To Love and to Love Again Chapter 1: Sasuke and Suki

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER AND AUTHORS NOTE: I do NOT own Naruto. The awesomeness of the Naruto Manga and World is the creation of Masashi Kishimoto. This is Purely Fanfiction. All things Medical in this entire fanfiction should not be taken as serious medical advice or facts. PLEASE CONSULT AN ACTUAL DOCTOR FOR ANY MEDICAL INFORMATION/QUESTIONS. THANK YOU AND ENJOY!

It was early in the morning as the sun emerged from the horizon, saturating the dark night's sky into a shade of royal purple and eventually a burnt orange. It was so early that the stars from the previous night were still visible, if only slightly. Japan is known as the land of the rising sun and therefore it is a great honor to be the first people on the planet to greet the new day. But for some, it was just a challenge to beat the sun; to rise before it does.

The light greeted the coast to the countryside before eventually settling in a more metropolitan area; Tokyo to be exact. It was one of the largest municipal areas in the world and home to over eight million people. Yet as most of the country was still enjoying their remaining hours of precious sleep, some were already up and about. One individual in particular made it a habit to be up before the rest of the country.

As he watched the daybreak, he slowly turned around from his balcony and walked back into his room. He strolled right past his door and walked down the hall, passing the pictures that framed the hallway. These images held memories of his childhood, friends, family, his wedding day that wasn't nearly as happy as it should have been, and one other picture that stood out from among the rest. This picture held the face of beautiful baby girl who was barely a few weeks old at the time. That same baby girl was now the tender age of four and sleeping soundly in the room in which he had silently entered.

Her father carefully made his way over to her tiny bed and watched over her as she dreamt of things he would never know of. Her little head was covered with shining raven hair, just like him. If she were awake you could see that she had the most brilliant green eyes; greener than emeralds in his opinion. She was her father's little girl in every aspect except for her eyes. She was his pride and joy.

Her bedroom walls were adorned with finger paintings of mermaids and ponies, stick figures and animals and even a picture with a bowl of tomatoes. They were her favorite food, as well as her father's. On the small shelf, there were a few awards from her preschool for excellent citizenship, student of the month, and photos of her ballet recitals all belonging to Uchiha Suki. There were also a few pictures of her in the preschool play on the five food groups where she had the honor of being tomato number four.

Smiling at his daughter one more time, Uchiha Sasuke planted a kiss on her forehead and walked out of her room turning off her nightlight. He would wake her in another hour for school.

Sasuke walked back into his room, grabbed a towel and went into the shower. After he was done, he dressed in his usual attire consisting of a black business suit and an off while shirt with a black silk tie. Such attire was necessary as the CEO of Konoha Medical Center.

The Uchiha family founded the hospital decades ago by Sasuke's great-grandfather. Since then it's been run by the members of the Uchiha family. What started out as a small village clinic soon turned into a prosperous medical institution specializing in all the latest treatments, trauma centers, diagnostic research labs, top notch physicians and so forth. It was the best of the best.

Sasuke made his way to the living room where he proceeded to watch the morning news. Later he went back to Suki's room to get her ready for school. He walked in to find her still sleeping with her stuffed piglet, who she named Tonton. She looked so peaceful that Sasuke wished he didn't have to wake her up.

"Suki… wake up Tenshi (angel). It's time to get up for school," he said gently as he stroked her hair and watched her eyelids fluttered open.

"Mmmm… but Daddy…too…..tired…," she mumbled as she proceeded to curl back up into a ball.

Sasuke smirked at her antics. Every morning was the same. He would wake her and she would try to guilt him into letting her sleep a bit more. So he resorted to the one method that would work every time. He began to tickle her feet. Suki could not resist for long. She broke out into a fit of giggles and eventually became fully awake.

"Daddy you cheater!" she giggled.

"Sorry Tenshi," he soothed. "But you know it's time for school so get going. Grandma will be here soon to take you."

And with that he hoisted her up on his shoulder and carried her to the bathroom where she brushed her teeth and washed her face. Sasuke then left her in her room so she could get changed. Being four years old, Suki insisted that she be able to dress on her own claiming she was a "big girl now".

Sasuke walked back down stairs to the kitchen and made breakfast. He took out the toaster and placed two slices of bread into it before making some of Suki's favorite pancakes. He cut them into small pieces for her before he placed them on the table. As he did so, Suki came bouncing down the stairs clad in her school uniform, which consisted of a black, gray and white plaid skirt, a black suit top and white shirt with a red scarf clipped on the neck. She came to the table and dropped her book bag on the floor.

"Daddy are you gonna come to my recital?" she asked as she took a bite of her pancakes.

"I'll try to be there," he answered, though hesitantly. "I'll try really hard to be there this time."

He could tell that she didn't believe him by the way her face fell. He had missed the last two recitals and every time he tried to explain himself, she would just smile and say that she understood and that she would give him his own special performance when he had the chance. Even though she was all smiles on the outside, Sasuke could tell that she was nothing short of disappointed by the way her smile didn't reach her eyes.

He sighed. Being the CEO of Konoha Medical Center was a very time consuming job. Lately the hospital's been busier than usual due to the summer months approaching. It was a high traffic time with everyone trying to cut loose and have a good time partying and drinking, which lead to drunk driving and lots and lots of accidents. Konoha Medical, being the major institution that it is, was the main hospital to go to in cases of accidents with an advanced trauma center and extensive ER.

Sasuke was no doctor, but being the head of the hospital did mean that there were certain obligations that he had and one of those obligations was overseeing operations in every department in the hospital. With a hospital as large as his, it meant that he would often get caught up in work and miss spending time with Suki.

"Okay Daddy," she mumbled before munching on her toast. "I'm gonna ask Grandma and Grandpa and Uncle Itachi to come too. Last time, Grandpa bought me a tiara."

"That's good Tenshi. Grandma will be excited. You're her favorite ballerina," he stated before finishing his breakfast and taking the empty plates into the dishwasher. He heard the doorbell ring a few seconds later.

"Mother" he thought as he walked toward the door. He opened it and was surprised to see that it wasn't his mother but his older brother Itachi.

"Where's Mom?" he asked, forgoing a greeting and peering outside to see if his mother was outside.

"Out of town on business with father," Itachi answered with his usual monotone voice. "They'll be gone all weekend. Mother asked me to come."

"Uncle Itachiiiiiiiiiii!" Suki screamed as she ran towards him. Itachi lifted her in the air and caught her again.

"Hello Suki. How's are you doing today?" Itachi asked.

"I have a recital today," she announced happily. "Uncle Itachi, can you come? Pleeeeeeeeease?" she begged with the biggest eyes she could muster. Not that she needed to do it. Itachi was putty when it came to his little niece. He could never say no to her.

"Of course, but I'm afraid Grandma and Grandpa won't be able to come," he explained. "They had to go on a little trip, but I'll be there."

"Yay!" she shouted before turning to her father.

"Daddy, can Uncle Naruto and Aunty Hinata come too?" she cried while tugging on Sasuke's sleeve.

Sasuke nodded his head in agreement. "I'll ask Naruto when I see him today," he mumbled to himself before checking his watch. "It's time for you to get going. You don't want to be late."

Suki nodded and grabbed her backpack before running outside and towards her uncle's motor cycle.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed at the bike. "You plan on taking her to school in that?"

He was very overprotective of Suki and when it came to transportation, he would have her ride in nothing but the safest of cars and his brother's motorcycle wasn't approved.

"Mother just asked me this favor," Itachi replied. "I didn't have time to get my car. Suki will be safe in the car seat I attached. You can trust me little brother."

Sasuke really didn't have time to get into it at the moment, so he let it go.

As he watched his brother place his daughter on his bike, Sasuke couldn't help but feel that he was depriving his daughter of a mother. Since his wife's death at childbirth, Sasuke was left to raise Suki on his own from the very beginning.

5 years ago

When Sasuke was twenty years old, he was asked to marry a girl named Aya Jin. She was a pretty girl about his age with long brown hair and stunning green eyes. It was an arrangement that was thought up by his and hers parents as a way to merge companies. Back then the Jin family was a prominent medical group that specialized in producing advanced medicine for cancer and surgical treatments.

Sasuke was not a strong believer in love and courtship. His life was too preoccupied with other matters to give it much thought. He had never been in love and he didn't really give a damn about the illusion. Due to his families urging, he consented.

He agreed to the marriage believing that it was a sensible thing to do and it would save him the hassle of trying to date or find someone for himself. Sasuke and Aya married but their relationship was complicated. Aya revealed to him that she never wanted to marry him. She was in love with someone else but agreed to marry him as part of her father's dying wish. Her declaration, though surprising at first, was just fine with him. So they made a deal with each other.

Sasuke and Aya had come to the understanding that even though they were to be married they wouldn't have to love each other or have an actual relationship. It was a silent pact that they made. They would keep up the marriage to please their parents and to help the hospital for the better. They were so distant that they even slept in different rooms and were never once intimate. Of course this was totally hidden from their parents. To everyone else, they were happily married and doing fine. Less than a month into their marriage, the issue of children was brought up from their parents during a dinner gathering.

Aya's father was nearing his death, as he suffered from a rare form of cancer and had less than a year to live. He requested that before he dies, he would like to be a grandfather. This broke Aya's heart and further complicated their relationship. But she still refused to be with Sasuke and he wasn't too pleased with the idea either.

Sasuke and Aya had a long discussion, and were able to come up with a compromise. They decided that they would do an In vitro Fertilization. That way they could still have a child and not have to make one themselves. Their cover to their parents was that they would try the process for themselves and if it was successful, then they could see to having that procedure added on to their own hospitals curriculum. At first their parents weren't too thrilled with the idea, but after a while they decided that the benefits outweighed the apprehension.

After a few weeks, Aya soon became pregnant through the fertility treatments. Throughout the course of her pregnancy, Sasuke and Aya grew closer; not romantically, but they learned to appreciate one another and become good friends. Sasuke would sit with her during her ultrasound appointments and tend to her every need to make sure that she was happy and that the baby was doing well.

They were thrilled when they found out she was carrying a girl.

"Suki" she whispered one day while they were sitting out on their balcony.

He tilted his head, unsure of what she said. "What?"

"I want our daughter's name to be Suki," she repeated as she stared into space. They had just returned from Naruto's birthday dinner and decided to relax after the festivities.

"Why Suki?" he asked. She had been acting strange for the last few weeks and Sasuke didn't know what to make of it. He saw her smile fondly before answering.

"Suki means beloved," she began. "Ever since I got pregnant, I feel closer to you. Even though I cannot say I love you in that sense, I can say that I do love you as my friend and as the father of my baby," she admitted as she held her rather large full term belly.

Sasuke didn't know what to say to that, but he did appreciate Aya for understanding him and for all that she did for him. She was the mother of his child and he would always care for her in that sense.

"Hn," he said in agreement, making her smile. "I'll take care of you, both as my friend and as the mother of my child. We'll raise this child with everything she will ever need, together."

Aya's smile faltered ever so slightly. She had been trying to remain positive these past few weeks, yet she couldn't help the feeling of uneasiness had settled over her. Something was wrong and she knew it.

The next day, she went into labor.

Aya was admitted into the hospital on the morning of October 11th. She had a heart monitor for her and another monitor on her abdomen to monitor the baby's heart. After six hours of labor, everything was going well. Both Aya and the baby were doing fine. At the height of labor, however, was when things started to go wrong.

"Vitals are dropping! We need to get this baby out STAT!" shouted one of the doctors.

Several nurses and the doctor were frantically rushing about the room trying to keep both Aya and the baby alive. Monitors were attached to Aya in all sorts of places and from his position, Sasuke could see Aya's heart monitor start to drop as the color began to fade from her face. Then the baby's monitor started to drop too.

"We need to get this baby out now. Prepare for emergency cesarean," the doctor shouted. Though he fought to remain by her side, Sasuke was pushed out of their way. Everyone scrambled to save the CEO's wife and child.

The nurses prepared Aya for the procedure and after about ten minutes, the baby was pulled out. Aya could hear her daughter but she couldn't see her. Slowly her world started to turn dark. She turned her head to the side and saw Sasuke in the room holding their crying daughter. He brought her over to Aya as the medical team scrambled to stabilize her.

"Aya, look at her. This is our Daughter. You have to hold on," he pleaded desperately as he saw the life draining in her eyes.

"…Su…ki..." she choked out. Her vitals were dropping fast and Aya's eyelids started to flutter.

"Take care of her... Sasuke... tell her...Mommy will always love her…," she choked before flat-lining. Everything went in slow motion for Sasuke then. The doctors pushed him and the baby out of the way, before trying to revive her.

"CLEAR!" shouted the doctor as he pressed the defibrillator to Aya's chest. No change.

"Dammit…CLEAR!"

Her chest heaved from the shock, but again, there was no change. Her heart monitor continued to just shriek without any contractions on her flat wave.

"Once more…CLEAR!" the doctor shouted. For the last and final time there was no change. At this point, the doctor knew it was beyond help. He sighed and disconnected the monitor before calling out her time of death. He covered Aya's face with the blanket, and then went over to Sasuke who was still holding Suki.

"I'm so sorry Mr. Uchiha. She's gone," he declared sympathetically as he laid a hand on Sasuke's shoulder. "It looks like the pregnancy was too much for her to handle. The strain of labor just made it worse and she couldn't take it. I'll give you a moment," he offered before he and the rest of the nurses left their CEO in the room to grieve.

Sasuke went up to Aya's body and stared at her covered form. He remembered her face from the previous night.

Did she know about this? Did she know that she wouldn't be able to handle it? Why'd she do it? WHY, he thought angrily. Now he was left alone again with a child that he had no idea how to raise.

Speaking of his child, he had yet to really take a good look at her. Sasuke peered down at her face and studied her. She had his hair and his nose. Her eyes were closed at the moment but he would later discover that her eyes were dazzling green like her mother's. She was wailing like there was no tomorrow, but that sound was all that kept Sasuke going. At that moment, he fell in love with his little girl. She was now his only reason to keep going.

"Suki… I promise you. I will always be there for you no matter what," he vowed before leaving the room with Suki in his arms.

As Sasuke stood on the porch, he watched Itachi pull out of the driveway with Suki behind him. When they were out of sight, he walked to his car and drove to work. During the drive he kept thinking about Suki and how she was almost five now. She was going to need a mother; someone to help her with all the things only a mother could do. His own mother could only go so far for him and Naruto's wife Hinata was sometimes helpful whenever they came over. But Sasuke knew that Suki would need a more stable motherly figure in her life. The problem was how he was going to find another wife.

Aya was his friend and he will always think of her as such. But Sasuke didn't know how he could ever replace her with anyone else. Dating was the last thing on his mind. His brother would question him at times about moving on—if only for Suki's sake—but there was no way he would give in. And how would Suki react to him seeing other women? He needed more time to think things through. For now, he would drop the subject. But if the opportunity presented itself, Sasuke vowed that he would at least try to make the effort.

He pulled into his private parking spot and got out of the car. He walked into the front of the hospital and toward the elevator. His office was located on the top floor, fifteen stories up. Once he settled there, he called his secretary.

He had a meeting with the new doctor hired by the hospital today. She was a renowned physician that the hospital was eager to have on staff.

"Time to get started then," he thought as his eyes landed on a picture of Suki and him from their trip to the beach. Suki was his last thought before the door opened and the new doctor walked right in.

Authors Note:

So I finally decided to write my own fic because I've had this idea in my head for so long and I'm tired of waiting for someone to write it so I just decided to do it myself. Let me know what you think. I accept all kinds of reviews.