*In the greenhouse*

Shinki sat on a chair without the shirt on because Sakura examined him earlier. She sent Matsuri to bring all the herbs they needed to neutralize the poison from the small bottle Sakura hid in her pocket before she flew the house in a hurry. Both girls minced the herbs with mortars and pestles. The hand Sakura had just healed still hurt and she couldn't rely on it too much. She had to get used to use the other hand until she completely healed.

"Sakura-san, I am sorry I wasn't by your side. I should have stood guard by your house."

"Don't worry. It's not like you knew they would attack us."

Masuri felt guilty because she knew there was going to be an attack, but she suspected it was going to happen on the day when Gaara was supposed to come back. Actually, she knew that for a fact, but the unexpected fight between Sakura and Noriko forced the assassins to act faster. The original plan was to attack Sakura in the morning, after she and the baby ate the food which Noriko poisoned. Matsuri couldn't keep watch of the house for 3 days nonstop. The house was already guarded by the men Gaara left there to protect his family and also by the spies who wished to kill them. Matsuri was already awake when Shinki's sand found her. She woke up earlier than usual to sharpen her weapons.

"Sakura-san, I received a report that Noriko was arrested by one of the ANBU Gaara-sama left behind. The other guard arrested Elmer and Usagi, so Sakura-san doesn't have any reason to worry now."

"Usagi?" Sakura asked in shock.

"Yes. It seems he is part of the scheme."

Sakura stopped what she was doing for a second, trying to assimilate the information. Shinki's cough woke her up.

"Let's hurry to heal Shinki and then you can tell me everything you know." Sakura said as she resumed her work with double the speed.

She dropped poison onto a scroll on top of which she poured different combinations of possible antidotes. They knew they did it on the fifth try. Sakura and Matsuri screamed in joy at the same time. They made a drink out of it and Sakura made sure Shinki drank it to the last drop. They could rest easy now. The boy's life wasn't endangered anymore.

Shikamaru was outside the whole time, smoking. When he heard them scream, he decided to come in.

"Sakura, can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure." She looked at the boy then and continued: "I will be outside; you can see my shadow through the curtains."

The boy looked at her, but didn't say anything. Sakura ruffled his hair before she followed Shikamaru outside.

"Hey, Shikamaru. What are you doing in Suna?"

"Oh, my brother-in-law asked me for a favor. I couldn't refuse."

"Did you know what was going to happen? Since when?"

Shikamaru scratched the back of his head before he replied:

"Well, Temari and Gaara keep in touch. He told her about his trip to meet the Raikage. She suspected something might happen and she told me about her concerns. Then Gaara wrote, asking me to come to Suna in secret and take care of you and Shinki. The rest, I just imagined."

"I understand. Thank you. You saved my life."

The corners of his mouth lifted upwards slightly, before he sighed again and Sakura knew right away the story is far from over.

"The only problem is there are many more assassins. We aren't safe until Gaara comes back."

Sakura's eyes grew bigger.

"Something tells me they tried everything to get him out of the country so he couldn't protect you in case of an attack."

"No way. Why?"

"Simple, so they can choose a leader they can manipulate. They wanted to be able to say Gaara can't even protect his own family, how can he protect a whole village? If you ask me, they are trying to take him down as we speak."

Sakura's eyes filled with tears. Oh no, what will I do without him? She thought.

Shikamaru tried to calm her down.

"Don't worry. From what I've seen, these assassins are very disorganized, unprofessional and stupid. Gaara will definitely win. Gaara was supposed to be here today at noon, but considering the unavoidable delay; he will probably arrive at night. We need a plan. We can't stay here."

Matsuri's ninja brought supplies and they all left to the stone mountains situated at the border. They could use the caves to hide and Shikamaru had more shadows to work with rather than in open space.

By lunch, Sakura's spies detected movement around the camp. The traitors forced everyone out of the caves with smoke bombs. Some of them sent poisoned kunais through their puppets' mouths. 2 of Matsuri's soldiers died, but Sakura, Matsuri and Shikamaru defended themselves vigorously. Both sides threw explosive paper. Shinki made a sand coat to protect him from head to toes. Shikamaru was caught in a cloud of smoke. Sakura was engaged in hand to hand combat with 3 people at the same time. A bold enemy summoned water waves making Shinki's sand too heavy to control. A mad assassin ran towards the little boy with a poisoned kunai. The boy froze in place like a scared deer. He didn't understand why the sand didn't obey his commands. Sakura positioned herself in front of him, blocking the kunai. The enemy laughed in her face. Sakura looked past him and she saw another one who was about to hit the wet sand with thunder. She tried to turn around to grab Shinki to fly away from there, but the enemy stabbed her in the side with his kunai. Her body was partially turned to Shinki, she grit her teeth and slammed her fist into the enemy's chest right when lightning touched the wet ground. Thankfully, Matsuri flew away with the boy in her arms just in time to get him out of there. The man Sakura hit in the chest disappeared because he was a shadow clone and she got electrocuted on the spot. Everything around her turned black and she lost consciousness.

...

Sakura's feet tingled and she scrunched her nose. She felt pressure on her foot and opened her eyes in alarm. The bright light in the middle on the ceiling blinded her and she shielded her eyes with the roof of her palm. A figure approached her, the shadow of a tall man whom she couldn't see because of the light and she freaked out thinking it was an enemy.

"It's me, my flower." The man said as he took her hand to bring it to his lips.

Sakura finally realized who he was when he bent his knees by the bed and she combed his red hair with her slender fingers.

"Gaara" She said with tears in her eyes.

The man panicked and tried to calm her down by caressing her face carefully. Her face was shriveled from the way her body spasmed on the ground as she was electrocuted.

"Don't cry. If you cry..."

He didn't get to tell her that tears are salty and she had raw meat underneath her eyes because a tear already rolled down her cheek making Sakura scream in pain. It stung her like crazy. Her stir pushed her to make sudden moves that opened the wound on her side because it wasn't completely healed. The sheet that covered her slim body started to show blood stains. Gaara held her hands captive between his as he was trying to keep her from touching her face. If she touched her face, it would have only hurt more.

"Sakura, stop crying. Please."

But Sakura didn't stop and Gaara decided to yell for the medic. Everything turned black again.

A few hours later, Sakura woke up again, but this time there was nobody in her hospital room. Right as she was about to lift herself up on her hands with gritted teeth, something slowed her hand down. She looked at her wrist and noticed sand wrapped loosely around it. Gaara put it there to feel when she wakes up and come to her right away. He was behind the door in seconds. He reached for the door knob when Sakura heard his low rough voice:

"If I come in, will you cry again?" He asked with hesitation.

Sakura healed her face first. She already felt burning tears in her eyes, but she pinched her arm and looked at the light before she replied:

"No, you can come in. I want to see you."

Her left hand, the one Shinki hurt, moved on her abdomen to heal the wound completely. She didn't wish to have any marks on her body. Rays of light shone onto his face as he entered the room tall and lofty. Sakura's face shone with the love she had for him. His steps were heavy, her cheek filled his right hand and he kissed her with passion and relief.

"My lion..."

He kissed her cheek to her mouth. His tongue slipped into her mouth to dance with hers. Passion consumed him. For 3 days he kept thinking about her lips, her breast and her creamy hands. For 3 days he was worried he might not see her again. He broke the kiss to hug her to his chest possessively. His right hand was in her hair and his left hand curled around her back.

"I am never letting you out of my sight again!" He whispered as a shadow covered his eyes.

Sakura's nostrils filled with the smell of blood. She started coughing and used her hands to put some distance between them. Gaara's dark red shirt was stained with droplets of blood. He didn't seem to be in pain, but Sakura wanted to make sure he was not hurt. She threw her legs off the bed and reached for his buttons with her hands.

"Are you hurt? Let me see." She struggled to unbutton his shirt with her trembling hands. Gaara trapped her hands between his as he kneeled before the bed. He planted kisses on her hands. He spoke between the kisses:

"I can't believe you are the one who is in hospital and yet you worry about me. God gave me a treasure. I have never met someone kinder than you. You soul weighs heavily before me. If I lost all of my money and job, I would still be the richest man because I have you. However, if I lost you, even with all the money in the world, I'd be the poorest man."

He let go of her hands and rested his head against her knees. His hands caressed the flesh from her knees to her ankles while her creamy fingers combed his red hair. Sakura couldn't stop her tears this time. The hospital gown was wet with her tears. She tried to articulate some words:

"I am so happy you are here! Please take me home!"

The man lifted his eyes and got up to put her feet back onto the bed.

"My dear, you need to stay in the hospital for tonight."

"No, don't leave me here. I don't want to stay without you."

Gaara felt proud. His presence offered her safety and comfort. He fulfilled his role as her boyfriend.

"As you wish."

She giggled and he bent forward to take her into his arms bridal style as she circled his neck with her arms. His sand opened the door to bring Shinki into the room. He was very happy. His small hand clutched the fabric of Gaara's trousers and said as he looked at Sakura:

"You have nothing to worry about anymore. Dad is here!" He grinned ear to ear with hope in his eyes.

Sakura thought: You were the one who was worried all this time. But she didn't voice it.

Gaara barked some orders to the ninja guards placed by her door. Sakura jerked and held onto him tighter because she wasn't used to see him so tough and bossy. He turned his eyes to his son and told him with kindness:

"Let's go home."

Shinki nodded happily. It was the happiest day of his life. Sand swirled around them and the action ended with all 3 of them being teleported home.

Gaara sat Sakura on his bed with great care before he looked at his son.

"Take care of her until I'll be back."

"Are you leaving?" Sakura asked with her hand on his chest.

Gaara placed his hand on top of hers.

"I will be right outside the house. I have to listen to the reports of everything that happened while I was gone."

Shinki watched his father exit the room, and then his big brown deer like eyes turned to Sakura who was already trying to get off the bed. Shinki tried to place a blanket over her to prevent her from leaving, but she shrugged it off.

"What are you doing?" He asked with curiosity. "Dad said you must stay in bed."

Sakura frowned and laughed at the same time.

"Who is going to take care of the house if I only stay?"

"Me. Tell me what I have to do and I will do it. Dad will scold me if I don't listen to him." His eyes looked down in concern.

Gaara stood on a small hill in front of the house. The ninja he talked to, stood with their back to the house. While Gaara made important decisions in these moments of maximum tension, he saw how Sakura arranged flower pots by the windows; Shinki brought her buckets of water, brooms and a mop. Gaara felt his blood pressure go up. He didn't want anything else than for this meeting to be over before Sakura hurt herself. The doctors said she over-exhausted herself and she should stay in bed for a couple of days without doing anything. What a stubborn woman. He thought. As minutes passed, he glanced at the light from the windows and noticed how Sakura started moving slower and slower, she held her back with her hand; her feet were heavy and she barely lifted them from the floor when she walked. The house didn't have any curtains since Noriko took them all out to wash them and she didn't have time to put others in place.

Right when he walked in the house, Sakura fell on her knees on the floor with her back to him. She sat in front of a cupboard. She couldn't stand on her feet. Shinki was right next to her with a hand on her back, slightly bent forward to look at her face. He was preparing to ask if she is ok, when both of them gained goose bumps as they heard Gaara's angry voice ring through the room. He didn't scream, but the harshness in his tone was there.

"Shinki, is this how you take care of her?"

The boy turned to face his father, but didn't dare look him in the eye or answer him.

"It's not his fault. I asked him to help me." Sakura said with ragged breath.

She tried to push herself to a standing position with the hand that touched the floor. Her other hand pulled at the edge of the cupboard for the same purpose. Gaara was next to her in a second. He kept her close to him with a hand wrapped around her hip to support her weight. It became easier for her to stand up this way. She was still wearing the hospital gown, so the heat of his palm left a burning print on her cold flesh. Sakura looked at the boy and forced a smile while she lightly ruffled his hair.

"Go to bed, little one. Your father will take care of me now."

She played the 'dad card' because she knew Shinki trusts him fully. It worked! The boy bowed respectfully to both of them and said 'Good night'. As soon as his little feet rushed to his bedroom, Gaara started scolding Sakura while lifting her into his arms again.

"Why don't you listen to me and put yourself at risk? Was it really necessary to do this now? I swear you only think about yourself. I'd be devastated if anything happened to you. Don't make me worry again or else I'll have to tie you."

"Forgive me; I didn't want to upset you. I promise to let you take care of me." She purred and tickled his neck with her nose. Gaara sighed in exasperation, but the fact that she didn't resist cheered him up.

"My lion, let's have a bath."

Before he opened his mouth to protest, she added:

"You smell of blood" She convinced him with this remark. He liked smelling good for her. Any other time he wouldn't have a problem to sleep in blood. He couldn't let his precious take a bath alone because he feared she might pass out.

They both undressed in his bathroom. It was easiest for Sakura because she only had her breast bands, panties and hospital gown. Gaara took his shirt off over his head after he unbuttoned the first 2 buttons, closest to his neck. When he bent down to take off his trousers and underwear in one go, Sakura noticed an open wound on his shoulder and his right side was full of bruises. She reached out to trace them with her cold fingers.

"Why didn't you tell me you were hurt?"

Green light emitted from her hand. Gaara tried to push her hand away. He didn't want to tire her even more. Sakura's hard look prevented him from doing it.

"Why didn't you tell the doctors to heal you?"

"I didn't want to leave you alone. Plus, I can't stand to be touched by anyone except you."

He knew how to play the 'feeling card', just like her. His right hand moved to grip her hip while she healed him completely.