Sorry it took so long for the update. I went home for winter break and left my laptop behind to enjoy the holidays with my family and friends. Anyway, hope you enjoy the final chapter!
Chapter Four
Days passed and time began to lose all meaning. Sakura couldn't remember if she had been stuck in the quarantine room for three days or five. Sasuke slept most of the time, waking only to sip at the broth Sakura held to his lips. He had not vomited since the first night, and his kidney function continued to remain good. Not perfect, but not dangerous, and for that, Sakura was grateful.
Tsunade continued to visit her each morning and chat for a few minutes. Ino would stop by a few times a day to catch her up on hospital gossip and drop off some reading materials to keep Sakura entertained while Sasuke slept. She would read aloud to Sasuke from time to time, just to hear own voice and keep her sanity. The room was like a vacuum, devoid of any sound, cut off from the rest of the world in total isolation.
On the morning of the fifth day – or was it the sixth? – Sakura awoke to bright sunlight streaming through the blinds and washing the sterile white linoleum in hot, streaky light. A sound had pulled her from a dreamless sleep and her eyes fluttered open at the disturbance. In her half-awakened state, she observed Sasuke sitting up, leaning forward, his hand pressed against his forehead. It took her a moment to register what she was seeing, and she shot up, nearly falling out of her cot as she bolted to her feet.
"Sasuke, are you okay?" she asked, unaware of how frantic she sounded as she went to his bedside.
He turned to look at her, his yellowed eyes drooping but alert. He wasn't as pale, and before he could respond to her question, Sakura's hand was placed firmly against his forehead to check his fever.
"Your fever's gone," she said, amazed. It had still been fairly high when she had checked before she went to bed the night before.
He took her wrist, pulling her hand away from him. "What happened?" he asked slowly. "It's a haze…"
"You've been here about a week," Sakura explained gently. "Some ANBU found you on the side of the path outside of the village. You were so sick…"
"I was coming to Konoha, to the hospital," Sasuke recalled, "but then…"
"You've been really sick, Sasuke," Sakura said, taking his hand. "How do you feel?"
He coughed deeply, turning his head away from her but making no effort to remove his hand from hers. "I suppose I've felt better."
She laughed lightly. "You're certainly better than you have been. You really had me scared."
He noticed the cot and her mussed hair from sleep. "Have you been staying here this whole time?"
"Well," she glanced away sheepishly, "I haven't really had a choice."
He paused. "What do you mean?"
"Sasuke," she hesitated slightly, "this is the quarantine room. I…well, I volunteered to take care of you. Since I was exposed to you, I was technically quarantined as well."
He looked down at his lap, an expression of guilt on his pallid features. "What do I have?"
She looked down at their hands, still holding loosely together. "Yellow fever. It's been pretty bad. You've barely been conscious."
"And what happens if you get it, too?" he asked.
"Well, I would be quarantined until the fever passes," she explained calmly. "But I'm okay. I've been feeling okay this whole time." She resisted adding for now, not wanting to worry him. "Besides, you shouldn't worry about me. How are you feeling? Are you hungry?"
He watched her levelly then sighed and turned his eyes towards the kitchen area. "I could eat, I suppose."
Sakura stood, brushing her hands against her pants. "I'll get you something then. You've been sipping broth for the past few days. Do you think you can manage some bread?"
"Yes," he said with a nod. He watched her carefully as she put some broth on the induction heater to boil and retrieved a slice of bread from the cupboard. She added a small amount of butter to it for flavor and carried everything over to him on a tray. "You've really been doing this for all this time?"
"Well, yes," she said, setting the tray in front of him, "but Ino and Tsunade have been keeping me company." She nearly jumped as she suddenly remembered something important. "Oh, I should tell Tsunade you're awake!" She pressed the call button by Sasuke's bed and smiled. "She'll be thrilled. You really worried all of us, you know."
He nibbled at the bread, finding himself hungry enough to eat but far from starving. "I'm sorry I worried you."
She smiled lightly and sat on the cot across from him. "I was more worried about you out there travelling, not knowing where you were or if you were safe."
He paused, appearing to examine his bread for a moment. "I suppose I can't let something like this happen again."
"No, you can't," Sakura agreed quickly. "You need to communicate with us more so we know where you are. That way, if we suspect something is wrong we can find-."
"Or you could join me," he interrupted, earning a shocked look from Sakura. "You mentioned you wanted to before. If you're still interested…"
"Oh, Sasuke," she started, nearly breathless by his sudden offer. But before she could give him an answer, she was startled by a knock at the door and Tsunade excitedly calling out to her.
"Is he awake?" she called loudly, her voice echoing in the chamber of the room.
Sakura got up and rushed to the window, leaving Sasuke to finish eating in peace. "He's awake," she confirmed, "for good this time. His fever is broken and he's eating." She couldn't hide the grin from erupted on her face. "He's going to be fine, Tsunade. He's going to be just a fine."
Tsunade nodded, unable to hide a smile of her own. "I'm happy to hear that. It'll take a few weeks for him to regain his strength, but I'm sure he won't mind hunkering down in the village until then."
Sakura nodded in agreement. "I'll let him know." She thought it would be best to not tell Tsunade about her sudden plans to travel with Sasuke just yet, and instead asked, "When can he leave quarantine?"
"Tomorrow, as long as the fever stays away," Tsunade informed her student.
Sakura paused. "What about me? Since I've been exposed, I could still technically…"
"Well, I have some good news for you there," Tsunade cut in with a soft smile. "We're not too familiar with yellow fever in this part of the world, so I did some research while you were stuck in there. It turns out the fever is most often transmitted only by mosquito bites. There's a very small chance of you catching it from Sasuke, and since the chances are so low, I'm going to pull some strings and get you out of there tomorrow as well."
Sakura brightened at this. In all of her research, she realized she had been focusing so much on treatment that she never brushed up on transmission. "That's great. I thought I might go crazy being stuck in here much longer."
Tsunade shook her head. "I wouldn't let that happen. I'll start pushing the release papers this afternoon. But, Sakura, if you start feeling sick at all, you hightail it here. Understand?"
She nodded, understanding the seriousness of the situation. "Yes, of course."
"Good." Tsunade gave a nod behind Sakura's shoulder and motioned to Sasuke. "Go tell him the news. I'm sure he doesn't want to be cooped up in here anymore than you do."
"I will," Sakura said with an eager nod. "Thank you, Tsunade. Thank you so much."
"Of course," Tsunade said and waved her back towards Sasuke.
Sakura rushed back to his side and sat back down on her cot. "You can leave tomorrow. We both can."
Sasuke nodded and set the empty broth bowl aside. "How long until I can leave the village again?"
"Well," Sakura hesitated, "it will take a few weeks, maybe even a month or two, for you to regain your strength. You'll have to stay in the village until completely back to normal. You can't push yourself."
He frowned, but let out a sigh after a moment, knowing she wouldn't let him argue his way out of this. "All right."
Sakura hesitated and glanced down at her lap, a slight blush forming on her cheeks. "Once you've regained your strength, is it really okay if I join you on your travels?" she asked quietly.
Sasuke raised his eyes and watched her until her eyes met his. "I asked you to come, didn't I?"
A beaming smile broke out on her face. "Yes, you did."
"You'll come?" he asked, almost sounding earnest to her.
"Yes, Sasuke," she said and reached over to take his hand. "I'll come."
He nodded and gave her hand the faintest of squeezes. "Thank you for caring for me. It must have been a lot to take on." She opened her mouth to say something but he caught her gaze, holding it with a look of gratefulness. "Thank you for everything."
Hope you enjoyed this short little story I was randomly inspired to write. I'll admit I've kind of lost my luster for this one, so instead of forcing myself to continue on, I thought this would be a good place to end. Let me know what you think, and I'll hopefully see you all in future fics! -WW08
