Yup, here the second update for the day! Hope you enjoy this! Besides this is where the REAL drama starts!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto...

Chapter 14 – Talking things over

"Sakura-chan," Mizuki Haruno gleefully called, "Why didn't you tell me that you were pregnant with an Uchiha?"

It was the next day and Sakura and Naruto had entered Tsunade's house, only to find that Mizuki Haruno and Sasuke Uchiha were seated in the lounge.

"What do you mean?" Sakura mumbled, Naruto her support. "I don't understand why it would make a difference whose child I was pregnant with." 'Of course it would make a difference. Sasuke's father owns Uchiha and CO, one of the largest money-making ventures on the planet,' her mind piped in.

"If you had explained your circumstances Sakura-chan, we could have worked things out. I wouldn't have had to send you all the way to Konoha," the pinkette woman said, irritatingly smiling. "Sasuke kindly admitted that you were both heavily intoxicated and that he may have taken advantage of your current state."

'Why would Sasuke actually admit to that?' Sakura questioned, gazing upon the black haired Uchiha. "Sasuke?"

"I was worried when you disappeared Sakura," he stated, voice deep and stoic. "I went to your mother asking where you were and when she realized that it was me you slept with, she wanted to come and ask your forgiveness."

"And we came up with a proposal dear," Mizuki said, "Would you like to tell her Sasuke-kun?"

"Hn," he responded. "Basically we came to an agreement."

"An agreement that benefits both parties," Mizuki piped in. "Especially benefiting you and your Uchiha baby."

"We've agreed that you and Sasuke will be married."

"W…hat?" Sakura stammered, knees buckling. "Married?" 'I can't get married to him, that's just impossible. This isn't happening. Naruto… Naruto help me because I can't help myself here, please help me,' she thought.

'This isn't possible. My mom and Sasuke aren't here at the moment, that's right. This is merely a dream,' she thought, gaze downward. 'And when I wake up, I'll be in bed, happy and content. Yes, none of this would have just happened. Maybe, if I'm lucky I'll be in Naruto's arms, sleeping peacefully,' she sighed, slowly submitting to the darkness.

----

Tsunade sighed, deeply. 'Damn all this work, damn the hospital and damn people not doing their work properly.'

'Why do they have to leave it all for me to do, they should know I hate doing this. Even Shizune gave up trying an hour ago, so why the hell am I still sitting here?' she questioned. 'Why did I even let Shizune go? Oh yeah, she has Genma to go home to.'

'Why did I have to have a knack for medical work? I could've been a normal person instead of a surgeon. I would have gambled for a living, taking loans when needed and paying them off later. Yeah that would be the perfect life for me; a freeloading gambler.'

'Then I wouldn't have to work like hell, Shizune would have a nicer boss, I wouldn't have so much trouble sleeping at night, and best of all, I wouldn't have to deal with life and what crap it throws at us.'

'Yeah, that would be me. Carefree-Tsunade Senju, what a perfect life. I could move from city to city, gambling and running from people I owe money to. I've got enough brain cells to do that. Don't I? So then why the hell am I still sitting here?'

'Because you want to help people, you want to save people. That's why you put up with all the crap in your life. Maybe that's why I've never ran away, maybe because I know how to save a life. Maybe because to see the joy on someone's face after you tell them that their beloved is alive, is pure bliss. Maybe because I love knowing that people won't die because of me. Maybe because I know that I save lives.'

'Also, if I ran, I would have never gotten the chance to look after Sakura. Yes, I would've never seen her. That's a good enough reason not to run right? Sakura is the only family I care about at the moment.'

'Eh, I'm thinking way too much when I'm supposed to be doing paperwork. Other people's paperwork to be exact,' she sighed, wearily, leaning into her leather-bound chair. 'I need a vacation.'

'I really, really, rea-

"Tsunade-hime?"

'That voice, could it be?' she gazed skyward. 'It is.' "Jiraiya?"

"The one and only," the perverted man replied, stepping into the office. "How've you been Tsunade-hime?"

"I've been," she paused, "Good I guess. You?"

"Never better, always love coming to visit," he began. "Especially like seeing Naruto when I come and visit."

"So you can pervert his mind?" she snarled. 'Kushina nearly killed you the last time you visited. She couldn't have been too happy when you appeared on the doorstep.'

"No, of course not, if he wishes to follow in my footsteps he can. Otherwise, I won't push him," he replied, calmly. "I see Minato has taught him well otherwise."

"Hah, you're still mad that you couldn't pervert Minato," she teased. "Although we both thought he would die a virgin until her met Kushina-kun."

"I remember the late night conversations we had over him, quite funny actually," Jiraiya reminisced. "We would laugh and joke, and who knows what else," he said, grinning. 'There was a time when we were young and can I say… somewhat 'in love'?'

"What happened to those days?" Tsunade questioned, softly, gaze downward. 'I can't even remember what happened between us. It's such a blur until now, life goes way too quickly.'

"We moved on I guess, realized that it wouldn't work," he replied. "You were a striving medic and I was an aspiring novelist. Our worlds couldn't mix with one another," he continued. "That's all."

"And now?"

"Now, I guess that there's not really a problem. We've both established ourselves," he responded. "But are we ready for such a thing; are you even over Dan and Nawaki? Over them enough to let me in?"

"I still don't have the answer to that question, despite the fact that you ask me every single year," she softly whispered. "I'd like to think that I am though, but I just can't bring myself to be over him."

"Well then, you know where to find me," Jiraiya said, exiting the office. "I'll be waiting Tsunade-hime, always waiting."

She nodded, watching him leave. 'And I'll be deciding, hoping to let you in.'

---

'My head hurts,' Sakura thought, cocking an emerald eye open. 'I'm in my room?' she frowned. 'So it was all just a dream. My mom and Sasuke weren't really here, were they? I most probably just fell asleep when Naruto and I came home from our date together. Yes, that's it, I just fell asleep and he's downstairs, waiting for him.'

"You're finally awake."

'That voice,' she turned. 'It can't be.' "Sasuke-kun, is that you?"

"Hn," he confirmed, settling upon the edge of her bed. "I just want to talk to you; you passed out before I could though." 'He just wants to talk?' Sakura repeated, frowning.

"You don't have to accept the offer," he stated. "It wasn't something I was too keen on anyway. It was a thing decided merely by our parents."

"I see," she whispered. "You aren't angry at me, are you?"

"Why would I be angry?" he questioned, eyebrow raised. 'Is there a reason for me to be angry at her?' he queried.

"You didn't know," she softly stated. "You didn't know that I was pregnant, pregnant with your baby. I had the chance to tell you, but I was scared, scared you'd reject me. I was scared that you'd leave me, or tell me to get an abortion."

"Sakura," he began, tenderly caressing her hand. "I wouldn't, I thought you would've known that. Hell I might seem like a cold-hearted asshole but I wouldn't have rejected you because it was my fault as well, not only yours. I was also involved in that night we had together."

"Still," she countered. "You had the right to know. You had the right to know I was carrying your baby. I shouldn't have kept it to myself. There was a week before I left and I could've told you then, but I didn't."

"Stop blaming yourself, you had good enough reason not to tell me," he said. "If I were in your position I think I would've done the same as you."

"But I was a coward, I didn't want to face the reality of it all," she mumbled. "How could you have wanted a woman like that to carry your child?"

"To be honest," he began. "I think I would have been angry at first. I would have wanted you to have an abortion because neither of us would be ready for this. Then it would have slowly grown on me, I would've have wanted to have this baby with you."

"No joke?" she questioned. 'Is he really being honest with me? Is this the real Sasuke-kun?'

"No joke," he replied. "Believe it or not, I do care for you Sakura. I care about you a lot," he mumbled. "We were together for two years, we were so close. You were one of the only girls that saw me for me, not because of my status and money. I liked that about you."

"I'll admit," she confessed. "I was a fan girl in the beginning but slowly we got to know one another better, we got to learn that what we first thought wasn't actually true."

"Definitely," Sasuke agreed. "I did miss you these three months you we're gone."

"I…I…" she stammered. "Missed you too, I tried to block you out, forget about you because I thought I'd never see you again but that was foolish of me." She finished. "Now seeing you, I feel what I felt for you three months ago."

"I tried to block you out as well, believing that you ran from me, but now, seeing you, makes me think I was an idiot for using that logic. You wouldn't have ran from me without good reason."

"I wouldn't have," she said softly. "I wanted to say goodbye, but it was just too hard."

He smiled, gently. "How's our baby doing though?"

"Baby-chan is doing fine," she whispered. "I'm going into my second trimester, meaning I'm about to get very, very fat," she teased. "I'm not sure that's something you want to see."

"Actually," he replied. "That wouldn't be all that bad."

"Hey!" she exclaimed. "Are you insinuating that you would prefer me fat?"

"Not in that sense," he responded. "I mean, it'll be nice to see a girl with meat on her bones. Not like all the skeletons that have been hounding me since you left."

"Really? Is it that bad?"

"Worse, I've been followed non-stop," he shivered. "I was scared they would follow me here."

"You paid them no mind? You didn't even go out once while I was away?" she asked, 'I feel so bad, he didn't even look at another girl yet I went off and made-out with Naruto.'

"I tried, but my mind kept drifting to you. I knew you wouldn't betray me like that, so why should I betray you?"

"Although," she stated. "That boy, Naruto, you saw earlier," he nodded. "He and I are kinda together in that sense."

"Oh."

"I mean, I have good reason," Sakura argued. "I didn't think I would ever go back to Suna. So I tried to move on, to get my life back on track. I thought you would've done the same. But hearing how you couldn't stop thinking about me, I feel bad."

"You have no reason to," he stated. "I wouldn't if I were you."

She squeezed his hand, "Thanks."

He stood, "Come outside with me, it's a beautiful night."

She nodded, pushing herself from bed. 'This feeling, I can't be regaining my feelings, my love for Sasuke-kun back can I?' she questioned, following the obsidian eyed Uchiha.

'Wow, it's actually quite a beautiful night,' she thought, gingerly leaning against the balcony's railings. "It's beautiful out tonight, isn't it Sasuke-kun?"

"Not quite as beautiful as you though," he whispered in response, hesitantly, tenderly, wrapping his arms around her waist, head on her shoulder. "I really missed this you know."

'What is he doing? What if Naruto sees us? What if someone else sees us? This is happening too fast. I can't just forget about Naruto the moment Sasuke-kun returns. What about all those sensations he gave me, that kiss we shared, the moments we've had? It can't all be because I wanted comfort.'

"Sasuke-kun, this is… this is…" she whispered, "Going slightly too fast. We've only just seen each other after three months."

"I won't lie to you Sakura," Sasuke said gently. "I think that I'm in love with you. I couldn't stand those three months without you, it was painful. So this is why, why I want you back. I want you to accept the proposal."

'Love, he didn't just say love. My ears are broken. This isn't Sasuke-kun; he would never show his feelings like this. He doesn't have a soft side,' she thought. 'Or maybe he just doesn't show his soft side to just anyone.'

"I want to a family Sakura," he stated. "I want us to be together."

'No, this can't be. He's lying, this isn't right. What about Naruto? I have deep feelings for Naruto don't I? I can't just drop them for Sasuke-kun can I?' "Sasuke-kun… I…I…" she stammered. "I… just don't know."

"Forget him, forget Naruto. Focus on us," he prompted. "We'll have a good life. Our child will be happy, we'll be happy. You've just got to forget Naruto, and then we can move forward."

"No," she whispered. "I can't."

'I'm… I'm… in love with Naruto.'


WOW... Major twist comes into play... Who will Sakura chose? What is happening with Sasuke and Mizuki? Ah, you'll have to find out!

Lorelock