Always You

Chapter Eleven: Always You

Babblings: Alright, well here is the final chapter of 'Always You'. I want to say thank you to those who reviewed and really kept me going with this. After this story, I will mostly be working on my story 'The Light Side of Me'. Please read it. I love you guys. Look for another sequel to this shortly, mostly involving Destin. (I still haven't figured out who to pair him up with, but I will soon.) I get my wisdom teeth out tomorrow, so I wanted to post this before I get on all those pain meds.

Naruto's point of view

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As I watched my first son disappear on his way to boarding school, I felt a bit of my heart being wrenched from my chest. The years had gone by far too quickly. It seemed as though he had just been born last week. Then I had made the mistake of blinking and now he was all grown up.

Katherine hugged my shoulders, pulling me close to her. The years were finally starting to catch up to her. A few strands of grey stood out amongst her dark hair and there were several wrinkles in the corners of her eyes. For the longest time, I thought maybe she never aged; maybe she had been sent as my guardian angel; and maybe she was, but she was still just a human. Yet, I couldn't imagine what I'd do without her. Where would I be if I had never met her? Maybe Sasuke would have never found me. Maybe I wouldn't have Kira. Maybe Destin wouldn't know how to play the piano. Or maybe there were just too many maybes in the world, none of which had answers.

"He'll be back," she said.

I nodded. "I know. He just grew up so fast."

"They all do. So did Sakura; so did you," she smiled, leading me away from the door. "You are a lot different than the lost eighteen-year-old boy I found pregnant and on a bus to anywhere. At the same time, though, you haven't changed at all."

Scowling, I sank in the sofa in the living room. "What's that supposed to mean?"

She said nothing, just got that all-knowing glint in her eyes and waltzed into the kitchen, presumably to make hot chocolate – my favorite.

Sasuke arrived home late the next afternoon. Immediately, when the key turned in the lock, I sprinted toward the door, launching myself into his arms. He laughed jovially and held me tight, rubbing soft circles on my back. "Miss me?" he asked.

"You have no idea," I replied.

At that, he picked me up, slinging me over his shoulder and yelling at Katherine not to expect us back down for the rest of the night.

He kept to that promise and the next morning I could barely walk. But it was worth it. It always was.

That first week without Destin hurt the most. There was this empty space inside of me that could only be filled by him. I felt as though I had lost him too early. Most people don't have to say good-bye to their children until they graduate from high school. Truthfully, I never actually thought he would ever leave me; now I realized how naïve my thinking was.

Sasuke started a part-time job teaching piano lessons. We didn't need the money (Sasuke's family fortune was enough to last us several lifetimes), but it gave him something to do and it made it so I didn't constantly have to listen to the silence. On Sasuke's first day, the phone rang off the hook until about ten o'clock that night. It brought back memories of those days, years and years ago, when I had been shunned and Sasuke had been the adored child prodigy. Some things never changed. Some things did. The media had finally gotten used to the fact that he wasn't coming back. We saw him in the tabloids less and less. Pretty soon, though, I knew, Destin would be discovered and it would be his face we saw on all the periodicals.

Another thing I noticed was that Kira was a lot quieter. He had always been a loud child, so it startled me not to hear his voice as frequently.

Then, one day, he came up to me as I sat, reading, in the living room and crawled on the couch beside me. "Daddy?" he asked. I nodded, setting my book down on my lap. "I have a friend. He wants me to come over to his house."

For a moment, I just stared at him. This was something I had never dealt with before. Destin had always just kept to himself, never showing an interest in making friends, perfectly happy to stay at home with Katherine and I. "Um… okay," I said, slowly. "Can I meet him first?"

Kira nodded enthusiastically. "You'll like him."

The next day, I was led, stumbling, to a small, but cleanly-kept house by my young, enthusiastic son. I wiped my hands on my jeans in an attempt to get rid of the sweaty, clammy feeling. Kira reached up, standing on his tip-toes, and rang the doorbell. There was a small commotion behind the door and then a tall, dark-haired, familiar-looking woman opened the screen. "Oh!" she exclaimed, smiling brightly. "You must be Kira's father."

Kira glanced up at me. I just shrugged, never having been in such a situation as to have to explain I was really his 'mother', not his father. "Yeah," I said as she motioned for us to step inside and held out her hand. "I'm Hinata."

I shook her hand, reveling at how soft her skin felt on my own. "Naruto," I replied.

Kira looked up and rolled his eyes. "I'm going to find Wataru. Bye, Daddy!"

Hinata laughed, holding a hand over her mouth as Kira disappeared around a corner. "They're so cute at that age; and such trouble-makers. Wataru's my third child."

"Yeah,' I said, wringing the bottom of my sweat-shirt. "I have another boy. He's thirteen."

"Oh, you must have had him when you were young. You hardly look twenty."

I shrugged, shuffling my feet, nervously. "I'm thirty-one. I was eighteen when… he was born."

Suddenly, a look of recognition ran across her face. "I'm sorry. Can I get you something to drink?"

Somehow, I'm not sure how, I knew she knew how my boys were born. She was as easy to read as an open book. "You know," I said.

All the color drained from her face. "I used to work as an apprentice nurse at the hospital in Kohona… I remember you. I was there the day you came in."

I had this overwhelming urge to run just then; get out of there before she said anything else. But I stayed there, firmly rooted in my spot. This woman had an aura of security about her. Somehow, I knew I needn't be afraid of her; she wouldn't hurt me. I think it was her eyes – so gentle and caring.

"Please," she said. "Come in and sit down. I'll get you something to drink." I did just that. And I told her my entire story, from beginning to end. I'm sure she didn't want to hear, but she listened attentively the entire time. It felt as though a weight had been lifted off my heart.

I do believe I had found a friend.

Over the next couple of days I began to feel a familiar queasiness in the pit of my stomach. When I went to Hinata, begging her to test me, she confirmed my hopes and also my greatest fears:

I was pregnant – about three weeks along.

At dinner, both Sasuke and Katherine knew something was wrong – both of them very much in-tune with my moods. I think even Kira knew something was different. I debated about not telling them, but they would find out sooner or later when my stomach began to puff out.

"Um," I coughed, trying to prolong the inevitable, though I told myself I was just clearing my throat. "It appears as though… we will be having another child running around this house."

Sasuke eyes widened and he rushed over to my side, grasping my hand. Katherine nodded: she already knew. Kira hopped out of his seat and ran to me with his Dad. I laughed. We were a strange family.

"Are you serious?" asked Sasuke, worry glinting in his dark eyes.

I nodded. "Would I lie about such a thing?"

Sasuke shook his head, smiling. "No. But what if something-"

Rolling my eyes, I placed a finger over his mouth. "Don't. Whatever happens will happen."

"I'm going to have a little sibling?" asked Kira, excitedly.

"You sure are."

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Destin was due to at the airport anytime now. It was a couple of days before Christmas and I was so happy to be able to see him again. Sasuke was standing to my right side, arm wrapped protectively around my waist; Kira was holding onto my left hand while twirling his hair with his other hand. Katherine said she'd wait at the house and have dinner ready for when we returned.

Finally, Destin appeared at the top of the escalator. There was something different about him, something I couldn't explain. As soon as he arrived at the bottom, he ran up to me and hugged me. But he didn't say 'hello' or 'how are you doing?'. Instead, he pulled back, a slight, awkward smile on his face, and said, happily, "You're pregnant again."

I think Destin hung around Katherine too much in his early age: he always knew everything. She must have taught him her secrets. I nodded. "Yeah."

"Cool," he said, ruffling Kira's head. "I love being a big brother." Yes, something had changed in him. There was something behind all his bright smiles. I wanted to know all about his school, but he remained silent, biting his lip. I figured he'd tell me eventually. Besides, it's his story to tell.

"Naruto," said Sasuke, turning me to face him. "There's something I want to do now that we're all here." I quirked an eyebrow, but inclined my head as a sign for him to continue. My heart pounded rapidly in my chest as he pulled out a small box from his jacket. He kneeled on the ground, looking up at me, his love for me seeming to flow from his very being. As he opened the box, revealing, the same ring from so long ago. "Naruto Uzumaki, It's always been you. Will you marry me?"

This time I knew the answer without a doubt.

"Yes."

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