Life can change in a single moment.
One breath.
And that’s how it started.
Just like that.

A gasp, and then “SH-SHIKAMARU! WE HAVE TO GO NOW!!”

And now, as she lays on the hospital bed, the sweat on her forehead making her dirty blond hair cling to her face as she scrunches it and pushes and grunts and does her best to bring their new life into the world, Shikamaru helps her remember to breath.

He whispers gentle words of encouragement the best he can, knowing that he could never know her pain, but tries anyway.
He never really was good at this kind of thing.
And she reminds him of this as she squeezes the life out of his hand and scrunches her face and pushes over and over again.

And he just stands and watches.
Waiting.

15 hours into the process, and she was still scrunching her face and trying not to scream.
But when the last contraction suceeded, she slowly lay back on her pillow and takes a deep, deep breath, loosening her grip on his numb hand.
“Shikamaru,” she says, her words breathy and panted. He smoothly moves her damp hair from her face. “Don’t leave me…”
“Never.”
And she looks into his eyes and knows that this is true.
There isn’t exactly comfort in his brown eyes, but there is a promise.
And that was enough.
She turns her head away from him, slightly more comforted, and grimaces in pain.
“Ah! It wasn’t nearly this bad with…Hatsune…”
Through her face is contorted with pain, Shikamaru sees worry.
But it is he who squeezes her hand this time.
“Breathe, Temari. Just breathe.” He begins to caress her hair.

And while she yells and moans through the pain, Shikamaru keeps reminding her to breathe.

Because that’s all that life is.
A series of breaths.

And somewhere between all the breathing and yelling, there was a gasp for air, and then a cry.
The most innocent, and beautiful cry in the entire world.

<*>*<*>*<*>*<*><*>*<*>

“Oh, Shikamaru. He’s so beautiful.” His mother sweetly puts her hand on his arm, but he hardly notices because he’s staring so intently at the tiny miracle that is their son.
6 lbs. and 4 ounces.
Black, black head full of hair.
Squishy face.
And he was so pink.
His hand thoughtfully grasps his chin as he watches his child sleep in his arms.
“He looks like you, you know.”

He tilts his head his mother’s direction curiously and she wipes away the tears and memories that have fallen from her soft doe eyes.
“6 lbs. and 9 ounces. Head full of dark brown hair. He looks just like you.”
Her hand glides down his arm and she looks tearfully into his eyes. He fears a trip down memory lane, but it was her process.
She would always consider her only son to be her baby.
Besides, he was feeling slightly emotional anyway.

“Your father was so very proud. He even started crying.”
Shikamaru and Yoshino both chuckle at the image.
“Though whether it was from happiness or relief that the 36 hours of labor he’d been through were over, I don’t know.”
Shikamaru chuckles quietly again. His father always had been a bit sappy.
Of course, now that Shikamaru had his own babies, he understood the feeling very well.
Fatherhood, that is.

The baby shifts in his blue blankets and yawns, worn out as much as his mother from the birth.

Father and grandmother both watch the babe for awhile, Yoshino caressing the petite hands as they grasped onto the blankets.
Shikamaru yawned and turned his head away, dodging a glance at his bride, who was fast asleep, softly breathing.

“Your father would be so proud of you, Shikamaru. He always was, in everything you did.”
He smiles softly.
Why did everything always come back to his father?
‘Because I’m becoming him…’

“Yeah, I know.”

A solemn silence ensued, and as tears brimmed in Shikamaru’s eyes, he realized just how tired he was.
He yawned again, and Yoshino smiled knowingly.

“Here, let me take him. You go get some shut eye, Shikamaru.”

“Thank you, mother.”

He gratefully kissed her cheek and handed over his new son to his mother.
“Sweet dreams.”

<*>*<*>*<*>*<*><*>*<*>

He woke up around dawn, with Temari and his son still fast asleep in their beds.

There was an assortment of gifts lying around the room.
Flowers.
Balloons.
Chocolates and bears.
The usual gifts.

He stretched and stood up, browsing through some of the cards.
He couldn’t find one from Ino or Chouji, and had assumed that they were already on their way from Konoha.
He would also see his wife’s family and his daughter today.

The only person that wouldn’t be here was his father.

Shikamaru shoved his hands in his pocket and sighed, walking over to Temari’s bedside.
He watched her for a bit, brushing the hair from her face.
She glowed a bit, Shikamaru thought. He wanted badly to take a picture of this peaceful moment, but thought better of it.
Temari would yell at him for wasting film on her when he should be taking pictures of their family and the baby.

Their baby.
His son.

After picking up a cup of warm coffee from the break room, he headed toward the nursery.

Standing in front of the glass, he quickly picked out his son from the bunch.
Dressed from head to toe in a green onesie, he was fast asleep on his back.
He smiled, barely believing that such a thing could be possible for him.
A son.

‘Father…was this the feeling you were talking about?’

Shikaku had died while Shikamaru had been on a mission nearly 5 months ago.
His mother moved with Shikamaru and Temari to Suna for a while, just to gather her bearings.
She said that she needed a family to hold on to.

‘Who’s taking care of the deer?’ he sipped his coffee once more, as he watched a nurse step into the nursery, checking on each of the tiny babies. ‘I suppose I’ll have to make a trip down there with mother to help out. How troublesome…’

“He has your nose, Shikamaru.” Startled, Shikamaru turned around, only to see nothing behind him. He couldn’t sense anyone in the halls either, save for himself and the new souls on the other side of the glass.

“Strange…” he murmured. “That sounded like the old man…”
“Heh, show some respect for the dead, will ya?”

Shikamaru just closed his eyes.
He was simply too tired and his brain was imagining things. It was a figment of his imagination because his father died not long ago and he was talking about him with his mother.
It wasn’t real.
Just ignore it.

He just sipped his coffee, and opened his eyes once again.
Only to come face to face with his father’s image reflected in the glass.

“What the…”
“Settle down,” the voice said. “It’s only me.”
“I…I’ve got to be dreaming…”
The vision of his father smiled.
“Chalk it up to that, then.”
The vision turned and seemed to be looking in the direction of his baby. “He’s got her lips, though. And her chin. Other than that, he’s all you.”
“Y-yeah.” Shikamaru replied, not really knowing why.
Silence ensued after awhile, the vision not saying anything. Shikamaru assumed that it had dissipated and was glad for it.
Otherwise, he’d have check himself into the psych ward ASAP.

Then again, he still might.
He felt a warm hand on his shoulder.
“You did a good job, son. You’ve raised a beautiful family.”

It sounded too much like his father for Shikamaru’s throat not to choke up. And the hand on his shoulder was just too…real.
Even if it was a dream, he didn’t care anymore.
“Y-yeah. They’re great.”
“You’re a damn good father.”
He laughed and pinched his eyes, trying to keep from falling apart.
The warm hand seemed to squeeze his shoulder.
“And I never really said this before but…I’m proud of you. More than you know.”
The hand moved to his back in a hugging gesture.

And that was it.
A gasp, and then “Jeez, dad…you have troublesome timing.”
He couldn't stop the tears this time.
There was no response, but he still felt the warmth on his back.
He opened his eyes, and he could hardly see through his blurry vision, but turned where he felt the hand.
“I just wish you could be here…and hold him.”
No response. The hand had left his back.
“No, it’s okay. I already know what it’s like to hold the perfect son.”


<*>*<*>*<*>*<*><*>*<*>

“Shikamaru?”

Temari was startled when her husband turned and his eyes were red and puffy. She smiled softly, her blond hair down and bouncing around her shoulders as she walked toward him.

“You big crybaby.” She wrapped her arms tightly around him. "Are you okay?"

“Temari! I'm fine, but what are you doing out of bed?”
“Seeing our baby, of course, genius.”
He smiled at her, but she was already opening the door to the nursery and walking to her son.
The nurse just watched as Shikamaru followed his wife.

She picked him up and held him as if she’d done it a million times before, cradling him in her arms.
“Hey there, little man.” She whispered. “It’s nice to finally meetcha. I’m your mom, and this tall guy behind me is your papa.”
She bounced him, and her glow brightened.
Shikamaru put an arm around her shoulders, and looked down at the bundle of green and fuzzy brown hair.
“Well, you have your son now. What do we call him? I was thinking…”
“Shikai.”
Temari glanced up at him, but he was looking down at their child.
“Shikai?” she tasted the word, then looked down at the baby. She smiled.
“Shikai. It’s perfect.”
“Yeah, he is.”
“…After your father, Shikamaru?”
He looked at her this time.
“No. After my family.”
She grinned broadly, her jade eyes sparkling.
God, she was so beautiful.
He kissed her and his hand slid from her shoulder to her waist.

He pulled away and they looked into each other’s eyes, undefinable words being spoken between them.

After the baby started gurgling and making noise, Temari's mommy senses interpreted that as the baby being hungry, and moved away to the rocking chair to feed him.

He just stood by and watched them.
Fatherhood, he thought, suited him. Just like it suited his father.
And he would take his family to live on their land.
To raise them, and love them, and give them everything he had and more.
They were his life.

He took a deep breath and sighed, ready to begin anew.

‘Just keep breathing,’ he thought.‘Because this is what life is.’