Author's Note: A couple things about this chapter. #1-I used this chapter to show how affected people are by the whole situation (aka-everyone deserves to have a breakdown once in a while). #2-Helps me set up things for the sequel (which I have mentioned before). #3-Lets me have a little fun :) hehe...By the way, the next chapter does go back to Gaara so don't fret!

Team Shikamaru sat around a burning campfire. The smoke curled up into the sky as the sound of Naruto's voice continued to ring throughout the campsite. Temari rubbed her temples. After almost a month of being stuck with this group she slowly felt herself going insane. Sakura was a whiny tick in her ear. Naruto was an annoyance beyond compare. And Shikamaru…Temari's eye twitched. He was lazy, inconsiderate, and cynical; three things she absolutely could not stand. She'd never actually admit that deep down she was growing quite used to his constant wit, his amazing analytical skills, his wide-expanding knowledge, and more then anything else, his ability and will to challenge her.

Temari reached out and grabbed hold of her cup of tea. She swallowed it down in one gulp, the heat burning a path down her throat. She turned her focus to the flame and stared. For almost a month now they had been searching for Gaara with no results. How could he just vanish like that? No evidence, no suspects. Her eyes narrowed. She just couldn't believe it. The brother she had put so much effort forth into rebuilding the sibling relationship with, the brother she had tended in his wounded state, the brother she had helped care for in the past five months had completely disappeared.

Glass shattered. Temari had gripped her glass so hard she had completely crushed it. She dropped the broken shards with a curse, blood dripping down her hand and spattering the ground. Noticing, Naruto stood with a yell, Sakura gasped and ran to her side, and Shikamaru let out a groan. With precise movements, Sakura began pulling out the glass from her hand. While Naruto continued to gape, Shikamaru ran a hand down his face and sighed. "Are you alright?"

Temari's lip curled. "Of course I'm all right. Why wouldn't I be?"

Shikamaru laced his hands together beneath his chin and gave her a hard stare. "Temari. You need to reign in your temper and your emotions. I understand that you're worried and frustrated, but we can't have that endangering our mission. If you keep on acting like this I'll have to send you back to Konoha where you'll be confined until the mission's over."

Temari's eyes narrowed and she felt a shiver run down her spine. He sounded serious. "You wouldn't, no, you couldn't do something like that."

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "If you don't pick up your act, you'll only be a danger to your brother. Do you really want that? Besides, you're outnumbered. We could and we would take you back if need be. You do realize that it would only delay our search, right? I'd prefer not to waste our valuable search time, although I'm not sure how you feel about that right now."

Temari felt her anger subside at his words. She looked away and fell silent. She was so angry at herself. Her emotions had been running out of whack more and more often. This wasn't the first time Shikamaru had had to talk sense into her. She felt disappointment course through her veins. She made a lousy older sister. She couldn't protect him when they were kids and she couldn't protect him now that he was older. In moments like this, she truly felt useless. Never in her life had she ever let someone down so badly. She hung her head as Sakura finished wrapping her hand. A single tear slithered down her cheek. 'Please forgive me Gaara.'

Sakura patted her hand and stood, walking back to her spot. The tear fell to the earth and Temari raised her head. "If you'll all excuse me for a moment…" Temari got up and walked away. She didn't care where she was going or how she got there, she just wanted to escape herself. She felt a crazed laugh trickle out of her throat. Apparently insanity ran in the family, for Temari was feeling a bit crazy right then.

She kept on walking until she saw a break in the trees. She stepped out into the moonlight and onto the edge of a cliff. With a 'plop', she sat on the edge and looked out into the sky. To comfort herself, like many girls often do, she pulled her knees to her chest and held on tight. Looking out into the star-lit sky, a swell of depression swept her. She was so used to being the strong girl, the brave girl, the outspoken girl. However, there were times when even she wanted to be a normal, quiet girl who could hug and laugh and smile, without any thought to the future or to the past; something that was impossible for one such as her.

A shadow covered her. She waited until the person sat down before she spoke. "Why'd you come out here?"

His voice came out controlled and detached, just like always. "This is so troublesome, all of it."

A wry smile crossed her face. "I usually don't say this, so don't expect to ever hear it again; I'm sorry. I have been acting out of line."

Shikamaru leaned back on his hands. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Temari chuckled. "That's a first. A guy actually offering his ear to listen to the ramblings of a chick…"

"You don't know the meaning of patience until you've spent a week at my house with my parents. It's enough to drive a normal person insane."

Temari gave a twisted smile. "My family was lost to madness the moment my father married my mother. I don't even remember a time when things were peaceful."

"But you've turned out fine."

Temari looked over at Shikamaru and snorted. "Right, I'm a perfect role model for little kids. I'm a tough acting girl that can't even protect her own brother. Some person I've turned out to be huh?"

"You couldn't help the situation. You didn't even know someone was after Gaara. How could you have known? Ignorance is nothing to be ashamed off. We all are ignorant of one thing or another."

Tears streaked down Temari's cheeks unheeded. "Then why do I feel so useless? I'm a ninja damn it! But I don't know what to do. I don't know what to think anymore. If I really was a strong person I should be able to do something. But all our efforts are pointless; nothing we do makes a difference. Gaara's still missing and no one's found a trace of him. I hate it. I hate myself for being so fucking weak and so fucking worthless."

Shikamaru mumbled a half-hearted 'troublesome' before reaching over and pulling her to him. "We are doing something. We're trying. That's what counts. We are putting all our efforts towards a common purpose, and as long as we keep on going and don't give up, we will find Gaara. Even if it takes a month or a year, we can make a difference. We can try."

Temari turned her face into Shikamaru's shoulder and wrapped her arms around his neck. Her shoulders shook with the effort to hold in her tears. Shikamaru held on tight, resting his head on her shoulder and closing his eyes. "Temari, if you, his own sister, gives up, then we'll never find him. You have to believe we'll find him or he'll be lost to us forever."

She tightened her hold and let the sobs rack her body. They sat together for what seemed like hours, until her sobs subsided and her body stopped shaking. "Shikamaru?"

Shikamaru didn't move from his spot. "Hmm?"

"You tell anyone about this and I'll kill you."

He smiled against her shoulder. "Troublesome woman."

She slowly pulled back, her arms loosely hung around his neck as she reverted back to her normal self. Giving a smirk, Temari moved up on her knees, adjusting herself to straddle Shikamaru's waist. "You know," she said, sitting on his lap, "usually when you comfort a woman, it's required that you give her a kiss to finish the conversation."

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at her bold move. Smirking back at her he tightened his arms around her back. "Well, then, I guess I still have something I need to do before we can go back to camp."

"Oh, definitely." Temari made the first movement. Leaning her face in, she waited, refusing to move any more until he completed the gesture. Shikamaru let out a muttered 'troublesome' before grabbing her head and fiercely smashing their lips together.

Break-

Temari and Shikamaru returned to camp. Their faces were flushed and one of Temari's buns had been sloppily tied back up into its place. Naruto glanced at them and turned back to playing with his knife, completely oblivious to what had happened. Sakura looked up and felt her jaw drop. They didn't…

Temari glanced at her and glared at her for staring, a blush spreading over her cheeks. Oh God. They did. Sakura immediately looked away. In a state of complete shock, she stood up. She grabbed a canteen and gave a forced smile. "I'm um…going to uh…get some water." She quickly walked away, her steps quickening the farther she got and a scowl gracing her features. Why did it seem like everyone but her had someone? Hell, Naruto even had someone, although he didn't even realize it himself. Sakura let out a disappointed sigh. 'Oh well, I'm still young. Maybe I'll be able to find someone by the time I'm thirty…' Sakura shuddered at the thought. She prayed to God that didn't happen.

Author's Note: No, they didn't have sex. They made out. End of story.