Rasa and Karura hoped for a third healthy child, but complications occurred resulting in their third child being born prematurely. Frustration grows for Rasa upon realizing his youngest isn't normal either, causing a strain on his marriage with Karu...
Rasa's dark eyes peered into the NICU, his big calloused hand pressed against the glass, his nose close to follow, the shocks of auburn strands of hair on one small babe making it clear that tiny thing was his. The auburn haired man leaned in closer, his nose also almost pressing against the glass, the corners of the young man's mouth pressing down into a harsh frown.
Things were different when Temari and Kankuro were born, first off being that no complcations occurred for Karura, but this time his beautiful, sandy haired wife appeared a fragile flower blowing away on the win. Remembering the way Karura looked made his eyes clench shut, a bitter taste coming to Rasa's face, the only thing that seemed more fragile then Karura then in his life being the small child in the NICU. "At least the color has returned to Karura's face, and she's gotten most of her strength back."
Rasa's eyes opened again, remembering that Temari and Kankuro were both born with a fairly nice size to them, and Karura instantly held them after the were born. The two were then dressed in pink and blue clothing respectfully, their rather large diapers making their bottoms look poofy, weirdly enough. This little thing on the other hand was not only engulfed by the diaper instead, but was otherwise unclothed. Wires crisscrossed, and connected to the thing as if it were some kind of robot.
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"Rasa?"
Karura's soft voice broke the silence, and Rasa titled his head to the side, his dark brown eyes taking in her beauty. Circles appeared under her eyes indicating she hadn't quite regained her strength, her sandy hair falling down into her eyes. Yashamaru, her younger brother, pushed her wheelchair, and gave Rasa a weak smile – bags were under his eyes as well. The auburn haired man winced, the memory of finding Karura on the floor of the kitchen rushing through his head.
Brushing the thought aside, Rasa's brown eyes traveled over to the thing in the NICU, and he felt Karura's delicate hand gently take his own. "Gaara is going to be alright, Rasa."
"He looks like he's going to break. He's smaller then my hand. Temari and Kankuro were never that small." The man took a deep breath, his head darting down so that his auburn locks fell into view, Rasa's calloused hand tightening protectively around Karura's. "I couldn't protect them."
"I'm going to go in to see Gaara. Do you wish to come with me?"
The auburn haired man felt his shoulder muscles tense up, the thought of getting closer to that fragile thing sending a shudder down his spine.
Karura squeezed his hand, her voice soft and gentle. "You don't have to. I understand."
Rasa felt a twinge, feeling as if he should do something more, but every thought of holding, or touching the small infant brought up thoughts of Gaara breaking into a million pieces, which only made the guilty feeling feel worse.
