Disclaimers: I don't own Tomb Raider or anything related to it, if I did Lara would be gay and married to Sam.

A/N: Written for SS Endurance Week 2018: I haven't watched Grey's anatomy in forever because I couldn't get behind the new crew and every plot just feel re-used to excess but I do enjoy gifs of Camilla in scrubs so I came up with an idea related to Time/Space travel where Sam and Lara ended in an alternate timeline. There is also a bit of inappropriate flirting.

Sam and Lara found their way back to each other after all the mess, moved into the Manor and got married.

This year we are writing to promote the Save Our Sam group, which is fighting to bring Sam back in Lara's life. Check us on twitter (BringSamNback), tumblr (savesamnishimura) or site.

Sam was sitting at the fire camp, looking lovingly at Lara who was in deep conversation with Jonah about the best way to get down into the cave.

They were in India, looking for the ancient city of Kusasthali or at least, what was left of it. Sam heard Lara laugh at one of Jonah's jokes and was suddenly reminded of how far they had come since Yamatai.

After Lara set her free from Himiko, Sam had almost lost her best friend again but she fought for her and after a while, Lara finally let her in. It hadn't been easy but after some time and some healing, they were able to move forward, not only with their lives, but with their relationship too. They defeated Trinity and several threats after that. Now she was married to her nerdy best friend and she couldn't be happier. They still bore the scars of the past and probably always would but they were lucky enough to have each other.

Lara was still reluctant to let her wife come on expeditions with her, so for the sake of their marriage, they had come to an agreement. Sam would accompany Lara on basic digs and slightly dangerous adventures but would stay home and work on another documentary when there was a high risk of getting caught in a crossfire. They were Crofts after all; trouble had a bad habit of following them. Communication and compromise, Sam had learned, were the keys to a happy union.

This time though, their expedition was supposed to be mercenary free. Lara had discovered an old parchment recounting the story of King Revaita, who travelled to another world to meet the creator Brahma. When the King returned to Earth, many years had passed. The legend said that although his kingdom had been destroyed, the artefact Revaita used to travel to another universe was still buried under the ruins and that was what they were looking for.

Lara's voice broke Sam out of her reverie. "We are all set, love. Jonah is going to stay here in case he has to haul us up. I'll go first and make sure it's safe, then only when I give you the green light, you'll join me." The English woman explained.

Sam stood up and saluted her. "Aye Aye captain."

Lara shook her head with a fond smile. "I'm serious."

"Sweetie, it's been years, I know the drill."

"I just want to make sure you are safe." The English woman stated.

"You're cute, are you single?" Sam smiled cheekily, wrapping her arms around her wife's neck.

Lara chuckled. "I am very much married actually."

"Does she make you happy?" Sam questioned, playing along.

"She does. In fact, I don't think I tell her enough." Lara squeezed Sam's waist gently, trying to convey her feelings.

Sam kissed Lara's cheek softly before breaking the embrace. "I'm sure she knows."

"Good." Lara reached behind her neck and unhooked her necklace. As she lifted her hand to remove her wedding band, Sam stopped her.

"Let me…" Sam grabbed her wife's hand and kissed the ring before taking it off and letting it slide around the necklace, next to the jade pendant. She took a step closer and hooked it back around Lara's neck. "Here." Sam had already put hers around the chain she was wearing but she knew it was part of their ritual, just Lara and her, in their bubble, for a couple of minutes, enjoying the calm before the storm.

"I love you." Lara kissed her wife softly.

"I love you too." Sam breathed out when she pulled away.

"Are you ready, lovebirds?" Jonah asked as he approached them.

"Yes, let's go find Lara's new toy!" Sam exclaimed happily, grabbing her camera to record Lara's descent into the cave.

Sam and Lara had been walking around in circles for what felt like hours. It was like the cave was nothing but a series of tunnels that led nowhere. They reached another dead end and decided to take a break.

"Are you sure it's the right place?" Sam inquired, setting her bag down before sitting on a rock to rest her tired legs.

"Yes." Lara answered as she inspected the wall. "There are some inscriptions here."

Sam turned her camera toward her wife. "What does it say?"

"I can't quite decipher everything but…" Lara started reading. "It's about a great King, ruling over a prosperous and advanced kingdom. It says he had a beautiful daughter."

"Sounds like our man." Sam commented.

"Yes…" Lara scratched the wall with her hand to reveal more of the inscription. "The King thought no one upon earth was worthy of his daughter so he decided to ask the creator himself for advice on how to find her the perfect husband."

Sam hummed pensively. "You know, I think you would have that in common with him if we ever have a child."

"A child?" The English woman choked.

"What? Don't look so surprised."

"I… We…" Lara sputtered. "I don't think this is the right time, nor place to have this conversation."

"I was just saying." Sam raised her hand in surrender. "Does it say anything about an artifact?" She stood up and zoomed on at the wall with her camera.

Lara stared at Sam for a few more seconds before focusing back on the inscriptions. "There is something about magic rocks and a shrine…"

"Urgh," Sam groaned. "I'm not really fan of those."

"I know…" Lara reached out and squeezed her wife's shoulder. "That's all I can read, the rest is too altered." She took a step backward and scanned the wall. "I'm pretty sure what we are looking for is behind this wall."

"Okay so, is there a secret button to push or something?"

Lara put her hand on the side of the wall and felt a breeze of air. In one swift motion, she grabbed her ice axe and slammed it into the wall. "Step back."

"Or you can do that." Sam said amused. "I'm pretty sure Professor Arrington would be horrified to see how his former student is treating centuries old foundations."

Lara chuckled. "He would probably have an aneurysm but it's the only way to get in. Besides, what he doesn't know can't hurt him." She kept using her ice axe to create an opening until there was a big enough hole for them to go through.

"Maybe I should keep the tape, you know, if someday you want to forget about me and start a whole new life, I could just show it to him as payback."

The English woman put her axe back on her belt. "I could never forget you and if I ever want to start a new life, you would be part of it, always."

"You're a sap and I love you." Sam smiled before slapping Lara's ass. "Now shimmy your cute butt over there so we can see what's behind."

What they found behind the wall was beautiful. There in front of them, were the ruins of Kusasthali, with paved paths, small houses and monuments, some still half standing while others were just rubble.

"Wow!" Sam breathed out.

"I was right!" Lara looked in awe around them. The place was lit with an unknown soft light and they could hear water running, at the far end of the city.

"You always are," Sam said before adding. "At least regarding archeology, for the rest, you're pretty meh."

"Hey!" Lara shoved her gently but smiled. "There is some sort of temple there." She pointed at a building with symbols painted on it. "We should check it out."

Making their way to the temple required a bit of hiking but after an hour, they finally walked inside the building. Lara and Sam carefully moved further inside the temple until they found a back room. Inside they saw an altar with more inscriptions on the walls.

As they approached the altar, Lara noticed several stones organized in a way to represent a Swastika.

"Look like we found our magic rocks." Sam stepped closer and squinted her eyes to study them. "They're engraved."

Lara read the inscriptions on the wall in front of her. "Each stone is a reflection of the facets of life." She grabbed a stone but frowned when she couldn't recognize the symbol.

"This one looks different, shiny…" Sam pointed at the stone on the top left and took it, showing it to Lara.

As Lara approached hers, a light started to shine and before they could react, an explosion engulfed them.

Sam opened her eyes, slowly trying to regain consciousness as a wave of nausea and disorientation hit her. "Lara…"

"Easy." A woman said to her right. She was small, probably in her early 50's.

As Sam tried to straighten her position, she realized she was lying in a bed, wires attached to her and monitoring her vital signs. She looked around the room, it was clear she was in a hospital and not in a cave anymore. When did that happen? She glanced at herself, she was still in her clothes and not in one of those awful gowns. "Where am I? What happened? Where is Lara? Who…"

The woman at her right, a nurse it seemed, smiled comfortingly. "Take it easy, you were unconscious for a while. What's your name, honey?"

"Hum, Sam, Sam Croft." Sam answered.

"Croft?" The nurse looked surprised.

"Yes? Well, that's my married name, my maiden name is Nishimura." Sam explained, thinking the woman's surprise was due to her British name and her clearly Asian origins. She was used to it by now, she just hoped if that woman was racist, she wasn't homophobic on top of it. With her headache, she was in no mood to deal with that. "Where am I?"

"In a hospital."

"No I know that," Sam rolled her eyes but instantly regretted it as her head started pounding. "But where exactly?"

"London."

"When did we get back from India, and where is my wife?" Sam was starting to panic, nothing made sense, the last thing she remembered was touching the stone and then blank. The machine next to her started beeping, pushing her to focus back on the present.

The nurse pressed a few buttons before gently forcing Sam to lay down. "Sam, I need you to calm down, honey."

"I need to see my wife." Sam stated, if anyone could figure out what happened, it was Lara.

"We didn't find any ID on you or emergency contact; can you tell me her name so I can call her for you?" The nurse squeezed her shoulder in reassurance.

"Lara, Lara Croft."

The nurse's eyebrows went up in surprise. "For real?"

"Mhh yes, why?" Sam was even more confused, she knew they had a bit of notoriety with their documentaries but nothing worth this type of reaction.

"I was wondering when you said Croft earlier but well… We all thought that girl was a lost cause, always focusing on work not pleasure. She never said anything about having a cutie like you as a spouse, though."

"Thank you, I guess…" Okay so maybe the nurse wasn't problematic and was just trying to do her job but how the hell did she know Lara, Sam wondered. "Can you call her?"

"Of course she must be worried sick. I'll page her."

"Page her?" Sam asked but the nurse was already out of the room.

The nurse came back five minutes later. "She should be here soon."

As if on cue, Lara stepped inside the room. "Hey, Jackie, you paged me?"

"Lara! Thank God you're here!" Sam exclaimed in relief. "What is going on? Since when are we back in London?" She frowned when she noticed the white coat and surgical scrubs her wife was wearing. "What are you wearing? Sweetie, I know blue is your color but scrubs, really?"

Lara stared at her blankly "Who are you?"

Jackie looked at Sam before looking at Lara. "You don't know her?"

"No." Lara answered. "Should I?"

"Ah ah, very funny." Sam deadpanned. "We're married, I think you know me more than a little." A memory of their last conversation flashed in her head. "Wait, is it about the joke I made about showing the tape at Professor Arrington? Am I being punk'd? I have to say I'm impressed, I'd never thought you'd have it in you to pull…"

"This is not a joke." Lara cut her off. "And I'm not married. Who are you?"

Sam squinted her eyes suspiciously. "Who are you?"

"I asked you first." The doctor fired back.

"Okay, you two stop," Jackie interrupted. "I think Ms. Nishimura is just confused."

"I am not confused!" Sam stated frustratingly. "Well yes, a bit, but if there's one thing I know is that, this woman." She pointed a finger at Lara. "Is my wife."

"I don't know you, I mean, no offense, you hum, seem lovely…" Lara blushed. "But I've never seen you before in my life."

Well at least making Lara all flustered hadn't changed, small victory. "I don't know what's going on but all I remember is that we were doing an archaeological expedition in India and we touched some stones and bam, I ended up here."

"I'm sorry but I'm not an archaeologist, I am a doctor," Lara explained. "Yes, my dad used to be one but he's working at the British Museum now, it has nothing to do with me. How do you even know this, did you look me up?" Her tone was aggressive and cold.

"A doctor, what… Wait, your dad is still alive?" Sam asked in astonishment. "What the fuck is going on?"

"Does she have a concussion?" Lara asked the nurse, grabbing her penlight to check Sam's pupils "What is she here for?"

The nurse reached out for Sam's file and handed it to Lara. "An ambulance brought her here unconscious, no ID, no emergency contact."

"Have we run any tests yet?" The doctor questioned, scanning the file.

"Not yet, we had some priority cases." The nurse answered.

Suddenly a man stepped into the room and called. "Croft!"

"Yes?" Sam and Lara answered simultaneously.

The man frowned, his eyes going from Lara to Sam before settling back on Lara. "Hum, we need you in OR2." He glanced at Sam one last time before running toward the hallway.

Sam saw Lara step away from the bed but before she could go further, she grabbed her wrist. "Please don't leave."

Lara saw the panic flash in her patient's eyes and softened. "I will come back and we'll try to figure out what happened to you, okay? I promise." She squeezed Sam's shoulder gently.

At the touch, Sam relaxed and let out a sigh of relief. "Okay…"

After Jackie left the room, Sam was left alone with her thoughts. She was back in London and had no idea how or why but the worst part was that Lara didn't seem to remember her at all. How could she be a doctor and oh God… Lara's parents were still alive, what… "The stones!" It made sense now, whatever happened to her and Lara, it was linked to the stones. Did it wipe Lara's memory? How much had changed? How long was she out? She had so many questions but none of them could be answered from a hospital bed, she had to leave. She tumbled out of bed and moved toward the dresser where her belongings seemed to be. There was no phone, no wallet, or even stones, just her camera and her chain with her wedding band and engagement ring. Sam sighed in relief, she couldn't imagine Lara's reaction, at least, once she had her memory back, if she had told her she had lost her mother's ring. She put the chain back around her neck and placed the camera in her jacket pocket. Now she needed to sneak out of the room without getting noticed.

It wasn't so hard to get out of the hospital but it was only when she was in the parking lot that Sam realized she had no car, no money and no phone to call anyone. "Fuck me…" She scanned her surroundings; she was at the University College Hospital. She took a few steps and sat on a bench. Why would Lara think her dad was still alive? These stones must have messed up her mind pretty bad... She needed to know more. She grabbed her camera and tried to turn it on without success. The battery must be dead after what happened. "Great." Sam didn't know how long she sat there, staring at the black screen on her camera but suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder and startled.

"Sorry." Lara sat next to her. "I thought you were gone."

"Yeah well, it turns out it's hard to flee when you don't have money, or a phone, or even a car…"

"You should go back inside." Lara advised gently. "I know I was cold to you earlier but I want to help, I could run some tests and…"

"I just want to go home." Sam answered almost like a plea.

"Do you know where you live?"

Sam nodded. "I do, but after what I've seen so far, I'm kind of scared to see if it's still the case…"

"I understand it must be scary but your amnesia might not be permanent." The English woman reassured.

"I'm not the one suffering from amnesia!" Sam said in an outburst.

"I'm sorry." Lara pinched her lips together in a thin line, as if fighting another comment.

Sam chuckled dejectedly. "What are you sorry for?"

Lara shrugged. "I don't know."

Sam smiled sadly at her answer, it was her Lara, there was no doubt about that. "I am not crazy. I've been there, I would know, not that it helps my case to tell you that but still."

"Have you tried to call your wife?" Lara offered.

Sam laughed despite herself. "She's standing right here, why would I?"

"I'm sorry, I might look like your wife but I am not her."

"How can I convince you?" Sam straightened her position on the bench. If she could convince Lara that they knew each other, maybe it would bring back some memories.

Lara frowned in confusion. "I'm sorry what?"

"Let's make a deal. Ask me questions about yourself that only a lover could answer and if I'm right, you stop calling me crazy and help me figure out what's going on."

"And if you're wrong?" The English woman raised an eyebrow.

"You can throw me in a nut house and you'll never have to deal with me again." Sam replied without missing a beat.

"I would never do that!" Lara declared appalled.

"Do we have a deal?"

"You're infuriating; has anyone ever told you that before?" The English woman tried to look serious but she had the hint of a smile on her lips.

"Yes, my wife, all the time, so?" Sam chuckled before offering her hand.

Lara sighed tiredly. "Fine," She shook her hand.

"What's your first question?"

"Hum," Lara looked deep in thought for almost a minute. "What's my favorite color?"

"Seriously, that's what you're asking me?" Sam looked at her in disbelief. "That's something a regular friend could answer, or even one of your colleagues if they bother to say more than hello."

"Well…" Lara glanced at her lap sheepishly. "I don't have a lot of friends; I tend to be awkward in social gatherings."

"You are the cutest." Sam gushed despite herself. How could this woman not be her Lara, it was impossible, they broke the mold when they made her.

Lara turned bright red. "Thanks, I think…"

"Let's make it easier, I'm gonna tell you things I know about you. You were born on February 14th, first and only child of Richard and Amelia Croft, sure you can say I googled it but what about this, you were named after the god Ra. I hope this part is still true…" Sam continued. "But you have a thing for Jaffa Cakes and when you were a kid, you used to play with two knights, well, it was more some suits of armor but, they were named Sir Lancelot and Sir Reginald and you kept stealing Reginald's helmet. I wish I could have seen that…"

"I… How?"

"I'm not done," Sam raised her hand to halt her words. "You had a plushy dinosaur as a blankie, you also have a birthmark on the side of your hip, you hate dresses and hum, what else? The name of your father's best friend is Roth. Am I right so far?"

"Yes, I don't understand how but…" Lara trailed off. "Wait, how can you know about Roth? He was lost at sea when I was a child, I barely remember him."

"I told you I know you. Some things are different and I don't know why but… Was Roth looking for Yamatai?" If Sam never met Lara, then Lara never searched for Yamatai and Roth never died saving her, and yet, he still disappeared. It didn't make any sense. Were the stones responsible for this? Weren't they supposed to lead them to some kind of heaven to see a God? Right now it looked more like hell.

"Yama-what?" Lara repeated confused. "I don't know, I could ask my parents but why does it matter? This is all in the past now. Dad donated the suits to a museum. He never regretted his choice to put my mother first but I think they reminded him too much of his former job. And the little girl who used to play with armor? She grew up, went to Medical School and had to find a real job because her father didn't want her to run after fairytales…" Her eyes went wide as she realized everything she had just shared. "I don't even know why I'm telling you that, it's like I can't stop."

"So your parents are alive?" Sam asked tentatively, trying to make sure.

"That's the second time you've asked me that," Lara snapped. "Is there a problem?"

"No, it's… never mind…" Sam didn't want to upset Lara by telling her that her parents were supposed to be dead. She couldn't understand what was going on herself, how could she even try to explain it to Lara? One thing was for sure, touching the stone had changed Lara's past, she didn't know how, or why, but she had to figure it out if she wanted her life back. She looked at the sky, the sun was setting. From the corner of her eyes, she could see Lara fidgeting. She knew her wife couldn't remember and she didn't want to force her to stay. "You should go home, you must be tired."

"What about you?"

"I have nowhere to go." If Lara's parents were still alive, Sam couldn't really show up at the Manor as if it was her home.

"Come to my place." Lara seemed as surprised as Sam when the words came out of her mouth.

Sam arched an eyebrow, she wasn't expecting that. "You'd invite a stranger to your place?"

"Seeing what you know about me, I would not call you a stranger." Lara pointed out. "And we had a deal…"

"But you don't know me?"

"I don't…" Lara agreed. "But there is something special about you, I don't know what it is but my instincts are telling me to trust you, and they're never wrong…"

Lara was living in a loft, about 30 minutes from the Hospital. "I'm sorry I don't spend a lot of time here and hum, I've never had a guest before except for my parents…" Lara said as they stepped inside the flat.

The place was nice but it felt soulless without centuries-old books and relics. Instead, the shelves were full of medical books and a couple of picture frames of Lara with her parents.

"Don't worry, it's a lot bigger than what we used to live in in Uni…" Sam reassured as Lara took her jacket and put it on the coatrack before moving to the living room.

"You went to Uni with your wife?"

Sam sighed, clearly Lara was still talking as if her wife and her were two different people. "You still don't believe me, do you?"

"I don't know what to tell you..." Lara looked at her helplessly. "I am a woman of science and…"

"The logical answer to my problem is that I'm crazy, right?" Sam finished for her.

"Sam, I've never said that."

"You don't have to," Sam shook her head sadly. "You've never been good at lying to me."

"I…"

Sam felt like crying, Lara had been her person for so many years, she was the one she could share everything with, she was her best friend. But who could you turn to when it was your best friend who was breaking your heart? Kaz and Jonah weren't there either, it was just her and the empty shell of her wife. She sniffled but tried to hide it by looking for her camera in her jacket. She swiftly wiped her eyes before forcing a smile, her camera in hand. "Do you have a place to charge this?"

"Oh Sam…" Lara approached her and reached out tentatively.

"Don't…" Sam lifted her hand. "If you touch me I'm gonna start crying because I always feel safe in your arms and if I start crying right now, I don't know if I'll be able to stop, so please, don't…"

"Okay, just…" Lara scratched her neck nervously. "Just give me your camera and sit on the couch. I'll be right back."

As Lara left the room, Sam heard Lara curse herself "so bloody stupid..." and fought another wave of tears. When she came back, Lara sat on the far end of the couch, clearly trying to give Sam enough space while still showing her support. She cleared her throat. "Why don't you tell me more about you?"

Sam smiled lightly, she could see Lara was trying and wondered if it was her instincts telling her to. "My name is Samantha Croft, Sam, well hum, Nishimura if it's…"

"It's okay." Lara smiled encouragingly.

"I'm an American with Japanese origins from my dad and Portuguese from my mom. I was a rebellious child, trying to get my parents' attention while they were busy with their careers."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be, it's water under the bridge really, we are fine now. So then it was time for college and I ended up at UCL where I met you." Sam paused for a moment. "Now that I think about it, if my relationship with my parents had been different, I would never have met you, so, I'm okay with how things went."

"What happened next?"

"We finished Uni."

"Were you dating your wif…" Lara stopped herself. "I mean…"

"No, the feelings were already there but we were too stupid to do something about it." Sam chuckled. "Then came Yamatai…"

"You've mentioned that before." Lara looked intrigued. "What is it?"

"It's an island, lost in the Dragon triangle…" Sam trailed off, trying to come up with the right words. "My ancestors were from there so you, or well, my Lara, decided to look into it. Should have been my first clue you were into me." She joked. "We went on an expedition to find it and let just say things didn't go as planned…"

"What happened?"

"Do you have a straitjacket here?" Sam questioned half-serious. "Because if you think I'm crazy now, you're gonna think I'm totally insane after hearing this."

"Come on," Lara chuckled. "Give me some credit."

"Roth was with us, we sailed on his boat, the SS Endurance …"

"I remember that name. They've mentioned it on the news."

"Trust me, I didn't hear it there, I was in the front row. There was a storm and the ship sank." Sam looked into the distance, as if fighting the memories. Even after so many years, some things weren't easy to remember. "Our group got separated. I got kidnapped by cultists who worshipped a deity called Queen Himiko but you saved me."

"How? I thought I was an archaeologist. Aren't you supposed to do boring digs with a brush in the desert?" Lara kept firing questions.

Sam laughed. "You are not like them, you're some kind of GI Jane of archeology, if you know, GI Jane had a magnet for trouble."

"I've never been in trouble in my whole life," Lara declared. "Not even a speeding ticket."

"Oh neither did Lara, that's more of my thing," Sam admitted. "Apparently she thinks I drive like a maniac and should be stopped but I think she's being a bit dramatic about it." She finished in a low tone, as if it was a secret.

Lara chuckled. "Just to be safe, don't touch my car please."

Sam threw a pillow at her before turning serious again. "It wasn't easy, and we lost friends, Roth… but we made it out alive. I'm not sure I know how to describe what happened after that except, shit went downhill… Things happened to me, to you and we drifted apart. We found our way back to each other though, like always and we got together, I moved into the manor, we got married…" She smiled to herself as she remembered their wedding.

"We live in the Manor? Oh god, with my parents?" Lara made a face. "I love them to death and the Manor is big enough not to see each other but no…"

"I…" Sam couldn't tell her, she couldn't just say 'your parents died when you were young and Roth took care of you'. "Can I ask you a question?" Sam changed the subject.

"Of course."

"Are you happy?"

"I… I have never asked myself that question. I think so. I have a roof over my head, enough money to pay the bills, my parents are alive and healthy and I'm doing a job where I can help people." Lara shrugged. "I can't really complain…"

Sam bit her lip as she felt the tears bubbling up in her eyes. Lara was happy without her. She felt bad for even thinking like that but she felt like someone had punched her in the heart. "That's great."

Lara frowned as she noticed Sam's distress. "Did I say something wrong?"

"No." Sam shook her head before taking a shaky breath. "I'm happy for you." She stood up abruptly. "I think we should go to bed, it's late."

"You didn't even eat." Lara's frown deepened.

"I'm not hungry. Do you have a guest room?" Sam asked.

"Second door on the left, there is an ensuite bathroom. I can lend you some clothes if you want…"

"I'm gonna take a shower first." Sam answered without making eye contact, her body already turned toward the hallway.

Lara nodded even though Sam couldn't see her. "I'll put them on the bed for you."

"Thank you, goodnight." Sam rushed into the guest room and waited until she got into the shower to break down in tears. When she stepped out of the bathroom, she found Lara's clothes on the bed. She put them on and it didn't take long for the tears to start falling again as she was suddenly surrounded by Lara's scent. That night, she cried herself to sleep, hoping whatever nightmare they were in would be over in the morning.