"You look terrible." Kisame leaned against the lobby front desk.
Hinata rubbed her temple. "You're in early."
"Itachi said you wanted these." Kisame held up a file. "We're trying not to get behind again."
"Thank you," Hinata whispered, taking the folder.
"Are you Hinata Hyuga?" Hinata turned to a man she didn't recognize. He had a large bag and no guest pass.
"Who are you?" Kisame eyes narrowed.
"Yes, I am. Can I help you?" Hinata was answered by a flash on her face. She stumbled back as the camera continued to flash. Kisame grabbed her and yelled for security as she hid her face in his chest to shield her blistering eyes.
Hinata peaked as the man tried to escape with his camera, but he was caught by the door.
"Take the camera and call the police," Hinata ordered, wincing. Her head was killing.
"Vultures," Kisame growled. "Are you okay?"
Hinata waved her head, holding her temples. Then she gagged, covering her mouth. "Excuse me." Hinata ran to the nearest bathroom.
Fugaku opened his assistant's door. Hinata was pale, and her eyes were tired. "I heard you had an eventful morning."
"I handled it," Hinata whispered, her voice horse.
"Are you okay?" Fugaku raised an eyebrow.
"Migraine. It won't affect my work." Hinata answered, rubbing her eyes. "I don't like drinking on work nights."
"You didn't have to keep up with her." Fugaku teased.
Hinata rolled her neck. "You didn't spend the day with her."
"I was married to her," Fugaku countered. "Try sharing a bedroom with her. No, worse, try holding her hand while she's in labor."
Hinata put a hand to ask him to stop. "I've checked over the reports from production. I think we can move forward on the next release, but this one still needs some manufacturing issues ironed out." She held up a folder. "I will schedule a meeting for this afternoon."
"Take a coffee break. You look awful," Fugaku told her as he headed for his office.
"So I've been told." Hinata dropped the folder back on her desk.
"Oh no," Sasuke said aloud.
"Hmm?" Itachi asked.
Sasuke turned his phone to his brother. Hinata's picture in an article about her. Itachi's eyes narrowed at it. "At least they couldn't use the picture they took this morning."
"This morning?" Sasuke scrolled through the article himself. He hated tabloids. It was ridiculous that people would spend their time keeping up with their lives.
"A reporter shoved a camera in her face in the lobby this morning. Security took his camera. Kisame said she was still hungover." Itachi explained.
"Did she go home?" Would Hinata have told him?
Itachi raised an eyebrow. "Not unless dad forced her to. You know work comes first for her."
"Don't say that." Sasuke's eyes snapped up.
Itachi waved his hand up in defense. "You should know. You were the one who took her to the hospital after she fainted down the stairs."
"Just don't say that." Sasuke looked back at the article. "Morning sickness?"
Itachi leaned over. "Does it say that? She ran off to throw up, but Kisame thought it was because of the flashing and hangover. Reporter must have seen."
Sasuke tossed his phone down, covering his face. "Seriously?"
"It will blow over." Itachi patted his back. "Someone else will be the hot new topic tomorrow."
"Hinata wasn't raised for this." Hinata's picture swirled around before, but always because she was standing next to one of them. This would be the first time she was the center of attention. He should have realized this was going to be a problem.
"She's a good girl. What are they going to dig up on her?" Itachi shrugged.
Hinata gave a file to Lee before he cheerfully bounded to the elevator. She wished she had that kind of energy. Hinata gathered her next task. Her phone rang as she moved to the copier. Hanabi. Good Hinata needed to have her over to explain all this mess. She pressed the phone to her ear as she started her copies.
"You're pregnant?!" Hanabi screeched.
Hinata froze, then yelped as the copier pulled the paper out of her hand, giving her a nasty paper cut. "No, why would you even ask me that?" Hinata backed over to the kitchenette to get a paper towel.
"It's all over the internet. You're marrying the Uchiha, and you're pregnant." Hanabi chattered back.
"Well, I can explain the engagement…" Hinata wrapped her bleeding finger to stop the bleeding.
"I don't care about that. You're definitely not pregnant, right?" Hanabi pressed.
What? She cared. "Not pregnant. You're not upset that we didn't tell you?"
"I'm not surprised." What? "He should have asked me first, though. I'll give him hell for that."
Hinata wasn't going to unpack that with her headache. "Hanabi-chan, we need to talk about this. Can you drop by this weekend, so we can explain?"
Hanabi hummed in agreement. "Sure, but what are you going to tell Neji?"
Hinata looked over her shoulder at the calendar on the wall. His deployment… oh no. "I forgot."
"He's going to kill you," Hanabi teased on the other end.
"He's going to kill me." Neji might be more frightening than her mother-in-law. Hinata pulled the napkin away. It was still bleeding. She put the napkin back and made a fist to free up a hand to find the first aid kit.
"I won't tell him anything, that's if he doesn't see these articles. He'll be back Friday." Hanabi explained. "Speak of which…" That didn't sound good. "Dad doesn't want him to come home."
"What?" Hinata wrapped her finger in a band-aid. Tossing her head over her shoulder. The copy machine was still going.
"You know how they were when he enlisted. Dad disapproved." Hanabi got quiet. "Do you think he could stay with you for a while?"
Hinata pressed her lips in a line, tossing out the first-aid trash. "Let's see what happens when he gets back. He may not want to stay with me if he is upset enough." Hinata leaned on the counter. "If you find him a hotel room for his first night, I'll pay for it. Then we can all talk Saturday and make decisions there."
"Alright, sounds good. My next class is starting soon. Should I bring anything for the baby?" Now Hanabi was just being a brat.
Hinata rolled her eyes. "Go to class."
