Chapter 19: It's Okay...

It had been a dream. He felt like it had been a dream. Everything that had happened in that moonlit room was just too good to be true.

He felt cramped from sleeping in a hunched over position. He shifted his body a little, still not wanting to open his eyes. Why was he sleeping like this?

Someone stroked his hair gently. No one had ever done that before. Not even Kitai.

Kitai? What had happened to her? What about that dream he had, the one where he met his future self. Would Kitai really be gone?

He opened his eyes slowly. His head was resting on a bed that had a strange, over laundered smell. Someone was still gently stroking his hair. He followed the arm that the hand was connected to up to the shoulder, then up to the face. Kitai was beaming at him, her head cocked slightly to the side as she lay propped up in a sitting position. He stared at her incredulously.

It wasn't a dream.

"What's wrong?" she asked happily. "You look like you've just seen a ghost." He grinned and took her hand that was now resting near his head.

"You look like one," he answered. She frowned good-humoredly.

"You don't look like a million bucks yourself. At just what time did you go to sleep last night??" He shrugged. He hadn't been able to sleep, true, but he didn't really care.

"Gaara?" she asked. He looked at her expectantly. "I'm reaaalllyy hungry." Right on cue, a huge growl emerged from her stomach. She grinned sheepishly as Gaara smiled happily.

"I'm serious, doctor." The nurse led him happily. "I can't explain what happened but... Well, you just have to see for yourself." They approached the room of the young girl that had been seriously sick just the day before. They heard voices coming from inside.

"Ugh, this hospital food is nasty. Why do you think I haven't been eating all this time?" Kitai was saying as the doctor and nurse stepped into the room. The doctor's mouth fell open in surprise.

Gaara was sitting by Kitai's bed, a tray of hospital food between them. She was laughing happily after she had flicked one of the rubbery peas and watched it bounce halfway across the room. She looked as if life had come back to her.

"You're... you're eating?" The doctor gaped as Kitai kept giggling, and she nodded as the doctor kept staring. He grinned. "Amazing, the will to live never ceases to amaze me." Kitai started cracking up again.

"Hey, hold on a sec," Kitai was out of breath as she put her hand on a tree and rested. Her clothes hung loosely all over her body since she was so much thinner.

"We should try to reach the next village before nightfall," Gaara said as waited for her. She got tired much more easily now, even though she had a healthy glow about her again. But still, she would have to train harder to get back to her old self.

She laughed faintly.

"I guess," she said sadly. "I really am a burden now." A pang of guilt showed on Gaara's face as he looked at her while she tried to catch her breath. She stood up slowly and smiled. "Let's go." He didn't move as she walked past him with a fake cheerfulness.

"What's wrong?" she asked as she turned to him. He couldn't hide the guilt on his face as he looked at her. "Gaara?"

He reached out to her and embraced her, holding her tightly. He wanted to tell her how sorry he was for hurting her again, how happy he was that she was still here, and how much he cared for her. But he couldn't get the words out of his mouth. He didn't have to.

"Gaara." She spoke in his ear as she wrapped her arms around him too. "It's okay. Really. You can't get rid of me that easily. I'll be with you always. I promise." He knew that. He could feel that in her as she also hugged him. But still, he wanted to hold her for just a little longer...