Disclaimer: I do not own Haruka and Michiru's characters, they belong to Naoko Takeuchi. All other characters and this story belong to me.

Note: This is rated "M" for a reason. If you have issues with coarse language, girl on girl action and substance abuse references, do not indulge yourself in this.

Chapter 13

Lucky Me

Haruka was still standing in the middle of the room, or the middle of the floor, considering that there were no walls on the ground level with the exception of the pane of glass that separated the garage from the rest of theliving space. Her mind was trying to come up with a solution for her latest problem, while that problem shivered on the floor in fetal position. Still not finding a solution, but realizing that a cold or pneumonia would only make things worse, Haruka picked up the creature from the floor and carried her downstairs. She walked through the hallway and kicked the door to the bathroom open with her foot, moved the soft fluffy green rug out of the way and put the woman back on the floor. Haruka fought with Michiru, who tried to curl back into her previous position, while the blonde tried to remove her disgusting clothes. Haruka won, being stronger in the first place, and especially stronger in comparison to Michiru in her current state. Haruka grabbed the garments and left the bathroom, disposing of the stinking, soiled fabrics, by taking them all the way to the outside trash can.

She found Michiru in the same spot, in her now favorite position. Haruka considered just shoving the smaller woman in the spacious shower cabin, but decided against it and turned on the water in the wide bathtub instead. Haruka rolled her sleeves up before depositing the shaking form in the hot water, for which she got a loud groan and indecipherable mumbling through Michiru's shaking teeth. A small smile appeared in the corner of Haruka's mouth; paying back to her pain in the ass charge was very satisfying. She waited for the bathtub to fill before she turned the water off and climbed on the counter that surrounded the inset bathtub, right behind Michiru's back, spreading her legs on the sides and making herself comfortable, Haruka looked at the mess of dirty hair right in front of her. She contemplated the best way to do it, before she simply put a hand on top of Michiru's head and pushed her under the water, holding her there for a few seconds.

"What the fuck?" It sounded angry, but funny at the same time because Michiru was gargling on the water that got in her mouth as she forced the words out.

"Ah, so you didn't lose the ability to speak, that should be a delight." Haruka, unfortunately, had seen enough people going through withdrawal to know what was ahead of her. She kind of wished the smaller woman would remain quiet for a long time, otherwise she was risking giving Haruka an opportunity to take some of her anger out.

Michiru didn't respond, shivering continuously despite the warm water around her. Haruka sighed as she dumped a good amount of shampoo in the dark green mess and started to massage it. The action was very rough at first, almost like Haruka tried to force all the bad things Michiru thought about doing, along with all the thoughts of Haruka out of the violinist's head by pressing on her scull, but then her fingers softened as they got tangled in a mess of foamy long hair. Haruka contemplated her next action, before she stilled both of her hands and pushed Michiru under the water again to wash the shampoo off. Michiru didn't use words this time, instead she pulled on Haruka's hands with just enough force to make the blonde dive into the water, head first.

"You little ungrateful bitch." Haruka wiped the dirty water off of her face before she untangled her own body from its uncomfortable position and stared at the little shivering fury in her tub. Haruka stood up on her knees and reached for the shampoo bottle again, this time settling down behind the younger woman in the tub, no longer having to lose anything. She washed her hair again, this time pulling it intentionally to make Michiru pay for getting her clothes wet. Michiru cringed at the little pains now and then, but didn't utter a word.

Haruka grabbed the showerhead from the side of the bath and washed off the clean hair. She then bit on her lower lip, trying to figure out exactly how much conditioner she had to use to make that curly mess manageable. A handful of white substance later, she massaged it gently into the scull that she knew must have been burning from all her intentional and unintentional pulling. She washed it off again and grabbed a sponge. Michiru didn't really make it easy or help Haruka to get around the skinny body with the sponge, so the blonde was even more irritated by the time she emptied the dirty water and showered the semi-soapy figure with the clean water out of the showerhead. Haruka was about to get out of the tub when she realized that her clothes were drenched in dirty water. She quickly stripped them off, left them in the tub and stepped out, grabbing a towel that matched the rug on the floor.

She draped it over Michiru's shoulders and left her sitting in the empty tub. Haruka stepped into the shower and quickly washed any remnants of the dirt Michiru brought to her house off. She grabbed another towel and dried herself, moving the fluffy rug back in its place with her foot while she did so. She wrapped the towel around her body and looked at the woman in the tub.

"Are you going to get out of there by yourself or do I have to carry you around forever?"

Her hard facial expression softened just a little as she saw a shaking hand reach the edge of the tub and watched Michiru struggle to get up from her sitting position. Haruka cocked her head to the side and watched the unsuccessful attempts for another few minutes before she leaned down and took Michiru out of her misery. Haruka carried her to the bedroom, for the lack of any other place to take her, and deposited her on the bed. She reached her wardrobe and pulled two tank tops and two sets of yoga pants out, followed by some underwear. She quickly dressed herself before she dried the still wet spots on Michiru's body and pulled the clothes over the smaller woman. Haruka put her hand on Miciru's forehead and figured that the fever was probably still rising. She removed the blankets from underneath the smaller woman and covered her with them, leaving her arms out. That action prompted her to stoowns old each wrist and inspect the large blue veins. It wasn't as bad as it could have been, but it wasn' a habit Michiru just picked up either. Haruka was pulled out of her thoughts by the intense stare of the ocean blue eyes that shined unhealthy. She sighed, let go of Michiru, got up, and left the room.

Haruka walked up the stairs and found her cellphone. She still had no plan, but she was by no means going to suffer through this alone. No, she was going to make other people suffer as well. She went through her list of contacts and dialed the number for the messenger.

"In your own words, are you out of your god damn mind?" came a grouchy response.

"Get a disposable phone, I'm gonna be calling a lot," Haruka announced nonchalantly.

"What, you decided to reconnect with family?"

"That and more, you don't have the slightest idea." That sounded more threatening.

"I already don't like it."

"Are you done with playing a good cop?" She was referring to Daiki's bust at the underground drug lab.

"I am."

"Good. I need you to go shopping."

"You are out of your god damn fucking mind. I don't run your errands."

"You are since I can't run them and it's all your fault."

"Excuse me?"

"Apology accepted." Haruka ignored the muttered curses and continued: "I'm gonna e-mail you a list of things I need. Also, can you stop by and get some warm food somewhere? I'm starving."

She patiently listened to another explanation of Daiki's feelings for her and her ordering him around like a bus boy before he agreed. She knew that his curiosity had to do a lot with that agreement, he wanted to know what was going on and she wouldn't tell him. His curiosity was his downfall when it came to her ability to manipulate him.

"How many people am I getting food for?"

Haruka figured that Michiru was long ways from accepting food. "Three."

"Okay, kid, it better be good."

"Oh, trust me, you're gonna have a ball when you get here." She knew he would. She also knew she would never hear the end of it because not only did she put herself in the position to be blackmailed, but she also agreed to take care of someone. Yes, Daiki would not let that one go easily.

"See you then."

She disconnected and dialed another number.

"My popularity has increased exponentially tonight. What do you want?" came an irritated greeting.

"Are you anywhere near a hospital by any chance?" Haruka smiled at the phone.

"Not if you need something. I've saved enough lives tonight, my conscience is clear."

"Yeah, one of those lives ended up in my sorry hands."

"Let me guess, she looks something like a violinist you claimed not to have any interest in?"

Haruka remembered exactly why she didn't like to talk to the woman. "Sayuri -"

"It's Abe-sensei for you, unless you're doing something divine that benefits me."

And that was why Haruka liked her. The woman was straightforward. "No, actually I was hoping you would do something that benefits me."

"Uh huh."

"I need you to stop by and bring whatever it is your former patient needs."

"Is she in shock?"

"I am in shock, I have no idea if she is."

"Not that kind of shock, you idiot, I was using a medical term. She did overdose, you know?"

"Yes, I have been made aware of the fact!" Haruka snorted. 'Right before I was forced to deal with the consequences.'

"Great, that just makes me so much more confident in you. How is her pulse, her temperature, her breathing? I'm not even going to ask about blood pressure."

"She has a fever and it's rising, I have no idea about the rest of it."

"Wow, you're so helpful." Haruka heard a long sigh. "I get out in another hour, don't do anything, I'll stop by."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome. Where am I stopping by?"

"My house."

There was a long pause. "You brought the girl to your house?"

"Oh no, I didn't. I still have digits left in my brain. It's a long story."

"Okay then. I'll bring whatever you're going to need."

"Sayuri..." Haruka hesitated.

"Yes?"

"Can you bring whatever you need to test her for HIV and other shit she could've picked up as well?"

Now the hesitation was on the other end of the line. "I will save my response as to your claim for not caring about the girl until I get there. Yes, I'll bring the kit."

"Thanks, Say." Haruka heard the groan and smiled. Sayuri did hate it when Haruka shortened her name, especially since their relationship became stranded. Her smile got even wider as the short beeps replaced the silence in her ear.

x x x

Forty minutes later Haruka opened the door to a very upset-looking Daiki. He was wearing his regular black jeans, black turtleneck sweater and a black leather jacket. The expression on his face was as dark as his choice of clothing.

"There is a reason I don't have a wife or kids. This…" He raised both of his hands that held full bags of things he just purchased. "… is one of the reasons why I don't."

"Thank's honey, you're such a dear." She gave him a brilliant smile as he scowled back.

Daiki deposited the bags on the floor before taking his jacket off.

"Don't you ever freeze in that thing?" Haruka eyed the garment he hang on a hook by the door.

"What are you, my mother now? I already have one of those and she's an even bigger bitch than you are." He picked up the bag with food and carried it to the kitchen. "Now explain to me why I just went shopping in the middle of the night?"

Haruka decided to save her breath and motioned towards the stairs with her head instead. Daiki obediently followed her, stopping in the doorway of her bedroom as she held the door open. The white blanket covered a mound that resembled a curled-up human and strands of wet sea-green hair hung off the side of the bed.

Daiki turned to Haruka and just stared at her. For a very long moment. Her expression, however, was absolutely void, so his action didn't bring any answers. "How did she get here and why is she in your bed?"

Haruka closed the door as they both made their way upstairs. "She is in my bed because that's the only bed I have in the house. She's in my house because her bitch of a mother blackmailed me into taking her in."

Daiki watched as Haruka picked up the bags he left by the door and waited for her to elaborate, which she did not. "And?"

"I'll tell you while we're having food." She took the bags downstairs and reappeared shortly after.

Daiki was taking the cartons out of the bag when Haruka came back. "She didn't seem like she was going to join us for dinner, so why don't you start telling me what happened?"

Haruka shook her head. "She's not, Sayuri is, so I would rather save my breath."

Daiki looked up in surprise. "You invited Sayuri to your house?"

"Didn't really have a choice, did I?"

"That depends on what you're going to tell me while my stomach gets filled."

Haruka nodded as she took the cartons from the counter and carried them to the coffee table. She moved the two chairs away and threw three pillows around the table, taking a seat on one of them and crossing her legs.

Daiki came up with the rest of the food and set it down, lowering himself to the floor as well. "You know, you need to expand on your furniture collection if you're intending to house people or even invite them over."

"Nah, I'm just gonna make you all deal with it." She grabbed a pair of chopsticks and dug into one of the deliciously smelling boxes. After another knock on the door some minutes later, Haruka got up and walked to open it, her chopsticks still firm in her fingers.

"Just so you know, I've never been a fan of house calls and that's exactly why I work at ER... Hmmm… whose fabulous idea was it to get food? I'm starving." Sayuri dropped a large duffel bag on the floor as Haruka closed the door behind her, smiling.

"This is the divine treatment you get because I called you by your first name," Haruka teased.

Sayuri looked at her, chewing on a mouthful of rice noodles. "Silly me thought it was a thank you for getting a shitload of medical stuff to your house."

"Silly you." Haruka dove to the side at the sight of menacing chopsticks pointed her way. "You know, it is offensive to do that with your chopsticks, use them like a good girl you are."

Sayuri snorted, but put her chopsticks towards another portion of food she was intending to grab. Daiki rubbed his hands as he swallowed. "Explanation first, cute family stuff later. Lay it out."

Haruka told them exactly what happened in detail, not because she cared about satisfying their curiosity, but because it concerned all of them. Eiko's threat was a result of her desperation, but it could not be ignored, nor could it be simply dismissed.

Daiki stopped eating in the middle of the explanation and was simply waiting for Haruka to finish before he gave his thoughts on the subject. Once she signaled that she was done, he didn't hesitate to do so. "Do you want me to take care of her?"

Haruka's threat of killing Eiko was close to what she wanted to do, but it was nothing more than a petty threat - she has never killed anyone in her life and she intended it to be that way. Daiki, on the other hand, had dealt with life and death as a daily matter and Haruka learned early in their relationship that he didn't hesitate to take a life away if it protected his interests. The Wing of Night and Haruka were included in those interests.

"No, I don't." She shook her head.

"Why not?" That came from Sayuri and would have been odd, seeing how she was all about saving lives, except that her question was based on the interest in Haruka's reasoning, not the actual desire to get rid of Kaioh Eiko.

"Because I think we can use her to our advantage," Haruka replied simply.

"Are you sure it's that and not that she's related to the woman downstairs?" Daiki was on the same trail of thought as Sayuri.

"Why would it matter?"

"It matters because if your reasoning is based on the fact that she's married to Shimizu, then I'm talking to the cold-blooded Haruka I know. If your reasoninoffs based on the fact that she is the mother of the girl you claim not to care for, then I'm talking to somebody who is driven by feelings, not logic."

"That wasn't what I meant by my question."

"Well, it is what we want to know," Sayuri said simply.

Haruka closed her eyes, willing her brain to come up with an answer. "Eiko got herself into this mess all on her own, if you feel that she's too much of a threat, get rid of her." She opened her gray eyes. "I still think that we can use her proximity to Shimizu to our advantage. She'll do anything to protect her daughter and we have her daughter."

Two sets of piercing eyes drilled through her scull, trying to reach her soul, but both knew that they would never get that far. Her logic was sound and cold, just like it had always been, they just weren't sure how much of it she really meant.

"You're walking on thin ice, kid," Daiki said finally.

"I always walk on thin ice, otherwise I get rusty, Dai."

He smiled at her, recognizing the teenager who grew up alongside him in the woman sitting across the table. That line of thought took him out of the business mood and put him in a teasing one. "You should wear some heels and a dress to a race one of these days."

Haruka's eyes bulged as she followed his eyes. "Stop staring at my boobs, you fucking pedophile."

Daiki laughed in return. "You're not a child anymore, so you can't call me that."

"I call you that cuz you did the same thing when I was a child," she retorted, squinting her eyes.

"You never were a child, according to you."

"I was a child by age, you're so old you could've been my father!"

"Wow." He raised both of his hands in defense. "God forbid I have a bitch like you as a child. Besides, I don't think even I made kids at fourteen."

"Here we go again," Sayuri murmured as she watched the two banter. Her attention was caught by a movement to the side and she elbowed the blonde who was half-jumping on her knees.

"What?" Haruka barked, irritated by the light jabbing.

"The love of your life is crawling up the stairs." Sayuri pointed in the direction of the stairs for the dumbfounded racer.

Haruka turned and watched in stunned silence (stunned at the words uttered by the doctor who she was too surprised to strangle) as Michiru tried to literally crawl up the stairs. She then got up and walked to the girl, leaning over her. "Where do you think you're going?"

Michiru's shiny eyes looked at the face above her, her dry, cracking lips opened to respond, but the darkness relieved her of that obligation.

"She's burning up," Haruka announced as she grabbed the collapsing form and took her back downstairs.

"Time to play doctor." Sayuri got up and walked to the large bag that was left by the door, forgotten to this point.

"I want you to play that with me," Daiki smirked from his pillow.

"I will, later." They shared a knowing smile before making their way to the bedroom, where Sayuri got to work. A portable monitor was connected first, showing Michiru's vitals, which were still a bit too low for Sayuri's liking. After a little hesitation, Sayuri connected an IV through one of the veins in Michiru's hands, avoiding the large abused veins in her arms. "This is for her dehydration, you're gonna have to keep an eye on the bag, but mostly keep an eye on Michiru, she might just pull it out when she wakes up, you probably don't want that much blood around your bedroom."

Haruka's raised eyebrow was ignored by the busy doctor. "I'm going to give her something for the fever and put a catheter in for now, I want to know her urine output." Sayuri didn't really care about the presence of two other people in the room as she went to do so.

"I think she has the beautiful bouquet of both the overdose and withdrawal symptoms, but withdrawal ones are going to come through a lot clearer in the next twenty-four hours. I'll come back in maybe twelve to see how she's doing. Keep all of these attached until then." Sayuri finally faced Haruka, who nodded.

Haruka watched as the doctor pulled out a kit and drew blood from the needle she already inserted, before connecting the IV tube. She then took a swab from Michiru's mouth and marked the small containers, put them back inside her bag and pulled another identical kit out. "Give me your arm."

"Excuse me?" Haruka stared at Sayuri who faced her with a very determined expression Haruka did not like.

"Give me you arm." Sayuri broke open the seal on the kit, then took a new syringe and an elastic band out of her bag.

"What do you think you're gonna do with my arm?" Haruka took a step backwards.

"I'm going to test you."

"What for?" Haruka unconsciously rubbed her arm.

"The same shit I just tested your girlfriend for."

"She's not my girlfriend," Haruka mumbled, taking another step back.

"I was using a figure of speech. In either case, you probably are in a worse shape than she is."

"I don't do drugs, I don't share syringes," Haruka defended.

"No, but you do exchange bodily fluids with who knows how many people on a regular basis."

"Yeah, I know and I get tested regularly, without your barbaric methods." Haruka swallowed.

"I beg you pardon?" Sayuri was actually offended.

"She's afraid of needles, Say," Daiki explained from the corner.

Sayuri smiled at the terrified blonde, finding it ironic that the tough girl in front of her was afraid of needles and wondering why she did not know that delightful fact until now. She just found the best way to get back at the blonde for anything and everything the blonde has ever done to her. "Then how do you get tested?"

"Rapid tests, you stick them in your mouth."

"I know where you stick them, you dumb blonde. They're not nearly as good as blood tests."

"Yeah, except that they don't have needles and don't take two weeks to give you the result."

"So you're actually concerned about the result?" Sayuri was having a time of her life.

"I'm not stupid, of course I'm concerned."

"You're stupid enough to be careless."

"So are you!" Haruka shot back.

"No, I only sleep with one partner," Sayuri argued.

"Who sleeps with who knows how many," Haruka retorted.

"Don't bring me into your fight, I've nothing to do with it," Daiki warned from the comfort of his corner.

Sayuri reached her boiling point after the comment that they ended up with in every conversation she had with Haruka, so she decided to end the argument. "The blood can be tested for a whole array of things that you may have, so I am drawing it whether you want it or not."

"What, are you going to force me?" Haruka chose that moment to take another step back and walk into Daiki.

"She gives me sex, you give me nothing but a pain in the ass, I'm gonna do what she says," he informed from behind her back.

Haruka's body stiffened in an automatic response of preparing for self-defense.

"I'm not going to draw your blood by force, Haruka. Either you give me your arm or I will walk out of here with everything I brought and you can look for another doctor who will be similarly generous."

'Am I being blackmailed for the second time today? I am fucking being blackmailed for the second time!' Haruka threw her head back, stopping herself from screaming in frustration or kicking the man who was standing behind her with all the desire to do so she had been bottling up. After she felt like she could at least somewhat control herself, she sat down on the bed and extended her right arm to Sayuri, turning away in the opposite direction.

"Good girl." Sayuri smiled, not in a good way, as she tightened the elastic band over Haruka's bicep and pumped the vein. She gently put the needle in and took the band off, allowing the blood to freely fill the container attached to the needle. She removed it when it was full and replaced it with another one.

"Shit, how many of those do you need?" Haruka was starting to feel lightheaded as Sayuri kept switching the blood receptacles.

"As many as I do," Sayuri replied innocently. She removed the last receptacle, then the needle, and put a piece of cotton on the red dot that formed inside Haruka's elbow. "Hold it."

Haruka hugged her folded arm close to her body and stared at the offending needle that soon disappeared in a small bag with the words 'Hazardous Materials' on it.

"I'll let you know when I get the results for these."

"Can't wait." Haruka grimaced as Sayuri replaced the cotton ball with a bandaid.

"Call me if something goes wrong, otherwise I'll see you in twelve hours." Sayuri grabbed her bag. Haruka walked them both out, set the alarm and prepared herself for the rest of the night from hell.