A/N: I have taken such a deep interest in this show and more importantly, these two characters. This idea sprung on me and I had to write it! So let me know what you think!


Leo had taken it upon himself to visit April in the hospital whenever he could. She would keep insisting that she was fine by herself and that her family was enough but he didn't fail to notice how her eyes lit up every time he walked into the room. Besides, what sort of cancer friend would he be if he didn't support her during her rounds of Chemotherapy?

At first she was a little embarrassed by her constant sickness and weakness in front of him but he never showed any judgment and it quickly eased her mind. He understood probably better than anyone else. He'd watch as she got a little frustrated every time her mother would try to coddle her after an episode of vomiting or if she wobbled her way to the bathroom.

He'd never ask her if she was alright because he knew she wasn't. He knew she was miserable and would be until the chemotherapy was over. Instead he would talk to her, joke with her, get her to smile to get her mind off of it and most of the time it would work and he knew she appreciated it.

During this time he'd do anything to get her to smile - because even pale and weak, April Carver had a beautiful smile and he was not going to let any stupid cancer take it away for too long.

As he made his way to her room one Friday afternoon he wondered how she was doing that day. He had last seen her on Wednesday and she was doing rather well that day but he knew how quickly things could change.

Her door was open when he got there and he put a smirk on his lips, all ready to put that smile on her lips the second he walked in. He knocked on the door quietly before walking in but as soon as his eyes landed on her bed, his smile fell and his heart dropped into his stomach.

Her bed was a mess of a lump of blankets and all he could see was the top of her head but her whole body shook. He reacted quickly and crossed the room in a few long strides, ending at her bedside and kneeling down beside her to get a look at her face.

She was pale, her eyes closed tightly and little beads of sweat lined her forehead and she had the blanket pulled up to her neck. "April?"

April had awoken that morning feeling a little worse than usual and the nurses told her she had a tiny fever. They called the doctor to make sure everything was alright and she said she wasn't concerned but they'd be keeping a close eye on her.

As the hours passed April only felt worse. She wished she hadn't insisted that her mother and Brenna take the day off from visiting her because she felt in need of some supportive company.

Then by mid afternoon nothing was on her mind but how absolutely miserable she felt. She closed her eyes and curled onto her side, pulling the blankets over her as a cold chill swept over her. Her head pounded and she felt too nauseous to think.

She wasn't sure how long she been like that - she had no concept of time at the moment and every second was agonizing.

Then she heard a distant call of her name and slowly forced herself back to reality and as she did another round of nausea rolled over her and she let out a groan.

The voice called her name again and while she knew it was warm and familiar she couldn't quite place who it belonged to. Finally she forced her eyes opened and blinked past her blurry vision to find the concerned blue-grey eyes of Leo Hendrie.

"Leo." She whispered her voice hoarse and raspy and for once he didn't smile at her. She always loved when he did that. His frown deepened and his brow creased as he tilted his head.

She cringed as she swallowed past her incredibly dry throat. Her hand slowly moved out from under the blanket and weakly reached out toward him.

It seemed like forever until she felt his warm hand wrap around hers and her fingers relaxed and lightly curled around his hand and gave a gentle squeeze. A second later she felt him squeeze her hand in return.

She shivered again as she slowly moved her head down to their joined hands and rested her cheek against the back of his hand, a hint of a smile crossing her lips. "Leo..." She hummed.

She wasn't fully aware of her actions but she knew it was Leo and Leo wasn't pain. Leo was fun and laughter and warmth.

"I'm going to get you a doctor."

She nodded weakly but his words didn't process until she no longer felt his warm hand in hers. Her eyes shot open and she could see Leo heading for the door and as quickly as she could she bolted upward, weakly calling out for him. "No!"

Leo paused and then turned back around to face her. She realized now he didn't just look concerned - he looked afraid and she had never seen that on him before.

Her whole body ached and she must have winced but she forced a small smile to her lips to reassure him and reached out to him. "Don't go."

He frowned. "April-"

She slowly shook her head. "Doctors have been in and out of here all day...I don't need a doctor." She insisted. "I just...I need some company." She weakly wiggled her fingers and then relaxed as Leo relented with a sigh and approached her bed.

As his hand once again found hers, she lowered herself down onto the bed, once again closing her eyes, feeling the comfort of his presence.

She heard the scraping of the chair against the tiles and felt his grip loosen for a few moments before it tightened again.

She slowly curled back onto her side and brought their joined hands to rest against her chest, sighing quietly as his thumb started to brush against hers.

After a few minutes she realized she needed more than just a hand to hold. "Leo?" She questioned softly.

"Yeah?"

"Will you lay with me?"

His breath hitched and he was silent for a few moments before answering hesitantly. "April...I don't think-"

Her eyes opened and met his pleadingly. "Please." She whispered, tightening her grip on his hand.

He stared at her for a long moment and then swallowed thickly. "You sure?"

She nodded softly and he let out a breath before he rose to his feet, releasing her hand.

She smiled gently to herself as he walked around to the other side of the bed where there was a little more room. He grabbed hold of the blankets, debating on whether to go on top or under them and then pushed them aside as he decided.

He crawled onto the little bit of space beside her and looked down at her waiting for her reaction. She turned her head first, her eyes meeting his and the smile on her lips sent flutters to his heart.

With a small moan and with some difficulty she turned her body onto her other side so she was facing him and his breath caught as she inched closer and closer until she was pressed up against his side and her head came to rest on his chest. Her arm slid up his abdomen until her hand came to rest directly over his heart where he was sure she could feel it beating erratically.

His arm carefully rested over her shoulders and his stomach dropped at how thin she was and how her body continued to shake and he could feel her warm skin burning through his clothes. He trailed his fingers lightly up and down her arm trying to comfort her in any way he could. He wished more than anything he could take this all away from her. No one deserved to suffer chemo, or cancer, and certainly not her.

"You know..." She croaked after a minute of silence. "I expected to feel like crap but this really sucks."

"Yeah." Leo scoffed his voice completely devoid of humor. In the past he had quite often joked about cancer but that was his coping mechanism...somehow with April so miserable he couldn't quite bring himself to joke about it. "It's a real pain in the ass."

April let out a breath of what sounded like an attempt at laughter but it was quickly followed by another quiet moan and he very gently squeezed her arm.

"Not just the ass." She muttered, turning her face into his chest and he frowned, leaning his head against hers.

Her fingers curled into a fist, gathering up some of his shirt into her hand as she pulled herself even closer, resting her head so it fit perfectly under his chin.

She hummed and nuzzled her nose into his chest and he tried to ignore the butterflies in his stomach. It most certainly wasn't the time to dwell on his feelings for the woman in his arms no matter how close she was.

"You're so warm, Leo." She breathed a hint of a smile on her lips and it was much to his great relief that he noticed her shivering had begun to stop. There was still an occasional quiver but his body heat seemed to be helping her.

After a few minutes he started to feel a dull ache in his back from the position he was in and careful not to disturb her, tried to shift just a little bit.

April quickly detected his movements and quickly grabbed a hold of him. "Don't leave me."

He instantly stilled and looked down at her, completely taken by the clear desperation in her voice. He knew she meant in that moment to not leave her side but he couldn't quite help his thoughts drifting to his more permanent fate.

He had accepted that fate a while ago. He was going to die and he would live life to the fullest until he did.

However, he never counted on April.

He had had quite a few girlfriends over the years and even women who didn't last long enough to be girlfriends. He had been to cancer support groups and became friendly with plenty of women but it never grew to romance.

Then April came and literally knocked him off his feet. She was on his mind at first, the woman who knocked him off his bike, the reporter who wanted a story on his father...and then before he knew it she was in his heart and it was too late to reject the very idea.

He took a lot of joy out of helping his fellow cancer friends out with their last dream but nothing compared to the look on April's face when she realized it was him who paid for her fertility treatment.

He knew he was doomed from the moment he first kissed her in that stolen car. It was an impulsive move and it wasn't supposed to mean anything but oh how it did.

He knew she had a boyfriend and he wanted to respect that and her and while he occasionally would flirt he didn't go past that no matter how badly he wanted to.

He took another chance after her boyfriend left and he kissed her after Jackson's funeral. She pushed him away and he thought that was it until she grabbed him and kissed him and that led to so much more.

It was that night he told her about the surgery and his decision to not have it. He had stayed firm in his decision and nothing could change his mind.

However at this moment with a sick April in his arms, begging him not to go, he started to have a little nugget of doubt tugging at his mind.

He swallowed and leaned down, brushing a soft kiss against the top of her head, holding her that much closer. "I'm not going anywhere."

His words had their desired, comforting effect because she immediately relaxed against him.

They continued to sit in silence. Leo didn't want her to talk any more than she had to as it was clear she was finding difficulty in it and he was almost certain she was falling asleep and he didn't want to disturb that.

He was relieved to find that her shivering had completely stopped and her breathing was nice and even and for the first time since that morning, April was comfortable enough to drift off into a peaceful sleep.


April awoke feeling more at peace than she had since she started the chemo. As her senses came to her she could still feel a dull ache in her body but the agony was gone and her fever must have broken because she no longer felt a chill. In fact she felt warm but it was comfortable warmth - one she didn't want to leave anytime soon.

She sighed in contentment happy that she finally felt rested.

Suddenly she froze as she felt someone brush against her shoulder and move across her arm. She held her breath and could feel underneath her moving in a constant rhythm of breathing in and out.

She slowly opened her eyes, blinked for a second against the light, let her vision adjust out of its sleepy daze and focused on her hand rested on someone's chest.

Slowly she lifted her head up and instantly relaxed as she saw him.

Leo was watching her intently, a small smirk on his lips but concern in his eyes. "Hey there sleepy head." He remarked, his voice light.

She let out a soft, breathy laugh and a warm smile tugged at her lips. She pushed herself up but still remained pressed into his side. "How long was I asleep?"

"A few hours." He answered easily.

Her brow lifted. "Hours? And you were here the whole time?"

His smirk turned into a smile that melted her heart. "You wanted me to stay so I stayed." He shrugged.

"You didn't have to do that, Leo." She protested quietly. "You must have been bored out of your mind."

He let out a half-amused laugh. "April, believe me, being alone in a hospital room for hours is something I'm very used to." He shrugged again. "It was no trouble."

"Right." She muttered with a nod. Sometimes it was hard to believe that a man who was so full of life was dying. Then she turned another smile on him. "Thank you though."

He nodded once, his eyes now shining and she felt herself flush under his gaze. His eyes flickered down to her lips where a beautiful smile still sat and then back up to her eyes and his smile grew.

"What?" She asked him, shaking her head.

"You just look a hell of a lot better than you did hours ago."

She pressed her lips together, shooting him a look of mock annoyance. "Thanks Leo."

"I didn't mean it offensively." He defended and then lifted his shoulders, suddenly avoiding her gaze. "It even had me a little worried."

The smile returned to her lips and his eyes shot back to her, eyeing her reaction and then a smile tugged at his lips.

"You were worried about me?"

A sarcastic, funny quip was at his tongue but he held it back due to the genuine question and the hopeful look in her eyes. Leo knew there were times to joke and other times when he had to be serious, where he wanted to be serious, and this happened to be one of those times.

"Of course I was."

The genuine honesty in his voice and the loving expression on his face was enough to steal her breath for a moment. She bit her lip for a second, glancing down, and then back up to him.

"Well you don't have to worry anymore. I'm feeling a lot better now."

Until that damn cancer is gone I'll never stop worrying about you.He felt like saying and almost did but she still looked tired and he wasn't exactly sure where they really stood amongst all their flirting. They were having a moment and he didn't want to ruin it.

Instead his lips perked up, bringing a light to his eyes and he reached up to brush away a strand of her hair that stuck to her forehead. "Good."

Her heart skipped a beat as she watched his every movement before their eyes finally met and she was completely taken in.

She was suddenly aware of how she must have looked but found comfort in Leo's gaze.

Sometimes she'd catch her mother and even Brenna looking at her with pity and sadness but Leo always looked at her like she was still healthy...like she was still beautiful which she hardly felt these days.

She tilted her head, leaning into his touch as his finger lightly trailed down the side of her face and then finally came to rest back on his lap.

They sat silently for a moment, getting lost in each other's eyes before she cleared her throat and broke their gaze as she looked down.

"It's pretty remarkable." He said and she lifted her head, her brow raising curiously.

"What is?"

"How fast you recovered. You look like yourself again."

She smiled and tapped her fingers lightly on his chest. "Well - you must have the magic touch."

He smirked and waggled his brow and she let out a heartwarming laugh as she shoved gently at his chest and he chuckled along with her.

"I think I just really needed to sleep." She concluded and her expression grew a little more serious, her brow pressing together. "And no matter how hard I tried I just couldn't." Her lips twitched up as she met his eyes. "You made it easy."

His face softened. "I'll be your body pillow anytime."

That got another laugh out of her and the sound was music to his ears.

"Seriously Leo," She said with a soft sigh, "No medicine could have helped me the way you did."

His lips twitched up in a warm smile. "It was my pleasure." They shared a smile and then April returned to her position against him, resting her head comfortably on his chest and they fell into a content silence.

It was only a few minutes of this silence before Leo finally began to feel the effects of sitting for hours. The dull ache in his back from his position and more importantly the pressure of a full bladder.

He started to shift uncomfortably, hoping he could put it off for a little longer as not to disturb April but it was to no luck. April lifted her head, furrowing her brow, smirking in amusement. "Are you alright?"

He scrunched up his nose and let out a sigh. "Yeah…I'm fine I just…it's been a while since I've moved and I'm afraid nature is calling."

April's eyes widened slightly and then she stifled a laugh as she sat up completely, releasing her hold on him. "Leo! You should have said something."

"I said something now." He replied with a smirk and then pushed himself off the bed and found his legs to be just a bit numb from lack of movement.

He groaned softly as he stretched his arms above his head and April watched on in amusement, her eyes subconsciously flickering down as she caught sight of a flash of skin as his shirt rolled up.

Once her eyes met his, she flushing under his knowing smirk and rolled her eyes. "Just go to the bathroom, Leo."

"Don't do anything fun without me." He raised his brow as he headed towards the door and she gave him a look as she rested back against her pillow, crossing her arms over her chest.

He chuckled to himself as he left the room and headed down the hall towards the men's room.

He couldn't keep the smile off his lips as he thought about April and how well she truly did look. She still looked a little pale and her movements were still slower than normal but compared to just a few hours ago it was a miraculous recovery. And she attributed it to him. He was the one to help her feel better, he was the one to make her feel comfortable enough to fall asleep and get the rest she needed.

If he could keep that smile on her face, that laugh escaping her lips, while she went through this horrible process, well that would be a great accomplishment.

He entered the men's room and relieved himself and then headed to the sink. He washed his hands and then splashed some water over his face, realizing he was feeling a little clammy all of a sudden.

He blinked past the water droplets and looked at his reflection in the mirror. He narrowed his eyes noticing that he too looked a little pale but then shook it off attributing it to the dim lighting of the bathroom.

He swiped his hand over his face to wipe the rest of the water away and then turned his thoughts back to April.

He turned to exit the bathroom but as soon as he made a movement, a spell of dizziness came over him, hitting him like a ton of bricks.

He wobbled on his feet and grabbed onto the counter, slamming his eyes closed.

No. He growled at himself. Not now.

He breathed deeply, in and out for a minute and then slowly reopened his eyes.

He took another step and a deep rooted fear ran up his spine as his vision blurred and spun and clouded until finally there was nothing but black.