Chapter 2

AN: Fluff alert! Some sappy father/son moments in here. Don't like? Then don't read! Otherwise, enjoy!

When Naruto woke next, Minato was right there beside him. He thought he could calm him down quicker if he was right there.

"Naruto?" he asked, tentatively.

"Tousan?" Naruto asked, uncertainly.

"Yes, it's me, son. Just stay calm, okay?" Minato told him, gently.

"Wh-where…where am I?" Naruto asked.

"You're in the hospital," Minato answered, patiently.

"Hospital?" Naruto repeated slowly. Then he saw all the tubes, and wires. He saw the machines and started to panic again.

Minato noticed this. "Naruto, you have to calm down. Focus on me, you're okay, do you understand?" he asked Naruto.

Naruto started going for the tubes, when Minato stopped him. "Look at me, Naruto!" Minato called sharply, and when Naruto didn't respond, he reached over, and took his face in his hands, forcing Naruto to look at him.

"I'm right here. I'm not going to let anything happen to you. You're safe, okay?" Minato told him in a calm, but firm voice.

"But I want to get out of here," Naruto protested, "I want these out!"

"I know you do. But we have to wait for the doctor to say it's okay, first," Minato explained, in the same tone. "But if you don't calm down, you'll have to be sedated again."

Sedated. Naruto didn't know exactly what that meant, but it didn't sound good, by the tone of Minato's voice, so he stopped and calmed down. Minato breathed out in relief. Naruto had spent too much time asleep as it was.

Naruto then felt the dreaded catheter again. "Can I please take this out? I want to use the bathroom, normally," he asked with a bit of whine.

Minato sighed. "Very well. But I'll have to help you. Your arm and leg are broken, and haven't healed yet."

"They are?" Naruto asked, wincing as he pulled the catheter out again. Minato helped him to the bathroom, taking the monitors with them, since they had wheels on them.

"Yes. I'll explain it to you when you're done," Minato answered. He helped Naruto in the bathroom, much to his embarrassment, and then helped him back into bed.

"Now, tell me the last thing you remember," Minato asked Naruto.

Naruto frowned as he thought back. What is the last thing I remember?

"I…don't…know," he answered sadly. "Why can't I remember?" he cried out in frustration.

"Shh, it's okay, Naruto. It will come back to you in time," Minato soothed him. "I'll tell you what happened, alright?" Naruto nodded. "You were with Sasuke, do you remember him?" Minato asked.

"N-no. I don't remember him," Naurto answered. He felt frightened by this. He felt he should know this person. It was so frustrating.

Minato was worried. Naruto remembered Minato for some reason, but not Sasuke? Who or what else did he not remember?

"It's okay, Naruto. Don't worry about it," Minato said, gently, so as not to upset Naruto too much. "Sasuke is your best friend. You were training with him. You climbed a high tree to retrieve your kunai. You had to climb on a branch to get the last one, it broke and you fell, and landed on your head. You also broke your left arm, left leg and your ribs, which punctured one of your lungs. You passed out shortly after. Sasuke got help, and you were taken to the hospital. You've been semi-comatose for three weeks. You've been in very critical condition," Minato explained to Naruto.

Naruto was quiet for a few minutes, trying to process what Minato had just told him. Minato was getting concerned with his silence. Finally, Naruto spoke.

"I…I…don't remember any of that," Naruto said, quietly.

"That's okay, son," Minato lied, so as not to make Naruto worry any more than he was already. "That can happen when you sustain a head injury like you did. It should only be temporary." Minato hoped it was anyway. "The doctors will need to run some tests on you," he explained.

"T-tests?" Naruto asked, hesitantly. "Will they…hurt?"

"No, they will not. And if you like, I can stay with you the whole time," Minato reassured his son.

"O-okay. I-I would like you to stay with me," Naruto answered.

Minato smiled at him, but inside, he was terribly worried for his son. Just then, the doctor came in.

"Excuse me, Hokage-sama. Am I interrupting?" he asked politely when he saw Naruto talking to Minato.

Minato looked over at the doctor. Naruto eyed him suspiciously.

"Who's that?" He blurted out, pointing with his good arm, an accusing finger at the doctor.

Minato put his hand on Naruto's arm. "It's okay, Naruto. He's the doctor who's been taking care of you, since your accident. He's only here to help you, okay?" he told his son calmly.

Naruto put his arm down, and relaxed a little at his father's words. But he still didn't completely trust this person.

"May, I speak with you in private, doctor?" Minato asked, when he saw that Naruto had calmed down a bit.

"Of course Hokage-sama," the doctor answered, stepping out into the hallway.

"I'll be right back, alright, son?" Minato asked Naruto.

Naruto merely nodded in response.

Minato felt bad about leaving him when he was like that, but he really need to talk to the doctor alone about his son, so Naruto wouldn't be scared.

"Okay, but don't try to take anything out, understand?" Minato told him, pointing a finger at him.

Naruto huffed a bit, and starting to fold his arms, but suddenly realizing he couldn't due to the fact that his left arm was in a cast, in a sling, so he turned his head away and had to settle for an angry pout instead.

Minato smiled a little. That was certainly more like the Naruto he knew. When he stepped into the hall, he closed the door. Then he turned to address the doctor.

"He's looking a lot better," the doctor commented to Minato.

"Yes, he is, but there is something that concerns me greatly, doctor," Minato began.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Naruto is having memory problems. He can't remember his best friend, Sasuke, or anything about the accident, and yet, he knows me. But he panics all the time about being in the hospital, and he seems very distrustful of the medical staff," Minato explained.

"I did pick up on the distrust. This is the first time he's been conscious for this long. It's not unusual that his short-term memory has been affected. His long term may be as well. Now that he's awake and alert, we can run those tests on him to find out exactly what's going on," the doctor answered, as a nurse approached and asked him if she should go and check on Naruto. He nodded his consent.

How long until you will know the results?" Minato asked anxiously.

"Probably a few hours," the doctor answered.

"Alright, I'll just…" Minato didn't get to finish his sentence as he heard a loud,

"NO! DON'T TOUCH ME!"

It was Naruto. The doctor and Minato came rushing in.

Naruto had his bed sheets up to his chin and was scooted as far back as he could get away from the nurse. His eyes had a wild look in them, like he would bolt any minute or attack the nurse.

The nurse looked up apologetically. "I'm sorry, doctor, Hokage-sama. I was merely going to examine him and…"

Minato held up a hand to stop her. "It's okay. He's a little jumpy around medical staff right now."

The nurse nodded in understanding. The doctor signaled her over. "Get the CAT scan ordered and ready to go. We'll be bringing him over soon," the doctor told her. She nodded and left.

Minato came over and sat down on the edge of Naruto's bed. "You're safe, Naruto. No one's going to hurt you, alright?"

Naruto looked at his father uncertainly at first, but then seemed to relax a bit.

The doctor came over. "How would you like to get rid of all those wires and tubes, Naruto?" he asked, kindly.

Naruto looked up at him. "Y-yes, I would," he answered, hesitantly.

"Very good. I'll just need to examine you a bit and make sure you are healing well, is that alright?" the doctor asked again.

Naruto looked back at his father, the look of worry clear on his face.

"It will be okay, Naruto. I'll be right beside you. He won't hurt you," Minato told him.

Naruto nodded his consent, and reached out with his right arm to hold Minato's hand as the doctor came over and started taking things off. Minato squeezed his hand gently.

"You're doing just fine, son," Minato encouraged him.

The doctor carefully removed the wires for monitoring and went to the IV next. Naruto winced as he took it out, gripping his father's hand so tight, it hurt. But Minato could deal with it, if it kept his son calm.

"I see you already took out the catheter," the doctor observed with some amusement in his voice. "That just leaves the examination. I will need to look under your gown to check your ribs," the doctor explained as he approached Naruto.

Naruto started to panic as the doctor reached out to touch him. "No, stop!" which the doctor did, immediately.

Minato looked at Naruto, seeing the worry and distrust on his face. "Naruto, would you feel better sitting on my lap?" Minato asked him.

Naruto thought about it. He looked at the doctor and back at his father. He felt very childish at even considering his father's offer; he was nine for Pete's sake, but his father's lap seemed so inviting and comforting…

"Y-yes," Naruto answered shyly, his embarrassment showing through clearly, as evidenced by a blush line that appeared across his nose and cheeks.

Minato smiled at him. "It's okay, Naruto, don't feel bad. I want to help you feel safe and secure," he assured him, as he came over and picked Naruto up carefully, settling him on his lap.

The doctor watched the proceedings and looked at Minato for consent to proceed. Minato nodded at him. The doctor then carefully moved in to examine his patient.

Naruto was very stiff and tense in Minato's lap, while the doctor gently lifted up Naruto's gown to check his cracked ribs. Naruto winced as the doctor came into contact with them. Minato placed his arms around Naruto's hips in an effort to calm him and just in case he decided to bolt or try anything crazy. His son's distrust of doctors really concerned him. And yet, Naruto was perfectly fine around Minato, but who knows if he would like that with anyone else?

Finally, the doctor was done. "Your ribs seem to be healing up just fine. We'll do an X-ray on them later on to be sure. The casts will have to remain for another 3 weeks, but then they can be removed. All we need to do now is the CAT scan," he finished.

Naruto stiffened visibly at this, as Minato rubbed his back gently. "Don't worry," he whispered into Naruto's ear, "everything's going to be alright."

Naruto nodded, but still felt uncertain as he saw a nurse come in with gurney.

"We just need you on the gurney, Naruto, and then we can proceed," the doctor explained.

"I'll get him on it," Minato spoke up, knowing that Naruto would not allow anyone else near him to do it. Minato stood up, with Naruto in his arms, and walked over the gurney. As he carefully laid Naruto down on it, Naruto grabbed Minato's sleeve, pulling him down close.

"You won't leave me, will you?" Naruto asked in a very small, pleading voice that nearly broke Minato's heart.

"No, I won't. I promise," Minato answered, sincerely.

Naruto laid back, apparently satisfied with that answer. The doctor and nurse then started to push the gurney down the hallway, towards the Diagnostic Imaging Room, with Minato right by his side the whole way, holding Naruto's hand in his own.

TBC

AN: Okay, I know a lot of you are putting my on your fav's, which is great, but can you leave a review? I promise, I don't bite. It's just nice to know you're out there, and if you like this fic. Thank you!