She Deserves Better

Silver's Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews. There is some minor Kakashi x Itachi in this, but I didn't feel that it merited any warnings. Anyway, we hope that you all enjoy this chapter. There is a bit of silly and sexy fluff ahead. Just not in the way you'd expect.

Chapter 28

Kakashi was almost certain that Itachi was going to burn himself out at this rate. Did he think to switch between his two projects? No, of course not. The profiler was determined to do everything himself as fast as he could. Though not as fast as he would like.

As one of the contacts helping the team track down Orochimaru, Kakashi had been allowed into Konan's home so that he could help 'advise' on the case. What that translated to, however, was that he was here to stop Itachi from going insane with the amount of work he was doing. Not only was he trying to profile a man who had never been successfully figured out, but he was also looking into a doctor at Mount Sinai who might have had something to do with Sasuke's year in captivity.

He cautiously places his hands on Itachi's shoulders. "You've been at this for almost twenty hours, Itachi, you need to take a break and get some sleep."

"No, I need to find out more about Orochimaru and Kabuto." He lightly tries to swat his lover's hands away. "The two seem to go back years." So there was a good chance that Sasuke was right.

Kabuto might actually be one of Sasuke's tormentors. Which meant, Orochimaru was likely lurking nearby. "I'll sleep when I'm done." Itachi wasn't going to stop now. Not when he was so close. "Now, be a good soldier. Fetch me some more coffee."

Kakashi sighs, removing his hands from Itachi's shoulders. "One more, then I cut you off and I'll put you to bed when you drop." He had to draw a line somewhere, and this was him drawing it in the sand. "Sasuke would never forgive you if you landed yourself in the hospital because of him."

He raises an eyebrow. Kakashi was getting strange notions in his head. "Kakashi, I am a big boy. I will decide when I need to sleep and when I've had enough coffee!" He turns his attention back to his background check on Kabuto. He was satisfied that he had reestablished the fact that Kakashi was not the boss of him! Hmpf!

Damn it. He really must be sleepy, if he was having such childish thoughts. Well no matter. Itachi was close. He'd get some sleep soon, but Kakashi didn't need to know that. He'd think he'd won or something!

"One more cup." Kakashi heads over to the coffeemaker, which had 'mysteriously' migrated over near where Itachi was working. He pours the espresso straight black into Itachi's mug, handing it to him. "And then you sleep. Don't think that I don't know how to deal with stubbornness, I did a couple of terms as a drill sergeant."

He takes the cup and drinks deeply. "Pft. What are you going to do, make me do twenty push-ups?" Itachi was most assuredly not scared of Kakashi.

Kakashi leans down to Itachi's ear, smirking. "I'm sure I could think up something better than push-ups." After all, he'd gotten fairly creative over the years at disciplining people when the time called for it. Mental warfare was just as effective as making them do back-breaking numbers of push-ups.

Itachi shivers slightly. "I'm not sure if that's a threat or a promise." He yawns though. Twenty hours without sleep was not good on the body. "Anyway, as I was saying, Kabuto has been Orochimaru's favorite bootlicker for a while..."

"And?" Kakashi nods his head, taking a seat next to Itachi. "How is it that no one pegged this guy? How is he working at Mount Sinai? And what exactly does he do for Orochimaru?"

"The man's got quite the impressive educational background and served overseas as part of a humanitarian program. Sending doctors to war zones." Itachi doubted Kabuto had done so out of the goodness of his own heart. "The time frame matches up rather neatly with when Sasuke went missing and he only came back a few weeks before Sasuke did." In theory, it was possible.

Kakashi's eyes narrow at a picture of the man. "…Sasuke's last mission involved the rescue of civilians that we didn't know were present. But something alarming that was reported and kept as classified information is that inside the base, apart from just the munitions we expected, there was also a laboratory. From what we can tell, the civilians had been held with the intent to experiment on them, but we managed to intervene before any damage was done."

"It seems at one point, Orochimaru taught at the medical school Kabuto attended and for a brief period, Kabuto was his teaching assistant." Itachi glances over the information with tired eyes. "They questioned him after Orochimaru went MIA, but they didn't find anything suspicious on him. My best bet is Kabuto was helping him run those experiments."

"That would make sense" And it left a bad taste in Kakashi's mouth. "If they were there, the two must have escaped before Sasuke set off the explosion that destroyed the base. If they hid somewhere nearby, it would have given them the perfect opportunity to extract Sasuke from the rubble while salvaging whatever they could. They might have mistaken him for a civilian who couldn't escape."

Itachi nods grimly. "It's quite possible." Though what was less clear was what they were going to do about this situation. "When Sasuke wakes up, it's likely he'll try to go after Kabuto..."

"That's assuming that he can think about Kabuto without having another attack." And that's what had Kakashi concerned. Sasuke's attack was severe enough this time to land him in the ER. What would happen the next time he had an attack?

"True. Though I'd be more worried about Sasuke doing the attacking." He shakes his head. "We need hardcore evidence to nail them. Orochimaru is one thing, he's wanted by several agencies. Kabuto's hands are clean as far as the law is concerned." Itachi sighs. "We can hardly arrest him for having a professor on the Most Wanted List and being on the same side of the globe as when Sasuke was captured."

"Then what we need is to catch Kabuto with his hands in the cookie jar." Kakashi was worried, sure, but he trusted Sasuke to at least try to keep his head on straight and not fly off the handle. If it came down to it, he would order Sasuke to stand down. "We need to catch him with Orochimaru, or better yet, catch him with a solid lead to Orochimaru. Sasuke's eyewitness testimony might not convince a court because of the trauma, but it should be more than enough to convince certain members of the FBI and CIA to perform a more…thorough investigation." Kakashi glances pointedly at Itachi. "And if he is providing information to Orochimaru, especially about military personnel…that's treason."

Itachi nods in agreement. "That's true." He sighs. "I really don't know what I would do without you." He stretches and yawns. "Well that's a good start for now."

"Work yourself into the hospital." Kakashi takes hold of Itachi's arm, putting the computer to sleep as he pulls Itachi from the couch. "Now, it's time for bed. So unless you'd like for me to go Drill Sergeant on your ass, humor me."

"I don't know. That kinda sounds tempting." Itachi rests his head on Kakashi's shoulder. "But mm well I need the sleep." He closes his eyes and begins to doze off while standing up.

Kakashi chuckles at the sight of the younger man dozing off in his arms. Slipping his arm under Itachi's legs, he sweeps the agent up into his arms and carries him off towards the guest bedrooms. "Maybe less coffee next time."


Meanwhile Hiashi figured it was best to have a discussion with his business rival. He couldn't believe that Fugaku hadn't even mentioned that his son was dating Hinata! He was going to get to the bottom of this. With that in mind, he dials Fugaku's business cell. He didn't have his home number, but this was serious business anyway!

"…Fugaku Uchiha, speaking." As stoic and aloof as ever, even when answering the personal phone meant for business.

"Good. I demand answers!" Hiashi glares at the phone as if it was the cause of all his misfortunes. "I know that we are business rivals most of the time, but I would have thought you would have the decency to inform me that your son is dating my daughter!"

Perhaps Fugaku should have held the phone further from his ear. The Hyuga was very loud. "If I thought that it was my place to interfere, I would have. However, Sasuke's decisions are his own, and he refuses intervention. Telling you would only have brought yet another wall between us." And Fugaku was getting sick of the walls.

Hiashi snorts on the other end of the line. "And you approve of this match?" He had to be out of his mind. Surely, Fugaku was smart enough to realize that Sasuke shouldn't be dating anyone! Let alone someone as innocent as his daughter. "I gave them my reluctant blessing with the usual warnings, but only because I saw the way they looked at each other."

Fugaku huffs quietly. "Whether I approve of the match or not is irrelevant. Sasuke has long since stopped respecting whether or not I approve of something. He did, after all, join the military after I told him that he would be throwing away his future. As you can see, he cares little for my opinion in what he decides to do."

"He's stubborn." Hiashi snorts again. "And arrogant. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree in that respect. Sadly, I can't blame Hinata for the attraction. He's attractive, intelligent, and he did sacrifice himself to save the lives of hundreds of people. She has always been a traditional romantic. The thought of a white knight probably appeals to her."

Fugaku wasn't too sure if he was happy about that description of his son. "It is not as though my opinion matters in this, as I know just how stubborn, prideful, and willful my son can be, but is there a point to this? Is there a reason apart from his trauma that you disapprove? His condition has improved immensely since beginning his relationship with your daughter. Our…relationship aside, I have no reason to disapprove of her dating my son, despite his vulnerable state. And according to Itachi, Sasuke offered to walk away, quite insistently. It seems that she was the one to decide that the relationship was worth pursuing." After all, he could hardly ask Sasuke that, and he wanted to know SOMETHING about his son.

"It's the fact that he's still recovering from a severe trauma mostly." Hiashi shakes his head over the phone. "That and well... they are just so different. Hinata is so shy and your son isn't. Though it does surprise me that she appears to have been the aggressor..."

"Perhaps not shy, but he's anxious, at the very least." Which was an understatement, in Fugaku's mind, if news of Sasuke's latest collapse was anything to go by. "She is helping Sasuke to heal, and he is happier with her than I have seen him in a long time. The trauma from this…incident is unlikely to ever disappear, and your daughter may not be a psychologist, but I'm sure that she knows that. Despite that, as she is willing, and downright insistent on being with my son, I am in no position to refuse either of them."

He shakes his head. "Well if the relationship lasts, I think the universe is playing some sort of joke on us." They were business rivals after all. "We'll have to merge or go after other markets. She does glow when she's next to him though. As much as it makes me anxious given his unique situation, I don't want to take that from her..."

"Yes, they are certainly rather glued to each other. Sasuke spends quite a lot of time at her house." It worried Fugaku a little, to have Sasuke out of Itachi's sight, but his son was getting stronger by the day, at least physically, so it should be alright as long as Hinata can keep him calm.

"God help us both, if he proposes." Hiashi could scarcely begin to imagine the field day that his wife would have over that. "Our wives will never let us have a moment's peace and they'll probably buy enough baby clothes to clothe a small village, if Hinata actually gets pregnant by him."

"Seeing as your daughter is a doctor, I doubt that there's much to worry about for now in terms of grandchildren. She would know her contraception well. And Sasuke likely has the presence of mind to realize that children are best left for after his life has…normalized." At least, Fugaku sure hoped he did. Sasuke was making great strides, to be sure. But Fugaku wasn't sure if he was mentally prepared for children yet. Then again, who was?

"I was thinking more long-term." Hiashi shrugs. He could call Sasuke a lot of things, but careless wasn't one of them. "I'm certain that he is not foolish enough to try to bed my daughter this early on in any case, and she is well versed in taking the necessary precautions. As I'm sure he is." He had better NOT be foolish enough to be bedding his daughter anyway!

Ah, Hiashi, ever the traditionalist. Fugaku would call it…unrealistic. "You didn't make such a fuss when Uzumaki was with your daughter."

"Well that's different." Hiashi pauses. "He's a nice boy, but not the most perceptive. I'm quite certain that they weren't intimate for at least a year after they started dating."

"And for that, I pity the poor girl." Fugaku couldn't imagine not being intimate with Mikoto for a whole year. It was inconceivable! Those six months after Sasuke had left were absolute torture. "Well, if and when they are intimate, I'm sure that Sasuke will be more than capable of pleasing her."

"It just as well. He was her first real boyfriend. Best to practice before diving into the deep end." Hiashi sputters at that next part. "You're such a deviant! I was considering the practical implications! I have no desire to discuss your son's...skill in that area!"

"Of course not." Fugaku taps his fingers on his desk impatiently. "Now, is there anything that I can actually help you with, or did you simply call to rant?" If it was the latter, then Fugaku was done with this conversation.

"This was not ranting. Ranting would be informing you that you have the most horrific taste in wine that I have ever seen." Seriously, the man was absolutely hopeless. "No. That's...essentially it though."

"…I presume that my poor taste in wine is a result of my preference for whiskey." Fugaku wasn't nearly the lightweight that Hiashi was. He could hold his liquor.

"Whatever you wish to tell yourself is fine with me." Hiashi smirks. "In any case, I have a meeting in a few minutes. So goodbye for now."

"Yes, goodbye Hiashi." Fugaku sighs dryly, rolling his eyes. He hangs up the call, staring irritably at the phone. "I can't believe the man called me for THAT."

"Mmm and I can't believe I've been standing here for five minutes behind you and you didn't notice." Mikoto giggles and Fugaku feels something soft and feathery brush against his face?

Fugaku blinks, turning to look at his wife, who has a mischievous smirk on her face. "Mikoto? What are you doing here?" He didn't get off work for another few hours.

Fortunately, her husband had a home office as well as a corporate one. "You work far too hard and you should just call it an early day." As if to illustrate her point, she sits in his lap. Apparently, the feathery object was actually a feather duster and his wife was wearing a French Maid outfit. "Don't you agree?"

Fugaku gulps. He hated it when she did that, because it made it impossible to get any work done. On the other hand, he loved it, because…well, it's not like anyone knew how Itachi had been conceived.

"Gulping wasn't exactly the reaction I was hoping for." She shakes her head in amusement. "I thought that you might like to try something new. Emiko suggested this one."

After Emiko had politely called Mikoto to inform her of the impending storm that was likely about to grip both of their houses due to their furious husbands discovering their children were dating, the two of them had struck up a friendship. And well, the woman did have a lot of good ideas. It was always the quiet ones. "Of course, if you don't like it, I can just let you get back to work."

It would be foolish to turn down a woman dressed like a maid, especially if that woman was your wife. And despite what his sons might think, Fugaku Uchiha was not a fool.


Sasuke had never felt so unrested after such a long sleep. He had no idea how long he'd slept, he just knew it had been a while. And the nightmares…they were back in full force.

Kabuto. One of the faces that haunted his nightmares.

He blinks himself half-awake, looking groggily at a familiar white ceiling. "…Again…?" Why is it that he kept ending up in the hospital? The hospital where-

He sits up in a panic, eyes darting around the room, searching only for the threat of silver hair. His body shakes, his spirit shaking just as hard at the memories of the man who helped to-

No air, can't breathe, need air!

Hinata quickly places a paper bag over his mouth. "Breathe, Sasuke." Her heart felt like it was going to cry at the sight of her lover like this. "It's okay." Which was a measure of how painful it was. Hearts couldn't actually cry.

Air, warm, thick air…Sasuke breathes in and out, over and over, feeling the bag pressed to his face. His eyes flick to the hands, connected to the arms, the shoulders, neck, and then face of his helper. Hinata… His gaze softens as he breathes more deeply with each repetition. It was Hinata, he was safe. Safe…

She sighs in relief when she notices his eyes looked less panicked. "That's better." Hinata could only hope that Itachi would be able to come up with something. "It's alright." She smiles at him and caresses his cheek. "You're safe."

He nods, lowering the bag from his face. "Thank you, Hinata…"But even though he was safe with her, Kabuto could come in here any minute and- He shakes his head. No, it wouldn't help to think like that. He needed to get out of here and fast. He couldn't be anywhere near here. "Take me home."

"Alright." She helps him up and checks him out of the hospital. "Come on. Let's get you back to Itachi's place." Hinata holds his hand reassuringly as she leads him back to her car.

Once in the car, Sasuke's nerves start to calm, calming further with ever block they make it away from that place. "…He works with you?" He couldn't believe it. Seeing Kabuto, that sadistic bastard…here of all places. THIS is why hospitals weren't safe.

"Well...not with, with me." She really needed to make sure he didn't freak out more. "Same hospital, but not the same floor." She pulls into the parking lot of a mall and takes out her cell, texting Itachi. "I'm going to give your brother a heads up and tell him to meet us at his place."

Sasuke nods, his mind drifting back into dark places. Kabuto had found him. That lunatic knew who and where he was. That could only mean one thing, in the end. Orochimaru was probably still out there, and he was coming.

"Sasuke, focus on me. Not on him." Hinata kisses his cheek before firing off the first text.

Itachi, please head to your apartment now. Sasuke is awake and I'm taking him there. ~ Hinata

I'm on my way to my car now, and I'm bringing Kakashi with me. ~ Itachi

Thank you. I'll be there in a few minutes. He's pretty shaken up. ~ Hinata

Alright, we'll meet you there. Sasuke has a key. Use it. ~ Itachi

"Itachi says you have a key." Hinata looks at Sasuke, before she drives them back to Itachi's place.

"Yeah, I do." That was a given, of course. Sasuke and Itachi usually arrived home at different hours, so they both needed keys in case the other was out. "Itachi gave it to me a while ago."

She nods as they pull up into the driveway, a few minutes later. "Good. I'd rather not stand around waiting outside for your brother to show up." Hinata smiles at him.

"Yeah…" Sasuke didn't want to risk waiting around outside either. Which is why he opened the door, only to pull Hinata inside and lock it back up again.

Hinata eeps as she was pulled inside rather suddenly. "It's okay, Sasuke." She hugs him. "Itachi is looking into it."

"It's still safer in here." Sasuke doubted that Kabuto would have followed them here, but it was never wrong to be at least a little cautious. And keeping Hinata safe was his top priority.

She snuggles against him. "I know, but it's okay. We'll figure this out."

Sasuke shakes his head. "Hinata, this is one thing you DON'T want to figure out." He warps his arms around her tighter, moving back towards the couch, his eyes on the door. He could just sense someone approaching the door.

"You can't live with not knowing forever." She nudges him into he was sitting on the couch and sits in his lap, cuddling to him as Itachi and Kakashi make their way inside.

Sasuke's nerves relax a little as his brother locks the door behind them. "Kakashi, got your Beretta on you?"

The colonel nods. "Same place as usual." What was unusual, though, was to see Sasuke so spooked. Usually, he recovered from attacks fairly well. Not this time…

Hinata cuddles closer to him. "See, he's armed and I'm sure Itachi is too." She just wanted to make him feel better, but she didn't know how.

"Good." Sasuke's hands stop trembling. He hadn't even noticed they were doing that in the first place. "Itachi…what do you know about Kabuto?" Hinata had mentioned that Itachi was looking into it, after all. And if anyone knew anything, it would be his brother.

"It seems that he attended some very high end medical schools." Itachi braces himself for impact. "And he was a teacher's assistant at one of them. More specifically, Orochimaru's." This wasn't going to be pretty. "He was part of a charity program overseas. Doctors would be sent overseas to help countries who were experiencing doctor shortages due to various tragedies. He was overseas when you were captured. The timeline lines up, but it is circumstantial at best."

Sasuke's fists clench tightly. "He was there. He was the one who-" He swallows thickly. "…who performed most of the injections. He did it while…while Orochimaru watched." At least, most of the time. "Sometimes…he took notes while-" His head started to spin again, so he clutched at Hinata for some kind of support, laying his head on her shoulder. "He was there, no doubt about it."

Hinata holds him tightly and kisses his cheek. "It's alright. You're with us now." She had always thought Kabuto was a bit pushy in his advances, but she had never thought him capable of this. Hinata was sincerely considering borrowing her father's katana and doing a little surgery. Removing Kabuto's dick without anesthesia sounded like a good start and if she just happened to forget to deal with the blood loss...well these types of things happened. "You've said enough. You don't have to talk about it anymore unless it's to convict him."

"Yeah…" Though Sasuke knew that it wasn't going to be enough to stop Kabuto from haunting him anyway. "What else did you find out?" He assumed that Itachi knew more than just Kabuto's back-story. He was more efficient than that.

"He's very close to Orochimaru. Probably his favorite lapdog." Itachi really didn't want to go into further details. "If he's around, eventually we can lure Orochimaru out."

"Because of me." Sasuke's eyes cloud with anger. "Because I was his favorite, and I'm still alive." And Orochimaru would want him back.

Hinata clutches Sasuke tightly. "We aren't going to let that happen again." She kisses his cheek. "We'll lure him out, but I'm not letting that freak touch you again."

Sasuke closes his eyes and shakes his head. "Hinata, go home." There was no way he was going to let Hinata get in the middle of this. "Or better yet, go and stay with your father. It's too dangerous to be here right now." Orochimaru may be sadistic, but Sasuke knew that he was the only one in the room aware of just how sadistic. Hinata couldn't be anywhere near when the storm hit.

"Sasuke, I love you." She sighs and holds him even tighter. "But this is one time, where I'm not going to give you what you want. I can't leave you when this is going on." Hinata looks at him with sad eyes. "I'm not going to hide in my father's home and hope that some crazy person doesn't grab you again!"

Sasuke's eyes flick to his brother. "Itachi, would you take her home? We can't get a civilian involved in this." At least he was trained to deal with difficult situations. Hinata…all she had was martial arts training. That wouldn't help against an organized abduction. And is something happened to her…Sasuke would never forgive himself.

Itachi blinks. "You want me to get in the middle of this?" Was he crazy?!

Hinata shakes her head. "Sasuke, I'm not going anywhere." This time she was going to put her foot down. It was one thing to indulge him when it came to lovemaking, it was another to just hide somewhere while he was in danger!

"I don't want you to die, dammit!" Sasuke turns her around on his lap, glaring at her. "Which is exactly what is going to happen if you get in the way! Or worse, he'll take you too, and you'll WISH you were dead." Darkness flashes in his eyes, and tears spawned by feat start to sting. "You'll try to…" Like he wanted to, so many times…just…die to stop the pain. "I just want to protect you…"

Hinata squeaks at that look and the tone in his voice. "I'm not going to die." She tries to soothe him. "Well at least not for a very long time, anyway." She knew that he was just worried about her, but there was something terrifying about the way he was looking at her now. He was like a wounded and caged animal. "It's okay. You don't have to worry about me."

She was wrong, so…so…wrong. But he couldn't get her to believe him without telling her…things that he wanted to spare her from. So, he just rests his head against her chest and sighs. "…I'm tired." It wasn't a lie, he was definitely tired. He'd gotten no restful sleep at all.

"You should get some sleep." She sighs as she caresses his cheek. "Would it really make you feel better, if stayed with my father until this is settled?"

"Yes." There's no hesitation, just the wavering note of fear. Sasuke didn't like showing fear, didn't like it at all. But he knew that being devoid of fear made you reckless, and he was not going to be reckless with Hinata's life.

Hinata didn't want to do it, but for his peace of mind she would. "Then I'll compromise." She kisses him. "I'll stay the night and make sure you actually get some sleep and then I'll stay over at my father's." She looks up at him. "I want to be held by you and know that you're alright. It's safe. There's a security system, a FBI Agent, and two military officers in this place to protect me."

Sasuke nods. He could accept that much. And maybe…he could get one last night of sleep with her beside him. "Okay, just tonight." And once Orochimaru was dealt with, maybe he'd get to see Hinata again. Assuming, of course, that nothing went wrong.