Chapter One: Calm After the Storm

Fire. Fire everywhere. She couldn't breathe. Golden flames where licking at her ankles and she couldn't stand the heat; it sent her pulse racing. She couldn't find an exit. Pure panic consumed her as adrenaline coursed through her legs; she darted. She could barely see beyond her outstretched arms, the thick smoke obscuring her vision. The ash scorched her throat; each breath making it raw, each breath becoming more ragged. Her gasping breath was coming in short bursts, and her mind was becoming sluggish from the lack of air. You need to move girl, you need to move. She could feel rather than hear the building creek around her. She was terrified. Her vision was pulsating and she fell to her knees, the smouldering floor charring her hands and knees. This was it. Her face met the floor and she swears she could hear it sizzle. Tears leaked from her heavy lids, she watched the room glow around her.

A pair of battered boots stepped into her vision and her stomach dropped. Mathias. The solid kick to her side drew all air from her and she lost consciousness temporarily. A deep chuckle reverberated around her skull and when she opened her eyes her heart stopped. He cocked the pistol and fired.

Hands latched onto her shoulders. "Lara!"

Who was Lara? Everything was dark. She was distantly aware of a girl sobbing, ragged breaths coming in bursts. Her heart was pounding. She couldn't breathe properly. She shook her head to try and clear it, only to feel something wet trail down her face. Where was she? Consciousness was rushing to the surface and she became acutely aware that she was tangled up; her side ablaze.

Her eyes flew open to find Sam directly above her, her small hands pushing on her shoulders, and tears brimming on her lower lashes. It was all of a sudden very clear that the jagged breaths where emanating between her own lips. She choked back a sob. It was a dream she thought. She squeezed her eyes together and sucked in a deep breath, attempting to calm her racing heart. She needed to be back in control. There was a dull roar flaring up in her abdomen, she bit her lip and screwed up her eyes to distract herself from the throbbing.

"Hey it's okay" Sam soothed, relaxing the hold on Lara's shoulders but not letting go completely. "You gave me quite the fright" she said, a nervous laugh creeping up her throat. The amusement didn't reach her eyes though. In fact her face was full of worry. Tears still clung to her lashes and her skin was deathly pale. She worried her bottom lip between her teeth and waited patiently for Lara to calm down, rubbing small circles where her thumbs rested on her collarbone. She hated this. Lara's nightmares were becoming a regular occurrence.

The deep breaths steadied Lara's heart but she still kept her eyes scrunched up tight. This was embarrassing. Yamatai was still exceptionally fresh; her wounds were tender and the drugs clouded her usually sharp mind. She wasn't coping. She was well and truly on her way to falling apart.

"I'm sorry Sam" Lara said eventually, her voice cracking in her raw throat. She brought up her hands and baled fists into her eyes to dry away her remaining tears.

Sam relocated her hand to Lara's thigh and gave a firm squeeze. "What are you apologising for Sweetie? Is it that British side coming out again?" she chuckled, a little too forcefully.

The archaeologist attempted to push herself into a sitting position, but flinched before she even lifted her shoulders off the pillow. A drawn out growl left her lips. Concern immediately crossed Sam's features. She began to untangle she sheets twisted around Lara's torso. A dark irregular stain stood out from her white vest top. "Shit" Sam breathed, her eyes frozen over the spot.

Lara swiftly brought up her hand to assess the damage but it was intercepted by Sam's cool fingers wrapping around her wrist, she placed it by her side again. "No... No don't touch it sweetie" Sam began, panic edging its way into her voice. "Let me have a look at it" she said hurriedly.

She closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath. She was feeling woozy. Don't Nishimura. You need to do this.

She slowly pulled up the top, the fabric peeling away with ease. A whimper escaped Lara's lips and Sam quickly issued an apology. The majority of her wound was neatly sealed, save for a small split in the middle of the stitching. It should heal itself; it had just bled out quite a bit. Sam pushed back a wave of nausea and breathed a sigh of relief.

"It just needs redressing sweetie, it's just a small tear" Sam reassured her. "It should heal fine on it's... Lara?" She glanced back up at Lara's face to find it contorted into a grimace. "Hey, hey look at me babe". She moved her position up the bed and brushed Lara's fringe out of her eyes, keeping a hand resting on her cheek.

Lara's breathing was deep and laboured. Her eyes remained tightly shut and she firmly shook her head. Sam stared down at her face. A thin sheen of sweat coated her forehead and neck, her face shone pale in the moonlit room. The pulse in her neck was racing; Sam could see it jumping there. She recognised the symptoms just as Lara's breathing sped up.

"Sweetie you..." was as far as Sam got before Lara's resolve broke. She was gulping air erratically; a whine had been building in her throat as panic set in.

"Oh God Sam. Oh God. It won't go away. I can't... I can't". Tears poured from her eyes. "I can't do this". She brought her hands up to her face and covered it with them.

"Lara, you need to listen. Take deep breaths for me. You're panicking, I need you to breathe" Sam pushed down on her shoulders to try and minimise any further damage to Lara's side. That was the last thing they both needed right now.

"It hurts Sam, it hurts so much" Lara gasped. The way she said it sounded rather ambiguous. Did she mean her side? Sam thought. She brushed her fringe out of her eyes and hushed her, whispering soothing words; allowing Lara to calm herself.

She eventually gathered herself. With the last few deep breathes she looked directly at Sam and she could feel her resolve break all over again as she saw the worry in her eyes. Warmth filled her chest. Sam cared about her. It was a lovely realisation. This bubbly, chatty girl cared about how she was; and it was startling, yet heartbreaking at the same time. With her emotions on a high she had to hold back the tears again.

"You want to talk about it?" Sam questioned; concern still present on her face. She knew Lara wasn't one for talking about her feelings, but she seemed so overwhelmed right now, she might want to get it out of her system.

The two girls stared silently at one another for a few moments, one in concern, the other in sorrow. Lara pulled her lip between her teeth, her eyebrows meeting at the middle. "Come here" she said simply, pushing back the sheets to make room for Sam to squeeze in next to her. She didn't move.

"It scares me you know", said Sam, studying Lara's face in the dim light of the room. "When you have nightmares like that. It's terrifying to know that you're trapped in your mind, and there's nothing I can do other than watch and pray you'll wake up soon". Tears were returning in her eyes and Lara felt her heartstrings being pulled. "To watch you twist and turn, and the things you say..." she trailed off. She turned her head towards her lap.

Lara didn't know what to say. She didn't realise that Sam was so affected by her nightmares. It never once crossed her mind. To now hear this girl confessing this, to hear this insight was somewhat crushing. She felt a frown forming over her face and she stared intently at the top of Sam's head, her face hidden from view. She repeated herself, "come here, please", her eyes imploring. She had no words right now.

Sam's face relaxed slightly, her anxieties not completely gone. She worried her lip again, as if in thought. She shook her head to herself. "Let me fix up your side first sweetie, then I'm all yours" a genuine smile graced Sam's face and Lara couldn't help the corner of her own mouth tug upwards. She sucked in a deep breath and nodded on the exhale. She felt Sam's weight leave the bed.

She stared up at the ceiling trying to rid her head of the dream; she knew she wouldn't be sleeping any time soon, it always was the case. She reached her hand out to where her lamp was and flicked the switch. She had to scrunch her eyes shut at the discomfort the light brought; instead she stared to finger her bandage ready to pull it off.

She could hear the bathroom door close as Sam's footsteps made their path back up to their room. When she entered Lara could see her fringe curtaining her face, a glimpse of her skin revealed that it very pale beyond it. By the time she padded across the room to sit back on the bed Lara could see her eyes were red-rimmed. She'd been crying.

"Sam". She refused to look Lara in the eye. "Sam please don't be upset". She hastily brushed her wrist over her cheek and sucked in a breath, glancing up at Lara. "Let's get this off shall we?" a strained smile on her face. Lara knew better than to push it, they'd talk later.

With her side still being sore, removing the adhesive padding was more uncomfortable than Lara would have liked. She found clenching her teeth helped somewhat. It was when Sam applied the antiseptic that white flashed behind her eyes. She cried out and curled into her side, her breathing uneven.

It was the sniffle she heard from Sam which forced her to pry her eyes open. Again her hair was covering most of her face, she was distracting herself with unwrapping the new dressing; hands shaking. Lara reached out and steadied them. "let me finish this Lara", her voice was wobbly. Lara let Sam place the bandage before she whispered "stay with me". She needed her.

The expression on Sam's face then was unreadable. It unnerved Lara. She seemed to be studying her face. Before Lara could fathom it Sam was moving the unused items from the first aid kit to the bedside table, her face shielded once more.

Sam shifted on the bed, placing herself next to Lara and untangled the sheets so she could get in with her. Lying down on her back she pulled up the sheets and stared at the ceiling, her eyes glazed over.

Lara felt out of her depth. They'd done this many times before, yet things had changed now. They'd both been through so much, and it was beginning to show. She didn't know what to say to Sam anymore. Instead she reached her hand out beneath the sheets and wrapped her little finger around Sam's, and old gesture they shared.

Sam's eyes closed, she seemed to be struggling with herself. She rolled on her side to face Lara, entwining their fingers together. "Thank you", breathed Lara. She didn't know what else to say. Sam inhaled as if to say something but seemed to decide against it. She simply drew a small smile.

They stayed like that for a long while, Lara didn't realise she was drifting off to sleep until Sam murmured "I can't sleep properly anymore". Lara twitched into consciousness and focused her eyes towards Sam. A shaft of moonlight fell across her hair, and she could see her eyes glittering in the dark. She sounded so lost.

"Me too" Lara replied. There seemed to be a mutual understanding in the silence that followed. Sam shifted her weight and edged closer to Lara, tucking her head into the crook of her neck and drawing her free arm across her ribcage; Lara's arm wrapping her against her side.

"I don't know how we're going to get through this" Lara whispered into Sam's hair, kissing the crown of her head. She brought up her hand and twirled Sam's dark locks absentmindedly.

Sam's own fingers had started drawing patterns on Lara's side; the sensation was pleasing in contrast to the pain she'd been in recently. "I... I've been thinking..." Sam began; she left the sentence hanging deliberately. She pulled her head up and gazed down at Lara's face. At this close proximity she could see the spit in Lara's lip still yet to heal completely. "I don't think we can do this on our own". She paused, watching Lara's face closely for any reaction. Her brows were coming together and Sam knew she'd lost the battle before it had begun. She started to blurt out everything as fast as she could.

"You've been getting worse, and I don't know how to fix this. I can't bear to see you like this, not any more... and I... I'm not coping", her breath hitched on her last word and she pulled her head down, choosing to focus instead on Lara's green pendant. Her eyes filled with tears and spilled down her cheeks.

Lara felt her throat tighten at the sight; she was never any good at dealing with an emotional Sam. It broke her heart. "Sam I..." her voice cracked as her resolve was breaking. Don't you dare Croft. "I don't want help from anyone else. I can't talk about it yet. I just need more time". Sam's shoulders began to shake and Lara knew she'd said the wrong thing. "Sam... Sam look at me". She refused, instead gulping in a deep breath and letting out a sob, followed by another one, her face back in Lara's neck.

Lara held her firmly against her as she shook, dragging her fingers through her hair in an attempt to sooth her; she was blinking back her own tears. "I don't want you to feel like this" she said softly into Sam's ear. "If you think talking to a therapist will help you then I'll support that, but I can't do that yet, it's... it's not me".

She heard an intake of breath and felt Sam's shoulders rise. Sam nodded into her chest and whimpered one last time. Lara pushed her shoulders back to look her in the eyes. The early morning glow revealed them to be bloodshot and watery. She reached out and brushed a thumb over Sam's cheek to wipe away the remaining tears, pulling her lips into a taught smile.

"We'll get through this babe, we have to" Lara said, her eyes fixed over Sam's. Sam returned her own forced smile which didn't quite reach her eyes. She snuggled her head back into Lara before she had chance to question the look. "I sure hope so sweetie" was her response. The way she said it was somewhat detached.

Lara pushed out a sigh and made herself comfortable against Sam, deciding that a resolution wouldn't be found tonight. Sam's fingers had returned to the base of her ribs and were taunting her with slow ticklish swirls. Lara allowed her eyes to slip shut to enjoy the sensitivity it brought. She missed times like this at university, when they'd be dreadfully hung-over and seeking comfort in one another alongside a lazy Sunday afternoon film. Even when she felt rotten Sam was criticising the camerawork. It's what Lara loved about Sam, the fine line between party girl and the passion she held for her work.

Things had changed.

Sam twitch against her as sleep consumed her, her fingers idly resting below her breast. Lara didn't usually experience so much comfort from another person; that was Sam's forte to bring back guests at early hours, something which Lara never felt wholly comfortable about. Glancing down she could see Sam's porcelain face pressed up against her breast, her nose squished up. She looked cute. The thought wasn't unusual to Lara, in-fact it was ever increasing ever since Yamatai. She wasn't sure how that made her feel.

She placed a tender kiss on Sam's forehead, a soft moan escaping the older woman. She nestled herself into her pillows, turning her body to embrace Sam, their legs tangling.

She cleared her mind and focused on Sam's even breathing as it blew against her neck. She was far too comfortable. The threshold of their friendship was becoming more questionable in her mind. For now Lara couldn't care less. They both needed this.

She allowed her conscious to be pulled down into darkness, her worries temporarily departing her mind.

She slept soundly.