Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by Masashi Kishimoto. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Pairing: SasuNaru
Warnings: Slash: Male homosexual relationships, adult language, and sexual situations, Mpreg: male pregnancy.
Beta: Kamerreon
The Cheshire Cat
Chapter Nine
As Kakashi packed Sasuke's overnight bag into the car, Sasuke himself cooed and made baby noises at Toshi. Sachio was already in the car, and Toshi was to be set in her carrier as soon as Sasuke got in. He was to sit between the two babies while Kakashi and Naruto rode up front.
Sasuke turned with a smile to Naruto, but the smile soon faded. Naruto was staring over at the hospital, a heart-broken expression on his face. Sasuke looked up at Kakashi, who sighed sadly before taking Toshi. Sasuke quickly crossed to Naruto, wrapping his arms around his lover from behind.
"Oh Sasuke," Naruto breathed, "it feels so wrong to leave without him."
"It'll be alright," Sasuke whispered. "Just a few more days and we can bring him home. Just a few more days."
"I know," Naruto said as he sagged back against Sasuke, incredibly tired and exhausted. "Sasuke… I'm so tired. Just so tired."
"Shh, it's okay, Naruto," Sasuke murmured soothingly as he held his lover close. "I'll take care of you. Please, babe, just hold it together, please."
"I love you, Sasuke," Naruto whimpered as he turned in his arms and leant on him heavily. "So damn much."
"Let's get home," Sasuke whispered. "Everything will be fine once we get home."
"Okay," Naruto breathed. "Take me home."
Sasuke knew Naruto wouldn't be alright. He knew that the fact that their child was still in hospital had hit him the hardest. Yes, Sasuke carried the children for two months, but somehow Naruto was more maternal. Sasuke wanted his third child home, yes, but he knew that the hospital was the best place for Akihito at the moment.
Sasuke stared up at the ceiling in their bedroom, internally debating whether or not he should simply pull Naruto into his arms. Naruto was trying to put on a brave front, cuddling with the babies and teasing them with some of their new toys, but in the end he was still incredibly depressed; it was obvious.
A sniffle from beside him drew Sasuke's attention to the object of his thoughts. Naruto was huddled up facing him, yet he wasn't touching him. Sasuke rolled onto his side, his arms snaking around to draw Naruto close to him. As soon as Naruto was wrapped up in Sasuke's arms it was like a dam was broken. He wriggled around to face Sasuke as he burst into tears, sobbing desperately into Sasuke's bare chest. Sasuke rocked him back and forth, humming softly and making soothing noises.
When Naruto seemed to finally calm down, Sasuke was about to see if he was ready for more… creative… activities, believing that Naruto just needed to feel loved, to feel something real, but a loud baby's cry sounded over the walkie-talkie beside their bed. Naruto jerked in his arms, ready to rush downstairs to whichever of their children was crying, but as soon as his feet hit the floor Kakashi's voice came over the monitor, soothing the child and calming him down.
Naruto slumped back into the bed. Sasuke pulled him close, whispering soft words as he stroked his hair.
"It'll be okay, love, it'll be fine. He'll be home soon."
Sasuke promised his dobe he'd have their child home. Now he just needed to keep that promise.
Naruto dug in his pocket for his keys as he jammed his mobile between his ear and his shoulder. He had gone out to collect a couple of things from the shop, and then the hospital rang him, before putting him on hold. Stupid nurses.
"Naruto? You there?"
"Shizune!" Naruto exclaimed. "Oh God, is something wrong?"
"No, no," Shizune rushed to quiet him. "I just wanted to let you know that you can come and collect Akihito tomorrow."
"I can? Really?"
"Really."
"Oh thank you! Thank you so much! Can I visit him today?"
"He's still sleeping, and has only woken briefly. You can visit him, but there's no guarantee he'll be awake."
"I'd like to, anyway."
"No problem, drop by any time."
Naruto hung up the phone, tossing his groceries into the back of the car. He would go straight to the hospital, see Akihito, and then head home to tell Sasuke all about it.
At least, that was the plan.
Sasuke stretched as he woke from his nap, a small smile on his face. He slid off the bed, padding out of the room and down the stairs. He made his way to the nursery where he paused immediately. Kakashi was changing Toshi on the change table while Sachio wriggled around in his crib. Sasuke crossed to his son instantly, scooping him up.
Sachio waved his hands in Sasuke's direction, causing the dark-haired man to smile. Sasuke leaned in and rubbed noses with the child, chuckling as Sachio's face screwed up.
"Where's Naruto?" he asked as he nuzzled Sachio again. Kakashi turned to face him, Toshi settled in his arms.
"He called, he's headed for the hospital," Kakashi said. "Apparently you can bring Akihito home tomorrow."
"We can?" Sasuke asked his voice filled with hope. Kakashi smiled, nodding his head and Sasuke smiled—a completely evil one. "Excellent. He'll be in a great mood then… maybe we can have a celebration."
"Well, so long as you keep it upstairs," Kakashi murmured. "You don't want to traumatize your children."
"They have you for a nanny," Sasuke chuckled as he lowered Sachio into the crib again, "and Naruto for a dad. They're gonna be traumatized either way."
Naruto pulled up in front of the hospital with a smile, hopping out of the car with a whistle. He strolled up towards the hospital, happily.
"Hurry up!"
"Move it!"
"Now!"
Naruto froze, staring at the turmoil before him. People were rushing out of the hospital, pushing wheelchairs and beds. Police were everywhere, most with large German Shepherds on leashes. Naruto stumbled forward towards the door, his heart thumping.
"What's going on?" he asked, not really directing the question at anyone. "What…?"
"We received a bomb threat," a voice from his elbow said, filled with worry. A petite blonde nurse with long hair stood there. "We're trying to evacuate, but that's not really an option with some of our patients."
Naruto had stopped listening after 'bomb threat' and was already heading towards the doors. He needed to find Akihito. He needed his son.
Naruto began to run. He dashed through the halls to the ICU, not stopping for anything. People were shouting, calling for him to stop, but Naruto was deaf to them. He wasn't going to let his child be blown up. Not for anything.
Naruto skidded to a halt in the ICU, eyes darting around, looking at the chaos. "Where's Shizune?" he shouted. No answer. "Shizune!"
"Naruto?" the dark-haired nurse appeared. "What is it?"
"Where's Akihito?" he demanded. "Where's my son?"
"Down the hall," Shizune replied. "We haven't had a chance to move them."
Naruto dashed off, headed for his son. He had to get to him, his little bright child, his almost exact replica; he needed his son.
Naruto skidded to a halt in front of the room that held the babies in intensive care. There were ten beds, all holding sleeping children.
Except one.
The bright, blond ball of adorable that was Akihito was missing. Naruto pushed his face up against the glass, scanning the beds for a second, third, and fourth time. A small sob worked its way out of Naruto's throat, and then the tears started pouring down his face.
"No…" Naruto whispered. "No… No! NO!"
"Naruto!" Shizune must have been drawn over by his screaming. "What is it?"
"He's gone!" Naruto screamed. "He's gone!"
"You, nurse!" Shizune's voice cracked like a whip to the nearest nurse, a panicking brunette with her hair in two buns. "Where's Uzumaki Akihito?"
"I don't know!" the nurse was on the verge of being hysterical. "I'm not on duty here!"
"Who is?" Shizune demanded. The nurse dashed over to a timetable on the wall. "Well?"
"The new guy!" she proclaimed. "Kabuto!"
"Where is he?" Shizune asked. "Tenten! Where is he?"
"Not here!" Tenten replied. "But… there's a note… addressed to an Uzumaki?"
"What?" Naruto dashed over, snatching it from her hands. He opened it shakily.
Uzumaki,
You kept Sasuke, so I'm keeping your baby. Such a pretty thing, almost as pretty Sasuke himself. He will grow up to be beautiful and I'll train him well. Of course, once I'm bored with him, if ever, I guess you can have him back.
But I doubt I will grow bored of my pet.
Lovely doing business with you.
The note wasn't signed, but it didn't need to be. Naruto shakily folded the paper up and slipped it into his pocket before looking up at the nurses.
Naruto's breath became short, his vision dizzy. Shizune was saying something, but all Naruto could hear was a roaring in his ears.
And then the ground was rushing up to meet him.
Sasuke rocked Toshi back and forth as he sat in the rocking chair. Sachio was being held by Kakashi, who was watching Sasuke cautiously. Sasuke could sense something was wrong, and his tail was bushed up and bristled.
The phone rang, cutting through the silence. Kakashi left the room to answer it, but Sasuke stayed in his chair, Toshi settled on his lap. He stroked his daughter's soft ears as he waited for Kakashi to bring the phone in.
When Kakashi handed him the phone, he scooped Toshi up and carried her away. Sasuke frowned, lifting the phone to his ear. "Hello?"
"Sasuke, it's Shizune. You need to come down to the hospital at once."
"Why? What happened?"
"Just come down, now."
"I'll be there as soon as possible."
Sasuke rose, catching the keys Kakashi threw at him instantly. He was thankful Kakashi was lending him his car – Naruto had theirs.
Sasuke moved quickly. He was in the car in less than a minute, pulling out of their driveway. He had to get to the hospital. Something was wrong.
As soon as Sasuke arrived he was greeted by Shizune. All around them nurses and doctors were leading patients back to their rooms. Apparently the police checked the entire hospital and found nothing.
"Why call in a fake bomb threat?" Sasuke asked Shizune as she led him through the hospital.
"As a distraction," Shizune replied. Her voice was soft, gentle and apologetic. It set Sasuke on edge. She stopped suddenly outside of a room, the door closed.
"A distraction for what?" Sasuke growled. Naruto was obviously inside.
"For someone to come in and kidnap your son."
Sasuke stared at the woman before him who was staring up at him with tear-filled eyes. Sasuke stepped back in horror from the woman.
"What?" he whispered.
"I'm so sorry, Sasuke, but—"
"No, stop," he growled. "Get out. Now."
Shizune nodded before turning and leaving down the corridor. Sasuke stared after her for a moment before turning to the door to the room. He opened the door, instantly stalking into the room.
Naruto was on the bed, an IV in his arm, asleep. Sasuke stared at him for a moment, not seeing his love, but seeing his child, curled up and scared. Sasuke began to shake, his instincts to protect his child kicking in, and grabbed the hard plastic chair that sat to one side, throwing it at the window.
"Sasuke!"
Sasuke spun back to the bed, where Naruto was, tears running down his face as he reached out a hand to Sasuke. His cry wasn't for Sasuke to stop, but simply for Sasuke.
Sasuke was there in an instant. He stopped beside the bed when Naruto threw himself at him. Sasuke scooped Naruto into his arm, tears flowing freely down his face as he sunk to the ground, his face buried in Naruto's hair. Naruto was wailing in his arms, clutching at his top as he howled out his pain.
Not too far away, a long haired pale man laughed insanely as he watched his assistant care for a beautiful baby. He wouldn't actually touch the child until he was as a reasonable age, and certainly not when he could vomit on the man.
But this child would be worth the loss of Sasuke.
Ok, I know I haven't updated in a while, and I'm sorry, but I went to an awesome anime convention that lasted for three days, and immediatly after started TAFE (Um, community college is the equivilant I think) so yeah, it's a bit hectic.
But here, have a cliffie. -cackles evilly-