A/N: I am so sorry that it took me this long to post another chapter, and that this one is so much shorter. I just got back to school and it's a new semester. Plus, this whole week is going to be incredibly crazy. Tonight was the first night in a while where I have found time to actually work on this story. Well, I hope you guys are enjoying it. It's still making me nervous because I haven't ever attempted a story like this before. Anyhoo, just read and relax, and let me know what you guys think when you're done. Thanks.

When Sakura got back to her apartment that evening, her head was spinning with confusion. Sure, she was happy to find a way to reach the person inside of the shell of a man that was once Sasuke, but how was she going to explain her necessary treatment to Tsunade? Sakura could try to hide her methods from the Hokage, but eventually, Tsunade would find out that Sakura was being affectionate towards a patient, and breaking several hospital rules in the process.

"What if I just go and explain the treatment I want to use first thing tomorrow morning? Then, at least the Hokage could formally approve or disapprove. But what would I say to her? I can't just walk into her office and ask if I can kiss a patient that I have a history with on a daily basis. There is no way she would approve of that. She would most likely yell at me for suggesting such a thing. It's not even a legitimate form of treatment. It's just some crazy idea that I had that happened to work. Tsunade never goes for crazy methods of treatment. She always likes things to be by the book. I could avoid the issue altogether and pass his case off to another doctor, but his treatment probably wouldn't progress as much if the affection came from someone he didn't know. Plus, Hokage- sama asked me to work with him. She would definitely notice if someone else started caring for him. Ah! What am I going to do? I can't just let Sasuke go untreated."

Exasperated from her inner conflict, Sakura went to the fridge to get something to eat in hopes that the food would bring back some of her energy. When she finally decided on something, she reheated it, went into the living room, sat down on her couch, and began to eat.

Though she tried to ignore it, she kept thinking about how cute Sasuke had looked in his hospital gown.

"Stop it, Sakura. He's your patient. He's sick. You can't think about those kinds of things when you have to go and be kind to him tomorrow" he brain told her.

"Yes, you can!" he inner voice yelled back. "In fact, it might actually help him recover faster if you're kindness is more genuine. Come one, keep thinking about him. You know you want to."

"So what if I want to, I can't. It's immoral. Moreover, I wouldn't be able to take care of him very well if I had genuine feelings for him. I wouldn't be able to make sound decisions that would be in the best interest of my patient."

"That's only and excuse doctors use when they don't want to operate on someone who they love or someone that they are related to. He is emotionally troubled. I don't think that means you're going to have to operate on him. It's not like you can fix an emotional problem by prodding his brain. Plus, you're going to have to get up close and personal with him, anyway. Despite your best efforts to avoid an emotional connection, your main form of treatment depends on it. No matter what you do, you're likely to rediscover your feelings for him."

"That's if I am still his doctor tomorrow"

"Come on. You know you are the best on for the job. You said it yourself just a second ago. Even Tsunade-sama said it. "

"I might be the best for him now, but what about in a few weeks when he starts to get better. I might not be the best doctor for him then. My judgment could be very clouded by my emotions"

"So you're willing to sacrifice a patients health for something that might happen. Wow. Good job, Sakura."

"Oh shut up," Sakura murmured aloud.

With that, she got up, cleaned up the remains of her dinner, and went to bed. She was still debating on what to do, but she needed to get some sleep. It was late and no matter what she decided, she still had to be up early to make her round at the hospital.

The next morning, after Sakura finished with her rounds, she went to see Sasuke. He was sitting in almost the exact same position in which she had left him the night before. He was sitting upright in the bed, and his lower body and his forearms were tucked beneath the sheets and blankets. The only difference today was that when she opened the door, his eyes blinked. Sakura thought she imagined it, but it almost looked as if he flinched at her presence.

Sakura wondered what it was that set him off. Was it her vibrant hair color, or her perfume that she had been wearing since her ninth birthday, (her mother had given it to her as a present).

"It has to be something that someone else can duplicate," she though disparagingly as she helplessly thought once again about passing on the case.

She walked over to the side of the bed, still unsure of what she should do. Her head was telling her to go and discuss the issue with Tsunade-sama, but her inner-self saying "to hell with it". She began to shake as the debates from the previous night began to swell within her.

She looked at him for reassurance, knowing that he would not be able to give any in his state. His eyes remained focused on his lap and distant, just as she had expected. He didn't seem to react even though her eyes were boring into the side of his face, and she honestly didn't expect him to. She looked down at her feet after a few seconds. She needed to gather courage.

After a few second, she looked up again, and leaned in. She pressed her lips to the exact same place that she had the night before.

Today, she saw no tears. She was expecting tears; she would have been able to handle tears. But today, she distinctly heard a choked, "Sakura" escape from his lips.

Sakura suddenly felt a coarse hand upon her wrist. She broke her eye contact for only a second to make sure that the object on her was in fact his hand, but when she looked back, he was looking at her, which only made her jump again.

"Thank you, Sakura," she said quietly with a pained expression on his face.

All Sakura would do was smile. She was practically beaming,

She leaned in as she had done before and kissed him on the cheek. Sasuke could feel her ever present smile on the side of his face.

"Are you hungry?" Sakura asked as she pulled away from him.

"Not really," he wanted to say, but he kept quiet. He nodded instead because he figured that he needed to get some form of nutrition in his body.

Sakura left, and got him some breakfast. When she returned, he didn't say anything, but he looked up. It was a small gesture, but it made a world of difference to Sakura. It was certainly profound enough to make her smile grow again.

Sasuke only ate some fruit, but Sakura figured it would take a while before he would be able to eat full meals again.

After he finished, Sakura cleared his place and left to tell Tsunade about Sasuke's miraculous progress.

A/N: So... What did you think?

EDIT!- I didn't like how short this chapter was, so I went back and added a bit more. Plus, this gives me a good starting point for the next chapter.