Ugh. i hate weddings! so this chapter was probably the hardest one for me to do...
Sakuradeathblossom, your constant running around naked has now become a form of celebration in Suna...see if you can find it.
and to Dark-Neko-Princess: remember that creepy old men ALWAYS have the best candy...especially the kind that comes out of the backs of large white vans or deep in the woods. some of those guys even have puppies for you to see...
:-P just kidding!

anyways, thanks EVERYONE for the reviews! i just looked at my stats and i have 200-something reviews!
that amazes me...i never thought my story would be embraced like this...
oh no, i'm getting all misty-eyed...so without further delay... the next chapter!

:-)

I passed through our wedding as if it was all just a dream.

The room in which the ceremony was held was secretly decorated by Sakura's friends with potted plants, bouquets, and flower peddles.
I was dressed in my formal Kazekage robes along with the hat, as was Sakura. But Ino had done her hair up with a bunch of cherry blossoms that were intertwined together.
She was a goddess.
And she was smiling during the whole ceremony…

The ceremony was short, as are all Suna marriages.
All it requires is for the two people getting married to bite the tips of the other's finger and then press them together.
Once that is done, the blood pact has been made and the two are officially married.

As we pressed our fingers together, everyone in the room cheered and threw flower peddles at us.
Cheers were heard from outside of the building as well since all of Suna had gathered outside for the event.

Hand in hand, Sakura and I walked out of the building and presented ourselves to the villagers.
Upon our sighting, their cheers grew even louder as people jumped around and threw sand in the air as celebration. Some villagers started dancing excitedly, while some even stripped off of their clothes and ran and jumped into the water pools; which was rarely done since water was such a precious commodity. When someone did such an action, it was meant to show the person or persons they were doing it for just how happy they really were, to the point where they didn't care about the necessities of life because their happiness would sustain them.

Sakura laughed and smiled at everyone and waved enthusiastically.

Together we walked up the stairs towards a balcony that was used to make official Suna announcements. I had to now make a speech, much to my dismay, because it was part of the ritual.
Tsunade was waiting for me on the balcony since she had to make a speech as well since she was Sakura's leader and had to denounce her as a Leaf shinobi.

When we had reached the top, the cheers slowly died down and everyone awaited our speeches.

Tsunade started, "Citizens of Suna! I, Tsunade, Hokage of Leaf would like to commemorate this joyous occasion with a gift to present to Kazekage Gaara and Kazehime Sakura.

Two large boxes were then brought by Gai and Kakashi onto the balcony.
Sakura stepped forward towards one and I towards the other.
We simultaneously unwrapped them and in front of us stood two budding Sakura tree saplings. One had a bright pink flower, the other had a blood red flower.

Sakura ran over and hugged Tsunade tightly, and I walked over and shook her hand as I bowed.

Again the people cheered as they all stared at the two trees, in which some had never seen the likes of before.

Raising my hands into the air to silence them, I said to Tsunade, "A greenhouse will be built on the grounds of my home in order to house these gifts and insure that they thrive, much like the relationship between our two countries."

I then turned my attention to the people and added, "Another greenhouse will be built in the city where all of the flowers that were brought from Leaf for the ceremony will be planted so that all the people in Suna can enjoy them as well."

Cheers went up again at this news.

Turning my attention once again to Tsunade, we both bowed to each other.

Tsunade's face then turned serious as she took Sakura's Leaf headband from her and scratched a line across it. "Haruno Sakura," she said in an authoritive voice, "I denounce you from Leaf. You will now be treated as a foreign shinobi whenever you return."

I stepped forward then and presented her with a Suna headband and said, "Sabaku no Sakura, I present to you a Sand headband. You are now a citizen of Suna, and will be treated as such."

Sakura bowed and took the object from my hands and tied it around her forehead.
Offering her my hand, she took it and stepped to the front of the balcony with me.

"Citizens of Suna, I present to you your Kazehime, and my wife, Sabaku no Sakura!"

Cheers echoed throughout the desert as everyone cheered.
Sakura bowed low to them and then to Tsunade and I.

Grabbing her hand once again, we both bowed to everyone once again and then left the balcony with Tsunade.

The ceremony was officially over…and we were finally married.

A week later, all of the excitement had died down and Tsunade, along with Sakura's friends, all returned home.

The two Sakura trees were now in a greenhouse that had been built, and Sakura made sure that they were taken care of properly.
She called them her 'training babies'.

It was still hard for me to grasp the fact that we were married now.
It still seemed surreal to me…
After all that I had been through, how did my life take this radical turn?

I found myself longing to go home everyday while I sat in my office and tried to juggle all of the paperwork as well as repress the elders' growing egos.
It seemed now that Shukaku was gone, they felt that they could overstep their positions and challenge me in whatever I did.
I had to show them that I was not weak, that I could still be the monster that they had once seen me as.

They had to be retaught their positions…

But that was hard for me to do since everyday Sakura came by and visited me at my office, usually bringing me lunch and lecturing me on taking better care of myself.

It was a nonstop barrage of lectures on better eating habits and more sleeping hours.
I was starting to get comfortable with sleeping, but after years of never sleeping, it was hard for me to fall into this new habit.
I didn't even like to sleep now that I had to do it.
Whenever I woke up, my head hurt and I felt worse then I had prior to falling asleep. Not to mention the nightmares that constantly plagued me…

On more then one occasion, Sakura had lectured me on such things right in front of the elders; further lowering their fear of me.
And I found it extremely difficult to scold or threaten the elders with her around since she had this annoying way of replacing my rage and agitation with a peaceful warmth.

However, one day I had had enough.
I finally snapped at them all.

During a meeting, the elders were hounding me on my recent decision to add on another wing to the hospital, saying that it was unnecessary and that I was only doing it in order to appease my wife.

What they failed to see was that this new wing could be used not only for overflow rooms, but also as a lab in order to create and practice new healing techniques that would only strengthen our increasingly improving medical care.

Sakura had chosen this exact moment to burst through the doors, without knocking, and placed my lunch down in front of me. Standing over me, she waited until I took a bite out of it.

The elders were all smirking at me, and one bravely said, "Who runs this country Gaara? You or your wife?"

That's when it happened.
Something inside of my head snapped and everything in my eyesight was shaded in red.

Reaching my hand out to the man, my sand quickly entered the man's open mouth and ripped out his tongue; dropping it down in the center of the large round table that we were all sitting at.

All of the elders gasped and jumped up from their seats and Sakura screamed.
The elder that had just been attacked writhed on the floor as he slowly died by choking on his own blood.

I got up and casually walked over to him. "I run this country." I said, glaring hard at the dying man. "And it's Kazekage-sama to you, not Gaara."

I returned my attention to the old men around me and said, "You have all been overstepping yourselves and I suggest that you return to the way things were before Shukaku was removed. Otherwise you will all die in worse ways then this man here. Shukaku may be gone, but I will have no qualms in destroying each and every one of your wretched little lives. If even one of you doubts my ability to run and protect Suna, then remember this moment. I am the Kazekage, and you will all treat me as such. Sakura is my wife, and is therefore higher then all of you. If anyone talks about her in such a disrespectful manner again, you will wish for death long before I am through with you. Is this understood?"

All of them nodded their heads at me as fear once again resided in their eyes.

"Now leave us."

They scurried out of the room, and the door was slammed behind them.

Using my sand to pick up the now dead elder, I threw him out of an open window and down onto the streets below.

Turning to face Sakura, I saw her standing there staring at me in fear and anger.

"Why did you do that?!" she yelled.

"There are certain protocols here Sakura, and you must abide by them."

"You didn't have to kill him!"

"Yes I did. I had to prove a point."

"And what was the point?!"

"I had to show them that I can still be the ruthless man that I was before, and that not even you have power over me. When we are at home, you are free to treat me in any way and act in any way that you see fit. But when you step into this building, you have to remember that you are my wife. You may be in a higher position then the elders, but you are still under me, and you will act accordingly."

Biting her tongue, her gaze fell to the floor.

Taking a deep breath to calm myself, I added softly, "I value your opinions and wish that you continue to give them to me. But when your actions make others think that you are manipulating me, it becomes an issue." I walked over to her and lifted her gaze to meet mine, "Please do not make me do this again."

She nodded once and then quickly left the room.

Ever since that day, the elders treated me as they should and no longer challenged my position or Sakura's control over me. Sakura also remained a model of how the Kazehime should act while she was in the main Kazekage building and never rudely disrupted me again…

Months flew by, and I watched as Sakura's stomach started to bulge.
It seemed the more the baby grew, the more my doubts grew as well.
It seemed that my doubts and my fears were intertwined with the baby, and the closer the due date came, the more I doubted my fathering abilities.

I became standoffish once again, and I could see that it hurt Sakura.

I avoided her like the plague and often stayed nights in my office where she didn't bother me.

One night, I was in the room where the four statues of the previous Kazekages were displayed in.
All of the lights were off since everyone had left for the night, and the statues were bathed in the cold moonlight.
I stood in front of my father's statue and contemplated my upcoming fatherhood.

The sound of the door opening tore me out of my thoughts and I heard Sakura's quiet voice say, "Gaara, what's the matter?"

"Nothing." I said shortly.

"There's something wrong. You haven't been yourself lately…"

"I am being myself Sakura. I have always been like this."

"Not with me you haven't."

"Is there something you want? Or have you come to pester me with more questions?"

"What did I do to make you so angry with me?!" she yelled as her voice cracked.

I knew she was crying, I didn't have to look at her to know this.
It hurt.
It hurt to know that my doubts and fears were causing her pain...but this was something that I had never been confronted with…I didn't know how to handle the idea of being a father.

I gave her sideways glance and said, "I am not mad at you."

"Then what's wrong?! Why are you acting like this?!"

"I'm…" I started, but didn't finish my thought.

"You're what?" she asked from the doorway.

"Scared." I finished as I took my gaze off of her and stared at the floor.

I heard the door close as she walked up to me.

"Of what?" she asked softly.

"Of this." I said as I placed my hand on her stomach. "What if I'm not a good father?"

"What are you talking about? Of course you're going to be a good father…"

I shook my head and motioned towards my father's statue, "I've never had a father figure in my life. I don't know how one is supposed to act around his children or what kind of role he plays in that child's life. My only memories of my father are those of pain and hatred…"

"But that's why you are going to be a great father." Sakura said.

I looked at her confused, and she continued, "Because your father was such a failure, it will make you work harder as a father to our child in order to not be like him. You will go out of your way to make sure the our child is loved and knows that he is loved and important in our lives."

"How do I do that?" I asked quietly.

"By loving him."

I closed my eyes and turned my head away from her, "And what of the villagers? What will they think of our child?"

"What do you mean?"

"They can do math Sakura, they know that this child was conceived while Shukaku was still in me. What if they view and treat our child like a monster? What if they isolate him from themselves, just like they did to me growing up?"

"They won't."

"How can you be so sure?" I snapped at her.

"Because I won't let them, and neither will you. You know what it's like growing up like that, and you will be sure that it does not happen to our child."

"And what if I can't?"

"Then at least our child will know that his parents, as well as his aunt and uncle love him and will always be there for him."

"And what about you?"

"What about me?" she asked confused.

"What if this child has some aspect of Shukaku within him? Shukaku killed my mother, what if the birth claims you as well? I can't bare the thought of losing you in such a way…and it would be all my fault…"

Taking my face in her hands, she directed my gaze to hers and said, "You did not kill your mother Gaara, your father did. And nothing is going to happen to me, I'll be fine. Our child is a normal, healthy, growing baby. Shukaku doesn't even factor into this. Stop worrying so much and enjoy the moments that we have…"

Pulling her into me tightly, I pulled her as close as her stomach would allow.

"Is this why you've been avoiding me? Because you're worried about becoming a father and about our child and myself?"

"Yes." I said hoarsely

"You should have told me, all this time I thought it was something that I had done."

She gave me one more squeeze and then said, "Let's go home."

Taking her hand I nodded in agreement.

She left the room first, with me close behind her.
As I closed the door behind us, I took one last look at my father's statue and thought I will show you how a father should treat his children.
And with that, I closed the door behind us, leaving behind my father's memory as well as my uncertainties and qualms.

As we walked home through the dark empty streets, a wisp of sand brushed across my cheek and sent chills up my spine.

Sakura stopped walking and stared at her stomach in confusion.

"What's wrong?" I asked her.

"I don't know, but the baby started to move around violently all of a sudden…"

Placing my hand on her stomach, I felt as the baby moved and pushed against its prison.

Another soft breeze sent sand down my arm and over Sakura's belly, causing the baby to move around even more.

Mother… Looking at Sakura's stomach I thought, You know who that is, don't you little one?

I had to get Sakura away from me.
Remembering my last encounter with my mother, I didn't know what would happen to her.

Grabbing her hand and pulling her hurriedly along I said, "Come on. We need to get home…now."

"Gaara what's wrong?" she asked as she ran behind me.

I opened the front door and all but pushed her into the house.

"Stay here, and don't leave. I will return shortly."

"Gaara, what's going on?" she asked worriedly. But I didn't answer her, I transported myself away from her and out into the desert where my mother and I could have a conversation or confrontation without her walking into the middle of it.

What do you want mother? I thought harshly.
I was not at all pleased with the fact that I still had to deal with her haunting, even after Shukaku was gone.
I had hoped that along with him, she would disappear as well.

Is that the way you talk to your mother? she asked me loudly.
Her voice was all around me and the wind picked up considerably.
Sand blew harshly around me and slowly materialized in front of me and took the shape of my mother.

I came to see the baby, the sandy creature said before me.
Her mouth moved, but the words didn't come out of it, they echoed all around me.

I shook my head 'no'.

"Leave Sakura and our child alone."

I mean it no harm…I just wanted to introduce it to its grandmother is all. That way it knows who I am so that I can…

"Control him and use him as your tool." I finished for her.

My mother smirked at me then and said, So that I can visit him without him being afraid of me.

Stepping closer to me, she continued, Your wife is very beautiful, and I can tell that she loves you greatly…and that you love her equally as much.

It chilled me to see how vivid my mother was in front of me.
I watched as her face changed with the emotions that her voice was displaying.
This was the closest I had ever come to ever seeing my mother, even though she used to visit me repeatedly as a child.

She turned away from me and said, I am jealous of your love.

I was shocked.
I didn't know what to say to her. I just stood there as she turned towards me again and wrapped me in her sandy arms.
The sand rubbed against my skin roughly and any other person would have cried out in shock and pain; but not me.
I was used to the feel of sand since it was constantly on or around my skin.

I did gasp at our contact though…my mother was hugging me.
My dead mother was hugging me…

All of the scars that I now had on my body, including the numerous ones on my back, screamed out at her grotesque display of affection.
My body was rejecting her, but I still couldn't bring myself to push her away.

I'm glad to see that all that you've been through has not made you heartless to the point where you will not let even one person in…

I still couldn't move away, no matter how hard I willed myself.
I was standing engulfed in my mother's arms in complete silence…

I felt as her sandy body shifted and as her grating lips pressed against the engraving on my forehead, causing it to burn.
She pulled away from me and backed away slowly, the wind picked up and slowly began to break away her form.

The child will know who I am. He has a part of Shukaku within him and he will never be like the other children, for he will be stronger than them. I will not pester him like I have done to you, but he will know that his grandmother is supporting him, just like the rest of his family…

And with that, she left.
The wind died down immediately and I was left alone in the desert.

I collapsed onto my knees and shook violently, she had just confirmed my worst fear: the child had a part of Shukaku within.

He would be different.
He would be isolated.
He would be hated…

And Sakura…
There was now a large chance that she would not survive the birth.

The thought of losing her and once again being alone caused my chest to tighten, and a painful moan escaped my mouth before I could stifle it.

I quickly transported myself away from the spot and into my office.
Grabbing a blank scroll, I furiously wrote down a request for Tsunade to be present during the birth and labor.
If anyone could save Sakura, it would be Tsunade.

I sealed it and walked over to the birdhouse myself, picking the fastest bird in Suna and sent it on its way.

Knowing that I had just done everything I could to ensure Sakura's future…I silently walked back to our home to find Sakura waiting for me at the door.

"What's wrong!?" she asked me urgently. "What happened?"

I shook my head and pulled her into a tight hug.

"Nothing." I said.
I couldn't tell her about what had just happened.
If these were the last few months of her life, she deserved to live them without fear…

"Nothing…" I said again softly, pulling her closer to me.

I couldn't lose her…

Not now, not ever.