Title: A little fighter
Author: Ree
Theme: Hotaru /Saturn (Weakling)
Genre: General
Version: Anime/Manga Post-stars Pre-Crystal Tokyo
Rating: G

Hotaru and all her friends and enemies are originally from the mind of Takeuchi Naoko. Any character she didn't create must fall to me.

A little fighter

AN: Lungs and the ability to control their own body temperature are the last things that a baby developes before birth. So a premature baby is placed into an incubator to keep it warm, and is given a steriod shot to speed up the lung growth and development. The closer to 3 months premature, the less likely a baby is to survive. Very few have survived if they were born in the 2nd trimester.

Hotaru stretched her legs under the desk at the nurses station. She took a moment to listen to the soft baby noises coming from the nursery cradles. Smiling, she went back to filling in the charts, and getting everything ready for the next shift. She jotted her last comment on the chart she was working on, and then placed it in her finished pile. When she looked at the last chart in the stack, she felt compelled to look over at the incubator humming away on the far wall. Glancing back down at the chart, she wrote. "Doing well. Attempting to suckle. Has no trouble breathing." Closing the chart, she walked over to the incubator and looked down on the quietly resting baby. 'And he should be quietly resting. He had a really rough morning.' Her mind drifted back to when she first meet Hajime.

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The emergency room called up to tell her that they were sending a patient. As they finished telling her to expect Nurse Yamada, Hotaru heard the nursery door open quickly. Dropping the phone into its cradle, she rushed over to help. Nurse Yamada pushed a cradle across the room towards the incubator. Hotaru reached it first and opened the door. When the other nurse reached her, Hotaru glanced down into the cradle, and stared. Without taking her eyes off of the tiny baby, she gentle scooped him up and placed him into the incubator. Once she had him settled, she looked into the other nurse's eyes.

Nurse Yamada could plainly read the uncertainty and the questions in the dark violet eyes of their newest nurse. She had hoped for a sign from Nurse Tomoe. Although Nurse Tomoe had only been working here for the past five months, she already had a reputation of knowing if problem cases would pull through. 'Maybe she has to work with the patient longer before she can tell.' Everyone else was waiting to hear what her reaction was.

Hotaru broke eye contact first, looking for the baby's chart. Nurse Yamada snapped out of her musings, and handed it to her. She started to fill Hotaru in before she could open the folder. "He is two and a half months premature. Mom was in an accident, but she is stabilized and should fully recovered." She left the rest unspoken.

Hotaru flipped the chart open, and checked the medicines that were already given, and looked to see if he needed anymore. 'Okay, so he already has his steroid shot.' Glancing down the chart showed there was nothing but the normal admittance that needed to be completed. Picking up the needle, IV tube and bag, tape and arm-hand board, she opened the incubator's door cleaned his arm and setup his IV.

The rest of the day had been spent running between him and the three other babies under her care. Luckily the other three didn't require special attention. Two hours after the he had been sent up to the floor, his father and extended family came to see him. Hotaru retreated across the room to grant them some privacy. As she watched , Hotaru noticed that they all were prepared for the baby to die. Before they left, the father stopped to tell her that the baby's name was Hajime.

When the family had all departed, Hotaru looked down at Hajime through the incubator's wall. He opened his eyes and looked right towards her. When their eyes met, Hotaru could see the strength emanating through him. Opening the incubator's door, she checked on the IV bag, and offered him a pacifier. When she placed it into his mouth, he started trying to suckle it. 'They are already thinking about burying you, but you're going to show them. You are no weakling. You are a fighter.'

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Later that evening Nurse Yamada called up to the floor to check on Hajime for his mother. The floor nurse smiled as she asked, "So are you looking for what his chart says, or what Nurse Tomoe says?"

"Both."

"Well, his chart says he is doing fine right now. Nurse Tomoe says that he'll make it."

Nurse Yamada felt a small weight lift off her chest. "Thanks." As she hung up the phone, she knew that she could only tell the mother what the chart said, but she could make her voice sound very hopeful.