A/N My friend is obsessed with Benedict Cumberbatch and I decided to write this story about her and Benedict.
Time is running out. His time is running out. Tonight, he'd no longer be part of this world. Tonight, he'd be gone. As I stare down at him now, I notice how much worse he has gotten. His eyelids are slack and he's shaking. His breathing is slow so I gather him close and wrap myself around him, holding his gaze. We sit in silence. I want to talk but I don't know what to say. I don't know whether it will help either of us.
"I love you" He finally rasps.
"I love you too" I reply weakly, my voice shaking. A small smile appears on his lips which is something I haven't seen since we got the news. I gently stroke his cheek and watch him as his eyes flicker. I whisper to him, reminding him of the time we met. I was only a teenager then and it was our first day of high school. I was sitting alone in the canteen when suddenly a small boy came and sat down at my table. He had brown hair and the most amazing blue eyes. I was so lost in his appearance that I almost didn't hear him ask me a question. He asked me if I wanted to be his friend and of course I said yes. My first friend. Now my first and last husband. We spent most of our free time together, exploring the forests behind my house. It wasn't until our last year in high school, after which we would be going separate ways, that he finally kissed me. It was a deep and passionate kiss, one that still lingers on my lips. After that… well that's history. He was the only person I could always count on and the one person that was always there.
I remind him of the time when he proposed. We were having an argument, something that rarely happened, over the fact that his new job as a detective meant moving. We were yelling at each other, getting no where when he suddenly grabbed my hands and fell down onto one knee. At that moment I forgot everything else. At that moment I realised that nothing else mattered, the man kneeling in front of me was what I wanted the most. What I needed the most.
I remind him of the honeymoon. All those special minutes we spent in each others arms. He took me to Australia – the one place I had always wanted to visit as a child. Everyday he would take me somewhere new, somewhere different. On the last day of our honeymoon, he took me to the Blue Mountains. We stayed until the sun went down and not once did my smile falter that whole day. Now, as I remember the news that changed our lives, I watch him take slow breaths and not once does that smile appear on my face.
He was told he had one month to live because he had cancer. A brain tumour to be exact. The doctors told him that surgery was difficult because of the size and position of the tumour. He would often have seizures and I wouldn't know what to do. I would be too frightened to touch him in case I made things worse. I would sit with him until he became conscious once again, holding him for hours and not letting go. But now… now I have to let go. Even if I don't want to. I look down at him once again. He is sleeping and I know it won't be long until he fades away. I listen to the sound of his slow breathing, watching his chest hardly rise and fall. He takes his last breath minutes later. Inhale, exhale and then - nothing. I feel the tears dripping down my cheeks as my head falls against his. We stay like that for a few minutes until I feel a soft, comforting hand squeeze my shoulder. Looking up, I see my sister. She has been standing in the shadows the whole time, watching me say goodbye to my husband. I notice the people who have come to take him away as they start to approach me. But I don't let go of him. They try to take him out of my arms but I cling to him, holding him as I break down. I cry for him to come back to me, choking out his name. But he never responds.
Finally I give in. I let them take him. But first I place a soft kiss on his still lips.
"I love you, Benedict" I whisper, knowing that he can't hear and that I won't get a reply. They place him on a gurney and cover him in a plain white sheet. As he disappears under the cover, I open my mouth to say something, but nothing comes out.
So I just watch as his body is taken away.
A/N Thanks for reading! Please review!