Winter's Fate

Chapter 3

The evening was starting off fairly calm, but that wouldn't last long and everyone knew it. If it got much worse the hospital would open it's doors to anyone needing a warm place to take shelter in like it did whenever the weather got bad enough or there was a natural disaster. Naruto exited one of his patients' rooms while taking off his latex-free gloves, the rubber snapping as he peeled it off his hands before dropping them in the waste can by the door. The patient was an elderly man with pancreatic cancer and he had just increased the pain medication in hopes that he wouldn't suffer as much before his inevitable demise.

Naruto strolled over to the nurse's station and began looking through the red folders on a wire rack at the edge of the counter. There were only four folders corresponding with the four patients occupying the ICU ward. Neji, another nurse for the ICU, looked up from where he sat on the other side of the counter and asked about the status of the last patient he saw.

"Usagi-san's heart rate is still low and his blood pressure has dropped a little since I last checked on him twenty minutes ago, I increased his Morphine, but I doubt he'll last through the night. I hope that his family will be able to make it in time, the weather is making it difficult for travel."

"I don't foresee him making it through to the morning either." Neji Hyūga was in his thirties and was tall and slender with long brown hair and golden chestnut eyes. He had been at the hospital longer than Naruto when the Uzumaki had been promoted to head nurse, it had been a choice the board of directors made between Neji and him. Naruto got the position in the end because while Neji cared for his patients' well-being, he was also known to have a rather cold bedside manner. Neji had been angry, but Naruto was a difficult person to hold a grudge against and they remained friends in the end.

They worked closely in the typically vacant - aside from the patients - ICU ward and their personalities often balanced each other out. Neji was quiet with a tranquil, if not robotic, character, whereas Naruto was hyperactive and bubbly. While they were opposites in most regards, they both had a deep passion for their work and the sanctity of life.

Sumire, Neji's wife of nine years was home at the moment with their two sons. One was five and the youngest was almost two, but despite the fact that they were home safe with their mother, Naruto could tell that Neji was worried. Still, the brunette was never one to take pity and therefore Naruto refrained from dolling it out. The blonde would focus on taking as much stress as he could off his colleagues' shoulders instead and hope for the best. He glanced at the hall clock to see that it was already 8 o'clock in the evening and his stomach growled at having to wait so long for dinner.

"I'm going to take my break now, so would you like me to bring you anything from the cafeteria?"

"A black tea would be nice, thank you," Neji gave a small smile, the worry in his eyes not dimming in the slightest.

"No problem. See you in an hour." Naruto's smile morphed his entire face into one of silly happiness before slowly falling into a content grin as he walked towards the elevator. Kiba would be waiting for him downstairs like he always was when their scheduled break times aligned and that was definitely something to look forward to. Pushing the down button he stepped in when the doors opened and hit the button for the ground floor. Calm wordless music played softly until the doors opened again and he stepped out, heading straight for the cafeteria, a spacious room with a small cafe at the end where one could order specialty coffee and practically any tea imaginable. They served a wide selection of nutritional cuisines that tasted amazing and allowed the staff to avoid living off vending machines like Naruto did when he was in college. It was especially nice for the doctors and nurses who all worked long and odd hours. Choosing Thai food and bubble tea with boba pearls, spicy foods were one of his favourites, Naruto paid for his meal after it was prepared and made his way over to one of the many small empty round tables littering the room, placing his red tray of food on its white surface.

"Hey, Naruto! Did you order mine too?" Kiba laughed teasingly as he quickly walked passed to go get his own meal. He placed his order then sat across from the blonde while the chef prepared it.

"What? And let my food get cold while waiting for them to prepare the whole menu for you?" Naruto smirked with a low laugh and Kiba frowned.

"Ha ha ha, very funny. Like you have room to talk! Just because you have the metabolism of a mutant freak, doesn't mean we all don't know you have no problems cleaning out a kitchen. Besides, Mara likes my porky belly." He pouted and Naruto rolled his eyes, his reply set in a scolding tone.

"More like porky! And she may say that now but she'll be having you hit the gym in a year, she's probably just waiting for the right time." Kiba cringed as the chef called out his order and he quickly picked it up before reseating himself. His girlfriend was an exercise nazi, a black belt instructor with her own studio. The brunette tried to mentally laugh it off, but couldn't because he knew Naruto was right. He wasn't one for exercising but had tried to keep up with his girlfriend one day and when they finished her routine he was convinced she was secretly trying to annihilate him from the face of the earth despite her so-called passionate reassurances of love for him. It had taken him an entire week to recover.

Naruto, feeling slightly guilty, decided to change the subject and a few off-topic comments later had them both laughing and forgetting all about it. They ate and chatted idly while playing Candy Crush on their phones with Kiba one level ahead when his pager went off, the beeping almost going unnoticed among the game noises, but at the same time a Code Blue was announced over the intercom and the brunette looked at his pager to see that the announcement was for him.

"Well, looks like this night is about to get exciting," Kiba said with a sense of exhilaration in his voice. He loved everything about medicine and he lived for the adrenaline. "Catch ya later!" He winked and hurried out of the cafeteria towards the emergency room, leaving his half eaten food behind. Naruto gathered their trays, throwing away what was left before stopping at the cafe to order two kocha teas, wondering anxiously what the rest of the night was going to entail.