It was well into the evening when, one by one, the generals bid Alexander goodnight and left his tent. Hephaestion stood to leave with the others, not wanting to tire Alexander any further than he already was.

"Hephaestion…please, stay." Alexander smiled softly at him. The Kings' face was pale and drawn, his expression showing that he was obviously in pain. There were dark circles under his eyes and the blonde curls that Hephaestion loved so much were limp and dull. Hephaestion hesitated briefly before dropping down into the chair beside the bed.

"You really should rest, Alexander" he said gently. "We have orders from your doctor not to stress you."

Alexander chuckled softly, carefully repositioning himself as he sat on the bed, propped up on some pillows against the headboard. "I am fine, Hephaestion. Really I am."

Hephaestion shook his head, laughing. "Yes, I can see that" he smirked. Leaning over, he ran his fingers very lightly over the bandage that covered Alexander's chest. It had been bleeding again somewhat, a small crimson stain seeping through the thick bandage. "I should get the doctor. This needs to be rewrapped."

Alexander shook his head. "No, Hephaestion, really. I've just been moving a little too much. I promise I will rest now. You can at least keep me company a little longer, Phai…please. I've missed you."

Hephaestion stood and moved over to the bed, sitting carefully on the side. He leaned over and rested his forehead against Alexander's, closing his eyes. He could not stop the tears that suddenly began to flow down his face.

Alexander took Hephaestion's face gently in his hands and lifted it, gazing into his blue eyes. "What? What's this? Hephaestion? What's wrong?"

Hephaestion turned his head to the side, avoiding Alexander's eyes. He felt foolish for his reaction, but he could not stop it. He had held his emotions in check for so long, not allowing himself to feel anything at all or, gods forbid, let anyone see his vulnerability. But now…

He choked back a sob and buried his face in the crook of Alexander's neck. "I'm sorry…" he managed. "I'm sorry, Alexander."

"Ssshhh…it's okay, Hephaestion." Alexander kissed the top of Hephaestion's head and stroked his back tenderly. "Really, Hephaestion, I'm going to be okay."

Hephaestion took a deep breath, getting his emotions under control. He was angry at himself for falling apart in front of Alexander. The last thing he wanted to do was cause Alexander any distress. He pulled back slightly, a small smile on his lips. "I'm okay, Alexander. I'm just so relieved and so happy that you are here and alive." He gazed deeply into the eyes of the one he would lay down his life for and spoke quietly. "I thought I'd lost you."

Alexander took Hephaestion's face in his hands and kissed him gently before leaning back and smiling at him. "You'll never lose me, Hephaestion." He chuckled softly. "You know how stubborn I am. I'm not going anywhere." He reached up and brushed a loose strand of hair from Hephaestion's eyes. "I love you, Hephaestion. I've not said it enough lately, and I am sorry for that. You mean more to me than anything, and I'll not leave you. I promise."

Hephaestion leaned forward and kissed Alexander, a tender, lingering kiss. He could not get enough of touching him at the moment, though his hands moved very carefully for fear of hurting him. Releasing Alexander, he climbed onto the bed with him, sitting beside him with his back against the headboard, shoulders touching. He took Alexander's hand and laced their fingers together.

"Alexander, don't make promises you can't keep. You know as well as I that we can't promise something like that. We never know what the gods have in store for us. I would never leave you willingly, but sometimes the will of the gods is different from our own. You know as well as I that either of us could fall in battle at any time."

Alexander cocked his head and arched an eyebrow at Hephaestion, patting his bandaged chest with his hand. "Yes, I'm quite well aware of that" he smirked. "Seriously though, Hephaestion, I promise that I will never willingly leave you. That much at least I can promise."

Hephaestion smiled, leaning his head back against the headboard and closed his eyes. "And I make you the same promise, Alexander." He sat up again, his expression more serious. "Alexander, you can't do things like that anymore. What were you thinking?"

Alexander frowned slightly. "You sound like Craterus, gods forbid."

Hephaestion laughed lightly. "I'll forgive you for saying that. But truly, he only stated what the rest of us have been saying and thinking. We love you, Alexander, but you take too many risks sometimes. You aren't invincible, regardless of what you think."

Alexander smiled ruefully. "Fine. Message received. Now, if you are through fussing at me, I think I need to get some rest. Quite frankly, my love, I feel like shit."

Hephaestion leaned over and kissed him gently before climbing off the bed. "I will leave you to your rest. I love you, my reckless King. Now…sleep. I will see you in the morning. Health to you."

Hephaestion walked the short distance back to his tent, thanking the gods profusely for preserving the life of his friend, his king, his beloved Alexander. He would have Damon bring him a meal. He was hungry for the first time in a week.

Tonight, finally, he would sleep, free of his nightmares, and tomorrow he would greet the dawn with a smile.

Their sun would shine once more.

(nope...no love scene. Our King is certainly not up to it. I'll save it for another story)