Chapter Text
It’s that day of the year. Isobel knows the moment she opens her eyes and the calendar reminds her the exact day. Her breath hitches when she reads that notification.
Sara’s birthday.
Someone could call her a masochist for still having that notification after her sister being missing and considered dead for the last 20 years. Today she would turn 35. Isobel was 20 when she went missing and that’s how she decided to join the FBI following their mother’s steps. She pushes these thoughts away and gets up trying not to wake Jubal who’s sleeping next to her. it’s still too early for him to get up especially after spending most of the night at the hospital with Tyler. She thinks it was around 3 in the morning when she felt him getting to bed. She puts her running clothes and shoes on, puts her air pods with some music and goes for her morning run.
During her run she keeps playing the same songs. She has a playlist with Sara’s favorite songs and songs that reminds of her that she only listens that day. She runs a bit longer today feeling the need to clear her mind so she can move with her day. She stops to get coffee for both of them at the café in the corner of her house and then goes home almost 2 hours later to find Jubal still asleep. She smiles on how cute he looks when he sleeps. She leaves his coffee to the nightstand next to him and goes for a shower hopping the smell will wake him up.
Jubal wakes up from the smell of hot coffee and smiles thinking she got him coffee. He turns around but he doesn’t find Isobel there and ten he hears the shower running and connects the dots. He sips a bit of his coffee and decides to join her for a morning shower. Isobel doesn’t hear him coming nor realizes that she’s crying, being lost in her thoughts. Jubal hugs her from behind and goes for a kiss on her neck. Isobel jumps on the contact and turns around surprised.
“Sorry I scared you. I thought you heard me.”
She signs on relief that it’s him. He looks at her face and his smile fades when he finds the tear tracks.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” He asks cupping her face wiping her tears.
She shakes her head and hugs him snuggling in his bare chest letting the warm water wraps their bodies. He hugs her tight running his hands through her wet hair and bare back. He lets her take everything out without pushing her to talk or anything. After about 20 minutes she finally breaks the silence.
“My sister would have turned 35 today.”
That hits him like a brick. She never had told him that she even had a sister. It’s not in her file, that he happened to read a year ago during a case where she got abducted by a killer, either. He doesn’t say anything instead he turns off the shower, wraps her with her towel and does the same to himself. they get dressed and waits for her on the couch with her coffee. She sits next to him and he pulls her in a hug. He half lies on the couch and she leans on his chest. That way they can both admire the Christmas tree that they decorated the previous weekend with the kids.
“Sara went missing when I was 20 and she was 15. That’s when I decided to get to the FBI. I wanted to find her. the police never did. They said she had run away and after a while they presumed her dead.”
“Did they have any suspects?”
“Before she went missing, she had fought with our parents and the police believed she left because of that. After a few days they found a witness saying he saw someone pulling her into a car. They said they tried to find the car owner or where the car went but nothing. It was too late.”
“Did you try to find her?”
“Yeah. To be honest I never stopped. Remember that locked drawer in my desk here?”
“Yeah, you had told me you keep some personal stuff that you didn’t want anyone to mess with.”
“It’s her case file. I keep reading it trying to see if I missed something. The first few years my mom used to help me until she told me there was nothing we could do. I got furious with her. she said I was getting obsessed and that she was worried about me and I told her that she’s a coward for giving up on Sara and that I’ll never give up on my sister. The next day she had a heart attack while driving and died on spot.” She feels the tears coming back and Jubal hugs her tighter kissing the top of her head. He knows she’s blaming herself without her telling him.
“It’s not your fault Izzy.”
“And why I keep feeling like it is?”
“Because you’re hurting. How come you never told me about all this?”
“I never told anyone. I even took it out of my professional file. I don’t want anyone to pity me.”
“I could never pity you. you know that right?”
“I know honey. I guess I’m afraid that everyone who knows will think I’m crazy for keep this up after all these years.”
“You’re not crazy, you just need a closure and I promise you that’ll get one.” She lifts her body and turns to look at him.
“I’m so lucky to have you.” She says smiling.
“That you are.” He smiles back and pulls her for a kiss.
A few weeks after that talk and while Isobel is her normal self again Jubal can’t take their talk out of his mind. He starts research about Sara and what happened yet and finally het gets some answers. After finding all the evidence he decides to talk to Isobel.
“Babe, I’m home.” He calls walking into the house.
“Hey? Where have you been? I thought we would come home together but you weren’t in your office.” She asks after giving him a kiss when he enters the kitchen.
“I know but I had somewhere to go.”
“Can I know why?”
“Actually, I wanna talk to you about something.” He says and pulls her to the couch next room.
“Is there something wrong? Something with Ty?”
“No, no.”
“Then what?”
“I did something.” Now she gets really worried.
“What?”
“Remember when you told me about your sister?”
“Yes.”
“I did research about the case?”
“You did what?” She asks angry.
“I wanted to bring you closure and help you forgive yourself.”
“I never asked you to help me with this. I never should have told you about this.” She’s about to leave the room when he speaks again.
“Isobel. I found something.” She turns surprised.
“What did you find?"
“Your sister got abducted by a sex-trafficker. Two years after she got missing the police arrested them and rescued the girls but your sister was already aboard. I talked to Scott and he found that the Hungarian police rescued her but she was underaged and she was put on the foster care system. Scott talked with her parents and they said that she always wanted to find you guys again but she couldn’t remember much after all the trauma she’s been through. They helped her move on, she got to college and became a lawyer to help bring justice to victims like her. Five years ago, she got married and had a daughter who she named after you because your name it’s been what she always remembered.”
“She’s…alive?” She asks almost as a whisper.
“She is. Scott is willing to contact her and I already booked us ticket to Budapest if you wanna go and meet her.”
She just nods and then buries her face to his chest sobbing hard. She can’t believe he did all this for her and mostly that he found her sister. This Christmas Isobel was the happiest than ever because she got to spend it with Jubal and her sister and niece.
The only think she didn’t know was that the following Christmas her sister and niece would come visit them in New York so they could meet Jubal’s and Isobel’s baby girl.