AN - Lost part of the chapter as well, but I think it still reads okay. Follow the profile for the Mature version.

Ami was sure she was seeing things at first, but when she crept closer she saw that it really was Nephrite and he really was talking to one of the students on campus. Torn between curiosity and feeling like she was being nosey, she tried to walk past them on the opposite side of the glass encased corridor.

The girl he was talking to was pretty, with almond eyes and wavy black hair. She's probably half Caucasian, Ami thought to herself. With a slight twinge of guilt she realized that she was happy that the girl didn't look too pleased to be talking to Nephrite.

Whatever they were discussing, it was animated and Ami had to turn and walk away before her staring attracted attention.

For some reason she couldn't get the girl and Nephrite out of her head. After several hours of reading, she slammed the cover of the medical journal closed and stood up.

"Where are you going?" her partner asked as she fled the room.

"The gym," she called over her shoulder.

You're just being silly, she told herself as she crunched through the snow to the campus recreation building. In the women's locker room she dug through the small cubby-hole she rented and found her bathing suit.

Something about being submerged was soothing and she looked forward to a dip in the lap pool before returning to work. She would have to skip most of her lunch break, but she wouldn't be able to eat if she were preoccupied anyway.

There was one other swimmer in the pool, cutting through the water like a dolphin. Ami was just finishing stuffing her hair into a swimmer's cap and adjusting her goggles when the other occupant headed for the ladder. As soon as she pulled herself out of the pool, Ami's stomach lurched; it was the girl from earlier.

Even with a swimmer's cap and goggles around her neck the girl was stunning. Ami noted with a little jealousy that she filled out her racing style swimsuit nicely. She wished the girl would just leave, but she spotted Ami and waved.

"I don't normally see many people doing laps this early in the day," she said with a sweet smile.

Ami wanted to sink into the tile, but did her best to smile back. "I don't normally have a break now," she said.

"I couldn't get through my classes without a nice, long break in the middle," the other girl said.

"Oh, I'm not a student, I'm a doctor in the hospital." At least I'm smarter than she is, Ami thought before giving herself a mental slap.

"Really? You look so young. I'm getting my Masters in Performance." There was no hint of bragging in the girls' voice and Ami felt even worse. "I'm Michiru, by the way."

She's at least part Japanese then. "What instrument?"

"Cell, mostly. Speaking of which, I have to run and get changed before my next practice session. Nice meeting you," Michiru said.

"Bye," Ami replied, watching her leave before sitting down on the edge of the pool. Somehow the water was no longer as inviting.

Nephrite and Luna were arguing over the television remote, but Ami barely even registered them as she trudged to her room that evening. She was over-worked, over-tired, overly-emotional and all she wanted was her bed.
Curiosity got the best of her and she timed her morning coffee break for the time she last saw Nephrite on campus and sure enough she felt a hot surge of jealousy, but the rational voice in her head tried to clam her down. Maybe he's just making a friend.

Nephrite was cooped up with just Luna and herself most of the time. He probably did need to talk to someone else occasionally. But why did he have to pick someone so pretty.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. I can't get myself worked up over this now. Her work was already being reviewed and her stomach didn't feel like it could take any more stress. She looked back over her shoulder at Nephrite and smiled apologetically before slowly turning herself around.

"If you keep chewing on that pen, I'm positive it's going to explode," Dr Lyons said.

Blushing, Ami took the pen out of her mouth and wiped it on the hem of her lab coat. She was much too nervous to sit in her tiny office, but there was nothing else to do.

Her research partner was sweating profusely although her was refraining from placing office supplies in his mouth. "Do you think we'll hear anything tonight?" he asked.

"I don't know," Ami said quietly. Her stomach lurched violently at the thought. She'd done her best preparing the reports but lately her best didn't seem to be good enough. "I've got to get out of here," she muttered and fled the room.

She gulped in the cold air of the courtyard and bent over to put her head between her legs. When she stood back up she was surprised to see a small figure sitting on one of the benches hidden in the bushes. Very few people were out in the courtyard in night, since there was no light except what came from the windows.

Concerned, she walked over and saw that it was a young girl as she came closer. The girl gave no indication that she even knew Ami was there. "Excuse me?" Ami said quietly and the girl jumped.

"Oh! Dr. Mizuno," the girl said breathlessly and as she raised her head Ami saw that it was the candy striper she had nearly knocked over on the pediatric floor. Hotaru looked completely bewildered.

"Are you okay?" Ami asked when Hotaru got unsteadily to her feet.

Hotaru's eyes were wide and she stared around in a daze. "Hmmm...yes. I must have just spaced out there for awhile."

"You're here late, are you waiting for a ride?" Ami asked, trying not to be obvious about visually examining Hotaru for bruises or abrasions.

"What? No, my father won't get home from the lab for hours. I need to start walking home," Hotaru tried to walk past Ami, but Ami turned and followed.

"Would you like me to drive you home?" Ami asked, rushing to catch up. "I really should be getting home myself."

"In the dark?" Ami asked. "I need an excuse to get out of here before I drive myself crazy, it is no problem to take you home."

Hotaru looked at her strangely. She tucked her hair behind her ear. "If you're sure it's no trouble," she said quietly.

"So which laboratory does your father work in?" Ami asked as she turned onto the highway.

Hotaru was staring out the window at the moon. "I don't know. It's privately owned and he's not supposed to tell me about it."

The idea struck Ami as a little odd, but some chemical companies would stoop to espionage against other companies. Someone's child could conceivably blurt out something important. "All I know is that he spends more time at the lab than he does at home," Hotaru added.

"I know what that is like," Ami said. "Sometimes I didn't see my mother for days at a time. Heck, sometimes I feel like I live at the hospital and not my apartment."

"Do you live by yourself?" Hotaru asked.

"Um... sort of. I have long term house guests but it is normally just me," Ami said after a moment's thought.

Hotaru turned to look at her and the street light reflections made the girl's thin face look almost cadaverous. "It's just my father and I and he's never home, so I'm usually by myself."

"Is that why you volunteer?" Ami asked, hoping that she wasn't prying.

"I also need community service in order to graduate," Hotaru said with a shrug.

"Well, at least you're starting early, right?" Ami said.

Hotaru shrugged again. "Not really. I graduate this spring. This is the turn."

"Really? I thought you were much younger than that, no offense intended," Ami said.

"Next left," Hotaru said. "No, I'm fourteen."

Ami smiled. "That's how old I was when I graduated and came to America."

Hotaru looked at her curiously, but only said, "This is my house on the corner."