So, how is he, now?"

It'd been three whole hours since they'd arrived at the Hatake Hospital and the man with the red hair still hadn't awoken. It bothered her to no end as her mind filled with what if's. Maybe the doctors found it weird that a woman he barely even knew hitched a ride in the back of the ambulance to see to it that he'd be okay, but it was in her nature.
The doctor before her gave her a stern look before replying. "His condition is stable, however we can't be sure that he will awake any time soon." Miki let out a sigh. Why didn't this guy just give those robbers what they'd wanted when they asked? If he had, he wouldn't have even been in this situation.

"If you want, you can go home and rest. We'll call you if anything changes."

Miki shook her head at the silver haired doctors offer. She really wanted him to wake up. She wouldn't be able to sleep if he didn't.
He gave her a look of sympathy and then let out a brief sigh. "Alright. I'll keep you updated.", he said before turning to go back into the room to check on Mr. Sabaku. He then stopped in his tracks and turned back around to face her. A genuine smile spread across his face, once again capturing Miki's attention.

"Thank you."

Miki furrowed her eyebrows in question "Thank you..?" The doctor subtly nodded. "Thank you for staying with this man." He looked at her with admiration, mesmerized by the loyalty she displayed. "His charts indicate that he has no immediate family and I'm sure this means the world to him. It's hard to find women who will actually stay by their husband's side no matter what the situation and vice versa." The doctor had seen so many scenario's before in which the spouse couldn't deal with the stress and financial costs that came with the aid of their significant other. It was always hard telling a battered patient that their loved one who they had put so much faith in had walked out on them. It was always hard seeing the turmoil in their eyes and hearing their sobs of emotional pain. He bowed to her before going on his way.
Miki once again found herself confused at the doctor's words. If she was not mistaken, the doctor thought that she was his wife. How he could have come to that conclusion, she had no idea. It was clearly a mistake to be corrected. Maybe that's the reason they hadn't pushed so hard for her to go wait in the waiting room. They must have all thought that she was his wife..
Just as she was thinking what to tell the doctor, it hit her. The doctor had also said he had no immediate family which meant that.. he was alone. He had nobody. No family to talk to, or celebrate the holidays with. It was just him.
Now she definitely felt that she should be there when he came to. To wake up in a hospital with nobody beside you and knowing no one was coming had to be one of the most miserable feelings in the world. She felt truly sorry for him. After a few more hours of waiting patiently, she looked up when she heard footsteps approaching. She searched the doctor's face as he neared, but it indicated anything but good news. Dr. Hatake stopped in front of her and gave her a strained smile. "..He's awake.", he said. The news lifted some of the greif out of her heart, but she knew there was something else to it. She looked at him with worried eyes. He took a breath before continuing.

"..He appears to have amnesia."

Miki gave him a look of disbelief. ".. Amnesia?" The doctor nodded in response to her question. "It's Retrograde.. with that being said, it could come back over time or it could be permanent. His memory loss goes back as far as a month ago. Of course he remembers who he is, where he works, the basics. But, he doesn't remember the incident, today's date, the week before.. he doesn't even remember you."

"I-"

"He wants to see you."

Miki froze at this. "He wants to see me? " Dr. Hatake once again nodded. "Yes. Any man would want to see his wife. Memory or no memory." With inner panic, Miki tried to explain. "I need- I mean, I'm not-". He rose a brow at her. "There's no need to be nervous.", he said while going behind her to push her gently forward.

"I know the thought of him forgetting you is nerve-wrecking~"

"You don't understand. He's not-"

"It'll be fine. Family support is crucial in these situations."

She honestly felt as though her words were falling apon deaf ears. The doctor continued guiding her to the room despite her protests. Realizing that her attempts of explaining were futile, she gave up. She figured that when she saw him she'd explain everything to him. It was true that she wanted to be there when he'd awoken, but only as him seeing her as a good person. A friend even. Not a wife. Dr. Hatake quickly pushed open the door to room 301, letting her in. He smiled as he closed it behind him.
Miki glared at the door, upset that the doctor wouldn't let her explain. Weren't they supposed to listen?

"Are you my wife?"

Miki stiffened at the voice and even more so at the question it carried. She shut her eyes and took a deep breath before turning around to face him. When their eyes met, she felt guilty at the look he displayed. He looked lost, confused and she felt that it was partly her fault for not stopping the doctor's sooner from drawing up such an idea. She sheepishly rubbed the back of her head and began walking over to him.

"Well.."

His eyes followed her every move as she sat down in the chair beside him. He seemed to be analyzing her face, taking it all in. She gave him a gentle smile, yet sheepish all the same. She began to speak.

"You see-"

Her words were abruptly cut off as she was tightly embraced. Her eyes went wide with surprise. She didn't know what was going on except for the fact that the man had his arms around her. "Thank you for sticking by me this long." When the words left his mouth, she instantly felt horrible. Was she really going to strip this man of the happiness he'd attained simply by thinking he had family waiting for him?
When he let go, she looked into his sea green eyes, seeing the thankfulness they held. She had to advert her gaze so that she could say what she needed to say while feeling less guilty. Even if it was only just a little. "..Gaara..", she started. ".. I'm..not.."

"..is there a reason you won't look at me?"

Miki looked up at him apon hearing the sadness in his voice. The moment she did, she hated herself for it. He looked like an injured puppy who'd been kicked over and over again. He looked as though he'd been expecting heartbreak from birth and was currently expecting her to add onto it. Miki's breath was caught in her throat.

"I..."

"..."

"..."

..she couldn't do it. She couldn't hurt him anymore more than he had been. She didn't want to. Why did she have to care so much about other people's feelings? They held eye contact a little longer before she broke her silence. "..I'm glad you're awake.", she said with a smile as gentle as daylight, earning an equally as gentle smile from the red-head. "I'm glad you're still here.", he said.

"The doctors' told me you refused to leave until you were positive that I was okay."

Miki nodded. That was probably the source that gave them the crazy assumption of them being married. She was such a bad person. She didn't want to be, but she also didn't want to whipe the smile off of this mans face. Such a pleading smile it was.
There was a knock on the door before two nurses let themselves in. They looked between the two and smiled. "Okay, Gaara. We're going to give you a quick look over, okay?" They began checking his reflexes, vital signs, taking proper measurements to make sure he was truly okay. "Are you experiencing any pain?", one of the nurses asked before changing his I.V.
As they did their routine, Miki stared at Gaara. Why hadn't she told him the truth? She knew nothing about him, yet she didn't deny she was his wife. What about his memory, if it returned? He would be furious with her. She couldn't really go on with this lie, could she? Never in her entire life had she thought that she would stoop so low to help someone.

"Alright. After the I.V. fluid is finished, you can go home.", the nurse said with a smile.

Miki snapped out of her trance. Home? "Thank you, nurse.", Gaara replied. When they left the room, he turned to her. She was inwardly panicking. "I can't wait to go home and go to sleep. I'm exhausted.", he said.

"Gaara, look."

"Yes?", he replied, waiting for her to speak.

"Um.."

Why couldn't she say it? What was wrong with her? He squinted his eyes at her hesitation. "Are you alright?" She didn't know what to say. "You'll feel better once we're home, okay?" His voice was so reassuring. It wasn't filled with spite like Jackson's. She hadn't heard that tone of voice from any man directed at her in a long time. It was so comforting, she leaned into it.

"...okay."

She mentally slapped herself for agreeing. She couldn't honestly go home with him and play house. Gaara smiled at her. His smile was also one of reassurance, so calming... what kind of person was she?
Later that night, Miki walked into an unfamiliar house. It was spacious for someone living alone. The whole ride here was a quiet one with Gaara 's failed attempts at striking up conversation with his 'supposed' spouse and her having an inner war with herself. She halted when Gaara did. "This place looks exactly as I remember it. Without a woman's touch." Her heart beat three times as fast when he turned to face her. "Where are your things?", he asked. She quickly said the first thing that came to mind.

"I just moved in. I was just about to bring my stuff over here... but the robbery."

Gaara nodded in understanding. She felt like such an idiot. The logical excuse would have been to just say they didn't live together. At least then she could have went over to Ino's and find a way to get out of this. "The doctor's told me something about a robbery..", he said, as if trying to remember. She felt even worse that he actually believed her. He had so much trust in her that she felt she didn't deserve. "..Did they take our rings, too?", he asked, looking at her ring finger. (Name) quickly nodded. 'Yeah. That's right. Pile up one lie after the other.', she thought to herself. He briefly sighed.

"I'm sorry that I didn't protect you."

Words could not explain how wrong she felt. "..You tried.", she said. Out of all the things she said today, that was one truth. He did try to protect her when the men grabbed hold of her, but that only resulted in him getting hurt even more. "I'll buy you some more things, alright?"

"No, Gaara. You don't have-"

"I want to. It's the least I can do for my wife."

Miki felt there times as bad as she looked into those believing eyes. She didn't want him to go buying her things. Not only had she lied to him about being his wife, but now she made him feel as though he hadn't done enough to protect her. She inwardly panicked when he took hold of her left hand and stared at it. "..as for the rings, I'll just get you a new one when I propose to you again." He then looked into her eyes. "I at least want to remember that."
Miki's heart beat furiously as he held her hand. She couldn't let him propose to her. This was wrong. So wrong. She was going to have to find a way to tell him. When he let go, she stared after him as he began walking up the stairs. Stopping near the top step, he turned and asked, "Are you coming to bed?"
Her breath once again caught in her throat. "U-um.", she stuttered. Things were progressing far too quickly. She couldn't possibly lay bedside a man she didn't know. She didn't even know how she'd managed to let herself come into his home. Gaara lightly chuckled. "What's that expression for?"

"H-huh?"

He smiled. "It's just that I'd feel better if you layed beside me." Miki looked at his form. For some reason she understood exactly what he meant. It might not seem like it, but amnesia was a scary thing to accept. The thought of waking up in a hospital, not remembering a portion of your life was frightening. You'd always question what if it happened again? Naturally, you'd want to be around someone. That's why Dr. Kakashi had said what he said about family support being crucial. It was comforting. It helped one to stay calm.

"..okay.", she said.

She went up the stairs and followed Gaara to the bedroom. When they entered, they both stood on either side of the bed before slowly getting under the covers, leaving some distance between the two of them. They simultaneously stared up at the ceiling in the dark room. It was so quiet that they could hear each other's breathing. Both in deep thought. After a few minutes went by, Gaara spoke.

"...what is your name?"

"Miki..."

She didn't know why she thought he knew her name this whole time. It was only logical that he didn't. She felt so bad for him. It once again went silent. Miki was as nervous as she could get. She never slept beside any man besides Jackson. The one she layed next to now, she didn't even know. She'd only met him in the taxi a few days earlier and now she lay bedside him in bed.

"Miki."

She quickly stopped her train of thought and leant an ear to the man who spoke. "I've noticed you've been timid with me... I'm sorry if it bothers you that I don't remember you." Miki thought to herself how many times she was going to make him feel guilty for something. She really didn't want him to. Nothing was his fault.

"No.. it's just.. a lot to take in.."

After a few more moments of silence, she averted her gaze as she felt him shift closer to her. She allowed her eyes to search the dark, but before she knew it, she felt a pair of lips on hers and then they were gone.

"Goodnight.", came Gaara 's voice.

Miki swore she was going to have a heart attack right then and there. He'd just kissed her. Like it was the most natural thing in the world. She knew he meant no harm. He thought she was his wife and was trying to carry on like a husband and wife would. But, the fact was, she wasn't. They were both strangers who'd exchanged a kiss. These little occurrences couldn't keep happening. How was she supposed to keep calm? She had no idea how she was going to sleep. This was by far the most hectic day she'd ever had.