A/N:  Thanks for the great reviews! I'm really pleased that so many folks are so thoroughly entertained by this fic.  Hope that you guys aren't bored now that the big fight's over.  Thanks for forgiving me for not writing the fight- at least we can all just watch the anime or read the manga to get our fill of Naruto-brawling.  Anyhow, for those of you that don't think this story has a plot, it does actually have a main plot, it's just more a character-driven piece before a plot-driven piece.  Enough of my rambling.  Enjoy, and please review if the mood takes you.

Shikamaru opened his eyes slowly, the sound of voices bringing him out of slumber. Glancing at the clock, he realized it was mid-afternoon. Sunlight was streaming in through the room's window. Medical machinery beeped and whirred softly in the background, bringing to his attention that his body was riddled with tubing and sensors. How long had he been out? What had happened? The last thing he remembered was riding in the curve of Chouji's gigantic arm as they made their way home.

Looking across the room, he realized that the voices hadn't been his imagination. He seemed to be sharing a room with Lee, who was hooked up to almost as many machines as he was. The young man seemed to be awake, although not fully, and Sakura was leaning over him, holding his hand. Shikamaru silently and briefly cursed life as a ninja. Too many people spent hours in the hospital, waiting for word of recovery of family and friends.

The couple was speaking too low for him to hear what was being said, although he didn't really want to know anyway, but the expressions on their faces were tender, and Sakura reached out and brushed away stray strands of Lee's hair from his face more than once. Lee's lips curved up in a smile at her, his eyes shining. Sakura gave a low chuckle, then leaned down and kissed him gently.

Shikamaru looked away, embarrassed, noticing a dull ache in his chest. He liked being alone, but seeing how happy they were, how close they were, made him want the same thing. Nothing had ever made him feel like Lee and Sakura seemed to be feeling. Sure, he had really had a great time with Temari, but it wasn't magical. Not that he thought a shinobi should care about magic in a relationship. Still, seeing how happy they were made him want something similar. A ninja lead a life of danger and fear, and having someone to hold to keep those specters at bay would be welcome. Thoughts of Ino flooded his brain, and he remember the peace he felt when she had held him on the trip home, of the euphoria that kissing her brought to him. He wasn't sure what he wanted from her, or what she wanted from him. It just seemed to him like Ino could do better than boring Nara Shikamaru.

He tried to roll over onto his side so he wouldn't have to watch the cuddle-bunnies across the room from him, but the movement sent pain shooting through his ruined body and made him grunt. Sakura's head shot up, her hand tightening on Lee's for a moment. "Are you okay?" she asked, coming over to him.

"Do I look okay?" he grumbled, taking deep breaths to control the pain.

Sakura smiled. "Well, no," she replied. "But the surgery was a success."

"Surgery?"

"You had several ruptured organs. You barely made it. Ino and Chouji were here for three days, waiting to see if you'd pull through."

"Ino-Shika-Cho, eh?" he grumbled, eyeing the pink-haired kunoichi. Sakura had grown up into a rather plain-looking person, although she was fit and trim like all the women he knew. Her eyes, however, were wise, and the planes of her face spoke of the intelligent, dependable, powerful woman she had become.

"Yeah," Sakura chuckled, checking his monitors and taking a few vitals.

"We all lived," Lee called out, and Shikamaru winced as Lee gave him his "nice guy" pose, or at least a version of it, since Lee was also stuck in bed. "Hooray for the springtime of youth!"

Sakura, whose back was to Lee, grimaced, which made Shikamaru's lips curl in a half-smile. "Yes, dear," she mumbled, checking the wrapping on Shikamaru's hand. "Very nice."

"Hinata's okay? And TenTen?" Shikamaru asked, resisting the urge to grab Sakura's wrist and force her to answer.

Sakura nodded. "Yes, Hinata pulled through. Just barely, but she did. TenTen will be fine. Neji and the others, too."

"Hinata's a lot stronger than people give her credit for," Shikamaru mumbled. "Her heart never gives up."

"That's why we love her," Lee added. "And she loves us."

"Nobody loves her more than Naruto," Sakura grinned, finishing with the monitors and seating herself next to Lee once more. "He was crazy for the first few days she was unconscious. I nearly had to sedate him. Instead Kiba dragged him out of here and trained with him."

"Kiba's not in the hospital now too, is he?" Shikamaru moaned.

Lee and Sakura grinned. "No, he's pretty resilient. They managed to destroy a large part of the forest, though."

Lee's face turned grim. "Actually, part of that was your family's property."

Shikamaru groaned. "The deer. Just great. Hey, can you knock me out again? Being awake is too much trouble."

"Too much trouble to see me?" a new voice said, and Ino stuck her head through the door, a tentative smile on her face.

"Your middle name is trouble," he replied, but he couldn't keep his mouth from turning upward at the corners.

"You're such a grouch," she sighed, but her smile broadened as she pranced over to his bed, a large bouquet in her hand. She paused at the bedside table and shook her head, and he noticed for the first time that the table was covered in flowers. There were even flowers in vases on the floor and on an extra chair.

Sakura sighed and moved to help Ino rearrange things. "I told you not to bring them every day," she grumbled.

Ino gave him the loveliest smile he had ever seen. It was clean and pure, artless and genuine, and it was all for him. "I couldn't help it. I wanted him to know I was thinking about him."

"Well, you went overboard," Sakura chastised her, but the pink-haired kunoichi was smiling as she returned to Lee's side.

Ino surveyed the flowers, then nodded. "Yeah, you're definitely an iris guy," she mumbled, then sat down gently on his bed, her hand next to his but not touching.

"Um, okay," he replied. "Sorry about this."

Her clear blue eyes roved over him, and such a terrible expression of worry crossed her fact that he began to panic. Were his injuries that bad?  He had no idea what he actually looked like. "Don't be. I'm just happy you're alive."

A grunt escaped him, since it hurt too much to laugh. "Me, too."

Ino inched closer as he gazed at her, her proximity such that he could feel the heat of her skin. She looked anxious, but he couldn't figure out why. Her posture was awkward, and her eyes kept darting around as her left hand picked at imaginary lint on her trousers. "So how are you feeling? You haven't been awake more than five minutes at a time for days."

"I'm okay," he said. "I hurt. I was actually awake before?"

"Kind of," Ino muttered.

"You kept calling her name," Lee said. "She ran across town a couple of times when she heard you might be awake."

"Shut up," Ino growled.

"Shut up," Sakura echoed, scowling at her boyfriend. Lee blushed and looked away, and they both pretended like they weren't listening.

Shikamaru took a deep breath, trying not to stare at Ino. There was an awkward silence, and Sakura immediately started to chatter to Lee in the background. "Ah, so, what's new?" he asked, idly scratching at a bandage.

Ino's face crumpled. "I got reassigned."

"What? Why?"

"It's my turn to work at the assignment desk," she said, making a face. "My whole team got sucked into one duty or another. Shino got gate guard duty."

"As much as that sucks, you'll make a good administrative-nin," he replied. "You were always so organized."

Her eyes brightened. "You really think so?" she asked, and her fingers brushed against his. He felt his cheeks burning, and raised his gaze to meet hers. Her hand was warm and soft against his. Tentatively, feeling butterflies in his stomach, he moved his hand over hers and squeezed it gently.

"Yeah, I really do," he murmured. "All the teams have to go through rotation at one time or another, anyway, so you shouldn't feel bad."

"Awww, just kiss," Sakura cooed, and Ino shot her an icy glare. Holding up her hand, Sakura tried to smile. "Sorry. Honestly, though, don't be upset about it. My team had to do that, too. Naruto drew a position at the filing desk. I think you can imagine how that went."

"Ouch," Lee said.

"Yeah," Sakura replied.

"Since when were you invited into our private conversation?" Ino snapped, and Sakura rolled her eyes.

"I have to go, sweetie," she said to Lee, and leaned down and kissed him. Lee's hand came up, cupping the back of her head, and held the kiss for quite some time. Shikamaru got embarrassed and looked away.

"Actually, I do, too," Ino sighed. "I'm sorry. I wanted to stay longer. I'll tell Chouji you're up, though. He'll be excited to talk to you."

"It's all right. I need sleep."

"Yes, you need to get better," she replied, and stood.

"Er, thanks for the flowers," Shikamaru told her. Ino nodded, hands clasped in front of her, reminding him of how she looked when she was twelve. Damn, he had been crazy about her for a long time. He knew that Ino hadn't gone too terribly far with any boys, however, judging from the rumors he had heard, and he didn't know where her limits lay, anyway. He couldn't afford disaster, so as much as he wanted her, he did nothing.

She grinned. "Okay, bye," she murmured, and bent towards him. His heart began to beat more quickly, and he turned his face up to her, closing his eyes, waiting for a kiss. It came, but it made his heart sink into his toes, for Ino merely leaned forward and pecked him on the forehead, disappearing before he could even open his eyes.

"Ouch," Lee repeated from the other bed, expression seeming like he was trying to be sympathetic.

"Shut up," Shikamaru growled, and rolled over to go back to sleep.