DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT own Kai Hiwatari, though Zaiden makes me wish I did.

Author's Note: Oh, don't mind me...Heavy editing, due to the fact that between May '08 and now, the formatting for this thing has been majorly effed over. But, somehow I'm not surprised….it's , go figure. A gift-fic for Zaiden, who inspires me heavily with SLTS and L/H. It's STILL all her fault.

The insistent beeping pulled me to a level of consciousness I'd previously been unaware that I'd left, and I shifted only to stop when I realized that I hurt. I struggled to open my heavy eyes and was rewarded for my efforts by being nearly blinded by pristine whiteness. Damn.

I closed my eyes and tried again, this time more slowly…

The whiteness greeted me again, though not as glaringly harsh as before.

….what the hell?

The room was not mine, nor the bed. In fact, I didn't recognize anything. Where was I……and more importantly, what happened?

Mom was in my vision then, saying my name over and over and I struggled to understand. Higher awareness came to me slowly and I tried desperately to remember….anything, really.

"…mom," I croaked as she started crying. I felt her squeeze my hand, but I couldn't squeeze back. I looked down. My hand had a tube running out of it, and a clamp on my finger. Further up my arm, I was bandaged at the elbow.

"…happen?" I managed. Why wasn't my voice working?

"You were in an accident, sweetie," she said, ignoring her tears. "Do you remember? Oh, I'm so glad you're alright!"

Accident? I couldn't recall what she was talking about, but that would explain the hurt. I tried to assess my damage, but it hurt just to bend my neck.

I found out soon enough though, when the doctor came in to check on me. I went through the typical procedure of lights in the eyes; questions about me, the date, the White House occupant and my last memory. I could answer all but the latter.

My own questioned were answered too. I had been in a car wreck—which to me indicated more than just the typical 'fender-bender-accident-shit'. I listened with a detached kind of horror as one of the nurses read me my medical chart. I had heavy bruising on my sternum from the seatbelt; burns suffered from airbag and severe loss of blood from having my side ripped open as the driver side door of the car crushed into my side on impact. I had four broken ribs and a fractured elbow, not to mention several lacerations from the glass. I was lucky they managed to stop the internal bleeding in time.

"You're very lucky, young lady," the doctor told me later. "Without your friend's blood donation, you probably wouldn't have such a rapid recovery."

Friend? I must have looked confused because Mom had to explain.

"Kai donated some of his blood for you, sweetie."

I let myself absorb that information. Hiwatari had willingly given me some of his blood?

But why? I thought he hated me?

That question plagued me for two long and frustrating weeks, as I stayed cooped up in the hospital and then the house during my recovery with nothing to do but think. And with it, came a few other questions as well, like, how did he know we had the same RH factor? How did he know I'd been in wreck? And more importantly, what did he care?

We were basically enemies since day one of living on the same street, what stock did he have in me living?

The more I thought about it, the more it bothered me; perhaps it was just all in my head, but it bothered me having Hiwatari's blood coursing through my veins alongside my own. It was too intimate in my mind; something people in stories did—lovers, brothers in arms, and those who shared blood for magical protection. Nowhere in the stories was it mentioned that neighbours who can't stand each other share their blood.

I felt different too. Not 'off', per say, but changed. Mellow and aloof, in which I was fine with absolute silence for periods at a time. And three different times had I caught myself staring off into nothingness, but for the life of me, couldn't figure out where I'd been once I snapped back. It was more than slightly worrying. I couldn't even bring myself to care that my car had been totaled beyond repair.

I felt uneasy with these new feelings and attitudes, that I normally never displayed before and I needed answers for my new condition, despite the fact that I realized I would have to go straight to the source for any revelations.

I finally caught up with Kai next weekend. He was underneath his car that fine Sunday afternoon, doing God knows what to it. His shoeless legs stuck out halfway, just begging to be kicked. Who was I to refuse?

I grinned at his string of muffled curses when my foot met his shin, feeling more like myself than I had all week…..until he pulled himself out from under the car….

My heart literally skipped a beat when I realized all he was wearing was a pair of overalls with no shirt. He was damned lucky hot oil hadn't dripped on his bare chest.

I hoped I wasn't drooling even though my mouth felt as dry as cotton.

"…the hell was that for?" he demanded in an annoyed tone.

I shrugged to cover for my stupor. "I was never this violent before. Must be your blood."

He shot me a dirty look in response. "Bullshit." He turned to grab a rag to wipe the grease off his hands and I heard him mutter: "Give you my blood and this is the thanks I get…."

There it was. I couldn't ask for a more perfect opening. I leaned down and rested on the balls of my feet, wincing internally when my knees cracked. "Why'd you it?" I asked seriously.

He looked me then—dead on. "Why wouldn't I?"

'Because we're enemies,' my mind supplied instantaneously. 'Because we've pretty much hated each other since day one.' But I said nothing, my mouth refused to move.

"I don't think you realize how close to dying you came," he said after a moment.

Dying?

"It was just a car wreck," I insisted, following him with my eyes as he stood.

"Do you know how much blood you lost?" Hiwatari asked me abruptly, doing an about-face to look at me.

The intensity of his gaze caught me off guard.

Actually, I had no clue. The doctor had not given many specifics while I was there, but he kept insisting I was a very lucky young lady. And Mom, being Mom, tended over-dramatize things a bit, so I really didn't take anything they said too seriously.

"The average human can die of shock alone by losing a little over one third of their blood," Kai lectured, sounding just like a textbook. As he spoke he reached out a hand to me and I grabbed it without hesitation, allowing him to pull me to a standing position.

He released my hand, but his gaze captured mine. "You were a pint away from the point of no return." He turned away and made towards his house.

"No return?" I echoed doubtfully. "Aren't you being a little—" And then dizziness descended upon me like a wave and for a terrifying moment I thought I was going to pass out.

"Shit," I heard Kai say, and a second later one hand gripped my elbow while the other rested at the small of my back, warm and firm, as he guided me to his front porch.

Too weak to protest (much) and frankly, too out of breath, I allowed myself to be herded along further behind 'enemy lines'.

"Stupid body," I cursed.

"Push yourself too hard and you'll wind up back in the hospital," Kai warned.

"I'm fine," I insisted, once I felt I could breathe again. "Just a little head rush from being pulled up too quick, that's all."

"You aren't fine," he shot back in that annoyed tone again. "You're probably overtaxing yourself without giving your body time to recoup."

"What do you know about my body?" I snapped peevishly. "….Don't you dare answer that," I growled just as he opened his mouth.

The look he shot me was a mix between annoyed and condescending, but I didn't want to ponder it. Instead he asked, "When's the last time you ate?"

I opened my mouth to tell him that it was none of his damn business, ignoring the small part of my brain that said I was being too defensive and ungrateful (I mean, this was Kai Hiwatari, basically my sworn enemy). Instead, I was mortified to hear my stomach give a small gurgle as if in response to his question.

"Thought so," he replied in that stupid superior tone of his. "Your blood sugar's probably low as well."

What was he—a doctor? Before I could ask, he disappeared inside but came back in record time with a hastily slapped together peanut butter sandwich in one hand and a canned nutritional drink in the other.

"Here," he said, holding out both.

I eyed the offerings warily, ignoring his eye roll.

"I didn't donate my blood, just to poison you, trust me," he snapped, shoving the food towards my face. "I've got better things to do than dragging your passed out ass off the property and back over to your place."

I gingerly picked snack out of his hands but made a show of giving the sandwich a good sniff before biting into it. After a moment of chewing, I began to wonder if Hiwatari had been lying about poisoning me. The thick peanut butter tasted awful.

I must've been making a face, because he popped the top of the can of drink and held it out for me.

I grabbed for it and guzzled half the can.

"It's soy butter," he explained as he sat down next to me. "More protein than regular peanut butter. Mom uses it on her toast in the mornings."

"Someone needs to tell her it's expired," I reported, once I had gotten most of the foul mixture out of my mouth and down my throat.

"That's how it's supposed to taste."

Funny, Mrs. Hiwatari never struck me as a masochist.

We sat together in silence for a moment or two while I choked down the rest of the sandwich. When I was finished, Kai stood and offered me his hand again. I noticed he was more careful about pulling me up this time.

"Where are we going?" I asked as he led me down the porch steps.

"Your place," he said, finally dropping my hand. "You need to rest."

I rolled my eyes. What the hell did he think I'd been doing this last week, moshing? Besides, I was tired of resting. I wanted to get out.

"Watch it!" Kai's voice rang in my ear. I was jerked back just in time to feel a car whiz past us.

"Are you crazy?!" he cried.

"Sorry," I muttered, still half dazed. "Wasn't lookin'."

Hiwatari peered at me in a way that made me highly nervous. Perhaps, he was right for once, about needing to rest.

We crossed the street quickly and made it back to my home without further incident. By which I mean: I tried to ignore his hand on my back as we did so. I was more than a little surprised when he waltzed in right behind me as I opened the front door and then led me to my own living room—my pillow and blanket still on the couch from my makeshift pallet.

I was directed to chill out on the couch and was amazed that I actually did. I should've been ignoring his orders and kicking him out of my house, but I was starting to feel too tired to argue at all.

I could hear Hiwatari in the kitchen and a minute later, he returned with a glass of orange juice and our cordless phone. He set them on the end table next to the couch where a deck of cards, the tv remote and my pills sat.

"You don't need to be taking any of these, right now, do you?" he asked, shaking the pills.

I grabbed them back. "No, Doctor Mom," I said, feeling a little more like myself again.

He only rolled his eyes. "Drink," he said, pointing at the juice. "And rest. I'll see you later." He left, closing the door behind him after that.

And I was left to follow his orders. I mulled over that as I absently took a sip of the juice.

Hating Hiwatari was a familiar feeling; one I had been comfortable with. But, somehow the idea of not hating him didn't mortify me nearly as much as it used to. Neither did the fact that I owed him twice now for saving my life….

I stopped thinking then, and snuggled further under my blanket. Not hating Kai was one thing, feeling gratitude towards him was something else entirely and I didn't want to overtax myself any more….

So there it is, in the better formatting…