Another perfectly-domestic chapter for you guys right here. We don't actually get to the action until chapter six, but you guys don't mind, right? After all, Lara Croft and Kurtis Trent deserve some down-time at SOME point, right?! And I'm glad to see you all seemed to like Emily, haha. I must say, I somewhat fashioned her after myself...except she's a lot less annoying, and a lot nicer in general XD
Lara sat in the white futon of the main hall, leaned forward with her hands clasped together. She stared at the tiled floor of the grand hallway, although the colors seemed to blend together within her vision. The sounds behind and around her – although they were few – echoed throughout her hearing range, hollow and never-ending. This wasn't supposed to happen. She'd never, ever – in a million years – imagined that this would happen. And within the context of what had happened recently, it was still totally unbelievable.
Lara wriggled her hands in her lap as she sat leaned forward on the futon, picking at her fingertips as she avoided the stares of her friends from around. She heard footsteps come from around her, then saw Alister seat himself on the futon before her from the corner of her eye. He sighed quietly, although Lara recognized it as a sigh of concern for her more than anything. She heard more footsteps as Winston approached with a brass tray in his hand. She slowly looked up at him with her hollow chocolate eyes. "No, thank you," she said quietly.
"Drink it," Winston protested. "It's peppermint tea. Your mother drank it when she carried you."
Lara met his gaze, longing to challenge him, but knowing he was right, knowing she never could challenge him. She sighed quietly, then took the cup from the tray and held it with her hands. She finally looked up, meeting her gaze with Alister. He sighed quietly again. "Are you alright, Lara?" he asked.
She sipped the tea gingerly, staring down at the brass coloring. "Better," she admitted. She drummed her fingers along the teacup, drawing in a deep breath. "It's not about the pain anymore, not in the physical aspect…"
Zip leaned forward in his seat on the opposite futon. "We know," he said quietly.
"I've never…" She swallowed, trying to numb herself to the words so she could properly communicate. "I've never thought that…this would happen."
"Perhaps it's not such a bad thing…" Alister said slowly. "It's a scary thought, I can imagine, but…"
Lara gripped the cup in her hands, feeling anger rising in her gut. "It's not about the mere idea of…having a baby," she said, whispering the final part, as if she didn't even believe it was possible. "It's…it's just that it's…"
Zip leaned forward, sighing quietly. "It's his," he finished for her. "I understand."
Lara felt her eyes welling up with tears at the mere thought of her lost lover. "I don't know how I'm supposed to do this," she admitted. "I don't know anything…anything at all…"
She felt Winston's hand on her shoulder, and she slowly looked up at him. "We'll be here to help you," he said softly.
Lara smiled softly. "I know you will," she admitted. She slowly turned her gaze back to the floor. "It's just…seeing him, or her, everyday…" She sighed, looking up at her friends angrily. "How the hell am I supposed to move on if I have to carry his child?" she blurted out. "Everything I've been through up until now…it was nothing compared to what's coming…"
Motherhood. Who would've thought so? Lara wasn't prepared for this. She wasn't ready to be a mother. She didn't even know what that meant. She was destined to be the worst mother ever – she was sure of it. She didn't want to have a child. Not at all. But she didn't have much of a choice anymore. Things were going to be different from here on out. She couldn't even begin to imagine how different things would be…
Lara slowly stirred, opening her eyes at the dullest pace she could manage. She heard a fire crackling, and when she looked up, she saw the intricate designs of the ceiling in the library. She sighed, raising a hand to her head. What had happened? Had she fallen asleep?
Then, she jerked herself upright, remembering exactly what had happened. She'd fainted in the hallway downstairs, at the sight of her long-lost love. It had to have been a dream, she thought. Kurtis couldn't really be back. The mind played tricks quite often, and Lara knew that this was nothing more than a trick.
She dropped her feet to the floor, peering out the window at the clouds. That was far too strange, Lara thought. She'd spent the last twelve years trying to purge herself of Kurtis Trent, the Lux knight, but here he was, creeping into her mind again. Not that that could really be helped anyway, when she had to look into his daughter's eyes every day and see not only Emily, but see Kurtis as well.
Lara leaned her head into her hands, drawing in a deep breath. Then, the image of Emily's swollen eye crossed her mind. Those damned boys, she thought. Now, she remembered. Josh Calloway, the son of one of London's aristocrats, Henry Calloway, had done that to her daughter. I have half a mind to pull out my shotgun and blast him away, she thought. That wasn't how a mother of noble class should think. That was how Lara Croft of twelve years ago had thought. Now, she was a mother. She held title. She attended stupid, boring parties with other stupid, boring rich people, and held down a nine-to-five job several days of the week. She cooked dinner for her daughter. She helped her with her homework on some occasions. She was a gun-wielding, immortal-fighting combatant no longer.
Lara sighed, clasping her hands together, praying for strength. Then, she heard a faint knock on the door. "Come in," she called softly. Winston pushed his way through the door. As frail and old as he was, he was still just as loyal to Lara as he'd always been.
"Are you feeling better, Lady Croft?" he asked.
"Much better," she said. "I don't know what came over me. I guess it's just this weather." She rose to her feet, following Winston out the door and down the hall. "Is Emily downstairs?" she asked.
"Yes," Winston replied. "She's been worried sick about you since your episode in the hallway, but other than that, she's fine. She's entertaining our guest."
"Guest?" Lara asked, stopping in her footsteps.
"An old friend of yours…" Winston said slowly, not stopping, nor turning around.
It can't have been real, Lara thought. The thought of Kurtis Trent still being alive was enough to make her weak at the knees and sick to her stomach. She drew in a quick, deep breath and then picked up her pace again, ever-so slowly. She followed Winston down the stairs to the first floor. Lara heard voices coming from the recreational room. She heard Alister. She heard Zip. She heard Emily. She heard…Kurtis? No, no...she thought. It's not real...it's my mind playing tricks...
Lara rounded the corner to see all of her friends and her daughter seated in the room. Her feet grounded to a halt beneath her, but she fought to remain casual, as though nothing was wrong. Alister looked up, smiling subtly. "Glad to see you're alive and well," he commented.
Emily jumped from her chair and rushed towards Lara, nearly knocking her down with the force of her embrace. "I thought you'd died!" she exclaimed.
Lara chuckled a bit, confused, and returned her daughter's hug. "I'm quite alright, darling," she replied. She pulled her away so she could look at her. "But you? God, your eye looks terrible."
"It's not too bad…" Emily said.
"Let's get that cleaned up," Lara said. She led Emily down the hall, without a second glance towards Kurtis, Alister, or Zip.
Kurtis sighed, leaning forward. "Cheer up, old chap," Alister said. "She's just…scared. She'd given up on your return ages ago, and tried to find closure and move on."
"We all did," Zip admitted solemnly. "The last thing we expected was for you to crawl out of some other dimension and show up on our doorstep."
"Not that we're not elated to see you," Alister added quickly. "It's just quite a shock. For everyone."
"Everyone except Emily…" Zip said passively, rubbing his neck.
"You had to go there, didn't you?" Alister scolded.
"What?" Zip asked defensively. "She's the only one who –"
"That's quite enough," Alister finished. He turned towards Kurtis again. "She'll come around in a bit. What else is she going to do? Ignore you for the rest of the time?"
"It wouldn't surprise me," Kurtis muttered, rising.
"Listen, man," Zip said, rising with him. "Just go talk to her. Hear her out, and she'll do the same for you. Trust me on this."
Alister rose, scoffing. "Trust him. There's an idea…"
Zip glared in his direction, but then turned back to Kurtis. "Seriously."
"Alright," Kurtis said with disbelief. "I'll do it."
Zip headed off in his own direction towards the tech room, and Alister headed towards the library. Nothing had changed with those two. They didn't even look much older, surprisingly. But Lara – she looked just as beautiful as she always had. A little different, but no less beautiful. Her hair was probably about eight inches shorter, and was neatly let down in straight strands cascading over her shoulders. She was dressed in a relaxed-professional pantsuit with a white, button-down three-quarter-sleeve shirt. She looked like a proper business woman. And...was she wearing...makeup? That was strange. It wasn't a bad thing, just very different. She still looked beautiful. If anything, she looked better than ever. Had time even tinged her at all? Here Kurtis was, feeling like an old bastard – older than Winston – and she still seemed to be the same vibrant soul she'd always been. Of course, he didn't look much different himself anyway. He had a bit of a five-o' clock-shadow, and his skin was somewhat pale, but overall, he just looked…tired.
With a sigh, Kurtis trudged up the stairs in the direction he'd seen Lara go. He couldn't help but chuckle a bit at her fainting in the hallway. Straight out of a movie, he thought. The boys were right, though – she was completely shocked over his sudden appearance. It was likely the last thing she'd ever expected. She'd probably have expected a meteor to land on the manor before Kurtis would've returned.
And then…there was Emily, the spirited, young, lively girl with a heart of gold, and enough curiosity to send her to the ends of the world. Kurtis wasn't an idiot. The minute Lara opened the door and scolded the child, and the minute she'd glanced back and forth between Lara and Kurtis, he knew. No wonder her eyes looked so…vivid, he thought. He'd seen himself inside of her. Having a child, though, was the last thing he'd expected. What was he supposed to do? Had he trapped himself in a can of worms?
Talk to Lara first, he told himself. He moved down the hall in the direction Lara and Emily had taken, drawing in a deep breath, and praying for valor as he went to find the woman he loved.
"Ow!" Emily muttered, sitting on the bathroom countertop as Lara pressed a wet rag to her cheekbone.
"Relax," Lara commanded. She pressed the rag to her temple this time, and Emily winced in pain, drawing in a breath through her teeth. She closed her eyes, tensing her body as Lara dabbed on a bit of antiseptic over the cut. She clung to the bathroom counter, praying for it to be over soon. "So do you want to tell me exactly what this was about?" Lara asked, removing some more antiseptic from the first aid kit.
Emily sighed, embracing the small break from the pain. "I was heading home from school," she began. "Josh, Michael, and Steven came up to me and were trying to take my money, so I ran down the street to the tea shop, and I tried to get out before they saw me, but they saw me first. Josh pushed me against the wall. I elbowed him in the face and tried to leave, but Steven punched me in the face, and I couldn't get away. Then –"
"Then I came in and scared them away," a voice said.
Lara quickly turned around and faced Kurtis, as he stood in the doorway, his arms folded over his chest, a soft grin on his face. Emily grinned. "Yeah," she said. "You should've seen it, Mom! I've never seen them so scared!"
Lara turned back towards Emily, dabbing a cotton swab in medicinal liquid. "So why is it that Josh Calloway has it out for you?"
Emily shrugged. "I don't know."
"Yes, you do," Lara argued.
Emily sighed. "I kind of...snatched some of his money out of his backpack one day."
Lara looked at her incredulously. "You what?"
"I forgot my money at home, and I had nothing to eat at lunch! So before I got to school that morning, he was stopped at the crosswalk standing in front of me and his backpack wasn't zipped completely shut, so I just kind of..." She made the motion of plucking several pounds out of an imaginary compartment before her. "Took it!"
Lara sighed, raising the cotton swab to her daughter's eye. "You need to stay away from those boys," Lara said. "They're nothing but trouble." Lara pressed the cotton swab to the bleeding areas of Emily's eye. Emily cringed, muttered her pain under her breath. "Stop fidgeting," Lara ordered. "You'll only make it worse."
Emily closed her eyes, doing her best to be brave. Then, she opened one eye, peeking out at Kurtis. "So do you guys know each other?"
Lara slowly glanced back at Kurtis, made eye contact, then turned back to her task of patching Emily up. "We're old friends," Lara said quietly.
"Oh, I get it!" Emily said. "My mom is the lady you were talking about in the tea shop!"
Lara faced Kurtis with confusion. "What?"
"He said he was looking for a friend…" Emily said. Then, she'd realized she'd said too much. "Okay, I'm going to go now," she said nervously. She tried to hop off the counter, but Lara pushed her back up.
"I'm not finished yet," she snapped. Lara sighed, immediately regretting growing angry with her daughter. Everything was falling over her so suddenly, and it was just a bit too much. She removed a small white patch from the kit and placed it on the antiseptic that was already over the cut. The bandage was barely visible. "There," Lara said, brushing her hands off and standing to her feet. "You're all finished."
Emily hopped off the counter, facing Kurtis timidly. "Do you want to stay for dinner?" she asked slowly.
Kurtis glanced up at Lara, who immediately jerked her head around, glaring at her daughter. Emily looked up innocently. "What?" she asked. "He's a guest. You always say guests are welcome here…"
"Emily…" Lara said, sighing a bit.
"What?" she asked again. "Please, Mom? I'll be really good. I promise!"
"I don't know if…Mr. Trent…wants to stay here…" she said, making eye contact with Kurtis.
Kurtis glanced down at the pleading child once again, exhaling a bit. "If your mother doesn't mind having me…"
Emily turned back to Lara. "Mom?" she asked quickly.
Lara held Kurtis's gaze for a moment, then closed her eyes, sighing as she painted her face with a weak smile of approval. "That will be fine."
"Yes! Thank you!" Emily exclaimed, hugging her mother. "I'll go downstairs and help Winston straight away!" The next thing they knew, Emily had bolted from the room and down the stairs to the first floor, leaving Lara and Kurtis alone together. Lara sighed quietly, pulling her arms into her chest, and suppressing a small, nervous chuckle as she made eye contact with Kurtis. He offered a grin in return, pressing himself off the door. "She's really something," Kurtis said, chuckling a bit.
Lara laughed a little in agreement. "Yes, she's quite the fireball."
"Like her mother…" he commented, holding her gaze for a moment.
Lara's humorous smile slowly dropped, and she cleared her throat. "If you don't want to stay for dinner, you don't have to. Emily tends to be a nag…"
"If you don't want me to stay for dinner, I don't have to," he said. "It's not like I have anywhere else to be."
"Right, of course," she said. "No, it's fine. It's not that I mind. I just didn't want you to feel obligated or anything…" Her voice trailed off.
Kurtis slowly approached her, reaching a hand up to her face. "Obligated is the farthest thing from it," he said, stroking the soft skin of her cheek. She looked into his eyes, and the minute she felt the warmth from his soft touch that she'd longed for for twelve years, she felt herself go weak at the knees. She closed her eyes, reveling in the sensation of his fingertips against her skin. Lara wanted nothing more than for him to wrap his arms around her and hold her until the end of time.
She felt his breath upon her mouth, and she knew he was just centimeters away from kissing her. This doesn't feel right, she thought. Of course she wanted him – all of him – but they very well couldn't go straight to bed the first instant they were reunited. She opened her eyes, looking down before Kurtis could kiss her. Then, she looked back up at him, her eyes swamped with regret and fear. "I-I should go downstairs and make sure all is going well for dinner," she said quickly.
Kurtis sighed. "Always making excuses," he said softly. He held her gaze for another moment. You're not getting away from me this time, Croft, he thought. He leaned closer to her, and could feel her nerves shattering throughout her body. She took a soft step backwards until her head brushed against the wood paneling of the wall. Kurtis grinned softly. You can't run anymore, he thought. He leaned close to her body until they touched, trapping her between himself and the wall behind her. He reached his hands on both sides of her head, then leaned his face closer to hers, meeting the moisture of her soft lips. He half-expected her to protest, and to some extent, she did. Instead of returning the kiss, she stood in place, half-dazed. After a moment, though, she reached her hands around his neck, pulling his mouth towards hers, igniting a fiery kiss between the two of them that had been reluctantly held off for twelve years.
Then, Lara broke the embrace, pulling away. "I can't do this," she said, wedging her way out of the small space she'd been constricted to. She faced away from Kurtis, drawing her arms to her chest. "It just doesn't work." She faced him. "I haven't seen you in twelve years, and…and you come into my life so unexpectedly…" She sighed. "I don't know what to do, Kurtis. You have to understand where I'm coming from."
"Of course I do," he said softly. "But..." He walked slowly towards her until they stood just inches apart. Lara sighed in her mind as he moved closer. She could smell him. She could see the ocean-blue in his eyes. She could feel his lips over her skin, although at the moment they were only curved into that cocky grin of his. He drew even closer, until he stood just before her, staring into her eyes. For a moment, she felt afraid - of herself, more than anything, of the loss of control she would experience if he kissed her even once more. Then, she in turn realized she was also afraid of him, afraid of the very true fact that this man standing before her had enough power in a move as subtle as a taunting grin to move a woman like Lara Croft to shattered pieces that only he could hold in his hands - and after twelve years! That was perhaps the scariest point of it all.
Kurtis drew his fingers under her chin and tilted her head so that their eyes met. They were just centimeters away from kissing, yet again, but Lara knew he would rather assert his rhetoric over her with one simple yet complex question before he engulfed her in another intimate connection. "...what are you so afraid of?"
Lara held his gaze for a moment, sadness overtaking her. Then, she slowly pulled away from his mesmerizing grip, drawing herself into the stamina of an appropriate business woman who would never let anything fall out of her control. So long as she convinced herself that this was what she was, she could fight him. She could fight herself. She just needed to change colors, to realize that as much as she'd loved Kurtis Trent - oh, hell, as much as she still loved him - she was still in control here, so long as she stayed focused. She tilted her chin up, trying to hold her gaze with the man before her. "For the next few hours – at least until Emma goes to bed – could we just pretend like…like we're just a pair of old friends visiting?"
Kurtis stared into her eyes, hurt by her request, yet, in a way, understanding exactly where she'd come from. His smooth approach and the power he'd had just seconds ago died in an instant, and he felt defeated. Once again, he'd lost to Lara's pride. "If that's what you want, Lara," he sighed, brushing past her.
"Of course it's not," she said. "But it's only –"
"Practical," he said, facing her with a look of plea. If anything, it was more of a look of boredom, as if he were tired of hearing Lara exhaust that one tedious word. Practical.
"For now, at least," she agreed. "Emily…she doesn't know anything about her father…" She sighed, closing her eyes. "I have to protect her. I just have to, and right now, protecting her involves holding back from you. She's just a child – she wouldn't understand."
"I think you underestimate her," Kurtis said, "but moreover, you underestimate yourself." He opened the door to leave through the hallway. "I won't say anything, and I won't do anything," he said. "I just wish you'd realize that you're hurting yourself more than anyone else when you try to pretend everything is normal."
Lara stared straight ahead at him as he softly closed the door behind him, heading down the stairs to the first floor. She sighed to herself, knowing he was right. He doesn't understand! she argued with herself. I have to look out for Emily, first and foremost, and if that involves holding back some of my feelings for him, then so be it.
But he was right – she was more afraid for herself. She hadn't had the slightest feelings of fear – in this context, anyway – in twelve years, when she'd thought it had all died away.
Well, if you guys thought Lara would change, nope! Obviously, she's still fighting. She's still the same old Lara from before. See, and you thought I'd completely change her just because she had a kid...*sigh* Where is your faith, man?! Take Emily away completely, and Lara is no different than before.
Jade the Grey: *gasp* Lucky! Lucky for the rock concert, and lucky for living in Belgium! =D Hope you had fun. Hearing all of this makes me picture a mountainous region with a big stage, flood lights, and fog at about eight at night as the sun is going down, and Revolverheld rocking out before me (yeah, yeah, I know they're German, but don't ask why THEY popped into my head!!....man, Johannes Strate sure is one good-looking guy) Wir sind die Generation Rock...XD But anyway...I am honored that you checking my story was the second thing you did once you returned home, haha.
trfanfrombeg: Haha, I thought of making her do that to him, but I couldn't bring myself to. She was nice to him for a change XD Yeah, it is evident early on that she totally loves/admires him. It's my own personal wish fulfillment that I was close to my dad, haha XD
I thought you all would like that..."MOM'S DEAD!" Haha. I couldn't help it. Well...I will see you guys on Saturday with chapter five! Thanks for the patronage thus far! I look forward to youguyses reviews SOOO much!!! =D
