It was new day but nothing was any different for Sakura. She made sure her hair was in a neat bun before she left the break room and entered her scheduled unit, the Intensive Care Unit. Ami was her partner today, which made Sakura happy a little bit because she understood the context of the situation that just happened to unfold in front of her. She met with the night shift nurse to get report on her assignments, and the Uchiha just happened to be one of her assignments.
"Hey Sak, long time no see," said the nurse.
"Hey! I haven't seen you in a while. I got put on day shift and I've been floating recently. I've been in trauma more than anything. Don't think I forgot about you guys, ICU is still my original home," she responded with a smile.
"Well at least you're here today. Nothing eventful happened. No new admissions last night. Everything is the same as yesterday except they moved Uchiha to room 4, so he is a little farther away from the nurses' station as per his mother's request and he's been stable thus far. He woke up briefly before passing back out last night. During his time awake he tried to pull his IV and monitors out, they had to sedate him which knocked him out. He was stable throughout the night, however there was a decrease in his urine output since yesterday so they upped his fluids and gave him a one-time order of Lasix so there's no fluid overload. His mother stayed with him throughout the night and has given approval of just family for now, someone named Naruto is the exception, which made Sakura happy for the moment. Also, the NG tube is still placed, it gets pulled around 10am if I am not mistaken. Tsunade told me that she place an order for it. They also moved his vitals farther apart so now they are q4 hours which means he's going home soon. That's all really," said the nurse.
Sakura took the paperwork and bid her a farewell before heading to the nurses' station to look at who is do for 8am medications and looked over some of the charts. When she finished she made her rounds starting from the biggest priority and working her way down. Although it may have seemed intentional, Uchiha was last on the list.
She entered his room and looked around. Mikoto was asleep on the couch and Sasuke just laid there asleep. The sounds of the monitors were all that's there. Sakura checked over all the monitors to make sure they were functioning properly. She also made mental notes for documentation purposes. She pulled the sheet down from his chest and opened up his hospital gown. She placed the stethoscope over his chest and listened carefully, followed by over his lungs. She also did a mini-head to toe assessment before taking his vital signs. Everything was good.
She went over to the computer and logged in to access his patient files. She documented her findings before going to see the listed medications that she was about to give.
"What medications are they giving him?" asked Mikoto who had awoken from her slumber.
Sakura pulled the medications from her pocket and laid them out of the stand by the computer to scan them all. "They prescribed him a one-time dose of Lasix, because they are giving him more fluids. Also a stool softener," she said as she scanned Sasuke's medical bracelet.
"Can you tell me his name and date of birth please?" asked Sakura.
"Sasuke Uchiha. July 23rd, 1991. Why he is on a stool softener and what is Lasix?" she questioned.
"The narcotic he overdosed on causes constipation and it is a new policy here that every patient is prescribed a stool softener. The Lasix is a diuretic. They gave it to increase his urine output especially because we are giving him more fluids. If he starts to retain it, it can cause heart failure and pulmonary edema," she answered as she grabbed the medications and moved them over to his stand.
She pulled out and IV flush and flushed out the IV with 10mL of normal saline. She administered the Lasix then flushed it again with another 10mL of NS. She repeated the same process with his stool softener.
"He should be awakening soon based the time they gave him the sedative," said Sakura.
She went to the end of the bed after disposing of her trash. She looked at the urine bag and then at the catheter and made an annoyed face.
"I have to change his catheter. They placed a straight catheter instead of a Fowley," she said.
She exited his room and went to the supply room and grabbed the correct catheter. Straight catheter is for short term situations, like urinalysis or someone who has a high urine residual volume. Fowley's are for more complex cases. After she grabbed the supplies, she also grabbed a bedpan as well. She made her way back to his room. Mikoto was sitting in the chair closes to the bed now, and stroking his hand. Sakura grabbed the trashcan and placed it right next to her work set up. She washed her hands in the sink next to the door and put gloves on. She started to manipulate the catheter to make sure all the urine that was in the catheter drained into the bag. Quickly, she pulled the catheter out and took it into the bathroom to empty it into the toilet, not before making a mental note on how much urine was inside. Good thing he was sleep, it hurts to get pulled sometimes. When she finished, she placed it in the trash next to her set up. She grabbed the small trash bag and placed it in the bigger trash can. She put hand sanitizer on her hands and turned to face Mikoto but froze when dark eyes were glaring at her.
"What…the hell?" said Sasuke's dry and cracking voice. Mikoto poured him a cup of water with a straw and gave it to him to sip, which he did.
Sakura walked closer and stopped at the foot of the bed. "Hello Mr. Uchiha. My name is Sakura Haruno and-"
"I know who you are. Are you stalking me? Why are you here?" he said in croaky cold voice.
"I'm your nurse today. Do you know where you are?" she asked being as professional as possible.
"Get out," he said with a slight snarl. Mikoto frowned and grabbed Sasuke's hand as a warning to calm down.
"Do you know how you got here?" asked Sakura.
"You're so annoying. Just leave, I want nothing to do with you," he said.
"I am not here to argue with you. I'm here for your safety and wellbeing, not to stalk you or get revenge. I'm doing what I am passionate about and you just happen to be my patient and I'm going to do what I do best and take care of you regardless of the past. So I would very much appreciate it, if you would just shut up and answer my questions," she snapped. She was heard clearly because the scowl on Sasuke's face and soft smile on Mikoto's made it apparent.
"The last thing I remember I was home and I had some friends over. I was waiting for Naruto to bring me a bag that I left in his car from the festival," he muttered.
"Those people are not your friends Sasuke! They are how you ended up here," scolded Mikoto with a frown on her face.
"Do you remember anything else?" she asked taking notes in a mini-notebook in her pocket.
"No," he said.
"You were rushed here because overdosed on a narcotic called oxycodone. It is a strong medication give pain, others take it to get high. Naruto found you unresponsive and dialed for an ambulance. Your respirations were worrisome to begin with but then you coded. Your breathing stopped as did your heart rate. We performed CPR, used a defibrillator and gave you Narcan which reverses the effects of an opioid overdose. We also gave some epinephrine and dopamine to get your body to restart. You're a lucky a person to have a friend such as Naruto. You were alone when he found you and you may not have survived if it wasn't for him. We did a tox screen when you came in and you tested positive for barbiturates, amphetamines, and benzos," said Sakura to Sasuke. He just scowled at the fact he was hearing all this from her.
"I have to document some things and call your physician, Dr. Tsunade. They are going to run some tests and see if any damage is done. I'll be back to check on you shortly," and with that she left his room and smirked when she walked. Mentally patting herself on the back on maintaining such a professional attitude.
She walked to the nurses' station and took a seat followed by documenting everything in Sasuke's chart. Next she dialed Tsunade.
"Hello Dr. Tsunade. It's Sakura from 5 west. The patient in room 4, Sasuke Uchiha, has awoken and need to be assessed for any damage to the CNS. He was the patient that came in a few days from the oxycodone OD and later coded. I asked about what he remembers, he was able to talk and breathing fine. I didn't get to do a neuro assessment because I know there was CT and MRI stat when he woke up and you can do the complete neuro exam. I suggest you coming down immediately," said Sakura.
"You kill me with SBAR bullshit when I know your voice like I know my hospital. I'll be down soon. I'm taking him to get a CT scan and an MRI," replied Tsunade before hanging up. Sakura laughed and hung up the phone. She documented that Tsunade was notified before going to do rounds on her other patients. She was a third through shift by the time she finished her rounds. Between, the discharges, transfers and new admissions, time was moving fast.
"Sakura," called Tsunade coming from Sasuke's room.
"Yes," she answered. Stopping her work at the computer.
"I did a neuro exam and took him for some diagnostic tests and he's good. I have no idea how but he's good. We are going to keep him overnight and he might can go home tomorrow. He's lucky to alive. With a drug mixed like that, his kidney and liver function tests were elevated but not as high as I thought it would be. God kept him around for a reason. Tell him what I told you. I'm going to ED. Call me if you need anything," she said.
Sakura went back in to Sasuke's room.
"Hey again," she said as she entered his room. She didn't notice he had 2 new visitors either in her time away.
"So you cleared all your exams that Dr.-"
"Good. So can I go home now?" he asked, rudely cutting her off.
"No, you can't. We have to keep you. To monitor-"
"Hn. When can I go home?" he cut her off again.
"If you stop cutting me off and let me get to it maybe you would know. We are keeping you overnight in the ICU then you're either being discharged home or transferred to the Med-Surg floor. We just need to make sure your stable. You're lucky to be alive. Maybe you should thank Naruto if you didn't already, which I doubt you did," she said. He glared at her.
"Yeah Teme. Its common courtesy!" said Naruto. Sakura glanced over where his voice came from and gave a soft smile at the sight of him and Kiba. She gave them both a quick small hug.
"I'll be back in a little while before my relief comes in," said Sakura then she left.
"I'm going to run down to the cafeteria to get a tea. That way you guys can talk," said Mikoto before placing a soft kiss on Sasuke's head, leaving the room as well.
"Sakura is your nurse, bro?" asked Kiba.
"Obviously," responded Sasuke. "I wish she would just go away."
"What could she possibly be doing?" asked Naruto.
"She's stalking me. That's what she's doing," answered Sasuke.
"Teme, I highly doubt she's the one stalking you. She works here. It just happened to be the hospital you landed yourself into and the floor she happens to work on. 1 in a million chance, but you're just that lucky," said Naruto.
"Wow, that's the smartest I think you have ever sounded," said Kiba.
"Shut up. It's a reasonable explanation," he said.
"You're on her side?" questioned Sasuke.
"It's not a matter of sides Teme. It just a chance. I never knew what happened between you guys. Actually no one did…does. That was years ago. Why can't you guys just make up and be civil?" said Naruto.
"Seriously, were you drinking before you came here?" asked Kiba.
"I can't make up with someone as crazy as her," said Sasuke. Scowling as he looked out the window.
"Are you sure she's the crazy one? You can't believe everything everyone says," said Naruto.
"For once, I have to agree with Naruto. I don't know what happened but whatever it is, there's two sides to every story, man. From when I knew her, she grew a lot. She seems a lot more mature compared to when we were in undergrad, still a beauty too," Kiba said which earned a glare from Naruto.
"Don't talk about her like that," defended Naruto.
"What? It's true. Even more beautiful than the last time I saw her. I think she grew her hair back out too. I can't tell with it being in a bun but it just looks full," Kiba argued.
Naruto just shook his head.
"All I know is she needs to leave me alone. I'm happy with Karin. I don't need her drama in my life again," said Sasuke.
"Are you sure it was Sakura's drama?" questioned Naruto.
That question made Sasuke think for a little bit before he brushed it off. It was years ago. There's no reason why the past should be resurfacing.
"Back to the real reason I'm here. I talked to everyone else and Orochimaru as well. We are going to take a break from our band, an unofficial hiatus. You need help Sasuke and we also have a lot going on too. It's best for everybody," said Naruto.
"Aa. I seen it coming," said Sasuke.
"But seriously, where is the idiot at? You been sounding way too smart," said Kiba.
The trio talked for a while, rather, Naruto and Kiba did at least, and Sasuke just listened. Time flew by but as Naruto seen Sakura walk by Sasuke's room with her bag, he ran out towards her. He followed her up until she was outside, before calling her name.
"Sakura-chan!" he said as she was walking away. She heard him calling her name and turned around. He caught up with her.
"What's up Naruto? I have to grab some groceries and pick up my daughter soon," she said emphasizing the point that she has to go.
"I wanted to thank you for taking care of Sasuke," he said.
"You should thank yourself, the code team, Tsunade, the other nurses and all the diagnostic people. It wasn't just me," she said.
"You played a part and I know you so I'm going to thank you," he said.
"Well, you're welcome," she said. She was about to walk away.
"Will this be the turning point on where you're going tell Sasuke about his daughter?" he asked. Sakura turned to face him and scoffed.
"You think because he tried to kill his self that warrants me to tell him about a child he wouldn't even care about? Yeah, right," she said.
"It could make a difference," said Naruto.
"Why can't you just drop it already? Just because he had a self-inflicted accident that landed him on life support doesn't I'm going to have a sudden change of heart and introduce them. If anything, it's making me wait longer. You weren't there but the reaction I got based off him seeing me for the first time in nearly 6 years wasn't the best in the world. Why would I subject my daughter to that? When the time is right, he will know. You seriously need to just leave it alone and mind your business," she said before she walked away.
Although it wasn't his business, it frustrated Naruto till no end that she wouldn't tell him about his child. He needed to speed up the process just a little bit without breaking Sakura's trust. With those thoughts, he headed back to the hospital.
Sakura walked fast away from him. This whole day was just annoying her between her interactions with Sasuke and Naruto. Why was God punishing her? What did she do wrong?
"Sakura!" called out someone. She huffed and turned around. She wasn't even 15 feet away before someone else stopped her. Did people just not understand that she wanted to go home?
"WHAT DO YOU-"she cut herself off when saw who it was.
"Long time no see," said Sasori with a shy smile on his face.
"Oh my God, Sasori. It's been a little over a year since we last talked. I didn't know you were in the area," she said with a soft smile. She gave him a quick hug as well.
"How have you been?" he asked.
"Good, still at the same hospital," she responded.
"That's good. How's your daughter and school stuff?" he asked, he saw her eyes brighten just a little bit.
"Great. She'll be five soon and starting Pre-K. Enrollment for medical starts soon and I managed to get a recommendation from the head doctor at my hospital, her name alone is like gold in the healthcare field. How have you been?" she said.
"That's great. I've been well a lot better than before. I went back to Suna for a while but I'm back in the area for another few days for some meetings," he answered.
"That's good! I'm glad you're doing better. You needed that time away," she said giving him a reassuring look.
"You're right. I can see that you're in a bit of a rush but my number is still the same. Maybe we can grab a coffee or lunch or something," he said with a smile.
"I'd like that," she said. Sasori gave her hug but in a split second decision he gave her a kiss on the cheek and walked away. "Bye."
God was just playing her today.
Sakura made it to the grocery store, the daycare to pick it up her child, and home without any interruptions. All with arriving home at 7 in the evening. Senna was excited to see her mom, and Sakura was too. Ever since the day where her pager went off and Senna said bye to her before should could change, she made more of an effort to spend as much time as she could with her despite how tired she was, no matter how many ice cream trips Senna guilt tripped her into. The girl knew how to get what she wanted despite being four going on five years old.
When they got inside, Sakura went into the kitchen and Senna ran into her room. Sakura promised her they would watch Frozen if Senna got her pajamas ready for when she finishes her bath. She prepared her lunch for work tomorrow as well as a snack for Senna. When she finished she started running a bath and added some strawberry scented bubble bath as well. Five minutes later, Senna came into the bathroom as Sakura knelt next to the bathtub, she propped her elbow against the edge and rested it on her face.
"Clothes off, you know the deal," said Sakura after eyeing the human created. Senna listened and undressed herself followed by getting into the bathtub. Sakura stopped the water.
"Is it too hot?" she asked.
"No," Senna said playing around with bubbles a little. Sakura took the pins out Senna hair that secured her bun and her long hair fell down her back in waves.
"Are you going to wash it?" Senna asked.
"Mhm," Sakura hummed. Sakura gave Senna a washcloth folded like a blindfold which she put across her eyes to prevent soap from getting into them. Sakura grabbed the shampoo and began to wash Senna's hair. It was a silence between two, a comfortable one. It gave time for her to think about the Sasuke situation, Naruto's relentless persistence, and the fact that her another one of her ex's came back into her life. The Naruto situation is scarier because he likes to take matters into his own hands especially when feelings are involved. It left him unpredictable and she needed to get him under control before he did anything rash. Sasori was a different story. They dated for a little over year and the relationship was great, except for when his anger management started to taper away and leaving a whole in the wall and Sakura strangling him in a headlock. Senna was at daycare during this. That whole ordeal just made them go their separate ways, they both need to work on their own self demons. Sasori's was his anger, and Sakura was being a single parent to a toddler. Being a single parent to a newborn was hard but a toddler was harder in her opinion.
Sakura finished washing her daughter's hair and washed her up. She dried her off with a towel and got her dressed in her pajamas before they both got into Sakura's bed. She turned on Senna's movie of choice and put Senna's hair in two French braids. As her daughter started falling asleep, Sakura picked up her phone and scrolled to a somewhat familiar phone number.
To: Sasori
Hey…
Sent.
She regretted it.
It is almost 10pm.
Bzzz..
From: Sasori
Still not asleep yet I see.
They texted each other back and forth until she fell asleep.
Sakura woke up 5 minutes before her alarm went off, 6:25am.
She made sure the alarm wouldn't sound before she got up to get ready, carefully maneuvering herself away from Senna who ended up hugging one of her arms. She laid out a fresh pair of navy blue scrubs on her bed and went to her private bathroom to take a hot shower. If all went well Sasuke, should be going home today. If luck wasn't on her side, she'd have to deal with him another day. She hoped the latter. She did not have time for his bratty attitudes nor did she feel like arguing.
Today felt like a good day.
She knew it would be a good day.
She was going to make sure it stayed a good day.
She finished her shower and dressed herself, packed her lunch, Senna's snack, and woke her up. Her daughter was a hassle to wake up which is not like Sakura but actually just like Sasuke. When he is awake, he is okay, but when you physically had to get him up, it was a different story. Senna was half asleep as Sakura got her dressed. She had to basically brush her teeth for her but she woke up seriously when Sakura started washing her face. She put her shoes on and Sakura gave her a head band to put on. When all said was done, the duo left the house at 7:15am. They stopped at a cafe about two blocks away from Senna's daycare to have a little sit down for breakfast. Sakura ordered Senna an orange juice and strawberry frosted donut, for herself she had a hot coffee and a bagel and sat closest to the table by the door.
"Mommy," said Senna.
"Yes?"
"Suzuki said I can come to her birthday party. It's a slumber party," she said.
"Are you asking me or telling me?" responded Sakura taking a small bite of her bagel.
"Can I please go? Please please please," she begged giving her the biggest frown she could muster.
"I'll have to talk to her mom, if she says yes, then I'm okay with it," said Sakura laughing a little. Sakura reached into Senna's backpack and took out a pen paper and wrote her phone number down. "Give this to her mom and have her call me."
"Okay!" she said in excitement. The two continued to eat both in a great mood. Then finished their food and was just chatting, translation- Senna hinting at a bunch of new toys that she wants.
After a couple of minutes, the two were still on their way to her daycare. Sakura dropped her off and made her way to the hospital. She clocked in and set her stuff in the break room. She grabbed any supplies she needed then went to find her nurse for report. Today was a very short shift for her, she got a text from Tsunade at some point last night saying they need her till 12 instead of 4. A 4 hour shift in a hospital is rare but she was not complaining. She got her report and made all her rounds except for the one room that would give her
The Uchiha.
He was good all last night, no abnormal lab values and was able to keep food down. Today was his official discharge day and Sakura needed to find out what time he was leaving and who going to pick him up. She knocked on the door to his room and heard a muffled "Hn."
"Hello Uchiha," said Sakura.
"You again?" he asked a glare starting to form on his face.
"Yes, I need to aware you that you are being discharged today. You will need someone to pick you from the hospital. Do you have anyone you can call to get you?" she asked.
"Hn. Me," said Sasuke.
"I'm sorry but you're going to need someone to come pick you up and take you at least off hospital grounds," said Sakura.
"Bullshit," he said.
"I can grab the hospital handbook and-,"
"Smart ass, I'll find someone," he said.
"Good. Now I just need to do a quick assessment and get your vital signs," said Sakura. She took his temperature, blood pressure, heart rate, respiration rate, and pulse ox reading. Next, she did a head to toe assessment on him.
"I'm going to get your discharge papers ready. I'll be back in about 20 minutes, so that should be enough time for you to get some plans set," said Sakura as she left his room. Time was moving by fast for her. Well, she didn't have as many patients as she did yesterday. One got discharged and two didn't make it through the night leaving her assignment list light but there was some complex cases. That required a decent amount of time for her rounds and medication administration. Time moved by very fast, she had about an hour and a half left of her shift, and she was not complaining. She was looking forward to the nap she could take later. Once she printed the required paperwork, she went back into his room.
"Okay these are for you," said Sakura handing him several green papers. "All the papers in here provide information on the treatment you received. Your diagnoses and copies of the consent forms are in there. They are not sending you home with any medications. However, they are sending you home with a referral to a therapist and a rehab. I really think you will benefit from both but at least try the therapy. It may help you more than you think. Do you have any questions?" asked Sakura.
"Hn."
"Did you find a way home?"
"Aa."
"Okay, what time will we be expecting them?"
"He will be here in an hour," said Sasuke. Sakura made a mental note that they would be leaving around the same time.
"Okay. Well get showered and put on some fresh clothes and you will be home in no time. Just let me know right before you leave so I can remove the IV catheter," said Sakura, the she left his room. She went over to the nurses' station and got herself caught up on some paperwork she had to do. Not long before she knew, the call bell was on in Sasuke's room, prompting her to check on him.
"I need this off, I'm leaving," he said. He held up his arm to display the IV when she walked into the room. She put on some gloves and removed the catheter and placed it in the sharps been.
"Have a good one Uchiha," said Sakura.
"Right" he responded. Sakura left the room and documented that she removed the IV catheter and but a work order in to housekeeping to have the room cleaned. She noticed the time and found her relief and gave a short report before heading to the break room and grabbing her things.
"The least you can do is say hi," said Gaara who was sitting at the table looking at a book.
"I didn't even see you there!" said Sakura.
"You're in a rush to get out of here," he noted.
"When you have a short shift like that, you run before anyone can ask you to do anything else. Besides, I'm having a good day and I don't want it to be ruined by someone asking me to stay longer," she said walking to the door but not before clocking out. "We will catch up, promise! We haven't talked in a couple days."
"If you say so," he said with a smile.
Sakura made her way through the floor and to the elevator. For once, she hoped she wouldn't run into Tsunade. She knew she'd find a million things to do. She just needed a break. She made it to the main lobby and out the door. A smile adorned her features as the sun hit her face. She took two strides in the direction of her home before a voice cut her off.
"Sakura-san."
She knew that voice from anywhere.
She was not going to let this day get ruined.
She turned around to face the person who said her name.
"Itachi, how nice to see you?"
God was screwing with her.
This was not going to end well.
So much for a good day.
I deeply apologize for the fact that it took me a year to update this story. I'm going to give you an excuse and you guys can shoot me for it but I literally worked every day last summer but I had a draft for this chapter by then. Then school started and I bombed my first test so I had to put it on hold. Brought my grade up and by the time I started working on it again, it was finals. The winter break and I worked nonstop again. Then spring semester started and I was doing great while working on the chapter then I bombed a test and focused on that more than anything. I had put everything on a flash drive for this story and I dropped my laptop while the flash drive was in and it broke and is unusable so I had to redo this because I forgot the original plan for this chapter because none of my drafts or story outline was saved anywhere. *Tears*
I put a lot in this chapter because Sasuke finds out about the kid next chapter :)
Then things reaaaaallllllyyyyyyy get rolling and the rest of the characters start to come into play.
I promise to have the next chapter out asap!
Don't tell me this chapter was shit, I know it was, I had to put it out though. So please disregard my grammar. I'm a Nursing major, not an English major
