She was confused and hurting and something, someone, was holding her down and all she wanted was to go back to Sasuke.

Sasuke was peace and warmth and safety and Sasuke would stop all the yelling and that incessant beeping and Sasuke would calm the horrible, pounding, ache in her head.

As her vision straightened out she recognized the bright pink hair of her best friend and wondered why Sakura wasn't helping her. Didn't she see that Karin was being hurt?

"Sa-akura," she heard a scratchy broken voice call out and barely made the connection that she was the one speaking. "H-help! They're h-hurting me." She was confused even more when Sakura only clamped her hands over her mouth and started to sob.

"Sakura, run! Go get Sasuke; he'll help me!" She struggled harder against the hands that held her down. She thrashed back and forth and glared at her assailants to be met with familiar blue eyes that held a pain she usually didn't see there. Her disassembled mind vaguely registered the fact that her cousin was one of the people holding her down.

Even so, relief swept over her aching body, because Naruto was here and Naruto would get Sasuke.

"Naruto! Naruto, help!" She cried out to her friend. ANSWER ME!

Her cousin cringed and the grip on her wrists loosened just slightly.

"Karin, Karin, it's ok, everything is going to be ok," he rushed to assure her, still holding her down. The pressure around her legs disappeared and she kicked out, satisfied when she felt her foot connect with something soft, and now most definitely bruised.

"I know everything is gonna be ok. Everything would be fine, if you would just bring me Sasuke!" She was getting angrier by the second and she didn't know why she couldn't just see her husband. He was her husband for fuck's sake! She struggled harder still.

"Karin, STOP!" Naruto's sharp yell startled her into submission. She finally looked around her, and was horrified by what she saw.

She was in a hospital room. In a hospital bed. She wasn't being attacked. She saw a nurse who had her arm around a doctor, short lab coat; he's a med student, and was holding an ice pack to his very swollen jaw. She saw another nurse by her bedside that had obviously assisted in holding her down.

She looked at her best friend who still had tears streaming from her bright green eyes.

"W-what," she felt her own tears burn behind her eyes and her breath caught in her throat. She felt herself start to panic. Her tears felt like fire as they slid fast down her face. "W-where's Sasuke? I want to see Sasuke."

She felt Naruto sag against her, as if he was looking for strength but at the same time he was clutching her to his chest, trying to comfort her. It didn't make any sense, why wouldn't they just let her see him, why was Sakura looking at her like that, why did her head hurt so bad. She recognized that look. That look was the one Sakura gave her blonde friend, Ino her name is Ino, when her father had died.

"K-karin." Sakura stuttered over her name as she controlled her tears. "You, you and Sasuke, were in an accident. I-it was-" she stopped and cringed, unable to continue.

The doctor, blond hair brown eyes I know her, walked over and placed her hand on her friend's shoulder. The doctor turned her sad hazel eyes towards her and said,

"Mrs. Uchiha, I'm so sorry, but your husband didn't make it."

The words didn't compute and her head throbbed harder as she shook it violently back and forth.

"Bu-but…No! No, he's not…" She pushed her cousin away and threw her glance accusingly at the doctor. "Where is he?! Let me see him!" The doctor's face scrunched up and she got angry.

She jumped out of the bed and a jolt of pain shot to her head, but that didn't slow her down. She was hoping that she could run fast enough to get to Sasuke before they caught her because if she could just see him he would make it better and he would stop them and he would make the pain go away because he was Sasuke and he loved her.

She ran out the door and turned a sharp left at the first turn she could find and barreled down the hallway. She could hear the doctor and her cousin and cousin-in-law calling after her but she didn't stop for anything. She needed Sasuke.

She was running and running and running and then a pair of hard arms caught her around her waist and brought down to her knees.

"Sasuke! Sasuke!" She cried and cried and cried and cried, but Sasuke wouldn't come to her.

"Get me a sedative now."

"Karin, calm down, I've got you."

"Ma'am, please."

She ignored the voices.

She cried for Sasuke and he didn't come for her and her head was spinning and her knees hurt and she was being squeezed and she felt a prick in her arm and then everything was dark.

3 months later

After weeks and weeks of therapy, Naruto and Sakura were able to bring Karin home. The couple had decided that she would be living with them for a while because Tsunade had said that she was still worried about the redhead's mental stability and their home had less stuff to remind her of her dead husband.

Karin had been living with them for two weeks now and they had all settled into a routine. It was a slow routine, but it was safe. Sakura was already on paternity leave from the hospital, so she stayed home with Karin most days.

Karin didn't talk much.

Sakura always worried that she would turn away for a second and look back to find her best friend dead. She wondered if that was why she wasn't surprised that she found her cousin-in-law in her bed surrounded by empty pill bottles. Her lack of surprise didn't make it hurt any less.

She stood in the doorway, fearing to move, as if afraid to wake Karin.

"Naruto." His name came out as a broken whisper, but it resounded in his mind as if his wife had screamed. He moved past her and walked in the room, kneeling by the bed. He brushed limp hair away from a cold forehead and gazed sadly at a face that hadn't looked that peaceful for three months. He put his head down.

And Sakura cried.

And Naruto shook over his cousin's pale body.

And Sasuke took his wife's hand and they were gone.