"Right, here. Small sips. I don't want you to aspirate. If you can manage to drink the whole cup with no signs of your muscles failing, then I will remove the tube and you can start having liquid diet from today." One of the speech and swallow therapist came to see Henry today and she insisted to start with the swallowing assessment first for Henry to gain back his ability. She thinks that if Henry's muscle is strong enough to swallow then it's a matter of time for him to speak again.

Henry starts sipping on the edge of the plastic cup, swallowing the small amount of cold water passing through his numbing throat. Initially he coughs after his attempt to swallow and the therapist already wanted to snatch the cup away from him but Henry pulls back telling her to back off with his palm raised making Alex proud of him.

He tries again, swallowing carefully and just in time, he finished the water in the cup with no signs of him breaking into another cough. Henry handed her back the cup with a smug smile on his face pointing at the tube that has been bugging him for the last couple of days since he woke.

"Alright, alright smart ass. Let me remove the tube then." She says with a smirk on her face and starts putting on her gloves before removing the tape over Henry's cheek and nose tip. Alex watched carefully as she told Henry to hold his breath and starts pulling out the longest tube he had ever seen coming out of someone.

He thought it would never end like a clown pulling out endless handkerchiefs from their sleeves but finally he saw the end of the tube left Henry's nose followed by Henry's cough and his adorable sneezes after.

He handed him a tissue for Henry to clean his nose and noticed the blood stained over the tissue that worries him.

"It's okay, it's normal to bleed a little. Just keep an eye if it bleeds down his nose continuously alright?" She says tapping Henry's shoulder lightly with her now glove free hand. Henry nodded before another sneeze escaped his nose and Alex had to hide his smile from how adorable it does to him.

"Right, now we're going for the big gun." She says pulling a chair close to Henry's bed and start examined Henry's throat. She pressed on his neck lightly to feel the bruised and the swollen area had finally came down. She shone a light into Henry's throat pressing his tongue down with a wooden depressor before she tossed it into the bin next to Henry's bed. She sighed flicking the penlight off and shoved it into her coat pocket.

"Okay. Follow my voice." She instructed and starts making a tone from low to high for Henry to follow. Henry tries, God knows he does cause the only thing he could formed is air out of his throat and Alex could see how frustrated he become.

"Breathe in." She instructed when she saw how devastated Henry gotten by her exercise. Henry followed inhaling his breath through his nose like she had instructed him.

"When you exhaled, through the throat. Feel it vibrates through your neck and the sound will come by itself." She instructs and Henry nodded inhaling a deep breath once more before letting out an exhale through his throat.

Henry tried couple times, each inhaled deeper than earlier so he could exhaled longer. Until his fourth tries only he managed the slightest sound with the lowest pitch they could hear but its there and they all gasped especially Alex.

"You did it baby! Again!" Alex encouraged him and Henry smiles grew wider when he inhaled another deep breath. Only this time when he exhaled, a cough disrupts his exercise and sent him into a fit.

Henry was offered a cup of water to soothe the cough from his throat but somehow the cough never leaves. Each time he inhaled and exhaled, another cough escaped and the therapist decides to stop their exercise.

"Okay, enough for today. I think you did a very good job Mr Fox. Just have patient and you will get there. it's no point to rush. I'll see you both tomorrow." She says before offered her hand towards Henry and Alex and left the room.

Alex took a seat next to him in bed, arms wrapped around Henry's shoulder pulling him closer to his side with his chin buried in Henry's hair, his legs rested over the bed with Henry's leg hidden under the blanket.

"You'll get there babe. One day at time. Have faith." Alex assured him but Henry didn't bother to reply and stares deeply in spaces before him. He leaned his head over Alex's shoulder wrapping his arms around Alex's torso carefully avoiding the wound on his sides.

Henry eventually fell asleep on Alex's shoulder for hours and Alex managed to slip away from his side so he could let him rests properly on the bed. He lowered Henrys bed down and stayed on the chair staring at him in silent.

Henry stirred hours later when he heard Alex pulled the curtain closed after the sun just set. He smiled when he caught Henry staring back at him with his sleepy gaze. His fingers softly rubs his eyes and tries raise himself into a sitting position.

"Hey sleepyhead." Alex whispered slowly trudge closer and sat himself on the edge of the bed. He cupped Henry's cheek softly rubbing his thumb before leaned his lips over his forehead. Henry looked tired, exhausted to be honest despite he just woke up from days of sleeping. But despite that, he put on the widest smile on his face with no questions asked. Later he pulled out the whiteboard and the marker from the bedside and starts writing down words for Alex.

Are you going home?

"No baby. Not yet. Wanna eat something?" He asks offered the tray of hospital food containing the clear soup that looks like pot washed water. Henry face contorted in a grimace of disgust and shook his head instead.

Lost my appetite.

Alex sighed placing the tray cover back down before he grabbed the chocolate milk drink on the side and immediately Henry's eyes blew wide in excitement. His mouth gaped apart in surprise staring at Alex smirking back at him.

"Easy. Don't want you to choke." He says handing him the drink and Henry didn't waste anymore seconds sipping through the straw. His cheeks are puffed with assuming moaning but nothing was heard except for his small coughs after he swallowed.

Henry cleared his throat before grabbing the marker again to write.

Have I told you how much I love you?

Henry twisted the board to face Alex and sipped on the drink with his mouth hidden behind it. Alex smirked lowering the board down with his forefingers before he scooted closer ghosting his lips over Henry's smiling face. "Not today." He whispered softly pressing their lips together in a kiss.

He loves it when he still could see how much Henry blushed even though they had kissed hundreds of times since they declared their love to each other. But before he could go for another kiss, Henry pushed him back by his chest and cupped his palm over his mouth with eyes widen in fear.

Alex knew what those gestured meant and rushed immediately to grab the trash can by his side that was thankfully empty before Henry starts spilling out the rest of the chocolate milk into the blue plastic. Alex didn't waste time pressing the call button for help when he saw Henry gagged further spilling out everything inside the trash.

The nurse barged in seconds later grabbing the gloves by the door and starts taking over to comfort Henry. She grabbed the vomit bag that hung on the side of the wall and starts pulling out the trash can from underneath Henry's chin.

"Did he vomited before he drank too?" She asks but Alex was too stunt to reply and felt guilt running through his mind right now. "Alex!" She yelled his name that made him snapped his thought back into the room. The nurse, Lisa has been taking care of Henry since the day he came to this unit. She and Alex had established a connection throughout Henry's entire care for her to be comfortable calling Alex by his first name.

"Focus. Did he vomit before he drinks too?" She asks and Alex shook his head immediately to answer her. "No, just after he drank that." He says feeling guilt running through his chest.

Henry literally vomited back all of the amount he had taken and by the time he was finished, he barely had anything left in his stomach to spill. His breath heaved and his body weakened from the event that made him slumped back into the bed trying to catch his breath.

"I'm so sorry Henry but if you continue to vomit, we might have to put back the tube. You need nutrition sweetie, and hydration." She says wiping Henry's chin from the residue vomit that lingers. Henry shook his head back at her in protest refused to have that annoying tube back into his throat.

"Please." He mouthed at her after she was done and they all could see how she contemplates whether or not to call Dr Wilson about Henry.

"Alright, try drink water first. Maybe dairy is a bad choice." She suggest and noticed Alex has gone silence since she came into the room. His eyes focused on Henry in bed trying to grab the glass from her hand with his shaking fingers.

"Alex, he's alright. See? He's fine now." Lisa tries to reassure him and even Henry himself gestured Alex to sit back on the bed with him.

"It's my fault baby. I'm so sorry." He muttered slowly inching himself closer but Henry shook his head in disagreement before scribbling few words back on the board.

I wanted it. It's never your fault darling.

Henry replied before curling his fingers over Alex's tremor hands. "Are you sure he's alright? Maybe we should get Dr Wilson know." He asks and Lisa sighed placing the glass back on the side.

"If I get her involved and definitely she will forced Henry to take back the tube. Just keep an eye on him and if he tolerated water, maybe tried juice instead of dairy. Sometimes it helps. If he still vomits, then I will call her, I promise." She assured him and Henry couldn't agree more with her suggestion. She left the room after Henry managed to convince her that he could tolerate a glass of water with no gagging reflex.

"Breathe." Henry mouthed his lips back at Alex that made him snapped his scowl back at him. "Don't tell me to breathe when I almost kill you." He snapped but Henry smiled back at him with his wrist flicked dismissively.

So dramatic.

Henry writes on the board for Alex again that made him clicked his tongue at Henry. He couldn't believe how calm Henry was after what just happened. He nearly choked because of him and Henry took it as a joke.

"Henry- " Alex was cut off by Henry's hand over his lips with their faces practically inches from each other. With his other free hand, he writes down on the board and show it to Alex.

Stop blaming yourself or I won't kiss you anymore.

Alex raised his one eyebrow back at Henry when he felt him lowering his hand down for his reply. "Really? After what happened, you'd think I let you kiss me with that vomitus mouth?" Henry feigned a hurtful gesture towards Alex before smacking the board over his arms. Alex chuckled lightly at his gestured before pulling Henry by his neck and crashed their lips together.

Henry was stunned, pushing Alex back slightly with eyes wide in surprised. "I will kiss you in sickness and in health baby. I promised you that." Alex says that made Henry smiled back at him softly.

"I love you too."

Henry mouthed before pressing another kiss over the side of Alex's cheek. Alex swore he never felt love like this before. The way Henry smiled, the way his lips curled into a smile each time he kisses him. The way Henry's fingers curled up on his wrist when he was afraid and the way Henry said I love you to him, he swore his heart is going to explode.

Go home.

Alex eyes shot back from the board towards Henry wiping the writing away with the tissue with his head hung low. He didn't even realized Henry was writing it until it was shoved inches over his face.

"Not until you marry me." The words blurted out like water bursting through a broken dam and Henry eyes snapped back at Alex still sitting next to his legs facing him. His eyes are filled with doubts, surprised and Alex for once felt like it was something he should have discuss with him first.

The talk about the future always scares Henry and Alex knew how much Henry tries to avoid the conversation about future in general. They never talk about it since Henry's life is too complicated for him to even brought up about the idea of marriage.

But his question and doubts were finally paid when Henry softly shakes his head and lowered his gaze back on the board. He writes further and Alex couldn't hide the knot feeling he felt inside his stomach twisting tighter. Henry tried to show him the board but Alex was already turning away from him and attempted to leave when Henry grabbed him by his elbow.

Alex turned his face to see the board written before relief flooded through his chest.

Ask me again when I can answer you properly with my own voice.

Alex looked up from the board meeting his eyes in tears before pulling his neck and crashed their lips again. He wrapped his arms around Henry's waist pulling him to his chest burying his face in the crook of Henry's neck.

"I'll wait a thousand years for you then darling. However long it would take for you to heal and be able to hear you said yes to me." Alex could feel Henry's softly nodded in his neck before pushing himself away to face him.

"Go home. You're tired." Henry mouthed before placing the board on the side and leaned back against his pillow. Alex smiled pressing another kiss on his forehead. He tucked the blanket on his side before he stood up from the bed.

"You need anything that I can bring tomorrow?" He ask putting on his jacket around his shoulder standing right at the edge of Henry's bed. Henry nodded immediately grabbing the board on the side and starts writing a list for him.

Toothbrush

Toothpaste

Face wash

Shampoo

Your hoodie/shirt

Pants

Comb

Razor

Books

Socks.

The last one hits Alex deep when he realized it was rather weird for Henry to ask him. "Socks? Are you going somewhere?" He asks but Henry shook his head back at him with a simple smile.

It gets cold in here at night.

Henry wrote back to him and it hits Alex right in his chest when he realized it. But what Henry didn't expect for him to do was when Alex sat back on the side of his bed and starts taking off his shoes and pulling out his sock causing him to barefoot in the ward.

"Alex."

Henry mouthed, surprised by his gesture but Alex ignored him completely before he pulled the blanket off from Henry's legs exposing his cold pale foot. He starts putting on the socks for him to wear and Henry relished in the warmness of the worn socks provided for his cold feet.

"There. While you wait for me tomorrow, this should do for tonight." He says before putting back his shoe without the socks.

Henry stared at Alex with gaze filled with love and gratefulness for Alex and for once in his miserable life, he felt the love that he needed. The love that he longed for years while he was captive. The love that he had dreamt in his sleep in hope that one day someone would come along and showered him with it. He can't deny that he thought the day never came and he had believe that those kind of love never exist.

But Alex proves him wrong.

Alex smiled walking to the cupboard and starts pulling out a couple more blankets for him and starts spreading it over Henry's body making sure he is warmth enough for the night.

"Don't worry. Soon you'll be warm enough with me in our bed." Alex says pressing another kiss on Henry's forehead. Henry smiled pulling Alex's wrist back before he turned to leave, their eyes met in the low dim light in the room and Alex saw the glistening eyes staring back at him.

"I love you so much."

Henry mouthed trying to hold his tears from breaking but Alex smiled back stroking his cheek softly with his thumb. "Get some sleep baby. I'll see you tomorrow alright." Alex reassured him before pulling the blanket higher up Henry's chest for him to snuggle in those new warmth in his bed. Henry smiles nodding his head softly before Alex finally left the room.

.

Alex went back to his loft that day with the widest smile on his face that caught by Nora when he entered the apartment.

"I see that this has becoming a habit of yours." She says grabbing her bag and slung it on her shoulder in a cold tone. Nora was still angry at him for not telling about Henry.

"I ask Henry to marry me." He blurted causing Nora to drop her bag on the floor with her eyes popped widely. "He said yes?" She asks, hand clasped together under her chin in excitement. But Alex shook his head still smiling like a Cheshire Cat.

"He said no then?" Nora asks confused but again, Alex shook his head at her. "Then what? If he said neither then why are you smiling like this?" She asks, obviously frustrated by the anticipation and also the confusion.

"He said to ask him again once he got his voice back." Alex says grabbing Nora by her shoulder. But the look on her face says otherwise. It wasn't happy like Alex intended too, nor glad for things started to come their way but rather grim.

"What if Henry never got his voice back? What then?" She asks and noticed Alex's gripped tightened as he bent a little to meet her gaze.

"Then I'll wait. However long it takes. I love him Nora. I won't let him out of my sight anymore. It's my turn to be happy. Don't you think so?" He asks and Nora slowly, lifting her gaze from the floor and met Alex's brown eyes. For years she had been staring at those eyes and it was filled with nothing but fear, regret, guilt and not too mention lack of happiness.

For years she watched him drowning trying to live his life with no lights shining at the end of the tunnel for him. But for the first time in her life, she could finally sees it. She saw the hope, the happiness returned in his eyes and she never felt happier for him.

"Of course Alex. Of course you do. I'm so happy for you both." She says stroking Alex's cheek in her small palm. Alex smile grew pulling her by her shoulder pressed into his chest for a tight hug.

"Thank you for sticking up for me after all these years." He whispered in her ears that made Nora snorted back at him. "Someone has too. Otherwise we both wouldn't survived it." Nora chirped back with a small chuckle that made Alex laughs back.

"I meant it Nora. Thank you for everything. If it wasn't for you, I never would have met Henry and for sure we won't found June." He said with relief that everything in his life finally putting back in pieces.

"Speaking of June. How is she today?" Alex asks lowering his arms down from their hugs facing Nora with his head turned to the closed bedroom door behind her.

Nora sighed at first, rubbing her forehead with her manicured fingers before glancing over the bedroom and back at Alex. "Its hard but at least she's here right?" She said that cause Alex to snap his head back at her.

"What do you mean?" Alex asks concerned.

"Sometimes I feel like she might be here physically but mentally she is back where she's captive, eyes lurking around for him to come back. I swear sometimes I heard her speaking to someone but when I look, she was all alone. I'm worried about her." Nora voiced out her concerned since Alex was not home most of the time to see it himself.

"I'm sorry for leaving you alone to deal with that. I tried to talk to her about this but she always changing the subject. Not too mentioned, I still can't convinced her to see Henry." Alex sighed rubbing the back of his neck exhaling his tired sigh. His shoulder slumped in exhaustion and Nora knows how much he had exerted himself lately being back and forth visiting Henry at the hospital and looking after June here.

"I'm gonna see him tomorrow. Maybe we should bring her together?" Nora suggest and Alex inhaled sharply trying to think of the worst thing that could happened if they did. "Do you think she would agree to it?" He asks and just in time, the door creaked opened revealing June in her simple shirt and shorts with hair tied to a low bun. She had cut her hair shorter since she got back and it falls right on her shoulder but most of the time she had her hair tied.

"I would. I think it's time." She says surprising them both in silence and Nora couldn't hide her curious gaze between her brows.

"O-okay." Alex says ignoring Nora's burning stare at June before grabbing her bag that was on the floor next to her feet. "I have to go." She says walking past Alex towards the door hastily. "I'll see you tomorrow then. Do you want me to pick you up?" Alex offered but Nora already one foot out of the apartment when Alex caught her.

"Uhm- no need. I'll meet you at the hospital." She suggest before running towards the elevator leaving Alex clueless behind.

He shuts the door and pushed the locked in place when he noticed June is in the kitchen pouring water into a glass. "So. You ask Henry to marry you?" She asks out of blue before sipping into her glass and watched Alex took his steps carefully towards the kitchen.

"Uhm- yeah. I hope you would be happy for me." He says lowering himself on the high chair facing her across the counter.

"Why? He haven't said yes yet." She asks that made Alex surprised by her tone. "Well yeah but he didn't say no either." Alex says blushing at the fact Henry love him equally to say yes with his own voice, not some board writing.

"What if he said no then? What if he changed his mind and decides to leave?" June asks that surprises Alex that she would have thought about it at all.

"Then it's his choice June. I can't stop people from leaving me in this life, can't I?" He replied equally with tone harsher than earlier.

"Then you are as fool as them. Why do you let him hurt you like that? You deserved better Alex. He didn't deserved you at all. You are way out of his league by the way." June says coldly before finishing her glass and slammed it down on the counter top. Alex flinched at how loud the glass hits that surprises him when it doesn't break into pieces.

"Whats gotten into you?" Alex asks but June only scoffed back at him.

"Nothing. I'm perfectly fine. Just like everything else in the world doesn't matter whether we are here or not to see it Alex. The world doesn't stop even when you did." June's words are like venom hitting Alex right in his heart. He could feel she's hurting deeply inside and he can't do anything to get her to open up to him.

"June, listen to me." Alex spoke leaning himself a little on the counter to face her. She didn't face him at first and let her eyes focused on the marble top before her.

"I know its hard to come back and pretend that everything can goes back to normal again. But I never wanted you to do that. I never asks you to behave like everything is peachy. I wanted you to be honest about everything, including your concerns. I wanted to help June. I really wanted too but I think Henry would be better help than I am and if only you just- "

"STOP!" Her hand slammed over the counter cutting Alex mid sentence. Her eyes are red and filled with anger that consumed her.

"Stop making this about him! I don't know him! I don't know this person you speaks so highly off and stop making it work between us!" June anger radiated through her as she slammed her closed fist on the counter again.

"June I didn't- I never meant to push you or anything." Alex stepped around the counter to get close to her. But the moment he got closer to her, June flinched and stepped away from him angrily with her elbow up.

"Don't fucking touch me!" June yelled hovering her palms away from him with that dreaded look on her face. "I'm sorry." Alex whispered silently backing a feet away from her. "I'm trying to help June. That's all I wanted to do." He says with a broken voice.

"Well you can't! Alright! You can't! You can't fix what's broken Alex! I'm not your some hopeless blonde that you were trying to save!" June snapped shooting her gaze sharply at Alex standing next to her.

"You're not. June I have spent my entire life looking for you and I am not letting you go June. Not now, not ever." Alex tries to convince her only to make her more angrier.

"Is that the same bullshit you tell Henry? That you can help him? You can help fix him and his broken self?" She asks, tears started to run down her face. She kept her right palm over the counter next to her with his other hand over her hip. Alex sighed, lowering his gaze down on the floor before lifting his gaze again.

"You're right. I did. I told Henry the same shit I told you and you know what? You were right. I couldn't. I couldn't save him from his past, I couldn't save him from his nightmares, and you know what's worst June?" Alex stepped forward and June finally didn't flinch back which is a relief for Alex.

"I'm the one that causes him pain. The first time I met him, I almost killed him. I slammed him into Nora's storage closet back at the bakery. You could still see the dent if Nora decides to open her bakery again." Alex huffed his breath in a slight chuckle jutting his chin forward before he swallowed his throat dryly.

"But you know, despite everything, everything, that I did. He chose to forgive me. He chose to help me find you. No matter how scared he got seeing things that I couldn't even understand, he still hold on to the hope that one day, I get to see you again. Which he did and I am grateful for that each day I woke up." Alex took another step forward and noticed June didn't move a single bit and kept her gaze down on the floor with her arms hugged around her thin waist.

"I know its hard. No one in this world understood that more than I do June. But you have to let us in. You have to let us helped you. Starting with Henry. He had the same experienced as yours June. Never ever think I don't know what you meant." Alex stepped closer before raising his palm over the counter between them. He didn't want to touch her since she flinched the last time he did.

"You know Henry couldn't sleep on the bed because he spent so long sleeping on a cold hard tiles that made his body rejected my comfiest mattress?" Alex starts getting her attention when she snapped her gaze back at him. Her eyebrows furrowed and her eyes filled with the threatened tears but her lips remained shut.

"You know he was so scared to be found, he didn't even want to go to a hospital when he got sick. Even when he broke his collarbone, he held his pain like a champ. I promised him that he would never be found and you know what I did?" Alex asks which later June shook her head lightly in reply.

"I was the reason Phillip found him here. He came to me in dad's office and I told him Henry is at my loft. I never forgive myself for it even though I was the one that found him back and killed each and every one of his men to find Henry." He continued.

"And Henry? He forgave me. Despite everything, he felt like he owed me for his life. But you know what? I owed him mine. Without him, I think I would ended up getting myself killed. I don't see the purpose of living until he came into my life." Finally Alex raised his palm to cup June's cheek. Her gaze lowered between their feet before Alex slowly pulled her by her chin to face him.

"So could you. Never give up. Remember what Dad says?" He asks and slow tears starts to roll down her cheek.

"Claremont-Diaz don't bitch and whined?" June snarked that made Alex snorted before laughter erupts between them. "NO! But yeah." Alex laughs shaking his head at her.

"Sometimes you just have to jump, hoping you are not on a cliff." Alex quote Oscar's words when he was too afraid to try on the swimming team and managed to win them gold each year. He used the same quotes for June when she had her art unpublished and starts sending out her work designed to every art publishing company that would finally hired her.

June's eyes glistened with tears pressing her lips into a thin line trying to hide the tremble. "I miss him. I miss mom." June broke in sobs that made Alex pulled her into his chest, wrapping his arms around June's thin body against him. He exhaled a long breath resting his chin over the top of her head rubbing soft circles on her back.

"I miss them too bug." He says that made June wept further into his chest.

Alex let her cried till she finally felt relief and finally stopped sobbing before he lead her back to bed. He tucked her under the blanket and watched her sleep peacefully for the first time for days since she got here.