Disclaimer: If The Killing were mine, we would have actually gotten to see that Holder/Linden kiss in the finale... just sayin'. (see profile for a REAL disclaimer)

Sarah was roughly five miles past the city limits before she made the impulsive decision to turn around and head back into town. She hadn't been quite sure why she did it at the time- Seattle, after all, was the city that had broken her, and she'd long since promised herself to steer as far away from the northwest as she could- but when she finally threw her car into park and opened the driver's side door with a shaky hand, she understood.

It was him. It had always been him.

Her legs trembled when she stood, unable to tear herself away from his gaze. It had been a long time since someone looked at her like that, like the goddamn sun was shining out of her ass, and it was only when he came to a stop in front of her that her limbs finally thawed. Gone, were her nerves, that apprehensive roil of her stomach and tightness in her chest, and the unfamiliar but languid warmth of certainty took its place.

Holder's palm slid down to her waist, steadying her as she lifted up onto the balls of her feet, his warmth seeping into her like a salve. It felt good, right. And, when he stooped down to kiss her, their lips just barely brushing together, she felt like she was exactly where she was supposed to be.

It wasn't like it was in the movies. There were no magical harps or angels singing in the background, nor was her heart beating so quickly that she thought it might jump out of her chest. But, it was effortless. Warm and comforting. It was something that she was absolutely certain she hadn't had with anyone else before- not with Rick, any of her boyfriends or one-night stands, or even Jack's father. The dizzying flutter of hope, the calm that she felt deep down in her bones, should have sent her running, serial commitment-phobe that she was, but as Holder hummed softly and broke their kiss her fear of being tied down and the unknown just didn't seem to matter anymore.

Sarah smiled shyly up at him, her lips still tingling from the chaste contact. She watched curiously as he returned the sentiment, his eyes softening as he smoothed a wayward strand of her hair behind her ear. She'd seen that look before. At the time she'd dismissed it as nothing more than pity, usually only when she was at rock bottom and he was seeing her at her worst. Now, though? She was pretty sure that it was more along the lines of love.

Love.

There it was. That scary four letter word that Sarah usually avoided like the plague. She had always hated what it represented- the inevitable lies, betrayal, and heartbreak. With Holder though? It felt more like coming home.

"You got a couch I can crash on?" she joked.

Chuckling, Holder shook his head and wrapped his long arms around her, "Oh hell no, Linden. I ain't gonna have you on no sleeper sofa. Not when the king of casa de Holder has a bed that feels like a hundred of those little baby angels are whispering sweet nothings in your ear all night long. That shit be crazy soft. No way are you gonna have a better nights sleep than on that baby."

"Smooth, Holder," Sarah chuckled, "I bet you say that to all the ladies."

"Only if they're smokin' hot," he said with a teasing waggle of his eyebrows.

Giving him a halfhearted shove, she couldn't help but laugh. She'd missed him. She'd missed his stupid face, and the way that he wasn't afraid to joke around with her, even back when they first met and everyone else on the force was treating her with kid gloves. Hell, she'd even missed his annoying habit of declaring himself a vegan one day and then eating a giant burger the next. She'd missed it all. The good, the bad, and everything in between.

"God, you're bad. I'd forgotten what a pig you could be."

"Hey," he protested with a smirk, "I am an incredibly attractive, single, male specimen. I can't help it if the ladies love what I've got goin' on."

"Oh, I bet."

"Damn straight, 1-900."

Rolling her eyes, she let him slowly shuffle her backwards, until she was pressed up against the back door on the driver's side her car. A tiny flutter of anticipation lurched inside of her stomach as he leaned in and trapped her in the bracket of his arms.

Craning his head down toward her, she frowned when he bypassed her mouth and instead felt his lips brush against her ear as he spoke, "There's only you. You know that right?"

"Oh?"

Holder's overgrown stubble scraped gently along her jaw and goosebumps prickling across her skin.

"You just have to say yes."

She blinked. Yes to what?

"Say yes, Linden," he continued, leaning back just far enough to tease her with a barely there kiss, "Say yes and we can ride off into the sunset and live happily every after. Just like a fucking fairytale."

"Most of those ended badly," she huffed quietly, straining toward him until she finally managed to capture his lips.

This time their mouths immediately opened to one another, her fingers clinging to the thick material of his jacket. She'd kissed her fair share of people... passionate kisses, bruising kisses, and soft kisses. But when Holder suddenly pulled away and a reluctant whimper slipped from her throat, she could honestly say that she'd never looked forward to the next kiss, and the one after that, and so on and so forth, as much as she had with any other man. And, that really was more surprising than it probably should have been.

"I think we've had enough tragedies to last us a lifetime," he sighed, leaning his forehead against hers, "Don't you think?"

Sarah grinned, nodding just enough for him to feel her response. He was right. There had been too much death and mayhem in their lives since their first case together. She wanted more than that. She wanted every maybe, every moment that they could potentially share together, every holiday, every birthday, and every t-ball game and ballet class with Kaliya. She didn't want to miss out on any of it. Not one moment.

Taking a deep breath, she rocked forward onto her toes and kissed him once more, "Yes."

Sarah Linden had finally found peace.

End.