I wake up just as the sun starts to break through the sky and roll over to see Alex sleeping peacefully. His face is adorably smashed into his pillow, and the hood of his hoodie has somehow managed to slip over the top of his head, only letting a few curls poke out from underneath. The bags under his eyes have faded slightly, but I can tell he's still exhausted.

Quietly slipping out of the bed, I go to the bathroom and softly click the door shut behind me, wanting Alex to sleep as much as possible.

After I'm finished showering and getting ready, I peek my head out of the bathroom to find Alex still in bed, his tired blue eyes slowly blinking open to look at me. "Hi," he rasps out, reaching his hand out for me.

"Shh," I remind him, taking his hand and letting him pull me back into bed.

He plants his lips on mine, grinning when he pulls away. "I can't believe I get to do that now," he says, peppering my face with more kisses, causing me to giggle.

"Well you can't do it for much longer because we have to go see Dr. Lance soon," I remind him, and his face falls in realization. "Hey, you're going to be ok," I try to comfort him, knowing how worried he is.

"What if I can't sing anymore?" he whispers.

"You'll be able to sing again, eventually."

"But what if I can't?" He looks up at me with sad puppy dog eyes.

"It won't be the end of the world, and I'll still love you either way." His lip tugs up slightly after that and he buries his face into my neck. "The only way we'll know is if we go see the doctor, so I'm going to need you to get up and get ready."

Sitting in the waiting room, Alex's leg is bobbing up and down and his eyes are locked on the examination room door in anticipation. His hand is placed on top of mine, thumb stroking the tattoo on my middle finger, preventing me from anxiously playing with my fingers.

The examination room door creaks open and Alex sits up straighter in his seat. A middle aged man with glasses and a white coat walks out, a friendly smile on his face. "Alex," he greets, gesturing for him to come inside the room.

Alex gulps, lacing his fingers with mine and standing up. He looks back at me expectantly, and I stand up and follow him to the room.

"Hi, Dr. Lance," Alex's raspy voice greets the man.

Dr. Lance grimaces upon hearing his voice. "You're not sounding too good there, buddy. Let's see what's going on," he says, softly shutting the door after we walk in. Alex sits in the examination chair while I sit in a guest chair off to the side. "And who do we have here?" he asks, looking at me.

"I'm Joslyn," I say, sparing Alex his voice. "His assistant."

"It's nice to meet you." Dr. Lance smiles and shakes my hand before turning back to Alex.

When he's done examining Alex's throat and vocal chords, Dr. Lance snaps off his gloves and turns to us. "I have good news and bad news. Good news, after some much needed rest you should be back to singing in no time. Bad news, your vocal chords are severely strained, and you need to take at least a week off from shows and be put on strict vocal rest in order to recover. If you don't recover properly, we can have a major problem on our hands down the line," Dr. Lance says with a serious expression. "I'm going to need you to keep him in check," he says, turning to me.

"Don't worry, she does," Alex rasps out with a slight smirk on his face.

"Alex," I warn, giving him a pointed look for using his voice.

Dr. Lance chuckles and pats Alex on the back. "I can see she's going to take good care of you. If you guys need anything or have any questions, don't hesitate to call."

Walking out of the doctor's office, we hail a taxi and go back to Alex's apartment. On the ride back I see I already have eight missed calls from Chris, probably wondering what the doctor said.

When we get to Alex's apartment, we both kick off our shoes at the door and he follows me into the kitchen where I go to make him a hot cup of tea. Standing at the stove waiting for the water in the kettle to boil, Alex walks up behind me and wraps his arms around my middle, his chin resting on my shoulder.

"Why don't you go lay down, babe," I suggest, craning my neck to place a kiss on his cheek.

"Mhmm," he hums out, lazily kissing my lips before tiredly gliding his sock covered feet over the hardwood to his room.

When he's out of earshot, I dial the number of the man I dread calling.

"Well?" Chris answers impatiently.

"His vocal chords are pretty bad. Dr. Lance said he needs at least a week of vocal rest."

I hear him sigh on the other end of the line, and I can picture him pinching the bridge of his nose. "Do you know how much money it's going to cost me if we have to cancel that many shows?"

"Do you know how much money it's going to cost you if he doesn't heal his voice properly and ends up with permanent damage?" I say, feeling valiant.

He lets out a noise somewhere between a growl and a sigh. "Just get him back here as soon as possible and we'll take it from there. I'll cancel tomorrows show for now," he says, hanging up before I have a chance to rebuttal.

Just as I'm about to lose my cool, the tea kettle screams out, much like I want to. I take it off the stove and grab Alex's scouts honor mug I got him for Christmas, filling it with hot tea and honey.

Carefully carrying the mug down the hall, Alex sits up in bed when I enter the bedroom and takes the mug from my hands so I can climb into bed next to him. He takes a few slow, cautious sips after blowing some steam from the mug and sets it down on his night stand before laying down to rest his head in my lap. I instantly plunge my fingers into his hair, slowly running my nails over his scalp, and he sighs out in content.

While playing with his hair, I sneak my phone out of my pocket to look up flights back to South America where the rest of the team is. I find a flight for this evening, but I ignore it, wanting Alex to have at least one more peaceful night of rest in his own bed. Chris can wait, because I know as soon as he sees Alex he's going to push him, pressuring him to get to work sooner than doctors orders.

"Alex?"

"Hmm?" He turns onto his back to look up at me.

"I called Chris, and he wants us back with the team. The earliest flight I can find is tomorrow afternoon," I lie, knowing he might fight me on it if I tell him there's an earlier flight.

Alex closes his eyes, almost as if he's in agony, and lets out a tired sigh before nodding.

"Hey, I know there's a lot of pressure on you, but you don't have to do anything until you're ready. I know you hate letting people down, but you're not letting anyone down. You'll only be letting people down if you don't take care of yourself. It's ok to take a break sometimes. No one's invincible," I softly remind him.

"I know," he rasps out, scrubbing his hands over his face.

"I'm serious, Alex. It's ok if you cancel a few shows. The fans will understand. Plus, it's either only cancel a few shows now or end up cancelling the rest of the tour."

"You're right." He sighs, opening his blue eyes to look at me.

"You have to promise me you'll take this vocal rest seriously and not do anything until you're fully healed. No matter how much people pressure you," I say, specifically referring to Chris.

He looks hesitant before answering. "Promise. Scouts honor." He holds up the three fingered salute.

"Thank you," I say, leaning down to press a kiss to his forehead. "I know this is hard for you, but just know I'm only trying to look out for you."

His lips tug up into a soft smile. "I know. Thank you, Joss. Thanks for caring about me."