This time, I had an idea, and then it flew away. So, we both have no idea what is going to happen. Shall we find out?

He seemed to tremble for a moment, and I could only stare as he placed one knee on the bed and began to stalk me across the bed. Not once did he break gazes with me, and that is what frightened me the most; I could not run away…not saying I could have anyway, what with the migraine and the now-painful pulsing of my side; but the option would have been nice.

"Are you not listening to me?" He snaps at me, his face so still, it could have been made out of stone; only his eyes were alive…and I wish they would stop staring at me so. "You died. On me. Did you hear me that time?"

I did not say a word, disturbed and confused beyond expression. The pain in my head was increasing at a ridiculous rate, it almost seemed as if it had already split in two. I looked fixedly into his eyes, trying to see the memory through him. What I saw was terrifying, because all I could see was his desperation and pain.

"What are you talking about?" I massaged my scalp, trying to get the pain to go away; it was too the point my eyes were watering, and I still could not look away!

Abruptly, he smacked his fist down on the bed next to my thigh, an almost-snarl on his face, but not quite. "Where was our last stand?"

I slowly began to shake my head, perturbed beyond definition. The movement did not help my discomfort at all, but it seemed to be the only thing I could do…if I opened my mouth, I may throw up…

His eyes narrowed into my own, his fist uncurling slightly. "Where did we first make love?"

I want to demand why he would ask such a thing, shocked, but that did not happen. I merely looked into his eyes, and into my own memories. I stopped shaking my head, and took in a long, shuddering breath through my constricting lungs; my body relaxed just slightly.

For the first time since beginning this conversation, Gaara looked away, crawling backwards and slipping off the bed. He walked through a door I had not noticed before, something like rushing water sounding and a cabinet opening followed. I allowed my eyes to close, afflicted by both my own discomfort and his anguish. I died? Well, of course everyone dies… but I do not think I died of an illness or old age.

"To grow old or ill is to say that you were weak or cowardice. To die by another's hand or poison is the shinobi way…"

The sounds from the other room stop abruptly. A moment later, the bed dips again, but I keep my eyes closed. I had not bothered to look at my watch; is it daytime or night? I had not seen any sun filtered into the room… Then again, I had not bothered to look for sunlight, or even a window. How long had I been asleep? How long had I been asleep on Gaara?

Something cold was pressed against my forehead, causing me to hiss, before I lean into the contact. An acute point of thunder beats through my skull as the heat of my skin clashes with the ice of the glass, and then it is an irritating pulsing in the back of my head. I almost want to whimper with how it good it feels… and when the glass warms up to where it is no longer a comfort, I do make a noise of distress. It is rotated against my forehead, and the chill returns.

"Open your mouth."

I frown, unable to think of a reason why I would have to do that. Above that, after his earlier show of fury, I was not quite sure that that would be the safest thing to do, but I do so anyway.

"Lee, open your mouth."

I hid further beneath the green sheets covering our bed, attempting to have a conversation with him without having him take advantage.

"But, Gaara! I am fine now! I hardly need the medicine, so please…take it away." I can hear his exasperation. I know I am acting childish, but the medicine they are forcing on me tastes awfully much like the medicine Gai-Sensei instructed me to take whenever I was in dire situations. I was only lucky it did not cause the same thing… There are a few minutes of silence, and then:

"Lee… I will bind you with my sand, strap you to the floor, and then force-feed it to you in the most unpleasant way I can think of."

I consider it for a moment, and then concede. I may be well enough that I do not need the concoction, but I know I can not find Gaara off as I am right now. I would not put it pass Gaara to keep a threat…especially pass Gaara. I take a deep breath for manliness, and then lift the covers away from me. Keeping my eyes closed and body tense in wait for the pungent taste of my medicine, I open my mouth. I have not been trusted to hold my own medicine since I had accidentally shattered the last three bottles. It had honestly been an accident for every one of them! They all tasted so awful, I had just gripped them too hard…

I peek out of one eye, curious as to why it was not poured into my mouth, only to shoot both open in shock.

"Gaara! You are not supposed to drink my medicine!"

There was a sour look on his face as he recapped the bottle, a look I could very well sympathize with. I reach out to him to pat his back, aware of just how painful this must have been for him.

Before I realize it, his lips are pressing against mine, his eyes focused with consideration on my own wide-open ones. I open my mouth, not quite sure why, to only receive a very terrible surprise. Choking, I attempt to pull away, but he only pulls me closer. I am forced to sit there, my mouth open against his open mouth as he gives me my medicine in the most unsuspecting way. When I had swallowed every bit of it, he finally pulled away, and I leaned onto his shoulder, sputtering as it felt like bleach dripping down the back of my throat.

"Your Kage calls that medicine?" I nodded. "I can see your distaste for it." I chuckle, and curled up where I was. It remained that way for 20 peaceful minutes…

I swallowed the tasteless pills, and the glass was pushed insistently against my lips. Eagerly, I drink the water within, only stopping when it was taken away. Already, the hammering in my head dulls. Without opening my eyes, I manage to croak.

"Your mood wings… are beginning to disturb me…"

"Your memory loss…already has disturbed me… where were we married?"

"On the borders…between Konoha and Suna…on the full moon." I could remember, though the dream was fuzzy at best, what we had been wearing as well. We had decided upon a Shinto marriage.

"Who was the first person to try and kill you after our union?"

I blink almost lazily, looking at him with the disorientation I felt. I do not understand why he would ask such a question; even now, it still hurt, even if I had only believed it a dream. "Matsuri…" That had been so sad…because I had put so much faith into Gaara's teaching of her, only to have her fail miserably. I blink again, sleepily. "What were…pills?"

"They're nothing dangerous, if that's what your thinking." That was not what I was thinking actually, and by the tone of his voice, he knew that. "They're just heavy. When you wake up, you should feel better."

When I again blink, I do not reopen my eyes. They are much too weighted down for such a thing. "Crazy…mood swings…"

"Gaara, you can not keep me here! What if you need me?" I stumbled down the stairs after my husband, my lover, my closest friend. I was hurt that he would try to exclude me from such a thing as this. It was the final stand against Orochimaru, and we were going to win, I was sure of it!

"You are still injured." He looked at me with an almost punishing glint in his eyes. "You are not supposed to leave our bed."

"But you might need me, Gaara! You need backup-"

"I do not need an injured man tagging along with me as a liability."

I stop, the color draining from my face and leaving me cold. He turned to look over his shoulder one last time, and I could read what he was truly saying by his eyes. He did not mean what he had just said, but fear drives even the most stoic people to do strange things.

"Go back." He disappeared in a swirl of sand, leaving me alone where I stood in our welcoming room.

For three minutes, I stood there, stretching my boundaries to see who was and who was not there. Gaara had left me entirely alone, a testimony by how serious this last battle would be. With no second thought, I shrugged into my jounin vest, ignoring my own flinch as I flung open our front door. I leaned down, untying the weights from around my ankles, and then I was no longer there. I ran in the way of the outer most borders of Suna, because I knew exactly where Gaara would be: the front lines.

DX I could do way better than that! But I like it… Well, you tell me what you think.