Rescued (A Tom Hiddleston Fanfic)

Reaction

Tom sat silently, hands clasped tightly, his knuckles white and his face a study in suppressed emotion. He didn't say a word, his mind racing. This was a side to her he hadn't seen coming. Hadn't expected, had blindsided him. He was amazed at her strength, both of character to do it in the first place but also to tell him now and risk everything. It dawned on him that if she hadn't cared - really cared - she would have kept silent. Or had she told him because she thought she wasn't going to see him ever again after this weekend? What to say that would reassure her? What to do to show her he wouldn't run.

He realised he had been silent too long when he saw her white face, her body shaking as she stood gripping the fireplace, her small voice broke his thoughts

"Speak to me Tom , please, just say ANYTHING, please" she was on the verge of breaking down completely.

He sat, unable to move to say anything. He wasn't rejecting her, far from it, but he didn't know the right thing to say. Him, the bigshot actor with all the words, he couldn't even form a sentence. He wanted to tell her that he would move mountains to keep her from feeling so abandoned and rejected ever again, he wanted to tell her she was a wonderful, strong, brave, beautiful woman who deserved all the love in the world. And he realised, to his own shock and delight, he wanted to tell her that he had fallen in love with her.

He didn't get the chance, with a strangled sob, she dashed for the door. Wrenching it open, she fled into the hall, grabbed her bag and was out the front door before he could stop her. She ran down the steps, into the darkness and hailed a cab. He got to the door just in time to see her disappear round the corner of the square and into the London evening.

He punched the doorframe in frustration, swearing loudly. "YOU FUCKING IDIOT HIDDLESTON!" he berated himself. Somewhere in the kitchen Bobby began to bark. He could only hope she was going back to her hotel. It was his last chance. His only chance.

Sitting in the Taxi, Claire didn't cry. She didn't make a single sound other than to give the driver her hotel address. She didn't think she would ever speak again. He heart was torn into pieces and it was all her own fault.

She'd stood there, looking at him, waiting for a reaction - even just the usual one would have been better than what she got. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. It was as if he couldn't speak to her. His mind was obviously working overtime, she could see the emotions passing over his face, but he hadn't said anything. If she was completely honest, she thought he was different. She thought he would say it's ok, these things happen, we can move on. But to her eternal regret, he hadn't. He hated her. After everything, all the fun, all the chat and the getting to know each, all those other those moments where she thought things might be different, with one move she'd obliterated it all. You idiot Claire, she thought to herself. You could have kept quiet and had a lovely weekend, gone home and that would have been it. But no. You had to get too involved, you had to actually CARE, to FALL IN LOVE. She tore into herself, trying to make the pain in her heart go away by attacking her head.

As she sat, looking out the window, she decided she was leaving tonight. Why stay? What was there to stay for now? She could get a late train, be home in a few hours. Scanning her phone she looked up options. It was going to cost a fortune, but she didn't care. She just wanted to get as far away as possible. With a couple of clicks her ticket was changed. Settling back in the seat, she felt her phone vibrate with the confirmation email. Now she allowed herself some tears.

By the time she was packed and at the station it was almost 10pm. The last train was only a few minutes away. As it was late, she didn't want to be on her own in the station so she paid for a pass to the first class lounge. There were complimentary hot drinks and snacks too so it wasn't all bad she told herself. Being away from the main station concourse, she couldn't see what was going on downstairs. If she had been able to, she might have realised sooner what a mistake she was making. In the silence of the lounge, she closed her eyes and retreated into the few memories of this weekend she would cherish. There was no-one to disturb her.

Tom got to her hotel to be informed she had checked out a few minutes before. With a curse - he seemed to be doing a lot of that tonight - he slammed his hands on the desk, much to the astonishment of the clerk. Not only were they not used to celebrities, they weren't used to frustrated celebrities! Tom instantly apologised, feeling terrible he had been so rude. "not my best day" was his hurried excuse as he dashed back outside to get another cab. The Tube just wouldn't be fast enough, he knew now he was losing her back home.

He drummed his fingers on the arm rest of the cab as it crawled through the evening traffic to King's Cross Station. It was just as the theatres and cinemas were emptying and everyone was trying to get to somewhere. He couldn't believe how slowly the traffic was going, he even contemplated running there. As he sat, he checked departures and saw the last train to Scotland was half an hour away. He would just make it, even at this snail's pace. The poor driver tried to make conversation with him, and it took every ounce of his concentration to be at least civil to the poor man. His sense of decency cut in as they stopped at the rank outside the terminus and he handed him the fare plus a generous tip. The cabbie smiled and thanked him profusely, another tale for his family later!

Running into the station, he looked up at the board to see which platform Claire's train would depart from. Seeing the number he raced across the station as saw it still waiting. Thank God, he thought, there's still a chance. He began running up the platform, looking in the windows for her, attracting more attention that he would normally have dreamed of. As he got further and further along and there were fewer and fewer seats to check he began to wonder if he'd made the right call. Maybe she flew after all? Crap. There was no way he'd get to Heathrow in time now. He had text her as soon as she left to try and get her to stop but she hadn't even read it. It was over. He slowed to a standstill and stopped. He was indeed, as he had put it earlier, a fucking idiot.

Dejectedly, he turned to walk along the platform to the exit. As he did so, the train moved off and he thought he caught a glimpse of her sitting in one of the carriages. He ran back trying to keep up and see but it was just too fast. He stopped and put his hands on his head, breathing heavily.

"SHIT SHIT SHIT!" he shouted at a passing pigeon, "SHES GONE AND ITS ALL MY FAULT" the pigeon just looked at him and cooed in sympathy. "Thanks mate" he smiled now, "At least I've got you" and with that the pigeon flew away. Tom shrugged and put his hands in his pockets. Time to go, nothing more he could do.

"It wasn't all your fault you know" said a small voice behind him.