Warning:

Train wreck chapter, proceed with caution!

Kakashi had fallen asleep on his couch not long after he had put out his joint. He had forgotten how nice it was to be on a different level from the world and his problems. How he had gone this long, he would never know. It had to have been about a year and a half since the last time he had been high. Asuma had made the right call, it was a good idea. He had fallen asleep feeling wonderfully numb to anything and it was the best gift anyone could have given him.

It was one of the very few times that he hadn't had a nightmare or something similar.

It was the first time in a long time, since his night with Rin, that he had a decent night of sleep.

It ended rather harshly, unfortunately. He had been startled awake by a rather vicious knock on his door.

He jumped up from the couch to answer the door and nearly tripped over Asuma who had apparently fallen asleep on the floor. He still had the remote clutched in his hand and the bag of weed laying above his head.

"Kakashi! Open up!" He heard his intruder yell from the opposite side of the door as he advanced towards it.

He heard Asuma jump awake behind him. He scrambled for his half empty bag of weed and stuff it in his Jounin vest just in case it was an ANBU at the door. ANBU would rat him out to his father, the third Hokage, even though that the Third was technically relieved of his duties.

Kakashi swung the door open after quickly taking the chain lock off the door. He could tell from the turbulent knocks on the door that something was wrong. He knew that someone was sick or dying: or he had an important impossible mission that would wind up with him sick or dying.

Either way, it wasn't good.

He swung the door open and saw an Inuzuka clan member. He stood about two inches taller than Kakashi and he was about his age. Kakashi remembered seeing him at the Thanksgiving celebration last year that Rin had dragged him to. She hadn't wanted him to be alone on Thanksgiving. He was unsettled by the worried look on his face. His fears were about to be confirmed. Something definitely happened to Rin or they wouldn't have sent an Inuzuka.

"You have to come to the Hospital. " He said weakly and with tears in his eyes. You could tell that he was worried sick. He was not giving any hope to Kakashi's mind eye about what was going on.

"What's wrong?" Kakashi asked, trying to keep his cool, and not doing so well as his throat tightened and his voice slightly cracked.

"It's Rin. Come on you have to hurry. She's in the Hospital." He said motioning towards the hospital, desperate for Kakashi to move.

Asuma knew he wasn't the smartest guy in the world. He didn't need to be to know what was going through Kakashi's mind. He knew that Kakashi was thinking about what happened to his other team mate, and was thinking he was going to lose Rin too. He grimaced, thinking about what would happen if something happened to Rin.

Asuma had watched Kakashi slowly fall apart over the past year.

Rin was the last thing holding him together, if anything happened to her it was over for Kakashi.

Asuma pointed towards the door and the bewildered Inuzuka. "You won't lose her, Kakashi." He reassured. "Go on. Everything'll be okay."

He put his vest on and followed the Inuzuka to the Hospital.

"What happened?" Kakashi asked as they ran to the Hospital at full speed.

"Lord Arashi-, found Rin passed out in her apartment-, that's all I know."

"Great."


Four hours later, Kakashi was by Rin's bedside.

He'd arrived ten minutes after the Inuzuka had been sent for him. He'd been with her for four hours so far, but it felt like he had been there for weeks.

She was in the hospital, sound asleep in the room they admitted her to. It was one that was close to the nurse station so someone could hear her if she needed someone, which was a good thing all things considered.

She'd been admitted for the night so they could give her stable fluids for dehydration, but that wasn't the worst of it.

She looked so weak and helpless lying there in the hospital bed. It hurt more seeing her like that than if he had been hospitalized himself. He gently picked her hand up, being very careful of the needle in the back of it as cradled it in his. She wasn't even awake yet, and part of him hoped she wouldn't. It would be easier for her that way.

He slumped down in his chair, resting his elbows on the side of her bed thinking about what had happened. The news that she would receive would kill her. It broke something in Kakashi's heart when he had heard the news. He was so afraid that some one had attacked her, that someone had harmed her, but the real diagnosis wasn't much better.

She lost the baby. She was two weeks pregnant.

He couldn't help but feel like this was his fault. The fight that he provoked probably caused the stress that caused her to lose the baby. The hardest part would be to tell her, not accepting it.

He's already made the decision that he would be the one to do it. He didn't want to tell her, but he would because he was the one she trusted. He was her team mate. Team mates did anything for one another. Even tell them things that would break their hearts. He'd be there for her this time, just like she would be for him. This time, he wouldn't mess up. He'd do right by her for once in the entire time they had known each other.

Things were different now.

He rubbed his eyes, still feeling slightly high from last night as he thought about the words he would use to tell her.

He was mentally bracing himself when he was interrupted. Arashi-Sensei came into the room.

He was in his Hokage robes, like he was here on official business.

He looked at Kakashi with a sad look.

It felt like he was seeing a stranger he once knew but couldn't remember. This was the first time Kakashi ever really remembered seeing his Sensei since the accident six months ago. Kakashi didn't know what to feel. He wanted to be angry. Arashi-Sensei had only come to check on him once when he was admitted to the Hospital. Once.

He didn't come and check on him at all when he was discharged. He didn't bother to see him when he was having trouble with infections. He didn't even check on him when he had missed the Jounin meetings six times.

It was like he didn't care.

Kakashi wanted so desperately to be angry. He felt like he deserved to be, but he wasn't.

"Hello, Kakashi." The older man greeted with the warm smile he'd once taken comfort in.

"Sensei." Kakashi said with a nod of his head.

"How's she doin'?" He asked gently, his eyes softening as he shifted his gaze from Kakashi to Rin.

"Still no change." He said. "I know that this is gonna sound really bad, but I wish she could just stay asleep." He confessed. "This will kill her. How am I supposed to tell her that-?" Kakashi couldn't bring himself to finish.

"You don't, Kakashi." He said, rather vaguely, looking down at the floor.

"What?" He asked, looking at the older man for some kind of explanation.

"I will. I'll do it." He explained.

"No. Sensei-

"I'll do it, Kakashi. End of the discussion." He said, his voice very stern and strong- commanding..

"You can't just come in here and command me after abandoning us for six and a half months!" He said, keeping his voice low. "I don't care if you are Hokage."

"You can't just roll a joint any time you feel like it either." He said with a slight smirk, pulling up a chair on the other side of the bed.

Kakashi went silent after that. He didn't have a come back for that one, and his head was starting to hurt. He didn't want to fight and didn't have the energy to go tooth and nail anyway.

"Kakashi, I'm sorry." He apologized. "I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you and Rin after Obito died. I guess, I just felt like I didn't deserve to be around you guys. I'm your Sensei. No matter what you say, what happened to Obito was my fault. It was my fault you were hurt and it's my fault what's happened to Rin." He suddenly cracked a smile, the smile people get when they remember an old time they would die to get back. "When you were placed in my team three years ago it was my place to protect you. That is the one thing a Sensei is supposed to do no matter what. Protect their pupils." He said, swallowing before he continued. "-and sometimes, I think that because I couldn't protect you guys I wonder how the hell I'm supposed to protect this Village." He confessed to his student.

The apology didn't make Kakashi feel any better. It just revealed that his Sensei wasn't invincible like he had once thought. When he was thirteen, Kakashi thought that he had met the closest thing to God that he ever was going to. He was taught by the Ero-Sennin, taught by the Third Hokage. He was at the top of his class at everything. He had an outstanding amount of Chakra and an incredible amount of speed. He was what every shinobi hoped to be.

He'd become one the Hokage one of the greatest Villages ever. He was the greatest man Kakashi ever knew. He was the strongest man Kakashi ever knew.

But here he sat before Kakashi, pouring his heart out.

"I forgive you, Sensei. For everything." He said, swallowing to keep the tears from falling.

"I appreciate that, Kakashi." He said, giving him a soft smile.

"What happened to Rin?" He asked, needing a solid answer. The Medical staff only knew what had happened to her physically." She lost the baby.", wasn't a satisfying answer for Kakashi. "You were there, weren't you?"

The Hokage gave a small nod before answering. "Well, we were talking, and-

He had come back with their hot tea, and sat at the foot of her bed. They talked about the puppy that he had seen asleep in the corner in the living room. He had just thought how much better he felt than before. The tension he had felt on the way over here about the way she would react had been relieved. She was talking about a patient that had made her a daisy chain for luck when she had doubled over in pain,. She dropped her mug of tea on the floor. The glass shattered all over the floor and the tea went everywhere.

It almost made him jump, Rin very rarely dropped things. She treated everything like medical supplies, like they were expensive and hard to replace.

"Rin? Are you okay?" He asked. Her face was distorted with pain. He sat his mug down and touched her arm, trying to get her attention so she would tell him what was wrong.

"It hurts, Sensei. My stomach..." She told him as she wrapped her arms around it tightly.

"Okay, it's okay." He soothed. When he glanced down, he saw the blood seeping into the blankets right as Rin let out a cry of pain. "Okay, come on, let's go to the Hospital." He said as he wrapped her in a blanket that hadn't been bled on and picked her up, instantly transporting them to the Hospital.

"Next thing I know, they're telling me that Rin had a miscarriage and she's dehydrated. Asked me to sign the papers to keep her overnight for stable fluids." He told Kakashi, finishing his story.

There was a knock on the door and Tsume Inuzuka stepped in the room. "Lord Hokage, could I speak with you for a minute?" She asked respectfully.

"Of course." He said, getting up. He put a hand on Kakashi's shoulder, causing him to look up at his teacher. "Come and get me if she wakes up while I'm gone."

Kakashi nodded and watched the two leave before turning his attention back towards Rin.

"I'm sure you've heard the news." Arashi started.

"Yes." She replied before exhaling deeply. "How did this happen? Did she know she was pregnant?"

"No." Arashi told her.

"How do you know?" She asked, curiously, folding her arms across her chest.

"Because when I found her she was already sick, and I asked her and she said she didn't know." He explained to her.

"How did I let this happen to her?" She wondered aloud. "Her mother trusted me with her and I actually agreed to someone using her for a surrogate." She shook her head. "What was I thinking?"

"This isn't your fault." He told her, catching her elbow and making her turn around to face him. "This was an accident." He told her sternly, causing her to nod slightly in agreement with the leader of her beloved Village. "We need to consider the possibility that she may not be able to have children." He started. "And if that's true than we're going to have to try something else with the Nakaue's, or go ahead and accept the Cold War."

"I know." Tsume agreed, resting her head in her hands.

As if she knew their conversation was about her, Rin began to stir. The movement under his hand caught Kakashi off guard and he jumped a little.

He looked up and saw her eyes open.

"Kakashi," She said softly with a smile.

"Hey, Rin." He said as calmly as he could. He'd never been happier to see someone awake before until he remembered why she was here. The guilt settled in his gut. He tried to find a way to voice what had happened, but couldn't find the words.

He decided that maybe Arashi-Sensei would be better suited to do this than him. He couldn't tell her what happened, he felt guilty thinking about it and apparently cast in his eye too.

"What's wrong?" She asked softly, cocking her head to the side.

"How do you feel?" He asked, changing the subject.

"A little sore." She exhaled slowly. "Actually, a lot sore." She said, bringing a hand up to rest on her stomach, grimacing under just her hands weight. "Why am I in the Hospital?" She asked after looking around the white sterile room. 'Kashi, what happened?" She asked, before looking around the room. "Where's 'Kamaru?"

She truly was an Inuzuka, lying in the hospital with an I.V. in her arm and she was worried about her dog.

"He's still at your house, " Kakashi said. "Lady Inuzuka and Arashi-Sensei are here. I'm gonna go get them."

"Hand me my chart will you? I wanna see it. "She asked him, pointing at the clip board the was stationed in a blue hanging basket on the back of the door.

He shook his head. "No, Rin." He told her hoarsely. "You don't need to see it."

She didn't understand why he wouldn't go ahead and tell her what had happened. He opened the door and peaked his head outside and saw Sensei and Lady Inuzuka talking to the left.

He cleared his throat for their attention. "Rin's awake." He informed.

They rushed in and Lady Inuzuka went straight to Rin's bedside. "Hey, baby." She greeted with a grateful smile. "How do you feel?" She asked cautiously, putting a hand to Rin's forehead and checking her temperature.

"I'm fine. I'm fine." She reassured in a weak voice. "Tsume, would you go to my place and feed 'Kamaru? He needs to be fed. There's an extra key in the potted plant next to the door."

"I'll make sure someone does it, honey. There's something you need to know first." She said before clearing her throat.

"What?" She asked. Her eyes saddening at the look in Tsume's eye. "What's wrong?" She asked again.

"Rin. You lost the baby." She told her in the voice people used for children, gently petting her hair.

"The." She stopped abruptly, realizing what Tsume was talking about. Her shaking fingers came up to cover her mouth, her eyes wielding tears "Oh my god..." She whispered.

Kakashi felt his heart jump in his chest when she suddenly started sobbing uncontrollably. Tsume tried to comfort her, but to no avail. Arashi-Sensei just took a step closer to her, trying to come up with any comforting words. It wasn't working, and having the two most important adults in her life fuss over her wasn't helping her.

Kakashi wormed his way in between the adults and wrapped his arms around her slowly, hugging her tight. She held on to him for dear life like she was afraid he would let go of her. Kakashi exhaled slowly as he tightened his grip on her. Kakashi felt his heart ache in his chest for his team mate. For his friend and for anything else she was to him.

As much of what Kakashi had been through in the past year, he hadn't literally lost a part of himself or a part of someone else.

"It's okay. Rin, It's okay." He tried to soothe.

"No it's not. It's not okay." She said as another sob swelled in her chest. "It's not okay.."

Kakashi tightened his grip on her, bringing her even closer to him if it was possible. He wanted to cry with her. He wouldn't because she needed him to just hold her and not cry even though it killed him to see her like this. So weak and fragile. Everything that she wasn't.

Tsume stood up and kissed her on the head, running her fingers through Rin's hair. "I'm gonna go ahead and go feed Akamaru, honey. I'll be back soon. I love you."

"Thanks." She mumbled against Kakashi's chest. "Love you too."

Arashi-Sensei ran a hand up her arm, rubbing her arm comfortingly. "I'm sorry, Rin." He whispered. He then shifted his gaze to Kakashi before saying he'd go get them something to drink, mainly to leave the two alone for a moment. Kakashi seemed to be the only thing that was able to bring her any real comfort.

Rin's throat was raw and her stomach was cramping like mad. Her head spun with the news. She was pregnant. Was. She lost the baby. She lost Collin Nakaue's child. She lost her child. The lesser was the most upsetting part. She erupted into a coughing fit as sorrow threatened to drown her. She just wanted to cry until she couldn't breathe anymore. She could hear Kakashi's heart beating like a wild bird caught in a cage as he tried to comfort her any way possible.

Suddenly, Kakashi shifted above her and she thought he was pulling away. She launched herself at him, pulling him closer than before. "No! Kakashi, please don't leave." She pleaded. "Don' leave."

"I'm not." He whispered. "I'm not going any where. I swear. I promise."

In that exact moment, the two of them were a team again. The team they were before any of this happened. The team that won against any and all odds. The team that couldn't be separated.

For the moment, they were Team Arashi again, and that was something they could both take comfort in.


A man stopped Arashi in the hall way as he was returning with their drinks.

"Lord Hokage." He said, putting a hand out to stop the older man.

"Yes?"

He noted how similar he looked to Obito. It was amazing really. He could pass for an Uchiha. He had the same color of raven black hair and the same dark intelligent eyes. He was taller than Obito by at least a foot, but that was because of age. He was tanner than Obito had ever hoped to be. It was then that he spotted his Village head band, tied snugly against his upper arm. He was from the Land of Fire, the only Land of Fire shinobi in Konoha right now where the Nakaue's.

This was Collin Nakaue. The man he and Tsume had sold Rin to.

"Do you know what room Rin is in? The medics won't tell me anything, I'm not family."

"She's a little distraught right now, Mr. Nakaue. She's been through a lot." He told him.

"What happened?" He asked, worriedly.

"She lost the baby." He informed.

"Can I see her?" He asked after a minute, undoubtedly getting his head around the news. He seemed saddened by the news. It brought comfort to Arashi. He wanted this man to feel at least a fraction of what Rin felt.

Arashi thought before he spoke. She had been too upset when he had left for any company, let alone the man by who the child had been fathered. She would upset herself further if she saw him right now and that was the last thing he wanted for his student. To ask this of her would be too much, like it had been her whole life. He would set things right from now on.

He exhaled before answering. "I'm sorry. No. Not right now. You're the last thing she needs."


Things will start looking up from here, I swear!

Thanks to those who reviewed my last chapter!