I'm so excited to get this next chapter out so soon! Thank you to my first two reviewers! I got so excited when I saw those notifications, and your kind words are encouraging to me. Also to those following/favoriting the story, I'm here for you too! Please enjoy this next chapter from Sasuke's POV, and please let me know what you think.

Side note: ... Represents the passing of time

Disclaimer: I totally forgot this the first time around, but in case you didn't notice, these are NOT my characters. I love Naruto, but I do not own it or its characters even a little bit.

Chapter 2

Sasuke woke with a start. Instantly on alert, he waited to see what had woken him from his deep slumber. He could tell the sky was just beginning to lighten, but it wasn't bright enough to rouse him just yet. Breath held, he listened. Hearing a grunt somewhere to his left, he opened his eyes to find Sakura standing a few feet away with her back to him and her arm supporting her against a tree. He could tell her breathing was slightly elevated and considering he heard her grunt a moment ago, he assumed she was experiencing some discomfort from the baby.

"Sakura" he said, pushing himself to an upright position.

"Oh, Sasuke-kun! I didn't mean to wake you" She exclaimed, turning around and plastering an exaggerated smile on her face. While he loved to see her smile, dazzling as it was, he knew it was strained.

"What's wrong?" he said. "Are you alright?"

"Oh yes, don't worry over me. The baby kept me up most the night, and I moved away to avoid disrupting your sleep. You were exhausted. You even snored a tiny bit." She said, giggling softly, and he blushed. He wasn't usually such a heavy sleeper that he would snore, and he silently chastised himself for not being aware she had moved away from him. He knew they were likely not in an area of danger, but he wasn't willing to take any chances until they were once again in the safety of their village.

Rising from his mat, he started rolling them both up and collecting their things. "Since we are up, we should get a head start. Are you feeling well enough to go?" Sasuke said over his shoulder, taking in his wife's profile as she nodded her agreement. He could tell she still wasn't feeling well, but he trusted her judgement in the matter. She was the medic-nin after all. "We should slow our pace today. If you didn't get much sleep, I don't want you to push yourself too much."

"No!" Sakura blurted out; eyes wide. "I mean, I got more than enough rest Sasuke-kun. I'd hate to slow us down any further. I can keep up."

Sasuke eyed Sakura for a few moments. Activating his sharingan and eliciting a small gasp from her, he took in her appearance in full detail. There were dark circles under her eyes from her lack of sleep. Her skin was paler than usual, and slightly clammy despite the temperature being comfortable this morning. Walking up to her, he brushed her pink locks out of her face and felt her forehead. She wasn't feverish, so that could only mean she was more uncomfortable from the pregnancy than she was letting on. Stubborn woman, he thought. He shouldn't have assumed she wouldn't try to push herself in order to get home faster. He felt a pang of concern and guilt over not getting her home sooner. It wasn't good for a woman this far along to be traveling still. He had tried to reason with her about returning a few weeks ago, but she insisted everything would be fine.

"What's bothering you, Sakura? I can tell you aren't well."

Sakura avoided his gaze, teeth biting at her bottom lip. A sure sign she didn't want to confess something to him. "I don't want to worry you over nothing, anata. My false contractions were just persistent through the night. Nothing regular, so we shouldn't be concerned. Once I get walking again and stretch my legs out, I'm sure I'll be alright. Dehydration can trigger them as well, so ill drink extra water before we go. Even if that means I'll have to stop a million times." She smiled up at him reassuringly and standing on her toes she planted a kiss on his lips. Her words were reassuring, but Sasuke couldn't help his worrying. If anything happened to Sakura or their baby, he knew he couldn't handle it. With her so vulnerable in her condition his nerves were on edge all the time. He would finally breathe easier the second they crossed through the village gates, which is what spurred him to accept her explanation and return her kiss. Gripping the back of her head, twisting his fingers into her silky locks, he pressed into her lips to convey his emotions. Breaking away after a moment, he said to her "Let me know if you need to rest at any point. Don't worry about slowing us down. It doesn't do us any good to rush there if you hurt yourself along the way." "I will, anata" She said as she waddled over to grab her water, drinking a good bit before packing it in her bag and slinging it over her shoulder, ready to go. But Sasuke was right behind her to pull the bag from her shoulder. "I'll carry it" he said. She nodded, and with nothing else to say, they started their trek towards Konoha.

...

It was only mid-March, but he could tell today would be warmer than usual. They continued to walk at a reasonable pace, Sakura a few steps behind him. After about 30 minutes he noticed she was falling further behind, and as he glanced back, he caught an expression of pain flit across her face, her hand holding her stomach down low. She seemed slightly out of breath from their short trek. Maybe they were walking too fast? Stopping in his tracks he waited for her to reach him. When she caught up to him, he asked "Do you need to rest?" Waving him off she replied "Honestly Sasuke-kun, I know my limits. It'll be fine."

But just as the word "fine" left her mouth she doubled over with a groan, bracing one hand on a tree and the other on her belly. Sasukes heart started to race. He may not have been around many pregnant women, but he wasn't ignorant. Sakura had taught him quite a bit about pregnancy, and one of the key things she had drilled into his head since they first started is that false contractions were a normal thing, and most of all they didn't hurt. "Sakura what's going on? Tell me the truth" he implored her, eyes becoming frantic. She met his gaze with worry and apology in her pained eyes. He knew without her answer, but she gave it anyways. "Sasuke-kun…I think it's time."

Instantly, his mind went into overdrive. What were they going to do? He was so stupid for not taking her back sooner. Why did he give in? Now they were in the middle of the woods, days away from the safety of their home village. Days away Tsunade's medical attention. Alone. Him, his pregnant wife, and their soon to be born child. He may not be ignorant to pregnancy symptoms, but delivering a baby was way more than he could handle. What if something went wrong? What if she died out here in the woods, in his arms as he desperately tried to save her and their child? She was the medic, not him! What could he do? Where could they go?

Sasukes heart was nearly pounding out of his chest. The thought of losing either of them felt like a knife stabbing him in the gut. He had to think. Think Sasuke.

"Please don't panic Sasuke-kun, everything is going to be alright."

"Alright?! You call this alright, Sakura? We are in the middle of the woods, days away from home, and you are about to have a baby. Nothing about this is alright!" He exclaimed, his inner panic breaking through to the surface. His normal stoic composure was long gone in this moment. He was confronted with feelings he hadn't had to deal with for quite some time. Feelings of fear. Not much scared Sasuke, but one thing terrified him. Losing someone he loves. Someone that he cherishes with his whole heart. He couldn't bear it. Their child was ready to greet the world, and so much could go wrong. What were they going to do?

"Anata" she said softly, brushing his cheek with her fingertips. He met her gaze, strong and determined as it was, and he felt a tiny spark of comfort. He didn't want to scare her. As much as his inner world was falling apart, he didn't want her to feel the same way. Here she was, the one who had carried their child this whole way, the one who remained strong, and the one who would birth a baby in the woods, yet he was the one panicking. How could she be so calm? Instead of simply wondering, the words came out of him. "How can you be so calm Sakura? What can we do?"

Gripping tight onto him as she worked through another small contraction, he could see her mind working hard. He wracked his brain for the best option. They were on the outskirts of Kusagakure, about to enter Fire Country. But the next village was of course Konoha. Out of the question. While they were still in Kusagakure technically, they were nearly a day's journey from the heart of the village. He was open to trying for that, but how would they get that far with Sakura in her condition? Perhaps they could send word ahead and get assistance with transporting her.

"Sasuke-kun, how far is Orochimaru's old hideout from here?"

It was like a light bulb clicked in his head. Of course. He truly despised the idea of entering that hellish place again, but he would do anything at this point to get his wife to some medical equipment. The hideout was maybe three hours journey at a snail's pace, which he knew was going to be their pace. In his sudden excitement to get her there to safety, he grabbed her shoulders and kissed her. "You're a genius Sakura. It's not far. Let's get going right away." He had an inkling a certain someone would be there, and while it made him slightly nervous to accept this person's assistance considering the delicacy of their situation, he was willing to chance it. He wouldn't let any harm come to his wife at the hands of a jealous former teammate. The fact that she might be there would be a good sign anyways. There would be provisions, and someone who knew how to use the medical equipment. He only hoped she would be willing to help.

...

It had been one painfully slow hour. Now that Sakura had admitted to him the reality of her condition, he noticed everything. Every flicker of pain on her face, every soft groan of discomfort. Every 10 minutes or so they were stopping so she could brace herself and work through a contraction. He knew she was strong and had dealt with pain worse than this before but having to push her body to keep walking despite what was happening to her, he could tell it was wearing her down little by little. Sasuke admired her strength and her courage. Every time they stopped, and she was practicing her breathing techniques, he reassured her with a hand on her lower back. When it would pass, he would grasp her hand again (careful to let go when she was contracting, just in-case her monster strength took over and crushed him) and support her while they walked. When she wasn't in pain, she was talking his ear off to distract them both from their situation. She confessed her daydream the day before about dango and made him promise as soon as they made it to Konoha he would get her some. She said she didn't worry about the craving passing after delivery considering it was her favorite sweet treat anyways. Dango was never a bad idea in her opinion, though Sasuke felt differently. He never was much of a fan of sweet things. He didn't hate them, he just had more of a craving for tart or sour things.

After their second hour of walking, Sakura was quiet. Her focus was spent on moving forward and breathing as her contractions become stronger and closer together. Sasuke was worried, but he knew they were getting close. Their surroundings were more and more familiar, and he felt compelled to move a little faster. He was desperate to have her on a bed, with some type of equipment to help. Sasuke wasn't sure if the right stuff would even be there, but anything was better than the forest floor. He took Sakura's arm and propped it around his shoulder, grabbing the clothing around her right hip to offer more support as they trudged along.

"Thank you Sasuke-kun" Sakura said quietly, sounding out of breath. "I'm sorry things are happening this way. I shouldn't have been so stubborn. I couldn't bear it if something went wrong..."

"Don't talk like that right now. Conserve your energy. What's important is getting to the hideout as soon as we can. We may have help when we get there, if we are lucky."

"Really?" Sakura's face lit up. "Who could be there?" Suddenly her face turned ashen. "Not Orochimaru. Right, Sasuke-kun?" Sasuke let out a 'Tsk'. "Of course not" he muttered. "I would never take you there if that were the case. 'Ally' or not, he's not coming within a thousand meters of you. Besides, he is holed up at another location under constant guard by Yamato."

"Oh" she sighed. "That's reassuring." She stopped suddenly, clenching her jaw and breathing hard as her stomach convulsed. It lasted a full minute before she was relieved of the pressure once again. "The contractions are about 5 minutes apart now" she breathed.

"What does that mean? How much longer do we have?" Sasuke's heart started to pound again, nerves going a little haywire. If this was what parenting was going to be like, he was concerned whether his heart could take the stress. "Likely another couple of hours, anata. We will make it, I'm sure. My water hasn't broken yet, which is when things really start to kick into gear. Once they become about 3 minutes apart then we can be concerned. For now, let's just focus on moving."

Somewhat reassured, they kept going, step by step. Glancing at his wife, a slight sheen of sweat on her temple and emerald eyes shining as they reflected the sunlight, he was taken aback by her beauty. They had been married for over a year now, and it still amazed him how it took so long for him to truly notice her as a woman. She had always had a special place in his heart. That was apparent to him the night he left the village. Even years later in the moment he was going to take her life, it was all to sever the strong bond he had developed with her. Thank God Kakashi had intervened. But the bond was different now. Sasuke's life had changed so drastically, and despite not deserving one single bit of it, he was so unbelievably grateful for Sakura's love and forgiveness. It took him a long time to accept her feelings, but after she had kissed him for the first time during their journey it was game over. His eyes were opened to her true beauty, inside and out. As he contemplated that moment, while they walked their unborn child to the dark lair that was Orochimaru's old hideout, the place where Sakura and Naruto had first found him after he defected from the village, he truly appreciated her sacrifice for him. An Uchiha heir was to be born, and the matriarch of the Uchiha clan was the strongest, kindest, prettiest woman he had ever met in his life. He felt a swell of pride in his chest as he gazed at her.

...

They were close now. Sasuke knew it was only a matter of minutes before they would reach the entrance to Orochimaru's lair. Sakura was leaning heavily on Sasuke, pushing through her pain which was only increasing with every passing minute it seemed. She had just informed him that her contractions were 4 minutes apart (he knew that since he had been spending the time counting every second between them), but since her water still hadn't broken, she was confident she had some time.

"How much further Sasuke-kun?" Sakura panted, trying to sound strong despite her struggle. "Just 100 meters further" Sasuke said. He had begun to raise his chakra levels in order to hopefully announce his presence to Karin, knowing as soon as she sensed him, she would come running to the entrance. Despite his lack of enthusiasm to be near her with his pregnant wife, he knew she would be able to help. He wasn't sure what he was going to say to her to convince her, but his defenses were up in case she posed a threat, or simply flat out refused. She was unpredictable, and her obsession with him over the years meant she could react badly to the idea of him with another woman. Not that he had ever returned her advances or given her any inkling of hope that he might turn to her in the end.

"I can feel your chakra rising" Sakura said. "You never did tell me who might be here to help. Is it a friend?" She sounded hopeful, though he could tell she was concerned. Sasuke didn't have 'friends', so the idea of someone waiting in Orochimaru's hideout probably wasn't the most reassuring thought for her. "I'm hoping so" Sasuke muttered, mentally preparing. "I want you to stay here for a moment Sakura." He nodded to a tree stump which was conveniently broken at the right height for her to sit on it. It had been weathered and worn down, with a mostly flat surface. It would have to make do for her temporarily. She eyed him worriedly. "Is everything alright? Shouldn't we stay close?"

"The entrance is just past those large bushes there. I want to make sure it will be safe before I expose you further. I won't leave you, so if you need help, I'll hear you." Sasuke reached out and gently tapped her forehead with his two fingers, reassuring her that he would be there for her. Her cheeks blushed, still affected by this unique sign of affection from him. "I'll be right back." "Alright anata, I trust you" Sakura said with a weak smile.

Sasuke took a breath and activated his sharingan. He surveyed the area before striding forward and stepping through the brush, revealing the entrance to what he hoped would be a safe haven for them.