D/C: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin…I wish I did, though.

Hello! Thanks for the reviews! Sorry for the long wait; I was actually going to update last Monday, but the chapter got deleted somehow, and I had to rewrite it all over again! It was annoying! Anyway, I'll leave you to read the chapter now. Enjoy!

Chapter 3:

Thanks for the lovely evening, Sano.

Did you enjoy time your time, Megumi?

Yes, I did; it was great! I was very happy!

Then…I'm glad…

A smile touched Megumi's lips as the memory wafted back into her mind. She did, indeed, enjoy her time; that day had been great…what with her graduation, and running into Sanosuke…well, it was mostly running into Sanosuke that made the day so great. A slight blush crept up her face as she remembered Sano's knee-weakening smile, but quickly regained her composure as a nurse burst into the room.

'Dr. Takani! I'm glad I found you!' the nurse said, panting slightly. 'You weren't answering your beeper so they sent me to look for you. Why weren't you answering your beeper?'

Megumi smiled apologetically. 'I'm sorry, I forgot it at home today,' she explained, as she got up to her feet and headed to the door. The nurse went after her. 'So, what's the deal?'

'Well, Dr. Morgan wants you to have a look at the charts of that asthmatic kid, George Kipler,' the nurse told her. 'He says something's not right, and he wants your opinion on the matter.'

Megumi nodded, and followed the nurse down the hospital corridors. She smiled slightly as she walked; this is where she belonged. She had worked so hard to finally be here, and here she was. Dr. Megumi Takani, pediatrician and pediatric surgeon. She just loved the sound of that. The hospital was like a second home for her. She didn't care if she got over-worked because she loved being here just the same. It had only been four days since she officially started working here…and a week since she had seen Sano. It was true that he had given her his phone number and told her that she could call him whenever she wanted to…but somehow, she never got to that. But if she wanted to be honest with herself, she'd say she just didn't have the guts to call him.

'Here we are,' the nurse said, pulling her out of her thoughts. She opened the door to the room to let Megumi pass through. 'Dr. Morgan's waiting for you.'

Megumi nodded and stepped into the room. She saw Dr. Morgan standing next to a patient's bed at the furthest side of the room. Taking care not to make any noise, she crossed the room towards him. He looked around when she approached him and smiled.

'Megumi, my dear, good thing you came,' he said. 'Here, have a look at this…something's wrong with the boy's chart, but I can't quite put my finger on it…what do you think?'

Megumi accepted the chart from the doctor and scanned it. She quickly managed to locate the thing which troubled her chief doctor. 'Well, Mr. Morgan, I think…' she said.

-

'Good work, Megumi. You did really well in surgery,'

'Thanks.' Megumi beamed at the compliment Dr. Morgan had given her. They were both washing their hands after they had done surgery on the Kipler kid. The surgery was successful, and George was now sleeping soundly in the ICU. She dried her hands, and left the room, giving Dr. Morgan a small wave before she closed the door. She started down the corridor and was starting to head towards the nurses' station when she spotted someone at the end of the corridor. Someone tall…with spiky brown hair. Megumi felt a familiar blush creeping up her face again. It was Sanosuke! Megumi felt a jumble of emotions erupt inside of her. Happiness at finally getting to see him, and anxiety about seeing him here.

'Sanosuke!' the word tumbled out of her mouth before she could stop it. And why did she have to say it so loudly…and excitedly? She hurried towards him.

Sanosuke frowned for a moment, and then he spotted her. His face broke into a smile. The same smile which made her go weak in the knees. He hurried over to meet her. 'Hey!' he exclaimed. 'I wouldn't have thought of meeting you here…what are you doing here?'

'I work here,' she told him, deadpan. She frowned at him. 'What are you doing here?'

'Uh…nothing! Just came here to see a friend!' he told her. 'So, okay…let's start over…hello, Megumi, how…?' He thrust his hand out, but immediately withdrew it and hid it behind his back. '…are you?'

'What've you got there?' she demanded.

'Nothing, really!' he assured her.

But she didn't listen to him. She reached out behind his back and pulled his hand towards her. She gasped as she saw the bloody bandage wrapped around his arm. Her eyes switched between his face and his hand. 'What is this?' she demanded.

'Um…well…' he started. He sounded really flustered.

'Sano!' They both looked around and saw a red-headed man coming towards them accompanied by a nurse called Leslie. 'I found someone to have a look at your wound!'

Megumi raised her hand to stop the nurse. 'It's okay, Leslie, I have this one covered,' she told her. 'He's a friend of mine…I'll see what's wrong with him.'

'Okay,' Leslie grumbled, and stalked off, muttering about how people kept wasting her time.

'Come on, let's find a room,' she told him, grabbing his good hand and dragging him behind her. The red-hair trudged after them. Megumi pushed the door to a room which was apparently unoccupied. She pointed to the bed. 'You lie there.'

'Megumi, you don't have to do this…' Sano started, as his friend closed the door to the room.

'But I want to do this, Sanosuke,' she replied. 'Just lie down on the bed.'

Sanosuke plopped down on the bed. 'But…I mean, you're a pediatrician,' he said quickly. 'And…um…I'm not a…kid.'

Megumi smiled. 'I know you're not a kid, Sano,' she assured him. 'But treating wounds can be done by any doctor. It's basic stuff, see? Assuming that it is a normal wound we're dealing with…is it?' Sano nodded. 'Okay, so we've got no problems! Lie down, please!'

Sano sighed and rested back against the pillow. Megumi stood next to him, and gently started unwrapping the bloody bandage around his hand. She could feel his eyes on her, and was trying her absolute best not to blush. She finally removed the bandage and threw it in a nearby bin. Then she turned back to his hand…and gasped again.

'What? What?' Sano cried out, alarmed.

'Oh, God! Sano, what did you to your hand?' she demanded. She was holding his hand now, and her fingers were tracing the ugly wound on his palm. Something pricked her finger. 'Ouch! Um…I assume you've been hurt by some glass?'

'Yeah…sort of,' he muttered.

'Thought so,' she mumbled. 'Well, I'll have to pick out he pieces of glass before I do anything else.'

She reached into the cabinet next to the bed and pulled out a pair of medical tweezers and a bottle of antiseptic and some cotton wool. She sat down on the chair next to the bed and started picking out the small glass pieces. She was concentrating hard on her work, and so Sano decided it was better he didn't say anything. He contented himself with watching her while she worked.

'Hey, remember when you were a kid, and you said that when I become a doctor, you're gonna come to me for treatment?' she said when she had finished picking out the glass. Sano nodded. 'Well, you got what you wanted!'

'Yeah…I did…' he said softly.

Megumi started dabbing antiseptic onto the wound. Sano winced. 'So…am I going to know how you got this wound?' she asked quietly.

Sano hesitated for a moment before speaking. 'Well, I sorta got into a fight…at the bar…' he said quietly.

'The bar?' she repeated.

'Well…we were playing cards, and the guys thought I was winning too much…and since everybody was drunk…things got a bit messy,' he murmured, taking care not to look into her face.

'Oh,' was all she said. She tossed the piece of cotton wool she had been using into the bin.

Sano's eyes widened. 'No! Megumi! I wasn't cheating! I swear!' he cried.

Megumi almost smiled. 'It's not that…' she said softly.

Sano looked a bit confused. 'What?' he asked, and then he caught on. For some reason, he was smiling. 'It's because of the drinking thing, right?'

Megumi didn't smile back. In fact, she didn't reply. After a moment, she spoke up. 'This is going to need stitches,' she said blankly.

The smile slipped off of Sano's face. 'Megumi!' he cried.

'I'm going to stitch you up, and you're to come see me in…' she continued.

Sano looked crestfallen. 'Megumi, please, listen to…' he pleaded.

Megumi flared up at once. 'Sano, I don't care! If you want to drink and get yourself killed, then I don't give a damn!' Almost immediately after the words left her lips, she clapped her hand to her mouth, realizing how harsh she had been.

Sano was stumped. '…you don't?' he said, hoarsely.

'Sano…' she whispered.

Sano drew his hand away from hers. 'No, it's fine…' he muttered. He sat up on the bed and slipped off of it. He headed towards his friend, who immediately started trying to calm him down.

She jumped up to her feet. 'Sano! Where do you think you're going?' she demanded.

Sano didn't look around at her. He reached for the doorknob. 'If you don't care, then I don't suppose you're going to bother stitching me up…'

'No, Sano! It's my job!' Megumi cried, and then she realized it was the wrong thing to say.

'Exactly…it's your job…' he agreed. '…just as it was your job to watch over me twelve years ago…'

Megumi was speechless. She could only watch as Sano pulled the door open, stepped out and slammed the door after him. His friend hung back. He was watching Megumi, who was still standing where Sano had left her, closely.

'Sano didn't drink,' he told her, and Megumi looked up. 'Everybody else was drinking, but he resolutely stuck to his little can of beer, even though everybody was teasing him. He was winning too much, and the guys at the bar got pissed off…one of them cut him with a broken glass of wine, and that's how he got his wound…I just thought that you should know.'

All of a sudden, Megumi felt ashamed.

-

Thank you for babysitting my son, Megumi.

Oh, no! I should thank you! Sano was absolute angel!

(Chuckle) So, I'm assuming he didn't cause any trouble? Because if he did, I'd have to deal with him tomorrow…

No, Mr. Sagara! Don't do that! I assure you, Sano was to a nuisance as an angel is to a devil!

That's a relief…okay, Megumi, here's your ten bucks…

…thanks…

What? Isn't it enough? Do you want more?

No…I was just thinking, if I weren't saving money for university right now, I wouldn't have taken the money…in fact, I would've paid you for letting me enjoy a few precious hours with Sanosuke…

-

Megumi looked around wildly for Sano. She checked the people in the lobby twice, but couldn't see him anywhere. She hurried up the corridor, looking into rooms, but he wasn't anywhere to be seen. She felt really upset; she had really been harsh to Sano, she didn't even listen to what he had to say. The guilt was chewing at her. She needed to find him. She just had to apologize.

And where was the idiot roaming around with an injured hand such as his? He needs treatment!

'Dr. Takani!' A young nurse came hurrying up to her. 'You're needed in room 57!'

Megumi was torn. She wanted to go look for Sano, but she also knew that she had to answer her call of duty. Feeling slightly dejected, she headed to room 57. A surgery was going on there. She put on a surgical coat and a pair of surgical gloves before walking in.

'What've we got?' she asked.

'Megumi! Thank goodness you're here! Every other surgeon is busy, and I need all the help I can get!' one doctor exclaimed. 'This guy was caught in an accident, he's suffering from internal bleeding but I can't figure out the source…I know this isn't your field of work, but what do you suggest?'

Megumi looked helplessly at the cut-up patient lying before her. Right now, she felt like she couldn't remember a thing from all her years of medical training. She frowned. Jeez, Megumi! Get with the program!

'Okay, anyone ordered an x-ray?' she asked.

-

'Thanks, Megumi! Your were brilliant!'

Megumi just nodded at the compliment. She was leaning against the wall, panting slightly. They had almost lost the guy, but in the end they managed to locate the source of the bleeding and got it to stop. But she didn't stay long to catch her breath; she had to find her own patient…she had to find Sano. She had to call him and apologize.

She didn't want to use the hospital's phone where everybody would be able to listen onto the conversation, so she hurried towards the exit. She pushed through the double doors and left the hospital building. It was cold outside, but she ignored the icy wind nipping at her arms and face and hurried to the phone booth right in front of the hospital. She stepped inside and closed the door after her.

She dug some coins out of her pocket and pushed them into the slot. Then she quickly dialed the number she had memorized so well and pinned the receiver to her ear. She held her breath as she listened to the rhythmic ringing of the phone. Finally, it was picked up.

'Hello?' Sano's voice carried over from the other line.

'Sano! Oh, thank goodness!' she exclaimed in relief.

'Me-Megumi?' Sano demanded, sounding really surprised. 'Uh…what do you want?'

Megumi took in a deep breath. 'Sano…I'm sorry,' she said softly. 'I'm sorry for what I did to you today…I'm sorry for not listening to you, and I'm sorry for not trusting you. I was stupid, I refused to listen to you when you wanted to explain…I shouldn't have done that, and I'm really sorry. So, please…'

'Please…what?' Sano prompted her when she remained silent for a while.

'So, please…come back so I can take care of your wound,' she continued. 'Let me clean it, and stitch it…please let me take care of you, Sanosuke.'

Sano was silent for a moment. 'Come back where?' he asked. 'I haven't really left.'

'Huh?' she said, confused.

There was a knock on the glass door behind her, and she whirled around. She gasped in shock. Sano was standing there, grinning, and holding a phone to his ear. He gave her a small wave. Megumi smiled, and returned the receiver to its place. Sano opened the door for her, and she stepped outside.

'You were here…the whole time?' she demanded, and he nodded. 'Why? Why didn't you have another doctor look at your wound?'

'I didn't want another doctor,' he whispered, not quite meeting her eye. 'Even when I left the room back there, I still wanted you to be the one to fix me up…but I didn't have the guts to go back in there and ask you for that after what I've said to you…'

'Oh, Sano,' she murmured.

'I'm sorry, Miss Takani,' he murmured, and gave her a look which strongly reminded her of the nine-year old Sano.

'You don't have to be,' she told him. 'And about what you said about it being my job to care for you…well, you're wrong; because, job or no job, I care about you…same way I cared when you were a kid.'

'Really?' he said, shyly.

'Yes,' she said, and held his hand. 'Now let's go back in there and take a look at this wound of yours…and by the way, I still think you were stupid not to have it checked by another doctor.'

Sano didn't reply. He remained silent till they got to the hospital doors, and she could feel his eyes watching her.

'Megumi,' he said, stopping her before she could go in. 'When you say you care about me same way as when I was a kid, is there…I mean, is that all it is?'

Megumi hesitated, and looked up at him. 'Yes, Sano, that is all it is,' she said firmly. Although between herself and her conscience, she really didn't know if that was really the truth. She looked away. 'Let's go in now.'

If she had looked away just a second later, she would've seen the hurt flitting across Sano's face.

-

A/N: I'm done! I finally finished writing it! Yay! It was both exhausting and irritating having to rewrite it, but I think I did a better job on this version. So, anyway, I'm gonna just go now cuz I'm seriously pooped…but I do hope to get some reviews by tomorrow, 'kay? (hint, hint)

- S. N. B.