The two men stared at each other for what seemed to be an eternity, neither able to speak as the heartbreaking words hung in the air. Unable to say much else, David stood and set his shaver on the counter.

"I'll get a bath ready," he whispered, turning the faucet to full blast and dropping some bubbling shower gel in the water. He adjusted it to the perfect temperature and hurried to grab a clean towel and washcloth, also setting out a pair of lounge pants on the bed for Jon.

He re-entered and tried to avoid looking at Jon's wounds too much for fear of his emotions unraveling. He did notice, however, that Jon was skinnier and his arms were dotted with needle marks.

"I'm...I'm sorry you have to see me...like this, D," Jon murmured as he dropped his head, hiding his shame.

"Just happy you're okay," David replied, setting the towel on the toilet seat and shut off the water when the tub was full. "I'll...give you some...privacy..." He turned to leave, staring at the floor.

"No!" Jon said, reaching out to grab onto David's arm with as much strength as he could muster, "Stay...please? I don't want to be alone..."

David swallowed thickly and nodded. He helped Jon into the tub, giving him a small smile when he visibly relaxed in the hot water. "Do you...um...want me to sit here or...?" He pointed at the small bench.

"Can you bring yourself to get in with me?"

"If you want me to." Jon watched as David slowly stripped off his jeans and shirt, showing off his time at the gym and the muscles in his arms flexing. David stepped in and sat opposite Jon, both examining the bath bubbles with awkward interest.

"I'm sorry," Jon said softly, "I'm sorry for all of it. For fucking things up with Richie. For not dealing with James better. For not trusting anyone enough to help me deal with it." He sniffed as his tears dropped into the bubbles, "For fucking things up with you. For embarrassing you at the hotel." His shoulders shook as the sobs broke through the emotionless walls he'd built up over the past couple of weeks, "I'm sorry that you had to see me like this; a drug fucked cock whore."

David bit his lip and held out his arms to Jon, who cried and crawled into his embrace. "Jonny, if anyone needs to be sorry here, it's me. I should have helped you figure out the bullshit rather than blame you for everything. I told you...I'm terrible at relationships. Things get tough and instead of being there for you, I tell you to fuck off and run to my ex." David sighed sadly and picked up the washcloth. "You have nothing to be sorry about, Jonny."

He wet the cloth and let the water cascade over Jon's chest and shoulders. A little bath gel and David worked up a nice thick lather, up to Jon's neck and down his arms.

Jon hissed and pulled away when one particularly fresh bite wound was cleaned. He couldn't remember who or when that one happened. Last night? Last week? It had all become a blur as he had tried to kill his memories and numb his pain with alcohol, drugs and mindless, nameless sex.

David caressed Jon's cheek with his fingertips, noticing how much more pronounced his jawbone was. "I'll make sure we order food for you. You've lost a lot of weight...too much."

"Coke doesn't have much nutritional value," Jon said blandly, "I can't remember the last meal I had." He started scratching at his scabbed skin as the last of his coke from the night before began to leave his body.

"Fuck, Jonny," David breathed, his tears betraying him and spilling over. "I'm not going anywhere. We'll get you through this..." He forced Jon to look him in the eye, "Together."

Jon held his gaze for as long as he could before wrapping his arms around David and buried his face into his neck. Finally, he felt safe enough to grieve over the love he had single-handedly destroyed. "You don't need me, Lema. I'm a liability. I won't stop you if you want to leave the band. You deserve your own time in the spotlight."

"We'll talk about the music later. It's not important right now and I'm not leaving," David said with a smile and kissed his cheek. "Jonny, how long have you known me?"

"Our whole lives or close to it," he replied as his head rested on David's shoulder.

"Then you should know me better than that." David wet Jon's hair and started working shampoo through the dank locks, massaging his scalp and humming peacefully.

"Feels good, baby," Jon mumbled sleepily as the sandman beckoned him again. He sighed as his limbs went lax in the warm water. "So sleepy."

Watching his eyes droop, David gently rinsed Jon's hair. By the time he'd stepped out and picked Jon up, the latter was snoring softly. He sat and cradled his best friend to dry him, examining around his nether region for...what? Herpes? Crabs? Blood? Maybe all three.

Silently he prayed the doctor would find none of them. Seeing nothing, David laid Jon in bed and tucked him in. He jumped slightly when his phone started to buzz on the dresser and picked it up. "Matt...I told you I'd call after Jon saw the doctor..."

"He's my brother, Lema," Matt growled, "I need to know he's okay. It..it didn't look like him in the photo. Who do I need to kill that did that to him?"

"It was worse when I got him undressed. He's covered in bruises, deep scratches and...and..."

"And what??!" Matt asked.

"Track marks."

"The fuck?!" Matt yelled down the line, "No, you're wrong. It's gotta be something else. Jonny doesn't do that shit."

David sighed in frustration. "Matt, I know what I saw."

"Then someone has done that to him," he snarled, "I'll get in the car now and find the fucker that did it. He'll be dead within the hour."

"Or you will. I need you to trust me and just stay where you are. Soon as he can, I'll drive him back to Colts Neck with me," David replied in a firm tone. "Jon...Jon did it to himself, Matt."

"Fuck!" Matt yelled in frustration, "Fine! But you keep me informed of every fucking step, you hear me?"

"Don't get your panties in a twist. He's in good hands." David hung up the phone and stared at the wallpaper, he and Jon on the beach with a beautiful sunset behind them. He dimmed the light and crawled under the covers, sliding his arm around Jon's emaciated waist.

Jon groaned in his sleep, curling into a fetal position unconsciously backing into David's warmth. He started to toss and turn an hour or so later, nightmares chasing through his mind like the horsemen of the apocalypse before he was jolted awake. It took him a moment to register where he was before nausea roiled through him again.

"Oh god," he groaned and bolted from the bed, dropping to his knees in front of the toilet just as his stomach rejected into the bowl what little contents it contained.

He continued to retch violently, piteously, until he was weakly gripping on to the porcelain. It wasn't the first time it had happened. There had been times previously he'd woken on the floor staring at the pedestal.

"Jon?" David called out sleepily, his voice thick and raspy. "Jon! Oh shit..." He dropped to his knees to support Jon and rubbing his back.

The retching finally subsided and Jon fell to the floor in exhaustion, his hands shaking violently. "Go back to bed, D," he croaked, "I got this."

"Shush." David grabbed a glass from the counter and filled it with cold water. "Here, babe. Drink up. You need something to throw up at least."

Jon scoffed wryly at the comment, his hand shaking uncontrollably as he took the glass, but took a sip anyway. He swished out his mouth and spat it into the bowl before taking a deeper drink. "Sorry I woke you up." His voice sounded scratchy and his throat was sore.

"I'm gonna call and see if the hotel doctor is still here. Will you be okay for a few minutes? Are you hungry?"

"I don't know if I'm hungry anymore. I...I think so," Jon frowned, "but I don't want to throw it up. One reason I haven't been eating much...you know how much I hate being sick."

"Bacon and toast it is," David smiled and nearly bounced from the room. Thankfully, the onsite doctor was available and up to their room in fifteen minutes. Jon needed help back to the bed and tried to calm his tremors enough to be checked out.

David sat behind him and watched intently as Jon's vitals, physical exam, and recent medical and sexual history were taken. Next, the doctor had Jon lay back as she pulled on a pair of latex gloves and a small tube of lube.

"Okay, Jon, I need you to relax," the doctor stated.

"DAVID!"

"Oh shit..." David's eyes widened when he heard Richie shouting.

"Rich..." Jon whimpered.

"I know you're in there," Richie yelled, "Let me in!"

Jon and David glanced at each other. "Maybe he'll go away?" David asked hopefully.

"He won't."

"I know. Stay here." David jumped off the bed and grabbed Richie's phone. He opened the door with the chain still attached. "Hey man...oh yeah, here's your phone..." He shoved it towards Richie.

"Let me in, Lema," Richie growled, "I know you found Jonny. I want to see him!"

"Now isn't a good time."

"Why not?!"

David rolled his eyes and gave him a guilty look. "Because...it's just not."

Richie smacked his open hand against the door making it shake on its hinges and David yelped. "You got an hour, Lema, then I'm coming back. Believe me when I say, I'll break this door down if you try and stop me next time."

"OW FUCK!" Jon cried out from inside the room.

"Jonny?!" Richie exclaimed as he rattled the door again, "Why's he in pain, Lema? Just tell me, god damn it!"

David looked over his shoulder and brought his voice down. "He was...hurt when I found him. He'd been beaten and...raped. But he's also been using on the street and in clubs with...I don't know who. The doctor is examining him."

Richie stared through the crack in the door in disbelief at what he was hearing, tears making his eyes glassy. He scrubbed his hand over his face and growled, "One hour! You better fucking let me in then, Lema." He turned on his heels and stalked back down the hallway as his howl of anguish bounced off the walls.

David shut and leaned against the door, breathing deep to calm his anxiety. The doctor was finishing up and had several test tubes resting on the dresser top.

"Baby... I'm here," he reassured and enveloped Jon in a warm hug.

"Well," the doctor started, "The good news is you don't have any physical signs of infection like warts, crabs or herpes. You do have quite a bit of anal swelling and tearing. I'll prescribe you a topical ointment that will help ease the pain and itching as you heal as well as Suboxone to help with the drug withdrawals."

Jon nodded and muttered, "Thanks Doc."

He shifted on the bed trying to get comfortable as she wrote out the prescriptions and started packing away her stuff and sealing the vials of blood into a plastic container for safety before disposing of her gloves into the pile of rubbish.

David shot a furtive glance at Jon and turned to the doctor. "Doc...any chance of expediting the results?"

"I'll do my best, Mr. Bryan, but the HIV testing normally takes 3 to 5 days. Just restrict any and all sexual contact until I call you. His body needs time to heal."

"Don't think that'll be a problem," Jon groaned from the bed. The doctor left and he was helped to the bathroom to brush his teeth. Nobody liked the taste of vomit but Jon was especially sensitive to it. David stood behind to support his shaky figure and brushed the man's hair out.

"I forgot how much I like long hair on you," he commented, noticing that it resembled Jon's hair from the 80s. They smiled at each other in the mirror, David's hands holding Jon steady and working his hair into a ponytail.

Room service had finally arrived. Jon hesitantly tucked into a plate of bacon and buttered toast with his favorite tea. "Mmm can't remember last time I had bacon," he said to David, who was taking the cover off his own plate.

The two ate in silence for several minutes until David broke it and mumbled, "I missed you."

Jon stopped chewing and a warmth spread through him like wildfire. "I really missed you. Can...Can I ask you something?" David nodded. "Kiss me?"

David looked between Jon and his coffee. The doctor had been explicit with her instruction. No sexual or body fluid contact. But...This was Jonny. His Jonny. He walked to where Jon sat on the bed and slid down next to him. "What do you say?"

Jon inhaled sharply and smiled. "Please...kiss me..."