Notes: A bit rushed and unpolished, wanted to get it out before I left for Japan. Next chapter is almost done, but with classes starting and living in a different country and all, I'm not entirely sure when I'll get to it. I promise it'll come as soon as I can manage!

CHAPTER 5: VISITORS

"Holy shit, there's MORE of them?" the Suna guard exclaimed, a look of sheer horror on his face.

Yeah, thought Sakura as she glanced over at Maito Gai's garish green jumpsuit and eye-searing gold legwarmers, and you thought ONE was bad.

"Greetings! We are here for our scheduled audience with the highly-esteemed Kazekage and his most adorable boyfriend!" Gai announced, posing dramatically.

Sakura groaned. Smooth, real smooth…

The guard just stared.

Sakura pulled out her pass and held it in the traumatized guard's face. He blinked rapidly several times and took it from her, looking rather incredulously at the specifications. "The Hokage sent you two?"

"Of course," Sakura told him, sighing as she wiped the grit from her forehead.

After the long journey, she was dirty and sticky, and rather miffed at Tsunade-sama (and not only because of her current travel partner). Her mentor had made some sort of private deal with the Kazekage when he'd visited, part of which required her to visit regularly as his attending physician. Sakura suspected it had something to do with learning more about Gaara's jutsu and possible applications of it. And maybe also because a pregnant, homicidal, demon-possessed Kage was something to keep an eye on.

In any case, even though she did like getting to see Lee, with all the travel time involved, this was hardly a choice assignment. Sakura was busy with her duties as a med-nin, and she'd been training hard for the upcoming Jounin exams. Though most of her friends were already Jounin, Sakura had been too preoccupied with her work with Tsunade to give it much thought. Now that she'd finally decided to put forth the effort, she was forced to waste valuable training time running back and forth from Wind Country for something even a Sand med-nin could do.

True, it was great endurance training, and the pay was good, but…

"Haruno Sakura. Maito Gai," Sakura heard a voice say. "So you're here already. Pretty quick."

Sakura smiled when she saw Kankuro approaching, his once fearful appearance now a very welcome one. "Believe me, it was a LONG trip," she said, inclining her head in the direction of the man beside her. Gai now had his hands on his hips and was smiling widely and blindingly. His objectionably-coiffed bowl cut blew against his colossal eyebrows in the late morning breeze.

"Yup. Know all about that," Kankuro mumbled, an understanding and slightly pained look on his face.

"Ah, Kankuro!" Gai beamed, "Thank you for your warm welcome! Our journey to the country of our admirable allies has been invigorating! I trust that my young prodigy…"

Sakura was sure he went on, loudly even, but she didn't hear. In fact, she'd learned quite quickly over the course of their trip to tune him out. With Naruto as a former teammate, it was probably a defense mechanism.

She took the free moment to look around Suna. She hadn't visited in some time, but the place hadn't changed much. Maybe a newly-painted storefront or reinforced wall or two, but that was it. Since the first time she laid eyes on the place, she'd thought the village seemed hopelessly drab and bare. No trees, no water, no birds, nothing but a grimy sea of tan and unsmiling, wind-worn faces. She wondered how Lee could stand it.

Then again, Lee was pretty easy-going, and she supposed there wasn't much you could do in the way of decorating when you lived in a glorified sand heap.

"Right, right, let's just go inside, okay?" she heard Kankuro say, bringing her attention back. He ushered them toward their headquarters, a large, circular building in the center of the main complex.

Gai strode onward, looking as if he'd only taken a short morning stroll instead of traveling nearly three days through blistering heat. Sakura was debatably in the best shape of her life, and she felt tired just looking at him. And of course, this being Suna, she suspected her dream of a nice, relaxing bath wouldn't come true. Water wasn't wasted that way here. Sakura sighed and dropped behind to walk next to the Sand nin.

"Hey," the young man said quietly to get her attention. "Lee's been driving us nuts ever since he heard that guy was coming. Does he ah…" Kankuro made an odd face and inclined his head toward Gai, "does he know?"

Sakura rolled her eyes. Gai had been out on a mission when Lee and Gaara had come last, but Lee had apparently made sure he'd been informed. "It's all he talked about the whole way. It's like he's the one who… you know." She wasn't sure she should be saying it out in the open. Ninja villages had ears.

"Oh god forbid," Kankuro groaned.

Sakura didn't know him that well, but from what she could tell, Kankuro seemed to be a very down-to-earth, hard-working person who took things as they came, rolling with the punches, so to speak. Even so, Sakura had to give him some serious credit. The ability to handle having one's slightly insane baby-brother-turned-Kazekage become pregnant was a skill she didn't think many possessed.

The people of Suna didn't stand in the streets or sit on benches catching up with friends like Sakura was used to seeing in Konoha. She supposed it was a bit too hot for that. The people they saw, mostly ninja, gave a quick nod or wave to Kankuro as they continued on their way. Nevertheless, they seemed to have a definite fascination with Gai, specifically his clothing. Though none of them faltered in their step, their eyes unfailingly darted to his legwarmers.

Sakura was glad when they arrived at their destination. Kankuro opened the door for them, ushering them into the spacious yet drab room. "Welcome to the loony bin," he muttered.

"Sensei!" Sakura heard as she stepped over the threshold.

"Lee!"

For a moment, she thought the two would run into each other's arms and passionately embrace, framed by a golden sunset complete with crashing waves. But she knew Lee was an adult now, no longer dependant on his sensei for support. He'd lived in Suna for years and had grown out of such childish things. Hell, he even had a baby on the way!

Then she realized that her first instinct had been right, and they were, indeed, going to hug. She felt the bile rise in her throat and looked away.

And straight at the Kazekage. He was standing to the side of the room, looking as unchanged as his village, watching the scene with crossed arms and a set jaw. His eyes flicked momentarily toward her.

"Kazekage-sama," Sakura made a small bow.

"You should examine me now," Gaara told her, uncrossing his arms but looking no less displeased.

"Um… right now?" Sakura asked, looking apprehensively across at Lee and Gai. The two were now clasping each other's shoulders and regarding each other with tear-filled eyes.

"Yes," Gaara said, and walked toward the door. The full view this gave her of that gourd of his wasn't such a welcome sight. Did she mention she wasn't thrilled about this assignment?

Well okay then, thought Sakura. Examination. "We'll be back in a few minutes!" she told her two countrymen, avoiding looking anywhere in their vicinity in the process.

They didn't seem to hear. It was probably a good thing.

Sakura followed Gaara down a series of narrow hallways into a small room which held a dusty mirror, a sink, a padded bench, and a medical chest. Gaara closed the door behind them.

Sakura took a deep, calming breath and told herself that if she handled this properly, there was nothing to worry about. It was just an end of first trimester checkup, no reason to panic. All she had to do was make sure the baby was alright, give the expectant… mother some tips, and then she could leave. Right? Perfectly safe! Just smile and get it over with!

"I'm glad you're doing well. It must be difficult to keep up a jutsu for so long, I'm really impressed," Sakura told him sweetly. "Tsunade-sama's been teaching me a lot about pregnancy-- I've read a ton of books-- so I can help out. You must be so excited about the baby!"

Gaara said nothing. He simply crossed his arms and stared at her.

"Right," Sakura said, doing her best to keep the smile plastered on. She motioned toward the bench. "Why don't you have a seat, and we can get started?"

Gaara didn't move. Though she could swear his eyes narrowed.

Okay, awkward. And a little creepy. "Do you… uh… want to wait for Lee? Or we could go get him for a few minutes. I'm sure he wouldn't mind sitting in. After all, we're going to be here for a couple days, so he can always catch up with his sensei later…"

"Now is fine," Gaara told her at last, moving to the bench. His belt buckles clicked as he unlatched them and set the harness, gourd still attached, beside him.

He started to unzip his jacket, but Sakura quickly stopped him. "I should be able to feel through the fabric this time. You can keep it on. The baby's bigger, and I know what I'm looking for. The chakra signature will be distinct enough."

It wasn't completely a lie. It would've been better against bare skin, but with her level of skill, a few layers of cloth shouldn't be much of an impediment. She'd seen Gaara shirtless twice now though, and she decided that was definitely enough.

It wasn't as if he was so bad to look at or anything. In fact, his pale, smooth skin had a certain measure of appeal to it. The flow of it, the way his light muscles corded, reminded her somehow of Sasuke, though rather less elegant. Considering who he was, the thought left her feeling strange inside.

First of all, he'd once nearly killed her and her friends and destroyed their village in a psychotic rage. Though he seemed to be much more in control now, and Lee had quite obviously forgiven him for the harm Gaara had done to him during their match, it made meetings with him slightly… uncomfortable.

Second, wasn't he sort of like her replacement in Lee's eyes? Sure she'd never accepted Lee's offers or acknowledged his efforts to win her over. After all, he was LEE, for god's sake! It's not like she really had a choice on the matter! Even so, she found herself strangely upset that he'd gone straight from declarations of Eternal Youthful Devotion to his Cherry Blossom Angel to shacking up with the very unangelic (and very male) Kazekage.

She told herself it bothered her so much because Lee was so sweet and kind, and he deserved someone who'd treat him the same. She couldn't come up with anything else that made a lick of sense, so that must be it.

"So do you have any questions for me? Is everything going alright?" she asked as she pressed her palms lightly against her patient's abdomen.

"You're the doctor," he said calmly. "You tell me."

His stomach was still flat and tight, but she could feel the baby's energy pulsing not far beneath it. It felt strong, warm, and hopeful. A newly-budding life full of nearly endless possibilities. Sakura smiled and lowered her hands to her sides.

"Baby's happy and healthy," she announced. "He's doing very well."

Gaara's head jerked toward her. "He?"

"Oh, well I suppose it's impossible to know, but I feel bad calling a baby 'it.' I guess I just decided to call it a 'he' since--"

"When will you be able to tell?"

Sakura hated the way he could make a question into a demand like that. "Well, physically speaking, it's really a very minor difference. It's not something I could say any more than I could tell you the baby's hair or eye color. This type of chakra examination's just not that precise."

Gaara frowned. "Then how am I supposed to plan things?"

Sakura shook her head dismissively. "Buy yellows and greens?"

The look she got in return was one of utter bafflement. It would've been comical if it hadn't been so damn disturbing.

"You know, for the nursery and clothes and stuff," she added.

"Yellows and greens," Gaara repeated, staring blankly at the far wall as if colors were strange concepts he'd never before encountered and couldn't quite wrap his mind around.

"Well… traditionally, girl babies wear pink and boys wear blue," Sakura explained patiently, feeling a bit as if she were talking to a five-year-old. "But before the baby's born, you can just buy neutral colors. Though I can't blame you if you don't really want any more green…"

Gaara examined her for a moment longer before turning his head to the side, his face falling back to its usual unreadable expression. "Does it know?"

Sakura looked at him blankly. "Does what know what?"

"The baby. Does it know if it's a boy or a girl?"

Well now that was an odd question. "No, of course not. It doesn't really know anything right now. Its brain isn't developed enough for conscious thought."

"When will it know?"

"If it's a boy or a girl?"

"No. When will it know anything."

"I don't think I understand what you mean. I…" how to explain… "babies' brains don't function the way ours do, especially fetuses this small. They have reflexes and urges, but they don't really 'think' the way you're implying. If their needs are fulfilled, they're happy, or at least the baby equivalent of it. If not, it puts them into distress. That's all your baby knows right now. He'll eventually develop the capacity to understand more, but all of that is very circumstantial."

Gaara seemed to contemplate her response as he slid off the bench and harnessed his gourd once more. He stared down at the buckles across his chest for a moment before placing one hand flat against his lower abdomen.

"When will it know who I am?" he finally asked, nodding to himself as if this had been the real question all along.

"Well, I haven't studied so much about that sort of thing, but I read somewhere that a newborn can recognize its mother's voice. Is that what you mean?"

Gaara's fingers widened their grip across his stomach. "Study harder before you return. An ignorant doctor is of no use to me."

Right. Such as gentleman, as always. At least he hadn't threatened her life or anything. "Well," she began, switching back to med-nin mode, "what I can tell you for now is to take it easy. Don't strain yourself too much or go on any long missions. You should also make sure to get enough slee-- ah, rest, so you can hold the jutsu. The baby's formation is at a critical stage right now, and if its supply of chakra from you suddenly dropped, it could do serious damage to his organs. I'd also recommend making sure you get enough vitamins, since what you eat is being directly transferred to the baby. Maybe even take some supplements. I'll be back in a month and a half or so, but you should really find someone here who can help you. A midwife, maybe. That way, you can be safe if there are any emergencies. Alright?"

"Haruno," Gaara said.

"Hmm?" she asked with a smile.

"I don't like you."

Um…

"You're pushy, and you overstep your bounds. Your job here is to ensure the baby's health, nothing more. Don't assume you have some sort of say in what I do, or that you can influence my life or the baby's. I can handle this on my own," he told her, strangely emotionless face at odds with his words.

Sakura's jaw dropped, and she felt a jolt of fear run through her. "Kazekage-sama, I didn't mean to--"

"You are here because I have a deal with your Hokage, not because I want you here. You would do well to understand your place and not think yourself to be more important than you really are. The baby is mine, not yours. You had your chance."

She had her… "What?"

"We're finished now. You will not upset Lee by discussing this with him. Come."

Head spinning, Sakura followed him, her eyes on the long jacket swishing across the backs of Gaara's calves. Sakura had once thought that Kakashi-sensei, with his uncaring demeanor and porn-enveloped mind, would make the worst parent in the entire world. Sadly for both Lee and the baby (and really, the entire village of Suna), she'd just found someone worse.

Sakura was relieved when they arrived back in the main room. She knew they were no real protection against someone with the sort of power Gaara had, but she felt better in the presence of others, disturbing as Gai and Lee were when you put them together.

The sight that greeted her as she walked back into the room was Gai roughly patting a blushing, beaming Lee on the back. Gai was laughing in that loud, overly-manly way of his, and Lee was holding a large, fluffy stuffed turtle.

Sakura didn't even want to know where Gai had stored it for their trip.

"Lee," Gaara said.

"Gaara!" Lee exclaimed, bouncing over to them. "It's so good to see you! Is everything okay?"

"Yes."

Lee couldn't have looked more thrilled. Evidently Gai-sensei's pep-talk had given him the sort of encouragement he needed. "That's great! I bet Sakura-san was a big help! Did she look at the baby? Is everything okay? What did she say you should be doing now? Can I help? Do you have to eat anything special? Or do any special training? What did Sakura-san tell you?"

"She gave me decorating advice," Gaara replied.

Lee eyed Sakura questioningly. "Decorating advice?"

"Uh… yeah…" Because what else could she really say?

"Great!" Lee exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear. "And Gai-sensei brought us our first baby gift! Isn't it adorable?" He held out the massive, fluffy turtle toward his boyfriend for inspection as Gai nodded proudly.

Gaara eyed it blankly. "What is it for?"

"To decorate our baby's room, of course! And when the baby gets older, he-- or she! It could be a girl! Wouldn't that be cute? --can play with it! Isn't it great?" Lee hugged the creature close and rubbed his cheek on the top if its head. Sakura had to admit it was a bit disturbing.

Gaara nodded, an odd, thoughtful expression on his face. "Yes. It's great."

Lee beamed. "I knew you'd think so!"

Out of the corner of her eye, Sakura saw Kankuro, who'd apparently been monitoring the situation, wince.

It was going to be a long six months. And these two were going to have the weirdest baby ever. Thank god she wasn't the one who was going to have to deal with it!