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Code Omega	By : HobNobsAndTea Category: Individual Celebrities > Tom Hiddleston Views: 1456 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: The events in this story are complete fiction. None of these events have taken place.We make no profit from this story other then the enjoyment of writing it and sharing it with others. None of us know Tom personally or have met him.

Chapter List
- 5
- 6
- 7
After having showered, you braided your hair into two braids, one on each side of your head as you sucked on a lollipop. Wearing your Loki green satin short shorts PJ’s and matching Spaghetti strap top you lay on your belly across your side of the bed, your ankles crossed and swaying back and forth as you looked through a baby catalogue. You’d been collecting them and stashing them like a teenage boy hording playboys, but now that it was confirmed you were indeed pregnant, you didn’t have to hide them anymore.
There was one thing that was bothering you since you left Dr. Miles office. He said ‘your daughter’ like he actually knew the sex of the baby. That was impossible at just 2 weeks. The earliest you would be able to tell would be 16-17 weeks and even then you couldn’t be absolutely sure until 20 weeks. It was bazaar. There was no way in the world you could be 3 months pregnant. You would know. He would have told you, wouldn’t he? You shook it off. That would be completely dumb and unethical. Not to mention downright cruel and mean. Perhaps he just assumed that you wanted a little girl and that’s why he had said it.
Tom smiled when he came in and saw you looking more beautiful than ever to his eyes. He peeled off his shirt tossing it aside leaving only his black satin lounge pants before crawling up onto the bed over you. You giggle a little feeling the way his body covers you before wrapping his arms beneath you literally hugging your body with every inch of his kissing your cheek, your neck and across your shoulders.
“Sophie says that she’ll call her OB in the morning and make you an appointment, to see if you and her can go in together for the first one. Just to feel more comfortable.” He reports. You smile and nod. He kisses your neck again before resting his cheek against yours, “So what are we looking at mummy?”
You giggle a little hearing him say that. “Just nursery stuff, some clothes, and look . . .” You flipped over to the Holiday section, “Aren’t these the most adorable first Christmas and first Easter outfits?”
“Hmmm.” He says his lights lighting up, “And of course mummy’s outfit needs to match too. And I want pictures of every single one.” He kisses your ear and grins against it, “I don’t want to miss even a moment of my family.” He whispers. A grin sweeps your face as you close the catalogue and turn over beneath him looking up into his sparkling eyes. He was just as excited as you were and it just made your heart soar.
Reaching up you cupped his face in his hand kissing him slowly at first before a bit deeper as you could feel Tom’s arm wrapping further around you tighter. Then you looked up into his eyes, “Thank you.” You whisper in a ghost like whisper. He furrowed his brow not quite understanding, “For fixing me. For making me better.”
He smiled gently his hands moving to cradle your head ever so lovingly as he gazed into your beautiful eyes and the love and admiration that shined from deep within them as they gazed back at him. “You were never broken my love.” He whispers. “It was the people around you who were broken. Who had no idea how precious you were. Now, I’m so pleased and privileged to have you, to want you so much and have you want me in return.” That same excited smile he’d been wearing since you gave him the news reappeared as he rested his forehead against yours, “Now you’re making me a father, and I can’t wait to meet our baby.” He says excitedly.
You grin as you reach up cupping his face and anxiously kissing him again. Your bodies began to move against one another’s overcome with desire and deep just wanting to feel each other, to make love to one another.
Deep inside your heart, in the back of your mind that you would never say allowed, but seemed to have become louder brought to the forefront of your mind after your visit at Dr. Miles. When you were pregnant and you told Michael . . . he was just as excited, and full of praise, and spoiled you like crazy. But when you had the miscarriage, all that changed completely. You became a worthless traitor that he didn’t have time for and he punished you. Severely. He was so cruel and heartless to you. Tom wouldn’t do that to you, you were so certain he wouldn’t. But . . . the fear was still in your mind and weighed heavy on your heart. You hugged Tom tighter closing your eyes as you wrapped your leg around his waist arching your back. You never loved someone so much before, and you were certain he loved you.
“Hello dear, this is Sophie! I just wanted to leave you a quick message to let you know, I’ve just gotten off the phone with Dr Riggins, and she’d be happy to see you- she’s got an appointment available three days from now, so I gave her your name and told her you’d call her. But in the meantime, I would love to meet up with you for lunch or tea or something. Won’t you give me a call back? I’ll talk to you soon, hun. Ta!”
You played the voicemail one more time. You had never actually met Sophie personally like this. She was certainly a presence in Benedict’s life…but then again, you’d never really had the chance to be around Benedict either. Everything was so cloak-and-dagger with Tom sometimes, but you knew it was for the best, especially because of Michael. But that problem seemed to be fading fast. And since you and Tom were now connected through this little life, you wanted to be more involved with his friends and family. And since you didn’t have many friends yourself, you really wanted to take advantage of this opportunity.
Dialing the phone nervously, you took a deep breath. Who knew it could be stressful to make friends? But you had no reason to worry, you realized, when Sophie answered the call. “There you are, sweetie, I was hoping you’d call back!”
“Hi Sophie..how are you?”
“I’m wonderful, how are you? Congratulations! I’m so excited for you and Tom!” she gushed.
“Thank you so much! But just don’t say anything yet, please. It’s way too early, we don’t want to jinx anything,” you begged quietly.
“Sweetie, I wouldn’t dream of it. And besides, it’s not my news to tell. Listen, I don’t have but a minute, but would you like to go this afternoon for tea? I’d love to meet up with you some more and get to know you better. I feel like there will be lots of playdates in the future for us,” Sophie planned, and you could hear her smile through the phone. You couldn’t help but smile back and nod. “I would love that, Sophie. Where should we meet?”
“There’s a fantastic little café just around the corner and they serve really great decaf tea. You’ll find not many places do, unfortunately.” She’d thought of everything. You found yourself so grateful for her suddenly. “Shall we say three o’clock?”
“I’ll see you then, Soph.”
You hung up feeling so excited. You had a new friend, and couldn’t help but feel giddy about the whole thing. You shot Tom a text message quickly before getting ready for the day.
‘ Meeting Sophie for tea at 3p. Thank you so much for calling her last night.’
‘Of course, my darling. Decaf, right? I think caffeine is supposed to be bad for the baby -T.’
‘Of course decaf…have you been reading my books? ;-)’
‘I just want to be as helpful as I can, you know that…and I may have learned a thing or two from my sister ;-)’
‘You are VERY helpful, my love. I’ll see you when you get home tonight ;-**’
~*~
You entered the little café and saw Sophie waving you over with a smile. You grinned and all but skipped over to the table. She stood and pulled you in for a hug. “Ohh, it’s so lovely to finally meet you properly!” she fussed over you.
You waved your hand as the hug ended, saying, “Oh stop it, it’s good to meet you too! And congratulations to you! You must be so excited!” you said, motioning to her bump. Sophie placed a hand on it and beamed. “Thank you. I am ecstatic. And Ben is just over the moon, he couldn’t be any happier.”
“He and Tom certainly have that in common now,” you whispered. You and Sophie exchanged giddy smiles as you sat and ordered.
The afternoon went amazingly well. You were so happy to be making new friends, and especially ones that relate to what you were going through with the baby. You knew you would have Sophie’s support, and Ben’s, heaped on Tom’s. Not to mention his sisters and parents. You counted so many blessings realizing your baby would have no shortage of love when it finally arrived.
“So, I went ahead and reserved the appointment for you on Monday, and I’ve got the morning free so I can go with you, if you like. Will Tom be able to make it?”
“I’m not sure yet, I’ll ask him. I know they’re behind on filming and the director is really working them hard to catch up. I hope he can come,” you admitted a little wistfully.
“I do too. But if he can’t make it and the director is being a bit of a hardass…and we can be…then at least you’ll definitely be able to take home a video and a picture of the sonogram.”
“Both? I didn’t know they had both there, that’s so exciting!” You squealed quietly. You hoped Tom would be able to make it, but at least you would have that to show him if he couldn’t. And besides, having a sonogram would put to rest the nagging feeling that Dr Miles had planted about just how far along you really were.
You sat nervously in the waiting room with Sophie in the humiliating little paper gown and sheet they put women in after stealing their clothes. Cause that’s the greatest way to start off such an important appointment, is to completely disarmed and unnerve the mother completely.”
“Good afternoon, Miss Sophie, Miss James. It’s very good to see you today.” She said with a smile closing the door and reaching out shaking each of your hands. “So what can we help you with today Miss James?”
You took a breath, “Well . . . it’s a long story but, I don’t want any more surprises or taking any chances.” You say with a sigh.
“I promise you, Miss James, anything discussed between us is completely confidential.” You give a nod and Sophie takes your hand for encouragement. You tell the new doctor everything from beginning to end trying to leave anything out that might be relevant. The woman listened, and Sophie’s hand squeezed tighter to yours not having known about any of this before now. You and Tom had done exceptionally well keeping this between you private.
After listening to everything the doctor gave a nod, “Well Mr. James there are quite a few questionable things in your story.” Your face frowned preparing to be called a liar yet again, “No no, nothing that you’ve told me. So much as what you’ve been told. So, I would like to begin with a few tests to get some accurate answers of our own. Today we’re going to do a complete pelvic exam, a full blood panel, and a transvaginal ultrasound.” She turned to the nurse, “Can you get Miss James ready please.” The nurse started to prep things.
“Transvaginal? . … . what does that mean?”
“The most well known type of sonogram is where we would smooth some gel over your abdomen and use a wand to take a look. However, in this case, I would like a clearer more accurate idea of what is what we’re dealing with. SO we’re going to take a look inside. Don’t worry.” She says patting your hand, “You won’t feel a thing.” They pulled out the stirrups and put your heels in each one gathering their equipment.
You turned to Sophie, “You don’t have to stay in here for this if you don’t want.” You hated this. It was slightly better than when Tom actually came with you, but not much. It just seemed like a creepy thing to be accompanied to unless it was a mom or a sister. But to have someone who wasn’t quite a friend with you was pretty strange, and having a man, even though he was you lover . . . . was always beyond more then you could take.
“It’s alright love, we’re all girls here.” Sophie said patting your hand. The exam seemed to go pretty quickly, almost an hour as they were incredibly through and literally left nothing overlooked. With a smile they helped you take your feet down and gave you back your clothes.
“Alright Miss James, it will be a few days before we receive the results of all the tests. However, I do have some information that I need to give you now.” She began as you stood behind the shade pulling on your clothing.
“Oh?” You say nervously.
“First and foremost, you aren’t carrying a 2 week fetus, you’re carrying a 3-4 month fetus. You’re almost into your second trimester. The assumption that it’s a baby ‘girl’ isn’t an assumption at all, more like clear and plan fact. He could see this on the ultrasound and there could be no mistake. He should have told you the moment it was confirmed you were with child. The medical board will be hearing about this entire incident no question.” The doctor said in an annoyed tone arching a brow.
You step out from behind the changing screen just starring at the doctor in shock, “But how can that be . . . I would have . . . I wouldn’t have missed something like that? I tested, literally almost every day. Surely something would have shown up, warned me, I would have felt differently.”
“What he told you about your hormone imbalance is probably right. It interfered with the outcome of the tests. They were going to just keep coming up negative. But your blood tests say, without a doubt, you are indeed with child. An almost 4 month daughter residing within you.” You just stare at her for several moments speechless, unable to let a thought past your mind. You were just frozen.
“Doctor.” Sophie said holding your hand again “What about the baby? Is she healthy? Is everything alright? None of this bizarre nonsense has harmed her has it?” She questioned.
“No, not from what I can see. She’s strong, healthy, very developed for her age, and as lively as can be. I took some screen captures of both the regular ultrasound and transvaginal ultrasound for you to take home, Miss James. The best ones with the clearest images of your little girl.” You nod a little still starring at nothing. Sophie took the folder for her before shaking the doctors hand “Thank you again doctor. You’ve been such a great help to us.”
“I’d like to see her again in 2 weeks.” Sophie smiled and nodded before grabbing your coat and purse and hurrying you out of the office. She drove you back to your apartment and you hadn’t said a word since you left the clinic.
“Darling, this is good news. Everything is fine. You’re well, the baby is exceptional. Everything is as it should be.” Sophie said.
“If that were true then how could I have been pregnant this long without knowing it, becoming more and more discouraged by the way? Oh God,” You cover your eyes, “I didn’t know. What would have happened if I didn’t know I was pregnant? If I drank something, took something, ate something, missed a medication . . . . .Oh god.” You cover your face with both hands feeling so sick to your stomach.
Sophie reached over and put her hand on your shoulder to breathe, “Calm down sweetie. Just take big calm breaths. Lay your head back and keep breathing in slow and deep.” You try to do as you are instructed but this was impossible, how could this have happened? Why would they keep this from you? Or was it they were laying to you now? How could you tell what was real? How could you tell what to believe?
Sophie took out her phone and dialed Tom’s number telling him to meet them at your apartment now, that there had been a bit of jarring news about the baby you didn’t seem to be accepting terribly well. Tom agreed and immediately hung up leaving the set and heading to the flat as fast as possible.
Tom squealed into a parking spot in your complex and ran up the steps two at a time. He flew through the door. "Where is she?" he asked quickly trying to catch his breath.
"In the bedroom," Sophie replied, pointing quickly in the direction. Tom ran in, seeing you lying in the middle of the bed with you head propped up on the pillows. "Darling? Sweetheart, it's all right, I'm here, I'm right here."
He hopped up around you, enveloping you in his arms. "Oh Tom, oh my god," you moaned scared.
"Sweetheart, what's the matter? Talk to me, please."
You pulled him tighter and breathed him in. You could feel your pulse slow back down with Tom’s arms around you. He rubbed your back trying to coax the news from you. "Love, please talk to me, what is going on? Is there something with the baby? Please tell me."
You took a deep breath to calm yourself once more. "Dr Miles was wrong. I'm not two weeks."
You watched his face fall. Afraid you would tell him you were never pregnant to start with. Tom placed a hand on your stomach.
"Dr Riggins....she said I'm fourteen weeks."
He froze. His eyes grew to the size of saucers. And a huge smile spread across his face. "You're what? Fourteen? Are you sure?"
You reached across to the nightstand to show Tom the pictures. The shaded black and white images were proof, and being a nurse, you could tell how right Dr Riggins was. You handed them over and pointed. "See, here's her head, and there's her little legs. And her little arms, here," you said quietly.
He could hardly believe his eyes. Here you were, afraid it would never happen, when it had actually happened almost immediately. Tom's vision blurred as he stared at the picture, so happy. "We're having a little girl? Was she sure?"
"Yes, she was positive, even though it was early, she did two ultrasounds, and she was sure."
"Is she okay? Is everything healthy? Is she safe and- and secure in there?" Tom asked quickly, rubbing his hand over your belly.
"She's all right, despite not knowing she was in there. Dr Riggins did a whole panel of tests and all the preliminary results came back fine," you answered.
He couldn't take any more. Tom leaned forward and cupped your face, still holding the pictures. He captured your lips while still crying, which forced your hand- the tears welled in your eyes. You felt them spill down your cheeks while you deepened the kiss.
" I love you so much, my dear love," Tom murmured against your lips.
"I love you," you whispered back.
Sophie peeked around the corner into the room, and quickly pulled back. "Sorry, loves!" You barely heard her as she giggled and saw her way out, locking the door behind her.
There were quite a number of pill bottles in the bathroom cabinet and your nightstand at this point. Every vitamin under the sun, and you checked with your new doctor about everything wanting to make certain it was all safe. Telling her about the past incidents with Michael and the suspicious medications that he’d given you in the past, the doctor not only checked the labels but had each one taken out and tested to make certain they were what they said.
Unfortunately, there were two that you had been taking that were unidentifiable that resulted in another furry of tests on you, and on the baby. But everything was fine. This doctor put you on the right medications, the right directions, the right doses and the correct vitamins for your particular needs. She insisted that she saw you every 2 weeks without fail and gave you her personal number if you had any questions or concerns or fears. Everything was fine, and with Sophie pregnant as well she had a kindred spirit. Sophie wasn’t far enough along yet to know the sex of the baby but she was excited of course, and you were excited with her
“So it looks like we have a little less time to plan for everything then we hoped.” Sophie said with a bright smile. “We have time before lunch, do you want to go window shopping for baby clothes and odds and ends?” You half smile and shook your head a little bit looking back out the window not having said much all day. Knowing more about the situation now, she understood where your fears and apprehensions were coming from. Reaching over she wrapped her hand around yours, “Sweetie, it’s okay. Everything’s fine, you heard the doctor say the baby is healthy, you’re both healthy, everything looks wonderful. You have every right to be happy.”
“I know Sophie, I know I do. Tom and I have worked so hard, so very hard to get pregnant and now it’s happened after all this time . . . . a while ago apparently, it’s still a little hard to believe and I can’t help but feel . . . .” You stop taking a breath lowering your head as you cover your face with your hand.
Sophie squeezes your hand a bit tighter, “What is it honey”
You take a breath and lower your hand but your eyes remain downcast to your lap, “None of my pregnancies made it past the second trimester. 6 months was the longest, I almost made it to the seventh . . . but one morning I woke up . . . and he was gone.” Reaching up you quickly wipe your tears away from your face embarrassing to talk about. It had been ages ago and you were certain you’d left it all in the past. “Everything seemed fine, and right, and healthy up until then . . . and then . . . it just happened. . . .” You breathed. “Michael was furious with me. He said I killed his baby.” You take a soft breath shaking your head.
Sophie hated this. It was a moment you had been trying for, hoping for, working for for so long. And now that idiot Miles had to go and ruin it for you. “Hey you know what fellow pregnant lady? It’s after lunch. Let’s go get something deep fried and dipped in chocolate. Yeah?” You can help but smile and giggle before giving a nod. Sophie squeezed your hand once more before turning the car around. She knew the perfect place.
Sitting with each other surrounded by all kinds of things that normal people might look at and shudder at the thought of putting in their mouths, you and Sophie were rather enjoying your sinful indulgence into comfort food and sugar. Sophie drank her pomegranate milkshake as you took a bite of your triple cheese burger. “Honey, You can’t let the past you so much. You are with someone who loves you now, to see that you’re safe and well looked after, who is making absolute certain that you are under the best care you can be.” She reassures you.
“I know.” You say softly, “I know he loves me so much.” You rest your hands over your abdomen, “He loves us.” You close your eyes shaking your head a bit, “But there’s still a poisonous snake in the grass that I wish someone would run over with a lawn mower.” You sigh a little, “I can’t help thinking that it was him and his people who got to doctor Miles. Doctor miles helped us so much. He seemed so caring, and concerned, and supportive and then all of a sudden . . . he turned completely. After knowing everything that I had gone through, everything Tom and I had to go through how hard we worked, how much we wanted to be parents . . . . he actually said it was irresponsible for me to have a baby. That I should terminate the pregnancy. Kill my baby. Our little girl.” There were tears in your eyes when what should have been the happiest moment of your life was turned into the worst thing one person could say to another. “He’s a monster. Which is up against some pretty stiff competition working in the hospital as long as I have and being married to the worlds biggest asshole.”
Sophie ate a French fry thinking for a moment wanting to find someway to cheer you up, “So, is Tom going to be with you in the delivery room?” She questioned not wanting to dwell on the fears so much as the happiness.
A look of horror crossed her face, “No!” You exclaimed your face blushing bright red.
Sophie grinned taking a drink of her milk shake, “Oh, why not! Birth is a beautiful experience. Benedict and I are going to tape ours.”
“Yeah, it’s okay for the medical staff, friends and family to say that. They’re only there for the day. Tom has to return to that area later with a completely different agenda. Something he might not want to do when he sees a human baby pop out of me covered in goo.” You explained having been present for many baby deliveries. It was strange you never thought of these sorts of things before when it was your patients, but you thought of it now that it was you and it made your skin crawl.
“Oh but honey, he’s going to want to be there for you. To support you.” She said with a smile.
“And he will. He’ll be right there at the hospital. . . . .sitting in the waiting room with a glass of whiskey in one hand and a cigar in the other waiting for the results.” You say taking another bite of your fish and chips. Sophie couldn’t help but laugh and smile having a feeling Tom was going to have something to say about that plan.
She checked her watch looking at you, “It’s getting late. Tom said he wanted you home at 6 sharp. He was making a special dinner just for the two of you.” She said with a smile.
You give a little nod as you reach over taking a deep drink from your glass. Sophie’s smile faded a little bit seeing your reaction. It was a reaction that was becoming more and more common since the subject of Tom come up. Almost as if you were afraid to go home to him. Afraid that you had done something wrong. Afraid that he would be upset with you. Sophie didn’t say anything about it, but it was getting worse and worse and it was putting stress on you that you definitely did not need. Sophie would take him aside and tell him to night when she took you home.
“Tom, I’m a little concerned about (y/n)”
His eyes got a bit wide before he furrowed his brow. “What do you mean, Soph?”
“Well…she got nervous all day about coming over. Like she was going to be treated like some petulant child or something. She was worried all day, and I could barely get her to smile. And, she even said she doesn’t even want you in the delivery room.”
Toms head snapped up at the last sentence. Wouldn’t what? He realized he had a big problem on his hands, and one that he would remedy as best he could tonight. Tom walked Sophie out just in time to see you emerge from the bedroom. You had freshened up as best you could which wasn’t hard- so much of your stuff was still at Tom’s in anticipation of coming back home as soon as the business with Michael was settled.
A smile settled over his face. It didn’t matter for a moment that he was upset with you. He was just happy you were here, and that for a moment he knew and saw with his own eyes that you, and your daughter, were safe. He extended his hand. “Come here, darling,” he beckoned sweetly.
You walked towards him and took his hand, and Tom wrapped you up around him. The two of you shared a kiss before he pulled back gently and brushed the hair out of your face. He bit his lip and decided to just dive into the matter at hand for him.
“So I just spoke with Sophie. Did you have a good day with her?” He was asking sincerely. He didn’t want to make it seem like he was attacking you.
“I did, yeah. She’s really sweet, I wish I’d met her before. It’s nice to have a…kindred spirit,” you smiled.
“She adores you too, I’m certain. She told me something though, I think we need to talk about.”
You stiffened.
Tom began slowly, “Sophie said….she said you were nervous all day today. Like you were upset at me, or you didn’t want to come home.” He paused and dipped his head to catch your eyes- you’d cut them away as you figured out what he was talking about, but he wanted to know you understood his meaning for this. “Have I done something, love? To make you think I would ever hurt you, or anything like that?”
You twisted your shoulders in an effort to move out of his grasp. Your expression twisted up- you were caught. Tom held fast, though. “Love, talk to me. What is going on with you?”
You stuttered out a string of syllables. You didn’t really have an answer. Well, you had one, but you’d never expected to have to give it to him, until finally you just spilled it. “I’m afraid of what you’ll say if something happens. Because it always does and then I’m the bad guy because I couldn’t do the one thing I was supposed to do in all this.”
His eyebrows knitted together. “What on Earth…darling, I would never EVER do anything to hurt you. Surely you would know and understand that by now. I have never once intended to hurt you in any way. And I’ve done everything I thought I could to prove that to you. Have I not?”
You paused. Once again, you didn’t have an answer. Well, you did- you just didn’t want to make yourself sound like an idiot by saying it out loud. But Tom wasn’t letting this one go. You lightly nodded, and breathed out, “Yes…you’ve done everything you’re supposed to do.” You looked up into his eyes, filled with sincerity. You didn’t realize until now how much this was hurting him, and it hit you full force. The last thing you wanted to do was hurt him, especially after he’d given you the one thing you’d wanted for so long.
“Listen to me, I’ll say it as many times as it takes to get through your stubborn head- I love you. And I will do everything in my power to keep you safe and happy and make you feel all the love I have for you. And not just you, but this little precious one as well,” Tom stated placing a hand on your stomach. “You have no idea what you two mean to me. Please, don’t continue to insult me by insinuating I would ever do anything to hurt you like that monster of an ex-husband ever did to you.”
He looked deep into your eyes and you finally started to get it. Tom would never do those things to you. He’d done everything, and was still doing everything, he could to help you forget what you had been through before. He had moved you into his home, hired the best lawyers in London to defend you against damning allegations, had gone through all kinds of medical testing to prepare to give you, both of you, a baby. And that was just since you’d been back. Old habits died hard, but now it wasn’t just you that was being affected.
You sighed deeply and relaxed your shoulders. Bringing your hands to your face, you admitted. “You’re right. It’s not fair. I’ve been awful to you, and you don’t deserve that. I can’t believe I did this to you, babe, I’m so sorry,” you uttered as you pulled him close. You couldn’t believe you’d ever felt that way around him. Tom wrapped his arms tighter around you and stroked your back.
“Darling, if we’re going to be together and raise a family together, I need you to trust me. I love you. You know that. Now just believe in it, and we’ll be fine, no matter what happens.” Tom placed a gentle kiss on the top of your head and pulled back.
“I have to insist on one thing, though. I don’t believe I’ve asked for much, but I will for this. I plan on being fully present in the room, with you, when she is born. And I think that point is not up for discussion. Like I said, I don’t want to miss a single moment of my family, and I certainly won’t miss the moment it gets bigger.” Tom’s words rang in your ear.
You blanched. “You what? No, I don’t think so, Tom. That is just-“
“What? It’s what? It’s going to be messy, and loud and what? I know this. I’ve been in the hospital when my sister had her children, and I know what it’s like. And I won’t leave you alone to all that, nurse or not.”
“Tom, you don’t understand, nothing is going to look the same when it’s happening, and it’s so clinical and I’m gonna be a mess and-“
“And what? I won’t find you beautiful anymore? I’ll be so put off by the birth of our daughter that I won’t want to be around you? I don’t think so. I will be there to watch the very moment everything happens. I’ll fight my way in if I have to, but I will be there, darling.” He was certainly standing his ground. Your mouth set in a line. This wasn’t going exactly as planned.
“This isn’t some punishment, or penance. This is a father-to-be doing exactly what he should be doing, and because he wants to. And because you deserve it. I love you, darling. I want to be there to support you through all that’s going to happen.” He took your hand and laced your fingers in his. “To be there so you can squeeze my hand until I’m afraid you’ve broken it at the first big contraction, and not say a word about it because it couldn’t possibly compare.”
You smirked. You’d seen that very scenario a few times, and it always made you laugh to watch the father shake his hand out, or ask for ice at the nurses’ station and not in front of the mother for fear of being screamed at.
“There’s a little smile, my love. I want you to know, I don’t only love you when it’s easy. I love you when it’s difficult, and when I’m scared just as much as when I’m excited and when we’re happy. And you know too well all those things will happen in the delivery room when she comes. And I would certainly start a terrible father if I was in the waiting room passing out cigars or something like it was 1952.”
It was like he had read your mind. Shit. But you knew what he was saying. It wasn’t going to be easy, and quite honestly, you expected him to change his mind. But for now, you sighed again and muttered, “All right. You’re in for quite a show.”Tom smiled gently and reached up to run a hand through your hair. “You’re an insistent bastard, you know that?” you said to him.
He laughed as you smirked again. “You’re one to talk, sweet love. I think we’ll have our hands full once our little one arrives, what with all the stubborn genes she’s getting.”
“You’re right. Bur for now I think she’s just hungry. Sophie said something about a dinner you had planned?”
“Of course. Let’s go set the table and we’ll eat.” Tom leaned to kiss you one more time before taking your hand and leading you into the dining room. If this talk was any indication, you maybe had some work to do over the next five months. You wondered if you still had Dr Edwards’ number to call this week.
You and Tom were lying on your bed in your apartment your laptop between you as you scrolled through the baby registry. Tom wasn’t being to terribly discriminating with what he added; he just picked anything and everything that was pink. “Tom!” You exclaim swatting his hands slightly, “She’s a little girl, not Barbie!”
“Yes, true. But the tradition seemed to dictate blue for boy babies, and pink for girl babies. Our daughter, is a little girl after all.” He said leaning over kissing your cheek before turning back to the computer screen.
“Puft.” You scoffed. You always hated the color pink. Even when you were a little girl. “Doesn’t mean she has to turn into the pink panther. A lot of this stuff comes in different colors. Think more like greens, and yellows and purples.”
He half smiles hearing your request as he continued to scroll through the site. “Are those the colors we’re painting the nursery?”
“Well. Not all three of them. I’m leaning towards lilac or a soothing light green. You know, feminine but not . . . Barbie’s dream house.”
Tom couldn’t help the laugh that jumped out. “If I get a vote then my preference leans to the lilac. Still feminine but not Barbie-ish.” You giggle a little leaning on his shoulder feeling a bit hungry, and a bit tired. He noticed and kissed your head before closing the laptop. “How are my girls doing, hmm?”
“Tired. Hungry. Tired of being hungry.” You say closing your eyes.
“What are you hungry for?” He questioned. “We could go out for something, I could fix something here, we could order a take away.” He listed off choices for you.
“We haven’t had Chinese for a while.” You’d actually been craving some orange chicken and chow mien since last night for some strange reason. He dips his head down and kisses your cheek, before finding your lips and kissing you again causing you to smile.
“Take away it is then. I’ll call in an order and you can rest until then. Alright?” You give a nod and he smiles before getting up from the bed and taking the laptop with him. Then he leans down and kisses your belly before he grabs his phone from the dresser off the charger and leaves the room to call so he didn’t disturb you.
It felt like you had a permanent smile on your lips and it was Tom who had placed it there. Reaching for a pillow you tuck it under your head before curling up in a ball and resting your hand on your abdomen where your daughter was growing, healthy, and safe. You move your other hand up to where you could see the promise ring Tom had given you. You hadn’t taken it off since he’d placed it there.
Tom was still holding firm on wanting to be in the room when your little girl was born, while you still maintained it wasn’t the best idea. You still had a few months to wear him down and convince him otherwise.
“Sweetheart?” You open your eyes seeing Tom who was stroking your hair leaning next to you as he knelt on the floor beside the bed. He smiles seeing you waking up, “You must have been exhausted darling, you were sleeping pretty hard.”
You yawn stretching your back a little before sitting up. “Food?”
“Just got here a few minutes ago, I set the table before coming to wake you.” Reaching over he stroked your hair a bit. You could see that there was something else in his eyes, a look of sincere worry.
“Honey.” You lean over and kiss his gently before putting your hand in his. He kissed your knuckles before holding your hand tight, “You’re becoming worse than I am.”
“I can’t help but be worried about you.” Reaching up he places his free hand over your abdomen. “About the two of you.” You smile running your fingers through his ginger hair. “I’ve never been a father before, I concerned that I’ll do something wrong or miss something important.”
“Well I’ve never been a mother before either.”
“Yes, but you’ve been in the medical field for years, whereas the best I can do I read books, perhaps ask my parents, talk to other couples who have children or are having a children. It’s like studying for a role, but one that I’ll have for the rest of my life.” This was certainly a change, his being concerned and confiding his fears in you.
“You aren’t . . .” You pause and look down at his long lovely fingers caress your abdomen with his fingertips that was just barely showing the hint of a swell. “You aren’t having . . . second thoughts about this, are you?” It would seem a bit strange as he’d had quite a while to pull out of this project before you’d gotten pregnant.
“No,” He said instantly shaking his head, “No, of course not.” He smiles kissing your hand again, “Just a bit anxious is all. I can’t wait to see her.”
His eyes sparkled as he caressed your belly a bit more. You smile resting your hand against his slightly stubbly face before placing a kiss to his warm lips. “Tom, of all the people in the world who should be a father, it’s you. I can’t imagine there’s anyone better suited for children then you are.” You cover his hand with your own holding it against you. He grins and gets up wrapping his hand around your neck pulling you into a loving kiss.
“Come on. We should have some dinner before it gets cold.” You weren’t going to argue with him there, you were starving. He helps you up from the bed as you hurry to the dining room.
“All right, here we go….see, there she is,” Dr Riggins moved out of the way of the screen and pointed to the little form shown there. Tom immediately started tearing up.
“Oh my god…that’s her,” he choked out. He processed the black-and-white outline on the screen. The way her head curved around, and how he could see her little nose already poking out. How her tiny arms curled close to her body. Tom could swear he saw little fingers, too.
You looked up at him as he wiped a tear away, and your breath caught in your throat.
“Don’t cry! I can’t handle it if you do, honey!”
“I can’t help it, darling, she’s…she’s right there, I can actually see her there,” he said in awe. Tom was silent as the happy tears welled in his eyes, holding your hand tightly. You couldn’t help but beam at him. He was finally able to make it to an appointment, and it happened to be one of the most important- the 20-week ultrasound. This was crucial to determine if there were any anomalies or anything wrong with the baby, and where the sex was finally confirmed. You held your breath while Dr Riggins moved the wand back and forth slowly to get the best picture she could, just waiting for the results.
“Is everything all right with her? Is she where she’s supposed to be, and everything?”
Dr Riggins replied slowly, “She..is…perfect, yeah. If you look here, you can see her heart, and it looks wonderful, and her kidneys and…” she continued, pointing at different spots on the screen. You were just thankful everything was exactly as it should be. It was the moment you’d be worried about, and there was nothing to fret over. The relief washed over you as you took a giant breath. Which, as it turns out, caused the baby to get suddenly active right there on the screen.
“Oh, I think she likes that, (y/n),” Dr Riggins said. “Do it again,” she prompted. You took another deep breath and watched as the baby moved around, waving her arms and kicking a little. Tom laughed out loud as the tiny blur moved. He’d never in his life felt such a pull toward something like this. All the worries he’d felt a few days before were gone now. He’d do whatever he had to do to keep this tiny thing safe and happy and warm and secure. Just as soon as she arrived, a moment he couldn’t wait to see with his own eyes.
~*~
Sitting in Tom’s living room that evening, you held the latest pictures of your daughter, while Tom flipped casually through a name book. You both had decided you didn’t want to name her prematurely, worried that a name both of you had your heart set on wouldn’t "match" her once you saw her. But there was no harm in looking, and it helped to hold her picture to try to get a feel for it.
“What about Louisa?” Tom suggested.
You wrinkled your mouth to one side. “Hmm…she just doesn’t feel like a Louisa.”
“What about…Gemma?”
“Eh…it’s pretty, but she doesn’t feel like that, either. This is way harder than anyone ever told me it would be,” you laughed. It was a little daunting- being solely responsible for picking the name that would stay with her for her whole life. “I do like the idea of a name with the “a” at the end, though.”
“So we’re on the right track, at least,” Tom said with a smile. He continued to flip through the pages, and moved one hand to your belly. You were showing a little bit more every day, you thought. Before long, you were going to have to come clean and start telling people.
After a couple pages, Tom stopped. His eyes focused on a page, and he looked from the page to your belly, rubbing it with his thumb. You looked at him curiously.
“What is it? What did you find?” you asked.
“Um…what do you think about Phillipa?” he asked. You coked your head to the side and thought. It was a pretty name. Certainly not one you would have thought of on your own. But it was different, and you liked that.
“Hm. It is pretty. I’m not opposed to it, I actually like it,” you admitted. You placed a hand on your stomach next to Tom’s and looked down. “What do you think, little bean? Are you a Phillipa?”
“We could call her Pippa, for short. And it’s very traditional..which I’m sure you know I like,” Tom defended.
“True. She might be a Pippa, sweetie. I don’t know yet, I want to see her first to make sure. But hang on to that one, I think I like it.”
You and Tom leaned toward each other for a kiss. It was so full of love, and you were so grateful for the report from Dr Riggins earlier. So was Tom. He was thrilled to finally be there for you and to see your daughter “in action”, as it were. As the kiss gently ended, you rested your head on his shoulder, and he kissed the top of your head. Everything felt so right in that moment.
“Phillipa Hiddleston. That’s quite a mouthful,” you said playfully. “Not even including if we give her a middle name.”
“I think we should, darling. You and I both have one, shouldn’t she?”
“If you think she should, then yes. Daddy’s opinion is just as important, isn’t it?” You’d never called Tom daddy, and his heart swelled. Not only was he finally becoming a daddy, but you were the mother to his baby. The thought made him happier than anything else.
“Only as important as mummy’s opinion,” he replied with a smile.
You’d been sitting on the couch beneath a blanket reading a book and had dozed off. When the phone rang you jumped and the book fell to the floor. Shaking your head you reached over picking up the phone, “Tom?” You say softly rubbing your eyes. “Ms. Cooper? Hi. No, Tom’s out of the country until next week. He’s in California meeting with a director about his new movie. What’s up?” You listen for a moment before sitting up a bit more. “What does that mean?”
A while later you’d gone into Ms. Coopers office at her request finding that Luke Windsor, Tom’s publicist, was there as well. He smiled and greeted you as you took the seat Ms. Cooper offered you. “What’s going on? Why do I feel like I’m about to be expelled from school for vandalizing school property?”
“No, no, nothing like that.” Luke said, “Tom already knows the situation, and we’re already taking care of it. There’s nothing to worry about.”
You just stared at him for a moment, “Then why did it sound like there was something to worry about when you were on the phone?” You asked looking back to Ms. Cooper. “We knew we couldn’t hide that Tom and I were starting a family together forever. It does get a little noticeable after a while.”
There was a hesitation before Ms. Cooper handed you a file, “Your ‘missing’ medical records were just sent to the court.” Reaching out you take the file flipping through it.
A look of horror crossed your face “Who sent these?” You asked flipping through a few more pages, “I never even saw the doctor who signed these reports.” You closed the file, “This is obviously bullshit.”
“I know. We know. You’ve done everything asked by the court, you passed the psyche evaluation with flying colors, there is no reason to put any stock in any of this.” Ms. Cooper reassured you. “I have no doubt that the court will throw it out as any sort of evidence and launch an investigation into who libeled themselves by even sending it to us.”
Things fell silent as you waited to hear why you’d been called in. “Then what’s the problem?”
“The problem . . . is the social media back lash that’s going to come if these things get out.” Luke said breaking the silence. You look over at him instantly. “We’ve done everything we can to keep things, every bit of Michael’s nonsense under wraps. Something we’ve done rather successfully so far.”
“And . . . you can’t do that anymore?” You say nervously.
“Not as well as we did.” He said with a sigh, “You see, there have been rumors, and a few pictures and such about the two of you being in a relationship. But we haven’t confirmed anything, and so no one has put too much interest in you. However, you’re almost 6 months pregnant with Tom’s baby. You have a separate apartment right now but most of your things are at this house, and the instant it’s possible you’ll be living under the same roof again. Interest in you and your life is about to go through the roof.”
You close your eyes sliding back in your chair covering your face. “Nothing’s changed.” Ms. Cooper said, “We’ll still do everything we can to protect you and Mr. HIddleston’s privacy.”
“But it’s going to be much easier for Michael to smear your life, or what he wants to present as your life to anyone who will listen. There will be tabloids and gossip rags that will pay top dollar for any intimate details your Ex is willing to sell to them that might smear you or Tom in the public eye.” Luke explained.
“So what do we do?” You say looking between the two. “What’s our next step?”
There was a long silence that made your heart sink. “I know it’s private, and I don’t want to pry into you and Tom’s life,” Luke began.
“But.” Why was he drawing this out so damn long?
Luke looks at you before asking outright, “How serious are you about your relationship with Tom?”
For some reason of all the questions you were expecting, that one blindsided you completely. “What?” You look between the two in disbelief, “How can you . . . even ask me that? We’re having a baby. We’re having a daughter in less than 4 months. We’ve been looking at names, and working on the nursery, . . . Tom’s even been looking at schools even though it’s a while before she even starts preschool.”
“I understand that. But we need to know if this is a serious relationship or a fling. If you’re having any doubts at all, we need to know. Because Tom is an asset. Not just for the agency but he has standing contracts with Marvel, Disney, and several others who staunchly want their image protected. They aren’t the kind that are going to put up with a Charlie Sheen or Linsday Lohan situation.”
You shake your head looking away. “How can you even compare him to those people.” You look between the Lawyer and the PR agent, “Anyone whose worked with him, even just met him knows that he’s nothing like that.”
“Agreed, but the cold hard fact of it is that Mr. Hiddleston is in a line of work, in a career that is regrettably all image and reputation based.” Ms. Cooper added.
“Are you serious about your relationship with him?” Luke asked again.
Why did you feel like you were falling? Probably because it wasn’t just a simple question of ‘are you serious’. There were so many avenues, so many implications, so many things that were going to happen at this point. Your career was shaky at this point after everything Michael put you through, but until this point you’d kept up the illusion that you could keep any of this from touching Tom. You felt a knot in your throat as tears welled in your eyes. You stood from the chair and walked over to the window looking out for a moment.
However you knew how Tom felt about you, and you knew how both you and he loved this little life inside of you and couldn’t wait to welcome her into the world. You also knew that Tom didn’t have a lick of sense at times and could easily let passion run over reason. It was people in his life like Luke and Ms. Cooper whose job it was to look out for him and his best interests. Watching his back and seeing that nothing would blindside him. You didn’t want to cause Tom any kind of pain or grief, you never did.
“You know, after my divorce from Michael I just sort of figured that was it for me. I couldn’t have kids, and relationships . . . relationships were for naive suckers that didn’t know any better.” You half laughed remembering how things were a bit . . . turbulent with Tom when you first started seeing each other. He had to chase you relentlessly when you kept pushing him away over and over again. “Then I met Tom. To be honest, he annoyed the living hell out of me when he worked with us at the hospital. When I was told he’d be shadowing me for a week I felt like I was being punished and couldn’t have been more irritated. But despite my epic bitchiness on every level . . . Tom kept coming back for me. Like a moth to a flame.”
Another quiet moment passed before you swallowed the lump in your throat. “For some, god forsaken reason, Tom wanted me.” Your hand rested on the swell of your abdomen. “I can easily say that Tom is the best thing that ever happened in my life. I wasn’t looking for him. I didn’t . . . and don’t deserve him. But here he is. Giving me my dream.”
You clinched your jaw a moment, “I don’t know what is best for his career. I don’t . . . know what’s best for Tom’s life . . . . it’s always been so different then mine and I’ll admit I don’t really understand a lot of it. I’m just a nurse. But for my part,” You close your eyes wiping the tears from your face before you turned looking at them. “I love him. I’ve always loved him. And I will always love him. I’ll stay with him as long as he wants me. If he tells me to go, then I’ll go.” You sigh softly feeling incredibly exhausted and rested your hand to your head a moment.
Luke and Ms. Cooper weren’t really expecting any other answer but they had to hear you say it. They glanced at each other with a nod. “Then the next step is to release a statement about you, Tom and your daughter. It’ll put an end to a great deal of speculation and set the record straight.”
When you got home to your apartment, you ate the leftovers from last night’s dinner feeling absolutely ravenous, and easily going through the pint of ice cream. Of course you were concerned about this going public, but Luke said that they wouldn’t release any kind of statement until Tom got home from the states. You could only imagine the shit storm this was going to cause, and you weren’t looking forward to it.
You spent the rest of the week at Tom’s, quietly coming to terms with going public. It wasn’t like this was a total surprise for you. You’d seen it coming eventually, but it was like you never thought it would actually happen. Like it was some far-off event that neither of you would have to worry about for a long time. Being surrounded by his walls and sleeping in his bed, though, helped you keep calm about it.
Another thing that was worrying you was how close you were to your sixth month. You thought about what you had told Sophie a few weeks ago- that you’d never made it past six months. It was a date you were very anxious to surpass with your daughter. On your day off that week, you silently stirred awake, having slept in just a little bit. You turned onto your back and ran your hand gently up and down your bump. It was like you were getting bigger every day. You were glad no one was around for this next part.
“All right, little girl,” you started softly, “if you’re anything like your daddy, you are one stubborn thing. So I need you to be stubborn about staying in there for a while longer, okay? Everyone is so excited to see you, especially your daddy and me. But we’re not ready yet. So just stay where you are, and I promise when you do get here, I’ll do my best to keep Daddy from drowning you in pink lace and tulle. Got it, bean?”
She kicked in response, and you smiled wide. “Then we have a deal, baby girl. We’ll get through this, the three of us.”
Just then, your phone rang. You reached for it, confused at the name on the screen. “Tom, what are you doing? Isn’t it like, midnight in LA right now? You should be asleep.”
“I can’t help it, darling,” Tom answered with a laugh. “I miss my girls too much right now to sleep.”
“Aw, we miss you too, sweetie. How have all your meetings gone?”
“Fantastic, love, there is so much we’re getting done here. All kinds of kinks worked out, which is wonderful. And I’ve been able to catch up with Chris, too!”
“That’s great, honey, how is he?” you asked. You hadn’t seen Chris since he’d come to the hospital and spoken to Jacob. The memory panged in your heart and you took a breath to settle yourself.
“He’s great. He sends his love, and, I hope it’s all right, but…I told him.”
You bit your lip. You were nervous about letting anyone know until you had made it over your own personal “hump”, but you couldn’t be mad at Tom’s excitement. And he had every right to be- he was going to be a father.
“What did he say?”
“He is so excited for us, love. He said to call as soon as she was born, that he and Elsa can’t wait to meet her. I even showed him one of the pictures.”
“Ahh, I thought one of the pictures was missing…you sneak,” you laughed. Tom laughed too, and you could almost hear him blush over the phone.
“Well, I didn’t want to be without a picture of my girls…and I don’t have any of Phillipa on my phone, darling!”
You laughed again and said, “So you’re really liking that name?”
“I love it. The more I say it, the more it sounds like hers.”
“Okay. We made a deal this morning, me and her. She promised she would stay put until it’s time, and in return I promised to not let you drown her in lace and tulle.”
Tom laughed out loud at your story. “No! I want to wrap her in so much satin and pink, she’ll love it, I know it!”
“No way, baby, I made a deal with her! I can’t let the first thing I do as a mom be to go back on my word!”
The two of you dissolved into laughter, and you felt Phillipa moving all around. She seemed to really love when you laughed. And you would laugh all day if it made her happy.
As you calmed, Tom said to you, “Listen love, the reason I called was…I want you to be there at the airport when I come home. I want you to be the first person I see there.”
You curled your mouth to the side, thinking. This was definitely going to cause a stir on social media. And to be honest, you’d never even heard of “tumblr”, but apparently this was something that would break it…whatever the hell that meant. You were going to go public with everything anyway. It may as well be with a bang at this point, right?
“Okay. I’ll be there with Luke.” You heard him smile through the phone, and almost a giggle followed.
“Wonderful. I can’t wait to see you there, both of you.” His heart beat faster in excitement of seeing you there, even though it was a couple days away still. “We’ll go straight from the airport to Luke’s office and confirm a statement if you want, darling. I can’t wait to tell the world about us.”
“Now I know you’re crazy and tired, sweetie, haha! Go to bed, you still have meetings tomorrow, don’t you?”
“Yes…but I couldn’t sleep without hearing you first. I miss my girls, it’s not as fun without you,” Tom moaned.
“Well, it’s only for a couple more days, and then you’ll be back home to us both,” you said stroking your belly. “And I have the day off and we’ll spend it entirely in bed if you want.”
Tom lowered his voice to a growl and uttered, “Oo, do you promise, love?” It sent shivers down your spine. Nothing had deterred your passion for each other because of your pregnancy. In fact it was like it was heightened- Tom practically worshipped your body in those moments. It was so different from your others and you were so thankful. But when he was halfway around the world, you couldn’t get worked up.
“Go to bed, my love. You need all the sleep you can get this week,” you instructed. “Nurses orders.”
“Oh, all right. I can’t wait to see you soon, darling. Have a good day, I love you.”
“Sweet dreams, honey. I love you, I’ll see you soon.”
You hung the phone up and slid out of bed. If you were going to go public, you wanted to look good doing it, you decided. So you picked up the phone again and dialed Sophie’s number. After a couple rings, she picked up.
“Sophie, hi! Listen, do you want to do some shopping today?”
You sat eating lunch with Sophie at one of the favorite bistros that Tom had introduced you too. You were having a wonderful day of shopping and visiting with Sophie. You tended to live like a hermit when Tom was away and you still hadn’t gone back to work. You could have, but Tom insisted you’d take maternity leave afraid to have you around sickness and disease when you were pregnant. You might have argued, but you were just as worried about keeping the baby safe.
“These are so neat.” Sophie said looking at the newest sonograms you’d gotten at the doctors this morning. You told her that you could meet her after your appointment but she wanted to go with you. “You can almost tell her personality just by seeing her in the sonograms. And the doctor says that both you and she are in perfect health.”
“Oh I already know she’s going to be just like her daddy.” You say with a smile taking the picture back looking at it once more before putting it back in the folder. “Tom wants us to get one of those real time photos they take of the baby in the womb, but I’ve always found those amazingly creepy. We can wait until she gets here.”
“I’ve seen those things. They are a little creepy. The babies are beautiful of course, but . . . yeah I agree. The creepy factor is way up there.” You both laugh.
“How about you and Benedict? Have you found out what you’re having yet?” You ask taking a drink of your soda.
“No, we’re going to wait. At least that’s the plan. Benedict is just as excited about being a father as Tom is. I have a feeling we’ll not only find out but the world will too soon after.” Sophie said with a knowing smile shaking her head slightly. She knew her husband-to-be very well. Your smile fades a bit as you’re reminded of your impending ‘fame’ when they issued the press release. Sophie reached over putting her hand on yours. “Honey, it’s not as bad as it seems. Things will be hectic for a few weeks but his fans and the rest of the world will settle into it and it’ll go from being a shock and surprise to common place. People will wish the best for Tom and as long as he’s happy they’ll be happy for him.”
“Have things settled down like that for you and Benedict?” You question.
She smiled, “It’s much better than it was, but it will be fine. Look,” She put down her drink and covered your hand with both of hers looking at you, “If it gets to be to much just turn off your phone, keep off the Tele, don’t go on the internet and they can’t touch you. Just shut out the world and spend the time with Tom and your little girl. Then, when you have to let it in again, you’ll know that it’s all silly and what’s most important is your family.”
You smile a little and give a nod. “Tom said that he told Chris Hemsworth, and he was very excited for us.” That was a good indicator that others might feel the same way.
Sophie smiles, “See? Chris and Tom are so close, you know that he would have told Tom straight if he thought it was a bad idea or wasn’t going to work. Don’t worry. Everything is going to be fine. Try not to let yourself get so upset all the time. Gives you indigestion and that will affect her.” The check came and you started to reach for it but Sophie snatched it, “Nope. I got this one.”
“I’ll be right back.” You slip from the table taking your purse as you head to the restroom. A day out with Sophie is exactly what you needed. She was used to the media attention where you weren’t but seemed to handle it fine and take it in stride.
You stood in the mirror making sure your makeup wasn’t messed up. You were getting used to wearing makeup again. For so many years you didn’t bother except for special occasions, you were out of the habit and the practice. But you were getting the hang of it again. “Hello sweetheart.” Your eyes went wide as you turned seeing your ex standing at the door another man standing with him. He didn’t come by himself this time. “You always did look positively beautiful when you were expecting.”
“What do you want Michael.” You demand forcefully trying not to show how completely terrified you were on the outside when inside it felt like the ground was falling away from beneath your feet. “Haven’t you gotten the point yet that I don’t want to see you?”
“You know, I might have been less inclined to pay you a visit if you and your boy toy weren’t hell bent on destroying my life.” He said with a dark look.
“You’ve made me live in hell since the first day we met. Did you really think that wasn’t going to come back and bite you in the ass?” Your fingers felt your purse locating your taser.
Before something else could be said the door of the restroom opened, “Hey, I wanted to ask you if you wanted to make one more stop before we . . . .” Sophie’s arm was grabbed as she was jerked into the room the door slammed shut. Michael’s friend’s arm wrapped across her chest holding her in place.
“Sophie!” You shouted lunging towards her but Michael caught you pulling you back to him. You smack his face but he grabs you around the throat. Your hands fly up wrapping around his wrist wide eyed. “Michael, let her go she has nothing to do with this!”
“Well maybe if you behave and we have a civilized conversation, I won’t have to hurt her. Now will I.” Reaching down he snatches your bag away from you remembering last time in the alley way tossing it to the man holding Sophie. Christ, if he started knocking you or Sophie around when you two were pregnant, only God knew what sort of damage that would do.
“Fine. Just don’t hurt her.” You say through your teeth. Of course you meant Sophie, but you meant your unborn child as well.
“Obviously we can’t talk here. So let’s go little girl.” He said squeezing your throat once more causing you to choke before releasing your neck and twisting your wrist up behind your back causing you to cry out.
“Stop it! You’re hurting her!” Sophie yelled struggling against her own captor.
“She’s lucky I’ve let her talk this much after what she pulled on me last time.” He said reaching up and sliding his fingers through your hair pulling it back over your shoulder. “You really have gotten to big for your own britches.” He leans in close to your ear, “Now you’re going to behave or your friend over there is going to be the one to pay for your mistakes.”
“I’ll go with you, quietly. I’ll cooperate, if you just let her go and leave her alone.” You say quickly, you couldn’t let her get hurt.
“Puft.” He scoffed before pushing you out of the bathroom the other man following still with a tight hold on Sophie who was struggling for all she was worth. You’d intended to call attention to this when he tried to take you through the restaurant but instead he took you down the hallway and out the back door. Michael must have been getting desperate to take Sophie instead of not just walking away when he saw you weren’t alone.
Once outside you saw that he had a car waiting and a third man waiting. Oh Christ, they were planning on taking you away somewhere. Getting closer to the car you knew you had to do something to get Sophie free and out of there before they hurt her. Sophie wasn’t exactly a wilting flower herself and knew how to defend herself although she might not have had the same intensive training you did. Before he could stuff you in the backseat of the car, he let go of your wrist loosening your arm. Instantly you spun around and landed your knee directly into his femoral artery. Stunning him just long enough for you to hit him in the stomach with your elbow causing him to fall back. Launching yourself forward you used your elbow again to hit Sophie’s captor in his side knocking his wind from him, as Sophie brought her elbow around smashing him in the nose.
“Come on!” She shouts starting to run back down the street towards the crowded square. You started to run with her but Michael reached out grabbing your ankle. Sophie stopped moving as if to come back and help you but the person who was in the driver’s seat had gotten out of his car.
“NO!! Sophie! Run!!!” You roar. She hesitates a moment longer before running to get help. You turn and kick Michael in the side trying to make him let go of your foot. But before you could get loose, his buddy appeared and punched you across the face. You fall to the ground as the world twists and you fall unconscious. Stuffing you into the backseat of the car, all three men get in and speed away before Sophie could make it back with police.
You woke with a start in a bed that you knew wasn’t yours. The sheets were scratchy and the comforter didn’t smell like Tom’s cologne. Your breath came hard and fast for a few seconds before you caught it. Desperately, you tried to calm yourself and get your heart rate back down because if you didn’t it just might send you into early labor. It was still too soon, and Phillipa wasn’t ready. You took a deep slow inhale and felt her kick, like she had before. It was all you had for the moment to comfort you, but it did the job, given the circumstances. Your baby was okay- she wasn’t hurt in the fight, and Sophie had managed to get away. You could feel your heart rate slow, and your breathing came back to normal.
You surveyed your surroundings. The room was sparse- the bed you were on, and small table and a chair. Your purse sat on the table, no doubt stripped of your taser. But maybe Michael hadn’t found the false bottom on it…
It was a feature you had never told anyone about, not even Tom. You thought about what you had put in there last, and remembered it was the sticks Stephen had given you when all this got started. You slid out of the bed quietly, not wanting to let anyone know you were awake. And who knew where or who “they” were. Your hand reached out of the strap and closed around it. You picked it up carefully, not even wanting the leather to squeak against itself. You tested it for weight and breathed a silent sigh of relief. The sticks were there. You just might make it through this. You and Phillipa both.
~*~
Sophie was sitting with the Chief Superintendent of New Scotland Yard giving her statement.
“...And as he grabbed her ankle, she screamed at me to run, and I didn’t stop until I got here,” she stammered out. Her nerves were wracked as she took big gulps of air herself. At that moment, Benedict came tearing through the door.
“Ben!” she cried out. She stood quickly and all but threw herself into his arms.
“Sophie! Oh god, Sophie, are you all right?!”
“I’m fine, but they have (y/n), Ben, he’s got her somewhere and I don’t know where!”
The officer interrupted, “Ma’am, please calm down- we will find your friend, we just need your help. And so does your little one, we just need you to remain calm. I know it’s difficult, but just sit down and breathe for a moment. There’s one camera for every fifteen people in the city, we will find him.”
“Soph, sit, please,” Ben begged, and finally she did. She took a breath before continuing, telling the officer where you were when everything happened, and he immediately picked up the phone.
“Simmons, I want every camera at that intersection scanned for a 2014 black Land Rover Discovery, plate number….”
As he rattled off the plate, Sophie turned to Ben and directed, “Call Tom. Right now, don’t wait another second.” Ben pulled out his phone and dialed.
~*~
It was three in the morning in Los Angeles, far too early to be awake, even for Tom. But he jolted up when his phone rang. Doing his best to shake the sleep out of his eyes, he slid his finger across the screen.
“Ben, what the hell, I thought I told you I’m in LA this week?”
“Get on a plane now and get your arse home.”
The terror and command in his voice helped rid Tom of the last of his exhaustion.
“What’s the matter? Is it (y/n)? Is it the baby?” he begged desperately.
Benedict paused. “Yes. Michael took her, and almost took Sophie. We’re at the police station now, GET HOME.”
The blood drained from Tom’s face and he almost dropped the phone. If anything ad happened to you while he was gone, he would never forgive himself. He gulped before finally saying, “I’m leaving now,” and hung up. He threw the covers back and leapt out of bed. He could barely see in the dark, his eyes hadn’t adjusted yet. Tom couldn’t really tell what he was putting on, but it didn’t matter now. Packing wasn’t important either- everything he owned combined was worth nothing if something happened to you and Phillipa.
(Next Chapter -->)
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