General Hospital Rewrite Part One

May 25th 2016

12:01 a.m.
Julian stares, not quiet able to process the news he's just been given. Alexis holds him to stop him from falling. "No, no no no. You're joking right? Please tell me you're joking." He begs. "I'm so sorry Jules. I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry. I tried to be safe, and I almost always was. It was one time." He says. "Were you gonna tell me?" Julian asks.
"I was gonna, I was gonna, I promise. When I got worse." He says. "Just, just tell me everything." Julian demands. "I can't Jules, I won't." He says. They stare at each other, neither willing to break it. "You lied to me. You've been lying to me for years. How long have you been pulling a wall over my eyes?" he asks. "I got it from your brother. So, you know, like 30 years."
"You can still live a long life even with AIDs." Alexis points out. "Yeah, if your lucky, and strong enough." Arthur counters. "You've always had bad luck." Julian says. "How long do you have?" he adds. "Doctor gave me 6 months. That was about 4 months ago." He tells them. Julian shakes his head. "No I can't do this. I can't Arthur, I can't watch you wither away."
"When I first came to Port Charles you asked me why I really came. I told you it was just to see you. Truth is, I didn't even know you were hurt till I got to town. I just didn't want to die alone and you were the only person I had left." He tells him. "I was gonna tell you soon as I got to town but I found out you were hurt and I couldn't bring myself to tell you." He explains.
"So you lied to me to protect me." He cries. "Don't you do this to me. Don't make me a bad guy. I'm sorry I'm not as strong as you. I'm sorry Jules." He apologizes. Julian holds his fist up, making Arthur brace to get hit. Instead Julian unclenches his hand and pulls Arthur in for a hug. He squeezes him tightly. "I'm not mad at you." Julian reassures him. Arthur starts crying into his friend's neck. "You're not mad?"
"No, I'm not mad at you. You know I can't stay mad at you."

10:31 a.m.
Julian opens his eyes, still too comfortable to move. The mattress felt so good compared to the one in his hospital room his side didn't hurt. As memories of last night came flooding into his brain the comfort wore away. He works up the motivation to get up and make his way downstairs, not even stopping to put pants on over his boxers. Though he knew Alexis would be the only one home he'd made a habit out of wearing clothes in case one of their kids came by unannounced.
Making his way down the stairs he stops for a break after almost every step. His body aches in protest to the moving but he doesn't turn around. He makes his way over to the couch and sits. He rubs his head with the palms of this hands. A pair of hands on his shoulders snaps him out of his daze.
"How'd you sleep?" Alexis asks. "Tell me it was all a nightmare." He says. "I really wish I could, but I can't. I'm sorry honey, he's a good guy and I know he means a lot to you." She replies. "He doesn't deserve to die."
"No he doesn't. Especially not like this. Life isn't fair but it's our job to make the best of what we get. Now I know it hurts, physically and mentally but Julian, you can't just sit on your ass all day. Go be with Arthur, go take him to The Floating Rib and go see a movie or do something with him. He doesn't want to die alone, so don't make him." She encourages.
"I'm not sure what I'm gonna do when he dies." He admits. "You're gonna cry, and hurt a lot. Then you're gonna cry some more. Then hurt some more. Then, when you're ready to give up, you're gonna find something to distract you for a little while. Then honey, something is gonna remind you of him and it's gonna hurt all over again." She says. "But baby you'll be okay." She adds.
"I'll call him in a bit. But right now I wanna talk about us." He tells her. "What about us?" she asks. "About last night. I'm sorry." He apologizes, not specifying for what. "You found out your friend is sick, you had the right to be upset." She tells him. "No, you know I'm talking about that. I'm talking about last night in the room. We, were about to have sex and I freaked out. It was bad enough when I was just upset in the hospital but last night just bad."
"Julian." She moves to the front of the couch and kneels down. "I don't care if it was a one time thing or if it's something we risk everytime we want to be intimate. I love you Julian. We're gonna get through this, you are gonna get through this. And about last night, just forget about it. We'll get you help and things will go back to normal." She promises. She runs her hands up his legs, moving up to kiss him. "I love you."
"I love you too." He says.