Sonya's PoV

"He may be a bit disorientated and ... volatile. He's yelled at just about everyone who's tried to question him this morning. Maybe you'll be able to get through to him?" A nurse explained to us as we stood outside of Sasuke's hospital room.

Sasuke had woken up late this morning and Kakashi and I had been called to come and visit him. I brought Naruto and Gaara with me, but I wasn't going to let them into the room until I knew that Sasuke was ok with that.

Nodding, I stepped forward and silently opened the door. I took a deep breath before I walked in. All I knew was that he had been incapacitated. Physically, he'd get better with some rest, but mentally? That was a whole different topic. I didn't know what to expect. All I could do was hope for the best.

Stepping into the room I walked into view of Sasuke. He seemed small in comparison to the large bed he was put in, and the way he was hunched over didn't help the assessment. I slowly walked to stand at the foot of his bed, allowing my boots to make noise as I walked to signal someone was here.

"Leave." A quiet voice ordered me, and Sasuke lifted his head just high enough to glare at me. Recognition flickered in his eyes as he saw me but it left as quickly as it came.

Gone was the smiling happy little kid that I had the pleasure to meet. The kid in front of me was an angry shell, someone who looked like he was ready to set the world on fire if he had to.

"I'll stay here, thanks." I answered standing still.

He glared, but didn't say anything further.

I chewed on the inside of my lip as I looked at him. I would've expected a broken child. Despite the haunting in his eyes, there was fire too. Something happened, something that provoked him.

Just because he hadn't snapped yet and broken down didn't mean he wasn't going to. Whatever happened to him jaded him, but he would keep going. He was strong, but damned if I was going to let him go down a path that would destroy him because of this.

"Naruto and Gaara are here. They wanted to see you. They even made you brownies, and brought paper and crayons." I quietly commented, hoping he'd take the offer.

"I don't need brownies and paper." Sasuke muttered angrily.

"No, but you need friends." I answered back honestly.

"I don't need anyone but myself!" Sasuke lifted his head all the way as he shouted, glaring at me with hatred. It would've been easy to write him off as just a kid with a bad attitude or get angry back, but that would only hurt his situation.

"That's bullshit." I said bluntly, crossing my arms in front of my chest.

He looked at me, clearly startled. He was about to retort before I cut him off.

"Everyone needs someone. A pet, a person, a toy. Doesn't matter. You need a reason to keep living, and only relying on yourself isn't good enough." I straightened up an uncrossed my arms. He looked angry, but he kept his mouth shut, mulling over my words. It didn't matter if he didn't believe them right away, right now it was good enough that he was taking the time to think about it.

"I'll send them in." I turned to leave but his voice stopped me.

"Wait." I turned my head over my shoulder to look at him. He was sitting up straight in his bed, and he glared determinedly at me. I knew the haunted look in his eyes would probably never leave, but it was good at the very least to see some luster back to them.

"It was Itachi." Sasuke's words were barely more than a whisper, before his head bowed again and I could see his small shoulders shaking.

I walked to his bed and sat down, wrapping both of my arms around him. His hands fisted in my shirt and I ran my fingers through his hair and down his back as I felt my shoulder get damp with warm tears. I sat there for a few minutes, just letting him cry. My momma used to say there was nothing wrong with crying after you got hurt, it helped ease the pain, and I was certainly an avid believer in her wisdom. Eventually his hiccups subsided and he slumped against me, just breathing heavily. When I looked down I saw that he had fallen asleep, his face contorted in a grimace. Carefully I laid him down and brought the sheets up to his chin.

I stroked his hair until his facial features smoothed out, and then placed a kiss on his head before getting up and leaving the room.

I quietly closed the door on my way out and then slumped against the door coming to sit on the ground.

"What happened?" I heard Kakashi ask me as he came to sit next to me pulling ma against his side.

"Itachi." I answered shortly.

"ItachI? We haven't seen or heard from him yet. How'd yo-" I cut him off.

"Itachi was the one that murdered all of those people." I answered curtly.

"That ... doesn't make-"

"Any sense? I know, but I don't doubt Sasuke, so you'd better believe it. There was no way he was lying. If Itachi doesn't come forward soon and is reported missing you'll know that looks suspicious, not to mention he's already got a mark against his name after that Shisui case."

"I'll report it to the Hokage ... Is he okay?" Kakashi murmured as he held me closer. I sighed into his shoulder. I felt a bit helpless here. Sasuke wasn't open to other people's opinions at the moment. What if he never was? What if let his revenge consume him? What if-

"Calm down. If you can help Naruto and Gaara you can help Sasuke. You've got a knack for empathy and sympathy."

I smiled. Even those his words were short, they made me feel better.

"He's going to have serious mental scarring and a turnaround in his attitude, and that's probably the least of it. But he had a crying session and now he's asleep, so that must mean he's not a completely helpless case. It'll just take time. Just like everyone else, he just needs time ..." I snuggled closer to Kakashi and we sat there for a few minutes, just enjoying the other's presence. Before long though I heard the fast taps of footsteps heading our way. Cracking an eye open I saw Naruto and Gaara heading our way, Hiruzen not far behind. I sighed and nudged Kakashi. With our arms still around each other we stood up and faced our visitors.

"Mom! Can we see Sasuke yet?" Naruto asked me as he ran up to me, tugging on the edge of my shirt. Gaara nodded in agreement and lifted his arms full of stuffed pandas, motioning that he was ready to go in.

"He's asleep right now sweethearts, when he wakes up though I think he'll be ready for his friends to come in." I untangled myself from Kakashi and ruffled their hair.

"I assume you've already spoken to him then?" Hiruzen asked me as he stood behind the boys.

"Ja. And you'll be interested in hearing what he had to say."

After talking with Hiruzen and discussing what the next step to the plans were, we were interrupted by a nurse walking in Sasuke's room. Not a minute later there was a raised voice and she came backpedaling out. She turned around to look at our group before hurrying over.

"He's requesting a Sonya, Naruto, and Gaara?" She spoke quickly, wringing her hands, a blatant sign of nervousness. She must be new here ...

"That's us. I'll be out shortly." I answered and put a hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her down. She nodded and then scurried away.

"Afterwards I'd like to speak with Sasuke." The Hokage subtly ordered. I nodded as I walked into the room.

Naruto and Gaara quickly appeared by Sasuke's side, showering him with all the things they had gotten him. Sasuke looked a bit overwhelmed and even a bit annoyed, but overall I think he was happy to see them, even if he wouldn't admit it.

I sat silently in the corner and watched the three boys interact. Sasuke didn't speak much but I think Naruto spoke enough for both him and Gaara, mostly about anything that just happened to pass through his mind at the moment. I think Sasuke appreciated the distraction. Gaara presented his presents of pandas and Sasuke accepted them with a nod, and while Gaara didn't smile, his features softened, which was practically his own way of smiling.

After about twenty minutes I decided Sasuke had probably had enough of the energetic blond and silent redhead so I stood up ushered them out of the room after they had said their farewells.

"The Hokage would like to speak with you now Sasuke if that's alright." I mentioned after the boys had left the room.

He looked a bit hesitant. "Will you ... stay with me?" He asked quietly. I nodded and he seemed satisfied.

The Hokage stepped in shortly after the boys had left, and stood in front of the bed, looking at Sasuke.

"We have much to discuss Sasuke. I've heard from Sonya about what you said, but I'm going to need to hear it from you to make it official." Sasuke looked angry but he nodded. I sat on the bed and pulled him onto my lap, my arms wrapped around him in hopes that it would comfort him as he recounted his tale.

After learning what happened Hiruzen content with the information he had heard.

"There is one last matter we have to discuss. With the elimination of the Uchiha clan with the exception of yourself and your brother, you have no one to live with. While you own all the rights to the Uchiha Compound now, you are essentially an orphan."

The way he said it made it sound so ... final. Sasuke glared off to the side, and I felt him tense in my arms.

"As such, I would like to bring up adoption. You may be allowed to live at the orphanage, or has already extended an invitation to become your legal guardian."

Sasuke moved his head up to look at me, and I smiled trying to reassure him.

"My house is big enough for another person. Not to mention you won't be alone. Naruto and Gaara live with me, and I'm almost always at home."

Sasuke sat still for a few minutes. No child should be put through what happened to him, and no child should live alone, especially in the sight of a massacre. I didn't care if he never considered me his mom, but he needed an adult to rely on trust at his age.

"I ... accept." Sasuke spoke quietly, as if afraid of his own answer. I was glad, but at the same time heartbroken that such horrific circumstances were what led to this. It seemed like everyone in my small family had problems of some sort, were broken in some way. I couldn't tell if that was funny or depressing.

All I could do now was hope. It seemed like a lot of what I was doing lately was riding on hope and faith. I wished that it was enough.

Sasuke was discharged the next morning, and my stomach was twisted in knots over worry that Sasuke might regret his decision as we made our way home. Naruto and Gaara were both very happy that Sasuke was coming to live with us, and I was praying that their presence would be the major healing factor in Sasuke's life. I had explained to both of them what happened, and afterwards Naruto promised that he would take care of Sasuke no matter what, and Gaara simply nodded with him. Both would be able to in some small way empathize with the pain that Sasuke was going through. Neither had picture perfect lives and I knew that I surely didn't.

Maybe all together we'd all be able to help heal our twisted and broken pasts ...

Stepping up to my house I smiled and grabbed Sasuke's hand. Sasuke glanced down at our linked hands before staring up at me, giving me a small nod that he was ready.

"Welcome to your new home Sasuke."

A/N: I wasn't really sure how to write Sasuke's reaction after he woke up in the hospital. I mean, anger sure, but what else? He's 6 but he already has it in his head that his goal in life is to hunt down and kill his older brother. I've head deaths in my family, and have been on the receiving end of hospitalization, but it doesn't phase me anymore. When I was diagnosed with my blood disorder I was 11 and pissed as hell that something was happening to me, and it took my mom practically kicking me in the ass for me to realize I was being stupid and I needed to wake up and get my head put on straight, that there were other people who had it worse and that I still had people counting on and loving me. But I mean, I had crying sessions too. I think really to move on from something you need to be allowed to vent, whether that's through crying or getting into a fight with someone depends on the person. And you still have to have time to reflect and think about your actions and what you can do. So I tried to kind of convey that. Hope I did ok. Leave me a review or PM or somethin'. Hope you liked it! I'll try to not take as long as I did to update again.