AN; Okay. Here's the conclusion to the cliffhanger I left you all with on Saturday =) Truth be told.. I just didn't have enough time to finish it, so here it is! It might take me a while to think up another Chapter with my Beta. This whole convoluted story with all these elements takes me a while to write out. So I'll be writing notes and working very carefully not to do things too quick. I don't want to mess up on descriptions and setting.. I watched a video interview with a WD Developer and it showed Aiden searching an area for a Hacker so I might take a bit of inspiration from that.

- Page Break -

'Cale?' Nadia questioned again as she recklessly started to make her way across the room.

Aiden didn't have time to warn her of the danger.

'So.. you finally made it?' a voice echoed as a figure made it's way into view from the sidelines.

Nadia stopped a few feet short of her sister as she scrutinized the damage done.

There were lots of cuts and scrapes over her face, bruises already starting to blacken. Her hair was loose and in mattes around her face with caked blood from the open wounds.

Hate swelled through Nadia at seeing her sister this battered and broken. Her fierce gaze landed on the man 'Clark.' Nadia hissed.

It sounded like a warning.

'You don't sound too sincere..' he mused as he wandered over to the limp form on the cold floor 'Is that any way to greet an old friend?' he asked as he kicked her hip to land her on her side.

It was the first time Cale made any indication of a sound as she groaned when she was shifted on the floor harshly.

'You're not my friend.. not since you killed my husband in cold blood..' she seethed back.

'Well, .. you see he deserved it.' he said as he made a thoughtful face 'He kept me from getting a pretty nice payment for looking the other way on some girls being brought into the country..'

Nadia sucked in a breath. She wouldn't be able to contain her rage for much longer.

He made his way to the other side of Cale.

'You see.. it's just work for them. Not so bad..' he shrugged and looked down at Cale for a few moments. Lifting his gaze he connected his eyes with Aiden's 'She's a pretty girl..' he speculated as he lifted his boot to hover over her ribs.

Letting his foot settle over her, he slowly put more and more force behind the movement until her breathing became labored and she whined out in pain as she tried to pry his foot off her side with uncoordinated movements that proved to be useless. He kept applying more pressure until she screamed in pain at the action.

That proved to be enough to set Aiden off first as he moved forward toward the man.

He'd anticipated doing that would provoke Aiden into a response. He would have him right where he wanted him.

Nadia ran to her sister's side and kneeled beside her to comfort her in any way possible as the fight broke out.

As Aiden lunged for the man Clark dodged for a table that had a metal pipe laying conveniently ready.

Aiden managed to catch his movements quickly and blocked the swing with the expanded baton. Clark swung again, forcing Aiden to drop to one knee.

What Clark failed to anticipate was that Aiden was prepared for anything that could happen.

Aiden angled the end of the baton to hit the side of Clark's kneecap causing it to buckle in slightly as he immediately tried to hold some of the weight off of it putting him off balance.

Aiden lifted his other hand to brace onto the other end of the baton and shoved it against the front of his kneecap sending him onto the floor behind him. Aiden quickly lifted himself to his feet and raised up his own foot to land on the other man's ankle. The action was enough to break the bone with a satisfying crack.

Clark screamed and made to grab for his ankle, he hadn't managed to catch the baton headed for his arm in the next moment. He curled on the floor, using his right hand to grip under the left elbow. He tried to shuffle across the floor backwards in an attempt to put some distance between him and Aiden.

Aiden followed by his side until Clark ended himself into the dingy wall that outlined the room.

Clark propped himself up against it as much as he could, all the while staring Aiden straight in the eyes. He hadn't expected the attack to go down like this.

'Y'know.. I might've been able to overlook the fact that you were a corrupt cop..' Aiden started as he took hold of the ankle left defenseless on the floor sprawled in front of him

'City has too many of them.. can't take them all down..' he continued as his grip tightened on the limb causing Clark to wince in pain and open his mouth in a scream of protest as he twisted his grip harsher.

'There'd be no police force then.. and how would that make the City look?' he asked as he applied blunt force causing the ankle bone to dislocate. Clark started to shake at the immense amount of pain, his breath coming in short, pained huffs 'All those Officers out there to help you are more involved in the scandals than the people you're sending them after.'

Aiden stared at him for a few seconds before backing off and lifting himself to a stand again.

Clark watched nervously as he hovered over him.

Aiden's hand disappeared into his pocket and withdrew with the Baretta he always kept at hand.

'Killing Nadia's husband and kidnapping my wife..'

He took hold of the gun with both hands and aimed it at the man's head.

'I can't look away from that..'

'No – NO! Please! We could work something out! I'll never bother you - '

The sound of the gunshot reverberating through the small confined space silenced his plea at a second chance.

The sound startled Cale into thrashing in her sister's grip, desperately trying to either see what was happening or to get away.

'Shh.. shh..' Nadia soothed as she wiped the stray hair around her face back over the top of her head 'It's okay sweetheart.. I'm here, I'm here..' she assured her sister in a soft tone.

Nadia looked over her shoulder to check on Aiden. He looked unhurt but he hadn't moved from where he had been standing.

'A-Aiden?' Nadia called shakily to catch his attention.

His head turned, followed by his body as he seemed to be disrupted from his reverie. Realization hit him of the severity of the situation and he jogged back to the two girls shoving the gun back into his pocket.

He gave Cale a once over. She was so badly injured.

Blood was soaking through almost every fabric surface of her jacket and dotted her jeans. It must have been from her busted lip, it would've dropped onto her jeans legs when she was still bound to the chair.

The parts of her skin that weren't visible surely held more injuries yet to be discovered.

They must have tried some pretty horrible things to make her talk.

She hadn't.

It was difficult for Aiden to talk after seeing her like this, but he finally managed to find his words.

'We have to leave..'

– En Route Home/ Back At The House –

It took a few painful tries to finally lift you off the floor. Helping you stand proved to be the easy part. It was leading you through the hallways and out to the car waiting by the fence that was difficult.

Nadia hooked an arm under yours as she helped to ease you through the door of the building to the outside.

'It's okay, it's okay.. shh..' she soothed when you winced in pain at the weight having to be put on your leg.

You tried to nod but he action only made you cringe again when you felt how bad your neck hurt from the fall you'd taken when he hit you, sending you in a heap still cuffed to the chair when you wouldn't answer his questions.

You felt tears brim your eyes at the memory and you fought hard to stay in control of your emotions, but they obviously heard the whimper you let slip.

A hand came to steady you at your back, thankfully one of the only places they hadn't thought to hurt. You felt the thumb of that hand rub soothing circles where it was placed. That was something Aiden did.

You figured out which side of you he was on based on the position of his hand and the feel of his fingers, pressing a majority of your weight onto his shoulder when you heard someone ask how they were going to get the door open. You didn't want him to leave. You'd left and look at what happened.

'Don't leave..' you barked out in a harsh voice when you'd felt his weight shift against you, but you relaxed when you felt his other arm wrap around your waist to support you.

You felt a pair of hands leave you and assumed that they belonged to Nadia.

Your suspicions were confirmed when you'd heard her voice 'Jordi, move up to the front seat..' followed by several curses from the man in question and an inquiry about what happened.

You were a bit startled when you felt his shoulder realigned against yours. You quickly figured out that you were being lowered carefully into the back seat of the waiting vehicle.

You adjusted yourself in the seat against the soft back and let yourself sink into it as the door next to you closed softly and locked.

'Mm.. you stole a nice car..' you tried to make light of the events and earned yourself a little laugh from Nadia that quickly cut short with a choked sound. You assumed that she didn't want to start crying.

'It's okay.. you managed to find me..' you tried in reassurance.

'Yeah..' she agreed from the front, flashing you a quick look in the rear view mirror that you returned with a smile of your own.

Your head turned to watch as Aiden entered through the other door. You didn't care if every part of your body ached at the moment, you just wanted to be close to him.

As soon as he closed the door you managed to shuffle the minuscule distance, with only a minor amount of pain, over to his side of the car and leaned yourself into the crook of his arms. He wrapped the arm around you as tightly as he could without causing any discomfort on your part and held you close to his side.

You sighed, extending your arm around the front of his torso, and cuddled your head on his shoulder. Your tense form relaxed slightly as he resumed his circular thumb motion on your jean clad hip.

It felt so good when he did that. When he was affectionate. It didn't happen often, so you always took the time to imprint it into memory when it did. He never struck you as the cuddly type.

You didn't mind. You just loved the fact that when it happened, that it was all for you.

You allowed yourself to drift into a mild sleep. Maybe that was why the car ride didn't feel so long.

You knew it you felt the familiar shifting of the gear down as you came upon your destination.

You opened your eyes and made an attempt to sit up a little. Restrained from full movement by Aiden's protective embrace you settled for a little survey of the area.

You were at home.

The car's engine died down and there was a slight lurch as the parking brake was applied before you heard a door in front of you open, and then a moment later shut lightly.

You slumped against him again and closed your eyes. It hadn't felt so bad a while ago, but now that the pain had some time to sink in, you realized how badly you were banged up.

Everything felt like it was either on fire or stuffed with tissues, it must have been the swelling.

Your joints were slow and limited in their movements as you made several attempts to brace yourself against the car seat to sit up fully as the door next to you opened and Nadia appeared with outstretched hands to help you up. Aiden's hand loosened a bit but never completely left you as they both eased you out of the car.

The steps were a daunting task, but you were up to them if it meant you'd end up inside and could go to sleep.

You leaned on Aiden's shoulder again as Nadia departed from your side to open the front door.

Then you felt your weight transferred over to Nadia completely as she took you fully on her own.

Nadia let her gaze shift behind her as she motioned to her sister 'You guys sit tight, I'm going to go get her cleaned up..' she gave Aiden a reassuring smile and turned back to the task at hand.

You were actually a little shocked at how easily she managed to handle you by herself. She was more capable than you gave her credit for. You were sisters, of course you had your differences, but none of that mattered now as she took gentle and expert care in guiding you toward the bathroom.

Once you were inside, she kicked the door lightly with her back foot and helped you to lean on the sink counter.

You propped yourself up onto it with a little exertion. You lifted your gaze to hers. She was studying you with a worried expression.

You were about to say something when she expressed her concern.

'You feel up for a shower?' she asked, barely above a hoarse whisper.

You gave a little chuckle at that 'I can't even stand without someone holding me up..' truth be told you'd love nothing more than to rid yourself of all the evidence, but you were dog tired.

'I'll hold you up.'

You gave her a questioning look 'You'll end up with blood all over you..'

She moved toward you and began the process of easing your arm out of your jacket 'It's fine, I'll clean up later.'

You repositioned yourself conveniently for her as she focused on removing all your clothes, carefully at one piece a time.

She unlaced your boots as you perched on the edge of the counter, she worked them off your feet delicately when they were undone and tossed them onto your jacket.

It didn't matter.. you'd probably never end up wearing this outfit again.

You helped shove your pants over your hips and stepped out of them and kicked them as far as you could toward the pile.

You lifted your arms up to reach for the edges your top, you halted when the pain shot through. It was a simple enough action but you were incapable of performing it at the moment.

You shot your sister a helpless look. She nodded and reached forward to peel it from around your hips and up over your head.

Finally free of the difficult clothing, you eased your hands around yourself and divested yourself of both undergarments.

You took about five shaky steps and eventually made it to the shower. You turned around and braced your feet on the slip-mat on the floor and put your hands out behind you to hold yourself up.

You heard Nadia enter the shower soon after you. You felt the brush of her leather jacket on your arm as she reached past you to grab the shower head.

She had the decency to turn the spray on away from you to avoid the inevitable cold shot of water that preceded the relaxing feel of the warm water.

You shuddered a bit when you felt the water cascade down your forehead, causing you to open your eyes. The floor was completely red.

Your eyes flew shut again. You didn't want to see that. Sucking in two calming breathes you willed yourself to stop shaking. You felt ridiculous, you'd seen blood before.

You felt Nadia's fingers work gentle motions on your head as she tried to rid your hair of all the blood that was stuck to it. You heard the shampoo bottle open and the soft sound of the liquid being squeezed out. Her hands were back on your scalp in a matter of moments.

She used soft and easy motions, careful not to jar you any more than necessary.

You felt the warm water return as she tilted your head back and used one hand to shield the water from running into your eyes as she cleaned a majority of it off your scalp. Then she worked on massaging the rest of it out of the length of your hair.

When you were free of all the hair product, she used the spray to chase the rest of the grime off your body. The hot water felt nice, but what you wanted more than anything was to turn off the water and sleep. You shifted impatiently against the wall and opened your eyes to stare at her.

She must have understood, you felt the water stop flowing and heard as the shower head hooked back onto it's place.

She craned her body around the outside and grabbed a towel from the shelf next to the landing. Turning back around to face you, she fluffed it gently and encompassed the mass of it around you. She did a little flip with the excess edge that managed to keep it from falling off as you eased each leg out slowly to plant them firmly on the bathmat.

She grabbed another less soft towel to scrunch your hair of all the moisture she could. Satisfied that was the best she could do she tossed it to the floor and eased her arm back under yours.

'Do you want to get changed or do you just want to sleep?' she asked as she twisted some of your loose hair back off your face so she could see your expression.

'Sleep..' you muttered as you felt your eyelids becoming increasingly heavy with each passing moment.

You felt her body lean slightly as she nodded and encouraged you into starting to walk. She opened the door and turned you to the right toward your bedroom.

The hardwood flooring felt nice beneath your feet., it wasn't slippery and it wasn't rough. It was easy to walk on.

You felt sudden air movement past your legs and opened your eyes to watch as your small kitten darted into the room ahead of you with her tail held high. It made you smile as you watched her prance.

Nadia fumbled around the light switch on the inside of your door frame before finally successfully locating it.

She was already in a curl at the foot of your bed waiting for you when you finally made it, that cat amazed you sometimes.

You eased yourself into a sit on the edge of your bed and took a few moments to revel in the accomplishment of getting to this point.

'Ready to lie down?' Nadia asked as she slipped a hand behind your back and helped you lean back onto the sheets. You sighed in contentment at the full contact of your back with the bed. Almost as soon as you laid on them the pressure you'd been feeling in your lower back dissipated.

'You want the sheets on or off?' Nadia asked. You knew it would be too much trouble for her to roll you off of them now and figure out how to get you back on the right side.

'Off..' you mumbled hazily.

'Okay..' she replied 'I'll check on you later..' she gave your upper shoulder a small squeeze and smiled at you.

You smiled back 'Thank you.. for doing all of this..'

She shrugged 'Not a problem, sweetheart..' she turned the lights off as she exited your room, pulling the door behind her, leaving a small gap should the kitten need to escape.

Nadia shoved her hands into her pockets once she left the room. She frowned when she felt something hard and compact in it. Frowning she pulled her hand back out of her jacket to examine the object. She smiled as she realized what it was.

She made her way back back into the open living room and whistled to give Aiden a head's up. He turned around to face her and held out his hands when he saw the object flying at him. He looked down to see what he'd caught. A baton.

'Treat her right.. or the next person I'll use this on will end up being you.' Nadia stated in a warning as she looked Aiden in the eyes.

She'd admit to anyone she wasn't exactly fond of Aiden from her impression on him from the news.

The thing that made her willing to consider him was his defensive behavior regarding her sister. He seemed to take that to heart and that impressed her.

'I understand..' he stated simply. She could tell by the look in his eyes that he was sincere.

Nadia let her boot scuff along the carpet as her gaze wandered to the floor and then back to him 'You should probably check on her.. she might want you there..' she offered softly with a small tilt of her head toward the bedroom.

He nodded and got up from where he was seated to make his way toward the hallway.

The last thing he heard from the living room as he departed was Jordi asking Nadia a question.

'Why are you wet?'

– Bedroom –

You were only slightly aware of the noise of footsteps approaching the door to your room. You tensed, wincing when your stomach muscles clenched uncomfortably, putting you in a slight amount of pain.

You relaxed when you remembered that the only other people in your house wouldn't hurt you. Your head dropped back down onto the pillow with a sigh of defeat. You were so tired.. but still so stressed.

You heard the door creak softly open, you assumed it was Nadia making good on her promise to come and check on you. You were a bit startled when you felt the bed shift as someone presumably sat down on the edge of it. Your hand was gripping the sheets in a full fist as you tried to turn to get a view of who it was.

A hand landed on an unhurt part of your arm softly and performed a small circle with their thumb, reassurance that you knew who this was.

You inhaled deeply and relaxed the muscles in your neck as you lowered yourself back against the pillow.

You reached up with your right hand and tugged his off your arm and pulled on it, indicating that you were open to having quiet company and wanted him to lie down.

You felt his arm encircle your waist as the bed shifted again as he moved to stretch out fully beside you.

He accidentally touched a sensitive part of your side in his attempt to get positioned and you let out a small involuntary whine of pain. You didn't blame him, you were the one that silently asked him to stay. You wanted him here.

Aiden's hand came up in the front of your vision to grasp yours, it was still tightly gripping the sheets in a tense fist. He lowered it down to the front of your chest and clasped it tightly in his own.

'I love you..' he rasped, barely above a strained whisper.

'I love you too..' you whispered back softly, tilting your head in his direction slightly.

You really did mean it. You loved this man.

You finally relaxed enough to fall into a state of sleep, leaning back onto his frame for support, you let yourself drift, unaware of Aiden's thoughts at the moment.

He was wide awake contemplating all the events that day. One thought in particular demanded attention..

She shouldn't love me, .. but she does..

I have to protect her..

- Page Break-

AN: Okay so.. I know it got a little brutal there with the killing of the guy but.. let's face it.. I know you can choose if you kill or injure someone in the game.. but I re-watched the gameplay where he killed DeMarco right there in the street to send a message. I think he would kill if the situation calls for it. As much as I love the little push he gives the injured DeMarco's leg while he's next to him, it is a pretty brutal execution.. I'd prefer NOT to have to do another 'torture' scene.. and please.. no tactless comments about the shower scene. There's nothing 'romantic' or 'hot' about that.

Hopefully the end was cute there too. He doesn't seem like he's a very affectionate guy, but I figured he'd feel some sympathy for her. No one should have to experience something like that. Jeez.. I just re-read this whole Chapter and it is depressing.. I had no idea I could write drama like that o.O I need to write something happier for the next Chapter.. Any requests? I should warn you it'll probably have a romance element to it. I need a little more of that. I haven't written that type of thing for this series in a while =D I didn't get around to my TLoU writing this weekend.. I only played it. Can you blame me? Joel is just so damned sexy! So I'll probably work at coming up with something for that right now.. Like I said.. anyone have requests for a WD One-shot?