DA: I think I've let you all wait long enough. I just hope you haven't forgotten about me. Broken was really just a test to see how you guys like my writing. I do admit, I'm quite pleased with all your responses. This story goes with the last one, making it a two-shot. I swear it'll probably be the only one. I just had to write this or I would feel unfulfilled. After this, the one-shots begin.
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon Ranger. The only thing I own currently is a very pretty pink prom dress that I am more than excited to wear. XD
DA: Please enjoy.
2. Healing
Kate was lying in a bed in the Ranger Union's infirmary, white bandages stretching across her body. Rhythmi, sitting in a chair, had a book draped across her lap and a headset encasing her ear. She was still on duty, and that required her to wear the headset at all times. Keith, despite the fact that he was exhausted, was on a mission. Erma held the young redhead to his word when he had said that he would take on any mission without question if the chairperson let him take the mission of saving his girlfriend. It was an understatement to say that the blond operator was worried. Kate's shallow breathing filled the room with sound, the only sound. It was that sound that had kept Keith up that night, and it was that sound that drove him to go to work that day completely exhausted.
The door suddenly slid open, causing the blond to glance over. A very disheveled Keith walked into the room, the bags under his eyes even more apparent than they had been this morning. "You're back early," she commented softly. A weak glare poked at her from within his brown eyes.
"Sven sent me back," Keith responded with a yawn. "Said I was endangering the mission." Rhythmi had to place a hand in front of her mouth to hide her laughter. "Oh shut up." He clumsily grabbed a nearby chair and swung it over to Kate's bedside, plopping into it once it was in place.
"What exactly did you do?" The young ranger wiped angrily at his eyes as if the motion would drive the sleepiness away.
"Fell asleep on a Staraptor..." he said gruffly. "Next thing I knew I was on the ground with Sven glaring at me." The operator found herself unable to contain the laughter building up inside her and it burst from her lips in a roar, causing Keith to glance up at her incredulously from his hands. "No sympathy, I swear. I've just been caring for Kate at all hours of the night and unable to sleep the nights before I found her." Rhythmi's laughter was instantly silenced, a shamed look of guilt replacing her previously gleeful face. His hands softly brushed a chestnut colored lock of hair from his lover's face, his tired face bearing a worried but oddly caring countenance. He slid his other hand into hers, squeezing it gently once.
A low moan sounded from the bed. Keith's eyes, though already focused on her, fixated themselves upon her face. Kate's eyelids twitched once, her slender eyebrows scrunching down, then opened, revealing startling sapphire orbs. "Keith?" she murmured, her hand tightening around his. He smiled down at her, all exhaustion forgotten.
"Nope, this is Rhythmi," he responded in a falsetto. Kate responded with a raised eyebrow and a roll of her eyes. "You see Keith? Well, maybe something's wrong with that big brain of yours." Rhythmi stood up, closing her book, and stormed over to the goofy redhead. "Especially if you see handsome, sexy, hot, and adorable Keith instead of lame and boring-" He was cut off by a hard and heavy book smacking the side of his head, causing him to fall off his chair.
"Enough with your abuse of every adjective known to mankind," Rhythmi snarled, brandishing her book with flair. "And I am NOT lame and boring!" Keith pulled himself back into his chair, rubbing his head.
"That hurt, Ryth..." he complained in his normal voice. Kate, finding all this amusing from the start, laughed. "Glad you found it funny."
"Keith," Kate started, shaking her head. "You knew she was going to flip like that so why did you even start?" He shrugged, pouting.
"It's cause he's overtired," the blond said, sitting down. Just as she opened her book, her earpiece started squawking in her ear. She swore. "Just as I was sitting down too." With a sigh, she stood. "I have to go. Operators are busy so I have to help out. Apparently every ranger available is on a mission. Why? I don't know, but they are." Frowning, she left, her lethal book clutched tightly in her fingers.
"Why are you overtired?" Kate asked quietly once she had determined Rhythmi's distance to be far enough away. Keith kissed her forehead, one of the only spots without bandages. When he leaned back in his chair, she noticed just how dark the bags under his eyes were. And she didn't like it. Not one bit.
"I couldn't sleep, knowing that your life was in danger." Her sapphire eyes softened, grabbing the hand resting on her bed. "Ice is in custody and is being questioned as we speak." She nodded slightly, his hand tightening around hers. "So far, all we've gotten out of him was that he was just doing it for revenge. I was there for that part." He smiled, falling silent for a moment. "They then sent me away once they realized that his broken nose was because of me." She smiled back.
"Looks like someone's protective of me." His grin widened, cheeks tinted pink. A thought suddenly occurred to her based on Rhythmi's words. "So why are you not on a mission?" He coughed gently to cover his embarrassment. He averted his gaze, finding the tiled floor more interesting than her face. That damn Staraptor. It just had to feel like his bed. The gentle vibrations of the wing muscles in movement lured him to sleep. He blamed the bird.
"I fell off a Staraptor because I fell asleep. Erma decided that having me on missions right now probably wouldn't be the best idea. I'm on vacation for at least two weeks." She frowned, worried. Worried or not, it wasn't like Keith to skip out on a night's rest. Keith tried to stifle a yawn, unsuccessfully. The brunette painfully pushed herself to the side of her bed, patting the empty side.
"Come up here with me," she murmured. "We can fall asleep together." He scrunched his eyebrows together in confusion. She smiled at him, the expression warm and inviting. "Well come on. I don't mind."
"But won't that hurt you?" She frowned at his words, crossing her arms over her chest. Sure, Keith wanted to share a bed with Kate but he wasn't sure whether or not her body could handle it.
"I'm not that fragile! Honestly, you'd think I was made of glass. I may be hurt but I can handle someone sharing my bed." His goofy grin returned, softening her gaze. "Come on. We're both tired. Get your ass up here before I fall asleep." He rolled his eyes but complied, lying his body next to her. She smiled weakly at him, her eyes drooping. The redhead gently placed her on his chest, rubbing the brunette's shoulders contentedly. "Don't you dare leave while I'm asleep." He could feel his own eyes closing as well, a strange expression gracing his face.
"Go to sleep. I promise I'll be here when you wake up." She sighed and within moments, she was asleep, breathing softly against his chest. He followed her soon thereafter, his own exhaustion too strong to resist.
Rhythmi walked back into the room, looking for the bookmark she must have dropped on her way out the door. Of course, the couple in the bed drew her attention, a ghost of a smile floating across her lips. She'd seen their relationship coming before anyone, seeing as she had gone to school with the two of them. The signs were all there even back then and, though Rhythmi tried valiantly to gain Keith's attention, all he looked at was Kate. She constantly caught him sneaking glances at her other best friend. Whenever she brought it up, though, he always blamed it on something else, the excuse varying per day.
The blond approached their bed, wondering what to do with this situation. For some reason, she couldn't just wake them up; that would ruin all of their fun. Suddenly, a smirk stretched across her features as she dug through the bag at her side. She pulled out her hand, a silver digital camera clutched in her palm. Blackmail was her sweetest pass time and she briefly wondered what she could force the pair to do as she quietly snapped a photo of their nap. Surely sleeping in a patient's hospital bed was illegal according to the infirmary's rules. Keith stirred slightly, his eyelids twitching. Slowly, she backed away, humming a quiet tune to lull him back to sleep. The camera was placed back into its spot in her bag as she left, all evidence of her plot hidden. A quiet laugh escaped her lips, unbidden from the need to be silent, as she trotted to the Operations Center, obviously more than pleased with herself.
DA: Well, that ending was unexpected... I didn't even see that one coming. Oh, Rhythmi, you always make me laugh. This was so fluffy, but I love fluff. A lot. Tell me what you thought of this story. I'll start working on the next one, but I can make no promises on updates. Not until summer. This is the time of year where everything happens at once and I can't find time for myself. Just R&R. Please. I know that beautiful button on the bottom of the page is just calling your name. Oh, and remember that I do take requests. If there's anything you'd like me to write, don't be shy. Just ask. With that said, I bid thee farewell.
May your hearts stay strong,
DarkAngel555
