Title: Hospitalized
Author: Shadow/Phantomness
Pairing: Championshipping (Lance x Ash/Red)
Fandom: Pokémon
Theme: #18, the smell of hospitals in winter
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Pokemon belongs to Nintendo and Shogakukan Comics. This non-profit, non-copyright infringing fanfiction belongs to me under international copyright laws and taking it is plagiarism. Thank you. *Phantomness bows*

Notes: <> for telepathy, ** for thoughts, italics if a pokemon talks

Warnings: AU, Shoujo-ai

Red groaned as she fuzzily blinked her eyes awake. Her nose wrinkled. She smelled strong disinfectant, and once her vision focused, she saw that she was lying in a hospital bed. Great. Just bloody great.

Lance was fast asleep on a hard plastic chair not more than two feet away.

Red coughed. Her throat was dry, but at least she was awake… and alive… she frowned as she mentally reached for her Henshin Wand.

It was still there and in one piece.

Thank goodness! Her memories were slightly fuzzy, but she remembered something about a monster… oh.

It had gotten her good with one of its attacks, but Lance must have destroyed it…

A moment later, a nurse bustled in. She was quite pleased to see that the patient was awake, and said she could go home tomorrow but to be careful. That was a nasty gash, and it was lucky it was shallow!

Red nodded, frowning. She’d have to take a break from being Uranus then…

Lance certainly didn’t mind. She simply scolded slightly, and then they walked home through the softly falling snow. They stopped on the way though, for fresh crepes, and that helped warm Red up.

“You were lucky.” Lance grinned. “If not for our accelerated healing…”

“I know.” Red shivered. “Did you help?”

“With my Viridian Power? A little, yes.”

“Thank you.”

“It is nothing. I could not heal you completely…” Lance’s fingers fisted, as she swore under her breath. “I’m sorry.”

“Lance, I’m alive, okay, and besides, it was my carelessness that led to this injury! It’s not your fault at all!”

“Really?”

“Really.” Red grinned, taking another bite from her strawberry crepe.

Lance finally sighed. “All right then. I just didn’t like seeing you in a hospital.”

“I know.” Red gave her lover a quick kiss. “But I’m okay now.”

“Thank Lugia for that!” They walked the last few blocks to Indigo Plateau, and then entered.

Suddenly, Red had a disturbing thought. “Lance…”

“Yes?”

“W-Won’t people know I’m a girl now?”

Lance smirked. “No. I didn’t tell the nurses who you really were. I just said that I found you bleeding in an alleyway.”

Red paled, but the excuse was a good one. “Okay.”

“Besides, with your hair down and those clothes, no one would mistake you. Plus… being Neptune puts a glamour on.”

“… What?”

“You haven’t changed back yet. I just changed your clothes.”

“Oh!”

“That’s why you’re healing so fast.”

Red blushed. “I didn’t even notice…”

“At least you’re out of the hospital now.”

Red nodded, and they said no more.

End Fic

Completed 11/3/06

Okay… this is a weird theme, but let’s see what we can do… and I wound up with more Sailor Moon-esque stuff!