Thanks for the feedback on my last chapter. Enjoy reading.

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Gaara woke with his vision completely blocked out by a shade of pink. Blinking sleepily, he shifted and saw he had his head tucked up against Sakura's, face buried in her hair. He watched her sleep for a moment, then carefully pulled away and sat up, his back cracking.

It was cold without her pressed against him. He glanced at the bed and fixed the blanket around Sakura's legs, which had gotten kicked around and twisted. His eyes trailed up to the rest of her body, and after staring for a moment, he pulled the blanket up to cover the rest of her too. She mumbled in her sleep and clenched at the sheets, pulling them closer. Gaara watched her silently, thinking about the previous night.

He felt content. Peaceful. Lying next to Sakura, fulfilled and happy…he didn't want this morning to end. He wanted more mornings like this. He wanted every day to be like this.

Gaara lay back down and moved to her, gently pulling her closer. He wanted to feel her warm and soft body against his again.

Sakura woke to Gaara kissing her cheek. When he saw her eyes open, he pulled away and whispered, "Good morning."

She stared at him for a moment and said it back, still half asleep. He was being rather affectionate, wasn't he? As she moved to sit up, she realized neither of them had any clothes on. Memories from the previous night flooded her mind, and her face grew hot.

In one motion she snatched the blankets around her chest, sat up and moved to the farthest part of the bed from Gaara. Gaara gave her a look and said, "What is it?"

She had to look away from him, in all his bare chest glory (marked with a few scratches and what looked suspiciously like a bite mark on his shoulder, Sakura was mortified to see). She covered her face with her hands, groaning

"Sakura…?" Gaara trailed off.

"Give me a minute," she mumbled through her fingers. The previous night kept replaying in her mind, and she could not get it out of her head.

Gaara smirked. She looked adorable. "Come here," he said, moving across the mattress.

"Gaara…"

He pounced, rolling on top of her and pushing her onto the mattress. She glared up at him and Gaara just kept that smirk on his face. He kissed her neck, finding her hands and entwining their fingers.

Sakura winced and Gaara pulled away, looking at her questioningly. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"I—um," she blushed, "I'm still sore from last night."

"Sore? From wh—oh. Oh! Er, sorry." He quickly got off her, looking guilty.

"Its fine," Sakura said, tucking her hair behind her ear, still blushing. "Um…"

Gaara made a face and pulled her against his chest. "Don't let this be weird," he said, moving her into his lap. Sakura cried in protest and struggled to keep the blanket around her. Gaara scowled. "Why are being shy?"

"Because I'm embarrassed! And put some clothes on!" she ordered, trying to crawl away. Gaara wrapped an arm around her waist and held her still.

"Sakura…who was it exactly who took my clothes off?" he asked slyly. Sakura stilled, making a face. She could see their clothes strewn about on the floor, half of Gaara's inner robe on the mattress. Positive he had her attention, he leaned back against the pillows, wrapping his other arm around her. "Come on. Don't you want a quiet morning together?"

She turned to look at him. "Do you?" she asked quizzically.

He frowned at her tone of voice. "You said you were…sore. I'm not going to push it."

Sakura bit her lip, worried. "But…don't you want to…?"

He chuckled, kissing her neck. "Of course."

"Oh good," Sakura said, feeling relieved. Gaara frowned, looking questioningly at her. She hesitated, then said, "I was worried…that you might not have been…um, satisfied, I guess."

"Not satisfied?" Gaara asked, surprised. She was worried about something like that? "Sakura, how could I not be satisfied? You're everything I could ever hope for." She blushed, thinking over what he had said. It was unusual for him to be so sincere. But she wasn't about to complain. Gaara paused, then asked slowly, "…were you?"

"Was I what?"

Gaara shifted uncomfortably. He coughed and asked hurriedly, "Satisfied?"

Sakura was silently for a moment, then twisted in Gaara's arms so she could see his expression. He was watching her closely, almost nervously, but when he saw she was looking at him he tried to look less interested, as if he had asked nonchalantly. She smiled, and Gaara practically squirmed, only his pride keeping him still. "Yes," she admitted, pulling herself closer to him. "Very, very satisfied," she said as she kissed him.

Male ego now assured, Gaara grinned and relaxed, sliding his hands over her. As the kiss lengthened, Gaara broke away and whispered in her ear, "Sakura…just how sore are you, now?"

"Not…not that bad," she said quietly. As she shifted, her eyes fell on the clock. "But I really should be getting ready for work…"

"Work shmurk," Gaara grumbled as he kissed her, rolling them over.

"Gaara…the hospital…"

"It will be able to handle you being a little—or a lot—late. I, on the other hand, need you now."

Sakura couldn't help but giggle as Gaara kissed her neck. "Kyoko will kill me, you know," she warned, though she was hardly objecting as she ran her hands through his already sleep mussed hair.

"Tell her," he kissed her mouth, "that you had an emergency with the Kazekage that needed immediate attention."

"Like what? That you suddenly jumped me in bed?" Sakura forced out as he turned his attention to her ear.

"Say that I injured myself and you had to help me."

"She won't believe that, you know," Sakura argued

.

Gaara pulled away long enough to throw her a quick, irritated glance. "Sakura, in all honestly, I don't really care about that right now."

She couldn't think of anything witty to reply with.

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By the time Sakura rushed to the hospital, Kyoko was not happy. She was late, and if Kyoko was capable, Sakura was sure she would have strung her up from the ceiling and beaten her like a piñata. She looked pissed. When the inevitable question came of just what had delayed her, Sakura muttered something about the Kazekage needing her attentions, but Kyoko wasn't really paying any attention. She snapped at Sakura some more, then sent her off.

Despite getting the third degree from Kyoko, Sakura couldn't help herself from being cheery that day. Many of the nurses commented on it, and some of the patients she saw daily asked her what had made her so happy, but she just smiled and went on with her work, leaving them to wonder.

For her lunch break she had planned on slipping home and seeing if she could whip something up for her and Gaara to share. Just as she left the hospital, she was surprised to run into Subaru. He grinned as he saw her and matched her pace, asking, "I was wondering when I would get to see you. So, it's been a week, and what do you think?"

Sakura cocked her head. "Of what?"

"My offer, that I made a while ago."

"Oh, that. Right." Sakura thought about calling him a skirt chaser—after seeing him in the market with the shop girl, she had asked around her co-workers, and they had filled her in on how Subaru…got around. She was a little insulted now, after finding all that out, that he would dare ask someone of her stature such a thing. But she would be polite about this. "I'm going to have to decline. Sorry."

He frowned, but in all honestly, didn't seem to take much of a hit. "Oh? Why's that?"

Sakura smiled at him. "I mentioned you to some of the doctors and nurses at the hospital." Subaru winced. "Oh, so you remember them? Many of them seemed to already be involved with you, so I thought I shouldn't complicate your life." She waved and picked up speed, leaving Subaru standing in the middle of the street.

Deciding that she didn't want to waste time making lunch, Sakura picked up a bento for two and went to the Kazekage building, happy to see that Gaara was alone in his office. He was pleased to see her too. Pulling a chair to the side of his desk, Sakura presented the food and made Gaara even happier. They talked quietly, Sakura holding off her bubbly/embarrassed/unsure mood, thoughts constantly going back to the previous night (and earlier morning), trying to act normal. Gaara felt a somewhat similar, both content and a little sure how to continue.

Awkward feelings aside, they spent some nice, quiet time together. When Gaara asked about what the plans were for that night, Sakura reluctantly told him that Kyoko had forced her to do an all-nighter for being late that morning. Gaara frowned, feeling guilty for being the cause of that punishment, but couldn't quite say that he would of rather not had made her late.

There was a quick knock on the door and Izumi let himself in, saying, "Sir, do you want me to send Kimi—" he paused when he saw Sakura. "Miss Haruno, good afternoon. What is the reason for this visit?"

Sakura smiled at the old man. "I brought the Kazekage some lunch," she said pleasantly.

Izumi glanced at the bento between the two. "Ah, so I see. I guess Kimi doesn't have to run out and get anything, after all." He hesitated, about to ask what the two had been talking about, then decided against it. "Is there anything you need, or may I go and get myself something to eat?"

"Go ahead, Izumi," Gaara said. The old man nodded his head and let himself out.

Sakura nibbled the end of her chopsticks and watched him leave. "He didn't seem that surprised to see us together," she noted.

Gaara merely shrugged. "Sometimes he picks up things you wouldn't expect him to…and sometimes he remains completely oblivious to other things. He could list a perfect detail of a person the moment he met them, but last year he was totally shocked when Kimi gave him a gift for his birthday, having forgotten about it."

Sakura frowned, wondering if that meant Izumi didn't have a clue as to what was going on between the two of them, or if that meant he had a pretty good idea of what they were doing the previous night.

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Back in the hospital, Kyoko was still in a fuming mood. She complained about Sakura taking too long for her lunch break, and pretty much about everything else from how her feet ached, how the nurse down the hall was incompetent, and how the shade of Sakura's hair was annoying. Sakura took this all silently, watching her. When Kyoko finally stopped to take a breath, Sakura said, "Kyoko are you alright?"

Her boss paused, taking time to actually look at Sakura and push the hair out of her face. "What?"

"When was the last time you took a break? Got off your feet?"

"What are you talking about?"

Sakura hesitated. "Kyoko, aren't you nearly eight and half months pregnant? You shouldn't be working like this."

"Of course I shouldn't!" Kyoko snapped, getting worked up again. "But there isn't anyone else to handle my job, and it's not like we can close down the hospital until I have the baby."

"Kyoko…I could do it."

"Do what?" the older woman asked.

"You're job. You've trained me enough, and I follow you around all the time so I know what you do. You need to take a break for the baby. I can handle doing this."

Kyoko stared at her. "You couldn't do this."

Sakura scowled, crossing her arms. "The first time we met you said you intended to train me to take your place. Why are you saying no now?"

"Well—you're not ready," Kyoko said mechanically.

"Oh really? I've dealt with every kind of problem this hospital has thrown at me. I know how it works, and I know everyone who works here. You taught me about the business side and just about everything else. It's time for you to go home and rest, for your baby." Sakura said it sternly, glaring down her boss, determined to change her mind.

Kyoko opened her mouth, then shut it again, then opened it. She didn't seem to able to process the fact that she could take a break. The idea apparently hadn't occurred to her. "Oh. Well," was all she could manage. She looked around for a chair and sat down.

"You deserve a break," Sakura said, pushing now that she was unsure. She wasn't quite sure that she could handle the hospital all by herself without a problem, but she was sure she could muddle her way through it. "Let me handle the hospital."

After a long, drawn out argument, Kyoko finally gave up, in which itself was proof of how really tired she was. She followed Sakura around for the rest of the day, directing all problems she got to her new stand in, monitoring how Sakura handled them. Hours later, Kyoko was almost upset Sakura hadn't failed and was forced to go home on Sakura's orders. Sakura stayed late that night, having to deal with all sorts of things. She was amazed that Kyoko handled all this in her current position, and had new respect for the woman.

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In the Kazekage office, Gaara kept glancing at the clock hanging on the wall. Such an innocent object it was, and yet Gaara's urge to destroy it was mounting. He wanted to see Sakura, and he wanted to see her now. He felt a little foolish for being so impatient, but there wasn't anything he could do about it.

Izumi was careful and cautious when in the office with his boss, confused by his mood. In the morning he had been practically chipper, which was enough to alarm Izumi in the first place, but now Gaara's mood was getting darker and darker. Izumi didn't know whether he should be relieved or worried. His few attempts at conversation had been obliterated by harsh growls and glares, and the poor man was at his wits end. He had multiple cases to present to him, but he didn't dare irritated the Kazekage any further, and kept the papers against his chest.

Gaara's gaze was now flicking from the clock, to the door, back to the papers he was reviewing for a few moments, then he would look back at the door, to the clock, and so on.

Fully aware that Izumi was watching him, Gaara tried not to throw a fit. In all honestly, he didn't quite understand why he was so antsy. He couldn't focus on his work. He kept reverting back to the previous night and would totally forget what he was trying to do at that moment, then blink and realize he was in his office. His robes were annoying him. His hand was hurting from holding a pen for so long. His arm was itchy.

Knowing he had to move else he would explode, Gaara made an excuse to get up by going over to the window. It wouldn't open. Biting his cheek sourly, Gaara tried to remain calm and he pulled a litter harder.

"Kazekage—"

"What?" Gaara snapped, turning around. In the same movement he yanked at the handle and it came off in his hand. He looked down stupidly, staring at it in his palm.

"Oh dear. I'll—"

"Go home," Gaara ordered, exasperated. Izumi opened his mouth, thought better of it, and hurriedly left the room. Gaara waited until he closed the door behind him, then chucked the handle at the wastebasket. It technically went in, but with the force he threw it with, it knocked over the receptacle onto its side, the contents spilling out.

Gaara glared at the mess he had created as if it were conspiring against him and considered punting it across the room to teach the waste basket a lesson. It took him a few seconds—in which he moved into kicking range—to see that abusing a trash can wouldn't make him feel any better and just make more of a mess.

Taking a few (semi) calm breaths, Gaara strode out of the room and went to the lobby. As he walked briskly out the doors, he said over his shoulder, "Kimi, would you mind cleaning up my office? I need to go do something."

The fresh air made him feel better. The sun had set not too long ago, and he made his way to the hospital. He had to see Sakura before he was tempted to attack anything else that reminded him of a trash barrel.

The hospital was abuzz with activity, only a few people noticing the Kazekage in their midst. Those who did see him bobbled their head respectfully and hurried on their way, too busy for anything else. The woman at the reception desk told him he could probably find Sakura in the chief doctor's office.

He didn't bother knocking and let himself in, immediately spotting Sakura with her head down on the desk. Hearing him enter, she groaned and sat up, saying, "What could possibly be wrong now?"

Seeing Gaara, she stopped, blinking. Gaara closed the door behind him. "Sounds like you and me had the same kind of day." She sat there, tension uncoiling instinctively at the sight of Gaara. "What are you doing in the chief doctor's office?"

Sakura glanced around, as if not having realized where she was. "I got promoted today…"

"Kyoko promoted you?" Gaara asked.

"I promoted myself," Sakura said, a little disgruntled. "And right now I'm kicking myself in the butt for it." She pushed herself out of her chair. "No wonder Kyoko's so witchy. If one more incompetent doctor walks through that door needing my help, I'm going to throttle him. But never mind all that," Sakura sighed, sounding tired. "I'm happy you're here." She crossed the room and hugged Gaara, leaning against him.

Gaara wrapped his arms around her, chin on her head. He felt himself relaxing and closed his eyes, stroking her hair. It was strange how something like that could make him feel more tired and renewed at the same time. Humming low in his throat, he took a few steps backward to plop into a large chair, pulling Sakura into his lap.

They sat there for a while, holding each other, letting themselves unwind and relax, if only for a moment. Sakura caught herself almost falling asleep and yawned, murmuring that she should probably get back to work. Gaara responded by holding her closer and mumbling something incoherent, nearly asleep himself. Sakura tried to protest, but all that came out was another yawn. Knowing she should really tell Gaara to go home so she could do her job—or at the very least lock the door so no one walked in and saw them together, but she couldn't find the will to move. Today had really exhausted her, and being held by Gaara just felt so nice and comforting…

There was a knock on her door. Gaara growled and held Sakura tighter, but she sighed and untangled herself, calling, "Just a second!"

She got to her feet and crossed over to the door, opening it. A nurse was standing there, and when she saw Sakura she said, "There's a patient that wants to see you."

Sakura frowned. "A patient? Asked for me?"

The nurse frowned, shrugging. "She demanded to see you, personally. She won't tell us why she's here and insists you're the one who examines her."

"What's wrong with her?" Sakura asked, confused. She'd never heard of a patient specifically asking for a certain doctor before.

"Like I said, she refuses to say anything before she sees you."

Sakura sighed. "What room is she in?"

"I put her in 206."

"Alright, give me a minute and then I'll go down." Sakura closed the door. Turning to Gaara, she made an unhappy face. "I'm sorry. I have to deal with this."

"Its fine," Gaara grumbled, though to be truthful he wasn't happy about it. But he wasn't going to make Sakura feel guilty. "I should be going home anyway. I'm just happy I got to see you." He kissed her quickly and left, Sakura frowning at his back.

Was going to have a relationship like this going to be difficult, now that both of them had so important jobs? Sakura couldn't abandon the hospital to give attention to Gaara, and he certainly couldn't do that to the village. Sighing again, Sakura walked down to the room the nurse gave her and opened the door. "You wanted to see me?"

A girl a little older than Sakura looked up from the chair she was sitting on. She had long black hair and civilian clothes on. She eyed Sakura cautiously and asked, "You're the ambassador from Konoha?"

"Yes. Now why did you come to see me?" Sakura kept her impatience out of her voice, if the girl had come to the hospital, she most likely had a problem.

The girl hesitated, biting her lip. "I…I know most of the staff here, and I didn't want to have anyone who knew me to find out. Will this be kept confidential?" she asked.

Sakura furrowed her brow, beginning to get concerned. "Yes, of course. No one else needs to know what we talk about here. Tell me what's wrong."

The girl took a deep breath. "My names Akane. Akane Noda." She talked slowly. "I got out of work late last night, and it was already dark. When I was heading back to my home…I—someone attacked me."

Sakura clenched her jaw, looking at the girl's face. She meant more than attacked, didn't she?

But the girl continued. "He dragged me into an alley way and pushed me against the wall. When I tried to scream he covered my mouth. I tried to get away, but—he was just so strong I…" here the girl stopped, having to look down for a few moments. When she began again, she kept her eyes on the floor. "He kept grabbing me and touching me. I…"

Sakura sat down next to the girl. "Did he rape you?" she asked quietly.

Akane shook her head. "No. Thank god, no. A group of loud people began to come into the alley way and they spooked him. He took off. I ran in the opposite direction, not stopping when the people tried to find out what happened. When I got home—I live alone, you see—I couldn't process. I can't remember what I did before I came here."

Sakura nodded, not knowing what to say. She was furious, to know that a predator was roaming the streets she walked in every day and hadn't been caught. She also wanted to comfort the girl, but didn't know how. Even though she had been in the medical field for so long, she had never had to deal with something like this. "Akane, do you know who attacked you? You need to file a report, and did he hurt you anywhere?"

Akane shook her head, though Sakura didn't know what she was shaking her head to. She pulled up the sleeves of her shirt and the high collar down. Sakura could see bruise marks of fingers on her wrists and arms, what might be bite marks and more bruises on her neck. "I…I can't file a report. No one will believe me."

"Akane, you've got evidence right there!" Sakura said, pointing at her arms. Her fingers itched to heal them, but she knew to leave them alone so Akane had proof of what happened. "Tell me who did this to you. I promise that I'll find him and give him what he deserves."

The girl met her eyes. "It was the Kazekage. Sabaku no Gaara was the person who attacked me." Sakura stared at her, speechless. The girl went on, "That's why I was afraid to come to anyone else. He's the leader of this village, no one would dare accuse him. They're not strong enough. You're the only person I know who has a position that has enough power to go against him." Akane looked at him with big eyes, on the verge of tears. "Please, you need to understand. I need your help."

Sakura couldn't think of what to do. She knew that Gaara couldn't—wouldn't—have done something like this. She was with him all last night, there was no way. And yet the girl had bruises on her and was accusing Gaara of being her attacker. That wasn't possible. It just couldn't be.

"What do I do now?" Akane asked, desperate.

Sakura swallowed hard. This girl's distress was real, no matter what had happened. "I need to figure out what to do. Come see me tomorrow. Do you have anything you need me to take care of?" The girl shook her head. "Alright. I—I'll figure out how to handle this."

Sakura walked the girl out of the hospital, head reeling. Similar situations had happened before like this at the hospital. Civilians would come in with injuries and accuse someone of hurting them. The doctor on duty would then fill out a report, then send it to the Kazekage and let him either figure out a punishment or hand down to someone lower on the food chain to deal with it.

This wasn't that kind of situation. If there was a different kage, Sakura wouldn't be able to hand in the report—how would a kage actually punish themselves for a crime? They'd just sweep it under the rug—along with anyone involved.

But this was Gaara, and Sakura knew for a fact he wasn't the attacker. Even if she hadn't known Gaara, he was with her the entire night. There was no chance for him to sneak out, randomly attack a girl, and sneak back in for the morning.

Sakura didn't know what to do. She quickly headed for Gaara's home—she had to talk to him and work this out. Praying that he hadn't gone back to his office, Sakura let herself into the Sabaku household.

The kitchen was empty, so was the living room. Hurrying up the stairs, Sakura quickly opened the door to Gaara's bedroom.

Gaara gave a bit of a start when she strode in, letting go of the tie on his robe. "Sakura…? How did you get in?"

"We need to talk, now."

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Big problems for Gaara are coming up, and the story should be wrapping up soon. I was unsure about adding the end part to this chapter, but it's too big of a thing to start a new chapter with. A little out of left field, I know…