All right! This is the third and final "All I Want for Christmas" story. The first one was a dash of angst, followed by lots of fluff. The second one was lots of angst with a dash of fluff. I'm attempting to balance this one out, but like "All We Want for Christmas," it's not all sunshine and rainbows. Alright, enough blabbering. Onwards!

Note - this is a sequel, but it can still be read without reading the first two. BUT I recommend going back and reading "All I Want for Christmas" and "All We want for Christmas" before you read this one, as there are minor call backs to the first two stories in this one!

I don't own Naruto or else Naruto and co. would use the abominable snowman summon to take out the juubi. (Well, not really. But hey, gotta be a Christmas themed disclaimer right?)

Please do enjoy, "All They Want for Christmas: December 23"

TING!

A suna nin's kunai was blocked by the strangely flawless white blade of a dagger as snow lightly fluttered down from the sky.

"Come on; your promotion to jonin is on the line. You shouldn't have challenged me if this is the best you can do." The suna nin's opponent said. Sparse sunlight glinted off the silver plate on the man's black forehead protector. He was wearing an orange flack jacket with a black undershirt, black ninja pants, black boots and an orange cloak with black flames at the bottom. What made the cloak really stand out however, was the kanji for "Uzumaki" proudly displayed on its back.

"I'm just getting started, you're not as tough as they say Hokage-sama!" The suna nin shot back. He leaped backwards, putting distance between himself and the Hokage.

"Confidence is good." The Hokage said with a smile on his face. "But arrogance is dangerous." He proceeded to unsheathe a matching dagger from his side.

"I'm not arrogant; I know I can beat you!"

"You seem arrogant. You should know my what my primary element is, you should know what these two daggers are, and you should know what I can do with them. That should worry you."

"I'm not scared of two decorative daggers!"

"Decorative? Well... I guess I can see how you'd say that. They are beautiful." The Hokage admitted as he stared at the beautiful golden hilts of his daggers. The one in his left hand had cherry blossoms imprinted on the hilt, while the hilt of the dagger in his right hand had a kitsune imprinted on it.

"They're far from decorative though... These are two of the finest chakra blades in all of fire country." The Hokage grinned. "A gift from my father-in-law."

"Why would that worry me?"

"Because... Naruto is a wind user." A man with red hair and thick lines around his teal eyes observing the fight said. "Once he channels his wind element into those daggers your kunai will be useless."

"Gaara's right." Naruto chuckled. Green light suddenly started swirling around his blades, making a high-pitched buzzing noise. "So, you're in a battle with an opponent who is stronger than you, and your primary weapons won't work. I know what a jonin would do in this situation, but the question is, what will you do?

"I'll beat you with ninjutsu!" The sand ninja yelled. He flashed through a series of quick handsigns with a cocky smirk on his face.

"Wind Release: Blade of Wind!" The ninja slashed at Naruto with his wind blade.

"Not smart." Naruto sighed. He easily dodged the attack, flickered behind his opponent and held one of the buzzing daggers against the man's neck.

"So fast." The ninja gasped. "How did you do that?"

"I wasn't even going full speed." Naruto grinned. "Gaara, care to tell him what a jonin would've done in that situation?"

"A jonin would have recognized the differences in strength and realized he couldn't win in a straight-up fight. He would've relied on traps and deception to try and gain an advantage instead of attacking head-on." Gaara lectured.

"Agreed! You definitely have potential, but you need to better learn to assess the situation before I would recommend Gaara promote you to jonin." Naruto said as he removed his chakra dagger from the man's neck and re-sheathed both daggers.

"I agree with the Hokage's assessment. I'm sorry Jiro, but you're not ready to be a jonin yet."

"I understand. I'm sorry for challenging you Hokage-sama. Thank you for your assessment Kazekage-sama, Hokage-sama." The man known as Jiro somberly said with a disappointed frown on his face.

"Why are you apologizing? I would've done the exact same thing in your position! A ninja's gotta have guts." Naruto said as he clapped the Jiro on the back. "Once you can better assess the situation you'll do fine!"

"Well, that was a fun way to kick these jonin exams off. Does anyone else want to follow Jiro's lead here and have me as their opponent?"

The remaining Konoha and Suna nin who were waiting to be tested looked away nervously. After seeing how quickly Naruto moved, none of them were eager to take him on.

"No? How about Gaara? He looks a little bored... Well, he always looks bored."

Again, no response. All the gathered nin knew about Gaara's ultimate defense and none of them wanted to have to figure out a way around it to obtain their jonin promotions.

"Fine." Naruto huffed. "Alright, next two step up then!"

"That was interesting." Gaara said as Naruto walked up to him.

"Yeah, I wasn't expecting to be challenged by anyone. But that was a lot of fun." Naruto grinned.

"I had a feeling Jiro was going to challenge you. While we were traveling here, he kept on boasting he was going to make Suna proud by defeating Konoha's best."

"Oh? During one of the thousand days it took you guys to get here?" Naruto teased.

"I already apologized for being late." Gaara sighed. "Temari..."

"Don't go blaming me Gaara!" Temari grinned. "We were late because Gaara here found out that he's going to be a dad."

"WHAT?!" Naruto gasped. "Matsuri's pregnant?"

"Yes." A small smile ghosted over Gaara's face. "She waited until she was sure to tell me, but we left a day late because I wanted to celebrate."

"Damnit! That's a great reason to be late! I can't give you crap now." Naruto whined. "Congratulations!"

"Thanks. I was actually hoping you would be my son or daughter's godfather."

"Me?! But I'm from Konoha, are you sure that's what you want?"

"It would demonstrate the power of the bond between our villages politically." Gaara pointed out. "But more importantly, yes. You've had a profound impact on my life. If something happens to me, I know you would do the same for my children."

"What about Temari or Kankuro?"

"We've already been over this. Kankuro and I are going to have dibs on the next kids." Temari sighed.

"If you're sure this is what you want, then I would be honored Gaara."

"Good."

"OH COME ON!" A Suna nin groaned causing Naruto to smile wryly. While they had been talking, a Suna and Konoha nin had started their match. The particular Konoha nin that was his opponent was none other than Konohamaru; an avid user of the shadow clone jutsu.

"Ok ok, here I am for real this time." Konohamaru taunted. The Suna nin leaped towards him with kunai in hand. Konohamaru dodged the first three swipes before the Suna nin's kunai dug into his shoulder. Instead of crying out in pain, Konohamaru laughed and disappeared in a poof of smoke.

"DAMNIT! I HATE THIS JUTS...ACK!" The man was cut off as he was suddenly pulled down into the ground.

"It's pretty useful though." Konohamaru grinned. "As is the headhunter jutsu."

"Very good Konohamaru." Naruto complimented.

"You didn't take that fight seriously enough Soren." Gaara said. "You should not have let yourself get frustrated by the jutsu so much. The Shadow Clone jutsu has weaknesses just like any other jutsu. A jonin would have searched for its weakness instead of getting frustrated."

"Hai Kazekage-sama."

"Next!" Gaara called. Another pair of Suna and Konoha nins stepped up and bowed to each other in respect, and then flickered away as they began their battle.

"So where's Sakura?" Temari asked as the kages watched the fight. "I'm surprised she let you out of Konoha by yourself."

"Well, she had a few words to say with my personal guards here." Naruto pointed over to the people who had accompanied him.

"Words? Those weren't words; those were threats! Terrifying threats..." Kiba shivered.

"I don't want to repeat everything she said... but it's safe to say that if anything happens to Naruto here, we will all be spending a considerable amount of time in the hospital... if we're lucky." Kakashi chuckled.

"Sounds like her." Temari laughed. "Why didn't she come?"

"She said she had stuff to do in the village." Naruto answered. Just one year ago that would have freaked Naruto out, but their marriage had grown stronger and stronger every day after they had agreed to work together. He didn't even blink an eye when Sakura said she wasn't going to go with him for the jonin exams. He was sad that he had to spend time without her, but he didn't worry about what she was doing.

"She probably needs to get her Christmas shopping done, you two are connected at the hip!" Kiba teased.

"We are not..." Naruto mumbled, although he knew that was a slight lie.

"So are we going to have two kages that are going to be Dad's soon?" Temari smirked.

"Well..." Naruto started.

"If the villagers have anything to say about it they will." Kiba grinned.

"Yeah, it seems like everyone my age is getting pregnant. Sakura's family, and the rest of the villagers in general are really eager for us to join them."

"And are you going to be anytime soon?" Temari pressed.

"No comment." Naruto smirked.

"You're no fun Naruto." Temari whined.

"I think we're here to assess our chunins and see if they're ready to be promoted." Naruto grinned. "We don't have time to talk about this. Right Kazekage-sama?"

Gaara simply rolled his eyes at his friend as they continued to watch the fights.

Sakura Haruno sat on a bed wearing a hospital gown with both a nervous and annoyed look on her face. She hated wearing these stupid hospital gowns, and didn't really see why Ino made her wear one... But Sakura knew what a pain patients who didn't do as their doctor said could be, and didn't want to cause any additional stress for her friend who was pregnant with her second child.

She crossed her arms at the thought. Ino was already on her second kid, and Sakura might not even be able to... well...

"Alright Forehead, sorry for making you wait." Ino said as she entered the door. Sakura had never been so relieved to have a distraction from her thoughts.

"It's ok. I don't want a woman in your condition to be hurrying around."

"My condition? Please. Akio isn't due for nearly a month. I'm fine!"

"Oh of course. How silly of me to think otherwise." Sakura teased.

"Hey, you're going to be just like me whenever you get pregnant and you know it!"

"IF I can get pregnant." Sakura muttered quietly, casting her eyes to the ground.

"Oh come on, you're fine." Ino said in a reassuring tone. "You guys have only been..."

"I know Ino!" Sakura groaned, interrupting her friend. "I know that Naruto and I have only been trying for a month, and I know that it can take couples months, even years to get pregnant... But what if it's me? What will I tell Naruto? What will I tell my parents? Hell, what will I tell the villagers. It seems like everyone is eagerly waiting for an Uzumaki baby! I..."

"Relax Sakura." Ino soothed as she rubbed her friend's back. "We're going to run every test both you and I can think of to put you at ease. And if it turns out that you can't conceive, you know that everyone will understand. Naruto will still love you and you guys can adopt a cute little kid. Besides, no one knows that you guys are even trying. I'm the only one you've told."

"I know..." Sakura mumbled. "I just..."

"Stop. No need to stress out about this Sakura. We have some tests to run so you can stop freaking out about stupid little things.

Sakura gulped, but nodded her head. It was time to get an answer regarding her greatest fear over the past couple of weeks...

The clang of kunai sounded across the field as another Konoha and Suna nin went at each other in an attempt to prove they were worthy of being jonins. So far, only three Konoha nins and four Suna nins had been promoted.

The promotions were ultimately the decision of each individual kage, but they offered their assessments of each other's forces freely.

"Man, Shiro is pissed Naruto." Kiba said, pointing over to a chunin who had won his fight, but been denied his promotion. To make matters worse, the opponent that he beat had demonstrated enough to earn the jonin promotion.

"He had an advantage in strength, chakra and speed over his opponent. It shouldn't have been a difficult fight for him." Naruto shook his head.

"I admit, I felt bad for Kai when was paired up with that one." Gaara added. "I didn't think he stood much of a chance."

"Yeah, he impressed me with his resourcefulness. He kept in a fight that he really had no business being in."

"Is there any way to speed these fights up?" Temari groaned. "You guys had to go and schedule this a day before Christmas Eve."

"Both my and Naruto's schedules were very full; this was the only date that worked for both of us." Gaara pointed out.

"Yeah, it kind of sucks, but we can't not do this. We can always use new jonins." Naruto added. "Just be glad we picked a spot closer to Suna. It should only take you guys a day to get home right?"

"Exactly. That's why I want to get this show on the road. I'd like to be home by Christmas! We can't use hirashin to get back to our village like you can." Temari sighed.

"We must do our part and give each candidate ample amount of time to display if they deserve the promotion or not." Gaara said. "Believe me, I'd rather be home with Matsuri, but as Naruto said, we need the new jonins."

"I know... Let's just plan this out better next year! Pick a date now so you can schedule around it later!"

"Eh... planning stuff that far out isn't really my thing. You need to talk to Sakura about that." Naruto scratched the back of his head with a sheepish smile.

"You're the leader of your village! Planning stuff far out is kind of your job!"

"That's one definiton." Naruto countered.

"Kami I don't know how Konoha can function with you leading them Naruto." Temari sighed.

"We're that good." Kiba grinned.

"Hey! I'm your Hokage!" Naruto pouted.

"You will always be the idiot who was only able to beat me by farting." Kiba laughed.

"Oh yeah? Let's see if that changes after you and I spar."

"OH YEAH, I WON!" Naruto looked over to see one of his nin celebrating and sighed. He didn't look underneath the underneath and failed realize he was in a genjutsu.

"That's an impressive genjutsu your guy has there Gaara. Tothe should still be able to at least figure out he's in it... but still an impressive one nonetheless."

"Don't write this Tothe off yet." Gaara said. Just as the Suna nin was about to take out Tothe with a quick chop, Tothe weaved to the right and caught the genjutsu user upside the head with a powerful roundhouse.

"Looks like he realized he was in a genjutsu after all." Kakashi smiled.

"Alright alright, good work." Temari called. "NEXT!"

The remaining shinobi looked at Gaara and Naruto for confirmation, since they were technically in charge. Both kages shook their heads in agreement... They wouldn't say it out loud, but they both agreed with Temari. They wanted to return home to spend time with their loved ones as soon as possible.

There were few things Sakura disliked more than waiting. The two hours she had spent in the room Ino had assigned her was driving her nuts. She knew Ino was just doing her due diligence, but waiting for so long was torture.

There was nothing on TV, so the only thing for Sakura to do was think about the test results and what she would have to do if they confirmed her fears. She felt sick at the thought of the disappointment Naruto would inevitably hide when she told him she couldn't have children.

He wouldn't want her to know he was disappointed, and he would of course comfort her and tell her it wasn't a big deal and they could adopt. But Naruto was the son of the legendary Yondaime Hokage, and was one of the few remaining Uzumakis left in the world. Even though he would never admit it, she knew that deep down he wanted to continue that line.

The door opened, and for the second time in the day, Sakura could have hugged Ino for providing her with a distraction from her thoughts.

"Took you long enough Pig." Sakura joked weakly.

"I seem to remember you saying a woman in my condition shouldn't be rushed." Ino shot back, and like a truly professional doctor, stuck her tongue out at Sakura for good measure.

"So?"

"Well..." The playful look on Ino's face was replaced by a serious one. "I just want you to know I ran EVERY test and looked at the results multiple times to make sure about this... Sakura... are you sure you want to know?"

"Oh kami..." Sakura muttered as a pit formed in her stomach. That couldn't be good! Her sneaking fear was right, she was infertile... How the hell was she going to break this to Naruto? She lowered her head and frowned.

"...Let me hear it Ino."

"Ok Sakura... After doing every single test both you and I could think of, I can say with 100 percent certainty that... YOU'RE FINE!"

Sakura's head snapped up in shock. "What?"

"Like I told you before, you were worrying about nothing. Actually, you're in really good shape. I'm sure it will only be a matter of time for the two of you."

"But...but you were so serious..."

"A little theatrics never hurt anyone." Ino grinned. "I couldn't resist playing with you."

"If you weren't pregnant right now I would rip out your throat..." Sakura growled in annoyance. Ino had let her worry for nothing!

"No need for that! Focus on what I just said; you have nothing to worry about. You are actually quite fertile. So not only is it likely just a matter of time until you two get pregnant, but you have an excuse to keep screwing your hunk of a husband's brains out!"

"Ino!" Sakura blushed. "Don't say it like that!"

"That's what you're going to do right?"

"That's beside the point!" Sakura snapped as relief flooded through her body. It wasn't her, she wasn't going to disappoint her husband, her parents and her entire village. She started to smile when a new thought entered her head...

What if it was Naruto? What if he was the one who couldn't have kids? That would completely devastate him...

"Frowning already?" Ino sighed. "What now Forehead?"

"What if... what if Naruto's the infertile one." Sakura voiced her new fear.

"It's only been one month Sakura; give it more time." Ino sighed.

"But what if it's Naruto...I'm sure he's secretly worried about it."

"Then you guys adopt. I wouldn't think that would bother you all that much."

"It wouldn't... I'm just worried about what it would do to Naruto."

"Have him get tested when he gets back." Ino said.

"But what if..."

"You were nervous about getting tested, and how did it turn out for you?"

"Very good, but it could be..."

"It could also turn out the same and neither of you would have to deal with that worry anymore. And you know that stress doesn't make things any easier for pregnancies."

"You're right... I'll talk to him when we deliver presents to the orphans."

"How is he giving presents with you? Isn't he still at the jonin exams?"

Sakura tapped on her engagement ring with a smile on her face. "One of the many perks of having a husband who knows the hirashin."

Naruto and Gaara watched as a Konoha jonin hopeful ducked under a blow from her jonin opponent and launched a quick counter attack to his gut before following it up with a powerful uppercut.

"Her fighting style almost reminds me of your wife's." Gaara noted. "She's dodged practically everything Kenshi has thrown at her and does most of her damage in close quarters."

"Good observation Gaara." Naruto smirked. "Kiyo doesn't have good enough chakra control to use advanced medical jutsus, and she can't use Sakura and Tsunade's enhanced strength abilities, but she kept bothering Sakura for weeks until she finally agreed to train her. She can use medical jutsus well enough for field work though."

"Interesting. Kenshi struggles when he isn't in control of the pace of the fight and genjutsus aren't his strength. It sounds like this Kiyo is his worst possible opponent."

"He's doing pretty well against her though." Naruto pointed out. His eyes widened when he felt a familiar pull alerting him that his wife was calling for him.

"Hey, I'm going to need to take a break real quick after this match."

"What? Come on! No breaks, the sooner we get this done the better!" Temari protested.

"What's the problem?" Gaara asked.

"Sakura-chan is calling. For the past couple of years, we've delivered presents to all the kids at the Konoha orphanage on the 23rd. I'll just flash to her, help her hand out the gifts and flash back here. Won't take me more than ten minutes!"

"Damn you Naruto..." Temari grumbled. "You make it so hard to be angry at you."

"That's an idea I just might take from you Naruto." Gaara said with a small smile on his face.

"That's the point of our alliance right? We share our best ideas." Naruto grinned.

Kenshi suddenly lurched forward, with a speed he had yet to use in the fight, and caught Kiyo upside the head with a haymaker that sent her staggering. He followed up with a quick windblast jutsu to knock her off her feet.

"You fought well," Kenshi complimented as he swirled wind around his fist. "But our fight is finished!" He leaped into the air to deliver the final blow, but Kiyo rolled to the right to dodge his fist at the last second, braced her hands against the ground and landed a quick kick to Kenshi's head.

Kenshi caught himself just as Kiyo neared and both landed a clean punch on the others' cheek that sent them both sprawling backwards.

"Wow. I wasn't expecting that. They both did awesome!" Naruto said with a proud smile on his face.

"I'm curious on your assessment Naruto. Neither of them won, but neither of them lost."

"Well, Kenshi did a good job at figuring out this wasn't his ideal matchup quickly and purposefully held back some speed so he could use it to catch his opponent off guard and quickly end the fight with that weird wind fist technique. Kiyo controlled the fight almost the entire time and managed to maintain her composure when Kenshi showed his hand. I think they both demonstrated they are worthy of being jonin."

"Agreed. I'm sure they'll be excited whenever they wake up."

"Alright everyone, we're going to take a quick ten minute break. I'll be back shortly!" Naruto announced.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to accompany you Naruto." Gaara said.

"Of course! We'll be back shortly." Naruto put a hand on Gaara's arm, focused on his wife's ring and disappeared in a flash.

"Are you sure Hokage-sama is coming?" A little boy, with two missing teeth asked impatiently.

"He's coming." Sakura reassured. "Hokage-sama is busy right now. He'll be here as soon as he can." Just as she said that she felt her ring heat up as the seal was activated.

The sound of the hirashin suddenly went off in the orphanage and Naruto and Gaara flashed into view.

"Kazekage-sama, it's good to see you." Sakura greeted with a smile.

"And me too right?"

"Eh... I see you everyday." Sakura teased as she looped her arm around her husband's arms.

"Ouch Sakura-chan."

"Good to see you too Sakura."

"HOKAGE-SAMA!" The children gathered around Naruto with excited grins.

"Hey kids, I'd like you all to meet my friend Gaara. He's the Kazekage of Suna."

"Kazekage?" One of the smaller children asked.

"I'm like the Hokage of my village." Gaara smiled.

"SO COOL!" The kids yelled.

"Nice cloak and hat by the way Sakura-chan." Naruto winked. She was wearing her usual outfit, but topped it off with his white cloak that was like his father's, and his Christmas hat he wore every year. The sack that contained all of the sealed presents was slung comfortably over her shoulder.

"Someone needed to step up and dress festively since you can't." Sakura winked back.

"Alright, WHO'S READY FOR PRESENTS?" Naruto yelled, getting a cheer from all the gathered children.

Sakura poured the scrolls containing the presents out of the sack and Gaara, Naruto and Sakura quickly unsealed them all.

Gaara watched with a smile as Naruto and Sakura handed each child their presenet.

"I'm surpised they're waiting to open them." Gaara said to the old woman who he assumed was running the orphanage.

"Hokage-sama likes to have them open their presents one at a time, from youngest to oldest."

"A good idea."

"Alright kids, you know the drill!" Naruto said once Sakura handed out the final gift. They joined Gaara and the old woman and watched with smiles on their faces as the kids opened their gifts one by one.

"By the way, you look way better in that cloak and hat than I do." Naruto murmured in Sakura's ear.

"Shhh. You can compliment me later." Sakura rolled her eyes. "But I do need to talk to you, just me and you. How long can you stay?"

"We're going back right after this. We're trying to get through the exams as quickly as possible so the Suna people can make it back for Christmas. Is this a long, 'we need to work on something' talk?"

"No, nothing like that." Sakura laughed lightly. "It won't take long, can you give me a few minutes?"

"Always Sakura."

Nothing else was said as they watched as the rest of the kids opened their gifts. The kids were obviously eager to start playing with their gifts, but instead they gathered together and stood in front of the old woman.

"What do you say children?" The old woman prompted.

"Thank you Hokage-sama, Sakura-sama!" The kids chimed in perfect unison. They definitely practiced it this year.

"You're welcome kids." Sakura smiled.

"Have fun!" Naruto added.

"You can't stay Hokage-sama?" One of the kids asked.

"Unfortunately not this year. The Kazekage and I have some important business to attend to that will make both of our villages stronger!"

"You're welcome to return with us Sakura if you are free." Gaara invited.

"Nah, I'm going to stay and play with the kids." Sakura said, causing the kids to cheer. She inwardly smirked; last year Naruto had accidentally made her a villain in these kids eyes, but this year she was the one they were cheering for.

"I suppose we should return then Naruto."

"Just a second, Sakura needs to speak to me real quick." Naruto wrapped his arm around Sakura's waist and led her to an unused room.

"So what's up?" He asked nonchalantly. There wasn't a hint of nervousness in his voice, which just made Sakura's smile grow even larger. Last year when she told him she wanted to talk to him about something he got so scared that he got drunk with his friends instead. She was grateful they had managed to make it through that shaky time in their marriage.

"Well... I went to the doctor this morning."

"What?! Are you ok? Did something happen? If..."

"Relax." Sakura chuckled, cutting Naruto off. "Kami you're so overprotective."

"If something happens to you while I'm away..."

"I'm fine Naruto." Sakura assured. "It wasn't anything pain related. So don't worry." A look of relief flashed over her husband's face.

"I actually went because I was starting to get worried... We've been trying to have a baby for a month and still haven't gotten anywhere. So I started to worry that maybe it was me, maybe I was infertile."

"WHAT? Sakura you said it's fairly common for it to take months or even years! Why would you..mmph."

Sakura cut Naruto off by pressing a finger against his lips.

"I know it was stupid, but it was still worrying me. So I had myself tested and found out that I'm not infertile, I'm actually the opposite."

A brief flash of worry flashed over Naruto's face before being replaced with a giant grin. "That's great news Sakura. I could have told you that you have nothing to worry about."

"I know." Sakura smiled. "And I know that you've been probably worrying about it being you too. Patience has never been your strength."

"I..." Truthfully, Naruto had worried that maybe it was him. He always sorta thought that once they started trying for a baby it would happen quickly. He tried continuously telling himself what Sakura told him; it was normal for it to take couple's a while. But it wasn't enough.

Naruto couldn't stop himself from secretly worrying that maybe he couldn't have children because of the demon inside him. He was the first male jinchuriki of the Kyubi, and no one had ever really cared enough about jinchurikis in the past to do any research on the matter... A pair of soft hands enveloped his own and Naruto looked into his wife's caring emerald eyes.

"I know you worry, and I can't tell you how great it feels not to have to worry. I think you should get yourself tested when you get back."

"What if..."

"Then we'll adopt, and we'll love that child."

"Don't you want..."

"Hey, if I don't have to push a child out down there I'm not going to complain." Sakura joked. "I would never get fat and moody, AND we wouldn't have to be careful ever again when getting intimate."

"Leave it to you to find the bright points of a crappy situation." Naruto laughed.

"I learned from the best." Sakura smiled. "If you really don't want to do it yet, then don't. I'm sure we're fine. But knowing that there are no problems with me lifted a huge weight off my shoulders, and I think it would do the same for you."

"You're right." Naruto sighed. "I'll go in tomorrow. Do I need to make an appointment for that sort of thing?"

"You're the Hokage; you don't need to make appointments. I'll make sure you have one though."

"Thanks." There was a hint of nervousness in Naruto's voice. Sakura understood his nervousness quite well, having just gone through it.

"Hey... no matter what happens you will still be my husband, and I will still be extremely grateful for that." To send her point home, she leaned up and gave him a quick peck on the lips. She was relieved to see a soft smile on his face as she pulled away. That look fit him much better than a nervous look.

"Thanks Sakura."

"Now get going! I don't want you holding up the jonin exams any longer for my sake!"

"Hai Sakura-sama." Naruto mock-saluted earning him a giggle. The two rejoined everyone in the main room where Gaara was looking on in amusement as the orphans played together.

"Alright Gaara, let's head back."

Gaara simply nodded as Naruto put a hand on his arm before the two disappeared in a flash.

"Sakura-sama, come play with me!"

"NO! We get to play with Sakura-sama!"

"Sakura-sama is definitely going to play with us, BELIEVE IT!"

"Stop arguing kids." Sakura laughed. "I've made sure to keep my schedule free for the rest of the day so I can spend plenty of time with all of you."

The sun was setting behind Gaara and Naruto as they stood in front of the group of chunins they had brought with them for the jonin exams.

"The Hokage and I each brought 20 candidates we felt were prepared for the opportunity to achieve jonin status." Gaara said. "Our villages now have nine, and eight new jonins respectively. I offer my congratulations to all of you who have earned the title."

"For those of you who didn't, don't get discouraged." Naruto went on. "We hope that you realized today that the title of jonin isn't earned easily. You need to be a complete shinobi to earn that title. Some of you won your matches through sheer strength alone, but weren't promoted. Some of you lost your matches, but showed the grit, resolve and craftiness of a jonin and were promoted. These fights were never about winners and losers, they were about assessing whether you displayed the skills and thinking capabilities of a jonin. For each of you that failed, we would like to give you a challenge."

"Prove us wrong." Gaara said with a smile on his face. "Over the course of this next year, prove to us that you deserve to be jonin. Think about why you failed this time and improve."

"Come back next year and make Gaara and I regret not promoting you sooner."

By the time their speech was finished, the faces of the non-promoted, which were originally a varying array of disappointed and angry frowns, were now set with determined grins.

"To all of my Suna comrades, may your journey back be quick and safe. Have a wonderful Christmas and a happy New Year." Naruto said.

"To all of my Konoha comrades, enjoy your families and I hope you have great holidays." The chunin and new jonin nodded their heads in thanks towards the two village leaders before forming up to leave.

"Well, that was fun." Naruto grinned as he turned to Gaara. "Though I wish more would have challenged me."

"Maybe we'll make it a requirement that a set amount of them have to challenge us next year." Gaara mused.

"Hah! So you wanted to have some fun too!"

"I never said I didn't." Gaara countered, his stoic face lifted slightly in a smile.

"Well, have a great Christmas Gaara, Temari. I'm sure I'll see you soon enough."

"You do the same Naruto."

"And let us know when we can expect an Uzumaki baby." Temari teased. "Maybe if you and Gaara's kid are opposite genders we'll have a big cross-village marriage in a few years."

"I'd have to have a boy then, because if I have a daughter she's never getting married." Naruto grinned.

"Well, we need to be off. See you, Hokage-sama."

"Have a fun walk back Kazekage-sama. I'm going to be back in my village in a few minutes thanks to the hirashin!"

"We'll just have to have next year's exams in Suna then next year." Gaara smirked over his shoulder. He motioned for his delegation to follow, and walked away.

"Alright everyone, link together in a circle." Naruto commanded. Once his entire force was linked together, Naruto tapped into Kurama's chakra. Transporting this many people was going to take a lot.

"If you haven't hirashined with me before, close your eyes. It can be a bit much for first timers." Naruto closed his eyes and focused on the three-pronged kunai he kept in his office.

"Now let's all get back to our families. Here we go!"

The group of Konoha nin disappeared from the clearing in a flash.

Sakura was laying on the couch in her and Naruto's apartment, thankful for the silence. Spending her entire day with the orphan children had been fun, touching and uplifting all in one... But it had also been exhausting. Those kids had so much energy they managed to wear her out... and she was an elite kunoichi! She wondered how the old woman who ran the orphanage managed...

Her wonderful silence was interrupted by the sound of the door opening, but Sakura didn't mind. She sat up with a happy smile because she knew there was only one person who could be walking through that door.

"So how did it go?"

"Konoha has nine new jonin, and 11 determined chunin." Naruto answered with a proud smile.

"And Kiyo? Did she win?"

"Nope! But she didn't lose either. Her fight was awesome. Both she and her opponent were promoted."

"Well of course her fight was awesome, I trained her." Sakura crowed proudly.

"I wasn't surprised." Naruto agreed as he wrapped his arms around his wife. "You're pretty amazing."

"Sucking up I see?" Sakura stuck her tongue out. "Now why would you be doing that?"

"Well I hear my wife is very fertile, and she and I are trying for a baby..." Naruto smirked.

"Oh is that what you hear? What are you suggesting Hokage-sama?" Sakura asked with a deceptively innocent smile on her face.

"Well there's a very comfortable bed in our bedroom we could celebrate properly in..." Naruto murmured before leaning down and kissing Sakura.

"That sounds pretty nice." Sakura murmured back. She pulled away from Naruto, grabbed his hand and led the way to their bedroom swaying her hips the entire way.

Alright! Next chapter is coming out tomorrow, and the final one will be coming out Christmas day. Be sure to check back then for updates, and as always, you are more than welcome to review =)