Prague police station, 01:30am
"Take a seat, Ms Croft, Detective Benoit will be with you shortly." The officer at the desk says to Lara. Lara sat down on a nearby chair, looking around at all the officers who were putting away criminals on a regular basis.
Lara began to fidget nervously. She was never usually nervous when it came to being questioned by the police, but since it was the murder of Werner that they were questioning her for, she was not only nervous but scared. Scared that they would lock her away and throw away the key and to be honest, that frightened her more than anything.
She knew that if she was put away, that at least she'd have one visitor. Kurtis. He wouldn't just leave her to rot, would he? Lara was taken out of her thoughts as Detective Benoit called her name and took her to an interrogation room. He set up the recorder.
"Detective Benoit on case #71524 with a suspect in the monstrum murders, Lady Lara Croft of Abbingdon. So Ms Croft, what were you doing at the apartment of one, Werner Von Croy on the night of the 6th June?" Detective Benoit asked, starting the interrogation. Lara knew to answer as honestly as possible.
"Well Detective, after receiving a phone call on the 5th June from Werner, asking me to go to Paris, I got on a plane. He sounded spooked, nothing like the Werner that I knew, so when I arrived I was surprised when Werner told me about some psychopath that he was working for. If my memory serves me correct, his name was Pieter Van Eckhardt," Lara said, taking a deep breath before she continued. "He told me about some paintings he was getting for this 'Eckhardt' and he also told me that he didn't feel safe, so he had bought a gun. Then he told me to get out of the way," a tear slipped out of her eyes and she swiped it with her finger. "That was when I was shoved into a bookcase on the far wall and passed out. When I woke up, Werner was dead." Lara finished with a sigh and looked up at the detective. He took a few notes down. After asking a few more questions, the detective explained the implications that she was involved in the murders and then threatened her with going to jail or being exiled back to England, where she would be tried for seven counts of murder. That was when she broke down and wished that she had stayed at the hospital, with Kurtis.
"I did not kill Werner! I didn't kill anybody! I came here to help you; these murders had been going on LONG before I came to Paris. So accuse me all you like, I DIDN'T DO THIS!" with that she slammed her fist on the table and walked out of the interrogation room.
Detective Benoit went after her, catching her arm and slamming her, front first, into the nearest wall. She yelped and tried to push back, but she was defenceless. Detective Benoit was a big guy. He leaned into her and began to whisper in her ear.
"Ms Croft, this could all be cleared by me if you be a good girl and do as I say. Do we have an understanding?" he whispered, his breath tickling her ear. She tried to turn around but he pushed her head against the wall. "Do we have an understanding?!" He repeated, raising his voice a little. Lara nodded weakly, not wanting things to get worse. He sniffed her hair and gently stroked a hand down her neck, breathing in her sweet scent. Lara recoiled, wishing Kurtis knew what was going on and come to save her like a knight in shining armour, but she knew that; that only happens in fairytales.
Prague Hospital, 02:13am
Kurtis had further slept since Lara's decision to see a detective. He had spent the first twenty minutes worrying about her decision. He knew how unpredictable the police in this area can be, let alone the few detectives that they have. Feeling his eyelids drooping, Kurtis succumbed to the darkness...
Feeling a slight stinging sensation in the back of his mind, Kurtis awoke. Something big was happening, he could feel it. Focusing on the stinging, Kurtis saw that it was Lara causing it. Well, Lara's pain. He shot up, his need for Lara's safety shooting through his veins like the blood within them.
He could sense her distress; he could also sense that her thoughts were dwelling on him. Why? He focused harder, finding Lara's need for him to be there for her. Kurtis entered Lara's mind to find out precisely what was happening.
Lara? Are you there?
Kurtis? Kurtis! Help me please!
Lara, I need you to tell me what's going on. What's happening?
Then there was silence. Kurtis was beginning to become restless not knowing what was happening to Lara. He continuously tried to contact her, via his mind powers but nothing. Hearing her distant thoughts was the only way he could find out if she was okay.
'What am I going to do? What am I going to do? This cannot be happening. After everything that happened with Karel and Eckhardt, now this. This sick son of a bitch is going to take advantage of me while I'm down...'
Kurtis began to dress when he heard the last part of her thoughts. Some douche-bag was doing something to Lara, something that she didn't want them to do. All kinds of ideas about what was happening began to run through his mind.
Once dressed, Kurtis snuck out of the door since he wasn't officially discharged. After going out of the front entrance of the hospital, Kurtis hailed a cab and asked the driver to take him to the police station.
Arriving outside, Kurtis paid the driver. He walked into the police station and waltzed up to the front desk.
"I'm looking for Lara Croft, she should be here." Kurtis said, looking at the officer behind the desk. The officer looked up from the paperwork.
"She's with Detective Benoit, not entirely sure where. Let's hope that she hasn't pissed him off." The officer said snidely. Kurtis glared at him before going through the door at the end of the hall, intent on finding Lara.
Strolling down to the end of the corridor, Kurtis took a right and what he saw, he wished he hadn't. Lara was pinned up against the wall by some guy who was at least three times her size.
Prague police station, 02:38am
Lara's knuckles were white as she balled her fists to stop her hands from trembling. Looking off into the distance, Lara saw Kurtis. The one person she had been wishing would come and save her.
Her thoughts were in overdrive. Kurtis was here, he could save her. The question was, would he? He had made a pretty big admission at the hospital by saying that he was glad she had stuck around and what had she said? That she was going down to the station. And what had happened? This.
Lara closed her eyes, silently praying that she had just stayed at the hospital, with Kurtis. Praying that she had just admitted that she was glad that she stuck around too. But there was no time for regrets now, Detective Benoit seemed deadly serious about what he appeared to suggest. He was suggesting that he wanted sex in exchange for her freedom.
Kurtis stepped behind Detective Benoit, grabbing his collar and dragging him away from Lara. Lara slid down to her knees as her shoulders sagged, she began to weep. Detective Benoit attempted to get out of Kurtis's hold, to no avail. Kurtis had a strong grip.
Kurtis punched Benoit in the jaw, sending him hurtling to the ground, knocking him out cold. Once he was down, Kurtis looked over at Lara who was now sobbing into her hands, shoulders shaking. He took a tentative step towards, coming into close proximity of her. Lara flinched slightly, but enough for Kurtis to see she was hurting. He had surmised that it was because of Benoit when in reality, she was hurting because even after she had perceived that Kurtis was untrustworthy, he had proved her wrong. He had saved her when she couldn't even save herself.
Carefully, Kurtis placed his arms around Lara, enveloping her in a warm hug. She didn't reciprocate at first but then she relaxed in his arms, embracing the security of the hug and laced her arms around his waist. Kurtis began to whisper soothing words into her ear.
"Shh, shh, shh. It'll be okay." Kurtis whispered reassuringly. He gently stroked Lara's hair and kissed the top of her head in a bid to calm her. Lara smiled into the crook of his neck. She loved the fact that he was caring for her like this, even though she would never admit it.
Kurtis stood up with Lara still wrapped around him. He walked her out of the police station, giving a passing glance at the officer that was still sat behind the desk, oblivious to it all.
Once outside, Kurtis hailed yet another cab and held the door open for Lara. He took note of the fact she was reluctant to let him go as she climbed into the cab. He then walked around to the other side of the cab and got in. The rain began to pour as the cab drove to a local hotel that Kurtis had directed him to.
Kurtis paid for the cab ride, and then escorted Lara into the hotel. Looking suspiciously around the room, Kurtis felt paranoid. He felt like he was being watched. That's when he saw why. There was a bunch of photographers sitting in the lobby of the hotel; obviously premeditating that Lara would be out and about. They caught sight of Lara and sprinted to get photographs.
Kurtis eyed them and then noticed Lara's tensed stance. He walked over to her side. The photographers started asking all kinds of questions like 'Did you kill Werner Von Croy?' or 'Are you the monstrum?' Lara ignored their questions until one of them asked 'How did it go with Detective Benoit?'
Lara lost it completely. She was about to lunge at the photographer when Kurtis wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her to his chest.
"Calm it, Lara." Kurtis whispered to her. Lara let out a frustrated sigh before pulling away. She stomped over to the front desk and waited for Kurtis to catch up. Which he did, after about two minutes. Lara raised an eyebrow in his direction, which he saw, and narrowed his eyes at her before turning to the woman at the desk.
"Can we have a room for two singles please?" Kurtis asked, leaning on the desk. The woman tapped a few keys on her computer before replying.
"I'm sorry sir; we only have a double room available. Will that be okay?" she asked with a smile. Kurtis looked at Lara and smirked.
"Sure, that'll be fine." Kurtis said, giving Lara an innocent look. Lara shook her head good-naturedly before smiling. The woman handed Kurtis two sets of keys.
Kurtis bowed before Lara and held his hand out chivalrously whilst smirking.
"Care to join me m'lady?" Kurtis asked Lara, keeping his hand held out for her. Lara smiled and took hold of his hand.
"Of course kind sir." Lara said sarcastically. Kurtis then held out his arm and Lara looped her arm through his. He then led Lara through a set of doors that led to the stairs.
Walking up, Lara smiled to herself, loving the feeling of being with Kurtis. She kept her feelings to herself, not wanting to lose him because of her inability to be vulnerable with a guy. Whereas he had gone and fallen in love with her. He, Kurtis Trent, had fallen in love with Lady Lara Croft of Abbingdon.
Arriving at the room, Kurtis put the key in the door and turned it. Lara pushed the door open and yawned, feeling the strain of the day's events. Kurtis noticed this and kept an eye on her whilst he went and took a seat at the small table in the corner of the room.
Lara decided that the best idea at the moment was a nice, hot, relaxing shower. She stumbled off in the direction of the bathroom, feeling Kurtis's eyes follow her every move. Lara smiled before stepping into the bathroom. She put a towel on the towel warmer and turned the shower on.
Stripping down, Lara got in the shower and had a good wash. After fifteen minutes of standing under the cascade of water, she stepped out of the shower and placed a towel around her hair and a towel around her body.
Kurtis heard the water go on and decided to get a drink. Once poured, Kurtis downed the whole glass and placed it back on the silver tray. Then he heard the water go off so he sat back in the chair and picked up a magazine.
Lara stepped out of the bathroom and closed her eyes as a headache worked its way through her mind. Kurtis saw her sway and was at her side in an instant. He placed a hand on her forehead and checked her temperature. He felt that she was quite warm, a little too warm. Even without putting his hand on her forehead to feel her temperature, he could feel her headache like a splinter in his mind.
"Lara, you feeling okay?" Kurtis asked, concerned. Lara smiled slightly before nodding solemnly.
"Yes, I'm fi-" Lara started but stopped when she began to sway before passing out. Kurtis's eyes widened as he caught her in his arms. Careful not to hurt her, Kurtis gently lowered Lara to the ground. He began to gently fan her face, in an attempt to keep her temperature down.
Giving up on that act, Kurtis placed one arm under her legs and the other around her back and pulled her into his arms – bridal style. He took her over to the bed and placed her down on it before picking up the phone and calling the hotel medic.
The medic, called Andy, examined Lara. He concluded that she was sleep deprived and needed to rest. He gave Kurtis some pills that Lara should take in order for her to get easier rest. Kurtis thanked Andy and shook his hand. Andy left and Kurtis went over to the bed and sat down on the edge, looking at Lara's pale complexion. He then stroked some hair out of Lara's eyes and went back over to his chair in the corner, not wanting to invade her sleep space. Before he did though, he kissed her forehead and draped the duvet over her.
Kurtis spent a few minutes watching Lara sleep peacefully and then fell asleep on the chair in which he was sat, thinking of nothing but Lara.