As soon as Hinata's eyes open, she immediately shuts them.

Head throbbing and mouth parched; she groans in agony. Both palms immediately come to her forehead to ease the mounting tension. She winces as her right palm gently connects with her temple. Her eyes dart open, but it takes a few moments for her vision to adjust to the darkness of the night. When she is better able to decipher her surroundings, she inspects the makeshift tourniquet. She frowns at the dark, still damp spot of blood that seems to be slowly spreading and tries to ignore the blunt pain.

Her attempt at channeling chakra to her palms is unsuccessful. No surprise there, as she barely has enough energy to move around the small apartment. She realizes she is left with two options; tightly rebandage the wound and hope that it heals well this time, or seek medical assistance. She hates being weak and dependent on others and doesn't want to explain to anyone how she accidentally cut herself.

With enormous effort, she crawls out of bed. Her sight lands on the dark cloak hung over a dresser. The sight brings back the reality she was trying to evade. The one she hoped was just a nightmare or maybe just a cruel joke her mind had created. The dark fabric sucks in the little energy she tried her best to channel.

Exhaustion bogs her bones. Her turmoil is as heavy as it was when she laid her head on the pillow several hours ago. Sleep provided no reprieve from the reality that she had yet to fully accept.

She braces herself against a wall to maintain her balance as the room spins. Steadying her breathing, she forces herself to calm down. Slowly, cautiously, she steps toward the hallway. She doesn't want to see him, she knows the sight of him will increase her anguish, but the thought of a cold, glass of water and a bottle of painkillers carries her forward.

She's at the bedroom doorway, when she hears a knock at the front door. She isn't expecting guests, so she stills her breathing and listens intently.

"Sasuke, I came as soon as I could. Where is she?"

Hinata inches closer to the hallway but remains out of sight.

Sasuke doesn't answer, so Hinata assumes he may have physically gestured toward the bedroom door.

"Do you really think she was trying to hurt herself?" Hinata recognizes the voice as Sakura's.

"Possibly."

"You need to be sure about this, Sasuke. I'm not comfortable involuntarily committing a pregnant woman. Do you think it could have just been an accident?"

"She doesn't seem sound of mind." Hinata's world begins to spin again. The instinct to flee is strong. She glances down the hall to the open bathroom door. The tiny bathroom window is too small for her to fit through, and even if she could squeeze herself through, she doesn't know where she would find help.

"Don't know. If you don't want to treat her, then send her back to the Hyuga compound. I don't have the time to babysit a pampered princess and she's not in a state of mind to be left alone." Sasuke's voice sounds strained and laced with agitation.

"I can't just force her back home or disclose this information to her family. I would need her consent to do that. Did something happen between her and Naruto?"

For a fleeting second, Hinata imagines a panicked expression on Sasuke's sullen face. One that turns to despondency for having to reveal to his teammate that her future leader wasn't as honest and as loyal as he claimed to be.

Sasuke's response is the exact opposite of her expectations, "How the fuck would I know? Ask her yourself." His quick and effortless response, enforces the fact that she knows little of the man outside and that he may be as rude and heartless as most described him.

"I don't believe you. He tells you everything." Sakura continues, "I only want to know how to help her."

"You can ask her yourself." He repeats.

"Fine, I'll try to conduct a psychological evaluation. It's not my field, but I can try my best. Does Naruto know?"

"No. There is no need for him to know."

"That's not your decision to make, Sasuke. If his wife is a danger to herself, he should be here to take care of her. Especially if she has no one else to turn to." Sasuke tries to intervene, but Sakura firmly continues, "A mission is of less importance than the well-being of a loved one."

The compassion in Sakura's voice shatters Hinata's weak wall of defense. Hinata tries to stifle in a sob, but the quietness of the apartment easily carries the repressed sound.

"Hinata, are you okay?" Sakura calls out. Hinata drags herself to the bathroom as quickly as she can when she hears light footsteps growing closer.

She slams the bathroom door shut, then answers, "I'll be out in a minute."

Hinata splashes her face with cold water, hoping the coolness will wash away the pain and grant her grieving countenance.

A knock at the bathroom door causes Hinata to jump.

"Hinata, may I come in?"

Quickly she dries her face and practices a fake smile in the mirror. The smile turns upside down at the sight of her puffy face and blotchy complexion.

"Hey, Sakura-san." Hinata creaks open the door slightly, "what are you doing here?" Hinata asks, feigning normalcy.

"Sasuke sent over one of his summons to tell me that you had a bit of an accident." Sakura glances down at the hand bandaged in dish towels. "May I see?" Hinata nods in her head in agreement and Sakura scrummages through her medical bag to retrieve a fresh roll of gauze and a bottle of antiseptic solution.

Carefully, the medical-nin cleans the lightly leaking laceration with the solution, "Ouch, that looks painful. Want to tell me what happened?"

Not wanting to give a completely different recounting of the events than what Sasuke may have relayed, Hinata has no choice but to be honest, "I was washing the knife, got a bit distracted and it slipped." Technically it was the truth.

Sakura's palms hover a few centimeters over Hinata's as green chakra flows out, "Does that happen often?"

Hinata looks at her questioningly.

Sakura smiles at her warmly, "Do you get distracted easily? Lose track of time?"

"Never, just this one time." Hinata quickly replies.

"What were you thinking of? Sasuke mentioned that you seemed distressed."

Hinata wants to vehemently defend herself, to tell Sakura that the man out there has a plan to get rid of her presence so that he can have Naruto for himself. But this will just be concrete evidence against her mental well-being. She tries to move away her hand, to rub at the throbbing headache that is beginning to grow in intensity, but Sakura holds it firmly in her grip.

"It's okay, Hinata. I am just trying to help." Sakura's voice is calming and soothing, just as the chakra she is sharing. "You can be honest with me. I promise I'll take care of you."

"The pregnancy is taking a toll on me. I can't eat and I have no energy." Hinata shoots a glance at Sakura to determine if her half-truth was bought. Believing that Sakura still needs more convincing, she adds, "And I miss my husband."

"I can get word to Naruto."

As much as he has deceived her, Hinata still wants what's best for her husband, "I don't want to be a burden. I promised him that I'll go back to the compound. I was planning to go, but got caught up in a little cleaning."

Sakura hums in acknowledgement, and shifts from one leg to the other, before she asks, "Do you think you can drop by the hospital before you go back to the Hyuga compound?"

"If you need me to."

"It's just to do a general check-up on you, the baby and your mental health." The flow of healing chakra disappears along with the gash on Hinata's hand.

"Okay, Sakura-san." Hinata doesn't try to fight the request, she doesn't have the energy to do so.

Sakura slips back the gauze and solution into her bag, "Great, see you tomorrow at around noon?"


Hope this chapter didn't seem rushed. I have too many WIPs and not enough time :(