Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or anything connected to it, just borrowing the characters for my own experiments in writing.
Author's Note: Thank you for all of the posts and the ideas. I have taken some of them on board and hope you like this next instalment.
From the Heart
Chapter 29
Sakura lay on a bed panting and breathing heavily. She did her best to ignore the discomfort and focus on relaxing her body as much as possible for the delivery, but it was by far easier said than done. Now she understood all those women she helped before to give birth and why they wanted pan relief or lost their tempers so easily, some even passing out. Now it was her turn to experience the process and it was painful.
"Breathe" Naruto's voice reassured her from the side lines for the umpteenth time. He was covered in protective clothing and holding onto her hand with an arm behind her back, embracing her and supporting her as much as he could. Yet she could tell he was telling her to do things that he was then doing himself and soon his instructions seemed to be more for him than they were for her and it started to get irritating.
"Naruto" she spoke his name through gasped breathes.
"Yes" his startled response only emphasised she was breaking him out of his own anxious thoughts.
"SHUT UP!" she snapped unreasonably. She couldn't help it, he was driving her mad. Yet Naruto did as requested and tried his best to keep a lid on it. Watching him squirm only made her feel a little bit guilty…just a little. After all he was partly to blame for her current situation. Men would never understand what it felt like to do this. She wondered if they tried pushing something big out of a small hole if they would manage.
"You are doing well" the doctor stated, breaking the awkwardness in the room. "I can see a head" he commented.
"Really?!" Naruto gasped. He went to move to look but stopped himself, wanting to check with her first that it was okay. Sakura nodded her head and let go of his hand. He moved to the end of the bed and his eyes widened in surprise, the colour in his cheeks draining a little. Sakura gripped hold of the sides of the bed and pushed again at the doctor's instruction. Naruto watched as the doctor placed his hands near a bloody mass of dark hair. It was in that moment that he was grateful to Tsunade for preparing him for what he was seeing because quite frankly, it was gross and when Sakura screamed out in pain, pushing again, and that small mass became a huge lump that forced it's way through a small hole he couldn't decide whether to pass out or get excited as his heart felt like it would stop pounding in his chest.
Naruto was amazed and stunned to watch as the doctor pulled the rest of the baby out and handed it over to a nurse who helped clamp the cord that connected their child to its mother. It was wrinkled and white with blood and goo smeared all over it. Naruto was surprised at how he could find the small bundle of flesh to be so beautiful in that moment. It was like he had just watched a miracle happen and now he was looking at his child…their child.
Sakura lay gasping for air and on the verge of passing out but watched as Naruto started to well up. It was a beautiful sight to see a father with his child. The doctor handed Naruto a pair of scissors and he stared at the man in dumb struck awe. "Would you like to do the honour?" he asked. With a shaking hand Naruto took the metal object and cut the cord with eyes closed. He was surprised to find it wasn't hard or tough like he had expected it to be. When he opened his eyes the nurse placed a cloth around the baby…their baby…and handed it out to him. Naruto looked at the small bundle in surprise and then over to Sakura.
Sakura watched the blond knucklehead go speechless for the first time in his life and smiled to herself. She nodded a little to reassure him she was okay and to go ahead. He blinked a few times and slowly reached out his arms to hold the bundle closely to him.
"Is it a boy or girl?" Sakura asked, trying to get herself comfortable and feeling a little out of sorts.
Naruto raised an eyebrow in surprise, he hadn't even noticed! He opened the cloth and glanced down before shooting his head up and grinned widely. "It's a boy!" he stated clearly, but when he saw Sakura wince in pain and hold onto her stomach again he grew worried. "Sakura-chan?" he could feel his heart racing and beginning to panic. Sakura cried out and started to breathe out again.
"It looks like we haven't finished yet" the doctor spoke up, sitting on his chair at the end of the bed and studying Sakura's private area carefully.
"Eh?" Naruto made a sound that seemed like it had come from a squeaky toy. He watched as the doctor placed his hand inside Sakura and fought the urge to hurt the man.
"Yep, as I thought…this one is at an angle…we have to turn it around" he commented calmly. Naruto felt the baby in his arms struggle a little and started to cry, he looked down to watch the pink mass, realising suddenly he had been holding his son a little too tightly into his chest. He desperately tried to quieten him down but was failing miserably.
"Shall I take him for now?" the nurse offered. He was reluctant to let the child go but also knew that he needed to be there for Sakura as well. He allowed the woman to take his son from him and watched her carefully place the baby in an incubator. She gave orders to a second nurse whom Naruto didn't realise had been in the room the whole time and asked her to clean the baby up.
"Arrrrgggghhh!" Sakura screamed, forcing Naruto out of his stupor and to her side.
"Its okay" he tried to reassure her and failed at disguising the worry on his face.
"Is she going to be alright?" Naruto asked the doctor desperately.
"Nearly there!" the doctor confirmed, focussed on what he was doing, "Got it!" he exclaimed having successfully repositioned the small form inside of her and preventing the cord from strangling it's owner. "Now try again Sakura-san" he ordered. Sakura held tightly onto Naruto's hand and he grimaced at the force she used as she pushed as hard as she could. Naruto though refused to cave this time. His adrenaline and stamina had kicked in a while ago now and he was running on over drive.
"Waaaahhhhh!" the sound of a baby crying caught their attention and Sakura lay back on the bed in exhaustion, sweat pouring off her. Her hair and shroud stuck to her body and she felt utterly defeated.
Naruto wiped her brow and brushed her hair to one side. "Are you okay?" he asked her seriously, worried that something might be wrong.
"I'm…ok…ay…" she panted, reaching a hand up weakly to touch his cheek.
"Waaaaahhhh!" the baby cried again, forcing the pair to look up. The nurse and doctor clipped the cord again and this time brought the scissors to Sakura. Naruto helped her weak body to sit up and she took the object in her hands then cradled their second child in her arms. They stared down at the wrinkled mess as it wriggled and cried. They smiled down at their second born child with pride in their eyes.
"This has to be the best moment of my life" Naruto commented, causing Sakura to look up at him. He kissed her on the forehead and reached down to stroke a finger across the baby's head. "So is this a boy or a girl?" he asked. Sakura peaked in the cloth and embraced her child again, "it's a girl!" she exclaimed.
Naruto couldn't hide the shock on his face even if he tried and was only vaguely aware of the nurse that approached beside him with their son in her arms. As he sat on the bed holding onto the woman of his dreams and his two new born children he felt like the luckiest man in the world.
…
"Excuse me coming through!" A male voice called out followed by the sound of running footsteps echoing down the hall.
"Move out of the way!" a female voice called in panic.
"Hey!" A third voice protested, possibly annoyed at being shoved.
Naruto was mostly oblivious to the sound of the people heading his way and just stared through the glass at the small bundles of joy on the other side. Next to him stood a just as silent and stunned Uchiha.
"You did it…you started to rebuild your clan" Naruto commented.
"Yeah" Sasuke replied, "though it will take more than this to get there" he remarked, a little envious of Naruto's outcome.
"Isn't that the fun part?" Naruto asked casually, "making them I mean?" he remarked, causing the Uchiha to scowl at him in disapproval.
"Where are they?" the voice of a blond medic snapped to a member of staff as she turned around the corner and slammed on her breaks. She looked up to see both men standing like statues in the baby ward. Straightening her clothing she coughed in her hand as if she were being professional again and waltzed over to them with an apologetic Sai following closely behind. "I have been looking for you everywhere…is everything alright?" she asked, directing her question to both of them.
Naruto barely looked at her and nodded. Sasuke didn't respond but this only helped to upset the blond woman a little more.
"Hey!" she snapped, hitting Naruto across the back of the head with the flat of her hand. Naruto's forehead bumped the glass on the window. He rubbed his head and glared at her.
"What was that for?" he asked, clearly irritated. Ino merely crossed her arms in a 'hmph' and turned to look through the window glad to finally have his attention. There were several babies in there but she immediately spotted one that lay still and quiet with thick black hair. She placed a finger on the glass, "let me guess…this one is yours?" she asked, turning to look at the tall and silent Uchiha. Sasuke glanced at her and followed her hand then nodded.
"Yes" he replied…one worded answer as usual.
Ino sighed, "and…?" she asked, prying for more information.
"And what?" he retorted, growing irritated.
"I believe what Ino is trying to ask is what gender is your child and if you have a name for it yet?" Sai interjected, trying to excuse his partner's rudeness.
"Her name is Mikoto" Sasuke announced, "after my mother".
Ino felt her face changing colour at the thoughtful comment from Sasuke and smiled to herself. He really did have a deeper side to him than he let on and it was good to see he had not lost that.
"Bet you can't guess which one is mine?" Naruto stated with a grin on his face. Ino sighed and looked him up and down. She glanced through the glass once more and her eyes scanned the room. She was conscious of Sai approaching her side and looking in as well. "That's easy" she remarked, "that one over there with blond hair" she pointed. It was the only blond one in the room so it wasn't hard to miss and there were no pink haired children so she figured through the math it would be easy to figure out.
Naruto grinned widely, "Nope" he stated clearly. Ino raised her eyebrow and looked at him in surprise.
"So they didn't take your hair colour?" Sai asked, verifying the fact, "but I don't see any pink" he commented.
Naruto grinned and was fidgeting on his feet, bouncing up and down using energy he had stored away in leaps and bounds. His eyes glanced over to the room again and this time Ino followed his gaze, her eyes came across two children that were laid next to each other. They were both sleeping soundly and had thick dark red hair. Naruto watched as Ino's eyes widened in surprise.
"Twins?" she asked.
"Yep!" Naruto affirmed, laughing and looking through the glass again, "aren't they beautiful?" he stated, not expecting a response.
"Wha…?" Ino was aghast.
"His mothers side of the family" Sasuke offered, explaining the situation, "a sign of the Uzumaki clan" he finished.
"I see" Sai replied, looking from the babies and back to Naruto, "like Karin" he remarked.
"Does that mean they are going to be as hyperactive as their father?" the voice of Kiba asked as he appeared behind the group and having over heard. When they all heard the news from Shikamaru they found themselves unable to stay away.
"I hope not" Sasuke replied, watching the blond man jumping up and down and tapping the window as he made cooing sounds, looking like a moron.
Kiba watched his gaze and chuckled, "well I don't know what is worse, Naruto's enthusiasm or Sakura's fierceness" he commented, noting the bead of sweat forming from the Uchiha's brow as the thought of the two children breaking down cities and bouncing of walls came to his mind.
"They are beautiful!" Hinata gasped, looking through the window and placing a hand on the cold surface. She had followed her fiancée in and was immediately drawn to the bundles of joy. Kiba was happy to see the maternal side of her and found himself a little eager to start their own family not long after their wedding.
"Aren't they!" Naruto was super excited, "they take after their mother" he beamed.
"Speaking of which where is Sakura?" Ino asked.
Naruto stopped bouncing and turned to look at her, a hint of worry flashed over his eyes but was soon shaken off, "she is resting" he stated.
"Can we visit her?" Hinata asked.
Naruto shook his head, "she is with her parents right now" he commented. Ino sighed, she knew that was most likely the main reason for Naruto's current state of affair. He had taken their daughter away and gotten her pregnant before marrying her. It wasn't the done thing and made them very upset. She knew that he was struggling to think of a way to ask them for permission to marry Sakura once he had purchased the necessary goods. From the look of things he hadn't had the chance to do it yet and was probably bummed that he couldn't do it before the children were born. Ino knew that Naruto had been trying to find ways to placate Sakura's parents for a while now.
"So what are their names?" Kiba asked, breaking the silence and joining Hinata's side. He didn't need to use his eyes to figure out which child belonged to whom when he had his nose for that.
Naruto looked at the man and blinked several times, "um…."
Ino scowled, "you mean you haven't thought of any yet?" she asked.
Naruto grimaced at being caught out, "we have some ideas" he excused, reluctant to share, "besides we haven't had a lot of time to talk lately".
"Talk about what?" Sakura's voice asked. They all turned to see her standing with her parents in a dressing gown. She looked pale and tired.
"Sakura!" Ino approached her friend to hug her fiercely before pulling back and looking her up and down, "should you be out of bed?" she asked, her doctor side coming out.
"We tried to tell her but she was insistent" Sakura's mother commented with a smile. Her hand was around her daughters shoulders and Ino nodded in acknowledgement of the older woman's presence.
"Are we late?!" the voice of Lee called out as he ran around the corner and almost collided with the group of people standing around the bend. He managed to stop himself from colliding into Sakura's father but in doing so slipped and landed on his butt.
"LEE!" Tenten chastised the man before her, she bowed apologetically to the older couple and they nodded their heads with fond smiles on their faces.
Lee immediately sat up onto his knees and bent nearly prostrate on the floor, "my apologies" he commented.
"It is alright young man" Sakura's father commented, reaching out a hand to help the lad up. "No offense has been taken" he remarked.
"There I was thinking we would be the first" Shikamaru's voice joined the fray with a swollen Temari standing next to him and a sulking Shino not far behind.
"I am always the last to know everything" Shino complained.
Mrs Haruno looked up and studied the people in the hall, "my I didn't realise you were so popular" she commented to her daughter. The group of young ninja looked at her and she bowed to them all in response, "thank you for coming to see our family and for your support"
The group of friends all blushed in response to her words.
"What's with all these people?" Karin spoke up, squeezing through and finding her way over to the Uchiha at the far end of the corridor. All eyes followed her and she looked at everyone cautiously. "Have I missed something?" she whispered to her partner, realising she had probably interrupted something.
"They have come to visit the Uzumaki children" Sasuke confirmed. He had to accept now that as much as his daughter was an Uchiha that she was also of the same blood as his team mate and partner.
"Where is she?" Karin asked, ignoring his comment with a shrug and focussing more on her own child. She slightly pushed Naruto out of the way and looked inside the room. "She is so small" Karin commented with admiration.
Naruto looked at her and smiled then his gaze fell on the pair of his children as they wriggled around in their sleep. His daughter reached out a small hand and stretched, hitting his son in the face and causing him to cry. He suddenly became aware of a tall figure appearing next to him and reflecting in the glass window. He knew it well, Sakura's father, and he could feel all of the muscles in his body grow tense as a hand landed on his shoulder.
"You have done well" the older man commented. Naruto was surprised by his words and his head shot up to look at the man whose pink hair and moustache glistened in the dim light of the hall. The man smiled at Naruto and looked back at his grandchildren. "They are healthy and strong" he commented.
Naruto followed his gaze and nodded, relaxing a little as the man moved his hand off his shoulder. This didn't last long as the older man leant down and whispered into his ear, "Now all you need to do is close the deal".
Naruto's head shot up in surprise and he looked at the man as he turned to greet his wife and daughter. Sakura appeared next to him and linked onto his arm, holding it tightly against her body and admiring the results of her hard work.
"It's strange" Sakura's mother spoke up, "I thought they might end up with blond hair," she commented.
"I wonder who they will take after personality wise" Lee thought out loud.
"Hopefully they will have their mother's brains" Tenten remarked.
"Hey!" Naruto snapped, taking offense and gaining laughter from all of those around him. It was one thing him thinking it but for everyone else to feel that way made him feel like an idiot.
"I wonder what sort of jutsu they would be able to pull off?" Kiba wondered.
"Sasuke's kid will probably be powerful in sensory type" Shino offered.
Mrs Haruno listened to the group of friends as they all commented and talked about the future possibilities of the children before them before focussing attention onto Shikamaru and Tenten and then onto Kiba and Hinata's upcoming wedding plans. It was a joyous occasion and memorable in deed. It warmed her heart to see how happy and popular her daughter was and the man she verified he was truly in love with. Watching them now, interacting with their comrades and friends she could tell that they were loved and their children would be just as popular.
"Naruto" the older woman spoke his name to gain his attention and he turned to look her way. "When will you marry my daughter?" she asked.
"Mum!" Sakura snapped at her in embarrassment as everyone was now looking their way.
"Now dear, these things take time" her husband tried to reassure her, watching Naruto squirming where he stood. He rubbed the back of his head and blushed. Mrs Haruno looked up and saw Ino standing behind the pair waving a hand in front of her face and making an expression that signed to her to not push the matter further. She raised an eyebrow at the blonde girl who gave her a knowing smile and suddenly understood. Naruto wasn't completely useless after all she realised. It would seem he already had some plans under foot.
"My apologies" she bowed her head and Naruto and Sakura stared at her. She smiled and placed her hands on Naruto's shoulders then reached in as if to embrace him, "you have our blessing" she whispered in his ear, causing his face to flush pink. She leant back and tapped his shoulder again before moving away. Naruto was left stunned and surprised.
…
"Phew" Naruto sighed, slouching down into the chair next to Sakura's bed and resting his head back on the seat, "I was beginning to think they would never leave" he commented.
"It was good to see everyone again" Sakura remarked. Not long after their encounter with their friends and family they were visited by Kakashi, Shizune, Tsunade, Yamato, Konohamaru and more. Everyone wanted a glimpse of the future hokage's children and the child of the great and legendary Uchiha clan. Sasuke himself had made several attempts to escape but Karin had him glued to her hip and wouldn't let him go. They too had guests of their own with Suigetsu and Juugo appearing from no where. It was truly a busy day and they were exhausted.
A knock came at the door and Naruto groaned when Sakura called for them to come in. Obito stood in the entrance way with a bouquet of flowers and a balloon.
"Am I intruding?" he asked, taking in the frown on the blond man's face.
"No" Sakura commented, ignoring Naruto's desire to be alone with his partner for a few minutes. They had plenty of time for that later.
"These are for you" Obito remarked, entering the room and putting the gifts down to one side of the bed.
"Thank you" Sakura replied.
"And something for the father off course" Obito commented, lifting out a small object from his pocket that immediately caught the man's attention.
"What is it?" Naruto asked, leaning across the bed to take the item. When he scanned it he realised it was a handful of tokens for free meals at his favourite ramen restaurant. Obito and Sakura watched as Naruto's face lifted and he pocketed the goods immediately so as not to lose them.
"May I?" Obito asked, nodding over to the small beds near by. The babies had been cleaned and checked over and they were now allowed to be with their parents. Naruto and Sakura looked at each other and then nodded. Naruto stood and walked around the bed to meet the older man as he watched over their sleeping forms.
"I'm afraid they are pretty boring to watch" Naruto explained, "they only sleep at the moment"
Obito laughed and watched them quietly, "so one of each I hear?" he asked. Naruto nodded.
"Do you want to hold them?" Sakura asked him from her bed.
Obito blushed, "Are you sure?"
Naruto grinned, "You aren't afraid of a baby are you?" he teased. Obito scoffed, off course he wasn't, though he had to admit he had never held one before and the worry of dropping one or holding too tightly crept into him.
Naruto picked up one of the bundles and handed it out to him, "you need to cup her head and cradle her like this" he demonstrated how to hold safely.
Obito hesitated but reached out and did as Naruto did. He was surprised at how heavy the tiny form was and watched in awe as eye lids stirred and opened and closed a little at a time. Eventually he was met with large green orbs. "She has her mother's eyes" he commented.
"Yep!" Naruto beamed, "and this one has mine!" he exclaimed with joy, stepping next to the man with his son in his arms and showing him off.
"Have you thought of names yet?" Obito asked.
Sakura and Naruto looked at each other.
"Well" Sakura pitched in, "we were contemplating a couple of ideas" she commented, looking to Naruto for him to confirm their previous discussions. "Would you mind giving us your opinion?" she asked.
Obito nodded, "I would be honoured" he remarked.
"For our son we thought of Kazuo" Sakura commented, lifting her arms up to take her son from Naruto as he approached her. "It means first born son" she explained her reasons.
"A good name" Obito remarked.
Naruto turned to take his daughter in his arms and the older man suddenly felt a little upset at having her leave him, "and this little one we were thinking of calling her Akahana Rin" the sound of his lost love's name caused Obito to choke up inside and he felt water forming in his eyes. "It means bright red flower" Naruto finished, watching the older man begin to sob with joy.
Sakura shared a smile with Naruto and the younger man placed a hand on the older one's shoulder to reassure him.
"Obito sensei" Sakura spoke up, "would you like to be godfather to them?" she asked suddenly and out of the blue.
He looked at them stunned to silence for a moment, "but what about Kakashi?" he replied.
"Sasuke already asked him" Naruto remarked, a little bitter at how the Uchiha always thought ahead of them.
Obito wiped the tears from his eyes, "then I would be honoured" he remarked. Sakura and Naruto smiled. "What about the god mother?" Obito asked, watching as Naruto stiffened and Sakura smiled.
"Lady Tsunade has taken that role" the pink haired medic remarked.
"She is more like a great grandmother than god mother" Naruto commented.
"Don't let her hear you say that, she will pummel you to the ground. You know she dislikes being seen as old" Sakura warned.
Akahana Rin started to cry and Naruto tried to rock her to quieten her down but was unsuccessful.
"May I?" Obito asked, offering his help. Naruto reluctantly gave his daughter over to the man and she instantly stopped crying.
"Hey!" Naruto protested, clearly jealous.
Obito smiled and enjoyed his interactions with his new family. They talked until Sakura fell to sleep and he helped Naruto put their children to bed.
"She is an amazing woman" Obiot commented, giving Naruto his approval of his relationship with Sakura. He was a lucky man indeed.
"I still can't believe it" Naruto commented, watching Sakura sleep and looking at his children, "it's like a dream. Never in a billion years did I think Sakura-chan would be mine and I would have a family with her"
Obito nodded, "you have worked hard" he commented. He wondered if he had worked harder and if Rin was still alive whether or not he would have been able to change her heart too. He noticed Naruto yawn and tapped him on the back, "you should rest up too" he offered.
"I can't" Naruto tried to fight it off, "I have another cot to make" he realised.
Obito smiled, "Leave that to me" he offered. "I will get things sorted for when you return home"
"Seriously?" Naruto asked, suddenly excited and happy to snatch up any offer of help.
"Off course" Obito replied, "I will have it ready in the next couple of days" he promised, heading towards the door. He watched as Naruto positioned himself to sit next to Sakura's bed, taking her hand in his. He rested his head on her lap and within seconds had fallen into a deep slumber.
As Obito left the room he approached a doctor on the ward and made a request for the family to not be disturbed for the time being. It was the least he could do for them after everything they had already given him.
…..
A/N: well there you have it…I know many thought Naruto's child should have blond hair but I think I will save that for another time. I wanted to bring about a different perspective. I hope you liked it though and aren't too disappointed! Would love to know your thoughts so please review.
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