Hello, how are you? Good, i hope. I'm doing okay myself, can't really complain.
So, look, a oneshot! I had started writing this at the beginning of March with the intention of posting it for Sakura's birthday but i got busy and it turned out longer than i had thought it was going to be. So today i sat down and spent a good part of the day trying to finish this. And ta da! Done.
The inspiration for this oneshot: too many hours watching Grey's Anatomy.
Please enjoy.
The door slammed open suddenly and I turned my head to see my blonde friend rush through. She exhaled in a huff, looking positively wild, and quickly rushed to her locker. Placing her coffee cup on the bench in the middle of the aisle of lockers and throwing her two bags onto the ground, started on the combination lock. She messed up in her hurry and had to start over. I chuckled from my sitting position on the bench and continued to tie my shoe.
She glared harshly at me. "Shut up!" she snapped as she pulled her locker door open roughly.
I shook my head lightly. "Ino, I told you to go home when I did, but you decided to stay in that bar until the wee hours of the morning. Now as a result, you are tired and late. You're never going to make it in this program if you continue on like this," I lectured.
She rolled her eyes and mumbled to herself as she stripped herself of her clothes and pulled out her scrubs. I stood up and slammed my own locker closed before stealing a large swig of her coffee. She gave me a disapproving look as she tried to change quickly and I just smiled at her. "I'll cover for you," I said as I started towards the door.
She stopped what she was going, half-way in her shirt, and turned to face me with a grateful expression on her face. "Thank you so much, Sakura!"
I just waved it off and then stepped put into the hall. I turned and looked at her with a smile. "No problem. We interns have to stick together," I said before I let the door closed and I headed to the nurses station where the other interns were waiting.
I am a surgical intern at Konoha Grace Hospital. I, like many others, have entered the program here because this is one of the best hospitals in the country that offers the intern program. In this program, a group of interns are assigned a resident, or a person who has received their medical degree and practice under the supervision of the fully licensed physicians, and the resident teaches them until they are able to move on to earn their medical degree and becomes residents themselves. This program is extremely difficult. Only the best make it and the rest fall out or are destroyed, especially for the surgical unit. The surgical unit is possibly the hardest unit to go into.
Being an intern basically means we are the grunts of the hospital. We are worked to the bone and we have to listen to everything our resident says. And as luck would have it, Ino and I happen to have the hardest resident in the entire building.
I leaned against the nurse's station desk between my two friends and fellow interns. "Good morning, Hinata, Tenten." Tenten waved while she yawned in response.
"Good morning, Sakura. I saw Ino run by easier, is she late again?" Hinata said as she adjusted her pager on her hip. It's mandatory for all doctors to have their pagers on them at all times in case they are needed for anything.
I rolled my eyes and then looked around the busy hospital, looking for our resident. He's a beast and so us interns have nicknamed him Dr. Beast, or just plain odd the Beast, behind his back. "Yup, she stayed out late at the bar last night."
Hinata shook her head calmly and then straightened her position. I looked to my right to see Dr. Beast coming down the stairs in a rush. He walked right passed us, only vaguely gesturing for us to follow him. It was at times like these that I'm glad that I always stayed fit because chasing him around the hospital would be torture if I wasn't.
He yelled an explanation while he ran towards the pit. "We are going to have a busy day. There was a major pile-up on the highway this morning involving several cars and a semi. Ambulances are on their way here now."
We suited up quickly and waited for the rush to come in. Luckily, before he could notice that Ino wasn't present she slipped in, completely ready. I quietly leaned over and informed her of the accident on the highway. She smiled. "Big accidents mean big surgeries."
"You are going to hell," I stated as the first blazing ambulance pulled up.
The doors where opened quickly and the EMT's began moving the patient out of the car. The patient was a very handsome man, looking to be somewhere in his twenties. The EMT immediately began filling in the Beast on the condition of the man. "A twenty-something year old male involved in car accident. Several broken ribs, broken leg, a puncture wound in his abdomen, possible head injury and possible internally bleeding. His left arm, the humerus, seems to be broken, possibly shattered. He has continual bleeding from a large gash on his back, possible collapsed lung and a possible dislocated shoulder. He is semi-conscious and has been given 5 cc's of morphine."
The handsome man blinked, trying to fight the haze of pain he was in, at the EMT. "Yeah, and it's definitely not enough," he stated as they started to move him into the hospital. I eyed him, seeing a calm face though I could tell he was in some serious pain.
Ino eyed him as well. She smiled and raised her hand eagerly. "Please, can I get him!?" she asked the Beast.
He glanced at her. "No. Don't think I didn't notice that you were late," he then turned and looked at me, Tenten, and Hinata. Finally he gestured to me. "Haruno, you cover this one."
I nodded and rushed to the man's side. "Yes sir."
He was taken to the emergency room and I really looked at him. His leg seemed to be sitting at an abnormal angle and then was intense bruising along his left side, probably from internal bleeding. The puncture wound was actually a very large piece of metal that had somehow become lodged into his abdomen. One look at this and I knew he was going to need surgery to remove it or else he would bleed out. I glanced up at his calm face, wondering how he was still conscious. Maybe he was in shock or something.
The beast was at my side in a moment and he glanced over the patient and came to the same conclusion as me. "He's going to need surgery," he said and then turned to a nurse. "Go clear a OR. We need to get him in there right away."
"Haruno, what needs to be done?" The beast asked. As an intern, it is our job to know what to do in every situation. The residents and attending physicians will question us frequently to test us.
"We'll need to surgically remove the piece of metal and look into the shattered bones, set his bones, and then have an MRI scan for any head injuries. Also, we have to worry about internal bleeding."
"Good. Scrub in," he said. I nodded, inwardly celebrating the fact that I get to assist in surgery today. The more I am able to scrub in, the more I learn and the better I get.
"Well, this is bound to be an interesting day," I heard being muttered. I turned to see that it was the handsome patient that had spoken.
"What's your name?"
He looked at me calmly, though seemed to need to take a moment to organize his thoughts; he was still only semi-conscious. "Sasuke Uchiha."
"Sasuke Uchiha," I repeated. "Well, Mr. Uchiha, my name is Dr. Haruno and I will be your doctor. You have my promise that I will do everything in my power to help you."
xOx
Several hours later, I sat down on the bench in the locker room. My patient was stable now. He had started to bleed out during the surgery and we had a few scary moments following that. It was also discovered that he did have some internal bleeding, but the Chief of Surgery, the big dog of the surgical unit, Tsunade was brought in and was able to get all bleeding under control. His bones have been set- his arm needing a medal rod and many screws to set it back into place- and he has a minor concussion but is being treated for that. Overall, he is now resting in the ICU.
Ino entered the room with Tenten and Hinata right after her. Ino glared at me halfheartedly. "I heard you got to scrub in today."
I nodded, exhausted. "Yup. He had a large piece of metal jammed into his stomach and we had to go in and get it out. He started bleeding out and the Chief of Surgery had to come in and had to drain his lung after it collapsed and started filling with blood. He is now resting with a minor concussion and a large cast on his leg- which happened to be broken in three places- his ribs all wrapped up, many stitches, and a metal rod and fourteen screws in his arm."
Ino plopped down next to me and pouted, complaining about how she wanted him. Tenten laughed. "That's not the only way you wanted him."
Ino laughed too and I looked at them in confusion while Hinata rolled her eyes. Ino laid down on the bench. "He was hot!"
I rolled my eyes. Ino is kind of boy crazy. One of the reasons she was late this morning- or was it yesterday morning? I can't remember. The days seem to run into each other while I work- was because there was a cute guy at the bar last night. He hadn't approached because we were sitting in a group of four girls and the guy seemed scared to come up to us. So when we left, Ino stayed to try and get the guy at the bar. She came home alone, to the large house the four of us share, so I guess it didn't work out like she had planned.
I pulled my scrubs over my head and pulled my shirt out of my locker. My body felt sluggish from a long shift but I continued moving, ignoring it. Once my red shirt was in its rightful place, and stood and stripped the rest of my scrubs and pulled on my jeans. The girls chatted idly while they too changed, talking of heading to the pool house across the street. We go there after work often for food, drinks, pool and darts.
They finished getting dressed before me. The walked to the door and stopped, waiting for me. "Come on, forehead," Ino complained.
"Just go ahead. I'll be right behind you," I said, waving them off. They nodded, telling me to hurry, and then left.
I finished tying my shoe and grabbed my bag from my locker. I stifled a yawn and closed my locker and headed for the door. People greeted me as I walked by, wishing me a good night. I stopped at the nurses station to say goodnight to Shizune, the head nurse.
She wished me a good night and then walked way, going to go file a few files before she could leave herself. I watched her go before I noticed she left a patients folder sitting on the desk. I grabbed it quickly and called out her name but she was already gone. I sighed and then glanced down at the folder, seeing 'Uchiha, Sasuke' printed across it.
I stared at it and then opened the folder to review the charts. His vitals were the same as when I had last seen him. I looked up, and chewed on my lip while I tried to fight the strange urge to go check up on him. After another moment, I sighed and tucked the folder under my arm and fixed my bag's strap on my shoulder as I started towards the ICU.
He was still asleep when I entered. I studied the chart by his bed, it being the same as the one in the folder. I then studied the various machines he was hooked up to. All was as good as can be expected. I studied the folder again. He didn't have any sort of contact information written down and we knew very little of his medical history.
I studied his sleeping face. He was very handsome. He had dark raven hair and pale skin. Said skin was currently covered in many bruises but he was cleaned up as much as he possibly could. His eyes, I remembered, were a dark onyx that contrasted deeply from my emerald eyes. He was tall, reached six two, and lean and muscled. He was in perfect health, excluding the injuries he obtained in the accident.
I sighed and sat down in the chair by the wall and stared at his sleeping form. I've seen it few times since I've been here. People leave their house thinking it's a normal day and then they end up in the hospital. But usually family come down right way. But he was completely alone and we had no way of contacting anyone.
I slouched in the chair and set my bag down. I starting rereading the folder again, even though I knew I wouldn't find any difference in it.
xOx
Something nudged me and I jolted awake. I sat up quickly and looked away, seeing I was still in the hospital. The Beast stared down at me with narrowed eyes and a raised eyebrow. "What are you doing here?"
I glanced around and rubbed the sleep from my eyes. Sasuke still slept in the bed but there was morning light pouring through the window. I blinked and looked down to see the folder still in my hand and I was still dressed. I stood up quickly and tried to smooth out my wrinkled clothes. "Sorry sir, I came to check on our patient before I left for the night. I was tired so I sat down while I reviewed the charts. I must have fallen asleep."
He rolled his eyes and gently took the chart from my hands. He compared it to the current chart hanging my the bed that was updated. His eyes scanned the machines and the charts. "He's improved some. He should wake up sometime today," he told me before closing the folder and handing it back to me. I stood and compared the charts myself. He did improve a little. I tried to stifle the overwhelming happiness I felt because of this.
The beast examined me for a moment before speaking. "Go get dressed. You are early for your shift but there is no sense in going home when you have to be back here in a half hour. You can do pre-rounds."
I nodded and ran off, knowing not to question him. I met Shizune at the nurses station before going to the locker room. "Hey Shizune, can you try and find my patient's medical history and contact information. His name is Uchiha Sasuke," I said, handing her the folder.
She nodded, glancing over the name quickly. "Yeah sure, I'll try and see if I can hurt it down," she said and then examined me. "You're here early."
I nodded, quickly spewing out something about loving the hospital. I already work extremely long shifts and barely have a life outside the hospital. I don't want people knowing that I slept here and think I'm a weird, homeless intern. I rushed to the locker room before she could question me any more.
I dressed quickly and started on the pre-rounds, waking up patients and doing the required check-ups before the official rounds with the beast. After about forty five minutes, I met up with the rest of the interns in my team for the rounds. The girls eyed me, demanding answers, but waited until the beast left to grill me.
"Where were you? You never made it to the pool house and than never made it home," Tenten said before getting interrupted by Ino.
"Did you met a guy on the way and get lucky or something?" Ino asked, biting into an apple and skimming over a patients folder as we stood at the nurses station. We all eyed Ino incredulously and she looked up innocently. "What?"
We ignored her and I calmly explained. "I stopped to check on a patient before I left and fell asleep. Sorry guys."
Before they could say anything or question me farther, Shizune called me. She ran running over with a large file in her hand. "Good, I found you. I was about to page to," she said and then handed me the large folder. "I found the medical history of your patient. They were all from Otogakure hospitals except the reports from when he was really little."
I smiled, opening the folder. "You are amazing, Shizune!" I said and then started leafing through the reports from different occasions. I frowned. "Wow, he has a lot in here."
Shizune nodded. "Oh yeah, he's no stranger to hospitals. Especially the ER."
"Multiple fractions, internal bleeding, broken bones, stitches, multiple surgeries. What has this guy been doing!?" I asked out loud and the girls quickly crowded around me to read the files too.
"Man, you would think this guy was abused or something? How big is this guy?" Tenten said, looking at me.
"He's pretty big. Really tall and lean and pretty muscled."
"Are you talking about that Uchiha guy?" a voice said and we looked up to see one of the scrub nurses standing there. She was sipping her coffee calmly and I recognized her face but not her name. I nodded wordlessly.
She nodded. "That would make more sense then. I was one of the ones that prepped him for surgery. His entire body is riddled in scars, some pretty nasty ones too. I had wondered how he got them. Do you mind if I look?" she asked and I handed over the folder. She leafed through it quickly. "Wow, I wonder how such a pretty guy managed all that?" she asked as her pager went off and she had to run off.
I continued reading the reports. "What about contact information?" I asked Shizune.
She frowned. "I found some records with his parents name on it but they both died. He had a brother and a uncle listed but when I looked them up, they had died too. He didn't have any other contacts written down. He has no one from what we can see."
I frowned, feeling extremely bad. I couldn't even begin to wonder what it would be like to be alone. He had no family and we have no way of finding out any friends. My eyes watered slightly and I quickly excused myself. I rushed to the locker room and washed my face, scolding myself for feeling so emotional over a patient.
Ino followed me in and stood in the doorway. "Are you okay? You never get this emotional over nothing."
"I'm fine," I said, wiping down my face with a paper towel.
"Are you pregnant? Maybe it's the hormones." Ino asked, trying to be helpful but I glared at her.
"I'm not pregnant!"
She shrugged. "Yeah, you're right. You have no man and you are way too uptight to just pick a random guy. Hey, maybe you have a tumor or something that is causing the hormone imbalance."
I stared at her incredulously. "Do you think before you speak?" I asked as I pushed past her, wanting to get away from her stupidity.
"What did I say!?" Ino called after me.
xOx
I went about my day for the most part in a normal way. No one was really dying, so that was very good and I had a the chance to check up on Sasuke often. Every time I checked in, he was still asleep but was going good. I took the opportunity to exam him frequently, checking his vitals.
And I couldn't help notice that the scrub nurse was right. Just looking at his arms and legs I could see many scars and after peeking at his torso, I saw the same thing. Most were large and raised. I could see where he had gotten stitches in a few of them and I could see that he still had old stitches in palm of his hand, ready to come out.
I grabbed his file from the nurses station and walked to the ICU. I skimmed over the familiar charts while I entered is room and began another check of the machines. I noted a few changes and then pulled out my stethoscope and gently placed it over his heart. I listened carefully.
"That's cold," I heard in a groggy tone.
I jumped in surprise, pulling away from him quickly and ended banging my head on the monitor of one of the machines. I cursed, clutching my head and I heard a light chuckle.
I looked over and saw that Sasuke was now awake, staring at me in amusement. I blinked in surprise and blushed deeply in embarrassment. "Well, that had to be the most embarrassing and stupid thing I did all day," I said with a small laugh, tucking the hair that fell out of my ponytail behind my ear.
"I won't tell anyone," he said lightly with this amazing crooked smile on his face.
Aware that my face was still bright red, I smiled. "Well, I appreciate that. I don't usually freak out like that and it would ruin my reputation if it got out." I joked lightly, stepping forward again and pulling out my stethoscope again. "It's a little cold," I muttered as I pressed it back into its pervious position and continued the examination.
"It will be our secret," he said in a velvety smooth voice.
I flashed him a smile. "So, how are you feeling?" I asked, writing a few notes.
He took a deep breath and seemed to think it over. "Tired but the pain isn't bad. Morphine?"
I nodded, looked up from my notes. "Yes. We gave you a little to keep you comfortable. You broke your leg in three places, broke several ribs, dislocated your left shoulder and broke your arm pretty badly. We placed a metal rob and fourteen screws in your arm to fix it. You had what we call hemopneumothroax, which means your lung collapsed due to the trauma and began to fill with blood. We drained your lung and it is now functioning normally. You suffered some internal bleeding but we were able to control it and repair the damage. In addition to that, you had a puncture wound in your abdomen and a large gash on your back. Both have been treated and stitches up. Also, you suffered a minor concussion, which we have been treated for. Any questions?"
He was silent for a long moment, seeming to think through everything that he was just told. "Was there anything intact when I came in?"
I laughed. "Is there anyone that we could contact?"
He nodded. "Yeah, my roommate. He is probably worried," he said before reciting the number. I had just finished copying down the number when my pager went off. I glanced down at it, I turned back to Sasuke. "Well if you need anything, tell a nurse. They will page me if you need me," I said, walking towards the door.
"Wait," he called and I stopped, waiting for him to speak. He stared back calmly. "I remember your face from when they brought me in but not your name."
I blushed, feeling stupid. "Oh, sorry. It's Dr. Haruno, Dr. Sakura Haruno."
He smirked. "Sakura, it fits you," he said and I couldn't help but blush.
xOx
I made sure to call his roommate myself. He hadn't picked up so I left a message on the voicemail. The number he had given me, I soon realized, was their home phone. His roommate, a man by the name of Naruto, had loudly exclaimed that he and Sasuke weren't there and to leave a message. Except the man must have forgotten he was still recording because the message continues, filled with him shouting at 'Teme' before the beep sounded.
Hours later, almost towards the end of my shift, I stopped by his room again. Sasuke was resting and there was a blonde male sitting by his bed. I walked in and he looked up before standing up quickly. "Hello, I'm Naruto, his roommate and best friend," he said, speaking loudly and very quickly.
I glanced at Sasuke to see if he was awoken by the blonde but he was still out cold. I reached out and shook his hand. "I'm Dr. Haruno. I assure you your friend is doing well. He suffered a lot of injuries but he has been treated for them and now is just recovering," I explained.
Relief washed over his face. "Oh, thank god. I was so worried."
I smiled, and explained that I was going to do a quick check up. He nodded and I went about my business.
There was a calm silence while I worked. Naruto seemed to be deep in thought and I didn't wan to disturb him. I worked silently, seeing improved health. He was healing well and very quickly.
"He's not a bad guy," Naruto said suddenly. I looked up at him, surprised. He looked back at me with big blue eyes. "He's not a bad guy at all."
I blinked. "He seems like a nice guy. He was teasing me earlier." He seemed surprised by this but didn't say anything, instead getting lost in thought again. It was a long moment, as I finishing up, before he spoke again.
"We have been best friends for a long time," he paused and I listened calmly. "We met when we were little, only like five or something and became friends quickly. But Sasuke never caught a lot of breaks. His parents died when he was seven. A house fire while he and his brother, Itachi, were at school.
"He had to move to Otogakure where his uncle lived. We kept in touch, writing letters and calling each other when even we got the chance. But his uncle died of lung cancer when he was fifteen. His brother was five years older than him so he was able to take care of him. But money was short so Sasuke starting looking for ways to get money and help his brother.
"He started street fighting at sixteen. People would met in old warehouses, in cellars, behind buildings, anywhere really, to watch and bet on fights. If you won, you got the money, if you didn't, you had to find another way to pay for your hospital bills. And Sasuke was good; soon he was making enough that he would have some left even after paying for his own hospital bills.
"But six years ago his older died from an aortic aneurysm or some other complicating sounding thing; I don't know, Sasuke told me but it didn't stick. Anyways, he tried taking care of himself but he just couldn't pay the rent. He was pushing himself in the street fights and winding up in the hospital more often, making the bills pile up. After awhile he just stopped going to the hospital.
"He was in debt but was too messed up to get a real job or continue fighting. He didn't tell me he was in trouble until I went down to visit him last year. I got him into the hospital, helped him with is debt and then moved him out here. He got a job as a bartender at our friends restaurant. It's a pity job, we all know, but he's good at it and he draws more woman to the bar so our friend, Choji, is happy.
"Sasuke is a great guy who went down the wrong path while trying to help his brother. He pays his half of the rent and has been repaying me in installments for awhile now even I insist he doesn't need to. He has a lot of pride and is a little rough around the edges but that's because he's been on the streets for so long. He's a good guy, though he has a problem with following rules sometimes. He's not a bad guy at all." he muttered, his bright blue eyes filling with tears.
I glanced at Sasuke's sleeping form. The story explained how he got all those scars. I glanced back at Naruto, wondering why he would think I thought Sasuke was a bad guy. He seemed like a charming man from what I've seen.
Naruto wiped his eyes. "I hadn't even realized he was gone. I don't usually see him during the day because I work but we always hang out whenever he gets off from work or when we are have days off. Yesterday I went to work and then met some friends at a nice restaurant for our friend Neji's birthday. Sasuke hadn't shown up and I was mad, thinking he skipped out on another party. Sasuke isn't the most sociable person, kind of shy sometimes and doesn't easily open up or trust people. I usually have to drag him out of the house if they guys want to go out.
"So I drank because I was mad that he would skip out on our friend's twenty sixth birthday. I got so drunk that I had to stay over at Neji's apartment. Neji called and left a message on the answering machine for Sasuke to tell him that I wasn't coming home. When I woke up, I was still pissed and hung-over and I had to work.
"I finally get off work after a hard day and got home with every intention of beating the crap out of Sasuke and I find the apartment empty. So of course I was even madder because I couldn't vent my anger and I automatically assumed that he was avoiding me because he knew I would be mad. So I took a shower and cooked dinner and then finally noticed that we had several messages. One from Neji last night, one from Choji asking where Sasuke was because he never showed up for work, another from a old fling of mine and then the last from the hospital saying that Sasuke was in an accident.
"And then I just felt horrible. Here I was, mentally preparing to beat the crap out of him for missing a dumb party and he was lying in the hospital!" He exclaimed. I gently put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "He laughed. "And people say that Sasuke is a bad guy, with his past, but it's really me who is a bad guy!"
I shook my head. "You aren't a bad guy. You didn't know. It sounds like you were living a normal day, and that you two are close. How were you supposed to know that something like this would happen? You seem like a nice guy, Naruto."
Naruto was silent for a moment and then wiped away more tears. "I'm not usually like this. Usually I'm pretty loud and obnoxious. I'm pretty much the opposite of Sasuke. It's pretty comical how we are so different yet so close. I'm the only one Sasuke has left and he feels more like family than my adopted family ever felt."
I smiled, glancing back at Sasuke. "He seems to be in good hands then."
Naruto smiled brightly.
xOx
I woke up early the next morning and quickly got into the bathroom. With four girls living in the same house with one bathroom, you have to be quick if you want to shower first. The thing is, no one really locks the door so one person will be in the shower and at least two others are brushing their teeth or something else in there. We don't really care. Sometimes if we are hiding from one another, we go into the bathroom and then someone else will take refuge in there too. We have a pretty relaxed household.
I got out before anyone woke up and did my hair with extra care. I took the time to curl by hair and applied some light makeup, something I usually don't do. I didn't bother dressing with care, because I was just going to change into my scrubs. By the time I was ready, the girls were just getting up.
"Oh, you look nice. Any special occasion?" Hinata asked.
I shook my head. "No, I just felt like curling my hair. I had the time so I thought why not. I'm in just one of those moods," I explained lightly. Hinata accepted this but Ino didn't.
"Oh yeah right, you have crush on that hot patient and you are hoping to woo him with your sexy hair and dazzling eyes."
I rolled my eyes. "Ino, I'm not boy crazy like you and I don't have a crush on a patient," I drawled out. "And are my eyes really dazzling?" I added as an afterthought.
Tenten answered me. "Oh, yeah. They really sparkle," she said, sipping on coffee.
Ino ignored us and returned to the former conversation. "Please, I have a crush on that guy and I don't even have him as a patient."
I rolled my eyes and collected by bag and car keys. "I think I'm going to go do some pre-rounds. I'll see you guys in a little," I said, ignoring Ino.
Instead if going straight to the locker room, I went to Sasuke's room first. He was already awake, his room back except the small TV in the corner of the room. I poked my head in, seeing he was watching infomercials. I smiled. "Knock, knock," I said getting his attention.
He smiled the same crooked smile from yesterday and gestured for me to come in. I stepped forward, sitting in the chair next to his bed. He looked at me, examining me and I blushed. Thankfully it was dark in the room so I don't think he noticed. "What are you doing up at this time?" I asked lightly and conversationally.
He shrugged. "The nurse woke me up. She said she just wanted to know if I wanted a sleeping pill but I think she just wanted to torture me."
I raised an eyebrow at him. "Oh and why is that?"
"Why else would a person wake up another to ask if they wanted a sleeping pill. Obviously I was doing fine without one."
I laughed. "Maybe she just wanted an excuse to talk to you. Maybe has a really big crush on you," I joked lightly.
He grimaced. "I think I'm going to go with her being sadistic instead. It will give me better peace of mind."
I laughed and he chuckled. We slipped into an easy conversation and I found myself laughing a lot. I told him that I had met his roommate and we talked about Naruto a little. Sasuke informed me that the blonde was going to crash in the chair next to him but Sasuke had insisted that he went home to rest. He had to work in the morning but he promised to be down during his break and then after work. Sasuke insisted that he didn't have to but Naruto wouldn't budge.
"He's stubborn. It was hard enough to convince him to leave that I knew there was no point in arguing any farther," Sasuke said, switching off the TV since he wasn't paying attention anymore.
But before I could respond there was a large thump on the wall. The current room that we were in is built so that three walls are normal while the four wall, the one with the door that leads into the hallway, has very large windows and blinds for privacy. The blinds were currently up and Ino had smashed her face up against the window, puffing out her cheeks and licking the glass like a two year old.
Sasuke eyed her strangely and I looked down, placing my hand over my eyes in embarrassment. "Oh my god," I muttered.
"Who's that?" Sasuke asked in obvious confusion.
"That idiot is my blonde best friend. We live together and work together here," I explained and then waved my hand at her, shooing her away. She smiled, blowing at kiss to me and then tapped her wrist where a watch would be.
"My condolences. I know how hard it is to have a crazy blonde for a best friend," Sasuke muttered, staring at her still.
I nodded to Ino and she left with a knowing smile on her face. I glanced at the clock in the room and saw that I only had five minutes to get dressed for the rounds. I stood and grabbed my bag from off the floor. Sasuke looked at him, seeming to know I was going to have to leave him now.
I stretched and smiled at him. "Well, it looks like it's time for me to get to work. I don't want to be late. I'll come and check up on you in a little bit." he nodded in response and wished me a good day at work before I left, walking calmly until I was out of his line of view and then took off running to the locker room.
I burst in and quickly went to my locker. Ino pulled on his lab coat, and smiled at me. "What happened to the pre-rounds?"
"Shut up, Ino. I don't have time to argue with you," I said, pulling off my jeans quickly and then my shirt. I pulled on the blue scrub pants and stuffed the pager, notepad, pocketbook, little flashlight and pencil into the pocket. In a rush, I slammed my locker closed but cursed when I realized I didn't put on my shirt of shoes. The girls laughed as I reopened my locker and finished getting ready.
Ino continued to mock me every chance she got and I soon found myself trying to avoid the blonde. In fact, the girls and I always go down to the cafeteria and eat lunch together. Instead, I grabbed a salad and was standing at the nurses station eating and looking over a folder when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned, seeing blonde and inwardly grimaced, thinking it was Ino, until realized it was Naruto. He smiled. "Are you busy?"
I blinked and swallowed the lettuce I was chewing on. "Um . . , no, I was just taking my lunch break. Why? Do you need something?"
He shook his head and I noticed he was holding a tray of food from the cafeteria downstairs. "Nah, I was just going to go eat lunch with Sasuke and I was wondering if you wanted to join us."
I blinked, quickly thinking it over. Doctors weren't supposed to form relationships with patients, not wanting to cloud out judgment, but it was just lunch. Plus, the girls and I eat lunch in a room with this old man in there all the time. He sleeps all day and never waked up no matter how much noise we make. Sometimes when we want to get away from those in the hospital, we go there. No one disturbs us.
I smiled. "Sure, if you guys don't mind having me there."
Naruto waved his hand dismissively, like they would never mind me hanging around. It was a small gesture but it made me feel good. I closed the folder I was looking at and reached over to put it back in it's place, before grabbing my salad and heading over to Sasuke's room.
"Look who I found," Naruto announced when we walked in. Sasuke looked up from his own meal, not looking to surprised to see me. He smiled that crooked smile in greeting and Naruto explained how he found me at the nurses station eating alone. I blushed, feeling like a loser or something because of the way he said it.
Naruto seated himself in the chair to Sasuke left while I settled myself in a chair to his right. It was a little awkward at first but then the air seemed to relax and I found myself enjoying their company. They bickered a lot, noticed, but mostly in a comical way. I found myself laughing a lot.
And I learned something new about Sasuke; he loved tomatoes. I was eating my salad, pushing the cherry tomatoes to the side. He eyed me. "Do you not like tomatoes?"
I blinked in surprise at first and then glanced down at my plastic bowl. I shrugged. "They are okay but I just don't feel like eating them today."
Naruto laughed. "Sasuke has a huge thing for tomatoes. It's pretty weird actually," the blonde teased.
Sasuke scowled at him half-hardy. "Shut up, Dobe. It's healthier than your ramen obsession."
I stood, drawing the attention to me and then pushed my tomatoes onto Sasuke's plate. He blinked in surprise and then smiled the crooked smile at me. His eyes met mine and I got trapped in his gaze. His beautiful dark eyes held a strange look in them, one I couldn't read. But I continued to stare, trying to unravel the mystery in his eyes.
Naruto dropped his lid and we both looked away to look at the blonde. He was a messy eater, I noticed. The blonde picked it up calmly but gave us both a knowing look, one similar to the one Ino gave me, before he continued eating.
I also learned another thing about Sasuke that Naruto had already mentioned before; Sasuke has a thing about not following rules. He often got himself in trouble at work, or out in public because he always broke rules. He had a habit of doing his own thing, Naruto explained, and then getting in trouble when he breaks a rule in the process of going his own thing. Sasuke scowled at Naruto and defended himself the best he could, and I found myself laughing when Naruto started mentioned specific stories. Naruto even joked that Sasuke probably wound up in the hospital when he was going his own thing on the road. Sasuke protested, but didn't deny it either.
The rest of lunch progressed easily and I was very inwardly disappointed when it was over. I gathered my trash and excused myself, telling them I would see them later. When I exited the room, I noticed the girls standing at the snack and coffee cart across the hall, staring at me. I blushed, and threw away my trash before I joined them, grabbing a cup of coffee. I ignored their knowing stares.
"Don't you say a word," I muttered to them calmly, not looking at them.
"What ever do you mean?" Tenten teased.
"Does it have something to do with how much you like that guy?" Ino asked innocently.
I scowled at them. "Shut up."
I glanced over at Sasuke's room, seeing Naruto leaving. He had to get back to work, I remembered. I stared at Sasuke, sitting in the bed with a bored expression on his face. I think he really enjoyed when Naruto visited, though I doubt he was willing to admit it. He looked so bored now, sitting alone in his room.
The day progressed easily but slowly. Naruto returned after work like he had promised and I stopped in to say hello and do a check up, in which he teased me to watch my head, and then again before I left. Naruto laughed, looking at the time and exclaimed that he didn't think I ever went home. I blushed, sheepishly rubbing the back of my head.
The visit wasn't long and as I was walking out the door, the girls waiting for me in hallway, Sasuke called me. "Hey, Sakura," he said, and I stopped, seeing him hesitant for a moment. He glanced at Naruto quickly and then looked back at me. "I like your hair that way. I like it down," he muttered quietly.
I blushed, lightly fingering it. "Thank you, that means a lot," I said before wishing him a goodnight.
I turned and started walking out, but not before hearing Naruto speak in his loud voice. "Wow, you are on a first name basis with your doctor."
xOx
I woke early again and got ready quickly. I didn't curl my hair today, but I left it down instead of the ponytail I usually pull it into. Again I did light makeup and this time even dressed with care. I put on a pair of dark jeans that made my butt look good and a shirt that showed off my curves but didn't make me look like I was trying to hard. It was pretty casual but nice looking. I even decided to wear heels today.
The girls teased me again and I left after taking a little abuse from them. Again, Sasuke was awake so I joined him in his room. As soon as I entered, he turned off the TV and an easy conversation started and I found myself flirting with him and he flirting back.
We soon developed a routine. I would wake up early and head over to the hospital. He would be awake and we would talk and flirt until I had to go to work. During the day, I would visit him often under the pretense of giving him a check up. We had lunch together, usually with Naruto but sometimes alone when the blonde couldn't make it. Once or twice, the girls had joined me in the room, meeting Sasuke and then saying that they approved of him, much to my embarrassment. Then I would always visit him before I left for the day. And when he got stronger, I took him for walks around the hospital, letting him stretch his legs.
One day, after a long day of the beast picking on me, I stopped into his room. He was looking so much better. He was stronger now and healing perfectly. His stay there was drawing to a close, I knew and yet I found myself hoping he would never leave me.
I sighed and plopped down into the chair next to his bed, scooting it closer. He eyed me. "You okay?"
I nodded. "Yeah, just tired. I had a hard day. My boss was picking on me all day. I swear, he's is PMSing or something," I muttered.
"The beast?" he asked. I told him all about my resident and the nickname we had for him. I nodded wordlessly, pulling off my heels and setting them on the ground, wiggling my toes and trying to ease my aching feet.
"Yeah, he stopped in earlier today. He said I could be going home tomorrow," he said softly.
I froze, staring at the sheets on the bed. Irrationally, I felt my world fall apart and my stomach sink. There was a odd choking feeling in my throat and tears swelled up in my eyes. My chest ached and felt like I was breaking. I was going to lose him.
"Sakura?" he called uncertainly but ignored him, lost in my own torment.
I mentally scolded myself. He was my patient. Of course he was going to leave sometime. And it wasn't like he was leaving me, we are nothing to each other. I should be happy for him. He can go home and back to work, and to friends, and Naruto. He could go back to having good food and sleeping through the night instead of being awoken by sadistic nurses. He could have his privacy back, have his life back. I should be happy. Why aren't I happy?
"Sakura, please say something?" he called again and I sniffled.
I looked up at him, wiping my tears way, mentally hating how more fell as soon as I wiped them away. "Is it sick that I'm upset that you are leaving? Am I horrible person for wishing you would stay?"
He stared back, his eyes soft, his expression calm. He said nothing and I sniffled again. Wiping away more tears, new ones replaced them.
"Is it sick that I want you to continue putting your life on hold so that I can see you everyday? I'm such a stupid, horrible, sick, evil person. I should be happy that you are healthy and can return to your life. I should be happy that I was able to help you. I should be happy that-" I ranted before he interrupted me.
He called my name forcibly and I looked up at him, afraid that he was going to be angry with me. Instead, his face was clam and his eyes had that same weird expression that I couldn't figure out. "Shut up," he said in a calm voice.
More tears leaked out of my eyes for a moment. Then everything just started happening so quickly. Suddenly I found myself on my feet and him reaching for me in the same moment as I was throwing myself towards him.
His hand gripped the back of my head, pulling my lips to his. The kiss was unbelievable. I kissed him with all my heart, trying to show him how much I loved him and he kissed me back with equal force, showing me how he felt. I climbed onto the bed, and sat on his lap so they we weren't kissing at an awkward angle. I leaned down on him, my hand running over the numerous scars on his arms while my other hand gripped his right shoulder. His one hand still held my hand, refusing to let go so I couldn't pull back if I wanted to- and believe me, I didn't- while his other was on my hip.
I was dimly aware that I was still crying, some of my tears falling onto his face. But this time, they weren't tears of sadness, they were tears of happiness. We pulled away for air and leaned my forehead against his, his warm breath fanning over my face as he gulped in air, trying to equal out his breathing.
"Doctors aren't supposed to have relationships with patients," I said, my eyes closed as the tears finally stopped flowing.
There was a pause and I opened my eyes to see him smiling that crooked smile. "I was never good at following rules."
I laughed and kissed him again.
Ta Da! Done lol. Random but i thought cute. Maybe? Idk. Review please?