A/N: Gah! Here it is! The final chapter of what was my very first NejiHina story~ T^T

You know, this is the longest story I have on my account thus far, but it seems like I finished it in no time at all - (a month exactly! holy hell!) I think this story really brought me good luck. =) I've been writing like crazy ever since I started it!

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this shorty epilogue.

.:_The_Son_They_Never_Had:.

There were five of them - all girls.

Katsu, of course - the eldest, now of 15 years. Sachi; age 12, Rai; age 10, and Kiku and Chizu; the twins who were just nearing age four. It was really a sight to behold - all five children were nestled (more like crammed, really) somewhat comfortably into bed with their parents. Kiku and Chizu, as young as they were, still hadn't broken the habit of sneaking into bed with Neji and Hinata at night, and somehow the others had just happened to follow suit sometime during the night. The twins were snuggled between their parents now, holding one another close. Sachi was sleeping back-to-back with Neji, and Rai was on the other side of Hinata with an arm around her mother's once again bulging belly. Katsu, being who she was, had simply curled up into a tiny ball at the end of the bed, sleeping in an uncomfortable looking way as she lay upon most of their feet. She didn't seem to mind though.

Neji was the first awake, and all at once the slight annoyance of being awoken time and time again the night before by their children crawling into bed with them meant next to nothing - he suddenly found the situation quite amusing actually. Anyone walking in would hardly believe their eyes. Even Neji wasn't sure how they had all managed actual sleep like this. He turned his head in time to see that little Chizu was opening her eyes slowly, staring sleepily at him. When her eyes focused upon her father's face, she smiled in silence. Like Katsu, neither of the twins spoke much - in that they took after their father - but while Katsu was more serious, the twins were... playful. One always seemed to know what the other was thinking, so unless they were communicating with parent or sibling, speaking was hardly an ability they needed.

It was a crowded life with so many children, but simple somehow, too.

And yes, Hinata was pregnant once again -- for the seventh time. Neji's wife had nearly fallen apart years earlier, when not long after Rai was born, she experienced a miscarriage. It was a depressing time for the entire Hyuga family - Tsunade had said that Hinata might not be able to have anymore children, and despite the fact that they'd already had three beautiful daughters at the time, Hinata had been broken hearted. Then, they'd been blessed with Chizu and Kiku - the twins. Though Hinata was a wonderful mother, and her children all knew she loved them so much, Neji's wife doted on the twins especially. There was hardly sibling rivalry over that though - the twins were irresistible, and the other three girls were taken with them too, as was Neji.

Things did sometimes get a little out of hand though. With five daughters growing up so quickly together, there was more than a fair share of tiny, insignificant fights and spats in the Hinata and Neji household. The girls all got along for the most part, though, really. They looked up to one another and looked after one another, and even though Neji sometimes felt smothered at being surrounded by so many females, he couldn't help but feel fulfilled at the sight of his daughters taking care of each other. The children also helped with their mother, each giving her confidence and love like nothing that Neji alone could have ever provided. Neji knew this, and he was happy for Hinata. He was happy for himself. He was grateful to have such a large family, taking the good and the bad with it.

Their daughters were wonderful, but Neji and Hinata - and just about the rest of the Hyuga clan as well, were all hoping to see the two of them bear a son this time around. Jokingly, most of the people in Konoha - even Tsunade herself - had labeled Hinata "The Mother of the Hyuga." Even with the strain it took on her body, Hinata was ecstatic with motherhood. Just like the flower that she was, she had bloomed completely into a state of perfect ease and content at the birthing of their very first daughter. Love radiated from her like nothing else... Neji could feel it most of all.

Slowly that morning, one by one each family member began to wake. Katsu the first up and out of bed. She stood, and stretched, then silently kissed her sleeping mother's cheek and left the room. After a moment, Chizu woke Kiku, and the two girls sat up in bed, but didn't try to get out. If they did, surely they would wake their mother. Neji couldn't move either, because Sachi was still behind him. After a moment, said daughter rolled out of bed onto the floor. She was always pretty clumsy. Neji turned to see if she was alright, but she was already quietly standing up. Such falls were ordinary for her in the mornings. Neji got out of bed to allow the twins to get up too, and together Sachi and Kiku and Chizu left the room together.

Neji scooted close to his wife, nuzzling her neck until she woke. Rai sat up then too, and she and Hinata smiled at one another until the last daughter followed suit of the others and exited the room. As much as they had been through in the nearly sixteen years of marriage, the bond between Neji and Hinata was as strong as ever. Soon, they would have another baby to add to the family as well.

Actually, said occurrence happened just that after noon. Neji and Hinata were in the kitchen together. Katsu was there with them, reading silently at the table - a habit she had picked up from her mother. Sachi was outside playing with the twins, and Rai must have been upstairs in her room. Suddenly, Hinata doubled over, her breath leaving her lungs in a whoosh, and Neji didn't have to ask to know what was happening. He led his wife quickly up the stairs, with Katsu watching in interest from the table. He helped Hinata into bed, promising to bring the Hokage back shortly, and asked Rai to sit with her until he returned. As he passed through the kitchen, he told Katsu to follow him, and once outside he advised Sachi to take the twins to Hanabi's. Hinata's sister by now had two children of her own, but she still never minded to see her nieces.

There was this thing about Katsu. As quiet as she was, she never really acknowledged what one might call... the rules of socializing. She never took any notice of people's personal space. Sometimes she would do things that most people would consider plain rude, but it was a habit that Neji and Hinata had so far been unable to break. For example, on this day in Konoha, rather than using the door to get up to the Hokage's office, Katsu immediately began running up the building so that she could go in right through the office window. "Not that way!" Neji called after her, and cursed loudly, following her up. When he reached said window, Katsu was already perched up on the Hokage's desk, face-to-face with Tsunade, and papers flying everywhere from her untimely entrance.

The years had not touched Tsunade of course. The woman still had too much pride to let her true appearance show - she looked as young and beautiful as ever, and now there was a vein on her forehead about to burst. "Katsu," she grumbled a greeting through clenched teeth.

"Mother's having the baby," Katsu said simply, her face betraying no emotion.

"I see..." Tsunade sighed. So far, the woman had been there through the birth of every one of Neji and Hinata's children. She wasn't about to miss this one either, seeing as it would be the last one. The Hokage had told Hinata, that after this child, she had to give up. It was simply too hard on Hinata's body, and six children already was more than enough. Hinata had listened to the woman, and ultimately had agreed that it was probably best. Hinata loved being a mother, but she was happy and blessed with the large family she had already. This would be the last child she would ever give birth to.

It took nearly three hours for Hinata to deliver the baby that night. Of their five daughters, only Katsu remained, waiting impatiently by the bedroom door out in the hallway, despite the fact that Hinata hadn't wanted her to be there. "A son," Tsunade finally announced with a satisfied-looking grin as the baby came into the world. Neji sighed heavily, and returned his wife's tiny, exhausted smile. Katsu came into the room then, and went directly to the Hokage's side, staring down at the new baby. Neji wiped some of Hinata's sweat matted hair from her face, and his wife clenched his hand with tears in her eyes as together they held their son for the first time.