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Chichi - father

Hahaoya - mother

o.O.o

Chapter 14

Sakura's first contraction occurred when Kizashi and Gai were carrying the crib into the nursery. A sudden pain flared and clutched her insides together tightly, like a child grasping a new toy. She grabbed the wall for support, panicking, yelling for Lee. It was too soon! Keiko wasn't due for another month.

Mebuki rushed up the hallway and grabbed Sakura. The contraction ended just as suddenly as it started.

"Is it happening?!" Lee bellowed, feet pounding as he came level with them all. Mebuki ignored him and hid her pain as her daughter gripped her arms tight.

"Are you still contracting?" she asked calmly, focusing completely on Sakura's uneven breaths.

"No… it's gone. What happened?"

"It was a practice contraction. They're perfectly normal. It's your body getting ready to give birth. You'll be getting more of them over the next few weeks up until birthing time. You don't have to worry unless they get longer or more frequent."

"Oh. Okay." Sakura released her hahaoya from a tight grip, wincing as she saw red marks on Mebuki's arms.

"Every time you get one from now on make sure to count the seconds. That way you know when to worry."

Kizashi and Gai wandered up the hallway, wiping their hands on their pants. "What was all the ruckus?" Kizashi asked.

"Sakura had her first contraction," his wife explained.

Gai beamed. "That's very good news! Soon we'll have Rock Lee Junior running around the house… I can't wait!"

"You mean Sakura Haruno Junior," Kizashi pointed out. "It's a girl."

Gai wasn't moving in with them, even temporarily. He said that it would be easier on Kizashi and Mebuki, as they wouldn't have to make allowances for another person. Despite his protests the back room of the shed was cleared out and made habitable by Lee, who worked tirelessly on the room for a whole week. Once it was done he and Kizashi carried Sakura's bedframe into the room, as it was a single. The double-bed from the guestroom had gone into Sakura's room, as she and Lee would be sharing it. Kizashi hadn't liked the idea, but Lee assured him that nothing inappropriate would happen (he brought up Sakura's baby alarm and Kizashi nodded empathetically before agreeing to have the bed moved into Sakura's room). It fit nicely and Sakura couldn't wait to sleep in a bed that they both fit in. Part of the deal was that Lee could only move in after Keiko was born.

After seeing that the room was ready anyway, Gai relented and said that he would come and sleepover every Saturday night. "Saturday night is Grandpa Gai's playtime with Keiko!" he cried excitedly. It was a nice compromise and sure beat their original plan. Lee would move in permanently and Gai would stay over on Saturday's.

Sakura took several deep breaths and moved slowly to her room, where a pile of pregnancy books rested in the corner. She grabbed the one at the top and flipped through, looking for information on contractions. Why hadn't she read about them yet? Had she skipped that part? No, she hadn't, but it was a part that had gone right over her head since there was so much more to think about.

Lee moved behind her and wrapped his arms around her ribs, being careful not to squeeze too tightly. "Are you alright, blossom?" he asked softly, his breath tickling her ear.

"I'm fine. It was just so sudden." She whipped her head around as her phone started vibrating on the bedside table. Lee let go and helped her across the room, where she sat heavily on her bed and answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Hey Sakura! It's your favourite blondie here!"

She laughed a little, rubbing her stomach absent-mindedly. "Hey Ino. How're you?"

"I'm great! I've got Hinata and Tenten with me at the moment and we were wondering if we could pop in and say hi!"

"I guess so. We just finished the nursery." She realised that she hadn't seen the finished product yet, as her contraction had hit. "I'll wait until you get here before seeing it myself."

"Awesome! She say's we're okay. Sakura, we'll be there in about ten minutes."

"See you then." She hung up and looked at Lee. "The girls are coming over for a bit."

Lee nodded and stuck his head out the door, telling the three adults the news. They all made affirmative noises and Sakura stood slowly, her back suddenly aching with the effort. Lee was immediately at her side and placed a supporting hand on her back as they made their way to the lounge room to wait for their friends. Sakura never thought she would enjoy being coddled but Lee's constant attention made her feel special rather than smothered. She loved it when he jumped up to help her move, as it made everything so much easier and she knew he cared. She sat down on the couch, wriggling to get comfortable, and Lee took a seat beside her.

Gai bounded into the lounge room, beaming. "The nursery is finished!" he cried, flapping his arms wildly. "Come and see!"

"I'm waiting for my friends to get here so we can all see it." Sakura's stomach rumbled, which Gai and Lee thankfully didn't notice. Once her friends left she would fix herself a sandwich with whatever she could find in the fridge.

"Are the girls coming over?" Mebuki asked, appearing behind Gai.

"Uh… yeah."

"They wish to see the finished nursery," Lee explained, smiling.

"Oh. I should boil some tea! I think I still have some of yours, Gai, and maybe some biscuits too." Mebuki fretted as she disappeared into the kitchen, where the clattering of cups and plates began.

"She's impossible," Kizashi muttered, exiting the hallway while wiping damp hands on his jeans. "Well blossom, I've got work in half an hour. Love you." He bent down and kissed her forehead tenderly before wandering into his room to get changed. Sakura smiled slightly, glad that he now supported her pregnancy. If it had been any other boy… she shuddered at the thought.

"Love you too, chichi!" she shouted at his retreating back.

"Where is my love?" Lee whined, nudging her knee with his own.

"You'll get it later," she teased, wriggling her eyebrows. Gai was watching, so she couldn't exactly be intimate with Lee without feeling awkward about it. She knew Lee didn't like intimate contact in front of her parents, as he was worried Kizashi would snap at him. It was highly likely, actually.

Grinning, Lee took her hand and gently squeezed it. Their moment was interrupted when Gai declared that he was going home. He saluted the teenagers, yelled a goodbye to the adults, and swept out the front door dramatically. Sakura and Lee stared after him for a long moment before breaking out into laughter. Gai could be really funny at times.

"Ow, ow, laughing hurts," she wheezed, changing to a giggle. They were still giggling/laughing when their three friends waltzed into the house, yelling: "I'm home!" Well, Ino was yelling.

"Here's my favourite parents-to-be!" Ino grinned, rushing over to them. "It's been ages since we've seen you! You're huge!"

"Tell me something I don't know," Sakura said dryly, the laughter draining from her face to be replaced by a deadpan. Then she gave an unladylike snort and covered her mouth with her hand, continuing to giggle.

"Hey Lee, how's it going?" Tenten asked, embracing her friend. Lee smiled as he squeezed her.

"We have one more month before Keiko is born and then I am moving here!" He let Tenten go and hugged Hinata and Ino in turn. Sakura didn't get up from the couch but her friends bent down to hug her.

"What about Gai?" Hinata asked.

"He will be staying over every Saturday night."

"Yeah, Saturday night is Grandpa Gai's night. He'll be living in the back room in the garage." Sakura held out her hands. "Lee, could you please help me up? We should see the nursery before hahaoya bombards us with tea and biscuits."

"Tea!" Ino grinned. "Is it Gai's tea?"

"Yes." Lee nodded as he wrapped an arm around Sakura's back and pulled her up.

"That's exciting."

All eyes turned to the couple as Lee moved behind Sakura, holding one of her hands and his other hand pressed against her back. A collective sigh sounded from the girls and Hinata clutched her hands to her heart.

"They are so cute," she whispered. Tenten and Ino nodded in agreement before following them up the hallway.

They all gaped as they entered the nursery. The wall opposite was painted lilac, while the other three were white, and white curtains dotted with green leaves lined the single large window. The carpet was incredibly soft and clean, as was the white wooden crib set against the left wall. A box of toys rested on the opposite side of the room and the picture Sakura had painted for Lee was nailed high on the wall where a wandering baby couldn't reach it. Kizashi had fitted a butterfly mobile above the crib, as well as a few empty frames where baby pictures could go. The built-in wardrobe was filled with all the baby clothes, organised in order of size, and a change table was set up right next to the wardrobe for easy access when changing the nappy.

"It's beautiful," Ino said. "Should we be standing in here? It's so clean."

"You're fine." Sakura wiggled her bare toes on the carpet for a second before her back and shoulders began to cramp. "Well I'm going back to the couch. I'm carrying a pod of whales and they get heavy."

"Oh, right." Hinata moved hastily to the lounge room and Ino and Tenten waited for Sakura to waddle to one of the couches before sitting with her.

"Are you scared or excited about parenthood?" Tenten asked curiously, leaning forward with her elbows on her knees.

"Obviously both, silly," Ino muttered.

"Both for the both of us." Sakura glanced at Lee. "We've had our insecurities and we're ready to take it all on together."

Tenten tilted her head. "Hey, what do you think would happen to us if we got pregnant?"

"WHAT?!" everyone else shouted.

She waved her hands frantically. "That's not what I meant! Like, how would Neji react if I figuratively got pregnant? Would he like me enough to stay?"

"You have to work towards the staying part," Sakura ventured. "I'm pretty sure that all your boyfriends would try to stay, but they ultimately wouldn't. You'd have to build up the trust and only time can do it."

"I guess so."

Their conversation ended when Kizashi wandered past, combing his hair with his fingers. "Hey girls," he greeted, waving as he reached the front door.

"Hi Kizashi," the blonde, brunette and black-haired girl chorused.

"Wait." He darted into the kitchen, where he was probably kissing Mebuki goodbye. He came back out and waved. "I'm off! Don't get up to any mischief!"

"Like we'd get up to mischief with your heavily pregnant daughter," Ino snorted. He grinned and closed the door behind him, where he left for work. As soon as the car disappeared from the driveway, Mebuki entered the lounge room with a tray of tea, biscuits and muffins. Sakura's stomach growled at the sight and she pinched a muffin before the tray was set down on the coffee table.

"Guests first!" Mebuki chided.

"Sorry. I'm hungry." Sakura lowered her gaze but proceeded to devour the walnut muffin. It wasn't almond, but at least it was a kind of nut. She was very partial to nuts, so maybe Keiko would like them.

"Well she's the pregnant one," Tenten pointed out.

"Oh yeah… I totally forgot." Mebuki grinned and everyone groaned at her lame joke.

"Hahaoya, you have a bad sense of humour," Sakura muttered, reaching for another muffin. Mebuki rolled her eyes and proceeded to pour five cups of tea with all five teenagers taking one.

"I'll be in my room if you need me," the woman said once she lowered the teapot. Smiles were exchanged as she strolled up the hallway to her room, but she didn't shut the door.

"So I had my first contraction this morning," Sakura said conversationally.

"Doesn't that mean your body's getting ready for birth?" Tenten mused. "I think we looked at that in HPE a few years ago…"

"It does. I'm due in four weeks so you'll have a little niece before the month is over." Hopefully. Sakura didn't like to think about it, but if something went wrong…

"Make sure you contact us when you go into labour," Ino ordered. "We all want to show you that we support you."

"I think I will be the contactor," Lee said uncertainly. "After all, Sakura will be too busy." He swallowed. At least she wasn't the only one who was anxious about it. The pregnancy books said there was a lot of pain and she'd never had the best pain tolerance, as her month of wallowing in misery could testify.

To think that eight months ago she'd been moping about Sasuke dumping her. She'd been naïve and immature back then and now she'd grown up and taken responsibility for a whole other life. She couldn't help but think of it as an 'in your face' to Sasuke and she'd proven that she wasn't like the other girls. On a related note, Lee wasn't like other boys. He'd stuck with her for nearly the whole eight months – soon to be nine – and would stay around for years to come. What a man.

They chatted for about an hour until all the tea, muffins and biscuits were finished, then for about half an hour after that. Unfortunately Ino had to be home by a certain time, as did Tenten, for family stuff, so they all had to leave after only two hours.

"It was great to see you," Hinata smiled. "The term's really busy because its exams this week so we won't be able to drop in."

"But we'll come to visit when it's holidays," Tenten finished.

"You bet!" Ino added. "Then you won't be able to get rid of us! I mean, unless we have dates or something…"

Sakura laughed. "You don't have to be around every day. I know you have lives. Just call me when you're in the area."

"Will do," they all agreed.

"If you see me in the gym, come and greet me!" Lee grinned. They nodded affirmative before standing to leave. Hugs were exchanged and the trio of girls left the house, turning to wave before they shut the door.

"It was nice of them to come over," Sakura sighed, standing. She waved Lee aside. "It's okay. I want to fix myself a sandwich anyway."

"Okay." Even so, he watched her like a hawk as she moved slowly into the kitchen holding the tray out in front of her. She placed it on the bench and proceeded to make herself a salmon, lettuce, beetroot, cucumber and olive sandwich with extra mayonnaise. When she brought it out to the lounge room to eat she saw that Lee was slumped over the arm of the couch, fast asleep. Smiling, she sat at the other end and tucked into her sandwich.

o.O.o

"Hey Neji. Hey guys."

"Hey."

Hinata took her shoes off outside and walked inside barefoot, taking stock of her own lounge room. Several chip and chocolate packets littered the floor as well as an array of soft drink bottles and plastic cups. Neji, Sasuke, Naruto, Kiba, Choji and Shikamaru were sitting around the television playing video games. Shaking her head, Hinata moved behind Neji.

"Where's chichi?" she asked.

"Dropping Hanabi off at her violin lesson." Neji didn't look away from the screen. Hinata glanced at Kiba, hoping he'd greet her, but he was thoroughly engrossed in his match with Neji, Choji and Shikamaru. Shikamaru seemed to be winning, even though his eyes were half-closed and his movements were slow.

She walked up the hallway and into her room, where she tossed her bag onto her bed and sat on the floor, untying her shoelaces. Her finger caught against one of the ties and she cursed softly, brushing her hair from her face.

"Hey beautiful, and you thought I forgot you." Kiba leant against the doorframe, head tilted and smiling wolfishly.

"I did actually," Hinata replied, taking off one shoe and tossing it across the room. Kiba moved in front of her and sat down cross-legged.

"How was your time with the girls?" he asked.

"Oh, it was great. We went to visit Sakura and Lee and you wouldn't believe how big she's gotten!"

He stared blankly. "Big? As in… what?"

She jumped guiltily, forgetting that Kiba didn't know. Shino had probably picked up on it already, but Kiba could be a bit dense at times. Okay, so she wasn't supposed to tell people, but this was Kiba. Everyone else knew so it was only fair. "She uh… she's pregnant. Eight months."

"No way." He gaped. "Who's the chichi?"

"Lee."

"Wait, so they're finally together?"

"I know right? They got together on Christmas."

Kiba snickered. "We've been dating for longer. So… she's legit pregnant?"

"It's legit. The baby's name is Keiko and she's coming in a month."

"I take it the others all know."

"Yeah…"

"And I'm last?"

"Yeah…"

"Sounds about right." He rubbed his face. "Wow, how old is she? Sixteen? And they're having a baby? And Lee's staying? I've gotta hand it to them: they're brave."

Hinata nodded and returned her attention to her shoe, trying to untie the elusive lace. "They're lucky to have each other. Without Lee, Sakura would've aborted the baby. They both quit school and he works at the gym to support them."

"I've seen him there." Kiba nodded. "You're right. They'd need each other in this situation. I'm glad Sakura finally saw reason and went for Lee instead of Sasuke. We can all agree he wasn't right for her."

"And how long did it take for you to see reason?" she asked teasingly, succeeding in her task and pushing her shoe across the floor to join its twin.

"Too long. I could've been with you for a year already but I was too darn stupid." Kiba smiled and Hinata got onto her hands and knees, leaning forward to kiss him. He returned the kiss eagerly, leaning back on one hand while the other cupped her face. With her hands on the sides of his thighs, she felt very bold.

Meanwhile in the lounge room, Neji heard his chichi enter through the door. "Afternoon chichi," he greeted, pausing the game to turn and nod.

Hiashi looked at him distractedly. "Is Hinata home?"

"Yeah, she's in her room."

Hiashi started down the hallway and Neji realised his mistake. Kiba had gone in there minutes ago. Hiashi was going to freak when he saw Kiba and Hinata in the same room, alone. Neji inched along the couch, wanting to be as far away as possible when his chichi exploded. His friends sensed what was going to happen and fell silent.

"HINATA HYUGA!"

The teenagers jumped apart at Hiashi's roar. Hinata nearly fainted when she saw her chichi standing in the doorway, shaking with fury. Kiba froze completely.

"Ch-chichi… hi… we w-were just…"

"DON'T TOUCH MY DAUGHTER! WHAT GIVES YOU THE RIGHT TO DO THAT?!"

Kiba found his voice. "I'm her boyfriend!" he said indignantly.

Steam blew from Hiashi's ears and Hinata couldn't squash the fear that curdled in her belly. "SHE DOESN'T HAVE A BOYFRIEND UNTIL I SAY SHE CAN! WHICH IS NEVER! GET OUT OF HERE!"

"I'm not going anywhere," Kiba replied, surprisingly calm.

"Kiba, just go. Let me talk to him."

"If you want me to…"

"GET OUT!"

"Okay!" Kiba stood and darted from the room, barely pausing to grab his shoes when he rushed outside.

Hiashi rounded on Hinata. "When did this start?" he asked in a quieter – but still angry – voice.

"During the winter holidays. You can't forbid me to see him!"

"I can. You're grounded. You're leaving home just to go to school and that's it."

"For how long?"

"As long as I say so. You're too young to have a boyfriend and this boy is just toying with you."

"He's not! Kiba really likes me and we're not stupid enough to throw around the 'love' word because we wouldn't mean it yet! It's been nearly five months and all we've done is kiss, I swear!"

Hiashi glanced at her suspiciously, some of the tension draining from his stance. "Were you two really building a dog kennel or was that a cover?"

"No, we actually made the kennel. We did nothing but make the kennel." She could sense him calming down, though he would be fuming for a few more days. A sudden thought struck her. If she couldn't go anywhere, how was she going to get to the hospital when Sakura went into labour?

"Chichi-"

"You're grounded until I say so. Neji is going to make sure you two don't sit together in class. He's a good boy and he doesn't waste his time with teen romance."

Wow… he was really in the dark on everything. Hinata bit down her retort and bowed her head. "I'm sorry for disappointing you chichi, but you can't help who you fall for."

Hiashi stared for a moment longer before stalking from her room and the house, obviously to check if Kiba was still on the property. Hinata tip-toed from her room and joined the boys in the lounge room.

"Kiba got owned," Naruto murmured.

"Neji will get owned too once chichi finds out about Tenten." Hinata snickered. "He said 'Neji's a good boy and doesn't waste his time with teenage romance'."

Neji paled. "I'm going to die."

"It's not as bad for a guy," Sasuke shrugged. "That's what my hahaoya told me." They quietened as Hiashi's stomping footsteps approached the front door. Hinata darted back into her room and shut the door behind her, diving straight for her phone so she could hide it. There was an old Samsung she had that didn't actually work, but when Hiashi asked for her phone she'd give him that one. That way she could still talk to Kiba outside of school.

She sighed and put the old phone on her desk in plain view. Well, it could have gone worse.

Suddenly, she was really glad that it was Sakura and not her that was pregnant.