"Sakura, I… listen."
"Just stay quiet. I need to stay focused."
"…I'm sorry."
"Sorry? For what?"
"For everything"
"You go that right. Damn it! It's about time, you idiot!"
As Sakura sat beside the bed, she replayed their short conversation repeatedly in her mind. It was hard to imagine that he had even apologized. She was so used to him cutting her off or ignoring her feelings that his apology caught her entirely off guard. Even now, sitting beside the unconscious Sasuke in the hospital room, she wondered if she had dreamt that.
Naruto woke up two days ago, and although he still needed treatment, he was starting to heal well. Keeping him in bed for any length of time was the hardest part. He was sure he could just start back to his daily life, even without his dominant hand. Since he had woken up, Sakura had spent every spare minute she could waiting by Sasuke's side. The only time she left was when she needed to see to other patients. In truth, she was doing that even before Naruto woke up, but now her hope was renewed again. She had even refused to return home for the past two days. She slept in the chair and made use of the hospital's showers instead. She just couldn't leave him.
The Leaf Police Force had insisted that Sasuke be restrained in case he woke up and decided to go on a rampage. After two hours of arguing, Sakura had managed to convince them that since she needed to treat him, he couldn't be placed in a strait jacket. Finally, both sides agreed to two bands being secured around him, one over his shoulders, and one over his knees. Just seeing it made Sakura's blood boil, but she couldn't deny that she was curious how he would react when he woke up.
Getting up, she checked his vitals again. Unsurprisingly, they were no different than they were when she checked five minutes ago. With a sigh, she had to admit that she was being irrational, but idea of any change that would signal Sasuke waking up was just too big of a draw for her to sit patiently.
The door to the room slid open, and she looked up to see Kakashi enter. He looked tired as he came toward the bed. "So, you're still here, then?"
Sakura just looked down at Sasuke, not needing to answer the obvious statement. She knew it wasn't meant as a judgment on her. Kakashi was just as worried, although he never let it show beneath his mask. Her eyes roamed over Sasuke's face, looking for any sign that he was going to wake, but she was just met with his peaceful, sleeping face.
Kakashi lifted his left hand to show that he had brought some food for her. "You need to take care of yourself, Sakura. He'll need you to be alert and ready for when he wakes. We still don't know what kind of damage was done to his eyes in the long run. Shouldn't you head home? I can stay with him for a while."
"No, I need to stay. If I leave now, I'll do nothing but worry and wonder how he's doing… I've actually checked his vitals five times in the past hour," she admitted with a sheepish face.
Kakashi sighed, "Well, I know better than to try to argue with you or forcefully make you leave. Just don't overdo it. I'm sure everyone will notify you right away if he wakes up." Kakashi walked around the bed and put a hand on her shoulder. He looked at her with a fatherly tenderness before lowering his arm again.
"While I'm here, I'll entertain Naruto for a little while. I hear he's been trying to bounce off the walls," he said with a laugh, as he turned to leave the room again.
"Thank you, Kakashi Sensei." Sakura didn't look up as he left, but her eyes had fallen on the man she loved once more. Just as she was deciding she really should eat the food while it was fresh, a noise made her freeze. Looking over at the bed, she saw Sasuke's once peaceful face contorted in pain. The heart rate monitor beeped frantically, and Sasuke began to struggle against the restraints that held him down.
Rushing to his side, Sakura tried to wake him by shaking him as much as she could with him being tied down. Whatever nightmare he was facing seemed to be pretty intense. "Sasuke! Sasuke, wake up! You're fine! You're safe!" She yelled at him for a few minutes before giving up on that tactic. Instead, she gathered chakra in her hands and put her fingertips to his temples. Slowly, his heart rate declined once more to a normal rhythm, and his body relaxed into the mattress again. Sakura lowered her hands and closed her eyes, sighing in relief.
Deciding to forgo her lunch after all, she curled up in the chair by the bed and laid her head on the mattress by Sasuke's right arm. She needed sleep more than food right now.
When Sakura woke up, she groaned at the stiffness of her neck. She really did miss sleeping in a proper bed. Running her fingers through her hair, she got up to Sasuke's vitals again. However, she was not expecting to see two eyes, black and purple, staring straight at her with slight confusion. Sasuke was awake.