Restoration

Chapter Two

-Difficult Patient-

Hayate hummed softly to himself as he walked down the hallways of the hospital, nodding to his nurses and greeting them. He didn't stop to talk long to them like he normally would though, as he was in search of one nurse in particular. That was when he spotted her coming out of one of her patient's rooms.

"Talia!" he called out, waving at her with a smile. She returned it, stopping in her walk to let him catch up to her.

"Hello Doctor Hayate." Talia said happily, having to look up at him once he was before her.

His smile widened. "I've been looking everywhere for you." he laughed. "You're one hard woman to track down."

"Just doin' my job." She giggled. "What did you need me for sir?"

"Oh, nothing. I just wanted to check on you and make sure Sano isn't being too much of a jerk." The Uchiha said. "He isn't…is he?"

"Um…" Talia frowned a bit. "Well…he's not saying anything mean…so I suppose he's not being a jerk…" she laughed, though she seemed a bit uncomfortable.

Hayate frowned. "What's he doing?"

The blonde paled, waving him off. "Haha…nothing…nothing…"

"Talia…" he said, all joking and laughter gone from his face and voice for once.

"Hayate." She mocked his tone. "It's my job to take care of the patients. Some tend to be more difficult than others." She shrugged, heading off. "Speaking of which, I'm late to bringing him his lunch." Talia waved. "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine." She called, heading off to the cafeteria then. She went to the back, waving to the cooks and picking up a trey that had much better food on it than from the normal kitchen.

Once she had Sanosuke's food in hand she headed back up to the floor he was on, going to his room. As usual, she knocked on the door twice before announcing herself and going into the room. "I've brought you some lunch Sanosuke." Talia said as she came in and set it beside his bed. "How are you feeling today?"

"The same." He said, not even sparing her a glance.

"I'm sorry to hear that." She frowned, though she sat down in the chair beside his bed and pulled the food closer so she could feed him. "What would you like first?" she asked. "We have banana pudding with chocolate swirl, steak, medium rare and cut up for you already, asparagus with a balsamic demi-glaze, and seasoned loaded mashed potatoes."

Sanosuke sighed, sliding his gaze over to her. "Can I start sitting up to eat? Laying here while you feed me is really degrading."

She shook her head. "No…I'm sorry. Your spine still needs to rest. Until Hayate says you're allowed to you won't be able to do anything for awhile."

"He's probably just punishing me and making me wait." He grumbled, looking forward once more. "I would like to rotate through bites of steak, asparagus, and then the mashed potatoes…please."

"Okay." She nodded, taking hold of the fork and picking the best piece of steak she could find. She started to feed him then, rotating through the entire meal, though neither of them ever spoke a word, unless Sanosuke wanted a drink.

When he finished his meal, he let Talia walk around and check all of his vitals, being the perfect patient…nearly. As he watched her, he couldn't help but notice for the millionth time how genuinely beautiful she was. And unlike most women, she didn't even flaunt it, nor was she arrogant about her looks. She was like a ray of sunshine in this dreary place, always greeting him with a smile and cheer in her voice. Other than Hayate, and the occasional visits and calls from his family, Talia was his only human interaction here, and sometimes he found himself craving her presence simply so that he was no longer alone. "What made you decide to become a nurse?" he found himself asking out of nowhere.

Talia paused in her actions, a bit surprised he had even spoken to her, since he never had before. She looked over at him, still looking confused. "Oh, well…" she smiled once more as she touched up the flowers in his rooms. "I love helping people."

"But why did you choose a nurse? Don't you ever get tired of the patients?" he wondered.

"Sometimes." She shrugged. "Some are mean and unhelpful and ru-" she paused, her eyes widening slightly, though she faced away. "Just…some are more difficult than others. But nurses are important. Who else could take care of the patients and make sure they recover? Doctors are too busy."

Sanosuke smirked, though she couldn't see it. "You think I'm one of the more difficult patients." He stated. When she turned, looking as if she were going to protest, he held up his good hand. "Don't, I can see the truth in your eyes. You don't like me." he said, though he didn't seem upset by that fact.

"I never said I didn't like you." Talia corrected, raising her finger and wagging it at him. "I like everyone. I simply find you a bit brash and rude…not to mention you never speak, and have a bit of an attitude."

"How am I rude if I never speak?" the Uchiha asked.

She smiled, though she looked off. "Usually…when someone speaks to you and you ignore them it's considered to be rude. And you act as if I was the one who forced you to stay here."

"I may just not have a response to what you're saying." He told her.

Talia shrugged, checking his vitals once more. "You may justify it whichever way you want. But when someone speaks to you, it's nice to say something back." She said with a small smile. "Well Sanosuke, I'll leave you to yourself now. If you need anything, just hit the red button." She told him, fluffing his pillows for him and then leaving with the tray.

Sanosuke smirked once more. It seemed his nurse was feistier than she let on. He would enjoy seeing just how much of that side he could get her to reveal, as it was now his new entertainment. Perhaps his stay wouldn't be so bad after all.

Hayate found Talia later that day, surprising her as he stopped her in the hall. "What did you do to my brother?" he asked, his eyes wide in confusion.

The blonde blinked, and her amber gaze widened. "I swear I didn't do anything!" she nearly gasped out, though the blush on her face gave her away. She lowered her head in shame. "I know I shouldn't have done it, but I didn't think you'd find out. I just turned up the morphine a teensy bit…you know…so he doesn't give me those judgmental stares."

The Uchiha blinked. "Um…that's not what I meant…" he trailed off, before smirking. "I can't believe you've been drugging him. If my mother finds out, she's going to kill you."

Talia paled, bowing her head in shame. "I'm so sorry. I know it was wrong. Please don't tell her."

"Oh I won't, don't worry." He laughed. "Though I think it's kinda funny. But…what I was talking about was that when I went to go check on him today, he seemed…almost happier. Which is really hard to believe, considering he's been here for a week."

She looked up at him, seeming just as confused as he was. "I don't understand. He was just miserable not three hours ago."

"Well what happened when you went in to check on him?" he asked.

"He said that if this hospital didn't get more than the twenty channels he's getting, the moment he was able to walk he'd come find you and kick your ass for being a cheap ass." She said simply. "When I told him it's not you who funds the hospital, he said I had no idea what I was talking about and how your family owns everything they ever do."

Hayate blinked. "Oh…yeah I kinda do fund the hospital…" he shrugged, before perking up. "But he threatened me and attempted a joke, that's a good sign!" he smiled. "I think he likes you."

Talia blinked, arching a curious brow. "Huh?"

"I just mean that I think you're lifting his spirits a little bit." he said. "You know, making his stay here easier."

"Oh…" she smiled. "Well that's good then. I wish he would show it to me as well that he's feeling better."

He waved her off. "Don't worry about it. I can only tell cause' I'm his brother. Most people only see what he wants them to see." He sighed. "Well, I have to go finish my rounds. The next time you go check on him, lower his morphine dosage to half. If he's not feeling the pain then it will be harder to gauge his recovery rate."

Talia huffed, pouting slightly as she watched her superior chuckle his way off. "But I like him better when he's unconscious." She grumbled under her breath. She sighed, turning around and started down the hall to check her floor and make sure all her patients were taken care of. Though as usual, she saved the most callous one for last.

Sanosuke watched as Talia messed with his IV and set out his medicine. He took in her profile, noticing that she was reducing his dosage. He smirked. "Hayate finally find out what you've been doing?" he asked.

Talia froze, her complexion paling drastically. "You knew?" she whispered, looking down at him.

"Of course I knew, I'm not a simpleton." He scoffed. "Besides, the amount of time I've spent sleeping the past three days was a little suspicious."

A huge blush spread across her cheeks from being caught. "Well…he didn't find out…I told him…I thought he knew, but he wanted to talk about something else."

"Well, I would just like to say that I knew you were devious." Sanosuke said, seeming to take pleasure in her embarrassment. "Though I didn't think you'd go that far."

"Well maybe if you weren't so annoying." She huffed, going back to her task and making sure everything was at the right levels.

He chuckled, the first one she'd ever heard from him. "You know, you're kind of cute when you're caught off guard.

"I wasn't caught off guard." She pouted. "I was a tiny bit surprised."

"Either way, what I said remains the same." He shrugged, taking his antibiotics from her and popping them in his mouth, swallowing his offered water shortly after that.

She sighed, staying by his bedside. "Well, how are you feeling? Your fever has finally gone down. So you should be sleeping better."

Sanosuke looked up at her. "I feel better. Not as sore as I did on the first day."

"That's good." She finally smiled. "Your muscles must finally be done with the trauma and relaxed."

"So we can take off this stupid body cast?" he asked, allowing hope to slip into his voice.

"Nope." She wagged her finger in the air, as she usually did when she was denying him his freedom. "Sorry to say, but I only got orders on your morphine intake." She smirked.

He pouted. "You know, I think you take pleasure out of denying me."

Talia giggled, unable to stop the smile. "Only a little bit."

The corner of his mouth tilted up slightly. "You're just lucky I can't reach you from here." He said, making a playful swipe at her.

Her eyes widened slightly and she took a hold of his wrist, placing it back down carefully. "Be careful Sanosuke. You can't be moving around too much or you'll do more damage than good." She scolded, leaning over and adjusting him a bit so everything was leveled.

"But that was my good hand." He argued, examining her features since she was closer now.

"I don't care, you need to be careful." She scolded.

Her braid fell over her shoulder and close to his face, and he reached out and lightly touched the golden strands. "There are so few natural blondes in LA…" he trailed off, marveling at the silky feel. "Your hair is beautiful."

Talia blushed, a dark red covering her entire face. "Um…th-thank you." She whispered, pulling away quickly and grabbing a hold of her braid as if she was feeling the softness for herself.

"You're welcome." Sanosuke let his hand fall back to the bed. "If that's all for now, I think I'm going to see if there's anything good on this crappy television."

She blinked, looking to the screen and nodding. "Alright." She said, signing off on his chart before heading towards the door. "I'll be back in four hours for your first sponge bath." Talia called over her shoulder as she left.

He stared at the door with wide eyes. She was going to be the one to give him a sponge bath?! But there wasn't anything to bathe! The only areas that weren't covered were his left arm, right leg, head, and…privates. A small blush came to his face, and instead of grabbing the remote for the television, he picked up his cell phone and hit speed dial for his elder brother. Because he had a question only the most sexually knowledgeable Uchiha could answer.

Sanosuke couldn't stop tapping his fingers as he watched the clock tick closer and closer to the eight. The big hand seemed to be moving too slowly, and yet too quickly at the same time. He'd talked to his brother hours ago, but everything he said wasn't exactly helpful. He wanted advice on how to keep himself from visibly becoming aroused, in case it became an issue, but all Noriaki would say were tips on how to get Talia to jerk him off, or have sex with him. And that was not what he wanted. At least…not while he was so limited in what he could do.

He sighed, clenching his eyes shut and trying not to feel too anxious. His body slowly tensed as he heard footsteps coming down the hall, and he ignored the minute pain in his back. He quickly grabbed the remote and turned on the television, not even paying attention to the show that was on. So long as he appeared to be watching it, he was okay.

The door opened and Talia walked in, holding a basket full of bath supplies. "I'm back. I hope you're ready for your bath." She smiled, setting the things aside and stopping by his bedside.

Not really, he thought, taking a calming breath. "Sure…" he looked up at her. "I've never had a sponge bath before." He admitted.

"Well…if you would be more comfortable with an elder woman…since…we're so close in age…or your brother offered to do it." She blushed a bit, trying not to fiddle with her hands too much.

He deadpanned. "I would rather experience that car accident again than have Hayate bathe me." he told her. "I was only telling you because I don't know what I'm supposed to do."

She shrugged. "I was only making sure." She said, walking around the bed and beginning to make his IV portable. "I've no problem at all…" she said, beginning to help him into a more upright position. "I do this sort of thing all the time." Talia huffed, moving the bed into the lavish bathroom. "Now we have to take off your clothing." She informed him, beginning to remove what little he had on.

"I really don't think I'm all that dirty…" he said, watching as she carefully pulled his pajama pants off over his cast. He knew it was a lie though. It'd been a whole week. The closest he'd ever gotten to being clean was when his mother came by every other day to wash his hair for him.

"Don't be so embarrassed Sanosuke." Talia laughed, finally pulling off his boxers and revealing his whole form. "I've cleaned tons of penises in my day." She smiled, though it fell quickly, replaced by an embarrassed blush. "Just for work though! I don't mean like…you know…that…" she babbled on.

Sanosuke blushed slightly. "I'm not embarrassed about you seeing me naked. I just don't like people touching me." he lied, though it was partly true.

She blinked, almost looking offended. "Well…I'll make this quick then. I'd hate to make you uncomfortable." She snapped, going and turning on the water for the bath.

He let out an aggravated sigh, allowing himself to fall back onto the mattress, wincing slightly at the shot of pain that went up his back. "You shouldn't move that much." Talia scolded with a huff. She poured soap into the water, before wetting the sponge and towel. Then she went back to his side and began to clean his feet, carefully moving up his legs.

"I know, I know." Sanosuke said, closing his eyes as she washed him. It actually was kind of nice, letting someone else bathe him. And he couldn't help but think of how erotic this was. He tried to stop such thoughts from forming in his mind, but suddenly he was picturing Talia sliding up between his legs and rubbing his thighs, similarly to the way she was washing them now. Slowly and sensually, though she was probably trying to be careful.

His eyes snapped open then as he felt himself become erect, and he was unable to keep from blushing, wondering what her reaction would be and what she would think of him when she saw it. Talia blinked, since she had just about to work on his penis. She had a light blush on her face, though her eyes did not stray from it until she glanced up and met his gaze. "Um…" she swallowed.

"That…was the real reason I was embarrassed…" he admitted softly.

"Um…well…I will be gentle." She promised, wetting the sponge once more and slowly beginning to rub him, but not too hard.

Sanosuke let out a slow breath, trying to remain calm despite the fact that he became even harder at her touch. He was tempted to use one of the lines Noriaki had told him, but he refrained. It was so unprofessional, and he had a feeling it would only offend her. Not to mention he didn't want to have to listen to Hayate's crap when he heard about it.

It was over before he knew it, and soon Talia had moved up to wash his arm. He looked up at her, a slight frown on his face. "I'm sorry…" he said.

"It's okay…" she said, though she didn't meet his gaze. "It's not like it's your choice or anything. Male genitalia is very sensitive."

"…right." he said, looking off and wishing this whole thing could be done already.

The rest of his sponge bath went by smoothly and then once he was dressed, a few other nurses came in and helped switch the sheets, before Sanosuke was finally back in his place, with the TV on. "So…" Talia swallowed. "How do you feel?"

"Well…" Sanosuke pursed his lips. "I guess backed up, would be the right way to describe it. But other than that, it's nice to be clean. Thank you."

"Of course…though…I'm sorry about the back up." She blushed, looking off.

He shook his head to the best of his ability. "Don't be. I'm sure I'm not the only man you've done this to." He smirked, trying to bring light to the situation.

Talia smiled, laughing a bit. "Yes, but you are the first to make me feel bad about it and not disgusted."

He couldn't help but chuckle. "Well, there's a first time for everything. I'll try to better control my thoughts next time to make it easier."

"Sounds like a plan." She smiled, beginning to head out with her things. "Goodnight Sanosuke. Try and get some rest alright? I will see you in the morning." Talia called before closing the door behind her.

"Night." He called after her softly, turning off the television and relaxing into his clean sheets. A sigh escaped him as he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep, his dreams filled with beautiful golden hair and the laugh of an angel.