'Until Death Do Us Apart' (Tom Hiddleston Fanfiction)

Chapter 104

'*Chasing Cars - Snow Patrol*'

MONDAY 13.01.2025

A ray of light.

Nothing.

A young woman in a blouse.

Nothing.

Automatic doors.

Nothing.

A pain in the belly.

Nothing.

Loud chatter.

Nothing.

A shrill 'beep'. A needle stuck in my arm. A blinding light in my eyes. A cold stethoscope against my chest. A flap clamped around my index finger. A jumble of medical terms. Another stethoscope on my stomach.

"I have a heartbeat," a man spoke in a semi-scream.

A beat. A heartbeat. A heartbeat from my belly.

"Two," I breathed in an imperceptible voice. "Two," I repeated, letting the tears fall from my eyes. "Two," I shouted with all my might.

I had put all the energy I had left into that scream and yet it was as if I were speaking at a normal pitch. I didn't even know if anyone had heard me. I didn't even know if the sound had left my lips or if I had imagined it.

"Two what? What are you trying to say ma'am?" a young blonde woman with big brown eyes asked me.

"Two beats. Two baby," I whispered as I shook her hand.

Suddenly, I finally noticed that I was in the hospital. I had woken up once or twice in the ambulance but had passed out immediately. Now I was sure, I was in a hospital emergency room. At least five people were around me, moving quickly around my body.

"Call someone from gynecology," the young woman who was still holding my hand shouted.

She looked at me for a moment, a small reassuring smile playing on her lips. She finally placed an oxygen mask over my face, covering my entire mouth and nose. I was still not very awake, everything was very blurry.

Again, nothing.

*Beep* *Beep* *Beep*

This unbearable sound seemed to fill all my eardrums. My neck, arms, wrists, hands, back, stomach, hips, buttocks, thighs, calves and feet were aching. It was not an unbearable pain but it was not pleasant.

I barely opened my eyes, allowing myself to notice that I was in a different room. Two small tubes were stuck into each of my forearms, one carrying a clear liquid and the second a dark red liquid.

Both my wrists were wrapped in white bandages and a large bandage was stuck to the underside of my right elbow. The oxygen mask had not left my mouth and nose, allowing me to breathe more or less properly.

"Emily? Darling?" a soft voice questioned from the right side of my face.

Painfully, I turned my head more slowly than ever, the pain in my neck becoming more excruciating second by second. Diana. Diana, Tom's mother, was at my bedside, her eyes and cheeks covered with salty tears.

I lifted my left arm briefly before being shaken by a deep, sharp pain. So I brought my right arm up to my face, tightening my fingers around my oxygen mask to remove it. I wanted to get rid of this thing that was pressing on the top of my nose and mouth.

"Don't do that, darling. You need it to breathe," Diana whispered and put her hand on mine.

"Tom," I whispered, looking at her intently.