Sasuke mulled over his day as he inserted the small glass vial into its slot in the holder. In a very clinical fashion, remnants he supposed of his med-school days, he began dividing the events of today into two columns. Pro and con. Pro was good, con was bad.

He'd met Gaara, the intriguing red head who'd driven him to work - he called this a pro. He'd met Shikamaru's wife Temari - another pro, even if the blond was the scariest woman he'd ever met. Sakura and he had made a small breakthrough in the fight against insomnia sans side-effects - pro. Ino Yamanaka had seen straight through his fake smile - this was definitely a con. How she had done it, he didn't know, but she had seen straight through his act and down to his cynical self.

The Uchiha scowled. He'd spent weeks practicing that act, that smile, hell he might have spent months getting it right. He had practiced it out at bars and at work and it had taken her three seconds to nail him as an actor. As much as it pissed him off, there was a grudging respect, not many people could do that without being an expert in deception. For a moment he hesitated, could the platinum blond be a...no. No damn way would an expert in deception work as a secretary.

Pushing the holder into a fridge he shut the door and leaned his head against the handle as he thought. How the hell do I get a free moment? The raven was finding it very difficult to assess the situation with all this noise running around him. The hum of machines, the numerous doctors who were discussing random projects, tests being ran, phones ringing and more. His own thoughts felt too loud. He needed quiet in his mind, so he needed quiet in his surroundings, or at least to not feel so closed in.

"I know that look." Sakura smiled. He could see her reflection in the glass of the little fridge and smiled back. "That's the Uchiha look for claustrophobia. Feeling a little trapped?" She reached out and tangled her fingers in his hair for a moment, then slid her grip to the back of his neck to guide him to stand straight. "It's much easier to deny anything I say if you're not filling your face with a handle."

Sasuke laughed quietly. True enough he reasoned, it was easier to say she was wrong if he wasn't eating a handle. "I suppose it's just one of those days." He sighed miserably.

"Everyone has those days. Most of us call in sick and take a mental health day. You work it off. Perhaps you should just go on home?" She raised one eyebrow at him and he nodded gratefully.

"Perhaps you're right. You usually are."

"Hence I'm the senior doctor." She giggled softly and he managed to nod through his chuckling. "Go home Sasuke. Take a breath or two, who knows it might not kill you." She laced her fingers with his and they walked to the exit of the lab together. He took the chance of her distraction to study his old friend. He'd watched this little girl grow up, she'd done the same to him, and he'd seen her every heart-break, every achievement and every bright smile.

Well at least when he was at her house he did. While he was at the Haruno house he tried to keep himself a little more reigned in, it wasn't easy but the Haruno's deserved of the people who took him into their houses deserved his civility, so that's what they got. He made a point to only let loose when he was out doing something he shouldn't. His logic at the time was that he was already breaking laws, why bother stopping at one law. That's like stealing a candy from the jar and only bothering to take one.

"Do you mind-"

"Calling a cab while you punch out? No I don't mind. Go." She swatted him jokingly and pulled out her cell phone smoothly. He nodded and walked away, pulling out his own phone as he walked. In seconds after he had sent a text message to Shikamaru. He hadn't forgotten, he had to make sure this Gaara wasn't a nut case. Shika would tell him straight.

Hey Shika, gotta talk to you. Call me in 15.

He sent it and punched out quietly, attempting to not disturb a few other people on their break. He could hear them talking, something about a red head CEO, but ignored it. He had no interest in any CEO's, 90% of them were snobs, the other 10 used to gamble on his fights as a child. Why the hell should he care about those assholes.

"...abuku, he's - Oh hey Sasuke!" One of the girls, someone he now recognized as a lab tech stood up and hugged him in greeting. He let the other two hug him, quietly tolerating the kissed cheeks he received from one, and hugged them all back. He'd discovered early on that people who wanted to hug him were often happier when he let them.

"Hey Tamara, ladies." He greeted the first by name but he didn't know the other two so he went the polite approach. Tamara smiled broadly at the raven haired man. "I'm terribly sorry but I'm leaving and there's a cab-"

"Oh you can't leave yet!" Tamara exclaimed and dragged him back to their table by his hand. He sat unwillingly and smiled indulgently. 5 minutes, he could spare five minutes. "We were just talking about the CEO, have you heard about him?"

Sasuke nodded slightly. He'd heard about his efforts about designing this building but that was about it. He wasn't terribly interested, Temari was the boss he reported to if he wasn't going to Sakura apparently. She was head of personnel apparently. So why bother himself with knowing anything about this other guy.

"Well his name is G-"

"Yo? Sasuke, the cab's here, you coming?" Sakura dragged him away quickly. She knew he wasn't a gossip whore like some and felt she owed it to him to save his ass from what she considered to be an annoyance. She could plainly see the relief in his eyes when he called his regrets back to the three women. He gripped her hand a little tighter to show his silent appreciation.

Shikamaru called him as soon as the door to the cab closed.

"Hold up Shika, 2348 Rousing Place please." Sasuke informed the cab driver quietly before putting his phone back to his ear, "Hey Shikamaru."

"So what was so urgent you needed me to call?" His friend sounded exhausted, but then he always did. Shikamaru lived in a constant state of exhaustion and fatigue. He spent seventy percent of his time asleep but the thirty percent that he was awake for he did amazing things. Namely, representing a huge company like the one Sasuke worked for. He did some amazing stuff, 30% of the time.

"I wanted to ask your opinion on something - or someone. Gaara Sabaku, heard of him?" He raised one eyebrow automatically.

"Yes I've heard of him. He works on one of the upper floors...like 8 or 10 or something. I dunno. It's not something I find totally important. Why?" Shika was yawning, Sasuke could hear it. Probably only woke up 3 hours ago. Mentally he chuckled. Lucky bastard could get up at 11 and go to bed at 2. The raven got up at ridiculously early hours and went to bed at ridiculously late ones. They were polar opposites, but when you've known someone as long as they have known each other, you don't just bail because your different people. It's like divorcing your wife of 70 years, there's just no sense in it.

"I met him today. He drove me to work. Picked me up out of the rain too, but I figure when he mentioned your name..."

"You'd make sure he wasn't a crazy person dropping my name. Well he's a good guy. Great friend." The Nara paused for a second, and Sasuke could hear someone speaking in the background. "I'm a bit busy at the moment Sasuke."

"I didn't break up a freaking board meeting or something, did I?"

"No, I'm just busy right now, I'm going into a meeting, but lemme guess neither one of you thought to get the others number?" Sasuke stayed silent. Bugger, he knew he'd forgotten something, the red head's number was that thing. Shika laughed softly. "Well do that creepy memory thing you do, here's his cell phone, 555-0839."

"555-0839. Thanks man, talk to you soon?" Shika said something about coffee before he addressed someone else. Sasuke hung up. The driver stopped at the apartment complex and took Sasuke's proffered money. Sasuke got out of the car and ignored the wave from the man smoking outside the apartment. As he rode the elevator, he repeated the phone number to himself silently.

Sasuke rubbed Jynx absently as he walked in and sat on the couch. He jotted the cell phone number down, he could remember a number for years after hearing it once, but he didn't like to. It took up space and there was already a lot rattling around in that head of his. The raven kicked his feet up on the couch arm and Jynx leaped onto his chest.

"Purr-mew!" She greeted him fondly and he went to reply but instead jolted when his cell phone rang. He glanced at the number and recognized work. The hospital.

"Hello? This is Dr. Uchiha...What? Oh god!" He flew off the couch and out the door, still on the phone as he locked up. "I'm coming right now. I'll be there soon."

.

.

"Harriet! Harriet where is he?" Sasuke came running into the hospital faster then he'd ever ran before. Harriet met him in the lobby and pulled his dripping coat of his shoulders. The rain hadn't stopped since this morning and it didn't show any signs of it. She threw his coat over a chair in the office and grabbed his wrist to drag him towards the ward he worked in.

"You can't worry about him right now, you need to calm the ward down. They're all panicking and they won't talk to anyone. Olivia and Tammy are demanding to see you. So you need to get them to calm before the nurse's sedate them." She took them both up the stairs in a hurry and when they reached the ward Sasuke didn't even bother with his white doctor's coat.

There were 9 kids in the ward and he had to somehow calm 8 of them. Olivia and Tammy would be handful on their own but the other 6 would be just as difficult. He paused outside the door for a single second before Harriet jerked him into the hall. There were papers scattered around and 8 kids were sobbing and panicking. Sympathy washed over him, when you live with the same people for a long time at that age you get attached fast and that would be make loss even harder.

"Dr. Sasuke!" Several small hands latched onto his pants and tugged. He dropped forward and engulfed the kids in a hug. "Joshua just started-"

"I know. I got called." He looked over to Joshua's now empty bed. Joshua Miller, 7, he had leukemia. Sasuke had been his attending doctor in the ward, but he was only consulting with the oncologist. Joshua had been declining recently but there had been so much hope...Sasuke felt pain lance through his heart. He hated it when he lost a patient.

Deromi came up behind him and only his sniffles told Sasuke he was there. The Uchiha would've hexed if he were anywhere else, Deromi and Joshua were good friends. They chatted with notes and drawings, often being scolded for throwing paper planes at each other by the night nurses. Sasuke turned and let the little boy bury himself in his chest. Harriet put some kids into their beds, promising that Sasuke would be by the say goodnight as soon as he got Deromi and the others to bed.

Sasuke put Deromi down and hooked up his monitor's. After a night like tonight, he would definitely have a terror, someone would have to sit with him. Likely Sasuke himself, not many of the nurses knew the procedure and Deromi couldn't very well tell them they were wrong. The raven went around and tucked in every one of the kids with a warm smile. Once everyone was asleep Sasuke got a chair and got comfy beside Deromi. Harriet patted his shoulder fondly and comfortingly.

As she walked from the ward she sighed, this had to be agony for Sasuke and he was still putting his energy into making it easier for the kids. She hit the button for the elevator and murmured, "Poor kids."