YAY I managed to finish it! :3 oh god this is long. So long I'm splitting it into two chapters. This was one the requests I accepted. The only reason I have written this before I finished 'A Blind Future' is because this has a Christmas theme and I wanted it out before Christmas.

This was requested by becauseiambatman1 and as soon as I read it I knew I had to write it. Clearly with the word count at 10,160 it was a fairly easy story to write :3

There are three songs that are played on the piano in this one-shot. they go in order from:

1. Yawning Lion - Deemo OST

2. Pure White - Deemo OST

3. Paper Plane's Adventures - Demmo OST *these songs were also chosen by becauseiambatman1* Kudos to her for such a good idea :)

anyways sorry for any mistakes, I'm off to bed now gotta work early in the morning.

I do not own Naruto.

Sakura walked into the empty waiting room on the third floor of the hospital. Black comfortable chairs lined the walls and ten of them were placed in a row down the middle of the room with a small sofa situated nicely in the corner of the room, directly beside a small gas fire place that burned in the wall in front of her. The cozy atmosphere eased the tension in her shoulders a small amount. As she walked past the security window to sit down on the comfortable looking couch she gave a small wave to the brown haired man behind the glass, reading a newspaper.

"Good evening, Kiba," She greeted warmly, her hours old coffee clutched in her other hand. She had warmed it up in the microwave in the staff lounge and she didn't particularly think it tasted all that good, but she was running on a nine hour shift at this point with one more to go so the hot beverage would have to do seeing as the cafeteria had long since closed for the night. She had just finished her rounds a half hour ago and deemed it a rather good time to take a short fifteen minute break before she had to check on her patients again.

"Evening, Sakura," Kiba greeted back, his signature grin on his face.

"Slow tonight, eh?" Kiba nodded in agreement.

"Well visiting hours are over, but seeing as its Christmas Eve you would think the patients would have more visitors trying to break the rules," He added making the pinkette nod. She placed her coffee down on the side table before sitting on the couch, tucking her legs underneath her and removing her stethoscope. It found a place next to her coffee cup and she rested her head against the armrest of the couch.

"Kiba if i-"

"Yea, yea I know. If you fall asleep wake you up in fifteen minutes," he said with a laugh and short shake of his head. He then went back to reading his newspaper, leaving Sakura to rest.

The pinkette's eyes drooped before opening up again when they caught sight of the black upright piano situated at the opposite corner of the room. Not many waiting rooms in hospitals had such a comforting atmosphere but Sakura worked at one of the best hospitals in New York City. The piano wasn't anything extravagant but it still complimented the room nicely. Sakura had played the piano since she was seven and the instrument had always had a strange pull for her.

A small smile graced her face and she stood up before silently making her way over to it. She sat down, the back of her white lab coat falling over the back of the black stool as she moved the covering up so the smooth ivory keys were exposed. She thought of a calm and soothing song in her mind and when the notes came to her she let her fingers rest on the keys. Her fingers moved on their own, bringing forth a beautiful melody that broke the silence in the room. Kiba watched her hands glide over the piano as she played an unfamiliar but nice song. He couldn't see her face but he knew her eyes were closed. Closing her eyes was the only way she could completely lose herself in the music.

Kiba was the only one to notice the quiet chime of the elevator as its silver doors slid open to reveal two men, dressed in dark winter coats with grocery bags in both of their hands. They both stepped out and looked toward where Sakura was still playing. They made their way silently into the room and placed their bags on one of the chairs. They all watched Sakura finish up the song and silence fell over the room. The younger dark haired man with short hair, spikey in the back approached the pinkette, coming up to her side.

"I thought that was you." He said with a smile. Sakura turned her head sharply in the direction to that familiar voice.

"Sasuke?" she asked her eyes wide. She looked behind her with her eyes widening even more. "And Itachi?" Itachi smirked and gave her a small wave as he moved toward her also.

"Geez, when Shisui mentioned he had a sexy, pink haired doctor I had no idea he was talking about you." Sakura grimaced, ah Shisui Uchiha. The man had been admitted into the hospital after getting a concussion and close range gunshot wound to his left shoulder. He had been here for three days and would more than likely be released tomorrow morning. Sakura wasn't positive if Shisui was related to these two men standing before her, now though she kicked herself for not noticing the resemblance. Sasuke gestured toward the piano "I thought you were going into music, not medical." Sakura shrugged.

"I have always been passionate about helping people," she offered "Besides being a doctor is more gratifying than a pianist." Sasuke nodded in agreement.

"You're twenty six, though, isn't it like seven or so years of schooling?" he pointed out his brows furrowing slightly. Sakura smiled softly before putting the lid to the piano down to cover the keys. She turned toward the two men she hadn't seen since high school. Her eyes slid over to Itachi whom she hadn't seen since grade 10 since he had graduated at that time. There were two years age difference between them.

"Technically its eight years of schooling and eight years of residency. I graduated youngest in my class and the well-known Tsunade Senju took me under her wing. Technically I'm still in the process of completing my residency here at this hospital under the watchful eye of Doctor Tsunade," she explained standing up and pushing the piano bench back in.

"Wow, impressive," Itachi murmured in slight awe. He had never pegged Sakura, the pink haired girl that used to follow his brother around like a love sick puppy all through school would have the brains to accomplish such great things. Knowing what he did now, he had high respect for her. She clearly worked her butt off to make her dreams come true. Sakura offered him a warm smile as she shoved her hands into the pockets of her lab coat.

"So I take it you are here to see Shisui?" Sakura asked. Sasuke looked at Itachi before speaking.

"Um, yea we were planning on it." Sakura removed her hands from her pockets and planted them on her hips, trying her best to give the two men a stern look but a small smile tugged at her lips.

"You know visiting hours are over." Itachi smirked softly.

"We are aware, yes. Please let us see him? It's Christmas Eve," he pleaded, his bottom lip jutting out dramatically. He eyes widened and Sakura felt her heart beat quicken at the look on Itachi's face. Holy hell how could anyone say no to that pout!? Also when had he gotten so attractive.

'Psh, who are you trying to fool you always knew Itachi was attractive, you just knew he was out of your league so you went after his brother instead.' The small voice in Sakura's head pointed out. Sakura knew it was true. She had always secretly liked the elder Uchiha more so than Sasuke. But he was just so…perfect in everything he did it was almost intimidating. Sasuke was intimidating also, with his good looks and intelligence but he always seemed more available than Itachi did. Itachi always seemed just slightly out of reach.

Now though, they were both adults. Sakura could try her luck, assuming he wasn't already taken but…woah wait, what the hell was she thinking? This wasn't the time nor the place to start thinking up a way to integrate herself into the Uchiha's lives again, not to mention Sasuke nor Itachi had ever tried to keep in touch with her after graduation. Who's to say they even wanted anything to do with her anymore anyways. The pinkette sighed and shook her head slightly to clear it before brushing past Sasuke to make her way over to her forgotten coffee and stethoscope.

"Fine, but only because it's Christmas," she said with a grin. Kiba looked on with a short shake of his head. He couldn't blame her for breaking the rules on a night like tonight. "We moved him though so I'll take you to his new room."

"Thanks, Sakura." Sasuke said picking up the grocery bags from the chair and following her out of the room. She dumped her now cold again coffee in the garbage before holding the door open for her two followers. They walked down the quiet hallways of the dimly hospital, passing by various rooms with lights on and with lights off. It was around 7:00pm so some people were asleep and others were still up watching TV or entertaining themselves in other ways.

"So, what are guys doing career wise now?" Sakura asked curiously, ignoring the annoying sound of her shoes squeaking on the linoleum floor. Sasuke let out a short laugh.

"Well, do you remember the thing I was always saying I wouldn't become?" He asked not missing the small smirk that Itachi shot his way. Sakura turned her head toward the younger man, her eyes wide.

"You actually became a cop?" She asked incredulously. Sasuke had been so adamant about not following in his father's footsteps. The younger Uchiha gave a short shrug, almost looking embarrassed.

"I did. So did Itachi," he said jerking his thumb in the direction of his brother behind them. Sakura smiled and shook her head.

"Is it like tradition for all Uchiha's to become cops or something?"

"Kind of," Itachi allowed, smirking slightly. "We are more or less expected to be cops. I don't generally do something if I don't want to though. My father would never have been able to force me too." He explained. Sakura nodded before coming to a stop and knocking softly on a door that read Rm 310. She waiting less than a second before opening the large door and pushing her way inside.

"You have visitors Uchiha." Sakura said with a laugh as Itachi and Sasuke followed in after her.

"Hey guys!" Shisui said sitting up straighter in bed, grimacing slightly at the pain that shot through his shoulder.

"Be careful!" Sakura chastised rushing over to his bed to assess his shoulder. By looking at the still white bandage she could tell he hadn't ripped open his stitches or anything. She then moved on to check his IV fluids to make sure they were full and working properly.

"I'm sure you guys will survive one Christmas dinner without me," Shisui said after Itachi had said something. With an eye roll he munched on the chocolaty treat Sasuke had given him out of the grocery bag. "Besides I'll be outta here tomorrow morning, so I'll make Christmas Day brunch, right sweet cheeks?" Shisui asked tugging on Sakura's white coat as he gave her a wink. Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Didn't I ask you to stop calling me sweet cheeks?" She asked not being able to help but grin at his antics

"Yes, you did. Um okay how about baby or sexy? Oh or-" he said waggling his eye brows slightly "Sexy Baby."

"God, Shisui you're such a flirt!" She laughed as she signed the form in his medical charts "How about Dr. Haruno?" She asked with a raised brow, putting the chart back in the place beside his bed. Shisui pouted.

"Well that's no fun. Too formal." Sakura rolled her eyes and made to leave the room. Before she left she turned toward them all.

"I will sign his release papers for tomorrow morning at 9:00am. Don't forget to come pick him up. It was nice to see you guys again, we should all get together for coffee sometime. Also try not to stay here too much longer, you'll get me in trouble."

"Sakura wait!" Sasuke called and she shot her hand out to stop the door from closing all the way. She poked her head back in and raised an eyebrow at him.

"When are you off for the night?" He asked and Sakura was surprised to see that he seemed kind of nervous. She also noticed the curious looks he was getting from Itachi and Shisui. Sakura glanced at her watch.

"In…wow actually in ten minutes." She said feeling slight relief that she would be able to go home and collapse on her bed for the night. Sasuke glanced at Itachi once before locking eyes with her again.

"Well if you aren't doing anything, would you like to join us for Christmas dinner in a half an hour?" He asked sincerely. Sakura's eyes widened in absolute shock.

"It's such short notice though…" She said trying to stall and figure out if she really wanted to tonight.

"It won't be an issue, trust me my mother would be delighted. Besides we have an empty spot at the table." He said gesturing toward a grinning Shisui. Sakura gnawed on her bottom lip thoughtfully as she stood halfway in the room and halfway out. It was then that she remembered how exhausted she currently was. Her body felt heavy and all she wanted to do was go home, take a hot shower, put her warm PJ's on and sleep. She offered up a warm and gracious smile before politely declining the invitation.

"As much as I would love to, Sasuke, I'm really tired. I've been here for ten hours and I'm rather dead on my feet. Though thank you very much for the offer." Sasuke nodded understandingly.

"Okay, I figured as much, but I thought I would offer anyways."

"I appreciate it, anyways goodnight boys'," she called letting the door start to close again.

"Wait!" came another call. Sasuke and Shisui froze in shock when Itachi had grabbed the door and held it open looking at an equally shocked Sakura. Sakura hoped he wouldn't insist she join them tonight, she felt guilty enough saying no the first time and seeing the intense look she was currently getting from Itachi she wasn't so sure she could say no a second time.

"Yes?" She asked blinking once as she stared up at him. He was taller than she thought he was. If she stood on her tippy toes she would barely be nose to nose with him.

"Are you working tomorrow?" He asked hoping beyond hope she wasn't.

"No, I'm off."

"Then join us for our Christmas brunch," he said making it sound kind of like an order. Sakura felt a smile tug at her lips and Itachi's eyes widened as if just realizing what he said. "I mean, only if you want to and if you don't have any other plans," he amended quickly. Sakura grinned and found herself more than willing to accept this invitation. As long as she got to sleep tonight she had no problems joining them tomorrow.

"Of course, I'd love too," she said smiling. Itachi returned her smile and just when Sakura thought she could leave without further interruptions, her stomach growled loudly. She hadn't even realized how hungry she was until now, oh god, how embarrassing. Sakura's cheeks stained red in an instant and Itachi smirked before opening the bag he was holding in his left hand. He pulled out a box of dango and offered the entire thing to her.

"Thank you for taking care of my idiot of a cousin. Merry Christmas." He said offering her another warm smile. Her eyes brightened at the gesture and she accepted the box.

"Thank you. What time should I come tomorrow?"

"What's your cellphone number?" He asked pulling out his own phone and keying in her name. Sakura gave it to him without hesitation. "I'll text you the details," he said. Sakura nodded easily before saying goodbye to everyone again and leaving the room. She turned right down the hallway on her way to the staff lounge to clock out.

Itachi turned around to be met with Shisui and Sasuke's jaws pretty much hitting the floor. Itachi blinked once before speaking.

"What?" he asked confused at their reactions.

"You smooth, fucker!" Shisui laughed shoving aside his shock. Sasuke gestured almost wildly with his arms in the direction of the door.

"What was that!?" He asked incredulously. Itachi rose a brow in question.

"Wasn't it obvious?"

"Itachi not only did you go out of your way to invite her a second time but you also gave her the entire box of dango which you and I both know was the last damn box in the store. I've never seen you share your dango before," Sasuke explained. Itachi shrugged trying to brush it off.

"She seemed…lonely almost. I wanted her to have somewhere to go for Christmas," he said as an explanation. Sasuke, however, was not convinced.

000

Sakura slid the key into the lock on her door smoothly, almost giddy with the prospect of showering and going to bed. She walked into her large apartment and dropped her bag on the floor unceremoniously. There was a loud bark before a blur of orange coloured fur pounced at her.

"Kyuu!" She gasped not being able to hold back her smile as the two year old pup wagged its tail and whined at her excitedly.

"How come you aren't with Naruto?" She asked him scratching his head affectionately. She moved on further into the house and saw a note sitting on the table, she picked it up and began to read it knowing immediately it was her roommate's chicken scratch writing.

Sakura, sorry I didn't clean all that much…had to leave in a hurry which is why Kyuubi is still there. I will pick him up tomorrow. As always mom said you're more than welcome to join us for Christmas dinner tomorrow, but its up to you. See you later either way.

-Naruto

Sakura smiled, of course Kushina would invite her. This was the only year she could though seeing as she wasn't working. She very well might of taken them up on their offer if it wasn't for her making plans with the Uchiha's. Sakura looked at the coffee table in the living room only to roll her eyes when she saw the two empty cups of instant ramen along with various other snacks. As of late Naruto had been good with cleaning up after himself but it used to take a good tongue lashing from her to get his ass in gear. With a sigh she decided she would deal with that mess tomorrow.

She walked across her apartment and entered her bathroom. Kyuubi followed her to the bathroom door before lying down in front of it to await her return. Sakura grinned he may be a pain in the ass sometimes but he was cute. The hot water from the shower soothed Sakura's tense muscles and made her more tired. She got out and wrapped a fluffy, blue towel around herself before exiting the bathroom. She made her way to her room before quickly putting on her pajamas and wrapping her dripping wet hair into the towel. Before heading to bed she retrieved her phone from the bag she dropped at the door and returned to her bedroom, flopping on the bed and grinning when she felt the dog join her, curling up at the end of her mattress in a tight little ball. Kyuu was always clingy like this when Naruto wasn't around, the dog hated being alone.

Sakura noticed she had a text message from an unfamiliar number and instantly knew who it was. She opened it quickly and read the contents.

Hello Sakura, It's Itachi. Here are the details for tomorrow: Brunch will start at 10:30am, you don't need to bring a thing, just yourself :)

Below that text he put their address and Sakura couldn't help but be a little excited yet nervous at the same time. She hadn't seen the Uchiha's in so long and even then when she did see them it was once or twice when she had come over to complete a school assignment with Sasuke. Sakura added him to her contacts and hit reply on her phone to quickly text him back.

Hi, thank you for the information. But, umm what should I wear? :$

It took him less than a minute to text back which made the pinkette smile again. Why hadn't she kept in touch with these guys, she didn't realize how much she missed them. Especially Itachi who had been her crush all through high school even after he graduated. Judging by the warm flutter in her chest when her phone chimed again she still had a huge crush on him.

It's not overly formal if that's what you're asking. Wear what you want but don't feel like you need to wear a dress or anything. It will just be a small gathering with my family. Shisui and his father will be here too. Go to sleep, Sakura. You must be tired, you looked dead on your feet at the hospital. Have a good sleep, goodnight :)

With another smile she sent a quick 'thank you' and 'goodnight' text back to him before placing her phone beside her bed, shutting off her light and closing her eyes. The minute her head hit the pillow she was asleep, a smile still on her face.

000

Sakura slowly pulled up to the Uchiha house grinning at the familiar look of it. Floor to ceiling windows were placed around the right side of the house. She recalled the living room being the room with those windows. For a family of cops they lived luxuriously. Their house was very large and beautiful. Mikoto, Sasuke and Itachi's mother, owned her own bakery for years now and by the looks of it, business was successful. She parked her car behind a jet black Mercedes.

She knocked on the door only to have it immediately ripped open, revealing the smiling and slightly giddy looking facial expression of Mikoto.

"Oh Sakura!" She exclaimed grabbing the front of the pinkette's jacket and lightly pulling her into the warm house.

"Hi Mikoto, it's so nice to see you again." Sakura said honestly. Shisui appeared out of nowhere his signature grin plastered on his face.

"Hey sexy," he said with a wink. Mikoto scoffed and flicked him in the shoulder. Sakura winced as she knew quite well there was a bandage under his long sleeved shirt covering his still healing gunshot wound.

"Ow!" The man cried pathetically shooting a small glare at his aunt. She simply brushed off the look before ordering him to take Sakura's coat from her. Sakura quickly unzipped her coat and watched as Shisui approached her.

"It's okay I can do it."

"Nonsense. Shisui…" Mikoto said giving her nephew a look. He rolled his eyes and stepped forward, taking Sakura's coat and disappearing down the hall and around the corner. "You arrived just in time," the dark haired woman said enthusiastically "Brunch is just being put on the table."

As Mikoto guided Sakura through her home, she took in the cream coloured walls and pictures that lined each. Their furniture was a dark wood that stood out beautifully with the colour scheme. As they walked by Sakura noticed the living room was painted a light grey with off white coloured couches and dark wood tables.

"Your home is just as beautiful as I remember it," Sakura mentioned as they came up to what she remembered as the dining room. Mikoto smiled and thanked her as the sound of male voices were heard coming from the doorway. She immediately recognized the gruff voice of Fugaku, Itachi and Sasuke's father. She could also hear Itachi and Sasuke but there was also an unfamiliar voice and Sakura guessed it was probably Shisui's father. She quickly smoothed out the light brown jersey dress she had chosen to wear, paired with dark black tights and light brown flat shoes. Mikoto noticed and didn't hide her smirk as they entered the room.

The conversation ceased when Sakura entered the room. Fugaku stood and made his way around the table to stand at Mikoto's side. He offered her a warm smile and extended his hand. She grasped it

"Nice to see you again Sakura, it's been a long time."

"It has, I'm rather happy to see you all again," she agreed, shaking his hand softly before letting it go. The other three men, four now that Shisui had entered the room were all standing too. A man she assumed was Shisui's father, purely because he had a striking resemblance to the flirty goofball, extended his hand as well as he approached her.

"I'm Kagame Uchiha, this idiot's father." He said with a smile, nodding toward a now pouting Shisui. Sakura grinned.

After Itachi and Sasuke said their hellos Sakura was told to sit down between the two. Sasuke was on her right followed by Mikoto and Fugaku and Itachi was on her left and beside him sat Shisui and Kagame. There was a small bout of silence as everyone dished up their plates with the loads of food Mikoto had prepared. Mikoto spoke after a moment

"Sasuke, shame on you for losing contact with Sakura. She would have made a much better girlfriend than your ex," She said, the last word spoken with such venom that Sakura's eyes widened slightly. Sasuke had been in the middle of drinking water and choked on it violently. Sakura patted him on the back lightly as he continued to cough. Once he got himself under control he shot Mikoto a look.

"Please don't bring her up, mother. It was a lapse in judgement on my part and I have learned from it." He grumbled softly. "Besides it's not like that, Sakura isn't here for me." Mikoto's eyes widened slightly before she glanced at Itachi then at Shisui. Both men had unreadable expressions on their faces. Sakura took a bite of her food hoping to god this conversation wasn't going where she suspected it was. Fugaku spoke up then.

"Sakura." He said grabbing the pinkette's attention. Sakura swallowed and wiped her mouth with a napkin, stalling.

"Yes?" She asked forcing herself to remain calm.

"Which one of the boys are you here for?" He asked with a raised brow that instantly made her think of Itachi. Itachi looked the most like his father if she was being honest. Sasuke got his looks from Mikoto. Just as Sakura glanced at Itachi, the man spoke.

"I invited her," he stated calmly before picking up his fork and biting into a piece of ham.

"Really…" Kagame drawled. "And here I thought it was for sure you," he said nudging Shisui lightly.

"No, the bastard beat me too it. Besides as much as I hate to admit it, she clearly like's Itachi much more than Sasuke and I," Shisui grumbled. The table went silent except for Sakura's quiet gasp. Everyone watched in amusement as her face began to turn red with complete embarrassment. Itachi rolled his eyes.

"Look what you did, Shisui." He said only making Sakura blush harder. The redness spread to the tips of her ears and even further down, expanding across her chest.

"Oh come on, leave the poor girl alone!" Mikoto said making everyone else, aside from a still blushing Sakura, roll their eyes and scoff. Mikoto looked at them all in seeming innocence.

"What?"

"Please dear, you are the worst for making people blush. You're the matchmaker of our family and you know it," Fugaku said raising a brow as if daring her to deny it. Mikoto shrugged accepting that title.

After about an hour everyone had officially finished eating and Mikoto began to clear the table. Sakura stood to help but was told to sit down. Fugaku stood as well and began to help his wife clean up.

"Where is the washroom again?" She asked Itachi quietly. She needed to go freshen up. He pointed toward the hallway.

"Down that hallway, fourth door on the right," he said easily. She nodded her thanks and stood, walking toward the washroom.

After doing what she needed to Sakura looked at herself in the mirror for a moment. Her makeup seemed to be holding up nicely, her green eyes were bright and she looked happy. She definitely didn't regret accepting the invitation. With a sigh she left the washroom and began her journey back to the dining room. From the sounds of it everyone was making their way to the living room and as she passed the last door in the hallway she stopped short. Inside the room was a beautiful white, baby grand piano. Sakura eyes widened and without a thought she walked through the open door and excitedly made her way over to the instrument. There was no cover over the keys and she smoothly sat down her fingers immediately resting on the proper keys. She looked up to see a sheet of music sitting in front of her. She didn't recognize the song, but after studying it for a minute or two she deemed it fairly easy to play.

Itachi handed his mother the last plate on the table.

"Go join everyone in the living room if you want, I can handle the rest of this," she said with a smile. Itachi nodded and made his way toward the cluster of voices. As he walked past the hallway to where Sakura had walked off to he stopped when he heard to sweet sound of the piano being played. Knowing she had found the piano in the office he smirked and made his way down the hallway, the sound getting louder the closer he got.

Sakura stopped playing three quarters of the way through the song when she felt a presence in the room. Her fingers slipped off the keys and she looked back to see Itachi standing in the doorway. He was leaning against the right side of the doorframe, arms crossed and looking at her intently. Sakura suddenly felt bad for using the instrument without asking.

"Sorry I should have asked if it was okay to come in here."

"Was the door open?" He asked eye brow raised.

"Yes, but-"

"Then we weren't trying to keep anyone out, its fine," he interrupted with a small smile on his face. "You're a great player, when did you learn?" he asked closing the door behind him softly before approaching her. He leaned against the armrest of the fluffy looking chair to the right of the piano as he awaited her answer. She smiled before speaking.

"Well I took lessons when I was seven years old, I've been playing ever since then." Itachi looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Sasuke seemed surprised you chose to go into medicine, were you planning on going through with music?" A slightly dark look passed over Sakura's face before she shoved the upsetting feelings aside.

"That's…a slightly long story." She frowned. "I'm sure Sasuke has probably told you about my parents?" Itachi frowned and shook his head.

"No he didn't, if you don't want to tell me the story, I understand," he said honestly.

"I was almost sixteen years old and in the middle of my second year of high school when I was in a car accident with my parents. I, unfortunately, was the only survivor. Both of my parents died. I had originally been thinking of going into music since the beginning of grade nine purely because my parents really wanted me to, they were always pushing me toward it. I wanted to make them proud so, naturally, I went along with it.

I had made it pretty obvious however that I was interested in medicine. I wanted to be a doctor but I ignored that dream mostly because I highly respected my parents and for some reason just didn't think they would want me to be a doctor. I feel stupid for thinking that now though," Sakura paused, the faces of her parents popping up in her head and making her heart ache. It had been so many years and yet she still hadn't completely gotten over their deaths and she knew she never would. There was a small moment of silence between the two occupants of the room.

"What changed, if you don't mind my asking?" Itachi asked, his voice quiet and softer than usual. Sakura raised her head from where she had been staring at her hands in her lap to look at him.

"I was leaving the hospital with my aunt when a paramedic got my attention. He seemed desperate and even though I really wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone I listened to him. He told me my mother didn't die instantly like my dad did. He told me that she had been desperate to get out a message for me. She had told him to tell me that she was proud of me, she would always be proud of me no matter what I chose to do." She paused a small smile on her face. "My mother knew me well enough that she knew I needed to hear that in order to decide to do what I wanted and not follow someone else's plans for me. So after that I changed my courses in school and worked my ass off to achieve the greatest marks I could and well here I am now, completing my residency under Dr. Tsunade and I couldn't be more proud of myself for all that I've accomplished."

"Wow," Itachi breathed in amazement. "You sure worked hard for what you wanted, that's admirable." He paused and walked toward her before sitting next to her on the glossy white bench. He looked her in the eyes and Sakura found as her eyes locked with his dark ones she couldn't look away. "I'm positive they would be more than proud of you, Sakura." His voice was warm and Sakura found herself enjoying their proximity. His long black hair was tied in a loose pony tail as usual. His bangs framing his face. It looked so soft that Sakura had to restrain from reaching up and touching it. Why did the Uchiha's have to be so beautiful? It should be illegal for a man to be so good looking.

Sakura didn't miss the smirk shot her way when Itachi didn't fail to notice her staring. Her cheeks heated slightly at being caught and she turned away and toward the piano again. Itachi gave a small laugh before reaching down into the basket sitting next to them. He pulled out a sheet of paper with music on it.

"Ever played a duet?" He asked. Sakura shook her head. "It's easy, since I'm sitting over here I'll take the lower notes and you take the high notes. Want to give it a try?"

"Absolutely. I didn't know you played," she said thoughtfully.

"Only my mother and I do," he explained "Sasuke could never pick it up and my father, well he never had any interest in it." Sakura nodded and watched him place the sheet music in front of them. She studied it for a few moments before nodding to him that she was ready.

Sakura began the song and quickly Itachi joined her. It was a little rocky at the beginning but soon they both found their rhythm and the melody was smooth and beautiful. From what Sakura could tell the song turned into something faster paced and fun. Occasionally their arms would bump each other making Sakura laugh. Itachi found himself enjoying that laugh. He knew the song off by heart so he chose to watch her instead. Her eyes were trained on the sheet music but would close when she would laugh, the corners crinkling slightly with the musical sound. Itachi vowed to make her laugh as much as possible.

As they continued to play and bump each other's arms Itachi wondered to himself why he never truly noticed Sakura as anyone other than his little brother's friend. She was beautiful. Then again they were teenagers then and she had been younger than him. They were adults now though and Itachi found himself unbelievably attracted to her. Her personality, he realized, had drastically changed. She was no longer the squealing teenaged girl that had come over to study with Sasuke once in a while. Now she was calm, collected and beyond smart. The way she had sped through medical school like she did was admirable. Itachi knew right then that he wanted more of her. He wanted to know everything about her, he needed to be closer to her.

Slowly the song came to an end, Itachi finishing the last note and letting his hands drop into his lap. Sakura had a beaming smile on her face as she looked at him.

"That was so much fun!" She cried happily, not even noticing how close they had gotten to each other. Their legs were touching now. "Can we play another one?"

"Maybe next time. I'm sure everyone is still waiting for us to join them." Sakura's eyes widened, she had completely forgotten anyone other than Itachi had existed for the short time they had been in this room.

"Wow I'm so rude! I wasn't thinking of that at all!" she said feeling guilty. Itachi shook his head before laying his hand over hers that was resting on her thigh. She looked down at his hand and then back at his face, not pulling away.

"It's fine. I'm sure my mom is simply giddy at the idea of us being alone right now," he said with an eye roll followed immediately by a smile. Sakura returned the expression full force before standing and waiting for Itachi to lead them to the living room. They approached the door and Itachi opened it. Sakura jumped in surprise when on the other side of the door stood the entire family. Mikoto had a smug look on her face, Fugaku had a small grin on his face, Shisui and Kagame were both snickering to themselves and Sasuke was the only one to look slightly embarrassed for spying on the two. Out of all of them only Mikoto was shameless enough to have had her ear pressed tightly to the door. Itachi casually wrapped and arm around Sakura's shoulders and pulled her to his side, making her squeak almost silently in surprise.

"This is my family, Sakura. All of them are nosy as hell," he said making everyone laugh.

They all returned to the living room and sat down on the couches. Naturally Itachi softly sat down beside Sakura. There was a moment of silence before Fugaku leaned forward shooting Sakura a rather intense look.

"So, Sakura. Tell me, what are your intentions with my son?" Sakura's eyes widened.

"I…um…what?" Suddenly the entire room erupted in laughter making Sakura blush bright red in embarrassment for the umpteenth time that day.

000

It would be three days later before Itachi would call Sakura again and both agreed to a date. Their relationship bloomed from there, the pair growing closer and closer as the days went on. Sakura had never felt this way about anyone in her entire life. Itachi definitely felt the same, at least she thought he did, he always wanted to see her and even when both were working they would meet up on their lunch breaks.

Sakura sighed as she made her way down the busy hallway of the Emergency Room. She was about to start reading the chart of her next patient when the name had her stopping in her tracks, making the poor nurse behind her almost run right into Sakura's back. It read 'Itachi Uchiha' Sakura didn't even bother to read what was wrong before she was lightly jogging through the hallway to his room. Once she arrived she wasted no time in walking in and firmly closing the door behind her. She was a little out of breath when she made eye contact with a slightly shocked Itachi. Her abrupt entrance and out of breath state took him by surprise.

"Are you okay!?" She cried before flitting to his side, her hands hovering over his uniform clad body looking for blood or any other obvious injuries. "What's wrong, what happened!?" She was firing off questions rapidly and Itachi couldn't help but smirk at her over worried state. He grabbed her hands to stop them from shaking before he looked her in the eye and offered her a reassuring smile.

"Sakura, hun it's okay. I'm fine. Calm down before you keel over on me." Her breathing was still slightly elevated as she forced herself to calm and completely look him over. In her haste to get to him she didn't notice that he was sitting up in the hospital bed, his right foot elevated on a pillow with an icepack laying over his ankle. The black pants of his uniform were rolled up to mid-calf. Slightly more calm she gave his hands a soft squeeze.

"What happened?"

"Just a sprained ankle. I'm required to visit the hospital for injuries attained on the job so the necessary paperwork can be filled out."

"Oh, right." Itachi chuckled and reached up to cup her cheek before curling it around the back of her neck to pull her closer to him. She smirked, relieved that the situation wasn't worse and let him pull her down for a gentle kiss. His lips were soft as they moved against hers. She moaned quietly against them as his kiss ignited the same fire inside her that it had since the first time he kissed her. She let the tip of her tongue glide against his lower lip asking permission for entry only to have him smirk and pull away. She glared half-heartedly.

"You're working, remember?" he asked still smirking. She rolled her eyes but didn't argue, he was right she was working and she had huge list of patients to still see. She quickly began to write out the doctor's assessment before putting the clipboard down to examine his ankle. She looked up at the X-rays hanging against the light on the wall before moving to the end of the bed and removing the icepack. She lifted his foot off the pillow and cradled his heel in her hand. She felt around and immediately noticed the swelling.

"Does moving it hurt?" she asked. He nodded.

"Only when I roll it." She nodded pressing against the swollen flesh. She noticed it was only slightly discolored. She laid it softly back down on the pillow and put the ice back on. She then went over to the X-Rays and studied them.

"Well it looks like it's indeed just a sprain, you're lucky." She said turning to him with a disapproving look.

"Be more careful," she grumbled before picking up the clipboard and finishing the paperwork.

Once she was done she signed it and removed the piece of paper and handed it to her boyfriend.

"Thanks," he said with a smile. Sakura was about to leave before she paused and turned back to him.

"Are you busy tomorrow?" she asked curiously. He glanced at the paper in his hands before rolling his eyes.

"Well seeing as you gave me two weeks off work, no I'm not. I can be back to work in a week, Sakura." He said feeling slightly stupid for taking off two week of work for such a small injury. She glared at him.

"Take it easy, Uchiha. Doctor's orders. As for tomorrow, if you want to, I'd like you to come with me somewhere. I consider it pretty important…" she said her voice getting quiet. Itachi's eyebrows drew together at the tone of her voice.

"Sure," he looked down at his foot with a grimace "You will have to drive though," he added. Sakura nodded.

"Of course, I'll pick you up." She went to him again and leaned down to press another soft kiss against his lips. "I'll call you tonight okay?"

"Sounds good," he said with another smile on his face.

As Sakura left she walked up to the silver haired man with the last name 'Hatake' on his name tag. He seemed to be the only one in a cop's uniform in the waiting room and she informed him Itachi was ready to go home.

"Thanks, Dr. Haruno." He nodded before walking toward Itachi's room.