"Good morning."

Sasuke rolled over onto his side and blinked a few times.

Is this... A dream?

"Can you say 'papa'?"

"Sakura, she's a day old... She can't talk."

"I know, but it doesn't hurt to try."

The two women laughed as Sakura knelt by Sasuke's bed and Karin stood nearby.

"He looks so peaceful when he sleeps." Karin snickered.

"Well, when he doesn't snore." Sakura chuckled as she moved closer to him, "good morning, sleepyhead. It's already noon."

Sasuke's vision cleared and he recognized the small baby, staring up at him, "mmm...."

"Come on, Sasuke." Karin laughed, "I even made breakfast for you guys and everything. It's about time."

"We'll wait for you in the kitchen." Sakura patted Sasuke's head and left the room close behind Karin, leaving Sasuke laying under the covers.

Heh... He sat up and chuckled to himself, his hand clenching the cloth of the blanket.

This isn't a dream. This is real.

We really have a daughter.

_________________

"Finally!" Sakura smirked as Sasuke drowsily walked up to the kitchen island where Sakura sat and Karin stood setting plates of eggs and pancakes out, "I guess you win, huh?"

"I kinda figured it'd take a while." Karin laughed, "Here. You're probably exhausted after yesterday."

"Yeah..." Sasuke rubbed his neck and plopped down in the chair next to Sakura. He glanced over at the small blanket she was holding and his eyes met the small child's, "good morning, Sarada."

"She's been awake all morning." Sakura chuckled, "I didn't know how to get her to sleep, so I just kept her company until now."

"Ah..." Sasuke looked at her, "aren't you tired?"

"I'm exhausted. But I just can't sleep, either." Sakura looked down at Sarada and kissed her small forehead, "I just talked to her all morning, hummed to her, and kept her company. She's a quiet one. Not too much to handle."

"That's good." Sasuke smiled as he rubbed Sarada's head. Her tiny mouth spread into a smile as she reached for her father's hand, "hey."

"I think she recognizes you." Karin sat next to Sakura, "you should try holding her."

"M-me?"

"I mean," Sakura laughed, "she needs some quality time with her papa. She probably wants it, too. Here."

She stood up to carefully transfer the tiny baby to Sasuke's arms, "hold her tight against your body, but not too tight to the point of suffocation. Physical contact like that is important."

"O-okay."

She's so light... Sasuke studied Sarada's calm face as she looked back up at him. She looks so curious. Like... Like someone who sticks their noses into other peoples' businesses. An image of Naruto soon made its way into Sasuke's mind. Oh no... What if she ends up like him? Even worse... What if she looks up to him? That won't be good...

"Sasuke?" Sakura laughed, "are you okay?"

He nodded, "yeah. Yeah. I was just thinking."

"Yeah? Me too." Sakura turned to Karin, "I want to stay true to my word. I've been telling everyone that we wouldn't return to the village until after our baby was born."

"I understand." Karin nodded, "it sucks. I wish you guys could stay longer."

"Me too, but I feel that we need to be home to raise Sarada the right way." Sakura set a hand on Karin's shoulder, "you need to come visit sometime. We'd love to see you again."

"I definitely will." Karin smiled, "let me see you guys out before you leave, alright?"

"Of course." Sakura turned to Sasuke, "Darling, let's get our stuff together."

"Huh? Oh, okay." Sasuke replied as if snapped out from a trance, "hold Sarada. I'll go get our bags."

Karin chuckled as Sasuke left, "he was admiring Sarada. He stood there the whole time watching her."

"Think he'll be a good dad?"

"No doubt."

The two women laughed as they stood up from the table and headed to the entrance of the hideout.

After about half an hour, the small group stood outside the hideout.

"Take care, alright?" Karin smiled before turning to Sakura, "keep in mind what I taught you, okay?"

"Yeah." Sakura nodded.

Karin turned to Sasuke, "and you. If I hear anything from Sakura or anyone about you leaving or mistreating her or Sarada, I swear I'll find you and beat the living crap out of you, you hear?"

Sasuke smirked, "yes, Ma'am."

She shut her eyes and let out a sigh of relief, "honestly, you guys really keep me on my--"

Before Karin could finish, someone threw their arms around her in a tight hug.

"I literally can't thank you enough, Karin." Sakura spoke, happiness and excitement in her tone, "I'll never forget what you've done for us."

Karin smiled and wrapped her arms around her, "it was my pleasure. Oh! Before you go."

Sakura stepped back as Karin reached into her pocket and pulled something out, "Hey, is that..."

"Yep." Karin shrugged, "keep it as a memento. Or in case Sarada needs it later on."

"I will." Sakura smiled as she took the gift and inspected the pair of red glasses that sat in the palm of her hands, "I'm sure Sarada will love them, too."

"Take care of her." Karin looked at Sasuke with a playful grin, "I leave her in your care now."

"Of course."

Karin crossed her arms as she watched the newfound family make their way away from the hideout and over the borders of the Land of Fire, "I hope the next time I see you guys, Sarada will be all grown up. Heh. Imagine that."

___________________

"Do you think she's hungry?"

"She must be." Sakura sighed as she rocked a very distraught and sobbing Sarada.

"But..." Sasuke rubbed his chin, "I don't think we brought any milk from the hideout."

"Oh, no. We're okay." Sakura told him as she sat by a tree and moved Sarada's head, "we can rest here for a moment to let Sarada have some milk."

Sasuke watched her until his expression changed drastically, "h-hey, Sakura! What are you...?!"

"Shh!" Sakura cut him off, "just don't be so obvious about it. If someone just so happened to be passing, they might see."

Sasuke cleared his throat and stepped away for a few minutes to let Sakura breastfeed in private, "just... Call me when you're done."

I've seen her before, but this is... Awkward. Sasuke's face flushed as he sat against another tree nearby.

"Haha, alright Darling." Sakura called, "how much longer is the walk?"

"Well." Sasuke checked the time, "it's getting dark. If we keep walking, we should get there by tomorrow at noon."

"Looks like we're making good time." Sakura smiled down at Sarada, "I can't wait to introduce you to Naruto, Kakashi-Sensei, Ino, the rest of our team back in the village... Oh! And my parents! We need to introduce you to your grandparents! They'll be thrilled to meet you!"

Sasuke listened to Sakura's excitement and smiled as he shut his eyes and leaned his head back against the tree. He imagined his own parents and brother meeting his daughter for the first time.

"Sarada! What a lovely name!"

"I like it."

"I think that name works well for her."

"Well, we named her after Itachi." Sakura held baby Sarada in her arms as she held her out for them to see.

"She's so beautiful. Just like you both. Reminds me of my little boy."

Sasuke smirked, "Mom..."

"I know, I know. He's not very little anymore." Mikoto giggled.

Itachi grinned, "He is to me."

Sasuke sighed, "alright, no need to be so humble, Itachi."

His brother chuckled as he patted his brother's back and watched their father approach Sakura to rub Sarada's head, "that's right. This is your first grandchild, isn't it, Father?"

Fugaku smiled, "and she's a lovely one at that. I think she would do well to revive the Uchiha clan."

Sasuke looked at him, "but... She's not..."

"Does gender matter?" his father looked at him, "as long as she has that will of fire, she can do it. It's not entirely about us being men."

"I see a bright future for her." Mikoto chimed as she leaned over to kiss Sarada's cheek, "she's adorable."

"I can tell." Itachi added, "she's going to be just as stubborn as you, Sasuke."

"Hn. I hope not." Sasuke sighed.

"Not all things have to be perfect, son." Fugaku set his hand on Sasuke's shoulder, "we sure weren't."

"There's still hope for the Uchiha clan in your child." Mikoto nodded, "We trust you'll both be wonderful parents for her."

"But don't spoil her. That's my job." Itachi chuckled as he poked Sarada's cheeks, "fair warning."

Sasuke smiled at his parents, then at his brother, "I'll remember that. Thanks... Mom, Dad... Itachi..."

Thank you.

"Sasuke?"

He sat up with a start, "y-yes?"

Sakura chuckled slightly, "we're ready to go."

"Ah. Right." Sasuke stood up and adjusted the bag over his shoulder, "let's go."

Sakura nodded with a bright smile as she took deep breaths, "I can't believe we're finally going home. It's been so long... I can't wait to see everyone again!"

"Yeah." Sasuke looked at his wife and the happiness on her face. Her entire complexion glowed. It's been a while since he's seen it. The last time was probably when she found out she was pregnant. Seeing her this happy warmed his heart, "you know..."

"Huh?"

He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her to walk closer next to him, "This has to be one of the best things that have ever happened to me. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me."

Sakura stared at him before shutting her eyes and smiling, "agreeing to marry you was the happiest day of my life, and going on this journey with you only strengthened our relationship and told me that it was the right thing to do. We're perfect for each other, I see that now. We're here to protect and support each other, as teammates, friends, and as husband and wife. And now..."

"As father and mother." Sasuke smiled softly as he looked down at Sarada.

In response, Sakura nodded before stopping to face him and meet his lips with hers.

This was fun. It really was.

Despite all those attacks and the threats out there, I grew so much.

I grew to understand you better, fight alongside you better, even love you better.

We've been through so much. Tazuna, Inari, Akane, the Asekatsu, Watori, even Aoba...

Through it all, I learned so much about myself that I never really knew before.

Part of it is how much we depend on and love each other.

We're connected in soul, mind, and, now, in body.

Now that we have our own little girl, our relationship is even stronger than before. Not just our relationship, but our love.

I love you so much, Sasuke Uchiha.

I love you so much, Sakura Uchiha.

I swear that even though our journey is over,

I'll protect you.

I'll keep you safe.

I'll remember you, no matter where I am.

I'll always love you.

And I'll always look back on this time when we traveled across the Shinobi world together.

Fighting side by side

And growing closer than ever before.

We'll retell the story, even when we're old.

To our children and our grandchildren.

The story of how our family began.

It began on this journey.

This may be the end of our journey,

But it's only the beginning of our family.

Well, Darling. Are you ready?

Yeah. Let's go.

Let's go home.

Our real journey begins now.