The Ghost of You

Chapter Three.
I wouldn't leave you.

Alex groaned when his phone started to ring. Had he really fallen asleep so soon after everything? He rolled over and looked at the clock, 8 in the morning. With a sigh, he grabbed his phone, pressing the call button before putting it to his ear. "Hello?" he mumbled softly.

"Hello, my name is Katie and I'm calling from the Baltimore hospital. Your husband, Jack, was in the plane crash that happened earlier today. Is that correct?" was what the voice on the other end said. Alex confirmed it was all true and the woman continued. "There were four people that we found in critical condition, but still alive. Jack was one of them," she told him. Alex sat up quickly and was immediately getting off the bed to find his shoes.

"When can I see him?!" were the only words out of Alex's mouth. She told him the times he could see Jack and he looked at the clock. He still had time. Hanging up his phone, he unlocked the the bedroom door and ran as fast as he could down the stairs. Rian and Zack were both asleep in various places in the living room, but Alex ran past them to the garage and to his car. He got to the hospital as fast as he could, before running up to the floor the woman on the phone told him and within minutes, he was in Jack's hospital room. He didn't look very alive, but the monitors he was hooked up to were showing he was. Tears filled Alex's eyes again as he went over to the bed, sitting on the edge of it and took Jack's hand. He was broken, bruised and cut up; his body wrapped up in different parts and a couple casts. There were IV's in his arm and it hurt Alex just to see Jack laying there like that. But he was there, and that was something all in itself. Alex took a couple of deep breaths, he didn't want to be crying when Jack woke up.

"A... Alex?" came Jack's broken voice after about an hour of Alex sitting on his bed, holding his hand. Alex's eyes immediately moved to the other.

"I'm here, Jack." he said softly, giving Jack's hand a light squeeze. Alex was unable to stop the tears from flooding his eyes yet again as he watched Jack's eyes slowly open. "God, you scared me so badly," Alex cried softly, not taking his teary eyes off Jack.

"Hey..." Jack voice was soft and broken, but Alex was still hanging on to every word. "Stop crying," Jack said softly as he slowly moved his thumb over Alex's fingers. His head turning some to try and look at himself. "How do I look?" he asked, looking back at Alex. His little plan to try and get Alex to stop crying seemed to have potential when Alex smirked just a little at Jack's question. Only Jack would asked how he looked right after living through a plane crash.

"I'd still do you." Alex nodded with a little smirk. He had to love the way Jack was. Maybe humor was a good way to get through this, so Alex was going to try it along with his love. Jack smirked a little and closed his eyes for a minute, just to rest before looking at Alex again. "I really thought I'd lost you.." he said softly, playing with Jack's fingers. "They... they told me there were no survivors." Alex told Jack, their eyes meeting again.

"Sounds like you don't know me at all, then," Jack said, his voice soft but serious sounding. He waited for Alex's cute confused expression to appear before finishing his sentence. "I would never leave you. Not for good," Jack said with a smile as he gave Alex's hand a light squeeze.

"Asshole..." Alex muttered but smiled at the little statement. "It's hard to think of things like that when someone is telling you there were no survivors, though. I didn't know what to do... I still went to pick you up at the airport. I swore they were wrong. But then Rian ended up coming to get me and..." Alex said, somewhat rambling until Jack reached up to put his fingers against Alex's lips.

"I'm here now," Jack said softly, leaving his fingers against Alex's lips for a few more seconds and then moving his arm back down. Alex just nodded a little and moved carefully to lay down next to Jack, curling carefully into his side. Alex didn't want to hurt Jack, but he wanted to be as close to him as he could get. Alex closed his eyes for a minute, his arm slipping over Jack's stomach. He smiled softly when he felt Jack's arm slipping around him as well, his other hand taking ahold of Alex's and lacing their fingers.

"Alex! Alex! Wake up!" he was suddenly being shaken and groaned softly. Who was yelling at him at the hospital. When had he even fallen asleep. He could feel that Jack wasn't next to him and it immediately sent him into a mini panic. He opened his eyes and saw that Rian and Zack were there with him. He was in his bedroom again. "You were having a nightmare, 'Lex." Zack told him.

"No! I wasn't! Why the fuck am I here? I need to get back to the hospital! Now!" Alex yelled, getting up off the bed quickly and pushing past Zack. Rian quickly wrapped his arms around the singer to stop him.

"Why do you have to have to go to the hospital, Alex?" Rian asked, holding the singer close to him.

"I have to get back to Jack. How the fuck did I even get back home? Jack needs me there with him!" Alex said, trying to get away from Rian but the drummers hold was too strong.

"Alex... Jack isn't at the hospital. You've been in your room since we brought you home from the airport. We had to break the lock on your door just to get in here to see if you were okay." Rian explained, continuing to hold Alex as close as he could. Alex listened to what Rian was saying and shook his head. It couldn't have been a dream. It had felt so real, he could feel Jack, smell him. Alex looked around the room and saw that they had indeed broken the lock to get into the bedroom. Rian wouldn't lie to him, not about something like this. Alex couldn't handle it, his body giving out as he fell against Rian and started crying again. Rian tightened his grip around him to prevent him from falling and helped him back over to the bed. He laid Alex out on the bed before laying with him and holding him close; Zack laying on the other side of Alex and playing with the singers hair. It was becoming more obvious to the two of them that it was going to take a lot to get Alex through this.