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The weather in Gotham has always been so all over the place and unpredictable, just like most things in Gotham, but that is part of the charm of the disastrous yet adventurous city. Sophie and Ryan actually have a day off from Bat duties, so they decide to stay in and have a night to themselves.
“Did you see the weather alert? It looks like it is going to be a lot worse than they said on the news.” Sophie comments as she goes through her emergency supplies. Her time at Point Rock taught her to always make sure she’s prepared for anything, including storms.
“Yeah, when I was heading here, the radio was talking about how strong the winds are going to be, and I swear the wind was trying to knock me over when I was heading to my car.” Ryan responds as she puts down her “spend the night bag.” She had to re-up on clothes and stuff for when she stays at Sophie’s place.
“That’s what happens when you’re so tiny. The wind can blow you over,” Ryan gasps and pretends to be insulted, making Sophie chuckle and walk over to kiss the fake pout on Ryan’s lips.
“I’m joking, I’m joking,” Sophie wraps her arms around Ryan’s waist, “You are tiny, though, but I like it.”
Ryan is just about to respond to Sophie, but her phone rings, pulling her attention away.
Sophie watches as Ryan talks to whoever is on the other side of the phone. They are supposed to not have to do any work today, but they are both realistic about that not really ever being an option for them, especially Ryan. It is hard to take a day off when you are the CEO of one of the biggest companies in the city.
“That was one of the board members. I have to run to the office,” Ryan says as she hangs up the phone.
“What? There’s a storm coming! You can’t be out on the road right now. Can’t it wait until tomorrow?” Sophie asks worriedly. There is a major storm heading right toward Gotham. Based on how the sky looks, it seems like the bottom is going to fall out of the sky at any moment, and Sophie doesn’t want Ryan to be out on the road when it does.
“I wish it could wait, but I really need to go in. It shouldn’t take me too long, and I’ll come right back. I won’t be gone long enough for you even to miss me. I promise.”
Ryan tries to reassure Sophie and make her feel better about having to leave. Still, she knows Sophie is a worrier, especially when it comes to Ryan, so she knows nothing she says is going to make her feel better.
“How about I come with you?” Sophie offers.
“No. There’s no point in both of us being out in this weather. You stay here and be ready to eat and cuddle when I get back. I know that’s all I’m going to want to do when I get back.”
“Please be safe out there, Ryan, and if the weather is too bad when you’re about to head out, please do not leave. I need you to be safe and inside when this storm finally hits.”
“Soph, I will be fine, don’t worry.” Ryan tries to brush it off with her signature smile, but Sophie isn’t amused and is not having it.
“Promise me, Ryan.” She says sternly as she grabs one of Ryan’s hands.
“I promise, babe, if it is not safe, I will stay at the office and wait out the storm even though I would 1000% prefer to be here cuddled up and waiting out the storm with you.”
Sophie brings Ryan’s hand to her lips to kiss the back before pulling Ryan close for a tight hug, “Thank you. Now hurry up and get there so you can hopefully get back before the storm hits.”
Ryan fake salutes, making Sophie roll her eyes affectionately before watching Ryan leave her apartment.
It takes Sophie a while to stop worrying about Ryan being outside when such a big storm is heading toward Gotham, but she manages to cook so when Ryan does make it back, they can eat and cuddle on the couch like they originally planned.
Just as Sophie is about to start worrying again, her phone rings and she is relieved to see that Ryan is calling her. Hopefully, she will tell her that she’s leaving the office and on her way home. She had just sat down on the couch from looking outside to see how bad it looked outside. It looked like the storm could hit any moment, and the wind was blowing harder than she had ever seen.
“Hey babe, I hope you’re calling to tell me you’re leaving the office and are on the way home now.” Sophie starts as soon as she answers the phone.
“Yes ma’am, I just got in my car and am heading home right now. It’s really windy out here, but I should be fine and beat the storm. I’ll be home in about 15 minutes, and I’m gonna be ready to cuddle as soon as I walk in the door, so get ready.” Ryan responds as she tries to joke and make Sophie feel better.
“I cooked, and I’m already on the couch waiting on you, so hurry and get her, but please be safe, Ry. The wind seems real nasty right now, and I don’t need you driving wreckless just to get back to me.”
Just as Ryan was about to respond, Sophie heard the loud boom of thunder, and she looked out the window to see and hear the sudden downpouring of rain. The rain looks like it coming down in sheets. She knows the visibility out there has to be bad because she can barely see anything through the rain, so she knows it has to be bad for Ryan right now.
“Ryan, please be careful. The rain looks like it is coming down really bad right now.” Sophie tries to hide the worry in her voice, but it’s tough to do that when Ryan is out there and not home with her, safe from the violent weather outside.
“I promise I’ll be careful. I’m going to hang up so I can concentrate on the road. I might pull over since the rain is coming down so hard, but I will keep you updated if I do.”
“Okay, I love you. Be safe.” Sophie responds.
“I love you too, Soph, always,” Ryan responds, and they both hang up.
Sophie tries to make herself comfortable and waits for Ryan to walk through the door or to hear from her, but even though it’s only been five minutes since she got off the phone with Ryan, she’s already worried and pacing around the apartment.
She knows she needs something to occupy her time and ease her anxiety about Ryan being out in the storm. So, she tries to find things to do, but nothing works. The sound of the storm is getting worse, and the thunder is coming more frequently.
Sophie is just about to grab her keys to get Ryan herself when she gets a phone call from Ryan.
“Ryan, are you okay?” Sophie rushes out instead of giving a proper greeting.
“I’m fine, babe. I just wanted to let you know that I’m going to pull over until the rain lets up a bit. I’m under an overpass right now. So I’m not directly in the rain right now.”
Sophie lets out a sigh of relief and can finally sit now that she knows Ryan is okay. They stay on the phone, talking and trying to distract each other from the turmoil happening outside of Sophie’s building and Ryan’s car.
Unfortunately, their conversation is interrupted by the sound of the weather alarm that informs citizens that a tornado has touched down and been sighted in Gotham. The alarm is shortly followed by alerts on both their phones telling them of the tornado.
Ryan is significantly calmer than Sophie when she hears and sees the alarm and the alert.
“Ryan, you need to get out and find a ditch or something. It isn’t safe in the car right now,” Sophie yells into the phone. She can hear Ryan shuffling around in the car, cutting it off and slamming the door shut.
The next thing Sophie hears sounds like a freight train passing by, which is the tell-tale sign of a passing tornado, and then Ryan’s phone cuts out. Sophie immediately tries calling back, but Ryan’s phone keeps going straight to voicemail. She starts to panic, thinking that something has happened to Ryan.
Sophie tries to call back, but her phone keeps going to voicemail. She calls Ryan 7 times in a row, and with each call, her heart starts to beat faster and faster. The only thing that Sophie can hear is the constant ringing of a phone and a freight train in her ears. Her heart is beating out of her chest, and her hands are sweating as she starts to pace around the living room, thinking of what steps she needs to take to find Ryan. Sophie checks Ryan’s location on her phone, but Ryan’s phone must be off because she isn’t getting anything showing her location.
She calls Jada to see if she has heard from Ryan, but Jada has not talked to her since she left the office earlier today, which makes Sophie worry even more. Her next call is to Luke, who also hasn’t heard anything from Ryan but may have an idea of what to do next. All of Sophie’s training and knowledge has gone out the window the more she worries about Ryan.
“I put a tracker on her car just in case something ever happened to her. Give me a second; let me pull it up and check her location,” Luke says. Sophie can hear him typing on the other end of the phone as she gets dressed and grabs her keys. All she is waiting for is for Luke to give her a location, and she is heading there immediately to find her girl.
“I just pinged her last location, and I’m sending it to you now,” Luke answers.
Sophie is already in her car when Luke sends her the location. Luckily it is only 9 minutes away from her house. Thankfully, the rain has let up, so it is easy for Sophie to see as she drives. The wind is still blowing harder than usual, and a lot of debris is littering the streets. There is going to have to be a lot of cleanup and rebuilding from this tornado.
When she finally gets to the location that Luke sent her, she finds Ryan’s car, but she doesn’t see Ryan, which is good because a tree has fallen on top of Ryan’s car. However, there is another car overturned and smoking near Ryan’s, too. The area is surrounded by fallen debris, and the wind continues to blow hard because of the storm.
Sophie calls Luke back, letting him know that she didn’t find Ryan, but she is going to keep driving around the area, thinking she might have tried to walk somewhere to safety.
She drives around Gotham even after it gets dark and calls all of the different hospitals and clinics in Gotham and the surrounding cities, looking for any clue about where Ryan is and if she is okay. But unfortunately, each of her phone calls is a dead end, increasing Sophie’s worry and anxiety.
It gets to be around 10:00 pm, and Sophie still has no leads. She has called Luke, Mary, and Jada repeatedly, too, to make sure that Ryan hasn’t contacted any of them, which also comes up empty. Mary is stuck at the clinic with patients with storm-related injuries, Jada is making calls, and Luke has taken to the streets to search for Ryan, too. Still, nobody is having any luck locating Ryan, which is causing them all to worry.
Sophie’s phone finally rings around 10:30 pm with an unknown number, which she usually doesn’t answer, but something tells her to pick it up anyways.
“Hello?” she answers tentatively.
“Soph!” Sophie almost starts to cry at the sound of Ryan’s voice on the other side of the phone.
“Ryan? Where are you? Luke pinged your car location, and I found your car, but I was so worried when I didn’t find you, and there was a tree on top of your car.” Sophie asks.
“I’m at Gotham General. I’m fine, just a broken ankle, and my phone is busted, so I haven’t been able to call anyone until now, and it’s really hectic around here, but they are taking great care of me. But I would love to have you here too.” Ryan tries to lessen the severity of everything by joking and being flirty. She sounds a little off, but Sophie chalks that up to her probably being tired from being in the hospital.
“I’m on the way! I’ll be there as soon as possible. I love you.” Sophie turns her car around, speeding towards Gotham General.
“I’m in the ER just let them know you are looking for me when you get here. I have to go, babe, so I can call Jada to let her know I’m okay. Can you call Luke and Mary for me to let them know I’m good?” Ryan asks.
“Of course. See you in a little bit. Listen to the nurses. I love you.”
Ryan chuckles on the other end of the phone, “Yes, ma’am. I love you too!” Then she disconnects the call.
Sophie calls Mary and Luke on her way, letting them know she heard from Ryan about her condition. Before hanging up, she promises to let them know when Ryan is discharged so that they can come over to see Ryan and so Mary can look Ryan over herself.
“I’m looking for Ryan Wilder,” Sophie anxiously says to the emergency room’s hospital administrator at the front desk.
“Oh, you must be Sophie. Ms. Wilder has been asking for you ever since she woke up.” The woman, an older black woman, gives Sophie the most cheeky and knowing smile, which makes Sophie’s cheeks heat up in embarrassment.
“She’s in Exam Room 4, down the hall on the left. You can’t miss it.” The administrator hits the button under her desk that opens the door to let Sophie back.
Sophie rushes down the hall looking for room 4, which she finds quickly and yanks the door open. Opening the door, she lets out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. The sight of Ryan immediately put Sophie’s mind at ease from all the worrying she had been doing.
Ryan is lying in a hospital bed in a hospital gown. She looks fine other than the scratches on her cheek, bandage on her forehead, and elevated left ankle, which makes sense since Ryan said she broke her ankle.
“Thank God! I was so worried,” Sophie says as soon as she rushes into the room. She goes to stand beside Ryan’s bed on the right side to avoid hitting Ryan’s ankle and starts fussing over Ryan and checking out her injuries.
“I’m so glad you’re here, Soph,” Ryan reaches out her hand to pull Sophie closer. She’s careful as she leans over to kiss Ryan on her forehead, avoiding her bandages and scratches.
“I’m glad I’m here too, sweet girl. You had me so scared when you weren’t answering my phone calls, and when I went to where your car was and you weren’t there, I immediately thought the worst. I’m just so happy to see your face right now.” It takes everything in Sophie not to start crying, just thinking about the potential that something terrible had happened to the love of her life.
“Wow. You are so beautiful. I can’t believe you love me.” Ryan whispers, her voice sounding loopy compared to her usual voice, and it is like she didn’t hear anything that Sophie had just said to her. Sophie looks down to see the glassed-over look in Ryan’s eyes.
“She might be a little loopy and out of it. She’s on some strong pain meds for her ankle,” A nurse says as she enters the room and checks Ryan’s vitals. “She’s been talking about you ever since she woke up. Luckily, an ambulance was passing by where she was at the right time, so they were able to get her and the two girls in the other car here quickly after the tornado passed. According to one of the girls, Ryan saved them both from their car after it flipped over, even with her broken ankle. She honestly saved their lives. They said the car caught on fire not long after they got out. They had to sedate her on the ride over because she kept trying to get up and get out to check on the girls, and then she started yelling for you. She wanted to make sure you knew she was okay.”
“Marry me, Sophie Moore,” Ryan asks as she pulls Sophie onto the bed with her and interrupts the nurse.
“Ryan, be careful of your ankle. You don’t want to get hurt worse.” Sophie admonishes.
“I don’t care about my ankle. I want to marry you.” Ryan gives Sophie the cutest pout that she can’t help but laugh and give her a soft kiss on the lips.
“Of course, babe, but we are already engaged.” Sophie grabs Ryan’s left hand with her own to show her both of their engagement rings. “You aren’t ever getting rid of me, Ryan Wilder.”
Ryan pulls Sophie down into a bruising kiss, forcing Sophie to lie on the bed with her.
“I can’t wait for you to be my wife,” Sophie whispers against Ryan’s lips, then lays her head down on Ryan’s chest, carefully avoiding her ankle and IVs with the nurse’s help. “Never scare me like that again, okay.”
“I promise,” Ryan promises as she starts drifting off to sleep, the pain meds beginning to put her to sleep. She kisses the top of Sophie’s head as she starts to fall asleep, and Sophie cuddles deeper into her side.