Summary:

After all of her boys left her, Sakura was sent on a 3 year mission to Sand. Now she's back and she has changed. Kaka/saku pairing.

Sakura was sitting in her office going over reports. It was almost lunch and she was hoping to be able to leave for it. She had forgotten to pack a lunch and the food at the hospital was….less than appetizing. KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK Sakura looked up and saw her assistant peak her head in. Sakura smiled 'poor girl is so timid' she thought to herself.

"You can come in Ami." Sakura spoke to the girl partially hidden behind the door.

Ami shuffled herself inside and softly closed the door.

"Good afternoon Sakura-sama, I brought you some tea to help you relax" Ami walked to the desk and sat it down in front of Sakura

"Thank you Ami! That was so thoughtful of you!" Sakura stated surprised.

Sakura immediately took a sip of the hot drink, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. She heard a noise and opened her eyes to see Ami setting a bento box in front of her. Sakura was about to open her mouth to say the food wasn't necessary… until her stomach let out a loud growl, making itself known. Ami giggled lightly as Sakura's face turned red.

"I didn't see you bring a lunch so I figured we could share mine and we could have lunch together." Ami spoke softly.

Sakura smiled big and laughed, "What would I do without you Ami". 'Seriously', Sakura thought to herself 'this girl is a life saver'. "Probably die of food poisoning from the hospital food" Ami said while laughing, making Sakura laugh with her.

Sakura looked at the young woman in front of her. She had grown quite fond of Ami, who has been her assistant for almost 3 years now. She will certainly miss her when she needs to go back to Konoha. She ran into Ami about 4 months after arriving in Suna on a mission to revamp their hospital system and staff at the request of Gaara. She had gone through 3 assistants already by that time; none could handle Sakura's temper.

FLASHBACK

Sakura had lost a patient that day. It was particularly hard on her because it was a child, only 12 years old. His name was Ita. He was on a D ranked mission, finding a lost dog, when his team was ambushed by an intruder in the village. He was hit by a poisoned kunai while protecting his team mate. The poison was one that had never been seen before. Sakura did her best; she even called Tsunade to Suna. But even Tsunade couldn't help. The child died with his friends, family, team mates, and the Kazekage by his side. Gaara promised him he would be regarded as a hero for his actions in saving his team mate. Sakura was there for him until the very end. When he passed, she went to her office and lost it. She broke down crying. She couldn't help him….she was still weak… She wanted to break something…no she NEEDED to break something. She jumped out the window and made her way to the training grounds her and Gaara often used for sparring sessions together.

Sakura had demolished everything in sight, leaving huge craters in the ground. She was pushing chakra into her fist once more when she felt light headed and things started to go dark. She awoke hours later in a sleeping bag next to a fire. She looked up and noticed all of the stars. 'I must have been out for hours' she thought to herself as she tried to push herself up. Her arms felt like mush and she tried as hard as she could to get up. She grunted with effort and closed her eyes in frustration. She felt a hand on her shoulder pushing her down. She opened her eyes to see a young girl, a teenager really, kneeling over top of her. The girl put her hand to Sakura's forehead. 'I must have been running a fever' thought Sakura as she started to look around, and take in her surroundings. She didn't know who this girl was or where she was at. But it didn't seem like she had been attacked or kidnapped. The girl finally spoke up, startling Sakura. "You shouldn't try to move Sakura-sama, you exhausted your chakra and passed out. You should rest until morning." Something clicked in Sakura's mind 'Oooohhh, I forgot about being at the training grounds…Ita' Sakura's expression changed from confusion to understanding to relief and finally to anguish. "Is something wrong Sakura-sama?" the girl asked, catching Sakura's attention once more. Sakura looked at the girl, who started fidgeting uncomfortably from the sudden attention. "I'm sorry but I don't believe I know you." Sakura said, breaking the silence making the girl jump. The girl suddenly blushed and bowed her head . "Oh! That's so rude of me. I'm sorry Sakura-sama! My name is Ami. You wouldn't know me, I am just an intern in the hospital." Sakura noticed the girls timidness, it reminded her of how she was years ago with team 7. "That's strange. I don't recall ever seeing you there." Sakura responded. Ami slumped slightly at this and spoke so softly Sakura had barely heard her, "They keep me in the lab where I'm not in the way…" Sakura frowned at this. She was about to ask why when Ami spoke up, "What were you doing Sakura-sama? You could have died or have been greatly injured if I had not found you…?" There was a long silence. Sakura's expression turned to sorrow. "I'm sorry Sakura-sama, that was inappropriate for me to ask. It's none of my business wha-" Sakura interrupted "I lost Ita….I…." Sakura paused to compose herself, tears started falling, wetting the sand below her. "I should have been able to save him. But I failed him and now he's gone" her shoulders started shake as she cried. Ami scooted over and put a reassuring arm around Sakura, pulling her close. Sakura was surprised by this but welcomed the comfort and cried into the girls shoulder. "What could you have done differently Sakura-sama…..There was nothing anyone could do….I even heard Tsunade couldn't help. Don't blame yourself. Ita died honorably, protecting his team mate." Sakura was angered by this. "I SHOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO SAVE HIM….IF ONLY I HAD KNOWN HOW THE POISON WAS COMPOSED I COULD HAVE SAVED HIM!" Sakura was now yelling. Why? She wasn't sure. After a few minutes of silence, Ami spoke. "Your right. You are a horrible person." Ami pushed Sakura off of her and stood to walk away. Sakura looked up at Ami, shocked, and asked "what?" Ami crossed her arms and stated very matter-of-fact, "how dare you let him die. How dare you not know about that poison. How dare you not be able to see the future and see what new poisons are going to be made before they are even thought up so you can save a 12 year old boy. Clearly you are useless to humanity." Ami turned away from Sakura. No one spoke for what seemed like ages until finally Sakura tried to speak "but….I….I sh-" Sakura was interrupted once more. "Sakura, no one is saying that you can't be affected by Ita's death. In fact, we hope it does affect you and make you better…..not paralyze you. Ita died, you can't help that now. There is a million what ifs. But do NOT let Ita's death go to waste. Use his death to make yourself better. There is a poison in that hospital right now that no one has ever seen until Ita. But instead of making sure no one else dies from it ever again, you are out here wallowing in your own self-pity because you couldn't live up to your own expectations." Sakura suddenly understood and her demeanor softened. Ami sat back down and Sakura pulled her into a hug. "Thank you Ami, I understand now." Ami smiled at her accomplishment. But quickly cringed with the realization that she insulted Sakura, the head of the hospital….the person who can fire her. UGH! Ami broke from the hug with a serious look which made Sakura worried. "I apologized for insulting you Sakura-sama. That was out of line. If you want to punish me, I understand. But please don't kick me out of the hospital! I really do love my job!" there was silence, making Ami's expression even more tense. Suddenly Sakura busted out laughing, making Ami jump. "What?" Ami asked seriously. "Why are you down in the lab all the time Ami?" Ami suddenly looked down at the ground. She was silent for a bit and then finally spoke. "Because I'm not good enough to handle a patient. I can't kill anyone in the lab….." Sakura looked at the poor girl. This was obviously a touchy subject for Ami. "Ami" Sakura called out to get her attention. "Yes Sakura-sama" "Do you want to be my assistant and be my apprentice? It won't be easy, but I believe I can get you to the level you want to be." Ami stared at Sakura dumbfounded. She broke into a big smile, pulled Sakura into a tight hug and yelled "YES! OH YES PLEASE SAKURA-SAMA!"

END FLASHBACK

Ami was now the best doctor in the entire hospital next to Sakura herself. And Sakura was now a world renowned poison expert. She affectionately called the new addition to the hospital the "Ita Wing" Where poisons were studied and cures were made. Sakura smiled remembering when she and Gaara called Ami to the Kazekages office and announced she would be the next head of hospital when Sakura was to report back to Konoha. Ami cried and hugged Sakura.

Sakura decided she was tired of being in her office and asked Ami if they could find a place outside to eat their lunch. Ami guided her though the hallway and outside to the garden. They sat down and began eating. "Are you excited to go home soon? Its only 6 months away." Ami asked with an inquisitive smile. "A little nervous. It's been so long…" "Tsunade will be happy to see you. You two seem really close." "Ya. She's like a mother to me. She made me the person and medic I am today. I owe everything to her." Ami was going to continue with the conversation until she looked up and saw Sakura in deep thought. Ami decided to continue eating and let Sakura work out her thoughts.

She really did miss everyone. She had been gone for almost 3 years. She can remember when Tsunade told her the news.

FLASH BACK

Sasuke left long ago. Sakura didn't let that weigh on her mind any more. Naruto left for training once more, no one was sure for how long. Sai was assigned to ANBU and was training his new team. Every once in a while he would surprise Sakura, asking her to come to a sparring session with his team. She found this to be more because she was the top rated medic in any of the hidden villages, and Sai never took it easy on his students. She often showed up to find someone knocked out, broken bones, and blood everywhere. Sakura smiled briefly at the memories. Then there was Kakashi. He had finally convinced Sakura to stop calling him sensei, though it felt very weird to her. He hadn't taken on a new team since team 7. It wasn't often she saw him anymore. He was constantly off on missions. And when he was in Konoha, she was busy with her shifts at the hospital. They would occasionally run into each other on the street or at the Hokage's office, but those moments were often filled with false promises to make more time for each other and meet for dinner or something. Kakashi would always be fidgety and make a hasty retreat… She thought this odd and not like him but she wouldn't let it get to her. She was sure he just had things to do. And of course, there was Sakura. She was indeed the top rated medic nin in all of the hidden villages, surpassing even Tsunade herself. She was even in the bingo books and had a bounty on her head….she felt strangely proud of this. For so long she had been dead weight to her team, always needing to be protected. She was no longer weak. She had grown into a fine woman. She was highly sought after by the men in the village, having a fan club that would put Sasuke's to shame. She had grown into her forehead and no longer was referred to as "billboard brow" except by Ino. She had curves in all of the right places, her body fit and toned. And even though she wasn't nearly as busty as Ino, she had grown into a desirable woman.

Sakura was finishing up a patient at the hospital when Sai suddenly appeared behind her. "Sakura, the Hokage wishes to see you immediately" "Thank you Sai" she turned around to walk out and Sai was already gone. She made her way to the tower, wondering what Tsunade could want. It better not be for sake. She knocked on the door "ENTER" Sakura opened the door and walked to the Hokage's desk, "You wanted to see me Tsunade-sama" "Yes Sakura. I am sending you on a 3 year mission to Suna. Gaara needs help with the medics in his command. And since I can't go, I am going to send the next best person." Tsunade handed her a scroll "this scroll details your mission, you are to leave tomorrow at dawn. Take the rest of the day off to pack your things. Kiba and Shino will meet you at the gates to escort you until Suna where you will meet up with Temari. Any questions" " No" Tsunade stood from her desk to embrace her daughter. "I'll miss you Sakura, make sure you stay in touch ok?" "Yes Tsunade-sama" Sakura left. She said goodbye to Sai, telling him to inform Kakashi and Naruto when they got back. She didn't bother finding anyone else to bid goodbye to. She went home.

END FLASHBACK

"Will you miss me Ami?" Sakura suddenly spoke. "Of course I will Sakura-sama. You have become like a sister to me." They hugged each other.

A few days later Sakura was walking back to her apartment when Temari appeared in front of Sakura. "Sakura, Gaara needs to see you right now. It's important" "Let's go" They rushed to Garr's office. Temari opened the door without knocking and Sakura strode in. "Is everything ok Gaara?" "Sakura, I received word from Tsunade that Kakashi is missing. He was sent on a mission close to Suna. Tsunade wants you to go investigate. I will send Temari with you just in case. Go pack a few things and meet at the gates to leave in a half hour. I will be informing Ami to take over as head of the hospital effective immediately." "Hai" both Sakura and Temari responded and left. Sakura was worried 'what kind of trouble have you gotten into Kakashi?...'

If you were following my story, I'm sorry I had to delete it, it was giving me errors for some reason. This being my first story on here, I'm still fumbling around on the site a bit