"Sakura, are you serious?!" Hinata laughed over the phone, "Congratulations!!"

Naruto cackled in the background, "Sasuke, I told you!"

Sasuke cleared his throat, "idiot..."

Sakura chuckled, "thanks, guys! Clan restoration has begun, huh?"

"Oh yeah." Sasuke nodded, "this is only the first of twenty sons."

Naruto shrugged, "twenty sons with Sasuke's face? I don't think so. So... Sakura? How does it feel to be pregnant?"

"Dead. I can't eat what I want anymore without throwing up."

He whimpered, "it must suck... "

"Don't listen to him." Hinata sighed, "you guys should come back! We're throwing a baby shower and Sakura definitely has to be here, too."

"I don't know..." Sakura chuckled, "we're pretty far from the village right now... We were going to go to the Land of Waves, actually."

"Ah! You should go see Inari and Old Man Tazuna!"

"We already have."

"What?! Man, I wanna go see them..." Naruto murmured sadly.

"Anyway..." Hinata chuckled, "we have to go. Bunch more planning to do and Naruto's supposed to be finishing some work he's been putting off for so long."

"Call us back soon, 'kay?" Naruto called, "and take care out there!"

"You don't have to tell us twice." Sakura smiled, "thanks, guys."

"Bye, Sakura! Sasuke!"

As the couple hung up, Sakura set her phone down and stood up from the couch they were seated at, "well, it's been almost a week since I've had this little guy..." She set her hand on her stomach, "have you been keeping track?"

"Yeah, uh..." Sasuke scratched his neck, "you have a few months?"

"Maybe longer..." Sakura chuckled.

"How do you feel?"

"I feel normal, only... A little more excited." She smiled, "to think there's another little human being inside me."

"I have two people to protect, now."

"How do you know they're not twins? Or triplets?"

Sasuke rubbed his forehead, "oh, geez, that sounds like many sleepless nights..."

Sakura laughed and stood up, "we should continue."

"What? Are you sure?"

"Sasuke, just because I'm pregnant doesn't mean I have to stay in bed for months... Besides, the baby's not even showing, yet."

He pursed his lips then sighed, "if you fall and hurt yourself, I'm not responsible."

"And I'm perfectly fine with that." Sakura huffed as she headed towards their bedroom to gather her things, "I plan to leave this afternoon."

"Are you sure? If you don't want to sleep outside, I wouldn't recommend we leave right away."

"Sasuke, it's fine."

"You're sure?"

Sakura came out with her pack slung over her shoulder and her cloak wrapped loosely around her, "positive. Now get ready before I leave you."

"Okay, okay. No need to get feisty."

The two took off once again and trudged down through the southern rim of the Land of Fire towards the Hidden Mist Village to see a certain bridge builder once again. Sasuke made sure to lead Sakura around any potholes or ditches despite the fact that she hasn't actually shown any prominent baby bump yet and only a tiny bump.

"Sasuke, I'm fine!"

"Are you sure? What'll happen if you fall?"

"I won't. Even if I do, I can help myself up."

"Can you really, though?"

"Sasuke!"

"I just don't want to be responsible if you get hurt."

She was about to protest once again until her gaze fell on his facial expression. At his tight grip on her hand and refusal to let go, she felt a pang in her heart at the determination on his face.

"I hurt you once... Twice... Many times in the past. I don't want you to get hurt by me anymore."

Sasuke... She smiled, "okay, Sasuke. Just don't cut off the blood circulation in my hand."

He chuckled, "of course not."

I've never experienced this part of Sasuke before. He's so caring, considerate, and concerned for my well-being. I haven't felt this way since our Genin days together, and I never realized how much I missed it.

"Sakura, are you listening?"

"Huh? Sorry, I zoned out."

Sasuke looked at her seriously before chuckling lightly, "I was saying we're going to have to find a place to hunker down, soon."

"Already?"

"Yeah. Time flies, doesn't it?"

Sakura let go of his hand and stretch out her arms, "are back cramps normal?"

"Probably."

They continued walking until Sasuke found a hollowed out cave to stay in.

"Good thing we found a shelter. Looks like it might rain." Sakura stood at the entrance and studied the sky, "it's getting dark, and it's not even nine in the evening yet."

"We're probably in for a storm." Sasuke set up a pile of sticks and made a single hand-sign, "fire-style, Fireball Jutsu!"

A small tongue of fire swallowed the wood and started a small campfire.

"It looks like that one-gesture hand technique is working for you." Sakura sat down next to Sasuke by the fire, "Aoba taught you well."

"It took some time, but I would never let what Aoba said to go to waste." He looked down at Sakura, "I would never let his sacrifice go to waste, either. He's the reason you're still alive today, and I can't imagine what things would be like without you..."

Sakura smiled and leaned her head on his shoulder, rubbing her stomach, "I never thought I'd hear those words from your mouth... I always believed, since we were younger, that you just saw me as a burden always getting in the way. But nevertheless, I wanted to save you from the darkness and wanted to become stronger to be able to help you and Naruto."

"And it seems like none of that training went to waste." Sasuke wrapped his arm around her, "how are you feeling?"

"I'm fine." She laughed, "I don't think there's anything you can do for me now."

"Okay." they sat in silence before Sasuke looked down at her, "Sakura, truth or dare."

She sat up and looked at him incredulously, "s-seriously?!"

"Yeah."

"I-if you say so..." She laughed, "truth."

This has to be good... Sasuke leaned his head back and smirked at her, "top or bottom?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean."

She blinked a few times before her face suddenly burned red, "h-hang on a sec, you pervert!"

"I'm not asking as a pervert, I'm asking as your husband."

"S-still!!" Sakura shut her eyes and turned her face away, "I'm not answering that..."

"Please? It's just one word."

"Mm..." She peeked uncertainly at him, "b-bottom, I guess."

"Heh. Thought so." He chuckled proudly, "isn't it such a coincidence? We're in a cave... Where it all started." 

"Sasuke, if you're implying something, I'm already pregnant." 

"I know that." 

"Is that all you think about?" 

"If so, is there really anything wrong with that?" Sasuke smirked as Sakura only irritatingly rolled her eyes, "now ask me."

"Fine. Truth or dare?"

"Dare."

"Now I have to come up with a dare for you?" Sakura groaned, "I don't know, run outside or something..."

Sasuke looked at her, "is that the best you can do? At least let me run outside naked."

"You'll catch a cold and we can't afford that."

"Then I'll go." Sasuke leaned in closer to her, "I dare you to close your eyes and don't move for the next five minutes."

"That's it? Why?"

"Just do it."

Sakura sighed, shut her eyes, and leaned back against the wall of the cave, "I don't see why this is funny to you."

"Trust me, it's not funny at all."

There was a small silence before Sakura jumped, "S-Sasuke!!"

"What?"

"W-Why did you touch me there?!"

"... Your hand?"

"Yes!"

"Is there something wrong with that?"

"N-no... You just startled me."

Sakura waited a little longer, "is it over yet?"

"No."

She tapped her finger impatiently against Sasuke's hand then felt him shift closer to her, "Sasuke?"

No answer.

"Sasuke, answer me."

He remained silent until Sakura suddenly felt a numbing feeling in her face. Specifically her lips. At that moment, the dare meant nothing to her as she opened her eyes and found Sasuke kissing her.

He's... So close. She smiled into the kiss as her arms hugged him tight against her, "S-Sasuke, what was that?"

"Sorry." He blushed, "w-was that...?"

She smiled and held his face, "I loved it. I need you more than ever, Sasuke. So you're never leaving me. You got that?"

"Of course." He leaned down to her kiss her once more until he felt something against his abdomen, "w-what the... Sakura?"

She covered her mouth, "d-did you feel that?"

He climbed off of her and looked down, pressing his hand against her stomach, "y-yeah..."

Sakura laughed as her hand held his against her stomach, "it was really, really faint, but there's really something in there! It just kicked me!"

"So this is real..." Sasuke gasped incredulously, "we really have a baby, don't we?"

"Right here." Sakura looked up at him, "this is the future of the Uchiha clan right here."

At those words, Sasuke's eyes blurred with tears as he leaned down to hug her stomach where their child laid.

"I swear to you both." He looked up at her, "I'll protect you both. That's a promise."

"I know you will." Sakura nodded as she ran her fingers through his hair, "do you want it to be a boy or a girl?"

"A boy would be ideal for clan restoration." Sasuke sat up, "he would also become a strong warrior, like me."

"That's true."

"But a girl..." Sasuke looked down at her stomach and paused to gather his thoughts, "she'll be just as strong. Either way, I'll be so happy."

She rolled her eyes at him, "so in other words, you'd like a son."

"I said a girl would be nice, too."

"Yeah, Sasuke." She sighed, "gender doesn't matter. I just want to be able to deliver the baby and get out of it alive."

That was like an arrow to the chest, "w-wait, what do you mean?"

"Haven't you thought of what we're going to do when the baby has to be delivered?" Sakura looked at him, "we're practically in the middle of nowhere, always traveling. Not that I'm complaining, but if I go into labor before we could get to any hospital, how are we going to deliver this baby safely for both the baby and me?"

"Ah..." He pursed his lips, "w-we'll worry about that when the time comes. For now, I think we should get some rest. Stressing is bad for your health, and we want to keep you as healthy as we can for both you and the baby. Remember that."

"Yeah..." Sakura muttered, "I just... I don't want anyone else I love to die. Including the baby."

Sasuke smiled comfortingly, pulling her in for a hug, "don't worry. I'll never let that happen."

"Thanks, Sasuke. I love you."

"Love you too, Sakura. Sleep well." He kissed the top of her head as she finally drifted off into a deep sleep.

What if... I never thought of that, before. Sasuke started sweating bullets. I never thought of these dangers of giving birth. We can't stay in the Leaf Village for too long, but if we don't head back in time, will this baby even survive? No. Stop. The more I think about that, the more it's likely to happen. He looked down at Sakura. If either one of them dies, I don't think... I don't think I could live with that.