Disclaimer: I do not own Trauma Team

"Did the FBI tell you about my condition? I thought it was confidential!" she was angry, that much was clear. I sighed, rubbing my eyes.
"They didn't"
"Then..."
"I thought you didn't want to bring up the past"
"I have a right to know. Did Delphi give me this on purpose?"
"Wha- no!" I sighed again, and pulled on her arm to the parking lot. There wasn't anyone around, Naomi wasn't stupid, but I didn't want to risk anything. "Come here, I'll take you back to CFMI"
"Answer my question, Little Guy!" her voice was authoritarian, but I didn't speak then. Only when she got into the car and I closed the door behind me as well, did I look at her. She seemed shocked, and I wondered what she was seeing in my face.
"The FBI has expressed that they'll only tell me your backstory if it's needed for a case or any specific situation, and even so, you'll be present. But I..." I sighed "I talked to Derek Stiles"
"You did what?! That's confidential!"
"Do you remember med school? Moral debates about..." I felt my face heating up "About soulmates, and how it applied to doctor patient confidentiality?" she stared at me.
"There is no way that you and I..."
"Not that we ever tried to figure it out" I mumbled, defensively, and raised my arm, unbuttoning my sleeve so she could see the ticking clock shining on it like a changing tattoo. She shivered, gasping "Does this ring any bells?"
"That's what Derek said last time I talked to him" she murmured, fingers trembling as she fumbled with her jacket sleeves, and looked at her own wrist. I didn't look, but she shook her head "It's okay... Do you..."
"No. I don't want to know. I'm alive now, and that's what matters to me" she nodded.
"How did you...?"
"I saw it change the moment you entered Delphi. I thought it could have been a coincidence, but do you remember that last operation... on savato?" she nodded, a silent plea for me to keep talking "There was a high risk of infection then. And as you operated, I suddenly saw the clock changing... when I looked back, you were extracting the savato and closing the patient, and I... I took my chances. When I asked Dr. Stiles, years later, as an FBI agent, he didn't say much, only that you might not recover... and that I could be correct in my guess."
"Then, when you said before..."
"I took my chances. I was correct, after all, you are ill, doctor"
"So you had no idea if we are soulmates, but you still went to see Derek?" her eyes suddenly become amused "That's a big assumption"
"Two coincidences seemed like two too many" I said defensively, but I could feel a small smile forming on my lips, and my cheeks coloring slightly. She laughed, shaking her head, and opening the door of the car "D-doctor Kimishima...?"
"I'll go on my own car. Don't ever bring up my condition again, Little Guy." I nodded silently, and she smirked as she turned around "You wouldn't want the FBI to wonder how you knew that, would you?" I laughed, breathlessly.
"I guess not"

"She's going into cardiac arrest!"
"Raise her vitals!"
"We don't have enough time to operate, we need to stabilize her first!"
"H-hey, you work with her... are you okay?"

I looked up to see a paramedic with short brown hair and bright green eyes frowning at me.

"I think I'm going to throw up" I muttered, and quickly added, as I saw her react "I'm fine! How is Naomi?" she seemed to understand, and gave me a strained smile, that I didn't buy for one second.
"She'll... probably pull through."
"Please let me see her!"
"I'm afraid you can't do that" another voice replied, and I turned around to see that guy with the funny hair... Gabe, right? I frowned. "She's about to undergo surgery." I knew that... I knew that! I collapsed on a chair, and they exchanged a sympathetic glance. Then he kept talking "Maria, why don't you give us a second? There's something I need to ask Agent Williams."
"S-sure. I'll be assisting in this operation. I'll make sure she's okay." I thanked her quietly, wondering what Gabe could possibly want in a moment like this. He didn't talk until we were alone in the corridor.
"She is your soulmate, isn't she?" I jumped in my seat, glancing at my wrist, the numbers dangerously turning redder and redder as it counted down. I felt nausea coming over me, and he shook my shoulder to make me look away. He looked serious. "Give us time to save her. I don't know how much time you have left, but we need more time. At this rate, she'll die as we start operating."
"W-what...?"
"Transfer her your time"
"We... we've never..." his eyes were incredulous.
"Are you fucking kidding me?! How much more obvious...?" he frowned "You knew about her condition, right? The FBI must have told you" I shrugged non committaly.
"She didn't want to."
"Well, I don't care if you've never confirmed it. Try it. Please. If she means anything to you... Just a few more minutes." his voice was awkward, and I could tell he wasn't used to talking about feelings. He grabbed my hand "You have to do it now, Agent Williams."

A minute left, huh?

"Let me see her" I pleaded. He nodded, pulling on my hand to get me into the OR. The surgeon and Maria were getting ready, and as surprised as they looked, they didn't get in our way. She looked even peaceful, with the anesthesia, and I grabbed her hand, not close enough for our tattoos to touch, but to feel her heartbeat. It was so weak I almost missed it... I intertwined our fingers, and smiled, the words we had all been once taught by our parents flowing easily out of my lips. "Let our times fuse and connect, and by the power fate has given me through this link we share, let my time become yours... now, and for the next hour."

It felt like the whole room was holding their breath, but when I released her hand, and held my wrist up, the collective cheer made me feel almost dizzy. The tattoo was still on the verge of bleeding, but the numbers had stopped their countdown in a few seconds. If everything went well, they'd go up after the hour I'd given her passed. If not... they'd keep going down after an hour had passed. Gabe collapsed against a wall, and Maria laughed, and the surgeon nodded, a hint of relief in his eyes. He checked her wrist, and nodded again.

"Let's save her. We should have enough time now. We can't let this man's time go to waste, her clock is ticking down twice as fast now" those words made everybody become serious again, and I nodded. "For now, you must remain calm and wait outside" I nodded.
"Please save her"
"I will"

"Naomi isn't angry" Alyssa insisted for the umpteenth time. I sighed.
"She isn't angry at you, of course she isn't"
"Naomi wants to talk to you!"
"Has she said that?" she huffed.
"Well..."
"Naomi is going to be alright now, Alyssa. Don't worry about it."
"I'm not worried about Naomi, I'm worried about you!" I smiled for her.
"I'm going to be fine, too."

I left the kid sleeping, and walked my way out of the hospital. Some nurses knew me already, since I spent a lot of time here lately. Most of them looked at me with sympathy, and it was starting to get on my nerves, but it was worth it to know she was alright. I hadn't seen her yet, not since she'd awoken, two days ago. I knew I couldn't avoid her forever, but I didn't want to face her and have her tell me she didn't want me to save her. I probably wouldn't be able to stand it. Her clock had gone back to normal, and while it oscillated, it was starting to stabilize in a very healthy number of years left. I had been told it could be because of her recovery or because of my tampering of our link, and that it wasn't strange at all. Alyssa had told me Naomi had noticed the missing extra hour in her clock a few moments after waking up, and it made me wonder if she really paid that much time to it on a normal basis, but I didn't have the courage to ask. Gabe had been the one to tell her, and he looked troubled when he came out.

"I don't know what's happened between you two, but she doesn't seem thrilled to hear about it..." had been his brutally honest words, and I somehow managed not to collapse right then and there, merely nodding and shrugging it off.
"She never really thought of me like that anyway..."
"She hasn't said anything... like..." he looked uncomfortable, but I didn't interrupt him. I wanted to know everything "She only said 'Him, huh... Why would fate do this, I wonder...' and asked me to go away... I mean, it's not exactly bad, right?" I forced a smile.
"Not really, could be worse" he nodded, and took a step away.
"Well then, you can go see her now if you want..."
"Thank you"

But I didn't. I had been through my fair number of terrible experiences, but somehow, I didn't think I'd be able to stand her rejection.

"Please if you have any kindness left in you, I don't think I can take it, so just... just don't say anything, please." I pleaded, and she seemed stunned. Her face was not hurt, but surprised, and I took the evidence she was holding and started analyzing it, in silence.

She came back to work earlier than I had expected, not that I should have been surprised in the first place: she loved her work. Even so, when she appeared in my office instead of contacting me through voice chat, like usual, I knew she wanted to talk. It was only natural, and I couldn't blame her. The only time I had talked to her before was one time that Alyssa and Maria teamed up to drag me to her room. I had wished her a fast recovery and left as soon as I could, and I could tell she was a bit hurt, but I was confident she wouldn't be the one left to tend to a soulbreaking pain if I stayed there.

She stayed around for a long time, just watching me work, and I did my best to concentrate, knowing all too well that there were words that needed to be said, and they were pressing in my throat, wanting to be let out. I gritted my teeth, and kept working.

After a while, she sighed, and I barely had time to prepare for her words when she started talking.

"And in the end, I guess even the bravest of us are never really ready for love" her voice was but a soft murmur, and when I tried to turn around, she was just right behind me, looking at me with a mix of resolution and shyness. "Look at us. Where did we go wrong?"
"I don't know" I replied at first, and then added, with all the sarcasm I could muster "Maybe when we decided to join Delphi? Or maybe when we parted ways after that outbreak. No wait, I'm pretty sure it was when I told you we were soulmates and you refused to acknowledge any of it for the next week whenever I tried to bring it up. Or perhaps..." she chuckled.
"I get it, Little Guy. I'm sorry I've repeatedly hurt your feelings." Her voice was... soft. She seemed sincerely apologetic, and I let it go with a sigh, turning around to face my computer.
"Yes, you have. And you seem particularly intent on doing so until the end, aren't you?" a pair of hands were suddenly placed on my shoulders, and every nerve on me screamed with something akin to electricity running through my body.
"On the contrary" she murmured, almost shyly. "I want to thank you. I've wanted to thank you ever since I learned what you did for me. I thought you may need some time to..." her hair brushed against my neck as she shook her head "I don't know. I tried to give you some space but I guess what you need from me isn't space, not really, is it?"
"What are you getting at?" I asked, my heart beating faster than it had ever beaten.
"I... want a second chance. To... to..." she seemed nervous, but she kept talking "To gain your trust again. If you'll have me."
"I trust you" I replied "I always have."
"Not back then" she murmured, amused.
"I don't like to admit it, because I shouldn't have back then, but yes, even then I did." she laughed softly, and her hand ruffled my hair.
"Of course. That is... very you, Navel." I couldn't help but smile softly at the use of my name.
"What do you want from me, Naomi?" I turned the chair around, and I immediately felt cold where her hands had been touching me. I took them in mines, and she allowed it, and when I ran my thumb over her knuckles, I felt her shiver slightly.
"I want something I've never had." her voice was caught in her throat, and she was looking at our hands, not me, as she answered. When she did raise her head, her eyes were wide, almost as if she were trying to hold back tears, and though at first I thought I should know better, her next words disarmed me completely "I'm scared, you know? I've been keeping everybody at arm's length all this time, even you, hell, especially you, and now..." one of her hands raised to cup my cheek on it, and I stood up to envelope her in a hug. She suddenly felt really small in my arms, and when her forehead rested in my shoulder, I could hear her say "I guess this really has to be fate." I cradled her gently until I felt her relax a little bit, and she took a deep breath.
"It's going to be alright" I murmured "You're going to live, Naomi. You have a future ahead of you."
"I want you in that future." she said, pulling away to look at me in the eye, and her words were quick, breathless and passionate, and I couldn't help myself as I cupped her face in my hands and kissed her, kissed her deeply, intensely, almost needy. She returned the kiss, and I knew I could die a happy man.

The kiss went on for longer than I had anticipated, and the way our lips moved together was just indescribable. It was sweet, and felt like home, and it was just the right amount of passionate and needy to leave both of us gasping for air, hands clawing at each other's clothes without daring to be the first to take that step. When her lips slid off of mine, I was fully aware that I let out a whine. She chuckled, and let her forehead rest on my shoulder while we both tried to get a grip of ourselves. Her hands let go of my tie, and I let go of her waist. She smoothed my tie, her palm flat against my chest, and her face tinged red briefly. Thankfully, before any of us had to break the silence, a beep from my computer did it for us. The analysis was complete, and it was then and only then that I remembered exactly where we were and what we were supposed to be doing. She smiled sheepishly, as if she had forgotten as well.

"I'll... send you the results to your computer." I murmured, a bit out of sorts still. She merely nodded. I took her hands in mines once more, not quite ready to let her go. My head was still spinning, and I could feel my heart beating fast in my chest, but I had to ask "What does this mean, then?"

"I means I want to take this chance, if you'll have me."

"You keep saying that, as though you think I could say no." I laughed under my breath, and pulled her closer to me again. She chuckled too, but allowed it.

"I need to get to my office." she said after a moment, and for the first time ever, she sounded lazy about it. I let her disentangle herself from me at her own pace, and when she did, she hesitated only a second before placing a tender kiss on my cheek "I'll see you later, Navel."
"L-later..."

She went away with a charming smile, and when I plopped down into my chair, I knew I wasn't going to be able to erase this stupid grin from my face in days.

Later that day, when the case was finally solved, Naomi proved me right by taking my arm and pressing our clocks together. The sensation was absolute bliss, so much we both had to take a second and sit down in the couch, just holding each other softly and looking into each other's eyes. We could have probably stayed like that for much, much longer, hadn't it been for Alyssa. She was still little to completely understand what had just happened, but she didn't seem to care much as long as we had dinner soon, and so we all went to the kitchen and started working on dinner together. Naomi suggested I stayed for the night, Alyssa seconded the idea, and when I agreed and Naomi smiled, I knew I had found everything I needed in life.

When I saw this AU on tumblr, I honestly could only think of this pairing. It suits them, doesn't it?

Let me know what you thought! :3

~Lena Lawlipop