Thank you all my reviewers, I luff you mucho!

…

BAM BAM BAM "Kaie, Let me in!" Sakura shrieked, pounding on the door. "I know you're in there, and I know something is wrong! Shikamaru even asked me to check on you."

"What does he care?"

"He does! Just let me in and we can talk like normal people, the neighbors are staring!"

"What? Forget I gave you a key?" Kaie walked across the dining room.

Soon the door swung open and Sakura rushed in, dumping a bag on the table. "Oh, honey. You look horrible!"

"Gee, thanks, Sakura."

"Well, don't worry, I am here to fix that!" She announced brightly.

Kaie rolled her eyes, then walked to the kitchen for some water.

"Would you rather have it here or at my house? Or, actually I think the Sunas are here this week, at least Temari…. Maybe Kankuro?" Sakura mused.

"What are you talking about?" Kaie returned from the kitchen.

"Your party! Duh!" Kaie saw a pile of candy, paper plates, napkins and wrapping paper sitting on her table.

"Why do I have a party?"

"It's your birthday!"

"It is?" Kaie wandered to the calendar on her wall. Her birthday was definitely that Saturday. "I don't want a party."

"Oh, come on!"

"I'm serious, Sakura. I know your parties, and the last one didn't turn out to great for me."

"But-"

"No. If you guys wanna do something, next week we can have a girl's night and go out for sushi or something."

"So, it's kind of a party anyways."

"I guess, but no loud music or boys or sexy games." Kaie fixed her friend with her stare.

"But I got all this stuff…"

"I don't care, you will use it for your next party."

"Well, can we do it the weekend after instead of this weekend, when you feel better?"

Kaie didn't look at her friend. "Come on, Sakura."

"You know, he really did call me to check that you were okay. He said you were ignoring his calls and not answering the door."

"Well, he probably just wanted to make sure I wasn't sick again so he would get in trouble with Tsunade."

"That's not true and you know it." Sakura had left her convincing, slightly-whining tone behind and now spoke to her friend seriously, her voice soothing but firm. "You know, he really doesn't like Temari. And after you said something, he even said that to her so she wouldn't think something was going on that wasn't."

"It doesn't matter, he never liked me in the first place. I'm too bothersome for him."

"Don't you see? That's exactly what he needs! If he didn't have a girl to keep him busy and on his toes, he would spend all day everyday watching clouds and taking naps, occasionally with a snack from Choji. I talked to Ino, and she has to worry about her teammates almost as much as I do. She is afraid Choji will get sick because of his weight, and she is worried about Shikamaru. I mean, he is a genius, but he has no motivation. He had motivation from Asuma, but that has dwindled, and he doesn't do much besides what he has to." Sakura had finished her monologue and stood staring at Kaie, who was examining the wood of her table.

"Come on, Sakura. Just leave me alone."

"Fine. I will leave, but you are coming to lunch with us Saturday. You haven't seen Hinata for ages, and Tenten says she has a cute present for you. Probably a pink kunai, but still. Everyone is excited to get together, and celebrate. If you are not ready to go by noon, we will use all of our combined skills to get you out of bed, done up, and out to lunch. And you will enjoy it." Sakura's glare bore into Kaie's brain, and she finally nodded.

"Okay. Noon? Saturday?"

"Yes. Just us girls." Sakura smiled, then moved to her friend, hugging her tightly. "Get better, okay? I know it hurts, but you can do this. You have been through much worse, and we are all here for you. I'll even bring chocolate and strawberry pocky for you." She smiled again, really hoping Kaie would feel better.

"Okay, I will see you then. Actually, wannna go for a walk tomorrow? I've eaten like, fifteen boxes of cookies in the past two days, and I feel gross."

"Sure, sounds like fun. How does ten sound? In the park?"

"Awesome. Thank you, Sakura."

"No problem." Sakura left, and Kaie slumped into a chair. It was time she got herself together. She needed to find something to do with herself, and sitting around wasn't helping. She suddenly got up and headed into her room. She was going to paint. She hadn't done it in forever and she missed it. Pulling out an old picture of the mountains around her grandparent's farm, she decided on watercolors and filled a jar with water. She opened her window wide and set her small tray table on the fire escape outside it, then sat, her feet dangling out of the window. She tuned her stereo to a quick-paced pop channel, and set to work.

…

An hour later, Kaie leaned back to stretch her back. She looked around and realized that the sky was beginning to darken. She took a deep breath and decided to head in, and maybe go to sleep. She still felt exhausted.

Soon, everything was set on the table in a corner, readily available for the next day. Kaie pulled her pants off and yanked her bra off before sliding between the sheets, ready for some cheesy reality TV and sleep.

Another hour and Kaie was sleeping almost peacefully, colorful light flashing across her face.

…

The next morning, Kaie woke up a bit early. She had a while until she had to leave to meet Sakura, so she decided to make blueberry muffins. Trying to stick to the healthy idea, she added protein powder, and switched some of the butter for applesauce.

Soon enough, there were six large fluffy muffins sitting on the counter, wafting their deliciousness through the apartment. Kaie entered the kitchen, wearing a t-shirt and shorts and carrying her necessities. She pushed her hair back with a headband and twisted her Konoha headband around her wrist, deciding that a walk in the park counted as training. She chose the two biggest muffins and shoved them into a paper bag, before heading out, her keys jingling happily as she exited the building.

…

"Hey, I brought breakfast!"

Sakura turned around, hearing her friend. "Oh! Good, I grabbed some onigiri, but I am starving!" she grabbed the muffin held out to her and hungrily tore a chunk off, shoving it into her mouth. She gave Kaie an amazed look and after swallowing, said "Oh my god, did you make these?"

"Yea, extra protein and low fat."

"Really? They're amazing!"

"Oh, thanks!" Kaie responded, brightening. The girls began their walk, quietly watching the people and plants and devouring the yummy muffins.

"So, how are things going down at the tower?" Kaie asked.

Sakura turned her head, where she could see the top of the Hokage's tower from their path. "Not too bad… Training, as usual, and lots of studying. There is so much I don't know still!" Sakura's eyes had lit up as she talked about learning more medical ninjutsu and this made Kaie smile. She was glad to see that her friend had something that she was passionate about. Kaie felt the same, but not at the moment. At the moment all she wanted was to lay in bed and cuddle. For days. But she couldn't, so she just had to focus on her training.

As their walk continued, the girls ended up at the hospital, and decided to do a bit of volunteer work, especially so Sakura could show Kaie a new technique. The girls were working on broken bones when a nurse on call came in. "Girls, you know it's getting a bit late. You can go home."

They looked up, at each other, then out of the window to see the sky darkening, the sun low against the horizon. "Oh, well we probably should." Sakura said, standing and stretching. "That should be good in a couple weeks, but make sure you let the nurses know if anything bothers you." She directed the man in the bed they had been working on. "Come on Kaie, let's grab some takoyaki then head home."

…

Kaie was once again alone in her apartment. Maybe I should get a cat or something… She tossed her stuff onto the table by her bed, then jumped in the shower, washing off and beginning her preparations for her lunch date tomorrow.

Once she had returned to the rest of the house, she felt a warm breeze through the open window and stood, enjoying the brush of air past her skin. She smiled, then moved to brush her hair and hop into bed. As she fell asleep, she made a mental list of things she needed to do tomorrow. Call mom… Clean a bit… I should probably make cookies as a thank-you for the girls…. And I should probably train some, but I don't feel lik….

…

Kaie woke to a soft tinkling outside her window. The breeze was blowing the sweet smell of the flowers and grass through the wind chime and into her open window. She smiled and stretched, then cuddled back into the blankets. She was relaxed and happy she didn't have to do much. She flipped the blankets over, allowing the cool air to wash over her and she sat up, before heading to the bathroom.

Kaie returned and decided to lay in bed a bit longer. She smiled, then flopped down happily. She grabbed a pillow and squeezed it tightly, her mind drifting to ideas for lunch.

After a few episodes on TV, she decided to get up and get ready. She pulled out her favorite jeans and a nice babydoll tank top. She stripped down quickly and hopped in the shower.

After lathering her hair with fresh-smelling shampoo and washing her body, she got out and attended to her teeth. Feeling minty-fresh, she wrapped a towel around her and exited to her bedroom. She hummed happily as she found some lacy panties and a soft bra, before brushing her hair quickly and grabbing some leftover onigiri to munch on.

Returning, she decided to paint her toes, so she pulled out a pretty deep green. She swiped it across her toenails and made her fingernails shiny with some clear enamel. As she waited for it to dry, she contemplated her look for the day, and decided to add a knit cocoon shrug and strappy sandals.

Finally, it was almost time to head out, and Kaie slid into her jeans, wiggling until they were in just the right spot. She slid a belt through the loops and flipped the tank over her head. Worried about being late, she dashed to the bathroom and brushed dark mascara across her eyelashes. Finishing with some red lip stain and sunglasses, she was ready to go. She slid into her shoes, buckled them quickly and grabbed her keys, sweater and wallet as she headed out.

…

It's been a while…. Kind of a boring chapter, but if you review and tell me you want it, I will get the next juiciness out tomorrow or Friday :D