"Rise and shine, beautiful!" trilled Sophia, with way too much enthusiasm for Lindy to handle so soon upon waking.

"No, let me be," Lindy mumbled into her pillow, pulling the covers over her head as Sophia pulled back the curtains, letting the intense sunlight into her room.

"You really should get up," Sophia said cheerfully, yanking the covers off Lindy's head. "Sara's been up for a while now. She's even eating breakfast—even though it's like three in the afternoon, but you should go join her."

Lindy's eyes shot open at that, her gaze flicking towards the now rumpled empty space on her bed, which she and Sara had shared the night before. They had practically collapsed into bed after the obligatory hours of debriefing she and Sara had endured at the Cyber Crimes Unit.

Lindy knew that she and Sara were key witnesses since they had been inside of Bubonic's stronghold for days, but after being asked the same questions over and over, she had practically screamed at Catherine to let them go. All she'd wanted was to take her sister home and get some much needed rest after what they had gone through, especially Sara.

Lindy leapt out of bed, feeling slightly disoriented, and skidded to a stop in the kitchen where Sara was sitting at the counter, calmly eating the egg white omelet and wheat toast Sophia had made for her, despite how late in the day it was.

"Sara," Lindy breathed. It still felt surreal that her sister was here with her, doing something as mundane as eating breakfast.

"Hey, Lindy," Sara said shyly. Apparently, it was a little surreal for her too. She inclined her head towards the plate of food beside hers. "Come eat with me."

Lindy brushed her teeth and washed her face before sitting beside Sara, tentatively. They sat quietly beside each other for a while. Lindy wanted to talk, but she couldn't get any words out. Sometimes Sara would turn to her, seemingly wanting to say something as well, but then she'd turn back to her food, shoveling more in her mouth, saying nothing.

"Oh, for God's sake! Say something!" Sophia exclaimed suddenly, coming into the room and making them both jump in their seats. Obviously, she had been watching them.

"Sophia—"

"Don't Sophia me," she said, cutting Lindy off. "Seeing Sara and having her here with you has been your like obsession, for years now, and now she's here—and neither of you are saying anything! Honestly this is mind blowing. You've worked yourself over to try to find her. Make it count!"

And with that, Sophia left the room saying she was going to go call Yeager.

If this was Sophia's idea to get them to talk, then she had only made thing more awkward. Lindy glanced at her sister and noticed that she was slumped over on her stool.

"Hey," Lindy said softly. "I'm sorry about that. Don't feel bad. She means well."

"It's not that," Sara mumbled. She looked up, and to Lindy's surprise she had tears in her eyes. "Have you really been working yourself over these past few years to try to find me?" Lindy heard her other unasked question. Have I really been your obsession?

"Yes."

Sara wiped away a tear that had managed to escape. "I thought my leaving would be better. I truly did. I never imagined you'd look for me for so long. I figured maybe you'd look for a little while and then you'd stop."

"When you feel like something is your fault, you don't tend to forget easily. It drives you—even if it is almost to an obsession—to try to remedy it." Hamish had been right about that. She had become obsessed with finding her sister, but their motivations had been utterly different. "But what you did…as much as it hurt, it made me stronger." Sara, who had been staring down at her food, looked up in surprise at that. "You disappearing made me the hacker I am today. I've always been good at computers, but I've honed my skills while searching for you."

Lindy thought of all the people she had met since coming to live in the city and smiled. "I've also learned about what is truly important to me in life, and that good friends are everything. So, what I want to say is…thank you. I'd rather it hadn't been this way, but you've helped me become better as a person." Lindy looked away from Sara's gaze and turned back to her food, picking up her fork. "Enough of that though." She took a bite out of her own omelet and swallowed. Sophia had really outdone herself; it was delicious. "We've already hashed out everything that needed to be said at the warehouse. Let's move past this now, yeah?"

Sara stared down intently at the little that remained of her food. "There's something I need to tell you." Her face looked conflicted. Her fingers began drumming the countertop as if to measure out the words that she wanted to say. "I've called Dylan…he's okay." She still looked tense even though Lindy knew that was incredible news.

"That's great," she responded tentatively.

"Yeah, it is." Sara seemed to be trying hard to push out the words that were on her mind, but she couldn't seem to be able to.

"Just tell me what it is, Sara."

"I have to go," she said suddenly, the words coming out in a rush.

"I know."

Sara looked at her, her brows furrowed in confusion. "What?"

"I know you have to leave, Sara. You've made a whole life for yourself in San Francisco." Lindy felt her stomach twist into knots as she spoke, but she knew that this is how it had to be. She took her sister's hands into her own. "I talked to Catherine last night while you were being debriefed. They can give you and Dylan any identification you need to continue to be Alice and Brian Carson…if you want it. Or you can come out of the shadows and be Sara Sampson again."

"The only good thing about being a Sampson is that you're one too," Sara responded with a half-smile.

"I know we're not close to our dad, but we're both Sampsons, whether we want to be or not. So, you can go back to San Francisco and keep being Alice Carson. You can live your life like that and continue to do what you were doing, but now you'll have me in your life." She gripped Sara's hand tighter. "Or you can go back to being Sara Sampson. You can come back to New York—or stay in San Francisco, or go anywhere you want to go. You and Dylan can get married again, but with your real names. You can go to college, or do whatever it is you want to do, and you'll still have me in your life. Whatever you decide I'll support you. I don't want to be out of your life again. I missed almost four years of it and I don't want to miss anymore."

"You won't," Sara said fiercely, staring hard into her older sister's eyes. "Hamish is no longer a threat. We're both safe from him now…but I can't choose this by myself. I need to go back home and talk it over with Dylan. He's a part of my life now and it's a decision that concerns the both of us." Lindy nodded in understanding. "I think I already know what we'll choose though."

X

The sound of footsteps reached Lindy's ears as the sound of her knocks faded. The door opened revealing Tommy on the other side, already looking better. He smiled at the sight of her and let her into his apartment. "You're looking much better," she told him as Boris padded up to her and wagged his tail. She leaned down, grinning, and scratched him behind the ears. "I was surprised to hear you weren't already back at work."

Tommy shrugged. "Eh, Catherine's making Yeager and I take a few days off, seeing as we got hurt and all. Also, now that Derek and Hamish are in custody, things won't be as busy at the precinct."

Lindy shook her head, disgusted. "I'm glad that even with the warning Derek managed to send Hamish, he still wasn't able to take off on his private plane to live out his new life in Europe and disappear…without Sara."

"You'll have to thank George for that," Tommy said, bending down to pet Boris too. "He managed to keep his plane grounded by messing with the navigation system while the cops arrived on the scene to arrest him. Even with his threats of knowing people in high places, he won't be getting out of jail anytime soon. Neither will Bubonic. They have very serious charges pressed against them. Besides those placed for trying to take down the nation's power grid, and those that have to do with Sara, kidnapping and coercing you, and harassing me and the Cyber Crimes Unit, they'll be charged for the murders of Richard, Amanda, and other people."

"Good," Lindy said, her voice vindictive. "They both deserve to rot in jail for what they've done."

Tommy nodded in agreement. "We've even recovered the stolen art from the auction. The information you got from your flash drive has apparently been a big help with everything."

"That's what Sophia said." Tommy raised his eyebrows in surprise and Lindy had to laugh. "Yeager told her. She's been checking up on him a lot. Tending to his wounds, or so she claims."

Tommy grinned. "Good for them." He stood up and led her over to his couch, while Boris whined over the sudden lack of attention. Lindy blew the dog a kiss. "I'm actually surprised you're here," Tommy continued. "I figured you would be with Sara."

Lindy's smile drooped and Tommy didn't miss it as he picked up his remote and turned off the TV. "Want a drink?"

Lindy shook her head. "I'm fine."

Tommy sat down beside her, his leg bumping into hers. "You sure?"

Lindy sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Honestly, I am. It's just…hard."

Tommy waited, and when she didn't add anything else, he asked, "Did she leave?"

"Yeah. We spent the last two days together, but she had to go back to see Dylan…he's her husband now. At least they are if they keep their adopted identities. But," she turned to face him, the smile now on her face too wide to be real, "at least now she's not lost to me. I know where she is and she knows where I am, and since we have each other's phone numbers now, we can talk and text all the time."

"You can," Tommy said gently, placing a hand on her shoulder. "And now you won't be kicking yourself. You know now, without a shadow of a doubt, that nothing was ever your fault."

Absently, she placed her hand over the hand he had laying on his lap. "I know, and I'm happy about that, I am, but…it's just that I've spent years searching for her and the entire time, I figured that once I found her, we'd stay together. But she's married. She has a whole life apart from me that she's built, and I had to let her go."

Tommy pulled her close and hugged her. "I'm sorry, Lindy. I know it must be hard for you." He pulled away, but brushed a thumb softly over her cheek and Lindy leaned into his touch. Quietly, afraid to break the spell, Tommy continued. "You were focused on her for so long. All of your time and energy went to finding her. But now that Hamish is behind bars and she's safe, you can focus on you and what you want to do with your life. She may not be close by like you wanted, but she's there, and that's what matters."

"I know," Lindy mumbled. "I should be thankful for that. It's more than I've had the last few years."

Tommy nodded. "As her older sister it makes sense that you want to protect her, but at some point, your siblings grow up and you have to let them. All you can really do is be there for them."

"Wisdom from your older brother?" Lindy asked, teasing.

Tommy smirked. "Maybe." He took ahold of her hand and intertwined their fingers together. "Now," he said softly. "What does Lindy want to do with her life?"

She looked down at their hands, suddenly shy. "It's not something I've thought about for a long time, but yesterday Sara and Sophia were encouraging me and I haven't been able to shake the thought since."

"What is it?" Tommy asked.

"I think I'm going to reapply to MIT."

"I think that's a great idea."

Lindy grinned. "Really?"

"Yes. You're incredibly talented at what you do and you have so much potential that should be nurtured." He squeezed her hand once. "You got into MIT once, I know you'll get in again."

Lindy leaned back on the couch and sighed. "Maybe I should just save myself the time and hack into the admission board's network and just place myself in their list of accepted applicants." The corners of Tommy's mouth turned down, and he glared at her in such a disapproving way that Lindy had to laugh. "You should see your face." She pressed her hands against her mouth, trying to stifle her laughs. His face softened at the sound. "Don't worry, Tommy. I won't do it. I like to get into my colleges honestly."

"Good, because you'll be unquestionably accepted without needing to do that."

"Thanks for the faith, Tommy."

"Of course." They were silent for a while, just enjoying each other's presence. Until eventually, Tommy cleared his throat. "So about us."

Lindy had figured this might come once she told him she was going away for school. When Sara and Sophia had floated the idea that she go back to school, she had considered applying to universities within or near the city so that she could finish her degree. Eventually, she realized that after years of living her life for someone else, she needed to start living life for herself. She was the one at the reins of her life and she needed to decide what to do with it and where to go to make that happen. Regardless of Tommy. MIT was the school that was best fit for her and her needs, and she had loved it when she had been there during her one and only semester. Most importantly, she wanted to go back.

"I understand if you don't want to do long—"

"I'd like to make it official." Lindy's eyes widened in surprise. He looked utterly serious. "If you want to that is."

"It'll be at least three years, Tommy."

"I know, and I'm not saying it'll be easy, but I want to make it work if you do. I've waited so long for you. I don't want to let you go now that we're pretty much on the same page." He looked deep into the chocolate eyes he'd grown to love. "What do you say?"

She smiled, her body leaning into his. "I want to make this work too," she whispered. His hand lifted, his fingers grazing her jaw, his thumb brushing over her lip. He couldn't stop looking at her lips, so he saw them move before she actually spoke. "Do you know why I want to make it work?"

"Why?" he murmured, forcing his eyes to meet hers.

She placed her hand on his chest, right over his heart. She could feel it drumming steadily, and more rapidly if possible, under her touch. His warmth seeped through his shirt to reach her fingers, enveloping them, but no, that was his hand that had reached up to enfold them in his.

"Because I love you."

She did. She truly did. This was right. They were right for each other. She could be herself around him and he with her. He had seen the best and worst parts of her and he still wanted her. He made her feel safe and loved, and when she imagined her life in the next few years, she wanted him in it.

His smile started slow, as if unsure he had heard her correctly, then spread rapidly, overtaking every feature of his face, so that he was glowing, and Lindy couldn't help but match it with her own. She felt her heart contract at the sight of it. It warmed her from the inside out.

He cupped her face and drew her in and she was lost in his hazel eyes. "I love you too." He leaned his forehead against hers. "God, I love you too." And before she could even think to say anything else, he kissed her.

Lindy felt heat unfurl in her chest as his lips moved over hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed herself against him. Tommy's hands tightened at her waist before pulling her onto him completely, so that she was straddling him. Their chests were heaving together and Tommy's stubble was scratching her face, but she barely noticed it.

"Does this mean you'll be my girlfriend?" Tommy managed to gasp out in between kisses.

Her hands were in his hair, but she slid them down to cup his face, so that he could see her face clearly. "Yes. I'd really like to be." Tommy's face softened, his eyes smiling, before kissing her again. Soft at first, and as it went on and on, harder, more passionate.

Lindy deepened the kiss and ground hard against him, her hands on his chest. Tommy made a low sound, deep in his throat, which only spurred her on. His warm hands slid under her shirt, feeling her soft skin underneath. At some point, he pulled the shirt up over her head completely, and pressed her flush against him, his hand spread against her back. She shuddered in pleasure when she felt his hands slide under the band of her bra and his lips make their way across the overheated skin of her neck.

She bucked her hips against his and let out a low moan when she felt the friction there. "Lindy," Tommy groaned. He pulled away from her slightly, breathing hard. He swallowed thickly, trying to form a coherent thought, but it was very difficult when he could feel Lindy kissing her way across his collarbone. "Lindy."

"Yes?" she asked lazily, coming back up to capture his lips.

"M-maybe we should take this to the bedroom," he managed to murmur.

Lindy pulled back and grinned at Tommy's disoriented look. She slid off him slowly and stood up, tugging on Tommy's hand until he stood up next to her, a playful smirk on his face. The look he gave her made her feel as though she were already undressed in his eyes. She loved it.

She tugged on his hand again and led him towards his room. "Yes, I think we should."