Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto and other characters!!

Chapter Fourteen
Breaking the Shell

Sakura groaned when she felt someone crawl into bed next to her. They pulled the covers over them and curled up next to her before they poked her gently in the side. The action annoyed her and automatically she rolled away from the person and buried her face under her pillow.

“Get up,” the person whispered.

Sakura sighed. “Go away.”

The person poked her again. “I can’t. Otousan told me to get you up, aneue.”

Immediately Sakura recognized that voice. She pulled her head up from under her pillow and stared at Keda in slight surprise for a moment before she found her sleep-heavy voice: “Keda? What are you doing here?”

Keda smiled. “Otousan told me to wake you up and make you come downstairs.” She then pulled on Sakura’s arm, but she didn’t budge. “C’mon, aneue. You’ve got to come.”

When Sakura didn’t move from her spot on the bed, Keda huffed and got off only to grab the blankets and pull them back. Sakura sent the little girl a look and tried to grab them back. “Keda don’t. Give those back.”

“Otousan does this to me and it makes me get up so no,” Keda smirked as she pulled the covers onto the floor.

Sakura sighed and slowly she pulled herself into a sitting position. “Alright, alright. I’m up.”

Keda gave her a triumphant smirk before she grabbed Sakura’s hand. “Now come on. Otousan is making breakfast and if you don’t hurry up my food is going to be cold.”

Reluctantly Sakura got up and followed the young girl downstairs as she rubbed her eyes. “How did you get in here anyways?”

“Hospital gave us a copy of your key,” Sasuke answered.

Sakura glanced at him to see his back was still to her and she gave him a confusion stare. “How does the hospital have a key to my house?”

He glanced back and shrugged. “Don’t know.”

Keda led Sakura over to the table and had her sit down before she ran up to her father. “Ne, otousan, how much longer? I’m hungry.”

“Be patient, Keda. I’m making Sakura breakfast first,” he replied as he looked down at his daughter.

“She can eat first,” Sakura commented. “I’m not hungry.”

Sasuke shot her a meaningful glance that she didn’t understand and didn’t reply.

Silence filled the kitchen as Sakura fell into herself as she had been doing a lot of lately. She missed the glances Sasuke sent her way as she stared out the backdoor absentmindedly only to come back at the sound of something landing in front of her. She turned to see Sasuke had set a plate of food down in front of her and she stared in quiet surprise at how much was on it.

“You don’t expect me to eat all of this, do you?” she asked.

Sasuke gave her a level stare. “Yes.”

“There’s no way-.”

“Just eat it,” he said firmly. “You haven’t been eating enough as it is.”

Sakura looked away at that statement and quietly took a bite. She didn’t look at Sasuke or his daughter as she ate and when she was finished she realized that Keda had taken a spot next to her to eat breakfast.

The young girl was looking down at her plate as she ate, but shyly she glanced up at Sakura with an unsure expression. “Aneue, why do I never see you anymore?”

Sakura opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out when she realized that she had no answer. Guilt began to fill her stomach and make it churn in a sickening way. She felt like crawling into a hole, the same feeling she had felt since she mom’s funeral over a month ago, but it felt sort of different now. It felt new and raw now that she didn’t have work or sleep to distract her. And now that she thought about it, she couldn’t remember the last time she talked to Sasuke or Ino or even Naruto. She was making herself work two-shifts, which left her exhausted and occupied.

Sakura pierced her lips together as Sasuke called for Keda from another room. She watched the young girl get off her chair quietly and leave the room without even saying good-bye. A sharp pain of guilt and sadness went through Sakura’s heart as she heard the front door open and close with a quiet click. She felt like it was mocking her.

Slowly Sakura stood and walked to the stairs. She needed a shower.

When Sakura stepped out of the bathroom she quietly went through her morning routine of getting dressed and picking up her room. She began making her bed without any thought running through her head. She had been doing this for the past month and she hardly even thought about what she was doing until she realized someone was standing in the doorway to her room.

Immediately she knew it was Sasuke by his soft presence; the one she had come to recognize when she was a teenager. She refused to look at him because she knew the look of pity she’d see on his face. Everyone in the hospital had been giving her the same look and she refused to be pitied even if her heart was broken from losing her mother and from being betrayed by Tsunade. Hadn’t her ex-sensai always promised to help her?

“Sakura,” Sasuke said softly, “we need to talk.”

“About what?” she asked. Sakura still didn’t look at him as she continued making her bed.

“About you.”

Sakura plastered a fake smile on her face and looked at him in confusion. “What about me?”

He gave her a hard stare. “Cut the crap, Sakura. You’ve isolated yourself from everyone and you’re slowly starving yourself.”  

Immediately her smile fell and her face became expressionless. Sakura opened her mouth, but for a few moments no words came out. “Why do you care?”

Sasuke’s expression softened slightly “Rika wouldn’t have wanted this. She would have wanted you to be happy Sakura. I know she would’ve.”

She looked away and didn’t respond. She knew that’s what her mom wanted for her, but it was so hard. Her mother was her pillar and now she was gone her strength was wavering. She knew that her mom wanted her happy, but it was so hard. And how did Sasuke know that’s what her mom wanted?

Then it hit her like a blow to the stomach.

Her eyes widened slightly in realization and slowly her eyes landed on him. “You knew,” she accused. “You knew she was going to die,” she spoke a little louder. “And you didn’t tell me!” The surprised expression on Sasuke’s face made her realized that she had guessed correctly. “You fucking bastard! You’re just like Tsunade! You betrayed me; you lied to me!”

Sasuke took a step towards her. “Sakura, listen-.”

“No!” she screamed. “I don’t trust you! Get away from me!” she yelled when he took another step towards her.

Sasuke walked up to Sakura and grabbed her shoulders when she tried to shove him away. “Sakura, listen to me.”

“No!”

She could tell he’d lost his patience by the way his eyes narrowed and his grip tightened. “Stop and listen to me, Sakura!”

Sakura sent him a harsh glare. “Shove off!”

“You’re acting like a child! You’re an adult. A ninja for Kami’s sake! I know you’ve just lost your mother, but pull yourself together,” he yelled back at her.

A hot flash of anger ripped through Sakura and she shoved him off her. “You’re not my superior! Don’t tell me what I can and can’t do! You have no idea what it feels like-!”

“Feels like to what?” Sasuke interrupted. “Have your parents die? Yeah, I think I do Sakura. If you haven’t noticed my parents were killed when I was fucking seven!” Sakura shut her mouth. “I had to deal with not only my mother and father being killed, but my aunt and uncle and all my relatives! And you want to know the worst part? My brother did it! My brother killed every single one of them! So yeah, Sakura, I think I know what it feels like!”

Sakura crossed her arms and looked away from him so he couldn’t see the tears form in her eyes. She turned her back on him and didn’t reply, but she did hear the soft sigh that escaped Sasuke’s lips before he took a deep breath. “Listen, Sakura. I didn’t come here to yell at you. I’m sorry about not telling you, I really am, but I promised Rika I wouldn’t.”

Sakura continued to hold herself as her eyes began to brim with tears. She was quiet for a moment longer before she cleared her throat and swallowed. “How did you get passed it?” If he didn’t come here to fight, then she wouldn’t either.

The kunoichi heard Sasuke open his mouth, but he didn’t speak right away. “I didn’t. For years all I thought about was their deaths…and then I had Keda and I realized that it was time I forgot about my old family and focused on my new one.”

Sakura gave a huff of amusement. “So you want me to get pregnant?”

Sasuke gave a soft huff of amusement. “That’s not exactly what I meant…”

Quietly laughter escaped Sakura’s lips, but it quickly turned into a sob as the first of many tears fell down her face. “Oh Kami,” she whispered, as she covered her eyes with her hands and sank down to the floor.

She felt Sasuke wrap his arms around her and help her gently fall to the floor painlessly. He held her tightly against him as Sakura cried her eyes out at her loss. Fresh waves of grief washed over her and Sakura found herself leaning into Sasuke, searching for any kind of comfort.

She realized he always managed to be there when she cried.
---
“Sakura-chan,” Hinata welcomed Sakura the moment she opened the door. The women hugged each other, but had some minor difficulty due to the dark-haired woman’s nine-month pregnant stomach and the bags in Sakura’s hands.

“I see it’s almost time,” Sakura said as she walked into the house, closing the door behind her.

Hinata smiled back at her as she walked over to the couch and sat down. She let out a soft sigh of relief and smiled back at the pink-haired kunoichi. “Yes. I’m just ready for it to be over. Carrying this baby around for this long is really exhausting.”

Sakura laughed and set the bags down near the door before she walked over to her longtime friend and sat on the couch next to her. There was a moment of silence, but it passed quickly.

“What are the bags for?” Hinata asked curiously.

Sakura glanced at the bags near the front door. “Ino, Shikamaru, Haru, and Kakashi.”

The pregnant woman stared at Sakura in confusion. “Why?”

A soft sigh escaped Sakura’s lips as she continued to look at the four silver bags. “Because I missed all of their birthdays last month while I was being…” Sakura looked for the right word, “selfish.”

Hinata gave her an understanding look as silence once again began to hover around them, but once more the younger girl broke it. “I always thought it was weird how Shikamaru’s birthday was on the twenty-second, Ino’s on the twenty-third, and Haru’s on the twenty-fourth.”

Sakura side glanced at her. “Yeah.” She paused. “Do you suppose they did it on purpose?”

“What do you mean? Like they had sex nine months before their birthdays?” Hinata asked as she looked at the silver bags.

“Well it is Ino,” Sakura commented quietly.

In unison the women glanced at each other and began laughing. Sakura didn’t know why she was laughing, only that she was and it felt great. It had been so long since she had last laughed and she realized that she was laughing because she could, but it stopped abruptly when Hinata gasped and put a hand to her stomach.

“Oh,” the younger girl said painfully.

Immediately Sakura felt her medic persona kick in and she reached over and felt her stomach. “What’s wrong?”

A soft sigh escaped her lips and she gave Sakura a small smile. “Nothing. Baby’s just deciding to practice gymnastics.” She paused for a second. “I think.” Then her eyes widened and she looked at Sakura with a shocked and slightly fearful expression. “I think my water just broke.”

Sakura stared for a moment. “Oh shit.”

Quickly she formed some hand seals and grabbed onto Hinata before she made the last one to transport them to the hospital. The moment they entered the lobby, Sakura felt Hinata’s legs buckle from under her and it took all of Sakura’s strength to keep her from hitting the floor.

“I need help over here!” she called. “Get me a wheelchair and a birthing room.”

Immediately nurses took to action. Mai, a brown-haired nurse, ran up to Sakura and Hinata and together they helped the woman into a wheelchair. “Room 238 is open!” the blonde-haired woman at the front desk called over the sound of visiting family and friends.

Sakura nodded her reply at the woman and looked at Mai as she raced Hinata down the hall. “Get the Hokage in here!”

“Should I grab Tsunade-sama as well?” she asked.

Sakura paused as she remembered how Tsunade had lied to her, but she quickly shook it off. This wasn’t about her; this was about Hinata and Naruto and their baby coming out healthily. “Yes.”

Then she continued her fast pace down the hall. She was barely aware of the nurses walking beside her as she read the numbers on the rooms. When she saw the room 238 come into view her pace quickened and she ran into the room.

“Hinata, we need to get you onto the bed. Do you think you can stand for a few seconds?” Sakura asked gently.

Her eyes were closed, but at Sakura’s question she opened them and nodded slightly. With the help of Sakura and another nurse, Hinata stood and was able to maneuver onto the bed into a lying position.

“Get her hooked up to that heart monitor!” Sakura called out as she began taking off the slacks Hinata was wearing.

“Tsunade and Naruto-sama are here,” Mai called as Tsunade walked in behind the blonde-haired woman.

Sakura side glanced at her. “Make sure Naruto stays outside. He won’t be of any help in here.”

Mai nodded before she left the room once more. Tsunade came to a stand beside Sakura and purposefully she looked away, but after a moment she looked at her ex-sensai to see she was searching for some type of reassurance. The pink-haired kunoichi nodded at her and looked at the nurses around her. “Everyone be alert. We want this birth to go as smoothly as possible. Get ready Hinata.”
---
Naruto paced back and forth outside of Hinata’s birthing room. A million different emotions were racing through him, ranging from fear to excitement to nervousness to happiness. He continuously raked his hands through his hair and rubbed his face distressingly.

“Calm down, dobe. You’ll wear yourself out,” a voice cut in.

Naruto’s deep blue eyes turned to see his teammate was walking down the hall towards him. “Sasuke,” he breathed out. He was glad Sasuke was here. He had gone through this before and he needed his support for this.

“Sit down, dobe. You’ll need to save your energy,” the Uchiha said, as he took a seat.

Naruto continued to pace. “How can you be so calm? My wife’s giving birth!”

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at him. “Not my wife.” Naruto glared at him. “I’ve already gone through this and both Toshi and Keda were fine.”

Naruto let out a stressful sigh and plopped down onto one of the many chairs stationed outside of the rooms.

“Who’s doing the birth?” Sasuke asked casually.

The hokage looked up at the Uchiha and gave him a strange look. “Sakura, of course.”

Sasuke sent Naruto a slightly surprised look, but didn’t comment. Naruto quickly shook it off as he stood up and began to pace again. Sasuke remained sitting as the Hokage ripped out his hair in anticipation, but he didn’t care. All he could think about was what was happening in that room and that he was about to be a father. Him. He was about to join the ranks among Sasuke and Shikamaru. He knew he was more capable to do the job than them…right?
---
With a sigh of relief, Sakura walked out of the birthing room and looked around for Naruto. She was surprised to see Sasuke sitting in the hallway, watching the Hokage, but she quickly turned to Naruto who was looking like he was about to have a nervous breakdown.

“Calm down, Naruto,” Sakura said in a smooth voice. He jumped out of his seat and stared at her expectantly. “Both Hinata and the baby are fine. You can go see them if you like,” she said.

The hokage immediately ran for the door, but Sakura grabbed him by the collar and gave him a fierce look. “But be calm. Hinata’s tired and your child needs a peaceful surrounding.”

Naruto immediately relaxed and nodded at her before he once more made for the door, but at a slower pace. Sakura saw him take a deep breath before he entered the room and closed it quietly behind him.

Another sigh escaped Sakura’s mouth when it closed and immediately she felt her body relax. She needed sleep. That double shift with Shizune was really starting to make her weary, but she couldn’t help the smile that formed on her lips as she heard Naruto give a small surprised yelp at something inside the room. He was now a father. It still didn’t cease to amaze her.

Suddenly Sakura felt light-headed and she took a step back as she tried to keep her balance and regain focus. A headache pushed to the front of her mind and she raised a hand to her forehead as a hand was placed on the small of her back. “What’s wrong?” Sasuke asked.

Sakura took a deep breath and looked up to see the Uchiha was looking down at her. “Nothing,” she sighed. “Just a long day.”

His expression relayed that he accepted her answer, but she noticed he didn’t remove his hand. A small silence fell between them as Sakura continued to try to ease her headache, all the while feeling Sasuke’s eyes on her.

“How are you doing?” he asked suddenly.

Sakura stilled completely and slowly looked up at him. The look he was giving her made her realize what exactly he was talking about and slowly a small smile graced her lips. “I’m fine. Thanks.”

She felt his arm move from the small of her back to around her shoulder and gently he pulled her against him. Then kissed her forehead softly. Sakura felt shock race through her body, but she didn’t stiffen or pull away. Instead she relaxed into him and wrapped her arms loosely around his waist. He pulled away and rested his chin on the top of her head.

“Thank you,” Sakura whispered as she buried her face in his neck, “for everything.”