Here comes a new chapter! Nothing has been taken from the series here.

Next update on Monday.

Hope you like this chapter. Please, please, please, please tell me what you think about it. Don't forget to review :)

When The Night Is Falling

"Michael, can you repair it?"

"I don't know."

"What's wrong with the battery anyway?"

"I don't know, Yuri! And if you don't stop asking I won't be able to find out what's wrong, for sure."

Yuri heaved a deep sigh, frustrated.

"If you don't repair the generator, we can't secure the data..."

"I know that also, thank you," Michal snapped. "Though the first problem is that we don't have electricity, which means that I can't see a bloody thing..."

Michael hissed, taking his thumb in his mouth all of a sudden. Sarah hurried by his side.

"You cut yourself?" she asked him, clearly worried.

Michael nodded, his thumb still buried in his mouth, wincing hard. She forced him to show her his finger: he had a long and deep cut all along the inside of his thumb.

"It doesn't look good," she told him.

She started to drag him towards the door.

"Where do you think you're going?" Yuri yelled.

"Look for Warren. It's really deep, and I have no idea how to heal that," Sarah replied.

James hurried with them out of the house, Yuri following them, outraged.

"We need to repair the generator, or else we won't be able to secure..."

"...the data, yes Yuri, we know," Sarah interrupted him, feeling her blood boiling in her veins. "But Michael won't be very efficient if he's bleeding, don't you think?"

"Hurry up then, we have three days left..."

"I know, Yuri. We all know. But even if the generator is not repaired, it doesn't mean we'll lose everything..."

"We'll take more risks of losing our work. We won't be able to complete the second backup copy..."

"We still have one full backup of the data already. We're not going to lose anything. But now, we have to take care of Michael."

Yuri sighed again out of his frustration, but he didn't add anything, and let his colleagues disappear in the square. He needed to secure the data, he couldn't take any risk...

Warren was not at his house. Sarah hurried down the street, guiding Michael, whose thumb was still bleeding profusely despite the bandage that his friends had wrapped around his finger. Behind them, James was looking even paler than Michael.

"James, don't faint," Sarah ordered him. "I can't handle both of you if you're sick."

"It's the sight of blood..." James mumbled behind her.

"I know, but I'm telling you that I can't handle both of you at the same time. So please, don't faint."

Sarah opened the door of the Green Dragon, and guided her two friends inside. She spotted easily the doctor in a corner, with Sam, Paul and Kelly. The four men frowned hard at the sight of the three scientists hurrying towards them.

"What happened?" Warren asked them, standing up as he was noticing Michael's bleeding finger.

"I cut myself," Michael told him calmly. "And I'm afraid it's a bit too deep for us to handle."

They made him sit down at the table, and Sarah made James turn around before Michael would reveal his wounded thumb.

"That doesn't look very good," Revere winced at the sight of Michael's bleeding finger.

"It's pretty deep," Warren nodded. "I'll need more than I have with me. Let's go to my house."

Michael stood up, quickly followed by James and Sarah. But Sam stopped them as they were heading for the door.

"Could I have a word, just for a minute?" he asked Sarah.

She looked questioningly at Michael and James who merely nodded reassuringly.

"I just cut myself, I'm not dying!" Michael laughed at her, her expression still full of worry. "And don't worry, I'll try to prevent James from blacking out."

"Hey!" the British protested.

Michael merely laughed, following an amused doctor in the street. Sarah sat back around the table with the three Colonists.

"How is your preparation going on?" Sam asked her. "You're leaving in three days, aren't you?"

Sarah nodded, thanking Kelly as he was bringing her some hot coffee.

"You were supposed to go a long time ago now," Paul added. "February, wasn't it?"

Sarah nodded again.

"We were delayed," she said, her expression quite tensed.

"The German?" Sam asked her.

She nodded.

"But this time we're leaving," she said with more confidence.

She drank up, before looking at Sam, his stare trying to read through her soul.

"Why are you leaving?" he asked her.

Sarah shook her head.

"I've already told you that I won't say anything..."

"You're leaving because something will happen, right?" Sam interrupted her, ignoring her protest. "You're going away because you're scared of something that is going to happen here. That's why you're so eager to go, isn't it? And the German wants to finish his work first, that's why you're always delaying your departure in the end. Am I wrong?"

She stared back intensely at his dark eyes, remaining motionless for a while.

"Am I wrong?" Sam asked again.

"We won't tell anyone," Revere reassured her. "But we need to know if something is coming. We need to know if this is the real reason for your departure."

Sarah merely kept staring at Sam, before heaving a deep sigh.

"Maybe it is..."

"Stop talking in riddles," Sam interrupted her, annoyed.

"Sam..."

"What is going to happen? Why...?"

Sam stared at her, struggling to keep his voice steady. When he spoke again, despite his gritted teeth, his tone sounded more sad than angry.

"Why are you leaving?"

She sighed again, feeling her chest painful at the sound of his tone. Her glance softened and she took a moment to look for the right words.

"No one can know," she requested.

"No one will," Sam promised.

"You know about the troupes that are coming from London," she said slowly.

"Reinforcement, yes," Revere nodded, his tone bitter. "Apparently having a Red Coat at every corner is not enough."

"The General who is coming with the reinforcement is... a threat for us."

"A threat?" Sam asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Yes, a threat," Sarah nodded. "Gage is not Hutchinson. He's a military man, not a diplomat or a politician. And we are not soldiers."

"You think he could attack you?" asked Kelly, propping up an eyebrow, clearly surprised.

But Sarah nodded again.

"Hutchinson is scared of us. He doesn't understand a thing at what we're doing, and he doesn't dare to threaten us, not physically at least. But Gage is something else entirely."

"But why would he use the force against you? You're not even taking any part in anything that is happening here. Or well, not openly at least," asked Kelly.

"They know what is going to happen," Sam answered in her stead.

Sarah nodded, looking nervous, almost scared by now.

"And I assume that Gage will be ready to do pretty much anything to know the future. Hutchinson was too scared and cautious to be a real threat, but Gage will do anything he might think is necessary to learn what we know. And we can't take the risk to be made prisoners or anything of the kind."

The three men exchanged a glance, nodding. It did explain quite a lot of things indeed...

"And I guess that under the pressure, you would talk to them," Kelly told Sarah slowly.

She snorted wryly.

"Yuri was ready to endanger the timeline and give Hutchinson information in order to have free access to the city, he would not hesitate a second to give Gage whatever he may ask to be safe."

She clenched her jaws, angry now.

"And I don't want to take this risk. It's better if we go before the Red Coats arrive here, before they can force us to talk."

There was a heavy silence between them for a while, before Revere would speak again, his tone kind and soft.

"Thank you, for telling us," he told Sarah.

Sarah merely nodded in response, before standing up.

"I'd better go look for the guys," she said, taking a step towards the front door.

"I'll go with you," Sam said, quickly standing as well. "I need to talk to Warren," he added when he caught the amused smile on his friends' faces.

Sam and Sarah walked out of the inn, remaining silent as they were walking in the dirty street. Above them, the sun was slowly rising in the sky, its light still a bit pale in memory of winter, and yet warm on their skins as spring was slowly covering the world. White clouds were drifting slowly above the rooftops, and the seagulls could be heard even from there, as their loud cries were carried away by the blowing wind. Sarah held her coat a bit closer to her, as the chilly air was blowing suddenly harder. Sam cleared his throat.

"Will you be all ready to leave in three days?" he asked her, trying to sound casual, but his voice was a bit hoarse.

"I hope so. Anyway, even if we're not ready, we'll have to go," she answered in a neutral tone.

"Right..."

They arrived before the doctor's door, and Sam stopped Sarah from entering, holding delicately her wrist as she was advancing her hand towards the doorknob.

"Wait..." he whispered.

Sarah looked up questioningly at him. The feeling of his calloused fingers upon her skin was making her heart race under her ribs.

"I..." Sam stuttered, looking for the right words. "I just wanted to tell you..."

He dived into her deep blue stare, and it seemed to him that he had lost his soul in these two intense orbs. And for a moment, he had to struggle to find back his voice, the intensity in her eyes too great for him to speak, or even think.

"...goodbye."

She flinched.

"I... I don't think I'll be able to come to see you leaving," Sam went on. "I have... things to do that day. So I just wanted to... bid you farewell."

He clenched his jaws tightly, trying to hold back the tears that were beginning to blur his vision.

"Oh, of course yes, hmm..." Sarah said slowly, feeling a lump climbing up her throat.

"I don't know if I'll see you again before you go, so..." Sam added.

"Yes, of course. Well... I bid you farewell as well, I guess..."

A deafening silence crept up between them, and they both struggled to keep a composed expression, though in their chests, their hearts were aching.

"I hope your journey back will happen without any problem," Sam told her.

"Thank you," she answered in a shaking voice.

He offered her his open hand, letting go of her wrist, and the wind was feeling so cold upon her skin after Sam's warm fingers.

"Farewell Sarah," Sam told her slowly.

She looked at his hand, before slipping her fingers against his palm. They shook hands, and Sarah looked up at his dark eyes again. They seemed sad, and so big and dark in the sunlight... She couldn't say goodbye with just a shake of his hand...

Before Sam could react, Sarah had wrapped both of her arms around his neck, and was pressing herself to his chest, her face buried in his shoulder.

"I'll miss you, Sam," she whispered against his worn-out coat.

Sam clenched his jaws a bit tighter, closing his eyes, and he slowly wrapped his arms around her, squeezing her delicately against him, as if she was made of glass and he was afraid to break such a fragile thing.

"I'll miss you as well, Sarah," he whispered against her hair.

She buried her face in the crook of his neck, breathing deeply in his scent of musk and warm coffee, trying to memorize his perfume for the rest of her life.

"Be careful, take care of yourself," she added. "Don't give up, Sam. Please, don't give up..."

He nodded, and his chin and cheek moved against her hair, making him shiver.

"I won't give up."

After an eternity, she finally pulled away, and looked at him in the eyes again.

"Farewell," she said, her voice barely more than a whisper.

She went on her tiptoe, and kissed softly his cheek. Her smooth lips felt like a warm velvet against his cheek covered with a short beard, after the feeling of the cold breeze. He shuddered, electricity travelling up his spine. When he opened his eyes again, he wanted to tell her everything again. He wanted to tell he was sorry for these three years, sorry for being so stubborn, sorry for having missed three years in her company, that he regretted everything now, that he would sacrifice anything to keep her here just one more day, that he would do anything, anything at all to keep her here... But no word passed his lips, and before he could move a muscle, Sarah had disappeared into Warren's house, leaving him trembling in the freezing wind.

She closed quickly the door behind her, resting her back against the wooden frame, a hand flying up to her mouth. Her whole body was suddenly shaken by a sob.

"Sarah, are you alright?" Warren asked her as he was catching sight of her, looking up from Michael's wounded hand.

She shook her head, and before Warren could move, James had wrapped his arms around her.

"What is it?" he asked her softly.

She closed her eyes, her salty tears wetting James's shoulder.

"I don't want to go back home," she whispered. "I don't want to go, James..."

Her friend heaved a deep sigh.

"I don't want to go," she said again. "I don't want to leave everyone behind, I don't want to give up on everything again..."

"I know, I know, Sarah," James answered in a soothing voice. "But we don't have a choice, we need to go."

She kept sobbing, and Warren took a step towards them, tears shining in his eyes at the sight of the scientist's sorrow. But Michael stopped him, shaking his head. The two men merely looked at Sarah as she was shaking in James's arms, sobbing silently against his shoulder.

She had to lose everything again, just like she had sacrificed everything to come here... But somehow, this time, it was much worse.

"Fuck!"

Michael cursed for what seemed to be the hundredth time, and he hit the wooden table hard with his clenched fist. They were supposed to depart the next day, and he couldn't repair this bloody battery...

"I can't do this," he sighed, running a hand in his hair in frustration.

"Of course you can," Yuri encouraged him, too desperate to shout at him by now.

"No, I can't. Not in less than twenty-four hours at least, that's for sure."

"How long do you need?"

Michael heaved a deep sigh, sweeping away the sweat that was wetting his brow.

"I don't know..." he answered. "Now that I know what's wrong... I'd need probably a week or so."

Yuri closed his eyes, taking his head in his hands.

"It's okay, we don't need the battery to go home," Sarah said. "And we have already all the data safely recorded, having another backup of our work wouldn't have changed much things anyway. If the first backup is destroyed, then the second will be destroyed as well. And a huge part of our work has already been sent back anyway. It doesn't endanger anything."

She rested her hand on Yuri's shoulder in a reassuring gesture.

"It will be just fine. It doesn't matter, Yuri. We've already delayed our departure too much. We have to go now."

Yuri nodded, standing up from his wooden chair.

"You're right. I'm sure it will be alright."

He walked out of the room, a reassuring smile still stuck on his face, until he had reached the last room on the right at the end of the corridor. That was where the scientists were putting most of the equipment that they didn't need on a daily basis. Before the Box that would allow them the next day to go back home, Yuri opened the little white chest on the floor. He picked up the radio, and everything that he would need to communicate with his colleagues on the other side of the bridge the next day, a determined expression painted on his face. Without the battery, he couldn't secure the last data. But more importantly, on a more personal point of view, he couldn't finish his calculations, he couldn't finish to run his last tests, he couldn't finish his work, not at all. They would have needed years still to finish their works properly, but now he couldn't even finish what he was doing at the moment, what he had been doing for months...

And sometimes in life, risks had to be taken.

John was worried. He was staring at his cousin, sitting gloomily in front of him, playing with his piece of pie without eating a single bite. He exchanged a glance with his wife, who merely shrugged. John Adams heaved a deep sigh.

"Sam, you have to eat something," John told his cousin.

"It's your favourite," Abigail encouraged him as well.

Sam gave the couple a sad smile.

"I know, and I'm sure your pie is as delicious as it always is, Abby," he said slowly, still twirling absentmindedly his fork into the meat. "But I'm really not hungry."

Abigail heaved sigh, before rising from her seat, taking the full plate from Sam.

"Why are you so upset?" John asked him.

"I'm not upset about anything," Sam answered, though even he could not believe in his lie.

"Yes, you are, Sam."

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Does it have anything to do with the Tea Act again?"

"No, it's not that. It has nothing to do with this."

"What is it then?"

"John, I've told you already... I don't want to talk about it."

There was a heavy silence for a while, during which Abigail came back next to her husband. John was looking for a way to bring up the subject in a relatively delicate way...

"Will you spend the night here?" he asked his cousin, taking a gulp of red wine.

Sam nodded.

"If it doesn't bother you too much, of course," Sam added.

"It's alright. You can stay, if you wish to."

"Thanks."

"But... I thought you would like to be back in town early," John said cautiously.

"Why that?"

"The scientists are departing tomorrow, aren't they?"

Sam froze.

"And?" he asked slowly, his voice defensive. "What does that have anything to do with me?"

"I don't know, I just thought you would like to bid them farewell," John answered, shrugging.

"I've already bidden them farewell," Sam answered.

"Good. I just thought you would like to see them leaving..."

"I don't want to see them leaving."

"Are you sure?"

"Why do you find this so interesting anyway?"

John shook slowly his head, ready to give up. But Abigail was not done with the topic yet. And she didn't intend to be as delicate as her husband.

"It's because of her, isn't it?" she asked him bluntly.

She ignored the reprobating glare of her husband, and merely stared at Sam, who looked warily at her.

"Because of whom?" he asked, faking ignorance.

"The scientist," Abigail answered. "Sarah Hugo."

Sam flinched, but didn't answer anything.

"I knew it was," Abigail said, her voice almost sad.

"It has nothing to do with her," Sam finally defended himself.

"It has," she replied firmly. "I know it's because of her. You don't want to see her leaving, that's why you're not going in town tomorrow."

"You're wrong."

"No, I'm not. I know you, Sam. You don't want to see her leaving, you don't want to face the fact that tomorrow... you'll lose her forever."

Sam clenched his jaws, looking down at his knees, tears blurring his vision, and he hated himself for reacting this way.

"You don't want to lose her like you've lost Elizabeth..."

Sam raised up his hand, shushing her silently.

"It's not at all the same thing this time," Sam told her.

"You're going to lose her, and there's nothing you can do. No matter how hard you think, or how drunk you are, or if you're starving yourself out, or if you're destroying everything around you... There's nothing you can do to make her stay."

"You don't know anything about what you're saying."

Sam stood up, and headed towards the stairs to reach his bedroom. But Abigail held him back, forcing him to look at her again.

"You will regret it, if you miss your last chance to see her," she told him, her voice softer, a sad expression in her eyes. "You will regret it forever if you choose to stay here tomorrow, instead of seeing her one last time."

Sam didn't move, nor answered, and they both remained perfectly still and silent for a while.

"And you know perfectly I'm right," Abby added.

Sam didn't say anything, and merely freed himself softly from Abigail's grasp, before climbing up the stairs towards his room.

He couldn't see her leaving, he just couldn't. He didn't have the strength to see her closing the door of this white box, and disappear in the bridge, never to return again. He didn't have the strength to see her leaving forever, without any chance for him to convince her to stay, nor to prevent her from going away. He would never convince her to stay, whatever he may tell her... And yet, he was so desperate to see her, just one last time. The thought that he was going to let slip between his fingers his only chance to ever see her face again was unbearable. Every time he closed his eyes he could see stuck upon his eyelids her deep blue eyes staring at him, and her so smooth lips, and her wild dark hair moving with the breeze, and her graceful cheekbones, and... everything. Every single detail of her beautiful face had been memorized and appeared vividly before him upon his closed eyelids. And he couldn't bare the idea that this image of her smiling in the wind of the sea, with the sun shining on her hair, this image he had perhaps engraved somehow in his memory, or maybe invented out of several memories of her, he couldn't tell, was the only thing he would keep from her. That this image was everything he had of her, that this image, that maybe was not even real but had been created by his own mind, was the last image of her he would see. He needed to see her one last time, despite how painful it would be to see her going away, never to return... he just had to see her one last time.

He didn't like to admit it, but Abigail and John were right.

Warren looked at the scientists as they were walking out of their house and into the square. Sarah seemed sad despite the confident look on her face, clearly she was trying to control her emotions. She smiled at Warren and his friends as she was catching sight of them throughout the crowd that had gathered to see the scientists go. Yuri whispered something in her ear, and she looked questioningly at him. The German scientist merely nodded in response, and Sarah, James and Michael walked towards the Colonists.

"Aren't you supposed to get ready?" Paul asked them in a sad smile.

"Yuri will take care of it, apparently," Michael answered in a shrug. "Guess he's finally doing something kind, that's new."

"We'll miss you," Joseph told them, his eyes wet with tears.

"We'll miss you all as well," James answered with a sad smile, patting the doctor's shoulder.

They shook hands, except for Sarah, who hugged the three colonists. Kelly couldn't help but chuckle as she was wrapping her arms around his neck.

A few meters away, John Hancock was looking at them. Sarah walked towards him as well.

"Mr. Hancock, thank you, for everything," she told him.

"The pleasure was all mine, Ms. Hugo," Hancock answered, his voice made hoarse by his tight throat.

"I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you as well. I hope your journey will be safe."

She hugged him, just like she had hugged the others. But she had one last advice to give him before finally letting go.

"You're stronger than you think, Mr. Hancock. And you're much more generous than you let everyone see. Don't underestimate yourself."

She smiled at him, and he nodded, though he couldn't understand the meaning of her words for now. But somehow, he knew that one day, he would understand what she meant, and would remember her words.

The three friends walked back towards the middle of the square, where the bridge was already opened. The departure would happen in several phases, and first, they needed to send their results, before starting to send back their equipment, and finally to go themselves. But Sarah froze as she was walking with James and Michael, and she turned towards Warren again.

A single word, just one advice could save his life...

But Michael rested his hand on her shoulder.

"We can't change the past, Sarah," he told her softly, guessing her thought.

She nodded, before following him.

She didn't see in the back of the crowd Sam's stern figure staring at her as she was walking away, her back to him. He clenched his jaws, looking at her getting closer to the bridge, talking with her colleagues, her expression calm despite her evident sadness. He refrained his urge to walk towards her, and to beg her not to go. He had so many things to tell her, and yet he knew none of these words would ever pass his lips now.

The data were sent through the wormhole, and the bridge disappeared. The bridge would open again one minute later, it had already been settled. And so they waited.

But after a minute, nothing happened.

And then after two minutes, there was still nothing.

And five minutes flew by, and there was still no bridge.

"What is going on?" Hutchinson asked them, taking one step towards them.

"I don't know," Michal admitted, before turning towards Sarah. "Do you think there's a problem at the LHC?"

"They would have warned us when they opened it the first time if there had been a risk of malfunction. And we've done this enough times to know if it's going to work or not," Sarah answered, shaking her head. "There's something else, something wrong..."

"Actually," Yuri said slowly. "The bridge is not going to open again today."

"What?!" James exclaimed. "What do you mean?"

"It's not opening again," Yuri repeated, pointing at the void before them. "You can see it."

"What makes you think that they're not going to open it at all today?" Michael asked him, frowning hard.

Sarah finally noticed the devices they used to communicate with the future, right there, next to Yuri. Her cheeks reddened fiercely.

"Yuri, what the hell did you do?" she asked, furious.

"Nothing," he lied.

"Don't take me for an idiot!" she snapped, raising her voice. "What did you do again?!"

"Sarah, calm down..."

"You did this, didn't you?"

"What did he do?" James asked her, frowning hard.

"He told them not to open the bridge again!" she cried.

There was a deadly silence throughout the square.

"Of course he didn't," Yoko shook his head.

"Yes, he did! Look, he has brought everything he needs to communicate!" Sarah replied, pointing at the box next to Yuri.

The German didn't say a word, merely staring back at her. Sarah walked slowly towards him.

"You did this!" she repeated angrily through gritted teeth.

"You're overreacting, Sarah," Yuri told her calmly. "We just need a few more weeks to be done here, it doesn't change anything."

She shook her head, her jaws and fists clenched, her knuckles white.

"You'll thank me for this," Yuri went on. "I knew you wouldn't agree, so I didn't tell you anything, but trust me you'll thank me for this. We haven't been able to secure the data the proper way, we haven't finished all our measurements and research, we have merely scratched the surface, nothing more. We need more time."

Sarah stopped before him, staring at him coldly, her eyes shining with wrath, looking darker than usual, like a storm on the infinite sea.

Before anyone could react, her clenched fist had flown right into Yuri's nose, breaking it instantly, blood already flowing down his face. She turned around before he could react, as he was still struggling to keep his balance. She ran away and disappeared in an adjacent street, and when James and Michael finally understood what had happened and reacted, she had already disappeared.

Somehow, he knew where to find her. Everyone was looking for her after what had happened in the square. He had to admit that she had a very good punch, and Sam couldn't refrain a smile at the thought. Everyone was looking for Sarah, and she wasn't at the harbour, nor at their house, nor at the Green Dragon... There was only place she could be.

Sam entered the cemetery, looking for the scientist throughout the alleys. He knew where to go, he went there from time to time himself, when he needed a reminder of what he was fighting for. And indeed, there she was, sitting in the grass, staring blankly at the grave. He walked behind her, standing still in the blowing wind, reading the little letters just like she was doing.

Christopher Seider

"I didn't think anyone would find me here," she said suddenly.

Her soft voice sounded almost like a shout through the wind in the silent graveyard.

"Clearly you underestimated me," Sam answered in a small smile.

She smiled as well, and he sat next to her on the grass.

"How are you?" he asked her after a long silence.

"Not well, obviously," she answered slowly.

"At least the German will remember it... Or well, his nose will remember it. That was a good punch."

She smiled.

"Thanks, told you it was useful to hang around with Michael in bars."

He let out a small laugh, before turning towards her again, his glance more serious once more.

"So... you're not leaving, are you?"

"Apparently, not."

She seemed desperate again, and Sam felt his heart ache behind his ribs. She wanted to leave. She wanted to go home, she didn't want to stay here...

"I'm sure you'll soon go home, don't worry," he tried to reassure her.

Luckily, she didn't notice the bitterness in his tone. She remained motionless, staring at the cold stone before them.

"I'm sure you'll soon find a way to go home," he repeated. "You'll soon go, and have your life back. See your friends, and your family..."

He clenched his jaws, and she turned her blue stare slowly towards his dark glance.

"I'm not homesick," she answered slowly. "I'm... I'm just scared."

"You're not homesick?" Sam asked her, surprised. "But you've been gone for years..."

Sarah merely shrugged.

"The two people I love the most came with me here, I don't have any family left there... Sure, I miss a few friends from time to time but... I'm used to it by now and... I don't know, I just like this place."

She looked up at the church beyond the cemetery, her glance slowly drifting up towards the immaculate sky.

"I don't want to go," she said slowly. "It feels like home here."

Sam stared at her, motionless, unable to answer.

"But I'm scared of what could happen with Gage," she told him, still staring up at the blue sky. "I'm terrified of what Yuri could do, of what Gage could do to us..."

"This Gage sounds like a very dangerous man," Sam noted.

"He is," Sarah nodded.

She looked at Sam again.

"What if we change something? What if one of us tells Gage something he's not supposed to know? What if we change the future? What if innocents are killed because we talked?"

A single tear rolled down her cheek, but she didn't sweep it away.

"We can't defend ourselves, not against an army," she went on, her voice shaking. "He could do anything... What if Yuri talks? What if he hurts us?"

"No one will hurt you," Sam interrupted her.

"You don't know..."

"I won't let them hurt you."

They stared at each other for a moment, before Sarah would shake slowly her head.

"You can't protect us," she whispered. "No one can. And I won't let you endanger yourself for us..."

"I won't let you get hurt," Sam stated, his voice sounding like a vow.

"Nor you, nor any of your men can be hurt because of us," she replied, her voice firmer again. "We're not even supposed to be here, but you have a role to play in History... If something happens to you, or to one of your men, it will change everything."

She shook her head again.

"We'll be just fine. And we won't let you get in trouble for us."

A small smile appeared slowly on her sad face.

"You know, my grandfather used to say that when the night falls, it doesn't mean that the sun is disappearing, merely that it is rising for someone else. It doesn't mean that it is leaving the world, merely that it will take a moment to come back to us, after it has shed some light upon the life of others. Things always get better in the end, no matter how bad the situation we're in is."

She smiled reassuringly.

"We'll be just fine," she said again, trying to convince herself as much she was trying to convince him.

They stared at each other for a while, wrapped in a heavy silence. Sam slowly raised his hand to her face, and he cupped her cheek in his palm, his fingertips lost in her dark hair. His heart was beating so fast...

"I won't let you get hurt," he repeated again.

He let his hand drop, and stood up, turning towards the exit again.

"You'd better go back to the house, everyone is worried about you."

She looked at him disappearing between the graves, his long coat floating in the wind, as she was remaining there, motionless, before Christopher's grave.