angel » Tom Hiddleston «

26

A sudden flash of light.

A deafening crash.

Frantic voices.

Sirens.

Then nothing but silence and never ending nothingness.

The first things Rory registers are the familiar voices around her. She's not completely aware of her surroundings yet, seeing as her head is spinning like a disoriented hamster in a wheel after smoking crack.

"Is it just me or she looks like she's waking up?"

"She's not awake yet." a deep voice answers.

"No shit Sherlock, of course she's not awake yet. The airbag slapped her into the fifth dimension."

Now it's sure that this voice unmistakably belongs to the man under the name of Anthony Mackie.

"At least it wasn't the sixth."

"I mean, I considered saying the sixth but it could've been a bit over the top."

"You always sound over the top Mackie."

"Why are you so mean to me Seabass, I thought we were friends but-"

"For the love of God, can you two shut the fuck up for a second? Jesus." Aurora groans with her eyes still closed.

She was listening to their conversation for the past few minutes and it made her head throb with pain even more, so she didn't even try to open her eyes after finally regaining consciousness.

"The fuck?" Anthony ponders.

"What?"

"Can you have the decency to talk in English? Not all of us speaks Vodka." he replies.

"You're speaking Russian, Downey" Sebastian butts in, slightly amused by the situation.

"Oh. What the fuck?" she switches to the correct language.

She's feeling rather confused upon finally opening her eyes and taking in her surroundings, just like about the fact her disoriented brain decided to resurface her Russian knowledge.

"Since when do you even speak Russian?" Anthony just can't get over the fact that she sounded like an alien not twenty seconds ago.

"I'm fluent actually. I was born Russian, birthed fron the vodka. Dropped out of my mom with a shotgun, singing Rasputin." when she sees the genuine concern on Mackie's face from her delirious behavior she almost cracks up.
"Just kidding, since eighth grade." she shoots back "Why the hell am I in a hospital?"

Aurora faintly registers the heart monitor beeping faster the more nervous she gets. The harsh white lights are hurting her eyes and the smell of disinfectants are burning her nose but that's the least of her concerns, because she's more focused on the various IV's and machines hooked up to her aching body.

Sebastian worriedly steps closer to the girl he considers a sister and grabs her hand, trying to comfort her in her state of panic.

"Hey, hey it's okay. No need to worry, you're gonna be fine." his soothing voice seems to calm her a bit but she still can't stop trembling. Rory just grips his hand tighter in appreciation.

"You were on your way home from your dad's house and you had an accident." Anthony explains gently, in hopes of not freaking the girl out more.

"Did I-" she feel a wave of anxiety hit her again.

"It wasn't your fault." Aurora sighs deeply upon hearing that "A drunk driver swerved into your lane and hit you head-on. It's pretty much a miracle you weren't seriously hurt."

"You've been out for a few hours and the doc said you have a nasty concussion. You might feel nauseated and have to rest for a few days, but other than that you'll be fine." Seb says.

"I can already feel the bruises comin'. I hurt fucking everywhere." she groans.

Both men chuckle at that while smiling softly at their friend, relief filling them slowly but surely. Everyone who was informed about what happened has been worried sick for Aurora Downey.

"Your father went to grab some coffee, he's been a mess while you were out cold." Mackie informs her.

"And Tom?" she proceeds to ask back but she's cut off mid question.

"Is on his way with a change of clothes, so you can leave once the doctors deem you coherent enough to be discharged." he answers.

"Thank fuck, I can't wait to crash into my own bed. This shit's hella uncomfortable."

Just as she's about to continue complaining, the door bursts open and her father hurries to her side frantically.

"Aurora Lee-Downey." he starts.

"Oh no, not the full name."

"If you ever frighten me like this again I'll have you pay for my health insurance, because I literally almost had a heart attack."

"Quite dramatic there, aren't you?" she smiles "Seriously Pops, I'm fine. I promise." her voice gets quieter by the end of her sentence.

Robert strokes her hair softly, careful not to hurt her head further. Rory leans into her father's touch, grateful that he's here when she needs him the most. A silent tear flows down her cheek when the fact that she really could have died dawns upon her.

She sniffles, desperately trying to fight off the urge to cry, but when she's pulled into Robert's arms the attempt goes flying out the window. Silent sobs are racking her body as she clings to her father.

"You're safe now Rors, that's all that matters." he whispers into her hair, his voice cracking slightly too.

Just as she finally starts to calm down, the door bursts open and Tom's lean body trudges through it in a hurry, making her heart rate pick up all over again.

Robert takes a step back to give him space, knowing that he would have wanted the same thing a few minutes ago. In a second Tom is by her side and Aurora already sat up further in her bed to be able to embrace him.

Strong arms wrap around her frame again, but this time she finally calms down completely. Her hands are gripping his shirt tightly at his back, and she stops trembling when she breathes in his scent. The familiarity of Tom's embrace is what she craved in this scary situation. He's her rock, there's no denying this fact.

She feels comfort, love, relief and an intense amount of gratitude. Aurora Downey is utterly grateful for being able to still be here with the people she loves.

Tom grabs her face gently after he pulls away slightly to be able to look into her eyes.

"Don't you dare scare me like that again Angel." he lets out a shaky breath he didn't even realized he was holding.

Aurora puts her hands on top of his that are still holding her face. She doesn't answer, there wouldn't be a right response to this anyways. Instead, she presses her forehead against his and closes her eyes.

"I love you" she whispers against his lips.

"And I love you." Tom replies.

"Dibs on being the best man." Mackie pipes in in full seriousness, getting rid of the built up tension in the room as everyone breaks into a fit of chuckles.