With Me By Your Side

Chapter 12

"What do you mean it's over?" Annie nearly choked on her veggie burger as Ava broke the dreaded news. Ever since the family barbeque, Annie hadn't stopped asking after Sara, and Ava was at her breaking point when the younger blonde decided to bring her up at lunch. "But she was so nice."

"Yeah well, turns out she wasn't." Ava rolled her eyes at her sister, not surprised by her reaction one bit. Ava knew the effect that Sara had on people, and she hadn't stopped hearing about the impression she had left on her family.

"What'd you do?" Daniel gently slapped his big sister's hand, trying and failing to bring a smile to her face.

"Me? Nothing! She broke up with me out of the blue...kind of..." The blonde Agent stopped herself, truly embarrassed by what she was about to admit to her siblings.

"Kind of?" Annie pressed on, eyeing Ava up suspiciously.

"Don't laugh."

"Spill! Now!" She demanded with force.

"We were never together, not really anyway." Ava started, ducking her head out of shame. "It was all fake-"

"I knew it!" Daniel stood abruptly with his hands raised in celebration, as other diners glared in shock.

"Daniel!" Ava hissed and dragged Daniel back into his seat violently.

"Sorry...but I'm never right about anything." He quickly apologized.

"How did you know?"

"There might have been a rumor going around the Bureau...and Sara is kind of notorious for sleeping around and not being the relationship type." Daniel explained painfully as he watched Ava's face fall. He could see how Ava felt for Sara, and what her ending things were doing to her, even if Ava was trying to put on a brave face.

"Why didn't you say anything asshole?" Ava smacked his arm semi-playfully, before letting out a long and painful sigh.

"Why did you feel the need to fake a relationship?!" Annie spoke up, finally over the shock of her sister's fake relationship.

"I...I was tired of everyone talking about me behind my back...and I guess a part of me wanted to actually believe that someone like Sara Lance could really have feelings for me."

"You can do so much better than Sara! Sure, she's hot...really, really hot-"

"Annie!" Ava scolded before burying her head deep into hands.

"Sorry..." The pregnant woman blushed, before continuing. "What I meant to say, was that there's someone great out there for you, someone who is looking for more than just a good time."

"Are you sure that's all Sara was after?" Daniel spoke up, causing two sets of angry Sharpe eyes to turn and glare at him.

"Whose side are you on?" Ava snapped.

"Yours obviously...but hear me out." He held his hands up in defense, as Ava gave him the signal to continue. "You didn't see how nervous she was that first night, she couldn't believe that she was actually about to spend time with you. She even admitted to having butterflies in her stomach...does that sound like someone who was only looking for fun?"

Ava knew those feelings all too well. She'd felt them herself every time she was in the same room as Sara. Sweaty palms, heart racing, head reeling, the endless supply of butterflies in her stomach. Every single time, with every smile, every glance. And she finally had her, she kissed those lips, held her hand...she had the woman she's been dreaming of for months, but now it's over and she couldn't bear to think about her anymore.

"Whatever she was or wasn't feeling that night is irrelevant." Ava choked down her emotions, not wasting any more tears on that woman. "None of it was real, and she made it perfectly clear that she has no interest in me."

"Okay...okay. I'll drop it." Daniel smiled weakly as he gently covered her hand with his own.

"We just want you to be happy Aves." Annie mimicked her brother's actions, with her other hand rested happily on her growing baby bump.

"Me too...and now with everything out in the open, I can get there."

***

Sara hated hurting the ones closest to her. Every fight with her parents, or petty argument with her sister, had left her reeling and filled with guilt. And that's exactly how she felt as she waited anxiously for her team to gather on the main deck. Her behavior and overall attitude over the last week had been out of order, and her team and friends deserved better than that.

"Thanks for coming everyone...I've got a few things I need to get out in the open." Sara started, her nervousness very present in her voice.

"STD results?" Mick muttered into his 10 am beer, earning a dangerous warning glare from the blonde.

"Pot. Kettle. Mick." Zari spoke up, smirking at her teammate.

"I'm not thirsty." He responded before downing his beer with a loud gulp.

"Not what I...never mind."

"Moving on...I know things haven't been great around here lately, and I know that the main reason for that has been my unsavory mood as of late." Sara pressed on, holding her arms securely over her chest like a safety blanket.

"Unsavoury isn't how I'd put it." Ray smiled sympathetically, not wanting to anger his friend once again.

"More demoniac...sorry." Zari ducked her head as a look of anger was sent her way.

"Anyway, I'd like to apologize for how I've been acting." The blonde smiled weakly, "I let a bad situation get the better of me, and I didn't take my responsibility as Captain seriously."

"Agent Ass-wipe dropping you must have sucked...she was hot." Mick raised his second beer in the air, as a wicked smile crept onto his face.

"I broke things off actually-"

"I thought you were happy with Ava?" Nate spoke up.

"I was...but what we had was never anything real." Sara reluctantly admitted, her heart hurting with a mere thought. "And honestly I really don't feel like talking about her right now."

"Then we won't." Amaya smiled, proud of her friend for finally pulling herself out of the Ava rut she had been stuck in. "Right guys?" The small group muttered a collective yes.

"Thanks, everyone." Sara smiled brightly, as she called the unofficial ship meeting to an end. "Now, I think we've had enough time off. Gideon, where to?"

"How doesn't 16th Century China sound?" Gideon's sassy voice echoed through the ship, the AI happy to be used for her intended use instead of being forced into the life of a personal tinder swipe bot.

"An adventure in the Ming Dynasty, sweet!" Nate and Ray excitedly exchanged a few bro-fives in celebration.

"Buckle up troops."

"Let's kick some Ninja ass!" Mick growled, even he had been bored on the ship the past few days.

***

The Legends gathered around the still body of their Captain, her skin torn and bleeding heavily. They came out of nowhere, struck from behind and left the blonde for dead while her team finished the mission unaware.

"Sara's vitals are dropping and fast." Ray attached the medical cuff as Gideon started running the essential diagnostic tests.

"Gideon you have to do something. We can't lose her..." Amaya prayed as she clung to Nate, burying her head in his neck as the tears started to stream down her face.

"We're losing her."