A few days after Itachi and I became a couple, everything went downhill. I arrived at the mansion with Serenity only to find that Itachi hadn't gotten out of bed that morning. Kisame explained to me that Itachi had been off the night before after Serenity and I had left, making me extremely worried. So I left Serenity with Kisame and headed to Itachi's room. Upon entering the room, I was horrified. Itachi was passed out on the floor, nearly at his bed. He had dried blood around his mouth and on his hands. It seemed like he had an episode and fallen unconscious before he was able to make it to his bed.

"Itachi!" I cried out instantly as I made my way to him. I lifted him gently off the floor and began to examine him. It seemed like his heart was still beating, but it was strangled and sounding difficult. I immediately began to heal him, but I could tell that nothing was happening. I wasn't able to heal the man I loved and I wasn't sure if he'd ever wake up again. So, I set him back down on the floor and hurried off to get Sakura and Sasuke. "Sakura! Sasuke, you guys need to come quick, something happened!" I was vague for a reason. I didn't want the others to know quite yet.

"What's going on? Did something happen?" Sakura questioned as she followed me with Sasuke right behind her.

"I found Itachi and he doesn't look too good." I simply explained as we all hurried off to Itachi's room. Once in there, Sakura immediately moved into action. She gently picked Itachi up and examined him.

"Something is wrong, his medication shouldn't allow him to react like this. Was he taking it every day as we told him to?" I nodded my head and told her that he was indeed taking it every day. "I don't understand then, why is he relapsing?"

"He didn't seem right a few days ago, maybe this has been going on and he's been hiding it? Maybe all the fighting he's done has caused his illness to flare up and get worse?"

"I don't know the answer to that, but I do know that we need to get him to the infirmary. We need to check him out properly there." Sakura looked to Sasuke and the man instantly moved towards her and Itachi. He gently picked up his brother and headed to the infirmary with Sakura and I following closely behind. Once there, we watched as Sasuke set the man down on the table and backed away.

Sakura and I immediately went to work. We removed Itachi's shirt and checked his chest and all the organs there. We realized that there was something not only wrong with his heart but a few other organs as well. It was painfully obvious that if nothing was done, then Itachi would die. I couldn't let that happen, so I immediately began to question Sakura.

"What can we do to help him? Is there any medication that can help?"

"I don't think so, Adryn. I think all we can do for him now, is make him comfortable as we try to figure this out. We need to make sure he stays alive until we can figure out how to save his life." Sakura simply responded as she laid Itachi's shirt back over him to cover him up. She then moved to look through the medical cabinets. There she got a few things out and put them on a table. She then began to mix things and put them in an IV drip for Itachi. Once she was done with that, she put the IV in his arm. "This should keep him alive for a little while, but we need to figure out what's wrong with him."

"How will we figure that out? We thought we figured it out before, but we clearly didn't. We need help."

"I think I know who can help us," Sasuke stated that then left the room. Sakura and I just stood there, confused, but ultimately, we just accepted it. Eventually, Sakura bid me farewell and left me alone in the room with Itachi. I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do now, but I figured that Kisame would want to know, so I kissed Itachi's forehead and left the room as well. I hurried off to Kisame, who was in the living room. Once there, I pulled him and Serenity aside to inform them.

"What's going on, Adryn?" Kisame questioned as soon as he saw the look on my face.

"Itachi isn't doing too good. He... he might not pull through this time." I explained with a frown on my face. I was trying hard to keep it together, but it wasn't working. Kisame could clearly see it in me.

"He'll be okay. He's a strong man." Kisame patted me on my back as Serenity hugged me.

"It'll be okay, Mama. Papa is strong!" Serenity spoke as she looked up to me. I couldn't help but let a few tears escape as I reached down to hug my child.

"I know, honey, I know, but I'm still scared," I informed my child as I held her. "I'm scared that I'll lose Itachi." I couldn't help but let a few more tears escape my eyes. I felt Kisame crouch down with us and wrap his arms around both of us.

"Everything will be okay, Adryn, don't you worry. Itachi wouldn't leave you two like this." Kisame said to reassure Serenity and I. I nodded my head and leaned into him. I wasn't sure what to do now, but I knew that I wanted to be by Itachi's side for as long as I could be. So once I could stand again, I planned to head to Itachi's bedside to watch over him.

~

A few days passed by with Itachi's condition unchanged. I remained by his side with Serenity the entire time. We hadn't seen Sasuke in that time either. It was a little concerning, due to my assumption that he'd want to spend time with his brother, but I wasn't worried too badly. I knew that no matter what, Sasuke would be alright and he'd appear with "who can help us" eventually. "Eventually" turned into today as Sasuke arrived in the infirmary, bursting through the doors.

"Is my brother still alive?" Sasuke questioned as soon as he was through the door. I looked up to him and nodded my head. It was only me and him in the room currently, other than the unconscious Itachi. "Good, I think I have people who can help." Sasuke moved out of the doorway, to reveal Kabuto and a much younger Orochimaru.

"Kabuto? Father? What is going on here?" I questioned when I saw the two of them. I was shocked and confused. "How can they help Itachi?"

"You see, my daughter, Kabuto and I were asked by Sasuke to look into his brother's illness. I think we have come across a cure for him." Orochimaru responded as he looked over from me to Itachi. "I believe that it all stems from his heart."

"Explain more?" I questioned after Orochimaru stopped talking for a moment.

"We believe that Itachi's heart isn't working as well as it's supposed to. Therefore nothing in his body is operating the way it's supposed to." Kabuto responded in place of Orochimaru. He made sure to say "we" instead of "I" like my father did.

"His heart? How is someone supposed to fix that?" Orochimaru and Kabuto then looked to me.

"Only you can save Itachi's life now." Orochimaru began to explain to me. "We plan to remove your heart and implant it into Itachi. Since your heart will grow back in time."

"Let's do it!" I immediately spoke up, but Sasuke was a bit hesitant and spoke up as soon as I did.

"There are many dangers to this. You might never wake up if this happens." Sasuke seemed worried for me.

"I'll do anything as long as Itachi gets better." My resolve was absolute. I was going to do this, and Itachi was going to get better and I'd wake up eventually. I mean hopefully, I'd wake up. Regenerating a heart was difficult and more intense than regenerating a wound. Even so, I'd do anything in my power to help the man that I loved with all my heart.

"Very well. Let's get started." Orochimaru stated, confusing me a bit.

"Don't we need to go to a better facility to do the surgeries?" I questioned confusedly. This was just a simple infirmary, we couldn't do a surgery here, right? However, Orochimaru just smirked at me.

"No, my dear. This will do." Orochimaru led me to a patient table/bed thing next to Itachi. "Sasuke, leave the room and make sure no one enters."

"...Fine." Sasuke seemingly reluctantly, left the room. I could feel that he was standing outside the door, ready to come in at any point. He clearly didn't want to leave me in the hands of two former criminals. Even so, I trusted my father to an extent and Kabuto was once a good friend of mine. So I knew that neither of them would hurt me intentionally.

"Now Adryn, we will put you under anesthesia for this so you won't feel a thing," Kabuto explained to me as he went through the cabinets to find what he was looking for. Once he found it, he grabbed it and pulled out a needle. I instantly looked away as I couldn't really handle needles.

"I really won't feel anything? Will Itachi?" I finally asked to distract myself from the needle being filled with liquid.

"He'll be fine, you both will be."

"Alright..." I was feeling hesitant now, but I knew everything would be fine. So, I just laid down on the table/bed and allowed the two to do whatever they needed to do to me. As Kabuto injected me with the anesthesia, I closed my eyes and allowed the medication to take me into a deep sleep.

~

Darkness was all I could see, but I could hear many things. The sound of feet shuffling and the whispers of people around me. It took me a few minutes to realize that I was still asleep, but was also wide awake at the same time. I was conscious, but I couldn't open my eyes or move a muscle. That could only mean one thing. I was in a coma.

After a few minutes, or what felt like minutes, I could hear someone come close to me. They took my hand and began to speak to me.

"Adryn." It was Kisame's voice. I would know that voice anywhere. "Wake up, alright? You can't stay in a coma for the rest of your life. I know you wouldn't like that. We all need you to wake up. Serenity misses you and Itachi is upset with you. He can't believe you'd risk your life for him. He's grateful but angry that you are like this now." Kisame paused as if he was pondering something. "I guess you'd want to know about how Itachi's surgery went. He's doing just fine. Yesterday he was cleared to get up from the bed he was trapped in and leave the infirmary. However, he won't leave your side. I had to force him to go take a shower and take care of himself just to be able to talk to you alone. The others are going to come in after me as well. We all are worried about you." I felt Kisame lean down and press his lips to my forehead. "I need you to wake up, Adryn. I can handle you being with Itachi, but I can't handle you being like this."

With that, Kisame left the room and I could hear the door close. I wasn't sure what I felt at that moment. I could hear how torn up Kisame was over me being in a coma. I could practically feel the heartbreak he was going through. I could only imagine how upset Itachi was with me right now. I'm sure Kisame only said the bare minimum about how Itachi was feeling. Even so, he was alright and that was all that mattered. However, I couldn't help but feel a little bad. Serenity missed me and that hurt me. I hoped I'd wake up soon.

I'm not sure how long it took for the door to open again, but eventually, I heard the creaking of it and then footsteps coming towards me.

"Hey, bitch." It was Hidan. If I could have smiled, I would have at that moment. I could hear the lack of bitterness in his voice as he spoke to me. "I can't believe you are so willing to throw away your life for that fuck. I don't understand how you could love someone so much to risk never waking up... Then again, I guess I understand a little bit." I could only assume he was talking about someone he loved, and if I could speak, I would have teased him about Kakuzu. However, I couldn't, so I didn't. "You just need to wake up. Your fucking brat is crying all the time and is desperate for you to wake your ass up. So wake up." With those words, Hidan hurried out of the room. I could hear his fast footsteps leaving the room, however, I didn't hear the door close behind him. I could sense someone standing in the doorway. Slowly, the person approached me and stopped directly next to me.

"You are an idiot." It was Kakuzu speaking to me now. "You are a fool and a dumbass. Even more than Hidan. You should never have risked your life for Itachi. You should have let him die." Kakuzu then began to walk away from me but paused. "Wake up, Adryn. It's much better to have you annoying me than not hearing you at all." Then Kakuzu left the room and closed the door behind him.

No one else came to me that day. It was lonely just laying there. Especially boring as well since I couldn't move or speak. It sucked. However, eventually, I fell into the darkness.

~

"Adryn." I heard my name being called by a familiar voice. It was Sasuke. So, I regained my consciousness to listen to what he had to say. "Adryn, I should have stopped you from doing this. I shouldn't have let you save my brother. It posed too much of a risk to you. I had a feeling that this would happen." Sasuke then paused and I could hear him moving closer. "You need to wake up. You've been a constant in my life for so long, I'm not sure what I'd do if you were gone. Besides, my brother needs you now. Serenity needs you as well. You have to wake up." I wanted to respond to him so badly, but I couldn't. So I just listened as he walked away and left the room, closing the door behind him.

I couldn't believe that I just had to lay here and listen to my friends and family tell me all this. I knew that I needed to wake up, but I wasn't sure how. I couldn't force myself to wake up no matter how hard I tried. I wanted to desperately, but waking up just wasn't an option right now.

Soon, the door opening again brought me out of my thoughts. I could hear someone approach me, and then just stand there. It was like they were thinking about what to say. I then realized who it was. It was my father, Orochimaru. I was a little shocked at that. I never expected him to approach me like this.

"Kabuto told me I should come in here and speak to you. He thinks that you might be able to hear us talking to you. So Adryn, I'll tell you this once. You need to wake up. You are my only child, for now, it would be disappointing if you were to die like this." I can't say I was shocked at how my father was speaking and the words he said. He almost sounded like he didn't care, but did care all at the same time. "Many people would be upset with you if you didn't wake up. They'll all blame me and Kabuto if you remain like this. So, my daughter, wake up. If not for my sake, then for your own daughter's sake." With those words, Orochimaru patted my hand and then exited the room. Moments, or what seemed like moments later, Kabuto entered the room. I could feel him right from the start.

"I know you can hear me." Kabuto started as he came closer to me. "I'll start with telling you how devastated Serenity is. She refuses to eat or drink or even sleep. Itachi and Kisame have to force her to eat and when she sleeps, it's only because she's too tired to remain awake any longer. I'm sure you don't want that kind of life for your child, so wake up Adryn. It isn't good for you to remain asleep for much longer. I fear that if you don't wake up soon, you'll never wake up at all. Force yourself to heal and awaken if you must. Just do it quickly." Kabuto reached out and grabbed my hand and squeezed it. "We all want you back. You and I were once very close, I'd like to regain that friendship but only if you wake up." Kabuto paused and then began to speak again after he'd let go of my hand. "I believe that Itachi loves you deeply. You should have seen the look on his face when Lord Orochimaru and I informed him of the state you're in. He just doesn't realize it or isn't ready to admit it yet. However, I'm sure when he comes to see you, he'll explain all this to you as well." Kabuto then began to walk away but paused to speak one last time. "Remember what I said, you only have a short window left to wake back up. Don't miss it." With those words lingering in the air, Kabuto left the room.

Hearing what he had to say gave me anxiety. I couldn't believe that I might never wake up. I never once thought about something like that. I always thought that in time I would wake up, but now it seems like I don't have the time to just dwell on this and take my time. I needed to wake up and I needed it to happen now. The man I'd loved for so long just confessed to me and became mine, I couldn't just let that go and break his heart now. Not only that, but I just got my child back and can grow a good relationship with her so I couldn't let that go either. I needed to wake up.

In my thoughts, I didn't realize that the door opened, until two sets of feet came shuffling towards me. It broke me out of my terror-filled thinking and back to reality. I could easily sense who was now in the room with me. It was Serenity and Itachi. I had wondered when they would come in here.

"Mama... Please, you need to wake up. I don't think me and Papa could go on if you aren't around. I just was reunited with you, I can't lose you now." Serenity was sniffling and I could hear the sleepiness and fear in her voice. She was forcing herself to stay awake and to not break down all at once. It hurt my soul to hear her sound like that. "You'll wake up right now, right Mama? You won't let me think you're going to die, right?" Serenity held my hand and squeezed it tightly. "Please Mama! You need to wake up so you can take care of me again! I don't want to lose my Mama!" Serenity began to sob and released my hand, letting it fall off of the bed I was on. If I could have cried right then, I would have. It killed me to hear her talking like this. It killed me to hear her crying over me as well.

I was trying very hard to wake up, but the darkness was just too strong. Every inch I went, the darkness pulled me back a foot. I was in a losing battle. I just didn't have the strength to fight this.

"Serenity!" Itachi called out suddenly as I could hear little feet running away from me.

"Papa, if Mama won't wake up, then neither will I!" I wasn't sure what she was going to do, but I heard heavier footsteps following her down the hallway, meaning that Kisame must have been there as well outside of the door. Itachi didn't follow Serenity though, he just remained by my side.

"Adryn, your daughter is hurting right now and I'm not sure how to help her. I wish I could give her the strength to get through this, but without you, I'm not sure it'd do any good." Itachi then paused and reached out to grab my hand, the one that'd fallen off the bed. It held it in his strong hand tightly. "If I cant give her strength, then maybe I could give you some to wake up. I have a confession to make." Itachi then took a deep breath and began to speak once more. "Adryn, I lied when I told you how I felt about you. I realized it then, but couldn't tell you to your face, and I guess I still can't do that now. When they told me you were in a coma because you saved my life, it nearly killed me. I couldn't bare thinking that the woman I loved could die because she decided to save me. Sasuke is furious with me but also relieved that I am cured now. I can't blame him for being angry, after all, if I was awake before, I could have told you not to do this." Itachi paused and allowed my head to start spinning. He said, "the woman I loved". Does that mean he's in love with me? "I bet right now you are thinking about what I just said, and the answer is yes, Adryn, I am in love with you. I was... unsure of it before and worried that things would end badly this time as well, so I refused to admit it, even to myself. However, after seeing you laying lifelessly here, I knew I could hide it no further. I'm sure the others know as well. They can see far better than I can sometimes. I am in love with you Adryn, so please, for my sake, for Serenity's, Kisame's and everyone else's' who loves you sake, wake up."