As Sasuke watched Hinata run off, it felt surreal. There hadn't been a moment that he could talk to her...truly talk to her so that they could at least get back to the friendship they once had. He missed everything about her and it was absolutely heartbreaking that he didn't get to wake up next to her every morning. Obviously, this was his fault but he was selfish enough to want her back in his life. Unfortunately, now wasn't the time to focus on his mistakes. He had a child to take care of. That was something he wanted to discuss with her as well but he doubted that would happen now.

"Sasuke, why did you run off?"asked an out of breath Sakura when she caught up to him.

Sasuke turned around to face Saskura, frowning when he noticed she was out of breath. "Why did you run after me? You know your condition!" he'd snap, whispering the last part to her. No need to add anything else to the gossip mill.

Sakura finally caught her breath and would let out a giggle when she noticed Sasuke's concern. "Oh calm down, the baby is really tiny right now. There's no way I would harm it by running" she explained, reaching over to gently hold his arm. "Come on, we still have more planning to do."

The Uchiha couldn't help but sigh heavily at the idea of returning back to wedding planning. That was the last thing he wanted to do, but Sakura being happy was vital to his child's health so he would bear it for right now. However, he did look over his shoulder once more. He figured that may have been the last time he'd have any interaction with Hinata and his heart ached at that realization.

"Who were running after?"Sakura asked curiously.

"Doesn't matter. We have more important things to take care of don't we?" he'd respond with a subtle change of subject.

Sakura looked at him for a moment having an idea but she didn't want to think about that right now. Today was her day. She would enjoy it with Sasuke and their new addition. It was perfect, she had won him and she would do what ever it takes to keep him.

Hinata raced through the village, trying to keep her tears from blurring her vision as she made her way toward her favorite spot. Her apartment didn't feel safe to deal with the kind of pain she was feeling. Never in her life has she felt so much shame and embarrassment. It was stupid to think that maybe Sasuke was thinking about his mistakes and that he might try a little harder to come back to her. Sadly, the realistic part of all this is that she was the past for him. He had moved on without her. Someone that was once her light and held her heart had crushed it. After a few minutes, she saw a small peek of water glistening under the sun and ran harder. By the time she reached the end of the clearing she sprung forward, diving into the cold water. As her body sunk, she cried harder. The water had always been her refuge in time of pain. It kept her together, didn't judge...just took the pain away. It's embrace allowed her the freedom to express what she wanted and she was grateful.

Soon she surfaced, taking a well needed breath of air. She swam over to the bank, laying her head down for a moment as she tried to relax herself. Flashbacks flooded her mind as she thought of him and when things took a turn for the worst. She pushed off from the bank to float on her back, looking to the sky as her mind took her back:

Hinata woke in a sweat, holding her rounded stomach when she felt a sharp pain. She'd been feeling the pains all day but she didn't think much of it. They had started to get worse into the evening and now she knew something was wrong. "What's wrong little guy?" she asked her stomach, rubbing it gently as she looked to the clock. Sasuke was supposed to be back by now she thought to herself as she tried to get out of bed. As soon as she began to pick herself up, a large amount of pain ran through her, causing her to scream out in pain. Soon after, she looked down to see that her night gown was drenched in blood. "Oh no no no" she cried as she immediately began making her way out of the apartment. "Help!" she called out, trying her best to make her way down the steps. "My baby!" she added desperately. By this time things had started to become blurry for her, the last thing she saw was someone running over to help her. "My baby" she whispered before falling to the ground.

Hours later...

Pale lavender eyes fluttered open, looking slightly confused as she looked around the room she was in. She immediately remembered the baby but when she moved to touch her stomach, to her surprise there was nothing. "Wha-?!" she started in a panic, trying her best to sit up but pain held her. "WHERE IS MY BABY?" she yelled.

Sasuke entered the room upon hearing her voice and ran to her side, reaching over to touch her face. "Hinata calm down. You're fine, I'm here" he assured.

"Sasuke...the baby...where is he?" she asked as tears began to stream down her face. "I didn't get to see him be born. Where is my son?" she continued asking frantically. At this point she knew something was wrong because Sasuke wasn't looking at her anymore. The doctor entered the room, looking to them both before looking away. "What's going on?"

"Mrs. Uchiha...I'm sorry...he died before he was born. I'm terribly sorry for your loss" he'd say solemnly, dropping his head at the news he had to deliver.

Hinata laid her head back against the pillow, looking to the ceiling as she thought about the news she just heard. Not her baby...not her first child...not her son. "No" she whispered, her throat already closing.

"Hina-"

"NO!NO! NOT MY BABY!"she screamed, covering her face as reality started to set in. "I wanna see him, please let me see him" she begged. After a few minutes they returned with him, swaddled in a little blanket. He was so quiet, almost like he was sleeping. Hinata took him gently from the nurse, smiling as she looked at her handsome boy. "Aww look at you...you're so beautiful. You look just like your dad...if only you had a chance huh?"

Sasuke watched the interaction between the two, feeling something break in his spirit. Tears formed in his eyes as he leaned down to kiss his son's forehead before standing back up to rush out of the room. It was too much for him to say goodbye to his first child so soon.

"Get out" she'd say to the nurse and the doctor. Once they left Hinata looked back to her son. "I'm so sorry baby...mommy wasn't good enough" she whispered, hugging him to her chest as she began to cry.

A tear fell down her face as she remembered that moment. She wasn't even able to go to the funeral. "Mommy has failed again baby but not anymore" she whispered before swimming over to the bank, taking herself out of the water. This time she took to the trees heading off to a place she was never strong enough to go. After a few minutes, she arrived and slowly descended to the area. Her body felt heavy as she looked to the cemetery but she managed to force herself forward. They had gotten a special spot for him, right on top of the hill. She finally arrived there, dropping to her knees at his side. "Hi precious boy" she whispered, clearing the debris on from his tombstone. "I'm sorry I wasn't here for this...but you have to understand...I couldn't see them take you away from me again. You were going to be everything to your father and I...we had so many plans for you" she explained as the tears started flowing again. "I came here to let you know that I'm going to visit you more. I have the strength to now... and I love you. I'll never forget you my son" she whispered. She allowed herself a minute to grieve him before leaning down to place a soft kiss on the stone. After she stood to her feet, she wiped the tears away before looking out at Konoha. It was time to come into her own and find her true strength.

Naruto made his way to Sakura's place, sighing heavily before he walked up the steps. He noticed the door was slightly open and decided to make his way in. Before he could call out to her, he heard faint talking coming from the bedroom. It sounded familiar, and after listening for a few more minutes he realized it was Sasuke's voice. He never expected Sasuke to ever come to Sakura's place, so this was strange.

"What do you want to put in this box?" Sasuke asked.

"Um I guess some of my medical books and my essentials" Sakura answered back as she hopped on the bed. "Aww my little teddy bear I've had since I was five. I think I'll give it to the baby you know? First gift!" she chirped as she held it to her chest.

By this time Naruto made his way into the room, standing at the doorway in shock. The two looked to him, eyes widening when they saw the blond. "Baby? Did I hear that right?" he asked shakily.

Sasuke sighed before nodding in response to the blond. He knew this wouldn't be taken well but he wasn't going to hide the truth any longer, even if that meant losing his best friend over it.

Naruto looked to Sasuke when he nodded before looking back to Sakura. She was avoiding his gaze as he figured she would. There was only one thing on his mind, "Do you know who the father is?"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Sakura asked as she rose to her feet. It was starting to upset her that they both assumed she got around like that. "It's Sasuke's of course!"

"How would you know for sure? I mean we did sleep together" Naruto said as he glanced over to Sasuke.

Sasuke looked at Naruto, catching his gaze before looking back to Sakura. "You slept with him too?..." He didn't know why he was surprised at this. Maybe it was conceited but with the way Sakura acted as though he were the only one, he wasn't expecting that she would sleep with his best friend or anyone else for that matter. "Well this changes things because there's no way we can tell now until the child is born. None that's safe anyway. In the meantime, you can forget about any wedding planning or moving in. I'll give you two some time to talk."

As soon as Sasuke left the room Naruto looked back to Sakura who seemed to be fuming. He knew she would be angry but this was too important for him to give a shit. That could possibly be his child and he was pissed that he happened to find out by chance of coming to her place.

"Why would you say that?" she snapped, rolling her eyes as she sat back down on her bed.

"I could be the father and you mentioned nothing about being pregnant" he'd state as he walked over to sit on the bed as well. "Is it so bad?"

"Yes!" she shrieked, rising to her feet once again. "I'm meant to be with him."

"Then why were you fucking me then huh? Did you forget that we were having sex on a pretty consistent basis before I left for my last mission?" he questioned.

Sakura looked away from him, thinking about his words. "I was only using you!"

Naruto scoffed at her response before dropping his head. Deep down he knew that was always the reason but just like her with Sasuke, he kept hope that she would one day realize who truly loved her. Unfortunately, he knew well that there was no way he could force her to see the truth. "Either way that could possibly be my child and if they are...I will be in their life regardless of how selfish their mother is." His tone was cold but he wanted her to grasp the fact that there was no coming back to him for comfort. She would be on her own emotionally. He walked to the door stopping in the doorway for a moment, "Fuck you..." he'd say glancing back at her before walking away.

Evening had fallen as Hinata made her way to the Hyuga residence. She thought long and hard about her decision to come to her father but she had a goal. Unfortunately, he was right about getting training there. Of course she had no intention of falling back into the culture of that place but she was mature enough to know that it would help her. When she arrived, she looked to the doors, staring as if trying to will herself to walk away.

"What are you doing here?"

Hinata snapped out of her trance to look toward the voice. It was Hanabi but she looked more defensive than happy to see her sister. Her arms were crossed over her chest and scowl stained her face. "I'm here to see father" Hinata simply replied, turning in the girl's direction.

"You're never going to win his favor you know? Far too weak for that" Hanabi mocked, smiling wickedly as she looked her sister over.

It was unfortunate this was the way their relationship was seeming to go. Hinata never had the intention of being in competition with her sister and she still doesn't. However, what she tolerated when she resided there will not be tolerated at this moment. This wasn't for getting back into the clan because she wanted to, but for her to obtain power. "Trust me...I don't care about his favor."

Hanabi laughed obnoxiously at her sister's comment, shaking her head as though what the older Hyuga said was absurd. "Everybody looks for his favor! Even the goddamn Hokage tip toes around him. So you expect ME to believe that you're not here for a selfish reason such as that?"

"Hanabi whatever you choose to feel is up to you, but I'm not going to do this." With that said Hinata would begin to try open the large gates. She was done with the conversation. There were more important things to do than dealing with her sister's competitive attitude.

"Hear me!" she called out to Hinata. "The clan head position is mine and I will fight to the death to have it."

Hinata stopped when she heard the clan position come up. There it was...the reason for the aggressive behavior. Unfortunately, what Hanabi didn't understand was that she was on a different level now. No one, not even family, was going to tell her what she could and couldn't do or have. The Clan head position had never crossed her mind before because it would mean risking her freedom but there was nothing for her in the village now. She vowed to herself and her son that she was going to become powerful no matter the cost. A sinister smile crossed her face as she turned back to look at her sister. Her expression was menacing as she locked her pale lavender eyes on Hanabi. They were lit with a fire that intimidation could never put out. "To death it is then sister."