Written for anon aka those-ginger-tresses who said "Prompt where Karen has been kidnapped and is held for weeks on end and when Matt finally gets her back she's a complete wreck"
Major trigger warnings for this fic, you can message me, but I'll put them in the tags and stick this under a cut
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Sorry this took so long to write, I really loved the prompt and tried to do my best xx
Oh and thanks to dxrvill for beta-ing (:
~story anon
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Good morning Kaz!!
Karen reached over the edge of the bed grumpily, grabbing her phone off the table.
Matt it is six in the morning
Fuck off
Matt looked down at his buzzing phone and smiled. He typed up a sappy apology and sent it off, chuckling to himself. He must’ve been blushing because when he looked up from his lap, Jenna and Steven were staring at him inquisitively. He could feel his body temperature rising.
Jenna nodded to his phone. “What?” She grinned.
Matt shook his head, “Nothing. Just, uh, Kaz being Kaz.”
Steven laughed and rolled his eyes, secretly glad he wasn’t in charge of keeping the two idiots in check anymore.
A waitress came around and took their orders, and while Matt, Jenna, and Steven were enjoying their meal, Karen was desperately trying to get back to sleep.
They’d had two 14 hour days in a row, and she’d only made it home a few hours ago. Karen was exhausted. She tucked her hand beneath her pillow and curled up her legs. Karen shut her eyes and within seconds she had dozed off.
**
Matt had been preparing the house all day for Karen’s arrival. Jenna and Steven had practically begged him for lunch and as soon as he reached home, Matt got back to it. He stood around his bedroom and rearranged his stuff, moving Karen’s things into the front two shelves and setting his belongings further back. He cleaned up the bathroom and set freshly cut flowers on the table in the kitchen. Matt made a mental note to change the flowers in two days when her flight was actually supposed to land.
Matt counted down the hours. 72. 48. 24. 12. 6. 3. He bounced over to the couch and sat down, giddy with excitement. Setting his phone on the table next to him, he reached for the remote and switched on the TV. He watched little bits and pieces of whatever was on, not able to concentrate on any one thing for too long. After watching the last half hour of a Disney movie, he checked the time, and called Karen at the airport. Matt sighed in regret for letting Laura borrow his car; he wanted to pick Karen up from Heathrow himself instead of making her have to take a cab.
**
Karen waited patiently for the seatbelt sign to turn off and stared out the window at the foggy gray terminal outside. When she heard the ding, Karen immediately rose and grabbed her stuff from the overhead locker. Stepping off the plane excitedly, she rushed to the baggage claim.
Karen was the first one at the carousel, but unfortunately she'd beaten the luggage there too. She stood at the side of the room, hoping not to get recognized, and waited until she spotted her red suitcase. When it came across the conveyor belt, she rushed to grab it quickly and headed outside.
Karen took a deep breath of the murky gray British air. Her eyes darted from left to right, looking at the cars surrounding her. Karen’s phone rang in her hand and she picked up the call excitedly.
"Hey Matt! I’ve just landed! Looking for a ride now." Matt smiled and apologized for not being able to be there. She laughed, it was fine, they’d be spending all their time together anyway.
Suddenly, a hand grabbed her from behind and pulled her into a cab. Karen screamed.
Matt sat up straight on the couch and pulled the phone closer to his ear.
"Kaz? Karen?" There was no reply.
"Karen!" Matt yelled into the receiver. Matt dropped his phone and scrambled off the couch. He reached for the empty spot where his keys were supposed to be and froze.
Fuck.
Matt’s stomach flipped and blood pumped faster and faster through his veins. He picked up the landline and dialed 999. Matt could barely breathe out the words. How could he explain that? He didn’t even know what happened.
They asked him where he was and he tried to explain it wasn’t him, she was at the airport, something bad just happened. They told him they would dispatch people to both locations, and to try to stay calm.
Matt panicked.
**
Cold, strong arms pushed Karen into the backseat and they were driving away before she could even realize what was going on. Karen tried to run when he stopped at a gas station, but he’d locked the doors. She kicked and screamed for anyone to hear her, but the windows were thick and tainted and the radio was blasting. He returned with duct tape and thrust the back door open. Karen stared at him with wide eyes.
"Let me out!" She pushed him with all her strength. "Let me out!"
He forcefully shoved her down and covered her mouth with the tape.
"Mffm mm fmfm!" Karen tried to kick him with her heels, but he grabbed her ankles and tore her shoes off with a rash sweep. She slapped his face and he twisted her wrist, dropping her arm violently.
"Stop," he spoke grimly.
Karen shook her head in horror and disbelief as he taped her ankles and wrists. She screamed through the tape as he drove them off.
When she opened her eyes again, everything was dark. She looked around and tried to get up but couldn’t stand. Karen gasped. Her hand was chained to a chair.
"Help!"
She screamed and screamed, breaking down into hysterics. But no one came.
**
No news of Karen in four days. Matt bit his nails anxiously as he talked to the police again on the phone. He’d filed a missing person’s case, called Karen’s parents, talked to Lynne, who drove down right away, and had had the TV on the local news channel 24/7.
He paced the room, checking his cell phone to see if Karen had texted him at all. Nothing. Matt chucked the phone across the couch, screaming at the walls. He smashed the light switch with his fist as he entered his own room, and crawled into bed, burying his face in the soft comfort of his pillow. Matt let himself drown in an ocean of tears.
**
He crept in at night, switching on the lights over the stairs as he walked down. Karen woke up with the sudden change in atmosphere, but remained lying still on the cold, hard floor. He approached her in the corner of the room.
"Would you like to go someplace else?"
Karen froze. He couldn’t be serious. She looked at his firm arms and dangerous smile and didn’t move.
"Very well then, right here."
The man pushed her down, banging her head on the dense cement floor. He tore through her clothes and Karen panicked with the horrifying realization of what was going on. She kicked and screamed. The man immediately punched her in the stomach and Karen shut up. His big hands kept her arms still as his slimy voice whispered into her ear. Karen moaned in disgust. He reached down between her legs and spread them apart slowly, running his greasy fingers up her thighs. Karen struggled for her life, trying to get out of his grasp, but his hold was too strong. He leaned in on one elbow pressed on Karen’s left thigh. She cried out in pain as his entire body weight collapsed on top of her. He grabbed each of her breasts tight enough to leave red marks and tears streamed down Karen’s face. The man hurriedly unzipped his trousers.
"No. No please," she begged, wriggling and squirming underneath him.
He ignored her pleas and followed through, lifting Karen’s legs around his waist. Karen brought a hand up to her bleeding lip, watching his movements with wide, fearful eyes. He slowly slipped inside her and Karen winced. She looked away at the dirty floor instead as he pumped back and forth inside her. It hurt. It was hot and gross and Karen wanted to be anywhere, anywhere else other than here. She pursed her lips and grimaced as he continued. It hurt, it hurt so much. He finally came, and Karen almost threw up.
**
Tired raccoon-like black circles had formed around Matt’s eyes. Lynne had come down again and after weeks of not sleeping, she forced him to go to bed, promising that she’d stay up and watch the news for him. Matt eventually admitted to himself that she was right, and headed off to his bedroom. Lynne kissed him good-night and with a gentle touch on his shoulder, she took him into her arms.
"I’m so sorry Matty."
Matt was grateful for his mother’s compassion and he teared up because he didn’t have to hold it in anymore. Not for her, she understood. He cried into his mother’s shoulder and finally felt just a little bit better.
**
Matt was starting his eleventh cup of coffee when there was a knock on the door. His mug shattered to pieces as he pulled it open. Hot black coffee spilled everywhere.
Matt could barely breathe.
“Oh my god.”
He pulled Karen inside the door and started crying into her hair.
"I thought I lost you forever I thought I’d never see you ever again," he blubbered. He kissed the side of her face as he pulled away, caressing her cheek with this finger.
She was bruised and battered, her eyes dead and empty.
He frowned in concern. “Kaz, what happened?” Karen shook her head. Not now.
Matt nodded and hugged her again, rubbing her back lovingly. He phoned the police and Karen’s parents right away, slipping his fingers between hers as he spoke to them.
Karen didn’t talk. She lay between his legs on the couch while he wrapped his arms around her, but her lips were pursed and she refused to make eye contact. Matt’s heart sunk in his chest, he wanted desperately to know what happened. But she wasn’t ready, and that was okay. Karen curled up on her side, nuzzling her face into him.
He was warm and loving, his presence gentle and welcoming, nothing like what she’d had to endure for the past five weeks.
A tear rolled slowly down Karen’s cheek, and a few more, and then a few more, until Matt’s shirt was soaked with her silent downpour. He frowned uneasily and wrapped his arm around her tighter. Karen tensed up at his change of touch right away but loosened her restraint when she remembered it was just Matt.
**
Warm sunshine peeked in from behind the curtains in the window and a singsong bird chirped in the wind. Karen’s eyes fluttered open. She scanned the room, confirming that yes, she really was home, and lifted the corner of the blanket to get up, searching for Matt.
He burst into the room and smiled, doing a little half-jog sprint thing to get by her side.
"Sleep okay?" he asked. "I didn’t want to wake you up and make you move to the bedroom. Just brought you a blanket instead."
She smiled gratefully and thanked him, but her eyes quickly darted to the floor and Matt could see the light in them fade. His heart skipped, it pained him to see her like this.
Matt gave Karen a warm shower after breakfast. He climbed in first, testing the temperature and gestured for her to join him. Karen couldn’t remember the last time she’d had a proper shower. She stood under the water, letting Matt do all the work. He lathered her body with soap, making mental notes of her bruises but not saying a word. She was so skinny, Matt tried to be as delicate as he could. He felt as if she’d snap with just one harsh move. He then shampooed her radiant orange hair, the only thing about her that had remained bright and cheerful. They stood underneath the water for a long time. Karen rested her head on Matt’s neck, the steady stream of water trickling down her back.
"Kaz?" Matt eventually whispered.
"Hm?"
"We’re gonna run the tank out."
"Okay."
Karen stood for a few seconds longer and stepped out of the glass box, wrapping a towel around herself and waiting for Matt.
"Thanks," she said, as he switched off the water and grabbed his towel too.
"My pleasure."
Matt led her to the bedroom to get her changed into something comfortable. He grabbed one of his baggy old band t-shirts from the closet and lifted it gently over her head. Karen stared into the empty space in front of her as he did so, her eyes glued to the picture frames by the mirror. The metallic rims shimmered under the bright white lights. Matt, Karen, and Arthur stood smiling at the camera, surrounded by miles of cornfield on the set of Doctor Who. Karen remembered that day well, doing her favorite thing in the world with her two favorite people.
Matt sat in the silence and took Karen’s hands in his. He looked up at her pleadingly and waited to see if she’d respond. She shook her head fiercely and shook his hands off, crawling to the other side of the bed and getting in the unmade covers. Matt hesitated climbing in with her. He gave her a few moments and then joined her.
"Karen I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…"
She didn’t respond. Matt swallowed slowly and just lay there next to her.
He couldn’t get another word out on the subject before she angrily turned away or stomped off into the bathroom all day.
**
Matt sat with his hands stroking his hair back in front of his face.
"Karen! I’m sorry!" He rose from the couch and knocked on the bathroom door, optimistically hopeful that she’d open it.
Karen screamed inside her head. He’s Matt! She threw down the shampoo bottles and kicked the cabinet underneath the sink. He’s just Matt!
Her memories flooded back to her. Cold, hard floors and a pitch black room. Tied to the wall. Chains cutting into her skin. Karen shuddered.
She scrambled for her razor in the back left corner of the drawer under the sink. The sharp metal edge glistened temptingly as she held it in the light. Karen longed for the relief. She sunk the edge of the blade into her skin. She drew line after line, the blood escaping her body giving her vital reprieve.
She heard Matt yell her name. The blade pierced deeper into her pale white flesh as she sunk to the floor.
**
Her cuts had mostly scabbed over, a few had even started to turn white. Matt lay in bed beside her, his fingers intertwined in hers. Karen still hadn’t spoken a word and Matt’s anxiety levels were soaring like a rocket. As he turned her palm in his fingers, he noticed the cuts. Light at first and then deeper, heavier, bigger scars.
Matt swallowed uneasily. “Karen, have you been…did you…” He struggled to get the words out. “Karen are you cutting?” he nearly whispered.
Matt had caught her off guard and she quickly removed her hand from his and sat up defensively. Matt eyed her nervously and she made a move to leave the bed. He grabbed her before she left.
"Karen, please." She stared at him intently. The dark bags under his eyes confessed his sleepless nights worrying about her.
He pulled her closer. “Please.”
Karen dropped her shields.
"Yes," she sighed. "Yeah, okay?" Karen started to cry. Matt’s heart sunk in his chest.
"But I didn’t— It was just one time," she explained. Partly for him but mostly for her benefit. "Just once."
Matt wiped her eyes with his sleeve and summed up his courage. He needed to know.
"Karen, what happened? When you were, what…actually happened?"
Karen stood up hastily.
"I don’t want to talk about it," she forced out.
"Karen please."
She pursed her lips.
"I just want to help you!" Matt yelled.
"I don’t need your fucking help!" she yelled back. "Just drop it!"
Matt’s frustration was getting too much for him to handle. He stormed out of the room and grabbed his keys from the table. In a matter of seconds, he was gone.
He drove for hours. Matt blasted his music as loud as it could go and sped down the motorway at ninety miles an hour. No destination in mind, he just needed a clear road to empty his head.
He came back late in the evening that day and didn’t pester her about it again.
**
Karen felt sick. She crawled out of bed, into the bathroom, and hovered over the toilet. Matt heard her heaving and stood up to follow her.
"Kaz?" He knocked politely, "You okay?"
Matt turned the doorknob gently and budged open the door. Karen was kneeling on the carpet by the toilet, one hand gripping her hair back, the other helping her balance on the floor. Matt dropped down to her side as she bent over again. Chunks of Karen’s dinner from last night went spewing into the toilet bowl. She struggled and coughed. Matt held her hair for her and lovingly massaged her back.
"Thanks," she said when she finished.
Matt pressed a hand to her forehead.
"How do you feel? Do you have a temperature?"
Karen shrugged him off.
"I’m fine. Tummy’s just a bit funny. It’s ok."
Matt tucked Karen on the couch with a blanket wrapped around her and a bucket by her side. She watched Friends reruns in front of the TV all day.
**
Four days and she hadn’t gotten any better. A thought dawned on Matt. He approached her cautiously and sat on the arm of the couch.
"Hey Karen, do you think you could be..." He paused nervously. "Pregnant?"
Karen let him continue talking.
"Because I don’t think we’ve had any sex but you’re still getting sick so maybe it’s possible I dunno…" He trailed off.
Karen sat up straighter.
"Should I run down to Boots?" he asked.
She made a small nod and looked out the window. Karen watched as Matt scurried across the street and she held her stomach with a frown.
**
Matt picked at his lip anxiously. It wasn’t a habit of his, but he’d picked it up from Karen.
Speaking of Karen, she’d told him nothing all week. After returning from Boots, he’d handed her the box and she’d run to the bathroom, not uttering a word to Matt about the test when she’d finished.
Matt came back from a meeting with his agent and he saw that she had locked herself in the bathroom. He held out his closed fist to knock on the door but pulled it away slowly and made himself a sandwich instead.
A breathy shriek came from across the hall.
"Matt!" Karen screamed.
He dropped his food mid-bite and ran.
"Karen? Kaz open the door!"
Karen stumbled to the handle and pushed it open. Matt’s eyes grew wide.
"I cut too deep!" she panicked.
Matt’s jaw dropped. Her blood was dripping everywhere and the marble floor was turning bright red. He pulled off his shirt and wrapped it tightly around Karen’s forearm.
"Hold on, I’m getting bandages." Matt sprinted to the closet for the first aid kit. He dumped the contents out onto the floor and reached for the bandages, Neosporin, and scissors. Karen had sunk down the wall and was sat on the floor when he came back. Matt’s shirt was soaked with blood and Karen flinched as he lifted her hand. He held her arm until the bleeding stopped, pressing slightly on her cut. Karen cried in pain. Matt dabbed her arm with soap and water and applied some Neosporin to the wound, apologizing for the sting as she whimpered. He then carefully wrapped a bandage around her arm.
"Come on Kaz," he said, lifting her up off the floor. Matt noticed her other cuts and wondered why he hadn’t done anything to those, but he let it go. He led Karen to the living room and set her on the couch. Karen curled up into a ball and shut her eyes. Matt sighed. He clenched his fists in exasperation. Matt left Karen on the couch and trod off to his bed.
He woke up to an incessant buzzing by his ear. Matt grabbed Karen’s phone to turn of her alarm, but realized someone was calling. He blinked his eyes feverishly to make out the name on the tiny screen.
"Dr. Moore?" Matt thought. He sat up and let it go to voicemail. When it was finished, he played it back.
"Hi Karen, it’s Dr. Moore. I was just calling to check on you. If you’re still on for Wednesday, I’ll see you in the clinic at 8 am. I suggest you eat something light beforehand and make sure you don’t take any nonprescription drugs. No alcohol either. Okay, that’s all," She lowered her voice. "But Karen, I really think you should bring someone. Tell Matt, okay?" She paused. "Right, see you. Bye!"
Matt exhaled deeply. Karen.
He stepped out of the covers into his slippers and grabbed a blanket from the closet.
"How’s your arm?"
He sat beside Karen, who was just waking up.
"Fine."
"Can we…actually talk? Not me pestering you. Not you waving everything off. Can we have a real conversation?"
Karen sighed. He was right.
"Dr. Moore called."
She cringed.
"What’s up?"
Karen twisted her lips and pulled at her fingers.
"The test was positive."
"What?"
"The test, it was positive."
Matt took a minute to process, then it hit him. Oh.
"I’m having an abortion."
They sat in silence. Which frankly was making Karen very uncomfortable.
"Well?" she snapped.
Matt shook his head. “Nothing.”
She slid her hands in her lap between her legs and stared up at him.
"Can you come? With me?"
Matt smiled gently. “Of course, stupid.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead.
**
Matt slipped his hand in hers as they walked out of the hospital. Karen gripped the bag of pills tightly and kept her head held high as they walked through the car park. When they got home, she took the first one and lay down with Matt. He ran his fingers through her hair as she lay beside him, braiding it gently and pulling it apart just as delicately.
"The next one is…" he started.
"I’ll take it tomorrow," she replied, turning to face towards him. Karen’s thumb stroked his cheek. He leaned in slowly and pressed his lips to hers. Karen shut her eyes and kissed him until she couldn’t breathe, finally pulling away to get some fresh air.
They took a lazy day. Matt read a script he had received from his agent while Karen listened to music on her phone for the rest of the afternoon.
**
The misoprostol sat on the edge of Karen’s plate at breakfast. Taking a deep breath, she downed the pills. She frowned and buried her face in her hands. Matt stopped washing his mug and moved towards her.
"It’s okay," he said, trying to be of comfort.
She lay draped over the table until Matt made her move so he could clean it. Karen grabbed a kleenex from the counter and plopped herself down on the sofa. Matt joined her when he’d finished and drew tiny circles on her hand as one by one, the cramps started to appear. Karen shuddered as a wave of pain forced its way through her.
Matt sat up straighter, not sure how to help. Karen stood up quickly and bolted to the bathroom and he could hear the crinkling of pad wrappers and the crisp metal sound of the wastebasket closing.
"Do you want to put on a film?" Matt asked when she came back.
"Yeah, sure, play whatever," she shrugged.
Matt fished for the remote and perused their options on Netflix. She rested her head in his lap and lay on the remaining two-thirds of the couch Matt had left unoccupied. Part way through the film, Karen dug her head into Matt’s thigh. He lifted his hand from her hair.
"You alright?"
Karen winced. “It hurts.” She pushed her hand into her lower abdomen. Matt leaned over to kiss the side of her forehead. “It’ll be okay.”
When the movie finished Karen got up to change her pad. Matt had started looking for another one as she walked to the fridge to get a Coke.
"We can just watch stuff all day if you want. I’ll order some food," he called out to her. He grabbed the phone next to him a few minutes later and recited their standard Thai food takeaway order to the woman on the other end: one pad thai, one green curry, and a bowl of jasmine rice. He thanked her and hung up.
"30 minutes," he said. "What do you want to watch now?" Karen picked up the remote from beside Matt’s left leg and browsed their queue.
"The Devil Wears Prada?"
Matt nodded, “Sure.”
Karen clicked on the film and snuggled against Matt. Occasionally she nudged her head into his forearm and groaned, but she insisted she was fine. The movie finished and they got up to put their plates in the sink and throw away the empty take away boxes. Then Karen ran into the bathroom to change.
Matt ran through the thoughts that plagued his nights once more. He watched as Karen sat back down next to him and he wrapped his arm around her instinctively.
"Kaz?" he whispered.
"Hm?"
"We didn’t have sex."
Karen shoved his arm away and turned the other way. Matt looked at her with a worrying concern.
"Karen?"
She shook her head.
"Please just tell me what’s going on."
Karen exhaled deeply and rested her head in defeat on Matt’s shoulder.
"…So, when I was um." She took a breath. "When…after I got here, at the airport, and he grabbed me and I was talking to you," she began. "And he drove me away and—"
Matt shook his head weakly.
Karen fiercely continued, she couldn’t keep this in anymore.
"He locked me in a room and it was dark, so dark, and one night he came in. I don’t know it might have been daytime... I don’t know. And he…"
Matt gulped. She could say anything right now. Anything except what he was dreading to hear next. He rubbed his eyes and urged himself to stay silent.
"He grab—" Karen suddenly pushed her face into Matt’s shoulder and cried out.
"Kaz?" Matt turned in immediate concern. "Karen?"
Karen moaned at the intense wave of pain. She scrambled off the couch and curled up on the floor, clutching her stomach as she went down.
"Matt it hurts!" she cried, writhing on the floor.
Matt stood up quickly.
"Do you want some Advil?" he asked. She nodded stiffly and he went to find them, leaving Karen sobbing on the carpet by the couch.
Sharp, searing cramps tore through Karen’s abdomen. She pulled at the carpet and clenched her fists, curling up around the pain. Matt rushed in with the pills and a glass of water and she sat up unsteadily. Matt took the glass back from her and gently helped her up and placed a hot water bottle on her lap as she sat on the sofa. He tucked her hair back gently behind her ear.
"You alright?"
Karen closed her eyes and nodded. They sat in near silence, but the cars outside and the humming of the refrigerator was enough background noise to keep them from going insane.
The inside of Karen’s head was a battlefield. Thoughts, memories eating away at her happiness, filling her mind with pain and misery. She was sick of the suffering. All she needed to do was get the words out.
"Matt," she began. He turned to face her.
"…I was raped," she whispered, her voice hardly reaching an audible decibel.
Matt’s eyes dropped and his heart sank in his chest. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t expecting this, given the facts, but every word still stung and the thought of Karen abused and helpless made his stomach churn in disgust. He stared at her closed eyes and wriggling fingers, and wrapped his arms lovingly around her. Karen leaned into him.
"I don’t know what to say," Matt admitted, pulling back.
"It’s okay," Karen mumbled. "I’m trying to deal with it, I’m fine."
Matt frowned and lifted her chin with his fingers. “If you ever, ever need anything, know I’m here for you. Always.”
Karen nodded. The pure honesty in Matt’s eyes made her melt. She blinked out her tears and clutched the back of Matt’s neck. He leaned in closer, pressing his body to hers, wrapping his arms around her waist, shutting down every visible space between them. She kissed him deeply, full of all the words she never said. All but three.
"I love you," she breathed.
Matt smiled into her mouth and pulled her even closer.
"I love you too Kaz."
Karen grinned. Matt’s lips were on hers and he was so full of love, and Karen finally remembered what it felt like to be home.
I'd love to see the fic now, but if you'd be unhappy with it I'd say wait and edit it :)
I’m not exactly unhappy i just really loved this prompt and want to make it better than my average writing :) I’ll see what I think, I need to read it over. I’ll do some minor edits but I think I’ll just post it sometime soon
hi! your fics are perfect and I'm just wondering if youre taking prompts at the moment?
oh my gosh thank you so much!
um, so, here’s the dealio~ I started school and I’m super busy, so yes I guess I’m taking prompts, but I can’t promise that I’ll actually get to writing all of them. I’m in the middle of a prompt right now, I have chapter 4 of my AU to write, and I’ve kind of planned out? two more prompts, so there’s stuff coming, but I’m not sure when I’ll get to them. If you’ve got a prompt you can still send it over! :)
Hi there anon! I’ve gotten really busy with school (the only reason I’ve had time to write is because I’m sick at the moment). This sounds super cute, I just don’t think I’m going to be able to do it justice because I know nothing about Tom and don’t want to mess it up oops
Maybe send it over to turnip? I don’t know, sorry. But I will tell you that I’m in the middle of writing one fic, have two semi-planned out, and need to write chapter four of my AU, so there’s that stuff coming up! Sorry :(
Written based on kazza-smith’s rp because I’m obsessed and need fic for half the things that happen in it. This time I wrote one(:
~story anon
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Matt woke up with pounding in his head. He pressed his fingers to his temple and shut his eyes.
"Kaz?" he whispered. Matt gently moved his fingers to tap her shoulder. Karen turned into his touch and moaned in acknowledgment. She rubbed her eyes and said, "It’s three in the morning Matt. What?"
"Do I feel warm?"
Karen pressed the back of her hand to Matt’s forehead and then on hers. She frowned, “Yeah a bit. Wait.” Karen hopped up from the bed and rummaged through the cabinet shelf for a thermometer.
Matt sat with it in his mouth while Karen went downstairs to fetch him a glass of water. She grabbed an extra blanket on the way up and the night time dose of NyQuil.
"100.3," Matt said as she reentered the room. Karen handed him the water and medicine, and set the blanket by the foot of the bed.
"Try to go back to sleep?" she suggested. She climbed into the bed beside him but made sure to stay a safe distance away. "We can deal with it in the morning."
Matt stayed up all night coughing and Karen stayed awake with him, frequently refilling his glass of water and rubbing Vicks on his back at six am.
Jemma woke up crying at eight. Karen sighed, it had been a long night. She crawled out of bed to the nursery to find Marie already there, rocking Jemma in her arms. Her little nose was running and Karen wiped it with a tissue over her mum’s shoulder.
"Kazza," Marie said, "Do you want to check her temperature? I think she might be coming down with something." Jemma sneezed and confirmed her concern.
"Karen?" Matt shouted from the bedroom. Karen turned to leave and stopped at the doorway. She pointed to the drawers by the changing table.
"Thermometer should be in the second one mum."
Karen rushed back to the bedroom to help Matt with whatever he needed her for. She was out of the room a second later, scrambling to find a box of tissues. Jemma was crying even harder now and Marie brought her into Matt and Karen’s bedroom.
"Matt are you sick too?" she asked. He nodded and pulled the thermometer out of his mouth.
"101, how’s Jem?"
"100.5," she replied. Marie tried to soothe the baby, but it wasn’t working. When Karen returned with the tissues for Matt, Jemma reached out her arms for her mother. Marie sighed and handed Jemma over, rubbing Karen’s arm delicately.
"Try not to get sick dear."
Karen nodded and paced the room, trying to get Jemma to calm down. Marie headed downstairs to fix up some breakfast.
"Elsa," Jemma wailed. Matt picked up his laptop from beside him and ejected the DVD inside. He got up from the bed and turned on the TV for his daughter. Karen sat down on the covers, holding Jemma in her lap and closed her eyes.
"Sorry Karen," Matt said as he joined his girls. "You’ve been up for like six hours helping." Karen shook her head, "It’s fine."
Marie came back with a plate full of toast, some bananas, and tons of water. Matt thanked her gratefully. Jemma quieted down as the movie started and Karen relaxed. Nearing the end of the movie, Karen realized her eyes felt heavy and her throat was starting to hurt. Oh no.
"Mum? Can you bring me a thermometer?" she called from upstairs. Marie grabbed one from her bedroom and bounded up the staircase.
Well, it was settled. The three of them all had fevers and were to stay in bed, per Marie’s orders. Jemma was content laying on Karen, with her blankie and thumb in her mouth. Matt was coughing away and Karen was desperate for sleep and medication. Marie took Jemma off of their hands when Jemma would let her pick her up. Karen leaned on Matt’s shoulder and rubbed her belly with her hand.
"Do you wanna sleep honey?" Matt asked. Karen nodded and Matt scooted down so he was laying, not sitting. He wrapped his arm around Karen and she fell asleep with her head on his chest.
Marie took care of Jemma and lunch and brought some food up to Matt and Karen when they asked for it. The day was spent sleeping and watching rubbish TV in their bedroom. At eight, Marie gave Jemma a bath and set her down to sleep. Karen got up and walked around, hoping to be of some use; she’d practically slept all day.
Poor Jemma in her crib was all red rosy cheeks. Karen stroked her short ginger hair with her finger and kissed her on the forehead.
"Good night. I love you."
Karen headed downstairs to the kitchen to find Marie making some soup.
"Thanks mum, you are the absolute greatest," she said, sitting on a chair by the counter. "Don’t worry, I’m not gonna touch anything and I don’t want to make you sick too." Karen laughed.
"You can take your bowl." Karen held the comforting warmth of the bowl close to her body and carefully climbed the stairs.
After dinner and more endless hours of bad television, they decided to go to sleep. Matt switched off the lights and scooted closer to Karen.
Just two hours later, Jemma woke up bawling. Karen groaned, her throat was killing her. She rushed to Jemma’s crib and lifted her up, whispering to her lovingly. She walked around Jemma’s room and then headed to her own. Matt, who was now awake, got up and took Jemma from her arms.
"C’mere I’ve got you. Shh, it’s okay, I know, I know," Matt cooed. Karen coughed into her arm.
There was a knock on the door and Marie stood with a mug of tea in the corridor. She handed it to Karen and rubbed her back. Karen sipped the tea and sat down on the bed, watching Matt calm Jemma. When he sneezed four times in a row, Karen took Jemma back and Matt went for some more NyQuil. Jemma had started to cry again and her poor little nose was running. Karen’s throat burned. She wanted so badly to just down an entire bottle of NyQuil, but she couldn’t.
Crying Jemma eventually stopped and slowly drifted off to sleep in Karen’s arms. Karen crept into the covers of the bed and slid right next to Matt. He had his glasses on and his laptop out, tissues littered all around. Matt looked beside him and smiled. He dumped the tissues into the wastebasket and slung his arm around Karen’s waist. She snuggled her body up against his and after a few minutes, she had fallen asleep too.
Karen’s new alarm went off with a loud annoying buzz and she groaned into her pillow. She reached her hand lazily over to shut it off and rolled over on her side to fall back asleep. Karen woke up again a few minutes later and jumped out of bed with a start. 6:45! Shit!
She ran around the house, getting stuff together. Grabbing a piece of toast from the kitchen, she bounded out the door and down the front steps to the sidewalk. She raced to her neighbor’s house, hoping they hadn’t left yet, and caught them right as they were backing out of the driveway. Karen sunk into the back seat and bit into her toast as they headed down the street.
Karen missed her parents being home. She used to be able to take her time getting ready in the morning; well, at least nobody else was waiting for her. Karen would probably only wake up fifteen minutes before she had to leave no matter what. And sitting in a stranger’s car sucked! They weren’t quite strangers, Karen knew Rachel from her math class, but still. At least Rachel kept the radio on, saving for sitting in uncomfortable silence. With the occasional chewing of Karen’s breakfast.
When Rachel’s dad pulled up near the school, they piled out of the car and headed their separate directions. Karen thanked him for the ride and scanned the car park for her best friend.
No sight of a short brunette wandering between the cars. Karen frowned and meandered towards the buildings. Several different groups of friends passed her, laughing and talking amongst each other. Karen pulled at the straps of her backpack, fidgeting with the knotted ends. God Jenna, where are you?
"Hi Karen!" a voice called. Karen swiftly turned her head. Oh. It was just a kid from chemistry. She smiled and waved, but quickly turned around again to watch the cars. When it was getting late and Jenna was still nowhere to be found, Karen headed to her first period.
The day went by in a blur, except for all the breaks between classes. Those seemed to go on for ages. Without Jenna to keep her company, Karen sat alone by a tree. She ate her lunch in silence and spent the time observing her surroundings. A little gray squirrel scurried up a tree to her right, and shoved tiny acorns into its furry cheeks. Three dark-haired boys juggled a football in the open courtyard, almost hitting the girl with a neon cast. A gust of wind nearly blew somebody’s project away, but they were quick to slam a hand on their papers. Karen smiled as somebody waved to her, but went back to eating her food. When the bell rang, Karen tucked her lunchbox into her bag and followed the crowd to her next room.
The next day at school, Jenna was sitting on the edge of a bench when Karen arrived.
"Sorry about yesterday," she laughed, "Our flight got late. We had to wait six hours in the airport!"
Jenna told Karen all about her trip to South Korea as they walked to their class.
Karen smiled warmly as Jenna spoke. For a tiny girl, she sure had a big presence. Jenna’s shoulder length brown hair swayed while she talked, her hands moving rapidly to convey her excitement.
First period was fun because Jenna was there. Karen braved the rest of her classes alone, but she was busy learning, it was fine.
After break, Karen took her seat in history, glancing at the board as she sat down. Matt flew through the door, almost tripped on his laces, and stumbled into his chair. Karen couldn’t help but giggle. His quiff flopped in the air and Matt brushed it back once he was seated.
Their teacher playfully instructed the class to settle down after Matt’s raucous entrance. Everyone laughed as they took their seats.
Mrs. Piper started the day by handing out their graded pop quizzes.
"After you’re finished looking at your quizzes, pass them to the front. When I have them all back, we can talk about our new project!" she told the class excitedly. Two students quickly helped pass back the work and Karen turned around when Matt got his pop quiz back.
"How’d you do?" she asked, smiling.
He flipped his paper over to reveal a small red A, 94%.
"Nice!" she exclaimed.
"Couldn’t have done it without your help," he shrugged. "What did you get?"
Karen muttered shyly. “100…”
"Wow, that’s really good! Nice job!" He smiled and handed his paper to Karen. "Here, pass it back up."
Karen felt her body fill with warmth. Matt’s voice was so gentle and genuine. She might’ve blushed, but she couldn’t tell and definitely wouldn’t say.
When Mrs. Piper had all the papers, she gave out the instructions for the project.
"First big project of the year! Are you guys excited?" A mix of enthusiastic, and less enthusiastic, "yeahs" came from around the room.
Mrs. Piper laughed as she started to read over the paper. “So for this assignment you will work in pairs and I think,” she paused, “I will let you choose your partners. Don’t make me regret this.”
Karen sighed. She’d always secretly liked it when teachers assigned partners, leaving out the awkward I-have-one-friend-and-she’s-not-in-this-class problem. She stared down at her desk and continued reading the handout.
Matt turned to his right and looked at his buddy David, but to Matt’s chagrin he’d already paired up with Chris. He quickly turned behind him and looked at Richard, but he was taken as well. Matt looked around the room with uncertainty. He glanced at the bright orange hair in front of him.
"Hey, Karen? Do you wanna be partners?"
Karen’s face lit up. “Wow, really? Yeah!”
Matt wanted to be partners with her? Matt Smith? Her?
She bubbled up with happiness and grinned.
They’d worked on most of the project online, but Karen offered up her house to meet together and actually finish it the weekend before it was due. When the doorbell rang, Karen jumped. She opened the door nervously and welcomed him in.
Matt looked around, taking off his shoes and keeping them by the door. It was surprisingly quiet. Matt noticed a grand piano in the living room as he walked in.
"Do you play?" he gestured at the piano.
"Hm?" Karen turned around. "Oh yeah, a bit…" she replied. Ten years is not a bit, she thought. Karen walked just a little faster to get to her bedroom and hoped Matt would follow and not ask her any more questions.
"Hey," he said from behind her. "Can you play something?"
Damn.
"Um, maybe later." She continued walking. Matt followed her down the corridor.
Matt chuckled when he saw the posters on her wall. “Spice girls?”
"Shut up."
She led him to her desk, where she had several pieces of paper sprawled out, and a laptop and camera, waiting to be used.
"Right, so I was thinking we could go over the script and then try to finish filming in the next few hours?" Karen suggested.
Matt nodded in acknowledgement; he was still staring around her room. “The Scream, huh?” he said, gesturing to some cardboard dolls by her bedside.
Karen blushed. “Oh I, uh, I made those when I was younger.”
Matt grinned. “Cute.”
Oh my god.
Karen hid her face behind her hair and grabbed a copy of the script for Matt. She slapped him with it and he snatched it up from her fingers.
"Make a small skit depicting life in the Renaissance. Create several characters to reflect people in different social status with a variety of jobs," Matt read. "Be creative!"
Karen set up the camera and hooked it up to the computer while Matt went over the script.
"Are your parents not home?" Matt asked. Her house was so quiet. She was only like fifteen, she couldn’t be living alone.
Karen blinked. “Oh they um, they had to go back up to Scotland. My granddad’s,” she paused, “Sick.”
Matt was hit with a pang of guilt. “Oh, sorry.”
"It’s fine," she waved it off as if it didn’t matter. Matt felt really bad. He’d seen several photos of Karen and her granddad in the hallway, she was clearly very close to him. Karen looked up from the floor and put on a smile. "Back to work then?"
Karen stood behind the camera while Matt did all of his characters. She laughed as he tried different accents and made silly faces at her.
"Stop laughing!" he accused. "We can’t use those takes!"
Karen covered her mouth. “It’s not my fault! You’re trying to make me laugh on purpose!”
Matt pretended to get defensive. “I am not. You’re so unprofessional.”
Karen rolled her eyes.
Matt finished his set and then they switched over. Karen briefly looked at the script and tossed it back onto the bed. She walked over and quickly showed him how to use the camera and then happily hopped in front of it.
When Karen started acting, Matt’s mouth dropped in awe. This was just a silly school project.
She was brilliant!
He watched her as she portrayed the pain of struggling artists, the ecstasy of the royalty with their crowns and riches, and the hardships of the poor. His heart raced in time with the ticking clock on the table.
"Was that okay?" she asked when she was finished.
Matt stood dumbfounded.
"Matt?"
He blinked in confusion. “What, oh, yeah. Yeah, it was good.”
Holy shit.
Karen smiled as she stepped behind the camera alongside him. “Cool, now we just need to edit and we’re done!”
Written on a prompt for anon "Karen becomes blind...Matt has to help her..."
<><><><><>
I tried to research it a bit, but this ended up being really rushed. The disease actually takes years to develop. Also it's not very good...I had 48 hours to do work and wrote this instead haha
~story anon
<><><><><>
"Matt?" Karen stumbled into the room. "My eyesight’s kinda blurry."
He hopped off the couch and moved to her side, dropping the remote on the cushions and setting his Coke on the table.
"And like, slight tunnel vision," she panicked.
Matt gently wrapped his arm around her waist and helped her to the couch, instructing her to close her eyes while he called the doctor’s.
When he hung up on the phone, he sat down beside Karen.
"Can you tell me what color socks I’m wearing?"
Karen opened her eyes and glanced at Matt’s feet. “Purple? Orange spots?”
Matt affirmed her response. “Has it gotten any better or?”
Karen shook her head. She leaned into Matt’s shoulder and shut her eyes again.
"What did they say?" she muttered. Matt slung his arm over her and said, "Come in at 11."
Karen stretched out her legs and set her head on Matt’s chest. His fingers ran through her silky red hair. She smiled and fell asleep to the steady humming of Matt’s beating heart.
<><><>
They waited weeks and weeks for results. Any sign of anything would’ve been a relief; the not knowing was giving the two of them anxiety. Meanwhile Karen’s sight wasn’t getting any better.
"Retinitis pigmentosa," Matt said one day, to no one in particular, when they’d gotten home from the hospital. He wanted to get his tongue around the words. He hung up his scarf and placed Karen’s bag on the floor by the umbrella stand.
Karen slumped over the armrest of the couch, letting her knees hit and then her body roll onto the seat.
"Retinitis pigmentosa," he said again sadly, walking to join her on the sofa. Karen bit on her lip as he sat down. No help, no cure, no way out. She felt tears starting to roll down her face and she grabbed Matt for support. He took a deep breath and held her tight, rubbing her back lovingly and giving her the room to cry.
Karen blubbered and coughed. “Matt, what do I do?”
<><><>
Months passed and the gradual decline of Karen’s eyesight was proving difficult for them both.
On an early spring day in May, Karen woke up suddenly and had a panic attack. She tapped around the bed with her hands.
"Matt?" she called frantically.
He rushed in from the other room and saw Karen in bed.
"I can’t see anything!"
Matt buckled at the knees and sunk to the floor. Karen struggled to breathe and gasped for air, as she sat shaking on the bed. No, not possible. Please, no.
Matt slowly composed himself enough to stand up and gently crawl into the covers beside her. “It’s okay, it’s alright,” he said, reassuringly. He encouraged her to breathe with him, counting their breaths and holding her hand.
When Karen was breathing normally again, he relaxed a bit. She opened her eyes and screamed, “Matt it’s all black! I can’t see a thing!” Karen dissolved into heartbroken tears.
Matt didn’t know what to do; they knew this might happen eventually. He hugged her affectionately and held her close to him for hours while she sobbed.
<><><>
"Kazza?" Matt slipped his hand in hers. She leaned closer to his voice, following the direction of his firm arm as he walked. They were going to the kitchen, that was easy. Their whole home was pretty easy, Karen knew their house inside and out. But going outside was a completely different story, outside was tough. Matt helped her into a chair and pecked a kiss on her cheek.
"Eggs? Or just toast?" he asked sweetly, moving towards the fridge.
"Just toast I think," she replied. Matt grabbed two pieces of bread from the bag and slid them into the toaster.
"Want to go out today?"
Karen picked at her lip with uncertainty.
"It’s fine if you don’t want to Kaz. Take your time." He smiled and she could feel the room get warmer.
<><><>
Matt heard thumping from the shower and a high pitched scream. Shit. He lay down the plate he was washing by the sink and ran to the bathroom. “Kaz? You okay?” he asked by the door. “I’m coming in.” Matt pushed the door open gently without waiting for a reply.
"Do you want help?" he offered, not quite sure if she’d let him. Karen was still the same fiery red Scot, she wasn’t likely to admit to needing help.
Karen surrendered to his offer when she realized she couldn’t even find the bar of soap she’d just had in her hand a second ago. Matt smiled in relief and started to strip.
"I’m joining you," he warned, as she heard him taking off his clothes. Karen waited for him to step inside and he rested his hands on her waist, kissing her neck as she laughed. He picked up the soap from the shower floor and lathered it around her body, caressing her skin and tracing her freckles. Matt shampooed her hair delicately. He ran his fingers across her scalp and massaged her neck lovingly. After he rinsed her off, they stood under the pouring water with their arms wrapped around each other. Karen turned Matt around so he was facing the direction the water was coming from and her back was towards it, and pushed him up against the wall. Then her lips were against his and she was kissing him. Her gasps for air and the collapsing space between them showed Matt how much she needed this and he reciprocated the fervor her actions, kissing her passionately.
<><><>
Karen found an escape playing the piano. She didn’t need her vision for that. The music raced though her body as she danced her fingertips across the keys. Enraptured by the beauty of his wife, Matt walked up slowly behind her. His soft touch on her shoulders sent shivers down Karen’s spine and she momentarily stopped playing.
"No, keep going," Matt encouraged. "It’s beautiful."
Karen smiled as she placed her fingers back on the keys. Matt shut his eyes while she played, letting himself drown in her music. Matt flicked his eyes open to see a tear delicately rolling down Karen’s cheek. He wiped it away gingerly, lifting her chin up with his finger.
"I love you Karen," he whispered.
Karen mumbled something back as he leaned over and blinked his eyes shut, pressing his lips to hers.
Matt squeezed Karen’s hand as the doctor approached them. Karen studied her face as best she could, her eyes still blurry with tears.
"Matt and Karen Smith?" she asked, looking down at her clipboard to make sure.
Matt nodded slightly and his face twisted with uncertainty. Karen couldn’t bear to look. She shrouded her head in Matt’s shoulder and prepared for the worst.
"Your daughter Emma," she began.
Karen could feel herself starting to cry again. Please, please no.
"Wasn’t responding to any treatment for a while…" Karen pushed her head deeper into Matt, biting down on her quivering lip.
"But we finally got her breathing again."
Karen gasped, her tears falling onto Matt’s cotton shirt. She whimpered into his skin. Oh my god.
The doctor kept talking, something about keeping her here for a few days and monitoring her for some time, but neither of them were listening.
Matt held Karen’s head in his hands. “She’s okay, she’s okay,” he whispered. He kissed her forehead gently. “She’s alright. Karen, we're okay.”
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