Hello Sweetlings!
Work has gone quite well, and my co-workers are darlings who insist I am their mom, and one boy calls me Mother Teresa of his own violation because I am wonderful and I feed him.
Also! I got boots for a dollar today! Horray for deals!
Now to the chapter! I'm in a real NaruHina kick right now. I don't know, their chapters flow out so much easier than the rest.
Enjoy!
Her back had been aching horribly since the day before, the pain of it keeping her from sleep and making everything she did unbearably uncomfortable. If she sat down, it hurt. If she stood, it hurt. If she breathed, it ached and throbbed and hurt so much she could hardly stand it. The baby had stopped moving quite a while back as well, and it worried her.
It had occurred to her, hours ago, that it might be the beginnings of labor. And she really wasn't quite so sure what to do with this knowledge.
Firstly, she took a shower. There was just no way she was going to have all of those doctors around her and in between her legs without being clean. It was just such an uncomfortable thought, and it hardly seemed polite.
After that was done, she changed into the most comfortable clothes she could manage, resting every few minutes and pressing her hands either to the small of her back or her large, distended stomach. One thing was for certain, she was going to be so happy to get rid of her humongous stomach. It was extremely inconvenient, it always got in the way, and it had been so long since she had seen her feet that she couldn't even remember what they looked like or if she even had them anymore.
After all of this was done with she waddled over to the front door of the apartment she and Naruto shared, signaling for the ANBU she knew was watching her, hidden somewhere, to come out.
"What do you need, Uzumaki-Sama?" The ANBU asked once she had come out of hiding, and before she could answer Hinata took a breath, pressing her hand to the side of her stomach and forcing her request to be put on hold for a short moment.
"Could you please go get Naruto? I… The baby is on its way. It's… It's time." Hinata smiled nervously, twisting her hands and fingers and wishing that she could be just a little bit surer about the whole thing. After all, it was happening, and it was happening now. She should be over all of her nervousness and insecurities about it already.
The ANBU quickly disappeared and Hinata made her way over to the bedroom to grab the bag that had already been prepared, checking just to make sure that everything that could possibly be needed was in the bag. She was halfway through going over everything a second time when Naruto burst through the door. His eyes were wide, and he gripped both sides of the doorway almost desperately.
"It's time?" He gasped, and Hinata nodded. His grin that came after a stunned moment was so big and beautiful, that her heart leapt at it. He hurried forward to cup her face in his hands, kissing her fast and hard and smiling all the while.
"We're about to be parents." He whispered happily, pressing another kiss to her forehead. She let out a watery laugh, reaching up to grip his hands.
"Yeah." She laughed again, thin and watery and so very unsure. "Yeah, we are."
They stood there for a moment before Naruto pulled back and jumped into action. "Alright!" He shouted, grabbing the bag that sat on the bed and swinging it over his shoulder. "Let's go!"
The walk to the hospital wasn't far, but it was made longer by their pauses for Hinata to rest through the contractions that viciously appeared and that felt like they getting worse the closer they got to the hospital. That, and the fact that Naruto saw fit to tell anyone who asked what was wrong or even those who simply got close enough, "We're having a baby! It's time!"
It took forever to get to the hospital, and by that time the news had spread so fast that the nurses were ready and there was already a crowd of well-wishers gathered around the front doors.
They were quickly ushered to their room where Hinata lay back and let the doctor poke and prod and get a good look while Naruto practically bounced in his seat, ready for everything to happen and happen now.
But it wasn't quite like that, and it certainly took longer than he had seemed to have expected because hours later while Hinata breathed through yet another contraction, Naruto was pacing wildly around the room.
"I thought it was supposed to be quicker than this!" He declared, waving his hands around, "I thought that we were supposed to come in, the baby comes out, and then we leave! Just like that!" He pouted, crossing his arms over his chest. "This is taking forever."
Hinata narrowed her eyes at him, hissing though her teeth as another contraction eased away. "I know, Naruto. I think I know better than anyone."
She hissed out a breath again as the doctor walked back in, plopping down on a short stool and wheeling it in between Hinata's legs to take a peek at her. "We're ready to put you in the delivery room!" He declared, and Hinata watched as Naruto grinned.
"Yes! Let's do this!"
"You're, uh, supposed to breathe." Naruto gulped beside his wife, his sweaty hand clenched in her tight and unforgiving grip. He was trying desperately to remember what all of the books they had read about the birth had said, but the breathing thing was the only thing he could remember because Hinata's tight grip, the sounds of her whines and grunts and hisses at the contractions, and the doctor's repeated, "Not yet, don't push yet," had suddenly wiped his entire memory of anything pertaining to birth.
Except for the breathing thing. He definitely remembered the breathing thing.
"Are you breathing? You need to be breathing." He tried to remember the exact way she was supposed to breathe, because he remembered there was a certain way that was really kind of stupid, but she was supposed to do it.
"I'm breathing, Naruto." She grit out, her eyes narrowing, "I've always, been breathing." She let out a small whine at the next contraction, riding it out and letting her head thump back onto the pillow at the end, panting hard. "You're panicking, though, and you need to stop." She was having a baby, she didn't have time to deal with him at the moment.
Naruto's eyes widened at her words, unable to believe what she was saying. "I'm not panicking! There's no way I'm panicking. Are you panicking? Oh god, you're panicking." He took a shaky breath and looked around at the doctors and nurses all around them. "She's panicking. We need to stop this. Can we do this some other time when she's not panicking?"
All of the nurses smiled, and one even went so far as to laugh. The doctor grinned and looked up at him from his spot between Hinata's legs, chuckling.
"I apologize, Hokage-Sama, but it seems as if the baby doesn't agree with you. It'll have to be today, panic or no."
Naruto stared to seem to wheeze, his grip on Hinata's hand becoming tighter than hers, and so with an aggravated glare sent his way Hinata turned towards a nurse.
"Is… Is my father out in the waiting area?" She panted, gritting her teeth together against the pain that seemed to radiate through every cell of her body. She didn't wait very long for the girl to answer, clenching the sheets beneath her in her free fist. "If he is, bring him in. Him or Shikamaru or Iruka or," She hissed again, "Just bring someone."
The nurse scurried off, and it was many long minutes before the door opened again, the tall and imposing form of her father walking through, her sister peeking around him.
"Hinata, what is-"
"Take him," She hisses, shooting a glare at her beloved and hyperventilating husband, "And do something. I don't want him back in here until he is calm."
"What? Hinata, I need to be here! I am calm! Totally calm!" Naruto exclaims, but he doesn't fight all that much when Hiashi grips his arm and pulls him out of the room. The door closes behind them and Hanabi moves forward to take the seat that was vacated by Naruto, offering up her hand.
"I wouldn't expect you to choose Father." Hanabi says lightly, and Hinata quickly takes the offered hand and grips it tightly, another contraction hammering through her.
"He's good at calming people." She gasps, groaning at the pain.
"He'd better be fast about it, because I don't really think we have all that long." The younger sister says, wincing a bit at just how tightly her sister held on to her hand.
"I need to get back in there!" Naruto shouts, trying to turn back towards the closed door that separated him from his wife and soon to be born child. But Hiashi easily held him back with a simple hand on his arm. "Come on, what if something goes wrong? I'm supposed to be in there to help!"
"You were of no help when you were in there. You helped so little that my daughter had to kick you out of the birth of your first child. Now, if you wish to go back in there, you need to be calm." Hiashi's voice is steady and low, almost soothing in how very little inflection he puts into his words, but it seems that the very agitated Naruto doesn't feel any difference.
"Why does every one keep saying that? I am calm!" He practically screams, and the moments of pure silence that follow after give him pause.
"Okay." He groans, rubbing his hands roughly over his face. "Okay." This time a sigh as he leans back against the wall, sinking down to the floor to stare at the opposite expanse of white. They stayed in silence like this for a few moments, Naruto slumped against the wall and Hiashi standing in front of him.
"Why are you acting like this? Out of the two of you, you have always been the one looking forward to this the most. I'd expect this out of Hinata more than you, truthfully." Hiashi watched as Naruto seemed to sink farther back into the wall, and he felt a pang of worry for his son-in-law.
"I… I'm not sure about what to do after this, you know? I've read through all these books and listened to all these people talk about all of this, but they don't really tell you what comes when you have the baby. Especially not if you're the dad. Sure, they tell you about diapers and all that, but just because you know all that, doesn't mean you'll be a good parent. I mean, parenting is all about… I don't know! That's the thing! I don't know how to be a dad and… I just don't know what to do." He sighs and tilts his head back to stare up at the ceiling. "I couldn't even remember the right breathing thing for Hinata."
Hiashi stared down at him for a moment, taking in just how pale the boy was and how shaken up he looked. Then he stepped forward and offered his hand to help him up, along with some words he hoped would help pick him up just as much.
"No one ever knows, and you'll always worry about completely ruining your children's lives. I've heard some people say that that is how you know you're doing everything correctly, and as dark as that sounds, it seems just about right. And books and such things don't really tell you what to do sufficiently. You just have to figure it out as you go through it, worry about it all, and ask for help. Really, I expect that you will screw up an astonishing amount of times, but that is why my daughter is with you. She's always handled you well, and she'll handle this child just as well. You'll both do fine." Hiashi looked towards the door. "Though, you'll be getting off to a pretty bad start if you miss the birth of your first child."
Naruto was instantly on his feet and was hurrying towards the door, but Hiashi calling after him made him pause.
"Naruto, both of my daughters have become wonderful women. If they managed to do that with me as a father and despite the methods I used to raise them, I have no doubts that everything will go exceedingly well for the two of you and your family."
Naruto grinned at him, a quick flash of teeth and glee, and then he was disappearing through the door.
Inside, Hinata was moaning through yet another contraction, clenching her sister's hand tightly. Naruto tried to walk around everything to get to the other side, but he caught a look at what was going on between his wife's legs and he froze in place, paling before becoming distinctly green, and then paling again before he hurried over to Hinata's side, grabbing her hand and giving it a squeeze.
"Calm now?" Hinata panted, sending him a very upset glare. Naruto gulped and nodded.
"Just in time, Hokage-sama. It's time for your wife to start pushing." The father to be swayed on his feet for a moment, gulping heavily before nodding.
"Let's do this then." He attempted to declare, though his voice was too weak to be affective.
As Hinata pushed and panted and groaned, Naruto had to bite his lip to stop himself from whimpering. Minutes passed filled with the doctor's encouragement and sounds of pain, and then suddenly another sound filled the air.
High, shrieking cries.
There was complete silence from everyone else in the room for just a moment to take it in, to revel in the perfection of it, and then everyone started all at once. The nurses were grabbing for the baby, cleaning her and smiling, congratulating the new parents with the doctor. Naruto was, for once, completely silent, staring open-mouthed at the wriggling little thing that was being carried to Hinata, angry and red and waving her fists wildly in the air. Hanabi sat to the side, forgotten, releasing the loose hold she had on Hinata's hand and repeating over and over again to herself, "Oh wow. Oh wow."
And Hinata lay back in the bed, panting and trying to get her breath back until one of the nurses brought the baby to her. She took her with shaking arms and stared down at the screaming girl for a moment before tears started to roll down her face. Naruto almost asked if anything was wrong, but before he could Hinata started to laugh, a high and happy sound that gave everyone pause and put a smile to each face.
After a stunned moment Naruto joined in, taking Hinata's hand and entwining their fingers, bringing her hand up to kiss the back of it before pressing it to his cheek, grinning widely at the pair. One with her long hair tied back, sweat covering her red blotched skin and soaking into her hospital clothes, the other so tiny and red with hair so fair that she looked bald with skin that was not all the way clean.
They were the most beautiful things he had ever seen. His girls.
Hours later after all the tests were done and the baby had been weighed and washed and taken care of, they sat in their room and watched as their child slept, this time in the arms of Naruto.
"I was worried," Hinata quietly murmured, "That it wouldn't feel right. All these months it just hasn't been like what everyone tells you it's supposed to. I hated what seemed like every moment of it, and I hated myself for hating it. Everything was just so wrong. But this." She smiled. "This is right. This is perfect."
Naruto briefly smiled up at her, but as soon as he possibly could he was looking back down at his daughter in his arms, watching with wide and amazed eyes so that he could catch whatever thing this tiny miracle chose to do next. No matter what it was, no matter how insignificant seeming to others, to him they were the most remarkable things he had ever seen.
"You know, they always talk about how amazing childbirth is," Naruto mused quietly, not wanting to disrupt his child's sleep, "And how beautiful it is." Now he looks up, his eyes completely serious as they catch his wife's, "Hinata, that was the most disgusting thing I have ever seen."
Hinata let out an unladylike and undignified snort. "It wasn't so wonderful on this side either. But at least what we got out of it worth it." They both watched their child for a quiet and content moment.
"Yeah." Naruto sighed, brushing the back of his finger against a small, soft cheek. "We might not have liked how you came out – like, at all – but you don't need to worry because we like you perfectly fine. In fact Kori, I think you might be our favorite person in the whole wide world right now."
Sweet darling SamusOlderBrother left a review, and your name was not familiar to me (I'm sorry if you have commented before) so hello! Welcome! Please, enjoy your stay! (Als, the reason Hiashi was not as scarred as a normal person was because, while they did leave some destruction in their wake, they really were behaving at their best.
Thank you, and I hope you enjoyed! See you soon! Love and kisses apleanty on each and every one of you!