Rasa and Karura hoped for a third healthy child, but complications occurred resulting in their third child being born prematurely. Frustration grows for Rasa upon realizing his youngest isn't normal either, causing a strain on his marriage with Karu...
A thumping sound startled Karura awake, and for a moment she thought it was her heart, her indigo eyes drifting over to the place Temari should have been sitting with Gaara. Instead she saw a box of stamps with some scattered around on the ground, the sandy haired woman's breath catching in her throat as she sat up, the knocking on the door coming again. Her feet moved quickly, only for Karura's entire body to ram to a stop upon seeing a rather peaceful sight on the couch.
Rasa lay there asleep, Gaara settled against his broad chest, the infant's auburn locks cradled in a protective manner in the palm of Rasa's calloused hand. Temari curled up at the man's feet, a blanket wrapped around her, a soft snore fluffing a lock of sandy haired up and down. Kankuro on the other hand sat with his back leaning against the front of the couch as he sat on the floor, his small arms folded so his chubby hands were hidden, his small mouth twisted into a pout. A soft smile spread across Karura's face, another knock coming at the door as she took another blanket to cover her husband up.
Arriving at the door she found her sandy haired brother rather in a panic, his breath coming in a sharp manner. Her eyes widened. "Whatever is the matter?"
"Baki was on the phone with Rasa, when he said something about Kankuro doing something to the baby."
Karura's beautiful indigo eyes blinked a couple of times, the smile falling from her face. "Oh. That would explain why Kankuro is sulking right now."
"Gaara is alright though?" Yashamaru's cheeks were pale, making the young sandy haired man look ill.
"Gaara is taking a nap with Rasa right now." The sandy haired woman allowed her smile to flutter across her face, and her indigo eyes watched her brother's shoulder's relax.
"Rasa is..." Another pair of indigo eyes blinked, and her brother's voice strained as if he would cry. "Rasa's finally held Gaara?"
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"I think Kankuro kind of forced the matter. Care to help me clean up, and to talk to Kankuro to find out what happened?" The door clicked shut after letting her brother in, and Karura headed into the kitchen to see a baby bath now filled with cold water, stamps floating around in the bubbles. A laugh left her lips, and she held up one of the stamps for Yashmaru to see. "It looks like Kankuro tried decorating the baby."
The young man's face seemed strained, his indigo eyes looking pained despite the fact his older sister smiled at him. "Karura, what if that's not it? Also, what if Rasa's only getting attached to Gaara because he thinks Gaara's healthy? What if he's right, and something is wrong with Gaara?"
Emotional stress instantly washed over Karura, her shoulders straining while he throat tightened. "No, Rasa would never reject Gaara, at least not intentionally?"
"At least not intentionally?" Yashamaru's voice strained.
Karura held up her hands, and then softly placed them on her brother's shoulder's much in the same manner she did as children. "Yashmaru, Rasa has an issue with letting people know what he really feels, and sometimes he can come across as, well, cold. You know that."
One delicate hand reached up to brush away a strand of her sandy hair, while Yashmaru looked away, his arms slack at his sides. "Except..." A silence fell over the room. "It never came across that way. He's an open book."
"One you can't read." Karura quickly turned her brother around, and pointed him in the direction of Kankuro. "How about you try reading a book that you can read? This one is titled Kankuro Did Something to Baby Gaara? Find out the ending, will you?"
Karura wandered over, and sat down nearby, listening as Yashmaru managed to pry out what happened, and the fact Kankuro didn't like having Gaara around. "Don't you want to be a big brother, sweetie?"
Kankuro looked up at her with big brown eyes, watery and big like she had never seen Rasa's be. "Baby took mama?"
"What?"
Yashmaru took a sigh. "I think he blames Gaara for you getting sick, and being stuck in the hospital."
"Oh no." Karura gently pulled the two year old into her arms. "No, Gaara didn't make mommy sick, or take her away." Her delicate lips placed a kiss on Kankuro's forehead, watching the tears stream down his warm cheeks. "See, mommy and Gaara both got sick, and while mommy is better, we've still got to take good care of the baby, because he's so much smaller then me. We almost lost him to, you know?"
Kankuro let out a hiccup, and Karura's fingers brushed away a lock of hair, her chin resting on the top of toddler's forehead. Yashmaru still looked exasperated, and a frown spread across her face as Rasa slept near her, oblivious to what went on. "Please. Let Rasa finally touching Gaara be a good sign. Please."
