Oh no no no! everyone stop crying!!!
Here! read this!!! it's happier i promise!!!

and just a warning, i'm heading to Florida for a week, so it'll be longer for the next update since the last thing i want to see on vacation is a computer...

enjoy everyone! thanks for the amazing reviews once again! and i'll post a new chapter when i return!

:-)

I don't know how long I was sitting there for.
Time was nonexistent in this place.
Warmth surrounded me and filled every cell in my body.
I was never cold or hot, I was just peacefully and contentedly warm…

I was alone in this vast empty place, only when I moved was there noise.
Besides the sakura tree and myself, there was nothing around me, but yet, it was beautiful.

I knew that Sakura would love it here.

Suddenly the sound of footsteps was everywhere.
I couldn't tell where they were coming from, but someone was coming.
Was it Sakura?
Had I really been here that long?
Would she be old and bent when I saw her again?
Or would she still be young and vibrant like when I last saw her?

Would she even remember who I was…

A figure started to appear in the distance and I squinted my eyes to see who was invading my dwelling.
A squat, bent old lady came into view.
I marveled at the speed of time in this place…Sakura was now an old lady; but it felt like I had just gotten here.

What if she didn't remember me?
What if her memory was the only thing keeping me here?
Would the tree I was leaning against turn to ash as the spacious white environment turned to black and flames?
Would I be forced to watch as my soul ignited on fire and blew away in the wind for eternity?

I squinted harder at the growing figure…it seemed oddly familiar to me…I had seen this person before.
My memory was like a dull kunai though, almost useless…I couldn't place the name…but her face…

Then it hit me, it was Chiyo.
The woman who's existence I cursed for sealing the Shukaku within me.
The one woman I longed to kill, but was forbidden to ever touch.
My father had placed a law where if I ever physically contacted the woman I would be killed immediately.

I growled at her still growing form as the wind began to blow violently.
How dare she disturb my rest and waiting…

"What do you want?" I asked her as I stood up from under the tree.

"Gaara…" she said in an old and snapping voice.

"What are you doing here?" I demanded.

"I've come to right the wrong I made many years ago." she said as she finally arrived at where I was standing; but she didn't stop in front of me, she just kept walking by.

Grabbing my arm and squeezing it as she passed, she said, "You'd better get back there. They're all waiting for you."

What was she talking about?
Get back to where?
And who was waiting for me?
I watched as her figure grew smaller again, shrinking into the distance until a brilliant golden wave appeared and swelled in front of her, swallowing her whole.

But it didn't disappear after that, it was now coming for me.

Not wanting to leave this place because of the fear that Sakura would never be able to find me, I began to run.
I ran as fast as I could away from the killer wave.
I had seen what it did to Chiyo, and I refused to let the same happen to me.
Not yet.
Not without Sakura.

The further I ran, the brighter the white light around me got.
It got to be so bright, I was forced to cover my eyes.
Then in a brilliant flash, I was halted from my running and I was swallowed up once again.

The scenery around me changed and I saw myself as a child, crying alone in the desert.
"Get up." I told the child.
But my younger self continued to cry, hugging his knees for comfort.
"GET UP!" I yelled this time as the words echoed around us; but it was like the child didn't even know I was there.
I sat down next to him and said,"You are so weak…" And I stared straight ahead of me at the deserted place.

Then I heard the child next to me gasp.
I looked over and saw Naruto as a child patting him on the shoulder.
"Naruto…" I said to the blonde boy.

Then I felt a heavy hand fall on my own shoulder.
I looked back, and there was the Naruto I had left behind in the living world.

"Welcome back." he said smiling slightly and my eyes widened at him.

My surroundings suddenly came into focus.
I was no longer sitting on the cracked earth, but was cushioned by luscious grass and there was a crowd of people standing around me.

Looking around I saw everyone I had once known…Temari and Kankuro were looking down at me smiling along with Naruto. Matsuri and Baki where there as well.

I turned my head and saw Sakura crying over the body of a dead Chiyo.
Sensing my gaze, Sakura looked up as tears cascaded from her eyes.
She looked from me to Chiyo, and then back to me again.

Then it all hit me, Chiyo had sacrificed her life for mine…she had brought me back from the dead.
I was alive and it was all because of her.

Laying the dead woman gently on the ground Sakura walked over to me hesitantly.
She kneeled down next to me and touched my cheek with her fingertips.
She pressed and rubbed her fingers against my skin lightly, making sure that this wasn't an illusion and then she engulfed me into a hug as she cried against my shoulder and neck.

Willing my arms to move against the soreness and stiffness, I returned her embrace and pulled her into me.

"Sakura…" I whispered as we held each other.

"You were gone." she sobbed. "I thought I had lost you forever but Chiyo she…" and then she trailed off as she cried harder.

"It looks like you're forever going to be a little brother we have to look after…" Kankuro said smartly, and I knew it was his way of saying 'I'm glad you're back'.

Looking up once again, I noticed that almost everyone in the village was there.
They had all worked to bring me back…
My eyes widened at this realization.

Releasing Sakura, I moved to stand up but found that I couldn't do it.
Just when I was about to give up the idea of standing, I felt a strong hand support me under my left arm…Naruto was helping me up.
Then I felt as my right arm was slipped around someone's shoulders, and I looked over to see Sakura helping me as well.
Naruto. My friend.
Sakura. My best friend and lover.
Hands pressed against my back as a reassurance and I looked behind me and saw my siblings.
Temari, Kankuro. My family.

We moved our way over to Chiyo's body and I stared down at the woman and found that I could no longer find hate for her within me.
She had once destroyed my life, and now she had saved it…
She had righted the wrong she made, just like she said when she passed me by.

I felt as Sakura's head pressed against my chest and her tears soaked through my shirt to my skin.

"Let's go home." I said in a raspy voice.

Everyone around me nodded as Sakura held onto me tightly.

It was decided that the others would go ahead of us and search the area for the Akatsuki.
Kankuro, Temari, Sakura, and myself would make our way back to Suna. Once we were home, Sakura would tend to any medical attention that I needed.
I told Naruto that he could return to Konoha now, since I knew the threat on his life was now over.
Before we separated, he patted me on the shoulder and said, "Thank you Gaara."
I nodded and smiled at him.

"I'll see you two soon for the wedding!" he said more excitedly as he ran off to catch up with the others.

The wedding…I had completely forgotten about it!
There wasn't much time left before it…
I turned to look at Sakura to see if we were still getting married since the last time we had spoken to one another it wasn't on friendly terms.
She just smiled at me and nodded, her eyes red and puffy from crying.
I nodded at her as well and then we continued our journey home.

It wasn't long after dark when we set up camp for the night.
I kept watch, while everyone slept soundly around me.
Sakura was clasping my waist in a protective grasp as she used me as a pillow.

While the insects chirped and croaked around me, I stared at the fire and reflected.

Shukaku…I thought and waited for his reply.
But then I remembered that he was now gone, and I would never be able to hold another conversation with him again.

I felt so light and free now…
Shukaku was gone, along with his hatred and bloodlust.
A calm was now in my stomach instead of the constant burning of his hatred towards everyone.

I was happy to be free of the demon.

But yet…
Some part of my being was saddened at this fact.
I had lost my first friend I had ever made.
Shukaku had been the one constant in my life, and now he was gone.
For the first time in my life, I was truly alone.

It just wasn't me and Shukaku anymore... it was just me.
A shiver ran up my spine and I didn't hold it back.
My body trembled as coldness crept through my veins.

Sakura moved her head and mumbled something against my stomach and it tore me away from my thoughts. That coldness was immediately replaced by warmth once again.
I placed my hand softly on the back of her head and moved my fingers through her hair.

I wasn't alone…I had Sakura.
She was my new constant.
I smiled at this realization, and turned my eyes up towards the sky.

The desert was close by, I could feel the few grains of sand in the wind that was blowing.

"Goodbye Shukaku." I said quietly to the breeze, and I let it carry my words to wherever he was now.

When Suna came into view once again, I had gained enough strength back to where I no longer needed help walking.
For that I was grateful.
By now, everyone would have heard that Shukaku was removed and they all probably doubted my capabilities at protecting them…

I needed to show them that I was still strong and that I was still a capable leader.
In fact, I was an even better leader now without Shukaku.

As the four of us walked to our home, everyone gathered in the streets and cheered.
Some patted me on the back while children ran around us jumping up and down.

"You've been missed." Temari leaned over and whispered into my ear. "Give them a wave Gaara."

I looked at her out of the corner of my eye and then I lifted my arm up into the air.
The cheering got louder at my motion.

"Come on, I need to look you over still." Sakura said as she gently pushed me forward.

"We'll leave you two alone, we're starving so we're going to get something to eat. Do you want us to bring you two something to back?" Kankuro offered.

"No. I have to see what kind of condition he's in so I don't know what he can and can't eat yet." Sakura said as she again took my hand and moved forward once again.

When we got to our house, she led me straight to the bedroom and ordered me to sit on the bed and to remove my clothes.
I did was she told me to do slowly since everything was still sore.

As serious as I had ever seen her, she took my temperature, heart rate, blood pressure, respiration, and scanned my body for any other injuries I might have.
When she was finished, she let out a sigh of relief and sat next to me on the bed.

"Everything is back to normal. You're going to be sore for a few days while the rigor mortis works its way out of your body, but other then that you're fine. Just take it easy for about a week and then you can start training again."

I nodded at her while I dressed once again.

She leaned back on the bed and sighed once again as she stared up at the ceiling.

Sitting down next to her I said quietly, "You broke your promise."

Resting her gaze on me she asked, "What promise?"

"You promised me that you wouldn't come after me." I said.

She rolled onto her side and smirked, "You broke your promise too."

"No I didn't…"

"Yes you did. You promised me that you would be careful. And I don't think saving the whole village from a bomb and taking on a member of the Akatsuki by yourself constitutes as being careful." She sat up then and scooted closer to me. "But, I understand why you did it."

Pulling her into as tight of a hug as I could manage, I whispered, "I'm glad you broke your promise."

A small smile graced her face as she pulled way from me.

She grabbed my hand and rubbed her fingers over mine in a soothing pattern. "That rose that you gave me broke…" she said sadly.

Confused I asked, "What rose?"

"The rose you sent me with a letter, don't you remember? It was after you returned to Suna from the hospital and I first started to write you."

"You still have that thing?"

"Of course I do!" she exclaimed. "It's the nicest thing someone has ever given me. Only it…" and she trailed off and pointed to a shelf in the room.

I looked over at where she was pointing, and instead of seeing a rose, there was just a pile of sand.
The rose must have lost its shape when I died since I was no longer around to keep the chakra charged…

Moving my hand, I commanded the sand to once again form a rose.
I let it to float over to us and Sakura held out her hands as the rose was gently placed into them.
Smiling at it, she set it on the dresser next to the bed and then embraced me in a hug.

I felt as a few of her tears ran down my neck as she whispered, "You know, you didn't have to die in order for me not to be mad at you anymore."

Pulling her in tighter I responded, "Sakura, I'm sorry for what I did and didn't do. I..."

She pulled way from me then and covered my mouth with her hand in order to silence me.

"No, don't. let's just forget about the whole thing. We were both being stupid and childish that day. Let's just move on."

I nodded in agreement.

"How long do we have before the wedding?" I asked since I had no idea how long I was really gone for.

"There's only three days left…" Sakura said as she smiled at me.

" Are you still up for it?" I asked.

"Of course I am!" she smiled and laughed at me. "You're not getting out of it that easily."

I rolled my eyes at her and said sarcastically, "You mean dying isn't an excuse to get out of it?"

She laughed and pushed my shoulder playfully, "No it's not. In fact, if you hadn't have come back when you did, I was going to march into the afterlife and drag your soul's sorry ass back here so that we can make this official."

We both laughed then.
If felt good to laugh.
And what's more, it felt good to laugh with her.

We both stopped laughing as our eyes met.
Leaning in to kiss one another, our lips were almost touching when a knock on the door stopped our movement.

"So is he going to live this time?" Kankuro's voiced filtered through the door.

Sakura jumped out of bed and swung open the door happily, "Yep! He's fine!"

Kankuro, Temari, and Sakura all looked over at me sitting on the bed.

"Well come on then! Let's go celebrate! The town is holding a big festival tonight in your honor Gaara…"

I nodded and smiled at him, there was a celebration being held in my honor…I never thought I would see the day.

Temari mentioned something to Sakura about getting dressed and ready and they both squeeled at the idea.

Kankuro and I rolled our eyes at the same time and he walked over and sat next to me on the bed.

"Well that's going to take a few hours…" he muttered.

I nodded in agreement, "I hope this thing is going on all night, because we won't be there any time soon."

Sighing and leaning back on the bed at the same time, we both stared at the ceiling enjoying our time together in silence.

Happy shouts and cheers could be heard throughout Suna as everyone danced and drank.
Huge bonfires were set up while the people danced and jumped around them to the music that was playing.
Everyone was smiling and laughing, and once we arrived to the core of the celebration, the laughing and dancing escalated to a higher level.

Kankuro was immediately dancing, looking for a girl to dance with; which he found almost immediately.
Temari pulled Sakura out dancing as well, showing her how the dances went so that Sakura could learn them.
I found myself chuckling at the pair as Temari tried to show Sakura a complicated move and Sakura messed it up repeatedly.

Eventually a man came over and grabbed Temari, pulling her into the dance with him.

Sakura laughed and walked over to me shrugging, "I tried."

"You did good." I shouted over the music.

"You'll have to show me sometime." she yelled back.

I nodded at her in agreement.

"Aren't you going to dance?" she asked.

"I will when it's a dance I know isn't too taxing on me…I'm still pretty sore."

She bobbed her head in understanding, "Just don't over do it!"

Throughout the night, many people came up to us and hugged Sakura and patted me on the shoulder.
Some held conversations with us; but mostly it was a supportive gesture and they would return to the celebration.

Eventually the music toned down to a moderate beat and Temari and Kankuro charged up to me and yanked me out to dance.
I voiced my protests, but they didn't seem to reach their ears.
We stood in a line with the others that were dancing and started the sequenced dance that every Sunaian knew.

Normally I don't dance, but because of this new found freedom within me, I found myself not caring and joined in.
Temari and Kankuro laughed and shouted with everyone else as the song went on, and I found myself smiling and even laughing along with them.

Life felt good now, it wasn't just a burden anymore.

I looked over at Sakura and found her smiling and laughing as she clapped her hands to the beat.

After the song was over, a much slower song began to play and I walked over to Sakura and grabbed her hand.

"No!" she protested, "I don't know how to!"

"I'll show you." I said as I pulled her up, "It's easy."

Once out on the dancing area, I told her to wrap her arms around my neck, and I placed my hands on her hips.

"Now you just shuffle back and forth." I said and she followed my lead.

"This is it?" she asked me stupefied.

I nodded, "That's it."

"Well geez! How come Temari couldn't start me out on this one?"

I chuckled and pulled her in tighter.
I rested my head against hers and wrapped my arms around her tighter while she rested her head on my chest.

"You know…" she said as we continued to dance, "we never got to finish that kiss from before…"

I released her slightly and said, "Well, do you feel like kissing the undead?"

She hit my chest and laughed, "You're not undead! You're just not dead. And that's one thing I will be thankful for the rest of my life."

I leaned in then and locked her lips against mine.
We continued to dance while we kissed, enjoying the moment with each other.
And to think there was almost a chance where I wouldn't be able to do this right now…

The music stopped and we stopped kissing along with it.
Looking around, everyone was smiling at us.
Sakura blushed the deepest shade of red I had ever seen and buried her face into my chest.

I smiled at her embarrassment and wrapped my arms around her.
I looked over at Temari who was smiling and then at Kankuro as he let out a loud cat-call.
I walked over to them with difficulty since Sakura was still hiding from everyone.
By the time we were back at our seats, another lively song was being played and everyone was once again twirling and jumping together.

"What are you two still doing here?!" asked Temari as she nudged us away. "Go home! Enjoy your time alone in the house together! Kankuro and I will probably be out here for a few more hours."

I looked at Sakura who was staring back at me smiling.
I nodded to my siblings and then motioned for Sakura to start walking back to the house.

While we were leaving, everyone stopped and cheered at me one more time.
I bowed to them showing my appreciation, and then continued walking home.

Once back at our room, I grabbed a towel and told Sakura that I was going to take a quick shower.
She nodded and sat on the bed pulling out a book.

In the shower I felt as the water pulsed against my sore body and relieved the knots and aches that were still there.
It felt like everything was washing down the drain…
Not wanting to keep Sakura waiting too long, I stepped out of the shower, wrapped a towel around my waist and returned to my room.

Sakura had taken the time alone as a chance to light candles around the bedroom and stood waiting for me in a silk nightgown. It was a simple pink one, but it looked amazing on her.

Smiling, I walked up to her as she wrapped her arms around my neck.

Running my hands up her sides I said, "What did I tell you about wearing clothes to bed…"

She laughed then and pulled me into a kiss.

That night I promised myself that every moment I had with Sakura I would treasure and make as happy as I possibly could.
I would never take our time for granted again.
I was already on borrowed time.
I had died.
And now I was back.
I was given a second chance, and there was no way I was going to mess this life up like I did the last one…