Temari and Matsuri took over all of her work. Anything from the Hyuga had to be postponed. The Hyuga was furious, unsurprisingly. Not only were they delayed, but their unbranded ex-heir was unprotected, exhausted, and left vulnerable. It didn't help his guilt, but he didn't respond to their demand for an explanation at his wife's request. Hinata would handle it when she was well enough to.

Hinata insisted that Gaara needed rest after his breakdown. Kankuro already took on incoming work when he locked himself in his office. His office furniture also needed replacing and repairs made to the walls.

Gaara didn't argue with her plea to take a few days off.

The day she was released, she was well enough to walk home, but she was still going to need a few days of rest. Chakra depletion was a slow recovery process that didn't have aid other than time.

Hinata smiled at him throughout the day, but she looked sad. How did she do that?

Hinata insisted on a nap as soon as she got settled back in their bedroom. Gaara laid down with her at her request. She laid on her side, looking up at him. She curled her hand in his, and he finally asked as it was in the air. "What's wrong?"

Hinata pierced her lips together, letting the smile melt away, and leaned forward to kiss his fingers. Now he was confused. Was she upset with him or not? "I'm alright, Gaara."

"No, you are upset." Was she attempting to lie to him?

"No, I mean…" Hinata lifted her other hand to her chest. "I'm okay. I've had worse, and I will be fine. I want you to remember that."

"That does not change the fact that I let this happen. Whether it is okay now or not, you were still hurt as a result of my neglect." Gaara demanded, harsher than he wanted to.

Hinata rubbed her thumb over his fingers. "Temari-chan says this is new."

"What?"

"This guilt. She says, usually, you would take incidental injuries as the duty of a nin." Hinata explained. "This guilt is only because it was me."

Gaara wasn't sure how that was relevant. "Of course."

"Gaara, you're worrying me. What if I had been more seriously injured?" Gaara dreaded the thought. He closed his eyes, feeling Shukaku's growling. "What if I died."

Gaara's eyes snapped open to give her a serious look. She shouldn't be saying that.

"I'm serious. Are you going to kill who I was working with because they weren't unable to protect me?" He would. "Because that's not fair. It's my duty. You, as Kage, should know it more than anyone. Sometimes you lose nin, and someday that might be me."

Saying what should be true did not change his violent rejection of it. Hinata was different, he could lose his siblings, and he would mourn them, but losing her was not an option now.

Hinata pressed his fingers to her lips again. "I think I understand, though."

Gaara watched her for an explanation.

"The closeness of friendship and the possibly losing that most people get used to at academy age. You never had that opportunity." He killed people in the academy.

"Possibly." Gaara agreed.

"I would miss you too," Hinata hummed.

Was that what it was? The fear he felt was different from her just being away, but was it because she wouldn't be back? He wanted answers, but maybe now was not the time. Hinata's eyes drooped. He slid closer, laying his free arm over her side. She hummed and snuggled her nose into his shirt.

Hinata giggled at his focus, trying to imitate her stitches.

At least she wasn't the worst at sewing. Gaara already knotted his thread a few times and snapped it twice, trying to untangle it. Hinata made it harder to get it tangled by giving him a shorter thread. Still, he seemed to figure out a way to tangle it when she looked away. His stitches were even, and he had no trouble remembering the pattern after she explained it, but he didn't quite have the patience to keep the thread neat.

It was cute how he kept trying despite his clear frustration with it. Hinata wasn't particularly surprised that he didn't know how to sew, but she wouldn't have guessed. His siblings were so artistic, but what would he need it for? Mending was not required in their academy. It was commonly taught by their parents or in apprenticeship, so it was seen as unnecessary. She should remedy that when she got back to work, not everyone was taught by outside sources.

Maybe he would be better at pottery.

As the sand in the room started to get thick and jittery in the air, she determined they needed to change activities. She didn't want him to destroy their bedroom in frustration over a tangled thread. Though, the frustration took his mind off the looming incident. Keeping him busy for their day off was a good way to make sure he wasn't thinking about it too much.

Gaara barely ever played a board game. He knew one, but it was Suna-based, and he had no clue how to explain it to her. She spent the hours after lunch teaching him the ones she was taught as a child, though she hated them all when she was young. The Hyuga taught board game strategy to teach strategizing and political gain. You weren't playing. You were defeating an opponent. She was never the best, but because the advanced strategies were drilled into her as a child, she could beat any intermediate player, which made playing with Gaara… interesting.

After an explanation, he would have no trouble with the rules and would try his hand at strategizing. But it would end with her seeing through all his moves. She thought she could throw a game, but when he realized she was making it easy, he said he would rather she win than pander to him.

She hadn't lost yet.

Spending this much time with his wife was something he missed. He missed her being in his office for hours doing nothing but paperwork and reading. Her presence was calming, and Shukaku's purring was much less annoying than his growling.

Gaara didn't understand her amusement with his lack of skill at her games, but it made Shukaku laugh, too, so it must be funny. The small joys of spending the day with her crashed down on them when she needed help with her bath.

Shukaku shook the room at the sight of her back, which did little else but make it clear that the look of her upset them.

Hinata paused as his arms tightened around her stomach. She silently laid her hands over his arms and let him have a moment. Three significant gashes were stitched together with chakra across her back. The edges were bruised since they had left the hospital. The most serious scattered her abdomen. She had been slashed, stabbed, and bruised.

Shukaku took great joy in having killed the attackers.

"What happened?" Hinata sank into the tub.

"Your back looks… painful," Gaara sat by the tub.

"If it bothers you, you don't need to help me. I can get a medic." Hinata sank herself down into the water, bashful. Shukaku growled.

"No. It's fine. We just hadn't seen the damage yet." Gaara knew her clothes were soaked in blood. It soaked through to his. He still hadn't washed that robe.

"It doesn't hurt that any more unless I twist wrong. They did a good job of patching the skin together, though I think it will still be a large scar." Hinata laid her head over her knees. "I don't mind scars, though."

Gaara didn't mind the scars she had before this one.