A/N:
Well hello all you Taiora fans- it's been a long time! I'm finally back from my month vacation/time off. And now it's back to posting my latest rounds of fics. Again I apologize for the absence, but I'm back and I'm ready to post stuff. The first thing I did was finish this fic for those who have been patiently waiting for it- sorry- like I said I lost my original copies and had to recreate it from memory :) Anyway- enjoy


"So you are alive then…" Matt smiled.
"Wow does my back hurt." I moaned.
"I hate to have to leave this place Tai. You are one lucky SOB!" One of the guys commented/
"Ya the nurses here are…"
"Ok guys- don't talk about them like that.." Matt started out. Everyone looked at him weird- usually Matt was right in there talking about his 'victories.' Then he broke down and began to laugh. "What am I saying? I never had such a good time last night." Matt smirked. As he did my stomach went numb… he and Sora???
'No.' I thought to myself. Just the thought of Sora with another man sent my mind into a dark place. But… then everything that happened didn't make any sense… if she had spent the night with Matt then why did she come in and kiss me? Or was that just a pain-induced dream… merely a fantasy…
The other guys left the room as they continued talking about their dates.
"Matt!" I called before he had gone far.
"Ya Tai- what's up?"
"Can I ask you something?"
"Sure Tai- what's on your mind?"
"Well… it's about last night… You and Sora didn't…" My stomach turned at the thought. Matt looked at me and began to laugh.
"What?" I continued. I didn't see what was so funny.
"Tai. You thought she would let me get that close?" He asked in between laughs. "Don't get me wrong, I'd have loved to.. But an hour into our date I realized she wasn't eve n going to let me kiss her. So we talked a while and she hooked me up wit another hot nurse." I sighed a great big sigh of relief. "Besides I can tell you like her and what kind of friend would I be if I took your girl?" Matt smiled as he lightly hit me on the shoulder. "She's all yours." He added as he saw Sora entering the main room. He walked out after the rest of the guys after saying good-bye.
Sora wasn't able to see me right away- she had other patients who were more critically injured that needed attention. Finally Sora came over to my bed.
"Sora are you ok?" I asked as she finally sat down by me. She looked very tired and pale. "Didn't you get any sleep last night?" I questioned her, concerned as I gripped her hand. She forced a fake smile at me; I knew she was hiding something from me.
"I'm just fine." She said as she began to clean my wounds. I could tell she was definitely troubled.
"Sor, you can tell me… I want to help, please tell me what's wrong." I said. I raised my arm and touched her face. She tried to pull away from my touch but she couldn't get far because I held on to her. Finding she couldn't get away from the subject she broke down and began to weep on my chest. I instantly drew her into my arms and tried to console her.
"Sora!" Another older nurse called as she came running to Sora's side. "We told you to take it easy today."
"what's the matter with her?" I asked.
"Come on Sora, you need to rest." The nurse said as she gently helped Sora to her feet and out of the room. Not long after Sora left the same nurse returned to finish taking care of me.
"Is Sora going to be ok?" I repeated my question.
"She just got word that her father was killed in action this morning."
"That's horrible. Does her mom and the rest of her family know?"
"Her mother died while she was very young, all she had was her father…"
I couldn't breath. This development was heart wrenching. The nurse finished checking my bandages and left.
I wished I was strong enough to walk over and be by Sora… my heart ached knowing the amount of pain she was going through.
A few hours late the head nurse from the other day walked up to the foot of my bed. She looked down at me.
"How is Sora doing?" I asked.
"She hasn't talked to anyone all day.. And I thought… well I thought maybe you would want to try… being you two are..um..close."
"How can I get to her? I don't even have feeling in my leg…" I asked hoping she would have an answer.
"Actually there is the little room where Sora and two others stay. We would have to move them out and wheel you in there. She can be responsible for you and your therapy. That way she can at least try and get your leg workable while keeping her mind off her loss."
I nodded. That was actually a great idea… now all that was left was getting me into that room. The pain I had while lying was tolerable, but when moved or made to move the pain became almost unbearable. My back would sting and go numb. I wasn't really honest with Sora about the pain. Maybe because I didn't really feel it when she was around. It could be due to the fact I was concentrating on her and the way she made me feel or possibly I didn't want to worry her. But whatever the reason maybe the fact that it hurt came rushing back to me as I was being moved. However the pain I felt now must be nothing compared to what Sora was feeling.. She was technically an orphan- alone and sad. So the pain was worth enduring if I was able to help the girl I loved.
It took the muscle power of several nurses to move me into the small room. It was clean and tidy. One window faced out to a beautiful meadow. A large, comfortable bed sat in the center of the room, but was pushed up against the wall opposite the door.
Sora's things were off in the center by the window. A small bed was made up and a dresser sat near it.
They set me down on the bigger be and hooked some IV's with morphine like substances to dull the pain. I definitely needed them right now.
Bit id didn't see Sora in the room yet. When I asked where she was I was told she was taking a shower to clear her mind.
"Now I expect you to behave MR. Kamiya! I know you won't try anything to 'strenuous' because of your condition, but please remember you are here to get better and help Sora." The nurse lectured me.
"Yes ma'am" I replied. She had kind of caught me off guard with the implication of Sor and I actually doing something- now was not the time, nor the place.
"We'll be in to check on you every few hours." And with that the nurses filed out of the room and I was left alone… My eyes began to scan the room. I looked to the dresser in the corner. There were several frames holding black and white photos. The majority of them looked like Sora and an older man, apparently her father- I could tell they were close. This wasn't going to be easy to help her deal with this loss. As I thought this I heard the door of the room creak open slowly.
"Sora?" I called out as I saw her slender figure behind the opening door. She still looked very pale and her auburn hair damp. She wasn't in her usual nurses outfit. On her still dampened frame hung a silken gown with a robe over it. She jumped back with surprise seeing me in there. She pulled her robe tight- covering the more revealing parts of her sleep ware.
"Tai? What are you doing in here? How ever did you get.."
"The head nurse said that it would be good for you to keep busy- so you get to put up with me and help me get back into shape."
Sora said nothing. I could see she was still grieving, so I opened my arms to her. She came instantly towards me. I wrapped her in my arms and held her. Again my shirt became damp from her crystalline tears. I stroked her trembling back, whispering the only words I could find 'It'll be alright… I love you..' over and over again. Soon the tears subsided and she nuzzled closer to me, although careful of my wounds. I returned the affection by a kiss to her head.
"Sora… I know you must feel alone right now, but you're not.. You have all these people who love you lie a family, and well… I'm always going to be here for you… I .. I want to be your family.. That is if you'll let me." Sora turned her head to look up at me. Her crimson eyes were bloodshot and puffy… she looked so fragile. I pushed a tendril of her hair out of her eyes. I left my hand linger on her face for a time. She placed her soft hand on mine. I nuzzled up to it.
"yes." She whispered as she pulled me into another passionate kiss. After we broke the kiss so we both could breath we just lay there contented to bask in each other's warmth.
Sora laid her gentle head on my chest. And we stayed like that for a time before Sora began to talk.
"Tai.. What's your family like?" She asked.
"Well, back home I live with my mom, dad and a little sister, Kari." I told her. "My dad is a lawyer type person- but he now works for the war department, my mom and sister are probably working in a factory. But before the war Kari and I went to the local high school and my mom stayed at home… what about you.." I only realized what I said after I said it. I looked at Sora to see if she would break down again because of my slip of the lip. But she didn't.
"I was an only child. Well I would have had a younger brother, but he and my mother died during the birth. So it was dad and me… he was in the air force- that's how they met… I grew up and went to school wherever he was stationed. They always needed nurses and well I didn't have anything else to do- so I was trained at a young age. And well I came here a while ago… you would have liked him Tai… but, oh God he's gone… dead.." She choked on the word. She didn't cry, but only pressed herself tighter to me. I didn't know what to say.
"Sora, he'll never be fully gone. He's with you always inside you."
"Thank you Tai." She whispered as she sat up. She wiped the remaining tears off her face. And took a deep breath. She did look a little better… however I knew she wasn't totally done grieving.
"So." She said as she looked down on me. "OH- your shirt… I'm so sorry" She must have seen how drenched it was. She helped me out of the shirt. "I didn't mean to cry and fuss so much."
"Sora, it's ok.. I understand. And if you ever need to cry again, I'll be here to hold you- ok?"
"Sora I love you with every ounce of my soul. Now I think you need to get some rest. It's been a long day." I said as I relaxed holding her to me.
"But, shouldn't we work on that leg now. You need to keep moving it otherwise." She started, but I cut her off.
"Can we take a rain check on that, it really hurts. The move must have strained it or something." I said hopefully that she would drop the subject and take a nap with me. But once I said that I was in pain, the nurse instinct must have kicked in. Sora's face grew worried.
"Where does it hurt the worst?" She asked me. She rolled out of my embrace and slowly and carefully rolled me over on to my stomach. I felt her carefully pulling away my shirt and examining my back. With her angelic hands she began examining by back. "Tai… do you trust me?" She asked in a little more than a whisper.
"Sora, what's wrong?" After that I felt her warm hands grip the waist of my pants. The fabric slowly came off to the knees. Sora then lifted up my underwear. I felt a kind of blush flush across my face. There I was almost naked on a bed with Sora. I had to admit my mind was playing with the possibilities. Visions of us together… but then I was brought back to reality as a surge of pain ran up my spine. Sora was touching a sore spot near my coccyx bone. I couldn't help but cry out in pain.
"God Taichi, why didn't you tell me you were in so much pain….." She whispered as she kissed my shoulders to try and get my mind off the pain.
"Wh..what's wrong?" I wanted to know. But she didn't tell me. She went back and continued her gentle prodding of my backside.
"Taichi, has it always hurt this much?" She asked as she got off the bed and came around to look me in the eyes. "Please, this is really important, you need to be honest with me…. Taichi?"
I really didn't want to tell her the truth. I knew that if I suffered that would cause her to suffer also. I didn't want to see her in any more pain, but she would see right through me if I lied.
"It's gotten worse actually." I confessed. Her eyes looked pained. I hated it. "Sora, it's nothing. I can handle it. It should get better right?" I said trying to get her to feel better. She didn't listen. She stroked my head and placed a quick kiss on my lips as she stood up. I couldn't see what she was doing but heard the rustling of cloths. I guessed that she was changing into her nurse outfit.
"Sora, what's wrong. Come on you can tell me. It's not that bad is it?" her silence sacred me. Once she was done dressing she returned to the bed and knelt straddling my knees. She took another look at the wound, which felt horrible.
"Taichi… I'll be right back." She said.
"No, Sora please. What's the matter!"
"Tai… it looks like you have a piece of shrapnel is still in you… it's causing a lot of damage. I.. I need to get it out soon. I'm going to get a doctor ." She told me. She pulled a sheet over to cover my naked backside while she went to find a surgeon.
Soon Sora returned with a doctor and several nurses. Each took a look at the wound and agreed with Sora's prognosis. Then the pain started up again as they tried to move me.
"Taichi, I'm so sorry." Sora kept repeating over and over as I groaned in pain until I was laid down on an operating table. "it'll all be over soon, just hang in there…" she reassured me. The last thing I remembered before I was put under was her loving face smile and her angelic voice tell me 'I love you.'