A/N: Hello, all! I wrote this a while back, but I never posted because I was planning on making it a three-shot. Still planning on continuing it in a three-shot sequel, but since I have so much I'm working on at the moment, it's going to take a while to get back to it. (If you love it, please let me know in the reviews! I'll probably never get around to writing the rest unless you all want it, even though I do ship them hard.)
A Stephen/Sarah, (What TheSingingPterodactyl and I call "Saphen") but don't let the romance scare you off. There's just a bit hinted at the end, and the rest is friendship. Takes place probably right before 2.6, spoilers generally in early series 2. Please review! Saphen is kind of my baby, and I'd really like to know what you guys think about it!
Also, a HUGE thanks to the lovely TheSingingPterodactyl for the cover picture! All the work we went through for that thing, glad it turned out so well, yeah? :)
Stephen walked along the sidewalk, not headed anywhere in particular. For now, it just felt good to walk instead of having to run from whatever newest creature was chasing him. He finally had a chance to think, away from the ARC and, more importantly, away from Helen. He found it hard to reflect on what she'd told him with everything coming at him all at once.
He wanted to believe Helen. Lester seemed about as likely to be the "evil genius" behind all of this as anyone else, and she was normally pretty accurate about people. She'd been right about himself so far… She had once told him that certain people are meant to do something important, and, even if they don't know that, they could accomplish great things. She thought it would help if they knew ahead of time, of course, but with the proper assistance, these select few could achieve anything they wanted to. At the time, he believed she meant this comment towards him as an attempt to express confidence in him, but now he wasn't so sure it was about him at all.
He really hoped it wasn't. If it was, he'd messed it up.
As the city blocks passed by in an unnoticed blur, he automatically counted the wrong decisions he'd made which had led him here. Here, where he had to resort to walking by himself to clear his head and think things through.
Was Helen really worth this?
Sarah finished up her last and most annoying tour of the day and decided to stop for a coffee on her way home. As she was walking out of the museum, someone called her name from behind. She had heard friendlier tones throughout the day…
"Page!" Her boss Marion summoned.
"Yes?" She turned to show the hint of sarcastic respect on her face.
"Remember you've got that VIP early tomorrow, and I'm still waiting on your report for that… security matter," she glared at Sarah judgingly.
"He was drunk! What was I supposed to do?"
"You could've called security."
"I did!"
"Yeah, after he caressed the statue and screamed 'What's your problem? I'm just trying to see if it likes me!' for everyone to hear."
"At least I tried to stop him."
"And caused a major disturbance."
She'd had it with this woman. "Fine, you know what? If this is how much I get appreciated around here, I QUIT!" She screamed in a sudden burst of rage, causing every head to turn. She hardly knew what she was doing, but whatever it was, it felt good. Walking backwards towards the exit, she added, "How's that for a disturbance?"
She stormed over to her car and drove off, casting her glare at the concrete road for lack of a better place to direct it. When she finally got to the Starbucks, she ordered an iced mocha.
"Extra ice, no whip," she said flatly, staring down at the counter.
"Yes, ma'am," the server raised her eyebrows slightly, prompting an apologetic smile from Sarah.
"Bad day," she politely explained.
"Got it," the girl returned her smile.
As Sarah waited for her coffee, the reality of what she'd just done to her life began to sink in. The only reason she'd gotten this job in the first place was because her ex-boyfriend put in more than a few good words for her. Now she'd have to go job-hunting all over again.
She decided that she needed to go for a walk to clear her head.
Stephen actually straightened all his thoughts for the first time in ages, and he actually began to notice his surroundings again.
He was just passing the shopping center that a raptor attacked a while ago, and the repairs seemed to be coming along nicely. They were even open again. A Mustang whizzed by, followed by a convertible carrying one young male and female, presumably a couple. The streets were very quiet, considering it was a Saturday, and no one really was in a hurry to get anywhere. Especially not the dark haired woman strolling the side of the road towards him. He guessed she was also taking a casual walk, judging by the coffee in her hand…
His mobile rang.
Sarah was halfway through her mocha and was about to enter the shopping center in hopes of finding a job when a Coldplay song rang out from the man ahead of her, presumably his mobile ringtone.
She'd been in her own little world, and the sudden disturbance nearly knocked her off her feet. She jumped quite high, and in the process spilled the remainder of her coffee onto the road.
The man also jumped, but because of her reaction. He chuckled at the look on her face, "Sorry about that. Are you alright?" he asked as she checked her clothes for coffee stains.
"Oh, I'm fine, believe me! It's just the last thing I expected at the moment was Coldplay to come and try to narrate my life!" She jested as it continued to play, still a bit off guard from the shock. "Speaking of which, are you or aren't you going to get that?"
"No, I don't really want to talk to the person at the moment," Stephen didn't even want to think about the caller. Helen.
"Ah, got it. Specific ringtones for specific people, though? Must be quite a phone. I barely have the ability to text on mine!"
"Yeah, well, for my kind of job you really need to know who's calling."
"Oh, what do you do?"
The man paused. "I… work at a bank."
"I see…" She didn't believe him, of course, but she let it go.
"Yeah, what about you?"
"I'm… in between jobs, at the moment."
"Oh, well, in that case, let me buy you another… whatever it is you just spilled onto the road." He chuckled through his nose as the song finally ended.
"You really don't have to, I was nearly done with it!"
"Yeah, you just decided the road looked too hot and needed some ice to cool it down?"
She laughed sheepishly. "It's alright, I've got plenty of money," she lied.
"Still, it was my phone."
Looking him over and deciding he was safe, and not altogether unattractive, she agreed.
By the time they reached the Starbucks, they'd exchanged names and basic information, even laughed a little, but neither really knew much about the other. The waitress' eyes widened a bit when she saw Sarah walk in again.
"One… uhh…" Stephen walked up to the counter and gave Sarah a questioning look.
She smiled, "Iced mocha, ext-"
"-ra ice, no whip? My memory's not that bad," the girl teased.
Stephen faked a smile, feeling a bit out of the loop. "And one plain black," he ordered for himself.
She nodded, and the two customers sat down to wait for their order.
"So, a museum?" Stephen asked, continuing their conversation from outside.
"Yeah, not exactly my dream job, but it pays the bills. Well, paid the bills."
He hid a smirk, "Quit or fired?"
She gave him a smug look.
"Quit," he said as he let the smirk reveal itself.
"Just today, as a matter of fact. Got a bit angry at the boss, lost my temper." She scolded herself for talking so freely to a stranger, but he seemed trustworthy enough. Besides, she did need someone to talk to…
"Oh…" He had no idea what to respond, so he changed the subject a little. "Do you have another job you're looking at? It's a little soon, I know, but…"
"Yeah, I was on my way to the shopping center to see if they were hiring when I ran into you!"
They exchanged a smile. "On foot, though? Bit of a walk," he asked, still uncomfortable with the subject.
"Yeah, I… I needed to clear my head," she was talking openly again.
He chuckled aloud.
"Did I say something funny?" Sarah asked, slightly offended.
"No, not at all! It just sounds a bit familiar, actually," he paused. "Why do you think I was walking?"
She smiled, relieved. "I can see why you wouldn't want to have answered your phone."
"Yeah, especially since the caller is the one I was trying to forget… at least, for a while."
She quizzed him with her eyes, but he avoided it.
"Oh, come on, Stephen! I told you about my temper."
He relaxed and even smiled a bit. "Yeah, I guess. It's just that she and I… We have a complicated relationship."
"Oh?"
"Yeah… It's not exactly a pleasant topic," he spoke slowly. "We're not really together, and I don't want to be. But she keeps showing up at my door, and I keep…"
"Letting her in?" She offered.
"Yeah, you could say that," he smiled reluctantly.
"I understand more than you might think… I had a boyfriend a while back. He was tall, good looking, that general idea, but a real jerk. It got to the point where I didn't even feel attracted to him anymore, but it was just such a habit to be with him that I didn't really feel like getting out of it. Especially since he was the one who got me the job at the museum in the first place, and I do—I did enjoy the work."
"Did you take the job just because of him?"
"Gosh, no! I'd been wanting a job with ancient civilizations at the core of it for quite a while! It just so happened he was able and willing to get me one is all."
"Then why'd you quit?"
She sighed and thought for a moment. "My life is changing lately. I finally dumped the jerk, after which he disappeared, and the job has been getting less and less exciting, and more annoying, each day. So I finally got fed up with the lack of appreciation and the demanding hours and just walked out."
Stephen smiled knowingly, "Sounds to me like you loved it."
She glared at him for a moment, then relented and laughed, "I guess I did."
"So then go back!"
"I can't do that, Marion would never let me!"
"Wouldn't hurt to try, you know."
"It might! …It would be so embarrassing."
"Yeah, you're right. It would. But would you prefer a job you love, with a little humiliation, or ending up a janitor in a shopping mall?"
Her eyes smiled with relaxation. "Thank you, Stephen," she stood up and threw her empty cup away. "For the drink and the advice," she added.
"Anytime," he smiled.
She returned his gesture and walked towards the door, but added quickly, "Oh, and Stephen?"
"Yeah?"
"If you ever dump that girl… You know where to find me," she winked and walked away.
Stephen raised his eyebrows and made a mental note to go to the museum one day soon.