Disclaimer: Sis didn't own Naruto, only her story plots and her OCs.
23— Nursery Rhymes
Seven hours of screaming, crying and encouragement later and Gaara was staring at a little red face bundled up in a soft blue blanket. Sakura was sleeping peacefully while he held their baby boy. The little boy was strong and healthy, according to Xavier and Tsunade. Even if he was one month early. The doctors had checked him out, checked for signs of trouble, but he seemed pretty much complete, with the exception he hadn't cried yet. He'd made little grunting noises and sought warmth, but no hair curling scream yet.
He looked up when the door opened and his foster mother came in, Sakura's brother behind her. They had concerned looks on their faces. Gaara leaned over and nudged Sakura, who woke slowly and smiled at him. He lifted his chin and she followed his gaze, looking over at the two neonatal doctors. Her eyes widened nervously. "Xavier, what's going on? Why do you look upset?" Her brother sighed and went to her bedside and looked over at Tsunade, who had her arms crossed over her chest.
"Sakura, there's a good chance than your baby is deaf…" he stated quietly. Sakura's eyes widened and she looked at Gaara, who looked down at the little boy in his arms. Gaara went to Sakura and gently laid the baby in her arms. He then looked at his foster mother.
"Is that why he hasn't cried yet?" She shrugged and closed her eyes.
"There's any number of reasons why he hasn't cried yet. But when we were looking over the scans from Sakura's last checkup, I noticed fluid buildup. I asked Xavier about it and he panicked, said with everything that had been going on involving your guys' family, he'd not even noticed it." Sakura looked at her brother, who had his eyes clenched shut.
"I'm sorry Sakura. I should have paid better attention…this is all my fault…" Sakura looked at Gaara and then at her baby. She smiled and began to sing slightly. Xavier's eyes opened as she began singing.
"Hush-a-bye baby, on the tree top; when the wind blows, the cradle will rock. When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall; and down will fall baby, cradle and all." The baby squirmed and his face screwed up and he made a few grunting noises. They waited with baited breath to see if the baby would cry. When his features smoothed out, Xavier choked back a sob. Gaara arched a brow and leaned down to whisper to his son.
Whatever Gaara said, it caused the boy's face to screw up and he wailed, loudly. They stared as Gaara smirked and shook his head. Xavier stared as the small bundle in his little sister's arms screamed like he was in pain. Sakura shot Gaara a look and the red head leaned in and nuzzled his son, whispering to him again. The boy's cries died slowly and he opened his large eyes and stared at his father. Dark green eyes stared up at the light eyes of their father and Sakura smiled as the little boy squirmed.
"As you can see, he very much hears us." Gaara stated and watched as the little boy's eyes followed him. He leaned in and rubbed his face against the child, who grunted and made a few more sounds before curling his hands weakly into Gaara's hair. The red head smiled and kissed his son on the chest, running his noise up the boy's neck to his cheek. The child cooed and slowly drifted back to sleep. Gaara kissed the child's cheek and looked back up at Xavier and Tsunade.
"What did you say to make him scream like that?" Tsuande gave him a suspicious look and he grinned.
"Told him I'd let his Uncle Naruto hold him." Tsunade's eyes widened before she burst into laughter. Xavier just stared at the child in amazement.
"He's just like a fully formed baby. I…I don't understand…" He looked at Tsunade over his shoulder as she clucked her tongue.
"I do. She was further along than you thought she was." Xavier tensed up but Tsunade held up her hand. "It doesn't reflect on you as a doctor, Xavier, it's actually a common mistake made with teenage mothers. I've handled enough cases to know it happens to the best of us." Xavier closed his mouth and looked at his sister, who had her eyes closed and was humming to the baby. He smiled gently and looked over at Tsunade.
"Do you think it would be possible for me to request a transfer here?" Tsunade arched one dark blonde brow before she shrugged.
"I have no problem with it. I'd love to have you on my staff." He smiled and looked down at his sister, who was asleep once more. He looked at Gaara, who leaned in and kissed Sakura gently as he rubbed the baby's back.
"So what did you guys decide to name him?" Gaara looked up at him before looking back down at the baby.
"Takeshi." Gaara whispered before sitting in the chair by Sakura's bedside and falling asleep. The two neonatal doctors smiled and watched the two teens sleep, their baby close at hand. A noise at the door had them both looking back. There was a nurse with a crib on wheels standing there, an apologetic smile on her face. Tsunade nodded and walked over, picking the baby up. He squirmed and made a few noises, which woke both his parents. Gaara glared, but then realized they were taking him to finish the checkups. Sakura made a whimpering noise, but Gaara kissed her and whispered for her to sleep and that before she knew it, Takeshi would be back in her arms. She sighed and fell asleep quickly as Gaara ran his hands through her hair.
Tsunade lifted her hand and both doctors walked out, leaving the young couple to their rest. With a smirk, the blonde woman hurried to the waiting room. She noticed her other three fosters and she smiled hugely. "I got the best lookin' grandbaby in this whole damn hospital." She announced proudly. Only a few people were still awake, but Hiashi and Meyumi were instantly on their feet.
"How is Sakura? Is she alright? Is the baby okay?" Tsunade smiled and nodded, looking over at Xavier.
"Junior here made a common mistake made with teen moms. It's hard to determine the exact date of conception because modern equipment isn't really meant for people as young as Sakura. Her body isn't completely finished growing yet, so he was off a bit. I'd say that he was only a month off, which is more than I can say for most people who make that mistake." Xavier blushed and crossed his arms over his chest and looked away.
"Sakura's baby is in the nursery if you want to take a look at him." He noticed all the people there exchange looks before rushing towards the nursery's viewing area. Tsunade and Xavier followed, Tsunade actually going into the nursery and holding the little tyke up for them to see. She smiled as everyone cooed over the little boy. Even Sasuke couldn't resist a gentle smile at the little boy who turned large, dark eyes on them. When Tsunade put him back down and came out, they had all kinds of questions.
"Why are his eyes dark when both Sakura's and Gaara's are light?" Hanabi asked curiously. That brought Sasuke's attention to the young girl for the first time. Tsunade smiled and looked over her shoulder at the child.
"He's been stuck in complete darkness for nine months. A baby's eyes, when they develop, are kind of like hair. If hair isn't exposed to the sun, it remains dark, right?" The girl canted her head to the side and looked at the hair on her arm. Then she looked at the hair on her head.
"But the hair on my head is black…and it's always in the sun now." Tsunade chuckled and nodded.
"That may be true, but like the hair on your arms and legs, the baby's eyes will lighten to his natural color once exposed to light more often. Think of it this way, your pupils get really big when it's dark out, right?" Hanabi nodded and Tsunade held up her finger with a smile. "And when there's light out, they get smaller, correct?" Hanabi gasped and nodded, finally seeming to understand.
"I get it now! It's about exposure to light to bring out the pigmentation!" Tsunade nodded and watched as Hanabi pressed against the glass. "He's so little. Are all babies that little?" Tsunade looked at the baby over her shoulder.
"He's about average for a newborn. Had us worried, the little snot. Didn't cry, no matter what we did." She then smirked and looked over at Naruto. "Took Gaara threatening to let Naruto hold him to get him screaming." The blonde gave her an affronted look until Xavier confirmed it to be true. Then he pouted and swore to have words with his foster brother.
Sasuke chuckled and looked in at the baby. It stirred something in him and he smiled over at Naruto. "Brings back memories, eh dobe?" Naruto arched a brow before chuckling and nodding.
"Yeah…what was it your brother called us? Diaper ninjas?" Sasuke shook his head as he regarded Sakura's and Gaara's son.
"Cloth rats, actually." Sasuke gasped and turned quickly, staring at his older brother for the first time in years. His eyes were wide, as were Naruto's.
"I-Itachi?" Naruto looked like he'd been kicked in the gut. Seems Sasuke was having much the same reaction, only he was shocked silent. What was his brother doing here? Itachi smiled and stepped to the side. A woman was standing there with a little boy holding her hand. Sasuke stared in shock. Who was that woman? And who was the child?
"Sorry it took me so long to track you down, Sasuke." They all watched as Sasuke took a step towards his brother and then froze. He looked at the woman, questions in his eyes. Itachi smiled and looked at the woman.
"This is my wife, Tonya. She's English. I was shipped off to school before mother and father died. I was in a boarding school when news of their deaths reached me. I was stuck there until a full investigation was made. It's been what? Seven years?" The woman stepped forward and spoke to them, her Japanese tinged with a foreign accent.
"It is nice to finally meet you, Sasuke. I am Tonya. Your brother and I were friends in school. This is our son, Kouta. Itachi has done nothing but talk about coming back here to find you for seven years." She knelt in front of Sasuke, almost like he was a small child. The little boy holding onto her hand slightly hid behind her. She smiled at the black haired boy over her shoulder.
"Kouta, don't be scared. This is your uncle. He is papa's little brother." The boy shyly looked at Sasuke as the younger Uchiha brother regarded the older's family.
"How…how old is he?" Sasuke breathed and looked at his brother and his brother's wife. Tonya smiled at the younger Uchiha.
"He will be six next month. Itachi and I married straight out of high school. My father owns a large shipping industry in England. I went to work for him in the offices and Itachi went to work managing the docks. We moved here a few months ago. We're renting a place in town right now, but it was hard to find you. Many of the people your brother knew growing up are no longer here." Sasuke looked down and away from them, biting his lip. His eyes widened when he felt a small hand curl into his. He looked over and noticed his brother's child…his nephew…look up at him with wonder in his eyes.
"H-hi…" he whispered timidly. Sasuke smiled gently and knelt down so that he no longer towered over the boy.
"Hello, Kouta. How do you like Japan so far?" The little boy blushed and bit his lip. Sasuke patted the boy's head and smiled. "Don't worry. You'll have to come over to my house and see where your dad grew up." He noticed Itachi arch a brow.
"The house wasn't sold?" Sasuke shook his head and looked out the nearby window.
"Nope. Went to us, split fifty-fifty." He then looked away, tears in his eyes. "Everyone thought you died with mom and dad." Itachi looked surprised at that.
"What? I was still in school when that crash happened. Why would people say I died with them?" Sasuke bit his lip and looked over at Naruto, who put his hand on Sasuke's shoulder.
"Because the reports identified your mother, your father, and a third Uchiha, a son, as the victims." Itachi's eyes widened then.
"No way…mom and dad phoned me before the crash and said they had big news. Said they were going to announce it to the whole clan when they got back. You don't think…" Sasuke's eyes widened then as the meaning hit them both.
"Mom was pregnant." Sasuke whispered. Itachi looked down, his eyes sad. He then stepped towards his brother and hugged him tightly.
"I'm sorry it took so long, Sasuke…" They all watched as, for the first time, Uchiha Sasuke openly cried in public.