Forget-Me-Not (A Tom Hiddleston Fanfiction)

(39) Shadows Die

Nina sat silently after a few moments of tears, mourning the loss of her first child. Her parents seemed to fuss over her but she was almost limp, letting them dab at her eyes and fiddle with her hair - well, it was mostly her mother - and she didn't flinch, not even when she was poked in the eye with her mothers handkerchief.

She looked drained and Tom was getting a huge urge to push everyone out of the way and hug her so tightly all her broken pieces would stick back together again. If not, he'd use some Sellotape that came in the form of Molly, Annie, and maybe even Benedict.

Eventually her parents had to dash off to some meeting after many more tears and promises of lots of phone calls, texts and another visit, leaving just Tom and Nina alone in the room, staring at the pristine white walls, the silence a little unnerving until Tom spoke.

"You hadn't told them about the baby yet, had you?"

Nina gave no reply, but the expression on her face said no. Tom reached for her hand again, squeezing it reassuringly, and she squeezed gently back. "It's just not what I was expecting, Tommy boy." She sighed quietly, running her other hand through her hair. "I look a total mess, and I feel like one too."

"Here." Tom took off his army cap and perched it atop her head. "Bad hair day? Covered." She managed a small smile, blushing a little. "When you get out of here, we can go back to my place, okay? I'll get everything sorted."

"Don't you need to get sorted now?" She tugged at the collar of his green jacket gently. "I can't imagine you want to stay in this all afternoon..." He just shrugged in response, resting his head almost forlornly against her, his fingers still intertwined with hers.

"If staying in this all afternoon means staying with you all afternoon, then..." Tom trailed off, a small smile on his face just like hers.

"I'm not having you sit in costume beside me for another hour and a half." Nina giggled quietly, music to Tom's ears. "Go get changed, and then, if you want, come back. I don't want you to be uncomfortable just for me..."

"I'm not uncomfortable. I'm Captain Nicholls." He replied, sitting up and going into character. "And, you, ma'am, look better in that hat than I ever have."

*****

It was the next day when Tom came back, wearing fresh clothes and with a small envelope for Nina. She welcomed him with a huge grin, patting the seat beside her. As Tom neared her he saw past her smile, her façade not fooling him. She was clearly more deeply affected by what had happened than she was letting on.

"What's in the envelope?" She looked at him hopefully as he sat beside her.

"Present. Well... loan present." He passed her the envelope and she shook it, tilting her head in bewilderment. She opened it slowly, and Tom's iPod and headphones fell into her lap.

"Tom..." She looked at him uncertainly.

"It's to keep you company while you're in here. There's music, podcasts, games..."

"You didn't have to." She set it onto the cabinet beside her bed where Tom noticed his hat that he'd given to her yesterday. No one had reported it missing from costume... and besides, it suited Nina well. "Where are you staying?"

"Sane hotel, moved to a different room. I'm staying down here until you're well enough to come back to London with me." He reached out for her hand which she gladly offered to him without a second thought.

"You could always go back to the comfort of your own home and wait for me to catch up..."

"You want me to leave?" Tom was slightly puzzled.

"No! No, I just...I..." Nina searched desperately for the words that seemed to be escaping her. "No, I meant why are you waiting up for me? You're Tom Hiddleston, actor, theatre lover and dessert fanatic, and I'm just Nina Ferguson."

"Don't even get me started, 'just Nina Ferguson'." Tom looked at her disapprovingly.

"I'm just Nina Ferguson, who just lost a baby..." Her eyes watered softly. "That baby was supposed to grow up, live a life, but it didn't. It was just a shadow of what it could have been."

"Shh. It's not your fault." Tom wrapped an arm around her shoulders, hugging her to him gently. They stayed in that same position for a while until Tom realised that Nina had fallen asleep, nestling into his side, and his heart skipped a beat. He took out his phone, deciding to do some internet shopping for when Nina moved back in with him. There were one or two things he needed to find.

*****

It was a day or so before Nina was released from the hospital. Tom made sure she had all her belongings that had been left in her own hotel room and her things that were left on set before he gathered up his own things and walked with her down to the hotel lobby, keeping a close eye on her. He was having his driver take them both back to London and he was due to pick them up at any moment.

Nina was still in possession of Tom's iPod and earbuds and she had them in at that moment, nodding along to whatever she was listening to. She'd been silent ever since she left the hospital, but she didn't have much that she wanted to talk about. The sound of good music was all she needed to keep her going for now.

He led out to the car when it arrived, helping her with her belongings like any gentleman would. Tom had guessed that after her loss, she wouldn't be wanting to get into anything serious so he'd sworn an oath to himself to not try and kiss her again. But, of course, that didn't stop him from being nice to her.

He was going to be her knight in shining armour. Well, more like captain on a war horse, but it was close enough. He'd look after her and value her more than...More than the last cookie in the jar.

[A/N] who here loves tom more than the last cookie? goodness, that's quite an achievement. drop a vote and i might let you have the last cookie...
yours truly :) x