/Vomit warning for those who are squeamish. This chapter didn't turn out as long as I hoped it would, but I'm really happy with it. Enjoy!

Chapter Two

When the broth bowl was empty Sakura set it aside and began wiping the sweat from Sasuke's brow. His hair was damp and she brushed it away from his face with the cold cloth. His unresponsiveness was concerning, and she looked down at him worriedly as she cleaned his face. She guessed that he had been sick for a week at least, judging by his sunken cheeks and the yellowing of his eyes.

"Why didn't you come for help sooner?" she muttered to herself as she moved the cloth to clean his neck. He was absolutely drenched and she was worried the fluid he was getting from his IV wouldn't be enough to replace what had been depleted. "You're always so stubborn," she continued. "And look what it gets you."

After she had thoroughly wiped down all exposed skin, she lowered his bed back down so he could lay flat and pulled up a chair to sit beside him. She knew she was in for a long night of worrying and keeping a close eye out for any changes in Sasuke's condition, so she called a nurse and asked her to bring some instant noodles and coffee to the room.

There was a small kitchenette area near the bathroom and she was pleased to discover it was stocked with plates, cups, a microwave, and an induction heater for cooking. There was a small refrigerator as well and Sakura realized that if she asked someone to bring her supplies, she could make proper meals for herself and Sasuke when he was able to eat solid food.

As darkness fell she sat beside him for a while, her hand cupping his gently, running her thumb over his smooth skin. He had yet to hold her hand. They had yet to truly be in a relationship, either. Although she knew his feelings for her were real, they had agreed to wait until he felt his debt had been made up to Konoha. She knew it would probably be a long time, but she was willing to wait for him.

After a while, her eyes grew heavy with the need to sleep. She lifted her hand from his, careful not to disturb him, and moved to the vacant hospital bed next to his. She knew sleep wouldn't come easy, but for her own sake she needed to rest.

She dozed lightly, fading in and out of a dreamless sleep. In the darkest hours of the night, she was awoken by a faint rattling and she sat up slowly, groggy and confused as she tried to place to the sound. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and, suddenly remembering where she was and why, bolted out of bed.

Sasuke was shaking violently, his teeth rattling together with chills. Frantic, Sakura ran to his side and placed a hand on his forehead, trying to gauge his temperature despite the shaking. His fever was still far too high for her liking, and it seemed the fever reducer she had been administrating every four hours was not doing its job.

She tucked his covers around him tightly, trying to reduce his hard shaking. A heated blanket would only worsen his fever, and trying to use cold cloths to reduce the fever would only make his chills stronger. Besides, the chills were not her main concern. She had reviewed the symptoms of yellow fever as she tried to sleep and she knew there were worse things to come.

A small, strangled noise came from deep within Sasuke's throat and, acting quickly, Sakura cranked his bed up into a sitting position and grabbed the plastic bedpan from under his bed. She used her free arm to wrap tightly around his shoulders and the other to hold the pan under his chin.

The sound came from his throat again and she caught the black bile that exploded from his mouth in the pan. He coughed, gasping, choking, vomit spraying from his lips.

Sakura held him closer, holding the pan steady as it became heavy. "Sasuke," she muttered, squeezing his shoulder. As a doctor, dealing with this sort of thing didn't faze her, but the sheer amount of bile was concerning. In the dark, it appeared to be black, a typical symptom of the fever, but she feared there may be blood in the mix which would indicate the disease was far more severe than she thought.

The force of his choking brought him into semi-consciousness and his eyes found hers, locking onto them with a cold, hard stare.

She gasped. "Sasuke?"

"Get out!" he bellowed, forcefully shoving her away from him. The pan came clattering to the floor, spilling over, as Sakura stumbled backward from his sudden strength. "Leave!" he shouted again before gagging again powerfully.

Sakura stood, stunned, as she stared at him. Somehow, his sharingan had activated. She could see the glowing red orb spinning wildly in the darkness. She frowned and took a step closer, reaching to remove the bile-covered sheets from the bed. "Sasuke, let me help you," she said.

"Get out of here!" His voice cut harshly through the still night and Sakura realized he was not looking at her but through her. Hallucinations caused by high fever were not uncommon for victims of yellow fever. She wondered who he was seeing.

"Sasuke, it's me!" Sakura cried, gripping his shoulders tightly. "Look at me, please. Look at me."

He was nearly gasping for air, his chest hitching in uneven, jerking motions. Slowly, his sharingan faded to coal black and his breathing returned to normal as he caught her eye. She held his gaze for what felt like hours, waiting for him to be fully calm. He stared at her, eyes wide, mouth slightly open, as he struggled to breathe normally. She shushed him gently, placing her hand against his cheek. It was burning.

Sakura knew he wasn't fully aware of where he was or what was happening. The look of confusion on his face concerned her. It wasn't safe to have a fever so high for so long.

After a while, he closed his eyes and she delicately laid his head back against the pillow. Her heart was still pounding rapidly in her chest from the adrenaline. She had never seen someone become so violently ill before and she bit her lip as she glanced around the dark room. She had a lot of cleaning up to do. She would need to request more towels when she was done.

First things first, she decided, she needed to clean Sasuke up first. After all, he was the patient. She glanced down at her own bile-stained clothes and cringed.

Flipping the lights on, she gasped as she saw the true extent of the mess. The pan sat in the corner, surrounded by spillage which had splattered all over the floor and the walls. Sasuke's shirt and sheets were also covered in the substance, which she could now see was a dark black. Old blood. It was all blood. She was going to have to start watching his kidneys more closely. If they remained intact through this, he could still make it through. However, if they failed…

Tears pricked her eyes as she stripped the top sheet from Sasuke's bed as carefully as she could. He stirred at the loss of warmth and Sakura froze in place, unmoving as his eyes cracked open.

He caught sight of her, squinting against the harsh fluorescent lights to see her better. "Sakura," he croaked slowly, eliciting a hard cough. "What's happening?"

Her pounding heart skipped a beat. He was conscious and aware. It was probably only temporary for the time being, but it was something. "You're all right, Sasuke," she comforted. She pulled the sheets completely off the bed, thankful that none of the mess had gotten on the rest of the bedding, and sat beside him. "You're really sick, you know that? But I'm taking care of you."

His eyes closed and he turned his head to the side. "The lights…"

"Sorry," she whispered and leaned over to turn them off. She could clean in the dark. The sun would be rising soon anyway. "Can I get you some water?"

He gave one small nod, keeping his eyes closed.

"All right," she said, "but you need to change your shirt first."

At any other time, Sasuke would have simply insisted on completing the simple task on his own. Even when he was learning to adjust to life with only one arm, he had insisted upon doing everyday tasks without the help of others. But that night, he didn't make as sound as Sakura lifted his shirt up. He shifted slightly, weakly, so she could pull it over his head, but he did not protest. She wiped his face, chest, and arms off with a cool, damp cloth and a little soap and helped him change into one of the plain cotton t-shirts Tsunade had kindly provided.

Once he was cleaned up, she got the glass of water and held it to his lips so he could drink. He didn't seem to mind. In fact, he made no effort to even raise his arm. The fever had weakened him to a point where he could not do much more than swallow.

He drank about half the glass before turning his head away and Sakura sighed in relief. It wasn't much, but it was something. She had changed his IV bag twice already, so she knew he was at least hydrated. It would definitely help in keeping his kidneys functioning.

"You really scared me earlier. Now rest," Sakura commanded softly. "If you want, tomorrow, you can have a little broth again. You need to keep your strength up."

His only response was the low, even breaths of sleep. Smiling lightly, Sakura brushed his hair back and placed a cool cloth on his forehead. In all of her readings about yellow fever, she learned that vomiting blood was, in most cases, the "peak" of the toxic phase. He needed to recover from the blood loss, but she found herself hoping that this meant he might just pull through. If he followed the general steps of the disease, he should be starting to recover slowly but surely. He would still require a lot of care; it could take over a month for him to regain his strength, and she knew Tsunade would keep them both under quarantine until every sign of the disease was gone, but she had hope.

She just hoped she wouldn't start to show signs of the disease. The incubation period for yellow fever was six days, and as long as Sasuke still had a fever, he was contagious. She could pick up the disease from him at any time, and it could be a week before she would start showing symptoms. She prayed her immune system was strong enough to pull her through this.

With the first morning light trickling through the curtained windows and Sasuke sleeping soundly, Sakura began to clean up the horror from the night.