A small note from the author. I forgot to mention, but I'm not a native speaker so there may be spelling mistakes. I'm sorry for that. I hope you enjoy my story so far.

Your Ajay

Sakura opened her door, after she heard the knock and felt the presence of Naruto and Hinata. The Uzumakis greeted her happily, and for a split second it felt like nothing had happened, and it is just a normal Tuesday night. They enter her house and made their way to Sakuras living room.

"How are you, Hinata?"

"I am fine. I feel huge, but I think this is normal."

"Yes, I guess that is normal."

"But you are the most beautiful woman I know, even when you are huge." Naruto said, kissing his wife's cheek.

"I know you were at the hospital this morning, Naruto told me everything is fine, but I am still worried about you."

"I know, and I didn't want to worry anyone-" Another knock on Sakuras door.

"Who is this?" Sakura asked.

"Oh, I told Ino that we are coming over, and I guess she is here, too. I am sorry. You probably don't want too many guests. I should have stayed quiet." Hinata explained shyly.

"Oh don't worry. I don't feel like company, but being alone is hard on me, too." Said Sakura calmly and went to open the front door.

"Forehead! You really opened the door." Ino said loudly, hugging her best friend tightly and pushing herself into Sakuras home.

"Hello, Pig" said Sakura while Ino walked by her, "and hello Sai, how are you?"

"I am fine." He answered shortly and went in, too.

"I was so worried when I heard you were at the hospital? What is wrong?" asked Ino calmly.

"I was about to tell Hinata. Take a seat, Pig, I will tell all of you."

"You are not ill, are you? Like deathly ill?", asked Ino worried.

"No, I am not ill, and I am not about to die. Why does everyone keep asking that? I-"

"You won't move away either?"

"Ino.", said Sakura loudly.

"Listen, I know you always fancied Sand and Gaara is quite fond of you and your skill, but you cannot just leave the village and your friends and family. I need you and Naruto needs you and the hospital needs you and even your dirty old Sensei needs you, and you need us. I will not allow-"

"PIG. Shut UP! And then I can tell you everything. First of all, I like sand, but I would never live there, not even for money. Secondly Kakashi is neither old nor dirty and finally, no I am not moving away, I am 11 weeks pregnant." Silence. More silence. A whole lot of silence. Naruto had a big grin on his face, and Sai looked indifferent as usual. Hinata and Ino however, they were shocked.

"Isn't that great." Naruto said with a need to fill the void.

"Amazing.", said Sai quietly, probably thinking it is the only appropriate answer.

"You are… wow… are you sure? I mean, you probably are… pregnant… wow… I am happy for you any minute, Forehead. I just need to process this." Ino eyes went from shock to pity and sadness.

"I- I think it is amazing. We can all go through this together.", said Hinata now with a sad smile on her face. Sakura hated every minute of this charade. They were pitying her for being a pregnant widow. They felt pity and didn't know to react. She could have handled, a similar reaction to Kakashis who just asked her if she was happy, or Narutos whose first thought was to mention Sasuke, but this? This was hurting her feelings. These are her best friends. They are supposed to be happy for her and telling her, that everything is going to be alright and that she will be an amazing mom and that they are there for her, but that's not what she got, all she got was silence, sadness and pity. That god-damn pity. She wanted this to end.

"Actually, it is a risky pregnancy, and I am tired. I am sorry, but I think you should go, now."

"Are you sure, Forehead? We could stay and cook something for you and then chat a little."

"I am sure. I just want to sleep."

"Okay, if you are really sure."

"I am.", answered Sakura and walked to her front door. The rest of the group stood up in silence, and then they left.

"Maybe this was too much for her, like too many people.", said Naruto sadly.

"No, it was because you girls weren't happy for her. She was sad, that you didn't support her immediately.", said Sai.

"W- what do you mean?", asked Hinata shyly.

"I am not good at feeling emotions. I mean, Ino helps me a lot and understand more and more every day, but I am still very good in observation of emotions. Her shoulders tensed after you said nothing and even more, after you reacted with sadness. Therefore, she wanted a different reaction as she got. It is not that difficult to understand."

"Maybe Sai is right.", said Hinata.

"I am right."

"We will achieve nothing today. We should go home and try it again tomorrow.", said Naruto sadly. He was just in her life again, and now she pushed him away again. He was happy for her, so why couldn't he stay? I was probably for the better. Hinata is pregnant, too, and she needs him as well. The rest agreed and they went all home.

Sakura however was way too angry then she should be in her condition. She needed to let it out, but she isn't allowed to train or anything like that. But she needed to get away. Out of this house, out of this village would be even better, but she could not just leave, could she? So she grabbed her key, put a jacket on and left, when she was sure her friends weren't around any more. She moved quietly through the village. She headed directly to Kakashi. The Anbu let her pass without any questions. She knocked at his place and waited for him to open the door.

Kakashi sensed her about 30 seconds before she knocked. Her chakra signature was quite off, but she wasn't injured or anything. She was just angry. He opened the door for her and looked into her angry face. Her eyebrows were clenched and that cute little vein on her forehead was visible. He was right. She was angry, really angry, but she should be calm and resting. Kakashi let her enter his flat, then closed the door and guided her into his kitchen. He put a kettle on the stove and waited for the water to boil. A calming tea will hopefully help her.

"What happened?", he asked as he turned himself, so he was facing Sakura, while he was leaning against his kitchen countertop.

"As you know, Hinata and Naruto wanted to come. They were there, and Sai and Ino came, too."

"You had a Team seven House party without me? That hurt my feelings."

"It is not funny, Kakashi." She crossed her arms before her chest.

"Yes, I know. I am sorry. Go on."

"I told them about the baby. They weren't happy. They pitied me. I hate it." Tears were rolling down her cheeks, and Kakashi made his way to her. He embraced her in a hug and caressed her back. They hold this position, until the kettle started to make a sound. Kakashi got back to the stove and poured the hot water into the cups. He brought her the cup.

"Thank you."

"No problem. So you are angry and can't let it out like you usually would with brute force."

"Yes. Why… why did they think it was the right time to pity me?"

"You know, better as anyone, that you cannot always control your emotions."

"Which side are you on?" Sakura snapped. How could he defend their behaviour?

"This isn't about sides, Sakura. You know that. Well, at least you should know better."

"You are right!", she said furiously, "I should have known better than coming to you. Sorry that I have bothered you. Good night Hokage-sama!"

"Sakura, wait-", but she didn't even let him finish. She stormed off, just as angry as she was before she went to him. Her feet were taking her somewhere. She wasn't sure at first, but she found herself on top of the Hokage rock. Looking over the village that was her home, but right now. Right now, it didn't felt like a home. All of her friends had they own happy life and everything was just fine for them. Tears were forming in her eyes. Nobody seemed to get it. She felt alone and weak. She hated it to feel weak. She wasn't the weak crybaby any more, but her friends made her feel that way again, with their looks and their chosen words. She hadn't felt that alone in years, but here she was alone. No, she wasn't just alone; she was lonely like she never had been before. Lonely. She was sitting lonely on the Hokage rock and crying, like the weak and pathetic crybaby that she swore she would never be again.

Kakashi kicked his kitchen chair. How could he be so dumb. She was hurt and emotionally confused. All she wanted was support. Now she stormed off, angry, when all she was supposed to do was resting. She should be in her bed with a good book and a tea. She shouldn't be running around the village at this time of night, especially not alone. Her pregnancy is risky. It could cost her life. And he was upsetting her even more.

"That was clever, Boss.", said Pakkun who just came out of Kakashis bedroom.

"Thanks buddy. Can you go and find her?"

"No."

"No?"

"No, Cherry and I have a special bond. I am not going to betray her, because you don't know how to behave. Seriously, I raised you better, pup." Kakashi was so perplexed that he didn't even notice Pakkun calling him by his old nickname

"You are my dog! My summon, for fuck's sake. You should be loyal to me."

"You have a good nose yourself. Find her with it. She smells a lot like me."

"She doesn't smell like you."

"She does. When was the last time you smelled me?" Kakashi was confused. He got closer to his summon and took a deep breath just over Pakkuns fur.

"Holy shit. You do smell similar."

"Yea. We are using the same shampoo. When she changes her, I change mine, too. She has an excellent taste."

"So the shampoo that I get for you is the same that she uses?"

"Yes. See, her and me, we are shampoo buddies, and I am not going to betray her."

"You don't even know her that much."

"I do."

"You what?"

"I do know her. We talk a lot. We are friends. I am at the village more often, since you are Hokage and don't go on missions any more, and every time I am here I visit her. I even offered her to make a contract with me, but she felt like she would be betraying you, so she didn't do it."

"Why am I hearing this for the first time?"

"It is none of your business."

"How is it not my business? She is my student, and you are my summon."

"She isn't your student any more, and she hasn't been for the longest time."

"What are you two even talking about?"

"You know, this and that."

"No, I don't know, that's why I am asking." But Kakashi didn't get an answer. Pakkun looked like he wanted to go away and that as fast as he can. "Pakkun. What are you and Sakura talking about?"

"If you really want to know, we mainly talk about you. Well, I talk about you, she just listens. You can be, what does that Nara brat always say… ah right, you can be quite a drag. And I need to vent that on somebody." Pakkuns ears went back, like they did when they were approaching the enemy, "Gai and Genma would brag about it, same goes for Naruto, the Uchiha brat wouldn't care, even if he were in the village and Sai, well that is obvious why I don't talk to him. So the only person left was Cherry, and we already had a connection, she was the best choice. She can tell me things she doesn't want anyone else to know, and I can tell her how stupid you are sometimes. She is a good listener." Kakashi couldn't believe his ears. His best friend had a secret friendship with his ex-student and his most important person. How could they hide that from him? It felt like a betrayal, and it hurt him more than he cared to admit. Was she always so kind to him because she knew what was going on and felt sorry for him that his own dog was talking bad about him behind his back?

"I cannot believe this." Kakashi wasn't even angry, he was just hurt, deeply hurt.

"I knew you wouldn't like the answer, so I didn't want to tell you. Don't be mad at her, I wanted it to be private between her and me, she objected, but I refused to listen. Kakashi, I was there for you when your father died, your friends and your sensei. I know your problems and I love you, believe it or not, but even a dog like me needs a friend to talk to. Who he can talk to about his pup at least once in a while."

"I don't even know what to say to that. How could I not see that?"

"It's not like you cared much about what's going on in my life or hers back then. You were a different person. I can tell you where she is, but before you go to her, you should have a clear mind and know how you want to handle the situation."

"When was the last time you spoke with her, Pakkun?"

"A couple of weeks ago, why? She had a mission with the Uchiha brat the following week."

"So you don't know." Kakashis voice was even. No trace of any emotion. Pakkun knew that state. It usually meant nothing good.

"Know what? That she is pregnant? I could smell it and I heard your conversation. I don't understand why her friends pity her, though. But in the end it is good for her, the Uchiha must be pretty happy, too. He wanted to rebuild his clan, something that you could do, too."

"He is dead." Pakkun didn't say a thing. That explained why she hadn't answer the door, when he wanted to visit her 3 days ago. It also explained why her friends pitied her. It explains why she was looking for Kakashis mental support.

"He died on this mission, while he protected her and his child." Kakashis voice was now tearful, and that didn't happen often.

"But we're not going to pretend you're not at least a little happy that she's alive and that he's no longer a potential threat."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean… forget it… I'm pretty sure she's at training ground 3 and when she's not there she's at Hokage rock. Just don't do anything stupid, okay? She needs you as her friend."

"Okay, thank you, Pakkun."

"And Kakashi, I didn't tell her anything that she hadn't already known. None of the information were new to her, and she didn't like you any less or more because of it. You were her favourite long before we started to talk to each other." With that, Pakkun vanished and left was a cloud of smoke. Pakkun usually didn't address Kakashi by his first name or his nickname 'pup'. If he did, it was because he wanted to talk to him as a friend and not as his subordinate. He knew Kakashi would listen to him and were actually thinking about the things Pakkun had told him. For Kakashi it was clear that Sakura wouldn't be at the training ground, Shizune forbid her any physical action, and she wouldn't want to harm her baby. He grabbed his key and made his way to the Hokage rock. He could sense her and her energy on the bottom of the monument. He hid his chakra and made his way up to her. He refused to be mad at her or Pakkun about a friendship that helped both of them cope with their life. She was sitting on the ground and crying loudly in her hands. Kakashi sat down next to her. Feet over the edge and looking at the sky.

"How did you find me?" she asked, her voice is still shaking, and her breath is unsteady.

"Pakkun told me, where I can find you. He also told me about your friendship. And that he offered you to be your summon as well. If I'm the only thing stopping you from agreeing, then do it. You have my blessing, whatever that means. Actually, I would feel better when he is there for you, too." He put his arm around her and pushed her slightly into himself. She smelled like Pakkun and therefore like safety, home and family.

"Thank you, Kakashi." Her voice was calm, and her breath was not as unsteady as it was before.

"And I am sorry for-"

"No, I am sorry. I was angry about Ino and Hinata and you were just… well I am sorry. I didn't want to shout at you, and I didn't want you to worry."

"I will always worry about you, Sakura. You are my friend, and the first knows I don't have many of them. I will always do my best to help you, and you cannot do anything to drive me away. I promise." He tightened the grip around her once more. She leaned into him.

"I know that and I am very thankful. I hope you know that."

"I know, but I do have a question, if you don't mind?"

"Sure."

"When did you and Pakkun started to talk?"

"We started after that day.", she answered calmly, looking at the night sky. Oh! That day…