AN: Okay, Okay, I know it's been ages since I was able to update… but I had exams and thankfully they are now finished… I had a huge thing to do with cadets (navy… ask if you want to know more about what I'm blabbering on about if not never mind) and I have another thing this weekend … and finally I just moved to a new place about a 2 hour drive from my old place and we've only just got the computers unpacked about 2 days ago. I've been using the library ones for a while but I didn't want to continue the fic because well… I didn't have a disk and I didn't have the time… so sue me it's only worth about $20 Australian lol

Well… here it is… I know, I should have updated sooner but yeah… anyway, I hope you guys enjoy and thanks as always to those that reviewed, I'm indebted to you guys for that. : )

Okay, this is about 3 days after the last chappie… or maybe more. Just so you guys know…

Sakura walked through the sterile halls of the hospital on her way to the children's ward. Li was out of the critical area but he still hadn't really woken up. The nurses all found it very strange but it was probably better in some ways. He'd been awake a few times, sure, but he was never really aware of his surroundings and he never said anything much or reacted to anything. Not even Sakura. In fact, the only time he'd really been awake enough to talk to anyone, he'd asked for a bucket before he threw up everywhere before passing out again. It was not a pretty sight. Sakura couldn't cry much any more, her tears spent on the first day, but she had hopes for Li. Abby said he was getting better and he was strong but that he was sleeping a lot and not aware of what was happening because of the medicine they were giving him for pain. She was collecting Li's work from school for him, still hoping that he'd wake up long enough to talk to her.

She walked into the room and smiled at Li's sleeping form.

"Hey Li, how are you today?" Sakura asked, although not expecting an answer. She looked at her friend and was pleased to note that the horrible bruising on his face and other visible parts was almost all gone, as was much of the swelling. She pulled out her key and walked out onto the balcony. There was nobody about and she figured that it was safe enough for her to call on one of the cards quickly, besides, the were on the 6th or 7th floor and nobody could see them from above.

Calling out her staff, she threw up a star card and called to it.

"Flower, make me a bunch of Li's favourite flower to cheer up the room, release and dispel!"

The small wind blew up as always from her magic circle and she was suddenly holding a bunch of peonies in her arms. She thanked Flower before she returned her staff and put the card back into her pocket.

She walked back into the ward and brushed Li's unruly hair away from his eyes, pleased to note that his temperature was lower than it had been since he'd been found. His body was slowly gaining ground. But it wasn't fast enough, not by a long shot. A few more days and the doctors would be getting in a specialist, maybe even transferring him to another hospital. A fever only lasted at most a day or two, and even then it would come down quickly if treated the right way. Li's had been raging for almost a week and his bodies resources were running thin, even with all the extra fluid they were giving him. Sakura smiled at his green pyjamas with the yellow cuffs and orange trimmings, almost the same as his battle robes. Wei had brought them in when he had returned, 2 days after Li had been found, on the first available flight. He had brought some clothes and things for Li in the hopes that he would wake up. Wei was now at the apartment cleaning and cooking, doing anything to take his mind off Li for a few hours, the nurses having sent him home to rest before he got sick too.

Sakura pulled out a thermos of tea that Madison had made her and sat next to Li's bed, opening her own homework book and staring at the maths with absolutely no understanding. After about an hour, she sighed, put the book and the pencil back into her bag and looked at Li. She gasped and fell backwards from the chair and onto the floor with a clatter as the chair fell too, picking herself up and peeking over the edge of the seat at Li. He was awake and looking at her, worried that she had fallen down.

"Li! You're awake! Oh I'm so glad that you're awake!" Sakura jumped up and threw her arms around his neck, crying with joy. Li coughed and Sakura gulped and thumped him gently on the back. He stopped coughing and smiled at her.

"Oh Li, you've had us so worried, you've been asleep for 3 days running at last count, and you've been delusional too," Sakura babbled, hugging Li, who had weakly put his arm around her back, though he hadn't registered that he had.

'3 days! Wow, They were right…' Li thought, remembering what Kibeth and Andimion had told him. He felt as if he'd had all his energy drained, everything was tied down with lead weights and it hurt everywhere. At least it wasn't as hot as he remembered and he was thinking relatively clearly. He was still so tired though. The annoying beeping machine was gone as was the full face mask, but the tube in his arm was still there and there was a tube running under his nose. He could still taste the medicine he was breathing in constantly. It made him want to throw up again.

Sakura stared in surprised as her tears of joy at Li being awake, all right, gathered, and pooled into a ball that floated to her hands and formed a card of sorts. She stared at Li, putting the strange and still glowing card on the side table as Li weakly looked at her and lay back down with a small thump. He looked a little bit green and his eyes were beginning to get dull again. Sakura gasped and she shook Li gently awake before sleep could pull him under again. She needed to tell him before it was too late and he fell asleep again, the nurses had said that he was so listless. She felt his head and gasped in shock as she felt him burning up again, even worse than before if she was any judge!

"Li, there's something really important I need to tell you. Li, thanks you for all the times you've helped me out, like when we caught the sand card and the thunder card and all the others. Thank you for being there for me when I needed someone to talk to. I never could have done it without you and I hope you know that. I will always be here for you and I'm going to do my best to take care of you now, seeing that it was my fault that you got so badly hurt and all, what with Fight and everything…" Sakura trailed off, beginning to blush as Li did every time she was around him, tears forming in her eyes again as the memory of the when she had found him surfaced again.

"Same for you Sakura, you're one of the best friends I've ever had… and I care about you more than anything in the world… even if you don't share that thought," Li mumbled as best his broken jaw would allow. His eyes began to drift shut as a loud gong sounded in Sakura's ear and she jerked upon hearing his words (AN: Like when Julian and Sakura realised that Ruby knew about Tori giving his powers to Yue, or Ms Mackenzie's Bell).

"Li, I… uh… I can't put it any better than you just did then… I feel the same way for you," Sakura smiled warmly, her tears finished. Li smiled warmly before his eyes slid shut and he drifted into slumber again. Sakura brushed his cheek before planting a small kiss on his forehead at which point he smiled and sighed happily before he was well and truly asleep.

He was so warm… she pulled out a face washer from the drawer near Li's bed and wet it in the bathroom before putting it over is forehead in an effort to cool him down, even though she got a rather nasty look from one of the nurses. He sighed with relief as she placed it down, his flushed cheeks glowing almost as much as his sleepy smile as he drifted between sleep and being awake enough to hold a conversation. He was just so tired he didn't want to move. Fight and the rain had taken his spirit and body through the ringer and back again and it wasn't happy at all with the situation. It was as if Li's body was making up for all the sick time he hadn't had in one big hit, Li having never taken a sick day off in his entire life that he could remember. That wasn't to say that there hadn't been some days he couldn't remember.

Sakura sat down in her chair again and suddenly remembered the strange card that had formed from her tears… She picked it up and studied it. She smiled as she noted that it was a Star card already as she wouldn't have to change it. She looked at the picture and found a woman spirit like Windy, the spirits hair pulled into two looped pig tails, a small hat on her head. She wore a short sleeved dress with a short skirt, apron, and a belt. Around her neck was a stethoscope and she had a red cross right above her heart and a small cross on her fore head. Sakura read the caption and almost laughed in delight. The Healer card, she had created it. To help her beloved Li after he'd helped her so much.

But a group of parents had just come in and were staring at her strangely as the small child wailed at having had it's tonsils out a few hours ago. Li slept through the noise and Sakura smiled. Madison had been in yesterday and gotten a photo but Sakura took a mental picture of the contented face, sickly as it was, and felt her heart flutter again as she remembered that Li cared for her in a way that could never be described. She packed her things away and left the new star card on Li's bedside table, pulling out her staff and placing shield on the card in the bathroom a couple of minutes after putting it there, telling it to only let herself and Li touch the card. Unlike most of the female card spirits, the object spirits like Lock, Sword and Shield were unseen by people as they were placed, where as Windy and such sadly were detectable even to those without magic. Sakura kissed Li on the cheek and left for the afternoon, heading home on her blades and deciding to try Heal on Li tomorrow afternoon.

AN: I'm close to finishing it now. The people who are reading this… wether reviewing or not will be happy won't you guys J I'm always happy when people finish the story… until I realise that I want to read more of it lol.

Hopefully, now that my holidays officially start in about 8 days… you know no other commitments until christmas and next year for school and cadets and stuff… I should be able to update again sooner that the last time. Sorry again to those who were following the story… I felt guilty at having not updated in ages but it happens. Keep your eyes open. See ya

Luv

Amalthea