Unexpected

Chapter 2

She couldn't remember falling asleep, she couldn't remember waking up either. The only certainty she had was that her daughter was dead. Her eyes stung from crying so much, her stomach churned, but at least Sasuke had left and she didn't have to deal with the bitterness that arose when she saw him.

The doctor had ordered that she stayed in the hospital for a couple of nights for observation, in case of any complications from the birth. Her Still birth. Three more days and she could leave that awful place behind, she was done with its impossibly white walls, with how cold her feet were, but above all she had had it with the ridiculously large photograph of a newborn swaddled in a baby blue blanket peacefully sleeping under a cardboard yellow half moon. It was a cruel reminder that her daughter would never have an opportunity to have her pictures taken, no baby photography sessions for Inori.

One of the nursing aids brought up a tray with lunch and replaced the untouched breakfast with it. The woman started to tell her she need to eat, but Ino gave her a look that stopped her on her tracks. She had no appetite, she didn't have the strength or will to command her arm to reach and lift up the fork, nor to chew her food, nor swallow it… so she also ignored the roasted chicken with mashed potatoes and peas. The only thing she felt capable of doing was going back to sleep, so she did. She got lost in dreams in which her daughter cried and cooed full of life.

/

He'd not blinked an eye the entire night. The demons inside of him made sure to keep him awake. He was no stranger to the pain of losing a loved one. When he was a small child he'd lost both his parents, later when he was a teen he lost his beloved brother too. These losses had been unimaginably painful and tragic and had shaped him into the cold and distant person he was today, and even so they could not be compared to the devastation he felt crushed his chest the moment he held his tiny daughter.

He'd had a family and lost it, for the majority of his life he'd been alone. After Itachi, he decided that any attachments to other people are a sign of weakness, something that can be used to hurt you in the end. This way of thinking was reinforced when his best friends, Naruto and Sakura, got engaged. When they first announce it, it is destroyed him. On their wedding night, he'd been pissed. For a long time he'd believed his bitterness about their marriage came from his infatuation with Sakura, later he realized that the cause was a different one. If he was honest with himself, he never loved her, at least not in a romantic way. She and Naruto had been his best friends, and THAT was the reason for his anger. From the beginning of their friendship it had been the three of them, they were a team, and Naruto and Sakura getting married was a betrayal. They were excluding him from their new life. To be fair, he had it coming. He was the one who deserted them after high school, he left them even after they'd begged him to stay. But on their wedding night, his anger left no room for reason, blinded by it he was driven to do something stupid. He'd slept with Ino Yamanaka, it was a petty attempt of revenge against Sakura, the blonde was her best friend. At the end, his plan didn't work, and this stupid mistake came with too high a price.

It should have been a one night stand, he should've stopped it from becoming more than that. But he was needy. He longed for company, looking for the human warmth he'd been denied from such a young age. Ino was different to the other women he slept with. She'd always had feelings towards him, and those feelings were translated into her actions on their nights together. He felt cared for. He never thought about reciprocating that care , he could admit that he'd only used her to fill that hole inside of him. This is why he was not pleased to find out about her pregnancy. He did not want something permanent, no strings, not with her, not with anyone.

At first, he seriously considered to not take care of her or the baby, she'd been clear that she could figure it out alone and he raised no arguments. But he changed his mind after a few days. Having children was not a bad prospect, actually, he wanted them, he could rebuild his family, he would not be alone in life. After the disappointment with Sakura he decided to not fall in love again, you cannot trust or depend on love from those who are not related to you via blood. A relationship with a child would be different, they'd be forever intertwined by the generic they shared, their connection indestructible. He knew that in order to have his child with him he'd have to wed Yamanaka, this would ensure she would not run away with his child, and would have the added benefit to live with his baby under the same roof from before they were born.

Even though he was excited about the pregnancy, he still resented the person carrying it. He'd not liked Ino back in high school, he did not like her now. Of course he could appreciate her physically, he was a man. She was a walking male fantasy, and he thoroughly enjoyed her body, but he could not base his attraction on looks alone. She was the type of woman that has everything but always wants more. In school, it'd not been enough for her to get the best grades she also had to be involved - and excelled- in many extracurricular activities. He knew she'd double majored in college and attended medical school later, and now that she was pregnant she also intended to keep working. He wasn't upset about her accomplishments, it was her desire to always be the best, the smartest, the prettiest, the one who work the hardest, had the best life, the best boyfriend… He felt she was a fake person, even the feelings she claimed to have for him seemed forced, shaped by shallowed reasoning.

But he'd be patient. He would live with her for now, he'd figure out what to do about her after his child was born. He worked, and was about to make partner, at one of the biggest law firms in the nation, and he was loaded, it would not be an issue to hire a lawyer that would ensure he'd sole parental rights and full custody. But his heart was tattered, not made out of stone. As Ino's pregnancy moved along, the way he saw her changed too. She had started a mommy blog that she'd update every week, detailing the different stages of her pregnancy, she'd write about how her body adapted to her baby, including tips for other pregnant women. He followed it in secret. Every week she would include a picture of her standing next to a chalkboard that she'd decorate in bright colors to describe the different changes and information, like the size of the baby. His favorite picture was her 18th week one. She'd tied a pink bow around her round belly and the chalkboard behind her read "It's a Girl!"; she'd also uploaded the ultrasound picture. Sasuke had saved both photos to his phone. He was going to have a daughter, the thought filled him with pride. This knowledge had made the pregnancy feel more real. He remembered how that night he waited until Ino was asleep to rest his hand on her belly and feel the soft movements of his girl. Who could've predicted that two weeks later everything had changed so radically.

It wasn't until Ino held Inori in her arms, how she looked at her with adoring eyes, the sincere tears she shed for her baby, the sad smile on her lips, that he saw her for who she was. She wasn't just any woman carrying his child, an incubator… no, she was the mother of their daughter. But he realized this much too late. Ino had always regarded him with care and tenderness, her eyes full of hope to someday be loved by him, but now she looked at him with hatred. She wasn't upset or angry, she hated him and Sasuke knew of hate, and he understood he'd ruined everything once again. She probably felt that he never cared for Inori, he'd acted distant towards her the last few months. He wanted to change that. He wanted Ino to know his daughter was so important to him, he wanted to thank her for gifting him the opportunity to have had Inori in his life.

For now, whatever he could find in the hospital gift shop should do, he did not want to leave her alone for too long. He didn't want to be alone either…

/

He walked in her hospital room carrying red roses in one hand and a plastic bag in the other one.

—Get those flowers away from me! — she yelled visibly upset as soon as she saw him — Are you serious?! Red flowers mean love, they say 'I'm happy'. What are you happy for? Oh I forgot, this is what you wanted. Well, congratulations you're released from your obligations.

Her words did not stung as much as the tone she'd used, the conviction behind her words. Ino truly believed that he felt relieved their daughter had died.

—Get out— she ordered flatly — Have your lawyer serve me the divorce papers, I'll gladly sign them. You're free to go.

—You are so presumptuous— he knew he should not be hostile right now, but he'd had enough of her disdain — You think because I'm not bawling my eyes out I'm not hurting? You think because she was not inside of me she's less mine? I also love her, I also lost her.

He was frustrated because he knew he was the root of her attitude. He was responsible for her thinking he didn't care about his daughter, he'd done the same with Naruto and Sakura, he'd kept them at arms length, he'd been cruel. In the end, it did not even matter if she hated him, Inori was dead, and that could not change. He dropped the gift shop bag at her feet on the hospital bed and he left.

She did not try to stop him. She was shocked at his outburst. He rarely talked this much, and never about his feelings. She'd assumed he never wanted Inori, that her daughter was another burden to him. His words said differently. She picked up the plastic bag, searching its contents she found new thick wool socks. She cried because her feet felt like ice cubes, but it could not compare to the cold inside her heart.

/

When her father came in to visit her at the hospital the first thing he did was to embrace her in one of those big bear hugs that promised everything would be alright. Ino could always find shelter and guidance in her father's arms whenever life got out of hands, when things were not perfect. But for the first time in her life she felt she couldn't find that comfort she desperately needed. Not because her father wasn't willing to offer it, but because he couldn't. He couldn't bring back the girl she lost. Inoichi sat on the chair next to her bed, not letting go of her hand, together father and daughter cried. They stayed like that for hours, in silence, just to be in each others company was what they needed to heal some of the pain that was consuming them.

—How did you find out? — asked Ino hoarsely. She'd not had the opportunity to call him since she got to the emergency department, and she knew the hospital's staff did not have his contact information.

—Sasuke stopped by the flower show — this surprised Ino, but not as much as her father referring to Sasuke by his given name. Inoichi had never been fond of the Uchiha. —This flowers are from him

Ino looked at the gorgeous and thoughtful floral arrendamiento of white hydrangeas, cream colored roses, and white oriental lilies. Their meaning were condolences, sympathy, comfort. She recognized her father's work, so she'd assumed they'd been his gift. Her father knew her better than anyone else, and her silence gave away what he had suspected happened between her and Sasuke that morning.

—Ino, I wasn't a fan of you marrying him. Nowadays it's not really necessary to get married just because of a pregnancy — Ino felt slightly embarrassed, she had been so sure that her father had bought up her story about how Sasuke and her had been dating for months, she should've known her father would see right through it.

—You are my daughter, I'm always going to stand right behind you, but I want to encourage you to not be so hard on him. If you believe that because Inori is no longer with us, you and him have nothing else in common, you're wrong. She will always exist for the two of you, for me too, but the bond that connected you is a very unique one. You are her mother, he her father. The only other person in the world that shares how you're feeling right now is Sasuke.

Ino listened. Ye, his words carried some truth, but Inoichi didn't have a clue about their relationship. Sasuke never showed any interest for her daughter until the night before, and she couldn't change the image he had of him because an emotional speech and a flower bouquet.

—When I'm released from the hospital, can I stay with your?

Inoichi sighed, his daughter was stubborn to her core. But of course he'd indulge her, how could he not, not when she'd had to endure such a traumatic event. He could not imagine how he'd feel if he ever lost her.

—Of course, princess.

/

The weeks after losing her daughter flew by. She'd kept herself busy in her clinic, working from 7am to 7pm. She'd just started her practice, so patient flow was still slow but she had many admin tasks to tend to.

When she was not at work she was at the gym. She'd go twice a day: first thing in the morning and before going to sleep. Exercising helped her clear her mind temporarily and also exhausted her to he point she didn't have to toss and turn in bed at bedtime. But that wasn't even the main reason for her obsession with working out, she simply could not stand her body any longer.

She'd covered any mirrors in her home to avoid seeing herself, it was enough with having to deal with the physical aspect of it. It seemed like her body had not gotten the memo that she was no longer pregnant. Her belly had stayed round. The more she worked out, the fastest her belly Elise go away. Unfortunately that was the only change she had some control over. She would still wake up with nauseas, she had a permanent copper taste in her mouth, she'd wake up covered in sweat in the middle of night, etcetera… it was like being pregnant, minus the baby.

That morning her hormone played a cruel joke on her. She'd woken up to painfully swollen breast, her body was preparing for lactation. The strength she'd built up those last weeks, shattered in a blink. Her body was expecting her daughter's arrival for nothing, no one would ever feed from that milk. She cried and screamed in frustration, she was wrecked physically and emotionally. Her father barged in to make sure she was ok, but she was too ashamed to share with him. Logically she knew it was a normal physiological process, and there was nothing to be embarrassed about it but it was still very uncomfortable to talk to your dad about your breasts. For the first time since she'd left Sasuke she'd wished he could count with his supple, at least it would be less awkward to talk to him about her current issue.

/

When Sasuke arrived home, his maid presented him with that day's correspondence. There was a large, sky blue envelope that caught his attention right away. He left the rest of the mail on the table and read the sender's information. The hospital had sent it to "Mr and Mrs Uchicha". He was tempted to open it and kept its contents , ro never share them. It's not like Ino would have any way to find out, they'd already started their divorce proceedings and had not spoken since that dreadful day at the hospital. But an inner voice told him it would not be fair to her, she was Inori's mother and she deserved access to whatever information the envelope enclosed. He also knew, whatever were inside was going to be difficult information to face alone. He grabbed his car keys, and left his house, envelope in hand. He had to go see her.


Authors notes:

please excuse any typos, grammar errors- English is not my first language and this was typed on my phone.

thanks for your patience, I hope to translate part 3 soon.