Title: "Wherein Ami Scares Zane Shitless"

Fandom: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon

Prompt: 310 (Afraid)

Character/Pairing: Mizuno Ami, Zoisite/Zane Murphy; Zoisite x Ami

Rating: T / PG-13 / Teen

Word Count: 3,594

Summary: When Ami had said she wouldn't be able to pick him up from the airport because she was ill, Zane had (rather reasonably) expected her to be at home. In bed. Not…y'know…out fighting a youma.

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Authors Notes: Pre-Crystal Tokyo. Started this back in January when I was fighting off bronchitis, and got the motivation to finish it the past couple days as I've been recovering from my most recent bout of pneumonia. Funny thing is, when I started this I just added the coughing up blood bit for a little dramatic flair. As many times as I've had it, I didn't know you could actually do that with pneumonia until a couple days ago. It's actually kind of terrifying. xD

"Wherein Ami Scares Zane Shitless"

His phone chirped, and Zane scowled as he dug it out of his pocket and read the impatient text.

any improvement? xoxo minako!

He rolled his eyes at Minako's tagline and hurriedly typed out a reply.

Still out. No news.

Hitting send, he shoved the phone back in his pocket and stopped his pacing at the foot of the hospital bed. He leaned forward, gripping the raised plastic that held the operator controls, and forced himself to take a deep, steadying breath. Everything was going to be ok. She would wake up any minute now, and then he'd rip her a new one, and she'd be properly chastised, and they could move on with the making sure she was well and healthy before he snogged the living daylights out of her. The desperation to see her healthy again warred with the temper that was just incredibly pissed off at the moment, and he forced another calming breath through his nose as he recalled the events that had brought them there.

He pulled out his phone to check for a status update, but there had been nothing since her text earlier that day telling him she wouldn't be able to meet him at the airport. Apparently she had taken ill, and he would just have to wait to see her when he arrived home at the small flat they shared (thankfully, it was only a fifteen minute walk from the airport). He adjusted the strap of his bag on his shoulder, sighing as he took in his surroundings. He knew she hadn't been feeling the best when he'd left, but they had both attributed it to a sinus cold. He had only been gone three days, and he hadn't expected it to devolve into bronchitis as quickly as it had. He was suddenly annoyed at the university that had called him back home, wishing he had been with his fiancée instead of lecturing across the continent.

He was maybe five minutes from their complex when he heard the familiar shouts of trouble. And there had been the other reason he had been hesitant to go: the sudden appearances of youma that were popping up all over the city. Rei had had a vision claiming this would be the last Big One before Crystal Tokyo, but that did little to ease anyone's mind when Usagi was six months pregnant with Chibi-usa and unable to do any actual fighting. Knowing they were already down one Senshi and painfully aware of the compromised health of another, he hadn't wanted to leave, but Ami had assured him everything would be fine, and what if this was his last chance to see his home before the deep freeze hit?

He heard more shouting: a painfully familiar (if slightly gritty) voice yelling at someone to run just before two small children scampered out of the side street to his right. He ran around the corner and cursed when he saw Sailor Mercury firing a blast of frigid water at a youma that towered above her. It screeched and launched a whip of some sort her way, and she barely stumbled out of the way in time. He watched as she gasped for breath, her arm raising to cover her mouth as a violent fit of coughing shook her small frame, and he cursed when she barely missed another attack. He wasted no time in transforming, feeling the strength of the Northern King infuse his body as his white-gold uniform replaced his street clothes, and the next thing Mercury knew he was standing above her, slashing the youma's whip in half with his sword. It screeched in rage, sparks flying from the severed weapon as it brought it back toward its body, and Zoisite turned fierce eyes on the Senshi behind him.

"Get under cover and wait for my signal," he said, his voice leaving no room for argument. Her eyes flashed back at him, but he was in no mood for a fight – at least not with her. He ignored the pallid complexion of her skin, the unnatural shine in her eyes, and turned back to the youma. Assuming she would heed his instructions, he rushed at it with a well-placed taunt. It screeched again, even as he maneuvered his claymore out of the way and fired a crystal shard at its gut. It attempted to send a blast of flame his way, but he easily dodged and swiped at its legs with his blade. It jumped atop the weapon, as he had anticipated, and its smug smirk of victory was short-lived as he placed a hand against its slimy abdomen. Its eyes widened and it howled as he shot another crystal, this one much larger, through its core. It stumbled off to the side, shouting at him, but he pivoted to swing the sword through its center. It released a final unearthly howl as it turned to dust, and he grinned in grim satisfaction as he gave a quick glance around the area. Confident there were no stragglers around to see, he let his armor fade until Zane was standing where Zoisite had been. Any satisfaction at the easy dispatch vanished when he turned and saw Ami sitting against the base of a tree, gasping for every labored breath. He cursed and ran over to her, hitting his knees by her side and quickly placing a hand against her forehead. She was burning up.

"Eejit!" he bit out , his hand coming down to grab onto her shoulder. "What are you doing out here? You told me you were ill!"

"H-had to…pick up…medicine," she panted, gesturing to a small brown bag by her side. He narrowed his eyes in annoyance. Every breath she took was stunted and contorted her face, as if it was physically painful to breathe.

"And you couldn't have one of the girls grab it for you?!" he asked. She gave him a weak smile, but any answer she was about to give him was cut off in a violent fit of coughing. His eyes widened as she pulled her hand away, a dazed look on her face as she noticed the red staining her glove.

"…oh," she said softly, and his eyes hardened. He wasn't a medical professional, but he knew enough to know the crap she was coughing up shouldn't be that color – and definitely shouldn't be tinged with blood.

"Damn it, Ami!" he scolded, but a new sort of panic gripped him as her eyes rolled back into her head and she collapsed against him.

That had been two days ago. He had quickly scooped her up and rushed her to the nearest hospital. He had been fortunate it also happened to be the hospital Mamoru and her mother worked at – and the one she had just started her residency in – as the receptionist at the ER had taken one look at her and waved him into the back. Mamoru had quickly greeted him and looked her over, and a few tests later had informed him that what he had just diagnosed as bronchitis the day prior had deteriorated into a full-blown case of pneumonia, and a bad one at that. When Mamoru had queried as to what could have caused such a rapid progression, Zane had informed him of the youma and how he had caught Mercury trying to fight it off. Mamoru didn't seem surprised by her recklessness, especially when Zane informed him kids had been involved, but that didn't keep the Irishman from being any less pissed at the situation.

"Zane, you need to calm down," Mamoru said, laying a hand on his shoulder and giving it a reassuring squeeze. Before he could protest, Mamoru shook his head. "I get that you're upset. But being angry isn't going to help anyone here. And face it: you're not mad at her. You're scared that because she fought while she was sick she could have gotten herself killed, and you're translating that fear as anger. You need to calm down, or I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

Zane had done his best to heed Mamoru's warning, but it had been difficult. Truthfully, Mamoru had been on the nose: he was scared shitless.

He forced another breath through his nose before he resumed his post at the seat by her side. He grabbed the hand that wasn't hooked up with an IV and gave it a squeeze aimed to comfort himself more than her. He brushed his thumb against her pale skin and sighed.

"All right, girseach," he said steadily. "Whenever you're ready."

– V –

Waking up was like coming out of a fog. She was immediately aware of feeling like she had been hit by a truck, and given the last thing her foggy memories recalled was fighting a youma in the streets she wondered if that had been the case. She took a slow breath, surprised when her lungs rattled but didn't give her the protesting feeling of drowning she had grown used to over the past couple of days. It was that same feeling that had sent her to the doctor in the first place, when the sinus cold had settled into her lungs and suddenly breathing had become tedious in and of itself. She had been diagnosed with a bad case of bronchitis, but nothing overly serious; take the antibiotics and it would clear up in a couple of days.

When she opened her eyes and saw she was in a hospital room, she figured running into that youma on her way back from the pharmacy probably hadn't helped her case any.

She attempted another breath, satisfied when her lungs expanded with relative ease. She was pleased at how deep the breath had been, compared to the shallow gasps she had been forced to take over the past few days. There was still a pain, though not as sharp as it had been, and the action still sent her coughing – but thankfully some of the congestion came up with the hacking. She went to move her hand to grab a tissue for the mucus, but she found it was held firmly at her side. Confusion clouded her eyes as she looked over and saw Zane, looking haggard and slumped over her hand in a dead sleep. She frowned as she tried to wiggle her am free; she didn't remember him…oh. Yes, yes, she did. She remembered barely escaping the youma's attack, cursing herself for thinking she could take the creature on alone in her state, when suddenly he had been above her in full Shitennou garb. He had been furious, barking out an order to get out of the way before he went to finish the youma off. She remembered the cold fury glinting in his eyes as he checked on her afterwards, but then everything had swum as the lack of air finally got the better of her. How long ago had that been?

She attempted to ease her hand out again, but Zane grumbled in his sleep and held on tighter. She rolled her eyes and twisted slightly, wincing as the hand with the IV reached for the small tissue box on the table by the bed. A few moments later, she was tossing the crumpled tissue over Zane's head and into a wastebasket, narrowly missing Mamoru as he walked through the door. He blinked at her, and a blush stained her cheeks as she ducked her head.

"He's sleeping on my hand," she said, wincing at how raspy her voice sounded from illness and disuse. She could really use some water, actually. "And I needed a tissue."

"I'm just glad to see you up," Mamoru said, grinning at her as he crossed the room to stand on the other side of her bed. He looked over the machine she was hooked up to, taking note of the readings. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I was hit by a truck," she said, "but I can breathe a bit easier, so I'm going to say better."

"Good. That means the antibiotics are working. We put you on a stronger one when the x-ray of your lungs came back lit up like a Christmas tree," he said. Looking back to her, he settled his best Authoritative Stare on her. "Look, I'm not going to lecture you on going after that youma alone – especially with how your health is – but suffice to say –"

"I'm sorry," she said, cutting him off. She took a shaky breath, and he frowned. "It was stupid and reckless, I know. But…"

"There were kids involved, and it's your duty as a Senshi," Mamoru said, sighing. "I know, and I understand. You just scared us all. The transformation alone was too much for your system to take. You've been unconscious for two days, Ami."

She blinked, surprised at that news. Two days? Had it really been that long?

"Zane ran in here with you the other night, I'm assuming right after the fight," Mamoru continued. "You were unconscious, and he was…well. Apparently you started coughing up blood before passing out on him, so you can imagine."

No wonder he looks like hell, she couldn't help thinking.

"Just…keep that in mind, all right? I tried calming him down, but you scared him pretty bad. He's probably going to have an earful for you," Mamoru said. Ami sighed and nodded. She leaned her head back against the pillow.

"I was supposed to pick him up from the airport, but I got sick. I wasn't even going to go out, but…I had to pick up my medicine," she said. She shrugged weakly, but Mamoru didn't look amused.

"You know one of us could have grabbed it for you," he chided. He shook his head, shoving a hand through his hair. "I would have even dropped it off on my way home. You know that, Ami."

"Zane said the same thing," she offered. Mamoru sighed and reached over, ruffling her hair like she was a kid sister that just couldn't keep herself out of trouble. It was an odd feeling, considering she was the one who never got into trouble to begin with. It was more a Minako-ruffle, and she thought maybe that made her feel more guilt than any lecture he could give her.

"I'm just glad you're doing better. I've got to finish my rounds, but I'll stop in later. Need anything?" he asked as he made his way to the door. She looked thoughtful a moment before offering a helpless smile.

"Water?" she asked, and he chuckled.

"I'll let the nurses know," he said. He paused at the door, catching his hand on the jam. "And Ami? Remember: he loves you."

It wasn't that hard to forget when Zane woke up an hour later.

She was dozing when it happened. While she had been nursing her water, she had been stiff with nerves as she expected Zane to wake up and start yelling at any moment. But those tiny hospital cups only last so long, and soon she had no drink to distract her and Zane was still asleep. The longer he slept, the more she realized just how exhausted she was, even with two days of rest under her belt. She had started to nod off, so when Zane finally did start to wake up she was resting back against her pillows, a sleepy smile on her face as his eyes opened. She gave his fingers a squeeze, and he blinked at her with sleep and confusion clouding his eyes.

"Hey," she croaked, and the word was like a shot. He leapt up, his chair skidding loudly against the floor before clanging against the air unit, and his hands immediately came up to cup her face. He held her still as his eyes scanned her for…anything, she figured, and she bit her lip, forced a better smile, and tried again. "Hey?"

"Thank God," he breathed before crashing his lips against hers. She squeaked in surprise at the ferocity behind his kiss, but he took a moment before pulling back to rest his forehead against her own. "Don't you ever scare me like that again, mo chara."

"I'm sorry," she said, and he shook his head before kissing her again. He seemed calmer this time, as if some of his desperation had melted away and he was content to just feel her there.

"You should be," he said, and she thought maybe if she hadn't scared him so bad he would sound more peevish than he did. Instead, he just sounded…defeated. As exhausted as she felt. "Seven hells, Ami, do you have any idea what I thought when…no. I'm sorry. Mamoru told me not to…look, I know why you did what you did. I'd probably done the same. But for the love of everything, Ami, think next time. Please."

"I was thinking," she mumbled. "I was thinking about those kids and what would happen in the time it took someone else to get there."

Her words were interrupted by gasps for air and ended with a coughing fit, and Zane sighed as he hooked a foot around a chair leg and brought it back over to the side of her bed. He sat down heavily and propped an elbow by her hip, resting his head in his palm and giving her an exasperated, dopey look.

"That's my problem, mo chara," he said. "I want you to think of yourself, and if you're too noble to do that then be a dear and think of me. My poor heart can't take another scare like that."

"Yes, because I'm sure heart conditions run in your family," she deadpanned. She mentally noted how hard it was to deadpan when you were speaking like your throat had been run through a cheese grater all week.

"Naturally," he quipped. He grabbed her hand and brought it to his lips, kissing the back. "And these little scares are no way to keep it ticking. So be selfish next time, radio for help, and keep out of the fight."

"I'll try," she sighed. They both knew it wasn't likely, given their status as public defenders, but she would humor him (and his poor heart). He smiled, his eyes crinkling in that way they did when he really meant it, and she hummed as she settled against the bed. "I'm so tired."

"Then rest," he said. "You're doing better, but you're still a bit a ways from a full recovery. Hey, Mamoru said once you woke up I could probably take you home. Finish out the meds in the comfort of your own home and bed. Why don't you take a nap, and when you wake up I'll talk to the big guy about discharging you?"

"…big guy," Ami snorted, but she was too tired to ask him if he really called Mamoru that to his face. Zane grinned and tapped her nose.

"Shaddup, eejit," he chided. There was no venom in his voice, though. Just relief. "Get some rest, and then we'll see about getting you home. This bed is entirely too small to cuddle, and that is a very big problem."

She laughed, though that just made her cough again. Her face scrunched in pain, and he stood to smooth her brow with a kiss. She mumbled something incoherent, but by the time he'd leaned away she was asleep. He sighed and settled back into his chair, keeping the fingers of his one hand laced with her own. Pulling out his phone was almost an afterthought as he heard it chirping again.

mamoru told usagi she woke up! xoxo minako!

what's the status? xoxo minako!

can we come in? xoxo minako!

how is she? xoxo minako!

zane stop being a butt and answer! xoxo minako!

He rolled his eyes at the five messages sent in rapid-fire succession. Not even a minute had passed since the first had been sent – he hardly thought that qualified him as a 'butt', as Minako had so artfully put it. He glanced up at Ami, grinned a little, and snapped a quick picture to send Minako.

She's fine. Resting. Properly chastised on not calling for help first.

He was slipping the phone back into his pocket when it buzzed again. He rolled his eyes and pulled it back out.

so we can come see her then? xoxo minako!

mako made cookies! xoxo minako!

His left eye twitched. He highly doubted she wanted biscuits, since chewing required air and that was a precious commodity at the time.

Mamoru said he can probably discharge her now that she's awake. Let me get her home first, Minako. Maybe tomorrow.

He paused a moment after sending the message, and quickly typed an addendum.

IF you can stay calm and not overtax her. Maybe the day after to let her build her strength up.

His phone buzzed again moments later, but he wasn't pulling it out again. It would do Minako good to suffer a little. Waiting wouldn't kill her. He squeezed Ami's hand, content to sit there and wait for the nurse or Mamoru to stop back in and talk about those discharge papers. Knowing she had woken up, that she was all right…yeah, he was good just sitting there a bit. She was fine. She would be ok. He brought her hand back to his lips and kissed the back again, rubbing the skin with his thumb to reassure himself that she was still there.

Yeah. She'd be fine.