Lara sat on the bed as she watched Doppelganger walking around the guest bedroom, studying everything and taking it all in.

"This is where you'll be staying for now," Lara told her guest. Doppelganger simply nodded. Lara tried to think of something else to say, but her copy didn't seem to be much of a conversationalist. She decided to leave before things became awkward. "Well, I'll leave you to get some rest then."

Lara walked to the door then turned around. Doppelganger was staring at the bed.

"What is it?"

"I've...never slept in a bed before."

"Do you sleep at all?" Lara asked curiously.

Doppelganger thought about it. "I don't know; I think I can. The only time I have ever slept at all was when Natla's pet sorceress tried to throw me into the Eitr but knocked me unconscious instead."

Lara nodded, finally understanding how Doppleganger had survived that. "Good night, then. If you need anything, my bedroom is right next door."

Lara closed the door behind her and turned to her support team. Zip was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest, making a sincere effort to maintain a casual, neutral expression. Winston, meanwhile, was trying but failing to not wring his hands and shift his feet about.

Lara sighed. "If you have anything to say about this, then just say it."

Winston hesitated, trying to find the most polite and respectful words to voice his opinion on the matter at hand.

Zip, however, had no reservations about making his opinion known. "Are you crazy?! She blew up your home, killed our friend Alistair, tried killed you more than once, and now you actually want her sleeping right next door to you?!"

"She's not that kind of person anymore; she's only a threat to us if we make her one," Lara responded calmly.

Zip threw his hands in the air. "She...I mean, it is not a person! It's a compulsive death machine on legs!"

Doppelganger sat cross-legged on her bed, listening to the argument outside. Her senses were more highly attuned than any normal human's and she could clearly hear every word being spoken. She knew perfectly well that Lara's companions had no love for her, that was obvious; it didn't trouble her in the least. But at least her template had stood up for her, and that truly meant something to her.

Zip quickly had enough arguing about this. "Lara...I...I just don't know if I can handle this, especially not right now. I need some time off, to think about things." And without waiting for a reply, he walked away.

Lara just watched him go and then turned to Winston. "And you?"

Winston hesitated with an answer, then sighed. "I served your parents for many years and then you when they died. I have always trusted your judgement, and I will again but not without reservations this time."

Lara placed her hand on Winston's shoulder. "I understand, Winston. I'm not going to ask you to do anything I would not do myself."

Winston smiled. "Except when dealing with your aunt's corgi."

Lara rolled her eyes in exasperation. "I've told you before, Winston, I am not afraid of it; I just can't kill it."

Doppelganger awoke to strange noises in the middle of the night. She sat up and looked around. She had been sleeping without getting under the sheets and covers, and had only removed her boots. The bedside clock read 1:34.

She listened to the sounds for a moment, but couldn't make them out. She decided that someone should investigate, and sat up from the bed and slipped her boots on.

Doppelganger opened the door and poked her head out. Lara had insisted that no one stand guard outside Doppelganger's door tonight. She walked out into the hall and followed the sound until she got to Lara's bedroom door. She put her ear to the door and listened; the sounds were coming from in here.

She opened the door to Lara's bedroom and looked inside. It was a large, spacious room with a living area in the center and a walk-in closet off to the side. But what got her attention was what was happening in the bed area. Doppelganger quietly walked over to the side of Lara's bed and looked down at her template. Lara was under the covers and was quietly moaning and crying in her sleep while tossing and turning.

"Mother...mother..." Lara quietly sobbed in her sleep.

Since being freed by Lara, Doppelganger had been feeling many new emotions and now felt a whole new one: compassion. She wondered if there was anything she could do make Lara feel better. She reached out to touch Lara's shoulder.

Lara's eyes snapped open and she bolted upright as soon as Doppelganger's hand touched her. She looked around in alarm to see the glowing yellow eyes looking down at her.

"Are you alright?" Doppelganger asked.

Lara sat up in bed and turned on her bedside light while she quickly wiped the tears from her eyes. "What are you doing in here?"

Doppelganger sat down on the bed next to Lara. "I heard a noise coming from here, and I thought someone should see what it was."

"I was having a nightmare," Lara explained.

"And it was about your mother."

Lara hesitated. "Yes," she answered as a fresh tear rolled down her cheek.

Doppelganger considered this. "I am...sorry," Doppelganger answered awkwardly, the words new to her.

A thought occurred to Lara. "Do you dream?"

"I was dreaming while I slept. I dreamt of the last time I saw Natla."

Lara looked at Doppelganger. "What happened?" she asked, eager to know about Natla's last minutes.

Doppelganger smiled...

"Looks like the device suffered some damage after all," Doppelganger mused, her Lara-like wit showing as she looked down at her former mistress, who was now trapped under the pod and starting to be consumed by Eitr.

"You?!" Natla asked in shock. "Get this thing off me!" Doppelganger didn't move; she just smiled. "Ohk eshivar! I order you to help me!"

Doppelganger remembered what her template had said, about how she was no longer a slave, and made no move to help Natla. Doppelganger just continued to smile and watch Natla be destroyed.

Natla began to panic as the Eitr spread over her and she began to smolder. "No! I command you to lift this off of me! I command you! Do you hear me?! Ohk eshivar! You must obey me! Ohk eshivar!" Doppelganger still didn't move and Natla grew more desperate. "Thralls, come to me! Help! No! Nn...!"Natla trailed off into gargling as she drowned in and was agonizingly consumed by the Eitr while looking up at her former slave.

And all the while, Doppelganger just smiled her cryptic smile that was so very much like Lara's...

"As you said, make sure she suffers," Doppelganger concluded. She thought back to Natla's last orders for her, that as soon as she killed Lara she was to commit suicide because Natla never wanted to see the face of Lara Croft ever again. It only seemed appropriate that the very last thing Natla ever saw was her arch-rival's face before she was destroyed.

As Doppelganger finished her story, Lara sat back against the bed stand thinking. Somehow, knowing how Doppelganger had killed the demon who killed her father and manipulated her with her mother's memory seemed to take a great weight off shoulders. All of a sudden, life didn't seem as bleak as it had a few hours ago.

Lara suddenly hugged Doppelganger, who flinched in surprise but then relaxed and hugged Lara back. Lara eased off and smiled at her clone. "Well done, Doppelganger. Thank you."

Doppelganger smiled proudly. "No, thank you, Lara, for freeing me." She got up to go back to her bedroom.

"Wait, Doppelganger. Will you...stay here with me tonight?"

Doppelganger thought about, then shrugged and kicked off her boots. She lay down next to Lara who turned off the bedside light and got back under the covers. Doppelganger snuggled up next to Lara and wrapped her arm around her like Lara was a teddy bear. Lara had to admit that she felt a definite comfort lying in Doppelganger's arms, and she soon fell asleep.

There were no more nightmares for Lara Croft that night.

Author Commentary: If you're wondering about the corgi thing, it's a throw-back to the older Core-era Tomb Raider; Lara's greatest fear was listed as her great-aunt's Welsh corgi.