Hinata laid her head back on the couch in Gaara's office and sighed, with a baby laying on her chest and a small tanuki across her lap. Shakaku was frequently abusing her mothering instincts. His behavior did raise concerns. What had they done to him? What tortures did he endure in his time away from Gaara? Did he miss him? He certainly missed her.

Thankfully, he wasn't battling for attention against Kouki. He demanded attention, but he backed off when it was clear she had her hands full with the baby.

Gaara did not seem as content with the situation. Hinata was sure he had many sour feelings attached to Shukaku, and though his distrust had history to it, she hoped that with time he would see the demon had become less of a threat.

However, some of his irritation seemed to be because he too was having to battle for attention. With her hands full with a baby and a demon constantly she wondered if he felt like there was little room for him. She tried when she could to make time more about him, but it was hard when the baby needed to eat every few hours, and she was working.

Gaara wondered what it was he was to do. He couldn't leave at risk of waking the baby. But she couldn't stand here with his arm in the cradle the whole night.

Hinata slept on her side just behind him, exhausted enough she had slept through the first signs of whimpering. Gaara had placed his hand on the infant's stomach like he had seen his wife do before, but now with two little hands wrapped around his thumb and pinky respectively, he didn't know how to move without waking him and his wife.

He slowly sat down on the edge of the bed.

He could sit here till morning.

Sand pooled in the cradle and stared back at him lazily, mocking him.

He frowned.

Shukaku drew more sand into the cradle, pooling it under Kouki, Gaara's hand, and the baby underneath was slowly lifted until he could move an arm under him.

Gaara took the baby and stared back at where the tanuki dissipated. He nodded at the sand.

He took the baby over to Hinata's chair and sat back.

He wasn't sure he could get used to Shukaku helping.

Hinata woke up and rolled over, laying her hand into the cradle. In a moment of panic she shot up and looked into the empty cradle. She laid her other hand back to find Gaara's spot on the bed also empty.

She whipped her head around to find Gaara asleep with Kouki in his lap, in an odd position.

Hinata took a breath and wondered how they had gotten like that. Gaara so far had been too afraid of Kouki's still weak neck to pick him up. He always insisted on being handed him or handing him off to be laid down.

She worked herself out of bed and slipped over to them. She placed a hand on his shoulder and lightly rubbed it to wake him. He sniffed away and looked at her, and down, and back up groggily.

"He wouldn't let go." He defended.

She looked down at his hand with his thumb still in the grasp of a little hand. She smiled, her heart warmed by his dedication to not waking the baby.

"Y-You could have had me move over." She told him, as she lightly pulled the little fist apart freeing him.

"I didn't want to wake you." He explained letting her scoop him out of her arms.

"Y-You picked him up?" She asked, wanting to praise his improvement.

"Shukaku handed him to me." He answered.

Well, there was an improvement in another area.

"I-I'm glad that you too are getting along better." She mused. Even if they had different motivations.

Shukaku flicked his sand tall off the edge of the bed. He could get to like more than one human, he had decided. If this one that he was attached to turned out to be like his mother he could have two humans he enjoyed. He could even find interest in his former vessel as his involvement was important to the tiny human's brain development.

He had come to realize in the time he was away, he was completely fine with staying with his previous vessel if his body had not rejected him. He could have had far worse hosts.

For once he was looking forward to seeing what his vessel would become. It had been so long since he had an invested interest in humans, generations of humans had made him so bitter to their lesser development, but this time, maybe he would just watch what it was like when a child was cared for and wanted.