Ren was sitting at her desk reading through one of the books she had brought from Itachi's house when Konohamaru came running into her room. "Ren-nee, Ren-nee," he called to get her attention, "Come see what Sasuke did!"

"I'm coming," she told him as she put her bookmark in the book then closed it. "What did he do," she asked as he grabbed her hand and began dragging her through the house. Things had been weird with Sasuke since the memorial and she honestly couldn't predict what Sasuke was going to do before he did it.

"You'll see," Konohamaru beamed up at her. Ren suddenly felt uneasy; Konohamaru seemed far too excited.

The moment the front door was open Ren realized the entire family was coming back in except Sasuke. She and Konohamaru had to step out of the way to let them all in; TenTen turned to her and grumbled, "Don't kill him."

"I think it's a wonderful thing," Jia chided before they disappeared into the kitchen. Hideki and Suigetsu walked by them shaking their heads.

Ren stared down at Konohamaru, "What is going on?"

"You'll see," he told her again with a nod. He pulled her out onto the front lawn, released her hand, and then struck a pose like a model showing off a prize on a game show. "Tada!"

Ren's eyes landed on a dark blue Toyota RAV4 parked in front of their house. "S-Sasuke? What is that," She asked as she stared at her step-brother with her mouth agape.

"It's his new car," Konohamaru exclaimed. "Now I can go with you guys everywhere!"

Ren turned her attention back to Konohamaru and forced a small smile. "Konohamaru, I already have a car, remember? I have my husband's Dodge," the words had been slow but they still hurt to say; she would trade the car and every other car on the planet to have Itachi back.

"I miss Itachi," Konohamaru frowned, "He made you smile a lot. Sasuke seemed happier too."

"I miss him too," Ren admitted as she pulled her brother into a tight hug. "Can you do me a big favor? I need to talk to Sasuke. Can you go see if Suigetsu will be your player two until I get back?"

"Okay but I get to pick the game," Konohamaru announced as he offered a toothy grin.

"I suppose that's fair," Ren chuckled, "Just don't pick one that will get us in trouble."

"Deal," he nodded and took off into the house.

Sasuke was leaning on the hood of the RAV4 staring at her when she turned her attention back to him. Awkwardly she wrapped her arms around her torso and approached him like he was a vicious predatory and she was a weak prey. "What's going on? How can you afford this," she asked him gently; her eyes remained on him.

"I make enough for payments. I traded the Ninja in as a downpayment," he replied with a shrug of his shoulders.

"You traded in your motorcycle for an SUV? Why?" Ren suddenly felt angry but she couldn't explain why.

"Because I'm going to need it once the baby gets here," he bit out as his eyes drifted down to her abdomen. The faintest hint of a baby bump had started to form; she decided she needed looser shirts.

"I have a car to get the baby where it needs to go," Ren told him with her brows furrowed. "You love the Ninja."

"It's just a bike. There may be times when you're unable to drive," he responded.

A growl escaped Ren's lips as he shrugged at her. "Then you would drive the Charger. Sasuke," she warned, "Take it back. Get your bike back. I have the car situation under control. What is going on with you?" She had stepped up chest to chest with him and glared. When Sasuke stood up straight and frowned down at her, Ren's glare lost some of its fierceness; he literally had at least a foot of height over her.

"It's not up to you. I don't need your permission to get a car. I've got it handled. This is what I chose to do," Sasuke snapped at her.

"Sasuke," she whimpered, "Please."

"What's really going on," he asked much softer than she expected him to.

Ren's bottom lip trembled and she moved to lean against the hood of the SUV. "I don't want you to change how you live your life because of me. You don't need to trade your bike in for a car. I don't need you to turn down hanging out with your friends because I'm home alone for a few hours. You do not have to put your life on hold because I'm pregnant. Live, Sasuke. That's what Itachi wanted you-"

Ren's words halted the moment Sasuke placed his hand on her cheek. With painful slowness, he brushed his thumb over her lips then up her cheek to wipe away tears she hadn't realized she had shed. "I am living my life," he told her gently, "This is what I want to do and has nothing to do with Itachi.."

"The hell it doesn't," she choked out.

"I want to take care of you for my own reasons," he muttered, "You're pretty helpless on your own."

"I am not helpless," she bit out, "I am perfectly capable of handling things on my own. You don't need to take care of me."

Sasuke sighed and pressed his forehead down against hers. "You idiot. Just accept my help."

"Stop trying to take care of me," she told him with a glare as she stepped away from him. "I'm going back inside."

"Don't you want to see the inside of the car?"

"No," she deadpanned before stepping towards the house. "It isn't staying so there's no point."

Sasuke grabbed her by the arm and sighed. "Take a drive with me," he requested.

"Why? I really don't want to," she protested.

"Because I really like this SUV and want you to like it too," he admitted.

"I told Konohamaru I'd play a game with him," she muttered as she turned to look at him; he released her arm. Ren hated to admit it but she could feel herself caving.

"Just a quick drive," he offered with a shrug.

"Fine," she grumbled, "but I'm not going to like it."

"We'll see," he told her with a smirk as he opened the passenger side door. "Do you like the color, at least? They call it Galactic Aqua Mica."

"It suits you," she admitted as she got in the car. The interior was black and seemed like every other vehicle she had been in that had come out in the last five years. There was a screen in the middle of the dash with Bluetooth capabilities and a lot of storage places. With her lip clamped between her teeth, she began examining each nook and cranny; it would hold a lot of baby stuff if necessary.

As Sasuke slipped into the car he put the key in the ignition then buckled up before starting it. "You're going to want to fasten in quickly. It beeps if there's someone in the passenger seat and they aren't buckled," he informed her.

Ren nodded weakly and put her seatbelt on; it had glided out smoothly.

"It also has the LATCH system anchors so the baby will be secure," he mentioned as he pulled the SUV away from the curb.

"I'm kind of surprised you even know what the LATCH system is," Ren muttered under her breath. "It seems to ride smooth," she told him honestly.

"It's also got great gas mileage for being an SUV." His smirk was growing bigger by the second; if his ego got any bigger, it wouldn't fit in the car.

"Keep it if you want," she deflated as she slumped back in the seat, "I'm only saying that because you seem to like it a lot, not because I do."

"Whatever you say," he teased. "This also saves us from having to borrow Naruto's truck when we get furniture."

Ren's heart sunk as she stared out the window. She couldn't help but wonder if he had forgotten that he hadn't made this baby. Her eyes drifted down to her belly; Itachi should have been in Sasuke's place. With her eyes closed, she fought not to think about how her mother would act. With a soft sigh, she twirled her wedding band around her finger; her life felt like a train wreck. "Sasuke, you don't have to act like its father, you know."

"I know that," he grumbled, "I'm just trying to be a good uncle."

Ren nodded as she watched buildings go by. "You're already going above and beyond what any other uncle would do. You don't have to," she told him weakly. "Ino and Sakura have both been IM-ing me, by the way. They keep asking why you haven't texted them."

"Didn't Ino give her number to Sai too?"

"He hasn't texted her either," Ren muttered before a sigh escaped her lips. "You should have told them you weren't interested if you aren't."

"I did," he argued, "they just kept pushing and if you want to get technical, I didn't accept their numbers. They put them in my bag wrote on girly heart paper sometime when we were at the beach."

Ren bit her lip to keep from laughing; he had looked completely distressed. "That does sound more like you. More like them, too. They've always been determined when it came to Kiba too."

"Kiba?"

"The high school heartthrob," Ren clutched her hands over her heart, "He's the star of every sports team, a friend of all animals, hair as wild as his spirit, and eyes that capture the soul. He'd be a fantastic lover with all that stamina! If only he would notice me." She pretended to swoon and Sasuke groaned. She shrugged and tucked some of her hair behind both ears. "I never really saw the appeal. His dick was impressive though."

"Why have you seen his dick," Sasuke growled; thankfully they were at a red light so she had a second to calm him down.

"I didn't mean to," she defended even though she had said it to get under his skin, "He was drunk as hell and showed it on webcam. Everyone in the group saw it. I blocked him after; he's not my cup of tea."

Sasuke's shoulders relaxed and Ren watched him visibly loosen up. "Good. We don't need anyone like that around."

"Of course not," Ren told him sarcastically, "I have you around. Your ego is enough to deal with."

"I resent that," he grunted as the light turned green.

"It's true though. Everything always has to go your way or you get butthurt about it. I keep telling you I don't need you to take care of me but you have it set in your mind that everything is 'we' but it's not." Ren was panting by the time she had finished her rant.

"I'm just trying to help," he told her with a frown.

"I know and I'm so grateful for that but I want to make my own decisions." Ren was flustered as she tried to explain how she was feeling; it didn't seem to be coming out right.

"Then you shouldn't have married my brother. You shouldn't have had sex with him. The time of you making decisions alone is done and over," he growled as he pulled the car over.

Ren's heart clenched as she stared at Sasuke with wide eyes. "Wh-what?"

"You heard me," he stated flatly. "I'm stepping up into his shoes and you can't keep me from doing that. You're going to have to get over it. This isn't about what you want anymore, it's about what's best for that baby."

"I want to go home now," she told him with tears threatening to fall; she could feel his eyes on her abdomen even though she wasn't looking at him.

"You're going to hear me out," Sasuke informed her. "You don't get to be selfish anymore. You have to suck it up. We're a family and decisions are going to be made as one."

Ren frowned at Sasuke, unbuckled her seat belt, and pulled on the door handle; it didn't budge and the SUV started making an awful dinging noise. "Unlock the door," she demanded as she tried to open it again.

"What are you even doing?"

"I'm trying to get away from you but your stupid car has me locked in!"

"Ren," Sasuke called out to her as he grabbed her shoulder, "breathe."

"I can't," she shouted at him as she began rocking back and forth in the seat. "Let me out, Sasuke."

Sasuke quickly pressed the switch to unlock the car and Ren got out. She was pacing back and forth on the sidewalk as she muttered to herself; she couldn't catch her breath. He watched her closely for a few seconds then got out and pulled her into a tight hug. "You're safe. I'm sorry," he told her gently as she sobbed against his chest. "We'll go home," he promised, "I'll take you home."