Well this story has officially come to an end. This is the final chapter and it was a pretty sweet ride.

Thank you to everyone who read, favourited, followed and reviewed my story. You're what makes writing a pleasure! In particular, BrightestOfCrayons and cathyscloud9 for your support for every chapter, your reviews made my day! And Valkyriav for your advice on flamers! Thank you.

But to that one guest reviewer (you know who you are), this is FANfiction. Stop whining. It's really unnecessary.

Chichi - father

Hahaoya - mother

o.O.o

Epilogue

Sakura tiredly entered the hospital's locker room and wound through the maze of metal lockers to number 217. She opened the locker and extracted her handbag.

The door hissed quietly on the other side of the room and a blonde woman appeared at the end of the locker row, smiling at the pink-haired woman. "Heading home?" Tsunade asked, typing in her own locker combination.

"Yes. I can't wait to see what Lee cooked tonight. He really makes the best food." She smiled fondly at the thought of her husband.

Tsunade sighed as she opened up her own locker. "You two are really adorable. I can't get Jiraiya to cook anything. He just sits there at the computer writing his books all day and expects me to do all the cooking and cleaning."

"But you still love him," Sakura retorted.

"You're right." A distant expression crossed Tsunade's face. "Whenever he drives me mad I think of your first baby with Lee, because that's what love is: standing beside them when things get tough."

Sakura shrugged. "You've been married longer than me. You should cut yourself some slack." She closed her locker and waved at her colleague. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Enjoy your dinner!" Tsunade called to Sakura's retreating back.

Sakura checked her phone as she headed across the staff car-park, noting one missed message from… her hahaoya. Wondering why Mebuki would call her mobile (she never called her mobile), she played the message.

"Hey sweetie, it's hahaoya and chichi here. We're just wondering if your family would like to come over for lunch on Saturday. We've spoken to Gai and he says he'd be happy to come and see you all. You know, you've been so busy recently and it'd be nice to see how our grandkids are growing up. Call me back?"

Sakura dialled Mebuki's number but she didn't pick up, sending her straight to voicemail. "Hey hahaoya, I got your message. We'd love to come over on Saturday. Just give me the time and I'll make sure to bring some snacks and salad. Love you!" She hung up and reached her car, unlocking it and climbing inside before starting the engine and pulling out onto the road.

Her life was very packed for a twenty-six-year-old, she thought. A full-time job as a nurse as well as three kids and a husband kept her busy all hours of the day. Sometimes she envied her friends for their less-complicated lives where they still had the freedom to leave the house without worrying about the children.

Ino had grown from a pretty girl to a beautiful woman. To everyone's chagrin, she and Choji had broken up just after graduating high school. She took a year off to travel the world and decide what she wanted to do before coming back to Kohona and studying fashion. It was there that she met Sai Uchiha – cousin of Sasuke Uchiha – and they dated for a few years. Sakura wasn't ashamed to say that she found Sai really weird and was secretly glad when they broke up before Ino got her degree in Fashion Design and Technology. Ino hadn't left for Paris or anything like that but remained in Kohona where she designed and sold clothes and accessories. Fashion was her passion and she had her own shop and everything. It took a few weeks for Ino to realise that her shop was just up the road from the restaurant that Choji owned and the two reconnected soon after. Now they'd been dating for almost three years and were talking about moving in together.

Now Hinata… Hinata Hyuga worked in the movie industry. She was a make-up artist, much to Hiashi's annoyance, but she loved what she did. Make-up artistry was the perfect job for someone as shy as Hinata as she was never in the spotlight and got to meet famous people (even if they didn't remember her name). She'd worked on the set of The Wolverine and had seen Hugh Jackman up close, even if she didn't do his make-up. As for her love life, she was still with Kiba. They hadn't started dating until they were both twenty; to give themselves time to mature; and then they immediately moved in together and started building a life. Kiba was the local veterinarian and he was very good at what he did. He and Hinata were so sweet together that it gave Sakura a toothache.

Tenten and Neji were still together too, both in the romantic sense and the work sense, as she was a star athlete and he was her manager. In a few years Tenten wanted to compete in the Olympics and after that she and Neji planned to settle down and start a family. They had married a year ago and Sakura's daughters had been the flower girls and her son had been the ring boy. Kiba, Lee and Choji were the groomsmen and Hinata, Sakura and Ino were the bridesmaids. Now Tenten and Neji enjoyed a privileged life, as Neji had quite a bit of money from his family, and were always happy to promote health and fitness by donating to gyms all over the country. They were liked by everyone.

But Sakura wouldn't trade her life for any of the lives her friends led.

She and Lee had married the day after her eighteenth birthday. All their friends and family were there: Ino, Hinata and Tenten were the bridesmaids and Choji, Kiba and Neji the groomsmen. Other school friends like Sasuke and Naruto (who were currently married and had a ten-year-old adopted son named Konohamaru), Shikamaru and Shino were there, as well as several school parents and of course Mebuki, Kizashi and Gai. Everyone who meant something to Sakura and Lee were there. It was a lovely wedding, with their own apartment as the joint wedding present. Another baby was conceived soon after. It was a boy and they named him Maishi to honour their parents. Two years younger than Keiko, he was a miniature version of Lee and carried all his chichi's enthusiasm.

When Maishi was six months old, Lee and Sakura agreed that they would have one more child. Then Sakurako was born and they moved to a bigger house with four bedrooms that they couldn't afford. They struggled financially for a few years, especially when all three children would start school, so Sakura planned ahead and spent the three years after Sakurako was born doing an online nursing course. That had cost a lot but it was worth it. When Sakurako started school, Sakura started working as a nurse in the hospital where all her children were born. It turned out that Tsunade and Shizune were her co-workers and the three got along very well, especially when reminiscing about Sakura's births.

Lee got a full-time job as a personal trainer. It was a good job that paid well and they were slowly paying off all their debts for the house, the online nursing course and all the school fees. Now they were both twenty-six and living a good life.

Keiko had grown up as a splitting image of her hahaoya at age ten. She was in the same grade at school as Konohamaru, the boy Sasuke and Naruto had adopted, and the two were quite close. Keiko's favourite aunt was Ino and she always loved visiting the store. At this point in time, Keiko wanted to be a fashion designer like Auntie Ino and marry a good cook like Uncle Choji.

Maishi was exactly like his chichi, except he was eight-years-old, with some of his hahaoya's common sense thrown in somewhere. He loved sport, especially soccer, and he and Lee were always in the backyard playing games or working out – just like Lee and Gai used to do. Actually, they still did. Three generations would sometimes be in the backyard playing sports. Auntie Tenten and Uncle Neji were his favourite, even if Neji would rarely play soccer with him.

Sakurako was the youngest at seven and sweetest of them all. She loved shadowing her older sister and was always willing to help hahaoya and chichi around the house, even if all she did was get in the way. She wanted to be a nurse like hahaoya, gentle like Auntie Hinata and kind to animals like Uncle Kiba. Everyone who met her couldn't help but love her and she had no idea of the affect she had. In her eyes, the world was an amazing place filled with nice people and she wanted to make it nicer.

The drive home was quick as it was late. Sakura pulled into her driveway, happy to be home, and stepped outside into a brisk spring wind. She drew her arms tight around her middle and rushed to the front door, her handbag swinging at her side.

"Hahaoya!" a delighted young voice cried as Sakura entered the house. Skinny arms were thrown around her waist and she pressed cool hands against a head of pink hair.

"Hey sweetie," she cooed. "How was school?"

Sakurako looked up at her hahaoya with intelligent green eyes. "It was great! I found a bird nest and it had eggs in it!"

"I hope you didn't touch any of them."

"Nope!"

Sakura picked up her daughter and rested her on her hip, moving further into the house. Just past the living room was the kitchen and adjoining dining room, which led to a hallway with five doors leading to different rooms.

"Hahaoya's home!" a little boy shouted, catapulting from his bedroom and racing up the hallway to hug his hahaoya.

"Hello to you too, Maishi," Sakura chuckled, ruffling his spiky black hair with her free hand.

Lee exited the kitchen wearing a lime-green apron and wielding a wooden spoon. His face split in two when he saw Sakura. "Evening, blossom!" he greeted, jumping forward for a quick peck on the cheek.

"Evening to you too." She hefted Sakurako into a more comfortable position. "Where's the other little devil?"

"Keiko has homework. She is in her room."

Sakura nodded. "I'll go see how she's doing. You alright with dinner?"

He grinned and lifted Sakurako, placing her on a nearby armchair so she could jump on his back. Sakura tried not to stare as his arm muscles bulged with the effort of holding the girl on his back. "I will knock when dinner is ready."

"Okay." Smiling, Sakura watched as Lee rushed back to the kitchen making race car noises with Sakurako on his back and Maishi trailing behind. She wandered up the hallway to the furthest door, noting lamplight shining through the open doorway, and knocked gently. "Hey honey."

"Hi hahaoya." Keiko stood from her roller chair and darted across the room, grabbing Sakura's arm and dragging her inside. "I have a question…"

All hahaoyas gave a little sigh when their child uttered those few words. Sakura simply nodded, slightly concerned, and sat on Keiko's perfectly-made bed. "What is it dear?"

Keiko sat back down on her roller chair, fidgeting. "How did you and chichi meet?" Her large green eyes were wide and searching.

"Oh." Sakura leant back, rubbing her stomach. "Well your chichi and I were best friends when we were babies. When we were your age we were best friends!" She tapped Keiko's nose cheekily, causing her daughter to giggle. "Then, when we were sixteen, we fell in love."

"When I was born." Damn, her daughter was good at Numeracy.

"Yes, you were born not long after we fell in love. Then we got married and Maishi and Sakurako came."

Keiko swung her legs slightly. "How did you know you were in love?"

Sakura blinked, taken aback. She honestly hadn't expected this question but she had to answer it. Sometime, far in the future, Sakura would tell Keiko the entire story; complete with Sasuke and everything. But not today. Today she'd tell her daughter exactly what love was. "Well believe it or not, it was Christmas day when I was pregnant with you. I looked at him and realised that your chichi was the one for me. I knew everything about him: what he liked and didn't like and what made him laugh. He was always there for me even when I didn't need it. And," she leant close, "don't tell him that I told you, but your chichi has loved me since he was your sister's age."

Keiko's eyes widened even further. "That's a long time!"

"Yup. Love is wanting so badly to be with someone that you'll do whatever it takes to stay with them. You'll stick with them through the hard times and they'll stick with you."

"Like friends?"

"Like friends. Friends are the best thing in the world, other than you and your brother and sister."

"And chichi."

"And chichi."

Keiko smiled and her round face shone like the sun. "Hahaoya, I think I love Konohamaru."

Sakura froze for a split second before leaning forward to cup Keiko's face. "Oh my sweet girl, I'm so happy for you." Inside she was a ball of fear. Her little girl was growing up. This must be what her parents felt like when she had become pregnant. "But if he doesn't feel the same way, don't press him. You're such a lovely girl that he'll fall in love with you eventually. Boys are silly like that."

"Yeah, they're silly," Keiko giggled. "Maishi's really silly! Remember when he ate the crayons?"

"I remember." Sakura smiled at the memory. "Hey, how do you feel about going to your grandparent's house on the weekend?"

"I love their house! It's so pretty! And it's got my old baby toys." Keiko looked pleased with herself.

Their conversation was interrupted when Lee tapped lightly on the door. "My beautiful ladies, dinner is served." His eyes sparkled in that special way when he looked at Sakura. The woman stood and took her daughter's hand and they followed Lee to the dining room where pork belly and vegetables lay steaming.

"Yummy!" Keiko exclaimed, running and catapulting into her chair across from Maishi and Sakurako. The children served themselves and squabbled over who could have the biggest piece of pork crackling, only stopping when Maishi gave it to Lee.

"Chichi needs his pork to be big and strong," Maishi declared. Lee promptly gave it to Sakura.

"Hahaoya's been working extra-hard this week," he said. "She's been saving people."

"No, chichi should have it." Sakura gave it back. "Grandma Mebuki invited us over for lunch on Saturday."

"Yay! Lunch with grandma and grandpa!" Sakurako jumped in her seat, nearly upsetting her plate.

"Sit down," Sakura ordered. Her daughter complied. "Yes, we're going over to your grandparents' and Grandpa Gai will be there." Maishi bounced happily in his seat, as he loved seeing Gai and playing games with him. "Who wants to help me make the salad?"

"Me! Me!" Sakurako waved her arm in the air.

The rest of dinner passed loudly and joyfully. After the plates were cleared away, Lee took the children away for showers and quiet reading time before bed (it was only six o'clock). Sakura put away the leftovers and washed up tiredly, wanting nothing more than to shower and put on some comfy pyjamas. Sometimes wearing the green nurse's pants and shirt could get tiring.

With the washing up done, she went straight for a shower. Lee was in Sakurako's room, dressing the youngest child in fluffy pink pyjamas. Sakura waved at him as she passed the door and he grinned back before continuing to button up the shirt.

Her shower was quick but refreshing and she dressed in shorts and a singlet top. When she checked, Keiko was reading a book, Maishi was quietly building some LEGO and Sakurako was fast asleep already. Lee was bustling about in the kitchen, doing a quick spot of cleaning before his shower. Sakura slipped into the room she and Lee shared and went straight to the computer, dumping her handbag beside the desk. Now it was a quarter past six and she logged onto her Skype account, hoping that her three girlfriends would be online.

To her luck, they were already doing video chat. She joined the chat and came face-to-face with her three best friends.

"Sakura! Hey!" Ino looked happy to see her.

"Hello darlings. How's it going?"

Hinata held her left hand up to the webcam. "Kiba proposed! We're getting married!"

"It's awesome, isn't it?" Tenten gushed happily. "I'll bet you'll have kids next, Hinata. Then me, then Ino."

"You'll be waiting a few years before I have kids," Ino chuckled. "I need to keep my fantastic figure and not ruin it like Sakura."

"Oy! I didn't ruin it! And I've got three beautiful children, a wonderful husband, a gorgeous house and a steady job." She threw her hands up. "I'm living the dream! Hey." She leant closer to the screen. "Keiko thinks she loves Konohamaru."

"Aww that's so cute!" Ino giggled. "I think they're made for each other, like you and Lee." She shook her head. "When we were sixteen I could never have imagined how our lives would turn out. Well, it was easy for you, Sakura, because you got knocked up so we could all see where that was going."

"Lovely. Just lovely. Hinata, I'm really happy for you."

Kiba's face appeared behind Hinata's. "What's up ladies?"

"Hey Kiba," Tenten greeted, "I'm a bridesmaid, right?"

He blinked. "Um, yeah… hon, I'm gonna go feed the dog." With that, he disappeared.

Ino burst out laughing. "He's just too cute! Choji's still at the restaurant so I have ages to wait until we can snuggle with a cup of tea and watch Red Dwarf reruns."

Tenten shook her head. "I can't believe he got you hooked on that dumb show. I watched one episode and it was totally ridiculous!" She pulled a face. "That's why I'm never letting you pick what we watch on movie nights."

Sakura laughed and was about to speak when she heard Lee call quietly, "Blossom, Maishi would like a bedtime story."

"Well girls, it's been fun but hahaoya duties call. It was great to see you all."

"Wait!" Ino held up her hand. "I'm releasing my spring line next Monday night and I'd like you all to come. It'd mean so much!"

"You bet," Tenten nodded.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world."

All eyes turned to Sakura. "I suppose my parents could take them for the night… or even Gai. I'd have to ask, but at the moment my answer is yes."

"Yippee! Nighty night Sakura!"

She bade her friends' goodnight and logged off the computer, tiptoeing along outside her children's slightly open bedroom doors. Sakurako was out like a light, cuddled up with all her stuffed animals, and Keiko was settling down while hugging her blue teddy close. Maishi was sitting cross-legged on his bed and smiled as she entered.

"Let's tuck you in," she said softly. He laid down and she pulled his green duvet up to his chin. "Now what do you want me to read?"

"Snow White," he answered immediately, snuggling down into his blanket. Sakura smiled and picked up Grimm's Brothers Tales from his bedside table, opened it to the story and began to read. Maishi took her hand as she read, which tugged at her heart strings, and he was asleep before she'd finished the story. She set the book down, switched off the lamp and kissed his forehead gently.

"Good night sweetheart." Sakura went to Keiko's room next and listened to her soft breath before kissing her cheek. She then did the same for Sakurako before heading to bed herself, even though it wasn't yet seven o'clock. There was some paperwork that needed doing before she fell into her much-needed slumber.

Lee was already tucked in, his hair damp from a shower. He was reading the primary school parents manual for some reason but it had him thoroughly engrossed. Sakura climbed in beside him with a laptop and the day's reports, proceeding to boot up the laptop and open a Word document.

"Thanks for making dinner," she said quietly.

"It was no trouble. I love cooking for you and the children."

She nodded slowly and selected the pregnancy journal of a first-time hahaoya, where she would read over the notes made and make sure everything was in order. There was nothing like that around when she was pregnant, but she'd had her parents.

"Ino's releasing her spring line Monday week. You fancy coming with me? I'm sure hahaoya and chichi would be okay with letting the kids sleep over."

"Of course! I am always interested to see what Ino has been doing." He closed the book and laid his head on her shoulder. "What are you writing?"

"It's a report for Tsunade. She's got her hands full with that darn husband of hers and I have some free time so…"

Lee laughed breathily. "We have not had much free time for the last ten years. That is the one downside of parenthood, but everything else is part of the upside."

"That's true." She awkwardly bent her arm and patted his head with her wrist twisted, as she couldn't touch him without shifting her shoulder and disturbing him. "The upsides are all in this home right now."

He nuzzled her hand. "The upsides are the best things in life. Good night, blossom." He yawned and shifted, settling down with an arm around her waist. Sakura smiled as he dozed off and continued her reports for another hour before deciding to go to sleep herself. She wriggled down into bed and switched off the final light, bathing the entire house in darkness. Her mind shut down slowly as her thoughts drifted to tomorrow and the day after that. They then focused on her family and she smiled into her pillow.

Keiko, Maishi and Sakurako. Three beautiful children born from the love between her and sweet, smiling, thoughtful and absolutely amazing Lee. Nothing was better than this, she thought, before finally falling asleep.

o.O.o

Owari