Never Stop . . . Never Stop Fighting (A Tom Hiddleston Fanfiction)

Chapter Sixteen

He's leaving today, her mind sadly reminded herself as she opened her eyes, feeling him reach for his cell and turn off the alarm's loud siren. He looked tired, like he didn't get much sleep the night before, but there was a soft smile on his face when he looked at her and noticed she was awake.

"Good Morning," he said softly, "Did you sleep alright?" he asked.

"I did," she answered with a small smile of her own. Ann sat up and proceeded to watch Tom get up and grab an outfit from his suitcase. "Am I driving you to the airport?" she asked.

Tom turned with his clothes in one hand, to look at her. "If you want to you may," he answered, "Or I can call for a car."

Ann nodded. "I don't mind taking you. I won't get out of the car or anything, so nobody will see me."

We've never had that talk, and yet she understands... "That's thoughtful of you darling. I'm going to take a quick shower, then pack up my things and I will be ready to go. The flight is at eleven."

"Alright," she responded and waited until he shut the bathroom door behind him to get out of bed. Ann sighed to herself as she walked into the kitchen and brewed two cups of coffee, then proceeded to walk into the living room and pack up Tom's laptop for him. I better check that I got all of his clothes from washing them the other day, she thought, then hurried to her tiny laundry room to dig through the dryer. She found a couple of shirts and a pair of jeans and quickly brought them into the bedroom to fold them only to find Tom standing at the foot of the bed with his suitcase open, wearing just a pair of black jeans. When she willed herself to quit staring, she cleared her throat, startling Tom, since he whirled around, with his hand on his chest. "Looking for something?" she asked.

"I seem to have misplaced my socks," Tom answered, once he recovered, "I wasn't expecting you in the doorway."

Ann chuckled. "I was bringing in a few of your clothes that I washed the other day. Did you add socks to the laundry too?" she asked.

Tom scratched his head. "I may have... would you like me to take a look?" he asked.

"No, I can dig through it," Ann replied with a shake of her head. She placed the clothes she held on the bed beside his suitcase, then turned and headed back towards the laundry room.

Tom put away the clean clothes she'd placed on the bed into his suitcase after deciding to wear one of the shirts for the day. He quickly went over everything he'd brought with him in his head before he deemed himself to be packed and zipped up the suitcase before he sat on the edge of the bed. I really do worry about her... I won't be here if she has another nightmare. His mind buzzed with different thoughts as he stared at the beige carpet. He was so in his head that he never noticed when Ann came back in the room until she put a hand on his shoulder, startling him again, making him jump.

"Tom, are you alright?" she asked softly. "I found your socks buried in the dryer," she added as she held them out for him to take.

"Yes," he answered with a small grin as he took the socks from her. "I'm alright, just a bit in my head today with so much going on." He bent down and quickly put the socks on his feet before he sat back up and met her eyes, seeing that she didn't look very convinced. Tom reached out to her and gently took her hand in his before he guided her to stand between his legs. He took her other hand before he brought them both to his lips, kissing her knuckles. "Ann, darling I promise you that I am alright. I just have a lot on my mind," he sighed as she bent over him, letting go of her hands as she wrapped her arms around his neck, "I love my job, but I wish I did not have to leave you behind."

Ann tightened her grip as she burrowed her head against his neck. "I'll be okay," she murmured, "I have Sage to lean on or I can always call my mom. Plus I am sure you'll be contacting me every chance you can."