She finally finished her report at two in the morning. Aki and Gaara had been silent in the bedroom all that time. Sakura was afraid to disturb them, so she went to the bathroom to get ready for bed. She was sure to be noisy so that they would hear and know she was still there.

She wanted to check in on Gaara before she went to sleep, to make sure he really was going to be okay. She had made the seal on such short notice, from only her memory; she wasn't sure it would last, or work properly.

She knocked on the door before entering, just in case. But when she entered Aki was nowhere to be seen – Gaara was alone.

"Where's Aki?" She asked, closing the door behind her.

Gaara lifted his head to peer at her. "I sent her back to Suna. Those documents need to be delivered as soon as possible."

"Oh." Sakura nodded. "I see."

"Sakura..." Gaara tried to lift himself up to a sitting position, but could hardly manage that, weak as he was.

Sakura walked over and propped him up. She was proud of how business-like her manner was. That nervous, overly emotional woman from the afternoon was gone. "What? Please tell me you're not going to confess any more secrets to me. Look, I'll make you a deal. Stop being so emotional and I'll forget everything you said this afternoon. After all, I know it's not your fault; people do weird things when they think they're about to die."

Gaara gave her a bemused look and shook his head. "It's not that." He said. He looked away, suddenly acting embarrassed. Sakura bit her lip before she could start on another babbling spree. He took a deep breath and gathered his courage and said, "I need... to use the toilet."

Sakura nearly laughed with relief, but thought better of it. Gaara probably wouldn't appreciate it. "Oh, is that all?"

He frowned at her. "Well, the problem is, I can't seem to sit up on my own, let alone stand up and go to the bathroom."

Sakura's mouth dropped open as she realized what he was saying. "Ah, yes... I see how that might be a problem."

He stared at her for a minute, quickly losing patience with her. She stared back at him, trying to think of some other way to do this, but in the end she came up blank.

"Alright, hold on to my shoulder." She said, leaning down and putting her arm around Gaara's waist. Gaara did as he was told, allowing her to help him to his feet. When he stood he had to put most of his weight on her. Sakura lifted him easily, taking him to the bathroom.

Once they were there he made a face. "I think I should be able to handle it from here." He told her, and she left the room.

She stood in the hall and stared at her feet, waiting for him to finish. She felt tears pushing at the back of her eyes. How humiliating, how terrible. How Gaara must feel now, unable to even walk across the hall to the bathroom. She wished there was something she could do for him, but she had already done all she could; he just needed to get his energy back. All she could do was try not to make it too awkward for him.

The door handle turned behind her and she quickly swiped at her eyes before the door opened and Gaara practically fell out on top of her. Sakura turned and caught him and lifted him back into the bedroom.

"Did you remember to wash your hands?" She asked jokingly, trying to lighten the mood.

Gaara glared at her. "Of course."

Sakura smiled and shrugged. She tried. It wasn't like her jokes ever succeeded with Gaara.

"I can sleep on the couch." Gaara said when she tried to put him back in her bed.

"Don't be stupid." Sakura argued. "I can sleep on the couch for a few nights until you're recovered. Now go to sleep before I give you something nasty tasting to force you to sleep."

Gaara sighed and rolled onto his side, pulling the blankets up to his chin. Sakura waited for a moment before going into the kitchen to make herself a cup of tea. Once her tea was ready she went back into her bedroom, pulled up a chair and sat down to wait.