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~~~~Henry Cavill~~~~
⛓ Say it - HC x Female Reader - Henry takes it as a personal challenge to make you beg. (Smut)
🥞 Dirty & Sticky Sweet - HC x Female Reader - You try to make pancakes for Henry’s birthday. (Implied Smut)
👗 Caught in the Storm - [Part 1] [Part 2] - HC x Female Reader - Dry spells and pandemic lead to interesting results (Smut)
☕ The Perfect Cuppa - HC x Reader - your relationship with Henry is like making the perfect cup of tea. (Fluffy)
🏃♀️Racing Heart - HC x Female Reader (Emeline) - written for Emeline (emelinelovesjc), you're running in the 13K Durrell Race and who should come along but Henry himself! (Fluff)
🖐 Idle Hands - HC x Female Reader - Henry realises you have a fascination with his hands and decides to play with you. (Smut)
🏕 Between The Pine Trees - HC x Female Reader - A peaceful night by the campfire is the last thing on your minds. (Smut, Dark (Mild))
🥵 Frustration - HC x Female Reader - How Henry makes me feel on the daily! (Smut)
❄ Passing Time - HC x Female Reader - All arguments can be resolved by a snowball fight right? (Fluff/Smut)
🌼 Sunshine & Daisies - HC x Female Reader - Henry is a bonafide radiator and you're slowly roasting to death, but you don't mind so much when he wakes up (fluffy smut)
📚A for Effort - Uni!HC x Female Reader - Henry is TA in your lecture and offers to help you sort your timetable. He’s sweet and shy but undeniably hot. A breakfast date and flirting leads to more... (Fluffy Eventual Smut - romcom vibes)
📖 F for Flea - Uni!HC x Female Reader - a follow up to A for Effort in the same universe. Exams are on the way but Henry is bored…
💦 Stained - HC x Female Reader - inspired by a desert picture of Henry as to why he might have stains on his jeans... (Smut)
🤚Your Fingers - HC x Female Reader- inspired a gif that pops up everytime I search for 'hug' in the gif finder... (Smut)
🍷Wine & Whisky - HC x Reader - inspired by this , (mild angst with some fluff)
🎆 Life doesn't have an undo button - HC x Reader - christmas challenge, new years eve doesn't go so well but a year later things are looking up... (angst & fluff)
🔥Falling Out - HC X female reader - You can Henry have a past but what happens when you do a press tour together and he doesn't like the answer you give... (Smut)
~~~~Characters:~~~~
August Walker
🎵 Do it for me - AW x Reader - You think about your relationship with August (implied smut)
🔊 Friction- AW x Female Reader - August finds you in the club and wants to play (Smut)
👁 Watch Me - AW x Female Reader, AW x Unknown Female - You notice August in a dark alleyway when maybe you shouldn’t have. (Smut)
🍸Olive - AW x Female Reader - August is undercover until you tease him too much to maintain his cover. (Smut)
Sherlock Holmes
🐕 Bloodhound - SH x Irene Adler - What will this thief do now she has the great detectives attention? (Smut)
Captain Syverson
👕He very much gives a fuck - Sy x Reader/OFC - the origins of the Dilligaf t-shirt (Fluff)
🖐️Handprints on the Glass - Sy x Female Reader - A beautiful sunset? Check. A field to frolic in? Check. A handsome man to chase you? Double check. This was shaping up to be a perfect date. (smut)
Clark Kent
🍦Same Old & Brand New - Clark x Lois, Clark & Lana - he sees Lana again after a few years on christmas eve. (Angst & some fluff)
💨 Contradictions - Clark Kent x Female Reader - What happens when Clark decides to abuse his powers? (Smut -Not dark but tiny hints of grey)
Geralt of Rivia
⚔️ Needle & Sword - Geralt of Rivia x OFC (Marta) - It’s always been the Seamtress and her cat. That is until Geralt, and his faithful mare Roach come along. (Smut)
🍁 Midnight Worship - Geralt of Rivia x Female Reader - What happens when a Witcher lives too long? Written for Halloween 2023. (Smut)
Charles Brandon
🍹Behind the Bar - Charles Brandon x Short Female Reader - you took a job in a bar and meet Charlie... Who turns out to be more than you bargained for. (Smut)
Walter Marshall
📸 Snapshots - Walter Marshall x OFC (Rose) - a cheeky Christmas surprise
Multiple Characters
🌅 Switch - [Part 1][Part 2] Dom!August Walker x Switch!Female Reader x Sub!Mike (Hellraiser) - You meet them in very different places but what happens when your two different needs collide?
______📚 Headcanons:📚______
HC Characters:
Marked Up - How the boys leave their mark on you
Giving you the time of day - the boys favourite time of day
NSFW A-Z Headcanons - Walter Marshall, Captain Syverson, Charles Brandon, August Walker, Henry Cavill
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A/N 1: Thank you for the likes, comments and reblogs. I really hope that continues after this chapter. This one took a lot of work. I rewrote it 8 or 9 times in the end. Hopefully this final draft isn't the disaster I think it might be. As always I hope you enjoy the chapter & your thoughts as always are appreciated - Socky as my only reader and the reason I will continue to post this story for as long as you want me to, I hope you enjoy this 😘
Summary: An unfortunate mishap occurs whilst Matt & Hope film a graphic scene and Hope delivers one of her most daunting pieces of script so far.
A/N 2: This is one of the most graphic chapters in the story. I have tried to give the topic and scripted scene as much respect as I possibly can to the sensitive topic. I hope people understand why I have included the scene and I understand if people may choose to skip the scripted scene. As always scripted dialogue for filming is in the scripted font and is after the theatre mask divider if you'd like to skip.
If anyone has any questions please let me know via an ask or DM. Again it's not my intention to offend or upset anyone. I am just trying to share a base an example as to what Matt & Hope have to film to explain characters behaviours and reactions.
TLC TV & Film Recording Studios - Sussex Coast - England - June 2019-
Droplets of sweat trickle down Matt’s back and thighs. The combination of the heat from the lights and the strenuous movements made his skin warm. He and Hope were already on hour three of their morning schedule, and it wasn't even nine. The physicality of the scenes was already feeling like a workout. He pondered if his forty-one-year-old body was still made for such active scenes.
They were lying on the flattest mattress that props had been able to find, and it was doing nothing to support either his or Hope’s bodies. The fact that his character, a delusional psychopath but a well-educated and intelligent man, didn’t think to buy a bed for his so-called ‘love’ to lie on whilst he violated her body was not only disturbing story-wise but also uncomfortable physically. Not only for himself but for Hope too.
Matt swore he couldn’t feel his knees anymore. He looks down at Hope, who he was lying on top of. His long, slender legs are placed either side of the younger woman’s hips, his body weight currently being held up by his elbows, whilst they hold their position as Rachel checks the footage. Hope stifles a yawn with her right hand, which is currently untied from the metal cuffs. The crew were trying to catch up on some of their scenes before Joss and the girls arrived on set for a full afternoon shoot with Hope and Henry.
“Okay, the shot is good. You’re both free to get up and move about for five mins, then we need you in minimal clothing and back tied up on the chair, Hope,” Rachel informs them from her position at the director's chair. He sees Poppy approach with two white dressing gowns in her hands. As per their usual routine, she passes this first robe to Matt, and he helps Hope, who is sitting on the floor in front of where he is kneeling, and wraps the fluffy gown over her shoulders.
“You need help getting your arms in, darling?” Matt asks, as he glances down at the blonde, his crystal blue eyes meeting her tired-looking green ones. Hope nods her head.
“Could you lift my left one up for me, please? I don’t think I can lift it or reach over with the stitch I’ve currently got.” She whispers so only he and Poppy can hear. Matt nods and helps Hope into her dressing gown.
“Why didn’t you say you had a stitch? We could have stopped earlier; you shouldn’t suffer in silence.” He gives her what he hopes is a stern look. Matt detested the idea of his co-star enduring pain when there were ways to assist her.
“We were on a roll. It wasn’t really a scene either of us wanted to repeat for a sixth time,” she explains, and Matt understood her sentiment.
It was the fifth full rape scene they had completed filming since Hope’s casting as ‘Livvy’, and as each of the kidnappings progressed, the rape scenes had become more violent. The quicker they could shoot each of the brutal scenes, the better it was for everyone involved.
“At least I get to move around a bit walking to my trailer to finally get some clothes on. Even if you get the job of trashing them at the end of the morning.” Hope teases, giving him a wink.
“I do adore how you find the positives in the most awkward of circumstances, Miss Dancy.” Matt places his right arm around the petite blonde's shoulders as she gingerly lifts her arms up to slip them around his slim waist. He found it soothing to give his co-star a hug in between scenes; it was a way of reminding her but mainly himself that they weren’t the people they were portraying. Even though Matt was all too aware of Hope’s long-time crush on him, it didn’t make the scenes they shared any more comfortable to film.
“What can I say, handsome? If someone had told me I’d spend my days being stripped naked by one of my teenage crushes and get paid for it, I’d have thought they were mental. Although even in my wildest of fangirl dreams. I didn’t ever imagine it would be these types of scenes we would be filming.”
Matt hugs his left arm a little more tightly around the back of Hope’s shoulders, and he sees Poppy jog back over to them with a look of uncertainty on her young face. With the exception of Lucy and Grace, the hair and make-up assistant, at twenty-eight, was the youngest member of the crew.
“Don’t tell Felicity or Joss; I almost let two of our leads walk to their trailers barefoot.” The brunette waves two pairs of thin white flat slippers in each of her hands as she bends down to place them in front of him and Hope.
“Your secret’s safe with us, Poppy,” Matt hears Hope say and looks down to see a playful smile on the blonde's face. Poppy smiles at them before leaving them alone. Matt and Hope start their short stroll to their trailers as they continue to chat.
“Hope, I’ve got to say I’m impressed with how your dealing with all these scenes is rather incredible for someone so young. Even if you joke about them.” Matt praises Hope, pulling her to him in a one-armed hug.
They had mutually agreed that no matter the intensity or violence within any scene they filmed. That they would make sure to share friendly hugs whenever possible, to make sure that neither let in any awkwardness into their working relationship and newfound friendship.
“I’m thirty, Matt; I’m not that young.” Hope smirks, giving her fluffy robe-covered stomach a nudge with her right elbow, and Matt smiles at her playful gesture.
“That’s eleven years younger than me, darling. It’s young to me, and it is incredible to watch how you’re coping with what we're filming with such calmness. It's rather admirable, but…” Matt’s unable to finish his sentence as Hope promptly interrupts his words as her facial expression changes to one as if she’d had a ‘lightbulb moment’.
“Your additional attentiveness towards me today, although appreciated. It’s very apt that you start it today. You didn’t happen to talk with a certain tall, dark and handsome man with pretty curls that we refer to as ‘Darcy’ by any chance?” Hope gives Matt one of her stern glares, and he knows his and Henry’s private conversation had been revealed, stupidly at his own hand.
“Nope.” Matt replies quickly, and Hope places her right hand onto the middle of his chest, pressing firmly.
“Matthew”, she questions in a stern tone to her voice. She had never used his full name before, and the tone of her voice was the one she used to discipline Lucy and Kal on the rare occasions that she needed to.
“Alright, you’ve caught us.” Matt lifts his hands up in defeat, and Hope’s shoulders slump at his revelation.
“Henry may have asked me to give you extra cuddles this morning and subtly check you were okay after a restless night. He refused to elaborate further. I, of course, agreed to the cuddles and the subtle check-in.” Matt divulges, being honest with his co-star, and Hope’s facial expression softens.
“It wasn’t very subtle,” she replies with a small quirk of her top lip.
“However, it is extremely sweet how much you both care, so thank you, but I’m fine. It was just a stupid nightmare. I’m sure it won’t happen again, and if it does. I’ll deal with it and….” Hope doesn’t get a chance to finish her sentence as they finally reach the outside of the trailers locations, where Felicity appears out of Hope’s trailer.
“Perfect timing. Matt, your clothes are ready in your trailer, and I’ve just laid yours out too, Hope. I’ll give you ten mins to change, and I’ll tell Poppy to come over and touch up your hair and make-up. Matt, it will take about ten mins for Poppy to complete Hope’s. If you want to get a drink once you’ve changed, that’s fine.” Felicity instructs them as she turns and leaves Matt and Hope alone. Allowing them to finish their conversation. Matt tilts his head down to look at Hope.
“Promise me if you have any more nightmares or concerns or trouble sleeping, you tell me or Henry. I know I speak for not only myself but our Superman too when I say if you can’t sleep, if you have a nightmare or just want to talk, call or text one of us or both of us. It doesn’t matter; just reach out. Like we said in your first week on set, we’re both here for you, Hope, whatever you need, anytime. We will do our best to support you,” Matt requests, and he can see Hope’s green eyes fill with tears.
“Thank you, Matt. I really do appreciate the kindness from my wonderful leading men. I’m so lucky to have you both supporting me through this, and I promise you’ll both be on speed dial if I need anything.” Hope reaches out her arms, and he allows the smaller blonde to pull him into a hug.
“We better get changed before they wonder where we got to.” Hope nods towards her trailer.
“Good idea; I’ve forgotten what clothes feel like,” he jokes, and Hope laughs at his comment.
‘It’s alright for you; at least you get to keep yours on for the next scene.” Hope teases, and Matt shakes his head.
“Do I sense disappointment in your voice?” He jests, wiggling his index finger at the cheeky blonde.
“ You know me too well, Bomerlicious.” She smiles, tucking some stray strands of her blonde hair behind her right ear.
“Go and get changed and get a cup of tea, as you English love doing so much. Before we’re dragged back to set for more hours of torture, and in your case, it will be literal torture,” Matt replies a little more softly, and he sees Hope look at him, her green eyes a little less sparkly.
“Meet you there.” Hope swipes the card on her trailer door, and Matt jogs the short distance to his trailer opposite, and he turns as they wave their goodbyes.
Matt enters his trailer and sees the clothes laid out for him to wear. If the last few hours had felt long and physically draining for them both, the next few scenes were about to put Hope especially through the emotional wringer, and Matt didn’t envy what his character was about to put Hope through.
* A Couple Of Hours Later*
Hope, Matt and their small team had managed to get more scenes completed in the couple of hours that they had been filming, and after a ten-minute break to allow Hope some freedom to move her shackled wrists, she was now back in position on the chair that was positioned behind the old flat, made to look dirty, mattress, with Peter doing his security checks on the chains she was now cuffed to again. Hope watches as Peter pulls on the chain that he had just cuffed her already tired wrists to.
“How does that feel like, Hope?” The older man asks her, and Hope tugs on the chain.
“Tight, sore and rather restricting. Perfect, I guess?” Hope replies truthfully, not bothering to sugarcoat her thoughts with their chain expert.
Peter looks at her wide-eyed from his position kneeling in front of her on the thin mattress. That was one thing Hope was glad about: no kneeling on the floor for a few hours to give her knees and back a rest. Unfortunately, the same couldn’t be said for her wrists.
“Hope it’s not meant to be tight and sore. Lift up your wrists; I’ll loosen the chain a little.” Peter gestures with his left hand for her to lift her hands up from her lap.
“I was joking, Peter; they're fine, see?” Hope moves her wrists with a small wince; she sees Peter give her a stern look.
“Your face is telling me otherwise. I’m allowing thirty mins at a time, Hope, no more. I’m timing it. I don’t care if the shoot is going well or badly or if it needs more time. I will be back in thirty, and you will be moving those arms.” He says firmly, and Hope can only nod in agreement. Not only was Peter their chain specialist, but he was also a trained first aider and knew what he was talking about, so she knew not to argue with the expert.
“You’ve got thirty minutes, Owen.” Peter turns his head, looking at their boss who was directing Hope and Matt through their traumatic scenes. Hope sees Matt approach where she is kneeling on the mattress and pats Peter on the back. The older man walks past her co-star. It’s then Poppy appears at Matt’s side, smiles at him, and they both walk over to Hope.
“Are you okay for me to take your dressing gown now, Hope?” Poppy asks softly. Her blue eyes giving a look of kindness and genuine concern for what Matt and Hope were about to expose themselves to.
“Yes, Pops. No problem; it’s a struggle to keep on with it just over my shoulders anyway.” Poppy nods as she moves to stand behind her and removes the heavy but soft material that had been protecting Hope’s modesty away from her body. She still had black leggings, knickers and a light blue vest top on; all three items would be soon removed, exposing Hope completely to the lenses of the cameras and the small crew around her.
“I’ll be in my usual spot if you need anything.” Poppy nods towards her seat as Matt passes the hair and make-up artist his dressing gown, and the brunette jogs away to her spot at the other end of the studio.
Hope watches as Mark gives Owen the thumbs up, and the sound engineer leaves the studio, and the click of the heavy door shudders through the large area. The two members of the camera crew on duty, the Baxendale brothers, Lewis and Dean, both do final checks on the camera that they are holding, and it’s then when the words ‘all good’ come from Lewis that Owen speaks.
“To clarify, this is the second time Livvy is taken by James,” and Hope and Matt nod at the information. Owen then reads the scene info out and yells, “Action!” and the cameras start rolling.
“Why are you doing this to me, James? What have I ever done to you to make you want to hurt me like this? Tell me so I can understand.” Hope delivers her line with a firm, yet desperate tone to portray ‘Livvy's’ level head despite her kidnapping and brutal sexual assault.
“This is your own doing, Livvy; you chose not to listen to me even after our first date.” Matt walks towards where Hope is sitting, tied to the small chair. Hope delivers a groan of disgust which causes Matt to deliver a loud slap to the left side of Hope’s face, one that was real.
“Cut!" We need to capture the slap from above.” Owen instructs. Hope sees Lewis stand and reposition himself and his camera above Hope’s head; with ‘action’ called, Matt delivers the slap again, and the scene is cut and cameras moved to continue the scene.
“Hope, let me check your face. I felt that might have been too hard.” Matt places his hand under her chin and turns her face to the left so he can check her cheek.
“It’s fine, Matt, you just caught me on the corner of my cheekbone; it won’t even go red; you don’t need to worry.” Hope tries to reassure her co-star.
“Are you sure you don’t want some ice for it?” He asks, and Hope shakes her head.
“It’s fine. I promise.”
“Okay, we’re ready.” Owen calls out and delivers the scene details, and Matt starts the scene again .
“We belong together, Livvy. You will see that to be true. I’m going to show you how good it can be.” Matt runs his hand down over Hope’s fake bruised-covered neck and over her left breast, giving it a firm squeeze through her vest top.
Inside was a small pouch of liquid that, once Matt squeezed, would make it pour out, which it does perfectly, and Hope sees Dean give a thumbs up to say he had caught the image on film.
“This”, Matt squeezes her breast again, “your milk should belong to our daughters, to me.”
Hope tries to move her body away from Matt’s grip as per the scene directions, but the chains binding her wrists to the floor stop her.
“My baby is only fourteen weeks old; she needs me to feed her. You claim you love me, so why deprive me of feeding my daughter? Why take me? Why hit me, bruise me, and rape me?” Hope spits out in anger as Matt gives Hope a hard slap to her left cheek.
The scene is cut so Lewis can syringe a small amount of water dyed with red food colouring into Hope’s mouth; he picks his camera back up, and Owen shouts, ‘Action!’.
Matt re-delivers the hard slap, causing Hope to spit out the red liquid from her mouth and onto the floor and onto her leggings and, most importantly, down her lip, neck and chest. Once given the go-ahead, Matt then delivers his next line.
“You should be with me, not that good-for-nothing husband of yours. You shouldn't be with a man that can provide you with so little, that doesn’t give you all that you truly desire.” He speaks with venom in his voice, making Hope shiver at his menacing tone.
“You’re jealous! You’re doing this because you’re jealous!”
Hope says her line with a blend of realisation and loathing in the tone of her voice or at least that's what she wants it to sound like. Never knowing for certain her acting choices are coming across as she wants.
“My god, it’s not even me that you’re really interested in? It’s the fantasy of the life I have with Spencer. You’re jealous of my husband!” Hope says, trying to portray ‘Livvy’s’ newfound realisation of why she has been taken. Matt makes a snarling sound that causes another shiver down Hope’s spine.
“Why not go and find yourself a girlfriend and show her the so-called love you want to show me? Why bother with me, someone who you can’t have? Better still, why not go back home to America and leave me and my family alone?” Hope delivers her line with anger, and it’s then Matt’s right hand is around Hope’s neck, giving her throat the briefest of squeezes, and Hope promptly gives fake gasps as if she had struggled for air. The scenes are then cut and re-delivered before cameras are moved slightly and the scene starts again.
“I should do you and your daughters a favour and eliminate him from your lives.” He speaks with the most threatening of tones, and Hope’s eyes go wide in anger, as per the scene directions.
“You so much as be in the same street as my husband, and I will get free; I will find you, and I will kill you.” She snaps back, and Matt raises his right hand, slapping Hope across her left cheek, and a loud cracking sound fills the room as his large palm meets the soft skin of her cheek.
Matt kicks the chair legs from underneath Hope’s body, causing her body to fall forward, and she lands with a hard thud on the floor, onto the thin mattress, and she winces at the pain that rushes through her knees. The scene is cut and reshot twice more for angles. Once completed, Owen speaks from his position in the director's chair.
“This is going really well, no reshoots needed; onto Livvy’s long speech. That does mean full clothing removal first if that’s okay with you both, and then once the speech is done, we will end with the pouch removals.” Hope lifts her head up to look at Matt, who is looking down at her, and gives Hope a nod, which Hope repeats.
“Fine by us.” Hope replies softly and sees Owen give them a thumbs up from across the set.
Matt starts on Hope’s clothes first, tearing the thin strap vest top in half and pulling the straps on each shoulder in half, and throws the broken material onto the floor. Then moving his attention to Hope’s black leggings, again ripping the already pre-torn loosely stitched material off Hope’s legs, along with her thin white bikini-style knickers. Leaving her just in her modesty pouch.
He gives Hope a small smile that’s not picked up by the cameras, and Hope blinks three times in quick succession as a silent cue for Matt to remove his jeans, which he does with ease; the scene is cut, and cameras are moved to a slightly different angle and start again.
Matt kneels down and spreads Hope’s legs. Pulling them apart aggressively with his hands. He then pushes Hope firmly against her chest with his large left palm, and she allows herself to fall onto her back into the thin mattress.
Matt removes his hand and places them into his tight black Calvin Klein briefs, which he pulls roughly down his hips. He hears a loud popping sound of the tape ripping, and before he can react, he feels his modesty pouch over his crotch pull away and drop to the floor. Exposing his penis and testicles completely to Hope, giving her an eyeful of his most private area. He sees Hope swallow at the sight in front of her before quickly darting her eyes away, and the word ‘cut’ can be heard.
“Fuck! I’m so sorry, Hope. Putting my dick in your face wasn’t part of the plan.” He quickly apologises, horrified at what had just happened, and lifts himself off Hope’s body, cupping his manhood in his hands. He sees Hope shake her head, her eyes closed. She opens them, her green eyes sparkling, and lets out a small happy giggle.
“That’s what I would call a morning pick-me-up,” she teases, and he sees her eyeing him up as Matt continues cupping his penis and testicles with his hands.
“A little help here would be appreciated.” Matt winks at Hope before turning his head to look over to the crew.
“I’m coming, Matt; just getting the tape.” He hears Poppy's voice come through Owen’s radio. With no blanket nearby and Hope's hands chained, there was nothing that could be done to help Matt and his modesty.
“Matt, just lay back down on top of me; we can at least shield your modesty a little like that.” Hope offers, as they hear Owen and Lewis's laughter as they watch the footage on the monitor.
“Bloody hell! Bomer, that tape ripping that hard and that quickly must have stung?” Lewis splatters out through laughter.
“Yes, Einstein, it fucking stung.” Matt bites back, rolling his eyes at Hope, not bothering to turn to look at the two men when he replies to them.
“If it’s any consolation, Bomerlicious, one of my teenage fantasies has been ticked off.” Hope teases as she lets out a quiet giggle, eyeing up Matt’s hand-covered crutch.
“I’m so glad to have helped you with your wish list, my darling. I hope it was everything you dreamt about,” he teases back, bending down slightly to nudge Hope in her ribs with his elbow.
“I’m not complaining.” Hope jokes.
“Sorry I took so long. I couldn’t get the roll to open.” Poppy explains, tape in one hand and the dressing gown in the other , she opens the dressing gown wide and shields Matt’s body as he lifts himself up from lying over Hope, holding the loose plastic covering back over his penis and ripping the tape with his teeth and free hand.
“I would offer to help, but I’m a little tied up,” he hears Hope say, and he shakes his head.
She was enjoying this way too much! Matt hadn't realised quite how confident Hope was with the naked body.
“You’re enjoying this way too much, Miss Dancy. I frankly wouldn’t trust you to put the tape on properly.” Matt starts sticking the tape down over the material of the modesty pouch.
“I resent such a suggestion, Bomerlicious,” Hope replies dramatically, making Poppy giggle.
“You see what I have to put up with, Poppy?” He looks at the young brunette, who shrugs her shoulders.
“I don’t know how you cope with such a cheeky co-star, Matt,” she jests, and he sees Hope shake her head from her position below him.
“Okay, I think I’m secured.” He glances down , checking the tape one last time.
Matt’s striping scene is finally completed without any further mishaps, and it’s time for Hope to deliver the remainder of ‘Livvy’s screw you’ speech as it had been nicknamed.
During a meeting between Owen, Hope, Matt and the Netflix intimacy coordinator months prior. They had discussed what the two actors were comfortable with, but as time had gone on and Hope and Matt had become closer, they had decided to push their graphic scenes further. Giving the incredible script that Owen and Rachel had written the acting it deserved. Which now meant everyone had become a little more comfortable with the content and didn't need outsiders checking up on them.
“Matt, we need you to rip Hope’s knickers off, then Hope, you are free to sit however is most comfortable whilst tied up.” Owen requests from the director's chair.
Matt and Hope deliver the relatively painless removal of Hope’s underwear in one take. Thankfully, he was able to tear the thin white cotton material in one movement, and they got into their new positions. Hope, leaning against the back of the knocked-over wooden chair, was still sitting on the thin mattress, her chest to her knees, trying to give herself the small modicum of modesty that the position allowed and also cover up the fact she was wearing a thin modesty pouch.
After his boxer briefs removal mishap. Matt was relieved he had the opportunity with Felicity and Poppy’s assistance to put a fresh pair of black boxers on before the scene started again. The scene had been broken down into chunks. Allowing focus on each of the actors to deliver their lines. Hope had decided that she wanted to deliver her long speech in full for the first time to, in her words, ‘give her the opportunity to get comfortable in Livvy’s headspace’ before it would be filmed in short segments for close-ups.
“Please tell me what you want from me,” Hope says with her best pleading look.
“I will perform whatever sick fantasy you want to play out. I’ll do whatever it is you want, but I will never consent – not now, not ever.” Hope glares at Matt, and he rolls his eyes to portray ‘James’ arrogance.
Matt loathed the vile beast of a man he was playing.
Sometimes, especially during the sexual abuse scenes, he wondered why he had agreed to take on such a hideous role. Then he would remember, just as the couple who had inspired Pursued had told Hope and Henry. It was a story that needed to be told; thousands of women and their families are stalked each year, and this story would tell how you can survive such terror, get justice and go on to live a loving and happy life with your loved ones.
“You can live out this perverted game of yours for as long as you want to, but let me be clear.” Hope made sure to look him square in the eyes, unblinking. The sternness and determination made Matt still in awe.
“The only man I will ever willingly have sex with is MY Spencer; he is the only one who will ever truly have me, touch me, see me, feel me, be inside me when I come undone in the safety and love of his body. He will be the only one to know what that feels like. You will never have me the way my husband does because… this.”
Hope lifts up her chained hands to move between them.
“What you’re doing to me isn’t love.”
Matt, as per the scene directions, lifts his hand and gathers Hope’s loose, curling hair in his hands and, albeit lightly, pulls her head back, and Hope continues her long set of lines.
“It’s not romantic. This isn't sexually gratifying to me. It’s emotionally and physically painful, and no matter how much you threaten me, hurt me, or rape me. I will never consent, but I will take it because I want to survive. I want to see my family again. I want to hold my babies, and I want to be in the safety of my husband's arms, and no matter what you do to me here and now, you can never take away the way I feel being in MY Spencer’s arms.” Hope emphasises the ‘my’ in her line, and Matt snarls.
The scenes cut so Ethan can squirt some red-dyed coloured water into Hope’s mouth, ready for the next piece of action. Matt hated having to slap Hope around the face. They had tried staging the slaps, but everyone had come to the collective conclusion that they looked unrealistic. So they had continued with the real slaps, and this was the first one to take place for this scene, no matter how many times he and Hope did this. Matt still hated himself for touching Hope in such a violent way.
He reaches out and slaps Hope hard across the face. The sound of skin on skin colliding ringing in Matt’s ears. Owen cuts the scene, checks the shot, and they move on to the rest of Hope’s speech, the fake blood sprayed over her lip, cheek and chin.
“The love, the tenderness, the safety he gives me. You’ll never be able to take that from me. So fuck you and your pathetic little fantasies. You do whatever you want to me. I don’t care anymore.”
Matt watches as tears flow out of Hope’s green orbs. She looked sad, defeated and tired. He wasn't sure if she was showing that for her character or if it was also Hope that was physically drained. Not that he would blame her if she was; he felt exhausted too.
“I can’t keep spending my life waiting for you to kidnap me over and over again. This is it, your third and final time, because believe me, if I make it out of here alive. I will remember every little detail of our encounter, and you will be punished for what you are doing to me.” Hope pauses and takes a breath.
“So you might as well go all out. Do whatever you want to me. I won’t even fight you anymore. I give up. You win. Do as you please because you will NOT get another chance.” Hope delivers her speech with as much determination and venom as she can physically muster from her exhausted body.
Matt stays kneeling in front of her as he hears Owen yell ‘cut’.
Cameras and mics are repositioned, and the scene is started again and then again, to film takes from different angles so that both ‘Livvy’ and ‘James’ reactions to Hope’s long speech can be captured at its most brutal, physical and emotionally heartbreaking best.
A/N: Not sure how it happened but we are at Chapter 20! My apologies for not posting sooner. Family life and ill health has kind of taken over. But I hoping to get back to my fortnightly posting schedule. To those that continue to read this story & encourage me to continue posting. Thank you doesnt seem enough. So my gift to you is a fanfic cliche. Hopefully you'll all enjoy! As always you comments and thoughts mean the world. Thank you.
Summary: In the aftermath of the night before Henry & Hope both deal with an awkward situation.
Word Count: 2.1k est
Warnings: 🟡 MATURE THEMES I'm whipping a cliche out, but I promise its not graphic or unpleasent . - (Warning Page)
Royal Sussex Lodge- Sussex Coast - England - June 2019
*The Next Morning*
Beep…Beep…Beep…
Oh, for fuck's sake, shut up!
Henry winces as the sound of a loud alarm wakes him from his semi-peaceful slumber. Although he wasn’t entirely sure how much sleep he had been able to get once Hope had finally drifted off in his arms, on the sofa, in the early hours of the morning. Not that it was much later; he had set the alarm for five.
In his sleep-filled haze, the familiar scent of coconut fills his nostrils, and it dawns on him exactly how he is lying. He is still in the position that he and Hope had lain down in after they had drunk their hot chocolates and discussed the nightmare Hope had woken up from. He had suggested she try and go back to sleep, but she had refused, finally agreeing to rest on Henry’s shoulder.
She had eventually drifted off, and Henry had laid them on the sofa, not wanting to risk disturbing Hope whilst she slept. Neither had moved in the night, their empty mugs still on the coffee table and Hope still lying in his arms.
Henry goes to reach over with his left arm, which had been resting over Hope’s stomach, when he realises that he has a bigger problem than the bloody awful alarm. Before he has a chance to work out how to deal with it, Hope lifts her arm over her head, to where her phone is lying on the small side table, hitting the snooze button on her phone, and sleepily lays her body back onto Henry’s arm.
Another whiff of Hope’s coconut-imbued hair fills his senses as she shifts her hips, curving her bottom downward, accidentally skimming over his morning erection. Henry tries desperately to stop the moan that threatens to escape, biting his bottom lip in an attempt to stifle the sound. He attempts to shift his body away but worries if he moves too far or too quickly, he will risk waking Hope.
It had been far too long since he’d woken up with a woman in his arms, and the innocent movement had gone straight to his groin.
“Shit! I’m sorry, Hope.” Henry tries to move his hips into a more appropriate position and away from where it was pressing firmly into Hope’s hip.
“How long was I…” His words fade as he gestures towards the predicament.
“Probably a couple of hours; I’m not sure.” Hope mumbles sleepily.
Henry had expected her to have more of a reaction, and the lack of one adds confusion to his embarrassment.
“It doesn’t matter, Hen. You have nothing to apologise for; it’s a natural male reaction.” She reassures him.
“Please, get that look of horror off your face. Let me move back a bit, and I can grab a cushion if that will make you feel more comfortable. Or leave it and stay as we are. I honestly don’t care either way, Hen; you’re only here because I had a bloody nightmare. We wouldn’t even be in this position if it wasn’t for me being stupid.” Hope rambles, a sad tone to her voice as she turns her head away, her long hair hiding her face.
Henry lifts his hand and places it under her chin and turns Hope’s head gently to look at him, resting her head in the crook of his arm.
“Look at me, Hope.”
She finally lifts her eyes to his, and Henry sees unshed tears in her emerald orbs.
“Nothing about your nightmare, or your reaction after, was stupid. In all honesty, I’m surprised it hasn’t happened sooner.” Henry tries to reassure her, rubbing his thumb over her chin.
“Are you suggesting that my meltdown was normal and that Rebecca did it too?”
Henry didn’t have an answer. In truth, he hadn’t got to know Rebecca half as well as he’d already got to know Hope.
“Truthfully, I don’t know how Bec dealt with her scenes with Matt. She wasn’t one for sharing her feelings with me. Secondly, she had her husband and son with her. I'm sure they were plenty enough comfort and distraction for her, even if she was affected by her scenes with Matt.” He and Bec had gotten along well; however, they never spent time together outside of their work environment alone. She had a young son to see too and a husband to support her. They went out as a group with Matt, but they were nothing more than friendly colleagues.
“So, you're saying because I’m a lonely singleton and don’t have the distraction of a family, that’s why I had nightmares? That’s the kind of thing my mother would say.” Hope snaps in reply, sounding annoyed, and Henry sighs.
The strong, happy Hope he had been getting to know the last several weeks was starting to disappear before his eyes as a protective shield had surrounded her overnight, and it surprised Henry how much that scared him.
“I didn’t mean it like that. I…” Henry pauses as he feels himself torn between comforting Hope and feeling embarrassed due to his still-present erection that was still pressed against Hope’s hip.
There was little space for him to move his crotch and lower half of his body back without falling off the sofa. His two choices, neither of which were appealing options, consisted of pulling completely away from Hope when she needed support or leaving himself pressed against her. Either could be the wrong option, and he wanted to start the morning without trying to offend someone, especially if the someone was still distressed about the night before.
“I’m sorry, Hen.” She reaches out and rubs his bicep. “I know you didn’t mean anything by it. I’m just embarrassed that you had to see me like that. I don’t even know why I was screaming out in the first place.”
Henry runs his hand over her cheek in a gesture of comfort, turning her face to look at him.
“You have nothing to be embarrassed about; you had a nightmare, and you were terrified. You didn’t even know you were crying out. I’m just glad I heard you and could be there for you. No one should go through anything like that alone.” He moves his hand away from her face, and Hope reaches out, placing her fingertips lightly over the scratch marks on his left cheekbone.
“Shit, Hen! Your face…” Hope pauses as her eyes flicker to Henry’s forearm, where another set of scratches etch his skin. “I can’t believe I did this to you. I’m so sorry.” She moves her hand to rest it over the two scratch marks on Henry’s forearm.
“Don’t worry about it, sweetheart. It’s nothing Joss can’t fix with a bit of makeup.” Henry tries to reassure her, pressing a kiss on Hope’s forehead.
“Do you think it might be an idea to have the morning off? Get some more rest or go do whatever it is you do for relaxation. No one is going to think any less of you if you need a few hours away from the intensity of what you and Matt are filming.” He glides his free hand over the side of Hope’s head to brush some unruly strands of her long blonde locks off her face.
Hope shakes her head against his palm.
“We are barely back on track with filming since I arrived. I'm not going to interrupt our very tight schedule because I had a nightmare. I’ll be fine.” She drifts her fingertips over Henry's scratch-covered cheek.
“Okay. But you make sure you tell Matt if things get too much on set. He’ll back you, should you need a break.”
Hope nods at his words as he removes her hand from his face and kisses her knuckles.
“I need to sit up; my shoulder is cramping.”
Hope bolts up off his arm, pressing herself further into the back of the sofa.
“You should have said. Sit up; I'll massage it for you.” Hope offers, sitting up, trying to make space for his broad frame.
Henry moves forward, allowing Hope to shuffle back and lean against the arm of the sofa. She kneels, and Henry sits cross-legged in his boxer shorts, his erection finally starting to subside, and he feels Hope's hands on the lower part of his right shoulder blade, working her way up.
“I’ve been brought up with firefighters. They’ve always said direct contact for a muscle massage is best. So if you don’t mind, can you take your vest off, please?” She requests softly.
He removes his grey vest with a wince and drops it onto the lounge floor. He hears Hope rubbing her hands together, probably trying to heat them.
“I apologise in advance if my hands are still cold.” She places both her hands, which are surprisingly warm on his aching right shoulder, and starts roaming her hands up and down the shoulder blade slowly, and Henry relaxes into Hope’s soothing touch.
“Not too cold?” She asks softly into his ear.
“No, you're perfect.” Henry murmurs, as he lets out a soft groan, not realising his slip in words until it’s too late.
Hope doesn’t correct him and continues to massage his shoulder thoroughly, kneading the whole area, pushing her fingers and knuckles into the skin, trying to loosen the aching muscles.
Henry isn’t sure how long Hope massages him for, but after a while, she stops and pats him on both shoulders.
“How does that feel?” She asks.
Henry turns his head and looks over his shoulder at Hope.
“It feels so much better; thank you.”
“I can do more if you need it. I don’t want you injuring yourself on your run because of me.” Henry moves out of Hope’s touch and turns around to face the blonde properly.
“I always make sure I warm up before my run. If I pull anything, it will be my fault, not yours.” Henry reassures Hope, giving her an unfocused smile as they sit a little further apart. Henry puts his vest back on as Hope leans over and picks up both pairs of glasses, passing Henry’s to him.
“Thanks” He puts his on, as does Hope.
They smile at each other as their faces come into each other’s focus. They both had long-distance vision issues and wore contacts whenever filming, and sometimes Hope wore her glasses during their early morning breakfast in the restaurant. However, they had both become so comfortable in each other’s presence that they wore their glasses whenever they spent time alone together.
“Would you like a lift to set later?” Hope offers.
Henry stands, and Kal trots over to him, pressing his nose into Henry’s legs. Henry suspected he wanted his breakfast.
“I’m finishing before you tonight. I’ll take my car, but thanks for the offer. I’ll see you later, and remember, if things get too much, tell Matt and the team you want a break. Everyone will understand.” Henry rubs Kal’s head gently, and Hope stands and walks over to them.
“If I need a break, I will tell them, I promise.” Hope replies.
“Thank you for being here for me last night. I do appreciate it.” She bites at her bottom lip, still embarrassed, and Henry pulls Hope into a tight hug, her head resting on the middle of his chest.
Henry places his index finger under Hope’s chin and makes her look at him. His blue orbs scanned her green ones to make sure she was okay to be left alone. Once he has convinced himself it is indeed okay to leave.
“Text or call if you need me. Any time, Hope. I don’t want you to be alone if you’re still having nightmares or even think you might have one. I don't care what time it is. I can’t hear you scream out like that again. You scared the crap out of me.” Henry sees Hope’s eyes try to dart away from him, still embarrassed about what had happened the night before.
“That’s very kind of you, Hen; thank you, and I will. Now, go and enjoy that run of yours.” Hope pats his chest.
“See you later, sweetheart.” He kisses Hope’s cheek.
Henry moves from Hope’s embrace and unlocks the front door; they wave their goodbyes, and Henry and Kal go back to their cabin.
Still barefoot, he’s careful not to stand on anything sharp as he walks the few steps to his front door. Henry knew he would need to keep an eye on Hope over the next couple of days, but after their conversation last night and this morning, he was more relaxed about the probability Hope would come to him if she needed to, instead of dealing with her nightmares alone.
A/N: Thanks as always to those who continue to read this story. Your reward- a dishevelled Henry 😉. I think that's a reward?…
Summary: Henry is woken in the middle of the night.
Word Count: 3.K est
Warnings: 🟡 MATURE THEMES Brief mention of sexual assualt. As in two sentences.- (Warning Page)
Royal Sussex Lodge- Sussex Coast - England - June 2019
*A Few Days Later*
Henry stretches out onto his back, rolling lazily from the middle of his double bed onto his side. He’s greeted by the sensation of something hard and moist prodding the hairs on his forearm: Kal.
“Go back to sleep, Kal. You’ve only just been to the toilet.” Henry mumbles sleepily as he tucks his hand under his pillow to join the other.
Just as the feeling of sleep starts to wash over his body, he hears Kal let out a loud whine, followed by the mattress dipping and Kal’s snout prodding forcefully into his right cheek, and he lets out another whine.
“What’s got into you, Kal?” Henry groans, removing his hand from under the pillow and placing it over the soft dark fur on Kal’s head.
It's then Henry hears the noise of what sounds like someone or something crying outside. He assumes that it could either be the wildlife or possibly a member of the ‘Pursued’ crew's child waking from a nightmare. Henry reaches over to pick up the small alarm clock on the bedside table, ‘02:13’. He sighs, placing it back down and rolling onto his back again. He feels Kal’s nose prod his arm again, and he looks down at his dog's face.
“Go back to sleep, Kal.” Henry rubs Kal’s soft fur on his cheek, trying to reassure him that everything’s okay.
As Henry closes his eyes, he hears the clear sound of a woman screaming. The noise causes Kal to let out another, much louder bark before Henry has a chance to digest what’s happening. Kal is up on his front paws, pushing them into Henry’s bare chest. Henry moves up the mattress to make space for his dog, who lets out another, louder howl. Staring directly at Henry, who is far more alert.
Henry manages to manoeuvre a worried Kal off his body and rolls him to the other side of the bed. Kal gives him another nudge to his torso with his snout.
“Alright, Kal, I’m up!” Henry glares at his boy, taking Kal’s not-so-subtle hint, and quickly grabs his glasses, placing them on the bridge of his nose.
Sitting up further, he reaches over to the end of the bed for the grey vest he had placed there before falling asleep. Putting it on, he grabs his key passes and mobile and makes his way along the small walkway to the sitting room of their cabin, an alert Kal at his side.
Henry hears the words “Get off me,” and he instantly knows who the clear and distinctive voice belongs to… Hope.
Kal lets out another bark, and a sense of fear rushes through Henry’s body. In a fit of panic, Henry and Kal are out of their front door; he jumps the waist-height wall and, rather worryingly, manages to shoulder barge Hope’s front door open with ease.
“Hope!” Henry shouts, concern dripping from his voice.
With no lights on, he jogs through the lounge area of Hope’s cabin purely by memory. He goes through the small hallway, following the sound of Hope’s screams, not giving a second thought to what he is about to find. Henry flings the slightly ajar door open with his shoulder and rushes into the dark room. As he enters, his eyes adjust to the dimly lit room; the only light coming through the cream curtains is from the dull white street lamp outside the large window situated high above the head of Hope’s double bed.
Henry's eyes go wide in horror as he sees Hope thrashing around in the bed. She was having a nightmare. Her arms waving around erratically as the rest of her body thrashes side to side.
He moves swiftly to her. “Hope!” Henry calls out, to no avail.
“GET OFF ME!” She screams out, and the sound makes Henry wince.
Henry places his hand on Hope’s shoulder. A gesture he instantly regrets as Hope’s body continues to writhe. He winces as her fingernails scrape down the skin of his cheek, leaving scratches down his face. Thankfully, her fingers miss his glasses and eye.
Before he has a chance to grab for Hope’s flailing hands, her nails rake over his forearm and deliver another set of scratch marks. With the feeling of blood dripping down his face and arm, Henry grips her shoulders more firmly.
“Hope, wake up! It’s only me; it’s Henry!” He tells her, as she lets out another slightly softer-sounding whimper.
“I need you to wake up, Hope.” He shakes her shoulders a couple of times, and Hope finally opens her eyes; through the soft illumination of the street lights, her deep green orbs focus on his soft blue ones.
“Henry…?” Hope mumbles in a sleep-filled haze.
“I’m going to switch the lamp on.” He reaches over and flicks the switch; the warm light brightens the room, and he can now see Hope’s tear-stained face.
“What happened?” Hope asks, her voice still full of sleep and rough from her terror.
Henry decides to not sugarcoat the situation and tells her the truth.
“You were having a nightmare, screaming out loud.” He sees the realisation of what Hope had dreamt flooding her memory, and the look of horror washes over her petite features.
“Henry… I…” He hears the sadness and hint of terror in Hope‘s voice as her breathing comes out in hard, short puffs.
Henry does the only thing that comes to him instinctively. He bends his knee so he is further up onto the bed and reaches out, lifting Hope’s slight frame by her shoulders, and once the duvet and sheet fall from her shaking body, he wraps his arms around her. He rests one hand just above her bottom and places the other around her shoulders. He pulls her to the warmth of his chest, and her arms snake around his waist as they share a tight hug.
A few minutes pass, and he feels Hope start to calm and pull away from their embrace. It’s then Henry remembers he hadn’t arrived at Hope’s alone, and the sound of Kal barking and clawing at the front door can be heard.
“Shit! I left Kal outside!” Henry looks at Hope, unsure whether he should leave her. The decision is made for him when she shoves his shoulder.
“Go… Go and bring him in. I’ll meet you in the lounge. I’m just going to freshen up.” She whispers, tears still falling down her face.
Henry gets up, fighting the urge to wipe away the tears awash on Hope’s cheeks, but jogs back through the cabin for Kal instead. He opens the front door to be greeted by a concerned-looking Kal, who nudges straight into Henry’s legs.
“Daddy’s sorry for leaving you. I had to make sure it was safe.” He bends down to rub around Kal’s face.
He taps his leg, a sign for the dog to follow him into Hope’s lounge. Closing the door and breathing a sigh of relief when he sees his breaking and entering had not damaged the door or its lock. He switches the lock back over, and the sound of Hope’s gentle footsteps captures his and Kal’s attention. The latter charges up to the blonde and jumps up, nearly knocking her over.
“Kal, get down, right now!” Henry calls out, giving the large Akita firm instructions in a stern tone.
Kal obeys his command and goes back down onto all four legs before he starts looking and sniffing Hope a little more gently. Hope pulls her attention from Kal to look over at Henry.
“It’s okay, Hen. I woke you both with my screams. If I worried you enough to break in here, I probably scared Kal too.” She breaks eye contact with him to look down at Kal, as she gently strokes him.
“I’m sorry if I scared you and Daddy. I had a silly nightmare, but everything’s okay, I promise.”
Henry watches with caution to make sure Kal behaves. Hope stands and pulls down the side of her pastel green spaghetti strap pyjama top, which for the first time he notices has coloured images of the Disney Lion King characters. The printed pictures of Simba, Timon and Pumba and the tiny black and green striped shorts are somehow very Hope. Hope turns her attention away from reassuring Kal to look back over at Henry, and he sees her eyes flicker with an expression of what looks like hurt and guilt.
Hope walks the short distance towards him, Kal walking protectively alongside her.
“Shit! Hen, your face.” She reaches out, her fingers ghosting over the scratches.
“I’m so sorry.” Hope apologises, more tears spilling from her watery green orbs.
It’s there and then, Henry decides seeing his new friend cry was one of his least favourite things to witness.
“I’ll go and get the first aid kit; take a seat. I'll be back in a minute.” She gestures solemnly to the sofa, then turns, walking away and heading back through the hall to the bathroom. Kal, following closely behind her. Henry knew Kal could sense Hope’s sadness, and after hearing her scream, he was now in ‘guard mode’ around her.
Henry sits on the sofa, eyeing the marks on his left forearm, blood oozing out of the scratch marks caused by Hope’s fingernails. They didn’t look pretty, but he doubted they were deep. He hears the sound of Kal’s nails tapping the thin carpeted floor, and Hope and Kal soon reappear back in the lounge. Kal follows the blonde protectively, looking around their surroundings in case anything could cause her any further upset.
Kal could not understand; it was a dream and nothing physical that had caused her to scream out.
Henry sees that Hope washed her face and brushed her long blonde locks that had slightly curled at the ends, most likely the result of thrashing about in her sleep. She pushes her glasses further up her nose and places the green first aid kit on her lap.
“I’m so sorry, Hen. I can’t believe I made you bleed.” She says, guilt seeping through her voice. Henry watches as she opens the first aid kit, picks out an antiseptic wipe and rips the seal. She reaches for his left arm, and he lets her lift it, placing it across her lap. Hope then glances between his scratched and bloodied arm and up to his bleeding face.
‘It’s just a couple of scratches, Hope. I’m fine.” He squeezes her knee trying to ease her anguish. “All that matters is that you’re okay; these will heal quickly; don’t worry.”
She looks up at him, a look of sorrow in her eyes.
“It’s going to sting. I’m sorry.” Hope apologises, placing the moist antiseptic wipe over his bloodied cheek. The antiseptic stings slightly, but he doesn’t wince, not wanting to distress Hope at the thought of hurting him further. She gets a second wipe and rubs it over the scratches on his forearm, and the sting is sharp but brief.
“They’ve stopped bleeding. Would you like plasters on them?” Hope asks in a sleep-filled murmur and starts rummaging through the first aid kit.
“No. It’s better to let the air get to them so they heal quicker.” Henry explains in equally hushed tones, tiredness beginning to creep into his body.
“I’ll just get rid of these, and you can head off. I've disturbed you and Kal’s sleep long enough.” Hope says sadly as she looks down. The lack of eye contact saddens him, and he looks down in an attempt to control his facial expression and not frown.
Henry watches as Hope picks up the first aid kit and the used supplies off her lap and stands. He reaches out and takes hold of her wrist and looks up at his co-star. He wonders what kind of man she thinks he is that she thought he would leave her alone.
“Hope, do you really think I’m going to leave you alone after what I’ve just witnessed?” He sees her bite at her bottom lip as she fights with her emotions.
“And I doubt that I’ll be able to prise Kal away from you for at least an hour until he’s convinced you’re safe and okay.” Henry nods towards Kal, who is already up and standing next to Hope, ready to follow her wherever she is heading next.
“Thank you.”
Henry lets go of her wrist and gets up off the sofa to stand next to Hope. “You get rid of that, and I’m going to make us some of that hot chocolate. I know you’ve got stashed in your cupboards.” He rubs a hand up and down her bare arm.
“Then, if it would help, we can talk about whatever it was you dreamt about. That caused you to scream the way you did.” He continues to rub Hope’s bare shoulders. She nods in agreement, and he removes his hand and walks through to the dining area. He turns to see Kal follow her into the hallway, knowing that she is safe with Kal as her shadow. Henry heads into the kitchen to make the hot chocolate.
Hope wraps both hands around her half-drunk, warm chocolate as she watches Henry take another sip of his. She could feel the slight awkwardness that had built between them since they had sat themselves down with their chocolaty treat, almost half an hour earlier. Hope is still quiet due to the overwhelming feeling of embarrassment, and she suspects Henry’s quietness is most likely due to the uncertainty of whether he should say anything to her about how he had found her a short while ago.
Hope looks up from her drink as she feels Henry’s blue eyes watching her; he had done that several times since they had fallen into their silence. Now, with her emotions slightly more under control, Hope finally feels ready to talk.
“You know, it’s okay to ask me, Hen.” She whispers, still mortified at what had occurred. She watches as Henry lifts his eyes from staring into his cup, turning his head to look at her. A sense of guilt washes over Hope yet again at the sight of the red scratch marks on Henry’s face.
“I shouldn’t have said we should talk about it, Hope. It’s none of my business, but if there is anything I can do to help you, or if talking about your nightmare helps, then I’m here to listen. Please, don’t feel pressured to tell me if you’d rather not.” Henry speaks with such sincerity in his voice it almost makes her cry again.
“It’s just a dream. My mind overreacted.” She explains, looking down abashed about the situation she currently finds herself in.
Hope knows there is no easy way to bring up the content of her nightmare, so she does the only thing she can, and that’s to be truthful. Praying she doesn’t make a complete fool of herself. She takes a sip of her drink and swallows the warm liquid down.
Finally building up enough courage to share the contents of her nightmare.
“I dreamt I was bound with a chain and locked to a wall. I was naked and bleeding, being pushed down with a large hand around my neck, squeezing my throat… I…I couldn’t…” She could feel her voice waver and her hands begin to shake.
This was one of her biggest fears: not being able to keep her emotions under control. From her bowed head, she sees Henry’s hand reach out and take the mug from her unstable hands, placing it on the coffee table.
“Take your time, Sweetheart.” Henry reassures her with his relaxing, deep baritone voice, offering her a sense of calm.
“There was a man. Not Matt.” She emphasises the ‘not’, glancing at Henry, wanting to make it completely clear that their co-star was not the perpetrator in her dreams; Henry simply nods, so she continues.
“He forced himself on me, hitting me, scratching me. Then whilst he was raping me, he was choking me, and I…” She pauses for a moment, trying to remain composed.
“I know it was a dream, but I couldn’t wake up, and I couldn’t breathe, and I couldn’t fight him off. I felt like I was passing out… I was so scared….” She hears the sob leave her body before she has a chance to stop herself.
“What can I do, Hope?” Henry asks, his voice breaking through her sobs.
“Hold me.” Her voice is barely audible as she repeats the words Henry had said to her only a few weeks earlier.
She feels Henry’s strong arms wrap around her shoulders, and he pulls her into the warmth and safety of his equally muscular chest.
“Is this okay?” Henry checks, and an emotionally drained Hope can only nod into his chest.
The dark hairs that were poking out the top of his vest, pressing into her right cheek, added their own comfort. Hope feels Henry run his hand up and down the small of her back as his other hand plays with strands of her loose hair.
“It was a cruel dream.” Henry speaks in hushed tones, his hand rubbing in large circles. “Sweetheart, I promise you are safe, and Kal and I will be here with you for as long as you need.” At the sound of his name, Kal’s warm nose brushes against her shin, which is dangling down the side of the sofa.
“It’s okay to cry, Hope.”
Hope, unashamedly, lets out a sob.
“You’ve filmed in three weeks what Matt, Bec and I filmed in five months, and for me that included the luxury of filming Enola and a week’s break over Easter.” Henry says as he continues to rub her back.
Hope takes a deep breath, trying to focus on the relaxing sound of Henry’s voice.
“You’ve not stopped since you auditioned. You’ve hardly had time to memorise the script before you started, let alone process its content. I think you’ve earned the right to have a good cry. Just let it all out, sweetheart. I’ve got you.” Henry’s tone and words offer Hope such comfort that she releases the wave of emotions from the shock of her nightmare out in small sobs.
The warmth, safety and kindness of both ‘her boys’ embrace and nose rubs fill her with the sense of security that she so desperately needed in her moment of weakness.
Another great chapter - I could feel Hope's emotions in this! And (although i dont wish for that nightmare) the thought of Henry barging in to rescue a damsel in distress? Well that's just icing on the cake! 😍
A/N: Thank you for sticking with the story and the supportive comments around the sensitive topic. After an eventful couple of chapters, I thought it was only fair to give you some light hearted fun. I hope you enjoy it.
Summary: It’s Henry & Hope’s favourite time of the week, ‘Fictional Family Day’.
Word Count: 3.8k est
Warnings: 🟢 None -Fluffy silliness all the way- (Warning Page)
Lake in Sussex Park - Sussex Coast - England - May 2019-
Henry looks around his surroundings, taking in the picturesque grounds. The lush green leafy trees and the many colourful flowers, which were immaculately pruned in inch-perfect rows, brightened up the simply named ‘Sussex Park’.
The mid-morning sunlight was sparkling on the dark blue water of the lake, the very same lake that had been the setting of his meltdown a little under two weeks before. Henry realises the park is even more beautiful in the daylight. He makes a mental note that it would be a good spot for an early morning, fasting run before work.
Once they find a quiet spot near the lake's edge, Henry halts Lucy, Kal and himself, turning his head to look at Hope.
“Will here be okay, sweetheart?” He checks, wanting to make sure the area is suitable to keep Grace’s pram secure.
“It’s perfect, Hen.” Hope gives him one of her comforting smiles.
He turns his attention to the little girl, whose dainty hand is enclosed in his much larger one.
“Luce, do you remember what Auntie Hope and I said about our trip to feed the ducks today?” Henry asks, crouching down, resting on the toes of his flip-flop-covered feet. Bending his head down, his brown curls fall over his forehead as he makes eye contact with the toddler.
“Yes. When near the water, hold yours or Auntie Hope’s hand, and no wiggling.” Lucy reaches out her hand, placing it onto Henry’s forehead, moving an untamed curl out of his eyes, making his heart melt at her sweet gesture.
“Thanks, Princess, and that’s right. You must hold our hands or stay in our arms and not wiggle.” Henry bops her button nose with his index finger and gives her a proud smile.
“Okay, Henry.”
Henry stands and takes hold of Lucy’s hand again. The five of them make their way over to a bench close to the lake, where the ducks are happily swimming. Once they reach the bench, Lucy finally sees the ducks in her line of sight.
“Duckies, duckies!” Lucy points with her hand, jumping with excitement.
“Well done finding them so quickly, Lucy.” Henry hears Hope say as she stands to the right of the bench. He lets go of Lucy’s hand and quickly ties Kal’s lead around the wooden arm of the seat.
“Sorry, Kal, but no running around for you yet. Daddy promises you can play ball once we’ve got the work done, buddy.” Henry tells Kal, rubbing both hands over his black fur, and gives the top of his head a quick kiss before standing back up.
He places his large hand against the back of Lucy’s soft, long brown curls, and the little girl lifts her head, moving her head backwards to give him a toothy grin, which he returns.
“You need a hand, Hope?” Henry looks over to where she is bending over the back of Grace’s buggy, looking like she was rummaging for something.
“Found it!” Hope blurts out with a triumphant tone to her voice. She stands back up, waving their work phone in her right hand, a smile on her lightly glossed lips.
As usual, Felicity had allowed them to wear their own clothes, and Joss had styled and done Henry and Hope’s hair and makeup. Joss had also dressed the girls, readying them for their weekly outing with Henry and Hope. With the weather slightly warmer than their previous few outings, everyone was dressed in outfits suitable for the changing weather.
Even Hope was attempting to embrace the warmth. Almost; she was still well covered, clad in a longline v-neck showing off the smallest hint of her breasts, a pair of jeans and finished off with the pastel pink cardigan that she had worn for the promo pictures to keep the chill of the summer breeze off her arms.
Henry had learnt over the last few weeks that Hope felt the cold, no matter how warm the weather seemed. Which, in all fairness, was not a surprise to him. Hope was what he would describe as petite and slim. Roughly eight and a half stone, if he guessed from the number of times he had picked her up for various scenes, and one of them had been with the largest of the prosthetic bumps on.
He suspected she had a high metabolism, probably from the physicality of performing in six or seven shows a week on the West End. One thing he had learnt in his short time of getting to know his new leading lady was that she's a woman who loves her food. He just wasn’t sure where she put it all!
Henry and ‘his girls’, as he referred to them, make their way to the edge of the grey stone-covered walkway at the side of the lake. Reaching the edge, he crouches down with Lucy standing between his spread light blue denim jean-covered legs, his hands resting on her tiny hips.
“Baby Duckies, baby duckies!” Lucy squeals as she points to a line of ducks. One larger than the others, most probably the father according to his green head and yellow beak, was leading the line.
“You found them so quickly! Well done, Princess!” He tilts his head to look directly at Lucy’s beaming face.
Henry glances up and sees Hope holding their work phone and knows she’s capturing the moment.
“Can you count how many baby duckies there are?” Henry asks, and Lucy’s curls sway as she points at each of the baby ducks, counting them out loud.
“There are six baby duckies,” Lucy informs them as she continues to point at them. “And two big ones.” She turns her head to the side, her big blue eyes connecting with his. “The mummy and daddy duckies.”
“That’s right, my clever princess.” Henry praises his fictional eldest.
As Hope films himself and Lucy, Henry makes sure he does not call her by her real name. Instead, using ‘Princess’ made the interaction look more like one between father and daughter and not one between an actor and an on-screen child, without having to bother Lucy to do any actual acting.
“The Daddy one is swimming to the back to see he has not lost his babies.” Lucy observes, excitedly pointing to the Daddy duck.
“Look, Luce, they are coming over to say hello. Do you want to throw some grapes to them?” Henry is distracted by the sound of Hope’s voice calling the little girl by her given nickname; he turns his head to look at the blonde, who was holding out a small bag of green grapes they had gotten from the studio restaurant.
“Yay, feed the duckies.” Lucy claps her hands together with excitement.
Henry takes the bag out of Hope’s outstretched hand, swapping it into his right hand and placing it on the ground. He pulls a couple of the chartreuse-green grapes off the bunch and holds them out for Lucy to take. She smiles and takes a grape out of his hand and throws it into the water; the family of ducks eagerly swims towards them.
“It reached them.” Lucy turns her head to look at him, and he smiles at the proud little girl.
“Throw some more, Princess, so they all get one.” Henry moves his elbow up slightly, so it rests on his knee, making it easier for Lucy to take the grapes from his hand.
Lucy happily throws the grapes into the lake for the family of ducks. Henry turns his head to glance at Hope, who is still filming the interaction between them on the phone, and smiles at her. Although there was no acting required from Lucy, Henry and Hope had already told her on the way to the lake that it was ‘Fictional Family Day’ and that he and Hope would need to refer to themselves as ‘Mummy’ and ‘Daddy’ when they did some filming.
“Etta-Pops, say hi to Mummy.” Henry says, kissing the top of Lucy’s brown curls.
That was something they both had matching more than ever today. Joss had decided to let Henry’s soft chocolate curls be free, adding little product, apart from the very front, where she had twisted in some tamer to control the curls out of his eyes. He had to give it to Joss; she had promised that if he kept his curls long, she would keep them under control, and she had kept to her word. This, apart from his time filming ‘Night Hunter’, was the longest he had gone with his hair this length since his days on ‘The Tudors’. He was starting to embrace them, and he wasn't alone. Whenever he, Hope, Matt or the team posted pictures on Instagram, all the fans seemed to love his long hair just as much as he did.
“Hi, Mummy, we’re feeding the duckies!” Lucy says, and Henry’s smile widens.
“I can see, Etta. You’re doing a very good job, sweetie. Do they like grapes?” Hope asks as she squats down, cradling Gracie to her chest, using just one arm.
Lucy nods at her Auntie Hope’s question before picking up another grape out of Henry's hand and tossing it into the lake.
“Grapes are their favourite, Mummy.” Lucy sways from one foot to the other; luckily, Henry’s large hand is still on her tummy, keeping her steady.
Henry lifts his hand holding the grapes and places one into his mouth.
“Grapes are Daddy’s favourite too.” He chews with a big grin on his face, causing Lucy to turn and hit him on the chest with her small hand, a gesture she had seen Hope do on more than one occasion, taking him by surprise.
“Grapes are not for Daddy; they're for the duckies!” She gives him what Henry can only describe as a telling-off look. Although, he wasn’t sure if Lucy knew that was what she was doing.
Luckily, Henry doesn’t have to think of a response, as Hope quickly intervenes and plays off Lucy’s comment.
“You’re right, Etta. Grapes are for the ducks, not for Daddy. If Daddy eats too many grapes, he won’t have any room for ice cream.” Hope teases, and Henry sees a mischievous look sparkling in her deep green orbs.
“Daddy can always make room for ice cream, and if he can’t eat a whole one, he will…” Henry pauses their ad-libbed conversation, eyeing Hope up over the lens of the camera, and places his hand over the hand Hope is holding the phone with, changing the angle of the screen so he can see the side of their faces.
He removes his hand and scans Hope’s face, glancing at her lips and looking back, his sky-blue orbs making contact with her deep green ones. Without words, he can tell Hope understands his intentions.
“Just eat some of Mummy’s.”
Keeping his hand on Lucy, he glances down with his eyes to make sure Gracie is resting securely in Hope’s arm, against her chest, and moves in towards Hope. Placing his left hand onto Hope’s hip and pressing his mouth against her lightly glossed lips, their mouths work together with ease as they share a surprisingly heated kiss. After a few moments, he feels Hope pull away slightly before giving him another quick peck. Henry opens his eyes to see Hope’s green ones sparkling back at him.
“Sorry, I had to pull away. The angle was giving me an armache.” She explains apologetically.
“No problem, sweetheart. You want me to check the footage?”
Hope passes him the phone, and he scans through the camera roll and plays back the last piece of footage.
“How’s it looking, Hen?” Hope asks softly as he continues to look at the footage; as the short piece of film ends, he locks the phone and looks at Hope with a smile.
“It’s perfect.” He passes the phone back to Hope.
They both stand, each with one of the girls in their arms.
“Who wants ice cream?” Hope asks, looking at Henry and Lucy.
“Me!” He and Lucy say simultaneously as he lifts the girl above his shoulders and tilts her upside down over his back. He feels her little hands hit his shoulders.
“Henry, nooooo!” She squeals through giggles.
“Did you hear something, Auntie Hope?” He asks Hope, who is suppressing a giggle, trying not to laugh at his and Lucy’s antics.
“No, I don’t think I did.”
He continues holding a wiggling Lucy over his head.
“Raspberry time!” Henry exclaims, lifting Lucy back over his head, putting her tummy level with his mouth, and starts blowing raspberries on Lucy’s tummy, making her giggle hysterically.
After a short while, he lifts her away from his face and places her back onto her little feet, and she starts prodding him in the knee.
“Bad, Henry,” she says through giggles.
“Come on, you two, ice cream time before Gracie needs a feed.” Hope shakes her head at their antics, putting a stop to their silliness.
Hope puts a sleeping Grace back into her pram, and Henry unties Kal, and they head to the ice cream vendor to choose their treats.
“Gracie needs big feeds now, or she’ll start crying. Mummy says she’s a little piggy like Daddy.” Lucy blurts out in her toddler honesty, making Henry laugh as he puts his hand over his mouth to stifle his laughter.
“I do hope Mummy says that to Daddy’s face.” Hope replies through her own giggles as she looks at him with a cheeky glint in her green eyes, evidently enjoying the idea of her best friend insulting her cousin.
Henry grins as he observes his biggest girl speaking with his middle one. He pulls his eyes away from the adorable interaction to take a peek at Grace, who was in her pram having a nap. Kal, resting beside her, was on guard for any unfortunate birds that dared to venture too close to his second favourite human, or she might be his first; the honour of the title seemed to flip between the baby and Lucy on an almost daily basis.
In the short space of time since the now fourteen-week-old Grace had been back on set full-time, a little over three weeks. She had changed so much from when Joss and Will had brought her and Lucy to the set, introducing the ‘Pursued’ cast and crew to its newest cast member when she was only two weeks old.
Henry had been terrified of holding a newborn, although he had several nephews. He hadn’t been around in those early weeks of their lives, so Grace had been his first proper experience of being around a newborn. Rebecca already being a mother to her six-year-old son had meant she’d been a pro and had handled Grace with ease. He couldn’t believe that in three short weeks, not only how much Gracie had grown but also how confident he had become in holding her. He was even becoming an expert at winding the baby, much to Joss's delight!
At the sound of Hope and Lucy’s giggles from the wooden seats, he turns his head away from admiring a peaceful Gracie and focuses on the interaction of his other two girls.
“Auntie Hope, can I try your ice cream?” Lucy looks up to her aunt with a small pout on her vanilla ice cream-covered lips.
Despite Henry and Hope’s offer of assistance with her small one-scoop tub, she had insisted on feeding herself, as she is ‘a big girl’ now. Henry watches as Hope bends her head slightly to talk to her eldest niece.
“You can try, Luce, but I’m not sure if you’ll like it. Not all adults like it, so only a small mouthful, okay?” Hope explains, referring to her mint choc chip, single scoop in the small pink container, as she puts a tiny amount onto her spoon and places it into Lucy’s waiting open mouth.
Henry reaches for a wet wipe in the box on the dark-grey wooden table that he had placed in preparation for the ice cream and pulls one out in case Lucy doesn’t like the flavour. Lucy shakes her head in surprise at the taste, and Henry leans his arm over the table, expecting her to spit it out; however, she smiles.
“Auntie Hope, that’s yummy, but I like ‘nilla!” She gives Hope a toothy grin, much to both adults' relief.
Henry pushes the wet wipe back into the box and closes the lid before going back to his tub of peach and vanilla ripple, a little ‘cheat treat’ to himself.
Although he went for a fasting cardio run most mornings. Getting up between four and five in the morning, depending on his call time, to make sure he fit a workout in, with the only exceptions being if a shoot went into the late evening. He would swap his run to the following evening.
For ‘Pursued’, he was not required to be in the peak condition that he’d been in whilst filming ‘The Witcher’; however, he found it easier to maintain his physique than having to start again for his more physical roles and with the amount of nudity that was required of him in ‘Pursued’. It was a good excuse to maintain his toned body. The only problem was that he loved sweet foods, ice cream being high on that list. So treating the girls to ice cream is a good excuse to treat himself too, and the refreshing taste of the peach ice cream was delicious.
Henry picks up the ‘work phone’ off the table and quickly takes a couple of pictures of the interaction between the girls.
“Auntie Hope”. Lucy mumbles as she licks her spoon clean of her vanilla ice cream and starts digging the spoon back into the small container.
“Yes. Luce?” Hope turns and tilts her head to look at the toddler.
“Mummy said, ‘Now Gracie is bigger, we will film in the nursery,’ but we can’t film in there; everyone won’t fit.” Lucy tells Hope, putting another spoonful of ice cream in her mouth.
“No, we wouldn’t fit in Gracie’s room at home, but we have a nursery on set in the big rooms, so we can all fit in there. Even our giant Henry.” Henry raises his eyebrows at Hope’s words as Lucy giggles.
“Giant Henry? I’m not sure if that’s meant to be a compliment or an insult, Sweetheart.” He gives his on-screen wife a questioning look.
“You take it however you want to, Dimples.” Hope gives him a wink as she consumes the final spoonful of her minty ice cream and sucks the sweet mixture off the plastic spoon, removing it with a loud pop.
“Minx!” Henry shakes his head at the younger woman, who winks at him.
“Will I get to see the nursery?” Lucy asks, and Henry nods at the little girl.
“Yes, you will, Luce. You’ll be filming in the nursery with us before you leave with Mummy and Gracie later.” Henry tells his little princess with a gentle tone and a soft smile, purposely showing off his dimples, which he knew his biggest girl liked so very much.
Henry notices Hope go to speak, but she’s interrupted by the sound of murmuring coming from Grace in her pram. He leans over and peers into the pram and smiles, seeing a newly woken Grace, blue eyes peering up at him, her legs kicking at the yellow blanket that he had swaddled her in once they had sat down after getting their ice cream. Henry reaches into the pram and rubs the baby girl’s tummy.
“There’s my beautiful little princess. Did you have a nice nap?” He asks as the baby wiggles her legs more and lets out little gurgling noises.
“Think that's our cue to head back, Hen?” Hope half asks, half states, and Henry pries his eyes away from the wiggling blonde baby and looks up at Hope.
“I think so.” He agrees as he continues tickling Grace’s tummy.
“Right, my beautiful fictional family. It’s time to make our way back; actual work is beckoning us.” He and Hope both stand, and Henry watches as Hope helps Lucy off the bench.
“Which do you want, Hen, the buggy or Kal and Luce?” Hope asks him as she picks up her white denim jacket off the handle of the pram and puts it back on.
“Whatever’s easiest for you, sweetheart.” Henry replies casually as he gives Kal a quick stroke.
“Do you mind if I take our biggest Munchkins?” Henry lets out a small laugh as he picks up Kal’s lead from the ground beside where Kal is sitting.
“Of course.” Henry watches as Hope picks up the pack of wet wipes and puts them in the bottom of Grace’s pram. Hope stands and takes Lucy’s right hand into her left, and they walk around the table and pram to stand in front of Henry and Kal.
“Shall we let Kal play ball on the way back, Hen?” Hope asks him.
“Are you sure you don’t mind? It will probably be a good idea to tire him out a little; he’ll be easier to boss around whilst filming.” Henry asks, and the petite blonde smiles at him.
“Of course, I don’t, and I do have the perfect little person to assist me.” Hope glances down to Lucy, who is chatting away to Kal, her small hands rubbing the white fur around his neck.
Henry bends down, reaching for Kal’s ball, which was in the bottom of the pram, and passes it to Hope, who had unhooked Kal from his lead. She wraps the thick rope material around one of the handles on Grace’s pram and bends over to talk to the large dog.
“Now, handsome, we’re going to play ball, and you’re going to be my bestest boy and bring it back to me and your favourite human every time, okay?” Hope explains to his boy, and at the words ‘favourite human’, Kal nudges his black nose into Lucy’s tummy, who uses her free arm to hug the dog around the neck. Henry smiles at the interaction between his boy and his on-screen sister. Hope gives Kal one final affectionate rub and stands up.
Henry bends down and peers into the pram to double-check on Grace, making sure she is okay, and then moves to the back of the pram, taking hold of the handle.
“Lead the way, my ladies.” He bends over, doing a dramatic mock bow, swaying his arm underneath him, causing Hope and Lucy to burst out laughing.
“Henn...err...ry, you’re silly.” Lucy spills out through her giggles, which in turn sets Hope off into another giggling fit.
“And you’re a very cheeky little princess.” Henry leans over to tickle the toddler, who squeals with delight. He straightens up and sees Hope smiling at him.
Once their giggles fade, they start walking at a leisurely pace back through the park, Lucy and Hope playing ball with Kal as they make their way back to work.
I also came to tumblr the second I saw that vid! But I was disappointed to see the entire HC community from a while back seems to be gone/inactive 😭
Hello 👋 I know, its a little sad nonny - I'm sad too!
Unfortunately that is how fandom is sometimes. It had a boom during covid and the witcher and had died off a bit since people had to go back to work etc.
Henry has also had more long term projects like movies (and a kid too!) so he'll be busy behind the scenes ofc so theres less fuel for it. There's also been a decline in interactions here on Tumblr too in general probably for many different reasons (I know I'm one to talk, I disappeared for a while there and I could probs write a whole nother post about that kinda stuff ) but people do come back!
So..
Why not be the change we want to see right?
To anyone reading this: How about we all pick a couple of posts, pics, art or fics and comment, reblog or send asks to those people telling you rate their opinion or love their work, to thirst over this beefy man together (or just exclaim that the camera person has done an excellent job 👀👌) so they get those delicious notifications and interactions that make fandoms such a lovely place!
A/N: Thank you as always to those that support me and read this story. This chapter discusses some sensitive topics, and I have struggled with what level or warning it required. I have put a yellow warning on this one but if people think it needs a black one please DM me and I will happily change it
Summary: Henry and Hope met two very special people
Word Count: 4.2k est
Warnings: 🟡 MATURE THEMES Discussion of stalking, kidnapping, sexual assault, mature relationship themes and injury. - (Warning Page)
The Fox Inn Pub - Sussex Coast - England - May 2019 -
Three Days Later
Hope clicks the key fob at her KIA Rio, locking the doors. The chilly afternoon breeze flitters against Hope’s face as she watches Henry attach Kal’s lead to his collar.
Glancing up, she notices a young man, no older than his early twenties, walking towards his car near to where they are parked; he stops mid-stride and does a double take. Giving Henry a once-over before smiling to himself at the realisation of who Henry is. Hope smiles at her oblivious co-star whilst he finishes getting Kal ready. She wonders if the bystander had found it strange seeing Superman get out of her modest car.
“Thanks for driving us today; we appreciate it.” Henry gives her a thankful smile.
Hope shakes her head at Henry’s words. She always found it endearing how Heny included Kal in his thanks or general conversations.
“For the hundredth time, Hen, it’s fine. I know the area. It was easier and a lot quicker to drive us than try and give you directions. Believe me, I’m bloody shit at giving them.” Hope reaches the passenger side of the car, and Henry passes her the pink Jasper Conran handbag that had been at his feet during their journey.
“Thanks.” She places the handbag on her shoulder.
“How shit exactly?” Henry questions, raising an eyebrow.
“Let's put it this way. On road trips, I’m banished to the back of the car whether the driver is using a sat nav or not.” She reveals unashamedly. There was no point in hiding her embarrassing flaw. Anyone who knew Hope even half well knew about her poor sense of direction.
“That bad?” Henry nudges his bicep against her shoulder. “Remind me never to let you loose with a map on a road trip then.”
“It’s probably for the best.”
Henry, Hope and Kal reach the entrance, and Henry pushes the door, holding it open for her.
“After you, my lady.” Henry offers, gesturing with his hand for her to enter a thankfully dog-friendly pub, so Kal could join them, since Hope had not wanted to part Henry from the indescribable support that Kal offered him.
Especially during what they both had suspected would be an emotional meeting.
“What a gentleman.” Hope offers the compliment to Kal, running her hand over the top of the large dog's head as she walks through the door, and the pair look around the almost empty pub for the couple, Aaron and Chloe, whom Rachel and Owen had arranged for them to meet in the aftermath of Henry’s outburst during filming a couple of days earlier. The pub was small, but it was well-built and had plenty of beams that sectioned off the various seating areas, with the main bar situated in the middle of the building.
“I think I see them. The man in the blue and white striped shirt with the blonde woman in a green jean jacket.” Henry informs her, and Hope sees him pointing over in the direction of the couple in question. Hope goes on her tiptoes to see. Rachel, ever the organised member of the ‘Pursued’ creative team, had shown them a recent picture of the couple so they knew who they were meeting.
“I can’t see a bloody thing. Lead the way, Hen.” Hope, being only five foot four, couldn’t see.
She places her hand on the small of Henry’s back, hinting for him to lead the way. Hope follows Henry and Kal towards the couple. Once they get close enough to the table, the man Henry had seen stands up, a smile on his face.
“Mr Cavill, Miss Dancy. It’s a pleasure to meet you both.” The man, who looked to be in his mid-fifties, says smiling at both of them. “I’m Aaron, and this is my wife, Chloe.” He introduces himself and his wife. She stands, tucking a strand of her short blonde hair behind her ear.
“Please, call us Henry and Hope, and the pleasure is all ours.” Henry holds out his free hand to shake Aaron’s before moving himself and Kal to the side to greet Chloe. Hope repeats the greeting with Aaron and then Chloe.
Henry passes Kal’s lead to Hope and pulls out the large high-backed wooden chair and turns to look at Hope, gesturing with his eyes for her to take a seat. Hope moves in front of the seat, and Henry pushes it forward as she sits down. Kal plops down between where Hope is and a currently empty chair.
“Look at that, Aaron, and they say chivalry is dead.” Chloe gushes, smiling at Hope.
“Ever the gentleman, my on-screen husband.” She looks up at Henry with a thankful smile.
“What can I get everyone to drink?” Henry asks, and Aaron shakes his head, but Henry holds out his hand. “I insist. You’ve very generously given up your time to meet with us; what would everyone like?” Henry asks; once he gets the three orders, he gives Kal’s head a quick stroke.
“Stay Kal.” He instructs the bear and goes over to the bar to make the order. Hope places her hand over the back of Kal’s head, giving his soft fur a reassuring rub as he tries to turn his head in search of his Daddy. Hope, Chloe and Aaron fall into a polite conversation. The couple asks how the show’s filming was going so far.
“A baby, a toddler and a dog? Aren't there actor rules about that?” Aaron asks, and Hope nods.
“There are, and we’ve completely broken them all. Luckily, I’ve known the girls all their lives, and this beautiful bear is an angel.” Hope glances down at Kal as she continues stroking his head as he faces the bar in search of Henry. who arrives, tray in hand, a little under five minutes later. He passes out the drinks and sits next to Hope.
The four start chatting about Chloe and Aaron’s relationship, their family life and how they realised that they were being stalked. The couple gives them a horrifyingly detailed insight into exactly what Chloe had to endure.
Hope wondered if the details would be a help or a hindrance to Henry. She wanted the meeting with the couple behind their show's story to help Henry deal with the intense emotions he had been feeling the last couple of days.
“Henry, would you like to join me in getting more drinks?” Aaron asks, and Henry nods at the older man, standing and checking Kal, who was snoozing in his place between his and Hope’s seat. The bar was quiet, as was the pub, but Aaron goes towards the side of the bar away from the tills. Henry follows the greying dark-haired man, who leans against the bar, and Henry copies the gesture.
“I thought it might help you if we spoke alone for a moment. Give you a chance to ask me any questions you might want to ask, but not in front of the ladies.” Aaron suggests, in a soft voice.
Henry didn’t know if Aaron would be open to discussing something so personal with a complete stranger.
Henry and Hope’s scenes were becoming even more emotional, and in the next few weeks they would become more physically personal too. With multiple scenes involving the aftermath of Livvy’s kidnappings and rapes in graphic and highly emotional detail. Something Henry knew after his previous outburst would test his acting and his emotional limits to the breaking point. Speaking to Aaron would hopefully help Henry gain insight into how he should portray the storyline correctly while keeping his feelings in check.
“After everything you went through together. When your family was being stalked and then after Chloe was….” Henry pauses, still loathing saying the word he needed.
“It’s ok, Henry, you can say the word ‘rape. It’s what happened to Chloe; we have never skirted around that word. It doesn't make it any less real if you don’t say it.” Aaron replies with a calm tone to his voice.
“After Chloe’s first attack.” Henry still chooses his words carefully anyway. “How did you and Chloe get through it? Learn to be a couple again?” Henry asks softly, not wanting to intrude into the family’s personal life too much. Nevertheless, he still needed to know the answer to the question that had been bothering him for a while.
“Truthfully, we did it in very small steps. No matter how much Chlo knew she was safe with me. It took almost four months before she wouldn’t constantly jump at my touch. That was the hardest part, trying to comfort her but not scare her further.” Aaron speaks with such calmness that Henry wonders how the other man managed it.
“I’ll share one thing with you, and I hope it isn’t overstepping. Owen and Rachel have used our relationship as a base for the story, so you're not naive to this anyway, and it might help with getting into the headspace of your character.” Henry gives Aaron a small nod.
“Please, share anything you are comfortable sharing with me. I’ll appreciate any advice and information.” Henry leans both his forearms against the bar, entwining his fingers, so he doesn’t fiddle nervously with them.
“It took a little over four months from the day the girls and I got Chloe back, after the first time she was taken, for her to be comfortable with attempting sex again. We tried and failed. We almost got her comfortable with lighter touching. Then Chloe was taken again, which meant the process started over. It took another three months to stop Chloe’s night terrors. Then, after the third and final time, another four months. It felt like an age, but we got there in small steps. There was a lot of lying in bed, holding each other. Letting Chlo take the lead, making sure she felt completely safe, but it was worth it. I think for any husband to see their wife go through nightmares and the terrified look in their eyes when she looks at you. The flinching and shaking when you try and comfort the woman you love. For me, that was the hardest part. That and the guilt.”
Henry sees the sadness in Aaron's eyes.
“I couldn’t stop her from being stalked, and I couldn’t stop her from being taken three times. Once I knew what she had to endure the first time, knowing she was going through that again and again. As a husband, I felt I had failed her, and that’s what I struggled to get past.” Aaron reveals, and Henry sympathises, his heart breaking for the man.
How had he managed to keep it together during his and his wife’s ordeal?
It was just as traumatic for Aaron as for Chloe – nothing short of a miracle. Henry knew he had to make sure this brave couple's story was honoured; he, Hope and Matt had been entrusted with.
“One other thing. It’s okay to let your character cry; don’t feel you have to shy away from that. I’m not ashamed to say I cried more than once. At first, you try to be strong. I knew I needed to keep it together in front of Chloe, but there were times I’d go and hide and cry or go to my parents and have breakdowns with them.”
The choices made by Owen and Rachel in the scripts all click into place, the inspiration for several of the most emotionally draining scenes now making complete sense to Henry. Aaron had lived through each painful emotion that Henry had to portray in the scripts.
“Ultimately, that didn’t help Chloe or me. A couple of weeks after we got her back the first time, we cried together, and I think for us, that was a turning point. She knew exactly how much I was struggling, and I knew in painfully graphic detail what he had done to her. We could comfort each other and get through the trauma together, as a couple, like we did everything else. So, I'd say, get support from Hope and the other cast and crew. That would be my small piece of advice to you.” Aaron advises, and Henry nods at him.
“Thank you for sharing something so deeply personal with me, Aaron. I admire your honesty and bravery, and I will do everything I can to honour your and Chloe’s story.” Henry holds out his hand to Aaron, who clasps it in his, shaking hands.
“And thank you, Henry. For showing so much respect for our story. I have no doubt you will all do an incredible job telling it.” Aaron replies, patting Henry on the shoulder as they finish their handshake. “Should we rejoin Chlo and Hope?”
“I’ll go and get us some more drinks first. You go ahead and join the ladies.” Henry offers, and Aaron shakes his head.
“No. You bought the first round; now it’s my turn, and before you feel all awkward. What you and Hope are going to have to put yourselves through to tell this story, our story. It’s going to take a lot from you if it hasn’t already. Let me, at least, buy you both a drink to say thank you.” Aaron explains, and Henry knows he can’t win the argument, so he smiles at Aaron as they go to place their order.
“Your girls are beautiful. Thank you for showing me their pictures.” Hope smiles at Chloe as she passes the phone she was holding back.
“When Rachel and Owen told us they were going to write and produce a show based on our family. It made me realise more so than ever how lucky we are as a family to have gotten through the ordeal together. It’s hard to believe so much time has passed since the trial ended.” Chloe says, locking her phone and placing it back in her handbag.
“Our girls were the same age as the little actresses playing your girls are when I was first taken. Looking back, we were lucky in a way. Freya was three and a half months old, and Demelza was three years old. We had one that knew nothing about what was going on, and the other accepted her father and grandparents' explanation. That Mummy had to go on a work trip, and after I returned, I was unwell. If they had both been older, I think it would have been a lot harder for Aaron to explain where I had gone each time I was taken.”
Hope listens intently to Chloe’s words.
It was hard enough trying to imagine what it would have been like to be in that much pain and danger. Then fearing for your husband and daughter's safety too. Finding a way to explain her disappearance and then injuries to a three-year-old seemed unimaginable. Yet, it had been real, and it made filming those heartbreaking scenes with Lucy all the more real.
“If you don’t mind me asking, how many times were you taken? Please, feel free not to answer.” Hope hesitantly asks, feeling that she might be asking too personal questions.
“It’s fine, Hope. You and Henry can ask whatever you like. When we agreed for our story to be told. We also told Rachel and Owen we were happy to talk to whoever ended up playing the characters based on us. So, please ask whatever you need to help you tell this story.” Chloe gives her a reassuring smile, then continues to explain.
“To answer your question, just as it's portrayed in the show. I was taken three times. The first time for four days, and the second and third for three days each. In total, we were stalked for a year by the time I was taken for the first time. I was held for ten days in total over a period of eight months.” She reveals with such calmness and honesty that Hope could see why Owen and Rachel had been able to go into such detail in their writing for the show.
“How did you get through it each time? I may get a glimpse of what you went through in the scripts, but I can’t begin to imagine how you got yourself through it in reality. Living with knowing you were being stalked, even when you weren’t held. Once is traumatic, but three times, you are an inspiration.” Hope was in awe of the woman's opposite bravery.
“Thank you, Hope.” Chloe smiles at her.
“I’m not an inspiration. I'm just a wife and mother who loves her family more than anything in the world. Aaron, Freya and Demelza are what got me through each and every time that animal took me, violated me and raped me. It was them that I fought to get back to. My incredibly strong, kind, protective, gentle husband and our beautiful baby girls. I would picture them in my mind constantly; I fought to get back to my family. That’s how I survived.” Chloe gives her a sad smile, and Hope can only sit and listen as she explains everything she and her family had to endure.
“I'm aware that you have to film some rather graphic and traumatic scenes to depict what happened to me when I was taken. I can imagine that although it’s only acting for you, it must have an effect on you all. Especially you, Hope. You must have to get into a rather unpleasant headspace?” Chloe asks, and Hope nods as Kal nudges her thigh with his nose, reminding her to continue stroking him, which she does.
“Yes, we all do. I think originally there was an assumption that whoever played Livvy would be the one who would struggle with the headspace of the character. But I think we’ve all had our moments, and that’s why Rach and Owen suggested we meet with admits truthfully, whilst not divulging the true reason behind their meeting.
“My small piece of advice is to try and keep that feeling of remembering what matters, especially for your and Henry’s characters. The need to protect your family, fight for your marriage, and be a good mother to your girls. Trying to get past the guilt and learning to trust each other again, emotionally and physically. Don’t forget what has made your characters a strong couple in the first place. Try and get your characters to recall that, and you’ll do a wonderful job.” Chloe advises.
“We will do our very best to portray your story with the honesty and dignity it deserves.” Hope offers reassurance.
“That’s all we as a family can ask for, and after meeting you both today, I know we can trust you both to do that for us.” Chloe squeezes Hope’s hand that was resting on the table, just as the men rejoin them.
“White wine for you, Chloe, and J20 for you, Hope.” Henry places the drinks down on the coasters in front of them, as Aaron places the two bottles of beers down on the table in front of his and Henry’s seats.
“Henry, on behalf of my lady friends. I have to ask, how’s the fireman’s uniform looking?” Chloe asks, and Henry sees Aaron give his wife the side eye.
“You can’t ask him that, Chlo!” Aaron quips, looking a little surprised at his wife’s bluntness.
“No, it’s fine.” Henry chuckles.
“I’ve only been measured up. We’ve had to delay the firehouse filming due to all the reshoots. Hopefully in the next couple of months, Harry, who's playing Spencer’s best friend, and I will start our training and the filming soon after.” Henry excitedly explains.
When Felicity and a specialist from the firefighter uniform department had turned up and measured him for his uniform, he had enjoyed every minute and couldn’t wait to start the training process.
“Are you filming any actual fires?” Aaron questions, curious.
“Yes, we are. A house fire, where Zac gets injured.” Henry sees Hope turn rapidly at a ninety-degree angle, surprised about that piece of information. She couldn’t have gotten to that part of the script yet.
“That really happened.” Aaron discloses, with a hint of sadness in his older features and in his voice.
“It did…? I’m so sorry.” Henry offers his sympathies, knowing from what he had read in the script regarding ‘Zac’s’ injuries, it must have been a traumatic event for it to be included in the story.
“It was awful. Johnny took the brunt of it. To this day, I don’t know how he only got flash and first-degree burns. For me, when Johnny got injured and we found out it was HIM who set the fire and the trap. It made everything even scarier to think he was prepared to put others in danger like that to get at Chloe. It made everything even harder.” Aaron reveals. “Talking about that fire. I have to ask, Hope, you’re from here, right?”
Henry turns his head slightly to look at his leading lady as she takes a sip of her J20.
“Born and bred.”
“The Chief, is he any relation?” Aaron asks, and a smile appears on Hope’s thin lips.
“My father.” She replies with a hint of nervousness, or could it be nonchalance, in her voice; Henry didn’t know Hope well enough yet to distinguish it.
“Wow, small world. He was the Station Captain at Sixteen when the fire happened. They came out to aid us. I will always appreciate that; he’s a great man. He’s brought through some amazing firefighters over the years since he took over training at the academy.” Aaron informs them, a fondness to his tone.
“Thank you; he’ll be pleased to hear you feel that way. I didn’t know that about the fire. I’m sure he was more than happy to help fellow firefighters in your hour of need.” Hope replies softly.
Henry had started doing research on firemen and how there was a family mentality in firehouses. A ‘brotherhood’ within the job, and Henry was looking forward to exploring it when he finally started training with Harry and the real-life firefighters.
“Right, onto happier topics. This might sound strange considering the man’s playing someone I despise, but tell me, is Matt Bomer as handsome in real life as he is on TV?” Chloe asks, and Aaron sniggers.
“Darling, you can’t ask Hope and Henry that!” Aaron exclaims, shaking his head at his wife’s question; Henry smiles at the older couple's interaction.
“Yes, I can, and I just did.” Chloe slaps Aaron’s bicep with the back of her hand.
“I think it’s an excellent question. To answer it, yes, he’s pretty much the most beautiful man I’ve ever met and a gentleman with it.” Hope declares, and Henry swears that if her eyes could go ‘heart shaped’, they would. He sees the now-familiar fangirl smile appear on her face.
“What does that make you, Henry? According to our eldest daughter, there are many idiots. Her words, not mine. That seems to think you and Matt are one and the same.” Aaron asks, and Henry smiles.
“Not Matt.”
Henry and Matt had joked when they had first met that the casting of the two men in the same show would hopefully put a stop to any confusion that some people had with them. He gives Hope a quick glance and continues.
“In all fairness to the people that get Matt and I confused, I think it’s really only when my hair is dyed black and straight that the issue arises. Hopefully being in ‘Pursued’ will finally put a stop to the confusion.” Henry points to his natural brown curls with subtle strands of grey starting to come through on the sides.
At Henry’s gesture, Chloe smiles at him. “Your natural hair is something to envy. Your curls are beautiful.” Chloe compliments him.
Henry gives her a thankful smile and directs the conversation back to the topic of his co-stars.
“I’ll let you in on a behind-the-scenes secret: Hope and Joss, our on-screen girls’ Mummy, even have a nickname for Matt, don’t you?” He looks at Hope with a smug smile, knowing his comment would probably embarrass Hope a little.
“Oh, you bloody arse, Henry!” She kicks him in the shin under the table, which just makes Henry smile more broadly.
The commotion of Hope moving her leg to kick Henry makes Kal look up from between their feet briefly. Once he sees everything is okay, he rests his head back down.
“Now, Henry has hinted at the nickname; you might as well tell us what it is. I’m sure it’s not that bad.” Chloe questions, tucking some strands of her shoulder-length blonde hair behind her ear.
“Okay. Joss and I call him "the Bomerlicious.” Hope reveals, and Henry sees a confused Aaron look between himself and Hope.
“I don’t get it.” Aaron confesses, looking at his wife, who Henry can see completely gets the reference, and laughs at her husband.
Henry decides to help the man out. “Bomerlicious rhymes with delicious. That’s right, isn’t it?” Henry asks Hope, already knowing the answer.
“Yes, that’s correct. Thanks for sharing that, Henry.” She glares at him with a look of annoyance, which Henry knows is actually fake.
“My pleasure, Hope.” He gives her a smug smile in response.
“When we get to watch the show, I’ll remember to refer to Matt as the Bomerlicious to distract myself from what’s happening on the screen.” Chloe replies, a hint of amused sadness to her voice.
“I hope it helps.” Hope replies, giving Chloe a small smile.
“I’m sure it will.” Chloe gives Hope a nod.
Kal gets up from between Henry's and Hope’s seats, sensing the table’s energy, and starts making his way round the table to get strokes from all four adults as they continue to talk.
A/N: Thank you to my special handful of readers. Your support & kind words is why I will still post this story. I hope this chapter isn't a disappointment.
Summary: Henry and Hope have a difficult conversation.
Word Count: 1.9k est
Warnings: 🟡 smidge of MATURE THEMES Brief mention of scripted sexaul scenes. - (Warning Page)
Lake in Sussex Park - Sussex Coast - England - May 2019-
Henry's heart was racing. He wasn't sure if it was the adrenaline from the shock of what he had seen. Or the running he had done back to his trailer to get Kal or the fast-paced walk to the park that had made his heart beat faster. Either way, he could feel his heart pounding in his chest and his hands shaking as he held onto Kal’s lead.
He had never intended to storm out of the set. He hadn't even planned on watching Matt and Hope film tonight. A change in his schedule had given him the opportunity. There was something about seeing Matt and Hope filming the rape scene for the first time that had caused his brain to short-circuit, and he had lost it. Henry wasn’t naive. He knew he’d walked in on one of the more violent scenes being shot during the evening shoot.
After Hope and Matt’s invitation to come and watch some of their filming, popping into the recording studio before he left for the night seemed like a good idea. The opportunity to get a preview of what the assault scenes would look like would give him something to work with and possibly improve his scenes with Hope. It wasn’t like he hadn’t read the scenes in the scripts. Despite knowing the content, it hadn’t prepared him for seeing the scene with his own eyes.
Watching Matt throw Hope onto the pathetic excuse for a mattress had shocked him. The way Matt pretended to push Hope’s body so forcefully, lying on top of her and thrusting violently into her from behind, had been all too real. Henry knew that Matt would never hurt Hope. Yet, seeing the fear etched over Hope’s face and tears spilling from her green eyes had set something unexpected off in him, and he was angry.
So much so, he knew he needed out of the studio, or he feared his clenched fists would have found their way to Matt, mirroring Pursued’s scripted violence. Henry tries to control his breathing as Kal nudges him in the leg with his nose. He takes a deep breath, and with a shaky hand, he smooths it over Kal’s head and neck. “Daddy’s okay, Kal,” he whispers, leaning down to put himself face-to-face with the large dog.
Henry didn’t know how long he had been sitting there by the lake. It was getting darker, except for a couple of well-placed lamp posts that were now on. He takes several long, drawn-out breaths to try and calm himself.
The sound of trainers thudding against the cement fills Henry’s ears, and he panics, fearful that a night-time jogger might recognise him. Henry looks down, thankful that his untamed curls fall over his forehead, blocking the view of his face. Obscuring his tear-filled eyes and likely still red face from the anger that had engulfed his body. He focuses his attention downwards and sees his hands still have a small tremor. This wasn't how he wanted people to see him.
Kal’s quiet bark of recognition gets Henry’s attention. He lifts his head from his hand and looks up to see a slightly out-of-breath Hope standing in front of him. Her long blonde hair lightly blowing in the soft evening breeze. Hope doesn’t speak; instead, she bends down to Kal, holding out her hand to him. The Akita sniffs her hand before nudging his head into her knees. She strokes his head several times before looking back up at Henry.
He sees her facial expression has changed from one of annoyance to a softer look of something between disappointment and sympathy. Henry was fuming with himself and embarrassed by how unprofessional he had been. He wouldn't have blamed Hope if she were angry with him too.
“I’m so sorry.” Henry apologises almost as a reflex, with a shaky tone to his voice, which even surprises him. Apologising to Hope was the least he could do.
Hope gives Kal one final stroke and straightens back up, sitting next to Henry on the bench. She doesn’t speak to him, or even look at him, for several long minutes.
“I understand if you're angry with me. I’m angry with myself, so you have every right to be.” He turns his head to look at the blonde.
“I’m not angry with you, Hen.” Hope says in a soft tone; the fact she had shortened his name was a good sign, he thought.
“I’m disappointed more than anything. After everything we said during our evening together, on my first night at my lodge. About trusting each other and talking to each other if things became too much. Your initial reaction was to run away instead of waiting at one of our trailers and asking to talk to me.” Hope explains a hint of disappointment in her voice.
He looks away, frustrated with himself that he had disappointed not only Hope but himself.
“I should never have asked if you wanted to see the kidnapping and rape scenes being filmed. I shouldn’t have exposed you to that. This is my second week on set, and I've already caused you distress. I’m so sorry, Hen. I’ve told Owen and Rachel it’s my fault and I’ll take full responsibility, but you will probably need to apologise.”
Henry listens to the calmness in Hope’s voice and finally unclenches his free hand not on Kal’s head. He goes to reach out to place it on the top of Hope’s thigh but hesitates as he sees his hand still shaking. Henry looks into Hope’s green eyes and watches as she glances down to look at his shaking hand. He feels a few tears spill from his eyes and down his cheeks. Hope must have seen them as she places her hand under his chin, making him look her directly in the eyes.
“What can I do?” She asks, almost in a whisper.
“Hold me.” The words spill out of Henry’s mouth before he can stop them. He’s not even sure where the request for Hope to comfort him had come from.
“I…” He goes to retract his comment but doesn’t get the chance, as Hope moves even closer to him and wraps her arms around him. One behind his broad shoulders and the other on his chest. Henry allows himself to be pulled into the comfort of Hope’s arms. He rests the side of his head on Hope’s Spurs hoodie-covered chest and starts unashamedly crying into the security of Hope’s body. He feels her hand go into the stray curls at the side of his face and moves them out of his closed eyes. Her other hand rubs up and down Henry’s back in small circles, trying to comfort him.
“Let it out, Henry. I’ve got you.” Hope places a gentle kiss into the curls on the top of his head.
Henry complies and lets out a small breathy sob as a steady flow of tears falls from his eyes. He releases all the pent-up emotions he was feeling after witnessing the horrors of what Matt and Hope had been filming.
Henry wasn't sure how long it had taken for him to finally stop shaking. He guesses it must have been at least half an hour by how dark the evening sky had become. The stars twinkle in the pitch-black sky, and the moon's reflection was shining brightly off the lake’s dark surface, illuminating the bench they were sitting on.
He lets out a much calmer breath and finally gets his breathing under control as Hope’s right hand continues to soothe him. Her fingers, stroking through his curls. He starts moving his hand, which had somehow ended up resting on top of Hope’s leg, gently down her legging-clad thigh.
They stay like that for another couple of minutes, until Henry finally nudges Hope's arm with his shoulder, and she moves her chin from where it rests atop his head. He feels Hope loosen her arms from around him. He lifts his head, and Hope’s arms slide down his sides. Hers stays around his waist; the other she rests on her lap.
Henry reaches out and strokes Kal, making sure his boy knew his Daddy was okay. Before turning his attention back to Hope.
“I need to ask you something, and I want you to be honest with me. You can’t lie or choose your words carefully in fear of hurting my feelings, okay?” Hope says, her voice breaking the quietness of their surroundings.
Henry turns his head to look at Hope. He scans her expression and sees what looks like a combination of apprehension and concern etched over her soft features.
“You can ask me whatever you want. I will always be honest with you, Hope.” Henry reaches out with both his hands, cocooning Hope’s hands within his warm palms.
“What was it that caused you to react that way when you saw the scene? Did…” Henry watches as Hope pauses for a moment. It seemed she was trying to think of the right words. Henry squeezes her hands to try and encourage her to speak freely.
“Was it the scene itself? Matt said you had watched him and Bec do a couple of kidnapping scenes. You never had any issues with them as far as I’m aware… Or did I do something wrong to cause you to react that way?” Hope asks, breaking eye contact briefly before looking back at him again.
“If I did something that caused you to have this reaction. I need you to tell me, Henry. I can’t let you react like this and not change something to stop this from reoccurring.”
Henry sees Hope’s eyes flash with what looks like embarrassment and guilt. He sighs, feeling his own guilt at making Hope feel this way, all because he couldn’t control his own feelings.
“Hope, look at me, sweetheart.” Henry places his index finger under Hope’s chin, making her look at him.
“None of this was your fault. Nothing in your acting choices made me react this way. Don’t get me wrong, the look you gave the camera when Matt was rap….” Henry pauses around the word shaking his head.
This was part of the problem. Matt wasn’t hurting Hope. It was purely acting, and Henry needed to start remembering that.
“When Matt pushed you down, seeing him act out the rape. You had this look of absolute terror in your eyes, and I saw the tears streaming down your face. You made it look so believable, it took my breath away, and for the briefest of moments, I was frozen to the spot with anger. Then I had this urge to storm onto the set and rip Matt’s head off, and my reaction – it shocked me. Scared me, so I ran.” Henry moves his fingers from under Hope’s chin and places his hand against the side of her face.
“None of this was your fault, Hope. It’s all me; please don’t blame yourself for a single second, okay?” He tries to reassure Hope, feeling her nod into his palm.
“Okay, in future, please just talk to me, Hen.” She requests, and Henry nods.
“I promise, sweetheart.” He rubs the apple of her cheek with the pad of his thumb before removing his hand from Hope’s face.
“We need to get back to the set before they fire us both. I said we would only be an hour, and I think we’ve been longer than that.” Hope tells him, and they both stand; from the fading light, it was, he guessed, now after ten. Henry takes Kal’s lead in his hand, and they leave the bench behind, walking side by side. Making their way through the park and back to the recording studios, to face their bosses and fate.
Giggles aside, this was sweet. Poor Henry - he straight up did not have a good time that evening 🥲. But these two are getting closer and closer and I look forward to seeing just how close they get 👀
I hope they can all get along again, it'd be an awful set to work on if everyone is mad at each other 😬
A/N: Thank you as always to my special handful of fandom friends that are being so supportive. reading and reblogging this story despite some of the difficult topics breeched. I promise things will be get more light hearted as the story develops. Stick with it peeps! As always your thoughts, comments & support means the world, thank you. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this one.
Summary: An unusual situation occurs during the filming of one of the more graphic scenes. ( I can't really describe the chapter without spoiling it for you).
Word Count: 3.1k est
Warnings: ⚫ MATURE Brief description (one short paragraph ) of filming a sexual assault scene, swearing. - (Warning Page)
A/N 2: scripted dialogue for filming the above is after the Matt divider if you want to skip it and is in the scripted font.
TLC TV & Film Recording Studios Studio A - Sussex Coast - England - May 2019-
A Few Days Later
Joss couldn’t believe that two weeks had passed since her cousin-in-law and best friend had arrived on set. Rebecca had been fantastic in the role. Joss had seen that briefly for herself before she had left for her maternity leave and after her return. However, upon observing most of the reshoots that had taken place since Hope had joined Pursued. There was a different energy on set and, more importantly, a different dynamic and chemistry between Hope, Matt and Henry. Joss may be biased, but she could clearly see the changes were most definitely for the better.
She watches Rachel as she directs Hope, Matt and the crew. The scene consists of the aftermath of Livvy’s second kidnapping and coming to, as the drugs ‘James’ used to kidnap ‘Livvy’ with start to wear off. Followed by the first pieces of dialogue between the two characters. Peter enters the studio and unhooks the chains on Hope’s wrists. The blonde stands and goes over to her seat, and Joss gets up from her own chair, making her way over to her. Hope gives her the smallest hint of a smile the moment she sees Joss approach. Joss reaches her friend and places her make-up bag on the floor and picks up the ‘bruising palette’, as she and Poppy called it.
“So what have you and Will got planned for your wedding anniversary; a nice meal and cocktails?” Hope asks, as Joss leans in patting some more concealer onto Hope’s forehead. Joss hadn’t expected or ever imagined she would be celebrating her wedding anniversary applying make-up to her best friend’s face in between filming rape scenes, instead of spending the day with her husband and their girls.
“You know Will; he's probably got a box of my favourite chocs and is ordering Chinese.” Joss offers a guess with a knowing smile.
“If your cousin has any sense, he knows not to suggest cocktails whilst I’m breastfeeding.” She gives Hope a wide-eyed smirk as she pats the makeup under Hope’s eyes to conceal any blemishes.
Joss had tried the alcohol-free cocktails after she’d had Lucy but found them to taste strange, a bit too sugary for her palate, so she had avoided them during her pregnancy with Grace.
“Of course, sorry, I forgot. Maybe next year.” Hope apologises, and Joss feels the blonde tap her left hip gently with her hand. Joss starts running her hands through Hope’s hair, trying to make the front layers look slightly dishevelled.
“You okay, Hun?” Joss asks softly, so no one could overhear them.
“I’m fine; my knees are a little sore from all that kneeling. Apart from that, I’m good. More importantly, is my big oaf of a cousin okay? He’s hardly said two words to me since he arrived after lunch.” Hope reveals, sounding concerned about her older cousin.
Joss was used to Will and Hope asking her about each other. They were close, more like siblings. But they knew if there was something they didn’t feel comfortable saying to each other, Joss would play the go-between for them.
“To be honest with you, I think he’s feeling a little uneasy sitting in the make-up trailer with Grace. Whilst you’re in here filming rape scenes. He knows they’re not real, but it doesn’t make it any easier for him. You’re his little cousin and surrogate sister rolled into one. The thought of you having to film a rape scene, even if it’s fictional, makes him worry about you.” Joss sees her best friend nod.
“I get that. I’ll talk to him and make sure he understands I’m completely okay with what I have to do. That way he might be able to look me in the eye again.”
Before Joss has a chance to reply, they hear Rachel’s voice from the other side of the studio.
“You’re all set, Hun.” Joss squeezes her best friend on her dressing gown-covered shoulder. They make their way to where the scene is being shot. Joss holds out her hands to take the gowns from Hope and Matt before making her way to the back of the studio to give them a little bit of privacy.
An hour soon passes, and after a ten-minute break, to give Hope and Matt’s knees a rest and Joss a chance to feed Grace. Joss is back in her usual seat, watching as the filming of another scene takes place. In the two weeks since Hope had been cast, they had made such good progress with the reshoots with the girls. They were now able to start filming the scenes between Hope and Matt more consistently. Joss watches Lewis move his camera high above his shoulders and tilts the large HD camera down slightly.
“Are you getting a clear view on the screen, Rach?” He asks Rachel, who was currently directing Matt and Hope in a variety of violent assault scenes.
“Yes, looking good,” she confirms.
The crew had spent the afternoon filming some of the less violent sexual assault scenes. The scenes consisted of Matt’s character acting out a sick romantic fantasy, forcing Hope to kiss him and act like a ‘normal’ couple. Every time ‘Livvy’ didn't comply with ‘James’, he would slap her around the face. The more the drugs wore off, the less ‘Livvy’ complied, and the angrier ‘James’ was becoming.
As time moved on, they had filmed ‘James’ forcefully penetrating ‘Livvy’ with his fingers. The abuse wasn’t just physical but verbal too. The words coming out of Matt’s mouth even made Joss feel uncomfortable. It didn't matter; she had seen Matt perform them before with Bec. He was so convincing that however much of a ‘fan girl’ crush she had on him, any moment he was portraying ‘James’, she found him terrifying. Even more so right at this present moment.
Matt grabs Hope by her biceps and throws her down on the thin mattress with such force you could hear the sound of Hope’s knees hitting the ground with a loud thud. Joss winces, thinking that Hope would have bruises in the morning. Witnessing her best friend look so traumatised even though it was an act, it had made Joss relieved that it was a closed set and Will had gone back to the make-up trailer. Joss is pulled from her thoughts at the sound of a loud, ear-popping bang halting the filming.
“What the hell was that?!” Rachel asks in response to the brutal sound that had come from near the main door of the filming studio.
Joss watches as Matt and Hope look at each other, confused, from their position on a thin mattress. They were both naked except for their modesty pouches. Matt, lying over Hope’s back, who turns underneath him to get a clearer view of their director.
“Henry Fucking Cavill!” Ethan, one of the two cameramen who were filming the intimate scene, says. “I caught him on camera; if you play it back, Rach, you’ll see him knock the chair over.” He motions a film roll gesture with his free hand, and Joss sees Rachel start tapping on the keyboard that controls the monitors.
With everyone else focused on Henry's brief appearance in the studio. Joss knew it would be unlikely they would be going back to filming anytime soon. She pulls her radio out from its position on the arm of her chair and asks Peter to enter the studio.
Scooping up the two fluffy dressing gowns, Joss quickly jogs onto the set. Holding one around Matt’s body, as he helps Hope into hers. Joss then helps Matt slip his on. She had been so focused on watching the scene, making sure Matt's and Hope’s minimal modesty was staying intact, she hadn’t heard or seen Henry enter the set. Maybe the others were mistaken, and it was just a member of the crew who had accidentally entered at the wrong time.
Peter enters the studio and jogs over to where Hope is on the floor and bends down to unlock and release Hope’s wrists from their metal cuffs. He leaves as quickly as he had entered, and frankly, Joss didn’t blame him. Matt helps Hope up from the floor and wraps the fluffy robe around her, tying it for her. Joss watches in silence as Hope shakes out what was probably a cramp in her wrists and ankles. Joss moves away from the set and picks up the two pairs of white slippers and brings them over to Matt and Hope. They both put the slippers on as Rachel speaks again, looking up from the monitors.
“For fuck's sake, what was he even doing in here? It’s a closed bloody set.” She shouts, and Joss turns her head to look at her boss, and she can see Rachel is furious at the amount of scene that was now ruined.
“That’s my fault.” Hope confesses, and Joss darts her head to the side, shocked at Hope’s words.
“How is it your fault, Hope?” Rachel asks exactly what Joss is thinking. “You’re not the one that stormed in and out of a closed fucking set!” Rachel exclaims, looking over to where Hope and Matt are still standing, her face like thunder.
“Henry and I were talking shortly after I signed up for the show. About the headspace of Spencer and how not knowing what his wife went through during her kidnapping and rape. Anyway, I suggested that Henry come and watch a couple of the sexual assault scenes to see if it would help him. I cleared it with Matt.” Hope explains, turning to glance at Matt, who nods, confirming he had consented to Henry watching the scenes. Hope had mentioned it to Joss, but only as a passing comment, and up until now she had forgotten all about it.
“Bravo, Hope! fan-fucking-tastic idea. The middle of the scene is completely ruined, and we have a bloody rogue Henry Fucking Cavill. A great achievement.” Rachel glares at Hope before snapping her head away to look at the camera crew.
“Where did the fucker go?” She asks; no one gets a chance to reply as the commotion of Rachel’s assistants coming and going from the studio, talking on walkie-talkies. Trying to locate Henry fills the room. It’s then Owen comes in.
“Why is no one bothering to answer their walkies?” He questioned, unaware of what had happened. “Has anybody seen Henry? He just finished up on the office set, and I needed to ask him something, and he wasn’t in his trailer.” Owen asks, oblivious to what is happening.
“The fucker was here ruining a bloody good scene.” Rachel growls, sounding angrier by the second.
“What was he even doing here? It's a closed set?” Owen asks the same question Rachel had several minutes earlier.
“Ask blondie over there. It was her fucking bright idea to invite Henry onto a closed set. When she didn’t even check, he could stomach watching the scenes.” Rachel points to Hope; Joss internally winces, knowing that Hope is going to get the wrath of both of their bosses.
“Hang on a fucking moment, Rachel!” Matt calls out a hint of anger in his voice. He kneels getting up from the mattress.
“It’s not Hope’s fault. She didn’t know if or when Henry would take her up on the offer.” Matt defends Hope, placing an arm around her waist to show his support from their boss's wrath. Matt the protector was out in force, and it suited him.
Joss knew there was a reason she and Hope had ‘fangirled’ over Matt since they were twelve. He was a gentleman through and through.
“This is my fault. I accept responsibility for what’s happened, and I will fix it. Let me get some clothes on, and I will find Henry and talk to him. I’m sure he didn’t mean to cause a disruption.” Hope tries to appease their bosses, and Joss sees her squeezing Matt’s hand.
“You tell him from me he needs to get a bloody grip and control himself if he wants to watch filming on my set. Or I will ban him from the set on his non-filming days completely. You have thirty minutes to get the fucker under control and your arse back here ready to film. Do you understand?’ Rachel snaps angrily.
Hope can only nod.
Joss didn’t really blame her; Rachel was raging, and she didn't blame the older woman. Filming was hard enough without disruptions.
“Thirty minutes. I’ll get some clothes and go and find him. I will sort it; everything will be okay.” Hope replies, understanding.
“It better fucking be.” Rachel bites back.
Joss wonders if her best friend could get to the bottom of the situation before Owen and Rachel really lose it with Henry. She watches as Hope starts walking in the direction to leave the studio. As Hope moves past her, Joss grabs her wrist, and the blonde turns and looks at her.
“It’s getting late, and it’s dark. If you leave the site, make sure to take your phone with you and call Will if you need him to come and walk you back.” Joss suggests looking out for her best friend.
Hope was more than capable of knowing how to look after herself. However, in the heightened stress of not only the content Hope and Matt were currently filming but also the added tension that was not only in the room but etched all over Hope’s face. Joss didn’t want her to head out into the late evening, alone, without any form of communication.
“I will get my phone when I get changed. I’ll be fine, Hun.” Hope pulls Joss into a tight hug.
“I will be back as quickly as I can.” Hope moves from their embrace, and Joss watches as the blonde jogs away and through the large studio door.
Hope, dressed in nothing but her fluffy white dressing gown and matching slippers, jogs out of the studio grounds and makes her way towards the security gate that leads to their trailers. She takes her gate pass out of the dressing gown pocket and swipes it, continuing her jog to Henry’s trailer. She didn't give a second thought to the fact that the only item she was wearing underneath was her flimsy modesty pouch. Hope knocks twice, getting no response, including no sound of Kal’s familiar soft bark.
“Bollocks, Henry!” Hope mutters in frustration to herself.
She runs the short distance to her trailer, which was only a few paces away from Henry’s. She pulls out her trailer card, swipes it and enters. Hope opens her safe to get her mobile phone out, closes it with a hard push, then proceeds to throw her passes and phone on the bed.
She hurriedly removes the fluffy gown and pulls angrily at the tape on her see-through modesty pouch with a small wince. As it catches on a strand of pubic hair. The pouches were fucking pointless at the best of times, and there was nothing modest about them. She tosses it, along with the dressing gown, onto the floor.
Hope opens the small wardrobe doors and pulls out a pair of black knickers and grabs the first pair of black leggings she can find. Roughly pulling them on whilst standing, she scans her wardrobe and pulls out a pink, square-line top. Not bothering with a bra. She yanks her old, pastel pink Tottenham hoodie that had ‘Spurs’ written in shiny purple and blue glitter out of the wardrobe and shoves it over her head, putting her phone and security passes in the pouch of the oversized garment.
Moving to the door, she puts on her black Ugg boots and leaves her trailer, going in search of her AWOL on-screen husband.
Once out of her trailer, Hope considers the next location Henry might be in. She jogs to the car park, saying a silent prayer, wishing that Henry had not done a complete runner from set. If he had, Hope knew she wouldn’t be able to protect him from their boss's wrath. When she approaches the car park, she breathes a sigh of relief upon seeing his car. Only to be disappointed to find Henry not sitting in it.
Hope walks over to the security desk and sees the familiar face of James, sitting in his usual spot. She reaches the open window of the desk and receives one of James' warm smiles. He then studies her face before speaking as Hope catches her breath.
“Everything okay, Miss Dancy?” The older man asks with genuine concern, and Hope can’t help but smile softly at the older man.
“I’m okay. I’m looking for Henry and Kal. You haven’t seen either of them?” She asks, trying to use her skills as an actress to conceal her worry.
“Yes, in fact, I did. They just walked past me. Mr Cavill looked in a world of his own; he didn't even say goodbye like he usually does when he leaves.”
Hope instantly feels more concerned than she already was. Henry was the poster boy for politeness; this wasn’t good at all.
“You don’t happen to know where Henry usually takes Kal for walks around here. I’m not familiar with the best dog walking trails.” Hope asks; yes, she had grown up in the town, but she wasn’t familiar with the best dog walks.
“He told me Kal likes the one with the lake that backs onto the main park, about ten or so minutes away. They’re not that far ahead of you. You will be able to catch him if you leave now.”
Hope looks around the entrance to the recording studio lot, thinking for a moment about what course of action she was going to take next.
“Can I please borrow your radio, James?” She asks, and James nods his head.
“Of course, you can, Miss Dancy.” He passes it to her through the small window.
“Thank you.” She turns the dial on.
“Rachel, Owen or whoever is listening, it's Hope. I know where Henry is. I’m going to need a little longer than I initially thought; we will be off-site for at least an hour. I’ll text when we are on our way back.” Hope instantly gets a response.
“Fine, but hurry up. An hour is your limit, Hope.” Hope hears Owen reply in a firm tone, still sounding furious. Hope doesn’t bother replying and passes the radio back to James.
“Thank you, James.”
“No problem, Miss Dancy.” He gives her a wink.
“I will be back shortly.” Hope turns away and heads to the lake, saying another silent prayer that she finds Henry quickly.
“Stay safe out there, Miss Dancy; it will be getting dark within the hour.” James shouts out to her.
The location was one of the safest places Hope knew. However, it seemed with a show like ‘Pursued’ being filmed, it made everyone extra cautious. Hope turns back and gives him a nod, thankful for his concern, before making her way towards the park.
