*Disclaimer: I'm cold, hungry and tired.
Must I do this? ::sigh:: I don't own BSSM.
I merely borrow them and make them do as I
please. MUHAHAHAHAAAAAA!

Happy? ::sigh:: I thought not.

Medical Miracle
Chapter 16: Just Another Day
By: The Rose Society
Rating: PG-13
Email: EtrlSlrMn@aol.com
http://www.geocities.com/the_rose_society/

	Sleepily, Mamoru fumbled for his
keys, trying to get his clumsy body to
obey his commands. The faster he opened his
door, the faster he could plop into his
nice comfortable bed and sleep.

	"I hate the ER," he grumbled as he
finally got the wretched door to open. As
an intern, he had to put in a shift in the
ER. With his wretched luck, there had been
an accident involving a garbage truck and
Tokyo Hospital was the nearest to the site.
He and the other doctors had spent the
last five hours trying to patch people up
despite a stink that would make even a
skunk turn green.

	Quickly he locked the door, shucked
off his shoes and trudged as quickly as he
could manage to his bedroom. Not bothering
to change, he threw himself on the bed, 
face first and promptly fell asleep.

*RING*

	Mamoru barely twitched.

*RING RING*

	The shrill noise was rather
persistent, like a screeching banshee.
With a grimace, Mamoru grabbed his pillow
and tried to drown out the noise.

*RING*

	He groaned, annoyed. Blindly, he
swiped at the noise, hoping to make the
disturbance cease.

*RING*

	He missed. Not to be discouraged,
he took another swipe. He didn't quite miss;
his elbow came into contact with the rather
unpleasant corner of his bedside table.

	"ITAI!" Pain was always a much more
effective wake-up call. His eyes finally
open, he cast his blurry gaze upon his alarm
clock. He had only been sleeping for two
hours. It was only 06:00, way too early for
any sane person to be calling him. Irritated
beyond words, he picked up his poor cordless
phone and punched the button to answer.

	"What the hell do you want?" he
growled. Mamoru needed coffee and lots of it.
Scratch that. He needed sleep, a shower, a
ton of coffee, and more sleep.

	"Well, that's a fine 'hello' for your
girlfriend," replied a cheery voice, followed
by a giggle.

	Instantly, Mamoru's bad mood vanished,
almost as if it had never been. "Usako!" He
ran a hand through his disheveled hair and sat
up straighter, as if Usagi could see him
through the phone line. "Gomen-"

	"Oh don't worry, Mamo-chan. I know
that you only got in about two hours ago.
Anyone would be a little annoyed in your
place. Was ER that bad?"

	A few scenes of the horribly smelly
patients flashed in his mind. "Bad doesn't
even begin to cover it." Mamoru launched into
a rant, telling Usagi everything that had
happened.

	When he paused for a breath, Usagi
quickly interrupted. "Ano, Mamo-chan? You're
going to be late."

	Mamoru stopped, confused. "Late? For
what?" Then it hit him. "MY INTERVIEW!" He
dashed from his bed to his bathroom.

	Usagi's gentle laughter filled his
ear. "I was calling to wish you luck,
Mamo-chan. I'm sure that you don't need any
luck though. You'll get that job."

	Turning on the water in his shower,
Mamoru ran back to his closet to get a suit
to wear. "I wouldn't be too sure of that,
Usako. Dr. Hongo doesn't seem like she'll
write a glowing recommendation for me. She
hates me."

	"She doesn't hate you, Mamo-chan."

	Putting toothpaste on his toothbrush,
he answered, "I am not too sure about that."

	Sigh. "Go get ready, Mamo-chan, or
else you'll be late for the interview."

	Trying to comb his hair and talk in
the phone at the same time, Mamoru said,
"What are you going to do today?"

	"The girls are coming over for a
sleepover, like the ones we used to have as
teenagers." There was a slight strain in
Usagi's voice.

	"Are you not looking forward to it?"

	There was a slight hesitation, very
brief. Since he was preoccupied, Mamoru did
not catch it. "Of course I am, silly. We
better hang up now, Mamo-chan, or else you'll
really be late. I swear that you've been
picking up more and more of my old habits.
Pretty soon, I'll have to start calling you
Odango Atama."

	Sputtering was the last thing she
heard as Usagi hung up the phone. With a
small smile, she put the phone back on her
nightstand.

	It had been two months since they had
shared their first kiss. Dr. Hongo had told
her about her dim prognosis and Usagi had
to call her friends. Haruka, Michiru, and
Minako instantly flew back to Japan. All of
her friends came pounding to her house
one saturday morning. After a long talk,
things had calmed, somewhat. They had
accepted the news. Things could go back to
normal.

	But they hadn't. Nearly every spare
moment she had, since they had all gotten
back together, was being spent with her
friends. Nights, weekends, it didn't matter.
Even her dates with Mamoru were spent with
her friends, in group dinners or such. Of
course, it was nice to spend time with her
friends. They had been there for her through
everything, her parents' death and the news
of her cancer. But since the news that her
cancer had metastisized, Usagi felt like her
friends were trying to see her as much as
possible. 'It's just a little too much...'

	Usagi shook her head. 'What's wrong
with me? Why am I thinking this way? There
must be a reason.' She was just tired from
the end of the school year. Yeah, that was
it. She had to grade papers and take care of
all the administrative stuff. The hardest
part, though, was saying goodbye to all of
her students. She had already resigned her
teaching position, since she didn't know if
she would be well enough, let alone alive,
to teach next year.

	Giving herself a mental shake, Usagi
got out of bed. This tired funk that she was
in was only temporary. As soon as she got
some more rest, she would return back to her
cheerful self, laughing with her friends and
taking part in their famous talk-a-thons.

*Three Hours Later*

	Usagi opened the door, to see the
smiling faces of her friends.

	"Ohayo, minna-chan," greeted Usagi
cheerfully. Makoto, Rei, Minako, Michiru,
Haruka, Setsuna, Hotaru, and Ami poured into
the Tsukino house, greeting their hostess
with enthusiasm.

	Taking off her shoes, Makoto
immediately headed off to the kitchen,
dumping her overnight bag and purse in the
living room. "Bring all the food here," she
called.

	Usagi's eyes widened as Haruka, Rei,
and Setsuna struggled to carry their loads
of food. "Mako-chan, you have enough food
here to feed--"

	"AN ARMY!" Rei set down her load on
the counter with a grunt, Usagi following
behind her.

	Haruka massaged her hands, red from
the grocery bags. "What did you buy? Bricks?"

	Raising an eyebrow, Makoto looked at
the taller girl for a moment. "Haruka, if
you prefer eating bricks, I'm sure I can
make a few calls. Me and the other girls can
eat the lunch and dinner that I'm planning."

	Sheepish, Haruka rubbed her neck.
"Hehe, that's ok. I'll eat what everyone else
is eating." She made a quick exit from the
kitchen. Makoto was always very defensive of
anything connected to her cooking.

	Makoto turned to glare at Rei. "Do
you have a complaint as well?" Wisely, Rei
shook her head. "Good." With the laborers
pacified, Makoto began to rummage through
the bags, putting various groceries in their
places in Usagi's fridge.

	Rei and Usagi headed back out into
the living room. Haruka had plopped herself
in front of the television, watching a race.
Michiru and Minako were shuffling through
some videos, trying to plan what to watch
later that night. On the sofa, near the
kitchen, Ami, Hotaru, and Setsuna sat quietly
discussing the latest news in their fields.
Upon their entrance, the three motioned for
Usagi and Rei to join them around the coffee
table.

	"How come Naru-chan couldn't come,"
asked Hotaru.

	Usagi, settling herself on the couch,
replied, "She didn't feel too well this
morning. Her ankles are swollen and her back
aches." The girls nodded in sympathy.

	"It is her first pregnancy. I'm sure
that it's very difficult for her," Ami said.

	Michiru looked up from the videos.
"Is there any pregnancy that isn't difficult,"
she said, a wry smile on her face.

	"I'm sure that it's more difficult for
poor Umino-kun," added Rei from her position
on the floor.

	Usagi giggled. "You should see the poor
man. He's going absolutely insane. 'Do you need
anything?' 'Do you want me to rub your back?'
'Does it hurt?' He's asked so many questions
that Naru-chan finally got fed up with him and
said, 'LEAVE ME ALONE! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT,
YOU KNOW?' He began to cry and said, 'I only
wanted to help.' Naru-chan had to spend the
next couple of hours comforting him and telling
him that she didn't mean it." They all laughed.

	Michiru and Minako plopped down next to
Rei, the videos forgotten. "That reminds me,"
said Minako. "My agent called today and told me
the juiciest gossip!" Minako's voice dropped to
a stage whisper, causing Michiru, Rei, Hotaru,
Setsuna, and Ami to lean in so that they could
hear.

	Temporarily forgotten, Usagi bit the
inside of her mouth. The headache that had
started when she got out of bed had still not
gone away. She had taken some medicine earlier
but they had not kicked in yet. In addition,
that deep tiredness that a hold of her had not
gone away, despite the fact that all her friends
were here. She gathered her energy and tried to
make her face as normal as possible. She could
not spoil the light-hearted mood.

	"Usagi-chan!" Makoto's call interrupted
Usagi's thoughts.

	The conversation paused, allowing Usagi
to hear Makoto. "Hai, Mako-chan?"

	Makoto's voice floated into the living
room. "Where is your mixing bowl? I want to get
started on the desert."

	"I don't remember. I'll go look for it."
Usagi stood from the couch. Something plopped
onto the glass surface of the coffee table.
Puzzled, Usagi looked down. Was her roof
dripping? But the wet drop of the table wasn't
water, it was blood. Gingerly, Usagi touched
her fingers to her upper lip. They came away
stained crimson.

	Rei noticed that Usagi had not begun
to head toward the kitchen. "Usagi-chan?" The
other girls turned, just in time to watch as
Usagi slid to the floor in a boneless heap,
unconscious.

	"USAGI!!!"

Translations:
	None

Author Notes:

	Otay, many have asked when the medical
miracle comes in. As you might have guessed,
it's coming soon =) I hope this has been
worth the wait ^^;
Until the next chapter...

~The moonlight carries the message of love.~
~Tsuki no hikari wa ai no message.~