Backup Girl [Tom Hiddleston] {EBT book 2/4}

Workout

When Kate's alarm buzzed at 5:30am it was still completely dark outside, and she was not at all looking forward to going out in the below-freezing cold. She snuggled back in to Tom's naked body for a few minutes, letting his bare skin warm her, before getting out of bed and dressed in her gym clothes. She hadn't worn them since the horse riding accident and it felt good to be able to do things again. She was meeting Lachlan at the gym at 6, luckily it was a short walk down the street. After leaving a note for Tom on her pillow and getting her bag, she locked the door behind her and went in the direction of the gym. The cold was like an icy slap in the face, the sky was clear and she could still see stars. She jogged gently to keep warm and was surprised when entering the gym to find it heated. She stifled a chuckle. Heating at the gym got her every time. You can take the Aussie out of the girl...

Lachlan was already there and had a few things set up for her, along with a program that she had to promise to follow to avoid injuring herself. Everything strenuous was strictly lower body only until her wrist was strong enough, and when she started to run on the treadmill he pushed the emergency stop.

"What was that for?"

"Slow it down, Kate. Your ribs were in pieces, you can't just get back on a treadmill and run. No impact, remember. Walking only."

Kate grumbled at him and started walking again, going as fast as she could without actually running, and Lachlan laughed. At least on the bike she was allowed to break a sweat. While they were stretching, Lachlan turned to her.

"So what do you want?"

"Sorry, what?"

"You were so keen to get back in to it. Why? You don't look like you've lost any fitness since the accident."

"Well thanks, but believe me I have. Tom and I used to be able to run together. And now I can't, it's just another hour out of the day. I loved running with him. Well, behind him. But he always picked me up on the way back." she grinned. "And then there's being on stage in front of millions of people. I think mostly I'm just impatient."

"Really? I hadn't noticed." he smirked. "You might be impatient but you're actually progressing a lot faster than I expected. I have to get the go ahead from Dr Evans but I think we can cut it back to twice weekly sessions. If you promise to behave."

Yay! she mouthed. "No offence intended, Lachlan, but the less I have to see of you, the better."

"Occupational hazard. Are you coming back tomorrow morning?"

"Yes, and I will do exactly what you say."

"OK if I clear it with the doc I'll see you on Thursday. Otherwise I'll see you here at 6 again. Kate," he paused, pointing his finger at her. "Patience."

Finding Tom still sleeping Kate went straight to the shower, washing her hair and standing under the warm water for slightly longer than necessary. When she came back to the bedroom Tom was sitting up in bed rubbing his eyes. "How was the gym?"

"Awesome. I feel like a real proper human being again." she smiled, standing in front of him wearing only a towel. "You're going to have to run on your own a bit longer though, I'm not allowed yet."

"Plenty of time for that. You get dressed, and I'll go make breakfast," he said standing up.

At the end of January, Tom was preparing for his next project which would take him away to Canada for a few months. It felt like he was running on the smell of caffeine, still performing Coriolanus 8 times a week while learning lines. But it had to be done, he had promised Kate a week off before he left.