[sorry for the really long into lol] Croft Manor... You never belonged there, but found yourself being pulled back anyways.

After everything that happened, your doctors wanted you to cut contact with Lara. Yamatai, Mathias, the Solarii, the Stormguard, Himiko, she reminded you of all of it. Being trapped, harassed, threatened, and sacrificed. One glance of her face and it was like you were back there again.

One part of you wanted to beg, to plead that they let you see her, to tell them you couldn't live without her and cutting contact wasn't an option. However, the other part knew it was for the best, that all she did was bring back bad memories. So, despite a gut wrenching feeling to do the exact opposite, you listened, you cut contact.

Life was okay. You knew Lara was upset, but she respected your decision, like you knew she would. The number of press articles with her face slapped on the cover only grew. Any time you went to the store or a gas station, there she was, staring at you dead in the eyes. That's when you saw it, in big, bold letters right on the cover. "Croft Gone Missing".

You shouldn't, you knew you shouldn't. It would only set you back, you were doing so well. It wouldn't matter if she was alive or dead, she was out of your life anyways... Or at least that's what you told yourself. You could still see it clear as day. All those memories, those moments, those times together. Were you just supposed to pretend like they didn't exist? Just because of a traumatic event that she saved you from? You couldn't take it. What if she was really dead, her body lost on some far flung corner of the Earth? You had to know.

You walked out of the store, almost bumping into multiple people as you read your newly purchased magazine. It said that last anyone knew, she was in Siberia. Great, well that narrows it down, just 3/4 of Russia. Amazing. She was probably out there, freezing to death if she wasn't already dead yet.

You felt terrible. This was all such a stupid idea, cutting her off. Now she's out there, probably still thinking you hate her. You had half the mind to go out there and try and find her yourself.

Two excruciatingly long months later, she returned in one piece, just barely though. The media put it as "Surviving but only just, Croft has made it back home with new scars, new artifacts, and new stories to tell." There was a picture of her. She looked tired, frail, annoyed by all the cameras in her face. Jonah was in the background of the picture as well. He looked just as annoyed as Lara, but he knew how to hide it better than she did.

Now, you find yourself in Surrey, England, standing on the doorstep of the old and impossibly large Croft Manor. You felt so out of place, like a wilted flower in the middle of an impeccable bouquet.

Lara didn't know that you were coming, and it was probably for the best, that way you didn't get her hopes up if you turned out to upset her in the end. Your hand shook as you gave a firm three taps with the knocker.

You missed her so much. Her almost dying made you realize that you couldn't live without her. You felt so foolish. You knew that cutting contact was a stupid idea, but you did it anyways. All it did was cause more pain.

Your thoughts were cut off when she opened the door. You hadn't seen her in person in over a year. She looked surprised. For a moment, all of those terrible memories of your time on Yamatai came flooding back, but, like the light at the end of a tunnel, her voice pulled you back to reality.

"Sam..." Her voice was slightly breathless and quiet, she really wasn't expecting this. She gripped the doorknob tight. You could see that sort of lost look in her eyes, it made your heart shatter.