Disclaimer: I do not own Tomb Raider or any of its characters nor do I profit from the writing of this story.

A/N: Thanks for all of your awesome reviews! I really appreciate it! The more reviews I get the more I'm inspired! So, here goes!

**Edited 10/08/2013**

Chapter 3: Realizations

The world was slowly beginning to come back into focus for Lara and the first thing she became aware of was pain. Every part of her body ached like she had been run over by a dump truck, but her abdomen was particularly bad.

The second thing she became aware of was a slight weight on her left arm and shoulder. It wasn't unpleasant, far from it actually. Unwilling to open her eyes just yet, she tried to discern what it could be, wracking her brain to try and remember anything.

Lara recalled being on the cargo ship…they were pulling into port…medics…ambulance...Then Sam's face floated to the surface of her mind. She remembered how Sam had insisted on being in the ambulance with her and she couldn't be more grateful to her best friend.

Reaching into the far corners of her mind, Lara tried in vain to remember anything after being in the ambulance. She assumed that since she had been in an ambulance that she was now in a hospital. Straining her ears, Lara's suspicions were confirmed when she heard the tell-tale beep of monitors and the squeak of sneakers on linoleum floors a little further away.

She still wasn't sure what the weight was on her arm, so she decided to try and force her eyes open. Her eyelids felt like they were being held down with bricks, but after a few seconds she was able to open them. The harsh, artificial light that struck them made her blink until her eyes had adjusted completely, then she was able to look around.

Sure enough, she was in a hospital bed, but that wasn't what caught her attention. Clinging to her left arm and curled into her side was Sam, who appeared to be sleeping peacefully, her head resting on Lara's shoulder.

Affection for Sam spread through Lara's chest and warmed her heart as she watched the dark-haired woman sleeping deeply next to her. The relief she felt knowing that Sam was with her, safe and sound, could not be matched. It made every cut, every bruise, and every broken bone worth it; to know that she had gotten Sam off of that awful island.

Sam's shiny, dark hair was shielding her face from Lara's view but she didn't dare move to sweep it behind her ear, in case she woke her up. So, she just lay there, enjoying the warmth from Sam's body, flush against her own.

Once again she was confronted with her feelings for her best friend and there was no where she could hide. Lara couldn't deny that it felt amazing to be this close to her, but did it mean she was attracted to her best friend? It certainly felt so, judging by the way her heart was racing thinking about every curve of Sam's body pressed against her side. Did Sam feel the same way though?

"She did kiss you…," a little voice whispered in her mind. It was true. Sam had kissed her. And it had felt incredible. Lara was 21 so she had been kissed before, but Sam's kiss…it felt like it was her first. She couldn't even begin to compare it to the awkward pecks with boys from her teenage years. Sam's kiss was more amazing than she could have ever imagined a kiss could be. She could remember every detail, from the way Sam's silky hair had tickled her nose to the way Sam's hand had gently gripped her shoulder, pulling their bodies closer together.

"Maybe it was just in the heat of the moment?" another voice countered. Great, now she was arguing with herself. Lara reached her free hand, wires, IV, and all, up to rub the bridge of her nose in a futile attempt to quiet her thoughts.

As she opened her eyes again and laid her hand back down, she saw a couple of familiar faces peak their heads into the room. Jonah had obviously not been admitted to the hospital and it looked like he had had a chance to get a shower and change his clothes. He now stood in a similar garb of cargo shorts and a baggy tee-shirt. Reyes had her arm bandaged up and also was changed into a pair of jeans and a tank top.

Lara greeted them with a smile and gestured for them to come in with her free hand. They acquiesced and crept into the room quietly, not ignorant to the fact that Sam was in Lara's bed.

"Hey there, Little Bird. How are you feeling?" Jonah asked, pulling up a chair for Reyes and then standing next to the bed.

"Loads better. How about you guys?" Lara whispered, not wanting to interrupt Sam's peaceful slumber. Reyes took the seat Jonah offered her and looked away embarrassedly.

"We're fine…Because of you…Lara-," Reyes started, but Lara just shook her head and cut her off.

"Its okay, Reyes. You don't have to," she replied, trying to meet the African American woman's eyes. Reyes finally looked up at her and shook her head sadly.

"I do, actually. If we-If I- had just listened to you sooner, things might have gone down differently…and I'm sorry," she apologized, finally making eye contact. Lara appreciated her saying that but it really wasn't necessary. They had all just been trying to survive in the only way they knew how. Lara watched as Reyes' eyes drifted down slightly towards Sam.

"Is she gonna be okay?" Reyes asked, and Lara could hear the guilt she felt in every word. Lara allowed herself to glance affectionately down at Sam for a moment before addressing Reyes.

"I think so…I'm guessing most of her wounds aren't the physical kind," Lara answered, lifting her head to look back over at them. She didn't want Reyes to feel like she was responsible for Sam being kidnapped. Pointing fingers and saying, "I told you so," wasn't going to change anything now.

"Good…uhm well, we just came by to say that we are heading to the airport. I need to get back to New York and see Alisha," Reyes told her, struggling to form words. It was a little awkward. What did you say to someone you had just survived this kind of ordeal with?

"Yeah, I'm heading back to my country. I can't wait to see my family," Jonah agreed, looking down at Lara and Sam with concern.

"I'm not gonna say good bye though," he added, quoting himself from back on the island. Lara smiled at the large New Zealand native and nodded in agreement.

"Take care of yourself, Lara…and tell Sam we came by," Reyes said to her, standing up and making her way with Jonah towards the doorway.

"I will… we'll come visit you both one day," Lara promised with a small wave, watching as Reyes acknowledged her with a nod before slowly exiting the room with Jonah.

Lara continued to lie there silently, thinking of her two friends going home to their families. She had no one to go home to...Her parents had been dead for years. She had no family left. And now, she didn't have Roth either.

The memory of her mentor caused a landslide of emotions to hit her, and Lara struggled to hold herself together. Grim, Alex, Whitman… and Roth…She had to watch each one of them die right in front of her. Not to mention the countless others she had killed… Lara could feel the tears beginning to spill down her face, but she just let them fall.

The only person she had left was Sam… And now these feelings she was having for her might chase away the only friend she had left. Lara glanced down at her best friend in defeat.

"How can Sam still want to be near me after everything I've done? All the people I've killed…," Lara thought with despair, using her free hand to wipe her tears away.

All of a sudden she could feel Sam shifting around next to her. Lara glanced down and saw Sam burying her face deeper into her shoulder. This calmed her down immediately. It felt right to have Sam so close to her like this. Like she was home.

Lara wanted nothing more than to figure out what Sam was thinking. Did she want to be more then friends? A sliver of hope bubbled up in Lara's chest and she couldn't subdue it. She knew what she wanted, but she didn't want to lose Sam. If her best friend didn't feel the same way…could Lara go on pretending?

Lara thought back to all of those times at University College London and even back in boarding school when Sam would drag her away from studying and take her to some party. Her best friend would never take 'no,' for an answer and would do everything in her power to introduce her to random guys.

Lara's heart fell a little at this realization; knowing that Sam couldn't be attracted to her. Why would Sam try so hard to hook Lara up with random guys if she had feelings for her?

Lara would always placate her friend by going out with her, but she wasn't interested in any of the guys. At the time, she thought that she wasn't attracted to them because she was so focused on school. But…now she wondered if she had ever been attracted to men at all…

She could feel Sam starting to wake up next to her. The dark-haired woman had released her arm and was starting to push herself up from the bed with her own arms.

Simply watching, Lara could feel the cold sting of sadness wash over her thinking that Sam wasn't really interested in her that way.

Sam's eyes blinked open after a few seconds and they locked onto Lara's almost immediately. Seeming to realize where she was after a second, Lara watched as Sam's cheeks flushed a deep red with embarrassment.

The other woman quickly hopped out of the bed, and as her feet hit the hard floor Lara saw her wince. She looked over at her best friend with concern, sitting up to see what was causing Sam pain.

"Are you okay? What's wrong?" Lara asked in a rush, holding her upper body up with her arms while she looked over at Sam. Lara happened to glance down and could see that Sam's left foot was bandaged up and a pair of crutches was sitting on the floor next to a chair that Sam was lowering herself into at the moment.

"I'm okay, just stood up too fast," Sam told her with a small smile. Lara wasn't convinced in the slightest, but she kept her mouth shut. Her ribs were killing her and the effort of keeping herself upright was starting to make her a little woozy.

"Is your ankle broken?" Lara asked quietly. The idea of Sam in pain was making it hard for her to breathe again.

"Just sprained…," Sam informed her and Lara slowly lowered herself back down on the bed, missing the warmth of Sam's body next to her already. Lara tilted her head sideways to get a better look at the woman next to her and her eyes were greeted by Sam's dark ones, full of concern and something else Lara couldn't quite discern.

"Lara, I need to tell you something," Sam blurted in a rush, scooting to the edge of her chair so she could be closer to the bed.

Lara's heart stopped and her breathing became erratic…was Sam going to talk about the kiss? The dark-haired woman reached for her hand and Lara laced her fingers with Sam, never taking her eyes off the other woman.

"What is it, Sam?" she asked gently, not wanting to rush her, but she so desperately wanted to hear what Sam was going to say.

"How are you feeling this morning, Ms. Croft," an unfamiliar nurse had entered the room at the worst possible moment and Lara felt disappointed as Sam's fingers slipped out of hers.

"I have some pain in my side, but other than that I feel okay," Lara answered back in Japanese, trying to hide her frustration as the nurse approached her.

"I'm glad to hear that…Oh, hello, Ms. Nishimura," the nurse greeted Sam, noticing her for the first time as she neared the bed. Sam just nodded in response and Lara could see how anxious she was.

"If its okay with you, I'd like to check your wounds and change your bandages," the nurse told her, and paused to give Sam a look. Lara understood that she wanted to give her some privacy. On one hand she didn't want Sam to see her this way but the last thing she wanted was for Sam to leave…

Sam seemed to take the hint and reached for her crutches.

"She can stay," Lara told the nurse, letting her eyes drift over to Sam, who had frozen in place.

"Please stay," she spoke in English directly to Sam this time, begging the other woman with her eyes from her prone position on the bed. She watched as Sam slowly lowered her crutches back to the floor and nodded, her eyes softening as they gazed back at her.

A wave of relief washed through Lara and she watched as the nurse pulled the privacy curtain around them. The nurse returned and adjusted the bed so that way she was sitting up before beginning by checking her vitals. Without hesitation the nurse lifted her shirt, exposing her bandaged midriff, making Lara feel a little self-conscious, especially with Sam sitting there watching her.

She had changed in front of her best friend countless times, but things were different now. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Sam respectfully looking away while the nurse worked.

"Your Japanese is beautiful, by the way," the nurse told her, carefully removing the old bandages and inspecting the edges of the wound with her gloved hands. Once she had seen the front, she had Lara lean forward, which hurt like hell, so she could see the exit wound on her back.

"Thank you. I have a good teacher," Lara replied, letting her eyes drift over to Sam, who smiled shyly back at her before looking away again.

"This is looking much better. I'm still concerned about your broken ribs though. Does it hurt when I apply pressure?" the nurse asked her, pressing her fingers in various places on her abdomen. Lara did her best to hide her pain, but one spot was particularly tender. She inhaled sharply and the nurse glanced up at her. Lara could see Sam's eyes snap angrily to the nurse, but she didn't say anything.

"It hurts a bit. Not too bad though," It was only half a lie. The pain had only intensified as the nurse worked, but Lara had a feeling that it was because the pain meds were beginning to wear off. Sam looked up at her, her forehead creased with worry at Lara's words. The last thing she wanted was to worry Sam, so she tried to ease her mind with a smile of her own.

The nurse finished up with the bandages on her stomach and proceeded to change the one on her arm as well. Once she was finished she removed her gloves and tossed them into the trash before turning back to Lara.

"Your wounds look like they'll heal nicely. There's no reason you shouldn't be able to go home as long as there is someone to help change your bandages twice a day," the nurse informed her, walking over and pulling back the privacy curtain. Lara nodded to signify that she understood. She would have to stay in the hospital. There was no way Sam would want to change her bandages twice a day and Lara didn't expect her to.

"I'll take care of her," Sam told the nurse, pulling Lara from her thoughts. Had she heard her best friend correctly?

"Okay, I'll confirm with the doctor, but you should be able to get started on the discharge paperwork at the front desk," the nurse informed Sam before stepping out of the room. With that, the dark haired woman reached for her crutches and stood up, swinging her way towards the door.

What Lara wouldn't give for two minutes alone with Sam. There was so much she wanted to tell her best friend, but she felt like she couldn't in this busy hospital.

"Sam?" Lara called before her best friend exited, causing her to turn back and look at her over her shoulder.

"Thanks," was all she could manage. It meant so much to her that Sam would agree to take her home and take care of her.

Sam awarded her with a gorgeous smile that melted Lara's heart before she turned to exit the room, leaving Lara alone. That smile had evaporated any pain that she had and replaced it only with warmth.

As she sat there, Lara now had the luxury of thinking of the future. So, she was allowed to go home, but where would that be? Her and Sam's flat in London? The manor she inherited from her family? A sixteen hour flight to London wasn't really an option, so where would they stay in the meantime? She guessed they would have to get a hotel in Tokyo for at least a week or so.

She didn't care where she called home…as long as she was with Sam it didn't matter.

Her thoughts drifted to her best friend again and Lara wondered what Sam was going to tell her before the nurse came in… It had obviously been really important judging by the seriousness in Sam's tone. Part of her was scared of what her best friend was going to tell her, another part of her was happy that maybe they were going to finally talk about whatever was between them.

She thought Sam was gorgeous, Lara couldn't deny that. But there was more…She loved the way Sam's eyes lit up when she talked about her heritage…the way she was so fiercely loyal…the way she was always playing around with her camera…everything.

Sam had been her best friend since boarding school and Lara had always been drawn to her bubbly personality, which was so different from her own. Sam just had a way of pulling Lara out of her shell.

On Yamatai, when she found Sam the first time, she had been so relieved. But then she had fallen asleep, allowing Mathias to capture her. Anger coursed through her veins like fire, remembering that bastard, but she was angrier at herself for allowing it to happen. Then…Sam's voice had come through the radio…and Lara had felt renewed. She had sworn to rescue her and somewhere along the way she realized…she couldn't live without Sam.

After an hour or so, Sam swung back into the room with an irritated look on her beautiful face and a fresh change of clothes on. She had another pair clutched in her hand which was making it difficult for her to navigate with the crutches, but she was able to walk a little on her injured ankle so that helped.

Lara couldn't help but think she was so beautiful dressed in dark skinny jeans and a slightly, baggy grey v-neck shirt. Lara gazed up at her face questioningly and gestured for her to sit on the bed next to her.

"What's wrong?" Lara asked, afraid that Sam was going to tell her that she couldn't in fact leave. Her best friend approached and sat on the edge of the bed, lifting her injured left leg off the floor which now had a hospital boot brace thing on it now. The other foot remained on the floor wearing a more fashionable black boot. Sam leaned her crutches against the mattress and met Lara's eyes directly after a moment.

"My dad sent a driver and a change of clothes for both of us. I guess he heard about the shipwreck and us getting picked up," Sam told her, breaking her gaze to look down at her hands.

Lara detested Sam's father for making her best friend feel this way. By now Lara was accustomed to Sam's father never being there when she needed him, but Sam had just survived a shipwreck, not to mention the insanity that occurred on Yamatai. He even lived in Tokyo, but he couldn't drag himself to the hospital to come see his daughter, who almost died... Lara was disgusted, but she tried not to show it.

Needless to say they had a volatile relationship when Sam was younger. He was never around; she rebelled, so he did what he did best: threw some money at the problem by sending Sam to boarding school halfway across the world. While Lara was so grateful that she had met Sam, she wished it hadn't been at the cost of her relationship with her father.

Lara wasn't one to hold a grudge, but having lost her parents, she had no sympathy for this man who chose to be absent from Sam's life. Once again, it seemed his idea of helping Sam was with money.

"Sam…," Lara started, but her words evaporated into thin air. She wanted to verbally tear him apart; tell Sam she didn't need him, but that wouldn't make her friend feel any better.

"It's okay. I don't expect much from him anymore," Sam's words were half-hearted. Lara knew a small part of her hoped that her father would come see her in the hospital and show some sign of caring about her at all. It ripped at Lara's heart to see Sam so upset and her natural instinct was to comfort the other woman.

Lara reached out and took Sam's left hand in both of her own and rested them in her lap, willing the other woman to look at her. Sam turned her head slightly in Lara's direction and gave her a sad smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

There was so much Lara wanted to say to Sam at that moment. Her heart ached to tell Sam how much she cared about her. It ripped at her insides to see the dark-haired woman like this, but she didn't want to lose her forever.

"You're free to go, Ms. Croft. You have everything you need, Ms. Nishimura?" the nurse reappeared, making her way over to Lara's right side. Sam turned her head sharply away and appeared to be trying to collect her emotions by clearing her throat before answering.

"I think so," Sam replied, and the nurse proceeded to remove the IV from Lara's arm as well as the monitor from her fingertip.

"All right, well don't forget to come back in about a week so someone can check and see if your ribs are healing correctly," the nurse told her and Lara nodded her affirmation.

"Thank you," Lara told her gratefully and the nurse acknowledged her with a nod before taking her leave. Sam lifted her crutches and placed her feet on the floor, standing up from the bed.

Lara slid to the edge of the bed and carefully let her feet find the floor as well before she put any weight on them. Holding the bed for support, she gingerly began to stand up, testing her legs which she hadn't used in over 36 hours.

Once she was standing, she felt strong enough to take the offered clothes from Sam and head to the bathroom to change. If she was honest with herself, it hurt to breath with these broken ribs so she had no idea how she was going to change clothes.

It was easy to slip the scrub bottoms off, but the pulling on the pair of semi-fitted khaki cargo pants was going to be more of a challenge. There was no way she was going to ask Sam for help, so she gritted her teeth and reached down pulling each leg up one at a time. It felt like she was being stabbed repeatedly in the stomach and she had to take multiple breaks, but she managed.

The black, fitted v-neck t-shirt was going to be another thing all together. She took a hold of the hem of the scrub top and began lifting, but a searing pain stopped her short and she had to grip the sink to catch her breath.

A knock at the door, startled her and Lara stood up straight, listening.

"Lara, Sweetie? Are you okay? Do you need help?" Sam's muffled voice drifted through the door, and Lara mentally berated herself. She really didn't want to appear weak in front of Sam but the effort of simply changing clothes was creating a line of sweat across her forehead.

Admitting defeat, Lara unlocked the door and met Sam's eyes ashamedly.

"I can't get this top off. Could you give me a hand?" it took a lot for Lara to admit she needed help, but if there was one person who wouldn't judge her it would be Sam.

"Of course," Sam told her leaning her crutches outside and stepping into the bathroom so people walking by in the hall wouldn't get a show. It was a large single stall bathroom, but it wasn't built for two people so it was a tad tight with both of them in there.

Lara was starting to feel really anxious. Sam had seen her change a million times but she felt so self-conscious now. Their bodies were so close…Lara could feel the warmth emanating from Sam and it calmed her and made her nervous all at once. She could feel that she didn't have anything on underneath her scrub top, so she slowly turned around so that her back was facing Sam. She felt as Sam's delicate fingers gripped the hem of the scrub top and carefully lifted up. Lara raised her arms above her head to help, which caused a sharp pain in her abdomen. Lara couldn't prevent the involuntarily gasp of pain that escaped her lips as Sam lifted the shirt up and off.

"Oh my god, Lara. I'm so sorry. Did I hurt you?" Sam apologized in a rush, reaching around and tenderly touching the very tips of her fingers to Lara's stomach. Her breathing sped up at the contact and Lara struggled to control the butterflies that were now floating around in her stomach. Sam's chest was practically flush against her back and it was making Lara feel warm all over.

"I'm fine, really, Sam. I'm okay," Lara tried to convince her, but she could feel Sam watching her every movement skeptically after that.

Sam picked up the black shirt from on top of the sink and helped Lara pull it over her head quickly, but she didn't make a move to leave at first when she was finished.

Lara turned around in the tight space and they both suddenly became hyper aware of how close they really were. Sam was slightly shorter than her, so Lara could feel the other woman's warm breath gently caressing her neck. It was making it really hard to focus on anything else. If she wanted to kiss Sam, all she would have to do is just lean forward a few inches…

This thought snapped her to attention and she began to panic a little. She couldn't deny that she desperately wanted to feel those lips on her again, but a hospital bathroom didn't seem like the right place.

Sam seemed to realize how close she was too and stepped backwards out of the bathroom, grabbing her crutches on the way out.

Lara picked up her hospital scrubs with difficulty and exited the bathroom as well, trying to calm down her rattled nerves. She threw them on the bed and took the pair of socks and boots Sam had brought in here for her. It took some effort to get them on and laced up but she succeeded after a few minutes. Lara could feel Sam's eyes burning into her back the entire time.

"Ready?" Sam asked her, and Lara could see that the woman had mentally distanced herself once again. Lara tried in vain to meet her dark eyes, but Sam was doing everything in her power to avoid her gaze, so she simply nodded and made her way out of the hospital room.

"Yea, let's go home," Lara affirmed. She still didn't know where home was, but at least she was with Sam. That's all the home she needed.

Wow! This was a hard chapter to write but I hope you liked it! Let me just say that it's about to get really fluffy in here the next couple of chapters. Don't forget to review and let me know what you think! Thanks for reading!