Pregnancy Symptoms
by Diana-san

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Sakura hummed as she filled her grocery basket with a bag of lemons followed by a few limes and then a couple of oranges. She didn't realize how heavy it got when she looked down and saw all the citrus fruits piled in her basket.

"Sakura, why do you have so many lemons?" her best friend, Ino, asked.

Sakura contemplated that question for a moment in her head. "I don't know. I just suddenly have a craving for something sour."

Ino gasped as she swung her grocery basket to one side and leaned over to whisper to Sakura. "A-are you…" Ino looked down as she rubbed her own stomach before looking back up at Sakura. "…pregnant?"

Sakura blinked back twice at Ino's response. "Pregnant?" Sakura echoed. She glanced at Ino and then down to Ino's stomach which was clearly showing how pregnant her friend was.

"When I found out I was pregnant, I was craving sour fruits all day. And now look at me. Six months in," Ino said as she patted her stomach.

Sakura sighed. "No, you're just imagining things. There's no way I could be…"

"Sakura, when was the last time your period came?" Ino interrupted.

Sakura had to think for a moment. "Uh… well it has been late as of recently. But I assume that is just from the stress from overtime at the hospital."

Ino sighed. "You're a medic for crying out loud. You should be knowing these things about your body and especially about your unborn child!"

Sakura said nothing as she mulled over the fact that Ino might just be right. They continued on to another aisle in the market and Sakura reached for a jar of pickles.

"Really Sakura? Pickles?"

Sakura gasped sharply as she dropped her basket to the ground and began running to the hospital.

"Sakura!" Ino cried out as she glanced down at the spilled items in the basket. The limes rolled to one side as it landed against the bag of lemons.

"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura said softly as she sat down beside her husband. She had waited the whole day for him to return from his mission and then spent a whole hour wondering how to break the news to him.

Sasuke looked up from the report he was writing. "Yes?" he asked with an inquisitive look in his eyes.

"I'm pregnant."

Sasuke's mouth dropped open as the pen in his hand fell and rolled to its side. "P-pregnant?" he repeated.

Sakura nodded and watched as Sasuke got up from his seat.

"Where are you going?" she asked when she saw him put on his cloak to leave.

"I'll be back shortly," he replied but giving no intention of where he was headed.

Without another word, he disappeared from the living room and out the door. Sakura grasped her two hands together in worry. This was not how she expected him to take the news. Was he disappointed? Upset? Happy? Angry? She didn't know.

Sasuke returned a few hours later with stacks of books in his arms. Sakura came out of the kitchen with a surprised look on her face as she watched Sasuke dump about three dozen books on the kitchen table.

She walked over to pick up a book and read the title. "What to Expect when You're Expecting…" she read from the cover. "Sasuke!"

Sasuke turned slightly in embarrassment as he thumbed through a book in his hand. "I checked out the whole section on pregnancies and babies. They would only allow me a total of 36 books a day so I'll go back tomorrow."

Sakura smiled as she placed the book down. "I see," she murmured. She picked up another book. This one was on pregnancy symptoms. She flipped through it slowly as she read the first few paragraphs.

Nausea with or without vomiting.Morning sickness, which can strike at any time of the day or night, sometimes begins as early as three weeks after conception.

Over the course of the coming months, Sakura couldn't help but feel great. Sasuke was attentive to her every need and she didn't even get the pregnancy symptoms of morning sickness that Ino had complained to her about. Sakura wondered if it was the results of her chakra control that allowed her to maintain her body in such a way that she was able to control her hormones through her chakra.

She glanced over at Sasuke who was sleeping peacefully next to her. It was only a matter of minutes before he would slowly wake up. She smiled as she tousled his raven locks and traced her finger against the outline of his strong jaw.

Sasuke's eyes fluttered open as he felt Sakura's hand on his face. He smiled as he took her hand in his own hand and reached out his other hand to rub against Sakura's stomach.

Sakura's stomach… inside her stomach was a small fetus that was growing. Growing to be his child. He was going to be a father. A father…

Suddenly, Sasuke bolted upright from bed as he ran to the bathroom. His stomach lurched as he hovered over the toilet. Nothing came out but he still felt nausea.

Sakura watched worriedly as she went inside the bathroom and knelt down beside Sasuke. She rubbed his back gently, hoping that would calm him down. Sasuke sighed as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and leaned against Sakura.

"Are you feeling okay?" Sakura asked.

He nodded but it was a lie. He was far from okay.

He spent most of the day feeling nauseated. When Naruto waved a piece of sliced beef in his face, Sasuke felt like he was going to hurl. Sasuke also noticed that he was getting irritated more often. He would snap back at Naruto ever so often. Naruto had been complaining about the lack of sleep he was getting due to becoming a first time father. It was understandable. Boruto was only a few weeks old and Naruto was always seen with dark bags underneath his eyes.

Sasuke knew he should be considerate of his friend's new duties as a father but somehow, it irked him. Maybe because he knew that soon that it would be himself that would have to go through all that.

Sakura sighed as she watched Naruto and Sasuke bicker over the small issue of how long to cook the meat. She didn't understand why Sasuke was getting heated up over something like that. Usually, he was much more calm and collected about everything and allowed Naruto leniency in his daily antics. After all, Naruto was going through a tough time with the lack of sleep in his schedule.

She flipped through a page in the book she was reading. She had been reading the pregnancy books that Sasuke had borrowed and today, she had brought one out with her to lunch.

Mood swings. The flood of hormones in your body in early pregnancy can make you unusually emotional and weepy. Mood swings also are common.

The table clattered noisily and Sakura glanced up from her book in surprise. Sasuke had slammed his hands down on the table and gotten up.

"What's the matter?" Naruto asked as Sakura looked at Sasuke with worry.

"Something's in my eye. I need to go to the bathroom," Sasuke muttered.

Sakura couldn't help but notice that it seemed as if Sasuke had tears in his eyes. "Sasuke-kun," she called out but Sasuke had already left the table and was making his way to the bathroom.

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked. "Was Sasuke crying just now?"

"N-no. He said he had something in his eyes," Sakura replied but she was unsure herself.

"Yeah, his tears," Naruto said with a laugh. "It's because he knows I'm right about cooking the meat for thirty seconds longer."

Sakura said nothing as she glanced back down at her book.

Dizziness. Pregnancy causes your blood vessels to dilate and your blood pressure to drop. As a result, you might find yourself feeling lightheaded or dizzy.

Fatigue. Fatigue also ranks high among early symptoms of pregnancy. During early pregnancy, levels of the hormone progesterone soar — which can make you feel sleepy.

Sakura closed the book as she rested on the hammock that Sasuke had helped set up in their backyard. She shielded her eyes from the sun with the book as she swayed gently from side to side on the hammock.

"Sakura-san!"

The book from fell off her head as Sakura sat up in surprise. "Shizune-san!" she exclaimed as she saw Shizune run over towards her with a worried expression on her face. "What's wrong?"

Shizune panted as she held a key in her hands. "I know I'm only supposed to use the key to come by in emergencies to care for you during your pregnancy but I thought this would concern you greatly."

Sakura took the key from Shizune's hand as she got off the hammock. "Shizune-san, calm down. Explain to me slowly of what is the matter."

"Sasuke! He collapsed during a mission!"

Sakura ran to the hospital with Shizune following closely behind her. It was unusual for Sasuke to collapse out of nowhere. Especially during a mission. Sakura burst through the door of his hospital room as she ran over to Sasuke's side. Sasuke was resting peacefully on the hospital bed and Sakura breathed a sigh of relief to see that he seemed okay.

"What happened?" Sakura asked as she turned to Shizune.

"I'm not sure. The report was that they were traveling to Land of Iron when suddenly he fell from the trees in mid-jump. Thankfully, the person behind him noticed and caught him in time. They brought him back for a check-up just now. He's been sleeping ever since despite having woken up earlier," Shizune reported.

Sakura nodded. "Thank you. I would like to be left alone with Sasuke-kun for now."

Shizune nodded and turned to step out, leaving the two alone in the room.

Sasuke's eyes slowly opened as the room came into view. White ceilings and a quiet hum of a humidifier in the background. He felt someone holding his hand and he turned to see Sakura staring back at him. She smiled as she clutched his hand in relief.

"You're awake," she murmured.

"Ah," he replied back. "What happened?"

"You collapsed during a mission."

He sat up as he tried to recollect his memories. They were traveling to Land of Iron when one of his teammates had congratulated him for becoming a father soon. That was when he had lost awareness of his surroundings and then suddenly felt his head getting lighter.

"I feel tired for some reason," he murmured.

Sakura released her grip on Sasuke's hand as she turned to a tray on the bedside table. "I sliced up some apples for you. Would you like some?" she asked as she held up a slice of apple towards him.

Sasuke glanced at the apples but felt no appetite. He glanced back at the table and saw that a book was opened. Sakura must have been reading while he was sleeping. His eyes gazed over a paragraph in the book.

Food aversions or cravings.When you're pregnant, you might find yourself turning up your nose at certain foods. Food cravings are common, too.

"No," he murmured. "Do you happen to have any lemons?"

"Would you like tea?" she asked in surprise.

"No, just a lemon will do."

Sakura placed the apple slice back down on the tray as she glanced worriedly at Sasuke. She raised a hand to his forehead as she felt his temperature.

"What's wrong?" Sasuke asked as he watched Sakura feel his forehead and then check his pulse.

"Nothing…it's just that…Sasuke-kun, you have been exhibiting some weird symptoms lately."

Sasuke cocked his head to the side in surprise. "What do you mean?"

"You've been feeling nausea in the morning. You have mood swings for no reason. You collapsed during the mission just now and have been feeling tired since then. And now, you're having cravings for lemons," Sakura ticked off on her fingers as she recounted the reasons.

Sasuke glanced glumly at the bed sheets. "Is something wrong with me?"

Sakura shook her head. "Sasuke-kun, you're just pregnant."

"What?!" Sasuke's head snapped around.

Sakura laughed. "Or at least, you're feeling all the symptoms I should be getting since I'm pregnant."

Sasuke was puzzled.

"I read about this in one of the other books that you borrowed. You have a strong connection to the baby inside of me and you can sense their chakra. Somehow, with all the stress of the pregnancy, you've been channeling my moods and the baby's moods."

"What?" Sasuke still didn't understand what she was saying.

She laughed. "I bet that when the baby begins kicking, you'll be able to sense it from a mile away." Her face softened as she gently held Sasuke's hand. "I think you're overly worried about becoming a father. That is why you keep acting like this, right?"

He nodded as he took a big gulp of air. "What if the baby doesn't think I'm a good enough father?"

Sakura listened as he continued. "It was always difficult for me to live up to my own father's expectations. What if I become like that to my own child? What if she hates me?"

Sakura smiled gently. "You know that we are having a girl?" she asked.

Sasuke glanced up in surprise. He didn't realize his slip of the tongue. "I-I don't know. I just assumed."

She smiled. "We're having a baby girl. You must be even more attuned to the baby than I've imagined."

Sasuke smiled. "A girl?"

Sakura nodded. "And I have no doubts that you'll be an excellent father."

Sasuke closed his eyes. A girl was different. A boy would be always trying to prove himself to his father like he did with his own father. But a girl… she would be like his little princess. Somehow, that thought was like a breath of fresh air in his mind. If his firstborn was a girl, he would be able to care for her properly. He wouldn't be thinking back to his past of the relationship between himself and his father. Instead, he thought about his mother. His mother who was gentle and caring much like Sakura.

A girl was wonderful. He would have no doubts that she would grow up to be just like Sakura. That was all he hoped for. That the baby would be more like the mother than the father.

Sasuke gripped onto Sakura's hand. "I would like some apples," he said softly.

Sakura smiled as she handed a slice of apple over to Sasuke. "Is there anything else you crave?" she teased.

He smiled. "Maybe a salad?" he suggested with a smirk as he stared at the baby bump before leaning over to kiss Sakura on the stomach. Sakura blushed slightly as she watched Sasuke look up at her before leaning in to kiss her on the lips.

"Sarada," he whispered to her. "Let's name her Sarada."