Hi. First off, thanks for the reviews. Especially lotty who pointed out my fatal mistake (I was so ignorant, I actually had to ask someone who speaks English to tell why that wasn't a proper sentence, heh!). So thanks again, that was helpful. Here's chapter 2. Hope y'all like it and Happy New Year!

PS. I don't own Naruto or Gaara or Sakura, only the plot for this fic.

Chapter 2

"Uuhhh…"

Sakura groaned. Her entire body was numb and for a moment, her mind was a blank as she couldn't remember what had happened to her. Her head was dizzy and heavy. Her mouth was dry. She opened her eyes slowly and rubbed her head with one hand to ease the discomfort as she pushed herself up a little with the other hand.

"Where am…I…?"

She groaned again and looked around her. Everything was vague as her eyes were still adjusting to her new surrounding, but she could tell it was no longer as dark as before, but still dark nonetheless.

"That…was quite a long fall…" Sakura muttered to herself while still rubbing her temple, her eyes closed. She was gradually coming to her senses and wondering why she was still in one piece as not even a cat could survive that fall.

Feeling better, she moved to sitting position as she looked above her and her surrounding again, creasing her eyebrows in confusion as all she saw were…ceiling, and walls, and…some round windows on the left. The outside was dark which means it was already nightfall.

Someone had somehow kidnapped her! was the first thought that crossed her mind. But the room kind of looked familiar… was her next thought. She was about to check her belongings when something underneath her moved slightly and there was soft breathing sound that she had failed to notice before.

She quickly stopped all her movement, held her breath and looked down to see…

"What?!" Sakura hissed quietly in disbelief.

Lying underneath her was none other than Gaara, who was still sleeping…like the dead.

Sakura looked at him for a while, her eyes wide opened in bewilderment. She shook her head slowly, trying to gather her thought, replaying the past events. How on earth did all of these happen? First, she was on her way home. Something happened in the desert. She was swallowed by darkness and fell into a pit…a huge one that not even her ninja skills could save her from falling. And then…everything stopped, the rushing sound of the sand around her, the humming sound from the hole…and her fall. She was damn sure she didn't pass out during the fall and she could remember everything that had happened vividly. Then how the hell she wasn't hurt during the process? And how the hell did she end up here —now that she thought about it— in the Kazekage's bedroom? Did someone shunshin her here? But that was impossible…

Maybe I should ask him… Sakura thought inwardly as she looked at Gaara's sleeping figure.

One second…

Five seconds…

Ten seconds…

And she was still staring.

Something drew her in as she watched his expression, somehow it made her forgot the situation she was in and she ended up staring at him longer than she should. It didn't help that the closeness of his body felt so warm and comforting…even through the clothes.

I've said it before but I'll say it again, he is so…gorgeous…

She heard her inner self talked oh-so-suddenly and blushed slightly at the unexpected thought as images of her healing him came back and flashed into her mind. She looked away from him for a moment to erase the stupid thought, before she continued to stare at him again.

He looked so peaceful…I shouldn't—

And the door opened. This made Sakura jumped slightly in surprise.

"Here, let me…" A woman talked behind her.

"Oh shit…" Sakura stiffened immediately as the light was turned on. Caught off guard, she dared not to look at the source of the voice as she swallowed hard and stayed still in her spot.

Silence followed for a moment before the woman said again…now in surprised tone.

"Sakura?!"

Sakura slowly turned her head to look behind her at the familiar voice.

Temari was standing in the doorway, carrying a tray with medicines that she almost dropped earlier at the sight of someone sitting on her little brother, in the middle of the night no less.

Sakura could only stared at her from over her shoulder, too surprised to reply.

"T-Temari…?" Sakura swallowed hard, finally able to say something.

Temari didn't reply right away, instead she took a few steps into the room and looked around before fixing her eyes on Sakura and her little brother, creasing her eyebrows at the sight. The nurse behind her watched unblinkingly.

"What are you doing here…? I thought you already—"

"What's wrong Temari? Did Gaara have a nightmare again?" A sleepy male voice was heard behind her.

"Kankurou-dono…" The nurse nodded slightly and stepped back to make way to the said male who walked lazily into the room…only to freeze in his spot, gaping.

No one talked until Kankurou broke the silence, "Sakura?! What happened? Why are you here?"

Realizing that she had been silent for too long, Sakura swallowed again before she opened her mouth to explain. "…It's…it's a long story, I don't know what happened myself." She pled.

Kankurou was quickly getting over the shock, his lips now forming a smirk as he chuckled slightly. "Do you miss Gaara so much that you have to do that?" He asked mockingly, pointing at both Sakura and Gaara.

Sakura stared questioningly at Kankurou for a second, wondering what he meant before gasping at the realization of her position at the moment. She was actually sitting on Gaara's lap, straddling him, at night, in his bedroom.

Oh, kami…what have I done?! She thought inwardly as she quickly pushed herself up with amazing reflex to get off Gaara and the bed.

"Look! It's…it's really not what you think!" Sakura said nervously, her words were rushed and her cheeks were red.

Kankurou chuckled again, and this time Temari joined him.

"Relax, Sakura. We don't bite. Look at you, you're tense." Temari said then, trying to calm her down.

"I know…I'm just…confused. I'm sorry, I know it's late, but…"

"Sakura, I think it's better if we talk outside? We don't want to disturb Gaara…" Temari said again.

"Disturb him? If I hadn't known better, I would think he's dead or something." Kankurou said, staring at Gaara, his expression a mix between puzzlement and amusement.

Temari threw him a glare and motioned for Sakura to follow her out of the room.

"Put this on the dresser and rub this on his chest. I'll be back quickly." Temari instructed the nurse and gave the tray to her as she stepped out of the room.

Sakura didn't say anything as she followed Temari quietly, keeping her eyes on the floor all the while.

A few minutes later, Sakura, Temari and Kankurou were all sitting in the living room, with Sakura facing Temari and Kankurou. Taking a deep breath, she told them what happened and all that she could remember, in details. Judging by their reactions, Sakura could tell, her story was hard to believe, as she almost couldn't believe it herself.

Kankurou made a face and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "First off, did you just fell on top of him? Damn it Gaara, that lucky bastard…"

"Don't start again. It's not like that." Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Whatever you said. But it's amazing he didn't wake up even when you landed on top of him." Kankurou said again, pondering.

"Well, I didn't actually fall on top of him, somehow I just stopped. If I had fallen, don't you think I would have a few broken limbs by now? And I can assure you, my fall would have done more than waking him up. Most likely, with him sleeping and no sand protection, it would have hurt us both."

"That's strange… But still, Gaara hadn't slept like this at all before you came Sakura. Your healing really works." Temari said with a grateful smile.

"Thanks…" Sakura muttered and smiled back.

"It actually works too well, if I have to say." Kankurou said, shaking his head slightly, immediately earning a glare from Temari which he shrugged off with a mocking grin. "C'mon, even though it's Gaara we're talking about, that was so unnatural, it freaked me out."

"Well…I'm curious about that mysterious 'boulder' you were talking about…can you tell us the approximate location? I've never heard or known about such thing before." Temari asked, ignoring Kankurou and turned to face Sakura.

"Yes, if I'm not mistaken, it's around 2 miles from the border of Suna, to the north east." Sakura said.

"Two miles to the north east, huh?" Temari said, knocking her fingers lightly on the table. "Well, Kankurou, what do you say? We have no mission tomorrow, I think we should go and check it out." Temari said again.

"Count me in." Kankurou said lazily.

"I'll go too." Sakura said quickly.

"But Sakura, aren't you going back to Konoha tomorrow?" Temari asked. "Oh, now that I think about it, you'll stay here for tonight. I'll ask the maid to prepare the room for you. You guys wait here, I'll be right back." Temari continued.

"Temari…thanks, but I'm going with you guys tomorrow. I'll need to take that route again anyway, it's the fastest route to Konoha, remember?" Sakura said, stopping Temari.

"That settled it then huh, neesan?" Kankurou said, glancing at both Temari and Sakura.

"Hnh! You're right. Then you're going with us tomorrow, Sakura." Temari said with a smirk. Sakura just smirked back, but said nothing.

---

Sakura dropped her backpack on the floor and sat on the bed that had been prepared for her.

Here I am again. She took a deep breath. The room was cold, as it always was in Suna at night. The cold reminded her of how warm it was to be on top of—

Sakura! What on earth are you thinking?! She cursed inwardly and patted her own cheeks to get rid of the thought. Frustrated, she shook her head and lay down on the bed for a moment before she heard someone knocking on the door.

"Sakura? It's me, are you hungry? I brought you something." Temari said behind the door.

"Temari?" Sakura replied to the familiar voice as she made her way to the door and opened it.

There, Temari stood with a wide grin on her face. Her hands were full, carrying a tray with warm soup, bread and milk on top of it.

"Aw, you don't have to do this…" Sakura said, but at the same time her stomach decided to grumble and voice its own thought.

"Yeah right." Temari laughed slightly as she passed Sakura the tray.

"I'm sorry." Sakura blushed at the noise and took the tray from Temari. She then walked into the room and put the tray on the small table near the window. Temari followed her inside and closed the door behind her.

"Sorry, that's all I could prepare this late at night." Temari said casually behind her as she walked to one of the window and stared up at the night sky.

"Don't say that. At this time, I couldn't ask for better meal, seriously…" Sakura said guiltily as she started to eat.

Temari smiled at her and continued, "I just checked on Gaara…". She paused, glancing at Sakura who also paused and looked back at her.

"He's okay, right?" Sakura asked, couldn't hide her worried tone.

Temari smirked at this, "Yup, he's okay. I wrapped the herb's liquid around his chest and back just as you told me." Temari paused and continued, "He woke up then, and…the first thing he said was…" Temari paused again as she lifted her eyes to meet Sakura's. Dark green met emerald as they stared at each other's eyes. Sakura could only stare back and wait. "…was?" She asked then, encouraging Temari to continue.

"Well…" Temari paused and looked down before looking up to meet Sakura's eyes again, "He asked me, 'where is Sakura?'" Temari said again, watching Sakura's reaction all the while. Sakura gave no reaction for a while as she stared blankly at Temari, she quickly came to her senses though as she looked away from Temari and continued with her meal.

"He probably forgot that I'm supposed to return to Konoha today." Sakura chuckled slightly as she continued to eat.

"Sakura, Gaara never asked anyone 'where' a person is…" Temari paused and then muttered under her breath, "…unless you're a target in a mission."

Sakura stopped and stared at her food as she listened to Temari.

"Plus, he knew you're here. He could sense your presence, and yet…" Temari paused as she pushed aside her bangs that had been tickling her eyes.

"Sakura, Gaara wanted you to treat him, he didn't say it…but I know." Temari turned to look at Sakura again, and smiled at her.

"Temari, I…I really can't stay in Suna for too long…if that's what you're trying to say. I'm sorry…" Sakura apologized as she finished her meal and turned to Temari.

Temari looked at her, considering Sakura's answer for a while. "Sou ka." She said slowly then, walking to where Sakura sat and stopped when she got closed to her. She bent down and whispered near her ear, "Then I'm sorry for bothering you with this conversation. Have a good night, Sakura."

Sakura sat there silently as she watched Temari took the tray and walked to the door. "Temari…" She called, contemplating what to say next. Temari stopped and turned around, "Hm?"

"I'm really sorry, I would stay longer if I could but I've promised my Shishou to take on the next mission with Naruto once I get back to Konoha." Sakura tried to explain.

Temari smiled and shook her head. "It's okay, Sakura. Besides, that's not what I was trying to say." Temari said as she walked out of the room. "Good night." She winked at Sakura and closed the door behind her, leaving Sakura wondering to herself. What was she trying to say then?

---

Sakura woke up early in the morning as she quickly prepared herself and packed her belongings. She would return to Konoha today, but Temari and Kankurou would come with her as well to check on the mysterious location she told them last night, and she thought, it would be better if she was ready before them.

She looked outside the window, it was cloudy which was a rare occasion in the desert and the morning air was still quite cold, if not dry. Once she was ready, she grabbed her backpack and opened the door. She closed the door silently behind her and walked along the hallway before someone stopped her in her track.

There, leaning against the wall next to the Kazekage's bedroom was Gaara. His black-rimmed eyes were closed, his head facing the floor, and he had his arms crossed in front of his chest. He was still wearing his black, long sleeves tunic. There was no gourd strapped on his back, and his spiky red hair was a little more disheveled that usual.

"Gaara-kun?" Sakura called, staring at him.

He opened his eyes and lifted them to meet Sakura's.

"Ohayo." He greeted her in monotone. His voice was deep and quite.

To be continued.