Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

-O-

The first thing Kakashi notices is her size.

She's no longer petite and lithe as a woman of her position should be; her stomach is swollen and it is then that Kakashi accepts the truth he has ignored for so long.

Sakura is pregnant.

Uchiha Sakura is pregnant and Kakashi gives the couple a congratulatory smile even as he feels hope slip through his fingers.

They just found out, she tells him, eyes beaming and grinning so hard he's sure it hurts. She tells him they're only eight weeks along, how unexpected it is. She tells him she's already thought of names, has already pictured what her child will look like. Sakura shoots her husband an uncertain glance, grin wavering slightly, and then quietly adds that she hopes it looks like her.

Two weeks later, the council calls for a meeting at Uchiha Sasuke's request. He informs them of a new danger, of a new enemy that threatens the village, and makes valid points as to why he should be the one to gather information. The council eagerly accepts his request, all too trusting of one of the village's strongest.

Kakashi, adorned in his formal Hokage robes that denote his status as the Rokudaime, chooses instead to observe Sakura as Sasuke continues to speak to the council. She stands next to her husband, hand held protectively over her rapidly growing belly, shoulders squared and strong, and he watches her jaw twitch and brow furrow when Sasuke volunteers himself for the mission.

The mission is indefinite, and Kakashi sees it for what it is. He wonder if Sakura does, too.

As the Hokage, the safety of his people is paramount, and a threat cannot be overlooked. So he stamps the mission papers with his official seal and attempts to ignore the heaviness in his heart. He sends a chuunin with a scroll containing the mission details to the Uchiha household and Kakashi feels old.

Hours later, much later, Sakura comes to him with tears in her eyes and begs him to send someone else. How could he not see that her husband is needed here, she asks him. With her.

He tells her that Sasuke is the only one that can do it, and sees in her eyes that she knows it, too. She shakes her head, eyes glossy and whispers that he can't leave because hasn't he been gone long enough?

Kakashi watches the shaking woman in front of him, watches her fidget with the ribbon that wraps around her maternity dress before she draws her arms around herself as if cold. She lifts eyes the color of seaglass to meet his own dark grey pair, lips trembling, and whispers weakly,

"How am I going to do this alone?"

He feels the most guilty then, watching her unravel and catching a glimpse of the insecure twelve year old he had taught many, many years ago. Kakashi stands and moves to pull her into his arms, moves her to sit on the cot he has set up at the far end of the room. He holds her hand in his and looks her in her wide, expressive eyes and says,

"You will never be alone," and he swears it because those who abandon their friends are trash and Kakashi will never let himself fall so low. He is dismayed to see that it only serves to make her weep harder, so he pulls her into his arms once more and lets her sob into his chest until she falls asleep.

He lays her on the cot and brushes short pink hair out of her eyes, hand pausing to caress the skin of her cheek. He pulls away slowly, shoulders heavy and returns to his desk where he then sits and watches over her as she sleeps.

It not much later when Sasuke knocks on his door, walking in with an air of comfort and familiarity and takes in his sleeping wife. He regards Kakashi silently, nodding in gratitude before scooping Sakura up in his arms. Sasuke faces his old sensei fully and inclines his head once more with a low,"Hokage-sama," and then disappears.

Uchiha Sasuke departs on his mission a week later.

Status: Indefinite.

True to Kakashi's word, he does not leave Sakura alone. He makes a point to stop by at least once a week and he enjoys watching the myriad of expressions that crosses her face each time he pays her a visit. The first time he visits her, he sees sadness; but he brings her dango and she gives him a small smile as she takes the bag. The second time he visits her, she stares at him in bemusement but still accepts his hot chocolate. Confusion turns into exasperation, exasperation turns into irritation, irritation turns into mirth and then it finally settles into acceptance.

Kakashi is there for all stages of Sakura's pregnancy–even the ugly ones. He is there to hold her hair as she loses her battle against morning sickness, he is there to massage her swollen feet after long days at the hospital, he is there to hold her when she cannot help but miss the father of her child.

Kakashi brings with him the unusual cravings she has–the most popular being ramen and pickles–and is there when she heaves it all into the toilet. Kakashi is the one she angrily lifts in the air by his collar and screams at before she bursts into tears and envelops him in her arms. He is the one who rubs soothing circles into her back as she laughs through the tears and curses her "stupid hormones."

He takes her shopping for larger maternity dresses and offers her many compliments as she shyly models them for him because she had once told him she was afraid of being found undesirable. She laughs with a blush and tells him to stop lying. Kakashi chuckles with her, not having the heart to tell her that he isn't.

Sakura asks him one day if Sasuke has sent anything for her through his letters, as she had last heard from him 2 months ago. Kakashi bites the inside of his cheek and tells her that Sasuke has not sent any form of correspondence to the village in weeks.

She worriedly chews on her thumbnail, eyes grim as she nods and then smiles. She tells him she understands the importance of the mission and how busy he must be, and drops the subject.

Kakashi tastes copper in his mouth, the cool tang of his blood lightly coating his tongue.

Sasuke sends an update every week without fail; but Kakashi does not think he can bear the look in her eyes if he tells her that Sasuke has not asked for her in any of those letters.

The seasons change and Sakura complains that she can no longer see her feet, moans at the daunting task of putting her shoes on every morning. But Kakashi is always there, tying her shoes and walking with her every day. He tells her jokingly that she should get as much sleep as she can, as she won't have much of that in a few weeks. Sakura scoffs and swats his arm, telling him that though she may be pregnant, she is still a kunoichi and can go days without sleep. She had been taken off of the hospital roster a few weeks ago, and says that waking up early is the only sense of normalcy she has. She challenges Kakashi to take that away from her, and he laughs and tucks a stray lock of hair behind her ear. Something flashes in her eyes when they make contact with his own, and suddenly the moment seems awkward–their bodies too close, the air too stifling. She smiles softly and Kakashi draws his hand back and coughs into a fist. She steps away and resumes walking, beckoning him to follow. He does, and neither of them acknowledge the faint burning in their cheeks.

Kakashi one day unlocks the front door to her home–using the spare key she had given him–and finds her examining herself in the mirror in nothing but her underwear. He stops short and thinks he should leave when she suddenly whips her head around to glare at him with red-rimmed eyes. He takes a step back and her glare crumbles, dissolving into fat tears that roll down her rosy cheeks.

"Look at me! I am a whale," she cries and Kakashi, the powerful man that he is, panics.

He doesn't know what to say, watches as she turns around and brings palms to cover her face as sobs wrack her body. He doesn't know what she is talking about, doesn't know why she is crying. He takes in her lengthening pink hair, the paleness of her skin, the roundness of her belly heavy with life, and the fullness of her breasts. Her hands come away from her face to scrutinize herself in the mirror once more and Kakashi looks at the impossible green of her eyes, the light dusting of freckles on her pert nose and the rosiness of her lips. And even though she is a crying mess, he sees the glow that people say surrounds pregnancy.

Kakashi doesn't understand, doesn't understand how she can't see something so beautiful.

He walks up behind her and places strong hands on her shoulders, the scent of her shampoo wafting into his nose, and looks at her through the mirror. And he tells her she is the most beautiful thing he's ever seen. He tells her that her body is a work of art, that it is a temple that is able to take life and give it. He tells her that she should not be ashamed as she has never resembled a goddess more than in that moment when she is most vulnerable.

Sakura looks at him differently after he says it, like she has come to see something that she isn't sure how to feel about, but still smiles all the same and turns to give him a bone crushing hug. Kakashi tries not to focus on the softness of the swell of her breasts pressed against his chest, on the fluttering of his heart at such close proximity.

Sakura leaves to get dressed, and Kakashi runs a shaky hand through his hair and curses. Dirty old man.

Time passes, and Sakura no longer asks for Sasuke, but still clearly holds him dear to her heart. Kakashi refuses to tell her how Sasuke has still not asked for her in his letters. He watches as she struggles to get to her feet, observes the way she holds her back when walking as if it could ease the weight. Sakura teaches him how to give chakra massages, and he does it for her every night before she goes to bed. She tells him not to fuss over her so much, that he is neglecting his Hokage duties, and he waves her off with an assurance that his assistant, Shikamaru, will take care of everything and will send someone if he needs him.

Before she falls asleep, every night she asks him if he thinks she will be a good mother. Every night, Kakashi takes her hand into his own and tells her that she will be the best. Every night, Sakura falls asleep with a smile and Kakashi's hand in her own.

Sakura goes into labor a week later–water breaking in the middle of a picnic on top of the Hokage mountain. Shocked mint green eyes latch onto his own before a bubble of laughter bursts from her lips, and he can't help but smile. Until her eyes glaze over in pain and she groans. He leaps into action then, gently hoisting her into his arms and rushing her to the hospital.

Before she is taken away into a hospital room, Sakura tightly grabs onto his hand and hoarsely asks for Sasuke. Kakashi nods grimly and summons a ninken, tells him to deliver Sasuke the news of his wife going into labor, and joins Sakura in her hospital room.

Many of Sakura's friends crowd the waiting room, an excited buzz travelling through the hospital, and Kakashi feels out of place. He does not belong here, he thinks. This is not his own generation and he does not belong here. An hour after sending out the message, his ninken returns with news from Sasuke.

He is too far to attend the birth of his child, and sends Sakura his luck and regards. It is compounded into one sentence, lacking detail and justification and Kakashi feels angry. He walks into Sakura's room, where she is circulating medical chakra through her system in an attempt to ease the pain of her contractions. Her hair is plastered to her sweaty face, eyes hazy with pain but sharp in their focus. Kakashi relays the message to her, verbatim, and her eyes narrow.

"He sends his luck and regards," she repeats slowly and lets out a mirthless laugh. It is a sad, ugly sound to his ears, "He sends his luck and regards but not…"

She stops short, wincing in pain and refocusing her chakra to her womb and doesn't continue her sentence, but the words hang unspoken in the air.

But not his love.

It is Kakashi who ends up easing her through her contractions. Kakashi who rubs her shoulders and ties up her hair and wipes sweat out of her eyes as she practices the breathing exercises she saw other women do when she oversaw their children's birth. It is Kakashi who tells her stories of Obito and Rin and his team in an effort to distract her from her pain. He is the one who tells her of how strong she is, of how great she is going to be.

Kakashi is the one who accompanies her into the birthing room once it is time to push. And it is at Sakura's request.

It is not her loud blonde friend, Ino. It is not sunny Naruto, nor is it sweet Hinata with a child of her own, but Kakashi that she wants.

Kakashi is the one that holds Sakura's hand as she screams and groans with her efforts. He is who she threatens to castrate because he is a man and no woman should have to go through what she has to endure. He is the one who whispers sweet nothings into her ear (even though they are anything but nothing), the one who strokes her hair and encourages her to push harder because she is almost there.

He is one of the first few who hears the high pitched wail of a new life and Kakashi feels Sakura's hand go slack. He looks at the panting woman on the hospital bed, and grins before brushing cloth covered lips on her forehead, brushing damp locks of deep rosette from her eyes.

"It's a girl," he says and she dissolves into joyful tears, laughs spilling from her lips and he can't help but join her. He can't help but lose himself in the elation of witnessing the miracle of life.

The doctor approaches them, beaming as he holds the tiny infant in one hand and a surgical scissor in the other. Kakashi looks at Sakura, and she gives him a solitary look, and he knows then what he means to her.

It is Kakashi who cuts the umbilical cord, and he does it with such emotion that it brings new tears to Sakura's eyes because Kakashi is a good man.

Her daughter is passed to Sakura's arms, and as she coos at the wonder that is her child, she looks at Kakashi and timidly tells him that she does not know what to name her. She had been planning for a boy, and was not prepared. Kakashi takes one look at the child; takes a look at the inky black dusting of hair on her tiny head, of newly opened eyes of obsidian so much like her father's–of the fire they once held–and he says,

"Sarada."

And Sakura scrunches her perfect nose, asks why on gods earth would she name her child oil and he says,

"Because she is the oil that will restart the flame of the Uchiha."