Sakura stood in the kitchen with both hands on the countertop, staring down at the ultrasound photo between them with an absent expression. '6 weeks,' she thought. So many women eagerly await their first appointment. They're excited to receive that first ultrasound photo and to hear the heartbeat. But for Sakura, these things meant that she could no longer deny it; it was real now.

She turned around, leaned against the countertop, and glanced at the kitchen table scattered with various pregnancy-related pamphlets, including one for termination. Trying to weigh the pros and cons of her situation felt rather off-putting, but she couldn't stop herself from wondering what the consequences of her few options might be. She could terminate and nobody would have to know- except Naruto. He had expressed supporting her no matter her decision. But then, she would be left with the "what-ifs." What if she chose adoption? Would she constantly wonder about how the child was growing, learning, and happy? Would she think about what the child looked like as every birthday passed? Would she regret her decision and wish she would've raised them on her own? What if she did choose to raise the child on her own? There would be many questions about who the father was and no matter her response, there would surely be a lot of gossip surrounding that. Her modest reputation would certainly be tainted. There were a lot of things to consider with this option, however, Sakura knew that she shouldn't let her ego guide her choice. She would not be able to carry this secret to term unnoticed; eventually, her belly would grow and people would start asking questions. She sighed heavily, thinking about all the smiles and "thank you's" she'd have to force when the many mean-well "congratulations" were given.

Unsure if it was all the thoughts or the pregnancy itself making her head spin, Sakura made her way to the living room and slumped over her couch. There was still time to make a decision, so for now, she would sleep on it.

xxx

It was a questionable time in the afternoon when Gaara finally dragged himself out of bed. Eyes barely open, he stumbled over his own feet on his way to the bathroom to get ready for the day. With the curtains drawn back, the bright sun lit up the bathroom. Squinting, Gaara felt around until he reached the sink. He turned it on and splashed cold water on his face, letting out a deep groan afterward. His hair somehow always looked tamer when he first rolled out of bed. He ruffled it until it reached the desired level of mess that he wanted. He grabbed a black t-shirt off the floor, unsure if it was his or one of his siblings, gave it a quick smell test, then threw it on and headed downstairs.

Gaara loathed the long hours he had to put in when he came to Konoha, but fortunately, he didn't have to travel far to work since Temari owned the home directly next to the flower shop. Hidden beneath an area rug in one of the back storage rooms of this shop was a trap door that lead down into a spacious basement. Within this basement was the true business operation: hundreds of marijuana plants crammed together as closely as they could get beneath many LED lights. What little scent managed to travel upstairs was masked by the flowers, but even then, Temari was sure to keep some unpleasant-scented flowers in stock to blame the smell on.

As Gaara made his way down into the basement, he spotted Kankuro sitting on a long wooden bench. In one hand, he had a magnifying glass, and in the other, a large bud he had just finished trimming. Realizing Gaara's presence, he tossed the bud into a large bin full of other freshly trimmed buds waiting to be cured.

"So we decided not to sleep the day away, huh?" he teased. "Temari's been too busy upstairs- she'd have your head if she had any time to take it."

Gaara dismissed his brother's annoying comments. He grabbed a knife from the bench and began hacking down a few more plants to manicure. Though the amount of work they'd put in with only the three of them was impressive, it still consumed every bit of their time for nearly a week. Gaara tossed some of the freshly cut plants over to his brother and sat across from him with a pile of his own.

"We've only got a couple more all-nighters to go," Kankuro joked.

Gaara looked around at the hundred-some plants left standing, then at his fingers, which were calloused and bruised from all the cutting and trimming. He picked up a pair of scissors and got to work. "How much weight do you think we'll yield this time?" he asked.

"We're getting a good half pound from each plant," said Kankuro. He pulled out his phone and began typing away on the calculator. He tapped his chin for a moment before saying, "Probably around 200 pounds, I'd wager. That'd be more than last time. If you take at least half of that to Suna with you and jack up the price, maybe it would be enough to keep the Akatsuki happy for a while."

"Unlikely," Gaara sighed, "it seems they want a lot more these days. Sasori has mentioned giving me other products to push during my visits here. He has even suggested that I move out here permanently and visit Suna to pick up these other products from them."

"What do you mean other products?" Kankuro lowered the bud he was trimming to look at Gaara.

Gaara shrugged, his eyes remained fixated on the leaves he was trimming. "Heroin probably," he said plainly, "cocaine. Pills. Meth. I don't know. They deal in all of it. They might want me to push all of it."

"You didn't ask?"

"No. What's it matter? It's not like we get a choice. If we don't do it..." he stopped to snip off the last leaf on the bud, then tossed it in the large bin next to his brother, "...then they'll just kill us."

The sound of creaking floorboards drew their attention. There, at the bottom of the stairs stood Temari with a blank expression on her face and her arms crossed. The three of them looked at each other without uttering another word. As if they were speaking telepathically, the looks on their faces said it all. Gaara was right: there was no choice. Not if they wanted to keep living. This would be a bridge they crossed when they reached it.

"A DEA agent just paid us a visit upstairs," Temari said, abruptly changing the subject to something even more alarming.

"What?" Kankuro gasped and quickly tried to withdraw the shock from his eyes, "do you know which one?"

"That blonde Uzumaki one," she responded. Given the career path these three had taken on, knowing the faces of who they were up against was necessary.

"What did he say? Did he seem suspicious?" Kankuro's attempt to hide any panic was defective.

"No..." she said, stepping towards her brothers, "but I'm sure any good cop spends years practicing their poker face." She unfolded her arms and handed a small piece of paper to Gaara. He took it and stared back at her, waiting for her to tell him what it was for. "He put in an order for a bouquet. Pink and red roses."

"What does that mean? Is that combination some type of warning?" Kankuro asked. Though the flower shop was not the primary business, there was much to know about flower etiquette. Beneath their physical appearance, certain types, colors, and combinations of flowers carry different messages.

"Assuming he asked for these colors on purpose, they're usually used to symbolize love and respect," Temari explained. "He requested that the message attached be from him and a woman, but it's a gift to another woman. I'm assuming a mutual friend of theirs. It's possible that he was just here to buy a bouquet and not to snoop around, but we can't be too careful."

Gaara and Kankuro nodded in agreement. Gaara looked down at the paper Temari handed him. It was the receipt for the bouquet with the address they were to be delivered. He looked back at her with an inquisitive expression.

"I want you to do the delivery, Gaara," she said, "there are three more bouquet orders ready to go upstairs."

Gaara frowned. "I'm busy."

"Kankuro and I are both faster at trimming than you," Temari insisted, "we need to get the rest of this work done as soon as possible."

"Just deliver the bouquets tomorrow," he suggested.

"They're supposed to be delivered today," she nagged, "if that Uzumaki guy really did come here to snoop around, it would look suspicious if we just closed down shop and didn't fulfill his order. And we can't afford to look suspicious right now."

Gaara stared at the paper for a moment before uttering a quick, "...No."

Temari put her hands on her hips and leaned forward, face-to-face with her younger brother. Kankuro shrunk in his seat and watched in awkward silence as his siblings violently scowled at one another.

"Gaara...please," she fumed.

"...Fine," he said finally, rising from his seat and shoving the receipt into his pocket. "But I'm only doing this because I want some fresh air."

"Thank you," she breathed a sigh of relief, which quickly turned back into annoyance when she noticed- "are... are you wearing my shirt?"

"Hm?" Gaara glanced down at the shirt and tugged on it. It did seem a little more form-fitting than he liked and he thought he caught a whiff of Temari's favorite perfume during the smell test earlier. He shrugged in response and headed for the stairs.

"And fuck's sake, Gaara," she shouted after him, "answer Matsuri's calls! She's been blowing up our phones for weeks now and says she hasn't heard a single word from you!"

Gaara paused at the top of the stairs and took out his phone. He had cleared all of his notifications the night prior, but there were new ones from today: 57 missed calls, 36 voicemails, 312 text messages, and 23 emails. All from Matsuri. 'No thanks,' he thought. He turned his phone off, put it back in his pocket, and went on his way.

xxx

Sakura was abruptly ripped from dreamland at the sound of knocking on her door. She shot up and looked around, disoriented; it was as if she didn't recognize her surroundings. The knocking came again after a few seconds.

"Ah! I'll be-" she stopped to wipe the drool that had somehow managed to travel up her face in her sleep, "I'll be right there!" She quickly hopped to her feet and stretched her stiff body. 'Time for a new couch,' she thought.

The knocking came once more, slightly louder this time.

"I said I'm coming!" she snapped. 'How annoying, it's probably Naruto.' She stomped towards the door and aggressively threw it open. There in the doorway, somebody stood with a large, bushy bouquet of pink and red roses blocking their face.

"I have a delivery from a... Mr. Naruto Uzumaki and Ms. Hinata Hyuga," said a voice from behind the flowers, "for a... Sakura Haruno?"

"Oh! That's me," she reached for the flowers and read the card attached to one of the stems. 'Everything will be okay. We love you and we are always here for you, Sakura,' it read, signed by Naruto and Hinata. Sakura smiled softly, 'How thoughtful.' As she raised her head to look at the man who had delivered the gift and thank him, time seemed to slow down. "Th..ank...s?" Her smile quickly faded and her eyes widened. She attempted to speak, but only a few unintelligible sounds escaped her lips. Frozen in place and in shock, she dropped the bouquet on the floor. There he was, standing right in front of her: the man she thought she'd never see again; the man that had turned her entire life upside down.

"...Hi," he said, simply.

A/N: Hello! Please, if you feel inclined to do so, leave a review. I've been having fun writing this so it's not necessary to keep me going, but I'd love to hear your thoughts :) At the very least, I hope you enjoy.