FicWad

Chapter 7: Due Date

AN: The following chapter contains a childbirth scene. I've had three kids, so I know whereof I speak. It won't be particularly graphic, but I just thought I'd give you a heads up.

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"Naruto, you can open your eyes now, it's over."

Naruto cautiously took his hands away from his face. He looked up into the faces of Sakura and Hinata from where he lay on his back on the floor. The lights had been turned back up and the four other couples who had attended the childbirth class had filed out of the room, glancing oddly at the kid on the floor.

He gave Sakura a weak smile. "Sorry," he said sheepishly. "Kind of freaked out there."

Both the girls smiled back at him affectionately. "It's okay, Naruto. I think the fact that you came at all was really nice," Sakura replied.

Naruto lay still on the floor, staring up at the ceiling. "Man, that was nasty!" he said with great feeling. "It was kind of nice at first, but then came the screaming and the moaning, and when the video got to the actual part where...you know...where the baby came out, I just couldn't..." He shuddered. "I mean, I've seen a lot of stuff, but that was just..."

"Can you sit up all right, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked, holding out her hand.

"Oh, yeah, sure." He took Hinata's hand and got to his feet. He grinned at the girls, still feeling embarrassed.

It was the middle of November, and Sakura had a month to go until her due date. She wanted to attend the childbirth and child care classes that were being offered at the hospital. She went to the first one by herself, and it was all she could do to get through it without bursting into tears. The other couples were nice to her, but they couldn't help throwing the occasional glance at her as the only solitary mother-to-be in the group.

Aside from missing him and fearing whether or not he would come back alive, she kept thinking how much fun it would have been to have Kakashi there. She could imagine all the completely irreverent comments he would have made to her under his breath about the often sappy narration on the instructional videos. After a while it got too painful to try to imagine things like that, and she just gritted her teeth and concentrated on the instruction.

After that initial experience, Naruto and Hinata offered to go with her to the next ones. They also offered to be with her when she actually gave birth, just in case Kakashi had not returned by then. Naruto had awkwardly added, "But I'm sure he will! It's just that...you know...just in case..."

Naruto ended up biting off a little more than he could chew, however. While Sakura and Hinata watched the childbirth video, wide-eyed but calm, Naruto gave a cry of horror and fell over backwards, trying to block out all the sights and sounds.

"Naruto, I really appreciate you being here," Sakura said as they left the room. "But are you sure you're going to be up to this?"

"I can be with Sakura if it's too much for you," Hinata offered.

Naruto stared back at them in dismay. "No way! I wouldn't miss this for the world!" He looked at Sakura, his blue eyes grave. "Sakura-chan, I once made a promise to you. I said it was the promise of a lifetime, and I haven't been able to keep it yet. We still haven't gotten Sasuke back." Sakura gazed back at him with wide green eyes. Naruto went on, his voice determined. "This time, there's no way I'm gonna let you down. And if something...you know...happens...Not that I think it will!" he added hastily. "But if for whatever reason, you end up being...well... by yourself, we'll help you." He looked to Hinata. "Won't we?"

"Of course we will!" Hinata replied.

Sakura looked from one to the other of them, then put her arms around them both. It wasn't saying an awful lot, but at that moment, she was feeling happier than she had in quite a while.

"Okay, everybody!" Naruto announced, standing in between the two girls and putting his arms around both of them. "Ramen's on me!"

Sakura hesitated. "I don't know, Naruto," she said sadly. "I'm not sure I really want to go into the village. I don't want people staring at me and talking crap about me. I mean, look at me. I'm huge!"

"Screw 'em!" Hinata pronounced quietly, then smiled. The other two stared at her for a moment, then burst out laughing.

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Sakura was finding it hard to concentrate. She sat in the hospital records room, having been set the task of studying different herbal remedies and their uses. There were so many variations and so many different, obscure ingredients that as soon as she read one mixture and moved on to the next, the first had already vanished from her memory.

Her back hurt, and no matter how she shifted in the chair, she could not get comfortable. She just didn't feel right, but she just couldn't place where it felt worse. She closed her eyes and leaned back. The skin just below her breasts and just above the rise of her swollen belly felt tight and bunched together. She stood up and walked around. She felt her abdomen tighten into a hard ball and she rolled her eyes and started to walk around the room. She'd been having those stupid Braxton Hicks contractions for a few weeks now. She knew it was just her body's way of gearing up for the real thing, but it was still uncomfortable.

It would only take a few turns around to room for the tightness to go away. As soon as it did, she planned to go down the hall to the hospital cafeteria and get some hot tea. After a few moments, however, the tightness was accompanied by pain. Sakura kept walking. This sometimes happened, but after moving around a little, it always went away. This time, however, it didn't. Sakura stood still for several minutes, then she stepped carefully back to her chair and sat down again. Although the pain only lasted for about a minute, it seemed much longer. It felt like having cramps. The pain finally dwindled away.

She sat still for a while longer. She felt terrified. She was almost afraid to stand up again, but she felt she ought to tell someone. Tsunade had told that she would personally deliver her baby, and although there was still tension between to two of them, more on Sakura's part, the girl knew that she couldn't be in better hands. She was debating with herself whether to go down the hall and ask one of the nurses to call the Hokage or whether she should just not move, when Tsunade came into the room.

"How far have you gotten on those-" Tsunade began, then stopped. After one look at Sakura's face, she asked in a calm, professional voice, "Are you all right?"

Sakura stared up at her. "I think I just had a contraction. I got up and walked around, but the pain didn't go away. It got a little worse."

"Have you had any others like that?"

Sakura shook her head. "No-I mean-I don't think so." She began to wonder if some of the false contractions she had been experiencing weren't so false after all.

Tsunade gave a nod. "All right. If you like, we can get you into one of the LDR rooms (AN: Labor/Delivery/Recovery) and see what happens. We'll give it a few hours, and if nothing happens, I'll just send you home."

"I don't know," Sakura said in a small, unhappy voice. "It's too soon, isn't it? My due date isn't until next week."

Tsunade gave a shrug. "Time, tide, and babies wait for no man," she said simply. "The due date's just approximate. If the baby's coming, then the baby's coming."

"But..." Sakura hesitated. This was something that, out of pride and stubbornness, she had refused to mention around Tsunade. Now she just felt miserable, vulnerable, and scared. When she spoke again, she sounded like a little girl. "But he's not back yet."

Tsunade felt like a hand suddenly gripped her heart and squeezed it sharply. She had the sudden impulse to gather the girl up in her arms and rock her gently, telling her that everything was going to be all right. She quickly swept the impulse aside. This was no time to appear weak, and Sakura would probably not appreciate it.

"Sakura," she said quietly but firmly. "What's most important right now is to deliver a healthy baby. You're body is going to go through enough trauma as it is. It won't help matters if you're anxious and stressed." She hesitated before speaking further. She felt the need to reassure Sakura, but she didn't want to lie to her. But she went on. "I haven't had any news about Kakashi." Sakura looked up at her sharply. This was the first time in seven months she had heard the Hokage mention his name. "I wish I had better news for you, but we need to worry about one thing at a time right now."

Sakura cautiously studied the older woman's face for a few moments. Seeing only honest compassion in her expression, the girl finally nodded. She got up from her chair and followed the Hokage out of the room.

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Naruto looked up from his ramen bowl as a medic-nin approached Ichiraku's. The boy watched him intently as he stepped up to the counter.

"The Hokage has asked for you to come to the hospital," the medic said to him. "Haruno Sakura has started to go into labor and she has asked that you and Hyuuga Hinata be with her."

"Right!" Naruto put some money on the counter slid off his stool. He felt an odd mixture of nervous excitement and sadness. He glanced over at Iruka, who sat at one end of the counter, and at Ayame, who stood behind the counter across from him. "Well, I guess this is it," he said to them. He hesitated, then added awkwardly, "If you see...you know...if he gets here..."

"Don't worry, Naruto," Iruka assured him. "I'll send him right over as soon as he arrives."

"Thanks. Well, I'll see ya!" The boy strode off on his way to get Hinata.

"Let us know what happens!" Ayame called after him. Naruto waved at her and continued on his way. She turned back to Iruka. "What if he doesn't make it?" she asked anxiously.

"Kakashi?" Iruka shrugged and smiled as he watched Naruto's retreating back. "He said he'd be back, so he'll be back."

Ayame smiled, too, as she regarded Iruka. This newfound optimism was a nice change.

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"I'm not convinced of the appropriateness of this arrangement," Hiashi commented to his daughter as she was about to leave for the hospital with Naruto. The boy stood back. He generally stayed out of any exchanges between the girl and her intimidating father. Hiashi had, for the most part, very little to say about the situation between Kakashi and Sakura. He tended to look down on most people anyway, particularly many of the footloose jonin that inhabited Konohakagure. What happened had not surprised him very much.

Hinata turned and met her father's stern gaze evenly. "Father, Sakura is my friend, and she needs me," she told him with polite firmness. "I need to do this."

Hiashi considered her for a moment. The girl had gained a certain amount of confidence over the past couple of years, and he could not help admiring her for it. He simply nodded and walked away, which was about as much an indication of assent as he felt compelled to give. This actually meant a great deal to Hinata, and she turned to Naruto, smiling happily.

"I'm ready!" she said to him, taking his hand.

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Several hours later, not much had happened. Although they were gradually increasing, Sakura's contractions were still fairly far apart. She spent much of her time pacing back and forth. When a contraction did come, she would stop and grab hold of the bed frame or the back of a chair and stand still until the pain subsided.

At first, whenever she did this, Naruto would jump out of his chair and rush over to her.

"Is this it? Do you want me to get a nurse? Do you need Granny Tsunade? Shouldn't you lie down?" he would ask in a panic. After five hours, however, he finally stopped and dozed off in his chair, his head back, leaning against the wall.

Sakura looked at Hinata. "I'm sorry you guys are having to wait so long."

"That's all right," Hinata replied with a smile. "I don't mind." She looked at Naruto, whose mouth was hanging open slightly and was emitting a gentle snoring sound. The girls both giggled and Sakura resumed her slow pacing.

The time between her contraction began to grow shorter. Tsunade checked in on her at one point. "You should conserve your strength rather that doing all that walking around," she commented.

Sakura nodded. "I suppose-oh!-" She felt a popping sensation deep and low in her abdomen. "Oh!" She pressed her hands against her swollen stomach. "Oh!!" Amniotic fluid began to trickle down her legs.

"Right." Tsunade observed crisply. "You water's broken. Hinata, would you help her get up on the bed? I'm going to get a nurse in here." She left the room and walked briskly down to the nurses' station.

Naruto's head jerked up at the sound of the doors swinging closed. "Huh? What happened?" he demanded groggily.

"Sakura's water just broke," Hinata told him. "Tsunade wants her to lie down now."

"Her water-eww!-that means, that thing when-eww!"

"Naruto-kun, please!" Hinata helped Sakura get up on the bed, arranging pillows behind her back.

"Thanks," Sakura said distractedly, lying back.

"Hey, is this it?" Naruto cried, jumping out of his chair. "I mean, really it?"

"I don't know," Sakura replied. "I think it could be another couple of hours."

Naruto's face fell for a moment, then lit up slightly. "Well, that's good. That gives-"

Sakura hastily waved a hand. "No, Naruto. I know what you mean, but I can't think about that right now." It was hard enough dealing with the anticipation of the ordeal she was about to go through, something that you hear a lot about from other women who have gone through it, but don't really appreciate, if that's the right word, until you go through it yourself. Sakura was afraid of completely falling apart emotionally if she had to worry about Kakashi getting back in time to witness the birth of his child. She had to block that out of her mind and concentrate on the business at hand.

Half an hour later, Sakura was hooked up to a monitor, as was the baby inside her. She was able to see both their heart rates. In between contractions, which were becoming alarmingly more frequent and painful, she stared, fascinated, at the thin green line on the fetal monitor. Each little bump on the line was her baby's heartbeat.

The monitor she was connected too also indicated each contraction. Hinata kept her eye on it and let Sakura know when the next one was about to start. Naruto was too nervous to concentrate on anything. He simply held Sakura's hand tightly, wincing as she would sometimes crush it in her grip.

The pain of the contractions was becoming nearly unbearable, but Sakura had sworn to herself that she would bear it in silence. She refused to show any weakness in front of Tsunade, who had now stationed herself at the end of the bed. She breathed slowly in through her nose and out through her mouth, just the way she had practiced it during the childbirth classes, but it didn't really do any good.

At one point, Sakura had to bite her lips together to keep from crying out, and she tossed her head from side to side on the pillow. I can't do this anymore! Her panicked mind screamed. I want my mother! A tear rolled down the side of her face and she wiped it away quickly. I want Kakashi! A sob escaped her mouth and she clamped her lips shut. Tsunade glanced at her from where she stood watching the monitors.

"Sakura, you don't have to prove anything," she said gently. "If you want something for the pain-"

"No!" Sakura replied in a tight voice. "I'm okay. What am I at?" She jerked her chin towards her drawn up knees.

"Nine centimeters," Tsunade replied after checking her dilation. "One to go. It shouldn't be too long now." She somberly contemplated the girl on the bed for a few moments. She refused to admit that she had made a mistake in isolating Kakashi, but she was beginning to regret sending him on an S-rank mission so soon before the baby was due. She shrugged inwardly and pushed her regrets aside. It couldn't be helped now. If he makes it at all, the baby will still be here.

Another half an hour passed. It seemed as though as soon as one contraction ended, another one started. Sakura barely had time to rest in between. She gripped Naruto's hand on one side and Hinata's on the other. Naruto kept glancing over his shoulder at the door, hoping and desperately praying that any moment, Kakashi would come bursting in and could take his proper place at Sakura's side. But it still hadn't happened yet. He exchanged a sad look with Hinata and winced again as Sakura crushed his hand in hers.

As the next contraction began, Sakura felt an irresistible urge deep in her abdomen. She lifted her head up and announced, "I have to push!" She had been instructed to do this, although at the time she wondered how she would know. Now she knew. She took a deep breath and held it, tucked her chin down onto her chest, and pushed as though she needed to have (AN: Sorry!) an enormous bowel movement. The contraction subsided and she let her head fall back on the pillow, gasping for air.

This went on for another twenty minutes or so. Exhausted, Sakura was sure she was never going to get through this. She lay back on the bed, sobbing.

"Sakura! You need to focus! Now!" Tsunade ordered her, as though they were engaged in jutsu training. "The baby's head is crowning. Just a couple more pushes now!"

Sakura tried to prop herself up on her elbows, and at a nod from Tsunade, both Naruto and Hinata braced themselves against her back, helping her to stay up. She took one more deep breath, held it and pushed.

One of the other mothers-to-be in the childbirth class had passed on a piece of information that the other expectant mothers found incredible. Apparently, according to this woman's own mother, giving birth was like trying to crap a cantaloupe.

She was right.

"There's the head!" Tsunade announced. The nurse quickly handed her a bulb syringe and she sucked fluid from the baby's mouth and nostrils. "All right," she went on. "One more push for the shoulders, and we're good. That's it!" she said triumphantly. "It's a little girl!"

Naruto and Hinata helped Sakura lay back against the pillows. Tears of joy and heartbreak streamed down her face. Hinata bent down to give her a hug, tears forming in her own eyes. Naruto sniffed loudly and gave her a hug as well. Tsunade and the nurse wiped down the now bleating baby and placed her on Sakura's stomach. The girl looked down at the wet, red, slightly angry looking infant, lightly wrapped in a towel, and gathered her up in her arms, using her shoulder to wipe the tears from her face as best she could. The baby's damp, feathery hair was pink, and it was obvious that her eyes would be very dark.

Naruto was given the opportunity to cut the umbilical cord. This was something the father generally did, but under the circumstances, the young man was given this particular privilege, which he did with a certain amount of squeamishness.

The nurse took the baby to give her a more thorough sponge bath, placed a tiny knitted cap on her head, and swaddled her warmly in a pink blanket. She was then laid in a clear plastic bassinet and wheeled over beside Sakura's bed. Tsunade came over to look down with a smile at the baby for a few moments, then turned to Sakura, who lay gazing at the bassinet. She took the girl's hand.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly.

Sakura's eyes traveled from the bassinet to her mentor's face. She felt a kind of serenity that came from having a great ordeal behind her. It just felt so damn good for the pain to be gone. On the other hand, she felt a deep despair. It seemed almost pointless now to try to anticipate Kakashi's return. "It can't be helped," she replied, her voice heavy with exhaustion.

Naruto stepped around the bed and stood next to Hinata for a few moments, peering down at the baby. He thought he should say she was beautiful, but he had seen her when she was still all covered with goop, and that was an image that would haunt him for a while.

"We should go now," Hinata whispered to him. He nodded and, bending down, he gave Sakura a kiss on the cheek.

"We'll come back later, okay?"

"Okay. Thanks," was all Sakura could manage to say.

Hinata took Naruto's hand and they started towards the door. They were about halfway across the room, when Naruto slowed his steps and stopped. The doors to the room had bumped slightly, and for barely an instant, he felt an odd vibration and a slight pressure against his face. There was a sort of dull puffing sound and a thin veil of smoke briefly obscured the boy's vision. Directly before him, stood Kakashi. His clothes were torn, dirty, and stained with blood, and he had a number of wounds over his body, some of them still fairly fresh. He stared at Naruto with a stark, baleful, almost primal look in his dark eye. It very clearly sent the message: get your punk ass out of my way!

Naruto scrambled to one side, heaving an equally startled Hinata with him. Kakashi strode past them and up to the bed. Sakura stared up at him, speechless with joy and astonishment but almost frightened by the jonin's appearance. She collected her wits just enough to say his name, but he bent down, tore the mask from his face and grasped her chin in his hand, his fingers almost digging into her flesh, and kissed her hard on the mouth.

Straightening up, he looked across at the bassinet. The nurse backed nervously away, but Tsunade remained standing calmly nearby, regarding the man with a steady, cautious gaze. He seemed almost dehumanized after his mission, as though he had used it to unleash a massive amount of pent-up rage and hadn't quite come down from it.

"Congratulations, Kakashi. You have a daughter," she said quietly.

Kakashi stepped around to the side of the bassinet and looked down into it for a few moments. Tsunade didn't think he would actually harm his own child, by accident or by design, but she remained warily prepared. Kakashi reached down and slid one hand under the baby's head. With his other hand, he scooped her up out of the bassinet and held her close to his torn, bloodstained vest.

Nearly twenty-four hours ago, he had stood in a moonlit clearing, surrounded by dead bodies, his hand dripping with blood from when he rammed his Raikiri straight through one man's chest and out his back. He had tracked the group of ninjas for nearly two weeks, coldly biding his time until they were confident that they had lost him. Then he sprang on them, lashing out in an insane fury, sending them all to their deaths as he had so many times before, as coldly as others had taken the lives of those closest to him. Deadly enemy or beloved friend, he had seen all of them fall.

Now in his arms he held a tiny new life that he had helped create and bring into the world. The infant's dark, as yet unfocused eyes gazed out from the pink blanket framing her face, her tiny, pale pink lips parted very slightly.

Kakashi bent his head down and drew in a deep, shuddering breath. His chest began to heave with dry, wracking sobs as he clutched the baby tightly to his chest. Sakura watched at him, silent tears rolling from her eyes. Naruto looked down at the floor and drew his sleeve across his nose, and Hinata's grasp on his hand tightened.

Kakashi leaned back against the wall, and with his legs no longer able to support his weight, he slid down slowly. By the time he hit the floor, he was already unconscious, although his arms were still wrapped securely around his child.

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AN: More to come. I just really wanted to get this chapter up.