All you need is love (Love Triangle)

Chapter 14

Kaori spent the afternoon preparing paperwork for Tsunade's review at Shizune's request, including current personnel, staff openings, training, budget, and equipment requests. She had a suspicion that Shizune would be the one reviewing the stack of reports rather than her aunt who seemed more likely to sit in front of a slot machine all day than behind a desk. Whyelse would she wear a robe advertising gambling on the back?

Despite procrastinating as much as she could to avoid the inevitable, it was time for her afternoon rounds and to check out Kakashi. 'I will not be upset. He is just another patient. After this, things will go back to being like they were. Back to my boring so called life. But I was fine with that,' Kaori insisted to herself. She made him her last stop.

Kakashi was sitting up in bed reading the Icha Icha book. The newspapers were barely touched. He looked up lazily as she approached.

"Do you think you're ready to go home today? You really should stay overnight," Kaori suggested hopefully.

Instead of answering he asked, "You're the one who's been taking care of me all this time?"

"Well," she blushed, "there's several of us and we take shifts, but I'm the primary caretaker on record." Although there were two or three other nurses on duty during the time Kaori was off, they worked the night and graveyard shifts and were not required to check the status of comatose patients. Not that Kaori would allow them anyway.

He held up the book. "You read this to me?"

She turned several shades darker. "I...er...read both series to you. I heard they're your favorite and...um...they seem to be the only books that you respond to... based on your brainwave pattern. They say reading to comatose patients can help in their recovery. I...um... wouldn't normally read something like that...but I have to admit I can see why they're so popular..." Kaori rambled on, too embarrassed to look at him as she checked his blood pressure and temperature (using an ear thermometer because Kaori could not trust herself to use an oral or anal one, though they were more accurate). "I wish I could heal people like Tsunade-sama. Why would someone with such great power abandon her village? How can anyone be so irresponsible? If I had her power, I would use it to heal people 24/7, and for free if they couldn't pay. But I'm so pathetic, couldn't make genin after graduation, can barely mold or channel chakra. Just a nurse..."

"There're things just as important as medical jutsu. I'm sure your pleasant bedside manner had a healing effect." It seemed he smiled at her from under his mask.

That was it. There was no way she could let him walk out of her life. Kaori summoned all the courage she could muster and looked at him directly. "I know you'll be leaving now, but if you need anything, anything at all, you can count on me...I mean, that is, if you need someone to help you out...It'll be a while until you're fully recovered. I can run errands for you or help with chores...or if you just need someone to talk to...a friend, you know..." Thatwas all she could say before her courage ran out.

Kakashi said nothing for a minute and looked at the pretty nurse appraisingly. He was no fool when it came to reading people. It was obvious she had developed feelings for him. Not uncommon among patients and medical professionals. And it was likely she had seen him without his mask. He sighed - that always happened. That's why he put in his medical records not to remove his mask - complications like this always came up.

"Thank you for the kind offer," he said evasively. Sometimes when a woman threw herself at him, he would go along. But it depended on the woman. He tried to avoid the serious ones. Kaori looked like the serious type. Not the type to just have a little fun, but the type who would be heartbroken when she realized he wasn't the type to commit.