As long as we both shall live [Tom Hiddleston]{EBT book 3 of 4}

Family

Kate sat in a chair next to Tom's bed. She was stiff and uncomfortable but nothing would make her move from that spot. Declan had reluctantly gone home for some sleep, promising to return first thing in the morning. She held his hand, playing with his fingers and occasionally stroking his face. Somewhere around sunrise she had the thought that Tom would never be this still, he hated nothing more than being forced to rest. She put her head down on the bed, her fingers intertwined with his, and closed her eyes. Most of the day went by in a blur of nurses and obs and machines. Kate's brain was unable to process anything that was said, exhaustion threatening to overcome her, but she refused to leave his side. Her luggage arrived at midday, and late in the afternoon Emma arrived.
Kate and Emma hugged for a long time. Dr Porter came to see them within a few minutes and brought Emma up to speed, and she sat with Tom while Kate changed her clothes and washed her face. Declan had brought her coffee and snacks during the day to keep her going but Kate couldn't stomach food. As Emma was trying to convince her to take a break, Declan knocked softly on the door.
"Kate? There's someone here to see you,"
She walked slowly to the hall and was surprised to see Zachary. A smile very lightly touched her lips. "Hey gorgeous. Are you holding up?" She went to him and he pulled her in to a tight hug. "He's going to be OK, Kate."
"You should go in and see him, Emma is in there." She whispered.
Kate sat with Declan in silence for a few minutes until Emma and Zach returned.
"I'm going to take you home for a little while, ok?" Zach said gently. Kate shook her head. "Sweetheart you need to rest, and you need to eat. He's going to be here a while and you can't keep going like this."
"I'll stay with him, Kate. I won't leave his side and I'll make sure he knows you're coming back. He wouldn't want you to burn yourself out. Save some energy for when he wakes up."
Kate wanted to fight them but was unable to summon the energy to speak. Zachary already had her suitcase and guitar and he walked her to a cab with his arm around her shoulders.
When they arrived at Tom's house Zach opened the door and led her inside. He went to the kitchen and boiled the kettle. "Do you want tea? Something to eat?"
Kate shook her head. "You should sleep then, why don't you go get in to bed and I'll wake you in a couple of hours?"
The mere thought of being in his bed alone was too much, and she couldn't keep it together any longer. Kate's body gave way under her and she fell to her knees on the floor, silent tears streaming over her face. Zach sat down and pulled her in to his lap, holding her tight as sobs racked her body. She fought to stay awake, fought to get back in control, but she was all out of energy, out of fight, and after a few minutes she collapsed in to Zach's chest and passed out.
Zach held Kate close to him on the floor until he could barely feel his legs before moving her to the couch, laying her down gently and covering her with a blanket. He was worried about Tom, but Luke had called him to look after Kate, knowing that she wouldn't do it herself. He hated seeing her like this, the love he felt for her was like that of a big brother for his baby sister. He sat down on the couch next to her feet and dozed off watching her sleep.

Tom! Wake up! You promised me, you have to wake up now. Open your eyes. Please. I need you. I can't live without you, I need you to wake up. Show the doctors you're ok, you're going to be OK. You have to breathe on your own now or they'll make me turn everything off. Tom, please. Oh god please.

"Sshhhh. Kate, it's OK. He'll be OK." Kate realised she had been dreaming, and the arms holding her weren't cold like she had imagined, they were warm and they were Zach's. She turned her head and sobbed uncontrollably in to his chest until she couldn't breathe. "Just breathe, Kate. Breathe."
"I can't. I can't do this. I can't make the decisions and I can't live without him. Zach he was dying and I couldn't wake him up. He promised me, he promised he would wake up."
"Kate, sweetheart, it was a dream. Emma is with him, he's sleeping and he's breathing. He's healing. He'll wake up, when he's ready."
"I want to go back to the hospital."
"No, not yet." Kate pushed away from him. "Luke called me, he asked me to come and look after you. I'm worried about Tom too, but I'm here to take care of you. If tough love is what it has to be, then it has to be. I'm not taking you back until you've had a rest and something to eat."
"I just had a rest."
"Kate you were out less than half an hour and you woke up crying. You need to sleep. If you don't he's going to wake up and you'll be a complete mess." He folded his arms. "You're not going back until you've slept."
Kate groaned and lay down. "I don't want to sleep, Zach." She said softly, sitting back up. He patted his lap and she cuddled in to him, her head on his shoulder and his arms tight around her. He rubbed her back until she was breathing heavily and went limp in his arms, waiting a few minutes before laying her back down on the couch. He went outside and sat on the verandah, pulling his hoodie tight around him against the cool evening air. He called Chris and Ben as Kate had asked him to and checked in with Emma before going back inside the house, finding Kate sleeping peacefully. He lay down on the other couch and fell asleep easily, keeping his phone in his hand just in case.

Kate didn't wake up again until just after 5am. She got up and showered without waking Zach, and when she returned dressed she found him in the kitchen making toast and tea. She went to him and hugged him tight. "I'm sorry. You were helping me and you didn't deserve that."
Zach laughed softly. "I wouldn't have expected anything else Kate." He squeezed her tight. "I'm sorry gorgeous. This is just not fair. I talked to Chris and Ben, they're both willing to come if you need them but don't want to bombard you so they'll wait to hear from one of us. Emma said there was no change last night, which is good. They'll do more tests today."
"Thank you for calling them. So if I eat we can go?"
"Yes."