Amateur Night
By lawless
The bleeding wouldn't stop. Megumi told him to apply more pressure over the wound but it was a little difficult to do that with only one hand. "We've got to get you to a hospital," she suggested, glancing at him worriedly.
"No," Sano quickly put down the idea. That was the last thing they needed. The staff at the hospital would be obligated to report a gunshot wound and that would mean cops, and Sano was really not up for another run-in with the authorities. "No hospitals," he repeated through gritted teeth.
They spied a drugstore in the corner and with a little maneuvering Sano parked the car in a dark alley lined with trash bins that had become home to a number of stray cats. "We better ditch the car," he said. But as soon as he took that first step out of the vehicle, he felt his world make a three hundred and sixty turn.
Megumi grabbed him before he fell. Her face was so close to his, her irises looked huge. She was saying something. "…you've lost too much blood…. Gotta get that wound fixed…." And then, she was half-dragging, half-carrying him out of that alley.
The people in the street weren't in the least bit curious about them. It was one of the busiest areas in Tokyo and people coming from or going to work battled for space in the sidewalk with hawkers and promo girls. The two of them were just another drunk, young couple looking for a sexy nighttime hookup in the many love hotels nearby.
And a love hotel was exactly where Megumi brought Sano, and then they were standing there at the lobby with the tinted front doors behind them, waiting for the vending machine to give them their key. It was almost twelve midnight and most of the rooms were occupied. The only room left was the 'Hello Kitty' room, which – Sano laughed. Even Megumi had to bite her lip at the unintentional humor.
Once they were inside the room, there was no time to examine their surroundings. Sano lay down on the Hello Kitty bed with the ribbon-shaped headboard, shallow of breath and in a haze of pain. He was spiraling down to unconsciousness until Megumi slapped him back to wakefulness.
"Sano, listen to me," she said, her tone urgent though her face remained a mask. She was hovering just above him, mere inches away, so close he could see the beads of sweat forming a line above her lips. He had the strangest urge to lick them dry. Strange, because he could well be on his way to dying. Even in this moment of extreme stress, he still found the doctor incredibly attractive.
She was speaking to him as though he were a child, "I need you to keep pressure over your wound to slow the bleeding until I come back. Can you manage?"
"You're leaving?" He gasped. Megumi had already grabbed one of his hands to place it above the torn remains of his shirt over the open wound on his chest area. His hand felt sticky and warm from his own blood.
"I'll be back before you know it," Megumi said in response, reaching for her handbag beside Sano's head. "I'm just going to the drug store we passed earlier to get supplies. Wait for me, you hear?"
Sano gazed at her feverishly, swallowed and started to open his mouth. "Doc, I need to tell you something…." Whatever it was he wanted to say was muffled by soft lips suddenly covering his. The kiss was, as kisses went, horrible; it was cold and precise and tasted like the metallic tang of a stethoscope pressed on bare skin. When it was over, Sano stared at her in stupefaction.
"Don't you dare die on me, Sano," she whispered, and then she left.
Sano lost awareness of how long she was gone. He was weaving in and out of consciousness and he'd lost count of time. In the back of his mind, he knew it couldn't have been more than a few minutes but it felt like hours before she finally came back. His relief at the sight of her standing in the doorway was physical. He was glad for the low lighting the room provided to mimic the atmosphere of romance; she didn't see his expression as she came in.
Megumi had with her a small plastic bag filled with fresh bandages, a bottle of antiseptic, syringe, a spool of thread, some water, a pair of large tweezers and a pocket knife. After raising a barely conscious Sano to an upright position, she immediately got down to business. She cleaned the wound as best as she could to better survey the damage. She'd already figured that the bullet missed his lung and now she saw that it was lodged somewhere below his clavicle, mere inches from his heart. With penlight between her teeth, Megumi made a small diagonal cut across the wound with the pocket knife and extracted the bullet with the pair of large tweezers. There was no anesthesia. Needless to say, Sano was in agony until he finally, mercifully fainted near the end of the ordeal. Megumi stitched him back together with seamless concentration.
The entire procedure lasted half an hour. The patient slept for another half hour before being rudely roused with two quick, successive slaps to the cheek. "Wake up, we have to go," Megumi barked lowly.
The night was long. It was still dark when two figures, looking the worse for wear, emerged from that love hotel a block away from the drug store. One of them was apparently nursing a terrible hangover, the way he was barely hanging on to his female companion, whose skirt was torn at one side. It must have been quite the night for this particular couple. They appeared to hesitate, looking up and down the street. The few stragglers left from the night before paid them no mind. After a moment, they started walking east towards the nearest train station.
3. Doctor, doctor, I am sick.
AN Thanks to the reviewers, reader and WaterInk. Hope you stay long enough for the new chapters. To the new readers, enjoy!
p.s. To anybody who has read and saved my old SanoxMeg fic, Half a House, I lost my original draft and I'd like to have a copy. Pls PM me.