"I love you." I can't believe I said that to him. What's wrong with me? He must think I'm a complete and total mess. Flailing around all my emotions out there, everything from being a bitch to an asshole to a basket case. No matter how he looked at it, Sasuke felt like a fool. On top of the sudden upwelling of grief ten years in the making, it was hard to even open his mouth let alone smile and act like nothing was wrong.

Fortunately, no one seemed to think he should. Sakura was her usual bossy self that night, making a healthy dinner that still managed to taste good while ordering her boys to wash up and sit and eat and then clean the kitchen area. It should have been funny. After dinner, she unwrapped his ribs for the last time. She seemed satisfied by what she saw.

"The bruises will be gone in another week, two at the most," she told him as she rubbed a sweet-smelling ointment onto his back and chest.

Her caring hurt. It hurt somewhere deep down in a place that hadn't existed before today. When Sakura abruptly reached over and pulled him to lay with his head in her lap, he couldn't stop the tears. She didn't say a word, just quietly hummed and stroked his hair. He wasn't even sure why he was crying, but it was some time before sheer exhaustion bade him stop. Seemingly able to read minds, Sakura didn't mention it. She just swiped a soft cloth over his face to dry the tear tracks.

"Take a shower," she said, squeezing his hand. "I'll make you some chamomile tea, then I think you should go to bed."

He thought he should have been annoyed by her treating him like a kid, but he could only summon gratitude. He took a fairly quick shower, just wanting to sleep for a year. When he got out, Naruto was already sitting on the bed with a mug of steaming tea that smelled wonderful. Sasuke obediently climbed under the covers and took the mug. It was only half full, and he drank it slowly. Then Naruto held him.

He said he loved me, too. I bet he didn't mean it like I do. He probably still thinks of me as a kid. A little brother. It was strange, through the ups and downs and all the tangled emotions the only thing that hadn't changed was that he loved Naruto. That as badly as he wanted to go home to his father, he wanted to stay right here in this man's arms.

o0o

It turned out there was one more person to surprise Kakashi. A woman with outrageous pink hair. He wondered what she'd done to it to make it that color. Bleached the unholy living hell out of it first? Probably. It was a good job, really, with no visible roots and no streaks. If pink hair were possible, the color would have looked perfectly natural. Her eyebrows were a soft color that even made the pink look natural. I wonder what her real color is. I can't even tell.

She was very attractive, but she had quite the attitude. She obviously ruled the roost, so to speak, and she clearly expected her boys to obey her. They did, too. Sasuke deferred to her like an obedient son, sticking fairly close to her. When they headed out for Old Faithful together, she drove and gave shotgun to the boy. She talked to him softly the whole drive, while Cameron chattered to Kakashi and his other friend, whom he simply introduced as 'Fred'. Such a fake name it was painful.

And while 'Pierre' politely replied in a friendly manner, Kakashi let his mind wander. Fred. Cameron Reid was a common name but it didn't sound fake. Fred did. It made Kakashi wonder if this Cameron were onto him. The pinkette had introduced herself as Sylvia, and she'd said it in such a way that Kakashi honestly had no idea if that was her real name or not. She was . . . interesting.

". . . don't know, Pierre?"

Quickly tuning into the conversation, Kakashi pasted on his bland smile while his mind played back what Cameron had just asked. "Hm, something about me most people don't know. Well, I collect comic books. Does that count?"

"Really?" 'Fred' said, looking mildly interested. "Which ones?"

Kakashi tried his best to look embarrassed. "It's a foolish habit. I search for rare first editions, doesn't matter which series. I've gathered some of every comic from X-Men to Ghost Rider. I never look at them. I never even take them out of their packaging. I just like having them in my collection."

Cameron laughed. "Man, I so know what you mean. I collect stamps. Fucking goofy habit, lemme tell ya. I have at least thirty-thousand coffee cans full of stamps from everywhere. Common stamps, uncommon stamps, rare stamps, stamps that aren't even real postage. It's dumb."

"Then it suits you," Sasuke shot back from the front.

Pretty Sylvia burst into laughter. Even 'Fred' looked amused. Cameron clutched at his chest.

"Ow! Straight through the heart! What would Mother say?"

"Mother approves," Sylvia said, dry as toast.

Kakashi didn't miss the honey-sweet smile Sasuke gave the young woman. Interesting. He definitely isn't with these people out of force. He obviously cares for them. So then, who are they? How did they meet?

"It's good to see you boys are so close," he said with a wistful sigh. "Most brothers don't get along. How did your parents meet?"

Cameron waved a hand, careless and nonchalant. Effortless. "My old man and his old woman hooked up. I know, I know. Weird, 'cos Eiji's Asian."

Sylvia made a rude sound. "As if I would ever 'hook up' with your oaf of a father."

"Oh ho, so you've adopted him now, have you?" Cameron said, pushing against the back of her seat like a kid wanting attention. "What do you think of that, Ei-chan?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Don't call me that, baka."

Their interactions were . . . perfect, for lack of a better word. Natural. If Kakashi had never seen Sasuke, he wouldn't believe for a second this wasn't an ordinary family who were quite close.

"Since Sylvia's my girl," Fred said from his lazy lounge, "that would make me a dad. I'm too young to be a dad."

Sylvia snorted. "Like hell I'm your girl, baka. Keep your mitts to yourself. That goes for me and my Eiji."

"It's not like I'm so non-discriminating that I'm a danger," Fred protested. "I'm a perfect gentleman at all times."

An interesting thing to say, Kakashi thought. Did this scruffy, wild-eyed man like Sasuke? He put a benign smile on his face.

Cameron chortled. "Man, say something so ambiguous and you're gonna give people the wrong idea."

Fred just shrugged one shoulder. "Or the right one."

Kakashi smiled at him. "I think that's wonderful. Youth these days are so tolerant and open-minded."

Now Cameron laughed out loud. "Damn, you sounded like such a stuffy old man just then, Pierre!"

Fred chuckled, and Sylvia grinned.

The thought rose unbidden. These are good kids. Kakashi blinked. What a thing to think. That sounded almost . . . human. He even managed to flush. "I'm sorry, I must seem like such an old man to you."

Cameron clapped him on the shoulder, jarringly hard. "Not until you feel old, man."

When they arrived at their destination and everyone got out, Cameron grabbed Sasuke's wrist and tugged him along ahead of everyone. His good cheer was obviously infectious; Sasuke had a faint - but content - smile on his pretty face. Cameron flashed a look Kakashi's way, and he nearly did a double take. What was that? Did I imagine it? It was gone so quickly he couldn't be sure, which was unlike him.

It looked . . . suspicious. Meaningful. What the hell? Does he actually suspect me of something? But what? I've played my part perfectly, haven't I? Inwardly he smiled. Perhaps therein is the problem? I played my role too well? But maybe Cameron just thought Pierre was some kind of pervert tagging along for the ride. That was a safe suspicion, as they went. Kakashi was more than capable of meeting any kind of physical threat, but he did need to make sure no one looked too closely at him when he was ready to take Sasuke.

So he drifted away from the kids while they admired the geyser. It gave him time to think as he watched the eruption of water and steam.

Surely if Sasuke was kidnapped by someone he didn't know, he wouldn't be acting so . . . happy. No, not happy I suppose. His eyes are too dark and clouded for that. But he does look content, I'm certain he is here because he wants to be. He was certain now that this had been an extraction, not a taking. And Cameron, Sylvia, and Fred obviously truly cared about their young charge. Or whatever their real names were.

How can I learn their identities?

Facial recognition? He had Cameron's face from the security feed in the airport. Yeah, he had a few contacts who ought to be able to pull that off. If they were in the US, they had to have passports. Possibly. Cameron used a credit card at the motel. I ought to be able to find the billing address. Follow the money.

Out of the corner of his eye, he watched the four youngsters without his presence. He was far enough away now to be perfectly unobtrusive, and none of them gave the slightest clue they were even impacted by him. He made sure to drift farther away to minimize it more.

Cameron definitely had a loud, boisterous personality. He lit up the entire area with his bright smile and easy laugh. He reminded Kakashi of a brightly colored balloon that would just fly away without a tether. Sylvia provided the tether with her more stoic demeanor. He suspected she was brilliant beneath her stern expression. And Fred seemed like the kind of person who would just go with the flow, wherever it flowed. They fit together well.

And Sasuke. He didn't seem like an outcast. It was subtle, but he was at the center of all their actions and interactions. They were all three paying special attention to him, it was everywhere in their body language. And he soaked it up like a cat, splitting his attention between them equally. All the while with those haunted, clouded eyes.

This is better than I thought it would be.

With a start, he realized Cameron was looking right at him. And the friendly smile was gone. There was nothing challenging in his frank stare, but they were eyes that missed nothing. He's sizing me up. Grateful he'd been staring off into space and not looking at the four youngsters, he lifted a hand with his benign smile and waved. Cameron waved but didn't return the smile.

When the kids were ready to move on, Kakashi ever-so-politely declined a ride back. He'd put them out enough, he couldn't possibly take advantage of them. Plus, he wasn't ready to leave yet. They didn't insist, and he didn't watch the car disappear over the horizon. He had a lot to think about. Pulling out his cell phone, he sent the image of Cameron Reid to one of his contacts and typed in a phone number.

"Zabuza? The file I just sent you, see if you can find out this man's identity."

"Hai. Time?"

"As soon as you can," Kakashi replied, ending the call and pocketing his phone. And in the meantime . . . Let's see if I can find out where the money goes.