IV

You would think that being on bed rest would be peaceful but boring. Wrong. Absolutely, positively wrong. If there could be angels holding sirens and red danger flags around your head so you'd get the message, that would be the exact scenario I felt like I was living through. When I wasn't sleeping off the effects of the strong medication, I would sit in bed, replaying my day at the hospital over and over in my head like some strange movie. All I could do at first was laugh or smile as the various acts Mori did for me skimmed across the surface of my thoughts, until I began worrying about every single stupid thing I had done in regards to him. When I woke up after the hospital ride home, Aki was all too eager to tell me about how my tall companion had carried me into the house bridal style, tucked me into bed like he had done it a thousand times before, and handed my brother the vial of medication and note with a very curt explanation that I shouldn't move for a few days before leaving. I could only gape at him as I imagined being completely knocked out as this happened, a little jealous- ok, really jealous- that I hadn't actually experienced this while being awake.

So, my thoughts became increasingly obsessed with Mori. I knew it was wrong, but there wasn't anything I could really do about it. He would flood my mind even if I tried to think about anything else, so I eventually just waved my mental white flag in surrender and gave in. There was something deep, but simple about him that I couldn't grasp with complete understanding. He was nothing like any of the guys I had ever had the rare chance of getting close to, and more than that, he understood things about me that other people just took for weirdness. I couldn't help the fact that I found myself defending poor, defenseless animals and was a little more critical on my own species, or that my mouth opened when I really knew I shouldn't say a single thing. But with Mori, none of that seemed to matter. With him, it felt like it was okay to make mistakes and not feel like he would ever use them to measure you by them. But the funny thing was, I couldn't ever remember seeing Mori make a mistake. It may have just been the fact that he was like the supreme warlord of silence and careful calculation, but still, he never seemed embarrassed by anything he did. He was so wonderful that I almost expected a parade to explode in my mind with banners saying just that every time I saw him, but that image was quickly suppressed with a groan at my sheer stupidity. Mori was human. He made mistakes, even if I didn't see them.

On the last day of my prompted bed rest, my cell phone went into a crazy stupor as my obnoxious techno ringtone blared into my left ear. I flopped my arm over to pick it up, still half-asleep from my glorious Mori daydreams for this afternoon, thinking it was probably Mitty for the third time today, ranting about some new novel she had picked up in the last few days to keep me entertained. When I read the name on the mini LSD screen, however, I almost fell off the bed in the realization that it was not her, but Hani.

"Hello?" I manged, trying to sound as cheery as possible at his unexpected call.

"Shi-chan!" Hani squealed over the bustle of noise going on behind him. "How are you feeling? Are your ribs all better now?"

"Wha-Huh?" I sputtered, confused as to how he knew what was wrong with me. "How did you know about my injury?"

He laughed. "Takashi told me, silly! But you're all better now, right?"

"I think so. Nothing hurts really badly anymore, but I honestly haven't been out of bed enough to see if I'm ready for the hustle and bustle of normal life just yet."

"That's good, I guess." He paused for a moment, his voice getting more serious as he continued. "Takashi was really, really worried about you."

I didn't think I heard him correctly. Did he honestly just say that Mori- calm, level-headed Mori- was worried about me? "Are you serious?"

"Of course I am. He's been doing a lot of stupid stuff this week, and he looks really tired. I asked him today, and he told me he was wondering if you managed to get enough rest to heal. I told him that I'd check in on you, so he'll probably be happy to know you're doing what the doctor asked."

"Seriously," I groaned, moving to slam my free hand into my forehead. "I feel horrible. Mori really shouldn't have gotten so work up about me."

"Then do something to apologize for letting him become worried."

My jaw dropped at Hani's abrupt proposal. "What?"

"If you feel bad for making him worried, then you should do something to thank him for his concern. You could get out of bed and test out your healing, too, so what do you think?"

How could I possibly say no when he was practically brimming with cuteness? "Uh, sure, I guess."

"Great!" He exclaimed, clearly pleased with my confused answer. "I'll come pick you up tomorrow afternoon so you can tell him directly, okay? Bye!"

I didn't even get a chance to ask what he meant. Sighing, I threw my phone onto the pillow beside me as the confusion and guilt racked up in my raging brain. Mori was worried, Hani had pretty much exploited my weakness at seeing him unhappy, and somehow had prodded me into an unexpected meeting with the now seemingly normal guy I had once thought to be an earth-bound angel of mercy. But what could I do to apologize to Mori? They said the easiest way to appease a guy was through his stomach, and so far, I didn't doubt my ability to do that. Dad and Aki seemed happy with my cooking, and they weren't the type of people to keep their opinions to themselves, family or not. I'd only been out to eat with Hani and Mori once or twice, and each time, it seemed he stuck to simple, savory foods. I had enough materials at home to make a decent sized box of flavored rice cakes and onigiri, so maybe I should stick with something simple and just do that. Knowing me, I would try to think up a lot more elaborate ideas, but with my state and my zeal to diminish Mori's worry, there was no time to be anything but realistic.

AN: Thank you so much to all of you who have been adding this story to your alerts list and reviewing! This story is such a blast to write, and I'm glad to see that everyone is enjoying it too. As always, I don't own Ouran High in any way. Please review! ~E.F.