Pt.7 Time Gone By
From the moment Mina started to feel the first pangs of discomfort, she knew that something was wrong. But for reasons she could not explain she did nothing until the discomfort turned into a sharp pain, and even then she waited until the pain brought her to her knees and an ambulance was called to bring her to the hospital. Motoki, panic and dread filling his eyes, rode in the back of the ambulance holding her hand all the way.
Makoto woke up that morning realizing that she had not seen or heard from Nephrite in nearly a month. A day had rarely gone by where Nephrite did not call or randomly stop by to see her, but recently he had stopped. She didn’t know why and often wondered if she had done something to make him think that he was not appreciated. It was in these last few weeks that she realized how much he had actually grown on her since they were reunited. He made no secret of his affections for her, and for some foolish reason that she couldn’t name, she never returned his sentiment not realizing how deeply engrained her feelings had become. Her eyes darted over to her cell phone as it lit up and started ringing with some silly song that Mina had programmed for her personalized ring tone. She picked up the phone and waited for Mina’s voice to come over the earpiece with some extravagant story but instead was met with a distraught Motoki telling her that Mina had just been hospitalized.
The sun moved higher into the sky as noon approached causing the sunbeams to enter the darkened bedroom. Ami snuggled deeper into Zoicite’s arms, brushing some rogue strands of hair out of her eyes. She could feel Zoicite shifting beside her as he pulled her tightly against him. This was a rare occurrence as she normally never would have stayed in bed this late, but Zoicite had other plans and was very persuasive in motivating her to do otherwise. Over the smooth sound of his breathing she could hear her phone vibrating against the nightstand. She reached her arm behind her trying to feel for the phone, laughing as Zoicite grumbled and tried to pull her arm back. Chuckling, she successfully found her phone and answered it to be greeted by a tearful Makoto telling her to get to the hospital right away.
As sure as the sun rose at dawn, so did Rei. Jadeite was impossible to wake up at that hour and so that became her time before she started her daily chores around the temple. As she emerged outside, broom in hand, she was met with a familiar face. Yuuichirou. He was sitting on the steps, a small stone being rolled between his fingertips. At first she was shocked to see him after he had been gone for so long, but then found that they fell back into the same familiar banter that she had always known with him. A couple hours passed by before he revealed to her his true feelings about why he had returned. It broke her heart to tell him that she had fallen in love with another nearly as much as it broke his heart to hear it. She allowed him to embrace her as he bid her farewell, only to be interrupted as Jadeite emerged from the temple clad only in a pair of sweatpants and slippers, with Rei’s phone in hand. The next couple of minutes overwhelmed her - she wanted to explain to Jadeite that he didn’t need to be jealous, but the panic in Ami’s voice told her that everything else would have to wait, Mina needed her more.
Usagi and Mamoru were the first to arrive at the hospital and notified each new arriving couple that the doctors hadn’t yet emerged with an update on their friend’s health. They all grouped together around the waiting room, waiting for any word, whether it be good or bad, when they realized that one person was missing amongst them. The only question that now remained was who would be the one to tell him.