A/N: This is kinda canon divergent in that Sarada is born in the village bc i needed to plan around bdays and stuff + idk exactly how old she was when they returned in canon (the months matter because inojin is born later in december and i wanted newly pregnant ino..just pretend it all works out)

Ino was eager to spend time with the newborn Uchiha for a multitude of reasons: her best friend just had a baby and deserved all the support in the world; Sarada was adorable; and Ino, who was newly pregnant herself, wanted to get more comfortable with caring for babies. Ino felt blessed to have helped deliver Sarada and meet the special girl as soon as she came into the world.

It was Sai, despite his total excitement for their own child, who kept dragging his feet when it came to visiting the Uchiha residence weeks after Sakura was discharged from the hospital. It wasn't that he didn't like Sakura. No, no, he appreciated his teammate and had even come to begrudgingly respect Sasuke.

He was just a bit scared. Of it.

Sai started reading up on all things childrearing the moment Ino confirmed her pregnancy. Some of the things he considered facts when it came to the mysterious creatures known as babies included that they routinely needed to sleep and eat. He could safely conclude that Sarada would cry when she was hungry, and then promptly be fed by her parents. He wasn't concerned about her eating habits.

One problem with babies and their sleep pattern was their inability to self soothe. Babies waking up throughout the night to eat or cry or do just about anything except sleep caused parents to become utterly exhausted as they cared for their child. Grumpy, sleep-deprived Sasuke and Sakura likely weren't the most pleasant, but were still the least of his worries.

Sai was terrified of visiting the Uchihas and accidentally waking Sarada up from a nap.

When he disturbed Sasuke he almost got blown up. Sai preferred to avoid a repeat performance.

Sarada waking up from her slumber and letting loose a piercing scream because he disturbed her…the thought of it was shudder-inducing. What if she had some uncontrollable baby Sharingan and she put him through endless mental torture that no one could save him from? The thought was horrifying enough to keep him away for a while.

It was only when Ino gave him a look that he had learned to understand as you need to do this. He felt what he could identify as guilt when she explained that it would be good practice for them as parents-to-be to at least observe how a newborn behaved. He certainly wanted to be as prepared as possible for their own child.

That was how he ended up on the Uchiha's doorstep with a thermos of hot tea as some kind of peace offering and Ino by his side.

"Ino! Sai! We're so glad you could make it. Please, come in," Sakura greeted them warmly. Ino reassured her husband multiple times that Sakura wanted to see them both, so Sai at least believed the new mother was happy to see her friends.

Sasuke stood silently behind Sakura with Sarada cradled in his arm, facing forward. He knew who people really wanted to see.

"Here, I brought her some new socks — they're just so small and cute I couldn't help it. And Sai made tea for everyone before we left," Ino said.

Sakura thanked the couple and immediately set about putting the socks on Sarada's pudgy feet. They were a perfect fit. "Sai, it's your first time meeting Sarada, isn't it? You should come hold her, she just woke up from her nap so she's in a great mood."

Sai felt all of the muscles in his body loosen. What. A. Relief. "If that's alright with you," he said politely. He also noted Sarada's dark eyes and lack of volatile baby Sharingan. It seemed he was in the clear. Hopefully he will stop sweating soon.

"Sasuke-kun, could you go into the kitchen and pour us all cups of tea please?" Sakura asked him to get him to finally hand the baby over. He was protective to put it lightly, but he would always listen to his wife's requests. He grunted and passed Sarada to Sakura, then grabbed the thermos from Sai.

"Why don't we sit down? That might be easier." Sakura guided everyone to the couch. Sakura and Ino were right there, everything would be fine. "Here, just be sure to support her head," Sakura advised as she handed the baby off.

The warm and doughy blob in his arms was unlike anything he had ever handled before. "She's very cute," he said honestly. Sarada wasn't scary at all. Her nap must've been great.

Sakura smiled at him until he added, "I don't think she looks like either of you."

Ino groaned and Sakura let out a deep sigh. She was about to say that in her and Sasuke's rather expert opinion, Sarada had Sakura's features with Sasuke's coloring. But she was so young things could easily change.

Before she could get the words out, a particular odor filled the air. Sarada gurgled. Sai blinked.

"Did she just-?" Maybe he did have reason to be afraid.

"No matter what your kid looks like, you'll have to change their diapers all the time," Sasuke cut in as he brought in the tea on a tray.

That's right, Sai had read that often in his research as well. Babies eat, sleep, and poop.

It was a good thing they were cute.

A/N: I'm pretty much out of ideas so I doubt I'll add to this one any more haha I'm gonna mark it as complete for now :] thanks for all the positive feedback on the previous chapters! 3