REMEMBER TO CHOOSE ME

Epilogue

As soon as the ardor of the kiss of avowal ended, the reunited couple simply stood there at the garden, savoring the feel of being in each other's arms again.

"What would you like for dinner?" Sakura asked softly.

"What do you feel like eating?" Itachi rallied back.

Sakura couldn't help the small laugh the bubbled out of her. Itachi hadn't changed. He always allowed her to choose the menu.

Pulling him by the hand, Sakura led him to the kitchen while answering, "I think I have some ebi left. I haven't gone to the market yet I'm afraid."

Just before they entered the kitchen, he stopped her and suggested, "Why don't you freshen up and I cook dinner?"

"Call me sappy but I don't want to leave you yet. It still sort of feels like a dream. If it is, I don't want to wake up."

Taking her back into his arms, he reassured her, "It is not a dream, my love, I assure you."

In the end, they both ended up cooking together. After a bath and a round of making love, they had decided to soak in the hot tub together. As she sat in between Itachi's legs and his arms around her keeping her close, Sakura finally asked, "How'd you know where to find me?" She had to bite back a moan as she felt his lips brushing softly at the back of her neck.

"Sasuke," He answered.

"Sasuke?" Sakura said in a confused voice. How'd he know? I was very careful not to tell him anything when I would call him to tell him I'm fine.

"As much as I do not like to talk about another man while we are like this, it seemed he came upon the information and told me. I will forever be grateful towards him for giving me a way back to you."

Sakura couldn't help it as she turned her body partially as she wrapped her arms around Itachi's waist and buried her face where his shoulder and neck met. "I'm sorry for disappearing the way I did. I just couldn't…"

His arms around her tightened, letting her know that he understood. "I would have spared you from all that if I had known. She took us all by surprise."

"I wouldn't fault her for not wanting to let you go. You are a very special man."

"Special enough to be cheated upon,"

Itachi could feel her freeze in his arms as she quickly looked up at him. "What?"

He tucked a stay lock of hair behind her ear and answered, "Mika is pregnant. It is not my child. I have told you why and DNA has proven this as well."

"Oh, Itachi,"

"It does not matter. I do not care. She can choose what she wants in life but I choose us." Itachi answered as he continued to touch her, which heated up by the second.

XxXxXx

Before heading back home to Konoha, Sakura and Itachi had decided to get married. They went to the City Hall and signed the marriage contract with two of Sakura's colleagues acting as witnesses.

They exchanged rings they had bought earlier that day. Sakura's ring read, "Uchiha Sakura, I choose you. –Itachi", while his read, "Uchiha Itachi, I choose you. – Sakura."

As they were on their way, the newlyweds talked about plans while they took turns driving. Sakura was surprised when Itachi revealed that he had moved back into the condo.

The most difficult part of their conversation was talking about the nursery. Both parents felt the huge loss of their baby. They had decided that they would bury him properly in the family plot. He deserved to be remembered.

Sakura was glad that Itachi had inadvertently admitted to his family that he had fathered a son. He promised her that he would be with her when she told her parents too.

Both of them wanted children. They both admitted that given their circumstances, they were open to other ways of having kids but only after they had laid their son to rest. He deserved that. They all did.

The next two months was a flurry of change. Both the Uchiha and the Haruno clans were ecstatic that Itachi and Sakura had finally married but were equally torn about the news of the lost child.

Itachi had a beautiful granite headstone made which read, "Uchiha Ken, the precious little angel who was taken too soon but will always be remember and loved."

Even if they didn't have a body to bury, Sakura and Itachi had chosen a set of clothes that he would have worn on the day of his birth and a plush toy. They were burned and the ashes were placed in a small urn that was then buried in the family plot.

After things settled down, both sets of parents presented the couple a honeymoon package. It was a tour of Europe that would take a month. They were more than willing to pay for the two to have a well deserved vacation after everything that they had been through.

A week before the end of the trip, Sakura started to feel sick in Vienna. Itachi was worried that she might have eaten or drank something bad. He had called down and asked the hotel doctor to do a quick check on her with much arguing from Sakura, insisting that she was fine.

Itachi had let the doctor in. The middle-aged man asked Sakura questions to which her answers seemed to satisfy him.

"When was your last monthly?" The doctor then asked.

The question stilled both Sakura and Itachi. They looked at each other briefly before Sakura turned back to the good doctor and answered, "That's not possible. I can't be pregnant."

The older medical professional simply smiled and answered, "Anything is possible, my dear. There is a saying my mother always said, 'think positive and positive things will happen'. Now, my dear, when was the last time you had your monthly?"

Sakura quickly calculated when she had last had her period. She froze when she realized that it had almost been two months back. "Almost two months ago…but how…" Her eyes reached Itachi's again, who was equally shocked and confused.

"You are a doctor, my dear, and you two are married."

"No. What she means, doctor, is that I am incapable of having children." Itachi answered. "After an accident, my doctors told me that that the chances of me fathering children is next to impossible."

The good doctor rummaged through his bag and produced a over-the-counter pregnancy test kit and handed it to Sakura.

"The body is a fascinating thing. It has the power to heal itself and little miracles happen all the time."

As Sakura got up from the bed, the doctor got up too. He said, "I believe congratulations is in order. I will take my leave now. Have a good day, you two."

When the door to their suite closed, Sakura walked towards her husband. "Itachi, I'm scared."

He immediately enveloped her in his arms. He was scared too. He didn't want to allow himself to hope only for it to be taken away again. But he knew he had to be strong for his wife and the possible life they had created together. "I am right here, sweetheart. We will face it together."

The 3-minute wait was the longest three minutes in both of their lives. When the test turned back positive, Sakura openly wept as she turned to her husband. Itachi embraced her to him in such enthusiasm that he listed her off her feet.

That afternoon to the wee hours of the night, they celebrated their little miracle in their hotel room, sharing the love they have for each other and their growing family.

The miracle didn't stop there. The moment they got back to Japan and had a check-up, the expecting parents found out that they were expecting two. It was something that everybody celebrated about. And just as with her first pregnancy, Sakura and Itachi decided not to know the gender of their babies, wanting to be surprised.

Seven months later, their little miracles were born. Uchiha Seiji and Uchiha Seiko.

Itachi had been by his wife's bedside throughout the birth. He would never forget the moment that he heard the first cry of his son and soon after that of his daughter.

The moment the nurse brought him his children, letting them into his arms, was also something that he never thought would happen.

Turning to his wife, Itachi was amazed at how beautiful his wife was. Her smile full of love and exhaustion was something he would always cherish. Passing both children to her, Itachi then settled beside her.

Watching Sakura lay a kiss on each of the babies, he felt as if his heart could burst with so much love.

"Why don't you go and introduce the little ones to their family? I'm sure I will be transferred back to my room in a few minutes." Sakura suggested.

Itachi kissed her and said, "I love you, Sakura. We will be back soon."

Sakura beamed up at him and replied, "I love you too, Itachi."

Heading towards the waiting room, Itachi saw his brother parents, Sakura's parents, and their assortment of friends stand up when they saw him. "I would like you all to meet our children, Seiji and Seiko."

Life was perfect.

~おわり～

I just wanted to get out the last scenes running through my head. Sorry hehe I'm a sucker for happy endings. Thanks for reading I hope that you guys drop a review.

Michiko