ATTENTION: These stories are in no particular order. They stand alone, but create a greater picture together. Thus the title. Each one is based off of a section in Portraits, though you don't need to read that before this. It'll make this more enjoyable, though.

Will only post here when an idea comes to me, so no regular updates, sorry.

Chronicle--

I. Two Plus Two

"What color hair does your mother have?"

It was an odd question to ask, not just because of the nature of the question, but also because he had never once met her parents. At least not that he could remember. Some parts of his life were fuzzier than others.

"Red, don't you remember?"

"Maybe…"

"Liar," she snorted. "Daddy has blond hair, in case you want to know that too."

"Ah, so that's how it happened."

"How what happened?"

He grabbed a lock of her pink tresses and gave a playful tug. She made a noise of realization and went back to writing on her charts and reports. She only got a few sentences into whatever she was working on before the pen stopped.

"Why do you ask?"

"Just thinking," he shrugged. His hands crept up under her shirt and began to rub lazy circles into the distended skin. He knew it relaxed her when he did things like that.

Work was a futile thing when he was feeling overly affectionate. She could only lean further back into his warmth and enjoy the moment. With as often as he was away from Konoha, they needed every moment together they could get.

"Are you worried?" she asked as she let the papers fall into a stack on the floor.

He was quiet as he thought about how he should answer. She had spent so many nights awake in fits of worry for both of them. There was always something that was bothering her, whether it was the thought of the delivery or her fears about being a terrible mother. Common fears. He didn't mind it, though.

"What if it's a boy?" he asked warily.

"Does that bother you?" she said curiously, turning her head back to look at him. "Do you want a girl that much?"

"Well…" he looked toward the ceiling as he thought. "What if he has your hair?"

She laughed out loud at that. "So what if he does?"

"Well I guess he'll learn to fight a bit earlier than the other boys."

"You'll have him throwing kunai when he's two."

"Never too early to start."

They were quiet for a while. It seemed that she had fallen asleep with the way her breathing had evened out. Even the baby that had been fighting against his caresses had calmed down. Kakashi wondered if he shouldn't take her to bed and let her sleep there. As soon as his mind was made, she spoke.

"We're really doing this, aren't we?"

"Mhmm," he replied. "It'll be fun."

"You just want someone to play with," she grinned.

"Well I was going for 'hero worship'…"

"If that's what you're after I'm sure I can be of some help."

"Oh?"

"After all, I am your biggest fan."

--

Even the mask couldn't hide the smile that Kakashi carried as he walked through the hospital. He'd been down those halls many times before, but usually his entrails were at risk of dangling out of his stomach, or his head was bleeding profusely on those occasions. This mission was entirely different.

The nurses greeted him warmly as he passed, and the few of his comrades that were loitering about the halls for various reasons gave him encouraging pats on the back. News traveled fast in Konoha. Not that he minded one bit.

The door was half-open when he arrived, and he could see Sakura inside holding the new baby in a tightly-wrapped blanket. She was smiling down at the child and running her finger against one soft cheek. He stood in the hall watching his wife for a few quiet moments that were only interrupted when his impatient son reminded his father of his presence.

"Can we go in?"

The voice caught the attention of both parents, and their eyes met with warm smiles. Of course he had been by earlier to visit, but the babysitter was only paid through the early afternoon. And besides, Kazuo missed his mother. He hadn't seen her for well over a day.

When she held out her free arm, he went running in the room, leaving his father behind. The bed, however, was too tall and he couldn't quite make it up.

"Hi Mommy," he said, waving cheerfully.

"Were you a good boy for Ino?"

He nodded vigorously, even if he knew that he was sometimes problematic. He hadn't picked his toys up, and he had whined all morning. Sakura expected it, but she was so tired that she didn't care. She was glad to have her family all in the same place for the first time.

The room quieted down as Kakashi entered, closing the door behind himself. He strolled lazily over to the bed and looked down on his girls. One was sleeping and the other was almost there. He kissed both of them on the cheek before attending to his son.

The boy was tugging anxiously at the sheet, obviously trying to get a better look at the baby. Kakashi had explained to him that he needed to be quiet and well behaved around his sister, but when he couldn't even see the person he was supposed to act nice around…

"Her hair is white," he says as he reaches out his hand.

"Funny how that happens," Kakashi replies with a good-humored look to his wife. He ruffles his son's pink hair a bit.

Sakura nods and shifts herself over a bit in the bed to accommodate the older of her two children. He hobbles over on his knees and peers into the mass of blankets for an even better look. What he sees is a chubby face and bright pink skin. It doesn't even look like a person.

"What's her name?"

"She doesn't have one yet," Sakura replies.

As if she knew she was being talked about, the baby began to whimper. Kazuo was even more curious about this, but he became annoyed when those whimpers turned into full-blown wails. He covered his ears and waited for the sound to go away.

"Here," Kakashi said, reaching out. He pulled his daughter into his arms and held her close. The wails turned into sobs and eventually stopped altogether.

"She has a set of lungs on her," he grinned.

But Sakura had fallen asleep by then with their son draped across her lap. It had been a long day for everyone.

As Kakashi pulled up a chair, he mused over the story of his life.

He decided that he liked this chapter.

Fin--

Note: I felt fuzzy all down to my toes after the encouragement from Portraits, so I thought I'd toss this out there. Hope you enjoyed. Will add more as I see fit.

And to ShipperTrish: Yes, I have a vagina 

It's a fanfiction sin to read without reviewing

Or if you like…

I will ninja-punch you down into the fiery pits of Hades where you'll have crumpets and tea with Orochimaru if you read this story and don't review it!!