The next morning, at a more reasonable time, Naruto called the task force to a meeting to discuss a new development. He had the information the night before, but it could wait until now. No longer though.
"Thanks for coming everyone. We have two more people joining us this morning. It's the Kazekage, Gaara and Temari."
"Good morning." Gaara said as his picture showed up on the screen. He turned his face and coughed away from the screen.
"Sasuke, did you see that?" Sakura asked after muting their microphone.
"Gaara coughing? Yeah."
"Gaara never gets sick." She noticed.
"Let's keep listening." Sasuke said.
"The reason I have joined your meeting today is because information I have, concerns The Leaf. A day ago I was tested for the COVID- 19 virus that currently going around the globe. My results came in an it turns out that I have tested positive." Sakura turned on their microphone.
"How are you feeling now?" She asked.
"Well, I'm okay but, my body temperature is elevated. As you saw a minute ago, I have a minor cough. It was worse last night, but what made me get tested was when I lost my sense of taste." He said. "This concerns The Leaf because Temari was just in The Sand before the Quarantine began. It was approximately eight days ago."
"Temari, how are you feeling?" Naruto asked.
"Me?" She said embarrassed from Shikamaru's camera. "I feel fine. I could still taste my breakfast this morning and I can smell that Shikamaru hasn't done the laundry yet."
"This is such a drag." Shikamaru said.
"I'm glad that you are well." Gaara said.
"You could be asymptomatic though." Sakura said. "I'll call the hospital and have Shizune get some tests ready for you. Gaara, have you been able to figure out who you were exposed to?" Sasuke turned to listen to Sakura sitting next to him. He enjoyed watching Sakura working, he saw the gears in her mind turning.
"No, not yet. We're testing anyone that has been in my office in the last two weeks." Gaara said and coughed away from the camera.
"Alright, feel better and please send any data you get from the virus our way and to the rest of the Kage." Sakura said.
"My team is already on that."
"Thank you. If Temari also tests positive then Shikamaru and the rest of us who were in that meeting a couple days ago need to get tested." Sakura said seriously. "I'll inform the hospital to be ready to test all of us and our families." Sasuke gently rubbed her back as she spoke. Normally, in emergency situations he and Naruto were the front of the line, with Sakura as support. This time, it was Sakura's chance to shine, with him as support. He was proud of Sakura and stayed quiet the entire meeting.
"I apologize for all the trouble." Gaara said.
"Don't worry about it, Gaara. You look like you need rest now." Sakura said.
"Yes, this is true." Gaara said. "You have truly become a splendid Doctor, Sakura. Being able to just look at me and be able to diagnose me. Sasuke, take care of her. If that's all, I will be taking Sakura's medical advice now."
"Yeah Gaara, that's all. Go get some rest and keep us up to date on how you're doing." Naruto said.
"I will do that." Gaara signed off of the meeting.
"Sakura, thanks for offering to get these tests set up."
"No problem, Naruto. I'm going to go call Shizune now." Sakura stood up and walked away from the call and came back a few minutes later. "Temari, go ahead and go to the hospital. Shizune will meet you there."
"Alright, thanks, Sakura." Temari said. As Temari and Sakura talked Hinata walked into Naruto's office.
"Naruto..." Hinata then went into a coughing fit. "I... don't feel well..." she said between coughs. Naruto got up from the meeting and walked to his wife.
"What's wrong?" He asked as he put his hand on her head. "You're burning up."
"Yes, along with heavy coughing and having a hard time breathing." Hinata said.
"Oh no..." Naruto thought.
"Let's get you to the hospital." Naruto said. "Let me tell Sakura and end the meeting." Naruto ran back to the virtual meeting. "Sakura, Hinata isn't well. Tell Shizune we're coming in too."
"What's going on?" She said seriously.
"She has a fever, is coughing and having a hard time breathing."
"Take her to the hospital immediately. I'll call Shizune again." Sakura said.
"Right, sorry everyone." Naruto said and quickly ended the virtual meeting.
"This isn't good." Sakura said closing the laptop. "I have a feeling Hinata has it. Which means Temari is probably going to test positive as well as any of us who have been in contact with the Nara and Uzumaki families. I wouldn't doubt Naruto and Shikamaru probably are asymptomatic. When their tests come back, Shikadai, Boruto, Himawari and the entire task force and their families, including us and Sarada need to get tested. It's possible that any of us could have been exposed. While that's being taken care of, we need to find out who else anyone who tests positive could have been around."
"Sounds like a lot of work." Sasuke said. "What can I do?" Sakura looked over at her husband and smiled knowing he wanted to support her through this.
"Thank you, Sasuke. Right now, we need to find out who is positive. Shizune and the rest of the medical team will be working on that. How are you feeling?"
"Normal. You?" He asked.
"Normal as well. We should check on Sarada." Sakura said.
"I'll check on her." Sasuke stood up and walked out of the room and towards Sarada's bedroom. He knocked on the door. "Sarada."
"Coming, Dad!" She yelled running across the room. "What's up?" she asked opening the door.
"How are you feeling?" he asked awkwardly.
"I feel fine... why?" she asked.
"We found out that some people we have been around could have the virus. The medical team is working on that now. We just wanted to see how you were feeling."
"What about you and mom? Are you two alright?" She asked slightly panic.
"We're both fine."
"So... who is it?" Sarada asked.
"It started with Gaara. Temari was there about a week ago. So she's getting tested. Now Hinata is sick. Sakura is setting up a test for her now. Naruto and Shikamaru are probably going to end up getting tested as well."
"The Kazekage is sick? So, Mrs. Temari could have brought it back to the village?" Sarada asked.
"That's possible. She said that she is feeling fine. Right now, we're just focusing on the Task Force. With Hinata being ill, Sakura and the medical think it could be being passed around us. Once we have the positive and negative tests from the Task Force and our families then the medical team will start looking into who everyone that tested positive has been around in the last two weeks."
"Are we going to get tested?" Sarada asked.
"More than likely."
"Alright... Hey Dad... why do you always refer to mom by her name?" Sarada asked. "Mom always calls you "Dad."
"She always liked it when I said her name." He responded. "I guess, it's just a habit."
Meanwhile, Naruto was escorting Hinata to the hospital as quick as he could. Shizune was waiting for them and escorted them inside. Hinata was placed on a stretcher and quickly wheeled to the back.
"Naruto, you can't go with her. For your own safety." Shizune said. "Go back home and take care of your children. We'll call you with any updates."
"Alright... I get it. Just, take care of her." Naruto said sadly.
"We'll do everything we can. While you're here let me test you really quick. Sakura told me about everything. I'll start going by the Task Force's houses and testing their family members soon. Probably tomorrow." Shizune got out the cotton swab. "You saw Sakura test Sasuke, so you know what's about to happen."
"Yeah, I know." Naruto took a deep breath, took off his mask and closed his eyes. Shizune gently stuck the long swab down his nostril. Naruto felt like it was swabbing the inside of his brain. "Ahh! That's horrible!" Naruto said as it came out. "Sasuke didn't say it hurt that much!" He slipped his mask back on his face.
"Well, he went through a lot with Orochimaru. I doubt he even felt it. That and Sakura was probably as gentle as she could be with him. As gentle as she is with the children."
"Hopefully that's the last time I have to get tested. If not, I want Sakura to do it." He joked.
"I'll keep that in mind." Shizune said and waved him off to go home.
Hours past and Naruto hadn't heard anything. He called Sasuke and Sakura's house hourly to see if Sakura had any update. But she never did. Sakura was looking over the data they received from Gaara with Sasuke. Finally, towards the end of the night, Naruto got a call from Shizune.
"Naruto, we have some news about Hinata." Shizune said. "She has the virus. She isn't in great shape so she is going to be in the hospital for a few days. Tomorrow we are going to come test your family and the others. We'll have your test done by then. If you and your children test negative I suggest you take them somewhere else while Hinata is in recovery when she's able to come home. Maybe to the Hyuga clan? If not, I'm sure Sakura wouldn't mind looking after them for a while."
"I'll contact Hiashi and Hanabi. I'm sure they won't mind taking care of them for a few days. I don't want to ask that of Sasuke and Sakura. They do so much already. I'm sure Sarada also wouldn't want Boruto intruding on her time with Sasuke... But is Hinata going to be okay?"
"Yes, she's not in critical condition or anything. We have her stabilized and have to take a lot of precautions in treating her. We aren't even letting Sakura come down and help."
"Alright. Just take care of her and thanks for everything, Shizune. I know that you and the medical team are working hard on all of this." Naruto said.
"We will. You take care of the kids. I'll see you tomorrow morning." Shizune hung up the phone. Naruto's first thought was to call Sakura. So he did. She quickly picked up and answered the phone when it rang for the hundredth time that night.
"Naruto, I still don't have an update." She said annoyed.
"I do. Shizune just called me. Hinata has the virus." Naruto said.
"I'm sorry, Naruto. Is she doing okay?" Sakura asked concerned.
"Shizune says they have her stabilized but she's going to be in the hospital for a few days. If my kids test negative, she says I should take them somewhere else while Hinata recovers."
"Bring them here." Sakura responded.
"No, it's okay. I'll talk to the Hyuga clan. They love spending time with the kids. Boruto could use some Hyuga training. I'm sure Sarada doesn't want Boruto intruding on her time with Sasuke. He sees her more than Sarada does sometimes. I really want Sasuke to spend more time with you two. He's been doing that, hasn't he?"
"Yes, Naruto. He spent an entire day training with Sarada and telling her about the Uchiha Clan. He's been spending more time with me too. We had a really romantic evening the first night he came home. It was a side of Sasuke I had never seen before. It was different than anything he had done before. Mainly, because it was Sarada's idea. We eat together every day and watch movies, tell Sarada stories of our travels. It's really wonderful."
"Good. That's one of the main reasons I wanted Sasuke to come back home in the first place. He needs more family time. Whenever he's home, he spends a lot of time training Boruto, but I always tell him to spend more time with you. I've even asked Boruto to step back a little so Sarada could have some time with him."
"Well, thanks, Naruto. I know she appreciates the time with Sasuke. She's been really happy... Did Shizune mention anything about Temari?" Sakura asked.
"No. I forgot to ask." Naruto said.
"Alright. I'll see if her results are in yet. I need to go, Naruto." Sakura said.
"Alright. I should go tell the kids." Naruto took a deep breath as he put the phone down.
He walked to Boruto and Himawari who were eating dinner at the table.
"Hey, Dad. Any update on Mom?" Boruto asked as he popped some rice into his mouth.
"Uh, yeah. Turns out that she's going to be in the hospital for a few days. She somehow got the virus. Ms. Shizune is going to come test us tomorrow."
"What?" Boruto asked raising his voice.
"Is Momma going to be okay?" Himawari asked.
"Yes, she'll be fine. When they have her condition better she will come home. I got tested and Ms. Shizune is coming to test you two tomorrow. If you test negative then you two will have to go stay somewhere else while she recovers here." Naruto explained.
"I want to stay with Uncle Sasuke!" Boruto said excited. "Can you imagine how much training I can get in since Sarada built that training area in the backyard?"
"Actually, I'm going to talk to the Hyuuga's. You could use some of their training too. Sasuke needs some time with Sakura and Sarada. You see him more than they do most times he comes home."
"Yeah, that's because I need to get stronger! How am I going to get stronger if I don't train with my Sensei?" Boruto asked.
"You can train just as well with the Huyga's as you can with Sasuke. Him and Sakura have enough to deal with being on the Task Force. The Hyuga's don't though. I think that's the best place for you to stay."
Meanwhile, Sakura walked back over to her family on the couch with her laptop computer in her hands. She down on Sasuke's left side and opened it.
"Everything okay?" Sasuke asked.
"Well, it turns out that Hinata does have the virus." Sakura said waiting for the computer to turn on.
"Is she okay?" Sarada asked from Sasuke's right side.
"I need to look at her records. Naruto made it sound like she'll be fine. I'm also checking on Temari's test. Naruto forgot to ask."
"What happens now that Aunt Hinata is sick?" Sarada asked.
"Well, we need Naruto's test results first. Boruto and Himawari are going to have to get tested as well. If the three of them test negative then Shizune suggested he take the kids somewhere else while Hinata recovers at home, once she's released from the hospital."
"No offense to Boruto, but I hope they aren't coming here." Sarada thought. "He would take up any spare moment Dad had. Even here at home I wouldn't get to see him."
"Where is he thinking of taking him?" Sasuke asked.
"The Hyuga's." Sakura responded slightly moved her eyes to look at Sarada. Sarada sighed. "Let's see. Temari's files." She said opening Temari's test results. "Nothing. She didn't bring it back from Gaara. Then how did Hinata get it?" Sakura asked.
"Is it possible for her to get it from someone else?" Sasuke asked.
"Yes, but now we need to figure out who it came from. It doesn't look like Naruto's test is done yet. Looks like it'll be finished in the morning. This is getting complicated..." Sakura sighed. "If it wasn't Temari and Naruto also tests negative, where did it come from? From Hinata's records it looks like she isn't in any condition to talk. She can hardly breath on her own. We'll have to wait until her breathing problems lessen." Sakura closed the laptop.
"Is she going to be okay?" Sarada asked again.
"She'll be okay. It's nothing she can't recover from with Shizune's help. I talked to her a while ago and she thinks it's best for me to stay away from the hospital since we have a case now. Which reminds me, Naruto needs to prepare a statement to the press... actually, I think I'll email Shikamaru about doing that."
"Mom, you definitely don't sound like a doctor right now." Sarada laughed.
"I guess this is just part of being on the Task Force. We all work together. Sometimes, you end up doing jobs that you wouldn't normally do. Right now, Naruto isn't going to be in the best mind set to take care of things."
"That and he's never been any good at writing. I have plenty of letters that can prove that." Sasuke said.
"Yeah, that's never been his strong suit. Shikamaru writes all of his statements." The Uchiha family laughed together.
The next morning, Shizune showed up early to the Uzumaki household, making sure to wear a mask and gloves. The doorbell rang through the house.
"Boruto, Hima, I need you to come down now. Put on your masks!" Naruto called as he opened the door. "Hey Shizune. The kids will be down here in a minute."
"I have good news. You tested negative and Hinata is doing better this morning. She asked about you and the kids."
"That's great, Shizune. Thanks for everything you're doing. How much better?" Naruto asked hopeful.
"She's breathing better and her temperature is breaking. We still have to be cautious though. I'll let you know when she'll be ready to come home soon."
"Thanks, Shizune." Naruto said sadly as the kids walked up behind him. Shizune pointed to them behind him. "Oh, hey kids. Ms. Shizune needs to test you. So just do whatever she says." They walked out of the house onto the porch.
"You can take your masks off." Shizune said. Both of the kids were wearing black masks with the Uzumaki symbol on them. They slipped them off. "How are you both feeling?" She asked.
"I'm fine." Boruto said.
"I miss Momma, other than that i'm fine too." Himawari said sad.
"She misses you too. She asked about you both this morning. She's going to be just fine." Shizune said trying to comfort the kids. "Boruto, i'll start with you." Shizune administered the tests to both of the children and instructed them to put their masks back on. "You both did really well. Your dad told you what the plan is, right?"
"Yeah. If we test negative too, then we have to go somewhere else for a few days. I wanted to go to stay with the Uchiha's but Dad said he would rather have us go to Mom's family." Boruto said. "I'm sure Uncle Sasuke and Aunt Sakura wouldn't mind."
"Well, we think it's best if you stay with the Hyuga clan. Sasuke and Sakura are busy and Sarada needs some alone time with Sasuke since he isn't home often." Shizune said.
"That's why I want to go over there. So I can train with Sensei too." Boruto said.
"From what i've heard from Sakura they aren't training much. They trained one day. They've been telling Sarada about the Uchiha and Haruno families and spending time together as a family. Watching movies, eating together, talking. Sarada is really happy just having time with them. She hasn't had a lot of family time with Sasuke being gone. This goes beyond just training to be a great shinobi, like Sasuke. Her and Sasuke are finally getting the father-daughter bond that Sarada always wanted." Shizune explained.
"Fine..." Boruto said and walked back into the house to play video games with Himawari following him.
"I'll go get these tests processed and I'll call as soon as I have the results, but I have a feeling they're going to be negative. Naruto, you better contact Hiashi today." Shizune said putting the tests in her bag.
"I'll do that. Thanks for helping with the Sasuke thing. You can't imagine how many times I've tried to get Sasuke to come home just to spend time with his family. I'm glad he's finally doing it now. I know Sakura missed him and Sarada always talked about wanting to know Sasuke and know about the Uchiha clan. There was only so much Sasuke would let me tell her about him."
"Sakura talked about that too. She's always so happy when Sasuke comes home." Shizune smiled.
"I know she is. Thanks again, Shizune." Naruto said watching Shizune walk away with his children's tests.
