Fic: I'm Coming Home, K/Laura, PG-13 for themes, no-attacks AU, warnings for angst?

[lanalucy]

Part of my Healing Arts AU series.

Kara's been offplanet.

Thanks to newnumbertwo for the beta, and encouragement on this series!

After Kara left, Laura didn’t hear from her for months. She hadn’t really expected to, but she’d hoped. She came home one day, mail in a messy bundle in her hand, and dumped everything on the table in the breakfast nook. It had been a long day, and whatever was there now would still be there tomorrow. She took a soak in the tub and went to bed early.

When she sat down the next morning with her coffee and bagel, she expected to sort through the mail and toss most if not all of it in the recycling bin. Toss. Toss. Toss. Wait. She looked at the envelope again. It was addressed to her, but had no other markings on the outside. Considering the recent threats to so many officials in the Cap City government buildings, she found her kitchen gloves, just in case, and opened it carefully. A single sheet fell out.

I miss you.

Gods, Kara. I miss you, too.

She called in and told the office that she’d be coming in at noon. Such a small thing. Three little words, and she was undone.
------
Three months later, Laura had again heard nothing. She’d looked every day, but there had been no further letters or post cards or anything at all.

She brought the mail in and dumped it all on the table again, thinking she’d look at it all tomorrow. It was Saturday and she could lounge around in her pjs all day if she wanted. But something in the pile caught her eye. It was an official-looking envelope, addressed to her, with an official return address. She pushed it to the far side of the table, looking at it apprehensively. Would Kara have changed her records so that Laura would be notified if something happened? With the way they’d left things, she didn’t think so, but…

Gods. She reached across the table and snatched the damn thing up, shoving her finger under the flap and tearing. Despite the official-looking outside, there was again only a single sheet of paper.

I’m coming home.

There was more chicken scratch that eventually Laura deciphered as a date and transport information. Did Kara want her to pick her up? When she said she was coming home, did she mean she was coming back to Caprica, or coming back to Laura?

Laura didn’t know, and she wasn’t sure she cared what Kara meant. She’d be there, and if Kara hadn’t meant what Laura hoped, she’d keep her cool and drop Kara off wherever she wanted to go.

Laura took the entire rest of the week off, because frankly, she wasn’t sure she could handle work if Kara didn’t want to be with her, and if she did, well, work could ‘blow her,’ to quote Kara. She had plenty of PTO built up, and gods knew the office could survive without her until Monday.

She got to the transport station early and paced from one end of it to the other, checking the arrival boards at the south end every time. Finally it was time for Kara’s transport to arrive, and people started streaming into the station. It was crowded now, more than it had been this morning, but Laura’s eyes were glued to the opening, hoping any second now she’d see that blonde head she so loved.

When Kara finally trudged through the opening, Laura almost didn’t recognize her. She was gaunt - had lost at least fifteen pounds that she didn’t need to lose. Her face was drawn, her color off. Laura didn’t care.

She rushed forward, pushing through the crowd to stop in front of Kara with her arms wide open. Kara stopped for a moment, as if unsure what to do, then she looked up, saw Laura and her face lit up and she walked into Laura, squeezing her ribs so hard, Laura was sure she’d have bruises for weeks.

She surprised them both by pushing Kara away just a bit, then kissing her ferociously. Kara resisted for a few seconds, then relaxed into Laura with a relieved whimper and kissed her back.

Laura put her arm around Kara’s shoulder and guided her to the car. She didn’t want to assume, so she asked in a carefully neutral voice where Kara wanted to go.

She was almost shocked at Kara’s response - a tearful, “You don’t want me at home?”

Laura wasn’t sure what had happened to Kara out there on that ship, but this was not the relatively happy, confident woman who had left her a year ago.

She pulled the car to the side of the road, put it in park and pulled Kara into her. “I so want you at home, Kara. I just didn’t want to push if you weren’t ready to be there.”

Kara’s tears were soaking through her blouse, alarming Laura. Kara hardly ever cried, and never in public. She put a finger under Kara’s chin and looked her in the eyes. “I want you to come home. Okay? I want you to come home.”

Kara sniffed and wiped her nose on her uniform sleeve. “Please take me home, then. I need to soak for about a week in a scalding tub, then I want to frak you until you can’t move.”

Laura put the car in drive, made a mental note to take another week off from work, and said, “Sounds like a plan. What kind of food?”

“Hot. Spicy. Something I can eat with my fingers.”

“I can do that, baby. I can do all of that.”