A/N: I do not own Angel or Collins or Rent. We all owe Rent to Jonathan Larson. May he rest in peace.
Anyway, I almost teared up writing this so yeah… Good luck reading. :D
Forever and a Day
Prologue [Without You]
She was so frail… so weak… so pale.
It killed me to look at the figure on the bed but I knew that I had to be strong. I had to show her that I was there and that I still had hope for her.
I held her close, as she looked up at me and touched my cheek.
"Tom…" She barely whispered with her raspy voice.
I held her hand tightly and swallowed before answering, "What is it Angel?"
"Do you… love me?" She asked softly, her words accompanied by a weak smile.
"Angel, of course I love you. Nothing can ever change that." I assured her while looking straight into her eyes.
"Not even death?" She asked with a slight tone of worry wavering in her voice.
"Don't talk like that." I said, putting a finger to her mouth.
"How long will you love me, Collins?" She asked, her white hand suddenly tightening its grip on mine.
I could feel tears forming in my eyes, but I blinked them away. I couldn't let her see me like that. "I'll love you forever and a day." I said, embracing her fragile body.
"That sounds… promising." She answered, before falling into a coughing fit.
"A-Angel! Are you okay?" I asked with worry, rubbing her back.
She nodded weakly and shifted on the hospital bed. Her face was becoming even more colorless now, much to my dismay.
"Tom…" She called again when the coughing had subsided.
"Yes?" I asked, pulling her up a little.
"You are the best thing that has ever happened to me. Thank you for loving me… even if I'm… so imperfect." She said as she smiled her beautiful smile. "I'm going to miss you."
"Angel… Please, don't talk like that…" I begged her. I couldn't lose her. Not my Angel. I couldn't lose the only person who had ever made me feel like my life was still worth living. The only person I had reason left to live for…
"I'm sorry Tom… I don't want to leave you…" She said, a few tears forming in her eyes.
"Angel, no… please, don't…" I begged harder, tears coming back to my eyes again. This time I didn't bother stopping them. It was no use anyway.
"I love you, Tom Collins. Forever and a day…" She said, caressing my face again, before her eyes slowly closed, and that hand on my cheek fell limp on her side.
The machine connected to her let out one long, flat tone.
"Angel…" I muttered in disbelief. "Angel!" I said louder.
There was no response as the machine's tone continued.
The tears were now freely flowing from my eyes. She was…
I cried, embracing her body that was slowly going cold. "I love you Angel… I love you!" I whispered as I rocked back and forth, still clutching onto her.
And just like that, she had left me.
She was gone.
~To be Continued~