A/N: Wow, right? It's like I've been replaced with someone productive. Just kidding, I'm avoiding real work. But honestly, I am so touched by the people who have stuck around with this story and took the time to review. I can't tell you how much it means to me to hear how happy you are that this story is picking up again. You guys are gems.

Chapter 10

She woke with a groan.

Her head was pounding, her mouth was dry and foul tasting, and her right arm was numb from sleeping on it funny. Squeezing her eyes shut, she rolled over on the bed, pressing her face into her pillow, and tried to piece together her night.

She had kissed Deidara. Like a sex starved maniac she had made out with her (hot) patient, (repress, repress! she internally shrieked to herself) and in order to reclaim her dignity as a doctor, had committed B&E by searching for clues in Sasuke's apartment like an unwanted member of Scooby Doo. So, a day of great decision making all around; truly.

As the fogginess of sleep began to fade, her heart sank. Those papers, the signatures. She'd have to look at the pictures she took after this hangover (that's what this was, right?) went away, but what she knew was enough for now. She could have stopped it. Those bruises, those breaks, those cuts, she could have prevented it all. She could have kept Deidara safe. Beneath that bravado, his cocky arrogance, he was her responsibility. If only he had just told her. If only Sasuke wasn't willing to hurt so many on his path to his brother. If only she had just done her job and got him to talk. If only she had just stayed that blank doctor, drained him of any information he had pertaining to Konoha. If only she hadn't she hadn't grown a stupid crush, just like she had done with Sasuke and it all blowing up in her face. So many if onlys.

Wincing at the pain of her headache and the depth of her mistakes, Sakura took a deep breath, willing it to go away.

Wait…

The pillow beneath her smelled of mildew and cheap detergent.

Sakura felt herself stiffen and goosebumps raise across her body.

She was not in her bed.

Oh kami, she remembered. She had been so angry at Deidara, so livid that he had been (quite obviously) willing to sleep with her but not tell her anything important, that she had gone to his cell in the middle of the night to chew him out.

She had interrupted his escape attempt, and she could only assume that the huge man that had clued into her presence, and then hit her in the back of the head, causing this head pounding, shitty tasting mouth scenario was Akatsuki as well.

Well, shit.

Okay, Sakura, keep yourself calm. You've already survived going to the second spot. You're already doing about 80% better than most people on murder shows. Just be casual, be cool. You're Fonzie. Ugh, note to self, don't let Naruto pick Pulp Fiction again for movie night. Alright, alright, let's think this through. First thing's first, you've got to know where you are.

Trying to be clever about the whole situation and stay, well, alive, Sakura kept her eyes shut and tried to even out her breath. Still feigning sleep, she laid still on the cheap, threadbare sheets, and listened out for any noise that would clue her in if there were others around.

There was a chance it would have gone better if she could hear over the incessant pounding in her ears. She was too angry for this shit.

Hiding her irate growl with a sham sleepy groan, Sakura rolled over onto her right side and left her hair fall over her face.

She peered through her lashes between the curtain of her hair, hoping to get her bearings.

She had turned herself to face the back wall of the room. It looked like she was in a shit motel room. The wall the bed was pressed against was lined in graying wallpaper, and the ceiling was what she prayed was water stained. The single window in the room was curtained off by a pair of dusty, faded red drapes. They couldn't hold her hostage somewhere nicer?

Alright, let's flip to the other side and get a layout of that doorway, girlfriend.

With another put upon yawn (she was a pretty good actress, she thought smugly), Sakura lazily rolled to her left side, hopeful to see if the coast was clear and if she could figure her way out.

"Aiieee!"

Sakura found herself splayed on the floor, tangled in the sheets she had frantically clutched after tumbling off of the bed.

She ripped the duvet covering her from off her head and blew a piece of hair out of her face.

Okay, so it was a single bed. How was she supposed to know?

Well, there goes my subterfuge.

Fortunately for Sakura, there actually was no one in the room to see her fall, or more importantly, to murder her.

Dusting herself off, she rose from the floor with put upon dignity, and wandered around the tiny, grungy room.

She had to get out of here, and quick, before anyone showed up. Before, the Akatuski found out she was awake.

Before she could get her hands on Deidara and strangle him to death. Preferably with his own stupid, blonde hair.

Grumbling to herself about how she should have apprenticed under Ibiki so she could have exacted her revenge as creatively and painfully as possible, Sakura kicked aside the sheets and looked into the cupboards and bathroom, eager to find her purse and phone.

After five minutes of fruitless searching, Sakura stood in the middle of the now disheveled room and groaned. She cast an exasperated glance at the water stained ceiling. They had taken her things. She was stranded in a nasty motel room, no idea where she was, with no money and no way to call for help.

If Sakura could spit fire, she was pretty sure the whole building would be engulfed in flames at this point.

Sakura shot an uneasy glance to the door, and grimaced. She wasn't willing to see what was waiting for her outside that door. Steeling herself, Sakura tiptoed her way back to the curtained window, and scrambling onto the bed, she cautiously pulled aside the fabric to look outside and check her options.

Besides seeing that the window was in shocking need of a cleaning, (the window pane was absolutely disgraceful) Sakura could see they were in some sort of industrial area. The nearby buildings were coated in graffiti, some of the windows were broken out, and a tire robbed car propped up on cement blocks sat outside the motel. None of it held any clues if she was still in Fire Country.

Venturing a glance downwards, Sakura gave an unhappy sniff; she was on the third floor. She knew she didn't have a choice but to clamber her way down and hope for the best, but that didn't mean she had to like it.

The window gave a rusty screech as she jarred it open, and after wiping the dust and grime on her hands onto her jeans, Sakura stuck her head out into the foggy morning air. Whoa, Sakura thought, that's high. She gulped. That's really high.

As she swung a leg over the windowsill and looked down at the garbage-strewn alley below, Sakura brushed off the tingle of fear that numbed her fingers. "Alright," Sakura whispered to herself, glancing back at the window, "You've got this. You are a strong, fearless woman who needs to Spiderman, no Spiderwoman her way out of this window. Let's be rational here. Cons: You're not a fan of heights, and you don't exactly have a gym membership. Pro: You're less likely to die falling out this window than you are sticking around." Sakura groaned, and foisted the rest of her body out of the window.

Not much of a choice.

A rush of air escaped her lungs as her stomach hit the wall of the scuzzy motel, fingers clutching the edge of the window above her.

Um, now what?

So, she didn't think this through. It wasn't like she had much of a chance to strategize.

Still dangling for the window, Sakura turned her head to look for any clues to how to get down to the street and the hell out of this nightmare. The only thing she spotted that she had any hope of reaching was a second floor balcony. It was tiny, and there was a chipped railing wrapped around it, but if she could reach it, she could drop down to the pavement with nothing more than a bruised heel. She just had to do it without falling on her face.

How hard can it be? Just let go and drop.

Her hands stayed gripped to the window.

You're such a baby! Do it! Just take your fingers off this window you're hanging from and drop…10 feet down to that… itty balcony. She shook her head, to dispel her doubts. Do it! Do it!

Hyped up by her own mediocre pep-talk, Sakura squeezed her eyes shut and went to push off from the window. Her fingers let go from the window and…

"What the hell?!"

Sakura was bewildered when, rather than falling to safety, the collar of her shirt bunched around her neck. However, she was livid when she was lifted back up into the window and tossed into the room.

Acting on instant only, Sakura began hissing like a wet cat when she was rolled onto the cigarette burned carpet. Grabbing the closest thing to her, she bust open the mini fridge nearby and began hurling the mini bottles of liquor at her (re)captor.

"Ow! Stop! Ow! Kami, stop it!"

The absolutely hulking blue (she would think on that later) man held his hands before him defensively as tiny bottles shattered around him. He seemed to come back from whatever shock he was in at the situation after a moment, and picking up the bottles that had survived Sakura's barrage, began lobbing them back at her.

"You must chill!" He bellowed, every word accentuated by a small bottle of Fireball or Captain Morgan thrown at her.

This continued until they were out of mini fridge treats to fling at each other. They were paused in stalemate, smashed bottles and nut assortments littering the carpet.

Breathing heavily, and eyeing each other with suspicion, the man grumbled first.

"It's illegal to carry pepper spray in Fire Country, you know."

Whuh?

Stunned that that was what he decided to focus on, Sakura stayed crouched by the mini fridge, mouth agape.

The man before her seemed to sulk as he leant back against the graying walls, brushing bits of glass from his shirt. Now that he had mentioned it, his eyes did look a bit swollen and red…

Sakura smirked. He noticed, and frowned.

"Is that really our biggest concern in this whole situation?" She gritted out, stiffly.

He paused, one of his hands moved to scratch the back of his head, as if in thought. His own smirk graced his lips. "Well, maybe not your biggest concern, huh?"

It was Sakura's turn to scowl.

"Okay!" He rubbed his hands as if to get himself back on task, "now that you're not snarling, Princess, it's time to lay down some ground rules." He moved his cloak casually, showing off the gun holstered to his hip. "Now, our main rule, the golden rule if you will, no escaping. I'll give you a pass for earlier as we weren't able to have our little chat yet, but if you try that shit again you will be shot." He sauntered over to the window and with a crash that made Sakura start, slammed the window shut. "Another rule, no making a scene. I've heard you're one of those smart types, so I'm sure you can figure out that in an area like this, no one's going to come running to help you. Other than that, be good and respect your elders, ergo me, Kisame, and we shouldn't have to kill you just yet, Princess." He pursed his lips and glanced at the mess before him. "Also, you're paying for the mini bar, that shit's a rip off."

"What!?" Sakura exclaimed with indignation. "I'm not funding my own abduction!"

The flash of the gun shut her up; mostly. "This is going to ruin my credit." She mumbled.

"As you're too feisty for your own good, not that I don't appreciate that in a woman, mind you," (Sakura scrunched her nose in distaste) "I don't trust you to sit quietly on your own here. So, since you can't play nice…" He moved towards the doctor, and ignoring her squawking and flailing, zip tied her hands together in front of her.

"Is this really necessary?" Sakura whined from the floor, feeling as trussed up as a turkey. He shot her a look that clearly stated yes, and pointed back down to the revolver. "Yup, yup!" She nodded quickly, "You're right! Totally necessary!"

Kisame stood back up, and towered over her. Sakura craned her neck to watch him stuff the pack of zip-ties back into the pocket of his flannel, wander over to the foot of the bed and gesture towards the sheets. "Now I'm taking these since I can't trust you to not tie them together and Rapunzel your way out of here.."

Sakura gave an indignant scoff, still sat on the carpet, "Pfft! I wouldn't have done that."

Damn, how did he know?

After ripping off the blankets with what Sakura determined to be unnecessary flourish, they both gaped at the bare mattress.

"Gross." They exclaimed in unison, glancing at each other in confirmation that yes, there was a huge ochre stain spanning the expanse of the bed.

"Hah." Kisame grinned. "You were laying on that. Sucks to be you."

Sakura went to kick him, but remembering the gun, decided rather smartly to simply grumble her disgust instead.

"Alright," Kisame hummed brightly, "Looks like we're all set here." He placed his hands on his hips and shot Sakura a disproving glance. "You know, Princess, I just came in here to get you for breakfast, but after this, you can consider yourself uninvited."

He walked to the motel door, and leaning against it, cast her one last, disappointed look.

"We were going to get breakfast burritos."

She had found a relatively clean towel to lay on, which was really the only good news in her entire situation.

She lay on the towel, hands on her stomach, staring up at the crumbly ceiling.

If she just had more regular sex she wouldn't be in this mess. Or bought a better vibrator. Ugh, why hadn't she just spent the money to get a really amazing vibrator?

A knock on the door interrupted her depressed musings.

She glared at the doorway. "I'm a damn kidnap victim, why the hell are you bothering to knock?!"

The door opened, and Deidara stood slouched in the entry way. His prison uniform was gone and he stood there awkwardly with one hand shoved in the pocket of his jeans and the other still in his sling. His hair was damp and partially up, and the one blue eye visible was looking at anything but her.

Sakura scrambled up from the towel, hair a mess and eyes wide.

They remained in silence. Deidara hovering in the doorway and Sakura dumbfounded on that shabby towel in yesterday's clothes.

When Sakura made no move to scream or throw things, Deidara softly shut the door behind him and took a step into the room. The stillness remained.

"Hey…" Deidara hedged, taking pseudo relaxed steps towards the woman.

"No." Sakura whispered.

"What?"

"No." Her voice was firmer. "No. You don't get to just come in here. No." Sakura could feel her anger begin to simmer and bubble. "Get out of here."

When he made no move to leave, she unsteadily got up to her feet and practically snarled. "Get the fuck out of here, Deidara!"

The aura of sheepishness that had surrounded him went, and he angrily ran his free hand through his hair. "You think this is how I wanted it to go, yeah? Why the fuck do you think I'd want that?"

"Oh, don't give me that shit. You used me! You used me, Deidara!" Sakura took her zip-tied hands to his chest and shoved him. "I know about Sasuke, I know about how you just let it happen since apparently you were waiting for your little friends to spring you out of jail, and I know that you used me! And I let you! Fuck me, I let you!"

"Sakura! What did you think? I was just going to stay and rot in jail? I was never going to stay, yeah." Deidara snapped.

"That's not the problem! Are you even listening?" She said scathingly. "You turned me into a joke! Now I'm tied up in this filthy motel, with an escaped patient and the Akatsuki because, because…" She couldn't say it. " And I can't even say it's all your fault because I did this too and I'm just, so, so fucking angry! And embarrassed." Sakura groaned and hid her face. "I'm so embarrassed."

Deidara rubbed his temple and leaned back against the wall, deflated. "I didn't expect, well, what happened with you."

Sakura watched him with hard, bright eyes as he scrubbed his face, the bags under his eyes obvious even in her anger.

She took a shuddering breath. "This may have just been a way to pass the time for you, but this is my life. And now I don't even know if I'm going to live through this."

"Sakura," He reached out towards her.

The fire flared again, "Don't touch me!

His eyes narrowed, "I'm doing the best I can, alright? You think Kisame wanted to keep you alive? No, I made sure you were kept alive so I can figure this whole fucking mess out! Why do you have to be so fucking difficult?"

Sakura spun around, incensed. "Oh, please, Deidara, I'm so sorry I'm being so difficult after being knocked out, kidnapped, and tied up! This must be stressful for you. I'm being selfish, aren't I?"

"What do you want me say? Do you want me to say I'm sorry? Okay, yeah? I wasn't going to stay your little patient, I'm not sorry for getting out of there, and I'm not sorry I'm in Akatsuki but I am sorry you're involved in this now! I'm not going to let you get hurt, you've got to let me figure something out, yeah!"

He saw the teary brightness to her eyes and his hands itched to reach out for her.

"Sakura…"

"I'm done talking about this." She ground out, her tone dangerously quiet. "Get out."

He wasn't great at taking orders, but he nodded his head and turned around, walking back to the door. With one last unsure glance towards Sakura, he closed the door behind him.

Sakura stood in that empty room, and tried not to cry.

A/N: Ohhh, drama! So, it's bit shorter than normal (try around 1,000 words), but it felt like a natural cut off point. I had this chapter planned out to include more, but then it would have been insanely long, and knowing me, your children could have graduated college by the time I published it.