Baby, I'm preying on you tonight.

*LOUIS' POV*

"Hey there, Louis." A new nurse walks in, not thinking I noticed the wheelchair she left outside.

"Hi." I look up momentarily before sharing puzzled glances with Harry.

"Ready to get up today?"

"What?"

"Well," she fidgets with a few of the attachments to the IV before coming to strip me of all the
sharp ends that pierced my skin,"in order to keep up our metabolism, gotta walk."

I frown, feeling the colour drain from my face and my limbs go completely boneless. The headache kicks up again and I'm in no condition to walk in anything remotely close to a straight line.

"Come on." She waves off my insecurities as well as Harry.

He glares at her, narrowed eyes and clenched teeth, before obeying. He stands closer to me to keep her from coming near and it makes me giggle. His eyes soften and I blush.

"Don't worry, we have shoes for you." She assures me before pulling me into a stiff standing stance.

I gasp and almost collapse from the rush of blood to my brain. I was not prepared for that.
"Woah."

"What?" Harry is instantly in concerned mode, though there is no need.

He wraps an arm around my waist to support me and I'm glad that he did, it allowed me to rest some of my weight on him and ease the pressure.

"He's got to do this on his own, Harry." The nurse says firmly, removing Harry's arm and making it very difficult for me not to let out a whimper.

But she's right and my resolve reassembles itself. I had suffered a disasterous attack, and
didn't need help walking for God's sake. I nod and slip on the surprisingly comfortable orthopedic slippers - nobody will ever know about them - before taking a couple of steps without pain.

Harry may be tense with worry, staring at me like he's ready to catch me if I fall - and it's extremely flattering - but I can manage.

"See. Wasn't so hard." The nurse declares and I beam proudly. "You can walk around but don't leave this floor, okay?"

"Okay." I nod eagerly and let her leave with a chortle.

I turn to Harry who has covered the gap between us. "So.....where to?"

"Well....this floor's pretty boring- Ow!" He rubs his arm to speed up the healing process of the mock slap I gave him.

"Don't tease my home."

"Thing is, Lou, this isn't your home."

He makes a grab for my waist and I manage to escape being captured in time. Though, I'm in no shape for full-length sprints and my victory is sourly short-lived when Harry eventually gets ahold of me at the threshold of my room.

"I'm sure we'll find something interesting." Harry unconvincingly states, taking my hand in his and folding them together.

We step foot out of my room and I instantly want to cower back into it. The lights are exceptionally bright out here, worse than in my room where I don't share with a nagging patient. Harry stays behind me, with the possible alterior motive to support my faltering weight.

"Do you need anything?" Harry asks, about two minutes into our stroll.

"No thanks." I peek up at him through my side vision just in time to catch him grabbing my other hand.

"What's this?" I ask when we come to a set of double doors with two glass panes that are frosted over.

"ICU, I think. Recovery Unity maybe?" Harry replies, trying to get a look at what's inside.
"Here."

He pulls me to a large glass window that has netted guards on the inside to slightly mess up our sight. There are several patients lined up against the opposite wall, all hooked up to hectic clinical machinery.

"Oh." I gasp softly.

"What?" Harry is a strong, protective presence behind me as he wraps his arms around me - making tiny butterflies flutter in my tummy.

"Them. I wonder what happened to them." I try to stay focused on a single clear hole that enables me to see something.

"Me too. They're all pretty bad though." Harry adds distractedly. His nose nuzzles my neck and I sigh happily.

Then something catches my eye. The vigorous movement of one of the patients, next to the sleeping one directly opposite to me. His ECG monitor is all over the place and his form is visibly trembling, shaking in some sort of indused fit.

It takes under a minute for doctors to crowd around him, but in that minute or less I get to have
eye contact with him against the tightening grip of Harry. The unfortunate patient was looking right at me, or maybe just had his head tilted my way but the prickly feeling of the standing hairs on my nape can't be argued with. It felt creepy and I knew he was looking at me.

"Let's go." Harry tugs on my elbow.

"Yeah. It's cold here." I say mindlessly to prevent any prying.

I let him lead me away and we continue down the echoing hall until it gets too much and my tongue slips up. "Did you see that guy....looking at us?"

"What?" Harry seems unphased.

I notice how the hallway gets emptier and more silent until there's a dead end with a window.
"The patient inside that room."

Harry hums and frowns. "Don't think he was, Lou."

Our only way is back so I turn around, only to be yanked right back by a gentle Harry. He smirks, lightly pressing my back up against the baby blue walls without allowing too much of the chill to settle in my bones.

"Problem, Harold?" I look at him with light humour, trying to hide the nervousness at the back of my head. What was he doing?

"No problem, Lou. Just....." He presses his lips to my cheek, jaw, earlobe and continues downwards until I feel his hot breath fan my collarbones. "Can't get interrupted here."

"Interrupted from what?" I breathe.

He nips and sucks on the skin below my ear and oh. That was pleasant. When there's a neat little red mark there, I roll my head onto his shoulder to keep it away from the wall. He awkwardly nudges at my jaw so I'd look up at him.

"Can I have a kiss?" He asks politely.

"Sure." I peck his cheek and he fake glares at me with a shimmer in his gorgeous eye.

"Can I...." He pinches my thighs in a suggestive gesture and I yelp.

"How polite." I giggle into his neck. "Yes, you may."

He uses the wall as a guiding mechanism for when he lifts me off the ground, my legs glued to his sides and ankles crossed behind his back. We're chest-to-chest and he demands my attention again by harsh bite to my shoulder.

I mewl and look up through my lashes. He presses our lips together and I slowly lift my head, keeping it tilted, to better the angle. He allows me to knot my fingers in his curls and his eyebrows knit together in a concentrated frown as he zeroes in when I draw back slightly.
The kiss deepens and the butterflies in my tummy start to wriggle further when he refuses to pull away. His hands lock onto my thighs to keep them where they are, and he parts his lips first as an indication for me. As soon as I do, he's attacking my mouth. I fold from the battle before I lose and he moans sweetly.

"Lou." He murmurs against my lips.

"Hmm?" I let my arms fold around his neck at get us closer together.

Everything seems to drop around us, leaving just the two of us to bask in this isolated glory. I love it and I don't doubt that Harry does too.

"I-"

"Harry? You there?" A disembodied voice decides to interrupt the fabric of our fragile moment.

Frowning, I hold myself against Harry's body warmth and yawn slightly against his shoulder. He cooes and gently nudges my head aside to view the person whose footsteps grow louder.

"Harry, time to get going." It's Dr. Michaels standing behind Harry looking at me with a raised brow.

I blush and hide my face before processing what he had said, blurting out: "Go where?"

"Therapy." He responds.

"I want Lou there too." Harry says.

I pull back. "Harry, I can't-"

"You can. Doc?"

"Sorry, Harry. Just you and me for an hour only, okay?"

"But, Louis-"

"Can spend the time up in the pediatric ward. Do you like kids, Louis?"

I lift my head and nod eagerly. "Love them."

"Perfect. Ask Nora about where to go and you can help out with decorating for the holidays.
We'll take an hour before Harry comes to join you?"

"Alright."

I realise that I haven't been let down from Harry's waist until he drops me to my feet with care. He ignores the hovering presence of Dr. Michaels and brushes the little stray strands of my long-ish hair.

"Love you." He tilts my chin up.

"I know." I hum with a smile. "What were you going to say earlier?"

"Tell you later." He kisses my forehead and turns to leave with Dr. Michaels, never looking back.

I find Nurse Nora fairly easily and she smiles - more like beams - at my offer to help out in the kiddies department. She directs me to the floor above this one and escorts me to the desk right at the front.

"This is Louis from recovery, and he's going to help out with the decor." She says to the other woman with chestnut hair and bags under her eyes.

"Oh. Nice to meet you, Louis." We shake hands. "Come with me. Thanks, Nora."

I end up in the ward with cancer patients, a disheartening look on my face but endless smiles on theirs. They laugh and run around - under intense supervision - while they play. It's a nursery and I have the impedious task of sticking tinsel paper to the ceiling. Half gets into my mouth during the job.

"Hey, Lou!" A young boy, Adam, calls from the floor where I'm stationed on a step ladder.

"Yeah, Adam?" I try to concentrate on dropping the scissors.

"Which colour?" He holds up green or a darker green.

"Pink!" Sophia fusses, putting her hands on her tiny hips as she pouts. She's a favorite of mine for the past hour or so.

"There is no pink, Sophia." Adam argues.

"But pink's pretty!" And she reminds me of my Phoebe.

"Well, we don't have-"

"How about we paint some pink pictures and stick them up? And use both the greens." I
propose.

"So the other green one doesn't feel bad!" Sophia exclaims, baby voice and all I want is to cuddle her.

"I like that." Adam says with a shrug. "What will we paint?"

"Sandcastles!" Sophia immediately suggests.

"Swords!" Adam throws back and I sigh, stepping down from the ladder.

"We'll paint both, yeah? Sophia, you get the paper and Adam can get the paint."

"Can we mix colours, Lou?" She looks up at me with the biggest pair of puppy eyes.

"I don't see why not."

"Yay!" She hugs my middle and runs off with Adam close behind.

I roll my eyes, chuckling as I work out how to incorporate the green shades into the nursery. I do a simply, civilised twirl on the wall and use up the entire roll.

"Lou!" Sophia is back and Adam is cackling.

"What happened?" I question.

"Adam's being mean."

"How so?"

"He said you won't read me a story tonight when we camp."

"Camp?" I look at Adam suspiciously.

"What? I said we could make little tents in here for the night." He replies.

I narrow my eyes. "We didn't ask permission, Adam."

"Lou? Lou, will you really not read me a story?" Sophia tugs repeatedly on my gown.

"Of course I will, sweetheart. I'll have to ask the nurses if we can make tents-"

"And invite everybody!"

"We will invite everybody. Did you get the paint?"

"We did." Adam raises his arms to show off the many bottles of acryllic paint.

"Good. Let's find a table."

"We can use a mat?"

"That works too."

I'm held in place by a pair of massive arms braced around my middle as the little ones run off to the vacant mattress not far off.

"Hey Lou." That gruff honey-like voice greets.

"Hi." I turn to awkwardly kiss the corner of his mouth. "An hour's up already?"

"Didn't miss me then, I take it." He pouts.

"It was an hour, Haz. You were two feet away from me." I make a disgusted face at the smell
of salt, prominent because Harry's standing so close to me. "You need to stop using whatever oil they give you to bathe with."

He sniffs at the close air. "What is it?"

"Like salt or maybe vinegar. It reeks. Bandages get loose again?"

"No." He safely answers while peppering feather-light kisses to my shoulder and bare neck.

"Oh." I drop my head onto his shoulder, baring more skin for him to mark.

My eyes stay on the young ones still occupied with various paint hues on printed paper. My back presses against Harry's front and my gown comes back damp.

"Sure about the bandages?" I try to feel the dampness and recognise the reason.

He grabs my wrist and twists it in an unpainful way between us, his lips at my ear. "Yes,
Louis."

I whimper at his dominant tone and immediately go slack in his hold. "I'm camping up here
tonight."

"Hmm? Why?"

"The kids want me to. You're free to join."

"Maybe I will."

Then there's rushed movements all around, doctors answering buzzing phones and nurses taking the elevators to a lower level. I open my mouth to ask what the sudden haste is all about, but Harry shoves me against a wall with less care and a scowl on his face.

"Lou, I need you to listen to me." He presses his palms flat against the wall on both sides of my head.

"Harry, what's wrong?"

He shakes his head. "I'm going to protect you always, you know that? I'll always take you with me, I'll always love you."

"Harry-"

"No, listen. You don't know me as much as you'd like, but I know you for the most part. Louis, I love you."

The space we're in seems to be shrinking. "I know, Harry. You told me-"

"I want you to say it."

"Say what?"

"Say you love me."

"Harry, I can't say it right now."

"Will you ever love me?"

"When we have enough time-"

"Say it for that time, Louis. I need to hear you say that you love me."

"No, Harry. Don't make me." I chew on my lip and try to keep the tears away. I felt like a fool, being unable to say it back but I needed time to know that when I say it I mean it beyond any
doubt.

"Louis." He takes my hands in both of his and crushes them against his chest. "I need to know you won't ever leave me."

"Harry, I won't do that-"

"Then tell me you love me. It isn't hard, Lou."

"It is! It is hard because I don't want to be lying by saying it so soon. I hardly know you, Harry."

"But I already can't live without you." He presses his forehead against mine, and when I try
turning away all he does is pin me against the wall with his body.

"I can't see life beyond you, Louis." He continues despite the tears staining my hollow cheeks.

"I want to know you're here for me as much as I am here for you. Tell me you love me."

"I can't." My lip quivers and I sob. "I'm sorry, I can't."

"I'll never hurt you, Louis. Say it."

"Don't do this." I futilely try to wrestle my arms away from him. I feel jailed and helpless.

"I love you." He kisses my cheek. "I love you more than you know."

"Then wait for me to say it in my own time. Harry, we were doing fine."

"Louis, you don't understand. I need to hear you say that, or....."

"Or what?" I try as best as I can to ignore the alarm bells in my gut and reach out for his cheek.

"Say it." He grabs my hand to prevent me from doing so.

"Harry, I can't." I'm crying again. "I'm so sorry and-"

He shakes his head, slamming his massive fist against the cement and attracting the attention of everyone. Without a word to me, he storms off.

"Harry!"

He doesn't hear me and keeps going until I can't see him anymore. There's an all-too-familiar shredding feeling in my chest, as I watch Dr. Michaels' intern - Edith? - follow after Harry before I can.

[A/N: I'm SO sorry for updating this late. There's been a major flu going around and I just may have it. I'm the walking dead for the next few days. So! Thoughts on Harry's outburst o.O why'd he do that?]

Notes