The thoughts of apprehensive and nervousness pounded against the insides of his skull like a rabid do trying desperately to escape from a chained up prison, snapping and biting.

He sighed, and almost jumped when his wife placed a tender hand on his shoulder, the other on the back of his seat in the car. He sighed, and placed his hand on top of hers, his smilel still not returning,however.

"Come on, Dad," Cara pleaded," Can we see him already? I finally get to meet someone cool! I mean, I never thought I'd know anyone-"

"Cara!" Snapped Benji, after getting a glance at his father."You're not helping!"

Ella unbuckled herself from her car seat, and crawled up to the front of the car, and plopped herself on her father's lap.

"Daddy can we go in, please? I wanna meet my brother!" she smiled her perfect toddler smile, and when he nodded she shrieked with joy, and threw her hands around her fathers chest, trying to hug the big man.He smiled when she had to stretch her arms, and he kissed her on top of the head.

"Alright, let's go meet him..." he sighed, opening the door.

"YAY!" squealed Ella, holding her hand up for a hihfive, which her father wholeheartedly returned.

The walk seemed to stretch on forever from the parking lot to the front door. When they reached the door, Marie and Russel found themselves trembling, and wishing that they were walking back to their car.

When they reached the front door, the aging security officer smiled a smile that seemed to have been battered with age, and he opened the door with a smooth fluid motion.

"The whole Institute is expecting you. this is the best gossip they've had in years. But, don't worry. You and Gaara will do fine!" he half barked after them, his voice delightfully gruff. Ella giggled at the sound of his voice, marveling at how it seemed to jump and skip through the air like a ball on a court.

They stopped at the receptionist's desk, and when she tried to ignore them and continue talking to her boyfriend, Cara amazed her parents.

"Put the damn phone down! And go get the doctors now! We are here to see someone, and if I don't see that doctor in two minutes, I swear to all that is holy- I will get you FIRED!" The other families in the waiting room clapped, for they knew what a pain the receptionist could be.

Cara blushed suddenly, realizing she what she had done. Her mother and father stared at her, and then her mother hugged her to her.

"Honey, I have never loved you more!" she laughed, hugging her daughter tightly.

The room was bright, a little to bright for Gaara's taste; his eyes were used to a slightly darker climate.But nonetheless, he painted on, looking as normal as any of the Institute's patients can. He sighed every so often, ever so softly.

He was waiting, and waiting, and even waiting some more. They were a little late, he checked the rectangular digital clock on the wall, five minutes and twenty six seconds. Now it was five minutes and twenty six, twenty-seven, and so on and so on. He wrenched his gaze from the wall, knowing that it would only make it seem longer. The other patient in the room giggled to herself, and Gaara glanced over at her.

"Look, doesn't he look funny?" she laughed, brushing her hair back childishly with a palm from her face. The way she was so easily amused seemed to bother Gaara slighlty, but he said nothing of it.

"You know, if you..." He trailed off as he worked on the doll, his paint brush moiving slowly across the smooth wooden face . They were oddly disfigured, the features on the face. Whoever painted them had not been going for a look suited to a child. But then what would use expect of toys made in a mental institution...

This was the arts and crafts room, and it was for a specific purpose to make arts, crafts, and things of like sorts. Many a thing were made here, and many a thing ruined. But, also, there was many a thing repaired and recycled.

The face was not sad anymore, but smiling with dignity. It looked almost real, as if the wood would begin to creak and moan, and play a game or two with her.

She smiled happily, and hugged the doll to her, thanking him, after a moment pulling it away when she realized that it might smudge.

"Yes, I think it might be best to wait for a little while before you play with little Lucy again."

"How did you know I like to call her Lucy?" she asked with childlike surprised delight.

"Oh, I just know!" he smiled, and then he laughed."She certainly looks like a Lucy!"

He was smiling and telling her this when they walked in, their coats still wrapped snugly around them, as if they were still freezing.

But in all reality it was quite warm, a little too warm. Gaara felt the blush creeping into his neck and face as he realized who they were, and he quickly put his head down, embarrassed. He knew why they'd come, Sakura had explained it to him, and he was ashamed. He didn't tell her, but he felt as though he'd done something wrong or they wouldn't have given him, given him away.

The blush had burned its way onto the back of his neck, and it was visible where his hair didn't cover it, which was most of it.

He drew with concentration, his eyes following the features, and slowly he began to forget them. A voice over his shoulder startled him out of his calm.

"That's really good!" Her voice was matured, but not completely. He turned to look, to properly examine her for longer than the one second previous look. Her hair was red on her shoulders, long, and her eyes took him aback. They were blue like his, and he realized that they were unsettling. He wondered absently if this was how people felt when they looked at him.

He nodded, slowly, a little late to reply. He breathed out through his nose, one of the calming techniques Tsunade had taught him. Gaara looked across the table, his eyes searching their features. He was slightly taken aback, he hadn't expected them to look like this. They were beautiful, not the kind of people you'd think would just leave their child behind.

"Hello, Gaara." whispered the woman nervously, her hands were resting heavily on the table, the knuckles white as she unconsciously wrung her hands.

"Mm?" he sighed as he pulled a new paper to the table. He sharpened his charcoal pencil then glanced back up as his mother spoke again.

"We're so sorry." She didn't reach for his hands, and she was glad he didn't. He wondered if Sakura had told her he didn't like being touched.

"Mhm." he glanced back down, watching carefully as his hand swerved and jerked; ebbed and flowed. They watched, and then withdrew. He could see out of the corner of his eyes as they turned to look at each other, almost sad with pity and despair.

"It's not so bad in here, you know." He saw loftily, without glancing up.

"Oh..." Breathed his mother. His voice was much different from his father's edgy almost rough voice. His was smooth, with only the rough undertones of manliness. "Our baby boy grew all up without us!"

Gaara didn't know what to say so he said nothing. He looked up at her now, and then back down at his paper. He was fealing increasingly guilty, but then he remembered something.

"Oh, Russel, how could he?"

"What?" asked Gaara, suddenly angered. "How could I? How could you? You gave me up, threw me out like yesterday's trash, and then never bothered to check up on me!" he slammed the pencil down on the table, his face taut,blinking his eyes furiously, as he struggled not to cry, not in front of them. They were traitors.

"We never wanted to give you up!" retorted his mother vehemanently.

"HA! Well that didn't stop you did it?" spat Gaara angrilly." You left me and never looked back! I bet you'd forgotten all about me!"

"My father signed you off, not me! Not a day went by I didn't think about you, didn't pray for you! I loved you Gaara! I never came after you because they told me you died!" she was standing now, her tiny frame trembling with the unshed tears.

Gaara sank back down into his chair, his anger fading like sand in a small hourglass. It drifted away, from the deep pit of repressed feelings, and then simply dissapated and then disapeared all together. He was free of one thing at least...

"So you never even... Wanted to?" He asked slowly, looking her earnesly in the eyes, not bothering to stop the single tear that teetered on the brim of his eyelid.

"No, honey! I wanted you everyday!" And then she took him in her arms, and his father hugged him as well. Gaara sat almost numbly, slowly absorbing the moment. It was what he had always wanted, wasn't it?

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Sakura stepped back from the two-way glass, away from Gaara and his family, and smiled at the other doctors.

"Now that went well didn't it?"

Author's Note- How did you like it?? If you would like to see the Americanized version of the song, then just pm me and ask me for the link! XD I think you might like it! I need reviews on that one to get people to read it so it would help. ALSO happy or sad ending?? I need help! I am planning for sad, but could be swayed if enough people vote for it. SO VOTE OR BE FORGOTTEN! Well Read it and review it , and enjoy it and love it! It's my B-Day! Where are those chaps?? COME ON! PLEASE?? a bunch of my friends told mah happy birthday, what about you guys?

Lauren/Mellokai