Bedside Manner

A/N: I know, I know, this is John the priest I'm talking about, but please bear with me, and if you can't you can always look at it from a friendship perspective. Beware though: short, sweet, and fluffy.

The orange light of the afternoon sun began to grow dim and John found himself glancing at Masako for what must have been the tenth time that minute. He had to admit, in that that quick ambulance ride to the hospital, he had felt a bit overwhelmed and worried. She had been so pale and he been left alone with her. He did what was instinctive to him, he prayed. He found himself calmer after that, or at least calm enough to endure the nurses' giggles, fawnings, and assumptions that he was Masako's devoted boyfriend come to stay by her side. John glanced at her again despite himself. She looked so peaceful, her hair spilled out about her head like an inky black sea.

John stared at the monitors, he had only rang for the nurse once in the last two hours and that was because of the machines they had her hooked up to. They made him nervous, he heard every change of beep in the silence; saw every number rise and fall, what was normal? Fortunately the nurse was happy to put him at ease, letting him know that the machines would alert her if anything were to go wrong, and she was just down the hall. So John had sat down beside Masako again, determined not to be so anxious.

He had been here a while now, it seemed so strange, every time the nurse popped her head in, he would be just sitting there. It felt like he should be doing something- talking to her- reading to her- holding her hand- something. John let his eyes travel to where her hand laid, perhaps he should hold her hand? What was the harm? Hesitantly he reached for it. Her skin was cool to the touch.

John frowned, that was the thing about hospitals, they were always so cold. Carefully he let go of her hand again and crossed the room to a small closet. He would cover her with his coat, but there- something white caught his eye. At the bottom of the closet a few blankets laid piled up. John smiled to himself and pulled one out. Crossing back to her bedside, he gently placed the blanket over her. She didn't stir. John sat back down and less hesitantly he took her hand again. John gazed at her face. Pushed down the stairs. By what, or who? This case troubled him, he worried that there would be more accidents. All in all, he would pray for safety.

Then his thoughts subsided and the beeping and ticking in the room consumed him once more. John could only take so much of it, the noises sounded so sterile, so alien, he had to drown them out again, but he found himself too tired to think. Suddenly an idea struck him. In a tone soft and rich, he began to hum. The hymn happened to be one of his favorites, one that comforted him almost always. It worked like a charm; the room was filled with his music. Just then the nurse popped in again, smiling warmly upon hearing John. John stumbled on his notes, startled by her sudden appearance. She winked good naturedly at him, then closed the door. John took a moment to compose himself, then continued. Masako smiled lightly in her sleep. Her hand in his felt warmer and John grasped it tighter.

And that was how he spent the next hour, humming and holding her hand. It felt much better than just sitting there. But then it happened. It was slight, but he was sure he felt it, one of her fingers moved. John paused his humming to watch her more closely. There, the corner of her lips twitched. Slowly her eye lids began to lift, her head tilting as she came to. Masako blinked blurrily up at John, she seemed to be having trouble recognizing him- then a small smile.

"John," she said softly.

John, realizing that he had been holding his breath, waiting for the moment when she remembered him, let out a pleased sigh and smiled,

"Hello, Masako."

Masako then noticed the beeping of her monitors and took in the bed she was lying in,

"What happened, where am I?"

"You had an accident. You're okay, but just to be safe, the doctor is keeping you overnight," John explained carefully.

Watching her expression change in and out of worry and surprise, his thumb subconsciously stroked the back of her hand. Then something dawned on her,

"Where's Naru?" she asked attempting to sit up, "Can I see him?"

John then felt something foreign, something like a sting that came after her words. The next moment it was gone. He smiled sympathetically at her,

"I'm sorry, he had to stay behind, so he sent me instead."

Masako relaxed back against her pillow again. She made no move to hide her disappointment. Slowly her eyes traveled down to the hand John held, it was alive with warmth. She flexed her left hand, it was stiff with cold. John had followed her gaze and was now caught in a moment of indecision, should he release it? The dripping faucet in the silence gave him the perfect way out,

"Here, you must be thirsty." Slowly he let go of her hand.

"Yes, thank you," Masako replied, her hand already cold.

John filled her glass and returned to her side. Before he could think twice, he slipped his hand into hers again. Delicately, Masako took the glass in her left hand, her eyes sparkling at him gratefully,

"Thank you very much," she murmured. John smiled at her in the bright way he always did, "Not a problem."

"Oh, you're awake."

Pulled from each other's gazes, John and Masako looked up to see the nurse standing there. She wandered in, checking the monitors,

"Quite the boyfriend you have there, hasn't left your side, been humming to you for hours. I think he's a keeper," she announced knowingly.

John tinted a shade of pink, his hand retreating from Masako's, he had went too far...but to his great surprise, she wouldn't let go, she only squeezed tighter, glancing at him with a warm smile.

"Well everything checks out fine, I'll leave you two love birds and I'll be back in a bit," and with that she whisked out of the room.

Just then John's cell phone rang. The two of them jumped, Masako's heart-rate monitor shooting up in numbers, causing a moment of panic in John,

"Hello?" he answered breathlessly, watching the numbers go back down so he could relax again. Mai greeted him on the other end of the line,

"Hey, John- just checking in, is Masako awake yet?"

John looked down at her, she looked up at him inquiringly, "Yes, and doing fine."

"Great, well I got to go, Naru wants me to help him and Lin with something, but I'll call again later, okay?"

"Okay, thanks Mai." John hung up. Just then his stomach growled. He shared a light laugh with Masako,

"I guess I'm hungry, can I get you anything?"

She smiled and shook her head, "No, you go ahead and eat; I'll just rest up here."

John nodded and made to let go of her hand, but not without one last squeeze, though he didn't know quite why. One thing was for sure though, something had changed between them, and there was no going back, for better or worse.

Masako watched John close the door. She shut her eyes and let sleep over come her, in her last moments of consciousness a soft humming floated through her head, her hand tingled with warmth, a smile graced her lips.