This goes to Byrnstar, who mentioned something about all the holes Batou and the Major had between them.

"Well, Togusa, looks like they put a nice hole in you."

Togusa looked up from his hospital bed to find Batou in the doorway, holding a stack of papers in one hand and a bouquet in the other.

"Yeah, I guess so," he said, and raised an eyebrow, "Big Guy, you didn't really bring me flowers, did you?"

"Well sure I did you lug," Batou answered, and grinned when Togusa gave him a vaguely disgusted look, "Don't look so taken – the chief handed me ten bucks and said to get something for you."

"Gee, what a nice thought," Togusa muttered as Batou tossed them gently on the bed, making sure not to brush his wound. He looked over as Batou set the hefty pile of papers by his bed. "What are those?"

"Didn't think being shot would excuse you from work, did you? Papers from the Major, she said since you're the main guy on this case, you need to look through these." He held up the first sheet, "Aw, look, she even typed up your orders special."

"Charming. Never a dull moment in this job, is there?"

"Course not," Batou said, slumping into one of the chairs along the wall. It creaked uncomfortably, but held his weight; only just big enough for the cyborg's large frame. "So, how ya feeling?"

"Besides having a piece of my chest missing, fine I guess," the natural man said, glancing over the sheet. "I don't suppose you or the major ever have this kind of problem though."

He was surprised when Batou began to laugh heartily. "Are you kidding?" the man asked, "At least when you get beat up, you still get to keep the body you had before someone took an interest in messing with you; we've got to swap the whole damn thing." He shook his head, grunting, "it's a pain in the ass."

Togusa sighed, setting down the sheet, and winced as his arm came down wrong and pulled at his chest. "Yeah, sure, and this isn't?"

Batou chuckled. "You'll be on your feet in no time." He sat back, looking up at the bland ceiling. "Last time I had to have a body swap was about three months before you came on; I had to jump on a grenade so Pazu and Saito could get out of the vicinity." He shook his head, "Took out both arms and I still had to get out of the place."

"Geesh," Togusa said, both eyebrows raised, "What about the Major?"

"Same mission – did almost the same thing, except it was for Borma who was diffusing an even bigger bomb at the time, and she only lost one arm." He huffed, "those guys were obnoxious. They only had a few grenades, but they placed 'em so close and so well timed that there wasn't shit we could do about it."

Togusa let his head fall back on the pillow, groaning. "Nice story, Batou, now I'm really glad I joined Section Nine."

Batou snorted, popping open a can of beer and taking a swig.

As always, thank you for the reviews and for reading (jiminy crickets, 5k!)