Authors Note: You asked and I am delivering. It took me while to come up with an idea but I liked this one quite a lot. Also I have no intention of using the term 'anata' in this fic. It reminds me of Sasuke when used by Sakura so I am going to avoid it. Without further ado I am going to let y'all start reading. I hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or the characters.

By the time Neji rolled into bed the sky was beginning to brighten into an array of pastels. Regardless, there were few things better than laying in bed after a long tiring mission and nothing was going to stop him from getting some well deserved rest. He had been gone for two months this time and he could honestly say it had been far too long away from home. No matter how long his mission stints they were always too long. He could have been gone over night and he still would have grumbled about getting back home as soon as possible. His team often commented that he had become insufferable in recent years regarding their accelerated mission pace.

Neji reached out with one hand to grab the covers and with the other snaked an arm around his wife's stomach. Pink tresses slid on the silk pillowcase as she nuzzled into the warmth of his chest. He supposed they were right. He had become ever more efficient in his missions, doing his utmost to make sure his team returned as quickly and safely as possible. And it was all to make sure he spent as little time away from home as he could. He hated being away from Sakura and, though she never said so, she worried about him constantly when he was gone.

With a sigh of relief he closed his eyes. He was already beginning to drift off when a small voice at the back of his mind reminded him that he had yet to do his ritual check of the premises. He never went to sleep without doing so. He activated his byukugan and scanned the apartment.

He nearly bolted straight out of bed.

The third chakra signature in the house took him by surprise. Pearly eyes shot open and stared, the two moons glowing in the dark of the bedroom. Silently he unfurled himself from the bedcovers. He leaned over and kissed his wife on the forehead where the symbol of her power stood out proudly. They had spoken about such an occurrence and had agreed on a protocol for this eventuality.

He tucked her in carefully, never removing his eyes from the new chakra signature. He had work to do and he suddenly found himself reinvigorated. There was nothing quite like protecting ones family to get the blood pumping. With a quick scribble on a piece of paper they kept on the bedside table for such occasions he grabbed a fresh set of clothes. With one last glance at his wife he silently swore he would be back as soon as possible. He closed the bedroom door and straightened his shoulders resolutely.

Sakura woke to the beep of her alarm clock. She buried her face back into the pillow trying to capture the fading scent of cedar and ginger. Neji had been gone for a while; two months to be specific, but he was due back any day. She inhaled deeply. Actually he was not due back for another month or so but she knew her husband. He had a habit of exceeding mission timeline expectations by leaps and bounds. He would be back well before the targeted completion date. He always was.

She rolled over lifting her hand to open the curtain. Cool rays of winter sunlight burst through the windows and nearly blinded her but Sakura had been prepared for it. Slowly she opened her eyes. She had an appointment today that she could not miss. Tsunade-shishou was expecting her at 9am sharp. Missing that appointment would result in a very irate and cranky godaime hokage, which was not good for anyone. It would be even worse for the person that got on her nerves.

Still, it was quite early. She had plenty of time to get dressed and make her way down to the research wing of the hospital. With that in mind she rolled over once more to inhale the comforting scent of her husband. Funny, she thought to herself, the scent was stronger today than it had the day before.

Her fuzzy brain took a few seconds to process that fact, her brow furrowing slowly before releasing. Her eyes shot open and she threw her covers back.

He was not there. She had known that much, but still it was odd. Normally nothing could pull him from bed the first day he was back. She looked around, moving strands of pink away from her face. The bedroom door was closed, but there was no smell of coffee in the air. The apartment was silent and when she checked for his chakra signature she found nothing. But there was a trail of clothing from the door to the bed, something he did when he was so tired he could not be bothered to find the laundry basket.

The black ops uniform was wrinkled and dirty. He was back in Konoha but not in the house. She stood and walked to the door for good measure. With a worn in creek the bedroom door revealed that the apartment was as quiet as her hazy brain had surmised it was. Her feet shuffled against the floor as she poked her head through the bathroom door then into the kitchen. Finally she stood by the front door. The house was empty, save her. He was not crumpled on the ground somewhere, passed out or dying as her frantic mind had started to assume.

His shoes were gone, a bit of dirt next to the door showing where they had been for a brief time earlier. The coffee pot was cold, yesterdays leftover brew still fridgid and untouched in the glass pot. Aside from the clothes and the speckles of dirt there was no evidence that he had ever returned.

But she knew he had.

If he had come and gone he would have left a note...

She raced back into the bedroom, making a beeline for the bedside table. Why had she not checked there first? Sure enough a hastily scribbled note told her exactly what he had been up to. Protocol B... it took a moment but soon enough realisation dawned. She rushed through her morning routine. She had to find him. Her meeting with Tsunade-shishou would just have to wait.

Tsunade drummed her fingers in agitation, the tiny red lacquer of her nails stood out abasing the dark mahogany of her desk. Sakura was late. It was an unusual occurrence to be sure. Sakura was rarely late and of the two of them Tsunade herself was far less than punctual. She had never quite managed to sink to the perpetual tardiness that plagued her scarecrow of a successor, but she was known to wander into meetings late due to a splitting hangover.

Nevertheless, she did not tolerate tardiness in others. Perhaps it was hypocritical, but in her own defense she was in high demand. Between research requests and the actual work itself, not to mention her time consuming bad habits, she never seemed to have enough time in the day. After one particularly vehement lecture on timeliness in her youth, Sakura had never left her waiting unless someones life was in the balance. For such an emergency Tsunade would make an exception. And she surely hoped that such turned out to be the case. At the moment her star pupil was fifteen minutes late.

Tsunade let out a sigh of relief when the familiar click of heels in the hall denoted an eminent arrival. As suspected a familiar rap on the door was followed by a bright pink head of hair.

The young woman spoke without taking into account who was in the room, choosing to close the door before looking her master in the eyes. "I'm so sorry Shishou! I've been looking for-" When green eyes lifted her words came to a screeching halt.

Tsunade held her hand out to the open seat next to an identical one which housed the distinct combination of broad shoulders, long brown hair, and rigid posture. "Sakura, have a seat. We've been waiting." Her voice was stern, but not as curt as she normally would have been in such situations. Still she was not a patient woman and it did not take long for Sakura to adhere to her command.

Black heels rushed over to the plush chair, gingerly taking a seat. "Koishii, I've been looking all over for you," she said, taking a hold of his waiting hand. She searched his face to make sure he was alright, something she had gotten into the habit of years before.

He squeezed her hand, entwinging their fingers naturally. "I did not mean to worry you." His deep baritone dipped down to a softened bass, a subconscious attempt to soothe her worries. Tsunade immeidetly recognized the relaxation in her student. The tension flowed out and a nervous joy bubbled under the surface of their interaction, the greeting of a couple that had been apart for too long and were dying to be alone. They had a great deal to discuss. It made Tsunade wonder what in the world they were still doing there sat in her office. Pearl moons turned back to the desk before them in determination and the godaime knew she would not have to wait too long for an explanation, or at least she hoped not. The stoic man had been sitting in front of her silently for far too long already and she had a full day ahead of her. "I thought I would get started as soon as possible," he said, and Tsuande was tempted to huff. That hardly answered her questions.

"I see," Sakura said, amazed that he had managed to get so far into their list of things to do. She had gone through the list in her head and at each turn she had been told that she had missed him. She had only come down to the office for fear that if she was much later Tsunade would squish her like a bug. It seemed a bit surreal that he had been waiting for her. She had not gotten the opportunity to tell him about her appointment. He might have seen it on the hospitals appointment book for the day, something she had told him not to check on previous occasions. A nurse may have volunteered the information, even though they should not have. She did not wish to speculate. He would shed light on what happened, just the way he always did.

"I came to book an appointment for us with Tsunade-sama. Protocol B." The last part was said with such finality and Tsunade held back a growl. She did not like being left in the dark, and right now she was the only one in the room that did not understand what on earth the two were talking about. Did the man not understand that not everyone could read his mind? Nor had everyone been privy to whatever conversations he and Sakura had.

"What the hell is protocol B?" The couple before her blinked for a moment. They had come up with base course of actions for a number of situations. The name had come in jest. After hearing Neji talk about his ANBU protocols one too many times Sakura had begun referring to their plans as such. Protocol A, their marriage, had gone off without a hitch only six months prior.

Sakura blushed under the scrutiny of her master, having forgotten that the operation in question was, in a way, an inside joke. Only she and Neji knew what they meant and, while it was not a huge leap to make, her shishou would need it to be spelled out. "Oh, well it is our plan of action for when we needed to move out of the apartment and speak to the clan about maintaining our independence. You know, for when we have a baby," she said, tentatively, almost as if she was afraid that saying it out loud might break the spell and she would find herself waking up from a wonderful dream.

One word changed everything. Suddenly the sourness in the deceptively youthful face evaporated and a longing that matched Sakuras appeared in honey colored eyes. "Baby?" Tsunade parroted with wide eyes and a smile. "You need confirmation."

The smile that threatened show was full of excitement and sheer joy, but Tsunade could tell that Sakura was holding back, waiting for her shishous word. "Officially yes, but I'm guessing you can already tell?" she queried, looking down at her flat tummy with curiosity.

He squeezed Sakura's hand, so excited he had to think of the right words to explain exactly what he had seen. The tendril of light that flickered at him from her belly earlier had not been so bright as a fully developed chakra signature, but it was steady and strong. He might not have noticed it if he had been another man, for it was a little faint to sense directly, but he could see it clear as day when he looked with his chakra laden eyes. "I saw the chakra signature when I came home last night."

"Well, let me have a look." Tsunade placed a chakra laden hand over Sakuras belly. She held a blank expression as she pulled away. Red nails planted down, her right hand on Neji's shoulder and her right on Sakuras. They were waiting but she needed to steady herself. She had not expected to be so moved. After a deep breath she began to worm the words on the tip of her tongue. "Congratulations you two." The anxious look on both of their faces melted into a mixture of surprise and excessive joy. Neji turned to his wife eyes shining and a smile on his face that Tsunade had never seen before. They needed time alone, time to celebrate and Tsunade needed time to shop. She crossed her arms under her bust and settled onto one hip. "Now get out of my office."

The command came as a small shock. "Shishou?" Sakura was surprised to find her mentor agitated. Tsunade was always telling her not to run tests or checkups on herself if she could help it. self healing was fine on the field. Self diagnose needed to be confirmed by an outside party if possible. Sure she had picked up on the symptoms of early pregnancy, and yes she had discovered the flare of new chakra in her system after doing a routine checkup when she had noticed how late her cycle was. that had been the week before. She had gone through proper Chanels and booked an appointment. Now she was being hurried out of her mentors office and for an instant she was concerned. She had thought Tsunade would be happy, thrilled even.

"I'm going to baby proof my house. And buy some things. Can't babysit if I don't have all the right stuff now can I? And I'm making you some specialized prenatal supplements." The firm hands on her hips were in opposition to the soft expression she wore. Sakura was about to reach out an hug her master but Tsunade did not give her the chance. As quickly as it had come the stillness was gone and she was back to ushering them into the hall. "Go celebrate! Shizune! Take over my roster!"

The door shut behind all of them with a resounding crack that was likely to catch all sorts of attention.

Sakura threw her head back in laughter. Poor Shizune was going to be in for a hard day without even knowing why. Tsunade was already marching out the front door, leaving her assistant behind to deal with the fall out. Sakura heard Neji chuckling next to her and when it began to die down they began to walk towards the lobby hand in hand just as they always did. "So?" her voice floated up to him, full of hope and it tugged at his heartstrings, which were already strumming continuously and loudly.

They stepped outside and Neji felt Sakura step in closer to him, an attempt to stay warm in the cool air of winter. The cold air brought a pink tinge to their cheeks and he began in the best way he knew how. As if he was giving a report on his most recent mission, he began where he had started his morning. He had nearly given his young cousin a heart attack but in the end she had been more than delighted to hear the details of his request, despite the fact that she was still in her pajamas. "Hanabi has given permission. Our baby may be raised away from the clan, just as Naruto and Hinata-samas child will be."

"So you're happy?" She asked from under a curtain of pink. She could not recall the last time she had felt shy around him, but she did now. Shy and thrilled, really. She wanted him to be happy, as happy as she was. She wanted him to be the happiest man on the planet.

He came to a halt, shocked to hear her question. Did she not know? He turned to catch the sparkles of her green eyes and realized that all she really wanted was to hear the words. In a flash he was before her, his face cradled in her hands. "I am overjoyed," he said, kissing her soundly. His was not a man that did well with words, though he tried his damndest to do so. He was much better at showing her. So he did, breaking apart only when he had run out of breath, the intensity behind his embrace all consuming. She panted when they pulled back, remaining so close that each breath felt like a shy caress. He pressed his lips to hers, as if to seal the one that had gone before.

"I know we talked about waiting..." she whispered the words pushing against his retreating kiss. A part of her was concerned. They had discussed children and they had decided together that a bit of time being married would serve them well. They were both still young. There would be plenty of time for babies in the future. However fate had stepped in and she was not sure how he would react. He never lied, therefore she knew he was genuinely ecstatic, but she wondered if a part of him was anxious.

"Sakura," he said cutting into the worried tirade that he knew was about to spill form his beloveds lips. He left a lingering kiss on the upturn of her smile. "I thought we might go look for a home with a yard."

His words reached her and she let them sink in. The apartment was the next point on the check list. "We will need the extra room," she said, thinking on it from a logical stand point.

They began to walk again her steps falling into time with his. "Hn, particularly with me in the village more." She turned to him in question, one he was all to thrilled to answer. He was quite proud of himself really. He had always thought it would be hard to let go but in truth he had been considering it whilst he was away. It was hard to be gone so often and he had no intention of leaving her for such long stints in the future. "I turned in my notice to ANBU. It was my second stop."

Sakura did not really know what to say. Sure they had a list of things to do before their baby arrived, but Neji stepping down from ANBU had never been on the table. She had not expected such a gesture. His commitment to ANBU was second only to their relationship. He had not turned in his rank when they got married and she had expected him to keep his command well into his career. It was touching, to say the least. "Koishii," she began, wanting to tell him that there was no need to give up one of his greatest achievements. She was not going to give up her position at the hospital, though she would be taking a backseat for a time. She did not expect him to either.

He turned to her the smile on his face one that she had only seen a few times whilst they were out in public. It was one he usually saved for when they were alone and he was partuclalry content. "I want to be here. Hanabi and I have already discussed it. I am to have a seat on the Hyuuga council and I will apply to become a jounin instructor for the genins next year."

"If you're sure," she stated. She would never admit it to him, though she was sure he already knew, but him being home more and having a far less dangerous job would be a weight off of her mind. He had served as the top ranked ANBU captain for so long that he had seen other captains be replaced one after the other. Not many could survive ANBU and certainly not with such grace. No one could say he had not served Konoha to the best of his abilities but it was time to let someone else take his place. It would be a blow for ANBU, but perhaps if the black ops were smart they would offer him a position which utilized his expertise. She doubted the ops would let him go completely. He was simply too good a what he did.

"I also spoke to a realtor." She wanted to laugh. He really had gotten quite far into the list.

Her much beloved apartment was wonderful for them. The little one bedroom abode had been her respite for years and then she happily shared it with the man she loved. He quickly became a part of what made her little house a home. However they both knew that children, even just one, would need more space. They had agreed that when the time came they would start looking for a bigger place to call home. The apartment had served them well, but it was time. Neji, as they agreed, had already turned in notice with their landlady.

"You really are excited, aren't you." It was not a question. She could see how jubilant he was with the news. It radiated off of him the same way it was glowing from her. When ever something was important to him he made the appropriate steps to secure it and always took action. His determination was evident and she loved the dedication he showed, both to her and the family they would build together. "Come on, I haven't eaten yet. Let's go find Naruto and Hinata. We can tell them the good news."

Neji looked into his wifes beautiful face. In years past, he would havenever guessed he would be here. He had never guessed he would be so utterly happy. This wonderful woman had made all of his dreams come true, and his love for her grew with each passing moment. He was sure that would never change. He pulled her in closer. If it was food and a mini celebration she wanted she would get it. Besides there was something he wanted her to see near the Uzumaki house. "Alright. Perhaps we can look at that house down the street from them."

Her hears perked up considerably. She would give up her sanctuary of an apartment; it was the right thing to do and they would need the space. A part of her wanted to find a way to expand their space so they could remain in the home she had chosen so many years before. It was with a bitter sweet outlook that she would close the door for the last time. But her husband knew her well. There were few places she would consider, but if it was the one she had in mind, then it would be ideal. "The one on the corner lot?"

He chuckled quietly. He knew she would have scoped out what he would argue was the best home on the block. It was fortunate that their taste were remarkably complimentary. After talking it over in the past he had realised that they both had the same set of criteria that would need to be met in order for either of them to consider leaving the apartment behind. Space, light, seclusion, a yard, and a lovely veranda would all be mandatory. There were only a few places close enough to the hospital to provide what they needed. The universe had aligned. One such property had just been put up for sale and as far as he was concerned it was as good as theirs. "With the big beech tree in the back."

She knew exactly the home he meant. The secluded little paradise around the corner from the Uzumaki household had always drawn her in. She could envision the kids training in the back yard, Neji sipping tea on the porch, and a big herb garden for her medicinal concoctions. It would be perfect, as perfect as it could be. In a few weeks the yard would be covered in snow, but come spring they would have turned it into their ideal space. And the same went for the rest of the house that was hidden behind a tall fence, but from what she could see there was plenty of space for a growing family. She did not know how he managed it, but he had the uncanny way of reading her mind at times. As much as her apartment was their home, this new place would become even more so. "Deal." She wrapped her arm around his back, settling her cheek against his chest with a smile. She let out a sigh of content at the feel of his arm pulling her in closer. They began to walk together at a relaxed pace, happy to take their time walking in the chilly weather, both looking towards the future.

End Comments: There you have it folks. What is possibly my favorite NejixSaku fic that I have created is all wrapped up. I hope you enjoyed going on this little adventure as much as I did. I do have a new NejixSaku fic out called Shadow if you want to check it out. The plan is to have a little more humor in that one. We shall see. As always I have no Beta so if you spot any mistakes please forgive me. I do my best. Reviews are always welcome and appreciated but no flames please. Until next time!