He had to act quickly, but he knew he couldn't move until after she had the baby. All of the supplies he needed for the birth were in the house.

"Please let her have the child soon," he thought.

The vision was of Orochimaru holding the baby above the fire used in the sacrifice ritual, chanting the ancient poems. He held the child by the ankle and dropped it into the fire without even a glance. The screams of the infant permeated Kabuto's mind and cut through his dreams. He woke up with a start and ran to the door, making sure it was still locked. He then checked all the windows.

He could still hear Orochimaru laughing maniacally. "Kabuto, we will crush Konoha." In the background, Ana was sobbing loudly, and he could still hear the screams of the baby.

Finally, he awoke in actuality. Ana slept peacefully beside him. He lay back down and slept; though he was troubled.

The baby came a week later. It was a short labor; it lasted only two hours. There were no complications, and she only called for the mildest of anesthetics. The result was a baby boy named Jaren.

Ana held the swaddled child close to her. Kabuto lay beside her on the bed.

"Ana, we have to leave tonight. It's not safe for you and Jaren here anymore." He was close to tears. "Orochimaru wants your baby, and I can't let him have it."

"Where will we go?"

He didn't answer her. Instead he began packing her things and things for the child into two bags.

"You're not coming with us?"

" I have to stay here. If I don't, Orochimaru will know I've been hiding something from him. He will track us down and kill us all."

They stole away after dark and made their way into a neighboring town. They reached an inn. Kabuto said, "You'll be staying here for a while. I've already reserved the room. For the record, everyone believes you are my wife and that the child is ours."

Ana smiled at that thought, even though she knew it was likely only a ruse to make the arrangements easier.

"So this is it?" she asked sadly.

"You need to go inside, and I need to get back."

"So you're leaving me?"

"Ana, I love you. I'm doing this right now because I love you, and I don't want Orochimaru to be able to hurt you. There are things about my work you wouldn't understand; things I'll be able to tell you when we've been together longer. I thought I could shield you from them, but now I know better. You have to trust me. I will come back."

He pulled her to him and kissed her with all the passion his heart held for her. He then lay a small kiss on the child's forehead.

"Goodbye Ana. Goodbye Jaren."

He turned and walked away without looking back.

Ana walked into the common room of the inn.

"Oh yes, I have your room ready. Before you go up would you like some dinner? Your husband advised me you'd likely be hungry when you came." The innkeeper was a widow, matronly and jolly. She was the type that provided her guests with all the comforts she had at her disposal before they even realized they needed them.

Tears still filled Ana's eyes as she answered. "I would like a bath, so I can freshen up before dinner if it's not too much trouble."

"I'll bring fresh towels up to your room in a bit, lovey. I say, what a lovely baby boy. Looks just like you, he does. Doesn't take after his father a bit."

Ana hoped silently that Jaren never did take after Max as she ascended the staircase to her room.

She lay down on the bed and sobbed for about fifteen minutes.

"Looks like we're alone again," she whispered. Jaren simply smiled up at her. He seemed content just to be there. Her sadness subsided. Kabuto had his reasons, so she would simply bide her time.

She ran a bath. It did wonders for her body and her spirit. Both her tension and sorrow melted in the heat of the bath water. She felt completely refreshed upon exiting the tub. She donned a simple blue dress and went down to dinner.

She chose a table in the corner so she could survey the entire room. She liked to people watch. Coming from the back of the room, she heard the cheers and groans of men involved in a card game. Over the rest of the noise, she heard a familiar voice.

"We're on top again, doll. Go get me another whiskey to celebrate."

A young blonde woman came across the room, approaching the bar.

" A whiskey for Max and a glass of white wine for me."

Max called out to her. "Make sure it's on the rocks!"

"Yeah, On the rocks!" the bartender replied. " I heard you, Max!"

Ana listened in on the game. She wanted to approach the girl and say "Get out before it's too late. Before he takes your heart away and you don't have anything left to give to someone else."

Instead she sat silently and rocked her baby. She sang him a quiet lullaby as she sipped a glass of juice.

888888

Max saw Ana out of the corner of his eye. She was holding a baby, his baby. In between card games, the men were conversing about other things. Max took this opportunity to approach her. He turned to his blonde companion. "I'll be back in a second, doll. Keep my seat warm."

"Ana Doll, how's it going?"

"Hey," she said flatly "What do you want?"

"To see how you and little Max Jr. are doing."

"His name is Jaren." She corrected sharply. "And we're doing fine without you."

"Ana, you can't still hold all that against me. It was six whole months ago."

"No I don't hold it against you." Her tone softened only a bit. "Looks like you've kept yourself busy." Ana gestured towards the blonde.

"Oh, you mean Ria. That's just a fling. You and me, we were the real deal."

"Yeah, sure. Look, Max, you just go on with your life and I'll pretend I never met you."

"Ana I want to take care of you and the baby."

"Max go take care of your other illegitimate brats and leave us alone."

He walked away stunned. Ana continued rocking Jaren as if nothing happened.