How had they become this?

Who would've known that after living over three hundred years the one meant for you would end up being a twenty something year old war college cadet on the run from your ancient enemies and the United States government.

When Sarah had come back from the dead, at least to everyone else it had seemed like that. She wasn't indeed on the brink of death until the mother healed her body and birthed her back into the living world.

And she knew that as soon as she could stand on her own two feet that she knew where those feet were going to take her. She would use the cover of night to make her way to their sides, to her side. Like she was following the red thread of fate to her soulmate.

How had she not noticed before?

Her arrogance. Her disbelief. Her dedication to the cause. She couldn't see what was right in front of her. She couldn't accept it. She didn't deserve it.

Love meant for her.

A truth she couldn't bear.

The truth hurts.

Yes, it did, they both knew that very well. Too well.

When she made it to them. To her Tally. When had she suddenly thought that she was hers? They were theirs. And Tally had cried into her arms and clung to her so tightly and Sarah had returned it just as fiercely.

"I will protect you. I will make this right. I will fight for you," Sarah had said it like it was a promise she would die keeping.

"How did you find us? Find me?"

Sarah thought about it and simply said, "I followed my heart, it knew where you were. Like this red thread was leading me to you."

Once they had found each other again, you could never find one without the other. And when Tally began to know her as Sarah instead of General Alder, Sarah began to know her as Tally and not Cadet Craven.

"I thought I knew everything I could know about you, at least what was said in books and magazines," Tally would smile bashfully and duck her head and move a strand of hair behind her ear like it was the most natural thing in the world to say, "You were so untouchable way up on that pedestal I put you on. But you wouldn't let me reach you."

Sarah would smile sadly and get this far distant look in her eyes, "When everyone you know grows old and dies or dies on the battlefield you put yourself up so nobody can reach you. So you don't get hurt. So you don't lose sight of the mission. I was so high up I lost sight and fell. I think I'm still falling."

The older woman fall to her knees and place her hands on the floor and lower her forehead to them and she was crying asking for forgiveness from Tally, from whoever would accept her.

Tally would fall beside her and wrap her arms around her and cry for their pain, for what she lost and for what she had taken away from them.

"I've got you. I'm here. Fall into me."

And Sarah did fall, she fell so hard for her like it was the first time she'd ever felt love. Allowed herself to love.

The first time Tally kissed her it was under spring drizzle, it was light and gentle as if Sarah would startle away or break. It did make her break but in a good way because no one had ever been so gentle with her before, handled her with such care.

It ignited such passion in her that she was grasping at Tally's face and kissing her with so much intensity that the red heads knees went weak and Sarah held her close.

And with the good came the bad. With their first fight or was it their second? Does them trying to kill each other count as their first fight?

"I wish you wouldn't say that you would die for me!"

"But I would."

"I know you would. But how about you live for me!? Because I am right here and you are right there and all I want is for us to have the chance to live."

Sarah suddenly realized she'd simply been trying to survive, she never got the chance to just live, "I…I don't know how, I've forgotten how."

Tally would smile sadly and hold her face between her hands and search her eyes because eyes are the window to the soul, "Then I will show you. We will do it together."

It'll be late one night when Sarah is brushing her fingertips up the inside of Tally's arm that it dawns on her, "Tally?"

"Mmhmm?" A sleepy answer comes from those lips Sarah loves to kiss.

She stops the movement of her fingertips and sits up, a strangled sob coming from her and suddenly Tally isn't so sleepy anymore and she's pushing herself up. Eyes roaming over Sarah to see if she's hurt somewhere.

"What? What's wrong?"

And those crystal blue eyes are sparkling with tears and they're gazing at Tally with so much love, it fills her up and pushes tears out of her own eyes.

"Nothing wrong, my darling. I just realized something," she's smiling and she's wiping away the drool from the corner of Tally's mouth and she's placing sweet kisses there.

The kisses only distract Tally for a minute before she's asking her, "What did you realize?"

"I fell into you. This tenderness in my chest when I look at you? I am so very much in love with you. I didn't know that love felt like this. I, yes, Tally Craven, I'm in love with you. I hope that's alright?"

Tally is laughing and crying and throwing herself at Sarah and kissing her with sloppy kisses all over her face, "I love you too, Sarah." Kiss. "I love you." Kiss. "I love you." Kiss. "I love you." Kiss.

Even as Sarah falls onto her back Tally doesn't relent and Sarah is cupping her cheek with one hand as brown eyes stare down at her. And Sarah is taking the hand that isn't supporting Tally's wait and is placing it over her heart, "Do you feel that?"

Tally nods.

"For the first time in over three hundred years I feel alive, you make me feel alive, Tally," she chokes out a sob and tears fall, "I'm living for you, Tally. But also for myself, for the first time. That's okay, right, Tally? I'm allowed to live?"

Tally is kissing her like a promise, "Yes, Sarah, you're allowed to live. More than anyone else you are allowed to live."

Tally is holding her and Sarah is clutching at her like she needs something to ground her and she is sobbing, centuries of held back tears are flooding down her cheeks. Like a storm.

When they've cried themselves into puffy eyed messes and I'm sorries are exchanged and I love you's are pressed into each other's skin like tattoos that'll never fade away. Sarah is back to tenderly dragging her fingertips up the inside of Tally's arm.

"I have never known another person like I know you, Tally."

Tally props her chin up on her hands and looks at her with red curious eyes, "Oh?"

"Yes. I know that you don't just like strawberries, you love them especially on cheesecake. You like to hum when you cook. You love the ocean. Sometimes you talk in your sleep. You're afraid of clowns. Your eye twitches when you're annoyed. You drink your coffee black even though you hate it because you know I like my coffee black and I'll drink the rest of it for you. Oh, and thanks to your sisters I now know that you used to save newspaper and magazine clippings of me when you were growing up and paste them into a binder," Sarah chuckled at that last part as Tally groaned in embarrassment, "What I'm trying to say is, I've never let myself know the little things about anyone. I watch you and I fall in love with you more and more. I crave knowing you. But then I think. Will she get tired of me? Will she realize I'm not good for her? And I get scared."

Tally perks up, "Sarah, I would never get tired of you. And I think we bring out the best in each other. Sure we argue but since we're actually communicating now, we're better for it," Tally sighs and rests her head over Sarah's heart, "I missed you so much. I didn't want to let you go. I didn't want the mycelium to have you. I was selfish and wanted you for myself. Even though I took everything from you."

"You're the first person I've allowed myself to feel these things for, it's new for me."

Tally nuzzles her cheek, "I can be patient."

Sarah chuckles, "Can you? My old office door begs to differ."

"Yes, Sarah, I can be patient. I'm older and wiser now, okay."

Sarah places a kiss to her head and lets the silence fall over them and as Tally's breathing calms and Sarah knows she's asleep, she lets her eyelids grow heavy. She's suddenly aware of her heart beating in her ears and she knows she is alive. They are living. And what a gift from the goddess that is. To finally feel alive.