A/N: Okay, here's chapter 2. You can probably expect a couple more chapters out this week. It's Spring Break and my fingers are itching to type. I really hope you guys enjoy this story.

Disclaimer: Also, I forgot to put this in the first chapter, so it will only appear on this one. I do not own any of the original characters from Naruto. This story is purely a work of my own mind, fancies, preferences, what-have-you, etc.

The heavy clicking of sandaled feet echoed in the luminescent hallway. Sakura nearly had to drag herself down to the second floor to room 205. As she approached the closed door she could just make out the voices of two men laughing. She wondered why the voices were so casual and unworried. She knocked on the door.

Genma and Gai stood up as the heavy door slowly creaked open. After a moment the figure of a young kunoichi with bubblegum locks wrapped tightly in two French braids walked into the room. Her spectacled emerald eyes were focused on the clipboard she held in one arm.

"Sorry for the delay," she said, still studying some notes on her clipboard, "I am the hospital manager. If you just give me a moment, I'll be right with you."

After another minute or so, Sakura peered up to survey the hotel visitors. Her eyes widened in surprise. Standing before her were two Jounin she had come to know and love. She scowled at them; they had let her go on with her little speech and hadn't even said a word.

"Genma, Gai, why didn't you say something?" She ran up to them and gave them both a small punch in the arm before pulling them both into a hug. As she stepped back, Genma scanned Sakura and whistled.

"Well, you were standing there looking so professional and all, I couldn't help but stare," Genma chuckled. "You look damn good, Sakura. You wouldn't happen to be seeing anybody by chance?"

Sakura shook her head and finger at him. "No," she laughed, "And I don't plan to start now. I know what kind of reputation you've got. I'm surprised you're not in here yourself for all the extracurricular activities you pride yourself on."

Gai broke out in laughter and Genma put on a mock frown of disappointment. He snapped his fingers and sighed, "Well, it was worth the try."

Sakura tried to hide the smile on her lips as she straightened her lab coat. "So," she said, now serious, "I heard there is a patient here to see me." She scanned the room behind the guys and frowned. No one was there. "Where is he?" She looked quizzically back and forth between the two men.

Genma nudged Gai to start talking. "Your patient," Gai said, his brilliant smile illuminating his face, "is on the floor." The two men stepped aside, and Sakura spotted the bundle of white sheets on the gray tiles of the floor. She glanced back at the Jounin and raised a fine eyebrow.

"This," she said, nudging the bulk, "is my patient?" Gai nodded and strode towards the parcel.

"Special delivery ordered by the Hokage-sama himself," Gai said, his laughing eyes watching Sakura's face. He picked up the bundle with a small grunt and placed it on the bed. It shifted slightly, and a muffled cry escaped from one end.

Sakura jumped back in surprise and laughed. She was quickly grasping the situation at hand. "Gai, don't tell me you actually…"

"That's right!" Gai roared in triumph. "I've finally outsmarted my greatest rival in Konoha." He puffed his chest out and stuck his nose into the air.

"How did you…?" Sakura couldn't suppress a slight giggle as she pictured the man wrapped in the blankets.

"Actually," Genma started, "It's a very funny story involving a frying pan and the latest copy of Icha Icha Paradise."

Sakura held up a hand as she bent over to laugh. "S-save it for later," she said between giggles, "I can't have you embarrassing my patient." She tried to muster a serious face as she pushed the two men out of the room.

"Hey don't you think we should stay?" Genma asked innocently. "I promise we won't tease him." Sakura shook her head and smiled.

"Sorry, boys," she said, "That would breach my doctor-patient confidentiality." She waved at the two as they started walking down the hall, chuckling. Sakura closed the door behind her and sighed. She could always count on Genma and Gai to make a lively show for her.

Sakura tiptoed toward the bundle, now bustling on the hospital bed. "It's ok," she said, "I made them leave so you don't lose all of your pride." She approached the end where sound was coming from and begin to unwrap the top. She spied the tips of messy silver hair, then a Konoha forehead protector, then a face masked in black silk. The disorientated black eye of Hatake Kakashi peered up at her.

"Oh my God are you God! Oh thank God I'm saved!" His words came out in run-on sentences. Sakura frowned at the back of the door. Genma must have put a genjutsu on the Copy Ninja, otherwise he would never babble about things like this. Sakura pulled the forehead protector away from his head so she could peer into his black eye as well as his Sharingan.

"Kakashi," Sakura called out loudly, "Kakashi look at me. Look at my eyes." She took the Jounin's face in her cucumber cool hands and forced it to face her own. "You're in the hospital with me, Sakura. Whatever you're seeing is just an illusion. Kakashi-sensei, come back."

Kakashi's eyes blinked a few times and his pupils dilated to a normal circumference. He was coming out of the spell. He scrunched his face and shook his head lifting his eyelids. The first thing he saw were the emerald orbs staring into his own.

Sakura pulled her face back and smiled at her former teacher. "It's about time someone finally got you in here. I've heard that you have been sitting at home for the past three days, sick as a dog." Kakashi looked away and sighed.

"Sakura," he said; his voice was scratchy and low, "I'm perfectly fine. My supposed 'friends' just like to overreact sometimes. I was going to come eventually." Sakura shook her head at him.

"Yeah, when you were dead. Kakashi-sensei," she frowned, as if speaking to a small child, "I know you don't like going to the hospital if you can't avoid it. But I'm a very good doctor now. You see," she pointed to her name tag, "I'm even smart enough to run the whole hospital by myself." She laughed at his foreboding scowl. "Don't give me that look, or I might have to make this painful for you."

Sakura started to unwrap the rest of the cloth from around his body. When he was completely free, she told him to sit back on the bed and washed her hands in the sink by the counter. Kakashi studied his former student with hidden pride. Sakura was twenty-one now and had blossomed into a beautiful young woman. She was intelligent, confident, hardworking, and always on time. He was glad to see her doing so well after everything that had happened in the last two years. He surveyed her as she set some instruments on a tray. He noted her bubblegum hair in tight braids that trailed down the back of her lab coat. She still kept her hair long in the memory of the man she had loved. Kakashi sighed and shook his head.

Sakura glanced up from the tray. "What's the matter?" She stared at Kakashi curiously. The copy ninja waved his hands and smiled beneath his mask.

"Nothing, except that I feel like I was run over by a train." He lifted himself into a better sitting position so that he could watch Sakura's movements. "How are you doing?" He glanced at the metal instruments she was still arranging on the platter and shuddered. He hated the hospital when he was the one being treated.

"I'm fine, I guess," she said. She gave a half-hearted smile but didn't look up. "I mean, I've got plenty to keep myself busy what with running the hospital and all, so I can't complain." Sakura knew what Kakashi was trying to do, where this conversation was supposed to lead. She wasn't ready to talk about it with anyone, even her dear old instructor.

Sakura cleared her throat and pulled the tray toward the bed. She was ready. "Okay, sensei, you're going to have to remove your mask and…" Sakura's voice trailed off as she realized the concern in his face. He looked as if Sakura had just asked him to do something forbidden, something sinful and scandalous. She remembered how adamant he had always been about keeping his face and private life hidden. Kakashi thrived on privacy.

"Fine," she said, "I'll turn around and close my eyes while you figure out some way to keep your face hidden while I check your throat. You can't leave the hospital without my permission, and you can only get it if I fill out this form." She held a printed paper in front of the copy ninja's face. He rolled his eyes.

"I can't believe this," Kakashi grumbled, "I'm a grown man and I have to go through all of this bull…" His voice trailed off and Sakura couldn't help but smile while she turned her back towards him.

After five minutes or so, Kakashi gave a grunt, indicating he was ready. Sakura turned around and stared at the Copy Ninja. He had taken one of the sheets that his captors had used to bind him and ripped it into pieces. Each thick strip had been wound around his face in the most peculiar fashion. The only part of his lower face that was exposed were Kakashi's fine lips. Sakura smiled inwardly; no fish lips here, she thought to herself.

"Okay," she sat on the bed beside him, "Sit up and say ahhh."

"Ahhhhhhhh."

Sakura stuck a Popsicle stick into his mouth and shined her flashlight into the caverns of Kakashi's tonsils. She turned her head slightly and squinted her eyes.

"Hmmm…" Sakura sat back up and wrote something on her clipboard. "Stay still now, I have to do just one thing." She took an overgrown q-tip and twisted the stick around in her hands before jamming it into the back of Kakashi's throat.

The Copy Ninja coughed and pushed himself onto the floor. He found the garbage can beside the sink and Sakura could hear him retching his lunch into it. Sakura smirked in satisfaction.

"That should do it." She stood up and went back to the tray, setting up a kit to test the swab. Kakashi moved to the sink and washed his mouth out with cold water, trying to remove the taste of fresh vomit that lingered. He sat on the edge of the bed, far away from Sakura, and glowered.

"That wasn't funny," he grumbled. Sakura smiled at him as she kept her eyes on the kit.

"It's a test to check for Strep Throat. I knew I would never get a sample from you if I told you what I was going to do. It's your own fault for being stubborn." Sakura stuck her tongue out at him, slightly surprised she had been able to trick Kakashi.

"Now just sit still for a moment and I'll tell you what's wrong with you." She sat back down on the bed and scribbled some more notes. "As I suspected, you do test positive for the bacteria associated with Strep. I'm not surprised, though; this has been going around the village." She glanced at him. "I'm going to give you a shot of medicine now, and I'll give you a prescription to pick up some antibiotics at the pharmacy. I'm prescribing medicine, bed rest, water, and hot foods for the next three days."

She ripped the paper off her clipboard and handed it to him. She realized in shock that he had already replaced his black silky mask over his face and grinned.

"You shouldn't wear that mask all the time. I bet you have a gorgeous smile," she teased.

"And you shouldn't work so much all the time," he teased right back. "I bet you would turn out to be a real party girl."

Sakura snorted at the assumption. "Yeah," she laughed, "and about as much fun as a stick in the mud." She walked towards the door and Kakashi followed.

"Now, I want you to take good care of yourself," she said, her voice serious this time. "If you don't nip this in the bud, you could get really sick." Kakashi gave Sakura a salute.

"Aye aye, Captain," he said, his eye crinkling from a smile. Sakura laughed as she walked him down the hall.

"I heard Tsunade turned the hospital over to you two months ago, when the new Hokage was inducted," Kakashi said. Sakura smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, and she took off to the nearest train station to catch a ride to the closest gambling city." Sakura scratched her head in wonder. "I can't believe how much she loves to gamble when she always loses. I've made at least a thousand dollars off of her over the last few years from bets alone. She sends me a letter every week, but…" Sakura lowered her head. "I was kind of sad to see her go."

She felt an arm wrap around her shoulder and she glanced up at Kakashi. He hugged her shoulders as they kept walking.

"You know, Sakura, if you ever want to talk my door is always open," Kakashi said in a low voice as they passed the occupied rooms. Sakura smiled at him and nodded.

"I know," she said, "I just need some time." He nodded back in understanding.

"Anyways," she said, trying to change the subject, "I heard that you were brought to the hospital on the direct orders of the Rokudaime himself. And get off of me," she laughed suddenly, pushing Kakashi away. "You're going to get me sick now."

He chuckled and shrugged his shoulders. "I try my best."

Sakura opened her mouth to give him a little lecture on the communicability of Strep Throat when she spotted a figure racing toward them. The man was dressed in a flowing white robe whose edges were immersed in crimson flames. The hat of the Hokage sat upon his head.

Trailing behind the man were four ANBU members who had removed their animal masks. They all looked to be at the onset of anxiety attacks as they followed behind the man. "Hokage-sama, wait," they cried in bursts. The golden blond-haired man, however, kept up his pace as he spotted Sakura and Kakashi. They halted to a stop and could barely suppress the smiles that fought to overtake their faces.

Uzumaki Naruto pulled off his hat, smiled at the pair ahead of him, and grimaced at the four behind him.

"Jeeze, I just can't shake these guys," he said, "They even sit outside the door and windows whenever I'm in the bathroom. If someone doesn't assassinate me I'll probably die of constipation."

Sakura snorted at Naruto's speculation and released a pent-up laugh. Kakashi, meanwhile, just stood there and shook his head. "I see you're still the number-one ninja when it comes to surprising people."

Naruto nodded as he stopped beside Sakura and smiled, "You know it!" He grinned wickedly before glancing back over his shoulder. "Oi," he called, "I told you guys I'd be right back. There's a little something called privacy that you should read up on." Naruto slapped his forehead and sighed.

"It's nice to see you again, Hokage-sama," Kakashi said, "And thank you for having me kidnapped and brought to the hospital. It made my day."

Naruto grinned apologetically and laughed. "Anything for my favorite teacher," he said. "I just thought you needed some persuasion from trustworthy friends to get you here." He leaned towards Sakura. "He's alright, right?"

Sakura nodded. "Yep, or he will be, at least. He just has a case of Strep Throat," she said, folding her arms over her chest in a matter-of-fact manner. One of the ANBU cried out in disbelief.

"Hokage-sama, that's contagious! We should get out of here!" The group of ANBU reached Naruto and bowed on the floor.

Naruto sucked at his teeth defiantly and said, "I don't get sick." He winked at Sakura. "But I heard that you could get all sorts of illnesses if you're rundown, tired, and stressed out like you guys. Hey, I think you guys are looking kind of pale," he pointed out. The squad of ANBU looked horrified at the prospect of an epidemic and ran back down the hall before disappearing from sight.

Naruto let a whistle escape. "Free at last." He took one last look down the hallway. "That is the fifth ANBU squad I've scared off this month. You think they'd get the picture by now. Oh man, you should see how they get whenever I tell them I'm going to spend time with my friends or Hinata. They go ballistic." He sighed, "Being Hokage is a lot more work than I thought."

Sakura opened her mouth to say something, but thought better of it. She closed her mouth and glanced at Kakashi. "Hey," she said to Naruto, "I've got a mission for you, if you want." She smiled at him.

"A mission? Sure," he said enthusiastically. Sakura became very formal and stood straight.

"Your mission, should you choose to accept, is to make sure that one Hatake Kakashi returns to his home and takes his medicine for the night." She broke into a smile. "I would if I could," she admitted, "But I don't get off until 9 pm. Also, make sure to go see Hinata."

"I accept," Naruto said. He grabbed his former teacher's arm and pulled him down the hall. "Say goodbye to Sakura-chan for now, Kakashi-sensei." Kakashi looked back over his shoulder helplessly as Sakura continued to stand there smiling. She gave a little wave as the pair turned around the corner and out of sight.

"Some things never change," she mused under her breath as stretched her arms and walked back up to her office.

Thanks for reading. As always, questions, comments, and helpful hints are welcomed. Reviews also make for a happy author, too :)

I hope everyone has a nice Easter; or if you don't celebrate it, then have a nice Sunday.