Disclaimer: Bisco Hatori owns this wonderful manga, not me. Please don't sue me. Thank you.

Note: This chapter is a re-post with some additional text. Hope you like it.

CHAPTER 5: HARM

The morning sunlight and a soft breeze from the open window played across the young girl's face as she slowly opened her eyes. Haruhi reached up to rub her eyes to bring them into focus after waking from a set of troubling dreams. Her head ached slightly, and her body felt leaden, but she was nowhere near as exhausted as she had felt the night before.

Then her memory started to come back.

"Dad!" Haruhi shot up in bed causing the blue blanket laying across her shoulders to flop into her lap. Then she noticed that something soft had been cradled in her right hand that was no longer there. She looked around for whatever it was and then took in her surroundings. She was in a small private hospital room that overlooked a nearby park. Haruhi squinted against the bright sunlight and figured that it was still relatively early in the morning. She sighed and brought her knees up to her chest, thinking about her father and where he was.

"Well good morning, Fujioka-san. I hope you slept well." A contralto feminine voice broke into her thoughts and caused Haruhi to turn in its direction. Dr. Tanaka stood in the doorway watching her patient carefully. The older woman then crossed the room briskly and picked up Usa-chan, who had dropped on the floor. Haruhi accepted the stuffed pink bunny graciously, but her smile faded when she thought about how much she had worried her friends. The doctor then gave Haruhi a glass of water to help her feel a little better since her voice sounded a little scratchy. Haruhi drank the water in two gulps and spoke again.

"What happened to me? The last thing I remember clearly was meeting up with everyone in the emergency room. But after I heard about my father I just…passed out." Haruhi shook the last of the sleep out of her head, remembering how she had wanted to see her father and then waking up in a bed in the Ohtori hospital. She then looked down at herself and noticed that her clothes had been changed. The purple silk pajamas were amazingly comfortable and no doubt expensive looking. I wonder how much more debt I've accumulated just by wearing these things? Haruhi thought while biting her lower lip.

"My father. I heard he was all right." Haruhi tried to sound more coherent for the doctor despite still being exhausted. "Can I see him?"

Dr. Tanaka looked at the girl steadily for a moment, then sighed. "He's still asleep, Fujioka-san, and it might not be a good idea right now."

"Why? I wouldn't wake him up. I just want him to know that he's not alone in his recovery. I know he's injured right now, but I heard from Kyouya that he didn't have any life-threatening problems." Haruhi was anxious to know why she couldn't see her father at this time. She stared down at her clenched fists and took a few cleansing breaths to clear her head.

The older woman wasn't sure how to respond. Even though Kyouya had said at the time that her father's injuries weren't life-threatening, there was always the chance that complications could arise from the broken bones in his arm and leg. From what her colleagues had told her, Ryoji had sustained a compound fracture in his shin, and would have a very hard time trying to walk again. Dr. Tanaka was grateful that this particular hospital had very advanced technology when it came to repairing bones and treating burns, but even so, he had to be watched for complications. And even if he was able to heal physically, there was also the likelihood of extensive psychological damage since Ryoji had lived in that apartment all his married life with his family. Just the trauma of losing everything dear to him would make his recovery that much more difficult.

Still, Dr. Tanaka put on a cheerier face to reassure the worried Haruhi, who had wondered why the doctor didn't answer her right away. "Well, your friends will be arriving later, so maybe you'd like to see them first. Maybe when your father wakes up, he'll want to see you." Perhaps if she diverted her patient's attention away from Ryoji's condition, she could boost the young girls' morale, if only for just a little while.

But it's Monday. They're probably at school. Haruhi thought after glancing out the window at the masses of people going to work and school. Then she remembered that she was probably going to miss her calculus exam today and would have to make it up later when she got back, which hopefully would be in the next day or two. But the exam was the last thing she was worried about.

A knock at the door interrupted her reverie and a young nurse poked her head inside the room. Dr. Tanaka excused herself and walked over to where the nurse was standing. After a few whispered words between the two, the doctor thanked the nurse and turned back toward Haruhi as the door shut once again.

"Well, Haruhi-san, it turns out that your father is awake now." Dr. Tanaka noticed Haruhi's face brighten considerably. But the doctor sounded faintly troubled. After her conversation with the nurse, she hated to think how Haruhi would react when she saw Ryoji for the first time since the fire.

Nevertheless, Haruhi immediately turned down the blanket on her bed and got out of it, hoping that she would have a chance to look in on him and reassure him that things would ultimately turn out okay. She wanted to see him so badly she completely ignored Dr. Tanaka calling for her to wait and she opened the door, leaving it open as she opened the door to the next room that Ranka-san occupied.

"Dad!" Haruhi called as she started to run up to the bed, but then she stopped a few feet away when it suddenly registered that her father didn't answer her. He normally would have been calling out to her first. Haruhi stared for a long time at the pale figure on the bed who didn't even acknowledge her presence, but continued to stare out the window. From his profile, she could tell that his face was set in a completely shell-shocked expression, but looked otherwise relatively undamaged. Both of his legs and his right arm, however, had large cumbersome white casts on them. Clearly, mobility was out of the question for the former crossdresser.

Then Ryoji Fujioka sighed in sadness and turned his head slowly to face his daughter.

Haruhi held back a gasp when she saw the large bandage covering up a large part of the left side of her father's face where he had suffered some nasty burns. Ranka tried to open his mouth a little more to speak to his daughter, but then he winced in pain from the burnt skin that had been bandaged over and he shut his mouth again. Instead, he gestured with his relatively uninjured hand for Haruhi to approach the bed. The young girl obeyed.

"Dad, I'm so glad you're alive. I was so afraid." More tears teased at the corners of the mousy girl's large eyes, and she carefully cradled Ranka's heavily-bandaged hand in both of her hands. Ranka tried to smile, but the pain from the burns he suffered once again prevented him from expressing the relief he felt knowing his daughter had escaped such horrible injuries. He turned up the corners of his mouth as much as he could without too much discomfort, and carefully spread out his uninjured arm to hug her lightly.

"How do you feel?" Haruhi asked as she hugged him back, and then released herself to look her father. She put on her brave face again and hoped she looked convincingly optimistic for her father's sake. Who knows what he had been through? And since his face had been burned on one side, moving his mouth was very hard. Still, for the sake of his daughter, he opened his mouth again, ignoring the pain as much as he could, and whispered sadly in her ear.

"It hurts…"

Those short, anguished words that came out of Ryoji Fujioka's mouth made Haruhi's heart seize up. Even though her father's voice was barely audible, it resonated through the young girl's soul as if it were an agonized shout. Haruhi looked her father in the eyes and swallowed roughly. The man lying bandaged in front of her was still her father, but at the same time he was not the person she knew as her father. The fire had damaged him…maybe permanently. She was totally lost as to how to comfort him or to reassure him that things would ultimately be all right.

Mother in heaven, he looks awful.

Ryoji regarded his little girl dejectedly. To his relief, she had at least been undamaged physically except for the remnants of exhaustion which clung to her along with a small amount of ash remaining in her hair. Haruhi had always been a very strong young lady, much like her mother. She would get through this much better than he would.

The injured man then turned to look at his heavily-bandaged legs, and briefly wondered if he would have been better off if he had allowed himself to burn to death in the fire. Now that he couldn't walk, he wouldn't be able to provide for his daughter. He felt useless, and scared. Turning back towards his concerned daughter, he tried again to smile at her, but there was none of the original mirth that would have been there only a few short days ago. It was all for show, just like his former job had been.

"Haruhi-san…" Dr. Tanaka quietly called to her young patient from the doorway, and once again, Haruhi's attention was diverted to the middle-aged woman standing there with her hands folded in front of her. "I think we should let your father get some rest."

Haruhi looked back at her father, and smiled slightly for him. "Please feel better, Dad. I want you to get well. I'll be back again to visit. In the meantime, I want you to do your best to recover." She then kissed him on the cheek and whispered in his ear, "I love you, Daddy."

As the door closed behind the two women, Ryoji gazed back down at his bandaged legs and burned arms. Briefly, he thought of his late wife, Kotoko, who was one of the bravest, most driven, most beautiful women he had ever known. She also would have wanted him to do his best to get better, even if he had to go through some of the most torturous physical and psychological treatments to achieve that goal. But if there was even a slim hope that he could recover, he would try for the sake of the equally beautiful daughter Kotoko had given him.

Please watch over us, Kotoko. Ryoji Fujioka thought as he settled back against the pillows and allowed a slightly less fitful sleep to claim him.

Back in her room, Haruhi sat back down in the bed and remained lost in thought. Her father was in terrible shape, and wouldn't be able to walk for quite some time. She knew he would need a lot of help to regain his mobility and would also need treatment for any lingering psychological trauma.

"Tanaka-sensei… What happens now? Is there anything I can do to help him?" she asked the doctor who folded the blanket over the young woman.

"At this point, Haruhi-san, he needs a lot of rest and recovery before he can start trying to walk again. As you know, both his legs were broken, and he suffered a compound fracture, which takes longer to heal," Dr. Tanaka stated quietly while handing her patient another glass of water and watching her take a few sips. Haruhi set the glass down on the table and regarded the doctor resolutely.

"I want to be there for him. His state of mind really scares me, Tanaka-sensei." Haruhi murmured. She clutched Usa-chan to her chest once again and thought of how she had come to this state of being. Just a few days ago, she would have been fixing breakfast and listening to Ranka-san regale her with stories about how he met her mother, or how things were going at the bar, or the semi-regular correspondences he received from his friend Misuzu in Karuizawa. Family life was routine, but fun and happy, even with her mother present only in spirit.

Now things would never be the same again. Haruhi was certain that she had even lost her mother's ashes in the fire. Her mother was truly gone now.

"I know that you want to be there for your father, Haruhi-san. That's a good thing. But he needs a lot of time to recover. And so do you. Now please get some rest. Your friends will be here later to see you, and I've been instructed to keep you here until they arrive." Dr. Tanaka replied, nodding to a nearby nurse with a clipboard who proceeded with her duty of checking over Haruhi. Once she had finished and left the room with the doctor, Haruhi picked up the television remote and turned on the T.V., hoping to distract herself until her friends came to see her.

Unfortunately, the very first image that came up on the screen was the last thing she had ever wanted to see or hear about.

In front of Haruhi's wide chocolate eyes was footage of her former home glowing in the midst of the nightmarish conflagration that had ultimately destroyed it. Even worse, the newscaster who reported this destruction sounded so impassive and detached, as though he was reporting on some random activity from the community calendar. The young girl's fist clenched reflexively as the reporter rattled off the facts of the fire.

"…Broke out about 9:45 last night. According to firefighters, the cause of the blaze was due to worn-out, overloaded wiring. The apartment's former tenants have either moved in with relatives or are living in several nearby emergency shelters."

Then Haruhi's heart froze as she heard the absolute worst comments ever made in the history of "professional" journalism.

"In this newscaster's opinion, the cause of the blaze comes as no surprise considering how old and dilapidated that apartment complex was. It was bound to happen sooner or later." The reporter threw up his right arm dramatically. "Whoosh! Up in smoke, just like that."

Haruhi's face contorted with fury at the reporter's insensitive words and she snarled fiercely at his sanctimonious face. It took all her willpower to keep from adding to her debt by pelting the remote control at the television. Instead she angrily jammed the button on the remote and shut off the infernal machine.

Who the hell does that guy think he is? Doesn't he give the slightest damn about the people who once lived there?

To Haruhi's relief, the nurse walked in with a stack of magazines so then she could at least read while she waited for Kyouya and the others to return for her.

TBC

A/N: A thousand and one apologies to my fine audience. I have been dealing with a lot these past few months, including school, work, and the peaceful passing of one of my beloved corgis. But she had had a long happy life. It was time.

Also, after looking over this chapter again, I came to the inalterable conclusion that it just needed a little more writing to it. I hope the additional text has enhanced what was formerly the shortest chapter of my work.

The Demon of Writer's Block and the A.D.D. Gremlins are also interfering. The only thing I know for certain is that Haruhi will only accept help from the Host Club members if they help her father as well as the other tenants in her former home. And we all know that's a pretty tall order, even for six rich boys from elite families. Well, maybe not in Tamaki's case; I'm fairly certain he'd spend his entire family's fortune to help Haruhi if it weren't for a certain someone who will be making an (unwelcome) appearance. Can you guess who?

But we'll see what happens. We shall see.

Thank you for your patience and reviews.