A/N; Okay, so I am guessing that this story that I have been working on for the past few weeks really sucks. Half of it I spent too much time on and the second half was very hastily written. It hasn't been beta'd, but I wanted to post it before the movie came out this Friday.
I was inspired to do this after hearing the song "I will follow you into the dark" by Death Cab and is written in two parts. The next part should be posted tomorrow or Friday morning.
Also note that the full "Rescue You" song is in this, so if you haven't heard it and want to be surprised for the movie, then you can just skip it. I did write some scenes in here that I based off of the promos for the movie. I don't actually know anything that is going to happen.
Love of Mine
Craig Manning burst through the doors of the hospital with sweat damp on his forehead and fear stricken in his eyes. Not knowing exactly where to go he looked around like a mad man to try and get someone to help him. "excuse me, miss?" He said a little to forcefully to the nurse nearest to him. "My wife...she- i got a call saying she collapsed and was taken here." he said in panic.
"What's the name of your wife?" It didn't even look like she was paying much attention for she was staring down at the papers before her and never giving Craig any eye contact.
Frustrating him he blurted out "Eleanor manning" in a loud and harsh tone so the nurse would look up at him.
"Just a moment, sir. Just let me look on the computer to see where they have her."
Craig let his restless fingers tap away at the counter as he waited anxiously for this women to throw him a bone. It was apparent that she really didn't care that he wanted desperately to see his wife. If she did she wouldn't be going so impossibly slow to check the information while humming a jaunty tune. "Please, I need to get to her."
"It will just take a second here-"
"Fuck that! Second's over! Where is my wife, Damn it!" he slammed his hands hard onto the surface of the counter causing a few of the people in the waiting room to look up. He didn't care. All he cared about right now was being there for Ellie when she needed him.
"Calm down, sir!" She huffed. "See, she is in the hall down to your right in room 117."
And with that he went dashing down the hallway, looking at the numbers on the doors until he found the one she was supposed to be in. In a mere ten seconds he reached her room and looked in through the window to see her in there. And then he saw Ellie lying on a bed unconscious with wires and machines attached to her and the doctor checking their readings. His heart pounded with worry.
Craig barged in without waiting for the doctor to come out and tell him what was going on. "Oh my god, Ellie!" He gasped at the sight of her.
The doctor they had been working with, Dr. Reeds, for the past ten and a half months turned to see Craig standing there with his mouth gaping in shock. "Craig. It's good you're here." He said before turning to the nurse assisting him and led Craig out of the room.
"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Ellie- She is going to be okay, right? She still has about half a year left." He said, not taking his eyes off her window.
"Yes, I know we said after the results of the Campath treatment and the transplant she had about that much longer to live, but the cancer came back and quicker than we thought it could."
"So then you are going to give her the treatment again and she will be fine again?"
Dr. Reeds looked down at his shoes for a short moment until he looked back up into his eyes, sympathy written all over his face. "I am very sorry Craig, but it isn't going to work like that this time. The leukemia has spread and is affecting more of her organs and there isn't anything we can do for Ellie now. I would say that she has the rest of the night, give or take several hours."
Craig looked absolutely mind struck at the news of his beloved's pending death. "But, b-but you said that she had half a year. She still has half a year with us, with her family. You said-"
"I know that it is almost impossible for you to take in, but this is real. I am so sorry, but this is what's happening." Dr. Reeds watched as Craig bit his lip, trying to control the outburst stewing inside of him until he shed a tear that went rolling down his face instead. "She is unconscious right now, so is there anyone you want to call, or want us to call?"
This couldn't be it. Her life couldn't be over yet. The one person that he needed most in the world could not be in that bed right now ready to die. The thought just seemed impossible to him. Craig's arms went numb from just hanging at his sides and he felt like collapsing under the weight being hung on his shoulders. His brain went fuzzy, his eyes felt hot with the tears, and he couldn't get his mouth to move.
Why should he believe this guy? How did he know? Doctors always just relied on what the computers and symptoms say, but in the end they can't say what's going to happen. For all he knew this guy could be crazy or evil in telling him that his wife was going to die.
There was a few seconds of distant staring until Craig was able to snap out of his falling state of mind and answer the doctor's question. "Yeah, I can do it. I should do it." he mumbled quietly as he dug into his pocket for his cell phone. After four rings Marco finally picked up. "Hey Marco, You need to come to the hospital. Ellie... well... She needs you right now." He paused again to hear a reply. "Yeah, bring them too. Can you call anyone you can get a hold of and see if they can come down? People are going to-"
He choked a little on the ball of fire rolling down his throat. "They are going to have to say their goodbyes." He gave Marco a bit of time to react and then quickly added something before he could hang up. "And Marco? Can you bring my guitar? It's right in the living room. Thanks."
As Craig closed his phone shut the doctor approached him once more. "You can go and sit with her if you'd like. We expect that she should wake up soon."
"Yeah, you expect a lot of things." he snapped at him before entering Ellie's room
And there she was, eyes closed so helplessly and body surrendering to the disease she had been fighting for ten months. She was so still that if it hadn't been for the heart monitor beeping and the rise and fall of her chest he would believe that she had already left him. He walked slowly over to the chair next to her bed and took her soft delicate hand into his as he sat down.
He let his index finger trace the side of her wrist to hold onto the pulse beneath her skin. It was strange to know that soon enough that one thing that has always coursed through her will fade away forever. Her brilliant green eyes will eventually never open again and deprive the world of their beauty. He sat there and wished with all he had in him that she would open them now so he could savor it forever and, as if she could read his mind, he felt a twitch in her fingers followed by her eyelids fluttering open. "Ellie! You're awake!' he said in an excited stage whisper.
"Craig?" She said simply by hearing his voice. "What- where am I?"
"Your in the hospital. You collapsed when you were at the supermarket." Craig got up and moved the hair from her eyes and began to stroke her cheek.
"I collapsed?" Craig nodded. "What did the doctor say? Is Dr. Reeds here?" her voice was weak, but it didn't restrain her worried tone.
He paused for a second to find the right words to say. He was well aware that she knew somehow all of this was going to end with bad news. It just made it that more painful. "Yeah, he's here."
"What did he say?" she didn't look like she even really wanted to ask. When you collapse in the middle of a supermarket while already knowing you have T-cell prolymphoctytic leukemia the odds that everything was going to be fine were not on her side, and Ellie had never been good with odds.
"He said that you had a relapse and that it grew quickly to your organs before they were able to catch it." There was another beat of silence as Craig held back another tear. "He said that you most likely only have tonight left before the cancer-"
"Before it kills me?" She finished with the realization of what he was trying to say.
"Marco is getting a bunch of people to come down. He should be here soon."
Ellie didn't want to cry. She didn't want to think about all the people she would lose, the people who would lose her. That was the thing about always being a good person. You had lots of people depending on you to be there, to motivate them, and then all of a sudden it's out of your hands. But she knew that she didn't have to feel that right now. Ellie would wait for those people to be by her bedside to really believe it. Right now she just wanted to etch the feeling of her husband into her mind before she had to go away.
"Craig?" She turned her body as much as she could to face him better.
"Yeah?" Craig stood up; ready to give her whatever she wanted.
"Can you be here?"
"I'm here. I am not going anywhere." he stroked her cheek again as reassuring as he could.
"No, here." She motioned to a empty portion of her hospital bed. "Can you lay with me?"
He glanced behind him to see if anyone could object to him hopping into bed with her until he realized he didn't care. As she made more room for him he took a position on the bed so that he could hold her as close to him as he could. Craig loosened his grip on her slightly, worried that he'd break the small and fragile frame of her body. "Is that good?" Craig asked.
"Yes, just keep holding me."
"Don't worry. I won't let you go." He said letting her sink into him further.
"Good." Ellie let her mind wander as he took his fingers and played with her hair so lovingly.
He always loved to comment on her hair, since before they were even together. Back when they were 'just friends' Craig would encourage her to leave her hair down and let the frame of red bring out the color in her pale cheeks. When they finally let themselves be with one another he would say that her hair was one of her most beautiful traits because it showed off her fiery ambition to live her life the way she wanted to. But now it wasn't as vibrant as it once was. It was fading away like she was and they both felt the time running out.
Ellie remembered a time when she felt so unnoticed by Craig. She thought about how she wasn't the beauty that Ashley was, or as enticing as Manny. She was just so simple. Then she realized that Craig knew she was right when she said that sometimes simpler is better. Now, every day for the last ten years, he let her know how 'more than simple' she really was.
"Craig?"
"Yes?" He said matching her almost silent whisper.
"Do you remember L.A.?"
He let a small grin tug at the corner of his mouth as he replied. "Of course."
Refusing to let herself be depressed she matched his smile with one of her own. "It's weird to think that if we didn't happen to run into each other we might not be together now."
"No, I can't believe that. I believe that we would have ended up together one way or another."
"Yeah, well I like the way it happened."
~*~*~*~*~*~
Summer 2009- L.A.
The wind rolled in the warm-cool breeze of California and rustled the leaves of a palm tree hanging over the balcony. Ellie pulled the towel that was being used as a blanket further up on her shoulders and opened her eyes to find that she was alone. It wasn't moments later when she heard the glass door leading into the apartment slide open and there stood Craig wearing only a T-Shirt and pajama bottoms and had a big blue blanket balled up in his arms.
"Hey. You're up." He said happily as he threw the blanket over Ellie and crawled under it with her.
"Thanks. What time is it?" She yawned while she peered into the sky and saw that it was still a dark and dreamy blue with the stars being faded by the lights of the city.
"Around three a.m." He warmed the sides of her arms by rubbing them with his hands. "You looked cold being only underneath a towel so I went in to get you something a little warmer."
"Good thinking. Why did we even do this on the balcony anyway? Don't you have a bed in this swanky apartment of yours?"
"Hey, it was spear of the moment and we just happened to be out here when it was right. Besides, who needs a bed when you get the chance to destroy your back on a brick floor?" He chuckled until he saw Ellie stand up with the blanket unevenly wrapped around her body.
"I say that we don't brave the outdoors anymore. Let's go inside and I can make us some coffee." She outstretched her hand to take his and helped him up. Craig just looked at her with a dumbfound expression.
"Really Ellie? Coffee at this time of night?"
"Yep. Coming or not? We're already up and wide awake." She raised an eyebrow and he inevitably agreed and followed her into the living room. "Plus, I would have had to get up in like two hours anyway to get ready for my early flight back to Toronto."
"Do you have to mention that now?" He stopped and took a tighter hold on her hand.
She turned to look at the dejected expression on his face as hers too grew just as downhearted. "It's kind of a now thing, Craig. We just have to face it." She gave him a light yet heartfelt kiss on the lips and lowered her head back down as he place another kiss on her hairline. "I'll go get my pajamas from the bag I brought and then I can make that coffee."
"Alright." He said, already regretting letting go of her hand so she could walk into the bathroom and remain out of his sight.
About a minute later Ellie came out and found Craig already in the little kitchen hunched over the coffee maker. "I thought that I was making it for us?"
"Yeah, but I decided to be nice and save you from trying to figure this thing out."
"It doesn't look hard to use. It isn't like I am technology challenged."
He pointed to one of the many odd looking parts on the machine "Okay then, what does that do?"
Ellie's shoulders sagged in defeat. "I don't have a clue. Why do you have to have such a complicated coffee maker anyway?"
"Because, all the stars have the latest gadgets."
"Alright, alright. I will leave you to it then."
After a minute or so of fiddling with buttons and filling it with the necessary ingredients Craig stepped away from it so it could do the rest of the work itself. In a couple of minutes it was finished, so he poured the hot beverage into two coffee mugs. He then grabbed Ellie's and lead her out of the kitchen and back into the living room. "Come here"
"What are we doing." She giggled lightly.
"I have a song I wrote about you" He grabbed the guitar leaning on the side of a chair.
"Craig, I have already heard 'Red-headed for trouble'. That isn't really the happiest of songs."
"Yes, but you haven't heard my latest."
"You have a latest?" She said starry eyed as she sat down on the couch across from him.
"Just for you. You wanna here it?"
"Yeah, of course." Ellie crossed her legs to ready herself and listen intently to his playing. Craig leaned over the guitar and started to strum the chords lovingly.
"I was switched off like a light,
a fighter with no fight.
Staring up at the stars,
and giving into the dark.
Burned out like a match,
at the low end of the crash.
The moon glowed like a scar,
undead things go so far.
Somehow you saw someone worth saving,
You pulled me back into the light.
Now if ever I can rescue you,
when you need two arms to fall into.
You know exactly where I'll be,
just look for me.
Oh, look for me.
When it seems like you have lost it all,
and you feel like you're in free fall.
Going deep into the blue.
I will rescue you.
When every promise turns to dust,
and there's no one left to trust.
When you're punchin' out the sky,
and you're out of alibis.
I know how this feels,
when the wounds don't wanna heal.
But I won't forget your grace,
Or the beauty of your face.
Somehow you saw someone worth saving,
You pulled me back into the light.
Now if ever I can rescue you,
when you need two arms to fall into.
You know exactly where I'll be,
just look for me.
Oh, look for me.
When it seems like you have lost it all,
and you feel like you're in free fall.
Going deep into the blue.
I will rescue you.
I fell into that hole before,
and I walked into that slammin' door,
By fading away,
to where you are today.
Now if ever I can rescue you,
when you need two arms to fall into.
You know exactly where I'll be,
just look for me.
Oh, look for me.
When it seems like you have lost it all,
and you feel like you're in free fall.
Going deep into the blue.
I will rescue you.
I will rescue you.
I will rescue you.
I will rescue you."
As the song finished Ellie sat and stared in awe for she had never been so overwhelmed with emotions at one time. The only thing that she could think of to do was get up and give him a tender kiss that felt like no other kiss had ever felt before. "I love you, Craig"
Craig placed his hands on her cheeks and replied, wholeheartedly "Ellie, I love you too. I really do love you."
The smile on her face glowed brighter then any other smile she had ever directed toward him.
...6 hours later
Ellie stood back with Craig as she watched Marco get past security with his overstuffed bags.
"And I thought I'd packed too much." She chuckled almost silently and tried to distract herself from the truth, but that was nearly impossible. With the sadness of her departure welling up in her eyes she turned and looked up at Craig. "Look, I am not really sure how we are going to make this work with me all the way in Toronto. I mean, with my classes and you being busy with your music career we would probably barely have enough time for a phone call."
"I get it Ellie. Really, I do, but you should know that I am going to wait for you for when the time is right. For the past four years you have been part of my life and I am not going to let go of that. Not now."
"It's the same way for me." Ellie let a bittersweet tear roll down the side of her cheek and Craig took that as his cue to pull her into a loving embrace. She was his and they both knew that. Hell, they knew that from the day he left for Calgary. Then he let her slip away from his arms for the last time and with one of her hands still resting on his shoulder he heard her say. "We'll always have L.A., right?"
"And I will always be here." He gave her another kiss and watched her back a step away.
"I should go and catch up with Marco. The plane leaves soon."
"Okay, I won't keep everyone waiting."
"I'll see you." She went to walk away, but Craig stopped her.
"I love you Ellie."
"I love you too."
Hearing her say it back gave him enough courage to let her go again, this time they got about ten feet from each other until they turned around to face each other again. In that instant something struck the two of them. They didn't know if it was some kind of magnet pull or what, but they just ran back to the place where they parted.
"What am I thinking? I can't leave."
"What?"
"I can learn to be a journalist anywhere and the only other thing that I have ever wanted is you. I just can't leave."
"Are you sure?"
"Positive"
The moment she said that his lips crushed onto hers and the two of them beamed with happiness.
April 2009
Craig lived off the fuel that his audience was giving him that night. There was just so much energy in their screams that the music was just so much more naturally up beat. He loved the fans and the feeling that he got from them, but as he turned to his right during the finishing note of his song a new feeling washed over him as he saw a beautiful red head sitting at a small table with her laptop back stage.
She would look up from her writing every chance that she could. She had tons of homework to do for her spring journalism project she was assigned at the school she transferred to, UCLA, but she didn't let that stop her from coming to see him in concert again. He had told her on several occasions that she didn't need to bother herself by going to every local concert he had, but she insisted that she that it was important and said that she could do both no problem. She made it look so easy with the smile still shown on her face as she typed fiercely at the computer keys.
The past few months had meant more to him than any other period of time in his life and that was solely because of her and his music. Nobody supported his dreams to be a famous musician more than she did. If it wasn't for her he would of never have gone off on his own to get where he is today. And then the thought struck him when he knew that he never needed or wanted to go off on his own again. He wanted to have her with him always, so that meant there was only one thing that he could do.
After the final seconds of the ending of his song and a loud cheering of his name came across the crowd, Craig darted off stage with his guitar still in his hand and went right over to Ellie. She looked up and reflected his smile with one of her own and said ""Is the concert over already?""
"Marry me, Ellie."" He blurted out without answering her question.
She was so taken off guard that her face twisted in so much confusion that it was hard to recognize her. "What?""
"I want this. I want you as my wife. Marry me.""
"Where did that come from? When did you decide this?""
""Just now, but that doesn't make it any less true. I love you and all I want to do is marry you."
Much sooner than he expected she replied. "If you are serious, then I say yes."
"Really?" He didn't really think that it would be decided that quickly. He thought that he would have to do a lot more convincing as he thought back to previous experiences.
"Yes."
Overjoyed he grabbed her hand, lifted her from her seat, and lead her towards the stage.
"What are we doing?" She asked quickly.
"Making the announcement." Again, he was surprised that she didn't try to prevent him from bring her out there to share their news with a big room packed with people, but that just solidified their engagement to stone.
As he approached his band members with puzzled looks on their faces, Craig put a hand up and talked to his fans through the microphone with Ellie still at his side. "I hope that you are all enjoying yourselves tonight! You are a wonderful audience, so I would like you to be the first to hear this announcement. Everyone I would like you to meet the beautiful and talented future Mrs. Manning!" Giving the crowd a few seconds to show their congratulations with massive amounts of clapping and wooting Craig took the microphone again. "Thank you, thank you. And now you will get the very rare chance of hearing my lovely fiance on drums."
Ellie looked up at him with fear. "What!?"
"Come on, El."
"But, I suck!"
"You do not, so get back there." He encouraged making Ellie cave and she replaced Craig's drummer.
Craig turned around and said to his band "We're playing 'I can't keep my hands off of you'"
Ellie smiled as she remembered that as the first song she had ever played with Downtown Sasquatch.
~*~*~*~*~*~
A/N; next part will be up soon! Reviews will help the writing process so please leave me one! Thanks!