"Breathe deep." Henry inhaled as he sucked on the tube hoping at least one of the blue balls floats but the only thing he managed to do is vibrated it. He exhaled in tiredness after being forced to do another. "I c-can't-" he says as he breathes through his mouth and swallowed his dry throat together. His mouth gaped apart while he tried to calm his breaths together.

He usually had physical therapy in the morning for his lungs and his casted legs. He didn't understand why today is so difficult for him to lift the damn ball with his own breaths. Last time he managed to lift two of them but today neither. "It's okay, you can try again." The therapist asks him again and he took the curling tube and placed them inside his mouth before he tried to inhale them again.

He coughs few times unable to do what he was told to and the therapy patted his back handing him a paper towel for him to express his cough. After few times he coughs, he could see blood spurted into the tissue and his eyebrow crooked. Seconds later he was handed a glass of water and he gulped them immediately.

"It will take some time but you can not give up." The therapist says and he nodded before he coughs again.

Today was exhausting for Henry. In the morning he had lung therapy and in the evening his leg therapy. They taught him how to use the crutches and how to get up from the bed or from the chair and how to descend or ascend from the stairs. He was fine doing all the physical part but the lungs therapy exhaust him the most.

He was off from the oxygen since he started his therapy few days ago and for three days, he hasn't seen Alex anywhere. He wished he could ask the nurse to call him but he was too afraid to even ask them thinking he wasn't supposed to do so. The nurses knew Alex well since he had been visiting him a lot but ever since Alex offered him a place to stay, he had seem to vanish and Henry didn't see him since.

Maybe he regretted it and was too afraid to say to his face, Henry thoughts. It haunts him in his sleep and when he is awake, he was too tired to even think about this. Every time the door open, the only person he wishes that would come is Alex but for the last three days, Alex didn't come and visit him. Henry exhaled feeling the irony of his life has yet failed him once again. Did he really think life would be this kind to him, to offer him help after everything that he did?

He felt the urge to walk to the bathroom not to use the facility but because it was the only place he could walk too and be alone. His next bed neighbor was an old guy already at his end stage of life and he is called Walter. He is non verbal and vegetable states which Henry glad cause he won't have to entertain his questions of where he came from or why he has no one came and visit. The more he thought, the more he could see how his life would be in the future, like Walter here. Alone in the hospital bed and no one by his bedside to talk to him or cared for him other than the nurses.

Henry sat by the edge of the bed and grabbed his crutches before he lifted himself up and as soon as he stood, a sudden wave of tightness came flooding his chest and he gasped.

He inhaled and exhaled few times clutching on his right chest feeling the dizziness running through his head and once again, he coughs vigorously. He grabbed the tissue paper from his bedside and coughs further into it and saw the splutter of blood on them. He almost loss balanced when he struggled to hold on the crutches and coughs at the same time.

It took him a while before he could actually move again and as he took a step towards the bathroom, the pain came and overcome his visions. A wave dizziness blurred his sight and he could almost feel the floor beneath his feet turned into a slide and he swore he would just let the floor catches him if he did fall.

But as his body slumped, he waited for the cold hard floor to hit his head but the only thing he could feel was actually a warm familiar scent with a muscular arm wrapped around him. Slowly his eyes focused on the room and his side was the guy with dark curls and curling eyelashes batting his brown eyes at him.

"Alex?" He called but his voice is hoarse and he could see Alex's mouth moving but he couldn't hear exactly what he said. His visions is still blurred and the only thing he could focused on was Alex's face. How his eyes blinked and the tip of his nose just right above his cupid's bow and his lips, muttering words Henry couldn't understand.

"Henry." He called and Henry mind was brought back into the room. He was on the floor being held by Alex in his embrace and before he could say anything he coughs again and he cupped his mouth not wanting to cough on Alex's face.

When he removed his palm from his mouth he could Alex's eyes widen at the horror of his view. The blood had gained more than earlier and it had more clots and deeper shades of color mixed with lighter hint of red in his palm and Henry couldn't care less, he felt tired, he felt sleepy from all of this and the next thing he knew, he was being lifted from the floor and on to the bed.

"Henry stay with me." He could hear Alex's voice once again and he saw Alex had normal clothes on instead of his usual scrubs and there are people coming into his room now putting him on monitor and the oxygen tube was back around his nose and tucked behind his ears.

"I need CBC and paged Dr Cohen for me." He heard Alex commanded the nurse and his voice grew distant, "Henry." That was the last thing he could hear and slowly he drifted off to sleep.

Henry woke up few hours later and the first thing he could see was Alex sat by his bedside. His face is filled with worried and Henry's dizziness didn't actually wear off, it's still there only now it's more lighter. "Alex?" He called and Alex grabbed his hand in his. Henry looked down at their palm over each other's hand before Alex realized what he did and released it.

"What happened?" Henry asks and tried to sat up with help from Alex. "How long you have been coughing blood?" He asks and Henry shook his head trying to remember, "Uhm- since yesterday." He says and Alex sighed. "Why didn't you tell anyone?" He asks and Henry could only shake his head, "I didn't think it was that serious." He says and Alex stroked his curls with his fingers.

"Where have you been?" Henry asks and Alex still had his fingers in between in his curls staring into Henry's face before he answered, but before he could, he was interrupted by Henry.

"Look, it's okay, you don't have to say anything, I get it. It's fine, I'll find some place else to stay. I still has the key to my friend's house. I can stay with him." Henry rambles on about what he thought Alex was thinking only to earn him more questions.

"Henry." He called and Henry finally stops rambling. He looked up to his eyes and they both locked gaze, "Percy is no longer in the state isn't he?" He says and he could see Henry's eyes widen in shocked of Alex knowing the truth.

"How did you know?" He asks and Alex sighs, "Because I looked it up. Percy Okonjo, used to live in East on 8th street, isn't it?" He asks and Henry nods, "He doesn't live there anymore. Where is he? Is he even your real friend?" Alex asks and Henry exhaled in shakiness before he answered.

"He was my friend, he moved back to London." He says and Alex nods before he returned his gaze back to Henry. "Thank you for being honest with me. I'm sorry for being MIA for the last three days but like I said, I never had company in my own home so I had to have it cleaned before your arrival. Then, I found this." He says and stood up from his seat and Henry eyed his movement. He thought Alex is leaving the room and headed to the door but instead he went to the cupboard by his bedside and brought a duffel bag out and placed them on the chair besides Henry.

Alex took out a sweatshirt and a sweatpants before he gave them to Henry. "I hope it fits." He says and Henry eyed him still holding on to the clothes in his hand. "I can't have this." He says trying to hand it back to Alex.

"So you're gonna wear the hospital gown all the time once you're outside?" He asks and Henry looked down on his own body and noticed the hospital gown he had on was as depressing as his life is. He retorted his hand back and hugged the clothes in his arm feeling the tears starts to dwell in. He inhaled the scent of Alex on the clothes and he is loving it. "Are you okay?" He asks and Henry nods and Alex could see he is actually not okay. He blinks and a single tear dropped on his cheek,

"My first clothes after so many years." He says and it hit Alex. Henry had been homeless for the past years and the only thing he had was the one thing he had that night. "Well it's yours. You can keep it as long as you want." He said and Henry mouthed a thank you to Alex and he nods.

"I brought some food." Alex says as he starts rummaging through the paper back on the table for Henry and Henry eyed him placing the food one by one on the table. "You need your strength if you wanna get out from here." He says and Henry smiled weakly at him. "Someone's eager getting me out of here." He says and Alex bringing a cup of porridge towards him and handed him a spoon for him to eat, "Damn right I do. It's been a while since I had roommates." He says and Henry chuckled. "What happened to me earlier?" Henry asks and Alex grabbed one of the food in his hand and sat back on the chair besides Henry. "Your lungs is still in recovery, sometimes it can bleed again from the inside. I checked on your X-ray it wasn't much fluid inside so I don't need to put another tube in."

The fear plastered all over Henry's face and his hand clutches on his chest where he had the previous tube on and Alex noticed his act, "It's fine, everything is okay, you just too tired for all the therapy. That is why you need to regain your strength." He says and starts grabbing the spoon from Henry's hand and scooped the porridge before bringing it towards Henry's lips.

Henry eyed him surprised at his sudden gesture but opened his mouth for him anyway and he feed him the porridge before he placed the spoon back into the bowl and continued to eat his own noddle.

Henry is grateful for now for having Alex by his side and wonder how long does he has to enjoy this before life starts kicking him back on to the streets and waited for death actually come for him one day. He gave up all of his thoughts for now and settled for Alex by his side and that is all that matters.

Almost two weeks later Henry was finally released from the hospital and although he is at a fragile state and his leg still in a cast, Alex promised that he would be alright seeing he is doing well in his last therapy. Henry wasn't allowed to ask about the payment and all Alex told him is that it's being taken care off, which it made Henry more furious but decides to pay him back as soon as he can. 

He was wheeled out from the hospital and as soon as they reached the entrance, Henry was welcome with the sudden coldness of New York winter air and Henry pulled his jacket closer to hide his coldness.

"Are you cold?" He asks and Henry shook his head, "I'll manage." He says with a soft smile and Alex patted him on his shoulder. Few seconds later a car pull up right in front of them and Alex waved at the driver before opening the car door for Henry.

Henry could see the driver is a lady almost as same age like Alex probably younger but he couldn't tell. She has slightly darker skin than Alex and her curls is wrapped nicely around her head and she had a normal winter clothes on with her ankle high boots.

"Hey, I'm Nora Hollaren, nice to finally meet you Henry." She says extending her hand towards Henry and he shook her hand with his. "You too." Henry might have heard her name once or twice from Alex and he knew she and Alex was best friend back in college and they used to date but now they stick on being friends.

Henry climbed into the car clutching on his side feeling the pain as he struggled to adjust himself and his stupid cast is too big for the normal seat to seat ratio and he had to squeeze in so it would fit.

"Are you okay?" Alex asks seeing his face changed into a grimace and he could see Henry clenching his jaw tight holding on to the pain. Henry nodded exhaling few times before Alex could finally convinced that he is alright.

The ride was not that far but because of traffic it took them twenty minutes to reach Alex's apartment. They rode the elevator together and it stops at eleventh floor before the door opened again. A guy was waiting from outside the elevator and as soon as the door was opened the guy smiled sheepishly at Alex and leaned against the elevator door.

"Donde has estado?" The guy asks and Henry had a weird look on his face not able to understand what the guy said. Only then he saw it was Alex he was talking to and not him. "Come on Henry, this is going to take a while." Nora says and helped him out from the elevator and Henry stopped turning his head back to see Alex was talking to the guy and he never sees him smile like that before and the guy is running his finger up and down Alex's jacket playing with his zipper. "Who is he?" Henry asks Nora and he could see her rolled her eyes at them.

"That is Miguel, Alex- fling?" She says and they stopped few doors after and she held the key card over the doorknob and it turned green to open. "Welcome." She says and held the door open for Henry but Henry still stood in his crutches eyeing them both still stood by the elevator talking, more like flirting and it hits him. Alex is not his, this is not a relationship and Alex is just helping him, why would he feel insecure about Alex's liking someone else.

He took a step into the apartment and Nora closed the door behind him leaving Alex still talking to Miguel.

"I haven't seen you in a while. I thought you are avoiding me." Miguel says and Alex snickered a laugh, "What? No! Work has been busy, you know this time of the year." He says and his arm leaned against the wall. The elevator was soon forgotten the moment Miguel saw Alex.

"I miss you." He says as he leaned closer and Alex smiled feeling Miguel's hand running up and down his abdomen slightly lower to his pants button. "I miss your hands on me." He whispered into Alex's lips and it was barely an inch away and Alex could feel the warmth smoking smell coming from Miguel's breath. Miguel loves to smoke and he could smell the nicotine coming out of his breath as he inhaled and he didn't mind at all.

He could feel Miguel's hand travelled lower to his pants and cupped his growing erection but he slowly removed his hand away. "No Miguel, lo siento. I got company." Alex says and pushes him away few inches and he could see the look on his face was rather unsatisfying.

"That twink? What's your deal? Are you renting your apartment now?" He says and Alex sighed scratching his nape before he walked away from him. "He's just someone that needs my help for now." He says and Miguel still had that look on him, "When are you going to realized that you are not Superman Alex? You can't save them all." He says and Alex smirked still pacing backwards towards his apartment, his gaze still towards Miguel by the elevator.

"At least I tried." He says and waved him goodbye before he pressed on the door bell of his own home and Nora unlocked the door for him. He saw Miguel finally stepped into the elevator and he closed the door behind him.

He stepped into his own apartment finding Henry already settled in his room with help from Nora and he took off his jacket before hanging them by the closet.

"I can't believe you and Miguel hooked up. I thought it was just one time thing." Nora says and she could see the stupid grinned on his face as he turned around. "What? It was fun." He says and Nora shakes her head. "Okay, then what about this?" She asked holding out her palm to her side. Alex knew she meant Henry and he sighed.

"What?" He asked pretending not knowing what she meant by it. "Offering stranger to stay at your apartment? Someone that you barely know? What is going on with you?" She asks and Alex shot her a look and hushed her afraid Henry might hear her.

"I'm helping people, isn't that what we're supposed to do?" He asks and headed towards the kitchen and Nora shook her head. "Help yes, but your help ended when Henry is already in the ICU and you're supposed to leave it at that. Why would you offered him your home? A junkie no less." She says and Alex shot her an angry look.

"Because if someone would do what I did, June would be alive by now." He says and Nora clasped her palm over her mouth and saw how it triggered Alex. "Oh Alex." She says as she walked towards him and wrapped her arm around Alex's torso. Alex returned the favor by hugging her back and tried to held his tears in. He was strong for almost six years now and today, the thought of June brought him back to the night he found out his sister was murdered.

"I didn't mean too, I'm so sorry." She says as they broke their hugs and Alex nodded. "But Henry is not June. You can't changed the past Alex. Definitely not by making up to others." She says as she cupped his cheek in her palm.

Alex nodded knowing well what she meant by that and he inhaled a sharp breath before he exhaled them longly. "At least it would ease me a little. By helping others, it would feel like I am helping June." Nora nodded before pulling him for another hug.

Little did he know, Henry was listening on the other side of the door and he didn't want to interrupt them so he decides to stay in the room for now.