"Only slightly better than shit."

He could at least sit upright without the aide of a mound of pillows. It was something to be grateful for, right up there with actually hearing Alec's voice again.

"I thought..."

Anthony shook his head, finding there were too many feelings getting in the way and too much fear that he might just say the wrong thing again and trigger another heart failure.

"I'm sorry. What ever I said... I don't want anything to happen to you."