Carter felt weirdly like an art piece in an expensive museum. A slightly uncomfortable and anxious piece of art, at that.

He was sitting in a hospital bed, a loose blanket draped over his legs and his wrist propped up on a pillow next to him. He sat somewhat awkwardly in the middle of the room as nurses walked around him, adjusting machines which emitted the most annoying beeping sounds that he had heard in his life.

The orthopaedic doctor had just put a cast on his broken wrist, and since then nobody had said a word to him, people just walked past the room and around him, glancing at his wrist but not really speaking to him. It wasn't like he would want to speak to them anyway, two nurses already asked him questions that had nothing to do with his wrist, one of them even accused him of being an abuse victim, and when that didn't lead to anything but a frustrated patient, she had told him that she would allow Alex to come back in soon.

Every moment that he sat alone in the all too big, white bed he felt more anxious. He only had god knows how much more time with Alex, and every second he was without him just made him think of how much more longer he would have before the moment would come where he would never see Alex again.

He felt like he could almost feel Alex, sitting or pacing nervously in the hallways of the waiting room, so close and yet so far away. He briefly wondered if this was what it would feel like once Alex actually left, if he would still feel this longing and love in his heart for him, if he would still feel him, know that he was still alive, breathing, living somewhere and yet he would know at the same time that he would never really see Alex again.

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard footsteps and a smile graced his face as he saw Alex entering the room. Alex looked at him anxiously, as if his mere presence was enough to break another bone, but Carter ushered him into the room, patting the bed next to him encouragingly.

"How does it feel?" Alex asked, coming to sit down on the edge of the bed casually.

"Can't really feel any pain, they gave me some meds," Carter told him, looking at his cast covered arm. The cast was a plain white colour, the same colour as the all too white walls and the all two white sheets. It felt somewhat like an asylum in the room, the only source of colour and happiness being Alex. Even though the boy was dressed all in black and his dark hair and almost grey eyes weren't really colourful, he was still a source of light and happiness for Carter, no matter what he was wearing.

Alex was looking at him with a strange expression on his face. "I don't know what I would have done if something had happened to you..." Alex murmured, huffing at the end as if he was upset that he couldn't have prevented the broken wrist.

Carter mentally sighed, why did Alex always do this to himself? Next he would be blaming himself for global warming or something as equally ridiculous. He shouldn't be surprised though, Carter told himself, Alex had always been that way, thinking that it was his place to protect and provide for everyone, he always offered favours, always helped people when they were down, but most of all, he would take a bullet for any one of his friends, and that was what made Alex so special, so unique. There wasn't anyone out there quite like Alex and Carter knew that, and it made the thought of separation just that much harder.

"I am fine," he told Alex, reaching across and linking his uninjured hand with Alex's. Alex suddenly smiled, a big, huge, sweet smile and Carter cocked his head to the side. "What's gotten into you?" he asked, wondering why Alex's mood had suddenly changed so drastically.

Alex then spoke the most beautiful words that Carter had heard him say. "I'm not going to Italy." 

"What?" Carter asked with wide eyes, not believing his ears.

Alex smiled at him, squeezing his hand. "I'm staying, Archer figured out a way that I can stay here, forever."

Carter smiled widely. "Forever? Really?" 

Alex leaned forwards claiming Carter's lips with his own, pressing his free hand up against Carter's neck, holding him close. They kissed for only a moment, but Carter felt the promise that that one action held, it was a promise of love, it was a promise of a future, it was a promise that Alex would never leave again, and even thought the words of the promise were not spoken, it didn't taint their meaning in Carter's mind.

Alex pulled away slowly and whispered, "Forever."

"And what does that mean for us?" Carter asked, even though he knew the answer, it was still nice to hear the words. 

Alex smiled brightly, his grey eyes pouring into Carter's soul. "Well, do you want to spend forever with me?"

Carter had imagined getting back together with Alex millions of ways and yet this scenario, him in a hospital bed, had not crossed his mind once. It wasn't a kiss in the rain, or him running after him at the airport, but in its own little way, it was perfect. Carter bit his lip, tilting his head for a moment as if considering his answer. "Sure, but I don't know if that will be long enough," he replied, causing Alex to shake his head in fondness and lean back in for another kiss.

This kiss was interrupted however, by the high pitched tone of a young female voice. "Get away from my brother you jerk!"

Carter gasped as Lara was suddenly standing next to them, and he almost laughed as she started slapping his arms with her small hands. Alex looked completely confused as the young girl hit him with no way enough force to leave any damage.

"Lara! What are you doing?" Carter laughed out.

"You hurt my brother you jerk!" She kept on hitting him and suddenly Carter realised that she must have thought that Alex was the one who broke his arm.

"Lara, uh, could you please stop it," Alex calmly requested as he was hit several times, yet not reacting much to any of them.

"LARA!" Carter suddenly screamed out, and that finally got the young girls attention. She ceased her somewhat pathetic attack on Alex to turn to attention towards her brother.

'Yes?" she asked with an eye roll.

"Why are you attacking my boyfriend?"

Woah, it feels nice saying that again, he thought to himself.

"Uh cause the jerk hurt you!" She crossed the difference between her and her brother and stood protectively beside his bed. "Mom told me."

"Mom?" Cater was confused, how does his mother know? How did his sister even get to the hospital when she should be at school?

"I called her when they told me to wait in the lobby," Alex explained. "I told her it looked like you had a broken wrist and the doctors were looking at you then, and she told me she would be right down."

"Lara, why did you think that Alex broke my wrist?"

Lara looked awfully guilt all of a sudden. "Well, Mom picked me up from school and told me we were going to see you at the hospital and that Alex was there, and I sort of assumed..." She didn't need to say any more, the communal ohhh from Alex and Carter was enough.

"Well that mystery is solved," Carter laughed, the action causing him to move his wrist slightly inside of the cast and a dull, almost numbed pain shot through his arm.

"Wait, boyfriend?" Lara seemed to only just realise that Carter had called Alex his boyfriend, and she looked between them silently, with wide, almost accusing eyes. Like they had both just done some wrong against her. The silence was only awkward for a few moments before they were interrupted.

"Oh Honey!" Their mother was at the door, and she ran into the room, bypassing Alex and her daughter to go to her son.

His mother's hands were all over his face, and arm and her eyes searched his body for more injuries. He was thankful that the massive bruise on his hip was covered by his jeans, otherwise his mother would have probably freaked out even more.

"Carter! Honey! What happened?" she asked, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

"Yeah, what did happen?" Lara asked, the girl asked the question like she was already suspicious of the answer.

Lara stood against the wall, dressed in a pale pink shirt and dark purple shorts, still shooting cautious glances at Alex who had sat down in a cream coloured chair near the bed. Carter couldn't exactly tell his mother and sister the truth, so he just lied right out of his ass. "I was feeling really sick at school today so Alex was nice enough to drive me home, just I got really dizzy walking up the stairs and fell, and that's how I hurt my wrist. Alex took good care of me, got me here and made sure I was alright."

Carter's mother got off of the bed and quickly threw the sitting Alex into a giant hug. He stiffened at the hold she had on him, and he looked at Carter with wide eyes. She was relentless, not pulling back until Alex softened in her hold and hesitantly wrapped his bulky arms around her thin figure. When she did pull back she smiled at him. "I am so glad that you were there, thank-you for looking after my boy."

"Uh," Lara huffed out loudly, "have we all just forgotten what an ass he has been!?"

Carter bit at his lip and resisted the urge to slap his sister over the head at the comment, but he thought about it for a moment and realised that he couldn't really blame her for being uncertain of Alex, from her point of view he was just the jerk that had caused her brother to cry into her shoulder more times than he could count. She had heard Carters extensive rants after Alex had broken up with him and she knew how hurt he was.

"Lara, it's ok," Carter tried to tell her, sending a glance at Alex who was looking completely guilty as he sat in the chair.

"How is it ok? You guys are back together suddenly? What is with that?" Lara huffed again.

Carter could tell that his mother had heard exactly what she had said as she stiffened slightly at the words. He wondered what she would think of him getting back together with Alex. To be fair, she had every reason to be against it, and Carter decided that it was up to him to get his family on board. Alex had been through enough so much, and he needed people on his side right now.

Carter wasn't going to let another day pass where Alex felt alienated in the world. Carter knew in his heart that Alex would never hurt someone that he loved, and even though Alex had this twisted view of himself sometimes, he was loved and he deserved to be loved.

Carter looked at his mother, who was looking suspiciously at Alex until she realised that her son's eyes were on her.

"Can I talk to you alone for a minute?" he asked his mother and she nodded.

"Lara, Alex go wait outside," she instructed, but Lara practically stomped her foot in protest before walking past Alex and outside the room.

Carter shot Alex a half smile that he hoped said good-luck-out-there. He hoped that his sister would be able to hold her temper, for a twelve year old girl who wore mainly the colour of Barbie's sport car, she was quite the short tempered little girl. He laughed internally at the memory of her attempting to hit Alex when she had first arrived, and the somewhat irritated expression it had caused on Alex's face.

That memory though, just enforced his idea that Alex would never hurt anybody. Alex wasn't short tempered or violent at heart, he just got too emotional at times, that was all, and it was going to take a good amount of effort for Carter to show Alex that there was more to him than the primal creature he could turn into. The true Alex wasn't violent, and once Alex really knew that, well, then it would be a lot easier to convince him that he didn't have to withdraw from everyone.

His mother sat down on the edge of the bed again, and she looked at him with an open expression, not that he expected much different. Her support was what got him through these last few months, and so he just had to hope that her support would extend to Alex.

He decided not to beat around the bush. "I'm back together with Alex."

She didn't smile or frown, she just nodded her head, "Are you sure that it's a good idea honey?" There was no judgement in her tone, just a question.

"He has been through some stuff these past months, and I don't want to go into it, but just trust me, he knows what he did and he is a different person now, he isn't going to hurt me again."

"Do you trust him honey?" she asked.

Carter didn't even need to think about his answer. "Yes."   

"That's all I need to know honey," she ruffled his hair affectionately. "All I want is for you to be happy. I trust your judgement, and you know that I always thought of Alex to be like  a son to me, so I am glad that he is back in your life."

"Thanks Mom."

She smiled. "Now, when can you come home?"

"Doc says I can leave in a few hours," he told her and she nodded her head.

"Good, do you want me to go get Alex?"

Carter nodded and his mother pressed a light kiss to his cheek before leaving the room.

Carter couldn't help but smile like an idiot. Alex was staying, and he was going to do everything in his power to show Alex that he had people who loved him, and maybe one day Alex would know, just as surely as Carter did now, that he was an amazing person who deserved to be loved in this world.

Only a couple more chapters to go! I hope you all liked the update!