Come Back to Me

Chapter One - Breathe In, Breathe Out

A/N: Yo, feel free to give criticism, this is my second time writing a "fanfiction" (Does my first story count, idk??) I apologize for my mistakes :') I'm not a doctor

„If he's not back at 7 PM or hasn't texted or called you since then, you can freak out. But keep it together until then."

That's the last thing Burr told James before he went home from work.

Thomas has been on a business trip to France for a few days. Him and James have either called or texted each other every day, but today, the day where Thomas was supposed to finally come home, he hasn't sent a single message. And James started to worry. A lot.

He nervously paced through the living room, arms crossed. He needed a distraction, but his mind wouldn't stop thinking about the many scenarios that might have happened.

What if he's hurt.

What if he had to stay longer in France than planned and didn't tell me to not make me upset.

Or what if...

What if he fell in love with someone else...

Maybe a woman...

What if I'm not good enough anymore.

What if-

The alarm on his watch set off.

7 PM.

James inhales, "okay..."

He was about to get his phone from the counter to call Thomas again, and maybe everyone who might have seen him today when he heard a car parking in their driveway.

He quickly walked to the front door to open it, but froze when he saw two police officers in front of him.

Shit.

"James Madison?" one of them asked. "Thomas Madison's husband?"

"Y-yes, that's me...", James answered nervously. "What happened?"

The cops exchanged worried looks before speaking again.

"We're really sorry to inform you that your husband had a terrible car accident and is now in a hospital, about 30 miles from here."

James' eyes widen and threaten to be filled with tears, his heart is racing wild.

This can't be happening...

It can't...

It just can't!

"We need you to come with us, we'll bring you to him", one of the officers said again.

"Okay, I-I need to get my daughter first...", James stuttered before rushing into the house to get the seven-year-old Abigail.

On the way to the hospital Abigail constantly asked questions such as, "where's papa?", "what happened?", "where are we going?"

James wouldn't want to worry her even more, so he didn't answer her questions. Instead, he just said "Don't worry. Everything's going to be alright" over and over again while hugging her and trying to calm both of them down.

When they arrived at the hospital, James rushed to the receptionist.

"Thomas Madison? I'm his husband and this is our daughter. We- "

"Room 158" the woman behind the computer responded quickly. "But we have to inform you about his accident first before you can see him. I'm calling his doctor."

James thanked her quietly and headed with Abby to the waiting area.

About half an hour had passed.

What's them talking so long?

James tapped his foot on the floor nervously but tried to stay calm. Abigail had fallen asleep on his lap. It was almost 9 PM when the doctor approached James.

"Thomas' car crashed into another, which lead to extreme damages beneath his skull. First, we thought it was a bad concussion, but there was something we couldn't seem to notice in the CT."

The doctor pauses before speaking again. James was on the verge of a panic attack.

"He had lost a lot of blood and for a moment there was no oxygen supply to his brain. Eventually we concluded that his diagnosis is...Brain Death."

Brain Death.

Death.

What's the difference?

He went numb. Everything was blurry. He just stared at the floor.

He didn't even hear what the doctor had said afterwards until he pulled himself back together.

"Excuse me...what did you say...?", he asked, his voice shaking.

The man in front of him gave him a pitiful expression.

"It's understandable that you're going through the worst possible imaginable thing, but...we need you to decide if the machines that keep him alive should be shut down or not, to see if a miracle will eventually happen", the doctor said, handing him the papers. "Take your time with your decision", he said as he stood up and left James and his daughter alone.

Tears were streaming down his face as he started at the papers.

He remembered that Thomas and him had only a single conversation about this subject. They hadn't even officially agreed on anything, but he believes Thomas answer was pretty clear.

He knew Thomas wouldn't want to be held alive by machines.

He wouldn't want to be trapped in his lifeless body.

He wouldn't want that.

(715 words)