Take my Hand

A/N: Sorry I'm taking so long in posting. It's been a little rough trying to make time because of work and all. However...Here is the newest chappy for all of my darling readers. I am in the line for a new beta as well for anyone who is interested. By the way ( MAJOR SPOILER ALERT) I do not know Hashimotto's translation for a certain technique, so I took a wild stab with an on-line translator.

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Chapter 10

The couple returned to the carriage after their excursion in the marketplace and decided they were going to just ride it out to Sunagakure. Nightfall came and went, the carriage bumping softly every now and then on the well traveled road. Gaara was wide awake however. The carriage driver had warned him that this area was bandit country.

It's too quiet right now...There should be animals in this area as well, owls and the like. We're about to be ambushed. Gaara thought. " Hinata...Wake up...Are you carrying any weapons?"

Hinata looked up to her husband and nodded. " Of course, is something wrong?"

" Use the Byakugan..." he whispered to his petite wife.

Hinata activated her kekke genkai, and gasped slightly when she saw about four shinobi trailing them and five ahead of them. " There are nine of them. We could probably take them out together, but we need to draw them away from the carriage..."

Gaara nodded. He had a good idea to use to distract the shinobi, but he wasn't certain his wife would go to well with the idea. " Follow my lead..."

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Hinata gasped as Gaara kissed her breathless, her back resting against the smooth bark of a tree. " Gaara..." she whispered breathlessly, her eyes full of wonder when she realized that they were the bait.They were going to lull the shinobi in by letting them think that they were preoccupied. " What if..."

" Shh..." He reveled in her moan as his lips traced her neckline and darted his tongue out to taste her skin. " Just trust me..." His voice was rich and husky, his passion barely restrained. " Cast the justu, my Hinata..."

Hinata looked up at him. " Gaara...What if I'm...It could...It could kill the baby..." she said, her eyes conveying her fright.

Gaara looked up into her eyes. His hands traveled to her abdomen as Hinata's revelation hit home like a bunch of shuriken. " I nearly forgot..." he intoned softly, his eyes not leaving her abdomen. His fingers gently squeezed her abdomen, and marveled the woman before him. " Be careful..."

Hinata activated her byakugan and blocked three kunai that were aimed at her arm. " Gaara, three kunai to the right!" she called out. Throwing some shuriken, she was engaged in hand to hand combat and began battling in earnest with her juuken. Her lily eyes narrowed when she was surrounded by three men, two of them being very large. Using her petite size to her advantage, She wove in and out of the men, shutting down their chakra systems slowly and painfully.

Hinata felt two men grab her from behind, forcing her arms behind her back, and thrusting her bosom out for everyone's disgustingly appreciative view. She struggled hard and managed to break one hand free and filled her hand with chakra and brought it down on the man to her left, bursting the tenketsu around his heart and killing him. She did the same with the man to her right and spun around when she saw a presence behind her with her kekke genkai. " Who are you?" she hissed.

" Just some average rogue nin...not that you'll live to tell the tale. My name is Sanzoku. So tell me, wife of Sabaku no Gaara, are you really pregnant? I hope so...I love to snuff out life before it even has a chance to live..." he sneered.

Hinata bristled at this. " You're the lowest kind of monster, I can't believe you take joy in something as hideous as that..." she growled. An instinct that she had never felt before took over, just as the evil thing before her made his move, trying to resort to long range battle. No, if I am with child, that thing will not harm me or my baby...she thought vehemently.

Hinata blocked a few shuriken, trying to block attacks from other shinobi as well. She became wrapped up in a hand on hand battle, having to use the majority of her focus on the two men before her when she was grappled from behind. " NO! GAARA!" she screamed, trying to break free. She felt her face drain as she watched a wicked looking kunai arch down and bury itself into the soft flesh of her abdomen, just above her reproductive organs. " Gaa..." she stuttered, her eyes focused on the knife shaft protruding from her body. " Gaara..."

Hinata slumped backwards, the quick blood loss taking it's toll as she fell into unconsciousness.

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Gaara was directing sand all over, burying their enemies as Hinata
called out locations when she could. He was stopped in his tracks when
he heard Hinata scream and a deep, disturbing chuckle.
He looked towards the sound and narrowed his eyes at the man that had
dared to hurt his wife before him.

" Well, Sabaku no Gaara, it's an honor to have you come through our little slice of the country. Your wife wasn't any trouble to dispatch after all..." Sanzoku looked at him with cold grey eyes. " I expected better from a Hyuuga." Sanzoku began to laugh, pointing at Hinata's motionless body not five feet from them

Gaara stole a glance at his wife and was enraged to see that she had been stabbed in the abdominal area. His chakra began manipulating the sand violently, his gaze flitting menacingly between his wife and the man before him. He began wrapping the sand around his feet and then his shins allowing the man to laugh in his final moments.Let's see how funny he finds this...he thought.

The shinobi felt the sand all to late when he felt it getting harder to breathe. " What is this?"

Gaara twisted his hands slightly as the sand began to cover the mans extremities and his face an gave him a parting glare. " Sabaku Kan'oke no Jutsu.." he nearly screamed, his hatred for the vile piece of flesh before him taking over. He reveled in the man's screams, and as the last of the shinobi fled; their leader fallen, he rushed to Hinata's side. His face contorted into a grimace of pain and gingerly took his wife into his arms. " Hinata..."

There was no response from the motionless woman in his arms. Her breathing was shallow, but it was more than he was expecting when he saw the wound. " Kami, please hold on..." he whispered, a single tear falling onto her face.

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The medics in a little hospital not far from the carriage were startled when Gaara kicked the door open, his chest and pants covered in the blood of his wife.

Gaara looked at them, panicking under the surface, and was relived as one rushed to him. " Please hurry, I don't know how much longer she'll last. We were attacked by the bandits in this area..." he said.

" We need to get her right into surgery. Three of you, come with me now...We don't have much time, she's going to fade soon..." the doctor replied as a stretcher was brought over. " We'll have her right as rain by morning..." he said to Gaara, his eyes determined.

Gaara slumped into a chair, covering his face with his hands. " I need a messenger right away, one that can get to Sunagakure in three days or less..." he said softly.

The two remaining medics were stunned. They now knew who this was. This was Sabaku no Gaara, the Kazekage of the wind country. " Of course, Kazekage-sama...We'll get right to it.."

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As he waited for the messenger and the medics that were in the operating room with Hinata, Gaara thought of the last hell filled ten minutes.

Gaara took Hinata gingerly in his arms and kissed her forehead. " We're going now.." he whispered to her. He pumped as much chakra as he could into his feet and took off at blinding speeds.

He could feel her precious life essence drenching his cloths as he ran as fast as he could, to the little town they had passed up earlier that evening. The scenery didn't matter, all that mattered was the breath Hinata continued to draw, and the road stretching out before his feet. I will not allow her to die...I can't...I've lost too many I've loved already, I can't loose her too...he thought, another tear stinging his face as the trees blended into one long trunk and infinite branches.

After what had seemed like an eternity, he came to a stop, a local child leading the way as quick as he could to the hospital doors.

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Gaara felt a tug at his shirt and recognized the boy as the one who had led him here.

" Excuse me, mister...Is the lady gonna be okay?" he said.

Gaara looked at the scrawny boy before him. The lad could be older than eight, and his face was dirty. " I hope so..." he replied, his eyes drifting over to the double doors.

The boy looked in the same direction and brightened. He dug into his backpack and tugged on Gaara's sleeve again. " Here mister...I found it earlier and I was comforted...It might help you too.." the little boy said cheerily. In his hands was a very worn and scruffy looking teddy bear.

Gaara looked at it, and felt a small smile grace his lips. " Thank you...What is your name?"

" Yusuke...The kids in the town make fun of me because I don't have a mom or dad anymore..." his voice fell slightly as he divulged the statement, his eye filling with tears. " They were attacked by the bandits outside of town when we left to go to Sunagakure..."

Gaara felt a twinge in his heart and sighed. " I was on my way back home with my new wife when we were attacked." he said. " But we got rid of most of them...They won't be much trouble anymore."

Yusuke's eyes widened and pointed. " Are you a shinobi?" he asked, awe evident in his voice.

" Both my wife and I are..." he answered. " Why do you ask?"

Yusuke smiled. " No reason...But you must be pretty awesome to have gotten rid of those bandits..."

Gaara smiled despite himself. He could even tell that the kid was growing on him." Thanks..."

Yusuke smiled and held his stomach as it growled loudly. He looked embarrassed and Gaara looked at him a little more closely. " When was the last time you ate?"

Yusuke didn't answer. Gaara couldn't help but to feel that it had been at least two days. " Medic, can you get him some food, you can put it on the bill..."

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Hinata's eyes burst open right in the middle of the operating room. " GAARA!" she screamed, only to be pushed back down gently.

" Shhh...No worries, my lady, everything is fine, the doctor is just closing the wound now..."

Everything came back to Hinata with a horrible knockback, and she groaned. " Baby?"

There was a very stringent silence.

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Gaara burst up in his seat when he heard Hinata's scream. He felt his heart pound in his chest, and heard the blood racing in his ears. " What's going on?" he demanded.

" She must have woken up already..." the medic said. " Let me go check on everything."

Gaara slumped tiredly in his chair. Hinata was going to be alright. He sat upright again as one fleeting thought ran through his mind. Is she pregnant? If she was, did she loose the baby?

Gaara felt as if he had been waiting for an eternity before the medic came back out, announcing that Hinata was in full health and doing fine after her ordeal. She led him into the room, and softly closed the door behind them so that they could have some privacy. " Hinata?"

Hinata looked up and smiled at Gaara. " No, worries, we're just fine..." she said. She felt him pull her into a soft embrace and wrapped her arms about him. " Sorry to scare you like that."

" It's fine, all that matters is that you're safe." he whispered, kissing her forehead lightly.

A small knock resonated through the room and Gaara walked over to the door. Yusuke was there, looking up at Gaara with wide brown eyes.

" Is she ok?"

Gaara smiled and ushered him in. " Take a look for yourself. Hinata, this is Yusuke. He's the one that led me here in such a timely manner." Gaara replied.

Hinata smiled at the boy. " Thank you, Yusuke."

Yusuke smiled shyly at her and muttered ' You're welcome.' to her. He shuffle his feet slightly and looked up at Gaara. " I guess I should be going now sir. Thank you for the meal."

Gaara stopped the boy. " No, you'll be joining us on the trip back to Suna. Ever hear the phrase ' You scratch my back, I scratch yours' ?" he asked the boy.

Yusuke nodded. " Of course."

" Think of this as returning the favor. You'll be staying with Hinata and I until you can get on your feet. Even if that's for a few years yet." Gaara said.

Yusuke smiled. " Thanks a lot!" he said excitedly. " So get comfortable, and get some sleep."

Hinata smiled softly at her husband. He had changed so much since the chunnin exams. It was hard to believe that the Gaara of the past was her Gaara now. Looking down at her abdomen, she smiled a little broader. If he hadn't caught her hint, well that was his fault for not paying attention.

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A/N: Well there we go. Here's another one for all of you and I hope you all enjoy it.