- Chapter Fifty-Two -

Need A Ride, Hotstuff?

Content sighs and greedy Styrofoam slurps reverberating in the otherwise crowded lot, every single person in the group was in their own small slice of bliss as their cups were emptied in companionable silence. Nadine truly did just need the punch to get her shit in order; Chloe and Daniella were merely in it for how (unexpectedly) masterfully the beverages had been prepared; even Sam was taken aback at how good the drink was, and he must have been in that café half a hundred times before. Rafael was not going to be in a rush to order another girly caramel-flavored beverage any time soon, but it wasn't the worst thing he ever had. For him, it ultimately come down to his mind having time to wander.

Over a full minute passed like that, the "doc" with his back to the blazing parking lot, the mercenary resting against her thief and sharing the occasional sip with one another, Sam leaning back against the wall in the shade, and Dells nursing her dregs on the sidewalk when everyone else was just hitting the half-way point. Sun glaring at the group as they waited for their ride to come pick them up to take them up to the airport, the wind shifted suddenly.

Pulling his collar up against the breeze, Rafael studied the others. "So what do you think we'll do to kill the time?"

Seeing as Chloe had once again danced to the beat of subverted expectations by showing up early, it was a valid enough question. For anyone that was even passingly familiar with the history between Nathan and Nadine, they knew that there would be a span of icy silence followed by pointed complaints and dirty looks, however, as for what the group at large would do, it was anyone's guess.

Catching-up was the obvious bit, so Frazer casually suggested, "Late lunch?"

Nice as that sounded, everyone there had pretty much just eaten, and anyways, food probably wouldn't be on the agenda until everyone had been assembled. As some in their party might argue, it would just be 'good manners'. Shooting a covert peek over at the young woman sitting cross-legged on the the baking pavement, the brunette had other plans regardless.

Turned out that the collective needn't dwell upon the mystery long, as not thirty seconds later a lovingly-used SUV rolled up. Elena held up longer than expected on the office phone by their permit guy in Corpus Christi, Nathan had drawn chauffeur duty for the day. Not that he minded the excuse to get outside.

Lot not especially busy, there was just enough traffic that he had to pull over to the side for pick-up. Waving out the window to get everyone's attention, the unpaid driver left the motor running for a hasty getaway. Practicalities aside, it was just an ingrained occupational hazard, one that any of his friends would have understood.

Despite clearly seeing that not three but five people were waiting out front for his arrival, the younger Drake acted surprised when Chloe herself came up to greet him. Because of course she did. "Ma'am. Need a hand?"

"Hey there handsome, got room for me and some of my friends?" Playing it totally straight, the woman gestured back to her group of misfits. Rafael saluted with his paper mug, Daniella waved apprehensively (thinking of the conversation she had had last night with the missus), and Nadine simply enjoyed her coffee, eyes averted.

In contrast, Sam made it clear he had other plans and completely glanced away. "Hey, little brother."

Nate, who followed his sibling's line of sight before he even realized he had to, understood immediately: it was about time. Replying to his fellow adventurer without missing a single beat, he nodded back to the ample empty space in the vehicle. "Sorry, but I only have room for three. Two of you are gonna have to find another way to entertain yourselves until the next ride comes along."

Cup another swig lighter, the brunette shrugged, "Eh, that works out." Although it probably would have been good for Dells to meet new people, Sam decided to use the time to kill two birds with one stone. "We need to pick up something for Cassie anyways."

'We'? Ears burning as her mind went in completely the wrong direction, Daniella apprehensively shot her eyes to her left. Facing the car like everyone else, the phantom fainter had been unable to rip her eyes off of the older man. All but forgetting that they had been fine that whole morning, the presence of the younger Drake brother served as yet another reminder that she couldn't keep hiding forever.

Unless she was just jumping to conclusions, and 'we' meant someone else?

For reasons she couldn't understand, Daniella was nervous at the very idea of spending all that quality time without any type of supervision. Dread settling in, Dells realized that she really didn't have much of a choice. Honestly, what was there to be so scared of anyways? No harm would come to her while Sam was there, yet...

Not the only one to notice the shift in atmosphere, Rafael and Chloe both knew to some extent where the explorer was going with things, so they kept up the ruse as they boarded. Aware of what Sam had to do, Frazer flashed a smile that was part knowing and part sympathetic, although she couldn't say who it was for. Both, probably. Whatever all the doc was planning, it was plain to see that the heiress was thoroughly under the thief's sway, so what came next would end up defining her, for better or worse. Thinking of the person-sized hole left in his life, the young man prayed it worked out better for her than it had for his own dearly departed...

Also in the know, Nadine stayed out of it and just drank her coffee.

"Who can say no to that face?" Playing up the dad card, even though he still had his reservations about her linage Nathan chuckled good-naturedly, "Alright, but curfew's at eleven."

"Aw, come on, just a little longer than that! I've been really good this week! I did all my homework and I even cleaned my room." Angling for an extra thirty minutes at minimum, Sam almost sounded like he was really asking his little brother for permission to stay out late with a girl.

The easy joke would have been to ask what said girl's parents had to say, however Nathan knew that that would have been poor taste. Plus, he was actively reminding himself to not bring up her father lest he say something that would have been better coming from his older brother.

"Fine, eleven thirty, but no later, you hear me Mister?"

Rafael indulged the show with a small chuckle, mouth thankfully too full of hot coffee to remind the duo to be safe, while Chloe had mustered up a laugh. Nadine's reaction... was to basically be Nadine, sans a good night's rest. Sam waved Nate on, "Alright, alright, hurry up now before you embarrass me over here."

Before any further objections could be raised or questions asked, it was just Sam and Daniella left. Laughing along with the rest at first, it was strange to her, because they had been alone that morning in their room without any problem (apart from the initial rebuff, but that resulted in an epic personal victory), so she didn't understand what had changed. After the shower the mood just wasn't there, so it could have been days ago, even the day they had met... except, well, he was avoiding her again. Or was she simply imagining it this time?

"Some deadline, huh?" Unsure about how to act or what to say, it was one thing to have little moments alone together, but unless the heiress was mistaken, this sounded like it was going to take up a considerable amount of time. And they would be by themselves... Alone.

Apparently it was contagious, the lack of knowing where to step to avoid the pirate-made booby traps. The awkwardness that hounded them in turn. "Some deadline."

Pins and needles beginning to creep up her legs, Daniella set her empty cup down at her side and stretched out on the curb, feet planted firmly on the asphalt. Rolling her neck and popping her shoulders, she peeked through her new fringe at the man. Puffing on his cigarette casually and looking all kinds of James Dean, the dark silhouette he cast was every inch the cool bad boy that you couldn't help but to drool over. It would have been better if he wasn't smoking, but she supposed that no one was perfect.

Eyes darting away before he could catch her looking, the girl wasn't nearly as crafty as she thought she was. Gaze intense enough to be felt through the back of his skull, the man smirked ever so slightly at her little ruse - whatever else was happening, it was rather flattering that she couldn't take her eyes off of him. Savoring the sensation of that and the nicotine, Sam took a long drawl and closed his eyes.

"So..." Drawing out the final vowel, the heiress addressed the thief with something akin to the second cousin of reluctance, asking herself for maybe the millionth time why it suddenly felt so strained between them, "Your niece, huh?" Even she wasn't entirely sure where she was going with it, if it was meant to be a joke to ease the tension, but it came out sounding rather rude and condescending, more like an accusation than anything else.

Haughty, just like her predecessor; although unlike her old man, it wasn't the automatic response. At least he didn't think it was. "Yeah," eyes snapping open, he shook out the final ashes and discarded the spent butt, "Rafe wasn't much for spending quality time either."

"Daddy?" Ever the textbook definition of daddy's little girl, the broken doll lost yet another layer of veneer at the mere mention of her father. Because that made things that much easier.

As much as it sucked, this was definitely one opening (and probably the most natural one that he would ever get), but... Sam glanced around at their surroundings, making special note of how crowded the area was getting now that the day was kicking into gear. There were an awful lot of people, and news like that would certainly cause a scene, so really it was a kindness to her prim sensibilities that he not just blurt it out there.

Gathering from the way she was playing with the bright green straw in her beverage that she was anxious, Dells tapped the plastic cup with every couple of words. Classic avoidance, although he would have thought the teen would have outgrown playing with her trash by this point in her life.

"You must have known him too, right?" As eager as she was to distance herself as far from her mother as she possibly could, it was only natural that Daniella would put together some sort of time line. "At least a little?"

Tilting her head at the end of the question mark, in truth a part of her was actually stalling. Sure, she would probably never say no to hearing more about her father, but just this once it was actually a handy excuse to teeter between past and present. To not have to address the real problem. Because maybe if they had the chance to go stargazing again - if she could see even a single pinprick caught in the nebulous weave of cosmic pink and ethereal blue - then just maybe they would be okay.

That's one way to put it, the grizzled thief thought to himself with a bitter taste on his tongue that even a decade couldn't wash away.

"You could say that." No longer fixated on the frothy dregs of whipped cream and caramel, instead his gaze found itself on a spot over the girl's shoulder. Being taller than most, it wasn't so unusual for him to see above the heads of others.

Approaching the heiress, she set her drink aside, both of them knowing that it was probably time they got a move on. Unspoken, a fraction of the ex-con was actively hoping that something - anything - might happen to distract from the current trajectory of the conversation.

Hopeful but not holding his breath, the grizzled bear extended a courteous hand to the young lady. Emblematic of the trust that she had given him, Daniella didn't hesitate to take the offer, fingers curling tight around his sleeve as he pulled her up. Simple as the gesture was, it was rewarded with a shy smile on her part.

Maybe he could have left it at that, but something in her eyes compelled the words to come out of his mouth. Do it, the smarter parts of his brain urged, tell her now. "We worked a job together," if being scooped out of prison and then butting heads over the gold counted as any kind of partnership, "but it didn't exactly go according to anyone's plan."

"In what way?" Thinking along the line of a breakdown in negotiations, from what the heiress had seen from Drake it could have been just about anything.

Dells, why did you have to go and ask something like that?

Lungs deflated as they prickled with the familiar sensation of being shivved, the cold hands of truth clamped across his chest and pressed all the air out in a shaky exhale. Winded as if punched in the gut while climbing a sheer cliff side, the question hung in the glowing morning sunlight, caught on a noose of brilliant rays. Rope creaking as it sawed the wooden support beam, in theory the man knew the exact right way to answer, but Sam didn't... He couldn't...

Bubble bursting, the phantom dollar bill realized that something was wrong.

"Sam?" Intimate enough now to be done with 'Mr. Drake', she was more concerned by the way he was looking at her, or rather, wasn't. Putting into practice what she had spent a good deal of time studying, she knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that this time it definitely wasn't in her head. The sly scam artist was avoiding her gaze as if she were some sort of Gorgon. Look up, and his head was pointed down at her toes; something told her that it wasn't to admire her shoes. "Sam? Are you alright? You're starting to scare me."

Worry lines forming atop her brow, when she moved to reach out for the man she realized that he was still holding tight to her arm. A hair more than a healthy squeeze, it wasn't enough to add to the canvas of bruises painting her wanning complexion, but it was certainly stronger than a pinch.

"Sam?" Repeating his name as if it might finally break through, she cupped the side of his face with her free hand. Tender, she could care less what any of the bystanders might have thought - for once she had more pressing concerns.

"What's wrong?" Even the deaf could hear the concern in the young woman's voice, the blind capable of seeing just how mush she wanted to help.

Body giving her the only answer she would receive, the grip was imploring - desperate, almost like he were scared - as if letting her go might be the end. Of the world, probably not, but there was no mistaking a morose man drinking in the final blistering rays of the sun in the same greedy fashion she had devoured her caramel treat.

Precious crowning jewel of the Adler family looking up to him a certain way, the girl's bright eyes were just too much. Despite not be able to quite met her gaze, he felt himself leaning into the hand that brushed his cheek. Everything she felt towards him was in that touch, too good for the likes of a guy like him. He'd made peace with what he was, yet he forgot just how good it felt to be someone's hero again. To be idolized and depended upon. To be given the absolute highest amount of trust humanly possible.

Delight turned to ashes, it was only a given that after he came clean she would never want anything to do with him again. Rightfully so, he supposed. Attempting to think of things from a professional standpoint, he tried to tell himself that it was for the best. They'd go on with their lives in separate directions eventually, so really he should have been looking at this as beating the clock at its own game.

There might have been some overlap in their worlds, but they just weren't meant to mingle. Rafe had proved that so many years ago, as had so many others. Besides, it wasn't like he wanted anything more out of this girl than her money and a little ass. Who wouldn't? She was a walking, albeit clumsy, pocketbook. And it didn't hurt any that she wasn't so hard on the eyes. Constantly brushing her hair behind her ear, stealing little glances with an ineptitude that was actually kind of endearing. And she had an honest-to-God interest in history.

I'm just the first guy she ever fucked. You never end up with the person you lose your virginity to, barring a few rare exemptions, and anyways it was doomed before that. He didn't even try to save her lunatic of a father, so it was karma really.

Anyways, he could find a hundred other girls to replace her once this was all said and done. Daniella Adler wasn't so special...

I'm just the first guy she ever fucked.

Bracing himself to see that blind admiration turn to scorn once again, the silver fox found himself at the end of the road. Sure he could always lie to her and buy himself a few more minutes, but things would only be that much worse when the truth did inevitably find its way out. It always was.

"We were looking for Avery's treasure." If she was half as clever as he gave her credit for, she would understand what had happened.

Allowing that bombshell a moment to be felt, the thief watched the young woman process what she had just heard.

Not able to fathom the words that had just come out of the brunette's mouth, the pseudo-blonde gaped like a fish out of water. Surely she hadn't heard him right. Or there had been some kind of mistake. Like... Um... Ok, so she couldn't think of a single reason why he would say that, unless he was... Testing her...? Jay had done things like that in the past, but he'd never gone so low as to say that he had had a hand in her father's death...

Could it be true? Daniella didn't want to believe it for a single minute, but she herself had just acknowledged that anything might have happened...

Strange behavior suddenly making a lot more sense now, her face fell and her shoulder pulled back in its socket. Sam seemed so sincere when he told her, however he had to be wrong, or lying, or something! He protected her, so how could he possibly have... Refusing to even finish that sentence, there was a tiny little part of her better sense that chimed in, he's basically being paid to protect you. Sam Drake is a conman, it's all about the zeros he'll see on that blank check, not a stupid little girl that's in over her head.

But he...

We...

Oh, God! I... Hand falling away dead, the girl's first instinct was to flee, to run as far away from her troubles as she could possibly get. Although considering that had never once worked out, instead she just sat there, completely shell-shocked.

"Dells..." Forgetting that he already had a hold of her, Sam automatically reached out with his left to comfort the young woman. Much as he may have wished otherwise, he was unsurprised when she flinched away from this new touch, the carmine hurt flaring enough to slap his hand away.

Xenomorph levels of acid in her blood, the look in the young woman's eyes told him that he had a lot of gall to even dare. To be perfectly honest, he couldn't really disagree.

[The Wheels on the Van Go Round and Round ]

"Do you reckon they're gonna shag?"

Everyone looked back around at the permagrin splashed across the ravenette's face. While she was being serious (well, serious for Chloe), the returning stares were far more varied. Evolved from nursing her coffee like it was the ultimate preciousness to leering grumpily at the back of Nathan's head, Nadine's eyes went wide before she looked down at her hands. Used to driving with Cassie, Nate had mostly kept his eyes on the road, however it be lying to say that he hadn't flashed a look of disapproval through the rear view.

Rafael chortled, "You mean again?"

Nearly missing his turn, Nathan cut over the pavement and grass, sending up a light shower of dirt as he did so. Glancing sheepishly over at where his wife would have been sitting if she had actually been there, he thought back to something Elena had mentioned in confidence. 'Daniella's going through a lot right now. She needs all the support she can get.'

At first he thought that this spouse was thinking of the girl more in professional terms, a victim that had endure so much with a whole hell of a lot more to come. Now he realized that the blonde had seen so much more.

"Chloe," playing the straight man, he sighed her name in exasperation, a little taken aback that he would have to remind the woman of what was about to happen, "Sam's about to break some seriously heavy news to her. There's no way she's ever going to want to talk to him ever again, let alone... that." Nate screwed up his face at the mere thought.

She rolled her eyes, "Well obviously they're not going to be rooting after he tells her, but so far as anyone's concerned, he has hours until we harass him into coming clean with her."

"Maybe they will make a naughty," Chloe beamed with pride when Nadine used some of the slang she had been trying to teach her, "after a while." Having only been around the pair to bear witness to so much, the mercenary had seen more than enough to get the sense that the girl truly felt something for Drake. Then again, this was quite the bombshell to drop. And if it had been her first time... "After all, she does come from unpredictable stock."

Jovially elbowing the young 'doctor', Chloe informed her neighbor, "That's the nice way of saying crazy."

"Love makes us do crazy things." Parades pointed out that simple nugget of wisdom, having never met either of Danella's parents.

The beauty hadn't had the pleasure of making Rafe's acquaintance, but from everything she had heard, hers wasn't an incorrect statement. It wasn't as if Nate or Nadine were stepping in to defend the ass apparent. Or the woman that had given birth to the unfortunate offspring.

Avoiding that particular pitfall, Nathan laughed at the kid's suggestion, "Not Sam. He's plenty capable of doing stupid things without motivation. I don't think the girl classifies either. Apparently she doesn't buy into the whole idea of romantic love."

Nadine had to disagree, and this time it wasn't just to spite the younger Drake, "Just because you don't believe in something doesn't mean you can't succumb to it."

Without having to say it, she pointed out that Sam was still a man, and Daniella was a woman. An inexperienced one, but she was a woman nonetheless.

Author's Note:

The scariest thing is that I had the beginning parts of this chapter written before the term "subverted expectations" became the unholiest of swear words. I can't be sure I wrote that portion before Star Wars Episode VIII (which I can't even care enough to remember the name or be bothered to look it up), but it was definitely before Game of Thrones went and nailed the coffin shut. But we're not here for those fandoms, we're here for Uncharted! And no, that repeated line was intentional, not lazy/forgetful copy and paste.

Seriously, a HUGE HUGE HUGE round of applause to dragon-queen98 for the kind review! I've been thinking of Uncharted for a few weeks now, but your review really gave me the kick to look back into the story. So thank you! I truly would love to see this thing finished, and seeing that anyone is reading this story really motivates me!

And another round for guest. Guests plural? I know I've thanked you before, but re-reading the reviews made me really happy, so thank you once more!