The Flower Shop [A Gaara Love Story]

44: You're Here, Too

"You should be more worried about yourself," Kankuro said as he stood next to the bed, his own eyes a little glassy as he looked down at her.

"Of course the first thing you do after knocking out for two weeks is stress over someone else," Naruto laughed softly beside her, and she struggled for a moment to turn her head and look at him.

He looked rough, just as every one of them did, like they hadn't slept in days. There were bags under their eyes and a weariness in their gazes; it didn't look like any of them had done anything other than sit around and worry over her. Still, despite how sullen the group of them looked, she couldn't help but be relieved to see them. The Leaf shinobi stood at the other side of her bed, Naruto and Sakura both with glassy eyes as Shikmaru stood a little behind them, bandages covering most of the bottom of his jaw. The sight of them made her sniffle, and Naruto reached out to take her hand with a sad smile.

"It's ok, Momo, we're here." He reassured her, almost as though he was also trying to reassure everyone else, "And you are, too."

His words brought such a realization to her, that she really was here and alive, that it knocked the breath from her lungs. It drew an ugly sob from her lips, mangled and broken as the reality of what had happened came crashing down on her for the first time. It made Sakura cry as well, and even Kankuro had to turn away as she let herself so openly weep.

It wasn't a happy awakening by any means; happiness didn't seem possible just yet. After a little over a week of tortue, two weeks of waiting with baited breath for her to ever wake up, none of them could really find it in themselves to feel anything other than relief. Even Naruto, in all his optimism, let himself shed a few tears as the group of them just stood in her hospital room for a while. All of the stress, the pain, the loss and suffering of these past few weeks sat heavy on their hearts and no one could bring themselves to smile just yet. Momoko was alive, and for now that was enough.

They stayed in her room for the rest of the day, filling her in on everything that had happened since they were brought back to Suna. Yoshio and his band of shinobi had been arrested and were set to be tried for their crimes soon, and the mention of their names made Momoko's heart tight with something very different from sorrow. They told her about the pain of waiting so long for her to wake up, how the doctors weren't even sure if she would at all, and the room had fallen silent for a moment. Soon, though, Naruto changed the subject to something else, and the atmosphere of the afternoon took a better turn.

Despite the lightening mood, relief finally allowing for some sort of normalcy again, Momoko did not partake in their joy. She sat quietly in the bed, holding loosely to Gaara's hand as she listened to the group of them begin to talk as though life had finally returned to normal. She did not smile or laugh with the rest of them, instead simply sat and stared at the group assembled around her. The silence did not go unnoticed, but they figured it was the grogginess of having finally woke up after so long and carried on with their attempts to lighten the mood.

Eventually the doctors came and shooed the majority of them from the room, only Gaara being allowed to stay behind as they asked her questions and checked her vitals to make sure she could remain stable. Momoko said little more than needed, simple 'yes' or 'no' answers, sometimes just shakes of her head. They took her through the surgeries and procedures she had gone through when she first arrived, how they had to reset a few bones and mend others, and Gaara listened quietly with a barely contained displeasure. He knew all of this already, had been waiting outside the doors during each and every procedure, but he was here for Momoko now in case she had anything to say.

To their surprise, she didn't. She listened to the old doctor as he explained to her some of the damage that had been done to her body, how some things would scar and how they would talk about physical therapy at a later time. They had expected her to be relieved that she hadn't been too hurt beyond repair, that she would be able to get all of the help she needed and then some, but she showed little more than a few nods of understanding. There were no appreciative smiles, no timid hums; she simply sat and stared. Soon, after the doctor had explained as much as he thought necessary at this time, he left the two of them alone so she could rest just a little longer.

Once it was just the two of them again, Gaara turned his attention back to her to find Momoko staring up at the ceiling, her eyes a little cloudy and lips pulled into a thin line. There were tears that rolled down her temples and into her short hair, but she didn't make a sound. Had it not been for the slow rising and falling of her chest, he would have thought she was dead.

"Momoko," He began, reaching out to take her hand, and only then did she turn her eyes to him, "I...I can't begin to tell you how sorry I am that this happened, that this-"

"I think I need to rest," She interrupted, her words quite and yet still silencing him completely, "Can I?"

He was obviously a little surprised by her words, his brow knotted as she looked away from him again, but he didn't push her further. Maybe she was just overwhelmed by the doctor's report and seeing everyone; there would be time for this later.

"Of course," Gaara said as he gave her hand a soft squeeze.

She closed her eyes and he sat in silence beside her, his thumb rubbing soft circles into the hand he held, until the rise and fall of her chest became a little slower and he knew she had slipped into a quiet sleep. Once he was sure she had fallen asleep completely, Gaara slipped his hand out of her own and stood, pausing for a moment to look down at her.

He couldn't remember a sight that put such a hollow pit in his stomach as this one did. She looked so small laying there, her body having lost the weight she had put on in the last year and giving way to a leaner, less healthy frame. Most of her visible skin was wrapped in bandages and what he could see was littered with scars and yellow bruises. Her chest struggled to rise, as though the very action of breathing was hard on her body. Gaara felt that familiar ache in his heart, the one that gripped at him so tightly that he feared it would give out at any moment.

With a soft, shaky kiss to her forehead, Gaara left the room so that she could sleep in peace.

Sakura stood outside the doors, pacing back and forth in front of them, and only stopped when she saw Gaara coming through them. The sight of the troubled look on his face and the frown on his lips made her sigh softly, frowning as well.

"You noticed it too, huh?"

"Yes."

He said little else, instead sat in one of the chairs in the hallway, and Sakura came to his side.

"They said this would happen, that she would probably be a little off for a while." Sakura tried to reassure him.

It could take months, probably even years before she's back to her old self, the doctors had said, She may not be the same person when she wakes up. You need to be prepared for that.

"I know."

He stared at the wall and said little else, slipping right back into the near catatonic state he had been in for these last two weeks. Gaara was usually a man of few words, but he seemed to say even less than nothing lately. He usually just stared at nothing with a furrowed brow, as though he were thinking a thousand horrible things at once. Even though Momoko had just woken up, even though they had told them this would happen, her lack of response outside of tears and dull looks seemed to shake him further.

Sakura reached out, placing a hesitant hand on his shoulder. Only then did he look at her, green eyes tired with the weight of these last few weeks.

"We just have to be patient," Sakura said, trying to offer him a small smile despite how much she herself was hurting, "All we can do right now is be here for her."

He nodded without another word, eyes drifting back to the wall before him, and Sakura left him alone to his thoughts outside of the hospital room.