Chapter 4
A/N: Let me know what you think of this chapter =)
Sam had spent the next couple of days looking for plane tickets and possible contacts to set up an expedition in India. If Richard was right, the only way to go back to their timeline was to go to the ancient city of Kusasthali. She hadn't shared with Lara what her father had told her and Lara never asked. She didn't know if she didn't care or if she was too afraid to ask but Sam didn't want to push her too far, especially after they had become closer. She wanted to wait to have all the details and a solid plan before sharing it with her, that and she also needed her money.
Lara had worked a lot of shifts in a row the past days, probably to compensate for the shifts she had changed to spend time with Sam.
On Wednesday, Sam decided to surprise Lara at work so they could eat dinner together. When she arrived at the hospital, she found Jackie and asked her where to find Lara. Just like the nurse said, Lara was at the first-floor reception desk. Sam smiled, slowly approaching but stopped dead in her tracks when a tall brunette started to talk to Lara.
Sam frowned at the woman's closeness and her clearly touchy-feely nature. She stepped to the side and hid behind the supply trolley that was standing in the middle of the hallway. She couldn't hear everything from her spot but if she moved any closer, there was a risk they would see her.
"Sara," Lara greeted, discreetly putting some distance between her and her colleague. "What can I do for you?"
"Go on a date with me, Croft. You need to blow off some steam now and then." Sara said in a flirty tone.
"No, thank you." Lara answered, still focusing on her paperwork.
Sam glared at the woman. Did she hear the word date? She looked at the trolley, could she push this thing closer?
"Come on, no need to play hard to get." Sara smiled. "You chose to ask me to change your shifts with mine, there must be a reason."
Lara chuckled at the absurdity of the remark. "Yes, because the others said no."
Sam stopped messing with the trolley wheels and looked back at Lara. She was laughing, why was she laughing? Lara had her back turned at her, it was hard to tell what was going on.
Sara looked around them before pulling Lara's file away to force her to look at her. "Lara…"
Lara sighed in frustration and turned to face her colleague. "I am not playing hard to get and I am not interested."
Sam tried to listen but a beeping noise coming from a room close to her made it hard to hear. Did Lara say she was interested? She didn't get the time to think it over because suddenly, Sara leaned closer to Lara's face. She couldn't see this. She abruptly turned around and rushed out of the hospital. She was so stupid. Her doppelganger was dead, of course Lara couldn't stay celibate all her life. What did she expect? That after crashing in on Lara's life and spending a week with her, everything would change.
However, what Sam didn't see as she left was Lara forcefully pushing the woman away and telling her to get lost and that she had someone, kind of.
The next morning, after having a breakdown for most of the night, Sam felt like she was suffocating in the flat. She needed to go out and take her mind off things. She didn't know if it was her old insecurities coming back but she was starting to believe Lara was better off without her. For some reasons, she kept thinking about a Fleetwood Mac song 'And I wish you all the love in the world. But most of all, I wish it from myself.' Sam wanted Lara to be happy, to be the cause of her happiness but she couldn't force her to be with her and if she wasn't who Lara wanted, then she loved her enough to step down.
After all, it was Lara's journey, Lara's happy place in an alternate timeline where her parents were still alive, why would Sam ruin it? She was just a passenger in this, a witness of what could be. If she wasn't supposed to be here, maybe she should leave, go back to her timeline and let Lara be happy, even if it was without her.
After a quick shower, Sam exited her room and walked tiredly toward the living room.
"Good morning!" Lara said cheerfully.
"What the fuck!" Sam jumped out of her skin. She was sure Lara was at work; that was why she had left her room in the first place. She knew Lara was a morning person but that was way too cheerful for Lara and definitely way too much for her. "You scared the shit out of me." She rested a hand on her heart. "Why aren't you at work?"
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." Lara laughed lightly. "Since I worked late yesterday, I have the morning off."
"Oh, hum, okay…" Sam ran her fingers through her hair.
"I made us breakfast." Lara announced, waving her hand in direction of the kitchen.
"Thanks but I'm not hungry."
"You should eat you know." The English woman advised. "From the state of the kitchen, it doesn't look like you ate dinner yesterday, it's not good for your health to skip meals."
"I can take care of myself." Sam snapped despite herself before taking a deep breath. She knew she had no right to be angry at Lara for what happened the day before. As far as Lara was concerned, she was just a stranger she met a week ago.
"Of course." Lara frowned at the cold answer. "I know that but I was just trying to… It's… Nevermind..." She sighed. "Do you have plans for this morning? I thought maybe we could talk…"
"About?" Sam held her breath, hoping it wasn't about Lara's date. She didn't think she could take it.
"I had another weird dream, you know, one that felt real like the Archery club. I was dressed in some sort of period costume and you were there, trying to cheer me up. And hum, your friend, Jonah, is it? He was there too. Does it ring a bell? Because I never took acting class in Uni."
Sam smiled a bit at the memory. "Yeah, you performed in Pride and Prejudice for Jonah." Then she realized that if Lara was having flashbacks, it meant her presence in this timeline was disturbing the continuum and in the process, Lara's happiness.
"Really?" Lara looked surprised. "Wow, he must be a really good friend."
"He's like a brother to you."
Silence settled as they stood there awkwardly. When Lara realized Sam wouldn't join her in the kitchen, she said. "I have to be honest; I'm still struggling with this. I mean, you showed up out of nowhere and you know all these things about me. It was already scary and confusing but now I have these dreams, I… I'm starting to think maybe I should run some tests to make sure I don't have a tumor making me see things…"
"You still don't believe me, do you? Despite the stones and the videos and everything."
"I want to but you have to admit, this is insane!" Lara exclaimed. "It goes against everything that I believe in. Until now my life was simple, I had my routine and…"
"Well sorry I messed it up…" Sam cut her off dejectedly.
"That's not what I said!"
"You know what," Sam chuckled depreciatively. "Now that you mention it, I was the one talking Lara's ear off about Himiko and Yamatai, so maybe I messed up her life in my reality too." She was starting to rethink everything, to doubt everything. She was trying so hard to fight her old demons but maybe they were right. Maybe without her bringing up Yamatai and funding the expedition, Lara would have stayed in London, she would have a safer job and she would still have Roth…
"Sam…" Lara reached out in concern.
Sam pulled away, shaking her head to fight the tears. "I have to go." She rushed to the door.
"Where are you going?"
"I don't know…" Sam said before slamming the door behind her.
Sam didn't know how long she sat there, at the UCL library, staring into the void. Lara had been texting her every now and then to ask where she was and if she was okay but she couldn't bring herself to answer. She was re-evaluating her whole life, of course she wasn't okay.
"Hey, it's Sam, right?"
Sam looked up and saw Aliyah. "Yes, hi. How are you? I'm sorry I left in such a hurry last time."
"Don't worry about it." Aliyah waved it off. "I'm surprised to see you here, have you made any progress?"
"Yes, I found some answers but I'm not here for research." Sam answered vaguely.
The student raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing here then?"
"Wondering what I'm doing with my life."
Aliyah laughed loudly before clapping her mouth shut when other students glared at her. She mouthed a sorry and sat in front of Sam. "Aren't we all?"
Sam bit her lip, pondering if she should ask Aliyah for a moment alone or if she could use someone to talk to. After all, she didn't have anyone here except Lara, and she wasn't even sure that fact was true. "Have you ever wonder where you would be if something in your life hadn't happened?"
"All the time."
"And?"
"Like my mama always says, what ifs only lead to more what ifs." The student said. "What ifs only lead to pain and prevent you from living the present. Maybe you would do things differently now, but you can only think that because you've changed. You learned because you experienced something that made you grow. It doesn't matter if it's good or bad, it made you who you are, so maybe it was supposed to be that way, so you could become who you are supposed to be."
Sam looked at the woman in front of her, trying to absorb everything she just said. "That's… deep."
Aliyah chuckled. "Yeah I know but it's true. Whatever you are struggling with, wondering what if won't help you."
Sam smiled tiredly. "I'll try to keep that in mind."
"Do you want to grab a drink?" The student offered. "You don't have to; I mean if your wife is waiting for you or something. It's just, you look like you could use a friend."
"I…" Sam's phone vibrated once again. It was Lara telling her there had been a traffic accident and she wouldn't be home any time soon. "Sure, I'm not as young as I used to be but this girl still knows how to party." She joked, pointing at herself.
They went to a bar close to campus and talked about nothing and everything. It felt nice to forget about her worries for a few hours.
Sam stumbled home around 4 AM and bumped into a few things as she tried to remove her boots. "Definitely not as young as I used to be." She mumbled, trying to remember how many drinks she had. As she stepped forward, she failed to notice Lara's shoes on the floor and tripped, falling face first onto the wooden floor. "Shit!"
Suddenly, the light turned on and Lara was in front of her, baseball bat in hand as if she was expecting a burglar. "Bloody hell, Sam!"
Sam laughed from her spot on the floor. "Relax, it's just me." She frowned. "Unless you knew that and you didn't want me to come back home."
"Where were you? I was worried sick." Lara stared at her, confused, before putting her bat away. "Are you pissed?" She helped Sam stood up.
"I made a friend at the library…" Sam informed her before lifting her hand and bringing her thumb and index closer. "Just a teensy bit." She chuckled, leaning forward.
Lara stepped closer and put a supportive arm around Sam. "Oh, by the smell of your breath I'd say definitely more than a tiny bit."
"You should let loose a bit more, you know." Sam slurred.
"I'll try to remember that. But for now, let's get you to bed." Lara said softly, leading Sam toward the guest room.
Sam woke up the next day with a hangover like she hadn't experienced in a long time. She had definitely lost her edge since she left Uni. She groaned, holding her pounding head before slowly stepping out of bed. She dragged herself to the kitchen; she was in a deep need of coffee.
"Good morning!" Lara greeted.
"Sshhh, not so loud." Sam plopped herself on the stool. "And no, it's not."
"Here, drink your black poison." Lara said, clearly amused as she pushed a cup of coffee in front of Sam with two aspirins "Doctor's order".
"What time is it?" Sam wrapped her hands around the warm mug and closed her eyes, enjoying the scent of her coffee.
"11 AM." When Sam didn't say anything, Lara continued. "So, I take it you had fun last night?"
"Yeah… Sorry for waking you up when I came home."
"It's alright. I was worried, you didn't answer any of my texts…"
Sam cracked an eye open, then the other and sighed. "Sorry." She wanted to say more, but she was in no state to have this conversation right now.
Lara sighed and looked at the time. "I have to go to work. Do you think you will be okay for the inauguration tonight?"
"Oh God," Sam whined painfully, remembering Richard's invitation. "It's tonight?" Lara nodded at her. "Urgh, yes. I just need a nap and a shower, it should be fine."
"Okay, I'll be here at 5 PM."
Just before 5 PM, Sam was feeling better and was ready for the evening. Lara was breathtaking in her black dress although Sam could tell she wasn't comfortable in it.
When they arrived at the museum, Lara quickly went in search of her parents. Richard and Amelia greeted her warmly before mingling with other guests.
Sam and Lara spent the next hour visiting the new collection centered on Russian history until Lara excused herself to go help her mother. After 15 minutes, Sam was bored and went to look for her. After five minutes, she found Lara in a heated conversation with her mother in the corner of a room.
"You know I'm gay?!" Lara exclaimed shocked.
"Of course I know."
"But, what… How…" Lara stammered. "Why didn't you say anything?"
"I was waiting for you to feel comfortable enough to tell me." Amelia explained softly.
"Then why are we having this conversation right now?"
"Because Sam is right here and you don't seem to realize it. I'm just trying to help."
"Unbelievable." Lara raised her hands in exasperation. "This is my life, the last thing I need is my mother playing matchmaker."
"I just don't want you to miss an opportunity."
"There is no opportunity!" Lara raised her voice. "I am not the woman she wishes I was and she is barely talking to me right now, so please stop meddling. I don't need anyone, I am content with the life I have."
Amelia shook her head. "You are too much like your father sometimes. She could be good for you and…"
"Hors d'oeuvre ma'am." A waiter unexpectedly appeared next to Sam. She looked at him before looking in Lara's direction. She and her mother were looking right back at her. Sam shook her head before storming out of the room. She had her answer, Lara was content with her life, she didn't need her to mess up her happiness. How could she bring Lara back to a life where her parents were dead and people were trying to kill her every time she was getting too close to a major discovery?
As Sam was rushing out of the museum, she heard Lara call her name. "Sam wait! Where are you going?"
"I'm leaving." Sam answered without looking back.
Lara jogged and caught her arm. "Stop, talk to me."
"I think you said it all already."
"What did you hear exactly?" Lara gently dragged her to the side of the hallway.
"Everything." Sam took a shaky breath. "I can see you're happy and you said it yourself, you're content with your life, you don't need me messing up everything. And I mean, you're safe, you're away from mercenaries and cultists and you have your parents and Sara…"
"I told her to get lost and that I had som…" Lara frowned, realizing she hadn't shared what happened with her colleague with Sam. "Wait, how do you know about that? Is that why you've been cold and distant? Is that why you came home drunk last night?"
"It doesn't matter anymore," Sam sniffled. "I love you too much to take all that away from you. So I'm willing to step back and go back to my timeline alone." She removed the chain around her neck and slid off her engagement ring. She grabbed Lara's hand and put the ring on it before closing it slowly. "So you can remember me someday." She leaned closer and kissed the corner of Lara's mouth. "Goodbye." She murmured before running.
Lara opened her hand, frowning in confusion as she recognized her mother's ring. "It's my… Sam… Samantha, wait." She started running after Sam again.
Sam tightened her hold on her purse and kept going before she could have a breakdown in the middle of the hallway. She frowned as she felt a burning sensation on her hand. She stopped and looked at her purse. It was shining dimly. "What the fuck…" She opened it slowly and squinted her eyes at the pure light coming out of it. She reached out inside and pulled out her stone. Why was it shining? She thought hers hadn't worked.
Lara joined her, a quizzical look on her face. "Why is your stone shining? What is going on?"
"I have no clue…" Sam glanced at Lara before looking around her. She was standing in front of the main room of the exhibition. She scanned it and her blood went cold when her eyes fell on Ana accompanied by a tall man with a scar on his cheek, talking to Lara's parents. "Oh God no, not again, not here…"
"What's wrong?" Then English woman asked concerned.
Sam stared, anger and dread slowly boiling inside her. Lara had told her all about her mother-in-law's betrayal, about her father's assassination, about Trinity, working behind the scene for far longer than she thought. She had read Lara's journals, in a desperate attempt to understand what had pushed her best friend to cut ties with her, at least until she had to set her free from Himiko. The scar, the gloves, the uneasy smile, Sam could bet her life that it was Konstantin, Ana's brother. "Do you know who these people are?" She questioned, her voice shaking as she pointed in direction of the siblings.
Lara followed Sam's line of sight and looked at the people talking to her parents. "I'm not sure. I think Dad mentioned something about private collectors trying to buy a relic from the museum collection."
"Which relic?" Sam pressed urgently.
"I don't know, I don't work here and I'm not an archaeologist either." Lara seemed to remember the conversation they were having and stared at her crossly. "Don't try to change the subject. What did you mean by you're leaving? Where? And why did you give me my mother's ring back? She was still wearing it a minute ago."
"I told you, we are married…" Sam said distractedly, still keeping an eye on Ana and her brother. "I'm afraid this talk, just like my departure, will have to wait. We have more important issues right now." She shoved her stone back into her purse and grabbed Lara's hand, dragging her toward Richard and Amelia.
"Sam, wait, no."
"Lara, Sam." Amelia smiled warmly.
"Oh Mr. Trent, I don't think you've met my daughter, Lara." Richard introduced. "And here is her special friend, Ms. Nishimura."
Lara offered her hand. "Good Evening, Sir."
Konstantin smiled almost predatorily, grabbing Lara's hand and pressing his lips to it. "What a lovely daughter you have, Mr. Croft." He turned toward Sam, offering his hand. "Ms. Nishimura."
In another circumstance, Sam would have laughed at being called 'special friend' but she was so blinded with cold rage that she couldn't focus on anything but Konstantin. She looked at him coldly and shook his hand as hard as she could. "Mr. Trent."
"A woman with a strong handshake, I like that."
"It's not just the handshake." Sam stated with a fake smile.
"Right… But where are my manners, here's my sister Ana."
Ana nodded in greeting. "Nice to meet you ladies."
"Mr. Trent is very interested in the Atlas but I reminded him such a relic should belong to a museum." Richard explained.
Sam looked at the display case they were standing next to and just like Richard mentioned, the Atlas was there. Sam stared at it in confusion. How was it possible? She knew that before resting peacefully in the Manor secret chamber, the Atlas used to be hidden in Kitezh, but how could it be here? It didn't make any sense. If Lara never became an archaeologist, it meant no one had discovered the lost city and by extension, the artifact.
"And as I was telling your father, the Atlas had been a part of our family collection for a long time until someone stole it." Konstantin reminded him.
"Bummer," Sam commented sarcastically. When everyone turned toward her, she added. "I mean, such a beautiful piece, it must be hard." So Trinity did found Kitezh and without Lara to help The Remnants, she couldn't imagine the bloodbath it must have been. At least, she could take comfort in the fact that someone double-crossed them and stole the Atlas.
"Yes, that's why we offered good money to have it back." Ana jumped in. "But Mr. Croft is inflexible."
"I'm sorry you came all the way here for nothing. Please enjoy the rest of the exhibition." Richard excused himself before leading them away from the Trents. Then, Lara's father looked at Sam and smiled. "So Samantha, are you enjoying yourself this evening?"
If Sam thought she was in a bad place before, she was pretty sure she had just jumped on the highway to hell. "You did a wonderful job with this exhibition, Richard."
"Oh, flattery will get you everywhere, Ms. Nishimura." Richard laughed.
"Although, I would advise you to stay away from Mr. Trent and his sister." Sam warned seriously.
Richard frowned. "Why, have you heard of them before?"
"You could say that." Sam could still remember the hundred times Jonah and her almost died while trying to take down the organization. And Lara… After taking down their leader, she was in such a bad state that Sam thought she wouldn't make it. But she did, like always. Except this Lara right here, she wouldn't stand a chance. Aliyah's words suddenly rang true in her head. Every struggle Lara had been through prepared her for the big fight but with the life Lara had lived in this timeline, she was nothing but a sheep in the lion's den… "They are not the type to take no for an answer."
"Well, I'll keep that in mind." Richard turned toward his wife. "Let's go mingle, love."
Lara waited for her parents to be out of earshot before asking. "What happened there? I think you owe me an explanation."
Sam sighed. "I guess it's long overdue…" She scanned the room, trying to see if Ana and Konstantin were still there. "Not here, is there somewhere we can go?"
"There is an office down the hall." Lara took Sam's hand and led her to the office.
Once they were inside, Lara didn't waste a second and started firing questions. "Who are these people? How do you know them? Why did you tell my dad to be careful? Why did your stone start shining just before you noticed them?"
"Alright, hold on, hold on." Sam interrupted her. "It's gonna take a while, I think you should sit down."
"I'm good, so please explain." Lara crossed her arms and stood in front of Sam.
"Mhh, okay where do I start? I've only shared bits and pieces with you." Sam saw Lara open her mouth and rushed. "Wait, before you accuse me of hiding things from you, you should know I was just trying to protect you."
"I don't need protection." Lara declared curtly.
"Funny, we often have this conversation but usually the roles are reversed. We protect each other, that's what we do and you can lie to yourself if you want, but the last time I tried to talk to you about magic stones and alternate timelines, you freaked out."
Lara pursed her lips. "Fine, I won't interrupt again, go ahead." She waved her hand as if to say the floor is yours.
"I didn't lie, in my reality, we met in UCL and I'm really a documentary producer just like you are an archaeologist. Yamatai really happened. Shit happened, it would be too long to explain right now but before we found our way back to each other, you went on an expedition to Siberia. You were looking for the Divine Source, something your father was also searching but for another reason." Sam said in one breath.
"What reason?"
"Are you sure you don't want to take a seat?" Sam tried again.
"Just say it." Lara urged.
"I…" Sam took a deep breath. "In my timeline, your parents are dead…"
"What? It's not possible." The English woman paused. "Is it why you've been acting so weird every time I talked about them?"
"Yes," Sam admitted. "Your mom, she… She died in a plane crash. Your father, drowning in sorrow, started looking for a way to bring her back. It didn't work but he became obsessed with immortality. He was a good man, I mean after meeting him, I have no doubt in that but he neglected you a bit, that's why you always get me when I talk about my relationship with my parents. I think you resented him for a long time, until Yamatai, and even after that… You told me once that, a part of you still couldn't understand his downward spiral until you went through it yourself, when you were forced to cut ties with me. You never gave me details about what happened but by the haunted look on your face the first months we reconnected, I don't think it was pretty..." She stopped, looking at Lara who was now slouched against the desk and staring at the floor with glimmering eyes.
"Continue."
"So, your dad kept working until his research led him to the Divine Source. A secret organization called Trinity wasn't happy when they found out so they sent an undercover agent, Ana, to seduce him and get intel."
"My father would never cheat on my mother!" Lara protested.
"Your mother is dead." Sam reminded her softly.
"No, she's not." The English woman roared.
"I'm sorry sweetie, I wish it wasn't true but in the original timeline, she is..." Sam said carefully as Lara shook her head in denial. "Once Ana got what she needed, she was ordered to kill your father but she couldn't, so another agent did and they made it look like a suicide. You have to understand that pretty much everyone thought he had lost his mind when he tried to share his discovery so no one looked too much into it. Flash-forward to…"
"No stop…"
"I'm not done."
"I said stop. I'm sorry but this is utter tosh." Lara laughed humorlessly. "This is insane, you are insane."
"I understand that you're upset but I am not insane." Sam said calmly.
"I don't know, after all, I don't know you."
"Lara…"
"No, we're done here." Lara moved toward the door and slammed it open before rushing toward the side exit of the building.
"Lara, wait." Sam ran after her. "You need to listen, these people are dangerous." She tried to explain as Lara kept walking faster. As they were about to reach the street, a van screeched to a halt and two men surrounded Lara.
"Lara!" Sam shouted, running toward her. She saw Lara push the first man against the van but the other punched her hard in the face, making her fall to the ground. Sam looked around for any type of weapon and spotted a table leg next to the dumpster. She took it and ran toward the assailant. "Hey, fuck face." A soon as the man raised his head, she slammed her makeshift weapon against his face and heard his jaw crack. He yelped in pain and fell to the side, his gun sliding against the pavement. She rushed to grab it and raised it just as the second man stood up, gun aimed at her. Instinctively, she shot him in the kneecap. Even though Lara had taught her how to shoot, she didn't like to aim at vital areas unless she was forced to. Here, in the middle of London, she didn't think a bloodbath would go well. Sam heard someone clap behind her and turned around, aiming at the intruder. Her eyes went wide when she saw Ana standing in front of her.
"Impressive, Ms. Nishimura."
Sam glanced at Lara who was unconscious. She must have hit her head against the sidewalk. She stepped in front of her while still keeping an eye on her surroundings, to make sure no one was coming behind her. "I know who you are. I know what you want. I won't let you hurt Lara." She moved closer, weapon still raised. She had always been willing to sacrifice herself if it meant Lara was safe but now more than ever, she was ready to die to save Lara from the heartache of losing her family, to save the peaceful life she had been granted in this timeline.
"And what do you know exactly?"
"That you are part of Trinity, you and your psychotic brother." Sam squared her shoulders to show she meant business. "You also want the Atlas to fulfil your crazy quest of world domination."
"Who are you?" Ana arched an eyebrow. "How do you know all that?"
"In another world, I was tortured by some of your goons; of course, they were calling me Himiko back then. Ring any bells?" Sam smiled defiantly. It was a bold card to play but she wanted them to know they shouldn't mess with her or Lara, they were Crofts, it was bound to end in blood. She didn't know if they had heard about Yamatai, after all without Lara discovering the island, it was still a legend but it was worth a try.
"It's impossible."
"It is," Sam noticed the flash of fear passing in Ana's eyes and smirked. They might not have found it but they definitely knew. "So you're going to call your minions back and leave the Crofts alone."
"Or what?" Ana took a step closer. "Are you going to kill me, Ms. Nishimura?" She leaned her head against the barrel of the gun. "Do you have the guts for it?"
Sam held her position and tried to keep her hand from shaking as she gathered all her confidence. "I'm not like you, I won't kill you in cold blood in the middle of the street. But don't get the wrong idea, it doesn't mean I won't kill you later if you try anything again." She saw movement behind her but wasn't fast enough to avoid the punch. She stumbled backward, the assailant taking advantage of the confusion to grab Ana and lead her to the van. Sam shot at Ana and heard her cry in pain as she held her arm, just before the van door closed and drove off. "I hope it hurts like hell, you b..."
"Did you just shoot someone?" Lara mumbled from her spot on the ground.
"Oh my God, Lara." Sam kneeled down next to her. "Are you alright?" She brushed a few strands of hair away from her face, then rested her hand on Lara's cheek.
The English woman sat down with a groan and touched her head. "My head hurts." She blinked and looked at Sam. "You're bleeding." She pointed at Sam's lips.
Sam touched her lower lip then looked at her bloody finger. "Great." She sighed and scanned around them. "We have to leave. I'm pretty sure the police are on their way."
"I'm not sure I can walk." Lara informed her weakly.
Sam tried to lift Lara up but quickly followed her back on the ground. "God, you're heavy. You always make it look so easy to carry me around, it's hot, but unfair." She ended up half dragging Lara like a sack of potatoes to her car that was thankfully parked in a reserved area for the guests of the opening night.
Lara was fully conscious when they reached the flat. Sam settled her on the couch and threw her purse and the gun on the coffee table before moving to the kitchen to grab a couple of ice packs. She gently put one on the growing bump on Lara's head and applied the other to her lip.
"What happened?" Lara questioned, holding her ice pack.
"I think we just switched roles and I definitely don't have your set of skills." Sam explained. "Although I have to admit, I'm pretty proud of myself."
"What?"
Sam sighed, sitting next to Lara. "Trinity tried to kidnap you."
Lara frowned in confusion. "But why?"
"Since they couldn't bribe your father to get the Atlas, they probably wanted to exchange you for it." Sam guessed. It would make sense, Richard Croft had principles, he wouldn't take Trinity's money, especially since he was rich all on his own. So how could you make a man like that cave? Easy, you would have to go after his family.
"How can you be so jaded about this?"
Sam shrugged. It wasn't that she was blasé about it, she had her fair share of freaking out but it was just that, they were always trying to be prepared for the worst while hoping for the best, at least on her part. "When you've been through what we've been through, you kind of expect shit to happen."
"But we are talking about assault and kidnapping attempt," Lara insisted, trying to make Sam realize the gravity of the situation. "You were using a gun in the middle of London for heaven's sake!"
"Yeah, trust me, could be your regular Friday." Sam joked. She couldn't help it, it was a defense mechanism.
"You have to be kidding me."
"Okay, so maybe not," Sam amended. "Things calmed down after we defeated Trinity but we made quite a few enemies along the years."
Lara shook her head skeptically. "This is…"
"Insane I know, but I hope you believe me now because things are about to get dirty and I need you to be ready." Sam turned serious.
"Ready for what exactly?"
"We just started a war against Trinity, there're gonna be consequences."
"I never asked for this!" Lara cried out.
"I know, sweetie, and I'm sorry, believe me," Sam said gently. "I would take care of it myself if I could but in my timeline, we almost died. I don't know how we can make it out alive now. Our only chance is to leave for India as soon as possible and go back to our time."
"I won't go anywhere." Lara stated firmly. "If they came after me, they could go after my parents. We need to call the police."
Sam shook her head. "We can't do that."
"Why not?"
"They won't believe us, and if they do, there is no guarantee that they don't have an undercover agent among them…" Sam hadn't checked the news yet, but she was pretty sure it wasn't in it or if it was, it would be about a fight between two gangs. Trinity was powerful, it wasn't that far-fetched to think they had support in the administration, even in England.
"We should try."
"Listen, it's late." Sam could feel Lara getting worked up again and didn't want another fight. She stood up from the couch. "Just call you parents, make sure they're okay. Tell them to be careful. Then we should go get some rest, we have a long talk waiting for us tomorrow." She slowly removed the ice pack on Lara's head and inspected the wound. "Do you think you could have a concussion?"
"No, I'm not experiencing any of the symptoms except for the headache." Lara grabbed Sam's face gently to look at her lip. "You have a busted lip; it won't look pretty in the morning."
Sam smiled tiredly, caressing Lara's hand before removing it from her face. "After almost burning at the stake and feeling my soul slowly being sucked out of my body, a busted lip feels like a walk in the park."
"You…" Lara looked at her in horror before shaking her head. "No, I don't want to know right now."
"Yes, it can wait. Call in sick tomorrow," Sam advised. "You don't want to have to explain what happened to you."
Lara stood up. "If it's not too much trouble, could I stay with you tonight?" She asked almost shyly. "In your room, I mean..."
Sam paused and took the time to really look at Lara. She was tired, banged up, confused and Sam could see in her eyes things she hadn't seen since Yamatai, at least to that extent, the panic, the self-doubt, the fear and the innocence slipping away. "Of course." She reached out and squeezed Lara's hands. "I'm just gonna take a shower, join me when you're ready." She smiled kindly, grabbed her purse and the gun on the coffee table and started walking toward her room.
"Sam?"
Sam turned around. "Yeah?"
"Thank you. I've been harsh with you tonight and you still jumped into action to help me. You put yourself in harm's way for me even though I'm not sure to deserve it."
"You will always worth it," Sam assured. "And it's nothing, you've done far more for me."
"I haven't, at least," Lara waved her hand at nothing in particular. "Not here…"
"I have your back, always."