.

Sandy shows up a few seconds later and checks him over. She calls dispatch and an ambulance brings a tank of O2 into the house.

Rhett showed up and saw the ambulance at the front and almost broke his leg running in. He banged the door open and ran upstairs.

He found Link, with a nasal cannula, leaning forward as Sandy was checking his breathing with a stethoscope.

Link blinks in confusion at the look of panic on Rhett's face: "What? Why do you look like someone ate your dog?"

Rhett leans on his knees to catch his breath then points at Link: "Ambulance outside.."

Sandy turns to look at Rhett: "He has shortness of breath. I called them to get the oxygen tanks. It's not a big deal."

Link laughs at his friend as he drags himself to sit on the chair near the bed: "You ran up one flight of stairs and you're that winded?"

Rhett glares at him: "Shut up."

Sandy puts a few pillows behind Link so he can stay sitting up and says: "It's a common side effect of the drugs. It should get better soon. For now, leave the nasal cannula on."

Rhett eyes the doctor as she removes the line connected to Link's port and packs up to leave.

Link smiles at Rhett: "Did you get Sushi?"

Rhett frowns at him: "Why would I get Sushi?"

Link frowns back: "What did you get?"

Rhett grabs the bag he almost dropped on his way up: "This weird bowl thing you told me to get. You texted me the address."

Link: "I didn't."

Rhett takes out his phone and opens his text history.

Link itches the tubes under his nose: "The FBI still has my phone. I didn't send this."

Rhett grabs his phone and storms downstairs: "Gabby, did you send this?"

Gabby takes the phone to look at it then frowns: "No."

She signals to one of the men standing by and says: "Get me Link's phone."

Her boss-voice sent shivers down Rhett's spine.

She turns and puts her hand up: "Give me the food you picked up."

He handed her the bag and she took out the content: "Did you order this or just pick it up?"

Rhett: "I just picked it up. It was under Link's name."

She found a napkin with a note on it and whispered: "Bastard.."

Rhett steps close to read it.

"My Angel,

You haven't eaten well in days.

I hope this hearty meal makes you feel better.

Your guardian,

Eponym."

She gently opens the container.

Rhett steps closer to smell it: "It smells like serial. Link likes cereal."

Gabby takes a spoon and moves the content around to see if there is anything inside: "It's oatmeal."

She hands it over to one of the suited men and he takes the note as well.

Link shows up at the living room, hauling his tank on a trolley with him: "What's going on?"

Rhett jumps to help him sit at the table: "Why are you out of bed?"

Link glares at Rhett: "I'm not an invalid. You ran out like a bat out of hell without saying anything. I wanna know what's.."

Link breath catches and he gets stuck in a coughing fit. Rhett pats his back: "Just breathe. It's not a big deal."

Gabby joins them at the table and says: "Eponym sent you a gift."

Link stares at her blankly: "What is it?"

Gabby: "Cereal-flavored Oatmeal."

Link leans back, taking deep breaths from the tube under his nose: "I didn't know that existed."

Gabby looks at the tablet one of the agents just handed her: "Only one restaurant in California serves it. Since we banned food delivery on the premises, the bastard hacked your phone and sent Rhett to pick it up for you."

She reads something on the tablet and says: "It's not poisoned. But he left you a note."

She turns the tablet to him so he can see an image of the note on it.

Link scans it then sighs loudly: "What a weird human being.."

Rhett smothers a smile while staring at Link: "You want to try that Oatmeal, don't you?"

Link laughs awkwardly: "It sounds tasty but I don't want to eat what he bought."

Gabby smiles at the men before her: "I'll have one of the agents pick up a few bowls for you boys."

Link seems to brighten up at the idea: "Really?"

Gabby sits back, content with her ability to cheer Link: "Yeah."

Link rubs his cheek: "It's not a bother, is it?"

Gabby leans in to whisper: "I kinda wanna try it too."

Rhett fixes the tubes that moved with Link's constant fidgeting and says: "I went to the office today. The crew asked about you."

Link's smile dropped: "What did they say?"

Rhett: "They're sorry and they miss you."

Link swallows hard and looks at the table: "The world has seen their videos and emails, Rhett. You can't possibly think I would believe that."

Rhett sighs: "They're not denying it. They just want to apologize. I still want to fire them. You're the one who told me not to!"

Link wraps his arms around himself: "I don't know what to do. They're good people. They don't deserve to be punished for speaking their minds.."

Rhett leans in to stare at Link: "What they did is beyond speaking their minds, Link. It was horrible and cruel. No one deserves to be talked about like this, especially someone who's nice to them like you."

Link thinks silently for a while then whispers: "Seven years.."

Rhett asks: "What?"

Link looks sadly at him: "They've been betting on me for seven years.. I know that we joke around and play pranks.."

Gabby interjects: "Don't justify their cruelty with office banter and friendship. If one of my agents did that, I would have them locked up with harassment charges."

Link shakes his head: "I know this sounds stupid but I still feel like this many people loathing my guts and betting on me means one thing.. I'm the problem. I just can't figure out what I did wrong.. They made me look like a doormat in front of the whole world."

Rhett groans: "We get it. So now what? You want to hide here for the rest of your life? We're drowning at the office man.. I don't know how long we can hold off people.."

Link was alarmed by Rhett's comment: "Drowning in what?"

Rhett opens his mouth to start one of his typical rants, but the look of the pale man who's struggling to breathe made him feel guilty.

He deflates and whispers: "Nothing.. It's fine. We got it covered."

Link pats Rhett's arm, blinking worriedly at him: "Tell me."

Rhett grabs Link's arm, ready to reassure him but is cut off by Link's sudden flinch of pain: "What? What?"

Link slowly tucks his arm in and breathily says: "Nothing.."

Rhett felt the blood in his veins boil. He's been avoiding this topic for a while now but this little display is about to pop his bubble of containment.

He gently grabbed the arm Link was rubbing and slowly rolled the sleeves up. It revealed a big blooming blue bruise and Rhett closed his eyes, breathed deeply before he openly glared at Link: "How did this happen?"

Link looks guilty: "Um.. I kinda stumbled on my way here. The tank was too heavy to haul down the stairs."

Rhett slams his hand on the table hard enough to make both Gabby and Link sit up straight: "ARE YOU SERIOUS?"

Link blinks wide eyes at Rhett: "Um…"

Rhett grabs Link's chin and leans close, fuming at his friends inability to grasp the simplest of things: "You need to stop hiding shit from me!"

Link's eyes almost crossed from how close Rhett was to his face: "It's not a big deal.."

Rhett: "I can't help you if you won't tell me what's going on! JADE DIED AND YOU DIDN'T TELL ME! YOU HAD CHRONIC MYCOMERE FOR MONTHS AND YOU DIDN'T TELL ME!"

Link swallows hard.

He knew this was going to come up at some point.

He slowly removes Rhett's grip on his chin and sits back, crossing his arms: "I didn't want to involve anyone else in my problems, especially you."

Rhett rubs his face, trying his best not to punch Link in the face: "Pray tell, Link. Why 'especially' me?"

Link looks at the strangers surrounding them and leans in to whispers: "Are you seriously asking this question right now? You literally threatened to off yourself if I died moments after finding out!"

Rhett didn't seem phased by Link's comment: ".. and?"

Link was surprised by Rhett's passive reply. He hoped that Rhett was exaggerating when he said that a while back: "What the heck did you expect? Your codependency on me FREAKS THE HELL OUT OF ME!"

The smaller man felt light-headed all of a sudden.

He puts his arms on the table and leans his head on them.

Rhett stays silent for a while as Link concentrates on breathing then whispers: "I don't get it. You used to tell me everything, even if you had a stupid paper-cut. Now you decide to just.. what? Give up? You're not telling me stuff because you think it's not worth it or something?"

Link turns his head to look at Rhett: "No."

Rhett puts his head on the table near Link, looking desperately at him: "Tell me the truth. I need to understand.. Please.."

Link felt his eyes water a little.

He never admitted it out loud to anyone and he doesn't know if he really wants to.

He notices from the corner of his eye that Gabby left the living room, taking the other agents with her.

It's now or never. His friend needs to know.

Link felt a few tears betray him before he whispers over his constricted throat: "I think God is angry with me.."

Rhett was not expecting that answer: "What?"

Link sits up and looks down in shame: "God is angry with me. He took my wife. He took my Dog and now he's punishing me with all of this.. You don't deserve to be roped into my punishment.."

Rhett didn't know what to do with that statement.

He stares at Link: "That's the stupidest thing you've ever said.."

Link angrily wipes his tears as more came tumbling down: "I'm not stupid!"

Rhett felt a laugh bubble up: "Then explain the stupid horse shit that just came out of your mouth?"

Link punches the laughing man before him in the arm: "Don't make fun of me. I'm serious."

Rhett tries to contain his laughter: "It must be your dad jokes. God is punishing us all because of your weird sense of humor."

Link sighs tiredly and tries to get up and leave.

Rhett grabs his hands and pulls him back down, still trying to contain his laughter: "I'm sorry.. I'm sorry.. Your dad jokes are on point."

Link pouts, tears still silently traveling down his cheeks but he's going along Rhett's weird deflection: "My dad jokes are awesome.."

Rhett rubs the cold hands in his and smiles at Link: "Why do you think God is angry with you?"

Link sniffs: "I don't know. I just know that I must be the worst if this is my punishment."

Rhett sees Link's emotional turmoil and decides to get to the bottom of it: "Link, I know you better than anyone. I know you better than you know yourself. You are a good person."

Link looks down, staring at the big hands warming his: "I don't feel like a good person."

Rhett: "We wouldn't be friends if you were not a good person, Link. I wouldn't let you substitute-mom my kids if I didn't believe you're an amazing person."

Link looks up, narrowing his eyes: "Substitute-mom..?"

Rhett smirks at him: "Yeah."

Link frowns: "What the crap is that?"

Rhett smothers a laugh: "You know.. You're the huggy, smother with love type of parent and I'm the strict one.."

Link groans: "How many times do I have to remind you, we are not in that kind of relationship!"

Rhett snickers, pointing with his eyes at their connected hands: "Aren't we?"

Link yanks his hands away: "You are impossible.."

He hauls his tank and moves towards the couch.

Rhett throws his hands in the air, still laughing: "You can deny it all you want, honey. The whole world already knows it."

Link turns around and points a threatening finger at Rhett: "DON'T CALL ME HONEY!"

Rhett shrugs: "Peaches? Sweetheart? Sweetie Pie?"

Link groans in frustration: "This is why we have so many twisted fan fictions written about us!"

Gabby pokes her head around the open door and says: "Are you two done bickering like an old married couple?"

Link points at her and yells at Rhett: "SEE!"

Rhett covers his mouth to stop himself from bursting into laughter.

Gabby puts her hand up, holding a bag: "I brought you offerings!"

Five minutes later, Link was sitting on his living room couch, eating the best thing he has ever tasted since birth: "Oh my Goodness! Where has this been all my life?"

Rhett and Gabby smile at Link's wide eyes.

Link eats another big bite and sighs happily: "Rhett, I think we just found heaven. This is it.. This is eternal happiness in a bowl!"

Rhett leans to whisper to Gabby: "Is it me or is it just an ok Oatmeal."

Gabby nods: "I've had better.."

Link ate the whole bowl and was eating the rest of Rhett's.

The taller man hasn't seen Link eat that much in months. The doctor has warned him that Link's weight was a big issue. The evident depression and the side effects of the medication kept him is a constant state of nausea and without appetite. Rhett tried every possible food he could think of. He bought all his favorites, he tried buying new things every day hoping to find the right stuff for Link. He even called Link's mom for his favorite food recipes. Nothing worked.

Rhett chuckled when Link's was wiggling happily in place, humming over how yummy his food was. He couldn't believe that a stalker did a better job at making his friend happy than he did.

Link looks at Gabby with a wide smile: "Are you going to finish yours?"

Gabby chuckles too over how childishly cute Link was at the moment and hands him her half eaten bowl: "It's all yours."

Link's eyes twinkle as he takes it and stuffs his face with more Oatmeal.

Link leans his head back on the couch a few minutes later, belly full of warm Oatmeal and a constant flow of oxygen that's making him feel a little bit better.

After he finished his meal, Rhett put a cold compress on his bruised arm before he went to pick up the younger two kids.

.