Sakura blinked a few times before she felt the pounding pressure in her head, "ugh... Crap..."

"Sakura?"

She looked at her bedside and let out a small sigh, "hey."

"How are you feeling?"

"Not... Bad... I guess." She looked around, "what happened?"

"You slipped into a coma the other night. You were out for a whole day." Karin explained as she walked up to her, "thank goodness you're still alive."

Sakura sat up with a groan, "where's Sasuke?"

"He went out to get you food." Karin sat down and smiled, "he's a good husband."

"Yeah, if he's willing to bring me food, he's all I need." Sakura laughed.

Karin smiled, "honestly, though!"

The two laughed until Sakura grabbed her head, "ack!"

"Hey, hey, careful." Karin set her hand on Sakura's shoulder, "you good?"

"N-not... Really..." Sakura rubbed her temples and squeezed her eyes shut, "my head..."

"Here, let me go get you some water." Karin stood up and left the room quickly, "Sasuke! Are you done with her food yet? She probably needs..."

Sakura gripped her head tighter as Karin's voice faded away and a high-pitched ringing filled her head, "ngh... Wh-what... What the hell is going on...?!"

My head... It's killing me... One hand gripped her head while the other gripped the blanket of her bed, "wh-why..."

I feel like I might throw up... Sakura breathed heavily as she tried to heal herself, to no avail. Her chakra flow was cut off almost completely.

Suddenly, it all stopped when she felt a sensation that she'd never felt before.

"... Uh..." She looked around in horror, "g-guys?!"

No response.

"Guys!" Sakura gripped the sheets of her bed tighter. Her headache was still there, but that wasn't her current issue.

Frick... Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap... Sakura took quick glances at the door with the hopes that someone would come in. Come on, Karin, Sasuke, anyone!!

"Sakura?" Sasuke ran in, followed by Karin, "what ha-- Oh no."

"Sakura..." Karin ran to her side, "are you..."

Sakura gripped Karin's arm as her legs wobbled weakly under her own weight, a clear liquid dripping onto the floor.

"I think..." Sakura panted breathlessly, "I think my water just broke."

_______________

"Okay, Sakura, just breathe..." Karin called as she frantically brought an IV needle over to Sakura's arm, "are you feeling anything?"

"Ngh... My stomach..." Sakura gritted her teeth as she gripped Sasuke's hand tighter, "are these... Contractions?"

"That's our best bet..." Karin muttered as she put the IV into Sakura's arm and brought the drip closer to her side, "if you feel any more pain, just tell--"

She was cut off by Sakura's scream as she writhed in pain.

"Sakura!" Sasuke held her hand tighter before looking at Karin, "are there any medicines she could take?"

"Let me find something." Karin ran to the cabinet nearby and quickly rummaged through in search of some pain reliever, "come on, come on..."

"Don't forget to stock up, Suigetsu. I know how much you like to procrastinate." Karin called over her shoulder to her partner from her desk.

"Oh relax..." Suigetsu shrugged nonchalantly, "there's still plenty of pain medications in there. Besides, what's the likelihood of someone coming here in pain, anyways? It's kinda pointless to me."

Suigetsu, you idiot! Karin gritted her teeth angrily as she slammed the cabinet door shut and returned to Sakura's side, "alright, Sakura, I'm terribly sorry, but I can't get you any medications right now."

Sakura opened an eye between pants to look at her, "s-screw that..."

Karin pursed her lips, "alright, then." She looked at Sasuke, "I don't know how close the baby is, but I have a feeling--"

"Just do what you have to do." Sasuke looked at her and gave her a reassuring nod, "I believe in you, Karin."

"Pl-please..." Sakura whispered between cries and screams.

Karin took Sakura's hand and nodded, "alright. I'll do my best."

"Sakura." Sasuke leaned over his wife, "how are you feeling?"

"S-Sasuke!" Sakura cried, "this is not what I was expecti-- Ah!"

Her nails dug into Sasuke's hand. He winced at the pain but lowered his head down so his forehead rested on hers, "it'll be okay... I swear, you'll be alright."

Sakura looked up at him with tear-filled eyes, "I-I'm... I don't know...!"

"Yes, you will be. I know." Sasuke gripped her hand tighter, "you're strong, remember? You'll get through this."

"Okay." Karin moved over to where her legs were as she snapped sterile medical gloves onto her hands, "Sakura, just breathe."

Here we go.

"Hah..."

"..."

"..."

"... Sakura."

"... Hm?"

"... We did it."

"Heh... Yeah."

"Did it hurt?"

"Only at the beginning."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

"This... This could just be the exhaustion talking, but... What if you get pregnant?"

"... Hm?"

"I... I want to start a family with you, Sakura. I don't know if what we just did here will make that happen, then... I'm glad."

"Really?"

"I-I mean, I'm glad we did it either way, but..."

"I understand. And I agree. Like you said, this could be exhaustion speaking, but... I want to have this baby."

"Hn. Me too."

"... I love you."

"I love you, too."

"You can do this, Sakura. I believe in you. And I love you."

Tears poured down Sakura's face at the sound of those words. Through it all, his forehead never left hers. He only had one hand to hold hers, but he was there.

"I-I can't--"

"Yes. You can." Sasuke looked at her shut eyes, "Sakura. Hey, look at me."

She sniffed between pants as her eyelids slowly lifted and she looked up at him through tears.

He smiled before kissing her forehead, never breaking eye contact, "you can do this."

Sakura's chest heaved as he brought his hand to her chest in an attempt to calm her. She held his hand tighter and chuckled weakly, "o-okay..."

"Sakura." Karin looked up at her, "your chakra..."

Sakura's energy level had dropped significantly since a few hours ago when she first went into labor.

"Here." Karin moved her arm up to Sakura's face, "bite."

Sakura looked at her weakly, "b-but..."

"Just do it! You need chakra! You've been slowly draining these past few days, and delivering this baby with no chakra whatsoever can kill you."

Without any more complaints, Sakura did as she was told and took in the chakra from Karin's arm.

"Tch." Karin winced slightly but returned her attention to the baby's soon arrival, until she took a quick glance back up at the two.

Sasuke... Never did Sasuke lose contact with her. He really does love her... Heh. I'm proud of you both.

After what felt like years, another few hours passed and all that was heard through the hallway of the hideout was the beeping of a heart rate monitor and Sakura's cries, which was, soon after, joined by the cries of a baby.

___________________

Sakura panted hard even a full half an hour after it was over. And even after the hour was over, Sasuke was still by her side.

Sasuke smirked, "you doubt yourself too much."

She weakly slapped his arm, "shut up... Try giving birth sometime."

"Maybe I'll try next time." Sasuke chuckled as he leaned down and kissed her, "I'm proud of you."

Sakura smiled as she held his neck, pulled him closer, and kissed him deeper.

"Ah."

The two quickly pulled away when Karin poked her head through the door of their room. Sakura smiled, "K-Karin!"

"Sorry." Karin smiled weakly, "but... I ran your baby through some tests, and it was a healthy delivery. You're truly amazing, Sakura."

Sakura shook her head, "you're the one who delivered this baby. You're the amazing one here."

"Well." Karin laughed, "enough tossing this ball around. Do you want to see your baby or not?"

Now it was Sasuke's turn to grip Sakura's hand. She looked up at him and swore she could feel him trembling.

"Hey." Sakura brought his scarred hand up to her lips, "let's welcome our child into the world. Together."

Sasuke gave her a timid smile, but nodded, "yeah."

"Alright." Karin smiled excitedly as she brought in a bundle wrapped in a blanket, "here are your parents, little one."

Sakura held Sasuke's hand tighter as Karin held the bundle out to her, "oh, Sasuke!"

Sasuke had no reaction. He just stood, staring in awe and amazement at the baby Sakura now held in her arms, "this is... This is our...?!"

"Yep." Karin grinned, "this is your daughter."

Sakura beamed up at Sasuke, "S-Sasuke! A..."

"A girl..." Sasuke stared at the baby's calm, sleeping face, "a girl..."

Is he... Karin studied his face. He didn't want a girl. I swear, if he starts--

"S-Sasuke!" Sakura laughed softly, "are you...?!"

Sasuke didn't fight back the tears that fell from his eyes, "I... I have a daughter...!"

"Yes! You do!" Sakura laughed as she brought the baby up closer to him as he leaned down to touch her face, poking her cheeks, "stop that, you'll wake her."

Sasuke smiled as tears continued down his cheeks, "she's our little girl..."

It's... Karin rubbed her elbows. Kinda freaky hearing that come from him...

The baby opened her eyes slowly to look up at him.

"Hey." Sakura gave Sasuke a nudge, "she has your eyes."

"Heh. I hope not." Sasuke muttered as he brought his hand to stroke her hair, "she's beautiful... Like her mom."

"Stop it." Sakura laughed, "so... The moment we've been waiting for, Darling."

"Oh, yeah." Sasuke looked at the baby and leaned down to kiss her.

"I want to name my child after... You."

"But why?"

"Because you've done so much for me that I never really realized. I was just blinded by my own hatred for you... As ironic as that is."

"But Sasuke, you have so much going for you right here. Why do you want to remember me?"

"Because I love you, even if you only looked down on me. Besides, I feel like I owe you something. I owe you at least my forgiveness."

"You will never have to forgive me. And Sasuke, no matter what happens to you from here on out... I will always love you... Itachi."

"Her name is Sarada. Sarada Uchiha."

Sakura smiled happily and nodded, "yeah. It suits her." She looked down at their daughter and kissed her.

"Well, welcome to the world, Sarada."