Hinata let her pen clatter to her desk as she held tight to the phone held up to her ear. "Which hospital?" She took note of the location that she was given. She got up with the phone pressed to her shoulder, gathering her bag and coat, and she jogged to the elevator, frantically pressing the call button. "Is he stable?" She asked. "No, his father is out of town. I will make sure I reach him once he's available. I will be there in a few minutes."

Hinata stared at the floor, ticking down as the call ended. Her chest hallowed and was full of panic. She swallowed and composed herself, taking a breath and forcing back tears that threatened to fill her eyes. She moved to the next task. She sent for a car and sent an emergency message to Lee to contact her as soon as possible.

This was the worst day for the director to be on a business cruise ship.

What was worse was the only reason she wasn't there with him was because he was expecting a big client contract, and he felt more comfortable with her handling it than Lee.

Hinata took one last breath as the elevator hit the ground floor. She stopped at the front desk to tell them she was stepping out for an emergency and to forward any urgent calls for the director to phone. With that, she headed out to the awaiting car and gave them the address to the hospital that Itachi was taken to.

Itachi watched through the agape hospital door as Hinata spoke to the doctor. She nodded and asked questions, taking notes on her phone eagerly. She tucked hair behind her ear frantically, trying to hide the panic in her eyes as she glanced at him and gave him a small smile.

He smiled back.

There was no more hiding it from her. They both knew that.

Hinata gave a slight bow to the doctor before coming in, placing her bag and coat down, and sitting in the chair next to him.

"You're going to need to be supervised for the next few days. Would you like to stay at my place?" Hinata asked, deliberately skipping the obvious questions she had.

Itachi shook his head. "I don't know about that. Sasuke has been crashing there regularly, and we don't talk about this with him. He doesn't like it. You didn't call him, did you?"

Itachi felt cruel, but he could see discomfort pour-over Hinata. "He was in a meeting. I didn't want to give him bad news in the middle of a meeting. I told his assistant to have him call me back."

Itachi shook his head. "Don't tell him it makes him uncomfortable. Look at me." Hinata blinked, deliberately giving him her attention. "Do not say anything to him."

Hinata bowed to her and nodded, though she looked conflicted. "I can always turn him away for a few days."

Itachi rested his head back and nodded.

Hinata let out a sigh of relief. "I'm still waiting for Lee-san to get back to me. They are pretty far out, and they aren't scheduled to be at a port for a few hours."

"Hinata, I am fine." Itachi pressed. "It's not that bad."

Hinata's eyes snapped up, and he could see a small flame of rage that she quickly covered. She calmly replied. "You collapsed. You were lucky the housekeeper found you."

"I wasn't out for that long." Itachi tried, but the flames in her eyes were only fed. His usual excuses would not work on her like they did with his father. "Look, we know the kidney is failing. It's not new information. I have two."

"Itachi-sama, the other one is already not working properly." Hinata snapped back.

Itachi grimaced a smile. Oh, the doctor told her more than he thought. "I'm waiting on a match, but with my other problems, I am low on the donor list."

"Isn't your father or Sasuke a match?" Hinata wondered.

Itachi shook his head. "And this is just the newest symptom."

Itachi reached over to her hands. She wrung them on the edge of the bed. He gave them a pat. "Look, autoimmune disorders are unpredictable. If I worried too much about it, it would probably kill me."

Hinata frowned at him.

"Thank you for coming." Itachi squeezed her, and she nodded, but Itachi knew this wasn't over.

Hinata spent her day in her home office with one eye on her work and the other on Itachi napping on the couch in the living room. She tried to move him to the guest room, but he was more stubborn than normal. She rested her head down for a moment and then flipped it back and ruffled her hair. She needed to focus.

She jumped out of her thoughts after a knock on the door.

Sasuke.

Hinata scrambled up and to the door. Itachi peaked his head up, but then curled himself up to make him less visible.

She answered the door, but before either of them could say anything, she stepped out instead of letting him in.

Sasuke seemed startled and confused. After his nose had healed, she hadn't stopped letting him in anytime he came knocking.

"Can I help you?" Hinata asked, pressing her lips together. She wasn't a fan of lying.

"I just came by to hang out, with dad and Itachi on that cruise, it's been weird at the office." Sasuke waved his hand at the door, raising his eyebrow.

Itachi wasn't supposed to be on the cruise, but if Sasuke hadn't seen him since his father left, there was no need to correct him.

"Yeah, well, I am not feeling too well. I've been home most of the day, so I don't get anyone else sick. You probably shouldn't be around me, either." Hinata cleared her throat, but she didn't think she was very convincing.

Sasuke raised his eyebrow more. "So you'll quit for a cold, but not when you're about to pass out from exhaustion?"

Hinata shook her head. "I'm working. I just don't want anyone else sick."

"Need anything?" Sasuke pointed down the hall.

"No, don't worry about me." Hinata waved her hands.

Sasuke slowly nodded and pointed down that hall. "Just call before you nearly end in the hospital again."

Hinata nodded slowly and waved as she slid herself back inside and sighed.

Itachi peaked his head up from the couch. "I'm sorry I have you lying for me."

Hinata rubbed her face. "It's fine. We don't need him upset as well. Though I think it's strange, he doesn't want to be involved."

Itachi shrugged and laid back down.

Hinata's phone began to ring, and she made her way back to the office for it. "It's Lee. They must have service." She answered the phone.

Sasuke's heart dropped into his stomach as his eyes caught something as the door closed behind her.

A pair of men's shoes lined up by hers at the door.

She lied to his face.

Hinata not wanting to let him in made a lot more sense if she had a man over.

But why did it feel so gut-wrenching?

Maybe he recognized those shoes.

Sasuke shook his head and headed for the elevator with his hands in his pockets. He stared at the floor as the elevator ticked down.

Why couldn't he get her anxious face off his head?

Who was she sleeping with she didn't want him to know about?

Who was she sleeping with?

Sasuke shook his head. He was jumping ahead. Just because someone was there, it didn't mean that she was sleeping with them.

But who would she possibly skip work for, faking sick?

Did his father know? Was she hiding it from his father…?

Sasuke didn't realize he had made it into his car until he tried to move his car and realized he hadn't turned the car on. He took a few deep breaths and closed his eyes.

He smacked his steering wheel angrily to lower his head to it and rested it there, letting out and frustrated breath.