"What happened, darling?" I ask, bracing my hands on either side of her face and pulling away from her slightly, sweeping her tangled hair out of the way so that I can look at her face.
She sucks in a deep shaky breath as her tortured gaze connects with mine and she shakes her head, her lips trembling and her brows pulling down in a frown as more tears trickle down her cheeks.
I let her nuzzle her head back against my chest and I continue rubbing her back.
"It's okay. I've got you," I whisper, placing a gentle kiss against her head.
Jess silently walks into my eyeline and awkwardly waves to garner my attention.
"I'm gonna go," she mouths.
I nod in response and wait until I hear her leave the room.
Once the door closes, I pull Rory impossibly closer to me as I listen to her breathing slowly return back to normal.
"You doing okay?" I ask.
She hesitantly nods against my chest and mumbles, "Sorry."
"Why are you apologising?"
She shrugs as a choppy breath causes a shudder to run through her body.
She's still clinging to me, and as much as I'm enjoying it, this wheelchair is really uncomfortable and I'm pretty sure I've got a metal pole poking me in the arse.
I loosen my arms from around her and drop my hands to the wheels either side of me, rolling us to the side of the hospital bed.
The movement seems to jolt Rory out of the vacant place she's been locked in because she lifts her head from my chest, looks around the room and then awkwardly clambers off me, apologising again as she moves herself over to the chair beside my bed.
I place my hands on the arm rests and grunt as I push myself up, putting a slight amount of weight on my legs so I can hoist my body onto the hospital bed.
Taking a moment to have a breather before I move myself further onto the bed into a comfy position, I watch Rory, taking note of herpale skin and her sullen eyes as she stares at her lap, silently chewing on the inside of her cheek and picking at the skin around her fingernails.
I scoot myself up the bed, fluffing up the pillows so that I can lean against them.
"Come here," I tell her, making a space beside me on the bed.
Her head shoots up and her eyes dart back and forth between me and the space beside me before she shakes her head.
"Rory, come here."
She sighs and stands up, standing beside the bed as she hesitates.
"I shouldn't," she states, glancing at the door to my room. "I can't."
"Yes, you can. I want you to, and I think you need to, so please, Rory, just lay down with me for a minute."
Finally, she gives in and climbs onto the bed beside me.
I loop my arm around her, pulling her against me, and when she releases a deep breath and I feel her body relax against mine, I smile.
We lay there in silence for a few minutes, and when she's finally calmed down, no more shaking, or sobbing, or tremors, I decide to break the silence.
"Are you okay now?"
"I'm getting there," she mumbles, nestling her head deeper into my body as her arm loosens around me. "Was that Jess that you were with?"
"Yeah," I sigh.
