The Trial Of Temptation

weeks

You were too warm to fall asleep, so you just held Tom as he did. His once erratic and shallow breathing had become increasingly normal, and the nurse had told you that part of that had to do with your body heat. He woke up around 6pm, and let you know by lacing his pinkie finger with yours. You sat up slightly and looked down at him, brushing his sweaty hair from out of his eyes.
"Hey there, dick." You whispered. He furrowed his eyebrows and smiled at you. His coloring hadn't completely returned to him, but his cheeks had a bit of red in them that wasn't there before.
"Hey, ugly." He purred. You scrunched your nose and ruffled his hair gently. The nurse, who's name you'd learned to be Jessie, had left the room a few minutes ago, so you and Tom were alone. You pressed the button to let her know Tom was awake, and leaned back on the pillow next to Tom.
"Feeling any better?" You asked, turning on your side to look at him. He sighed and turned his face slightly to you.
"I still feel like there are knives in my chest when I try to breathe, but I'm warmer." He told you. You smiled and touched his bare chest with your fingertips. His eyes met yours, and the tension was instant. You felt yourself leaning slightly forward, and saw his eyes flick down to your lips. He started to inch closer to you, and soon, your lips were nearly touching, suddenly, the door crashed open, and both of your heads shot back. You felt your face get hot as a tall doctor waltzed in, giving you a suspicious stare. You sat up, and climbed out of the bed, puffing out your chest at the doctor. He set a clipboard down on the counter and walked over to Tom, sitting down at the chair you'd once occupied. He smiled warmly and cocked his head at Tom.
"How are you feeling Mr. Hayden?" He asked. Tom shrugged.
"Not super." He replied, chuckling lightly. The doctor nodded and furrowed his eyebrows.
"Specifics?" He asked simply. Tom nodded.
"Cold, tired, hard to breathe." He listed. You took a deep breath. You hoped that the doctor had come bearing good news. You couldn't handle the alternative. The doctor nodded slowly. He turned his attention to you, which made you shudder. The doctor was an intimidating individual.
"And this is.."
"Y/n. My uh-"
"Friend." You assured. Tom smiled at you. You gave him a playful wink when the doctors face was turned away. The doctor got up to check on all the monitors around Tom, and you saw his jaw tense slightly. You stepped forward.
"Whats wrong?" You blurted out. Tom's face shot over to look at the doctor. The doctor turned to you.
"You'd better come outside, ma'am." He said. You saw Tom's shoulders tense. You rushed over to him and grabbed his hand.
"It'll be okay." You assured. Tom's eyes were filled with a fear that was uncharacteristic of him. How you wished you could take away that fear. You squeezed his hand and followed the doctor out the door. Once the door was closed behind you, the questions started.
"What's wrong. What's wrong with him." You demanded, scared out of your mind. The doctor bit his lip and nodded.
"His heart rate is abnormally low, ma'am. We are going to label him as critical. You are welcome to stay, as long as you have liable reason to be here." He explained. Your heart dropped. Critical condition? You'd never been in critical condition before. This was serious. Much more serious that you'd expected.
"Liable reason?" You inquired. The doctors nodded.
"Romantic partners and family only, which I'm sure won't be a problem for you." The doctor said coldly. You blushed. Romantic partner? Woah. Tom and you may have engaged in some, well, business, but never in your entire history of fraternization had you labeled yourselves "romantic partners". And now, was certainly NOT the time to start. You didn't even know if Tom would want you to stay with him, and you were nervous to find out.
"H-how long would it be?" You asked, as if you had anything else going on. The doctor pondered for a moment, then nodded.
"A week, maybe more." He told you. Your heart sunk. Tom would miss the protest next week. That would probably be more painful for him than anything he was physically going through right now.
"He won't- die- though?" You asked. The doctor's eyebrows furrowed.
"I don't think so, ma'am. Not if we can help it. I consider Tom Hayden to be an American hero, and it would be a shame for our country if he were to be lost." He said. You smiled. You hadn't expected any sort of democracy from this cold man, but you were glad that he recognized Tom for the great man that he was. You thanked the doctor and crept back into Tom's room, to see that his eyes were half lidded and sleepy. You smiled to yourself and sat down by his bedside, taking one of his chilly hands in yours. He seemed too groggy or out of it to have a conversation with you, doctor had probably upped his dosage of anasthetic, but you would have a chance to watch his face for a while, which was always a very pleasant experience for you. Sometimes, when Tom was trying to fall asleep a corner of his mouth would twitch ever so slightly. His eyebrows were always slightly knitted, in concentration. If you knew Tom as well as you thought you did, you suspected that his eyebrows would set that way because he had to concentrate so hard on pushing all of his ideas and perseverations to the side. Tom's mind was always spinning, whether it was with anxiety, or genius political inventions. You loved how his intelligence warded off of him like an aura. You could take one look at him and know that he was probably the smartest one in the room. Abbie was the only person you knew that could win a debate with him. You gently rubbed his thumb and thought about how truthful the doctor's words had been. America needed Tom. You, needed Tom.