Chapter 37

Naruto

I've been nervous all morning. So nervous, I wanted to do nothing but throw up and I did that twice last night when everyone went to bed … though I gladly left that out when Itachi got up and found me laying down on the couch. He looked pissed, but he laid off when I told him I just couldn't sleep because I was too excited to see Gaara for the first time since Saturday.

It was true, I was excited, but the nervousness is what got me. It always did.

In fact, I was so nervous, that I only ate an extremely small breakfast and I thought Sasuke was wanting to get me admitted into the hospital, but I was too glad that he accepted my lame excuse of nerves.

But in all honesty, I wanted to beat Sasuke over the head with a wrench when he joked about Gaara's condition with that look that spelled death before Matatabi pushed me into the room and Gaara got up off the bed and jumped into my arms.

I think I was crying, I don't know, but I was already kissing Gaara intimately when I realized that I was. And to be truthful, I didn't care if someone was watching the two of us make out in the room. It's my birthday … and I want Gaara as a birthday present.

"Okay boys, lets break it up." Matatabi said and Gaara pulled back a moment later, and I couldn't help but smirk when I saw his face was a deep shade of tomato.

"Best birthday present ever." I smirked.

"And I have more good news …"Tsunade's voice rang into the room. "When you leave, Naruto, you'll be leaving that chair here and taking a pair of crutches."

"Yay!" I squealed out as I thrust both fists into the air.

This was going to be an awesome birthday!

"Sasuke, don't piss him off either." Tsunade smirked at Sasuke. And that only let me see that I had the right to hit Sasuke in the head with them when he pissed me off. Perfect.

"Yea, teme." I said, a smirk planted on my face and I watched Sasuke frown and I couldn't help but make my smirk wider, until I remembered I wanted to talk to Tsunade. "Hey, baa-chan, may I talk to you in the hallway?" I asked.

"Sure, Naruto." Tsunade nodded and she stepped out into the hallway as Matatabi pulled me out of the room and towards the direction Tsunade went.

Deep inside my heart, I was dreading my talk with her as we walked by the nurses station and towards the general direction of her office … and knew that she was also wanting to talk to me about something. And I couldn't help but feel that it was nothing good.

Nothing good came out of talking to a damn doctor in their office.

"So Naruto, how old are you today?" Matatabi asked as we climbed into the elevators behind Tsunade, who was strangely quiet.

"I'm officially fifteen." I smiled as I looked up at her, then over to Tsunade who looked busy reading something. I guess she's looking over another patients records or something. But her silence is really starting to pull my last nerve. She's never quiet.

"And why are you so quiet baa-chan?" I asked, crossing my arms as the elevator doors opened and we got off so the people waiting could get on.

"I'm just in deep thought right now." She said, and it made me scowl at her.

It was mere minutes before we got to Tsunade's office and she held the door open as Matatabi pushed me through the doors and Tsunade followed, walking to the other side of her desk and sat down before I was even locked in front of her desk and Matatabi left to go and do her rounds back on Gaara's floor. I sighed heavily before Tsunade even started talking.

"So, Naruto, you wanted to talk to me?" She said.

"Oooh, no, you're talking first, baa-chan." I scowled and glared at her. "I'll hear what you have to say then I'll think about how I'm going to ask you my question."

"Okay then." She said, and she didn't even sound upset. "First, Gaara's ready to go home today. He had a really bad cold, which is why the fever came back as bad as it did. You of all people know he has a weak immune system so you can just imagine what a cold does to him. And second, you're almost healed, shockingly enough."

"Wait, almost healed?"

"Yes, but you're going to be on crutches for the next three weeks." She said as she sat back in her chair. "And I'd like it if you kept wearing that back brace until then too."

"Sure thing baa-chan." I smiled.

" Just take your time getting used to using the rest of your body again, you hear? I don't want you back in the hospital because of your back again." She threatened, and I nodded. I don't even want to be back in here.

"Yes ma'am." I said, now biting my lip as I realized now it was my turn to talk to her.

"And you wanted to talk to me?" She asked as if she was reminding me of what I said earlier.

"I know I said that." I hissed, now making the well known movements of hugging myself with my left arm and started biting my right thumb, my gaze fixed on the surface of her desk, but I could see her face changing from one thing to another and lean forward on her desk a little bit.

"It's okay to talk to me, Naruto." She said.

"I know." I nodded and took a deep breath before I continued speaking. "Do you have the recordings of our last 'counseling session'?"

"No, Ibiki has those, why?" She asked, and her face hardened as she scrunched her brows together. She looked like she's getting pissed.

"I need them." I said, and I was ready for her to start yelling.

"Why?" She asked, her voice surprisingly low.

"I'm having Sasuke listen to them." I said, and now … she was pissed.

"Like fucking hell he's listening to those tapes Naruto!" She yelled as she shot up to her feet. "He's not ready to hear anything you said during that session!"

"Yes he is!" I yelled back. "And if I recall, it's my damn choice if he gets to listen to them or not."

"Fine, whatever. Do what you want. Don't come crying to me if he suddenly avoids you." Tsunade continued to yell before she sat back down in her chair and picked up the phone.

I, for one, know Sasuke wouldn't avoid me if he heard those tapes. More than anything, he'd just be extremely pissed off, but that's about it.

"Ibiki's going to be here in twenty minutes with those tapes. You're lucky he's agreeing." Tsunade snapped.

"Baa-chan … put together the pieces." I said, calmly. "Eight incidents … all of them happening after I turned seven … and they were all once a damn fucking year."

"That's why you want Sasuke to know?" She sighed heavily a few minutes later. If it was even possible, she even looked more pissed off than ever.

"Yes, now may I please go back to Gaara's room?" I whined.

"Yes, I'll take you to the floor, but you'll have to wheel yourself down to his room. I'm needed in surgery in thirty minutes." She nodded as she got up and wheeled me backwards out of her office and down the hall.

Honestly, I should feel like a great weight has been lifted off of my shoulders, but I don't feel like anything's changed. I guess we'll have to wait and see what Sasuke says after he listens to those tapes … I'm dreading the moment he's seeking me out once he's done, though.

"Hey, Naruto, is everything okay?" Gaara asked me as I wheeled my chair into his room and Sasuke helped me the rest of the way by grabbing the arm and pulled me in. I was thankful for that. I didn't realize how exhausting it is to work the chair by yourself other than around the house. I suddenly felt sorry for Itachi and Sasuke.

"Nothing, just wondering what I wanna do today other than visit you." I told Gaara, winking at him and I laughed inwardly when he blushed again.

"What did Tsunade want to talk to you about?" Sasuke asked, and I really wished he hadn't.

"Well, first off, Gaara … if you don't start taking better care of yourself, I'm making a huge ass rubber bubble and you're going to start living in it." I said, crossing my arms as I looked over at Gaara with a raised eyebrow.

"It's that time of year." He whined.

"You weren't this bad last year." I told him.

"I know!"

"And what else did she say?" Sasuke asked.

"I'm on crutches for three weeks." I said, now looking at Sasuke with a wide smirk.

Sasuke scoffed and turned his head. I could tell he was conflicted with the idea of me being on crutches for that long. There was good and bad news in the new change; No more wheelchair, but also if you piss me off I can hit you with them. I looked forward to using the later.

"And I'm going back to school." I added, though we never talked about it.

"She says you're being home schooled." Sasuke said.

"I don't care, I'm going back to school Monday and none of you will be able to stop me." I said, sticking my tongue out at everyone in the room. "Oh, and Gaara gets to go home today." I added, almost forgetting to say something about that.

"That's great." Gaara smiled. "When can I leave?"

"After lunch." I said quickly, trying my damned best not to bite my thumb and look as calm as I possibly could. "And I promised Sasuke I'd eat lunch with him so I could talk to him about some things." I added, looking over at Gaara to see if he'd be pissed off, and I was glad he wasn't.

"And I'm shocked, Naruto." Gaara said, and I could feel the panic inside me begin to rise. "You finally started listening to Tsunade."

I sighed inwardly with relief that he didn't ask what I was going to talk to Sasuke about.

"Yea, I realized that I'd be able to do the shit I want if I listened … compared to when I tried to go to work." I laughed, though by the end I was mumbling so low that not everyone could hear me.

"Yea, I remember, that's the whole reason you needed back surgery." Sasuke scoffed.

I crossed my arms and glared at him. He knew how to be an ass at the wrong damn time.

"So, how's your car coming along Temari?" Sasuke asked, and I rose an eyebrow in confusion.

"I need a new transmission." She scoffed, but it didn't seem to bother her in the slightest.

"Doesn't seem to be too bad of a job. When you getting your car back?" Sasuke continued asking.

"Next week some time."

"Wait, when did your car break down?" Gaara asked.

"Tuesday night when Kankuro and I got home … Thank God we just pulled up the drive way when it stalled." Temari sighed and sat down in the now empty chair as Kankuro got up, leaving the room because his phone had started ringing.

"You're lucky." Gaara said, crossing his arms as he sat on the side of the bed. Honestly, I wished he had real clothes on right now … Especially … right now.

Shifting uneasily in my wheelchair, I crossed my knees, praying that my pants wouldn't start getting tighter, but also praying that no one noticed my uneasiness as I bit my bottom lip.

"Hey, Naruto, want us to leave you and Gaara alone until lunch?" Sasuke asked, and the heat in the room suddenly got much hotter and I lowered my head so my face was hidden in the shadows of my hair. I couldn't help it as I started chewing on the said lip I was biting until I broke skin a little bit.

"Shut up Sasuke." I heard Gaara hiss, and when I took a peek at Gaara, his face was redder than the color of his hair.

"There will be no sex in my hospital." Tsunade's voice rang into the room, scaring the shit out of me and I stiffened even more.

"Ibiki is here." Tsunade sighed when she saw how tense I was.

"You needed me Naruto?" Ibiki's voice said behind me and I suddenly felt smaller … because all eyes in the room were now on me.

"Hallway." I mumbled, and right on que, I was pulled back into the hallway, watching Gaara glaring at me as I left. Great, I was going to hear it from him later.

"I want the tapes from Tuesday." I said once the chair stopped moving and Tsunade and Ibiki were in front of me. My hands going straight out in front of me as my head dropped once again and I waited patiently, hoping they wouldn't make this a tug of war game.

"I can't just give them to you Naruto." Ibiki sighed and crossed his arms. "What if you're going to throw them away?"

"I'm having Sasuke-teme hear them. I can't voice what I told you guys again, I've tried these last two days and I just can't … so he needs them so he knows what I told you." I explained, now on the verge of tears, not knowing I was shaking so much until someone grabbed my hands and held them together.

"Have Sasuke listen to them with Ibiki, you should go with Gaara for a few hours so those two can talk." Tsunade suggested softly.

"Sasuke won't listen to them without me." I sniffed. When did I start crying?

"Yes he will." Tsunade said.

"I'm sure he will Naruto, Sasuke isn't like that." Ibiki said.

"He'll hate me." I cried after a few moments of silence and wished that this whole conversation was over with. No, I wish for this whole day to be over with already, actually.

"He won't hate you Naruto." Tsunade said before I felt her arms wrap around me in a hug. "If you're thinking so negative about this, then wait to tell him."

"No, I can't." I said, shaking my head before I buried my face in her shoulder. "I'm also telling Gaara another day."

"You tell him and I'm not going to protect your father if he has a mental breakdown." Tsunade warned as she pulled back, her hands resting on my shoulders as I felt her look at me. My head was down so I couldn't make eye contact with either her or Ibiki.

"I know." I nodded.

"How long were you going to wait?" Tsunade sighed.

"In a week or so, before my father comes home." I said, nodding as I wiped my face dry with my right arm.

"Alright." Tsunade sighed again, standing up and crossing her arms. I didn't have to look up to know she was thinking about something.

"Okay, Sasuke can listen to the tapes alone … with Ibiki close by." Tsunade said a few moments later as she dropped her arms, placing her hands on her hips.

"I'm fine with that." Ibiki nodded when I finally looked up at them.

"How about we let him listen to those tapes tomorrow too?" Tsunade suggested. "When it's not your birthday."

"That … sounds like a better idea, I guess." I shrugged. Honestly I didn't really care when he listened to them, the ending result was going to be the same; yelling and arguing.

"Well, lets get back to the room then, they're probably wondering if I'm making you walk without those crutches I promised to give you when you leave." Tsunade sighed, walking around my chair and started wheeling me back into Gaara's room who, thankfully, was dressed in every day atire. And his father was there.

When in the hell did he get here?

"Okay, personally, Raidon, I'm going to say that Naruto spends the day with Gaara until around five … ish." Tsunade said, and I was shocked that he nodded in agreement. "And Sasuke, you have a choice, talk with Ibiki and I when Naruto leaves or tomorrow in Itachi's office." She added.

"Tomorrow." Sasuke answered without hesitation and I sighed heavily with relief on a breath that I had been holding since we came back into the room. I was too glad, sort of, that he decided to wait.

"Now that that's settled, I'm going to get going now." Ibiki said, "See you tomorrow Sasuke." And he was gone, leaving the room deadly quiet, making me shift uneasily in the wheelchair once again.

"That reminds me, Gaara, Naruto's been put on anti-depressants as of Wednesday this past week." Tsunade said, and I glared at her. He did not need to know about that now of all times.

"I know … Sasuke told me." Gaara sighed, surprising me that he's not beyond pissed, but I redirected my glare towards Sasuke, who seems to have sank in the chair he was in.

Yea, he knew he pissed me off.

"Well, Gaara, since you're ready to go, you can go on ahead and take your leave. See Matatabi for your two prescriptions that I filled out for you and Naruto, she also has your crutches." Tsunade said as she clapped her hands together lightly. "And I have to go, I'm running late for a surgery that was supposed to have started five minutes ago." And she was off.

I looked over at Sasuke, my gave completely softened because I was no longer pissed off at him, and sighed heavily. I was prepared for him to be pissed off with me tomorrow.

"See you later Sasuke." I said.

"Yea, see ya." He said as he waved, leaving before Gaara even had his shoes on all the way.

Did I piss him off already?

"Lets go Naruto, I have a lot of things planned that we are going to do today." Gaara said happily as he grabbed my chair and pushed me out of the room and down the hall before I could say anything.

"Hey, guys, Temari is going to be your driver, I have some work I need to get done." Gaara's dad said behind us, and I was extra glad that he wasn't going to be there.

"Okay." I nodded, today was going to be a great day … I think.