Title from Hang On A Little Longer by Ruelle ✨
Set vaguely after season 3, I guess, but let's just say Alex is still in the Air Force yet he and Kyle are technically also part of Deep Sky.
Follow up to I can hear the sound of your barely beating heart
Guerin was incredibly lucky not to have short circuited his own heart in his attempt at restarting Alex's – something Kyle had admonished him for repeatedly since then.
He had succeeded in passing out in a rather dramatic fashion at Liz's feet, scaring the life out of Isobel and leaving Kyle with yet another patient to deal with. But, he supposed, it was much better than the alternative. And after feeling rough for a day – regardless of the gallon of acetone he had chugged – he had soon been back to his normal self.
Not that Kyle was complaining (for once). He couldn't imagine what Alex would do to him if he found out that his boyfriend had sacrificed his life in order to raise him from the dead.
Kyle was definitely taking partial credit for that by the way. Guerin may have used his magical glowy hand, but the tests they had run since then revealed that his and Liz's serum had fused to Alex's cells, the handprint had just given it the jump start it needed.
It was still crazy to think about. The feat they had achieved with only a few science nerds and some alien DNA. He and Liz had literally pulled off the impossible, bringing a human being— bringing their best friend back to life.
They wouldn't have pulled any of it off without his uncle's powerful, pro-alien organisation, of course. The tech at Deep Sky had been invaluable not to mention the private space they had been afforded. All employees were very serious about their oath to secrecy regarding what they worked on and witnessed within that building, but it was still nice to know they didn't have to worry about any ex-boyfriends sneaking around trying to scoop out their scientific discoveries.
He understood why his uncle had been wary when he and Alex had first started to bring everyone into the fold. Eduardo had employed them not their friends. And that was only after extensive background checks. (Yes, even on his own nephew).
This time, he'd welcomed them with open arms if it meant finding a cure for Alex.
Not that it should ever have been needed.
Alex should never have ended up in that situation.
He had been so close to leaving the Air Force. So close to getting out. And he'd told Kyle as much over a beer at the Wild Pony some weeks before his death. He had only stayed in order to investigate the last vestiges of Project Shepard that he suspected was still active but he'd promised Kyle – he'd promised himself – that his next mission would be his last.
Oh, how right he was.
When he'd bumped into Kyle on the morning of his last assignment, he'd mentioned his certainty that his father still had a hold on a small corner of the military and that the mission he was being sent on could very well prove the connection he'd been looking for.
He'd made Kyle promise not to tell Michael – that his boyfriend would just worry endlessly until he returned. Not that Kyle would have blamed him.
When the call came in about Alex's death, he knew his friend's suspicions had been true. And he wished beyond anything that he had stopped him from going.
Getting the news had been like a hundred punches to the stomach, winding him instantly. In fact, it felt like he had been holding his breath ever since Isobel had called. His lungs closing in on themselves, refusing to take in any air until his friend could do the same, as if it was the least they could do.
But there was time to unpack his guilt later. For now, he was more than happy to focus on the miracle of a fact that Alex Manes was alive.
There was just the minor issue of him not having woken up yet.
Entering the Deep Sky infirmary, he was unsurprised to see that the familiar scene before him was unchanged since his last check in. Alex was reclined on the bed, eyes closed in a seemingly endless sleep, the few screens surrounding him beeping steadily.
The EKG leads snaking under the collar of his loose-fitting t-shirt were just a precaution, a way for Kyle to monitor his condition easily and put his mind at ease for when he wasn't in the room. For all intents and purposes, Alex seemed to be okay, his recent brush with death having left no ill effects on his body.
Glued to his side, Guerin didn't look to have moved an inch in the hour that Kyle was out of the room. He'd been waiting patiently, diligently, (relentlessly) since Alex had taken his first breath a few days ago and lack of sleep was definitely going to catch up with him at some point. Kyle had tried to make him take a break, but if there was one thing Michael Guerin wasn't going to do, it was listen to a Valenti.
He was looking better though, in a way. Still tired, but less dishevelled. Less of a wreck. The past month had been hard on all of them but none more than Michael. For a rough, tough cowboy, always eager to put up a front, he hadn't been far off from completely breaking apart. And even Kyle had to admit, that had been difficult to witness.
But the hardest part was over now, Alex was alive and that was their only focus.
Guerin didn't react as Kyle entered the room, one hand propping up his chin whilst the other rested gently atop Alex's, his thumb lazily tracing the grooves of his boyfriend's knuckles. His gaze only wandered away from Alex's lax features once Kyle was close enough to survey the monitors, but he had a feeling Guerin was paying more attention to the up and down of the waveform than he was to the doctor reading them.
It was a common sight at the hospital – relatives not wanting to stray too far from their loved ones for fear of the worst. Sometimes they would stare at the screens for hours without really knowing what the flashing numbers meant, just on the lookout for the first warning sign that something was wrong. Anything to feel useful.
It was a horrible responsibility for someone to put on themselves, but he was kind of glad Alex had someone in his life that would do the same for him.
He'd seen the connection between the two of them for some time, even back in high school when he'd secretly kept track on Alex in between his macho need to torment him. He had to thank teenage Kyle for having a modicumofsense back then and not sabotaging Alex's life entirely.
Since they'd reconciled, he'd seen how cheerful Alex had been. The way he got all sappy when he talked about Guerin, blush creeping up his cheeks as if Kyle wasn't aware of how absolutely head over heels he was.
And honestly, it made Kyle so damn happy.
He glanced up from Alex's chart, pen hovering above the paper mid-update, and over to Guerin with a look that obviously had the man spiralling into instant panic.
"What's wrong?" Guerin asked, eyes widening as his brow pulled down low. Kyle chose not to comment on the way he gripped Alex's hand a little tighter.
"What's wrong is that you're still sitting here. I thought I told you to go home and rest."
"Yeah, and I told you that I'm not going anywhere, Valenti." His attempt at being disdainful failed, his usual level of snark muted drastically by the clear exhaustion hanging over him.
Kyle held back the exasperated sigh as he continued jotting down notes. He knew better than to argue against Guerin when he was like this. His first attempts at getting him to leave had ended with raised voices and more accidentally exploded light bulbs and he couldn't imagine Eduardo would be best pleased with more of his property being destroyed.
He could feel Guerin's eyes on him, watching him carefully as he wrote, so obvious in his concern.
"Is something wrong?" Guerin asked him gingerly as he placed the clipboard on the table, and he forced himself to hold back another sigh for a completely different reason.
"No." He replied, the gentle tone saved for soothing fearful relatives coming through. "Everything still looks okay. There doesn't seem to be any lasting effects, his vitals are still normal… We just need to give him time."
Guerin nodded, roughly wiping at a stray tear that escaped so quickly it had rolled off his chin before he could stop it. Kyle hadn't thought it possible for him to look even more deflated but the way his gaze shifted back to Alex showed his disappointment at the answer.
They could pretend that it was good news all they wanted, taking solace in that fact that Alex wasn't suddenly getting worse, but the longer it took for him to wake up, the harder it was to see any positives.
"Does he know that we're here? Can he— like, is he hearing us, without being able to—?"
And if that wasn't the age-old coma question.
"Honestly Guerin, I don't know."
Michael nodded again absentmindedly, biting his lip so hard Kyle was surprised he didn't draw blood. There was little else he could do for now and as Guerin laced his fingers with Alex's, bringing his hand up to kiss softly at his knuckles, he took that as his cue to leave.
Before he could fully close the door behind him, he heard Guerin whisper gently to a blissfully unaware Alex.
"You take as long as you need. We'll all be here when you're ready."
Kyle didn't stray far.
As had often been the case during the past few days.
He had taken emergency leave at the hospital shortly after beginning their search for a cure. Every minute spent not in the lab had felt like a waste of precious time and he had found it increasingly more difficult to concentrate on the patients in front of him when his mind kept wandering to the one waiting for him in stasis.
He had yet to return to work, despite successfully pulling off the small medical miracle of conquering death and resurrecting his childhood best friend. They were in untested waters here with no real clue of the consequences to their actions and he wasn't going to leave until he knew for certain that Alex would be okay.
Bringing him back didn't come with any guarantees, despite what he had been reassuring Guerin. But then, sometimes loved ones needed that little bit of hope to hold onto.
He kept himself busy in the lab – Deep Sky having an abundance of fascinating work to dive into – until it was time to check in on Alex again.
The door opened quietly as he turned the handle, the soft click of the hinges doing little to disturb the occupants of the room, and the softly spoken words floating out from inside left him reluctant to enter. As he lingered in the doorway, he could hear Guerin talking to Alex again, gentle encouragements for him to open his eyes or squeeze his hand again.
He could see Alex from where he stood and it was only as he noticed the tiny furrow of his brow that had been absent for so long, that he registered Guerin's words.
Again.
Kyle felt his heart in his throat as he realised what he was watching. The scrunch of his nose, the ever so slightly pursed lips. Was Alex really, finally waking up?
He stepped further into the room, eager to be ready in case his patient needed him but found himself pausing before he got too close. His heart was racing now in anticipation but a small part of him – the part that had witnessed this exact situation so many times at the hospital over the years – begged him not to get his hopes up.
That begged him to tell Guerin not to get his hopes up.
It had been so long since they had brought a deceased Alex back to Roswell, a small part of him had never really believed that their end goal would be achieved. That this had been the best they were ever going to get. But it seemed the universe had actually answered their prayers.
Alex's eyes opened slowly, his unfocused gaze lazily searching the ceiling above him before drifting to the right to land on Guerin. For a moment, there was no sign of recognition, just two dark eyes staring at a stranger in front of him and then— Alex smiled. A frail, pitiful excuse for a smile, the corners of his lips turning up just a fraction. But honestly, it was the most beautiful thing in the world.
Guerin was too caught up in the moment to notice Kyle's intrusion. He was standing now, one hand still wrapped around Alex's as he squeezed it tight, beaming grin on his face as he let the tears freely stain his skin. His other ran soothingly through Alex's hair, and he bent forward to press wet and teary kisses against his temple, whispering grateful reassurances too low for Kyle to make out.
Alex could barely keep his eyes open as he tried to accept the sudden outpouring of love, but his smile couldn't help but grow. His hand lifted from the bed but, lacking the strength to get far enough to reach Guerin, it came to rest weakly on his chest and Kyle wondered if maybe the physical touches weren't the only thing he was feeling.
He watched as Alex slowly ran his thumb back and forth over the spot at the centre of his ribs — the spot where an alien handprint had been etched into his skin a few days prior – and wondered if maybe he could feel Guerin's very soul crying out in relief. If the celestial bond that Guerin had been desperate to feel had finally snapped into place.
He had been trying to ignite it since he resurrected Alex, questioning Liz and Max on how it worked for them— how he could use it to bring Alex back to them. But each time he tried, there had been nothing. A dark emptiness where a rush of emotions should be. He'd beaten himself up about that, convinced he had done something wrong. Convinced that he had failed Alex.
But Kyle had never believed that.
It had been hard to see Alex so lifeless for so damn long, flashes of a future without him spurring them on and pushing them to the limit. But watching him now, him and Guerin, Kyle's heart was almost bursting with relief.
On the darker days when it had been too much for Guerin, when the outcome they'd longed for had been but an impossible notion and he had struggled to see even the dimmest light at the end of the tunnel, Kyle had tried his best to keep the hope alive. For Guerin. For Alex. For all of them.
But watching them now, foreheads touching and fingers intertwined, he didn't need to cling onto that hope anymore.
The doctor in him was desperate to check on his patient but he forced himself to hold back. This precious moment was the least they deserved and it would do neither of them any good for him to break it.
So he let them hold each other for a minute longer. And as he watched on with a full heart and teary eyes, he finally let himself take a breath.