Hey guys, here's the sequel to 'Can I Sleep Next to You'. I hope you all enjoy it. Please review when your finished reading it. Thank you.

Three months, two days, ten hours. That was how long it had been since the last time her boyfriend had communicated with her. No call, no letter, not even a simple email that said 'thinking of you'. Granted, Gaara wasn't really the sentimental type, and as the Kazekage of Suna he was probably quite busy most of the time, but come on. At the very least the guy could send her a two second text message, but he didn't even do that!

She, on the other hand, had been writing him letters once a week. And they weren't just a few quick lines either. They were full on letters that covered the entire sheet of paper, but based on feedback she was receiving, or lack thereof, for the longest time she wasn't even sure that he was reading them. The only time she heard from him about the letters was when she had been overwhelmed at the hospital and didn't have time to write a letter that week. A few days later he had sent her a two sentence letter asking why she had not sent a letter and a request that she should send two letters for the next week to make up for the last letter. Needless to say she had crumpled that bit of paper into a ball and tossed it out the window in a rage.

That was three months ago.

Sakura sighed and moved a strand of her pink hair away from her face as she sat up straight at her desk. Sometimes she wondered why they were in a relationship in the first place. The pinkette was in love with him; There was no doubt about that. But what was the point of being in a relationship if the affection only seemed to be one way? Her and Gaara were coming close to the one year mark and she wasn't sure if they were going to make it. Granted the only way they would break up is if it was done by her, even if he wanted to end their relationship. After all, it was highly unlikely that he would put the effort into telling her.

The female's gaze traveled out of her window into one of the hospital's many hallways. There was a pretty brunette woman laughing and holding hands with a man, both around the same age with short black hair. Even though she did not know either of them, Sakura couldn't help but feel jealous about their relationship. They probably didn't have any communication problems. She had to tear her eyes away from the pair to prevent herself from glaring at the happy couple.

With a deep breath Sakura managed to push away her negative feelings. As one of the top doctors at the hospital, she simply had no time for self pity. Actually, considering all of the paper work she needed to finish today, she probably didn't really have time for any type of pity.

Her eyes drifted to the clock as she transitioned into her 'work mode'. There were three hours left before her shift was over...and about three days worth of paperwork. The pinkette was only supposed to have about two hours worth today, but like weeds in a garden, when it was left unattended for even a small amount of time, it grows. Usually she would never allow herself to fall so behind; however it had been an overly busy week at the hospital. After an outbreak of some foreign disease similar to H1N1 the hospital was overwhelmingly full. There were even two occasions where they nearly ran out of hospital beds. So Sakura had been literally running around helping patients, she had no time for paperwork. Hence the large amount she needed to complete now.

Then again she probably shouldn't be complaining. Sakura far preferred taking care of patients over doing any sort of activity that involved paper. Then again, most doctors probably preferred that.

A small pale white hand reached over to grab the first sheet on the pile closest to her. Well, she wasn't going to get anything done if she just sat there in thought. No. Action was needed here, and that was exactly what she was going to do. With the paper in front of her and a pen in hand she began to rush through her task.

A well deserved sigh of relief came to the pinkette three hours later when the large amount of paper work was officially completed. She had never worked so hard in her life! Well ok, maybe she had, but that wasn't the point! The point was that she was now done and was free to leave the hospital and do whatever she wished. She stood up abruptly from her chair and walked quickly out of her office.

The hospital was quite large in size. It needed to be since it was the main hospital in the big city of Konoha. The Kazani Hospital, named after its founder, was one of the top ranking hospitals in the world. All of the equipment was top notch, there was not even one speck of dirt or dust anywhere on the premises, and even though the medical staff was large, it was all chosen with extremely great care. Hundreds of medical students, like Sakura, had dreamed of working here, and now her dream was realized.

It was almost strange when she thought about how far she had come in her life. Sakura had come from a poor family. She never really had a fear about living on the streets, but she had grown used to seeing her parents search the house looking for change just to be able to buy milk. Although this wasn't anything close to a desired lifestyle, it made the pink haired girl more aware of the value of money. It was actually one of the first reasons why she had desired to become a medic. She was aware of how much money they made and she decided that she would become one so she could look after her parents.

Although becoming a doctor was something that seemed interesting, she didn't really become set on becoming one until she began volunteering. On a whim she had decided to volunteer at a small local hospital. Even though she was only able to be there once a week, she became aware of how important it was to her to look after the sick. She then knew that she was going to become a medic. It was only a matter of time.

Her parents were very supportive of her, and she did have the necessary marks to get her there. The only issue was, of course, money. So Sakura decided to apply for every scholarship available. She spent countless hours in the library looking up scholarships and applying to each one.

Soon she found out that her hard work had paid off. She had been able to receive enough scholarships to go to university. While there she maintained a 4.0 average allowing her to continue to use scholarships to get her through the rest of university and medical school.

After leaving medical school at the surprisingly young age of twenty five, she had begun her medical career working in small clinics. Although it wasn't her dream job, she did enjoy the small, more comforting family feeling that the larger hospitals couldn't provide.

When Sakura finally did begin working at a hospital her reputation as an outstanding doctor quickly grew. It seemed as if the knowledge of the female's wondrous medical skills spread overnight. Within a year she had become one of the few people in history to receive a personal invitation to work at Kazani Hospital.

At first it had been a little difficult for the pinkette. It had taken a while for her to adjust to the extremely rapid pace that the hospital required on a daily basis. On top of adjusting to the pace, some of the other doctors, who had to scratch and claw just to get an interview to be considered, were jealous of her invitation. Eventually she adapted to the needed pace and befriended the jealous medical staff.

Sakura pushed the memory aside as she stepped into the elevator. As much as she enjoyed reminiscing about her life, there were other things that she wished to focus on. The main one being what she was going to do with the rest of her day. Usually at a time like this she would call up Ino to see if the blonde wanted to go for coffee or catch a movie with Naruto. Unfortunately Ino was with her lover visiting a tropical resort on some island paradise and Naruto was also off somewhere with Hinata. So not only was she able to do neither but she was once again jealous of happy lovers everywhere; though technically she was supposed to be one of them.

What to do, what to do. Well she could begin writing her next letter to Gaara, but then again she was quickly losing interest in doing that. Because of the one letter he had sent back she was fully aware of the fact that he read them, but he obviously didn't care enough to reply back. So really, what was the point?

After another moment's considerationthe pinkette decided to treat herself to a bubble bath and a good book. The thought of soaking up the heat the warm water would provide suddenly gave her a new reason to look forward to get home. When the elevator stopped at the ground floor she was nearly rushing out of the building.

She was almost out of the complex when she was stopped by something, or rather, someone. It was Tsuande, the hospital's head honcho. She was also the one who gave the invitation to Sakura. Despite the woman's tough attitude and 'just try to talk back to me' aura, Tsunade had always shown kindness to Sakura and had been a mentor and a second mother for the pink haired medic.

"Sakura," The blonde woman called out in her usual powerful yet caring tone, however, there was something else in her voice. Concern? "I need to talk to you."

"Ok," Sakura replied, feeling uncertain about what she heard, or thought she heard, in Tsunade's voice.

"Not here though." Tsunade decided. "In my office."

A few minutes later the pair was seated in large room that was known as Tsunade's office. Considering Tsunade's position at the hospital, it was no surprise that it was the largest office in the hospital. The spacious room was complete with a mini fridge and a large brown recliner near the back. Some call this unnecessary, however, the blonde both deserved and needed these items, especially because of the fact that she practically lived in the room.

Tsunade was seated at her desk which, unlike Sakura's, was nearly overflowing with paper work that needed to be completed. The blonde, with all of her good qualities, was a terrible procrastinator when it came to any activity that involved paper.

Now that they were in her office instead of the crowded hallway, a sour look had developed on Tsunade's face. "A letter came for you today from Suna."

Sakura's face lit up for a moment. Then it was filled with confusion. If Gaara had sent her a letter then why would he send it to the hospital? "What was it about?"

Tsunade took the letter from a small pile on her desk and handed it over to the pinkette. Sakura took it and began reading.

"To Miss Sakura Haruno,

Due to medical shortages at the Suna Hospital the Kazekage has requested your presence at the hospital until more medical staff is available.

Thank you

Sincerely

Kankuro"

She stared at the letter unblinking for a few moments after she read it before putting it down. Her mood had turned sour. So even when it was for medical business Gaara couldn't even go out of it his way to write to her? This was unbelievable.

Tsunade seemed to notice her discomfort. "As far as I know they have many new recruits that can be made available in about a month. So that's roughly the time you'll be spending there. That is, if you say yes."

Sakura sighed. It might be nice to see Gaara again but after what he's been doing since he returned to Suna (or rather what he hasn'tbeen doing since he returned to Suna) she wasn't sure if she really did want to face the red head.

On the other hand, if she looked at it from the medical perspective then it wasn't a very hard decision to make. If they were short on doctors, then she should go and help. As a medic it was her duty to help people, no matter what the location. Besides, it wasn't as if she was moving there or anything like that.

"Fine." She replied. "I'll do it."

"Alright," Tsunade nodded, "You will need to leave today. In fact, as far as I know, they actually have a vehicle waiting beside your house."

"What?" She gasped in surprise.

Tsunade shrugged. "I guess they were certain that you would say yes. Have fun on your trip."

Just as Tsunade had advised her, there was a black limo waiting by her home when Sakura arrived there in her car. After speaking to the driver of the large vehicle, she went into her house to pack the items that she would need.

Although she was usually slow when it came to such activities, Sakura managed to exit the house in a record breaking fifteen minutes. Then the driver placed her suitcase in the luggage compartment, she slid into the vehicle, he returned to his place behind the wheel and they were on the road.

The journey from Konoha to Suna took around seven hours. It was a very quiet ride. Once in a while she had attempted to converse with the driver, but apparently he was not used to the people he drove trying to make actual conversation with him so his replieswere short and left little room for further dialogue; nevertheless, he did seem grateful for the effort. In a way, he almost reminded Sakura of Gaara.

With the lack of convrsation she spent the majority of her time staring out the window and flipping through the one magazine that she brought. The doctor was reading through the horoscope section for the twelfth time when they finally arrived at the desert city.

Sakura had to admit, it was a great deal larger than what she had been expecting. Apparently there were a lot of people who enjoyed intense heat and little moisture. For the first time, Sakura pondered the thought of how she would react to the weather. She had always been slightly picky when it came to temperature: warm with a slight breeze was usually her preference. For as long as she could remember she had always preferred too cold over too hot. After all, there were many layers you could put on but only so many you could take off. So it seemed like she was not going to get along well with the weather here.

Great.

They stopped at the building Sakura guessed was the hospital. The driver confirmed her guess. After giving the driver a tip and, something that seemed to surprise him greatly, a thank you, she walked into the building with her suitcase.

As she walked through the doors of the entrance she was stopped by a familiar face: Temari. "Hey Sakura."

"Hey," Sakura greeted in response, trying to hide dissapointment as she did so. As much as she appreciated seeing her long time friend a small part of her was hoping that she would see Gaara there.

Apparently that was hoping for too much.

"I just came by to welcome you to Suna and to take you to where you'll be staying." Temari grabbed her suitcase. "You'll be living with us. Gaara, our brother Kankuro, and myself I mean.

The two chatted briefly for a few minutes then Temari waited with Sakura`s suitcase as she walked into the hospital. Temari told her to walk to the front desk and the person there would explain what she would be doing. Since it was already late in the day Sakura wouldn't actually be starting until tomorrow.

After a moment of looking the pinkette quickly located the front desk. The brunette woman seated there told Sakura that she would spend the majority of her days divided between the ER and the paediatric wards. As it turned out there were quite a few children who contracted the disease that had been an issue in Konoha. Sakura was fond of children and could deal with pressure so she was perfectly fine with working in both of those places.

As she walked back to the entrance Sakura noticed that there was indeed an apparent lack of doctors. Judging by the looks of it they had enough medics to get by, but just barely. If there was a large scale outbreak of something this hospital probably wouldn't be able to accommodate it. No wonder they needed doctors.

Temari was still standing at the same spot when the female doctor returned. The blonde had a bored expression, but didn't comment about it to Sakura. The two greeted each other and then walked out to a black SUV that Temari had parked in the hospital parking lot.

"So are we going straight to your house?" Sakura asked.

Temari nodded. "I'm dropping you off, and then going back out. I have other things that I need to get done today, even though there's not a lot of the day left."

"Oh ok," Sakura replied. The two enjoyed a peaceful silence for the remainder of the trip.

After the ride through town they pulled up at a large house. Temari pulled into the driveway, and then put the SUV into park. "Your room is on the second floor, first hallway and first room on the right side," Temari told her as she pressed a button to unlock the luggage compartment then pressed a different button to open the garage door. "There's a bathroom connected to it."

"Ok, thanks for driving me." Sakura replied, getting out of the vehicle as she did so. She proceeded to retrieve her suitcase out of the luggage compartment, shut the door to it, then walked into the garage door that Temari had opened. As she did so Temari was already driving away.

Even though Sakura had grown up in a small house and was currently living in a different small house, she was pretty sure that this place was huge by anyone's standards. After looking around, she had discovered that it had a total of six floors, all of them very spacious with at least two hallways. Gaara's family seemed enjoy having their space.

The pinkette became confused for a moment after she walked into the room that Temari said she would be staying in. After looking around at the lack of any individuality in the room and looking at a few letters left on the dresser she had realized that it was Gaara's room. She double checked that she had the correct location of the room: she did.

Then she came to a realization. Of course they would put her with Gaara. The two were dating after all, and they had used the same sleeping bag for quite a long time when they first met. Gaara probably didn't even think twice about placing her in the same room as him.

Another realization hit her. Sakura realized just how difficult this month would be if she ended her relationship with Gaara. There was no question that she would be moved either into a different room or out of the house altogether. Based on the amount of doctors she knew that she would have to stay anyways but it would make things a whole lot more awkward, especially if their relationship was well known around Suna.

Perhaps if she decided to break up she should wait until the end of her stay, to make things less difficult...but then that time that they would be spending together would be a lie. Also, considering how observant Gaara was, he would most likely notice something was strange pretty quickly.

But did she really want to end the relationship? She did really care for him, and the two had never really fought (of course the two didn't really spend enough time with each other to able to fight). However if he didn't seem to care about keeping their connection going, then was it really worth it? Arg, she didn't know. Why couldn't there be a definite answer?

Well, there was one thing she could do: talk to him about it. There was one problem with this idea however...

...She had no idea where the place he worked was.

So she decided to search the house until she found in a computer. Fortunately, there was one in what looked like a living room across the hall from her. She booted it up, and then looked up a map and the location of the Kazekage's office. Within a minute it was printed off on the nearby printer and the pinkette was headed out the door of the house. Gotta love technology.

It took her about an hour to reach the building. She could have possibly found it faster if it had not been for the large crowds of people scattered throughout the city. Fortunately it was easy to find since it was probably the tallest building in Suna. Sakura had to admit that it probably would have been faster if she had taken a taxi or something as opposed to going on foot, but hey, at least she got exercise.

When she walked in she quickly found a receptionist who told her the location of Gaara's office.

As Sakura walked towards the room she began to pump herself up for the confrontation. With some of her past boyfriends whenever she had wanted to break up with them she had always chickened out at the last minute. Not this time though. This time she was going to hold her ground.

She forced herself to think about the reasons why she wanted to end their relationship. How he never even attempted to communicate to her accept to criticize the fact that she was not able to do so once. How he didn't even bother to reach her himself when his own city needed her. How it seemed like he didn't even care about her.

By the time she was at the door to the office she was livid and ready to give the red head hell. Hell that he fully deserved.

She wrenched the doors open and stepped through them into the office. There he was, looking down at his desk.

And suddenly all the anger in her simply went away.

Somehow she wasn't able to bring herself to be angry at him. At least not right now.

His gaze drifted up to her and soon jade eyes were gazing up to her own emerald ones. Instead of happiness, they filled up with confusion. "What are you doing here?" He asked. "I thought you were supposed to be at the house now."

Her anger returned. Why that little jerk! So not only does he not greet her or even smile at her, but he acts like she wasn't even supposed to see him? "Forty five," Sakura told him in a tone that was a whole lot calmer then what she felt.

The confusion on his face stayed. "What?"

"That's how many letters I've sent you." She told him coldly. "You know how many letters you've sent me, or how many times you've tried to communicate with me? Once and that was because I was caught up with work and was unable to send you a letter for one week."

Gaara was silent so she continued. As she did so her anger was changing into frustration which was changing into sorrow. Her voice nearly began coming out in sobs. "I know that long distance relationships are hard Gaara. And being the position that you are for Suna I know that you're busy. But you could at least put some effort into our relationship."

By now the words were pouring out. "Maybe you don't usually put any effort in relationships but most people, like me, try to. Unless... maybe you don't care enough about it to do that."

That last line caused Gaara to bolt towards her with speed she didn't know he had and within seconds he appeared right in front of her. His face was mere inches away from hers and his hands were at her sides, encasing her. "I care." He told her, seriousness evident in his eyes. "I care more then you know. About you and about us."

"Then why do you never try to contact me?" She asked, her voice coming out in a whisper.

He sighed and looked down at the floor, as if he was embarrassed. "Because, I haven't really had a lot of relationships, especially serious ones. Usually I just end up having a one night stand. And even in the serious relationships that I've had neither party had tried hard to reach the other and all in all, the relationship wasn't all that meaningful. So in a way, this type of thing is still new to me. And honestly, I don't know a lot about what I'm supposed to do and not do in a relationship. In fact I didn't really know that I was supposed to be trying to communicate with you."

Gaara looked back up at her. "And as for your letters, I do really appreciate them. Reading them is the highlight of my week. So I do care about you and I want this to work. When you leave to go back to Konoha I will try to reach you more if that's what you want."

Sakura smiled. It was one of those few moments in life when you are truly happy and know that everything is going to be alright. "I'd like that," she told him. "You know what I'd also like?"

Without waiting for him to answer she wrapped her arms around his neck and stepped closer to close the gap between them. "This." Without a second thought she kissed him.

And he kissed her back.