Author's Note: Written for July 2017's Camp NaNoWriMo and originally intended as part of a four story 'Elements' fic. Hopefully one day I'll write the other three elements to this series, but for now it's a standalone.
*
"Ashes to ashes, dust to dust…." The vicar's sombre timbre reverberated around the crowd of gathered mourners while a dull thud disturbed the respectful silence they held. A new widow threw a clump of earth onto a walnut-coloured coffin in the hole six feet beneath her and released a shuddering breath full of tears and sorrow. It was a cold, grey and drizzly day; the weather perfectly aligned to befit the sombre occasion. The elderly woman, with tight grey curls that blew wildly in the wind, was dressed in a knee-length black skirt and loose beige blouse. It was modest, suitable for a woman her age, and made from heavy natural wool which seemed to drag her demeanour down even further.
Two younger women followed next with their own offerings of earth. A slim, blonde haired woman in a short dark dress sought comfort from the tall, bearded man behind her. He held onto the small, clammy hands of two young girls who were dressed in smart party dresses, matching tights and too-shiny, patent-leather shoes. They seemed to understand that it was a time for everyone to be sad but the personal impact of that loss was still not quite fully realised. There was also a brunette dressed in a pair of dark slacks and smart shirt covered by a green tank top. Her outfit was accented with a green beret, embellished with a winged logo and she also wore a number of medals that hung across her left breast bone. It was her own personal way of a formal tribute to the father she was saying her final goodbye to.
A row of military personnel stood a respectable distance from the family crowd, their heads respectfully bowed. Their dress uniforms were precise and neat; shoes shone to military standard and medals polished until they gleamed. A blonde woman stoically stood with them while her heart ached for her friend dressed in the suit and beret. She remembered all too well how this had felt when her own father died, a few years ago measured by time but emotionally it felt like only yesterday. She felt useless, not really sure if her presence was a help or a hindrance and wanted to do so much more for her friend than she felt would be welcome.
*
What followed an ending was often the beginning of something. Not that it was always obvious at the time and Kate Lethbridge-Stewart knew that all too well from practical experience. Her UNIT career had been built on a foundation of endings which marked a new era for the organisation and surprisingly for herself too. She'd been given a second chance at life, to experience it in a completely different way from anything she had ever imagined. And whilst often dangerous, difficult and exhausting, she knew that she couldn't have had anything like this kind of experience doing anything else.
Kate watched as Osgood did her duty to her family; together but separate, the 'something different' about her friend all too clear for her to see. Osgood spent more time with her nieces than any of the senior members of her family and seemed to allow the day to pass by her in a haze. It was understandable but also concerning at the same time. Once the official bit was over and her UNIT officers returned to work, Kate felt torn between her dual roles; boss or friend? And they were friends, of a sort. As much as you could be when you were in charge and it was your job to send people out into the fray, toward unknown danger, not knowing if they would come back in one piece. She looked up into the turbulent sky and made up her mind to put her friend first, to put what she herself wanted above everything else that day.
Eventually Kate found a window of opportunity and approached Osgood when she had no other company, where the younger woman was sat in a quiet corner outside just tucked away from the beer garden. There were spots of rain in the air but it bothered neither of them, rain was fairly innocuous in comparison to all the other things they had experienced in all their years working, living, breathing UNIT.
"How are you doing?" Kate wished there were better words but 'how are you bearing up' or 'feeling' seemed a step too much just at that moment. She placed a comforting palm between Osgood's shoulder blades and gave her back a few tender rubs before she remembered herself and dropped her hand. Osgood sighed deeply and took a moment to think about how to answer the question.
"I don't really know. I feel… mostly numb, I think." Kate understood that feeling all too well. Still partly in shock but with her brain on autopilot to deal with all the necessary arrangements. Osgood's mother wasn't a spring chicken and under a veil of grief Osgood knew she had to step up and take control. "I know he's gone, I've seen enough death to understand that on a fundamental level. But there's part of me that keeps expecting him to be there when I turn around, or his to be the next message on my phone…" She trailed off, having thought twice about what she'd just said out loud. "Daft isn't it? Must be delirious, either that or too many beers!" Osgood rarely drank, she was far from teetotal but prefered to indulge when she had the chance to enjoy some proper downtime from work, which was a rare occurrence. However, she'd had a couple at the start of the wake to settle herself after the service.
"You're not daft, you're grieving! It's all part of the process. Look at me…" Kate reached out and cupped Osgood's cheek with the palm of her hand and stroked her thumb gently over it out of an instinct to comfort her friend. "I sometimes talk to the photograph I have of Dad on my desk, especially when I need reassurance or just miss him, which is more often than most people think. So no, I don't think you're daft and nor will I ever." Osgood ducked her head out of embarrassment and away from Kate's kind touch against her cheek. "You're one of the strongest, most brave people I know. Take all the time you need in coming to terms with your father's death." Tears slipped from Osgood's eyes for the first time that day, having held onto her emotion in order to get through the very public send off. But as she sat next to Kate, someone she trusted implicitly, she felt unable to keep those emotional barriers up. Kate pulled Osgood to her chest and allowed her to cry, soothing her by stroking her long dark hair as she did so.
After several long minutes, Osgood looked up at her friend through her damp lashes, the dried tracks of her tears pulled taught on her cheeks as she attempted a grateful smile. "Thank you." Kate smiled sadly at her friend.
"Not necessary, but you're most welcome. You're my friend, I'll always be here for you." Kate's voice cracked, her genuine sorrow and care for her friend all too evident for them both to hear.
"Just a friend?" It had slipped out without Osgood really thinking about it, their close proximity and the charged emotional moment having given way to all of those things that had stopped either of them from voicing the thought before. Kate stiffened in shock, unexpectedly confronted by the very thing she'd tried so hard to ignore for so very long.
"No, not just a friend." Kate shook her head and conceded, how could she say anything other than the truth? "Haven't been for a long time if I'm honest." The normally confident UNIT leader had grown shy, embarrassed at feeling exposed and vulnerable. She ducked her head and focused her gaze on the ground between her feet. It was now Osgood's turn to do the comforting and reached out towards her friend, lifting her head up to meet her gaze with her fingers.
"Me neither." The younger woman smiled broadly and hoped it gave Kate the reassurance she needed. "Took me a while to work it out mind… but when I did, I tried so hard not to let it affect our friendship."
"Oh, Osgood…." Kate ran her thumb across Osgood's cheek and brushed away the tracks of her tears as she did so. They both instinctively leaned in closer and nuzzled each other with their noses. Slowly, almost painfully so, they brushed their lips against the other's and gradually met in their first chaste kiss. One small kiss turned into several, each getting more passionate as their confidence grew.
Above them, the grey skies parted and small rays of sunshine filtered through, the longer Kate and Osgood kissed the brighter it became. Somehow the whole atmosphere lifted, hope was returned to those who felt consumed by their grief and loss. The women felt lighter than they had done so in months, perhaps even years. Wrapped up in their passion for each other, neither noticed that they'd been lifted into the air, swirling and whirling gently as though caught in a summer's breeze.
Somewhere, in the middle of the moment, there was a long forgotten memory that rose to the surface in both their minds. Like a black and white film, a lanky blonde teenager grasped a chubby four year old's hand tightly as they ran delightedly down the corridors of UNIT HQ. Soldiers stood to attention and tried not to coo at the playful innocence that had disturbed their day. The brunette giggled, the blonde held tighter and some sort of a connection passed between them, one that was to last a lifetime despite being undiscovered for another thirty odd years.
Happy tears, from a heart full to bursting, fell down Osgood's cheeks and mingled in with the softness of her first kiss with Kate. Despite her loss, she felt whole, like she had found the missing piece of the jigsaw she never knew she was missing. Kate felt the same, that the hole she'd carried around in her heart since her father's death, was somehow now filled with something just as fulfilling but altogether different at the same time.
*
Two elderly men looked upon the scene from somewhere.. otherworldly... and felt a sense of closure. Their daughters, their little girls, had finally found their way back to each other. To something new and yet always was. A round-faced man with dark-rimmed spectacles pulled out a packet of playing cards and the older gentleman, dressed in a uniform adorned with medals and a winged insignia, nodded with a grin. Tom Osgood should have known better than to challenge his boss to a game of poker. He was, after all, an outstanding bridge player with a poker face to match.
And thus the ouroboros of life continued.