Author's Note: Hello again beautiful readers. Spring break has arrived, meaning I have time to write! Truthfully, with all of the work, reading, and papers I have typed I completely forgot about the fact that I did not update for two forevers. (Please do not hate me.) As an apology gift, I vow to make this chapter the longest chapter yet, AND have a nice little surprise at the end. *Smiles happily* I love surprises! Thank you to *TheMissMalave*, *Flaming Beauty*, *angelbaby5643*, *Velvetish*, and *Yoky2cool4u* for reviewing. Without further ado, here is Chapter 12!
P.S. - I don't own Naruto. If I did, you could just watch this in the anime or manga. I am just writing this story. =)
What a Life
I pulled my arms over my head, stretching out the muscles that had not moved throughout the night. With my eyes still closed, I smile and let the sun, shining in from the window, warm the exposed skin the blankets did not cover.
'This is going to be a wonderful day. The sun is shining brightly, the birds are singing outside of the window, Shikamaru is lying here beside…'
I extended my arm, toward where Shikamaru should be lying, and my hand met air. My mood plummeted as I turned my head and Shikamaru was not there. 'Really, he could not be here and snuggle with me, today of all days?'
I pushed the blankets away from my body and threw my legs over the side of the bed. As I moved across the room, I thought about were Shikamaru would be. 'Okay let's see, early Thursday morning. His dad is on a mission and his mom is at the flower shop, so he is not at their house. Choji and his father are off training, so he is not with him. Let's face it, he is not going to be all buddy-buddy with my father. Where is he?'
After throwing on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, I made my way to the kitchen. I spotted a bowl in the sink and growled. 'Damn Shikamaru, I tell him every day not to leave his dishes in the sink!' After eating a small bowl of cereal, I wash both bowls, slip on my shoes, and slam the front door on the way out of the house.
I stomped over the green grass in the yard and decided that hopping trees would be faster than walking. As I leapt from branch to branch, I kept racking my brain, wondering where my wonderful, dead if I did not find him soon, husband was.
I quickly switched from jumping on tree branches, to jumping over roof of houses, as I made it into the town. The light breeze sent the scent of fresh flowers to my nose. As I looked down toward the ground, I saw kids running and chasing each other. Smiling and remembering the past, when I was there.
I skidded to a halt when I saw Naruto duck into Ichirakus'. I hopped off of the roof I was standing on and followed him into the ramen shop.
"Naruto!" I all but yelled, frowning even more when he looked at me with a clueless expression.
"Hey Ino, what's up? Are you here for ramen too?"
Normally, I would have rolled my eyes and ignored his question, but today I was not in the mood for it. "No Naruto, I am not here for ramen. Have you seen Shikamaru? He was not at the house this morning. He did not leave a note, he did not tell me he was leaving, and I have absolutely no idea where he is!" I said, hoping for an answer.
He scratched his head and seemed to think for a minute. "Uh, oh wait! I saw Shikamaru at the hospital a little earlier. He was talking to Hinata."
"Thanks" I yelled over my shoulder as I rushed toward the hospital. Swiftly, I dodged innocent people as I rushed through the busy street. I all but slid through the doors of the hospital, straight to the nurses' station, where Hinata sat blushing timidly at Kiba.
Both turned toward me when I stated to talk. "Hinata, sorry to interrupt, but where is Shikamaru?"
Hinata smiled at me. "He was just here. Um, I think he was going to talk to Lady Tsunade." Once again, I shouted a "Thank You" over my shoulder and rushed toward the Hokage's office.
I rounded the corner and collided into a poor unsuspecting person. As both of our bodies fell to the ground, arms wrapped around me and protected me from the impact. After we hit the ground and the arms had not retracted, I did not attempt to move. I was so stunned by the past event that my brain seemed to stop.
"Troublesome women." Two words; that is all it took for my brain to kick back, for my arms to push away from the ground, for my body to stand up, and for my eyes to lock with his.
I stood there gaping as Shikamaru stood up from the ground and wiped the dust from his clothes.
"Shikamaru, I have been looking for you all morning. I woke up and you were gone, you didn't even leave a note." Finishing the sentence with a voice much quieter then when it started.
Shikamaru smirked at me. "Sorry Ino, I woke up and decided to go into town. I did not even think it would be a problem. I mean, you were not worried, were you?"
I cringed at the humor in his voice. 'Damn, this makes me look weak. Of course, I was worried. He is my husband. In addition, why is he making fun of me today. I would not allow him to make fun of me any other day either, but today is completely off limits!'
"Shikamaru Nara, of course I was worried; you were gone." I paused "Don't make fun of me today, of all days. Today is supposed to be happy."
A strange look crossed his face and he asked, "What is so special about today?"
My stomach dropped and tears welled up and burned my eyes. 'He does not know what today is.' I backed away a few steps and replied, "Its Thursday Shikamaru, that is what makes it so special." I scooted around him and walked toward the tower, leaving Shikamaru standing in the middle of the street.
When the doors opened, Sakura was standing in the lobby, giving me a strange look. I sat down in one of the chairs and let the tears fall down my cheeks. Sakura rubbed my back as I told her about what happened. Occasionally she would add in a "hmm" or a "Jerk", when she deemed it appropriate.
After recalling the events of this morning and crying, I felt both weak and stupid. I wanted to go home, crawl into bed, and be mad at the world. However, that idea was ruined when I realized I lived with Shikamaru and he would question why I was upset.
"You know Ino, after the jerk forgot what today is, you need a pick-me-up. Let's go shopping!" Sakura said, in a perky voice that had me laughing.
'Shopping sounds fun, the perfect way to get my minds off of this.' "Okay Sakura let's go."
We shopped for what felt like the rest of the day, stopping to eat lunch, and then shopping again. Sakura drug me into a few of the stores, one in particular that sold dresses. "Ino you have to pick out a dress for Tsunades' formal birthday party next month right?"
I agreed with her logic and tried on numerous dresses, of all shapes, sizes, and colors. After picking out the perfect dress, I went to pay, and we left the store.
I turned to Sakura, only to notice that she also had a dress in her hand. "Sakura, when did you buy that dress, I tried it on, and we decided it was not right for the party. She smiled explained that, since the dress looked great on me, she bought it and it was a present, to replace what Shikamaru had forgotten.
As we walked back to her apartment, we talked about the latest gossip going on throughout the village. Hinata and Kiba were officially a couple. Her dad had finally given in and let them pursue a relationship. A new restaurant had opened down the street and Sakura had heard it was fantastic. Neji proposed to Tenten, and the Hyuuga clan was already planning an extravagant wedding for them.
"Hey Ino, how about we go to that new restaurant. I haven't gotten a chance to go there yet, with Lee on so many missions. You can even wear you new dress." I smiled and quickly agreed, trying to push the idea that I should be eating with Shikamaru to the back of my head.
We got ready in her apartment and, about an hour later, walked to the front of the restaurant. "Oh darn Ino, I forgot my wallet! Could you stay here for just a minute, I need to run back and get it." Before I could answer, she was gone in a puff of smoke. Looking around, I smoothed the bottom of my dress, and sat on the bench outside of the restaurant.
"Having dinner by yourself Ino?" I stood up and turned around at the sound of the voice. Shikamaru was standing behind the bench, with his hands casually resting in his pockets, smirking at me.
"Actually, Shikamaru, no I am not having dinner alone. Sakura will be right back. She is having dinner with me."
He stepped around the bench and walked closer to me, stopping when he was a touch away and leaned closer, so he could whisper into my ear.
"I don't think Sakura is coming back; especially because I asked her not to this morning, when I saw her. Besides, don't you think you should have dinner with me? I am your husband and we have been married for a year today, or did you forget?"
He stepped back and I noticed that he was wearing a tie. I locked up and locked eyes with him. "You planned this. You made me think you forgot, got Sakura to take me shopping for this dress, got her to get me here, and then you met me here instead. You did not forget about our anniversary did you?" I said never breaking eye contact.
"That is all true, and no you troublesome women, I did not forget. I spent most of yesterday planning this."
Silence took over; I stared at him, trying to process it. Before I could stop it, the first thing I thought spewed from my lips.
"You bastard!"
Shikamaru bent over, placed his hands on his knees, and started to laugh. Before I knew it, I was laughing too.
When the laughing dies out, I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and hugged him. "Thank you Shika. This was very sweet of you, even if I was mad at you all day."
After we had dinner, we walked home. As we strolled into the bedroom, I noticed something was lying on the bed, a single rose. I smiled brightly and turned to Shikamaru. He was leaning against the door, staring at me. "Shika, I love you." He closed the distance between us.
Through the kiss, I heard the zipper of my dress descend as I unknotted his tie. The dress slid from my shoulders to the floor as I unbuttoned his shirt. His shirt fell to the floor as he releases my long hair from the clip that held it up.
Our discarded clothes lay at the foot of the bed, forgotten. I lay on the bed as Shikamaru drifts over me, my fingers intertwined with his, and he slowly kisses my skin. Our eyes meet and he murmurs, "I love you too" as he slides into me.
Before my brain stops, I criticize myself, 'Of course he loves you. How could you ever question it?'
His face is just inches from mine; our eyes lock on one another's. With him this close, I can feel the body heat radiate off of him, even with the chilled outside air hitting my skin. My legs tangle with his as we fall to the ground. Limbs tangle even more as we fight for dominance. Body weight is shifted as we roll around.
As always, Shikamaru ends up winning our little fight. He straddles me, smirking, knowing he is victorious. In a last attempt, I run my hands up his torso, pushing, trying to shove him away from me. Almost too easily, he grabs my wrists and pins them over my head.
"Ino," He says huskily, bending down and capturing my lips in a mind-melting kiss, "I win."
"Damn!" I shout. He laughs, releases my hands, and stands up. He offers him hand and, as I take it, he pulls me up.
"Why can't I ever win when I spar with you?" I ask as we start to walk home from the training grounds. By the time we made it to the house, he had finished listing the reasons why I always lost; most of them were completely untrue and said to boost his already high ego.
We prepared dinner together and sat down, ready to enjoy both the food and each other's company.
Hours later, after dinner had been completed and showers had been had, we lay together in bed looking at the sky. Luckily, the summer air had cooled off and a cool breeze could be felt through the open window. I rested my head comfortably on Shikamarus' firm chest and, as I gazed at the moon, I could head the beat of his heart.
His arm wrapped around me and rested on my side. I looked at his face and his eyes were calmly watching the sky above, but I could tell he was thinking deeply about something else.
"What are you thinking about Shikamaru?" I questioned. When he did not respond I brought my hand to his chest and rubbed my palm across the skin. Slowly his eyes closed and he turned his head towards me. When he reopened his eyes, they were looking into mine.
"I have a mission. It is a simple one, it should only take about a week or two to complete. I leave tomorrow." His voice was completely serious. I knew he was holding back something.
"Shikamaru, what is it. There is something, about the mission, that you are not telling me. You said it was a simple mission, but something about it is bothering you. Tell me, please." I pleaded.
"You know I can not divulge specific details about a mission. If I told you, there is a possibility you would be in trouble, and I and not willing to risk your safety." He paused. "I can tell you that I am going out of the land of fire and I have to get information, about a target, who is now located in an outlying country. I can also say that this country borders the land of fire."
I blink, almost immediately knowing who the target is. I don't dare say his name. Shikamarus' mission was a simple one, but it was also very dangerous. With his entering this "bordering country", he could be killed and never come home.
"Why didn't you tell me about this earlier?" I asked.
"The messenger came with the mission when you were in the shower. I am supposed to leave tomorrow afternoon."
A ball of worry formed in the pit of my stomach. "Well, if you have to leave, I suppose I should let you sleep now." I said as I traced the lines of the muscles on his stomach. He chuckled and flipped our bodies until he hovered over me.
"Actually Ino, I have a better idea."
I watched him walk through the gates, the next afternoon. Shikamaru did truly have a fantastic idea the previous night; one that kept us both up, most of the evening. I yawned and continued to watch him go until he was completely out of sight.
After he left, I slowly made my way to the hospital, to take over my shift from Hinata. As I walked through the doors, I saw Kiba leaning on the nurses' counter, again. This was a pretty normal scene; I walk in, Kiba leans in, says something to Hinata, Hinata blushes furiously. When she turns her head to break eye contact, she notices my presence and blushes a deeper shade of red.
As I go into the back room and change into my uniform, Hinata switches into training clothes and smiles brightly. "Kiba and I are going to go spar."
I smile wickedly and turn to her, fastening the last button on my uniform, and say "You are going to go spar with Kiba and get all hot and sweaty, and roll around on the ground; hmmm sounds like fun" knowing that it will upset her. She deeply intakes a breath and stutters "I-I-I-Ino! Don't say something like that, K-K-K-Kiba would never think about that!" She quickly leaves the room and I follow her. 'Ha, if only she knew!' I think to myself.
After Hinata left, the day went by pretty normally. I checked on a few sick patients, changed some of the diapers in the nursery, and signed a few hospital release forms. One little girl, who broke her arm, got to go home today. This was only after a night of painkillers and observation.
I was walking back from the nursery, when the nausea hit. Hurriedly, I ran to the nearest bathroom and emptied my stomach of most of its contents.
After sitting on the floor, until I knew I was not going to be sick again, I weakly pushed myself up and out the door. Sakura was standing on the other side of the door looking worriedly at me. "Ino are you okay?"
I faintly grin at her. "I think I have that bug going around. I have seen quite a few patients today with it." I slowly breathed out, knowing that Sakura will send me home.
"Come on Ino, let's get you into an examination room. I want to make sure it is this small bug and not the flu that starts around this time of year too."
We walk into an empty room and Sakura pats the chair for me to sit on. I hoist myself up and plop onto the chair. Sakura listens to me heart, checks my blood pressure and pulse, looks into my ears, and listens to my lungs; all things that I did not two hours ago, to other patients.
"Ino, I want to take a blood test, if I hurry I can have in to the lab in today and have the answer tonight. If this is the bug, it will show up in your blood." Sakura says. I cringe when she takes the needle out to draw the blood. Being a nurse has done nothing for my fear of needles.
Sakura let me go home early, promising to cover my shift. Before I went home, I stopped in the flower shop. Luckily, there were no customers. My father looked up as I closed the door and I all but leaped into his arms. "Daddy, I did not know that you were home yet, you were not due back for another week!" I said happily.
After he heard about my incident at the hospital, he walked me home. We talked about his latest mission and how Shikamaru just left.
"Ino, you seem happy, and that is good. I am glad that Shikamaru makes you this happy. However, I have not told you this in a while and I just wanted to remind you about it. If Shikamaru ever hurts you or makes you unhappy I will ring his neck." I half-heartedly laughed. My father still did not completely trust Shika; I hoped he would by now.
I waved goodbye to my dad and went inside the house to lie on the couch. Unable to think of anything else, I read a book until a knock on the door interrupted me.
Sakura let herself in, seeming a bit panicked. In order to steady herself, she sat on the chair opposite of me. I sat up and looked at her, and for the longest time, she just stared back at me. Finally, she opened her mouth to talk, but tears swept down her cheeks and her fingers quickly rose to stop the tears.
'Oh my… am I going to die?' her tears were disconcerting, normally she did not show much emotion when she diagnosed a patient.
"Okay forehead, spit it out. What rare disease do I have? Is it treatable? How long am I going to live?" I said, wishing she would stop stalling and answer me.
"Ino I don't know how to tell you this, I saw the labs and ran straight here. I could not even wait until tomorrow. With our history, I though you should know immediately. I wish Shikamaru was here too because you are going to need emotional support after I tell you. You are going to need to quit working. Tsunade will not allow you to work, in this condition. Before I say this, you need to know that when the time comes will make you as comfortable and painless as possible."
The fear crept into my limbs and my hands started to shake. "What is wrong Sakura?"
She paused again, "You're pregnant."
Time seemed to stop. All of the signs displayed in my head. I was off of my cycle, I was getting sick, and I had to pee all of the time!" As quickly as time stopped it started again and I as launching myself at Sakura. She met me midair and as we hugged, we laughed hysterically.
"Sakura you made me think I was going to die! I'm not going to die… I' m not going to die… I am going to have a baby." I smiled brightly and sat back down on the couch, "I am going to have a baby, Shikamarus' baby. Shikamaru and I are going to be parents."
I counted it out in my head, "I am about three months along right?" Pausing, "Meaning in six months Shikamaru and I are going to be parents!"
Sakura and I talked about everything from the gender to the name of the child for the next few hours. When I finally fell asleep, I was smiling, thinking about a baby Shikamaru dressed in infant clothes.
Over the next two weeks, I notified Tsunade of my leave of absence. Obviously, I cannot go on missions when I am pregnant. I had a small family dinner, with Shikamarus' parents and mine and told them about it. As I predicted, both of our moms were ecstatic. The argued about colors for its room and names, for the rest of the night.
Shikamarus' father smiled almost immediately, muttering something along the lines of "I hope he gets a son who is as lazy as he is. It would serve him right." However, following the comment he gave me a hug and congratulated me.
My father was unsurprisingly quiet. He did not say one word after dinner. He even avoided eye contact with me. As he and my mother left, he pulled me in for a hug and smiled at me. "Ino you will be a wonderful mother. I am very happy for you and Shikamaru." His frown disappeared, "I had not realized you two had taken your relationship to that level yet. You have only been married for a year. But now that I know I promise not to kill him for it."
"Inoichi, would you leave her alone. You would not have killed Shikamaru anyway, he is your best friends son and you son-in-law." My mother scolded him. "Good night Ino dear. Pass on our good wishes to Shikamaru when he comes home."
The next morning, Shikamaru came home right on schedule. 'Damn him' I thought when I heard him call out for me. He had walked in the door at the exact time I had to run into the bathroom.
When he walked into the bathroom, I was hanging over the toilet, draining my stomach of the breakfast I had just eaten. All I could think was 'what is the point of eating food at all, if all I can do is spew it back out?' Shikamaru slowly kneeled beside me and held back the hair that proceeded to fall into my face. "Troublesome women," He muttered.
When my stomach was empty of food, I brushed teeth to get the horrid taste from my mouth, and Shikamaru carried me to our bed and set me down. He went back to the bathroom and got a cold rag to press on my now flushed face.
For the next few moments, I closed my eyes and let the rag cool my warm skin. Shikamaru ran his fingers through the hair at my scalp. "Are you okay Ino? We can go see Sakura. I am sure she will make a house call for you, if you cannot make it to the hospital." He removed the rag from my skin as he talked. When he finished he stood up, ready to put cool water on the rag again.
My hand shot out and grabbed the bottom of his shirt, preventing him from leaving. He sat back down and stared at me, waiting for an answer.
'Darn I wanted to surprise Shikamaru with the news. Maybe sit down for dinner tonight, light a candle. Well that idea can just jump out of the window.' I thought sarcastically.
"I have already talked to Sakura. This all started the day you left." Shikamaru smirked, "You mean you were sick at the thought of living life for two weeks without me?" I rolled my eyes. "You smart-ass, know I was not 'sick at the thought of living life for two weeks without you', I am pregnant." 'Smooth Ino, break it to him easily.'
He sat there silently, staring at me much like I stared at Sakura when she told me. I could almost see the gears turning in his head. He was filing everything away. Bring out all of the information he knew about babies, trying to become an expert on parenthood before he talked again.
I did not give him a chance to say anything. "Hey Shikamaru, while you contemplate this next step in life, would you walk with me? I feel like lying outside in the grass. Maybe we could look up at the clouds while you think." I suggested in the end.
He continued to stay silent, but helped me out of bed and walked with me out to the yard. The entire time we walked, he could not have been two feel from me, unconsciously protecting me from everything.
The soft grass cushioned me as I pressed my back into it. Luckily, there were a lot of clouds to focus on, because Shikamaru still seemed to be in his head.
"We will need to tell Tsunade that you cannot continue to go on missions. It is dangerous for a woman, at any stage of pregnancy, to work in our field. Unfortunately, one of us is going to have to tell your father. He is going to kill me I just know it." He said suddenly. "Oh and how far along are you. Judging by the fact that you are suffering from morning sickness, but you have not gained weight, you are probably towards the middle of the first trimester, right?" He turned his head to look at me for an answer.
"I am three months pregnant, so I am at the end of my third trimester. Yes, I experience morning sickness almost every day; it sucks. I think that I may not be gaining weight because I am still sparing lightly with Sakura." His eyes widened. Before he could freak out I added, "We are being careful, so I don't hurt the baby."
"Oh, and to address your earlier comments, I have already told Tsunade about this, she is excited for us and will take me off of the availability list from missions. I have also already told both of our parents. Everyone seems pretty ecstatic. My father assures me that he will not kill you. I should also add that he said, and I quote "I am very happy for you and Shikamaru. I had not realized you two had taken your relationship to that level yet. You have only been married for a year. So I guess he thought that we were not having sex."
I waited for Shikamarus' reaction at the end of my father's quote. He started laughing and I joined him.
I felt Shikamarus' fingers intertwine with mine and looked over towards him. He was already staring back at me. He smiled and said "Congratulations Ino, we are going to be parents. How do you feel?" To respond, I kissed him.
Well, what did everyone think of Chapter 12? As promised, this is officially the longest chapter in the 'What a Life'! I felt like it was time to add the 'surprise' in also. In my head, the story just seemed to progress like that. School will be over in about one month, more or less. Meaning, hopefully, in a month I can update again. Then I should have the story back on a regularly updating schedule. If you loved, liked, disliked, or hated (oh please no one say that they hated) this chapter… go on and review so I know. For anyone who reviews, they can reach into the imaginary cookie jar and have a cookie! Thank you to all of my readers!
Blondegirl09