As long as we both shall live [Tom Hiddleston]{EBT book 3 of 4}

Empty home

When the first part of the tour was over Kate returned to London. She had two weeks to catch up on everything before leaving for the US to see Tom for a few days before meeting up with Ed, Adam and Craig for the rest of the tour. The first week was spent arranging schedules with Chris Martin and Josh Groban to do some recording when she returned, meeting with Luke about some new projects, and washing everything she had taken with her so it could be packed again. Summer in London was lovely, although it felt more like winter to her, being from Australia.
One morning she was admiring photos her sister Lizzie had sent of 4 month old baby William, her first nephew, when Tom called.
"Good morning handsome," she answered.
"Good morning my darling," Tom's voice was hoarse and gravelly.
"Tom are you OK? I'm starting to worry,"
"I am. Just in case I'm seeing a doctor this afternoon, but honestly I think it's just a cold."
"A cold that never gets better because you don't rest."
"Ah. Yes. You might be right. Plenty of time for rest when I'm finished. How's it going there?"
"Great, I'm just looking at some photos of William. He's so gorgeous, I can't wait to meet him."
"Christmas will be here before we know it. Did you decide on a venue for the wedding?"
"No, but I narrowed it down to five, I thought maybe we could choose together. I might even come over a bit early if I can, if you're not too busy."
"I'm never too busy for you. I am busy though, you won't see much of me during the day." Kate heard Declan speaking in the background. "I have to go and get ready darling, I'm sorry. I'll try to call you tonight. I love you."
"I love you too baby. Let me know what the doctor says?"
"I will."

Kate put the phone down and immediately picked it back up, dialling. "Luke? It's Kate,"
"Hey rock star, were your ears burning? I was just talking about you."
"Uh, no?"
"Oh. I was talking to Chris. Nothing important. What's up?"
"Can you book me an earlier flight to Shreveport, if you don't have anything for me this week?"
"Yeah, you want to see Tom?
"I'm a little worried about him, I need to see him. Have you talked to him? He sounds awful, Luke."
"He does have a tendency to get sick when he drops weight like that. I don't mind you checking in on him though, he's stubborn when it comes to doctors and medical attention. I'll get on to it now and call you back. Are you packed?"
"No, but I can be tomorrow."
"I'll bet back to you, Kate."
Just as she hung up the phone rang again. She recognised the number.
"Hey its my favourite nerd! How was comic con?"
Zachary laughed. "A little less shiny without you, but awesome nonetheless. How're you doing miss Kate?"
"Bloody fantastic Mr Levi. Just having a few days off before we go on tour again."
"We're coming to see you in New York, I can't wait."
"Let me know which night and I'll make sure they let you backstage," she said. "Security in the states is a bit mental apparently."
"How's Tom?"
"He has a cold and he looks terrible but according to Rodney he's smashing it. I'm heading over there as soon as I can get a flight. How's Missy?"
"She's good, spending a lot of time with her head in a bucket."
"Huh?"
"She's pregnant, Kate."
"Oh!" Kate squealed. "Congratulations! How exciting! Give her a big hug for me,"
"I will. I just had a few minutes and thought I'd see how you're going. I've seen the videos and you look like you're having so much fun."
"I am, I owe a lot of it to you and the way you looked after me when we were working together."
"You deserve all of this Kate, you put in the work and went through all the crap to get here. I'll text you what night we're coming."
"Awesome, I'll look forward to it! See you soon Zach!"
As soon as the phone was away from her ear she saw a message from Luke. She was flying out in the morning. Time to pack. She thought for a while about telling Tom and decided to surprise him instead. By the time she was ready for the next morning it was almost 1am and she realised she hadn't heard from Tom. Deciding it was too late to call him, she went to bed excited, knowing she would see him the next day and be in his arms again.

Tom went home after a long day filming and stood under a hot shower, letting the water wash away some of the tension from the day. His muscles still ached, and when he swallowed his throat was on fire again. It was only then he remembered the doctors appointment he had completely forgotten about, he had been caught up filming until late and it had slipped his mind. He would get Declan to make another one tomorrow. Out of the shower he pulled on a pair of jeans and lay down on the couch, only getting as far as thinking about dinner before he fell asleep.

The following morning Kate was on a plane, knowing she was on her way to Tom settled the anxious feeling she had had about him being unwell, and she snoozed easily on the plane while listening to some new charts. On another continent, Tom was thinking about Kate, too. Wishing next week would hurry up so he could see her, hold her, smell her, kiss her. He clapped a hand to his mouth as he realised he was supposed to call last night and he had fallen asleep on the couch. He knew she would understand, but he decided to call her and was surprised to find her phone was switched off. Kate never switched off her phone, and she never parted with it. Maybe it had run out of battery, he would try her again when he got to the set. He just couldn't bring himself to run this morning, he was stiff from sleeping on the couch, and had woken up late, so he skipped straight to the hot shower.