Megumi sighed as she untied her hair. Another fight, more injuries. Kenshin was resting comfortably with Kaoru watching over him and she had just finished checking on Yahiko when her keen ears picked up on a low groan coming from down the hallway of the dojo. Sanosuke. She had been relieved when he had appeared to help though her relief had quickly turned to anxiousness when the fighting had started.

She had only been here to visit for a few days. See Kaoru, check on Kenshin and Yahiko and of course Dr Gensai and his little granddaughters. The visit had been fantastic. She had gotten to see Tsubame and Tae down at the Akebeko with Kaoru and had a wonderful girls day. She had spent time with Suzume and Ayame while Kenshin did the chores and Kaoru taught her lessons. She had spent time cooking with Kenshin and even took some time to talk to Yahiko about science, offering to send him books she had in her office if he was interested.

Everything was going wonderfully, until it wasn't. She doesn't even know who the guy was or what his problem was but he had started his assault on the dojo mid afternoon. She had run outside when the girls screamed. They weren't hurt thanks to Kenshin and Yahiko. She had quickly moved the girls to where it was safe and stood guard in front of them as the battle began.

Yahiko and Kaoru had done their best to help, getting injured in the process. Megumi watched on in fear for her friends. Kenshin was angry, trying to get the fight away from them all. It wasn't long after the other two had gone down that a loud crash had surrounded the dojo and Megumi turned in time to see debris flying in her direction. Her hands came up to defend her face and chest but nothing hit her.

She had opened her eyes to find Sanosuke in front of her. He had deflected the debris preventing herself and Ayame and Suzune from getting hurt.

"Sanosuke?"

"Looks like I got back just in time, you okay Fox?" She could only nod and watch as he jumped into the fray.

She blinked away the fog of memories from a few hours ago as she walked towards the room she had put him in earlier. They had gotten hurt. Just like they always do. Megumi couldn't help the bubble of anxiety in her chest. She should be used to it by now. Bandaging their various injuries, fixing their small scrapes. Although the latter came much less often now that Sanosuke had left town and she had settled in Aizu.

She quietly slid open the shoji to reveal the rooster head himself. He was asleep still. She sighed with relief thank goodness. His body needed the time to heal. He his right arm and shoulder were bandaged along with his ribs. She crossed the room and knelt beside him, checking his forehead for a fever. She smiled when he felt normal, gently moving his hair out of his eyes and caressing his cheek.

"You silly rooster head, getting yourself hurt again. So reckless." She closed her eyes and took a moment to breathe. She opened her eyes and met a pair of deep amber watching her. "You're awake."

He tried to smile though it turned out to be more of a grimace. "Hey Fox." He rasped.

"Do you need some water?" she reached over to where she had kept some water in case he woke and filled a cup before holding it to his lips. He sipped slowly before thanking her. "How do you feel?"

"I'm fine Fox. Shouldn't you be looking after Kenshin or patching up the missy or Yahiko?"

"Everybody has been taken care of. Yahiko is sleeping soundly and Kaoru is watching over Kenshin."

"And what about you?"

She frowned. "What about me?"

"You got hurt too." He nodded to her bandaged arm.

She pulled her sleeve down. "It's nothing. Just a few scratches."

He seemed to take a moment to decide whether her answer was correct before he reached out for her bandaged hand. She watched him silently and kept completely still. He gently took hold of her hand, running his thumb over the bandages. "Could've been worse."

Her heart leapt into her throat at his gentle touch. "Would've been had you not been stupid enough to step in front of me." He frowned and opened his mouth to argue or grouch, she wasn't sure which, when she placed her good hand gently over his mouth. "Thank you."

His body went lax beneath her hand. She smiled softly at him before leaning down and placing a light peck to his cheek. When she pulled back and released his mouth she noticed a small smirk on his face which pulled down to a frown.

She cocked her head. "What's wrong? Are you in pain?"

"When's the last time you slept fox?"

She shrugged. "Everyone needed tending to."

He sighed. "And now we're fine. You need to rest Doc."

"I'm fine, I'll rest later."

She tried to pull away until she felt his hand tighten around hers. "No Megumi, rest."

She sighed. He had used her name. "Maybe, maybe I could stay here then, just for a little while, since you clearly need to be monitored."

He grinned at her. "Psh, yeah sure."

She rolled her eyes. "Shut it Rooster head you should be resting." She shifted behind him, lifting his head and placing it in her lap. "Now rest."

When he didn't respond she knew she had won. Slowly she placed her good hand in his hair, running her fingers through it to help him relax whilst her bandaged on remained securely held in his. He was asleep in minutes. She was asleep not long after.

When Sanosuke woke a few hours later he noticed two things straight away. First thing was that she hadn't moved. The second was that she had fallen asleep sitting up. Careful and mindful of his injuries he sat up. Gently he laid her down on his futon before standing to stretch and heading outside to check on the others.

He was outside, the shoji cracked open, when she woke. He heard he gasp of shock and turned to see her shoot upright. Her eyes darted over the empty room before she shot to her feet and turned to the doorway, freezing when she noticed he was watching her.

He smirked. "Lose something Fox?"

Her eyes narrowed as she blew out a breath. "Only the most infuriating patient I have ever had the displeasure of treating. I thought I told you to rest."

"You know I could swear I said the same thing to you."

"You're not a doctor."

He shrugged. "Don't need to be."

"I should check on everyone."

"They're fine, sit down Doc."

She resigned herself to sitting next to him. Though she couldn't help but check his injuries. He sat patiently while she pulled aside his haori, checked his bandages, bruises. Finally she checked his temperature.

"Well?" he asked quietly.

"You'll live."

He nodded. "Looks like you can get some rest then."

"I did get some rest."

"Silly Fox, think I can't see the bags under your eyes?" She looked out to the yard, watching the wind ruffle the leaves on the trees, trying to hide her uneasiness. She felt his arm move around her and didn't fight it when he pulled her closer until she rested against him. "Everyone's fine."

She sighed. "Kaoru's lucky her wrist isn't broken, Yahiko is going to need a few weeks for the cut on his leg to heal properly, Kenshin's going to have new scars to add to his many and you, you almost completely destroyed your right hand and shoulder, not to mention your ribs. You almost got yourself killed."

"Well I couldn't let them flatten or slice and dice our resident doctor now could I?"

"How is your pain?"

"It's fine. Nothing I haven't put up with before."

"You know, you're going to need time to heal before you go taking off again."

"Yeah."

"You'll need to get checked regularly. To make sure you're healing properly."

"Geez, why don't I just go back to Aizu with you? That way you can lord over me and make sure I'm healing right."

She ignored the pink in her cheeks. "Well, if you insist and follow me it's not like I can turn away a patient. It's my duty as a doctor after all."

Sanosuke chuckled. "Whatever you say Fox."

She pulled back slightly and looked into his eyes. Smiling softly she pecked him on the lips before settling back against him. "So you'll stay?"

"Yeah." He tightened his hold on her and settled in for the afternoon.