Chapter five
o-oOo-o

Day 4

Shiho's team was without bragging one of the best, and based on Shiho's work they finished a cure in record time. All three patients were treated with it as soon as it was filled into intravenous drips. During the night, they all were on tight observation.

Shiho's fever was the first to break, because though she had been infected before Shinichi, her immune system was off way better than his and her body hadn't been weakened fighting off the virus like Ran's had done for two days by now.

It was the day after she collapsed and after resting for the whole night and most of the day that she was up around five in the evening to check on Ran and Shinichi.

Ran was making a good recovery and was just sleeping off the fatigue. She would feel worn out for the next few days but other than that she should be fine. Thanks to her healthy constitution, her body had been able to endure the high fever without complications.

Turning around, she now faced the bed Shinichi was resting on. His breathing was even, and his complexion had taken on a rosier tone again.

With him, it had been a bit more stressful for the nurses and doctors. They hadn't been able to bring down his fever by much and his condition had deteriorated rapidly. That he hadn't slipped into a coma was just thanks to the quick and relentless work of Emi and the rest of the team.

She was somewhat thankful that she had been asleep during that time. Seeing someone you cared for suffer was always unpleasant, but knowing that they were in that state because you had infected them with a virus yourself? Not a good feeling. Especially with Shinichi...

' Been there, done that, didn't want the t-shirt.'

Shiho let out a relieved breath. Emi had already told her everything what had happened while she had been out, but she had needed to see it with her own eyes.

That she had not failed her friends – her family.

o-oOo-o
Day 5, 6:26 a.m.

Shinichi woke to soft breathing and a warm pressure against his hip. He felt shattered and his head seemed too heavy to even turn it to look who was keeping him company.

What had happened?

That he was in a hospital bed was pretty obvious – sadly, he knew the sensation of waking up in one all too well – but what was the reason this time?

His thoughts refused to stay in any logical order as they always faded into fogginess.

He let out a frustrated groan, and a cough, caused by his dry throat, roused the person resting beside him.

"Shin-chan?" his mother's voice murmured. Still sluggish from sleep, but quickly grasping the situation, she flew up to look at her son, who had been out for the last one and a half days.

They had come back from their promotion tour the day before yesterday in the evening, and she had wanted to give Ran the souvenir, she had bought her in Fukuoka. A pretty Hakata doll that looked just like Ran, dressed in a pale blue kimono.

But when they had come to their house, they had been surprised to not only find it empty, but also it seemed like Ran and Shinichi had left in a hurry. The door wasn't locked, and some windows were left open. Something they would never do.

Yusaku had called Agasa to ask him if he knew what was going on, but the old inventor hadn't heard from them for about a week. A bit worried, he had tried Megure next, knowing what kind of trouble followed his son wherever he went, and sure enough, the Inspector had informed them that Shinichi as well as Ran had been hospitalized.

They had rushed to Beika General and met Eri and Kogoro there, who filled them in about what had happened and what their current conditions were.

Especially the first half of the night had the two pairs of parents worried. They had to wait and see if and how good the cure was working, and Yukiko had been a bundle of nerves until finally the relieving news came that all three were doing better.

Shinichi might be old enough to live on his own, be married and a successful private detective, but he still was her little Shin-chan and she hated to see him looking so frail. Eri being in the same position with Ran hadn't made it any better, and Yusaku and Kogoro had somehow convinced them to go home somewhen after midnight.

They had been back the next morning, repeating the dance of watching over their children, chatting quietly and eating the food their husbands brought them.

Speaking with Shiho, who was already up and about again in the evening had been an enormous help to diffuse some of their worries.

Yukiko still had insisted to stay for the night and had camped out in their room, next to Shinichi's bed. She didn't want them to be alone when they woke up. Eri would take over in the morning and then Yukiko would go home to get some proper sleep.

Now that Shinichi had opened his eyes and seemed to be aware enough to somewhat comprehend what was going on around him, the knot that had sat in her stomach finally loosened.

"Shin-chan," she cried out and hugged him tightly before she handed him a cup of water to sooth his sore throat. "You three gave us quite a scare," she scolded a bit teary-eyed.

"Sorry, Kaa-san," Shinichi mumbled still a bit out of it and wearily looked over to the bed next to him, where Ran was still sleeping. He almost choked on the few sips of the water he had taken when the whole situation came back to him at once.

"Ran!"

In a rush of adrenaline, he almost ripped out the IV from his arm as he tried to jump out of his bed, only to fold forward when his head spun from the sudden movement. Yukiko caught him and gently eased him back onto his pillow where he panted and fought back the dancing black spots that were obscuring his vision.

"Easy, Shinichi. Ran is fine, she will wake up soon, I'm sure. Your body just fought a very high fever so it's to be expected that you will feel weak for some time."

She checked the time. "It's still early, maybe you should get some more rest. I'll let Shiho-chan know that you've been awake, so that she can check on you later."

That got another rise out of him. "Miyano – how is she?"

His mother chuckled on her way out. "Just fine, but I don't think she is too happy with what you did, even though she's thankful as well. Be prepared, son."

'Yeah – sure,' he thought with a sinking feeling, but his mother was right – he needed some more sleep before he would feel fit enough to deal with whatever Shiho had in store for him.

o-oOo-o

The next time he woke, he felt much better. Nothing was spinning, and his head didn't seem to be full of cobwebs anymore. Someone must have checked on him while he was asleep because the IV had been removed and a band aid was placed over the small puncture site.

This time mindful of his movements, he carefully got up and placed his feet on the ground, testing his steadiness. Satisfied that he didn't feel too shaky, he stood up and went over to Ran's bed to sit down on one of the chairs that undoubtably had been occupied by her parents at some point. They were alone for now, but he was sure that would change soon.

He took her hand and his thumb stroke over her smooth skin.

She was sleeping peacefully, and he was thankful that her karate training, which she still held up, had made her body strong enough to pull through.

He closed his eyes at the mere though at what could have happened and let his head sink down to her mattress.

"One more minute, Shinichi," Ran muttered in her sleep and he smiled, looking at her as she slowly woke up.

"Morning, sleepyhead," he greeted her bleary gaze with a soft smile and cupped her face with his hands to give her a tender kiss.

He waited until she became more aware of her surroundings.

"Hospital?" was all she asked confused and he nodded.

"Feeling good enough to sit up a bit?"

She pushed herself up with his hand supporting her back when she didn't have quite the strength for it. He adjusted the head section of her bed so that she could lean back against it comfortably.

"What happened? I just remember... coming home from work." She scrunched up her nose in though. "I wanted to shower, I think…"

"I found you collapsed on the floor with a high fever." The picture of her lying on the ground had burned itself into his memory and his hand gripped her a little stronger just to reassure himself that she was okay.

"You got infected with a virus when you checked on Asai-san. Your fever just wouldn't break and then-" His voice got smaller and cracked at the end.

"Shinichi," she interrupted him. "It's alright - I'm fine now."

He took a deep breath and smiled at her, while for the first time since she woke, she actually became aware of his appearance, namely, the hospital gown he was wearing, and the fatigue that still clung to him.

"Why are you admitted as well? Did you get hurt during the case?" she frowned, looking him over worriedly, searching for any visible injuries.

"No, that's not it. I'm fine, just tired."

He squirmed a bit under her scrutinizing gaze, wishing he had thought about changing into his normal clothes that his mother had left for him in a bag on a chair, alongside with some of his other stuff.

"Yeah, sure," Ran said, sarcasm dripping from her voice. "You are wearing hospital clothes just for the fun of it. And you surely haven't been lying in the bed with the rumpled sheets next to me, right?" She glanced at the night-stand beside his bed. "Oh, look! The patient there just happens to own the same modified wrist-watch as you. What are the chances?"

"And they say I am a smart-ass," he muttered under his breath.

"What did you just say?" she asked with the sweetest smile that spelled out trouble in capital letters.

He held up his hands defensively. "Alright, alright, yes – I'm admitted here as well, but I swear, I'm not hurt and I'm completely fine."

"I'll be the judge of that," came Shiho's impassive voice from the door as she walked into the room without even looking up from the clipboard in her hands. "And I highly advise that you lie back down before I call for a nurse and make you, Kudou-kun,"

"But, I..."

She turned her head to the hallway. "Hiromi-san, do you have a minute? I need a hand with a stubborn patient."

Shinichi paled and hurriedly made his way over to his bed under some chuckling from his wife.

Shiho gave him one last stern look before she turned to Ran.

"Welcome back, Ran-san. How are you feeling?" she asked with a genuine smile that Ran mirrored without hesitation.

"Exhausted, but otherwise fine, I think."

"Good."

Shiho took out her examination tools and began to check her pulse. Normally she would leave the check up to another doctor, seeing as she was a chemist, but with these two, she wanted to make sure herself that they were alright.

"Did Kudou-kun already fill you in on what happened?"

Ran nodded. "He told me that Asai-san had a contagious virus and that I have been here with a fever after I collapsed at home. Sorry for troubling you, Shiho-san," she said apologetically.

Shiho raised a brow at that. "You? No, Ran-san, you didn't trouble me at all. I'm just glad we could help you in time. It's your husband over there, who almost gave me a heart-attack, stubborn fool that his is."

Ran's eyes narrowed. "Shi-ni-chi. What did you do this time?"

Shinichi folded his arms, looking stubborn. "I didn't do anything wrong, and I would do the same again in a heartbeat – though I really hope I don't have to, because that would mean that I've brought you into another dangerous situation and then your dad will kill me for sure."

Now Ran was completely confused. "What are you talking about? What has my illness to do with you?"

"He is talking nonsense, like usual," Shiho stated dryly. "It was pure chance that Asai had been brought into this hospital and that Ran has been the one in charge of him. It had nothing to do with you being a detective whatsoever, so stop feeling guilty already."

Shinichi pouted at her chiding, but still felt a bit better. It was true after all. Even if he wouldn't have been on the case, Asai would still have collapsed and that it had happened during Ran's shift had been a coincidence – nothing more.

"Though you should feel guilty about your reckless decision of getting yourself infected with that virus and almost dying, idiot," Shiho added after a moment, knowing that it would be best to get it out of way as soon as possible and that Shinichi tended to stave off those kinds of conversations.

"What..." Ran's shocked question wasn't more than a whisper. "You did what?"

Shiho stood up from Ran's bed and went over to Shinichi to check on him as well, but he shoved her away. If she wanted him to talk about it now, she could at least wait for a moment before poking him here and there.

"I had to do it, Ran. Maybe it wasn't the most elaborate plan, but it was the only way I could think of to safe you," he explained emphatically. "Asai already died, and I just couldn't…" His hands clenched into the stiff fabric of the bed sheets at the mere thought of losing her.

"Asai - died? ... But your-" Ran began horrified, realizing how much strain such a high fever put on the heart-muscle.

"He knew that, Ran-san," Shiho said calmly in Shinichi's stead, allowing him some time to compose himself.

"And the APTX-"

"Told him that too," Shiho sighed. "Did you really think that he would have listened to any reason when he knew you were suffering? I tried anyway, but you know how he is," she smiled while giving Shinichi a slight smack on the back of his head.

"Ow," he complained and rubbed the spot she had hit.

"You deserved that one for worrying Ran-san and for worrying me as well, by the way. Be a bit more considerate about your health. Though…"

She suddenly reached out to give him a short hug. "Thanks for the rescue, detective."

Hurriedly, she let go of him, took her tools and left the dumbfounded pair with a mumbled "See you later."

"She is still awkward about showing attachment, isn't she," Shinichi wondered and Ran snickered.

"She sure is and I don't think that will change anytime soon." She looked to him when she heard the soft rustling of his sheets as he shoved them away to get up and walk over to her again.

"Move over," he demanded.

"But Shiho-san said-"

"Miyano only said I had to lie down – she didn't specify where though," he smirked with a mischievous glint that had Ran laughing, while he got comfortable next to her.

"Also, she left without nagging us about medical stuff, so she didn't find anything that bothered her. By the way – she doesn't have much room to talk as she had been infected as well, even though not by choice."

Ran gasped. "What else did I miss while I was out? You have to tell me everything!"

Shinichi exhaled deeply and put an arm around her, pulling her close. "I'll tell you, but first - just let me hold you for a while."

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. She was there, she was fine and just with that, he felt alive again.

o-oOo-o
The End
o-oOo-o

A/N:
So, that wraps up this story. I'm still unsure if I will add some chapters about the company that tried to make the deal with Matsuoka (You remember? Yokoyama Inc.?) but so far I didn't come up with any plot for it, that's why I will end this fic here.

Thanks a lot for you reviews and I hope you had some fun while reading :)

Till next time!