Naruto rubbed his face wearily as he finished a stack of paperwork, moving it aside only to find yet another stack beneath it. He glared at it for a moment, wondering if they were somehow spawning when he wasn't looking. And though he glared at his paper work, grumbling about it under his breath, he knew that in a few minutes he'd be buried in it again, because he loved his job.

Many people had thought that after a few months of being buried in paper work without any missions the appeal of being Hokage would fade. And while he missed the missions and detested the paperwork, he knew that he wouldn't trade being the Hokage for anything.

It was his life's dream, what he had worked for, what he had fought tirelessly and endlessly for. It wasn't the same as protecting his friends from enemy nin on the front lines, instead it was protecting an entire village from politics, and he had found that they were a far more treacherous foe.

However, more often than not Naruto found himself going against those politics, forcing his way to a better solution, one that worked towards the world of peace his teacher and father had worked for. And though he had found it pissed off some people -mostly the stiff necked elders- it had always worked out with no lives lost.

With a sigh he leaned his chair back, knowing that he needed to get the paper work done but also knowing that he really didn't want to at that moment. And when he heard a familiar little giggle he knew he couldn't get to it now that a perfect little distraction had appeared.

He pretended to be immersed in the forms on his desk as the giggles got closer and louder, and he had to stop his lips from twitching in response. Suddenly a small blonde ball of energy burst up from beside his desk, leaping towards him with a tiny fist extended, screaming out at the top of her lungs, "Rasengan!"

Naruto caught her easily, flipping her upside down so that her blonde hair brushed the floor and began blowing raspberries on her belly. Giggling and shrieking, the little girl reached up to push at Naruto's face, the blood rushing comically to her face. "Daddy! Stop!" She squealed, wriggling and twisting as she tried to get away, trusting that her father wouldn't drop her. Naruto pulled back and looked down at his daughter, grinning at her sweet and furiously red face.

"Kori-chan, you know you can't give up on an enemy when they're about to break!" He said, seemingly shocked at his daughter. He quickly went back to torturing the four year old, smiling at her glee filled shrieks of protest, though he was forced to stop when a heavy handed knock landed on his door.

Still holding his child upside down, he called out for whoever it was to enter, though he felt like pulling a face when he realized that it was his assistant.

The woman was tall and frighteningly thin, sharp eyes and talons easily scaring off anyone who dared to come to his office for anything other than business. Her dull brown hair was pulled back in a tight librarian's bun, sharp, no-nonsense glasses perched at the end of a sharp nose.

She looked over the loving family moment with disdain, pursing her lips at the child who dared to disrupt the Hokage's work. "Hokage-sama, I do believe that the child should be with her mother. Perhaps we should send her back, in case Hinata-hime is worried about her." And so that you can get back to work, was the silent message she practically screamed.

Naruto ignored the faces his daughter was secretly making every time the woman spoke and instead calmly asked the woman to send a message to his wife. After the door closed Naruto let go of his daughter, letting her crawl up into his lap and get settled in. Pouting, the small girl crossed her arms over her chest and looked up at her father.

"I don't like her." She said gravely, and Naruto grinned down at her.

"I don't like her either, but she's the best assistant I've had so far." All the others had either been so young that they had come onto him excessively, ignoring the fact that he was happily married and instead focusing on the fact that he was a young and attractive Hokage with power and stature; or they had been so old that they had only judged him on the tailed beast inside of him, often trying to sabotage him.

So he was thankful to his current assistant, though he had to wish she wouldn't try to scare away his child and friends.

"Now that she's mentioned it, why are you here without your mother, Kori?" The girl smiled up at him bashfully, white eyes not-quite meeting his as she grabbed his Hokage hat from the back of his chair and pulled it on her head, trying to hide.

"I missed you Daddy." Naruto looked to his daughter, his gaze stern and his tone cautioning as he grabbed her and sat her on his desk so that she'd face him. "Kori..."

Hinata came into the room, her eyes snapping over to the shrouded form of her daughter. "Uzumaki Kori," She said quietly, using the dangerous tone that people so rarely heard. Naruto watched as his daughter winced, her bright eyes trying to catch his to beg him for help. When she realized he was simply ignoring her she turned slowly, timidly looking over at her mother.

"Yes Mama?"

"Did I or did I not tell you to stay with me?" Kori bit her lip, holding the Hokage hat back so that she could see her mother and watch for any attack.

"Yes."

"Yes what?"

"Yes, you did."

"And did I or did I not expressly forbid you from bothering your father when he is in the office?"

"You did."

"They why," Hinata asked, her voice quieter that before, evidence of just how angry she was. "Did I find that you had left me in the middle of the market to come here, where your father was obviously working?" Kori's bottom lip trembled, tears welling up in her eyes.

"I-I don't know... I'm sorry."

Hinata crossed her arms and looked sternly and unforgivingly down at her daughter. "Yes, I'm sure you are. Now, go wait in the waiting room while I talk to your father."

Hiccuping, Kori took the hat off of her head and trudged to the door and out, wiping away her tears as she went.

As soon as the door closed behind her Hinata sagged, rubbing her face wearily. "Hey now, come over here." Naruto said, holding out his arms for Hinata to crawl into his lap much like Kori had. She rested her head on his shoulder, clutching the front of the Hokage robes loosely.

"I was so afraid when I looked up and couldn't see her." She whispered, closing her eyes tightly against the terrifying thoughts and visions that threatened to rise up again. "The ANBU hadn't seen anything and when we looked we couldn't find her. She just slipped away so easily, and I thought-" She bit her lip, not even daring to say the words.

Naruto wrapped his arms tightly around his wife, resting his head atop hers as he tried to keep away all of her demons. "It's alright. She's alright." Hinata shook her head.

"No, it's not alright. She keeps doing things like this and she doesn't realize the consequences. She doesn't realize that if she leaves me and I can't protect her..." Hinata shook her head again, fighting against the tears that so desperately wanted to fall free.

Naruto didn't want to think about what could happen, but he knew he had to. Not only was Kori a cute child who was often too kind and trusting but she was also the Hokage's child. There were so many people who wanted to get a hold of her, to gain power over him and in effect his village. There was so much that could go wrong if Kori even left their sight for a moment.

But they couldn't tell this to her, couldn't have her distrusting and running away from every person who looked at her sideways and every shadow that followed.

Slowly Naruto's hand drifted down to Hinata's stomach and rested there, her hand coming to rest atop of his and above the other little life they had created.

With so many fears about Kori was it right for them to have another child? Was it safe? Naruto -the Hokage, the most powerful man in the village- felt so powerless, so weak, so unable to protect his family.

But he shook that feeling off, determined to do as he had promised as a boy and keep everyone safe.

"Hey, it will be alright." He said, lifting her face so that she was looking at him. "I promise, okay?" Slowly she smiled, trusting those words as more of a truth than anything else in the world.

"Okay." She murmured, leaning her forehead against his and closing her eyes.

They sat that way for just a few more moments before Hinata sighed, leaning back and opening her eyes so that they met with Naruto's. "I was a little hard on her, wasn't I?" Naruto brushed a few pieces of her hair back behind her ear.

"Maybe a little, but she deserved it. She knew it was wrong and yet she still did it." He paused for a moment, and his lips twitched. "I think the really cruel thing is that you've left her alone with my assistant for so long." Hinata blinked and jumped up, realizing that that was exactly what she had done.

She hurried to the door but stopped before opening it, turning to look back at Naruto. "Will you be home for supper tonight?"

Naruto thought about all of his paper work and the hour he had just lost. He thought about how he'd have to fly through it at top speed without a break to make it on time, and then he thought about sitting down for a hot homemade meal with his family and then spending time with them after.

It was no contest. He'd gladly use a few clones and suffer through a headache if it meant he got to put his baby girl to bed and spend some time alone with his wife afterward.

"Of course." She smiled and went out into the hall, leaving Naruto and three of his clones to their work.

Some Naruto Daddy time to show that Hinata isn't the only one that worries.

Note- Hinata started losing the stutter when she and Naruto started getting more serious. Her confidence grew, so she eventually lost her stutter (though when she's supremely embarrassed, upset or nervous it comes back).

Why did she have her stutter in "Worries", you ask? Because she had just found out she was pregnant and was supremely nervous.