

Gaara only smiled, "He's on a mission right now, but we are expecting him later today. You must have had a long trip, why don't you head to our house and get settled in."

Naruto chuckled, "Yeah, but where is Sasuke staying, maybe we could surprise him."

"He is staying in the guest house beside ours. Tsunade wished for me to be able to keep an eye on him. And as I said before, he is not here at the moment, so you will have to wait." Gaara stood, "You know the way to my home, right?"

Naruto nodded, "Yeah, but will train tomorrow right?"

"Of course" he smiled.

Naruto helped Sakura get into the guest house; she wanted to really surprise him when he finally arrived. She searched from room to room until she found the bed room. It was a bit smaller than the one they had at home, and much less bare. The round bed in the room got her attention. She was exhausted. The ebony sheets called to her as she crawled across its surface till her hands reached the pure white pillows at the top. Laying herself down, she inhaled deeply. She had missed the smell of him and let it engulf her. It was not long till her eyes grew heavy and she was lost to sleep.
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