Hey all!

I am so sorry for the wait. I had midterms holding me up so that gave me no time for anything else.

These next few weeks are going to be a bit hard, so I regret to inform that I have to put this story on another hiatus. Please be patient with me; I promise that as soon things have settled I'll get back to writing. But until then, you'll have to be content with this chapter.

Any spelling mistakes I'm sorry for.

Now onwards my dears!


It had been about a month since Shikamaru had returned home to Suna. Gaara had questions but he knew that for his brother-in-law's sake he'd have to give him a bit of a break. Shikamaru had already been so helpful with everything. There wasn't really much that the red head could think of to show his gratitude for the Nara. Somehow he would have too; no doubt his worries would've swallowed him whole by now if he hadn't gotten some kind of assistance.

Hanabi had slowly been trying to win back Hinata's trust. She was having as much luck as a fish trying to walk on land.

Hinata who was due to give birth to her second child any day now had completely cast Hanabi aside. From all the shit that she put her through Hinata as of now wanted nothing to do with her little sister. The younger Hyuga had been given plenty of time to think about her mistakes and looking back Hanabi knew that she had been acting stupidly. She wanted to admit to Hinata that she had been wrong but her foolish pride wouldn't allow it. No matter how many times she dropped hints that she wanted to start over again Hinata refused. Hanabi was at the very least smart enough to know that she deserved this kind of treatment completely. She didn't blame her elder sister for wanting to toss her away like she was garbage; that's certainly how she felt at the moment.

But despite the hardship, Hanabi had convinced herself there had to be some way to win back Hinata's respect. Perhaps love was pushing it a little, since Hanabi did not know for sure if Hinata hated her or still loved her.

It wasn't until she got an idea that Hanabi realized how badly she had messed up. Now it was a matter of circumstance if she fucked this up. She figured that this time Hinata would actually kill her.

Hanabi had to wait for her chance to sneak away from prying eyes before she daringly snuck into the prison where her elder sister's assassin was; it was only a matter of time till someone figured out she was missing so she would have to be quick. Fooling the guards had been a piece of cake; convincing them that she was here with the Kazekage's permission. She could almost laugh about the fact that she had them completely swindled.

She briefly wondered if the guards were smarter then they looked but brushed the thought aside, Hanabi wasn't that dumb. Surly she would've been able to recognize trouble when she sensed it right? She had to stop walking briefly to control her breathing before she lost her nerve.

How she even thought of this crazy idea, yet alone gotten this far was a miracle. Could it possibly be luck? Or were the gods laughing at her?

Once she had the cell number Hanabi had to force herself to move towards it. Too many thoughts kept running through her head; briefly she wondered if it was too late to turn back and run away. Well shit, Hanabi was the one that got herself into this. For sure as hell she was going to try and get herself out. There was no way that she could rely on someone. At this point all she could do was grit her teeth and wait for what the eventual results would be. She couldn't only wish that she hadn't doomed herself once again.

"Well now isn't this a pretty sight? It's not often that I get a visitor".

Hanabi hadn't noticed that she had been standing outside of the cell until the voice that occupied the other side. Pearl eyes gave off no sign of emotion despite the fact that she was terrified on the inside. But this was chance she couldn't waste, if she didn't speak up now she would never be able to do it later on.

"Are you Kazu?"

A chuckle "Maybe, maybe not depends on what you want to know".

Hanabi cleared her throat "I want to talk to you".

Kazu raised an eyebrow "Oh? What a surprise. Nothing good ever happens to me whenever some wants to chat". He took note of how Hanabi's shaking hands were clenched tightly as her sides; it almost made him want pity her foolish display of trying to look brave. Still he was amused by her decision to what to talk with him. It was certainly better than sitting in a dark cell.

"Alright then little girl, I'll humor you. What did you want to talk about?"

Kankuro had been the one to meet up with Hanabi when she managed to sneak back. The puppet master had known for a few days that her behavior had been a roller coaster of ups and downs. Although he had been informed by Temari of the incident that had happened a while ago, Kankuro knew better then to try and stick his nose into other people's business.

"Hanabi I don't know exactly what's going on between you and Hinata. But right now I don't exactly see you as trustworthy".

"Kankuro-san I really am trying…for Nee-chan's sake".

The puppet master scoffed a bit "Please don't pull me into this shit".

Hanabi rubbed her hands together "I'm sorry I never had any of this planned to begin with".

"I'm not my brother, but as his right hand man I take my position very seriously. I can't have you doing dirty tricks behind his back".

Hanabi resisted the urge to chew her lower lip. She didn't know for sure if Kankuro knew where she had gone. She was going to have to cautious from now on. At least until she could put her motives to use. She opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off.

"I'm not about to go dragging my ass into your business, just don't be doing anything stupid".

He had let her go with a simple warning; Hanabi hadn't expected that. Surly Kankuro could've said something a little wittier to make her shake in her boots. But he didn't have time to be playing babysitter to Hanabi. There were far more useful things to do then get caught in a fucked up drama that Hanabi had created.

XXX

Naruto groaned for the fifth time in ten minutes as he banged his head against his desk with an annoyed looking Neji. The two of them were in the process of trying to figure out a way of presenting their proposal of altering the Hyuga. Things had been so much better when Shikamaru was with them; since heading back to Suna the two of them were finding it to be much harder.

"I surrender, this is simply too much".

"Oh shush, we're not even close yet".

The blonde Hokage looked at his friend through dreary eyes "We've been at this for hours and we're still nowhere near finding a good enough excuse to make Hiashi step down".

Neji pinched the bridge of his nose "I told you before it's not Hiashi that we have to convince, it's the Hyuga elders there about as stubborn as they come".

Blue eyes drifted off to the side and it was silent for a few seconds. "Say Neji how is Hinata doing?"

"She is fine".

"Haven't heard anything from her in ages. I can only assume that Gaara's taking care of her well".

Neji had almost spoken about the trouble that was between Hinata and Hanabi. But held his tongue back, what business did he have going around spreading around assumptions that he didn't even know of himself. He was supposed to focusing on the task at hand, not trying to worry about how his cousins were doing. Since coming back to Konoha the Hyuga male was finding it difficult to control his impulses to hover over Hinata like he used to in the past.

"Hey Neji?"

He was thankfully pulled out of his worrisome mode by Naruto's voice. "Yes? What is it?"

"How do you feel about this?"

He raised an eyebrow "Elaborate".

Naruto rested his chin on his hands "I simply want to know what your opinion is. If there is some chance that well pull this off, the Hyuga will be one family instead of two and quite possibly you'll be the next ruler…it may not sound like a lot but the significance behind it is very important".

This was a side of the blonde Hokage that Neji wasn't used to seeing. Naruto's compassion for his friends never failed to amaze him. Even now he was considering his wellbeing for the future; dare say that it actually touched Neji in more ways than one.

"I…I do feel a little nervous. But it all should work out in the end".

Naruto raised a brow "Really? Is that how you really feel?".

When did he get so good at reading him? Normally it was Tenten that could read him so openly, was it possible that he was going soft?

"If you want me to be honest I'm scared for it all. Not so much my sake but for Hinata's. If she was here now she'd have a thing or two to say. Hiashi might try to take his fury out on her and I worry that I may not have what it takes to protect her if that happens".

Typical response from the Hyuga male always putting his cousin first; Naruto couldn't help but shake his head a little. He wasn't about to dictate Neji's ways of thinking, but at the very least he wanted him to realize that it was alright to have some form of self awareness.

"Neji I can understand, but wouldn't it be best to leave Hinata to herself".

He couldn't think of a response to that. He knew that Naruto was right, but his pride wouldn't allow him to show it. Instead his put on a straight face and cleared his throat in a professional manner to cover up his feelings.

"At any rate we should get back on track".

XXX

There were always some things that had their unexpected ways of sneaking up on you. Gaara most certainly found that too be true. One minute he was in the middle of an important conversation with Shikamaru, the next thing he knows Temari has burst into his office looking out of breath with his daughter behind her looking all worried about something.

"Temari what-".

"Hinata's gone into labor now".

Teal eyes widened considerably "W-what?"

The sandy blonde looked annoyed "You heard me, she's in labor. Stop stuttering like a pinhead and go to her dummy!".

At first Gaara needed to process that little bit. But Temari had other ideas she promptly marched up and shook her brother out of his shocked state.

"Gaara! Don't just stand there. Go to your wife for Kami's sake!".

Upon hearing the news the red head instantly had a worried look on his face as he ran out of his office and down the many halls until he found his wife with a pained expression on her face. Truth to be told the couple wasn't expecting their baby to be born for another week; but there was nothing they could do about it now.

He was by her side in a moment protectively holding her against him. "Gaara-dana…".

"Hush now, I'm right here. Everything is going to be fine".

He would've already left had his frightened daughter not come running up them asking why her parents were in a bit of a hurry.

"Daddy what's going on?"

"Hena, I want you to go to Aunty Temari. I have to take Mommy to the hospital".

"But I want to come too!".

"Please Hena, there is no time to waste. Mommy is going to have the baby".

The little girl would've continued to protest had Temari not arrived when she did and scooped up her niece. Hushing her effectively the elder sister practically shoved her little brother and his wife out the door urging Gaara to get his head out of the clouds and back into reality where it belonged.

The red head didn't have to wait long for the rest of his family to show up once Hinata had been checked into a room. Temari had arrived with her own family including Hena, Kankuro and oddly enough Hanabi. Gaara knew that his sister-in-law deserved the right to meet her future niece or nephew but Gaara wasn't sure if this is what Hinata would want since they still were not on good terms with each other. He didn't dwindle on it for too long as Hena wanted to see her mother. It was just the kind of distraction that he needed to shift his mood. His second child was arriving soon; it was supposed to be a happy occasion. No way was it going to be spoiled by the outside world. That could wait for as long as needed.

Hena had stayed with her parents until the doctor had informed them that it was time. Handing her off to Kankuro, he had to promise his restless child that he'd come back and get her as soon as the baby was born. Making his way back to Hinata he had to remind himself to keep strong, for her sake he would have to act as her sense of support until it was all over.

XXX

Gaara felt Hinata squeeze his hand to the point where it might break as she gave one final push. The harmonious sounds of a baby's first cry filled the room and he found himself smiling. The nurses took the infant away briefly to clean it, wrap it in a soft blanket before they handed his baby to Hinata who looked so happy.

"Congratulations my Lord, you have a beautiful little daughter".

A girl, his second child was another daughter. Gaara's smile grew even more at the picture perfect sight of his wife looking at their newborn with loving eyes. He couldn't help himself as he gave a soft chuckle noticing that his baby had inherited his red hair color.

"Gaara-dana she's so pure".

Pushing some of Hinata's hair behind her ear, he planted a soft kiss on her forehead "Hinata thank you for this".

It was her turn now to smile "Would you like to hold her?"

He opened his arms and Hinata carefully handed their newborn daughter to him. The infant cooed a bit as she looked up at her father with recently opened lavender eyes that belonged to her mother. With a gentle touch Gaara caressed her chubby cheeks smiling away.

"Hinata?"

"Yes?"

"I think we should call her Imari".

The bluenette could only stare at him in happiness. "That's a wonderful name".

A few minutes later and Hena was allowed to come and meet her new sister. The child was bouncing around all over the place in glee. It made warmth fill the red head's heart with a feeling that he couldn't really describe. There was so much more to life that was more often than not taken for granted. For the time being Gaara would let himself savor the richness of only a small portion of it as he picked up Hena walking her over to Hinata.

"Baby! Baby!" she pointed.

Hinata extended her arm "Sweetheart I know that you're excited but you need to keep your voice down".

"Daddy I want to see the baby!".

Gaara set Hena down on the bed, so that she could get a first look at her sister.

Hinata took her daughter's hand bringing her closer. "Hena, I want you to meet your new little sister her name is Imari".

The small girl was starting at the infant in awe; but soon a big grin spread across her face as she ever so carefully leaned over to kiss her sister on the nose. "I love you Imari, I will love you forever!".

Hinata could only look at her family in rapture. From the corner of her eye she noticed her husband shed a tear which caused her to smile.

"Gaara-dana please come closer".

The Kazekage did what his wife asked of him and wrapped his arms around his family. A few more tears were shed but he didn't care. This was a moment that was worth savoring, all else did not matter.

The rest of his family got their chance to meet Imari a little later. Needless to say Kankuro and Temari were ecstatic that their little brother had welcomed another daughter. Shikamaru had given his shoulder a squeeze and congratulated him. Shikadai was given a few moments to see his newest cousin; but the happy mood nearly took a turn for the worst when it was Hanabi's turn to greet Imari.

They had all watched as Hanabi timidly walked over to Hinata's hospital bed bending down to get a peek at her niece. Surprisingly Hinata remind calm as she showed off her baby to Hanabi; even going so far as to let her hold Imari. The red head thought for sure that his wife would turn Hanabi away. But the more he thought about it, Hinata didn't have a reason to keep her sister from getting acquainted with their newborn. At least for this occasion Hinata was putting aside her prejudice and allowing herself to live in the moment. Gaara was proud of her for doing so, had she acted otherwise things could've gotten ugly.

As Hanabi handed Imari back to Hinata, Gaara knew that the battle between then wasn't over yet. It was a long road ahead until the dust eventually settled. He just hoped that the consequences wouldn't be too harsh.


Hope that this chapter was okay.

I tried to add a touching moment, after all Gaara's got another baby now of course it needed to be a special thing for him.

Next chapter will arrive when my workload isn't so piled up. I realize that I'm somewhat steadily getting near the end (at least I think I am).

We'll have to wait and see.

Reviews are always welcomed!

See you later!