Kakashi was peacefully sleeping when the sound of retching his ears. He sat up and looked around, noticing that Tsume was not in bed next to him, and that the bathroom light was on. He glanced at the clock and saw that it was only four in the morning, and that none of the kids would be up.

He stood up and padded to the bathroom, wondering what had Tsume up in the middle of the night to throw up.

The sight of his girlfriend crouching in front of the toilet, coughing and hacking, was almost enough for him to get a doctor—he had never really liked being around sick people. But he swallowed his disgust and stepped up next to Tsume, dropping to his knees next to her.

"What's wrong?" he asked, rubbing her back. Tsume lifted her head and wiped her mouth, barely finding enough energy to glare at him.

"What do you think is wrong?" she snapped hoarsely. Kakashi reached up to the flush the toilet without looking.

"You're throwing up," he answered. Tsume growled and collapsed against the side of the bathtub.

"Can I have some water?" she asked weakly. Kakashi stood up and went to the sink, filling a glass with water. He handed it back to her and watched as she gulped down the liquid. He took the glass back and set it on the sink.

"You stay here," he said. His girlfriend stared up at him, like, "Where do you think I'm going?"

"I'll be back," he continued. Kakashi left the bathroom and walked down the stairs into the kitchen, hunting through the cupboards until he found the orange bowl they used for popcorn when they watched movies together.

He grabbed a thermometer, just in case. Walking back up the stairs, he stopped at the boys' bedroom to make sure they were still sleeping. He didn't bother checking the rest of the kids; they were all heavy sleepers, and if Kiba was still asleep (the lightest sleeper of all of them), then there was no reason to worry.

Back in the bedroom, Tsume was still sprawled across the bathroom floor, too weak to get up.

"Come on, Tsume," Kakashi said, dropping the bowl and thermometer on the bed. He helped Tsume stand and walked over to the bed, moving the items sitting there. Tsume plopped down and sighed angrily. She hated being sick.

"Tsume," Kakashi said. She opened her eyes to stare at him. "Do you need to go to the doctor?"

"God, no!" Tsume sat up so quickly a wave of nausea overcame her. "No, you won't make me go! It's just a bit of a cold, I'm fine."

Kakashi pressed his hand against her forehead and groaned. "You have a fever, Tsume," he pointed out. She frowned.

"No I don't."

"Yes you do." Just to prove it, he grabbed the thermometer and stuck it in Tsume's mouth, waiting until it beeped. He looked down at it. "101. Tsume, this is not a cold. You probably have the flu."

"So?" Tsume coughed. "I don't need a doctor."

"Fine." Kakashi threw his hands up in the air. He glanced at the clock. It was five now.

"I'm going to wake up the kids and get them ready for school. You stay here and get some rest." Kakashi said, closing the door behind him so he couldn't hear the muttered curses being thrown at him.

He went to Hana and Sakura's room first. Hana was graduating today, and Sakura was excited to see her older sister wear the Konoha headband. Kakashi had given up trying to understand the two girls.

He opened the door and glanced at the two still sleeping girls and carefully looked around to see if any of the family dogs were in there. He didn't want to step on one in the dark.

"Hana," he muttered next to the brunette. He shook her shoulder. The young Inuzuka rolled over with a groan, flinging an arm out and almost hitting him in the face. Kakashi stepped back and shook her again. Hana sat up with a low growl, glaring at him through the dark.

"What?" she hissed.

"Time to get up for school," he answered. "You're graduating, remember?"

Hana groaned and flung herself back against the mattress. "Mom never wakes us up this early."

"You don't even know what time it is."Kakashi retorted, moving over to the bed on the other side of the room. "Sakura."

The pink-haired girl flung out an arm, much like her sister had done, only this time she got his face. Her hand poked him in the face, and Kakashi shook his head.

"I'm not an alarm clock," he said. Sakura opened her eyes and stared up at him sheepishly.

"Oh. Sorry, Dad," she said. Kakashi shrugged.

"Just get ready for school. And wake up Itachi while you're at it," he added over his shoulder as he walked to the door. Hana groaned in response.

In the boys' bedroom, he was amazed at how messy it was. Clothes and toys were flung everywhere, covering every surface. Just barely, he could see where the beds were across the room. Kiba's was the one next to the window, and Naruto's was next to him. Sasuke slept closest to the door. Kakashi started there.

Picking his way through the mess, he moved to Sasuke and poked him gingerly. If Sakura and Hana were hitting him with arms, he would hate to see what the boys would do. "Sasuke," he whispered. Dark eyes opened sleepily, and the raven sighed.

"Where's Mom?" he asked quietly, voice hoarse from sleep. Kakashi groaned.

"Can't I wake up my children for once without being interrogated?"

"Sure. Whatever," Sasuke muttered.

"Wake up your brothers." Kakashi said, walking back out the door carefully.

Downstairs, he could hear Sasuke wake up Kiba and Naruto. There were a series of shouts, curses, more yells from the girls, and then finally all his kids were in front of him.

Naruto and Kiba were glaring at Sasuke angrily; Kakashi wondered what the raven had done to them briefly. He decided he didn't want to know.

"So…" Kakashi trailed off. What did Tsume do in the morning after the kids were awake?

"Where are our lunches?" Sakura wondered, tying her long pink hair back in a pony. Kakashi blinked at the question.

"Uhh…Wherever Mom puts them?"

Naruto rolled his eyes, and Kiba walked over to the fridge. Opening it, he pointed to the lowest shelf.

"Oh." Kakashi stepped over next to the brunette. "Which one is which?"

Kiba groaned. "Dad, you are totally clueless."

"It's not my fault!" Kakashi defended himself. "I'm usually gone by now! Your mother takes care of this."

"Where is Mom?" Sakura wondered.

"She has the flu," Kakashi answered. He crouched down in front of the fridge and sorted through the lunch bags, peeking in and eventually finding out who had what one.

"Okay, Sasuke," Kakashi said. "This is yours…Naruto, Kiba, Itachi, Hana and Sakura." He handed them each their bag and stood up. "If they're wrong, live with it."

His kids glanced at each other warily. Cautiously, they looked in their bags and checked that it was theirs. Relieved, they sighed when they saw that they were theirs.

"Bye, Dad!" they said, waving and walking to the door. Sakura paused to give him a hug, and Itachi glared at the wall. Personally, Kakashi thought that his parents had messed him up and now the kid had anger issues.

When the last kid had walked out the door, Kakashi was alone with the dogs and a sick Tsume.

Picking up Kasumi, he scratched behind the beagle's ear. "You agree with me, right?" he asked quietly. His dog (Tsume had decided that Kasumi had become so attached to Kakashi that she might as well be his), panted and licked his cheek, wagging her tail.

"I'll take that as a yes." Kakashi chuckled. He set the dog down and looked up the stairs towards his and Tsume's bedroom. Now he had to go check on his girlfriend.

A/N: Okay, so I honestly don't know what is going to happen in the next chapter. It will be a surprise for all of us! Anyways, hope you liked this chapter, and thank you for all of the reviews. I honestly can't say how much they mean to me! Thank you!