Author's note: "A Place to Call Home" is my newest discovery. This is a little one-shot that finishes off a scene at the end of Season 3, Episode 10, "The Love Undeniable." I wanted to give George and Sarah just a little more time together before I plunge into Season 4.
From the episode:
George: Whatever it takes. However long you need.
She's starting to believe him, and a tiny hint of a smile appears on her face.
Sarah: You'll always be a part of this child's life.
He takes a step closer, his eyes filling with tears.
George: However long you need. I love you.
She smiles sadly, caresses his face then pulls away.
Ooooooooooooooooooooo
George's teary eyes held hers. "I know that now is not the right time. But I'd at least like to be your friend."
She was about to shake her head and turn away, claiming that they could never just be friends. But Elizabeth's words came floating back to her mind. "He needs support.. from someone he can trust." Nearly every fiber of her being wanted to run and hide until her bruised heart could heal. But she still wanted the best for him, always. She couldn't turn him away. So she gave him a reluctant nod.
His relief was palpable. There they stood, just out of reach of each other, both wondering what 'being friends' would look like in this situation. Finally he spoke again. "Would you like… could I… hold you for a moment?"
She considered his words, almost chuckling at the absurdity of his question when they had just agreed to attempt a platonic friendship. Then the pull became to hard to resist. She slowly stepped forward to close the gap between them, letting his arms slip around her as she wound hers around him.
George closed his eyes, remembering the first time he had held her, when they had danced together that last night on the ship. She was infinitely more familiar now, but the embrace seemed much as it had then. Just as natural, just as forbidden. Bittersweet.
As Sarah relaxed, she realised with some shock how much thinner he had become. The shooting and his recovery, as well as the heartaches of the past months, had taken their toll. She held him a little tighter, guilt flooding through her at all she had put him through.
"I'm so sorry, George. This is all because of me. If I hadn't come, you would never…"
He pulled back from her just enough to look her in the eye, and cut off her words. "None of that. My life will always be richer because you are in it."
She dropped her gaze, unable to believe his words. George vowed to himself, not for the first time, to somehow make her understand what a gift she was to him. He tried to make his voice light and undemanding. "Why don't we take a seat outside? You look exhausted."
Sarah nodded, suddenly feeling just as he described. Perhaps it was that his comfort was so near and yet the restfulness she used to feel with him was so far away. She followed him outside and they sat side by side, looking out across the valley.
George sat upright for a moment, then tentatively placed his arm around her shoulders, feeling like a teenage boy at the pictures as he waited for her reaction. She stiffened for a moment, then leaned into him, surprising them both by tucking her feet up onto the chair beside her and resting her head on his shoulder.
In the silence, they fought with similar thoughts. She was only just widowed. The grief she felt for Renè was real, sitting heavy and dark all around her. He was, disastrously, married to another woman. And yet, this was what felt right. Sarah had once told Jack that she and George were happy when they were together. Whatever they had now was a long way from the happiness they had felt then, but their connection to each other remained the same.
Somehow, any words that could be said would only break the peace of the moment, so they continued in silence. George stared out at the trees, imagining all the ways he should have done things differently in the past and the various possibilities open to him now, each option coming with its particular difficulties. He didn't know how to proceed, how to fix it, but he couldn't let her suffer like this.
Sarah sighed slightly, bringing him out of his reverie, and he realised that she had fallen asleep. His heart swelled as he looked at her beautiful face, her lashes wet with unshed tears. He let his eyes wander down her form to the slight swell of her abdomen. Slowly, he raised his hand and placed it gently over the mound, noting how his broad palm covered it entirely. He imagined how she would grow over the coming months and wondered if he would have the opportunity to measure her like this as she did. He was about to withdraw his hand, considering how best to extricate himself without waking her, when he felt a tiny flutter beneath his fingers.
The baby. Their baby. His and Sarah's. The product of the love they had basked in, when she had shown herself to be a natural fit for his world and it had seemed that the horrors of their past lives would melt away. So much had happened since then. Nothing was the same. But still, there was this baby. It was brand new, completely innocent and as tenacious as its mother, slowly but surely preparing to enter into the messy situation that awaited it.
They would have to find a way.