"Hello fellow passengers of the S.S. Endurance! Due to some extenuating circumstances on my side, we were unable to do the prompt for yesterday (apocalypse). Nonetheless, everything's fine now and I'm back! Please enjoy this prompt for Day 3: Jailbreak!" -Lex

"BUT THE OTHER AUTHOR WILL DRABBLE SOMETHING TO MAKE UP FOR IT!" -Dark

The day was finally here...the last day of classes before the holiday break. I'd be lying if I tried to say that I was excited because I wasn't. I was the complete opposite-I was dreading it. Sam would be going back to America to spend the holiday with her family and I'd be left here with nothing but the couch and some Jaffa Cakes for company...not that I wasn't used to it. I can't really remember the last time I celebrated Christmas...it must have been, what, fourteen years ago when I was only four? That sounded just about right…

It's not like it was on purpose that I had stopped celebrating the holidays...it just kind of happened. Roth was usually out on one expedition or another and while Winston had always been there for me since I was young, celebrating Christmas with him only ever served as a painful reminder of what was missing. So, instead, we just made an unspoken pact to just ignore that day and go about our normal everyday business. Life went on as usual. As I turned the key in the lock of our dorm door, I could already hear the sounds of Sam packing for her flight home. With a heavy, sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach, I adopted the most cheerful expression that I could muster before pushing the door open and entering.

"Hey Sweetie!" Sam greeted me with a warm smile, which I did my best to return as I set my school bag down, "How were your exams?" I shrugged with one shoulder. I wasn't really in a sociable mood at the time. What kind of a question was that anyways? Finals were finals. There was no other way to describe them.

"Absolutely dreadful but I believe I did well," I responded as I opened one of our cabinets to see if we had any tea left...thank god, we did...I pulled the box out as Sam continued talking.

"That's good...I took my psychology final today and I swear I must've bombed it! Why do we need to take all of these extra credits anyways?" She asked, sitting on the counter beside me, "I mean, I'm never going to really use this stuff again. I just wanna get into the actual film classes already!" She continued to ramble on while I just smiled occasionally or acknowledged her with one word responses...truth be told, I didn't have the heart to tell her to stop talking but I was also really just not interested in idle chatter...I had several forty-five hour work weeks coming up over the holidays and I had a lot of school work to do for my classes that would start the next semester. I just wanted to enjoy my only night off as much as possible. I knew what Sam would say though...she'd wonder why I put myself through this. She'd wonder why I do all this extra work and, of course, why I don't allow myself to enjoy the holiday.

The truth behind it all is...well, in my father's late years he was...obsessed with myths about immortality. In his early life, he was considered to be a genius in his craft but after my mother passed something...changed. He went mad, he was...deranged because of his obsession. He changed; he was no longer my father. I guess what I mean is that...I don't want people to think that I'm the same as him. I want to make a name for myself and prove that I'm sound of mind and have just as much if not more skill and knowledge than he did. All the work I do...it provides me with a challenge but it also keeps me focused. It gives me clarity for what I'm working with. It also allows me to prove that I'm not some child trying to ride off my family's good name. As for the holidays? It...keeps me distracted. It'll keep me from thinking about what what could have been. The more my mind is moving...the less time I have to think about it or...anything, really. Wait...was Sam still talking?

"Lara...are you alright? Your water's been boiling for a couple of minutes now…" She said, finally capturing my full attention again. As I hurried to pull the kettle off the burner, I could see her giving me a look of utmost concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine just...really swamped from my exams is all," I lied, pouring the boiling water into a mug; it was easier than admitting the truth. Don't get me wrong, Sam's a great friend and all but...I didn't want to mar her holiday break with the truth or even make her feel guilty for enjoying herself.

"If you're sure…" She said, her voice trailing off at the end. I simply responded with a curt nod as I attempted to retreat into my room but she continued, "So what're you going to do for Christmas?" This...this was exactly what I was trying to avoid: the endless, prying questions. I gave her a half shrug in response.

"You know...just the usual stuff I suppose…" Why was Sam always so talkative?

"What do you mean by 'the usual stuff'?" She raised an eyebrow at me.

"Well, I mean-what are your plans for the holiday?" I diverted, hoping she would take advantage of the opportunity to share her experiences. Thankfully, she took the bait.

"Probably just some 'quality' time with my family…" She shuddered at the thought, "We usually just go out to dinner and then do presents. The usual. Nothing too extravagant I guess…" She waved her hand dismissively, "...you still didn't answer my question though," shit...I had really hoped that she would just forget about it.

"Don't need to-you just did," Lying again? Perhaps I should have switched my major from archaeology to political science right there and then… I must have stumped her with my response, because she didn't say anything right after my last comment. Good, it made my life a bit easier that way. While Sam was trying to think of a response, I quickly took advantage of the opening to duck into my room and lock the door. I didn't particularly enjoy cutting her off like that but as that famous saying goes...sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. Sam didn't know about my parents and I preferred it that way, it was better that she remain blissfully ignorant rather than sneak pitying glances at me like everyone else. She called my name out a few times after that but when I didn't answer, she finally gave up...also good. This also made my life easier. I really didn't need to deal with any more of her questions at that point in time. The sooner she left, the sooner I could just get the holidays over with.

When I woke up the next day, Sam was already gone and probably halfway to America… I didn't mind though. Her being gone made it...easier to just not think and focus on the task at hand. Since I had several hours before my first work shift, I pulled out my new biology textbook for the next semester and began reading and outlining...you know, Sam did kind of have a point...I would never need to use ninety five percent of the information contained within the textbook ever again. Why couldn't I just get into the courses that actually apply to my major?

No! Bad Lara, don't think about Sam! Focus on your schoolwork… I thought, redirecting my attention to the first chapter...principles of life. I began to outline the first part: Eight properties of living organisms...number one, consist of one or more cells…I wonder how Sam's flight is going? Number two, contain genetic information… I was doing it again. I kept thinking about Sam when I should really focus on my work. Number three, use genetic information to reproduce themselves… Why was it so hard to get anything done? Number four, are genetically related and have evolved… I'm an archaeology major, damnit, not some type of geneticist! I couldn't care less about the properties of living organisms! Suddenly, the book was on the floor before I could stop myself from throwing it...why did I just do that? Suddenly horrified, I got up and surveyed the damage I had done...thankfully, there wasn't much from what I could tell after I had picked it up and quickly flipped through the pages...okay...looked like I wasn't getting any schoolwork done at that particular moment.

After I set the book onto one of my shelves neatly, I decided to grab breakfast before taking a shower and getting ready for work...since I had nothing else to do that day, I figured Wilson wouldn't care if I went to work at the Nine Bells an hour early...it was better than just sitting idly in my dorm anyhow. As I expected, the bar was swarming with customers and Wilson almost cried tears of joy at the sight of me...almost. He was never really one for showing emotions.

"Croft!" He exclaimed, "It's madness here and James had to leave early! Hurry up and clock in!"

"I'm on it!" I responded, quickly heading into the back room to scan in before returning to the bar. I turned to the first person I saw, "What can I get for you?"

"Lara? You're still here?" Oh god...I took a good look at the man sitting before me and saw that it was my history professor. I flashed him my most cheerful smile.

"Hello, professor, didn't expect to see you here...what can I get for you?" I asked again, hoping to steer the conversation away from what I knew he was going to ask.

"Shouldn't you be on holiday? All of your exams are done, which by the way between you and me...you got the highest score. Excellent work," he added, positively beaming at me.

"Glad to hear that," I responded, completely dancing around his prying questions. He gave me an odd look that I couldn't decipher even if I actually felt like it, "So what can I get for you?" I asked once more, hoping he would get the message.

"A Guinness Draught, if you wouldn't mind…" He finally responded, still observing me with the same odd expression. I quickly got him what he asked for and as I gave it to him, he continued, "Lara...you can't live like this for the rest of your life. You're a brilliant young woman with the rest of her life ahead of her. You should be enjoying the holidays, not locking yourself up and throwing away the key."

"Enjoy your beer, professor," was all that I heard come out of my mouth as I went on to serve the next customer. After that encounter, the rest of the evening seemed to pass in a blur of idle chatter and alcohol flowing from a tap...nothing out of the ordinary. I encountered some of my now-former classmates-who I assumed were either staying for the holidays or leaving later on-during my shift. Thankfully, none of them asked any questions though that might have been because they were already too intoxicated to even bother. Finally, the clock hit six o'clock as I went into the back room to clock out on break and just catch my breath for a moment…

God, I wonder if Sam's night was going any better than my own? Or was she already about to blow up at her father again? Suddenly, my heart began to throb as I shook my head to clear my mind. It hurt to think about Sam at the moment...she was probably upset by the way I treated her before she flew out. Looks like I still ended up marring her holiday spirit anyways. As my break was starting to come to a close, Wilson walked in.

"Croft, business is starting to slow down now...why don't you take the rest of the night off?" He asked, "You've been working hard all shift…"

"I appreciate the offer but really-I can keep going!" I tried to protest but he simply shook his head.

"You've done more than enough work in your time here, you really need to just take some time off. Enjoy your holidays, I'll see you when you return," he said, flashing me a smile that I was unable to return. He was letting me off for the rest of the entire break?!

"Really, it's fine…! I...I need the money for next semester!" I tried to protest again. He suddenly looked exhausted as he let out a sigh.

"Alright, alright...but seriously, I can handle the bar on my own now. You enjoy the rest of the night off and I'll see you tomorrow," I smiled as I walked out and caught a cab back to my dorm...at least I managed to get all of my holiday shifts back. Why did he decide to let me off for the night though? Did I seem off? Did somebody complain to him? Something just felt completely off about the entire thing...with a sigh, I entered my residence hall as I continued to try to understand Wilson's motives. He never seemed to have any qualms about me working late shift every week night during the semester...god, what was I going to do for the rest of the night now? I suppose I could always just continue to work on that biology outline...I leaned my head against my door with a groan before finally letting myself into my dark dorm. Without turning the light on, I set my keys and coat on the counter before making my way to my room.

...It was then that the light turned on. With a jolt, I whipped around to see who was responsible for turning them on. After briefly scanning the area, I found the culprit on the couch smirking...it was Sam.

"Sam!" I nearly squeaked in shock, "What are you doing here?! I thought you had a flight this morning!" She laughed as she stood up to give me a hug.

"Well...I did but I may have accidentally missed it? Oops?" She said with a laugh after we broke apart, "So it looks like I won't be spending the holidays with the 'rents after all...so tragic," she added with an eye roll. Suddenly, it hit me.

"Sam...you didn't…" I muttered in shock. The last thing I wanted was for this to happen; for her to completely bail out on her holiday on my behalf. She just laughed again in response.

"Sweetie, you act like I even wanted to go home in the first place...now open your present!" She practically shoved a hastily-wrapped parcel into my arms...wait...she got me a present too?

"Sam…" I breathed out in awe as I could practically feel tears well up in my eyes. It just...it had been so long…

"What are you waiting for, doofus? Open it!" She urged me. Suddenly feeling embarrassed, I blinked my tears away as I hesitantly peeled the festive wrapping paper away. What was it anyways, some type of...photo album? I hesitantly opened it to the first page to see a picture of...me? No, no that woman had blue eyes...the next photo was of a good-natured college-age man with hazel eyes...my eyes…

"This...this is…" I stuttered in shock. Where had she gotten all of these photos from? She answered that question as though she had read my mind.

"I contacted that butler of yours, Winston...nice guy, by the way! We spent the entire day tracking down old friends of your parents for pictures...I am sorry by the way," she added, "I didn't know about...you know...well, do you like it?" She gazed at me hopefully. I didn't know what to say...I set it aside as I pulled her into another hug.

"It's brilliant, I...thank you, Sam…" Suddenly, I felt so overwhelmed that I couldn't even stem the flow of tears flowing from my eyes.

"Don't mention it," She responded warmly. When I pulled away, I couldn't help but frown as I realized something, "...what?"

"...You wouldn't happen to have something to do with my boss trying to let me off work for the rest of the holiday, would you?" I finally asked.

"Trying to let you off? Sweetie, you do have off for the rest of the break! I couldn't let you just keep yourself locked away for the holidays! Now come on," she said, grabbing my arm and dragging me along before I could protest, "I'm breaking you out of this jail. This place is depressing enough during the semester!" As she flagged down a cab, I couldn't help but let a smile creep upon my face...in a way, maybe I wasn't ever truly alone. Maybe I still had family after all...Croft and Nishimura, just us versus the world.

I wouldn't have it any other way.

Dear reader,

it has recently come to light that all fanfiction stories-literally millions of stories-have been stolen off of this website by five spamdexing websites in order to profit off of them by using ads. Not only is this art theft and plagiarism, it is just despicable. In light of this security threat, we are no longer going to be posting anything to fanfiction until the perpetrating sites are taken down and security on this website is increased. If you wish to continue reading our works, you will be able to find us on Archive of Our Own under the same username. We wish we didn't have to do this but we refuse to sit back and let our work be stolen. Once the issue has been resolved we will make getting this account up to date a priority, but we don't foresee that happening anytime soon.

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Lex and Dark