Naruto 1. Chapter 1

**_Wow, can you believe it? I'm BACK! yeah so I decided to just go ahead and post the story... I've only got a handful of chapters done but I feel really good that I can be somewhat consistent with updates so I will do my best. I might incorporate my policy of writing another chapter before I post a chapter but we will see. But hey just be glad i'm back its been waaaayyyyyy too long. But here is my next story. _**

**_What We Need  
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**_Summary: Sasuke and Sakura have been married for 5 years and have a little boy, but trouble arises and before long their marriage is in jeopardy. Will they fight to be together or will their marriage wilt like her name sake?  
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**_Rating - T for Teen (slight language, some innuendos, and suspense)  
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**_Categories: Romance, Mystery, Adventure, Comedy, and everything else in between.  
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**_Disclaimer:DNON, but i do own the plot, please don't steal :)  
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**_(btw this is AU so I do apologize if the characters have slightly different personalities, I don't think its too bad, but if it is let me know and i will work on it. Also I have gone back and edited, but I'm not perfect so don't snip please :) )))  
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**_Enjoy  
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**Chapter 1**

The moon shone above the roofs of the houses in the starlit sky. All the houses in the suburban area were dark except one that had a faint light spilling into the night from the back of the house. It wasn't uncommon for the lights to be on at this time of night, as they were regularly on.

The two story-house seemed relatively calm and quiet except for the two voices that seemed to rise and then fall on the first floor of the house. The voices would usually start off quiet before rising and then there would be a pause before they again began to talk repeating the quiet to loud cycle of the level of their voices.

The woman sat at the end of the rectangular dark wooden table head in hands with her fingers occasionally running through the rosette locks. Emerald eyes seemed tired and distressed at she quietly sat in the chair at the end of the table closest to him and the great room of their house, wearing her sweat pants and a tank top.

The man leaned against the granite bar of the kitchen. He watched the woman with folded arms that covered his deep gray shirt with the Uchiwa fan over the left breast pocket and black police pants. He seemed tired but in a different way. His foot was stooled on the lower rung of the bar chair next to him.

Silence engulfed them as the two stayed motionless. The man watched the woman with bored interest as the woman just looked down at the table before her, as if trying to memorize the oak patterns of the table. Sitting back against the back of the chair she ran a hand through her hair before propping her head on her hand, her elbow on the table, and her face facing him.

"What are we doing Sasuke?" She asked quietly and he just stared at her. "For the last few months you've never been around. You're always busy with work-"

"That's my job Sakura." he bit out at her and she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"But when your jobs take away from me and _our_ son then it's a concern. He barely ever sees you because you leave so early in the morning and get home so late at night and sometimes into the early morning."

"He's a child Sakura, he doesn't know anything."

"I just don't want him growing with a father that's never around." she spoke quietly again trying to quench the anger that was beginning to rise within her.

"It's a busy time at Headquarters right now-"

"It's always a busy time!" she yelped at him. "There's always work to be done until one or two in the morning!" her anger was getting the better of her. "If I wasn't so loyal to you I would think you were having an affair with another woman." it was said out of rashness but it triggered his anger.

"And why would I go out and have an affair? We have a three year old son! You think I would just go cheat on you?"

"You're never here Sasuke! Always at the headquarters or out late at night, doing kami knows what. How is that supposed to make me feel? At least before you used to call to say you were going to be late. And now we always fight and do you know what's the worst?" she cradled her head in her hands. "And worst of all you hardly even know your son anymore and he barely even knows you."

"And what do you want me to do? Drop everything at seven and run home?" he scoffed.

"No, because then you would be forced to be here and you wouldn't like that." She turned to face him. "So guess what, you can just leave and don't come back until you're ready to start being the man I used to know."

"What the hell does that mean?" he snapped.

"It means I don't want you here, in this house, until you are ready to be here. No more obligations to me or to your son if you want. Just be the bachelor I know you want to be. Just go do whatever the heck you want to. Just don't come here until I say you can, and don't come near me, because I don't want your lies."

"Sakura-" his sentence went unfinished as the crying of a child broke the sentence. Sakura looked at him for a moment before she got out of her seat and after leaving the kitchen area went up the stairs to get the crying child.

She came down the stairs five minutes later with a small boy wrapped up in her arms. She stared at Sasuke for a moment before gesturing with her head that he should leave. He paused for a moment and looked as if he was going to say something.

"No Sasuke, just go." she told him quietly, before turning her attention back to the small boy in her arms. He walked up to her and placed a small kiss on her forehead, causing her to stiffen before leaving the house.

Soon she heard the roar of the engine before it starting to take off. She held her son close to her chest. He was her little boy. She had been there for him whenever he needed her. He held more priority over Sasuke right now and if Sasuke wasn't careful, it would not just now but for a long time.

Finally getting the little boy back to sleep she looked at the clock. It read two fifteen in the morning. She inwardly groaned, but thought of the fact that she could sleep in if her little boy didn't decide to wake her up early in the morning.

She laid on her side facing Sasuke's side of the side of the large king sized bed. Letting a tear drip out of her eye she tried to keep her tears under control. She desperately wanted to know what had gone wrong between them.

They had been married for five years and after her finally getting pregnant they had a beautiful little boy. But lately he had seemed off, he stayed at the Headquarters building longer into the night than he ever had. He claimed it was because the workload had gotten heavier, but if she wasn't mistaken they had taken on new recruits only months ago.

His family owned and operated the Konoha Police Department. The Uchiha clan had founded it years ago, starting with Sasuke's great-great grandfather and it had stayed in the family ever since. The Uchiha were a prestigious clan that held their heads high and never wavered and the Department was renowned for their excellence, due to the family's hard work.

But why after five years would something have changed? The Department was always busy especially the headquarters but that wasn't an excuse for him not to pay attention to his wife and son. Just a few months ago he started not calling telling her was coming home late and it made her worry and then he wasn't at home a lot anymore and she knew it wasn't the headquarters that was always causing him to come home late. Her and Sasuke's mother, Mikoto, had often talked, and never once did she say that things had gotten busier in fact she had said that things were actually slowing down.

Another tear escaped her. What was wrong with her? Was she just not good enough for Sasuke anymore? And if that was the case why hadn't he just said something to her, instead of making her worry about him being out late at night?She continued to question herself and him for a while longer before sleep claimed her.

* * *

Thankfully he had slept in a little and hadn't woken her at his usual six in the morning, but still she grumbled when she felt the weight of her little boy get on top of her. It was his normal routine in the morning to come and pounce on his tired parents, who never seemed to mind, save for Sasuke the past few months, if he was actually at home.

Deeply sighing she pushed back the covers of the large bed to let the little boy enter into the warm cocoon of his mother's bed and snuggled right up against her belly. Pulling the covers back over them she wrapped her arms around the boy and ran her slim fingers through his deep inky black locks.

When Sasuke had first found out that she was pregnant, he was ecstatic in his own way, being more tender towards her and helping her around the house more. It was nice when he was around to help her out. They had even painted and decorated the baby room together.

And then they had their little boy and a few years passed and soon something changed in him. He was gone even later into the nights, coming home at one or two in the morning, him coming to bed right when their little boy began to cry needing to be taken care of because of a nightmare but he always woke her up to go take care of him.

She loved her little boy, but if he was what caused his father's behavior maybe they should have rethought becoming parents, but now it was three years too late. She cuddled him closer, if it was possible and he giggled slightly. She decided that today they would go see her parents, his grandparents.

Gently placing him in the car seat and buckling his small body in she got into the driver's seat of the Honda CRV. Backing out of the garage and driveway she set her course out of the suburb area and towards the gated community about thirty minutes away where her parents lived.

The buttons clicked as she pressed each one individually to get into the gated area. The gate slowly opened and she drove the car through the steel gates. After turning and going down several streets she pulled up in the driveway of her parent's house.

It was a large modern house. Two stories, with all the bedrooms upstairs and then all the formal rooms downstairs as well as the kitchen and dining areas. She would remember as a teen when her parents were away on business for a weekend she would throw parties at the large house. Picking the boy up as well his blanket and bag, she proceeded to go up to the front door and enter it.

"Mom." she called closing the front door. "Mom are you here?" she called walking more into the foyer of the house. Soon she could hear footsteps coming down the stairs.

"Sakura, is that you dear?" she heard her mom's voice call.

"Yes mom." she called shifting the small boy on her hip and soon her mother came into view her dark red hair up in a ponytail her vibrant brown eyes gleaming at the sight of her daughter and grand baby.

"What are you two doing here and where is that Sasuke at?" her mom said giving her a hug mindful of the little boy.

"Sasukes not here with us." she shifted her feet, "that's also why I'm here." and her mother gave her a wry look.

"What has the boy done now? But come sit down and then we'll talk. Want something to drink?"

"Just water." her mother left for a moment as she made herself and the little boy comfortable on the couch.

She placed the small boy on the couch and watched as he soon scooted off of it to go explore the room and only looking back at her once in a while with his onyx eyes looking at her with expectations of him being able to do something and she just chuckled at the little boys antics, when her mother reappeared in the room with a glass full of ice water and a glass of ice tea, presumably for herself.

Her mother sat on the other end of the couch looking at Sakura and then her grand baby that really wasn't a baby anymore. The older woman passed the ice water to the younger one, while the younger one gladly took it immediately taking a large drink of it.

"So where is Sasuke?"

"At work I guess."

"You guess? Didn't he come home last night?"

"Yeah at one thirty in the morning. I even waited up for him."

"What is it with you two lately? You seemed so happy only six months ago and now there's a tension between the two of you that someone could cut with a thin dulled knife."

"I honestly don't know." Sakura sighed. "I thought everything was going well too and then he starts coming home late, without telling me, and at first I didn't worry about it but then it became more frequent and more frequent and then when he would get home I would be waiting up for him and then we would fight about why he was home so late and then go to bed angry at each other and when I would be woken up by little monster over there Sasuke would be gone."

"That man sounds like he is having a few issues in his life."

"A few mom? That man is having serious issues and I don't know what they are. He _never _talks to me anymore. All he does is caveman grunts, hns and moans and if he does miraculously talks its to get mad at me."

"Sakura, that boy has never talked like a normal human being, but just giving off caveman noises is quite disturbing. Have you two tried counseling? Maybe there are a few marital problems."

"Mom, he's never home. He wouldn't have the _time_ to go to a counselor for help and even if we did he would just use the excuse 'we could have worked it out on our own. We don't need a doctor to tell us somethings wrong'."

"Have you talked to him about it?"

"Even when I do he practically ignores me and then we start fighting. Last night was the worst. He came home and starting getting angry at me for waiting up and then it escalated and finally after me trying to get to the problem, again, I snapped and kicked him out of the house."

"You kicked him out of the house?" She asked incredulously.

"Yep. The whole 'I don't want you here, go live your bachelor life because you seem to want it so badly' blah, blah, blah. And then Seto there, started crying from another nightmare and of course he remained a statue so I went and got him before again telling him to leave."

"So, besides kicking him out what are you going to do now? You really have nothing to do besides being a mother."

"I have enough money in the bank to live off of for many years, and I thought maybe you and daddy could help out every once in a while with Seto. I might as well go and try to get a job somewhere."

"Good girl, don't let this put you in the gutter. Besides we'll be happy to look over Seto for you. I love my grand baby."

"He's not a baby."

"He is to me." she snapped in a friendly but possessive manner.

"Okay, whatever. Could you watch him today. I need to go meet with some friends for lunch and usually I take him with me but not this time."

"Perfectly alright." She smiled opening her arms up to the small boy running to her after hearing he would be spending time with his grandma.

"Be good okay Seto?" the boy nodded. Sakura gave a half smile before kissing the boy goodbye, saying goodbye to her mother and then walking out to the car to meet up with her friends.

* * *

He placed his hand on his temple and muttered curses about drinking too much and how he should never do it to that extreme ever again. Upon hearing the door to his office being thrown open he gave off a huge groan and leaned back in his chair face in his elbow.

"Teme, what has gotten you so cranky?" a close friend said to him.

"Dobe, leave me alone." he half groaned, half grounded out.

"Dude, you sound horrible, you smell horrible, and you look horrible and that all adds up to you are a horrible person."

"Don't remind me."

"Remind you that you are a horrible person, because you really are. I mean Shikamaru told me about last night, at the bar, with way too many shots and beers all because you are a horrible person for neglecting Sakura and your son. Tsk. Tsk."

"Naruto, you have three seconds to remove yourself before I do."

"Sasuke, it would take you three hours to get out of that chair, so I have _nothing_ to worry about, but you my friend do. Because you stink like you didn't have a shower this morning. You know I should probably get a picture with you like this because I don't think I have_ ever_ seen you in the same clothes that are _the _same clothes two days in a row, which means you _have_ to go back to that house and get some clothes, because honestly, you reek." Sasuke heard him plop his body into the other cushioned chair in the office.

"Dobe?"

"Yeah."

"Get. Out. Now!" Sasuke barked at the blond man seated across from him raising his head and saying it. The blond took the message and jumped out of the chair and exited the room.

Sasuke leaned back in the chair his face going back to being in his elbow. It was true, he probably was a horrible person, but it wasn't him who kicked him out of the house and it was true he did have to go back to the house to get his clothes and other things and then go get an apartment, because there was no way he would live with his parents and there was absolutely no way he would live with his bachelor brother. His creepy friends came over too often for his liking.

He was sure it would be easy to get an apartment that was decent for a good price for a little while until him and Sakura worked things out which right now didn't look to promising as she had just kicked him out of their house, that he paid for monthly. She should be more grateful, because he was the one that provided for them.

But at the same time he shouldn't get to cocky about it because he did want Sakura to quit her part-time job when she got pregnant not that she needed a job. Her parents were just as filthy rich as his were, seeing how her father was a big shot law attorney that made thousands with each case and her mother had been...a model, was it? He couldn't remember but they both made megabucks and then his parents with the Police Department. She didn't have to work so, her being nice and granting his wish took leave of her job and became a full-time mother, which that just backfired on him.

His office door creaked open again and he was about to again yell at the person to get out when all he heard was a deep chuckle. He would _kill _Naruto now. Knowing that loser he probably told his older brother unless it was the lazy one that just so happened to be at the same bar that he went to to get thoroughly drunk.

"Foolish little brother." a chuckle again.

"What Itachi?"

"What I can't come make fun of you for getting _kicked out_ of your home?"

"Its none of your business." the comfy chair in the room made a noise indicating someone was sitting down.

"Where are you going to live?"

"Getting an apartment, until I can move back in."

"Better move back in soon. Are you telling mom and dad?"

"Probably not. I don't want mom to go crazy with worry."

"True, true. What about Sakura? Why have you two been arguing?"

"Because I'm out late instead of home early."

"Why are you out so late?"

"Sasuke?!" Itachi warned.

"It's nothing."

"Have you been cheating on her." Silence reigned.

"Oh kami you have."

"Only once." Sasuke snapped.

"You have a _son, _you idiot!" Itachi hissed at his younger brother.

"I know that. I was drunk ok."

"And why were you drunk?"

"We got into an argument and I left."

"To get drunk and the go do some girl."

"Do you know who it was?"

"Aa."

"Who?"

"Karin."

"_Excuse me_! You slept with your secretary?!" Itachi hissed again.

"It was an accident."

"Better pray Sakura doesn't come in here, or else you will be out of a house for good and a wife and son. Why are you two fighting?"

"I don't know. I don't feel like going home after work so I go out and get home late and then we fight and go to bed angry."

"Is that why you slept with Karin, because you couldn't get any from Sakura?"

"Shut up and no." Sasuke snapped. "Just get out, I don't want to deal with you right now and don't tell mom and dad."

"I won't but you better get this figured out soon or else you are royally screwed for life." Itachi said getting out of the chair and heading towards the

door. "You might want to apologize to Sakura though and tell her about Ms. Secretary while you're at it."

Sasuke groaned loudly. He really was screwed right now.

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**So there you have it! the first chapter of my new story! Did y'all like it? **

**please say yes! and then review please! I've been missing them :)  
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**yoyo  
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	2. Chapter 2

**I am back again! and almost done with chapter 4. So i definitely don't feel like my writing is up to par anymore.. I dunno, and yes the first couple of chapters are a little slow but things will start getting more interesting, there are going to be several subplots that will be introduced in the coming chapters so it will get better.  
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**And thank you so much for the reviews, fave and followings! means a ton!  
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**Disclaimer: DNON  
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**Enjoy!  
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**Chapter 2**

The car parked in front of the small cafe that her and her friends had agreed to meet at. Tossing the keys to the valet man she walked inside. Giving her name to the waiter he led her to the outside table where her four friends were waiting for her.

She had known three of her friends since grade school and the other she met in high school where her and Sasuke both went to school at. His friend Shikamaru started dating a girl named Temari and soon her along with her friends, Ino, Tenten, and Hinata they were all friends. All four of the other girls were dresses in sun dresses or light skirts and tops, while she sported the khaki capris and a light blue baby doll top.

"Hey Sakura, we thought you suddenly couldn't come because you were too free to meet up with us." Ino joked. It was the normal. She would always seem to be the last one to gather with them and they all joked about because she didn't work, Sasuke's wish, she was too free to meet up with them.

"Sorry Piggy, but I had to talk to my mom about something and leave Seto there before I could come."

"I was wondering where the little guy was?" Temari stated aloud.

"Yeah, he's spending time with grandma, which he's going to start doing a lot of."

"Uh-oh, more Sasuke issues?" Tenten frowned.

"Yep. He came home at one thirty this morning, we fought until about two in the morning and then I was so fed up with him I..."

"You what?" Temari asked almost excited.

"I kicked him out." She said sheepishly.

"No!?" all girls chorused.

"Yep. I told him he could go live his bachelor life until he became the man I once knew."

"That's a dent in the manly pride right there, but you go girl!" Ino congratulated her.

"Thanks, so now I will be joining you lovely ladies in the workforce. I don't want to just sit around all day doing nothing. Know of any job openings?"

"Good thing you asked because I do know of one." Temari said.

"What is it."

"One of the medical clinics I work with are looking for a part time receptionist. I know you did a little bit a couple of years ago, working at another medical clinic. The pay is good and so are the hours."

"Have they put the ad out yet?"

"Nope, they actually asked if I would look around first. So the job is all yours. Come by tomorrow at ten and I can hook you up." Temari said.

"Thanks Temari, now why don't we celebrate my new found job and Sasuke-free life, because it does feel kind of nice not to have that man around." the girls cheered and ordered before going back into their chatting mode, only stopping when the food came and to take bites.

"How's Naruto doing." Ino asked Hinata.

"He's good. He loves his job working at the police station with Sasuke, oops."

"Don't be oops about it. I have no problem with you talking about Naruto and Sasuke. You and Naruto are married and Naruto and Sasuke are best friends, so it's natural he would come up." Sakura shrugged.

"Wow, deep Sakura." Ino whispered.

"Only for you pig. So what's the other news going around. I feel like we haven't seen each other in so long."

"Forehead, we've been talking for almost two hours and you are saying that? Girls what have we been talking about?"

"Clothes." Temari said.

"Our boyfriends or husbands." Tenten inputted.

"And absolutely nothing about us." Sakura chimed at the end, "well except for me, but I'm an exception."

"Making it all about you, now." Tenten smirked.

"Of course." Sakura smiled taking a sip of lemonade. "When isn't it?" she joked and the girls laughed.

After another good hour and a half Sakura had to leave the group saying she needed to go pick up Seto from her parents and get back to the house. The girls laughed and waved goodbye Temari reminding her to be at the medical clinic about ten the next day.

After getting her car from the valet she made the drive back out to her parent's house to pick up her little boy. Going through the gates she pulled up in their driveway. Turning the car she just walked into the house. She heard giggling from the kitchen and went in to see her little boy covered in flour and her mother looking similar.

Leaning against the wall she watched as the grandmother and the grandson baked cookies together, though knowing her mom it was her idea as Seto wasn't one much to cook when Sakura asked him to help her make batter for breakfast in the mornings, but it was different when it was your grandma and not your mother.

Finally making some noise both her mother and son turned to look at her. The boy immediately got down off the chair with the help of his grandma before racing to his mother who already awaited his arrival. Picking him up he graciously shared his floured shirt with her.

"Mommy, me and grandma made cookies for you!" he excitedly told her as she walked towards her mother and the counter the two had been baking on. Arriving there she set the small boy on the counter and tried to get some of the flour off of both of them.

"Did you now? Are they good cookies?" she asked the small boy who eagerly nodded his head as his mouth was full of dough he had stolen. She took a finger and wiped the stray dough off of his face. "What kind of cookies are they?"

"Cocoa chip." he said mouth half full still. "Do you think daddy would like 'em?" he asked with eager onyx eyes.

"I don't know sweetie." she told.

"If he likes them maybe he will play with me more." the boy told her eagerly. From the corner of her eye she could see her mother frown slightly at the little boys comment. He had no idea what was going on with parents at all and he shouldn't, but he should at least feel both of his parent's love for him.

"Well why don't we go home and maybe when daddy gets home you can give him a cookie." now she felt a little bad for kicking him out of the house. The boy nodded and after Sakura thanked her mother and asked if she could watch him tomorrow the two left with a container full of cookies.

Emerald eyes looked in the rear view mirror to look at her little man. He was looking out the window, watching the trees and other cars go but she knew it would be extremely hard on him for a while since his father wouldn't be around but Sasuke had to learn. He was taking them for granted and he couldn't do that, she couldn't do that. It just hurt too much to not see him at all during the day and only for a brief moment in the middle of the night.

The car entered the neighborhood and after taking the correct turns she finally pulled the car into their lane and drive the car down it. Getting closer to the house she could see the truck that was sitting outside their house. On the side it held the Uchiwa fan, indicating that the driver was a part of the Police Force and looking at the license plate number she knew exactly which member was in her home.

* * *

After finally getting rid of Itachi he continued to lean back. His headache was pounding and he really didn't want to leave the office just yet and deal with all the paranoia outside his office, but he knew he had to start working on the folders in his desk. Grabbing a bottled water from the small fridge he fit under the desk and taking two aspirin he opened the first file of many files.

The Police Department was more than just officers. The whole organization spread out into several buildings and covered ranges of police enforcement. In the main building which was his building had the regular officers that pulled fast cars over and dealt with unruly activity. But the building to the left dealt with interrogation.

In that building it held all the people that were in jail for committing crimes and the like. There was also a juvenile facility inside the building as well and then there was the interrogation unit the organization had. It was run by a man named Ibiki Morino and he was a scary guy, if Sasuke had to admit. Good at what he did but downright scary.

The building to the right of the one he was in held the investigation department. That was where his brother worked with his freaks for friends. They did most of the investigation on murder crimes, accidents, etc, etc. All of Itachi's friends were apart of the group and did an excellent job at solving crimes. It was also where the crime labs were that a man named Shino Aburame was over. He was obsessed with bugs and somehow the man incorporated them into solving crimes and did blood work for investigations as well.

Overall it was a large organization and he, Sasuke Uchiha was in charge of it. His older brother was supposed to have his current position but his brother liked being on the investigation team instead and gave Sasuke the role of being in charge of everything, though their father was still active in the police area, still doing patrols. Sasuke was also one of the men that went out at times, though he was usually in the office he was now currently in or in the other two buildings checking up on cases and files.

This was one of the reasons why he didn't understand why Sakura was so mad at him. He ran all three buildings and had lots of things to take care of but apparently being home at seven was more important to her. Closing the file he looked at his computer screen. Sakura had come in one day and for his screen saver she had put pictures of her, her and him, and then Seto, and then all three of them.

It was currently a picture of Sakura and Seto at the beach about a year ago. Sakura was sitting with her legs spread apart with a little Seto sitting in between them with little blue swim trunks. She had on a large sun hat and her light pink bikini on. Seto was playing with the sand with his little hands a baby grin on his face as he looked up

Sighing, he wished everything could just be rewound to that time and then maybe now they wouldn't be having problems with their marriage and be that man that she once knew. But he really didn't know the problem. He wanted to be with her and their son but what was keeping him away? Everything had just been really frustrating at home lately and he didn't want to deal with it.

Closing the new file and pushing the rest to the side he decided he would go back to the house, take a shower, get his clothes and get out before Sakura had the time to yell at him about why for once he was there early. He ran a hand over his face, she could be such a pain at times and it frustrated him to no end. She would always be there nagging to do something, and it had just recently started because when they were first married she wasn't at all like that.

Making sure his wallet was still in his back pocket he grabbed the keys to the truck he used and exited the office making sure to just walk by Karin's desk without saying anything. She had started to be quite annoying, or rather even more, since he had accidentally slept with her. Now he just avoided her at all costs and when she confronted him about it he had told her it was a drunken mistake and that she should just forget about it.

Getting out to the white truck with the Uchiwa insignia on it he got in and started it up, and started the thirty minute drive to the house. The Department was near downtown so he had to get onto the freeway and then get back off to get to the residential suburban area where Sakura had pleaded with him to get their house at, not that he minded the peace and quiet after the noise of the city and downtown.

Seeing the garage door down and the house looking empty he heaved a sigh of relief thinking it would be easier than he thought it would be. Pulling the truck to the curbside he cut the engine and got out entering the house and taking the stairs up after getting through the entryway.

Quickly disposing of his day old clothes he stepped into the shower to clean himself up before he gathered his other clothes. It felt good to him to take the shower, cleaning his hair and body. There was a reason he took at least one shower a day and it was too feel clean.

After taking the shower and quickly shaving his almost nonexistent facial hair he started packing his clothes into a larger duffel he had in the closet. He took all of his work shirts and pants, as well as several pairs of jeans and shirts for casual occasions, and then his boxers. He stuffed them into the duffel and just about as he was about to get his items from the bathroom he heard the open and a pair of little feet run into the house followed by a lighter yet definitive set of footsteps.

He inwardly groaned, he hadn't been fast enough to leave before she got home. He groaned again when heard the lighter footsteps starting to climb the stairs. Quickly grabbing the things he needed in the bathroom he hurriedly finished getting the duffel together and just as he was zipping it up a figure came into the room and he looked up at her.

"Sakura." he stated coolly.

"Sasuke." Just as cool.

"I was just grabbing my stuff." He notified her and she just nodded. She was about the leave the entryway when she spoke.

"Seto, made some cookies for you at my mom's house. You might want to get some before you leave." onyx looked at her as she left his sight and he instantly berated himself. He was such a jerk to his wife and son.

"Sakura," he called and she appeared back in the door. "Can we talk about this?" He asked, becoming the lowly one.

"What's there to talk about." she said leaning against the door frame.

"A lot."

"Then start talking Sasuke because I really don't want to fight and every time you want to talk or I want to talk we end up fighting."

"Sakura, can't we just put this behind us. I'll come home earlier." her brow scrunched at him.

"What are you thinking Sasuke? It's not just being home early and we can't just put it behind us because if we do that then it's just going to come back later on." she was staring at him in disbelief. "You think we can just forget about what's happened? It's not that easy Sasuke."

"It can be."

"No, it can't. You haven't been here to know what's even going on. Our little boy cries himself to sleep at night because he thinks his father doesn't love him enough to come home and kiss him goodnight. He's always asking me where you are because he never gets to see you anymore. I make dinner for two, not three because I know you won't be home when we have dinner. I don't even know where my husband is after he gets off work at seven or eight. I'm always thinking to myself, what have I done or what haven't I been doing? I always second guess myself lately because I don't know if you even love me anymore. How many times in the last month have we made love, huh? Twice, Sasuke, twice. That used to be half of what we did in a night, a night Sasuke." Tears were streaming down her face.

"So no, we can't just put it behind us. So until you can start being that man again, don't come back here, because I can't stand my heart breaking anymore. So go see your son before you leave." she said stepping to the side so he could walk past her duffel in hand.

"I'm sorry Sakura." He told her quietly.

"So am I." she sniffed letting him walk by her and go downstairs. She heard the squeal of Seto when he saw his dad and telling him about the cookies he made before Sasuke was telling him he had to go and a little whining was involved before the door opened and closed and the truck's engine was heard starting and pulling away only then did she hear the small sniffles coming from the top of the stair case.

Her head spun to the source as soon as she wiped away her own tears. Her eyes caught sight of her little boy holding his hands close to his mouth as he tried to hold back tears that threatened to fall down his face. Sakura looked sadly at the little boy before crouching down and opening her arms for him to run into them.

She cradled the small boy to her for a moment before picking him up and with him in her arms walked over to the bed and set them both down on it. Laying on her side she continued to hold the small boy to her as she felt his warm tears soak through her shirt.

"Why did daddy leave?" he whimpered. "Doesn't daddy love us?" her viridian orbs went down to the small body.

"He's still loves us, he just needs time to think about a few things. He'll be back." and in her mind she prayed he would be because she didn't want their little boy growing up without his father. They stayed like that for the rest of the evening and falling asleep on top of the covers.

* * *

His hands gripped the steering wheel tightly showing the whites of his knuckles. It had hurt when Sakura told him they couldn't just put it behind them and a part of him felt guilty that he even mentioned that, the only good thing that came out of it was that he now understood what she was feeling and knowing that it hurt him.

Looking at the radio in the truck he noticed it was nearing seven at night. Groaning he realized he hadn't gotten an apartment yet, so he would have to stay with someone. His parents were out of the question. He didn't want them to know of his and Sakura's little separation. Naruto was also out of the question, he didn't want to deal with him right now, so the only choice was Itachi and hopefully his creepy friends wouldn't be there.

Taking the course that got to Itachi's apartment he got out of the truck and went to knock on the front door. It was only a few moments later that Itachi opened the door and gave a smug look to his younger brother before he invited him in.

"Kicked you out again?" He asked his younger brother's back who just nodded his head. "What did you say to her?" Sasuke flopped down on the couch dropping his bag.

"If we could just put it behind us." he muttered making Itachi frown.

"You _never _say that to a woman you are fighting with, especially if she's your wife. So what did she say?"

"She told me we couldn't put it behind us and then gave me reasons. I feel like a total ass."

"You should. So what were the reasons?"

"Don't want to tell you."

"Fine, but you will eventually if you want to work it out with her."

"Hn."

"So you want to stay here?"

"Aa. Just until I find an apartment."

"Don't worry about my friends, they got banned after they threw a party here without my knowledge, they won't be coming around, so you can stay here and save the money and buy Sakura a really big gift to apologize to her."

"Hn."

"Good, you know where the room is, so have fun and I won't cook dinner for you, so deal with it." Itachi said heading into the kitchen while Sasuke glared at the back of his older brother.

Sasuke walked back towards the guest room where he had spend a night or two before. Dropping his bag on the ground next to the bed he fell upon the bed his back hitting the comfortable mattress, as he looked blankly at the ceiling. He couldn't get Seto's face out of his mind. The little boy had been so happy to see him, but once he had told him he had to leave the happy face fell, being overtaken with sadness and loneliness.

He had to start re-thinking everything and he had to do something quickly or he knew that Sakura would do something that both of them regretted and he didn't want that. He really wanted to spend time with her and their son, but time wasn't available much anymore. There is always something new coming up at work and he knew that when he took over that his job was a top priority and he thought that Sakura knew that too, but apparently she didn't. Groaning he got off the bed and walked towards the kitchen, maybe he did need to have a talk with Itachi.

* * *

**so theres the next one... not sure how i feel about it, but whatever. it will start spicing up a little next chapter!**

**so please review! i do appreciate reviews!  
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**yoyo**


	3. Chapter 3

******Hey Everyone! Sorry its taken a while to get this chapter up. Some personal things came up and then of course school is going as usual. But here is the third chapter!**

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* * *

**Chapter 3**

She looked herself over in the mirror that stood in the room. It had been several years since she had been dressed for a job. When she had first found at she was pregnant with Seto, Sasuke had asked her to quit her job and just be a stay at home mother , and she had willingly agreed to do it seeing as she thought that she would have more kids than just Seto. She had also quit seeing as how adamant Sasuke was to have her be a stay at home mom for Seto, telling her that he made enough for only him to work.

She scoffed at thinking at that again. They had enough money combined that neither of them had to work and they could still live quite comfortably, but the Department was part of Sasuke's family and she would never deny him the opportunity to run what had been in his family for generations, she just wished that for once that her and Seto could be a priority and a top one at that.

Looking at the time she realized she had to go that instant if she was to drop off Seto at her parent's and get to the clinc on time for her interview. Grabbing her bag and keys she walked briskly out of the room and entered into a sleeping Seto's room. The boy for once had actually slept in. picking him up gently and grabbing his bag as well, she made her way down the stairs and out the door efficiently looking it as she left before she got to the car, secured the small boy and left the house.

Viridian eyes flickered to the time that was on the radio screen. She cursed a little. At this rate she was going to be a little late and that was not appropriate when she was going in for an interview. She had dropped off Seto at her parents' and told them she loved them before she had left the house to get to the clinic, and it didn't help that she got caught in some small traffic. Finally getting off the freeway at the right exit she maneuvered the car to head towards the Konoha Medical Center.

Pulling into the parking lot she saw the time at two minutes 'til ten. Cursing again she grabbed her bag off the passenger seat and quickly got out of the car, locking it as her heels clacked against the pavement as she headed towards the entrance of the Medical center. She gently pushed the door open to the building and walked inside to be greeted by the familiar smell of anesthetics and plastic, at least to her. Walking forward she was about to ask the main secretary where to go but Temari intercepted her before she could get all the way there.

"Sakura, there you are." the older woman by a few years called. Sakura turned her rosette head towards her friend.

"Temari, I am so sorry I am a little late." Sakura apologized for her tardiness.

"Don't worry. I told her that you had a small child and might run a little late, especially in the mornings. Tsunade-sama, the main director, completely understood. Tsunade-sama likes to interview the receptionists herself." Temari filled her in. "Let's go. Her office is this way."

"So can you give me a little background of the Medical Center? I didn't have time to do any research myself." Sakura asked, liking to know a little about where she was working.

"Well this particular facility just recently opened, hence the reason why they are wanting a part time receptionist. The Konoha Medical System has been around for years though, Tsunade's family has been involved in the medical practices for as long as she can remember. There are two other facilities in Konoha, though they focus on more central and specialized treatments while this facility covers the usual, maternity, pediatrics, general ER cases, though the other facilities do that as well, but they are more specialized to more internal cases. " Temari started spewing things out.

"So nice of you to fill her in of all my doings Temari." a smooth rich voice filled the hallway. The two women looked over to find the person in question standing and had just finished talking with another doctor. "You must be Uchiha Sakura." the woman stated and Sakura nodded. "I'll take it from here Temari." the woman gave Temari the goodbye and then motioned for Sakura to follow her to her office.

"I must say when Temari said you might be a little late, I thought it would be by a larger margin than five minutes." the woman sat down at her desk, motioning for her to have a seat as well.

"I like to be punctual." Sakura replied.

"Of course, we all like punctuality." the lady said before becoming quiet letting Sakura be able to look at the woman in front of her. The woman in general looked fierce. Long honey blond hair was pulled back in two plaits and her darker honey colored eyes made sure to tell a person she was a no-nonsense kind of person. She had a small purple jewel on her forehead and red nails that made you question if they were lethal or not.

"Now, a standard first question for me is why do you want this job?" The woman asked leaning back in the black leather chair. "Temari, already briefly told me of your circumstance, but I like hearing it from the person them self." Sakura nodded.

"Well, my husband and I are going through a separation of sorts and has been removed from the house, and I thought it best that I get back into the work force while he is not providing for myself and my son."

"If I am correct, Uchiha-san, your husband is the superintendent of the Police Department here, is he not?" the woman leaned forward.

"Hai, he is ma'am"

"Then why would you need a job, even if you are separated for the time being."

"Ma'am, just in case things don't work out between my husband and I, I want to make sure that I have something secure for my son and myself."

"That is very understandable." the woman cleared his throat. "Now what about previous experience?" Sakura started going through her bag before pulling out a dark brown folder.

"This has my resume, as well as the places I have worked before." she handed the folder to the man, which he promptly opened. "I last worked as a receptionist at a smaller local medical center, before I got pregnant. I worked there for about five years." The woman nodded looking over her resume and jobs.

"You will easily fit in here then." she mumbled looking at her. She just sat straight in the chair. "Well then, I can see no reason to not really hire you." her insides jumped. "Well this position is part time and you will be circulated between the different stations as well. The days would be Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. For some reason those seem to be our busiest days. The times would be usually from eight in the morning to 4 in the afternoon, just a straight eight hour shift, you can eat at the desk. So can you start on Thursday?"

"Of course I can Ma'am." Sakura replied, her hands fidgeting with excitement on her lap. She was excited about getting the job. She wasn't sure exactly how Sasuke would take the news when he found out, but even though she figured he would be upset, he didn't determine her life for the time being.

"Good, then I will see you Thursday at eight sharp. Have a good rest of the day." Tsunade told her, while she stood up and reached over the desk to shake her hand before leaving.

Walking out of the office and going down a hallway, she was accosted by Temari, who immediately wanted to hear the news. The dirty blond haired girl squealed quietly in excitement when she heard that her friend had gotten the job. She offered her congratulations and said that that night they would go out to dinner with the other girls to celebrate. Sakura laughed and agreed to the celebration dinner.

* * *

Growling in frustration he pushed the papers away from him. He had a headache that rivaled a hangover and he knew it was from the lack of sleep he had been getting the past several nights of being at his brother's apartment. He wasn't complaining about the bed, it was quite comfortable, but it was because of all the thoughts that were constantly running through his mind.

He figured it was probably out of guilt that he was feeling this bad. Ever since the talk with Itachi , a couple of nights before, his first official night out of the house, he couldn't sleep. He wanted to be a family again, he just wasn't sure how to go about it. Things had always been easy for him, including Sakura. She had never really complained about anything, at least not until a few months ago, and then everything had fallen apart.

Grunting he placed his elbows on the desk with his head nestled in his hand, long digits running through his hair. He really hated this, but he didn't really know how to fix it. He knew couldn't just waltz right back in, going home at seven every night, and then helping around the house and play with his little boy, like he had done before. Something had changed and he wasn't sure just exactly what it was, but he needed to find out, and soon.

Hearing a knock on his door, he called for the person to come in, and when the door opened a blond head popped through and cerulean orbs narrowed straight on him. The man saw the dark haired male just sitting at his desk, papers strewn about the desk, and thinking it was safe walked into the room.

"Hey teme." the blond said, taking a seat in the chair, and Sauske raised a brow at him, telling the other man to get on with what he was going to say.

"I just wanted to inform you that, we got a call." Sasuke nodded his head. "Apparently, there was a burglary at a house. The owner came home during the act, and was murdered, the burglar got away." Naruto finished.

"When did the call come in." Sasuke asked, turning all professional.

"A few minutes ago. Itachi is already headed out with Shikamaru following." Sasuke nodded stadning up as well.

"Then let's get going." The young Uchiha said, grabbing his jacket and heading out the door the blond right behind him.

It took twenty minutes to get out to the house. It was near the outskirts of the larger city in another suburban area. Sasuke eyed the crime scene with a sharp eye. Ducking himself he went under the caution tape and headed towards the front door of the house, walking through the already open front door.

The house was a rather expensive looking house, in a pricier area. Looking around the house, he caught sight of Itachi in a room, crouching where the chalked outline of the murder victim was at. Walking towards his older brother, Sasuke started to look at the chalked outline. Itachi turned his head over his shoulder once he realized there was another person in the room.

"Sasuke." the older male noted.

"Itachi, what happened?" Sasuke asked crouching down as well.

"Burglary. Not sure what was exactly taken as of yet, but the victim was a woman. Identified as Hozuki Hana. She is married, so we have a call in to her husband who is out of town on business. Death was caused by several stab wounds. Poor woman bled to death before she could get to a phone."

"Who called then."

"Neighbors." Itachi said tightly. "a neighbor dropped by and when no one answered the door, she just came in and when she found the body, called in."

"Where is she now?" Sauske asked, once again looking at the crime scene.

"Downtown. One of the officers took her in for questioning."

"And the burglar?"

"Guessing a man, by the hand print bruising that was starting to show up on the victim's body." Sasuke nodded standing up, Itachi rising as well.

"What do you want to do now?" Itachi asked the other Uchiha.

"Collect as much evidence as we can, get the husband home asap, start running tests to try and find the burglar, and then keep our eyes and ears open for any more burglaries in this area and similar areas." Sasuke informed, his eyes looking over the house. "Do we know how the guy got in?"

"Thinking a lower bedroom window." Shikamaru stated walking over to the two brothers. "Looks like a window was open and he took the screen out before coming in. We're swabbing to see if any finger prints to run through the data bases."

"Anything else?" Itachi asked.

"Well so far the scene seems rather organized. We'll have to wait for the husband to get home to see if anything is missing, but for the most part everything seems untouched." Shikamaru mused.

"Do you think it could possibly be more than just a burglary? If nothing seems out of place, we should explore all avenues." Sasuke spoke up and both Itachi and Shikamaru nodded their heads.

"We don't have a certain time frame yet, but as soon as we start piecing all of that together and seeing if anything is missing, we can certainly start making deductions if it was a true burglary gone wrong, or if there was intent to kill all along." Shikamaru replied.

"Then let's make it happen. And fast." Sasuke snapped a bit. " I want all the houses on either side of the street questioned as well as the houses behind. I want to know what was going on in this neighborhood in the last 8 hours. When will the husband be home?"

"We have the call in to him now, we just need him to return it and then we'll get everything really moving forward." Itachi replied this time.

"Good. Let's get this solved." Sasuke said before turning away and walking out of the house.

* * *

He was looking over the case file of the burglary. The husband had finally called in three hours after the Department first called him. He was taking a red eye flight back and should be landing soon, Sasuke mused as he looked at his clock. Eleven thirty five it read. The time both plagued him and yet soothed him. Tonight he wouldn't be heading back to a house where a fight was sure to await him, yet at the same time he felt a small twinge of guilt because he wasn't going home. Seto would be in bed already and Sakura hopefully too. It had been odd to not have spoken with her for several days.

Though he was never a big talker, her voice seemed to soothe him before. She was always talking, making the mood light, trying to get him to say anything something at times, especially when they first had met. He could still remember seeing her that day on campus when he was going to several of his political classes and her going to the medical ward. There was just something about her that had caught his attention. All women seemed to fawn over him, especially because of his looks, but she didn't. She accepted him in ways many had not. She seemed to understand him and that was amazing. Not many people could just get him.

His family was wealthy and had been for generations. His parents had been loving and had raised him right and to be the best man and Uchiha. Itachi, though they got along better when they had been younger, had stood by his side through thick and thin and though he could have smart ass remarks about his situation right now, he supported Sasuke and that was what he needed. An unspoken support.

Shaking his head and the thoughts out of it, he knew he needed to head to Itachi's place. The clock now showed two minutes after midnight. Had he really been thinking that long? Pushing his chair back and standing up, his hand flicked the file shut. Placing it in a locked drawer, he grabbed his jacket and turned out the office lights before heading out.

* * *

Of course he only went back to Itachi's place after a quick thirty minute stop at a local bar, just to take the edge off. When he arrived back at Itachi's, his brother was still up, watching something on the tv. His brother sent a glance over to him as he walked by and was almost to his room when he heard his brother speak.

"Mother called. We're having a family dinner on Sunday." Itachi informed him, eyes not leaving the tv as Sasuke stared at him. A million thoughts went through his mind at the words 'family dinner'. Of course Sakura and Seto would be coming and that made him shift a bit and then his brother spoke again, "You need to let Sakura know, apparently mother couldn't get a hold of her. Maybe you can patch things up before the dinner." this time Itachi did look his way, looking rather intrigued by Sasuke's indescribable expression. "Get the air cleared a little, or else dinner is going to be something you won't ever want to go to again." Onyx eyes fixed back onto the screen and Sasuke felt a large breath of air swoosh out of him. Great. He certainly wasn't looking forward to Sunday at all.

Getting into his room, he closed the door and took off his jacket thinking about the impending Sunday dinner. He would have to clear some of the air with Sakura, and they would have to show up together or else his mother would definitely know something was up. This issue was definitely becoming more of a problem than he realized. He groaned before falling into a fitful sleep.

* * *

**This was lightly proofread, so there are probably some mistakes.**

**And then updates may be super slow with this story, so we've got two options, 1 I update when I can, or 2 I put the story on hold until i can get more chapters written and when i can post regularly. so just let me know what you y'all would like me to do.  
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**Thanks Please Review!  
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**yoyo  
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	4. Chapter 4

**Here's the next chapter definitely up earlier than last time sorry about that again. And chapter 5 is in process so hopefully soon it will be complete for you all!**

**btw it may seem a little slower but we are starting to pick up speed. :)  
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**Disclaimer: DNON**

**Enjoy  
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**(btw there might be some errors, haven't had a whole lot of time to edit sorry)  
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* * *

**Chapter 4**

He practically growled in frustration, as he continued to knock on the door. He had been standing in front of the door for the past ten minutes and still no one was answering. It was already nearing four thirty on a Friday afternoon and she wasn't answering the door. He would have just gone in however he had been berating himself for _forgetting_ the key at Itachi's and wasn't about to drive all the to the other side of the city to pick up a key when Sakura was _supposed _ to be home. Catching the sound of a car coming down the road he turned to see Sakura's car coming down the road. Finally she was home, he grumbled a bit. Walking down the porch he met the car as it came to a halt in the driveway.

He noticed Sakura's sharp gaze on him, and he knew she was wondering what he was doing at the house. Coming around the car, she ignored him as she went to the back door to get Seto. He heard the little boy's excited cries of 'daddy!daddy!' and he inwardly flinched. This must be what Sakura was referencing when they spoke last. As Seto came running at him after being taken out of the car, Sasuke bent down to scoop his boy into his arms. Something inside him squeezed as he realized just how long it had been since he had held his little boy. The small arms of the boy encircled his neck and hung on for dear life. He lost himself a little in the moment until he caught Sakura's pained expression.

"Can we talk?" he asked still holding onto his son and she nodded her head. Grabbing Seto's bag and her own she led them to house and opened the front door.

He walked into the house still holding Seto until the boy demanded to be put down, and Sasuke watched as the boy ran for and up the stairs. Hearing a small sigh, he turned to see Sakura putting her's and Seto's bags down.

"What can I do for you Sasuke?" she asked heading towards the kitchen and he followed with a question of his own.

"Where have you been?" He demanded. "I've been waiting for almost twenty minutes." he leaned against the bar as she got a glass of water, of course not offering to get him one.

"I've started working again. I work part time at one of the new medical centers. I figured that since Seto's going to be heading into school next year I should start working again." She told him, an edge in her voice as she told him.

"You don't need to work Sakura." Sasuke snapped "Before we had Seto we agreed you weren't going to work again. We have enough money so that you don't have too."

"What if I want to work Sasuke?" Sakura fired back. "I thought I would have more kids to look after, but seeing as how you're never around, that wouldn't be possible. Besides I want to work again, and you don't have control over that."

"Sakura!" he snapped a little, but then took a deep breath. "I didn't come here to fight." her eyebrow raised. "Itachi informed me that Mother was wanting us all to come over for dinner on Sunday." He let out another deep breath, he hated fighting. "The dinner is at six, so I was going to come over around five thirty so that we can go as a family." he saw Sakura's jaw working a little.

"And what, pretend we're a happy family? Your mothers not dumb Sasuke, she will be able to tell that somethings wrong. Just tell her I'm sick and you and Seto can go. Spend some time with your son." she snipped and his body grew tense.

"Sakura, let's just go as a family."

"Sasuke, we aren't even a family anymore. There's Seto and I, and then there's you." Sasuke let out a noise of frustration.

"Sakura, we're all going and that's the end of it." He snapped and before he would say anything more about anything, he turned on his heel and walked to the front door and left.

* * *

As soon as Sasuke had rattled the front door closed, Sakura bowed her head. This was a nightmare. How was going to Sunday dinner at his parent's house going to do anything productive? They would have to act happy, but she felt anything but happy. And then of course if it was brought up that she was working again, it would get Sasuke started on another tirade about her not working, but why not work, when it was only her and Seto. She liked to work, and once Seto was in pre-school the next year she wouldn't have a whole lot to do at the house. She liked keeping busy.

Her ears perked up as she heard running feet come down the stairs before the little boy came sliding into the kitchen, a toy clutched in his hands, eyes wide as he scanned the room before they lost some luster before looking up at his mother.

"Where'd daddy go?" he asked, both hands tightening on the toy. Giving the small boy a sad smile she answered him.

"He left already. He'll be back on Sunday though." her words didn't console the child as his bottom lip started to quiver.

"He never stays for long." and he turned and trudged out the of the room and stomped up the stairs.

Sakura let a few tears run down her face as she watched and heard her little man leave. She wished to all the world that Sasuke would be here for Seto. She wasn't the only feeling the missing presence of their father and husband. She could remember when Sasuke would come home, a close smile on his face as he lifted his little boy high and was welcomed home before coming into the kitchen to give a small kiss and letting her know in his own way he was glad to be home.

And then it all stopped. The door would never open in the early night. The little boy would wait by the window until dinner and then after wards return to his perch hoping his father would come home to him, and Sakura wished he would too.

* * *

"There were nothing in our databases that matched anything we were able to run through them. The husband identified that the safe they had was broken into and that all the money inside was taken, luckily it wasn't a large sum, but that everything else was in perfect order." Shikamaru reported to the group of men in the meeting. The men nodded their heads and some looked back down towards the file.

"Do we have any information from the neighbors?" Sasuke's voice asked.

"The neighbor that dropped by did so regularly, apparently she was friends with the deceased. She was apparently friends and they usually got together a couple of afternoons a week." Ibiki this time spoke up, as he had been the one to talk with the lady who had found the deceased woman.

"The same with the neighborhood. No one saw or heard anything out of the normal. Besides in the neighborhood, the men are at work and the women are doing whatever suits their fancy that day." Kakashi added.

"So besides the money being gone, nothing out of the ordinary?" Sasuke mused to himself. Something just wasn't sitting right about this case.

"And we think that she was attacked from behind. She may not have known the burglar was even in the house until too late." Neji, one of the detectives put in. "Her body position was face down arms out, she probably was hit from behind and then the death blow was delivered." Sasuke rubbed his eyes with his hands.

"Good work, keep asking around, I want this guy caught." Sasuke commanded before standing up and exiting the room.

* * *

Sunday morning came way to quick for Sakura. Seto had been sullen all Friday evening and Saturday. He picked at his food and didn't want to play. Sakura was worried about her little boy, she knew that her's and Sasuke's separation wouldn't be good for the child but seeing Seto, she became even more discouraged. Even if she did let Sasuke come back to live, there would be constant strain between him and her, and she knew Seto would feel it. She desperately wished that there was an easy solution because this situation was hard on everyone.

Five o'clock rolled around and Sakura was getting Seto ready to go before finishing getting ready herself. Seto was a big boy but still had slight issues when getting his short on. She pulled the dark green t-short over the little boy's head just before the doorbell chimed and the child bolted away. Sakura followed the boy and was coming down the stairs when she heard Seto's tiny cry of 'daddy!'. Her lips lifted in a small smile. That boy adored his father, if only Sasuke could really see how much.

Sasuke came into her view, holding Seto in his strong arms, while littler arms wrapped around their father's neck, face nestled into the crook of his neck, and legs wrapped around the broad torso. Sakura loved this sight, she always had. She loved seeing her two favorite men together. Seto was so strikingly similar to Sasuke it was sometimes hard to discern between the two when they were wrapped up like they were. When Sasuke finally saw her he sent a small nod to her, and returned one of her own before walking back up the stairs to finish getting ready herself.

She changed from her dark sweats into beige capri's and pulled on a long dark red short sleeve shirt, loving the dark red color, making her rosette locks stand out even more than they usually do. Brushing the locks she clipped a section back before adding a small silver necklace with an 'S' hanging on it. Slipping her feet into some brown flats she grabbed her bag from a corner chair and headed down the stairs. She could hear Seto talking excitedly to his father, and she hoped that he was paying attention and listening to his son.

When she walked into the room both raven heads turned towards her. She gave a slight smile before both of the Uchihas rose from their position on the couch, the little one still clinging to his father. Grabbing her keys from the shelf they were laying on, since her car had the booster seat in it and Sasuke's didn't. They walked out together and for the first time in months, Sakura felt a small twinge of normalcy and it felt good. If it would only last longer then a couple of hours.

The ride over to his parent's was in silence, even Seto was silent, just content to be with both parent's and for once no arguing or raised voices. Sakura's body tensed a little once they did arrive at the large home. It was elegant on the outside and she knew also on the inside. Mikoto, Sasuke's mother had loved to decorate the interior of her home and always wanted to make sure that space was warm and inviting and she had succeeded at least Sakura thought she had. The passenger side door had opened without Sakura even realizing it, Sasuke stood outside with Seto in his arms. Climbing out of the car they walked towards the front entrance, as a family, but not feeling like a whole family.

They just walked into the house, with Sasuke letting out a small sentence informing his parents that they were there. Itachi came out of the den looking over them carefully before giving a small shake of his head and Sakura knew then that he knew of their problems. Seto called out to his excitedly, and Sakura was grateful her son had gotten a personality a bit more bubbly than that of his fathers and uncles. Itachi picked up the child with ease immediately talking quietly to the small boy. Seto nodded his head furiously at whatever Itachi had said and the two left the room leaving Sasuke and Sakura standing there, an uncomfortable silence stretching between them before Sasuke motioned her forward and farther into the house.

The delicious aromas coming from the kitchen led Sakura straight to where her mother in law was at. The older female Uchiha's back was to her, but a smile came over Sakura as she watched her mother in law work on making a salad. Walking over to the older woman she wrapped an arm around her shoulders before placing a small kiss on the woman's cheek. Mikoto jumped a little feeling the small arm come around her but a smile beamed across her face at seeing her daughter in law.

"Sakura!" she cried, before grabbing the younger Uchiha woman in a hug. "How are you?"

"Doing well, Mikoto." Sakura replied returning the hug. She had missed the older woman, it had been a while since she had seen her mother in law.

"That's splendid to hear. Where's Sasuke?" Mikoto's eyes roamed looking for her youngest son.

"I think he might have gone to find Fugaku." Sakura replied turning her attention back to the salad being prepared.

"Oh I just finished the salad, mind taking it to the table?" Mikoto asked while sticking tongs into the salad. Shaking her head Sakura grabbed the stone bowl and carried it to the table where the place settings were already set up. Starting to head back to the kitchen she heard a small delightful squeal come from Seto and knew that Mikoto had found her grandson.

A pang went through Sakura's chest at hearing her son and his other grandmother see each other again. Seto spent a lot of time with her mother and did spend time with her mother in law, but definitely not as much and she knew that if Sasuke and her did make the final split, that time would diminish even more. Clenching her fists she let out a huff of frustration. She shouldn't be thinking about that right now. She was supposed to be acting like a loving wife and a happy mother. But really she felt anything but that and it killed her inside.

Hearing footsteps come closer she looked over her shoulder to see Itachi standing there looking at her with his lighter gray eyes. They too, like all Uchiha grey eyes, seemed to pierce her and know exactly what was going on and she knew that Itachi definitely knew what was going on. He came over to stand by her side as she finished making the salad.

"You should know he's hurting too." Itachi started and it immediately made Sakura tense but before she could spit something back Itachi spoke again. "He may not look like or act like it, but he's very confused."

"Itachi don't make excuses for your younger brother." Sakura said back. "He doesn't want to be with the family he created and that's his burden to deal with."

"He wants to be there."

"Well he certainly doesn't show it." Sakura snapped back and looked up Itachi and her eyes narrowed. "You know something. You know something that I don't." An almost imperceptible flicker ran through those grey eyes and it confirmed what she guessed. "What? What is it? What can he tell his brother but he can't tell his wife?" She stated sarcastically. "But of course he wouldn't tell me. He doesn't even want to live with me let alone talk. He probably got too drunk one night and..." her sentence faltered. "Oh Kami. No, he wouldn't have done that." Her eyes shot back up to Itachi with a horror of realization in them. "Itachi." she breathed. "Please tell me its not that." her words begged the older man and Itachi just remained looking at her. Looking at her distraught face, the fear in her eyes and the realization that he didn't need to confirm. A hand went to her mouth and her face paled.

She turned from Itachi and looked around the kitchen. Her mind reeling from that fact that her _husband _ had slept with another woman. Itachi's silence confirmed it. The silence that usually didn't tell anything, told her all she needed to know this time. Oh why was this happening to her. Everything was disoriented around her. It was unreal. She slowly walked out of the kitchen. She needed to be go. She needed to leave this house. Hearing the faint laughter of Seto from the living room she was able to locate her husband, her son and mother in law. Mikoto was the first to look up at her.  
"Sakura. Are you okay? You don't look well." Mikoto asked stilling the small boy on her lap. Sasuke also looked over to her as well. She couldn't look at him though. Disgust filled her entire person just thinking about what he had done.

"I... I... I need to go. Sorry Mikoto, but I can't stay." Sakura fumbled out.

"Is everything okay Sakura?" Mikoto asked, concern filling her calm eyes.

"No." Sakura got the word out before even thinking about it. "No I'm not. I need to go." And with strength she didn't even know she had, she walked over to pick Seto up and grabbed his bag before walking towards the front door. She heard Sasuke's family behind her and felt him come up to her.

"Sakur..." Sasuke began.

"No!" she spun to face him. "Don't touch me. Don't come near me." Her voice dropped and her eyes pinned him. "Don't come to the house again. It's over."

* * *

**haha oops. so yeah that cat's out of the bag! :) i wasn't originally going to put it in here, but then i was writing and was like whatever, and actually it works well with other little plots that i have coming up :) **

**so yeah!  
**

**Please please review! :) i was a little discouraged after last chapter.  
**

**yoyo  
**


	5. Chapter 5

**Oh dear goodness! I am so sorry this has taken so long and that its a bit shorter than usual! life has been ridiculous for me the last while with school, work and life! but I have the next chapter here for you so hopefully it makes up for it! I am starting to build up to several of the plots that are going to be apart of this story! **

**Disclaimer: DNON  
**

**Please Enjoy! and btw this hasn't been fully edited so I apologize for mistakes. **

* * *

**Chapter 5**

Sakura somehow made it home. Quieting Seto's questions and making sure she concentrated on the road. Arriving home, Seto went directly to his room, almost sensing that his mother needed time, and as soon as Sakura knew Seto was out of hearing distance she called her mother, finally breaking down into tears. After knowing her mother was on her way over, she sat down at one of the chairs surrounding the main dining table and nestled her head into her arms before letting the tears flow once again. Not even hearing her mother come into the house, it was only when she felt her mother's arm around her shoulders that she even noticed the older woman.

"Oh sweetie." Her mother cooed before Sakura buried her head into her mothers stomach letting another fresh batch of tears begin. "What did he do?" Her mother asked, but Sakura couldn't even get the words out. She didn't want the words to come out, because even though she thought them, saying them would be so permanent. And with that thought she just cried harder. Oh how could he?! How could he do that to her. To his son. She just didn't know. Maybe she wasn't good enough for him?

"Sasuke?" He flinched inwardly hearing his mother's voice turn cold. "What was that about. What does she mean it's over?" He turned around from where Sakura had told him it was over. How could it be over. He didn't even know why she suddenly called it over. He looked at his enraged mother, his father was just coming in from the hallway and his brother made his appearance from the kitchen. The kitchen where Sakura had been at. His eyes narrowed at his brother.  
"What did you say to her?" Sasuke ground out looking murderously at his brother.

"Nothing." was Itachi's smooth response. "I was trying to ease things, but you know she's too smart to be kept in the dark when things start clicking." And the realization of what Sakura knew hit him. He knew now that she had found out about his indiscretion one night, with his secretary. The night that haunted him. He had been hoping she would never find out about that night.

"What did Sakura find out?" Mikoto demanded, looking furiously between her two sons.

"Ask Sasuke." Itachi voiced a response.

"Itachi."

"Sasuke." His mother's voice stopped him. "What happened?" Sasuke groaned inwardly. This was not news her wanted to tell his parents.

"Sakura and I are having a hard time with our marriage right now." Sasuke hated saying those words to his mother. His parents had a strong marriage. A strong bond, and to think that his was failing was something that wasn't acceptable being an Uchiha.

"A hard time? What does that exactly mean? Her telling you 'it's over' doesn't seem like it's just a hard time." Mikoto drilled him.

"We've had a hard time the past few months. We sometimes argue and disagree this is just one of those times. It will smooth out soon." He hoped his words placated his mother.

"Well I certainly hope so. Sakura is part of this family and she should remain within the family." Mikoto ordered before turned to the kitchen. Dinner apparently was still going to happen.

* * *

**2 Days Later**

Sasuke had grown even more frustrated with several things since Sunday's disastrous dinner. The only good thing was that his parents hadn't found about his indiscretion. That would just be a bigger mess than Sasuke really needed. He had tried to go over to the house, but Sakura's mother was apparently there with her and he didn't feel like discussing anything with her mother there. He hadn't gone near the house since and he had been giving his brother the silent treatment. He couldn't believe he would let Sakura know of that little incident. And then of course work wasn't getting any better. The everyday tasks were starting to get menial and _annoying_.

Sasuke cursed as he flung his pen to the desk and leaned his head back against the chair. When had his life gotten so out of control. That thought just angered him. It was all Sakura's fault that he was in this mess. She just had to be so demanding that he come early from work. Couldn't she see that he was a busy person? He had an entire city to make sure was safe and it wasn't just a part time deal it was a full time job. She knew that when they were dating and when they got married. Apparently she hadn't informed him that she wanted a nine to five husband. Groaning he ran a hand through his hand and over his face. His bothersome _wife_ wasn't what he needed to deal with right now. Luckily the phone rang but as soon as he heard the person on the other end he wished it hadn't.

* * *

The car pulled to the curb and was turned off within seconds. Several heads turned as the Head of the Department got out of the car with a stormy expression on his face. This was something he really didn't need to deal with right now. Approaching him was his blonde headed friend, another person he didn't want to see at the moment and right behind the blond was Itachi, the only person besides Sakura he really didn't want to see. The snake had told and he was furious. Putting his family problems aside he had a case to look over and that needed his full attention.

"Teme, another break in murder." Sasuke's eyes pinched as he heard the statement. "Victim was female mid thirties, again several stab wounds."

"Who called it in?" Sasuke asked.

"The _Husband_ called it in when he got home from work." Itachi said and Sasuke shot his brother a nasty look. He didn't need any goading at the moment. "He's being questioned right now. Again a safe was broken in to and all money was gone. There was also several jewelry items that were taken as well. We will have to wait a few days before trying to go do the different pawn shops to try and find if the person has sold them off."

"Everything is similar to the last murder burglary?" Sasuke asked.

"Exactly. We may be looking at a serial here." Itachi stated. "Once again nice neighborhood, family is very wealthy, another female dead and money gone." the atmosphere was tense. Grey eyes looked around the area and watched as officers took in the crime scene. Nodding his head, Sasuke moved towards the house. Stepping into the foyer his eyes moved around. Looking for something maybe not knowing what but something. Walking further in, he saw the outline of the body. The poor woman who had died. Inside his heart ached. He may not show everything but inside his heart felt for the man who had lost his wife, if only he could feel that ache for Sakura, but somehow that ache was gone.

He went through the house, every part of it. Looking in every room, looking at every item. There had to be _something_ that would make the burglar pick this house. The neighborhoods couldn't just be the only tie. The safes couldn't be the tie. There had to be something, anything and he would find. He would be damned if he didn't.

* * *

The thought that work would maybe ease her aching heart wasn't working. Sitting at the desk, blank eyes stared at the screen showing several different patient files. What had she been thinking. That a good looking man, even though married, would stay faithful even in the times of drought. Of course he would go to another woman. He certainly wasn't getting anything from her and had to find that desire somewhere else. But she would never do that, she would never just be unfaithful to her husband. A man she had made vows to. She would never want to be unfaithful, her husband was everything to her, though maybe she wasn't everything to him apparently.

A set of snapping fingers brought Sakura out of her reverie. Looking up her emerald eyes came into focus with Temari's face. Her friend was giving her a worried look.

"Sakura? Are you ok? You're not looking so good." Temari asked placing her files on the counter top and coming around to be next to Sakura. "You've been quiet all day. Are you feeling alright?" Sakura processed the words her friend was saying and when they finally did, Sakura's pink hair shook. Of course she wasn't ok. Her world really was falling apart, but how could she say that? That she had a call into a lawyer to discuss divorce proceedings. That her husband was a lying sneaky snake and had cheated on her and on their son. What would Seto think when he no longer had a father figure, but he didn't really have on right now so what was the difference?

"Sakura? What's wrong?" Temari asked placing a comforting hand on the other woman's shoulder and she could see tears forming in the others bright green eyes. "Sakura?" Temari prompted.

"Everything." Sakura squeaked out. "Everything is wrong." And with that Sakura grabbed her bag and brushing past Temari she escaped the building. She couldn't stay. She needed to be alone, needed to be somewhere where she didn't have to think. The only place that was, was at her home in her large bed, in sweats and a tank curled up in a ball and heaving sobs wracking her frame. How could she have been so naïve to think that he would want to stay with her.

She fell asleep after crying for a while and the only thing to wake her up was an insistent ringing of her door bell. Crawling out of her bed after realizing that whoever was ringing the bell wasn't going away anytime soon. Dragging herself downstairs while tying her hair up into a ponytail she opened the door to see a very worried Temari, Ino and Hinata. Just seeing her friends at her door made her tear up again. Granting them access to the house they found themselves sitting in the large living room, Sakura curled up with Ino next to her.

"Temari said you left work pretty distraught." Ino started, brushing a blond lock from her face. "She called us after her shift to come and see if you were ok." Ino curled her arm around Sakura, offering a silent comfort.

"I was worried when you left work so suddenly. I've never seen you so emotional." Temari added, shuffling closer to her friend. "So we are here for you in whatever way you need us." The other women nodded as Sakura felt overwhelming love for her friends and she was so glad that they were here with her.

* * *

The next few days were a blur for Sakura. She took time off of work to figure out what was left in her future. She had gotten a voice mail from the lawyer she had contacted and was in the process of getting ready to meet with him. Seto had been staying at her parent's house and her parents knew of her intentions to divorce Sasuke. The infidelity was the last straw for Sakura. She was too weary to even try anymore with her husband.

It was almost uncomfortable for her to walk into the large building where her appointment was slated to begin in under ten minutes. She was directed to the upper floors of the large building and soon saw the sign for the attorneys office. Giving her name to the secretary she was told that her attorney a Mr. Sawa would be with her shortly. Looking around the clean office she nearly missed someone calling her name. Shaken from her stupor she looked to find an older man looking directly at her.

"Are you Uchiha-san?" He asked, she nodded her head and he beckoned her to follow him. After sitting down on an uncomfortable leather chair she let herself relax a little, hopefully this process would maybe get a little easier. "I am surprised to see you here Uchiha-san." he began linking his fingers together on top of his desk. "You are the wife of Sasuke-san, Head of the Department, is he not?" Sakura just nodded her head. "Then may I ask why you wished to see me?" the big question was just asked. How could she just publicly tell this man that she wanted a divorce from her husband, she just had to say it.

"My marriage is failing and I wish to seek a divorce from Uchiha Sasuke." She spoke, more confidently than she thought she could. The older man raised his eyebrows.

"A divorce? I have never heard of anyone within the Uchiha family every divorcing."

"I know it is unusual but I have grounds of... infidelity." she choked on the last word. Of how distasteful it was.

"I see. That is quite interesting. I can see why you would want to start proceedings."

"I want this to be kept silent. I don't want the press knowing until after everything is finalized and I want it to be as easy as possible. All I want is the house and full custody of our child." Sakura demanded. That's all she wanted.  
"If there is a child involved there may need to be a custody hearing."

"As long as its kept quiet. Also I would like someone else to deliver the papers to Sasuke-san. We are not on speaking terms at the moment."

"Of course Uchiha-san. I will start the paperwork immediately and send a courier this afternoon to the Department." They both stood up and shook hands and then Sakura left, feeling a little bit lighter.

* * *

Sasuke was reviewing the two files of the murder/burglaries when there was a knock on the door. After granting whoever was there access, he looked at the door when it opened to see who was there. Itachi was there holding a large closed envelope. Sasuke's interest was piqued at what the envelope was. Warily watching his brother come into the room and place the large envelope on his desk and pushed it towards him. Sasuke's eyes scanned the envelopes face and immediately hardened when he saw who the sender was. An attorneys office. What was this about? Lifting the packet off the desk and leaning back in his chair he watched his brother watched him pick it up and start to open it. Getting the flap open he reached inside for the hefty stack of papers inside and pulling them out, he tossed the envelope to the desk, righted the papers and read the front page.

Anger boiled inside of him as he read the opening paragraph. Sakura was asking for a divorce. His body started to slightly shake. How dare she?! Furious he threw the papers to his desk and stood up and faced the windows outside. How dare she.

* * *

**Eeek! I furious Sasuke! I wouldn't want to deal with that! but yes we have a furious sasuke on our hands now! hopefully it was worth the wait! I will definitely try and update sooner than a couple of months, let me just slap myself!**

**Please review! i would love love love to hear what you think!**

**yoyo**


	6. Chapter 6

**Oh dang! another chapter! in a record time probably since I wrote this in the last 12 hours! thank goodness for days off and story juices running! ahhh! love it!. **

**thanks for all the review from last chapter! hope we can get up to a few more please :) but i will take what i can get!**

**Disclaimer DNON**

**ENJOY! btw lightly edited. **

* * *

**Need 6**

"You have no one to blame but yourself younger brother." Itachi's words brought Sasuke out of his fury for a minute. His _brother_ was the person who let his secret slip and his fury was now directed towards Itachi.

"You said you would keep quiet." Sasuke grunted out. "Quiet as in no one would know, especially Sakura."

"I didn't say a word. She found out herself." Itachi defended.

"With your help!" Sasuke snarled. "You of course _led _her to believe that and then with your silence you confirmed it.

"It was her right to know, _Sasuke_. She had a right to know what her husband did to her."

"Did you expect this then? A divorce suit coming?"

"It was her choice to do this. It was entirely her decision." Sasuke growled slightly at this. His fury was growing bigger and right now, besides Itachi and Sakura, there was only one other person he could take out his fury on. Stalking to the front of his office bypassing Itachi who had a curious look in his eyes of what Sasuke was going to do. Throwing the door open, Sasuke only walked a few feet before standing at the desk of the other part of his indiscretion.

The red head sat straight up in her chair, eyes widening behind her black rimmed glasses. She had been waiting for weeks for another possible encounter with this man. The first and only time so far had been exciting. Sleeping with the Head of the Department. Hopefully he was about to initiate round two. Crossing her legs, letting her already short skirt ride up almost too scandalously for work, but not for her.

"Sasu-" She began to purr but was cut off his dominating voice.

"Out."Sasuke snapped. "You're fired." His tone made for no discussion and after signalling two officers on the floor the red head was taken out of the room and the building. If he never saw her again it would be too soon. His eyes glanced towards his open office door to see Itachi with an eyebrow raised. He looked away and glared at the now vacant desk before returning to his office, grabbing his jacket and keys and leaving the building.

* * *

Sakura received a copy of the divorce papers later that afternoon after her visit that morning. Looking over the papers it was what she had asked for. Only the house and custody of Seto. How it made her heart ache to see that on paper. Custody of her own child. She shouldn't have to have custody. Seto was her child and any child should be with its mother. Tears slid down her cheeks at the realization that her marriage was soon to be over. She would miss Sasuke. Her heart would always be with Sasuke and would always want Sasuke, but her heart couldn't take the ache of being married to him. To someone who would break their marriage vows. Someone who saw her and their child as a burden. This was the best way. It was the only way for her to really survive. Hearing the screeching of tires on the curb outside she prayed it wasn't an angry Sasuke. Luckily Seto was with her parents again so he wouldn't have to see or hear his parent's fight.

"Sakura!" Sasuke's voice reverberated through the house and after taking a second composing herself she was able to walk out of the kitchen and into the living area. Sasuke was fuming mad, but she didn't care. They had fought before and this would be no different.

"How dare you serve me divorce papers!" Sasuke's voice growled at her. "I will never sign those papers."

"Sasuke don't do this. Please let's just end this." Sakura was not above begging. She wanted this done and over with. "We have nothing to salvage from our relationship and we both deserve any happiness we can get."

"No." Sasuke shook his head. "There will be no divorce. Not now not _ever_." He hissed the last word.

"Then fix it Sasuke!" Sakura yelled. "Fix it! Because once again I'm tired of it all." Sakura yelled at her husband. She was upset and emotional and him demanding no divorce was pushing her over the edge. "For once do something for me! Stop always thinking of yourself. I'm dying in this marriage Sasuke! I can't live without not having a husband yet being tied to one. We gave it our best shot Sasuke but it's not working anymore. So please just sign the papers." Feeling lightheaded she placed a hand on her forehead and sat down on the couch her eyes welling with tears. Sasuke watched his wife sit down on the couch looking defeated. He didn't know what he was supposed to do. Wasn't sure if he was supposed to do anything. He couldn't feel anything for this woman at that moment and he wasn't sure why. But he did know one thing.

"No Sakura. No divorce." And with that he walked out of the room and out of the house leaving the pink haired woman to burst into tears feeling even more defeated than she had felt in a long time.

* * *

Sasuke drove around the city for a hours before going back to the Department. Nothing would get his mind off his marital problems then working on the serial cases. Almost trudging back into his office, the building was dark since everyone except the on call officers were there. He liked the dark, it helped him concentrate and made him forget about the rest of the world around him. Luckily for him he had two computer screens on his desk and was able to pull up the files electronically and studied them side by side. Looking at all the details even the simplest would help him piece together what was going on and maybe would help in determining where the next possible location might be if the guy made another burglary.

Pouring over the information until the early morning, he couldn't make any real connection between them. The neighborhoods were not exactly closer together but not far away, the only thing in common was it was a gated community. He would make sure that tomorrow all gated communities would be put on alert just in case and thinking wryly about it so would Sakura's house as it was nestled in a gated community. Time stamp on both crimes were just in the afternoon, and honestly if there wasn't a person home, the murder may not have even happened. Items taken were the same money from a safe.

Head pounding he clicked his computer off and leaned back in his chair. It would feel good to be back in his bed, but the bed that he wanted was in a house that was off limits to him, especially after this afternoon. What was wrong with him? Was anything wrong with him? Sakura had just seemed to be impossible to please lately and nothing he ever did made it better. Couldn't they go back to a time where him must coming home no matter the hour and getting into bed with her was a good thing. Apparently a nine to five husband was what she wanted now. He scoffed at the thought. He worked long hours. It couldn't be helped.

And Seto. His son. His eyes squeezed shut and he grimaced. His own father hadn't been home at five everyday. The Department was a full time job that worked round the clock. His father would sometimes be gone for days working on cases and making sure the city was safe. His mother hadn't complained about it. She had raised him and his brother and not complained that his father was never home. Sure there were times when he saw a strain in his mother's eyes but never filing for divorce. It was just dumb. For as far back as he knew no Uchiha had ever divorced. Once you were apart of the clan, you were in the clan for life. Of course for the clan, up until a couple generations back Uchiha's married within the family, though they made sure that were at least two relations separated. The clan was extensive for that back then, but after generations of that it proved deadly with a recessive gene deciding to rear its ugly head and proving to be fatal in many of his clansmen. Now only certain strings of Uchihas were alive, luckily his parents being one of them.

Sakura would never understand the pride in such a clan. Her family was not from a clan. They were certainly public figures but had never known the pressure of family ties. Divorce was a word that would never be uttered in an Uchiha household and he was prepared to destroy this spark before his parents found out. They would certainly frown upon the events that had been going on the last several months. Last Sunday's outburst was enough damage and he would have to contain everything from here on out.

* * *

Sakura was once again in her attorneys office. Her mood no better than that of the two days prior when Sasuke had adamantly stated that he would in no terms give her her wanted divorce. Dressed to look nice, she didn't feel it. Her head pounded and her stomach seemed to churn inside of her. She had been sick the last few mornings and she fully blamed it on the stress that was mounting inside of her.

Apparently Sasuke had written a formal letter to her letter, informing them both that no divorce papers would be signed and that this marriage would still be active. She had fumed when she had read the letter. No remorse or consideration of her or Seto within it. Sawa had been looking over the multi page letter, which was uncommon for Sasuke to write, Sakura knew. Slumping in the chair she watched as Sawa read though the letter carefully.

"I must say Sakura-san, Uchiha-san is very thorough in making sure that no divorce will be issued and that the marriage remain valid, and from his point of view I can certainly see why. The Uchiha Clan is a very revered family, no one has ever contested a marriage and this is the first time the word divorce would be ever mentioned." Sawa informed her.

"I get that." She snarled at the man. "But there is nothing in that letter that will be beneficial to either me or him. All he wants to do is save his families reputation. Though I married into the clan I have always held marriage as a very permanent bond, however I cannot and will not live like a discarded toy for any longer. There must be other grounds that we can file for divorce. Abandonment for one. Can we try for a separation, isn't that how most divorces start?" Her nauseous stomach made her quiet down after her initial outburst.

"We can certainly try Sakura-san. I'm not sure how warm of a reception we will get on those grounds though. Uchiha-san is determined to make the marriage stick and that nothing is to be leaked to the press or there will be a suit against me for slander. You've both put me in a very tight spot." Sawa spoke to her, looking directly at her.

"Find something then. I can't take this anymore." Sakura stood up, letting the slight faintness roll off her before she exited the room. She was tired of this. All she wanted was her baby boy and a fresh start. Unfortunately she had to request more time off work and was now afraid of losing the position, but before she could work again she needed to make sure her personal life was settled.

Driving to her parent's house she was welcome by her boy running up to her and wrapping his small around her neck once she had picked him up. Her mother was watching from the doorway. Once inside the house, the boy squirmed until he was set down before running off to another room. Following her mother into the kitchen she seated herself at a bar stool and waited for a cool glass of ice tea to be slid in front of her. Her mother standing across from her just stood there until she was ready to talk.

"Sasuke didn't take the divorce papers well. He's made it almost impossible to get one. He infuriates me so much Mom. I just don't know what to do now." she sighed feeling defeated.

"He's hurting too I'm sure. You've wounded his pride by filing for divorce."

"Well he's been hurting me for months, but does he care. Not a chance." Sakura spoke up against her mother, earning a pointed look.

"Sakura, ease up a little on him. You're both hurting and you're both confused and right now all you want to do is strangle the other. Marriage is something that needs to be nurtured..."

"And I've been trying, he's the one that's given up and yet he doesn't want to let us just both be happy again."

"Sakura, stop interrupting. It's rude." Her mother scolded her. "You're marriage has hit a rough patch, every marriage does but its how you make it out of the rough patch that matters. Even in a marriage you both grow and maybe you haven't grown together or towards the same things, but you _need_ to find that common ground and start building together again. It's not going to help Seto in the years to come if his parents are mean and hateful towards each other and going in two different directions. Try and find something now that you can both start working on together." Sakura just nodded at her words, but the question now was what? They hadn't done anything together in months, except make love on two separate occasions and that certainly wasn't helping them.

"Invite him over to dinner one night and just try and talk." the older woman counseled. "or go out to dinner, or go to the department and say hello to him. He's hurting just like you are and we both know he's too stubborn to admit it and make a first move." the smile was little but it helped Sakura's spirits a little. "And if you want while you and Sasuke try and figure things out Seto can stay here with Grandma and make cookies and learn to draw." Sakura just bobbed her head in agreement, maybe a little hello would go a long way with Sasuke.

* * *

"This is the third time in less than three weeks. I must say this guy is getting a bit too hungry for burglary and death." Itachi mused as he scanned yet another scene.

"His motivation has shot up with the press attention." Shikamaru explained. "He knows that he's going to get attention and he thrives on it. He doesn't want to let go. He likes control but also adrenaline." Shaking his brown hair he tore his eyes from the scene. This one was certainly more gruesome than the last two. The poor woman that had been home had been stabbed severely and there were potential signs of assault before death.

"Well I don't care, but he's pissing me off." their blonde haired companion grunted. "Innocent woman are dying because a guy can't keep his adrenaline rush to normal things." He hated just thinking of something happening to Hinata. He had upped his own home security since the deaths had started.

"What do you say Sasuke?" Shikamaru asked the now other Uchiha that had made his presence known.

"This is not random anymore. He's specifically targeting different subdivisions but there has to be something that is connecting them all together. I want information on all women and acquaintances immediately. Something is linking them together and I want to know what." He took in the scene. The blood red color was getting getting more permanent it seemed in his vision. Inside he felt a twinge of uncertainty for Sakura, living by herself with Seto. This suspect meant business now and Sasuke was going to give him hell back. His city wasn't some playground for a murderer to play around in and tease his Department.

"This is _the _top case. Get every available man working on this case. I want it closed and soon.

* * *

**Bam! hope that was good. feel a little off with the sasuke being mad, but i see him being a more silent angry mad than doing a lot of yelling. hope you liked it though! And haha i threw a hint of another subplot arising! anyone catch it ;)**

**PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW! I WILL LOVE YOU IF YOU, and will love you regardless because you read my story and that deserves some love in itself! but PLEASE DO!**

**yoyo**


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