Groggy eyes opened as an ever-present beeping sound echoed in the room. Mori winced and squeezed her eyes shut as she moved her upper body the tiniest bit. Everything hurt, and she let out a quiet whimper. She gritted her teeth against the pain, and a soft and gentle voice suddenly sounded beside her. It echoed in her ears as a wave of peace washed over Mori. Her pain dulled with every breath, and soon she was sound asleep. The voice belonged to the medical nin who came in to check on Mori, and had administered some liquid morphine for the woman. He turned to a nurse who came into the hospital room with a small smile.

"Tell Iruka that Mori is awake now. I'm sure he and Tadao would love to see her" he said, and the nurse nodded with a smile before disappearing into the hallway.

It was about time Mori woke up. It had been a week since they had come with Naruto and Sakura, and Iruka had been worried and visited Mori every day. Their son was not taking his mother being unconscious very well, and nearly threw a tantrum each time they came to visit. He didn't blame the toddler though; Tadao needed his mother.

The nurse ran into Sakura, who happily said she would relay the message to her old academy teacher. The pinkette jogged out of the hospital and ran to the academy, hoping to see Iruka there. With a smile, she saw the very man with his toddler.

"Iruka-sensei!" Sakura called out as she jogged to her academy teacher.

Iruka looked up from the ground as Tadao was busy building a mound involving a branch he had found. He was trying to make the stick grow into a big tree, and was patting the mound of dirt to make sure his baby tree stick would be sturdy.

"Sakura? What can I do for you" Iruka said as he straightened up.

Tadao looked up from his dirt packing and smiled up at Sakura. He waved his mud-covered hand at her and scrambled to his feet.

"Sak'ra! Look! A tree!" he exclaimed proudly, and Sakura giggled.

"That's awesome Tadao! Are you growing a tree?" she asked, and Tadao nodded.

Sakura gigged again before turning her attention to her former teacher.

"I was sent to tell you that Mori is beginning to wake up. The medics have given her some morphine because she's in some pain, but you can come and see her" she said, and Iruka's face broke into a grin.

"That's wonderful!" he said and picked up his son, muddy hands and all.

He jogged to the hospital as Tadao's giggles rang in the air. The door opened as the father and son ran in, and Iruka quickly cleaned his sons hands with a cloth.

"Da? What we doing?" Tadao asked as his father cleaned his hands.

"We need to clean your hands to see your mother. She's awake now" he said, and Tadao's eyes widened.

"Mama? She awake?" he asked, and when his father nodded he squealed in delight.

"See mama! See mama!" Tadao chanted as they walked down the hallway.

Iruka smiled as he tried to contain his wiggling son in his arms. They walked into Mori's hospital room and Iruka shushed his son as he saw Mori asleep on the hospital bed. Strands of silver hair fell across her face as her chest rose and fell.

"Mama sleeping" Tadao whispered as Iruka put him down.

Iruka didn't answer the two year old as he pulled the chair closer to the bed. He dimly heard Tadao's shoes slapping against the tiled floor, but he couldn't tear his eyes away from Mori's sleeping face. Sakura said she had woken up, and he desperately wanted to see her open her eyes. His throat clenched tightly, and Iruka cleared his throat.

"Da? I want to go up" a voice said, and Iruka glanced down to see the red eyes of his son gazing up at him.

"Uh, yeah sure" he said and picked up Tadao.

He situated the two year old on his lap, and with one hand held Tadao and the other hand held Mori's hand. It was cool and limp in his hand, and Iruka gripped her hand tightly in his. Tadao yawned and nestled into his fathers lap. His eyes closed for a moment, and soon the toddler was fast asleep. Iruka glanced down at the slumbering toddler and smiled gently. He looked so much like Mori. He rested his chin on top of Tadao's black hair and closed his eyes for a second. Soon, Iruka was fast asleep. The three slept deeply throughout the day and night, and the nurses and medical nin couldn't find it within themselves to send them away.

Mori slowly opened her eyes, blinking against the sunlight that steamed through the window. Her confused thoughts swam through a fog and Mori winced as she turned her head away from the sun. She blinked when two figures came into view, and a smile slowly flitted over her lips. Her eyes took in Iruka slumbering in the hospital chair and Tadao sleeping in his fathers lap. Irukas hand encircled hers in a tight and warm grip. Mori gritted her teeth as she slowly tried to sit up, and a startled noise came from beside her.

"Wha-? Mori? Mori! You're awake!" Iruka said as he blinked away the remnants of sleep away.

Mori shushed the academy teacher as Tadao whined in his sleep, turning his little body around on his fathers lap to get more comfortable. His little brow furrowed as more whimpers came from his mouth.

"Here, give Tadao to me" Mori whispered, her voice cracking from the lack of use.

Iruka quickly placed the squirming boy onto Mori's lap, and she placed a hand on his back. Immediately Tadao relaxed as one hand clutched his mother's hospital gown. Mori smiled as her heart sang; her son was okay. She gently rubbed his back in circular motions, and the two year old let out a wide yawn. His red eyes opened slowly, and Tadao gazed around. He looked up and blinked in surprise when he noticed he wasn't on his fathers lap. Blinking again, he lifted his head and gazed at the person in front of him. Red eyes met red eyes, and Tadao squealed in happiness when he saw his mother smiling down at him.

"Mama! Mama! Mama!" Tadao chanted as he flung his little arms around Mori's neck in the biggest hug he could muster.

Mori laughed and hugged her son back, breathing in his little boy scent of the outside and shampoo.

"My little boy" she cooed as Tadao pressed his face to her hospital gown.

Mori felt an unknown knot in her chest loosen as she continued hugging Tadao to her chest. She glanced at Iruka past her sons head and smiled, which he returned.

"We've missed you" he said lowly, and Mori sighed.

"I'm sorry" she said as Tadao chattered to his mother about his tree stick.

"For what?" Iruka asked in surprise.

"For worrying you and Tadao. For not being strong enough" she said, and Iruka sighed.

"It's not your fault Mori. You protected Tadao and he's here because of you" he said, and Mori bit her lip.

"I guess" she murmured, and Iruka pressed a kiss on her forehead.

A tap on her cheek caused Mori to glance down to see Tadao waiting impatiently. As soon as he saw he had his mother's attention, he began his adventures of drawing pictures with Sakura. The parents shared a quick amused look before engaging in their sons story.