Witness Protection Program (Tom Hiddleston)

Chapter 14: The Ghost

(A/N: I know it's been awhile, and I'm sorry. I had a lot on my plate, and I was lacking inspiration for the longest time. But here's the next chapter and things heat up. Enjoy!)

“Where’s the rest of the body?” Tom asked, racing over to the skull. “The bones and such?”

Kate shrugged. “Maybe the dogs drug them off or something. Or maybe it was the hogs.”

“Hogs?” Tom was confused. “Mat told me they ate baby deer sometimes, but human flesh?”

“Uncle Ad used to tell me back in the days of the wild west that whenever the outlaws needed to dispose of a body, they would throw it in a pigpen because the pigs would eat every trace of the body including skin, flesh, organs, and bones. The only thing they left behind was the skull because they couldn’t fit their mouths around it to crush it.” She didn’t appear phased by the human skull at all, probably because it was just a bone, and the features of the person who once occupied it were gone. However, it scared the living daylights out of Tom. He felt like he was going to be sick.

“Is something wrong? You look a little green, Tom,” Kate said softly, touching his shoulder. “Do you want to sit down while I call the cops?”

Tom shook his head. “I just...I’ve never seen a real body before. Have you? You seem very controlled.”

Kate laughed. “The only dead body I ever saw was my grandfather’s, and he was embalmed by a funeral home so that he looked like he was just sleeping. I’ve never seen a human skull before, but I’ve seen plenty of cattle and goat skulls, plus the skulls of dead deer and raccoons and coyotes and such. Skulls don’t bother me, but the police need to be called.”

“No,” Tom said. “What if that body belonged to someone who was looking for me? If the men find me on this property, that puts every single one of you in danger.”

“It’s your call,” Kate sighed. “But Tom, I really think we need to call the cops. What if my family gets blamed for this?”

“We’ll just play dumb, Katie. Don’t tell anyone what we found and don’t touch anything. If anyone finds it, they won’t be able to connect us to the crime. I promise.” He held out his arms. “It’s for your own good, Kate.”

Kate was silent, but at last she entered into his arms and hugged him tightly. “You know, when I pictured this moment, I pictured it differently. I never thought I would actually meet you, and I certainly never thought we would be hugging beside a dead body.”

Tom couldn’t help but laugh. “Come on, Kate. Let’s head in. I’ve been invited to dinner in the house again, and I need time to mentally prepare myself if I am to see Rita again tonight.”

They walked through the woods together, Lady the horse following quietly behind as she responded to Kate’s pull on her lead line. “Whatever happened between you and my sister. She refuses to talk about you. Did something happen on your date?”

Tom sighed. “I kissed her.”

Kate squealed happily and seized him by the shoulders. “Tom Hiddleston kissed my sister!” she shouted to nobody in particular. “I ship it. I ship you guys so hard!”

Tom laughed at her. “You know, most fangirls only ship me with famous people. Or they ship my character with someone.”

Kate shrugged. “I refuse to talk about my Loki ships. I don’t really ship you yourself with anyone except Rita. I do, however, ship your bromances very hard.”

“Like what?” he asked her, arching an eyebrow.

“Keep in mind these are just bromance ships. I never understood the whole slash thing. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but it just isn’t my thing. Anyway, I ship the Hiddlesbatch bromance, as well as Hiddlesworth. And after I saw that gif of Mark Ruffalo hugging you from behind, I have to admit I’m starting to ship the Ruffleston bromance as well. Why do you have to be so adorable when you’re in public with the guys?”