A/N So this was only ever supposed to be a one-shot but then you guys had to keep inspiring me. Once again, I think this will be the last chapter but I thought that the last two times also. Maybe third time's the charm.

Once again, thank you to everyone who reviewed. I love each and every one I get and they make my days just a little bit brighter. :)

This chapter took over my mind after reading this review:

Sekhem: This is good, although I don't think the story's over yet. I've watched all of the episodes so far, and I've noticed that Henry comes across as managing to have at least some control in any situation he gets dropped into, and to have come undone the way he did in this story would have to be devastating to him. My question is, how does he live with himself after that?

I hope this meets expectations. :)

Sinking Like Stone

Henry woke up slowly, feeling exhausted but lucid. He wasn't sure how long it had been since the withdrawal started but he thought it might have been two or three days. He was lying in his own bed. Abe must have somehow managed to get him to his room. Henry had no memory of that.

He only lay there for a moment before he couldn't take it anymore. His mind and thoughts kept swirling around. He felt trapped. He felt like he was drowning. He had to move. He pushed back the covers and struggled into a sitting position.

He took a deep breath and felt the panic subside, followed quickly by self-loathing. He was a mess. Reduced to a quivering, quaking, train wreak of a man.

After two hundred years, Henry thought he could no longer be embarrassed. He was wrong. For anyone, even Abe, to see him so undone was horrifying to the normally so in-control man. Shame, another emotion he hadn't felt for some time, rolled through him.

He had spent almost his whole life studying the human body, and yet all of that knowledge had done nothing to help him control his own body as it had rebelled against him. Never had he felt so out of control and helpless. Never had he been such a slave to his own mind.

Most of the previous few days were blurred by pain and delirium but he could remember enough. He never wanted to go through that again.

He ran an unsteady hand through his hair. Even now he was still weak and shaky. Even now his body still wanted more of the drug. Would it ever stop? Would he ever stop feeling the tug of craving?

He let out a hitched breath as tears stung his eyes. He growled in frustration. Would his emotions ever stop being all over the place? He angrily swiped his hand across his eyes and stood unsteadily.

Once on his feet, he wasn't sure where to go. He couldn't leave the shop. He looked terrible. That wasn't the real reason he couldn't leave, though. He was afraid if he left the safety of those walls he would run to the first dealer he could find. That was the last thing he wanted, and yet, he wanted nothing more. That terrified him.

He couldn't leave the shop but he could no longer lay in bed with nothing but his thoughts to keep him company. Allowing himself to think was dangerous. It gave his mind the opportunity to dwell on how much he wanted to stick a needle into his arm.

He stood there for a long moment, trying to focus his mind enough to decide what to do with himself. He felt restless. He felt weak and tired. He felt... dirty. He needed a shower. A nice cleansing shower to wash away all of his problems. In the back of his mind he knew a shower would solve very little, especially where his mental state was concerned but it was something to do and it would make him feel better, physically at least.

He entered the bathroom but stopped short as his eyes caught his reflection in the mirror. He tentatively stepped closer to the reflection, almost unable to believe the face he was seeing was his own.

He had dark circles under his eyes. His face was covered in scraggly stubble that did nothing to hide the paleness of his skin or the slightly sunken look to his cheeks. What was the most disturbing, though, was his eyes. They looked so haunted.

He looked himself in the eye and could see the craving staring back at him from the depths of his gaze. Like some monster that had coiled itself around his soul and refused to let go.

He spun away from the mirror and squeezed his eyes closed, his breaths coming quick and uneven. He rubbed his face with trembling hands and tried to turn his mind away from the dark thoughts.

It took him longer to calm down than he would have liked, but finally he was able to collect himself and get into the shower.

He didn't look in the mirror again.

The water was hot enough to almost burn and steam filled the bathroom. He braced his hands against the wall and let the water cascade over his head and down his back, wishing the water could wash away the last few days. The sound of the shower helped his mind go blank. He didn't think. He didn't feel. He just breathed.

When the water ran cold, he got out of the shower and dressed. He felt better. Not normal, but better. He walked out of the bathroom, passing the fogged up mirror on the way. He didn't stop to wipe it clear.

As he stepped out of the bathroom, he nearly ran into Abe who had a slightly worried expression on his face as he looked at Henry. They both stood there for a long moment without saying anything. Henry shifted uncomfortably, unable to meet Abe's gaze. He had never wanted to turn and flee quite so much as in that moment. When had things become so awkward between them?

It wasn't hard for Henry to come up with the answer to that particular question.

"How are you feeling?" Abe finally asked when the silence threatened to become too much.

"I'm..." Henry trailed off, knowing he couldn't say fine. He was so far from fine it was laughable. "...okay," he settled on instead.

"Good. Good," Abe said.

They lapsed into another less than comfortable silence. Neither one of them quite knew what to say.

"Abe, I..." Henry trailed off again.

"Ah, forget about it," Abe said lightly, waving off Henry's words like he usually did.

He started to turn away but Henry grabbed his arm, stopping him.

"No. I..." he paused, searching for the right words. "Thank you," he said, the words sounding woefully inadequate to his own ears.

It didn't matter, though. Abe could see everything Henry didn't know how to say shining in his eyes.

"Always," Abe said softly, reaching out and squeezing Henry's arm.

Henry dropped his gaze from Abe's as his eyes grew bright. He blinked quickly, trying to hold onto his unpredictable emotions. He had already embarrassed himself enough. He refused to break down in front of anyone, even Abe.

He hadn't counted on Abe doing something he hadn't done in a long time. He wrapped his arms around Henry in an increasingly rare embrace.

Any hope Henry had had of holding back his traitorous tears, evaporated in that moment.

"It's going to be okay," Abe said softly.

The conviction and promise in those words were all it took and Henry finally broke down.

A/N Please leave me a review and let me know if I did okay. :)