Author's Notes: Normally I save these for the end, but I got so much feedback last time (particularly about Sarada being adopted) that I figured I better start off with some explanations! *holds up hands in surrender* Hopefully after reading this chapter's title, everyone can calm down, breathe easy, and enjoy the next adventure with some peace of mind. :)

Oh, and this is the part where I remind everyone that this fic is rated M for a REASON. Particularly sexual ones. So please make sure you're old enough/mature enough/whatever enough to read on!

Lastly, this chapter is dedicated to crazymel, who sent me such a heartfelt message I couldn't help but post this chapter a little early in answer to her questions. :) I'll see you all down below with some more thanks/thoughts/hints before next time!

two

hey, I just saw you/and this is crazy/but you're a father/and here's our baby

Sasuke finished his call with the Sheriff's Office and watched as a nearby medic finished putting the bandage on Sakura's head. They'd already cleaned the blood away, but an ugly green and purple bruise was quickly forming. She was scowling, no doubt wishing she could apply it herself. He shook his head ruefully, thinking that some things never changed.

Then his eyes fell to the bundle in her arms.

The little girl seemed to be sleeping peacefully, but every now and then Sarada suckled lustily at the bottle a nurse had brought over. He didn't realize he was staring until the medic walked away and Sakura delicately cleared her throat.

"Is there any sign of the kidnappers?" she asked. She was still ash pale and trembling, no doubt torn between relief from being safe at the hospital and fear that the unknown men were still out there.

Sasuke shook his head and gritted his teeth. "No," he admitted.

"Oh."

Her one word seemed to carry worlds of condemnation and he bristled. "There's a crime scene investigation team headed to your place. They might find some DNA or prints to tell us who was there."

Sakura nodded. "You shot one of them, didn't you?"

"Aa." Sasuke knew there would be blood in the backyard for the labs to trace, and if the guy was in the system, they'd have a good start. First-time offenders generally didn't commit felonies like attempted kidnap and murder.

He turned to go, ready to put some space between them, but Sakura spoke again. "Sasuke… arigato. You saved our lives."

"Hn." True, but only because she'd gotten lucky he was in the right place at the right time. Sasuke hated to admit it, but luck might not be on their side again.

All his instincts had been screaming for him to turn around and give pursuit when the SUV sped away, but he knew it would have been too big of a risk with Sakura and Sarada with him and Naruto temporarily out of commision. He wanted to catch the criminals, but he didn't want to do it by putting Sakura, the baby or his partner in further danger.

Adrenaline still pumped through him. It was as struggle to sit down next to Sakura in the emergency room examining stall, but he forced himself to do it. The past two years he'd strictly avoided all contact with his ex and she with him, but this was business. Nothing personal.

Or so he told himself.

That was the problem with Sakura. It was always too personal when she was involved. Before the divorce they'd been married for three years and dated for five before that (the last year of high school and their journey through college, she for pre-med and he for criminal justice), but they'd known each other since they were kids. He threw away her homemade valentine in first grade and made her cry (later his mother had chastised him for his rudeness, but he didn't care). When they were fourteen his mom died of cancer and his older brother skipped town (she caught him behind the bleachers and held him in her arms while he tried to pretend he wasn't crying). When they were seventeen he fucked her for the first time in the very same place after winning a home game (the same way he'd fantasized about doing ever since she made the cheerleading team).

...

"S-Sasuke-kun," she gasped as he trailed his hands up her thighs, flipping up her short skirt to reveal a pair of plain cotton panties with pink hearts underneath. She blushed and he watched, fascinated, as the rosy hue spread across her cheeks and stained the tips of her earlobes.

She whimpered when he cupped her in his hand and the sound drove him crazy. He slipped a hand inside her waistband and probed gently at her wet heat, groaning at the thought of being wrapped inside. His self-control almost shattered when she reached a tentative hand inside his pants and shyly mimicked his movements. "Sakura…" he grabbed her wrist and forced her to stop.

"What is it?" she asked, blinking in confusion.

He touched his forehead to hers. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

She lifted her lips to his and kissed him harder than he'd ever been kissed before. "Does that answer your question?" she asked breathlessly when they broke apart for air.

...

After their split two years ago, Sakura had moved to Suna and took a job as a physician's assistant in the major hospital there. He thought he would never see her again. He'd almost convinced himself he was just fine with that when she barged back into his life with that phone call, bringing a boatload of trouble with her.

"I was only going to be here for a few weeks," Sakura volunteered, seemingly following his train of thought. Sasuke shifted uncomfortably on the chair, hoping she hadn't picked up on everything he'd been thinking about. "Just enough to get the place ready to sell. If they'd come after me at my apartment in Suna they might have succeeded."

"Did the investigator visit you at the apartment?"

She nodded. "Kakashi came earlier this week."

Sasuke really didn't like the timing of that. "Did you tell him you were coming back to your aunt's in Konoha?"

The question came out rougher than he intended and she winced. She started to shake her head, but then alarm shot through her eyes. "He saw my suitcases and Sarada's baby things and asked if we were going on a trip. I told him I inherited my aunt's house and was going to sell it." Her hand shot out and clutched his. "You don't think Kakashi had anything to do with those kidnappers?"

"Maybe," Sasuke said evasively, trying to ignore the feel of her touch on his skin. The P.I. seemed like the most likely suspect right now, but experience had taught him the most obvious solution wasn't always the answer. "Naruto's trying to contact him now."

It was also possible the investigator had discovered something, especially if Sakura had participated in an illegal adoption, and someone badly wanted to cover it up. Sakura might not even know herself if she'd done anything illegal, but her evasive answers in the truck earlier roused his suspicions. She would need to be questioned thoroughly, and Sasuke wasn't looking forward to hearing the answers.

The door to the examining room opened and a nurse stuck her head in. "You'll be able to go soon. We're just waiting on some paperwork from the doctor."

"Thanks, Shizune," Sakura said.

"No problem, sweetie." Shizune smiled gently. Sasuke recalled that they'd been co-workers before when Sakura worked at the local clinic and he scowled, hoping to send her on her way faster. Shizune was the one who'd suggested his wife seek alternative fertility treatments, after one in vitro procedure after another resulted only in failure and heartbreak. If he couldn't blame her for Sakura's near-death experience after a bad reaction to one of the meds, he could damn well blame her for showing his ex-wife the way. "I'll be at the nurse's station if you need me. Get some rest with your beautiful baby girl while we get you out of here as soon as we can."

Soon couldn't come soon enough for Sasuke. He needed to put some space between himself and Sakura and put it there fast, but that couldn't happen until he got the information he needed.

"Why'd you decide to go ahead and adopt a baby?" he asked after Shizune left, figuring it was the simplest question to get started with. "That can't have been easy, deciding to be a single parent."

Fire flashed in her green eyes. Maybe it wasn't exactly the safest subject right now, considering that it'd been at the root of their break-up.

"I decided not to wait any longer for the right fertility treatment. Or for Mr. Right," she snapped, then paused just long enough for him to understand he was most definitely in the Mr. Wrong category. Sasuke scowled. He hadn't needed the pause to know that; he'd known from the beginning he was wrong for her, but it hadn't stopped him from selfishly marrying her and taking all she had to give. Hell, he'd even tried to give her the baby she so desperately wanted.

Something of his thoughts must have shown on his face because Sakura's face softened. "You know how much I've always wanted to be a mother," she said, but the bitterness was gone.

He did, and that one statement said it all. Sakura had always known what she wanted and gone for it. She'd pursued pregnancy with the same unrelenting determination she'd once pursued him with, his reluctance and her body's own unsuitability be damned. It was entirely possible she'd gone for it and cut the wrong kind of corners.

"If you hired an investigator, you must have suspected something wasn't right," he said, and that closed, wary look came across her face again. She looked as if this was the last thing on earth she wanted to discuss, with him least of all.

Too bad.

"Not… suspected. I was just worried," she explained, biting her lip. "You know, because of all the stuff I was hearing on the news."

Sasuke could understand that, too. The media had been all over black-market baby rings lately after busting a big operation in Oto. Pregnant women who were kidnapped and their babies sold, birth mothers being murdered or in some cases managing to escape. It was the kind of dark, scary stuff the news went crazy over and people ate up like popcorn. Maybe Sakura wanted to make sure Sarada's birth mother wasn't one of those victims. If she was, then she could step in and take Sarada away even after the adoption was finalized.

"Could this be related to something personal?"

"Like what?"

"A boyfriend," he said, watching her carefully for a reaction. "Or an ex who wants to get back at you?"

Sakura shook her head. "You're the only ex I have who hates me," she said, looking away.

Sasuke opened his mouth to say he didn't hate her. That he'd only hated her desire for him to be a father, to turn into someone he wasn't. But he kept his mouth shut, deciding it was better they didn't go there.

"But no. There's no recent ex. No recent… well, anything since Sarada," Sakura said, and a piece of him felt relieved. Sasuke told himself it was because he was happy he didn't have yet another lead to chase down during his investigation, and not because he hated the thought of another man in her life.

"What about with your job? Did you ever have any disgruntled patients or family members at the hospital?"

"No," she said, and he believed her. Sakura had a way of making everyone happy she worked with, from the sleep-deprived doctors to the patients staring death in the face. Only he had seen what it cost her when she stumbled home at night after staying late to help just one more person, to stay with just one more person's family through a crisis.

Sasuke noticed her hands were shaking and realized she was probably about to deal with an adrenaline crash, but he was totally unprepared when a small sob escaped her throat and she rested her head on his shoulder. He couldn't push her away, but he couldn't let himself put his arms around her either the way his body was demanding. "I'm so scared," she whispered.

She had good reason to be, but Sasuke didn't think honesty was the best policy on his part at the moment.

The guys who'd broken into her house hadn't been amateurs. They'd clearly been after information, and taken care to secure her laptop, cell phone and files. "I called my attorney, Kabuto Yakushi, too" Sakura said, breaking into his train of thought. "Do you think they'd go after him?"

Sasuke shrugged. At this point he couldn't rule out what the attackers would or wouldn't do, so he made a quick phone call to the Sheriff's Office once again to make sure someone checked in with the attorney. "Who else did you have contact with?"

"No one. I've been spending almost all my time with Sarada."

The door opened again and Sasuke moved instinctively to stand in front of Sakura and Sarada, protecting them. It wasn't the kidnappers or a nurse or the doctor, however.

It was Naruto.

An awkward silence fell in the room. As fast as he'd been he hadn't moved fast enough; it was clear Naruto had seen the close contact between them, and he frowned. Sasuke felt the disapproval coming off Naruto like waves, but he could tell it wasn't just the loaded past that was bothering his long-time partner.

"Someone torched Granny Tsunade's house before the investigation team could get there and have a look around," he said bluntly.

Sakura gasped and clutched her baby even closer. "They burned down my aunt's house?" she asked, her voice quavering.

"They did clean up, too, on the blood in the yard," Naruto said, speaking more to Sasuke than to her. "But they might've left something behind."

The two men shared a look, both thinking that seemed highly unlikely, but Sakura didn't need to know that.

Tears were finally falling freely down her face. Sasuke tried to ignore them and focus instead on this latest turn of events. Obviously someone was behind these guys, someone with a lot of money and one hell of a motive. But what?

"I have to get out of here," Sakura sobbed. "I have to keep her safe."

Sasuke and Naruto exchanged another glance. "She needs to give us a statement," Naruto reminded him, and he nodded his head reluctantly. He hadn't forgotten, but he also didn't think Sakura was in any shape to do that.

He rethought that when he looked at her. She was no longer shaking, but she was glaring at Naruto through the haze of tears in her eyes. "I'm right here, you know," she said. "You can talk to me."

Naruto tensed. "Well, that's news to me," he snapped, and she recoiled as if slapped. Sasuke glared and Naruto pulled himself together with effort. "Make sure you get her statement," the blonde called over his shoulder as he stormed from the room.

"I'll do whatever it takes to stop them," Sakura said quietly, heart aching. "I can give you a statement now, if you'd like."

"We'll be the ones doing the stopping," he reminded her. "You need to be in protective custody."

She blinked. "Whose?"

Sasuke thought quickly. Naruto obviously wasn't a choice now, and he was the only one Sasuke trusted besides himself to keep his ex-wife and her child safe. "Mine, for now," he finally said.

Sakura looked away.

"Who was involved in the adoption?" he asked. She instantly went pale, and his hands clenched into fists. Fucking hell. "You did cut corners," he spat out.

She swallowed hard. "Not like you think, Sasuke, I swear," she cried, reaching out to touch him again, but he backed away. "I went through a private agency called Growing Generations. They don't only do adoptions." She paused and gathered a deep breath. "They… they also have surrogates."

"Surrogates," he repeated, but the meaning took a moment to sink in.

It didn't sink in well.

"I hired a surrogate to carry her," Sakura said, her gaze finally meeting his. "But Sarada is our baby."

Sakura waited anxiously for the fallout. And there would be fallout, she knew that from the look on Sasuke's face. She'd just dropped a bombshell to him, one that would almost certainly make him hate her even more. If that was even possible.

His gaze swept from her, to Sarada, then back and forth again. "Holy fucking shit," he repeated over and over, then he turned and walked away to the far edge of the room, as far away from her as he could get.

"I'm sorry," Sakura said, her throat constricting.

Her apology covered a multitude of sins, but not the birth of Sarada herself. Sakura would never regret having her precious baby girl, even if she'd made mistakes along the way. Well, one big mistake, anyway.

Sasuke put his hands on the side of his head. She could practically see him pull himself together, knew he hated himself for losing control in front of her. It was one of the things that had destroyed their relationship, the mask he always wore, even with her. She watched him drop his hands and turn around to face her, doing her best to meet his steely glare.

"It's true," he said. It wasn't exactly a question, but Sakura nodded anyways. "How? Why?"

Sakura decided to start from the beginning. Well, the beginning after their marriage ended, at least. "After we separated and I got the divorce papers, I was pretty shaken up," she confessed. Of course, shaken up was putting it mildly, but he didn't need to know how devastated she had been by their split. "I was expecting it, but still…"

Sasuke's scowl told her it was time to stop trekking down that particular memory lane. "There was only one of our embryos left in storage. After my miscarriages, I knew there was a better chance of it working with a surrogate than with me trying again." She shrugged and tried not to think about those two bitter miscarriages and three failed in vitro procedures. She'd wanted a baby so much, but her own body conspired against her. She'd felt like a failure as a woman and a wife, no matter what Sasuke said about not needing kids to be a family.

Sasuke seemed to freeze. Not his eyes, though. They burned into hers. "And you didn't think you should include me in that decision?"

"I knew you'd say no," she defended herself. "And I couldn't live with a no anymore, Sasuke. I wanted a baby, and I was willing to do whatever it took to make that happen."

Even if what she'd done was wrong.

His cold silence hurt, and she found herself trying to explain, just like she always did. "My doctor told me I couldn't have any more eggs harvested for a year, maybe two, maybe not ever because of the bad reaction I had to the fertility drugs." Bad was putting it mildly, but she doubted Sasuke needed to be reminded of the reaction that had almost killed her. "One fertilized embryo was a long shot, but it was the only shot I had."

"So you hired a surrogate."

"Aa. I hired a surrogate named Karin to carry Sarada for me."

Sasuke swore and looked away again. He opened his mouth, closed it, then leaned heavily against the wall.

"I didn't tell you because I knew how you felt about being a father," Sakura said. Even to her own ears, it sounded weak.

"You knew it, but you went ahead and did things your way anyways." His voice was raw and clipped, each word hitting her like a punch to the gut.

"I never expected you to be a father to her," she snapped, stung.

"But I fucking fathered her!" he shouted, and Sarada started to whimper.

Sakura pulled the baby close and rocked her, hoping to soothe her, but babies were sensitive to moods and there was enough tension in the room to choke on. The door flew open and Sasuke protectively drew his gun again, but it was just Shizune. She looked even more concerned this time than she had when Sakura had been admitted with blood congealed across her forehead.

"Is everything okay?" she asked suspiciously. "I thought I heard someone shouting."

"Everything's fine," Sakura tried to assure her with a small smile.

Sasuke laughed humorlessly and holstered his gun again.

Shizune shot an inquisitive look at Sakura, and she nodded for the older woman to leave. Sasuke was many things, but he would never hurt her or Sarada, she knew that. At least not physically. And there was no need for an audience to their fight.

Once Shizune left again, Sasuke stalked closer to the bed, staring down at Sarada. Every muscle in his body was tight, and she saw his throat bob with emotion. "Are you going to ask me if she's really yours?" she lashed out.

Sasuke stared down at them for a few more minutes before letting out a long breath. "No."

Sakura wondered if he could see the resemblance. She certainly had, almost from the moment Sarada was born. She had his dark hair and eyes and there were times when her daughter stared at the world around her with exact same intense expression as her father. And also like her father, Sarada liked to make sure her mother never got a full night's sleep.

Sakura blushed and firmly steered her thoughts away from that dangerous direction. "I'm sorry," she repeated weakly. "If I thought I could've harvested more eggs, I wouldn't have used our embryo."

No, she would have happily used another donor's sperm, and so cut Sasuke out of her life forever. Her intentions probably didn't mean much to him now, though, considering he'd just learned he was something he never wanted to be- a father.

"I never planned on telling you," she went on, trying to reassure him. "I knew she was my baby, not ours. I don't want or expect anything from you."

That sent a flash of anger through his eyes, but he dropped his gaze from her and rested it on Sarada instead. Slowly, hesitatingly, as if he was afraid she might burn him, he brushed her cheek with his finger. "She looks like my mother," he finally said, then turned away.

Sakura wasn't sure if that was good or bad. Sasuke never talked much about his family, and she'd never officially met them. He would have ended up in foster care after his mother died if it hadn't been for Jiraiya, Naruto's uncle. Jiraiya had taken Sasuke in just like he'd taken Naruto and raised both boys like they were his own, but by then the damage had already been done. Damage that Sakura always thought she could undo with her unconditional love, but after the pain of his mother's death and brother's abandonment, Sasuke wanted nothing to do with parenthood or a family ever again. He resisted the smallest conversation about kids, refusing to even discuss names once they'd agreed to try, and he'd never wanted to go to her auntie's for Sunday night dinners.

He was a piece of work, alright. But she'd loved him- and she knew a part of her still did and probably always would, so what did that make her?

"Go ahead," she sighed. "Yell at me. Tell me how wrong and selfish I was to do this to you."

For a moment he seemed to seriously consider doing just that, but then his phone rang. He glanced down at the screen and his shoulders instantly tensed. Sakura swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up so she could see the screen.

Unknown caller.

"It could just be a telemarketer," she said feebly, but she knew in her gut it was something much worse. Just like she'd known when she first set eyes on Sasuke that he was the love of her life. There were some things in life you just knew.

Sasuke pushed the answer button and put the phone call on speaker.

"Don't bother tracing this, sheriff," a familiar mocking voice said. "I'm on a burner cell."

The driver, Sakura realized, heart racing once again.

"Who are you and what do you want?" she cried. Sasuke shot her an exasperated look, clearly angry that she'd stepped in.

"Oh good, I was hoping you'd be there, pinky. I wanted to tell you this isn't over."

"It is if you know what's good for you," Sasuke said simply.

The driver laughed. "It'll be over when pinky gives up the names of everyone she told."

"I told you, I don't know what you're talking about," Sakura interjected again, ignoring Sasuke's glare.

"Oh you know, Sakura. I'd go check out the surprise we left at your house if you need any more convincing."

"What surprise?" they asked together.

"You'll find out," the mocking voice said cheerfully. "You're a dead woman, Haruno Sakura, and this time your deputy won't be able to save you."

Author's Notes: Many heartfelt thank you's to all my followers, readers and ESPECIALLY my reviewers! Your feedback means so much to me and I can't wait to hear your thoughts on this chapter. I hope you enjoyed this latest installment and getting some answers, since Kishi sure as heck didn't give us any in Gaiden Chapter 2. *insert rant*

To pinkypinkypinky and to one of my guests (I love when you leave your name so I can thank you personally), my thoughts exactly! I swear if Kishi makes someone else Sarada's parents I will stop reading the manga (for all of three weeks until my resolve weakens, at least)! I am so sick of all the crap he piles on my favorite characters. I mean, it looks like everyone else got a happily ever after, so why not Sasu/Saku?

To ohsoblue, LightThePyre and UrusaiGenni, I'm glad you like it so far and I hope you like this next chapter just as much!

To sasukesakura7, don't worry, An Uchiha's Heart is not forgotten! I'm about halfway through the next chapter, but visions of a sexy police officer uniform-clad Sasuke keep distracting me. :)

And to ElevatedJewel, I'm so glad you think so. This is definitely new territory for me, so your feedback and any suggestions would be much appreciated!

Next up: we meet Sakura's private investigator and attorney, and the plot thickens... :)