musesandlyrics | 5.24. 3 Doors Down lyrics
5.24. If I go crazy then will you still
Call me Superman
If I'm alive and well, will you be
There holding my hand
I'll keep you by my side with
My superhuman might
Kryptonite
Kryptonite - 3 Doors Down
Co-written with seeuincourt, cantbuy_me and scotcopper
The past forty eight hours had been the most terrifying of Stuart's whole life. After nothing progressing in the case for days, it felt like the shit suddenly hit the fan all over again, and he had been technically oblivious to what was going on. He had been finding it increasingly hard to function, and although he did try to follow Gee's advice about talking to Tom's friends, he had failed miserably. Ethan and Sophie Williamson had seemed to realise he was trying to extend an olive branch, and they were patient, but nothing eventuated from it and it ended with Stuart just getting up and walking out before he lost control of his emotions again. Instead, he went down into one of the hospital court yards and cried until he literallycouldn 't anymore. With no news on the case, and the doctors now having ceased giving any prognosis on Tom's condition, it just all got too much. The only thing was, by this point, elsewhere in London, that was where the shit was hitting the fan with the case and why Geedidn't answer her mobile when Stuart tried to call her for a shoulder to cry on.
It was like an avalanche. Once everything started, it wasn't going to stop until it hit the bottom. One tiny piece of evidence was all it took; a shard of glass with drop of blood on it located in the wreck of Tom's car, lodged in the stuckseatbelt roll. The glass matched the bottle that was used as the murder weapon, and the blood matched Tom's driver, placing him firmly at the scene of the crime... and holding the proverbial smoking gun. Of course, Stuart was oblivious to any of this. While he was losing his grip on his emotions back at the hospital, alone outside in the dark with only some security lights and CCTV cameras to keep him company, Gee, Matt, and Ronnie pounced on the new evidence like all their Christmases had come at once, and they dragged him in fromHeathrow Airport after discovering he was trying to flee the country on a fake passport. Once he knew they were onto him, he lost his fight and ten minutes into the interrogation, he confessed to the whole thing. Only, no one could have anticipated just how or why it all went down. They were lucky he was one of those evil bastards who realised that by the time he was well and truly fucked, he was well and truly fucked. Cooperating really was the only thing left to do, because anything else would just take him down harder and faster.
It seemed that Thomas M. Hunt had unknowingly landed himself in a dangerous love triangle that he, himself, had no awareness off. It seemed screwed, and even Ronnie was trying to get his head around it as the facts started to come to light. Tom had caught the attentions of his paralegal months ago, but was completely oblivious to the fact that simultaneous to this, the paralegal had caught the attentions of Tom's driver, who was now professing to have been deeply in love with the victim and hating Tom for getting in the way of that. He persisted, though, believing that when Tom ended the affair with his paralegal, the driver would have open range to pursue him for himself, which is exactly what happened in the months that followed the guy's termination of employment with Tom. Where Tom thought it was the end of the whole event, it seems now it was only just the beginning. The driver and the paralegal began a secret affair, but the driver always worried the feelingsweren't 100% reciprocated... and he found out the night of he murder that his suspicions were correct. After taking LeFevre for dinner in Hunt's expensive car (almost simultaneous in timing to Hunt and Evans sharing their own romantic night at Hunt's home in the wake of their progressive lunch at The Ivy earlier in the day), the driver andLeFevre had sex in the backseat of the vehicle, though when he professed his love to LeFevere, the doomed paralegal admitted he couldn't return his feelings, because he was still in love with Hunt.
A fight broke out and LeFevre demanded he be driven home, though by this point, the driver admitted to being so furious, he was blinded. He stopped the car andLeFevre got out to catch a cab, saying the whole argument was pointless because his feelings for Hunt weren 't going to change. It was an expensive bottle of Scotch Whiskey in the glove compartment that became the murder weapon. It had been bought by Hunt innocently as a thank you to his driver for his recent discretion with his relationship with Evans. Ironically, almost becoming Hunt's own downfall when it came to light it was his preferred label and year of Scotch. The driver hitLeFevere over the head with the bottle in a rage, knocking him out but not killing him. He panicked, and finished the job by stabbing the young paralegal in the throat, killing him. Although he tried to clean most of the glass away with a towel, tiny fragments escaped and hence the portion that fell into theseatbelt case.
After that, inevitably he could do nothing but panic. He had accidentally killed the guy he loved for no reason, and by then could do nothing but blame Hunt for everything. Hunt had to pay. Hedidn 't deserve to be happy. He concocted a downright disturbing plan to frame Hunt for the murder, including drinking heavily and taking the drugs while he waited for Hunt to be questioned about the crime. Only, he admitted that this was more guilt than anything, and admitted to almost confessing himself at this point. He drank and took the drugs because the guilt became unbearable, but 'never thought he'd crash the fucking car at that hour in London'. He showed a unsettling remorse that Hunt had been hurt after so many years of service to him, but in the same breath admitted to hating him and wishing he would lose everything important to him, 'including the pretty boy copper'. There were no more questions asked. The rest was up to a jury, and it probablywouldn 't even need to be a very good one. Bail was refused, and the guy was locked up tight. The only thing was, none of them felt a single iota of satisfaction in solving the case... just an extreme sense of pain and exhaustion that it even had to happen in the first place. And the one thing that left all detectives reeling as the pieces slotted together, was that driverhadn 't sought revenge on Evans. It was a stark and sobering realisation that it could just as easily be Evans in that hospital bed as it was Hunt himself, and no one quite knew how to deal with that.
It was now the evening after the bail had been refused, and just a few hours after Gee, Matt and Ronnie had visited Hunt's hospital room to explain all that had happened. The detectives had left again to tie up some loose ends of passing the case over to the Crown Prosecution Service, and Ethan found himself standing numbly by the window of Tom's hospital room still trying to process everything. Someone really had tried to kill his best friend, for nothing. Tom had never led the paralegal on. In fact, he had almost pissed his pants and backed the hell away when he realised the guy had feelings for him. Now the guy was dead and no one would say if Tom himself would even wake up. Sophie was sitting by Tom's bed in the chair next to Stuart. Stuarthadn 't reacted well at all to the news, first taking it in blankly and then exploding angrily, before finally leaving again to try and cope with it. He had returned a short while later and put his head down on the side of Tom's bed in silence. Ethan knew the guy must have fallen asleep, because he had hardly moved, his hand still tucked around Tom's on the bed. Now and again, Sophie gave Stuart's back a small rub, like shewasn't sure what else she could do to help.
Ethan cleared his throat and rubbed a hand over his rough chin, the dark stubble increasing there from lack of a regular shave. "Well, at least we have answers now," he told his wife quietly, realising now how tired he was himself after spending a good portion of the time since Tom ended up in here pulling strings and blocking media for answers. Those who needed the right information, had it. Those whodidn't had no idea why Tom was even in here. At least, they hadn 't. They did now. The case was all over the TV and newspapers... but at least no fingers were pointing at Tom anymore, except the odd wanker journalist trying to say Tom was incapable of human emotion or love.
Sophie glanced across at her husband, then back at Stuart as she tried to work out if it was okay to leave him, or not. He seemed to have genuinely fallen asleep for once, and she figured hewouldn't even notice if she wasn 't there to rub his back. She really did feel helpless at moments like these, more because they had yet to really know Tom's love. Theydidn 't know what it was he needed besides Tom. She got up as quietly as possible, and went over to Ethan so she could slip her arms around his waist and kiss him softly. She rest her head against his shoulder and let out a sigh. "It's a start. I still can't believe it. All this because of some stupid bloody love triangle. We've all been rejected, doesn't mean we need to kill someone over it."
Ethan felt like he was aching from head to toe, and he had the beginnings of a migraine making itself known behind his eyes. He was grateful of the embrace, resting his chin on her head as he watched closely for a couple of moments to see it Stuart would move. Hedidn't. He really must've just gone out like a like when the emotions finally came to a crashing halt. He was still unmoving, holding Tom's hand with his head on the side of the bed. Ethan was glad he and Sophie were there, but at the same time, Stuart could have his privacy if he wanted it. That was one thing Ethan had been relieved of... the Scottish detective had not once tried to pull the boyfriend ranks. He never indicated hedidn 't want Ethan or Sophie there, never asked them to leave. He seemed to understand they needed to be there as much as he was, even if the conversation was awkward. Of course it was going to be awkward. No one knew each other, and the only buffer was unconscious in the bed. Ethancouldn 't help but be curious how Tom would react when he woke up to find there had been a whole semi-bonding even going on without him... if he woke up. "They say anger can make you do horrible things." He shook his head. "Love makes you do worse. How could he... how... he said he loved the guy. How is that even love?"
"Would you do worse? For me?" Sophie found herself asking, but she didn't move from where she was, content to be in Ethan's arms with his head against hers. She felt safe, and everything was less scary when her husband was holding her. Shedidn 't feel like she might suddenly burst into tears because even though they had answers, how could this have even happened to Tom? And how could someone have been so cruel as to want to frame him? Not to mention the fact that Tom finally does find love, and he can't even be left alone to enjoy it. "He's delusional. It can't possibly be love, not if the jealously is really that strong. It ate him up."
"I wouldn't kill anyone!" Ethan snapped before he could stop it and then he growled softly in frustration of himself, burying his face in her hair. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry. Ididn 't mean to be a wanker. I'm tired, I think it's all catching up with me. I know there might be answers, but Tom's not awake. That's all I can think of. What if he's not okay? The doctors have not once denied that could be a chance. He got really banged up and he just might not be okay. There is no murdering fucker after him anymore...yay . But he still might not be okay. This guy has been Tom's driver for... fuck... I can't even remember. He's driven me. Your staff, you think you can trust them. The bastard stabbed a bloke in the throat with a broken bottle. That might have been Tom!" He knew he was getting worked up, and trying to keep his voice lowered, it had become hoarse and strained. For the first time in his life, he seriously feared losing someone extremely important to him.
Sophie hugged him tighter as she pressed her lips in against his neck. For a long moment she couldn't say anything as she just breathed in Ethan's familiar scent. She pulled back a little, just so she could speak freely, but she was still pressed up against his chest. "I know, it's okay. You're allowed to be a wanker at times like these. It's horrible to think of Tom as being the victim, but it could have been. Anything could have happened if the driver was left there was stew any longer. And you think the trainsaren't safe," she added as an attempt at a joke, but Sophie herself couldn't even laugh at it. "I'm sorry."
As the two stayed by the window, both were oblivious as Tom's hand flinched slightly, his fingers tightening around Stuart's before his body went still again. There had been no real change in the heartbeat reading other than a minor blip, the momentary response over before anyone could notice.
It was just enough for Stuart, though. He didn't exactly notice anything, but he was jolted awake by something, shooting up in the chair and trying to get his bearings which he struggled with. He felt like he had been asleep, but things were a blur in general and he just sat there, stilled, for a moment as he tried to work out what was going on. His heart was beating rapidly in his chest as he absorbed the fact he was sitting beside Tom again. Had a nightmare woken him? He wasn't sweating, and there was no real feeling of immediate terror. Something had just pierced his awareness though. He touched his fingertips to Tom's cheek, almost like he was checking he was still alive, and indeed, he moved on to look at the monitors above his head to ensure they were still moving.
The abrupt movement caught Ethan's attention and he frowned, shifting just a little out of the embrace with Sophie so he could meet her eyes with a frown. "Stuart? Mate? You alright?" he asked uncertainly. The monotonous beeps were doing nothing for Ethan's headache, but they were the small amount of relief they had that Tom was okay for the moment.
"Aye, I..." Stuart began hoarsely, but stopped and frowned, glancing back at them. "I dinnae know... aye. I'm fine... Do these machines always say if something's wrong?"
Sophie met her husband's gaze before she kissed his cheek softly, and pulled away to get a cup and pour him some water. She fished the pain killers from out of her pocket and handed them to him. Maybe theyhadn 't been married long, but she was getting good at picking when he had a headache. He always had these two frown lines just between his brows that made him look sterner than he usually did. She rubbed her fingers over them briefly before looking between Tom's form, and Stuart. "I don't know, they're supposed to. I guess it's more just if his heart crashes. Why, do you think something's wrong?"
Ethan looked at his wife gratefully and pushed some of the pills out of the packet to swallow them with a mouthful of water. Stuart was spooked, no doubt about it, but the monitors still looked and sounded much like they had for the past week, except when Tom spiked a fever on Wednesday and they started making different sounds to alert the staff. Even so, Ethan found his blue eyes locked on the heart monitor as if he was expecting it to suddenly explode and alert them all that Tom was dying. Who knew? Maybe the copper was psychic. He was certainly managing to break a sweep of goosebumps out over Ethan's skin at that point.
Stuart rubbed a hand over his face. "No, there isnae anything wrong... probably just a nightmare." He fought the urge to get up and start pacing, and it was a strong urge. Instead, he rocked forward in the seat again and cupped his hands around Tom's with a heavy, rough sigh. "Fuck, youcannae just sign out on me..." he mumbled, probably barely audible to the other couple in the room but it was almost a plea to Tom. If his mindwasn 't playing tricks on him that Tom was dying yet, it would definitely start doing it the longer he took to wake up. Right now, he just felt anxious... on edge. Maybe like he was running out of time. How long really would he wait for Tom?
"Hrrrru..." The sound came from Tom's lips as his fingers tightened around Stuart's again. His eyes were struggling to open, and Tom was in no rush. He was still coming to terms with the fact that he was waking up, and that there were voices. Voices he knew. He stillwasn't quite sure what was going on, he just knew he felt like he'd been slammed by a bus and then dragged along the street. He wasn't sick again, was he? It was definitely worse than any Man Flu he'd had.
Sophie had almost jumped at the sound Tom made, and gripped her husband's arm tightly. Her heart kicked into overdrive and she looked between the three men to check that she really had just heard what she'd thought she'd heard. "Ethan..." she started, butdidn't know how she actually wanted to finish. Tom was awake. Or at least trying to be.
For a moment, Stuart just froze. It was almost as if he thought movement would stop any of this. But it was only a few beats and he pushed out of the chair abruptly, actually knocking it over in his haste. The chair was the last thing on his mind, though and he kept a secure grip around Tom's hand. "Tom." The word came out in a stunned gasp and Stuart actually had to fight not to shake his lover in an attempt to get him to open his eyes. "Oh fuck... please... just..." Hedidn't know what he was trying to ask, but his eyes were planted firmly on Tom's face, waiting for anymore reaction.
Ethan was on the opposite side of the hospital bed in a heartbeat. He didn't touch Tom or infiltrate on Stuart's space, but he was there and that was better than nothing. He realised he had actually dragged Sophie along with him and he was frowning deeply, trying not to actually get his hopes up. "Tom, mate... you just gotta open your eyes. Wake up," he pleaded gently.
"Hnh..." Tom grunted, and if he had had the energy, or the ability to roll on his side and curl into a ball, he would have. His nose scrunched as he battled to open his eyes, Stuart's voice and Ethan's seeping through his brain. Somewhere deep inside he knew he had to wake up for them. He had to get back... He justwasn't sure where he'd been. "Stu... 'than." The two names combined when Tom couldn't quite kick his brain into gear. His eyes opened briefly, the lids fluttering as he struggled, but they fell closed again.
Sophie had her arm around Ethan's waist and let out a quiet gasp of her own as she watched Tom. Then her gaze went to Ethan's face, and she watched her husband closely. She could only imagine how it had really been for Ethan to see his best friend lie comatose for so long. She rubbed her hand against his arm, and stayed by his side.
"Oh thank fuck. Thank fuck," was all Stuart could manage as he dropped his head a little and tightened the grip on Tom's hand. He shifted closer to he was leaning over Tom and started to gently stroke his fingers against Tom's cheek. "It's gonna be okay, love. Youdinnae need to move or think. Just take your time. You've been hurt... really, really hurt." He didn't want to overwhelm Tom with too much information, especially if he couldn't remember anything. He probably didn 't even know what was going on. But he knew Stuart's name, and Stuart was fighting back tears of relief, them catching in his throat as he indulged in another couple of moments to make sure for himself that Tom really was awake.
Ethan's own shoulders slumped in relief and he let out a hoarse and heavy rush of breath he hadn't realised he had been holding. He used Sophie to brace himself so he didn't fall over and watched Stuart reflexively just try to comfort Tom the best way he could. "You've had a car accident, mate," he elaborated just slightly, staying close so Tom would be able to see him if he needed to. "You've been unconscious for a long time. Gave us all a bit of a scare."
Sophie wrapped both her arms around Ethan as she hugged him, keeping her head turned to watch Tom. She could feel tears slip down her cheeks as she heard Stuart comforting his boyfriend.
Tom just stayed in bed, not trying to do anything just like Stuart told him. His eyes opened for a bit longer this time, and he saw Ethan and Sophie before his eyes went to Stuart's face and he smiled a little. "You look like shit," he murmured before snorting in what was supposed to be a laugh. It was more like a noisy huff of breath. "S'day is it?"
Ethan gave a snort of a laugh himself, shaking his head just a little in disbelief. At least Tom hadn't woken up some stranger like all those medical sites Ethan had been researching on head injuries lately suggest could be a possibility. But Tom being a stranger was only slightly less terrifying them him being a vegetable. For the moment, neither seemed on the horizon and Ethan hoped it would stay that way. He tightened his embrace around Sophie, just relieved something seemed to be finally looking up.
Stuart almost apologised, and then almost indignantly protested, but he figured Tom was being blatantly honest. He was nervously stroking his fingers through Tom's hair, planted firmly against the side of the bed. It would probably take a miracle to get him to move until he was convinced Tom was 100% okay. "It's Monday, love. Eighth of Feb. You've been out a long time... there's been... lots of shit going on. But you dinnae need to worry about that, aye? Just... are you in pain? Do you feel sick? Dinnae move too much, okay? You've had surgery, and you hit your head."
"Just tell me my cock and arse are in tact." Tom's brain was slowly dragging itself out of the darkness, and he squinted in what he still considered harsh light. His hand gave Stuart's a squeeze, and he shut his eyes briefly to relieve them. The hair stroking was really nice and hecouldn 't stop the moan. When his eyes opened again he was frowning as he tried to work out how it could possibly be the eighth of February. Something else was trying to draw his attention, but it hurt too much to think. He looked at Ethan, and suddenly felt a surge of emotion. He could feel the lump in his throat, and the tears threatening to spill. "Fuck... No, no pain... Just... confused. Are you okay?" He was asking them both, and sucked in a breath as he tried to ignore the way his voice cracked.
Ethan was stuffed by that point. He had barely been hanging onto his composure as it was, but when he saw that chink in Tom's armour, it was done. It feel like weeks he had been trying to hold it together because that was the only way he knew how to handle something... by keeping control of a situation. Even if that just meant throwing money at it. He stepped just a little bit closer when Stuart had turned to look at him expectantly with a small nod. Ethan gave Tom's arm a small nudge. "You fucking ever do this to us again, mate, and I'llfriggen kill you myself," he warned as he blinked back tears. "Even if this was in no way your fault, I'm still gonna kill you," he resolved. "And it won't be pretty."
Tom started to cough, and mustered a weak smirk as he reached out to grab onto Ethan's hand. He shared a look with his best friend as the tears started to slide down his cheeks and he just tried to ignore them. "Not that easy to get rid of, mate. You kill me, I'll just come back stronger, and with a bigger cock." He squeezed Ethan's fingers before his lips pressed together and hecouldn't keep the sob back. "Shit, I'm sorry. I just... I've lost all this time..."
Sophie bit down on her lip, and buried her face against Ethan's chest for a moment. Both her husband and Tom were losing it, and she was just going to be no help whatsoever. She managed to pull herself together after taking a couple of deep breaths and turned to meet Stuart's gaze with a soft smile. Maybe their men were seen by the world as uncaringlotharios, but Sophie and Stuart knew better.
Stuart figured this was probably a huge thing. He wanted to crawl up onto the bed and plaster himself around Tom like he used to with his Dad when he was young and scared of the boogie monster in his cupboard. But thatcouldn 't happen. This was Tom's family, and although there had been a lot of talk between them with Tom indicating he survived fine on his own, Stuart could see right here, right now, that itwasn't the case. Ethan was a brother to Tom in everything but blood and brother was definitely a language he understood. "Time you dinnae need..." he mumbled, knowing then it wasn't going to be easy to fill Tom in on everything that had gone down. "But you dinnae need to worry. We'll get you better and get you outta here as soon as we can," he resolved.
Ethan nodded in agreement, feeling his stomach turn over uncomfortably at the same thought. He wanted to kill the driver with his bare hands, but of course thatwouldn 't resolve anything. "Yeah, see. This means you have to take a vacation and you can't fucking argue about it. You don't want to fuck with some of the nurses around here, mate. They'll take you down with a huge enema to last afriggen week."
Tom was oblivious to Stuart's dilemma regarding the idea of lying down next to him, and he reached up to tug on Stuart's sleeve. "Might not need the time, but I need you," he said in a hushed down. Tom felt shattered, like he had been broken into a million pieces, and then glued back together again. Only in his mind the only one that could hold him together was Stuart. Hehadn 't forgotten the declaration of love, and he knew in his heart that he really did love the copper. "You're just trying to get yourself invited along so you can shag your missus on the high seas," Tom said in reply to Ethan. He gave his friend another weak smirk before his brow creased and he closed his eyes as he started to feel pain ebb through his body.
"I don't think you're doing anything to stop encouraging him, love. You know Tom likes having things up his arse," Sophie said as she smiled. She sniffed as quietly as she could as she raised her hand to wipe at her eyes before she let go of Ethan with one arm to reach out and brush her fingers against Tom's hand.
Ethan didn't miss the hint of pain as it crossed Tom's features. He glanced at his watch, realising it was getting late, even if Tom would probably be knackered no matter what time of day it was. Stuart looked wrecked himself, so Ethan shared a gaze with Sophie, a silent agreement slipping between them, and he cleared his throat. "Fuck, of course I'm hedging for an invite for that reason. I won't die happy til I fuck her in every possible and plausible exotic location. I don't have a gold card for nothing," he joked. He gave Tom's arm a small squeeze. "We're going to bail on you for the night, mate. You need rest and maybe you can convince this pain in the butt to actually eat something. He's just as stubborn as you, god help us fucking all. We'll be back first thing, though. And if you need us back before then, just tell the staff to call us. They won't fuck with you, I promise. I made well sure of that."
Stuart looked up at them. "You dinnae have to go. You can stay," he insisted, wanting to let them know they didn't have to run out if Tom wanted them to stick around. He looked back to Tom's face with a frown. "I'll get a doctor, love. You can get somemeds and they can make sure everything's okay. They can help you."
Sophie patted her husband's chest as she gave a soft laugh. She actually wouldn't have put it past him to be working on fucking her in every possible and plausible exotic location. She pulled away from him enough to lean down and give Tom a kiss on the forehead, her fingers connected with Ethan's so he knew shewasn 't going anywhere. Then she gave Stuart a kiss on the cheek and held his gaze for a moment. "You take care of him." She gave Tom another smile, and pulled back. "Try not to cause any trouble while we're gone otherwise Stuart might have to punish you."
"Thanks for being here, mate. I appreciate it. I'll definitely work on getting him to eat something, even if I can't. I'll... I'll see you in the morning." Tom huffed out another laugh. "I'd say I might like it, but not sure I'd be able to take that kind of punishment right now." He gave them both a smile, and tugged on Stuart once again to try and get him to lie next to him. "C'mere," he breathed out.
Ethan leaned over and gave Tom just a brief hug. "We'll catch up when you're feeling better. It'll all... come out in the wash, or some other fucking metaphor Mum used to come out with when I was having a shit day. Not a bad sort you picked up here," he added, nodding at Stuart with a smirk and then he wrapped his arm around Sophie again, leading her out of the room so they could head home and maybe finally get some sleep for the first time in days, maybe after a bit of intimate time together themselves... which had completely gone by the wayside ever since news of Tom's accident came. Something had to be said for sexual healing, right?
There were a couple of strange moments initially where Stuart had to process the fact he was alone with Tom, and Tom was awake and aware. He would be lying if hedidn 't admit that he was more and more doubting in the past couple of days whether they would ever be in this position again. There was maybe two seconds of warning where Stuart sat there, eyes on Tom's face, before everything caught up with him in an exhausted rush and with a hoarse sob, he burst into tears, putting a hand over his face as if it would stop the flood of emotion. One thing he was glad of right up was that Tom was the only person there to see it that time.
"Stuart," Tom pleaded in a whisper. As he lay there and watched his lover burst into tears he felt a frustration rise in him that hecouldn 't comfort the copper. He grunted as he tried to sit up and then just fell back against the bed. "If you don't fucking lie next to me, I'll pout... A lot. You need to come to me because I can't come to you. So get in position, Detective. And I'm sorry you have to put up with me like this."
"No, no..." Stuart managed to get out as he still struggled to stop the tears, he took his hand away, brushing it across his eyes to try and swipe away the dampness but more just come. "Thisisnae your fault. None of it is your fault. This wasnae an accident, and it's not your fault you're here." He got up out of the chair, his legs feeling tired and weak. He wasn 't exactly sure how he was going to pull this off, but he awkwardly managed to get onto the narrow bed beside Tom, keeping his arm tucked around the only safe place on his chest that was between the tubes of the heart monitors and the area of his stomach he had been operated on. It might not have been the most comfortable position, but it was better than nothing. "You fucking nearly died.Dinnae fucking do that again!"
Tom managed a weak nod, then turned his head to rest his forehead against Stuart's as best he could. "I won't. Nothing can keep me from you any more. We're going on that fucking cruise, and you're fucking moving in as soon as possible. I'm not giving you up. Not even this can stop me. Don't think... Don't think for a second that I don't love you, or I don't want this. Your voice dragged me back. Ididn't mean for it to take so long."
Stuart realised he was probably making the shoulder of Tom's gown all wet but as he lay there, he was able to get just a little bit more comfortable. Hehadn't talked a lot to anyone how he had been feeling in the wake of Tom's accident. He chatted a little about it to Gee, but didn't go deeply into what he was really feeling inside. It had been one big ball of confusion that he wasn 't sure he would have been able to put it into words anyway. "You just gotta get better... you just... there's a lot you need to know, but we can talk when you're feeling better. I'm not going to go anywhere." He kissed Tom's shoulder, letting it linger there for a long few moments. "I love you."
Tom cleared his throat, and tried to fight his eyelids falling closed. The exhaustion was starting to kick in again, the effort of waking up apparently enough to send him back to sleep. He justdidn 't want to miss Stuart, or any time he could get with the copper. "I'm trying. I hate that I can't just instantly get better." He moved his arm so his fingers rest on top of Stuart's and he managed to brush his lips against Stuart's forehead. "So much lost sex we have to make up for."
Stuart managed to smirk, even if in general he was feeling a heavy weight of emotions all over him. He needed sleep too, and a whole lot of other things that took too much effort to even think about. "Youwillnae be saying that tomorrow when the meds wear off and you realise how much you're injured," he warned and let his eyes fall closed. "But it's okay... I'll take care of you. I'll make sure you're okay, whatever it takes."
"I can't do this without you," Tom murmured as he felt more tears threaten to spill over. He hated this feeling of weakness, of being so helpless. If anyone was going to take care of him though, he wanted it to be Stuart.
Stuart was sure he couldn't actually start crying more than he had been, but he did, and he managed it in all it's wet, undignified glory. A little voice at the back of his head told him to never go this long without proper sleep so he could always keep his composure. But itdidn 't matter with Tom, he realised this now. Before, he probably would have hidden his emotion. In fact, he did when Tom accompanied him to his friend's funeral that afternoon in Scotland. Something had changed, though. Hedidn't exactly know what it was yet, but despite all the pain and heartache, he knew it was a good change. It felt right. "You dinnae have to," he promised in a hoarse whisper, holding Tom as securely as he could. "You dinnae have to do anything without me."
Word Count | 6,344
Call me Superman
If I'm alive and well, will you be
There holding my hand
I'll keep you by my side with
My superhuman might
Kryptonite
Kryptonite - 3 Doors Down
Co-written with seeuincourt, cantbuy_me and scotcopper
The past forty eight hours had been the most terrifying of Stuart's whole life. After nothing progressing in the case for days, it felt like the shit suddenly hit the fan all over again, and he had been technically oblivious to what was going on. He had been finding it increasingly hard to function, and although he did try to follow Gee's advice about talking to Tom's friends, he had failed miserably. Ethan and Sophie Williamson had seemed to realise he was trying to extend an olive branch, and they were patient, but nothing eventuated from it and it ended with Stuart just getting up and walking out before he lost control of his emotions again. Instead, he went down into one of the hospital court yards and cried until he literallycouldn 't anymore. With no news on the case, and the doctors now having ceased giving any prognosis on Tom's condition, it just all got too much. The only thing was, by this point, elsewhere in London, that was where the shit was hitting the fan with the case and why Geedidn't answer her mobile when Stuart tried to call her for a shoulder to cry on.
It was like an avalanche. Once everything started, it wasn't going to stop until it hit the bottom. One tiny piece of evidence was all it took; a shard of glass with drop of blood on it located in the wreck of Tom's car, lodged in the stuckseatbelt roll. The glass matched the bottle that was used as the murder weapon, and the blood matched Tom's driver, placing him firmly at the scene of the crime... and holding the proverbial smoking gun. Of course, Stuart was oblivious to any of this. While he was losing his grip on his emotions back at the hospital, alone outside in the dark with only some security lights and CCTV cameras to keep him company, Gee, Matt, and Ronnie pounced on the new evidence like all their Christmases had come at once, and they dragged him in fromHeathrow Airport after discovering he was trying to flee the country on a fake passport. Once he knew they were onto him, he lost his fight and ten minutes into the interrogation, he confessed to the whole thing. Only, no one could have anticipated just how or why it all went down. They were lucky he was one of those evil bastards who realised that by the time he was well and truly fucked, he was well and truly fucked. Cooperating really was the only thing left to do, because anything else would just take him down harder and faster.
It seemed that Thomas M. Hunt had unknowingly landed himself in a dangerous love triangle that he, himself, had no awareness off. It seemed screwed, and even Ronnie was trying to get his head around it as the facts started to come to light. Tom had caught the attentions of his paralegal months ago, but was completely oblivious to the fact that simultaneous to this, the paralegal had caught the attentions of Tom's driver, who was now professing to have been deeply in love with the victim and hating Tom for getting in the way of that. He persisted, though, believing that when Tom ended the affair with his paralegal, the driver would have open range to pursue him for himself, which is exactly what happened in the months that followed the guy's termination of employment with Tom. Where Tom thought it was the end of the whole event, it seems now it was only just the beginning. The driver and the paralegal began a secret affair, but the driver always worried the feelingsweren't 100% reciprocated... and he found out the night of he murder that his suspicions were correct. After taking LeFevre for dinner in Hunt's expensive car (almost simultaneous in timing to Hunt and Evans sharing their own romantic night at Hunt's home in the wake of their progressive lunch at The Ivy earlier in the day), the driver andLeFevre had sex in the backseat of the vehicle, though when he professed his love to LeFevere, the doomed paralegal admitted he couldn't return his feelings, because he was still in love with Hunt.
A fight broke out and LeFevre demanded he be driven home, though by this point, the driver admitted to being so furious, he was blinded. He stopped the car andLeFevre got out to catch a cab, saying the whole argument was pointless because his feelings for Hunt weren 't going to change. It was an expensive bottle of Scotch Whiskey in the glove compartment that became the murder weapon. It had been bought by Hunt innocently as a thank you to his driver for his recent discretion with his relationship with Evans. Ironically, almost becoming Hunt's own downfall when it came to light it was his preferred label and year of Scotch. The driver hitLeFevere over the head with the bottle in a rage, knocking him out but not killing him. He panicked, and finished the job by stabbing the young paralegal in the throat, killing him. Although he tried to clean most of the glass away with a towel, tiny fragments escaped and hence the portion that fell into theseatbelt case.
After that, inevitably he could do nothing but panic. He had accidentally killed the guy he loved for no reason, and by then could do nothing but blame Hunt for everything. Hunt had to pay. Hedidn 't deserve to be happy. He concocted a downright disturbing plan to frame Hunt for the murder, including drinking heavily and taking the drugs while he waited for Hunt to be questioned about the crime. Only, he admitted that this was more guilt than anything, and admitted to almost confessing himself at this point. He drank and took the drugs because the guilt became unbearable, but 'never thought he'd crash the fucking car at that hour in London'. He showed a unsettling remorse that Hunt had been hurt after so many years of service to him, but in the same breath admitted to hating him and wishing he would lose everything important to him, 'including the pretty boy copper'. There were no more questions asked. The rest was up to a jury, and it probablywouldn 't even need to be a very good one. Bail was refused, and the guy was locked up tight. The only thing was, none of them felt a single iota of satisfaction in solving the case... just an extreme sense of pain and exhaustion that it even had to happen in the first place. And the one thing that left all detectives reeling as the pieces slotted together, was that driverhadn 't sought revenge on Evans. It was a stark and sobering realisation that it could just as easily be Evans in that hospital bed as it was Hunt himself, and no one quite knew how to deal with that.
It was now the evening after the bail had been refused, and just a few hours after Gee, Matt and Ronnie had visited Hunt's hospital room to explain all that had happened. The detectives had left again to tie up some loose ends of passing the case over to the Crown Prosecution Service, and Ethan found himself standing numbly by the window of Tom's hospital room still trying to process everything. Someone really had tried to kill his best friend, for nothing. Tom had never led the paralegal on. In fact, he had almost pissed his pants and backed the hell away when he realised the guy had feelings for him. Now the guy was dead and no one would say if Tom himself would even wake up. Sophie was sitting by Tom's bed in the chair next to Stuart. Stuarthadn 't reacted well at all to the news, first taking it in blankly and then exploding angrily, before finally leaving again to try and cope with it. He had returned a short while later and put his head down on the side of Tom's bed in silence. Ethan knew the guy must have fallen asleep, because he had hardly moved, his hand still tucked around Tom's on the bed. Now and again, Sophie gave Stuart's back a small rub, like shewasn't sure what else she could do to help.
Ethan cleared his throat and rubbed a hand over his rough chin, the dark stubble increasing there from lack of a regular shave. "Well, at least we have answers now," he told his wife quietly, realising now how tired he was himself after spending a good portion of the time since Tom ended up in here pulling strings and blocking media for answers. Those who needed the right information, had it. Those whodidn't had no idea why Tom was even in here. At least, they hadn 't. They did now. The case was all over the TV and newspapers... but at least no fingers were pointing at Tom anymore, except the odd wanker journalist trying to say Tom was incapable of human emotion or love.
Sophie glanced across at her husband, then back at Stuart as she tried to work out if it was okay to leave him, or not. He seemed to have genuinely fallen asleep for once, and she figured hewouldn't even notice if she wasn 't there to rub his back. She really did feel helpless at moments like these, more because they had yet to really know Tom's love. Theydidn 't know what it was he needed besides Tom. She got up as quietly as possible, and went over to Ethan so she could slip her arms around his waist and kiss him softly. She rest her head against his shoulder and let out a sigh. "It's a start. I still can't believe it. All this because of some stupid bloody love triangle. We've all been rejected, doesn't mean we need to kill someone over it."
Ethan felt like he was aching from head to toe, and he had the beginnings of a migraine making itself known behind his eyes. He was grateful of the embrace, resting his chin on her head as he watched closely for a couple of moments to see it Stuart would move. Hedidn't. He really must've just gone out like a like when the emotions finally came to a crashing halt. He was still unmoving, holding Tom's hand with his head on the side of the bed. Ethan was glad he and Sophie were there, but at the same time, Stuart could have his privacy if he wanted it. That was one thing Ethan had been relieved of... the Scottish detective had not once tried to pull the boyfriend ranks. He never indicated hedidn 't want Ethan or Sophie there, never asked them to leave. He seemed to understand they needed to be there as much as he was, even if the conversation was awkward. Of course it was going to be awkward. No one knew each other, and the only buffer was unconscious in the bed. Ethancouldn 't help but be curious how Tom would react when he woke up to find there had been a whole semi-bonding even going on without him... if he woke up. "They say anger can make you do horrible things." He shook his head. "Love makes you do worse. How could he... how... he said he loved the guy. How is that even love?"
"Would you do worse? For me?" Sophie found herself asking, but she didn't move from where she was, content to be in Ethan's arms with his head against hers. She felt safe, and everything was less scary when her husband was holding her. Shedidn 't feel like she might suddenly burst into tears because even though they had answers, how could this have even happened to Tom? And how could someone have been so cruel as to want to frame him? Not to mention the fact that Tom finally does find love, and he can't even be left alone to enjoy it. "He's delusional. It can't possibly be love, not if the jealously is really that strong. It ate him up."
"I wouldn't kill anyone!" Ethan snapped before he could stop it and then he growled softly in frustration of himself, burying his face in her hair. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry. Ididn 't mean to be a wanker. I'm tired, I think it's all catching up with me. I know there might be answers, but Tom's not awake. That's all I can think of. What if he's not okay? The doctors have not once denied that could be a chance. He got really banged up and he just might not be okay. There is no murdering fucker after him anymore...yay . But he still might not be okay. This guy has been Tom's driver for... fuck... I can't even remember. He's driven me. Your staff, you think you can trust them. The bastard stabbed a bloke in the throat with a broken bottle. That might have been Tom!" He knew he was getting worked up, and trying to keep his voice lowered, it had become hoarse and strained. For the first time in his life, he seriously feared losing someone extremely important to him.
Sophie hugged him tighter as she pressed her lips in against his neck. For a long moment she couldn't say anything as she just breathed in Ethan's familiar scent. She pulled back a little, just so she could speak freely, but she was still pressed up against his chest. "I know, it's okay. You're allowed to be a wanker at times like these. It's horrible to think of Tom as being the victim, but it could have been. Anything could have happened if the driver was left there was stew any longer. And you think the trainsaren't safe," she added as an attempt at a joke, but Sophie herself couldn't even laugh at it. "I'm sorry."
As the two stayed by the window, both were oblivious as Tom's hand flinched slightly, his fingers tightening around Stuart's before his body went still again. There had been no real change in the heartbeat reading other than a minor blip, the momentary response over before anyone could notice.
It was just enough for Stuart, though. He didn't exactly notice anything, but he was jolted awake by something, shooting up in the chair and trying to get his bearings which he struggled with. He felt like he had been asleep, but things were a blur in general and he just sat there, stilled, for a moment as he tried to work out what was going on. His heart was beating rapidly in his chest as he absorbed the fact he was sitting beside Tom again. Had a nightmare woken him? He wasn't sweating, and there was no real feeling of immediate terror. Something had just pierced his awareness though. He touched his fingertips to Tom's cheek, almost like he was checking he was still alive, and indeed, he moved on to look at the monitors above his head to ensure they were still moving.
The abrupt movement caught Ethan's attention and he frowned, shifting just a little out of the embrace with Sophie so he could meet her eyes with a frown. "Stuart? Mate? You alright?" he asked uncertainly. The monotonous beeps were doing nothing for Ethan's headache, but they were the small amount of relief they had that Tom was okay for the moment.
"Aye, I..." Stuart began hoarsely, but stopped and frowned, glancing back at them. "I dinnae know... aye. I'm fine... Do these machines always say if something's wrong?"
Sophie met her husband's gaze before she kissed his cheek softly, and pulled away to get a cup and pour him some water. She fished the pain killers from out of her pocket and handed them to him. Maybe theyhadn 't been married long, but she was getting good at picking when he had a headache. He always had these two frown lines just between his brows that made him look sterner than he usually did. She rubbed her fingers over them briefly before looking between Tom's form, and Stuart. "I don't know, they're supposed to. I guess it's more just if his heart crashes. Why, do you think something's wrong?"
Ethan looked at his wife gratefully and pushed some of the pills out of the packet to swallow them with a mouthful of water. Stuart was spooked, no doubt about it, but the monitors still looked and sounded much like they had for the past week, except when Tom spiked a fever on Wednesday and they started making different sounds to alert the staff. Even so, Ethan found his blue eyes locked on the heart monitor as if he was expecting it to suddenly explode and alert them all that Tom was dying. Who knew? Maybe the copper was psychic. He was certainly managing to break a sweep of goosebumps out over Ethan's skin at that point.
Stuart rubbed a hand over his face. "No, there isnae anything wrong... probably just a nightmare." He fought the urge to get up and start pacing, and it was a strong urge. Instead, he rocked forward in the seat again and cupped his hands around Tom's with a heavy, rough sigh. "Fuck, youcannae just sign out on me..." he mumbled, probably barely audible to the other couple in the room but it was almost a plea to Tom. If his mindwasn 't playing tricks on him that Tom was dying yet, it would definitely start doing it the longer he took to wake up. Right now, he just felt anxious... on edge. Maybe like he was running out of time. How long really would he wait for Tom?
"Hrrrru..." The sound came from Tom's lips as his fingers tightened around Stuart's again. His eyes were struggling to open, and Tom was in no rush. He was still coming to terms with the fact that he was waking up, and that there were voices. Voices he knew. He stillwasn't quite sure what was going on, he just knew he felt like he'd been slammed by a bus and then dragged along the street. He wasn't sick again, was he? It was definitely worse than any Man Flu he'd had.
Sophie had almost jumped at the sound Tom made, and gripped her husband's arm tightly. Her heart kicked into overdrive and she looked between the three men to check that she really had just heard what she'd thought she'd heard. "Ethan..." she started, butdidn't know how she actually wanted to finish. Tom was awake. Or at least trying to be.
For a moment, Stuart just froze. It was almost as if he thought movement would stop any of this. But it was only a few beats and he pushed out of the chair abruptly, actually knocking it over in his haste. The chair was the last thing on his mind, though and he kept a secure grip around Tom's hand. "Tom." The word came out in a stunned gasp and Stuart actually had to fight not to shake his lover in an attempt to get him to open his eyes. "Oh fuck... please... just..." Hedidn't know what he was trying to ask, but his eyes were planted firmly on Tom's face, waiting for anymore reaction.
Ethan was on the opposite side of the hospital bed in a heartbeat. He didn't touch Tom or infiltrate on Stuart's space, but he was there and that was better than nothing. He realised he had actually dragged Sophie along with him and he was frowning deeply, trying not to actually get his hopes up. "Tom, mate... you just gotta open your eyes. Wake up," he pleaded gently.
"Hnh..." Tom grunted, and if he had had the energy, or the ability to roll on his side and curl into a ball, he would have. His nose scrunched as he battled to open his eyes, Stuart's voice and Ethan's seeping through his brain. Somewhere deep inside he knew he had to wake up for them. He had to get back... He justwasn't sure where he'd been. "Stu... 'than." The two names combined when Tom couldn't quite kick his brain into gear. His eyes opened briefly, the lids fluttering as he struggled, but they fell closed again.
Sophie had her arm around Ethan's waist and let out a quiet gasp of her own as she watched Tom. Then her gaze went to Ethan's face, and she watched her husband closely. She could only imagine how it had really been for Ethan to see his best friend lie comatose for so long. She rubbed her hand against his arm, and stayed by his side.
"Oh thank fuck. Thank fuck," was all Stuart could manage as he dropped his head a little and tightened the grip on Tom's hand. He shifted closer to he was leaning over Tom and started to gently stroke his fingers against Tom's cheek. "It's gonna be okay, love. Youdinnae need to move or think. Just take your time. You've been hurt... really, really hurt." He didn't want to overwhelm Tom with too much information, especially if he couldn't remember anything. He probably didn 't even know what was going on. But he knew Stuart's name, and Stuart was fighting back tears of relief, them catching in his throat as he indulged in another couple of moments to make sure for himself that Tom really was awake.
Ethan's own shoulders slumped in relief and he let out a hoarse and heavy rush of breath he hadn't realised he had been holding. He used Sophie to brace himself so he didn't fall over and watched Stuart reflexively just try to comfort Tom the best way he could. "You've had a car accident, mate," he elaborated just slightly, staying close so Tom would be able to see him if he needed to. "You've been unconscious for a long time. Gave us all a bit of a scare."
Sophie wrapped both her arms around Ethan as she hugged him, keeping her head turned to watch Tom. She could feel tears slip down her cheeks as she heard Stuart comforting his boyfriend.
Tom just stayed in bed, not trying to do anything just like Stuart told him. His eyes opened for a bit longer this time, and he saw Ethan and Sophie before his eyes went to Stuart's face and he smiled a little. "You look like shit," he murmured before snorting in what was supposed to be a laugh. It was more like a noisy huff of breath. "S'day is it?"
Ethan gave a snort of a laugh himself, shaking his head just a little in disbelief. At least Tom hadn't woken up some stranger like all those medical sites Ethan had been researching on head injuries lately suggest could be a possibility. But Tom being a stranger was only slightly less terrifying them him being a vegetable. For the moment, neither seemed on the horizon and Ethan hoped it would stay that way. He tightened his embrace around Sophie, just relieved something seemed to be finally looking up.
Stuart almost apologised, and then almost indignantly protested, but he figured Tom was being blatantly honest. He was nervously stroking his fingers through Tom's hair, planted firmly against the side of the bed. It would probably take a miracle to get him to move until he was convinced Tom was 100% okay. "It's Monday, love. Eighth of Feb. You've been out a long time... there's been... lots of shit going on. But you dinnae need to worry about that, aye? Just... are you in pain? Do you feel sick? Dinnae move too much, okay? You've had surgery, and you hit your head."
"Just tell me my cock and arse are in tact." Tom's brain was slowly dragging itself out of the darkness, and he squinted in what he still considered harsh light. His hand gave Stuart's a squeeze, and he shut his eyes briefly to relieve them. The hair stroking was really nice and hecouldn 't stop the moan. When his eyes opened again he was frowning as he tried to work out how it could possibly be the eighth of February. Something else was trying to draw his attention, but it hurt too much to think. He looked at Ethan, and suddenly felt a surge of emotion. He could feel the lump in his throat, and the tears threatening to spill. "Fuck... No, no pain... Just... confused. Are you okay?" He was asking them both, and sucked in a breath as he tried to ignore the way his voice cracked.
Ethan was stuffed by that point. He had barely been hanging onto his composure as it was, but when he saw that chink in Tom's armour, it was done. It feel like weeks he had been trying to hold it together because that was the only way he knew how to handle something... by keeping control of a situation. Even if that just meant throwing money at it. He stepped just a little bit closer when Stuart had turned to look at him expectantly with a small nod. Ethan gave Tom's arm a small nudge. "You fucking ever do this to us again, mate, and I'llfriggen kill you myself," he warned as he blinked back tears. "Even if this was in no way your fault, I'm still gonna kill you," he resolved. "And it won't be pretty."
Tom started to cough, and mustered a weak smirk as he reached out to grab onto Ethan's hand. He shared a look with his best friend as the tears started to slide down his cheeks and he just tried to ignore them. "Not that easy to get rid of, mate. You kill me, I'll just come back stronger, and with a bigger cock." He squeezed Ethan's fingers before his lips pressed together and hecouldn't keep the sob back. "Shit, I'm sorry. I just... I've lost all this time..."
Sophie bit down on her lip, and buried her face against Ethan's chest for a moment. Both her husband and Tom were losing it, and she was just going to be no help whatsoever. She managed to pull herself together after taking a couple of deep breaths and turned to meet Stuart's gaze with a soft smile. Maybe their men were seen by the world as uncaringlotharios, but Sophie and Stuart knew better.
Stuart figured this was probably a huge thing. He wanted to crawl up onto the bed and plaster himself around Tom like he used to with his Dad when he was young and scared of the boogie monster in his cupboard. But thatcouldn 't happen. This was Tom's family, and although there had been a lot of talk between them with Tom indicating he survived fine on his own, Stuart could see right here, right now, that itwasn't the case. Ethan was a brother to Tom in everything but blood and brother was definitely a language he understood. "Time you dinnae need..." he mumbled, knowing then it wasn't going to be easy to fill Tom in on everything that had gone down. "But you dinnae need to worry. We'll get you better and get you outta here as soon as we can," he resolved.
Ethan nodded in agreement, feeling his stomach turn over uncomfortably at the same thought. He wanted to kill the driver with his bare hands, but of course thatwouldn 't resolve anything. "Yeah, see. This means you have to take a vacation and you can't fucking argue about it. You don't want to fuck with some of the nurses around here, mate. They'll take you down with a huge enema to last afriggen week."
Tom was oblivious to Stuart's dilemma regarding the idea of lying down next to him, and he reached up to tug on Stuart's sleeve. "Might not need the time, but I need you," he said in a hushed down. Tom felt shattered, like he had been broken into a million pieces, and then glued back together again. Only in his mind the only one that could hold him together was Stuart. Hehadn 't forgotten the declaration of love, and he knew in his heart that he really did love the copper. "You're just trying to get yourself invited along so you can shag your missus on the high seas," Tom said in reply to Ethan. He gave his friend another weak smirk before his brow creased and he closed his eyes as he started to feel pain ebb through his body.
"I don't think you're doing anything to stop encouraging him, love. You know Tom likes having things up his arse," Sophie said as she smiled. She sniffed as quietly as she could as she raised her hand to wipe at her eyes before she let go of Ethan with one arm to reach out and brush her fingers against Tom's hand.
Ethan didn't miss the hint of pain as it crossed Tom's features. He glanced at his watch, realising it was getting late, even if Tom would probably be knackered no matter what time of day it was. Stuart looked wrecked himself, so Ethan shared a gaze with Sophie, a silent agreement slipping between them, and he cleared his throat. "Fuck, of course I'm hedging for an invite for that reason. I won't die happy til I fuck her in every possible and plausible exotic location. I don't have a gold card for nothing," he joked. He gave Tom's arm a small squeeze. "We're going to bail on you for the night, mate. You need rest and maybe you can convince this pain in the butt to actually eat something. He's just as stubborn as you, god help us fucking all. We'll be back first thing, though. And if you need us back before then, just tell the staff to call us. They won't fuck with you, I promise. I made well sure of that."
Stuart looked up at them. "You dinnae have to go. You can stay," he insisted, wanting to let them know they didn't have to run out if Tom wanted them to stick around. He looked back to Tom's face with a frown. "I'll get a doctor, love. You can get somemeds and they can make sure everything's okay. They can help you."
Sophie patted her husband's chest as she gave a soft laugh. She actually wouldn't have put it past him to be working on fucking her in every possible and plausible exotic location. She pulled away from him enough to lean down and give Tom a kiss on the forehead, her fingers connected with Ethan's so he knew shewasn 't going anywhere. Then she gave Stuart a kiss on the cheek and held his gaze for a moment. "You take care of him." She gave Tom another smile, and pulled back. "Try not to cause any trouble while we're gone otherwise Stuart might have to punish you."
"Thanks for being here, mate. I appreciate it. I'll definitely work on getting him to eat something, even if I can't. I'll... I'll see you in the morning." Tom huffed out another laugh. "I'd say I might like it, but not sure I'd be able to take that kind of punishment right now." He gave them both a smile, and tugged on Stuart once again to try and get him to lie next to him. "C'mere," he breathed out.
Ethan leaned over and gave Tom just a brief hug. "We'll catch up when you're feeling better. It'll all... come out in the wash, or some other fucking metaphor Mum used to come out with when I was having a shit day. Not a bad sort you picked up here," he added, nodding at Stuart with a smirk and then he wrapped his arm around Sophie again, leading her out of the room so they could head home and maybe finally get some sleep for the first time in days, maybe after a bit of intimate time together themselves... which had completely gone by the wayside ever since news of Tom's accident came. Something had to be said for sexual healing, right?
There were a couple of strange moments initially where Stuart had to process the fact he was alone with Tom, and Tom was awake and aware. He would be lying if hedidn 't admit that he was more and more doubting in the past couple of days whether they would ever be in this position again. There was maybe two seconds of warning where Stuart sat there, eyes on Tom's face, before everything caught up with him in an exhausted rush and with a hoarse sob, he burst into tears, putting a hand over his face as if it would stop the flood of emotion. One thing he was glad of right up was that Tom was the only person there to see it that time.
"Stuart," Tom pleaded in a whisper. As he lay there and watched his lover burst into tears he felt a frustration rise in him that hecouldn 't comfort the copper. He grunted as he tried to sit up and then just fell back against the bed. "If you don't fucking lie next to me, I'll pout... A lot. You need to come to me because I can't come to you. So get in position, Detective. And I'm sorry you have to put up with me like this."
"No, no..." Stuart managed to get out as he still struggled to stop the tears, he took his hand away, brushing it across his eyes to try and swipe away the dampness but more just come. "Thisisnae your fault. None of it is your fault. This wasnae an accident, and it's not your fault you're here." He got up out of the chair, his legs feeling tired and weak. He wasn 't exactly sure how he was going to pull this off, but he awkwardly managed to get onto the narrow bed beside Tom, keeping his arm tucked around the only safe place on his chest that was between the tubes of the heart monitors and the area of his stomach he had been operated on. It might not have been the most comfortable position, but it was better than nothing. "You fucking nearly died.Dinnae fucking do that again!"
Tom managed a weak nod, then turned his head to rest his forehead against Stuart's as best he could. "I won't. Nothing can keep me from you any more. We're going on that fucking cruise, and you're fucking moving in as soon as possible. I'm not giving you up. Not even this can stop me. Don't think... Don't think for a second that I don't love you, or I don't want this. Your voice dragged me back. Ididn't mean for it to take so long."
Stuart realised he was probably making the shoulder of Tom's gown all wet but as he lay there, he was able to get just a little bit more comfortable. Hehadn't talked a lot to anyone how he had been feeling in the wake of Tom's accident. He chatted a little about it to Gee, but didn't go deeply into what he was really feeling inside. It had been one big ball of confusion that he wasn 't sure he would have been able to put it into words anyway. "You just gotta get better... you just... there's a lot you need to know, but we can talk when you're feeling better. I'm not going to go anywhere." He kissed Tom's shoulder, letting it linger there for a long few moments. "I love you."
Tom cleared his throat, and tried to fight his eyelids falling closed. The exhaustion was starting to kick in again, the effort of waking up apparently enough to send him back to sleep. He justdidn 't want to miss Stuart, or any time he could get with the copper. "I'm trying. I hate that I can't just instantly get better." He moved his arm so his fingers rest on top of Stuart's and he managed to brush his lips against Stuart's forehead. "So much lost sex we have to make up for."
Stuart managed to smirk, even if in general he was feeling a heavy weight of emotions all over him. He needed sleep too, and a whole lot of other things that took too much effort to even think about. "Youwillnae be saying that tomorrow when the meds wear off and you realise how much you're injured," he warned and let his eyes fall closed. "But it's okay... I'll take care of you. I'll make sure you're okay, whatever it takes."
"I can't do this without you," Tom murmured as he felt more tears threaten to spill over. He hated this feeling of weakness, of being so helpless. If anyone was going to take care of him though, he wanted it to be Stuart.
Stuart was sure he couldn't actually start crying more than he had been, but he did, and he managed it in all it's wet, undignified glory. A little voice at the back of his head told him to never go this long without proper sleep so he could always keep his composure. But itdidn 't matter with Tom, he realised this now. Before, he probably would have hidden his emotion. In fact, he did when Tom accompanied him to his friend's funeral that afternoon in Scotland. Something had changed, though. Hedidn't exactly know what it was yet, but despite all the pain and heartache, he knew it was a good change. It felt right. "You dinnae have to," he promised in a hoarse whisper, holding Tom as securely as he could. "You dinnae have to do anything without me."
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