The Extra (A Tom Hiddleston Fanfic)

Tea and Sympathy

As it turned out, filming was delayed so was almost a month later before Rosie had that distinct feeling of Deja Vu. Standing in the artificial rain of 18th Century Scotland, waiting for a director to shout cut! This time , instead of Space Gods and intergalactic battles to rule a universe, it was political intrigue and Jacobite rebels. She was loving every second of the process. Long days and early starts were par for the course but she didn't care.

She'd stood in front of the mirror in the wardrobe tent, twirling in her gown like a schoolgirl. She loved her dress, it was long, to the ground, with a square cut neck, 3/4 sleeves and lacing up the front. A white shift under a moss green over dress. She wondered absentmindedly if they would sell it to her, what she would do with it who knew, but she just loved it. Looking at herself in the mirror, in her peripheral vision, she was sure she saw a familiar face pass by the door. By the time she managed to get to it, they had gone. Maybe she'd imagined it, but she was almost positive it had been Claire. But no, why would she be here? She should be with the crew and...she stopped herself before she even thought about him. That was definitely off limits. Self preservation.

On the second morning, she was asked to stand in for the lead actress while they set up some camera angles. It wasn't going to be filmed, they just needed to check the lighting and sound would be ok. As she stood one way, then another she let her mind wander back to the days at her house. It was still raw but getting better. It was then that she realised she'd been right. It WAS Claire. How did she know? Because she was walking towards her at that very moment clipboard in hand talking into a radio handset. Suddenly she stopped and grinned. She let out a squeal of delight.
"OMG ROSIE ITS YOU THATS SO WEIRD I WAS JUST THINKING ABOUT YOU HOW ARE YOU ITS SO GOOD TO SEE YOU" Claire poured out all in one long , loud, sentence. She dropped the clipboard and hugged Rosie. For her part, Rosie just stood in shock and let herself be hugged until Claire was done.

"Hi Claire" she said amused, when everything had calmed down." What the hell are you doing here? Aren't you on the film any more?"

Claire looked at her feet and shifted uneasily. "I'm here at the request of Jenna, we worked together way back. She's had some crew go off sick at short notice and knew we'd just wrapped so a few of us might be free." That didn't explain the unease. What she said next did.

"Rose" she said putting a hand on her arm, "she's here. Working in the trailer next door. She arrived a few days ago with me". Instantly Rosie knew who she was talking about. Katy. Shit.

They stood for a moment as Rosie absorbed this blow. She wanted to scream, she wanted to run away but instead all she said was "oh."

"She was asked to leave the film you know, suspended pending redeployment. After, the ,err, the ..." she was trying to find a nicer way to put it than "catfight in the carpark" but she was struggling. Fortunately Rosie got the gist and she nodded, trying to remain calm but inwardly screaming. Claire added in a low voice, "Be careful - she knows you're here - we got a list of the principal extras coming in that would need makeup - and is on the war path. She blames you, wrongly, for getting her moved away from Tom. Doesn't seem to have the faintest clue that she did all the attacking on that one. I'd avoid her at all costs if I were you ."

At that moment both Claire and Rosie were needed so they agreed to meet for coffee later that afternoon, a proper catch up and perhaps, she thought, to formulate a battle plan. Sounded like she was going to need it.

It was almost 5pm by the time they were wrapped for the day. Rosie was tired and felt grubby but a promise was a promise, so after changing and grabbing her bag she went to the catering tent to see if she could find Claire to get that drink. She heard the voice before she saw the face. It came from behind, but it was as unmistakeable as the feeling of dread that now engulfed her.

"Well well look who it is!"

Rosie turned to find Katy standing right behind her, another of her colleagues from makeup just off to the left, looking puzzled. Katy grabbed her arm, just a little too tightly, and said with an icy smile,

"Rosie Martin. Fancy seeing you here. Still an extra are we? No big break yet? Shame, with all your talents I would have thought you would have been further up the ladder by now." The way she emphasised the "extra" and "your" it was obvious what she meant to convey despite looking to outsiders she was being so friendly.

"Hello Katy" she said, trying to remain as impassive as she could. There was no way she was letting her guard down. She wouldn't rise to the bait. "How unexpected to see you. Small world isn't it? " she smiled "In fact I was just talking to Claire earlier - oh here she is, right on cue. We're away for a proper catch up. No doubt I will see you again before you're finished here". She smiled, two could play that little game, and walked away. Linking her arm through a dumbstruck Claire's, she herded her out of the tent as quickly as she dared. She didn't need to turn round to know Katy stared after her, eyes like icy lasers boring into her back. All she heard was a dismissive

"That? Oh she's just an extra Tom and I worked with once. She's nobody really". but Rosie didn't flinch, she just kept on walking.

She took Claire to a little tea shop she knew in the area and they ordered coffee and homemade cake. For a while they chatted, dancing around the elephant in the room making small talk. Having commented on how lovely the weather was, how pretty the cushions on the chairs were and how well they were both looking, they'd run out of options. Toying with her chocolate gateau, Rosie decided she owed it to the two of them to be the brave one.

"How is he?" she asked, studying the crumbs on her plate intently.

"Tom?" Claire said, knowing full well who she meant but trying to get her to at least say his name.

"Yes.....Tom" Rosie whispered his name almost reverently, desperate to hold on to her dignity. His face, his beautiful face, swam in front of her eyes and she misted up. Looking up at Claire, all pretence gone and her voice raw with emotion, she said "I miss him so much Claire. I really do. I tried not to, I tried to be a grown up and believe that it was for the best. I tried not to think about him with her that night, holding her hand and I tried to remember she got there first so I had no right, but..." it all came spilling out, along with the tears. There seemed to be so many tears these days.

Claire didn't say a word, she got up, ignoring the looks of the other patrons and came and sat on the chair next to Rosie. She hugged her tightly, shushing her friend gently as she wept. Once she'd stopped, she got up again and went back to her seat. She took a sip of her coffee and set it down with a sigh.

"He's ok, Tom. I spoke to him yesterday funnily enough. He's just finishing some of the post production voiceovers and stuff so he's keeping busy - he says he needs to be busy. " she looked at Rosie "Told me he needs to do stuff so he doesn't dwell too much on a girl he's seemingly missing unbearably right now." she paused and looked at Rosie. "And I know he didn't mean Katy" she said with an encouraging smile.

Rosie put her fork down, swallowed a gulp of tea and looked at Claire, hardly daring to ask the question, "what - who - does he miss?" she breathed.

"You, you idiot!" she laughed gently "He misses you!"