The past two weeks had been a barrage of tests, results and medics, but it was finally slowing to a trickle, and Tenten was beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel.

Her leg was still mostly immobile. By the end of the first round of tests, it had been made very clear to her that her recovery would not be simple. Parts of the bone had shattered, which was a problem regardless, but it had also damaged the nerves in her leg. The weeks in the hospital had also caused the muscle to atrophy, so that her calf looked almost doll-like.

And all of that was even before they had determined that the chakra connections were partially severed.

But today, she knew something was different. The medics had only come in briefly to check on her, and there hadn't been any diagnostics or strange machines being wheeled in and out of the room. When Sakura showed up with the release forms that afternoon, Tenten was practically champing at the bit.

The pink-haired girl smiled as she handed the forms over, but then she hesitated, pulling them back just before they reached Tenten's eagerly outstretched hands.

"Now, you understand that while this releases you from intensive care here at the hospital, you're still not going home."

Tenten blinked, her hands falling back into her lap. "What?"

"Your injuries still need supervision." Sakura regarded her seriously, gesturing to her bandaged leg. "You can't even support yourself on this leg. Did you really think we were going to be sending you home?"

"I..." Tenten stuttered to a halt, frowning. Realistically, she knew that her leg was useless – and would continue to be for weeks, at least – but it hadn't stopped her from hoping… "… there's no way I can go back home?"

The desperation in her voice was clear, but Sakura shook her head, giving her a sympathetic smile.

"You live on your own. We can't risk something happening."

Tenten took the forms, flipping through them slowly. Her eyes caught on words printed in bold, "severe nerve damage" and "five to six weeks physical therapy", and she grimaced. Her hand shook as she lowered the pen to the signature line, and there was a second of hesitation before she finally scribbled her name across the bottom of the page.

Sakura gave her another reassuring smile as she handed the forms back.

"We'll be moving you to the therapeutic care facility adjacent to the hospital. You'll have a temporary apartment there, with access to 24/7 medical attention, should you need it. You'll also have a caregiver who comes periodically…"

Sakura continued to explain the details of the arrangement, but all Tenten could hear was the sound of her freedom slinking slowly away to rest in the depths of some bottomless abyss. She was being treated like a child, and for what? Because she had been careless in a fight. She should have known better than to engage someone more than twice her size, should have realized that she had limitations, but headstrong as always, she had plunged in without thinking.

"… I figured you might appreciate that, right?"

Sakura looked at her expectantly, but Tenten didn't have the faintest idea what she'd just said.

"Huh?"

Sakura sighed.

"I said your teammates are here. They're going to escort you to your new residence."

"Oh." Tenten's mouthed closed in a hollow "o"; she wasn't really sure how she felt about that. With all the chaos of the tests, she hadn't seen much of either Neji or Lee. She owed them a great deal for carrying her all the way back here, practically running themselves ragged just to save her, but at the same time, she felt guilty. She had not only crippled herself, but she'd crippled their team as well.

"Tenten?" Lee's normally boisterous voice was laced with hesitance as he came into the room. He paused when he saw Sakura there as well, and his face took on a cast of utter seriousness. "Sakura-san! You are looking youthful today, as always!"

Tenten smothered a giggle, watching as Sakura tried and failed to contain her consternation. "Hello, Lee."

Another figure followed Lee into the room, characteristically stoic. He spared an unrevealing glance at Tenten before turning to Sakura.

"Is she free to go?"

Sakura nodded, taking it as an excuse to start backing toward the door. "She's got all the paperwork done."

"Thank you, Sakura-san, for taking such wonderful care of our youthful blossom. Of course, I would expect nothing less from you!" Lee beamed at her.

This time, Tenten couldn't contain her laughter.

After several minutes of deliberation, it was decided that supporting Tenten would be the easiest way to get her to her new residence. The idea of carrying her had been thrown around, but it was vehemently protested by Tenten herself, so the idea was dropped almost as quickly as it was developed.

In the end, Tenten draped an arm around each of their shoulders, and they supported her at the waist. They made slow progress through the halls and out of the hospital; occasionally they stopped for Tenten to catch her breath. During these brief respites, Tenten insisted that they go on, but both Lee and Neji knew better than to continue. Neji could tell just from the red in her cheeks and the ragged way she was breathing that it was too much of an exertion. He stopped short of offering to carry her again. Already, she was growing frustrated with her lack of strength, and Neji knew that asking would only further embarrass her.

However, it seemed more and more likely that it would become necessary.

The longer they walked, the more he worried. With his arm around her waist to support her, he could feel the protrusion of her ribs just beneath the skin – there was too little where there should have been muscle. A flush suffused her skin, stretching from her shoulders up to the line of her cheekbones, and every time she blinked for too long, he feared she was going to faint. This kind of feebleness was strange for the usually uncompromising Tenten, and for Neji, it was absolutely terrifying.

When they reached the new apartment, Tenten said nothing, merely slumped onto the couch, staring at her bum leg with unconcealed revulsion.

Lee volunteered to go retrieve the rest of her things, and Neji stayed with Tenten. They sat in silence, Tenten caught up in her thoughts and Neji at a loss for words. What could he say? That he was sorry, that he felt this was somehow his fault? That wouldn't go anywhere productive, because he knew she'd say it was only her own fault, and he shouldn't feel guilty. But he did, and that, perhaps, was the thing he was least comfortable with admitting, even to himself.

"I'm sorry you all had to carry me over here."

Neji glanced at her, raising an eyebrow. She wasn't looking at him, staring instead at the wall opposite the couch, her eyes glazed. In the hopes of drawing her attention away from whatever dark thoughts she was currently caught up in, Neji moved from the chair he had been sitting in and settled onto the couch next to her.

She didn't look up.

"It was not a problem."

"Yeah, but it's…" She trailed off, molding her face into an expression of distaste. "It's stupid that you should even have to."

Tenten rubbed at her eyes, sighing loudly. "I'm so tired, and I don't even know why."

"You are recovering from a serious injury." Neji supplied unhelpfully. He knew the moment it left his mouth that it had been idiotic to say. A sarcastic response was simply to be expected after that.

Surprisingly though, Tenten smiled.

"Gee, thanks, genius." The rebuke was soft, and Tenten lowered her head, until it rested gently against his shoulder.

"Seriously, thanks."

Neji was unable to answer. Soon enough, it didn't matter, as Tenten's breathing leveled out and her eyelids drooped shut.

Neji told himself that it was simply because he didn't want to aggravate her injury that he didn't move her, letting her sleep on his shoulder for the rest of the afternoon.

A/N: Hullo all. Well, my tardiness in publication is inexcusable. We'll leave it at that, rather than trying to make excuses that are ridiculous at best.

I'm also still in the market for a beta, so seriously, if you or anyone you know might want to beta this story, let me know please? It really needs a second pair of eyes.

Thank you for sticking with this story. Your reviews/faves/alerts are loved.

- Senka Hitomi