[WORD COUNT: 2242!]
PLEASE READ AN AT END OF CHAPTER!

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

Yet again, it was cold. Empty in the bright shadows of the hospital room, the cliche beeps and bumps that came from around you as the ringing stopped, and everything came back down. Your throat was itchy and you felt the tips of your fingers swelling next to your hips as you lay still, a rough pulsating sensation in your stomach.

You could still taste the bile on your tongue and the ache in your bones as you swirled your teeth over your dry cheeks. Arms ached and you were pretty sure your gums were bleeding from the rush of blood. Your throat squeaked as you swallowed, taking a deep inhale and pushing your eyes to open.

As your senses came to be reckoned with, you could feel the IV needle poking the muscles under your skin, the small green plastic bag attached sticking to your wrists as you moved them gently. It was taped down, dried blood turning black from the exposure around the cotton bud beneath it. Your arms were flooded with goosebumps as the AC above your head was cranked up a notch, and your teeth began to chatter.

"Tom?"

Was the first name to leave your lips as you looked around the naked room, the only movement being consoled by the window curtain flowing in the breeze.

"Tom?"

You said again, but your voice only echoed back to you. The sound of your voice was broken and cracked, failing to be soothed as your hot hand approached, wrapping itself around your throat.

"Tom?!"

The door opened, revealing one of the nurses in which you didn't recognise.

"Miss, your awake" she smiled, slowly walking over to you.

"Where's Tom?"

"I'm sorry?" she paused, hand hovering over your arm. She slowly began removing the IV needle, your breath hitching as the blood began oozing down your arm.

"T-The man I came here with, where is he?" you stuttered, eyes screwing shut as she taped a fresh pad around the small wound.

"He left around an hour ago, dear, he's in the waiting room" she smiled, wiping the base of your arm with a wet wipe, the cold air stinging against your skin as it hit you gently. You swallowed.

"Can I go see him? Please?"

"I'm afraid you're not supposed to leave the room until you're discharged. That reaction you had... I've never seen anything like it" she turned back to you after throwing the wet wipe into the trash, dusting her hands down her blouse.

"What are you talking about?" you could feel the bumps on your skin dissipating as the heat flooded your shell, heart racing. As far as you were concerned, you weren't allergic to anything. "I had an allergic reaction?"

"Quite so. It appears you had a reaction to collagen, which is ground up animal intestines which go into the process of making stitches. From what we could gather from your test results, it appears the reaction in your white blood cells caused that to clash with your nervous system, triggering your early 'morning sickness' symptom, but don't worry, your baby's fine-"

"What did you just say?" you cut her off, eyes faltering as you hoped you'd misheard her. It wasn't exactly helping that you'd been filled with morphine over the past couple hours.

"Well, when you came to us-"

"No, the last part. W-what did you say about a-... A baby?"

The nurse sighed, shaking her head, a disappointed wave flashing across her face. "Y'know I'm beginning to think that whatever is swimming around inside you was no happy little accident" she scoffed, turning her back as she fiddled with the instruments on the table.

"Excuse me?"

"I'm sorry, dear, I know I'm only a nurse but it's a little shocking to hear the fact that neither yourself nor your partner knew you were carrying a baby" her voice hitched a little as she became increasingly aggravated. "Guessing by your reaction, next time you'll be more careful" she mumbled.

You felt like you'd been hit by a bolt of lightning, but instead of electrifying you, it was killing every piece of hope flowing through your veins, and filling you with guilt and worry. This wasn't supposed to happen, and Tom knew. Tom knew...

"Shit, Tom" you cursed, moving the sheets from your legs and sitting forward, slowly hoisting yourself off the bed. The sudden rush sent a fast plunge to your stomach, hand flying to the hot spot of the pain as you groaned, feeling your gut tightening.

"Careful, you'll be nauseous for the next few hours" the nurse cupped your arm carefully, helping you to stand as you wobbled on your feet.

"Please, I need to see Tom" you breathed heavily, trying to re-gain your pattern of breathing quickly. Rushing wasn't doing anything, but your body wasn't letting you waste any time. The look on the nurse's face wasn't giving you any leverage to stop worrying, as she bit the inside of her cheek as if contemplating whether or not to give you the benefit of the doubt.

She took a deep breath, "Just take this with you at least" she reached behind her, pulling the morphine stand towards you and hooking you back onto the portable machine. You swallowed, fighting the fact that the pool of pain was growing in your stomach as the needle plunged back under your skin. A slight whimper left your lips as she taped the chamber to your skin, gave you one last reassuring glance before signing your departure and opening the door for you.

You used the stand for support a lot, relying almost too much on the metal bar to keep you balanced. The wheels squeaked against the metallic flooring, followed by the beating of your bare feet. The small gown you were wearing bounced off your bare legs as you walked down the dark hallway, following the signs before coming into the light of the waiting room again. It was mainly empty, which only made it easier to spot the man you were looking for.

Tom had been waiting, sitting in the same chair for the past few hours after receiving a new batch of stitches and a cleaning of the wound he still held above his hip, only reminding him more of what you were going through. It was his fault you had that stupid reaction, but the benefit of the doubt for you was the only thing keeping him from flooding into a pond of guilt. He couldn't get you off his mind, as nowadays you were the only thing ever writing the pages of his life. You were what kept him occupied and with you AWAL he felt more alone than ever.

So, tilting his head back against the chair, seeing you wobbling over to him, fist-clenching the bar of the Morphine stand, only made his eyes widen and heart race.

Tom jumped from his seat, pacing over to you as you let go of the bar, nose scrunching as you felt the years seeping towards the lids of your eyes. He whispered your name gently as he encased his warm arms around you, the fabric of his hoodie seeping into your bare arms, tears leaking into his shoulder as he clenched you.

"You're okay... Fuck, you're okay" Tom sighed, allowing his eyes to close as he was finally satisfied that it was definitely you, and not his imagination. Your familiar smell had somewhat faded, which consisted of the vibrant scent of strawberries and a hint of mint from your shampoo, or the perfume you used that made his heart race.

"I'm okay" you clarified, smiling as he gently pulled away, eyes scanning your face. His hands approached your forehead, warming your cheeks before one fell to your hip, thumb gently caressing the inner side near your stomach. You breathing hitched as he pushed gently as if keeping you still. Tom was quick to realise his mistake, and you knew the one conversation you didn't want to endure was approaching.

You knew that he knew, and it was as if the look in your eyes clarified that you now knew too. You both were aware of the tragic mistake you had made, and neither was to blame alone. It was both your faults.

"Thought I lost you for a second" he gave a weak smile, making your eyes shutter brightly.

"I just had an allergic reaction, Tom, god forbid anything bad actually happens to me" you giggled, hand gently crossing over his cheek and wiping away a small tear that had managed to escape. You'd maybe seen Tom cry, once or twice, but this was up close, in the light and personal. This was because of something you had both done and it broke your heart to see him upset. Gone maybe three months ago, neither of you were even aware of each other's existences, let alone thinking that this would be your future.

"S-so, uh, maybe we should talk about-"

"Tom it was an accident, I didn't know, I made a mistake please-"

"Hey, hey ssh" he pulled your body flushed against his, keeping you close to his chest. "We'll get through this okay, this is your decision, not mine. Whatever happens, I'm here for you. At the end of the day, it's your body" he swallowed, feeling the heat radiating off of your skin as you snivelled.

"I love you" you whispered nonchalantly.

It's as if the world stopped for a second. Well, at least your's did. It was just three words, but it's as if they had a whole nother universe inside of them. To love someone... You can't just say it. It's a whole other meaning to say it, you had every right to freak out if you wanted to. But... Thinking about it. You meant it. You were ready to admit the fact that yes, you did love Tom. At times, more than you realised.

"You don't have to say that-"

"But I mean it" you faced him, eyes locked as he stared you down, not intimidatingly. He looked deep against you, waiting for the response you were about to give. He'd said he loved you and was quietly broken when you wouldn't say it back, but hearing you say it now as harsh as it seemed he needed to know whether or not you were saying it because you meant it.

"I really mean it. I thought about it, not for long, admittedly, but I do mean it. These last few months have been pretty crazy and coming to realise how much I really need you... I came down to that one solution. I have loved before and I know the feeling, and with you, I feel the same but different. Your warm, loving, you're soft and gentle and nothing like the others. You're different and I love you for that. I love you, truly. I love you, Tom" you smiled as a tear rolled down your cheek.

Tom hadn't moved, just standing there, looking at you with his brown eyes. You could melt under his stare. He'd given you so much satisfaction, and whether or not he meant for this ordeal to turn into what it was, it had become something. You'd seen each other in your darkest of hours, and you knew each other's secrets. You'd say you knew more about each other than you knew about yourselves.

For the first time in a while, Tom was slow when he came to hold your cheek, slow when he moved in, and passionate as your lips flushed against one another. There was no hunger for lust or sexual desire, just love and all things sweet. There were passion and emotion, feelings that couldn't be spread through words, only through small actions such as a kiss.

For the first time in a while, you knew you'd found your place.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

Okay - let me start by saying that this chapter is way too short, and you guys deserved a longer one but I have had a tough week. Wow, I'm drowning in self pity quick get the fucking violins out, I know I know.

But, I wanted to thank you all, and words will never be enough, for being so supportive and sticking with me when I am feeling not my best to be fair. You guys are absolutely amazing and no matter how many times I say it, it will never be enough to truly express the love I have for you all! 💞🔥

As promised, there will be a second book which will be coming out after this one, but not straight away. As I have said, it will take some time for the second book to come out as I have some other books planned for release once this one has finished, such as -

The friends with benefits book as promised 😉

Here is the first look for the cover - (that sounds lame but I have always wanted to make an entrance like that 😂)

What do you guys think? 💭 The book will be released once this one has been completed, or before if that's what people want, but only the first chapter so I can spend time on this one ☺️

Okay, sorry for the long note, but thank you so much for reading and again, sorry for the short chapter! 🤗

See you in chapter 24! 😁🤪