Disclaimer: I'm terrible at all types of fight scenes. I also don't own Naruto.

Hinata was exhausted.

Traveling while pregnant was extremely hard on the body, even to a powerful Kunoichi like Hinata. She could feel her lower back throb with each step she took, incredibly sore feet and swollen ankles accompanied.

She refused to ask her ANBU for help.

She was strong and dependable. She would do this all on her own. It was very clear that she would be receiving no help from Naruto (it was no fault of his own) and as such, a small setback such as body pain was nothing she could not handle.

They had been traveling for most of the night, the serene views of orange, pink, and red dipped the early morning sky like a canvas. During full daybreak, they would set up camp and sleep. They had strict instructions according to the ANBU. They were to travel only at night, under the cover of the trees and moonlight.

It was too risky to move during the day.

She nearly cried in relief when, after two more hours of travel, they had finally stopped to set up camp and sleep. While three of the four ANBU went to secure the perimeter and set up some precautionary barriers, Hinata sat on a log and watched the last ANBU set up two tents.

The male ANBU would be sleeping in one, while the lone female would be guarding Hinata throughout the day as she slept. Deep down, Hinata felt helpless and powerless. She was a ninja for Christ sake!

She had fought off many powerful enemies, but, she knew as frustrating as these things were, that she was moderately pregnant and would be unable to form any type of chakra, lest she accidentally use her own child's.

She wondered what was going on in Naruto's mind, as she glanced at the small mark on the inside of her palm.

Naruto had picked up Fuinjutsu on his travels with Jiraiya and had insisted for Hinata to carry his own personal seal. If she so wished, she would have access to a small frog summons and would be able to communicate and keep Naruto up to date, occasionally.

It was dangerous to send too many letters back and forth, but despite the current circumstances, Naruto had a right to know about his son's development.

She thought back to her Sensei, Kurenai and her daughter, Mirai.

She wondered how Kurenai felt when she was pregnant. She too, had to raise and birth Mirai on her own without Asuma. Hinata looked up to Kurenai like she would her own mother and had so many questions to ask her.

Her own team couldn't even know about her situation. Hinata felt more alone now then she ever had in her entire life.

A series of small, barely noticeable flutters in her stomach startled her, and she quickly brought a hand to soothe the feelings. Was that...her baby? Could she finally feel his movements? Tears of absolute happiness ran down her cheeks, a strangled sound between a sob and a laugh left her lips.

That's right. How could she even for a minute think she would be alone? She had their son.

Naruto may not be around, but, he was still apart of her.

Naruto had been on the island with B for a week and all his grueling work and effort paid off.

Naruto grinned proudly, showing off his new form to B and the other Konoha Shinobi accompanying him on the island. Now that he had fully merged and controlled Kurama's chakra, he felt invincible.

It was a new type of power beyond anything he'd ever felt before. A golden glow had enveloped his whole being, black seals spread all over his body. He looked like another entity entirely.

A true beacon of sunlight and hope.

"Good job Naruto! Now we can wreck some bad guys yo!"

Naruto fist bumped his new friend. "We'll do more then that dattebayo!"

As B walked away, Naruto let his smile drop.

Coming down from his high, he could feel his mind drift to thoughts of his pregnant girlfriend, subconsciously trying to sense her chakra in his Nine-Tails-Chakra mode. He knew it was futile, she was far away from him, in a discreet and hidden location. It still didn't stop the pure longing to be near her.

Even Naruto had no idea where Tsunade had hidden Hinata and their son. He only knew that they were safe and being guarded by some of the best ANBU Konoha has to offer. He also felt comforted by the connection he had to Hinata through his seal.

As long as Hinata was alive and breathing, the seal on Naruto's palm would remain.

Thinking back on the week before, he wished that things could have been different. In fact, he wished everything could have been different. They really jumped the gun and did everything all out of order.

He had been forced to push thoughts of their fight to the back of his mind after Hinata left, but, not having Hinata around for one of his biggest accomplishments seemed to bring all that baggage to the surface.

In his week of meditation and confronting his darker half at the waterfall of truths, Naruto had come to a big realization.

When the thought of something happening to his unborn son, his family that he'd always wanted, became unbearable, he knew that he already loved his unborn son more than life itself. When he equated that loss to the loss of loosing Hinata, he came to the even bigger realization that he'd already subconsciously loved Hinata for a long time.

He still wasn't entirely sure what love was, but even a dense idiot can get it right once in awhile. He knew without a doubt that the loss of Hinata and his unborn son would absolutely devastate him. He couldn't be sure he'd even be able to bare a life without them.

And so when he thought back onto their fight, he couldn't help but want to kick himself in the ass. He really was an idiot. He faintly traced the seal on the inside of his palm. It hadn't even been a week and he was already tempted to send Hinata a small toad.

He closed his eyes and let out a deep breath.

He would do this. He could get through this. He was Naruto Uzumaki, future Hokage of Konoha!

With a renewed energy he glanced down at his sealed palm, making a fist with it. He held his fist up to the sunlight and shouted towards the sky.

"Wait for me, Hinata! I'll come back to you" and our son "safe and sound."

That was the promise of a lifetime, and Naruto Uzumaki never goes back on his promises! Because that was his nindo, his ninja way!

-Timeskip 3 months-

Hinata sat in the library of her prison, I mean, home for the last three months. She sat in her favorite rocking chair, reading a book out loud to her little boy. Her left hand rubbed her now heavily pregnant bump in small circles, delighting in the occasional kicks.

This was one of their favorite ways to pass the time.

Hinata had grown accustomed to a life in an enclosure. After the first month, it wasn't so bad, and Hinata had come to quite enjoy the peacefulness that accompanied.

She had a midwife and medical ninja on sight (for when she finally gave birth to their son), and her ANBU guards and the few workers who helped tend to her from the Land of Waves. They had become like a second family to her, dealing with her mood swings, accommodating her cravings, and most importantly, keeping her sane in a time where insanity could come so easily.

She often wondered what the state of the ninja world was like now. How was Naruto? Was he okay? Were they winning the war?

It was strictly forbidden for Hinata to have any contact or updates with the outside world and vice versa. They couldn't risk information getting out and they couldn't afford the tiniest slip up. The child of an unsealed Hyuga and the Kyuubi Jinchuriki would pay a high price on the black market and every enemy imaginable would try to attack the vulnerable Hyuga and kidnap her.

In the three months she'd been in hiding, she had only sent one toad to Naruto. She told him that she was okay, and that their little prince was okay, and that she was sorry. Unfortunately, she had never received a response.

It worried her. She hoped that Naruto was okay, and that he would survive the war and return to her and their son alive and safe.

In the time away from Naruto, she'd reflected heavily into herself and upon her situation. She was forced to do a lot of maturing inwardly and was pleased with the results she'd found.

The first realization she had come to, was that she was acting like a spoiled teenager, expecting some grandeur fantasy pregnancy when this whole situation was the farthest thing from that. It was wrong of her to be so nasty and hurtful to Naruto. She deeply regretted her actions and felt incredibly remorseful.

Even so, she had to learn to push down those feelings and deal with them later. She had settled into a feeling of bittersweet complacency. It wasn't ideal, but it would be enough for the situation at hand.

"Lady Hinata, dinner is ready." One of her handmaids, Junko, called to her from the entrance of the study/library. Hinata smiled and put away her book, slowly getting out of her rocking chair.

Standing up, bending over, and even sleeping had all become new challenges for Hinata. With a third trimester baby bump in the way, it made getting around a lot more difficult.

Begrudgingly, she was thankful for the help. Without Junko, she wasn't entirely sure she'd be able to slip on her ninja sandals every day, unable to even see her feet.

She slowly made her way to Junko, who escorted Hinata to the modest dining room where she was met with her four ANBU guards. She finished her meal quickly and folded up her napkin afterward.

It was just another notch in her daily routine.

Hinata made her usual small talk with her companions over dinner. After which, she would take a stroll through the small garden (accompanied by an ANBU) that she had some of her handmaids help her start.

Hinata had always loved gardening, and with nothing else to do, she needed to find some feasible hobbies to pass her time until her child was born and the war had ended.

"Oh Kaori-san, don't these Sunflowers look beautiful? They finally bloomed!" She excitedly ran over to the flowers, her only female ANBU guard following behind her. Hinata bent down (as much as her son would allow her) and took a small whiff of the flowers.

They reminded her of her own sunshine, Naruto. That was why they became the first flowers she'd ever planted on the newly upturned soil. It was also why there was a whole section specifically for sunflowers.

It was a double edged sword, being confined from the outside world. As she continued to stare at the sunflowers, she slowly brought her palm up to her face. She looked around quickly for her guard, and found her to be distracted.

Hinata carefully activated the seal on her palm. A little toad had appeared on her hand. She pulled a small slip of paper from her pocket and handed it to the little toad. It poofed away just as quickly as it came.

She knew she was breaking protocol, knew that it was dangerous, and she was putting everything at risk. Hinata couldn't care at the moment. She just needed to send Naruto something.

She missed him dearly and had subconsciously worried when she received no reply from her last toad.

She had to know that he was okay.

Naruto growled has he stared at the wasteland in front of him.

What was once a beautiful place had been turned into rock and ashes. Countless Shinobi had been wounded or killed and many were still fighting, carrying on by their own will.

Naruto stood on top of a cliff, surveying the damage that had already been done. He could hardly bare the thought of what had transpired here. A sudden poof had startled the young Shinobi. A small toad had appeared on his shoulder. His heart immediately tensed up.

'Hinata!' he thought. Discreetly taking the paper from the toad and watching him disappear, Naruto unfurled the small, torn piece of paper no bigger than the size of his palm.

He could feel his eyes start to water.

There was so much pressure, so much death, so many of his friends had already suffered injuries, it was so much to bare. Naruto had been holding it all in for weeks. But those four simple words written on that paper in delicate script was enough for Naruto to crack.

"...Because, we love you."

That was right. He had to be strong, for Hinata, his son, and the whole Shinobi world. He was allowed to feel weakness, sadness, and despair. But he also had a whole nation behind him, trusting him and putting their faith into him.

It made him feel invincible.

He closed his blue eyes and opened them again, coated in the nine tails Chakra. He jumped down into the mass of Shinobi, who'd been waiting for him on the front lines.

'Hinata...thank you.'

A nice and short filler chapter. I wanted to kind of delve a bit deeper into the state of NaruHina after their not so little fight.

I really couldn't think of anyway to advance the story line without putting in a little time skip and filler. I have a REALLY REALLY good idea for the next chapter and I think it will turn out really well. ALSO, when the war is over, HOW WILL HINATA ANSWER ALL THE QUESTIONS?

Surely, her ninja friends know that she has disappeared by now. And they're definitely gonna notice little Boruto!

I have so many changes and twists planned for this story, so thank you for your feedback and thank you for being patient! Also, as I'm sure you'll notice, I'm bending and adjusting the timeline of the war in this story.

I already made my AU warning, but I will state it again just in case. This story is AU and while it will follow canon, it WON'T follow canon if that makes sense.

Thank you again for waiting patiently and look forward to the chapters to come! I promise we'll have a little more action and fighting and not so much analyzing.