Here's the next chapter.

Sakura continued to leave the house on several occasions, and each time she'd come back later than she had expected. Syaoran was getting worried that she'd started to see someone else, but there wasn't much evidence of that and he certainly couldn't prove it. He woke late one morning to find that she wasn't in bed and he asked one of the maids where she was.

"I'm sorry My Lord, but I haven't seen her anywhere." She replied.

"Alright…" He replied with a sigh. The best thing to do for the moment was to wait, so he did. This is getting out of hand-I'll have to punish her later. He thought to himself irritably as he headed for the lounge.

…

Sakura walked down the main street in a red velvet skirt and crème top with a black corset over it, heading for the orphanage. She was looking forward to spending more time with the kids, and they seemed to have grown quite attached to Sakura, as well. It was where she was spending all her free time recently.

She liked to take some of the kids to the park for a while on the nice days, and sometimes she'd treat them at the bakery.

Outside the orphanage stood Carla, and she was waiting for her. Just up ahead was a carriage, but Carla didn't spot the carriage and ran out onto the road when she saw Sakura approaching. The carriage couldn't stop in time and Sakura felt pure dread and fear for the small child and screamed her name.

"Carla!"

She ran as fast as she could, but it felt like hours before she reached the child's side and it was too late. She had sustained serious injuries to her body and was bleeding heavily from her back and hip. Lucy came running out and saw the state of Carla and gasped.

The passengers in the carriage opened the door and stepped out and were shocked with what they were greeted with. Sakura's head was running wild with thoughts and going into overload. Someone gave her their jacket to cover the bleeding and she pressed it to the wound with what little training she had, and then she remembered who did have training.

"Lucy-I'm going to go get Syaoran; he's got medical training and can help her." Sakura said.

"What should I do?" she asked fearfully.

"Try and stop the bleeding!" Sakura called back as she ran to get help.

Lucy knelt beside Carla and tried to do her best to stop the bleeding from her wounds, but she didn't know what to do. She barely had any medical training, and what little she did know was how to treat minor wounds and scrapes.

Sakura ran as fast as she could, unaware of her surroundings and only of the conscious fact that Carla, the little girl she had grown so fond of in the past weeks gone by, was just in a serious accident and needed help. Someone grabbed her arm and slammed her back into the brick wall; her head span and black spots dotted her vision.

"Check out her clothes-she's a high-class citizen." A male's voice sounded.

"She's real pretty too…"

"Damn."

Fear rose in her chest and she began to panic. Her vision cleared, and she found herself confronted with three men, and all she could think about was the need to get out of there.

"Move!" she slammed her fist into one of their faces and used her body to knock the other to the side, but not without copping a knife to the shoulder. She ran quickly and pulled it out along the way, dropping it on the ground and cradling her shoulder all the way back to the house. As she entered, blood dripped on the floor and her vision was hazy. She knew that she had probably left a trail of blood behind her, but she didn't much care. The only thing on her mind was Carla.

Footsteps sounded, and she looked over to see Syaoran standing at the bottom of the staircase. He looked shocked at her state and immediately made his way over to her.

"What in the world happened to your shoulder?!" he asked.

"Never mind me-I can wait; Carla, a four-year-old child has just been hit by a carriage-she needs serious medical attention. Please Syaoran-I need your help!" she begged.

He looked at her sceptically, but she seemed far too desperate to be lying. "Where is it? You're not going anywhere with your shoulder like that."

Sakura was about to protest when he lifted her arm and she cried out in pain. "The orphanage." Sakura replied quietly.

He pulled her upstairs and into the lounge, and he quickly went and got something from the study.

"Here, this should help with the pain for now. When I get back I'll treat your wound since you won't let me do it now. Hold this to your shoulder to stop the bleeding." He said, and then left.

Sakura felt the medication he'd just given her start to take effect. Everything started to feel numb and she fell asleep.

…

Sure enough, Sakura was right about the accident outside the orphanage. Syaoran rushed over to the small child, and the woman beside her who he had assumed to be Lucy looked up. Her face was stained with tears and she was worried about Carla, but that was only natural.

"Are you Sakura's husband?" she asked.

"Yes." He replied. "Have you stopped the bleeding?"

"Oh, yes."

"Good; I'll take over now-you did well."

Lucy stepped away and allowed Syaoran to take over. He cleaned the wounds and gave her something for the pain after dressing them and checked for breaks in the bones. Carefully he picked the child up and carried her inside, placing her in the bed that Lucy led him to.

"Thank you so much for your help."

"Well, she's very lucky. Her wounds will take a while to close, but she doesn't have any broken bones, which is practically a miracle." He said.

"What should I give her for the pain?" Lucy asked.

"Laudanum would be the easiest, but it's expensive… I'll write down a few herbal medications that are just as good and can be bought down at the market. I'll give you some anyway, but don't use it unless it's absolutely necessary." Syaoran said.

"Thank you." Lucy smiled gratefully as he began writing down his instructions.

He looked around, wondering if Sakura had been caught up in the accident as well. Her shoulder was bleeding rather heavily when he'd left.

"May I ask how Sakura's shoulder got wounded?" Syaoran asked.

Lucy looked at him with surprise. "I'm sorry, I didn't know she'd been wounded…"

"Sorry, forget I said anything." Syaoran murmured.

Lucy smiled, "Sakura's a lovely girl; she comes by all the time to play with the children and to make sure they're doing ok."

"Is that what she was doing today?" he asked.

"You didn't know?" Lucy asked.

"No, I didn't." He murmured.

He stood and handed Lucy the instructions and headed towards the door.

"Lucy, if Sakura ever comes by again, please don't turn her away." He said.

Lucy looked at him with surprise and he smiled.

"I've had the wrong opinion of her for a long time, and learning that she has such a deep-rooted caring for children-I can't take that away from her."

Lucy smiled, "Thank you, My Lord."

Syaoran left and headed back home, worried about the wound in Sakura's shoulder. As he entered the lounge he found Mira standing over Sakura who was asleep, looking like she was about to do something to her wound.

"Mira."

She stopped immediately and smiled. "I was just checking to make sure the bleeding had stopped." She said.

"Get out." He ordered.

She walked out of the room and he shut the door behind her, locking it so no one could enter. He walked over and removed the towel that had soaked up a lot of blood, and he inspected Sakura's wound. Unfortunately, there was fabric in the way and he couldn't see it properly, so he started unlacing her corset to get it off her. She roused as he pulled her corset away from her body and began to lift her top, and she panicked.

"What are you doing?" she yelped.

"I need to see your wound, so I can clean and dress it." He said.

She pouted, and he rolled his eyes, "Fine, I won't look."

He stood and walked around to her back while she carefully pulled her top off. He slipped his jacket off and handed it to her, and she covered herself with it while he inspected her wound. She felt incredibly embarrassed and exposed, especially with the cold air brushing against her skin. He cleaned it gently and rubbed some disinfectant on it.

"It's going to need stitches." He finally said after a long silence.

"Wonderful." She mumbled.

"How did you get the wound?" he asked.

"Why does it matter?"

"I need to know so that if you have any other injuries, I can treat them." He told her sharply.

Realising he was only trying to help her, she answered. "When I was heading back here three guys attacked me. They slammed me back against a brick wall-my vision went funny and my head hurt. After I punched a guy in the face and knocked the other guy out of the way, they stabbed me in the shoulder. End of story." She told him.

"You've probably got a concussion. Do you feel sick?" he asked.

"Not really…" she replied. "Ow!"

"Bear with me, this might hurt a little." He said as he began to stitch her wound closed.

She stayed silent but couldn't stop the tears of pain from crawling down her face. He checked her hair but didn't find any wounds or bleeding, and he sat down beside her.

"You should have a bath tonight." He said, "Don't do anything too strenuous."

Sakura nodded, and he noticed the tears. "Surely the stitches weren't that bad?"

She shook her head. "I couldn't get there in time…" she whispered.

He sighed. "No, but you did just save a little girl's life." He said.

She looked at him with shock and he smiled. "I'm glad you asked for my help today. I got to see a side of you I never knew about." He said.

"Oh, shut up." She mumbled, burying her face in his jacket.

"I've had the wrong opinion of you for a long time, and today I've learned that not only am I wrong, but you're a very caring woman. I'm sorry." He apologised.

She lifted her head, trying to find her voice and the right words. She didn't want to screw up and make him angry with her again-not when he was apologising.

"I care for children, and it's true that I would like children of my own one day. But not because it's demanded of me, but rather because it's a decision made between myself and the person I love…" she said softly.

He blinked with surprise, and she was worried she'd said the wrong thing. She stood up too fast and almost fell forward, but he caught her.

"I thought I said not to do anything stupid."

"You said strenuous." She corrected.

"Close enough." He muttered, and then smiled. "I think I'm starting to understand you a little bit better now."

She half smiled. "Really?"

"I'll go and get you another top. I'll be back shortly." He said and disappeared out of the lounge.

Sakura felt better knowing that she wasn't going to be punished too badly that night, but she wasn't going to let her guard down. She looked up as someone entered, only to find that it was Mira and not Syaoran.

"Mira…I don't need anything, thank you…" Sakura murmured.

Mira smiled. "I just came to get your top." She said.

"Oh. You can throw it out-it's no good to me now anyway." Sakura said.

"If that is what you would like." Mira smiled, and walked over to pick up her bloodied top.

Sakura watched as she left and Syaoran walked back in a few minutes later with a white top for Sakura and helped her into it. The sleeves were made of lace and it had a low neckline, showing off a bit more than she would have liked but she wasn't planning on leaving the house for the rest of the day.

"You should go see those children again." He said.

She looked at him with surprise. "You're not going to punish me?" She asked.

"I think getting stabbed in the shoulder is punishment enough." He said and sat beside her on the couch. "I don't think you can deal with any more pain tonight."

She felt like crying again, but she held back her tears and looked away. Instead she closed her eyes, feeling exhausted from the day's events, and fell asleep against his shoulder. Syaoran was pleasantly surprised by this and relaxed beside her.

…

Several days later Sakura sat with her sister telling her of what had happened to her shoulder. It was sore, but at least it was healing thanks to the care she was receiving from Syaoran.

"So, what did you buy on your most recent adventure, Sakura?" Tomoyo asked curiously as she drank her tea.

"Bananas." Sakura replied.

"Oh, I haven't had one of those in a while." Tomoyo said thoughtfully.

"The best way to eat them is to peel them and eat them as is." Sakura said.

"That's barbaric!" Tomoyo scoffed. "The best way is with melted chocolate."

"No-that's way too difficult and time consuming! It has to be done like this!" Sakura said and demonstrated how a banana should be eaten.

Just at that moment the door opened and Syaoran and Eriol opened to see Sakura's bizarre pose. There was a brief pause before Eriol burst into laughter.

"Sakura, what the hell are you doing?" Syaoran asked.

"Demonstrating the correct way to eat a banana-what do you think?" she replied, rolling her eyes and placing her hands on her hips.

He stayed silent and she immediately clicked. "Get your mind out of the gutter!" she shouted.

"Oh my." Tomoyo giggled.

"So, what is the correct way?" he muttered.

"With melted chocolate of course." Tomoyo replied.

"Honestly, does it really matter?" Syaoran asked. "Everyone has their preferences over how to eat fruit."

Sakura shrugged. "Good point. I prefer strawberries with chocolate, but I don't like bananas and chocolate."

"Hmm…I suppose it depends." Tomoyo said with a smile. "Would anyone like a cookie? I baked them myself!" she said cheerfully as she changed the topic, holding up a plate of biscuits of different shapes and sizes.

"She cooks?" Syaoran asked.

"She's lovely." Eriol smiled.

Sakura ignored Syaoran's comment and took a biscuit and ate it. Syaoran wondered why Sakura wouldn't cook more often; he wouldn't mind if it were only a few days a week, but at least it would be something.

"Thank you for your hospitality, but I'm afraid we should be going now." Syaoran said.

"Anytime."

Sakura stood with Syaoran and they left. Tomoyo smiled as she realised they didn't seem so hostile towards each other anymore, and she felt a sense of relief. Perhaps now things would go a bit smoother for them.

What did you think of the chapter? Things are starting to shift a lot between them. Err, that end bit was just for amusement hahaha

I'm sorry, but I really need to get this off my chest. I am frustrated. If you walk into a story and expect the characters to already be perfect, then you're in for a rude shock. Sakura acts like a brat, yes, but there is a reason behind it. So, instead of complaining and asking why I have to make her so bratty all the time, wait until i've finished uploading the entire story first before saying anything. As I said in one of my earlier authors notes, part of the reason she does it is due to fear. You don't have all of her story yet :)