AN: I promise I am working on other fics too if people are questioning that but I've felt a spirt of energy for this one and I want to really write what I feel passionate about. I think I've earned that 😊

Chapter Four

4.1

Anna took a slow breath as she stood in front of the hospital with a large bag in her hands. For a full week she had been told that Will didn't want to see her despite her trying numerous times to have them persuade him to see her. In all honesty, she had had numerous nurses saying she'd take her to his room against his wishes but using her status that way, it didn't feel right. She was willing to use it today. Each time she had come here though there had been at least one person questioning her. Afterall, she could go after any man she wanted, why would she want to stay with someone who would drag her down in life. If they were saying this around her, she didn't' want to think about how they were manipulating Will's already broken mind.

She inhaled again after she had been led to the room and heard the knock on the door. She opened it nervously before stepping in and saw Will looking at his reflection in a mirror. The bandages had been completely removed from his face so the injuries could heal better but Anna knew how traumatic it was especially for someone who had never been put in prosthetics.

She cleared her throat and put the bag down by the wall. She saw him look up at her before turning so that she wouldn't see his whole face. "I know that you'd prefer not to see me." She laughed weakly and saw him flinch again. "I'm going to go away for a little bit…unless you tell me you don't want me to go. I need to pick up Elizabeth and I thought that I might get some filming done. I'll be back as soon as I can and you can call me…please, call me." She brushed some hair away from her eyes with a painful, sorrowful laugh. "The doctors are going to keep me updated with your recovery whilst I'm gone so if there's any type of problem…."

"You should," he said as he continued trying to look away. "You should go back."

"I will," she said before looking down, "Will," she whispered before approaching him. She placed a hand on his shoulder and tried to make eye contact but he kept refusing. She was glad that she had been given copies of the photograph of his face so that she could prepare herself to see him in person. "I know you don't want to, flopsy," she laughed using that cute pet name she had adopted. "Please look at me. I don't want to go at all but I want to go even less not knowing that you're all right."

"Of course I'm not all right," he said before closing his eyes. "Anna, you shouldn't be here. You should already be on a fli-"

"Here is the place I want to be the most," she attempted to convince him. She very gently let her fingers stroke his hair back. "Is it something that I've done? Have you lost faith in me somehow? Did I do something to lose your trust?" she asked and saw Will finally make eye contact with her.

"That's not the problem," he said, his voice still soft due to his lack of strength. "You're not the one I do-don't trust."

Anna sighed and pressed her forehead against his shoulder as she tried not to cry. She looked at him, sitting back and taking in all of the damage on his once-perfect and once-attractive face. "Tell me what we both already know is the problem," she said before Will looked down. Anna laughed weakly, "It shouldn't be that difficult, right. I mean, if we both already know it then…then there aren't any surprises." She brushed away the tears filling her eyes.

"You are…so beautiful," he said as Anna tried desperately not to allow any tears to fall. "And this…" he gestured to his own appearance. "You deserve more than this." Anna tried to speak but it was too hard to not fall to pieces seeing and hearing her husband, her husband who she still thought of as gorgeous, speaking so harshly about himself. "I mean, imagine those…those articles. They wondered why you were with me when I…when I was just…an average man but this," he gestured to his face again. "This is just…too much. I can't…I won't cause it to reflect badly on you."

"You survived. I know that you might not feel the importance of those words right now but you survived. You're surviving," she said as she tried not to deny what he was saying. They'd laugh at him. They'd call him ugly, hideous, a monster. They'd say she could do better. This whole hospital seemed to be saying that already. Were they poisoning his mind against her?

"The fame thing, if the fame thing wasn't an issue would you try to come back with me? Would you want me?" she asked nervously and Will nodded.

"Absolutely. I want you now but…Anna you are famous. People know who you are. Popular opinion fuels your career. Nobody wants you to be dating…Mr. Hyde." He laughed weakly as Anna shivered and wrapped her arms around herself.

"I want to believe that after the initial shock they would just see it as me being with my husband who I love more than anything," she argued and saw him turn away again. "Do you even know how much I love you?"

"Well, I love you too but sometimes love doesn't turn out for the best. Sometimes love can just make everything a whole lot worse." William said and Anna took a few more deep breaths. "Anna, could you leave me alone? I hope you have a safe trip but…maybe it's best if you tell everyone else that we're not together any longer, maybe tell them that I'm dead?" he asked.

Anna moved over to him and cupped his cheek. "I love you and I'll be back soon," she said before walking away from the room with Will glancing that way.

"I love you too," he whispered although he knew she was too far away to hear him.

4.2

As she drove up to Max and Bella's house, Anna felt absolutely numb. She didn't quite know if what she had done was the best choice but she hoped it would be. Will wasn't speaking to her, he wasn't reacting well to her being there, he didn't need her right now despite how much she needed him. There had to be someone else who could help him. She took steady breaths before getting out of the car, the folder of medical documents in a zipped bag and under her arm as she walked towards the door.

She knew she wasn't as composed as usual. She was pretty sure that one could tell she had just been emotional. She knew that the two of them were drowning but Max and Bella were family to them. If she couldn't help then maybe they would. She knocked on the door and kept her head bowed but as the wind pushed against her hair she found herself to break down into tears. She was so alone right now. Maybe she was a famous actress and had figured her life out career-wise but she wanted to be with her husband and help him through it instead of just responding to work calls as he requested for her to do so.

"Anna?" Max asked as he looked at her and then looked around. "Good lord," he stepped aside for her to get into the house. "Come, sit down. Is everything…all right?" he asked and Anna nodded but bit her lip.

"I could really use your help," she admitted as she looked around to make sure nobody else was in hearing distance. Max nodded quickly again as he gestured to the living room of the house.

"Can I get you anything? Cup of tea always seems to do the trick for me or maybe something a little stronger or a lot stronger," he said and Anna shook her head before going to sit on the sofa, she placed the bag in front of her. "You said that something was keeping Will detained a little longer but you said he preferred to keep that part private for right now. Whatever he's up to."

Anna nodded again. She took a deep inhale as she tried to maintain her composure but her pain broke through and Max looked her over. If she wasn't able to act and use that to cover up these emotions then that was bad.

"Are you all right, love?" Bella questioned as she wheeled herself into the living room. "Christ. I…Lizzy's sleeping but I can get her if you need her. She's been amazing, she's such a sweet child. Is it -"

"Would she be able to hear this conversation?" Anna asked nervously and Bella shook her head, wheeling herself closer. "William was…he was involved in a car crash," she said as Max and Bella looked at her in shock and disbelief over how they hadn't heard this before. "I wouldn't be able to give you the exact details but he was trying to get to the hotel from the airport and there was a collision and the car he was in went into the water. He was the sole survivor."

"My god, he was the only survivor. If that's the case, shouldn't it be on the news or the internet. I mean, even if he's famous by association, you'd expect them to cover something like this," Max said before looking at Bella who had reached out for Anna's hand.

"There's more, isn't there?" Bella asked and Anna nodded again. Max watched as she took out some copies of some very formal papers from the bag and she looked at them once, hiding what they were from her two friends. "I mean, as bad as it is that Will was in an accident and survived but got sent to the hospital, there has to be something more, otherwise they would put it all over the news or at least you going there would be photographed by the paparazzi."

"I don't want to tell anyone other than the two of you. I feel wretched that I can't share it outside of this circle but I know that you'll be respectful and supportive and you won't ask too many questions," Anna said before passing the photos of Will when he was found. She saw the shock and terror in her friends' expressions. She saw Bella start to cry and for Max to put his hand to his mouth in stunned silence.

"The only way they recognized him was from his wedding ring. He's woken up now but he doesn't want to see me. I can't help him as much as I want to and I thought that if I can't be there myself, maybe I could ask you for this huge favor. He even told me that he would have agreed to come back with me were I not famous but looking like he does next to me, he said he didn't want to do that because of what others might think of me. I can't force him to face the tabloids and the media until he's ready," she whispered before bowing her head and crying painfully as Max still looked over the paper.

"Yeah. Yeah. Of cou-course, I'll go and see him as soon as possible." Max said as he looked at the picture of his best friend. Anna had been trying to network and financially help all of them in their social circle and she rarely asked others for help and Will, he knew that their friendship deserved at least him trying to figure out how to help.

Anna tried to push away the tears with her sleeve but Bella had rolled over and brought her in for an embrace.

"It's going to be okay. We'll do all that we can to help but you have to take care of yourself as well," Bella allowed Anna to leave the hug first and saw how much pain she was in. "I hate to do this but it has to be done by someone so I'm sorry in advance. You do still want for the two of you to be married, right? I mean, you're not going to divorce him ove-"

Anna inhaled and shook her head. "No. Maybe if I was married to someone who didn't have a great and charming personality that wasn't changed by the glitz and glamor of Hollywood's inner circles. Maybe if I had been unlucky enough to marry for looks or to increase my fame then maybe I would but no. I truly love him and I just don't want for him to lose who he is. There are surgeries and treatments and if those don't work out then I'll step away from the spotlight as much as I can to protect him. I just want to help him."

"And he's being a stubborn git and not letting you?" Bella asked and Anna nodded.

"I don't blame him though. If I had an accident and looked like that then I wouldn't want hundreds of reporters to treat me like an oddity either. The hospital isn't helping, It's making it worse with people thinking I should just divorce him. I mean, no one should divorce someone after an accident or because they now look different than they did before. Yes, fine, divorces exist and they should be there because of…of incompatibility especially in personal views and interests and just…just character but I love my husband and I want to be with him. There shouldn't be a problem with that."

"I'm going to stay here with Elizabeth and give you support, but Max," she said as she looked over at him and he had pulled up his computer.

"I've booked myself onto the last flight of the day," he said and Anna stared at him.

"I could have….I would have taken care of that…I could bump you up to -" Anna struggled and Max shook his head.

"No. It feels important to me that I do this as his friend, try to get into his head in a way. I can't promise I can solve it but maybe just two guys talking will help.

End of Chapter Four

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