"So since I'm in remission, I get to go home next week!" Konohamaru was saying as he munched on a hand full of Jelly Bellies.

"That's great!" Naruto exclaimed absently scratching her side where the stitches were itching her as she laid on the hospital bed. "You get to escape the deadly hospital!"

The boy grinned at her then frowned as he saw her wince. "You know, Naruto, I would think that as much as you hate the hospital you would avoid getting beat up nearly every week."

"Yeah, just keep up with those smart remarks and I'll show you beat up," Naruto groused. She tried shifting into a higher position on the bed but quit when the burning in her side threatened to break into a full on fire. She sighed looking up at the bag that hung with the IV. It was the last bag of blood that she would need to replace that which she'd lost. She was right now alone in the room with Konohamaru who had heard that she was back in the hospital for an extended stay.

Jiraiya and Tsunade were outside talking to the doctors about her condition and how long she would be in the hospital, which Naruto would bet wouldn't be as long as the doctor said. The door opened and Sasuke stepped into the room and the smirk that was beginning to appear on her lips died a quick death as the raven approached.

Konohamaru looked from Naruto to Sasuke and back again before getting to his feet. He'd weeded out all the light pink jelly beans and left them on the try but gathered the others up. "I think I'll go visit Moegi," he stating proving just how smart he could be.

Sasuke looked at the paleness that Naruto still had despite the blood that had been replaced. He looked at the nearly empty bag on the stand and felt the panic and helplessness that he had that night when he'd pulled the scumbag off of her. She'd just lain there bleeding, not moving, and he'd thought that they'd been too late. He again wanted Kabuto standing in front of him or better yet under him as he pounded his face with his fists.

Sasuke looked at the hurt that lingered in her eyes and knew that it wasn't because of her injuries, but because of him. He moved closer to the bed and picked up her hand. She let him but didn't return the small squeeze that he gave it. Sasuke sat down in the seat the Konohamaru had recently just vacated.

"I made a mistake, Naruto," he began.

"This is hardly your fault," Naruto said glaring at him.

"Isn't it. If I hadn't made you angry we would have spent the night together and Kabuto wouldn't have found an opportunity to drug you and you wouldn't be here now." Sasuke said.

"I should have known that something was wrong when my punch tasted salty."

"Not many people know that GHB has a sodium base, and you didn't think that he would stoop so low since before he's faced you fairly with all your senses intact."

"Yeah, but still I should have said something or done things differently."

Sasuke rolled his eyes at her stubbornness. "Naruto, shut up." He roughly shoved a hand through his thick locks then rubbed his eyes as he tried to think. "Regardless of what happened at the party, I made a mistake earlier before the party. I'm so used to getting my way that I don't think about other people's feelings and so I steamrollered my way over you."

Naruto clamped her jaw shut as she remembered his demand that she marry him because she could be pregnant.

"You don't have to worry, I asked the doctor to run the test and he said it was negative. So you don't have to marry me."

Sasuke looked up and she could swear she saw disappointment in his eyes. She folded her arms and watched him with little emotion on her face. He nodded then glanced away feigning interest in the generic landscape that hung on the wall of the room.

"I see, but Naruto, I…"

"Please, Sasuke, I would like to rest now, I'm really tired."

He nodded as he stood and then looked back at Naruto. "I'm really fond of you, and it pains me to see you in this condition so please don't get hurt again." He left.

Naruto sighed. When had she become so good at lying? A week ago he would have seen right through her and called her on them. Maybe he wanted to believe the lies and so he did, it would make his life easier. She was going to have to hope that she could hide her body's growth until she turned eighteen and could legally move out. She was also going to have to learn to hide her feelings for him because she wasn't going to marry someone who was just fond of her. She couldn't believe that she had made such a colossal mistake as to fall for someone who was just fond of her. She blinked back the tears refusing to let them fall and she refused to feel sorry for herself. She was just going to have to live with the consequences of her mistakes.

Naruto waited for Jiraiya to come back to the room after he finished with the check out. It had been three days since the attack and the doctor had agreed to let Naruto go home, not that she had been fighting her stay in the hospital but Jiraiya was afraid that she was going to make a break for it soon and he didn't want to have to search for her again.

"Hey," a warm familiar voice called out.

Naruto turned to face Kakashi as he stood in the doorway. He grinned at her from behind his mask then stepped forward closing the door behind him to give them some privacy.

"Heard you were leaving today so I came by to see if you needed anything and to let you know that Kabuto has been convicted of assault and battery so he won't be out of prison for some time, at least five years." Kakashi commented stopping before her.

"Thanks for you help," Naruto said her head dropping so that he couldn't see her eyes.

"So how long do you plan on keeping it a secret?"

Naruto quickly met his eyes and blinked. "Keeping what a secret?"

"The baby?"

"How…?"

He smirked. "I've been working with kids for a long time now and many of the girls that have crossed my desk have been pregnant. I've learned to look for the signs."

"What signs?"

"Hmm…doesn't matter. What does is do you plan on telling the father or are you just going to up and disappear? I think that you have a lot of people who care about you and would help you in any way. It would hurt them greatly if you don't allow them to help you with the greatest challenge of you life." He nodded towards the door.

Naruto's shoulders fell. "I can't. I don't know how." She felt the tears that she had been suppressing for the last couple of days slip down her cheeks.

"It's going to be tough and they are probably going to be upset but they love you and will understand."

"I still can't, not while…" she broke off and turned away her hands fisted at her side thinking about those words.

"Not while…Sasuke is there?" The man was just too intuitive for Naruto's comfort. "He was devastated when we found you. He tried to kill Kabuto, you know."

"He said he was fond of me and didn't like to see me hurt." Naruto muttered those hateful words.

"Ah…I see." He rolled his eyes thinking about how stupid that boy could really be when it came to people, even though all his teachers said that he was a genius in the classroom. "He comes from a very well bred family and his father didn't like the show of emotion, it made the man truly uncomfortable. I had truly wished that Sasuke's mother had more of an influence on that boy that his father. That man had a stick shoved so far up his back side that it would have taken surgery and a crowbar to remove it. Sasuke has a really hard time showing his emotions and to get him to talk about them is nearly impossible. Him telling you that he is fond of you is the equivalent of him shouting to the world that he loves you."

"That's all well and good but I don't want him to marry me just because I am pregnant. I think that a marriage needs more than just that otherwise its doomed from the beginning and as for having a stick shoved in a highly uncomfortable spot, I think Sasuke could give his dad a run for the money. I don't want that for my baby, I want, need someone who can…" Naruto stopped when she realized that Kakashi wasn't in the room anymore but someone else was. She began to shake seeing the anger, no it resembled rage more, on his face.

"You need someone who can…what? Lie better than you can?" Sasuke asked as he leaned back against the wall, crossing his legs and arms. "Who can deceive those that she loves? Ignore the pain more?" He straightened and approached her. His hands shooting out and grasping her upper arms, gently despite how much he wanted to shake her. "Well, I guess that I fit that bill since I can compete with my dad."

"You weren't supposed to hear that!" Naruto exclaimed as she tried to step back but ended up stepping forward as he drew her closer.

"You were going to let me believe that I wasn't a father. You would have just left without a word to me about it, or even without a choice in the matter!" He gave in and shook her lightly. "Is this enough emotion for you?!" he growled pulling her into his arms and settling his lips over hers, ravishing her mouth with his. He forced his way into her mouth and licked at her tongue rubbing it and sucking at it until he felt her hands clutching at his shoulders and sinking into his hair to hold him close.

He shoved her away and let her go pacing across the room. "God damn it, Naruto. I've never been so mixed up in my life." He turned and faced her. "I haven't been able to sleep because you're not by my side. I can barely eat because you aren't sitting on the couch or at the table where I can see you. I haven't been able to think of anything except for you for the past three days."

Naruto stood silent in shock at his confession. Her heart hammered in her chest jumping up and down in near excitement. She swallowed.

"I've been scared to death that you won't give me a second chance and I want to kill Kiba because of his stupid comments about groveling on my hands and knees in order to get you to forgive me for being a total bastard. Gaara hasn't been much better since he seems to think that Kiba has the right of it, but damned if I won't grovel if that is what it's going to take for you to forgive me and believe that I love you." He ground out in his agitation. "Then Jiraiya and Tsunade are always whispering together while sneaking peeks at me and Rees and Tatsuo are endlessly asking when you're coming home. The whole house seems to be revolving around you and its driven me to the peak of insanity."

Naruto had frozen in place staring at him. "Wh—what did you say?"

"Which part because I don't think I could repeat that word for word," Sasuke said looking at her in confusion.

Naruto shook her head and smiled warmly at him. "You know I should make you try and repeat that so that you can hear yourself babbling but that would just be cruel and unusual punishment, not that you don't deserve it. But I'm not because I love you too. And if you tell me that you're fond of me ever again, I'm going to shove a real stick up you ass just so that I can have the pleasure of removing it myself!"

Sasuke blinked before a slow smile lift the corners of his lips. "Is that what upset you? Naruto, I thought that I told you how I felt that night we made love."

"You have never once told me that you loved me!"

He came over to stand in front of her then slowly picked up her hand, raising it until it was eye level and laced his fingers through hers. "Hmm, I could have sworn that I did," he murmured as he leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips then dropped down to the ground on one knee still holding her hand.

"Naruto Uzumaki, I love you and want to stand by your side holding you hand for the rest of my life. Will you, please, do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

Naruto dropped onto her knees in front of him throwing her arms around his neck, tears of happiness flowing unchecked down her cheeks. "Yes!" She pressed her lips to his and returning the ravishing kiss that he had given her earlier.

Jiraiya quietly closed the door and turned to a puzzled Tsunade. Boy, was he going to have a lot to explain, but later, when he got the couple home and in a place where there was very little witnesses.

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A/N: I can hear you cheering! Guess what! Last Chapter and this is COMPLETE!!!

Sorry, mimichan--I had to make the teme overly sentimental, just once, but I hope that you liked it.

So did you enjoy it?! Was there anything that needs to be changed? Well too bad because it is what it is. But you can leave a review or PM me a message. Please excuse the grammar I think most of you know by now that I hate to proofread but if there is anything major let me know and I will try and go back and fix it!

I will try and respond to your messages and reviews and I always read them! and Even though it is complete you can still leave me a comment!

Thanks for reading this, I so happy that its complete. I now get to go work on something else.

I've got two other stories that i'm working on (that are posted) and one more that I've begun and have a couple of chapters written but I won't post it until I get some more written on the others stories. I know how irritating it is when a story is just left hanging so I'm going to try and finish them, thanks lot for you patience I really appreciate it.

ZEN