Facing imminent death really makes you realize how stupid a person can make you feel… I mean, sure, there's a time when someone steals your clothes when you're in the shower (typical prank to pull on the nerds. I really appreciated that, guys.), and there's the time when you lose your glasses due to barfing up the entire contents of your stomach over the side of the ship's rail. What I really feel dimwitted about, though, is that I never had the gall to tell Lara that I was irrevocably in love with her.

Now look where I am. I'm under a pipe that is crushing my leg, the enemies closing in. All I wanted to do was to show the team that I'm not some useless nerd. I was hoping that maybe I could impress Lara as well… Is that so much to ask?

CRASH!

"Alex?!"

No, it couldn't be….

"Alex, are you in here?!"

It has to be. It's her voice.

"Lara! I'm down here!" I yelled as loud as I could. As her footsteps drew closer, I let out a few curses.

"Alex?!"

God, what is she doing here?!

"Lara!"

She shouldn't be here. She definitely should not be here….

"What's going on? Are you alright?"

She doesn't know? The solarii have taken over the whole ship! They'll be here at any minute….

"I'm pinned down in here. It doesn't look good." My voice sounded weak, though I tried not to show it.

I heard her splash around, her footsteps getting closer and closer…

"No! The door's blocked… Just hold on! I'm going to get you out of there." Lara's voice was determined, which relaxed me the slightest bit.

"Okay… Just hurry!" I pleaded.

No need to stay here any longer than needed.

As the minutes passed, I heard various clangs and shuffling. The silence between Lara and I was beginning to be uncomfortable.

"Lara, I'm sorry for dragging you into this mess. I don't know what I was thinking, coming out here… I thought I could be the star in my own action movie." I chuckled. "I guess it doesn't always work out like that…" My voice faltered as the awareness of my surroundings became less and less vivid. My chances of survival were getting low now, I knew that much. "Oh god… Lara, I'm in bad shape. "

Lara ignored my statement and continued on with whatever she was doing. At last, after what seemed like forever, the doorway was cleared.

"Great! Got it." Lara exclaimed.

"Great… Good… Job… So sleepy…" I managed to get out before nearly falling unconscious.

Keep it together, Alex…

"Alex? Alex! Oh god…. I've got to get in there. Alex, I'll have you out of there soon!"

I could barely make out her words… dots were dancing across my vision. My mind was fuzzy. And pain. So much pain… Is this what dying feels like?

Lara ran to my side. "Oh, Alex… you got the tools!"

"Finally I impress you!" I teased.

"Let's get you out of here."

Sharp pains suddenly appeared in my leg, and my mouth involuntarily let out a scream.

"Sorry, sorry…"

Despite my discomfort, I tried to lighten the situation up a bit. "Well. Looks like my dance career is over."

CLANG! A bullet whizzed past my head and into a box just inches from my head. Lara instinctively ducked down at the sound of it. The second floor of the room revealed a horde of solarii, all armed and ready. I retrieved my handgun from the floor beside me, and shot in the direction of the group. It hit a fuel barrel, which caused the area and everyone in it to be set aflame.

"What are you doing?! You'll kill us!" Lara cried out.

The truth started to sink in. "I'm not gonna make it out of here, Lara. Take the tools." I tried to sound as confident as I possibly could.

"Not without you."

Lara's assertion surprised me. I glanced up into her eyes, realizing it was probably the last time I would ever see them. They bore the look of unbelievable determinism. As if the pipe had fallen on my heart instead of my leg, I felt pain that I had never felt before. My heart is breaking.

"How often does a guy like me get to be a hero?" The statement hit Lara like a ton of bricks. When does the nerd ever get to be the hero?

The previous group's backup had arrived, and were firing in our direction.

"The others are counting on us." I explained.

On you….

"Go!"

Still, Lara refused.

"Now!" I demanded, silently begging her to save herself.

Lara grabbed the tools from my hand and set them down.

"What are you doing? Get out of here!" my imploration had no effect.

"No." she whispered, then leaned in. Unexpectedly, she gently kissed my cheek, which left me in a further daze.

Before I had even realized it, she had pushed the pipe off my leg and was dragging me out the door, dodging bullets the whole time. Lara propped me up against the hall, swiftly threw a torch in the direction of the fuel barrels, and slammed the door shut. The sound of the explosion was extraordinary, and deafening. Even though we were behind a six inch door, the heat was still blistering.

"Come on!" Lara ordered.

I stood up with her help and limped as fast as I could down the hall, which was now collapsing. We reached the edge of the boat. What now? As if Lara was answering my mental question, she grabbed a hold of me and jumped onto the rope, then used a device to quickly send us to the other half of the Endurance.

I dropped to the floor, breathing heavy.

"Are you okay?" Lara asked, genuinely concerned.

"As long as a giant squid doesn't suddenly appear out of nowhere, I think I'll be fine." My joke awarded me with her smile.

"Come on, let's go get you patched up." Lara helped me back to the camp, where the group was eagerly awaiting.