All the Small Things

Disclaimer: Not ours. Bummer.
Summary: Life in the ER is hectic. Lives hang in the balance, tempers rise and emotions abound. Dr. Uchiha and Dr. Uzumaki deal with the tensions at work every day. And then they go home and deal with their own relationship. SasuNaru

Author’s Note: Wow! Thank you guys so much for the wonderful reviews. I’m so happy you liked it. And thank you to everyone who corrected our medical blunders… feel free. I don’t know about Roely, but my ‘medical’ education includes George Clooney, Mc Dreamy, Mc Steamy and an antisocial, pissed off piano player with a limp.
I hope you enjoy Chapter two and know that this has been an interesting chapter… with Roely trying her hardest to be all angsty and me trying my damnest to keep the hearts in my eyes.
Enjoy.
Michele


All the Small Things
Chapter 2

“Come on, sleepy head, time to wake up!”

Naruto dragged a sluggish Sasuke out of bed and the tall man stumbled, almost falling. Naruto held him up by one arm as he pushed his disgruntled lover towards the bathroom. Sasuke yawned and blinked tired eyes, he wasn’t a morning person, which was obvious by the submissive way he let Naruto lead him to the bathroom, something he would normally not do.

Naruto smiled as he gently undressed Sasuke and propped him against the bathroom wall to quickly undress himself. He couldn’t help but give the slumped man an admiring look, running his gaze over the tall, leaned body before he opened the shower door. He loved it when the bastard let Naruto take care of him. He grinned as his lover yawned, trying to lift his hand over his mouth but failing to do so. Naruto held him and Sasuke leaned against him as Naruto reached around and twisted the knob, blasting them both with cold freezing water.

Sasuke jerked up, “FUCK!” He screamed shivering as the water hit his skin. Cold, black eyes glared at Naruto, who chuckled as he adjusted the temperature.

“You’re such a big baby!” He said, reaching for the soap and sponge.

“You do that on purpose, dobe!” Sasuke complained, his teeth still chattering as he moved underneath the flow of now reasonably warm water. Naruto laughed as he lathered the sponge and then began to gently rub it over Sasuke’s back. He loved washing the bastard, running his hands all over him using the excuse of showering. Sasuke had a beautiful back. Well, everything about him was elegant and graceful. He let his other hand wander down to grasp Sasuke’s limp member as he rubbed the sponge in small, sensual circles over the raven’s back.

“Hmm, moron,” Sasuke moaned, shivering now for a whole different reason as desire ran through his body. He turned around quickly surprising Naruto and pressed him face first against the shower wall. Naruto twisted his head and alert, black eyes pierced brilliant blue.

“Do we have time for a little fun?” He asked against the nape of Naruto’s neck, his tongue flicking out to catch the running droplet of water on his shoulder.

Naruto nodded. His hands flat against the wall as Sasuke’s cock pressed against his buttocks. There was always a little time for loving as far as he was concerned. Sasuke smirked against his skin, his hair plastered against the back of his neck.

“Turn around.” He ordered. Naruto eagerly obeyed and wrapped his legs around Sasuke’s waist and his hands around the other’s neck as Sasuke lifted him slightly. Sasuke was not a morning person, but damn if Naruto didn’t love them.

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Naruto presented the plate with flourish and Sasuke just stared down in disbelief. If it wasn’t for the cup of coffee that Naruto had placed in his hands as he had set down, he might have jumped back in fear.

“What the hell is this?”

“Pancakes, bastard.” Naruto said sitting down in front of his own plate.

“Ah huh. I thought pancakes were round.”

“Huh…” Naruto said taking a sip of his coffee and scrutinizing the pancakes, “Who knew?”

Naruto tipped the syrup over his own blobs before leaning over to noisily kiss Sasuke on the lips. He took a couple bites before jumping up, taking his plate with him as he sat at the computer.

Sasuke turned in his seat, “Dobe? What are you doing over there?”

“I need to check my,” He stuffed another bite in his mouth, “e’ail.” Sasuke glared and Naruto swallowed, smiling cheekily, “Sorry. I need to check my email. I sent out several feelers for different benefactors for the hospital and I need to see if anything came through.”

Sasuke’s fingers clenched around his fork and turning his back to the blonde he bit out, “Naruto, you realize that the hospital actually has people on staff, people who went to school for money grubbing as opposed to life saving, to do this.”

Naruto waved his fork absently, a piece of pancake hanging precariously at the tip, “Of course I know that, teme, but there are things I’d like for the hospital… now… not when the paper pushers get around to it.”

Sasuke slammed his fork down. Naruto started and the piece of pancake fell to the floor. “Teme?”

“Dobe, it is not your job! Why do you take this upon yourself?” Sasuke said turning around to face Naruto.

“Because I can! What is your issue with this? Does it hurt you in some way?”

“Yes! No… fuck, Naruto. How often do we have breakfast together?”

Naruto shook his head pushing back from the computer and approached his boyfriend, “Is this about me not spending enough time with you? What was this morning?” Naruto fell to his knees in front of Sasuke pushing his knees apart, “I was right about here and your hands were,” Naruto grabbed Sasuke’s wrists and put them into his still damp golden spikes, “Right about here and you…”

“I know what happened this morning.” Sasuke snapped, fisting Naruto’s hair, tilting his head back. “I want to know why this is so important to you. You obsess about it. Fuck, Naruto, I’ve heard you talk about it in your sleep!” Naruto shook his head, shaking Sasuke’s hands free. “Why, Naruto?”

“Sasuke.” Naruto pushed himself to standing. “I have the time. It’s a hobby. I’m sorry if you feel like it’s taking up ‘your’ time.”

Sasuke ran a hand through his hair making it stand up in every direction but down, “Why don’t you let me in?” He whispered.

“What?” Naruto said from the doorway. Sasuke shook his head and Naruto sighed, “Sasuke… look at me.”

Black eyes met clear blue, “I love you. If I am obsessed with anything it is that.” Naruto gave Sasuke a small smile, “I always have been, bastard. I know that sometimes I don’t open up. I know. I just… I want to help.”

Sasuke finally stood and walked toward the blonde, “You don’t have to do everything. You are a doctor and you are mine. That’s a full time job, dobe.” Sasuke leaned his arm against the door frame above Naruto’s head and bent his head to capture pink, pouting lips.

“Egotistical bastard.” Naruto moaned and run tan hands up Sasuke’s t-shirt covered chest.

“Hn. Do we have time for fun?” Sasuke spoke into Naruto’s mouth, swirling his tongue along Naruto’s lips and teeth.

“Ahhh… S’uke.” Naruto leaned into Sasuke’s chest and then pushed back, shaking his head.

“Naughty!” Naruto said, backing away slowly. “I have to get ready for work, bastard.”

Sasuke reached forward snagging the front of Naruto’s t-shirt. “Idiot, we still have two hours.”

Naruto snapped his hand away, “Yeah, I know, but I need to check on the twins. I have to call Social Services today. They had no one else.”

Naruto turned and walked toward the bedroom. Sasuke didn’t follow. But he did see the light flash and then vanish from his dobe’s eyes when he mentioned the twins and their situation.

How could he know someone… love someone with his whole heart for six years and still feel like he was missing something important?

Sasuke hated feeling helpless.

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Sasuke sat at the table staring at his uneaten breakfast, thinking about what he could do to help his stubborn idiot. It’s not like he didn’t understand Naruto’s concern. He was a doctor who chose to work for a low paying hospital. He had chosen a life that didn’t use his hefty inheritance, taken it upon himself to live in an ordinary apartment using the money he made from the hospital to pay bills and rent. He wasn’t a doctor for the money. He was a doctor because he couldn’t imagine doing anything else. It didn’t matter that his parents were well-know doctors in their fields or that it was nearly a family obligation to pursue medicine.

He was so immersed in his brooding on the subject that he flinched away from Naruto’s lips as the blonde bent down to place a kiss on his cheek.

“Don’t be mad, Sasuke,” Naruto pleaded. Sasuke turned to look at him an apology on his lips but two lips descended on him, kissing him hard.

“I love you,” Naruto said, drawing away reluctantly. “I’ll see you at the hospital later.” A hand was placed on his shoulder and he felt a gentle squeeze. Naruto walked away, closing the door to their apartment softly.

He stood up and walked to the living room, picking up the phone from its cradle. He dialed his parents’ number quickly. “Mother, can I come over?” He asked. After a quick discussion, the phone was placed back gently and Sasuke went to change into more appropriate clothes.

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Eating breakfast with his parents was infinitely different than having breakfast with his dobe. For one thing, the food was always edible. Although after three years of eating Naruto’s food he had come to look at eating as a risky adventure. What’s the fun of eating food you know won’t kill you? Yet, he wouldn’t trade Naruto’s breakfast for the world. At least with Naruto, he could feel loved. His parents ate in stony silence and so he did as well.

He took a deep breath before he began to speak, “I wanted to talk to you about the desperate state of Konoha County Hospital,” he began, looking his father straight in the eyes. Those hard brown eyes looked back in surprise.

“What is this about, Sasuke?” He asked.

Sasuke knew that there was only one way to deal with his father and that was to give him a straight answer. It was something he had learned when he had first brought Naruto to meet them. He had been nervous then, not knowing what their reaction would be to suddenly finding out that their son was gay and in love with a man. After the fiasco with Itachi, who had chosen not to become a doctor, he didn’t know where he stood. But his fears were all for nothing, his father had looked at him with relief in his eyes.

“I don’t care who you decide to take to your bed as long as you become a doctor,” he had said in his usual cold voice.

Since then, he had not been afraid of his father. He had Naruto to give him love and he had his work to keep him sane.

“I want to know if you would be willing to contribute money to the hospital.”

There was surprise in both his parent’s eyes and a lengthy discussion followed. By the time that Sasuke had to leave, he held in his hands two checks, one from his father and one from his mother. They were both blank.

There was a slight smile on Sasuke’s face as he drove himself to the hospital, using their rarely driven Honda hybrid.

His only thought was in making his dobe happy. Maybe Naruto would open up to him now. Yes, he was an evil bastard but he would move both heaven and earth to make Naruto happy. The dobe had brought so much happiness into his cold, stoic life at a time when his only goal had been becoming a doctor and finally having his parents’ love and attention. Sasuke was aware that he never said that he loved the dobe but he did, even though he hid it from most of the world. Naruto was his reason for everything and he wanted to make sure that his reason for existing never left him. He smirked. He was a damn possessive and obsessive bastard when it came to Naruto.

He wouldn’t have it any other way.

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Naruto pushed into the main doors of the hospital carrying two cups of coffee. As zombies to living flesh, every nurse and doctor tracked him with their eyes as he walked across the lobby. Once Naruto reached the elevators, he turned around and winked, “Sorry guys. Not for you.”

When the elevator opened again he chuckled. Leaning against the frolicking Pooh Bear was Shikamaru Nara, resident psychiatrist. His arms were crossed and his chin rested against his chest. As Naruto approached, he noticed that the tall man’s eyes were closed but that didn’t stop the man from noticing Naruto’s presence.

“Is that a vanilla latte, two shot?” He mumbled, slowly lifting his head.

“Of course. Thank you for meeting me so early, Dr. Nara.”

Dark, brown eyes opened and Shikamaru took in the man before him, “I was under the impression, Dr. Uzumaki, that after I watched you dance ‘I’m a little teapot’ naked on my parents’ diving board that we no longer held to the formalities.”

Naruto laughed, “Fine.” Naruto handed the cup to the doctor and clapped him on the shoulder, “Thanks for coming, Shika.”

Shikamaru hummed into his cup, “My pleasure.”

Without further discussion they walked through the children’s ward to the twin’s room.

“Yoshi and Yuri Tottori. Age three. Parents died yesterday in a car accident.” Shikamaru began, “And I’m here because no one has told them yet.” He looked to the side to see a blonde head nod, “Who are they going to?” Shikamaru immediately knew something was wrong. Naruto was so damn easy to read. Throughout his Masters and PhD he always used Naruto as a case study. It was almost like cheating. “So they have no one.” He concluded.

“I have a call into Shizune. She’s working on finding them placement and I convinced Tsunade that they needed to be watched here for another three days.” Naruto said not meeting Shikamaru’s eyes. Troublesome blonde.

“Naruto.” The shorter man stopped and met his friend’s eyes and the brunette continued, “What are you doing?”

“Nothing. I’m taking the psychiatrist on staff to tell two small children that mommy and daddy aren’t coming to get them. Then I’m going to talk to the social worker about placing them with strangers. Then I’m going to go downstairs and save lives. Maybe later I’ll let Sasuke take me…”

“Stop.”

“Nara… I was going to say take me to dinner.” Naruto smirked.

“Right. Naruto, I’m worried. This is eerily similar to…” Shikamaru said stopping Naruto outside the room.

“It’s not. Come on, help me do this.” Naruto said and pulling free of his friend’s grip to enter the room.

Shikamaru stood outside and allowed his head to fall back and looked at the cheap ceiling tiles. His head came back down as Naruto’s laughter mixed with the squeals of small toddlers reached him in the hall.

“Troublesome.”

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Shikamaru had every intention of cornering Naruto when they were finished. Obviously the blonde had taken the situation worse than the children. They were too little to honestly understand. They cried when Naruto told them that their parents were never coming back, but Shikamaru also knew that had someone said Naruto was never going to come back they would have cried as well. At this point, the best they could do was keep them in high spirits and prepared them for the excitement of their new ‘adventure’.

But Naruto. He was a different story. Naruto was an amazing doctor. He loved children and in return they loved him back. When they were all in med school, Shikamaru actually took the blond aside when he announced he would be pursuing pediatric medicine. Hurt children, alone children, abandoned children… What was Naruto trying to do to himself? Naruto assured him that he knew what he was doing. It would be good for him. He wanted to help children who were like him. And up until these two toddlers, Naruto had kept himself separated. He knew the line and he might flirt with it, but he never crossed it.

Shikamaru shook his head as he watched Naruto walk off with Shizune. Naruto was standing against the line, teetering in the wind and this time… this time he was going to fall.

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“Placing them shouldn’t be difficult. They are young with no special needs beyond being a set. In fact, I have a short list of three couples who have shown interest,” Shizune looked across her desk at the blonde doctor who was looking up at the ceiling, “Naruto? Are you listening?”

Naruto lowered his head and smiled, “They are great kids. I’m glad that they will go to good homes. Are the families interested in adoption or will they be fostered first?”

“Fostered for the time being, but I suspect that it won’t be long.”

Naruto nodded his smile firmly in place. “Great. That’s great.” A tan hand ran through his blonde spikes, “Thanks for taking this one for me, Shizune. I wanted them in good hands, the best hands.”

Shizune blushed. She had known Naruto for a long time. He wasn’t normally this quiet and although he always followed through on the placement of his patients, he was never this hands-on.

“How have you been, Naruto?”

Pushing his chair back Naruto stood up, looking at his watch. “Great, but I need to get downstairs now. Thanks again. If you see Granny, send my love.” Naruto winked and left the room.

Shizune sat back in her seat. What’s going on, Naruto?

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Naruto looked into the darkened room and listened to the gentle snores that drifted out of the room. Naruto didn’t often ‘want’ things. He had learned early in life that most the time you didn’t get what you wanted and if you did, it was a weakness that other’s would use against you.

The first and last thing that Naruto had actively wanted was Sasuke Uchiha. He wanted him so bad that it was a hollow ache in his chest for four years. He never allowed himself to think it was a possibility and when he got him… well, to this day he silently thanked god for giving him his bastard.

But today, at this moment, he wanted something. For the second time in his life ache was back.

He wanted them.

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Sasuke cursed the damn traffic… again. He had wanted to make it to the hospital before he had to actually be on duty. Really, was it too much to ask for, he thought running a frustrated hand through his hair.

“Finally!” He muttered, pressing the horn. The idiot in front of him seemed to jerk awake when the traffic started moving. Idiot! Everyone in this forsaken traffic jam was an idiot! He maneuvered around the current idiot in front of him. He was in a hurry to get to Naruto. He wanted to surprise his particular brand of idiot with the two blank checks that he had swallowed his pride for.

“Oh, Naruto, you owe me big.”

Seeing the hospital parking lot, he stepped on the gas pedal and then came to a screeching halt when his bummer ran into living flesh. If he were a lesser man, he would have panicked but Sasuke was made of sterner stuff. He placed the car into park, taking a deep breath before getting out to see if the “idiot” who had walked in front of his car was okay.

Ignoring the honking cars behind him, he bent low and checked the pulse of the foul smelling person lying so still on the ground. Sasuke was surprised when he found himself staring into the face of a teenage girl but at least her pulse was steady. He removed the beanie off her head and gently probed her skull with his fingers, noticing right away that there was no sign of blood. That was always a good thing. Opening up her dirty old jacket he touched her ribs to see if any were broken. How odd… she didn’t appear to have hit her head hard and she didn’t have any broken ribs. He lifted her t-shirt, which in a past life had been white, and found no bruises around the abdomen. So why was the girl out cold? He frowned, wondering if he should risk picking her up and taking her to the emergency room in his car. Before he could come to a decision, a short wail sounded and he looked up.

As the ambulance pulled in beside his red Honda, he shook his head and sighed with relief. The familiar form of his brother climbing out of the cab made Sasuke immediately feel more at ease. Despite being labeled as the black sheep of the family, Itachi was his hero. He had been the one that had encouraged him to become a doctor, both with praise and with his actions. Itachi might not be his parents’ ideal son but he was Sasuke’s ideal brother. What his parental units lacked in warmth, his brother had made up for it in spades… sarcastic spades, perhaps mildly menacing spades, but damn, they were Uchihas. Naruto was the light of his life but Itachi had been his lifeline growing up in the Uchiha household.

“Problems?’ Itachi smirked, bending down as well. Sasuke rolled his eyes, not that his lifeline had didn’t have holes and superiority complex, mind you. Itachi could be as cold and ruthless as his father but he cared.

“Pulse is stable, no visible bruising or broken ribs. No visible head injury but she has not regained consciousness since she ran into my car.” Sasuke recited going into doctor mode.

“Ran into your car?” Itachi said getting up, waving a hand at his partner, a tall dark skinned man with sharp teeth that often reminded Sasuke of a fish.

“Hey, little brother!” Kisame, Itachi’s partner, called out to him from the back of the ambulance. Sasuke gritted his teeth.

They both approached the girl and Itachi leaned back down to place a neck brace on her. With Kisame’s help, they quickly and efficiently moved her over to the stretcher lying next to her. They strapped her in, securing her on the stretcher even though the ER entrance was only a few feet away. Itachi never took any chances or short cuts. He was brilliant enough to become a doctor but had chosen instead to be a paramedic. He had told Sasuke once that the thrill of being first on scene and helping the helpless exhilarated him. “I’m there, the first on the scene, the first one to battle with death.” He had told him.

Yes, that was something that Sasuke understood clearly. Death was everyone’s number one enemy in this business.

He watched them leave before climbing into his car, this time making it into the parking lot and parking in his reserved parking space with little incident.

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Charts were thrust at him as soon as he entered the ER and he took them silently. “Where is the girl that ambulance 30 brought in?” He asked in an almost polite tone. The poor receptionist was too stunned to answer right away.

“Are you an idiot or something?” Sasuke bite out in frustration. Politeness gone. The blonde girl, whose name was Tea according to her name tag, shook her head.

“Exam room th-three!” She muttered her eyes cast down on the computer in front of her. Sasuke didn’t even thank her as he swirled around, his white lab coat that distinguished him as a doctor, swirling with him angrily. He ignored Shikamaru, the resident psychiatrist, as he walked by him.

“Bothersome.” He heard the long haired man mutter. Shikamaru caught up to him and walked beside him, matching his long strides.

“What do you want? I’m busy!” Sasuke all but growled.

Shikamaru nodded in understanding, while Naruto was gentle and friendly, Sasuke was rude and aggressive. He didn’t take shit from anyone and had no issues dishing it out. Shikamaru smirked. Naruto was really quite similar actually, only his method differed.

“I understand that, I do, but you might want to come into my office when you get a chance. We need to talk,” he said.

“What do we possibly have to talk about?” was Sasuke irritated answer. Shikamaru exhaled and mentally counted to ten.

“I’m sure that I can find ‘something’ in that instable brain of yours to talk about,” he muttered. He didn’t even flinch when Sasuke gave him a withering look, only shrugged and gave him his laziest smile. Shikamaru sighed with relief when the emotionally challenged doctor stopped walking in front of an exam room.

Sasuke reached out to pull the curtain open when Shikamaru stopped him with one word.

“Naruto.”

When Sasuke turned his daunting eyes on him, Shikamaru nodded. “Naruto is who we have to talk about, Uchiha,” he eyed him. There was a closed off look on the other man’s face. Gone was the anger from moments ago, replaced instead by an emotionless mask. Naruto was a subject too close and dear to Sasuke’s heart. He understood that and no one but Naruto had the right to read the dark haired man. But he also knew that it worked both ways. If anyone could see through the mask that Naruto often wore, the mask that was painfully hiding dark secrets and deal with Naruto’s sudden obsession with the twins, it was the man standing before him. He wasn’t a genius for nothing.

“What has the dobe done now?” He asked, not quite keeping the concern out of his voice. Shikamaru opened his mouth to explain but a loud groan came from behind the curtain.

Sasuke sighed in frustration and considering how this day was proceeding, not for the last time he was sure, “Never mind, I’ll come by your office later,” and with that Shikamaru was dismissed.

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Kakashi was with the girl when Sasuke entered the room. Sasuke held out his hands for the chart which was immediately handed to him by a helpful nurse.

“Her medical history has a lot of blanks,” the frown on Sasuke’s face getting deeper as he read.

“Is this the girl that you hit?” The older man asked. Sasuke nodded distractedly, skimming through the nurses’ notes and the attending doctor, who happened to by the ER chief himself, Kakashi’s notes.

Noticing the administration of a heavy sedative, Sasuke looked up, “Damn it, you shouldn’t have given her that, Kakashi. I don’t think that it will help beyond knocking her out for a good hour and I won’t be able to run any blood work on her.”

There was a proud glint in Kakashi’s eyes as he nodded. Sasuke had been his prodigy and his hope. In him he saw himself but better, without the tumbles and falls he had taken. “I’m sorry, she was hysterical when she came in. The nurse tried to take her history and all she got was that she is homeless, sixteen years old and that her name is Monaico. She refused to give out more information than that,” Kakashi shrugged tiredly. “I don’t think that’s her real name, but she, like I said, wouldn’t give more than that. Now, if you excuse me, I have to talk to some people about your little run in. Some of them might want to talk to you.” Kakashi said turning to leave the room. Stopping in the doorway, the chief turned around. “And I had her blood taken before I gave her anything… why do you think she was hysterical?”

Sasuke closed the chart with a snap, coming to stand closer to the girl and stared down at her. Her face and arms had been washed, he noticed. Chouji was probably responsible for that, his heart was almost as soft as his dobe’s. He shook his head, there was nothing he could do for her now and in cases like hers, he would have to contact social services. He headed towards the reception area to do just that and scowled when he had to take on the cases handed to him by the blonde idiot that passed herself off as a clerk. He almost laughed at himself. “Idiot”, it seems, was the word of the day.

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His call to Shizune did nothing but elevate his worry and frustration. Naruto, she had said, is being too quiet. Is something wrong between them, she had asked. He slammed the charts on the desk. Hell, if he knew! Naruto was not being honest with him. He had always thought that he was the closed mouthed bastard in this relationship but it was turning out to be that Naruto was a pretty close second. After six years of being together, he would have thought that Naruto wouldn’t be a mystery to him but it wasn’t like that. Sasuke had always felt that Naruto’s smiles, his cheerfulness and his optimistic attitude were false to a degree but he wasn’t as good as the dobe when it came to reading people.

He knew it had something to do with Naruto’s childhood. The boy had been an orphan, raised in several foster homes. Sasuke was a doctor and could recognize the ‘warning signs’ when he saw them, but he was waiting for Naruto to come to him, steadfastly stopping himself from making any assumptions or theories. With something like this, he didn’t want to over or under estimate the circumstances.

He needed something to make him feel better and as luck would have it, for him at least, he eyed a couple of “newbies”. A predatory gleam came into his eyes. The newbies shivered when they noticed his gaze on them. Sasuke pointed at his favorite, the girl with the black rimmed glasses, what was her name again… oh, yes Karin. In a past life they must have been enemies, he thought. His sharp eyes noticed a tall male newbie trying to stifle his laughter. Hmm, he had five charts and another five waiting for him. He just might need two of them to “help” him since they seemed to be standing around gossiping. His eyes narrowed and he beckoned the blond man with one finger almost purring with pleasure when the “newbie” swallowed hard and paled.

If they could, he knew they would try to run away. Suddenly, he swore that he heard someone humming a death march by his ear.

“Sasuke, Sasuke, Sasuke. Still humiliating and torturing the “newbies” I see,” Sasuke stiffened and slowly turned to face Orochimaru. Orochimaru, head surgeon of the OR. Earlier in his career, Sasuke had considered switching from ER Doctor to OR specialist but the man, who was laughing at him, had changed his mind. The man didn’t just want Sasuke for his skills as a surgeon. No, he had wanted to take Sasuke to bed. Cheating on Naruto for the sake of advancing his career or for the thrill of the power that it would have offered him had not been on his list, especially since…

He shook his head, he never wanted to thing back to those times, when he had almost lost Naruto.

“What do you want Orochimaru?”

The eerie yellow eyes raked over his body, undressing him with his gaze alone. Sasuke felt anger build inside of him like a storm but his Uchiha control won over. He would never let the snake know that he got under his skin.

“That’s a leading question, Sasuke-kun,” the older man answered licking his lips suggestively. Sasuke clenched his hands on the charts. He really should report him to the Tsunade but he knew that the hospital wouldn’t be able to hire someone with Orochimaru’s skills on their budget.

Sasuke looked over the snake’s shoulder, two brown eyes full of jealousy stared back at him. Ah, Kabuto, Orochimaru’s second choice. Sasuke smirked.

“Doesn’t look now but your dog is rabid,” he said casually walking away when Orochimaru turned his back on him.

His own little puppies followed him like mindless little sheep going to the slaughter house. Suddenly things were looking up. He whistled uncharacteristically as he walked, several people scramble out of his way, horrified. His puppies whimpered.

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Sasuke had to admit that Karin had taken his advice and outdone herself today. There was more confidence in her now, she had done her homework and it was obvious the other intern had as well. They were both working to their full potential, maybe they did belong in this hospital, maybe they could become great doctors.

“That’s good Karin, make sure to keep her hand elevated,” he nodded. “Yes, that’s good.” He was satisfied with Karin’s progress.

“Clean up here and we will move on to the next patient,” he told them both.

The blond intern, whose name is Suigetsu, had been more competent than he had figured. It was too bad really that these two interns belonged to Gaara. He led the two to another room, where an older lady had been brought in with severe dehydration. It would be a good case for them to study, often during the extreme hot weather, lots of people, mostly children and the elderly were admitted into the ER for dehydration.

“Nakamaru-san, my name is Doctor Uchiha. We’re here to see how you are doing?” He said, pleasantly. Naruto would be so proud. He was always saying Sasuke had an atrocious bedside manner. The woman smiled, “I’m feeling better, dear,” she looked curiously at Karin and Suigetsu.

“Allow me to introduce Karin and Suigetsu, they are interns here,” Sasuke motioned the two forward. “You wouldn’t mind assisting me in teaching them a few things, would you?” he took her chart and handed it to Karin when the woman shook her head.

“Karin, Suigetsu, a clear history of the patient is a must. Without, it’s like driving blind trying to find the correct cause of the ailment or the right medicine for them,” Sasuke lectured.

“Suigetsu, tell me what are the symptoms of severe dehydration?” he asked.

Suigetsus opened his mouth to answer but was interrupted when someone pulled the door opened and stalked in.

“UCHIHA, HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU TO LEAVE MY INTERNS ALONE?” A very angry Gaara said taking the chart from Karin hands and thrusting it at Sasuke.

“Uchiha, get your own,” he growled grabbing both interns and pulling them out of the room.

“Oh, dear, that man seemed very angry at you,” Nakamaru-san said looking up at Sasuke. Sasuke smiled, “Don’t worry about me, Doctor Sabaku was just missing his pets,” He checked the woman’s IV and pulse, jotting it down on the chart. He loved messing with Gaara, it was almost as much fun as pissing off his dobe.

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Sasuke rubbed his tired eyes. He had seen over twenty patients in the four hours since he had arrived. Kakashi was true to his word, a policeman had come to see him about the accident, taking his statement and asked to see his car and the teenage girl. He knew nothing would come of it, it was standard procedures but it was also irritating, having taken up fifteen minutes of his precious time.

He was now on his way to talk to the teenager, her blood tests had come back and he wasn’t so happy with the results. Shizune and Shikamaru were supposed to meet him there to talk to her about it but they were late. How do you tell a sixteen year old girl that she has an incurable disease that will kill her eventually? How can he ask her where her parents were when she was an obvious run away. Naruto… I really need Naruto, Sasuke thought.

Naruto it seemed was avoiding him, but since this girl was underage, technically she fell under his jurisdiction. He supposed he could always call on Gaara, who was the other pediatric specialist in the ER. All these thoughts were put on hold though when he walked into the room only to find it empty.

“SHIT!” he cursed, walking to the intercom button and jabbing it… hard. “Where is the patient from room three?” He barked as soon as a nurse answered.

“In her bed?” The idiot on the other side answered. Sasuke rolled his eyes, “Call security, have them look for her. NOW!” He ran out of the room. It hadn’t been long since she had left, the bed was still warm.

He ran through the ER hall heading to the exit but stopped when he spotted her at the door. Two security guards were making their way to her, grabbing her by her elbows and dragging the stubborn girl back.

“Oh, good, you found our little lost lamb,” Sasuke mocked, eyeing the teen. “YOU!” he pointed rudely at the receptionist. “Page, Doctor Shikamaru and Shizune, tell them to meet me in room three, now!” he ordered.

He eyed Sakura heading towards the desk, “Sakura you’re with me!” he said, walking back to the room. Sakura nodded, but not before quietly requesting Dr. Uzumaki be paged as well.

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When Sasuke and Sakura entered the room, he sat on the chair next to the bed, while Sakura stood with her back against the wall.

The girl was looking at him suspiciously. She had been restrained to the bed so that she wouldn’t wonder off.

“I’m going to be straight with you,” he began. “I was the one that hit you in the parking lot and I’m glad I did,” he finished and the girl glared.

“I want to know your name, your real name, your parents’ names and why you are living on the streets?” He fired question after question. He might be going about things the wrong way, but the experts seemed to have disappeared on him and the only way he knew how deal with situations like this was to laid all on the table.

“I don’t have parents!” she said, her eyes shifting away from his.

“Liar. I can tell that you’re lying,” he sighed.

“Listen, I ran some tests on you and the results were just handed to me not so long ago,” he paused. “I want to help you, but I can’t do that if you don’t cooperate,” the truths of his word were evident in his tone.

The girl was silent and she looked downward at her restrain hands. “That’s a first, an adult trying to help. Nobody wanted to help before and nobody wanted to listen to me!” She said rather bitterly.

There were many that said Doctor Uchiha was cold and unfeeling but Sakura knew otherwise. The man protected his heart well, but she knew that he cared. It was one of the reasons that he was such a good doctor.

“My name is Aya Satou. My mother remarried when I was eight to a man who molested me when I was twelve. He raped me at fourteen and after that I ran way.” There were tears in the girl’s eyes but when Sakura walked towards her and tried to comfort her, she looked cross. Sasuke gave Sakura a warning look and Sakura backed off.

He saw a lot of pain and hate in the girl’s eyes and although he wasn’t an expert, he believed that it would always live inside of her for the rest of her life. How does one recover from the betrayal of those that were supposed to protect you? He didn’t know and he didn’t bother to comfort the girl. It wouldn’t be accepted.

“I answered your questions. Now, are you going to tell what is wrong me so that I can go?” she demanded her eyes shifting towards the door.

“You’re HIV positive.”

The cold tone in which he delivered the news didn’t seem to bother Aya as much as it bothered Sakura. In fact, Aya seemed to respect Sasuke’s straightforwardness. The girl looked blankly at Sasuke and then began to laugh. It was a horrible, hysterical laugh and it broke Sakura’s heart.

“Oh, that is just precious. I’m going to die after the fucked up life I have had!” Silent tears ran down her eyes. Sasuke placed his hand over hers and Aya turned desperate, frighten eyes to him.

“I’m going to die and that bastard won’t ever pay for what he did too me.” She whispered closing her eyes.

“I won’t let that happened. There are ways to manage this disease and ways that I can help you assure that your step father pays for his actions.” it was Sasuke’s promise to Aya and like his lover, he kept them no matter what.

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“Hey, kid.”

Naruto’s grip on the twin’s door frame tightened before he turned, smile huge across his face.

“Ahh, if it isn’t KCH’s resident perv and life saving surgeon.”

The white haired surgeon wrapped strong arms around the younger man and then patted him condescendingly on the head. “Ah, if it isn’t KCH’s little blonde spitfire. What are you doing up here? I’m fairly positive that I heard Tsunade,” Jiraiya coughed “asking… where the hell you were.”

“At the alleged time of ‘asking’, where were you?” Naruto asked while walking towards the elevators. He really did need to get downstairs. His bastard should be here by now. This morning had been strained. Something twisted in Naruto’s chest. He had worked so hard to be a man worthy of Sasuke’s love. He knew that he was keeping a huge part of himself from Sasuke, but Sasuke wouldn’t love someone so ‘broken’. Uchihas didn’t cuddle up to whiner babies. That’s how it was. Naruto offered himself to Sasuke. When Sasuke hurt Naruto comforted. That was his role, what Sasuke needed. Naruto could handle his own problems.

“… her leg over my thigh. Does that answer the question?”

Naruto turned sapphire eyes up to the older man, “Yeah, it sure does.”

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As the doors slid shut, Jiraiya leaned against the side wall, staring at Naruto who was obviously in his own world.

“What’s up, kid?”

Naruto ran a hand over his face, “Damn it. Nothing is up. I am fine. Everything is peachy.”

“Which I shall interrupt as ‘Holy shit, I’m falling apart at the seams.’ You know you can’t lie for shit right?” Jiraiya said.

“Look, I just have a lot on my plate. Things that have nothing to do with anything and don’t affect the hospital and therefore you, in the least.”

“Okay… maybe you need a change of location?”

Blue eyes narrowed, “Jiraiya…”

“Naruto, you spent six months in surgery when you were an intern and you were amazing… a bloody prodigy. Come be my student. You could be the best.”

“We have been over this again and again. That isn’t what I want. I’m not in this for the glory that surgeons seek like the fucking Holy Grail. Yeah, I was good at it, but I’m damn good at what I do now as well and I don’t feel like I’ve given up my soul.”

“Ah, that’s cute. You think you still have a soul.”

Naruto and Jiraiya stiffened, the doors had opened without their noticing and Orochimaru smirked at them from the hallway.

“Leave me alone, bastard.” Naruto hissed pushing past the older surgeon, “And Jiraiya, all the other reasons aside, I’d rather give up medicine and be the bedpan boy than work with this twisted son of a bitch.”

Naruto stalked off and Orochimaru lamented the blonde’s long white lab coat. There was only so much the imagination could conceive on its own. Jiraiya shifted behind him.

“I swear to god, Orochimaru. If I hear even the slightest rumor about that boy or anyone else, I’ll nail your ass to the wall.”

Orochimaru smirked and walked off, the phrase ‘nail you ass’ already being applied to other things entirely, in his mind.

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Naruto turned the corner and leaned against the wall. That man. He was a bad man. The kind of bad man most small children could instinctively feel, hiding behind their mothers. The kind of bad man that made Naruto’s skin crawl and his heart scream at him to find Sasuke and hide forever in his strong arms, like he wished he could have done growing up. But he wasn’t weak and he’d made it this far…

“Hey, blondie.”

Naruto turned around fast to see a flash of pale skin and midnight black hair. Deep midnight eyes pierced his own. He tried not the let the disappointment show on his face. Wrong Uchiha.

“Hey, Itachi. What brings you here?” Naruto smiled.

Itachi smirked, “My brother ran someone over and you know how he feels about blood on his upholstery.”

“Yeah, he’s ‘sensitive’ like that… wait, he HIT someone? Is he okay? Are they? Why the hell was he driving?!” Naruto fired off questions while looking at the taller man wide eyed.

Itachi chuckled, “Calm down, doctor. Sasuke is fine. They were in the parking lot and so he wasn’t going very fast to begin with. The victim was a homeless teenager, female. No evidence of injury, BP and heart rate normal. Loss of consciousness unexplained.”

Naruto laughed out loud, “Damn Itachi, it’s kinda hot when you go all ‘paramedic’ on me.”

“Little brother isn’t going to like that one bit, boys.” Naruto turned a goofy grin to Kisame.

“Nah, Sasuke would probably like it too. I tell you, nothing gets him going like when I start spouting out medical jargon while…”

“Stop.” Both men said straight faced. Naruto shivered at the evil aura and chose to listen to their ‘advice’. No one really wants to die.

“Sorry, guys. I’ll stop, no more. As far as you are concerned, the teme and I sleep in separate beds and have never, ever borrowed your EMT jackets while you were sleeping to role play ‘Pervy Paramedics 2’.” Ah well, he was a doctor… he teased ‘death’ on a daily basis.

“I’ll kill you and then I’ll kill him and then I’ll let Kisame revive you both so that I can do it again.”

Naruto laughed and walked away… quickly.

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Just as he entered the ER his beeper starting going off. A quick glance showed him that he was wanted in curtain three and so he changed his direction, stopping outside the curtain.

“…remarried when I was eight to a man who started molesting me when I was twelve. He raped me at fourteen and after that I ran away…”

Naruto’s breath caught in his throat and for a moment his vision blurred. All sounds stopped but the painful thuds of his heart. Oh no, oh no, oh no. Why today? It all seemed so close to the surface… Shikamaru mentioned it and then Orochimaru and now this…

Sasuke deep voice penetrated his thoughts, “… HIV positive.”

Naruto’s knees gave out and he slid silently to the floor. So young…

“I’m going to die and that bastard won’t ever pay for what he did too me!”

A tan hand covered his mouth and he shut his eyes.

“Oh my god! Naruto! Are you okay?”

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Sasuke’s dark head whipped to the side. He jumped up so quickly that the teen let out a squeak of surprise but Sasuke had already ripped the curtain aside.

Naruto sat on the floor his eyes wide with… was that fear… Sakura standing over him. With a blink, Naruto composed himself and smiled brightly.

“Hey, Sakura. I dropped my pen and kind of tweaked my back on the way down. Nothing to worry about. See?” Naruto stood up as good as new. “Oh, hey teme. I got your page. Tell me what I need to know.”

Sasuke swallowed and nodded, face devoid of emotion. He hadn’t seen Naruto since this morning, Shikamaru and Shizune had both expressed concern and something inside told him to grab the blonde man up and hide him away.

And for the third time today he wondered what the hell was up with his dobe.

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Naruto walked passed Sasuke and allowed his hand to brush Sasuke’s pale one of the briefest of moments before smiling at the young girl on the bed.

“Hi, my name is Dr. Uzumaki. You can call me Naruto if you like.” Large brown eyes held clear blue. Naruto knew what she was doing. She was weighing him, deciding if she would allow him in, trust him. With the life she had lead, her radar was probably extensive and extraordinarily accurate.

She nodded and held out her hand, “Aya Satou.”

Naruto nodded as well. “So, what brings you in this afternoon?”

Aya nodded toward Sasuke, “He ran me down with his car.”

Naruto looked between the two, “Ah yes, a little raven told me about that.”

Sasuke glared making Naruto laugh while he took Aya’s chart from pale hands.

“So, no injuries from your run in with the ‘road warrior’… you’re a little anemic.” Naruto looked over the pages and tried to postpone the inevitable for as long as possible but if didn’t take long.

“And you’re positive.” Naruto looked directly at the teen, “You didn’t know?”

“No.” Aya said and she swallowed thickly, staring into her lap. Sasuke wondered why she was so much calmer around Naruto. She was aggressive, standoffish and rude to him. Laying her life on the table like she was daring him to judge her, but with Naruto she acted like the scared sixteen year old she was.

Naruto handed the chart back to Sasuke and pulled a chair closer to the bed, “Would you like to talk to me about it? How you got here? I can answer any questions you might have.”

Aya looked at the blonde again and nodded, brown eyes still impossibly large and clouded over.

“You’ll understand, won’t you?” She said her voice barely above a whisper but it seemed to echo in its intensity.

Sasuke watched the interaction, they communicated like he wasn’t even there.

Naruto nodded, “Some of it… yeah. And what I don’t understand, I’m willing to listen to you until I do.”

Aya pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her cheek against them, her tired eyes closing. “Can it just be you?” She whispered.

“Of course.” Naruto answered before standing, “I need to talk with Dr. Uchiha for a moment and I’ll be right back in, okay?”

She nodded without opening her eyes.

Sasuke followed Naruto outside of the curtain but the blonde didn’t stop there. Naruto walked to the supply room and glancing back went in. Sasuke followed and nearly yelled when Naruto pushed him against the closed door, his eager mouth attaching itself to his collar bone before working up the pale column of his neck.

“Dobe?” Sasuke said capturing Naruto’s roaming hands gently in his own, “What is this?”

“Shut up, Uchiha.” Naruto said softly, so softly Sasuke almost didn’t hear it, “Just let me. Please.”

Sasuke nodded and Naruto leaned up and kissed him. Plump lips pressed against his own and he parted his lips immediately when he felt Naruto’s pink tongue asking for entrance. The kiss was gentle and although Naruto had complete control, Sasuke felt like Naruto was skittish… scared.

“Dobe? Tell me.” Sauske said against Naruto’s lips. He licked the corner of Naruto’s mouth and was surprised to taste saltiness. Naruto was… crying.

Before Sasuke could say anything Naruto pulled him away from the door and lay his blonde head against Sasuke’s chest. “I can’t, S’uke. Not now.”

Sasuke blinked and Naruto was gone, the door closing slowly behind him.

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