Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN THE GETBACKERS OKAY? If I did, I would (1. Publish this in a manga rather than on a fan fiction website, and (2. Not be such a disappointment to my mother by writing fan fiction all day instead of going out and getting a real job.

Warnings: Light shounen ai...maybe a few mild swear words I'm sure you can find in Disney movies these days.

Author's notes: Welp I've wanted to see a story like this for a long time...pretty much since I saw this episode for the first time. But I couldn't find any that were written already, so I begrudgingly accepted that I'd have to write it myself. Then I got lazy and abandoned it, and a year passed before I finally got around to finishing it. So now I'm hoping someone else HASN'T written one like this during that time. Oh, what a cruel and ironic fate that would be.

Aaanyway, I'm pretty sure that other Ban x Ginji fans are thinking the same thing I am with this episode. We know Ban panicked when Ginji fell off the roof. And I figured that Ban's argument with Shido was just his way of releasing the stress that had built up in him over that night and was a good way to take his mind off of it.

Ban's curses against God alternating with pleas for His divine mercy sounded like a bizarre religious chant as they echoed off the stairwell walls; his heavy footsteps added a jerking percussion as he stampeded down the concrete steps, recklessly jumping down groups of two or three in his haste. How the hell could Ginji be so capable of getting himself into so much trouble in the blink of an eye? One second he had been complaining about his empty stomach and the next he was sprawled out on the pavement ten stories below like a limp and twisted ragdoll. The shock of seeing his partner like that had short-circuited Ban's brain, briefly making him believe that jumping off the building after him would be the best course of action so that he could tend to him faster. Luckily he had come to his senses before he had reached the edge of the roof, and had made a mad dash for the stairs instead.

"Ginji!" he screamed, bursting out onto the sidewalk and running around the perimeter of the building until he found the crumpled body lying in a back alley. The area was dark and secluded, and he was horrified that nobody else was around to already be offering Ginji some help. At least there wasn't nearly the amount of blood loss he had anticipated. He skidded to a halt and knelt down beside Ginji's eerily still form to check his vitals. The cold rush of relief spread through him once he detected the weak but steady breath and pulse. He hadn't even realized he had been holding his own breath until he sucked a ragged rush of air into his aching lungs, feeling a new surge of determination now that he knew all wasn't lost. He stood up and began shouting for help without taking his eyes off of Ginji. Although he could hear the bustle of a normal busy night on the other side of the hedge, nobody was near enough to hear his frantic pleas.

"Damnit!"

"B…Baa…?" a quiet, childlike voice stopped him, brought him back to see that Ginji was beginning to stir.

Ginji attempted to look up at Ban through the thin slits of his eyelids, but even the dim light coming from the surrounding buildings was enough to send a searing jolt of pain through his forehead. His eyes looked unfocused and lifeless, but still gleamed from the tears of pain that welled up.

"Shut up Ginji!" Ban hissed more harshly than he intended. "Don't move. Don't even try to talk." He dropped to his knees by his partner's side and took off his own shirt to press against the wound on Ginji's head. Ginji obeyed and kept still, although he couldn't help but groan as Ban applied pressure to the bleeding.

"I'm calling for an ambulance now, okay?" Ban used all of his willpower to keep his voice cool and collected for Ginji's sake, although his hands shook as he reached for his phone. "You'll be fine. Just hang in there. Try to stay awake!" he urged as he was connected to a dispatcher and quickly got an ambulance sent their way. Even in the short time it took to make the call, he noticed that Ginji was having an increasingly difficult time keeping his eyes open.

"Ah, Ban…I'm sleepy," Ginji wheezed and his eyes fluttered shut against his will.

"No, Ginji! Don't go to sleep! What if you have a concussion? You can't let yourself lose consciousness!" he shouted, grabbing onto Ginji's shoulders but managed to hold himself back from shaking him. Why wasn't the ambulance here yet? He felt a pain in his own chest as he looked down upon Ginji lying helplessly on the sidewalk, not even able take him into his arms to make him more comfortable.

"Please…please don't let something as simple and as stupid as this take him from me…" he prayed, obsessively checking Ginji's vitals every few seconds.

The paramedics arrived not three minutes later and Ban nearly lost the delicate grip on his sanity when one of them pushed past him with a first aid kit. God, how he hated feeling helpless and in the way.

"It's going to be alright, he's only passed out," the woman assessing Ginji's condition assured him, noticing how Ban was wringing his hands so hard he drew blood. She and her fellow paramedics prepared to transfer Ginji to a stretcher; in the meantime since the ambulance had arrived, a group of bystanders had gathered around the commotion to try and get a good look at what was going on. Where had they all been when Ban was shouting for help five minutes ago? He wished he could just tell them all to go blow themselves.

"Are you going to ride with him?" the woman asked once Ginji was secured in the back of the vehicle.

Ban only had a split second to debate it. He knew he should ride with Ginji, but…

"No, I'll follow right behind you in my car, okay?"

He immediately turned to run and find Miss Ladybug. He was sure Ginji would understand, and it's not like they needed a parking ticket on top of everything else.

Ban's hand trembled as he tried to get his key into the ignition; he cursed loudly when it fell from his hand and bounced onto the floor. He knew he needed to get a hold of himself before he would be any good to drive. He took a deep breath and steadied himself before fishing for the key. Despite the delay, he still managed to trail right behind the ambulance all the way to the hospital until they reached the parking lot, where he went off to find a spot in the visitors section while Ginji was being unloaded and taken into the emergency room.

He found an empty space suitably close to the entrance and turned off the engine, but didn't make a move to get out. He sat quietly for a moment, gripping the steering wheel almost tight enough to break it. He released a few shaky breaths as he tried to ground himself before taking the next step. He wouldn't be able to see Ginji for awhile, would he? So there was no need to rush himself at this point. In fact it would be better for him to take some time before going inside, otherwise he might smack someone once he found himself surrounded by other people in similar situations who thought that their injured loved one was more important than Ginji.

Now that he thought about it, they had been on a recovery mission, hadn't they? He figured he should call Hevn to tell her there would be a delay. Anything to help settle his nerves, he thought, and reached for his phone.

.:.

Ban was irritable. He sat in the waiting room at three in the morning, watching the hands on the clock tick forward one second at a time. Stupid Ginji, making him worry over almost nothing. All of that trouble and not a single life-threatening injury came of it! And not only that, but since they weren't blood-related Ban wouldn't be able to go in and see him until visiting hours! What kind of a ridiculous rule was that?!

Ban cracked his knuckles one by one as he contemplated.

It would have been easy enough to sneak into Ginji's room if it weren't for that uptight nurse manning the nurse's station nearby. What was the deal, anyway? Ban was the closest thing to family Ginji had. What if he woke up in the middle of the night all alone? Didn't they consider the possibility that he might actually want Ban in there with him?

His eyes shifted back and forth as he tried to determine a way to sneak in unnoticed. Visitors weren't allowed in for another ten hours. He had already been sitting there since midnight, doing nothing and wasting time.

"Oi!" he called out to the nurse.

She shushed him even though the only other person there besides the two of them was an old hobo who was dead asleep in the row of chairs on the opposite side of the room.

"If he's going to be in the same condition in the morning, why do I have to wait until then to see him? Huh?!" He made no attempt to lower the volume of his voice; if anything, he made an effort to raise it in contempt.

"It's hospital rules, sir."

"That doesn't explain anything!" Ban threw his arms up in the air, chomping down on the soggy end of his unlit cigarette—which was also the bane of the nurse's existence.

"I'm afraid you can't see him until visiting hours begin unless you are his immediate family," she repeated the unhelpful line for the umpteenth time before going back to her paperwork and ignoring Ban.

He growled and shifted in his seat to face away from her.

There had to be some way that he, of all people, could get in there. There was no way he'd be defeated by some bitchy night shift nurse. There was always the Jagan, of course, but he knew that would be a waste to use on someone like her. All he needed to do was figure out how to outsmart her, that's all. Perhaps provide a distraction, just long enough for him to sneak past the secured doors unnoticed. Perhaps the temptation of an abandoned box of doughnuts—no, it was the police who loved doughnuts, wasn't it? Well, there was no reason why nurses wouldn't love doughnuts too, right? He discreetly peered back at her for a moment. No…she seems like the type who would be concerned about watching her figure. But in order to work such a demanding shift at this unholy time of night, one would need to drink massive amounts of coffee or some other likewise beverage, wouldn't they? Perhaps…an errant laxative that just happened to land in her drink? Or he could just wait for nature to take its course, although he figured she'd call for backup while she was away from her desk, which flushed that idea down the drain, appropriately enough.

He shifted again and made his discomfort obvious. He had even hoped that he'd been plotting for so long that the ten hours had just passed by without him realizing it, but alas, only three short minutes had elapsed.

He needed to begin thinking outside of the box—or outside of the building, rather. If he could just pinpoint which room was Ginji's it's not like it would be that hard to scale the outside wall, break in, and voila, he could be by Ginji's side in a matter of minutes. Assuming that he didn't fall and end up in the same situation as Ginji, that is.

He sighed and massaged his temples. At this rate it would be easier, faster, and more legal if he just waited until visiting hours. But he refused to admit defeat. He wasn't doing this just to be troublesome. He was doing this for Ginji, who was probably awake and scared by the unfamiliar surroundings and wondering why Ban had forsaken him by not being in there by his side in his time of need.

He realized he was still wearing the shirt he had used to stop Ginji's bleeding. He should go wash it out before the stains set in, and a little change of scenery would be good for him. Anything was better than being stuck in a room with that damned nurse any longer.

He meandered through the corridors and went into the first restroom he came across. The fluorescent lights flickered and hummed as he pumped the thick, pseudo-floral scented pink soap onto the dried blood and rubbed the fabric against itself to help remove the stain. It was easy enough to get out, which helped him to feel that he had at least accomplished something. He held it under the hand dryer mounted on the wall until it was good as new and slipped it back on. He caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror and for the first time saw how haggard he looked. Hopefully it was just a trick of the bad lighting, he thought, and went back to the sinks to splash some cold water onto his face. What he really needed was sleep, but how could he let himself rest? On the other hand, Ginji was going to be alright now, so there was no need to be distraught anymore.

He heaved a sigh and decided to just go back to the waiting room to see how else he could waste the precious hours of his life.

He approached the entrance to the area and peered around casually. Nope, nothing had changed in the 10 minutes he had been gone.

But he did notice something that had escaped his sharp eye until now: a very tall stack of files that were perched precariously on the ledge of the station, and a mop and bucket that had carelessly been abandoned a few feet away from it, leaning against the wall just by the nurse's station.

He looked at the mop.

He looked at the ridiculously tall stack of files.

He looked back at the mop.

The wheels in his head began to turn.

He looked back at the stack of files.

"So simple, and yet so…so beautifully brilliant." Little tears of joy welled up to the brim of his eyes.

He backed up into the hallway to lean against said wall and peeked around the corner. There she was! With her back turned and everything. He loved it when things just fell into his lap like this. But he would have to consider this carefully. Just because everything seemed to have set itself up perfectly for him didn't mean he should jump right into it. He needed a clear plan as to how to execute this. He couldn't risk her turning around so quickly that she caught him holding the mop. It needed to appear to be an accident.

His eyes shifted back and forth as he contemplated.

He looked back at the nurse who was still turned away from him.

He gazed over at the hobo who was still snoring on the far side of the room.

He briefly wondered if the fumes from all the sanitizers in the air had gotten to his brain.

He looked around for any security cameras.

He smirked as he concluded that the coast was clear and he crouched down so that not even the tips of his spikes could be detected from the other side of the desk.

He grabbed the mop and silently waddled over towards the general area where the files were sitting, doing all he could to keep from humming the Mission Impossible theme. No doubt he would have looked like an escapee from the mental health ward to any passersby, but luckily for Ban, there were no passersby.

He slowly lifted the handle of the mop up just enough so he could encourage the tall stack to give in to gravity in the right direction. He couldn't help but grin as he ever so lightly pushed the handle forward...

The wonderful sound of dozens of folders and papers falling over and scattering all over the floor warmed Ban's heart. He quickly but carefully set down the mop once he heard the nurse gasp and the squeak of her chair as she turned to see what had happened. She wasn't shy about letting a few curses slip out when she got up to begin the tedious task of picking up and reorganizing the files. Ban clucked his tongue—such harsh language, he thought. How uncouth.

He mentally cackled like a madman as he crawled around the side of the desk towards the corridor that held Ginji's room. He stayed low until he was certain that he couldn't possibly be detected by anyone, then he stood up and brushed himself off with smug satisfaction.

But then he found Ginji's door and suddenly remembered why, exactly, he had even bothered with such troublesome things.

He peeked through the tiny window into the room. It was dark, but he saw that Ginji lay sound asleep in the bed despite all his worrying that he had been awake.

He slid the door open and entered the room as silently as he could, stopping to stand at the edge of the bed for a moment before taking the seat next to it. His imagination had been one thing, and as wild as it was sometimes, it didn't even compare to the feeling he got when he saw Ginji's bruised and bandaged body in person. Ban's face contorted as if it couldn't decide whether it wanted to smile or cry in relief. He bent over Ginji's sleeping form and hovered above his face for a moment, nearly giving in to an urge that was always ebbing within him. Would it be okay to take advantage of the situation like this? On second thought he moved away and simply touched his fingers to his lips, pressing the secondhand kiss to Ginji's uninjured cheek.

"You're such an idiot sometimes, you know that?" he whispered too quietly for his voice to awaken him. "…You frightened me. Don't do it again, okay? What would I do without you?"

He gently took Ginji's hand in his and rested his head on the bed beside him. It was as if his body had only just realized how tired it was. Or perhaps seeing Ginji in person reassured him enough that it was really alright for him to relax. Whatever the reason, the next time he opened his eyes, the faint golden light of dawn was coming in through the window.

He jerked his head up quickly and looked around. It was still just the two of them. Thank god, he thought and grasped at his palpitating heart. But now that it was morning, it was likely that a nurse would come in any minute to check on the patient. It was time for Ban to be on his way.

He patted Ginji's hand before standing up. "I won't go far. I'll be back in just a few hours," he promised, mostly as a comfort to himself, considering that Ginji was still in a deep sleep.

Luckily for him it was much easier sneaking back into the waiting area than his previous adventure had been and he followed the hobo's example and set himself up for a few more winks before visiting hours began.

.:.

"Sorry for worrying you, Ban-chan," Ginji whined as soon as Ban casually strode in once legal visiting hours began.

"Psh! Nah, I wasn't worried. Pissed off is more like it. You're so much trouble!" he griped as he went to take the seat next to Ginji's bed once again. He was glad to see Ginji acting more like his old self already. He suppressed a little smile as he settled in to keep his best buddy company…