Author's Note: I am back! I never stopped writing but I took a tour of about half a dozen other fandoms in the last few years and it was seriously hard to get back to Naruto (especially since I quit watching it). I reread the whole story several times in the last couple years but today it clicked and I finally managed to finish this chapter. I have a plan for the next couple too. I am going to dive into writing the next part while my muse is being cooperative and this time I am not wandering into other fandoms until I get to the end of this tale. I have learned my lesson. I am never going to publish another fic that isn't finished before I start. I am truly sorry for the long wait and hope someone will still read this. Not betaed. Please point out any spelling or grammar errors you notice.

Chapter 34: The Best Laid Plans

Gaara frowned at the faces looking expectantly at her.

"I don't see the need for all this." She said slowly, having voiced similar protests several times in the last hour.

Temari sighed. "You want to get married, this is how it's done."

"These are nice, they would compliment your eyes." Ino held up a small sample bouquet of pale blue green flowers. "Or you could choose red to go with your hair..."

"I think her dress should be red and gold..." Sakura mumbled, flipping through fabric swatches.

"No, I already told you; in Suna red is for birthdays. White is for weddings. I like the gold though." Temari joined the pink haired girl in perusing the samples.

Gaara took the opportunity while they were distracted to slip out the window.

The redhead settled on Nara's favorite rooftop bench, pleased to find it empty. She tucked herself into a ball and rested her head on her knees.

She didn't understand what all the fuss was about. The engagement had been official for three weeks and, from what she could tell, it had caused all her female friends to lose their minds.

Crunching sounds disturbed her sour thoughts and a few moments later Choji's substantial form appeared at the steps to the roof.

"Gaara-san?" He called cautiously, a frown in his voice.

The redhead raised her head to glare at him.

"Ah, sorry. I..." The large boy turned as if to go but hesitated. "Are you okay?"

The sand user considered the question for a long moment. "I'm getting married." She said at last, her voice flat.

Choji nodded. "I know...I'm pretty sure everyone in the village has heard." He smiled. "I think Naruto would have painted the announcement across the hokage monuments if he didn't think Tsunade-sama would kill him."

Gaara huffed a small laugh.

"Are you...having second thoughts?" The heavyset teen moved to sit on the other end of the bench.

The redhead frowned. "Not about Naruto." She shook her head. "I want to marry him. I just...don't see the point of all the..." She wracked her brain for the proper word. "Excess...that my sister wants me to plan."

Choji nodded in understanding. "The flowers and dresses and stuff?"

The sand ninja nodded.

"Well, I guess getting married is kind of a big deal." The young man leaned back to ponder the sky as he spoke. "I mean, most people only do it once, so they want it to be special."

Gaara could understand that. "Yes, but how does wearing an uncomfortable and impractical outfit, and spending a fortune on food and flowers, make it special?" She dropped her head back onto her knees.

Choji chuckled. "To be honest I'm not really sure, but most women seem to want all that." He eyed her curiously. "You don't?"

Gaara lifted her tired gaze to meet his friendly face. "No." She said slowly. "All I need for my wedding to be special is for my family to support me...and my groom to be Naruto." She finished dryly.

Choji laughed outright at that. "Pretty sure you're safe on that last part. I've never seen him so excited...and he's a pretty excitable guy."

Gaara felt her lips quirk in a small smile.

Choji seemed satisfied that he had improved her mood, so he stood and stretched before heading for the stairs.

"Just a suggestion, but maybe you should consider telling your sister and everyone else what you just told me." He offered with a small smile.

Gaara considered the idea. Ever since she had admitted to being female, her sister had taken great pleasure in helping her choose more feminine clothing and teaching her things about being female. The redhead hadn't protested much, because she did actually need to know some of the things and most of the clothes were tolerable enough.

However, Gaara had been so busy figuring out what it meant to be a woman, she felt like she had lost a bit of herself. Perhaps it was time to remind Temari that, while she might be female, she was still Gaara.

Perhaps it was time to figure out how to be both.

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Gaara slipped back into the room on silent feet. Ino and Temari were bickering over the flowers again. Sakura was studying sample invitations. The redhead wasn't sure they had even noticed her departure.

"Enough." Her voice brought the arguement to a sudden halt. "I know you are trying to help...but I don't want this."

"Don't want what?" Ino frowned.

"Any of this." Gaara waved a hand at the piles of wedding samples and books her sister had amassed. "I will wear a dress but I want something practical enough to fight in."

Sakura huffed a nervous laugh. "With Naruto's luck, that's probably a good idea."

The redhead inclined her head to the med nin in agreement. "Not to mention someone still wants me dead."

Temari looked crestfallen but nodded. "Okay, no heavy dresses."

"And the guest list will be close friends and family only. I don't want my wedding to be a political event. The recent attempts on my life should serve as a viable excuse to keep anyone from being offended if they are not invited. Security will be easier with a small wedding."

"Don't worry about security, we can..."

"No." Gaara cut her sister off gently. "That's the excuse. The reason is because I dislike the idea of having my personal life on display for a bunch of near strangers. I want everyone there to be someone who actually cares for Naruto or myself and wants to see us happy." She explained quietly.

Temari smiled. "Yeah okay. Anything else?"

Gaara released a pent up breath and gave her sister a small smile. "I want red flowers." It was the first time she had willingly offered an opinion and she gave it as an olive branch for the wedding crazy women she had just deflated.

Ino grinned and dug through the samples she'd brought from her family's shop. "Okay. Let's see what we have in red."

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Naruto smiled nervously at Kankuro, as the sand ninja opened the door to his workshop.

"What?" The hooded young man asked impatiently.

The blonde shifted on his feet. "I wanted to ask you for some help, with something for the wedding."

The puppet master stepped back and allowed his future brother-in-law to enter his room.

"What do you need?"

Naruto grinned. "I need to import some sand."

A little while later the leaf ninja was wandering down the street, lost in thought.

He needed money. For what he wanted to do for Gaara; he needed a fair amount of money, according to Kankuro.

In order to get money, he needed a mission; but Tsunade was keeping him close due to the Akatsuki threat.

Still...maybe she could give him something. He changed direction and headed for the blonde woman's office, with renewed determination in his steps.

He was going to make sure this wedding was perfect for Gaara.

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That night, Gaara sighed and closed her eyes but she could tell sleep would be hard won.

She felt a great deal better about the wedding after she put her foot down. It would be elegant, simple, and small. All of which would let her try to relax and actually enjoy the fact that she was marrying a young man whom she loved.

However, easing that concern had not untangled the knot of dread in her stomach.

The wedding planning was merely a minor distraction in the larger scheme of things. They still had the Akatsuki lurking, rogue Suna assassins, the council's machinations, and other threats looming over them...

...and she still wasn't up to even half her full power.

Gaara was beginning to think desperate measures were the way to go.

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"I'll only be gone a couple days." Naruto said with a sheepish grin.

Gaara nodded, frowning.

"This is basically a genin mission. It should be really easy." The blonde chattered on as the pair walked towards the village gate.

The sand user tried to ignore the bad feeling she had about this mission. Naruto could take care of himself.

'I thought I could as well...' she thought to herself with a frown.

"So, I'll see you soon. Okay?" Naruto smiled at her and leaned in to place a chaste kiss on her lips.

The redhead kissed her fiancee back, but pulled away quickly.

"Be careful." She said quietly.

"I will." He grinned. "I'll be back before you know it. I promise."

That brought a small smile to the sand user's lips.

Naruto's grin brightened and he hurried to join Sakura and Kakashi at the gate.

The young Kazekage watched them until they had vanished around the bend in the forest road.

She was so tired of feeling helpless.

Months of training had not allowed her to undo the damage Shukaku had left in his wake. Her chakra levels were rising slowly, but the majority of her chakra was still out of her reach unless she was in a blind rage.

There had been several attempts on her life and on those she cared for. Even though she still had over a year yet to go before the council's deadline; the exiled kage was weary of being a burden to be protected.

The situation was untenable. It was time to take drastic action.

She had spoken to Naruto about her options several times and he had finally told her to just follow her heart. Her heart told her she needed to be strong for those she had to protect.

In the end the decision was both easier and more terrifying than anything she'd ever done.

Telling her siblings was harder still.

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"Are you sure you want to do this?" Temari asked nervously.

Gaara raised an eyebrow at her sister. She had already explained her reasons thoroughly and was not in the habit of repeating herself.

"Right. Okay." The blonde pigtailed woman sighed. "What can I do to help?"

"Nothing." Gaara shrugged. "I'll be back in a few days."

Kankuro scowled at them both. "Can we really trust that this is going to work?"

"It should." Gaara suppressed the urge to sigh. "Kankuro...this can't go on any longer. I cannot protect what I care about, and I will not stand back and watch people get hurt protecting me. I have to try something."

The puppetmaster let out the sigh the redhead hadn't allowed herself. "I get it, Sis. I just don't think this is the best way."

Gaara glared. "You have a better suggestion?"

Her brother frowned sourly. "No."

"Then this is what I'm doing."

"I don't like it." He groused.

"You don't have to." She shrugged. "Stay safe. Both of you."

Temari wrapped the younger girl in a rare hug and glared pointedly over Gaara's shoulder at their brother until he awkwardly joined the embrace.

Gaara pulled away after a few moments, offering her siblings a small quirk of her lips in gratitude for the gesture.

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Gaara pulled the cord on the huge gates of the Aburame compound. They swung open soundlessly and she nodded a greeting to Shino as she spotted him waiting just inside the opening. She had sent a message ahead so he was expecting her.

"You're sure?" The insect user asked evenly.

Gaara nodded again.

"Come. The family elders are waiting."

The redhead followed the taciturn young man into the compound, feeling the gates swing quietly shut behind her.

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"Are you ready, Gaara-san?" Shibi Aburame asked gruffly.

Gaara took a steadying breath and nodded, her jaw clenched far too tightly for speech. She shifted, testing the chains attached to her wrists and ankles; a measure that Shino explained was for her safety as much as for theirs. She had often been chained as she rested as a young child, and she had grown to trust Shino, but it took every ounce of willpower she possessed not to back out when they explained the ritual. Physically, she was fairly comfortable despite the restraints; lying on a soft futon in a light airy room to minimize any chance of flashbacks to the Akatsuki's cave. Mentally, she was struggling to maintain her composure; a feat the redhead only managed from long practice at burying her emotions.

Shibi nodded back and he and Shino knelt on either side of her. To her immense relief, there was no chanting involved. She was fairly certain she'd have balked at that.

She forced herself to relax as Shibi brought out a small gourd that hummed with the sound of many insects. The elder ninja opened the gourd and placed the opening on Gaara's palm.

The redhead extended her chakra to the kikaichu in the gourd; calling them as Shino had spent several hours teaching her the right way to do. The queen emmerged first and Gaara tensed as the creature tickled across her hand and up her sleeve. There was a sharp sting on her forearm and then an itching, burning pain that travelled up her arm and settled in her chest.

The pain didn't compare to having Shukaku ripped from her body, but it was more than slightly uncomfortable.

Then she felt a strange hum start at the base of her ribs and she watched more insects begin to pour out of the gourd and scurry across her skin.

Gaara ground her teeth against the urge to scream as the pain intensified and began to spread through her body. She'd been warned, but hadn't been entirely prepared for the sensation of the kikaichu burrowing through her skin and muscle to make their nest.

She barely realized she was straining against the chains, fingers curled to dig the insects from her flesh.

"The worst is almost over, Gaara-san." Shino announced as the stinging pain permeated her entire body.

The redhead could offer no response as she fought the urge to call forth sand to scour the intruders from her.

After what felt like an interminable time, the burning receded into her abdomen; creeping from her limbs and leaving her muscles aching and itching. Eventually, it dulled enough that she was able to sag back against the futon and draw a few shaky breaths.

The stinging pain finally faded all together, and Gaara was left with the familiar ache of pulled muscles and the unfamiliar feeling of buzzing in her chest. Shino freed her hands and feet and she carefully moved one hand to rest above the vibrations, a frown on her face.

"They'll settle down soon...and you get used to the feeling after a couple days. Your muscles will feel strained but you should be able to move a little easier in a few hours." Shibi explained gruffly. "You did well, Gaara-san. The nest is content. Rest. We will keep watch."

Gaara let her eyes close, too exhausted to do much else, but she couldn't sleep.

Thus, she was awake when an Anbu messenger slipped in to speak to Shibi.

His message clenched her heart in an iron vise. "Kakkashi and his team were attacked two hours ago. The others survived but the Akatsuki have captured Naruto Uzumaki."

To Be Continued...

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Author's Note: Finally talked my muse into wandering back to this story and this is what she does. Don't worry. I won't leave it hanging here for long. The next chapter is already written and just needs to be edited. Next up: Can Gaara manage a rescue with her body still adjusting to her new additions? Will the kikaichu really be able to give her access to the chakra she's been lacking? Is Naruto down for the count? Will Kyuubi rear its nine tails? Find out in Chapter 35!