Hey guys!

Thank you so much Nanami and TheBloodyLoveOfSakuraHaruno for all your comments! They mean a lot to me! I appreciate all your support! Love you guys!

Hope you enjoy this chapter just as much!

XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxXxxXxxXxxX


Gaara spent the night at the office, busy as he was with creating a new contract for their new client. By the time he was done, it was almost midnight, and he was too tired to be able to drive home. He had checked his phone, finding a message from Sakura, making him smile. He replied to her.

Hi Sakura, sorry it's such a late reply. I'm doing well, thank you and work has been busy. How about you? How are you? How is work? Xx

He placed his phone on the coffee table and laid down on the sofa, throwing his jacket over him, keeping him warm. His eyes closed as tiredness won out. He'd managed to get a few hours' sleep, before getting up. He showered and dressed, made himself a mug of black coffee. He looked out the window, dawn was just breaking, light chasing the darkness away.

He made his way to his desk and clicked awake his computer and sat down. He placed the mug down and turned his attention to his work.

He'd lost track of time as he worked, only looking up when a knock sounded on his door. "Come in," he called, turning his attention back to his work. He heard the door open and close, heard footsteps approach him and waited for the person to speak. For a few minutes, nothing was said. Gaara looked up from his computer, his eyes widening, "f… father?" He stood up.

Rasa nodded, "sit down Gaara." He took a seat in the empty chair and waited until Gaara was sat down.

"You should have called; I would have come to see you." Gaara finally sat down.

"You've been avoiding me for the past two days," Rasa pointed out.

Gaara looked down, "I've been busy."

"I can see," Rasa nodded, watching Gaara closely. "How are you?"

"I'm well, father. You?" Gaara clicked on an email, trying to read it.

"I'm well, too, thank you." Rasa looked around the room, it was almost bare, except for the few family pictures hung up on the walls.

Gaara looked over at his father, waiting for him to say whatever he needed to, but nothing was said. Instead, they looked at one another, assessing one another. "What… What can I do for you father?"

Rasa gave him a small smile, "only you would be so formal with me. I came to see how you're doing."

Gaara looked confused, normally, conversations between himself and his father were normally short and always about work. "I've been working on the new contracts, and I've been-

"I want to know about you Gaara, not the business." Rasa interrupted.

"Me?" Gaara asked incredulously.

"Yes, you," Rasa stood up and walked towards the window, looking at the landscape spread out in front of him. "How have things been with you? Temari told me that you'd fainted and had to go to the hospital."

Gaara was surprised at his father's words. "Things have been okay. Yes, I did faint, but it wasn't anything serious."

"It could have been," Rasa turned to face Gaara, before walking back to his seat.

Gaara wasn't sure what to make of this conversation, or where it was going. He waited for his father to carry on.

"Chiyo had called me up the day you were admitted into hospital," Rasa smiled slightly, "she told me off, saying that you are too much like me. That all you do is work." Rasa looked at Gaara, "you remind me of me, when I was young."

Gaara's eyes stung at those words, at the way they were spoken with such tenderness. "Dad… I…."

"I know Gaara," Rasa said, "I am sorry for how I had treated you when you were a child. Looking back now, I can see how mean I was, how horrible, and you didn't deserve it. I was angry at the untimely death of your mother, my wife, and I misplaced that anger on you."

Gaara swallowed past the lump that had formed in his throat, tears brimming his eyes, threatening to fall.

Rasa cleared his throat and blinked several times, "I also want you to know, I'm really proud of you son."

A tear rolled down Gaara's face at Rasa's words. Words that Gaara had wanted to hear all his life. He closed his eyes, several tears rolling down, following the path of the first. "Dad," Gaara's voice broke slightly.

Rasa stood up and walked over to Gaara, and placed a hand on his shoulder, "I am so proud of you and everything you have achieved," he smiled at Gaara.

Gaara stood up and hugged his father for the first time ever. Holding him close. He felt like a little child embracing his father for the first time, and he felt loved. His breathing had turned shaky as more tears fell, his nose running and the lump in his throat became bigger, almost suffocating him.

Rasa let go of him and smiled again, he had tears running down his face too. He wiped at his eyes and walked over to the back of the office, grabbing two bottles of water and the box of tissues. He handed a bottle to Gaara, followed by the tissues.

Gaara wiped at his eyes. He opened the bottle and drank heavily, forcing the lump to disappear, making it easier to breath. He placed the bottle down on his table and looked at his dad, "I've always wanted to hear you say those words to me."

"I'm sorry I never said them before," Rasa sat down, the bottle in his hands. "I've never been good at words," he laughed lightly, "your mother was the one who was good at this kind of thing."

Gaara smiled at him, "I can believe that."

Rasa cleared his throat and wiped at his eyes, "so, tell me, what else has been happening with you?"

Gaara couldn't believe that he was finally having a proper conversation with his father, something that he had only dreamt about. "Honestly, I've been busy at work mainly."

Rasa smiled, "you really are like me. You need to take time away from the business."

"I try dad," Gaara smiled back.

Rasa nodded, "that's all we can do, try." With that, he stood up and made his way to the door, "come home tonight, son," he turned to look at Gaara.

Gaara nodded, "okay." He watched as his father walked out, leaving him alone. He still couldn't believe that this had happened, that him and his father had spoken properly in forever. He smiled to himself and sighed with content.

He turned his attention back to his work, amending the new contract, ensuring that everything was ready for the client.

XoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXo

Sakura sighed as she finally managed to sit down in her chair. She'd been off her feet all morning, helping with operations and filling in for doctors who weren't in. She closed her eyes, resting them. Her thoughts turned to Gaara. She found the message from him early this morning and had replied as soon as she was awake. She opened her eyes and reached for her bag, pulling out her phone and clicked on his name. No new messages. She sighed and worried her bottom lip.

She decided to call him, to find out how things had been going, whether he'd had the chance to speak with his father yet. She clicked on the green call symbol and held the phone against her ear, listening to the dial tone. She pinched at her bottom lip, while waiting for the call to connect.

As she was about to hang up, Gaara finally answered.

"Sakura."

She let go off the breath she didn't know she was holding, "Gaara, hi. How are you?"

"I'm well, thank you. How are you? How's work? I'm sorry for not replying to your message earlier."

Sakura shook her head, "you don't need to apologise, I know you're busy with everything. I'm doing good, thanks and work has been quite busy. I've been filling in for some of the doctors."

"Are you making sure you're taking breaks?"

Sakura chuckled, "now who's the doctor?"

"I guess the doctor needs her own doctor to look after her." She could hear his smile in his words.

She bit down on her bottom lip, her lips pulling up in a wide smile, "so, you're going to be my doctor, are you?"

"I can try to be."

Sakura blushed at his words, her mind conjuring up images of them together in his bed. She crossed her legs as desire pooled low in her core. She bit down hard on her bottom lip, stopping the moan that bubbled up in her throat. "Umm…" she finally breathed out, "that would be nice."

"Are you okay? You sound breathless."

"I'm okay," Sakura quickly said, she forced her mind clear of the images and asked, "how have things been?"

"Things have been… good. I'm still finding it hard to believe this, but my father and I had a conversation that wasn't anything to do with work."

Sakura smiled wide at the news, "that's amazing Gaara! I'm really happy for you. How did it go?"

"Thank you, and you were right with what you'd said the other night. He asked me how I was doing and he told me that he is proud of me."

Sakura could hear the emotions in his words and her heart felt for him, "I'm really happy for you Gaara, and I'm glad that you and your father finally managed to clear the air."

There was a knock on the door and Sakura looked up, watching as a nurse walked in, "Doctor Haruno…"

Sakura held up a finger, "Gaara I'm really sorry, but I have to go. I'll speak to you later. Bye."

"Speak to you later, bye."

She hung up the phone and stood up, "what can I do to help?"

"We need you in Operating Room seven, the patient is ready for their operation," the nurse smiled at her.

Sakura nodded and walked out of her office, the nurse following her, "have you got the charts?" Sakura asked over her shoulder.

"Yes, doctor," the nurse handed over a clipboard with the charts for the patient. Sakura went through them as she strode towards the room. Once inside, she was prepped for the operation, mask and gloves on, she started, the other doctors and nurses helping.

Several hours later, and with a successful operation, Sakura walked out of the room, thanking the doctors and nurses for their contributions. She made her way back to her office, her mind on Gaara, Sasori's words echoing in her mind.

"Sometimes you just know if you just like someone or if you love them."

Sakura shook her head, "nope, it's too early for me to be thinking like this," she said to herself, sitting down in her chair. She thought about all the times she'd been with Gaara. From the first time when she threw herself at him, while being a little too drunk, to Monday night, when he had come to see her and she had comforted him. She smiled to herself, Sasori's words once again echoing in the back of her mind. "Maybe…" she mumbled to herself, before once again, shaking her head, denying the feelings and turning her attention to her work.

With everything almost done, Sakura decided to call it a night and shut down her computer, tidied up the charts and files and grabbed her bag from the floor. She picked out her phone and unlocked it, no new messages. She smiled at her phone, feeling like a teenager who was eagerly waiting for her boyfriend to message her. She stared at her phone, thinking about that, "are we in a relationship?" she asked her phone, as if Gaara would message her and say yes.

For a while she stood there, waiting, staring at her phone, but after several minutes passed by, she threw her phone back in her bag, and made her way out, turning the lights out after her. Once home, she changed out of her work clothes and walked into the kitchen, making herself a quick and dinner and sat down in front of the television, watching her new favourite show, The Sandman.

XoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXo

Gaara made sure to finish work on time today. He checked the time, seven thirty. He shut down his computer, placed the files and contracts in the drawer and locked it, pocketed his phone and keys and left his office, making his way to his car and driving home.

Rasa's words echoed in his mind, "I'm proud of you son." He smiled to himself as he parked the car and got out, locking the car and made his way into the house. "I'm home," he called as he took off his shoes and placed them on the rack.

He made his way to his room, changing out of his suit and into a pair of shorts and a shirt and made his way into the living room. Kankuro and Rasa were watching sports, while Temari was in the kitchen, finishing off dinner.

"Welcome home, son," Rasa looked at Gaara and smiled.

Gaara returned the smile, "thank you." He walked into the kitchen, "can I help with anything?"

Temari turned to look at Gaara and smiled wide, "you came home." She wiped her hands and walked towards him, hugging him tightly.

Gaara returned the hug, "I did," he pulled away. "Dad asked me to come home tonight."

Temari looked at him with wide eyes, "what?! You and dad spoke?"

Gaara nodded, "yeah, he came into my office, and we had a long talk, and it was good, really good." Gaara smiled.

Temari's eyes filled with tears, "oh, that is so good to hear," she wiped at her eyes, "I'm so happy for you." She sniffed and laughed, "so, what happened?"

Gaara told her what had been said, and he watched as tears rolled down Temari's face. He grabbed a tissue and handed it over to her, "don't cry."

"These are happy tears, I'm allowed to cry," she laughed as she wiped at her eyes and blew her nose. "I really am so happy that you and dad finally spoke, after all this time."

Gaara smiled at her and pulled her into another hug.

Temari hugged him back before pulling away, "the food is going to burn," she turned away from him, grabbing the wooden spoon and stirred the soup.

"Let me help," Gaara said. He washed his hands and dried them, before starting on the vegetables, cutting them finely and passing them to Temari.

With dinner ready, Gaara set the table and called his dad and Kankuro to the table. Temari placed the food on the table and sat down, Gaara following her.

Rasa looked around the table at all his children and smiled, "it's nice to have a family meal like this."

Temari smiled at him, her eyes brimming with tears again, "it's what we've always wanted, dad."

"I am sorry for the way I've acted, with all of you," he looked at each of them in turn, his eyes lingering on Gaara, "let's eat."

They all took turns plating up, before tucking into their food. They spoke and laughed about anything and everything all through dinner, all of them happy.

"We should go out and celebrate," Temari said as she tidied up the plates.

"Celebrate what?" Kankuro asked.

"Us, we're finally together," she beamed at them all.

"You know I'm always up for a party," Kankuro smirked, he turned to look at Gaara, "you should invite Sakura to join us."

"Sakura? Who's that?" Rasa asked.

Gaara glared at Kankuro, narrowing his eyes slightly.

"She's Gaara's girlfriend," Kankuro said in a sing song voice.

"No, she's not," Gaara added tersely.

"Oh, come on Gaara. You told us yourself that you love her."

Rasa looked over at Gaara and smiled, "I'd like to meet her."

"Perfect, I'll book us a table at Shukaku's for Friday, make sure you invite Sakura." Kankuro grabbed his phone and unlocked it, "if you don't, I will." He clicked on the internet icon and loaded up the Shukaku website, booking a table for Friday at eight. "All done."

Gaara looked over at Temari, waiting to see what she would say about this.

"You can invite her, if you want," she smiled at Gaara.

"I'll think about it," Gaara said.

"You haven't got long to think about it, Friday is only a day away," Kankuro smiled at him.

Gaara took in a deep breath and let it out, he helped Temari clean the kitchen before excusing himself to his room. He grabbed his phone and unlocked it, selecting the message app and sent Sakura a couple of messages.

HI, how are you? How was the rest of your day? Xx

Are you free on Friday? We are going to Shukaku's and I'd like for you to join us. Xx

He watched his phone, waiting for her reply to come in.

XoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXo

Sakura had finished cleaning the kitchen when her phone pinged a few times. She dried her hands on the towel and grabbed her phone off the counter, turning off the music. She unlocked it and found two messages from Gaara. She felt butterflies flutter through her as she eagerly tapped on the messages and read them.

Hi, I'm good thanks. Work was busy. How are you? How have things been? Xx

She hit sent on the first message and read the second message, biting her bottom lip. Dinner with his family. The thought of sitting across the table from Temari scared her, after the last interaction they had, she was worried about how things would be between them. She chewed on her lip, thinking about what to say to him.

Her phone beeped in her hand, his reply displayed on the screen,

I'm good too, thank you. Things have been great. We've just had out first family meal together. Do you think you'd be able to join us on Friday? Xx

She began typing a message only to delete it and start again.

What does Temari think about you inviting me? She wasn't exactly thrilled when she saw us together… xx

She waited for his message to come through, but instead, he called her. The butterflies went mad inside her, making her feel both hot and cold. She swallowed and answered the call, "hello."

"Hi, Temari said she's like for you to join us on Friday. But I understand if you feel like it's too much. I don't want you to feel pressured into saying yes."

Sakura smiled into her phone, "I'd love to join you and your family."

"Are you sure?" she heard the hopeful tone in his voice, and it only made her smile more.

"I am."

They spoke a little more, before they both hung up. Sakura went through her nightly routine and got into bed; the smile still plastered to her face. Her last thoughts about Gaara.