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Alex groaned loudly hearing the sound of his phone going off from its place on the nightstand. He reached for the annoying device to see what the nurses needed. It felt like he had just gotten to sleep, and he was needed again for an incoming trauma. The cause was an auto accident, and the patient was twenty-something. The trauma team was being activated which meant him since he was the trauma chief resident that was currently on his call shift. He was very pleased to read it wasn’t another damn gunshot wound, if it was it would have been the third for that night.

He kicked back the thin sheet that was covering him. He tossed his phone into his navy scrub pant pocket and attached his badge reel to his scrub top. It was of a mayo stand with floating tools embedded inside. It was something Amy, his favorite secret service agent had made for him while he was in medical school. She had made him several ones and he changed them out frequently. He was still rather close with Amy and Cash after all they were his guards for 8 years.

His ten-year plan of becoming the youngest person elected to the Senate at 30 quickly fell to the wayside. After helping his mother get reelected for her second term, he just didn’t feel the same passion he once had for politics which is why instead of taking the LSAT he took the MCAT and applied to medical school instead of law school. He moved to NYC that summer. After his undergraduate graduation he moved to NYC and started at NYU Grossman School of Medicine.

The only person that wasn’t surprised by his announcement of medial school over law school was Nora, the human equivalent of a supercomputer. She had told him that his overwhelming desire to help people would be better suited for medicine. She said he was good with politics and charming people but deep down his drive and desire to become a politician was because of his selfless desire to help people, and that her numbers said that Alex would eventually lose that part of himself in politics.

After his mother’s second inauguration he stopped putting so much effort into his public image and constantly posting on social media. Medical school was truly exhausting, not to mention more than one elite medical school rejected him due to his social pariah status. He had been in some bad media the year before with cakegate and they didn’t want him to be a liability. So, in order to be the perfect medical student, he toned his social media persona down. He posted the highlights like his white coat ceremony, his graduation, the obligatory thirst trap posts while in scrubs and messy hair, but it was no worse than any of his classmates.

He had long forgotten about cakegate and the international bad press from it. He remembered his and Henry’s faux friendship turned into real friendship. Having made amends after Henry told him the reason that caused Alex animosity towards the prince. He also remembered Henry’s lips kissing him outside in the snow at his New Year’s party, but Henry decided to go ghost and Alex decided to throw himself into school and getting into medical school to care about his feelings about it. Although he still remembered the taste of Henry’s lips and how mind-blowing that particular kiss was.  

He saw Henry at the occasional appearance, and they were friendly and civil with each other. Neither talking about the kiss. Henry ghosted for his country and Alex ghosted for his future life as a doctor.

He also didn’t have the time to attend countless events for his mother’s presidency. He was present for most of the holidays in his first year but then he started clinicals and suddenly his entire life was medicine and textbooks.

Alex graduated medical school towards the top of his class and went into trauma surgery. Turns out when you mix his undiagnosed ADHD (something he learned while learning about psychiatry) and his love of adrenaline it made for a great trauma surgeon. Alex positively thrives in the chaos and quick-thinking nature of it.

Alex bent down to tie his comfortable sneakers and got up from the thin on call room mattress. He put his black safety glasses into his curly black hair and adjusted his scrubs, so he didn’t look like a rumpled mess. He grabbed one of his fruit punch flavored Celsius energy drinks from the desk and quickly chugged it as he ran down the hallway to the nurse’s desk in the trauma center. Bellevue Hospital had its own trauma ambulance bay and anything that was traumatic and unstable was brought to this side of the hospital.

“Who paged?” Alex questioned entering the nurse’s pod and disposing of his energy drink can. He had an unhealthy addiction to anything caffeinated at this point in career. What was once an innocent coffee addiction at all times was made worse during residency due to 24-hour trauma calls. It wasn’t even 11 and his night had been one surgery after another.

Ethan and Claire raised their hand. They were the trauma nurses that night, along with himself, Dr. Young the trauma attending, a fourth-year resident, and a first-year resident who was covering the ICU post ops.

Ethan was in his 30s and like Alex was an adrenaline junkie. Claire was a new nurse graduate, but she was sharp as a tack when it came to trauma-based situations. They were his two favorites to work with, both had a calming energy about them and the three of them worked like a well-oiled machine.

Claire smiled warmly at the chief resident. “Level 1 trauma coming in due to an auto accident. FDNY reports the vehicle was struck on the rear passenger and the vehicle flipped several times. FDNY dug out the passenger who is critical. The driver and the other passenger are being taken to a lesser trauma center closer to the scene of the accident. EMS has intubated due to the patient’s inability to guard their own airway.”

Alex listened to Claire as he grabbed his scrub cap from his back pocket. It was a funny one that Amy had made for him. It had Stitch and Baby Yoda sharing coffee and it was full of color. Amy had made him several scrub caps and most of the time he grabbed at random from the bin in his locker at the start of his shift. This just happened to be tonight’s cap of choice. He pulled on a trauma gown to protect his scrubs from blood and quickly grabbed a pair of gloves his size hearing the distinct wail of the ambulance outside. He donned the gloves as the paramedics rolled the patient in.

“John Doe no identification found on scene. We estimate the age to be 20s to early 30s. Had to be cut out of the rear passenger’s seat. Has a GCS of 3. We intubated on scene due to the patient being unable to protect their own airway. The patient is tachy at 155 and blood pressure is critically low. We’ve pushed a dose of morphine for pain management. He has bruising throughout his chest and abdomen.” The paramedics rattled off handing Alex the EKG printout.

Alex took the pink printout and skimmed over the EKG which showed tachycardia but nothing life threating happening in the heart. He looked at the monitor and he’d say the blood pressure was low. “Get me a PICC tray, he’s going to need pressors.” He barked politely to a nurse who went running to the supply cabinets. Alex preferred a PICC line long term since it had a lower infection rate percentage compared to a central line.

Alex grabbed his pen light from his chest pocket and approached the head of the stretcher and about fainted when he saw His Royal Highness Prince Fucking Henry laying on the stretcher. He composed himself surprised nobody from the scene recognized Henry. He still remembered the kiss and how it felt realizing that he was bisexual because what straight man still cared about a kiss 9 years after the fact. He wanted to yell at Henry for ghosting and never talking about the fucking kiss. Although he didn’t talk about it either, he never confronted the elephant between them.

Alex let out a small sigh of course fate would find this funny. His internal thoughts let out a steady string of course words at the thought of dealing with the fucking crown again. He thought that part of his life was over. He blinked and focused on what he knew:

• Alex was the chief trauma resident, so this case was all on him.
• Henry was still infuriatingly handsome even with cuts and bruises forming on his face.
• Alex still thought about that New Year’s kiss years after the fact. His brain was obsessed with how it felt.
• Henry chose the crown over Alex.
• Henry probably had a brain bleed and internal bleeding.

This night was quickly turning to hell. Alex lifted up Henry’s eyelid and shinned the pen light assessing his pupils. “He’s going to need a head CT.” He muttered, putting the pen light back in his pocket. The pupils hadn’t blown, which was a good sign, it meant the brain was still functioning. He would have hated to have to be the one to call time of death for the cherished prince and his once crush.

Alex grabbed his stethoscope that was hanging from his neck. He tossed the earpieces into his ears and put the bell on Henry’s chest. Someone had cut his light blue cashmere sweater with sheers. The light blue sweater was coated in blood spatters. Alex shrugged and listened to Henry’s heart loudly in his ears and that is when he heard the diminished breathing sounds on the right side.

“Chest tube for the right side. I’m not hearing breath sounds.” He ordered watching Ethan get trauma pack after trauma pack from the cabinets in the room. He noticed the bruising over Henry’s chest and abdomen. He slung his stethoscope back around his neck and started palpating Henry’s abdomen noticing how it felt under his hands. The abdomen was descended and soft which usually indicated internal bleeding.

Alex grabbed an ear loop mask and looped it around his ears and pinched the nose wire tightly against the bridge of his nose and washed his hands since he had a line and chest tube to insert. Ethan helped him into a gown and into a pair of sterile gloves.

“Claire, can you call the blood bank and have them on standby for massive transfusion protocol.

“I’m also going to need you to call the OR and book my favorite.”  Alex said and yes, he did have a favorite OR at this point in his career. Plus, at this time of night very few surgeries took place and most of them were done by him. It was the top-rated trauma hospital in New York City for a reason.

He figured that Henry had massive internal bleeding judging from the bruising. He’d be doing a head, neck, abdomen-pelvis CT scan to confirm.

He expertly inserted the PICC line so that they could administer pressors to increase the incredibly low blood pressure. Alex removed his gloves, and Ethan helped into another pair of sterile gloves trying to prevent cross-contamination.

Alex tried really hard not to think about the fact he just inserted a PICC line and was about to barbarically insert a chest tube into the spare Prince of England. He quickly signed AGCD onto the dressing. Plus, in the event the stupid royal physicians decided to take Henry back to the UK it would be easier to travel with than a standard IV. He also went ahead and put a large bore IV in both of Henry’s forearms for massive blood transfusion protocol. Alex’s gut was screaming this was surgical and that Henry had lost a ton of blood. 

 He expertly made the incision and found blood squirting back at him. “Shit.” He cursed putting pressure on the incision and inserting the chest tube. The blood was running down the tube which made him think it was both a pneumothorax and a hemothorax. He tossed a stitch into the chest tube to keep the tube from moving during transport.

He took a step back allowing for x-ray to do a quick chest x-ray to confirm the line and tube were in the correct spots. He looked at the small screen noticing that both were inserted correctly, not that he doubted himself. He looked at the right lung and it was as he suspected both a pneumothorax and a hemothorax.

“Can you get one of his arms and legs to please. I want to make sure the impact didn’t cause any fractures.” Alex instructed the young tech.

The young girl nodded and quickly snapped the other x-rays the trauma surgeon wanted. Alex looked at the imaging noticing the legs were clear of fractures, but he did see a simple ulna fracture on Henry’s right arm. It looked simple like a reduction and a cast for 6 weeks would fix it. “Right ulna fracture.” He muttered, looking to see Claire handing him the ultrasound probe for a FAST scan to look for any internal bleeding.

Alex took the probe and ran the probe around Henry’s abdomen seeing the classic signs of internal bleeding. “He’s going to need a head, neck, chest, abdomen-pelvis CT and go ahead and call anesthesia to get that roomed prepped.”

He knew that Paige Martin was the anesthesiologist on call. The two of them had attended NYU together and she was by far his favorite anesthesiologist to work with.

“Alright let’s get that CT.” He said helping the nurses to push the bed out of the room and down the hallway to the dedicated trauma CT scanners. Eli was the rad tech assigned to the CT scanner, so Alex went into the viewing room deciding whom to call to let the crown know that Henry was in a car accident and was about to have major surgery.

Alex grabbed his phone from his pocket and looked at his contact list. He could call Zahra and Shaan the latter had been Henry’s personal equerry for years until he left to take care of his growing family with Zahra, but the idea of waking up Zahra from sleep terrified him. So, he called Nora who was engaged to Henry’s friend Percy. Nora was less terrifying and hopefully had Beatrice’s number. She was about the only one he wouldn’t mind talking to from the Royal family. He called Nora and pulled out his earbuds and stuck an earbud in his ear.

Nora answered on the fourth ring. “What is it, Alex. Do you have any idea the time, I was fucking sleeping.” She ranted loudly in his ear.

“I’m sorry for waking you Nora but it is important. Can you wake Percy for me. I need a phone number and I didn’t feel like waking Zahra.”

Nora gently shook her fiancé awake. “Babe, Alex has a question for you.” She said clicking her phone to the speaker option. “What’s going on Alex?” She asked.

“Hey dude it’s early what do you need?” Percy questioned not understanding how Alex could handle being awake for 24-hour shifts. He’d be dead. Percy and Nora were a happy accident, Henry brought Percy to his New Year’s party as his plus one. Percy had been wanting to meeting Nora and they had been together ever since. They had recently got engaged after several years of dating. Both Nora and Percy were career oriented, and they wanted to date forever before getting married.

“I don’t suppose you know why Prince Henry is in New York?” Alex questioned, hoping like hell that Pez had Beatrice’s phone number otherwise he’d have to make another phone call, one that he really didn’t want to make. He still needed to call Dr. Young the attending trauma surgeon on call and run everything past him to see if he’d even let Alex do this surgery solo.

“I have a charity gala happening tomorrow night. He’s in town for that and to visit me. Why are you asking me where Henry is?” Pez questioned feeling a lump forming in his stomach. Alex was a trauma surgeon at Bellevue Hospital, and he hadn’t heard from Henry even though Henry promised to message him when he arrived at the hotel, and he should have been in New York.

Alex’s heart sunk hearing Pez say that Henry was in fact in New York. Alex had hoped it was just someone who looked exactly like Henry and also wore fancy cashmere sweaters. “I can’t tell you Pez. Do you happen to have the number for Beatrice or Philip.” He really didn’t want to talk to Philip or Martha, but he would if it meant that Henry’s family knew what was wrong. He cared about his patients, and he was a firm believer that family made the healing process easier.

Percy let out a choked breath. Henry was his best friend and now Alex was dodging questions which basically confirmed that Henry was in the hospital and considering it was a trauma surgeon on the phone. He hoped it was just a scratch and the ER doctor on duty remembered his friendship with Alex and that was why Alex was calling; but he knew deep down it wasn’t the case.

If Henry was talking, he’d have called or messaged. The fact was Alex had called for Henry’s whereabouts. “Fuck!” He exclaimed grabbing his phone and pulling up his contact list. Of course, he had Bea’s number, he loved Bea like a sister, Nora did too. He rattled Bea’s number to Alex. “I don’t know if she’ll answer sometimes their PPO’s have their phones.”

“Thank you I appreciate it.” He said hating everything about this night. He hung up the phone and quickly dialed the UK number that Percy had supplied. He hoped and prayed that it was Beatrice, he didn’t want to get her equerry or a surly PPO.

Beatrice heard her phone going off on her nightstand, it was early about 5am her time. She knew Henry had departed for Percy’s charity gala earlier that night. She grabbed it seeing that it was a US number, and her heart skipped a beat. She answered the phone call. “Hello?” She greeted the other caller warmly.

Alex let out the breath he didn’t know he was holding hearing her voice. “Princess Beatrice?” He questioned, wanting confirmation it was her. He had zero clue how to have this conversation, how does one tell a princess that her brother was in a car accident and that the person who once hated his guts more than anyone was going to be his surgeon. He now wishes he had called Zahra and dealt with her lecture.

“Hello Beatrice, it’s been a while. It’s Alex Claremont-Diaz the son of the former president. He said stupidly. He should have told her he was a surgeon, and that Henry was in his care not this dumb shit. He just hoped she remembered his name otherwise this was going to make for a hard conversation.

Beatrice laughed at his nervousness but something about it made her gut twist in agony. “I remember you and my brother on the floor covered in Philip’s wedding cake. That is very hard to forget about. Is there something you need.” She muttered remembering the horror of it all. She also remembered Henry being madly in love with him and him confessing to her that he kissed him and after that Henry didn’t visit the US much and was more depressed and withdrawn something about how the two of them would never be able to love each other.

Alex let out a muffled laugh remembering cakegate. “Did you know Henry is in New York?” Alex questioned all of a sudden, wanting to dance around the subject, he didn’t want to tell the princess that her brother was in the hospital. Hell, he should have used his balls and called Zahra and Shaan and gotten the information that he needed from them and let Shaan deal with the fucking crown, after all that had been his job for years.

“Why are you calling to ask where Henry is? Has something happened to my brother?” She questioned sitting anxiously at the edge of her bed trying to wrack her brain trying to figure out the purpose of this conversation. Last she remembered Ellen finished her second term and Rafael Luna was now the President of The United States. He also made headlines for being the first openly gay President.

‘Please don’t be dead, please don’t be dead.’ Her brain begged she didn’t know if she could handle losing Henry. He was the one who stood by when she was addicted and was the one who told her everything.

Alex sighed softly he despised these conversations as a trauma surgeon he was used to giving bad news to families, but still after having hundreds of them they never got easier. He took a deep breath to calm his nerves. He was about to tell the princess that her brother was in a terrible car accident and was now a patient at Bellevue Hospital.   

“Bea.” He begins softly. “Henry was brought into Bellevue Hospital’s Trauma Center after a car accident. I’m the surgeon assigned to him. Based on my initial diagnosis he has a punctured lung and internal bleeding. He’s having a CT scan and I’ll let you know what those say. I just figured I’d let you know so you can let the Queen know.”

Bea looked at her phone like it had suddenly turned into a snake and would bite her if she wasn’t careful. “No, not Hen.” She cried slinking to the floor. “It can’t be Hen, anyone but Hen.” She begged the realization of it all hitting her like a train.

“Alex you are his friend can you please let him know I’m on my way and that we all love and care about him. I know you probably have him sedated and you probably think it is stupid; but just let him know what I said and that you’re his surgeon. It might make him feel better” She knew it was probably stupid and ridiculous but back when their dad was sick and, on a vent, she talked to him all the time. The nurses had told them that hearing was the last to go and that even people in a coma were able to hear. It felt like her heart was breaking at the thought of Henry.

Alex smiled softly at her words. Bea was one of the kinder members of the Royal Family that he had met, and it was clear her heart was on her sleeve. Henry was similar in that regard. “Of course. I’ll let him know what’s going on.” He didn’t think it was stupid at all. He had seen miracles happen when his patient heard their family members.

“Do you think you can answer some questions about his medical history?” He questioned softly hearing her agree to the questions.

“Does the Royal Family have anything against a blood transfusion?” He questioned knowing some religions were against blood transfusions. He didn’t know if the crown had a rule that blood could only come from another member of the crown or something equally as ridiculous.

“Sure thing.” Bea agreed she’d happily tell Alex everything if it meant she got to keep her favorite brother. Hell, she’d even tell him about Henry’s crush on him. “No give him whatever you need to. His blood type is O. I didn’t know if that was helpful to you.”

Alex leaned back in the office chair listening to Bea’s answers and typing them into a secure note on his phone. “That is very helpful.” He remarked knowing a patient’s blood type meant they’d get the blood that would best support their system. It would also help when it came to other transfusions too.

“Does he have any allergies I should know about?” Alex questioned softly knowing it had to be hard talking about these things, but he didn’t remember anything about allergies being on that factsheet he memorized on the prince.

“Is he on any medications, I promise that if you tell me I’ll be the only one who knows, and I’ll sign another NDA if I have too.” He remarked remembering the almost 15-page NDA he signed for his PR weekend after cakegate.

“For now, the hospital knows him as John Doe, right now I’m the only one whose recognized him.” Alex told her honestly glad for mostly soundproof walls since Eli was repositioning the CT scanner unaware that Alex was even having this conversation.

Bea let out a soft sigh of relief her mother would be pleased to know this information and that Alex was keeping Henry’s identity a secret. “As far as I know he doesn’t have any allergies.  She answered back trying to hold back her tears. Henry had been there when she had turned to drugs after their dad died. He was always by her side when it came to everything. The two of them did not have secrets.

She hid plenty of secrets from her grandmother, her mother, and Philip but she was an open book to Henry, and Henry was an open book to her. She couldn’t lose her rock. “He’s on sertraline and has been for ages.” After their dad died and the constant media pressures Henry was put on it to help his anxiety and depression. 

“Thank you, Bea. I’ll give you a call back once I have Henry’s scans and then I’ll be able to give you a solid diagnosis. I’ll also let you have a few moments to tell him things before I take him to surgery.” Alex told her honestly; he wouldn’t deny her that. “Talk soon.” He said, ending the phone call.

Alex quickly typed the information into his secure notes folder he’d seen what Queen Catherine wanted to do about her son. He figured the crown probably didn’t want anyone to know John Doe’s true identity, he also didn’t want a shit ton of press outside his hospital. He had enough press to last a lifetime thank you very much. Probably why he didn’t follow his plan or after his parents into politics he hated the press. The last time he had anything to do with the capital building was when he testified in support of the bill, he and his father had cowrote. It was after realizing just how ridiculous insurance companies were when it came to denying lifesaving care to patients.

He proposed the idea to Oscar and spent his time charming politicians in favor of the bill. It passed and Rafael signed it into law. Rafael had also signed codified laws in favor of abortion, birth control and LGBTQ+ marriages.

Rafael realized all it would take is for a few members of the supreme court to die and be appointed by someone other than a democrat and those laws could be overturned. It was something Richards wanted to do so Rafael made sure it could never happen.

The last time he saw the White House was when he watched Rafael sign his idea into law. It made medicine so much easier since they didn’t spend half their shifts arguing with insurance companies who thought they knew better than the patient’s doctor.

Alex saw the CT scans pop up on the computer. He rolled the chair closer to the monitors and started with Henry’s head. Fuck exactly what he was hoping not to see was a subdural hematoma. Henry was going to need a burr hole to drain the blood collecting in his head.

He circled the obvious bleeding for the Neurosurgery and sent the scan to Justin Turner the on-call neurosurgeon. Sure, he could drill burr holes and had in a trauma situation where it was a matter of seconds, but he didn’t even want to think of drilling a burr hole on Henry.

He then arrowed over to the CT of the neck and saw that it was otherwise unremarkable. He scrolled to the chest CT he saw the chest tube in the perfect placement, and it confirmed that Henry had both a pneumothorax and a hemothorax.

Alex circled everything of importance and then scrolled to the abdomen-pelvis CT and he felt his blood run cold. Henry’s spleen was obviously shredded, there was a liver laceration, both kidney’s had small lacerations and his appendix looked inflamed. He circled the shredded spleen and everything else and sent them to his attending.

He then pulled up Dr. Young’s number to discuss his findings. He figured he’d remove the spleen and he’d remove the appendix before it turned into another late-night surgical booty call. Best to cut it out before it turns into appendicitis and another emergency surgery.

“Think you can handle it?” Young asked the chief surgical resident.

Alex knew he could handle the task, but his brain felt conflicted because this was Henry and someone, he once considered to be a friend. He shoved the feelings down and went over his plan with the attending who agreed with it.

“You got this Claremont-Diaz.” Young supplied he might have despised the pretty boy son of the former president, but he had to admit that kid had skills when it came to surgery.

Alex ended the call and got up from the chair after memorizing everything he could from the scans. Eli had already transferred the unconscious prince over to the trauma bed. “I got it from here.” He told the tech pushing the bed back to trauma 1.

“Alex, the blood bank brought down the blood and I have his stat labs.” Claire told him before he could shut the door to call Bea in private. He walked over to her computer and skimmed over the typical trauma labs. Henry’s blood count was low, his potassium was low, his magnesium was low, the last two were a side effect of the sertraline. “Is it just me or does that guy look a little like Prince Henry?” Claire questioned.

“Maybe a little but I doubt it is Prince Henry.” Alex skillfully lied to the nurse he grabbed a bag of red blood cells and plasma. I’m going to go hang these and then I’m going to take him to surgery can you alert the OR team to expect him in 5?” He said walking into the trauma room and shutting the glass and curtains allowing him a few moments alone with the prince. He walked over to the bed and saw that Henry looked peaceful from the medication. He gently took Henry’s usually soft left hand which was now clammy in his own hands that were slightly rough from years of constant hand washing.

“Hey, Henry, it’s Alex. Remember me?” He said gently rubbing soothing circles over Henry’s knuckles. He was doing as Bea asked him to and being a friend before taking him to a cold OR where he would be taking care of the massive internal bleeding.

“You are at Bellevue Hospital, you were in a car accident, and they brought you to my trauma unit. I’ve got you, so you just keep fighting for your sister and your country.” He reminded figuring the reason Henry had gone ghost after the kiss was because of his duties to it. He hoped Henry didn’t hear the sadness in his voice.

It broke Alex’s heart to have made amends to Henry only for the stupid prince to kiss him sparking some odd feelings and then just pretend they were just friends. It was so odd. It finally got Alex to realize with a little advice from Luna that Alex was indeed not straight but was indeed bisexual. His animosity towards Henry was because of a crush and Henry being in a dark time.

“They need you. I called Bea so she knows even if this means some stuffy Royal Physician comes to take you back to England. I’ll have done the hardest part for them.” He teased playfully inserting the bags of blood into the Belmont rapid infuser. He attached the lines to Henry’s large IV in his left arm. He pulled out his phone and called Bea’s number feeling Henry’s hand squeeze his ever so gently and saw that his heart rate was still tachy but had lowered a few points.

Bea answered on the first ring seeing that it was Alex. She had added his number after talking to her mother. “Hey Alex, I have Queen Catherine with me, so you are on speaker. How is he?” She greeted him a little scared to hear what he had to say to them, she hoped he didn’t hear the desperation in her voice when she asked how he was. She was enroute to the private jet with her mother, Queen Catherine, sitting in the car next to her. Phillip, Martha, and their four-year-old daughter, Victoria would be meeting them at the private jet.

Alex smiled and put his right earbud in his ear. “Good morning Her Majesty and Her Royal Highness.” He told them hoping he used the right terms he was never one to use Henry’s full title. “I’m in Henry’s room let me just explain a few things and then I’ll let you talk at him. He has a tube in his throat helping him breathe, so he can’t talk back but he can hear everything you say.” Alex warned.

He took a deep breath trying to prepare for this conversation. He liked talking to the patient’s families. He loved being able to hear stories of the patients he had treated it was one of the reasons he loved medicine so much more than politics, but this was going to be hard, it wasn’t everyday he told the Queen of England the extent of her son’s injuries after a car accident. He twiddled with the key necklace that he wore around his neck when he got stressed or needed to think he would play with the key.

“Queen Catherine, I’m Dr. Alex Claremont-Diaz the trauma surgeon assigned to Henry. I’m also the son of the former President Ellen Claremont-Diaz.”

Bea smiled and looked at the slightly older version of herself. “He’s the American that was on the floor with Henry covered with cake.”

Catherine stifled a laugh knowing exactly who Alex Claremont-Diaz was. “I remember but tonight I am just a mother worried about her child, I just happen to be the Queen.” She said honestly to the doctor.

“I understand given my previous actions with the crown if you’d like another surgeon for Henry.” Alex said honestly it was a sign of his maturity realizing how his actions looked.

“Consider this an opportunity to apologize for that action. You’re the one we trust to operate. You recognized him but instead of blabbing you contacted Bea and gave us heads up. Bea says he’s listed as a John Doe which tells me you care about his privacy during this. Once I get to New York I’ll issue a formal statement to the press about Henry’s condition. Take care of him for me Dr. Claremont-Diaz. My children are my world.” Catherine said her voice breaking with her pain and worry. This entire situation reminded her of late husband Arthur who was taken far too soon from cancer.

Alex winced hearing his professional title come of the Queen of England’s mouth. He didn’t like his title, it was true he kept both parent’s surnames and Alexander Gabriel Claremont-Diaz was on his diploma from NYU Grossman, he usually just let patient’s call him Alex. It also unnerved him a little, like if he completely fucked this up, he knew the crown would be coming for his medical license. He hoped they didn’t he was the only Hispanic in his graduating medical class. He had a Z in his last name, and he couldn’t even try to pass as white. He was biracial but he felt like there weren’t many doctors with his skin color.

“I’m not going to lie or try to sugarcoat things. Henry has major internal bleeding. He’s more than likely going to lose his spleen. He also has a minor brain bleed, so I’ll have neurosurgery put a small hole in his head to drain the blood in his head, they will also place a device so we can monitor the pressure within his brain. He also has a fracture in his right arm. He’s got a tube to help him breathe, I have a tube in chest collecting the blood and working to reinflate his collapsed lung.” He paused, allowing the Queen and Princess time to collect their thoughts.

Bea linked her pink manicured hand with her mother’s hand as she listened to Alex explain the magnitude of what was wrong with her brother.

Catherine was a little absent after Arthur’s death coming back to the UK in time to watch her oldest get married due to Bea’s coaxing that she needed to come back and fix things. Her mother the late Queen had brainwashed her eldest and before Mary’s death, (they knew it was coming since it was cancer, and she was well into her 80s.)

Philip had spent months begging her to abdicate the throne to him. She didn’t, instead she worked on deprogramming all the hate and vitriol Mary had instilled in him. Now all of them could be in the same room and Phillip had made her and grandmother. Things weren’t perfect with them, but things were better than when Mary was Queen.

Catherine was a more accepting person due to her humanities work and to her family would come before the crown. Something her own mother failed at. Tomorrow would be hard issuing her statement to both countries her children the equivalent of celebrities so every country would be running the story. It would also remind her of how her sister, Caroline died after being chased through a tunnel in Italy.

She squeezed Bea’s hand. She might have missed Bea’s battle with addiction, but she wouldn’t let anything hurt her family now. Her children were her everything and the thought of one in a hospital alone in New York City broke her already sensitive heart.

“Alex, can you put on us on speaker so that we can tell Hen how much we love him?” Bea questioned after a few moments of silence. She didn’t care about Alex’s past so long as he fixed her brother, the crown would be forever grateful to him.

“Sure thing.” He muttered into the phone approaching Henry’s head. He gently held Henry’s hand. “Henry, your mom and sister want to wish you well.” He said putting it on speaker. “He’s right here.”

“Hey, sweetie its mom and Bea. We just wanted to let you know that we love you and we will be seeing you soon. Hang in there and let Dr. Claremont-Diaz take the best care of you. Don’t forget to fight.” Catherine said cooing through the phone. She might have been the queen now but nothing and she meant nothing was going to come between her children.

Catherine handed Bea her phone back allowing her a few moments to speak to Henry alone; or as alone as she could with her mother the Queen sitting next to her.

“Hey Hen, it’s me. Keep fighting will you. I don’t know who else I’d share all my dirty secrets with. I need you more than anything. You’re the calm in my storm.” Bea muttered he was the one who stood by when she was known as The Powder Princess and her addiction. She was the one he confined in about his sexuality back when he was 18. She knew anything and everything there was to know about him, and in return he knew anything and everything there was to know about her. “I love you.” She said figuring Alex had things to do.

“Alex, please take great are of Henry for us.” Bea begged, trying her hardest not to cry on the phone with Alex.

“I will. Safe travels and I will see you all very soon.” Alex said, ending the phone call, brushing a stray tear from his eye. “Listen to your sister and fight. I’d like to lecture about kissing me and then mostly ghosting since apparently fate made you cross paths with me again.” He sassed grabbing a pair of over the knee shoe covers and bending over to put them over his very comfortable sneakers.

He hated crocs and refused to even try them; he had seen a few other specialties wear cowboy boots to the OR, but he personally thought it looked very dumb with scrubs. He also thought the waterproof clogs were a twisted ankle waiting to happen. So, he stuck with compression socks and his On Cloud sneakers and he wore the knee-high shoe covers in hopes of never finding blood in the mesh of his shoes.

He grabbed a surgical mask from the wall and tied it around the nape of his neck and the crown of his head. He pinched the wire tightly across the bridge of his nose. He wheeled the bed out of the trauma bay and down several hallways until he reached a door that read ‘OR. Authorized Personal Only.’ Alex pulled his badge reel and tapped it to the sensor on the wall. The doors flung open leading to another hallway, this one full of room numbers. He steered the bed into OR 1.

OR 1 was by far his favorite OR, it had been recently renovated and the lights were brighter, and it was better suited for trauma surgeries with the way it was set up compared to the other ORs. He saw his usual team of nurses and surgical techs and he saw Paige sitting at the head of the bed waiting to administer anesthesia.

He pushed the stretcher right up against the edge of the surgical table and helped the nurses move Henry over to the table.

Paige smirked noticing the large bore IV’s one of which already had blood running to it, she also noticed that Alex had gone ahead and placed a PICC line. “Diaz, I love you, this PICC line is perfect.” She’d usually put in a central line but since one was already in it just left one less step for her. “Also, this is my fourth surgery with you tonight.” She complained she was used to this, and she wouldn’t change it for anything.

“Hey at least it isn’t a GSW or a stab wound.” Alex sassed back leaving Henry in Paige’s capable hands and the nurses to get him prepped. The last he heard was Paige introducing herself to the unconscious Henry as he left the room to scrub in for the surgery.

Chapter Text

Alex reached for the box of scrub sponges and grabbed a package from the box he always used. He tore the package open and used the blue tool to scrape underneath his nails. He was trying very hard not to think about Henry laying on his OR table.

Erica Adams smiled as she approached the scrub sink. “Dr. Claremont-Diaz how are you doing tonight?” asked warmly she was the only female neurosurgeon in the state of New York.

“I was expecting Dr. Turner.” Alex mused politely. Erica was wearing a scrub cap that had half a brain hemisphere and the other hemisphere was made of up various types of flowers. “I’m doing well it’s my fifth case of the night.” He remarked scrubbing his hands vigorously.

“How are you tonight?” He questioned watching her grab the same scrub sponge he preferred.

One thing about surgeons is they all had a preference. It was their mask, scrub sponge, sterile gloves, temperature of their OR and other things that would seem insignificant to anyone else, but when you could spend 12 plus in an OR you knew what you wanted, and your teammates learned those things about you.

“I saw the scans it is a straightforward subdural hematoma. Justin said he’d rather study for our upcoming tumor resection. I think he is just trying to find brownie points and failing.” She said with an eyeroll back when she was a resident, she’d have kissed her attending if he let her fly solo on a burr hole and a sensor placement. Hell, she probably would have murdered her coresidents to do it.  

Clearly Alex had zero problems taking lead on surgeries and doing them solo. She admired his gumption and his passion. Alex was proving himself to be quite the resident, sometimes she wished he were one of hers. He was immensely talented and could remain calm and collected in any situation. He also thought very quickly on the fly.

Alex smirked behind his mask listening intently. He wasn’t the typical ass-kissing resident, he was an honest resident. He advocated and cared about all of his patients that found their way into his trauma unit. Some of the attendings respected him and others didn’t like him. He didn’t care, he eventually realized he wasn’t going to be universally liked by all the attendings and he wasn’t afraid to disagree on a course of treatment if his gut told him he was right. He caught many things attendings had missed and without him those patients would have died.

He was honestly shocked to learn he was going to be the chief resident for this year. Although he knew he was the best in his year, and he wasn’t afraid to go do rotations in the Bronx or Queens. It was still shocking to say the least. He thought for sure with as hard as getting accepted into one of the top medical schools with his social pariah status caused by cakegate and then his speech confirming he was bisexual after it was leaked from Richards’s campaign. In the end it won his mother her second term in office, so he didn’t care. But still some programs considered him to be a pariah. So never in his wildest dreams did he imagine becoming chief resident of his chosen specialty.

He would never forget his three-month stint at Jacobi in the Bronx. It was never ending penetrating trauma. That rotation prepared him for anything and everything. It was truly a life changing experience seeing just how busy that trauma unit was. It wasn’t uncommon to have multiple ambulances waiting. He had seen a ton of penetrating traumas those three months. It was why he was the one they usually called for GSWs and stabbings. Bellevue was equally busy but for different reasons.

After those three months Jacobi offered him an attending position. He also had offers from NYU Langone, Bellevue, and Elmhurst in NYC. He also had offers from George Washington University Hospital in DC, The Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore, Cook County in Chicago, Dell Seton Medical Center in Austin, Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas (the irony not lost on Alex) and Emory University Hospital in Atlanta. He probably had about 30 offers overall but there were 10 that stood out and that he was creating a pro-con list for. He also had the skill of reading contracts and negotiating his future contract.

While he still had six months of residency left, he had two months to make an official decision on where he wanted to be an attending at. That way he could take his board exams, get licensed in another state if he needed, and submit all the required paperwork needed.

Alex didn’t know what to say to the neurosurgeon. A part of him wanted to apologize for her resident not wanting to do the burr hole and sensor placement but it wasn’t his place. He ran his hands and forearms through the warm stream of water and then walked into the OR his hands up past his torso.

Abby handed him a sterile towel and he dried his hands. “Hey Abby.” He greeted the scrub tech warmly as she helped him into the sterile gown and then his preferred non latex sterile gloves. They had just the right grip on them and were thin enough to feel delicate tissue but strong enough that he wasn’t worried about an accidental stick. He also had a lot of unconscious and unknown patients, so it was safer for them if he always used non latex gloves.

Once he was in his sterile garb, he took his spot at the OR table. He took a deep breath, trying to forget the fact that it was Prince Henry on his table, and he was a few moments away from having his hands inside the spare to the throne. He adjusted the lights to just the correct spot hearing the automatic doors open.

Erica entered the OR next and took her spot at the head of the bed. “Dr. Claremont-Diaz since you are lead on the case you can play your playlist. It won’t take me that long to put in a drain and intracranial pressure sensor. Her own OR playlist was a mix of things. Most surgeons played music while operating since it helped them laser focus on the task at hand. She had listened to most things, and nothing offended her music wise.

Nicole didn’t need to be told twice that they could listen to Alex’s playlist. She hit the play button the sound of The Band Camino filled the OR speakers. Alex’s playlist was a hot mess of various genres of various years, most of it was of the rock, pop, and punk genre.

He was by far her favorite because they had similar tastes in music, and he was young and tended to be more chill than some. He tended not to yell, and he was a fantastic teacher and communicator if he needed something.

“Dr. Adams what is the strangest song you’ve heard during a surgery?” Nicole questioned the neurosurgeon as a surgical nurse she had heard her fair share of inappropriate songs.

“I think the winner would be Another One Bites the Dust.” Erica told the nurse. “What about you Dr. Claremont-Diaz? Any fun stories to share with the room.”

Alex smiled behind his mask, he had his usual team who knew him and how he was. The other surgeon wanted to treat him with respect and like he was an attending which he was six months away from being one. He stepped up to the table silently apologizing for what he was about to Henry. He took the scalpel from Abby and made a perfect midline incision down Henry’s bruised abdomen.

“I agree with Dr. Adams the first surgery I ever got to scrub into the surgeon had a medley of Queen and in the middle of the surgery Another One Bites the Dust started playing. The nurse immediately changed the track. It made me love surgery” Alex mused fondly cutting through the small layer of fat and the layers of muscle allowing him full access to the internal organs. He wished for Henry’s sake he could have chosen the laparoscopic approach, but he knew based on imaging studies it would be the wrong approach.  

He remembered Nora giving him a printout of her calculations the day of his white coat ceremony long before he had rotated through specialties. She had three listed and all were surgical. His odds of becoming a trauma surgeon were 80%, plastic surgery was 10%, and urology was also 10%.

When he matched into trauma surgery it did not surprise Nora. Trauma surgery wasn’t an in-demand specialty because of the long and unpredictable hours. It wasn’t like people scheduled their stabbings. It was the perfect mix of surgery and patient care, but the long hours could drain a person both physically and mentally.

Not everyone could be a trauma surgeon and most wanted a more humane schedule. Alex frequently worked over 80 hours in a week. He also needed to know so many different types of surgery and also managed his own patients in the trauma intensive care unit.

Paige listened to the conversation but was halfheartedly paying attention because she was trying to figure out where she had seen this patient before. It was like staring at a familiar stranger. She recognized the face, but she couldn’t quite figure out why.

She was also watching the vitals like a hawk and was often changing out the blood products and fluids through the rapid infuser. She was keeping track of every blood bag and fluid that was administered. She also had to make sure the patient remained comfortable and unconscious.

Erica quickly finished her portion of the surgery after all she had done thousands of this type of procedure she worked quickly and efficiently enjoying Alex’s OR mix. “Are you going to update the family on my portion?” She questioned the young trauma surgeon who was working at lightning speed to suture a laceration.

It was fascinating watching a trauma surgeon work sometimes. They were quick and made things look effortless, especially Alex. He looked like a skilled attending who had done thousands of exploratory laparotomies. “Your sutures are magnificent.” She praised with a warm smile behind her mask.

“Sure, I’ll update the family assuming they show, or they find his identification in the wreckage.” He lied effortlessly it was the prince and Bellevue was about to be invaded by the British Monarchy since he had already contacted them.

“How’d your portion go?” Alex questioned not looking up from suturing bleeders and suctioning out his surgical field. “Thank you.” He muttered that was high praise coming from her.

“Burr hole was successful, and the blood has been removed. The intracranial pressure is normal but towards the higher end of normal. Hopefully with the blood drained the pressure returns to the better part of normal.” She remarked so far, the patient’s vitals were holding steady enough for surgery even thought the patient was still hemodynamically unstable. She was hopeful that the patient would have normal brain function afterward assuming the patient didn’t throw a clot that caused a stroke. She knew Alex was fastidious so she doubted that would happen.

“It was a pleasure working with you Dr. Claremont-Diaz.” Erica said leaving the OR with a passing glance at the steady but unsteady vitals that Paige was working overboard to help stabilize. She didn’t know how many bags of blood had been used but it had to have been over 10. “Let me know the outcome, please.”

“It was a pleasure working with you as well and of course I’ll let you know the outcome. Have a great rest of your night.” Alex muttered, trying not to feel overwhelmed with the sheer amount of internal bleeding. This MVA was worse than some stab wounds he had repaired.

A few minutes passed and that in when shit decided to hit the fan. “Shit. I’m going to need suction and way more blood.” Alex barked trying to be polite, but it was hard to be polite when the abdomen looked like a war zone. “His spleen looks like it was run through a meat grinder and his retroperitoneum is full of blood.”

He took a deep breath trying to control his nerves, his brain was screaming this was Prince Henry and he did not want to be the one unable to save the stupidly attractive prince. The last time he was this nervous during surgery was probably his first solo surgery and it was a straightforward appendectomy. He didn’t get nervous for surgeries after that. He was known as the chill surgeon if something happened, he could usually get it under control.  

Nicole rushed to the phone hanging on the wall to call the blood bank to get even more blood delivered to the OR. The floor looked like a crime scene with splatters of blood. She watched in horror as blood spattered the front of Alex’s gown. “Do you want me to call Young?” She questioned softly, not wanting to offend the chief resident with that question, but as a nurse she needed to hear he had it all under control.

Alex quickly and expertly tied off the spleen and removed the organ and deposited it into the awaiting basin. He suctioned his field of view. It looked like the bleeding had slowed and he could actually see what he was doing. “I have it all under control.” He said letting out a relieved sigh as he explored the area with his fingers looking for tiny lacerations. Alex explored the space around the now missing spleen and tied up all the bleeds and lacerations in that area.

Nicole and Abby both let out a relaxed sigh as the night shift OR nurses they were used to Alex, and it was strange to see that side of him. They were both happy that he didn’t take the stress out on them. They had both met surgeons who would have snapped if they questioned their ability.

Alex had explained why things had gone south and quickly regained control of the situation. One surgical resident had made Abby cry during a surgery and afterward Alex stood up to that surgeon for her and gave her a kind pep talk afterward. He was a great leader in the OR.

The music continued to play, and Alex continued to explore Henry’s abdomen and fix lacerations. He quickly repaired the medium sized laceration to the liver and the surrounding tissue around the liver. He noticed and felt a small laceration on the pancreas that didn’t show on the CT. He quickly repaired the laceration with ease.

He retracted the other organs back allowing him access to the small lacerations in Henry’s kidneys. He looked up from the surgical site to take a quick glance at Henry’s vitals. His heart rate was still tachycardic, the pressors they had him on was increasing the blood pressure back to an acceptable range. “Paige, how is his intracranial pressure?” Alex questioned.

“It’s 15 and it’s been around 15 since Dr. Adams left.” Paige remarked to the surgeon. “You also don’t want to know how much blood we’ve gone through.”

Alex smiled softly behind his mask. Henry’s vitals were slowly getting better and while 15 was the max of normal intracranial pressure it was a good sign to him. He hadn’t gone above normal which meant the likelihood of a stroke was lower.

“Oh, I know! I think I’m wearing a bag myself.” Alex teased playfully. Overall surgery was going well, there had been a few ‘oh shit’ moments but he was used to those. He sutured the lacerations in the kidneys and explored the area behind the kidneys.

“Okay I’m going to run the bowel and remove the appendix and then he should be good to go for an extended stay in my ICU.” Alex mused. He removed the retractor allowing the other organs to go back to their rightful spot in Henry’s abdomen.

He expertly ran his fingers along the length of Henry’s bowel searching for anything abnormal or a laceration. He smiled when he reached the end of the bowel where the slightly inflamed appendix was. He quickly removed the appendix, sometimes he was called to remove an appendix when the on call general surgeons were busy with something else. He didn’t mind appendectomies they were typically a quick in and out. Unlike this surgery that was now approaching six and half hours.

He placed the tiny organ that was about the size of his pinky in the awaiting bowl that Abby was holding. Alex removed the retractor and handed it back to Nicole. “Alright I’m going to do one final pass through and then I’ll close.” He remarked, looking at the vitals again. He was hopefully going to have enough time to close Henry’s abdomen and take an ice-cold shower before the rest of the royals showed up.

Alex quickly and effortlessly examined Henry’s organs, he made sure all his stitches were holding at that he hadn’t missed any lacerations or bleeders. Once he was positive that everything was fully repaired, he took the bulbed irrigation syringe from Abby and washed-out Henry’s organs suctioning the saline out as he went.

“Alright, time to close!” he exclaimed, taking his time suturing up the layers of fascia, muscle, and the small layer of fat. He took the stapler from Abby and put about 85 staples in the abdominal skin to close his incision. He quickly and expertly bandaged the staples and incision.

“Let’s go ahead and pull down the drapes so I can go ahead a reset the right ulna and put a cast on it.” Alex said, changing out of his soiled gloves. He came back to the right side of the bed and gently took Henry’s right arm in his and maneuvered the bone back into place. He then wrapped the arm in royal blue casting material.

“Paige, let’s go ahead and keep him sedated and leave the vent in. He’s still a little unstable and I want to give his body a little time to heal before I extubate him. Thank you for your fabulous help as always.

Abby and Nicole great work as usual. Go ahead and get John here to the trauma intensive care unit. I’m going to go take a shower and eat something and I’ll be up soon to check on him. I’m also going to see if FDNY had any luck in finding his identification.” (And by that he meant text Bea and see how close they were to the hospital so he could meet with them in a private family waiting room.)

“Fantastic work Dr. Claremont-Diaz.” Nicole and Abby said in unison.

Alex nodded and left the OR. He quickly removed his soiled surgical garb and walked the short distance to the surgical resident’s locker room for a quick shower. He tried to ignore how much of Henry’s blood was all over the floor and his surgical garb.

He felt warm and his scrubs felt like they were glued to his body. He needed some soap and a fresh pair of scrubs. He was so glad to have shoe inserts and compression socks they made standing for long cases much easier as did a good pair of extra cushioned sneakers.

He knew the chief resident on call room had a private shower, but he didn’t feel like walking that long of a distance for a shower.

He tapped his badge with his photo, name, and credentials to the sensor outside the locker room. He let out a relieved sigh. He bent down to untie his sneakers. He lifted the sneaker to his face to inspect for any blood on the mesh and was happy that nothing got on his shoes.

Alex sat his shoes down on the bench in front of his locker. He untied his scrub cap and removed his safety glasses from his eyes. He unclipped his badge reel from the V in his scrub top.

He grabbed his phone from his scrub pocket along with Henry’s signet ring tucked into his pocket. He secretly removed it when he noticed it was Henry and slid into an empty scrub pocket, so it remained safe during surgery and partly for good luck. He sat all of the things on a nearby table.  

He opened his locker and grabbed his toiletry bag and a change of underwear. He shut his locker with a soft click and took both with him to the line of shower stalls. They reminded him so much of something he’d find in a dorm room. The biggest difference was these were cleaned regularly and instead of moldy curtains the hospital had used frosted glass that shut all the way.

He grabbed a towel from the rack and hung it on the hook outside the shower stall. He unzipped his toiletry bag and pulled out his travel size body wash and his silicone body scrubber. He sat both on the ledge of the shower and then struggled to remove his compression socks they were stuck to him with sweat. He finally got them off, glad nobody else was in the locker room to watch his struggle.

He pulled off his scrub top, untied and unbuttoned his scrub pants and pulled them off along with his underwear. He left a small pile of scrubs on the floor and opened the frosted glass shower door. He placed his body wash and scrubber onto the ledge and turned the water to lukewarm. He got under the running stream of water letting the water run over his back. He let out a blissful sigh at the temperature of the water. Surgical attire was warm, and the overhead lights made him feel like a lizard. So, he loved a cold shower after a long case.

He finally had a much-needed moment to decompress. It was never easy operating on someone you knew, it was even harder when that person happened to be the Prince of England. He was also kind of dreading the conversation with the royal family. He placed a glob of body wash on the silicone scrubber and started scrubbing that feeling away. It would all be okay, his brain told him. The surgery had been successful, and Henry would be in the TICU for several days recovering from major abdominal surgery.

He let the wonderful smell of Santal 33 envelop he senses teleporting him back to the moment he and Henry had spent in that hospital closet during their visit to The Royal Hospital for Children and Women.

He wished he could go back in time and tell his younger self that he would turn out to be a surgeon and not a politician. He’d also tell that version of himself they Henry likes you, and you like Henry. Maybe that version of himself would have visited London again and had addressed the kiss instead of pretending it never happened. The memories a smell could bring back.

Paige tapped her badge to the sensor outside the surgeon’s locker room, she had finally figured out why their patient looked so familiar, and she needed to know the truth. Surely Alex knew what his friend looked like, surely Alex knew he was operating on Prince Henry.

She had scrolled through Alex’s Instagram, and everything came flooding back to her. She had found countless photos of Henry and Alex together. Her personal favorite was of them at the Royal Wedding covered in cake. She heard the sound of a shower, so she walked to the shower area and sat on an empty sink counter.

Alex grabbed the towel and opened the frosted glass and noticed blonde hair perched on the sink counter. “Fuck! Are you trying to give me palpitations? If so, you succeeded.” He yelled, feeling startled at seeing the anesthesiologist perched on the counter.

“Not really no.” Paige teased handing the trauma surgeon a cup of coffee. “Nespresso from the resident’s lounge.” She explained, hopping off the counter to give Alex a moment to put on his underwear, her questions could wait. “I also brought you a bagel with that cream cheese you like along with a cone of zebra popcorn.”

Alex took the disposable cup and took a greedy sip letting the vanilla flavor dance across his tastebuds. “You are an angel.” He hollered knowing she had probably gone to the small lounge off the lockers and had flopped into one of their lounge chairs. He dried off his body and put on his ocean blue Calvin Klein trunks. He also ran his stick of deodorant over his armpits. He tossed the towel in the linen hamper and tossed his scrubs into the scrub hamper.

One thing he loved about Bellevue is that they had used Figs for their surgical scrubs. He had rotated through several hospitals who had surgical scrubs that felt like unisex garbage bags and were itchy. Figs scrubs were more of a tailored fit and a softer material.

All the OR employees had their names etched into the tag so all they had to do was toss their scrubs into the scrub hamper and they’d be laundered and returned to their lockers. He padded to his locker which had three other pairs of scrubs hanging up along with two sweater knit jackets embroidered with his name and specialty. He didn’t bother with a lab coat to him they were an infection hazard, he preferred his fleece jackets over the lab coat.

He grabbed a set of scrubs and quickly put them on so he could drink his delicious coffee and share the bagel and popcorn Paige mentioned. He grabbed the cactus-colored jacket from his locker and put it on over his scrubs. He thought the greenish-blue color completed the navy.

He ran his fingers over the name embroidered on the left side. Dr. Alex Claremont-Diaz, MD and Trauma Surgeon was below it. Sometimes it was hard for him to process that he was actually a doctor much less a surgeon. He clipped his badge to the top of the jacket, slid his safety glasses into the left front pocket and grabbed his phone.

He looked at the time and saw that it had been about seven and a half hours since taking Henry to surgery. He pulled up his text messages and sent Bea a message. He also tucked Henry’s signet ring into the small interior pocket of the jacket. He’d give it to Bea once she got here for her safekeeping.

‘It’s Alex if you don’t care to go to the first-floor surgical waiting room and consult room 3 should be big enough for everyone in your party.’ He gave her easy directions to the waiting room and consult room 3 was big enough to fit a party of 10 with a few comfy couches and large chairs. He sent the text message and slid his phone into the right front pocket. The jacket had both open front pockets and zippered side pockets.

He grabbed his Stitch and baby Yoda coffee scrub cap and tied it around his hair. Best to give the royals the impression he had just come from Henry’s surgery not to mention his curls were quite unruly after spending most of the night in a scrub cap. He put on his trauma llama compression socks and tied his sneakers to his feet. He got up from the bench with his coffee and went into the lounge area. He flopped indigently into the recliner.

“You smell much better.” Paige teased flippantly the two of them had quickly become friends during their first year at NYU. She was one of the few who saw Alex for who he was and that he actually wanted to be a doctor and wasn’t there just for shits and giggles.

Alex laughed and grabbed his half of the cinnamon raisin bagel with cinnamon, walnut, and raisin cream cheese. It was by far his favorite bagel and considering the night had turned to early morning it was time for breakfast. “Thanks for snagging me coffee and a bagel. I needed it.” Paige was his NYU version of Nora and June.

“Can I ask you a personal question.” Paige asked taking a sip of her chocolate coffee trying to figure out how to broach that conversation.

“Yeah.” Alex swallowed his bite of bagel smiling at the perfect flavors of cinnamon and nuts.

“Did you know our patient was Prince Henry?” Paige questioned figuring it best to come out with it. She handed him her phone with Alex’s old Instagram photos of him and Henry and their sneaky glances.

“I find it impossible that someone as smart as you didn’t recognize him in the first five seconds of him being in your trauma bay. Are you okay? Is that why you got a little bitchy when shit hit the fan earlier? I don’t care that you hid it from your attending. I would have too, who wouldn’t want to be a resident and operating on the Prince of England? What happened to the two of you, are you guys’ still friends or was it a PR stunt?”

Alex’s brown eyes got wide at the question. He grabbed his coffee cup and took a long sip trying to figure out how best to answer it. He knew she was sworn to HIPAA so she couldn’t tell anyone that she was Prince Henry’s anesthesiologist. He looked at the old photos of Henry and him at interviews and the silly cornetto post. He remembered that weekend and now he realized just how much Henry liked him it was written in his eyes. His own eyes had a happy twinkle around Henry that he hadn’t noticed before.

“You can’t tell anyone. He said watching her make a my-lips-are-sealed gesture.

“Yes, I knew it was Prince Henry. EMS rolled him in, and I stopped in my tracks for a second before snapping into doctor mode. I also didn’t tell my attending because I still have a direct line to the crown. They asked me to keep his identity a secret until they could get to New York and get ahead of the story. Bea also asked if I could be his surgeon because Henry doesn’t like hospitals and she figured if his surgeon was someone that he knew it might be a little easier on them.

The Queen also secretly threatened my license. I figured I’d take the heat with the royals if anything happened to Henry on my table. Henry and I are still friends, but he has his country and I got married to trauma surgery, so we stopped being in each other’s social circles. President Luna has invited me to some of the events he’s been at, but most of the time I’m on call.” Alex explained letting her have most of the story, he didn’t tell her about the New Year’s kiss but most of it was the truth.

Paige laughed softly finishing her half of the bagel. “You are reckless no wonder you make such a damn good trauma surgeon. I don’t know if the roles would have been reversed if I would have been able to handle my emotions. You did fantastic during that surgery; I can think of a few attendings who might have struggled. You truly were meant to be a surgeon. You didn’t invite me to your wedding. I’m heartbroken.”

Alex smiled at her complement. “Also, it was an ego thing, who else besides us and Dr. Adams will be able to say they were the doctors to the Prince of England. I’m also protective of the people I care about, and I knew I could handle that surgery.” He said honestly shrugging his shoulders he looked at his phone and saw it had been a few days since his last social media posting. “I don’t suppose you want to be in my Instagram update.” He asked.

“Damn right I do.” Paige said getting up from her chair and sitting on the arm of Alex’s.

“We make the best team.” He said taking the photo making sure to get their coffee cups in the photo along with the small cone of popcorn.

He captioned it ‘nothing beats good coffee and a catch up with @PagingPaige after a surgery.’ He posted it after she approved it. The two of them looked like dorks still in their scrub caps and dark circles under their eyes but it was a real look into their life.

“Thanks for the coffee.” Alex said finishing his cup and tossing it in the nearby trash can. He felt his Apple Watch buzz and saw a text message from Bea that she was in the waiting room. “I need to go update a Queen about her son.”

“Good luck.” Paige hollered watching Alex leave the locker room with a click. She felt her buzz and saw it was a difficult airway in the ER.

Alex walked through the OR wing until he found the door that led to the surgical waiting room, he walked to consult room 3 and knocked at the metal frame. “Hi guys.” He greeted warmly turning on his First Son smile to let them know that Henry was okay. He shut the door with a soft click. “I’m Dr. Claremont-Diaz and I am Henry’s surgeon. 

Bea was sitting next to Queen Catherine on a couch and Philip, Martha had a baby bump, and a four-year-old with pigtails napped on the couch between them. He remembered the announcement of Princess Victoria and had seen plenty of Instagram photos of Henry and Victoria together. He noticed she was napping under a blanket of Stitch.

Philip noticed the smile and the tension in his shoulders eased a little seeing Alex’s electric smile that had to mean good news. He hoped it was good news, Catherine’s sister, Caroline had died in an accident in Italy after having the press chase the car down. After Caroline and Arthur dying in a hospital, he didn’t have any love for hospitals. He also wanted Henry to die of old age having met the man of his dreams and happy.

Bea also noticed the smile but refused to let her body relax ever since Alex called her, she was worried reminded of her aunt. She wouldn’t relax until she saw Henry or heard it from Alex’s mouth. “How’s Hen?”

“Prince Henry had extensive injuries from the accident. He had a very fast heart rate, and his blood pressure was really low.” Alex explained softly.

Catherine nodded the Royal Physician’s had told her on more than one occasion that Henry had a lower blood pressure. “Would it make a difference if I told you his blood pressure usually ran on the lower side?” She asked the young surgeon. “They think it has something to do with the medication he takes.”

Alex nodded making a mental note that Henry’s blood pressure ran a little low. “That will help, but this was dangerously low blood pressure to the point we had to administer vasopressors to increase it.” He noticed her nod it was odd to have a normal conversation with the Queen. Queen Mary had been stoic the few times he met her. Catherine just nodded and smiled at him to continue.

“I stabilized him in the trauma unit to get him to a CT scan that is when we noticed he had a subdural hematoma, which is bleeding in his brain. He also had several lacerations to his internal organs. I had to remove his spleen. The spleen is a very vascular organ, so it causes a lot of internal bleeding, which resulted in several blood transfusions.

I repaired all the lacerations to his liver, pancreas, kidneys, I ran his bowel, and it was perfectly fine. I also removed his appendix it looked a little inflamed, so I went ahead and removed it to save him from another emergency surgery in the future for that.” He explained watching the family process his words.

“I wouldn’t say Henry’s totally out of the woods. I’m going to keep him sedated and ventilated for several more hours to allow his body to get a jump start on healing itself. I’ll try to extubate him this afternoon if his vitals are holding steady. I can take you to see him but just keep in mind he will have tubes sticking out of a bunch of places and might be a little alarming.”

“Can I ask you a question?” Catherine asked, afraid to ask it, but she had to know. She had watched her younger sister die and then her husband, so she was a little vigilant when it came to the health of her children and grandchildren. She knew Martha struggled to get pregnant and how much a joy Victoria was.

“Of course, you can ask me all the questions.” Alex said honestly, he didn’t mind questions and he told all the first-year residents that there wasn’t such a thing as a stupid question. He probably asked the same questions during his first year.

“You mentioned the pancreas his father died of pancreatic cancer did you feel any tumors did the pancreas look okay?” Catherine asked stumbling over her words terrified of the answer. “Did all his organs feel and look okay.”

Alex smiled his charming smile that reached his eyes at Catherine’s question the memory of reading Arthur’s Fox on Henry’s fact sheet came flooding back. Of course, she would be concerned about her children’s risk of cancer. He would be too if he went through everything she went through. She was an emotionally strong Queen.

“I didn’t feel anything other than normal organs.” He knew that Arthur had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer when he was younger than most.

Catherine was on her feet and hugging the young surgeon in only a hug a mother could give. “Thank you! Thank you for taking such great care of my baby. Anyway, I can make you the only physician assigned to Henry’s case?” She wasn’t acting much like a queen at that moment but rather a relived mother.

Alex relaxed into the hug. It felt strange being hugged by the current Queen of England. “Talk to the Chief of Trauma Surgery. I’ll be managing all of Henry’s care while he is in the ICU anyway. Unless of course you plan to take him back to England and allow the Royal Physicians to tend to his care then that can also be arranged.”

Catherine laughed and pulled away from the surgeon. “Now why would I do that. You saved him and I think he’ll be more comfortable in your care anyways. I’m sure Victoria will enjoy going to the zoo and maybe seeing a Broadway show. I’ll also need to hold a press conference and let the world know what has happened.” She muttered. “But right now, I’d like to see my baby.”

“Thank you Dr. Claremont-Diaz I appreciate you taking care of my brother.” Philip said honestly having long forgot about Alex and Henry covered in buttercream frosting on the floor of Buckingham Palace during his wedding.

Victoria awoke hearing grandmother say her name and it felt like her throat was on fire. “Mummy my throat hurts.” She also pulled at her ears.

“She was also warm when I woke up her to get her on the flight.” Martha mused to Philip. “I hope she isn’t getting sick.”

Alex smiled at the young child and got onto his knees in front of her. “Hi Princess, I’m Dr. Alex. How does your throat feel. Does it feel scratchy?” He asked the girl before looking at Philip and Martha. “I’d be more than happy to take a look at her for you guys.” 

“You have Stitch and Baby Yoda on your hat. They are my favorite.” She said excitedly liking the cute doctor in front of her already. She nodded her head when Alex mentioned the word scratchy. “Feels like I swallowed rocks.”

“They are my favorite too.” Alex told the girl in pigtails before reaching out to touch her forehead. “She’s very warm.”

“Please.” Philip and Martha said in unison after all Alex had proven himself a successful doctor when it came to Henry, surely, he could take care of their daughter’s sore throat.

Alex grabbed the signet ring from his pocket before he forgot about it. He handed it to Bea. “I went ahead and removed his ring in case his fingers swell from all the fluids he’s been given.”

Bea took Henry’s signet ring with the H in the middle of it. “Thank you, Alex. I appreciate everything you’ve done for Hen.” She whispered unclasping her necklace and putting Henry’s signet ring on it for safekeeping.

“Give me just a quick second to find someplace to check out the princess.” Alex mused pulling out his phone and sending Claire a quick text. He didn’t want to take her to the trauma unit in case there was an active trauma. That would easily scare the young girl, not to mention most of the royals.

‘I have a VIP patient with probable strep. Think you can find me some fun stickers?’

Her reply was almost instant. ‘Strep isn’t trauma but sure I can find some stickers.’

He wanted to reply strep is certainly a trauma when it’s Princess Victoria and he was trying to make amends to Philip and Martha.

‘I know I just need someplace to take her and if I go anywhere near the ER, well you remember the last time.’ He texted back let’s just say it involved a light bulb stuck up someone’s ass. 

“Alrighty let’s go check out that throat of yours.” Alex said cheerfully watching Victoria make an up motion at him. “You want me to carry you?” He questioned the princess. He looked curiously at Philip for his approval.

“I like you.” Was Victoria’s innocent response. He saw Philip nod his approval, so he effortlessly picked up the Princess and put her on his hip. She instantly put her head on his shoulder, her red pigtails splaying out over his jacket. He gently draped the stitch blanket over her for warmth.

Bea laughed internally watching as her niece got cozy on Alex. She quickly snapped a secret photo so she could show Henry once he woke up, he was Victoria’s personal favorite so it might make him happy to see it. She also knew Henry still social media stalked Alex and had a secret gallery saved to his phone of Alex in scrubs.

Chapter Text

The royals with several PPO’s followed Alex out of the waiting room and down the employee corridor to get to the trauma area. He kept the family away from the busier trauma rooms closest to the nurse’s station. This room in particular was used for pediatric trauma situations. The walls had fun murals on them.

“Alright sweetie! I’m going to sit you on this bed here and I’m going to grab a special tool to look in your ears and your throat, okay.” He said putting her down on the stretcher and covering her with her blanket. “Nothing I do is going to hurt you in any way.”

He walked over to the sink to wash his hands. After drying his hands, he grabbed the wireless otoscope from the charging station and put a disposable cover on it. He grabbed a wrapped tongue depressor, one of the flavored plastic ones they kept around for the kiddos, and a swab in case he decided to do a rapid strep test, or have it sent for a culture.

He came back to the bed in the middle of the room and adjusted the height of the bed to make it easier on him. “I’m going to look at your ears, okay?” He said flashing her a charming smile as he brushed her pigtails back behind her ear and slid the otoscope in her ear it looked like her left ear had an infection. “Alright other ear.” He teased looking at the left ear. “She has an ear infection in both ears. Really common in her age.” He said looking at Philip and Martha.

Alex removed the tongue depressor from the clear packaging. “Alright open really big and say alligator.” He teased playfully. He placed a hand on her chin to help her tilt her head. He stuck the tongue depressor in her mouth and pressed against the tongue. Her throat was all red and had the signature pus pockets. He tossed the tongue depressor in the trash. “Does it hurt to swallow?” He asked, seeing her nod. The pain evident in her blue eyes that reminded him so much of Henry.

He ran his fingers over the lymph nodes in her neck and found them to be swollen. He reached for the thermometer. “Lift up your tongue for me.” He said sliding the probe under tongue. “Has anyone ever told you why it’s called a thermometer?” He saw her shake her head.

“Because moms are never wrong.” He teased winking at Martha. He also saw a PPO along the wall crack a hint of a smile. “She’s got a fever too.” He warned the parents.

“That was horrible.” Bea winced at the joke. She had been secretly taking photos for Henry of Alex being the charming doctor for their niece. She had to hand it to Alex, he was a very good doctor, even better than most of the physicians that tended to them as children.

“Can I see your arms?” He asked the redhead who happily handed him her arms. He ran his hand over her arms looking for a rash since it could be strep, but if she had a rash, it was scarlet fever. His gut was telling him strep, but he didn’t want to miss anything.

“Alright so I don’t see a rash which makes me think she has strep throat mixed with an ear infection. The ear infection and fever alone mean I can put her on antibiotics.

Her throat has the classic appearance of strep but without doing a swab of it I can’t tell you that it is 100% strep. Do you want me to take a swab, or do you just want me to put her on antibiotics?” He asked the room looking mainly at Philip and Martha.

“Why don’t you test me for strep. She had a sip of my tea yesterday morning and since I’m pregnant probably best you look at my throat too. It’s been scratchy and it’s been getting worse since getting off the jet.” Martha admitted reluctantly to the young physician. She thought it might have just been altitude and exhaustion but nope her daughter was dramatic and had strep, so she probably also had it too.

“Sure thing.” Alex said patting the bed at the empty spot next to her daughter. “Anyone else having any symptoms or something I need to look at.” He teased playfully his charming smile at ten.

Catherine, Bea, and Philip all laughed at him as Martha playfully swatted his arm. “No, I think it is just Tori, Martha, and Hen- ‘’ Bea’s words cut off remembering that her brother had been in a car accident. She should not have been laughing or amused at this situation.

“Okay, but I’m going to check everyone’s temperature and anyone that wants to see Henry is going to wear a mask. He’s going to be prone to infections and everyone in this room is at risk for strep. Worse if you shared anything with Victoria. We don’t need to be giving it to Henry.” He warned the group of Royals lecturing them as if they were children.

Bea smiled at Alex’s sass she could see what Henry saw in him. She was also going to tell Henry how protective Alex was of him.

Alex grabbed another wrapped tongue depressor from the cabinet and sat it on the counter as he washed his hands and pulled on a pair of gloves. “Does it hurt to swallow?” He asked Martha who nodded. “How far along are you?”

Martha nodded that it also hurt her to swallow. “20 weeks. It’s another girl.” She told him, beaming at Philip, she loved having girls. She also knew it irritated Philip to no end that his stint as king would be flanked by the queen’s. She joked he should just abdicate to Victoria that way they didn’t have to change the national anthem. He of course was less than thrilled at the suggestion.

“Congratulations. I’m sure she’s going to be just as adorable as her sister.” He said honestly.

“Do you want me to open wide and say alligator too?” Martha said a smirk crossing her pink lips.

Alex laughed and it was a sound that filled the room. He tilted back her head using her chin and placed the tongue depressor on her tongue seeing the same thing that he saw with Victoria. “Alright quick swab and it’s all over with.” He warned swabbing both her tonsils. He tossed the tongue depressor and put the swab in his jacket pocket.

Alex smirked at that he never spent much time with Martha, but he found himself liking the snark and fight she had. He didn’t know if it was because Catherine was in charge, and she allowed them all to shed their masks a little or if this was how she was around people she trusted.

“I’m also going to check your ears.” He said, turning on the otoscope and looking at both of Martha’s ears. “No ear infection.”

“Your throat is as bad as Victoria’s. You also have a low-grade fever. I’m going to go run this sample and bring you both back antibiotics. Any allergies to penicillin? Since you are pregnant, I’m a little limited in what I can prescribe.”

“No allergies to penicillin.” Martha said watching him dispose of the tongue depressor in the rubbish bin and cap the swab he just took of her throat. “That was awful.” She whispered low enough that Victoria couldn’t hear her.

“Alrighty then I’ll just go run this test and I’ll be back with your antibiotics.” He told the girls with a wink as he shut the curtain and slid the glass door shut. He walked to the nurse’s station and saw Claire collecting her things for the night.

“I know you want to go home but could you please run this strep for me. Also did you find stickers?” He gave her his best puppy eyes and she sat her backpack down in the chair.

“Will you at least tell me the name of the patient?” Claire asked, taking the swab from his hand.  “Since when do trauma surgeons do strep swabs. Did I miss that part of your education?”

Alex laughed at Claire questioning him doing a strep swab. “Patient’s name is Jane Doe. I learned it in medical school and in my pediatric rotation. It’s been a while since I’ve done it but I’m pretty sure I remember what strep throat looks like.” He teased knowing she was ribbing him, and it wasn’t malice but playful teasing.  He watched her leave to run the test. He felt his watch buzz and saw a text message from his supervisor the chief of trauma surgery, Dr. Neil Edwards.

‘Press conference in the courtyard at 10am.’ Followed promptly by one that was simple, but it said everything he had been working for.

‘Proud of you kid, I’m glad you went to medical school instead of becoming a politician.’ Alex took a screenshot of the text message so he could print it out later to tape it to the inside of his locker. It wasn’t everyday he got a complement like that from his chief.

Apparently, his chief knew about the situation. He hoped he got to avoid having his ass chewed out. He only hid Henry’s identity because the crown asked him to. Not that his chief scared him, again all led back to Zahra. He doubted from the text message that he would have ass chewed but sometimes he never could tell.

Claire came back with the printout from the ID Now device they used for all respiratory swabs. “Positive, also the stickers you asked me for.” She said handing him the printout and stickers. “Something I should know?” She asked, seeing him smile at his phone. “Cute girl or cute guy, come on give me something you know I won’t tell.”

“You might want to turn on your news alerts and look at them when you wake up.” He said with a knowing wink he knew if they made him speak at the press conference, he was going to give his team a shoutout. One thing you realized in trauma was teamwork and he’d be lost without Claire and Ethan. “Have a good slumber.” He joked he still had another 12 hours left in his shift, maybe longer if the crown got its way, which it would.

“How is he so fucking perky after a 12 with five surgeries under his belt?” Ethan mused grabbing his backpack and water bottle. He had already given the day nurses report from last night. He also warned them not to go into trauma room 15 unless they wanted to face the wrath of Alex Claremont-Diaz.

Alex had left to go talk to the pharmacy to see if they had the liquid bubblegum amoxicillin and get amoxicillin pills for Martha.

Philip smiled at his wife and child. “So, I guess this means you two are going back to the hotel and get to nap and eat all the ice cream.” He teased them softly. “I do believe Dr. Claremont-Diaz is nicer than some of our royal physicians.” He said honestly watching his mother make a call. “Who are you calling?”

“I’m working on getting a press conference scheduled, it isn’t going to be long before London finds out we aren’t there and starts making stories. The countries need to know about Henry’s accident, and we also need to praise Bellevue and Dr. Claremont-Diaz for their efforts in taking care of Henry.

I’d also like to have Dr. Claremont-Diaz only assigned to Henry. You know how your brother’s depression and anxiety can be and I think having him as his doctor will make things easier for Henry. We will also be staying in New York for as long as it takes Henry to heal.” Catherine said honestly talking rapidly on her phone.

Philip smiled after his mother deprogrammed him, he realized how great of a Queen and mother she was. He had made amends to his siblings and was trying to be a good parent to Victoria and their unborn daughter and not fuck them up like he had been. “I agree with that plan. Need my help with anything?”

“Nope just focus on your own family and your brother. I have everything under control.” She told her son. “Alright Dr. Claremont-Diaz is all ours and I have a press conference scheduled for 10am.” She said putting her phone back into her pocket.

Alex came back about ten minutes later with a white bag. He knocked at the doorframe and slid back the glass door and shut it once he was inside the room. “Hi again.” He teased looking at Martha.

“Your strep swab did come back positive which means Victoria is also so I’m putting you both on antibiotics. I’m putting you both on amoxicillin. It is perfectly safe to take while pregnant.” He said with a wink pulling out the bottle of pink liquid and a measuring cup to explain the dosage for Victoria to Martha.  

“Victoria will get a dose of amoxicillin every 8 hours and you’ll want to fill this cup up to the thick black line. You can give her children’s acetaminophen to help lower her fever. Both of you need to eat liquid or cold things to help make things go down easier. Both of your throats are pretty swollen so anything that will numb the pain will be the best.

The antibiotics should work quickly but unfortunately with Henry being in the ICU and prone to infection I’m sending the two of you back to your hotel.” Alex told the older princess measuring out the correct dosage for Victoria.

“Alright sweetheart this medication tastes like bubblegum so what I want you to do is down this cup for me and then I have a surprise for you.” He told her handing her the cup of pink liquid.

Victoria took the medication with a huge smile on her face. “Yummy.” She said handing him the cup back. “I want to see Henry.” She pouted worried about her uncle.

“I know sweetheart but right now you are sick, and Henry doesn’t need strep. I’ll tell you what how about when Henry wakes Philip can let you video chat with Henry. I’ll even pinky promise you to take the best care of your uncle and make sure dad gives you that video chat.” He said giving her his much larger pinky.

“Promise?” Victoria said looking up at the doctor with her large blue eyes. She linked her small pinky with his.

“I promise. Now about that surprise.” He said pulling a stack of stickers out of his pocket along with a mini chocolate ice cream with a small plastic spoon tucked into the lid. He handed her the stack of stickers and the ice cream. He opened it and handed her the spoon.

He handed Martha her bottle of medication. “You’ll want to take one every 8 hours until the bottle is gone. I also grabbed you an ice cream too.” He said handing her the vanilla variation.

“Thank you.” Martha said swallowing one of the giant pills and grimacing in pain. “We really appreciate you doing this.” She opened her own ice cream letting the coolness numb her throat. She knew ice cream for breakfast wasn’t healthy, but it did have a numbing quality.

“No problem and if for some reason you aren’t feeling any better just have Philip hunt me down and I can always change them.” Alex said honestly.

Catherine smiled at her family. For a surgeon he strangely had an excellent bedside manner. “That won’t be necessary, I’ve spoken to your chief, and you are now only assigned to Henry. It’s what I want for my son. You’ll also be speaking at the press conference about Henry’s condition that I have scheduled for 10am.”

Alex nodded feeling a lump appear in his throat it had been years since he had attended a press conference. “Do you care if I thank the team who helped me get Henry stabilized.” He asked wanting to give Claire, Ethan, Paige, Abby, Nicole, and Erica a mention. Trauma was a team effort, and they were the team that helped Henry.

Catherine smiled at his question. It was always nice to hear someone want to give credit where credit was due. “Thank them all for us. We appreciate everyone’s hard work. Now can I please see my son?”

“Of course.” Alex said checking everyone else’s temperature and finding Catherine, Philip, and Bea to have normal temperatures.

Catherine sat down on the stretcher and looked at her granddaughter. “You and mummy will go back to the hotel and get some more rest. I’ll personally keep you in the loop about Uncle Henry. Bea and I will let you know everything.” She said kissing her hand and putting it against Victoria’s forehead. “Love you.” She whispered before getting up from the bed.

She looked at Martha’s usual PPO’s. “Make sure both get back to the hotel safely.”

“Thank you, Dr. Alex, for taking care of me.” Victoria said with a toothy smile.

“Not a problem sweetheart. I intend to hold my promise.” Alex said watching Martha scoop Victoria off the bed and cover her with the Stitch blanket. Martha followed three PPO’s out of the room.

“Just a little head’s up the trauma intensive care unit can be a little scary to family members. Henry’s going to have a lot of tubes coming out of his body, he’s also going to have a lot of IV lines running medications into him.

More importantly he is going to have a tube down his throat helping him breathe. My hope is to extubate him this afternoon, but that is all going to depend on his vitals.” Alex said honestly leading Philip, Catherine, Bea, and several PPOs to an elevator to get to the 3^rd floor which is where the TICU was located. He tapped his badge to the sensor on the wall allowing them entry into the ICU.

Alex was right, the TICU had rows and rows of sliding glass rooms. There was the sound of drips, beeps, and other different noises. He led them to a glass door that had room number 3505 which they assumed was Henry’s room. It was right across from the nurse’s station.

Alex handed the three Royal family members a mask since the family did have two with strep. He also made them all put hand sanitizer on their hands. “Ready?”

Bea looked like she was going to vomit, and she noticed Philip reach for her hand to hold and squeeze it. Catherine looked like a determined mother.

Alex pulled back the curtain and shut the sliding glass door behind him to allow them all a semblance of privacy with Henry. He walked around the bed to check on Henry’s vitals and his intracranial pressure. He smiled to himself seeing that the numbers were somewhat stable, and the intracranial pressure had gone down a point, so it was now at a 14. “Henry your family is here to see you.” He whispered checking the chest tubes for any kinks.

He noticed Bea looked a little pale, so he gently led her over to the couch in the room. “I don’t need you passing out on me.”

Bea was at a loss her brother was pale and had tubes going everywhere and he looked a little grey. She knew it was her brother, but he didn’t look like her brother. He looked like their father when he was on his death bed. “Sorry I just...” Bea trailed off seeing Alex nod in understanding. It could be very overwhelming for family members.

 The TICU rooms were decently large and had a couch and a couple recliners for the family in them. The visitor limit was technically only 2 but he was making an exception and since he was also in the room, he didn’t care at all.

Philip sat down next to his sister and wrapped a protective arm around her. He too was feeling similarly. He didn’t see how Alex did this on a daily basis, it was gut wrenching seeing his brother in a hospital bed. He hated seeing a tube down his brother’s throat and tubes coming out of his sides. He was also hooked up to so many medication lines.

Catherine stumbled slightly around Henry’s bed she wasn’t seeing Henry. She saw Caroline and Arthur first and then she saw Henry. “Oh, my baby.” Her voice broke, reaching for Henry’s hand that wasn’t in the light blue cast. It was hard for her she remembered that hospital in Italy and seeing her sister dead, she remembered Arthur on his deathbed from pancreatic cancer.

Maybe Henry was correct, and the crown was cursed. Bea was a former addict, her sister died in a car accident from paparazzi, her husband from cancer, her mother from cancer, and now Henry lay sedated in a hospital bed from his own car accident.

Alex smiled behind his mask at the siblings and at Catherine standing vigil over the bed. “I have good news. Henry’s vitals are much better than when he came in. The pressure in his brain is well within normal which means his risk of a seizure or stroke is low.”

Catherine finally let her tears fall at Alex’s news. She watched him check various machines around the room.

“Thank you, God.” She said under her breath relief washing over her. Clearly someone was watching over Henry. She didn’t know if she could bury her son, she knew it would break her beyond repair.  

Alex saw the curtain flutter and saw his attractive chief gesture for him to leave the room. He took a deep breath and shut the curtains, allowing the three of them a private moment.

“Hello Dr. Edwards, how are you this morning?” He greeted the attending. Neil was a former military trauma surgeon, and his stare and presence felt a little intense. He was attractive though with dark hair, blue eyes, and looking like an actor fresh off a hospital set even at 50.

Neil smiled at his chief resident. “Let’s talk in an empty room, I want to hear about that surgery.” He muttered opening an empty room and shutting the glass. “So, tell me what happened last night.”

Alex sighed great a private conversation he must be getting his ass chewed after all. He launched into explaining the trauma call and how he successfully took care of a grade 5 splenic rupture. Once he had finished explaining his actions, he heard a clapping sound from his chief.

Neil clapped loudly after Alex finished describing the surgery. “You are something else Claremont-Diaz. I’ve seen senior attendings struggle with grade 5 splenic ruptures. Great work kid.

“Queen Catherine has already cleared it with me, and I’ve taken your name off the call list. Not to mention you also had the additional pressure of being friends with the person on your OR table. Now please tell me are you going to sign a contract and remain at Bellevue as an attending. Hell, I think you are better than a few of them and you still have 6 months of residency left.”

Alex stood looking at Neil with a dumbfounded look on his face. “Thank you, Sir.” Alex stumbled unsure of what to say in this situation. He wasn’t used to compliments from his attendings, he was used to them yelling at him for doing dumb and reckless shit. Sure, it usually saved someone’s life, but it was usually reckless. “I’m still mulling over all my options, but Bellevue remains at the top of my list.”

“Can I go check on my patient’s family?” Alex questioned innocently. He also thought most of this had to be a dream and he’d wake up and be asleep in the call room.

“Of course. I’ll see you at the press conference. Again, great work.” Neil said honestly, he had seen trauma surgeons in the military struggle with what Alex Claremont-Diaz had just accomplished.

Alex walked out of the ICU room with a stunned expression on his face. He honestly didn’t know how exactly to feel about it all. He hoped the nurse’s thought he was in there getting his ass chewed and not getting the complement of his career. He often wondered if choosing medicine was one of his reckless decisions, after today it no longer felt like a stupid decision. He had managed to keep the Prince of England stable, never once did his vitals flatline.

He slid the back the glass. “How’s everything.” He asked softly seeing that Bea was full on crying. “Oh, honey what’s wrong?” Alex asked, taking her hand in his.

“It’s a lot seeing him like this. I was so worried last night when you called. I thought he was going to die. I asked you keep it a secret and I feel like the one who pulled you out of his room just yelled at you and it’s all my fault for asking you.” Bea said, sounding on the verge of hyperventilating.

“Hey it’s okay. Everything is okay. I’m used to being yelled at for my decisions. Comes with the territory of being me. How about I take you to get a coffee. ICUs are incredibly overwhelming, and I think you’ve finally allowed yourself a moment. So why don’t you and I take that moment in private.” Alex cooed gently running his hands over the princess’s smaller hands.

Bea looked at Alex and listened to his words and then at her unconscious brother. She had this overwhelming desire to revert back to old patterns and Henry couldn’t stop her. Philip was better but he wasn’t Henry. She also didn’t want to worry her mum, so Alex seemed like an okay substitute. “Tea?” She questioned.

“I believe my favorite cart has tea on it.” Alex said, helping her from the couch and linking her arm with his. “I’ll make sure she’s back in time for the press conference. I’ll see you two both in the courtyard.” He told the Queen and Prince before taking the Princess on his arm and out of the room with a soft click. He noticed one of the PPO’s trailing behind them. He remembered those days fondly with Cash and Amy.

“I’m going to ask you a question and I need you to be honest with me. Can you do that?” Bea questioned like her mother she had a question and was afraid of what his answer would be. Mum worried about cancer she worried that her brother had flatlined.

“Only if I can ask you something in return.” Alex said a playful smile crossing his warm features.

“Deal. So did Hen die at all. Did his heart stop beating. Mum worries about cancer. I worry he died, and he won’t be the same.”

Alex placed her head on his shoulder in a comforting gesture. “Henry’s heart never once stopped beating. I know he is your person, and you tell him everything. He also told me about your days as an addict. It’s probably hard for you seeing him hooked up to everything.” He linked his fingers with hers.

“I’m hopefully optimistic about his outcome. It was a bad accident; I won’t lie to you about that. However, his vitals are stabilizing. He fought for his family and for his country. He’ll be visiting other hospitals in no time.” Alex said, feeling a pang in his chest. How did he still care for Henry after all this time. It was like his soul was drawn to the prince.

Bea’s eyebrows raised softly hearing that Henry had told Alex about her struggles, but she was glad he had because in this moment it was like she had Henry next to her. Besides, her struggles weren’t exactly a secret. She looked at Alex and wanted to tell him everything about her brother. She wanted to tell him about Henry’s secret photo gallery. She also noticed how Alex said country it sounded like there was an unusual harshness to it.

“Thank you, Alex. It’s so hard you know. He’s my older brother. He and I have a bond I can’t explain. Philip has gotten better about family, but he still isn’t Henry. It’s so hard seeing him like this.

“My brain is screaming at me to ease my stress the same way I did when it was our dad, but I know rationally that’s just the stress of it all. Plus, all the memories of what happened to our aunt. I can’t help but see parallels. Henry can’t even stop me from myself this time.”

The two of them arrived at the coffee cart and Alex ordered a vanilla latte. Honestly, he could drink the burnt dredges of a coffee pot at this stage in life. Bea ordered a Lady Grey tea for herself, and Alex paid for both. “I understand the bond you have with Henry.” He shared a very similar bond to June and Nora.

“If you start to feel overwhelmed again just pull me out of the room and I can talk you down from the ledge.” He said wrapping a protective arm around her. He hoped that Henry waking up would soothe her internal struggle.

“You are absolutely wonderful. No wonder Victoria was so quick to wrap you around her little finger.” Bea muttered, still amused about that situation. “You would have made an excellent pediatrician.”

Alex laughed and shook his head. “Absolutely not! The monotony of it all would have driven me batty. I thrive in chaos. She’s adorable, it’s hard to believe she’s part Philip.”

Bea laughed and suddenly it felt like no time had passed between them. She felt Alex’s watch vibrate against her shoulder. “We should probably find that courtyard. I’m feeling slightly better and thank you for the tea.”

“I’m here if you need me.” Alex told her honestly. Nora would also kill him if he let anything happen to one of her bridesmaid’s. Nora quickly became close with Henry and Bea once her and Pez solidified their relationship. He also really liked Bea she had a calming presence, and he knew she was Henry’s favorite.

The two of them walked arm in arm down to the courtyard. Which was a mess of cameras, lights, reporters. A PPO pulled Bea away from him to cover up her tearstained cheeks and someone from that team was rapidly approaching Alex with concealer.

“Dear, you look like a raccoon. Also remove the cap I’m sure most remember you by your signature curls.” The same women ordered dabbing concealer on his dark circles and running her hands through his curls to make them look tousled. “There now it looks like you’ve slept this year.” She remarked turning her attention to the Queen of England.

Philip came up to him and showed him a photo of Victoria and Martha lying in a comedically large king-sized hotel bed, both drinking a chocolate monstrosity. “Thank you for taking care of her. She took right to you. God, I don’t think my girl has ever met a stranger.”

“Also thank you for everything you are doing for Henry. He and I haven’t always seen eye to eye but he’s still my brother-“Philip trailed off and Alex patted his shoulder in a comforting gesture. It was clear the future king had grown up.

Alex smiled his signature smile at Philip. “No problem at all. Good to see them following my advice.” He joked playfully. It felt like someone had gotten a photo of their personal moment. “If you need anything or if you just want to talk. I’m here.”

Philip nodded, finding it hard to believe that this was the same guy that was on the floor of Buckingham Place covered in buttercream icing next to his brother. 

“Alright the Queen is going to address the nation and then Dr. Claremont-Diaz will address Henry’s health status and then Dr. Edwards is going to thank Dr. Claremont-Diaz for his servitude to the Royal Family.”

Alex heard a middle-aged women say as she positioned everyone on the stage in front of the lectern with Bellevue’s logo in the middle of it. He suddenly felt out of place and was brought back to his mother’s campaign stage. It felt like a lifetime ago.

He had gotten good at avoiding public speaking and stages and the press. He felt the middle-aged women move him closer to Bea and Philip. Queen Catherine had been put into a black trench coat that flared at her waist. She made her way over to the lectern. He watched her take a steady breath and soon all the cameras were on them. He heard the shutter of just a camera and felt hot lights on him.

“Good morning. I am Queen Catherine here at the lovely Bellevue Hospital. Prince Henry was in a tragic car accident last night as he arrived in New York for a charity gala sponsored by his dear friend Percy Okonjo. Prince Henry was enroute to his hotel and was t-boned in the vehicle driven by his Personal Protection Officer flipped several times. Many might remember my sister dying in a similar accident.” Her voice cracked slightly at the mention of her sister and explaining Henry’s situation. Philip came up to put a soothing hand on her shoulder.

“Henry was brought to Bellevue Hospital’s Trauma Center. We’d like to personally thank the surgeon who saved Henry’s life. Dr. Alexander Claremont-Diaz. The Royal Family is grateful that Dr. Claremont-Diaz was on call last night.

It was nice having a friendly face tending to Henry. Everyone might remember Ellen Claremont-Diaz the former President of The United States. They might also remember Prince Henry and the First Son covered in buttercream. Our family and Dr. Claremont-Diaz remain good friends.

Dr. Claremont-Diaz has agreed to be Henry’s personal doctor during his recovery. He also helped my granddaughter and daughter who have come down with an untimely case of Strep Throat. The Royal Family wanted to issue a formal update on Henry’s condition and of course to thank Dr. Claremont-Diaz and the trauma staff of Bellevue Hospital who with their quick action saved Prince Henry’s life. As Henry’s mother I will forever be grateful.” Queen Catherine said into the microphone.

Rafael was enjoying his morning coffee in the Oval Office when a breaking news alert snapped his out rare moment of peace. He saw Queen Catherine standing on a stage with Bellevue Hospital’s logo in front of her. He noticed Alex standing on the stage. “¿Qué hizo mi idiota favorito esta vez?” He mused to his computer screen and oh Prince Henry had been it a tragic car accident.

He listened to Queen Catherine (who was so much nicer to deal with than Queen Mary) speak to the world about the car accident. He perked up a little hearing Alex’s name mentioned as the trauma surgeon. He remembered that conversation when Alex told him he was going to go to medical school instead of law school.

He also remembered Alex cowriting a bill with Oscar Claremont-Diaz to help with insurance denying lifesaving care and medication price gouging. Alex had certainly grown up and he felt like a proud family member. Although his heart also broke for Alex, he was one of the very few who knew about Henry and Alex’s kiss in the snow that New Years. He grabbed the phone on his desk and called Senate Majority Leader Oscar.

“Are you watching the news?” Rafael questioned his old friend with fondness in his voice.

“I am.” Oscar said putting Rafael on speaker so that he could hear Ellen proud mother moments.

“That’s my baby. The Queen just mentioned Alex name and he was the lead surgeon.” Ellen said sounding close to short circuiting watching the Queen use Alex’s title. Ellen’s own phone rang, and she put Zahra on speaker.

“I guess we are all watching the same breaking news.” Ellen mused softly.

“It’s on every channel and is being translated into every single language. The Royal Family are internationally known.” Shaan said in his smooth accent.

“I’m going to kill Alex the next time I see him.” Zahra said. “He knows I’m married to the prince’s fucking ex equerry. Why didn’t he call us last night. Shaan could have gotten in touch with the Royals for him. Saving him an additional headache. God only knows how he felt operating on Henry.”

“Ellen, did you know Henry kissed Alex? Yeah, your son could have been dating a fucking prince. Henry told Shaan long ago and Shaan just told me.” Zahra yelled into the phone she was going to kill him for hiding that from them.

“My poor baby.” Ellen cried at the phone. “I had no idea that would explain their entire relationship though.” She listened to the Queen mention Princess Martha and Princess Victoria’s Strep Throat infection. “Only my son. He thought this part of his life was over only for fate to bite him in the ass taking care of 3 Royals instead of one.”

Zahra, and herself all were rendered speechless when Alex told them he was going to NYU for medical school instead of law school. That his plan was no longer politics, he had learned a lot on the campaign trail and that he felt medicine would be best suited for his large heart and caring personality.

Ellen remembers the shock that came across her face that day in the Oval Office. She was nothing but supportive of Alex’s choices, but it still felt like he did a complete 180 from his lifelong plan.

“I still remember the day he said he wanted to attend medical school and that he scored the hell out of MCAT. I looked him dead in the eye and asked if he needed to see The White House Physician because surely, he was coming down with something.” Zahra mused through Ellen’s phone.

“Now he’s speaking because he just saved His Royal Highness Prince Dickhead. I feel awful for judging that choice.” She used to have access to June, Alex, and Nora’s contact lists. She’d never forget some of Alex’s creative contact names. She never understood the poop emoji, if she had used dickhead, she’d have personally chose the eggplant.

Rafael laughed through Oscar’s phone at Zahra. “I wished you would have continued on as my Chief of Staff.”

“Not a chance in hell to make me want to do 16 years of that shit. I’m quite happy being a married mother of 2.”

“Okay my baby is getting ready to speak. Hold all thoughts.” Ellen said to both phones and her husband.

She watched Alex take slow steps to the stage. Poor thing looked like his anxiety was getting the better of him. “Come on sweetheart, it’s no different than speaking on my campaign.”

“El, that’s been years ago. Alex has been living a quiet life in New York dealing with the worst-case scenario patients. He’s not used to having the press in his face. Poor thing probably feels like he’s about to tell the world he’s bisexual again. Plus, if what Zahra said is true then he has history with Henry.” Oscar said rubbing her back.

“It’s true. He came to me for some advice shortly after. That is how Richard’s knew about Alex’s sexuality. I just didn’t tell him about Henry kissing him.” Rafael said hoping to God that Ellen did not go all mother bear on him. He hated every single day for outing Alex to the world. He also thought that might have been the final nail in the law school coffin.

Which is why Rafael was Alex’s biggest supporter when it came to medical school. Alex had watched as he became a turncoat and went to work for Richard’s campaign. So yeah, he could understand why the kid suddenly fell out of bed with law, and into bed with medicine. He could remember Alex’s words.

“Raf, doctors don’t hurt people, politicians hurt people. I don’t want to lie and hurt people. I want to help and save people. You of all people should understand my choice.” It was during one of their late-night conversations with Oscar that involved tequila and Tropical Skittles.

Raf did understand Alex’s choice well, he often felt like he hurt many people when he joined that campaign. He was shocked when he earned the democratic nomination and was later elected as the first Latino and openly gay President. He was up for reelection this year and it was against someone so much worse than Richards. He wanted to chip away everything that he and Ellen worked for.

Alex smiled brightly at the crowd of cameras. It was his signature First Son smile that melted hearts and dropped a few panties. “Hello, I’m Dr. Alex Claremont-Diaz. I was the lead surgeon on Prince Henry’s case. He suffered blunt abdominal trauma and had to have major emergency surgery to stop the bleeding.

He is stable as of this press conference. Thank you, Queen Catherine, for allowing me this opportunity to care for The Royal Family and to make amends for previous international incidents. I am optimistic that Prince Henry will make a full recovery.

I’d also like to personally thank trauma nurses Claire and Ethan. Abby surgical scrub tech, and Nicole circulating nurse. Dr. Paige Miller the anesthesiologist on call, and Dr. Erica Adams the neurosurgeon who fixed the brain bleed in Henry’s skull. I’d like to finally thank Dr. Neil Edwards, The Chief of Trauma Surgery here at Bellevue for giving me a chance to prove myself all those years ago. He has been the best mentor I could ask for.” Alex said, giving the press a huge wave and another beaming smile. Sure, it was a little ass-kissing, but he straight pulled that speech straight out his ass.

“I think that kid can pull a speech from his ass and make it sound honest and authentic.” Zahra laughed she was holding onto Shaan who was obviously worried about Henry.

Rafael, Ellen, Oscar, Shaan, and Zahra couldn’t have been prouder of Alex. They watched him grow up; they watched in horror as he got medical school after medical school rejection email. Now he finally got his moment to make all those schools regret it. They never saw him becoming a surgeon and now he was a kickass trauma surgeon working in the trenches of New York City. Ellen had personally wanted to send Cash with him when he did his stint in the Bronx.

Dr. Neil Edwards stepped up to the lectern next but stopped to give Alex a hug. “I’m Dr. Neil Edwards, Chief of Trauma Surgery. I just wanted to thank Dr. Alex Claremont-Diaz for all he did during Henry’s surgery. Dr. Claremont-Diaz is Bellevue’s Chief Trauma Surgery resident and watching him grow into a surgeon has truly been a highlight of my career.

He also managed to do Prince Henry’s surgery solo and maintain his composure throughout the surgery. Dr. Claremont-Diaz has my upmost respect today and I hope he decides to stay at Bellevue Hospital as a trauma attending. Great job Claremont-Diaz and thank you to Queen Catherine for allowing Bellevue Hospital to treat Prince Henry.”

Alex smiled brightly that little speech might let him negotiate a better contract out of Bellevue.

Ellen smirked at her TV. “Suck it Harvard!”

“Oh, and Raf be expecting a visit from me later. I have words I’d like to share with you.” She knew it was in the past, but she was still his mama bear. 

Oscar raised his eyebrows at his wife and the mother of his two children. He really hoped Ellen didn’t try and murder the sitting President.

Chapter Text

Alex felt his phone vibrating like a mad man in his jacket pocket. He figured it was his parents and maybe Raf texting him wanting all the juicy details about the press conference. He ignored it figuring he’d check it later. He smiled as the press conference finally ended. He needed to go grab his laptop from his call room so that he could finish his chart notes on Henry. He also needed to bump down Henry’s sedation so he could hopefully be extubated later.

Catherine looked politely at Alex. “I think we are all going to head to the hotel and get some sleep and check in on Martha and Victoria. Let us know when you decide to extubate Henry.” She said giving the trauma surgeon her own cell phone number.

“You also have Bea’s number.” She remarked. She knew Henry’s ICU room was scary for Bea and Philip. Her own emotions were a little frayed seeing her son in that state.

“Of course. My plan for this morning is to go grab my laptop and do some charting in his room why I wean him off his sedation so he can hopefully be extubated later.” Alex told the Queen he was going to use this time to catch up on everything. His least favorite part of being a doctor was the endless charting of notes to safeguard him against malpractice.

“We will see you later then. Again, thank you so much for taking care of my son.” Catherine said rounding up Philip and Bea to tell them her plan and that they could stay if they wanted, but she just knew their emotions were frayed like hers and a brief rest in the hotel and a fresh shower might do them wonders. Both Philip and Bea had agreed to go back to the hotel to freshen up.

Alex nodded and skillfully navigated his way out of the courtyard dodging press who wanted his exclusive interview. He personally thought them to be piranhas looking for their next fix of blood. Whatever story was the juiciest is what they wanted. It didn’t matter who they hurt in the process.

He watched the press almost destroy his life with their opinion of the international scandal and of course his very public outing as a bisexual and unable to come out to the world on his own terms. All of it cost him a spot in the top four medical schools. Harvard, Hopkins, UPenn, and Columbia flat out rejected him because of it.

He felt a little hurt, but NYU was ranked 5^th when he was accepted, besides he always did plan on NYU for law school anyway. So, he was glad they had seen in him what the others hadn’t. He had the GPA, scored an astonishing 525 on the MCAT and graduated Summa Cum Laude from Georgetown with a bachelor’s in government and a minor in history. Sure, it was a little untraditional compared to most of his classmates with biology majors, but who said Alex Claremont-Diaz was traditional.

He easily navigated the hallways of Bellevue until he got to the trauma surgery chief resident on call room. He tapped his badge to the sensor on the door and walked into the room to grab his laptop backpack so that he could take it back to Henry’s ICU room to catch up on charting and review contracts. He slung the backpack over his shoulders and ran up the steps to floor 3. He tapped his badge to the sensor and waved at the usual TICU nurses.

He entered Henry’s room and shut the glass and curtain. He unzipped his laptop from the backpack and sat the device on the couch. He quickly washed his hands in the sink and snapped on a pair of gloves. He walked over to Henry’s bed.

“Hi Henry, it’s Alex. I’m going to adjust your medications.” He warned, decreasing Henry’s sedation and lowering the settings on the ventilator. He removed his gloves and touched Henry’s good hand. He set an alarm on his phone to adjust again in 30 minutes.

He saw all sorts of missed Instagram notifications, five texts from his mother, three from his dad, one from Rafael, and several from Zahra. June was working on a huge story in another country and because of time zones was probably blissfully unaware of everything.

He sighed and tossed his gloves and sat down on the couch and powered on the laptop. He put an earbud in his right ear and called his mother first. “Hey ma.” He said hearing her Texas accent coming through the phone. Ellen was trying and failing at enjoying the retired life.

“Is it true that Rafael was the one who outed you?” She barked clearly still upset at the idea.

“Yes. It is all water under the bridge. Raf was on the Richard’s campaign to get that prick arrested. My sexuality happened to help Raf in getting Richard’s arrested. My speech also helped you win reelection, so I don’t care. It is ancient history. We all backed Rafael, and he is now the President. We all happily voted for him.” Alex lectured he was almost 30 he didn’t need his mom fighting his battles.

“He told me on the phone. We were all watching the Queen’s press conference. I can’t believe you did surgery on your friend, The Prince of England. Shaan also told Zahra that Prince Henry kissed you at your New Year’s party?” Alex could hear his mom’s eyebrows raise with the question.

“He did. That kiss was my bisexual awakening. I realized I spent an awful lot of time admiring male celebrities as I did female celebrities. It took me a bit to come to terms with it and an awkward conversation with Raf and then with you and dad.”

“Then it was leaked to the press, and I was forced to admit my sexuality to the world. I figured Henry’s kiss was a moment of accidental passion and figured we never could work. He was a Prince, and I thought my life was politics.”

He didn’t want to tell his mom that he still thought about the kiss and how he hadn’t dated anyone or enjoyed a kiss as much since that night. It was like sparks flew from Henry and linked their souls together that night. He was unable to recreate that spark with anyone else. Probably another reason he was so career driven.

“I’m sorry baby. I guess I never understood everything that happened to you that year.” Ellen mused sadly silently shedding tears for her youngest.

“You had the hardest job in the world then. I couldn’t tell you everything. Let me guess Zahra is feeling murderous tendencies towards me with Shaan telling her about that kiss.”

“Maybe a little, not as much as I have towards Raf.” Ellen joked to her son. “Hey dad wants to talk to you really quick.” She said, handing Oscar the phone.

“Proud of you, Mijo. Love you.” Oscar said. “I’m sure you have plenty of things to do. Give us a call when you have more time to talk. Maybe we can all meet up for dinner soon. We miss you.” He said hanging up Ellen’s phone a twinkle in his eye.

Alex smiled and looked at his phone. He saw a news article insinuating that he and Paige must be a couple from how frequently they appeared in each other’s Instagram posts. No, he and Paige were just good friends who attended the same medical school, graduated together and both matched at Bellevue for their respective residencies.

Alex also had photos with Claire, Abby, Nicole, and several of his favorite TICU nurses of various sexes. He also saw another press post insinuate that he probably did a lot of sleeping with the nurses. He laughed at that one. It wasn’t a TV hospital drama.

He hadn’t slept with anyone in a supply closet, locker room, or call room. A call room mattress could barely fit him let alone another person.

He saw the British Media going fanatical about Henry’s car accident and of course the gifs of their friendship and old interviews that he and Henry had done back in the UK.

He rolled his eyes and put his phone back in jacket pocket and turned on his laptop. He sat the laptop to the side and went to adjust Henry’s vent settings to the lowest settings and he turned off the Propofol drip.

It could take several hours for Henry to wake up after adjusting the settings, so Alex went back to the couch. He typed his login information into Epic and quickly changed John Doe’s name to Henry Fox. It was the name Catherine had instructed him to change it to.

He made sure all of the trauma alerts were documented correctly. He then sat down to fastidiously document the operative note. He knew how vicious some lawyers could be when it came to malpractice lawsuits. He also imputed everything he had done just now with the ventilator settings and adjusting the propofol.

After triple checking Henry Fox’s chart, he pulled up his notes on his employment offers. Every few seconds he’d glance at the bed looking for any change in movement or vitals either increasing or dropping significantly. So far everything was going as he wanted it to.

Henry was in a haze. He smelled the unmistakable smell of antiseptic mixed with cologne that smelled hauntingly familiar. He also heard drips and everything on him hurt. He also heard the clicking of laptop keys.

Where was he and why did the sheets he was in feel like one thread count mixed with sandpaper. He tried lifting his arms only to find his right arm felt heavier than his left. He begrudgingly opened his blue eyes and found himself in a room on a bed with rails. He heard an alert behind him and soon came face to face with his worst nightmare.

“Hi Henry.” Alex greeted in his deliciously sweet voice, getting up from the couch. He sat on the edge of Henry’s bed, a warm smile on his face at seeing Henry’s blue eyes staring at him.

Henry saw a red thing that said doctor hanging under what looked like hospital identification. Oh, that’s right Alex was a doctor which meant something must have happened to him and out of all the doctor’s he could come across he would get Alex Fucking Claremont-Diaz.

What happened to him, and why did it feel like someone had gutted him like a fish to make fish and chips out of. Not to mention could Alex turn down the fucking smile he felt like that smile was the cure for cancer or could power a small town.

He was also acutely aware of the fact he had a tube in his throat, a catheter draining his bladder, at least four tubes in his chest and abdomen. The only place it felt like he didn’t have a tube was his ass. For that he was grateful. He also had a big looking IV in his left upper arm and a blue cast covering his right forearm.

“Try not to talk, okay, you have a tube in your throat to help you breathe. I was making sure your vitals could handle you being off the vent before removing it.”

“I know it is scary, but it should only be for a few minutes.” Alex said holding Henry’s left hand with both of his hands. He noticed Henry’s blue eyes darting everywhere in complete curiosity.

“You’re in the hospital. I’m your doctor. You are safe.” He heard Alex reassure him and felt Alex’s callused hands hold his softer hand.

The last thing Henry could remember was flying from RAF Northolt to JFK Airport last night for Percy’s fundraising gala. He flew in earlier so he could get used to the time zone difference. He remembers getting into an awaiting car and then cold darkness.

Was he dead and his brain was playing a cruel joke? Alex’s hand felt very real in his and he didn’t think death would hurt this bad. He listened to Alex’s words trying to process them. Alex was his doctor, and he was in a hospital. Probably New York if he had to guess. God, he hoped no one was able to see his secret gallery of saved photos of Alex in scrubs over the years.

Alex noticed Henry’s heart rate increase ever so slightly. “Hey you’re okay.” He soothed, rubbing soothing circles over Henry’s knuckles. He wondered what had made Henry’s heart increase. He knew that Henry was probably trying to process his surroundings and that is what triggered the increase in heart rate.

Henry noticed Alex’s green jacket and saw white embroidery over the left chest. Dr. Alex Claremont-Diaz was on top with trauma surgery below it. So, Henry needed surgery, that would explain why he felt like a train hit him. Trauma so it must have been something traumatic. Oh, he was in a car accident like his Aunt Caroline, only he hadn’t died.

Shit! He wondered if his mom and Bea knew he was injured. He heard the alert in his ear again. ‘Alex, I promise I’m trying to relax it’s just so and you are just so…’ His brain yelled, seeing the worry in Alex’s soulful brown eyes. He was oh so fucked.

Alex held Henry’s hand noticing the light tears forming. “Is it your anxiety? Are you feeling anxious sweetheart?” Alex questioned softly, noticing the quick uptick in Henry’s heart rate. “I can’t remove the tube if your vitals are this way.” He cooed softly not wanting to put Henry back on the sedatives and ventilator.

It could have also been pain, so Alex quickly grabbed the locked vial of hydromorphone and drew up 2 milligrams. He flushed Henry’s line with saline before pushing the medication.

“Alright that should help with any pain you are feeling.” He said tossing both of the syringes into the sharps bin.

Henry blinked hoping that Alex understood it as a yes. He was afraid to move his head with the tube in. He wished he could tell Alex how anxious he felt. He hadn’t seen Alex in a while and now he was sitting gracefully on the edge of Henry’s hospital bed holding his bloody hand and whispering words of kind endearment. He watched Alex get up from the bed a quickly put something in a syringe and inject it into the PICC line in Henry’s upper arm. All he could think was that was an odd place for an IV.

It felt like sweet torture. He had dreamed of crossing paths with Alex again, just not this way. He tried focusing on his breathing, it was just hard because there was a damn tube in his way. He wanted it out and he wanted to scream at Alex to get out and find another doctor.

He’d gladly deal with the wrinkled old fucker Mary had hired that was moments away from retirement. At least Henry didn’t have a sexual attraction to him. This had to be fate meddling and tormenting him.

All the memories of interviews, their friendship, and late-night conversations hit Henry and it was almost too much. He wanted Alex, he always wanted Alex. No other could compare to Alex and his infectious smile, bushy eyelashes and infectious personality. Alex had matured, but even then, he was still the same Alex. The same Alex who wanted to change the world and was changing the world.

Alex noticed the blink and put Henry’s hand against his chest. “Try and match my breathing and if you can I’ll pull the tube out.” Alex instructed softly. He longed to hear Henry’s warm accent filling the room. He wanted to hear Henry laugh at the fact Alex was now a doctor. It was hard being this close to Henry and not addressing the elephant that had been following them around for years and years.

Henry felt his hand being moved to Alex’s chest and Alex giving him clear instructions about trying to match breathing and slow his stupid heart rate down. He felt Alex’s breathing under his hand and worked on matching it.

Alex smiled and it was one of those could cure cancer smiles at Henry; and he wanted to melt into a puddle on the bed.

“Alright now to piss you off and make you despise me for a few moments.” Alex muttered under his breath grabbing an ear loop mask and washing his hands and pulling on a pair of gloves.

He turned on the suction to the canister hanging on the back wall and grabbed the oral care sticks so he could clean Henry’s mouth before and after so no bacteria could travel from his mouth to cause an infection. “I’m not going to lie this is going to be uncomfortable.”

Henry rapidly blinked scared of having a tube removed from his throat. He knew Alex would be exceedingly gentle with removing it, but still the thought of a long tube coming out of his throat made him wince.

He also saw Alex gather other supplies and he didn’t even want to imagine what those green sticks were used for. He remained in control of his heart rate and his breathing. His blue eyes following Alex’s every single move. He saw Alex put a waterproof pad on his chest.

“You ready?” Alex asked softly, turning off the ventilator. He quickly removed the endotracheal tube holder from around Henry’s mouth. He deflated the cuff holding the tube in place.

“Alright! Take a big deep breath.” He warned hearing Henry’s deep breath, he removed the tube in a swift motion while shoving the suction in Henry’s throat to remove all the secretions. He heard a gagging sound and silently apologized.

“I really am sorry, unfortunately there is not a better way to remove the tube.” His cancer curing smile hidden behind a mask reached his fucking eyes and they crinkled softly. Damnit even causing him pain, Alex was still stupidly nice about it.

Henry gagged, groaned, and moaned feeling the tube leave his throat promptly followed by his mouth and airway being suctioned out. He then felt a wet green swab twirling around his mouth and tongue. He then felt another green swab but this one felt like it had lube on it. He doubted it was lube, but it felt like the same texture.

“Sorry, that is the last part. That was just an antiseptic mouth rinse to keep things from traveling down into your lungs causing you pneumonia, and gel to keep your mouth hydrated.” Alex said softly disposing of everything in the correct bins.

He adjusted the headrest of the bed and Henry a glass filled with water and ice. He adjusted the straw and placed it in Henry’s plump lips. “Get a drink of water and then I’ll call Bea and let her know that you are breathing on your own. You can talk but your throat is going to feel raw for a bit.”

Henry took the straw in his mouth and enjoyed the feeling of ice-cold water hitting his throat and down his throat. He perked up at the mention of Bea.

Alex sat the water back on the bedside table. “I’m going to give you something for nausea.” He muttered expertly drawing up the medication and injecting it into Henry’s PICC line.

“Thanks.” Henry said hoarsely sounding like he had smoked a pack of cigarettes. He raised an eyebrow at how his voice sounded; he hoped that wouldn’t be permanent.

“Just a side effect the more you talk and drink the more you will sound like your old self.” Alex said, grabbing his stethoscope from his jacket pocket. “I’m going to listen your lungs.” He put the earpieces in his ears and placed the bell end against Henry’s chest.

“You sound great. Do you know where you are? Do you know who I am?” Alex asked politely, putting his stethoscope back in his jacket pocket. 

“Hospital in New York?” Henry questioned looking at Alex. “You are my friend Alex. Your mother used to be the President.” I kissed you on New Year’s and I can’t get you out of my head went unsaid.

His voice sounded awful, and it did hurt to talk. He made a reaching motion for the water. “My mother became the Queen. It’s January 2028.”

Alex grabbed the water and held it up Henry’s lips. “Bellevue Hospital in New York City, if you want the specifics. It’s good to see you, although I wish it weren’t in a hospital bed.”

Henry actually smiled at Alex’s words. It felt odd to smile after everything that had just happened to him. Dr. Claremont-Diaz is it now?” He teased softly. “You said Bea earlier is she here?” Henry questioned, looking around the room feeling a pain shoot through his neck. “Ow, what the hell.” He said, reaching his good arm to his neck.

“You were in a car accident. There is a very good possibility that you have whiplash.” Alex mused, putting two cold hands against Henry’s neck his touch featherlight. “Does my touch hurt?” He knew his professional title would sound heavenly with Henry’s accent and it did not disappoint.

“Your mother, Bea, Philip, Martha, and your niece are all in New York City. The queen has taken me off all trauma pages so that I can focus on you. They are all so worried about you. I called Bea last night when I recognized you.”

“You recognized me?” Henry asked incredulously. He listened to Alex explain that his family was all so worried. It warmed his heart although the anxiety started to creep back into his mind.

If his mother was here that meant she would want him transferred back to England and have the wrinkled doctors from the palace tend to him. “Car accident?” He questioned wanting more information on that tidbit.

Even though he despised the idea of Alex taking care of him and seeing him like this, he couldn’t imagine another doctor that he would feel this comfortable around. Even though Alex was now a surgeon, it felt like very little time had passed between them. 

“Of course, I recognized you. You and I have been friends since the hospital in London and I buried my hatchet. I still follow you on Instagram you know. I’m also Nora’s best friend and you are Percy’s best friend. You are also hard to forget.” Alex teased being honest with him.

“Let me call Bea and I’ll explain everything to you before they get here.” He grabbed his phone from his jacket pocket. He saw several other Instagram notifications and a photo from Raf of his mother in the Oval Office yelling at him. He laughed softly at the image. He hit the call button and dialed Catherine’s number instead.

“How’s my baby?” Catherine asked instead of a greeting.

Henry’s eyebrows shot up into his hairline hearing his mother’s voice on the other end of Alex’s phone. “Hi mum.” Henry said hoarsely wondering how the hell Alex had his mother’s number. He didn’t know if that was a good thing, or a bad thing.

“He’s just fine. He is breathing on his own and I removed the breathing tube. He is all ready for visitors. Text me when you arrive so I can let you back.”

Catherine fell to the hotel bed after hearing Henry’s hoarse voice. She let out a couple of happy relived tears. “You have no idea how happy I am. I’ll grab Bea and Pip and we will be there very soon. Thanks for keeping me updated Dr. Claremont-Diaz.” She said, ending the phone call.

“You have my mother’s number? What exactly have I missed.” He grunted and gestured for the water.

“Maturity, and repentance.” Alex mused playfully. “I owed it to the crown for my immaturity and the cake incident almost a decade ago. Queen Catherine has all but ordered me to be your personal physician. So here we are.” He said gesturing to them. Alex was still sitting on the edge of the bed, his leg touching Henry’s thigh. It was oddly comforting.

“You were in a car accident due to bad NYC weather. Your side of the vehicle was t-boned, they had to extract you. They brought you to the trauma center. I was the one paged. I got you stabilized in the trauma unit and made sure you had a CT scan of everything. Then I took you to surgery. You are a couple organs lighter.” Alex teased playfully.

“In all seriousness your spleen had ruptured, and you had a ton of internal bleeding. You’ve had a lot of blood transfusions. You had a cut in your liver, pancreas, both kidney’s. I also removed your appendix.” Alex said being honest with him as he linked his hand with Henry’s for comfort. “You also had a bleed in your brain. Which has been drained and the pressure in your brain is perfectly normal.”

“It was major abdominal surgery. Also, since I had to remove your spleen, you will be more susceptible to infections with is why until Victoria and Martha are fever free for 24 hours, they can’t visit.”

Henry’s head flopped against the pillow as Alex described what all had happened to his internal organs. He also listened to Alex tell him he had a collapsed lung and a broken bone in his right wrist. He didn’t know what to say hearing the extent of all of his injuries. He felt incredibly lucky to be alive. He also didn’t know what to think about having Alex’s hands inside him, touching his internal organs.

“What’s wrong with Victoria and Martha?” Henry questioned Victoria had instantly bonded with him. He and Bea was her usual babysitter. Both of them had introduced her to Star Wars, Harry Potter, and all the Disney movies.

“Both Martha and Victoria have strep, although Victoria has a bonus infection in both her ears. Super common in children her age. She’s also the cutest child I’ve ever seen. I put both of them on antibiotics, but I warned everyone that it would be best they don’t come visit you right away. I already told Victoria that she could video chat instead.”

Henry’s eyebrows shot back into his hairline; he was shocked that Philip had allowed Alex to care for Victoria. He knew Philip was less of a dick now, and his mother was a much kinder queen. But for her children who had grown up around Mary, they were constantly reminded of tradition.

To the previous crown, Alex was an American and that just wasn’t done. Henry didn’t know if Philip did it because he was at least familiar with Alex or the complete lack of choices. He could only imagine how the British tabloids were spinning the story. Not that he cared what they had to say. It was clear being a doctor suited Alex’s personality and he was very caring.

“I’d rather video chat with her anyway. I’m afraid I’d scare her like this.” Henry muttered he didn’t want her to have this memory of him engrained in her brain.

Alex smiled at Henry worried about his niece. “So can I ask why they named her Victoria. Did they not watch our disaster interview when I called Queen Victoria, Vicky? Surely someone dug out that old interview when her birth was announced.”

Henry laughed and the sound filled the room although the laugh quickly turned to a grimace as he felt pain in his abdomen from laughing. “I’ll tell you, but you can’t laugh. Promise me you won’t laugh.”

“I will try not to laugh.” Alex said, waiting to hear whatever juicy story Henry was about to tell him.

“Queen Mary had a list of names that had to be used for that particular generation. Victoria hadn’t been used in four generations, so it was time for it to be used again. She gave Philip and Martha just a few names and one of them had to be used.”

“Yes, they did unearth that interview when she was born. Queen Mary was less than thrilled, but it was tradition and traditions were meant to be upheld.” Henry said with a sad smile on his face at telling Alex that deep secret. “You also have to give them three or more middle names. I did not tell you any of that.” Henry said with a soft wink.

It was something the Royal family hid from the public eye and while he doubted his mother would be upset with it leaking, some things were better off not knowing and that was something he wished he didn’t know.

Alex bit his tongue to keep from laughing at the ridiculousness of that story. “I mean I did ask Bea if the Royals had any policies on if you could get a blood transfusion, because I didn’t know if there were rules to that. I was honestly a little stunned to learn there wasn’t.”

Henry smiled softly. “There was a rule like that from before Caroline.” Henry’s voice broke, remembering his outspoken aunt who was rebellious. “It was overturned after she died.”

“Oh.” Alex said slightly stunned holding Henry’s hand softly. “I think even if Bea had told me that it was a rule, I would have disregarded it.”

Henry’s eyes softened at Alex’s confession it was nice to know that Alex cared. “So how long will I be in the hospital?”

“Several days. We need to get you off most of the strong IV pain medication, get the tubes out of your chest, making sure you are healing properly. Your vitals while stable are still not ideal.”

“I’m also not above keeping you for a few extra days in case the crown decides to subject you an uncomfortable public appearance.” He whispered softly feeling his watch vibrate. “Your family is here. Do you feel up for visitors or do you want me to tell them you are sleeping?”

Henry smiled a toothy smile. Alex would truly be the death of him. “Thank you for having my best interests at heart. You can get them.” He wanted nothing more than to stay close to Alex and have his hand touching his; but he knew his sister was probably worried and wanting to resort back to old patterns. His mum was probably beside herself with worry having lost her sister to a car accident.

“I’ll be right back.” Alex muttered pulling his hand away from Henry’s and getting off the uncomfortable hospital bed. He grabbed the cup of water and held it in front of Henry’s lips. “I’ll let them know you might not be up for much talking.” He teased setting the water back on the table and grabbing his laptop from the couch and sliding it back into his backpack.

Henry watched Alex leave the ICU room. It felt like the room dropped a couple degrees and no longer felt inviting.

Alex opened the doors to the TICU and saw Bea, Philip, and Catherine along with a few of their PPO’s waiting outside the door. “Hello guys. So first and foremost, he is awake and breathing on his own. His voice is going to sound hoarse that will eventually go away in a few days as will the pain when talking. He also might be out of it due to the medications. But he is doing just fine this soon after major surgery.” He warned, leading the three of them into Henry’s room.

Bea nodded at Alex’s heads-up about her brother. She’d be forever thankful for Alex’s communication skills. She rushed into the room and at her brother who was awake and had oxygen tubing his nose. “Hen!” She exclaimed hugging him, her red hair tickling his face. “I’m so happy to see you. You had me so worried.”

“I’m alive you can’t get rid of me that easy.” Henry muttered linking his good hand with Bea’s hand.

“Don’t ever scare me like this again. I need my brother. I don’t know what to do without you.” She whispered kissing his cheek as gently as she could, trying not to cause him pain.

Catherine couldn’t wait her turn and hugged both her daughter and son, the smell of her floral perfume enveloping them both. A few tears trickled down her face, she was just so relieved to see her son with his eyes open. She didn’t mind the scratches from broken glass. “Dr. Claremont-Diaz is his brain still the same Did he suffer any neurologic issues from the bleed?” She questioned the young trauma surgeon.

“His neurologic function is perfect.” Alex reassured the Queen. “You can call me Alex. I’m perfectly okay with it.” He told the Queen.

“In that case call me Catherine.” The queen told the young surgeon a smile crossing her elegant features.

Henry listened to his mum’s worry about his brain function. He knew he felt okay so it was nice hearing Alex say that everything was perfect. He could handle the surgery recovery; it soothes him knowing that his brain hadn’t suffered any long-lasting effects from the bleed. “I’m okay mum.” He whispered, feeling uncomfortable at all the pressure on top of him.

“Please get off, you are hurting me.” Henry groaned at the extra pressure on his chest.

Catherine and Bea quickly got off of Henry when he said they were hurting him. Philip held Henry’s hand softly, not wanting to hurt his brother any further. “I’m so glad you are alive and okay. When mum called me and told me you had been in accident, I was so afraid and worried about you.”

Philip felt horrible for their younger years when all he did was sit and judge Henry for every single action he did. Once his mom ascended to the throne, she tossed Philip into therapy along with everyone else. Queen Mary had really done a number to their thoughts and feelings.

It took him a while to finally understand family over country. The polar opposite of what had been drilled into him from a young age. Mary had taken him under his wing when he was still young. Henry and Bea had more freedom than he ever had. Mary had hoped Catherine would abdicate and leave the throne in Philip’s capable hands. Mary had groomed him into being exactly like her. He knew there was nothing he could ever tell his siblings to take away the pain he had caused them.

Henry smiled softly at Philip and squeezed his hand. He didn’t really feel like talking to them much. His throat still felt raw and even though things were better he still hated the crown.

He wished he would have been selfish all those years ago and confessed his feelings to Alex. He was afraid because Alex was woefully outspoken at it wasn’t a secret that Alex had similar goals to his parents about wanting to be in politics and the crown would never let him be himself, nor would they condone him dating an American politician.

So, he stayed away and remained perfectly friendly to Alex during events. He watched as Alex changed his goals and life plan. He still remembered that Instagram post where Alex had announced he had gotten into NYU Medical School.

The photo was ingrained into his brain. Alex was wearing a purple hoodie with the school on it and the caption was. ‘Sometimes plans change for the better. I got accepted into my dream school. In four years, I’ll be Dr. Alexander Claremont-Diaz. I realized along the election trail that my heart wasn’t cut out for politics.

Henry could remember what he commented. ‘You’ll be a fantastic doctor, and good luck in school.’ It was incredibly generic and impersonal. He remembered all the other posts from Alex’s family about him getting into medical school.

He remembered Ellen’s post about Alex’s white coat ceremony which Henry later watched in secret. Thank the crown for YouTube. As the years passed, he noticed that Alex posted less on social media and wasn’t in the press or at White House events like he did during undergrad.

He might have seen Alex once and that was during Nora and Pez’s engagement party. The two felt like strangers so it was odd that it seemed like very little time had passed during their conversation earlier. He wanted to kick his family out and confess everything to Alex. Knowing his luck, Alex had moved on from the kiss and was in a happy committed relationship with another surgeon.

Henry was vaguely aware of Bea, Philip and mum talking to him, but he just felt out of it. He was in pain despite the medications, he was tired but knew he’d never get comfortable enough to sleep, he also hated how his feelings for Alex were still this strong 9 years after the kiss.

He was truly fucked. It was like his soul was drawn to Alex. He had tried to forget about Alex, but the one time he tried, it was clear his heart wanted what it wanted.

“I’m tired.” Henry finally said after several minutes he hadn’t been paying the least bit of attention to the conversation being had.

Catherine frowned at her son’s voice. She knew they had been there for about an hour and that Dr. Alex had said that he was probably out of it and groggy that extubation could take a lot out of someone and the best thing for Henry was rest. She knew the doctor was right but still she wanted to spend more time with her son.

Philip smiled at his brother. “Would you like me to call Martha so that Victoria can know you are okay. She is worried about you. She and Martha couldn’t come with us because Victoria has strep and her and Martha shared some tea, so she has strep throat too.”

Henry focused on what his brother was saying, and it was about Victoria. “Please.”

Philip grabbed his phone from his pants pocket and video called Martha. “Hey beautiful.” Philip greeted his wife’s red hair was in a top knot and she looked like a disheveled sick mess. Sitting next to Martha in the large bed was Victoria with messy pigtails. “How are my two favorite girls feeling?”

Victoria smiled seeing her dad on her mom’s phone. “We had milkshakes for lunch.”

“I know your mum sent me a photo of them. You looked very happy.” Philip teased his daughter. “Hey, do you want to say hello to your family and uncle Henry.”

Victoria nodded excitedly waving as everyone’s face showed up on the phone. “Dr. Alex I’m feeling better, and mummy let me drink a milkshake for lunch.” She said seeing the young doctor.

“Glad you are feeling much better, princess. Henry is feeling better to.” He told her with a wink.

“Uncle Hen.” Victoria cried seeing her uncle on the phone.

“How’s my girl?” Henry asked.

“You sound funny.”

“He has a sore throat like you do.” Alex skillfully told the young princess.

Henry noticed the crafty lie and he also noticed how good he was with her. He’d have to ask why Alex wasn’t a pediatrician.

“Feel better.” Henry muttered he loved his niece but sometimes she was a handful and he also hated her seeing him in a hospital bed and having the obnoxiously cute trauma surgeon lie for him.

“Love you.” Victoria said snuggling in close to her mother’s round side. “Mummy wants to talk.” She handed the phone back to Martha.

“I’ll see you soon. I’m so glad to see you awake. You had us all so worried.” Martha said honestly even though she felt like crap from the strep, Henry had gone through so much more and she was so happy to see her brother-in-law awake and alive.

Henry smiled at the phone. “Thank you both.” He was ready for them to leave so he could have more time with Alex. He knew his siblings loved him, but they both reminded him of painful things, and he was already in pain and tired from their visit.

Catherine smiled at her son. “You get some rest, and we will see you when you feel up to it. These two need some rest too.” She said gesturing to Philip and Bea. She gently kissed Henry’s forehead. “I love you.” She whispered into his ear.

“Dr. Alex you also need to sleep. How long have you been up for?” She questioned kindly.

Alex looked at the queen and then at his watch trying to figure out how long he had been up for. He had lost track after hour seventeen. “I can’t remember. I’ll get some sleep.” He muttered, planning on sleeping on the couch in Henry’s room. 

“Call me after your nap and let me know how he is.” Catherine instructed and Henry was confused. He knew his mum was more personable than Mary, but it was still odd to see her care about Alex and worry about his lack of sleep. He wondered why Alex couldn’t remember how long he had been awake for. That certainly made him worry.

Henry felt Bea and Catherine hug him again. (This time gentler) He felt Philip’s hand on his shoulder. “I’m just tired. I’ll hopefully be better after a nap.” He lied hoping nobody questioned it. He was tired but he wanted to be alone and spend more time with Alex.

The three members of the Royal Family left, leaving a PPO outside Henry’s door and one at the entrance to the TICU.

A few quiet moments passed and soon a nurse entered Henry’s room. The nurse was tall and stupidly attractive, not nearly as attractive as Alex, but Henry could help but look. The nurse was wearing a black jumper with red letters that said Trauma ICU nurse and had an ID badge clipped to the neck of the sweater.

“I know they took you off trauma call, but I can’t get ahold of anyone else. I have a patient that has excited delirium and I need a physician to order Haldol. I knew you were in here. Could you please place that order for me?” The nurse questioned looking at Alex.

“Sure thing.” Alex said grabbing his laptop and logging in to the hospital EMR. “What room?” Alex questioned pulling up the patient list to the TICU.

“3.”

“Done. Need me to order anything else?” Alex questioned typing away at the laptop.

“I think that covers it. Also, several of us were planning to order from that Italian food truck we all like. I was sent to see if you’d like us to get you anything.”

“Henry, you feel like Italian food?” Alex questioned looking at his watch and seeing it was 3pm.

“I can eat takeout?” Henry questioned figuring Alex was going to have him on some god-awful hospital diet. Yet here Alex stood having a conversation with a nurse about an Italian food truck.

Alex laughed and the sound filled the room. “You can eat whatever you like. Pasta shouldn’t hurt your throat.” He said sitting on the edge of Henry’s bed. “What do you typically get when you order Italian?” Alex questioned gently.

“Can I have lasagna?” Henry questioned looking at Alex.

“Of course. Hey, Luke, I’ll take their penne with pink sauce, lasagna, order of mozzarella sticks, and a tiramisu.” Alex told the nurse politely.

“Sure thing, and thanks for putting that order in for me. I know you didn’t have to, and I appreciate you doing it. I’ll go give this to Olivia food should be here in about 30.” Luke said.

“No problem. Thanks for seeing if I wanted food.” Alex told the nurse smiling politely.

“Alright first you eat then we can nap.”

Henry tried not to think too hard about the fact that Alex had asked if he wanted food and then ordered him whatever he felt like. His heart fluttered at the thought.

Chapter Text

Bea tapped her hotel key to the sensor outside the door, she was exhausted and all that she wanted was to curl up with Mr. Wobbles and her fiancé Thomas Evans who was a big-time actor known for his work as a superhero in a big franchise. The two of them had met at an event for an animal shelter and now two years later she was set to be the next Royal Wedding. She was well aware how much the media loved to make parallels between her and her mother since both fell in love with a well-known actor.

She had tried the traditional route and had gone on a few dates with Phillip’s fancy friends and there wasn’t anything. Then she met Tom, and it was like she had found her missing person and he was so supportive when she confessed that she was a former drug addict. Tom stayed when most guys wouldn’t have stayed after that bombshell. Tom also had Henry’s approval which meant the world to Bea. She refused to even marry a viscount or something even remotely close to royalty.

She sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled out her phone seeing the absolute media frenzy. She pulled up her contact list. She needed her fiancé even if he was at the end of filming a movie. She hit the video chat button and laid down on the massive king bed and kicked off her heeled booties in the process.

“Hey beautiful.” Tom said answering the video call. “How is everything? How’s Henry? Have you been allowed to see him since his doctor removed the breathing tube?” Little did Bea know that he was actually in her hotel elevator with Mr. Wobbles, David, and his own dog, Athena, a brindle Staffordshire Bull Terrier.

Bea knew she looked like crap and had dark circles under her eyes, but it was always nice when he called her beautiful. “I’m tired. Henry’s okay and we were able to see him for like an hour before he kicked us out. I think he was feeling overstimulated. I miss you how’s the movie?” She questioned.

Tom smiled at his camera and switched the view around so that the video was on her door and door handle. “Why don’t you let me in, and we can talk about the movie.”

Bea got off the bed and ran to the door to open it. She threw her arms around him, getting up on her tiptoes to kiss him. “How are you here?”

“I had a few days and I convinced them to let me do a small press junket. I figured you needed me and well I figured these three didn’t want to stay alone in London.” He said gesturing to the cat carrier, David and Athena, his brindle Staffordshire Bull Terrier.

Bea smiled and bent down to unlatch David. “Hey buddy, your dad is in the hospital. I’m sure we can convince his doctor that a visit would make him get better quicker.” She said petting the dog who looked at her with sad eyes. She needed to text Alex about it since David was technically a therapy dog. She also needed to call Nora and Pez and check on them.

“Instagram and several media outlets are referring to Henry’s surgeon as Dr. Sexy.” Tom said laughing showing her the screenshotted articles. “I particularly love the one where The Sun has suggested that you are now dating Alex like we aren’t engaged with a wedding coming up in March.” He teased playfully he was used to random news articles and as an actor they didn’t faze him.

Bea sighed and unclipped Athena from her leash and let her fat siamese out of his travel carrier. She watched Mr. Wobbles jump into the bed and burrow himself into the comforter. He was a well-traveled cat.

“Some things will never change. Alex and I go way back and Henry’s more his type.” She had no secrets with her fiancé. “Is the press junket for the movie, or is it more of a personal press junket?” She questioned hoping it was in promotion for a movie.

“Movie related but I’m sure they’ll ask me questions about Henry. What do you suggest I tell them? They want me on the usual New York City talk shows.”

“Just thank them for asking and tell them he’s doing okay thanks to Dr. Claremont-Diaz. That is what the press is getting unless of course mum wants to release something in more detail.” Bea kissed her fiancé softly. She hated it when they were apart, and she was glad to have him in her hotel room. It was easier for her to manage when she had Tom or Henry.

Luke came back to their room about 45 minutes later holding a bag of food that smelt delicious. “Your food is here.” He said entering the room ignoring the PPO stationed outside this particular room.

Alex beamed at the mention of food and got off the bed. He took the bag of warm food. “Tell Liv to check her Cash App.” They constantly ordered lunch together, so he had the usual lunch suspects saved to his Cash App.

“Will do! Enjoy your lunch.” Luke said leaving the room giving Henry and Alex time to eat their food.

Henry watched as Alex sat the bag of food down on the overbed table and removed five takeout containers from the bag along with a bottle of Fiji water. Henry raised an eyebrow at the bottle of water. He knew Alex lived on coffee during his stay at Kensington.

“I drink water on occasion.” Alex sassed seeing Henry’s raised eyebrow. “I only drink certain brands though.”

The smell of pasta filled the room. He didn’t realize how hungry he was until food was mentioned and that was all his brain could think about.

He realized his right arm had been broken and that was his dominant arm. He didn’t know how he was going to feed himself with a broken arm. Henry watched as Alex walked over to the sink to wash his hands and came back to the table to put a slice of garlic bread next to the seven or was it an eight-layer lasagna.

“Would you like to try one of their homemade mozzarella sticks?” Alex asked, opening the container of perfectly golden mozzarella sticks. They weren’t the typical round sticks but instead a thick square. There was also a container of what looked like marinara sauce in with the pile of mozzarella sticks.

“If it isn’t any trouble.” Henry said watching Alex dip one of the squares of fried cheese into deep red sauce and feed it to him. Henry’s brain positively short-circuited since Alex had fed him and oh the food tasted like heaven.

He didn’t know how to think about Alex feeding him. A part of him secretly enjoyed the idea of Alex feeding him food. Alex was so gentle, and kind and it made his heart want to burst at the softness of it all.

The other realistic part made him realize he was an invalid and Alex was only feeding him because his mother had made sure Alex was the one taking care of Henry. If he were any other patient, he was sure someone was paid to feed patients. He also felt bad because Alex was feeding him, instead of eating his own food.

The cheese was warm and gooey on the inside and the dipping sauce had the perfect number of seasonings. Henry let out a content sound at the taste of food, he might have been hungry but even then, the food was just that good.

Alex smirked seeing Henry’s reaction to the mozzarella sticks. “I try not to eat fried food but there is nothing quite like these mozzarella sticks.” He muttered, noticing Henry’s face that looked lost in thought and slightly irritated at the idea of being fed.

“Hey it’s okay. I don’t care to feed you at all. I know your right side is the dominate side. It’s no big deal.” Alex said soothingly cutting a manageable bite of the eight-layer lasagna and feeding Henry the first forkful of lasagna.

Henry sighed and took a bite of lasagna. He hated that Alex had nothing but soothing things to say to him. He didn’t know how he’d feel if the role was reversed. Alex was a trauma surgeon not a nurse. He was well above having to feed patients dinner.

He felt like he should have let Bea stay if he was going to eat that way, she could feed him, and it wouldn’t have been this awkward. He was afraid of anyone seeing them like this. It probably would look intimate to anyone. He wondered if it would get Alex fired. He didn’t want his friend fired.

“I don’t like this feeling.” Henry confessed after swallowing the bite of lasagna that tasted like it could have easily come from an authentic restaurant in Rome. He sighed as the tastes exploded along his tastebuds.

Alex smiled his charming smile at Henry, he could understand where Henry was coming from. It was awkward having a friend feed you, it was also made worse by the feeling of not being able to do it themselves.

“I know it’s a strange feeling being fed by someone else. I don’t care to feed you. You need the nutrition.” He said knowing bringing up nutrition would end this argument. Alex didn’t care to do it. Hell, he’d give the prince the moon he if asked for it. 

Henry sighed at the rationality in Alex’s words. He did need the nutrition and he hated how Alex always seemed to know exactly what to say. “The lasagna is amazing.” He said watching Alex cut another bite and load it onto the plastic fork.

He supposed he was happy that it was Alex and not Martha or Philip feeding him after Victoria they would have fed him using a fucking airplane sound and that would have been even more embarrassing.

Alex smiled and fed Henry another bite of lasagna. “I’m glad you like it. Most of us order from here frequently because it is cheap, and you get at least two meals on it. Speaking of if you have leftovers, I’ll label them and put them in the staff fridge. They won’t be bothered, and we can reheat them after our nap.” He was ready to stretch out on the couch and have a couple hour power nap.

There were several times he was awake for the entire 24-hour shift, but being in an ICU room confronted with old feelings made him exhausted in a way he couldn’t quite explain.

Henry smiled chewing and swallowing that bite of lasagna. He figured a conversation that wasn’t food based might make this sweet torture a little more bearable. “So why did you choose medical school. I assumed like everyone else that you would have followed after both your parents.”

It was also why I didn’t pursue you after the kiss went unsaid. Henry had spent his life obeying the crown and Alex wasn’t exactly quiet when it came to talking about his future plans, which always included law school and being the youngest senator or president.

Alex smiled at the question, and it was one of those room brightening smiles. “It was in Texas while putting my Texas strategy memo into action. I realized in Texas that my idea of politics was very idealistic. I had all these ideas in place about helping people and fixing everything that was wrong in congress that I realized my ideas would never fit.”

“I watched someone I considered to be a family friend become a turncoat and go work for the opposition. He did it for the greater good, but I didn’t understand at the time why he did it. I think shortly after watching Rafael go work for Jeffery Richards is what made me realize I wasn’t cut out of politics.”

“I woke up one day and decided why not just try so I scheduled a day while in Austin to take the MCAT hoping my hometown would bring me some additional luck. I still to this day don’t understand how I managed to score a 525 out of 528.” He mused, remembering the day he had Cash and Amy go with him to take his MCAT. They were the first ones that he confessed the new plan to. They both happily tagged along and wished him luck and ordered him his favorite Austin takeout for dinner that night.

He remembered how long the test was and how he was allowed access to his phone and hoped no emergency happened why he was trying to take a test that would determine his future.

“I wasn’t a science major and I scored that on the MCAT. A part of me thought it was a miscalculation, the more I stared at the score I thought maybe it is a sign I should. I thought I had gone insane to even entertain the idea of it. I confessed everything to Nora and June over pizza and tequila.” Alex said, bringing another bite of lasagna to Henry’s lips.

“Nora and June both seemed excited at the idea. Nora calculated my chances and said the odds were in my favor of getting into medical school and eventually becoming a doctor. So that night I applied to my dream medical school. I didn’t want to lose my optimism and I refused to let politics make me a cold hard realist.”

Henry listed to Alex explain his reasoning for medical school and it sounded like Alex had a similar moment he had when he decided to not join the Royal Military Academy like Philip, and instead attend Oxford to get a degree in English Literature.

“How’d your mother take it?” He questioned while Alex kept feeding him delicious forkfuls of pasta between the occasional sips of water.

Alex laughed and the sound filled the room. “Mom was surprised but strangely supportive of it all. It was Zahra who made the comments that maybe I should go see The White House infirmary and make sure I wasn’t coming down with anything. She said it was because she was in shock, she always saw mom and me like better Bushes.” Alex explained, remembering that particular conversation in Zahra’s office all those years ago.

Henry laughed at the mention of Zahra, also known as the women his former equerry married and had two perfect children with. He had met her several times and he liked her, but yeah, she was pretty terrifying. Shaan was her perfect balance. He was sad to lose Shaan, but he knew Shaan wanted to be with his family. The life of an equerry was better suited to someone without family obligations. His new equerry, Benjamin, was a lot like Shaan in a way. “Is Ben, okay?” Henry said startled he was with his equerry.

“I assume you mean the driver of the vehicle?’ Alex questioned softly.

“Benjamin is my equerry, Shaan trained him. He was driving.”

Alex smiled softly at Henry. “He was taken to our ER with minor injuries. He’ll be just fine and coordinating your schedules in no time. Do you like him as much as Shaan?”

“They are very similar.” Henry muttered he didn’t know how to put into words that nobody would ever be like Shaan, because after Arthur died, he very much looked up to Shaan like one would a father. Shaan was there and understood Henry’s grief better than anyone in any palace after his father’s death.

He told Shaan a lot of personal things, because he gave great advice and never told his grandmother. Ben was okay but some things did get back to the crown, although most of the things Catherine came to him as his mother and not as the queen.

“You’ve ate a good amount of food, do you want a few more bites?” Alex questioned seeing a good chunk of lasagna was gone. Henry was brought out of his internal thoughts hearing Alex’s soothing voice.

“Maybe another bite. Didn’t you also mention tiramisu?” Henry questioned innocently at the mention of dessert.

“Who said I’m sharing?” Alex teased playfully winking at the prince as he brought another bite of lasagna to his mouth.

Henry’s heart increased at Alex’s playful teasing. He missed Alex, he hadn’t dated at all since that fateful holiday. No one could compare, yes, he realized it was cliché, but it felt like something magical happened between them and he wasn’t prepared to fight for his feelings.

Shaan knew about his deep-seated feelings for Alex as did Bea. They both knew he stupidly prioritized country over heart and feelings. He wanted to confess everything to Alex, but he couldn’t drag him down with him. He wouldn’t, hence the kiss and leaving Alex to live a life without the crown’s interference.

How would one even tell their crush turned incredibly attractive surgeon who had their hands feeling his internal organs. ‘I know it has been 9 years since I kissed you, but like I think about your lips every night. I should have confessed my feelings to you back then, but I was worried about the implications of dating an American and not just any American the fucking First Son of the first female president.

Who I always assumed would go into politics like both his parents and make me chose either the prison I grew up in with grandmother telling me to prioritize country, or the prison of abdicating the one thing I grew up understanding to be the husband of a US Politician. Only for you to change directions and go to medical school. I should have said something to you after that Instagram post. We could have made history, hell we could still make history.’

“Of course, I’ll share a few bites with you.  Would you care for another mozzarella stick?” Alex asked with his charming smile that reached his eyes.

“Please.” Henry said watching Alex dip the stick in the red sauce and put it against his pouty lips. After the initial awkwardness of not being able to feed himself, they slipped into a comfortable routine of stories and food. “I feel bad that your food will be cold.”

“I’m used to my food being room temp.” Alex said honestly it was common to sit down to eat and be paged for an ICU patient or a trauma patient. The nurses were great at labeling his food and telling him where they put it, or he’d quickly hurry and come back to tepid food.

Henry blanched at the thought of room temperature food. He hoped Alex would at least go microwave his portion of food. He swallowed the mozzarella stick with a smile on his face as Alex grabbed another takeout container with a giant slice of tiramisu. He watched Alex cut the dessert down the middle, the smell of strong espresso and chocolate filling the room.

Alex cut Henry a bite of the tiramisu and resisted taking the first bite. He heard Henry’s sigh of deliciousness. “Great right?” He teased the food truck was run by Italian immigrants and everything on their menu was great.

“Heaven.” Henry said giving Alex a content smile as the flavors of custard, espresso, and chocolate dancing over his tongue. It was very much heaven, much like sharing Italian food and catching up with Alex was and that New Year’s kiss was.

He wanted to be honest about his feelings and about the kiss on New Year’s but now was not the time and besides he was sure dating his surgeon was ethically wrong. Alex had probably moved on from that kiss and had a wife and two perfect children at home and that was why he was so good around Victoria, because he had perfect children himself.

He looked at Alex’s long fingers and didn’t see a ring. His mind cruelly reminded him that Alex was a trauma surgeon which meant the wedding ring could be kept on a chain close to his heart, like he did with his family’s house in Austin.

Alex felt his watch vibrate and saw a message from Bea. “Bea just messaged me that Tom has brought David from Kensington, and she was wondering if she could bring him by for a visit.” He said reading the text message aloud. “I think I can sneak him in for a visit.” He said watching Henry beam at the thought of a visit from his dog.

He had seen that Bea was engaged to an attractive young actor who already had quite a name for himself at 28. From the Instagram posts and the few interviews, he had caught it seemed like Tom was a great guy and loved Bea and not for her crown but for who she was. Something he wished he was brave enough to try with Henry.

“Can you tell Bea to come with just Tom and David this time.” Henry asked softly. He loved his mum, and he was grateful to have her back in his life and as the Queen, but he felt that she had been a little overwhelming and while he was on better terms with Philip and Martha, they still weren’t Bea.

“Sure thing.” Alex said, sending Bea back a quick text message. He quickly dipped a mozzarella stick into the dipping sauce.

“She says to text to them after your nap since I told her you had just eaten a good meal. She also would like a quick nap. She also sent a picture of David and Mr. Wobbles and a dog I don’t recognize.” He said showing the photo of the animals curled up on the edge of the hotel bed. “Mr. Wobbles is still as chunky as ever.”

Henry smiled at the photo, he would be happy to have a quick snuggle with David and it made him feel better that Alex was willing to sneak his dog in for him. Even though David was a therapy dog and did have the required paperwork. “That’s Athena, their dog.” He said clarifying the photo so Alex could understand it. “

“She’s pretty.” Alex muttered, putting his phone back into his pocket and quickly eating his lunch. His lunch was still rather warm, it wasn’t pipping hot like he knew Henry’s was, but it was at least warm, and he could take his time and savor the flavors instead of worrying about pager roulette. He quickly finished his lunch.

“I’m going to put our leftovers in the fridge grab myself a pillow and blanket and I’ll set an alarm in a few hours and then text Bea that she can bring over David and since it is just me, I might even let him stay the night assuming he doesn’t rip out your catheter.”

Henry smiled brightly at the idea of letting Alex keep David in his room overnight. “He isn’t a chewer so I think my tubes are fine and if he is tempted, I can just have you put him on one of the chairs for timeout. Thank you so much Alex, you have no idea how much that means.” He was thrilled that he would get to see his dog.

Alex smiled warmly as he slid the curtain back. “I’m going to leave the door cracked.” He said leaving the room.

He had barely labeled the food and put the containers in the staff fridge when he heard a commotion. He shut the fridge and ran in the direction of the commotion and noticed Sadie the nursing student was being choked by her stethoscope. He felt a tap on his shoulder and Luke handed him a syringe of ketamine since it was a quicker action in patients acting like this one was. He was used to handling these situations.

He entered the room and quickly got between Sadie and the patient who was clearly showing signs of altered mental status and with him stepping between them it got him to release Sadie’s stethoscope which banged against her clavicle.

Alex advanced on the patient and grabbed both his wrists. “Hey, calm down, calm down you are in the hospital.” He soothed and grabbed the syringe of ketamine and injected it into the patients IV. He helped the patient back to the bed and wrapped the soft restraints around his wrists. He didn’t feel like an encore with a different nurse.

He disposed of the syringe and gently restrained the patient to the bed. He looked at the nursing student who was wide eyed and crying. “Hey sweetie, why don’t you come with me and let me check out your neck.” He suggested reaching for her hand and escorted her from the room. Her purple scrubs were rumpled, and she already had bruises forming around her neck.

“What the hell happened?” Luke questioned since Sadie was his shadow and he had asked her to check on the patient.

Sadie cowered at Luke’s voice and hid behind Alex’s large frame. “How about we get her calm before you start the inquisition.” Alex suggested feeling her hand leave his.

“She’s stressed and anxious. How about you get her a cup of water and I’ll check out her neck since she was just being choked out by her stethoscope.” He led Sadie over to an empty computer chair and had her sit in it. He rolled another one so he could sit in front of her.

Olivia noticed everything and went to check on Henry who Alex was supposed to be caring for. She flashed her badge at the scary looking PPO and knocked on the doorframe. “Hi Henry! I’m nurse Olivia, one of Dr. Alex’s coworkers. There has been a little bit of an incident with a nursing student and Alex is getting her calm. I was just seeing if you needed anything from me.” She said warmly striding gently over to the prince in the hospital bed.

Henry looked at the pretty blonde nurse who had entered his room she was wearing wine scrubs and had her blonde hair in a top knot and a black leopard headband around the top of her head. “Are you Liv?” He questioned knowing Alex mentioned a Liv earlier. “What happened to the nursing student?” He inquired.

“I am.” She said quickly checking his vitals. “How are you feeling?” She questioned kindly not wanting to get into the whole nursing abuse with a Prince of England. “It’s nothing to worry about. It’s being handled.” She muttered, shutting the glass and curtain so he couldn’t see what was going on outside his room.

“You had Alex as a surgeon. He’s fantastic.” She said changing the subject from the nursing student. “I’ve told my sister in the event I’m ever injured and need a trauma surgeon to make sure it’s Alex. He’s the only doctor I agree with. I’m sure as his friend you know just how kind he is.”

Henry listened to the nurse, but he was more concerned about Alex and the nursing student, and he didn’t even hear her leave his room.

Alex came back about 45 minutes later after checking over Sadie, fixing a patient’s medications, and filling out an incident report. He had a pillow and three blankets in his arm. He looked at the PPO stationed outside the door who opened the door for him.

“Thanks man.” He said, gliding into the room seeing Olivia talking to Henry. He sat the pillow on the couch and draped Henry with one of the blankets fresh from the warmer.

“Sorry about that.” He told the prince as he unzipped his jacket and draped it over the chair as he was feeling warm after the surge of recent adrenaline.

“Olivia said there had been an incident is everything okay?” Henry questioned wondering if the nursing student was okay. He noticed Alex had removed his jacket and was now wearing a deep navy scrub shirt that accentuated his tanned arms.

Alex sat on the edge of the bed and linked his hand with Henry’s left hand. “No, it is never okay when a nurse is abused with her own stethoscope. It’s never okay when you tell a nursing student to not wear her stethoscope around her neck to hopefully prevent it not happening again. It’s also not okay when you have to check over a coworker for an injury. It’s also not okay when you read a chart and realize your resident is incompetent.” He teased rubbing circles over Henry’s knuckles trying to distract his brain.

“What happened?” Henry questioned wondering what actually happened. It was clear that whatever happened was bothering Alex.

Alex shook his head. “One of the first-year residents completely missed the diagnosis of shock which led to severe altered mental status and that patient choked a nursing student with the stethoscope draped around her neck. She can’t press charges because the patient didn’t know what he was doing, so it contributes to yet another healthcare worker abuse statistic and making a student nurse question her life choices.

So now I get to be the one cleaning up a resident’s mess and be the only one to console the nursing student.” He explained hoping Henry understood what he was explaining. It wasn’t something talked about enough, the abuse they faced on a daily basis. He was damn glad that Sadie just got the wind knocked out of her instead of being strangled so hard it had damaged her trachea.

Henry’s eyes widened and his eyebrows jumped into his hairline at Alex’s story. He couldn’t imagine how to handle that situation. “She’ll be okay though?” Henry finally asked, hoping the student would at least be okay.

Alex didn’t know how to answer Henry’s question from a physical standpoint her neck would be bruised, and her clavicle would be sore for a few days. From a mental health standpoint, she’d need a therapist and would probably choose not to work in a trauma icu. He finally decided to say, “She’ll be okay.”

“Have you ever been injured by a patient?” Henry questioned after a few seconds of silence.

“I’ve gotten punched once or twice. No big deal, nothing that ice can’t handle.” He teased and most of the time it was during a trauma situation and the patient panicked and flailing around on the stretcher, and his face or body happened to be in the crossfire. He never blamed the situation, he figured if it was him on the stretcher and someone inserted a chest tube, he’d be uncomfortable and upset too.

“That just is not okay. I don’t understand why people want to abuse their nurse or doctor.” Henry mused rubbing circles over Alex’s knuckles. “So where do you keep your stethoscope since I haven’t seen it around your neck why is that?”

“Because when you are in medical school on a surgery rotation and an attending, or a surgical resident catches you with the stethoscope around your neck they order you to remove the flea collar from around your neck. I never wear a white coat so if I’m wearing a jacket it goes in the stethoscope pocket. If I’m just wearing scrubs it goes in either my cargo pocket or back pocket in the pants.”  

Why did you choose trauma surgery?” The idea of a nap was appealing but he figured Alex needed to calm down and maybe reminding him why he chose what he chose would help.

Alex agreed with Henry that it wasn’t okay, but it was something he was used to dealing with. “I chose trauma surgery because I’m ADHD learned that during my psychiatry rotation. I’m also an adrenaline junkie and I thrive in chaos. In case you forgot Nora and I were chaos demons in our early twenties.” He was sure they both were still chaos demons, but he was a little more mature now than he was then.

“Were?” Henry questioned incredulously. He was sure Nora was still a chaotic mess and while Alex was more mature, he still seemed like the same Alex he was madly in love with.

“Moving on.” Alex joked with a playful smirk appearing on his face.

“I chose trauma because it is a hard specialty, we have something called a golden hour and that is when quick intervention can prevent death. Trauma surgery is life and death and being able to save a person’s life. It is why I was so drawn to medicine in the first place. I also get to do surgery and then I have critical care knowledge and I get to follow my patients to the ICU and see them leave the hospital after being shot four times, or after a harrowing car accident. I found myself loving and thriving in this environment.”

“Trauma surgery used to be lumped in with general surgery, but about ten years ago they made trauma its own specialty. Otherwise, I’d still have a long way before I was an attending since I would have had to do a general surgery residency first and then do a fellowship in trauma surgery. I mean I am still a general surgeon and can do any surgery they do and have during late night trauma calls, but I can also operate on a lung and do some heart related surgeries.” He explained.

Henry smiled at Alex’s words. It was clear he loved his career he listened intently as Alex described his specialty. He tried thinking back to a younger Alex infatuated with politics and couldn’t even remember that Alex being that passionate about law and politics.

He talked about history but never talked with such a fondness and desire. It made his heart ache at the thought he could have been by Alex’s side for medical school and instead he backed off. He wanted to confess his feelings, but Alex might not have the same feelings and since Alex was his surgeon it might be against hospital policy.

“What is a resident and an attending they don’t use those terms across the pond?” Henry questioned he was used to different terms and titles.

“I’m a chief resident it means I’ve graduated from a medical school and am on my fifth year of post graduate training and I’m in charge of my coresidents and all the residents on different years. I also get to slog through their charts and make sure they aren’t completely incompetent. In six months, I’ll be an attending which means I’ll no longer be monitored and have my own patient load. Hardest part of that is deciding where I want to go.”  

“Do the other residents like or hate you?” Henry questioned remembering the nurses saying they liked Alex. “You’re not going to stay in New York?”

“They like me, I treat them with respect, and I understand them wanting to have the vaguest semblance to a personal life, I also teach without demeaning them.” Alex said he’d been demeaned plenty in residency and vowed not to teach that way. It might have been the southern in him, but he believed they learned better that way.

“I have offers from so many places, but I’m more than likely going to stay in New York.”

Alex yawned softly, he was feeling more relaxed and exhausted, he had been awake for seventeen hours and he had slept in worse places than the visitor’s couch. “You and I should probably take that nap. I told Bea I’d text her once you got some rest.”

Henry wanted to nap but at the same time he didn’t want to let go of Alex’s rough hand. What he really wanted was for Alex to lie next to him on the bed so he could enjoy more of his touch. Fuck his brain really needed to stop with the unrequited love. He yawned and that was the answer Alex had been waiting for. Alex got off the edge of the bed casually brushing Henry’s leg with his leg in the process. He pulled down the extra layer to the couch to make it into a bed. He tucked a blanket around the edges of the couch and tossed the pillow at the end of the couch closet to Henry’s head.

Alex sat down and untied his shoes and put them toward the edge of the couch. “Have a good nap.” He said sprawling out on the couch.

“Do you have llamas on your socks?” Henry questioned seeing some blue socks with what looked like llamas wearing a stethoscope.

Alex covered himself with the thin hospital blanket, he laughed at Henry’s question and rolled to his side to look at Henry’s face. “I do, they are trauma llamas. June and mom send me fun compression socks and they knows I appreciate the llamas.”

Henry laughed and tried getting comfortable on the uncomfortable hospital bed. “I’m sorry but how do you expect me to get comfortable on this bed? I’m a side sleeper and you put drainage tubes sticking out of both of my sides.” Henry complained loudly, tossing one of the extra pillows at Alex.

Alex smirked softly at Henry’s complaining. He should have guessed the prince would be a royal pain in his side but he oddly kind of liked Henry’s complaining. He grabbed the pillow that hit him in the side that Henry had thrown at him he assumed with the one good arm.

“If you are hoping for me to remove a tube not happening today.” Alex teased playfully. “The tubes will need to stay in for at least a few more days.”

“However, I might be able to get you into a more comfortable position that kind of feels like you are laying on your side.” Alex said, grabbing a few more pillows from the cabinet and pulled down the bed rails. “Do you prefer your left side or the right?”

“I’d like to face the right.” Henry muttered since that was the direction of the couch. Really, he was a world class insomniac and ran on little sleep most of the time. He also slept better with David on his bed. He felt Alex tuck some pillows under him and adjusted him slightly so that he was kind of laying on his side. It was slightly more comfortable than lying flat on his back.

“Is that better Your Royal Highness.” Alex teased playfully covering Henry back up with the three blankets. ““Do I trust you enough to leave your guardrails down?”

Henry laughed at Alex’s choice of words and resisted the urge to whack him with another pillow. “Better. Thank you doctor.” He teased back placing his blonde hair back on the hospital pillow. He wished the hospital knew the definition of a thread count but this could do for a quick nap. “You’ll be in the same room I can’t exactly escape with tubes sticking out of places.”

“Touché.” Alex remarked. “How’s your pain level?” He questioned wanting to know before going back to the couch.

“I feel okay.” Henry muttered there was pain, but he expected the pain, he did just have surgery and he didn’t want to become dependent on pain medications. He figured if he told Alex he was in pain he’d get more medication and he was okay for now. “Maybe once I wake up.”

Alex nodded and kicked off his shoes and sprawled out on the couch again. He covered himself up with the blanket.

The two eventually drifted off to sleep and got about a two-and-a-half-hour nap. Henry woke up first and let out a small moan clearly the pain had hit him while he slept.

Alex smiled softly and toed on his sneakers. He unlocked the controlled cabinet and pulled out a vial of hydromorphone. He drew the medication into the syringe and grabbed a flush from the cabinet. He washed his hands and pulled on a pair of gloves. He sat on the edge of Henry’s bed and flushed the IV line and injected the pain medication into the line.

“How’d you sleep?” He questioned getting off the bed to dispose of the empty syringes. “You can be honest with me when it comes to your pain. You had major surgery, and you don’t have to be brave. I know your sister’s history, but you are considered a low addiction risk when it comes to pain meds. I’m also not a dick and tend to believe it when a patient tells me they are in pain.” Alex politely lectured. “Be honest with me is all I ask. I know the warning signs and I know when your last dose was.” He soothed coming to sit back down on the bed.

“I’m sorry for lying to you about my pain level.” Henry mused. “I trust you.” I also want to kiss you some more went unsaid as always.

“Ready for Bea to visit with David?” Alex questioned grabbing his phone from his jacket pocket and clearing all the unimportant notifications his social media was going crazy and he was going with ignore it until it went away.

“Absolutely.” Henry said watching Alex send a text message.

About 30 minutes later Bea entered the main entrance of Bellevue holding Tom’s hand and David’s leash in the other. Alex had given her permission to visit and bring along David. She had fed the dog and made sure he had done his business before entering the building. She also had his paperwork tucked into her purse in case anyone questioned it, she’d also just blame Alex.

“I feel like everyone just stared.” Tom whispered.

“Not everyday you see a princess enter a hospital wearing jeans and escorting a dog to visit her brother who was in a car accident whose surgeon is making social media waves again.” She teased playfully watching Tom hit the up button on the elevator. The three of them made the trek to the secure door to the trauma ICU. She greeted the PPO and texted Alex that she was outside.

David did the tippy taps with his paws like he knew was on the other side of the door which quickly opened. David remembered the smell and quickly nudged Alex’s leg with his nose.

“You must be Tom it’s nice to finally meet you.” Alex smiled and shook the actor’s hand.

“You must be Dr. Sexy.” Tom teased playfully referring to the silly nickname. “In all seriousness it’s nice to meet you Dr. Alex Claremont-Diaz.”

Alex shook his head clearly the press had spent hours trying to come up with something creative and that is the one they chose there were worse nicknames they could have gone with. If he had to guess someone used it on Instagram and some journalist was too lazy to create something more original. “Alex or Dr. Alex is perfectly fine.”

“Henry’s ready to see you. He had a good lunch and a good nap so he should be more talkative this time.” He said feeling the dog sniff his pant leg.

“Hi buddy.” Alex said bending down and offering the dog his hand to sniff who sniffed it. “Do you want to come see your human? I only have two rules for you, no scratching or biting and please do not chew at his tubes. I don’t want to kick you out.” He told the dog giving him a good neck scratch before picking up the beagle who was grey in the face. He tried not to think about how old David actually was.

Alex carried the beagle into the room and sat him next to Henry’s good arm.

Henry’s eyes lit up and his smile filled the room, seeing Alex holding his dog. “Who’s my good boy.” Henry said petting the dog with his left arm. The dog instantly laid down next to Henry’s left side being careful not to get tangled in the tube sticking out of his human.

Alex smiled seeing David bring an instant calmness to Henry and saw the dog lower Henry’s heart rate slightly. “I’ll give you a few minutes with your sister, I’m going to see if the nurses need anything from me.” He said leaving the room with a soft pop from the glass.

Bea smiled and gently hugged her brother, her flirty perfume filling his sinuses. She pulled back and sat gracefully on the nearby chair.

“So, have you confessed your feelings to Dr. Sexy yet? Do I need to lock you two in a closet. Henry I’ve stalked his social media, and it appears Alex is single. No wedding photos and the people that appear in his posts are friends. I’ve also asked a nurse about Alex, and they say he is hopelessly married to his career.”

Tom laughed there was no stopping his fiancé when she set her mind to something and clearly she wanted Henry to confess his feelings to the doctor. Once Bea had sat down he quickly gave Henry a gentle hug being careful of his tubes and lines. “I heard you ate a good lunch what did they give you?”

“One of the nurses came and asked Alex if he wanted to order lunch from an Italian food truck and Alex asked if I was hungry and he ordered me a lasagna and then shared some mozzarella sticks and a tiramisu with me. The food was heavenly.”

“I could have done without him feeding me. Stupid unrequited feelings won’t go away. It’s hard to be in the same room and not confess everything. How did he manage to get more attractive. Nine years and I still like him like I did then. Why is the universe unfair? He’s also so kind and gentle too.” Henry whined to them unaware that Alex was behind the curtain and heard everything.

Alex had come back about twenty minutes later and slid back the glass door and had heard everything that Henry just told Bea and Tom. He thought he had the same unrequited feelings for Henry is it possible they both wanted the same thing this time. Was it even possible with him being a surgeon and Henry being a Prince. It felt like his shoes were frozen on the floor and was at a loss for words.

Chapter Text

Alex didn’t know how long he stood frozen to the floor. Henry had just confessed to liking him and unrequited love. Oh, Henry, he thought you don’t know half of it. He had left the room to check on Sadie (she was fine, still a little shaken up). He also put in a few different medication orders and came back in time to hear Henry confess his feelings for him.

After what felt like an eternity, it was probably more like a minute Alex pulled back the curtain. He was mature yes, but he was still somewhat impulsive. He was smiling so hard it made his eyes crinkle. It was the best news he had heard since they made him chief resident.

“You don’t get to talk, but you do get to listen.” He said seeing Bea and Tom get up from the couch in a quick hurry. Alex figured they knew he had overheard that conversation and were giving them some space to talk.

Bea looked at Henry like she wanted to stay but she felt Tom link his larger hand in hers and figured it was better to give her brother some space so the two of them could talk. She smirked at her fiancé, this was what she had hoped would happen when Alex called her, it was clear she was getting some of her wish. She liked Alex, he was a great guy, and it was clear that he was taking excellent care of Henry and cared a great deal for her brother.

“We are going to go find some tea.” Tom said leaving David in the room he figured Bea wanted to stay and watch the impending train wreck, but he figured Henry didn’t want or need them imposing. He couldn’t imagine how they both felt.

Alex had just heard that Henry liked him and had liked him for nine years, and Henry had just confessed his deepest secret and the unrequited love heard it all. He could tell from the redness in Henry’s face and the increase in heart rate when Alex flung back that curtain that Henry was down bad for Alex, and it was clear on Alex’s face that he had heard Henry confess his feelings and they were about him.  

They made sure the door was fully closed and that the curtain was fully closed around the room allowing them some modicum of privacy.

Bea waved at the nurses who were in the nursing station. She’d hopefully get to see her brother again before she left for the night. Her mum had arranged for her go on Good Morning America with Tom tomorrow to update the United States on Henry. She just hoped they also wanted to talk about Tom’s new movie, the press tour was designed for the movie after all.

She toyed with her engagement ring (a habit she adopted from both Henry and Philip) Her signet ring on the pinkie next to it. She loved the engagement ring he picked out it was a beautiful platinum halo ring with a giant heart shaped diamond. Tom said he chose the heart because she managed to capture his. Her nails were done in a baby pink with a chrome overlay.

Tom wrapped his arms around her shoulder. “I love you so much.” He said leading her close to him he loved filming, but nothing felt as good as having her close by. Bea was a beautiful gem that had been stifled for so long and he would always support her good or bad. “Think we should invite Alex to the wedding? If the two of them don’t talk maybe we could get them a mini cake to throw at each other.” He whispered.  

Bea giggled at his suggestion. “Mum has already sent him an invitation as a thank you. I wouldn’t be opposed to locking them in a closet with a cake, the first time it made them friends. Maybe this time it will make them lovers. I just hope they confess their feelings for each other, judging from Alex’s face he has probably felt similar feelings about Henry. Maybe it isn’t unrequited love, just two idiots who couldn’t confess their feelings. Henry needs to get it through his thick skull that mum is now the Queen, and she will support his choices. Even Philip thinks he should be able to publicly love who he loves. Mum made it a new monarchy.” She muttered, remembering how many changes her mother made the moment her coronation was over.

She also knew that if Mary was still wearing the crown that she wouldn’t have approved of her marriage to Thomas. Her mother happily approved of it since she was romantic at heart, and she adored Tom to pieces.

Alex sat on the edge of the bed and took Henry’s soft hand in his own. “For nine years that kiss has haunted my dreams, my thoughts. That night you kissed me sober, and I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I kissed you back that night and then you pulled away looking like you wanted to punch me and then ran away. I was just as into that kiss as you were.”

Henry listened to Alex tell him that the kiss made him sober. It was taking every inch of him to not close the distance and kiss Alex that way again. He knew this was wrong but at the same time it felt oh so right. Ever since he woke from his sedation nap and came face to face with Alex dressed in scrubs and being the ever fucking perfect surgeon who took care of him. He felt like he had woken up in hell.

He looked at his dog who had slinked down to cover his feet with his body, the pressure a comforting pressure when it felt like his brain and heart might actually explode from Alex telling him that he couldn’t stop thinking about that New Year’s kiss and that he was just as into that kiss as he was.

“You had given in to your temptation and figured you couldn’t date the bisexual biracial son of the President of the United States.” Alex realized this was completely insane, but at the same time he had waited nine fucking years to have this conversation and damnit he was going to finally get his words out. If Henry rejected the idea, he could easily go back to being his doctor and friend.

“You were also probably scared because I was outspoken on my views and ideas during that time. Henry I’ve thought about that kiss for almost a decade. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. I’m hopelessly single and have been since that night. After you left, I went back to my room and stayed up all night feeling completely sober. It was like a spark linked us together that night.”

“I realized that night that you and I weren’t much different. You felt feelings that night we met at the Olympics and were alarmed and full of grief from losing your father and said something that I disliked you for. Then came the reception where you and I were covered in cake, and I think I was starting to see you in a different light.”

“I realized my hate might have been a crush. After that kiss I spent a lot of time soul searching and realized I wasn’t exactly straight. You are handsome and I felt something that night. It has haunted me ever since. I wanted to have this exact conversation with you so many times. I thought about texting you, but I couldn’t. I think I’ve gone insane to even be entertaining the idea of wanting to give you and I a shot, but I think a part of me realized last night when I recognized you that a part of us was interlinked.”

Henry grabbed the V in Alex’s scrub top and pulled him close to him. “You can shut up.” He ordered kissing Alex the same way he did nine years ago. Alex’s lips were rough compared to his soft pouty lips. His left hand running his hand through Alex’s tousled curls. Henry’s blue eyes dark with desire and Alex’s deep brown eyes were wide with shock and enjoyment. Alex ran his own hands through Henry’s hair being careful of the dressing covering the sensor monitoring his intercranial pressure.

Henry realized Alex wanted to kiss him but went about this in a mature way. He enjoyed mature adult Alex. He figured the surgeon was also having an ethical crisis if he would have been the one to kiss Henry first, since there were probably policies in place about kissing a patient while they were still in the hospital. He felt like he was 22 again and kissing Alex for the first time the emotions feeling similar.

Henry came up for air and realized he had just kissed Alex again and this time was probably inappropriate since Alex was his fucking surgeon and his right arm was broken and kissing in a bed would probably make his heart rate increase. The kiss was all passion and years of pent-up desire.  

Alex pulled away his smile all perfectly white teeth and his eyelashes fluttering. Even after nine years kissing Henry felt the same, he felt the same spark and desire. His head also felt like it was spinning. He looked at Henry who looked horrified and saw that Henry’s heart rate was five points higher. “You can’t run this time.” Alex teased playfully earning a pitiful look from Henry.

“That was inappropriate.” Henry muttered staring at his surgeon. “Mum assigned you to babysit me and I just kissed my surgeon.”

Even though having Alex feed him a delicious lasagna was enjoyable once he got over his anger at not being able to use his right arm. Stupid blue cast that Alex probably picked out for him. He should probably get used to the feeling of having either Alex, someone in his family, or Benjamin feeding him due to the stupid break in his arm.

“Consent is a two-way street and I think we both consented to the kiss. I’m also the friend you’ve known for several years and we’ve both had unrequited feelings for each other for almost a decade. I’m more than just your surgeon. I’m your friend.” Alex said, feeling the bed shift and saw David pad his way up to Henry’s lap. Alex reached a hand to the dog who was happy to have someone give him scratches and pets.

“Anyway, I volunteered to babysit you. The queen did ask who to contact to get me reassigned, but I had no qualms about prince sitting. This is nice for me and gives me time to catch up my pile of contracts to read.”

Henry laughed when Alex called it prince sitting. He was still fucked but it was starting to feel like a good kind of fucked. He knew the moment he smelled Santel 33 that he was well and truly fucked. It was nice to be on the same page about it. He might have needed a cardiologist if Alex rejected him.

“How about when you come to London to remove this dreadful cast you and I sneak off to France and have some bonding time. Try and make up for nine years of lost time.” He’d like Alex to do a lot more than just kiss him. He’d like to have an actual dinner, one where Alex didn’t have to feed him. Maybe even shag the extremely attractive surgeon.

“I would love to come to London and remove the cast and of course your surgical staples. France sounds perfect for a secret date with you.” Alex said gently kissing Henry’s cheek in agreement.

“They can’t fire you over this can you?” Henry questioned softly, hating the idea.

“Possibly, but unlikely since they won’t find out, and I only have five months left of residency. I did give this hospital some damn good press recently thanks to your accident and the press conference your mother held and thanked me. I might have pulled that speech out of my ass.” 

“I also forgot just how much I dislike the British media. One has suggested I’m dating Beatrice who is happily engaged to Tom. Also, they’ve given me a lovely nickname, Dr. Sexy. I feel like a piece of meat. They gave zero mentions of my qualifications just that I’m the same attractive Alex Claremont-Diaz, the Prince’s Best American Friend and they dug out so much old gifs and photos of the two of us.”

Henry laughed when Alex told him the nickname the media had given him. He had to agree Alex was in fact Dr. Sexy. “You are Dr. Sexy though.” Henry whispered smiling one of his happy smiles that very few got to see. 

Alex smirked and bit his lower lip seeing Henry’s truly happy smile. “Your accent makes the word doctor sound sexy.”

“Come on British Media go stalk my Instagram. My MCAT score is posted, my white coat ceremony, match day, medical school graduation day, and of course my first day as a resident are all Instagram photos.”

“All they seem to care about is linking me to the photos I’ve taken with friends around this place like Paige, Claire, Olivia, Ethan, Luke, and Sadie. All people I want to date.” Alex said rolling his eyes at the fakeness of it all.

“I almost want to post a selfie and tag The Sun and tell them my accomplishments.”

“What are the accomplishments?” Henry questioned rubbing circles over Alex’s knuckle. He knew Alex wasn’t that impulsive anymore to tag them.

“High MCAT score, was accepted into the fifth ranked medical school, graduated from said medical school. Went on to match at the second-best trauma center in the United States. Did a three-month rotation to a hospital in the Bronx and Queens. Chief resident of aforementioned trauma center. Performed lifesaving surgery on the Prince of England. None of the matters all they care is our history and how attractive I am.”

Henry’s eyes lit up at all of Alex’s accomplishments. “I didn’t know you also worked in the Bronx and Queens.”

“Yeah, the chief and program director of trauma surgery asked during our fourth year if any of us wanted to do a volunteer rotation of six months to those hospitals. I still felt like I had something to prove so I was the only one who offered. I enjoyed those rotations, and I learned a ton of great things from those hospitals. It was knife and gun club though; I successfully earned my acceptance into that club after a week. Both offered me an attending spot.” Alex explained to Henry.

“My mom wanted to hire Amy privately to come babysit me during my Bronx rotation.” He teased remembering that phone call with fond memories. “If I had to guess that is why I was made Chief Resident. I hadn’t exactly made friends with some of the attendings, so I think my glowing reviews made it back and they decided to either gift me or punish me with all the resident bureaucracy.”

Henry laughed imaging Alex’s previous secret service agent standing next to him while at a hospital in the Bronx. He couldn’t imagine the number of gunshots and stab wounds Alex had taken care of. “Those are impressive qualifications. Very proud of you.” His nose crinkling with his proud smile.

“I guess I should be thrilled your media remembered I’m bisexual.”

Henry laughed hearing Alex gently rant about the British media. “I’m confused how’d your mother’s opponent get ahold of the knowledge you were bisexual. I remember you in the press room giving your speech about being bisexual and not being able to come on your own terms and how everyone deserves that right.”

Alex smirked slightly. “Well, my impulsiveness won out and I went to talk to a friend who I knew was working on the campaign. I needed some advice. I told him about our kiss on New Year’s and the strange feelings I had been feeling and he told me I was bisexual.”

“He told the campaign that I was bisexual, and they had some theories that you were my bisexual awakening and instead of getting you wrapped up in another scandal I decided to make a speech confirming it and tried my hardest to give my mom four more years and I succeeded but it broke my soul and love for politics in the process.”

“Coming out publicly like that couldn’t have been easy.” Henry said he knew his grandmother would never allow it. His mum might but he’d rather not tempt fate with it. Maybe if things went well with his date with Alex, he’d entertain the idea.

“I hate that your love of politics was ruined, but I do think you were actually meant to be a doctor. You are a surgeon and yet you have the bedside manner of a saint. I heard the way Olivia talked about you; it is clear that the staff respects you. Bea also showed me the video of the press conference and you thanked the other staff. I’d like to meet them and thank them if you can arrange that.”

“I think I fell out of love for politics before that and I did tell Rafael I had no hard feelings and posted on Instagram that he is who they should elect after my mom. He got elected and I happily attended his inauguration. I’ve worked with my dad to pass some healthcare related bills, but that is the end of my love for politics anymore. The senate made my dad the Senate Majority Leader.” Oscar was up for reelection the same time as Rafael and easily secured six more years in the senate thanks to Texas being blue in the last election cycle as well. 

“I adore most of the nurses and Paige, your anesthesiologist, and I are really great friends. She’s like my June in New York. She won’t let me hide anything from her. She also figured out that you were Henry. I love every time she and I are in the OR together.”

“You never tried dating her?” Henry questioned.

Alex smirked he had tried, and they had plenty of study dates, but he never felt drawn to Paige in that way. She was pretty and he loved her spunk and sass, but it was more like a brother and sister bond. He shook his head.

“Nope, I was hung up on someone with blue eyes and a degree from Oxford. There wasn’t that type of connection between us. I’m glad I have her as a friend, she understands the woes of being a doctor very well. We’ve both cried on each other shoulders more than we can count.” They had shared plenty of surgical cases without ideal outcomes and they usually cried together.

“I hate that fate brought us back together this way, but I’m really glad I get to have you as my doctor and see you in action.” Henry mused he was also glad he got to see Alex up close and personal in a pair of scrubs. “Now I really want to meet Paige.” He said squeezing Alex’s hand at the mention of crying.

“I’m glad to have you as a patient.” Alex said kissing Henry’s cheek. “I’m glad to have this side of you back in my life.”

“So, I’m a good patient?” Henry questioned innocently relaxing into Alex’s touch.

“No! You are a Royal pain in my ass hiding the fact you’ve liked me for nine years. Although I’m just as bad.” Alex teased, earning a playful swat from Henry’s good arm. “I’m kidding you are a great patient.”

Henry laughed at Alex’s response. “Okay enough with the jokes every time I laugh it is starting to hurt my stomach.”

“Sorry sweetheart. How about I text Bea and tell her she can come back since she won’t feel like she’s intruding.”

“Please. I’m glad she gave us this moment to actually work things out.” Henry muttered watching Alex send her a text message ignoring all the social media notifications. He almost thought it was worse than cakegate. “Starting to think social media is enjoying me being a doctor more than they enjoyed cakegate.” He saw Bea’s response and gently got off the bed.

“I’m going to go let them back in.” Alex said, giving Henry’s hand a gentle squeeze and leaving the room to let Bea and Tom back.

Bea smiled and hugged Alex seeing him. “So does that smile mean you’ll be Henry’s plus one to my wedding?” She whispered into Alex’s ear.

“Maybe.” Alex muttered, leading the two of them back into Henry’s room and shutting the glass door.

Bea smiled and hugged her brother once again. “Did we get everything all worked out?” She asked sitting gracefully on the couch.

Henry smiled at his sister, and it was another one of his truly happy smiles. “We did.” He heard his sister squeal in delight at that confession.

“No telling mum or Pip. Alex and I want to try to be secretive and see if we can handle it. He and I know we both like each other, but I imagine the journalists might not be the kindest towards the idea. We’d like to take things at our own pace and see how things go.”

Tom smiled he was the same way when it came to dating Bea. He fondly remembered when they decided to announce and when he met Queen Catherine, Henry, and Philip for the first time. He was surprised at how open and welcoming Catherine was. She was a mother-in-law he would happily take.

Bea smiled brilliantly hearing that news. “I understand you both take all the time you need. It’s not easy introducing your boyfriend to the world. People love to speculate.” She teased softly grabbing her phone from her purse. “Hen, mum asked if I could get a photo of the four of us and post it to Instagram that way people know you are alright and in good spirits.”

“I look like shite.” Henry mused feeling Bea gently fix his hair.

“You were in a car accident mate. We aren’t expecting you to look like you got back from a five-star spa.” Tom jokingly teased watching his fiancé tend to Henry’s hair.

Alex laughed at Tom’s choice of words. “He is at least getting five-star care.”

“Maybe you can talk Alex into giving you a sponge bath later.” Bea playfully teased her brother.

Henry groaned at her suggestion. He would very much enjoy having Alex give him a sponge bath, but the thought also terrified him. Alex seeing his more intimate places. “Not the best idea.”

“Why? I’ve seen more private parts than a hooker. I don’t care to bathe or feed you.” Alex teased knowing he’d win the sponge bath argument. “And it isn’t so much a sponge bath as warm wipes. Maybe not today, but after I remove the terrible tubes, it might make you feel better.”

Henry knew that Alex would get his way and he’d be getting a wipe bath from Dr. Sexy. “I suppose.” He fought the urge to laugh knowing the last time he had a fit of it made his abdomen ache. He was also aware that the recent jokes reminded him of the Alex he fell for all those years ago.

Tom stifled his roaring laughter into his sweater sleeve. He liked Dr. Alex, he had humor, and it was clear that Alex cared a great deal for Henry, and he knew Henry desperately needed someone who treated and cared for him like Alex was.

Bea smirked and set a ten second timer on her phone and set it at the end of the hospital bed. She made Alex get close to Henry’s hospital bed and she and Tom got on the other side of the bed. Tom wrapped his arms around her waist and shoulder.

She put an arm behind Henry’s back her and Alex’s fingers were touching. All of them had a smile on their faces which would hopefully soothe the media uproar. She heard the shutter on her camera, and she checked the photos. “These are perfect.” She scrolled to find the best one and posted it to Instagram tagging Tom, Henry, and Alex. The photo had all four of them smiling and Henry looking as happy as one could be stuck in the hospital.

“Oh! Before I forget, Hen, I have your phone back at the hotel. It is perfectly safe.” Bea winked seeing the relief come across her brother’s face. “I also have your signet ring around my neck. Dr. Alex doesn’t want you wearing it in case you swell from all the fluids.”

“I was wondering where it was.” Henry said looking at his barren pinkie. He watched Bea pull the necklace out of her jumper and it was hanging next to her diamond necklace that Tom had given her for her birthday.

She captioned the photos with ‘So happy to see @princehenryuk awake and up for visits from his sister and soon to be brother-in-law. It has been so nice catching up with @theagcd. Also, my fiancé @tomevans is the best for surprising me and bringing the @theroyalanimals to our hotel.

“Henry, once Victoria and Martha start feeling better, they are going to see Six the Musical.” Bea said laughing at the idea of it.

“I can’t wait to see all the headlines of those photos. I’m sure the typical traditionalist media will have a heart attack at the thought.” Tom said having been subjected to learn about all the former monocracies and Henry VII was his least favorite with six wives having had two of them beheaded. He himself was loyal to a fault and very much wanted Beatrice to be his only marriage.

Alex smirked softly to himself it was slowly coming to him that under Catherine’s rule it was a new monocracy. Philip had changed and seemed to be a family man devoted to the care of his wife and daughters. It was also clear that Catherine was more lenient in allowing Bea to marry an actor and allowing the second in line for the throne to see a musical based on what some might call the worst king in history.

“I also can’t wait for those headlines too.” Alex said aloud to the room, they might make him forgive for focusing on his attractiveness over his qualifications and accomplishments.

“Alex any estimate on when we can take Henry home. I’m sure he enjoys certain aspects of the hospital, but I’m sure he is missing his own bed.”

“Probably a week. It will be a few days before I can remove the tubes from his chest and abdomen. He’s going to need more lab work to check his titer levels from previous vaccines. Titers just check the level of immunity in his blood. He’s also going to need an update to a few different vaccines, and some he hasn’t needed before. Henry did you have a flu vaccine for this year?”

“I did.”

Bea listened to Alex explain how long Henry would be in the hospital and she almost felt bad for her brother having to be in an uncomfortable bed for a week. She would have felt bad had his doctor not been Alex. “What about the stitches or staples when can those come out?”

“7-14 days. I’ll change his dressings tomorrow and should have a better estimate once I see how the incision is healing. The cast on his arm will be six to eight weeks.” Alex answered before she asked about his cast.

Henry sighed at the idea of having the cast on for over a month. “I’ll be fully healed to walk you down the aisle.” Henry told his sister since her wedding was in April. Bea had asked Henry shortly after the proposal if he’d be the one to walk her down the aisle, he was also one of Thomas’s groomsmen.

After an hour Bea and Tom got up from the couch. “We’d love to stay longer but I’m exhausted, and we have a morning interview on Good Morning America.” Bea said and Tom also agreed he was tired even if he did get a small nap on the private jet. Tom went to scoop David from the bed he was asleep by Henry’s right hip.

“He can stay the night.” Alex said with a smile hoping David would help Henry sleep better. He knew from previous interactions that Henry was a world-class insomniac and Alex wasn’t much better. “I’ll have a PPO take him outside later.” David was an older dog at twelve and most of his days were spent sleeping.

Bea hugged both Henry and Alex again. “We will see you both tomorrow after the interview.” Bea said kissing her brother’s cheek. “I’m so happy that you are alright.” She whispered in his ear she would have certainly postponed the wedding date if her brother had died or if his injuries meant he wouldn’t be able to walk her down the aisle of Westminster Abbey on that day.

Henry and Alex watched Bea and Tom leave the room leaving him alone with Alex and David. “Thank you for letting David stay the night.” He worried how much longer he had left with the sweet beagle.

Alex smiled at Henry’s words he would have given the prince the moon if he asked for it. “He’s no trouble. Do you feel like leftovers?” Alex questioned watching Henry lightly nod in agreement.

“I’m going to go heat up the rest of our lunch.” His watch said it was almost 8pm. Alex got up from the chair to leave the room. He saw that the night shift had taken over. “Good evening y’all. I’m in room 5 in the event you need something ordered.” He told them as he passed the station and into their small break room that had a fridge, microwave, and a water cooler since most of them could easily drink over 100 ounces of water in a shift. It also had a table, and it was tucked all the way towards the end of the floor next to their supply closet.

He pulled out his phone and sent Paige a text message to see if she was still at the hospital since Henry had mentioned wanting to meet her.

‘Be there in five, grabbing a salad from the cafeteria’, was Paige’s quick response.

‘See you soon heating up our dinner.’ Alex texted back taking the lasagna from the microwave and putting his penne in the microwave. After a few minutes he took his meal from the microwave and grabbed two wrapped forks from the drawer and shoved them into the side pocket of his scrub top. He grabbed the now hot food from the counter and left the breakroom. He saw Paige entering through the double doors.

“I see I have perfect timing.” Paige teased taking one of the containers from Alex so he could slide the sliding glass door to Henry’s room. “I grabbed you water from the cafeteria.”

“I have dinner. I also texted Paige to see if she was still around and she was grabbing her own dinner so I told us she could join us since I know you said you wanted to meet her.” Alex said sitting the leftovers on the bedside table and washing his hands.

Paige entered the room and sat her salad container on one of the reclining visitor’s chairs. She was dressed similarly to Alex in the same navy scrubs although her sweater knit jacket was hot pink with the name Dr. Paige Martin and anesthesiologist embroidered in it. She was wearing a pair of light grey and rose gold Hoka sneakers. Her blonde hair was pulled into a ponytail since she had thirty minutes to eat so she had pulled off her scrub cap.

“Hi Henry. I’m Paige Martin. I was your anesthesiologist. It is nice to meet you. I always love it when I get to see my patients awake and talking.” She said politely, shaking his left hand. “How are you feeling?” Henry noticed she had green eyes and a round face. She was conventionally pretty.

“I suppose I’m alright all things considered.” Henry told the pretty doctor. “So, you are Paige. Alex has told me a lot about you. It’s nice to meet you too.” He said effortlessly.

“I’m sure he’s told you all lies.” Paige teased sitting on the reclining chair. She turned to look at Alex. “Thank you for mentioning me at the press conference.” She dumped her salad dressing on her salad and shook it up. “No fair you went to Lorenzo’s food truck and didn’t include me in the order?” She grumbled dragging her fork through Alex’s penne with pink sauce and stealing a healthy bite of his pasta. She was probably in surgery anyway and knew Alex would let her have as many bites of his pasta as her heart desired.

“Help yourself why don’t you.” Alex teased, cutting the remainder of Henry’s lasagna into manageable bites. “I’ve only told him the truth.”

“I miss you in the OR. Justin Turner was determined to drive me batshit today. I can’t fucking wait for him to become an attending elsewhere!” She exclaimed happily; she knew with the way some of the attending neurosurgeons talked that Justin Turner would not be getting an attending contract at Bellevue.

Alex stabbed a bite of lasagna with the plastic fork and started feeding Henry the remaining bites of lasagna.

Henry took the bite of lasagna this time with less annoyance. His arm was broken, and he was going to need help with feeding and Alex had confessed his feelings and things between them were less awkward. “Who’s Justin Turner?” He questioned enjoying Paige and Alex’s fun banter. Alex was right, she did remind him of June and Nora.

“Only the worst neurosurgeon resident. He’s sexist and racist and Alex and I don’t enjoy it when we have cases with him. He’s also a giant ass kisser.” Paige explained stealing another bite of Alex’s pasta. “I’m going to have to order that the next time we order Lorenzo’s.”

Henry finished the rest of the bites of his lasagna and took a big sip of ice water to wash it down with. He watched Paige happily eat her salad along with a few bites of Alex’s pasta. He wouldn’t lie Justin sounded a little bit like Pip before his mum sent him to therapy and worked at deprogramming Mary’s drivel from his brain. “Sounds like a charmer.”

“You have no idea. I dislike him so much I have his residency graduation saved to my phone. We will be throwing a party and hope to God he doesn’t find an attending contract in the state of New York.” Paige remarked she and Alex had both been on the receiving end of one of his rants.

Justin was proud supporter of Richard Royce the republican nominee who by far the most hateful candidate Alex had ever seen. He was crooked and full of hate that multiple republican people had latched onto. They waved his flags with vigor and his platform made Alex’s skin crawl.

Richard wanted to build a wall between the United States and Mexico and another between Canada and the United States. He was anti LGBTQ and had several alarming things referring to that lifestyle and Hitler’s gas chambers in the same sentence. He hoped he didn’t beat Rafael in the upcoming election, and for the first time in his life he was truly scared of the future of politics.

Paige finished her salad and heard her phone go off signaling a page. She gave Alex a tight hug and gave Henry a polite smile and wave. “Goodnight boys.” She said disposing of her salad container and leaving the room.

“I like her she does remind me of your friends.” Henry muttered watching Alex finish his last bite of pasta.

“She’s also the only one who saw me for me my first day of medical school and didn’t think I was there for shits and giggles. I felt I had to work twice as hard as everyone else to prove myself. Most assumed I’d drop after my first year or fail miserably.” Alex admitted getting up from the other chair to dispose of their takeout containers.

“That’s not very polite of them.” Henry said noticing Alex’s face. “I’m not going to like what you suggest am I?” Henry questioned.

“I’d like to try and get you to stand. It probably isn’t going to be much fun, but I can get your bedding readjusted and we can get you comfortably settled for the night. I also promise a dose of pain meds once we get you settled.” Alex explained they tried to get their patients mobile to help with pain management and to keep patient’s muscles from atrophying from lying around for several days.

Henry sighed at Alex’s suggestion he figured it wasn’t going to be much fun for him. “Let’s try it.” He said bravely watching Alex pull down his bed rails and move the older beagle to the couch.

“Just a few seconds. I can’t have you go very far with you still attached to this many tubes and wires.” Alex said, helping to get Henry into a sitting position at the right side of the bed. He heard Henry’s gasped of protest.

Henry took a deep breath and leaned against Alex’s scrub covered shoulder for support and comfort.

“You’re doing great!” Henry cautioned a glance at Alex’s face and wished he hadn’t. Alex’s smile was soft and full of kindness and his eyelashes fluttered softly.

Henry winced he didn’t see how this was doing great. He wanted to punch Alex’s charming smile for making him do this. He wouldn’t, of course, he adored that smile.

“On 3 I’m going to lift you. Feel free to lean against me for support.” Alex exclaimed counting to 3. “Okay.” Alex soothed, helping Henry from his sitting position to a standing position.

“Fuck!” Henry exclaimed feeling a breeze against his exposed arse cheeks. He took a small step towards Alex. His feet covered by purple grippy socks that stuck to the linoleum floor. He was grateful that he and Alex were about the same height so he could use Alex for leverage and support.

Alex smiled fondly at Henry’s choice of curse words. He leaned closer and put a hand on Henry’s upper back pulling him close to him and kissed Henry the blonde’s lip tasting of lasagna. He felt Henry’s left hand running through his curls. This kiss was more tender than the other, not as full as desire as the other. It was still full of want and longing.

Henry kissed back when he felt Alex’s lips against his. It was nice having their longing for each other out in the open with the other. Both had agreed to try secret dates once Henry was out of the hospital. Alex had promised to be the one to remove the surgical staples and the cast.

He broke away feeling Alex’s hands moving behind him adjusting the sheets covering the bed. He was at a loss for words. He didn’t know there was such a word to thank someone for a kiss used as a distraction. He leaned against Alex’s sturdy shoulder feeling toned muscles underneath. He had forgotten what sport Alex played in high school that was on the fact sheet Shaan gave him all those years ago on Alex. He thinks it started with an L.

Alex made the hospital bed and felt Henry leaning against his shoulder; he smiled at the intimacy of it. He gently rubbed Henry’s shoulder. “Sweetheart.” He began tenderly. “Let’s get you back into bed.”

Henry smiled at the word of endearment he felt Alex’s strong arms lead him back until his arse touched the edge of the linen. He hated being bare assed in a hospital bed. He sat against the hospital bed, his head still spinning from their tender kiss. Dr. Alex Claremont-Diaz would be the death of Henry and he couldn’t even complain, it sounded like a fantastic way to go if he was honest. He felt Alex’s arms gently guiding him into a comfortable sleeping position. He wanted to suggest Alex crawl into bed with him, but he had tubes on both sides and was afraid of a nursing walking in.

“Would you like another warm blanket?” Alex questioned making sure all of the tubes were laying flat and didn’t have any kinks in them after the quick stand and brief kiss.

“Please.” Henry said giving Alex sweet puppy dog eyes.

Alex gently moved David back into the hospital bed and grabbed a few of the used blankets in the room. He left the room to put the soiled linens where they went.

“Hey, Alex! Can you come here for a second?” Karina, one of the night nurses, questioned seeing her favorite surgeon armed with what she assumed were dirty blankets.

“Sure, let me just put these blankets away and I’ll be right with you.” He said tossing the linen in the linen hamper. He walked into the nurse’s station and over to Karina’s workstation. “What do you need?” He questioned leaning against the counter.

Karina smiled at the trauma surgeon. “Can you look at this medication order. I can’t tell if the resident can’t order medication or if it was a typo, because if I give that dosage, it will kill the patient.”

“Which one of mine did it?” Alex questioned, turning to look at the computer screen.

“Dylan.” Karina answered by putting the curser on the medication she was curious about.

Dylan was one of the first-year residents. He rarely caused Alex any problems and was always eager to learn and prove himself. “I’m going with typo, but I’ll send him a message. I’ll change that for you. It’s on 8, right?” Alex questioned sitting in one of the unoccupied computer chairs and logging into the computer with his credentials. He quickly changed the medication to the correct dosage and logged out of the system.

“Thanks.” Karina said locking her computer to go administer the correct dosage of medication. She watched Alex walk off in the direction of the blanket warmer.

Alex grabbed two warm blankets from the warmer and quickly walked back to Henry’s room. “Sorry had to fix an error.” He said covering Henry and David with a warm blanket. He went to the sink to wash his hands and unlocked the medication cabinet to draw up another dose of pain medication for Henry. “When do you usually take your sertraline?”

“Typically, morning but I can take it in the evening. I was told it doesn’t really matter so long as I don’t miss a dose.” Henry told the surgeon it was strange the two of them had flirted and now Alex was all business worried about when he took his medication.

Alex put a 100-milligram sertraline into a medication cup. He also drew up the next dose of pain medication to help make Henry rest easier. He also grabbed a couple vials to draw blood with. He wanted to recheck Henry’s labs. He relocked the cabinet and grabbed a pair of gloves.

“I’ve got your next dose of pain medication in the IV, your dose of sertraline, and I’m also grab a tiny bit of blood to check some labs that you were low on.” He explained sitting on the edge of the bed. He placed the medication cup against Henry’s plump lips and adjusted the straw for Henry to swallow the pill with.

Henry nodded he liked that Alex explained everything before he even touched him. He watched Alex rub his PICC line lumen with an alcohol wipe. “I meant to ask you early but what is that it is a different spot than most IV’s. I know the one in my arm is an IV.”

Alex smiled at Henry’s question and flushed the port he was going to use with a saline flush. “It’s a PICC line. It’s a line that goes directly to your heart, you were so ill when you came in that you needed vasopressors to support your blood pressure. I still have you on a low dose of them. We can also take blood from a PICC line, so you don’t have to be stuck so much. It functions pretty closely to a standard IV.” He explained injecting the syringe of pain medicine into the port.

“Ah.” Henry said watching Alex clean another lumen to probably get blood.

“I’m going to take as little blood as possible since you lost a good amount of it.” Alex said pulling a little amount of blood from the line and injecting it into the correct colored tubes. He recapped the lumens of Henry’s PICC line. “All done.” Alex said labeling the tubes and pulling off his gloves. “I’m going to have Karina send these down to the lab and maybe we can find something good to watch.”

“There was a new episode of Bake Off that I haven’t seen. I don’t suppose Netflix is an option.” Henry asked, watching Alex label the colorful tubes in decent handwriting. “I thought doctors were supposed to have terrible handwriting, yours is not terrible.” Henry complemented.

Alex laughed he had seen some bad handwriting from his coworkers, his was average and at least legible. He left the room and handed Karina the labeled tubes. He came back to the room and grabbed his laptop from its case.

“Let me just update and few things and then I’ll see if I can find the new episode of Bake Off.” He sat on the left side of the bed and kicked off his sneakers. He draped the left chest tube over him so it would still flow into the collector on the floor. “Hospital doesn’t have Netflix, my laptop does so I hope this is okay with you.”

Henry blushed slightly when Alex crawled into the hospital bed with him. He scootched over a little so that Alex could have a little more room. It was exactly what he had hoped when they took their nap. He might enjoy being cuddled.

David looked up briefly from his spot-on Henry’s feet and went right back to sleep.

Alex quickly logged into the EMR to update his charting on Henry and put the times for the medication administration along with putting orders for the labs.

Henry watched not understanding what Alex was typing, he had zero knowledge of medical abbreviations or laboratory tests. He watched Alex’s long fingers glide gracefully over the keys, typing intently.

“Okay now time for an episode of Bake Off and then you need sleep, because rest is going to help heal you quicker.” Alex said logging into his Netflix account and finding Bake Off. He pulled up the most recent episode and situated his laptop screen so that both of them could see it.

About halfway through the episode Henry fell asleep using Alex’s chest as a pillow. Alex smiled at the sight of Henry resting on him like he was the prince’s personal pillow. He didn’t mind it at all. He shut the laptop down and sat it on the bedside table and pulled the blanket over them. It appeared he was sleeping next to Henry for the night. It wouldn’t be the first time he passed out on a hospital bed, although he usually did it on an empty bed.

Alex got comfortable on the hospital bed and wrapped his arms protectively around Henry putting the softest kiss against Henry’s forehead. Alex knew he was fucked, but this was everything he wanted to happen after Henry kissed him all those years ago under that linden tree.

Chapter Text

Henry awoke and the first thing he was aware of was that his head was not on one of the flat and scratchy pillows. The pillow he was laying against had a heartbeat and he was aware of strong arms wrapped around him.

He smelt antiseptic mixed with the unmistakable leather woodsy smell of Santal 33. He was certain that smell was in his best dreams. He turned and noticed his pillow was navy and warm. Shit he had used Alex as a pillow and Alex had slept next to him in the hospital bed.

He didn’t think it could fit the two of them comfortably, but it was strangely one of the best nights of sleep he had had in quite some time. He very much wanted to bottle this moment, but he knew he had to get Alex out of his bed before someone caught them cuddling, they’d both be screwed if that happened.

The previous day catching up to him. He had been in a car accident, Alex Claremont-Diaz was his doctor, their confessions about their unrequited desire for each other and their multiple kisses. Alex had agreed to remove his cast and a secret date in Paris afterward. What kind of medication was Alex giving him. It was like the best hallucination his brain could ever come up with. Only it wasn’t a hallucination but very much real.

Alex felt Henry’s movement having woken up a few moments before the blonde. “Good morning sweetheart, how did you sleep?” He questioned the prince rubbing lazy circles on Henry’s shoulder. He didn’t feel like getting up for the day he was quite content cuddling Henry. He looked at the time on his watch and it was 6:30 which meant they had 30 minutes before Good Morning America would start. Left plenty of time to go find coffee and tea along with breakfast for the two of them.

Henry blinked a few times, surely this was a dream and that Alex had slept on the couch. Nope Alex Claremont-Diaz was staring at him awaiting his response to the question. He actually hadn’t moved or awoken once during the night, and he was the king of insomnia, it was rather odd. He blushed slightly, realizing that Alex had spent the night cuddling him. He felt pressure at his feet and saw his beagle still asleep on his feet.

“I slept fine. I cannot believe I used you as a pillow.” Henry said frantically, noticing that his sliding glass door was shut, and the curtains were still tightly closed. That made his anxiety feel slightly better knowing they hadn’t been caught and that his room was open like a fish for everyone to stare at and there wasn’t a line of paparazzi ready to post the compromising photo. He did not need to get Alex in trouble. He was sure this was easy enough to explain away, but he didn’t want to risk it.

He noticed his anxiety seemed to be a little better having Alex as his doctor. The only times he truly felt his anxiety press against him was at the thought of having paparazzi outside his room ready to take photos of this intimate moment between the two of them.

“It’s no big deal. You fell asleep in the middle of Bake Off and had already made yourself comfortable, so I shut the computer and let you sleep. I must have passed out shortly afterward because that is the last thing I remember. I’m glad you slept well.” Alex muttered giving Henry one his charming fucking smiles.

“We have about 30 minutes before Good Morning America starts. I figured I could review the labs I took from you last night and then go find myself a cup of coffee and you some breakfast. The cafeteria has good oatmeal with strawberries and pecans.”

Alex reached for his phone which he had sat on top of the laptop. He saw a message with Henry’s lab results and several notifications from the post Bea had tagged him in. He ignored them and instead pulled up the lab results. Henry’s potassium and magnesium were still low, low enough that it needed to be managed.

He didn’t want to give Henry IV potassium because even diluted correctly it could still cause a burning feeling like being stung by a wasp. The numbers were low but not critical so he could just give him oral potassium and magnesium and keep a closer eye on it. He noticed the blood counts were normal so he could stop the blood transfusion. Henry had only gotten one bag before dinner after the rapid infusion during surgery and afterward.

Henry looked at Alex’s phone seeing a bunch of random numbers next to words he was aware of, but he didn’t understand it. “How does my labs look doc?” Henry joked playfully.

Alex smiled softly at Henry. “Your lab work means you no longer need blood. I am, however, a little concerned about your potassium and magnesium, they are mildly low so I’m going to give you some medication to help raise them.

Ideally your potassium should be above 3.5 and your level is at a 3 and considering I’ve given you a lot of blood and fluids that contain a normal potassium level it’s a little concerning. However, you are on sertraline and sometimes that can cause your levels to be a little low. I’m not at all worried about it. I’ll just monitor it and make sure to give you medications after breakfast.” He explained gently while pointing out various numbers and what they meant in regard to Henry’s health.

Henry smiled listening as Alex explained his numbers and how they related to his general health. Alex was so different compared to the previous royal doctors that Mary had on staff. Alex was super kind and loved to explain things.

When he was sick, or Mary made him have STD testing, the royal doctors were cold, clinical, and sometimes outright hateful. He didn’t know if it was because Alex actually had a personality or if he was just a better doctor. Henry didn’t know if he was the only one who had bad royal doctors or if it was because they were just homophobic and didn’t like tending to the gay prince.

“All in all, you are doing great for the day after major surgery. How’s your pain level?” Alex questioned putting his phone down and getting off the bed finding his sneakers next to the bed. He quickly tied them to his feet and ran his fingers through his curls to try and look vaguely put together.

“About a five.” Henry mused watching Alex tie his shoes and grab the sweater knit jacket from the chair. He watched Alex walk over to the locked cabinet and grab the vial of pain medicine. He heard the sink running water, exactly how many times did Alex was his hands in a day.

“It’s time for another dose anyway.” Alex said sitting on the edge of the bed and pushing the saline and medication through Henry’s line. “I’m going to go find myself a coffee, would you like a cup of tea or some juice?”

“Can you get me a cup of Earl Grey and some orange juice?” Henry asked politely.

“Of course. My plan for this morning is to get you some food, do a quick checkup, and change your dressing. I’ll be back in a few. I’m going to send Karina to come chat. How do you like your tea?”

“Splash of milk and two sugars, please.”

Alex smiled softly and slid back the door. “Karina, would you mind watching Henry while I got fetch myself a coffee and a bathroom break?”

“Of course, Dr. Sexy.” Karina said walking towards the trauma surgeon. She had seen the news article with the atrocious nickname. She heard the surgeon groan at the mention of the nickname, after hearing that groan she knew she’d be teasing him incessantly about it.

“I snuck his dog in, his dog is also a registered therapy dog.” Alex whispered knowing she wasn’t one to tell.

“Like I care what you do.” Karina sassed showing her badge to the PPO. She followed Alex into the room. “He’s a VIP anyway so I doubt the suits care what you do.”

“Henry, I’d like you to meet Karina, she’s one of my favorite nurses. Karina this is Henry and David.” Alex introduced gesturing to the dog at the foot at the bed.

Henry smiled at the nurse she was probably close to their age. Her dark hair was braided, and she was wearing a grey jacket with her name embroidered in a heart stethoscope, a burgundy tee shirt with medical symbols was underneath the jacket. She was wearing wine pants and a pair of snow leopard sneakers. Not to mention Alex had introduced her as his favorite nurse.

“I’ll be back soon. No embarrassing stories.” Alex teased leaving Herny in Karina’s very capable hands. David perked his head up at the sound of Alex leaving. Karina smiled softly and went to stand next to Henry’s bed.

“Hi buddy! Are you being a great nurse to your human?” She asked the dog who had picked his head up and looked at her. “Hi Henry, I’m Karina it’s nice to meet you. Do you need me to do anything for you, or do you just want someone to talk to?”

She had a daisy badge reel clipped to her tee shirt. Instead of her tag saying Doctor like Alex’s badge did, hers had RN underneath her photo and credentials, she also had a flower pin attached to the tag.

Henry laughed at her question. “You can pet him if you like. He’s a good nurse, as is Dr. Claremont-Diaz. What does the flower on your badge mean? I think Alex went to go get food and he’s already given me my morning meds so someone to talk to is perfect.”

Karina smiled and reached her hand out for the dog to smell her once he gave her the approval, she petted his head. “You don’t know the half of it. I know he said I couldn’t tell you embarrassing stories, but why don’t I tell you the story of the first time I met Alex.” She said looking down at her badge.

“The flower means I won a Daisy Award, it’s a big thing to be nominated let alone win. Alex and a patient nominated me for it, and I won. The badge reel and the pin remind me of why I become a nurse in the first place.”

“I would like that.” Henry watched her pet David on his head and move around his bed to sit in one of the visitor recliners.

“I had just started at Bellevue, and it was my first night shift. I came from another hospital and had my fair share of dick residents and attendings.  I noticed the name on the call sheet and my blood ran cold seeing Dr. Claremont-Diaz. I knew he had gone through medical school and was a doctor, but I assumed he was going to be an entitled dick and bite my head off for calling about a medication.

He proved me wrong by being polite and then about ten minutes later he came to the floor and properly introduced himself to me and put in the medication order. He didn’t even complain that I woke him up. The very same night he went in to check on his patient and I was cleaning a messy patient, and he grabbed a pair of gloves and asked if he could help me. I jokily told him he could hold the cheeks and I would wipe. Well, he held the cheeks.”

Henry smiled as the nurse told him the story of how she first met Alex and yeah that sounded exactly like Alex. He wouldn’t know what entitled felt like if it bit him in the ass. Even after spending eight years with his mother as the president. He still worked hard and cared about his country and the people.

“I was stunned that night because I expected him to honestly be an entitled prick and not be helpful since his mother was our former president. Nope he was nicer than some nurses I’ve worked with. He’s not above getting water for a patient, emptying catheter bags. I’ve seen him administer medication if that patient’s nurse is busy doing something. He’s also one of the few residents who will change a surgical dressing if he noticed that a nurse changed it recently.

He really cares about his patients. I wish more doctors could put aside their ego and do what Alex does. Hell, he doesn’t even demand we address him by his title. So, it is funny that you say he is a good nurse because I think he’d be a great nurse too. He’s so easy to work with. I hope if I ever need a trauma surgeon that he is still here.”

“What do you mean assuming he is still here?” Henry questioned wondering what she meant by that. He enjoyed her story it seemed like Alex was meant to be a doctor.

“I mean here at Bellevue.” Karina corrected realizing how her wording might have confused him. “Alex has a ton of other opportunities to be an attending at. I hope he doesn’t leave but some places might be offering more money and New York isn’t exactly cheap. I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if President Luna has offered him to be the doctor to the President assuming he gets reelected. You never know he might want to be closer to his parents he’s spent nine years in New York.”

Alex gave the PPO standing outside Henry’s door the cup of tea they asked for. The PPO smiled and opened the door for Alex seeing that his hands were full of a drink caddy that contained four drinks and a container of good oatmeal, he had grabbed a chorizo breakfast bowl for himself. It was basically a breakfast burrito minus tortilla. He glided into the room effortlessly hearing the PPO close the door. He sat the bag of food onto the overbed table and grabbed the mocha iced coffee and handed it to Karina.

“Thanks for watching him.” Alex said watching her take a sip of her coffee.

“Henry was a perfect patient while you were gone. If you will excuse me, I need to go sign out. Thank you much for the coffee. Bye Henry and David, I might see you tomorrow night.” Karina said leaving the room after petting David one last time.

Alex smiled at Henry and unloaded the bag of food. He grabbed the cup of Earl Grey he had them put a splash of milk and it had two sugar packets. He placed the lip of the cup against Henry’s pouty lips. “I hope I made it correctly, Your Majesty.” Alex teased playfully.

“It’s Your Royal Highness are we having this discussion again. Shall I call you Nurse Alex?” Henry teased catching the smell of something delicious. “Something smells good.” He took a sip of the warm tea and found it to be made correctly.

“I answer to anything so it wouldn’t be the first time someone called me a nurse. I take it she told you her first night story. I hope you are smelling oatmeal and not my chorizo.” Alex enjoyed their playful banter it was like very little time passed between them.

He noticed Henry looking sad at the idea of just the oatmeal. The smell of chorizo fills their sinuses. “I’m kidding if you want to try my breakfast bowl, I’ll give you a bite before I hit it with Cholula and Tajin.” He said with a wink his Mexican heritage on full display. He loved his hot sauce and spices, after all he did grow up Oscar’s cooking.

“Are you saying I can’t handle your particular brand of hotness.” Henry knew that statement was laced with a double entendre. “She did tell me about her first night. I like her.”

Alex smirked at Henry’s words and tore open the packages of hot sauces and drizzled three packets over the breakfast bowl. He also sprinkled two Tajin packets on it. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” He said loading up a spoonful and feeding it to the prince who happily took the bite. He watched Henry chew and swallow the bite with ease.

“Karina is a damn good nurse and I adore her to pieces.”

“That is delicious.” Henry said not even breaking a sweat from the hot sauce. “I’ve had curry that is spicier.” He sassed back. “So, oatmeal with pecans and strawberries?”

Alex took a bite tasting all the flavors blending together to make a delicious breakfast burrito bowl. “Yes oatmeal. I promise that it is good oatmeal.” Alex removed the lid to the oatmeal dish and stirred it to make sure each bite had a strawberry and pecans. He put a good bite onto the spoon and gave Henry a bite of it.

Henry swallowed the bite of oatmeal it was decent oatmeal. It wasn’t as good as the lasagna from yesterday, but it was great considering it came from the hospital cafeteria.

Alex felt his watch alarm go off signaling that Good Morning America was starting. He grabbed the patient remote and turned it on and scrolled until he found the correct channel. A picture flashed of Bea and Tom together stating that they were the celebrity interview for the day.

Alex happily fed Henry his oatmeal and then ate his own breakfast burrito bowl. Alex’s entire body tensed at seeing a recent Richard Royce rally. The man clearly dreamed of being a fascist dictator.

Dick (as Alex referred to him) was a former reality TV star, business mogul, and all-around scumbag who was rounding up the insane voters who wanted to get rid of minorities, the LGBTQ population, work on rolling back Rafael’s codified laws about abortion, gender protection, the federal legalization of weed, and marriage equality. He was also a huge gun fanatic and kept threating that something had to be done. It was unnerving the cult following this man had.

Alex knew from Nora that Rafael still had the better polling numbers and had a damn good approval rating, it was just worrisome. Sure, he was out of politics, but it didn’t mean that he wanted to see his country be turned into a dictatorship.

Henry noticed Alex looking tense on the couch and saw the mess playing out on the TV. “He seems like an idiot.” Henry said bitterly muting the TV he only cared about Bea and Tom.

“It feels like he is building an army.” Alex said angerly as he cleaned up their food mess. He tossed the breakfast containers into the trash can and placed his hand on the sliding door handle. “So, I’m going to grab potassium, magnesium, and your sertraline and then when I come back, I’m going to check you out.”

Henry laughed seeing Alex wink and glide out of the room. He was glad that his mother hadn’t instantly shipped him back to England the moment he was awake, if she had he would have lost out on knowing Alex’s true feelings and agreeing to actually try dating. He wasn’t exactly out when it came to the media, but all of his family knew he was gay. Shaan and Benjamin knew. His mother had also worked on getting the Church of England to allow same-sex marriage. So, when he did decide to marry someone, he would be able to have the same wedding both of his siblings had.

Catherine had also worked with parliament to make any of their children born via surrogacy a legal heir in line for the throne. It had come about when Martha struggled to get pregnant originally. She had changed so many things after Mary died but those were the biggest changes.

Alex came back with the medications, and everything needed to change Henry’s abdominal dressing. He sat the packages on the overbed table and unwrapped the singles of medication.

“I have your medications.” He said popping the three pills into the small cup. “That is potassium, magnesium, and sertraline. I’ll check your labs again tonight and adjust things accordingly.” He placed the cup against Henry’s lips and gave him a sip of the Earl Grey. He was thrilled that Henry hadn’t told him that he made the tea incorrectly.

Henry swallowed the medication letting the flavors of the tea dance across his tastebuds. He watched Alex dispose of the cup and put the cup of tea back onto the nightstand.

Alex pulled out his stethoscope, it was all black. “Do you care if I listen to your heart and lungs?” He questioned seeing Henry nod, he placed the earpieces into his ears and placed the bell end against Henry’s bare chest hearing the blonde’s heartbeat in his ears. He moved the end to the lungs, and nothing sounded abnormal.

“You sound just perfect.” Alex mused, putting his stethoscope back into jacket pocket and bending down to check the chest tube drain. He noticed that Henry’s catheter was close to full. He walked over to the cabinet to grab a container to empty the catheter bag. He bent down and emptied the bag into the container. He opened the cabinet and emptied the container into the slide out toilet tucked into the cabinet.

Henry noticed the slide out cabinet toilet. “You have got to be kidding me! What was this room once a prison cell?” He averted his gaze, he did not want the image of his crush dumping his pee into the prison toilet, the entire thought made him feel very unattractive and like an invalid.

Alex smiled brightly at Henry’s joke. “No. It is just how the ICUs are designed.” He said washing out the container and setting into the cabinet to dry and shut the cabinet and pulled off his gloves. He walked over to Henry’s bed and sat on the edge of it. He grabbed Henry’s left hand. “So, you still have a good amount of drainage going into the chest tube drain, so it will still be a few days before I can remove your drains.” He watched Henry’s face fall at his announcement.

“I’m sorry. I know even though you like your doctor, you want to be out of the hospital, after all we aren’t exactly The Plaza with our luxury mattresses.” Alex teased softly, linking his fingers with Henry’s as he tried to soften the blow that the tubes would have to stay in for longer.

Henry laughed at Alex’s joke of the hospital not being The Plaza Hotel. “I was wondering why I hadn’t met Eloise yet. That explains so much.” He wanted the tubes out since they were prohibiting his ability to sleep on his side. “Thank you. It’s alright.” He said being honest noticing the TV cut to Bea and Tom their exclusive interview was up next after the commercial break.

Bea and Tom were wearing coordinating outfits of wine and black. “Bea and Tom’s interview are next.” Henry told the doctor it was the polite way of telling Alex that while I find you stupidly attractive, please move so I can see the small TV better.

Bea’s outfit was a mesh sleeve bodysuit with a notched neckline and a wine midi skirt that was made of velvet that looked metallic under the studio lights. She was wearing a pair of suede closed toe pumps. Her red hair was curled into elegant waves. Tom was wearing a wine sweater with a white oxford shirt peaking out underneath and a pair of black trousers and a pair of black dress shoes. The two looked like the happy couple they were.

“Can I change your surgical dressing?” Alex questioned figuring Henry could watch the interview and he could have everything he needed done for the morning and he could relax and catch up on paperwork and work on February’s call schedule.

Henry smiled softly, he liked how Alex always asked his permission and told him his plan before he did anything. It eased his anxiety and he felt safe with Alex. He hit the mute button turning the TV off of mute so he could hear their interview. “Go right ahead.”

He watched Alex move the packaging from the table and clean it with a cleaning wipe. Once the table was dry, he watched him move the packaging back to the table. He watched Alex go over to the sink to wash his hands for what felt like the thousandth time that morning and put on a pair of blue gloves.

Alex came back to the left side of the bed and pulled up Henry’s blanket until it was fully covering his bottom half. He pulled up the hospital gown to Henry’s chest so the only part that was exposed was the surgical site. He tore open an alcohol wipe and soaked one corner of the tape. (It was a trick he learned from Karina.)

Henry braced for the feeling of tape being ripped off his skin but instead he felt slightly cold wetness being pressed against the tape and felt skilled fingers working up the corner of tape. He saw Alex’s comforting smile. He loved watching Alex work. “You doing alright?” He heard Alex question softly as his long fingers saturated the adhesive with the wipe and pulled up the tape, which didn’t hurt at all.

“I’m perfect.” Henry muttered, turning his attention away from Alex’s skill and on the TV where the hosts were introducing Bea and Tom.

The first question was about Henry and about his accident. Bea fielded the question and thanked Alex and Bellevue for their excellent care of Henry, she also said he was off the vent and eating well.

Then it was a question for Tom about what it felt like to be engaged to an actual princess. Questions about the upcoming Royal Wedding that they both answered, and then several questions about the Avenger movie and if any of his costars had been invited to the wedding. Overall, it was a good interview for them both.

Henry was so engrossed in the interview that he hadn’t realized Alex had already removed the old dressing and was cleaning his incision. Henry cautioned a glance and noticed several staples were holding his abdomen together. “That is a lot of staples.”

“Yeah, but it isn’t anywhere close to my record.” Alex laughed as he cleaned Henry’s incision with gauze and normal saline. “You are healing quite nicely, and you have zero signs of infection.” He said placing a giant gauze pad over the clean incision and taping it down again with medical tape.

“All done.” He pulled down Henry’s gown and pulled the blanket back over Henry. He disposed of everything into the correct bins.

“I didn’t even feel it.” Henry mused locking eyes with his surgeon.

“That’s good because I don’t want to make your pain worse.” Alex said sitting on the recliner. “That was a good interview although there is no reason to thank me, I’m just doing my job. I’m also tired of my name being recognized worldwide again. Although I suppose saving your life is a lot better than when you and I were covered in buttercream.”

Henry smiled at Alex’s words. He remembered their adventure in buttercream fondly since that incident made them become great friends. He watched Alex grab his laptop from the table.

“I hope you don’t mind me catching up on paperwork, sending emails, and creating schedules.” Alex told the prince. He pulled up his March calendar.

“Your cast can come off February 19^th. How long do you want me to stay in England and France?” He questioned knowing he had four weeks of paid time off and his next vacation wasn’t until he graduated residency. He would be spending two blissful weeks in the Yucatán of Mexico. It was a gift from his parents. He was ready to spend two weeks with sand in his toes, a margarita in hand, and decompressing from the stressors of residency.

“So around Valentine’s Day is when I can finally ditch the cast? Ideally a week if you can spare it.” Henry smiled, his brain already forming cute date ideas for their secret time in London and Paris. He would have liked more time with Alex, but he figured a week was a safe amount of time for the surgeon to be away from work.

“A week sounds perfect.” Alex said blocking off that week in February on the call calendar he made sure to schedule another fifth-year resident all that week.

“You do have time off right?” Henry questioned wanting to make sure that week wouldn’t kill of his vacation time.

“I have time besides I’ll use one of those days for work to remove your cast.” Alex said with a wink working on typing out the schedule and checking his messages and emails for days the other residents had already asked him for. He wasn’t a total dick when it came to being the boss.

Henry was starting to think hospitals were liminal spaces. His days were very much all the same. He’d wake up and Alex would feed him breakfast where they usually talked, give him his morning dose of medications. His labs had stabilized so the only thing he got in the mornings was his pain medication and his sertraline. He was feeling better and better with each passing day. Yesterday Pez had visited, and Nora had come along and brought Alex a fresh jacket and a change of shoes.

Alex had gone to take a shower and he came back to his room almost an hour later dressed in the same navy scrubs with a heather red knit jacket over the top and a different color of On Cloud sneakers this pair was dark grey with lighter grey details. He had several different pairs of hospital sneakers and had unopened boxes of his favorites tucked away in his apartment.

Karina got up from her chair after seeing Alex enter the room. She had just finished telling Henry the story of how she won her Daisy Award. “You smell so much better, Dr. Sexy.” She teased the resident as she left the room leaving Henry in Alex’s safe hands.

“I think she might be my second favorite person in this place. You are my first favorite.” Henry happily announced seeing Alex look at his drainage tubes. It had been three days, and he was praying to all the deities that today was the day he finally got to get rid of the tubes. He noticed Alex smirk at his words of Henry calling him his favorite.

Before bed Alex got him up to stand and allowed him to take a few steps around the room, but the damned tubes kept him mostly immobile. Also, every time he stood Alex would kiss him, he had memorized Alex’s lips and their taste. It was their secret goodnight kiss. Sadly, Alex had only snuggled him that one night, every night since Alex had slept on the couch.

“I have good news!” Alex exclaimed standing back up and sitting on the left edge of Henry’s bed. “Your tubes produced very little drainage the past few times I’ve checked them so they can come out. I’m going to be honest with you, removing them is really uncomfortable.

“I’m going to give you a stronger pain medication to try and help your pain while I remove them. I’m sure if I didn’t give you anything and I removed both your chest tubes and your two surgical drains you’d be rethinking Paris and dating me. Just know I don’t want to hurt you unfortunately there isn’t a better way for me to remove the tubes without things being uncomfortable.”

Henry nodded he figured when they came out it would not be as fun as being covered in buttercream was. He was trying to keep his anxiety level in check as Alex explained that he’d give him a stronger dose of pain medicine otherwise he’d rethink dating Alex.

“Do you want me to grab Karina and have her hold your hand? I think she is still here for a few more minutes?” Alex questioned the prince leaning over to kiss his forehead.

“Please.” Henry begged he liked being left alone with Alex, but he figured having Karina’s calming presence and her hand to hold might make things a little easier.

“Alright I’ll be right back with Karina.” Alex said getting off the edge of the bed and leaving the room he saw Karina grabbing her purse and water tumbler getting ready to leave for the day.

“Would you care to stay for five more minutes. I’m about ready to remove Henry’s tubes and he asked very politely if you would hold his hand. I would do it, but I need both hands to remove a tube and dress it correctly and I’m not about to let a lesser resident do it.” He left out the part that if he were the one to hold Henry’s hand, he’d be kissing the prince as a distraction.

“No need to beg. I’d work an extra shift if you asked me to.” Karina said setting her tote bag back under her workstation and her tumbler back on the desk. “You grab the medications and I’ll get the supplies you need.” She said walking side by side with the doctor to the med and supply room.

“How’s Nacho?” Alex asked referring to her orange Maine Coon cat that he loved seeing pictures of. He logged into the Pyxis and grabbed the medications to keep Henry as comfortable as one could be when someone was yanking two tubes from his side.

“He’s my favorite menace. He decided to lay on my scrubs and make me grab another pair because that pair was covered in orange hair. Not that half of my closet isn’t scrubs anyway. He almost made me late last night.” She remarked filling her arms of the supplies Alex would need to remove Henry’s chest tube.

“Sure, blame it all on the cat.” Alex teased grabbing the medication from the Pyxis. “Come on let’s get this over with before Nacho wrecks your apartment waiting to bed fed. I don’t want to upset your menace.”

The two of them entered the room and Karina got everything laid out for Alex as he grabbed a pair of gloves and sat on the left edge of the bed.

“So, this medication is much stronger than what I’ve been giving you, this is only temporary as it is usually used for pain control during surgery. I don’t want you in any pain during this.” Alex explained injecting the medication through Henry’s PICC line.

“I’ll walk you through what I’m doing, and I’ll have you hold your breath to make the tubes come out a little easier.” He said squeezing Henry’s hand gently before leaving the edge of the bed and shrugging off his red jacket and draping it over the back of the couch.

He grabbed his safety glasses from his jacket pocket and put them over his eyes. He grabbed David from the foot of the bed, he didn’t want Henry to accidentally kick the dog. He sat David onto the couch and the beagle padded at Alex’s jacket and curled up onto the jacket.

“Make yourself comfortable why don’t you.” Alex said giving the dog a good scratch behind his floppy ears. He walked over to the sink and washed his hands before putting on the sterile gloves in his size.

Henry laughed seeing his dog making himself perfectly comfortable in Alex’s jacket.

“Nacho does that all the time when it comes to my clean laundry.” Karina said, going over to Henry’s right side. “Nacho is my fluffy orange cat.” She told the prince offering her hand her nails were painted with a winter blue glitter.

“Do you have photos?” Henry questioned trying to relax as best as he could as much as he wanted the tubes gone, he wasn’t looking forward them being removed.

“Of course.” Karina said pulling up her gallery of Nacho and showing Henry all the photos, she had taken of her fluffy cat.

Henry looked at all the photos of her fluffy orange cat one of the photos was of the cat laying on a pair of scrubs. “He’s very cute.”

“He is my big baby.” She said putting her phone back into her scrub pocket. She watched Alex quickly put the petroleum-soaked gauze onto a normal square of gauze and place the dressing on top of tape. She pulled up Henry’s blanket and his gown so that he was covered beside the tubes sticking out of his chest.

Alex smiled softly at Henry. “Put your left arm over your head and then turn your head and focus on Karina. Trust me you don’t want to see what I am doing.” He instructed, wishing he could be the one holding Henry’s hand instead of being the barbarian removing the tubes.

Henry put his left arm above his head and turned his head, giving Karina his undivided attention.

Alex cleaned the area around the chest tube, clamped the tube so nothing got on his scrubs or sneakers and clipped the stitch holding the tube in place. “Take a big deep breath, hold it and bear down against the bed.” Alex instructed watching Henry’s face scrunch up in focus. He swiftly and effortlessly pulled the tube out of Henry’s side and covered it with the dressing; he made sure the tape was stuck to Henry’s side.

While he was still on the left side Alex removed the left side surgical drain and covered it with a dressing.

“Fuck!” Henry cursed. “That was rude can only imagine how much fun that would be if you didn’t give me good pain medicine.” He watched Karina’s eyebrows raise at his choice of words it was certainly odd to hear the Prince of England curse like a commoner.

Alex smiled warmly at Henry. “I know it won’t make you feel better, but I really am sorry. Just about every single trauma patient gets a complementary chest tube and I hate that there isn’t a nicer way of removing them.” He said unclamping the tube and grabbing the scissors and creating another gauze sandwich for Henry’s right side.

“Alex and I are going to switch sides okay.” Karina said, unlinking her hand with Henry’s and going over to his left side so that Alex could remove the tube on the right side. She took Henry’s good hand in hers as she heard Alex giving the same instructions and watched Alex cover it with the gauze sandwich and pull the tube out.

“I’m really starting to hate you.” Henry said bitterly feeling the chest tube being removed. Alex was right he was really starting to rethink the whole dating his surgeon thing even when he was doing cruel things to him; Alex was still incredibly patient and gentle. He felt the other surgical drain being removed and another dressing covering it.

“All done.” Alex declared happily. “I really am sorry. I do hate causing my patient’s extra pain.” He noticed Henry had tears in his blue eyes and the sight made him want to cry too.

Karina smiled at the two men. “I should be going and feeding Nacho before he sends out a search party because he was late getting his wet food.” She teased patting Henry’s knee. “You did really good.” She said leaving the room as Alex disposed of all the packaging and tubes into the right bins.

Once the room was clean and the door was shut all the way Alex kicked off his shoes and crawled into the bed with Henry. He pulled the prince into his arms and brushed the tears away with the pad of his fingers. He felt Henry snuggle into his chest and he placed a gentle kiss onto Henry’s cheek. “I am really sorry; I didn’t want to cause you more pain.”

Henry turned onto his side and being able to that was worth the few seconds of pain. He buried his face into Alex’s scrub top smelling the glorious smell of Santal 33. He felt Alex’s hands rub his back and okay the pain was also worth being to snuggle Alex in this way. “It wasn’t terrible, and I still do plan on taking you to Paris as a thank you. I think a romantic dinner on a balcony overlooking the Eiffel Tower will do us both some good.”

Alex groaned it was only six weeks until they finally got to have a first date. “So how about I remove the catheter, give you a bath, give you an incredible back massage and put you into clean gown and blankets. I’ll even text Philip and have him bring you a change of underwear and some pajama pants for extra comfort.” He suggested.

Henry was used to Alex touching him intimately and while he hated the idea of Alex being the one to remove his catheter from his penis but the idea of a back massage and clean clothes was to enticing to pass up. “That sounds marvelous.”

Alex quickly sent Philip a text message to bring Henry a change of underwear and pajamas. It was odd having most of the Royal family saved into his phone contacts. He told Philip to make sure it was a short sleeve top, that way it was easier to get over the cast.

Philip texted him back almost instantly that he’d happily bring Henry a change of clothes and that Martha and Victoria were both fever free and eager to have a visit with Henry.

“Victoria and Martha are both feeling better, and they both want to visit. So how about we get you cleaned up and sitting somewhere other than this bed.” Alex said showing Henry the text message. “Also, I never thought I’d see the day that I tolerated Prince Philip.” He teased separating himself from Henry so he could go collect the supplies.

“I’ll be right back.” Alex said leaving the room to grab a pair of warm bath wipes from the warmer, a mini thing of lotion and clean linens so he could remake Henry’s bed. He sat the linens on the overbed table and grabbed a pair of gloves so he could remove Henry’s catheter.

“He’s a much better person than he was almost a decade ago. I think having a daughter made him a softy too.” Henry said not to mention he could be in the same room as Philip and the heir had stopped judging his life choices, he was actually supportive of them.

He knew what the gloves symbolized. “Let me guess spread my legs.” He teased.

“Yeah.” Alex nodded, watching Henry spread his legs he tried really hard not to think about all the other things this position could be used for. He unclipped the catheter from the locking device stuck to Henry’s left thigh. “You are going to feel some coolness on your upper thigh that is just me removing the locking device, so you didn’t rip your catheter out while you slept.”

He saturated the adhesive with an alcohol wipe and flicked an end to get the wipe under the device and rubbed the skin under the device slowly pulling the sticker off Henry’s pale thigh. He grabbed the syringe and attached it to the port and watched the water keeping the balloon in place flow into the syringe once it got to 10 Alex swiftly pulled the tube from Henry’s penis.

“All done you can close your legs now.” Alex said, resisting the urge to say he enjoyed the view. God he was getting brazen when it came to showing Henry affection. He tossed off his gloves and disposed of the foley in the correct bin.

Henry happily closed his legs glad to be free of a tube sticking out of his dick. “Thank you it feels great to not have tubes inside me.”

Alex laughed and opened the package of bath wipes. He grabbed the long wipe and started with Henry’s left arm and into his armpit and chest.

Henry relaxed into Alex’s touch the warm wipe felt heavenly against his skin it had been days since he had a shower, and the wipe was more than satisfying or maybe it was the fact it was Alex’s hands were the ones cleaning him.

He felt another wipe cleaning around his bandaged abdomen and sides, and it moved lower to clean his penis. He stifled a groan at the feeling of Alex touching him with the wipe. He hoped that the doctor didn’t notice his pupils were dilated with lust. He felt the wipe being changed and then Alex cleaning his thighs and legs.

“Roll over onto your right side, sweetheart.” Alex said helping Henry over so that he was laying on his right side facing the curtain. He ran the wipe all over Henry’s back in circles making sure that he was clean. He discarded the wipe and put a dollop of lotion and rubbed it in his palms to warm it up. He rubbed long circles over Henry’s shoulder and back he actually heard Henry sigh in enjoyment at the touch. He finished with Henry’s back and covered the rest of him in the same lotion so that his skin didn’t get dry.

Henry’s nerve endings felt electric feeling Alex rub the lotion all over him. He was truly in hell, and he could not wait to be discharged from Bellevue so he could date his doctor. He didn’t care what his mom or Philip thought. He had wanted Alex Claremont-Diaz for almost a decade and this time he wouldn’t be hiding his feelings or desire.

They both had the same feelings and desires for each other. Alex wasn’t in politics, which meant he could continue his obligation to his country and not have to choose one prison for the other. Besides if Bea was allowed to marry an actor, he should be allowed to date his doctor. It would only benefit his family if they all had a doctor on speed-dial.

Alex felt his watch vibrate and saw a text message from Philip that he was there. “I’m going to go grab your pajamas from Philip and get you changed and sitting somewhere else why the visit.” He disposed of all the wipes and left the room.

“Hi guys.” He said seeing that Victoria and Martha looked so much better.

“Dr. Alex! Thank you for fixing me.” Victoria said, tossing her little arms around the doctor’s legs.

“No problem sweetheart.” Alex said a little bit of his Texas accent slipping out on the sweetheart. He took the bag of clothes from Martha. She was so adorable. “Can I go get Henry into some clean clothes so you can check on your favorite uncle. He’s looking forward to seeing everyone.” He said bending down to the girl’s level.

“Yes!” Victoria squealed releasing her grip for Alex’s leg. She watched him disappear behind the door and followed her parents into a nearby waiting room.

Alex entered the room and sat the bag of clothes on the chair since David was still using his jacket as a bed. “So happy I had Nora bring you a bed. It isn’t like I was cold this morning.” He teased the dog.

Henry laughed at Alex shaming the beagle. “It isn’t his fault he wanted something comfortable to lay on after all you have tormenting his human all morning.”

Alex laughed and the sound filled the room. “Let’s get you changed Victoria is really eager to see her favorite uncle.” He helped Henry so that he was sitting on the edge of the bed so that he could easily dress the prince. He grabbed the pair of black trunks and slid them over his legs. He held Henry against his strong arms so he could get the waistband on Henry’s hips.

He sat the prince back down on the edge of the bed and grabbed the heathered teal lounge pants and helped him into the pants. He tied the waistband, so they didn’t fall off of the prince’s hips. He grabbed the matching shirt and helped his broken arm into the shirt first and then the rest of his body.

Henry sighed he actually felt like a human in his soft loungewear and less like an invalid stuck in a hospital bed. The wipe bath had actually felt heavenly, and he much preferred the feeling of his bamboo fabric loungewear over the awful hospital gown.

“Think you can walk to the recliner?” Alex questioned, knowing it was only a few easy steps to the recliner. He grabbed one of the fresh blankets to drape over Henry once he was in the chair.

“Yeah. Mind giving me some support?” Henry asked he figured he could do it on his own, but the support of Alex felt nice, and he didn’t know how unstable he would feel on his feet.

“Of course, sweetheart.” Alex teased, helping Henry up from the bed and getting a gentle but firm grip to keep him from faceplanting into the couch. He helped him the few steps and spun him around so that all he had to do was sit in the chair.

“David did call dibs on using your jacket as a bed didn’t he.” Henry teased, feeling his lower half get covered with a warm hospital blanket.

Alex laughed and quickly changed the bed linens before grabbing Philip, Martha, and Victoria from the waiting room. He slid open the door and watched the redheaded child run directly to her uncle in the chair.

“Uncle Hen.” Victoria cried throwing her small around her uncle. “I’ve missed you. I was sick but Dr. Alex gave me this yummy pink medicine and now I’m feeling much better. You must have gotten the same pink medicine because you look better.” She rambled happy to see her uncle.

“Breathe Tori.” Philip chided picking her up so that she could sit on the arm of the chair next to her uncle. “We are all really happy to see you sitting up and wearing actual clothes. Dr. Alex do you have an update?” Philip asked hugging his brother gently not wanting to cause him any pain.

“His tubes are all out. He’s had a wipe down. The sensor measuring the pressure in his brain has been removed. Good chance I can release him tomorrow or the day after. He’s been eating all his meals; he sleeps through the night. He’s doing great this soon after surgery.”

“That is fantastic news. Maybe you can join the three of us when we see Six.” Martha teased her brother-in-law as she gave him a gentle hug. “It is so good seeing you and not through a camera. Strep is awful.”

Henry enjoyed the company of Philip, Martha, and Victoria who was pressed up against his side. It would be nice to sleep in a hotel bed, but he would miss the constant company of Alex Claremont-Diaz.

Chapter Text

Alex stepped out of his shower and grabbed a fluffy black towel to dry off with, once he felt dry, he wrapped the towel around his waist. It was one of his rare days off and he had run his usual six-mile loop through Central Park. He had come back to take a shower since at 1pm he would have a car pick him up to take him the Four Seasons Hotel New York to check up on Prince Henry and remove his surgical staples since it was twelve days post-surgery.

He was eager to see Henry again after he had discharged Henry from Bellevue into the capable hands of his family eight days ago. The Royal Family had stayed in New York until Henry got his staples out and all clear from Alex. Henry texted and called Alex frequently especially when Alex was stuck on his 24-hour call shifts. It was like no time had passed between them, even though it had, and they were no longer in their early twenties.

Alex walked over to his dresser to grab a pair of Calvin Klein trunk underwear the pair he grabbed was red. He unwrapped the towel from his waist and draped it over his hamper and shimmied into the underwear. He opened his jean drawer and grabbed his favorite pair of athletic fit dark wash jeans that fit his legs and ass perfectly.

He walked the short distance over to his medium sized closet and saw the shadow box Amy had made him shortly after his graduation. It contained his green graduation stole, his original white coat from the white coat ceremony. His NYU student badge with badge reel, a copy of his graduation invitation, a copy of the Hippocratic Oath, a copy of his Match Day letter, along with a few other fun things.

Whenever he looked at it, he was always reminded of his days with her as one of his Secret Service Agents. He also had a group photo of his mom, dad, Rafael, Zahra, June, Nora, Amy, and Cash all smiling at his medical school graduation. He was the one stuck in the middle wearing NYU purple graduation robes. He had a few more flanking his diploma but this one was a candid moment and he cherished it.

He was the first doctor in the family, both his parents were lawyers turned politicians, and June was a damn good journalist publishing hard hitting articles for The Times. She was away covering fires in Australia, but she would be attending Nora’s wedding. The only thing that would make the photo better is if his lover was standing next to him. He supposed almost a decade was enough. Hopefully Henry would feel comfortable enough to attend his residency graduation so he could have the completed photo.

After spending a few moments lost on memory lane he decided on a black v neck tee shirt that emphasized his biceps and his black leather jacket that he had had since his mother’s first stent in the Oval Office. The leather was well loved and incredibly soft. He pulled on the tee shirt and placed the leather jacket onto his bed. He usually only got to sleep in it one night a week anyway.

He went to the bathroom and ran through his tousled curls. He sprayed his pulse points with Santal 33. He usually never wore cologne at work. He just used the body wash since he never knew if a patient had a scent sensitivity.

He went back to his room to grab his Apple Watch from the wireless charger he kept on his nightstand that would charge both his phone and watch. He grabbed his phone and noticed a text message from Queen Catherine asking him to meet her in her hotel suite first before checking up on Henry along with the room number. Great that didn’t sound ominous at all. He slid the iPhone into his front right pocket and grabbed his ocean blue wallet from his dresser and slid into his back right pants pocket. It was a slim wallet so he could sit on it without any issue.

He grabbed a pair of no-show socks and his black leather sneakers from his shoe rack. He put on his shoes and tied them and grabbed his backpack from his entryway. He felt his watch alert that he had a text message. It was from an unknown United Kingdom number.

‘I’m Benjamin your driver. I am waiting outside in a black Mercedes-Benz.’

Alex grabbed his backpack that had his stethoscope and a staple remover in it. He slung the bag over his shoulders and left his apartment and headed down the long hallway to get to the bank of elevators. He hit the down button and pulled out his phone letting Benjamin know he was on way down.

He watched the floors tick as he lived on the 25^th floor until the doors finally opened to the ground floor. He made his way out the main doors and saw an all-black electric Mercedes-Benz Maybach waiting outside with a tall thirty-something man dressed in a well-fitting suit and a Union Jack on his lapel. The similarities to Shaan were undeniable.

“Good afternoon, Dr. Claremont-Diaz I am Benjamin Ellsworth, Prince Henry’s equerry. It is a pleasure to meet you.” He said shaking the trauma surgeon’s hand and opening the back door for him.

Alex bit his tongue from laughing because this felt so much like his first meeting with Shaan. He wanted to stupidly ask Ben what an equerry was just for old times sake. He didn’t and instead slid into the leather interior of the Maybach. As the former First Son he was used to traveling in such luxury, but it had been a very long time. His apartment was within running distance of the hospital, and he usually took the subway to Central Park.

“It is nice to meet you as well.” Alex said formally watching the equerry slide into the driver’s seat and take him the less than fifteen-minute trip to the hotel. Benjamin parked the ridiculous car in the middle of the road outside the luxury hotel.

He opened Alex’s door and handed the trauma surgeon his backpack. Ben handed the car to the valet and led him inside the hotel and into a bank of elevators dedicated to the top suite of rooms. He felt his heart rate increase and the thought of seeing Henry again and his private meeting with the Queen of England.

The elevator dinged onto the suite floor that was crawling with PPO’s. Alex flashed his charming smile and held up his hospital badge to them. Benjamin led him to the end of a very long hallway and knocked on the door and poked his head inside.

“Your Majesty, I have Dr. Claremont-Diaz here for you.” He said seeing her nod and make a motion to bring him inside.

Alex wished he would have known about his unscheduled meeting with the queen because he might have worn something nicer than jeans and his favorite leather jacket. He was led through the thick door and came face to face with Queen Catherine the Queen of England who was dressed in a pair of black trousers and a green tie neck blouse. She looked like more like an English professor than a Queen.

“Good afternoon, Alex. I trust your trip to us was smooth. Can I offer you some tea? Feel free to sit wherever you like, I did not invite you up here as the Queen of England I invited you as Catherine the mother of the guy you are interested in.” She said sipping her cup of Lady Grey.

Alex’s eyebrows shot all the way up into his hairline in shock over her telling him she knew their secret.

“I am a mother and I have an intuition about my children. I see the way you look at him and I see the way he looks at you. I also did a deep dive from interviews in your time in England and saw the way he looked at you. Shaan also told me everything before he left over a lovely glass of expensive French Wine.” She smirked at the trauma surgeon.

“I know about the kiss; I know about Henry’s unrequited love. I also know Henry and Bea are talking about a romantic weekend in France around the same time you are due to remove his arm cast. I doubt it is an innocent coincidence.”

Alex was shocked that she was aware of everything he honestly didn’t know if he should expect the Spanish Inquisition from her. He felt super unnerved as he took a sip of Earl Grey.

“My children think they can hide things from me, please I knew he was gay before he told Arthur and me. We were the ones to actually support him, we told Shaan so Henry could have all the secret hookups his heart desired away from Mary’s prying eye while he was in college and then Arthur got sick, and I became clinically depressed and heartbroken.”

“I allowed Mary to mold my children into what she expected of me. Philip became a perfect heir according to Mary’s policies.” She had no love left for her mother which is why she was using Mary’s first name in conversation. A sick part of her was actually relieved when her mother passed. She hoped with each time parliament overturned one of her hateful laws she rolled over in her grave. It took almost a year to deprogram her oldest from her hateful vitriol.

“I learned from other monarchies to put my children and grandchildren first and the crown second.”

Catherine winked at the trauma surgeon. “I give you my full blessing to date my son. I assume you two are going to be secretive about it. I support both of you. It is clear to me that you care a great deal for my son.” She was heartbroken when Shaan told her that Henry kissed Alex and then ghosted him. The romantic in her wanted to call Alex herself and bring him to England. Her children deserved happiness over a stupid crown, and she intended to give them that regardless of who it pissed off in the process.

Alex sat on the comfy couch in stunned silence. He didn’t quite know what words to exactly use it wasn’t everyday when the Queen of England sat him down and told him he knew everything and then give her full blessing to date Prince Henry. This is not how he expected this meeting to go, he expected the Spanish Inquisition. “Thank you.”

Catherine gave the surgeon her kind motherly smile and handed him a tablet. “I also had my favorite journalist write an article this one has my seal of approval. I just want to get your seal of approval. I know the media has neglected to mention your qualifications and achievements and instead has treated you like a piece of meat they’d like to eat. If you approve of this article this will override anything the media has said about you.” 

Alex gingerly took the tablet like it might bite him if he wasn’t careful and read the beautifully written article detailing his humble beginnings in Austin, Texas. His mother’s eight years in the highest political office. His rejection letters from the Ivy League Medical Schools, and the fight and passion he had for medicine.

It detailed his matching in trauma surgery and his rise to Chief Resident and the successful surgery he did on Henry. It also had several paragraphs from Dr. Edwards about how much he valued and respected having Alex on his trauma team. It also had paragraphs from some of his favorite nurses like Olivia, Luke, and Karina.

Once he got the end of the document, he had tears in his eyes it was a very well written article that focused on his intelligence and drive and not about how attractive and fuckable he was, he had a mirror, so he knew that already.

Catherine politely handed him a tissue noticing the tears forming in his chocolate brown eyes.

“I more than approve of the article, thank you.” Alex said honestly handing her back the tablet, he was getting tired of looking at his social media and seeing the other articles linking him to an engaged woman based on one innocent hug or the Dr. Sexy, Dr. Hottie monikers.

He also was tired of the racist articles it was nothing new given his family background. June looked like their mother, and he was the spitting image of Oscar. He wasn’t ashamed of his background and the percentage of Hispanic and Latino doctors was frankly criminal. There were more surgeons that identified as LGBTQ than surgeons with a Hispanic ethnicity.

Catherine took the tablet back from the surgeon. “You’re welcome. We all understand how nasty our own media is so hopefully this sways people and the respect you.” She muttered she wanted her son to be happy and if Alex was his happiness, then she would support and fight for it.

She had a great respect for Alex for apologizing for cakegate and being the one to save her son and even offer to help Martha and Victoria. FDNY had shown her camera footage of the accident, and it was worse than her sister’s.

“I also sent you a wedding invitation to Bea and Tom’s wedding you do get a plus one, and we all expect you to be at the wedding.” Catherine told the trauma surgeon since her wedding was in April, she doubted both men wanted to be public with their relationship that soon so she figured he would bring one of his coworkers from the hospital.

Alex had no idea who to bring as his plus one. He wanted his plus one to be Henry, but he knew the wedding was soon and he figured her wedding was not the place to come out as an official couple. He thought about June, but he also wasn’t the guy to bring his sister to a wedding.

Nora would be going with Pez. He could bring his mother but also had similar implications as June. He could bring Karina or Paige, both Henry was familiar with so it shouldn’t lead to jealousy. His best options seemed to be Karina or Paige who was his best friend throughout medical school and who he thought of as a sister, she showed him interest in medical school, but he was still haunted by a blonde with blue eyes whose kiss was electric.

“Now why don’t you go remove Henry’s staples and catch up over room service.” Catherine suggested playfully watching the surgeon leave her hotel suite. She sent a message to her journalist to post the article and smiled secretly to herself.

Benjamin led Alex a few suite doors down and opened the door to the suite. Alex entered through the door and walked around the corner to feel Henry’s arms hugging him tightly and his head resting against his shoulder.

Henry heard his hotel room and got up from his bed to greet Alex with a hug and he wanted to bury his face and inhale the intoxicating scent of old leather mixed with Santal 33.

“Hi sweetheart.” Alex’s body relaxed into the hug and felt his ass hit the edge of a wall and Henry was kissing him and it was full of desire.

Henry smiled and broke away from the kiss and noticed Alex’s chocolate eyes were red and had probably been crying recently, for some reason it just made his eyelashes more luscious. “What’s wrong?” He questioned softly, his voice barely a whisper.

Alex smiled and laid his head against Henry’s left shoulder. It was nice to hear the concern in his voice. “Your mother decided to have an unscheduled meeting with me, she knows about Paris. She supports us and has given me the go ahead to date you. Shaan told her everything about our New Year’s kiss before he left.”

Henry sighed, of course his mother knew about everything. She was the reason he had Shaan, and she knew just how close Henry had gotten to Shaan over the years. Catherine was analytical and could read people like she could read classic novels. She still had feelings, but Arthur was the one more in his feelings.

Catherine cared but she showed her affection differently than his father. He should have been scared that his mother had approved of Alex so quickly, but he knew now that Alex was back in his life, and both were willing to try a relationship he wouldn’t be letting him go so easily.

“She also had one of her friends from Oxford write an article on me and it wasn’t one of the fucking fluff pieces calling me Dr. Sexy and Dr. Hottie, but it actually painted me in a good light. That is what made me tear up. I’m just in shock because I would have thought she would have wanted my blood and my head.” He felt Henry’s uncast hand drawing circles over his back; he could barely feel it because the leather was so thick on his jacket.

“When mum is not wrapped in depression and grief, she is highly supportive. When we go to her about anything she treats us like her children and not people in line for throne ascension. I just wished I could have one secret in this family.”

“Philip and Martha also noticed a spark between us, Philip has apologized many times and has told me he supports my decision if I do date you.” Henry admitted they had kept secrets between them for so long it felt nice to confess that.

Alex smiled he hadn’t told anyone about their secret date. He needed to make a trip on another day off to DC and have dinner with his parents and Rafael. He was about 98% sure he’d sign the attending contract for Bellevue. He was used to New York and familiar with Bellevue, the staff, and more importantly his boss. He did like the idea of being closer to his family, but New York had quickly turned into his home.

“As nice as kissing you is, I did come here for more than just kisses and good food.” Alex said, leading Henry over to the king size bed and patting it with his hand. He sat his backpack down by the nightstand.

“Right, you are here to remove my staples and to make sure I’m stable enough to fly back to England.” Henry said sadly if Alex cleared him then it meant they had four weeks until Paris his desire grew daily for the trauma surgeon. It was like he was a horny 22-year-old all over again. Alex Claremont-Diaz did something to him that was completely unexplainable. He sat on the edge of the bed allowing Alex plenty of room to sit to remove the staples.

Henry watched as Alex removed the leather jacket and sat it over one of the chairs and his throat got dry seeing Alex standing there in a well-fitted pair of jeans and a black tee shirt that left little to the imagination. The sleeves clung to his biceps, and it was clear that Alex was still as fit as he was back when he was 21. Alex looked like straight sin, and it made it hard to think. He still preferred Alex in scrubs there was just something about the way the navy scrubs clung to Alex’s body.

Alex smiled gently and sat on the edge of the bed next to Henry’s right side. He unzipped the compartment on his backpack and pulled out the staple remover package. He opened the package and disposed of the lid he kept the container to put the discarded staples into.

“This is a staple remover. You shouldn’t feel any pain, it might feel strange, and you might feel a tugging which is just the staple being removed. If you feel any pain at all let me know.” Alex explained lifting up Henry’s soft tee shirt. He quickly examined the places where the chest and drainage tubes were, and they looked perfect. “Any pain from where your tubes were?”

Henry watched Alex clean the area over the staples with an alcohol wipe. “No. I just have one question can you not cut in a straight line?” He teased noticing that his incision started underneath his pecs and curved around his belly button and ended right at his hips. He heard Alex’s room brightening laugh and his smile made his eyes crinkle.

“I can cut in a straight line, we just avoid the belly button because no matter how good we clean it before surgery it is still dirty, not to mention having a belly button is more aesthetically pleasing than not having one, and three there is a ligament in the belly button that we’d rather not cut through.” Alex explained around his own laughter. He grabbed the staple remover and slid it under the very last staple he was going to work up to Henry’s head. He dropped the staple into the container.

Henry listened to Alex explain the reasoning the incision had a curve and it made perfect sense. He watched Alex drop one staple into the plastic container. “How many staples do I have?”

“You had 85 but now you have 84.” Alex said removing more of the staples and putting them into the container.

Henry watched Alex make quick work of removing his staples again he found distracted by watching Alex’s long nimble fingers remove the staples and put them into the plastic container. “Any pain?” Alex asked after a few minutes in.

“No.” Henry said and the moment he said it he felt one that was more stuck than all the others. His face scrunched up a little overall he’d rather have a million staples removed than ever have another chest tube removed.

“Sorry sweetheart, it is just a little more stuck than the others.” Alex explained fighting with the staple he dropped into the plastic container. He grabbed several more stitches before another one was stuck into the skin. He heard Henry’s hiss. “Just a few more to go.”

Henry watched as Alex removed the last few staples stuck into his skin and he felt Alex’s finger run length wise along the incision. “All done.” Alex exclaimed disposing of the container all 85 staples had been removed and placed into the container.

“How have you been feeling?” Alex asked, grabbing his black stethoscope from his backpack. “Any trouble sleeping?”

“I’ve caught up on all the episodes of Bake Off. We went to see Wicked as a family. I’ve been walking just fine and I’m getting better at eating with my left hand. I will be glad when I can get this cast off. Any chance we can push it up a week or two.” Henry all but begged the cast was an annoyance having to keep it covered when he showered, it was cumbersome and uncomfortable and one night while fighting with the blanket he accidentally punched his other arm in the process. He also wanted to tell Alex I sleep much better when I am in your arms, but today wasn’t the correct time.

Alex grabbed his stethoscope and draped it around his neck for a quick second. “Can I listen to your heart and lungs and then we can order food and watch something other than Bake Off. I’m sorry unfortunately your ulna break requires six weeks in a cast, and you have four more left to go.”

“You may. Want to watch Star Wars.” Henry said feeling like rehashing that argument. His face fell at the mention of spending four more weeks in the annoying cast.

Alex laughed and put his stethoscope into his ears. “We are not watching Jedi, Empire is better. How about a safe alternative of Harry Potter.” He placed the end of his stethoscope against Henry’s exposed chest and listened to the soothing sound of his heartbeat. He moved the end to listen to Henry’s lungs checking that he didn’t hear any crackles or wheezing.

“Only if it is The Prisoner of Azkaban.” Henry suggested listening to Alex’s instruction of breathing.

“Deal. We are still the same dorks we were back then aren’t we” Alex said removing the stethoscope and put it back into his backpack. His desire for Henry certainly had changed so it made since his dorkness was still attached. “You sound perfect by the way.” He winked.

He grabbed the prescription strength scar cream. “Bea texted and asked if I could get you some good scar cream. Let’s get a coat on you and then we can talk about food. I’m hungry, I’ve had a protein shake and did my usual six-mile run through Central Park. I’ve worked up an appetite.

Henry nodded he had mentioned to Bea on night during their talks that he didn’t want to scar or look like a gutted fish in the event he got to be intimate with someone he decided to play it off as a Philip request. “Philip was concerned about the scaring in case I’m ever caught with my shirt off.” He didn’t want to sound vain or vapid, but he seriously felt like a gutted fish.

Of course, Alex spent his days off running. He remembered the text messages all those years that one of Alex’s hobbies was morning runs with Cash. It made since to keep the hobby up as a doctor. It was obvious Alex cared about his body.

Alex raised a brow but said nothing he could understand. He imagined if he were in Henry’s position, he’d want the scar cream too. He was damn proud of his abs. He squeezed a small amount of the tube.

“You’ll want to coat all the scars with a thin layer of cream.” He said showing Henry how to rub the cream correctly. He also covered the two scars on Henry’s sides from the chest tubes and the two places where the surgical drains had been. “Twice a day until I come to remove your cast and we can have our secret rendezvous in Paris.” Alex had been to Paris a few times for international relations, but he still loved the city, and it would be nice to be on vacation and not as The First Son.

Henry watched Alex rub the cream into his abdomen. The cream was cold, but Alex’s hands were warm, and it actually felt nice having his hands rub along his polo abs. It would be nice to not have a giant scar in between his abs.

“Speaking of Bea, I was sent an invitation to her wedding with a plus one. Who should I bring as my plus one?” Alex told Henry he figured it might be easier if Henry was the one to pick his ‘date’ for the wedding. “I was thinking of asking either Karina or Paige.”

Henry smiled he liked the fact that Alex cared enough to ask him who he should invite to his sister’s wedding. “I wish it could be me as your plus one, but I’m just not there and it would be rude to overshadow my sister’s big day. I liked both of them, to me though I think your friendship seemed stronger with Paige than it does with Karina. You said you thought of Paige like a sister, and she did recognize me. I would invite Paige first and if she declines bring Karina.

Alex had to agree with Henry about who he should invite. “You are exactly right I am a lot closer to Paige.” He adored Karina but he didn’t have a bond to her as he did with Paige. He sat the tube of cream on Henry’s nightstand.

“I’m giving you a clean bill of health.” Alex said going over to lay on the left side of the bed and Henry handed him the room service menu with the instruction to order whatever he wanted that his mum was paying. He also noticed Henry scooted closer to him, but he loved it when they could be this close like they were the only two in the world.

Alex opened the fancy room service menu that was bound in leather that felt so much richer than his jacket. He draped his left arm around Henry holding him against his left side. He wasn’t used to taking time for himself, so this felt amazing having an attractive man leaning against him as they discussed food.

“The Gotham burger sounds good.” Henry muttered as he noticed the steak menu. “That black garlic and truffle sauce with a Wagyu steak sounds better.”

Alex laughed because that is exactly what he was thinking. Burger sounded good but the Japanese steak sounded much better, besides The Four Seasons was covering the stay along with all the room service so it really wasn’t on The Royals dime since the hotel was getting so much publicity from the Royals extended stay.

“I was thinking the exact same.” Alex muttered watching Henry grab the in-room tablet to order their room service. 

“How do you like your steak?” Henry questioned wondering if this would turn out like their Star Wars argument.

“Medium-Rare.” Alex said watching Henry order two Wagyu steaks medium-rare with the black garlic and truffle sauce. “I see we are in agreement that is the only way to eat a steak.”

“Better than our Star Wars disagreement.” Henry teased setting the tablet down and grabbing the remote to find The Prisoner of Azkaban. He honestly didn’t feel like a movie, he’d much rather kiss his attractive surgeon and so that is exactly what he did.

He started the movie and then straddled himself in the middle of Alex’s lips. He lowered himself to Alex’s chest inhaling the aroma of leather and sandalwood. He placed a tender kiss against Alex’s lips admiring his fluffy eyelashes. He was going to hell, but the trauma surgeon was oh so worth it.

Alex looked up and saw Henry fully straddling his lap and then felt the blonde’s pouty lips against his own lips. His mouth parted, feeling Henry’s tongue slide inside their shared desire fill the hotel room suite. He felt Henry’s left hand running through his thick curls and oh god he was pretty sure his jeans felt tighter than they were when he had gotten here.

He had no idea how he’d be able to focus on anything else besides their upcoming time in Paris. His nerves felt like they were on fire and Henry was the water. His chocolate eyes were almost black with desire and his heart was racing.

Alex felt Henry’s left-hand snake under his black tee shirt pulling it over his head. So, this was where it was going. He knew as a doctor he should be trying to slow things down after all he had just removed Henry’s staples earlier, but his brain was in another dimension when it came to Henry kissing him and well the blood that was usually in his brain was now making his dick rock hard. All of his sound logic and medical reasoning had tossed itself off the hotel terrace the moment Henry’s lips touched his.

He felt Henry’s lips leave his own and move their way down to his neck, he felt the plump lips sucking at just the right spot on his neck and his head hit the pillow in complete bliss. He knew that was going to leave a hickey, but he could care less.

The two of them were so focused on their passion and desire for one another that they didn’t hear the knock on the door. They were in their own world oblivious to anything.

“Sir’s your food has arrived.” Ben said from the doorway, and when the prince and trauma surgeon said nothing, he made his way into the bed area and almost dropped the food tray as he saw Henry on top of the half-naked surgeon both kissing each other like their lives were at stake.

“I have your steaks!” Ben said a little more forcefully watching Henry scramble to leave Alex’s lap. He was so glad he walked in on just passionate kissing; he would need an endless amount of therapy if he saw either of their bare asses.

“Sorry Ben.” Henry said shyly from the bed he was rock hard in his sweatpants and Alex looked equally undone.

“I’m going to leave these here. Call or text me if you need anything and for the sake of the Queen lock the door if the two of you are going to kiss like that.” Ben lectured setting the tray of steaks on the table and all but running from the room.

Alex groaned and tossed his head back against the pillow. He could not believe they were just caught in such a compromising position. He supposed it was better to be caught by Ben than one of his nurses while Henry was in the hospital. Yeah, that would have been fun to explain. At least everyone on this floor of the hotel knew that he and Henry were going to be secretively dating and kissing was a healthy part of a relationship. He was going to be depraved for four weeks without those lips.

“We should probably eat before our steaks get cold.” Henry suggested trying to think of anything, but the way Alex’s lips felt. It was like they were a puzzle missing the final piece and when they were together the puzzle was perfectly complete.

“We should but I don’t think I can walk. I think your kisses transport me to another dimension.” Alex complained noticing a spot already forming in the spot Henry had kissed. He wouldn’t be able to hide that whatsoever at work it was prime real estate for a hickey, and he knew a hickey was a bruise but there was no calling the spot forming on his neck a bruise.

“I would go get them, but I feel like Stonehenge.” Henry’s pupils were wide and a darker blue than Alex was used to seeing. He noticed the spot forming on Alex’s neck and smirked to himself. He would have to leave a few more before the surgeon left.

“Your Royal Hardness.” Alex whispered mustering all the strength he could to leave the comfortable bed to grab the tray of steaks. Today was supposed to be an innocent staple remover and it felt like his brain was swimming in Jell-O. He was almost 30 but he felt 21 again and they were underneath the Linden tree, their hair getting covered in snow.

Henry rolled over and hid his face in the pillow, this was all he wanted all those years ago. A part of his brain was screaming that he had a date with Alex, and they had just kissed, and it felt even better than their kiss on New Year’s, but the part of his brain that had been twisted by Mary was telling him he was disappointing the crown and his country.

Why couldn’t he have been born normal. He knew his family supported his choice to date Alex and Mary was dead and hopefully rolling over in her grave at the thought of the prince being sullied by a biracial and bisexual commoner. How did his brain still feel this way after years of therapy and his mother as the reigning Queen.

He rolled over in the large bed and saw Alex cutting his steak into manageable bites and it made his heart physically ache it was such a tender gesture. Alex came back to the bed and placed the tray of delicious steak between the two of them. He sat Henry’s plate on his lap and the tiny bites of steak stared at him.

Alex grabbed his own plate of steak. “Let me know if you need help.” He said the steak was so tender it could be cut by a fork. He took a bite and dipped it into the garlic and truffle sauce, and he couldn’t put into words how delicious the steak was, or maybe he was still high from their earlier kiss.

Henry grabbed the fork with his left hand with little difficulty, he wished the break was in his left arm it was hard trying to do everything with his nondominant hand. He stabbed a bite of the perfectly cut steak and dipped the bite into the sauce, the taste was excellent or maybe he was still tasting Alex’s mouth on his.

Alex cut another bite of the juicy steak and let all the flavors melt in his mouth nearly letting out a moan of happiness. It had been a while since had a Michelin star chef cook his food. He was used to the food from the hospital cafeteria and the occasional food truck. If he was really busy, he had an emergency jar of peanut butter tucked in his locker. “This steak was a good call.”

Henry made a sound of agreement and the two of them finished their steaks in record time. Henry was in the mood to leave more marks on Alex’s neck. Alex quickly took their two plates and sat them on the tray on the table. He supposed they could have eaten at the table instead of in the bed like complete heathens but honestly a good wagyu steak paired nicely with the Mexican god whose muscles rippled as he moved. Henry’s throat was dry, and his pupils were full of lust.

Alex came back to the bed and felt Henry’s body straddling his again. He felt those perfect lips against his. He was a weak man when it came to Henry. After several minutes or was it hours he felt Henry’s tongue run down his neck and felt his mouth leave another damn love bite on him.

The two spent several hours kissing, talking, and vaguely watching The Prisoner of Azkaban and when Alex tried to leave for the night Henry told him to stay and how could he say no to those blue puppy eyes. So, he spent the night curled up by Henry.

Alex heard the alarm clock go off and he groaned loudly feeling the pale skin under his arm move. Henry had convinced him to spend the night it was late by the time they finished watching a few Harry Potter movies and well kissing. He had several hickey’s dotting his neck from Henry. “I’m sorry it is early, but I have to go to work.” He whispered into Henry’s soft blonde hair.

Henry turned to look at Alex with sadness in his eyes. He knew the attractive surgeon had to go save lives. He felt Alex untangle his arms from his warm body. He leaned in to give Alex an innocent kiss. “Have a good shift.” He rolled over knowing that he would be departing from England sometime today. This was the last time he’d see Alex in four weeks. He took a mental picture of seeing Alex shirtless and having several love bites on his neck. He took pride knowing he was the one who left them.

Alex grabbed his black tee shirt and threw it over his head and got up from the exceedingly comfortable bed. He put everything back into the correct pants pocket and toed on his leather sneakers. He kept a worn but still good pair of sneakers at the bottom of his locker as a just in case. Clearly today was that day. He threw his leather jacket over his tee shirt.

“I’ll see you soon.” He said fondly, grabbing his work backpack from Henry’s side of the bed. He knew that with text messages, calls, and video chats the four weeks would be an absolute drag.

Alex caught sight of himself in the entry mirror and there was no way his scrub top was going to cover those hickeys. His dark circles looked lighter than usual, and his curls looked perfectly tousled. He left the hotel room with a soft click. It felt so strange to be wearing yesterday’s outfit to work. He knew it was considered a walk of shame, but he had zero shame.

Ben smiled, dressed in another well-fitted suit, the Union Jack shining under the hallway lights. “I trust you slept well. I have told Queen Catherine that Henry is safe to fly, and I have orders to make sure you get to Bellevue safely.” He told the surgeon handing him a cup of coffee figuring he would appreciate it.

Alex took a sip of the coffee grateful to have his morning cup of caffeine. “Thank you, Benjamin.” He muttered following Ben down the sprawling hallway and into the bank of private elevators passing no less than ten PPOs. He was glad that everyone else was still in their hotel rooms. He didn’t know if he’d be able to explain it to Catherine, Bea, Philip, or Martha. He had everyone’s number, and all told him to keep in contact.

The crisp New York air slapped him right back into reality. The Maybach was waiting outside, and Ben held his door open. He needed to find a secret entrance or have Ben drop him off a block away. He did not want to explain this to anyone else who was arriving so he had Ben drop him at the Target on 2^nd Avenue which was a short five minute walk to Bellevue, and most would assume he was walking from his apartment.

Ben opened the door for Alex as the trauma surgeon was clipping his hospital id to his jeans. “Have a good day Dr. Claremont-Diaz.” He tried not to stare at the hickeys dotting the man’s neck.

Alex left the car and quickly walked to the hospital. He tapped his badge to the staff entrance and took the usual path to the locker room and found Adrian DeLuca who was the previous chief resident of trauma surgery before Alex and Paige leaning against the wall to the resident locker room both of them already dressed for the day.

Adrian was an attractive Italian man with chocolate brown hair, green eyes, and a short neatly trimmed box style beard. He was slightly shorter than Alex by about three inches and he was Alex’s favorite mentor. He borrowed a lot of his teaching style from Adrian. Like Alex, his father was also an immigrant so he could relate to Alex’s struggle the two quickly becoming great friends and a mentor. “Morning.”

“Morning.” Alex said taking the coffee cup that Paige held out to him he felt his jacket shift in the process and hoped they didn’t notice his trail of hickeys he felt Adrian brush his shoulder and pull back the collar.

“You have quite the collection of hickeys fratello.” Adrian often called Alex the Italian word for brother. Alex thought Adrian was a lot like Rafael, one raised him, and one taught him how to be a damn good surgeon.

Paige raised and eyebrow and slow clapped seeing the trail of hickeys covering Alex’s tanned neck. She didn’t even want to know who gave him those love bites. She did notice a light behind his eyes that had been missing and his steps seemed to have more pep. She figured his spark was coming back since he was close to the residency finish line, but she couldn’t quite figure out the second part of it.

“I know.” Alex said sounding slightly embarrassed he had left Henry with similar hickeys on his neck. He figured one of his family members would notice them. “Can’t exactly hide them.”

“Not unless you zip your jacket all the way up in your neck. You might put a bandage over them and say you had a mole removed.” Adrian winked coming up with a perfect excuse.

“Paige, can I talk to you for a quick second?” Alex asked, seeing her nod. He reached for her hand and led her slightly down the hallway and pulled her into the suture closet.

Paige was dressed in her navy scrubs; her blonde hair was in a pink leopard scrub cap that matched her hot pink jacket. She leaned against a metal rack that held every single type of suture imaginable. “What do you need?”

“I received an invitation to Princess Beatrice’s wedding as a thank you for taking care of Prince Henry and I was told my attendance is mandatory. I was wondering if you wanted to be my plus one only as friends.”

“Why don’t you ask the person who gave you the hickeys?” She teased her green eyes twinkling in enjoyment.

Alex internally screamed of course she’d ask that question. He trusted her and he knew she wouldn’t tell anyone, but at the same time he liked the idea of Henry being his secret for a while. “Because you helped save Henry too and it is only fair to take you. Come on it is a free trip to England, and you can rub elbows with attractive British men. There will also be a lot of actors since she is marrying Tom Evans, not to mention you’d get to see the inside of Buckingham.” He said smoothly coming up with the perfect believable excuse.

Paige smiled completely aware of the giant lie and the fact he totally evaded her question. “Yes, I’ll be your plus one. That was nice of them to send you an invitation after what you did at the last royal wedding. Someone has to be the one to babysit you and keep you away from another cake shower. I’m pretty sure if you did it again, they’d toss you in a dungeon and throw the key in The River Thames.”

Alex laughed, she truly reminded him of June and Nora. “I was quite shocked seeing the invitation in my mailbox. Thank you.” He said honestly, he was glad that she had befriended him that first day of medical school.

“Come on curls let’s go find a bandage for your neck like Adrian suggested. You still need to change into your scrubs. I’ll go grab us a coffee.”

Alex often wondered what he would do without Paige. He tapped his badge to the sensor on the wall and changed into his scrubs in record time. He grabbed his small first aid kit and grabbed an extra-large bandage that was an exact match to his skin, he hoped it would blend in and nobody would know what he was hiding.

He clipped his badge reel to the loop on his pants and grabbed his stethoscope from his backpack and slid it into his black pocket. He left the locker room and saw Paige leaning against the wall. “Here let me with that before you miss a spot.” She said, taking the bandage and applying it to Alex’s neck. She’d have to remember Adrian’s trick.

Henry groaned when Benjamin woke him up for the flight. He dressed quickly in a blue high-neck jumper and a pair of gray trousers. He hoped the neck stayed put on his jumper since Alex gave him the same kind of love bites. He didn’t know if he could make it four weeks on just video chats alone. He heard his phone ding and saw a bathroom selfie from Alex in his scrubs his neck was covered with a skin tone bandage, and he could barely tell it was there.

‘You are a menace. I’m just glad a friend gave me a good trick. I hope Philip notices your love bites. Have a safe flight home.’

Henry smiled at the text message and put his phone into his pocket. He’d have to remember that bandage hack for their next time. He was hopelessly falling for Dr. Alexander Claremont-Diaz. Only four more weeks until their secret rendezvous in Paris. Not that he was counting or anything. 

Chapter Text

Alex leaned his head against the cushioned headrest of the Mercedes-Benz Maybach. It had been a long four weeks and he had just wrapped up 48 hours on call. He was behind on creating the March call schedule, he had yet to decide on a contract. His written and oral boards had been scheduled for May. He was tired and needed to sleep on the plane, but at the same time he knew he had too much to do and not enough time to get it all done. He figured a private jet flight would at least allow at least seven hours of interrupted time to get some of his growing list of shit done.  

The Maybach pulled into Teterboro Airport and Alex realized he much preferred flying privately than being in business class. It was one of the few things he missed about having his mother as the president was the flights on Air Force One.

He did think it was odd that the Royal family had sent a private jet just for him. Logan was his chauffeur for the night, and he was the one who opened the door of the Maybach snapping him out of his thoughts.

Logan took his bags from the trunk and handed them to another man wearing a Union Jack lapel pin who carried them up the steps and into the cargo hold. They directed him up the stairwell and to sit wherever he’d like. It was a big jet for just him and Logan although it was nice to get directly onto the jet and not have to go through security.

He was dressed in his NYU med school hoodie and pair of black joggers. He had his backpack slung over his right shoulder, that way he could spend some of the seven-hour flight to London working on schedules, contract negotiations and maybe a few minutes to study for his boards. He knew his brain would be otherwise occupied spending one week with Henry. Alex walked into the plane and found Henry standing by the entryway.

Henry smiled seeing Alex board the plane. The initial plan was to have Alex fly to Kensington remove his cast and the two of them would fly onward to Paris. He decided he couldn’t wait seven more hours to see the curly-haired trauma surgeon.

He was right, the four weeks waiting for this day dragged on forever. The savior was their video chats, and he might have scrolled all the way to the bottom of Alex’s Instagram out of boredom and longing. He had spent plenty of time with Bea planning this trip and she had shown him her sneaky photos of Alex with Victoria and they made his heart swell.

“Alex.” Henry said, his voice full of tenderness as he hugged the surgeon. “I’ve missed you so much.” He whispered kissing Alex’s lips softly. “You look exhausted.” He said, pulling away from the kiss noticing the dark circles under the surgeon’s eyes.

Alex laughed he should have been able to figure this out and knew he wouldn’t be able to get anything he had planned and hoped to do on this flight done. Henry was a terrible distraction, but the distraction he desperately needed. “Hi sweetheart. I’ve missed you too. I am exhausted. How about we get that cast off.”

“That sounds wonderful and why you do that; you can tell me why you are so exhausted.” Henry suggested sitting on one of the leather chairs next to a nearby dining table.

Benjamin smiled at the surgeon. “Good evening, Dr. Alexander Claremont-Diaz would you care for a drink?” He asked politely, the jet was fully stocked with all sorts of alcohol and a coffee machine. The last time he saw the surgeon he had hickeys lining his neck and was missing his shirt today he had least looked put together.

“Hello Benjamin. Please call me Alex I’m not at work.” He instructed and even if he was at work, he still preferred it when people called him by his first name. “A vanilla coffee would be wonderful.”

“In that case you can call me Ben. Coming right up. I’ll also bring you the cast saw too.” A few moments passed and Ben came back and handed Alex a vanilla cappuccino, Henry an Earl Grey tea, and sat the battery-operated cast saw on the floor next to one of the plus leather chairs. Both men said their thanks and Benjamin took his leave.

Alex took a sip of the delicious cappuccino and sat the mug on the table next to him. He sat his backpack on the same table and grabbed the bandage scissors from it. He knew Henry was ready to ditch the cast the last time the two of them saw each other he all but begged to see each other sooner.

“I’m exhausted because I’ve yet to make March’s schedule, Rafael is supposed to have a rally in New York towards the end of this month. My parents will be attending, and they all want to see me. March is both our birthdays. April is Bea’s wedding, I need to figure out and sign an attending contract, study for both surgical boards. It’s just a lot on top of working over eighty hours in a week.”

Henry listened to the reasons why Alex was exhausted, and his eyebrows raised that was a lot on one single person. “Why do you have two board exams? Also why don’t you work on the schedule while we fly.” He’d like to go back to the bed to kiss and cuddle but he could stay awake and listen to Alex’s contract offers and help him decide.

“One is a standard multiple choice exam and the other is an oral board where I’m grilled over three sessions by attendings on how quickly I can think when it comes to any kind of imaginable scenario. I planned to work on it already.” Alex said, grabbing the cast saw from the plastic case.

“A cast saw will only cut the outer shell of the cast and won’t cut your skin at all.” He explained smiling softly at the blonde and starting the saw.

Henry heard the saw start up and felt the vibrations going through his fingers. He was so glad to be getting rid of the awful thing it would be so nice having his hand back, he realized how easy it was to take having both hands for granted. It was a pain making sure it was covered every time he took a shower, and it would be nice to use both hands to explore Alex’s curly hair and his sinful abs.

He watched as Alex removed the blue part of the cast and cut through the padded layers revealing his arm underneath and smelled something terrible. Oh, right his arm hadn’t been washed in six weeks of course it would have an odor to it. Luckily this jet had a shower so he could freshen it up. He felt Alex’s warm fingers running over the pale arm.

“Any pain?” Alex questioned moving his fingers along Henry’s forearm feeling along both radius and ulna. “How about numbness or tingles in the fingers? Can you wiggle them for me?” Alex noticed Henry’s fingers moving.

“No pain and no numbness.” Henry said, getting up from the chair. “I’m going to go take a quick shower my arm stinks. Thank you for removing that ghastly thing.”

Alex laughed softly and put the saw back into its plastic case. He shoved the scissors next to the cast saw he would not be needing those on the trip.  He did, however, fully stock a first aid kit for the worst possible scenario. He took a sip of the delicious cappuccino and sitting the cup beside the laptop. He pulled up his calendar and work email to find all the time off requests for March.

Henry came back about five minutes later after Ben and Logan had picked up everything. He was wearing a green hoodie and black joggers, he looked comfortable and happy. He sat in the chair next to Alex at the table and grabbed his Earl Grey Tea. He looked at the calendar and saw just how many shifts Alex had scheduled himself for. He didn’t know whether to be impressed or terrified.

“You work a lot.” Henry muttered wrapping his arms around Alex. “Maybe I should arrange another vacation for us. That cannot be healthy.”

“I scheduled myself a few days off around your birthday. I also scheduled myself off around my birthday.” Alex admitted it was the first time that he actually scheduled himself off for his birthday.

Alex did work a lot, before Henry came back into his life, he was quite content with being a workaholic with not much of a work-life balance, his life was his work. He was much like his parents in that regard. Not to mention work distracted him from the feelings in his brain, but now those feelings were out in the open and sitting next to him. He let out a yawn as he finished the temporary schedule, he emailed it to Edwards for approval.

Ben came over and announced they were taking off and they would be in Paris, France in just a hair over 7 hours.

“Why don’t you come snuggle me and we can talk about your contract options.” Henry suggested Alex had taken care of him so well while he was in the hospital and now was his chance to return the favor and now that he had both hands, he would not be taking no for an answer. He wanted to know how it felt to have both of his arms wrapped around the trauma surgeon.

Alex smiled softly and looked at the handsome blonde he knew there was no sense in trying to fight the suggestion of a bed and the arms of his crush. He shut his laptop and slid the device back into his backpack. “Lead the way.” He followed Henry down the hallway and into the room who shut the door so the of them could be alone.  

He took off his shoes not wanting to dirty up the bed. He watched Henry do the same and took the spot closest to the giant windows. Henry smiled at him with open arms and patted the spot next to him and how could he say no.

Alex sat down next to him and felt himself being pulled closer to the blonde. Their bodies touching and it felt like they were missing puzzle pieces they fit together so well. He let out a content sigh and snuggled into Henry’s side he knew he didn’t have long before he’d be asleep. Something about Henry made it so easy to relax and turn off his brain.

Henry held Alex close to his chest and it was obvious how much Alex needed this and time to decompress. “What are the top two contracts that you are considering?” He figured that question could help narrow everything down; not to mention Alex had told him he had ADHD.

From his interest in psychology and own research knew they overanalyzed decisions and honestly looking back at Alex made perfect sense. His hands rubbing Alex’s shoulder and yeah, he would be getting them both a couples massage because the amount of tension he was holding in those strong shoulders was alarming.

“Shock Trauma in Baltimore, only problem is they have these terrible pink scrubs that are so thin Adrian and I both had to watch what color of underwear we wore with them, but Shock Trauma is where trauma surgery was first created.” He and Adrian were given a month opportunity back in his 3^rd year to learn at Shock Trauma and he might have jacked a pair of the signature pink scrubs.

Henry laughed he had seen an Instagram post with Alex and an Italian both wearing pink scrubs on a helipad at sunset, but he thought it was a joke. “Why pink scrubs?”  

“Back when Shock Trauma was created there were only three color options for scrubs and the founder R Adams Cowley chose pink because he thought the color would cut down on the staff stealing them, and the pink scrubs became one of the well-known things of Shock Trauma. I spent a month in Baltimore, my 3^rd year and I loved the environment.” Alex explained every now and again his history minor made an appearance. He also thought one month in those scrubs was enough.

He knew deep down in his gut that he’d be signing an attending contract for Bellevue. When he did his residency interviews Shock Trauma was his second choice and even now it was still his second choice.

Alex let out a soft yawn, the bed was comfortable, and he was tired and being held in Henry’s strong arms was everything. He soon felt himself drifting off to sleep and Henry fell asleep a few moments after him.

Ben felt the jet touchdown at Le Bourget Airport and realized that Henry and Alex were still away in the private bedroom. He sighed and got up from his chair remembering what he saw the last time he interrupted those two. He walked into the bedroom and found them still asleep. Henry had his arms wrapped protectively around Alex.

There wasn’t a spot where their bodies weren’t touching each other. He hated to disturb them, both looked like they were having the best sleeps of their lives. Ben was used to Henry’s insomnia so seeing him asleep made Ben’s heart warm, he wasn’t a doctor so he wondered if a person could cure insomnia.

“The jet has landed in France.” Ben said softly but firmly enough that both sleeping man should be able to hear him.

Alex heard a posh accent saying they were in France he barely opened his chocolate brown eyes and saw Ben standing next to the bed. His brain was struggling to process for it was the best he had slept in almost a decade. He was used to all-nighters and running on very little sleep. This had been a full night’s sleep with zero interruption.

“I’ll have a coffee and tea waiting for you both.” Ben said, turning on his heel and leaving the room. He didn’t want to intrude on their private moments.

Henry groaned hearing the sound of his equerry, he was having a fantastic slumber and didn’t want to wake up. He saw chocolate brown eyes warmly staring at him. Yeah, he could get used to waking up next to Alex and seeing those eyes and eyelashes staring at him. Not to mention when Alex was sleeping next to him his brain was quiet and he could fall asleep.

“Morning baby.” Alex smiled happily, the dark circles under his eyes had faded completely.

This was the third time they had slept in the same bed together. The first time was a total accident in Henry’s hospital room and was afraid of someone walking in on them. The second time was when he removed Henry’s staples after a glorious steak, however he had to work so he had to sneak out of the hotel room at ass o’clock in the morning.

Henry felt his heart flutter at the sound of baby coming out of Alex’s perfect lips and he felt butterflies take up residence in his stomach. He liked how that pet name sounded out of Alex’s lips.

He smiled brilliantly and leaned in to kiss Alex’s warm lips that tasted faintly of coffee. He liked when Alex called him sweetheart, but sweetheart sounded like a pet name any southern would use. Baby felt completely different like it was reserved just for him.

“Good morning, dear.” He said as he pulled away from the surgeon’s warm lips. Those lips were starting to haunt his dreams in the best ways.

The two of them separated from each other’s arms so they could freshen up for the day. After several minutes the two joined each other out in the main area finding a vanilla cappuccino left for Alex and a perfectly made Earl Grey for Henry in to go cups.

The two were ushered off the private jet the tarmac empty besides a few Land Rovers and the Bentley whose backseat doors were open. The windows of it darkly tinted so no onlookers could see the inside. Alex slid into the exquisite leather from the left, and Henry came from the right, the two of them linking their fingers together over the armrest.

They drove through the streets of Paris until they pulled into a gated road in the sixteenth arrondissement that was within walking distance of the Eiffel Tower. The vehicle passed by several mansions before going through yet another gate and parking in front of a giant mansion.

Alex looked at the mansion feeling like he was in a storybook fairytale. This had to be some sort of dream, no way this was real. Only it was very much real and hand his own hand was linked with was the Prince of England.

Had you told a teenage Alex that he’d be on a date with Prince Henry of England he would have been shocked, he’d also tell you he wasn’t gay, or bisexual so how was that possible. Adult Alex imagined if you had told that same teenager that instead of a politician, he’d go on to become a trauma surgeon he would have laughed in your face. Yet here was that Alex about to enter a giant mansion to begin his weeklong romantic getaway with Prince Henry.

Ben opened both the rear doors and Henry came around to grab Alex’s hand.

“This property has been in the royal family since 1885 we have since updated it. We use it as our holiday home, and it is the perfect escape.” Henry whispered walking in hand with Alex up the steps to the mansion, the exterior was traditional Paris.

Alex softly smirked he imagined Henry’s ancestors rolling over in their graves at the idea that the current spare of England was on a romantic getaway with a brown man with a proud Mexican heritage. He watched Henry turn the door handle and was greeted by marble statues. The biggest crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling and what had to be antique chevron parquet floors.

Henry happily led him into the mansion where there was a staircase leading up to the upper levels of the mansion. There was a glass inlay on the floor to allow natural light to reach the lower levels. At the very top of the mansion was a glazed skylight that gave the appearance of stained glass. The wallpaper lining the grand entryway was a cream damask and the way the wall sconces hit the wallpaper made it look metallic.

Henry led him around the five-level mansion. The main level housed a formal sitting area with a cloud mural on the ceiling, another equally grand chandelier, a marble fireplace and just off the formal area was a music room housing a piano and several comfortable seating options. Just off the music room was an office with antique books lining the built-in bookshelves along with even more comfortable seating there.

A kitchen that could make the best chef jealous. It was the same white with gold details he’d come to expect. He’d have to see if he could use it to cook them dinner one night. He had several of his Abuela’s recipes bouncing around his head. He’d also have to make Henry his Abuelo’s signature chorizo huevos rancheros for breakfast assuming they’d let him use the beautiful kitchen. He had learned to cook from his grandparents and Oscar. It was a rare occasion he cooked, and nothing was more romantic than cooking dinner for a date night in.

The second lower level had plenty more seating areas next to a fully stocked bar area. There was a pool and air hockey table, tables for board games. At the very end of the floor was a movie theater with double recliners perfect for cuddles. This floor also housed the security and maid quarters.

The lowest level had a pool that was made of blue tiles intermixed with gold tiles, so it looked like the gold was dripping into the pool. It was a long pool with comfortable lounge chairs along the edges. At the end was a circular hot tub that looked like it could comfortably fit ten people. The ceiling of the pool had a cloud mural with fiberoptic lights embedded in the mural.

Alex smiled at the pool as a Texan, he could swim before he could walk. His apartment complex in New York also had an indoor pool so when he didn’t feel like running though Central Park he’d go for a swim.

A gym area was off the pool and Alex knew that treadmill was where he’d be doing his morning run. Also, on this floor was also a sauna using gold tiles and a personal spa with two treatment tables draped in lavish linens, a manicure and pedicure station and a barber station all behind various doors.

“This area is a rather recent edition we are actually underground. In Paris you can’t expand out, so you have to either make the building taller or go underground.” Henry explained.

“Everyone in this family appreciates a good spa day so that is why there is a spa floor. I have us scheduled for a massage and a facial later today, but really the spa staff are at our unlimited disposable so we could have a massage every day we are here.”  

Alex understood he grew up with an older sister who liked to torment him with face masks and then she eventually dragged him with to get a manicure and a pedicure; and by the time they were The White House Trio he would frequently go with June and Nora to the spa or to get manicure and a pedicure because they felt nice. The media had called him a metrosexual but honestly more men should care about their appearance.

The floor above the main level contained all guest suites which is where Ben, Logan, and the senior PPOs would be staying. The top floor was the master apartment with floor to ceiling windows overlooking the Effiel Tower. The bed was bigger than a king, it could probably fit four or five adults comfortably. The ceiling had the same cloud mural along with fiberoptic lights.

Through French doors was the Master bathroom and it had marble covering the floors it also had floor to ceiling windows overlooking the Effiel Tower. There was a huge clear circular shower with a white and gold tile backsplash. Henry hit a button and the glass of the shower became frosted for privacy.

There was a dual vanity also covered in marble and at the very end of the bathroom was a circular jetted tub that could fit three easily. It had a gold waterfall backslash and overlooked the floor to ceiling windows.

Alex had no problem imaging the two of them having a nice bath together while drinking some stupidly fancy champagne. He was glad he had packed lube and plenty of protection. He was horny, having been almost a decade since his last sexual escapade because his stupid brain had to go and hyperfocus on Prince Henry’s kiss. He wondered if Henry felt the same way.

Finally finishing off the tour was a patio area well shielded by trees and plants. They could see the Paris skyline, but nobody would be able to see them on the patio. The mansion was impressive and if Alex had any questions about Henry’s feelings well this mansion answered them only someone truly interested a person would bring them to a place like this.

“Happy belated Valentine’s Day! How does a week here sound?” Henry teased, pulling Alex into him with his hoodie glad to have both arms in use and gave him a passionate kiss and slid his tongue easily inside.

 Tonight, he had a secret surprise for their first official secret date. His mother might have arranged it, but he was excited to have the Effiel Tower all to themselves.

“It sounds perfect.” Alex said relaxing into Henry’s touch. His Valentine’s Day was a busy call shift, so he very much planned to enjoy this week snuggling his lover and maybe making love if Henry was up to it of course. He at least had plans for giving him a blow job, the image of his dick haunting his damn dreams.

“Can I use the kitchen one night? I promise I won’t burn the place down.” He teased wanting to make authentic Mexican cuisine one night for them.

“Of course! If you have something particular in mind just message Logan the shopping list and he can grab everything for you. Although it can’t be tonight, we already have plans.” Henry said with a knowing wink.

“What are those plans?” Alex asked curiously, he would have thought with them being secret about everything that he’d be confined to the mansion, not that he would mind in the slightest since it did have everything including a secretive balcony with a great view of Paris.

“You’ll find out later. How about we go put on some swimwear and we can enjoy the pool before our appointment at the spa.” Henry suggested knowing that Logan and Ben should have brought up their luggage by now.

The two walked back inside and into the closet finding their clothes hanging in the closet courtesy of Ben and Logan. Alex opened one of the drawers to find his underwear and the two swim trunks he had packed. He grabbed the rainbow cheetah pair and left the closet to quickly change into the trunks and to send a message to Logan regarding the kitchen and his shopping list.

Alex quickly changed into the swim trunks and Henry came out of the bathroom looking delicious in a pair of light blue swim trunks. The scar cream had completely faded the abdominal incision to the point where if he hadn’t been the one to make it, he probably wouldn’t have noticed it.

Henry smiled one of his true smiles seeing Alex’s rainbow cheetah swim trunks. God his throat felt dry the colors paired fantastically against Alex’s tanned skin. Alex’s trunks were on the shorter side and made his thighs look delicious. Not to mention his abs and strong biceps his brain was having trouble concentrating. He had a silver chain and a key hanging around his neck drawing attention to those perfect abs.

The two of them walked down the four different staircases until they reached the bottom floor. There was an elevator but both of them were health conscious so the stairs it was.

Henry watched Alex kick off his leather flip flops next to one of the white loungers and walk along the marble floor to the circular hot tub. Henry kicked off his flip flops next to Alex’s and walked the length of the pool until he was at the hot tub.

“What does the key around your neck symbolize?” Henry questioned getting into the bubbling hot tub and sitting down next to the perfect Latino who sometimes didn’t feel real.

Alex looked down and remembered when and why he started wearing the key around his neck. “I wanted a reminder of where I came from. Moving from Austin to DC was terrifying. I was a nobody and all of a sudden June, Nora, and I were in the media and getting invited to things and I never wanted to forget who I was and where I came from. So, she gave me the key and sometimes I fidget with it if I can’t figure something out.”

“Also, it is my turn to ask a question.” Alex said playfully, splashing Henry’s chest with water. “When did you first start liking me?”

“Melbourne Climate Conference. When did you first start to like me?” Henry asked wanting to know what the answer was. That hospital closet made them become friends and the next time they were stuck in a hospital led them to finally admitting things and a willingness to try.

There were no awkward moments between them, it felt like this always should have been. He hated himself for running off after the kiss but there was a part of him that thought Alex might punch him.

“Unofficially the crush began when I was 12 and I saw your photo in a magazine. I just couldn’t explain the feeling I felt seeing that photo.” Alex admitted he had spent plenty of time analyzing that particular stage in life with Matthew.

“I think I started to like you that day at the children’s hospital and then our frequent texts and phone calls. Then the kiss that caused my first life crisis and the realization I was not straight.”

He had struggled with being able to put his feelings for Henry into words and coming out as bisexual because the blow jobs he and Liam gave each other would never be just bros helping bros; after all Liam had come out as gay, and the fact he liked that feeling meant he could never just like woman.

He also couldn’t explain the hot tub kisses with Miguel he blamed that on being drunk. Miguel had been the one to confirm Alex’s sexuality to the media and he still wasn’t okay with that. Richard’s campaign had theorized, and Miguel confirmed it without even giving Alex the heads up that Raf gave him.

“Is that the sin Cornbread knew?” Henry teased with his just for Alex smile and got more water splashed his direction.

Alex laughed and it was a laugh that bounced off the tiles. “I think so, yeah.” He admitted looking at the blue water. It was hard to believe that they finally were together and were talking of a turkey almost a decade ago.

He had spent a lot of time in therapy with Matthew, Rafael’s now husband. Cornbread didn’t know the sins Matthew knew about him. He was even a groomsman on Rafael’s side at their wedding, his father was also a groomsman.

Matthew and Rafael had met in Colorado and after a year of dating Matthew moved to DC and opened a therapy practice and Alex was in his second year of medical school and a psychologist asked if he had ADHD.

He ended up texting Matthew and on a rare day off he found himself sitting in Matthew’s office and three long hours later Alex was officially diagnosed with ADHD. Matthew also helped him realize how much a mess he was during his mom’s first stent as President.

He had no training in media relations and suddenly his every move was being followed. He also grew up where high GPA’s and straight A’s were expected. Hell, he was in all AP classes his Junior and Senior year, he couldn’t be okay with being less than perfect.

“I just realized I never told you my sexuality.” Henry admitted. “I’m very gay.”

He was long out among his family. He told his father before he passed away. Then he told Bea to help get her clean. His grandmother knew and even on her deathbed refused to accept him for who he was. She swore that he was a disgrace to the family. Philip finally accepted him after his mum deprogramed him and sent him to therapy along with teatime with the family to better understand one another.

“I’m very much bisexual.” Alex admitted after the kiss he could only think of Henry and his perfect lips. “My sexuality was leaked before I could even tell my dad’s side of the family. I told Rafael everything, which was my fault because he was working for Richard’s campaign, but I needed his advice.”

“He asked if he could plant the seeds and I gave him permission. I just hadn’t counted on Miguel fucking Ramos leaking it before I could come to terms with it and come out publicly on his own terms. Don’t ever drunk kiss a reporter they’ll try and ruin your life.” Alex laughed feeling Henry’s hand rub his back. He had just confessed something only Matthew knew because that is how much he trusted Henry.

“I guess it good that the only one I have a thing for is a trauma surgeon and he just happens to be in my hot tub.” Henry whispered leaning to tenderly kiss Alex’s cheek he could tell how it happened bothered Alex. He was glad his own media never found out; then again who would tell since Shaan always had his sexual escapades sign an NDA.

It had taken several therapy seasons for Alex to come to terms with all. He played cool and acted like it didn’t bother him; but it did. He learned just how much it did while in therapy. He always assumed he had time and would come out to the rest of the family when he was ready.

Instead, they read about it and saw his fucking press conference. His dad side of the family just as supportive as his parents and sister then again certain places in Mexico same sex marriage was legal before it was fully legal in the States.

“I wish we would have had this talk after the kiss, but you ran away.” Alex said wrapping his arms against Henry so he couldn’t escape. Maybe he and Henry would have been happily married if he had gone after him; or had the conversation his brain and heart desperately wanted him to have afterward.

“I assumed you were going to punch me.” Henry sadly admitted he pulled back from that kiss absolutely terrified that he was wrong.

“Now why would I have done that did you not feel me lean into you, kiss you back, or put my hands on your hips? I know when you left, I stood in the snow absolutely dumbfounded.” Alex admitted. “I was into that kiss.”

Henry’s face fell remembering that kiss and why he did what he did. “I heard Mary’s voice in my head screaming at me and I was a bit in my head when I was kissing you too. I regret not confessing everything.” He pulled Alex’s face to his and kissed him like he did under the tree and the snow.

“It doesn’t really matter now. We are back in each other’s lives and can communicate with each other and we both know what we want. I was also afraid back then because American politics seemed similar to the crown, and I was afraid that it would be trading the prison I was familiar with to a prison I was unfamiliar with.”

“I also knew deep down that Mary would never let us be together. I knew nothing about politics and the media made it seem like you would eventually follow in your mum’s footsteps and become a President and if you and I were together I would have had to abdicate everything I knew. I’m not a Gryffindor like you are.”

Alex pulled Henry closer to him so that he was in his lap. “What do you mean prison? Nope you are cute Hufflepuff.”

“Mary made the crown seem like a prison. My life is not a prison anymore.” Mum had allowed him all the freedom to be who he was. He knew he would eventually have to come out. He knew being gay was no longer the huge thing it was back in 2020 when he kissed Alex. He was just afraid of the headlines of being the first out gay prince. His wedding would be historical, and he wanted to make sure his relationship was in a good place before subjecting the man he loved to the circus that was his media.

Alex smoothly rubbed Henry’s shoulders. “I know you were struggling when it was Queen Mary and how stifled you felt. I think that was when I started to realize there was more to life than following in my parents’ footsteps and becoming a politician. I found myself looking at medical schools more than I looked at law schools. I applied and found myself being hardcore rejected from the top four.”

“What do you mean by rejected from the top four?” Henry questioned, figuring he wasn’t going to enjoy that story.

“Harvard, John Hopkins, University of Pennsylvania, University of California at San Francisco, and Columbia University all rejected me. It shocked Nora because she thought for sure I’d be accepted. She had my ivy league acceptance percentage at 90, because Ivy’s love a diverse applicant.

My family watched me cry and then I got an email from a program director that night who said I was rejected because I was considered a pariah and a risk after my international scandal of cake, being outed as bisexual, and just always being in the damn news for something. I cried even harder when reading the email.” He left off the part that Amy and Cash found him crying on the floor and gave him the peptalk he needed.

“I’m sorry they rejected you over you and I being covered in cake that was honestly an accident on both of our parts.” Henry admitted feeling somewhat at fault because he wasn’t being the kindest towards Alex, but to be fair every time his curly hair and eyelashes got in his proximity, they did something to his brain.

“I can’t help but think it is their loss for rejecting you after all you did save my life. So, who did accept you?” Henry said peppering Alex’s cheek with kisses. He couldn’t imagine how heartbreaking that felt he wished he would have been there in support. He knew Alex had ultimately gone to NYU, but he wanted to hear the full story and what other schools wanted him.

“I didn’t hear anything for two weeks and suddenly I had an acceptance from Georgetown who probably thought well we are familiar with Claremont-Diaz’s particular brand of bullshit, might as well give him a shot to prove himself as a doctor. They weren’t even top fifty, so I considered them to be my safety option.”

Henry laughed back when they were in their early twenties, he too was very familiar with Claremont-Diaz’s particular brand of bullshit to the point he kissed it.

“Then a few days later I had an acceptance from Baylor, University of Colorado, and University of Texas who were also more of a safety option considering I was going to graduate Summa Cum Laude, a shocking MCAT score, and well I am diverse. I at least had hope that someone in the top ten wanted me.”

“I know it doesn’t matter much and I would have been a doctor, but I knew it would make a difference in a long run when it came to choosing my specialty.” Alex admitted taking a pause as Ben handed them both a flute of champagne, he took a sip from the flute. He wasn’t much of a drinker, having realized that when he drank, he often made bad decisions. Logan sat down a charcuterie board which was full of various meats, cheeses, and fruits.

“Then I finally got an acceptance from Duke which was in the top ten and my best option at the time. My ma was begging me to accept Georgetown so she could have me close. At that point I was waiting to hear from NYU, and when I saw that they had accepted me it was like our kiss all over again.” Alex noticed Henry smile when he said that his top choice felt like a kiss.

“Someone in the top five believed in me and willing to take a chance on me. My excitement could be heard all over The White House. I thought for sure it was going to be another damn rejection. I never hit a button so quickly in my life. I didn’t even think about it. NYU was my dream school and was the hope I had for almost a month, especially after the bitter rejection of Harvard.” He thought for sure that NYU would be another rejection given how selective they were and just how many applied.

Henry could feel Alex’s excitement just from the brief retelling. “If you hadn’t gotten into NYU what was your second choice?” He wondered if someone in Alex’s family had a video of that, because he would love to see it.

Alex laughed and it echoed off the tiles. “Duke first then University of Texas. I had already done my four years at Georgetown and living in The White House, so I wanted to be on my own even if I did have Amy and Cash accompanying me all over New York. Ma even tried to get Amy to come out retirement to come with me while I was in Baltimore, Bronx, and Queens.”

“That makes perfect sense. Wait Amy retired?” Henry questioned incredulously he had liked that secret service agent. She had a great sense of humor.

“Technically yes, she is no longer a working secret service agent. Her wife is a police officer in DC, and both wanted children. Cash offered to be the sperm donor and he is equally a part of their lives. Amy decided to retire to take care of the children, she teaches incoming agents and is the perfect mother.”

“The three of them had almost five-year-old twins, Austin is the boy named after the hometown of some of their favorite people; and Savannah, Amy’s wife is originally from that area. Both adore their uncle Alex to pieces and Amy also has a side business she makes badge reels and scrub caps. She is constantly sending me a care package of new creations. It was something she picked up while I was in classes in between her knitting and crocheting.”

“Deliah and Devon also adore me much to Zahra’s dismay. Although anytime I’m in the DC area she wants me to check over her children to make sure their pediatrician hasn’t missed anything.”

Henry smiled at the mention of Shaan’s children he adored them as much as he adored Victoria. Devon was their six-year-old son and super intelligent and had Zahra’s fiery personality. Deliah was their three-year-old daughter who was Shaan’s clone.

“Is that why you are so good with children?” Henry questioned figuring now would be a good time to ask that question. He had seen the photos Bea had taken, and he looked like a natural with Tori even Philip and Martha were impressed since he was a surgeon. He grabbed his flute of champagne and took a greedy sip and shoved a bite of warm brie into his mouth.

“Somewhat. I’ve always been decent with children, probably because I have a ton of cousins; but as a trauma surgeon I deal with both adults and pediatrics. Bellevue gets both so I’ve done a fair of pediatric trauma surgery. I’ve done a ton of emergency appendectomies in the middle of the night, and I’d say a good amount of them are on a child.”

“I keep up to date on most of the new Disney movies and Amy makes me a ton of Disney, Marvel, Harry Potter and just fun scrub caps. More than a few pediatric attendings tried to court me, but primary care was boring to me and don’t even get me started on all the bullshit that comes with primary care. My heart was always on surgery.” Alex said, taking a sip of his champagne.

Henry couldn’t imagine how heartbreaking it was to operate on a child and how taxing that would be on someone’s emotions. He liked reckless Alex a lot, but he was finding himself falling head over heels for this more mature Alex.

There you are! It is time for your spa treatments.” A blonde women said clapping her hands together. “I’m Fluer and I’ve been assigned to Dr. Claremont-Diaz.”

The two of them had been so wrapped up in memories and catching up that both of them missed the two forty something women dressed in plum uniforms that tied at their waists. One was a blonde and the other a dark brunette both held a fluffy white towel. Their champagne and charcuterie long gone.

“Hi Fluer. Please just call me Alex.” He mused, turning to look at Henry and helping him out of the circular hot tub. Henry linked his fingers with the longer fingers of Alex which felt like a prune, then again, the two of them had lost track of how much time they spent in the hot tub.

Fluer and Cosette handed them the fluffy towel and both of them dried off with the towel.

“Hello Alex.” Fleur said in her thick French accent taking his hand and leading the men down the hallway passed the sauna and into the spa. Alex quickly ducked into the nearby bathroom and changed out of his wet swim trunks and into a pair of fresh underwear. He grabbed the robe that was hanging up and made his way back to the spa, which was playing relaxing music.

“We have you for a massage and a facial. How would you like your massage I specialize in deep tissue, Swedish, hot stone, or shall I just feel your muscles and determine what you need?”

“You are the expert. I do appreciate a good hot stone massage though.” Alex said trusting the Frenchwomen to melt away his layers of stress. He removed the robe and slid under the luxurious feeling linens draping the table. He felt her nibble fingers exploring his shoulders.

“Your knots have knots.” Fleur lectured and they heard Henry laugh from over on his table. “You at least have good skin, so I’ll give you a free pass.”

Alex sighed feeling her rub his exhausted muscles. He was a runner and if he wasn’t running, he would hit the gym or a pool, he stood a lot in the OR and at work, had a bunch of stress lately since he was in the home stretch of the long residency marathon. Along with somehow following the upcoming election. He supposed it was because he had a dog in the fight with Rafael. Luckily his dad wasn’t up for reelection this year.

He felt her nibble fingers dancing along his back releasing months’ worth of tension and stress as the smell of chocolate filled the air. The only thing he heard was relaxing spa music and the sounds of their breathing and the occasional enjoyable sigh.

The feeling of her hands was a nice contrast against the hot stones. He almost wanted to text June that he was in the middle of the best massage of his life, but he knew she was covering a huge story in Australia.

After the whole saving Henry’s life, he got a phone call from her; but he knew she was busy and important covering the huge story in Australia in hopes of getting the summer Olympics reporting gig she had her heart set on. Like him she was a workaholic after all it was prevalent in both Claremont and Diaz blood. She wanted to be a hard-hitting reporter but most of what they threw her way was a fluff piece or politics which was not her vibe.

He didn’t know how long they had been getting their massages; all he was aware of was that his brain felt like goo, and it might start to leak out of his ears. He needed this along with finally being together with Henry even if he did feel like the secret mistress.

The muscles in his neck and back hadn’t felt this good since he was a child. Sure, June and Nora dragged him to get massages with them, but there was just something about Fleur that was melting a decade of stress of him; or maybe that was just being in Henry’s proximity. He couldn’t tell you exactly.

“You can turn on over it is time for your facial.” Fleur whispered warmly touching his shoulder.

“That was amazing. Can I book you again for tomorrow?” He asked half teasing but half not.

“You may.” She said laughing as she grabbed everything she needed to do a proper facial, hand and foot massage.

“Enjoying yourself?” Henry questioned also rolling over for Cosette. “Bea, mum, and Victoria all adore Fleur.”

“I haven’t felt this relaxed since I was a baby.” Alex mused hearing everyone laugh; he was being truly honest.

Henry could relate to that statement from the moment he could walk he was expected to be a public figure and everything he or his siblings did or touched was put under a microscope to be analyzed, hence his need for therapy and medication. Clearly, he and Alex were more alike than he thought in that regard.

Fluer came back with little dishes of supplies and put them on the table close to her. “You must use skincare. You have great skin, a little dry in places but otherwise great. Your lips need some attention though.” She playfully lectured the surgeon.

“Yeah, the hospital environment leaves them dry, not to mention surgical masks and I think New York also makes them worse. I constantly apply something to them.”

He had learned a lot about skin from June, Nora, and Amy, the three of them having frequent spa nights. Ellen and Zahra joined in occasionally. He took good enough care of his skin to the point where the last time he got drinks with Paige and Adrian he was carded. Paige also got carded even though everyone had dark circles. Sure, he and Paige could pass for younger due to good genetics and good skincare but barely legal was a slight stretch.

Henry smirked slightly he had zero problems with the feelings of Alex’s lips he quite enjoyed their slightly rough texture against his softer ones. He also heard Fleur and Alex quietly discussing the benefits of skincare. He soon felt him zoning out as he felt Cosette’s fingers rubbing product into his own face, and he relaxed even deeper onto the table.

Alex felt Fleur grab his hands and coat them in something with a gritty texture that smelled of chocolate and coffee. He had a mask covering his face and eyes, so he was using his other senses and God did her nibble fingers feel great as she worked the scrub all over his fingers and hands. After she scrubbed both of his hands and digits, he felt his hands being dipped in warm paraffin wax and soft warm mitts going over the bag to keep the heat in.

He felt her remove the wax from his hands and fingers and start to massage his fingers individually and fuck it felt good. She massaged every single knuckle in his fingers. He’d be perfectly fine with another hand massage from Fleur he was truly on cloud nine relaxing further and further into the table pretty sure he’d be floating in bliss the rest of the night. His brain interrupted and wondered if Logan had been able to secure the grocery shopping list, he’d have to ask once he could get up and walk from the bed.

Fleur finished her treatment by coating his lips in several things. “How do you feel?” She questioned warmly in her rich accent.

“Like you removed my last five years of stress and residency didn’t happen.” Alex muttered his face looked clear and slightly more youthful. Like it did when you graduated from medical school his brain chimed in.

Henry smiled stifling a laugh and got up from his own table. “I for one think your lips look good enough to kiss.” He whispered kissing Alex softly on the lips. He was vaguely aware of Fleur and Cosette calling them adorable in flawless French, but he didn’t care because all of their staff members signed NDAs.

Alex’s brain was screaming the Henry was kissing him while in his underwear while two French ladies watched them, they both pretended to be busy at the sink, but he could feel their eyes on him. “How about we go to the sauna.” He whispered, wanting more privacy, it wasn’t like he was shy he just really wanted his privacy with the attractive prince.

Henry looked at his phone and noticed the time was getting close to dinner and his secret surprise. “Actually, I think we should be getting ready for your surprise dinner date.”

Alex looked at his own phone trying to figure out how it was already dinnertime. It felt like they had just gotten their and Henry gave him the grand tour of the place, spent however long in the hot tub and then their massage and facial. “Are you finally going to tell me what the surprise is?”

“Not yet.” Henry whispered kissing the place of skin below Alex’s ear. The two of them quickly pulled away from each other and grabbed their hanging robes and slid their flip flops back onto their feet.

The two of them made their way up the various staircases until they got to the top floor. “Do I need to wear the suit I packed?” Alex questioned pulling open the closet door trying to decide how fancy this dinner date was. “How fancy do I need to be?” At the mention of a dinner date his brain kicked into hyperdrive and wanted to overthink his entire outfit.

“Did you seriously pack a suit?” Henry teased playfully he was quite partial to Alex in jeans besides it was close to sunset and nobody would be seeing them besides each other and their staff members and maybe they’d take a few secret selfies as memories of the week. “It is just the two of us so where whatever you want so long as it is appropriate for dinner.”

“I packed a blazer and dress pants.” Alex admitted deciding on a mint green oxford shirt, a pair of medium grey chinos with a pair of black dress shoes and matching belt. It was dressier than his usual style but still comfortable enough. He quickly changed into the outfit rolling the long sleeves up to his elbows showing off his tanned skin.

Henry decided on a pair of well-fitted navy trousers. A white and light blue checked oxford shirt with a light blue cashmere sweater since the weather was in the lower fifties. He finished the outfit with a pair of brown dress shoes and a matching belt.

Alex slid his foot into his dress shoes and tied them before making his way over to the ridiculous bathroom. Henry walked in a few seconds later looking delicious in tones of blue. “You look handsome.” He said as he styled his curls, put on deodorant, and of course sprayed his plus points with Santal 33.

Henry smiled admiring Alex’s choice of clothing, he looked frankly good enough to eat although he was still partial to seeing him jeans, leather, and of course scrubs. He did the same and sprayed his cologne on his own plus points. “You also look handsome.” He remarked wrapping his arms around Alex and deeply inhaling the scent that was Alex.

Alex also inhaled the scent of Henry, and his cologne was a mix of something clean mixed with grass, what kind of magic created that smell. He was dangerously close to pulling Henry to the bedroom and forgetting the secret dinner. That smell was intoxicating and mixed with Henry in his arms was hard to ignore his desire.

Ben’s voice came through the intercom. “Sir’s it is time for your dinner reservation.” He chose the intercom figuring it was the safer option.

Henry reluctantly pulled away from Alex and the two of them made their way down the two flights of stairs to the main entrance. “The hint is I’m taking you out tonight.”

Alex’s chocolate eyes lit up at the idea he knew it would probably be a secret location that was booked out for just the two of them, but still the fact that he was getting to see the City of Love with what he hoped would become his lover was something that made his own heart skip a beat.

Ben opened the main door for them, the sun had set making the city illuminate with beautiful lights. He went down the stairs first to open up Henry’s side of the Bentley, while Logan opened up Alex’s side of the Bentley.

The car pulled out of the spot and drove down the street until they reached the unusually quiet Pont d'Iéna. The car parked in front of a secret entrance to the Eiffel Tower and Alex noticed a giant sign that read ‘Closed for Maintenance’ in both English and French.

The PPO’s made a circle around Alex and Henry and they were escorted to the secret entrance. The entire area around the beautiful Tower was empty of tourists, it was a stark contrast to how packed it usually was.

“You have got to be joking!” Alex exclaimed, looking at Henry incredulously, his bushy eyebrows tucked into his hairline. “You had the Eiffel Tower closed just so the two of us could have dinner?”

“My mum did.” Henry whispered linking his hand with Alex’s. “There is still my secret date after our dinner. You have to admit you’ve always wanted to have the Eiffel Tower all to yourselves to explore.”

“This is ridiculous.” Alex laughed yet he found himself enjoying every single second he was alone with Henry. He’d happily explore the Eiffel Tower without all the tourists crowding it.

“I’m a Royal and I was raised by an actor who believed in grand romantic gestures. My mum also knows about us. I hope you don’t mind but I told her everything once we all got back to England. She had some questions about what Shaan had told her and she also told me what occurred in your meeting with her. So, this was all her plan. I think you’ll enjoy the second part of our night better. Now let’s go explore this tower.” Henry suggested leading Alex into the elevator.

It was dark enough that no one would be able to make out the several blobs on the Eiffel Tower and if they did; well maintenance would to be blame.

Chapter Text

Alex and Henry slid into the clear elevator and the PPOs separated from their security circle. “I am still in shock.” Alex teased the last time he was in the Eiffel Tower was his sophomore year of high school and it was crowded, and some levels had a ton of people on it. He loved the photos from the trip, but he had a feeling this would be the better visit to the Iron Lady.

Henry smiled and put his head against Alex’s shoulders. “Sorry dear didn’t mean to shock you. Mum thought it would be a nice surprise she didn’t know if you had ever been.”

“It was a good surprise. I wasn’t expecting it at all. I’ve been to the Eiffel Tower a few times while my mom was in office but couldn’t go up because the secret service deemed it a security risk. I was also in Model UN in high school and the summer between my sophomore and junior year we got to visit Paris and spent some of the day at the Eiffel Tower. It was fun but a little crowded.” Alex said as the elevator opened up to level 1, which was the biggest level and had the most stuff to see and do.

Henry didn’t understand the whole security risk when he attended Eton and Oxford his PPOs let him act like a normal person and do whatever he wanted within reason of course. He wondered what else the secret service had deemed a security risk.

He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and pulled it out seeing a secure message from his mother who wanted to know what Alex thought of the surprise and that she wanted a photo of them together. “Mum wants a photo of us, she was also curious what you thought of the surprise.” Henry said, showing him the text.

“Photos hm?” Alex questioned softly noticing a glass floor that showed the ground level below them. “I thought we were supposed to be secret.” He was a little concerned about the idea after all celebrities’ phones were known for being hacked and he knew Henry didn’t want to be outed because of innocent photos.

Henry noticed Alex’s concerned face it was quite charming but also worrisome to see. He leaned in closer and rubbed his shoulder. “Hey, our government has tracking software, and I would like memories of tonight. If you hand me your phone, I’ll give it to Derek, and he can get you set up with secret galleries and make sure it can’t be hacked.”

Alex smiled and grabbed his iPhone from his pocket, unlocked it and handed it to Henry who then handed the device to a middle-aged PPO. “I was just a little surprised is all. I like photos too; my phone is full of important ones. I just don’t want to make you think that I’m rushing things. I want to do this on your terms.” He whispered squeezing Henry’s hand.

Henry smiled at Alex’s words, and it warmed his heart that Alex wanted to do this on his terms and his comfort. He took Alex’s phone and passed it to Derek. “I’m okay with photos.” Henry said as Derek handed Alex back his phone.

“Your phone is clean, and you’ll want to create a four-digit code to lock any photos you want to be private.” Derek explained.

“Thanks.” Alex said pulling up the secret gallery that Derek had just created and used 0312 as the passcode for the photos.

“You know what would make a great photo?” Ben suggested looking at the prince and trauma surgeon. “Why don’t the two of you lay against the glass floor and scooch in close, I think the way the light is shining would make for some great photos.”

Alex sat on the glass floor looking at the esplanade below. He was an adrenaline junkie so sitting on glass didn’t scare him. He helped Henry to the glass and wrapped his arm around the blonde the of them illuminated in light with the esplanade below them. He felt Henry lean in closer to him and peck his cheek.

Ben bent down to show the two the photos he had taken of the two of them both looked incredibly happy. He watched Alex easily get up from the glass floor and once he was up, he watched Alex help Henry from the glass floor. He handed Henry his phone back so he could send his mum and Alex the photos.

“These are great.” Henry said as he sent his mum the photos and sending them onto Alex’s phone as well. Derek had put Alex on the official Royal communication software which couldn’t be hacked.

The two of them explored the rest of the first level which was the largest floor it had plants, sitting areas, food vendors, a portion of the original spiral staircase that once led all the way to the top floor to the owner’s apartment, several interactive things about the history of the tower. Both of them had taken plenty of selfies and photos together. There was also a metal swing set overlooking the Paris skyline.

Alex smiled and held Henry’s hand as he sat down on the swing set. “This is honestly a nice surprise.” He never knew that he wanted the Eiffel Tower all to himself until it actually happened.

He also needed this vacation, the last time he actually took a vacation was five years ago when he celebrated his medical school graduation which consisted of some time with his family at the lake house.

He had told his chief, Adrian, Paige, and most of the nurses that he’d be using that vacation to go see his parents for a few days along with traveling to scope out the other hospitals that had offered him a contract. He had known early on that he’d be negotiating with Bellevue for a higher pay scale. New York didn’t come cheap.

Henry smiled and linked his hand with Alex’s. “I’m glad you are enjoying yourself. You work too much.” He teased playfully hopefully that would change once he finished his residency. “When do you finish residency?”

Ben noticed a cute moment on the swings and snapped a very candid photo of the two of them mid conversation he figured Henry would appreciate it.

“I graduate in June it is a big thing actually the hospital rents an event space and throws a party for the families of the newly minted attendings. They have a catered dinner and there is always an open bar. The program gives out awards and it is a moment to share with our families who have watched us suffer. After that my ass is going to be planted on a beach with my toes in the ocean drinking a margarita while in Mexico.”

Henry laughed slightly that did sound nice. It was February so they had a little less than five months. He knew deep down in his heart that it was supposed to be Alex so he could finally come out of his organized closet and be with the man of his dreams. He could attend the graduation ceremony and then he and Alex could have a public vacation in a place tied to his heritage.

Once he got back to London, he’d need to have a conversation with his mum about coming out. He knew he wanted to be something of importance to them both. He didn’t want it to be Alex coming to London and getting publicly photographed with Henry and announcing it with a whole bunch of Instagram photos; followed by a press junket discussing their relationship. He wanted it to be real and authentic. His anxiety rudely cut into his thoughts ‘but does Alex want you to be there, is that how he wants to announce a relationship?’

“Where in Mexico?” Henry questioned softly trying to shove down his anxious thoughts.

Alex lit up at the question. “Well, my grandparents live in Valladolid, so I was going to spend a few days with them. Then spending time in Cancun, Playa Del Carmen, Tulum, and Isla Mujeres. I’ve missed the beach and that will be two weeks with zero stress where I can decompress from the stress of residency and exams.”

His grandparents were originally from Mexico City but moved to Texas, so it was safer for their children to grow up. Once their children were adults and happily married, they moved back to Mexico and settled in Valladolid. His Abuelo was an expert in Mayan history and culture and loved being close to the ruins.

Henry’s heart fluttered listening to Alex pronounce the places and it sounded like heaven to his ears. “Sounds like fun. I think you’ve earned your time away from the hospital.” He leaned closer. “If you had the choice of going anywhere in the world, where would you go?”

“Easy it would have to be The Maldives. I love the beach and the photos just seem unreal; I’ve always wanted to vacation there. Where would you go? I mean obviously you love Paris.” Alex said gesturing to the view in front of them. He remembered every single detail of that conversation before he kissed him.

“That’s actually a hard question seeing as how I’ve been to a lot of countries already, my mom being the queen of fifteen of them.” Henry admitted shyly. “So, I’d probably agree with you that it would need to be remote and quiet. Maybe Seychelles or Mauritius.”

Alex laughed at Henry’s honesty. “I know what you mean.” His ma had been the president for 8 years of his life so he could understand he too had been to his fair share of countries.

“I’m in the mood for dinner shall we go eat?” Henry suggested getting up from the swing and offering Alex his hand who took it and got off his own swing. Henry led Alex over to the lift for the second floor which is where Le Jules Verne was, although Henry had altered the usual menu in fear that Alex wasn’t used to typical French cuisine. However, he did put escargot on the menu because he loved a good escargot, and he would force Alex to try it.

“I can’t get over these views. It is so much nicer being alone with you in a tower than having tourists packing every inch of the tower. The only view that would be better is if we were somewhere else and I could see the Iron Lady in all her twinkling glory. I can’t believe the French originally hated her.” Alex mused as he left the elevator and touched the tower with his hand.

Henry smiled softly it was quite something having the tower mostly alone with the man out of his literal dreams. “I can’t imagine Paris without thinking of the Eiffel Tower. I meant to ask you earlier who agreed to attend Bea’s wedding with you, are you bringing Paige or Karina?”

“Paige, her exact words were someone has to babysit you from another cake shower, because if it happened again, I’m sure they’d throw you in a royal dungeon and toss the key in The River Thames.” He noticed Henry’s face light up with laughter.

“She’s got jokes, she was also very curious who gave me all the hickeys. Adrian DeLuca was the one who suggested the bandage trick. He is my mentor and like my brother. He took me under his wing since day one.”

“Buckingham doesn’t have a dungeon, but if you cover me in cake again, I might pull you away and have my wicked way with you.” Henry whispered warmly into Alex’s ear and the thought sent shivers down the surgeon’s spine.

“Also, while talking about the wedding, I have you staying in my private guest quarters my family know about us why be shy about it.” He said leading Alex over to a two top table with the best view after all they could pick their seat.

After all they had the restaurant all to themselves so they had the table with what Henry would consider the best few. He took a quick photo of Alex looking out the window while a waiter poured them an expensive glass of wine. The two of them clinked their glasses together.

“I’m surprised Mary didn’t have a dungeon for people she didn’t like.” Alex teased. He figured if anyone were to have a dungeon that she would have one.

“Windsor Castle has a dungeon. When London was being bombed during World War II Mary slept in the dungeons.” Henry admitted to Alex as a waiter came over and sat down two plates of escargot without their shell. The dish was covered in garlic and herb butter and dusted with truffle. The escargot also had a piece of baguette on it. He noticed Alex scrutinizing the dish.

“I might have just had a brief moment where I felt bad for Mary. That actually sounds terrifying.” He made a gesture of putting the back of his hand against his forehead like he was checking himself for a fever. Are these snails?” Alex asked incredulously seeing Henry smile and damn that smile got him every time.

“The correct term is escargot but yes, they are snails, and delicious. Won’t you please try one.” Henry said, giving Alex his most charming smile and dipping a piece of his bread into the mixture.

Alex grabbed his own piece of baguette and dipped it into his own plate of escargot. “Why can’t I say no to you?” He wondered something about Henry short-circuited his brain and made him want to do anything and everything for the Prince of Wales.

“Because you know deep down, I’ll be right.” Henry teased playfully.

Alex made a face that couldn’t even pass for irritated at Henry telling him he’d probably admit the other was right. “The butter sauce is delicious but I’m afraid to eat a snail. Like what does it even taste like?”

“The flavor is mild, and they usually absorb whatever you cook them in. So, in this case they will taste like fancy butter, garlic, herbs, and of course truffle. From a texture standpoint I think it is similar to eating shrimp.” Henry explained by taking one of the snails and eating it.

Alex took a glug of the expensive wine and found himself stabbing one of the snails on the fork. He closed his eyes and put the fork on his tongue, and it tasted heavily of the butter sauce. He bit down and okay that tasted like eating a mushroom or a shrimp. He wouldn’t want it every single day of his life, but he could eat that on occasion. “That’s actually really good.”

“I hate to say I told you so, but I told you so.” Henry’s face crinkled up in enjoyment as he watched Alex’s eyes fill with fondness and he often found himself being able to read Alex’s expressions.

“So, when did Philip become likable. Tell me that story of how your mom became Queen. I mean I’ve seen the articles, but you know so much about what I’ve been up to the past several years that I want to hear about your life.” Alex said eating another snail for good measure.

Henry sighed softly this was not a pleasant story and he did want to tell Alex, but at the same time he kind of didn’t want to Alex all of it. He took a greedy glug of the wine, deciding to tell Alex all of it. He’d rather spend the evening joking with Alex about escargot, but Alex had told him about his devastating medical school rejections so he could at least tell Alex about what had occurred in his own life.

“I suppose we have nothing but time. So shortly after the wedding Mary started hounding Philip and Martha when they were going to have an heir. Well, a known fact about Martha is that she was a ballerina and was trained by an angry Russian and she was expected to be this tiny little thing and it stunted her development.”

“After a year of trying, they finally had the Royal physician run some tests and it was discovered that Martha had trouble ovulating every month. It irritated Mary to no end in fear that he might not be able to carry on his line. It made Mary very mean; she kept trying to set me up with friends of Martha’s and Bea’s who all came from great stock, but I never gave them a second look.” Henry said taking a sip of wine and a bite of bread. He noticed Alex’s face fall when he mentioned the idea of Mary trying to make him something he wasn’t.

“I was still infatuated with a certain American boy. Mary was also terrified that Bea was infertile due to her powder problem which meant that if we didn’t start having heirs the monarchy would surely crumble. Bea’s perfectly fertile, but like me she wanted to marry for love and not marry out of duty to our birthright.” Henry admitted Mary despised him and Bea there at the end constantly reminding them of tradition and that they had to obey their birthright.

“After they figured out what was wrong with Martha, she eventually fell pregnant only for the constant stress Mary put her under to result in a miscarriage right after they announced it.”

“Martha became severely depressed and started to get closer to me and eventually she started to see my therapist. She got pregnant a few months later but it wasn’t in the correct spot, and it almost caused her to lose whatever tube is down there. You are the doctor, not me. I have a literature degree.”

Alex laughed softly at Henry’s explanation of what sounded like an ectopic pregnancy. “I know exactly what you are trying to explain.” Adrian’s wife was an ob/gyn so both he and Adrian knew a lot about pregnancy and women’s health in general.

His heart broke hearing Martha’s struggle. He got to know her decently while Henry was in the hospital and from what he could tell she was an excellent mother to Victoria, and she was very kind to all the staff and to Henry so It would make sense that she became close to the brother-in-law with depression. He placed his hand over Henry’s since he had finished his escargot and he figured this was not a pretty story, but it was worse than what he thought. Then again what royal in his family had the typical fairytale.

The waiter brought out their next dish was smelt heavenly. He sat the bowl in front of them both and it was French Onion Soup. Alex had onion soup before, and this one was warming his soul.

“Where was I. Right, I’m no doctor but anyway they were able to save the tube or whatever, but it took her even longer to get pregnant again. At this point Mary was furious with us and mum kept trying to help but Mary started to blame her for having three children by a commoner and surely it was his lousy sperm that was going to cause the downfall. Mary brought up Caroline and it caused a huge strife between her and mum.” Henry noticed Alex take a sip of wine. He should have told Alex it wasn’t a pretty story.

“The media never reported it, but Caroline was actually pregnant when she had her accident. Both her and her husband died that night. Mary loved to bring up the fact that Caroline was the perfect princess marrying who she was supposed to, and the people loved her.” Henry’s voice cracked, the only thing about his aunt that he could remember was her smile and the love she had for her family and sister.

Alex had remembered learning about Caroline when he and Henry had their media tour, he had seen so many details, but he did not know that detail, which meant Henry must trust him. “I’m sorry baby.”

Henry smiled softly at Alex. “This was also the time when Mary got diagnosed with an aggressive form of lung cancer and she was riding Philip and Martha daily about a grandbaby. Bea and I were tired of it all and we had many conversations about what if we abdicated, because she and I hated to be called to Mary’s office, even if mum always accompanied us.”

There was a time that Henry and Bea were ready to abdicate but Catherine always soothed them and promised them a better future when she was queen.

“This was also the time that Philip suggested to mum that she just abdicate her title so he could be the next king.” He placed his spoon into the soup and took a bite along with a sip of wine. He noticed Alex’s reaction to everything, and it soothed him to let another soul know the mess of how Philip actually became a brother again and how his mum became queen.” Henry took several more bites of the delicious soup.

“Mum suggested he wasn’t ready and that he needed to make several amends to make with his siblings. Martha eventually got pregnant and had Victoria and as you know Mary gave her a document of names she had to use. Martha actually wanted to name her Hope."

“Mary threw one of the biggest fits we’ve ever seen her have and yelled at all of us for always wanting to go against tradition and that babies born to the crown had to follow certain naming criteria. Philip was in agreement with Martha that they should be able to name their child what they want and shortly after that argument Philip finally broke down.”

“Mum and Martha got him into therapy, and he finally started to realize his thinking was all wrong. He finally made amends and made me Victoria’s godfather and started to accept me for who I was. Therapy made him realize his views were Mary’s views and not his own views. It took me a while to actually trust and believe him."

"Mary died shortly after Victoria’s birth and Philip eventually stopped trying to get mum to abdicate. Mum had her coronation and the people love and adore her. She has truly made the Untied Kingdom, united again."

Alex got up from his chair and held Henry in his arms, that story was actually heartbreaking. He wished he could have been by Henry’s side for it all. “Thanks for sharing that with me. I know it couldn’t have been easy.” He placed a gentle kiss on Henry’s lips that tasted of onion and wine.

Henry melted into Alex’s arms god how did he deny this feeling for almost a decade he wished he could have gone back in time and kicked his younger self in the arse. He truly was falling for Alex, and it was exhilarating and terrifying at the same time.

“Why don’t we change the subject. Did you want to be anything other than a trauma surgeon?” Henry questioned as the waiter took their empty soup bowls and brought out their Beef Wellington. He knew it wasn’t a traditional French dish, but he didn’t know how Alex felt about lamb or duck. He thought about having it be a Filet Mignon, but they had recently had steak.

“That’s actually a funny story. So, the day of my white coat ceremony Nora handed me a card and when I opened the card, she had actually figured out my top three choices via her super brain. She had said there was an 80% chance of me becoming a trauma surgeon, a 10% chance of becoming a plastic surgeon, and a 10% chance of becoming a urologist which is surgery.”

Henry full on laughed when Alex mentioned urology, he didn’t see Alex as that type of surgeon at all.

“Nora ended up being mostly right although I did really consider plastic surgery because I loved the reconstructive aspect of it and how grateful the patients were, but as great as that felt nothing felt better than trauma surgery and actually saving someone’s life.” Alex said taking a bit of the main course.

“She was also wrong about urology, she thought I’d find the jokes funny, and I did, but it was mostly the same thing over and over again. I think in the end it was a 10% chance of me becoming an orthopedic surgeon. My top 3 list was always surgery though. So, her list was mostly accurate.” Alex admitted he had saved the card (it was actually really funny) and her predictability indicator.

“She wasn’t at all surprised when I opened my Match Day envelope and proudly told them I would be a trauma surgeon and that I matched into my top program. She said that she had called that choice from the very beginning.”

The waiter cleared their plates and brought out Crème Brûlée for dessert. Neither had those awkward first date jitters, weird moments of uncomfortable quiet where nobody could come up with a topic of conversation, it was like they were always meant to be together.

“Correct me if I’m wrong but didn’t you play a sport in high school?” Henry questioned; he remembered the fact sheet listing a sport, but he couldn’t for the life of him remember what the sport was. He thought it involved a stick and started with a l. “Also, what is Match Day?” He didn’t think there was anything like that in England.

“I played lacrosse, I was captain my senior year and one of the reasons we had won four state championships. I was good enough that several schools offered me a sports scholarship and were actively recruiting me to play in college.

Only I couldn’t because the secret service had called it a security risk and Zahra cited scheduling conflicts.” Alex sighed he wished he could have played lacrosse for Georgetown, but then again, he and June were the only two children who actually got to say their mother had been the first female president, so it was worth it. Cash and Amy felt bad telling Alex he couldn’t so they put up a goal on the lawn so he could play whenever he wanted.

“Match Day is held the third Friday in March, and you find out what program you are going to do your residency at. It’s usually a party where your family comes to watch you open an envelope that holds your future as a doctor in it. I was pretty excited to open the envelope hoping my first choice was in it.” Alex said as he finished the delicious Crème Brûlée.

Henry listened to Alex explain what Match Day was and once again he wished he could have been there with Alex, but he wasn’t all because he put his feelings into words. He finished his own dessert and got up from the table. “How was dinner?” He asked, he personally thought everything was delicious and he liked that Alex actually tried the escargot.

“It was delicious thank you for dinner.” Alex said, linking his hands with Henry’s as they left the restaurant and down the stairs of Le Jules Verne.

“We should probably take a quick trip up to the summit because your second surprise of the night should be arriving soon.” Henry said, leading Alex over to the elevator that led to the summit. The summit was a small area. They walked around the top of the Eiffel Tower and took plenty of photos of the view and them enjoying their time together.

Alex knew this would be his favorite gallery when he was working 24-hour shifts and missing Henry. He smiled knowing these memories would be what got him through until Henry’s birthday in March and his next few days off. “This view is incredible. I can’t believe your mum arranged us to have a private dinner in the Eiffel Tower along with time to explore.”

He knew this was kind of insane when he actually thought about it, but deep down he appreciated the gesture, and he did have to admit no other first date had gone this smoothly or was this romantic and okay his dating record was tragic.

“I’m glad you are enjoying yourself.” Henry also didn’t have the best dating record, he half expected Alex to run away and not want to see him again. His anxiety also liked to remind him that for all he knew this was all a dream and he’d wake up back at the hospital or worse wake up and it be 2020 right after New Years. He knew it was real, but his anxiety was a real dick sometimes.

He pulled Alex close to him and kissed him against the Eiffel Tower and Alex’s lips parted and he easily slipped his tongue in the other’s mouth tasting cream and wine. Yeah, that felt too incredible and too real to just be a dream. He tangled his fingers into Alex’s curls. He felt Alex’s hands wrap around his waist.

Alex moaned into Henry’s mouth okay this kiss beat their kiss under that fucking Linden tree. Apparently kissing in romantic places was their thing. He reluctantly pulled away from Henry’s mouth. “Baby, if you keep kissing me like that, there will be no second surprise.” He shifted his weight trying to think of anything but Henry’s lips and perfect ass.

Henry gasped at Alex’s choice of words; he could tell by Alex’s dark eyes that he was full of lust. He almost wanted to reschedule the River Seine chocolate cruise, but he had already sent a PPO to go pick up the hot chocolate from his favorite café that his dad once took him to so that would just be rude to do.

“In that case maybe we should head to that second surprise now.” Henry suggested sounding way to excited at the idea.

“We definitely should.” Alex said walking uncomfortably to the elevator his chinos felt a little tight in places they weren’t tight earlier. He was almost thirty and yet his dick was acting like it was twenty again. Not to mention it was rude to have sex on the first date right. ‘Not your first date; the two of you can’t keep your hands off of each other.’ His brain logically supplied.

Henry’s pants also felt a little uncomfortable walking hand in hand towards the elevator. The two slid into the elevator and found the elevator on the second floor to go back to the first floor. Ben smiled and gestured to the phone in his hand secretly telling Henry that he had taken some really cute photos of the two of them together.

“Did you two have a nice time at the summit?” Ben asked them politely. When he took this job, Shaan had warned him about Henry’s sexual escapades but since Ben had worked for Henry, he hadn’t asked to meet up with anyone sexually or to use that specific NDA. Not to mention he could feel the two’s desire for one another rolling off of them in waves. It was almost nauseating how cute the two of them were together.

“The Eiffel Tower has such a lovely view.” Henry said looking at his equerry. “Is everything ready at the second location?”

“Yes, sir it is.” Ben had gotten the confirmation text just a few moments ago. He led the two lovestruck men over to the elevator that would take them back to the esplanade. The PPOs formed their security circle and led them the quick walk over to the pier where an all-glass boat was waiting on the edge of the River Seine.

“Henry?” Alex questioned softly, first the Eiffel Tower and now he was staring at an all-glass boat.

“A river cruise is your second surprise. This one I planned.” He took Alex’s hand and snuggled closer to the other man’s side. “My original plan was going to be dinner on the river, but mum decided to just rent out the tower. So, we are having a dessert cruise instead.” He whispered as the two of them made their way down the stairwell and into the awaiting boat. There was another boat blocking the path so no one would see them get into the boat.

Ben let out a sigh of relief once Henry and Alex made it into the boat. This plan was a little more of a risk since they couldn’t just rent the Rive Seine. It took a little more planning and they had to have a boat back up traffic. The boat was a one-way glass boat, meaning the inside held floor to ceiling spectacular views of the city, but from the outside it was just mirrored glass.

Alex’s jaw might have just hit the floor seeing the inside of the boat. He honestly liked Henry’s surprise better. The top of the Eiffel Tower was beautiful but seeing the Iron Lady sparkling from the inside of a glass boat was completely next level.

“This is amazing!” Alex exclaimed, letting Henry lead him over to where a white leather couch was and on the marble table in front of them sat two large mugs of hot chocolate and another mug of thick whipped cream.

“So back when my dad was still alive, he took mum, Bea, Philip, and I to this cute little café and they treated us to this amazing hot chocolate. Whenever I am in France, I take it upon myself to always have a cup. It is a café that Parisians tend to frequent but it isn’t your typical sought after tourist location.” Henry explained heaping a healthy spoonful of the whipped cream into his mug. It was one of his favorite memories of his family back before the pressure of Mary’s crown got in the way.

Alex was at a loss for words, that had been happening most of the night if he was truly being honest. The story was so touching, and his heart might have skipped a beat at how sweet it was that Henry wanted to share the touching memory with him.

“Baby.” Alex said in a voice full of fondness. “Thank you for sharing this with me.” He had no doubt in his mind that Arthur was smiling at them. He took Henry’s hand and kissed his knuckles.

Ben definitely took a photo of that particular moment he knew Henry would want to remember that moment. Hell, he might have had tears in his own eyes after hearing him explain it.

Henry’s heart soared back to the summit of the Eiffel Tower after hearing Alex call him baby and thanked him for trusting him with such a cherished memory. His anxiety couldn’t even come up with a sadistic retort. This was everything he had ever wanted with someone and the fact that it was finally Alex and the man straight out of all of his best dreams made it so much better. He leaned his body against Alex’s as the boat moved from the spot on the dock.

Alex smiled, feeling Henry’s body touching his. He grabbed a spoon and put a healthy amount of the thick whipped cream into his own mug of hot chocolate and stirred the cream in good measure. He had grown up on Mexican Hot Chocolate so he knew this would taste different and judging from how thick it was it was probably rich.

He put the elegant mug against his lips and let out a content sigh. It was damn good hot chocolate. He would still rank his dad’s hot chocolate higher only because that was a Diaz family recipe, and the taste was his childhood. This was easily second best in taste but first when it came to cherished memories.

“That is delicious. I think the view is even better.” Alex said stretching out on the couch pulling Henry even closer to him. He wanted to bottle this memory and live in it forever. This actually felt like something out of a fairytale.

Henry smiled softly enjoying this moment with Alex. “Well, they wouldn’t let us sneak out to explore Paris and I figured you wanted to see all the landmarks so this is the best I could do.” He muttered he wanted to show Alex all of his favorite details about Paris.

“It is absolutely perfect.” Alex noticed the Paris Statue of Liberty and it felt like he was finally home after a long exhausting shift.

“I’m curious how did Bea and Tom get together?” Alex questioned what that story was.

“I’m sorry have you been living under a rock?” Henry teased as he kissed Alex’s cheek as he sipped his chocolate.

Alex laughed and it sounded throughout the boat. “Actually, yes, I have been living under a rock. Four years of medical school and then five years of residency. My best friends were textbooks, an iPad and a ton of flashcards. I mean I want the actual story, not the lying and fake things that land in the top headlines.”

Henry knew exactly what Alex meant, he just enjoyed their playful banter and the closeness it brought them. “That actually sounds sad. I just had a picture of you asleep on a thick textbook.” He teased softly. He had certainly dozed off with a book in his lap before.

“That has actually happened. I was a first year and trying to prove everyone who doubted me wrong. I was tired, and it was late and the next thing I know my alarm is going off and I am waking up on my textbook with a terrible crick in my neck.” Alex complained taking a sip of the delicious hot chocolate as the boat turned around at the Statue of Liberty.

“People actually doubted you?” Henry asked incrediously, the one thing he was sure of back then was that Alex would make an incredible doctor.

“Ye, they did. How about you tell me the story of Be and Tom and I’ll share that story with you.” Alex suggested medical school involved a lot of sleepless nights and forgetting to eat, but he was determined to prove everyone wrong. He appreciated the fact that Henry’s tone sounded offended that people had doubted him.

“Bea and I adopted David and Mr. Wobbles from a shelter. Mary denied Bea’s original philanthropy project, so Bea chose animal shelters. Mary objected but eventually agreed to it. Anyway, one of the shelters had this huge ribbon cutting of a new building and Bea was in attendance. Bea accidentally bumped into Tom and the two spent a lot of time talking that day. She slipped him her number and the two spent a lot of time text flirting and secretly dating.” He took a sip of the chocolate and relaxed into Alex’s strong body.

Alex smiled softly he had snuck Henry his number all those years ago and the texting honestly sounded like he and Henry, just without the dating. He remembered the text messages, the turkey phone call and all the other phone calls in between and he wished he could go back in time and smack his twenty-year old self upside the head for not realizing it before the kiss. Damn, that was truly his biggest regret. Nora was right, he was a bisexual disaster.

“She was honest with me about the relationship so when the time came, she invited him to Kensington to meet me and she wanted my honest opinion on him. I could tell he really loved my sister, so I told her that I approved of him. He is such a good guy and the love he has for Bea is amazing. I was always afraid that her addiction would ultimately end that relationship, instead he stood by her and gave her so much support. He couldn’t imagine how hard that was for all of us. It made him realize that she was human.”

“Philip hated the idea of them originally, but after she told him that Tom had stood by and supported her after confessing her dark past, he was on board. Mum loved him from the moment she officially met him. The media also loved to compare their relationship to our parents so that hurt bringing all those old memories to the surface.” Henry admitted he hated seeing all those articles.

“Also, Bea told me that you talked her from the ledge when she was feeling panicked and in a mood while I was in the hospital. She actually told me everything you did for Victoria and Martha too. That was incredibly kind of you.” Henry said squeezing Alex’s hand. He was glad that out of all the hospitals in New York City it was Alex’s.

“It really was no big deal. You told me about Bea’s past, and I remembered it. I know the environment of the ICU can bring up certain triggers. I also knew how close the two of you are and I wanted to check on her for you.” Alex admitted softly running his fingers soothingly though Henry’s hair. The view through the windows felt like being in a perfect snow globe moment.

“That is a big deal to me though. Bea means everything to me and the fact that you were so open and honest with her made things easier for her. She knew you were also in her corner and would protect her from herself. Luckily Tom was on the next flight to New York with her babies and he was able to calm her brain even better than I can. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to tell you what that meant to me that you were looking after them for me. I can only imagine what was going on in that incredible brain of yours that night.”

Alex smiled softly to himself. He was very worried that night when it came to carrying for Henry. “I’m just glad you are okay, and we are able to have this moment.”

“Me too. So, I believe you promised me a story about the doubters?” Henry suggested turning around to lightly peck Alex’s lips. “Oh, look Pont Alexandre III.” Henry pointed at the bridge in front of them it was a pretty bridge with some gold detailing.  

“The media loved to doubt the idea that I’d actually graduate from medical school. Most of my classmates besides Paige despised me and had said on more than one occasion they didn’t understand how I was accepted to NYU. Honestly, I was doubting the idea until I got my MCAT score back and even then, I sometimes doubted myself.”

Henry smiled and adjusted his body so that he was laying chest to chest on Alex. “You know when I saw your Instagram post that you had gotten accepted into NYU’s medical school and that your plans and goals had changed after campaigning for your mum. I looked at the photo and I thought that becoming a doctor was the perfect career option for you.”

“It just made so much sense given the empathy and compassion you have for everyone. I never doubted you. I knew I would eventually see a post of you graduating medical school and I wanted to say so much more than what I said on that Instagram comment. I was also right because you are a fantastic doctor, and your patients are so lucky to have you.”

Alex leaned up to kiss Henry’s lips. Amy had told him something similar when he was heartbroken over rejection letter after rejection letter. Her hope and admiration are what made him fight so hard for it. That and his selfless desire to help people. “Really, you never once doubted or questioned it?” The way Henry pronounced doctor did something to his brain.

Henry smiled into the soft kiss and rested his head over Alex’s heart, he wanted to tell Alex about his secret journal that had all of his thoughts and opinions of Alex in it. He might have waxed poetic about that particular Instagram photo and his own feelings about it. What he wanted to do was text Alex and get those feelings out, instead he did what he always did and shoved them down and commiserate those feelings with his therapist. “Of course not. I just knew that you would be a doctor.” He admitted proudly as the boat passed by the Tuileries Gardens.

Alex’s heart soared and it was so hard to not flip Henry over on the couch and kiss him proudly while all the royal staff members and PPOs watched awkwardly. The fact that Henry admitted he never doubted his goals was everything he always wanted to hear. The self-doubt, the psychiatrist asking if he had ADHD drove him to therapy and okay, he was curious about Raf’s boyfriend too. At least that is what he told himself when he made that appointment with Matthew.

The boat continued to float along the riverbank along historical French architecture while the two men snuggled on the couch while Alex showed Henry all the photo memories over the medical school years. He really enjoyed the one that Amy had taken on his first day of medical school with him holding a sign that said ‘my first day of medical school, followed by his white coat ceremony where Alex’s family all looked ridiculously proud even Zahra looked proud yet slightly annoyed.

Amy had even taken photos of all of Alex’s first days of his specialty rotations. Henry wanted to hug that particular secret service agent for getting all of those moments. Some of which had been shared on Instagram and TikTok but some of these photos hadn’t been posted and he would never get tired of seeing photos of Alex. 

The boat trip continued to pass by with ancient Paris architecture. Henry was snuggled right on top of Alex, the two of them occasionally kissing, but also trying to be polite since the boat did have several staff members. The boat passed by Notre Dame, several other well-known bridges, Canal Saint Martin, and an odd green glass building that Henry explained was an art and culture center.

Henry’s desire for Alex was burning hotter and hotter with each passing minute he was glad it was a one-way cruise because he needed to get Alex home so the two of them could makeout and hopefully do more in private.

“That was a marvelous evening.” Alex said allowed noticing the PPOs milling about it truly was a spectacular evening.

Henry smiled softly and leaned into Alex’s ear. “I’m happy you enjoyed it. Come let’s go home. I’m full of a need only you can fix.” He noticed Alex’s chocolate brown eyes get darker. “Yes, I’ve been wanting you since that kiss atop the Eiffel Tower.”

Alex got up from the couch very excited to be going back to the mansion, but he was also a little nervous about what Henry was proposing, did Henry mean sex. Alex wasn’t opposed to having sex, but at the same time he hadn’t really been with a man sexually. He and Liam had touched each other, and Liam had given him a blowjob, but Alex didn’t reciprocate, and Miguel was just drunk kissing in a hot tub.

Henry and Alex joined the PPOs and they got into the middle of the security circle for the third time that night. The black Bentley was waiting for them at the top of the stairs. They followed in step with the PPOs and Alex got slid into the awaiting car first and Henry slid in next to him, pulling the younger man closer to him and kissing him with the same passion as earlier.

After a quick car ride in which Alex and Henry couldn’t keep their hands off each other. Ben and Logan were both highly aware of the kissing and the steam fogging up the bag windows. Henry and Alex didn’t even wait for them to open their doors, they were out the vehicle with lightening speed and running up the stairs. Alex and Henry both leaving a trail of dress shoes on the grand staircase leading up to the master suite. The two men moving easily as one until they got to master suite.

Logan entered the house and tripped over one of Alex’s dress shoes. He grabbed one of the shoes and held it up to Ben hoping for an explanation. He was in training to be Tom’s equerry. He had nothing against Alex and Henry.  That was actually a lie he was a little annoyed with Alex because it was quite fucking hard to track down Cotija cheese in France and he wasn’t going to the one to tell him, hey I couldn’t find one of the key ingredients that you asked for.

Ben laughed softly. “Back when Shaan was training me he told me that Henry had sexual escapades and to always carry an NDA with me for those reasons. In my eight years as Henry’s equerry, he hasn’t engaged in random sexual encounters or asked me for one of those NDAs.”

“If I had to caution a guess these two lovebirds have been wanting this for years. I for one am thrilled that Henry lights up when he is with Alex. Still, I think we clean up these shoes and socks and grab a drink and go find a movie to watch. Shaan also said that Henry can be quite vocal.”

Henry and Alex eventually separated once they got to the master bedroom and Henry pushed Alex gently to the bed ready to straddle him when he heard Alex’s phone ring.

Alex scrambled to grab his phone and it fell out onto the bed. ‘Matthew’ appeared in big white letters. “Shit.” Alex cursed out totally forgetting to text Matthew that he wouldn’t need this week’s session. His brain had been a little distracted.

Henry noticed the name come across Alex’s iPhone and his heart fell into his stomach. He tried thinking of he had met Matthew during his hospital stay and the fact that Alex had cursed seeing his name pop up on the screen made his anxiety flare all the way into the heavens. He tried to fix his face into an unreadable mask, but he knew he was probably failing, was Alex already in another relationship and their evening was for not.

Alex noticed Henry’s heartbroken expression. “Baby, Matthew is my therapist and Rafael’s husband. I was cursing because I forgot what day it was and that I forgot to cancel my appointment. He’s calling because I’m late logging in. I’m in therapy and have been since my second year of medical school.” Alex explained he hated to see that expression on Henry’s face. “I’m going to give him a quick call, would you mind grabbing me a tee shirt from my side of the closet.”

Henry relaxed a little once he heard that Matthew was Alex’s therapist and married to the president. He was going to want that explanation. Now that it felt like someone had dropped a bucket of ice water on him it was easier to move. He went to Alex’s side of the closet and grabbed a purple tee shirt not paying to what was on the front of it. He came back and Alex was talking to Matthew.

“I know Matt. I’m sorry I honestly forgot about our session. I’m grabbing my computer now and I’ll video chat you in just a few minutes.” Alex said into the phone as Henry handed him the purple shirt unsure of what to do with himself. Alex hung up the phone and quickly changed into the tee shirt which was his NYU class shirt. It had the NYC skyline on the front of it with his graduation year on the back of it.

“I’m so sorry about that. You are welcome to sit next to me while I talk to him. I suppose I owe you an explanation. So, in my second year of medical school I did a psych rotation and he asked if I had ADHD and I didn’t know and like I wasn’t about to see a psychologist and confess deeply personal things as a medical student, so I made a therapy appointment with Matthew. I’ve been in therapy ever since, most of the time though it mostly Rafael and Matthew checking on me.” Alex admitted grabbing his laptop and turning it on. “I’d like for you to lay next to me, the camera won’t get you in frame. I have nothing to hide.”  

Henry let out a sigh of relief and grabbed Alex’s discarded NYU hoodie and changed out of his sweater and oxford shirt and joined Alex on the other side of the bed outside of the frame. He linked his fingers with Alex’s. He was a little stunned to hear that Alex was in therapy, but at the same time it was also very sexy.

Henry listened to Alex’s therapy session and then heard Rafael and Cash ask if Alex would be at Rafael’s upcoming New York rally which Alex said he wouldn’t miss for the world. After almost an hour of talking Alex hung up the video call and he turned to his side to face Alex. “That was a lot different than my usual therapy sessions.”

"You are wearing my hoodie." Alex said noticing that Henry was wearing his med school hoodie. "I should have know you were a hoodie stealer." Alex teased the hoodie looked much better on Henry than it did him anyway.

“At this point, I’m better at managing my ADHD symptoms, since I can't take medication to manage the symptoms. I’ve worked through the trauma of being outed as bisexual. Our sessions are mainly  there in case I need a shoulder to cry on for when my job really gets to me. I am so sorry I forgot to cancel that. It kind of ruined our moment." 

Henry smiled and straddled Alex’s lap. “Au contraire.” He said leaning in to kiss Alex’s soft lips that still tasted of his favorite hot chocolate. “If anything, that somehow made me want you more.” He said sliding his tongue into Alex’s mouth eager to finish what he began at the summit of the Eiffel Tower.

Alex let out another moan letting Henry’s tongue eagerly explore his mouth. He felt excited yet nervous about what else the night would bring.

Chapter Text

Henry reluctantly pulled away from Alex’s warm lips as he moved his lips down to Alex’s chin and neck. “You don’t have any more unscheduled video calls do you?” He questioned softly, even if he did, he was still going to leave more hickeys on Alex’s perfectly tanned neck. His fingers easily finding Alex’s hair, he just couldn’t help himself, that hair was designed for running his fingers through it.

He enjoyed seeing those marks on his neck and knowing Alex was finally his. Martha and Bea both noticed the hickeys Alex had left on his much paler neck and they just congratulated him and questioned if Alex had the same kind of markings.

“Absolutely not!” Alex declared happily as he held up his hand knowing they needed to have a quick awkward conversation first before they were to far gone to properly think straight.

“Also, before we go any further tonight, I just want you to know that I have Truvada in case you need any. I’m clean but it is there in case you would rather have the additional layer of protection.” Alex said, giving Henry the option.

Henry stopped noticing Alex’s hand and oh he was not expecting that to come out of Alex’s mouth. Most of his previous encounters didn’t usually talk about that before they did anything. It made him melt hearing Alex be so open and honest about it. He was actually at a loss for words regarding that question.

‘Duh, Alex is a doctor you silly boy.’ His brain interjected it probably isn’t his first time having this conversation not to mention the sex is probably going to be fantastic because he is very familiar with how anatomy works and what spots would drive him absolutely wild.

“I took a dose already while you called Matthew.” Henry shyly admitted he had a very awkward conversation with a royal physician before this trip. He wished he wouldn’t have skipped that conversation if he knew Alex was going to be so prepared.

“I’m clean too, but I didn’t know so I wanted to be safe rather than sorry. I trust you though.” Henry finished in a rush; he didn’t want Alex to think he didn’t trust him because he very much did.

“Baby, it’s okay. Just a conversation I thought we should have before things went any further. I want you to feel safe with me.” Alex muttered, pulling Henry close to him and kissing him with urgency like if he didn’t it would turn out to be a dream.

After those words Henry’s heart hit the fiberoptic ceiling. Safe, it was funny how four little letters could have such a big impact on someone. He always felt safe with Alex, he was one of the few people he truly felt safe with. The word love was another four-letter word that also had a big impact, he was definitely falling in love with Alex.

Henry pulled away from Alex’s lips and moved his lips back to Alex’s perfect neck leaving soft kisses against the perfect jawline. Forget doctor, Alex looked like a damn statue brought to life. His curls a mess since Henry could keep his hands out of it, those beautiful chocolate brown eyes burning with desire and lust, and that sexy jawline that could probably cut a diamond. Hell, he could wax poetically about those damn eyelashes.

Alex knew he’d have to get more jumbo skin tone bandages, but it was oh so worth it have Henry kissing his neck like his life depended on it. He actually moaned when Henry found his sensitive spot on his neck. It felt like he had been transported back into his eighteen-year-old body where he would get hard if the wind blew just right in his direction. Henry completely messed with his brain in all the right ways.

Henry continued to kiss the soft skin on Alex’s neck listening to the way he was responding to his touch. He placed a hand at the hem of Alex’s soft tee shirt and his eyes searched the other for permission to go further.

Alex lifted up allowing Henry to remove his tee shirt and explore what was underneath. He felt Henry’s mouth leave his neck and tried not to whimper when he felt Henry’s lips go below his neck and kiss both of his pecs and his hands were running along his abs. Those plump lips of his leaving marks along his clavicle and with that he let out the whimper.

He heard Henry groan as he explored his abs. This felt so incredible the way Henry’s body fit just right with his own body. He didn’t understand why he had spent so long trying to convince his intelligent and capable brain that he was actually straight when he could have been doing this all along.

Henry’s lips and tongue were like magic dancing along his skin and kissing every single inch of his torso.  

Alex looked softly at Henry and toyed at the edge of his purple NYU hoodie asking his permission since consent was important to him. He couldn’t believe Henry had worn his hoodie the thought made his brain fuzzy.

His high school girlfriend liked to borrow his other lacrosse jersey when it was game day, but that was nothing like seeing Henry is his favorite hoodie that the secret service made a special trip to New York for.

He had spent countless nights wearing that hoodie as he studied and overworked his brain and damn did it look heavenly on Henry’s attractive body. He would certainly be getting a secret picture of Henry in his hoodie because that was a perfect sight for rough lonely nights at the hospital away from Henry.

Henry nodded and Alex effortlessly pulled off the hoodie showing Henry’s perfect body underneath. He tossed the hoodie in the same direction his tee shirt had gone too.

Boobs were nice and all but strangely the idea of strong muscles was sending his brain into another stratosphere. God, the way Henry’s body moved against Alex’s felt absolutely amazing.

He felt Henry kissing his abs and it sent shivers through his body. This was nothing like his encounters with ladies, this was infinitely better the way they moved together, it was like they had been doing this for years. His eyebrows shot into his hairline as he felt Henry’s hands on his belt. He nodded, allowing Henry permission to go further.

His body felt like it was on fire and Henry was the water that would quench his nearly decade long thirst, all the pent-up sexual desire clawing its way to the service. His body was pissed off that his brain had let this go on for so long and so desperate for more.

Alex felt his belt being pulled through the loops and his head hit the pillow in pure bliss. Henry’s piano fingers were hovering above the button of his chinos. “Please.” Alex whispered, seeing Henry’s blue eyes full of desire. He felt the same, he was completely gone, his body relaxing into the comfortable mattress and soft sheets.

Henry easily unbuttoned Alex’s pants and felt the other lift up his hips. He removed the offensive chinos and tossed them in the same direction the other articles of clothing had been discarded leaving Alex in nothing but his skintight trunks, they quite frankly left little to the imagination.

His throat became dry because Alex looked like an underwear model laying in the bed looking at him with those fucking eyelashes. He almost wanted to send Ellen and Oscar a thank you card for creating such an attractive child.

“Are you okay?” Henry questioned softly traveling upwards to softly kiss Alex’s lips running his hands through Alex’s perfectly messy curls.

“More than okay.” Alex was admittedly nervous the last time he had been with a guy was when he was seventeen and with Liam and it had just been bros watching porn together and helping each other while drunk on Liam’s father’s whiskey after a big game. He fiddled with Henry’s belt and removed it from the expensive navy pants, it was less smooth than when Henry removed his belt.

He pulled the pants down Henry’s muscular thighs from years of playing polo and what a sight it was to see Henry also in a pair of trunk underwear. His brain was feeling fuzzy since all the blood that usually occupied it had gone straight to his cock. Not really but he was really fucking horny and full of need and desire for Henry.

“God! You are so fucking handsome.” Alex cursed out not even thinking he just said it. Henry truly was a marvel to look at.

Henry smiled and it was his just for Alex smile. “You are pretty handsome yourself.” He said kissing Alex’s lips. He put his hand over Alex’s waistband and saw him nodding eagerly making his curls look tantalizing.

He smirked and slowly pulled the blue trunks off of Alex’s runner legs and out sprung Alex’s painfully hard dick that was well above average. He smiled a toothy smile before seeing the nod that meant he could go further.

He had waited almost a decade for this and licked the angry tip of Alex’s dick. He saw the chocolate brown eyes darken to the point it was hard to tell what the eye was and what was the pupil.

Henry heard an indistinguishable curse word come out of Alex and he laughed causing a vibration. That earned a moan. He licked and sucked in small teasing strokes, playing with Alex’s balls and he noticed tanned fingers gripping the sheets in pure pleasure.

“Fuck!” Alex exclaimed. He knew he wouldn’t last long it had been very a while since he had had any sexual contact, and his cock was acting like it was back in high school. The only difference is this blowjob felt incredible and not sloppy. Henry obviously knew what he was doing and well Alex was a little nervous about his own turn. He had never sucked a cock before, so he was intently watching Henry trying to figure it all out.

He refused to watch porn because it was so unrealistic and fake. He let out a string of moans seeing Henry look at him with a look of pure innocence with his entire cock in his mouth. Yeah, this would be a record for him, and it was kind of embarrassing.

“Baby!” He cooed softly. “That feels amazing, but it has been a while and I’m going to cum.” He recognized the tight feeling in his balls and watched Henry swallow his entire load and fuck that was very hot.

“I um haven’t been with anyone since our kiss.” Alex shyly admitted burying his face in the luxury pillow. He knew communication was important and well that felt pretty great to get off his chest.

Henry smiled and pulled Alex up for a passionate kiss, his tongue given immediate entry. “I haven’t either.” He admitted that felt like a weight had been removed from his shoulders.

A part of him knew that night that if he couldn’t have Alex, he didn’t want anyone else. He had certainly been with his prostate massager though. He wanted a relationship and someone he could love that would love him back.

After having the orgasm, Alex’s brain was thinking much quicker, and he came to the distinct realization that they had both been pinning after one another for almost a fucking decade. He didn’t quite know how to react to that, well actually he did, he was absolutely in love with Henry, but it was probably not safe to admit that on their first date, even though it wasn’t it had been six weeks of constant talking, texting, and catching up.

Chapter Text

“I think we need to have a conversation about this.” Alex whispered softly he didn’t force Henry anything he didn’t want to do. He was naturally a talker and felt compelled to talk about the whole neither one of us has been with anyone since our first kiss together.

Alex had a perfectly reasonable excuse as he had slogged through medical school and was a workaholic resident and the only person who had showed him any interest was well Paige and she was more like his sister. There had been nurses and residents of various genders that had also shown him interest, but again there was the whole dating someone he worked with.

Sure, it worked for Adrian and several others, but again his brain was stupidly obsessed with Prince Henry. If he did date, he’d just be comparing them to Henry which would make that relationship doomed from the beginning.

Henry smiled shyly, he appreciated this more mature version of Alex, and he loved how open and willing he was when it came to healthy communication. It was something his therapist stressed to him countless times, but to have it actually happen was entirely different. Bea had also told him that just because his hole enjoyed it, didn’t mean it was actually good for his soul or helped his grief. It was an escape and an unhealthy one at that.

Dick was not a healthy substitute to communication. Something he had always struggled with given his upbringing in such a public way. So, he got off in healthier ways, some of that was coming to terms with his behavior, some of it was maturity, and some of it was late night research when the insomnia wouldn’t turn loose of him.

It honestly felt like no time had passed between him and Alex, but it had, it had been eight years since their kiss. Yet they were still so in sync and comfortable with each other.

He had wanted Alex since the Rio Olympics, and he locked eyes with an 18-year-old Alex. He knew then he’d never be able to have him or that. Alex had always been the most beautiful thing he had seen and knew Alex was dangerous to everything Mary expected him to be. He was also still grieving his father’s death. Love was the last thing on his mind, and yet there was Alex and unexplained feelings even back then.

“Care for a bath?” Henry suggested grabbing his phone and sending Ben a text message to bring them up a glass of good wine. He grabbed his phone and sent Ben a message to bring up two glasses of a good red and leave them sitting outside the door.

Alex’s face lit up at the suggestion of taking a bath. “That sounds marvelous, baby.” He knew that Henry could quiet his brain in a way that no one else could, and during the four weeks of video chats, Henry could also tell his emotions and he was excited to tell Henry everything that had happened in his life, even the bad.

“In that case why don’t you start the bath and I’ll go and get our glasses of wine.” Henry suggested untangling himself from Alex’s body so that he could collect the glasses of expensive wine.

Alex sighed in frustration as he felt Henry leave the bed, he really liked the feeling of Henry’s body and wanted to spend the rest of their days in Paris in this bed and snuggling those hard polo muscles. He was also afraid that he would feel unsteady on his feet after having that mind blowing orgasm from Henry’s mouth. He slowly slid up and padded over to the glass door that led to the spa like bathroom. He walked up the stairs and turned on the faucet making sure the water was the perfect temperature. He grabbed some of the bath salts and sprinkled the flakes into the water and made sure they were dissolved properly.

Henry came into the bathroom holding both wine glasses and he sat them on the edge of the circular tub. He smiled warmly at Alex and hit the button to make a waterfall flow down the gold tile behind them.

“Do you plan on wearing these in the bath?” Alex teased, placing his hands at Henry’s waist and toying with the waistband of his grey trunks.

“Can I?” He asked softly, his voice barely a whisper. He heard Henry give his approval and he wasted no time sliding the trunks down the perfect muscular thighs from polo and horseback riding. He gave Henry’s ass a playful squeeze, he couldn’t resist, that ass looked heavenly.

He licked his lips in approval seeing Henry’s cock laying against his abs. He was going to say this time was his first-time seeing Henry’s cock, that time in the hospital didn’t count. It wasn’t at all sexy and he could tell Henry was uncomfortable and it wasn’t much better for him, he had a hard time keeping that strictly professional. This time made him want to get down on his knees and worship every inch of Henry’s magnificent body.

Instead, Alex smiled warmly at Henry and got into the circular bathtub. He grabbed one of the glasses of wine and took a sip as Henry got into the tub and sat between his legs. “Are you okay?” Alex asked knowing they were both naked and if his dick got hard, well it would certainly be poking Henry in the ass.

Henry’s heart soared hearing the other man ask if he was okay. He wanted to melt into a princely puddle every time Alex checked on him it was a tenderness he wasn’t used to. “I’m absolutely perfect.” He wanted to tell Alex that he was perfect, instead he relaxed and snuggled against Alex’s bare chest the other man’s arms wrapping around his waist holding him close.

This entire day felt like something out of a fairytale, something he didn’t believe in as a prince. He was falling hard for Alex Claremont-Diaz and unlike when he was younger it did not scare him. He tapped a button and a waterfall started to cascade from the ceiling down the gold titles; and out the row of windows a stunning view of the Eiffel Tower skyline reminding them of their date. He would be just fine if this week didn’t end.

“So, what did you want to talk about?” Henry questioned he didn’t feel like divulging his sexual history with Alex but knew that probably had to happen.

“Why the two of us haven’t had sex is almost eight years.” Alex admitted looking at Henry it was a little strange that they hadn’t, although Alex had a perfect excuse, he wondered what Henry’s excuse was.

“I have an excuse of medical school and then residency which left me very little free time. Also, the only classmate that didn’t hate my guts was Paige and we spent a lot of time studying together, but I just never saw her in that way, she became more of a sibling to me.”

“Then came residency and I had a few people ask me out, and I did go on a few dates, but I didn’t feel a connection with any of them. I eventually focused on residency and pretended I didn’t notice the flirting.” Alex admitted he wasn’t ashamed of it, it boiled down to him being an utter workaholic who hated the playboy persona the media wanted him to have.

Henry grabbed the glass of wine by his arm and took a greedy sip of it along with a deep breath. Alex was honest with him, so he felt obligated to confess his sexual behavior when he was younger. He silently begged for Alex to understand. He didn’t realize how bad his behavior was until he told his therapist and Bea forced it out of him. His therapist had called it akin to hypersexual behavior. It wasn’t the worst she had seen, but it could get worse.  

It eventually became harder and harder to find men who wanted to have a one-night stand with the Prince of England. They wanted something he couldn’t give them, at least not while Mary was still alive. He had tried Grinder once unsuccessfully so eventually he did what Bea suggested which was order a toy, it was also much safer.

He had no idea how to start his conversation how does one tell the person they liked might even love that hey I was a bit of a slut in my younger years. I promise you I’m clean. The reason I’m so dry is because Bea and my mum found out and told me to stop. He knew his body count was close to 20. 10 were random NDA hookups, and the other 10 were from his years at Eton and Oxford. He sighed feeling Alex’s kiss along his neck.

“The reason I’ve gone so long without is because back when I was in my early twenties, I had many random NDA hookups. Bea found out and told me to tell my therapist who told me my behavior was similar to something called hypersexuality. I never was the typical hypersexual I had my limits, and I didn’t always want to sleep around” Henry paused, allowing Alex to digest and comprehend.

“I used it primarily as a grief and stress outlet. Younger me almost wanted to be caught so I no longer had to lie to my country.”

Alex ran his fingers along Henry’s back in a comforting gesture. He had learned about hypersexual behavior while on his psych rotation, most of the time it occurred in neurodivergent people with trauma or conditions like bipolar, and ADHD. (He was not)

He also wasn’t the judgmental type, and he could surmise that being a gay prince didn’t allow for a lot of options. His role as the First Son also didn’t have a lot of options, most wanted to use him for his name.

Henry felt Alex’s soothing fingers and felt compelled to just let everything out, put it all out in the open. It was a strange way to start the relationship, but he knew Alex and knew he wasn’t likely to judge him on this. He was never ashamed to be gay, but he was ashamed of this particular behavior.

“Bea begged me to stop, and I stopped for her. She had stopped her addiction for me. I wouldn’t say I was addicted, but I knew it could always lead to a risk. Mum eventually found out and she put a loving and supporting mum ban on them. I also went to an all-boys private school, so I did some experimenting.” He said in a rush, afraid to make eye contact with those loving pools of chocolate.

Alex smiled softly and placed a kiss on Henry’s cheek as he pulled him super close to him. He was also guilty of a few NDA hookups before their kiss. He probably had a smaller body count, but he also didn’t care about Henry’s body count. Henry had taken Truvada and had confessed that he was clean, and he believed and trusted those words.

“It’s okay. I’m not going to judge you for your sexual escapades. I guess on the topic of complete honesty, I’ve never actually been with a man sexually. My best friend in high school gave me a blow job, and we watched porn of it, and we touched each other and got each other off, but it didn’t go any further than just touching.” Alex shyly admitted he wasn’t a virgin, but in a way, he was when it came to same sex. He also knew this conversation wasn’t making him seem smooth or sexy.

“Miguel was just naked kissing in a hot tub, he always wanted more, and I wasn’t ready or comfortable with it at the time. He was older and a part of me felt like he was using me for inside information about my mom’s campaign.” Kissing Miguel was one of his biggest regrets, he was cruelly outed and because of the media circus that followed cost him Harvard. He also didn’t want a sleezy political reporter to be his first sexual encounter with the same sex.

Henry turned his neck to finally face Alex and kissed him and he felt sparks that made him feel like he was burning with desire. “We don’t have to do anything you aren’t comfortable with. I mean I would like for you to make love to me eventually, but it doesn’t have to be tonight.” He confessed he didn’t want make Alex uncomfortable or feel pressured for something he wasn’t ready for. He personally wanted the next time he had sex to mean something, and he wanted that person to be Alex.

Alex thought about it for several seconds, and he did want to make love to Henry he was certainly comfortable with that thought. “I want to make love to you tonight.” He admitted pulling Henry into a deep kiss his dick firmly poking Henry in his hip. He grabbed the stopper to the bathtub and let the water drain out.

Henry heard Alex agree that he was ready for that next step in their relationship, and he grabbed the fluffy white towel hanging on the towel rack and stood up to dry himself off. He casually tossed the towel at Alex who started to dry his own self off and got out of the tub. He wasted no time in closing the distance pulling Henry into a bruising kiss, the two of them eagerly making their way into the bedroom fully naked without a care in the world, besides finally being with each other.

Alex gently pushed Henry against the bed and got on top of him and deepening the kiss between them after a few moments he pulled away, determined to leave Henry with the same love bites that were currently forming on his own neck.

He smirked softly, determined to worship every inch of Henry. He looked softly at Henry who gave him a nod that he could continue. He sucked at the same spot he did back four weeks ago at The Four Seasons. He could hear Henry’s moans of enjoyment. He felt Henry’s hands running through his hair.

He ran his tongue downwards and found another spot on the pale neck to suck. Karina had jokingly asked if he had been with a vampire when she noticed that the bandage on his neck had gone askew and was showing a few love bites.

Henry smiled and moaned as he stared a the fiberoptic cloud ceiling of course Alex would be the type of man who wanted to take things slow and sensual. He felt Alex move his mouth and tongue to his clavicle and chest. He felt Alex’s mouth tease his nipple along with leaving a trail of hickeys down his abs. His dick was painfully hard and begging for attention.

Alex smiled warmly at Henry he noticed that the scar cream had done wonders. He traced an invisible scar with his fingers remembering one of his more emotionally painful memories of having to perform major surgery on his unrequited love. He noticed Henry shiver and moan at the gentle touch. He couldn’t even tell where the chest tube and surgical drains had been. He knew of course where he put them, but the scars were gone. He looked at Henry with a question in his eyes, he needed to know if he could go further.

He nodded seeing Alex’s chocolate eyes asking for permission to move lower and damnit if his heart didn’t hit the ceiling the moment, he felt Alex’s tongue lick his dick. He let out an impressive moan it had been a while since his cock had been sucked and it was nothing sort of impressive.

Seriously, did Alex know how to fail at anything. He knew that answer was no, Alex also didn’t do half-assed either. He was super eager licking and sucking. All he could think was damn those eyelashes should be illegal. “Fucking eyelashes.” He cursed around a loud moan bucking his hips eagerly.

“Baby this is impressive.” Alex grunted his approval. Henry’s cock was a damn art piece. It was very long and thick with the perfect number of veins. It was also dripping precum all over Henry’s small abs. They were good abs, nonetheless. Henry’s abs weren’t a defined six-pack like his own, but they were soft and toned.

Henry’s nerves felt like they were on fire, he released his hands from Alex’s soft hair and grabbed the sheet underneath him, like Alex he wasn’t going to last. He felt Alex’s fingers touching his balls and that is what sent him over the edge.

“Dear, I’m going to cum.” He said voice barely a whisper allowing Alex a moment to grab a tissue, never in his dreams did he imagine Alex would swallow his load on the first go. He couldn’t form words for how good that was considering the fact that was the first time Alex had pleasured another man.

Alex smiled and kissed Henry’s lips before grabbing one of the million throw pillows from the empty side of the bed. “Baby can you lift your hips?” The blond happily lifted his hips and ass of the bed allowing him to slide the pillow under the soft pale flesh. Yeah, he was 100% into Henry. That was fucking hot watching him come undone with his touch.

“How was that?”

Henry heard Alex question as he batted his eyelashes like a fucking puppy expecting him to rate it. He knew Alex was probably nervous that it had sucked seeing as how that was his first time with a man.

“Exceeded expectations.” Henry muttered seeing Alex’s cancer curing smile flashed at him. He nodded seeing the question in the chocolate brown eyes, it was nice that Alex was asking for his permission for everything. His eyebrows shot into his hairline as he felt Alex place a soft kiss on his upper thigh before sucking what would most certainly form a fucking hickey. He felt Alex’s long fingers spread his cheeks.

Mere seconds had passed before Henry felt Alex tenderly kiss his opening before feeling tongue run the length of his arse and holy fuck that was the first time anyone had done that. He knew what rimming was, he wasn’t stupid, but most of his hookups didn’t want to do that.

Alex was making him feel things he hadn’t felt before and after twenty hookups it was quite shocking. His fingers easily tangled themselves in Alex’s soft curls as he let out a moan that everyone in the mansion would be able to hear, but he completely and utterly gone under Alex’s tongue.

He arched his back completely off the bed when he felt the tongue enter him. “Fuck!” Henry exclaimed. “That feels incredible.”  His eyes might have rolled blissfully back into his head as he let out some sounds that none of his other partners had heard or caused. Oh, dear god this made him completely relaxed and like he was one with the mattress.

“Please Alex.” He begged this was pure pleasure, but he wanted so much more. He wanted to know what he felt like to have Alex finger him open and then make sweet tender love to him. This wasn’t at all sex, this was open, honest, and tender. It was connecting them to one another. He felt Alex fondle his balls rubbing them with the palm of his hand.

“Yes baby?” He heard Alex question and all he could do was moan in response. There was just something about the way Alex said baby that melted him into a princely puddle not to mention what he was doing with his tongue.

Alex pulled away from Henry but not before putting a gentle kiss on his thigh. “Lube?” He questioned seeing Henry point at the dresser drawer. He knew he had packed lube too, but seeing how someone unpacked his suitcase without his knowledge he had no idea where they put it.

He opened the drawer and found the bottle of lube and condoms waiting. He grabbed a condom and the bottle of lube before going back to worship Henry’s body. He uncapped the bottle of lube and rubbed the liquid between his fingers to warm it up. He saw Henry’s blue eyes, looking at him fondly and nodding furiously.

“Let me know if I hurt you.” Alex whispered kissing the inside of Henry’s thigh before rubbing his lube thumb over the hole.

Henry smiled softly and pulled Alex close to him for a kiss. He seriously doubted that anything Alex did would hurt him. “I trust you with all of my heart.” He whispered softly, feeling the tip of Alex’s long finger against his hole.

Alex smiled and left a trail of kisses along Henry’s thigh. His hole was glistening with Alex’s saliva and lube. He slowly pressed his index finger into the hole and expertly found Henry’s prostate, that he could do easily. Not like he had to do plenty of them to get through medical school and during certain rotations.

He was using everything in his power to tell his brain to shut up and to not make a mental note of the way Henry’s prostate felt. This wasn’t a fucking prostate exam. However, he did make a quick mental note because he wanted to be a good boyfriend (they were boyfriends now right) just in case something did change. Usually, they were awkward this was so sexy hearing Henry’s moans and mewls of absolute pleasure.

“Fucking hell.” He cried out his brain reminding him that Alex was a doctor and knew exactly how to find that spot. He was sure he was seeing stars. Jesus and that was just one finger. He knew his language was anything less than princely, but it had been a while since he had someone touch his prostate, his toys were okay, but nothing felt better than Alex’s index finger massaging his prostate.

The fingers on his left hand running through Alex’s hair and his right finding Alex’s left hand to hold and squeeze. The sounds he was making were unlike anything he had made before. He didn’t know if it was because he loved Alex, and they had some serious sexual chemistry or if he was just fucking horny and burning with lust desire. He was choosing the first option; his anxiety be damned.

“You okay baby?” Alex questioned feeling Henry’s muscle squeeze around his fingers. Henry’s ass felt absolutely incredible and apart of him didn’t want to ever leave this bed. He also wondered if any ghostly royals were watching them. He could almost imagine their horrified reactions that the prince was dating a Mexican American.

Come to think of it Henry VII had to be into voyeurism. He also hoped the sounds his lover was making were strong enough to make Mary roll over in her grave. ‘He’s mine now.’ His brain thought protectively.

“I’m perfect. How did you learn to do that?” He questioned around moans and heavy breathing. He felt Alex slip his middle finger in along with the index finger and arched his back on the bed bucking his hips wildly to meet Alex’s fingers.

Nothing had ever felt this incredible before. He was the one who was usually fingering himself open before the main act. Alex was the king of foreplay, and he was here for it. They hadn’t even gotten to the main event, and he already knew he wanted to do this the rest of their time here.

“Med school.” Alex sassed playfully as he massaged Henry’s prostate until the blond was a whimpering, moaning mess that was fully open and begging him for more. He slowly scissored his fingers open stretching the muscle, the last thing he wanted was to hurt Henry with his cock. That would definitely put a damper on their perfect evening. Henry felt amazing on his fingers so tight and so warm. The was infinitely better than any women he had ever slept with.

“Alex, please.” Henry begged quite frankly if Alex didn’t stop tormenting his prostate he was going to cum long before he even felt Alex’s warm cock inside him. He smirked up at the cloud ceiling he was a mess and oh that was the spot that made his eye roll back in his head. That feeling made a tear come to the corner of his eye.

Alex saw the stray tear. “Baby you are crying, are you okay? Am I hurting you?” He questioned kissing the tear away.

Henry smiled and pulled Alex in for a kiss. “The opposite. That feels incredible and I’m overwhelmed by the pleasure.” His voice shook and broke on some of the words. No other man had been so in tune with his emotions that they would have noticed that small tear rolling down his face. “Please, I’m ready.” He begged the surgeon.

Alex smirked and gently inserted his ring finger along with the other two fingers. He wanted to make sure Henry was fully open and relaxed. Once he was satisfied with his work he withdrew his fingers, which caused Henry to whimper from their absence. He tore open the condom and rolled it down his painfully hard cock. He lubed up his condom covered cock.

“Ready baby?” He asked softly running the tip against Henry’s open hole. He leaned down to tenderly kiss Henry’s lips as he slowly inserted the head of his cock into Henry. He is pretty sure that his eyebrows are in his hairline because the feeling of being in Henry was everything, he was warm, tight, and squeezing his cock in all the right places. He heard a moan escape his own lips the two of them moaning in unison.

“You feel amazing.” Alex whispered as he softly kissed Henry’s cheek.

Henry pushed again the small of Alex’s back meaning he could go further. The fingers on his right hand grabbing a gentle fistful of Alex’s curls as their left hands held each other as the two of them dealt with crashing emotions of sexual bliss. Alex was careful with his movements and thrusts until just the right thrust rubbed against his prostate and his body came off the mattress letting out a blissful moan that vibrated the chandelier.

He wouldn’t be lasting long if Alex kept doing things like that to him. Shit! How had this man never been with a man before. Henry arched his back and squeezed Alex’s hand as he bucked his hips he just could not get enough of this feeling. Alex made him feel full of love and a tenderness that he had wanted for ages.

This was so much better than casual sex and then Alex went and hit the spot and looking at him with those eyebrows and he felt the usual tightness in his balls meaning he was dangerously close. “Alex.” He moaned his nails gently scraping Alex’s back.

The two of them moaning and groaning like horny teenagers discovering the joys of it for the first time, the did not at all sound like thirty-year-old man. Both burning with passion and desire for the other.

“Cum for me baby.” Alex whispered and felt his own orgasm release into the condom and Henry’s own orgasm made a puddle on his abs. Alex easily slid out of Henry and tied and disposed of the condom.

He quickly pulled Henry tightly into his arms. “That was incredible and amazing, and I can’t believe you are mine.” He said kissing Henry softly as he held him both of them slowly coming down from their sex high.

Henry’s heart swelled when Alex called him his. “I think you have that wrong since you are in fact mine.” He teased softly either way it was the truth. Alex had a part of him that he couldn’t get back and had done some seriously amazing things to him.

The two of them got off the bed, both feeling equally week in the knees as they quickly took a shower together to remove some of the sweat and stickiness so they could go back to bed to have some much-needed sleep.

The two of them didn’t even bother to put on fresh clothes as they fell into the massive bed happily relaxing in each other’s touch. The two of them pressed up against each other so that you couldn’t put a feather between the two of them. Half the massive bed went unused.

Alex found it was easy to sleep next to Henry, he didn’t have his typical stress and worries about residency. With Henry he could be just Alex, Henry didn’t expect him to live up to a certain expectation.

Sometimes he thought about writing a book about his time as the First Son and his journey and heartbreaking struggle to get accepted into medical school and his subsequent journey through medical school and residency.

It felt like very few people knew the true Alexander Claremont-Diaz. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind that it would be a best seller and knew it would become a hit TV show, since medical dramas were so popular. He’d file that idea for later just in case the ethics committee got all up in his ass for dating a former patient. He still had four and a half months of residency left and he had no idea when he and Henry would want to go public with their relationship.

Henry smiled feeling Alex wrap his arm protectively around him, he soon found himself drifting off to a blissful uninterrupted sleep, there was something about the raven-haired man that quailed his anxiety and made him not wake up with terrible insomnia. He also wondered what Alex’s feelings on dating a prince were, and what he thought of the current Monarchy. He knew Alex despised Mary, but he did too.

When Catherine was made queen things changed and many times, he considered abdicating when it was still Queen Mary, all those thoughts left his head the moment the crown was placed on his mum’s head and started to change the country for the better. All of her children could do what they wanted philanthropy wise, and she acted like their mum when it came to discussions and not the Queen. Mary expected them to bow to her and do whatever she expected of them. Mum always gave them a choice.

He didn’t foresee himself abdicating his title while his mum was queen. She was a great support system and he wanted to support her in return. He needed to talk to Tom to see if he was happy with his decision to marry a royal.

He needed to talk to mum about coming out and courting Alex, he needed to make sure that if they did this, she wouldn’t force Alex to give up his career in New York and become either a royal physician, work for the NHS, or go into private practice. He knew that wasn’t what Alex would want. Not to mention there was the small issue of being long distance.

He also needed to have a conversation with Philip, he knew his brother had changed, but sometimes his anxiety did not. Sometimes the dreams would be of his mum dying and during Philip’s coronation he would immediately strip his titles and go back to Mary’s way. He knew it wouldn’t happen, but those scars ran deep.

Henry also wondered if Alex was having some family trouble, he hadn’t mentioned his family much. He knew more about Amy than he did about Ellen and Oscar. He mentioned June and Nora several times, but even on their video chats he mostly mentioned his hospital friends.

Hell, he knew where Alex’s grandparents lived but not what his parents were up to after Ellen left the highest office. It made him wonder if something happened between Alex and his parents. He’d file that away for another awkward conversation. He would find it hard to believe if Alex somehow had a bad relationship with his parents all of a sudden. He was supposed to be the one with the unsupportive family, not Alex.

Alex woke up and noticed it was still dark outside. He grabbed his phone half expecting to find several pages, but he remembered he was in Paris with Henry, and he had a week away from being paged. It was six in the morning so he gently untangled himself from Henry so he could get his morning run in and then make Henry a lovely breakfast in bed as a thank you for last night.

He snuck into the closet area and quickly changed into a pair of his trunk underwear, a pair of black running shorts, and a neon green tee shirt. He grabbed another change of clothes and his swim trunks along with his toiletry bag in case he decided to take a shower after. He put everything under his arm and grabbed his running shoes, he figured it would be quieter if he went down the staircases barefoot. It was still early, and he didn’t want to wake anyone up.

He passed by the floor where Ben, Logan, and the more senior PPOs bedrooms were. He quietly slipped down that staircase and by the main level staircase finding no one awake on that level. He snuck down the staircase to the fourth floor that had a ton of seating, game tables and found Derek and Adam two of the PPOs awake and sipping tea.

Derek and Adam heard footsteps and turned to see Alex awake with a collection of hickeys lining his neck. They knew he couldn’t have given them himself, so it had to be the usually mild-mannered prince. They didn’t say anything or have their eyes linger for too long. They had all signed NDA’s and had been Henry’s PPOs for a while now. They also liked Alex and thought he was good for Henry and that when Alex was around Henry seemed happier.

“Good morning.” Alex greeted surprised to not be the only one up. “I was heading to the gym to get my morning run in and then make breakfast for everyone.” He supplied.

“Would you like a workout buddy?” Derek questioned politely he couldn’t cook worth a shit, but he could be a workout buddy.

“Thanks, but I was kind of hoping to use that time to give my sister a call and see how she is.” Alex muttered waving them goodbye and heading down the final staircase. He thought about calling his parents but knew it was midnight across the pond and they’d be asleep. It would be eleven pm in Mexico so he also couldn’t call his grandparents.

He knew it was afternoon in Australia and June knew his sleeping habits better than anyone, so it was entirely plausible for him to still be awake at midnight. He opened the glass door to the small gym and quickly tied his sneakers to his feet, he also put his earbuds in.

He pulled up his contact labeled Bug and hit the green button. He got on the treadmill and started the machine at his typical running pace. He heard the ringing, and she answered on the third.

He kept his pace and talked to June for the thirty-minute run. She told him that she’d see him at his residency graduation. She also mentioned finding a giant spider that almost gave her a heart attack. The conversation fell easily into place, it didn’t matter how far away they were from each other they’d always be each other’s rocks.

Alex stopped the treadmill and looked at his watch seeing that he had ran for four miles. He placed his earbuds back into their case and went to the bathroom to change out of his running gear and into his swim trunks.

He swam three laps in the large pool and got out of the pool and went to take a quick shower to get the sweat off of him. He changed into his purple NYU tee shirt and a pair of dark grey marled lounge shorts. He made his way back up the stairs and saw that Logan and Ben had woken up and were engaged in a conversation with Derek and Adam.

“Good morning, Sir!” The two equerries greeted in unison; they also noticed the collection of hickeys but like the PPOs they also didn’t mention it. Ben got up from the couch he was sitting on. “Let me get that for you.” He said taking the sneakers and toiletry bag from Alex’s hands.

“I was going to make huevos rancheros con chorizo for breakfast this morning, do any of you have dietary restrictions or an aversion to spicy?” Usually when he and Oscar made it for breakfast they’d use a serrano pepper, but he had Logan pick up poblanos and jalapenos instead. They didn’t have the kick a serrano did.

“Wait you are going to cook for everyone?” Adam questioned looking at the trauma surgeon incrediously, usually the chef only cooked for the royal family and the PPOs made their own food or someone went out to get takeout. It was odd to hear the date of royal offering to make them breakfast. It made him really appreciate Alex for even offering.

Alex smiled and shrugged at the PPO. “Well of course. I grew up in a big family, so I always make more than enough. So spicy or let y’all control your own level of spice.” He said his Texas accent slipping out.

“Spicy.” The group agreed. He knew Henry had mentioned that his chorizo bowl that was loaded with Cholula and Tajian was perfect so he knew Henry could handle some jalapenos in the salsa. He went up the stairs feeling people behind him, he’d certainly take more hands in the kitchen.

Logan quickly made a vanilla cappuccino for the surgeon; he was getting better at knowing. “Do you have any idea how it was hard to find queso fresco in France?” He teased playfully, really his job as an equerry was finding things and giving their charges whatever, they wanted, and Alex had wanted queso fresco and cotija and he didn’t want to disappoint.

Alex laughed and took a greedy sip of coffee and washed his hands in the sink. “Thank you for finding them. I’m sure it wasn’t as easy as it would be in the states. I really appreciate you taking care of my needs this week.” He told the equerry a happy smile plastered on his face and put the blue apron over his clothing. He also queued up the playlist he and his dad listened to when they cooked together. It brought back fond memories.

Logan smiled at the nice complement. “Would you like my help with something?” He could certainly help prep.

“If you wouldn’t mind cutting up the avocados.” Alex suggested as he dried his hands. Once dry he got to work making a ton of flour tortillas so that he could fry them into tostadas. (He was partial to corn tortillas but knew everyone else was probably used to flour.)

He placed the tomatoes, onion, jalapenos, poblano, and garlic into the pan for some roasted flavor to the salsa. He also got to work heating the chorizo, once it was finished, he placed it into a bowl and made the refried beans in that pan, so they’d also have a nice porky flavor.

Alex blended the vegetables into the perfect salsa texture and worked on frying a ton of eggs enough for the equerries, PPOs, and of course he and Henry.

Once everything was finished, he took two, no doubt expensive plates and assembled his and Henry’s plate. He put a tostada down on both plates, then a layer of refried beans, a generous sprinkling of chorizo for both, a fried egg with runny yolk, strips of avocado, queso fresco, a couple shakes of Cholula on both.

Logan handed him a tray to put both plates on along with Alex’s coffee and the Earl Grey that Ben supervised Alex on deeming it the exact way Henry liked his tea.

“Help yourself.” He told everyone that was milling around the kitchen.

Alex took the tray and headed up the two staircases to get back to the master floor. He saw Henry just starting to stir. He sat the tray down and crawled into bed beside Henry. “Morning baby, I have breakfast in bed for us.” He said kissing Henry’s forehead once he saw blue eyes staring at him.

Henry heard Alex’s deep voice mentioning breakfast and he smelled something heavily assaulting his nasal passages. He rolled over realizing he had slept the entire night and in as at it was now almost eight in the morning. He wondered if Ben had woken up and gone to his favorite Boulangerie, but that didn’t smell like just a pastry. “Good morning, dear. What is for breakfast?”

“Huevos rancheros con chorizo very common in Mexico and one of my favorites. My grandfather taught dad and I how to make it. It is one of Abuelo’s specialties. I also made enough for everyone downstairs. Also here is your Earl Grey.” He said, handing him the teacup with a kiss to the cheek. “How did you sleep?” Alex questioned his voice full of concern and fondness.

“You made me breakfast in bed.” Henry was stunned okay what couldn’t the god in front of him do. He was a surgeon, apparently knew how to cook, and was a fantastic lover to boot. “I slept amazing. When did you wake up?”

“I did make you breakfast in bed.” He handed Henry a plate and took a sip of his coffee. “I’ve already had a quick morning run while talking to June, I swam a few laps and then made breakfast for everyone.”

“I was almost starting to think I wouldn’t see June and she’d defect to Australia because she loves Queensland, that is until she saw a giant spider in her bathroom that almost caused her to have a heart attack.” Alex laughed because his sister was far too young to be going into cardiac arrest.

“It was probably a Huntsman” Henry teased after all Australia was one of their countries so he knew a decent amount about Australian spiders, that and back when Philip was a preteen, he had a curiosity about spiders and could tell everyone fun facts about spiders. (They were more like horrifying facts.)

Henry loaded up a greedy bite of whatever onto his fork and shoved it into his mouth. “That’s delicious also it’s nice to hear you talk about June. I was beginning to think you and your family were at odds.” He was in amazement, seriously what couldn’t Alex do. This dish was heavenly, he didn’t remember on the fact sheet that Alex could cook. Then again, like himself, he probably didn’t get to make the fact sheet.

Alex smiled and took his own bite of food, it was good, but it felt like something was missing. It wasn’t quite like his Abuelo or dad’s recipe, regardless, it still tasted like comfort food to his tastebuds. He raised a questionable eyebrow when Henry asked if he was at odds with his family.

“Absolutely not! I’m just busy and don’t always get to see them, and with June being in Australia talking to koalas about wildfires it’s hard, since we aren’t all in the same places anymore. June had the opportunity to cover Bea’s wedding, but she doesn’t want to write fluff, so the next time I’ll get to see her is my residency graduation.” He admitted sadly, he really missed his older sister, sure it was nice having Nora in New York, but she was busy with political data and helping Pez run the Okonjo Foundation.

 “I’ll get to see my parents at Rafael’s rally in New York. Dad is busy as the Senate Majority Leader, and mom is busy coordinating her Presidential Library back in Austin and is doing a ton of speaking engagements trying to get the younger generations fired up about voting. I’m still as close as ever with them. June and I have our own lives and careers. We still get together pretty often, and they’ve never once missed anything of ours. Even when mom was still president, she still attended everything of mine, sometimes I think she screamed the loudest.”

“Does it ever feel weird to have Rafael as the president?” Henry questioned taking another greedy bite of his new favorite dish. He loved Alex’s cooking, it had just the right amount of spice and the flavors melded well together.

“Sort of, only because he is like an uncle to me.” Alex smiled softly. “I’m super proud of him though, he was the first ever Latino President, first openly gay president, and the first independent president. He’s one for the history books. That’s assuming Royce doesn’t win and burn the history books.”

“So, since we are discussing old memories. Do you remember the State Dinner? I almost had Amy pull you into the Red Room so I could kiss you and tell you I was bisexual, only that was the same night my MCAT score was published, and I was so distracted. I wanted you but knew logically I couldn’t have you and I had a sixteen-year-old Alex depending on me to get into medical school.”

Henry’s mouth opened in a perfect O; he was obviously shocked at the confession. “What do you mean you had a sixteen-year-old Alex depending on you. I wish you had had Amy pull me into the Red Room, I wanted you so much that night. It was hard having to take photos and pretend New Year’s was just a drunk figment of my best imagination.” He knew Alex was right, Mary would never have let them be together.

“It’s an American tradition to have yearbooks made. Well, each year in high school they dedicated a career page just to see if the same dream we had at fifteen was the same when we graduated. When I was fifteen, I wanted to be a doctor, sixteen also a doctor, seventeen also a doctor, however when they asked me at eighteen, I said President or Senator. I had lost sight of who I actually was. The night you kissed me, it was like you had opened my eyes again to who I actually was.”  Alex paused and sipped his coffee.

“When Cash brought me back to my room, I found myself staring at sixteen-year-old Alex and it was like the picture talked to me and told me to remember who I was like something out of The Lion King, and I remembered, although it wasn’t like I forgotten. What I’m about to tell you know one outside my family and medical school application knows.” Alex admitted there was something about Henry that was just so easy to talk to and share secrets.

“I could have graduated from Georgetown in three years, instead of the four years I took. I took all AP classes my Junior and Senior year of high school and some also counted for university credit. I secretly took science classes and worked on graduate level research projects. Nobody knew that outside of my family. I loved science but the media wanted a very specific image of who I was, and that did not fit the view. So, I hid it. Hoping that taking those classes would satisfy my love for science, if anything it made me worse. I took hard science classes and still graduated Summa Cum Laude with a 4.0.”

Henry’s eyebrows hit the top of his hairline. “That is impressive, actually let me rephrase that you are impressive.” He said leaning in to kiss Alex’s lips both of them tasting breakfast. He knew how that felt, having the media and family expect one thing, but wanting to do another. His early twenties were a prime example of that.

The rest of their week in Paris passed by in a blur. It was filled with plenty of deep conversation, a ton of excellent sex, and bonding time. Their relationship felt stronger than it ever had, both men were helplessly in love with the other, but also afraid to admit those feelings to the other. It was early, but this connection between them had always been there and the more time they spent together the more the connection became deeper.

Alex woke up on the last day knowing that today was the day he’d be flying back to New York. Henry had left fresh hickeys on his neck, and he honestly didn’t think he’d be able to hide them, not that he cared. Last night he had sent Bellevue a contract negotiation email, after all this week off was supposed to be visiting other hospitals and figuring out where he wanted to be an attending.

He knew in his heart that he wanted to continue as an attending at Bellevue. That is where his people were. Paige had agreed to be an attending anesthesiologist, Adrian was already an attending and hopefully come June he’ll be an attending at Bellevue.

He heard Henry groan and burrow his face into his bare chest. “We have to go home today. This has been nice. I don’t want to wait until March for the next time I can see you. Why do I have feelings for the workaholic trauma surgeon. At least I get you for my birthday.”

Alex kissed Henry’s forehead in agreement. “I know baby but look at the bright side we made it four weeks without seeing each other. Two weeks should be nothing, there is always video calls.” He had already gotten the approval email for March’s schedule which meant he’d have three days off for Henry’s birthday, and then four off for his own birthday, where’d he be turning thirty. He’d spend one day of that in DC with his family, and then he’d be getting on a private plane and flying to London. Ben had already arranged the flights.

The two of them planned to not move from the bed until their flights departed France. Alex had a meeting with Edwards about his contract along with a night shift waiting for him back in New York. Tomorrow would be Rafael’s rally and he was excited to catch up with his family.

Eventually Ben and Logan texted them and told them it was time for their flights. Alex wished that Henry would be flying back with him to New York, but unfortunately, he had meetings about his philanthropy projects which meant Henry would be flying back to London instead.

Henry hugged Alex super tight and peppered him with kisses, the hickeys on their necks had both been redone. “I’m going to miss you. Please text me when you get back to New York.”

Alex smiled and deepened their kiss. “I will.” He wanted to tell Henry he was already in love but instead he let Logan take his suitcase and he left their little slice of heaven. He followed Logan down the magnificent staircase and into an awaiting Bentley. He let out a painful sigh as the car door closed. He had a little more than seven hours to get back into doctor mode and not Henry’s boyfriend mode. That was another thing they were now boyfriends.  

Chapter Text

Henry’s plane touched down gently on the RAF Northolt tarmac and slid easily into the usual hanger. He sighed wishing he was still wrapped up with Alex in France. He enjoyed a week without any worries or stress, it was just the two of them falling even harder for one another. One thing was for sure, he was positively in love with Alex, but a small part of him thought it was still early in the start of their relationship to say those words.

He grabbed his phone and sent Alex a text message saying that he had landed in London safely. He knew Alex still had another five and half hours left. He hoped his boyfriend was sleeping in preparation for his contract meeting and the night shift. He watched Ben disappear and come back with his luggage in hand.

“Ready to go?” Ben questioned softly seeing the prince get up from the chair and he followed Henry down the steps. The PPOs were waiting outside the plane for them already.

Ben quickly deposited Henry’s luggage into the boot of the Bentley and held open the usual door for the prince, who easily slid into the luxury vehicle and bucked his seatbelt. Once he knew Henry was safely in the vehicle he slid into the driver’s seat and bucked his own seatbelt. Derek was sitting in the passenger’s seat. Once everyone was safely in the vehicle he pulled out of the private hanger.

Ben had enjoyed the week in France and seeing Henry and Alex’s relationship develop in real time. He also enjoyed seeing the two of them come up for air every now and again looking more and more debauched than the last time, not that he cared.

Ben liked it when Henry was happy, and it seemed like Alex was good for Henry if the smile he had never seen on the prince’s face was any indication. In fact, that smile had yet to leave the prince’s face. He liked the look; it made the prince finally look his age.

The drive to Buckingham was full of traffic so it took a little longer than usual to get there. No matter he made decent time and snuck in the back way of Buckingham wanting to avoid the throngs of tourists taking photos outside the historic palace. The Royal Standard flying high at the top of the ancient palace. (It meant the Queen was home.)

He parked in the covered garage and opened Henry’s door. He and Derek followed a few paces behind Henry. Buckingham wasn’t a security risk, and it was doubtful that as an equerry he was needed for the family meeting and catch up.

Mary was the type of queen who summed her grandchildren and made a big ordeal out of it. Catherine was the type of queen and mum whose children visited on their own to discuss their day and projects with their mum.

In fact, Catherine had texted Henry to come for a visit the moment he got back to London because she wanted to hear everything about Paris over tea. Hence why he wasn’t dreading this meeting. It had been four years since Mary had died, the year after her Golden Jubilee.

He saw his mum’s coronation photo happily displayed in the entryway of Buckingham. She was sitting on the throne with her three children surrounding her. They all looked happy and unlike most official portraits with Mary he didn’t have to force his smile.

He expertly navigated his way through the Queen’s Apartments after all they spent a lot of time here as children. He knocked at her study door and soon found himself engulfed in his mother’s toned arms.

“Hi mum.” Henry said inhaling the comforting scent of her floral perfume. She was wearing a red tie neck blouse, a pair of grey trousers, and a red pair of court shoes that matched her blouse perfectly. Their media had dubbed her the Queen of Trousers. “You look lovely.”

“Thank you darling. I had several meetings this morning. Come in and let’s have tea and you can tell me all about Paris.” She said pulling away from the hug noticing he was wearing a pair of jeans along with a purple NYU Grossman School of Medicine adoring the front of it.

The hoodie clearly wasn’t Henry’s. Which meant either Henry abducted the hoodie when Alex wasn’t paying attention or things in Paris had gone better than she hoped.

“Did you also get accepted into NYU? Is there something you wish to tell me?” She teased sitting gracefully upon the settee and patted the open area beside her.

Henry laughed as he walked past the table that had a ton of photos on it. He touched his hand to the ancient wood in front of the wedding photos of his mum and dad. He missed his dad; he knew that’d he be equally curious about Alex. He also knew his dad would be thrilled at everything mum had accomplished in her four years as queen. He knew he was.

Her diplomas from Oxford proudly displayed on the wall behind the family photos. He was missing a Ph.D. he had gotten an MPhil instead. Mary had persuaded him not to go for his Ph.D. and instead joining the military like the good little heir he was supposed to be. He ignored that suggestion, but didn’t progress further, he was content with his MPhil.

“Alex loaned it to me.” He confessed. Alex had loaned it to Henry before they left Paris in hopes that Henry could transfer some good luck into to the cloth before Alex went for his board certification exam. He happily agreed the hoodie was warm, comfortable and smelt of Alex.

Catherine smiled and it made her eyes crinkle with amusement. She watched her son leave the table full of photos she proudly displayed in her office. Most of them were of her children back when they were younger, and her Artie was still alive. She missed her husband dearly and there wasn’t a day that went by that she didn’t think of him. She watched Henry stride over to the settee and sit down beside her.

“I supposed that answers that question.” She remarked wanting to know more about why, but instead handing Henry a teacup full of Earl Grey. Her nails a light pink with a chrome overlay. It was another rule she had overturned. Mary didn’t like loud nail polish and if they did wear any it had to be barely there. Now all the ladies in their family, including Victoria, had their nails painted.

Henry sighed softly and looked at his mum. He was sort of terrified with this topic of conversation about his ideas and thoughts about coming out of the closet and about Alex. He took the teacup from his mum’s hands and took a sip trying to soothe his anxiety, he shouldn’t even have anxiety around his mum. He realized it wasn’t anxiety about his mum, but the anxiety of the situation. He supposed now was as good as any to talk to his mum about his idea.

“Alex and I were having a conversation and he mentioned that his residency program puts on a graduation dinner and assuming he is alright with it, I would like for us to debut our relationship during that dinner. It is something that is massively important to him and I’m so proud of him already. I was thinking I could post something about him on Instagram followed by a tasteful photo of us kissing.”

Catherine smiled and nodded hoping he’d continue the rest of his idea. So far, she liked the idea assuming that Alex was alright with it. She knew he could handle anything the media could throw at them and had done so as the former First Son.

“He also has a two-week Holiday in Mexico planned for after his graduation. I know you probably wouldn’t let me be gone for two weeks, but if you could spare a week, I’d love for him to have the opportunity to show me a part of his heritage and Mexican culture.” Some of that was a lie. He would enjoy learning about some of the culture, but the biggest part would be lounging on a beach next to his lover. The two of them getting to relax and just be like they could in France.

Catherine smiled softly at the idea of her darling on Holiday with his boyfriend. “I could spare you for two weeks. You deserve happiness.” She said hugging her child tightly the plan formulating in her brain. She knew the media would talk regardless of what her children did. She found it better to let her children do what they wanted instead of always controlling the narrative like Mary.

She also thought that if Alex was alright with it, she could send her other children to Mexico for a few days. If she could create a united royal front of support for Alex, it might make the media go easy on him. She knew their media would hate him. He was an American and the more traditional media would have a problem with him being biracial.

She personally thought the traditional media needed to die. They supported Mary and criticized everything she did. Her favorite headline was “Queen Catherine will ruin the Monarchy.’ It had been four years and if anything, they had more support from their people than ever.

Henry’s eyes lit up when she said she could let him have the full two weeks. “Is there a catch for Alex?” He questioned, knowing that if Mary ever gave anything generously it usually came with strings. He knew his mum wasn’t Mary, but still he learned not to trust anything nice without expecting a ton of strings.

When Henry asked if she had a catch for the suggestion, she wanted to dig up her own mum and yell until she lost her voice. “No strings attached. My darling, I am so sorry that Mary ever gave you gifts with strings. You should be able to do something you want without expecting to make it up to anyone.” She said hugging him tightly. “I love you with all of my heart.”

“More than anything I just want you to be happy. I hate her for telling us to prioritize our birthright over our own happiness. If anything, I’d say we are entitled to happiness over the birthright. I’d rather see happy princes and princesses, than ones who hate their life because of birthright.”

She personally grew up with an abusive mother who hated her children and hated having all daughters. She, however, loved her sisters and was especially close with her youngest sister, Charlotte. She had married someone below her station and Mary was so irate that she stripped Charlotte of her title. Once she was made queen the first thing she did was give her sister her title back of Princess Royal.

“Does Alex make you happy?” She knew the answer to that question but still wanted to ask it. She saw the photos he had sent her, and the answer was plastered on the front of the hoodie and her middle child’s face. There was no doubt in her mind that Alex made him happy.

Henry felt more at ease when his mother said he could go on Holiday with Alex, and it does not require them to be puppets on strings. He knew his mum and should think better, but regardless of how much therapy he had had, Mary had ruined him to his core. He had trauma when it came to expectations of the crown so no matter how many times his mum reassured him the scars were there and deep.

He heard her final question and he beamed at her at his was his pure happiness smile. “So very happy. He communicates so well. I think I’m already in love with him, but I’m afraid of the magnitude of my own feelings.”

“Mum, he takes away my insomnia and the past week I’ve had some of my best sleep since dad died. I trust him in a way I can’t articulate.” He admitted pulling out his phone and showing her some of the candid photos that Ben had snapped of the two of them. He adored them all and most of them were of them just lost in their own conversation and their own little world.

“My darling, I knew your father was the one. When you find your person, you just know. I met your dad after losing my PPOs and he and I spent the night together dancing and him quoting Shakespeare. I had never felt happier than when I was with your father and the days my children were born.”

“He lit up my world in a way no one else could. I felt like I could be myself with him. He loved me for me and not because of some tiara or birthright.” She held him tightly since loved these moments with her children she didn’t care hold old they were sometimes a mum hug could just make everything better.

“I love the fact Alex is taking away your insomnia. You two look so happy together and that is a happiness that I haven’t seen since you were a child. Don’t ever be afraid of that feeling be like a moth and soak up that feeling.”

“You deserve your own person that makes you feel how your father made me feel. You want to tell me why it has taken you eight years to finally realize that you love the man? I was starting to think I’d have to contact him myself. I think if I were you, I’d have contacted him when Mary died. I would have supported you then.” Catherine playfully swatted his knee.

“MI6 sent me all of his information and that is a great man you have found. He’s lovely Henry. Would you like to see the file? His transcript is remarkable.” Catherine mused she had loved reading his file about as much as she loved reading Tom’s file. She loved the young actor and how much he supported Bea. She needed someone humorous in her life and he loved her for her and not because of titles and tiaras.

Her support was invaluable to him, but still the scars ran deep. “I would like our relationship to have some secrets and have some development. I’d hate to know everything about him, but I already know he’s intelligent, so I’d like to see that transcript.”

Catherine got up from the settee and gracefully walked over to her desk and held up a giant file the MI6 agent had given her on Alex. She ruffled around until she found his transcripts and class list from his medical school application. She sat the file back on her desk, the file had even managed to impress Philip and he was the harder to impress one. She handed Henry the papers, watching his face beam with pure pride as he read the document.

“He was in all AP classes his Junior and Senior year and he’s one of the few who apply to medical school with a perfect GPA.” Catherine said sounding proud. “Although, I think your transcripts will always be my favorite.”

When Henry shifted, she noticed something that looked suspiciously like a hickey. She quickly pulled back the fabric and saw a collection dotting his pale neck and she heard her study door opening.

“Henry!” She teased in her mum voice. Her child was an adult and was free to have hickeys and leave hickeys. She just found the bruises dotting his neck amusing. She heard Philip’s angry footsteps enter her study.

“How can I hate myself after five years of therapy.” Philip demanded in way of a greeting and then he realized his brother was home from Paris. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt.” He said uncomfortably, noticing his mum’s worried eyes as he sat down next to his brother.

“I’m happy your home.” He threw his strong arms around his brother. “How was Paris and Alex. Are you two dating, boyfriends?” He needed something happy to distract him from his internal self-hatred. His tone even and perfectly jovial.

Even after five years Henry still wasn’t used to having his older brother back when they were children, he used to love Philip’s advice. He used to love polo games with his brother and then Mary gaslighted him into the perfect heir and he lost his brother and best friend.

He still expected this Philip to be a mirage and a figment of hope. His brother was hugging him and wanted to actually hear about him dating another man. He felt a tear dot his eye. Damn those scars and anxiety.

“Paris was wonderful. Alex is good, he has a meeting with his boss to discuss his attending contract today. He also gets to see his parents tomorrow at Rafael’s rally. Alex and I are dating, and he did agree to be my boyfriend.” He heard his mom squeal next to him, even Philip looked happy.

“Does this mean Alex will be coming to your birthday celebration?” Philip questioned politely. Despite ruining their wedding cake, he grew to like and respect Alex. He had seen the MI6 file and even he was impressed with the file.

After being deprogrammed he couldn’t see one thing wrong with Alex, well besides the wedding cake innocent. Henry had confessed that he was equally to blame because he hadn’t always been the nicest to Alex and most of that incident was because of how he acted towards him at the Olympics and earlier in the reception line.

“It does. Is that a problem?” Henry questioned looking at his mum and Philip. He figured it wouldn’t be a problem with them. Most of the time birthdays were quite affairs and he didn’t have any public appearances scheduled for the days Alex would be in London.

“I also invited him over for a few days of his own birthday. He’s going to spend the official day in DC with his family, but Ben has arranged a flight to London so I can have a few days with him.” He confessed, looking at his shoes.

“That is perfectly fine. I look forward to getting to know Alex outside of Dr. Alex.” Catherine admitted. “The more the merrier, besides he is your boyfriend he should be celebrating with everyone. Alex is welcome in Kensington and Buckingham anytime he pleases. The same goes for any and all of our other estates.”

Philip smiled and squeezed his brother’s hand. “Everything she said and more. We will happily take another birthday guest and another birthday to celebrate. I’m truly happy for you. So now that we know the Paris highlights. I’m sure Hen would like to keep some of those memories private for now. Can I please have someone help me with the internal self-loathing therapy made me feel today.”

Henry squeezed Philip’s hand back. “Go ahead.” He had over a decade’s worth of therapy under his own belt he was very good at coping with that feeling.

He listened to Philip explain that he was afraid of regressing and having his siblings despise him again. He was afraid of being a terrible father to his two darlings. Henry and Catherine 0listened intently and both working to soothe Philip’s self-loathing.

After that conversation with Philip confessing his self-doubt. Henry felt better about this relationship with Alex and knew that his entire family would stand by his side in support. That was one less conversation he had to have with his brother today. He was sure that if anything happened to his mum, he wouldn’t completely revert everything back to the way Mary had it. It was one of his deepest fears, but after having Philip talk for over an hour about his own hatred, he felt better about it.

After three hours talking about Paris and plans with his mother and listening to Philip discuss his feelings of failure it was time for him to go back to Kensington and catch up with his favorite sibling who had been at an event for one of her charities. He and Philip left their mum’s study after several tight hugs.

He followed closely behind Philip to the covered garage. Philip, Martha, and Victoria also lived in one of the apartments The three of them were supposed to eventually move to Clarance House, but they just liked the proximity of their siblings and Victoria just adored her aunt and uncles, plus they made for good babysitters when needed.

“What was mum scolding you for when I walked into her study?” Philip questioned softly.

“I might have a few hickeys and I think she was more shocked about it than scolding me about them.” Henry said pulling back the hoodie and showing Philip his neck. He had seen similar marks on Martha so figured It was no big deal showing his brother.

Philip laughed and the sound filled the hallway. “Does Alex have matching ones?”

“Well of course.” At one point in Henry’s life, his brother would have judged them. Today it was laughter and wondering if Alex’s neck also matched. It was something Bea and Tom would both do once they got back to Kensington.

The two of them fell into step with one another until they reached the garage. They both slid into the awaiting Bentley, aware of a time when sharing a vehicle wouldn’t have been possible between them. Now Philip chatted animatedly about how Victoria happily watched David and was begging for a puppy of her own. Philip had said David was perfect but that he seemed a little more tired a sluggish compared to the last time they had watched David.

That thought lingered in the back of his brain. David was thirteen and he knew a beagle’s average lifespan was between twelve and fifteen. He was seeing the signs of aging too and it scared him. David was his most loyal companion, and he didn’t ever want to lose his buddy.

The car pulled into the secret entrance of Kensington Palace and the two men left the vehicle and Henry’s foot barely touched the entryway into the shared apartment space and Bea was engulfing him a bone crushing hug with Tom close behind.

“Impressive hickeys.” Tom said with a wink to his future brother-in-law. “I assume Paris was a success.” He noticed the purple NYU hoodie. He was happy for Henry finally getting the man of his dreams. Bea smirked when her fiancé mentioned Henry’s hickeys and she noticed what was on the hoodie he was wearing.

Henry’s face turned a stunning shade of pink at Tom’s antics. He truly was perfect for his sister. He felt David sniffing his jeans.

“Hi buddy. I hear Tori took such great care of you. I’m happy to have my buddy back though.” He said crouching down to give his old beagle a good scratch behind his floppy ears. David happily wagged his tail seeing his human was home.

“Should we tell them that your human has a boyfriend now?” He heard Bea’s happy squeal followed by Martha’s squeals of delight and felt his pregnant sister-in-law hug him. It was a little awkward since she was getting rounder than she did with Victoria. Tom sent him a smile and two thumbs up.

“In that case let me help you unpack, and you can tell me everything.” Bea said gently pulling her brother’s hand gently leading him in the direction of his own apartment.

Martha looked at her husband to see if he was coming along to hear about Henry’s time in Paris.

“You go ahead love; I’ve already heard about Paris. I’ll go and check on Victoria.” Philip loved his brother, but he didn’t feel like hearing about Paris a second time. He’d let them have their moment alone with Henry.

He watched his love penguin waddle down the hallway, he knew this would be their last child. He didn’t want to put her body through any undue stress, he knew it stung them both when she miscarried. No sense is trying and hoping it only devastated them. Two perfect daughters and having his perfect wife was more than enough for him, besides his siblings were finding mates so he’d eventually have nieces and nephews to dote upon.

Bea did not let go of her brother until they arrived at his bedroom of his apartment. She watched Martha sit gracefully on the bed. David took the doggie stairs and burrowed into the bed beside Martha.

“So, tell us everything.” She said listening as Henry explained about their time in France. She was holding onto Martha, the two of them sharing a knowing look with each other when he mentioned that Alex had taken away his insomnia and he had slept the best he had while on the trip.

Henry was gone and so in love with Alex and they approved. Alex sounded like a perfect gentleman and they both were jealous when Henry said Alex had made him breakfast in bed most mornings. That alone made them swoon. They both approved of Alex, he seemed like he made their brother so happy and that is what they wanted for him.

“I am so happy for you; aren’t you glad I decided to ask you how you were feeling in the hospital about Alex, and he overheard. I was starting to think I was going to have to turn into a conspiracy theorist if the two of you did not pull your lovely heads out of your asses. For two highly intelligent people you both suck at feeling confessions. I was starting to think I would have to sacrifice a portion of the wedding cake to finally get to the two of you together.” Bea playfully lectured. She knew how much her older brother wanted Alex, so she was thrilled it was finally happening.

After another couple hours of talking, Martha left Henry’s apartments to help Philip get Victoria a bath. Tom excused himself for a video meeting with his agent to discuss his year off from filming. It was his choice. He wanted to be able to travel with his wife and not have to worry about stupidly early call times and time zone calculations. It would also be nice not living out of a hotel room for six-twelve months. Catherine had told him that he could still film whatever movies he wanted. She wouldn’t be like her mum and force him to give up the career he loved.

Bea smirked at her brother now it was just the two of them and David. She loved her older brother he had been her rock back when she was sixteen and rebelling from the crown and finding herself doing lines of cocaine to take the edge off.

She hadn’t quite forgiven herself for falling so hard, but he had caught her and had been gentle with her instead of forceful. He told her his deepest secret and she happily went back to rehab and had been clean ever since and they had become super close when Mary was going on and on about birthright and tradition since they were anything but traditional.

“You know for once I’d like if we can just do the British thing and just not talk about it.” Henry teased and Bea wacked him with a pillow.

“Dear everyone but Tom and probably Alex has been in therapy. We are conditioned to talk about our feelings and everything else. I’d rather have mum be hyper engaged in our personal lives and support all of our decisions than Mary forbidding our decisions like we are little children and don’t know what we want. I like being a princess under mum, I like being able to have the foundations and charities I want.” She sassed making herself comfortable next to her brother.

Henry laughed softly. He knew Alex had been in therapy too, so Tom was the odd one out. That was honestly kind of terrifying having that many people need therapy because their birthright and grief caused so much in their lives. “You are the best little sister. I know all of that but sometimes my anxiety reminds me of previous trauma. I’m still scared that I’m going to wake up and everything will be a cruel dream.”

“It’s not.” Bea said firmly even though she understood. Sometimes she thought she’d wake up and Tom would be a figment of her imagination and that she was actually engaged to an abusive Earl that Mary thought perfect for her.

Alex felt the jet land easily having just woken up from a five-hour nap. He looked out the window and saw they were in Teterboro Airport. He sighed slightly, realizing that he was back home, and it was time to try and negotiate a better contract with Bellevue.

He just hoped he had a somewhat normal night and could get some more rest before Rafael’s Rally tomorrow. To be honest he didn’t even want to go to the rally. He loved Rafael and Matthew and always enjoyed seeing them, but while he followed politics, he had closed the whole ACD First Son chapter of his life. Logan had driven him to his apartment complex.

Alex put his Apple Watch on its charger as he took a quick shower to try and prepare for the night. Once he dried and styled his curls, he got dressed in a grey tee shirt, a pair of jeans, and his red knit embroidered jacket.

He had others but the red one reminded him of Henry and David taking a nap on it. It had been watched since then, but it still made him happy to think of the beagle napping on his jacket. He tossed his earbuds, phone, and wallet into their correct pockets.

He put on his compression socks; he would never forget the first time he put compression socks on. He spent five minutes struggling to put them on like he would any other pair of socks. He finally found a TikTok video showing the correct way to put them on. He never dreamed a pair of socks could make him feel like a dipshit, but that pair succeeded.

He grabbed his watch from the charger, seeing that it was now fully charged. He clipped his badge reel to his jeans. He tied his On Cloud sneakers to his feet and slung his work backpack over both of his shoulders. He left his apartment with a soft click, he needed to make a quick Target run to grab a couple cans of energy drinks, the skin tone band-aids, and his favorite box of Kind bars for his locker.

Alex tossed in his earbuds figuring he could give Henry a call as he walked to Target and grabbed what he needed. He listened to the ringing sound in his ears and Henry answered on the third ring.

“Hey dear.” Henry answered. “Are you home?”

“Hi baby. I’m back in New York. Freshly showered and walking to the Target to grab a few things for work figured I’d give you a call.” Alex said walking along the streets of New York. No one paid him any attention.

He walked into the Target and grabbed a basket still talking to Henry. He only needed a few things; he grabbed the band-aids in his color and then over to the drink aisle. He grabbed a few cans of his usual, and grabbed something in a black can that said it was rainbow sherbet flavor. It sounded interesting.

He didn’t take any medication to control his ADHD. He used caffeine and it worked for him. So, he usually drank an energy drink at the start of his shift, caffeine didn’t affect him like some people. It never makes him jittery or shaky during surgery. It just helped keep him focused.

He grabbed his snacks, quickly paid for everything in the self-checkout, tossed everything into his backpack and left the store. He also disconnected the call with Henry. He walked to the hospital, tapped his badge to the sensors and navigated his way to the chief resident call room to change. He didn’t feel like having the other surgical residents staring at him and the line of hickeys.

He quickly changed into his navy scrubs and tied his sneakers back to his feet. He grabbed one of the giant band-aids from the box and covered all the hickeys on his neck using the mirror. He covered himself with the red jacket and tossed his passport stamp scrub cap, safety glasses, stethoscope, and everything else into their correct work pockets. He quickly texted Paige and Adrian to see where they were before his meeting in fifteen minutes.

Alex saw his watch light up with a text message from Adrian that they were in the cafeteria, so he walked quickly to the cafeteria. He found them chatting at a table.

“Welcome back!” Paige said happily. “So, are you leaving us? Did some other hospital swoop in and steal you away with more money and more days off.”

“Thanks! I’ve missed you guys.” He said, giving them all a quick hug. “Actually, I have a meeting with Edwards in a few minutes to discuss the negotiation I sent back. If not, other hospitals will take me. Ever since saving Prince Henry I have other hospitals sending me contracts daily trying to get me to come work for them.” He smirked knowing his negotiation was more than fair and reasonable.

“Fingers crossed.” Adrian said he didn’t want to lose his brother in all but blood. “Also, I notice the band-aid on your neck. Did you actually visit with other hospitals or were to busy with whomever keeps giving you hickeys?”

“I was visiting hospitals. I cut myself shaving.” Alex said with a charming smile and itching to change the subject. “Paige, I noticed that you were looking at formal dresses have you found one you like?”

Adrian smirked at his brother in all but blood. “I don’t believe that lie for a second. You have hickeys under the band-aid. So have you started to sleep around or are you hiding a relationship from your best friends and family?”

Paige smiled softly and she could tell Alex was lying like a rug but clearly, he wasn’t comfortable talking about the mystery person. “Alex, I have several that I love, but I have found that I have champagne taste on a beer budget. Not just any beer either, my budget is for fucking PBR. PBR, Alex, PBR!”

Alex smiled and grabbed his phone. “Do you have a particular designer in mind. I might be able to DM them on Instagram and you can get the dress of your dreams.” He knew Paige lived with roommates, but NYC was expensive especially on a resident budget. Technically Paige was a trauma anesthesiologist fellow, but it was just one step above resident on the totem pole.

“I love Mac Duggal specifically this one.” Paige turned her phone and showed him a beautiful plum dress that had a ton of glitz. It screamed Paige the neckline was perfect for a royal wedding, and it had capped sleeves.

“Send me that photo and I’ll see if I can work my connections and get someone to loan you a dress.” He hated to use his name and fish for connections, but he also understood where Paige was coming from.

He did invite her to the biggest event of the year, and she didn’t want to wear something super cheap and feel out of place. The least he could do was help her find a nice dress for the occasion.

Paige looked at him, she didn’t want to feel like a charity case. She supposed it was no different than a designer offering one of their creations to walk a big event. She loved that dress, but she didn’t have $800 just laying around that was ridiculous amount of money for a dress she’d wear once. “Thank you for helping.”

“You’re welcome. I need to get going to my meeting is anyone else on night shift with me?” Alex questioned getting up from his seat.

“No, but I’ll be back in the morning.” Adrian supplied seeing Paige nod in agreement.

“You both suck. I’m off tomorrow. My parents have been begging me to attend Rafael’s rally tomorrow. Adrian, I can’t even remember the last time you and I had a shift together.” He sighed, leaving the cafeteria. He did not have a good feeling about this meeting.

He made his way to Dr. Neil Edwards’ office and knocked at the door. He figured his boss would tell him no and not even come back with a rebuttal.

“Come on in.” Neil said cheerfully seeing Alex stroll into his office. He didn’t understand what possessed a kid as attractive as Alex to suffer through medical school. If he looked like that, he would have taken the easy route and become a model.

“So unfortunately, we cannot meet your contract demands at this time. This is what our counter is.” Neil said handing him the offer. He knew if he were Alex he would not accept.

“This is the same offer I countered. Can I be honest with you?” Alex said seeing the older trauma surgeon nod.

“This is the lowest salary I’ve had anyone offer. I love Bellevue and I know the people. This isn’t a competitive offer. I have offers that are more competitive. I know I’m a chief resident and this place still sees me as a resident, but this offer is honestly insulting. I had expected at least a counteroffer. Texas, Boston, and Philadelphia offers are extremely competitive. Can you at least have the board reconsider?”

Neil smiled and took the offer back from the resident. “I’ll try. I make no promises though. As your residency director and fellow trauma surgeon I’m proud of you kid.” He figured more hospitals would have Alex on their radar.

He just hoped Bellevue didn’t fuck around and lose the kid. He thought his counteroffer was more than reasonable given the cost of living for NYC. It wasn’t like he was any resident. He was the lead surgeon for one of the Prince’s of England that took talent. Clearly other trauma centers saw that talent, why couldn’t his bosses.

“Thank you.” Alex said feeling his phone going off in his pocket. “I am being paged. Have a nice night Dr. Edwards.” He ran out of the office, clearly, he was in for a fantastic night. He kind of expected Bellevue to be stingy but not that stingy. He had a lot to think about and not much time to do it in. Maybe he’d get lucky and have an easy night to make lists and compare the offers.

Night had quickly turned into day and Alex was having one of the worst shifts of his life. First Bellevue rejects his contract negotiation and didn't even offer a fucking rebuttal. Then his phone kept getting paged and paged. He had pronounced three people dead. Best of all the fifth year who was supposed to be working called him sounding sick. Alex being Alex told her he’d work it. He had called his family and told them the disappointing news.

He was leaning against the wall trying very hard not to cry when he felt his watch vibrate with a text from Henry.

‘I’m sorry you are having such a terrible night and that you have to miss Raf’s rally.’ Followed by one that made a smile appear on his face.

‘Should I tell you that when we're apart, your body comes back to me in dreams?’ He groaned seeing those words. He missed Henry, he missed Paris.

He no sooner read Henry's text message and got a news alert that made his blood run cold.

President Rafael Luna Has Been Shot at Rally in New York City.

Chapter Text

Alex barely had time to read the headline before Cash popped up on his caller ID. He answered it without a second thought.

“What is going on?” Alex questioned softly, wanting to know every single detail. He hoped it was a clickbait headline but the fact that Cash had called him not even a second later felt ominous.

“Renegade has been hit.” That sound sent chills through Alex he knew exactly what that meant. Renegade was Raf’s codename.  “It’s bad.”

Alex’s brain snapped into doctor mode his brain quickly formulating questions and a plan. Okay gunshots he could handle that. They didn’t call trauma knife and gun club for the hell of it. “How many holes? Is Raf awake and talking?”

He wanted to ask if anyone else had been caught in the crossfire and he would but right now he needed to know exactly how bad Rafael was. He wished he was back in Paris tangled up in his lover’s arms and not dealing with the hopefully attempted assassination of President Rafael Luna.

“I think four all in the front. I don’t know if there are any exit wounds. He is awake and talking. He demanded we take him to wherever you are. Alex, he didn’t have the physician travel with us.” Cash had been Alex’s main roommate and main agent those four years in New York. So, he was used to Alex’s medical jargon. He loved seeing the kid blossom into the surgeon he was today.

The two of them shared an apartment. He had watched as Alex spent countless hours studying determined to prove everyone who doubted him wrong. The two of them had formed a hell of a bond by the end of it. Amy spent a good amount of her time in New York too. Some of his fondest memories were the three of them bonding over Chinese takeout on the rare moments they could pry Alex away from his computer and iPad.

“What’s the ETA?” Alex questioned taking the steps two at a time down to the main floor. This was a nightmare, and he couldn’t exactly get out of this. Cash had called him personally and knowing Raf and the fact he was awake and talking he probably wouldn’t let anyone, but Alex touch him.

“Five minutes. We will see you soon.” Cash said hanging up the phone focusing all his attention on Rafael and Amy who was on the phone with the hospital administrators getting them up to speed on what would be happening.

Alex tapped his badge and entered the trauma area. He clapped his hands loudly and suddenly had everyone looking at him. He was aware that Edwards was talking to a suit, but he couldn’t think about that right now. His priority was Rafael, his mentor and close friend. He could give three shits less about what the suits thought about him.

“Alright! Everyone listen up. In three minutes, the President of The United States will be rolling through that door. I have already been debriefed by the secret service about the severity.” Alex said, seeing the suit walking over to him.

“You are just a resident. You aren’t prepared to handle a case of this magnitude.” The man in the suit told the young resident.

“I happen to be chief resident of trauma surgery, and I also saved the life of Prince Henry recently. I’ve also spent several weeks plucking bullets out of people in the Bronx, and at Shock Trauma. I’m his best shot at survival. Not to mention the secret service has already called and debriefed me.”

“Trust me you don’t want to piss off the POTUS by denying him his ability to choose his surgeon. He chose me so I’m going to need to back up and let me do my job.” Alex said flatly, sidestepping the suit. He did not have the time or the patience today to deal with their bureaucracy.

He quickly placed his safety glasses over his eyes, tied his nightmare before coffee scrub cap over his dark curls. He grabbed a yellow trauma gown and a pair of gloves and ran out to meet the motorcade.

He was not going to let the suit tell him he couldn’t care for Rafael. He wished he could listen to that command. He was tired of operating on people he loved. This wasn’t fair. There hadn’t been an attempted assassination since Ronald Regan.

There had been plots and attempts but the plots were just plots and the attempts were usually circumvented by the secret service. NYC was also full of buildings, and it could have been an elaborate plan from a Royce supporter. Over 75% of voters in NYC were democrats and it was liberal to its core. It had a huge LGBTQ+ population. Of all the places this could have happened NYC was just unprecedented.

Soon enough the motorcade came crashing through the ambulance bay. He was paying close attention to everyone exiting the motorcade for any injuries or stray bullet wounds. His mom looked okay just shaken up and she was gently leading a devastated Matthew into the hospital.

It looked like his mom and Stephanie the Vice President were holding Matthew upright. It was odd to see Matt look so devastated he barely even registered Alex was hugging him. Alex gave Matthew a quick onceover checking for any obvious bullet wounds which he didn’t have.

“Thank goodness its you.” Matt cried relaxing into Alex’s hug. “It all happened so fast. Please take good care of him. I can’t lose him.” His voice caught in his throat. He couldn’t imagine his life without Rafael.

Alex nodded and moved down the line to check his mom and Stephanie for any injuries and found them both to be clear. He savored his mother’s hug and pulled away from the group but not before Ellen could kiss her son’s cheek. “I love you.” She whispered pulling away from his face.

“I got him. You just go inside and get warmed up.” Alex told his mom, Stephanie, and Matthew.

Oscar was following close behind and he instantly grabbed his father’s arm, seeing his torn suit arm and obvious bullet hole in his father’s right bicep.

“Pa you’ve been hit.” Alex said, trying to keep his voice even and not show worry, he failed.

“Mijo, I’m okay it’s really just a scratch. Cash has also been hit in the left shoulder. We are fine just focus on Raf. He’s the one who needs your undivided focus. You can tend to the scratch later. I don’t even feel it.” Oscar said quickly catching up to his wife, the VP, and the First Gentleman. He hated to see Raf’s husband look so distraught.

The ambulance opened and Cash and Amy jumped out looking pissed, but not at Alex but rather the situation. Cash was Raf’s main agent and Amy was partially retired but she wouldn’t miss a chance to see Alex. Instead of catching up with Alex. She was cleaning up lesser agent’s messes and dealing with an attempted assassination that she prayed did not turn into an official assassination.

“Cash and Amy!” Alex said happily seeing his two favorite agents. “Any idea on the caliber of bullet?”

“Looks like a .22LR to me.” Amy said softly, she wasn’t certain but that is what the holes looked like to her, and Cash was nodding his head in agreement.

“Fuck.” Alex bit out those bullets were small which meant one bullet could be bouncing around Raf’s body and causing a shit ton of damage and Cash had counted at least four. Plus, maybe one in his father and another one in Cash.

Alex knew better than to even try his luck by looking at Cash’s shoulder. Secret Service Agents had one goal and that was the president and their family. He would not let anyone touch him until he knew that the president was alright.

Rafael was rolled out and he looked pale. Mexicans weren’t supposed to be that pale. It was an obvious sign of blood loss. “Hey kid. Man am I happy to see you.” He said softly seeing Alex look at his bare stomach where all the bullets were.

Alex quickly inspected Rafael’s abdomen and he counted five holes not four and a spray of blood covered his yellow trauma gown. Well at least Raf was awake and talking, that was a decent sign. He hoped for a little luck, and he could just go fishing for bullets, but judging from his paleness and the blood spray he wasn’t going to be that lucky.

“I look like Swiss cheese.” He teased and laughed and wished he hadn’t. “Shit that hurts.” He felt the stretcher he was on being wheeled into Bellevue Hospital.

Rafael noticed Amy jump back into the ambulance and grab the cooler full of blood products. (His own blood meant for situations like this.) He suddenly was hit with the realization that Alex wasn’t a kid anymore and was a trauma doctor and had probably seen more gunshots than he could count. It felt real and he was terrified.

Alex’s sneaked covered foot no sooner hit the threshold of the trauma center and was instantly barking out a medley of orders. Rafael didn’t recognize one single word Alex said and that really scared him. He heard Alex order that everything that had been put into trauma room 1 be moved to trauma room 5 and did no one realize the historical significance behind presidents and trauma room 1.

Alex was chewing at the edge of his tongue trying to keep his anger down. How the fuck did nobody besides him realize that. He was not going down in a history book as the doctor who could not save President Luna.

He quickly rolled the stretcher into 5 and instantly rolled Rafael onto his side. He ignored the steady stream of American and Spanish curse words. He knew it had to hurt like hell and just fucking great not one single exit wound. He wondered who he pissed off to deserve this luck. Everything in Paris was marvelous, and ever since his foot touched American soil everything had become a fucking nightmare.

“Raf, lots of things are going to be happening quickly. Just know I’m not intentionally trying to cause you pain.” Alex warned as he grabbed his pen light and shined the light in Rafael’s eyes checking for any obvious neurological deficits. His pupils were equal and reactive. He then grabbed his stethoscope from his back pocket and listened to Raf’s heart and lungs.

“I’m going to need a chest tube tray.” Alex nicely demanded; he heard diminished breath sounds on the right side. That was just great, he would be putting a chest tube into his awake family member, for once he’d like to not have to insert a chest tube into someone.

His gut was telling him to call a massive transfusion protocol, so he called it. He didn’t argue with his gut, it was usually right and considering this never-ending nightmare shift best to think the absolute worst.

“Also, someone contact Paige from anesthesia and have her on standby.” Alex took the ultrasound and quickly scanned the chest and abdominal quadrants. He tried to compose his face, but he did not like what the ultrasound showed.

“Raf, any objections to Stephanie becoming POTUS because a bullet has completely shredded your abdominal aorta and your right lung. Your belly is full of blood.” Alex squeezed Rafael’s hand, seeing him cry. He wanted to cry too but he didn’t.

“I don’t think I can rightfully object. I made her my VP for a reason the country couldn’t be in better hands. Can I please see my husband?” His voice broke on the word husband.

“I’m going to put in a chest tube to try and help your right lung function. I’m not going to lie it’s going to hurt like hell. After I do that, I’ll go grab Matthew from the waiting room so he can kiss you good luck and let Stephanie know she’s now POTUS.” Alex said laying out the plan of attack as he changed out of the gloves for a pair of sterile ones to insert the chest tube.

“What are the Nora odds?” Raf questioned softly wanting to know what his chance of survival was. He liked it when Nora told him the odds, but he probably didn’t want Dr. Claremont-Diaz odds.

“You have a good chance of survival; they got you to me quickly. You are going to feel a sharp stick.” Alex warned by sticking the needle into Rafael’s side. He didn’t want to Rafael the exact number, anytime a portion of the aorta ruptured was a surgical gamble.

Alex had done a few alone and he had been the secondary surgeon on several cases. He’d say about half made it to the TICU. He kept telling himself that Rafael was younger and otherwise healthy, having quit smoking several years ago which made the odds slightly better.

“This is going to hurt like hell, and I do apologize.” Alex said inserting the chest tube hearing Rafael cursing up a storm in both English and Spanish.

“Alright, I’m going to go update everyone.” Alex said, giving Rafael’s hand a soft squeeze and left the room quickly discarding his yellow gown and gloves. Amy was hot on his heels he wasn’t even going to question it. He always loved her company, and she was always a comforting presence.

“You dodged his question. His odds aren’t great, are they?” Amy questioned easily sidestepping the suits itching to ask Alex questions. She knew he had one thing on his mind which was to update Stephanie and let her know she would be assuming the presidency and getting Matthew back to Rafael in case that was their last time together.

“Not really, no.” Alex whispered so low that only Amy could hear what he was saying. “I don’t want to worry him with the statistics.” He said walking into the waiting room not even bothering to put on a rehearsed smile. His mom, dad, and therapist were in this room, and they could read him like a book.

“How is Raf?” Matthew asked refusing to meet the chocolate brown eyes of Alex he knew they’d just make him cry.

“One of the bullets shredded his abdominal aorta. The aorta is a large artery and now all the blood that his body needs is leaking into his abdomen. Not only that but a bullet has also caused damage to the right lower lobe of his lung. Because of all the bleeding it is hard to tell if any other organs have been damaged and to what extent.”

“You can fix him thought, right?” Stephanie questioned the son of Ellen and Oscar. She had met him several times and it was hard to not like him. If he had gone into politics, he probably would have been like her.

“I’m going to try like hell.” Alex admitted looking at Stephanie. “I also get to be the one to tell you that you are now President of the United States.” He heard her gasp she was obviously stunned by the news. He saw Matthew dry his eye with one of the scratchy hospital tissues.

“I hope it is only temporary.” Stephanie admitted looking at the room. She would not let them down. She would not let Rafael down.

She was a black woman born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. She had been instrumental in turning Georgia blue and keeping it blue since 2020. She also helped Rafael win Florida. However, Florida scared her this election cycle because Richard Fucking Royce was from Florida. Although, he had made enemies with Disney, Universal, cruise lines, and all of the other things that made Florida such a hot tourism spot. He was also really unpopular in his home state.

She worked with a lot of grassroot organizations and believed in getting the youth to vote. She was also working with Ellen and Oscar to make sure Texas stayed blue like it has been for the last few election cycles.

She would not see her country be run by a dictator if she had anything to say about it. She was not about to leave the hospital, not until she knew Rafael’s fate. She was now the POTUS, and she was out for the blood of whoever wanted to ruin her country. She wasn’t about to play Royce’s game; she’d rewrite the rules first.

She looked out of the corner of her eye and saw Matthew drying his eyes with a cheap hospital tissue. She was not about to let him out of her sight, and it was clear Oscar and Ellen felt the same way. She was vaguely aware of Alex taking Matthew from the waiting room. Leaving her with Oscar and Ellen until such time as a judge could get to the hospital and swear her in as POTUS.

“How the hell did this happen? He was supposed to be safe; we were all supposed to be safe. Nothing about today makes any sense.” Stephanie said to the room she was mainly talking to herself to organize her thoughts.

Oscar’s emotions were like a black cloud in the room. He had just watched his friend be gunned down in New York City and taken to the exact hospital where his son worked. He also had a bullet wound if not an actual bullet lodged in his bicep. El was worried about it, but he couldn’t worry about it. He’d let his son figure it out after he knew his friend was alright. He was trying to piece together the morning and he agreed with Steph, nothing about it made sense.

Alex and Amy had led Matthew out of the waiting room and Matthew turned his head to look at Alex and he knew this was going to emotionally drain him. He wanted to apologize for the situation that Alex was now in. Instead, he opted to chew on his lower lip in worry for his husband the love of his life.

Matthew watched Alex tap his badge to the trauma bays and he was trying not to internally panic. His husband had been shot and this was his last chance to see Raf before Alex took him for lifesaving surgery. It also might be the last time he’d see his husband alive and the last time he’d kiss him.

He hoped not but as Alex’s therapist and a friend he could read him, and he knew the trauma surgeon was being optimistic about the situation. Alex led him down to room 5 and saw his husband looking paler than he had ever seen him.

“Hey babe.” Matthew said he was almost afraid to enter the trauma bay. He had never seen Raf look so miserable, and he was hooked up to a ton of lines and no doubt blood. He slowly walked over to the stretcher in the middle of the room and took his husband’s hand. He was aware that Alex had left the room to give them a few moments of privacy and Cash and Amy were looking at the glass door not paying the husbands any attention.

Raf easily linked his hand with his husband the wedding band that hadn’t left his ring finger since their wedding dropped into his husband’s hand. “I’m scared.”

“Me too.” Matthew admitted kissing his husband like his life depended on it. “Please fight. I can’t lose you. I love you like crazy.”

“I love you more.” Raf choked out he didn’t know how someone like him deserved someone like Matthew. He always assumed he’d be unmarried, and that Alex would have found his happy ending long before his own.

Alex quickly walked to an empty room away from everyone and he shut the glass and the curtains, he needed a moment to himself to make a phone call. He needed to hear Henry’s voice and for a pep talk. His emotions were frayed and tattered. He heard it ring a few times and soon a silky British accent was in his ear.

“Hello dear. I’ve seen the news. I can’t believe that someone shot the president.” Henry answered he had seen every bit of the news from the videos of it happening to the photographs taken outside of the hospital and Alex looked exhausted to his core.

“Let me guess you’re in charge of everything. You really can’t catch a break, can you. Maybe we should have stayed longer in Paris if only we knew this is what awaited you.” Henry said softly he couldn’t imagine the emotional turmoil his boyfriend was going through.

“It’s a terrible situation and he wants to know the odds and I can’t tell him. He has massive internal bleeding and what the ultrasound showed was the shit of my nightmares. I know what to do, it is just hard because I know the odds and it’s Raf and he was my first mentor and soon became a part of the family. He’s like an uncle to me.”

“It isn’t just Raf that’s been shot, my dad and Cash were both caught in the crossfire, and both are being stubborn and won’t let me check them out until I tend to Raf.” Alex said, sounding on the verge of tears and Henry couldn’t believe his boyfriend’s terrible luck.

Henry wanted to kiss away those tears and just hold his boyfriend, but he couldn’t do that since they were an ocean away from each other.

“I’m just so tired of having to operate on the people I care for. I don’t want to wind up in a history book in the same section as an assassinated president. I wish I didn’t know about the impending media circus. You know I love being a doctor but lately it feels like I’m one fuck up away from failing spectacularly and having it splashed across every single front page. I don’t want to do this.” Alex said sounding exhausted and those words hurt Henry’s heart.

“Dear, you are a great surgeon, and you were meant to be a doctor. You won’t mess up. I know it is hard to believe in oneself sometimes, but you know exactly what you are doing. Everyone here is thinking about him and sending well wishes.” Henry said he was trying to be hopelessly optimistic for his boyfriend even though it was hard because he was naturally cynical.

“Thanks baby. I’ll call you later with an update. I need to go save the life of the President.” Alex muttered hitting the red button on his phone.

He got off the stretcher and fixed his face. Henry was right, he knew what he was doing, and he could do this. He left the trauma bay and into strong arms.

“Fratello, are you okay?” Adrian asked softly. He knew Alex better than most, he was his mentor and the two of them had quickly struck up a brotherly bond. He’d even tell you that Alex was the better surgeon of the two of them.

He had offered to cover for Alex so he could attend the rally because he knew how little Alex saw his family, only for them to both be paged before Alex could answer.

“No. The ultrasound shows that his abdominal aorta was shredded by a bullet. His right lower lung lobe doesn’t look much better. I can’t tell how his other organs are because of the vast amount of blood. You know the odds as much as I do. He was my first mentor and has become like family. He’s more of an uncle to me than anything. Plus, my dad has been shot and everything has been horrible since I’ve gotten back.”

“Fuck. Do you want me to scrub in with you? I know you can handle that on your own without my help, but I’m worried about you.” The attending said knowing the two of them worked better together. “Hell, I’ll happily hold a retractor and suction.”

“Please.” Alex knew the two of them worked like a well-oiled machine, not to mention a surgery of this magnitude needed another surgeon and there was no one in this hospital he trusted and respected more than Adrian. Not to mention it had also been ages since he had gotten to work with the Italian.

“I’ll go coordinate with the OR staff and Paige.” Adrian said walking off in the direction of the OR as Alex walked into room 5.

Alex walked in and found Rafael and Matthew happily kissing each other. It just made him miss Henry and Paris that much more. He cleared his throat and noticed the therapist jump back like a deer caught in headlights. “I’m sorry Matt, but we need to take Raf now. Time is of the essence.”

“It’s alright Alex. Please fight for me Raf. I love you with all of my heart.” Matthew said hugging his husband like his life depended on it, the tears were staining his eyes.

Alex squeezed Rafael’s hand. “You ready?” He asked the president and his friend softly. This is not at all how he expected to spend this day.

“Only if you tell me what you did, or you who did to get those hickeys. Was it a boy?” Rafael questioned, pointing at Alex’s neck the tone of voice drawing the attention of Matthew, Amy, and Cash.

Alex sighed of course the damn band-aid covering them had fallen off his neck. Just fucking great he thought. He noticed that Rafael was looking at him like a puppy would, and he felt obligated and figured it couldn’t hurt to tell him one good thing.

He leaned into the bed so that he could tell Raf and Raf alone and gave him a shit eating smirk. “I’m in a relationship and that is all I am going to say.” Alex turned and walked to grab one a surgical mask and tied it around the nape of his neck. He’d tie it to crown of his head once he got past the OR doors. He gave Rafael a soft smile as he unlocked the stretcher with his sneaked covered foot.

“You are such a tease for that. If I die on your table, I’m coming back and haunting your ass.” Raf sassed he was trying to evade his terrified feelings with humor. He knew his husband would tell him it was a bad coping skill.

Those words made Alex feel guilty there was a very real chance that Rafael could die on his OR table. He grabbed the handles at the top of the bed and pushed the bed out of the trauma bay. He looked at Matthew. “You can come with until we get to the OR doors for one final kiss for luck.” Alex would not call it a goodbye kiss.

Cash and Amy walked in front of the stretcher and would be following him into the OR. It was protocol that they didn’t let the president out of their sight. Alex would station them facing the automatic doors on guard duty.

Matthew walked beside the bed whispering words of encouragement and love to his husband and soon they came across double doors that would lead to the Operating Rooms. He watched Alex tap his badge to the sensor and the doors swung open. He knew this was where he would leave the love of his life in Alex’s capable hands. He watched the surgeon push the bed through the doors and the doors shut firmly behind them. Amy had messaged his usual agent, Amanda, and she was waiting to take him to a private waiting room that had been arranged for the First Family.

Amanda quickly hugged Matthew, seeing his face. She had trained under Amy before she semi-retired. “Let’s get you back to everyone.”

Alex stopped walking for a second to tie the mask around the crown of his head and handed both Cash and Amy a disposable scrub cap, shoe covers, and an ear loop mask and watched them put on the surgical garb. It was kind of funny seeing the two agents dressed in all black but dressed to go into an OR. Alex pushed the stretcher through the automatic doors for OR 6. He saw Paige sitting at the head of the bed. He parked the stretcher next to the OR table.

“Paige long time no see.” Amy said seeing Alex’s friend wearing a rainbow leopard scrub cap covering her massive blonde hair and a pink knit jacket covering her torso.

“Raf, this is Dr. Paige Martin, she’ll be making sure you have the best nap of your life.” Alex teased softly helping everyone get Raf moved to the narrow surgical table.

“I remember her. So, this is where you spend most of your time?” Raf said looking around the room finding it to be nightmare inducing. The bed looked narrow and there was a shit ton of scary looking equipment.

Paige laughed softly and touched the president’s shoulder. “We see an OR more than we see our own apartment. So as Alex said I’m in charge of making sure you have a really good nap that is pain free. I’m also in charge of your blood.” She said strapping his arms to the arm boards and turning on the warming blanket he was sitting on. They’d also cover his arms and legs with another warming blanket.

“This feels kinky.” Raf muttered causing the entire room to laugh.

“We don’t want you falling off the table before we get you off to sleep.” Adrian said introducing himself to the president. Once he finished his introduction, he left the room with Alex to go scrub in.

Alex put on his knee-high shoe covers and switched out the mask for the one he preferred for long surgical cases. He pinched the nose wire tightly across his nose and tied the ties around his neck and at the top of his head over his scrub cap. He put his safety glasses over his eyes watching Adrian go through the same steps. He walked over to the scrub sink that had a perfect view of the OR he watched the team get Rafael prepped.

He grabbed two packaged scrub sponges from the box and handed one to Adrian both opening the package and picking under their short nails.

“I knew you did not cut yourself shaving and that you were hiding hickeys under that band-aid.” Adrian teased playfully since the hickeys were on full display. “Also, how many times are you going to scrub that thumb?”

“We can’t all be married to our med school sweetheart.” Alex sassed scrubbing more than just his thumb. He was just nervous, and he felt the same way before operating on Henry. He focused on Henry’s words and ran his arms under the sink water and walked through the automatic doors with his hands up. He grabbed the sterile towel from Rylee who also helped into the gown and his preferred gloves. Adrian took the second surgeon position and Alex stood on the lead surgeon’s side.

“Your playlist or mine?” Adrian questioned Alex, getting the lights in the best position.

“I was hoping you could quiz me on a mock oral board.” Alex suggested he was nervous about that exam coming up in May.

“If I can pass the boards, you will pass the boards for the love of God stop doubting yourself today. You are a damn good surgeon, and you are super smart. With eyelashes like yours I think I would have chosen the easy route and become a model, instead you went to medical school and became a trauma surgeon. Now act like one.” Adrian whispered to Alex. He hated to see the doubt in those pools of chocolate brown.

“Rylee play my playlist.” Adrian requested loud enough the room could hear. He and Alex had similar tastes in music, so it didn’t really matter which playlist. The sounds of Fall Out Boy filled the room.

“So, Alex as the love guru of the first family you feel like telling us who is giving you love bites?” Cash questioned. “Or shall I do like you did with Zahra and assume it is the Canadian boyfriend or girlfriend situation.”

Alex laughed at Cash. “The love bites are nobody’s business but mine and the person leaving them. What is it with everyone wanting to know about my dating life or lack thereof. I’ll be thirty this year, I’m no longer a kid you have to babysit.” He sassed taking the scalpel from Rylee and making the large incision.

“You’re still a little shit.” Cash retorted he had missed Alex and their banter even if it was in an OR with Rafael on the table.

Adrian cracked a smile under his mask he would agree with that assessment of Alex he was usually a little shit, but he adored the little shit.

“Hey Alex, how’d your meeting go about your attending contract are you staying in New York with us?” Paige questioned from her spot behind the surgical curtain.

“I might be staying in New York, but probably not at Bellevue. New York Presbyterian has offered me a great opportunity. Mass General in Boston keeps sending me emails almost daily trying to get me to bite. Shock Trauma has come back with better offers. Texas wants me to come home; I’ve gotten offers from Austin, Dallas, and Houston. Even Denver has offered me more. Bellevue wants me to be happy with a shit contract. I know what I’m worth and I’m worth more than $450K given that it is NYC.”

“That’s bullshit. I wouldn’t sign that contract either. Hell, they at least offered me $500K and I only had a few other contract offers.” Adrian remarked $450K was an insult in NYC and he failed to see how they thought Alex was worth 50K less than he was worth.

Both of them had been the chief resident at Bellevue, both of them had spent time at Shock Trauma to train. Alex had even gone to the Bronx and Queens to work, and he hadn’t. Alex had the higher MCAT score and GPA, sure he had gone to Columbia, but he still thought Alex was the better surgeon and doctor.

“What is New York Pres and Mass General offering you? Have you told Edwards about those offers. I don’t think he wants to lose you. Hell, you gave this hospital some serious recognition after saving Prince Henry. Did they forget to factor that into their offer?” Adrian suggested he didn’t really want to lose Alex and sure if he took the job at New York Pres, they could still meet up for dinner and drinks, but it wouldn’t be the same.

“I told Edwards it was bullshit just in a more professional way. Edwards knows about the offers because I sent along a list of other offers, I expected them to come back with a competitive counter, not for them to essentially tell me to take our original offer or fuck off.” Alex said with a bite to his words.

“New York Pres is offering close to $600K and more vacation time. Mass Gen is offering me $600K and similar vacation time to NYP. I really liked Boston and with that kind of salary I could buy a house.”

Adrian frowned behind his mask with contracts as good as those he would bet, he’d be losing his brother to another hospital all because Bellevue wanted to be stupid and underestimate him. He knew better than to underestimate Alex. “Those are some great offers.” He admitted both hospitals were highly regarded. “You got some hard decisions to make don’t you.”

Alex nodded, focusing on the surgery at hand. There was also the little voice in the back of his head of what if Royce is elected. He had no doubt in his mind that Royce would destroy every single thing his parents and Rafael worked so hard for and did he want to be in the states to watch it happen.

The cult of delusion was strong with Royce supporters, and they hated the LGBTQ population. He knew he had citizenship in Mexico thanks to his father. He was fluent in Spanish. He could easily open a clinic in a beach town and deal with sick tourists. He could also move to London and come out as Henry’s boyfriend.

Although, both of those countries practiced medicine very differently than what he was used to. It would be a learning curve. He could also move to London and write his book and do speaking engagements at their hospitals along with other hospitals in the British Commonwealth. He did not want to see his country ruined by a fascist dictator, but he also knew being a Claremont-Diaz that if Royce was president he would not stop until he could make an example of Alex and the rest of his family.

The hours ticked by as Alex and Adrian had successfully repaired the ruptured abdominal aorta. Alex was worried about Rafael’s risk of stroke since he knew his friend had high blood pressure and was a former smoker. It had been years, but it still made the risk of stroke greater. The abdominal organs looked like a fucking warzone. Not one abdominal organ was left unscathed from the bullet’s warpath.

While Adrian was suturing organ laceration after organ laceration Alex got to work on fixing the lacerated right lower lung lobe. More hours ticked by as both surgeons worked diligently to save the life of the president. Alex held up a bullet and inspected it under the bright surgical light.

“Amy you were right it was a .22.” Alex remarked by tossing the bullet into an evidence bag and that was the last bullet. All five had been removed from Rafael. He and Adrian double-checked their work and after ten hours of surgery they were done. Now Alex had to go tell Rafael’s family and then check out the bullet wounds in his father and Cash.

Alex and Adrian quickly removed their blood-soaked gown and gloves, both men were hopeful for Rafael’s outcome. “You did it kid. Great work.” Adrian smiled behind his mask.

“I’ll stay with Rafael, and you can go update his family and then check out the others that have been hit. I’ll also update Edwards for you.” He stood by his earlier words Alex was the better surgeon and the mentee had superseded his mentor. He worked with such grace and precision.

“Thanks guys.” Alex said grabbing Cash as he walked out of the automatic doors. Amy would be staying with Rafael. “It’s time to check out your arm.” Alex told the agent as he removed his surgical mask and discarded in into the trash. It felt amazing to breathe in the overly antiseptic smell of the hospital corridor.

Alex and Cash walked into the makeshift command center and saw that Zahra and Nora were debating something. He cleared his throat and soon felt everyone’s eyes on him. He took a seat in an empty chair he was frankly exhausted and wished his dad and Cash had let Adrian take care of them earlier. Instead that was one more thing he had do before, hopefully, taking a couple hour nap after calling Henry of course.

“Surgery was successful, but Rafael still isn’t out of the woods just yet. His abdominal aorta has been repaired as has his right lower lung lobe. Once we repaired those, we realized that most of the major organs had been lacerated in the process. We repaired all of the lacerations, and I removed all five of the bullets. He is being transferred to the TICU and we should know more once he wakes up from anesthesia.” Alex explained to the group.

There were hugs all around at the news update. Matthew looked relieved to hear that his husband was still alive. Ellen and Oscar hugged their son tightly and Ellen found herself touching the hickeys.

“Alexander, something you wish to tell us?” She whispered.

“Not about those.” Alex said looking at his dad. “Pa, it’s time for you to let me look at your arm. Same goes for you Cassius. If you two want to come with me.” He said leading them out of the room his mom trailing after him wanting to be her husband and her son.

Alex took the three of them into an empty trauma bay, he shut the glass door and washed his hands. “Well, who is going first?” Alex asked, seeing both his dad and Cash looking at him uncomfortably.

“Don’t give me that look, you could have a bullet lodged in your shoulder and if that is the case it needs to be removed, because bullets are made of lead and long-term exposure to lead can cause lead poisoning.” He explained grabbing a pair of gloves.

Oscar quickly removed his suit jacket and dress shirt underneath and sat on the stretcher in the room. “Cash, I think you are right and that this seems to be an inside job from one of the agents. One of the agents was with Royce and then all of a sudden asked to be moved to Rafael. It seems a little fishy. Cash had raised a concern via text that one of the agents had checked that building a little too quickly.

“Wait you think it was an inside job from a secret service agent?” Alex questioned as he put on the pair of gloves.

“We do.” Cash said it was the only explanation that made any reasonable amount of sense to them. “President Acker is combing through every single video footage we could get our hands on, and it looks that way. How else could this have happened without advanced planning. Agents know how the other agents think and it would allow for something like this to happen and slip under our radar.”

“I was wondering that myself.” Alex muttered sitting down on the rolling stool to look at his dad’s arm. “I just didn’t want to say anything and have everyone think I am a conspiracy theory nutjob.” He teased as he felt his dad’s arm, it looked like the bullet just grazed the shoulder.

“It looks like a bullet just grazed your shoulder. I’m going to clean it out really good and then glue the edges shut. Alex explained, going over to the glass cabinets and grabbing what he needed.

“Mijo, you aren’t going to tell me whose been giving you hickeys?” Oscar questioned his son and all he could do was focus on the love bites.

Alex sighed dramatically at his parents he had told Rafael that he was in a relationship, and he could trust his parents. “I’m in a relationship. We want to take things slow and neither one of us is in a rush to announce it. You’ll meet them when I’m ready.” Alex said using gender neutral terms. That was the good thing about being bisexual, they didn’t automatically know which gender he was dating. “It’s hard because I’m a workaholic and I’m still trying to figure out which hospital I want to be an attending at.”

“What about your birthday?” Ellen asked her son wondering if that was a possibility of them attending his birthday party. She was also hoping to trip him up and he’d reveal the gender it would give her something to go on.

“Ma!” Alex exclaimed as he cleaned his father’s arm with the saline soaked gauze. “No, they will not be at my birthday. I’d like to try and convince them to come to my residency graduation so maybe you’ll get to meet them in June.” He told his parents and Cash wondering if Henry would want to do that or if it was too early for his lover.

Not to mention after what happened today did, he even want to put Henry into a potentially dangerous situation being spotted together in Mexico or England would be the safest option.

Alex glued the skin of his father’s arm back together with skin glue and covered it in gauze. “Your shoulder is good as new.” He was aware of his father watching him work. “Any numbness or tingling in your fingers?” He saw his dad shake his head.

“That was quick, mijo.” Oscar muttered getting off the stretcher and patting it for Cash.  “You’re next.”

Cash shrugged off his suit and dress shirt and sat on the stretcher watching Alex move the stool since his was the left shoulder. He felt Alex’s long fingers touching the area on his shoulder. “How bad is it, doc?”

“Also looks like it just a graze. You both got lucky.” Alex let out of sign of relief he didn’t particularly feel like digging out a bullet on his father or Cash. He wanted to quickly clean up Cash’s arm, call Henry and check on Raf before finding a stretcher and taking a nap. He was exhausted and needed a nap.

Alex taped the gauze over the now glued wound on Cash’s shoulder and let out a small yawn. “I’m going to go check on Raf.”

“Text me an update.” Oscar said watching his son leave the room. He’d visit Rafael once he knew he was awake for now he was going back to their makeshift command center to comb through their theory. He wanted to bring his friend some justice and good news.

Alex found an empty room and sat on the stretcher he was tempted to crawl into a ball and nap there. Instead, he pulled out his phone and called Henry.

“Hello dear. How’d the surgery go?” Henry questioned softly. They all had been watching the news and saw the Vice President get sworn in as the President.

“Okay, I think. I’m so tired though. I told you that I would call after I was finished. I just finished cleaning and dressing my dad and Cash’s shoulder. It was just a flesh wound for them both. Rafael is still alive so that is a good thing although the next few days will be crucial. I just wanted to call and let you know I was okay and that everyone seemed to be okay.” He said yawning loudly.

“Go check on Raf and take a nap. How long have you been awake for?” Henry questioned his boyfriend.

Alex looked at his watch seeing he had been awake for over 30 hours. He needed caffeine if he was going to stay up longer or a couple hour power nap just to rest his exhausted mind. “I’ll text you and update on Raf and then I’ll call you sometime after my nap.” He hung up the phone very grateful for his relationship with Henry. He wished that he could be cuddled into the blond’s body for his nap, instead he was looking at a visitor couch.

Alex got up from the stretcher and pulled back the glass leaving the trauma bay. He saw that his parents and Cash had already left their room. He took the staff elevator, the exhaustion settling into his bones. He walked to the TICU doors and tapped his badge to the sensor. He waved at Karina who was charting at the nurse’s station. She waved back and he walked to the door that had Amy stationed in front of it. He slid open the door and saw Matthew sitting in the visitor’s chair.

Alex looked at the vital monitor and saw that Rafael’s vitals were good. “Dr. Martin said they had discontinued the anesthesia, and we are just waiting for him to wake up. We will know the most once he wakes up.” Alex said, tossing a pillow onto the couch. “If he starts stirring let me know. I need a quick nap. I’ve been awake for too long.

Matthew nodded seeing Alex no sooner touch the couch and fall asleep. His hand never left his husband’s hand. He didn’t know how much time had passed, but Rafael started to stir. He got up from the visitor’s chair to kiss his husband’s cheek. He saw confused brown eyes looking back at him.

“Matt? Where am I?” Rafael asked seeing Alex bolt upright from the couch. “I’m sorry did my attempted assassination disturb your beauty sleep?” He teased, he felt like his organs had been rearranged but he was alive and that is what mattered.

Chapter Text

Alex is truly exhausted. Ever since his foot touched the tarmac in Teterboro it has been one fucking catastrophe after another and the fact that Rafael was awake and joking about his beauty sleep should cheer him up. Instead, he just wants to fall back asleep on the visitor’s couch. He’s also hungry since the only thing he has eaten was the Kind bar he ate for breakfast, and he’s 95% sure he’s wearing the same underwear he put on after his last shower.

He looked at his watch and saw that it was just slightly past midnight. So, he got maybe an hour of sleep, that would explain why he still felt like shit. He had done plenty of long ass shifts, but after a week in Paris resetting his body, he was exhausting both physically and emotionally.

There was a reason surgeons didn’t operate on family, but Alex didn’t really have a choice in the matter. He knew Rafael and knew he wouldn’t be okay with any surgeon and that he wanted Alex. Alex walked over to the sink to wash his hands to check out Rafael.

“It is good to see you awake and cracking bad jokes.” Alex teased, giving Rafael and Matthew a warm smile as he inspected Raf’s vital signs, and they looked normal after a trauma. His blood pressure was a little low which was strange because he knew Raf had high blood pressure. His heart rate was a little elevated but not super worrisome.

Alex took his penlight from his pocket and shined the light into Rafel’s brown eyes and saw that both pupils were equal and reactive. That was a good sign that he didn’t have a stroke on his OR table. He had prayed before, during, and after Rafael’s surgery that he didn’t have a stroke.

“Do you mind getting that light getting out of my eyes, come on kid I’m fine.” Rafael sassed back watching Alex tuck the penlight back into his pocket.

It was odd that his nephew was a surgeon. Oscar had officially adopted him into the Claremont-Diaz family, and they stood by him even after becoming a turncoat for Richards. Although they all admired and appreciated him for leaking that Richards was a predator. They were pissed at him, but you could still be pissed at someone and love them.

Which is how despite being pissed Alex still came to the Dirksen building with tropical skittles and wanted to talk about coming out and being a bisexual and Prince Henry kissing him. Rafael hated to even ask if he could plant the seeds in Jeffery’s camp about Alex being bisexual, and that he’d keep Henry out of it. He always thought that putting those seeds would help Ellen get reelected and pull even more support from the LGBTQ circles.

Alex knew what he wanted to accomplish and gave him the consent so long as Prince Henry was never mentioned. Rafael promised to take that secret to his grave. (He failed) Never in his wildest dreams did he imagine that Alex had drunkenly kissed Miguel Ramos without an NDA. Miguel Ramos destroyed Alex’s reputation with that article, and it damn near cost Ellen her reelection. He hated the sleezeball Miguel Ramos with passion. He had never told Alex, but Miguel had tried flirting with him during a political function. Rafael was not about to touch him with a fifty-foot pole.

He also remembered a happier Alex barging into his office with tropical skittles and his MCAT score. He had never felt prouder of the kid. He knew politics would destroy Alex he was idealistic and wanted to change the world and help people. He had learned long ago that if you wanted to be a politician you had to sell your soul and realize that most of what you wanted to achieve never came to fruition. When Alex told him he was going to be a doctor made Rafael happy, he didn’t want to see Alex get his soul crushed by politics.

Then came the text message from Alex, his second year of medical school asking if Matthew would be his therapist. His heart broke that day because he knew the kid’s emotions of being a political pawn had finally caught up to him. Turns out it was ADHD mixed with being a political pawn and being outed before he was ready. God, he hated that for the kid. He still remembered the lecture Matthew gave him for playing any part in it. It almost broke them up. Rafael spent a month in the doghouse because of it.

“Do you remember what happened?” Alex asked gently, sitting on the edge of the hospital bed, bringing Rafael out of his stroll down memory lane.

“I was shot in New York City of all places.” Rafael said bitterly staring at his nephew who had successfully repaired him. “Has Steph figured out what happened? I’m also in pain, what the hell did you do to me.”

Alex looked at the glass door seeing it was shut and he could see Amy’s profile through it. “They’re looking into it. Cash and dad think it might have been an inside job from one of the agents assigned to Royce. Also, Cash and dad were just grazed by a bullet.”

“You did have major surgery and are lucky to be alive.” He hadn’t looked at the news or social media since Raf was brought in. So, he didn’t know what was being said. He didn’t feel like catching up with this news cycle either.

He knew Bellevue would probably parade him out for another press conference. He wondered if he could refuse. He was pissed at the administrators of Bellevue. He also knew that seeing Dr. Alex Claremont-Diaz giving a press conference on how he had saved Rafael’s life would just make Royce’s cult hate him more.

He didn’t want to have a target on his back. He’d happily sit that one out, but knowing Zahra and Lauren he’d be paraded out and expected to put on his First Son smile and assure the democrats that Rafael was just fine and would make a full recovery. He loved both Chief of Staffs, but he just wanted to be a doctor and avoid the media if he could help it. Really the next time he wanted to see his name in any sort of headline was when he and Henry announced their relationship to the world.

“Your bedside manor isn’t pleasant like it was earlier. What’s wrong kid?” Rafael asked softly wondering what had crawled up Alex’s ass, other than the obvious family members being shot.

“It has just been a few terrible days. I got back from California and had a meeting with my boss about my attending contract for Bellevue and the administrators refused to even counter. It was still the initial contract they offered.”

“Then after that meeting I kept getting page after page and I had to pronounce three people dead because I was unable to save them. Then the resident that was supposed to work so I could attend the rally called me saying she was sick, and she sounded awful, so I told her I’d cover.

Then after the phone call it was more pages and I had finally got one second to relax and then I got the news alert that you had been shot and then Cash was calling to make sure I was available. Then came a grueling surgery where I gave everything to make sure you lived. My emotions are all over the place and I can’t remember how long I’ve had my underwear on for.” Alex admitted he hadn’t had a shift this bad in a long while.

Alex felt Matthew pull him tightly for a quick side hug. He knew his therapist was not in a great state either, but the hug felt nice. He wished he had his parents, but his dad was busy trying to help Cash and Stephanie find who do this is, and his mom was probably giving Stephanie a crash course in being president. He had Henry but he was also afraid that he was going to emotionally overload Henry and Henry would realize what a mess he actually was.

Rafael opened his mouth like he wanted to say something but closed it. He couldn’t process what Alex had just said. That sounded truly exhausting, and he felt like a dick for saying that Alex’s bedside manor was a little prickly. “Damn kid! Bring me the administrator and I’ll happily chew them out for you. How are you still functioning?” He asked, finding it getting harder to breathe, it was like an elephant was sitting on his chest.

Alex smiled and it was an actual smile and not forced when Rafael asked for the administrator. “I’ll keep that in mind.” He noticed that Rafael was having a hard time breathing and that his blood pressure had dropped several points.

He grabbed his stethoscope and hoped his hunch was wrong. “I’m going to listen to your heart and lungs.” He kept his voice steady and comforting. He didn’t know how he was still functioning. It was a combination of the never-ending fire under his ass, the ADHD, and sheer willpower.

He placed the stethoscope into his ears and placed the bell against Rafael’s chest and it sounded like his heartbeats were distant and muffled. Fuck given the drop in blood pressure, trouble breathing, and now this his hunch was correct.

It was cardiac tamponade which was where blood and fluid collected in the pericardium of the heart. It was more than likely caused by the aortic dissection disrupting the normal circulation of blood.

He was going to have to shove a needle into his mentor’s heart and drain the blood and fluid before it caused him to go into cardiac arrest. His adrenaline surged and he didn’t feel that exhausted feeling.

Alex gently got off the bed and quickly switched out Rafael’s nasal cannula with a mask to help get more oxygen into his body. He noticed Rafael looking at him terrified.

“Hey Raf, I think you have a collection of blood and fluid around your heart. I’m going to need you to stay calm, okay. I know you are scared but the pain will be over soon.” Alex said as gently as he could as he opened the sliding glass door to the room and asked a nurse to grab an ultrasound machine and the necessary equipment for pericardiocentesis.

Amy also had Matthew go sit next door in the empty room. She figured if she was in this situation, she wouldn’t want her wife to watch as Alex did what he needed to do. It would also give the nurses and Alex room to work.

She stood in between the two doors watching over both Rafael and Matthew. She was supposed to be retired but when Cash told her that he thought that an agent was in on it, she told him to watch over Stephanie and to find the bastard who did this.

Bradley, one of the night nurses, came in with an ultrasound machine and sat the equipment on the bedside table. He also brought a yellow trauma gown and sterile gloves in Alex’s size. He handed Alex the ultrasound probe covered in the gel.

Alex placed the probe against Rafael’s chest and saw that he was correct. It was in fact a cardiac tamponade. Time was of the essence because the more blood and fluid accumulated in Rafael’s pericardium the greater the risk of it sending him into cardiac arrest due to how hard his heart was having to work. He had done this procedure plenty of times.

Alex handed the probe back to Bradley who quickly shoved a cover over the probe to make it sterile and shaved several spots on Rafael’s chest in case Alex to adjust the needle or try a different angle. Alex put on his safety glasses and grabbed an ear loop mask from the box. He pinched the nose wire tightly across the bridge of his nose and put the loops over his ears. He also tied his scrub cap to his head to cover up his curls.

He then washed his hands like he would anytime he had to a sterile procedure by the bedside. He walked back over to Bradley who tied the gown around his back. He put on his own sterile gloves using the proper technique. He much preferred it when someone helped him into the gloves. He took the skin prep from Bradley and broke it.

Rafael tried to think that it was just Alex behind the mask and the gown and that he wasn’t going to do anything to hurt him, he was doing this to help him. He tried focusing on his breathing the way Matthew told him to. He was lying flat on his back staring at a drab ceiling. He didn’t even want to know what was about to happen to remove the blood from around his heart. It probably involved a big needle.

“Raf you are going to feel some cold liquid. It is just me cleaning your skin.” Alex warned rubbing the antiseptic stick over the shaved parts of Rafael’s chest. Once he let the antiseptic liquid dry, he took the syringe full of lidocaine from Bradley. He watched the nurse draw it up and made sure it was lidocaine with sodium bicarbonate because straight lidocaine stung and burned.

“You’re going to feel a poke that is just the numbing medication.” Alex warned advancing the needle into the soft flesh making sure to inject all the shaved spots, he heard Rafael hiss in discomfort when the needle first poked his skin. “I know, I’m sorry.” Alex cooed softly to his mentor.

Alex gave the lidocaine several seconds to numb the area before he took the covered ultrasound probe from Bradley and the long needle that would drain everything from the pericardium. He used the ultrasound for guidance and perfectly inserted the needle below Rafael’s sternum he saw the needle on the ultrasound and guided it into the pericardium getting bloody fluid in the syringe. He kept pulling up on the plunger until the syringe was full and the pericardium was free of the fluid.

He removed the needle being careful not to hit anything else with the tip of it and put it on the table. “How are you feeling?” He noticed Rafael’s vitals were stabilizing.

Rafael found it much easier to breathe and his heart didn’t feel like it was about to beat out of his chest. “Better.”

Matthew sat on a chair worried about his husband. He felt so much relief when he saw Rafael’s brown eyes staring at him and joking about Alex’s beauty sleep. Alex needed to get some sleep, he knew that boy’s emotions and knew he was close to emotionally crashing.

He hated the fact nobody wanted his opinion that Alex was too close to Rafael to be impartial. He knew that Alex was a damn good surgeon, he wouldn’t ever doubt his skills. He just knew how Alex’s brain and emotions worked. He also knew that under the navy scrubs was a child who missed his parents.

Matthew wanted to go lecture Ellen and Oscar that their son needed a hug and someone to let him vent about the situation he was thrust into. He also knew that Alex wouldn’t step away from Rafael’s care, he knew the insurmountable expectations Alex put on himself. Instead of thinking about Alex he turned his memories to him and Rafael.

Matthew had met Rafael back in late 2020 after one of Rafael’s speaking engagements opening up about Jeffery Richards. He was on an absolute disaster of a date and in walked in the sexy senator from Colorado. Matthew instantly deserted his date and offered to buy the senator a drink and told Rafael how much he admired his bravery and passion for outing Jeffery Richards as a creep and what he was doing to help the LGBTQ youth from falling into a similar situation. He really did admire Rafael and the fact that he was super attractive was a bonus.

The two of them had spent hours talking at that bar and after a wonderful time together Rafael had asked him out on an official date, and he happily accepted the invitation. The date with the senator was absolutely exceptional. They both had gone to the University of Colorado and graduated the same year. He wished they would have met back then, although a political science major was unlikely to cross paths with a psychology major. Their relationship flourished despite the distance.

One year after meeting Rafael, Matthew found himself packing up his life in Denver and moving cross country to Washington, D.C. to be with his boyfriend. Rafael had mentioned wanting to run in the 2024 presidential election and he was tired of the distance separating them. He was a little concerned with the whole boyfriend wants to run for presidency, but they made it work. He reopened his therapy practice in D.C. and did telehealth with his Colorado clients.

Shortly after his move, Rafael had asked him if he’d be willing to meet with Alex since medical school had left with some questions about having ADHD. He didn’t want to originally, but Rafael had managed to convince him to have at least one appointment with him and if he felt it was crossing a boundary then he could always transfer Alex over to one of his therapist buddies like Collin.

He agreed and he could still remember that appointment with Alex that lasted three hours and involved an entire box of tissues. He went home to Rafael, poured a giant glass of wine and almost broke up with Rafael. Things with Alex made him question who he was dating. He had put Rafael in the doghouse, made him work things out with Alex and apologize for everything he put the kid through. He also made Rafael prove that he had changed. It was a hard month learning to trust his boyfriend again, but it made them stronger.

After working things out they took a trip to visit Matthew’s family in Glenwood Springs, Rafael got down on one knee in front of Hanging Lake and asked Matthew to marry him and that he wanted to spend the rest of their lives together as husband and husband. He looked down at the ring on his left hand reminding him of that memory. He still wanted forever with Rafael.

In winter 2023 the two of them married at The Little Nell in Aspen, Colorado. The hotel had been his mom’s family for generations. It was a beautiful wedding, and they were surrounded by their friends and family (in Rafael’s case adopted family.) They honeymooned in St. Lucia while Oscar hit the campaign trail for Raf so he could enjoy his honeymoon in peace, or as much peace as one could get while on the campaign trail.

Matthew would say 2024 was his favorite memory and it was watching Rafael win the democratic primary nominee. In November he watched his husband become the 46^th President of the United States, becoming the first openly gay man to ever hold that office, the first Hispanic, and the first independent even though he ran on the democratic ticket. Raf’s policies were always in line with the democrats, and he always caucused with the democrats. Matthew was the proud husband through it all, shedding happy tears as Rafael gave his acceptance speech. He cried happy tears during his husband’s inauguration. He because the second First Gentleman after Oscar.

Alex walked into the ICU room that Amy had placed him in interrupting his thoughts. “Is Raf okay? What happened?” Matthew questioned softly hugging the trauma surgeon feeling his emotions.

“Raf is fine. What happened is when his aorta dissected it disrupted the circulation of blood. So, blood has slowly accumulated into his pericardium which encloses the heart. As it filled with blood it caused cardiac tamponade. I was able to remove all the blood and fluid from the pericardium. I’ll do an echo later to make sure it isn’t refilling. I’m also going to send him for a CT scan to make sure everything else is okay.”

Matthew let out a sigh of relief and patted the spot on the couch next to him. “Thank you. I’m worried about you, how are your emotions.” He questioned softly the last thing he wanted as a therapist was to see Alex emotionally dysregulate from this situation.

“I’m okay.” Alex lied he didn’t feel like burdening Matthew with his emotions since they involved his husband. “Let’s get you back to Raf.”

Matthew wanted to press Alex further, he knew the surgeon was lying. He could smell it on him, he just hoped Alex would talk to someone. He hoped he had talked to the person who had left those hickeys. The person Alex was dating clearly wasn’t shy about leaving love bites. When Alex’s scrub top had gone askew from sleeping, he saw some love bites on his collarbone.

He had a theory that Prince Henry was the one leaving them, but at the same time it was impossible. Still, Alex had told him that he still harbored feelings for the prince and the timing of the hickeys were a little suspicious, seeing as how Alex had been the one to save the prince’s life after a car accident.

It was something Rafael had joked about when they talked about the press conference. “Wouldn’t it be funny if that is what finally pulled Alex’s head from his ass and those two finally got together. Prince Henry can’t possibly be straight if he’s kissing Alex. Not to mention when Queen Catherine held a state dinner for Rafael, both said their gaydar went off talking to Henry.

There was also the fact that Queen Catherine had made it so same-sex marriage had to be performed in The Church of England. She also made it so that children of adoption and surrogacy to be in the line of ascension. It just seemed like the Queen was planning something, and most of it was something a mother would know about her children.

He also wouldn’t ask Alex because if anyone deserved to keep a secret like that it was Alex. He deserved to keep whoever he was dating a secret if he wanted to. He would too if he had gone through what Alex had gone through. He wouldn’t tell anyone about his theory, not even his husband. It wasn’t his place to question Alex about it, he knew he’d tell them about his relationship when he was ready. All that he cared about is he hoped the person treated Alex with respect and love. Alex deserved to find his person on his own time without invasive questions about them from family.

Matthew walked back into Rafael’s ICU room, and he looked sternly at Alex. “You need to eat something and for the love of God go change your underwear. Then when your ass gets back into this room you are sleeping on that couch for a minimum of six hours. Capiche?”

Adrian decided to walk into the ICU room at that particular moment. “I’m already one step ahead on that order.” He said tossing Alex a bag that contained a change of scrubs and a pair of clean underwear. He had seen Alex burn his candle at both ends and he did what any brother and good friend would do and helped them.

“You have trail mix and water with your favorite Liquid IV packet.  I suggest you drink it before I hook your ass to an actual IV and have Paige sedate your ass while I’m at it. I think she’d take great pleasure in doing so.” Adrian lectured. “I’ve got Rafael.”

Rafael and Matthew both looked at the Italian with adoration a smile on both of their faces. “What took you so long. He shoved a needle into my chest.”  

“Sorry I was on a long phone call with Edwards and the administrator, then I went ahead and charted out the operative note. Bradley texted me about the cardiac tamponade and it seemed Alex had it under control, so I went to his locker to grab a change of clothes. I almost got you Taco Bell.” He teased with a shit eating grin.

“I’d have thrown it at you. I don’t think I’ll ever be hungry enough to eat that. You’d have offended my heritage with Taco Bell.”

“You eat Chipotle.” Adrian countered.

“Their meat is actual meat, and it has some seasoning to it. I make better but I can eat it. I still wouldn’t consider it Mexican food, but it is infinitely better than Taco Bell. Taco Bell is a sacrilege. Do you consider Olive Garden to be Italian food? Same argument, fratello.”

Alex noticed Adrian fondly roll his eyes and he sat the trail mix and water on the couch and took the bag of clothes to an empty room to change.

“Matthew! Look I’ve been replaced by a younger Italian.” Rafael teased laughing at the food argument in front of him. “Thank you for taking care of him. Sorry, I’ve forgotten your name.”

“No trouble, he’s the younger brother I always wanted. It’s Adrian DeLuca. How do you feel Mr. President? I swear he’ll be the one responsible for my first grey hair.” He said looking at the vitals on the monitor.

“I don’t suppose you know who Alex is dating?” Rafael asked the Italian nicely. “Honestly kid how do you think I feel after being shot in New York City and then having a needle shoved into my heart?”

“I didn’t know he was dating anyone, although I do know that isn’t his first set of hickeys.” Adrian told the president and his husband. “I’m guessing you feel like shit?”

Rafael’s brown eyes lit up. “Tell me everything. When was the first set of hickeys?” He looked at his husband who was giving him the disappointing eyes he didn’t care he was alive, and the attractive Italian had all the answers.

“Promise me you won’t think I’m crazy?” Adrian saw the president nod. “He had hickeys the day he came back after removing Henry’s staples and he had a pep in his step. Paige thinks he’s dating Henry, but I think he is dating a Royal staff member. He’s taking Paige to Bea’s wedding. The two of them were discussing dresses when he got back from California.”

Matthew internally smirked so he wasn’t the only one crazy enough to think he was dating a prince. The fact that he was taking Paige to the royal wedding solidified that theory he was dating Henry. Neither of them wanted to take the attention away from the bride.

Given the date of the hickeys they would have started dating in January shortly after Alex released Henry from the hospital. He almost wanted to lecture Alex on the ethics of dating a patient, but then again, his history with Henry went back long before the accident. Plus, it isn’t like people chose their trauma surgeon, so could it be considered inappropriate.

Instead, he put on his disappointed face and looked at them both like they were unruly five-year-olds whose hand was caught in the cookie jar.

“Y’all, can we not speculate on who Alex is dating. He was traumatically outed as a bisexual the least anyone can do is allow him to date at his own pace and not have everyone speculate on it. He’ll tell us when he is ready.”  Matthew lectured hoping they’d get the hint and not confront Alex about it.

Rafael looked at his husband and realized the therapist was right. “Matthew’s right. Promise me you won’t tell anyone else about your theories. I don’t think Alex wants the media snooping through his love life again or to be outed against his wishes again.”

“We know that is why we’ve just teased him about the hickeys and haven’t told him our theories. We don’t need the media getting wind of it. Paige is fine with being his beard. Hell, the media already thinks they are dating and she’s the source of the hickeys.”

“Most of this hospital thinks he’s dating Paige and has been since medical school. He deserves his privacy and seeing as how we love him like our brother, we are prepared to protect him by any means necessary.” Adrian told the president honestly. As much as they loved to tease Alex, they were a family, and they’d protect one another.

“Mr. President, I don’t suppose you are willing to argue with the administrators about Alex’s attending contract. I don’t want to lose my brother to Mass General because they are too stupid to realize his true talent. They offered him less than I make and that’s bullshit. Surgeons rarely give credit where credit is due, but Alex Claremont-Diaz is a better surgeon than I am. The mentee has surpassed his mentor and is teaching his mentor. He’s still a resident and I’m coming up on one year as an attending.”

“I don’t know kid. Knowing Alex, he’s furious with Bellevue, he’s spent his twenties proving everyone wrong that he is in fact good enough to be a doctor. Bellevue offering him a shitty contract with no counter to his own negotiation might have sealed their fate. I’d say Bellevue’s fucked after this because most urban hospitals are going to want him. He’s going to have his pick and then some. He’s got a great grasp on contract law thanks to me.”

“I offered to chew an administrator for him he told me he’d think about it. Everyone likes to call politicians and lawyers soulless ghouls, but I’d argue that title belongs to hospital administrators they only care about money. I’m a politician and I still care about people.” Rafael told the trauma surgeon.

Alex walked into the trauma room and headed straight for the couch. He had changed into a fresh pair of scrubs, underwear, and compression socks. He had also used a bath wipe to clean himself and put on fresh deodorant. He tore open the package of Peanut Butter Monster trail mix. He was glad he hadn’t inherited June’s peanut allergy. He’d happily take being allergic to Tide over peanuts any day of the week.

“Fratello, I don’t need you conspiring with Rafael to get me a better contract. Bellevue put the final nail in their coffin themselves. I’d bet you $20 that I wake up to new offers in my email. Also, if Edwards thinks I’m going to do a press conference he can kiss my Hispanic ass.

I’m not about to put a bigger target on my career by doing that. I already have enough of a target on my back as a Claremont-Diaz. We don’t need to pile more onto it.” Alex lectured he took a sip of the salty watermelon water.

Adrian was right and he was probably close to dehydration if not there already. He remembered his first year of residency and Adrian did have to give his dumb ass an IV. He had worked himself to the point of exhaustion and Adrian dragged him to the basement, stuck an IV in his arm and held him while he slept it off. By sunrise Adrian and Alex had become brothers and Alex never did overwork himself after that. Adrian always reminded him of his limits.

“I’m not about to take that bet because I’ll know you win. It wouldn’t surprise me if you woke up to a bidding war. I just don’t want to lose my little brother.” Adrian said sitting next to Alex.

“We will always be brothers regardless of what state I end up in. You can’t get rid of me.” Alex said hugging the other surgeon tightly. Paige and Adrian just understood him better than most. They didn’t mind when he talked too much.

Rafael and Matthew smiled it was nice to see Alex’s work friends and they both respected the Italian it was clear he cared a great deal for Alex. They watched Adrian leave the room and come back with several warm blankets and a pillow for Alex.

Adrian smiled a made up the visitor’s bed for Alex. “Go to sleep.” Adrian told the surgeon as he covered him with a warm blanket. Alex’s curls no sooner hit the pillow and he was fast asleep. He just hoped the kid could get several hours of interrupted sleep.

He handed Matthew a warm blanket and a pillow and then put the rest of the blankets over Rafael. He turned down the lights in the room. “You both should also get some rest. Rafael you’ll heal better the more you rest. Consider this a vacation from the presidency.”

He sat in the open recliner and charted away. He also did the attending audit on the patients that died. He read over Alex’s fastidious chart notes and quickly determined that there was nothing anyone could have done that would have changed the outcome. He made note of that in the chart too. Soon enough Matthew and Rafael were both asleep.

After a couple of hours of charting Adrian noticed a large shadow outside the curtain-covered window. He carefully got out of his chair so as not to disturb anyone and opened the curtain and sliding door. He saw Amy having a discussion with the other agent that was in the operating room with them.

“Doctor, would you mind giving Cash an update for Stephanie? Everyone is getting worried because Alex was supposed to text Oscar but didn’t.” Amy told the surgeon if Alex trusted him, then she trusted him. Alex was an excellent judge of character.

She and Cash were also discussing the evidence and Cash was right, it was an inside job; she was getting ready to trade off with Amanda so that she and Cash could corner the agent, the only other agent she could trust her boys with. She had personally trained that agent.

Paige was walking towards them he smiled at her impeccable timing. “Secret meeting?” She questioned warmly.

“Not a secret, the peanut gallery is requesting an update.” Cash teased the blonde she was Alex’s only friend from medical school and his study buddy (not in the fun variety either, they actually studied.)

“I can watch them sleep if you want to go give them an update. I do get paid to watch people sleep, this is just of their own accord. Unless you made good on your promise and finally sedated Alex.” She said giggling softly knowing it would never actually happen.

Amy laughed but at the same time she was well aware of how badly this situation could have gone and how much it would have affected her Alex. She looked into the window and saw him sleeping, something she knew he struggled with. She wanted to hug him tightly and tell him he did a great job, something his own mother should have done instead of just asking about hickeys.

Cash had told her everything, he always did tell her everything. The two of them were the definition of platonic soulmates to the point where Cash was their sperm donor for their children. Her children called him Uncle Cash and she wouldn’t have it any other way. Alex was also Uncle Alex when he visited.

She wanted to march down to the makeshift command center and not so politely tell Ellen and Zahra that Alex was not a robot but rather a human with feelings that was fucking exhausted from the never-ending political bullshit. It wasn’t that Ellen was a bad mother but both she and Oscar had an absence workaholic problem.

Henry was sitting in front of the TV in the shared royal apartments he was trying to find an update on Raf because Alex hadn’t texted him like he said he would. He hoped the surgeon had promptly passed out on a comfortable surface. The television was just showing the same replays of Rafael’s arrival at the hospital and Stephanie Acker’s swearing in. She had placed her hand on Rafael’s suit jacket over the United States flag lapel pin, and rainbow flag pin. He heard footsteps behind him and noticed it was Philip holding his usual morning tea.

“Any new updates or are they still replaying the same?” Philip questioned sitting next to him on the comfortable settee. He could tell his brother hadn’t gotten a wink of sleep. He took a sip of his morning tea.

Philip patted his lap. “Do come here and sleep.” He said holding his brother tightly, it was something they used to do a lot when they were children, but they hadn’t since. He knew Henry was worried about Alex overworking himself having said as much yesterday when they all were gathered to watch the news.

“If you don’t go to sleep right now, I’ll sic Tori on you and force you to play tea party with her.” He teased covering his brother with the chunky knit blanket draped over the settee.

He rather enjoyed when she wanted to play tea party. He always thought he’d be a terrible father but the moment the clone of his wife arrived, she had him tightly wrapped in her little finger. She made him work hard to be a better person for his family.

Henry was aware that Philip’s fingers were brushing through his hair trying to lull him off to sleep. “Thanks Pip.” He knew that it was late across the pond and that it would be mid-morning before the news received another update. It was odd using his brother as a pillow, but it reminded him of childhood.

Philip smiled and took a little photo for their mum. He happily sipped his tea watching his brother sleep. He was halfway paying attention to the news for any updates. Catherine had suggested they stay at Kensington until the situation became clearer. She didn’t know if it would be an international attack or turn into one, and she wanted to keep them sheltered out of abundance of caution for her family.

Adrian looked at his watch knowing that Edwards and the administrators would arrive within the hour he decided to gently wake Alex so he could force a bagel and an energy drink down his friend’s throat.

“Alex, time to wake up sleepyhead. I have a bagel and your favorite energy drink.” He muttered patting the shoulder of his friend. He noticed tears staining the pillow and he was sure he had heard whimpering come from the younger surgeon.

 He also knew that the makeshift command center would want an official update from Alex.  The peanut gallery as Cash had called it did not appreciate his update. Most had wanted to know where Alex was.

Alex groaned, feeling Adrian’s soothing voice in his ear. He had a nap filled with nightmares. He had slept but he didn’t know how restful it was for his emotions. It felt like someone had grated his emotions with a cheese grater.

He knew if Adrian was waking him up that must have meant it was morning. Which meant his family would want to hear the update on Rafael. He’d also probably get his ass chewed by Dr. Edwards and the administrator of Bellevue. He grabbed his phone from his pocket and realized he had never texted Henry last night when he said he would. He quickly sent a text to Henry and saw a ton of new emails waiting for him.

‘Sorry baby, I was so exhausted that I forgot to text you. I’ll call you when I have a free moment.’

Alex couldn’t stop the grin from forming on his face as he scrolled the emails from other hospitals. He felt the couch slump and felt Adrian pulling his phone from his hand. He wasn’t worried about Adrian snooping outside of his email.

“I clearly lost the bet.” Adrian said seeing some pretty nice offers in Alex’s emails. “Here is your bagel served with a side of battery acid.” He teased, handing Alex his favorite bagel with cream cheese and a can of ice pop flavored energy drink. Edwards always lectured anyone he saw drinking an energy drink that they were drinking battery acid.

“Thank you.” Alex said clinking his can with Adrian’s as he ate the bagel and sipped the energy drink. The two surgeons eat their bagels in peace. Rafael began to stir in the hospital bed. Alex looked at the vitals and saw they were normal.

“Morning.” Rafael said to the two eating bagels and chit chatting. “Someone looks chipper this morning. I don’t suppose you brought me coffee and a bagel too.”

“No such luck.” Adrian teased. He rarely let trauma patients have coffee this soon after surgery.

“Well can you eat them elsewhere. Haven’t I been tortured enough.” Rafael pitifully said.

“Sorry.” Alex said swallowing the last bite of bagel. “Good news your vitals look much better. Let’s do a quick morning check and then I’m going to go have my ass chewed by command center. I swear if someone tries to shove a camera in my face this morning, I will cause a scene.”

“I’ll bring the popcorn.” Adrian teased watching Alex get off the couch to wash his hands and preformed a quick physical exam on Rafael.

“Your vitals are mostly stable, your heart and lungs sound good. How’s your pain level?” Alex questioned slinging the stethoscope back around his neck.

“It’s okay considering everything you’ve don’t to me. So did Adrian lose the bet on contract offers?” Rafael asked, noticing Matthew stirred in the visitor’s chair his head on a pillow that was pressed against the wall.

“I did. He’s got better offers than a fucking neurosurgeon. I wonder if Alex can convince them that we are a packaged deal.”

“Raf, you seem good this morning. So, Adrian and I are going to update the command center. One of us will be back soon.” Alex was not about to face the music alone, besides he knew the other enjoyed popcorn worthy moments.

“Good luck. Also, if anyone wants to be difficult bring them to me and I’ll happily chew them a new one for you.” Rafael suggested watching the two of them leave the room.

Alex and Adrian made their way to the makeshift command center and Edwards and the administrator dressed in yet another luxury suit was already wanting for them.

“Alex what took you so long to get down here?” The administrator questioned the young trauma surgeon. He was never a fan of Alex.

“I was doing the morning assessment of my patient who happened to have cardiac tamponade around midnight last night. I was making sure it hadn’t returned. If you had an MD behind your name, you’d know exactly what took so long. Also, my title is Dr. Claremont-Diaz as I actually have a MD behind my name.”  Alex said flatly to the administrator. He thought MBAs were easy to get and they only cared about getting rich off all the work the actual healthcare workers did.

Ellen looked at her son with a horrified expression on her face. She couldn’t believe that her son had just said that to anyone let alone his boss.

“Dr. Claremont-Diaz I don’t suppose you have an update on Rafael?” Stephanie questioned gently looking up from her research.

Alex smiled softly at Stephanie; he had always admired her. He quickly explained everything to the room of people, but mainly to her. Adrian had also caught him up the time when he slept so he was able to tell them that Rafael had slept through the night, even though he was sleeping on the couch.

“Now that we have a proper update, we can discuss a press conference. Alex, we expect you to speak at it and update the public.” Zahara said as Lauren nodded.

“Like hell I will!” Alex exclaimed that would murder his career and put an extra-large target on his back.

“I’m a Claremont-Diaz! I have less than four months until I’m finished with residency and I’m not going to irritate Royce’s cult any further, by default most will assume I was Rafael’s surgeon. I damn sure am not going to be paraded in front of cameras irritating that base further.” Alex paused, letting the room grasp what he was telling them. He liked his safety in New York, and he didn’t need the media and press stalking his every fucking move again.

“I’m not going to commit career suicide by appearing on camera. Get someone else to do it, I’m going to avoid politics today. I do my duty by voting and reminding my Instagram followers to exercise their right to vote. I’m not getting in the middle of an attempted assassination.”

"I don’t want the media to come after me, or better yet have them dig up who I’m dating and have the media and the press out that person. I will not put myself or them in that risk. Honestly, Haven’t I already had enough of my twenties ruined by politics. Dr. DeLuca, Dr. Martin, and I will not be appearing for any single camera or photo op. We will remain in the background.” Alex said flatly.  He was seething with rage and on the verge of emotionally dysregulating.

“Kid need I remind you that you appeared for a press conference when His Royal Highness was involved.” Zahra countered.

“That was a very different situation, and you know it. That press conference didn’t have the ramifications that this press conference has.

“We could always fire you.” The administrator said flatly he did not have time for a temper tantrum.

Alex smirked in his direction. “Do it, I dare you. When I go in front of ACGME (The governing board for residency programs) I’ll tell them why you sacked me with less than four months in my residency. I don’t have one single red mark in my file. My case records are spotless, and they speak for themselves.” Alex said, turning on his heel and left the makeshift command center.

He wanted to catch the nearest plane to London but instead he found himself running up the stairs to the secret spot on the roof only he knew about. He needed to video chat with Henry. He didn’t even care if his boyfriend though he was insane or emotionally unstable. He just needed to see those blue eyes looking at him with kindness and gentleness. He was not about to become a political pawn again.

Chapter Text

Alex quicky took the stairs two at a time up to the roof exit. He tapped his badge to the sensor hanging on the wall to allow him roof access. He quickly zipped up his dark grey knit jacket since it was February in NYC. He walked across the roof and past the helipad to his little alcove of peace.

He sat his ass on the cold concrete and grabbed his phone from his scrub pant pocket. He found the contact he had Henry under and hit the FaceTime button. He wanted anxiously for Henry’s handsome face to pop into view.

Sometimes, he would come up to this spot to just to think about things and decompress after a particularly difficult case. This was his spot that only he knew about, unlike the basement spot that he shared with Adrian and Paige.

Henry heard his ringtone and pulled his phone out of his pajama pant pocket. He saw that it was a video chat request from Alex. He answered the video chat and saw Alex on the screen with a little bit of NYC behind him with a bunch of concrete. He was relieved to see Alex even if it was just in video chat form. He had taken a small nap using his brother as a pillow and then took a shower. He was currently laying on his comfortable bed with David snuggled against his leg.

“Hi baby. I am so sorry. I had every intention of texting you an update, but my head no sooner touched the visitor couch, and I was out. I got about an hour nap and then I woke up to Rafael having cardiac tamponade, he could have gone into cardiac arrest from it. Luckily, I was able to stabilize him before he went into cardiac arrest. After that I was forced by Matthew and Adrian to sleep for the night.” Alex said sounding very apologetic for not texting him last night, and just the sight of Henry on his phone made him feel more relaxed.

“Also, if you hear the sound of a helicopter that’s because I am hanging out on top of the roof and the helipad is not that far away.” Alex warned not wanting Henry to get spooked by the sound.

Henry smiled, he figured that Alex had passed out from the exhaustion, but it was still nice to hear confirmation that Alex had in fact just fallen asleep and forgot to text him.

“That is perfectly alright. You needed to get some sleep you sounded absolutely exhausted the last time you called me. How is Rafael doing after that?” He had some medical knowledge because of his father and of course his visits to the children’s hospitals, but he had no clue what cardiac tamponade was. He figured it probably had something to do with the heart.

Henry would happily admit that it sounded hot when Alex spoke medical jargon. He knew Alex enjoyed it when he spoke French while they were in Paris. He enjoyed listening to Alex speak medical terms and Spanish, both languages sounded heavenly coming from Alex’s kissable lips.

“Rafael is fine. My emotions, however, are dangerously close to dysregulating.” Alex reluctantly admitted. He was scared to let Henry see his emotions and his true self, but he trusted Henry and he needed help navigating the landmine of emotions he was feeling. He knew he was not overreacting to the situation. He just needed to hear that someone understood him and his point.

He let out a deep sigh. He could not believe his own mom was more concerned about the hickeys on his neck, and meeting his partner on his birthday, than his damn emotions. His hands had been inside Rafael touching most of his organs and reconstructing his shredded abdominal aorta. He couldn’t just forget that feeling of having Rafael’s organs in his hands and he doubted he’d be forgetting it any time soon.

“Love, tell me everything. I want to help you.” Henry said the nickname love slipping out. He had been in therapy long enough to just listen to another person. He had helped Philip dissect his own feelings recently. The least he could do was try for Alex given how upset he looked. Even upset Alex still looked like a Mexican god. It seemed like his sadness had made his luscious eyelashes even longer.

“I want you to feel comfortable enough to share your worst secrets with me. I’ll always listen to you. David and I are both here for you” He also knew that Alex usual therapist was Rafael’s husband. He knew if it was his therapist, he wouldn’t want to disturb them in that situation either. He wanted all of Alex and that included the bad days.

He knew Alex was there for his own bad days in a hospital room where he felt like an invalid and Alex had gently fed him and they confessed their eight years of feelings to each other. Only for him to learn in France that they both liked each longer than that kiss eight years ago. He flipped his phone around so that Alex could see the curled-up beagle against his leg. He heard Alex make a cute sound seeing the dog.

Alex listened to Henry’s words and tried really hard not to think about the word love. It was a common British term of endearment, and it was no different than him calling Henry baby or sweetheart. Instead, that term of endearment and Henry’s words caused the floodgates to break open and all the pain and hurt of his days escaped like a tidal wave out of his body. He found himself wanting to tell Henry everything, and so he did.

“My mom wanted to tag along and hold dad’s hand while I examined his shoulder. Which is not a big deal. I thought she might want to catch up. I also expected a little comfort to soothe the anxiety I had after operating on Rafael. I knew his odds and I worked hard to defy those odds. Not to mention it wasn’t just Raf it was both my dad and Cash who had bullet wounds on their shoulders.”

“I was honestly afraid I would have to pluck a bullet out of both of their biceps, meanwhile she is wanting to know if I had invited you to meet them on my birthday. Fuck, I’m used to them being absent and so focused on their own carers. Maybe it is on me, but I just thought that since we are in the same city the least they could do was offer me some comfort and make sure that I wasn’t exhausted to my core, and they failed.” Alex said bitterly.

Henry listened to Alex and the thought of Alex’s mom being emotionally absent broke his heart. His mum had wanted to know everything about their budding relationship, and she supported them. He knew his mum and she’d gladly welcome Alex with open arms, she loved Martha and Tom like they were her own too.

 “Do you have anyone in your corner?” Henry asked softly it was clear to him that the attempted assassination on the president had deeply affected Alex and he needed someone outside of himself in his corner. He would always be in Alex’s corner, but it was hard right now, because there was a literal ocean separating him from standing in his lover’s corner.

“I have you, Paige, Adrian, Matthew, and Rafael. Matthew and Adrian made sure I ate some food and slept. Mom isn’t the president anymore and dad knows how important Rafael is to the both of us. I had thoughts of I couldn’t let Rafael die because all I could think about was my parents would look at me differently if I couldn’t save him.”

“I doubt they would look at you differently. I wouldn’t have looked at you differently. I would have known that you had done everything you possibly could to save his life. From what you told me about Matthew I don’t think he would have been upset with you either. He knows how important Rafael is to you and how hard you would have tried.” Henry said noticing the small smile appear on Alex’s face.

“Cash and Amy would usually be listed and know my emotional needs, but Cash thinks it was a planned assassination and that a secret service agent was in on the plan. Dad and Cash had the same thought, so dad is trying to help Cash find the evidence and Amy trusts her work partner, so they are a little emotionally unavailable, but I know they still care.” Alex muttered he was aware of Amy’s eyes focusing on him. They had also gotten him through medical school.

“Cash and Amy are making sure that they are the ones assigned to Rafael in case someone decides to try again. I’m guessing that mom is helping Stephanie out with the presidential duties, but she’s supposed to be retired and speaking on behalf of the democratic party and finalizing her presidential library.” Alex said seeing Henry’s eyes widen when he mentioned that it was probably a planned assassination.

Henry wanted to have some choice words with Alex’s parents regarding their obvious emotional neglect of their son during this traumatic event. He nodded, showing Alex that he was listening to everything he was saying and that he could continue the story. He didn’t have anything to really say that would be helpful to Alex’s emotions, so he didn’t speak, instead he nodded and focused on his facial expressions at what Alex was telling him.

“That’s not even the best part. Do you remember Zahra?” Alex saw Henry nod his head of course Henry would remember the women who married his previous equerry. That was a dumb question on his part.

“Well Zahra and the administrator of this hospital decided I should appear in a press conference regarding Rafael’s condition. Like I don’t already have a big enough target on my back as a Claremont-Diaz already.”

“No, let’s parade the Alex pony out and make him do the political song and dance. I’m tired of being a political pawn. I didn’t get to enjoy college because of my mom’s presidency and even now that I’m a doctor they still expect to trot me out in front of cameras.” 

“It made me realize I’m only good for Bellevue’s public image. After today’s conversation I realized they don’t see me as a doctor and they damn sure don’t see me as a surgeon. They see me as the pretty show pony that brings good PR to the hospital. Zahra even had the audacity to suggest the press conference that was held after your accident is no different.” Alex noticed Henry’s expression darken.

Henry sighed softly. He never really thought about how all of Alex’s college years were on public display. It almost felt like Alex had the same fate he did. He knew the pony metaphor quite well. Most of it sounded like his life back when his grandmother was the sovereign. He was used to the same song and dance to make her happy when it came to public appearances and her idea of the perfect monarchy. If anything, learning that made him fall even more in love with Alex.

“They are completely different situations. You were in a car accident and the world actually likes and respects you. There hadn’t been an attempt on your life. The press conference involving Raf could have some serious ramifications for my career, and not just my career but my personal life and our relationship as well.”

“I don’t want to lose my sense of security so the media and press can speculate about my personal life again. Miguel is still a political journalist and he’d see it as an open invitation to report my every move. I don’t want or need my life to become a fucking public spectacle again. Not to mention that would put you in the damn crossfire.”

Henry was irritated with the fact that someone had Miguel to still be a journalist after everything he put Alex through. He would have thought someone would have made it so that no one would have the same fate as Alex had. He thought with Alex having two lawyers for parents that one of them would have hit Miguel with a cease and desist longer than Alex’s eyelashes.

“Once Miguel and the media find out I am in a relationship they’d stop at nothing until they figured out who I’m romantically involved with. Having someone out my sexuality outed was beyond painful. I hadn’t told my dad’s side of the family yet. They got to read about it in the headlines. I can’t imagine how painful it would be to have our relationship splashed on every single news headline from Canada to Timbuktu and everywhere else in between.”

Henry could agree he didn’t feel like seeing their relationship splashed on every news headline at least until he was ready and at that point, he’d post about it on Instagram and pre-record a video so his mum could release it for him explaining how he’s always been gay. It was nice that Alex was also concerned about the media and his own feelings, for so long the sovereign and his own brother didn’t care about his feelings. So, it was always nice when took his feelings into consideration.

“When we become a public couple, I want it to be on our terms. I want nothing more than to sneak under the radar and have secret dates in Paris and London with you. When you decide to come out to the world, I want it to be on your terms and not because of the media pressure. Being outed so publicly hurt me. I put up walls and pretended like it didn’t hurt me like it did. I’m in therapy for so much more than just controlling my ADHD.” Alex said full on crying at this point, he rarely broke down but when he did it involved crying. Matthew said it was a normal reaction having ADHD but still he was almost 30 and crying like a child.

Henry just wanted to hug his Alex. His love did not deserve any of this. It was clear they both wanted to be secret and then be able to announce it together publicly on their own terms. “There is a big difference between the two press conferences. Anyone with half a brain should be able to see it from your perspective.” He was annoyed that he could see that perspective, but they couldn’t see Alex’s logic.

“I don’t blame you for refusing to be paraded out for a press conference that could upend your sense of security and our relationship. I’m so sorry they are putting you in this situation. I want to walk through my phone camera and give you a giant hug and kiss those tears off your face.”

“I can’t even begin to fathom how traumatizing it is to have your sexuality publicly outed. I’m sorry the people you love most are causing this emotional pain. You had enough without them trying to pile on a press conference and extending an open invitation for the media to scrutinize your every move.” Henry said. This was starting to feel like the longest two weeks of his life, he wanted to hug and hold his lover and shower him in appreciation and love.

Alex’s tears soothed hearing Henry’s kindness and understanding of the situation. He wished Zahra understood because she always used him PR without even considering his feelings in the matter. He was an adult and while he was still idealistic, he was also realistic, and he didn’t want his relationship to become public fodder. He didn’t want Henry to ever feel those same feelings he had felt.

“Baby, that’s not even the tip of it. When I refused to do the press conference the idiot CEO threatened to terminate me from the residency program, just because I refused to be his pretty little PR pony to bring Bellevue even more PR and money.”

Henry wanted to fly to New York and tell off both Alex’s family and the idiot CEO who threatened Alex’s career. “What the hell. That sounds super illegal and an oddly extreme punishment simply because you don’t want to appear for a press conference. What happens if they do dismiss you from your residency program?” Henry asked softly, afraid of what the answer to that would be.

“Exactly! The CEO is stupid because for me to be legally discharged from my residency program the notification would have to come from my residency program director, which is Dr. Edwards. I’m sure he can see my reasoning. If they decide to be brazened enough to attempt it, I’ll just contact the residency governing board to investigate the reason for my discharge from the residency program.”

Henry smiled that sounded exactly like something his Alex would do.

“My residency file is spotless. I’m still the chief resident. The other residents begrudgingly respect me. I have respect from the other attending trauma surgeons. I have even trained at other hospitals, and I earned their respect.” He said knowing if they did terminate his position, he could always sit for his board exam in critical care medicine. He had enough hours in the ICU to become an intensivist, but that wasn’t what he wanted. He wanted to be both a trauma surgeon and intensivist, not just an ICU physician.

“To be honest I’m really surprised they haven’t threatened me with terminating my residency position before now. I’ve looked at the statistics on surgical residencies and if you are a non-white man, you are 8.74 times more likely to be discharged from residency than your white counterparts.” Alex knew he was biracial but when people looked at him, they saw his Mexican heritage and nothing else.

He had a Z in his last name and back when his mom was in office, he was the child of hers the media went after the most because June at least looked white and like their mother. He was a carbon copy of his father and equally outspoken like his father.

“I’d argue that my own statistics were probably closer to 10 times more likely if you factored in my sexuality and my last name. I’ve had to work three times as hard as my coresidents just to prove that I am a doctor. I’m tired of proving myself to people who are going to doubt me anyway.” Alex admitted sadly, He hated that he knew all the statistics and could figure out his own statistics regarding certain situations.

Henry was angry when Alex told him the statistics, he didn’t understand racism. It was obvious that Alex was just as good if not better than his white surgical counterparts. Alex had compassion and kindness towards his patients that could not be taught. He hated hearing how Alex had to work three times as hard just to prove his skills. Although, it seemed like the other was used to having to work harder than everyone else just to prove to them he could. Why couldn’t everyone see what he saw when he looked at Alex.

“Love, I am so proud of you. You are a good doctor, and your race shouldn’t even be a factor.” Henry said honestly. He knew he would be wrapping Alex in his arms and the two of them would be talking about all this during Alex’s three days in England. He wanted to know everything and learning they had similar struggles just made him adore Alex even more, if that was possible. He wanted to shower his love in the adoration and respect he deserved.

Alex smiled softly at his phone when Henry said he was proud of him. “I also need to look at the new contract offers in my email and arrange meetings with New York Presbyterian and Massachusetts General.”

“Remember to follow your heart also don’t settle if they only want you because you are a Claremont-Diaz. They should want Alex too.” Henry suggested he loved Alex because he was Alex. Not because of the last name attached. He understood that far too well as a literal Prince of England.

Alex saw a text message pop up on his screen from Matthew and he sighed looking at his phone like it might self-destruct from that particular text message.

“What’s wrong love?” Henry questioned hearing Alex’s sigh.

“Just a text from Matthew, he wants my permission to tell my parents that he’s been my therapist for several years. He wants to let them know just how much damage being The First Son did to me. It’s been seven years, and I haven’t told them.”

“If it were me, I’d give him permission. I know your family is different than mine but when we talk about things it makes our bond grow stronger. It’s because of our mum, Martha, a therapist and Victoria that I have my protective older brother back. It might help your parents understand things from your perspective. You seriously never told them in seven years?” Henry questioned softly it sounded a lot like their New Years kiss.

“Rafael knew I was in therapy, and he was always there for me like an older brother or my uncle. He’s always been in my corner. Cash and Amy also know I was in therapy, I don’t think they ever told my mom or Zahra about it.” Alex said he had shared everything with Rafael, Amy and Cash. “Now you know some of it. I promise that I will tell you everything soon enough. Thank you for listening to me babble. You’ve really helped my emotions.”

Alex saw that he had spent an hour on a video chat with Henry. He knew he should go check on Rafael and then face the music from his program director and the CEO. He kind of hoped that Adrian had took them both to have their ass chewed from Rafael.

Henry smiled at Alex’s words that he would tell him everything. “Only if you want to. Don’t feel like you have to for my sake. I’ll always listen and be here for you in any way that I can. Call me anytime and I will always answer.”

Alex smiled and blew Henry a kiss. “I want to tell you about it. I’m here for you too. I should probably go check on Rafael and spend more time arguing my points to Zahra.” He didn’t really want to hang up the video call and go back inside. He would be just fine with spending more time outside video chatting with Henry and telling him everything, but it was cold on the roof and his legs only had a pair of scrub pants and compression socks covering them.

Henry hung up the phone and looked at the beagle curled up by his knee. He was left with more questions than answers when it came to his Alex. The conversation that they had in a hospital closet during their PR hitting him like a ton of bricks.

Alex had told him the Olympics had been his first foray as a media personality and he had been scared and he could haven’t helped him but didn’t. He quickly got up from his bed politely ignoring the grumble from David as he padded over to his desk and pulled the fact sheet on Alex that Shaan had given him all those years ago.

He quickly skimmed it and the fact sheet read like his own minus the mentions of June and lacrosse it was devoid of any of Alex’s real personality. So, Alex’s entire personality as the First Son was crafted like his once was. He was still living a lie, but it was a lie of his choosing that he could end whenever he wanted to.

The only thing he knew from this list that was factually true was that Alex loved his family, was especially close with his sister and played lacrosse. It mentioned that he wanted to follow his parents into politics, and he remembered Alex telling him that he went to medical school so as not to disappoint his fifteen-year-old self. This fact sheet was a fabricated lie and his heart felt like it had been dropped into an ice pit.

Mary had controlled his puppet strings, he wondered who had controlled Alex’s strings. The more he thought about Alex the more him being a puppet made sense. June had followed Alex and Nora to NYC and joined a respectable media source and was now globetrotting around the world writing hard hitting journalism pieces way outside of the political spectrum.

Nora still occasionally ran election data, but for the most part she was helping Pez with the financial and data analytics of Okonjo Industries and Okonjo Foundation.

Alex had of course shocked the entire world by announcing on Instagram that he would be attending medical school over law school but was it a sudden change in heart or had he been expected to hide that side of him. He was the youngest of Nora and June which meant he could be easily persuaded to change his loves especially if it would benefit his family in the long run.

He thought back to former presidents and their children hadn’t been in the media like June and Alex had been. It had to have been a ploy to get and maintain the millennial and Gen Z voting bases since June and Nora were both millennials. Alex was Gen Z like himself, Pez, and Bea. There was also the fact that Alex looked like a marketing campaign’s wet dream with perfect hair and those eyelashes.

He wanted to know everything and in return he’d share things about Mary he had only told his therapist and Bea.

“Why do you look like you are trying to solve the mystery of the universe?” Bea questioned walking into Henry’s bedroom. “The news just reported that Rafael is stable. I thought you might like that update.”

Henry smiled at his sister. Her red hair was in messy ponytail, and she was wearing fluffy pink pajama pants. “I know. Alex and I had an hour-long video chat talking about Rafael and other things and it has just made me question our younger years. What if he and I are more alike than anyone would have ever guessed.”

Bea felt her own phone vibrate and saw it was a text message from Alex asking for birthday present shopping help. She smiled softly, making a mental note to call him later with ideas as she listened to what Henry was saying.

“Was it a spicy video chat?” She and Tom had some spicy video chats while he was away from London filming. She sat on Henry’s soft comforter and ran her manicured fingers over David’s soft ears.

“It was not a spicy video chat. Unless you consider long conversations about one’s feelings spicy.” Henry suggested putting the fact sheet back into the spot he’s always kept it.

“Depends on if the conversation made you fall more in love with him. Did it?”

“When did my baby sister become so wise with advice on love?” Henry teased sitting next to her on the bed. He knew exactly when it happened and who had caused it to happen.

“Yes, I am hopelessly in love with Alex and have been for over eight years. I almost want to thank NYC’s shitty weather for bringing Alex and I back together. I could have done without the broken arm though.”

Bea smiled softly and pulled her brother in for a hug. “When I met Tom, and he got my big brother’s approval to date me. He loves me unconditionally and with the baggage of being a prior drug addict. He loves Bea and not Princess Beatrice. I’ve always known that Alex was the right man for you.” She paused for a second trying to phrase what she wanted to tell him next.

“That night Alex called me was one of the most terrifying nights of my life, second only to the night dad died. I instantly called mum to let her know and then I fell apart while talking to Tom. I could tell in Alex’s voice that he’d do everything he could to save you. He also called me frequently with updates and let mum and I wish you well. I’m so glad he saved my protective older brother. He also checked on me and let me know that if I needed him, he was there to not let my feelings get the better of me and it was exactly what I needed.”

Henry pulled his sister close to him. They didn’t really speak of that night, but he would be forever grateful for being brought to Alex that night. He remembered waking up and smelling the distinct smell of Santal 33 and knew it was Alex and how this time he was fucked because he wouldn’t be letting Alex go so easy this time.

Adrian had texted Matthew what had happened in the peanut gallery, and he got a message back instantly and it made him smile. He turned to look at Dr. Edwards and the CEO. “President Luna would like to have a word with the two of you.” He said keeping his facial expression neutral to the both of them.

Adrian led the other two man out of the converted waiting room and up to the trauma ICU he was texting Alex to let him know everything was under control and was being handled to just decompress. He knew his brother and how tightly wound he was. He tapped his badge to the sensor outside the ICU and led his boss and the CEO into Rafael’s room.

Rafael grinned like a cat that had finally gotten hold of the pesky canary or in his case the expensive suit wearing CEO. He cracked his knuckles and then crossed his arms over his chest. It made his biceps look intimidating in the standard issue hospital gown. His bare ass was exposed against the scratchy sheet. He probably looked as intimidating as a kitten hissing for the first time.

“Alright this is how it is going to go. I’ve received a text message from President Acker, Cash, and Lauren (His Chief of Staff had admitted her wrongdoing to him. She was a lot like Zahra but less prickly and less of a hard ass. Probably because it was just him and Matthew she had to manage, but still she apologized to him for upsetting Alex and that went a long way in his book.)

“They all told me that you had threatened Dr. Claremont-Diaz’s residency position. Let me make things perfectly clear. I know some high-powered people and I used to be a lawyer. I am not above finding out who Bellevue’s Board of Directors are, and instead of Dr. Claremont-Diaz getting fired it will be you. I will personally see to that happening since I’m on a vacation from being president because some Royce loving lunatic decided to put five bullets through me.”

“Had it not been for Dr. Claremont-Diaz and Dr. DeLuca I’d be dead. Make no mistake, I did not choose Bellevue as my hospital; I asked my security detail to take me to wherever Alex was. So, keep that in mind. Also, I’m really disappointed to learn that Bellevue does not want to keep Dr. Claremont-Diaz on as an attending. I suppose I’ll be using my vacation time to make sure Alex doesn’t get fucked over by his next employer and they are going to treat him how he deserves to be treated. I’ll also make sure you get fired at the CEO of Bellevue.” Rafael said sharply narrowing his eyes at the CEO.

“You will also be letting Dr. Deluca out of his attending contract, and you will forget that Dr. Martin signed her contract.” Rafael smiled and winked at the Italian. He had heard him joke with Alex about seeing if they could be a packaged deal. He liked the Italian man since Alex saw him as family.

“I’m afraid I can’t just let Dr. DeLuca and Dr. Martin out of their contracts. They are legally binding. They also have signed a non-compete agreement.” The CEO admitted turning to look at Edwards for backup on this. He knew he was fucked.

“You and I both know non-competes are rarely enforced, nor do they typically hold in court. I will get involved and it will be messy, best for you to just do as I say.”

Dr. Edwards blinked a few times he realized the hospital had fucked themselves and were about to lose two excellent trauma surgeons and an equally impressive trauma anesthesiologist who had managed to be the anesthesiologist for two important people both of whom had massive blood loss.

He hated the CEO because he was intent on being the wrecking ball through his carefully crafted trauma department. He understood Alex’s reasoning regarding the press conference. He had told the CEO that he’d do the press conference and he’d leave Alex’s name out of it. He was a glorified administrator at this point in his career as program director, and it wouldn’t cost him anything appearing in front of that camera.

The CEO didn’t want to hear his suggestion regarding the press conference and wanted to force Alex to do it even with the threat of termination. He was the program director he had the final say of what would happen to Alex. He agreed with the president’s threat, hell he might even make him a list containing the names of those on the board.

“I’m the trauma program director and I don’t particularly feel like upsetting the president. If he tells us that Dr. DeLuca and Dr. Martin want out of their contracts, I don’t think we have any choice in the matter. Also, in case you forgot I’m the program director of trauma surgery and only I have the power to discharge a resident from the program.”

“Dr. Claremont-Diaz will be staying until he finishes his residency and I sincerely hope that the board regrets their decision not to negotiate with him when it came to his contract. Dr. Claremont-Diaz is going to be an incredible attending.” Dr. Edwards told the CEO he would always back his team and he knew exactly what Alex was capable of and he’d miss surgeon. He was one of the few who saw Alex as a doctor and believed in him.

Rafael smiled at the man wearing the white coat that was high praise regarding Alex. “I’ll hold you to that promise. I assume the two of you have a lot to discuss and finalize so please get the hell out of my room so that I can catch up with people I actually care about.” He was pissed at Ellen and Oscar, but he still loved them. He figured his lecture with Matthew would help them pull their heads from their asses.

Matthew smiled softly at the two hospital employees. “Also, President Luna was holding back due to health issues. I can promise you one of us will uphold his threat.” He said politely watching the man in the suit scurry out of the ICU room like a rat.

He felt his phone vibrate and saw that Cash was waiting outside the locked door with Ellen, Oscar, and Zahra.

“Adrian, would you mind letting Cash into the ICU. I need to have a conversation with Alex’s parents. It is getting close to lunch, why don’t you try and find Alex and grab lunch with him. I don’t think he wants to be privy to the lecture I’m about to give.” Matthew teased the surgeon softly. He did not plan on going easy on Ellen and Oscar.

“Sure thing. I’m probably going to drag him to Lorenzo’s it’s an Italian food truck owned by my wife’s family. It also tastes better than hospital food. Why don’t I send you the menu and we can bring you both back something for lunch.” Adrian said as he sent Matthew a copy of the menu.

Rafael smiled at the thought of actual food that wasn’t prepared in a hospital kitchen. “Yes please. Matt will text you our order. Thanks for not forcing me to eat bland hospital food.” He was thrilled to hear that. He’d take what he assumed would be good pasta over turkey and gravy or whatever the hell the hospital considered to be room service.

Adrian nodded and left the room to let Cash and Alex’s parents into Rafael’s room. He watched them walk into the room that was currently being guarded by Amanda. He grabbed his phone figuring it would be easier to text Alex instead of going on the hunt for him.

Alex’s response was almost instantaneous that he’d meet him at the main entrance. He also texted Paige to sneak away from the hospital with them. It was a rare occasion when they could all do lunch together. His texting, however, was interrupted by the voice of Karina.

Karina smiled at her second favorite trauma surgeon. “I haven’t seen Alex much today, is he okay?” She questioned softly wondering where her favorite surgeon was.

“He’s fine. Do you want to join the three of us for lunch?” Adrian figured she’d know what he meant by the three of them seeing as how she was one of Paige’s roommates.

“Lorenzo’s?” Karina asked curiously.

There was a part of her that wanted to stay and hopefully overhear the gossip outside the ICU room, but she also wanted to catch up with her friends and figure out what exactly was going on with Alex. She saw the trauma surgeon nod and she grabbed her fleece jacket from the back of her chair and zipped it up over her wine-colored scrub top. She followed Adrian out of the ICU and into the bank of elevators.

Alex took the stairs from the top floor two at a time until he exited the stairwell on the main floor and walked to the lobby which is where he told Adrian he would be. After a wonderful video chat with Henry, he was feeling a lot less emotional. He was still emotional they were just better controlled.

He saw Paige waiting by the door to the main entrance. Her long blonde hair was pulled into a braided ponytail, and she had her signature knit pink jacket zipped over her scrub top. He wondered just how many embroidered pink jackets she owned. He was sure that if the hospital would allow it, she’d be wearing bright pink scrubs into the OR.

“Hey!” He said, feeling her arms wrapped around his torso. “So, I heard from Mac Duggal and on our next day off we have a meeting with him for you to try on whichever dresses you want. Yes, that does include the one you sent me.” He had gotten the Instagram DM a few days ago but forgot to mention it because he was getting his ass kicked in every single direction and talking to Henry jogged his memory about the wedding.

His to-do list was full. He needed to call Bea for advice on what to get Henry for his birthday. He needed to spend a day with Paige that would involve trying on dresses, shoes, and whatever else she dragged him along for. He needed to call the hospitals and discuss contract opportunities on top of working over eighty hours in a single week. His schedule and to-do list were starting to feel more ridiculous than when he was FSOTUS.

Paige hugged him back tightly. “Thank you. I appreciate you doing that for me. Adrian told me that the idiot CEO threatened you with termination over not wanting to put your name on the line to appear for a press conference. What a douchebag.”

“He did. I threatened him right back with an investigation into all of Bellevue’s residency programs.” Alex proudly explained he wouldn’t go down without a fight and he was certain the CEO would not be winning that fight. He was raised by lawyers and had an unhealthy knowledge of residency programs and the governing boards.

Adrian smirked as he and Karina joined Alex and Paige. “He doesn’t have to worry about the idiot CEO. Rafael and Dr. Edwards sat the idiot straight, it was fun to watch. Where were you hiding Fratello? Paige told me she checked the basement, and you weren’t at the usual hiding spot.”

“If I told you, it wouldn’t be my secret spot anymore. Would it?” Alex teased. “I was reviewing emails and decompressing. Wait a second did you just say Dr. Edwards sat the idiot CEO straight?”

“I did. I should have videoed it for you, it was incredible. I think he’s really pissed that he is going to lose you to another hospital. Rafael also told the CEO to let me out of my contract and told them to forget Paige ever signed her contract. So boss, where are we going? Adrian questioned linking his arm with Alex.

“Let’s discuss our options over lunch.” Alex suggested, feeling Karina softly hug him. He knew that she’d be tagging along as a nurse she wasn’t under a contract and her resume and skillset spoke for itself.

“Do you feel better?” Karina questioned as the four of them made the two-minute walk over to Bellevue South Park where Lorenzo’s Italian Food Truck was parked. It was a smaller park by NYC standards, but it had picnic tables, so it was a popular lunch spot in the warmer months with the staff members of Bellevue and employees of the surrounding area.

“I do feel better.” Alex admitted to his favorite nurse. He felt so much better after the over hour-long video chat with Henry and then Adrian had told him that Rafael had laid into the idiot CEO.

He briefly wondered what Matthew was discussing with his parents, but he didn’t have long to think because soon enough Paige was suggesting they take a lunch selfie together. He found himself in the middle being sandwiched by his best friend behind a random tree. It was a happy photo of the four of them. They were all smiling and happy to be spending lunch together, it was a rare occasion when they could all have lunch together. Paige had them approve of the photo that she posted to her Instagram, and she tagged the other three with their handles. She also sent the photo to the other three while they waited in line.

Adrian was scrolling on his phone and liked their photo together. He saw that Alex and Karina had already liked it. He was the oldest of the three of them and sometimes he seriously felt like the dad friend keeping his three children in line. It probably didn’t help that he and Amara actually had a baby.

The four of them ordered their lunch deciding to split an order of their famous mozzarella sticks. Alex went ahead and preordered Rafael and Matthew’s order. He also went ahead and ordered something for both Cash and Amy. He knew both of them were focused on their job and he wanted to return the favor of making sure they ate, since back in medical school sometimes Cash and Amy had to physically separate him from his iPad to get him to eat.

He took his container of spaghetti with meatballs over to the picnic table his friends were sitting at. He slid over his phone so Adrian and Paige could both look at his email full of contract opportunities. He looked at his three friends who were more like his family at this point in his life.

Paige was his best friend throughout medical school, she included him with the other students and during group study. They had been with each other throughout medical school, residency applications, and both cheered happily for each other during their Match Day when they realized they’d still be together for residency, just in different specialties.

Paige had grown up in Smoky Mountain area of Tennessee and was a cheerleader for her four years at Vanderbilt. She was the textbook definition of a bubbly blonde who made friends with everyone. It was rather ironic that she chose anesthesiology as her specialty. She had said it was because her best friend wanted to be a surgeon and she wasn’t the surgeon type so she chose a specialty where they could still work together.

Karina joined their group a little later and had earned the respect of everyone on the trauma ICU floor. She was a badass nurse having graduated from Rutgers. She was after all a Jersey girl, like Paige she was a competitive cheerleader and was also a college cheerleader while getting her BSN from Rutgers.

Shortly after moving to New York, she called off her engagement to a cheating douche. She also realized it was impossible to live alone in NYC on a nurse’s salary alone, so Paige invited her to rent out her third bedroom.

She soon found herself moving in with Paige and shortly after adopted a fluffy orange kitten to soothe her broken heart. She had wanted to name him Dorito but after showing everyone the photos of the kitten Alex suggested she name him Nacho since he looked like melty cheese. She agreed and thus the orange kitten became Nacho.

Alex had been the one to suggest she had an autoimmune condition and after a particularly bad week of pain. He ordered her a ton of labs and he was the one to sit her down and tell her she had Rheumatoid Arthritis, she had cried because she wasn’t even 30 but it was nice to know what was causing all her symptoms. He let her cry on him and then Paige and Alex accompanied her to her first rheumatologist appointment.

Then there was Adrian, his brother in all accounts. It was his first week of residency and they had been assigned a trauma and that was the first death on Alex’s watch. Adrian had dragged him to the basement, and he was expecting a lecture but instead Adrian sat on a stretcher and hugged Alex tightly.

He explained the golden rule of residency that it was a marathon not a sprint and if Alex continued to be balls to the wall, he’d burn himself out before the first year was Over. That was also the night Adrian threatened to sedate him, the first of many. They had covered each other ass more times than the average human could count.

From that night when Adrian held Alex as he cried over his first patient loss explaining they’d get easier with time they became brothers. It was something Alex didn’t have a lot of male friends or a brother. Sure, Liam was like a brother, but they grew apart after the no homo blow job and Ellen getting the nomination for president. Their relationship had mended, and he was Liam’s best man at his wedding to Spencer, but it still wasn’t as strong as it was when they were in high school.

The four of them chatted eagerly about the opportunities. Alex found himself calling the recruiter for both New York Presbyterian and Mass General putting them on speaker so Paige and Adrian could overhear as they ate their lunch. Both had a similar program to what he and Adrian were used to in that it was both a level 1 adult and pediatrics program. They also seemed interested in Adrian and Paige. A few recruiters didn’t even want to discuss his friends, so he scratched them off his mental list.

The hospitals also seemed to like Alex and didn’t just want him because of his family name. They wanted him because he was a damn good surgeon who had more than proved himself. He would make sure he followed Henry’s advice because damn did the prince give him good advice.

Karina was a nurse and wasn’t under any contract so she could and would follow them wherever. She was an excellent nurse with the skills and bedside manner to back it up. She also had a shit ton of trauma nurse certifications so she could work at any hospital.

Right now, they were all leaning towards New York Presbyterian since it was still NYC just a different part of NYC. They had all scheduled a tour on their next days off. They also scheduled a tour of Mass General.

Alex’s to-do list was starting to look intimating even for him. It was late February and he wanted to have his signature on an attending contract by his birthday. April would be Bea’s wedding and trying to tiptoe around spending the appropriate amount of time doing touristy things with Paige along with trying to spend time with his boyfriend.

Chapter Text

“I love you.” Matthew said as he gently sat down on the left side of the hospital bed. He was trying to be extra gentle with his husband. He tenderly kissed Rafael’s lips ignoring the obvious bad breath. Rafael had a nasal cannula helping to get air into his lungs since the right lung had been shredded by a bullet.

He pulled up the menu that Adrian had just sent him and leaned in close so that they both could read the menu together. He intertwined his fingers with his husband’s fingers. He was downright terrified the moment he heard the sounds of gunfire and saw the first bullet pierce his husband’s abdomen.

His blood had gone completely cold, not even realizing that Amanda had dragged him off the stage. He watched in horror when Rafael’s white dress shirt became soaked in his blood, and he screamed trying to claw at Amanda to get to his husband.

He had done plenty of research while waiting for news in the waiting room turned presidential command center. After reading what he had read he honestly thought he’d be planning the love of his life’s funeral. He would forever be grateful for Alex and Adrian; he knew those two were the reasons he still had his husband alive by his side.

“I love you more.” Rafael said gently squeezing his husband’s hand. He felt Matthew snuggle in closer to him and he was grateful that he didn’t have to move. He barely glanced at the menu, and everything looked and sounded delicious, he was actually quite hungry.

He saw Adrian outside the door, and he was curious if he was on any food restrictions. He figured he wasn’t otherwise Adrian would not have suggested it. “Hey doc, am I on any food restrictions or can I eat whatever?” He asked the surgeon curiously, afraid to get his hopes up.

“You can eat whatever you’d like.” Adrian said softly smiling warmly at the president. He was rather chill and laid back like Alex when it came to the diets of patients.

“Just let Alex or I know if you start feeling nauseated afterward. We can give you something to help the nausea. Before I leave for lunch how is your pain level?” He questioned entering the room to allow Rafael’s visitors to enter the room. He usually didn’t approve of having this many visitors in a room at one time, but it was for the POTUS so he would look the other way.

Rafael smiled hearing that he could eat whatever his heart desired and that was all that mattered at this point. “I’m okay on the pain.” He admitted with a shrug.

He felt like he had been hit by Air Force One and driven over by his own motorcade, but he figured that was normal. He also had tubes, wires, and catheters occupying just about every part of his body, it was quite an annoyance. He smiled seeing Cash walk into the room and hand his husband an overnight bag.

“I’m going to go ahead and put in an order for it pain meds in case you change your mind while Alex and I are at lunch. If you do decide you need pain meds just hit the nurse button and a nurse will be in to give you the med.” Adrian said as he looked at Rafael’s vitals and he quietly left the room with a wink.

Cash smiled at his friends. He was a bad agent because he cared too much about those he was assigned to. Alex thought of him as an uncle or an older brother, and when he was assigned to Rafael it was hard not to strike up a friendship with the other man and his husband. He was like Alex in that he also had a caring too much problem when it came to those he was sworn to protect.

“I figured you might appreciate a change of clothes and the ability to freshen up. Amy is watching the peanut gallery so you can change and freshen up first. Zahra wants to know where the hell Alex has disappeared to.” Cash remarked softly as he leaned into the hospital bed and gave Rafael’s left shoulder a comforting squeeze. “You have no idea how happy I am to see you awake and alive.”

Rafael reached his left hand up to squeeze Cash’s hand. “How’s your shoulder? Alex said you got clipped. I’m alive because of your quick thinking. You held pressure and called Alex while Amy barked orders at all the other idiots.” He might have been half delirious, but he remembered Cash holding pressure and Matthew stroking his cheek telling him that he couldn’t die.

Cash smiled softly he knew what to do since he was Alex’s agent throughout medical school. He would never be a doctor but those three years with Alex made him excellent when it came to first aid. “My shoulder is just fine, barely even a scratch.”

“Hey Matt, I’m going to give you about five minutes to freshen up and then I’ll everyone back for their ass chewing.” Cash had been waiting for someone to finally call Zahra out on all the bullshit she had put Alex and June through. He left the ICU room having made sure the curtain was tightly over the glass allowing Matthew privacy to change.

“Thanks Cash.” Matthew said softly setting the overnight bag onto the chair he had been sitting in. He had just started unbuttoning his dress shirt when he heard his husband utter the words ‘holy shit.’

He quickly turned around expecting his husband to be doubled over in pain, instead he saw his husband’s phone pulled up to a photo of June snuggled up next to a tall blonde Australian man wearing a khaki work uniform.

“June is dating Robert Irvine a wildlife vet from Australia, not only is he a vet but his dad is the Crocodile Hunter and his family own the Australia Zoo. He’s also won awards for his animal and nature photography. She will be following the family and writing several articles about their work towards animal conservation.” Rafael said giving his husband the highlights of the Instagram post.

There was a photo of the two of them on a date at Warrior Restaurant, a photo of June wearing khaki while petting a Sumatran Tiger, a photo of June with his parents Steve and Tammi and she was feeding a baby crocodile, there was a photo of June next to his sister, Kalina and Kalina's daughter, Grace, playing with kangaroos. 

“I know it is early in Australia but I’m going to FaceTime her. You know she’d love to watch us tear Zahra a new one.” Rafael said pulling up her contact information and hitting the FaceTime button.

June answered after a few seconds. Her dark hair pulled up in a top knot and she looked tired. He assumed she hadn’t slept because she was worried about him, or Alex had already woken her up. He knew she’d do anything for her brother, and it would be nice to have her on their side since she knew everything.

“Raf!” June cried seeing her uncle’s face in her iPhone camera. “I’m so happy you are okay.” She said, he of course looked tired and his eyebags had eyebags, but she figured he wouldn’t look fresh off the runway having been shot and having had her brother pluck bullets out of him.

She rarely saw Alex that upset and the times she had she could count on one hand. He had Facetimed her from the roof and had told her that his residency position had been threatened. He was the one who knew about Robert from the very beginning back when she started covering the bushfires.

She had watched a young koala fall out of burning tree and she scooped the koala up in her arms and took her to makeshift animal hospital and the veterinarian that was open was none other than Robert.

While taking care of the ridiculously cute koala and him calling the koala the cutest pet names they chatted about coming from famous families. He loved his family, and it was clear with one conversation that he had the same fire and passion Steve, Tammi, and Kalina had for animals. After that first meeting, he had asked her out for coffee.

That coffee date turned out to be more than just a coffee date because he asked her on an official dinner date. After a few more dates in between helping out anyway they could for the bushfires he asked her to visit Australia Zoo and meet his family.

Matthew quickly changed out of his dress clothes and into the worn tee shirt and soft joggers that Cash had packed for him. He stuck his head into the camera’s view. “Hey Junebug.”

“Matt, I assume you are the reason Alex was so emotionally put together during our video chat. Did that prick of a CEO really threaten to terminate my brother’s residency program? I’m not above coming back to the states just to shove my high heel up someone’s ass, or stick a crocodile in his office.” June said she was tired, but she was worried about Rafael and her brother. It was days like today that she hated being fifteen hours ahead of New York.

Matthew raised an eyebrow. “No, I was watching Rafael tear into the CEO and Alex’s program director. I assumed he would have called you to vent.” He muttered if Alex hadn’t talked to him or June first then who was the one responsible for Alex’s emotions. That was a conversation that he would file away for later.

“Anyway, it is nice to hear that Alex seemed fine to you emotionally. Raf actually called because I’m about to tear into your parents and Zahra for emotionally neglecting Alex and he figured you might like to hear it.”

“Hell, yeah I want to hear it!” June said excitedly, she had been wanting to have this conversation with her parents for years. “Let me just go outside by the pool so I don’t disturb Robert although he’ll probably be awake soon for his morning swim.”

Matthew smiled and sat on the edge of the hospital bed. “As a therapist and your uncle, I am required to ask if he treats you decently and with the respect you deserve.”

“Alex has already had that conversation with Robert but thank you for checking on it. Robert is a perfect gentleman, and he treats me like he treats his animals. His entire family are absolutely wonderful with their love and treatment towards me.”

“He better otherwise I’ll fly to Australia and kick his ass for you.” Rafael said with a happy grin. He loved and adored Ellen and Oscar’s children. He felt his friend needed a wake-up call when it came to his children before they cut their parents out of their lives completely.

“You’d send Cash for that, and you know it.” She sassed playfully sitting along the edge of the pool and dipping her feet into the water.

June sometimes thought that Rafael had been a better parent to Alex than their own had been. He was at least emotionally available for them, gave them endless support and was protective of them. Cash and Amy had been better parental figures to Alex. Hell, she had been the one to raise Alex while they were in Texas.

She had been in college, and he was excelling through high school. She had been the first person he showed his impressive SAT scores too. She had sat next to him on his bed as he opened up acceptance letter after acceptance letter. She loved her brother more than anyone else in the world. Robert was quickly becoming a close second.

Her brief relationship with Nora and Pez felt like a lifetime ago. There were no hard feelings between the three of them. Nora was still her best friend and Pez still had all the best gossip including how happier Henry seemed. Alex also seemed a little happier too, she thought it was because he was almost finished with his residency.

“June, I’m going to put my phone on my chest because Cash is walking in with everyone for our meeting.” Rafael muttered, setting his phone on his chest to see Oscar walk in behind Cash and give him a warm brotherly smile and he felt Oscar gently squeeze his hand.

“It is good to see you alive hermano.”                                           

He might have been pissed at Oscar but damn it if he wasn’t his friend and his family member at this stage of his life. He remembered late night conversations in Dirksen with Oscar about upcoming bills and live changes. Oscar was his brother and father figure all wrapped into one.

Oscar was the first person he talked to about his budding relationship with Matthew and when that progressed to marriage, he had been his best man. He was the one he told when he wanted to run for President after Ellen’s term ended, he was of course nothing but thrilled and supportive about the idea. Rafael would have made Oscar his Vice President if not for certain constitutional rules prohibiting it.

Ellen and Zahra were next to enter the room with Amy bringing up the rear and shutting the privacy curtain.

“Why have I been summoned? I was also told that Alex would be here and yet he isn’t. Seriously for a doctor he is bad about checking on his patients. I have seen more of doctor whoever the fuck his name is than I have Alex.”

Matthew smiled and pointed at the two chairs and couch in the room. “You’ve been summoned for a family meeting. I suggest you have a seat we have a lot to cover before Alex gets back from lunch. Also, as you eloquently put it doctor whoever is Dr. Adrian DeLuca, an attending trauma surgeon and Alex’s version of Oscar.” Matthew had seen those parallels between Adrian and Alex it was very similar to Oscar and his own husband.

“Dr. DeLuca graduated from Columbia University and was the Chief Resident before it was passed to Alex. Have you put any thought into why you’ve seen more of Adrian than you’ve seen Alex.”

Rafael smirked softly he loved it when his husband took charge of a situation. “I can. Alex had to operate on me, and he knew the odds were stacked against me for survival. He was asleep on that very couch when I had blood and whatever else pooling around my heart. Alex snapped into action and was the one to drain the blood and shit from whatever it’s called. He’s the doctor, not me. That’s the best I can explain it.”

“All I know is that it was fucking terrifying and Amy had shoved Matthew into another room. Alex was absolutely exhausted and emotionally constipated with the entire situation. Then the CEO and Zahra piled more onto it, not to mention he’s dealing with attending contract negotiations, and he had a pretty awful shift before I was brought it.” Rafael lectured he had learned about feelings and emotions from his husband.

“He’s somehow finding time to fuck someone.” Zahra sassed she had noticed the hickeys. “So, he can’t possibly be that busy if he still finding the time to get his dick wet.”

“Also, I believe Matthew gave you all an order to fucking sit down.” Rafael said barking at his friends who quickly scrambled to sit somewhere in the room.

He wasn’t even going to comment on what Zahra had just said. He might have been in a shit ton of pain and high on pain meds, but he distinctly remembered Alex telling him that he was in a relationship, and he knew Alex wasn’t the type to sleep around despite what Zahra might have thought or expected.

Cash and Amy had already sat next to each other on the couch, they were here to corroborate everything since they had been primarily assigned to Alex, and like Matthew and himself they knew so much about Alex.

Zahra scrambled to take a seat on one of the empty chairs. She watched Ellen do the same and Oscar perched on the armrest of her chair. She also knew this meeting was probably going to be hell and she was not looking forward to it. It looked like time had finally run out and now all her carefully crafted manipulations were going to come to light.

“I know Matthew wants to start at the beginning but I’m going to start with some information that Adrian shared with me last night. Alex is the first chief resident at Bellevue to be a Mexican American in any specialty, and the fact it is in a surgical specialty is downright impressive.”

“Adrian also confessed that Alex is the only reason Matthew isn’t planning my funeral. Adrian has seen other attendings struggle with aortic dissections and shredded lung lobes. He also said that Alex was solo with Prince Henry.”

“Alex was meant to be a doctor and nothing anyone in this room says can convince me otherwise.” Rafael paused a took a greedy sip of water; his throat felt dry.

He noticed Oscar digesting what he had just said, of course he was catching on the quickest. He loved Oscar but even he could admit like Alex he sometimes had his head firmly shoved up his ass.

Rafael sat down the cup of water wishing it was coffee with a dash of cinnamon and looked Ellen, Oscar, and Zahra angerly.

“Alex has always had a target on his back, and it is nothing short of a miracle that Alex hasn’t been threatened or actually terminated from his residency program before now. Adrian told me that when Alex started his intern year, he was put on prostate exam duty. The attending had said he should have fun with that since he was bisexual. He has faced homophobia, racism, xenophobia throughout medical school and early in his residency and he took it took it like a champ letting it all roll off his back.”

“Adrian told me the odds have always been stacked against Alex actually becoming an attending trauma surgeon. He’s both a Claremont and a Diaz so they set extreme expectations of him. He’s bisexual and there are more LGBTQIA identifying doctors than there are Hispanic and Latino doctors. Alex had Nora figure the odds for him and he was ten times more likely than any of his coresidents to be dismissed from residency because of his ethnicity, sexuality, and having you two for parents.”

“He’s been put through residency hell to get to where he is now. We all sat at his white coat ceremony watching happily but only a few of us truly supported his choice.”

“Now which one of you idiots is responsible for Alex going to Georgetown over Harvard?” Rafael questioned his voice was angry at his friends and he wanted to know who to hold responsible.

He remembered that night in Denver shortly after Christmas when he asked if Alex had gotten an acceptance letter yet. He watched the kid eat a handful of tropical skittles and lean forward on the ugly carpet his ankles linked together.

“I actually received my acceptance letter from Harvard they want me to play lacrosse for them. I got into Harvard! I want to study biology and go onto medical school. I love my parents, but I don’t want to follow in their footsteps.” Alex had said excitedly, throwing a skittle into the air like it was a piece of confetti.

He noticed the way Alex’s lit up when he talked about Harvard, he knew the kid was incredibly smart. He remembered pulling the kid in for a bone crushing hug and telling him how proud he was.

It was New Year’s and Alex was back to discuss campaign strategies, the two of them were flicking skittles at each other. “Are you getting excited to graduate high school and move to Massachusetts?” Rafael questioned watching the light dull in his chocolate brown eyes like he was trying to hold back tears.

“I’m actually changed my mind. I’m going to Georgetown to study government. Turns out working on this campaign with you has inspired me to be like my parents. I want to go to law school and I want to be a politician and help people.” Alex looked defeated and heartbroken as he said those words.

Rafael knew it was a complete load of horseshit, he had been a lawyer long enough to know a load of shit when he heard it or saw it. He knew that was not Alex’s goal. He didn’t call Alex out on it, and he should have. He should have hugged the kid and made him tell him what the fuck was going on. He could have stopped it all before it began.

“I’m sorry, did you just say my mijo got into Harvard?” Oscar asked tears springing to his eyes. How did his friend know, and he was just finding this out. He had heard the jokes from the other politicians that had gone to Harvard. Harvard rejects you; you don’t reject Harvard.

June pipped up through Rafael’s phone she had heard enough and now it was her turn to get the biggest secret of Alex’s off her chest. “Pa, Alex was accepted at University of Pennsylvania, Duke, and Harvard all to play lacrosse. He’s always had a fire under his ass for no damn reason and everything that he loved he jumped straight off into the deep end.

“Ma, he always knew you would be president, so he was wanting his college to be close to you. He didn’t want that school to be in the backyard of The White House. It’s funny because Alex didn’t even apply to Georgetown, he had zero interest in politics until Zahra got ahold of him.”

“Sure, he was student body president and on the debate team and was freakishly smart when it came to science and history.  I wonder who applied to Georgetown on his behalf. She did so she could keep an eye on him and have the Claremont’s be exactly like the Bushes. She was molding Alex into being a political pawn.”

“Zahra forced us all to be political show ponies. I couldn’t write the articles I wanted to write; it was always fucking politics or fashion. She’s the reason we lived in The White House, those damn focus groups ruined any chance Alex had at a normal college experience.”

“He couldn’t go to parties, he couldn’t go to study groups, he couldn’t have college friends, he couldn’t play lacrosse. He never got to do anything under her watch. Why? Because people loved the idea of you and him being democratic Bushes. Alex was attractive and it drove the young voters wild, she knew exactly what she was doing making us pawns to get that young vote bloc.”

“If Alex and I knew what she had planned for us as First Children we never would have supported you as president. Obama’s children weren’t subjected to half the shit we were subjected to, they didn’t have to campaign for their father. No other First Children had to do what we did.”

Ellen felt like someone had smacked her across the face when her daughter said the words, we wouldn’t have supported you if we knew. Her stomach was in knots, her babies had gone through emotional hell because of her ambition. Her son had given up his choice of college to be her pawn. Something she was completely unaware of.

“Cash had said Alex couldn’t play lacrosse because of the security risk; he damn well could have played if Zahra didn’t trot us out all the damn time for public appearances. It was those public appearances that made certain citizens upset and made Alex and I targets because of it. Mostly Alex because he looked the most like pa.”

“Alex and I have always had a target on our back because of Zahra.” June was starting to cry and that is when she heard the sliding glass door open, and Robert walked out to her wearing nothing but board shorts. She would personally never get tired of seeing him shirtless, years of wrestling animals bigger than him certainly made him deliciously fit.

“Morning love.” He whispered softly as he brushed away the tears with the pad of his thumb and kissed her hair. “Family drama?” He questioned sitting down next to her linking his large hand with her smaller hand.

“Morning babe! I hope I didn’t wake you up with my ranting.” She said putting her head against his bare shoulder. “It’s actually a family meeting.” She muttered adjusting her phone so he could see a bit of it. He could make out a hospital room and figured it was Rafael and her parents. 

Robert smiled and grabbed the waterproof speaker so June could still be part of the family conversation. She had told him about Zahra and about Alex and she didn’t tell him to go back into the house, so he assumed it was safe to hear the conversation. He watched her remove her long tee shirt and plop into the pool.

“CJ are you with someone?” Oscar questioned her phone suddenly showing the Australian sky. He heard a plop and the sound of water splashing. He also heard a man’s voice with an Australian accent call his daughter love. Whoever it was sounded like they cared a great deal for his daughter. He couldn’t even be upset with June not telling them about him.

What the hell had he missed in his children’s lives. Alex had apparently gotten into Harvard for undergrad and Zahra forced him to give it up. June was dating some mystery Australian man. Alex had hickeys all over his neck and he was being tightlipped about it.

Hell, he couldn’t even blame his children. He felt like the shittiest father and like the typical Mexican stereotype. Oscar felt Matthew place his phone into his hand and it was pulled up to his daughter’s Instagram with photos of her and the mystery man.

The mystery man looked familiar, but he couldn’t place the familiarity. He was distracted by how incredibly happy June looked in the photos. She had a twinkle in her eye that he hadn’t seen in years. His brain was screaming that he had failed his children.

“CJ why didn’t Alex tell us about Harvard and the other schools?” He figured he knew the answer and that answer had dark hair and looked hilariously uncomfortable sitting in her chair with Amy’s hand holding onto her so she couldn’t run away. Amy and Cash didn’t even look surprised at everything that had been discussed.

“Zahra said that you were both incredibly busy with the campaign to discuss college options with him and that you would both be proud if he went to Georgetown. I moved into The White House to keep being his parent because he needed me.”

“Zahra would have destroyed my brother if it hadn’t been for the support Nora, and I provided.” She said as Robert gently rubbed her back as the tears dotting her eyes fell into the pool. It was cathartic to get everything finally off her chest, but some things were hard for her to tell their parents about.

That was what broke Oscar. “I would have happily discussed college options with Alex. The fact that he was accepted into Harvard is wow.” He was gripping the other arm of the chair tightly trying to keep himself from getting out of it and yelling Spanish at Zahra. He now understood why Alex looked devastated the day Harvard rejected him from their medical school. Alex had seen Harvard as the one who got away, the one he wanted, but could never have.

Matthew sat on the edge of Rafael’s hospital bed and looked at Alex’s family. “I’ve been Alex’s therapist for seven years. Alex has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder also known as ADHD, the ADHD makes it hard for Alex to express his emotions and sometimes they become all-encompassing causing his emotions to dysregulate.”

Zahra got up out of her chair and stared down at the therapist. “Alex does not have ADHD, I think anyone would have recognized the signs, besides ADHD is something teachers suggest to parents of problem children. Alex is too smart to have ADHD. I also find the concept of Alex being in therapy for seven years highly unlikely. You are the only white man in this room and are making some big accusations. I’d tread carefully if I were you.”

Amy got up and directed Zahra back to her chair; she heard Matthew’s laugh, and it sounded cold and hollow.

“I’ve been a therapist for over twenty years. I think I know how to diagnosis ADHD.” Matthew muttered he wasn’t going to mention the white man comment he was used to it as Rafael’s husband.

“I’m not questioning Alex’s intelligence or his ability as a doctor, because if I had any doubt in Alex, Rafael would have had another trauma surgeon. I respect Alex and everything he’s overcome at the hands of some people in this room.”

“Alex having ADHD does not make him stupid, it means his brain works differently and because of it he struggles with his emotions. It is perfectly normal and plenty of highly successful people have ADHD. Why don’t I tell you the story of what made me become Alex’s therapist.”

“Alex was on his psychology rotation and the psychologist he was working with asked Alex if he had ADHD and he didn’t know how to respond in fear of being kicked out of medical school so, he texted Rafael since he knew he was dating a therapist. I didn’t want to see Alex, but Raf wore me down. So, I agreed thinking it would be simple and I could answer the questions he had about ADHD.

“Two hours later and Alex was having a full-on breakdown in my office about Miguel Ramos and the trauma being outed caused him. That day almost destroyed my relationship with Raf. Raf started to accompany Alex to his therapy sessions to get to the bottom of what happened with Miguel Ramos. I’ve gotten permission from Alex to tell you everything. Alex has PTSD from what happened with Miguel and being outed in the manner he was.”

Zahra stood up again trying to advance on the therapist. “Let me fucking remind you your husband had a hand in Alex’s outing.”

Rafael glared at the former Chief of Staff. “I asked for Alex’s permission, and it was just supposed to hint to the idea. I did not know that Miguel was going to use that rumor to cruelly out Alex. Had I known then what I know now I’d have gone about it differently.”

He had asked Alex if there was anyone who had a vendetta against him and he never said Miguel Ramos, but to be fair the kid did have a lot on his mind, and he might have chosen not to remember what happened. He’d never fault Alex for what happened, and he tried to protect Alex the best he could in the aftermath.

Matthew took a deep breath figuring he better do most of the speaking since he knew Rafael’s past with Jeffery Richards. “Miguel Ramos is ten years older than Alex. Alex was barely eighteen the night it occurred.” He heard Ellen gasp and saw Oscar’s fingers gripping the edge of the chair. It looked like yet another think Zahra hadn’t been honest about.

Ellen looked green and she quickly reached for one of the blue baggies hanging on the wall next to her and promptly emptied the contents of her stomach in it as one of Oscar’s hands rubbed her back and the other grabbed her hair to keep her from getting bile on it.

She gapped like a fish at the therapist and finally turned her attention to Zahra Bankston, her best friend and trusted confidant. She was reminded of a young graduate fresh from Howard that wanted to change the world with another likeminded southern women. She had begged Ellen for a spot in her first campaign, she had known Alex and June since they were little and was now learning horrible things that she had covered up for the sake of her campaign and making sure she was reelected.

“Please tell me that asshole didn’t touch my son.” Ellen finally said tucking her head into her husband’s shoulder, actually afraid of the answer.

Matthew bent down in front of the chair Ellen was sitting on and his knee popped in protest. “I’d consider it attempted sexual assault. Let me tell you the story since I know Alex would rather not relive past trauma.” He said softly as he patted her knee and stood back up to sit in front of her on Rafael’s bed.

It had taken a while to get Alex stable and having come to terms with Miguel and the outing and he didn’t feel like triggering Alex if it could have been avoided.

“It was at a campaign event. Miguel was covering your campaign and he had flirted with Alex, I’m guessing, to try and get information on the family. He’s always been a slimeball. Alex was good about ignoring it, until Miguel brought him a drink.”

“It wasn’t Alex’s first taste of alcohol and he thought he knew his limits. Miguel kept supplying Alex with drinks until Alex was heavily inebriated that he didn’t know what was happening. Let me remind you that drunk people cannot properly consent to a sexual encounter of any kind.” Matthew would happily preach about consent until he was blue in the face, he’d argue that if consent wasn’t obtained it was a form of sexual assault.

“Miguel took Alex out of the event and to a private hot tub, stripped him out of his suit and suggested they talk in the hot tub. Only Miguel decided to press Alex up against the edge of the hot tub and was passionately kissing him and pawing at him. Alex eventually came to his senses and realized what was happening to him and pushed Miguel off of him, put on his pants and found June.”

Ellen looked at Cash, her eyes narrowed into slits. “And where the hell were you when that was happening?”

“That was before I was his agent. I wasn’t assigned to Alex at that time.” Cash admitted sadly tangling his fingers with Amy’s for support. That night was before they were assigned as Alex’s agents.

“That would have been the time Wyatt was Alex’s agent. You don’t want to know what I would have done to Miguel. I was disgusted when I found out what had happened.”

“That never should have happened to Alex. Anway, he found me, he was frantic and drunker than a skunk. I took him to my room to keep him safe from the predator journalist and nursed him through a bad hangover.” June growled out as Robert gently rubbed her bikini covered back.

Matthew sighed and squeezed his husband’s hand. “Miguel soon began to stalk Alex and every single article he wrote somehow mentioned Alex. He was one of Alex’s biggest critics, he wanted Alex and couldn’t have Alex. Then when Richards campaign planted the seed that maybe the reason Ellen and Oscar fought so hard for LGBTQIA rights was because one of their children was LGBTQIA.”

“Miguel saw that as his moment and destroyed Alex by outing him and it made Miguel look downright innocent through it all. He caused Alex so much pain and suffering by having to admit on national fucking television that he was bisexual.”

“Instead of protecting Alex, you protected the abuser by giving him exactly what he wanted. You also made Alex your political pawn and pandered to the LGBTQIA population to win that voting bloc.” Matthew said harshly his voice had a cutting tone to it. He had quite the opinion on manipulating a marginalized population to get votes.

“Oscar, did you know Alex was worried that his abuelo and abuela wouldn’t support or care for him once he announced his sexuality to the word? He wanted to be the one to tell them privately not having them find out by national news.” Rafael said looking over at his friend.

Oscar finally started to cry at the news that his son was afraid of his parents not loving or supporting their Nieto. His parents were devote Catholics but at the same time were progressive and where his mom was from had been one of the first to accept gay marriage even before they did in the states, but he could understand his son’s apprehension.

His heart felt like it was breaking he had made his son go through the Miguel situation alone and the abuser of his son got away while Alex faced the repercussions of being rejected from the medical school and being outed before he was ready to come out as a bisexual.

“I’m not trying to tell you two how to be a parent, but you should have done better instead of letting Zahara control that narrative. You should have talked to Alex about Miguel. If Alex was my child, I’d have made Miguel rue ever becoming a journalist and made sure he couldn’t publish another article, the only writing he’d be doing is a McDonald’s menu.” Rafael said flatly.

“Instead of that happening, Alex had to face the backlash and Miguel was free to still write political articles and try and flirt with men to get info. He wanted the scoop on Jeffery Richards and went after me. I saw his predatory behavior up close. I went to work for Jeffery Richards campaign to create awareness and bring justice to a disgusting lying predator.”

Ellen looked at Rafael trying to digest everything she had heard. It felt like there was a lump in her throat. “Let me get this all straight. My son got into Harvard and was told by my chief of staff to attend Georgetown instead. During one of my campaign events he was cornered by Miguel Ramos who tried to pray upon Alex. Then out of spite outed my son as bisexual and instead of telling me his mother, it was all covered up.”

“Fuck! What else don’t I know about my children.” Ellen said dabbing at her tears with a scratchy hospital tissue. “Did June or Nora have a secret pregnancy while I occupied the Oval Office?”

June’s laugh could be heard from Raf’s phone. “Absolutely not!” She thought about telling her parents about her relationship with Nora and Pez but decided against it. She wasn’t about to give her parents a heart attack.

“I need the two of you to make me a promise that you’ll be more interested in our lives. We might be adults, but we still need our parents. I don’t want this to happen again because if it does happen, I’m done. You won’t get any updates about my life and what you do see will be my carefully planned Instagram posts. You will not get a second chance or another parental intervention.” She didn’t bother to look at her parents’ reaction to her words.

Oscar looked at Ellen and the two shared a knowing nod. This intervention had been terrifying for them. “We promise mija. No more secrets and no more lies. If you or Alex have something to tell us, we want you to tell us. We want to be in your life.” He was full on crying; he would uphold that promise to both of his children.

He looked at his friend in the hospital bed and he felt hurt that his best friend knew more about his own son, but at the same time he only had himself to blame. He was glad that Rafael had been the Tio his son needed in his life.

Ellen squeezed Oscar’s hand lightly and looked at Rafael’s phone. “I Catalina, I promise you too. I want you to know how proud I am of you and Alex.”

She grabbed her phone and sent Shaan a lovely text message she knew it was dirty play, but she was so upset with Zahra that the least she could do was make her feel a tiny bit of the pain she had caused. Once she sent the text message, she got up from the uncomfortable hospital chair and strutted gracefully over to Zahra’s chair.

“Tell me they are lying. Please tell me June, Matthew, and Rafael are lying to us.” Ellen said, trying to not let her voice betray the pain she was feeling.

“I wanted to be President, I did not want my children to be political fodder and have the color of their underwear splashed across the fucking New York Times. I want an answer as to why you did what you did.”

Zahra swallowed hard seeing Ellen looking at her like she was a piece of dogshit she had stepped in. She had deeply hoped that everything she had done wouldn’t see the light of day. She didn’t really have a good explanation outside of it was fucking hard being the first female chief of staff to the first female president.

Ellen’s administration had shattered the glass ceiling, and her main goal was keeping Ellen elected. It was so hard because they judged women so much harder than they did men and she was determined to prove them wrong by making those hard sacrifices and not telling her boss because she knew Ellen would never be okay with it.

She swallowed down her pride and looked at Ellen with tears in her eyes because her manipulation was going to cost her a dear friend. “I was caught up with proving everyone wrong. I am truly sorry Ellen.” Her pride and ambition had always been her biggest fault.

“I honestly can’t even look at you. Get the hell out of my sight. I have a lot of soul searching to do about our friendship and making amends to my children.” Ellen muttered watching Zahra get out her chair and head for the door but before her fingers touched the handle her phone was ringing.

Zahra grabbed her phone and her heart sunk all the way into her feet seeing Shaan on the caller ID. She answered it only for her own husband to tell her he needed some time to think about their marriage and that he was going to take the children with him to London for Henry’s birthday. She supposed she deserved it.

She had agreed with Shaan when they got married that she would be done with politics, and they would not raise Devon and Delilah in that environment only for her to run headfirst into trying to fix an attempted assassination and try to control Alex who had apparently found a therapist who saw right through her bullshit. She sighed she would not cry in this room about Shaan.  

June smiled at Robert and linked their pinkies together in the water. “Would you like to meet my parents?” She whispered far enough away that her phone could not pick up their voices.

“I’d love to.” He wasn’t nervous, especially after the conversation that he was just privy too he was honestly terrified of June’s brother who had known about them since he met June and that koala.

“Ma, Pa, Rafael, and Matthew I’d like for you all to meet Dr. Robert Irvine zoological veterinarian, and my boyfriend.” She said showing him in her phone camera and kissing his cheek softly.

Oscar stared at Rafael’s phone screen his daughter was dating The Crocodile’s Hunter son. He didn’t know what was more shocking to him, his daughter dating a famous Australian or his son making out with a damn Prince of England. He knew his children didn’t do anything half assed.

“Nice to meet you.” He muttered it felt incredibly awkward to be meeting CJ’s boyfriend after everything he just leaned about his children. He wasn’t even going to bother with the typical dad lecture, he figured Alex had beaten him to that argument and CJ was an adult and she could date whomever she pleased.

“Yes, it is nice to meet you.” Ellen was still trying to grasp everything else. She and Oscar would make a trip to Australia to officially meet Robert. She didn’t even know June had a passion for wildlife conservation then again, she was learning all kinds of things about her children today.

“Well, we should get going for the day. A Sumatran Tiger is going to have cubs today and I get to write about their birth, who knows maybe they’ll let me name one of them. I’m glad that your still alive Raf.” She said disconnecting the video chat.

Oscar looked at his friend in the hospital bed. “I owe you one hell of a thank you for watching over Alex all these years and having his back. Why did you tell me about Harvard.”

Raf softly sighed he was wondering where Alex was with his food. His stomach was starting to think his backbone looked appetizing. “Honestly, I was afraid of overstepping over the line of friendship. I didn’t want to insinuate something and lose you as a friend and father figure.” He looked at the hospital blanket as he said that.

Oscar shed a tear over that confession. He wished Rafael had told him, but he could understand why he didn’t. So, Alex having ADHD does make a lot of sense. He must have gotten it from me, God knows I can focus during senate meetings.” He tried a joke since you could cut the tension in the room with a knife.

“Nah, they are just boring as fuck.” Rafael sassed, giving Oscar a pained smile.

“Can I be completely honest with you? You should have talked to Alex after he was outed, if I was the parent in that situation, I’d have hit Miguel with a cease and desist the size of the Washington Monument.”

Oscar stared at Rafael in complete disbelief, since when did his friend have good advice on parenting; and when did he miss Rafael becoming a second father to Alex, not that he minded. Fuck he was scared to let his thoughts wonder of what would have happened if Alex didn’t have Rafael and Matthew in his corner.

“I don’t want to disappoint CJ or Alex again. Matthew, I don’t suppose you want another Diaz in therapy?” He questioned the therapist he needed to work on his emotional availability. “Maybe some family counseling for El and I?”

“Not really no.” Matthew half smiled letting them know it was mostly a joke. He knew that he had long crossed the ethical line with Alex then again, he had always had a weird relationship with Alex even before he became Alex’s therapist, and they were over the hard parts and Alex had come to terms with everything and was usually emotionally stable.

“Why not.” He still upheld his licensure in Colorado and Washington although at this point, he wasn’t going to sugarcoat anything with Ellen and Oscar they had fucked up in his eyes and why he still respected them for everything they had done for his husband they had a long road in front of them to amend things with their adult children.

“Why don’t we start now.” Matthew suggested sitting on the hospital bed and looking at Ellen. “I know you worry about who your children are dating but at the same time both June and Alex are adults and at this point in their lives they are dating to find the person they might marry.”

“We have all seen Alex’s hickeys, but after everything he went through with Miguel and being outed. He’d like to keep that person a secret and we need to respect that decision and not pressure him into revealing who they are before he is ready for his relationship to become public fodder.”

“Oscar, you should have let Adrian look at your shoulder. It would have been more helpful for Alex’s emotions if he knew you didn’t actually have a bullet lodged in your shoulder. Not to mention it would have made one less thing for Alex’s to-do list and he wouldn’t have spent Rafael’s surgery worrying about your damn shoulder.”

“I was so concerned with his hickeys that I missed the fact my son was suffering with the pressure of being Rafael’s surgeon and dealing with contract negotiations. I should have stood up and argued with that prick of a CEO when he threatened to terminate my baby, instead I let Zahra manipulate me into thinking the press conference was a good idea.” Ellen cried putting her head into her hands she had brand new perspective on her son today.

Oscar looked at his wife and held her close to him. “We both made mistakes when it came to Alex. He needed us and we were so focused on the assassination that we missed his spiral. It wasn’t fair of us to neglect talking to him and hugging him. You aren’t the president anymore and I’m not a secret agent.”

“We owe everyone in this room a huge thank you for watching over our son all these years. I’m lucky to have such good friends who care about our children like they would their own.” He said dabbing his eyes with a scratchy hospital tissue.

Rafael felt his phone vibrate and saw it was a text message from Alex wondering if it was safe to interrupt with the food. “Alex is bringing everyone lunch so try and look normal and for the love of fuck do not smother your son with your love. Apologize and let him come to you, I do not need my food being scared away.”

Oscar and Cash’s laugh both filled the room and that is what Alex was greeted by when he slid open the glass door with Karina in tow.

“What’s so funny?” Alex questioned setting down the bags of food on the overbed table. He noticed Zahra was missing from the group, but he was not about to question her absence.

“Raf is threatening us because he is hangry.” Cash teased getting up from the couch seeing names written on the box. He grabbed his and Amy’s food and they also had a shared order of mozzarella sticks. “Thanks Alex.” He said, handing Amy a fork.

Karina came into the room and saw entirely too many people in Rafael’s room. She smiled warmly at them and handed Alex the syringes of medication for Rafael. “Hi guys, I’m Karina, the charge nurse of the trauma icu. I just handed Alex your afternoon medications. Let me know if there is anything I can do.” She said leaving the room and pulling the curtain closed.

“She’s also a great friend.” Alex muttered, washing his hands and pulling on a pair of gloves and grabbing a saline flush from the cabinet.

“So, I’m going to give you ondansetron it will help with nausea and since you are about to eat a big meal it could potentially irritate your stomach. You also are also on hydromorphone for pain and that also has the side effect of nausea.” Alex explained flushing the PICC line and pushing the two medications through the PICC line.

Alex discarded the gloves and put the overbed table in front of Raf so that he could eat in comfort. He also opened the tropical skittles water flavor packet and shook up the water bottle. “Figured you might like something other than plain water.”

“You do love me.” Rafael muttered opening the package of utensils and attacking his ravioli and downing the skittles flavored water.

“I do, also after lunch you are going to get an echocardiogram just to make sure the fluid isn’t collecting in your pericardium.”

“And the moment is ruined. So how was lunch with your friends?” Rafael teased he had noticed that Cash and Amy had left the couch open for Ellen and Oscar with space for Alex.

“We spent it working discussing opportunities and talking to headhunters. New York Presbyterian and Mass General would love to have the five of us.”

“Five of you, I thought there was only four of you?” Rafael said confused he might have been in pain and uncomfortable, but he was pretty sure he could still do basic math. Alex, Paige, Adrian, and Karina made four not five.

“Adrian’s wife is also a doctor. She’s an ob/gyn. He’s making sure she eats and discussing things over with her. We are all leaning more towards New York Presby, the pay is excellent for all of us, the CEO is an actual doctor, so they understand the decisions we all make daily, and the vacation days are perfect.”

Ellen sat her food down on the arm of the couch. “Darling, I owe you an apology for last night. I didn’t mean to pressure you or feel uncomfortable. I realize now that you more than anyone deserve privacy in your relationship.”

Alex hugged her tightly. “I’m not going to lie ma, that really hurt. It seemed like you cared more about that than I how I felt. I was concerned about pa’s shoulder and those questions were invasive and uncomfortable. I’ll tell you who I’m dating when we are both ready.”

Ellen led Alex over to the couch and put him between her and Oscar. “We love you so much and are so very proud of everything you’ve accomplished. Same with June. What are your thoughts on Robert, she let us meet him over a video chat.”

Alex smiled at his mother. “I like him, and I approve of that relationship. It is obvious he loves my sister. We’ve had plenty of video chats together and he has my support to date my sister even if it means I lose her to the Australian time zone.”

“He also understands the famous aspect of her life and she understands his. He loves her like he loves animals, even if I have seen some photos that have made me want to report him to PETA because he and June were making cow eyes at each other over a kangaroo. His family also loves her to pieces.”

“Do I want to know how long she’s been dating him?” Oscar questioned.

“Enough they’ve said they love each other, and she has asked to bring him to my residency graduation. I know she also plans to go back to Australia once the Olympics are over.”

“Have we figured out who shot Rafael yet?” Alex asked, looking at his father. “Was Cash’s theory, correct?”

“What theory? Well do we know who shot me?” Rafael asked dropping his fork into the takeout container he was engrossed in this conversation.

Cash got up from his chair and sat opposite Matthew on the hospital bed. “You know the agent, Buck? The one who’s been assigned to Richard Royce?” He saw Rafael nod his head.

“Buck has a brother, and they formed an assassination plan. The plan was Buck was going to say he and Royce had a disagreement and asked to be moved to your campaign trail. They formed a plan to do it in NYC. Buck had been assigned to clear that particular building and his brother was already there waiting. They have both been dealt with by the FBI, CIA, and the USSS. Their plan was for you to die on that stage. Then they’d go after Stephanie.”

“They both were stupid and thought they could get away with it. I seriously wanted to throw a history book at them. Seriously there hadn’t been a successful attempted assassination since Regan. Did they think I’d be stupid enough to not check out the secret service agents first? That was my first thought after getting you to Alex safely was that it had to be an inside job.” Cash said softly and gently to the president and his friend.

“Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley, Roosevelt, JFK, Regan, Luna. Such a small list but you know exactly what they all have in common.” Rafael said flatly squeezing his husband’s hand. He was alive and the idiots had failed in their attempt, but it made him worried for the future. Royce’s side wanted him dead, and it was not a comforting thought. In fact he considered giving up sleep because he knew if he did get any sleep it would be plagued with the worst nightmares. 

Alex tapped his badge to the chief resident on call room. His parents had recently left Rafael’s ICU room to go get some sleep at the hotel, so he had taken a quick break to take a shower and call his sister.

He sat down on the edge of the bed to video chat with his sister. Henry had texted him that he could tell June that they were dating. It was only fair since all of his siblings knew and Henry trusted June.

“Hi little brother are ma and pa freaking out about me and Robert?” She teased him playfully and she really didn’t care what her parents thought.

“They were both curious about him. I told them he was pretty awesome. That’s not why I called you though are you alone?”

“Robert is in the shower.”

Alex took a deep breath she was the first person he got to talk to about his relationship Henry, and he was expecting her to freak out about it. “You know how I said I was in California touring hospitals? I was not in California I was in Paris with my boyfriend. I’m in a relationship with Henry.”

June’s chocolate brown eyes were the size of saucers. “As in Prince Henry?” She saw him nod his head.

“Oh, my fucking god! Tell me everything about Paris and who else knows about your relationship? Please tell me I’m the first.” She said bouncing excitedly this was more exciting than watching a Sumatran tiger give birth. “About fucking time. What did Bea lock you in an ICU room and he couldn’t come home until he kissed you again.”

“No, I overheard a conversation between Henry, Bea, and Tom that I shouldn’t have heard and then I confessed my feelings to him, and he asked me to Paris, and before Paris I might have spent the night in his hotel room when I went to remove his staples. All of his family already knows about us. The Queen of fucking England has given me her blessing to date her son. Philip also supports the idea.” Alex said listening to her scream.

“Philip fucking knew before me.” June cried going outside and sitting on the lounge chair she figured Robert would be getting out of the shower soon and she didn’t want him to overhear this conversation. She trusted him but this was a sibling conversation.

“Yeah, he did. He actually seems like he’s changed and is now accepting of his family. I’m sorry June but I’m telling you now. Paris was amazing his mum surprised us with booking out the Eiffel Tower and then he took me on a river cruise with some amazing hot chocolate.”

“I don’t care that he’s changed Alex, I’m your older sister and you should have told me about Paris before you went. Now for the love of all that is holy you had better send me cute photos of you and Henry looking all cuddled up on the Eiffel fucking Tower right this instant.” She paused for a moment feeling her vibrate from a text message.

She pulled up the texts and smiled to herself. Her brother and Henry looked so in love with each other and to think that night on the Eiffel Tower was their first actual date with one another. “God, you look so in love with Henry.”

“No different than the photos I’ve seen you with you and Robert. I’m pretty sure you’ve sent me a picture of the two of you making bedroom eyes at each other over an innocent zoo kangaroo. I almost wanted to call PETA.”

“Oh, my fucking god you might actually break the internet the moment you two announce that relationship. I can see the headlines now. Are the Claremont-Diaz children secretly unamerican since they both fell in love with men outside their own country.”

“Like I give a shit about what the media has to say about me. I like Henry.” Alex saw her bitch please stare and yeah, he did more than like Henry. He was in love with Henry. The phone calls and video chats had made him realize that.

“Okay, I love Henry and I’m pretty sure he loves me. He doesn’t want me because of my last names, or because I’m a surgeon. He wants Alex even the worst parts that only you and Matthew know about. He’s the reason I wasn’t a blubbering mess during our video chat. He fixed my emotions and understood where I was coming from. It was really hard not to tell him that I loved him while we were in Paris.”

“June, I hate to talk about my feelings but I’m looking forward to telling Henry everything. I want to be in his strong arms and have zero secrets between the two of us. I finally have my chance to be with him and I’m not going to mess it up. He deserves to know that Zahra was like Queen Mary and constantly controlled our every move. Speaking of how’d our parents take Matthew’s news?”

June smiled listening to her brother. “I am so happy for you. I know how long you’ve been hopelessly in love with him. I’m glad he’s been in corner the past few days while you’ve been dealing with horrible emotions over Rafael. I thought Matthew was the reason you weren’t a blubbering mess. You told Henry about the press conference and the termination threat and now you want to tell him about Miguel. You really do love him. Holy fucking tigers!” She said putting a hand over her mouth in shock.

“Oh, ma and pa are horrified, and ma tore into Zahra. I also gave them the ultimatum of being more emotionally available or I’m done. I’m done with the secrets, and I’m done with the lies. They either want to be our parents, or they don’t.

I’ll be coming back to the states for your residency graduation for the Olympics and for the Steve Irvine Gala which supports the Australia Zoo and wildlife conservation but once that is over, I’m coming right back to Australia. If Robert and I are still dating I’m going to give my resignation to The New York Times. I already have an offer for the editor-in-chief of Crikey! And a job at Australia Zoo.”

“Those are some huge steps for you.” Alex admitted he’d be sad to see his sister move to Australia permanently but there was no denying the smile on her face and the sparkle in her eye. He felt the same way when he was with Henry. “I’m so immensely proud of you.”

“I’m proud of you too. I should go back inside before Robert wonders where I’ve wandered off to. I love you little brother. You are the best. Tell Henry hi for me.” She said disconnecting the call and dancing back into his house.

“You are happy.” Robert said putting his arms around her and dancing with her. “Good news?”

“Yeah. Alex called to tell me he was in a relationship. Like I couldn’t figure it out with all those hickeys on his neck. I’m happy for him. He also said ma and pa were more present today and that they love us and our proud of us. I know it is baby steps, but it is a start.”

“That is good news. I love you.” He said picking her up and spinning her around the living room.

Alex quickly called Henry to give him the update that he told his sister who freaked out about the news. Henry told him that Shaan would be in London and that he needed to decompress. He was also bringing Devon and Delilah with him to London.  Alex didn’t have a problem with Shaan, and he knew Henry had great respect for him, so it would be fine if Shaan knew they were dating.

Chapter Text

Alex sighed as Foxtrot One made its descent on the South Lawn of The White House. Raf had personally sent what was better known as Marine One to NYC to collect him for his post hospital follow up.

Foxtrot One was the call signal for the family of the president, which meant that Raf and Matthew considered him to be a part of their family. The familiar feeling was mutual because he considered Rafael and Matthew to be his uncles.

He had released Raf from the hospital a week ago. He was going to quickly check over Raf and Matthew and then quickly sneak out to catch a private flight to London to be with Henry.

Rafael had asked him to bring along his final contract offer from New York Presbyterian along with his friend’s contract to make sure they had the best opportunity to advance their surgical careers.

From his brief knowledge of contract law, he personally knew the contracts were much better than anything Bellevue had offered, Still, he wanted the president to review them, and the fact that Raf had suggested it to him was perfect.

The last thing he wanted was for a contract to deliberately screw over him or his friends and for their skills to be grossly undervalued.

On their day off from work he and Paige had a friend’s day out to meet with Mac Duggal for her to try on dresses for Bea’s upcoming wedding. Paige had found a perfect dress to wear that would make her fit in with royal society. He had the easy part of reusing the tux he wore to Philip and Martha’s wedding and getting a tie to match Paige’s dress.

He wished that instead of taking Paige to the wedding that it was Henry. However, he knew that couldn’t happen since they had already been the scandal of one Royal Wedding and neither of them wanted to make Bea’s special day all about their new relationship.

They also weren’t at the state in their relationship where they wanted to be public and have all eyes on them. Besides, it wasn’t like they were a total secret, most of Henry’s immediate family knew about them. He, however, had only told June about his relationship with Henry.

He knew that Pez would know soon since he wouldn’t miss Henry’s birthday for anything in the world. He knew Pez would be supportive about their relationship, but the moment Pez knew about them he’d tell Nora, and she would want to know everything and yell at him and June for keeping the secret from her of all people.

It had been years and people could and did change, but it was still weird to think that Philip and Martha of all people were supportive of his developing relationship with Henry. Philip had texted him the other day and they had a civil and enjoyable conversation, two words he thought he’d never use to describe a conversation with Philip.

His parents had stayed a few extra days in New York to try and make up for lost time; and to talk about how Zahra had forced him to reject Harvard, Miguel’s attempted sexual assault followed by the cruel outing done by the same douchebag.

He wouldn’t say that their relationship was healed, in fact he’d describe it as someone trying to use a bandage to cover a giant trauma wound. He could tell that they were trying to be better parents to him. They were also getting more involved with June and wanting to know all about Australia and her efforts in wildlife journalism.

His emotions still hadn’t regulated back to normal, they still felt mostly threadbare. His emotions hadn’t felt this bad since his first year of residency when his chief resident at the time was determined to break him.

He was more than ready to get on the private jet that would take him to London and to Henry. He loved their deep phone conversations, but in less than twenty-four hours he would have his lover wrapped in his arms, and he couldn’t wait for that moment.

He hoped that aa week in London and with Henry would reset his overworked and overemotional brain since the last few weeks had literally been hell.

He had enlisted Bea’s help with Henry’s birthday gift, and with her suggestions, he had gone to a fancy stationary store in Brooklyn to find the perfect gift. He was now Henry’s boyfriend and he had standards to maintain, and he wanted it to be a special gift from his heart.

He glanced over at Amy who was busy making a chunky knit blanket for Savannah, her daughter. Amy had volunteered to be the one to fetch him from New York and join him for the helicopter ride. Cash was still cautious of which agents he left alone with Rafael and Matthew otherwise he would have gotten Alex himself.

“This feels so much like old times. How many times have I sat here and watched you knit, crochet, or cross stitch. We are just missing Cash and his crosswords to feel complete again.” He teased as Amy put away her knitting project into her bullet proof case.

“It really does feel like old times, only I have two perfect children and you are almost a trauma surgery attending. I’m so proud of you. You are the best person they could have assigned me to.”

Alex got out of his chair and hugged Amy after she said that she was proud of him. He wouldn’t admit it, but her praise personally meant a lot to him. She had been the one to give him the best pep talk after being rejected from the Ivy League medical schools.

They both jumped away from one another as they heard the sound of the helicopter door being yanked open. Cash appeared in their field of view a huge smile plastered to his face.

“I didn’t know we were getting the band back together.” Cash teased while he helped Amy from the helicopter.

“Alex, Renegade and Rocky are in the solarium. I would assume you can find your way their just fine.” Cash joked playfully, he was pretty sure that Alex knew his way around The White House better than anyone and that he had found secret tunnels and passageways during his time as a resident.

“Aren’t you going to pat me down first?” Alex teased and stuck his tongue out at Cash.

“You know, I’ll save that task for whomever is leaving you hickeys. I’m sure they’d love to pat you down in more ways one than one.” Cash joked with a smirk on his face.

“Not to mention if you were going to kill Renegade, you’d have done it in the hospital and not in The White House. I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t have gone to medical school and wasted all those years of your life studying, just to assassinate someone you consider to be a parental figure.” Cash explained looping his muscular arm around Alex's neck giving him the standard buddy hug.

Alex was still impressed with Cash’s ability to read people even after spending close to a decade in the agent’s company. The first time Cash had done that in his presence deeply unnerved him, now he just embraced that as Cash’s personality trait and one he valued.

“Can I ask for your detailed report on how Raf is actually doing after surgery?” Alex questioned his former agent.

“Raf is feeling shitty after his surgery, but I really expected that with everything he’s been through. He’s terrified of loud noises, if someone so much as drops a fork in his presence, you’d think he just saw the ghost of Ol’ Abe. He won’t let Lucy out of his sight or go anywhere outside without her in tow.”

“He’s fatigued, he can’t make it a full day without needing a small nap. I just hope you have some good news for him.” Cash muttered hoping that he would get to hear Raf stop complaining about the constant oxygen.

Alex looked at Cash and sadly shook his head that Cash would not be getting his wish. Raf’s lung function, more specifically the lung lobe that was shredded by the bullet was less than ideal and he would not be taking Raf off the oxygen, however, he would be able to take out the surgical staples.

Cash was telling Alex that when it came to new agents, he’d tell them that Lucy’s real name was Lucifer and to not get on her bad side.

Lucy was Raf and Matthew’s Belgian Malinois who failed out of military training. She looked threatening but she was anything but, especially if you knew that the way to her heart was with a belly rub.

They had adopted Lucy right before they moved into The White House. Rafael had wanted to adopt a Yorkie and make the secret service tote her around on a pillow or in a handbag, but Matthew had quickly vetoed that idea that it would be considered cruel and unusual punishment and suggested Lucy instead of the purse Yorkie.

Alex expertly navigated his way through the residence and soon found himself outside of the solarium door. He placed his palm against the door remembering the life-changing decision he made in this room, which was to apply to medical school instead of law school.

Now here he was with just a few months remaining in his trauma surgery residency, it was clear to him that he made the right decision all those years ago.

Raf and Matthew were sprawled out on a linen couch with a view that overlooked Washington DC. Raf was reading a confidential file and Matthew was typing away on an iPad. Lucy was asleep on Raf’s hip, and she perked up hearing voices outside the room.

“Hey Lucy.” Alex said watching her bolt from the spot on the couch and pad over to him for a belly rub. He knew the way to her heart was with a belly rub and dog cookies.

“I know you think I came all the way here just to give you belly rubs, but I actually came to check on your papa, can you please let me in?” He said taking off his backpack so she could give it a good sniff. He laughed softly watching Lucy sniff every inch of his NYU backpack with little medical pins that his friends had gotten him over the years.

“Hey y’all.” Alex said cheerfully draping a strap back over his shoulder and pulled over a nearby chair so that he could sit in front of Raf to discuss the results of his pulmonary function test and to remove the staples in his chest and abdomen.

“Hi Alex, how are you?” Matthew said closing the case to the iPad and sat it on a nearby coffee table so that he could focus on what the trauma surgeon said in regard to how his husband was healing. He took the confidential file that Raf was reading and sat it on his iPad.

“Pretty good all things considered. How are you and Raf doing?” Alex asked politely sitting down on the chair.

Raf smiled hollowly at his surgeon and his friend’s youngest child. He honestly wasn’t doing well after his attempted assassination. He was jumpy, constantly exhausted, and he especially hated having the oxygen shoved into his nose.

“I hope that you have some good news for me and that I can ditch the constant oxygen in my nose. I’m starting to feel like an old fucking man here. I also hope you remembered to bring me contracts to review. I’m tired of staring at senate meeting notes of fuckers arguing.” Raf complained in a joking manner, although he wanted nothing more than the remove the damn oxygen canula resting in his nose.

Alex stifled a smirk when Raf said that he felt like an old fucking man, he did understand where Raf was coming from with hating the oxygen. Raf was in his late forties and still fit and mostly healthy. His lung lobe just happened to be shredded by a bullet and because of his prior history as a smoker it meant the lung was taking a little longer to heal. He was optimistic that in a few weeks he’d be able to tell Raf that he could ditch the oxygen.

He took a deep breath and grabbed the contracts from his backpack and handed the four of them over to Raf. “The contracts, I promise it is void of notes of fuckers arguing.” Alex teased playfully allowing a few moments laughter before giving Raf the news regarding the oxygen.

“Raf, I’m sorry but your numbers from your pulmonary function test does show that you need to remain on the oxygen for a little longer. It’s to be expected with you being a former smoker and having a dissected aorta on top of it. You barely missed the mark for me to take you off the oxygen, I’m hoping after a few more weeks with oxygen and allowing that lung lobe more time to heal.”

Raf nodded his understanding to Alex, to be honest he kind of expected that after how hard the test had been on him. “You are just full of good news aren’t you kid?” He said sarcastically not that two more weeks of oxygen would be the end of the world.

“I really am sorry Raf, I know it wasn’t the news you had hoped for. Let me give you some better news, I should be able to remove your surgical staples.” Alex said offering the president a small smile and grabbing his stethoscope from his backpack and putting the ear tips into his ears.

“Do you mind if I listen to your heart and lungs?” Alex watched Raf nod his permission.

“Any recent shortness of breath or feelings of your heart beating faster than usual?” He questioned trying to figure out how his friend was healing after having an aortic dissection and a lung lobe shredded by a bullet.

“No.” Raf said feeling Alex’s hand on his shoulder while he moved the stethoscope around his chest it was oddly familiar. He had deduced from recent conversations with Oscar and Cash that he was one of the few who fully supported Alex’s decision for medical school from the very beginning.

“Good.” Alex smiled and placed the stethoscope into his backpack. “Your heart sounds perfect, no murmurs or anything abnormal. Do you want to lift your shirt for me so that I can see how your incisions are healing. Your staples are probably ready to come out.”  

Raf lifted up his tee shirt to where the staples ended and leaned back on the couch and used his husband’s lap as a pillow and intertwined his fingers with his Matthew’s. Lucy’s head was resting close to his leg and keeping a close eye on the door.

“I was thinking I could send Amanda on a food run if you have time to stay for dinner, it has been a while since we’ve done that.” Raf suggested, he was also hopeful once the topic of conversation wasn’t Raf’s medical issues that Alex might slip up and tell them who he was dating.

“You know I still have your damn Five Guys order memorized.” Alex teased grabbing the staple remover from his backpack and placed it on his chair as he got up from the chair to visit the solarium bathroom to wash his hands.

He leaned against the bathroom wall and checked his phone and saw a text message from Ben, Henry’s equerry.

Ben: Alex, there has been a bit of a flight delay. It will now be 1800 before I can meet you at the prearranged spot.

Alex poked his head out of the bathroom and looked at Raf, Matthew, and Lucy cuddled up on the couch. He knew that if he stayed for takeout that it would inevitably turn into a therapy session or Raf would question him further about the hickeys on his neck or that he was dating someone. He hoped that Raf didn’t remember that conversation while in the trauma bay.

“I can and will stay for dinner, so long as it isn’t Five Guys.” Alex teased with a playful wink seeing their faces light up that he was willing to stay and catch up, and that he wasn’t going to just remove the staples and call it a visit.

“Hell no! It’s not going to be Five Guys; I was going to suggest District Taco.” Raf suggested he’d honestly be fine with pizza. It would just be nice to spend some time with his friends outside of a fucking ICU room and have a conversation with Alex outside of him poking and prodding at him.

“That’s fine with me.” Alex muttered, District Taco had been a food truck back when he attended Georgetown for his undergrad, and it was also a popular spot with his dad and Raf back when they were both senators.

“Let’s see how your incisions are healing.” Alex pulled on a pair of gloves and gently ran his fingers over the incision on Raf’s chest examining the incision.

“Your skin has healed quite nicely. Are you ready to get your staples out?” Alex questioned seeing a smirk cross Raf’s face.

“Fuck yes I am.” The stupid staples had been getting caught on his tee shirts and he was ready to have them out.

Alex opened the packaging and pulled out the staple remover and held it in his dominant hand. “It shouldn’t be painful to have your staples removed, but you do have a lot of staples and skin does grow into the staples and when that happens it can be little tender. If you need a break from removing your staples let me know, okay.” He watched Raf nod.

Raf felt his husband’s hand gently squeeze his own. He was forever grateful that the universe decided to give him Matthew, sometimes he truly thought he didn’t deserve the other man whose lap was being used as his pillow. He squeezed the hand back silently communicating with each other, the squeeze meant that he loved him.

“Did I tell you that Queen Catherine has personally called to check on me?” Raf asked testing the waters to see if he could get a reaction out of namedropping Henry’s mother. He noticed Alex’s facial expression was neutral at the mention.

Of course, Alex’s expression was neutral Raf was the current sitting president who had an attempt on his life and Catherine was the Queen of England. It was about as juicy as Raf telling him the current weather outside.

“I’m excited for Princess Beatrice’s upcoming wedding, aren’t you?” Raf questioned, watching to see if that would be the question that broke Alex’s mask.

“I am excited, although I think Paige is more excited for it. She gets a free trip to England and an excuse to wear a formal dress and rub elbows with Tom’s more famous friends.” Alex teased; he was more excited about spending the night in Henry’s private quarters instead of the five-star hotel in Hyde Park where the rest of the wedding guests were staying.

“Speaking of Bea’s wedding, I don’t suppose you’d let Paige and I join you on Air Force One.” Alex asked softly, knowing that commercial tickets were expensive and considering it was the Royal Wedding he figured their private jets would be otherwise occupied and he didn’t feel comfortable asking that of Henry.

“Of course, you and Paige are more than welcome to travel with us anytime.” Raf let out a small hiss and squeezed Matthew’s hand, feeling Alex wiggling the stuck staple from his chest incision.   

“I’m sorry.” Alex said dropping the staple into the container with the ten other staples he had already removed from Raf’s chest. “Do you want a break?”

“I’m good.” Raf muttered making eye contact with Cash and Amy who had joined Cash on hanging out along the back wall of the solarium. “Can one of you please tell Amanda our order for District Taco?” He asked the agents politely.

“Hey, Barracuda, what would you like from District Taco?” Cash teased with a wink mentioning Alex’s old codename.

Alex just shook his head he was used to Cash’s teasing and that wasn’t the first time they had teased him about his choice for his codename. He was 17 and he thought it was cool to be named after a terrifying fish. Ellen had chosen Black Bear, Oscar was Badger, and June was Bluebonnet, he wanted to be funny and now they loved to tease him about that choice.

“I thought you acted more like a baboon at that stage of your life.” Raf teased with a wink and felt Alex pause on the staple he was removing and saw his shit eating grin.

“Do you want the staples out or not?” Alex winked and continued to remove the litany of staples from Raf’s chest.

“I’ll take the chorizo bowl, habanero salsa, tomato, jalapeño, lettuce, pico, grilled veggies, chipotle sour cream, cheese, queso, cilantro, onion, and guac.” Alex rattled off his order knowing that menu had been there since their food truck days.

He heard Cash repeat his order into the comms system as he worked to remove several more staples from Raf’s chest before finding another one that he had to fight to remove.

“I know, but hey on the plus side that was the last one from your chest. Do you want to turn a little on your side so I can get the staples on your side?” Alex instructed and helped Raf get into a comfortable position so he could remove the final staples.

“Are you still doing okay? You had a lot of staples and I just want to check and make sure you aren’t feeling overstimulated.” Alex questioned watching Raf for any signs of discomfort.

“I’m doing just fine. Please finish removing the stupid staples so that can we eat.” Raf teased feeling the staple remove against his skin after having Alex remove staples from three different places, he felt like a gutted fish that was seriously lucky to still be alive.

Alex pulled out the last staple from Raf’s side and placed it into the container. “You are staple free.”

He gently traced a finger over the incision to make sure the skin was healing like it should. He was also making sure that he hadn’t accidently missed a staple. Once he was satisfied that all the staples had been removed, he got up from his chair to dispose of the plastic container full of surgical staples.

He came back to the chair and looked at Raf. “How has your sleep been?” He questioned softly noticing Matthew just shaking his head sadly.

“Do you want my lie, or do you want my honesty?” Raf asked the surgeon and his once mentee.

“I’d like your honesty.”

“I was shot in New York City of all places; it was a planned attack by a secret service agent and his family member and was brought to you with a ton of injuries. You just told me that I have to put up with this bullshit oxygen for another week or two and I’m scared of fucking everything. It’s an election year, I need to campaign, and I’m terrified to.” Raf reluctantly admitted looking at his husband, he was certain he qualified for a PTSD diagnosis.

Alex took Raf’s other hand. “You do have PTSD; I know because I had it. Here’s what I want you to do about it. Let your husband help you through it, he is a therapist. What happened should not have happened and yet it did. Matthew knows how to help you, let him help.”

“As for your campaign. You make TikTok videos with everything you’ve accomplished in your first term to appeal to the youth vote. Stephaine excels at mobilizing voters and when it comes to campaign rallies make them have mandatory bag checks with secret service agents Cash knows and would trust with his own life. You are a popular candidate that cares about his people. Royce is a wannabe dictator, and he will take away people’s rights. You are still polling well above him in all the polls that matter. You hit Royce back twice as hard.” Alex suggested he still paid attention even if his home was in an operating room.

Amanda walked into the solarium holding a takeout bag with District Taco’s logo on it. “Who’s hungry.”

“Hi Alex, how are you?” She asked as she sat the takeout bag onto the coffee table along with a bottle of Tajin and Cholula next to the bag. “Want me to grab you something to drink?”

“Water is fine.” Alex said to the agent and took his chorizo bowl and liberally sprinkled the Tajin and Cholula onto his dish. He watched Amanda leave the room and come back with water for everyone and after passing them out she disappeared from the solarium.

Matthew took the Tajin and Cholula from Alex and looked at the surgeon sitting in front of them. “Since Raf was honest with you can I get your honesty on how you are actually doing? June asked me during the hospital phone call if I was the reason your emotions seemed better. I know it wasn’t me, and it wasn’t June so who did you talk too?” He asked softly not wanting to anger Alex, but at the same time he wanted to make sure Alex was doing fine emotionally.

Alex roughly shoved a bite of food into his mouth. “I’m being honest right now. The hospital CEO threatening to fire me over not wanting to appear for a press conference was bullshit. Other hospitals want me and respect what I can do as a surgeon. Zahara’s opinion made it worse, but that’s Zahara for you. As for who I vented too, I’d rather keep that person private for now. I will tell you that you’d like them. I have a week off for a medical conference, so I’ll recuperate while I’m there.” Alex said, trying to make the lie believable.

He knew Henry wouldn’t care if he told Raf or Matthew that he was in a relationship or that he was the one he vented to and was the one who kept his emotions from dysregulating. Hell, he could tell them that he and Henry were friends, but he wanted to keep his relationship quiet for now. He liked having a mostly quiet life to allow him to sneak under the radar. He knew it wouldn’t always be like this so he was going to savor what he could.

“Matthew, I promise that you’ll be the first person I call if I’m not feeling okay emotionally. You’ve taught me great skills and it was your husband I didn’t want to worry you with the worst possible outcome that may or may not happen. You didn’t need me to pile my emotions on top of everything else.” Alex said taking another bite of food. He should have known the dinner invitation was so they could grill him. Had he would have politely declined dinner, regardless of how good it sounded.

Matthew nodded, he understood Alex’s perspective and he believed that he was being truthful and honest. “I’m proud of how fair you’ve come. You do know that you can always come to us without fear of judgement. We love you like one of our own.”

Alex ran his sleeve over his eyes and bit his tongue so hard he was tasting the metallic taste of blood. “I couldn’t have done it without you all. I hate to just remove staples, eat, and dip but I do have a flight to catch.”

“Want me to grab a car and take you to the airport?” Amy questioned Alex watching him dispose of his trash.

“I’m good, Ames. I have a driver already waiting for me.” Alex said hoping that she didn’t see through his lie, and they believed that he had a medical conference to attend.

Really, he’d be meeting Ben to take him to the airport where the royal family’s private jet sat waiting for him. He quickly gave Raf and Matthew a tight family hug ignoring their worried looks. He was a big boy and a doctor he could take care of himself. He felt Lucy giving his cheek a wet nose kiss.

“Are you sure, it’s not that far out of my way.” Amy suggested sharing a worried look with Cash. She wanted to protest further but Alex was an adult and they both trusted his decisions.

“I’m sure Ames.” Alex said, pulling away from Raf and Matthew and walking over to give Amy a tight hug. “Thanks for the offer though.”

“Just be safe, yeah.” She said watching him give Cash one of their bro hugs before grabbing his awaiting luggage and leaving the solarium. She waited a few moments until she knew Alex was out of earshot.

She watched Cash pull out his secret service phone and show her that Alex’s phone was no longer trackable when he could still track Ellen and Oscar’s location. June’s phone was showing her in Beerwah Australia and Alex’s phone couldn’t be tracked, hell it wasn’t even showing on the map for a secret service agent to find. She knew that he had declined the lifelong secret service protection as had June, but their phones could still be tracked in an emergency. It was like his phone had just up and vanished.

“Maybe the hospital’s IT department installed special software on his phone, and it is circumventing our software from finding his phone?” Amy whispered not wanting to draw Raf and Matthew’s attention to it.

“Is his hospital MI6 or another foreign government agency? I couldn’t track him in Bellevue either. I was hoping with him coming back into The White House that his phone would reconnect, but the only thing I can think of is MI6 level software keeping us out.” Cash remarked raising an eyebrow at Amy.

“Does anyone believe his load of shit that he has a medical conference to attend?” Raf questioned pulling up Prince Henry’s Wikipedia page and looking for his birthday. March 17th and the date on his phone said it was March 14th, that was more than a simple coincidence.

Oscar had mentioned that Alex was only able to get one day off for his birthday and that he had hoped they could take him to the Lakehouse and be together as a family. He knew Alex was finishing up his surgical residency and had inherited his parents’ workaholic genetics but still something seemed off to Alex’s story.

He sighed and rubbed at his tee shirt covering chest the ghost feeling of the staples remained. He would have loved to ditch the oxygen in his nose too but that had to wait longer because his body was a dick. “I really wanted to ditch the oxygen; it’s not fucking fair.” He whispered to his husband and really his whisper sounded rather whiny.

“I know babe, but Alex did say to give it time that your lung needs time to heal.” Matthew soothed rubbing soothing circles over his husband’s back.

“I’m worried about Alex he still seems a little emotionally checked out and he changed the subject when I brought up what June said in the hospital room. It wasn’t me and it wasn’t her then who was it and he changed the subject when I brought it up. I understand that Alex wants to be secretive about his relationship after being outed, but this is unlike him. He’s always been open and honest with us before.” Matthew whispered to his husband making mental notes of Alex’s behavior.

Raf kissed his husband’s cheek. “He didn’t deny telling me about being in relationship so at least that is a start.”

Cash leaned over the couch and smelled Lucy’s dog breath. “Alex’s phone isn’t connecting to the secret service software. Very few foreign governments have the software to circumvent this software, think MI6 levels of security.” He said with a wink showing Raf and Matthew the system that showed their own phones in The White House solarium.

“This confirms he’s dating someone important within the United Kingdom. I doubt Philip is having an affair, Bea’s happily engaged, I doubt Catherine is going to date someone her children’s age the same could be said about The Prime Minister dating someone her children’s age. That leaves Henry who has kissed Alex and whom Alex has admitted he had feelings for.” Raf said with a knowing smirk. June was dating Australian television royalty and Alex was dating a literal Prince of England.

“About time the kid pulled his head out of his ass when it came to Henry. Who wants to bet on when they finally announce that relationship to the world. I’m putting my money on Bea’s wedding; someone will post a photo of them kissing in a closet.” Cash remarked holding up $100 from his wallet.

“Naked in a closet is more like it.” Matthew joked to the lead secret service agent.

Raf thought for a second and knew instantly when they’d announce that relationship. “I’m putting $500 on Alex’s residency graduation, who’s the one person who was missing for all his other medical school milestones. If I were Henry, I’d want to be there to support Alex for that accomplishment. If it isn’t his residency graduation, I’ll be damned surprised.”

“I’ll also put $500 on Alex’s residency graduation. Henry loves Bea and he wouldn’t upstage her wedding not after ruining Philip and Martha’s cake. The next biggest thing is the end of Alex’s residency which would show the entire world just how important he is to Henry to be included in something that important to him.

Alex has always wanted to be a doctor to the point where he gritted his teeth when an attending or another senior resident wanted to break him. He said the deck was stacked against him and that will be his moment to prove everyone who ever doubted he’d do it wrong.” Matthew said he knew the suffering Alex had gone through to become the surgeon that saved his husband’s life. He knew that without Alex he’d be widowed.

“I’ll put $200 on Alex’s residency graduation as well. Cash you better be ready to lose your cash.” Amy teased with a wink aimed at her best friend and bumping her shoulder with his. She knew Alex and assuming the media didn’t get wind of the relationship news first they’d announce it as his residency graduation.

“I really should be getting home to my wife and children. Raf, Savvy and Austin told me they are glad you are feeling better.” Amy said and walked over to give Raf and Matthew a giant mom hug she gently pulled away from them before walking over to Cash and giving him an equally tight hug.

“I’ll see you for Sunday dinner, be safe.” She whispered, giving his cheek a quick peck before grabbing her crafting case and leaving them alone in the solarium.

Alex easily navigated his way through The White House until he passed The Oval Office, the flashback of his ma chewing his ass out over cakegate came flooding back. He had good memories and not so nice memories of his own time in this house. He quickly snuck his way out through The West Wing doors and saw the Eisenhower building. He placed both straps of his backpack on his shoulders and rolled his suitcase behind him on the sidewalk, it was a quick walk to get to Pennsylvania Avenue NW and GCDC which is where he’d be meeting Ben.

He navigated the private road that was reserved for those that had the security clearance and easily passed the security checkpoint and onto 17th Street NW. He sent Ben a text that he was on the way to him.

He tried not to think about how much he loathed DC and how much control Zahra actually had of his undergraduate life. He loved NYC and the freedom it offered him even if Paige was his only friend starting out in NYC as he walked next to the Eisenhower Building.

He made it to the intersection and crossed the street to Pennsylvania Avenue NW and walked the small row of stores and restaurants until he arrived at GCDC. He saw Ben sans sportscoat and Union Jack lapel pin. Ben honestly looked like any other staffer meeting a friend for dinner and drinks.

“Hey Ben, how are you? I see you are stuck with me this trip with Shaan back in town.” He teased, following Ben into the parking garage and putting his suitcase into the trunk of the Mercedes.

“I’d hardly call that stuck, believe it or not I actually like you despite the stories Shaan has told me about younger you.” Ben teased playfully shutting the trunk. He personally thought that Alex was good for Henry. “So, I have to pick up some grilled cheeses, do you want one as a snack later?”

“Thanks, but I’m probably going to crash the moment my feet touch the private jet, and I did have a big dinner.” Alex was lucky if he got the three recommended meals in a day, being a trauma surgeon meant he could be called to take care of anything, and a surgical case could go on for hours.

Ben raised an eyebrow but didn’t question further. Instead, he grabbed the car keys from his front trouser pocket and unlocked the backseat of the Mercedes for Alex. “I have to run in and get some food, I’ll be back ins five minutes top so if you want to wait for me here, you can.” He said opening the door to the backseat.

Alex slid into the backseat and grabbed his earbuds from his backpack so that he could listen to his podcast on his oral boards so he could mentally prepare himself for the questions they’d ask him during it. They could literally ask him about any topic, and he was expected to know it and the previous batch of residents said it was the worst exam they’d ever taken.

He had to pass both the written and oral exams to become a board-certified trauma surgeon. He was ready to be done with fucking exams and only have to take the required amount of continuing medical education needed for the year to maintain his licensure.

Ben came back and placed the bag of food onto the passenger’s seat and saw that Alex was typing away something on his phone. “You ready to go?” He asked, looking at the review mirror and saw Alex removing an earbud.

“I’m good. I figured I’d do some studying for my upcoming boards and crash on the jet.” Alex explained putting his earbud back into his ear and focusing his attention on his podcast and his notetaking although he only had fifteen minutes of study time because the Mercedes was pulling up to one of the private jets with the royal livery.

Ben watched Alex place the earbuds back into the case and put the case into his backpack. “I forgot to tell you, but you aren’t flying solo.” Ben no sooner said the words and watched Alex bolt from the backseat and up the stairs to the private jet.

Alex took the steps leading up to the private jet two at time in hopes that Henry had decided to fly transatlantic so that they could have a mostly private flight. Only for him to be slightly disappointed when he left the galley and saw Tom Evans sitting on the couch. On the one hand he was happy to see Bea’s fiancé, but at the same time he wasn’t Henry.

“Hi, Dr. Sexy!” Tom said getting up from his spot on the couch and offering Alex his fist to bump. “I know you probably hoped I was Henry, but I was in Atlanta finishing up a last-minute scene reshoot. Thought you might like to have some company for the flight to London, so I had Logan redirect the jet to DC. It’s funny picking you up in DC of all places.” He teased feeling Alex bump his knuckles with his.

“Hey Tom! It’s a bit of a long story as to why I’m in DC. I appreciate having the company although I’m not sure how much company I’ll be. It’s been an exhausting few weeks and I planned on sleeping the duration of the flight.”

“You also can’t tell me that long story either even if did make international news. I know exactly how you feel. I too have enough energy to wolf down the grilled cheese I had Ben pick up for me and I’ll also be crashing out. Also, this jet only has one bedroom besides the staff quarters. You are just as important to Henry as I am to Bea, so I hope you don’t mind sharing the bed with me.”

“Are you sure you are okay with us sharing a bed. I’m so exhausted that if Ben were to give me a blanket, I could sleep on this couch the entire flight. I’ve slept in worse places my first year of residency, trust me.”

Tom laughed softly and grabbed the wrapped grilled cheese from Ben’s hand. “Thanks for picking that up for me.” He said opening the wrapper and shoving a bite of the cheesesteak grilled cheese into his mouth.

“Alex, I am perfectly okay with us sharing the bed. I’ve also slept in worse places than the bedroom in a private jet. I’ll even let you take the bathroom first.” Tom said scarfing down the still warm grilled cheese while trying to have some royal manners while he ate the sloppy food.

“Thanks.” Alex said taking his suitcase from Ben and grabbing a change of clothes and his dopp kit. He let out a giant yawn as he walked across the small row of seats and into the private bedroom with ensuite bathroom.

He closed the door to the bathroom and changed out of his jeans and into a pair of dark grey joggers. He tied the string on his pants and quickly did his skincare for the night.

The last several weeks had been worse than his first year of residency and he was both emotionally and physically exhausted. He hoped that having Henry back in his arms was the cure for it. He stumbled over to the bed and his head barely touched the expensive pillow and he was out.

Tom finished his grilled cheese and then went to the private bedroom to brush his teeth. He slid next to Alex in the bedroom and noticed that Henry’s boyfriend was already asleep. He adjusted the duvet, so it was covering both of them and then he quickly let sleep overtake him.

Ben felt the jet touchdown on RAF Northolt and both men were still sleeping. “Logan, would you please go wake up Alex and Tom? I’m going to go check on the car.”

Logan grabbed the espresso and tea he had just made for Alex and Tom and made his way to the back of the jet where the bedroom was located. He smiled seeing that Tom had his armed wrapped around Alex and had his leg over Alex’s leg. He snapped a photo for Bea and Henry knowing they’d appreciate the knowledge of their significant others getting along fabulously.  

“I know the two of you are exhausted, but we are in London. I have coffee for the both of you.” Logan declared setting the two drinks down on the bedside table. He heard Tom groan but not make any effort in separating his arm and leg from the trauma surgeon or wake up.

Alex groaned and felt someone wrapped around him protectively. He opened one of his eyes and saw Tom’s arm draped over his torso. He laughed and gently removed Tom’s arm from his torso and sat up on the bed.

“I didn’t realize you were a cuddler!” Alex declared playfully shoving Tom’s shoulder. “If that’s how you cuddle it should be Octopusman and not Spiderman.” He took the cup of espresso from Logan and took a greedy sip of the coffee letting the rich espresso flavors dance across his tongue.

“I thought you were a pillow.” Tom sassed grabbing his cuppa tea and taking a sip trying to wake up. It was hard to do since the mattress was soft and comfortable.

“Pillows don’t breathe.” Alex said crawling out of the bed to deboard. He was finally in the same country as Henry and ready to leave the jet and have his love in his arms for a week. He padded over to the ensuite bathroom and brushed the morning breath and coffee from his mouth. He figured Henry didn’t want their kisses to taste like his morning breath.

Alex finished up in the bathroom and quickly tugged on his dark wash jeans and a fresh tee shirt. He didn’t want to show up to Kensington Palace in his sweats and show the other royals, mainly Philip, his disrespect.

“Someone’s excited to see their boyfriend.” Tom said coming out of the bathroom seeing that Alex at least look human and slightly rested.

“I’ve really missed him.” Alex admitted as he trailed after Ben and Logan into the awaiting Bentley with blackout windows. “Did you ever feel like Bea’s mistress when the two of you first got together?” Alex asked sliding into the backseat of the awaiting car.

Tom stifled his laughter into his elbow remembering the days of him and Bea sneaking around fondly, and Alex was right it did feel a little like the mistress.

“All the time, on the bright side you do at least know what you are getting yourself into once the two of you go public. I was so overwhelmed by it when Bea and I announced our relationship. I thought I was used to fame but that couldn’t prepare me for life as a future royal.” He admitted it was nice to have Alex to talk to about life as a royal. Martha was lovely, but she was trained to marry a Prince. He was a commoner who repeated history and fell in love with a rebel princess.

Alex looked at the blacked-out windows, willing Ben to drive faster. He thought about what Tom had said and honestly if he could handle his mother’s political opponent outing him as a bisexual to the world, he could handle dating a prince. He knew Queen Catherine would stand by whatever they choose. He had rejected his change with Henry once before and he was going to fight like hell to not lose Henry again.

“It’s nice to have someone to offer me advice when things feel too much.” Alex admitted feeling Tom pat his shoulder.

“Us outsiders have to stand together. Queen Mary would have loved tossing us into Tower London for daring to date her grandchildren.” Tom knew deep down that Queen Mary would have forbidden Bea from dating him, let alone accepting him into the royal family like Catherine had. He watched the car pull into the hidden entrance to Kensington Palace. “I’m glad Henry has you, it’s nice to see him happy.”

Ben parked the car into the private garage and noticed blond hair leaning against the entrance into Kensington Palace. He opened Alex’s door and watched Alex run straight into Henry’s awaiting arms.

Alex crashed into Henry’s strong chest and pulled in for a bruising kiss, he was pretty sure their teeth collided. “I’ve missed you so much baby.” He said feeling a stray tear run down his cheek. It was so hard not to say those three words, I love you. The hug alone made him feel like a complete person.