A Fighting Chance (Tom Holland AU) [2]

Twenty-Five

After my post, I put my phone in my purse and rested my head on Tom's shoulder. "Whose turn is it to get lunch today?" I whispered gently. We had been alternating who picked up lunch each day so one of us was here at all times.

"Ours." I looked up at the sound of a new voice to see Zendaya and Ali holding a bag of Chipotle and a bouquet of peonies, respectively. I stood up and pulled them both into a hug. 

"You two are godsends," I whispered, and they smiled as they let go.

"You two are going through hell right now. Anything to make that easier." Zendaya smiled as she set the Chipotle down.

"Thank you, both of you." Tom smiled, standing and hugging them both as well.

"These are for you. Your mom called and told me how especially hard on you this has been." Ali held the flowers out to me, and I smiled as I pulled her into a tight hug.

"I fucking love you," I whispered as a tear rolled down my cheek, and she hugged me tighter. 

"I love you too, hon." I smiled at that, and she pulled away. "Can I meet her?"

"Of course. Zendaya, you wanna come too?" I looked at her, and she smiled.

"Of course." We all made our way over to her, and I grinned.

"Zendaya, Ali, this is Annabelle. She just woke up." Tom's voice was gentle, and I could see a smile gracing his face. I smiled as I wrapped my arms around him.

"She's gorgeous, you two." Zendaya smiled, and Ali nodded.

"Hi there, bb!" Ali cooed, and I chuckled softly at that. Annabelle looked up at the two women curiously, and I smiled at the two of them.

"You guys can hold her if you want. Just use hand sanitizer first." Ali looked back at me, and I smiled gently. Soon, Tom and I stood holding each other as we watched our daughter interact with some of our best friends. 

"I can't believe it." Zendaya looked up at us with a grin. We stood and spent time with her for a while until a doctor came and told us they had to run a small test on her. We went back to our seats, and I laid my head on Tom's shoulder. 

"I can't imagine what you two go through each day." Zendaya's voice was soft as she pulled Ali close, and I sighed.

"It fucking sucks. It really does." Tom played with my hair as he spoke, and I nodded gently.

At that point, a nurse walked up to us. "Mr. Holland and Ms. Chance? There are some people waiting out front who are claiming to visit you, but they wouldn't give me any names. I think they may have just been fans of your works."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. They all seemed to be teenagers, and they all had Sharpies." I took a deep breath, cursing under my breath.

"Don't let them in," Tom told the nurse, and she nodded before walking away.

"That's so fucked up. You guys literally just asked for privacy about this." Ali gave us a sad smile, and I took a shaky breath as I nodded.

"I know they love us, but they can't do that," Tom whispered, pressing a kiss to my forehead. The two of us must have looked extremely broken, holding each other as we wore our hearts on our sleeves. The girls could definitely tell.

"Wanna hear something that'll cheer you both up?" When we nodded, Zendaya smiled as she kissed Ali's cheek. "Ali and I went out to a gay bar last week."

"Damn it, babe, not this one." She groaned, and I smiled softly. I loved drunk Ali stories, and Ali knew it. When she saw my smile, she grinned widely. "Oh, what the hell? Go ahead and tell it. Just know that I was more shitfaced than normal."

"So we're at this bar, and we're dancing and having a good time. I told Ali I was going to go to the bathroom, and when I got back, I found her crying at the bar because I disappeared." I chuckled as I saw Ali blush. "As soon as she saw me, she hugged me tightly and was so excited I was back. And then she kept hugging me after I hugged her back. She said I smelled good and she thought if she let go, I wouldn't smell good anymore."

"Aww." I smiled, and Ali shrugged.

"You do smell good though baby." I chuckled as Ali looked back at Zendaya.

"Thank you, love." She smiled, kissing her cheek. "Are you guys hungry?"

"Yes." I nodded gently, and I smiled as they pulled out Chipotle bowls from the bag they brought. We spent the rest of our time together chatting, but that stopped when the doctor came back with Annabelle's test results.

"Her lungs are slowly improving still, which is a good sign, but they are nowhere near developed. She'll be here with us for an indefinite amount of time." I took another shaky breath, and Tom rubbed my arm. 

"Thank you, doctor." She nodded at his words, and I laid my head on his shoulder. Zendaya and Ali exchanged glances before looking at us.

"Would you guys like some time to yourselves, or would you like us to stay?" Ali looked at us gently, and I looked up at Tom gently. I saw the tears forming in his eyes, and I sighed.

"Thank you guys for coming over, truly, but we have some things we need to talk out between ourselves." I sent them both a smile as I spoke, and they nodded as they stood. 

"Let us know if you need anything, okay?" I nodded at that, and they hugged us both. As we were alone, I looked back at Tom. I saw a tear slip down his cheek, and I sighed gently. 

"Do you wanna go hold her? We can bring the chairs and just be with her, my love." He nodded as I wiped his tear, and I pressed a kiss to his cheek. "I love you, baby."

"I love you too, darling." He whispered gently.

Let me know your thoughts!