Forget-Me-Not (A Tom Hiddleston Fanfiction)

(27) Death Valley

Eventually Tom's grumbling stomach decided that they had to start eating without the two Mr Ferguson's. There were sandwiches, crisps, cheese savouries, mini sweet pastries and cookies everywhere, but most of them ended up on Tom's plate where they were seated at the island on stools that seemed to wobble precariously.

"That was delicious, Mum." Nina stifled a yawn. She had no idea why she was tired already; all she'd done since she arrived was talk and eat.

"Am I that boring?" Tom whispered into Nina's ear and she smiled weakly.

"Glad you thought so, my dears. More tea?" Mrs Ferguson fiddled around with the teapot for no apparent reason.

"No thanks, Mum. I'll be back in a second." Nina slid down carefully from her stool and made her way out. Tom stayed at his seat, being as polite as ever as he relished every bite of each cookie he decided to eat. One more, he kept telling himself. But that didn't really work.

"So how is my Nina faring at her new job? Are you looking after her?" Mrs Ferguson squinted at Tom and he stopped chewing for a second, looking right back at her with a mouthful of white-chocolate-chip cookie. "Where have I seen you before, young man?"

"Perhaps I just have one of those faces." Tom swallowed his mouthful before speaking, and he smiled graciously. "These cookies really are some of the best I've ever had."

"Ah, I know what it was." She wiggled her finger at him. "Miss Austen Regrets. You rather remind me of the young fellow. Plumptre, was it?"

"That's me, Mrs Ferguson." Tom twisted his head to look back at the door which Nina had just entered the kitchen through. "Are you alright, darling?"

"I'm fi- marvellous. Absolutely marvellous." She stopped herself from saying that f-word at the last minute but the truth was, she looked as white as a sheet and as if she were about to pass out. Her smile looked more like a grimace as she took her seat back beside Tom and stared silently at the near-empty bowl of grapes.

"You two would make such a couple." Mrs Ferguson cooed, obviously very much taken in by Tom's charms. Nina's head suddenly shot up and she stated daggers across at her mother. "Sorry, sorry." She busied herself with making more tea as Nina stared back at the bowl that she seemed to take a sudden interest in, now looking like she was about to burst into tears.

"Nina, do you need a lie down?" Tom inched forward on his stool and pressed the back of his hand gently to her forehead. "You feel quite warm, love."

"I'm...marvellous. Just marvellous." She stood back up and swayed a bit, and in a instant Tom was by her side, a hand on her arm to keep her steady.

"You carry on making the tea, Mrs Ferguson. I'll look after Nina for a moment." He glanced down at her and she seemed spaced out. "Nina? Where's the living room, love?"

Nina pointed at a door just across the hallway and Tom led her through, helping her to sit down steadily on the sofa that was covered in plush cushions with hand-knitted covers. It was quite homely but Nina wasn't exactly in the mood to admire the room.

She sat spaced out for a moment before speaking quietly. "I feel like death warmed up." Her hands were shaking slightly and Tom placed one of his big, warm hands over hers which were folded in her lap.

"If you want to get some sleep, then I won't judge you. You look like you need it, darling."

"But I want to stay down here. With mum. With you." She pulled away her hands for a moment, folding her arms like a grumpy child not getting what they wanted.

"Then sleep on the sofa. I'm still not judging you." Usually by now Kyle would be entirely frustrated and probably proclaiming that he didn't understand women, but not Tom. She seemed to recall in her mess of a brain that Tom had two sisters, and he'd probably seen worse situations than this.

Nina looked up at Tom, her face ashen. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"If you feel ill, love, it's probably for the best." Tom gave Nina the kindest, most sympathetic smile ever and she was just frozen in his stare, unable to move. Then he leaned forward slightly, and Nina panicked for a second.

His lips made gentle contact with her forehead in the most tender kiss she'd received in a while, and her heart soon went into the same state as her brain. "That was...nice..." Nina whispered lamely. Kyle would never do that if she felt ill. He'd be digging out a freaking biohazard suit and locking her in the bathroom or something.

Tom said nothing, just gazed quietly at her. But it wasn't the type of gaze that made her want to stop what she was doing and run for her life. It was the type of gaze that made her stop what she was doing and stare back. Nina instantly chose the latter option, exploring his icy blue eyes that seemed like they had their own story to tell.

She could have spent infinity in that position had it not have been for her upset stomach. Nina groaned softly and Tom edged away from her, but he was encouraging her to lie down as he did so.

"Do you need anything? Water? A bucket?" He got off of the sofa and crouched beside where her head was, pushing a few brown strands of hair away from her face. "There must be something."

"A cookie. Get me a cookie." Nina's voice was barely above a whisper now. Tom nodded, pressed another soft kiss to her forehead and left the room almost silently. He returned a moment later with a plain cookie and Nina sat up slightly, nibbling on it as if it would detonate any moment.

"Anything else, love?" Tom asked, from where he was sitting cross-legged on the faux fur rug.

"A bucket, perhaps." Nina laughed quietly at her own feeble humour, and herself in this rubbish situation. "I think I might sleep now. Go chat to my mother or something. Eat. Have fun."

"I'll stay in here for a bit. If that's okay." He added quickly onto the end, looking hopeful. Nina managed a painful nod and he left the room as silently as he did before. She'd just fell into the clutches of sleep when a plastic bucket rattled as it was set down beside her head on the immaculate cream carpet.

*****

Nina woke up on someone's sofa in the morning. Where was she? Had she died? Was this heaven? Hell? Wherever it was, it was cold, and outside it was very, very wet.

Not heaven. Not hell, either. Just somewhere in the middle.

"Did you sleep well, love?" A voice groggy with sleep that could only belong to one person came from a chair across the room from Nina. She jumped slightly, looking up to see a sleepy looking Tom lounging in a plush chair.

"I did." Nina groaned softly as she sat herself up slightly. "But seriously, is this heaven or hell?"

[A/N] and there we have it! i'm getting so far with this story, and i have so many things that i want to write in that i hope you guys will enjoy. so...enjoy...and vote, perhaps?
yours truly :) x