Stumbling along towards the mountain, you pressed your hand against the wound on your head, attempting to stem the flow of blood. You knew head injuries bled a lot, but you were starting to get concerned. Even after your little swim in the river, your clothes were still covered in blood, and you were sure you resembled an extra from a zombie flick. Still, it was better than being dead, which was what you were sure you were going to be when you went over the cliff. Somehow you'd survived though, and after dragging yourself out of the water, you'd found that you were pretty close to the mountain, so things were better than you'd hoped. Though you'd still lost time, and exactly how much of it, you weren't sure. Sam could be dead for all you knew, which was what kept your legs moving, even when your body was yelling at you to just lay down and go to sleep for a while. If there was even the slightest chance that Sam was still alive, you needed to get in the mountain and save his ass.

So you pushed on, feeling that some of your anger had dissapated while you'd been unconscious, and now your were more focused on making sure Sam was ok and then getting some sleep, rather than finding Sam and punching him for being a liar. Though you suspected things may go differently when you actually saw him again.

Clearing the trees finally, you found yourself directly next to the mountain, just a pool in front of you that had a cave opening on the other side, which you'd bet was where you'd find the others. A quick look looked clear, so you decided to stay where you were for a moment, removing your hand from your head so you could inspect the damage. It felt like it had stopped bleeding, so you washed away the blood from your face and planned how you were going to deal with whatever waited inside the cave.

Strangely enough you were feeling refreshed after your NDE. You still would have liked to go to sleep, but you didn't feel weak anymore. If there was a load of Shoreline mercs inside, you were pretty confident you could take them on, even though you only had a pistol with 3 rounds in it. The rest had been washed away with the jeep. Still, you were pretty sure they weren't expecting for you to have walked away from your crash alive.

You were still debating on how best to approach your rescue mission when you suddenly heard an explosion from inside, and all of a sudden all plans vacated your head and you dove straight into the water, swimming as fast as you could inside the cave. Once you were inside, your breath caught in your throat as you took in the sight.

A magnificent ship was anchored near the centre of the huge cavern, preserved wonderfully. If it hadn't been on fire, you might have taken your time in taking in the sight, but you knew Sam was likely on board, and he could be in danger, so you started swimming again, heading directly for the flaming ship.

You climbed the side as fast as you could, jumping into a smokey room filled with treasure. You ignored it for the moment though, resisting the urge to call out for Sam, knowing that you only had a slight advantage in the fact that Rafe and Nadine probably thought you were dead, so you wanted to keep it that way until it benefited you the most.

The smoke was making it hard to breathe, let alone see, so you tripped on a body on the ground, terrified that it would be one of the Drakes or Elena. Luckily it was only a Shoreline guy, so you picked yourself back up and carried on going. You'd just stepped around a large trunk of treasure when you saw a figure step from the smoke, covering her mouth as she coughed. She saw you a split second later, instantly reaching for her gun, but you were already moving. Smacking the gun from her hand, you tackled her into a wooden pillar, unsurprised when the two of you went straight though it, knocking you both to the floor. Nadine recovered first, kicking you off her as she scrambled back to her feet, drawing another gun.

How many does she have?!

You quickly got back to your feet, hesitating when she pointed the gun at you.

"You're supposed to be dead."

You shrugged, eyes on the gun. "Well I hate to disappoint, but your men are gonna have to try a lot harder than that if they want to keep me down," you hissed, daring a step closer. Despite herself, Nadine seemed impressed, and you thought you saw a flicker of something like respect in her eyes.

"I should have known better than to send someone else to do my work for me. But I'll fix it now," she said, raising the gun so it was pointed in your face.

Trying to contain your fear, you frowned at her and held up your hands, trying your best to come across unamused. "Really, Nadine? You're going to shoot me while I'm unarmed? After all of our history, this is how you want to end it? Come on, you're better than this..."

She smiled at you, and you knew you'd won as she chuckled and held up the gun, pulling yet another from the back of her waistband and showing that to you too before tossing them both aside and settling into a defensive stance. You felt a feral smile stretch across your face as your odds were suddenly equal, and the fight you'd been waiting for was finally happening.

"Just a pre-warning," you smirked as you sank down too. "I've got places to be, so as much as I'd love to really drag this out and kick your ass, I'm gonna have to make this quick."

Nadine's only response was to step closer and aim a kick at your face. Dodging back, you batted her leg aside, quickly ducking in fast past her defences and jabbing her a few times in the ribs before jumping back out of her range. She was quick to follow you, swinging a punch at your head that you barely moved out of the way of, stumbling back as you tripped on some treasure, lunging to the side to avoid landing on your ass, coming up behind Nadine and kicking her hard in the back. She fell forward into the treasure that you'd avoided, landing hard on a heavy chest. Despite your urgency, you allowed her to regain her feet and come at you again, her arms swinging for you faster than before, really making you work to keep off the back foot.

Just because you knew you could beat her, didn't mean that you'd allow yourself to underestimate her at all. She was an incredible warrior, and could be deadly if underestimated. But so were you, and you'd walked away from fights with her before, and you were sure you'd do so again. If only you could finish it before the whole ship went down.

In the end you'd both given and taken brutal blows, but it was a lucky kick on your part, and weakened floorboards that finished it as they collapsed beneath Nadine as she stumbled away from you. She managed to catch herself on the way down, but even as you watched, her hand slipped and she fell further down. The flames beneath meant she couldn't drop down without dying, but her nearest handhold was too high for her to reach.

For a moment you hesitated at the side of the hole. Nadine had been a thorn in your side for a long time, and many times you'd debated killing her, and once or twice had actually came close. But now that she was in front of you, moments from death, you hesitated. If you were to walk away, she would undoubtedly die in the ship...

Growling slightly at yourself, you quickly lay down at the side of the hole and reached down to Nadine. "Grab my hand!" You yelled, coughing as a thick cloud of smoke hit you in the face. Nadine looked at you suspiciously, knowing you were her only option, but not trusting you. "Today, or I swear to god I will leave you here!" You hissed.

Nadine wasted no more time and jumped for your hand. You caught her and strained as you pulled her back up and over the edge, letting go when she was beside you, where the pair of you fell onto your backs and regained your breath.

"Why?" Nadine demanded, and you coughed, wiping the smoke from your eyes before answering.

"Because it's not a fitting end for your story. You deserve a better death... And even though I hate you, us girls have got to have each others backs every now and again... Plus, now you owe me." Nadine coughed and swore quietly as the two of you got to your feet. You picked up a gun and gestured the way out to her. "You can get out that way. Now where is Sam?"

You saw the reluctance to answer on her face, but before you could remind her that you'd just saved her ass, she nodded the way she had came. "Through a door down there. I locked both Drakes and Rafe in there together. Last I saw, Rich Boy and Nate were trying to kill each other. The other one might already be dead."

"Sam?" You asked, but she was already walking away, so you ran the way she had told you, only finding one door, and pulling it up quickly, a wave of heat hitting you in the face. "Sam?! Nate?!" You called out, your gun in your hand just in case Rafe should answer instead. Something else exploded behind you, sending you flying into the room, the door falling shut behind you. "Shit!" You cussed, looking up from where you'd landed and finding Nathan kneeling in front of you, looking like he'd seen a ghost. Looking down at his hands, you saw what he was doing and gasped, crawling closer.

Sam was trapped beneath a collapsed beam, and Nathan was trying to lift it, though it looked far too heavy to do so. The two of them were gaping at you, but you didn't understand why until you were closer and Nate snapped out of it, pulling you into a tight hug. "They said they killed you!" He laughed, squeezing you tightly, and you realised why he'd look at you like that. They'd both thought you were dead. Hugging Nate back, you chuckled.

"They tried their damnedest. Apparently I don't die easy either..."

Nate chuckled and released you, so you looked down at Sam, his face looking like he'd just seen an angel. "You're alive," he breathed, reaching for you and flinching through the pain. Ignoring your anger for the time being, you nodded.

"For now at least. This whole ship is going down any minute though. We need to get out of here."

Nate nodded and the three of you tried to lift the beam from Sam again, but it barely moved, and just seemed to cause him pain.

"Argh! It's no use!" He yelled, giving up and looking at the two of you. "All I ever wanted to do was find this treasure with you two..."

You knew what was coming and told him to shut up, while you and Nate kept trying to lift the beam off him, even as more of the ship started to fall into the room.

"...Hey, we did it ok? It's alright..."

You growled, knowing the beam was too heavy. "Shut up Sam!" You yelled, the desperation clear in your voice.

"There's got to be another way," Nate mumbled, even as Sam pushed him away.

"You've gotta go," he started, even as you continued to struggle alone with the beam. "You've got to go," he repeated softer to you, taking your hands from the beam and squeezing them in his own, forcing you to look at him.

You felt the tears start to fall from your eyes as you knew what he was asking.

"Please, Y/N. I need to know that you both made it out all right... I need you to live," he pleaded, tears in his own eyes now.

You couldn't do it though. There was no way in hell that you were going to get up and leave him to die. Not after everything... So you pulled your hands from his and leant down to kiss his forehead. "I will not leave you," you whispered, settling down beside him and running a hand down his face, wiping away some of the blood before looking up at Nathan who was looking lost. He didn't want to leave you or his brother, but he didn't see a way to get him out. When his eyes met yours, you made him a promise, hoping it would make him leave and go find Elena. "He wont be alone for even a second."

Nate shook his head, but you interrupted him before he could say anything.

"Nate, this whole place is going to blow up! You need to get out of here and find Elena!" You yelled, knowing how it would destroy her to lose him.

Nate however, seemed to be focusing on the first part of what you'd said. "That's it!" He yelled, looking at a canon and grabbing a piece of burning wood from the fire. "Get your head down!" He ordered.

You were quick to do as he said, bending over Sam's head to protect him too as the canon fired straight into the ground. Water rushed in quickly, and you saw the panic on Sam's face for a second before Nate was back, urging the pair of you to lift the beam again. Thanks to the water, the three of you managed to lift it enough that Sam could crawl out from under it, quickly getting to his feet and patting Nathan on the back.

"You are one crazy son of a bitch, you know that?" He laughed.

"Takes one to know one... Lets get out of here," Nate replied, diving into the water. Sam looked at you, taking your hand and squeezing it in thanks before gesturing to where Nate had swam down.

"After you."

You said nothing as you dove in, quickly swimming after Nate, Sam close behind you. As soon as the three of you surfaced, you saw that you weren't out of danger yet as the whole cavern seemed to be caving in.

"Follow me!" You yelled, quickly swimming for the way you'd came in.

The two of them kept up with you, and less than a minute later, the three of you were in the open again, swimming towards Elena who was standing where you'd dove into the water before, speaking into a radio. When she spotted the three of you, the ran to the waters edge and reached out to help you all.

She dragged you out first, hugging you quickly and tightly. "You made it! I'm so glad you're alive!"

You laughed and hugged her back. "Yeah, my death was over stated a little... But I'm ok... We all are," you promised as you both turned back to the water to haul the brothers out.

Elena then stood up and spoke into her radio again. "Hey Sully, I got them!"

He replied instantly. "Where are ya?"

Elena smirked and shot a flare into the sky. "Right here. And we've got a surprise for you..."

Sully sighed and you could almost see him shaking his head. "I think I'm done with surprises for now..."

Of course, he changed his tune when he landed and stepped out, seeing you standing with the others. His mouth fell open, but before he could speak, you did, stepping forward to give him a hug. "Yeah, yeah. You thought I was dead... Good to see you again, old man."

He chuckled and stepped aside to let you on the plane. "I should have known it would take more than an RPG to keep you down."

As soon as you were on the plane, you spotted your bag and went over to it to raid for M&M's before claiming the co pilot seat, leaving the other three in the back when Sully got back in and started it up.

As you took off, you looked out of the window, happy to see the back of the Island... For now at least. You thought you might have appreciated it a bit more if you hadn't almost died on multiple occasions, and if you hadn't been dragged out there under false pretences...

Now all you wanted was a shower and a comfortable bed and some food.

You got one of the three on landing, Nate making a snack run while Sully and Elena patched you and Sam up.

Sam hadn't said a word to you since on board Avery's ship, a fact which was steadily grating on your nerves until you were in a foul mood and refused to even look at him... After everything, the least you expected was an apology, but even that seemed too much for him.

After food, the others got cleaned up while you called a local hotel and booked a room for the next few days, emerging onto the docks just as the others were lined up, saying goodbye.

You went to join them, hugging Elena first, wishing her all the best and telling her that you'd call her soon, and you'd come visit some time. She told you that she would hold you to it before leaving to go meet her and Nate's cab.

Nate turned to you next, and you smiled before walking into his embrace, holding him tight. He didn't say anything for a moment, though you could tell that he was itching to, and you knew what it would be about. Still, you were thankful when he simply told you not to be a stranger.

You nodded and pulled away, gesturing to Elena. "You're a lucky guy, Nathan. But if you put that woman through anything like this again, I'm going to help her find you and then you'll be sorry," you grinned, meaning every word. Nate just laughed and nodded.

"I am lucky, and I won't. But even if I did, she'd probably forgive me... She knows that it's in my blood," he hinted, his eyes darting to his brother for a moment.

You knew what he was hinting at, but you weren't willing to forgive Sam yet. What he'd done was wrong, and his lack of apology made you livid.

Instead of taking the bait, you just stepped back and told Nate to get going, waving at him and Elena as they headed for their ride.

Of course that just left you, Sully, and Sam on the dock, the silence just beginning to stretch on when Sully clapped his hands and spoke to you. "So, can I offer you a lift anywhere?" He asked, but you just smiled and shook your head.

"Thanks Sully, but I'm good. I said when this was done I was gonna drop off the map for a while, so I don't even know where I'm heading yet. Thank you though, for everything," you said as you moved forward and hugged him, knowing you were gonna miss the old guy when you were gone. He just chuckled and hugged you back.

"Any time, kid. You know where to find me if you ever need me... We'll be here until tomorrow if you change your mind."

You smiled and nodded before taking a step back and picking up your duffle bag, slinging it over your shoulder and turning away. You spared a glance at Sam and saw that he was staring down at his feet, so said nothing and started walking down the dock, towards the town and your hotel room that was calling your name.

You could hear the two men talking quietly, but you didn't turn around, and nobody stopped you as you walked away.

The hotel room was nice. Probably nicer than you could afford considering that the treasure had gone down with the ship, and you were left with nothing but a few scars and an empty feeling in your chest. But after that ordeal, you wanted a bit of luxury, so you dumped your bag on your bed and peeled off your clothes before heading for the bathroom and running a bath, watching the bubbles start to rise and getting hypnotised by it.

Turning the taps off, you snapped back to reality and put some music on before stepping into the too hot water, hissing as you sat down. You needed the hot water or you were never going to get the feel of Libertalia off your skin, and all the memories that you wanted to forget. So you scrubbed at your skin, getting the blood, dirt, sweat, and sea water off you skin before attacking your face and hair, cleaning every inch of you until you felt like a new person. Stepping out of the bath after what felt like the whole night, you wrapped yourself up in the fluffy white towel and headed for the bed. You redressed your wounds before pulling on a pair of shorts and a tank top.

It was dark outside already, so you settled into the bed and flicked the TV on, watching an old movie, but not paying attention. Your thoughts were still clogged with Libertalia. You'd been right, and that treasure had eventually killed Rafe, but it had also torn you and the Drake brothers apart again after hastily stitching you back together in the first place. To top it all off, you had nothing to show for it.

Annoyed at the background noise now, you turned the TV off and threw an arm over your eyes, trying to think of anything other than that damn treasure.

You were debating going out when your hotel phone rang, so you groaned and answered it, wondering what someone needed at that time.

"Hello?"

There was a pause and then a thickly accented voice spoke through the phone, calling from the front desk. "Yes, hello Miss Y/N, I apologise for calling at such a late hour, but there is one Victor Sullivan here to see you. Shall I send him away?" He asked, but you just sighed and rolled over.

"No. Send him up. Thank you."

The line went dead, so you stood up and kicked your dirty clothes under the bed and shoved your duffel into the cupboard, just closing the door when you heard Sully knocking at your door, so you called out that you'd just be a second.

You got no reply, and when you opened the door, you saw why. Sully wasn't there. Standing in front of you was Sam Drake, a nervous smile on his lips as he looked at you while fiddling with something in his hands. You said nothing, closing your mouth and crossing your arms as you waited for an explanation.

Sam ran a hand through his hair and straightened. "I didn't think you'd answer if you knew it was me..."

Still you said nothing, so he muttered an apology and looked down again. The silence started to stretch on, so you sighed and looked down the hall, towards the elevator where he must have came from. "What are you doing here, Sam? I thought I told you what I'd do if you ever came knocking?"

Sam shrugged and looked up before looking around. "I know what you said, but things changed on that Island, and I thought..."

You felt your temper flare, and struggled to keep it in check. "You thought wrong. Things did change, but they went right back to normal when I found out that you're a liar!" You snarled, and Sam seemed to flinch back, but instead of retreating, he looked around again, and sighed.

"Do we have to do this here? I know you're mad, but can I come in?" He asked, and as much as you wanted to throw him out on his ass, you sighed and stepped aside to let him pass. When you closed the door, you leaned against it, watching Sam look over your room once and then smirk. "Nice place."

You narrowed your eyes and waited for him to start explaining. He perched on the edge of the bed and took a deep breath before he started speaking. "I know that I was wrong about lying to you all, and I feel terrible abo-"

You couldn't help it, you snorted and when Sam looked up at you, you just shrugged off the wall and laughed at him as you started pacing. "You feel bad? Sam, I took a bullet for you, and you didn't think that was a good point to come clean and apologise? No, you continued lying, and nearly got all of us killed! Your brother nearly lost his wife! Sully is too old to be dealing with the bullshit! We all nearly died for nothing! And you know what makes all of it worse? If you'd have told the truth, we'd have came anyway! It's what family does. But you lied, and everyone got hurt. Again. Do you even feel bad about it? Nobody died right? Nobody important at least? You waited 2 years to make your grand re-entrance, and when you came back, you lied to us! So explain to me why I am even listening to you right now? Why exactly do you deserve my forgiveness?"

Sam took each word, though you could tell they each hit him like a blow. He waited a second until you'd calmed down a little and then stood up, looking down at you.

"Because I'm an idiot, and I deserve your anger. I made a lot of mistakes, and if I could take them back, I would. But you know me, and you know I'm an idiot sometimes, but I'm your idiot. And I am so sorry for all the pain I've caused everyone. You above all else. You always had my back, even when I didn't have yours."

You felt your anger fading at his words, and you realised that all you'd wanted was for him to care enough to try and sort things out. Still, Sam didn't think he'd done enough as he dropped to his knees in front of you and begged.

"Please forgive me, Y/N. I'll do anything. I just don't want to lose you again... I... I love you... So damn much that it hurts to know that you're hurting... Especially because of me. I've been a coward for not telling you when we were 17, and every day since. But I love you, and I can't lose you again." He said with such finality and confidence that you felt your heart begin to glow, and a laugh began to bubble from your lips.

Sam looked a little cautious about the change and slowly got to his feet.

As soon as he was in front of you though, you pulled his shirt so you could kiss him, feeling his own relief and joy as you forgave him. He'd finally told you the words you'd wanted to hear for so long. He loved you too. You weren't just a chase, or flirtation. He actually loved you.

His strong arms lifted you up so you could wrap your legs around his waist and kiss him easier, your body pressed against his. You kissed him until you were breathless and your heart was racing, and when you pulled back, you couldn't stop smiling as you looked into Sam's eyes and kissed each corner of his mouth as you made him a promise.

"I love you too." Before kissing him hard on the mouth again. He laughed against your mouth and backed up towards the bed, falling back so you were on top of him. You kept kissing him as he ran his hands down your sides and to your bare legs, his fingers digging into them when you started to kiss his throat in the way you'd learned he liked.

He moaned your name and you smirked before sitting up and looking down at Sam's face. He had a bright smile on his face and reached up to touch your face, smiling even more when you leaned into his touch.

"You're so damn gorgeous," he breathed, his breath hitching on the end as you ran your hands under his tee, up to his chest and then back down again, catching the bottom of his shirt and tugging it in a way that showed Sam exactly what you wanted. Eagerly he sat up and you pulled his tee off before allowing him to do the same with yours.

You hadn't put a bra back on after your bath, so you were naked from the waist up, and Sam took in the sight greedily before leaning forward and kissing your collarbone, his hands tightening on you for a second as he rolled you over so you were on the bottom and he could look down at you.

"I'm going to learn every. Single. Inch. Of you," he promised between kisses that travelled from your throat to your belly button.

You watched him move, trying not to squirm beneath him as your body urged you for more!

Luckily Sam seemed to be feeling the same as he moved to your shorts and pulled them down, leaving you naked beneath him.

Normally you might have been shy with someone new, but under Sam you felt the opposite, and you just smiled at him and watched as he stood up and stepped out of his boots and jeans before joining you on the bed again, both of you naked now. Sam hovered above you, staring deep into your eyes as he seemed to be looking for his final permission, which you gave with a small nod and reached for him again.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next morning you woke up and it was still dark out, which you could see through the window. You were laying on your side, and for a moment you didn't want to turn around, afraid that when you did, you would be alone, Sam having snuck out in the night.

You were just about to brave it when the bed suddenly shifted behind you and then Sam was pulling you against his chest, his breathing heavy as he slowly woke up. "Are you awake?" He mumbled and you smiled and nodded, feeling him tighten his grip on you for a second before kissing the back of your shoulder, right over your healing bullet wound. "Do you want me to leave?" He asked, a little more awake now, but you took his hand on your stomach and shook your head.

"Never again, Sammy."

He stayed quiet for long enough that you thought he'd gone back to sleep, but then he exhaled shakily and spoke again. "I love you."

You smiled and repeated it back to him before the pair of you drifted off again.

When you next woke up, you turned over, only to discover that Sam wasn't beside you. You could hear the shower going though, so you slowly got out of bed and padded over to the slightly open bathroom door, pushing it open and seeing Sam standing in the shower, his eyes closed as he washed his hair. You watched him for a few seconds before walking forward and getting in with him, wrapping your arms around him from behind.

He tilted his head back and put his hands over yours, squeezing your fingers gently.

"I want to come with you and Sully. I don't want to go anywhere without you again..." You spoke into his back, and he tensed for a second before turning around and looking down into your face, water dripping off his hair.

"I don't know what I did to be so damn lucky as to get you, but I'm never letting you go again," he promised as he leaned down to kiss you fiercely.

You did not have a problem with that.