So far I've seen you do all this stuff that your family wants you to do, but" she paused and turned to him, "What do you want to do

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of Naruto, that honor goes to Kishimoto himself.

Life to Life
Chapter 8

-Fino

Sakura scrubbed feverishly at her arms with the loofa. The scolding water of the shower poured down on her in blankets, helping wash the red residue from her body. The harder she scrubbed the faster the tears came and the more vibrant the images played.

It just had to happen on this Saturday of all Saturdays. Her shift had technically ended 6 hours ago; just enough time to shower and take a quick nap before heading off to Kaito's party. Sadly a bus full of prisoners from the state-pen and a semi weren't on the same schedule.

They had been rolling bodies in all morning and there just wasn't enough help. Sakura had stayed to help out in the blood bath that filled the ER; sure she had already worked a 23 hour run so what was another hour or so—the bodies never stopped coming.

Fatigue had never really gotten to Sakura, especially when she had her adrenaline running, but her temper was something she was never to good at keeping under control no matter how much yoga she did. When she noticed several of the ER doctors doing second hand work on some of the patients she lost it. Tsunade was on her in a flash yelling at her to calm down, but when the inmate on the table jumped off it—he was suppose to be under anesthesia—and pulled her arms into his opened abdominal cavity she couldn't help but to punch the other doctor in the face.

Tsunade sent her home, but the damage was already done; she had the words of the rambling inmate imbedded in her head, "Why can't I feel my legs! Why can't I feel your hands! Why!"

Why!

Why!

Why!

The sound of her fist hitting the tilled walled resonated through the bathroom.

Why was an excellent question, one of which she had yet to find the answer to.

It took Sakura several more minutes to compose herself in the shower before she turned off the water and stepped out into the steamy room. She didn't bother to wipe the mirror clean and look at herself; she knew she looked like shit.

Of all days.

She cursed silently to herself and roughly dried off her body and walked out into her room. It was significantly colder in her room then in the bathroom, but she didn't have time to worry about her prickling skin, she had to get dressed.

She threw on a bit of make-up to hide the swelling under her eyes and pulled her now slightly damp hair into a messy-bun before grabbing the colorfully wrapped gift off the counter. She checked herself once in the mirror by the door before gently placing the package in her satchel, grabbed her keys and walked out the door.

Sasuke sat on the couch with his son, both arms resting on the back of it. It was almost three and Sakura wasn't here yet; not that he had been checking his watch every few minutes or so. It was all Kaito's fault really. He was the one that kept ask—

"What time is it now dad?" Sasuke sighed and pulled his wrist over to his son so he could see, "Its five till. Where is she?" It had taken all of the young boy's strength to set on the couch next to his father and wait for the pink-haired doctor. Sasuke doubted that Kaito's asking about the time every other second wasn't helping keep his kicking legs from touching the floor and running to go find her himself.

Sasuke pulled his wrist back and let it fall to his lap, "We can't start decorating without her!" Kaito started to sound frantic and Sasuke sighed again. It was certain a positive that his son didn't get his excitable nature from him.

"I'm sure we can fair rather well by ourselves Kaito, we do have Mary to help us out you realize." Sasuke motioned to the kitchen where Mary was at preparing some of the snacks.

Kaito made a disgusted face, "She's to old to help with decorating. Knowing her she'd probably hang black streamers all over the house then call it quits."

"What's wrong with black?" Sasuke looked at the plates and napkins his son had picked out for the party.

"Nothing, so long at it has Batman on it. It's supposed to be a birthday party dad, not a wake." Kaito stated a little too matter-of-factly, but Sasuke had to nod in agreement.

They sat in silence for a few more moments before the roar of an engine brought them both back to life. Kaito quickly jumped off the couch and made a sprint for the door, but Sasuke caught him carefully around the shoulders to halt such movements. Kaito whined at his father's hold and sulked into the embrace when he realized that his strugglings were getting him nowhere.

"But dad…" He pouted as his father lifted him up in his arms.

"No 'buts'. It wouldn't do us any good for her to see you running around here like a bat out of…well anyway it's never fun to be scolded on your birthday. Heaven forbid you actually pull your incision open and then we'd both be in big trouble." Sasuke shook his head and walked, with his son in arm, to the door just as the bell sounded. He looked down at his son, who in turn looked up to him with hopeful eyes. Sasuke rolled his eyes and sighed in defeat as he placed Kaito back on the ground so he could open the door.

You would have thought Santa Clause was standing on the other side of the door from the look Kaito had on his face. Sasuke's world seemed to stop at the sight of the joy on his son's face. It had been a long time since he had seen his son so naturally happy.

Kaito through open the door to the jean-clad woman, "You're late." He scolded her, his smile quickly fading into a fake look of disappointment which Sasuke caught, but Sakura thought it was the real thing.

"I know and I am so sorry." Before she could get her apology out Kaito had his arm firmly wrapped around her waist with the smile back on his face.

"You're forgiven." Sasuke watched as the shock seeped off Sakura's distressed face and be replaced by something he couldn't quite recognize. He continued to watch as her arms slipped up from her sides and loosely wrapped around his shoulders. She slowly looked up to see Sasuke staring at them from the door. He couldn't help but smirk at her as his sons grip tightened before letting up.

"Come on. We've got a lot of work to do." Kaito grabbed Sakura's hand and pulled her through the doorway and into the house.

Nearly six hours after her arrival Sakura popped and stretched her back before returning back to the job of picking up paper plates and cups. Having to chase one or two six year-olds around was fun, but twenty was like swimming the Panama Canal at the height of mosquito season.

She arched her back again and several more pops and cracks echoed of the stone floors. She gently kneaded her fingers into the knots that lined the small of her back. A small moan escaped her lips as she hit a tender spot. It hurt to push on it, but the resulting pain felt good because the pressure was being relieved.

Sakura grunted as she tried to dig harder into the spot, but it was at a rather awkward position in her lower back. She bent a twisted but to no avail, she just couldn't get to it properly.

Sakura sighed in defeat and turned her attention back to the mess of paper around her. She nearly jumped out of her skin as a set of warm hands rubbed into the small of her back. Before she could turn her head to see who had snuck up behind her and give them the what-for one hand moved up to her neck and shoulder area and kneaded the tight muscles. The other hand remained in her lower back, working at the spot she couldn't reach.

'Oh dear Lord…' That was the only thought that Sakura could gather together in her brain at the moment. Her eyes closed and she sighed as the hands applied more pressure to her aching back. Oh, it felt so good.

She tried to think of the last time someone had rubbed her back like this, but none where coming to mind. Truthfully nothing much was coming to mind as the two hands worked skillfully at her back and neck.

Sakura could feel her breathe shorten and her knees weaken as she reached for something to brace herself on as the hands glided over her back in a rhythmic dance. If she didn't know any better, Sakura was pretty sure this treatment could easily be compared to with sex. If so, she would gladly take this other sex any day of the weak.

"Being a doctor, I would have thought you would get this kind of thing taken care of by one of your cohorts." Is voice was quieter then usual but it held a sense of firmness to it that made Sakura's eyes shot open. She turned around quickly, a blush spreading even faster across her face.

"You do know that this is what I hire housekeepers for?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow at her as he motioned to the trash bag in her hand.

Sakura just stared blankly at him trying to muster up one complete sentence.

"Wher…where's Kaito?" She shook her head lightly as if it might help pull her from the images of Sasuke's arms that day in the hospital; oh and let us not forget that fateful day in her office. A deeper blush spread across her face and she looked down.

Sasuke smirked, but quickly covered up his amusement, "Just got done tucking him in. He'll be out for quite a bit." Sakura nodded and looked around the room for something to focus her attention on.

Sasuke grabbed the trash bag from her hand and let it fall to the floor, "You want some cof—coco?" He asked as he turned and made his way towards the kitchen.

"Sure." Sakura slowly followed in behind him.

"Mary usually makes it, but I will see what I can do." Sasuke said more to himself then to Sakura as he grabbed two cups and got to work.

Sakura slid into the stool at the island slowly as she watched the man in front of her work diligently at preparing their drinks. It was a night for a hot drink that was for sure. Sakura shook her head. She had been in such a hurry to get over here that she had left her coat hanging on the back of her kitchen chair.

Fall was upon them with winter not to far behind it, making the days pleasant, but the nights rather chilly. The rain would start soon as well. It was always such cold rain, the kind that goes right to the bone. At this time of year it wasn't cold enough for it to be snow or sleet so you just walked around and got hypothermia; she'd seen it happen.

A sigh escaped her lips as the sweet smile of coco filled her nostrils. Sasuke slipped her mug underneath her nose and took a set across from her.

"Thanks." She pulled the cup up to her nose and breathed in the dark smell of the chocolate, "This smells amazing." Blowing lightly over the top she stole a glance from man next to her and smiled.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, pleased at her comment as he took a sip of his, "Just don't go telling everyone."

"Oh scouts honor." Sakura giggled before taking a sip. She enjoyed the way the smooth liquid lingered in her mouth and down her throat. The taste alone was heavenly, but the texture was almost unexplainable.

They sat there for several minutes just enjoying their sweet beverages. Sakura replayed their conversation at the coffee house through her head, trying to think of something to say, but nothing came to mind. Their conversation had been cut short and they never got to talk about parenting but Sakura didn't really know if it was the right time to bring that up.

"Do you work tomorrow?" The whisper of a voice touched her ear and shook her from her thoughts. She looked over at Sasuke who took a sip of his coco ever so nonchalantly and looked at her.

"Oh, yes. I go in tomorrow at around three. I'm on an alternating schedule with three other doctors. We're supposed to have 23 hour shifts with a three hour crossover, but…" She trailed off as she thought back to the events of this morning.

Sasuke watched her closely out of the corner of his eye as he head slowly dropped and her shoulders sagged. They were silent again for several minutes before it was Sakura's turn to shake them from silence.

"We never got to finish our talk the other day at the coffee shop." Sakura turned her whole body to face him, mug in hand. Sasuke smirked into his cup before composing his face and turning to look at her.

"And what was it that we didn't finish? Did you need to perform another exam?" There was a great deal of mischief in his tone and it made Sakura blush deeply.

"No!" Her blush continued to rise as Sasuke smirked, his eyes never leaving her face. She quickly composed herself before sending Sasuke a slight glare. "We were suppose to be discussing your parenting skills, but somehow ended up talking about your meddling family."

Sasuke's shoulders dropped a millimeter and he let an annoyed sounding breath escape his lips, "I really don't know if it's really a topic of discussion. I took off work; I'm spending more time with him. Hell I even planned his birthday party!" His voice didn't raise a notch in volume, but Sakura could still hear the edge in it.

"You know I didn't mean that." When he said nothing, Sakura huffed and scooted her stool over closer to his, "You are doing a great job, really you are. I don't know many millionaire fathers who would dress up like Batman for their son's sixth birthday." She smirked at the image of Sasuke walking into the room dressed in a homemade Batman costume; the kids had gone crazy.

"You are trying real hard and I can see that, but I'm just wondering if it will be permanent or not." Sasuke shot her a cold look making her breathe catch in her throat, "I didn't mean it like that." She shook her head to gather her thoughts in order.

"Look, ten years from now that little boy you just tucked into bed will be getting his permit and be driving out of your life before you know it. Are you going to be there even when he doesn't ask you to? Will you simply work your life away in your office when he's out traveling with sports?" She raised an eyebrow at him. Sasuke slowly turned to face her with an unreadable expression. He held her gaze for a few minutes before finding the courage to speck up.

"I promised myself years ago I would never be like my father," He scoffed at his hands before looking back up at her, "Yet when I wake up in the morning he's the one I see in the mirror." Sasuke's voice dropped to a whisper as he held her eyes.

"He always told me what I was going to be, what I was going to do…I thought it was just how things were at first, but I realized all to late that there was something wrong with that way of thinking."

"So far I've seen you do all this stuff that your family wants you to do; date beautiful women, run the company, be a great asset to the community, be a face, a name…but" she paused as she let her eyes loose themselves in his gaze, "What do you want to do?"

Sasuke looked at her; surprise and confusion slowly taking over his face. He truly had never thought of that before. What did he want to do with his life?

He was very still for a moment making Sakura think he could possibly be in shock. The movement of his hand around his cup brought a sigh of relief to her lips; though her own heart nearly stopped with his next statement.

"I saw a show once, where some superhero was chasing a villain down some dark ally. I remember being afraid. I told my father about it, but he just brushed it off and went on with life. Later I saw the show again and it ended up that the superhero had a police officer as an alter-ego.

"The twist in the plot was that as a police officer he had a great fear of the dark." He paused in thought as they ran deeper and deeper into his consciences before turning back to Sakura, "I figured if he could overcome his fear as a superhero, so could I." He shrugged and took a sip of his cooling coco.

"You wanted to be a police officer?" Sakura pushed further.

"Oh there was no want to it. I even have a badge." Sasuke stated matter-of-factly.

"You're a cop!" It was more of a statement then a question that shrieked out of Sakura's lips.

"Shhh!" Sasuke scolded her before flashing a smirk, "Yeah, well I'm retired now to help with the company."

"So you have a gun?" Sasuke couldn't help but laugh at her question; she was acting like some of Kaito's classmates.

"Yes." He paused and lifted her cup, "Several. Handcuffs too." He smirked as he took another drink.

Sakura caught the tone in his voice and sent him a look that could kill.

"I never would have taken you for a cop." She shook her head lightly, "How long were you in?"

He shifted to pop his back, "Do you mind if we move this conversation to a more comfortable setting?" He stood as Sakura nodded.

Sakura plopped herself into the large leather couch next to Sasuke and tucked her legs up underneath her.

"So, how long?" Sasuke sent her a sideways glance before giving up.

"I went to the Academy when I was 17 and when I turned 18 I went on my first patrol."

"Wow, so young. You must have been pretty smart to get in to a Police Academy at such a young age." Sakura leaned towards Sasuke as she propped her arm on the back of the couch.

"I was actually accepted when I was 16, but Chief said that was too young, so I waited another year before I put on the uniform. I didn't have to stay long thanks to all the practice I got in at home. Just about the only time I ever saw my dad proud of me was when we would go to the firing range." He paused slightly before continuing.

"After my brothers glorious exile my dad told me I needed to hang up silly dreams and get to work. So, I left the force and went to work for him." Sasuke sighed and stretched down deeper into the couch.

"I think that was the most I have ever heard you talk. So sure that I think I could take all the other times we've talked and they wouldn't even add up to half." Sakura smiled at the disgruntle look Sasuke had plastered on his face.

"Thank you. It means a lot to me that we can talk like this." Sakura smiled once more as she rested her head on her arm.

They set in a rather comfortable silence for quite a while, simply listening to the sounds of the house and the few that seeped through the walls from the outside. The clock in the hallway chimed several times, but even that didn't break the two from their calm. It wasn't until Sasuke heard a slight snoring sound that he chanced a look at the woman sitting next to him. He couldn't help but smirk at the sleeping form of the pink-haired doctor.

He stared at her soft face for several minutes before easing his body off the couch. With careful hands he slid her legs out from under her body and pulled her into his arms.

A deep sigh escaped her throat as she subconsciously nestled her head into the curve of his neck. A rather intoxication scent reached Sasuke's nose as he carried her limp body up the stairs and into a side room.

It took a bit of maneuvering to pull back the comforter with a woman in his arms; it was always so easy with Kaito. Soon enough, Sasuke had Sakura tucked beneath the covers without having roused her even the slightest.

A shaky breathe escaped his lips as he watched Sakura curl onto her side with a pillow she had worked effortlessly between her legs. Shaking the flood of thoughts from his head, Sasuke stole one last glance before exiting the room quickly.

Back in the safety of his own room, he locked his door and removed all his clothes before crawling into the cool, crisp sheets of his bed. He wouldn't be getting to much sleep to night, but for once it bothered him that it wouldn't be for the real thing.

-Ahhhh!! To long I know!! Just don't throw anything to hard please.

Thank you so much for everyone who kept on my ass for this. It was so hard to find a great start to this chapter and without you all giving me the push and encouragement I needed it might have never happened.

Thanks again guys. Hopefully I won't be as late as this one was, just bear with me a bit.

-Fino