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

Salvage

Tom took out his phone and sent a text to Kate. 'Are you awake? Can we please talk?'
Laying in bed a few miles away, Kate didn't reply. There was only so much torture she could take. Hearing his voice would be too much. She ignored his calls and switched off the phone.

He was still pacing, making Luke dizzy. "She's turned it off," Tom said, putting his phone down on the table. "I think I have to go over there."
"If she won't answer your calls, she sure as hell isn't going to open the door, Tom."
"Then please, help me. What do I do? How do I fix this?"
Luke thought for a moment. "Do you have feelings for Elizabeth? Don't lie to me."
Tom shook his head. "She's lovely, we get along well, we're friends. What you saw... that wasn't me."
"Why haven't you talked to her before now?"
"She wanted space, I was giving it to her. I made her so angry. And then the more time passed the more she seemed to shine, on her own. She looked so happy, I didn't want to ruin it. I honestly thought she would decide to leave, Luke. I thought I was doing the best thing for her, letting her be free."
"What's best for you, though? What do you want?"
"I want my girl back. I want to be a part of it, and have her come home to me when the tours finish and she's worn out. To come and surprise me on set, fall asleep on my chest, tell me I'm too thin and worry that I'm not getting enough sleep. I want to marry her. I want Kate to be my wife."
"Go to bed. You can't do anything tonight. You might not be able to fix this, Tom. Be prepared for that. I'll see what I can come up with to keep her here."
"You really think I can sleep right now?"
"Go stare at the ceiling then. You have a huge day tomorrow."

Kate switched her phone back on at 5am when she woke up. She had 5 voice mails from Tom, and she deleted them without listening. She also had a message from Luke. 'Call me as soon as you get this. Tom won't bother you anymore I confiscated his phone and sent him to bed.' She giggled a little, knowing he probably wasn't exaggerating. She pressed the call button without thinking and got a very sleepy sounding Luke.
"Sorry. Just doing as I was told. What's up?"
"You need to talk to Tom before you go."
"I'm hanging up now."
"No, you're going to listen or I'll cancel your flight."
"Luke-"
"Just, listen. There's nothing between him and Elizabeth. Nothing. I believe him, I shouldn't have assumed and I shouldn't have said anything to you without asking him straight out. He loves you and you owe him a chance to be heard."
"I can't."
"You can. He wants to marry you, Kate. He loves you and he wants to be with you. He saw the email. Please just hear him out, and then you can go."
"OK. I'll come there."
She hung up and went to the bathroom. Her stomach churned, she wasn't sure if she was more at peace thinking it was over than having to hear his voice. As she warmed the shower she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror, she looked awful.

Kate was on the doorstep half an hour later, wearing jeans and a thick cardigan with a blue scarf around her neck. She knocked quietly, not wanting to wake Tom and knowing Luke was waiting for her. When he opened the door he hugged her tight and closed it behind her. "I haven't woken him up yet, I thought you might like tea first."
"Yes please."
Kate sat down at the kitchen bench. "What time is my flight?"
"Um about that. 5pm. Tentatively."
"Confirm it please. I don't want to get there and not have a seat."
"I will, after you two talk. I wouldn't force you if I didn't think there was a chance you could work it out."
Kate sighed.
"Can I ask you something? What would he have to say or do to make it ok?"
Kate thought for a long moment before answering. "That he loves me, he'll stop thinking everything I do or don't do is for him."
Luke laughed out loud. "That's it? Fuck you two are complicated!"
"It's more than that, it's about showing me. I need to feel it."
They both looked up when they heard the shower running. "Well you've got him out of bed early for the first time in a month."
"How is he, really?"
"He missed you a lot. He'd have been miserable if he wasn't so busy, I think. That's what kept him going. Health wise he's good, still has a lot of headaches and wheezing but definitely improving. Do you want some breakfast?"
Kate's stomach lurched. "No. Thanks."
Tom walked out of the bedroom and was clearly surprised to see Kate. He smiled and then covered his mouth with his hand as his eyes welled with tears. "Hello, darling. Can we talk?"
"Yes, Tom." Kate managed a faint smile, hiding the turmoil inside.
"I'm going to have a shower, and, yeah. Leave you to it." Luke hurried off, and Tom and Kate sat down on the couch.
After a few moments Tom turned his face to Kate's. "Gosh I don't even know where to start."
"Me either." Kate kept her eyes down on her lap. She had her bag still in her hands and she played with the light blue leather straps between her fingers.
"I'm really proud of you. The contract, the gigs, the tour. I'm so glad the world is going to see how amazing you are."
"Thank you. I want you to know something, I decided that on my own. And I'm sticking with it, whatever happens with us."
"Of course. Kate, I want you to. I did question your choices. I know he's offered before to record your stuff, and I thought you said no because of me. Now I see you didn't, you just weren't ready. I'm sorry I didn't trust you."
"I love the way our lives were going. I know you expected me to hate us being apart, but having both of us do what we love makes it ok. Good, even. I am never going to be the one following you around just so we can be together. If that's what you want-"
"It's not what I want. What I want is you. My Kate. The one who is sometimes too busy being excited for both of our careers that she forgets to miss me. My feelings haven't changed, I want you to be my wife. But my thinking has changed, and I realise I was pushing you. I knew I was pushing you to succeed, I didn't know I was pushing you away in the process, and I'm sorry for that. I thought I knew better, and it turns out I don't." He took a shaky breath. "I need to tell you something else. Elizabeth drove me home last night. We had dinner here and when we were watching television she kissed me. I stopped her, but I thought you should know."
Kate couldn't hold it back anymore, she put her face in her hands and let tears flow from her eyes. Tom went to put his arm around her but hesitated. He couldn't take it if she pulled away.
"I have no feelings toward her at all, we're just friends. You've always trusted me before, and I've trusted you. Please believe me." Kate nodded without looking up. "Kate, look at me. Please." She slowly lifted her head and turned her body toward him, allowing him to take her hands in his. For the first time he noticed she wasn't wearing her ring and tears fell down his cheeks again as he looked in to her eyes. "I love you. More than I can find the words to say. I want you to be my wife, my partner, the mother of our children, my equal. I want to be by your side, watching you shine and succeed, on the end of the phone hearing about your day, and the man you come home to. You asked me to think about what I want. What I want, is you."
Kate bit her lip to steady it. "I love you, Tom. And I want more than anything to be your wife." She put her arms around his neck and he pulled her in to his lap, holding her close against him, letting her tears fall on his shoulder. She suddenly pulled away and reached for her bag, pulling her ring out of the zip pocket. Tom took it from her hand and slid it gently on to her finger.
"Better," he said, wiping tears from her cheek. He leaned in slowly and kissed her lips, gentle and soft. He ran his tongue across her bottom lip and probed for hers when she parted her lips. After a few minutes he rested his forehead on hers and closed his eyes. "I've missed you so much darling. Not talking to you was torture."
"Me too. I'm sorry, baby. I love you."