Disclaimer: I still don't own Naruto. Unfortunately.

Seven Years Later

The sun was too bright. It really was cruel, what it was doing to her. She never really had been a morning person, but right now, that blinding light was not what she wanted. Hell no. Growling to herself, she turned away from the window, facing the door instead. She almost wished she had not moved at all, because a few seconds later, there was a peal of laughter, and the soft pitter of small feet approaching the bed. Sakura smiled though, throwing the sheets and comforter up in time for her son to jump in with her.

He was five years old now, and the only child she had with Itachi. Unsurprisingly, the child was a genius, and looked very much like his father, the only exception being a rather broad forehead. Sakura shifted onto her back, throwing her arms out around her son as he scrambled about. If Itachi had been there, of course, little Takumi would not have even dared rolled into bed with her.

That was not to say that Itachi was a particularly strict parent, but rather, saw it best that Takumi did not wake his mother before it was time to be awake. Besides, morning was when he preferred to harass his little wife more than any other time of day. Not that Sakura was complaining, because waking up to a wonderful round of morning-after sex was something she rather enjoyed. It was, in her opinion, the best way to start the day. At least, it was better than Itachi showing up in her office at some point in the day to get satisfaction from her.

Slowly, she sat up, glancing at where her husband would usually lay, only to quickly lift a hand to her mouth. Momentarily forgetting that her son was with her, she made a mad dash for the bathroom, reaching the toilet just in time to empty the contents of her stomach. She sat there for a moment, catching her breath, before turning to see Takumi in the door she had not had time to shut. She smiled weakly, hoping that her son would not worry. He was just like his father in that way.

"Oka-san, are you sick?" He asked carefully, stepping into the small bathroom. She had wanted to save the news for when Itachi got home, and so she could tell their son with her husband. It felt right that Itachi knew before anyone else, and this was the sole reason she had held out on telling anyone for two months.

In a gesture her son did not fully understand, she lifted her hand to lay it affectionately on her flat stomach. "I'm fine, Takumi-chan. I'll go make breakfast in a minute, so go get dressed for the academy, okay?"

Obedient as ever, he pattered off as quickly as he had come, and she was alone again. With slight effort, she got to her feet again, running cool water from the sink to splash her face, and rinse her mouth out. She stared at her reflexion in the small, cupboard mirror above the sink, straightening her candy-floss hair. She smiled for a moment, her gaze moving downward. Though it was not yet visible, Sakura knew Itachi would be able to tell immediately, being so in tune with her body.

Her husband had been sent on a mission two months prior, no thanks to Naruto. Tsunade had retired from her post about a year after Sasuke and Itachi had returned to Konoha. Though Sasuke's punishment had been set to last longer than that, Naruto had not interfered with her decision. For two years, Sasuke had been confined to staying within Konoha's walls, and having his chakra sealed. Surprisingly, he had accepted the penalty dealt to him for his crimes, though Sakura suspected this was because he knew he could have been sentenced to death if he fought the Hokage's decision.

So, as the official Rokudaime Hokage (Danzo had hardly counted, since the jonin had never even voted him into office), Naruto had chosen Itachi to be head of ANBU. This was a job that kept him in the village most of the time, and allowed him to sift through possible members. When he did receive a mission, it was usually the sort that lasted much too long for Sakura's tastes, and meant espionage on neighboring countries.

He always returned home to her though, no matter how long he had been gone, and how far he had traveled. He was now somewhere in Snow, checking in on what had been proven to be a rather suspicious Daimyo. Konoha had been on bad terms with Yukigakure for decades, and now, according to their outside sources, whom though remained unnamed, Sakura had gotten the impression was a certain Hoshigaki Kisame, they had finally started taking action.

Whatever the case, Sakura knew that Itachi would never take any unnecessary action, even for the sake of precious information.

He was due back soon, and according to the information Itachi had fed Naruto, he had gotten enough information to proceed in a democratic manner. She hoped he would be home soon, because in a matter of weeks, she was going to start showing. Already, hormones were starting to take effect on her body, and as a woman who had been through the process before, it would be obvious if further evidence was given.

Slowly, she headed to the kitchen to where her son was sitting a the table, already dressed and washed. Breakfast was a simple affair; she had cooked Takumi some eggs and rice, while having a pear for herself. She did not acknowledge how her son seemed to observe her obnoxiously, and cleaned the dishes before sending him back to his room to get his books.

She took this time to quickly change into a pair of shinobi pants and red vest that had become a trademark to her. Both her and Takumi slipped on a pair of standard sandals, before stepping outside the main Uchiha household. As per the norm, she walked Takumi as far as the bridge, where he continued to the ninja academy on his own.

She waved him off, before making her way to the Yamanaka flower shop. Ino was at the register, pouring over another magazine. She looked up when the bell at the door chimed, grinning to see her best friend there. She shut the recent issue of Kunoichi Chic, giving a knowing smirk.

"You do realize, Forehead, that it's becoming noticeable." She sneered, crossing her arms. Sakura's eyes widened in horror, and her gaze shot downwards in surprise, checking her abdomen in curiosity with hands gently pressing to her stomach. There was no bump to be seen, and Ino laughed. It was then that she realized she had just been played.

"You better not say anything, Ino-pig." She glared, crossing arms over her chest. Ino laughed cheerily, giving her an innocent look, as if to ask if she really were the sort to spread gossip that quickly. Sakura was not buying it though, so she dropped it.

Instead, she turned her head, calling, "Oka-san, watch the shop! I'm going out with Sakura!"

Ino untied the apron around her hips, folding it with care, before putting it beneath the counter in its shelf. Grinning at her best friend, and having much too fun teasing her, she led the woman out the glass doors. "Have the cravings started yet, or are you up for some tea?" Ino asked. Sakura sighed, concluding that it was best not to fight her. Besides, if she did, it would only cause a public dilemma, and half the village knowing before her husband did.

"Fine, I can do tea, but we're going to my place." Sakura said, hooking arms with the blond woman. Ino sighed, already knowing the logic behind Sakura's wanting to be home. She was known to be loud with her interrogations, and if Sakura did not tell Itachi first (besides herself, because the best friend always knew everything first, without asking), she would feel as if she had cheated her husband from something so important.

"Hey, Sakura, is Sasuke-kun still single?" She asked, changing the subject to something Sakura would not mind speaking about in public.

"He's a man-whore, Ino." Sakura replied dryly. "Besides, I think he's interested in Karin-san, even if she does have a boyfriend." She continued.

Predictably enough, Ino let out a gasp of surprise. "Karin has a boyfriend? When did that happen?" She asked, fully entering her gossip-mode. She hardly even looked too disappointed that Sasuke was not interested in her, and was instead more curious about the redhead kunoichi, and whatever relationship she was in.

"You know that other guy from Sasuke's friends?" Sakura asked quietly, making sure everyone else was out of ear-shot.

"Not the big, orange-haired one! He is totally unappealing!"

Sakura shook her head. "No. Apparently, she's been seeing the other one. Suigetsu." She answered.

Sasuke's friends from Otogakure had not been welcomed into Konoha as easily as the Uchiha had been, but Tsunade understood that they had nowhere to go. Sasuke was able to keep them under control, she knew, so they had been allowed. Naturally, they had to have their chakra sealed as well, even longer than Sasuke, because they were not originally from Konoha.

Ino let out another gasp. "I had no idea! What has Sasuke done about it? Is there any chance of me getting anything out of the rebound?"

Sakura laughed. "Oh, come on, Ino-pig. I'm sure if you tried, he would jump you. He's as bad as you are when it comes to sleeping around. Sometimes I wonder if he's deciding to just let me and Itachi rebuild the clan on our own, or if that's his way of searching for an appropriate wife. I'm just surprised Itachi hasn't spoken to him about it yet."

Ino grinned deviously. "Maybe I will give him a try, then."

Both women giggled, making their way to the Uchiha compound, and to Sakura's home.

Itachi walked down the familiar streets of his home, having just debriefed all the information he had gained from his two months in Yukigakure. It was mid-afternoon, though he had arrived in Konoha some time around ten in the morning. It had been hard to stand in that office for such a long time, giving Naruto whatever information he had not included in written correspondence.

All he could think about the entire time was Sakura, and how she and his son were doing. It had been much too long since he had seen either of them, and later, he was going to tell Naruto he would not be accepting a mission like the last one for a while. He wondered minutely if Sakura had started growing her hair out again, like she said she would, or cut it to that short, adorable style she usually maintained.

Whatever the case, tonight, he was going make love to her, and burn himself into her again, after being apart. He desperately longed for her touch, to feel her body against his. He smirked at the very thought, before turning down a new street. Takumi would be getting out of the academy in a matter of minutes, and he planned to pick him up before returning home. Perhaps he would meet Sakura at the bridge, where she usually met Takumi.

Just as he had expected, the academy students had been released for the day just as he walked into the entrance area. Children of all ages darted out of the front doors, each heading to their homes and families. Takumi followed after them with a dignified sort of walk, which he could not help but snort at. Sometimes he wondered if he really looked like that when he walked. Sakura told him in more than one instance that Takumi mimicked nearly everything he did.

Once seeing him there, however, Takumi broke out into an ecstatic run, clinging to his legs once reaching him. Itachi could not help the chuckle that bubbled from his chest, and ruffled his son's hair lovingly, before placing him on his shoulders, reminiscent of his childhood with Sasuke.

Takumi babbled on about his day excitedly, exclaiming that he had been the only one in the class to hit a bull's eye on the first try. Itachi listened to his son with a small smile on his face, until they reached the bridge. Sakura was not there, as he had predicted her to be. She was not the sort to forget to meet her son and walk him home, so he could not help wondering if she was all right. Takumi had turned strangely quiet as well, as if he had just remembered something.

"Otou-san, I think Oka-san is sick."

Sick? Sakura was never sick. She was a medic, and could heal anything before being gripped with an infection. She had healed him, even though he had been on the brink of dying, and the odds of him living, even with the help of an experienced medic, had been rather low. He could not even imagine what Sakura being sick would look like.

"What happened?" Itachi asked his son, continuing on there walk home, now that it was apparent she was not going to be meeting them. Takumi seemed to pause at this, as if uncertain how to say it. Itachi waited patiently, until his son spoke.

"She threw up this morning, before I had to go to the academy. And she kept looking at her tummy, too." Takumi said wisely as they entered the Uchiha compound.

Itachi still did not understand the situation, but supposed Sakura would just explain it to him when he got home. Gently, he lifted Takumi from his shoulders, and set him on the ground, quietly saying, "Why don't you go see if Sasuke is home yet, okay?" He wanted to speak to his wife alone, as much as he loved his son. Takumi seemed to understand that this meant his father wanted alone-time with his mother, and nodded his head with a grin.

Itachi watched as he ran off in the direction of where Sasuke had settled himself down, then walked home, taking his shoes off at the door.

The entire house was silent, as if no one was home. He frowned, walking into the kitchen, and finding it empty. He stepped outside, but did not see Sakura by the fountain. Where was she? The living room, office and bathroom where lifeless, and so he realized there was only one place left that she could possibly be. Eyebrows cinched together, he entered their bedroom.

Short, tousled hair covered her pillow, her body curled up and facing away from him. Itachi had not thought it to be possibly true, but perhaps Takumi had been right, and Sakura was sick. Cautious, not wanting to wake his sleeping wife, he stepped into their bedroom, and silently approached her. She did not stir, even when he sat down beside her sleeping form, meaning she had to be completely exhausted.

Sakura must have been spending too much time at the hospital again. He softly ran his hand down her arm, which, as usual, was enough to wake her. Dark, pink eyelashes fluttered open as she let out a sleepy sigh, a warm smile lighting her face. Stretching slightly, she sat up, sheets falling to her lap. "You're home," she whispered.

"Takumi said you were sick." He commented quietly, caressing her cheek. She blushed in that pretty was she always did, shaking her head.

"I'm not sick."

A tentative smile crossed her pink lips as she lifted a hand to his cheek. His heart leapt in his chest; she had no idea how tempting she truly was, or surely, she would never have made such an expression in front of him. That urge he had gotten since walking into the village again strengthened. It had taken all of his will to not reach over and ravage her. He could tell she had something important to say though, and resisted to the best of his abilities. The time would come for him to bed his wife, but it was not then.

A moment later though, she raised her free hand and lay the palm against her stomach. Instantly, he knew what Sakura wanted to tell him. She was pregnant. Resistance became futile with that single realization, and he lowered his lips to hers, possessing her completely. His quick reaction at first startled Sakura, but after two months of longing, she melted into his kiss. It was short, sweet and to the point, showing exactly how he felt.

Much to her disconcertment, he pulled away with a soft hum resonating through his chest. "How far along are you?" He asked in a whisper, slowly easing her onto her back. She stared up into those obsidian, smothering orbs for a moment, forgetting what he had asked, much too absorbed in him. It struck her a second later, and blushed at her own distraction. It was hard to pay attention to what he was saying when he hovered over her in such a teasing way.

"I conceived three weeks before you left. The first trimester is almost over." She murmured back, trying very hard to think as he crushed his smooth, thin lips onto her neck. This seemed to amuse him, because she felt him smirk against her skin, his breath heavy and warm.

He should have been able to tell that Sakura was pregnant from what Takumi had told him earlier. The last time she had ever regurgitated, at least to his knowledge, was when she had been pregnant with Takumi. Then there was her not meeting them at the bridge, too exhausted to not take a nap during the afternoon. He felt himself getting strangely giddy at the thought of Sakura going through a second pregnancy.

Nothing would ever be as beautiful as her first, but the idea of her heavy with his child again spread warmth throughout his body. When she had been carrying their son, he had gotten the opportunity to see her nipples darken with hormones and hips thicken beautifully to bear the new weight of a child. Then there was his favorite part-with hormones running rampant through her body, her sexual appetite had grown so that even he had difficulty keeping up.

According to what she just told him, she was only eleven weeks or so along, and she probably did not yet know the sex. Thankfully, she, like Itachi, was likely to want to wait until she gives birth to learn if they had gotten a wonderful, baby (fill in the blank)! It had annoyed everyone that they knew, because it was difficult to buy clothes for a specific gender, if it is not public yet.

"You know," he purred, "we should celebrate."

Sakura did not have to second-guess at what he meant.

The End

A/N: Yeah, the epilogue is kind of short, but I got the idea across. I hope this answered whatever questions that were made concerning whether or not Sakura's accepts Itachi's offer in marriage.

My next chapter fic will be out in the next few weeks, so keep your eyes out! It will be named Heartbeat, and my first non-massacre chapter fic, so I'm really excited about it.

I would also like to give one, last thank you, to my loyal readers and reviewers. I'm ecstatic with all the responses I got with this story, and I hope that my next one will be just as successful.