The Altruistic Caregiver

CHAPTER FOUR

Emiko missed Naruto.

A week had passed since she had to give Naruto back. She missed his big, innocent cerulean peering up at her when she woke up. She missed the way his whiskered cheeks would crinkle from his warm, gummy smile. She missed his baby smell— she missed everything about him despite how little she actually had him. It was no wonder they only allow wet nurses to have a month with the dependent at a time before having to take a month off– probably to recover from the emotional strain and overall effort it takes. You basically become a mother for a month in everything but the title.

Not completely off, of course. If you were to stop breastfeeding for a month, you would likely dry up and stop producing— hence why wet nurses are supposed to feed the newborns at the hospital during their month break. Obviously not all newborns, specifically ones that are orphaned. Those are the only newborns that stay at the hospital, not including sick ones. If parents are having a hard time producing or something is wrong with their milk, the hospital keeps a hefty stock of pumped milk in a large silver refrigerator. That is where Emiko was heading now, actually.

With a shiver, Emiko stepped into the hospital, tugging her blue hoodie tightly around her body when she felt the cool hospital air start to nip at her. The hospital smelt the same. The sterile scent of disinfectant was heavy in the air as her honey-dew eyes glanced around at the sound of beeping machines echoing around the pale building. Emiko made her way to the pediatrics ward, excited to see the precious little newborns she would be feeding. She really did love babies and children— the empty feeling in her heart seemed to dull around them. She usually would go to the nursery before going to the wet nurse station next door to it, where the pumping supplies stayed— curious about who she would be feeding that day.

As she entered the serene room, she spotted rows of adorable little newborns wrapped up in blankets, sleeping soundly. They all had their own clear bassinets, blue and pink blankets to differentiate gender, and a little tag on the bassinet of their name. The tags with a purple sticker on them are for the wet nurses, signifying who they are in charge of feeding. Her heart melted with each face, before pausing on a familiar face.

". . . Uchiha Sasuke?" She mumbled softly, brows furrowed as she looked down at the sleeping baby in the bassinet with a blue sticker on his tag— meaning he was sick. Not that she really needed the tag to be able to tell something was wrong. His skin was a shade lighter than it was the last time she had seen him, and his cheeks were flushed a deep shade of crimson.

The hospital was pretty empty, not too many people were on shift this early. That's why she always came a few hours before the sun would rise. Emiko reaches her hand out, softly pressing against his forehead to check his temperature. She frowns— he felt warm, much warmer than she'd like. She moves her hand away and leaves the room and goes to a bathroom. She takes a couple of paper towels, wets them under the faucet with cold water, and squeezes out the excess water before going back to the nursery. She holds her breath as she places the wet towel on Sasuke's head, letting out a sigh as he squirms a little but doesn't wake up.

Emiko gently traces her index finger against his cheek, caressing it warmly as he sleeps– a few strands of her butterscotch hair falling in front of her face from her loose ponytail. She hums softly in a reassuring tone, "I'll be back to check on you soon, Uchiha-chibi. Feel better."

Emiko returns shortly after pumping some breast milk, returning with a few baby bottles of it in her arms for the newborns she was scheduled to feed, and a few extra in case any other newborns get fussy— not including the extra she brought for Sasuke. Having met the baby boy before, she may have had a little bit of a soft spot for him. Of course, she wouldn't let that get in the way of her responsibility and duties though. So, one by one, she feeds all the infants that have the purple tag before putting her attention back on Sasuke.

She removes the wet towel off his head, smiling as his wide onyx eyes peer up at her with childish innocence. His cheeks weren't as red but still had a tint of color to them. She frowns when his face starts to scrunch up before he lets out a loud wail. Emiko's honey-dew eyes look around— she doesn't even know if she is allowed to touch him, let alone feed him. She wasn't an actual nurse or anything, just a girl with milk. However, she pushed away her anxiety as his cries got louder. Emiko hasn't seen a nurse check on him since she arrived— whoever was in charge of him would be the one in trouble, not her. Hopefully. She picks Sasuke up gently, cradling him in her arms before bringing the bottle to his mouth. His whines slowly fade as he latches and begins to eat hungrily. His onyx eyes stay open in the beginning, locked with her eyes before eventually fluttering shut.

"You're a nurse?"

Emiko jumps at the sudden voice, honey-dew eyes snapping to the doorway. A woman was standing at the entrance and making her way towards them. She was tall with long, silky, straight black hair and the same onyx eyes as the infant in Emiko's arms. Emiko thought she was beautiful, with an elegant air about her. She was wearing a long purple apron dress, her face full of concern as she gazed at Emiko. "How is he?"

"B-Better, I think? I got his fever down, and he seems to be eating just fine. But. . ." Emiko adverts her gaze, looking down at the infant in her arms to help ease her nerves as she hesitates before smiling softly at Sasuke's sleeping face. "But no- I'm not a nurse. I just work here part-time."

The woman's face softens at the news, warmth behind her onyx eyes as she watches Emiko interact with the baby boy. Emiko gently places a sleeping Sasuke back in his bassinet. She puts the blue blanket from his bassinet over his small body as the woman speaks, "Are you a student then?"

"Nah," Emiko laughs lightly as she stands up straight, lifting her arms and stretching. She waited a moment to reply, knowing once she did she'd be hit with that same surprised look she usually gets. "Wet nurse."

"Wet nurse?!" The woman gasps, pretty onyx eyes wide with disbelief, "But- But you're so young."

"Kami works in mysterious ways." Emiko shrugs. She was getting used to it at this point, but that didn't mean she liked it any more. She changes the subject, honey-dew eyes glancing at the sleeping infant. "Are you Uchiha-san's Kaa-chan?"

"I am." The woman's eyes twinkle with love with the confirmation before bowing politely, "I'm Uchiha Mikoto."

"Tachibana Emiko." Emiko introduces herself with a soft smile, returning the bow. "I've met your son before at the market actually- with a boy a bit older than him?"

"Itachi- He's Sasuke's older brother," Mikoto confirms before blinking with a sudden realization. "Oh! You're the girl that gave them extra milk, right?"

Mikoto continues when Emiko nods, eyes full of curiosity. "Was it your milk? That you produced, I mean."

"Oh…" Emiko averts her gaze as her cheeks flush with embarrassment. She scratches the back of her head nervously, "Y-Yeah. . . I hope that's okay?"

"Do you have a specific diet?"

Emiko frowns, "Sorry?'

Mikoto laughs, sheepishly grinning at the young girl. "Oh- I'm sorry! I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable– it's just that Sasuke had a rash that day, but when they came back from the market for some rash cream… it had already gone away. So I was wondering if there was something different with your diet?"

"Oh er- no? I don't think so. I eat the same stuff as everyone else?" Emiko didn't really know how to respond to that.

"Actually…" Mikoto's cheeks flush slightly as she frowns, onyx eyes drifting toward the floor. "I haven't been producing enough lately, part of me thinks that's the reason Sasuke has a cold right now."

"I-I doubt that's why he's sick," Emiko speaks softly, attempting to comfort the disgruntled mother. "Kids just get sick sometimes. . . and the hospital does provide milk if you need the help, by the way."

Mikoto sits down in one of the random hospital chairs that were always placed in every room. She placed a hand against her temple, sighing before turning her gaze towards Emiko with clouded onyx eyes. "I- I know. I just feel like I'm failing him. . . and I don't want to have to give him milk from different women every day."

Emiko doesn't know how to respond. Instead, she does the only thing she can think of. She puts a hand on Mikoto's shoulder, giving her a comforting squeeze. Mikoto gives the young girl an appreciative smile, putting a hand over hers and squeezing it back.

They don't speak anymore, just enjoying the silence until Mikoto breaks it.

"Can't I buy milk from you?"