When they arrived in his room, Juushiro was coughing violently. A nurse monitored his vitals, but mostly she looked on helplessly as he doubled over. Blood slipped from the fingers covering his mouth and his tall frame shook with the force of the coughs. Chase and Foreman rushed to either side of the bed and held Juushiro's shoulders, supporting him as the coughs continued. Cameron hurried to close the door, ignoring Dr. Unohana rushing down the hall towards the room.

Juushiro's coughs subsided somewhat and he was able to open his eyes halfway. He struggled for breath as Chase and Foreman helped him lean back onto the pillows. Through half-lidded eyes, Juushiro saw Dr. Unohana standing on the other side of the glass. Next to her stood a very familiar person. His shabby brown hat was clutched tightly in one tan hand, the other hand buried in a pocket. Long, unruly brown hair was pulled away from his face, though a few strands had escaped. Juushiro's brown eyes met the stormy gray ones. In those familiar eyes, Juushiro saw pain and longing. He looked away before Shunsui could see those same emotions in his face.

Cameron offered him a glass of water tentatively. Juushiro took it with a small smile of thanks and drank slowly. Once he thought he could speak without triggering another attack, he said; "I'm sorry you all got dragged in here."

"It's our job," Cameron assured him.

With a slight hesitation, Chase cut in, "We have a diagnosis for your relapse." Juushiro turned his attention to the Australian doctor, open face already accepting whatever prognosis was coming. "We think you have multi-drug resistant TB."

"What does that mean?" Juushiro asked.

"It's defined as a strain of tuberculosis that isn't cured by the first-line medications," Foreman explained, "To treat it, we need to do a sensitivity test. Then we can choose which medications will help you."

"The process is long, and it's not a guarantee of being cured," Cameron warned, "But if you decide to do this, we need to start right away."

Juushiro said nothing for a moment, considering. "How long do I have, if I don't take any medication?" he asked.

Chase looked at Foreman and Cameron for a moment before answering. "It's hard to say exactly. But probably not very long."

Juushiro nodded slowly. "Can I think about it for a bit?"

"Of course," Cameron said, before either of the other doctors could object.

"Thank you."

The three doctors departed, reluctantly on Cameron's part. They stopped to confer with Unohana. Shunsui swept past the group of doctors, opening the sliding glass door and slipping inside the room. Juushiro watched him coolly, boxing up all the things he wished he could ask of Shunsui and stuffing them into a neglected corner of his heart.

"So are you going to live?" Shunsui asked, rather callously. Juushiro knew it was his way of dealing with the anxiety he always felt when Juushiro was sick.

"Maybe. If I choose to take the long course of drugs they say might cure me." Juushiro answered tiredly.

"Why wouldn't you?"

Juushiro didn't answer, but countered with a question of his own. "Why did you come?"

Shunsui sighed and sat down wearily in the chair nearest Juushiro's bed. "I couldn't not come. It wouldn't have been right."

It was Juushiro's turn to sigh. "Yet you said you didn't want to see me."

"I..." Shunsui hesitated. "I didn't."

"But now that I'm sick again, you do?" Juushiro let a little of the anger that had flared at that statement into his voice.

"That has nothing to do with this," Shunsui countered tiredly.

"Doesn't it?" Juushiro asked, irritated. "Almost as soon as I was cured, you walked away-"

"Because you deserve better than me," Shunsui cut him off forcefully, "I finally saw that, when I saw you unencumbered by disease."

Juushiro was silent for a long moment, watching the other man sadly. "That's not fair," he finally whispered.

"I was trying to make it fair," Shunsui defended himself.

"You can't just... decide something's not right and change it all on your own," Juushiro said in agitation, "That makes it unfair to the other person. And, in this case, to yourself."

Shunsui looked at him in surprise. Then, unable to hold Juushiro's gaze, he looked down at his own hands. After a long minute, he said; "You should take the medicines."

In genuine confusion, Juushiro asked, "How did you get from unfairness to medication?"

Shunsui chuckled softly. "Through a long, twisted chain of associations."

"As always," Juushiro teased him lightly, unable to help himself. He was rewarded with a small smile that flashed briefly across the tanned face. However, it was quickly replaced by sadness.

"I should go," Shunsui said regretfully. He wasn't sure why he had come in the first place.

"No... stay," Juushiro requested softly, "Please?" He didn't know why he asked it, but perhaps if they stayed in each other's company, that would go a long way toward mending things.

After a moment of hesitation, Shunsui nodded. He relaxed back into the uncomfortable hospital chair and watched Juushiro as the pale man gazed out the window. A soft look that he wasn't entirely aware of came into his eyes as he watched this person to whom he was so deeply attached.

*~*~*~*

"And why doesn't he want to take the medication?" House interrogated the team.

"He didn't say he didn't want to," Cameron answered, "All he asked was that we let him think about it."

"Which means he doesn't want to; because if he did want to, he would have agreed right away. Why didn't you try to convince him?" The question was directed more at Foreman and Chase.

"Well," Chase began, rather uncertain.

"If he doesn't want the drugs, we can't force them down his throat," Foreman said.

"Not literally," House half-agreed. No one retorted, knowing that it was useless to argue with their crazy boss. "Well," House said after a minute, "I'd better go check on the patient." And before any of his employees could stop him, he'd limped surprisingly quickly out of the office and down the hall. House popped a Vicodin with well-practiced movements before throwing open the sliding door and barging into his patient's room. Juushiro and Shunsui both jumped at the sudden noise.

"Why don't you want to be treated?" House asked sharply, limping further into the room to stand at the end of the bed.

"I never said I didn't..." the patient replied, bemused.

"But you didn't agree to take the drugs. Most people would do anything to prolong their lives; however miserable," House argued.

"I told you, I'm not afraid to die," Juushiro reiterated patiently.

"Why not?" House asked, almost incredulously.

"Death is just the natural ending to life, no matter what form it comes in. If you look at it that way, there's nothing to fear."

"So because it's going to happen anyway, it might as well happen now?"

"Yes."

"Take the drugs anyway," House commanded, impatient because that line of reasoning actually made sense to his extremely logical brain.

Juushiro frowned in thought, wishing to contradict this abrasive man despite his dislike of arguments. Before he could speak, Shunsui moved calmly to his defense.

"If he doesn't want to be treated, you have no right to force him." The dark-haired man's tone was pleasant but firm, as though he were used to informing people of grim facts.

"And you are...?" House questioned.

"Shunsui Kyouraku. You must be Dr. House. Unohana told me about you."

"Yes, I'm infamous," House waved his hand dismissively, "And you're his.. old friend? Long-lost cousin? Partner?" He questioned relentlessly. At the last guess, a light blush rose on Juushiro's cheeks and he gazed pointedly out the window. House noticed but didn't comment, having found the answer to his question.

"It's complicated." Was Shunsui's deflective response.

Before House could ask any more potentially embarrasing questions, Juushiro said; "I'll take the drugs."

The doctor looked at him for a second, taken aback. "Great," House said, "I'll order the sensitivity test." With that, he swung around and limped to the door. "By the way," he said; unable to help himself, "Why is your hair that color?"

Juushiro, bemused at this sudden and seemingly random change of subject, answered slowly. "When I was fifteen, it started to turn white. I felt old, so I bleached it all. Why do you ask?"

"Just wondering," House said rather happily, before exiting quickly; leaving Juushiro bemused and Shunsui impassive in his wake.

*~*~*~*

The next morning when House entered the office at noon, Cameron was the only one waiting for him at the long glass table. She was reading a book, which she put down along with her glasses when he entered.

"Where are the other two Musketeers?" House asked, tossing aside his bag and coat.

"Chase and Foreman went to give the patient his first round of medication," Cameron answered; mildly disturbed by his analogy.

"Which ones are we using?" he asked with mild interest. Now that all the puzzles surrounding the patient had been solved, House wasn't as interested in Juushiro's symptoms, hair or strange perception of death.

"The sensitivity test showed he would respond best to Cycloserine, Interferon, Moxifloxacin, Rifabutin and Linezolid. So we're putting him on all of them."

"Great," House approved idly.

"Now that you're here, I'm going to get some lunch," Cameron announced. When he did not protest, she left the room. House stared into the hallway, thinking how best to avoid today's clinic duty.

Just past Juushiro's room, Cameron heard footsteps catching up to her. She looked over to see the patient's visitor from the day before striding along beside her.

"You're one of Juushiro's doctors, right?" he asked casually.

"Dr. Cameron," she introduced herself with a smile.

"I'm Shunsui," he said with a tired smile. Cameron thought he seemed kind, tense as he had been yesterday. "Can I talk to you?" he asked hesitantly.

"Of course. I'm just going to the cafeteria, we could get some lunch, or coffee..." she offered.

"Coffee sounds great." He looked tired, Cameron thought, not just physically but emotionally drained.

When they arrived in the cafeteria, Cameron ordered food for herself and a cup of coffee for Shunsui, which he accepted gratefully. They sat at one of the tables and Cameron waited for him to speak. After a few minutes, Shunsui broached the subject he had mixed feelings about discussing.

"Do you think Juushiro will live through this?" he asked quietly.

Cameron put down her fork slowly. "It's hard to say. But he seems to have lived through a lot."

"He has," Shunsui assured her.

"So I think he'll be okay. It won't be easy, though," she cautioned.

"He knows that. So do I," Shunsui said. He sighed and stared down at his coffee cup. "Sometimes I wish he wasn't so selfless," he muttered rather darkly.

"Why shouldn't he be?" Cameorn asked, confused.

Shunsui sighed again. He was doing a lot of that lately, he realized. "If Juushiro wasn't close to anyone, and no one would be hurt by his death; he wouldn't have agreed to take the drugs. He's content to live and die at nature's whim." Shunsui paused for a moment. "But because of me... He's willing to go through all that pain and trouble so that I won't be hurt by his death."

"Is that so bad?" Cameron asked, wanting to help this man who seemed so troubled.

"Well, no. But... yes." Shunsui shook his head rather despairingly. "I'm sorry. I'm not making any sense."

She regarded him for a moment, taking in the hunched shoulders and the anxious expression. "You really care about Juushiro, don't you," she observed after a moment.

"I want him to be happy. I hate seeing him in pain. I-" Shunsui stopped himself before continuing carefully. "I think I care more about Juushiro than I've ever cared about anyone."

"Then shouldn't you be happy that he's going to live longer?"

"I am happy about it. I just wish he was doing it more for himself and less to save me from pain that could come anyway."

"He seems like a pretty selfless person. So if he was doing this to save himself, he wouldn't really be himself anymore, would he?" Cameron speculated.

"Hm. I guess not..." Shunsui said, contemplating her words. "Maybe I'm quibbling over stupid details."

"I don't think so. You're concerned for him," Cameron said.

"That I am..." Shunsui muttered, taking a long drink from the paper coffee cup. "Well. I'll leave you to your lunch."

"You can stay, if you want..." Cameron offered.

"Thanks. But I should get back to Juushiro. He was asleep when I left."

"Okay," Cameron smiled, "Good luck."

Shunsui smiled back, then stood. He meandered out of the cafeteria, paper coffee cup still in hand.

*~*~*~*

Juushiro had, indeed, been asleep and still was when Shunsui quietly slid open the door to his room. Trying valiantly not to wake him, Shunsui crossed the room and sat on the edge of the hospital bed, watching the peacefully sleeping face. He brushed the white bangs back from closed eyes without thinking, repeating a gesture he'd been performing for years. Juushiro stirred and opened his eyes slowly.

"Hi..." he murmured, smiling sleepily.

"Hi there," Shunsui greeted him softly. He continued to watch Juushiro as the sickened man sat up slowly. Almost without knowing what he was doing, Shunsui reached out to touch him. He picked up a pale hand gently. "I'm sorry," he whispered gently; looking down at the long, elegant fingers rather than at the face whose expression he couldn't bear to guess at. "I shouldn't have left. It was... a lot of things, none of them kind or fair. So... I'm sorry."

Juushiro regarded him for a moment before speaking. "I understand why you did it. I don't agree with your reasoning, but I forgive you. You were trying to help."

Shunsui nodded and asked; "So what are we going to do now?" He was afraid of the answer. But almost immediately, he felt a cool hand tilting his face up gently. Before he could fully meet those kind brown eyes, Juushiro was kissing him. When they broke apart, Juushiro was smiling softly. "I'm glad you came back," he whispered.

Shunsui smiled genuinely; for the first time that day. "I am, too. And I won't leave this time."

Juushiro nodded gratefully and leaned his head against Shunsui's shoulder. He watched the steady rise and fall of breath in the tan throat and fell asleep again slowly, with Shunsui stroking his hair softly.

It took many months of antibiotics and sickness to rid Juushiro of the tuberculosis, but he was finally cured. Shunsui stayed with him through the whole ordeal, slowly realizing that Juushiro's selflessness was one of his best qualities. They stayed together after he was out of the hospital, and for many years to come.