Date: Every day is Canon Day.
Pairing: SasuSaku, light implied ShikaTema
Prompt: Parents
Title: Pre-Natal Panic
Summary: Nine months to gestate, one moment to fall in love.
Dedication: For xRaianx, who has been patiently waiting for this one.
Disclaimer: Naruto, not mine since 1999.
Mood Music: All I've Ever Needed by Paul McDonald & Nikki Reed
Author's Note: I just love and adore Salad-chan, but Uchi-babes need more kids. And these two are even more fun to write now that they're canon.


"Come back safe," she whispers.

Sasuke doesn't respond with words, he's never been good with those, so he pulls her into a bruising kiss. Sakura's lips are still swollen and tender from their intense round of lovemaking last night, and she wishes they had time for more.

But duty is a shinobi's mistress, and Sasuke is leaving for an A rank mission with Shino and Shikamaru. If they're lucky, they'll only be gone a month. Sakura doesn't count on luck though; missions rarely go according to schedule.

She steals one more kiss before he pulls away, his gaze lingering on her face. Then with a blink, he is gone, and Sakura is left to shiver in the early autumn morning without his warmth.

With a last glance backward, Sakura sighs and retreats into their house, locking the door behind her. The house is large and empty without him, but she has a shift at the hospital in an hour to keep her mind off of it. As she trudges up the stairs, Sakura notes how tired she's been feeling for the past few days. Sasuke's attention has been rather...ardent lately, not that she minds.

She loves how Sasuke expresses himself physically. He doesn't speak much, but he's always been like that. But when he uses his hands and his mouth, his meaning is unmistakable. Sakura flushes just thinking about it. She mentally scolds herself, forcing her thoughts toward her upcoming shift.

But she can't help the small smile that sticks to her lips.


It's two-thirty in the morning when Sakura finally returns home from her shift. One would think that because they are living in a time of peace, things at the hospital would have slowed down. However, the chuunin exams are rapidly approaching, the first since the war, and the genin have been going all out with their training to be ready. Such training has resulted in many injuries, including one genin who somehow ended up with an exploding tag attached to his backside. That poor child won't be sitting for a while.

Despite her exhaustion, Sakura is starving. Her foray into the fridge is not very successful. Inside, she finds an orange, three tomatoes, some celery, and leftover onigiri. Upon further inspection, she finds a bottle of chocolate syrup in the very back corner.

Without really thinking about it, she pulls out the onigiri and the chocolate syrup. She empties half of the bottle of chocolate syrup over the onigiri and munches on it mindlessly as she heads upstairs to the bedroom. When it's gone, she licks the remaining chocolate off of her fingers.

After she discards her soiled scrubs, Sakura pulls on one of Sasuke's old high-collared navy shirts with the Uchiha crest emblazoned on the back. It comes down to her knees and smells like him, so she can pretend that she's curled up beside him rather than alone in an empty bed.


Four hours later, Sakura is startled from sleep by the lurching of her stomach. She stumbles out of bed, staggering down the hallway to the bathroom. Her next half an hour is spent hugging the toilet and wondering what she did to deserve this. It may have had something to do with the chocolate onigiri.

Why did she eat that anyway? She can't quite remember, and as her stomach heaves again it doesn't seem to matter anymore.

After a while, her stomach finally settles enough for her to leave the shelter of the bathroom, and Sakura collapses back onto the bed. Four hours of sleep is not nearly enough after that shift. But just as she begins to get comfortable and the edges of unconsciousness tickle her brain, another uncomfortable sensation surfaces.

Growling, Sakura pushes herself off the bed and stomps back to the bathroom.

This is getting ridiculous.


A couple of weeks later, Sakura is having lunch at Ichiraku with Ino and Temari. Both blondes are staring at her as she devours her third bowl of ramen. Sakura pays them no mind, she is starving.

Ino slowly inches away from the ravenous medic. "Um, Forehead Girl, are you okay? You're eating like Naruto." Sakura practically growls back in response and waves at Teuchi for another bowl.

Temari looks on with amusement as Sakura starts on her fourth bowl. "Does she normally eat this much?" Ino shakes her head. "No, and I was with her yesterday so I know she's not coming off of one of her three day binge shifts at the hospital. She acts like she hasn't eaten in a week."

The sand-turned-leaf kunoichi recrosses her legs and rests her chin in the palm of her hand.

"Maybe she's pregnant."

Blue and green eyes snap to Temari, and Sakura's ramen hands from her chopsticks halfway to her mouth. She scoffs. "That's ridiculous, I'm not-" But then she remembers her constant queasiness and her increased need to use the bathroom lately. Sakura chews on her bottom lip and glances at Ino.

Ino raises an eyebrow and smirks. "You and Sasuke have been rather active lately, as I recall you telling me. Newlyweds going at it like rabbits."

Sakura flushes to the roots of her pink hair. "Yeah, but-"

The interrogation specialist laughs. "What did you think was going to happen?"

"I don't know," Sakura grumbles. She looks down at her unfinished ramen, suddenly feeling sick.


At the pharmacy, Ino is piling every different brand of pregnancy test into a hand basket. Sakura follows close behind, covering her face. Temari is behind her, reading the boxes curiously.

"Why are you even embarrassed, Forehead Girl?" Ino rolls her eyes in exasperation. "You did the deed with the hottest guy in the village, multiple times I might add, and you're married." She pauses for a minute. "Not that that last part matters, but the point is that you're a grown woman and there is nothing embarrassing about being pregnant."

Temari nods her agreement. Ino notices her holding a pregnancy test box in her hand and holds out the basket for her to throw it in. "Come on, we're gonna go check out."

Temari shakes her head hesitantly. "This one's...not for Sakura." Ino's eyes bug out of her head. "ARE YOU SERIOUS?!" The sand kunoichi scowls. "I don't think I am, but I'm a little late. I just want to be certain." Ino ignores this and waggles her eyebrows suggestively.

Sakura, getting impatient, grabs both of them by the arms and drags them to the checkout.


"I can't believe this."

"They're all pink. Better get used to the idea, Sakura. You're PREGGERS."

Sakura is on the verge of hyperventilating. Pregnant. She's pregnant. She's going to be a mother. And Sasuke-kun...he's going to be a father. She sinks to the floor, trying to absorb all of this. Ino and Temari sit down on either side of her, each of them holding one of her shaking hands. They glance at each other anxiously, waiting for her reaction.

It takes a moment, but finally a small smile appears, gradually growing into a full blown grin. "You guys, I'm gonna be a mom. Oh my god. This is really happening." She gently prods her still-flat stomach. Her hands are squeezed tight as all three of them shriek in excitement.

When they finally calm down, Ino asks, "When are you going to tell Sasuke? Are you going to send him a message?"

Sakura shakes her head. "I don't want to distract him while he's on a mission. He's supposed to be home in a couple of weeks, and I need time to figure out how to tell him anyway."

"What's there to figure out? Just yell 'SURPRISE' and hold up some baby booties." Ino flips her hair in absolute certainty.

Sakura is unconvinced. "That might work for most people, pig, but Sasuke lost his family in the worst way possible when he was young. I want this to be really special for him because he'll finally have a family again."

This reminder of Sasuke's past sobers them all.

They are silent for a few moments, lost in their thoughts, when Temari finally asks, "Do you hope it's a boy or a girl?" Sakura ponders the question, then finally shrugs. "A boy would make it easier to carry on the clan name, but I will be happy either way. And I think Sasuke-kun will be too."

Ino sniffs, blinking back tears. "My baby girl's all grown up."

They all laugh, and a minute later all three of them are crying in happiness.


Sakura takes deep breaths, trying to calm her nerves.

Sasuke is going to be home any minute, she sensed his chakra as he entered the village, and right now he's probably giving his report to Kakashi-sensei...err, Hokage-sama. She still doesn't know what to call him. She's made Sasuke's favorites for dinner: onigiri and sliced tomatoes (this time without the chocolate syrup).

According to Tsunade, she is four months along in her pregnancy now, and her normally flat, toned tummy is finally started to balloon out. Sakura smiles to herself as she cradles her small bulge in her plam, thinking of the happiness this child will bring.

The sound of the front door sliding open startles her out of her reverie and she drops the knife she was holding, impaling her foot. "Dammit," she curses. Carefully bending down to heal herself, she doesn't notice the tall figure enter the kitchen behind her.

"I'm so clumsy," she mutters to herself angrily.

"Hn. Yeah, you are," a deep voice chuckles next to her.

Sakura's head shoots up instantly. "SASUKE-KUN!" Her foot healed and now forgotten, she throws her arms around her husband's neck, tackling him to the floor in her enthusiasm. "Welcome home," she says, her face buried in his chest.

"Hn." His arms come up around her, one hand resting on the small of her back and the other twining in her hair as he kisses her forehead, and then her lips. The kiss is drawn-out and lingering, heating her body in a slow-burn. He sucks on her bottom lip and she nips at his.

After a few heated minutes, he breaks the kiss, holding her out away from him at arm's length by her shoulders, his face puzzled. "Are you wearing something around your waist?"

Sakura goes red. "Oh, um..." She sits back on her ankles so that he can see her protruding belly. Breathing in deep, she tells him.

"I'm pregnant."

Sasuke stares at her blankly, his eyes flitting from her face to her abdomen repeatedly. After a couple minutes of this, Sakura really starts to worry. "Sasuke-kun?" She waves a hand in front of his face and he finally snaps back to reality.

"You're...?"

She nods, smiling as tears spill down her cheeks. "You're going to be a father. We're going to be parents and we'll have a real family."

Sasuke stares at her incredulously. A tremulous smile turns up the corners of his mouth, and he pulls her in for a crushing hug, burying his face in the crook of her neck.

"Sakura, thank you," he tells her over and over again between kisses.


The next few months seem to pass by in a blur. Sasuke requests time off from Kakashi to help care for Sakura during the remainder of her pregnancy. It nearly drives Sakura insane.

She understands, she really does, because Sasuke is extremely overprotective of family, having lost his. But he hovers. He's there every time she sighs or groans, trying to help, but Sakura keeps explaining to him that this is how pregnancy goes, this is normal and there's nothing wrong with her.

But this doesn't matter to Sasuke, who continues to fluff her pillows and rub her feet, even when she's trying to sleep. It's sweet, and Sakura is not ungrateful or unappreciative, especially when he indulges her very strange food cravings (chocolate onigiri was only the beginning) and endures her wild and often violent mood swings.

"I'm a planet," she cries to him one night, and he holds her and tells her that she's beautiful.

When the day finally comes when her water breaks, Sasuke is an absolute mess. Sakura would find it funny that one of the most powerful and self-possessed shinobi in the world is reduced to

a panicked tizzy at the first sign of his wife going into labor, but her contractions are becoming painful and there's no more room in her head to think.


"Push, Sakura."

"DON'T TELL ME TO PUSH, YOU SMUG BASTARD. HAVING YOUR ARM BLOWN OFF IS NOTHING COMPARED TO THIS."

Sakura screws her eyes shut in pain and her teeth clench as she tries to push the baby out. She's practically grinding Sasuke's arm bones to dust with her death grip, but he endures it like a champ. Tsunade and Shizune are stationed between her legs, giving her advice and encouragement, but oh god it hurts.

Ino is there on her other side to brush the sweaty bangs out of her face and to snap at Sasuke when he tries to get in the way. He does often, demanding that they give her something for the pain, because he can't stand to see her suffering because of him. When Ino suggests that he go wait outside with Naruto and Kakashi, he glares at her.

Finally, the last big push comes, and Sasuke's eyes widen in panic as Sakura screams herself hoarse. The next screams he hears are those of his newborn daughter as she enters the world, wailing and red in the face. Her head is topped with a tuft of the dark Uchiha hair, but her set of lungs was definitely inherited from Sakura.

Tsunade allows him to cut the umbilical cord, and he retreats to Sakura's side as they clean the blood and fluids off of his daughter. He squeezes Sakura's hand, and she collapses back against the pillows, exhausted. He leans down to kiss her forehead. Shizune brings the newest Uchiha over and hands her to Sasuke, who accepts her hestitantly and with the greatest caution.

His world stops.

His line of sight is reduced to the child in his arms, tiny and soft and impossibly beautiful. Her eyes open and she regards him with large, curious eyes. Eyes that are the same color as his, inky black, but with all the innocence that his haven't held since he was a child. He forgets how to breath as her little arms reach up toward his face, clutching at his shirt.

He doesn't realize it, but tears are leaking from the corners of his eyes.

From the hospital bed, Sakura glows as she watches the two most important people in her life meet. "Sasuke-kun?" she calls.

His head snaps toward her, his trance broken. Remembering that his daughter has two parents, he brings her to Sakura and lowers her gently to her mother's arms. Sakura cradles the little girl with reverence.

"What should we name her?" she asks softly.

Sasuke thinks for a moment.

"Uchiha Sarada."