Winter's Fate

Chapter 6

The storm was all they'd been warned of and more as it tore through the streets and buffeted the buildings. It was complete chaos outside, forcing all establishments, excluding emergency services, to close early. Within the past few hours, in between accidents, power outages and the homeless, a slow day at the hospital became beyond busy. Anyone who didn't have a suitable place to take shelter went to either the hospital, the fire house or the local homeless shelter. Some had been too stubborn or unable to seek help, and Naruto knew from experience that more than a few would be found when the storm settled down, frozen to death in their homes or on the streets. A few would survive, though they'd have to suffer through the damages of hypothermia, still, it meant he'd be very busy for the next few days.

Naruto had been on his feet constantly for six hours now and he felt the exhaustion wearing right down to his bones. His feet and legs ached, his eyes stung, and he was hungry enough to contemplate eating whatever old food had been forgotten in the lounge fridge by his colleagues, from who knew how long ago. He definitely didn't have time to go down to the cafeteria. The night that began so calmly had gotten far more eventful than he liked and he was already ten hours into his shift. All of the patients occupying the ICU ward were finally stabilized, which he was grateful for, and two more nurses had come in to help cover the early morning shifts.

He was just looking over the Patient Board as he considered heading down to help out in the Trauma Center, when Neji approached him, shoving a red folder into his hands. "Yamashita Kaoru has personally requested that you be this patient's nurse for the entire duration of his stay." The Hyūga was in a hurry to check on that cancer patient from earlier, so he was in a rush and hoped Naruto would understand his haste.

"Why me?" The blonde gave him a puzzled expression as he opened the folder and looked over the patient's chart. Yamashita Kaoru was the director of the hospital's ICU and Trauma Unit, so it wasn't like Naruto could say no, but it was uncommon for the man to ask a single nurse to give an individual patient the bulk of his attention for any lengthy period of time. His eyes went to the patient's name in bold letters at the top, Uchiha Itachi. The Uchiha family was well known in Japan, and familiar to Naruto, not only because his father was CEO of the corporation but also because the family was respected among the city's businesses, including the hospital. Last year they'd donated quite a bit of money to the hospital, although Naruto was aware that it was only because of his father that they did this and he only got permission by saying it would be good PR.

"Because of his status and the fact that he's connected to your father, the family only trusts you personally to give him the extended care he'll need." Neji's eyes wandered down the hallway where he knew a dying man needed to be checked on, before coming back to the present to see that Naruto still looked confused and taken aback. The Uzumaki didn't understand why the family would want him to help, it's not like he'd ever personally met any of them, and weren't they in America right now? "Don't worry so much. You're efficient at your job. I have complete faith and confidence in your abilities Naruto, you're one of our best." Naruto nodded as Neji lightly squeezed his shoulder and then continued on his way, hurrying down the hall to make sure the man was stable. Naruto looked at the chart again, broken bones, a nasty concussion and a severe fracture of his left femoral shaft and femur which was corrected in surgery with the insertion of pins. He strolled down the hall to Itachi's room while committing the chart Neji had given him to memory, but when he got there he froze on the spot, shocked. A broad figure stood next to his patient's bed, gently stroking his hair to comfort the unconscious man.

"Dad?"