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Chapter Ten

† Resurrection †

Lara and Kurtis were sweating. Their breathing had turned ragged and drawn out, everything feeling hot and coated with the moisture that was slick between them, even in the empty chill that had enveloped the room, with it's now steaming windows and hard wooden flooring, firm beneath Lara as she let out a sound that was a half scream, half moan. Kurtis smirked and answered her call, all the memories flashing back to him with surprising clarity. It was like he had never left.

The woman mirrored his smirk and hooked her foot around his ankle, pushing her body around with the sure strength of her arms and causing him to topple as his leg fell from underneath him. She had missed the sparring; keeping her instincts and agility tuned to perfection was very difficult without anybody capable to fight against. She had to stay on her toes, and now that Kurtis was back, with seemingly a whole armada of new attacks on his back that he had learnt in hell, he was keeping her guessing. She liked that. He fell heavily upon the ground and Lara flicked herself up from her prone position he had managed to force her into a moment before, moving to seize Kurtis while he was still dazed, but he was quicker than she remembered and he rolled out of the way and also picked himself up, knowing smirk in place. "You haven' changed much." He told her, in that tone of voice that always drove her wild, and not in the good way. She let out a strangled hiss and leapt at him once again, her fists only striking the air harmlessly as the Lux Knight dodged out of the way with speed that astounded her.

Before she knew it, she was pressed up against the wall, his hands gripped her wrists and pinned them against the stone wall, his breathing still laboured. Her dark eyes stared up at him, and she heard the blood pumping in her head as her heart gave no indication that it was going to slow down. He was close. Close enough for her to smell his sweat, Zip's borrowed aftershave and the washing powder Gerald used. It buffeted Lara's senses to the point that all she could see, or think about was Kurtis. All she wanted to do was accept him and take the pleasure in his touch that she had thought was long gone. His azure eyes were focused on her face, drinking in every scar, line and contour of her pale skin, things that had haunted his dreams every day for the last seventeen years.

Everything seemed so painful, but now they were so close, Lara could feel his quickened heartbeat through his chest, and everything seemed to melt away into nothingness. Only love, memories and longing remained. His hands became lax, his touch tender and his fingertips traced across her palm as their hands intertwined.

"Kurtis?" Lara's voice was little more than a whisper and Kurtis' face almost broke. He let go of her hands and jerked her forward into an embrace. He breathed in every forgotten fragrance and listened to her slow breathing in his ear.

"I won't let you murder what we had Lara." He said softly. "I won't let you smother it. It isn't fair on either of us." His voice became strained. "I have always loved you, even after sixteen fuckin' years in hell. Now I'm back, are you tryin' to tell me that you don't want to be with me anymore? The only reason I'm alive right now is because I strove it be. I had to see you again; I had to hold you again. I had to know our daughter." He pulled away slightly from the embrace and ran a thumb over her jaw line, his eyes finding hers and holding them. "Do you still want me Lara? Will you still have me?"

Looking into those eyes, Lara wordlessly removed the ring she held on her index finger and slotted it onto the appropriate finger. The finger it had sat on the moment Kurtis had proposed to her, so many years ago. The light in Lara's eyes, that had long since disappeared, suddenly returned and she held herself taller, the braid swinging with her movement.

All at once, she remembered who she was. She was Lara Croft. Tomb Raider, Treasure Hunter, Bane of the Authorities. Sure, she was a mother now, but it didn't stop her from being who she truly was inside. Inwardly, she cursed her stupidity. She had been so deep in her own depression, that she didn't realise she had a family to look out for too. She had a daughter who was now out in the world with no one to watch her back. Lara had no intention to stop her daughters self-exploration, for Lara had a phase such as that, she just wanted to be there if Kiera ever needed her.

A smirk rose at the corner of her lips and it was mirrored by Kurtis, who had been watching the whole realisation take place inside her mind. "I've been quite the idiot haven't I?" She said.

Kurtis laughed. "Understatement." He murmured. He cocked his head to one side. "What now?"

"I need you to attempt to get in touch with Kiera again. I need to find out where she is so I can talk to her." Kurtis looked doubtful. "I'm not going to drag her back by her hair," Lara added at his look. "I just want her to know that I'm here for her. Keeping her locked up isn't going to keep her safe. It's only made her ignorant, and the best thing for her is to make her own choices."

"Okay, you've gone from control freak, to someone who doesn't give a damn." Kurtis' face was incredulous. "Make up your mind woman!"

"Oh, I do give a damn Kurtis." \She told him with a sigh. "She just needs to find out a few things, and I won't be around to hold her hand forever."

Kurtis snorted and she frowned, her eyes puzzled. "You're immortal remember?" He told her and she sighed, remembering. "You can hold her hand until she's old and grey."

"I'm not going to though." Lara shrugged. "She's a young woman. It never worked with me and it won't work with her. For some reason, everything's a little clearer in that respect now."

"I'm glad." Kurtis stepped back from her and looked over to the door of the gym. He had come down here to see Lara training. For some reason they had started to spar, and now, Lara was back to the woman he knew. She was still everything she had grown to be in his absence, but everything else on top of that. He was pleased, it meant things can finally get back to normal.

At that thought he felt Lara step into the circle of his arms again and press a gentle kiss to his mouth. Immediately, he returned the kiss, again, every memory coming back to remind him what he had lived without for so long. He brought his arms around her, lifting her off the floor as she wrapped her legs around his waist. Slowly, for he couldn't see where the hell he was heading, he made his way out of the gym and up the stairs to where Lara's bedroom was waiting for them.

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Lara lay with her head resting on Kurtis' shoulder, smirking, her eyes flickering over his face as his eyes stared at her breasts as if he had never seen them before. She chuckled and waved a hand over his face.

"They're not going to do tricks you know." She told him quietly. He looked up at her face and grinned, leaning over and kissing her tenderly.

"But I've missed the twins." He said simply. He poked one. "Still as friendly as ever I see."

"Hey!" Lara giggled and pushed his hand away from her chest, a blush creeping to her face. "They're not toys." She scolded. At that Kurtis laughed and leant over her, gently running his tongue over one of her nipples. Lara put her head back down upon the pillow and looked up at the ceiling, her mind rushing back to a few minutes before. He had taken her back upstairs to her bedroom, stripped her, taken his own loose clothes from his scarred body and had, for the first time in seventeen years, made love to her. The sex had been crazed, ecstatic and so familiar it made Lara weep. With tears in her eyes, she had called his name as he satisfied her in a way no one else knew how and clawed her fingernails down his broad back, sweat building up between the both of them. He had finished quickly, but it didn't take away the beauty of it, it left a lingering taste upon Lara's tongue and as her thoughts and memories meshed with her own wants, she felt Kurtis' hand creep up her lily-white thigh under the satin covers.

Her deep brown eyes found his, and she smiled, her own hand catching his and guiding it upward, just as someone politely knocked on her door. Lara sat bolt upright, her eyes concerned. Kurtis leant in closer to her and whispered into her ear. "Just ignore it."

"I can't." Lara swung herself from the bed, picking up her bathrobe and throwing it over her. She held it over her body and pulled the door open as Kurtis quickly covered himself with the bedding. He grinned, knowing who it was on the other side.

As she opened the door, Lara graced Alister with a heated look. His eyes skimmed over her attire, then over her shoulder at Kurtis, who was sitting in her bed looking quite smug. Alister rolled his eyes and smiled at Lara. "Gerald told me to tell you that dinner will be ready shortly." He told her. "He's out of sorts today so it's likely that – Lara?"

But Lara had already closed the door on him. She turned back to the bed and Kurtis cocked his head to one side, the over-present smirk decorating his mouth. "Another round before dinner?" He asked. Lara smiled and pulled the cord on her bathrobe and, shrugging it off, she approached the bed.

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Alister, Zip, Melissa, Amelia and Amanda sat at the dinner table waiting. A fork was hung in midair above Alister's head. Alister was looking up at it in consternation. "Melissa." He whined. "Please put your cutlery down, it will not do me the world of good if you drop it."

Melissa grinned. "If Kurtis and Lara haven't finished screwing in five minutes and come down here, I'm gonna drop it… right on your head."

"And what purpose would that serve?" He asked desperately. There was a loud crash from somewhere upstairs and Alister sighed. "I'm going to die aren't I?"

"That depends solely on Kurtis." Melissa coughed with her cheeky smile in place. "And besides… it's fun watching you squirm."

"Speaking of squirming." Amanda grinned and looked over the table at Amelia, whose face was pale and fists were clenched on the table. She winced as there was another crash from upstairs. "Are you okay Amelia?"

"Fine… completely, absolutely, one hundred percent…" There was an audible scream from Lara's bedroom and the old woman leapt to her feet. "Is he killing her!?" She cried. "My God! No mother should have to listen to this!" Her fingertips were sparking with electricity.

At once both Melissa and Amanda were on their feet, glaring at Amelia with fire in their eyes. Amanda held her Summon Stone in her grip and used it to send a small shockwave towards her as Melissa threw the fork back onto the table and forced her back into her seat, without even touching her. Amanda let go of the stone, which Lara had given back to her once it was sure she was no longer going to turn on her, and sat back down, but she was still on her guard.

Amelia was prone to violent outbursts, and all of them were directed at Kurtis. Apparently, she didn't particularly like the last of the Lux Veritatis.

Gerald poked his head from around the door and graced the table with a look of pure confusion. He could sense the magic. "What just happened?" He asked them all.

"Nothing we couldn't handle, Gerald." Amanda smiled at him, her blue eyes twinkling with light. "We're just waiting on Kurtis and Lara. They shouldn't be too long."

It was a full fifteen minutes before Lara and Kurtis arrived from upstairs. They both stumbled into the dining room, and quickly sat down, keeping their eyes from the faces of the family. Amelia coughed and openly glared at Kurtis, who had an obvious cerise blush creeping into his cheeks. Lara sighed, looked up and smiled.

"So." She said. "What's for dinner?"

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Thanks To:

BLACKCAT1393 - heehee :D ull have to wait a bit longerrr :D

TangoFever: As always, thats for your review :D i can always count on u to review :) i thankee once again

Mega'LaraCroft' - OMG : demandwith a gun in ur hand why dontcha: here, have ur "MORE!" :)