"WHAT ARE YOU ALL HIDING FROM ME?!" Henry yells in the room soon as he was off sedatives. Phillip stood with Shan by his side at the end of Henry's bed while Sarah sat by the couch alone fearing for Henry's sudden outburst. She never sees her uncle angry like this, definitely not after the surgery and she noticed how worried her father and their family friend is at Henry's action.

"Hen, calm down. You just got out of surgery. Take down a notch." Phillip tried to reason but Henry isn't gonna let them hide anymore when he asks about Alex or Luke situation. Neither one of them would give him definite answer, just that Alex would be alright and they had no idea what Luke's condition is right now.

"I can't calm down! Alex promised me he would be here when I wake up. Why isn't he here?! WHERE IS HE?! What happened to him?!" Henry yells again pressing his palm against his chest as the monitor next to him blasted in ringing tones next to him. "Henry, calm-down." Phillip let his authoritative tone out watched how Henry sighed and leaned himself back against the bed.

"I don't know what happened and the only person that can tell you that is Alex. He'll be here. I promised." Phillip told him and they all could hear the beeping sound starts to lower and Henry had his head turned to his side.

"Something bad happened isn't it?" He whispered sensing Phillip stood closer before feeling his bed dipped lower on his side.

"I can't lose you Hen. You're my brother and you've just reached your quota on dying. Please." Henry snorted at Phillip's lame attempt to joke but felt his tears flooded in his eyes when he turned to look at his brother.

Just in time the door barge opened revealing Alex standing there with his eyes reddened in tears and his lips pale with dry cracked. His hair is in a mess curls but he still Alex. The handsome tanned skinned man he loves for more than a decade now. "Alex." Henry's breath hitched at the sight of him standing there by the door and their eyes locked.

Alex sprinted to Henry's bed wrapping his long arms around his neck bumping their chest together causing Henry to wince in pain. "Sorry, sorry." He pulled away lowering his gaze over Henry's dressing peaking from the collar of his hospital gown before Henry cupped his cheek turning his gaze back at him.

"Come on, let's give them some privacy." Phillip told Shan pulling Sarah by her hand as they left the room leaving Alex and Henry alone in bed.

Alex waited for the door to close behind him before he cupped Henry's cheek and crashed their lips together in a deep kiss. The sound of Henry moaned and sighed in his kissed made his nightmare disappeared within seconds and as he was about to enjoy their kiss, Henry pushed him back with a slap on his chest.

"Where have you been? What happened to you? Are you hurt?" He asks as his furrowed brows crooked in anger softened into a worry features studying Alex's face for any injury but Alex is fine, not a single scar nor a bruised. "I'm fine. I'm fine. I'm sorry I wasn't here when you wake up like I promised but-" Alex paused letting his gaze locked in Henry's hazel orbs feeling his heart stumped lower in his stomach.

"Something happened to Luke isn't it?" Henry sense the worst fear he had imagined and Alex's silence answers it all. "Oh God. What happened? Is he-" he paused watching as Alex lowered his gaze down unable to face him.

"I shouldn't- Baby, you just got out of surgery-" Alex contemplate, stroking henry's arm but Henry pushed it off in an anger.

"Stop! Stop telling me that! It won't get any better hiding it away from me. Just tell me!" Henry cries before he pulls Alex's hand back and tangled their fingers together.

"Please. Is he alright?" He begs staring deep into Alex's eyes as he inhaled sharply before he exhaled running his fingers over Henry's cheek. "Jeremy was there." He starts and he could see Henry's eyes widen at his name. "He lured Luke inside their motel room and tried to kill him." Henry pulls away from Alex's grip palming his chest trying to calm his breath.

"Hen, breathe, please. This is why I didn't want to tell you in the first place." Alex cupped his cheek as Henry tried to steady his breath by pursing his exhaled through his lips.

"Is Luke?" He couldn't find words that he could formed in his lips. "He in PICU. They don't know what he injected him with and they tried to flushed it out of his system." Alex stares at Henry tears flowing down on his cheek as his palm continues planted on his chest.

"I have to see him. Alex- I have to- I need to see him." Henry jitters on bed trying to escape Alex's gripped when the pain stabbed him on his chest.

"Ahh." He gasped in his breath clutching on his chest as he leaned back against the propped bed. "Hen? What is it?" He asks concerned after he sees Henry tried swallowing his throat painfully. "M-My ch-chest." He tried mumbling out the words in pain and Alex witnessed how Henry shuts his eyes in pain wrinkling the side of his temple before he groaned louder in pain with his teeth clenched.

"HELP! SOMEONE HELP!" Alex yells frantic as the monitor besides them starts beeping loudly again. "Hen, hang on, their coming alright. Breathe slowly Hen." He cupped Henry's neck trying to ease him from the pain he suffers but he knew better that nothing would. Henry's knuckles turned white as he gripped his chest further in pain.

"A-Alex. It hu-hurts." Henry gasped feeling the pain weakened him further and soon the door barged opened entering all the staffs including Phillip and Shan back into the room. "What happened?" The doctor asks and Alex stood by the end of Henry's bed letting them starts their examination on him.

"He said his chest hurting him." Alex told the doctor as they starts exposing Henry's chest and he noticed the dressing over the middle on Henry's pale chest just like the one he had decade ago. One of the nurse placed a mask over Henry's face helping him to breathe and he could see Henry barely could keep his eyes opened when they injected him something in the line in his arm.

"I told you his heart is not strong enough yet." The doctor starts squirting the gel over Henry's now revealed chest after she pulls out the dressing and start waving the wand over his pale skin. "Arghh." Henry winced when the wand pressed against his wound and the doctor apologized.

"I'm sorry Mr Fox but I had to make sure your wound is not bleeding inside - again." She says continuing her job in making sure Henry is alright. "Leave please." She instructed them and Alex stood there frozen not wanting to leave Henry behind again. "Hen." He whispered holding his foot from the end of the bed since that was the only thing he could to comfort him. His tears falls on his cheek as Henry stares at him with his own tears trickling down on his temple.

"Come on. They will help him." Phillip pulled Alex out by his arm as his eyes focused on Henry's still half drowsy in bed. He felt Phillip dragged him further away from him and watched as the door closed between him and Henry still staring at him with tears in his eyes.

.

"What happened?" Ellen came running down the hallway with Hope and Oscar beside her and she told Hope to sit with Sarah by the end of the corner on a bench against the wall. She obeyed knowing this is grown up talks and her uncle is strict about manners.

Alex looked up to meet his mother panting her breaths as she walked with her husband next to her and Alex immediately wrapped himself around her for a hug. "It's Henry." He whispered in her ears.

After he woke up, Ellen brought him to see Luke first as he requested and immediately after he saw him, his heart couldn't handle to see him with all the wires and the tubes coming out of him before he ran out to see Henry instead. Ellen didn't want to chase him then letting him sees Henry while she stayed with Oscar back with Luke since the doctor was doing his round at the time.

"You told him didn't you?" Ellen asks after he pulls away from her son. He couldn't lift his gaze towards her knowing how he messed up and heard her sighed in front of him.

"Alex you know he's not stable enough yet. Why did you?" Oscar asks him watching as he silently stood there with guilt ridden face and his eyes lowered to the ground with his lips glued for once.

"Don't blame him. I know my brother would have sucked the truth out of him." Phillip stepped in between them. Ellen and Oscar sighed shaking their heads turning their gaze back at Alex still standing there with tears in his eyes.

"He'll be alright. Stop punishing yourself." Phillip says pulling him by his shoulder and hugged him instead. "It is my fault Pip. He was in pain for days and I ignored it. I should have gone with my guts when-" Phillip pulled him away to face him. "Listen here Alex. For all the years I had known you, I knew for long that you had better gut feeling than me. He had been sick for a year, we had brought him to all the doctors that ever existed but none of them knew what's wrong." Alex stares deeply into Phillip's blue eyes as he listened to him.

"But you are the one who insisting in finding out about what's going on with him. You're the one who made the doctor listened and saved his life. Alex, if it wasn't for you, Henry won't be here right now. Breathing. Alive." Phillip cupped his cheek letting him breathe out the feeling he had been bottling up inside of him. He could feel Alex exhaled his worries when he heard him before he nods. "So don't you dare blaming yourself for what happened." Phillip continues.

"Thank you." Alex whispered. The door opened suddenly revealing the doctor and the nurses came out from the room. "How is he?" Alex was the first to approach her and she sighed. "Good news, no major injuries. But we can't be lucky all the time. I meant it when I said his heart is not stable. We might not be the next time. He needs rest and I'm gonna do whatever it takes to make sure he does. Believe me when I said everything."

Alex smiles exhaling a breath of relieved before he rushed back inside to see Henry.

"Is he really alright?" Phillip asks after he saw Alex disappeared. The doctor sighed scratching her temple before she pulls the door closed making sure Alex nor Henry could hear her.

"He's on buying time. A heart is a hardworking organ. It works harder than most of the organ in our body. A simple panic attack could kill him right now unless he allow himself being healed. Remember that. The damage is beyond what I had imagined and I fixed it the best that I could. But like I said, he's on buying time, in five years maybe ten, who knows."

Phillip gasped feeling his heart crashed in million pieces before a warm hand placed on his shoulder and he turned to face Shan next to him sharing the same expression on his face.

"You're saying that-" he paused pressing his lips together before he continued. "You're saying that my brother would- uhm, he might need-" Phillip couldn't find words to describe what he's feeling right now.

"He might need a transplant in the future, but who knows he might beat the odds on the numbers." The doctor says gripping Phillip's arm in assurance, "I'm really am sorry." She whispered before she left.

Phillip could feel the reassuring hug on his side and when he turned to face Ellen next to him, he couldn't held his tears any longer. "None of them can know this. Promised me. This stays between us." He made them promised and they all turned to look at each other. "Are you sure that's a good thing?" Ellen asks.

"My brother just got his love life back. I can't let him live knowing that he might not have a future to live for."

"But lying to him isn't making it any better either. He deserves to know if he's a walking ticking time bomb." Shan protest feeling Phillip's decision is rather unfair and selfish.

"And you think I didn't know that?! I watched him live his miserable life in that house for years Shan! Years! After father died. After what Catherine did to him? What James and Danny did? I watched him go through all of that every single day until he doesn't. There is nothing that I could do to make him feel any less miserable, especially knowing that he might not have a future with Alex when it was the only thing he'd ever wanted!" He whispered yelled in hope that none of the girls nor Alex could hear him out here.

"Shan is right Phillip, you can't hide this from him. We can't even hide it from Alex." Ellen told him as he turned to face Ellen. "You wanna tell your son that the one guy he ever love might not live long enough to see them grow old together? I'm not gonna be the one who crushes his heart like this." Phillip told her and she sighed pressing her lips together.

"We'll keep this between us until-" Phillip paused turning his gaze towards the two girls over the end playing with games on their phone. "Until we had too." Oscar continues his words as Phillip nods in tears.

.

Alex laid on Henry's bed staring at him sleeping with his steady heartbeat beeping next to him. His long arm wrapped around Henry's waist as he laid next to him, counting each time Henry inhaled and exhaled his breath from under the breathing mask. Each breath Henry took is a relief and it's helping him to relax and soon he found himself drifting to sleep.

"The damage to his heart is actually worst than we thought."

"I'm so sorry."

"He's dead Alex."

"Henry's dead."

Alex jolted awake from his dream feeling his throat dries at each breath he pulls. He looked around the room finding it was empty before his eyes turned to face Henry still sleeping with the oxygen mask over his face. Alex sighed in relief knowing he still alive and breathing right beside him before he leaned back against the bed with his arm wrapped around his waist.

He stares at Henry's face from underneath the mask staring at his beautiful pale features wishing they weren't here. He wished they were back at home on their beds just like one of his dreams he used to had when they were apart.

"That's not creepy at all." Henry whispered with his voice croaked and Alex gasped at him finally awake. Henry pulled out the oxygen mask off his face and Alex wants to stop him but he knew Henry might feels uncomfortable wearing those. "Hey." He said turning his gaze at Alex staring at him with tears in his eyes.

"Are you okay?" Henry asks cupping Alex's cheek in his palm before he locked his gaze in Henry's. He faked his smile at him before he nods and laid his head over Henry's shoulder with his arm wrapped around Alex's body.

"I'm sorry I couldn't protect Luke." Alex whispered after a while they cuddled in each other's arms. Henry pulled him by his shoulder to let Alex faced him, "Alex, it's not your fault. Stop apologizing." He says and Alex sighed in Henry's palm over his cheek. Alex didn't reply him but kept staring at Henry's face wanting to remember each and every details in him to make sure he wasn't dreaming this.

"Babe?" Henry asks seeing Alex didn't reply and just kept staring at him with the doe eyes. "Are you sure you're alright? You looked like you just saw a ghost." Henry says and Alex smiled laying his head back on Henry's shoulder with a sigh. "I'm fine Hen. Don't worry about me." He whispered wrapping his arm tighter around Henry's waist.

"I know you're lying but I'm not gonna push it. You will tell me when you're ready and I will be here to listen." Henry says rubbing Alex's back in a comforting stroke and Alex remained silent sighing his breath again in his arm.

They found comfort in each other's arm before Henry drifted back to sleep due to the pain medications they had been given him while Alex stays awake staring at his beautiful handsome face fearing that if he closed his eyes, the dream of losing Henry would come back and he won't survived another heartbreak emotions over and over again.

.

Henry woken up to whispers surrounding him and the sound of his steady heartbeat beeping next to him. He swallowed his throat dryly before he tried to lift his heavy eyelid opened. "Uncle Henry." A soft voice whispered beside him and he felt the softest hand touches his fingers before he finally could opened his eyes.

Henry preyed his eyes opened and the first thing he saw was Hope and Sarah stood on each of his side and he sighed smiling at them. "Hey girls." He whispered raising his hand over Hope's cheek. She had tears in her eyes when Henry touched her cheek the same way he had been comforting her over the past ten years of her life.

He then saw Alex stepped behind her placing his hand over her shoulder and they both smiled. "You've met." Henry whispered again barely an audible voice heard. "She's grown beautifully since the last I saw her." He says wrapping his arm over Hope's shoulder pressing a kiss over the top of her head and she smiled at his gesture.

"We missed you back at the house uncle Hen." Sarah whispered after turning Henry's gaze towards her. "I'm sorry darling, I know I have been working a lot." He raised his palm over Sarah's hand and she lowered her gaze. "Hope was right about him. He's handsome as hell." She whispered the last word by Henry's ear and he snorted before he broke in a laugh.

"Don't tell him that or his head would get bigger." Henry signed and Alex feigning hurt over the comments. "Hey, I was that handsome even for you lover." He winked before he leaned closer to peck Henry lips and the girls cooed at Alex's gestured. "How did she find you?" Henry asks after Alex pulled away from their kiss.

"She found us instead." Ellen cuts in behind Sarah on the other side and Henry turned to face her with Phillip and Oscar stepping closer by the end of the bed. He smiled sighing in relief before his face dropped in sadness. "Is Luke okay?" Henry asks watching as their face dropped by his questions.

"He's a survivor, like you Hen. I'm sure he'll come out of it. Just like you did." Oscar says earning Henry a soft smile with a nod.

The door barged opened suddenly revealing Bea and Martha with their half burnt skin and Shan followed behind them. "Oh jeez Henry." Bea cursed under her breath the moment she sees Henry sat up in bed and she rushed to his side. She wrapped herself around his neck before pressing her lips over his temple and her eyes caught at her daughter in Alex's arm.

"Oh my- Alex?" She whisper staring at Alex before Martha stepped in to give Henry her hugs and she caught smiling at them.

Bea turned to face Ellen and Oscar standing next to Phillip with her eyes glistened in tears. "Ellen?" She calls with her palm over her mouth and Ellen stepped in to gave her a hug. "Hi darling." Bea couldn't hold her tears from falling when Ellen wrapped herself around her.

"How could you not tell me Pip. You know how much I miss her." Bea cries in Ellen's hug before she pulled her away, "He didn't know, actually none of them did until Henry here showed up in Oscar's office." Ellen points at Henry with Alex wrapping himself around his shoulder on the bed and smiled over their face.

"It's Luke." Henry whispered softly with his gaze lowered, "He's the one that bring us all together and he should be here right now." Henry cried looking up to meet Alex's gaze, "He should be here Alex, not there in PICU alone. We're his family. He deserves so much more in life." Henry let tears fell on his cheek with Alex pulling him close to his side and kissed the top of Henry's head.

"We will. We will show him the family that he yearned all his lifetime. The love that he so desirably wanted and needed. We're gonna make sure of that." Alex whispered holding Henry close in his arm.

.

"Please let me see him. I'm fine now. I promise I won't do anything stupid." Henry tries to talk his way into seeing Luke and Alex, as usual dismissed his request not wanting the previous event to reoccur. "For the hundred times Henry. No means no." he was flipping through the case file of Luke's reading the report he had made with the police days ago and he intended to find out what happened to Jeremy's body.

His eyebrow crooked as he read the sentenced over and over while Henry stares at him. It had been days since his surgery and he was denied from getting off the bed by Alex and the doctor which annoys him to the end.

"You know you can't stop me." Henry challenged him and he looked up from reading the file staring at Henry over the bed ahead of him. It was only them both in the room right now since his parents still at home and promised would come by later today. Phillip, Martha and the girls are back at the hotel while Shan handled Henry's duty back in the shelter.

"I like to see you try." Alex challenged him back and Henry cocked his head with his eyes squinted at him. He pulled the blanket off from his body before he tried to tear off the cardiac monitors over his chest earning Alex a groan in frustration.

"STOP! Henry don't be a child." He said slamming the folder down on the table before pushing Henry back into bed wrapping the blanket over his body again but Henry pushed his hand away from touching him. "I want to see Luke. Since you're not helping me then I will do this myself, so move!" He pushed Alex off but he knew Alex is a lot stronger than he is when he pushed Henry back in bed with only one arm and the other carrying his legs back into the bed.

"You don't want to fight me Fox. We both know how this could end." He says pulling the side rails back to the top caging Henry like a child in a crib.

"Alex, please." Henry begs again and Alex denies him even for a look knowing he won't be able to resist him if he did. "Stay or I'll make them sedate you again." He says reaching the folder back and continued on reading.

"This doesn't make sense." He mutters alone and Henry stares at him with a furrowed eyebrow. "What is?" He asks. "The report. It's not what happened." He says before he sat next to Henry in bed with him propped himself straight to see what Alex pointing on the pages.

"Suspect was under influenced of drugs and alcohol had mistakenly thought Luke as one of his many sexual partners. His father acclaimed that he was diagnosed as schizophrenia when he was fifteen and without a proper medications, his mind would slipped in which his action hold unaccountable for."

"Do you believe this shit?! He knew exactly what he did! He knew he wanted Luke all along and destroyed his innocence. How the fuck did they dismissed him like this?!" Alex threw the folder against the wall in anger startling Henry in the process.

"Babe, calm down." Henry told him and witnessed Alex pacing in the room right before his bed. "CALM DOWN?! How the fuck can I calm down Henry?! Luke is fighting his life up there in the PICU because of him! Now they're gonna dismissed him because he was mentally unstable?! Fuck that! I would go back to hell and dragged his ass back here and killed him again just so he could suffer what Luke suffers!" Alex punched the wall next to him over and over till Henry's voice made him stopped.

"ALEX! PLEASE! Stop hurting yourself." Henry calls stopping him from damaging his own hand and he did. He paced around again huffing in anger when Henry raised his palm towards him. "Come here." He gestured and Alex stopped pacing facing Henry over the bed with his hand over his waist. He slowly dragged his long legs towards Henry before he climbed over the bed and rested himself in between his legs.

"Breathe in with me." Henry wrapped his arm around Alex's upper back feeling the raise from Alex breathing in together with him. He sighed longly after feeling Henry soft fingers brushing through his curls.

"There nothing we can do Alex. The guy is dead, that is punishment enough." Henry whispered resting his chin over the top of Alex's head. He could feel Alex's finger tangling with his gown careful over the dressing right in the middle of his chest. "Death is not a punishment. It's just easy way out. He should suffers more than just being dead." Alex's voice breaks feeling Henry 's soft kisses over the top of his forehead.

"Trust me death is punishment enough. It's painful." Henry whispered earning Alex a stunt silence. He knew how much Henry suffers over the years fighting for his life and actually dies couple of times by now. The thought of Henry's death made Alex reminded on the dream he had almost each time he close his eyes. Henry noticed the silence especially the shadow underneath Alex's eyes for the lack of sleep.

"Babe." Henry whispers nudging Alex's body lightly and he hummed. "Hm, what?" He tilted his head to face Henry which Henry sighed knowing he didn't even hear anything he said. Henry pushed him to his side and they both laid over the bed facing each other.

"I know something is up and you had been hiding it from me. Please, just tell me. I can handle it." Henry begs for the hundred times by now and the look on Alex's face tells him that something is really wrong. Alex couldn't even face him, instead he lowered his gaze over Henry's dressing peaking over the collar of his hospital gown when his fingers fiddling with Henry's hand.

"Alexander Gabriel Claremont-Diaz." Henry called him succeed in lifting his gaze.

"Why are you full naming me for?" He asks with a furrowed eyebrow.

"Tell me! What is it? Or so help me God I would make you spill." Henry laughs.

"You couldn't, otherwise you would have by now." Alex tease and Henry sighed.

"I have my ways dear." He leaned closer pressing his lips over Alex's lips running his hand over Alex's waist.

"Tell me." Henry whispered pressing their forehead together before Alex leaned for another kiss. Henry didn't noticed when Alex's eyes starts glistening in tears and he sniffles in between their kiss.

"Alex?" Henry called cupping his cheek before he noticed Alex was not just tearing up, he was crying with full on sobbing next to him. "Baby, please tell me what is it? You're scaring me." Henry cupped his cheek pulling Alex by his neck into his chest. "I saw you died Hen." His voice breaks turning Henry's focused back to him. "That was years ago Alex. Why are you still hanging on to it?"

Henry was confused by Alex memory of him being dead decade ago but something tells him that it was not that particular memory that haunting Alex right now, it was something else.

The soft shake of Alex head with tears running down his face made Henry intrigued. "It wasn't that." His soft voice breaks Henry to think how broken he looks by now. "Tell me." He whispered again cupping Alex's cheek running his thumb over his lower lips.

"I had a dream both of you died. First Luke. Then you." Alex broke into more tears with his lips trembled. "How many times you had that dream?" Henry asks.

"Every time I close my eyes to sleep." Alex replied with more tears.

"Is that why you haven't slept?" Henry sense that Alex would lie but surprised when he nods at him pressing his lips together leaning his face over the crook of Henry's neck. "Baby why didn't you tell me this. It's killing you. You're stressing out because you haven't slept. It's not your burden to carry it alone."

Alex lifted his gaze back at Henry feeling his fingers brushing his cheek. "It is mine and mine alone Henry. It was my head that's too fucked up. Imagining things that wasn't even there." He sighed longly running his palm over his face.

"Is that how it's going to be once we're married? Your burden is for you to carry alone and my burden to carry all by myself?" Alex turned his head sharply at Henry next to him before his lips curved up in a smile. "Wait- are you saying-"

"I'm not saying anything! You haven't proposed to me yet for me to say yes and I don't mean for you to propose to me now in bed either!" Henry stopped him.

"But what I meant is that whatever is bothering you, you should have shared it with me. Not dealing it all alone." Henry could see it got through Alex's thick skull when he kept himself silence with his eyes lowered. "You're not alone Alex. I'm right here." Henry pulled him closer to his chest and winced when Alex's face pressed against his wound and Alex pulled back.

"No, sorry. Just slowly." Henry pulled him back wrapping his arm tighter around his shoulder feeling Alex's arm wrapped around his waist.

"Just close your eyes and I'll be right here when you wake up. I promised." Henry whisper pressing his lips against his forehead and he sighed in Henry's arm before he drifted to sleep within seconds.