EPILOGUE

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Her skin glistened.

Covered in sweat, the beads caught the dim candle light and glittered like gems all over her exposed skin. Her beautiful pink hair was damp and clung to her skin, her eyes crinkled shut, her lips taught. Sasuke had always been entranced by her beauty from the moment he saw her, but seeing her like this, in this moment, he was overwhelmed with emotions for his wife.

"Keep pushing, you're nearly done" the midwife encouraged.

"I AAAAAM PUSHIIIIIIIINNNG!" Sakura screamed back. The anger and exhaustion clear in her voice.

The tears were streaming down her face unchecked. She'd long ago given up trying to keep a brave face as the contractions shook her body. Sasuke wanted so desperately to help her, to take her pain away, but there was nothing he could do. The best form of comfort he could give, was to allow Sakura to crush his hand while she endeavoured to bring their child into the world safely.

"AAAAAH SASUKE KUN I HATE YOU RIGHT NOW!" Sakura screamed between contractions and pushes.

He wasn't going to argue with her. He'd take whatever abuse she'd throw his way if it would help her through this. He'd also learned by this stage to keep his mouth shut altogether as even words of encouragement seemed to flare her anger now.

Then he heard it.

An infant's cry broke through the room.

His heart stopped, time froze and the world went still.

Like a magnet drawn North, Sasuke flew from Sakura's side to where the origin of the noise was. There in the midwifes arms was the most precious and beautiful creature that he had ever laid eyes on. A tiny baby, their baby.

Sasuke knew that he loved his wife. He'd worked it out early after meeting her, but this child, he realized as he gazed upon it for the first time, he had loved on a whole other level from before it was even born and he would continue to the rest of his life. His heart swelled with emotions, all he wanted to do was take his child into his arms and hold it there forever.

Sakura gave one last exhausted huff before collapsing back against the pillows while the midwife cut the umbilical cord and quickly began to clean the baby of the afterbirth. Sasuke watched on, wide eyed until something began to cloud his vision. He attempted to blink away the blurriness only to realized that it was tears in his eyes. Tears that now ran down his face. He hadn't felt them rising to the surface, but the overwhelming emotions that the birth of his first child brought, prevented him from stopping them.

"Let me see, is it a girl or boy?" Sakura spoke in a drowsy voice. She tried to sit up to see, but she was too tired and collapsed back down.

"It's a girl." The midwife chuckled as she wrapped the little girl up.

Sasuke eagerly reached out to take the bundle from the midwife. His little baby girl. She was still wailing so Sasuke nestled her into his body and hushed her soothingly with his voice. It seemed to work as she quickly quietened. In his arms she was so tiny, his hands easily covering her small form. Sasuke found it frightening to think of how vulnerable and fragile such a tiny thing must be. At such a thought, a fierce instinct to protect his daughter arose. He would never allow anything to ever harm her, he would always protect her and would give his life to do so if need be. He knew this as firmly as he knew that the sun rose in the east and set in the west.

The midwife left the room and Sasuke walked back towards Sakura's side where they could share in their daughter, share in a moment as a new family together. At the sight of her, Sakura's beautiful green eyes filled up with tears again. She reached out to take their daughter from him and Sasuke found himself hesitating for a moment. He gently nuzzled his daughter and relished the feeling of her against his chest before he reluctantly gave her up to Sakura.

Sakura beamed. Even with the stains of tears still visible on her features, Sasuke could see how happy she was.

"Hey there." Sakura cooed at the little bundle. She then looked up at Sasuke with deep love in her eyes.

"Darling look at her, she's so…beautiful." Sakura croaked, her voice becoming heavy with emotion.

As he looked down at their daughter he could see that she had a small head of dark black hair and ebony eyes just like him. He had hoped that their child would inherit Sakura's radiant green eyes, the ones that he loved so much, but alas the Uchiha genes remained dominant. Still as he looked closer, he could see that the gentle curve of her lips and the shape of her eyes definitely reflected Sakura's. She certainly was beautiful, but she was more than that.

"She's perfect" He whispered as he cuddled up beside his wife, one arm wrapping around her shoulders while the other was on top of Sakura's, supporting the baby.

The young couple stayed like that for a few moments, the soft mews of their daughter the only sound in the room. To think that a few years ago Sasuke had been left alone as the last of the Uchiha. Now there were three. It made him smile with joy.

"Are you still happy with the name we discussed?" Sakura asked.

They had already picked out a girls and boys name for their child, awaiting to see which they would have. It had taken many months of deliberation and deep thought before they had finally decided.

"Yes" he smiled.

Sakura responded instantly by kissing their daughters head lovingly.

"Sarada Mikoto Uchiha, I love you. More than you could ever understand" she whispered lovingly.

Sasuke observed his wife and daughter with a heart full of love.

"Do you still hate me now Sakura?" He chuckled with a teasing tone to his voice.

Sakura shook her head and placed her free hand on his cheek. "No, I love you so much Darling. I love you even more for giving me our little girl."

He smiled at her and leant into her touch.

"No. Thank you Sakura…For everything." He whispered to her as he touched his forehead with hers.

There was so much more that he wanted to say, but he felt like words wouldn't cover how he felt. He wanted to thank her for everything that she'd ever given him since the day they'd met. Her love, a home, a hopeful future, and now a family. She had given him all he'd ever dreamed of, but didn't deserved, and she had given it freely and unconditionally. As their eyes connected his thoughts and emotions passed through to her and he knew that she understood him perfectly without the words.

After the moment passed and they had conveyed their love for one another, Sasuke held onto this moment with Sakura and Sarada, dedicating it to memory. Sure Sarada was small and fragile now, but as time would go by, she would quickly grow up and become a beautiful and strong young woman and would no longer be his tiny baby girl. He wondered what she would be like. Would she be more like Sakura, or him? Maybe she wouldn't be like either of them, or the perfect combination of both? Would she be happy? Would she make friends? Would she find love? What would her favourite food be and what foods would she hate? Would she dream big, or be happy with humble ones? There were so many unknowns but he looked forward to their future together as a family, to find the answers to all of these questions. He couldn't wait to see what the future would bring for them, but right now, right here, he just wanted to cherish this precious moment and tattoo it on his heart forever.

The happiest moment of his life.

The day that the love he and Sakura shared manifested into life.

The day that Sarada was born.

THE END ~

Thank you all for your generous support! Thank you for all of the reviews and comments, it really motivated me to complete this extra chapter. At this rate it might turn into an anthology but I won't make any promises.

Keep an eye out for updates on some of my other SasuSaku stories. (I try to only publish works that I know I can complete as there is nothing worse then a story left undone!)

Much love!

A