Disclaimer: Don't own.
A/N: My most favourite chapter to write. I'm not sure when I'll be able to update again, but the length is a lot longer than usual, which should compensate for the delay in update.
Chapter 25. What We Wanted
She watched as man furiously yell at her; his arms flung into the air as he spoke and his legs were knotted from circling around the living room too many times. Tears tried to escape her apple-green eyes. The young girl's body tightened.
Her eyes averted to her worrisome mother, who was stressing in the back corner of the room on the chair. "Mom?" She begged for someone to help fend off her father.
But the older woman only shook her head, similar to that of her father's reaction. "Who's the father? Is it that Naruto-boy? Neji? Tell me, Sakura." Her sweet, motherly voice had dissipated.
Sakura's mouth slightly opened. Her words came out stutteringly, "I was on a mission and I .."
Truthfully, she didn't want to admit that it was Sasuke. She had told Tsunade just the week before, but that was because the woman assured Sakura nothing would happen if she didn't want it. But with her parents, it would be a whole different story; the public would instantly know and so many clan leaders who would oppose to this. She didn't want Sasuke to be hunted down by her parents and whoever else they could convince. She also didn't want people to take her baby away if they found out it was an Uchiha.
"You what?" Her father questioned.
"I met someone," she forced the words out in response. "I-I don't know his name."
Her parents stared at her with the utmost disbelief.
"Sakura Haruno! We did not raise you to be a whore! And we most definitely will not have our grandchild be a bast– "
"Dad!" She pushed the words out of her mouth with impossible strength. Her cheeks, she could feel, were getting wetter by the minute."Mom...I thought you two would support me – help me!"
Suddenly, she heard her mother release a sigh as she spoke up. "Well then..what are you planning to do? Are you going to abort it?"
Without even questioning herself, Sakura replied, "No."
"Are you going to give it up for adoption? Sakura, please tell me you're going to give up this baby. Have you thought about all the bills we have to pay off. Do you realize how expensive a baby is?"
"You're telling me to give up my baby?" Sakura exclaimed. "We have more than enough money – I have the money!"
"And there is no reason to lose that money!" Her mother yelled back.
She gulped down all that was left in her. "You're telling me you're choosing money over a life, mom?" She then turned to her dad. "And dad, you want a regular, respectable household, right?" She didn't wait until her parents reply. Turning around, she planned to head out the door to get fresh air.
"Sakura," her father spoke up, causing the seventeen year old to freeze.
She momentarily turned around.
Blankly, he stated with a deep sigh, "Get out of my house."
"That's what I'm doin – "
"No, I mean go pack up."
Her mother in the background gasped. "Takashi," she called out to her husband. "What are you doing?"
"Sakura, you said so earlier. You obviously have the money for this. You clearly want to keep this illegitimate child; you're a disgrace to the Haruno family, so I want you to leave."
Shocked, Sakura's legs went numb. Her tears fell as she watched her insensitive father face his back towards her. Managing to swallow her entire life down, she said, "Fine. I guess by gaining a child, I lose my family. I'll go pack my things now."
"Sakura?"
She could feel someone nudge her. Fluttering her eyelids, she found Sasuke in her view. "Huh?" she yawned, moving her eyes to the side. "Oh, crap. I forgot to cook dinner." The adult girl jumped from her bed in a hurry. "I'm so sorry, Sasuke!"
"Hn," Sasuke grunted. "I reheated some of the left overs and cooked some meat."
Slowing her body down, Sakura sighed in relief. "Oh, thanks."
He stared back with the most uncertainty. However, he didn't bother to ask, exiting the room. He led them to the dining room.
The two ate silently and only the sounds of chopsticks clashing with the dishes could be heard.
Sakura's thoughts, however, were the exact opposite. She couldn't think straight, flipping her dream in her mind over and over again. As if she had a sixth sense, she felt Sasuke's presence staring at her, so her eyes moved upwards to meet his.
"What is your plan?"
Sakura gulped down her food. "What plan?"
"Your mother. She's sick, Sakura."
"She's not my mother," Sakura quickly replied. "She disowned me and I disowned the Haruno name. We're not related."
The two continued with their meal, before the Uchiha felt the need to speak up again.
"Aa. You're right. She abandoned you, so I don't blame you for not going there. It's still your job as a medic though."
The rosette didn't respond. "It's not like they're hiring me. And what about work? If I go, I'll probably miss out on a lot of work hours and clearly we need the money."
He looked up at her. "Since when has money been more important than family– "
That statement caused the girl to freeze both mentally and physically. Her hand slowly placed the utensil back down onto the table. "I thought you just agreed that she isn't my family?" She said monotonously.
"'Haruno' is still the name on your birth certificate and on our daughter's birth certificate. You can't ignore that, Sakura."
Instead of a comeback, Sakura felt a tug pulling her lips. Getting up, she collected the empty dishes and carried them to the sink. It wasn't until she turned on the tap that Sasuke spoke up again.
"What are you smiling about?"
Her smile somewhat grew as she scrubbed the plates. "You called Sumi our daughter."
The Uchiha rolled his eyes. "Hn. She is though."
"I know.. I just like it when you say that." Her voice died down and it wasn't until the two finished cleaning up that she added, "Thanks, Sasuke."
"Dr. Sakura, please meet in room 1-207. Dr. Sakura, room 1-207." The speakers called out, rushing the pregnant girl.
'Alright, alright,' Sakura thought. Her steps somewhat quickened as she made her way through the hallways. Her shift had just ended, and even though she thought she had enough time to grab some snacks along the way, apparently her teacher didn't think so.
Upon meeting with Tsunade for her appointment (she was going to get an ultrasound to check the baby's health), Sakura passed by a room filled with the most strangest aura. She took a few steps back, peaking at the side of the window.
Inside, was a couple. The woman held her infant baby in her arms, talking happily to her husband who gazed back at his newborn in a loving manner.
Sakura's body tightened. Looking down at the small bump on her belly, she said to herself, "I guess it's just you and me." She continued down the hallway and knew that clearly, she envied the happy family.
The sound of her daughter's cries startled Sakura and she got up. It was another sleepless night for the kunoichi as she made her way into the room next door. "Sumi," she moaned. "Can't you let mommy sleep just one night?" Her hands gently budged the door.
"I think she's hungry."
Again, Sakura jumped at the sound of the voice. "Oh, you're quick," she muttered when she saw Sasuke already in the room trying to hush the baby.
It had only been a week since they had moved in with each other and Sasuke's physical appearance was clearly taking it's toll. He was getting less and less sleep and more and more stressed with his new schedule – he just hadn't adapted to it yet.
"Take her." He passed the infant onto Sakura who was already sitting on the rocking chair.
"Go back to sleep, Sasuke," the girl commanded.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah."
Sakura watched as he tiredly left the room. Her eyes wandered down, studying the hungry child and how content she looked. "You look just like your dad, you know that? I'm sure you're going to grow up to be just like him." Sakura momentarily paused to look at the door that Sasuke had just left. "Your mom and dad might not stay together for very long, but we're still a family. Okay, Sumi?"
"Sakura!" Ino cried the moment she saw her best friend get wheeled into the hospital. The woman was bawling her eyes out, holding onto her belly.
"Ino, help me!" Sakura cried. "I-I, I slipped on my laces down the stairs and I don't know if I hurt the baby or-or, I tried to heal myself, but I d-don't – I just don't know!"
The blond quickly alerted nearby nurses who went on a rushed search for the Hokage or to find someone from the maternity ward. "Sakura, calm. Just breathe, everything will be okay!"
"Ino, I laid at the bottom of the stairs for over an hour before I got help. I can't move my legs and I – "
Her friend tried not to look so horrified and scared. She followed the interns who pushed Sakura into the room. "Sakura, everything will be okay. Your baby will be fine and so will you. We'll do an ultrasound, just to check, okay?"
"Okay."
She wrapped the towel around her body as she got out of her shower. Her hair dripped continuously as she cleared the fogged up mirror. Taking a step towards the pile of clothes she had laid out on the counter, her foot twisted as she stepped on a puddle.
With a yelp, the girl luckily had time to respond, keeping the distance between the corner of the counter and her head with her arms.
"Sakura?" A voice came from outside the bathroom. "Are you okay?"
It surprised her how quick Sasuke reacted to that incident. Even he could tell that, that little scream was just from something as little as a slip. In response, she nodded, but realizing how foolish that was, she called out, "Yeah. I think I twisted my ankle though." One foot raised in the air as she donned on her clothes.
She carefully hopped out of the room where Sasuke stood.
He grabbed one of her arms and placed it around his neck, leading her to a seat. "Does it hurt?"
The woman shook her head. "Just a little ache, but I'm fine. I've gone through worse, you know?"
Sasuke rolled his eyes. His mouth was formed into a line, so Sakura couldn't read his thoughts. "Are you sure?"
She nodded. "Yeah. You don't have to worry so much, Sasuke."
"Hn." He averted his eyes from her. "Even the smallest things can end up big, Sakura."
Her body suddenly felt at peace and safe. "Yeah, I know. Thanks, Sasuke." She looked down, watching her foot move small inches.
"What?"
"I don't think I can move my foot that well..Maybe you should get the groceries." She gave a loud laugh when Sasuke grumbled.
She refused to go on maternity leave until the last minute. The busy working girl rushed from one room to the other throughout the entire hospital. Everywhere she went, coworkers watched her in awe, proud of her strength and shocked at how big her abdomen had gotten over the last few months.
"Get this to Doctor – whoa." Sakura froze the moment she stretched the files to the intern. She clutched onto her stomach wide-eyed.
"Miss Sakura?" The woman across from her glanced at her worryingly. "I-Is everything alright?"
The hormones that raged in her body caused her to twitch her body upwards. "Does it look alright? No! My water just broke so you better get me the – ow!"
The intern's body hastened. "Don't worry, I'll get the Hokage right away," the innocent newbie quickly turned around to get the phone.
Sakura rolled her eyes in disbelief. "What? You're just going to let me stand here? Get me a freakin' wheelchair or something," she yelled out, forcing the student to turn back around, and muttered, "idiot." The adult woman turned around to face nearby nurses. "Hey, one of you! Don't just stand there, get the Hokage!"
A wheelchair was hurriedly rushed by a sweaty looking medical intern, which pushed Sakura towards the maternity ward while others ran around the building trying to contact Tsunade.
"You have got to be kidding me, the baby is a whole week early!?" Sakura furiously yelled as she was placed onto the bed. She dialed onto her phone several times, trying to contact her friends. "Hi, Shizune? I'm in labour right now," she gave a sarcastic sweetness as she spoke, "and I was wondering..where the hell are Naruto and Ino?" There was a brief pause. "I see...And Kakashi?...Even Hinata and Temari...Well, how about Te– oh. I see. Thanks..." Her voice faltered as she hung up the phone; there was a deep ache in her chest.
Her green eyes trailed to the door the moment her teacher came into the room. She forced an upwards arch from her mouth. "I guess everyone's out on missions," she casually said as she placed the phone aside.
Her teacher stared back at her. "Sakura... I'm not sure if you think this, but I am your teacher and I also consider myself to be family; I'll be here," the woman sat down on the seat to give a check. "And you're not allowed a phone in here."
"Thanks..." The kunoichi tried to prevent herself from showing the pain that spread across her face. "These contractions are as bad as I heard, huh?"
Her teacher shrugged. "I wouldn't know, but considering you're almost in tears, I guess they are." The blond stood back up, removing her gloves and sat down by her student's head. "You're not completely ready for the delivery room yet, Sakura. We might have to wait a while."
The pinkette nodded, wincing at the pain. She held her head up strong to study the empty bed across from her's, but her knuckles grew white from clutching the cream coloured blanket. There was a unique sparkle that came across Sakura's face, one that hadn't been on there since the day her parents left town.
"Does it hurt?" Tsunade asked, putting her arm around Sakura's shoulder to comfort her. When she received no reply, the woman realized the other kind of pain Sakura was in.
"Is it selfish?" Sakura breathed out, lifting her fingers slowly to wipe the tears away. "To want him to be here? Because I do, I do want Sasuke to be here and help me go through this. I want him to be okay with me having his baby and I want him to love the baby as much as I do... I want the life I always pictured when I was a kid, Shishou.. I want him to love me. " She leaned her head back against the silver barred headboard. Her eyes squeezed shut to keep herself from crying any further.
The older woman stared back at Sakura with a consoling face. Her smile was enough to assure the rosette. "No... no, it's not selfish. And I know," she brushed her fingers through the thick pink locks. "I know how hard it feels to know that nothing will ever be as you imagined it to be. But you just have to hope for the best of things, because you will be happy."
As Sakura held her belly unresponsively, the corner of her eyes watched the Hokage give her a quick check again.
"You're ready for the delivery room."
And the girl's heart raced.
Sakura watched as the Uchiha started the fire in the fireplace. Her arms cradled the infant girl and she sat on the only couch they didn't sell. Her eyes quickly averted onto her setting.
The house, despite so big, was so empty. Never would she have thought that the Uchiha house would be so abandoned. The walls were supposed to have fine paintings and the shelves were supposed to be filled with family photos.
Her body shifted slightly when Sasuke sat down next to her. Sakura wondered what he was thinking about; he just watched the fire dance in its setting.
"Is life like you ever imagined it to be?" Her voice squeaked slightly, so she cleared her throat.
"Hn," he grunted, only to buy him some time to think. "No."
There was an unimaginable feeling that twisted around in her stomach, which forced her to speak up again. Though in reality, she was scared as to what she might hear, "What did you imagine it to be?"
Charcoal eyes fell downwards, watching his daughter's sleeping face burrowed into Sakura's arms. "Simpler," he merely said. Then he looked up, "You?"
Sakura licked her dry lips, once again studying her surrounding. "This, you and me in front of a fireplace. But we'd be married and our wedding pictures would be on those shelves," she used her free hand to point at the dark cherry wood. She gave a slight smirk, "I'd have a strapless gown – ball gown, of course – and maybe a kimono too, because your family wanted it to be a traditional wedding, whereas mine wanted a modern." She stopped to give a sigh. "Ino wouldn't have to share her husband, Naruto – well, I never thought I'd become best friends with Naruto, but if I had, I probably would've wished him to be like today, to be cheerful and always smiling." She turned her face to meet Sasuke's. "Are you happy now?"
He didn't respond and Sakura didn't speak up again after that. The two sat on the sofa together, hearing the crackling sounds of the fireplace and making sure there was enough space in between them, so that it wouldn't be any more awkward as it was currently.
"I'm going to go to bed," Sakura suddenly got up from her seat. "You should too, you seem tired."
"Aa," Sasuke muttered, but didn't budge. His body movements were stiff and his mind was preoccupied. It took him at least a full hour before he decided to put the fire out and go to sleep.
Upon passing the baby's room, he saw between the space Sakura sitting on the rocking chair. The Uchiha gently pushed the door open.
"I thought you were going to sleep," he said quietly. He didn't want to startle the baby.
Sakura turned from the window view to him, clearly with tears in her eyes. "I'm going to see her. She's sick and I'm going to take some time off to see the Haruno's, Sasuke. Even if I don't want to, I still have to."
"Aa, I know." He turned around to go back into his room, but stopped when she called him again.
"Wait. I..I just want to say that I'm happy, Sasuke. I'm not sure if you are, but I am happy. Nothing in my life has happened the way I wanted to, but it actually feels real. If I compare my life now to the life that I wanted when I was a child, I would choose this one.
"For the eight and a half months I was carrying Sumi, all I wondered was if you were coming back and if you did, would you help me take care of the baby? But when Shizune ran into that delivery room and told me that you were back, I felt as if my world was suddenly glued together. I didn't worry about anything after that.
"I felt like infinity." She stared directly at Sasuke's face, confident in her words. "And then when Sumi was born, with you there... my life felt so beautifully blissful."
Sasuke's unemotional face remained the same throughout the entire time. When he felt like there was a long enough silence, he turned around again to leave the room. "I'm happy too Sakura. Don't think for a second that I'm not."
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