It was about 4:30 in the morning when tiny cries finally rang out from the hospital room and echoed down the hallway. Temari and Kankuro had been waiting outside the room, both bearing vastly different expressions on their faces. Temari perked up and grinned ear to ear, giddy with excitement at the sound of the baby crying; Kankuro, who was utterly mortified at the sound of Sakura screaming in pain for the last hour, had his eyes squeezed shut, his hands over his ears and was bent over with his face between his knees.

"Hey!" Temari swatted at him, "it's time! Get up!"

After a few minutes, a nurse came out and beckoned them into the room. Temari practically skipped while Kankuro sluggishly followed suit. Sakura sat up in the hospital bed, staring down at the tiny bundle she was cradling in her arms with a soft smile. Gaara stood at her side, rubbing his severely bruised hand that Sakura had nearly broken during labor.

"He's so little!" Temari quietly squealed.

"Just over 5 pounds," Sakura said, keeping her eyes locked on her new son.

"Can... Can I?" she was apprehensive about finishing the question, but Sakura understood what she was asking when she saw her extend her arms.

"Of course," Sakura smiled and handed the baby over to her.

"Hi sweet boy," Temari whispered to her little nephew. Using one gentle finger, Temari brushed the blanket he was wrapped in out of his face to get a better look. "I'm your aunt Temari." The baby opened his big, green eyes and looked around for a moment, searching for the source of the strange voice. He closed them again, very tired from his journey. Temari stroked his soft, round cheeks and ran a finger through his bright, red hair. She glanced up at her younger brother, who was still nursing his wounded hand. "He's got his mother's eyes, but other than that he could be your twin, Gaara."

"I thought so, too," Sakura agreed.

"Hopefully he'll have his mother's strength," Gaara replied almost sarcastically, "I think my hand is fractured…"

"Heh, sorry about that," Sakura apologized with a nervous laugh.

Temari approached Kankuro and extended her arms to hand the baby over to him. Kankuro kept his arms at his sides but leaned forward to get a good look at his nephew.

"It's all… gooey," he cringed, "and small. I'm not holding it."

"He is your nephew," Temari frowned.

"He looks like he'd break if I touched him," Kankuro mocked her. "You ever seen those pamphlets about shaken baby syndrome?"

"Yeah, pretty sure that's what's wrong with you," Temari furrowed her brow and pulled the infant back to her chest. Kankuro scowled.

"I'll wait until he's a little older and I can throw him around like a football," he said. Temari rolled her eyes and turned to face Gaara and Sakura again.

"So, does he have a name yet?" she asked them.

Sakura looked up at Gaara for a moment. They hadn't talked much about names; Gaara seemed fine with anything Sakura wanted to choose. After he gave her a reassuring nod, she looked back at Temari.

"Tatsuo," she said.

"Tatsuo," Temari repeated with a smile, gently bouncing the infant. "With a name like that, you definitely will be strong just like your mommy."

"Even though he was born a few weeks early, he seems to be in perfect health," a nurse said as she entered the room. "We still want to run a few tests and keep him here a few days before he's cleared to go home, though." After giving him a few soft kisses on his forehead, Temari handed little Tatsuo back to Sakura. "I'll give you a few more minutes before I take him back. When I do, you should get some rest. We'll wake you up when it's feeding time."

xxx

Being a preemie, Tatsuo was quite small. None of the outfits, nor diapers, that they had for him would fit. Before they brought him home, Temari went on a shopping spree and bought several boxes of preemie diapers and an entire new wardrobe for Tatsuo, which would ultimately be a waste of money considering he'd grow very quickly. Nobody would argue with her though- Temari was more than happy to waste every penny on her new nephew.

Motherhood seemed to come naturally to Sakura. As soon as they arrived home, she quickly established a routine with Tatsuo and was able to distinguish every cry he made. To Gaara, they all sounded the same. He couldn't help but feel a little butt hurt when he'd spend nearly 20 minutes trying to figure out what Tatsuo needed, only for Sakura to swoop in and solve the problem immediately. She could sense the blow to his pride this took on him every time, so she did her best to restrain herself while Gaara tried to figure it out on his own. Sakura made it look so easy, but Gaara was getting the hang of it. Slowly, but surely.

The next two months flew by, and before she knew it, Sakura's maternity leave was up and she had to return to work.

"Are you sure you're gonna be alright on your own?" she asked Gaara over her shoulder as she headed for the front door. Gaara stood behind her, his hair messier than usual and looking rather disheveled as he cradled a bright-eyed Tatsuo. He looked down at him and wondered how he still looked so awake, despite being up since 3 in the morning. This was the first time Gaara would have to make it through the day without Sakura's help- or, at least the next 12 hours.

"I think I'll manage," he said. Technically, he wasn't alone, but Kankuro would certainly be of no help. Tatsuo was 2 months old now and Kankuro still had yet to even hold him. Gaara could count on Temari, however, she was spending her day at the flower shop today. He was nervous and exhausted, but he would manage.

"Okay, call me if you need anything!" Sakura said cheerfully, "please don't forget to send me pictures throughout the day. I'm gonna miss my little boy! Oh- and don't forget that he has an appointment with his pediatrician at 1!"

Gaara released a deep sigh once the door closed behind Sakura. There was no way this baby wasn't just as, if not more, tired than he was. He had to sleep at some point, right? Yet, he squirmed in Gaara's arms, cooing with eyes as wide as dinner plates. He made his way to the living room, placed Tatsuo on his activity mat in the center of the floor, then took a seat near Kankuro on the couch.

"Long night?" Kankuro asked, aimlessly flipping through the channels on the TV.

"I got a solid 2 hours in this time," Gaara muttered, watching as Tatsuo kicked his little feet and tried to grab at the toys hanging above him. He propped an elbow on the arm of the couch and leaned into his hand.

"Only about 18 more years of interrupted sleep left to go," Kankuro chuckled.

Asshole. Gaara rolled his eyes.

Kankuro paused on one of the news channels. On the screen was the location in which Matsuri's skull had been found.

"It's been 2 months since the remains of a young woman were found in this location," the reporter said, "police are still working on uncovering her identity at this time. An autopsy of the skull has revealed that she was in her early 20s and a gunshot wound is likely the cause of death. Police sketch artists have released this picture in hopes that someone will recognize and help identify the victim-"

"Turn it off," Gaara said. Kankuro flipped to a different channel.

"They still haven't figured out who she is yet," Kankuro said, "but that sketch artist's picture looks an awful lot like her."

"I don't even want to think about it right now."

"Hopefully she'll just become another Jane Doe and they'll never figure out who she is," Kankuro continued, "I mean, it's not like she had any family or many friends back in Suna. And she certainly didn't have anyone here."

Squeezing his eyes shut, Gaara pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. Kankuro continued to ramble about "what ifs" and "maybes." Gaara knew this wasn't something he should ignore, but he was so tired he couldn't even think straight. They should've just thrown her body in a barrel of acid like all the others, but they didn't have what they needed at that time. It was a spontaneous murder that they hadn't prepared for.

The sounds of Tatsuo beginning to fuss caught their attention. His face was turning bright red and he had a very strange, squished expression.

"Uh, I think there's something wrong with that baby," Kankuro pointed out. Before Gaara could get up, Tatsuo grunted loudly and released what could only be described as one of the most disgusting sounds they had ever heard. "Did- did that thing just…" The sound started back up again and Kankuro watched in terror as a brown substance seeped out from the diaper and all over the play mat. A horrific stench quickly filled the air. "Gross, what the fuck?!"

Gaara sighed once again, stood up, and left the room. Kankuro jumped to his feet and waved his arms around frantically.

"Um, hello?! Gaara!?" he called out. "Your baby just exploded. You gonna do anything about that?" Tatsuo giggled at Kankuro's animated behavior.

Gaara returned with a fresh diaper and a pack of wipes. "Did he just laugh?"

"Yeah? What about it? I laugh all the time," Kankuro folded his arms over his chest, "haha! See?" Tatsuo giggled again.

Gaara pulled his phone out to record a video for Sakura. "Do that again, it's the first time he's laughed and Sakura's not here to see it."

Kankuro's mouth hung open and he threw his arms up. "Are you fucking serious? Can't you clean him up first? This smell is gonna fucking kill me!"

Tatsuo giggled more wildly this time and kicked his feet.

"Thanks," Gaara said, sending the video to Sakura. He dropped to his knees to finally change his diaper.

"You might have to take him outside and hose him off," Kankuro cringed.

"Stop being so dramatic," Gaara deadpanned.

xxx

Gaara had hoped that Tatsuo would nap for a bit before his appointment with his pediatrician, but of course, he remained wide awake until the very moment he was strapped into his car seat. Gaara sat behind the wheel of the car and groaned, rubbing his tired eyes. Maybe he'd get to sleep at some point before the day was over.

At the doctor's office, Tatsuo was all smiles. The pediatrician was shocked when he responded to a tickle with a short giggle.

"It's very rare for a baby to giggle this early," she pointed out, "but he's been full of surprises, hasn't he?"

Despite having been born early, he was hitting all the proper milestones except in height and weight- which was expected, but he was on the right track. Gaara couldn't help but cringe when the doctor started talking to Tatsuo in a high-pitched voice. He responded to her by smiling and gurgling, so distracted by their "conversation" that he didn't even flinch when she poked him with a needle in his leg to deliver a vaccine. Gaara sighed in relief, thankful that he wouldn't have to deal with Tatsuo screaming his head off for the next half hour.

Maybe now they could head home and get some sleep.

"...Or not…" Gaara muttered, watching Tatsuo's eyelids get heavy upon being placed back in the car seat.

He was wide awake again once they returned home and was removed from the car seat. Gaara attempted to lay him down for a nap, but as he expected, Tatsuo was not having it. Gaara begrudgingly accepted that he would probably not be able to close his eyes any time soon. It was about time for him to eat, anyways, so Gaara brought him into the kitchen to make him a bottle.

"You look like shit," stated Kankuro, who was still lounging in the same spot on the couch from earlier. Gaara sat down and muttered something under his breath that Kankuro didn't quite catch- probably fuck you or eat shit.

"Don't you have work to go do?" Gaara asked him after a few silent minutes.

"Nah," he responded, "you can get a lot done when you don't have a baby in your arms all day."

Gaara furrowed his brow but chose not to feed into Kankuro's jabs. He watched as his son sucked down the bottle and vaguely listened to the TV in the background. All he could think about was how tired he was. So tired, it almost hurt. He tried to fight the urge to close his eyes, but eventually, they fluttered shut. His body started to give in shortly after and his grip on Tatsuo loosened, causing the baby to slide forward and-

"Whoa, wake up!" Kankuro's voice rang loudly in his ear and his eyes shot back open. Tatsuo began to fuss from being startled, and his bottle had fallen on the ground before he was satisfied with how much he ate. Kankuro had lunged forward just in time to grab the bottom half of Tatsuo before he could fall on the floor.

"Wha…?" Gaara blinked rapidly, unaware of what had just happened.

"You almost dropped him," Kankuro stood up, holding the crying baby against his chest and pathetically trying to soothe him. He bent forward to pick up the bottle.

"I uh…" Gaara rubbed his eyes, "I must've dozed off… I didn't mean to."

The fussing finally stopped once Kankuro stuck the bottle back in Tatsuo's mouth. Kankuro glanced over at the clock on the wall and sighed. "Temari will be home soon," he said, "go upstairs and get some sleep."

"But-"

"Go,"

"But you-"

This was the first time Kankuro had even held Tatsuo, or any baby ever. How would he know what to do? What if he refused to change him and he got a rash? What if he just left him on the floor for the rest of the day? What if he cried because he needed something and Kankuro just ignored him?

"Go," Kankuro repeated more firmly this time, "we'll be fine. I'm not gonna let you accidentally kill my nephew because you're exhausted."

Gaara reluctantly closed his mouth. No matter how inexperienced Kankuro was with babies, he was better off right now than Gaara was. He slowly made his way upstairs and into his bedroom. Kankuro sat back down on the couch and tried to find a comfortable way to hold Tatsuo.

"You better not shit your pants again you little monster," he said, looking down at the baby in his lap. Tatsuo had no idea what he was saying, but he stopped sucking on the bottle to smile and coo, reaching up to grab at Kankuro's face. As annoyed as he wanted to be that he chose to take over caring for the baby, he felt the corners of his mouth twitch as he fought off a smirk. He didn't like babies, but this one was pretty damn cute, so he'd make an exception.

Only moments after Gaara had gone to sleep, Tatsuo had fallen asleep without finishing his bottle. He was grateful that Gaara wasn't around to witness this- he'd surely lose his shit. Kankuro mindlessly flipped through the TV channels and sat with him propped up against his shoulder for the next hour.

"Well, here's a sight I didn't expect to see any time soon," Temari whispered, using her phone to snap a photo of the adorable pair. Kankuro scowled, unhappy that he had been caught looking rather comfortable while holding a baby. He hadn't even heard her open the front door.

"I didn't have a choice," he protested quietly, "Gaara was so tired he nearly dropped him. So I told him to go get some sleep."

"Careful," Temari sarcastically warned him, "it sounds like you like your nephew."

"I like him like this," Kankuro said, pointing to the sleeping baby with his free hand, "not when he's screaming and shitting." He awkwardly shifted Tatsuo around in his arms so he could stand up and hand him off to his sister. "It's your turn."

Temari gladly took him into her arms and held him up upright against her chest. He squirmed a little bit but remained asleep, buried his face into the crook of her neck, and grabbed a tiny fistful of her shirt. She sat down and leaned back onto the couch, gently patting Tatsuo's back.

"Deidara came by the shop today," she said.

"Oh? Why?"

"Gaara hasn't been answering any of his calls and texts," she sighed. "I know it's because he's been so focused on the baby lately, but I just told him that Gaara's been sick. They don't know about Tatsuo yet, but I'm sure they'll find out any day now. Especially if Gaara keeps avoiding them like this."

"Well, it's not like they'd hurt him or anything just for existing, right?"

"No… but it wouldn't be beneath them to use him against us if they ever found a reason to."

"We've never given them any reason to come after us like that, though."

"They literally cut your leg off…" Temari said, raising an eyebrow at him, "and that was over a misunderstanding. They didn't even wait for Gaara to explain himself."

"Right," Kankuro scratched the back of his head. He wasn't sure how he could possibly forget about that.

Temari gently ran her fingers through Tatsuo's soft, red hair. "I worry that a lot of things are going to change as he grows. There's no place for an innocent child in our lives. And even though Sakura acts like everything is normal, I know that what we do is always in the back of her mind. And even if the Akatsuki never hurts Tatsuo, they'll expect him to participate in the gang one day if we're still a part of their operation."

xxx

The three siblings did a good job of keeping their life of crime to themselves since the incident with Matsuri, but it was too late. Sakura had already witnessed how far both the Akatsuki and the Sabakus would go to protect their assets. Tatsuo was a nice distraction from all the horrible thoughts that plagued her mind, but since she had to return to work today, all she could think about was what might be going on while she wasn't there. Gaara had texted her about how the doctor's visit went, but that was the last she heard from him and she was growing more and more anxious by the minute.

It was time she finally had a serious conversation about disbanding from the Akatsuki. How they'd go about that, she didn't know. But there had to be something they could do. Sakura couldn't be there 24/7 to make sure her son was always safe. She trusted Gaara, but that wouldn't stop any of the nagging thoughts that were eating at her mind when she couldn't physically see her child alive and well.

Sakura swore she had never moved faster in her life once her shift was over. She tried multiple times to call Gaara before she got to the parking lot but received no answer. It was 8 PM and Tatsuo should've been sleeping by now. Maybe Gaara had fallen asleep, too. He did look exhausted this morning.

As she approached her car, she noticed a familiar face leaning up against it.

"...Naruto?"

"Hey, Sakura," he forced an awkward smile. He gave her a wave and kept the other hand behind his back like he was holding something.

"What… what are you doing here?" she asked. It had been 8 months since the two of them had even talked to each other.

"I uh… heard you were returning to work today," he said, a trace of nervousness in his voice. "Ino told me."

"You guys gossip about me?" Sakura frowned and crossed her arms over her chest.

"No- not at all," he objected, "I assumed you had your baby by now and I just wanted to congratulate you in person… I came by your apartment and found out that you moved. So I asked Ino when you'd be back to work."

"Pretty sure that's gotta be illegal," Sakura said in a flat tone.

"Heh…well," Naruto itched the side of his face, "yeah, I suppose it probably was. But I figured it was less crazy than showing up at your new place unannounced."

This was weird. She gave him an unamused stare, waiting for him to finish talking so she could get in her car and leave.

"She said you had a little boy," he continued, "Tatsuo… that's a good name."

"Mmhmm," she hummed, her expression only becoming more unamused.

"As I said, I just wanted to say congratulations. And to give you this. For Tatsuo." He finally pulled his hand out from behind his back and revealed a soft little fox plushie. Sakura hesitated before reaching out to accept it. "Anyway… I won't keep you any longer. I'm sure you've gotta get home to your son. I hope I get to meet him one day."

He gave her a more genuine smile this time, but there was a hint of sadness behind his eyes. She watched as he got in his car and drove off. The gift didn't make the interaction any less weird, but it stirred up some confusing emotions that she quickly suppressed. Even after months of zero communication, Naruto still went out of his way to get a gift for her son.

With her mind focused on Tatsuo again, she quickly got in her car and drove home as fast as she could without breaking the speed limit.

Sakura entered the house as quietly as she could. The TV was still on and Kankuro was passed out on the couch where he had spent basically the entire day. Upon reaching the top of the stairs, she spotted Temari exiting Tatsuo's bedroom.

"Oh hey," she quietly greeted Sakura, "he just fell asleep a few minutes ago. Sorry, it's later than you'd like, I kind of lost track of time."

"That's okay. Where's Gaara?"

"He passed out before I got home," Temari said, "he was so exhausted that Kankuro had to watch the baby- but don't worry, it was only for an hour. Check this out." Temari took her phone out of her pocket to show Sakura the candid photo she captured of Tatsuo and Kankuro earlier.

Sakura had to cover her mouth to muffle the audible gasp she couldn't resist. "I can't believe I missed Kankuro holding him for the first time!" she exclaimed as quietly as she could.

"I knew I had to take this photo or nobody would have believed me," Temari snickered. "Anyway, I'm gonna head to sleep. Tatsuo really wore me out. You should, too. I'm sure you've had a long first day back."

"Right," Sakura agreed.

Before doing so, she slipped into Tatsuo's room to check on him. She knew he was fine, but to see his sweet, sleeping face with her own eyes put her mind at ease. She placed the fox plushie next to the baby cactus on the dresser and then crept over to the crib. Sakura swore it felt as if the weight of the world had been lifted from her shoulders after seeing that everything was fine.

She silently tiptoed out of his room and down the hallway towards her own. Sakura leaned against the door frame and smiled. Gaara was sprawled out on top of the sheets, still wearing his clothes from earlier and snoring loudly. He never snored, so it was clear just how exhausted he was.

That serious conversation would have to wait until tomorrow, she supposed.