Chapter 38 – The Day You Slipped Away

Too relieved that he returned home safely, Sakura didn't complain when she was awoken by insistent hands and desperate kisses. Instead, she rolled onto her back, sighing into the kiss when his knee parted her thighs, making room for him to settle between them.

Part of her worried about what his mission had asked of him, but she didn't think about it for too long. Couldn't. Not when Itachi lifted her nightdress and pushed his underwear down enough to free himself.

Although she was still hurt by his actions (or lack of actions) with Anko, she didn't stop him, her head falling back onto the pillows when he entered her. It caused a slight sting, but it was nothing that was unmanageable. Weirdly, the roughness of it all aided in arousing her further and closing her eyes, she muffled her moan into his shoulder, thighs clenching around his relentless hips.

Their distance in the past few weeks seemed to become more real the tighter she clung to him, holding him almost desperately in her loving embrace. Gods, she'd missed him. More than she ever would have imagined considering they'd been pretty close physically, hardly ever leaving the other's side after Hidan's phone call.

"I love you," he whispered, lips seeking hers, dragging her into a painful kiss that had tears stinging her eyes.

Something had definitely happened on his mission, hadn't it? She couldn't ask about it, though.

Instead, Sakura held him closer than ever, repeating the sentiments in his ear. He finished before her, but she didn't complain – she highly doubted she would have climaxed anyway, given her worry for him.

It was carefully that Itachi pulled away, bringing her to his side and unknowingly granting her the greatest relief when the pressure on her back disappeared. Until that moment, she hadn't been aware she was even in pain.

"Did something happen?" she eventually managed to ask.

There was an unsteady breath, though Sakura wasn't sure if it was from their lovemaking or his emotions. "I…" Was he about to shut her out? Would he use the tired old excuse of it all being highly classified? Surprising her, he said, "My mission involved civilians – women and young girls who were forced into sex trafficking."

Her chest constricted excruciatingly, but Sakura didn't offer any other reaction other than holding him closer, refusing to interrupt Itachi as he filled her in on his mission, knowing if he saw how upset it made her, he would shut her out, saying he refused to burden her with his problems. Several times, his voice grew unsteady, his emotions getting the best of him and each time that happened, she felt her heart breaking. Still, she was incredibly grateful that he opened up to her about it all, allowing her to try to ease his suffering.

When he left to make tea, Sakura went to the bathroom, sighing wearily and tipping her head back as she relieved herself.

What could she do to help her boyfriend? Things were getting to be too much for him. The issues with Hidan were bad enough, but piling the pressures of ANBU and missions on top of that and…

Glancing down at the tissue she'd been using to wipe herself when she'd caught sight of something off, she frowned, inspecting the strange blob unsurely. It was pink in colour, though it was a little too… Sakura wasn't sure. Was it from their rough sex, perhaps? She hadn't been ready, not entirely and she was pretty sore.

Dumping the tissue into the toilet, she grabbed more and wiped again, sighing when she found it wasn't blood. Whatever it was, was no longer an issue as she flushed, though Sakura couldn't get the odd discharge out of her mind.

They were seeing the midwife tomorrow, she reminded herself while washing her hands thoroughly. It could wait until then.

She hoped.

"Thanks," she said in return for the cup of tea waiting for her on the nightstand. Sitting and forcing herself to mask her wince, she glanced up at her boyfriend, her frown returning at his zoned out stare. "Itachi?"

"Forgive me, Sakura," he murmured tiredly, rubbing at his eyes.

Previous worries forgotten about, she turned to face him, taking Itachi's hand in hers. "What is it?"

"The girl…"

She watched his expression closely, wondering if he would finish his sentence, but it quickly became apparent he wouldn't. Not without her gentle pushing of, "The girl…?"

"I don't know if she made it."

Regrettably, she let her concern show, for he suddenly closed up, shaking his head with a soft smile.

"Rest, Sakura," Itachi said and leaned forward, kissing her forehead. "We have an appointment tomorrow."

There was no point fighting to know more when he was so obviously uncomfortable talking about it, so Sakura sighed and nodded in agreement, once more settling down in bed.


"No, you are twenty-nine weeks pregnant, Sakura," her boyfriend explained patiently, stroking the bump. "Thirty as of tomorrow."

How could she have miscalculated so massively? Rubbing her forehead, she said, "It's a good thing Sai-san's coming over to paint the nursery tomorrow, then."

"We will start arranging your hospital bag, too."

"And once the nursery's ready, we'll put the furniture together and-"

The sound of knocking on their front door cut her off and Sakura frowned, watching worriedly as Itachi beckoned the dogs to stay by her side while he answered it. They were remarkable, staying alert while sitting next to her, but she couldn't praise them in that moment, not when she was holding her breath, not when Itachi reached for the handle.

And for a moment, she felt like her heart was going to explode, especially when he opened the door and he tensed.

"…Mother," he murmured in surprise.

"May I come in?"

Sakura was instantly climbing to her feet when she noticed Itachi nodding once and opening the door further, struggling against her weight and she grimaced, quickly finding her balance before the others noticed. It would be too humiliating otherwise.

Since last night, there hadn't been any more weird discharge and it was easy pushing it to the back of her mind when she saw how on edge her boyfriend was. So, she did her best to distract him, continuously discussing their babies and even shopping for clothes for them online together.

It was almost comical how out of place Uchiha Mikoto looked in their apartment, her suit creaseless, flattering, but most of all, expensive, showing her to be of a higher class. While Sakura knew her boyfriend once fell under that same class, he didn't hold such an aura like his mother did.

"Would you like to sit down, Mikoto-san?" Sakura questioned politely.

The stiffness of her muscles and expression made it appear as though she was there on business, much to Sakura's displeasure and she turned, heading in the direction of the kitchen, barely resisting the urge to roll her eyes. The dogs were hot on her heels, continuing to follow their orders despite the stranger in their living room.

"I'll make some tea," Sakura said, already entering the kitchen.

Part of her wanted to take her time in making the tea, so that she wouldn't have to stand in the presence of the woman who so easily allowed her own son to be disowned. But at the same time, she knew said son would need her support. So instead, Sakura took no longer than the amount of time needed to properly brew the tea, quickly pouring it into three cups that she'd already placed onto a tray.

When she returned to the living room, both Mikoto and Itachi were still standing with at least eight feet of distance between them, making Sakura sigh as she came to the realisation that she would probably have to be the one to control the conversation. Like she was any better with family dynamics.

"We'll sit at the table," Sakura ordered more than stated. She set the tray down in the centre, glad that they'd been lazy the night before and refrained from taking it down immediately. Turning sideways to look their way, she gave a strained smile with fake cheeriness. "Now."

Gods, she wasn't in the mood for dealing with the typical Uchiha conversation – the one where they struggled endlessly to communicate, unable to get their feelings to come to the surface. Her boyfriend was the only exception she made – okay, maybe Sasuke too, on occasion. But that was it. That was all she'd tolerate.

Smirking faintly, Itachi did as ordered, sitting with an air of patience that she knew was a lie. Sakura paused in sitting beside him, her arm resting on the back of Itachi's chair as she raised an eyebrow at Mikoto.

The older woman sighed and approached the table, sitting opposite them.

Sakura decided to remain standing. "You'll have to forgive me for being blunt, Mikoto-san, but I'm severely lacking patience recently. I want to get to the point of why you're here."

Inwardly, she was rejoicing at the fact she was not only being listened to, but also obeyed by the Uchiha matriarch. She continued to stand tall, exuding an aura of assertiveness she didn't truly feel, because he would need her to. Itachi needed her to stand by his side and be strong in the presence of his parents.

"You are in the final trimester," she said, speaking for the first time since entering the apartment. "It is to be expected."

"Why are you here?" Itachi questioned.

Arm remaining on the back of his chair, Sakura nonchalantly shifted closer to her boyfriend, offering her silent comfort.

Mikoto averted her gaze, much to their shock, her eyes drawn to the wall covered in photographs of their friends and family. "I gave your father an ultimatum."

Her breath caught.

"Either he accepts my wishes to be involved in your lives, or we separate."

There was tension in Itachi's shoulders, she knew before even touching him and Sakura frowned, waiting a few moments to see if he would respond to his mother. When he didn't, she asked, "Why the sudden change of heart?"

The only positive example Sakura had of a mother was Ino's. That was the only positive influence she'd ever experienced. Her own mother was a drug addict who'd repeatedly put her needs before her child's, abusing her during her highs and lows. Itachi's had watched as her son was disowned, seemingly uncaring about his lack of presence during family events. Not just that, but she'd allowed Fugaku to force their son into ANBU. He'd forced a child into a dark, murderous organisation that screwed with his mind, that'd scarred him so horrifically mentally and physically, that refused to leave him alone. No, because of their heartlessness, Itachi would never live a normal life.

"I was always against it," she informed them and her eyes remained glued to Itachi's, eyebrows faintly pulling together. "Itachi, I have missed you so much."

Would he say anything to her? Sakura glanced down at the top of his head and gave his shoulder a comforting squeeze.

"Where were you?"

The question, the weight behind his softly spoken words, had Sakura averting her gaze, biting her lower lip.

"When I was accepted into university, where were you?"

"I-"

"For my birthday, where were you?"

Sakura gave his shoulder another squeeze, silently offering her comfort.

"When we found out we were pregnant, where were you?"

Perhaps realising there wasn't much she could really say, Mikoto remained silent and when Sakura looked back to her, she found that the woman held a deep regret in her eyes as they were drawn to the tea sat in front of her.

"When Sakura was taken by the leader of the organisation you and Father forced me into, where were you?"

The regret deepened, but Sakura found herself feeling angered by Mikoto's cowardice. She wouldn't even look at him.

"When we moved into our own home, where were you?"

She knew that, more than anything, Itachi was more hurt by his mother's lack of response to his being disowned. In fact, he'd once told her that he wouldn't have expected any less of his father – disowning him for taking a different path in life – and he often worried what Sasuke's eventual coming out would evoke in terms of Fugaku's response. His mother's, however, had broken his heart because despite everything, she was his mother. He'd always thought he'd have her by his side, accepting him no matter what.

"When my friend died in my arms," he seethed quietly and Sakura could tell not only by the shake in his voice, but Mikoto's gaze suddenly snapping to his, that Itachi was losing control. "Where were you?"

"Itachi-"

"I accept that you have missed me. I acknowledge that I pushed you away the one time in the past year you reached out to me. But had you missed me as much you claimed to, you would have found some way to support me through the events of this past year."

She offered a weak, tired smile. "I'm trying now."

"Are you?"

"Truly," implored Mikoto.

What was her boyfriend thinking? Looking down at him, she frustratingly found there was nothing in his profile to give his thoughts away and it only amplified Sakura's wish to see into his mind. Instead, all she had to go on was his unmoving expression, the stiffness of his muscles, the indifference of his aura as he continued to shut his mother out.

But she wouldn't push him, Sakura silently swore. He was a grown man who was wholly capable of making his own decisions. If he wanted her input, then sure, she would offer her own perspective of the situation, but she would by no means influence the end result.

Part of her hoped he would hold off on any impulsive decisions, however.

"If I were to give you a decision here and now, I would tell you to leave and never contact me again," he began and Sakura felt her heart sink at the coolness of his words. The awful feeling within her only increased at Mikoto's crestfallen expression. "However, I like to believe I am more forgiving than that."

"Itachi…"

"Do not expect it to happen overnight," warned Itachi.

"Of course not," she assured and sat forward, hands coming to the table. "I understand that I have hurt you and I wish to make amends, no matter how long that may take."

Taking his silence as the end of the conversation, Sakura stepped to his side, hand remaining on his shoulder. "I'm really sorry to end things here, but we have a midwife appointment."

Mikoto nodded and stood immediately, tea remaining ignored. "Thank you for allowing me the chance to talk. I hope all is well?"

She nodded, trying to smile. "So far, so good. A lot of Braxton Hicks, though."

"Keep an eye on that," she advised. "I have never heard of twins reaching full term."

Yes, Sakura had heard that, too. In all her research online, not one mother had reached full term and in textbooks, it was stated that over fifty percent of twins were born before thirty-seven weeks, meaning the babies were nearly always premature and it added to her anxiety regarding the whole pregnancy, because what if that happened? What if she suddenly went into labour and they didn't make it? How safe was it for her to give birth at twenty-nine weeks (thirty, as of tomorrow, she reminded herself)? At the previous scan, they were informed that her bump consisted of mainly placenta. Did that mean they would be too small?

"I will," she told her, smiling. "Thank you."

There was an awkward pause and Sakura looked between the two Uchiha, wondering if she would have to drag her boyfriend out of his chair to show his mother to the door.

Thankfully, he stood and left the table, pausing by the short hallway to look back at Mikoto. "We will arrange something shortly."

She smiled while following him and Sakura leaned against the table, listening as Mikoto said, "I would love that, Itachi."

There was more quiet chatter as the older woman lingered at the door, trying to prolong the encounter and guilt swelled in her chest as Sakura realised she probably should have left the two to talk alone. But if she had, would Itachi have spoken with her? More importantly, if she had, would they have opened up more?

Stop stressing, she willed herself as the familiar pangs and tightening began.

She rubbed at her stomach, breathing deeply through the pains until Itachi returned, feigning she was rubbing her bump in a nurturing gesture. It seemed to bring him some comfort, for he paused, features warming.

"We should probably get going," Sakura told him. "We don't want to be late." He nodded while giving the dogs both treats for being so well behaved during the surprise visit. "I think we should ask about premature labour, too."

Once more, Itachi paused, then frowned over in her direction. "Don't let my mother scare-"

"It's a real thing," she insisted and gingerly moved away from the table. The tightening pain wasn't half as bad as it normally was, but Sakura knew that she had to tread carefully, otherwise it would worsen. "More than fifty percent of women go into premature labour when carrying twins."

"You have done your research," he stated, not asked.

Nodding, Sakura made her way to the door, grabbing a light jacket and putting it on. She noticed that her boyfriend copied her actions without hesitating. "Tonnes."

They both eyed the elevator disdainfully while headed for the stairwell, no longer wondering when their lazy assed landlord would finally get it repaired (they'd called and complained so many times, but each call was dismissed). It made Sakura wonder how the hell they were going to manage two children and their pushchair going up and down six floors – and that was without taking shopping into consideration.

She held onto the banister carefully, smiling faintly at Itachi when he immediately walked ahead, leaving only two to three steps between them at a time. His overly cautious behaviour didn't irk her as greatly as it had at the start of the pregnancy, mainly due to her own fear that grew increasingly–

It took way too much effort to mask her sudden sharp intake of breath, green eyes widening and grip growing tighter.

It was stupid of her trying to hide it really. Her boyfriend was an ANBU operative, trained to notice even the tiniest of changes in his surroundings.

Immediately, he turned, dark eyes worried as he took in her expression.

"It's nothing," she tried to assure him, smiling through a wince.

"Braxton Hicks again?" Itachi questioned. He sounded disbelieving, his frown worried. "There must be something we can do to prevent them."

"Nope," Sakura muttered, emphasising the 'p'. When she tried to continue to walk down the stairs, he stopped her, forcing her to take a breather. "We're going to be late, Itachi-"

"I would rather us be late than there be an accident I can prevent."

It was difficult holding onto her frustration when she saw his concern and instead, Sakura smiled. "I'm fine," she assured him, hand coming to his cheek and her heart warmed further when he leaned into her touch. "But the longer I stand here like this, the worse they'll get. I need to sit down."

Fortunately for her, Itachi listened and guided her to the car. He even aided in lifting her into her seat, making Sakura roll her eyes at his fussing. She couldn't complain really, though. What would she rather him do? Show no concern? Not care in the slightest? Not help her out?

They stopped for water on the way to the appointment and as Sakura sipped at it and continued to relax, she found her pains were gradually disappearing. She supposed she was one of the unlucky ones having to go through Braxton Hicks as much as she was – or lucky, if it did actually prepare her for labour and real contractions.

Her attempts at calming were ruined when they arrived at the doctor's surgery, only to find that the midwife wasn't freaking in. Itachi had calmly argued (if one could even call it arguing, considering how laid back and patient he was) with the receptionist, questioning the surgery's professionalism since they hadn't been made aware of the midwife's absence. After a good five minutes of Sakura huffing and puffing and pacing and damn near tearing her hair out from frustration, they were spotted by the doctor who'd first confirmed their pregnancy.

"Is something wrong?" she questioned politely, approaching the desk. She'd been in the process of seeing one of her patients out, from the looks of things.

Groaning, because she most definitely didn't have even an ounce of the patience her boyfriend possessed, Sakura whirled around, hand on her bump at the twinge of discomfort it caused. "Nobody thought to tell us that the midwife called in sick today – we drove all the way down here and needed to talk to her about the likelihood of going into early labour."

"I see," the doctor murmured disapprovingly, frowning. "I was just about to take my lunch break, but I can squeeze you in now. You're one of my own patients for the duration of your pregnancy, right?"

"Right," Sakura said with a relieved sigh.

"We can wait for another appointment," Itachi surprised her by saying. His hand came to her lower back, rubbing it soothingly. "You don't have to give up your lunch hour for us."

"Nonsense," she assured them and smiled. Gesturing behind herself, she said, "Please, follow me."

As much as she hated being one of those people, Sakura gave the receptionist a final glare before following the doctor into her examination room, sighing in relief when she finally got to sit down and rest her feet once more.

"So, what seems to be the problem?" the dark-haired woman questioned. "Haruno Sakura, isn't it?"

Sakura nodded once and filled her in on everything while the doctor searched through the system for her file. From the constant Braxton Hicks, to the back pains that never left her alone, to that weird sharp jolt she continuously felt in her groin, to the swelling of her feet and ankles, to the headaches and the heartburn and Gods, it just never freaking ended.

"Please, lay down and I will examine you."

Lifting her top, she gazed up at the ceiling, trying to ignore the growing discomfort as the doctor poked and prodded at her bump, causing the babies to move around sickeningly, kicking out at her.

She hummed thoughtfully, provoking Itachi to asking, "Is something wrong?"

"How far along are you?"

"Thirty weeks as of tomorrow."

"I'm no midwife," the doctor reminded them both and pressed lower on her abdomen. "But I can feel that one of their heads is engaged."

Engaged?

Frowning, the doctor looked back to her, asking, "Have you lost your mucus plug yet?"

"Mucus plug?"

"Otherwise known as a show," she told them. "It's when the plug of mucus from your cervix comes away – it's an indicator that labour may be starting."

"What does it look like?" Sakura asked with building dread.

"It will look like a pink blob and have a sticky consistency."

Her head fell back onto the bed.

"Sakura?"

Reluctantly, she looked to Itachi, admitting, "I thought it was just discharge – I was going to mention the change to the midwife."

The doctor nodded, continuing to feel how low one of the twins were. "Your Braxton Hicks could actually be the real thing."

Real contractions…

"But it's too early."

She frowned up at Itachi, worry gripping at her heart and she reached out, taking his hand. "Is there anything I can do to stop it from happening?"

"There are ways to delay the labour, but quite often when a baby is coming, they're not staying in there." Finally releasing her bump, the doctor took a step back, telling them, "I'm going to send you up to the women and children's unit up at the hospital so that they can do some checks – it seems senseless saying this, but try not to worry, okay? You'll all be in good hands up there."

Sakura could only nod.

"Before you leave, can I just confirm that you're feeling regular movements from both babies?"

She nodded. "They never stop."

Smiling, the doctor moved further back, allowing Itachi to carefully help Sakura up and off the bed. She was glad for the moment of privacy as she called the hospital to alert them of their arrival, for in that brief moment, she saw Itachi's escalating anxiety. It helped to know that she wasn't alone in her panicking.

How the hell couldn't she have pieced it together? Damn it, she was supposed to have done an unholy amount of research – Ino had too, always telling Sakura what to look out for. Gods, she was just barely scraping thirty weeks pregnant and while she'd repeatedly said that it was dragging on for much too long, she didn't want them to be born yet. It was too risky. There would be too many complications.

The first thing she thought to do once they were on their way to the hospital was to text Kakashi, alerting him of the news and within minutes, she had a response, telling her to keep him informed. He would use his spare key to walk the dogs, which was one less worry for them.

With trembling fingers, she confessed how scared she was to him.

I will be here when you get home.

It brought her more comfort than she thought possible and Sakura, not for the first time, questioned if that was how a father was supposed to make his child feel. Not scared or alone, but loved and safe.

"Itachi?"

His hand found hers, their fingers entwining. "They will be okay."

"I'm sorry for not mentioning it," she told him, just barely staying composed. "It happened last night, after-"

"After we had sex?"

Sakura nodded, eyes going to the window. "I thought that maybe… Maybe we'd been a little rough, you know?"

"It's okay," Itachi assured her. He brought their joined hands to his lips, kissing the back of hers. "No matter what happens, this is not your fault, Sakura. Please know that."

What would happen if they found out she was in labour? Would they give her something to delay the labour, like her doctor mentioned? What if they did, and it didn't work? Would the babies be okay if they were born so early? She wasn't even officially thirty weeks yet.

"I don't even have my hospital bag yet-"

"Do you still have your list?"

She nodded, saying, "I can ask Ino to get everything for me – I left my bank card at home, too."

At his nod of agreement, she quickly set to texting Ino, informing her of what was going on and asking that she get the bag together. Unlike Kakashi, however, it wasn't until they were at the women and children's unit and waiting for the midwife that Ino finally replied, telling her to leave it with her and not stress. She would have the bag ready and waiting within an hour or two. Then, nearly reducing her to tears, Ino said that Sai would be starting the nursery today instead, so that it would definitely be ready in time. Sakura didn't have the heart to tell her that, if the twins were born, they would be staying in hospital for a while.

"I jinxed us," she said after a long pause of silence.

"Don't say that-"

"But I did," snapped Sakura and she sucked in a sharp breath, willing herself to stay calm when the panic started to set in. "I kept reading all those stories about twins being born before thirty-seven weeks an-and then-"

"Breathe, Sakura," Itachi ordered calmly and left his seat to kneel before her, ignoring the other expectant parents watching them. Upon seeing her distress, they looked away, the mothers holding their bumps with pangs of worry. "Even if they are born today, they will be in the best place. You know yourself that this unit is designed specifically to help with cases such as ours."

They had to be okay.

Her hands came to the bump, immediately seeking the twins out and once she had a hand on each of them, she took a deep, calming breath, pressing down on them, head falling forward with relief when they responded to her movements.

"They have to be okay," she repeated her thoughts. As against the pregnancy as she originally was and as scared as she still was, she couldn't lose them now. Neither of them could. It would destroy them. "They need to be okay."

"They will be," he assured her. Hands covering hers, they continued to feel their children's movements, the feeling relaxing them. "I promise you, Sakura."

She really hoped so.

"Haruno Sakura?"

Tears stung her eyes and she stood, heart leaping into her throat.