Reviving Hatake

Author: BubbleWarrior32
Pairing: Kakashi H. X Hinata H.

Chapter Twelve: Fatherhood. Motherhood. Parenthood. Family Man.

Fatherhood? What was that? Even the word itself offends him.

Fatherhood? Big word. The word reminds him of a father from the children's ward when he was strolling around to the nursery. He was old and was looking over the newly born babies, he even stood next to Kakashi back then. The younger jounin asked if he had a child in the mirror windowed room but the old man simply shook his head. He replied that he had one, that the once just infant was now a girl fighting her own battle against a heart problem, that now looking at the newly born babies makes his heart pump in hopes that his little Aiko would survive.

Fatherhood, it was a new word for Kakashi. Like an alien to Earth. It was easy becoming a father than being one, Hiashi told him when the child was born and were waiting for the child's scan. It was easy 'making' a baby and becoming a father but fulfilling your duties as one was a different story.

Leaning on his side on the bed with his elbow propped to support his head, Kakashi patted the little child to sleep. A small living creäture in a bundle of light blue with printed name in Kanji 'Yano'.
"You should know at least by now that Tou-san does not sing and will never hum you a song for you to sleep." The child's eyes lit up, they were pale and it reminded him of her, how innocent they were...how angelic, how pure - but the child's eyes shut tight and Kakashi's cold approach to the child was replied with an ear-piercing cry.

Kakashi sighed and sat, child in his arms, rocking him slowly with a pacifier at hand. "Ok, so I can tell you a story but I don't sing, son"

Son.

The child completely quieted down when he heard Kakashi's voice. His lips going up and down with a matching grey and blue designed pacifier. "You like it when I talk?"

Slow and steady, the child stared at the masked man who was to be known his father. "You stayed too long with your Kaa-san and now you have to get used being with me."

Big pale eyes blinked. It almost was a duplicate of how Hinata's eyes blinked innocently when he came to her compound and when they were announced to be married. Big innocent eyes stared at his, small hands opening and reaching out on him - and before he knew it, he was leaning forward to kissing the small child's forehead.
Finally, those small palms found their way to his hair, softly caressing and pulling them. And before he knew it, he knew what the word meant.

He understood what Fatherhood meant.

It has been exactly thirty-two days, five hours and twenty-three minutes, seconds? He didn't dare count anymore. The soft cries and gurgling snatched his thought of the certain pale eyed beauty away. Yano Hatake wanted his father's attention and he was getting it longer than he expected.

The silver-haired man glanced at the happy bundle of white blanket and leaned on the wall of the four edged room. Even the fact that he was a father and has a child in arms made him feel as if he was growing twenty-three years older and lonelier. And for a moment he said his thanks to his father who raised him up since he was a child when his mother died. Small hands opened and closed.

Kakashi's left arm supported the weight of the baby and his left arm was now raised, fixing the blankets to the child's chin. Slowly but sure, the child got grasp of his finger and stared at his father's eyes - and there, Kakashi swore the child laughed at him. Gurgling another smile.

"What's this? You're laughing at me now huh? After waking me up early in the morning." Kakashi grunted but later smirked. The child must have had understood him and gave a fit of small gurgling sounds again. The older then retrieved his finger and softly caressed the child's thin silver of hair. Even his movements were like in stealth mode: softly, gently, slowly...

"The hokage was right, you're too healthy to deserve another night at the incubator." It was just around the first nine days of being born that the baby seemed to be healthy enough to be out of the incubator - and as an amateur of medicine and a new father, Kakashi first didn't approve of the baby being taken out too soon. Tsunade even laughed at his masked face, saying the child was good and healthier than a child born of normal nine months, that Hinata did a very good job channeling chakra reserves to the child half knowing that the child has the possibility to be born earlier than normal.

Hinata.

"Hey, little guy. Do me a favor and wake your kaa-san."
Big innocent eyes stared at him again, lips slowly opening for a yawn. "That's just not fair. How can you sleep on me-you, you woke me up and now..." Sighing, Kakashi decided that if grunting had a place in the ninja world - he would be best at it.

Kakashi sat next to the hospital bed, on a rocking chair that Shizune offered him to sit on days ago. Hinata was sleeping with an IV inserted by her right hand, her middle a bit less bumpy than it was days ago, even her face was a little bit smaller than before. Shizune and Sakura assured him it was a good sign - that slowly,

Hinata was regenerating.

Hoping that the bundle of joy wouldn't cry after being placed on the white crib, Kakashi slowly rocked the infant and stood again - slowly settling the child on white futon. He decided that it was wise to stay close if ever the child would fuss, Kakashi stayed a little more - until he heard a voice.

His reflex told him to turn and run to her side, but if he was in his right mind- he would have had called the nurses. But he wasn't in his right mind - so he ran to her side. A debate in his brain started - she looked well and nothing about how she looks dictates that she was in any pain, besides she was 'recovering'. Slowly, he reached for the remote by her right arm and pushed the red button - notifying the designated nurse that the patient is awake.

Her eyes were steady at him, creamy and hazy - very much newly awake.
"Hey"

Her lips parted, a bit chapped, but no words came out. He reached for the glass of water and slowly assisted her to sit and drink. "Hey"

Before he knew it, before it even connected his thoughts, his arms tightened around her middle - her hands up in his chest - and slowly, she breathed out slowly warming his exposed neck. "Hinata."

Homecoming was out of the question - Kakashi wanted to have Hinata alone, though he accepted Kiba's suggestion that it should just be moved after a month or so hoping that the time would be enough for Hinata to recover her health.

Everyone got the thought, even someone as dense as Naruto got the thought. Kakashi-sensei wanted Hinata alone.

It wasn't even three days after that Hinata was good to be walked home. Tsunade said that her condition would be as safe as someone who just gave birth a day ago and that would she be able to rest well - will regain back her health.
Then Kakashi found himself opposite Hinata, a small chubby faced baby in their middle - separating them with warmth and contentness.

Motherhood.

Hinata smiled at the thought of it. Motherhood, it was something she felt she hasn't even started even after birth. Motherhood? Big word. Big deed. Big thing. She was nothing almost near it, she's got to find out more of it - soon enough, she'll get the real taste of it. Her head dropped and leaned on the baby's forehead, her lips pursed slowly kissing it, thanking it - that she get to taste this emotion of happiness. This new level of heaven she found on earth.

She felt a warm palm rest on her leg, a comforting pat. Slowly, she looked up and smiled at the man who used to mask his face away.

"You're the original copy of him" Hinata giggled at th thought of Kakashi's face when he was just like the infant - but then, their was a carbon copy of the masked man. Hinata took a deep breath and smiled again, tears threatening to escape her eyes.

"The doctor asked you to rest more" His voice soothed her more than it should. Even the slightest touch of warmth made her feel vulnerable - like she was in some sort of drug. A drug that makes her thank the heavens above for waking her up, for drawing her path towards this man, this child, this life.

'"I have slept enough"

"Thirty two days"

"Sorry."

Slowly, his forehead touched hers, eyes closed, his mind far in a thought of parenthood, and for a while he never imagined that his heart would beat this happily in sync with what he was feeling. Content. Happy. Relieved.

"He looked just like you" His eyes now open, he didn't miss the time her tear fell on the navy blue covers of his- their - bed. How her cheeks went red afterwards and how her smile formed in her face.

He leaned and gave her a quick kiss, a chaste one, and a smile formed across his face.

It seemed just like yesterday she was able to see what was behind that black mask across his face. To her surprise, it was nothing of what the rumors told her - it was nothing scarred, exception to the rule was the one by his eyes. There were little scars, but very little it wouldn't be like a shame if weren't kept.
It seemed just like yesterday he was warning her that they would be building a clan - that she better think over the marriage - that she should coward out.
it seemed just like yesterday that he was just a teacher and she was just a student.

Just like minutes ago, she was heavily sleeping her pain away and he was praying hardly on God to spare her life - that she should be back to him, to them.

Building a clan, it was nothing even near that - more of an experiment - if one would ask him. An experiment on how a Hyuga would mix to an Uchiha's eye blood limit - and Kakashi was the lab rat.

He smirked at the idea, he was almost too worn to think of revenge or anything else. If any one would ask him - it was never reviving a clan, because before a clan to be molded and secluded - there must be a family first..and the rest would be for the next generation or more to be passed.

Family man.

He was a family man now, a father, a husband - a next clan leader of the new limit they have created. Kakashi leaned on the door frame, watching the two lying on his bed breathe in sync - like music in his ears. Hinata's hand sprawled at the bottom part of the child's feet. A long and white pillow next to the child - a simple barrier that hinders him from falling.

A soft smile painted on his wife's face simply reminded him of who he was thirty-one days ago - how haggard, how worried, how broken he was - and now how those worrying ended up. Nothing. She was fine and he was over thinking.

Thirty one days ago he couldn't even look straight to how weak Hinata looked sleeping on that bed that looked like her death bed - how the doctors said that there were vital organs that needed to be healed, how important it was to give time a chance in regenerating her lost chakra, how slowly it broke his heart apart...

and there came the child. The one that kept him awake and asleep at times he most needed.

He was a family man now and years ago, he firmly decided to stay bachelor forever. A dumb idea. Slowly walking on his pyjamas bottom hair ruffled with a damp towel and face unmasked, he pressed his lips firm on the side of her head and sending a little prayer to the God who made it all happen.

And he decided he knew very well what being a family man meant. How his students' parents would ask him before if he had plans on marrying or even settling, how the thought of having a child bothered him to death . . .How men around him advised him to be tied down and experience the happiness of being a father, a husband...

A small prayer was then sent to the heavens above and for some days now, he decided it would be best if he sleep on the couch - that way Hinata would be able to sleep better. Her lips parted open then though her eyes stayed close, "Good night Kakashi"

"Good night, Hinata"

"I love you"

"I love you" more

And he knew this feeling, though it was like alien to earth - he knew what it was called.

The soft leather couch comforted his muslces. Leaning and finding the best spot and position, he gave out a soft smile. Besides contented, he was happy. Besides being happy, he was relieved. Besides being relieved, he was calm. Besides being calm, he was just as sure that he was in love.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Adrammelech: I appreciate the thought of you reading my story though you did not enjoy it, I will just take your criticism a constructive one though it was far too harsh to be considered as such. [though I am truly unsure if you'd even get to read this reply since you stopped reading from chapter two]

READERS AND MY TRULY ONLY LOVE: (who are too many to mention - so sorry loves): I really thank you for clinging and believing in me. This is the last chapter before the epilogue. So far, in my sixteen years of existence [yes, I'm only sixteen] I must say that yesterday was one of the saddest day of my life. It was not because I received a criticism but because I failed as an author. I failed to re-read my stories for grammatical and typo errors, honestly it was not to piss anyone off, I love it when I hear from my readers - positively. I truly do. So for everyone, after posting the next chapter [EPILOGUE] I would be revising everything from chapter one - and I hope that after a few months, and you find yourselves bored and find that you're missing me [haha!] then decide to read my story again, I hope you'd find it - if not perfect- then with at least less grammatical errors.

I am a Filipina, (from the Philippines) so English was just a second language. In my country we do not have she/he for pertaining to someone in gender specifications, we only have 'sya' that means he OR she. We do not specifically say the gender so I do get confused with he or she.

But this is still not enough for my defense, I am an author and I should act like one. SO, I just want to say I am sorry for not being the very best I could be. I will try to do my best revising this story so that everyone could appreciate it just like who are currently reading it do.

To Shinta: thank you for 'defending' me on the review. I thought no one would even save me from the pit of embarrassment. I never even thought anyone would know that such review was posted on my story. Thank you!

EVERYONE: Again, I can't name all of those who 'favorite' 'followed' 'reviewed' and 'viewed' and 'read'...but deep in my heart's core, I thank you and I love you! And I am being very much emotional. But I still love you.

IF you want to, you can tell me your ideas for a new story! I will really appreciate it! To those now who want to be closer to me beyond the author-reader relationship, you can go to my profile and I have my contacts written there. I hope to hear from you soon! Love you so much guys!