"Just Carrying it For a Friend" Chapter 3

It had been a couple of weeks since Sasuke and Sakura started having breakfast with each other after their shifts. Even when they weren't working, one would always end up asking the other if they had any plans. Sakura was now 20 weeks pregnant, and she found it harder to be around Sasuke with out coming out about the baby. Especially with the growing amount of time that they were spending around each other.

It was a night that they were off, and Sasuke had invited her to go out for dinner and a movie. Ino had offered to help her find the right outfit for the occasion, since it was getting more serious between the two.

"Why don't you just wear one of the dresses that I bought you the other day?" Ino huffed. She was sitting in the middle of Sakura's bed while she was throwing things out of her closet in frustration because they weren't fitting anymore, or that they showed her tiny bump.

"I feel like I'm wearing bed sheets when I wear those." Sakura said, peeking out the door. "I don't want to think of the possibility of being as big as a mattress at some point."

Ino rolled her eyes at how ridiculous Sakura sounded. Sometimes she could be a pain in her ass.

"What about this?" Sakura came out of her closet in one of her knee-length dresses. It was definitely not as loose as it once was, but Ino could barely tell that there was anything there. The black and velvety material really helped out by giving her an illusion of a flat abdomen area. Ino got up and walked past Sakura, knowing exactly what would reassure her stomach staying hidden.

"Aha!" Ino smirked, pulling out a white knitted shawl. She placed it over Sakura very carefully and stepped back. "This looks good. Showing just enough leg and not a whole lotta bump. I like it, and I'm sure Sasuke will too."

Sakura turned around and looked at herself in her full-length mirror. Her hair was styled in a slightly messy fashion, and her make up looked great. She was just so nervous about tonight, she suddenly felt like she couldn't breathe.

"What's wrong?" Ino gave her a concerned look when she noticed the tears starting to form in Sakura's eyes.

"It's just... What if he's angry because I didn't tell him sooner?"

Ino put her hands on her hips. "Sakura, I've been trying to get you to say something to him since you first started hanging out. But... I wouldn't say that I told you so if something did happen." She hugged Sakura from behind and rested her head on her shoulder. "If he does get angry, then I say forget the guy. If he doesn't understand what it means to be able to do something like this for a person that is practically family, then he isn't worth your time." She turned Sakura to face her and gave her a huge grin. "Plus, he'd have to be blind to not want to stick around. You're hot and intelligent, doctor Haruno." She giggled and poked Sakura in the middle of her forehead. "He's the one that would be losing out. Not you."

Sakura hugged Ino tight. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Thank you, Ino."

There was a knock on the door, signalling that Sasuke had come right at the time he promised he would. Sakura took a deep breath and got her things.

"Good luck." Ino gave her one last look over, then practically pushed her out the door.

"Er-I-Uh... Hey." Sakura gave her date an embarrassed smile when she almost tripped and had to find her words again.

"You look nice." Sasuke offered his arm for her to balance herself on.

"Thank you." She blushed. "You look nice, too."

He really had cleaned up. Usually when they went out during the day, he would wear a t-shirt, jeans, and his work boots. Tonight, he actually had on a dark blue button up shirt that was untucked and partially opened at the top with a pair of black slacks and nicer shoes than what his work boots were.

When they approached his car, Sasuke opened the door for her.

"Oh, this is new." Sakura tried to tease. "So there is a gentlemanly bone in your body after all."

"But of course." Sasuke mocked the teasing tone that Sakura had. "What kind of date would this be if I didn't try to do the romantic thing?"

Sakura felt her face heat up again from his words. He really did think of this as a date. An actual real date.

He shut her door and got in on his side when he noticed the dreamy look she had on her face as she stared at her lap. It only made him wonder what was going on in that head of hers. Is this what keeps drawing me to her?

His phone beeped, reminding him what time he had made reservations for, which brought him back to the more important things he had planned for their night.

Sasuke wasn't the kind of guy that would press for anything sexual. He believed in waiting as long as he and his partner could withstand waiting... For the most part at least. He shuddered at the thought of his first and only one night stand. It was a baaaad experience that still seemed to haunt him, even though it happened nearly ten years ago.

With Sakura, he found himself wanting to be serious. For the first time since high school, he really wanted to take his time. Hell, he was almost thirty. What was wrong with keeping marriage in the picture? His mother always did annoy him with nagging about settling down like Itachi had. Once there were grandchildren in the picture, she even started nagging about how she would never live to see Sasuke's children.

He smirked to himself and shook his head. Ha. Kids? I haven't even asked her to be my girlfriend yet, and I'm already wandering into that. Keep it together, Sasuke.

Meanwhile, Sakura had something different going on in her head as he drove. She kept glancing to him, and saw how happy he looked. She felt guilty, almost like she had been lying to him the whole time that they had been hanging out. Ino constantly told her that she needed to put it out there sooner rather than later, but sadly... Later was tonight.

She was lucky that pregnancy had been kind enough to not let her be so big like many women she saw. She knew that all bodies were different, and she was scared that hers would turn on her. The way she looked tonight, it looked like she had just put on a few inches thanks to the garment that Ino had found. If Sasuke had noticed her weight gain, he would probably tease her about the amount of food that she always got from Kushina's.

The car slowed to a stop in front of a fancy restaurant, and a valet opened Sakura's door for her. She hadn't even noticed that they had gone into the actual city of Kanoha. Sasuke must have been as nervous as she was, because they kept glancing at each other the whole way, then getting lost in their own private thoughts again.

Sasuke handed his keys over to the valet, then offered his arm to Sakura. She shyly looped her arm with his, feeling her cheeks heat up when he looked at her with a warm gaze.

Walking in, Sakura hardly noticed the fancy decor. All she saw were the people in elegant dresses and suits, and suddenly she felt exposed. Sasuke gently pulled her towards the table that their waiter had shown them to.

"Don't worry, okay. You look great. You really do." He encouraged her to sit down, and once she finally gave in, he went to his seat across from her.

"What would you like to drink tonight?" Their waiter asked, looking down his nose at the couple. Sakura shrank down in her seat, feeling like he was silently judging her.

Sasuke, on the other hand, was obviously used to dining in places like this. He was looking through the drink menu, deep in thought.

"What are the specials tonight? I'd like to choose a good wine to pair with my main course."

Sakura swallowed hard. He was going to just get a glass of wine, right? It wasn't like he was going to get a bottle for them to share or anything... Right?

"The lamb sounds nice. Sakura, what do you think?"

The waiter and Sasuke were both staring at the young woman, awaiting her answer.

"Um. Yeah. Lamb is fine with me." She tried to at least pretend she was listening to what had been said.

"Then... We'd like a bottle of the Campo de Borja."

"I'll bring that for you ri-"

"I'll just take water for me, please." Sakura quickly added before the waiter left.

He rolled his eyes. "Of course, miss."

When the waiter left, Sasuke was looking at Sakura really confused.

"What was that about?

"I have a thing tomorrow... I just don't want to wake up hung over is all." She quickly laughed it off.

"Doctor Haruno, are you telling me that you really are that much of a light weight?" He smirked at her.

"No... It's not that." Sakura looked uncertainly at her lap.

Sasuke's look of amusement faded into curiosity when she didn't reply with a snappy comeback. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah." She quickly answered, then took a deep breath. "Yes, I'm fine."

"Did I really swoon you so much that you have lost the ability to sass properly?" He chuckled. When Sakura didn't try to joke along with him, that was when he really knew something was up.

"Here you are, sir." The waiter returned with a couple of salad plates and their drinks, breaking the awkward silence. He poured Sasuke's wine, and after asking if they had any other requests, left with a bow to go and attend to other tables.

"Okay, something is obviously up." Sasuke finally spoke after he observed Sakura picking at the tomatoes in her salad. "You're not eating. Are you feeling well?"

Sakura took a deep breath and put her fork down. "I guess it is just nerves. I've never really been the dating type before." She lied over what was really going on in her head. If she could get him to somehow start talking about his future and his opinion on the limits of family and friendships, maybe she'd be able to slip in an innocent question.

Then hit him with the truth like a huge stab in the chest.

"Well... Let's not treat this like a date. It's just a fancier place to hang out compared to normal." Sasuke leaned back in his chair. "How about 20 questions?"

Perfect! Sakura thought, immediately seeing a chance. "Okay, you first."

"What is one thing that you love about yourself?"

Sakura smiled and shook her head. He always started with that question. "Like I've said before, Uchiha. There's too much to love about myself than to just choose one trait."

"And like I've said, Haruno," He smirked in reply, "I ask that first because I find the quality of self-confidence attractive."

Sakura tucked her hair behind her ear and tried to pretend that she didn't notice the heat that came from her face. "Fine, fine." She waved her hand. "What do you like most about your life?"

Sasuke swallowed the bite of salad he had in his mouth before answering. "Hmm..." He looked like he really thought about his answer. "I'd have to say being an adult. Then again, that's also one of the shitty aspects of my life. For sure, I like the freedom I have, but I really do sometimes miss being a kid and getting into trouble all the time."

"But officer, isn't it your job to uphold the law?" Sakura teased as she put her glass down after taking a sip from it.

"Believe it or not, when I was in high school, I was a totally different person than the refined gentleman you see sitting before you today." He chuckled. "I was more like the dobe is, but I didn't pick fights because I was an idiot like he is."

"Then why did you pick fights?"

Sasuke shrugged. "You took psychology, didn't you? I guess it was a mixture of teenage angst and having the need of being the alpha male on campus like my brother was when he was in high school."

Sakura looked at him curiously. "Did you take psychology?"

"I have a life outside of the PD and hanging out with you." He chuckled. "I'm still in college. I want to do more than being just a simple officer, you know."

"So... What do you want to do?" Sakura's interest was completely captivated by this man. She had forgotten her nerves and problems she was facing, and was now genuinely curious about his dreams. As he talked, she ate her salad as if it were popcorn in a movie theater and he was the feature presentation.

"Well, since my older brother is most likely going to be chief after my dad retires, I decided once I joined the academy that I really didn't want to work for my brother my entire career." He kept his dark eyes locked with hers as he spoke, trying to keep his focus on articulating the right words to express himself. "I always found an interest in why people did the things that they did. Even the scientific nature of it all."

"Don't tell me that you plan on becoming a medical examiner." Sakura wrinkled her nose, imagining Sasuke coming home after a long day of dealing with bodies and bodily fluid. Sure, it was not really that different from her job, but the fact that her patients had a freaking heartbeat mattered way more to her. Even in medical school, she had issues trying to deal with the cadavers like she had to when practicing simple procedures.

"No." Sasuke pushed his plate toward Sakura, having finished the tomatoes that he could find, and noticed that she had devoured her own. "I want to be a forensic analyst of sorts. I want to profile people and use these eyes to see things that can't be seen on the mere surface of a human facade."

"Do you truly believe that you can figure out the lengths that a human will go for a desire to do something to prevent people from being hurt or figuring out why they committed certain crimes?"

"I believe that there's still a lot of things to be learned about the mind, and motive is one that is always tested over and over again." Sasuke took a sip of his wine. "Do you ever come across patients that don't vaccinate their children?"

"All the time, lately. Why?" The sudden change in subject caught the young doctor off guard.

"What do you think the motive behind their decisions could be?" He leaned forward, interested to hear her opinion.

"Well, there's a lot of parents that believe that the natural defense of a body is weakened when an infant recieves shots. Also, there are other parents that are afraid of their children dying because of the side effects from the vaccines."

"But is it really worth it?" Sasuke asked. "They're still risking their child's life either way."

"I guess if you had two mothers that both had newborns, there is probability that they think differently because of what they have learned over their years. One could think that it's just sensible to get her baby vaccinated because it's been so successful in keeping a child healthy for so long. The other mother could have been through something traumatic, or knows of something that happened to another person, and push away anyone trying to stick a needle in her baby."

Sasuke nodded. "I see."

Their conversation was interrupted when their waiter brought the couple their food. He sat the plates in front of them, then bowed. "Enjoy."

The two decided to put their game of questions on hold until they left the restaurant.

Once Sasuke paid the bill, he and Sakura went outside into the crisp air.

They decided to walk around for a while before he took Sakura home, so he got the key from the vallet on their way out.

"So, should we continue on with our game?" Sakura innocently asked as they walked. "I believe it was your turn."

"Hm... Who has had the most influence on you in your life?"

Sakura smiled to herself. "Ino. She's my best friend that you've met a few times."

"Ah. Sai's wife." Sasuke nodded. "And why her?"

"She's the one that brought me out of my shell when I was little. All of these girls used to pick on me because of my huge forehead, then she came along and showed me how to own my looks and what it meant to love myself."

"I see."

Sakura took a deep breath and carefully thought of her question to ask him. "So... Do you believe in friends becoming the equivilent to family?"

"If this is your way of putting me in the friendzone, no." Sasuke chuckled.

Sakura lightly hit his shoulder. "I'm serious."

"Fine. Fine." He rolled his eyes. "Though I really hate admitting it out loud, I honestly see the dobe more of a brother than my actual brother. It might be because Itachi is so much older, but I'd do anything for him the same way I would for my family."

"It's just like me and Ino." Sakura nodded. "I'd do anything for her."

Sakura's hand casually brushed against Sasuke's as they approached a park. Since it was the weekend, there were still a few young kids and their parents out playing under the street lamps.

"What is your passion in life?" He gently caught her hand when he felt it brush against his again.

"Seeing others live happily." She lightly squeezed his hand. It was quiet for a few minutes, aside from the sounds of the children playing. The couple couldn't help but smile at the innocence they saw when they observed them running around.

"What is your opinion on surrogacy?"

Sasuke looked down at her expressionless face, caught off guard by this weird question. She never moved her head to lock eyes with him.

"Well... That's..." He rubbed the back of his head, trying to search for the words. "I think it's a good thing for someone to do. They allow people to have kids that can't. Why do you ask?"

Sakura took a deep breath and felt her throat tighten when she opened her mouth to answer. "Please don't be angry."

"Angry? Angry over what?"

Sakura let go of his hand and turned to face him fully.

"I have been keeping something from you, and I need to come clean before we decide to get serious."

"You're not sick, are you?" Sasuke's face turned from confusion to worry.

"No, it's nothing like that."

"Okay, then what is it?"

"I said that I'd do anything for Ino, and I mean it by anything." Sakura looked away from Sasuke's intense eyes. "I'm pregnant with her and Sai's baby."

"Oh." Sasuke's face went blank, and he just stood there frozen. "How... long?"

"Twenty weeks." She hesitantly answered.

Sasuke sat down on the bench that was behind him and ran his fingers through his hair, gathering his thoughts so he could process what she was saying.

"So... That's why you wouldn't drink any of the times you were with me..."

"And why I ran away when I saw Naruto's eggs." She added. "If you're angry, I completely understand."

"I'm not angry that you're doing this." Sasuke answered, never looking up to her. "I'm upset over the fact that you never told me until now."

"I really am sorry." She looked down, tears threatening to form.

Sasuke didn't say anything else for a while, which made Sakura want to be sick.

"I... I think I'm going to call Ino to pick me up." She turned to walk away, but felt a hand grab her wrist.

"I'm not letting you go off by yourself while it's dark. I'll take you home."

"No, you obviously need time to think." Sakura still refused to look up at him. "I'll be okay. Thank you for buying me dinner, Sasuke. I did have a good time tonight."

She gently slipped out of his grip and walked away.

What are you doing, you idiot? You can't let her leave.

Sasuke's body wouldn't let him move, though. All he was able to do was watch as she walked away.