TO LOVE AND TO LOVE AGAIN

SAFE

To Love and to Love Again Chapter 26: Safe

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER AND AUTHORS NOTE: I do NOT own Naruto. The awesomeness of the Naruto Manga and World is the creation of Masashi Kishimoto. This is Purely Fanfiction. All things Medical in this entire fanfiction should not be taken as serious medical advice or facts. PLEASE CONSULT AN ACTUAL DOCTOR FOR ANY MEDICAL INFORMATION/QUESTIONS. THANK YOU AND ENJOY!

It had barely been two hours since that phone call, but it was the longest two hours she had ever been through. She was waiting in the police station, watching as her father spoke with his colleagues in hushed and frustrated tones. For once, she was actually relieved that he was in law enforcement. It gave her some sense of protection anyway. There was nothing more she could do but sit here, in what was supposed to be a safe haven from crime.

She was on edge. Knowing that someone is watching you and not knowing who they are or why they're doing it would do that to a person wouldn't it? But for some reason, it wasn't thewho part that unnerved her. It was the why.

Why?

Why would someone want to watch her? Sure there were some things about her that were out of the ordinary, such as her excelling career and exceptional hair color. But other than that, she was just like everyone else. There was nothing special about Dr. Sakura Haruno, widow and mother. Her greatest treasure was nestled safely in her arms fighting sleep as much as his little body could.

Sora's head plopped down on her shoulder. He had finally fallen asleep. She sat there on the bench, holding him against her and refusing to let him go. How could she afford such distance from him when there was a sick man after her? Who could keep her son safe if she herself wasn't safe at all?

Kakashi had been glancing back at her from time to time. He could see the emotions play out on her face as she thought about it. She was scared. Any sane person would have been. But she wasn't scared for herself. She was frightened for Sora.

Sakura never saw herself having limits or being incapable, which was a serious personality flaw in Kakashi's opinion. He knew he was to blame for that. She didn't know about the kind of life he led that had put her in so much danger since the day she was born. Although Sakura saw herself as self-sufficient, the thing about it was that she was a woman, plain and simple. Any feminist would argue with his logic, but it was logic nonetheless.

A woman pitted against a man would likely lose in a physical fight nine times out of ten. He once told this to Sakura when she was around thirteen, who merely responded that she was the one out of the ten that would quote "kick ass" before she went down.

He never imagined that he would have such a headstrong child. But he loved her for it.

"We'll keep her residence under constant supervision," said the officer. "We'll also keep you posted on the tracing of that call Commander. We can also arrange for them to stay in protective care until matters are settled," he offered.

"That won't be necessary," Kakashi said as his peripheral vision picked up two figures walking into the station. "I've got it from here." The cops nodded and dispersed just as another pair made their way over to them. It really was rare to see Asuma and Kurenai together, since they were so desperate to keep their contact a secret. But with the baby news earlier in the day, they probably figured it was pointless now.

"Kakashi," Asuma greeted with a nod. He was wearing a large black coat, similar to Kakashi and chewing one what appeared to be gum. Behind him was Kurenai, whom he guessed was with him when he got the news. Sakura stood with a sleeping Sora in her arms when she saw them and walked over. She really wasn't expecting to see these two particular people. Three pairs of eyes watched her carefully as she made her way towards them.