Closed A New Beginning: Plot ID: #30674503

[Sara Moon]

The months had dragged, days feeling like years as she went from a house that felt strange to a work that felt strange, and lived with a man who felt like a stranger. Sara hadn't felt like herself for a long time, but she was coming back. The therapy had helped. At first, after their baby's passing, she'd shied away from the thought of therapy, worried that it would make things worse somehow, terrified she would hear Mason say it was her fault. She'd been wrong, of course, and now felt foolish for resisting it so long. When they should've been a support to each other, she'd pulled away and plunged their home into silence. Now though, now they could start over. Today was a big day, Sara had left on her lunch break for their appointment as usual, but upon finishing work had quickly apparated close to their home. You couldn't apparate into the house, the wards didn't permit it, but it wasn't a long walk down the lane. Quickly, she set to work, banishing silence with a radio in the kitchen. She used to sing, while doing chores, walking, going over case notes, but now it was a concious effort to do so, to take enjoyment out of what used to be routine. Some day, she felt sure, the effort would be unnecessary, but now she was trying to be grateful for what was good.

When the room was tidy, and some bowls of strawberries set out, she retrieved two champagne glasses. The bottle was in the fridge to cool, and Mason was due home soon. She wanted to mark today, to celebrate little victories, though having finished counselling was perhaps not so little a thing. She had missed feeling like herself, but she'd missed Mason too. Without help, they might never have survived their own grief. Another good thing to be grateful for.

 

[Mason Talarico]

Communicate. Communicate. Communicate. That word had been drilled into his head for several of the longest months of his life. He had a feeling it would appear in his dreams even. Therapy hadn't been quite what he'd expected it to be. He'd never laid on a chaise lounge. Their therapist hadn't even been a man, far from it actually. And he'd never had to talk about more than he was comfortable talking about. But talk he had...eventually. In solitary sessions and eventually in the couple ones. And he'd learned a lot. About Sara, for sure, but about himself too, and how he coped with stress. Being Head Auror meant that a lot of blame felt like it came to rest on his feet. But the loss of their child wasn't his blame or Sara's. It had taken a lot of time for him to accept that Sara didn't blame him and to show her that he'd never thought she was either. It had taken even more time for him to not feel as if he should've done something more. This didn't mean that Mason planned on running back to therapy any time soon. He was quite pleased to be done, happy to have walked out of their scheduled lunchtime sessions knowing he wouldn't have to return. But he was grateful that he'd been convinced to give it a try. He'd come out of it with a lot. Some tools to help him cope and communicate a little more. But most, importantly, he'd left it with Sara still by his side. For a while, especially in the beginning, Mason hadn't been sure that would be the case. Therapy had been hard. Confronting some painful truths about himself had been hard. But it had been worth it in the end, he reminded himself as he stepped through the door of their home after the short walk from the road.

Mason took his work robes off, putting them on their hook and then began to kick his shoes off. "It's me, Sara" he stated as he did every time he arrived home. Mason was a little more salt than pepper these days, he'd long since given up on Sleak Eazy's formulas to help with that. The man ran a hand through his hair as he moved forward, his footsteps causing the wood to creak slightly in the home, his hand holding the bottle of champagne he'd picked up to celebrate. Things weren't perfect between him and Sara, but they were real, very real, his feelings for her having deepened through this all. He turned into the kitchen, leaning against the doorframe and crossing his arms. "Well, well, well, what do we have here?" he declared as he took in the table, a sheepish expression on his face as he held up a bottle of champagne and gave it a small shake. "Same idea" he let out a low chuckle.

 

[Sara Moon]

Becoming slightly anxious about Mason's arrival time, Sara resisted the urge to pace. He was fine, he was often much later than this. She knew that, but a tendency to jump to the worst conclusion wasn't ideal when living with the head auror. Breathing in slowly, she began to count. One breath at a time. Keep breathing. At times she felt foolish repeating such a simple phrase, but somehow it was soothing. The therapist had given her some mindfulness exercises, and while at first she'd felt silly focusing on her breathe, registering with her body, but now it was the start and end of her every day. Mason's voice brought a small smile to her lips and she opened her eyes. She'd spent so long convincing herself he couldn't love her now, that too much had happened. Now she realised that the water under the bridge was a part of who they were together.She was learning to live in a new reality. In this reality, nothing could be taken for granted. In this reality, she reminded herself to breathe.

When he entered the room, Sara felt a knot in her chest unravel. And a laugh escaped her as she registered the bottle in Mason's hand, and the look on his face. She crossed the room. "Great minds think alike." Leaning into Mason for a moment, she planted a kiss on his cheek. "Congratulations." It did feel an accomplishment to have made it this far. One step at a time. She knew it hadn't been easy for Mason either, that they'd abandoned each other in a way, absent in the same house. Now they had to work to make sure that never happened again. "I mean, aside from finishing therapy, both of us being home at a semi-reasonable hour is reason enough for a second bottle." Sara had always liked champagne. She'd first tasted it as a teenager. Her parents weren't drinker, but the Moon children had been allowed a sip at their parents anniversary. Glancing down and the bottle Mason held, Sara asked with a nod, "Would you like to do the honours?" It did not take an effort to smile. Counselling had taught her a lot about Mason. She'd always imagined him so strong, loving that he cared, worrying that he cared too much, but hearing how he felt about himself was eyeopening. She'd never blamed him, but to think that he had. To know he had never blamed her. Without thinking, she reached out a hand to hold his. It was a process, she knew that, but it finally felt as though they were on the mend, both of them.

 

[Mason Talarico]

Mason listened to her and then nodded, a full on laugh escaping him. It was true. Though they worked in the same place, they didn't keep the same hours and only saw each other in passing if they were lucky. And Aurors in general kept long hours, so being home at this time certainly was something to celebrate. Their therapist had also told them to make an effort to spend more time together, to connect, to date each other as they had before they'd become engaged. It had been an interesting point she'd made. They certainly had entered a routine of sorts that kept them apart more than either of them had liked but it had become their normal. Breaking those habits would require effort on both their parts, but one thing he'd learned in therapy was that they were committed to each other. He loved Sara Moon more than he'd loved anyone else.

Mason kept a hold of Sara's hand as he walked over to the counter and put the bottle down. The man removed his wand from his pocket, summoning glasses and then opening the bottle. "This is nice" he said as the glasses floated over to them. It truly was. Arriving home in time to enjoy more than just the feeling of crashing into bed. Simply being in Sara's company. Knowing that they'd made it through one of the toughest experiences that could happen to a couple and pushed through to the other side with their relationship intact. Mason reached for his glass and then gave Sara's hand a squeeze, smiling down at her and then growing a little more solemn. "Let's toast. To remembering everything we learned in therapy, all of the lessons as we move forward and...to us."

 

[Sara Moon]

It wasn't a feeling Sara had ever imagined she would experience, the security she felt with Mason Talarico. Yes, there had been times over the last few months when she'd worried, that they wouldn't survive, that they couldn't, but now everything felt different. Those moments of fear seemed unwarranted. They had made a choice, both of them, a choice to be together even when it was hard, and in a way that was more beautiful that the first instance of falling in love with him. Now, they chose each other, they were a team. She'd joked before that she'd tricked Mason into loving her with her work-party confession of her feelings, but not now. Now, she felt sure. A little less sunshiney than before, a little more cautious in her optimism, but sure.

The feel of Mason's hand was an undeniable comfort, and she smiled as he summoned their glasses. "Thank you." As he spoke, she felt her own mood shift. This was important, that they take the time to be, "Yes to us." Raising her glass to toast, she sipped her drink, taking a moment to savour the taste, and then looking up at her fiance. "I love you. Very much. Even more now, more than I thought I could love anyone." It wasn't in Sara's nature to be so forthcoming, but their therapist had said they needed to communicate. In her individual sessions, she'd advised Sara to vocalise her emotions, positive and negative, to name them. Loving Mason was not a hard thing to name. "And I know we've worked hard, and are going to have to keep working hard, but I want you to know that. I will always choose you, and us, and I'm so thankful that we've survived all of this because I don't want a different life, or a different person, I want you and this."