Thank you Nanami and CinderRoses for your reviews - they mean a lot and encourage me to keep writing.

I hope you all enjoy this chapter.

As always, love you all XxxxXxxxXxxxX


Gaara managed to get between two to three hours of sleep. He quietly made his way to the gym in the basement. He worked out for an hour and a half before showering and dressing, ready to go into the office.

He was in his office by five and went through the rest of his notes and emails, making sure that everything would be ready for the meeting at half nine. When he finally looked up from the screen, he was surprised to find the office bathed in morning light. He checked the time, eight thirty. His office door opened, Temari and Kankuro walking in.

"I've got copies of everything for you two," he handed over two files.

"Thanks," Temari took a file and sat down, going through it. "You've done an amazing job," she smiled at him.

"Thanks." He went through the last of his emails before they made their way to the board room. They took their places and watched as the rest of the members walked in. The meeting starting on time.

"As you can see from these charts, Sabaku Inc has been…"

Gaara thoughts turned towards Sakura, the soft kiss she had placed on his lips. Had he not been so surprised, he would have kissed her back.

"Gaara… Gaara are you listening?" Temari tapped his shoulder.

Gaara shook his head slightly and looked towards Temari, "what?"

She nodded towards the board members, all who were looking at, waiting on him.

Gaara looked at them, "we have got a few contracts coming in that will be worth looking into, Kankuro has secured a contract with Iwagakure, we will be finalising the last of the details."

Everyone nodded and started to discuss the contract that they had been working on and how close they were to completion.

Temari moved closer to Gaara, "are you okay?" she whispered to him.

Gaara looked towards her, "yes."

Temari furrowed her eyebrows slightly, she noticed how tired his eyes looked and slightly red, "what time did you go to bed?"

"Not now Temari," Gaara told her, "let the meeting finish."

"Fine," she seethed, turning her attention back to the meeting.

An hour later, the meeting wrapped up, everything went perfectly. Temari turned to Gaara, stopping him from getting away, "tell me."

Gaara faced her and sighed deeply, "I got in late last night."

"Where did you go?"

"The Desert Rose," Gaara tidied up his papers and files.

"And you didn't invite me to come along?" Kankuro asked from across the table.

"I was invited by Sakura," Gaara told him.

"Sakura," Kankuro grinned at him, "how is the beautiful doctor doing?"

"She's good." Gaara grabbed his laptop.

"Did she throw herself at you this time?" Kankuro laughed.

Gaara clenched his jaw at the comment, "Kankuro," he warned.

"What? I was only asking, seeing as last time you two were in the bar, she was all over you and kissing you," he grinned at her.

Gaara shook his head, he wasn't about to indulge Kankuro with his questions.

"How long did you sleep for?" Temari asked, scrutinising Gaara.

"I had enough sleep," he told her. He grabbed his bag and pulled out his phone just as it began to ring, Naruto's name flashing across the screen. He accepted the call with a smile.

"Naruto, how are you?"

"Hey Gaara, I'm good thanks. How are you?"

"I'm good thanks, what can I do for you?"

"Are you, Temari and Kankuro free Saturday coming up?"

Gaara clicked his laptop awake and opened up his calendar, checking whether they had something going on. They had a few meetings during the week, but were free Friday to Sunday. "Yes, we're free, what's up?"

"I would like you all to come to Konoha to join us to celebrate Mine and Hinata's engagement."

Gaara smiled at the news, "congratulations."

"Thank you, so do you think the three of you will come?"

Gaara faced Kankuro and Temari and asked them, "would you like to go to Konoha for Naruto and Hinata's engagement party?"

"If there is a party happening, I'm going to be there," Kankuro smiled wide.

"Sure, sounds great," Temari smiled, "tell his congratulations from us."

"We'll be able to make it on Friday," Gaara said into the phone.

"Great, I'll see you then. Bye."

"Bye," Gaara hung up and pocketed his phone.

"We should ask Baki to look after things while we're away," Temari suggested.

Gaara nodded, "I'll speak to him on Monday." With that, he closed his laptop and placed it in his bag, followed by the files. Bag zipped up; he got up to leave when Temari stopped him.

"You still haven't told me how long you slept for."

"Long enough," he informed her and left the room.

XoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXo

Sakura woke up and groaned, her mouth felt drier than the sand that surrounded her. She got out of bed and made her way to the kitchen, grabbing a glass and filling it with water. She drank glass after glass, getting rid of the dryness, before going back upstairs and brushing her teeth. She looked at her reflection and sighed, her makeup had run, she'd forgotten once again to take it off before going to bed. With her face washed, she showered and got dressed in a pair of shorts and a tank top.

In her room, she picked up her phone and unlocked it, before she could do anything, Naruto's name flashed across the screen, her phone vibrating in her hand. She frowned at her phone before answering the call and placing the phone against her ear.

"Hey Naruto, how are you?"

"Hey Sakura, I'm good, thanks. You?"

"I'm good too, thanks. What's up?"

"I've emailed you tickets to fly to Konoha; you're coming over on Wednesday."

Sakura furrowed her brow, she pulled the phone away from her ear and opened her email app, finding an email from Naruto, attached were tickets to Konoha. "What's going on?" Sakura asked, placing the phone back against her ear. "I don't know if I'll be able to get the time off from work with such short notice."

"Don't worry about that, I spoke to Granny Tsunade, who spoke to old lady Chiyo, who has agreed for you to have the time off."

Sakura furrowed her brow again, "what is going on?" she asked again.

"I proposed to Hinata and she said yes," she could hear the smile in his voice.

Sakura shrieked with happiness, "oh my god, finally!" she shouted into her phone, "it took you long enough!"

"Heh, you know me," Naruto laughed, "we're having an engagement party on Saturday and we want you to be here to celebrate with us… So, you'll come?"

"Yes!" Sakura smiled wide, "there is no way I'm missing out on this! But why do you need me to be in Konoha on Wednesday?"

"Well… I need your help with getting things ready," he laughed nervously.

Sakura rolled her eyes, "why am I not surprised? Have you spoken to Ino about the flowers?"

"Yes, she agreed to do them, Hinata is sorting out what flowers to use with her."

They spoke for a little while longer before they hung up. Sakura looked at her phone and smiled wide, pulling up Hinata's contact information and sending her a message, congratulating her on the engagement.

She placed her phone down and grabbed a suitcase, she started to pack some of her clothes, making sure to get a head start before Wednesday. For the remainder of the day, she sent several messages to Naruto, giving him suggestions for the party, people to contact.

Her phone pinged, notifying her of a new message. She clicked on it and smiled, Gaara.

Hey, how are you? Naruto called; he's gotten engaged.

She replied back.

Yes I know, he's finally proposed to Hinata. I'm so happy for them!

His reply.

When are you flying out to Konoha?

She smiled, her fingers flying across the screen.

I leave on Wednesday, that way I can help out with anything, and knowing Naruto, he's going to need all the help he can get!

She typed out another message.

Are you going to the party? She was hopeful that he would be there, that she'd get so spend time with him. She watched as his reply came in.

I am, but I won't be in Konoha until Friday. I'll see you there?

She smiled wide, her fingers tapping away.

Yes, see you there :)

XoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXo

By Tuesday evening, Sakura had made sure to get everything sorted for Sasori to take over while she was away. She had managed to clear the files that were piling up on her desk for a while. She tidied up her desk, before leaving to go home and finish off the last of her packing.

As she drove home, her phone pinged a few times. She parked in her driveway and grabbed her phone, finding messages from a few people. The first, from Sasori.

Go and have a good time home, but don't have such a good time that you don't come back to us xxx

Sakura smiled at his message and replied back.

I promise you; I'll be coming back. I love being here too much not to want to come back :) xxx

The next message was from Ino, asking her what time she would be in Konoha. Sakura checked the tickets for the time of her flight. She sent her reply.

I'm on the morning flight, so I should be in Konoha by lunch time. Can we go dress shopping soon? I need to buy a dress for the party xxx

She placed her phone in her bag and got out of the car and walked into her house, busying herself with the last of her packing. With everything done, she got ready for bed. She grabbed her phone and set an alarm for the morning.

XoXoxoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXo

Sakura arrived in Konoha by lunchtime, she was excited to be back home, to see everyone and to celebrate with Naruto and Hinata. She smiled as she walked through the airport, her luggage in hand.

"Sakura," Ino waved at her, as she walked towards the exit.

"Ino," Sakura smiled at the blonde, "how are you?" she hugged her.

"I'm great, thanks," she hugged her back, "how was the flight?"

They spoke as they walked towards Ino's car.

"Do you want to go dress shopping now or later?" Ino started the car.

"Can we go now, please?" Sakura buckled herself in, "that way I won't have to worry and I can help you and Naruto with anything that needs to be done," she smiled.

Ino chuckled lightly, "I know the perfect shop to go to." She drove into town and the women walked towards the shops.

Two hours later, both women walked out with a dress, shoes and accessories. They drove towards Ino's house, dropping off their things, before making their way to the Yamanaka flower shop.

"Ino, these are beautiful." Sakura looked at the floral arrangement Ino had prepared. There were an array of flowers, some white, blue and purple, with lush greenery thrown into it.

"Thanks," Ino smiled at her, "can you help me finish off the last few, then I'm done."

"Sure."

The women worked all through the afternoon and most of the evening, stopping once everything was finished and the shop was tidied up.

"Do you want to go get something to eat? Or are you going to see your parents?" Ino asked as they walked away from her shop.

Sakura groaned, forgetting about her parents, "I want to go out with you, but I really should go see my parents, otherwise mother will have a lot to say about it," Sakura opened her eyes wide and puffed out her cheeks. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Have fun and try to enjoy spending time with your mum," she smiled and hugged Sakura.

"As long as she doesn't go off on one of her tangents, we'll be fine," Sakura returned the hug.

She walked towards her parents house and knocked on the door.

Mebuki opened the door and looked at Sakura.

"Hey mum," Sakura smiled at her. "How are you?"

"When did you come home? Why didn't you tell me you were coming? Are you back for good?" Mebuki shot question after question at Sakura.

Sakura took a deep breath and slowly let it out, "I had a flight this morning, landed into Konoha by lunchtime. I only found out on Saturday that I was coming, Naruto had arranged for the tickets, so I could be here to celebrate with him and Hinata. And no, I am not back for good, I'm staying for a few days before I fly back to Suna."

Mebuki narrowed her eyes, "you've been in Konoha since lunchtime and you've just come to say hello to us?"

Sakura clenched her jaw, stopping herself from saying anything that would cause an argument, "I was helping Ino with the flowers."

"You still could have come and said hello," Mebuki scolded before moving out the way and letting Sakura pass.

Sakura walked into the living room and towards her dad, "hey dad," she smiled at him, throwing her arms around him.

"Hi my darling," Kizashi smiled at her, "it's wonderful to see you. How are you? How's Suna?"

"I'm doing great, and Suna is just so beautiful dad, you should come and see it."

"Maybe I will," Kizashi kissed her forehead.

Mebuki walked in and sat in the empty chair, "Sakura, have you settled down?"

"I have mum," Sakura smiled at her.

"With someone?" Mebuki added.

Sakura groaned, "mum, for once can we not talk about me settling down with anyone. I am happy being single."

Mebuki ignored her comment, "now that you're back, we might be able to find you someone to settle down with."

Sakura clenched her jaw tightly, her teeth grinding against one another. "Why can't you listen to me?"

"I am listening," Mebuki scoffed at her.

"No, you're not. I told you; I am happy being by myself, but you're adamant to get me a boyfriend or worse, married off to some stranger."

Mebuki opened her mouth to say something, but Kizashi spoke first.

"Mebuki, my darling, let's enjoy the night with our little girl. She's come home for a few days, let her enjoy it before she has to go back." He looked at Sakura and smiled, "how does pizza sound?"

"It sounds great," Sakura smiled back, she grabbed her phone and placed the order.

They spent the rest of the evening talking about what Sakura had been up to while in Suna, how work was going and Sakura found out everything that had been happening here and eating pizza.

XoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXo

Gaara was sat in his office going through his emails, when Temari walked in.

"Are you ready for Friday?"

Gaara looked over at her, "I'm emailing Baki everything he may need to know."

Temari chuckled as she sat down, "you know, Baki has been helping dad with the company since it started, I'm sure he will be able to look after things while we're away."

Gaara smiled at her, "I know, but I just want to be sure."

Temari shook her head, "seriously Gaara, Kankuro is right about you, you're always too wrapped up in work."

Gaara smiled at her, "someone has to be."

"Very funny," Temari stood up, "our flight leaves in the morning on Friday, make sure you've got everything ready before then." She walked out the room.

Gaara turned his attention back to his work, making sure that everything would be ready for Baki, not wanting to leave anything unfinished.

Majority of the day he spent in his office, going through as many emails and replying to them. He glanced at the clock and sighed, he'd stayed longer than usual, it was almost ten o'clock. He decided to call it a night and shut down his computer. Grabbing his phone and keys and shrugging into his jacket, he made his way home, and started to pack his clothes.

The trio had decided to stay in Konoha until Sunday, taking the afternoon flight home, that way, they would be back in Suna, in time for their meeting on Monday with the new clients.

With everything packed, Gaara walked into the kitchen and grabbed something to eat. He walked into the living room and found Temari and Kankuro watching a new show.

"What's this?" he asked as he sat down in the empty armchair.

"A new show, it's amazing. It's about the sandman getting trapped and he has to find a way to escape," Temari told him with a smile.

Gaara faced the television and watched the first two episodes before deciding to call it a night.