Alex's P.O.V.

"Something bothering you, son?"

Alex looked up from his sandwich that Carl insisted on making for him. Every time he did something domestic for him like that, it made Alex want to hurl. He would just go and buy some lunch but was afraid that Esmond paid for eyes and ears on him around the clock. It wasn't something Esmond was above, that Alex knew. He did it before, after all.

Nordic peered at him, noticing his reluctance to eat. They had only been eating together for a couple of days but he knew that Alex liked to eat his meal quickly.

Alex set his food down.

"Nothing much."

"Family trouble?"

"You could say that," Alex didn't bother to correct him on that one.

"Didn't you say you were raising your brother by yourself?"

"Yep. Josh and I are all alone. I'm glad Mr. Anderson gave me this job."

Maybe brown-nosing would keep Esmond away from his bed longer. It was worth a shot in case he really was being watched. Or worse. Unless Nordic was being paid to report everything he heard Alex said. Even though they weren't close friends, Alex would feel betrayed if that happened.

Nordic's face showed that he was deep in thought. He leaned his head closer to Alex.

"You know. I worry about that guy."

"Who? Mr. Anderson?" was this the start of a test?

"You don't know it but I think he hangs out with some shady characters. Not that I think he's too innocent himself, course. But still, I've seen him with weird people, wanting me to guard the museum late at night while he talks to them about God knows what."

Now Alex really didn't have much of an appetite.

"What about these people do you not like the looks of?" he asked.

Nordic took a swig of his flask. Alex didn't think Esmond knew about him drinking on the job but he wasn't about to go ratting anyone out. Hell, he could use a drink right about now. One that wasn't expensive and paid for by his ex.

"For one thing. They're dressed like every night is the fucking Antarctic. Even on warm nights they have on heavy coats, several at once even. When you see someone like that, what's the first thing that comes to mind?"

"Thieves," Alex didn't have to put any thought into that one.

"Exactly. Shady as fuck. Also, there's always at least one carrying a suitcase. I don't know what business Anderson does with those creeps but I'm not sure I ever want to find out."

This might be the opening Alex had been praying for. If he could find Esmond doing something illegal, he might have enough dirt on him to keep him away. It was worth a try. He only hoped that Esmond really was doing something that could get him thrown into the slammer.

Henry's P.O.V.

Henry waited outside the Elementary school for Josh. He hadn't wanted to help because he didn't want to risk Alex meeting up with Walter. But call him fickle, he changed his mind. He could see if there was anything he could do. The last thing he wanted was for Alex to be in any sort of danger or trouble. A small hand tugged at his.

Little Walter peered up at him with his big brown eyes. There was a pout forming on his lips and a very slight glare shadowing his brows.

"Henry, why are you just standing here?" he demanded.

The photographer frowned at this interrogation.

"I was just waiting."

"For Josh?"

Henry nodded, feeling uneasy about how hurt and angry Little Walter looked. The boy pouted up at him much like he did during their last discussion.

"Why do you want to see him? You used to play with me before we met him."

"I still do," Henry defended with a soft voice, "I'm going to talk to him about Alex."

"Why-" Little Walter stopped short when his eyes caught something. Henry followed his gaze.

There stood Josh, coming out with everyone else. Only Josh stood staring at them, the rest of the live children didn't take any notice. Little Walter frowned at Josh and darted off. Henry called out to him but the young boy didn't listen. He retreated until he was gone, leaving Henry alone with Josh.

By now all the kids were gone in their hurry to leave school. Josh continued to stare up at Henry. His expression was something akin to understanding as if he knew already why Henry was there. The photographer opened his mouth and took his time to find the words he wanted to say.

"Josh. I do want to help. Tell me what I can do."

The boy smiled at him gratefully.

"Thank you. We can all come up with a plan. Once Alex gets here, I mean. He usually doesn't take long."

Josh edged closer until he was standing by the ghost. They waited for a few seconds before Josh decided to make conversation.

"Henry. Do you like Alex?"

"Why sure, Josh."

"I mean as something more than a friend?"

Henry didn't respond nearly as quickly this time. He didn't need to since all Josh had to do was to look at his flushed face in order to get his answer. Josh smiled again.

"You would be a much better boyfriend than Esmond ever was. Did you know that he used to make Alex feel bad even when he didn't do anything wrong?"

"That sounds terrible. Why did Alex ever get with him anyway?" Henry figured he could find out more about both the foe and Alex this way.

Josh simply shrugged.

"Dunno. Maybe because he used to be a lot nicer. He was only ever being nice to make Alex like him, though."

"Was that all Alex looking for in a guy? To see if he was nice?"

Josh seemed to shrink at the question. There was something going on in his mind that he was uncomfortable voicing, that much was clear to Henry. It took a moment for Josh to compose himself.

"I think…Alex really wanted people to be nice to him. Our parents never were."

"Your parents were never nice to you guys?" Henry asked with a sinking heart.

"They were nice to me. Not to Alex. They could only choose one child, so they chose to love only me. Even though Alex never said anything, I think he was really hurt."

Before Henry could ask what on earth Josh meant by his parents only being able to choose one child, a figure came up. Alex was scrambling to put his phone away, casting a glance in Josh's direction.

He stopped cold.

Henry tried to understand what was going on. Alex was looking right in his direction with a face filled with horror. Henry didn't need to ponder long to figure out that the elder Shepherd could now see him. But why only now?

Josh was silent, taking in Alex's shocked look coolly. Alex and Henry looked at each other directly in the eyes and Henry felt himself voiceless once more. Now Alex could finally see him and now they were finally staring face to face. For the first time, Henry got a good look at the man's eyes and they weren't even in a dream this time.

Alex opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it once more.

"Henry?"

"Alex, you can see me?" Henry asked stupidly.

Alex looked at his little brother like he suspected that he had something to do with this. Josh didn't say anything and his face didn't betray any emotion either. Alex turned his attention back on Henry with his eyes as wide as ever.

"I can't believe it. How are you here? How can I see you?"

"I don't know," Henry answered honestly, "I thought you couldn't see me."

"Alex. What's taking so long?"

A man that looked like the Esmond from Alex's dreams came up. He was definitely an older version of the dream, Henry concluded. His long blonde hair would've reminded him of Walter except it was much more kept and trimmed. Shiny too, like this man might be regularly putting expensive salon products on it.

Henry paused a moment, trying to decide if Esmond could see him as well. It was safe to say that he couldn't. He was staring at Alex and Josh like they were looking at nothing.

"What's up, you two? What are you looking at?"

Alex recovered enough to make something up.

"Nothing. Josh and I were just talking. Sorry about the wait."

"Come on then. The car's waiting."

Henry walked with them, feeling a bit put off the more he heard Esmond speak. Esmond asked about Alex's day at work, never once looking at Josh. He had snuck an arm around Alex's as the two walked along. Once they reached the car, Henry found himself having to sit right where Esmond was. It looked like he was overshadowing him when in reality he was just trying to make do with the lack of space. The car was nice but only fit three passengers, since there was a driver in the front seat along with another man whom Henry found out was named Carl. Esmond continued to talk to Alex, paying no mind to anyone else in the car. This in turn made Alex glance in his direction and Henry knew that he was keeping his focus on him just as much as he was on Esmond. If Esmond noticed anything amiss, he didn't say anything.

"What would you guys like for dinner tonight?" asked the man named Carl.

Alex seemed to smile at him in gratitude for getting Esmond to shut up.

"Would you guys like to order pizza tonight? Josh and I could buy."

"Nonsense," Esmond declared, "We'll be more than happy to pay for it. I remember that your favorite pizza is supreme, right Alex?"

Alex nodded.

"Right. Do you want cheese, Josh?"

The little boy nodded and Henry was reminded of the time he was a child and only liked cheese pizza too. The rest of the adults decided on supreme, so Esmond called it in. They soon pulled up to the biggest house Henry had ever seen. Once inside, Alex instructed Josh to wash up for dinner, then he excused himself from Esmond.

Finally Henry and Alex were alone in Alex's new room. The living man seemed to debate for a second whether or not he wanted to sit down, finally choosing to remain standing and face in Henry's direction.

"I'm sorry about running you off earlier," he said after a pause.

Henry didn't think apologies were needed. Alex was just trying to protect his brother from a ghost, after all. As a matter of fact, Henry thought it was sweet how protective Alex was of Josh, especially if what Josh said about being the favorite son was true.

"I want to help," Henry offered.

Alex gave him a look that revealed he had no idea what the ghost was talking about. Henry set out to explain.

"Josh told me that you're having problems with your ex."

The living man took a step back, blown away by the shock of the information.

"What? How did he-? Never mind. I guess he somehow overheard us."

"Overheard you guys saying what? What did this Esmond Anderson guy say to you?"

Now Alex decided it was a good time to sit down, taking a seat on the red blankets of his comfortable looking bed. The dark haired man took in a deep breath while Henry stood and waited patiently.

Suddenly, Alex patted a spot next to him and looked at Henry. With a fluttering heart, Henry took the unspoken offer to sit next to him. He gave no extra weight on the mattress and he wondered what Alex thought about sitting right next to a spirit.

Alex's P.O.V.

He wanted Henry by him, ever since he told dream Esmond off. He didn't believe in love at first sight but he did subscribe to the thought of instant infatuation. If only Henry had never been killed, they could've met and have been something.

But it was too late for that now.

Wasn't it? I mean, what could they do now? Alex couldn't even touch him or hug him, so there was no way he could imagine loving this guy.

Still, he wanted to help, even after he had been a total ass to him. Alex couldn't help but feel loved. The feeling seemed so foreign to him.

"When Esmond first called, he sounded sorry about all I had been through. He offered me a great paying job. I mean, really good. Too good for a security guard. I knew there was more to it then Esmond told me but I wanted to believe that he wanted to make amends. So I took the job."

Henry nodded in understanding, saying nothing. He waited for Alex to gather himself and continue. Alex saw that Henry was going to remain silent, so he went on.

"He said that he wanted to apologize and help out an old friend. Then Josh started talking about you and I got scared. I wanted to move away from that apartment that you died in. So, I took Esmond's offer to move in with him."

Henry must have felt the stab of the somewhat indirect blame put on his shoulders for his shoulders tensed up a bit. Alex thought quickly of how to rectify the situation.

"It was Walter Sullivan that scared me off," he remedied, "The man who killed you. I thought he might come and kill us at any moment."

This Henry seemed to sympathize with. Alex decided to ask what had been in the back of his mind for some time.

"I was wondering. Why didn't you ask for help once you found out that he was after you? Why did you think locking yourself in your room would save you?"

Henry shook his head.

"You don't understand-"

"Try me."

The ghost fell silent in contemplation. Now it was Alex's turn to wait for an explanation. He couldn't help but feel that Henry was partly to blame for his own death. Why didn't he call or ask for help? It was like he didn't even try. As a matter of fact, people had been reaching out to him and he would never respond to them.

Such was the information Alex had gathered over the internet. He had an awful thought and spat it out from his lips like poison.

"You didn't even try to save yourself."

If only Henry had made an effort, like Alex had in Silent Hill, then he would still be alive. He and Alex could've been something. Alex didn't expect the sudden glare that Henry now had on his face. It wasn't directed at him, instead, Henry held his cold gaze on the floor.

"You don't even know what happened."

"I know that you locked yourself in your room when you could've fought," Alex said, "If there's one thing I learned from the Order, it's never to run away."

Henry responded by leaving.

Henry's P.O.V.

He knew he was being childish. He knew that he was only proving Alex right. But he didn't care because there was so much he got wrong. Alex accused him of not doing anything to prevent his own death when he had tried his very best!

It wasn't so much the accusation that hurt Henry but the fact that said accusation reminded him of his failure. His failure to save Eileen and stop Walter. Everything had rested on him that day and he had let everyone down. He went through every day trying to avoid thinking about it, yet Alex had the nerve to throw it in his face.

He was walking to the apartment when a hand forced him around until he was face to face with Walter's deathly angry eyes. He winced on instinct, waiting for some sort of blow his way. But Walter just stood there with his hand gripping at his shoulder like a tiger clawing prey. It seriously hurt and Henry knew more pain was bound to follow soon.

"So…" Walter began in a cool yet dangerous voice. Like the eye of the storm, "This living being you like so much. Who is he? Who is that fucker?"

Henry had to rethink what Walter just told him for it to fully trigger in his brain. With his mouth hanging open and his eyes widening in terror, Henry could do nothing but gape silently. Alex was in danger. How did Walter find out about him?

Impatient, the murderer shook Henry harshly.

"I told you to tell me who he is! Who is he?"

"How did you find out?" Henry asked, bewildered.

He barely registered Walter twisting his body and being strangled in a chokehold. Walter was pissed, snarling like a rabid dog. He wanted answers.

And if he got them, Alex would be hurt. Henry couldn't risk it. He choked out his retaliation.

"I won't tell!" he shouted stubbornly.

"You will, Receiver," Walter said it like a promise.

"No, I won't. You'll kill him."

Henry was pushed away forcefully. His first thought was to run but he soon aborted that idea. He would not give Walter the satisfaction of knowing he was scared.

Walter's green eyes bore into his, full of hidden threats just dying to be unleashed. Despite himself, Henry took a step back. That was as much cowardliness as he was willing to show to him.

"I will not tell you. I don't have to tell you anything."

"Yes, you do," Walter insisted with his fists clenching by his side, "You belong to me. You are meant to obey me."

Now it was Henry who was pissed.

"You may have killed me but I'm not yours or anyone else's. You got your 21 Sacraments but you don't have me. Killing me doesn't give you ownership."

Walter arched an eyebrow, seeming slightly amused yet still angry at the same time.

"I owned you even before I killed you, Henry. You have always been mine."

Henry flipped him the bird. Walter didn't seem any angrier, as a matter of fact, he seemed to be calming down.

"I will find out who it is. And you will be punished too."

"Punished for what?" Henry demanded.

"Adultery. You're mine."

With that, Walter left and Henry realized that Walter was going to force a relationship on him. His heart sank. He had to protect Alex.