Title: Misdiagnosis

Summary: Sasuke and Sakura struggle with Sakura's pregnancy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, and that sucks. Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto, a great man.

Prompt: SSM Day 19 "Blood"

Rated K+

Comments: I finally found inspiration for a story! Yay!

"Sasuke-kun, I need to talk to you."

Sasuke looked over to his wife and set down the firewood he gathered. They were currently settled in a small opening of a forest located in a village called Kawagakure, also known as the Hidden River Village. It's been about two and a half years since the war. Sakura had been traveling with him for a few months, and Sasuke secretly appreciated her company. Although he had been irritated at her at first for being so stubborn about wanting to join him, he was now grateful that she had been.

Keeping his curiosity at bay, he walked over to her. Sasuke scanned her form discreetly, pleased to find her free of injury, yet on edge, noticing some of his wife's nervous habits. Fumbling with her red shirt, nibbling her bottom lip, and scanning the woods, focusing on anything but him.

Trying to gain back her attention, Sasuke's voice rumbled, "Sakura."

Her emerald eyes darted up to meet his before glancing back down to the forest floor. He frowned, not liking her lack of attention and concentration.

Before he could call her again, she spoke softly, "Sasuke-kun.."

Sasuke was becoming very concerned. Sakura was acting oddly out of character. She was not normally soft-spoken. He needed to find out what was wrong, so she could go back to her usual bouncy self.

"What is it?" Sasuke demanded.

"I-" Sakura started. She paused, and seemed to think about how she would word her next phrase, "We-" Sakura huffed in obvious frustration. Sasuke was waiting patiently.

'Just say it!' she scolded to herself.

"We're gonna have a baby!" she suddenly blurted, covering her face in embarrassment and slight fear, waiting for her husband's reaction. Sakura hadn't the slightest clue how he would react to the news.

Meanwhile, Sasuke blinked and activated his sharingan, scanning her as he did earlier. Only this time, he could see the small flutter of an extra chakra source originating from Sakura's lower stomach. He was at a loss of words.

Sakura parted her fingers to peek at him. The longer he just stood there, staring at her stomach, the more Sakura became nervous.

'Does he not want a baby? Is he mad?' Sakura was becoming more and more insecure as the seconds ticked by.

Abruptly, Sakura was pulled into a pair of strong, warm arms. She sucked in a sharp breath, inhaling the scent of firewood and another smell that could only be classified as Sasuke himself. Realizing what his embrace meant, tears gathered at the corner of her eyes. She then wrapped her arms tightly around his torso.

"Sakura...thank you."

Only after Sasuke released those familiar words did Sakura let her tears spill over.

2 Months Later

Sakura was about ten weeks into her pregnancy. To the untrained eye, she didn't look any different, but Sakura could feel her very small baby bump. And Sasuke, being very observant and attentive to his wife, could also notice her slowly growing stomach.

The couple were currently strolling through Kusagakure, the Hidden Grass Village. Sakura insisted on stopping to buy baby supplies despite being no where near her due date.

"Sarada," Sakura spoke out of the blue.

Sasuke glanced down at her and grunted, "Hn?"

"Sarada," Sakura repeated. "Our baby girl will be named Sarada."

Sasuke rose an eyebrow amusedly. "How do you know it's a girl?"

Sakura beamed, "Maternal instincts, Sasuke-kun. I'm also a medic-nin, you know." Sasuke brushed off her mocking tone and used his right hand to grab her's.

"Sarada," he muttered, testing the feel of it.

Sakura hummed, "Yeah. 'Sa' for the first part of our names, 'ra' for my name, and...'da' for Itachi." Sakura uttered the last part quietly.

Sasuke blinked. She must have put a lot of thought into their child's name. Sasuke squeezed her hand for a moment, his indication of approval for their daughter's name. He was happy with the way Sakura set up the name.

Sakura's smile vanished and her steps faltered when she felt a cramp in her lower abdomen. Her right hand clutched her stomach when the cramp started to feel more sharp. Sasuke stopped.

"What's wrong?" he asked her, tensing in alarm.

She waved off his mother-hen-like nature, "It's just a cramp, Sasuke-kun. It's normal."

Sasuke felt his shoulders relax, only to tense up again when Sakura gasped.

"Look! It's a dango stand!" she exclaimed. Sasuke scoffed at her childishness. Still, he let her drag him to the stand.

As the days went by, Sakura started getting more and more stomach cramps, and Sasuke felt so useless not being able to do anything. Sakura always assured him that it was normal, but Sasuke couldn't help but worry.

"Sasuke-kun, I promise, I'm fine. It's completely normal during pregnancy," Sakura told her husband for the umpteenth time.

Sasuke pulled her into his arms buried his face in her neck, "Hn. I'm just worried about our baby."

'And you,' he added silently.

Sakura smiled lovingly, "Yes, I know."

"Sakura!" called the voice of a worried Sasuke. His dark eyes glanced around, searching for a familiar head of pink. A loud battle cry interrupted his searching. Sasuke pulled out his katana and swiftly cut the rogue nin down.

"Sakura!" he called again, trying to shove the panic and desperation out of his voice. He felt his blood go cold before boiling in rage when he heard a strangled cry of pain come from behind him. Sasuke turned and bolted in the direction of the cry.

As much as she hated to admit it, Sakura felt completely defenseless. She and Sasuke were setting up their tent when a group of rogue nin attacked them, obviously taking advantage of her incapacitated state. She was not so long into her pregnancy that she couldn't defend herself, but she knew she had to take extra precaution to protect Sarada.

Not only that, but Sasuke was no where in her sights. At some point in the fight, the group managed to separate her from her beloved husband. She could only barely hear his voice calling her name, but she couldn't call back to him because these rogue nin just kept coming left and right.

Sakura was just about to call out to Sasuke when one of lackeys snuck up behind her and grabbed her arms, preventing her from attacking with her fists. Before she even had a chance to think about an escape plan, a burly man jumped down in front of her, landing a low blow on her stomach.

Sakura felt air leave her lungs as she let out a choked cry.

'Sarada!'

Blinded by her pain and fury, Sakura kneed the man in front her in the groin and sent a chakra filled kick to his head when he fell to his knees.

"You're gonna regret that," the large man wheezed.

Sakura struggled fiercely, wanting to be in her loving husband's arms.

"Sasuke-kun!" she sobbed. Her breath hitched when a long sword was sent through the bulky build of the man kneeling before her.

"And you're going to regret ever touching my wife," hissed the voice of the katana wielder.

"Sakura, did they hurt you?" Sasuke asked his wife through gritted teeth. It only took him a few minutes to get rid of the group after he found Sakura.

"N-no," Sakura lied.

'Sasuke-kun doesn't need to know,' she thought to herself.

"You two go ahead. I'll distract him," said Sakura, sheer determination laced in her voice.

Before Sasuke or Naruto could say anything, Sakura charged toward Madara. Sasuke watched in shock as his female teammate attempted to strike Madara, only to be impaled by the man himself. Sakura cried out in shock at not being able to land a hit because of some invisible force field.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto cried.

Not one to sit around, Sasuke immediately took off, Naruto right on his heels. Once they got Sakura away from Madara, they jumped back.

"Sakura-chan, are you alright?" asked a worried Natuto.

"Y-yeah," she stuttered hesitantly.

Out of the corner of his eye, Sasuke could see her glance up at him. However, he kept his focus on Madara. He couldn't afford to be distracted by Sakura and her injuries.

But deep down he knew he just couldn't handle seeing her blood.

Sasuke woke up with a start. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, glancing down at a sleeping Sakura.

Carefully, so as not to wake her, Sasuke crawled out of the tent they shared in hopes of calming his nerves. When he was out, he stretched his tense muscles. He glanced around for a perimeter check. Once he deemed it safe, he walked over to a large log he used as a bench, facing the tent.

This was obviously not the first time he's had nightmares of this sort. Instead of waking his pregnant wife for comfort, he decided to calm himself. It wasn't his wife's concerns anyhow.

Sasuke thought back to the war, how Sakura nearly sacrificed herself on more than one occasion just to save him.

'Even before the war, she had been willing to give her life up for someone like me,' Sasuke thought. 'Annoying woman.'

Sasuke didn't know how long he had been lost in his thoughts when he heard a familiar scream. Sasuke dashed to the tent.

Opening the flap he called out, "Sakura, what's wr-"

Sasuke was interrupted by a sharp inhale of breath. Sakura lay there in their sleeping mat, covered in blood.

Blood. So much blood.

"Sasuke-kun," Sakura whimpered, tears streaming down her face. Sasuke rushed to her side and lifted her into his arms, his heart racing. Carrying her out of the tent bridal style, Sasuke started running toward the village, teleporting them to get there quicker.

Locating the nearest hospital, Sasuke took off, thankful that there were few to no people in the streets so late at night. He didn't have to time to be maneuvering through crowds of nameless strangers. His wife was hurt. Sakura was hurt.

Bursting into the hospital, Sasuke startled the nurses and doctors in the immediate vicinity.

"My wife," he panted. "Help her."

Doctors and nurses rushed to their assistance. Two nurses rolled a gurney over, signaling for Sasuke to set the woman down. He looked at his crying wife. Not really wanting to let her go, he pulled her closer, kissed her forehead, and reluctantly laid her down.

"Sasuke-kun," she whispered, absolute fear was shining in her normally bright, bright eyes.

Sasuke felt as if his heart was being torn apart as he watched doctors and nurses push Sakura away on the rolling bed.

"Sir," a nurse called, gaining his attention. "Can you tell me what happened? We need to know so we can help her."

Sasuke swallowed, trying to calm his nerves, "She was just sleeping, and I heard her scream. When I found her, she was covered in blood. She's pregnant."

At his last words, the nurse looked grim. Sasuke became gravely worried at the nurse's expression.

"I can't say for sure, but..." she hesitated, "she may have had a miscarriage. I promise, Sir, we'll do everything we can for her," the nurse said, sincerely, "but we need you to fill out some paperwork."

'A...miscarriage? We lost her? I lost my daughter before I even met her? No. It's not guaranteed that we lost her.'

Sasuke was beyond frustrated and in complete mental turmoil. They took his wife away, and he didn't know what they were doing to her, he didn't know if she or their daughter were alright, and this nurse wants him to do paperwork?

He tsked, but accepted the paperwork. He knew it was necessary for files and payment and whatnot. Sakura had informed of this several times before.

The thought of his wife made his heart clench. Would she be alright? Would Sarada be alright?

All Sasuke knew, as he looked at his clothes cover in Sakura's blood, was that it was going to be a very long night.

"We're going to do an ultrasound to check on the baby," explained the doctor.

Sasuke, sitting beside Sakura on the hospital bed, squeezed his wife's hand gently. Sakura was alright, but now they need to see if Sarada was alright. The couple sat in tense silence as the doctor prepared for the ultrasound that would deliver the news of their unborn child.

Sasuke stared at the monitor in silence, and Sakura had tears streaming down her face, her hand muffling her sobs.

There on the screen was the form of their healthy, unharmed baby girl.

Sarada was safe. They were safe. In that moment, Sasuke and Sakura both knew that everything was going to be alright.

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