Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters or ideas from The Killing. It's all just for fun.
Spoilers: None (Post series finale, this chapter happens solely in my head)
Reminder: There were 16 chapters of my other story, Running, that took place between the previous chapter and this one. You can continue without reading them, but it might make more sense if you don't skip them. :)
A/N: I know, I know, I said I'd write one more chapter. So I sat down to write "one more chapter," with no idea what it would include… and it just wouldn't stop. So now it's three more chapters, including this one. I guess it's just harder than I thought for me to let these characters go! I apologize now if these last three chapters seem OOC or overly cheesy. Like I said at the end of Running, I just really wanted a happy ending for them, and this was how it happened in my head.
It was a Tuesday morning, and everyone was running around trying to get ready on time. Linden peeked her head into Kahlia's doorway cautiously, and found the girl scrutinizing her outfit in the mirror. She had to stifle a chuckle at the girl's choice of ensembles: pink leopard print shirt, orange leggings with a crazy zigzag print, a bright green tutu-style skirt around her waist and bright blue socks that would momentarily be put inside pink light-up sneakers. Ahhh, to be five again…
Kahlia turned and looked at her, her face breaking out into a grin that closely resembled the same boyish one that Holder seemed to be wearing a lot lately. Her hair was once again done "like Princess Leia," at Kahlia's insistence. Linden wasn't any good at doing hair, but Holder was patiently teaching her to perfect this particular style. He'd had a lot of practice, and was happy to now have an assistant.
"Time to go?" Kahlia asked excitedly, taking one more appraising look in the mirror before nodding with satisfaction at her reflection.
"Yep, we gotta get you to school. You ready?" Linden was constantly impressed with this little girl. She seemed to have inherited the best traits from both of her parents and none of the less desirable ones.
"Ready!" Kahlia exclaimed, bounding toward her and, to Linden's surprise, instead of just running past her out of the room, throwing her arms around her. Linden leaned down and returned the hug, if slightly hesitantly. It had been three weeks already, but she still had moments – a lot of them – where she had to stop and pinch herself and convince herself that it was all real… and moments where it all just seemed so good – much too good – that it made alarm bells go off in her head. Sometimes she had to stop and take a deep breath, and remind herself that she was okay, that she didn't have to run.
"Did you brush your teeth?" Linden asked as she quickly returned to reality and fell back into her new pseudo-parental role.
"Yes! Wanna see?" Before Linden could answer, Kahlia leaned back and grinned at her, all of her teeth on display, than opened as wide as she could, exclaiming "Ahhhhhhh!"
Linden tried to look sufficiently impressed. "Wow, you have a lot of teeth in there." She paused and looked at the little girl thoughtfully. "Are you sure you're not part shark?" Her tone and her face were completely serious. At that Kahlia dissolved into a fit of giggles, holding onto her stomach and nearly falling over. Holder came out of the other bedroom then, looking curious about all the commotion.
"What's going on out here, girls?" He couldn't help but smile, seeing his daughter so deliriously happy beside Linden, who he could see was also enjoying herself. Looking straight at Sarah, he asked, "You tellin' jokes out here without me, Linden?"
"Oh, no, absolutely not," Linden replied, her face still very serious. She looked down at Kahlia, then asked, "Should we tell him? I think this might be important." Hearing this, Holder kept his face appropriately serious, though he had to stifle a grin.
Kahlia began giggling madly again, nodding her head so enthusiastically that she almost lost her balance. It was hard for Linden to keep a straight face, the girl looked so cute. "Well, you see, we've just made an important discovery here. I'm not sure how it happened, but… your daughter is—"
"I'm a shark! I'm a shark, daddy! See?" Kahlia shrieked in between giggles, and then she displayed her teeth, first in a grin, and then open-mouthed, just as she had for Linden. Holder stepped back against the hallway wall in mock terror, then suddenly he reached cautiously toward Linden and grabbed her hand, quickly pulling her back to where he was standing as well.
"Linden! Get back! We're in danger! This is the first shark ever who could live out of water! What do we do?" Linden didn't know how Holder managed to say all that with a straight face, because she felt like she was going to lose control any second. The kid was simply too funny for words.
"I don't know. I mean, I don't think the police can handle this. Maybe Animal Control?" Linden suggested, her laughter starting to get the better of her.
"I think even Animal Control may be unable to control this animal. But don't you worry, Linden, because I know this animal's weakness." Holder's smile grew wide and suddenly Kahlia's mouth became round in a knowing smile that showed that she knew exactly what was coming, and that she loved it.
"Oh, thank goodness. But what in the world can control a shark who can live out of water?" Linden asked in her best overly-dramatic voice.
"Tickling!" Holder shouted, and he suddenly dropped her hand so that he could scoop up his daughter with both hands, lifting her off the ground and in one motion, tucked her under one arm and tickled her mercilessly with the other. Linden took a step back so as not to be kicked by Kahlia's now flailing feet as she screamed with laughter. It was another moment when just for a second, time stood still and Linden couldn't help but wonder if all of this was actually real. She just stood and beamed at them, until finally Kahlia's giggling ran out as she stopped to catch her breath and Holder released her, setting her back on the ground carefully.
Linden consulted her watch, then regretfully told them, "I hate to break this to you two, but we need to get going. We don't want Miss Kahlia to be late for school." She tapped her finger against her watch to help illustrate her point.
"Awww, but Sarah…" Kahlia moaned dramatically, but with a smile on her face. She loved school, and so far, it seemed to Holder that she loved Linden too. She seemed to worship everything about her, which constantly left Linden surprised and the tiniest bit uncomfortable, though in a good way. Holder had been enjoying watching the happy confusion on Linden's face every time his daughter caught her off guard with her seemingly unlimited kindness and affection.
"Awww, but Sarah…" Holder echoed. Linden made a face at him, pretending to be annoyed. But how could she be annoyed with these two? Simple: it was impossible.
Holder grinned at her, that little kid grin he'd always had, and she couldn't help but smile back. "Sarah's right, come on princess, time for school!" he said excitedly, knowing that his daughter was about as serious with her "complaint" as he was.
"Yes! I'm ready. Just let me get my shoes on," Kahlia said, and dashed past them towards the front door.
Linden smiled and shook her head as she watched the little girl go. There were just no words to describe how special she was. Holder watched Linden watching Kahlia, and then took a step towards her, put one hand on her waist and leaned forward to plant a gentle kiss on her lips. Things between them were moving slowly, but surely, and that was okay with him. Never mind that she'd moved into his apartment that first night, before they'd even kissed. Their story wasn't exactly conventional, anyway.
Linden smiled into the kiss, then leaned back just enough to look in his eyes. She didn't say anything, just kept smiling at him, almost like she was in awe. In a lot of ways, she still was. He'd seen her smile more in the last three weeks than he had in all the time he'd known her put together, and he loved it.
Kahlia's voice rang out from down the hall and around the corner, where she was now standing by the door with her shoes on her feet and her backpack on her back. "I'm ready!" and then after a short pause, she asked, "Hey, are you guys kissing?"
"Nope," Holder called, leaning toward Linden to kiss her again. Once again, he kept it PG, since Kahlia was close by.
"Daddy, you shouldn't lie. I know you're kissing! Come on, we don't have time for kissing right now. I have to go to school! I don't wanna miss the bus!" she called insistently.
They pulled apart, both laughing at his five year old's astute assessment of the situation.
"Awww, but Kahlia…" Linden called.
"Awww, but Kahlia…" Holder echoed.
Kahlia poked her head around the corner and narrowed her eyes playfully at the two of them, standing there close beside each other, now holding hands. "Let's go! Right now! Don't make me come over there…" Kahlia said sternly, before descending into giggles again.
They exchanged a quick glance, grinning at each other, before Holder said, "Well, you heard the boss, Linden, we gotta get this girl to school. That bus driver waits for no one." He squeezed her hand and they walked to the door, where they quickly put on their shoes and grabbed their keys, and the trio was out of the apartment in under a minute.
When they got to the bus stop, they could already see the yellow bus driving slowly down the street a few blocks away, stopping to pick up a few other kids. "Perfect timing!" Holder declared. Kahlia threw herself into his arms and squeezed as hard as she could.
After a minute, she leaned back slightly. "It's Tuesday, right Daddy?" she asked him solemnly.
"Yes it is, little lady," he replied just as seriously.
"Okay, then I'll see you on Saturday. Until then, I know Sarah will take good care of you." Holder smiled at her then, feeling his heart swell with love for his daughter.
"She will, indeed, princess," he replied with a smile. "You take care of your mom til I see you, okay?" Kahlia saluted, and Holder echoed the gesture, then kissed her on the cheek.
"I love you, daddy."
"I love you, too, princess."
These two are too adorable for words, Linden thought, unable to help but smile as she watched them.
Next, as the bus drove slowly toward them, Kahlia ran to her. Linden was surprised, but she saw her coming this time, and crouched down to hug her properly. Considering the girl's size, she hugged Linden surprisingly tightly. "Thank you, Sarah," Kahlia whispered in her ear.
"For what?" Linden asked her quietly as the bus pulled closer.
"For making my daddy so happy," Kahlia said quietly but matter-of-factly, beaming at her. Linden was at a loss for words for a second, she was so taken aback by what the little girl had said.
Finally she found the right words. "Thank you, for taking care of him when I wasn't here," she replied. "It took me a long time to get back." Kahlia hugged Linden all over again.
"We make a good team!" Kahlia declared.
"Yes, we do. I'll see you on Saturday, okay?" Linden asked her, standing up again.
"Promise you'll be here?" Kahlia asked seriously, looking up at her.
"Promise," Linden replied with a smile.
"Okay. Bye Daddy! Bye Sarah! See you on Saturday!" And with that, Kahlia turned and scampered onto the bus. Within seconds she was waving furiously through one of the rectangular windows as the bus pulled away.
As they waved back to her, Holder stepped behind Linden and put a hand on her shoulder, gently pulling her closer. Without turning around, Linden leaned back against him, sighing happily as they watched the bus round the corner, out of sight.
"She's just… amazing," she told him, still on a high from the little girl's words. "Just like her dad."
He smiled, and leaned closer to her, so that his cheek was almost touching hers. "That she is. And she loves you," he said simply. He paused for a second, once again unsure where the line was with them, but decided to go for it. He liked taking risks. "Just like her dad."
It was the closest he'd come to saying it so far, and he wondered if it was too much too soon. Surely, she already knows by now… but this was Linden, and he wondered if he'd just put his foot in his mouth. He held his breath, waiting to see how she would react.
She slowly turned around to face him, unsure what to say or do. She looked up at him and he saw fear in her eyes mixed with so many other things. She looked as though she was waiting for him to try to take back his words, as if she thought that he might be regretting them. He just smiled at her warmly. "You know that, right?"
Inside, she was shaking. Actually, she was shaking a little bit outside, too. The past three weeks had been blissful for her – not perfect, because nothing was perfect – but so far closer to perfect than she could ever have imagined her life being, sometimes it scared her. There was a lot of baggage in her way, but he knew most of it already. She was starting to let things go, but this part – letting down her guard – it would probably take a long, long time to do it completely. The thing that she couldn't seem to get through her head was that he was fine with it. All of it.
After a long few seconds of looking into his eyes, she simply nodded, though hesitantly, still unable to speak because of the emotions that had hit her all at once. Once again, as he seemed to do frequently these days, he put both arms around her and pulled her close to him, feeling her return the hug with equal strength. As far as he was concerned, Linden needed a lot of hug therapy, and as long as she was going to allow it, he was going to provide it. He still wasn't quite used to the idea that this whole thing – her being there – wasn't a figment of his imagination, and pulling her close like that helped to reassure him that she was actually real.
They stood that way for a minute before pulling back to look at each other again, after which he grabbed one of her hands and squeezed it, another brand new habit that he'd picked up in the weeks since she'd been back. It was as though he was trying to hold onto her as much as possible to keep her from thinking about running – and maybe he was. To her surprise – and his, for that matter – she found that she didn't mind.
"Well, it's almost 8:15, you need to get going soon. And it's about time for me to get to work, too," he said reluctantly.
"Yeah," she agreed, suddenly looking nervous. She'd taken a job at Social Services working with kids in the foster care system, of all places, and she still wasn't entirely sure she'd made the right decision. Today was her first day, and she'd been up half the night worrying about it.
"You're gonna be great," he told her sincerely, pushing a stray hair behind her ear for her. "If there's anyone who was made for a job like that, it's you. You know better than anyone else what those kids need. And if it's too much, if you don't feel like you can do it, or you don't want to do it, you are allowed to change your mind. Then you just do something else, right?"
He makes it sound so simple, she thought nervously. She could feel the wheels suddenly turning in her own head, panic rising inside her quickly. It was happening far less since she'd been back in Seattle, with Holder, than any other time of her life. And when it did happen, he seemed to sense it right away.
The look on her face was one he knew all too well. He'd seen it many times, the look she got when she was freaking out but holding it in, letting her thoughts get the best of her. Luckily, he was constantly discovering what worked to calm her down, and he couldn't help feel like he was getting better at it, too. Putting his free hand gently on her cheek and stroking it with his thumb, he waited for a minute for her to come back to the present.
When he saw that he had her attention again, he couldn't help but smile. "Hey," he said, now that he could see that she was listening. "It's not complicated. Right? We've made it through so much worse."
That was perhaps the biggest understatement of the year. She smiled then, and nodded slightly.
"Yeah," she whispered, and the tension began to leave her. Sighing contentedly, she turned reluctantly back toward the apartment building at the end of the block where their cars were parked. His hand on her cheek dropped, but the one holding hers held on tighter. He kept hold of it until it was time for them to go their separate ways, both of them smiling at the other like lovesick teenagers. They probably looked ridiculous, she thought, but she found that she really didn't care.
Gotta admit, Holder thought as he kissed her goodbye, Tuesdays ain't nearly as bad as they used to be.