When Tally found Izadora she was sitting at her desk reading through a book on illnesses, Tally cleared her throat and stepped up to the doorway and gave a little knock on the door.

Izadora looked up and smiled, "Craven, what can I do for you?"

"Sorry to bother you but I just ran into Sarah and wanted to know, should I be worried about her illness?"

Izadora closed the book and folded her hands in front of her, "Did she tell you she was ill?"

"She did but she told me not to worry, that it was just some small illness."

The necro motioned for Tally to take a seat in front of her desk, "I can't tell you what her illness is but as her friend I want you to know that it is no small illness and could cost her her life. What I need you to do Tally is to go to her and to be there for her. Even if she says she doesn't want you there. Deep down she does, she needs you."

"Why would she tell me that it's just a small illness if her life is in danger?"

Izadora sighed as she chose her next words carefully, "Tally, how do you feel about Sarah? Is she your friend? Colleague? Or is she something more?"

"I don't…what are you talking about? Of course I consider her a friend. What do you mean by more?"

"Tally, if you go to her and help her through this illness, I need you to accept anything that may happen. Sarah is a very stubborn person, keeping secrets, keeping herself at arms length her entire life not only protecting herself but those around her. She's lost right now and unsure of herself, I need you to think about what Sarah is to you. Really think about it."

Tally nodded with a look of worry and uncertainty on her face, she stood and walked towards the door and paused in the doorway, "Thank you, Izadora."

After Tally had left Izadora she found herself lost in thought about what she had said to her, what was Sarah to her? They had gone from admirer and fangirl to General and Cadet, allies to enemies to friends, and now…now they were just Tally and Sarah. And she wonders where along the way they had just become themselves to each other. No ranks to hide behind.

Had it been from the moment she called her by her name? Or had it been when they were stuck in that ice cave together? Or when they saved the world together?

Regardless, Sarah was slowly slipping away from her. She seemed to be the only one that noticed or cared. She knows she could've been there for her more about Anacostia, they all took that hard. But she's angry with herself for just watching Sarah walk away to mourn alone.

So what is Sarah Alder to her? She's her friend. But maybe she wants more. Maybe she hasn't allowed herself to think about that. She knew she had a crush on her which got trampled on when she found out about Liberia. But she saw the real Sarah, not some hero she had put on a pedestal.

Tally found that while lost in thought her feet had taken her to Sarah's door, she had a little place on the edge of the base where she stayed when she wasn't helping the people of the Cession. She bit her lip as she stared at the door, since when did a simple door make her so nervous to knock on?

Sarah Alder to her….

To her, Sarah Alder was….

Tally blushed when the answer struck her.

To Tally Craven, Sarah Alder was everything.

So she musters the courage to knock on that door but nothing. She may be out still, they had crossed paths not too long ago. As she's about to turn to leave she hears a crash come from inside and finds herself busting in like she owns the place. Nothing new there.

"Sarah!?" Tally calls from room to room until she finds her collapsed on the kitchen floor, broken glass shattered on the floor.

The older woman is gasping for air as she clutches at her chest and blood stains her lips, bloody flower petals littering the floor.

"Sarah, what's wrong? Should I get Izadora?"

Sarah shakes her head and tries to say no but words won't come as she continues to fight for air. Sarah squeezes her eyes shut and wills it to pass, let it pass. Tally reaches a hand out but Sarah flinches away as if burned by her, fear etched into her eyes. And it breaks Tally's heart to see such fear directed at her.

Tally just sits with her, worry evident on her face as she waits for Sarah's fit to pass. Eventually her breathing evens out into a slight wheezing and the older woman manages to wipe the blood from her lips. She gathers her strength to stand and makes an attempt to bend down to clean up the mess but dizziness overcomes her and she grasps onto the nearby table.

"I'll clean it up, you should go lay down."

Sarah doesn't argue and does exactly that, she manages to get herself to her bed where she collapses in exhaustion. Tally finds her there after she's cleaned everything up, she's brought a glass of water for her and sets it at her bedside. She sees the woman covered in a sheen of sweat and as she reaches out her hand she's reminded of how the older woman had flinched away and she immediately withdraws her hand.

She leaves and comes back with a bowl and a wet washcloth and she sits at her bedside and wipes at the woman's brow. Tally remembers what Izadora said and that Sarah is sick and perhaps she's the only one that can help her, even if Sarah doesn't want it.

Sometime later Sarah wakes to Tally asleep at her bedside, her hand grasped in her own, the washcloth on her forehead long since dried out. Sarah looks at her with such sadness and heartache and she's yet again wracked with coughs, bloody flower petals falling into the hand not holding Tally's.

But Tally wakes and squeezes Sarah's hand as she watches her in a panic, "Sarah, what do I do? Please tell me what's wrong with you. How can I help?"

Sarah just shakes her head as she continues to cough and Tally wants to scream but instead she releases her grip on Sarah and digs her nails into the palms of her hands.

When Sarah manages to calm herself and she's not fighting to breathe as hard as she was, she clears her throat and looks at Tally with glazed eyes, "What…what are you doing here?"

Tally shifts from foot to foot before she finds her voice, "I talked to Izadora. She didn't tell me what was wrong but she told me I should be here for you whether you like it or not."

Sarah growls internally at Izadora's meddling, "Tally, it's probably best that you don't see me like this."

"No! No! If you are dying and there's something I could do….I'm not leaving your side. How could you ask me to do that?" Tally knelt at her bedside and pleaded with her, "Please, just tell me something."

How could Sarah deny her when she was begging her on her knees with tears in her eyes and looking at her like she was her whole world. It brought tears to her own eyes as she gave in to the young witch.

"There's a rare illness, Hanahaki, where the inflicted cough up flower petals. The victim suffers from…unrequited love." Sarah finds herself ashamed to look at Tally so she just stares at the ceiling.

"Isn't there any way to cure it?"

"There's surgical removal of the infection but…."

Tally urges her to continue, "But what?"

"But it also removes the person's feelings of love for that individual. They'll never return. Otherwise the only other way is for the other person to return their feelings. If neither happens then the person will most likely die of suffocation."

The redhead looks at her with horror, "Why don't you do the surgery? If this other person won't return your feelings then you should have the surgery."

Sarah scoffs, earning her another cough, "Because my feelings for her are too precious to just throw away. They may cause me to suffer but they are mine and I wouldn't give them up even if it meant my life….not again."

"Again? What do you mean again?"

"I've already had the surgery once. It seemed to have worked but over time they came back, as if the surgery had never happened. It's unheard of but I am grateful for the second chance."

Tally stands in anger, tears stinging her eyes as she stares at the older woman in disbelief and maybe a little bit of jealousy, "A second chance to die!? Is she that important that you would just throw your life away for her? When you know she doesn't feel the same?"

Sarah's eyes grow gentle as she confesses, "Oh, Tally Craven, you are so very important to me. My feelings for you are too precious, too strong, my love is yours. My whole life too. I would gladly die for loving you."

The Knower looks at her in disbelief, shaking her head, as it all starts to make sense to her. She chokes out a sob and falls to her knees at her bedside, grasping at the blankets, "You're an idiot, Sarah Alder!"

Sarah chuckles weakly, "So I've been told."

Tally cradles her face in her hands and she looks down at her, "How could you think that I could live without you? I don't want you to die for me. I want you to live for me. I know I'm supposed to be some great Knower but I didn't even know my own feelings. Not until today. This whole time I didn't see what was right in front of me. If your love is mine then my love is yours," Tally presses their foreheads together, "I love you, Sarah Alder. So you have to live because I wouldn't be able to survive without you."

Sarah lets out a sob and wraps her arms around the redhead pulling her down on top of her and she just cries into her neck. For the first time in a long time she feels like a weight has been lifted off her chest, letting her feelings lay out in the open like that. She feels like she's been waiting all her life for Tally Craven.

Sarah soon grows tired and her arms go limp as she falls into a deep sleep, she sleeps so long it makes Tally worry. She calls for Izadora and she comes and the worry on her face soon morphs into a smile as she turns to Tally and tells her that everything is fine, Sarah's body has put itself into a type of coma as it heals itself. She grins at Tally because she knows that something has happened between the two of them.

"She'll wake when her body is finished healing. Call me if something happens."

And Tally is once again left with the sleeping beauty. Tally leaves her side only a few times but always finds herself back at her bedside. She thinks about her and she thinks about herself and how she should've seen all the signs pointing to what it is between them.

She's so lost in thought she doesn't notice Sarah waking until the raspy voice she loves pulls her from her thoughts.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

Tally jerks towards her voice and as she registers those blue eyes staring up at her she bursts into the brightest smile, "You're finally awake. How are you feeling?"

Sarah struggles to sit up and rubs at her throat, "Sore throat. How long was I out?"

"Two days. Izadora said your body needed time to heal," Tally hands her a glass of water which Sarah greedily chugs.

Sarah places the glass of water on the bedside table and stretches, earning her some cracking sounds and the eyes of a Knower staring at the skin now on display from her shirt riding up. Sarah throws her a grin which causes Tally to blush but then Sarah is all serious as she just stares at her, "You love me?"

"I love you," Tally says, like it's just common knowledge now.

Sarah looks at her in disbelief, "You do?"

"I do. I'm sorry it took me so long to realize it. I mean I've had a crush on you forever but I didn't know how deep my feelings ran. Plus, it was kind of hard to believe that the Sarah Alder would ever feel the same for someone like me."

Sarah frowns trying to understand what she means, "Someone like you?"

"Well, I'm just me and you're you. Not that long ago I was just a blip on your radar."

Sarah scoffs at how ridiculous that sounds, "You were never just a blip on my radar, Tally, you were the only thing ever on my radar. I just felt that you deserved better than someone like me."

It's Tally's turn to frown, "Someone like you?"

"I've killed so many. I've had to do things that would disappoint you further. I felt that you deserved someone who didn't have such a black heart. Besides you had what's his name, I only recently found out you two weren't together anymore because Izadora loves to gossip," Sarah rolls her eyes at that last part.

Tally laughs at that, "Yeah, we decided it'd be best to just be friends. I think maybe even he knew my feelings for you before I even did. And Sarah," the redhead moves to sit on the edge of the bed taking Sarah's hand in hers, "I know you've done things that I can't even imagine and I know I've said you've disappointed me and I'm sure I've disappointed you too. But your heart isn't black. And I think I should get to decide who deserves my affection."

Sarah pulls her into a hug like she did during Yule and holds her desperately, "I love you, Tally Craven, like I've never loved anyone in my very long life."

"I love you too, Sarah Alder," Tally buries her face in her neck and asks, "You're okay now right? The illness won't hurt you anymore?"

"I'm okay. I'm more than okay. Tally Craven loves me after all," Sarah presses a kiss to the top of her head.

"Oh, goddess, you're really going to make me blush," Tally groans.

"Darling, that's a promise. Now if you don't kiss me I think I really will die."

Tally pulls back, "Sarah, don't even joke about that, I-"

But Sarah's kissing her and whatever she was about to say is forgotten and she's okay and Sarah's okay and they're both okay.

All is as it should be.