A/N: Like, ermahgawd, guess who's back? Didya miss me? It's been over half a year since I posted the last chapter (9/6/2012) but it seems sooooo much longer than that, lol. But what was truly a looooong time ago was when I first posted this story. Almost SIX YEARS! SIX! Can you believe it? I wonder if there are any of my original readers out there...hmmm...I wonder. Well, while I wonder about that, please read this chapter! The last chapter!

Sakura stretched out her arms above her head as she sat up, whining as her muscles woke up. She let out a satisfied sigh when everything was all stretched out and let her arms flop down to her lap. She smacked her lips and looked around sleepily.

Her room was dark because the lights weren't on and because there weren't any windows. But even if there was a window, it would still be dark because it was that early in the morning. And even then, her past few mornings were not good mornings. She would wake up bolting out of her bed, trying to reach to toilet as fast as she could.

Morning sickness was a bitch.

Women always talked about how wonderful it was being pregnant and how men always talk about how their wives glowed when they were pregnant.

Bullshit.

What the hell was so wonderful about emptying your stomach every morning? How the hell was she glowing with her head in the toilet?! In all honesty, she'd rather have a hangover with a jackhammer making its way into her skull than having to deal with morning sickness again.

Bleck, she seriously didn't know how other women did it. Her mother was a smart woman. Only one child. Only have to go through pregnancy once. Only have to go through childbirth once.

Psh.

But she only says this now.

Sakura pushed the blankets back a bit and rubbed her small baby bump. Almost in her second trimester, she was finally getting over her morning sickness and was starting to show.

Oh boy.

She can already hear the questions and accusations and gossip and drama and Ino-pig hounding her for details.

The only reason she was able to keep it for a secret for so long was because even though she was on the active-duty roster, she was still kept on reserve in the village. And also because she discovered the magic of ginger ale. Oh beautiful ginger ale. It kept her morning sickness down when she was a work and it gave her that extra sugar to prevent her from keeling over from exhaustion.

Hmmmm, she might be a bit addicted to it now.

Hmmm, she'll go get some right now.

She pulled the covers off as she swung her legs over the side of the bed and stretched one more time before standing up. Then she went over into the bathroom to do her usual morning routine before coming back into room to get ready for the day. After she got her usual outfit on, she went into the kitchen and poured herself a cup of ginger ale.

She really shouldn't be drinking soda for breakfast, but she learned really quickly that if she didn't have a sip or two before she attempted to eat breakfast, then it'd all be coming back up in a few hours. So now it was out of habit that ginger ale was the first thing she had in the morning.

She had a simple Japanese style breakfast of rice, fried mackerel, and miso soup; she didn't feel like having nattou today so she skipped the stinky fermented soybeans. She washed everything down with some more ginger ale before clearing the dirty dishes to the sink to be washed later.

Then she walked over to the sliding doors to the balcony, opened the blinds and opened the door before stepping outside. She leaned on the railing as she watched the beginning of the sunrise. She took a deep breath of the fresh, dewy morning air. It was the start of another day.

Sakura sighed exhaustively. Just as she clocked in this morning, a team returned with fatal injuries and she didn't even have time to drop her stuff off in her office before barking orders out to everyone.

That was four hours ago and she finally finished the surgery on the last team member. The day only just started and she was almost already depleted of chakra. Usually, she would have no problem doing multiple surgeries back-to-back, but now with the baby constantly taking up some of her chakra, she had less at her disposal.

She really should tell Tsunade about this, but she didn't want to yet. She also wanted to see how long it took for others to notice. Sakura was never really the type to announce a change about herself. She always waited for other to notice to see how much they were paying attention to her. It showed how much others cared about her.

Sakura giggled to herself. She wasn't exactly trying to hide it but she also wasn't exactly dropping hints for people to even realize that there was something different with her.

As she made her way to her office, she nodded to those who greeted her, doctors, medic-nin, nurses, and patients alike.

She really has come a long way. Before she was just the annoying pink-haired girl with a huge forehead, now she was the respected pink-haired girl with a huge forehead, even more strength, and an even bigger temper. Cough, no, her immense strength has nothing to do with the fact that people cower at the sight her of even raising her arm.

Nope. Nothing at all.

Sakura reached her office, unlocked it, and grabbed the files from the IN shelf before walking in. She was looking over the files so she didn't notice that someone was already in there, even though her door was locked. She should've known better that a locked door could never stop a shinobi. Heck! Most of the time they didn't even use a door. The window was always the preferred method anyways.

When Sakura finally noticed the fact that there was someone else in her office besides her, she was shooting up from sitting down on something that was not the comfy cushion of her chair. In fact, it felt more like a lap...

Sakura spun around, the files almost flying out of her hands as she used one to pull a kunai out. What she saw was someone hunched over in her chair, his shoulders shaking. Was he laughing at her?

What a douchebag!

But who was this douchebag?

It was none other than her blond knucklehead teammate. "Naruto! Why didn't you tell me you were here!"

"BWAHAHAHAHAHA!" He obviously couldn't hold his laughter in anymore. "You–HAHA–you sat–HAHAHA–didn't notice–HAHAHAHAHAHA–OUCH! What was that for Sakura-chan?" The tears in eyes were no longer only from laughter.

"You BAKA! Why didn't you make a sound?!"

"I did! I called out your name so many times, Sakura-chan! But you didn't hear and just mumbled to yourself," Naruto mumbled the last part himself.

Sakura sighed and rubbed her temple. "Sorry about that, Naruto. I just got out of a long surgery. A team came back battered, abused, and cut up."

"That's okay, Sakura-chan. Yeah, I heard about that. Are they going to be alright?"

"Two of them will make a full recovery, one has to be pulled from the roster, and one might have to retire completely. He was hit first with a nasty poison. Luckily, it's just a modified form of a poison that I dealt with before, but that didn't make it any easier to extract. Hopefully, he'll pull through. It's up to him now, I've done all that I could."

Sakura threw the folders she was still holding onto her desk before going to the mini-fridge and taking out a bottle of ginger ale. Yup, she got a mini-fridge for her office just so that she could have ice cold ale ready at hand at all times. She's smart, isn't she? Nod your head.

"So what are you here for?"

"Can't I visit my teammate?"

Sakura raised an eyebrow at him.

"What?! I can't?! But I haven't seen you for two months!"

Oh yeah that's right, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sai had left for a mission about two months ago.

Sakura smiled. "Oh yeah, when did you come back? This morning?"

Naruto shook his head as he spun himself around in Sakura's chair. "Nope, middle of the night. Got a bit of shut eye before visiting Hinata-chan and then coming here."

"Ah," Sakura responded distractedly as she continued to look over the files for today. Then she looked up at him only to see him staring intensely at her. Her eyebrows furrowed. "Is something wrong?"

Naruto shook his head again but his gaze didn't lessen one bit. "Ne, Sakura-chan. I haven't seen you in two months, but it feels like you've changed a lot."

Sakura's breath hitched. Will Naruto be the first to notice?

She tilted her head at him and softly inquired. "Really?"

He nodded his head and replied in the same tone. "Yeah."

"Like how?"

"You're tired right now, but somehow you seem brighter."

Sakura couldn't stop the smile from spreading across her face. She looked down at her feet, her bangs hiding her eyes as she laughed to herself. Oh the irony. Wasn't she just thinking about this this morning?

She looked up at Naruto who had a soft smile on his face. "Really? How?"

"You seem–I don't know–you just seem brighter. I don't know what exactly is brighter about you, but I know you're different. Something's changed about you." Naruto took her hands in his. "Tell me Sakura, what put that smile on your face? You look like you're laughing at an inside joke, but you also look like the bright, summer sun."

Sakura's smile only widened. Who said Naruto was dense and oblivious?

She shook her head playfully. "Nuh uh. I'm not telling you. You have to figure it out yourself."

Naruto brought her knuckles to his lips and lightly kissed them. "Come on, don't be like that. I'll find out eventually. Why don't you just tell me right now?"

Sakura opened her mouth to tease him some more but before she could say anything, there was knock on her door. She pulled her hands out of Naruto's before saying, "Come in," as she organized the folders on her desk.

A young busty nurse came in. "Sakura-sensei, Yokomada-san is ready for you in OR 4."

"Okay, I'll be right there." Then she turned her attention to Naruto was still lounging in her chair. "Naruto, are you going to wait here?"

It was then that the nurse noticed that one of the villages resident hotties was casually sitting in her superior's chair. She immediately pushed her chest out and fluffed her hair without shame. "Naruto-sama, I'm so sorry for not seeing you there," she purred.

Sakura rolled her eyes before repeating her question. "Are you going to wait here? It won't take that long."

Naruto propped an elbow up on the arm rest and ran a finger along his lips. "Maybe. I do want to hear this inside joke of yours. But I can't promise that I'll be here when you get back. Tsunade-baa-chan said she needs me for something today."

Sakura sighed with a smile while shaking her head. "Fair enough. I'll see you later then, Naruto." Sakura took the patient's folder to review along to way to the surgery suite before calling out to the nurse who was still trying to gain the attention of the spoken for man. "Don't you need to be somewhere?"

The young nurse, no matter how immersed she was in trying to entice the blond man, heard the bite in Sakura's words and immediately sobered up and rushed out, but now before bowing to Sakura.

Naruto let out a deep chuckle. That was his only female teammate alright. And she was definitely in love.

Sakura covered her mouth as she gagged. Ugh, she really didn't need to be doing this right now. She was on her way to her shishou's office to give her some important files that she had requested from the hospital when it seemed like she was now getting afternoon sickness. Booooo.

AND she didn't have any ginger ale readily available right now. Even more booooo!

Sakura reached the Hokage's office and knocked on one of the cherrywood doors, waiting for the signal to go in, before going in.

"Shishou, here are the documents you asked for."

Tsunade didn't look up from the documents she was looking over so Sakura walked up to the desk and put them down. She was about to turn and leave when her shishou asked a question. THE question.

"Sakura, are you pregnant?"

Sakura spun around so fast that she over-spun and ended up in an awkward twisted position. "Huh?" was her eloquent reply. She really was pregnant, but that didn't mean that she was going to surrender up the information that easily.

Tsunade's trained eyes looked Sakura's form up and down before zeroing on her abdomen. "Lift up your shirt."

Sakura cringed sheepishly. Well that was one way to do it. She took a deep breath before lifting up the hem of her shirt. She carefully waited for her shishou's reaction. But there was none. The busty blonde kept her expression the same as she rested her lips against the overlapped thumbs of her folded hands.

A minute or two of silence passed before Tsunade finally spoke. "Who's the father?"

Sakura bit her lip. She thought she was ready for this. "Someone?" But apparently not.

Tsunade rubbed her temples. "Why didn't you tell me about this? I would've pulled you from the roster."

Sakura let her shirt fall back down before shrugged nonchalantly, "If I was called for a mission, I would've told you. But fortunately, I wasn't."

Tsunade let out a tired sigh as she pinched her nose bridge. "Who's the father?" she repeated.

"Someone," Sakura repeated, too.

Tsunade glared at her. "Are they trustworthy?"

Sakura answered without missing a beat. "Yes." Then she added after a thought. "To me."

The Godaime raised an eyebrow. Someone who was only loyal to her apprentice? Interesting. "Will I ever meet the man who impregnated my pseudo-daughter without my permission?"

Sakura scoffed before saying, "You've already met, I'm sure."

Tsunade's mind flashed through all the possible males. She narrowed it down to a few. Then she looked closer at her apprentice's body. She looked to be about three months along, just starting her second trimester. Then she narrowed it down to one.

He was the one that was spotted around the border a few months back.

She narrowed her eyes at the pinkhead. "Sakura," she said sternly.

Sakura knew what was coming but feigned ignorance. "Yes?"

"How did you meet him?"

"He met me."

"Explain."

Sakura sighed. "He broke into my apartment when I was at work and made me heal him when I got back." Well, he didn't make her, but she knew for sure as hell that he was fully capable of doing such a thing if she had refused.

"And you didn't report this why?"

She looked down at the floor before peaking up through her bangs, "I forgot?" she tried.

"Sakura, don't tell me he–." She already knew where that was heading. "NO! No! Of course not! Never!" Then she mumbled under her breath, "But the other one tried to."

"Sakura," Tsunade said, with a warning tone.

"Please, shishou, I'll tell you everything. Just not now."

"Why not?"

"Because he's coming to visit soon."

"All the more reason for me to alert my shinobi that there'll be an S-ranked missing nin in the vicinity!"

"But please! Shishou! If you say that, Team Seven wouldn't even let him come within a hundred miles within the gates."

"As it should be. Sakura, you do know who you're talking about right? He's a dangerous man with an even more dangerous past."

Sakura looked down at the floor again. "I know," she said softly. "I know I'm endangering the village, Naruto, and everyone when he comes. But I also know that I trust him, that he is the father of my child, and that he loves me." She looked up and straight into Tsunade's eyes. "Please, shishou. At least until after this visit."

Tsunade pursed her lips and rubbed her temples before saying, "Leave."

Sakura bowed her head as she bowed and turned to leave with a smile on her face when she turned back to look at her shishou and cocked her head. "How did you know?"

Tsunade looked up at her. "I've had my suspicions for a while now. But when Naruto came prancing in here saying you were love, it only proved my suspicions."

Sakura's eyebrow twitched. Of course.

Sakura ran into someone very unpleasant on her way home from work. Like she ran into someone. So here Sakura was, on her bum and saying some really colorful words under her breath. She looked up to see who it was that she bumped into and was about to apologize until she saw his face.

Sasuke.

She was looking into his eyes but his eyes were trained somewhere else on her body. She followed his line of sight and saw that her shirt had risen up from when she had fallen. She stood up as quickly as she could without looking like an idiot or letting her guard down. But she couldn't help brushing off the dirt from the back of her skirt so that ruined the effect a bit.

As she was busy looking like a dog chasing its tail, trying to make sure that there was nothing left on her skirt, she heard a growl. If Sakura was any lesser of a person, she would've gulped and immediately cowered away. But she wasn't, so she stood her ground and stared up at him defiantly, even though she was sure that anyone could see her hands shaking. She still hasn't gotten over her fear of Sasuke.

"Who. Was. It?"

Sakura glared at him. "How is it any of your business?"

"Who?" Sasuke bit out.

Sakura growled herself as she bit out, "It's none of your business." And tried to walk around him, only to have him grip her wrist harder than he did last time. He pulled her close.

His voice was barely above a whisper, but she could hear him clear as day. "Who's is it?"

Sakura was about to evade him again when she felt it. Then she changed her tactics. "Well let's say that I'll be helping you restore your clan, but not with you," she said in a deathly tone. And then she disappeared in a flurry of sakura petals.

Sakura didn't hear the absolutely blood-curdling roar that Sasuke let out after he realized that she had slipped out of his fingers once again.

Sakura appeared in the safety of her apartment. But she wasn't alone. She definitely wasn't alone.

But she had to make dinner first.

And so tonight, since it was Suna night, she made Suna dishes that Temari had taught her and that she had always enjoyed them when she was over there. Yum yum yum.

She skillfully cooked everything to perfection and set the table. For two. And just like that very first night, as soon as she was done, she stood in the doorway to the living room and looked over her guest. There he was, sitting on the couch. As if he never left.

But really, she hasn't seen him in over a month. And she missed him.

"Dinner's ready," she said, barely above a whisper. He took her breath away. Her eyes followed his form as he stood up and walked over to her. She didn't move as he walked right up to her, their chests touching. "Dinner's ready," she repeated before moving away and taking her seat at the table.

Her heart was beating so fast. Babampbabampbabampbabampbabamp.

She took a deep breath to try and calm herself as she picked up her chopsticks to start eating. But as soon as she saw him take a seat across from her, tears started running down her cheeks. She put her chopsticks back down and couldn't help but laugh.

Her emotions were really out of whack.

Stupid hormones.

He made his way over to her slowly. He gently hooked his arms around her back and under her knees as he picked her up bridal-style and carried her to the room. Sakura could only laugh and cry into his shoulder. She was just so happy to see him.

He sat down at the edge of the bed and rocked the two of them while kissing the top of her head and her forehead.

"Shhh, shhhh, I'm here now."

Sakura wrapped her arms around his chest tighter. "You better be here." She felt him chuckle from his chest.

"What do you think I'm doing right now?"

"Being a jerk."

Itachi only chuckled and kissed her forehead at that.

Sakura pulled back and wiped away at the tears on her checks. Ugh, she must look like a wreck right now. What was it about pregnant women glowing? Nope, definitely not her right now.

"I'm home," he whispered into her ear.

"Welcome home," she croaked.

"How've you been?"

"Good." She drew circles on his chest. "Naruto found out. Tsunade-sensei found out. Sasuke found out."

"Ah. What did they say?"

"Naruto regrettably congratulated me, Tsunade-sensei might send some people after you, and Sasuke might come after you himself."

Itachi shook his head. "Please tell Naruto-kun 'thank you' for me."

Sakura nodded as she looked up into his eyes.

"No matter how many people they send after me, they cannot keep me away from you." Itachi kissed her forehead. "No matter what they do, I'll always be one step ahead." He kissed her nose. "I'll protect you and our baby." He kissed her on the lips.

Sakura wrapped her arms around his neck to keep him close as they battled for dominance with their tongues. They pulled apart when their need for oxygen was screaming at them.

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Sakura craned her neck up to peck him on the lips. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

They spent the rest of the night contently in each others arms. Even though they could not be together everyday, they knew that nothing could tear them apart and even then, the farther apart they were, the more they desired each other. Although others may not approve of the two of them, they could not deny that they were in love. Oh so very in love.

Who knew that a small tip in the beginning would lead to a down payment? Now there'll be many more promised payments to come.

If not, she'll make him pay child support. A much different kind of payment.

A/N: Hello there.. How was it? Did you you guys like it? Love it? Hate it? Whichever one it is, please let me knooooow in a review!

And yes, this is the last chapter. I could've easily stretched this out a bit more, but I felt like finishing it up. As I said before, I originally planned for this story to be a short one, so yes, it was a short one, only five chapters. And because it took me so long to write, you can clearly see the vast difference in writing styles from the first few chapters to the last two. Well, it did take me SIX years to finish it, soooo, it's to be expected...even though it's supposed to be an unexpected story...you know what I mean..

Actually this was originally a oneshot, but due to readers' demand I expanded it. And it was after that, that I planned for it to be about five chapters or so.

Oh and because I haven't written for this story in so long, I had to look over the other chapters before writing this one, and boy did I still have a lot of typos and grammatical errors even thought I had already "edited" it once.

Oh oh, another thing. For those of you who're interested, I finally finished Restrained Wants, the vampire story that I was talking about at the end of the last chapter. And the alternate ending, Unrestrained Wants is also out, so please go check those out if you have time.

Oh oh oh, one more thing, I'm revamping my very first fanfic, Double Personality, and I just started another Sakura fic, Lost and Found, so please go check those out, tooo!

Oh oh oh oh, one last thing I promise! I think I made Naruto a bit too sexy in this chapter? He totally doesn't match the one from Chapter 2, lol. My bad XD. This is what happens where there is a large gap between chapters.

Thank you so much for reading my story and for all the reviews (heart)!

Please let me know what you thought of this last chapter and of the story as a whole!

And, once again, thank you!