A/N - It's going on almost a decade since I wrote something like this. I'm really happy with how this turned out. I don't know if it'll lead to something else, but it felt great to get this down on paper.

Of course, I don't own anything Uncharted related.

For as long as she could remember, she was slow with feeling emotions. When they finally decided to hit her, though, they hit her really hard.

Elena watched silently as Nate rummaged through his pockets for his apartment keys. It had been six long hours since they finally returned to the US after a tumultuous trip to Tibet, and it felt like an eternity during their drive home. The drive back to Nate's dusty apartment went in relative silence. She clung tightly to his hand as the taxi drove them home, her eyes passing over each billboard she saw while on the freeway. Part of her felt strange to see these advertisements; even more so to find them in English. She had to remind herself that she was back in familiar territory, but…. Somehow she still felt out of place.

A dull pain crept up from the small of her back, tracing its way up her injuries. She instinctively flexed her muscles in that area, only to increase the sharpness of the pain. Elena caught Nate looking at her out of the corner of her eye, only to realize that the grip on his hand tightened for just a moment. The taxi finally pulled up to his complex, and Elena felt a lump of emotions slowly build up within her.

"We're home." Nate whispered to her as he pulled out his wallet to pay the driver. She grabbed her things and made her way out of the car, suddenly feeling claustrophobic. Elena took a deep, methodical breath, finding some joy with the scent of the wind. The season had begun to turn, and she noticed many of the trees begin to turn a deep shade of red and brown. She watched as Nate got out of the car with the rest of their luggage and made his way up the walk, digging into his pocket for his keys. Elena swallowed, only to find the lump growing.

With his door finally open, Elena stood within the threshold, scanning the dark room before her. A scent of dust and age filled her nose, and she flinched slightly at Nate's gentle touch on her back. "Hey," he started, moving his hand down to grab her bag. "We're home now… it's gonna be okay, alright?" She looked back at him, meeting his blue eyes, finding only worry within them. Elena moved through the door step by step, taking a look around. She found herself feeling a sense of familiarity within these walls...but that lump continued to grow.

Her eyes turned towards a set of dusty curtains; it led to a balcony, one that she always enjoyed sitting on with Nate during the early mornings. It overlooked a small forest with the view of the city off in the distance. She moved toward them, taking the drapes in each hand and pushing them open. Sunlight poured into the living room, catching every particle of dust in its path. It was there that Elena stood, staring out into the autumn hues. It was then that she could no longer keep the lump in her throat down. She sighed heavily, placing her hand on the balcony door for support. She shut her eyes tight in an attempt to stop the impending tears, but the emotional lump that built up within her finally broke free as she let out a single sob.

Feeling her strength fade, Elena fell to her knees as a hand cupped her mouth in a futile attempt to stop this outburst. She understood why this was happening; Elena remembered the moments it had happened, when the grenade sent her flying back in a fiery explosion. She remembered the white hot pain that shot across her body, burning away at her clothes and eating at her skin. She remembered the feeling of broken bone, the sight of her own blood on her hands.

And she remembers as both Nate and Chloe pulled her up and dragged her body to safety. It is here that her memories fade. When her eyes had finally opened, she was in a bed back at Tenzin's village. She even remembers drifting and out of consciousness to the sight of Nate at her bedside, their hands joined together as he whispered words into her palm that she couldn't make out.

Elena finally opened her eyes once more as they stung with fresh tears. Her body shook with powerful sobs that seemed like they wouldn't end. She wanted to speak, wanted to explain to Nate why she toughed it out for him, but the words would not come. Her heart ached at the realization: she faced her death and watched as another took his own life, right before her eyes, and only moments before she offered to help the man.

Elena wasn't okay. She was horrified.

She flinched again as she felt two hands pull her up from her knees. Elena turned to Nate, their eyes meeting for the briefest second before he pulled her into a hug. He took care not to put extra pressure on her wounds, but he kept the embrace firm. Elena wrapped her arms around his waist, her face pressed against his chest as her constant stream of tears stained his shirt. She listened to his heartbeat between the sobs that wracked her body, until finally, she broke free from the embrace to look at him. Nate placed a cupped hand to her cheek and wiped away the excess tears with his thumb. She opened her mouth again in an attempt to speak, but the words caught in her throat once more. Her body ached as the emotions poured out of her, but she managed to muster up the strength to finally speak:

"Why?" Elena looked into Nate's eyes, half expecting an answer, but unsure herself if she would ever find it. "I-I offered to help… I offered to help him… Why did he do that…?" She begun to tremble in Nate's arms. He didn't say a word; he stood and listened to her words as she forced them out, his arms held around her. Nate nuzzled the top of her head, breathing deeply. All of the emotions, everything she held in after the incident that she was too stubborn to let go of then and there. Elena appreciated Nate's silence, and allowed herself to sink deeply into his chest. "Thank you," she choked out. "... I'm sorry."

Nate released her for a moment, moving his hands to her cheeks to meet his eyes with hers. Elena saw the tears forming at the corners of his eyes, and he quickly blinked them away before they rolled down his cheek. He could only shake his head at her comment, but his eyes said it all.

I will never let you go again.