Hello my sweeties! Here's another one, from me to you, special.

Tenten and Neji had never really thought of themselves as the parenting types before they had Rin but with her birth they found something so purely incredible and beautiful and cherished, and they loved her more than they ever thought possible. She was a treasure modge-podged together from the very best pieces of the both of them, and they had never felt anything more wonderful that the sheer unconditional and untainted love that the bond of parent and child came with.

So when Tenten found herself pregnant again they were ecstatic to say the least.

They brought out what baby things of Rin's that they hadn't thrown away and began to decorate the Rin's nursery to fit two. Before the first trimester was over they were thinking of names and telling their friends, the sheer wonder of the moment overtaking them.

But then, in a wash of blood and tears, all of that happiness was gone.

There was sympathy of course, but it left a bitter taste in Tenten mouth because she could also feel the pity that they gave, and it only riled the growing self-hatred. The skeleton of a crib sat tauntingly bare, and walking into Rin's nursery became almost unbearable for her because she could see how only weeks ago -days really- she had been preparing it for something that would never come.

Depression was an easy word for what she felt and as she curled up on the bed in a ball of self-loathing and pain all she was thinking that there must have been some way that she could have saved her baby.

After a week of leaving her alone in the darkness of their room Neji knew that enough was enough, and opened the door with a purpose.

"Tenten," He said in his most commanding voice, a voice that made strong men quiver before doing as he bid, "Get up."

The seconds of silence dragged slowly by before she finally answered, her voice cracking and dry. "No."

"Tenten." He tried again, "Get. Up."

"No."

Biting off an angry curse Neji walked to her side of the bed and grabbed her arms to start physically pulling her out of the bed, but after a few moments of wrestling he was shoved back so that he hit the wall with a hard thud. He didn't care though, because Tenten was finally sitting up with something other than heartbreak in her eyes. The pain was still there, but he didn't think he'd ever been so happy to see her pissed off before.

"Just leave me alone!" She cried hoarsely, her long hair falling in an unkempt tangle around her like a dark veil. "Just... Go away!"

"You need to stop being so selfish." Neji bit out, making Tenten blink in shock. "Do you think that you're the only one in this marriage that is completely crushed by this? It was my child too, Tenten, but what you need to focus on right now is the fact that I am here. Our daughter, is here. You are not alone, so stop acting like it and for the love of God just get up out of bed."

Tenten blinked at him for a moment before slow tears silently tracked down her face, and the sight of his strong and proud wife breaking apart like she was nearly broke him too.

"I... What if it was my fault?" She managed to choke out. "Maybe I should have stopped training or ate better foods or..." She stopped when Neji's arms went around her and easily found herself leaning into his strength.

"You trained with Rin, Tenten, and you know that the fact you ate something other than salads and fruits wasn't the deciding factor. We had no control over it, Tenten. It just happened." He paused for a moment to pet her slightly greasy hair. "We could try again, if you wanted to."

"...No." She said slowly. "No I... Rin is..." She said, and then almost as if the idea hadn't occurred to her before she jerked back to look at him.

"Rin, is she...?"

"She's in her crib right now." Neji said. Tenten nodded and pulled back from him.

"Right. I... I need to get into the shower since I haven't taken one all week. I probably smell terrible." She muttered to herself, but Neji waved her worries away with a slight smirk.

"You've smelled worse." He said, and there was no reason to get upset since she knew that it was true. They'd been with each other through their personal worsts and bests. A little thing like smell was nothing compared to what they had been through together before.

This, this devastating feeling of loss was not going to be the thing that broke them.

The shower was quick since there was no reason for it not to be, and she knew that there would still be a bit more time before Neji came back from the kitchen where he was making her some tea so she simply sat on the bed to wait, but when the baby monitor crackled and she heard the familiar cry she couldn't have stopped herself from hurrying to her daughter's room if she had wanted to.

As soon as she stepped into the room her eyes went to where Rin was, the small girl holding onto the side of the crib with a strong grip to keep herself from falling, her hair messy from sleep and her white eyes wide with tears as her bottom lip trembled pitifully. As soon as she saw the familiar sight of her mother the girl released her hold and plopped down onto her padded bottom, holding her arms out to the woman.

And without hesitation Tenten walked forward and scooped her daughter into her arms.

Neji was headed back to the room with steaming cup of tea in hand when he peeked into Rin's room as he habitually did, and he couldn't help but smile thankfully at the sight he saw.

Tenten held their daughter tightly in her arms, her cheek pressed against the baby's head as a single tear ran down it, swaying slightly in a soothing motion as she whispered again and again how much she loved her. How much she meant to her.

And Neji knew that they would be alright.

Just a tiny little something and an idea that I got about why Rin is so spoiled and why they stopped at only her.

A big happy birthday to my Missy dearest, and a happy un-birthday to you! (unless this is your birthday. If that it the case, congrats.)