"I take it your arm is feeling much better today?" Sully asked beside you, his hands gripping the dashboard and door so tight his knuckles were white. You just laughed and nodded, speeding around another bend on two wheels, the others giving alarmed shouts, but they were over reacting. You'd never even been in a crash, so you weren't that bad at driving. You knew they'd only let you drive because you'd been acting frail, and they probably thought you were going to take it easy- but you felt fine and had played them.

"I am feeling great, Sully! Great weather, great car, ok company..." You smirked at the three men, none of whom found you funny as they were too busy looking traumatised by your driving, so you just ignored them and kept going, cackling to yourself as you took them over an old Bridge, hearing Sam muttering a prayer behind you. Normally you would have been content to wind them up a little more, but when you stopped to use to winch to get up a muddy Hill, you stopped to explore the ruins with the two brothers, using it as an excuse to test out your shoulder with climbing. It was a bit stiff, but not too sore to use, you noticed happily, jumping back down and heading back for the Jeep. When you got back, you crossed your arms and glared. "Really?" You demanded, seeing that Nate was in the front seat, apparently taking over driving.

He shrugged at you with a sheepish grin on his face, so you rolled your eyes and got in the back beside Sam, rolling your eyes as he looked a lot calmer with the new seating arrangement. Ignoring them all for betraying you, you put your legs up on Sam's and lay back, deciding one benefit to not driving was that you could work on your tan.

"Comfy, Y/N?" Sam teased, poking your leg, but you just smirked and moved some more, just closing your eyes to the sound of your friends talking when there was a huge bang, and you sat bolt upright, almost knocking heads with Sam, who was looking ahead at the ruins and smoke rising from them. When you saw the logo stamped on one of the boxes, you rolled your eyes and sat back.

"What is it with these goddamn idiots and blowing shit up?" You sighed, watching carefully, seeing where you needed to go and knowing you were never gonna get there unnoticed in the Jeep.  And then you'd have trouble the rest of the way as they could just radio ahead and Nadines men would follow and probably kill you all.

"We have to do this quietly," you decided, checking how many rounds you had in your handgun before climbing out of the car and nodding towards the tower. "There's at least one sniper, so keep your eyes on. I'll take him out. You cover me on the ground... We need to move the car though."

The others nodded, so Nate took the brakes off and the four of you started pushing, hiding it behind some huge rocks. From then on you were silent, staying low in the tall grass and following your plan.

Before you made it to the tower, you spotted another sniper lower down and swore silently. Nudging Sully, you nodded towards him and he nodded. "You got it, kid."

That left you and the two Drakes to clear the main tower and get to the bridge. You led the way, ignoring the stiffness in your shoulder as you made your way up the side of the tower, silent as to not be detected by the sniper above.

When you were at the very top, you were slightly above the sniper, and he hadn't spotted you yet, so you waited until he started pacing before jumping down on top of him, your arms around his throat before he could call out.

Once he was down, you took his sniper and counted the others. If you were fast you'd take them down no problem, which is exactly what you all did. When it was clear to go, Nate started driving again, about half way over the bridge when it gave way, and the four of you were stuck on the ground.

"Dammit!" Nate cursed, but before anyone could start, he jumped out and grabbed the winch, pulling the rest of the bridge support beams down so he made a ramp. Gloating about the winch, he started driving again, but you ignored him and rolled your eyes, biting your tongue about mentioning that your driving hadn't broken the bridge.

As Nate started speaking again, you leaned back in the seat and carefully started massaging your sore shoulder, not going unnoticed by Sam, who gave you a concerned look.

"Everything alright?"

You nodded, rolling your shoulder to loosen it up a little. "It's just a bit stiff. It'll be fine soon. Assuming I avoid bullets that is," you tried, and Sam chuckled, but you could tell it was more for your sake. He blamed himself, no matter how many times you told him that it wasn't his fault, and had it be Nate or Sully, you'd have jumped in the way too, and he'd have done the same. But he was quite content to blame himself, so you didn't bother saying again.

More Shoreline packs got between you all and the treasure, but you took them down until eventually, you were almost at the biggest tower, just another mud slide and old Bridge between you and it. This time you stayed in the car while Nathan used the winch, and when he got back, you sighed, waiting to be hit in the face with wet mud again.

You were about half way up the slide when the boulder started slipping, and you had just enough time to yell before the Jeep was sliding off the edge of the cliff and your heart jumped into your mouth.

Before you could scream, the line went taut and you almost flew out of your seat. Holding on, you yelled for Nate to drive, and slowly the Jeep started crawling up the cliff. Naturally more boulders fell down, and Nate was knocked from his seat, falling out of the Jeep. You and Sam lunged for him at the same time, catching a hand each. You wanted to scream again as your shoulder complained, but you shoved the pain aside and pulled Nate back up, and when he was back beside Sully, you held onto the bar beside Sam and tried not to think about the drop that awaited you if the line snapped. But then you were over the edge, and Nate was chuckling nervously.

"I had it under control," he laughed, but you just glared at him.

"Next time any of you complain about my driving, I will shoot you!"

Nate nodded and looked away.  "Fair enough."

After another broken bridge, the four of you were finally at the tower, and once inside, you and Sully stood together and watched the Drakes try to figure up the next part of the puzzle, interrupted when more Mercs blew the roof off.

"For fuck sake! I'm getting real tired of these assholes!" You yelled as you took cover.

The four of you split up and tried to surround the mercs, but there was so many of them that it proved to be difficult. Eventually though, you'd all evened the odds and there was only four guys left.

Popping out of cover, you were caught off guard by a booted foot headed straight for your face. You managed to turn away, but was still clipped in the side of your head, stunning you a little as the guy with the shotgun stood over you.

Faster than he could raise his gun, you raised yours and shot him three times in the neck. He stumbled and fell forwards, almost crushing you, but you rolled away.

There was one more shot and then the others were calling to you, checking if you were ok.

"I'm fine!" You called from above them, still panting on your back, your hand pressed to your bloody head wound. It wasn't bad, but head wounds bled a lot, so it was messy. Luckily you'd stashed a bandana in your shorts pocket that morning, so you tied it around your head to stop the blood flow and keep your hair out of your eyes.

When you joined the other three, Sam and Nate were arguing about splitting up to search two towers.

"Shoreline will be swarming these towers by now! You can't go alone..." Nate was saying, but Sam shook his head.

"Exactly! That's why we need to split up and try to find the treasure first!"

Sully agreed with Sam, and Nate looked conflicted, but you just crossed your arms. "Who said he's going alone? I'll have his back," you explained, stepping closer to Sam, who started to object, but you whirled on him next. "Look, if you don't stop with this bullshit about me getting shot because of you, I swear I will shoot you in the leg and make us even..."

Sam narrowed his eyes but called your bluff. "You'll be safer with Sully and Nate. If you get hurt again because of-SHIT Y/N!" Sam yelled the last part as he jumped back, your shot having narrowly missed his foot- a warning shot to show you were serious.

He opened his mouth to say something else, so you lifted the gun to aim at his thigh, raising your eyebrows at him, daring him to continue. Growling, he held up his hands in surrender.

"Fine," he cut out. "But I'm driving."

Smiling, you put your gun away and nodded. "Deal."

Nate and Sully watched in amusement, saying nothing until you and Sam had climbed into a Jeep. "You two kids be careful out there, and call if you run into any problems," Sully instructed, so you nodded and waved as Sam started driving.

"No romantic detours either!" Nathan shouted after you, so you flipped him the bird and turned back to face forward.

With just you and Sam in the Jeep, it was quiet, and you could tell that Sam was pissed at you, but you ignored him and rifled through the glove compartment to find something to wipe your face with.

There was a bottle of water and a shirt in the back seat, so you used that, getting the dried blood and mud off of you.

When you didn't feel so disgusting, you watched Sam drive. He was less erratic than you and Nate, so it was quite relaxing on your way back into King's bay. After 10 minutes of silence, you were bored so poked Sam's arm. "Are you gonna stay pissed at me all day, or can I expect some more terrible jokes?"

Sam just grunted, so you rolled your eyes again and put your feet up on the dash, playing a game on your phone to pass the time. You were just getting into it when Sam announced you were nearly there. Barely acknowledging him, you continued with your game, refusing to get out of the car until you'd finished your level, so Sam went in ahead of you, muttering about stubborn women.

You barely managed to hide your smirk, putting your phone away and climbing out. Instead of joining Sam inside, you headed into  little shop back down the road a little and bought some roasted snacks to share. Sam was kneeling on the floor when you joined him. Without a word, you offered him some food, which he took without complaint, standing up to look around the tower.

"Doesn't look like there's anything here, but there might be something hidden at the top?"

You shrugged and agreed, looking up to see how high it was. It wasn't so bad, but your shoulder was aching already-just at the thought of it. Sam appeared to be reading your mind as he gestured to another room off the side. "I haven't had around chance to search in there yet, if you wanna take that?" He offered, and you smiled and nodded, going over to investigate.

The room was old and dusty, filled with discarded soda cans and decorated with graffiti. Kids are the same everywhere, you thought to yourself as you kicked an empty can and went further into the room. You could hear Sam on his phone as he climbed, probably telling them that you were in the wrong tower, so you sat down and ate more of your snacks. You heard something outside a couple of minutes later and stood up, going to investigate. Before you'd even made it to the door,you were grabbed from behind, a hand over your mouth and around your middle,yanking you backwards. You kicked back, hand going for your gun when you heard Sam swear.

"Jesus Y/N, it's me! Shoreline are outside, we need to hide!" He urged, releasing you. Grabbing his hand, you led him back into the vandalised room, pulling him into a cupboard drilled into the wall.

Once again, you'd forgotten how big he was, so the two of you ended up chest to chest, breathing quietly in the darkness.

"You couldn't have found a bigger hiding place?!" Sam hissed, his mouth right beside your ear, tickling it with his breath.

Poking him in the stomach, you shushed him so you could listen to what was being said outside. There was a lot of voices, most of them in the other room, but you jumped a little when you heard one right outside of the cupboard. "Nothing in here either. Looks like another dead end..."

His words faded as he left the room, but you and Sam still couldn't come out of the cupboard, knowing you'd be shot before you made it to the doors.

"What are we gonna do?" You asked quietly, still worried about being heard. Sam just shrugged, so you rolled your eyes and shifted a little, trying to get more comfortable, but his hands clamped down on your hips, holding you still.

"Can you not do that right now?" Sam hissed, a hint of something in his voice, and for a second you were confused, but then it hit you that you two were very close, and every time you moved, you were grinding against him. You felt your cheeks heat up, even as your head fell forward against his shoulder and you started chuckling silently. "So glad this amuses you!" He snapped quietly as you tried to swallow your laughter.

"I'm sorry!" You laughed again, holding Sam's shirt to muffle your giggles. "I know I'm hot, but what are you, twelve? Can't you control it?"

He snarled again, this time a warning. "Don't flatter yourself, Sweetheart. It's strictly a physical reaction. I'd sooner frick frack with Sullivan!"

You knew he was trying to wind you up, but you lost it when he said "frick frack". Sam knew he was fighting a losing battle, but you heard the smile edge back into his voice as he spoke. "Oh for the love of-"

He cut both of you off by kissing you, and for a moment you were so shocked that you did stop laughing, but then you jerked back as far as the tiny cupboard would allow, pushing against Sam's chest so he knew to back off. He did so, and even in the pitch black cupboard you could feel the intensity of his gaze as he waited for an explanation of some sort.

"Don't do that. Please, just don't," you breathed, your blood running ice cold as you felt Sam tense up.

You'd let the lines blur over the past few days, letting Sam sleep in your bed and hold you like he once would have- as if things between you had never changed. But they had, and letting your guard down... That was something you shouldn't have done. Sam was off limits. You'd told yourself that years ago, before Panama. You could never let him in again, not like before. He'd broken you twice, and you didn't think you'd come back from a third. So as much as you wanted to let him kiss you, you knew he didn't want it the same way, all you'd ever be to him was a distraction, and you were the one who'd end up hurt. So you kept your hand on his chest, knowing the rejection probably stung a little, but he'd get over it.

It had gone quiet outside, so you wriggled past Sam and edged the door open slowly, peeking outside. As far as you could see into the next room, there was five Shoreliners, all facing the other direction as they investigated a sigil on the wall. Grabbing Sam's hand, you pulled him out with you and then let go, both of you creeping out as quietly as you could, hoping no one would turn around.

You were pleasantly surprised when you made it out with no problems, only then you walked straight into another, who managed to yell before Sam knocked him out.

"Shit, they've seen us!" Sam yelled, dragging you towards a motorbike. He jumped on first, and you got on behind him, barely holding on before he sped off, heading for the road. Immediately it was clear that the two of you were in for a world of shit. A lot of Shoreline trucks were on your tail, and they weren't looking to take prisoners.

"Sam, get us out of here!" You yelled, blindly firing behind you at other bikes and cars as Sam tried to follow your order.

You were doing pretty well, but then all of a sudden you seemed to be surrounded by bikes, their guns all aimed on you. Tightening your arm around Sam, you kept firing back, knowing you were gonna die any second.

But then there was a car crashing through the bikes, evening the odds as the driver was none other than Nathan Drake.

You laughed, taking the rest of the bikes down, ignoring the boys bickering until Sam suddenly swore and slammed on the brakes. You heard a crash and looked up in time to see Nate's car get flipped.

Both of you screamed Nate's name, but got no reply until you saw him open the door and take down two men. Seeing that as your cue, you jumped off the bike, though Sam protested. "Where are you going?!"

You shook your head. "There's only room for two! Get Nate and get out of here! I'll call Sully and we'll meet you back at the room!" You yelled as you jogged back to get off the street. Sam looked pained, but then turned and went, just as another truck crashed around the corner, their turret already firing at the two men. You held your breath as you watched them speed off, still alive until they were out of your sight, so you hid in the alley beside the road and called Sully to come pick you up.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sam and Nate made it back to the hotel after you and Sully, so you had enough time to start worrying before you heard their bike, and breathed in relief.

When they pulled into the lot, you jumped off the hood of the Jeep and stood beside Sully, waiting for them to approach. When Sam looked at you, your face remained blank, a skill you'd perfected after doing it for so long. You had barely done it since he'd been back, but that's where you had gone wrong, and you weren't going to make that mistake again. As if he knew what you were thinking, Sam's own face went blank, but his eyes gave away his hurt and perhaps even anger.

He walked away without saying a word and you followed him around the corner, thinking you were going to the room, but you almost walked into Sam as he had stopped and was waiting for you.

Seeing the look on his face had your back up instantly, so instead of waiting to hear what he was going to say, you blurted your own question out. "What's your problem?"

He was so stunned that he actually laughed. "My problem? You wanna know what my problem is? What the hell is your problem?"

You crossed your arms and kept your face blank as you answered him. "I haven't got a problem. It's you with a damn chip on your shoulder. Is it because I won't let you play save the damsel with me? Because I can look after myself and you damn well know it! Or at least you did! Back before this whole mess! What the hell happened that suddenly makes you think you have any right at all to tell me what to do?"

Suddenly Sam was yelling at you, drawing himself up to his full height as he finally lost his temper, something you said having hit a nerve. "What happened to me? What the hell happened to you, Y/N? You used to be so full of life! You had something to prove to the world and not for one second did you ever fear something standing in your way. You were a force to be reckoned with, but now... Now you're just an empty shell, not even a shadow of who you used to be. You're dead inside, and it makes me sick to see it! Worst of all though, you only seem to switch to that person around me!" He moved so he was directly in front of you, his hands on your shoulders as he shook you. "You act one way and then go cold if I respond. Make up your damn mind and start acting like yourself again, or go home! Because I'm done avoiding the eggshells around you and your issues. Grow up!"

He let you go and stepped back, seemingly deflating as his anger faded. You stared at him for a few seconds more before nodding.

"Fine."

His eyes blazed as he repeated your word. "Fine?"

You nodded. "Fine. I'm gone. Don't look for me, don't talk about me, and if the day ever comes when you darken my doorway, I will shoot you," you promised, your voice shaking with barely controlled anger.

Sam's eyes widened, and he looked like he was going to say something, but you shoved past him and walked on, clenching your hands into fists at your sides.

Nate and Sully watched you as you walked by them, having heard everything, but you spared them no second glance and just kept walking. You meant what you said. It was time to get on with your life.