Chapter 7

A/N: Hey. Sorry for the long wait. After the fake news of Sam being back just to hear from Camilla that it wasn't happening, I needed a break. If Sam isn't in the closing chapter of Origin, she won't be back at all. It was a good fight, but we can't win when it comes to money. I guess we'll have to keep Sam in our heart and in our arts.

I've started a new fic but for now, I don't feel like writing. I read the first reviews of the game and I don't really like the direction they're taking with Lara, all selfish and psycho and I think it's ruining all the work Pratchett and Simone did for years to humanize her. I don't want to support a franchise that bluntly ignores a part of their fans (I'm not even talking about Sam here but Lara's character development) and its own canon. It might not be a popular opinion but it is mine and I won't apologize for it.

So yeah, the jury's still out, I don't know if I'll stay in the TR fandom because I don't want to taint my love for Lara and Sam. Better stay in my TR2013 bubble and own head-canons, denial, denial, denial... I really hope I'll be able to move past the disappointment to finish my other story though, I think you would like it…

A couple days later, Lara was packing for their trip to India. Since Sam still had her arm in a sling, Lara had forbidden her to touch anything. Sam had argued that it was mainly clothes and she couldn't really hurt herself with that but Lara didn't budge.

Lara had moved to her office, gathering documents she thought could be useful.

"You know," Sam said, leaning against the doorframe while munching a Jaffa Cakes. "I've never been to this room before."

"I showed it to you when I gave you a tour." Lara reminded her.

"Yeah, but it's not like I had any reason to come here. It's not like at home when you have all these books." Sam shrugged. "Besides, it's your office, I didn't want to overstep or anything."

Lara chuckled. "You've been living here for a couple weeks, eating my food and borrowing some of my clothes but stepping into my office is too much?"

"Hey," Sam grabbed another Jaffa cake from her pack and threw it at Lara. "You invited me here, honestly that's on you."

Lara picked up the cake and put it in her mouth. "I make terrible decisions."

"You do, that's why you need me in your life." Sam grinned proudly.

"I do." Lara smiled fondly. She started moving some papers to the side of the desk when she heard something fall. She bent down and grabbed the object. "What is your stone doing here?"

"Mine is in the living room." Sam moved closer and inspected the stone. It had the symbol of family engraved on it. "It's yours…" She frowned. "Wait, it was here all along? But how?"

Lara shrugged. "Don't ask me."

"I thought yours was in the temple, waiting for you. But it's good, I guess it's one less thing to worry about once we get there."

"You know I still don't think it's a good idea for you to travel in your state." Lara stroked Sam's good shoulder.

"I know, sweetie." Sam kissed her cheek. "But we don't have a choice. We have to leave England, it's not safe. Once we're away, we can slow down and really prepare our expedition."

"Alright."

"Besides, if I'm in pain I have my magic pills."

"They're not sweets!" The Englishwoman chastised.

"Too bad. Can I have a lollypop then, Doctor Croft?" Sam giggled.

"You're impossible." Lara chuckled. "I'm done here, let's get make some dinner."

"Yes, I want to enjoy your cooking skills one last time."

They ate dinner and cuddled on the couch with a movie before going to bed together. They hadn't talked about their almost kiss and hadn't tried anything since. Lara was struggling with leaving her parents behind and Sam was trying her best to be helpful despite the pain in her shoulder so they were content with their close proximity.

Sam knew they couldn't just travel to India directly, it would be too easy for Trinity to track them if they wanted to. So to cover their tracks, they had decided to do several layovers in different countries.

Their first stop was Paris but despite being the closest, it was the hardest destination to reach. As soon as Lara and Sam stepped out of the flat to go to the train station, a car started to shadow them. It quickly turned into a car chase as they kept changing route again and again. When it was clear they wouldn't get rid of them, they abandoned their vehicle and took a cab which was thankfully able to bring them to the station. There, they bought train tickets with Lara's credit card for another location to send Trinity on a wild-goose chase and pretended to board the train before getting out a few minutes later by another door to get onto their real train.

Once in Paris, they quickly took another train for Berlin. It wasn't the fastest way to travel, but since Sam didn't have any ID, they couldn't travel by air until they managed to get hold of some. It was actually the reason why they were in Germany. In the original timeline, Lara and Sam had traveled there during Uni and met a few nice people. Sam remembered a guy who told her he had all kind of connections if she knew what he meant and if she ever found herself in trouble, he could help her out. It was the perfect time to use a favor, even though technically they had never met. They had a lot of cash, and she had learned a long time ago that money had no smell. Sam couldn't help but feel like she was in a Jason Bourne movie, except she was the wife that had survived and was now trying to help the heroin recover from an amnesia that wasn't really one.

Getting in touch with Sam's contact wasn't easy but they were able to track him down. He was more than suspicious at first but after enough charm and money, he finally agreed to create them both a fake identity. It forced them to stay in Berlin for almost a week but Sam used their time to share memories with Lara, hoping something would trigger another flashback. Lara seemed to be having more and more of those lately, probably due to her stone.

Armed with their fake identity, Lara and Sam were able to travel to Cairo then Dubai, always acting like tourists, staying a few days in a hotel before leaving again. For this Lara who had never left Europe, it was quite an adventure but she soldiered on.

Finally, after almost three weeks, they reached New Delhi. Sam's shoulder felt better and Lara was starting to get the hang of this undercover thing. They had contacted ahead of their arrival the same team that had led them to the cave in the original timeline. They were trustworthy enough and they didn't really have the luxury to choose. Once they reached their location, Sam asked the team of locals to leave, as a group gathered in a location like this would draw more attention than a couple of women who could pretend to be lost. She couldn't say for sure if Trinity had lost their tracks but she knew she felt watched a couple of times since the departure from England.

As soon as they were alone, Sam and Lara set up a camp for the night. It was starting to get dark and it would be too dangerous to start the descent into the cave now. While Sam was starting a fire, Lara had insisted on setting up the tent. There was definitely something amusing in watching the big badass Lara Croft struggle with the poles when it had always seemed so natural in the original time. After a quick dinner, they settled inside the tent and snuggled against each other. Despite spending most of their time together, nothing had really changed between them. They were affectionate and Lara was a lot more comfortable with initiating hugs or kisses on the cheeks but the weight of the situation prevented them both from looking for more.

The next day, it was finally time to go down into the cave. The whole ordeal turned out to be a difficult task. Sam's wound seemed to find the moment appropriate to make a powerful comeback, not that it had completely left and Lara, unlike the one Sam knew, didn't have several years of practice with her favorite toy, the ice axe.

They were almost at the bottom when Sam felt a sharp pain in her shoulder. She tried to hang on to a rock to rest but her foot slipped. Lara attempted to catch her but lack of leverage only made them fall faster down the remaining distance to the ground. Luckily for them, they landed on sand which largely absorbed their fall. It still hurt but after a break to catch their breath, they were able to keep going.

They finally reached the temple and Sam sighed in relief. It looked exactly the same as the one in her timeline. She removed her backpack and reached for her stone, motioning for Lara to do the same.

"So here we are…" Sam stood in front of the altar, stone in hand.

"What now?" Lara asked warily as she did the same.

"We put the stones on the altar and hope for the best I guess."

Lara worried her lower lip between her teeth. "Will I remember this or even who I used to be before we touched the stones?"

"I don't know, sweetie, I'm sorry…" Sam reached out for Lara's free hand and squeezed it in comfort.

"It's alright." Lara pulled Sam closer. "As long as you're with me, I know I will be fine."

"That's right; you're stuck with me, Lara Croft." Sam smiled cheekily.

Lara chuckled. "Then just in case, there's something I need to do." She leaned forward slowly and pressed her lips to Sam's.

As they enjoyed the moment, everything else became irrelevant. Then, while still kissing, Sam grabbed Lara's hand which had the stone in it with hers and put them on the altar. It didn't take long for a light to engulf them again.

When the world finally stopped spinning, Sam pulled away from Lara and slowly opened her eyes. She glanced around the room but everything looked the same. Were they really back? Her answer came in an unexpected way when their radio crackled to life.

"Lovebirds, are you alright? You've been in there for a while…" Jonah's voice resonated.

Sam walked toward her backpack in the corner and reached for the walkie-talkie. "We're fine Jonah. Hum, something happened, we'll head out soon." As she put the radio back in the bag, she realized only a couple of hours must have passed here. She turned around to share the information with Lara but the words died in her throat as she saw Lara standing there, staring into the void. "Lara? Sweetie, are you… Do you remember?"

Lara nodded, a sole tear falling down her face. "Yes."

Sam stepped in front of her. "Everything? This timeline and the other?"

"Everything…" The Englishwoman croaked.

"Oh honey, I'm sorry." Sam embraced her wife. "I'm sorry you had to lose your pa..."

"No, don't…" Lara shook her head as she broke their embrace. "You were amazing." She sniffled and cupped Sam's face lovingly. "You were right, I've been granted a gift, I was able to make a lot of memories with my parents, and the best part was that you were there too." She laughed, with relief, joy and a touch of melancholy. "You met them and oh god, they loved you… It's… it's everything."

"I love them too." Sam said, feeling as emotional as Lara was.

"I love you, please never doubt my feelings ever again. I doubt often, I question a lot of things, but if there is one thing I know for sure, it's that we were meant to find each other and fall in love."

Sam nodded as tears gathered in her eyes. "Doubt thou the stars are fire, Doubt that the sun doth move, Doubt truth to be a liar…"

"But never doubt I love." Lara finished with a fond smile.

"God I love you so much…" Sam kissed Lara with passion, as if she never wanted to let go, and somehow, it was the case. Her lips lingered as she pulled back with a grin. "So you don't regret coming back?" She asked, almost nervously.

"I wish my parents were still alive but perhaps a lot of good things wouldn't have happened if they were. It doesn't matter, I can't change the past but as my mum said, I can only move forward and live on, for them. After this, I take comfort in the fact that they would have been proud of me." She took a deep breath. "I think… I think I can finally make peace with that part of my past and focus on that future, with you and a job I love and our friends… And maybe one day, a little Croft..."

"I'm proud of you too." Sam kissed her nose. "Oh and a mini you would be so cute!"

"Or a mini you..." Lara breathed out shakily. "Okay, I think that's enough emotions for today." She squeezed Sam's hand, pecking her lips one last time before moving to grab her backpack. "We should go back to the surface before Jonah calls for the rescue team."

Sam chuckled. "He would." She turned toward her own backpack and discreetly slid the pictures she had brought with her from the other timeline in the front pocket. She would give them to Lara once they got out of the ancient city.

"Ready?" Lara asked with a smile.

Sam nodded. "Lead the way, Mrs. Croft." As she watched her wife walk toward the exit of the temple, she couldn't help but smile. They had quite an adventure, and many others were to come but she knew that no matter what the future had in store for them, they would face it together, always…