Author's Note: This chapter has some disturbing stuff in it. Well, ok, maybe not so much disturbing as bloody and somewhat gross. You have been warned.

Disclaimer: (it's a bit late; whoops) I own none of the Naruto characters or anything involved with the Naruto story. That all goes to the creator. I own only the plotline created for this story.

It had already been four days and still the pain persisted. He wasn't stupid enough to believe he shouldn't get medical attention. He was, however, smart enough to know that many questions would be asked and he was in no mood to admit Rock Lee had seriously wounded him and how. Besides, even if he wanted to be looked at, the nearest town was miles away. He was soon forced to take a break and rest his torn body. He knew now that it was going to take quite a bit longer to get home then was normal. He also knew that Temari and Kankuro would begin to wonder.

Each of his siblings had made a large effort to try to be more accepting of their younger brother after his fight with Naruto. Nevertheless, they still approached him with a bit of trepidation. He had changed much since the fight and although not afraid of him personally, they were still afraid of what Shukaku could do through him. The demon smirked at him from within his mind. How he hated him. And the raccoon hated him just as much. With a grunt, Gaara pushed himself up and forced his body to continue moving. It was days like this that he'd give anything for a good nights sleep. He would've slept right now, but he didn't want to give that damn raccoon the satisfaction.

Gaara was finally home. Since his fight, the three sand-ninjas had moved into a small house together. It was another way for the three of them to make steps towards being a good team and hopefully good siblings. It was breakfast time and Kankuro and Temari were sitting at the kitchen table in the midst of eating. Gaara was too worn out to even consider acknowledging them. They glanced up and Temari spoke. "Welcome back. We were a bit worried at how long you were taking to get back. Is everything alright?"

Gaara ignored her and stumbled up the stairs to his room. He slammed the door and threw his gourd to the floor. He collapsed forward onto his unused bed and curled up. He was irritated, he was stiff, he was nauseous, and just before he left that God damn forest he'd fallen out of a tree (due to an overwhelming feeling of dizziness) and reopened his wound. Something was terribly wrong, but he refused to move, refused to see a doctor, and refused to respond to Temari when she knocked on his door.

He hated that he didn't understand what the hell was going on. Although, Shukaku seemed to know and be enjoying his torment, considering he'd been laughing for the past two weeks. Temari opened his door slowly and gasped when she saw him. "Kankuro! Get up here right now! There's something wrong!"

Kankuro bounded up the stairs to see what all the commotion was about. He reached Gaara's room and looked at his sister. They both stepped into the room carefully and looked at their little brother who'd turned away from them, giving them his back. He'd wrapped his arms around his stomach, trying to ignore how hot he was beginning to feel. Temari approached the bed with Kankuro hanging back. "Gaara?" Unexpectedly, he began to shake. A groan snaked past his lips and his eyes squeezed tightly shut as Temari got closer. It was then that she smelled the blood. Leaning over, she ran a hand over his forehead. "Kankuro, he's burning up here. Go get some cold, wet rags for me."

Kankuro nodded and left the room, hands in his pockets. Temari's hidden mothering instincts took hold of her as she ran a hand through Gaara's sweaty hair. "Gaara? Gaara, I need you to tell me where you're bleeding."

His eyes snapped open for only a second before tightly closing again. He shook his head and managed to get out one hoarse sentence. "No! I don't need any help!"

Temari was a bit frightened. She'd never seen Gaara so hurt before. In fact the only other time he'd been hurt was his battle with Sasuke where he got that simple chest wound. "Gaara, you have to let me help you. Your wound might get infected; in fact it might be already. Please Gaara." Her pleas fell on deaf ears. Gaara lay unconscious in a hot, sweaty heap in front of her.

Kankuro walked back into the room, wet rags in hand. He set them down on the nightstand and looked down at his little brother. "He doesn't look to good does he?" Temari turned and gave him a hard stare. He held up his hands. "Sorry."

Temari looked back down and set her jaw, indicating that they were about to do something Kankuro really wouldn't like. "Kankuro, I need you to help me undress him."

"What!"

"Listen you dumb-fuck, I have to find the wound and I can't do it while he's awake. He won't let me. I don't know how much time we have before he wakes up so I need to get this done as soon as possible."

Kankuro sighed and ran a hand down his face. "Fine, but you do know how wrong and disturbing this is right?"

"Just hurry up and help me! I just hope we can clean this up without having to see a doctor. You remember the last time right?"

Kankuro shuddered. "Don't remind me."

Tentatively, each sibling stretched shaking hands out to slowly begin peeling away the layers of clothing. In his sleep, Gaara weakly pushed at their hands but to no avail. In a matter of minutes, a naked Gaara lay sprawled stomach down on the bed. His bloodied clothing lay in a pile on the floor. Neither could believe their eyes. Every time his body twitched, a new tear of blood ran down his leg. His entire backside was coated in a thin layer of blood, sending a stale coppery scent into the air.

Kankuro coughed at the smell while Temari held a hand over her gasping mouth. "Gaara! What have they done to you?" Her voice was drowned in the coughs of her brother. Her hand violently shook as she touched his lower back. When she got closer to the actually crack, Gaara shuddered with a moan. She looked up at Kankuro who just stood their in stunned silence.

"You should probably leave. I'll take care of things from here. If I need you I'll call." Kankuro nodded his head, happy to be leaving the room.

Temari took one of the wet rags and began to wipe up the blood. The first couple strokes brought out small movement, but his body soon relaxed and allowed her to finish. After the blood was cleaned up she stared at him. Was she willing to lay aside her past misgivings, her dignity, to do what she knew had to be done? She soon had her answer. Gaara had no one to go to. No other place to call home. If she didn't help him, who would?

Taking up a fresh rag she lifted one cheek. As gently as possible, she dabbed as much of the wound as she could, cleaning it as best as one in her position could. She stood up and gazed down at her little brother. From the end of the bed she grabbed a quilt and covered him with it. Unconsciously, he grabbed hold of it and snuggled into the bed, his body finally comfortable after Temari's painfully slow administrations. She smiled, surprised and happy that for the time being, Shukaku was letting him have a good rest without trying to gain control. She shut the door her way out and walked down to the kitchen. Kankuro was at the kitchen table, glass of water in hand. "How is he?"

"Better. His fever's gone down a bit and the shaking has stopped." She sat down hard in a chair. "I still don't understand it though. Who could possibly be strong enough to do that to him?"

"Do what exactly?" Kankuro asked this, although deep down, he already knew the answer.

Temari clenched her teeth in anger. "Rape him."