Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon or associated characters.
Medical Disclaimer: Treatments and procedures portrayed in this story are not to be used by untrained personnel. Please do not attempt them as they can cause harm. This is a work of fiction, please keep it as such.
Hospital Visit
Mamoru couldn't help but stare at the golden-haired angel two seats ahead of him. A burning desire to possess her lay smoldering in his heart. The same desire that had begun the first time he had seen her.
"Chiba-kun, since you don't seem to be paying attention, come up to the board and show the class the answer," the teacher's voice interrupted his drifting thoughts. He flashed a glare up to the front of the classroom. While still young, and quite a few of the male student population admiring her ass whenever they could, the teacher could never compare to his Usako.
"Of course, Reiko-san," he replied, scooting his chair back. This was going to take some of his precious stare-at-Usagi time. He wasn't happy, but maintained his outwardly polite exterior.
He came to the front of the classroom and took his first look at the board. He almost laughed out loud. It was a simple chemistry set, and had the answer in an instant. Mamoru quickly scratched the answer down and turned to go back to his seat.
"Would you care to explain your answer to the class, Chiba-kun?" the teacher almost sneered. She didn't like smart boys who didn't have the hots for her.
"Sure!" Mamoru said with fake excitement. "With this negative charge here and that many ions, that creates a triple bond." With his correct, but half-assed answer, he turned away and went back to his seat. When he sat back into his chair, he gave the teacher a 'don't fuck with me' look.
What surprised him was Usagi looking back at him with amazement. His expression instantly changed into a goofy grin.
"You should close your mouth, Odango, or you'll catch some flies," he told her, regretting his words as they came out. Her mouth snapped shut and she turned back in her seat, looking angry.
"Smooth move, Ex-Lax," Motoki whispered to him. Motoki was possibly his only friend, due to Mamoru's obvious charm. He was the only person who knew about Mamoru's obsession with Usagi. And, surprisingly, approved. It turned out to be a good thing as Usagi was once interested in Motoki and tried to date him. He politely turned her down, for Mamoru's sake and due to his interest in another girl.
"It never comes out like I want it to," he whispered back, sadly.
The thing about Usagi was that she had the golden heart. Someone could be insulting her one moment making her angry, then get hurt the next moment and she would genuinely concerned. She cared about everyone, regardless if they wanted her to or not.
While she was gorgeous, her looks didn't matter much to him. It was her golden heart that had Mamoru drooling after her like a sick puppy. Hell, he was kidding himself. He really didn't know how he felt about her, other than the always present need to possess her and protect her from everything. Was it love? Infatuation?
He didn't have time to further contemplate his dilemma as the noise of the ER suddenly surrounded him. A moment later, and his signature green jacket was tossed into the nurse's station and Mamoru was assisting a doctor.
The sight was something one would expect to see in a movie, or a hit hospital drama, but not in real life. The doctor was rapidly giving two nurses orders for blood, while a third desperately tried to stem the flow of the injured man's stump where an arm used to be. From all the blood on the gurney and floor, and from the weak moans coming from the man, he guessed that the man was near death. Without asking permission, Mamoru went over to the man's side, gently pushing the nurse out of the way. At first, she started to protest, but when she saw it was him, she scurried off somewhere with a relieved sigh.
He focused on the stump. The nurse had been using direct pressure to try and stop the bleeding. Mamoru knew that wouldn't work. There was just enough arm left for a tourniquet, though. Searching around, he found what he was looking for. With a quick pull and twist, he had a phlebotomy tourniquet wrapped tightly around what was left of the man's arm. He watched as the spurting blood slowed to a trickle and then a drip.
"Hey, kid! What the hell… Oh! Chiba-kun. I'm so glad you're here. Look at that! You got the bleeding to stop, thanks buddy. You probably saved another life. I can handle it from here, but I'm sure Doctor Oto could use your help. Nothing exciting like this, but he could use you all the same. Thanks again, kid!" Dr. Jacobs talked just as rapidly as he did while ordering the blood units. Mamoru didn't mind how Dr. Jacobs talked to him, he was one of the doctors who trusted him enough to let him do procedures. Most of the ER docs did, but there were still a few who seemed to envy Mamoru's natural talent and did anything they could to hamper his work.
He just didn't come into the hospital when those people were working. Although, the thought of all those injured, sick people suffering without his help because of some doctor's ego, made him pissed. Hurt people made him uneasy. He didn't know why, but the urge to help was almost as strong as his passion for Usagi.
He groaned inwardly. Dr. Oto didn't allow him to do as much as other docs did, but wasn't cruel about it. He had said that it was due to the lack of experience and age. Mamoru didn't argue with him, for he was surely right. But Mamoru was still good at what he did. He didn't really mind going to help Dr. Oto, he just wanted to be of more help than just an observer or someone who just passed tools.
After checking with one of the admin nurses to see where Dr. Oto's patient was, he made his way over to the room, only stopping off to wash his hands. Poking his head into the room, he searched quickly for the attending. Seeing no sign of Dr. Oto, he slipped quietly into the room, putting a friendly smile on for the patient. A nice smile and a friendly attitude could go a long way for a patient's comfort and health.
He flipped open the chart and read the name quickly. Mrs. Tsukino. He looked at the woman laying quietly on the hospital bed. Long, dark hair. Very pretty middle aged woman, but her face was ghostly white. Something seemed familiar about her, but he couldn't place it just now.
"Hello, Mrs. Tsukino. I'm Chiba, Mamoru. I assist the doctors here in the hospital. Dr. Oto should be around shortly, but is there anything I can do to make you more comfortable while you wait?" The woman smiled weakly at him, reacting to his easy grin and concerned voice.
"No, thank you Chiba-kun. My daughter already went to get me some water," her breathing was labored a bit after her response. He gave her the once over with the 'doctor's eye'. There didn't seem to be anything outwardly wrong with her and Dr. Oto would freak if he did anything, so he settled himself to wait a bit.
"How about some friendly company? You don't need to talk if it hurts or it's too hard for you right now," he waited for a nod from her before taking a seat.
"You're such a nice, young man. Thank you for keeping an old lady company," she said, tiredly.
"Nonsense. You couldn't be a day over twenty-five," he paused to give her a sly wink for dramatic effect, "If you weren't already a married woman, I'd ask you to dinner tonight."
Her chuckle brought relief. If someone was really sick, their sense of humor was usually the first to go. Nor did he think this lady wasn't sick, just not too sick.
"So, your daughter brought you to the hospital? If she is as beautiful as you are, then I'll definitely have to take her to dinner then," he smile grew wider, as he continued their little flirting game.
"Oh, no. She just went with me in the ambulance. She can't drive yet. She is such a sweet girl. Always nice to everybody. I hope you do take her to dinner, she could use a good man like you," her words were half teasing and half hopeful, he didn't know how to take them. Her offer started him into a panic. Their game of flirting was treading into dangerous territory. He couldn't take out her daughter without someone knowing and then telling Usagi. That would destroy any chance he did, or did not have with her.
Mrs. Tsukino must've seen the panic written all over his face, for she withdrew the comment immediately. "I was just teasing you, Chiba-kun. Please don't take a foolish woman's words so seriously," her mouth smiled, but her eyes were disappointed.
He inclined his head, accepting the way out of an awkward situation. The room fell silent. Neither of them seemed inclined to restart the game or try a new topic. He would've made an excuse and left, if not for the feeling of familiarity that kept growing.
Nothing came to mind, so he stood up, preparing an excuse for departing. When he opened his mouth, the door swung open. Both turned their head, glad for the distraction.
Mamoru nearly choked when he saw who came dancing into the room. Usagi took only a second to look around the room before she quickly put a cup of water on the desk and rushed up to Mamoru.
"Are you alright, Mamo-kun? This is bad! I can't believe you're this badly hurt!" she grabbed his hand into both of hers, holding under her chin as tears welled up in her eyes.
Mamoru stood dumbfounded. He stared dumbly into her big, beautiful blues for a moment and then looked down to see what she was fussing about.
The sight made him almost choke again. His school shirt was ruined, almost drenched in blood that was starting to dry. Two things hit him simultaneously. One was that man who lost an arm had bled all over him and he didn't notice, and two, Usagi was Mrs. Tsukino's daughter. He felt like slapping his forehead for being so dumb. Every morning he heard Usagi's family name during roll call.
Tears were really streaming down her face now, so completely taken over with sadness for him. His heart leaped at the thought that she cared this much about him.
But, no. She would feel this way if anybody got hurt. Inside, he hurt as bad as his outwardly appearance. She could never like him after all the things he said or teased her about. All he could do was protect her from afar, like he'd always done, and always will. Mamoru gave himself a mental thrashing, promising himself pain if he screwed up again, for his first reaction was to make fun of her for her concern.
"Usagi, I'm okay. I was just helping some other doctor here with a really badly injured patient. This must be his blood. Really, I'm fine," he said as he gave himself a pat on the back for doing so good.
"Thank goodness. I don't know what I would do if something happened to you," she said, solemnly. She brushed the back of his hand against her cheek and gave a small squeeze with both of hers. Then she let go and gave him a big smile.
Mamoru stood still, afraid that if he moved, he'd wake up and that moment would just be a dream. He had a tough time trying to convince himself that she would've done the same for anyone else. That moment just seemed so… intimate. So private.
But how could she care for prick like him so much?
A throat clearing shattered their shared world and brought them back to real-time. Mrs. Tsukino was looking at them both with a little surprise and… satisfaction? in her eyes.
"I see you know one another," she said matter-of-factly.
"Oh, Mama! Your water," Usagi exclaimed as she dashed to the desk a few steps away and back to the bed.
Mamoru smiled, thinking of how only Usagi could make a few steps into a dash. Unluckily for him, Usagi saw him smiling.
"What are you smiling about?" she asked, carefully.
He answered before he could threaten himself again, saying exactly what he was thinking. "I was amused at the thought that only you could make a few steps into a dash…," he trailed off, realizing how stupid it must have sounded. He waited for her to explode, or turn away from him angrily. Instead, she giggled.
He checked over what he had just said. It really wasn't mean or teasing, just a simple, slightly funny take on what she did. He let out a sigh of relief at narrowly missing having to give himself a black eye.
"I did do that, didn't I? I don't know ho…"
"Usagi, why have you never brought home your handsome friend, Chiba-kun, and introduced him to me and your father?" Mrs. Tsukino interrupted, and asked pointedly.
"It's because Mamo-kun has always said mean things to me, or teased me ever since grade school, Mama," Usagi replied nonchalantly.
Mrs. Tsukino's gazed at him with a mixture of surprise and anger. He shifted foot to foot, completely taken off-guard at Usagi's frankness.
"But he's been secretly watching over me, protecting me all that time too," Usagi looked up at him when she said that.
His eyebrows rose in surprise. He never would've thought that she knew what he was doing. And it seemed that she really didn't know for sure, because the look of 'caught-in-the-act' on his face had her looking more confident in her statement. He had pretty much told her by not controlling his emotions.
Mrs. Tsukino's stare turned from one of anger into deep thought.
"It's a good thing that you're taking Usagi out for dinner tonight, Chiba-kun. You can start making up for all those years you were mean to her. And Usagi, sweetie. Boys don't know how to tell a girl they like them, so they play jokes or are mean to them instead," Mrs. Tsukino had a calculating gleam in her eye.
His mouth seemed to not be able to work. Mrs. Tsukino had effectively just told Usagi that Mamoru had liked her the whole time! And he couldn't deny it. He didn't want to, it was just the initial guy reaction to deny liking a girl.
Usagi's cheeks went rosy. "Are you really taking me to dinner?"
He nodded dumbly. He had just learned probably one of the most important lessons in life: Don't try to outsmart a woman, because there is a lot of them and one usually knows the truth and they'll plot against you. It was probably a little harsh, but he saw the evil in it as much as the good. He couldn't be blinded to it just because it worked in his favor this time.
Dr. Oto came in a few moments later. It turned out to be a bad case of food poisoning. Mrs. Tsukino was sent home with instructions for bed rest and medicine.
Mamoru was given strict instructions to pick up Usagi after he cleaned up and not to bring her home until after midnight. He never expected the events that happened later on that night.