#dinner disaster

Near to Tom was Paddy who was sat on the floor with his back up against the wall and his head on Tom's knee, he had been asleep for quite a while now.

Then there were Sam and Harry.

Harry had gone with Henry to go and get something to eat from wherever they could and to bring something back for the rest of them. And Sam had fallen asleep in the waiting room laid out over three chairs.

They knew they all couldn't fit into the room and wait for (Y/n) to wake up and talk to her so they had taken turns before Henry and the twins decided they would wait out in the waiting room. None of them had wanted to go home in case anything happened, they wanted to be close by for as long as they could.

Nicki took a sip of her lukewarm tea and rested her chin on her hand, her eyes suddenly found themselves looking at (Y/n) when she noticed her daughter-in-law beginning to stir.

(Y/n)'s head started to tick from side to side before a low moaning sound murmured against her lips. They had all been waiting for the past few hours to see when (Y/n) would wake back up, she had been running a fever and had started to get distressed until they gave her a sedative to calm her down and let her recover. Now they had been waiting for her to wake up again and see how she was feeling.

"Tom, honey she's waking up."

Leaning over the bed Nicki just managed to tap her fingers against Tom's arm, watching as her eldest suddenly opened his eyes and looked around trying to gather his bearings. The moment Tom remembered where he was and what was going on, his head snapped up and he sat up straight in his chair causing Paddy to lurch forward and wake up briskly.

Tom straightened his frame and clicked his spine and his neck before he sat on the edge of his chair, feeling fully awake from the adrenaline that was now shooting through his body.

He slumped forward until he was about to fall off the chair so that he could be as close to his wife as possible. Tom concentrated on the way her eyes were flitting about behind her eyelids before her eyes finally opened and showed just how groggy and awful she felt.

All three of them could see that it was taking (Y/n) a while to recall what had happened but once those last few moments came rushing back to her, she was awake. She was lightly trembling but not half as bad as Tom remembered from last night and he could see tears forming in her eyes. He tried to smooth his fingers through her hair, something that usually worked in calming (Y/n) down but it wasn't working. Her chest was rising and she was taking in a lot of air but not breathing out from panic.

"Darling, shh it's okay. You're alright and we're all here with you, I promise you're okay." Tom continued to card his fingers through (Y/n)'s hair before he leaned forward and kissed her temple.

"B-baby... he wasn't... I want, I..." (Y/n) couldn't figure out what she needed to say to let them know what was panicking her and making her mind feel like it was on fire. Everything felt numb but at the same time her head was splitting like she was waking up with a terrible hangover.

All (Y/n) could remember was that she had been crying, trying to get Tom to bring their baby to her before everything was drowned in fog.

"He's in the neonatal ward in ICU but he's okay I promise. He was distressed but he's okay now, I've seen him darling and he's perfect." Tom smiled brightly despite the tears that were lightly falling from his eyes. Their baby boy had been distressed and in shock when he went down to the ICU ward but the nurse had kept Tom updated every hour which he was more than grateful for.

He was no longer in shock and he was settled, his heartbeat was what they expected for being premature, he was on a ventilator to help him breathe and he was in an incubator for now. He looked like he was going to be fine.

(Y/n) nodded her head before her hands shakily reached over for Tom and clutched onto his arms as a signal that she wanted to sit up. She never laid or went to sleep on her back and laying flat like a plank of wood felt awful and uneasy for her. She felt Nicki helping to sit her up and lean her against some pillows as Paddy perched himself on the end of the bed next to her feet with a tired smile.

"I want him, I want to see him." (Y/n) spoke slowly but she felt her mind slowly coming back to her. Whatever she had been given had clearly wiped her out and made her sleep for quite a while with how drained and tired her family looked.

"You can go see him soon honey, but for now you need to rest." Nicki kissed (Y/n)'s temple and rubbed her shoulder, trying to get her to relax but she looked very uneasy which was understandable.

Moving her hand, (Y/n) pulled at the tube threaded around her eyes and under her nose. She didn't want the extra oxygen it was pushing into her system, it was making her throat feel very dry and she was breathing just fine on her own. She unravelled it from her head and threw it away from her before she looked around the room.

She had her baby.

She gave birth last night and her baby wasn't even here for her to see or cuddle or feed and hold. He was somewhere else in this hospital, separated from her when he should be here in her arms.

"My baby..." (Y/n) mumbled the words quietly before she threw the cover off her legs and tried to swing her legs around and get up. She didn't know where her baby was but someone needed to take her to go see him, waiting around like this wasn't an option. She had been separated from him for God knows how long already, he needed her, he couldn't be left on his own when he wasn't even a day old yet.

"No- baby no you can't get out of bed yet." Tom moved in front of her path and gently sat her back down on the bed. He hated to tell her she had to stay here and not see their son yet but he didn't have a choice. She wasn't well enough yet to go and see him.

Swiping her arm out, (Y/n) nudged Tom with the little strength she had before she tried to stand up again and move as quick as she could to get out of the room. She had to go and see her baby. Her legs were weak like jelly but they tried to comply and hurry.

"You can't-"

"(Y/n) don't, please!"

Paddy got to his feet and stood in her way, gently holding her wrists in his hands and pulling them to his chest when she tried to push him and go round him. She didn't have the energy to get past him or even fight but she still tried. Tears flushed down her face as she began to cry, writhing around to get out of the room.

Tom's arms reached out hooked under (Y/n)'s arms the moment she stumbled and cried out when her IV came out of her hand.

"Stop, baby please stop." Tom begged her as he knelt down on the floor with (Y/n) slumped against him and Paddy in front of them.

When he felt that (Y/n) wasn't fighting against him anymore, Tom looked over at Paddy before he slowly moved his arms better around (Y/n)'s upper waist and slowly stood to his feet. The brothers slowly got (Y/n) sat down on the bed before they laid her legs back down on the bed and helped to sit her up.

"Darling, you've got a fever and you had a bad haemorrhage last night, the doctor said you need to rest for a while so you don't risk getting any worse. You can go and see him soon."

"I'll go get a nurse to put that IV back in." Nicki weakly smiled at her boys before she left the room.

(Y/n) had suffered a big bleed when the midwife and doctor finally managed to deliver the broken piece of placenta. Then (Y/n) started to get a fever that kept rising and when she became distressed they had to sedate her. The fever hadn't gotten any worse and she hadn't had any more bleeding but if she moved to quickly or over-exerted herself then she could suffer another haemorrhage. She needed to rest for a little while right now.

"Go see him."

"Baby, I wanna make sure you're okay-"

"Tommy, please? H-he's all alone, please go see him."

Tom took a deep breath to stop himself from crying when he could see the desperation in (Y/n)'s eyes. She wanted to go and see him but she couldn't and with everyone here around her, he was on his own. (Y/n) knew that their baby wouldn't know or understand that he was alone right now but he was here and alive and he would be confused. He could understand touch and if Tom just sat with him for a while and gave him some interaction and touch then he would know he wasn't alone.

"Okay darling."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What's his name?" Sam dragged his eyes away from the incubator in front of him to look at his big brother stood to his right.

All the brothers knew that Tom and (Y/n) had a name picked out, they had done for a month or more but they were keeping it a secret. But since his nephew was born now, Sam figured Tom could put them all out of their misery and tell them what he was going to be called.

"Peter."

Tom knew it was corny but it was something him and (Y/n) had instantly thought of and agreed on since they knew they were having a boy. It was a reference to Tom's big break, his role as Spiderman was something he never thought he would get and it was a superhero that he had always loved since he was a child. Besides, Peter Holland seemed to have a nice ring to it.

"Then you call the next boy Parker, I like it." Paddy felt a spark of pride in his chest when he noticed his little jibe made Tom smile even though he couldn't bring his gaze away from his son.

"He's a looker." Harry spoke quietly as he leaned his chin on Tom's shoulder to try and comfort him. The four brothers had been stood around Peter's incubator for about fifteen minutes now and they were only just speaking. All of them had been too enamoured in staring at him to bother trying to talk.

"Yeah he is. Can you give me a minute, please?"

Tom turned his head to the side and looked at his brothers, a yearning yet infatuated look in his eyes that made them want to cry and hug him at the same time. All three brothers nodded, trying to smile before they disappeared from the room to give Tom some time with his baby boy.

When Tom looked back down at the newborn in front of him, all he could think of was the look in (Y/n)'s eyes when labour had started.

It was supposed to be a moment they would never forget because it was meant to be a happy, exciting and invigorating new adventure. It wasn't supposed to make Tom want to scream and shout and pummel his fist into the wall. He hadn't been able to do anything, he couldn't protect his wife or their son because someone had hurt them.

Tom had dreamt of this moment since (Y/n) first told him they were going to have a baby, but this wasn't how it was supposed to happen. They were supposed to have their baby and have him placed straight into their arms and to see him cry and open his eyes and cry out of happiness instead of misery and fear.

And when he focused on looking at his baby boy, he found himself shaking his head.

Peter shouldn't look like this.

He shouldn't have wrinkles of skin rippling around his face, torso and arms and legs like that. He shouldn't have such a tiny nose or crinkled eyes or the tiniest mouth that would hardly fit round the end of a bottle. Tom's baby shouldn't be this small and defenceless and helpless.

Peter looked very pale and when he moved his actions were small and jerking and it showed how tiny his little fingers were. He wore a baby blue knitted cap on his head to keep him warm and the smallest nappy the hospital could fit on him. There were monitoring stickers on his chest to check his heartbeat, a tiny tube in his tummy so they could feed him straight into his stomach and there was a large tube taped into his nose to help him breathe.

"Hey, baby... I'm sorry you had to arrive like this." Tom very slowly pushed his hand through the circular opening in the incubator and when he rubbed his finger against his son's cheek, he started to cry feeling Peter rubbing his face against his finger.

(Y/n) had been right, he could acknowledge touch, he needed to know that his family was here with him.

"This shouldn't have happened to you... but I promise that Adam will pay for what he's done."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You seriously think they came here? He's not stupid, he wouldn't just leave (Y/n) and Peter like that and Paddy wouldn't let him!" Harry almost shouted the words as he hurried down the street to catch up with his twin. His eyes were frantic and he was shaking his head, Tom wouldn't do this, not right now when his family weren't well and everyone was cooped up in the hospital.

"He was volatile last night when (Y/n) couldn't go see Peter, this morning he punched the fucking wall in the toilets. They both disappeared and this is where they are, trust me."

Sam spun round on his heels and looked over at his twin brother with a certain look in his eyes that made Harry quieten down instantly.

"Shouldn't we have brought dad-"

"No, he can't know what they've done if I'm right, besides if we all come here mum will know something's up."

Sam knew his instincts and his gut was right, Tom was going to do something bad to Adam if he hadn't already. He had witnessed the way Tom had cried when (Y/n) had cried that she couldn't go and be with Peter because she was still in pain and her fever was no better than before. She had gone over a day without seeing her baby and that killed Tom. He had been so riled up about Peter that he had smashed his fist into the wall in the hospital toilets and Paddy had been sure he had broken a knuckle or two.

After that, both Tom and Paddy had disappeared from the hospital without a word and no one knew where they had both run off to. Sam had taken the initiative to tell their parents that Paddy took Tom home to get a shower and some things for him and (Y/n) so that no one would be worried.

They had to find out where their two other brothers were because right now, Paddy wasn't going to stop Tom from doing something rash, he would join in. This was all Adam's fault and Tom didn't like people getting away without a punishment or justice.

This was personal, Tom wasn't going to let it go lightly.

Both of them hurried down the road until they reached Adam's house, neither of them wanted to be here but they needed to find Tom and Paddy. After what Adam had done he had been calling Nicki non-stop because he knew she would tell him what was happening despite how angry she would be at him. All three brothers had been telling him to stop calling and leave them all alone, they wanted him to sit and simmer and feel guilty for what he had done.

"The doors open." Harry slowed down when he ran up the steps to the house before he slowly walked in. "Tom?"

Looking past Harry, Sam locked eyes with his elder brother before he pushed his way past and hurried over to him. Tom was walking out of the living room but stopped dead when he was faced with his two younger brothers. His curly hair was a mess, strands falling all around his face and in front of his eyes like it was protecting him from their worried looks. His button-up shift was crinkled and a few buttons seemed to have popped off.

Tom's chest was heaving, his muscles were tense and the veins in his arms were clearly visible but it was his curled fists Sam was focused on. He knew Tom had scuffed and hurt his knuckles on his right hand in the bathroom earlier. But both hands were covered in blood, both Tom's and clearly Adams and he had more cuts on his hands that were starting to swell up.

When Sam looked over Tom's shoulder, he saw Paddy coming out of the lounge and shutting the door behind him. There was a brief look of surprise in Paddy's eyes before it faded and he walked up to where Tom was standing.

"What did you do?"

"We cleaned up the mess in here." Tom brushed his nose on the back of his hand and took a deep breath before he shook his curls out of his eyes. "I need to go and shower, (Y/n) can see Peter this afternoon and I need to be there."

Tom shook his hands to lessen the tension in his muscles before he started to unroll his sleeves and pulled them back down to his wrists where they should be. He didn't seem fazed, guilty, anxious or even happy about what he had just done, he just seemed like he was in some kind of trance. When he finished rolling down his sleeves, Tom bypassed the twins and headed out the house, he had done what he came here to do.

"Paddy, what the fuck? What did you both do to him- why didn't you stop him-"

"Stop. He brought this on himself, alright? He hurt (Y/n), she's broken from this and he's hurt our nephew so we taught him a lesson. Come on, we need to go." Paddy waved his arms and flocked the twins out of the house.

Tom had done what he came here to do and he knew that none of his brothers would ever tell anyone what he's done or call the police and they weren't sympathetic enough to call an ambulance. Adam got what was coming to him and Tom hadn't killed him like they half-expected him to but neither he nor Paddy had left Adam in the best condition either.

He got what he deserved.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At the sound of the door opening, (Y/n) quickly tilted her head and turned in her chair so she could see who was coming in, smiling in utter relief when she saw that it was Tom walking through the door. He had changed out of the clothes he had been in for the past two days, now he was wearing a plain black shirt and a pair of joggers. The slight dampness of his hair told (Y/n) he'd gone for a shower, he wanted to be clean and refreshed before he held his boy for the first time.

"Sorry darling, I needed to get a quick shower and grab some stuff from home."

Tom walked over to where (Y/n) was sitting in a big leaf green chair, her hands itching to get hold of their baby boy. When he reached her, he bent down and kneeled beside the chair, placing his hands on top of hers and bringing them to his lips before he looked over at the nurse.

"Okay, are we ready to hold baby?" The young nurse looked between them both before she turned to the open incubator. She had gotten the wires untangled and made sure they were long enough to support Peter if he was placed into (Y/n)'s waiting arms.

Tom could see the bubbling excitement and love pouring out of (Y/n) the moment Peter was ever so gently laid on her chest. He was laid on his front with his head turned to the side giving Tom a perfect view of him. His tiny arms were curled up to his chest and he was safely nestled into (Y/n)'s chest.

(Y/n) couldn't help the tears that fell from her eyes when he was in her arms. Her little boy, her Peter and she could finally hold him and look at him, the doctor had said she was well enough to go in a wheelchair to see him and she wasted no time in coming down here. Seeing Peter and how premature he was made her heart break into pieces, but being able to hold him despite him being very delicate and unwell made (Y/n) feel a little better.

"He's beautiful Tommy." (Y/n) sniffed to try and stop herself from crying, she didn't want to cry right now whether the tears were of happiness or not.

"He's perfect."

Tom very delicately reached his hand out and grazed his fingers against the top of Peter's head before he let his fingertips trail over his boy. Just being able to touch him made Tom's heart explode because it assured him that he was here and he was alive and okay.

"Tommy... what did you do to your hands?"

Daring to move one of her hands from Peter, (Y/n) touched the back of Tom's hand feeling like feathers were gliding across his skin. His eyes followed her line of sight to see that she had noticed his bruised and swollen knuckles that were grazed and red.

"Nothin' don't worry about it baby girl." Tom kissed the back of her hand again before he focused on smoothing his fingers over Peter's head and gently holding his tiny hand.

"You didn't... you didn't see Adam, did you? Tommy please-"

"No, we're never gonna see him again darling. Nothing bad happened, hey, I think he's waking up."

(Y/n) kept her eyes on Tom for a few extra seconds before she nodded and looked back down to Peter. Her head leaned to the side so she could see his face as Tom got up and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, crouching a little so he could get a perfect look at his baby boy. They were both enamoured by Peter slowly blinking, he wasn't properly opening his eyes but he was definitely awake and moving about.

Tom pressed his lips to the top of (Y/n)'s head and closed his eyes, relishing in this feeling.

There were many perks to be an ambassador for a wildlife company. You got to travel around the world and meet plenty of people. That didn’t leave much for dating or companionship for a time. However, Leon Rom was lucky to find a lovely woman within the company that helped him in his travels and in time she became his personal assistant. Elisa was a lovely, happy woman and she was always excited to work with the big cats like the lions and tigers. Over time Leon was starting to develop feelings for her and eventually he asked her out on a date.

“Of course I’d love to have dinner with you.” She answered happily. Now that he was finally getting things in order for dinner. He got sidetracked with doing some other things when he sniffed something burning.

“Oh shit!” He snapped as he ran to the oven. “Oh no!” He grumbled as he saw the chicken that he had made was horribly burnt and would have to be thrown out. He huffed in frustration as he put the pieces in a bag and threw it out outside. He sprayed the room so it wouldn’t smell like smoke and he started pacing, frantically thinking of what to do. He jumped when he felt his phone buzz.

So sorry!! Going to be late, will keep you posted.

It was a text from Elisa. He sighed in relief as he had some extra time so he got his keys and made a frantic trip to the nearest grocery store. He looked at the pre-made food and the only type of chicken they had was Kentucky fried chicken. He reluctantly grabbed a few pieces along with some vegetables, extra fruit, and some red wine. He should have gotten whisky the night he was having. He was checking out when his phone buzzed again.

Just got out, I’m on my way. See you soon! J

He nearly ran a red light coming home, but he made it back and frantically made the dishes and set them on the table. He managed to warm the food a little bit more when there was a knock at the door.

“Hi Leon!” Elisa said happily as he led her inside.

“Hello Elisa.” He closed the door and guided her to the dining room.

“Oh my gosh dinner smells lovely.” She gasped as she sniffed the air. Only to look at him puzzled for a moment. “Is something burning?”

“No!” He nearly yelped making her look even more confused. They sat down and she looked at her plate curiously for a moment. “You don’t like it?” He said nervously.

“No, Leon it’s-“

“I’m sorry about this. Apparently I can’t cook. I was making chicken when I got distracted and I burned it.” He admitted.

“Leon, it’s fine really.” She said taking his hand. “It’s ok I love KFC.” She smiled  

“Really?”

“Yeah! I haven’t had it in forever! Everything looks delicious.” She said eagerly.

“Oh thank god… I thought I had ruined everything.” He sighed in relief as he poured himself some wine.

“I felt bad! I got caught up in work and I thought I was going to miss dinner with you.” She said between bites.

“It bought me some time to get some more food.” He blushed. They both laughed off their blunders and were able to enjoy their meal. He started cleaning up and Elisa snuck up behind him, slightly nervous herself.

“Dinner was lovely. Thank you Leon.” She smiled and she boldly kissed his cheek. He couldn’t help it and he turned around and gently kissed her. She didn’t back away and when they parted she was smiling at him again.

“Can you stay awhile?”