"Sasuke?" The typical teasing undertone of Itachi's voice was gone upon hearing the stress evident in Sasuke's voice. "Sasuke, what's wrong?"

"Itachi, you need to help Naruto."

"Sasuke, you're not making any sense." There was the sound of words being softly spoken in the background followed by the rustling of clothes. "Where are you?"

"Mercy General."

"Why the hell are you at Mercy?"

"Just meet me there." Sasuke ended the call and quickly jumped into his car. His hands shook as he attempted to turn over the engine and he was forced to take a few deep, calming breaths before trying again. It was all he could do to drive and had to focus all his energy to keep from ending up in a wreck. His phone chimed several times to display Itachi's name, which he ignored. If he picked up the phone, it would distract him from the painfully difficult task of speeding down the highway.

He was closer to Mercy General than Itachi and waited for him outside beneath the awning near the front of the hospital. Itachi was there shortly after him, much faster than he should have arrived considering the distance of his apartment from Mercy General. Seeing the worry etched on Itachi's face as he strode quickly for the doors caused a rush of guilt to burgeon forth in Sasuke for making his brother worry enough to cause him to risk a speeding ticket. Naruto needed him and currently he was all he could focus on.

For the short few weeks he had known Naruto, he knew he wanted Itachi to be his doctor. Naruto had never asked and Sasuke had never offered to introduce them. Early on, Naruto had put his foot down before Sasuke could even offer to arrange an appointment with Itachi, saying that if he had an appointment with any doctor; it would be with his own merit. Sasuke had let it pass. He wasn't going to press the issue. Naruto didn't seem that sick anyway.

"Sasuke?" Itachi half jogged to where Sasuke stood shivering in the slight chill of the evening. "What happened? Why are you at this hospital? You should have come to Konoha."

Sasuke's eyes traced over his brother. His long hair was pulled back in a messy queue. There was the beginning of a hickey where his neck met his shoulder and his lips had considerably more fullness to them than was normal. It was hard to miss that his brother had been with someone when he called. "You had a date?"

"She's not important."

That was probably true. Itachi was a true love 'em and leave 'em type of man. He rarely had girlfriends, instead preferring sex partners and one night stands. Perhaps it was some psychological trauma or some remnant caused by their parent's accident while Itachi was in college and Sasuke still in high school. Itachi seemed to use women as little more than a fleeting distraction. They always left his company with the knowledge that it would never be anything more than physical pleasure. It always baffled him how his brother never contracted an STD of some sort. Condoms did not protect from everything.

Until Sasuke met Naruto, he had not been much different. Relationships were a casual passing of the time—mutual pleasure with none of the troublesome romantic entanglements. He always got what he wanted and had approached Naruto with much of the same mentality. Things had not progressed in their usual manner. Nothing about Naruto was simple. The more time he spent with him, the more he wanted until he was completely hooked. Naruto was not a casual encounter. He was different.

"Sasuke, what happened?" Itachi's hands on Sasuke's shoulders forced him away from focusing on the obscure ramblings of his mind and back into the present. "What happened?"

"Naruto needs you. He has something wrong with his heart. I want you to help him. I'll pay you whatever you want. You're the best and I want him to have the best. I don't care if he bitches at me later because I asked you to come. I need you to do this for me."

Itachi frowned. "Who is Naruto and what happened to him?"

"Naruto Uzumaki—my boyfriend. He has a bad heart. We were...being intimate and things got out of hand." Sasuke glanced towards the interior of the hospital. "I want you to be his doctor. Please, Itachi."

"Since when do you have a boyfriend?"

Sasuke grabbed at the material of Itachi's light jacket. "Please, Itachi."

Itachi sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Alright. You sit in the emergency waiting room and I'll come see you when I know something. I don't have privileges at this hospital so it might take some time. We'll talk about this in depth later."

Sasuke nodded and walked with his brother as far as the emergency waiting room. He trusted Itachi. The man was an ass most of the time, but when it came down to it, he was a brilliant cardiologist and surgeon. Naruto was safe in his hands.

Itachi gave Sasuke a once over before nodding and making his way to the emergency nurse. "I was told one of my patients was brought in. I would like to talk with the attending."

The nurse recognized him immediately and buzzed him in before rushing off to find the attending physician. A large bearded man with kind eyes and an easy smile walked forward. "I'm Asuma Sarutobi, the attending. The nurse said we have one of your patients? It's not often one of Itachi Uchiha's patients would find their way into a hospital in this part of town."

"You know me?" Itachi did not smile, but accepted the offered hand.

"Who doesn't know of Itachi Uchiha?" Dr. Sarutobi folded his arms across his chest. "Since I currently only have one patient suffering from heart trouble, I'm going to assume you're here for Naruto Uzumaki?"

"Yes, what is his status?"

"Passed out from what the paramedics told me. We've determined it was due to an arrhythmia. I've prescribed Bepridil Hydrochloride to try and bring it under control. It's still pretty irregular. He'll likely need more than medication to bring it fully under control. For now, we've simply been trying to stabilize him enough to be able to question him about his doctor and current medications."

Itachi nodded. "May I examine him? I don't have privileges at this hospital, but as he is my patient, I would like the courtesy of checking him out."

"Of course. I don't think there is much we can do for him. The ultrasound we did of his heart shows pretty severe muscle damage and the ECG supports it."

Itachi nodded. It was not completely unusual to have a young patient with heart trouble, less common than older individuals, but not unusual. Illness and birth defects could easily explain away a young patient under the care of a cardiologist.

Sasuke seemed particularly attached to Naruto, more so than he had ever seen. Such attachment fired him even more to insure this Naruto Uzumaki was properly treated. It was, perhaps, a bit of conflict of interest for him to treat his brother's boyfriend. If he was not who he was, he might agree. He had a widespread understanding concerning him and his ability to completely distance himself from his patients while administering care to them. It was true and he made no qualms about admitting to it.

Dr. Sarutobi pulled back a curtain to show a young blond male, early to mid-twenties. A nasal cannula was inserted into his nose and bleary blue eyes stared at the two as they approached.

"Damn...Sasuke called you, didn't he?"

"That he did. Apparently you two were getting a little too rambunctious for your own good."

Naruto grinned weakly and gave a small shrug. "What can I say; I can't beat them off with a stick. I'm just that hot."

Itachi shook his head and plucked the chart from a waiting nurse's hands and scanned the initial assessments made by Dr. Sarutobi. "You're a very sick man, Mr. Uzumaki."

"Just call me Naruto, we're practically in-laws."

"Joke all you want, but Sasuke is in the waiting room about to have a heart attack himself." Itachi turned to face Dr. Sarutobi. "Could I have a few minutes alone with my patient?"

When they were alone, Itachi pulled up a rolling chair and settled into it. "So, Sasuke wants me to be your doctor. How about you tell me how sick you are and we go from there?"

"Sick enough for it to fuck with my sex life, but not sick enough to croak in the next couple of minutes." Naruto shifted on the bed and tugged at the nasal cannula. "I hate these things. They always feel so damn weird."

"Leave it alone. How long have you had problems with your heart?"

"Oh, the question game. I'll tell you what; I'll answer a question if you answer one of mine. My heart has been a living piece of shit since I was five. I've been on medication, it's a good thing I'm gay because I'm probably shooting blanks down below. My turn for a question. How long has your receptionist worked for you?"

Itachi arched a brow. "About two years. Who was your last doctor?"

"Dr. Tobi."

Itachi gave an almost unperceivable wince and muttered under his breath, "And you're still alive?"

"Tell me about it," grumbled Naruto. "Is she really that great of a receptionist?"

"She is very organized."

The comment earned a snort from Naruto. "Have you slept with her?"

"Do you think that is any of your business?" retorted Itachi.

"You can't answer a question with a question. That's cheating."
"And that is two questions in a row."

Naruto gave a snort. "You've got to be quick to keep up with me."

Itachi suppressed a chuckle. Naruto Uzumaki was an interesting fellow. Even with his sickly pale skin and large blue eyes, he came off as someone who was in complete control of his mind. He was young, but not stupid. "Why all the questions about my receptionist?"

With the wave of a hand, Naruto settled back against the raised head of his bed. "We'll get around to it later. Since you still haven't answered a question to my satisfaction, I'll say it is my turn. Who did you leave to come see me?"

"No one important."

"Does he or she know that?"

"That's two questions." Itachi chuckled and sat forward. "You're an interesting fellow, Naruto Uzumaki."

"Sasuke said the same thing when we met. I have to tell you, this sexiness can only handle one man at a time. I really would die if I had to be with both of you."

Itachi ignored the sexual innuendo. "Where did the two of you meet?"

"Outside your office building." Naruto shifted on the bed, his gaze never leaving Itachi's. "After your receptionist had me thrown out for trying to make an appointment. I was flat on my ass and he offered a hand up, then he bought me lunch as an apology for his brother having such a bitch of an employee."

"He hasn't said anything to me about it."

"I asked him not to." Naruto plucked at the clear tubing leading to the oxygen dispenser behind the bed. "I told him I would handle things."

Itachi had kept his face neutral throughout most of their conversation, with only the occasional smile or chuckle. This, however, pissed him off and he was not known for having an easy temper. His ability at keeping a cool head was one of the reasons he was such a well-respected doctor. He'd known when he started making a name for himself that many of his patients would be wealthy, but he had never turned away anyone and volunteered one day a week at a free clinic. Never in his life had he turned away a patient without at first meeting with them and that someone working for him had, caused unbidden anger to rise in his chest.

"Oh, I see she didn't tell you. I may not be wealthy and I certainly don't look it, but I have some money stashed away. I've been living off of ramen noodles and cheap canned soup to make sure I would have enough money for my treatment and whatever you charged me." Naruto flopped back against the bed. "I told Sasuke not to arrange an appointment with you because I don't like depending on people and I didn't want him to think I was using him to get to you. I really like him a lot."

"When was the last time you went to see Dr. Tobi?"

"Three months ago. I'm running low on meds, but damn, that idiot will probably kill me if I go back. I've been trying to find another doctor, but I really wanted you. If I'm going to die young, I want to know everything possible was done before hand and you're the best there is."

Itachi closed the chart and stood. "I'm having you transferred to Konoha Hospital. I have privileges there. From today onward, I'm your primary physician."

"I'm fine, my heart has already calmed down. Another hour or so and I can go home," argued Naruto.

"No, you are not fine." Itachi walked to electrocardiogram machine and tore off the paper and spread it across Naruto's lap. "Look at these rhythms. This is not fine. Your heart is having trouble keeping a beat. I doubt it was only today that brought this own. I haven't seen your full medical history, but I would imagine that this is something that has been growing steadily worse. I won't make any treatment speculations until I get a full work up on you, but we may have to put in a pacemaker. You're going to Konoha so I can monitor you. Now I'm going to go let Sasuke know that you aren't dead before he follows through with my previous assessment and has a heart attack so he can join you in that bed.

Naruto's lower lip shot out. "You're kinda bossy."

"I had years of growing up with Sasuke to perfect it."

Naruto sighed and turned his gaze from Itachi, signaling their conversation was finished. Some color had returned to his cheeks and his breathing had smoothed out. The medication was helping with the arrhythmia, but was only a Band-Aid fix.

Itachi saw a lot of stubbornness in Naruto. There was energy in him, aching to get out. If his ECG was any indication, his heart was working towards the end game. The organ could have years of strength left in it, but not without proper care. Even if Sasuke was not part of the equation, he would have taken him on as a patient.

"Hey."

Itachi turned to see Naruto half sitting up on the bed. The firm line of his jaw stood out and his lips were turned down in a frown. "You're not doing this because of Sasuke, are you?"

"Sasuke only got me here. I'm taking you on as a patient because I want to. Sasuke does not decide who I take and don't take."

Naruto relaxed back. "Do I still have to stay in the hospital?"

"Yes."

The pout reappeared. "Then don't tell Sasuke anything bad. I want to keep him around a while."

Itachi inclined his head. "Rest up. I'll arrange for an ambulance to take you to Konoha."

Stopping a nurse, he asked for her to get together the transfer paperwork for him. The sooner he could get Naruto into his home field, the more comfortable he would be.

"I heard you're transferring him."

Itachi turned to see Dr. Sarutobi leaning against the nurse's desk. "It will be easier to treat him if it is in a hospital I am familiar with."

"I don't blame you. This hospital tends to get all the indigent and uninsured patients. We don't have big name doctors or the luxuries of having people willingly choose this place. The amenities are pretty crappy too. I keep waiting for the city to shut us down, but they never do."

"Don't sell yourself short." Itachi signed the forms to arrange for transport from Mercy to Konoha. "At least you care. That's more than most of those big name doctors can say."

"Does that include you, Dr. Uchiha?"

Itachi smirked. "If you asked my brother, he would tell you I am a heartless bastard."

Dr. Sarutobi laughed and extended his hand to Itachi. "Most siblings would say that. It was a pleasure meeting you, Dr. Uchiha."

Itachi paused and reached for his wallet, pulling out a card with his contact information. "If you need a consult or decide you want to change venue, give me a call. Doctors in this neighborhood usually burn out quickly, I would hate for that to happen to someone who cares about his patients more than his paycheck."

"Thanks." Dr. Sarutobi pocketed the card. "I think I'll hang out here for a while. It's nice feeling like I'm making a difference to people."

Itachi nodded and made his way to the waiting room, internally bracing himself for the hard part of the evening—dealing with Sasuke. His brother was busy sitting in a hard waiting room chair, nervously tapping his leg and sipping on a cup of coffee.

"Is that my brother sipping on hospital coffee?"

Sasuke's gaze jerked up and he was on his feet, sloshing a bit of the coffee over the rim and to the grimy floor. "It's not that bad."

"If you like drinking motor oil." Itachi took the cup from Sasuke's hand and tossed it to the trash bin. "Walk with me."

"What about Naruto?"

Itachi shrugged and opened the door for Sasuke. "He'll live. I'm having him transferred to Konoha. I can better look after him there."

"What happened?"

"A lot of things, I'm sure. The excitement of coital pleasure didn't help, but it was not the underlying cause. I'm not going into details because Naruto asked me not to."

Sasuke gave a shove to Itachi's shoulder. "Stop being an asshole."

"When it comes to Naruto and his wishes, I'm not your brother, I'm his doctor. If he wants you in on his medical problems, then he will tell you. He's not going to die tonight or tomorrow, I can tell you that much."

Sasuke's shoulders slumped and his hands were shoved into the pockets of his jeans. "I'm just worried about him."

"You always were a compassionate child—different from me and Father." Itachi took a breath. "I'm going to head to Konoha and meet the ambulance there. You should go home and get some rest."

"I'll follow you there."

Itachi smiled and turned to head to his car. He had expected nothing less from Sasuke. If he could have his way, he would wish Naruto had never come into Sasuke's life. Even without a full work up, his gut told him that Naruto was eventually going to become very sick. He would do everything in his power to help him, but in the end, there were so many things that were out of his hands. A lot of the future would depend on Naruto's will to fight and hold on as long as possible. There was no doubt in his mind that Naruto would eventually need a transplant. It could take months or even years, but the day would come when he would be forced to put his name into the UNOS database and pray for a match.

Then, there was the look on Sasuke's face. He actually felt something for the man being treated in the emergency room. That was something he had hoped would happen to his brother. Both of them had been raised in a strict family, but were still loved. When their parents had died, it had hit them both hard, Sasuke especially so. Itachi had transferred from Harvard to a local college so that he could stay with his brother and help him.

"Maybe having Naruto Uzumaki in Sasuke's life won't be such a bad thing after all," he mused as he slid into his car and left the run down hospital parking lot.

Naruto shot the EMT sitting with him in the back of an ambulance an annoyed look. "Does your partner even have a driver's license?"

"Don't know, never asked him."

Heaving a sigh, Naruto gripped onto the sheet covered stretcher. If not for the straps holding him in place, he would have likely gone flailing around the interior. The bored look on the EMT's face didn't reassure him to his safety with the madman behind the wheel who seemed to enjoy taking turns on two wheels instead of four.

"You do realize I'm not dying, don't you? There's no rush."

"I've learned to let Hidan have his fun. It's the only way to keep him in control," answered the EMT.

"Fun? What the hell is he, a psychopath? How is nearly wrecking an ambulance on every turn fun? If I have a heart attack and die, I'm going to come back and haunt you."

The man arched a brow and smiled. "You probably won't be the only one."

Naruto gave a huff and closed his eyes. They had to be nearly there. This late at night, the traffic was minimal.

"We're here!"

The back to the ambulance opened and a grinning face came into view. "Welcome to your new home, you ungrateful shit."

"What the hell?" Naruto gaped at him. "You can't say that to me."

"Just ignore him," advised the other EMT. "It's what I do."

The driver, Hidan, scowled at Naruto. "Don't think I didn't hear you bitching about my driving. The next time you're bleeding out in the back of my ambulance, I'll make sure to go extra slow, just for you."

Naruto glared at Hidan, going so far as to stick his tongue out at the man. Perhaps it was a little juvenile, but when he had plenty of uncomfortable tests to look forward to, he figured he was due a little childishness. As Hidan returned the action, there was nothing Naruto could do but laugh. When he was lying in bed being poked and prodded, he would make sure to remember that.

Itachi was standing in the emergency room hallway just as Naruto was pushed through the door. "So nice of you to be here to greet my arrival."

"You're certainly a bit more chipper," commented Itachi dryly.

"Well, unlike you, I had my life flash before my eyes numerous times on the ride here." He sent Hidan a scowling glare and received one in return. "It caused me to reevaluate my life."

"I'm sure it did. Sasuke is waiting in your room. I would advise you to be candid with him."

"I'm always candid," Naruto retorted. "Mostly."

The look Itachi gave him had Naruto cringing both internally and externally. "He knows my heart is bad. What more is there to tell?"

"Just don't keep things from him. Patients facing serious illnesses do better with friends and family they can talk to. I'll be your doctor regardless of your relationship with Sasuke."

The EMTs helped Naruto onto the mobile bed and a nurse looked to Itachi for instruction. "Take him up to room 345."

Konoha Hospital was more of a spa than any hospital Naruto had ever been inside. It was a hospital with the standard anesthetic smell and forced smiles, yet it seemed nicer somehow. It did not have that underlying sense of illness and death.

The room he was pushed into was large with a massive window and attractive curtains, not the usual ugly thick things used mainly to block the sun from the patient's room. The art on the walls was airy and uplifting, instead of appearing fake and cheap. There were already several bouquets of fresh flowers and a few balloons probably bought in the twenty-four hour hospital gift shop. Sasuke, sitting stiffly in a plush chair, was on his feet the moment Naruto was pushed into the room.

"Are you alright?" Sasuke moved immediately to his side and settled a hip on the bed once the nurse moved the bed into position. "I haven't stopped worrying since the paramedics took you away."

"I'm cool. You just took my breath away, pretty literally." Naruto tried to plaster a lecherous grin on his face, but Sasuke obviously was not fooled. "I'm fine. I've had arrhythmias before. Itachi will probably get my chart faxed to him, adjust my meds, run a few tests and I'll be home in a day or two. This is happened before and I did warn you."

"So you did. You also said your previous boyfriends had trouble dealing with your illness and ran away at the first sign of trouble. I won't be going anywhere."

Naruto was almost afraid Sasuke was going to say that. He wanted him to stay so badly, but he was also afraid of what his staying would mean. Why was it so hard for him? He was stuck in an emotional limbo with no equilibrium.

When Sasuke leaned in and pressed their lips together, Naruto could not hold back the sigh of contentment. For a moment, he basked in the warmth of Sasuke's kiss before grinning against his lips. "You know, I told you not to call your brother for me."

"Well, I wasn't going to call that doctor of yours after all the crap you told me about his crazy ass."

Naruto pulled back with a smirk. "I'll forgive you this one time, but you've used up all my forgiveness for a lifetime."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "I guess that means I'll have to be on my toes to make sure I don't offend you."

"Sounds like a plan to me."

Grabbing Naruto's head, Sasuke pressed their brows together. "Just don't do that again."

He wanted to tell Sasuke that it would never happen again—that he would only get better from here on in. It was something he wanted desperately to tell him. But, it would be a lie and lying to Sasuke was something he could not bring himself to do, even if it meant easing his mind. "I can't promise that," he whispered.

Sasuke closed his eyes and sighed. "I know."

"Then why did you ask?"

"Because if you promised me something, I know you would do your damnedest to keep it. And because I am greedy and selfish."

Naruto smiled and looped his arms around Sasuke's waist. "Me too."

To be continued

AN: You guys rock. Thanks for the praise and support. Next update will be Monday. :D