How To Save A Life [A Robert Downey Jr. Fan-Fic]

Chapter 19: Storm And Silence

The sound of broken bottles and shattering glasses made me wake up immediately.

Robert walked through his ward and knocked the shelf with the glass and the bottle of water down.

A few nurses quickly entered his room, trying to talk him down but he fought against them.

"Keep your hands off!", he shouted and tried to escape them, "Why did you do that to me?! Why do you torture me like that?! Why didn't you just let me die out there?!"

A doctor joined the nurses, a syringe in his hands.

"That's diazepam, Mr. Downey", he explained calmly as he gave Robert a shot, "It'll help you to calm down again..."

For a while, he kept on fighting against the nurses until he gradually relaxed.

"She's waiting for me", he mumbled apathetically, "She's waiting for me on the other side..."

I quickly wiped away the tears that streamed down my cheeks as I saw Robert like that.

I looked back at him one last time before I exited his room to join Liz in the hallway. I couldn't see him like that. It was breaking my heart into a million pieces.

Liz' eyes were swollen and bloodshot because she had barely slept last night. Her dark hair was messy and undone while she was still wearing the black sheath dress.

"What did the doctor say?", I wanted to know as I bore her company.

"He's one lucky man", she answered quietly, "He only had a laceration and a mild concussion. It could have been worse. He could have died out there..."

I swallowed hard and took a deep breath, remembering Robert's accusations from before.

"You saved his life", I said to her, "Thank you."

She half smiled at me.

"I would not have known about him if you hadn't told me", she countered then.

"Well, I guess we're just an effective team, right?", I asked jokingly and both of us started to laugh.

But soon our laughter ebbed away.

"What happened to him?", Liz asked then, "You've seen it, didn't you?"

I nodded slightly and swallowed hard before answering her.

"He was on his way back home when two guys tried to rob him", I explained to her, my voice was weak, "They held him at gunpoint and asked for his money until..."

I took a deep breath.

"One of them recognized Robert and said they wouldn't shoot him. But Robbie..."

I felt some tears streaming down my face as I thought back to the events earlier tonight.

"He begged them to shoot him", I continued finally and quickly wiped away my tears, "He was just staring at the barrel of a gun and begged the guy on his knees to kill him, Liz!"

She stared at me for a while and didn't know what to say.

Suddenly, the doors opened and a familiar person joined us.

Immediately, Liz got up and fixed her hair before she offered him his hand with a weak smile on her lips.

"Good evening", she greeted and I recognized she blushed a little.

"Good evening", he replied with his soft British baritone voice, "I'm Tom Hiddleston."

He half smiled at her as she shyly tucked a strand behind her ear.

"I know", she answered jokingly, "I'm Liz."

He raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Liz like Elizabeth Shaw?", he wanted to know.

She nodded quickly.

"Yeah, I'm Robert's therapist", she answered quickly.

"Ah, nice to finally meet you", he said and half smiled at her, his bright blue eyes regarding her closely.

"Well, the pleasure is all mine", he countered smirkingly.

Suddenly, the doctor, who's been to Robert before, approached us.

"Dr. Shaw?", he asked.

Liz turned around and looked at him.

"We have sedated Mr. Downey now", he explained to her, "You should be able to talk to him in about half an hour."

She nodded slightly.

"Thank you", she whispered before the doctor left with a weak smile on his lips and she looked back at me.

"Be careful when you join him", I warned her, my voice was weak, "He was mad about being saved... Again."

She couldn't answer me any longer now that Tom has joined us but I knew she understood.

"Uhm", Tom mumbled and ran his fingers through his ginger brown curls, "May I invite you to a coffee?"

Liz nodded quickly.

"Yeah, that's a good idea", she agreed and half smiled at him, "I really need some coffee right now!"

She grabbed her coat and left with Tom, heading to the cafeteria. But I remained behind, leaving them some time on their own.

Then, I slowly went back into Robert's room and sat down on the chair next to his bed. His eyes were closed again and he was sleeping peacefully. He was now fixated, his hands were tied to the bed so he couldn't hurt anyone or himself any longer.

I softly ran my fingers through his dark brown hair and gently kissed his forehead.

"Get some rest, Robbie", I whispered and regarded him closely, "And please don't be mad at Liz. She only did what I told her to do."

His chest slowly moved up and down, his eyes still closed.

"I love you, Robbie", I added with a weak smile on my lips before I leaned back and closed my eyes.

I was exhausted. Interacting with him in his dreams was really energy-sapping. But it was absolutely worth it. I'd do everything to be close to him. Because he was my life. He has always been and will always be. When we were together, nothing else mattered.