Please see first chapter for disclaimer, rating, warnings, pairings, etc.
Special Thanks: goes out to TheUtsukushiiYume, CrimsonNight41, SachikoHeiwajima, DivineGlory, Danish78, misao97, ZukiShi, mangetsu no hime, Break Blade, Ms. Tsubasa, Tamani, anonnie, kiss2lips, MysteriousEyez, SahelTheWaltzingDinosaur, and WarFlower for all your reviews! Also thanks to everyone who's added this to their favorites and follows lists!
Author's Note: I'm not gonna lie, it's been a tough week for me. But the nice reviews I got on the last chapter really cheered me up, and made me look forward to posting this one! I hope you all enjoy it, and thanks for reading!
*~Chapter XXXIX~*
~Pulse~
Konoha Memorial Hospital's intensive care unit waiting room was depressingly lit by only a couple of table lamps when Hinata and the others arrived in it, the overhead lights having not yet been turned on for the day. In deference to the blanketed bundle of a middle-aged man snoring on one of the two couches, they left them off, settling in chairs as stiffly uncomfortable as those downstairs, occupying a dim corner of the room. She perched nervously on the edge of her seat for a long moment, hands clenched tightly together in her lap, her stomach roiling. Finally, she cleared her throat and said very softly, "Has anyone called Father?"
She almost instantly regretted asking the question. Tenten's already tense expression tightened further. In a voice barely above a whisper, she replied shortly, "He had some sort of 'important,'" her tone dripped bitterness, "overseas teleconference this morning and needed a good night's rest to be at his sharpest. He said to leave a message on his phone with an update." Her darkly circled brown eyes snapped with anger and frustration.
Hinata flinched and briefly closed her eyes. Konohamaru shook his head and said in a half-disbelieving tone, "Man, that's harsh, putting business ahead of family."
"Yet that's how it's always been," Hinata said, deep grief welling from her heart into her voice. Sasuke instantly laid a comforting hand on her back. "Sometimes I wonder if-" -Father would even mourn if one of us died. She trailed off without finishing her sentence, leaning forward slightly and covering her mouth with her steepled hands. A moment later she uttered a muffled, barely audible, "I'm sorry."
Hanabi made a small sniffling sound and turned in her seat to rest her forehead against her boyfriend's shoulder. Tenten shook her head hard. "No!" she hissed fiercely. "You have nothing to apologize for, Hina. Mr. High-and-Mighty Hiashi, on the other hand-" She folded her lips tightly to keep any further thoughts on the matter inside as she wrapped her arms around her middle.
It was, Hinata reflected drearily as silence once again enveloped their little group, a terrible thing to wonder about one's own father. As if sensing the tenor of her thoughts, Sasuke's thumb moved in soothing circles between her shoulderblades. Turning her head to look at him, she remembered how he had faced and conquered his fear of flying so he could be with her; and a wave of love swelled through her heart, driving out the bitterness her father's callousness had planted there. I love you, she silently mouthed to him.
The warmth in his black eyes deepened as he slid his arm around her shoulders and drew her against his side. I love you, too, he mouthed back. With a quiet little sigh, she let her head rest on his shoulder. As she soaked in the silent strength and comfort he offered her through his touch, she struggled to keep her burning eyelids from sagging shut.
After about an hour - which felt more like three - a muted chirp-chirp! chirp-chirp! came from the direction of the sleeping man, who slowly stirred and sat up. He looked blearily, if briefly, startled to see he had company in the waiting room. But then, after inclining his head courteously toward them, he got up and neatly folded his blankets before picking up a small toiletries kit Hinata hadn't noticed lying on the table next to the couch, and leaving, presumably to visit the men's room.
Tenten shifted restlessly on her chair. "It must be nearly time for visiting hours to start." She scrubbed her hands together nervously. "Surely, surely, Neji is up from recovery, and we'll get to see him soon."
"I'm sure it won't be much longer," Hinata agreed, passionately hoping that was true. A memory uncoiled from where she'd been trying to keep it penned up: Dr. Watanabe saying Neji might have to go back into surgery to have a pacemaker temporarily implanted to regulate his heartbeat. Surely, surely, she thought in an unconscious echo of her cousin-in-law, if they'd had to do that, someone would let them know - right? She flickered a sideways glance at her, wondering if Tenten was thinking the same thing. From the tightly drawn skin around the older woman's eyes and mouth, she very probably was.
Someone halted just inside the doorway, and Hinata sensed everyone go on the alert. But it was only the middle-aged man returning. He cleared his throat before saying in a low baritone, "Thank you for letting me sleep. My name is Nakamura Shingiro. Would you mind if I turned on the overhead lights and made a pot of coffee?"
"No, not at all; please do," Tenten responded politely, though Hinata knew she hated the smell of coffee as much as she did herself. "I'm Hyuuga Tenten, and these are-" As the fluorescent lights in the ceiling came to life, sharply, stabbingly bright, she introduced the rest of the group. He acknowledged them each in turn, then went to the base cabinet and water cooler across from the couch where he'd slept and busied himself with the coffee maker. As she idly watched him, Hinata noticed a small, motel-type refrigerator built into the cabinet, as well as a mini microwave oven on the opposite end of the countertop from the coffee maker.
Hinata had to admit, though, as the slightly skunky, nose-prickling odor of brewing coffee wisped past her nostrils, she was almost getting used to it. She still shuddered at the thought of actually tasting the noxious brew; but since discovering during their New York trip that Sasuke worshipped at the altar of java, she'd been working on learning to tolerate the smell. Unable to resist, she stole a look at him; and just as she expected, his elegantly shaped nostrils were quivering ever so slightly.
Leaning in close enough for her breath to stir the raven wing of hair hanging over his ear, she whispered, "Why don't you go ahead and get you a cup when it's done?"
His hair tickled her nose as he turned his head toward her to whisper back, "That's okay, I'll wait until you go back to see Neji. I'm getting enough caffeine from the aroma to keep me going."
Hinata swallowed back a giggle, feeling it would be inappropriate if she did. She caught a look from Hanabi - sort of a Who-are-you-and-what-have-you-done-with-my-sister? look - and the urge to giggle increased, abruptly morphing into an impulse toward tears. It's got to be because I'm so exhausted, she thought, lifting one hand to brush across her burning eyes. I wish somebody would come out and let us know something.
As if in answer to that wish, the electronic lock on the doors into the ICU disengaged and the two leaves parted, one swinging inward as the other swung out. An average-looking nurse with straight brown hair and gentle brown eyes passed through them and crossed the hall to pause in the waiting room door. Next to Hinata, Tenten sat tensely forward on the edge of her chair, her eyes locking onto the nurse's. Before either woman could speak, though, Mr. Nakamura spoke up. "'Morning, Matsuri, you're early." A shade of anxiety crept into his tone. "Everything as it should be?"
"Everything's fine, Mr. Nakamura, you'll get to see your wife at the usual time," the nurse said soothingly. "I actually came to get Mrs. Hyuuga. Dr. Hyuuga is up from recovery, and you can see him for a few minutes now. If you'll come with me?"
Tenten shot to her feet and quickly closed the distance between them. As she went, she asked, "His cousins will be able to see him, too, won't they? He's like their big brother."
Matsuri smiled in Hinata and Hanabi's direction. "Certainly, though not for long. In about fifteen minutes, use the intercom," she indicated a panel set in the wall next to the ICU doors, "and someone will buzz you through."
"Thank you," Hinata said, and automatically glanced at her watch. Fifteen minutes, she thought, half in anticipation, half in dread as the doors into the unit closed behind Tenten and the nurse. Fifteen minutes. I can be strong for them. I have to be strong for them.
Mr. Nakamura finished stirring creamer and sweetener into his coffee, then turned his attention in their direction with a look of mild curiosity on his face. "So, her husband's a doctor?" he queried. "What is it, his heart?" He shook his head. "Goes to show, you never can tell. My Sara is barely into her fifties, and this is her third."
For a moment Hinata selfishly wished they had the waiting room to themselves; she really didn't feel like going into the particulars with a perfect stranger. "In a manner of speaking," she said vaguely. "I'm sorry to hear about your wife. I hope she's recovering well from this latest?"
As she hoped, her gentle redirection worked. In fact, it worked almost too well; it was more like twenty minutes before Hinata had a chance to excuse herself and go back to see Neji. Since her closest experience of an ICU came courtesy of TV shows and movies, she wasn't quite sure what to expect once she used the intercom and was buzzed through. She swept a quick look around as she approached the nurse's station in the center of the space. To her surprise, she saw the dramas had basically gotten it right. Glass-doored rooms lined three sides of the area, some with curtains drawn across them, others not. A handful of computer screens at the nurse's station quietly monitored patients' vital signs, while others were dark, as the staff went about their duties with quiet, focused efficiency.
But what the dramas couldn't prepare her for was the atmosphere of actually being in an ICU: for the chill knowledge that within these walls people fought for their lives - and sometimes lost. But not Neji! she thought fiercely, sending a half ordering, half pleading prayer heavenward. And not just because he and Tenten are just starting their lives together. He's barely begun his career as a doctor; there's a lot of good for him to do in this world.
Matsuri came towards her with a reassuring smile. "Dr. Hyuuga is in room 306," she said, gently steering Hinata in that direction. "Please try to remember when you see him for the first time that he's doing very well. And just because he doesn't react to you doesn't mean he's unaware of you." She reached to slide open the door and pull the privacy curtain out of the way.
Hinata took a deep breath, thinking, In other words, don't go to pieces when you see him. She nodded her understanding and stepped through into the dimly lit interior of the room. Matsuri slid the door closed behind her.
Her first impression was of the astringent, chemical smell pervading the air, and of soft beeping, whooshing, humming sounds. Even as she concentrated on keeping her nose from wrinkling in response, her eyes sought to where a strained-looking Tenten stood holding Neji's hand next to what at first struck her as an overwhelming mass of stuff surrounding and coming from the bed in the center of the room: monitors, an IV tree, bags, wires, tubing of various sizes. Hinata took a couple of steps closer, trying to discern the form of her cousin amid the tangle of equipment. Her gaze landed on a pale, still, half-sheeted form-
-And her knees wobbled under her as, for the briefest of moments, she saw not her cousin, but Sasuke lying there.
After that instant of heart-stopping horror, Hinata came to herself and realized she was gripping the bedrail so hard it was a wonder she didn't leave dents in it. At the same moment, she felt Tenten's free arm circle her shoulders, heard her quiet whisper of, "Are you okay, Hina?"
"Yes," she lied in an equally quiet whisper, feeling a sudden sharp pulse of pain over one eye. She blinked rapidly, taking in the bandages wrapping Neji's left shoulder, the stains of iodine, looking even more garish on his pale skin, past the edges of the thick dressing covering the center of his chest. "It's just - seeing him like this - all because of some random craziness-"
"It wasn't random." Tenten's whisper went suddenly as hard as the muscles in the arm she had around Hinata's shoulders. "The crazy s.o.b. was trying to kill Neji, because Neji wouldn't admit him to keep him out of jail." Hinata whipped her head around to stare at her cousin's wife, who went on without taking her tear-filled eyes from Neji's slack face, "So instead of facing simple DWI charges, he's now going to spend serious time behind bars for attempted murder. I hope he rots and dies there."
Hinata vaguely realized she was gripping the railing again as shock swirled dizzyingly through her mind. Believing this the result of bad luck - of Neji simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time - had been bad enough; to know someone had deliberately tried to kill him-! It was almost more than she could handle.
"I'm sorry, Hina - I shouldn't have thrown it at you like that," she dimly heard Tenten say through the buzzing in her ears. "We just have to totally believe that Neji is going to be all right."
Forcing herself to let go of the railing, Hinata willed steadiness into her voice as she put an arm around Tenten's waist and said, "Yes, he will be," adding silently to herself, He has to be.
The coffee was surprisingly decent, considering. After Mr. Nakamura went into the ICU to visit his wife, Sasuke indulged in a second cup. He debated whether or not to have a third, but decided that would be greedy. Instead, he discarded his styrofoam cup and, taking out his cell phone, turned to where Hinata's sister and her boyfriend sat.
"I, ah, really need to call my brother before Hinata comes back out," he said, diffidently gesturing to the far end of the small waiting room.
Hanabi and Konohamaru both nodded. "Hinata really likes your family a lot," Hanabi offered with a wistful little smile. "She said your niece especially is a little sweetheart."
Sasuke awkwardly returned her smile. "Thanks, Hanabi, that means a lot to me. I'll - just be over here." Moving to stand in front of the room's sole window, he hit the autodial on his phone.
Itachi's deep, amused chuckle filled his ear in place of a hello when he picked up on the second ring. "Wow, little brother, you don't do things by halves, do you?" he said. "You've gone from being practically a hermit to a media sensation in what? A couple of days?"
"Uh, yeah, about that-" Sasuke rubbed his mildly aching forehead. "Hinata and I aren't actually engaged yet."
"I know," Itachi replied in his easygoing way. And when Sasuke could do nothing but stutter for a moment into the phone, "Temari and Karura spotted right away that you didn't go down on one knee. So they knew it couldn't be a proposal. Temari figures you gave Hinata a promise ring."
"Yeah. Jiraiya is preparing a statement to release to the press as soon as possible, which will hopefully squelch the whole proposal/secret marriage thing."
"It might kill a little of the buzz, but people tend to believe what they want to believe," Itachi replied pragmatically. "Slipping out of New York the way you did in the wee small hours was a good idea, though; it gets you and Hinata out of the immediate media eye. A few of the more determined paparazzi might come sniffing around Konoha, so take your time traveling home."
Sasuke blinked in surprise. "How did you-? Oh, Izumo and Kotetsu must've reported in already this morning."
"They have, and they were quite impressed by your decision - said it took even them by surprise."
Sasuke muttered a mild epithet. "I don't think I even told them why we were heading home, or how, we were in such a hurry, just that we were going. And I never thought of anyone being crazy enough to follow us here. Actually," he drew a deep breath, "we're already back in Konoha." He quickly outlined for his brother the reason for their sudden departure from New York.
A long silence followed his explanation. Then, Itachi said in shocked tone, "You flew? In a private jet?"
"It was the fastest way to get Hinata to where she needed to be." Sasuke rolled his shoulders uncomfortably at the memory. He repeated the epithet. "At least no one should think to look for us here at the hospital."
The brothers continued to talk for a few more minutes, until Sasuke looked at his watch and saw that a little over fifteen minutes had passed. "Sorry, 'Tachi," he said, "but Hinata should be back from seeing her cousin any minute now." He paused for a second, thinking there was a time fairly recently when he would rather have choked than utter his next words. "My love to you, and Temari, and Karura."
He heard the smile in Itachi's voice as he replied, "Our love to you, and Hinata, too. Tell her we'll be keeping her and her family in our thoughts and prayers."
"Thanks, I will. I'll keep you posted. 'Bye for now."
He'd timed it well. Just as he put his phone back in his pocket, Hinata came back into the waiting room. As he hurriedly crossed to her and took one of her hands in his, Hanabi and Konohamaru stood, each giving her an anxious look.
"How-" Hanabi's voice broke, and she had to start over again. "How is he?"
"I'm not going to lie to you, little sister," Hinata replied, looking white and strained. "It is - very - hard - to see Neji as he is right now." Her fingers tightened on Sasuke's. "If you decide not to go back, no one - certainly neither Tenten nor I - will think the less of you."
Hanabi's chin quivered for a moment, and Sasuke thoroughly expected her to take Hinata up on her offer. But then the younger woman drew a deep breath and her chin firmed again as it came up ever so slightly. "I know I've never been as close to Neji - or Tenten, either - as you, big sister, but I still love him as my slightly stick-in-the-mud big brother." The sisters exchanged watery smiles. "I want them both to know I'm here for them. So I'll go in."
Hinata drew her hand from Sasuke's so she could hug her younger sister. Konohamaru also gave his girlfriend a supportive hug before she left the waiting room to cross the hall and use the intercom to buzz for admittance to the ICU.
Once she was gone, Hinata turned to Sasuke, her beautiful pearlescent eyes filling with tears. He immediately folded her into a close embrace, his cheek coming to rest on top of her midnight dark hair. Feeling the way her slender body trembled with suppressed sobs, he queried softly, "That bad?"
"Even worse," she said into his chest. "Oh, Sasuke-" Her hands clenched around fistfuls of his shirt over his shoulder blades. He sensed rather than saw Konohamaru turn away to give them some privacy, and felt an increased respect at the younger man's sensitivity. Moving by instinct rather than conscious design, Sasuke gently swayed from side to side as he murmured soothingly to Hinata. After several minutes she gradually began to relax in his arms, her irregular breathing smoothing into a more natural rhythm, her hands unclenching to rest flat against his back. A moment later, she slowly drew away from him, whispering, "I could stay in your arms forever, but thank you, love. I'm better now."
They had barely settled into their chairs again, when Sasuke heard a faint ding from the elevator down the hall from the waiting room. He automatically glanced up when a double set of footsteps approached the door. An instant later Naruto entered the room, his father following closely behind him. Both men carried large bags in either hand, from which mouthwatering fragrances wafted.
"Hey, guys," Naruto greeted them in an unusually hushed voice. "We didn't know if you'd had a chance to eat breakfast yet, so we brought some to you." He hefted the bags he carried.
"And lunch as well," Minato added equally quietly, echoing his son's gesture.
Sasuke stood at the same time Konohamaru did, and went to relieve the two men of their burdens, Hinata following close behind. In the flurry of hugs and thanks that followed, Naruto murmured to Sasuke, "We brought your car down, too. It's parked straight out from the main entrance, four spots down on the left."
"That's great," Sasuke murmured back, accepting his keys from the other man. "You and your family are awesome. I can't thank you enough for all this, and for coming to pick us up at the airport at such an unholy hour. You're a true friend, Naruto."
The blond shrugged and grinned in the way that usually set Sasuke's teeth on edge, but now gave him kind of a warm feeling. "Aw, it's nothing. We wanted to do something to help. So," he turned the subject, "how's Neji doing?"
They talked quietly for a few minutes, until Minato said, "We need to go, son, so these people can eat." Then, addressing the group in general, "Tell Tenten and Neji we're pulling for them. If there's anything else we can do for you, don't hesitate to ask."
Once father and son had gone, Sasuke gazed after them thoughtfully for a long moment, reflecting on the amazing, unexpected kindness of people.
Once Naruto and Minato left, Hinata turned to Sasuke, who appeared to be in a very deep study, and laid a hand lightly on his arm to gain his attention. When he startled slightly and looked a question down at her, she said, "Originally, the plan was for me to go home for a quick nap, and then come back to sit with Neji so Tenten can go home long enough to change clothes and grab a bite to eat plus some rest. But I'm going to go back into the ICU again to see if I can't persuade her to come out and eat something now."
Sasuke's look turned to one of concern. "Wouldn't you like to have a cup of tea first?" he asked. "Naruto remembered that you and Tenten don't drink coffee, so he brought a thermos for you."
Hinata's eyes stung, making her blink rapidly. Even though she no longer harbored the least bit of a crush on Naruto, his remembering such a small thing about herself and her best friend brought a feeling of warmth to her heart. "I'll wait," she said, "but thanks. We at least had a little something on Utakata and Hotaru's jet; she hasn't had anything since dinner last night. I promise I'll be fine."
Ten minutes after Hinata, by dint of much persuasion, convinced Tenten to go out to the waiting room and get something to eat (Hanabi needed much less persuasion), the door to Neji's room slid open. She turned in the chair someone had brought in, expecting to see Tenten or Matsuri. Instead she saw her friend Sakura quietly entering, the pink of her uniform top, printed with blue and yellow teddy bears, just a few shades off the color of her hair.
"Hi," she said just above a whisper, her apple green gaze going straight to Neji's still form. "I'm just getting off duty, and wanted to come down to see how Neji and the rest of you are doing."
"We're - hanging in there. Matsuri, Neji's nurse, says he's doing very well, considering," Hinata replied. "Have you seen Tenten? Is she actually eating?"
"She was just getting herself something when I left the waiting room to come in here." Sakura lightly touched Hinata's shoulder. "Everybody on staff I've talked to are shocked and horrified by what happened. But we're all positive Neji will be just fine. We're not going to lose one of our own. If there's anything I can do to help, don't hesitate to ask, okay?" She leaned down long enough to give Hinata a quick but intense hug.
"Thanks, Sakura. And thank you for coming by to check on us." Hinata hugged her friend back. Not until the other woman had gone did she realize Sakura hadn't once gushed about her romance with Sasuke, or asked to see her ring. Hmm, she thought affectionately. Maybe Sakura does have a tactful bone in her body.
Silence wrapped itself around Hinata again, underscored rather than broken by the soft shshing of the respirator; the subdued humming of the blood pressure cuff as it pressurized periodically; the hushed sounds filtering in from outside the room. She gratefully noted that the beeper on the heart monitor had been muted since her earlier visit, though the steadily pulsing green line still tended to catch and hold her attention. Whenever it occasionally seemed to skip a beat - or two - her breath caught until the peaks and valleys of her cousin's heartbeat resumed a smoother rhythm.
When Tenten returned a short time later, Hinata stood and gave her a searching look. Though lines of strain still bracketed her chocolate brown eyes and normally smiling mouth, some color had come back into her cheeks. "You know," she ventured to say, "if you were to go home and get some rest-"
"No." Tenten cut her off firmly, but gently. "I feel much better since having something to eat, while you look like you're about to go down face first on the bed next to Neji." Her lips twitched in a weak smile. "And if anybody gets to do that, it's going to be me. No, seriously," she sobered again, "after Hanabi's meltdown, Sasuke looks like he's about hit his limit of how much Hyuuga angst he can take. You need to get him out of here."
Hinata gasped, trying to grasp her former roommate's words. "Hanabi what? And Sasuke-?"
"Don't get me wrong," Tenten hastened to add, "Hanabi did a great job of holding it together while she was in here. She just kinda lost it once we got to the waiting room. Konohamaru's taken her back to the house and is going to stay with her for a while, until she calms down. Sasuke," she hesitated as if choosing her words carefully, "isn't sulking, or anything like that. It's just that he seems to be drawing into some kind of protective shell. Plus he's waiting for you before he eats - which I think is really sweet."
"My poor darling," Hinata murmured, her eyes burning with more than tiredness. "He's still not all that comfortable being around people in general, and emotional ones like Hanabi even less than that. And he's had a lot to deal with the past several hours. I haven't had a chance to tell you he'd never flown before, since his parents were killed in a private jet crash. But he did it for me."
The corners of Tenten's mouth turned up in a soft smile as she glanced down at Hinata's left hand. "Hard as that must have been for him, I'm not surprised he did it," she said. "Now, though, you need to take care of yourself and your guy. Go on and eat something, and then go home and get some rest. I'll see you again around two."
Guilt pricked Hinata's heart when she saw Sasuke sitting alone in the waiting room, elbows resting on his knees with his hands dangling limply between them, a blank, sealed-off expression on his face. She hurriedly crossed the intervening space to touch him lightly on the shoulder and speak his name.
His dull black eyes brightened as soon as he focused on her, and a small, tired smile touched his lips. He looked about as worn down as she felt. "You should have gone ahead and eaten, love," she chided him gently, brushing his cheek with her fingertips.
He shook his head. "Not without you, love," he replied firmly. His gaze searched her face. Catching her hand in his, he added as he stood, "Though you're looking awfully pale. Your bloodsugar has to be down around your toenails. C'mon. Can't you smell the cinnamon? Kushina sent some of her cinnamon twists, which will go great with the tea Naruto brought." He guided her to the cabinet where several white styrofoam containers and a tall thermos were set out.
Truth be told, with the way her head throbbed and her stomach rolled, only the thought of tea appealed to Hinata. But she forced down one of the melt-in-your-mouth pastries and drank two cups of tea. Within half an hour, she and Sasuke exited the hospital into the breath-clogging, muggy heat of an August morning in Missouri. The main entrace faced east, making her slit her eyes nearly shut against the brilliant glare of the sun. She stifled a moan, not wanting him to know how much pain she was in. Settling into the buttery leather passenger seat of Sasuke's sleek sportscar, she nestled her head back onto the headrest and let her eyes fully close.
As if sensing her need for quiet, Sasuke didn't speak until he was helping her out of his car at her condo. "When do you need to be back at the ICU?" he asked then.
"Around two o'clock," Hinata replied.
"I'll pick you up about one thirty, then," he said. And when she started to protest, "No, I'll pick you up and take you. Please, let me do this for you, 'Nata."
At the top of the steps, once she'd unlocked the door, Sasuke put his arms around her and held her close for a long moment; not with any heat of passion, but with an infinite tenderness. He brushed his lips across her aching forehead, and whispered, "I love you, sweetheart. Get some rest."
"Love you, too, my darling Sasuke. You get some rest, too." She dropped a kiss on his somewhat prickly chin. They slowly pulled apart, Hinata's heart aching over the necessity of their parting, and she went inside after waving goodbye to Sasuke.
The first thing she did after slipping out of her lightweight sandals was to go to the kitchen and take a couple of over-the-counter migraine formula caplets; not in any real belief that they would head off the incipient misery already gripping her head, but in the hope they would take the edge off enough to get her through the rest of her day. Next she went to her room, where she cast a longing look at her bed, but forced herself to pass it by. If she dared to lie down on it, she feared she wouldn't be able to get back up again for anything.
A warm shower revived her a bit. After pulling on a clean pair of gauchos and a purple tee, she felt marginally human again. Once more resolutely turning her back on her bed, Hinata set the alarm on her cell, and went to lie down on the couch in the living room - a place where she figured she could get some rest without becoming so comfortable she died to the world. Cushioning her head on one throw pillow, she arranged another over her forehead and part of the way across her eyes, using one forearm to keep it in place, and rested her other hand, lightly clasping her cell, on her diaphragm. With a deep sigh, she allowed her heavy lids to sag shut. Breathing evenly, she focused on pushing aside, at least temporarily, the stabbing pains tormenting one side of her head, to put on hold her continuing anger and worry and grief over Neji's condition. Gradually the pills she'd taken did as much as they could; her tumultuous thoughts quieted; and she drifted into a light doze.
An indeterminate time later, the uncomfortable feeling of being watched penetrated her hazy, less than half conscious mind. Protesting fiercely, her eyes slitted open a crack to register an indistinct presence looming over her. Three things happened more or less simultaneously: Hinata uttered a short, gasping scream; her heartrate slammed into panic mode; and more by instinct than conscious decision, she hurled herself to her feet. Her head spun and throbbed viciously in response as the living room dipped and swayed around her. What-?! Who-?!
Two large hands settled on her shoulders, steadying her. Through the pounding in her ears, which felt stuffed with cotton, she heard a familiar voice say soothingly, "It's okay, Miss Hinata, you're safe. I'm sorry we startled you, but everything's all right."
"I-Ir-ruka?" she stammered. "Wh-what are you doing-" she suddenly registered the presence of her father, standing next to the couch and regarding her with a grim expression, "-what is he doing in my condo?"
Before the super could reply, Hiashi said in a cold, harsh tone, "Hinata! Cease these theatrics immediately. Iruka, you may go now."
Momentarily ignoring Hiashi, Hinata stepped away from Iruka and half-turned toward him. Feeling betrayed, she said, "You let him in? But why-?"
Iruka looked dismayed. "Your father said he was concerned about you and wanted to check to see if you were all right. Did I do wrong by letting him in, Miss Hinata?"
"Yes," she said more baldly than she would have otherwise, still badly rattled by the shock. She went on with all the steadiness she could muster, given the storm she sensed building behind her, "I don't blame you, Iruka; he can be - very convincing, and I never told you otherwise. But I'm telling you now: My father is not to be allowed into my condo unless specifically admitted by my sister or myself."
"Yes, ma'am." Iruka nodded once decisively. "Do you want me to stay now?"
"Thank you, but no. He won't hurt me." Well, not physically, anyway. Hinata had no doubt she was in for a full flaying from her father's barbed tongue. After a moment's hesitation, the super nodded again and left her alone with her parent. She took a deep breath, trying to fortify herself against what was to come, and turned to face a furious Hiashi.
She'd barely completed her turn when the storm broke. "Your behavior is absolutely beyond unacceptable, Hinata!" Rather than thundering, Hiashi's low voice slashed at her with ice-edged precision. "You just humiliated me in front of that man, on top of further disrespecting me by getting yourself engaged to that Uchiha whelp," he snatched up her left wrist, rotating it so the beautiful Cuamba garnets in her promise ring glowed like living embers, "without so much as a word to me, let alone a by-your-leave!"
Without consciously deciding to do so, Hinata twisted her wrist the way Tenten had taught her and pulled it free from her father's cruel grip. "Sasuke is not a 'whelp;' he's a good man, a gentle, considerate man. And we're not engaged," she murmured, looking down at the graceful infinity symbol. "It's a promise ring, not an engagement ring."
"Which amounts to the same thing," Hiashi shot back at her. "I should know: I gave your mother one." He glared at her, trying to beat her down with his ice-white gaze. "Not only have you ruined your reputation and your life by going off to New York with that Uchiha, you've had a reprehensible effect on Hanabi. If I'd known what a negative effect you were going to have on her, I would never have allowed your sister to move in with you. It is nothing short of appalling, the way you have influenced her in such a short time into outright rebellion against my intentions for her. I cannot begin to adequately express what an abysmal disappointment you are to me, and-"
Hinata's cell phone vibrated in her hand as it delicately chimed at the same time. Her head pulsing with a full-blown migraine, her stomach roiling, and her nerves quivering, she stared down at it for a moment, struggling to remember what to do with it.
"What is that annoying sound?" Hiashi, interrupted mid-tirade, snapped. "For heaven's sake, Hinata, turn it off!"
Oh. Right. Lifting the device, she deactivated the alarm. A random thought occurred to her and, without considering what a non sequitur it was, she blurted it out. "How did you even know I was home, Father? I thought you were in an important meeting."
"Hanabi told me, of course, when she called to leave a hysterical update about your cousin on my phone." He went back on the attack. "And what is that abomination on your ankle? Did you get that while in New York?"
"What?" Hinata stared blankly at him for a moment before glancing down at herself. Only then did she realize that, as she'd gotten accustomed to doing while on her and Sasuke's trip, she wore gauchos instead of one of her usual flowing, ankle-hiding skirts, leaving her tattoo fully exposed. An impulse to tuck her ankle behind her other leg died a swift death as with a distant, unreal-feeling calm, she replied, "You mean my tattoo? No, I actually got it several years ago, after Tenten and I first moved into the condo. Now if you'll excuse me, Father, I have to finish getting ready to go back to the hospital to relieve Tenten for a while. You can let yourself out."
Hiashi actually gaped at her for a moment, before sucking in a deep breath, his face going livid. "You think you can just brush me off, missy? I'm not even half done with the things I have to say to you, and you will listen to me while I'm talking to-"
The doorbell rang. Without a word to her father, Hinata went to answer it, wondering if Iruka had come back to see if she were all right. Instead of the building's super, though, when she opened the door she found Sasuke standing on the other side. His smile faded as his black gaze moved past her, obviously recognizing her father. His expression darkened slightly in response to heaven only knew what look he got from Hiashi.
"You-" she heard her father utter through clenched teeth, and decided she could comb her hair in the car; she'd already had more than she could take. Snatching up her purse as she jammed her feet into her comfortable wedged sandals, she said under her breath to Sasuke, "Let's get out of here." Catching his hand in hers, she urgently tugged him around and hurried him down the steps.
"Hinata?" he queried halfway to his car. "What's going on?"
She shook her head once, sharply, which proved to be a mistake. Dizziness assaulted her, and she nearly missed a step, only Sasuke's quick reflexes and firm grip saving her from a tumble. "Please, just get me out of here," she begged him in an undertone as he supported her down the remaining steps. At the bottom, she dimly registered Kakashi standing away from the front of her father's limo, a concerned expression on the visible half of his face. She managed only the barest of negative nods at him before allowing Sasuke to usher her into the passenger seat of his sports car. As her love went around to get in on the driver's side, she was dimly aware of Hiashi standing at the top of the steps glaring down at her, his face set in a look of cold, unforgiving fury.
She gasped and shuddered at the enormity of what she'd just done; but some shred of pride kept her from covering her face with her hands until they were well out of the parking lot. She'd just well and truly burned her bridges with her father; and even though she knew it was largely due to his unyielding and hostile attitude, she couldn't help but grieve over the brokenness of her family.
*~To Be Continued~*
Author's Ending Notes: I know a lot of you have been rooting for a reconciliation of sorts between Hinata and Hiashi, and this kind of just blew that. But I've known from the start of the story how all this was going to work out, and though I did briefly consider making it work, I decided against it. Though that didn't work out, I promise I'm going to try to make up for it in other ways through the rest of the story! On a lighter note, I love Mr. Nakamura. We don't see him much, but he's such a sweetie, and I enjoyed his little part in this chapter. I also enjoyed Sakura's appearance - I think of her working either in the maternity or children's wing, either one, and I thought I'd leave it up to you all to decide which one you like her to be working in. Now for the bad news: only 5 chapters left. I'm sorry! But I have a lot planned, and I really hope you'll like it. Thank you all so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I hope to see you all again for next week's update!