Chapter 12

Shikamaru knocked softly on the door.

"Come in," Temari said, her voice faint and neutral.

"Hey," he said again, closing the door behind him.

She was lying on her right side on the big bed looking out the window. She sat up halfway, propping herself on her arms, looking back at him. "Hey yourself," she said.

He hesitated, not knowing how to proceed. "Your dress...it's beautiful."

She lay back down on her side, her back toward him, facing the window again. "Thank you. It was my mother's."

"Yeah. I thought it might be."

"Did Baki tell you?" her voice was starting to quaver.

"Yeah."

He walked over and sat down on the bed beside her. She wasn't saying 'no' yet so he put one hand on her back. He felt her tense and feared she would flinch again but she didn't, finally relaxing a little bit.

"I...I tried to wake her up," Temari started.

Shikamaru stretched out on the bed beside her, pulling her to him so that her back was against him. She turned around to bury her face against his chest.

"I tried to wake her up. Everybody left. Nobody was helping her," she was crying now, curling herself up into a ball, trying to make herself as small as possible. He wrapped her in his arms and bent his own legs so that they were completely curled together.

"I know you did, he whispered.

"I tried and tried. I kept calling Mommy, Mommy, wake up, but she wouldn't..."

Temari choked out great heaving sobs now, from somewhere deep within her, gulping for air. "I was shaking her and there was blood and it was on me and she wouldn't wake up...she wouldn't wake up!" Shikamaru was shushing her, kissing her hair where it was wet with his own tears.

"I didn't know," he whispered. "I didn't know before but I do now."

She continued to cling to him and cry until, exhausted, they fell asleep in each other's arms.

Some time later he woke up and just continued to lie there holding her until she opened her eyes, too. He trailed soft kisses on her forehead, then her eyes and both cheeks. Pulling away from her just a little he looked into her eyes wondering if he should actually kiss her. She answered that by uncurling and stretching out more fully against him, he turned his head and softly pressed his lips against her. She parted her lips a little and he slipped his tongue inside, she still tasted like tears.

He felt how lightly she was holding him and tried to be just as gentle as her when what he really wanted to was hold her as close as they had been earlier.

She broke the kiss and looked up at him, "So what are we going to do?"

"What do you want to do?"

"I guess... we're having a baby?" it came out as half a question and half a statement from her.

"I guess we're having a baby," he agreed trying to sound a little more sure of himself. "That reminds me..." he shifted up a bit so he could get the little box out of his pocket, handing it to her while they were both still lying side by side on the bed.

"What's this?" she asked opening the box.

"Apparently a family tradition," he said with a soft smile.

She looked at the ring in the box. The one he had chosen was a single round diamond but rather than a standard band, the gold swirled around both front and back. The jeweler who produced it must have been quite skilled, looked at from the front it gave the appearance that the band continued unbroken with the stone nestled in it, neither inset nor held up on prongs. He had liked the effect.

"Why?" she asked another question, not taking the ring out of the box, just looking at it.

"I think what I was hoping for was 'yes'," he said.

"You didn't ask a question."

Shikamaru sighed, "Sabaku no Temari, will you marry me?"

"Why?"

At first, he thought she was teasing him and wanted to reply in exasperation but looking into her eyes he realized... she wan't. There was still so much hurt and fear there and she was looking for a genuine answer from him, nothing flippant.

"Because," he said, choosing his words carefully, reaching a finger out to trace where her tears had been earlier, "because shinobi life is hard. And I think you're supposed to have somebody to help you get through it. And I would like for that to be you."

"Gee, Nara," she whispered, " 'life sucks - why not spend it with me?' that is literally the most unromantic thing I have ever heard," and for the first time since this whole ordeal began she was genuinely smiling. She put one hand against his cheek, running her thumb over the stubble at his chin. "And yet, at the same time, curiously romantic. I would like for that to be you, too."

He shrugged. "I'm working on it. But I asked you a question and you haven't answered."

"Yes," she replied softly.

A/N: Hope you liked the story. Reviews and comments are appreciated.