I neglected a final essay in a class to update this chapter. :) I didn't want the wait between last chapter's cliffhanger and this chapter to be too long! It was a little longer than the two week turnaround I wanted, so I figured I'd make the chapter a little longer. I hope the urgency and quickness of how everything is happening comes through, and I hope you enjoy because the wait is finally over. I present to you: THE TWINS!

7:14 pm

Sarada thought it would be more eventful than it was.

The lights flickered menacingly as the storm raged war against the powerlines outside. Never in seventeen years had she remembered a storm quite like this. The wind howled and pummeled the windows, and even she felt a little caution shock her veins as she inched closer to the glass to see the street, but sheets of water blocked her view from anything except her reflection in the pane.

She sighed and walked back over to the couch away from the windows in case they'd crash inwards like the wind threatened, wincing from a sharp pain when she leaned back against the cushions. The creaks and groans pummeling the house were an exact parallel to the current war currently waging inside her body. Sharp pains had been overtaking her every few minutes for the better half of the afternoon, pulling the breath from her lips with every grip like she was a deflating balloon, but then it would inevitably release her and she felt normal again.

There was nothing to worry about though- obviously. She still had almost five weeks to go. They were just active as they struggled against her for any room left she could give. She picked up a baby book to try to distract herself from the pain and the noise and the small voice in the back of her head that alerted her to to the fact that something could be wro-

No. Nothing was wrong. Everything was perfectly normal. She was home alone. Boruto was out on a mission. Her mother was working. Her father was gods knew where. She was cooped up in the house with limited mobility until the storm passed, so there really was no point in allowing her mind to get carried away when there was nothing she could do. All she could do was get her wandering mind under control because there was absolutely nothing wrong.

As Sarada flipped the page to begin the next chapter, the lights above her surged with a loud vibration and fizzled to black so she was enveloped in complete darkness. Of course. She huffed, annoyed, and began to stand to find a candle she could light, but as she pushed fully to her feet she felt a rush of warmth gush down her leg.

Did she...pee?

The girl paused in place, staring into the dark, not knowing what to do. She knew it could be more difficult to keep certain functions under control as she raced toward her due date, but this was new. While she contemplated how to make her way to find cleaning supplies without tracking mess anywhere, another thought- and smell- hit her. This wasn't urine. For the gush she felt, she would have been smacked in the face by now with the smell of ammonia. Instead this was… sweeter?

"What the hell-" she began to say when another searing pain stole her breath and caused her to double over toward the floor.

My water broke.

The thought passed lazily as she stuck her hand in the warm fluid to keep herself somewhat upright before the tightening squeezed it right out of her brain, and all she could focus on was the pain consuming her.

Is this labor?

She fought to push through the white hot sharpness that threatened to pull her under. Think, Sarada, think. The pain she had been feeling all afternoon. That started that morning. Of course this wasn't normal. These weren't just the babies kicking.

She was in active labor.

And she didn't know how much more time she had.

Finally the grip released her, and she caught her bearings enough to stumble through the darkness toward the phone. She didn't know how much longer she could move before another contraction consumed her.

Lightning illuminated her path to the other room for a moment before she was plunged into darkness again. Her hand shot out for the receiver and she didn't need light to see the numbers she had memorized, shakily punching in the extension to reach his direct line. The phone rang, feeling like minutes as the rings droned on. Finally the ring cut off.

"Hokage's office," Shikamaru's voice announced on the other line.

"It's Sarada." She didn't recognize her own voice as it cracked in fear. "I think I need help."

8:01 pm

Sarada wouldn't remember much of the beginning of that night as the contractions muddled her brain. It lit her on fire and she smoldered, delirious, under the smoke.

"Don't move, we'll be there in a few," Shikamaru had barked into the phone as his eyes locked onto Naruto's who stood with his hand on the doorknob. Sasuke had left the office only seconds before and the Hokage just finished shutting the door again when Shikamaru answered the call.

He didn't even need to ask Shikamaru who was on the other line before he threw back the door and called out his best friend's name.

Within minutes Sarada felt hard rain whipping against her skin as Naruto cradled her against him, trying to shield her as much as possible from the elements. He hoped the screaming storm would shelter them from any onlookers as he hurried through the village back toward his office, clones flanking from above and on the sides. When he arrived the door to the building was already locked down according to plan, but one of his clones immediately unlocked it for him, waving the two inside. Sarada's eyes were shut but she could tell immediately by the warmth and immediate muffled sound of the rain slamming against the roof that they were back indoors.

Before she had a chance to turn in Naruto's arms to look around, she was already being passed off to another familiar body.

"Where are-"

"Shh, you're safe." Dad. "Are you okay?"

Her eyes flew open just in time to watch the empty foyer of the Hokage's building disappear from view as doors closed around them and two of Naruto's shadow clones, and it took her another moment after her stomach dropped to realize they were in an elevator. Finally it was silent from the rain and all she could hear was her father's breathing and ringing in her ears.

"Why are we in the Hokage's building…?" she tried to ask, her voice cracking again.

"We're not."

"What?"

Sasuke glanced down at her quickly, his jaw set firmly, then looked back at the elevator doors to avoid whatever he saw in Sarada's eyes

"Didn't they tell you where you were giving birth?" he asked.

"We made it as classified as possible," a clone replied.

Sasuke grunted. After another few seconds of silence the doors slid open to a long black hallway, and Sarada felt dampness settle on her skin as they stepped out even though it was just as silent as the elevator. They hurried along with her cradled against Sasuke, twisting through corridors the girl couldn't memorize, her eyes only seeing black around them. She didn't know how they knew where they were going. Suddenly Sarada's body stiffened as another contraction rocked through her body.

She cried out, her scream bouncing off the walls and echoing around them.

Sasuke's grip only tightened.

"We're almost there, okay?" His voice was fuzzy in her head.

She almost writhed out of his grip in pain when she heard a deep clang of something against metal, and suddenly a bright yellow light blinded her.

"Give her to me." She felt her body once again jolt as she was passed to another grip, and she was suddenly looking up into the face of her mother, her lips just as tightened and pale as her father's were in the elevator.

"Mom-"

"It's okay, Sarada."

Within seconds her body was laid gently in a bed and Sakura, Tsunade, and Shizune were hooking her up to IV's and monitors. She wanted to say something, anything, but they all looked too focused above her to be bothered.

"I sent for Boruto and I'm going back out to keep watch with Naruto," Sasuke announced from the doorway. "Clones will be stationed outside the door. Do you need me for anything else?"

Sakura snapped a glove onto her hand and held it up. "I think we have it covered here. Thank you."

"Thank you." Sarada looked up in time to see her mother stop to look at her father, something silent passing between them, and then focus again on positioning herself in front of Sarada. The heavy metal door slammed shut behind him and it was now only the four women in the room.

"How are you feeling, Sarada?" Her mother turned her attention to her and her voice sounded like it was dancing, somewhere between too professional and too breezy to be her real voice.

"I'm-" She breathed out as the contraction released her. "-okay."

"Proud of you for calling Naruto. He got there so quickly, huh?" She bent down between her legs. "You're going to feel some pressure." After a moment she looked back to Shizune and muttered, "Eight centimeters."

"How did you all get here so fast?" Sarada choked out, trying to ignore the discomfort between her legs. "I don't even know where we are…"

"We've been set up for months," Tsunade crooned behind her. "It didn't take us long to get here after Naruto called us." She then turned the teen's head to face her and wiped her sweaty hair from her forehead. "Grip my hand, okay? This is going to hurt a little but nothing you can't stand."

Sarada opened her mouth to speak but the words were stolen by a sharp pain in her back. Tsunade then held up the longest needle Sarada had ever seen and grinned. "Epidural."

"A kunoichi can handle labor pains," Sakura said, standing to read the baby's heart monitor, "but that doesn't mean she should have to." She winked at her daughter.

Almost at once Sarada felt all pain and feeling melt away from her lower body and she could breathe again.

"What...about Boruto…" she breathed.

"Your dad sent for him and he'll come straight here. He and Naruto are keeping watch outside with Kakashi in case anything happens. ANBU is flanked as well. Hinata should be-"

"I am so sorry I'm late!" Hinata's voice suddenly pierced the room. The woman pushed her way inside, shaking water off and sliding her jacket from her arms as she went. "I came in the back way."

"You didn't miss anything, I promise. Now is the boring part," Sakura replied as she sat down on a stool at the foot of the bed.

"Oh, honey, how are you?" Hinata knelt down to Sarada's bedside and slicked her hair back. "Are you ready? How far apart are your contractions?"

"I don't know… A few minutes… Maybe?"

Hinata looked up at Sakura, surprise written across her face. "Soon?"

"Eight centimeters." Sakura shrugged. "If she keeps progressing quickly it will be soon."

"Wait, what?" Sarada tried to push herself up with her hands to sit as best she could with having any feeling in her lower extremities. "Like soon, soon? But Boruto isn't even here… What if he doesn't get here in time…?"

She trailed off as the women all exchanged a silent glance before Sakura met her daughter's worried gaze.

"Sarada," she said firmly, "these babies are coming tonight."

9:17 pm

"I'm so sorry about that, but we really have to go." Konhoamaru was already halfway out the door to follow Boruto. who had just sprinted away, when he bowed to the men in front of him. "I'll come back as soon as we get this sorted out. Please forgive us."

Mitsuki left the doorway back into the wind and turned once more to give his apologies. "We will be back soon, I hope you can forgive us."

The man plastered a smile to his face and shook his head, hand on the door. "Don't worry," he said. "I know it's important. Tell the boy congratulations."

Mitsuki stopped. "Wait what—"

But the man began to shut the door, the sliver of light growing smaller on his smile until it finally closed, leaving Mitsuki in the darkness alone.

Congratulations?

"Sensei!" He turned to chase after Konohamaru who was already past what he could see in front of him. Activating sage mode, he finally caught up to him and grabbed his shoulder to slow him down.

"I'm going back to the lab!" Mitsuki shouted above the rain.

"Why?!" his sensei cried. "We can't be that far behind him!"

"It's not about Boruto! Something isn't sitting right with me and I need to go back!"

Konohamaru tried to wipe the rain out of his eyes to look at Mitsuki. "What are you talking about?" he cried, the end of his sentence cut off by a crash of thunder.

"As I was leaving the man said 'Tell the boy congratulations'! Something is off."

In his confusion, Konohmaru almost tripped over a branch as it broke off from its tree. He stumbled for a moment, almost tumbling to the forest floor below, but he recovered at the last second as he landed on the next branch. "What are you saying?"

"I think they know what's happening. I think this was to lure us away from the village."

"Wait-" He almost stumbled again, but this time Mitsuki's arm shot out to save him. "You think someone knows Sarada is pregnant?"

"Yes! And if not then at least I can scope it out and make meaning of it! You go catch up with Boruto!"

"No, Mitsuki!" Konohamaru cried and gripped his wrist to keep him next to him. "What if that also is a trap? To lure you back and leave Boruto uncovered?"

"I at least have to see! Be careful!"

Thunder boomed overhead again as Mitsuki jerked awaybefore Konohamaru could say another word.

Tell the boy congratulations.

Shit. Maybe this wasn't just a storm.

9:37pm

Boruto's body ran off pure adrenaline as he shot through tree branches made unsteady by the storm howling overhead. His brain had short circuited and the only thing he could focus on was Sarada's image clouding his vision along with the rain.

It didn't matter how dangerous this storm felt, didn't matter if he was potentially putting himself in harm's way to travel home, he would make it to Sarada's side or die trying. He had been through worse after all: he had rescued his father from the brink of death, banished his adoptive brother, saved their village. A little lightning never hurt anyone.

He ignored Konohamaru yelling his name as he flew into the night toward the direction he thought was home. But as he continued into freezing rain with only lightning to illuminate a shaky path, he realized he didn't actually know where he was going once he actually got there. In his rush to be by her side, he never considered where he'd actually meet them. Throughout all their talk about giving birth in an unnamed territory, no one actually told them where that was.

He stopped short for a moment and considered turning back to find Konohamaru when he heard his sensei call out his name again. His figure came into view.

"Konohama-"

"We need to keep going! It's not safe here!" Konohamaru shot past him and grabbed his jacket to pull him with him.

"It's just a storm!"

"No, Boruto, I think this mission was a trap! We need to get you home as soon as possible!"

"What?!" he cried. "Where's Mitsuki?!"

"He went back! He thinks they know about Sarada! If so I think they tried to drag you away from the village so they could attack either you or her. We need to get you back and I'm going back out again-"

"You're insane, I'm not leaving you!" Boruto shrieked over the wind. "Not if someone is after me!"

"You need to get to Sarada if that's the case! No one should be able to get inside the village anyway because of the reinforcements to the chakra barrier. The detail surrounding Sarada is just extra, and I know your father has clones posted outside of the gates as well. You need to do what I'm asking you and tell your father and Sasuke when you see them. I guarantee we have this covered. I just need you to hurry in case there's anyone out here!"

"Where do I even go? I don't know where they even are at!"

"You know the safe house inside the stone faces?" Konohamaru asked but didn't wait for Boruto to respond. "Someone will meet you at the entrance. They'll tell you the rest. It's too dangerous here."

They pushed on the final few kilometers with no interruption, and Konohamaru delivered Boruto to the gates then turned again to head back toward the trees, motioning in the darkness for some of Naruto's clones to follow.

Boruto pushed to the edge of the village and raced up the recently fixed stone faces, shaking off the rain that stung his eyes. He reached the opening and tore inside, not needing to go far before he saw Sasuke, Naruto, and Kakashi standing silently at the entrance.

"Boruto-" his father began.

"It's Konohamaru," he blurted, trying to catch his breath. "He took your clones to go back out. Mitsuki is back at the lab. He thinks the mission was a trap, and he thinks they know about Sarada and are after one or both of us."

"Shit," Sasuke hissed.

"No one attacked us on our way here so I don't know-"

"I'll send more clones. You need to get to Sarada for your own safety," Naruto demanded as multiple clones poofed into existence around them.

"Where the hell is she? Konohamaru wouldn't tell me anything!"

The Hokage pointed behind him. "A few months ago we built labs and extra safe houses within the mountain side. It connects to my office and the hospital to transport people quicker if need be. Your chakra has already been programmed, so place your hand up to the wall and you'll be able to get in. Follow the corridors and the ANBU inside can tell you where to go."

Boruto didn't wait for any more directions as he sprinted toward the back wall. He saw a fingerprint scanner attached to the wall and slammed his hand down on it, gaining himself a side eye stare from the ANBU standing beside it. Instantly the wall began to retract, crunching as it slid aside, leaving only a darkened hallway before him. He ran inside without looking back.

11:14 pm

"Sasuke…"

The Uchiha could feel Naruto's eyes on him and grit his teeth. "Just shut up and keep guard."

11:15 pm

Sarada knew missions could go awry at any second and that anyone or anything could derail well thought out plans. But she also learned that night that the same could be said for giving birth.

She laid in bed fidgeting with her fingers, trying to focus on the conversations and laughter that passed between the women. But it was hard not to focus on the fact that she could be a mother in a few hours and her children's father was still missing. He would be here though. He promised he'd be here. There's no way he'd miss this: not after missing her finding out she was pregnant and missing most of the pregnancy besides one week. How cruel would it be for him to have come home after his long travels just for him to miss the birth on the one night he went on a mission.

"You're worrying." Sakura's voice broke her thoughts.

"No I'm not."

"Your heart rate is going up." She pointed at the monitor.

Sarada turned her head and rolled her eyes. "Cheater," she mumbled.

Suddenly Tsunade made a voice in her throat as another machine began to beep loudly. "Oh, come on, I'm not that nervous," Sarada began but Sakura cut her off.

"It's the baby's heart rate."

In an instant her mother had taken up her position in front of her, but having no feeling meant she could only feel pressure. "What's going on?" she asked, fighting to see over her stomach at what her mother was doing. She could sense a sudden tension in the room as both Tsunade and Shizune began rushing behind a curtain situated at the end of the room.

Her mother ignored her, instead barking orders. "Lady Tsunade, I need you to grab me-"

"I'm already on it."

The beeping on the monitor began to suddenly increase, becoming a screaming siren slicing open Sarada's ears. "Mom, what is-"

"Sarada." Sakura's face was suddenly very close to her's. "One of their heart rates just dropped incredibly low. They shifted in the last few hours, so something might have happened to put them in distress. We have to do this now."

Sarada's breath caught in her throat as the women suddenly swarmed her, their medical terminology and orders to each other just clogging up her brain. They ran around her, shifting her bed and her lower body from view.

"I'm right here, okay?" Hinata's voice drifted somewhere along the edge of her consciousness but she couldn't reach it as she drowned in her own thoughts.

How could this be happening? How could something inside of her be going so wrong and she didn't even know? In just seconds she went from waiting for Boruto, thinking about how boring childbirth was, to giving birth. Alone. She was alone. Again. And something could be wrong with her child.

She caught the gleam of a scalpel in the blinding light overhead and felt a hot tear roll down her cheek.

11:20 pm

Boruto walked into what he'd later describe as organized chaos. He wasn't even inside the room when he recognized a voice as Tsunade's hiss, "Shut the door!"

He screeched to a stop inside the door as it slammed behind him, and didn't even have time to catch his bearings before his mother rushed to him, byakugan activated, and turned him away from the view of Sarada's bed.

"What's going on?" he demanded. He tried to rip his arm from her grasp to turn toward Sarada but she held on.

"One of the babies is in distress and they are performing an emergency c-section. You need to be out of the way."

"What? NO." He couldn't just be out of the way; he felt himself slide out of his jacket without thinking to dodge toward Sarada's bed. The others surrounded her, hiding her mostly from view, and suddenly what was happening in the outside world above seemed years away. Konohamaru shouting at him in the rain just couldn't reckon with the image of Sarada turning her head to face him now, tears streaming down her face.

Then his eyes shifted downwards and all he saw was blood and Sakura's hands plunged inside her daughter; he wavered on his feet slightly as the taste of vomit filled his mouth.

He didn't know what happened after that. His body was numb and shaking as his mother pulled him backwards to sit at an angle where all he could see was Sarada's face, whose eyes were closed now but still leaking.

It wasn't supposed to be like this. He was supposed to be at her side, holding her hand, staying strong for-

A sudden shrill cry cut through his thoughts.

"It's a girl!" Sakura announced. His head jerked up in time to see her pass a screaming bloody mound over to Tsunade before she turned her focus back on Sarada again.

His mother gripped him by the arm again and pulled him to his feet as Sakura lifted another body from Sarada.

This one was noticeably silent.

"It's a boy!" Sakura called out, and in a fluid motion clipped the umbilical cord. Boruto moved to see past her, but he was blocked as Sakura handed him to Shizune, hissing, "He's not breathing. Go."

Something exploded in his chest in hearing those words, a knife twisting in a place he had never felt before. He turned to follow Shizune. "Wait!" he called after her. His son. Where was she taking his son? All he caught was a tuff of black hair peeking over Shizune's arm as she zipped past him toward another room, not even throwing him a glance as she ran. His feet moved on their own to follow but his mother caught him by the arm and then the door slid shut behind her.

"You need to stay here," she hissed, drawing his eyes up to meet hers, in an attempt to steady him again.

No. Don't say that. How can you say that? He must have spoken aloud because her eyes narrowed deeper and she held his shoulders harder. "We have the best medical professionals in the world here. You need to let her go."

The chaos suddenly caught up to Boruto, knocking the words into him.

"He can't breathe!" he bellowed, pushing his mother away. "Someone needs to do something!"

"Boruto, stop it-"

"I need to-"

His mother gripped his hands and pulled them down to his sides. "You can't do anything right now."

The piercing cry on the other side of the room pounded in time to the pain drilling a hole inside his head. What did she mean he couldn't do anything? They were his. He was their father.

And he was useless. He was useless against those who potentially threatened his family outside the village gates. He was useless in helping Konohamaru or Mitsuki or even his father's clones fighting on his behalf. And he couldn't help his child who was just whisked away in front of him like he had no chance at all to help him survive. What was his place right now if he couldn't even help his children?

11:37 pm

"Lord Seventh."

An ANBU approached behind Naruto, hands at his side as the Hokage, Sasuke, and Kakashi turned to face him.

"Yes?" Naruto asked hesitantly.

"Congratulations."

11:38 pm

"Do you want to hold your daughter?" Tsunade asked behind him. He jumped. Tsunade always had a way of commanding his attention and bringing him back to himself.

In his breakdown, Boruto almost forgot about the screaming child and Sarada on the other side of the room.

He whipped around to see Sakura suturing her daughter up, and Tsunade holding out his own towards him like a present.

He hesitated. He had held babies before, over the moon about having a little sister, but this was different. This was his. This wasn't the fussy little sister he could just pass off to his mom when he got bored of her. Staring at the baby nestled in a blanket about to be put into his arms, almost too small to be a real person, he wondered if she would shatter as soon as he touched her because there was no way anything that fragile could exist without bursting.

She found that she didn't break like he thought when Tsunade settled her into the crook of his arm, but his heart did.

It exploded into a million pieces as he stared down at her for the first time, trying to memorize every detail of her face that was scrunched in a scream. His first thought was to make a joke that she looked just Sarada when she was mad until the thought passed that yeah, she actually might. She opened her eyes and he thought his heart might burst again as familiar blue eyes opened and searched his own, and then he recognized the soft yellow blonde hair jutting up from her head.

He thought vaguely back to all the fuss over their birth, over the idea that anyone could be after them, or even the idea of the prophecy insinuating they would hold great power. She was impossibly tiny, and from what he saw of her brother he was even smaller. They would always rely on him and Sarada. There was no way that these two tiny beings could go out there with their own jutsus and fight. And even if it was possible, could he even allow it? They were his to protect always.

"Show me her," Sarada shakily whispered from the bed.

He sniffed and realized he was crying as he walked over to Sarada's bedside to lower their child to her face.

Sarada let out a small gasp. "She's…"

"Perfect," he whimpered.

"I was going to say blonde."

He laughed shakily, tears still streaming from his eyes. "That too."

"What are their names?" Sakura asked, peeking above the blanket at the foot of the bed. She and Hinata kept their distance, trying to give them space.

Boruto and Sarada looked at each other with wide eyes. "Did we decide…?" He trailed off. Those months they wrote to each other they compiled a list but nothing was ever set in stone. Even in the week he was home they never settled as they instead opted to cuddle up next to each other, trying to catch up on all they missed, leaving the final decision for another day.

Sarada nodded, not taking her eyes off him. "Itsumi," she said after a moment, finality in her voice.

"Itsumi." He nodded; the name felt good in his mouth. "Sumi. For short."

"Itsumi," Hinata hummed. "It's beautiful."

"And for-?" Before Sakura could finish her sentence, Shizune appeared at the doorway.

"He's breathing," she announced. "He'll need to remain on oxygen, but he's okay."

Boruto felt his chest deflate and he choked back a sob. Beside him Sarada did the same.

"Can we hold him?" she asked. "Please?" she added as she saw the look of regret on Shizune's face. The older woman shook her head. "We need to wait a bit. You can see him though-"

The sound of metal squeaking suddenly pulled their attention to the door where they found Naruto and Sasuke standing at the doorway, their faces unsure and dazed; both had a hand shoved in their pockets like they didn't know what else to do as they took in the scene around them. Boruto opened his mouth to speak, but watched both of their eyes travel to the bundle in his arms. Sasuke's jaw tightened while his father's widened, and for a moment he thought both were going to cry.

"Do...do you want to hold her?" Boruto asked, unsure.

Naruto nodded. He was silent as he walked toward his son and held out his hand, but Boruto noticed it wasn't to take her: it was to shake. He shifted the infant in his arms and placed his hand in his dad's, who gripped it tightly.

"Congratulations."

He was letting him go and handing him the reins in that handshake. His eyes said it all: Good luck. Do well. Staring into his father's eyes, the Will of Fire consumed him, the smoke curling into his nose and making his eyes water again. In that moment he understood everything his dad ever did. He remembered the time spent away, the broken promises, the late nights that would leave him selfishly wondering Why does this have to be my dad? They were sacrifices. It was all for his family. As a child he thought it was out of neglect, but now holding his own child he was able to see his father in full clarity: he cared more out of anyone.

"Dad…" he started, but Sasuke suddenly beside him, cutting him off.

"Isn't there two?" he asked.

"His lungs are underdeveloped," Sakura replied as Naruto reached for Itsumi. "He needs oxygen for right now."

"Satoshi," Boruto piped up. "His name is Satoshi."

"I'll get the birth certificates started right away," Shizune announced and retreated behind the door again, this time with Tsunade behind her.

That was Sakura's queue. "Let's let them be for a bit, and then everyone can get a chance to hold her," she said, trying to shoo Sasuke and Naruto away from the bed.

"Mm." Naruto passed Itsumi to Boruto and patted his shoulder before turning to walk away. "We'll see you tomorrow."

"Wait," Boruto suddenly called after them. "I need to talk to you for a minute." He handed the baby to Sakura and chased after his father and sensei, pulling them outside.

"What happened to Konohamaru?" he whispered as soon as the door shut. "I don't think you'd be here if something happened."

Naruto nodded, his eyes suddenly darkening. "Don't worry about it right now. Your concern needs to be here-"

"That's not the kind of answer I need and you know it."

"He's fine," he sighed. "He was injured, but he's fine. They retreated before we had an opportunity to capture them, but it was mostly the storm that hindered that."

Boruto's stomach dropped. So they were right- he could have been attacked that night. "What about Mitsuki?"

This time Naruto averted his eyes. "He's not back yet. I sent out another team when I sent clones after Konohamaru. But you don't need to worry about that right now," he added. "You need to focus on Sarada and your children."

"But they were after me!" he cried. "And he might be hurt!"

"And your child can't breathe on his own," Sasuke cut in. "Leave this to us."

The teen snapped his mouth shut, though the guilt of leaving behind his teammates didn't waver. He couldn't even share his fear with Sarada who had far too much to worry about herself. Boruto felt pulled between the life he used to live and his new one, the weight of responsibility for others piling on his chest until he thought he was going to burst. He had to take this on by himself.

"Is everything okay?" Sakura peeked her head out the door. "I'm going to wheel Sarada in to see Satoshi."

"Go," his father said, holding his stare then held his fist out for a bump, "I'll see you tomorrow."

Boruto had so much to say but knew he couldn't in front of Sakura, so didn't say a word as turned to go back into the delivery room where his mother was rocking the baby in her arms. "She is a screamer, this one," she quipped and set her in his arms again.

She accompanied Sakura in leading their children to the adjoining room where Shizune and Tsunade were leaning over an incubator. Boruto had to adjust his eyes for a moment to realize the tubes jutting inside the machine were attached to a baby.

If he thought the almost weightless bundle in his arms was small, then his other child was almost nothing. His tiny fists jolted into the air, his fingers almost microscopic from his parents' vantage points, but his eyes were shut and unlike his sister he didn't make a sound.

"Now this one looks like you," Sakura purred as she adjusted Sarada's bed so she could see him.

Sarada didn't say anything. Boruto watched her chin quiver for a moment, but she sighed deeply and recovered. "Can we have some time alone?" she asked quietly.

The adults left the room, leaving Boruto standing with Itsumi in his arms while he and Sarada stared at Satoshi lying helpless in his incubator.

For the first time as parents, they were alone.

Boruto didn't know what to say that could heal his son or take away the pain Sarada was undoubtedly feeling as she winced when she leaned forward to place a hand on the machine.

"I'm sorry," he started. Between Satoshi lying helpless, away from anyone's touch, and Kohohamaru and Mitsuki and his father fighting on his behalf, his brain felt too fuzzy to truly make words. "This night… It's been…"

"The best night of our lives?" she whispered.

The blonde raised his eyebrows. "I wasn't expecting that from you. After everything you've been through-"

"He'll be okay. Look at him." She turned her head to look at Satoshi and her eyes shone with what Boruto couldn't tell was tears or wonder. "He's our child. If he's anything like you he's stubborn as hell. And if anything, we have Lady Tsunade and my mom."

Boruto chuckled, a wash of gratefulness settling over him.

"What's wrong?" she then asked, looking up at him.

"What do you mean?"

She searched his face. "Something's wrong; something's bothering you."

"Oh, uh." He cursed himself; of course she could see directly through him. He couldn't tell her about Konohamaru though. She needed that peace for another night, believing they all were safe. "Well your delivery ended up being very different than you thought," he lied. "And Satoshi is all tied up. I mean look at him. It's scary."

Sarada didn't take her eyes off him, eyebrows knit together in the way she always did when she was trying to figure something out. Shit. He bit his lip and challenged her back, hoping she couldn't read through his lies.

"Lay her on me," she then said. "I haven't even held her yet."

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry!" he cried and rested her on Sarada's chest. "I didn't even realize. I just-" I just wanted to be there.

"Thank you," she whispered and closed her eyes, running her finger over her cheek.

Don't thank me, he thought. I didn't do anything. I have done nothing.

But Sarada couldn't have asked for anything else.