My entire body is sore and my feet are swollen, tomorrow is my due date and I'm beyond anxious. Tsunade sent me on maternity leave last week so I could prepare for giving birth and the upcoming mission. Taka was upset that I went a week early, but he's been assigned to follow Ino for a few weeks. Sasuke and the others have been locked in the upstairs office all day going over the final plans. Moving from the couch, a sharp pain radiates in my right side. Rubbing my belly, I move to climb the stairs.
"Easy little one, that hurts." I chuckle to my belly as I walk down the short hallway, it's unusually quiet in Sasuke's office. Normally Naruto is loud enough to fill the entire house, I push against the foot that's pressing against my side. Opening the door, I see that they are all busy reading through the intel. Naruto is the first to notice my entrance, his eyes locked onto my hand.
"He must be kicking the hell out of you Sakura." That causes the others to look up from their folders and lock onto me.
"He's running out of room." I take the blondes hand and pull it to the small foot that's sticking out still. His eyes go wide and he presses a little harder into the skin, earning a scoff from my husband.
"Be careful dobe." His eyes return to the paper, always working. There's an empty seat next to Sasuke that I take and lean against the wooden desk. Even though his gaze doesn't shift from the paper, a hand reaches out to stroke the spot where Naruto had just poked.
"When am I getting briefed?" I take a few folders from the stack but he snatched them away from me.
"You could go into labor any moment now, looking at stressful intel and photos will only induce it quicker." Rolling my eyes, I take a pen from the desk and start to doodle on a blank piece of paper. Kakashi looks up to me and I can see the smirk forming under his mask, he's more excited about the baby being born than he would admit. Sai has been asking me medical questions so he can prepare for Ino's birth process, it's hilarious to see him squirm from certain details. Neji looks over at me and activates his Byakugan, I narrow my brows at him and a shrug comes to his shoulders.
"I was just looking Sakura. I never got to thank you for saving Lady Hinata's and the baby's life." He's very respectful of his clan and Hinata's status, even though she isn't the next clan leader.
"It's my duty as a medic and a friend." Smiling sweetly at him, I look over my husband's shoulder to get a peak of the intel. The folder shuts loudly and an annoyed Sasuke looks over at me. Huffing, I prop my chin on my hand. All I'm good for right now is carrying a baby and sitting around. This is beyond frustrating. Sasuke's hand moves again and I squint my eyes close.
"Maybe you should go lay down Sakura." Naruto chimes in and I see that his blue eyes have been watching the entire display.
"That's the last thing I want to do Naruto. For the past week I've been lying in bed or sitting on the couch. Shishou confiscated all of my case files and laptop that's connected to the main hospital server." She came and raided through my office for every piece of work, leaving me with nothing to do but read or watch movies. I hate having downtime, everyone close to me knows that. I figured that Sasuke would let me sit in and go over the intel but he's adamant about me relaxing.
"Let's take a break. I want to run home and check on Temari, she's been sick with the flu." That's the danger of being pregnant in the winter, at least I spent a majority of my pregnancy in the summer.
"Sounds good, I have to get someone to relax." Sasuke smirks next to me and another pang hits my stomach. A groan comes from my mouth and all eyes are one me, Sasuke's toucher is firmer and he's feeling for the foot or elbow that delivered that blow. I try to pinpoint the spot but there's nothing. Two Kekkei Genkai's are staring at me and Naruto's sage mode is starting to activate. Rolling my eyes, I stand from the chair but another pang hits me. These aren't kicks…my eyes go wide and a smile covers my face.
"I think we need to get to the hospital." Shikamaru chimes in, earning a chuckle from my sensei. I think the three of us are the only ones to notice for a moment, but once Naruto figured things out the screaming starts.
"Oh…OH! We need to go teme."
"Shut up dobe." I'm being shuffled out of the office and down the stairs. Making my way to the front door, Sai appears with my packed bag and a wide smile on his face.
"Time to birth a baby Ugly." Sasuke punches him in the shoulder for me as I support the weight of my belly. Kakashi wraps my jacket around me and we all move out of the house in a rushed pace. Neji, Shikamaru and Sai take off towards their own houses to check on their girls but Kakashi and Naruto refuse to leave. There's no pain as I walk to the hospital but I know that this isn't a false alarm either.
Walking into the hospital, Taka and Ino are walking through the lobby. Their eyes landing on me and a gasp leaving the blondes mouth. I don't need to be shown where to go, I just have to make it up the stairs. It won't be long until Tsunade and Shizune make an appearance, I just need to get up to her office.
Climbing the stairs cause another wave of pain to go through my body, pushing open the door I see Shishou standing with a wheelchair waiting on me. A wide smirk covering her face, I take the offered seat and hear her hum in pride.
"Your water hasn't broken yet?"
"No but the pain is similar to a kick."
"Well then, let's go deliver a baby." She muses and rolls me down the hall, Shizune keeps Naruto and Kakashi back from the following us too close…Today is going to be a long day.
"I swear, you will NEVER touch me again Uchiha." I grit through my teeth as another contraction causes me to curl up in pain. Tsunade's letting the medicine wear off for a moment before I'm able to push. I crush his hand within my grasp and I have to keep the scream in my throat.
"Okay Sakura, it's time." Moving into position, Ino and Shizune are at my feet while Sasuke stays up by my face. Tsunade nods at me and I begin pushing, it feels like a fire is consuming my body. Sweat starts to form on my forehead and I lay back in defeat, pain is searing through my body after just one round of pushes. I've been laying here for almost six hours waiting for the instruction to push, my body is tired.
"You're almost there, come one just a few more pushes." Ino's voice is calm, trying to calm me but anger from my frustration gets the better of me. Pushing again, I send a small amount of chakra into my hand and squeeze Sasuke's earning a groan of pain.
"That's nothing…compared to this." I gasp out in between each push, the pain causing me to scream out. My breathing is uneven and the pain is almost too much to bear, the room starts to get fuzzy.
"No, no keep pushing. I see his head." Shishou yells up at me but my head falls back against the pillow, I'm too tired. A pair of lips press against my ear and a warm breath washes over my skin.
"You can do this Sakura. I love you." With those words of encouragement, I lean my head up weakly and restart the pushing. After a few moments, a groan comes from my mouth along with squeals and smiles from the other three women. One final push, the pain subsides and a lone cry of an infant comes from the room. My eyes water as they take the baby over to be weighed and cleaned off, Sasuke disappears for a moment to take care of his portion.
Ino begins to clean any blood away from my skin and I feel embarrassed from the proximity. Sasuke reappears with a heartwarming grin on his face causing me to smile as well. An affectionate kiss is placed on my forehead and a hand rests on my now flatter stomach.
"Thank you Tsuma." My cheeks turn red and I can't help but smile. He's never referred to me in such an intimate way before, tears prick my eyes and I place my hand on his cheek. Shizune comes walking over with a bundle of blankets, offering the baby to me with a wide smile. My heart leaps with joy when my baby is settled in the crooks of my arms. Just as I had thought, his appearance is just like Sasuke's. Although his eyes are closed, those small orbs are just as dark as his fathers. Black hair to match covers his small head, smiling I press a kiss on his small nose.
"We'll leave you be for a little bit. I'll have to take him to the nursery soon so we can give him a checkup. After that you can shower and Shizune will begin the healing process, don't forget the mission starts in one week." How could I forget? I need to get these bastards taken care of so I can enjoy my sweet boy. Nodding, all three women exit the room leaving me with Sasuke and little Itachi. Sasuke moves a chair beside the bed and runs a finger over the small fist of our son, Itachi reacts by gripping at his father's finger.
"He's strong like his mother." I smile at him and continue to stare at the newborn. My heart swells with pride and love, it's going to be painful to leave him next week. I move to place another kiss on his sweet face, a small gurgle exits his mouth and I smile even wider.
"Do you want to hold him Sasuke?" I look over to him, he's lost in the moment. When I ask the question his shoulder tense for a moment, but he relaxes and reaches out for the small bundle. Placing the bundle into his arms, I lay back down and look over to the sweet scene. Sasuke's dark eyes never leave our son, he's studying every detail of the small round face. A knock on the door breaks me from the moment and Tsunade comes walking in.
"You have a line of visitors waiting outside." Before we can respond, Naruto comes crashing in carrying a large stuffed animal, a toad, and a bag of ramen. Looking at the clock, it's almost nine at night. For once ramen actually comes in handy.
"I want to see my godson." Everyone else comes flooding into the room, all smiles and congratulations. Giving Sasuke one final smile, I watch everyone move over to the newest Uchiha.
"I'll take Itachi to the nursery personally. Shizune will stay here with you." Shishou takes him from my arms slowly and leaves the room. I had to kick everyone out after an hour of visiting, the girls were gawking and loving on him with such tenderness. Sasuke left a few minutes ago to go home and grab a change of clothes for himself, he was too focused on making sure that I had everything.
"How are you feeling?" Her hands begin to glow a calming green and I feel any pain fade from my body. They are speeding up my healing process, instead of the six-week recovery time mine will be a week. But that requires a strict healing regiment, Shizune will be stopping by the house during the day to help.
"Better." I lay my head back and feel as she's readjusting my muscles and ligaments back to their original positions. It's a strange sensation, months of stretching and pulling to be repaired in the matter of minutes.
"It looks like this is going to be easier than we thought. Your body was healing itself after you gave birth." She stops healing and smiles at me.
"Sasuke should be back soon. He can help you shower, after that we can bring Itachi back to you two." As if he's mind reading, Sasuke comes walking in with a small duffle and a small smile on his face. A yawn washes over me and Shizune exits swiftly.
"They haven't brought him back yet?" He seems curious as he places his bag next to mine.
"She's letting me shower first. Will you help me?" A raised eyebrow is my response and I go to move from the bed, my body shivers as my feet touch the cold tile. Looking down I can see my toes again and I feel forty pounds lighter. My back still aches from carrying the weight for so long, Sasuke comes over to help me move to the bathroom. There's an aching pain between my legs as we walk, his arm wrapped around my waist.
"Slow." He scolds me for a split second as we close the bathroom door, he helps me remove the hospital gown and I handle the bandages between my legs. My face red as we step into the tight shower, skin against skin. It's been so long since we've been this close without a bump in the way. A hand runs through my short locks and helps me wash away the sweat, his actions are so gentle and loving. He won't let me budge as he washes the pink locks, then down my body. When he comes to my thighs, he's touch is almost nonexistent. The blush on my cheeks spread to the tops of my chest and the water is shut off.
"You need to sleep." His thumb traces under my eye. I am tired, but I want to see Itachi before I fall asleep. I reach for my night clothes and turn my back to Sasuke as I dress myself. All afternoon I've been examined, prodded and exposed so shielding myself seems pointless. A small grunt of disapproval comes from Sasuke, leaving the bathroom slowly I see Tsunade standing with Itachi in her arms.
"I took out the pajamas you brought. He seems I perfect health, but make sure to keep him wrapped tight since it's so cold outside. I fed him while he was in the nursery too." Her eyes don't leave the baby's face, I've never seen Shishou look so content and relaxed. Who knew that one small infant could ease the pain and rid the stress of adults? Sitting down on the bed, Shishou moves to the chair Sasuke was occupying earlier, his small eyes are cracked open slightly. Dark orbs looking around at the new, bright world. It's going to be tougher than I thought leaving him alone, but hopefully this mission will only take a few days.
"Will you make me a promise Shishou?" My eyes never leaving them, Sasuke would be coming back out in just a few minutes. Swallowing quickly, I take a deep breath in and let it out.
"If anything happens to me, you make sure that Sasuke and Itachi are taken care of." Tears prick at my eyes, it's not a ridiculous request. Even though I may be healed just enough to participate on this mission, it doesn't mean I'm ready to go back into the field.
"Nothing's going to happen to you, remember you are the disciple of the Fifth Hokage." She winks at me and I can't help the childish blush that covers my face. A finger moves up to her forehead and touches her seal, we both know that I'm able to release mine but I haven't had the need for it. The bathroom door opens, revealing Sasuke in a clean set of clothes and wet hair. My face gets hotter and I turn away to look back at my son.
"I'll let you three have some alone time. Sasuke, whenever you two are ready to sleep just let us know and Itachi will come back into the nursery." She passes the baby over to me and moves from the chair, his eyes open fully so I can take a good look at him. The Uchiha genes are definitely dominate over mine, I'll never have a mini pink haired girl following behind me. A gurgle comes from his lips and those two little eyes shut softly. My eyes feel heavy again and I lay my head on the pillow, a slight wave of pain running through my stomach.
"I'll hold him, you need to sleep." Giving him a weak smile, I let him take Itachi from me. Turning my head just enough so I can watch them for a moment. For just a moment, nothing else matters in the world. Our family has grown and maybe one day we will be having this moment again. Curling onto my side, I let the exhaustion from the day take over. Tomorrow the real work begins.