Sequel to Sweet Sacrifice. Hope you enjoy!
Syaoran woke in a cold sweat. He wasn't exactly sure what had woken him, but it certainly hadn't been a dream. The bed was empty beside him, his beautiful wife nowhere to be seen in the room. It seemed she had already gotten up.
She was still plagued by nightmares, nightmares of what happened to her all those years ago when she was held captive, and nightmares of the unfortunate incident from two years ago. She couldn't have kids because of that man, and he hated him for what he had done to her.
He looked over at the clock; he'd overslept again!
"Fuck." He muttered, and scrambled out of bed and into the shower. He quickly washed himself and dressed himself for work at the hospital, knowing he'd surely be in for shit from Chii since he was already late. He pulled on his jacket and walked out of the bedroom to find Sakura sitting on the couch in her pale pink silk dressing gown which had been a Christmas present from Chii the year before, asleep. Tabby was curled up beside her in a heap of adorable fur, and he couldn't help but smile.
He walked over and sat himself on the edge of the couch, placing his hand tenderly against her cheek. Her eyes fluttered open and she blinked a few times, adjusting to her surroundings, and then she smiled. "Hey Syaoran…" she said quietly.
"Hey, how are you feeling?" He asked softly.
"I'm a little tired." She replied. And she looked tired.
"You did get home late last night; how did everything go on your case?" He asked, still worried about her state of mind. He knew she hadn't fully recovered from her years of abuse and torture, and some of the cases she worked on could be quite difficult for her to handle. He didn't like the idea of her being out in the field much, but she liked being out in the field and insisted upon it.
"It didn't go too bad; we were able to get the child back safely to her parents and apprehend the offender, so that's another one behind bars. Yuui told me to come home and stay home until he called me in for the next case." She murmured.
"That's good." He smiled. It seemed the others shared the same worries. "Will you be alright if I go to the hospital? I need to get to work." He said softly.
She giggled. "Go, you're already late." She leant forward to kiss him softly on the lips.
"Take care of yourself, and maybe go out and see Rena for a while." He murmured, stroking her cheek.
"I'll see what she's up to." She smiled, "Now go, before you make yourself even more late!" she laughed.
"I'm going, I'm going." He smiled and stood, pulling on his shoes and picked up his things.
"I'll bring you lunch later since you haven't eaten breakfast-you should really stop oversleeping Syaoran." Sakura smiled as he walked out the door.
He poked his head back in as if to say something, but shrugged it off. "I'll see you at the hospital then." He called out.
"Have a good day!" She answered cheerfully from the couch, and she heard the door shut. She heard his car leave the driveway, and once again she felt so utterly alone in the house.
So alone…
Visions of her nightmares came back to haunt her in the silence of loneliness. She shook the images away, the images of torture and rape, and his face leering up at her. His face as he brutally beat her. His face as he killed everyone she loved, over and over again. She stood up and walked over to bench, picking up the phone and dialling her sister's number.
"Hello?" A cheerful sounding feminine voice answered the phone on the other end.
"Hey, it's me…" Sakura replied weakly.
"Sakura! How are you? Are you ok?" Rena asked, still keeping her cheerful demeanour.
"Is it alright if I come over for a while?" She asked softly. She could hear a lot of laughter in the background-a child's laughter-and she assumed that Syaoron was playing with their son.
"Of course you can! What time?" Her sister asked.
"Around noon?" Sakura answered.
"Sure! See you then." Rena answered cheerfully.
"Thanks Rena…" Sakura said softly.
"No problem. A lot of things have still been bothering you haven't they? If you want to talk…" she trailed off. Sakura smiled. She loved her sister who was always so happy and smiling, and she never wanted that smile to fade from the world-ever.
"I think I'd like that." Sakura replied softly.
"Alright, I'll see you when you get here and you can tell me whatever you want. I have to go now-the boys are being twits. Have a good morning, Sakura." Rena bid farewell over the phone.
"You too." Sakura replied, and ended the call. She placed the phone back in its holder and went back to the bedroom where she pulled together some of her clothes for the day. She remembered when she first came to live with Syaoran, none of her clothes were fitting well and her bras didn't fit, so Chii, now one of her most treasured friends, had rushed out to go and buy her all sorts of new things. She smiled at the memory.
She quickly pulled a dress from the wardrobe and a bra and underwear from her draws, and then she wondered over to the bathroom attached to the bedroom, and then stripped herself of her dressing gown so she could slip into the shower. She turned the faucets until they hit the perfect temperature for her, and she stepped in, dousing her body in the warm water. Her back still had the ugly yet perfect scars that resembled wings that Satoshi had carved into her back, and the gash on her thigh had left a faint scar also. But Syaoran didn't care that her body wasn't perfect. To him, she was perfect. He loved her for who she was, and she was so glad for that. She sighed; she was tired and needed rest, but couldn't get any. Her mind wouldn't let her. She turned off the water and stepped out, drying herself. The tattoo that Satoshi had branded her thigh with had been removed with careful work, and Sakura was thankful she didn't have to look at that disgusting mark ever again.
She dressed herself and then set herself quietly to work in the kitchen, knowing that her husband hadn't eaten breakfast and would most likely be running on coffee until his break. "Twit." She laughed to herself.
She just made a simple dish; nothing too fancy or overboard, and put some in a container and the rest in the fridge. She made herself breakfast and then set herself to work around the house for a little while before leaving.
An hour or so later after completing and hanging out the washing, she stretched her arms above her head and walked back inside. Her attention diverted to her medication on the bench; she hadn't been taking it lately, and she didn't want to. Syaoran would surely be upset with her for not taking it. Why did Satoshi have to fuck everything up? She thought to herself as she stared at the marble bench.
Suddenly a thought struck her; Syaoran never told her the full details as to why she couldn't have children anymore. She shrugged the thought away and walked over to the back door, letting Tabby out into the beautiful spring daylight. She proceeded to lock the house up and then gather her bag and make her way outside when she saw Rika standing on the footpath. Feelings of irritation arose, but she quickly shoved them aside and smiled. "Good morning Rika, is everything ok?" She asked politely.
Rika fidgeted a little, and looked down at her feet. She had a deep sense of guilt about her, and Sakura could sense it. Suddenly, Sakura realised something.
Rika had changed.
Rika regretted what she had done to her and Syaoran. She regretted being part of Satoshi's little lair. Her eyes showed such a deep sadness and it could not be missed. "Rika, would you like to come to the hospital with me? I need to drop something off to Syaoran." Sakura smiled softly. Rika nodded timidly, and Sakura held out her hand for Rika to take. Rika took it, and they began walking down the footpath together to the bus stop around the corner.
Another thing that had changed about Rika was the way she dressed. She no longer dressed in tarty dresses that showed off her legs and cleavage. She had begun to dress in much more beautiful things that suited her, such as pale summer dresses with scattered flowers all over them. Today, Sakura noticed she was wearing a white dress with pale blue roses on it, her long black hair tied up with a pale blue ribbon and on her feet were white sandals. "Rika, is something bothering you apart from the guilt?" Sakura asked softly as they sat down at the bus stop.
"I'm scared…" she confessed quietly. Sakura squeezed her hand.
"It'll be ok." She smiled softly, trying to comfort the girl beside her.
"You're so kind Sakura…and I was so horrible to you and Syaoran…I'm so sorry." She whispered. Sakura felt all traces of hate for the girl leave her body, and she smiled gently. "Shh, shh, it's ok. It's all over now." She said softly.
But she herself wasn't even sure if it was over; she still had the fear that one day, he would escape and come after her. It seemed she wasn't the only one-Rika had testified against Satoshi, after all.
The bus pulled up and they got on the bus together, and at the fifth stop outside the hospital they got off together. "Do you want to come inside with me?" Sakura asked her. Rika shook her head, "I'm going home…I have to get back to my little sister." She answered softly. "Alright; call if you need anything. Take care of yourself." Sakura smiled gently, and took her leave.
Sakura turned and walked up the path to the hospital doors which slid open for her, and she stepped in. The reception nurse looked up and smiled, "Good morning Sakura! How are you today?" The pretty brunette asked.
"Good morning Lisa; I'm alright. How are you?" Sakura replied. Lisa was a nurse that knew Sakura well as Sakura visited the hospital quite frequently during cases or for check-ups.
"I'm good! After Syaoran?" Lisa asked.
"Yeah; I'm just dropping off his lunch. He overslept and didn't eat breakfast-again." Sakura laughed.
Lisa giggled. "Ok, you know where his office is." The nurse said.
"Thanks Lisa." Sakura smiled, and made her way down the hall to the elevator. She made her way to the familiar floor of the psych ward and then made her way down to Syaoran's office. The door was open slightly, and she could here talking slightly.
"Real smart, dumb ass, oversleeping again! You're lucky Fai's your boss!" Chii snapped.
"Shut up." Syaoran groaned.
"Just how much sleep did you get?" Chii asked.
"I have no idea; a few hours?" He muttered.
"Haha, awesome." Chii laughed.
Sakura smiled to herself and knocked on the door quietly. "Oh, we have someone at the door!" Chii grinned. "Come in," Syaoran answered softly. Sakura pushed open the door and stepped in, and Chii jumped up to hug her. "Sakura!" She squealed.
"Hi Chii…" Sakura smiled.
Syaoran smiled, "Hello Sakura."
Sakura blushed a little and pulled out the container she'd bought for him with his lunch. "Here's your lunch." Sakura said, handing him the container. He took the container from her hands and smiled, "Thank you." He said softly.
He observed her for a moment, and noticed she looked incredibly pale. "Sakura, are you feeling alright? You're incredibly pale." He murmured.
"Syaoran, I'm just tired." She said softly.
Chii placed her head against her forehead, "No fever." She said, and pulled her hand away.
"I'm going to drop into Rena's on the way home; do you want me to call…?" Sakura asked quietly.
"Yes, call me later." He answered. She knew that look in his eyes; he wanted her safe and well.
"Alright…I'll call you later then. I'd best be off." Sakura smiled.
"Bye Sakura!" Chii smiled cheerfully.
"Bye you two." Sakura smiled back as she left the office.
Syaoran sighed. "She hasn't been sleeping." He said softly.
"Is she still having nightmares?" Chii asked sadly.
"Yes, and I don't think she's taking her medication either; she's due to have a script filled. I'm worried." He murmured.
"I wonder why she isn't taking her medication…" Chii wondered.
"I think I might need to go back over Sakura's reports." Syaoran muttered to himself. "Why?" Chii asked. "It's just…a feeling…" He replied quietly, standing up. "Back to work." He sighed.
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