Chapter 2: So Beautiful, She Was.

Author's Note:

This writing has quite a lot of swearing and dark/mature themes. You have been warned.

(It will eventually tie in to meeting some of the canon characters as I'm sure Joel, Tess and maybe Ellie had other encounters prior to the events of the game and Joel mentioned being on 'both sides' in the factions war).

Just to clarify, Joseph has PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) which is why he exhibits unusual levels of anger and aggressiveness. People like this often have thoughts such as; 'I can't trust anyone', 'if I go out of control, it would be horrible or could not be tolerated', 'others are out to get me' or 'they won't protect me'.


For the most part they were able to cover for her so that she wouldn't be out and about in front of anyone who might suspect anything. But after about the third month, things were becoming more difficult to hide, so she wore a larger shirt to conceal the bump. The real misfortune came when they sent the squad out to scavenge a nearby military lockbox that apparently held more bacon rations than they would know what to do with. But as with every lockbox, there were reports of Fireflies close by so they had to stick together and keep an eye out as they wondered around the Dam. The water generator was very loud, the roar of the water as it cascaded almost deafening, but it was not their first time having to pass through here so it was just a matter of waiting out the fog.

Lazy wisps of smoke rolled around and across everything, its fingers caressing tanned skin and crawling through his dark hair to moisten it like some ghastly lover long forgotten. It was cold, but not freezing, and he made a mental note to find a better jacket instead of his sleeveless denim one, although this was idle drawling in an attempt to ignore his irritating companions. There was five of them. Felicia, Manuel, Kumi, Dominique and himself. Naturally, being the one not in a relationship, he was put on watch whilst they enjoyed themselves doing things he didn't want to think about- at least Kumi and Dominique had just kept to cuddling. Surprisingly enough though, he was so used to it that it didn't even draw a reaction from him. Oh well... It wasn't like he could just leave, they had to wait the fog out so they could try and locate the box even though it was getting colder by the minute. Shivering, he drew his knees up to his chest, his fingers trembling slightly as he took to tightening the string of his bow and sanding out the arrow rest. Being so carried away in his thoughts, he barely noticed Dominique approach him until she touched his shoulder.

"Hey... Want me to take watch? You look like you're freezing out here" She offered gently.

"You shouldn't be out here, you'll catch a cold" He declined, shifting over slightly so she could sit beside him.

"I just wanted to check on you. Here" The woman passed him a thermos cup of some hot drink she seemed to always carry. Apparently, it was a mixture of dried berry herbs and hot water she had found in an old book.

"Thanks...God, it's so fucking cold" He muttered quietly, holding it in his hands to try and warm his fingers slightly, but then feared that he might make the drink go cold and resorted to taking small sips instead.

"You better not use that kind of language around your nephew" Dominique warned him jokingly.

Joe almost dropped the cup on himself. "Nephew?" He repeated, looking at her startled.

She was still as lovely as ever with her caramel skin, long braided hair and bright hazel eyes. They had something in the distant past, a close friendship that had bordered on love but neither had really wanted to draw it on much further, but now they were just constantly teasing each other about anything and everything.

"Well," She began, holding onto his arm and leaning her head on his shoulder. "Kumi always speaks fondly of you, and I see you as a brother so why not? You can be the baby's uncle" She explained.

Joe laughed. "If I was then I would be the uncle everybody wishes would forget the day of the get together" He pointed out but she nudged him in the shoulder and just laughed.

"Don't say that, silly" Dominique scolded light heartedly. "But you need to get yourself a girl" She added and it was his turn to nudge her.

"For what purpose?" He asked solemnly.

"So she can bring a smile to your face, so you can spend cold nights together, and so you can release all that pent up frustration" She emphasised, squeezing the muscle of his neck.

"Ouch- what the hell was that for?" He winced, batting her hand away.

"See what I mean? You're really tense" She pointed out.

"That's a stupid reason" He argued.

"Maybe she'll be able to do something about that foul temper of yours while she's at it" Dominique giggled, laughing as he gave her a look of complete bemusement. The expression however, quickly changed to alert as he held up a hand, signalling for her to go alert the others. "What is it?" She asked in a hushed whisper.

"Uniforms, take cover" He urged, slowly backing up and vaulting over the crate to hide.

Dominique followed, rushing to make the others aware. Just in time, a military squadron came into sight, professional weapons and armour gleaming temptingly in the mist. They had FEDRA printed boldly on their uniforms, the white letters brandished insultingly as though they were proud of their allegiance.

"Fucking military" Joe spat, reaching for an arrow.

"We can't take them on. We're only five people, they're twelve" Kumi suddenly interjected.

"It's either this or we lead them back to the settlement" Joe countered.

"Joseph's right, Kumi" Manuel sidled in beside them, checking his revolver.

"Well we can lead them away, we've done it before" Felicia suggested from her hiding spot behind the nearby oil barrels, clutching her assault rifle close. Her eyes were wide with fright, she had never confronted the military, only heard of the horrors they did to the women and men they captured. Sure, the Hunters weren't angels but there were some margins they wouldn't cross, like withholding supplies and performing public checks and executions- even if some of the previous Hunter leaders had attempted to implement this tactic to cause fear.

"Felicia, you should go on back to the compound with Dominique" Kumi tried to comfort her, but Manuel frowned at him.

"We're going to need all the help we can get" He pointed out.

"But Dom needs help" The other dismissed.

"She never needed it before" He countered.

"She's almost three months along, and besides, this is fucking FEDRA" Kumi replied defensively.

Manuel glared at him, but Joe placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him from turning it into a full-blown argument.

"I know what you're saying, man, but she ain't no good to us if she's frozen solid. Tell them to send back up when you get there" Joe called over his shoulder. Felicia nodded numbly before hurrying off with Dominique. "Yeah... We're not seeing that back up any time soon, so let's stall" Joe suggested once the two were out of sigh, slinking off into the fog and taking cover where Felicia had just recently vacated.

"He's right" Manuel agreed, raising a brow at Kumi expectantly- he needed to apologise.

Kumi just huffed and turned his gaze to the nearest troop. They were still a good distance off but they were getting closer now and they could be heard talking loudly.

"Ah shit, man... Can't see nothing in this fog" One complained.

"Yeah well, better here than Pittsburgh. Heard those damn scavs took over the Quarantine Zone" The second told him.

"Really? Ain't seen one of them in weeks" A third joined in.

"Apparently, they got hold of a Humvee" He shrugged.

"Yeah man, that's a load of bull. How'd they get it?" The first waved him away dismissively.

"Probably asked nicely" The third scoffed.

"Yeah, yeah, fuck you too" He flipped them off, turning to walk away.

Kumi watched as Joe scaled around the box, crouch walking behind the soldier slowly before effectively locking his arm around his neck in a chokehold. The soldier gasped in shock, the cry of surprise caught in his throat as he flailed about, eyes wide in their sockets as he struggled to comprehend what was going on before his head was twisted violently and his neck snapped. Joe silently lowered him to the floor, signalling Kumi to attend to the other one as he shuffled along behind the next victim.

"Yo, Matt-" The first began, his body hitting the floor before he could finish the sentence. "What- hey! Straggler!" The soldier spotted Kumi before he could shift back into hiding, raising the alarm which blared loudly.

"Fuck!" Joseph cursed, pulling the misfortunate bastard back and violently stabbing him in the neck. Blood gushed out of the open wound like a fountain, painting his arms and sleeves in red before he could dispose of the body. "Let's spread out, see if you can find some supplies" He instructed, withdrawing and dashing across the generator platform. There was bound to be some stuff lying around that they could make use of.

Manuel was quick to follow, being the more resourceful one, he looked around until he found an old tool box near one of the large powerhouses. Kicking it over, he searched through nuts and bolts and other useless tools until he found a pair of rusty scissors, a half-used bag of some fine dusty grey powder and a dirty rag.

"Come on, Manuel, we need to go" Kumi urged.

"Okay, okay" He muttered, dumping the stuff into his backpack before sprinting after them.

"Did you find anything?" Joseph asked him once they were safely tucked away behind some unused replacement pipes that had been left haphazardly at the other side of the plant's main floor.

"I got some scissors, a rag... Dunno what the hell this is though?" He tossed him the half-used bag.

Joseph opened it, taking a sniff before wrinkling his nose. "Stinks like gun powder. Kumi?" The bag was handed over to the larger man.

"Shit is definitely explosive. Might be worth making a nail bomb" He suggested, passing it back to Manuel.

"Yeah, going to need some sugar for that, I ain't got any- woah shit!" He cursed, ducking just in time to avoid a bullet zooming past his head. It embedded itself into a nearby wooden crate, white crystals spilling out from the hole.

"Looks like you just found it" Kumi quickly busted the box open, snatching two bags of sugar and stuffing them into Manuel's backpack.

"Hurry up" Joe urged, drawing an arrow which zoomed by silently. It must have hit its target for soon there was a loud thud and someone howling about taking an arrow to the knee.

"How many left?" Manuel asked as he rushed after him towards the hillside. There was a car turned over on its side, long rusted, but worth looting.

"We took out four, I think they're about eight-" before Kumi could finish, another arrow caught someone in the throat.

"Seven" Joe corrected, drawing another arrow.

"He's here!" Someone cried out.

"Fuck" Kumi put his firearm away, drawing the Shorty from his belt, pressing up against the wall to stay out of the way as a soldier sent a spray of bullets in his direction. "Manuel, quick" He urged, sliding across and ducking behind the car.

"Almost got it, man" Manuel answered in a hushed whisper, his hands shaking terribly as he snapped the rusted scissors in half, pouring the mixture of sugar and explosive powder into an empty can before pushing the blades through. "This better work" He prayed silently, slipping out of cover slightly to aim before tossing it. It took around five seconds to burst but shards flew everywhere like some kind of shrapnel grenade. There was silence for a moment longer before something went flying in their general direction, no longer than two seconds before a cloud of smoke erupted and Manuel was blinded. "I can't fucking see!" He flailed around desperately, eyes watering and burning as he coughed.

"Joe, come on!" Kumi had luckily missed the worst of it and practically hauled the blinded man with him, running through the rocky formation down towards the waterfall.

Joseph covered their back until they were momentarily behind cover once more. "Manuel, you're gonna be alright. Okay? Come here" He lowered him onto his knees, scooping up handfuls of water to help him wash his face.

"I can't see, Joseph, I can't see" He repeated desperately, tears rolling down his face uncontrollably from the irritant.

"Joe, what're we gonna do?" Kumi inquired, checking his magazine.

"Go on back to camp, K. Take Manuel with you" He told him.

"What are you talking about? You're coming with us" Kumi stated angrily.

"Yeah, don't worry I'll cover you" Joseph assured him bitterly.

"Joe?" Manuel clung to him desperately, wet blood coating his fingers. "Shit. He's hurt" He informed Kumi. Kumi quickly rushed over to look at it, the bullet had hit his diaphragm and he was bleeding profusely.

"Quit gawking, and fucking do something" Joe pushed him away, lowering himself slowly against the rock so he could sit down. It hurt pretty bad, despite it not being the first bullet wound and not being too deep, it was vital.

"I'mma- I'm gonna patch you up, okay? Promise me you'll hang in there" Kumi quickly reached for his shiv, wiping it down with a disinfected rag before roughly sticking it into the wound.

"Fuck!" Joe tried his best to keep still but it was hard and his breathing was laboured.

"It's out, it's out" Kumi practically cheered, hurriedly disinfecting the wound and patching it up with gauze.

"Fuck, man, give me the needle" He pleaded, resting his head back against the boulder. He was burning up, but Kumi wasn't sure if he should give him morphine or not.

"I don't know man-" He hesitated.

"Fan out!" A voice boomed over the roar of the water fall.

"Hurry the fuck up, go" Joseph yelled at them, shoving Manuel before dragging himself up and staggering after them. A gun shot sounded, just about alerting them that their allies were nearby.

"Hey, you hear that?" One of the soldiers asked.

"Fuck. We ain't got many left, better find them quick" The second urged, following the trail of bloody finger prints as best he could before an arrow caught him in the neck.

The remaining six were alerted by a loud splash, one of them turning around just in time to spot Manuel. His vision was bleary and one eye was still too fuzzy to see through, so he was helpless when the man suddenly charged at him, punching him in the face hard and putting a gun to his head. Joseph all but threw himself at the guard, trying to strangle him but the armour made it difficult and he was suddenly thrown off, his back hitting the ground hard. He cried out, clutching his wounded side in pain and shuffling back in an attempt to get away.

"Hey, this one's pretty cute, come here so I can snap your neck" The man laughed, putting his gun away and moving to catch him.

Joe reached for his Revolver but it was kicked out of his hand, unwanted fingers suddenly grasping him by the hair.

"How about I cut all your fingers off first, huh?" The soldier kicked him over, grabbing one of his hands and the serrated knife from its sheath.

Manuel rubbed at his eyes hard in a desperate attempt to regain his vision, but just as his sight cleared, he was shocked by the sound of gunfire.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Click. Click.

The magazine was empty and the guard's head was full of bullets. Joe was breathing hard, his dark hair clinging to his neck and forehead and his chest heaving with the effort required to breathe and his hands were shaking around the gun.

"We need to get back..." Joseph murmured, slowly being brought out of his reverie as gunshots were heard close by. "Where's Kumi?" He suddenly asked, grasping Manuel by the collar.

"He was just here..." He took a step back to look for their friend but what he saw horrified him. "Joseph" He swallowed hard, shakily pointing towards the corpse that now lay face down in the water.

There was a pause, a glitch, a stutter as though he had fallen out of sorts with himself as he slowly stood up. He stumbled and fell, the blood polluted water splashing around as he crawled the rest of the way weakly. "Kumi... Get up... K, come on, they're here" He urged.

"Joe" Manuel placed a hand on his shoulder, but he was ignored.

"K, get up... Please... Don't do this to me. You promised Dominique you'd be back" Those words struck a chord with him and Manuel suddenly felt his eyes begin to tear up. No man was supposed to die today. But it was his fault for sending Felicia off, they would have had more of a chance if he had just-

"Ah shit! We got one down!" A Hunter called back to his companions, rushing over to see if he could do anything. "Is this everyone?" He asked.

It was Malfatto, a young Italian doctor they had taken in since the last one had died.

"Yeah" Manuel croaked, watching in silence as the rest of the crew gathered around.

"Hey, help me out here" Malfatto requested, ushering a woman over.

"He's frozen solid" She noted.

"Well then, he's not dead yet" The doctor announced, beginning to pump against his chest in an effort to get his heart beating again.

The woman who had been called over escorted them away, hugging Joseph in a surprisingly intimate fashion. "Don't worry, he's just in shock from hypothermia... We say that they aren't dead until they're warm and dead" She assured him quietly.

Joseph hugged her back, kissing her appreciatively. "I really fucked up, Gill..." He muttered.

"Don't blame yourself, Joseph. It's their fault for sending out a group of three- I was so worried about you" She told him, cupping his face. "You look pale, are you alright?" She asked worriedly, searching him for any wounds. Her eyes widened at the blood along his shirt.


It took them at least a week to recover from that, but after that the boss wanted to see them.

"Uff- agh!" He spat blood on the tiles, clutching his stomach in pain as another kick was received, sending him crashing into the counter before he stumbled and fell hard.

"Don't fucking touch him! Stop it!" Manuel's shouting seemed so far away, and his head lulled back dizzily before someone suddenly grasped him by the hair.

"Ah-!" He winced, clawing at the hand in his hair, desperately trying to break free, but it hardly lasted long before he was shoved onto his knees. He coughed from the impact, flecks of blood dripping onto the floor before he managed to sit back on his haunches.

"Hands behind your head!" A man commanded and he flinched at how loud his voice sounded but followed the instruction anyway.

Manuel. Where was he? He managed to steal a glance of his friend being restrained somewhere off to the side, but luckily enough he hadn't been beaten up. Sighing, he straightened his posture to reduce the pressure off his wound. A metal door sounded, echoing off the damp walls of the underground cellar and then footsteps followed. The boss was a middle aged Japanese man who looked quite intimidating with his constant frown and yakuza origins. He walked right up to him, squatting down to get a closer look.

"This one doesn't look like a thief. Why bring him here?" He asked, grabbing him by the jaw to inspect his face more closely. Joe resisted the urge to jerk away, keeping his expression as neutral as possible.

"Cost us a battle with the military, lock box is gone too, one of the girls that came for backup was pregnant, they were trying to cover for her" One of the men reported.

The boss turned his gaze back to him. "That your girlfriend you knocked up?" He inquired.

"She's not my fucking girlfriend-" Before he could finish the sentence, someone decided it was a good idea to kick him but a signal from the boss warned him to stop.

"Alright... Let's say I believe you," the implication of that sentence felt like a heavy weight on his shoulder. "There was a pregnant woman on your team. You decided to send her back along with another woman and in turn lost everyone here another week worth of food" The boss raised his brows at him expectantly.

"It was selfish... I'm sorry" Joseph apologised.

"It wasn't his decision!" Manuel interrupted. "Kumi told them to go back! He had nothing to do with it-!" His shouting was silenced by a punch in the stomach.

"Do you know why we don't keep pregnant women around?" It was a rhetorical question. "Because they end up dying anyway, so instead of preserving the stronger life, we swap it for a runt of a little child who no one would be willing to take responsibility for" The Japanese man stood up, pacing around the room in a slow and leisurely way.

"I'll take responsibility, sir" Joseph told him, halting him in his tracks.

There was a tense silence in the room and he half expected a bullet through his head, but the man did something strange. "What do you mean by that," There was a pause as he crouched back down, yanking his dog tag out of his tank top. "Joseph Ackerman?" He finished off.

"I'll get the fucking lockbox; the military haven't got it yet... Just change the goddamn rules" He was in a poor state, and blood was seeping through his shirt from the old open wound.

The boss regarded him for a moment, before signalling the guards to take Manuel out. "I'll consider your proposal, but until then, you can stay here" Those words made him sigh, he knew there would be consequences. But even as they vacated and the door was locked, he wondered if it had been worth it.

The cellar was cold, and little light entered through the small vent at the top. Retreating into the darker corner away from the door, he decided it would be a while before he would be out, so he would try and conserve his energy as best as possible.

Manuel didn't get off easy either, he got a good beating in public then got thrown aside like a sack of potatoes and the whispers and rumours just ticked him off even more. "Oh my God, Manuel- Malfatto! Malfatto, come quick" The one who picked him up was the ginger haired woman he had seen with Joe earlier and he tried to tell her what had happened but couldn't summon the effort to. Everything hurt.


He woke up nearly two days later, getting up with a start and endeavouring to leave the bed but Felicia stopped him.

"No, please, Manuel, you need to rest, I was worried sick" She sobbed, her pretty face marred by makeup and her fair skin pale from lack of sleep and nutrition. She looked like she had been suffering and he felt even more guilty for not having done something sooner.

Manuel wanted to cry and she clasped his hand tightly in her own, a frightened look in her dulled green eyes.

"Manuel, let's run away" She suddenly proposed.

It took him only a moment to frown and prepare himself to ask her if she'd lost it, but she quickly dived into an explanation.

"All of us, let's get Dominique and Kumi and Joseph- I'm sure I can persuade Malfatto and Gillian to come along, please, Manuel, this place has been nothing but bad since the start" Felicia urged him, squeezing his hand tightly.

Manuel felt confused as he thought over it. What about the offer that Joe made with the Boss? Would the man accept? Something suddenly struck him.

"Where's Joseph?" He asked her, and she looked thoughtful for a moment.

"I haven't seen him since the last time, do you think they-?" She couldn't finish the thought. It was true that Joseph hadn't exactly been the friendliest to her, but she still remembered the day he stood up to William and that had meant a lot to her.

"No. He's probably in the detention camp" Manuel shook his head.

"Joseph is where?" Gill, who was bringing two hot cans of soup for them, suddenly froze.

Both Manuel and Felicia fell silent. Gillian moved closer, her stormy blue eyes reflecting her concern over the wellbeing of the man. So, this was the woman that Joseph had chosen? Somehow Manuel didn't find the answer to his question from several weeks ago amusing.

"What does Joseph mean to you?" He inquired, his expression serious.

"Manuel!" Felicia was horrified at the seemingly rude question but Gill took a moment to understand what he meant before she answered.

"He's my boyfriend" She replied, slowly handing him the can of soup.

Manuel watched her carefully as though he was considering whether to tell her or not, but Felicia beat him to it.

"We think he's in the detention camp, that's where Manuel saw him last" She put in.

"Oh no" Gillian clasped a hand over her mouth, her eyes reflecting her shock and it was clear that she had assumed the worst. Felicia stood to comfort her, gently patting her back and telling her it would be alright.

"Where's Dominique?!" They heard Kumi shouting down the hall, suddenly bursting into the room.

"Kumi?" Manuel looked towards him with surprise.

"Manuel, have you seen Dom? I- I can't find her" The larger man stuttered desperately.

"No, man, I'm sorry, are you sure she's not on patrol?" He tried to help, but Kumi shook his head.

"She's not there, couple of girls told me they took her, but I don't know where to find her" He admitted and Gillian moved towards him, gently squeezing his hand.

"She might be in the detention camp with Joseph" She suggested.

"Wait. They took Joe as well?" Kumi seemed in a further state of distress about the implication of all of this. Surely that wasn't a coincidence? "We have to go help them. Manuel, come on"

"You stay away from me" He snapped.

"Manuel!" Gillian snapped, surprised by his unwillingness to cooperate.

"Hey, what's wrong, man?" The older asked in confusion.

"What's wrong?! You put us in this mess, Kumi! And now we're all suffering! It's all because of your stupid decision!" He accused.

"Manuel, it's no one's fault, we'll figure something out, I promise" She intervened.

Kumi huffed, falling into a chair and burying his head in his hands with a shaky inhalation of breath. "I know someone who can check if they're in there, but I need you to stay calm"


Dominique couldn't say she wasn't nervous when she was escorted to the man referred to as the boss. He took one look at her, sneered then motioned for them to take her away.

"What's going on?" She asked one of the guards, but they ignored her. "Hey answer me" The dark-skinned woman urged, yet no response came and when it did, it came in the form of a door.

"Watch the steps, lady" Someone warned her as she was none too kindly pushed through into the dark cellar of the detention camp.

"Hey!" She called out, turning to complain but it shut behind her and she heard the lock click into place. Cursing, she stepped back to look around her, her eyes taking a moment to adjust in the darkness. "Joe!" Dominique gasped, rushing over to check on him.

"Dominique? What are you doing here- agh!" He winced as he attempted to sit up right, falling against her weakly when she hugged him.

"You're hurt so badly" She sobbed, brushing his wet hair away from his face.

He was freezing cold, like someone had thrown him into a frozen river. "I'm okay, I just took a beating" He assured her, easing himself away to inspect her for injuries. "They didn't hurt you, did they?" He asked, his throat hoarse from lack of hydration.

"No, but... Oh Joseph, I'm so sorry, I never meant for this to happen" She cried, holding on to him as tears ran down her face. She feared for him and for herself, but mostly for her unborn child. What would happen to him or her?

He hugged her gently, letting her rest against his chest for the time being. "It's not your fault. How's Kumi?" He asked, breathing hard.

"He's anxious... He said we should try to leave this place. All of us" Dominique admitted quietly, her teary eyes looking up at him hopefully.

"You know I can't do that-" He began to decline but she quickly argued back.

"We could go to Bill's town, it's safe for us there" She reasoned but he scoffed.

"He would blow all of our heads off before anyone can ask to stay. Bill has changed, it's about time we accept that" Joe muttered solemnly.

"Well then, we'll join up with the-" Her suggestion was silenced before it was spoken, and the look in his eyes terrified her.

"If you want to go, then do so... I'm not taking the risk of being shot in the head for trying to protect anyone. I'm done saving people, Dominique" And with that he stood up, leaving her alone for a moment and it was only then she realised what he actually meant by those words.


"Is that a wedding ring?" Kumi asked curiously, eyeing the gleaming silver encrusted diamond on Gillian's right hand.

"This old thing?" She asked, looking down at it as though she had forgotten it was there.

"N'aw, it's that thing that girls with broken dreams wear when their husbands run away" She responded sarcastically, her Scottish twang emphasising the fact she found it to be a strange question.

"No, I'm being serious. You and Joe? I saw him wearing something similar" He pried, hoping to get her to talk since Joseph was more secretive about his relationships with other people. Especially with Gillian. If he hadn't accidentally walked in on them in the midst of something several years ago, he would never have guessed it to be platonic.

"Yeah, well... It's not official, his ring is older than mine, probably from his last relationship" Gillian admitted, leading him around the back of the detention camp. It was an isolated building amid what use to be a wine factory, only just this particular building had survived. "Hey, over here, this is the guy" She called out to him, indicating the familiar man.

"William?" Kumi was shocked to say the least.


Dominique flinched as the door suddenly opened, the bright light that entered making her squint.

"Hey, look, he's still standing" One of the guards remarked with a snicker.

"What should we do about the lady?" The other asked.

"What can we do about her? Boss said she stays here" The third answered him.

Dominique just glared at them, hugging herself against the cold. She was starving and hadn't had anything to drink since that morning.

"So?" He countered.

"So? She's pretty, man, I want me some of that" The first laughed, only to get rammed by Joe. He sent him sprawling into the steps, jaw cracking off the hard concrete before he rolled away clutching his face.

"Fucking bastard!" The second guard launched at him, slamming him into the wall and proceeding to attempt to punch him but Joe struggled hard, pushing him away constantly.

"Motherfucker!"

By this point, Dominique couldn't tell what was going on until she saw the second man fall to the floor yelling madly with a knife half stuck in his eye socket. Joe wrenched it out mercilessly before going for the third man, sprinting after him before he could alert the rest of them. The shiv cut his jugular vein, blood bursting from his neck like a fountain as he dropped lifelessly to the floor.

Joseph sighed, returning to get her from the cellar and she was glad to see him unharmed. "How are you feeling?" He asked her hoarsely.

"I- I feel faint, Joseph" She clung to him for support and he tried to lift her, although he was weaker than he had been in a while.

"Here, stay here, I'll get you some water, don't make a sound and if anyone comes..." He placed her down on a mattress in one of the smaller rooms, giving her a gun he had taken from one of the dead guards.

"Joseph don't leave me, please" She begged, terrified to death of the pain in her stomach. It was faint but it was still there.

"Don't worry, I'll come back, I promise" He assured her, gently touching his forehead to hers for a moment. Dominique felt herself calm at the familiar gesture, but she couldn't shake off the horrible feeling that something might happen.

He ducked behind the fire barrels, listening out for any noise from the top of the stairs, dust spiralling as a patrol guard paced back and forth. Joe took a deep breath in before slowly climbing the stairs, up to the next floor. The man had stopped at the opposite window and was currently staring at something outside. Perfect. Very carefully, the man walked behind him, snatching him backwards in a break neck hold but not quite doing so.

"What the fu-!" The guard began to panic and struggled hard but couldn't break free so he stilled. "Please don't hurt me!" He begged.

"Where can I get some water?" Joe inquired, baffling the man.

"Store room down the hallway, there's some bottles" He answered hurriedly, gulping as the grip tightened.

"And the way out?" The question was asked calmly but it was that tone which made him whimper desperately. He knew he was going to die.

"O- over there, down- down the hallway, big door, can't m-miss it!" He stuttered.

"Good" A swift twist of the neck was his reward and his body fell soundlessly to his final rest.

Rushing to the storage room he had indicated, the Hunter checked for a lock but found none, opening it to search through boxes of things for some water. He came across a batch of canned leek soup and looked around the room for a moment, there were boxes around and scattered old sheets.

Bingo.

He got down to tearing a linen cloth roughly into a square and proceeded to shove three cans in, two of peaches, several tins of sardine and two bottles of water. Cutting another strip off from a canvas sheet, he tied the makeshift knapsack then swung it over his back before grabbing another bottle of water. As quickly as he could, he ran back down the stairs to where he had left Dominique, relieved when he found her there.

"Here, drink up, I'm getting us out of this fucking mess" He told her miserably. He looked pale from blood loss and tired from the lack of sleep. How long had he been in there? Certainly more than a day.

Dominique took the water gratefully- it wasn't cold but it helped reduce her pain a little. "How are we going to find the rest?" She asked, leaning on him as he helped her up and through to the stairs.

The back entrance was as the dead man had described it- hard to miss. Although why it was so heavily unguarded was another mystery. "We're not going to find them" He told her, signalling for her to hold as he checked for any patrol men. One at the far end of the hallway but he wasn't paying attention.

"What are you saying, Joe?" Dominique frowned, trying to keep her anger from simmering as they edged around towards the fire exit.

Joe motioned for her to be silent as he carefully pulled on the bar, the rusty metal creaking noisily as the door was pushed open. The sound alerted the guard and he turned around, beginning to walk fast towards the source of the noise, but when he arrived, he only found the door swinging in the wind with no one in sight.


"Joe! Joseph stop! Listen to me!" Dominique yelled as she marched after him across the field at the back of the factory.

"What? What do you want?" He asked, stopping and turning to look at her.

"What did you mean when you said we're not going to find Kumi and the rest?" She inquired, suspicion reflected in her voice.

He looked away as though contemplating how to answer her, but she took his silence as a response.

"You want us to run away and leave them? Is that it? Is that what you meant, Joseph?" Her words were full of accusations as she stepped forward.

"You don't understand-" he protested, but she shoved him hard in the chest.

"What don't I understand, Joe?! I've known you for eight years, Joseph! You were always the one who looked out for us! All of us! What the hell happened to you?!" She yelled at him.

"What the hell happened to me?!" He exploded with anger and she instantly backed away. "Do you know what they did to me in there?! I fucking got tortured in every possible way for you, Dominique! They think you're carrying my child! What was I supposed to say to them?! No, Kumi did it?!" For the first time in all her life, Dominique saw tears of frustration in his stormy grey eyes and his behaviour suddenly made sense to her.

"Joe, I'm so sorry" She cried, clapping a hand to her mouth in shock. Tears stung her eyes and she was at a loss for words by this point.

Joseph looked like he was about to break down and he gently pushed her away when she tried to hug him, his hands slowly rising to his head and fingers trembling as he attempted to run them through his hair in the same way he normally did when he was trying to calm down. However, he gave in to the emotional stress and let out a grunt of anger as he kicked at the floor, looking for something to take his frustration out on.

How was he supposed to solve this?

Though he eventually calmed down and just sat down in the middle of nowhere, soon enough, she joined him.

Who knew for how long they had sat there.

"Joe... Why don't you want them to come?" She asked delicately, running her fingers through his dark curls. His eyes remained closed as though he was asleep where he lay with his head in her lap.

"... It's just you, Dom... You can have your baby somewhere else, somewhere safe... And Kumi can go to you after a short while, just to make sure he doesn't seem suspicious" He explained tiredly.

"Where? Aren't you coming with us?" She asked worriedly.

"I know a place... They'll look after you there, don't worry" He murmured, but her second question remained unanswered.

"What about you?" She repeated, carefully tracing the scar he had acquired across his lip.

"I'm going to take Gill and we're going to go elsewhere... Maybe join the Fireflies" He told her, although when he opened his eyes he seemed uncertain.

"Hey look, there they are!" Gillian called to him as they emerged from the underground tunnel out towards the back entrance. Kumi heard her call out and rushed after her, breaking into a sprint. The man seemed eager, but then he slowed down for a short moment, the closer he approached.

Dominique was so caught up in making the man calm down that she hadn't expected him to suddenly be snatched by the collar.

"K-" Joseph hardly had the time to take in what was happening before the larger man slammed him face first into the fence. A hand was placed at the back of his neck, paralysing the rest of his movement as Kumi crashed into him to pin him where he was.

"Kumi!" Dominique yelled, struggling to stand up with her pregnancy.

"You been fucking my girl, Joe?!" The Jamaican male barked at him.

"K, I can't breathe!" Joseph tried to get his hand off his neck but Kumi was seeing red and shoved him into the fence harder before tripping him. "Ah fuck-!" He gasped as his already injured back hit the floor.

William stood by and watched with amusement as Kumi beat Joe up for him without actually realising it.

"Kumi! Kumi, you get the fuck off him right now!" Gill yelled at him, hand on her holster warningly.

"Or what?! Huh? You gonna shoot me? This man that you love so much has betrayed you as he did me!" He shouted at her.

"Hey, he's wearing a ring like Gill's" William pointed out. This seemed to have also caught Kumi's attention and Gill began to panic.

"No! Don't you dare! Kumi please! You've got this all wrong!" Dominique pleaded him to understand, eyes wide with terror at the implication of it all.

Kumi pressed all his weight down on to the man he had once called his best friend, forcing his left hand out flat onto the ground.

"Get the fuck off me, I'll fucking kill you! I'll fucking kill you both" Joe growled at him, breathing hard as blood dribbled down his chin. He sounded like a man possessed and Gill was suddenly very scared for him.

"Kumi, he didn't do anything, you get off him now!" The Scottish woman pulled her gun, but Kumi ignored her and searched for a shiv. Only then did she realise what he was about to do, but she couldn't bring herself to pull the trigger.

"Get off! Let me go!... Get the fuck off!" Joseph wasn't just agnry, he was hysterical and didn't seem to realise what was going on around him.

"Well you should have thought twice before touching another man's girl" William sneered, handing Kumi a shiv.

"I trusted you, Joe! You break my trust, I break you!" The words were followed by a heart wrenching scream from the older man as the sharp blade cut clean through his skin.

Dominique felt sick and the pain in her stomach began anew. "Oh my God, I'm gonna faint" She gasped, earning her lover's attention.

"Dom?" Kumi instantly released him and sprang to catch her.

"Joseph!" Gillian ran to check on him, tears running down her face and blurring her vision as she saw the blood and the stained silver ring lying close beside where he was clutching his hand to his chest. "Joseph let me see" She reached into her pocket for a small patch up pack, taking out a clean cloth and snatching his hand away.

His finger had been severed just above the ring area, but the cut was clean luckily. Quickly, she cleaned up the blood and disinfected the wound, all the time telling him that he would be alright. She then proceeded to wrap gauze around it as best as possible, applying pressure to stop the bleeding. Where was Malfatto when she needed him?

"He didn't touch me" Dominique was telling Kumi.

"I don't fucking care now" Kumi held her desperately to him.

"No, you cut off his finger, Kumi. Do you know that if it weren't for him I would still be in there and they would be raping me?" Her voice was quiet but that was only because she was faint, otherwise each syllable was stressed with anger.

Kumi was unable to reply to that, and he blanched with horror at his mistake. "Are you alright?" He asked her after a moment of silence.

"No... I'm getting real bad pains... I'm so scared" She confessed, holding onto him tightly.


Malfatto had never looked so pale after treating a patient, and he collapsed into his chair tiredly as he walked inside his office.

"Is he alright?" Gillian inquired.

Malfatto removed his glasses slowly, massaging the bridge of his nose as he contemplated what to tell her and what not to. "Yeah... Can't do much about his finger though, I'm sorry, I just sealed up the stump and gave him some sedatives... He really took a beating, Gill, if you hadn't gotten him here when you did..." He left the sentence unfinished but he didn't have to finish it anyway. She already knew that.

"Thank you so much, Malfatto, I don't know how to thank you" She muttered, tearing up again but the Italian doctor just shook his head and assured her that Joe was a good friend to him as well and he would have been devastated if anything had happened to him. "Guess I can't see him now, huh? What about the woman they brought in here?" She asked.

"No... I don't specialise in midwifery, but we found a woman who does, I think she'll be okay"


When they finally let him into the room, he found her lying all alone in the bed with tear reddened eyes.

"Dom" He took her hands and gave them a gentle squeeze.

She was silent for a long time and couldn't meet his eyes.

"I'm sorry" He apologised.

The silence extended for almost ten minutes before she spoke up.

"They said she couldn't make it... She never even got to see her Daddy" Dominique took a deep breath in, tears falling from her lashes as she spoke shakily.

Kumi's eyes stung at her words. "My baby girl is...?" A half-formed question that was answered only by a nod.

"I think that maybe God is trying to tell us something, K..." She told him, and he felt his heart shatter into millions of pieces when she finally met his gaze.

"Like what?" He asked fearfully.

"... You shouldn't have done that to Joseph" She reminded him.

And Kumi suddenly understood what she meant. He had not only lost the child he would never meet, but he had also lost the man he considered a brother. "I don't think he wants to see me" He licked his lips nervously and it was Dominique's turn to squeeze his hand.

"The things he has done for you are worth more than you trying, Kumi... And we both know that" She assured him, resting her head against his shoulder.

"I'm glad you're okay, Dom"


When she had fallen asleep, he left her bedside to go visit Joseph.

Gillian was sleeping outside on a set of chairs with Felicia nearby and Manuel watching over them. When he came by, Manuel stared at him, but there wasn't hatred in his gaze, only shock and disappointment and hurt and those stung more than hatred ever could.

Kumi stopped by the door, hesitating a moment, before turning to talk to him. "Hey, uh... I'm sorry about the things I said to you earlier, didn't really mean it" He apologised, wiping a stray tear from his eye.

Manuel looked down for a moment before nodding in acceptance. "He's still sleeping... You probably shouldn't do anything, otherwise... I won't forgive you" He warned him quietly, seeming just as sensitive about the topic.

"I couldn't" Kumi assured him, not really sure whether Joe would be able to forgive him at all.

When he entered the room, all that could be heard was the steady rhythm of the heart monitor beeping and the hiss of the old-fashioned oxygen supply as the man breathed in and out calmly. He was asleep, and Kumi was glad for it. He didn't really know how to approach him.

Would Joe even let him apologise?

He had taken his ring finger, back home where they came from that marked him as untrustworthy- someone who you should always keep an eye on and to women it was the symbol of infidelity, the symbol to never trust him.

Moving closer, he hesitated a little before taking a seat beside the bed. He could see his injured hand, although gauze and bandages hid the stub where two thirds of his finger were missing.

"I'm so sorry, Joe" Kumi apologised to the darkness of the room, feeling tears spring to his eyes. "But you know... I lost my baby today... They said she was a still born" He muttered, wiping at his eyes with a trembling hand. "You know... Dominique thinks it's my fault, she said if it weren't for me doing this to you... Maybe she would have lived" The weight of his own words struck him with a torrent of self-demeaning emotions and he broke down sobbing like a little boy. "You've been such a good friend to me, I'm so sorry... I hope you can forgive me" All his guilt and sadness poured out until he was left exhausted and fell asleep.


"Good morning, Malfatto" Gillian greeted as she entered his office, placing a plate of something on his desk.

Malfatto looked up from the radio he had been attempting to tune, his bespectacled eyes glancing from her to the plate of something he hadn't seen in a long time. "Is that apple crisp?" He asked in disbelief.

"Yes, I found some canned apples and biscuits and made enough for everyone here, but I thought that you deserved the first slice" She told him and her smile was a tired one, her eyes reddened and puffy from crying.

"Thank you, thank you very much, Gillian" He seemed very happy about the small gesture and she was relieved. "Can I eat it now?" The question was a little odd but it made her smile.

"Sure" As soon as she gave her answer, he tucked in to the dessert, eating every spoonful with appreciation. "You know, when I first got my doctor's degree in Italy, I came here to America and married a lovely woman. She had an apple farm and she would make it every day" He told her as he was finishing up.

"What was her name?" The Scottish woman inquired.

"Annamarie, so beautiful she was" He sighed, smiling fondly at the memory of his long-gone wife.

"That's a wonderful name. If I ever had a daughter, I would call her that" Gillian gently patted his hand.

Malfatto thanked her again, apologising and saying that he was having trouble contacting headquarters so he needed to check for signs of trouble. Gillian wished him luck and left the room to get some warm soup and visit her lover.


Gentle fingers sifted through his dark curls, his dull grey eyes fluttering open tiredly to stare at the ceiling. The light from the outside was bright, even though the curtains had been pulled and he had to take a moment to adjust before managing to comprehend where he was. His vision was blurry and every muscle and bone in his body felt out of place, not to mention too heavy to even move an inch.

Where was he? What happened?

Everything felt so far away for a moment that when he closed his eyes, he wondered if this was how it felt to be dead.

Was he dead? Did they kill him?

The door suddenly opened and he felt all the noise come rushing in at once, his eyes shifting around lazily to follow the hand that was currently grooming him. His fuzzy mind barely recognised the eye-patched Hunter.

"Kumi" He tried to speak, but his name was mouthed more than spoken.

"Joe, you awake?" The younger moved closer to check if he was alright, his shadow cast across the sheets and blocking out the light.

Joseph cleared his throat weakly. "Yeah" He rasped, faintly picking up the sound of footsteps approaching the bed.

"Joe!" It was Gillian. Her voice made him wince slightly, and she realised that she was talking a little too loudly. "How are you feeling?" She asked worriedly, gently cupping his face. Her hand was cool against his flushed skin, and he tried to reach up to keep her hand where it was but a sharp pain made him groan.

"Just relax, you're still pretty beat up" Kumi tried to calm him down but he was growing irate rather quickly.

"Agh, what the fuck?" Joseph frowned at the strange tightening of nerves in his left hand, clenching his teeth as the sedative began to wear off.

Gillian clasped her hand over his wrist before he could lift it, instructing him to look at her. "Look at me, Joe, you need to breathe, okay?" She told him, carefully caressing his face and moving his hair away.

"It fucking hurts!" He whined, breathing hard as he struggled to maintain his composure.

"I know, Joseph, just please" She begged, holding his hand down until he seemed calmer.

"I thought it wouldn't hurt after Malfatto sealed it" Kumi approached her as she went through the cupboard for some pain killers.

"Yeah, well, it's his dominant hand... And I don't think he realises that you cut his finger off" The redhead replied in an accusing manner.

Kumi couldn't bring himself to respond with the lump in his throat, and just turned to go check on his friend, only to find him trying to unwrap the bandage from around his hand. "Hey, no" He rushed over, tightening it up again.

"What the hell happened to my ring? Where's my ring? Gill, did you take it?" Joe asked, trying to stand up, but Kumi wouldn't let him.

"What's that?" She turned around to hear him better, but found him looking around for something.

"Where's my ring?" He asked again and it struck Kumi that Gillian was right.

His mind couldn't comprehend why his finger was missing and put the feeling of loss up to the fact he wasn't wearing the item he always had.

"I'll give you it, just take these" She tried to pass him two pills, noting that he was going to reach for them with his left hand so she offered her hand instead.

"I'm not a baby, Gill" He complained, trying to take the cup of water off her, but his attempt to close his fingers around it made him drop it instantly.

"Don't worry, I'll clean it" She assured him, but paused when he took a moment to properly look at his injury.

"Where's my finger?" The room was so deathly quiet by that point that he became even more confused.

"What the fuck happened? Where... What..." His heart rate shot up to a dangerous degree, and he seemed to be unsure of how to react.


Author's Notes:

My, this one is a very long chapter, I apologise- and for all the bad language but hey, it's one of them stories.

If anything is confusing or you would like to know something, feel free to let me know!

Please R&R.

Yours Truly,

XShay.