Disclaimer: I wish I did, but I don't own Naruto.

Naruto was already awake, but only because he could heal so damn fast. If he wasn't so injured, Sakura would hit him upside the head really hard with her enhanced fists. That would probably just cause him to be even more idiotic than he already is though, so she decided against it.

She turned her attention towards Kakashi, who had the sleeping Sasuke on his back. It had taken forever before she could get Sasuke's grip off of her. She smiled warmly at the image. She remembered that day that Kakashi and Jiraiya came back to the village with Naruto and Sasuke on their backs. Then her mind went to how Sasuke had almost died, and her heart started to clench. The memory still made her feel queasy. She had stayed with him in the hospital as much as she possibly could. The whole time she felt absolutely useless. She couldn't do anything to help save him, which was one of the main reasons she became a medic and studied under Tsunade, the very same person who had saved him.

Naruto's loud voice made her come out of her reverie. She looked over at the scene and couldn't help but laugh. Rock Lee had been carrying Naruto until he woke up, and was trying to put Naruto back on his back. Naruto was trying to get away, but because of his weak state, and because of how fast Rock Lee is, he couldn't.

"HELP!" he screamed.

Sakura laughed and yelled to Naruto, "Get back on his back Naruto Uzamaki, or so help me I'll beat-!"

"Okay, okay! Jeesh Sakura-chan!"

With that, he reluctantly got back onto Rock Lee's back. He mumbled things underneath his breath and he was lucky Sakura didn't hear him.

All commotion stopped when they saw the gates to Konoha just up ahead. They were finally home, and this time, Sasuke was as well. Sakura could almost jump with joy. They had finally accomplished their goal, and brought him back. They could be Team 7 again.

Naruto was even quiet as they passed through the gates. It was starting to grow dark by now. It was ironic that he had left at nightfall, and returned at the same time as well.

Sakura turned to Kakashi and said, "I'll take him to the hospital, Kakashi-sensei."

Naruto got off of Lee's back and was eyeing the Ramen shop. Sakura grumbled and ordered, "Naruto! If you're not at the hospital before I can get there, you won't ever be able to eat ramen again!"

Naruto gulped because he knew that she meant it, and because he was also dreadfully tired. His arm also hurt pretty damn bad too, along with his other injuries. He sighed and started to run towards the hospital and yelled, "I love you, Sakura-chan!"

Sakura rolled her eyes and caught Hinata's hurt face before she could hide it. If only Naruto knew how much that Hyuuga loved him? Sakura could only wonder how Hinata fell in love with an idiot like him, but then again, how had she fallen in love with a cold hearted traitor?

Since she was so small, and he would swallow her, Sakura put Sasuke's arm over her shoulder and held onto his waist. She grunted at the extra weight, but also relished in it. It had been so long since she had to hold onto Sasuke like this. She hadn't realized just how much she had missed it until this moment.

Sakura waved to everyone as they dispersed, then she hurried off towards the hospital. Once she reached it, there was already Anbu inside. Kakashi must be talking with Tsunade, Sakura thought.

"He's injured, and he won't be able to bother anyone," she said evenly with a little bit of ice.

The Anbu just nodded and they all disappeared. She knew they were somewhere though, watching. That was their job though. The receptionist and all the nurses that were in the room, just stared at her and Sasuke in disbelief. She tried to ignore their staring as best she could as she made her way to an empty room.

As she finished healing him, she grew extremely tired. There was no way she would be able to make it back to her apartment. She barely had enough energy to sit down in the waiting chair beside Sasuke's bed and lay her head down on it. She passed out immediately.

Sasuke awoke to a pressure being held onto his arm and abdomen. There was also light seeping in through the window that was glaring on his face. He slowly opened his eyes to see a sleeping Sakura in a chair with her upper body lying on top of him.

He suddenly got a flash back of fighting Haru all those years ago and everyone thinking he was dead. Back then he had woken up to Sakura bawling on him, so much to where he couldn't even breathe.

This time she was sleeping though, and he didn't know if he could wake her up. It seemed so cruel because it looked like she really needed the rest. He slowly sat up, careful not to wake her, and got a pain in his chest. He looked underneath his blue hospital shirt and saw the bandages. Where was Naruto? Where was he? He was in Konoha?

He looked back down at Sakura and felt a debt to her, but was also angry with her. She had saved his life, but she had also brought him back here. He would be executed for Kami's sake! Didn't she know any better?

Before he could even attempt to wake her, she woke up suddenly. She sat up quickly and stretched. Sasuke tried to avert his eyes when her shirt rose up to reveal some of her flat stomach. Then he found himself looking at her whole body. She had changed, and matured since her thirteen year old self.

She didn't even seem to notice though as she quickly stood up and checked all of his vitals. She smiled and turned to him.

"All of your worst injuries are under control, but you'll need to stay in the hospital for about another week…"

"What am I doing here?"

Her eyes narrowed at him and she still looked really tired. Then she answered, "You're home, Sasuke-kun."

"I can see that Sakura!" he almost yelled. He was so angry. How had he managed to almost get killed by Naruto and then brought back here?

She jumped at his angry voice and then her eyes turned to ice.

"There will be a trial after your injuries are healed enough, unless Tsunade decides differently," her voice was even cold too.

Sasuke stared at her. In that moment, he finally realized that she wasn't the same Sakura he used to know. She had changed, not only in appearance, but also in strength. She didn't bow down to him anymore or take in everything he said like he was a god or something.

This was a new Sakura, a foreign one, he really didn't know very much about. Apparently, she was a healer. Her clothing was different. She had gotten rid of that red dress outfit, and traded it for a red sleeveless shirt, the same black spandex-like shorts, and a skirt. Her boots were different as well and he saw some gloves that were discarded onto the floor.

The only thing that was the same was her short pink hair. Even her eyes weren't the same. He remembered how big and vibrant they used to be. They were almost always filled with joy and passion. Now, they were empty, like she was trying to hide all the emotions that she was feeling behind a façade.

Sasuke didn't know what to make of this Sakura. She looked through his chart and then put it back down. Finally, she looked back down at him. Her eyes were now filled with determination.

"The main thing that will save you," she continued, "would have to deal with you telling us that you surrender peacefully."

She stared at him expectantly, waiting. Inside, she was screaming and wanting to hit him. She needed him to say that he did indeed surrender. He had to.

"Why would I do that?"

A growl escaped her lips and she was in front of him in an instant. She slapped him, hard. A whelp formed almost immediately after her hand left his cheek. Then it started to bruise.

"What the hell was that for?" he yelled.

She glared at him and yelled back, "It was for your idiocy!"

He just glared at her as he gripped his sore cheek. Man could she pack a punch. It was stinging like hell. Now he could definitely say that this was not the old Sakura. This was a new one, and he didn't know if he liked her very much just yet.

"You have killed your brother, so you can come home now, Sasuke. It will be hard at first, but everything will be fine. You owe us this! Just say it dammit!"

He just stared at her. He was kind of hurt (though he would never admit it) that she had dropped the Kun. She was almost begging him, and he could tell that this new Sakura did not like to beg. He also couldn't believe that she had cussed. He never thought that he would hear a curse word come out of Sakura Haruno's innocent mouth.

Of course he wanted to come back here, but he thought that after all the things he had done, he would not be able to. Yet, here was his old teammate telling him that yes he could. She was telling him that it was possible. And she was also right, he did owe them. They were true friends. They had stuck by him, even after he betrayed them and tried to kill them. They never gave up on him. They never abandoned him.

As she headed towards the door, he said, "I surrender."

He saw her freeze. The hand that was on the door handle gripped it tightly. She never turned to him and smiled or even ran up to him and hugged him like he expected. Instead, she was silent. Clearly she hadn't been expecting him to actually agree.

"Okay, I'll go and report to Tsunade," she said quickly. Then she exited out of the room, leaving him alone. Well, not completely alone because he saw the Anbu just outside his door and some out his window. There were probably some on the roof of the hospital as well.

He sighed and lay back down on the bed. Things were going to start to change very soon, and he could feel it. A warm feeling formed in his chest as it finally set in that he was home again.

"Even if it's painful, and it hurts like hell, it's better to have someone than to be completely alone."