"Well, Sakura, you're at 13 weeks. What do you want to know?" Tsunade asked as Sakura rubbed the cool gel on her baby bump.

"Just if the baby is doing okay. I hate that when it comes to pregnancies, you can't use chakra to check up on them. Ultrasounds have poor graphics."

"Unless you want to potentially injure the foetus, we have to do it the civilian way."

"But what if there are complications like with Sara-chan?" Sakura asked worriedly.

Tsunade's free hand patted hers that rested just below her stomach.

"Nothing will ever happen to you or your baby while I'm here, Sakura," Tsunade assured her, smiling affectionately.

"Thank you, shishou."

"Bah, I haven't been your shishou since-" her sentence was cut short by the heart beat they heard.

Or rather, two heart beats.

Sakura's eyes darted to the screen.

"Is that..."

Tsunade nodded and tears of joy fell from the pinkette's eyes. Tsunade gave her a watery smile as she found the twins.

"Do you want to know the sexes?" Tsunade breathed softly, unwilling to disturb this moment.

Sakura nodded her head rapidly, unable to speak.

A hand flew to Sakura's mouth as she silently sobbed after Tsunade told her. The older woman gripped one of her hands supportingly while the other continued to monitor the children. Tears finally fell from Tsunade's eyes, just like they had when Sakura was pregnant with Sarada.

"Congratulations, Sakura," she whispered.

Days passed as Sakura tried to find the right time to tell Sarada.

"Kaa-san, I'm home!"

The pinkette looked up from her book as butterflies fluttered in her stomach.

"Sarada, can you join me in the living room?"

A moment later, Sarada poked her head into the room, a smile on her face. She had been doing that a lot lately. Smiling.

'Oh Naruto, Bolt is just like you,' Sakura thought affectionately.

Thanks to Bolt, Sarada was a lot happier and now it seemed the two were joined at the hip.

She only hoped the news of the two new additions to their family didn't ruin that new found happiness.

"What's up, kaa-san?"

"Take a seat, sweetheart."

Sarada's face became guarded. Her defensive wall was up and Sakura sighed sadly.

"What's wrong?"

"I have something to tell you."

"Is it about tou-san?" Sarada wondered.

Sakura shook her head. "No, Sara-chan. I wanted to tell you that I'm pregnant."

There was silence as Sarada took in her words.

"You're...pregnant?"

Sakura nodded. "Meaning, I'm going to have a baby...or two."

"Two!?"

Sakura jumped at the sudden exclamation.

"But tou-san isn't even here! And with two more babies, he's not going to have any time for me!"

"Sarada, you know that's not true!"

"Do I?" She snapped back and Sakura suddenly found herself at a loss for words.

She watched as Sarada stormed out, most likely to find Bolt.

She didn't stop her. She just walked to her bedroom and laid down on her bed.

Then she cried.

Reaching the park, Sarada immediately spotted Bolt on the swing, talking with Inojin. Skidding to a stop before them, Bolt's attention turned to her where it stayed. He noticed instantly from the look on her face that something was wrong.

"What's wrong, Sarada?" He asked.

She opened her mouth to reply but all she could do was pant as she caught her breath.

But she just didn't know where to begin.

Inojin placed a comforting hand on her back as she struggled for breath. "Just breathe first. Catch your breath."

It took a while before her breathing returned to normal.

"Kaa-san's pregnant."

The two males stood there a moment, confused.

"Your kaa-san's pregnant?" Bolt wondered allowed.

Sarada nodded.

"And you...don't like this?" Inojin asked.

"No! Tou-san..."

Bolt frowned before he slowly swung himself on the swing.

"You're being selfish, Meinu."

Sarada's gaze snapped up from the ground to him.

"How can you say that!? You know what it's like to not have your dad around! If kaa-san has a baby-"

"What?" Bolt challenged her. "My kaa-san had another baby and I love Himawari."

"But-"

"Sakura-ba is already pregnant," Inojin stated. "The other option is to kill it."

"Them."

Both boys looked at her in surprise.

"Kaa-san said there'd be two."

"Two babies? Is that even possible?"

Inojin looked up at the darkening sky. "I really want to stay and talk, guys, but kaa-san will kill me if I'm not home soon."

Bolt waved him off. "It's okay. I've got this."

Inojin nodded and waved before taking off for his house. Bolt grabbed Sarada's hand and pulled as he took off, dragging her along behind him.

"Where are we going!?"

When they stopped, they were outside the Hyuga compound.

"What are we-"

Holding a finger to his lips, her words were silenced before he quietly led her in and around the side of the main household. His home.

She hadn't been to their garden for years and it took her breath away. It had only gotten more beautiful. There was a koi pond in the middle, surrounded by bamboo trees and gorgeous flowers. It took her a moment before she finally realised they weren't alone in the garden.

By the koi pond was Himawari in a golden yukata, standing out in the shadowed garden, the short time between the last rays of sunlight and the garden lanterns.

"When Himawari was born, I was jealous because kaa-san was always holding her and never me. Suddenly, it wasn't all about me."

Sarada turned to look at the boy at her side, but his eyes remained transfixed on the small girl unaware of them.

"I wanted her to disappear. Tou-san was already too busy that he couldn't possibly spend time with me in his free time is she was around."

"But one night, kaa-san told me it was my job as her older brother to protect her. I stayed awake as my parents went to bed and I snuck into the nursery beside my room. I spent the night watching her and when she woke up and looked at me, I knew kaa-san was right. I had to protect her. I wanted to protect her. Tou-san may be too busy for me but he was just as busy for her. So I made sure she never felt the same way I did about out tou-san. I made sure she was never lonely and in the end, she did the same for me."

"But Himawari's pretty. What if my brothers or sisters are ugly?"

Rolling his eyes, he finally turned his gaze away from his sister to the Uchiha, ready to make a comment on Uchiha vanity when he saw the teasing smile she shot him. He smiled as well as he took her hand and led her back out of the garden the way they came in.

"I think your siblings will be pretty."

Sarada smiled as they walked back to the park.

"Thankfully you inherited all of the ugly genes."

A vein pulsed on Sarada's head before her fist met his head.

"BAKA!"

It was a while before Sarada returned home. When she did, she heard talking and followed the voice.

"It'll be okay, Forehead. Sarada just needs a little time."

The nickname told her immediately who it was. Inojin must have told his mother.

"It's not just that, Pig, it feels like this family is...crumbling."

"Don't say that, Sakura. Things are just shifting. You need time to readjust.

"What am I supposed to do about Sarada? What if she's not ready to be a sister?"

"She will learn to be. She will soon see what it is you do for her. She might just be looking at Sasuke but the longer he's away, the angrier she will get with him. Eventually, she will see that it's always been you who gave her everything she needed."

"I can't give her Sasuke-kun's attention..."

"Sakura, you were lucky to get his attention. Sasuke's just a dick who needs a good kick in the balls."

Sakura giggled softly.

"Just keep doing what you're doing. You're an amazing mother, Sakura, and an incredible wife. You've always stood by Sasuke's side, even when the villagers hated him and despised him. You took the risk to be with him and you even got a few snide remarks about your relationship with him, but you just brushed them off because you knew what was important. It was because of you that Sasuke was accepted within the Konoha 12, not Naruto. Frankly, everyone was annoyed Naruto could forgive and forget so easily but you, you made him work for our forgiveness. Aside from Naruto, you were the one who was hurt the most by that jerk and when you forgave him, we knew he was worthy of forgiveness."

"Ino," Sakura murmured, touched.

"That's not to say he's worthy of you. You could do so much better."

"I know, but he's the only one I want. The only one I've ever wanted."

"I know, Forehead. You're too damn stubborn to let him go."

"It still hurts though. It hurts so much..."

"I know, Sakura. I know."

Sarada turned away, something bubbling in her chest. As she made it to her room, she stood still, just gazing ahead.

She looked at the picture frame by her bed. Sakura was cuddling her as Sasuke stood beside her. As she looked around her room, she noted all of her pictures were similar, with Sakura holding or carrying her as Sasuke stood by her side.

There was a knock on her door suddenly, causing her to jump.

"Come in."

When the door opened, she expected to see her mother, not her mother's best friend.

"Oh, Ino-ba."

Ino entered her room gracefully and closed the door gently behind her.

"I knew you were eavesdropping, Sara-chan," she teased.

Her eyes widened before she tried to school her expression but the Yamanaka had already caught it.

"Listen, kiddo, your tou-san is an ass, yes, but he has his redeeming qualities. Qualities your kaa-san clings too. While he may not be around much, he loved both of you. Sakura has had her heart broken or let down by him that it's easy for her to believe he doesn't care for her, but she has never believed that he doesn't love you and she's right. Sasuke loves you more than anything and while it can be commendable that he's travelling so that eventually he can be the father that you need, he still needs to be around to be a father. Sakura would love for him to be back and be the father you always wanted, but there is nothing she can do about it."

"She used to make excuses for him all the time."

Ino nodded. "That's because she never wanted you to be too upset with him for being away, but it's starting to get to her now. Please, give your kaa-san a break. You're not the only one praying he comes home soon. Remember that."

With that, Ino ruffled her hair and stood.

Having gone to bed after Ino left, Sakura woke when someone entered her room. She reached for the kunai under her pillow as the person moved to her side of the bed. She held her breath.

"Kaa-san?"

The breath left her in huff of relief as she relaxed and turned over to face Sarada.

"What's the matter, Sara-chan? Did you have a nightmare?"

The pinkette only just managed to make out the shake of her head.

"Can I...sleep with you for a while?"

Without hesitation, Sakura scooted over and let her climb in. Naturally, her arms wound around her, drawing her in close.

Sarada had never realised how much Sakura was actually there for her, trying to love her enough to make up for Sasuke's absence. That thought caused the girl to tear up and she buried her head in Sakura's chest.

Sakura having smelt the tears only hummed softly as she rubbed her back.

"I miss tou-san," she whimpered.

"It's okay, Sara-chan," Sakura cooed soothingly, kissing the top of her head affectionately. "Mama's here."

It only made Sarada cry harder.

'Mama's always been here.'

I must apologise, my readers.

As I was going over the other chapters, I realised I got Bolt's nickname for Sarada wrong. It's Meinu, not Meiru. I probably should have said earlier, Meinu means bitch and Haisha means loser. Google translation told me so if it's wrong, blame google.

I thought, it Sasuke and Naruto have affectionate insults, why not their kids? Seems fitting.

I don't want Sarada to be anti-Sasuke, only realise that while Sasuke is gone, it's Sakura that is trying to give her everything she wants and needs.

They might seem someone more mature than they should for eight year olds, or is it okay? Sorry it took so long for this chapter. I didn't know how Sarada should have acted. I hope I did okay.