Sorry about the wait but I go to school in the morning and work at night so I have very little free time. But I'm still writing whenever I can. Hope you enjoy...Review

"Good evening Ms. Croft," I heard. I looked up from the page I was reading to see my downstairs neighbor walking into the community laundry room that we had downstairs.

"Mrs. Chase…good evening," I replied as I place the contract, that I had been reading, on top of the dryer. I had gotten the contract via email the same night that I had dinner with Mr. Nishimura and Sam…that was two days ago and I was just now finally forcing myself to read it.

I'll admit that I like to read and the things I read are pretty boring to most people but I absolutely hate reading anything contract type. I wasn't a fan of the whole business terminology; that bored me.

"How have you been dear?" Mrs. Chase asked.

"I've been doing good…how bout you?" I answered. I glanced down at my phone to take note that I still had about 10 minutes till my clothes were dry.

"I'm doing good dear. I had a doctor's appointment yesterday…" I've become accustom to being able to pay attention to Mrs. Chase while at the same time focus my attention elsewhere. Usually when we meet in the laundry room I'd end up stuck down here for an hour or until her clothes were done with the wash.

I kept my head turned towards Mrs. Chase to not seem rude but I once again picked up the contract. I was barely through a sentence when my phone buzzed against the dryer. I glanced down thinking it was Alex bugging me to going out tonight but I quickly straightened up when I saw the name with the dinosaur icon next to it.

Hey! I'm free 2morrow lunch time…was wondering if u wanted to meet up to discuss more about the documentary?

I couldn't help the smile that grew on my face…seeing the smile and dinosaur icons made me chuckle. Ever since that dinner I had a really hard time getting Mr. Nishimura's daughter out of my mind. I grabbed my phone, slid the lock over and typed back.

That sounds great. Say around 12:30?

I hit send and proceeded to stare at the phone. I was nervous and excited…it's hard to describe. I never willingly talked about my parents but yet I'm not so closed off to the idea of telling…a stranger, a stranger who will broadcast this, about my parents and growing up with them. I haven't made a final decision but I'm open to the idea. I can figure out if it's because I have come to terms with my parent's lifestyle or if…

Yay! There is a little coffee place down the street from my hotel that has great burgers, we could meet there?

…If I had something else influencing my decision. I felt the grin on my face grow wider as I replied.

"Someone nice?" I quickly looked up to see Mrs. Chase looking at me with a soft smile.

"Sorry, I got distracted," I apologized for not listening to her story. Mrs. Chase waved her hand at me, "It's alright dear. Judging by that smile…the other person seems to be far more interesting than the story of an old lady's doctor's appointment," she said.

"Never…I love listening to your stories." I told her. I felt the dryer stop spinning; I place my phone on top of it and bent down to open the door and place the warm clothes into the basket.

"You're too sweet dear."

I closed the dryer door and grabbed my phone and the contract and placed them on top of the clothes before picking up the basket.

"Have a good day Mrs. Chase," I said. "You too, dear," she replied as she sat down and opened up her times magazine.

As I made the climb up to my apartment I heard my phone buzz. I maneuvered the basket under my right arm before reaching for my phone.

Great…I attached directions to the place incase u didn't know where 2 go. I can't wait 2 meet up again, this time it will be a lot less business like. I may look like my dad but I am not formal like him. Oh…did you get the contract?

I stopped at the top of the stairs to answer and readjust the basket in my arm.

I am fairly sure I know where the place is and I got the contract that night but just started reading it.

I proceeded to walk down the hallway into my apartment. I walked right into the kitchen and placed the basket on the table and took the detergent out and put it back under the sink. Sam had replied again as I took the contract off the clothes and placed it on the table.

You r actually reading it? Eww I could never…I just skim and sign. That stuff is soooo boring.

I chuckled at her response. At least we agreed on one fact.

Not reading it how you get scammed just FYI ;) And there is a reason it has taken me two days to read it.

After I sent the text I couldn't help but feel that the winky face was too much…shit I didn't want her to feel that I was flirting with her…am I flirting with her?

2 day?! Yay…I'll press my luck with the whole scamming…it hasn't happened to me yet :P

I rolled my eyes and shook my head at my phone.

Everyone's luck runs out eventually…

I placed my phone on the table and grabbed my basket to carry it into the bedroom. I dropped the basket on the bed and proceeded to put my clothes away.

"Is she cute?" I jumped at the sound of the voice and quickly turned around to see Thomas leaning against my doorframe looking at my phone.

"Hey!" I shouted. I rushed over to him and attempted to grab my phone but he had several feet on me so all he had to do was hold the phone over his head. "Come on…give it back," I said after giving up on trying to reach it.

"So…is she cute?" Thomas repeated. I crossed my arms and glared at him. "Don't know what you're talking about," I said. I walked over to my closet and pulled out a pair of jeans and a dark blue blouse.

"Come on…Alex said that you had a hard time keeping your eyes off this girl so…is she cute?"

"What time are we meeting them?" I asked, still completely ignoring his question.

"I'm not quitting," he warned me as he brought his outstretched hand back down and handed me my phone. I quickly snatched it from his hand and threw it on the bed. "We're meeting them in 30 minutes," he answered as he walked out of my room closing the door behind him. I rolled my eyes at him before turning to my closet.

"Bartender! Four shots!" Alex yelled when she spotted me and Thomas coming through the door. "Bout time you guys showed up," she added.

"Leave them alone Alex…they're not even late," the female standing next to her said.

"Rebecca!" I practically shouted. She gave me a bright smile as she met me halfway and embraced me in a huge hug.

"Lara…I missed you. God I wish you could have come…" Rebecca said as she released her hold on me. I followed her to where Alex and Thomas were sitting at the bar.

"So I'm guessing you had fun?" I asked.

"Oh yes…" Rebecca quickly went into a story about her grandfather and the rest of her family. Rebecca's mother was Native American so her grandfather always had great spiritual stories to tell. Her mother had moved to London at a young age and that is where she met Rebecca's Irish father; the Irish heritage explains the light feathering of freckles along her tan complexion.

Alex instantly wrapped her arms around Rebecca's waist and pulled her against her chest after handing her, her shot. Thomas patted the seat between him and Alex and handed me my shot.

"Bottom's up," I said and threw back the shot. I opened my eyes in time to see Rebecca scrunch up her face; she wasn't a big shot drinker. Alex chuckled at her before nuzzling her nose into the back of her neck.

Rebecca and Alex were polar opposites; there was no logical reason for them to work but for some reason they did. Rebecca was very proper and came from a very high class family; Alex was far from formal; she grew up on the rough side of Boston and had a very rough childhood. Alex didn't have a filter on her mouth; she was ready to speak her mind whenever she thought fit. Her girlfriend was more the quiet type and tended to keep her thoughts to herself.

They've been together for three years; they met while Alex was on leave in London. At first they hated each other but soon things changed. Rebecca was able to break through Alex's tough exterior while Alex was able to get the proper daddy's girl to let her hair down. Now…I can't see them with anyone else.

I smiled as I watched Alex whisper something into Rebecca's ear that caused her to smile shyly. My eyes trailed over to Thomas and I watched him check out the bartender. I couldn't help but feel a little concerned for him; he is completely dedicated to the military life that it really affects his relationships. Alex is guarded but Thomas is completely sealed shut and almost always pushes people away instead of letting anyone close.

I smirked when I saw the bartender catch his eye and give him a suggestive wink. Maybe he had a good reason for not sticking to relationships…I mean look at mine. Amanda still hasn't come home and I still haven't heard anything from her. Fuck…I could already feel the headache coming just thinking about it.

"Bartender….4 more shots…" I said. The pretty bartender nodded at me and placed the shot glasses on the table.

"More?" Thomas asked.

"Yeah...I'm letting go of all self-control tonight," I informed him.

"In that case…why don't you put us on a tab…" Alex said to the bartender when she passed up our shots.

"And you might as well tell us your name since we're gonna be here awhile," Thomas added. He gave her a sly grin causing her to blush. She leaned over the bar so that he had a good view down her shirt, "Meagan…" she whispered to him.

Rebecca laughed and grabbed my right arm and pressed herself to my side, "Let's get this party started Croft," she said.

"There have been others…but…as you can guess they didn't make the cut."

"How long have you been running?"

"…Too long…"

I jerked awake to the sound of my phone vibrating against my mattress. I groaned and lifted my pillow over my head…I really didn't want to answer the phone.

My head was pounding and my eyes felt like they weighted a thousand pounds. We certainly partied hard last night; I can only remember bites and pieces of it but I do know that I had a lot of fun. The hangover that is making its presence known right now will not make me regret last night.

My phone began to vibrate again and it was at that moment that I remembered that I had set my alarm clock last night so I wouldn't miss lunch with Sam. I grabbed my phone and brought it under the pillow and turned on the screen…

"Shit!"

The clock read 12:15…I must have hit the snooze button several times before my body decided to actually acknowledge the sound. I quickly jumped up and rushed to my closet and pulled on a pair of jeans and my old soccer sweater. I sprinted to the bathroom to do my hair and brush the gross taste and smell of booze from my mouth.

Catching a glance at myself in the mirror I couldn't help but groan; I looked like shit. Fuck it…

I left the bathroom, grabbed my keys and proceeded to make my way to the tube. If I was lucky the train would be there and I'd only be a few minutes late.

12:45…I glanced up from phone and looked towards the door. I thought I was going to be late but in fact it turned out to be the other way around; Sam hasn't shown up yet. Finding the place was fairly easy since it kind of stuck out like a sore thumb; it was the only place that didn't look like it would rob you of your money. Sam definitely lived in the higher class of London where renting a one bedroom cost more than my two bedroom did.

"Can I get you anything?" a young waitress asked me. She looked really bored and didn't even bother to look at me when she asked the question.

"Water please," I said.

I was just about to send Sam a text when I heard the door jingle open. Looking up I felt the air in my lungs get sucked out.

"Hey…you found the place okay?" I heard her sweet voice say to me when she came over to the table.

"Um…y-yeah," I managed to stutter.

"Good, some people don't even know this place is even here," she told me. I watched she slide off her grey cardigan and place it on the hook next to the booth. My eyes moved down her white shirt down to her light blue skirt and landed on her smooth tan legs. The heels that she was wearing allowed the definition of her calves to become more prominent.

"Have you ordered?" I quickly looked up at her face. I could feel my cheeks heating up; I hope she didn't see me checking out her legs.

"Just water…I only got here a few minutes before you did," I told her. Sam smiled at me before crawling into the booth and taking the view of her legs away from me.

"God I am absolutely starving," she expressed. I took a look at the menu and quickly looked for the greasiest looking burger I could find. I really needed something to soak up the remaining booze that was floating around in my blood stream.

"Here…" I looked up from the menu to see Sam sliding her hand over to my side of the table. I gave her a quizzical look and she lifted her fingers to reveal two small pills. "They work wonders on hangovers," she explained.

"Is it that obvious?" I asked as I grabbed the two pills and placed them in my mouth and instantly washed them down with the water that the waitress had just dropped off.

"I'll have sprite and…" Sam was speaking to the waitress "…the buffalo sandwich."

The waitress just grunted at Sam before turning to face me. "I'll have the English bacon burger with sautéed mushrooms…thank you," I said.

"It isn't that obvious…but I just happen to be really well acquainted with the symptoms of a hangover," Sam told me.

"Drinking that much seemed like a good idea at the time but now…" I groaned.

Sam giggled, "You say that now but soon enough you'll be right back at it," she said.

"Yeah…I don't think so…" I argued. Sam smirked at me…"We'll see about that Croft," she whispered before winking at me.

I quickly cleared my throat, "So…you wanted to talk about your idea on the documentary…" I had to steer the conversation to something else that wouldn't allow her to get a reason to wink at me again.

"Yes...I know that we talked about it briefly but my father had to get in on his financial business aspect so we didn't get to get into too much detail," Sam began to say.

"You mentioned about getting some background history of me…" I repeated her words from the other night.

"Yes…I want the audience to see you as more than some boring person talking…I want the audience to see you as more than the daughter of Richard and Amelia Croft."

I looked at her…how could someone I just met nail the hammer on my biggest fear? I did everything the way I did my whole life just because I didn't want to be seen as Richard Croft's incapable daughter. That is why I had several jobs to get myself through university; I didn't want to touch the family fund.

"I think it would be good for the audience to see your life and how you came to be where you are today. Show them what made you want to become an archeologist; I think it would be good for them to connect to you," Sam explained.

"What exactly do you have in mind?" I asked.

"Talk about your childhood…"Sam said. I watched her for a few more seconds; I knew there was more to that sentence. Sam seemed to sense that I was waiting for her to finish so she took a sip of her sprite before continuing. "I know that…your childhood wasn't all fairy tale and sunshine but I think that it would be good for the audience to hear about what kept you on the same path or drew to that path more. Some would say that what happened would push them down a different route…" Sam let the sentence trail off but she never took her eyes off mine. I could see that she was sort of apprehensive but there was also a little hope.

I never really talked about my parents' disappearance to anyone other than Roth, Alex and Thomas. But here is this girl…wanting me to tell millions and for some reason I'm not completely put off by the idea. I guess I never really thought about the fact that my parents disappearing didn't scare me from becoming an archeologist; I could say it was the biggest reason for me becoming one. Maybe...maybe talking about the past might remind me of what I was really searching for…maybe dipping into the forbidden territory of my memories might help me understand.

The past few months have really shown me that I'm really not that different than my father; my father wasn't the man I painted him to be. I am just starting to see that he was really on to something that no one else seemed to be able to see.

"I…I think I can manage that…" I finally said to Sam. She smiled brightly and slightly bounced in her seat. "But…" I started to say. I wanted things done my way if we're going to be talking about my childhood. "I don't want to do this in some…studio," I told her.

"I don't want to do it in a studio either…" Sam said while wagging her eyebrows at me causing me to blush. She giggled at me before continuing her thought, "I wanted to ask…if it wasn't too much if…we could do it at the Croft Manor. I thought it might be more comfortable," she suggested.

I was taken back a little. I hadn't thought about the Manor; what I had in mind was the library but the Manor… God I haven't been back there in years. The Manor was popular; everyone knew about it but what they didn't know about it was that it held a lot of shadows and echoes around every corner.

"I don't know…I haven't been there in a long time," I admitted to her. Sam reached out and placed her hand upon mind.

"We don't have to do it…there are plenty of other locations. But if you're unsure…we could always do a pilot run and see how you feel," Sam offered. I could feel the warmth from her hand and I realized that she was actually being sincere; she wasn't saying all this just to sell an idea. She actually was listening to my input.

"Yeah…I think it is worth a shot," I said. Sam gave my hand a quick squeeze before pulling away to make room for our food that had just arrived.

I instantly inhaled half of my burger…the greasy burger was like heaven. I heard Sam laugh at me before she took a bite of her sandwich.

"It is doing the trick?" Sam asked of the burger. I nodded my head and wiped my face with my napkin.

"Yeah, I can feel the alcohol being sucked right into the grease," I joked.

"What was the occasion for the drinking?" Sam inquired.

"A friend of mine had returned home and we all went out for drinks. It was a night to let loose," I said.

"I love letting loose…might have to show you what a real night out can do to you the next day," Sam offered.

"I think I'll hold off for a bit."

We talked a little about going out and the types of drinks we liked and didn't like. But the whole time there was something that was lingering on my mind.

"Why haven't you asked me to talk about it?" I asked. Sam went quiet and put down the fry she was picking at. I knew she knew what I was talking about. "Don't you want to know?" I added.

"I do…but not for the documentary. I want to know for my own curiosity that's why I haven't asked you to talk about it because I'm not interested in it for the documentary," Sam said.

"You're probably the first person who hasn't asked me about it?" I pointed out to her. She cocked her head slightly to the side causing her hair to fall more to one side.

"I'm intrigued but my father is in the media business so I saw all the fire you were under when you returned so I figured the last thing you'd want is someone asking about what happened. I can't help but get the feeling that what happened is something that you really need to have a stiff drink with to hear about it. So I do really want to know but I don't need to know so you don't have to worry about me hassling you about that," Sam smiled at me.

"Thank you…" I said.

"Not a problem, Sweetie," she reassured. I felt the butterflies in my stomach flutter at the nickname that came out of her mouth in that sweet American accent.

"Should we discuss the contract while we're at it too," I asked changing the tone.

"Ewww…No. That is all my father. Like I said…I don't do contracts," Sam expressed. She lifted her hand and maneuvered her fingers into a cross shape pretending to fend me off. I laughed at her, "So you have the fun part of the job and your father gets the business part…" I pointed out.

"Pretty much…I do business just as much as you do men," Sam said. I felt the water I just took a slip of quickly get lodged into my throat. I started to cough and took deep breaths in an attempt to get air into my lungs. Did she really just say that?

I looked up at her to see her grinning at me and holding out a napkin so I could wipe my mouth. My eyes scanned across her face and I watched her take her bottom lip under her top teeth. I felt my heart skip a beat…was she…? No? I tore my eyes away from her lips and moved up to her eyes…I couldn't tell what I was seeing but I got a warm feeling from her.

"Is this seat taken?" The voice clicked in my head before I even saw who had even spoken; I quickly took my eyes off Sam and turned them to the grey ones of my girlfriend. Shit…