As he shut the door on his truck, Joel couldn't help but sigh and feel a little reluctant to do this job for his ex's sister but he needed the money and Tommy was already out working at someone else's house. Walking up the path, he gripped his toolbox tightly and raised his hand to knock on the door but it opened before his fist could make contact with the door and Lucy stood there with widened eyes.

"Oh! Joel, you're here!"

Joel frowned a little as he saw the way that Lucy was intensely looking at him, her eyes flickering over his face, "Yeah, you said something about a leaky sink?"

"Yup! Bathroom. Upstairs," Lucy said, rolling her eyes, "Driving me crazy. How are you by the way? Any interesting news? No life changing events? Cup of coffee?"

Feeling a little stunned by her behaviour, Joel wondered if the stress of raising twin boys had hit Lucy and she had started drinking during the day. "No thanks, I'm good on the coffee front and I'm the same as always," he said slowly, wondering what was wrong with her, "nothing exciting happening."

"Nothing excit-" Lucy stopped and narrowed her eyes at him, "Have you spoken to Melanie lately?"

Joel withheld a sigh and started to walk upstairs, "So is it just the sink leaking or is it the tap too?" he asked, hearing Lucy run up behind him on the stairs, "I have a couple more jobs to do so I don't have all day."

"Joel, you didn't answer-"

"Look Lucy, I don't wanna talk about this with you okay?" Joel snapped, turning to look at the woman "I'm here to fix the damn sink and that's it."

"So she hasn't told you…" Lucy said slowly and rubbed her face, "she probably hasn't done it yet."

Rolling his eyes and thinking that she was talking about the holiday, Joel shook his head, "Melanie told me all about it, okay… and I think it's great."

"You… you do?" Lucy's eyes widened and she looked concerned "Are you gonna be with her then? Help her through this?"

"Why would she need me?" He asked exasperatedly, "It's hardly life-changing stuff, lots of people do it."

Lucy suddenly looked angry, "Hey! It's partly because of you this is happening!" she snapped, "Least you could do is support her!"

"What you want me to hold her hand through this?" Joel frowned "Pretend to be interested? I'm sorry it isn't happening."

He didn't know why Lucy was looking at him as if he had sprouted two heads suddenly, "Wow… how the hell did my sister ever fall for such a fucking, heartless son of a bitch."

"Where the hell did that come from?-"

"After everything she's been through she's gotta go through this alone!"

"-it's a fuckin' holiday, Lucy! She doesn't need me to-"

"-and to think she might be carrying your child. I feel so sorry for it if she is pregnant."

As she said that last word, Joel felt as if all the air had been sucked out of the room and his eyes widened as he looked at her, "Pregnant?" he repeated and dropped his toolbox on the floor, "Melanie's pregnant?"

"That… that wasn't what you were talking about…?" Lucy said uneasily, suddenly looking guilty, "Please tell me that was what you were talking about!"

He shook his head and ran a hand through his hair, not knowing what to say… "She told me about her holiday… she-she didn't mention anything about this."

"Oh fuck… fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck," Lucy cursed loudly, covering her face "Melanie is gonna kill me. She is actually going to kill me."

Walking forward, Joel pulled her hands away from her face and looked at her seriously "Is she?" his heart was thudding in his chest as he waited for her answer, "I need to know Lucy, is Melanie pregnant with my child?"

"I went around there last night and she was going to take a test," Lucy said shakily, "I haven't heard anything since."

Joel dropped Lucy's hands and stared into space "I need to talk to her," he said suddenly "I have to know."

"Joel, wait!" Lucy made an annoyed noise as the house phone rang and she ran downstairs to answer it, "Just wait on me okay? I'll come with you. She'll be nervous as hell if it's just the two of you- Hello?"

Not bothering about his toolbox, Joel went downstairs and was about to leave when-

"Yes, Melanie Colt is my sister…"

He stopped and turned to look at Lucy who had become very pale and looked incredibly worried, "A car accident… and she's-she's stable, right? She's going to be okay? I'll come now!"

"What the hell's happened?" Joel asked, hoping that this was a mistake but one look at Lucy and he knew it wasn't.

"It's Melanie… she's been in a car accident."

His eyelids were so heavy that it took a while before his eyes opened fully. Joel looked around confused as he seen that was in a run-down basement but what worried him more was that he was alone.

No Melanie and no Ellie.

Trying to remember what the hell had happened, he got quick glimpses of being at the college and the last thing he remembered was falling down the stairs before everything had went black.

He needed to find them… he needed to know what had happened.

Throwing the blanket off of himself, Joel went to sit up and hissed in pain when his side flared up. Looking down at it, he seen that it had been stitched up neatly and the bruises were beginning to fade. Obviously Melanie's work, Ellie's stitching was a lot messier.

"Ellie!" He called out, slowly getting to his feet and swaying a little, "Melanie?"

As he went to walk towards the stairs, Joel's leg gave out and he fell to the ground, his knees hitting the stone flooring hard and he cursed loudly in pain. Breathing through his nose, he ignored the pain and once again got to his feet, "MELANIE!" he shouted a little louder, waiting several moments for a reply, "ELLIE!"

Hearing nothing but his own laboured breathing, Joel spotted his backpack and noticed that the contents had been spilled out and that his pistol was missing. Something must be wrong… He picked up most of the ammo and the other guns he had collected on his travels and put the backpack on, although it felt as if he was carrying a heavy rock instead.

The stairs were a challenge and he felt quite out of breath when he finally reached the top and stepped into the kitchen and seen that it had been ransacked. There wouldn't be any supplies here. Melanie would have searched this place from top to bottom for anything useful as well as Ellie…

"Where the hell are you two?" he whispered, looking out onto the snow covered town, hoping that his girls weren't too far away. Heading for the door, he stepped outside and pulled his collar up over his neck and shivered. It was so fucking cold. "ELLIE! MELANIE!" he called out again, looking around for any trace of them, "WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?"

As he walked down the road, he heard the noise of a bullet passing him and then the clink as it hit the wreck of a car in front of him. "SHIT!" he cursed and took cover behind it, bringing out his gun quickly.

"IT'S THAT FUCKER FROM THE UNIVERSITY! KILL HIM!"

Joel gritted his teeth and was relieved to see that his gun was fully loaded, "WHERE ARE THEY?" he shouted back, looking over the top of the car as he fired his gun quickly before ducking down again as the two bandits fell dead in the snow.

"Move it! Don't let him get ya!"

Figuring out it must have been the same guys from the University, Joel got to his feet and saw that they were quickly retreating. Probably to get more men. Not caring about the pain in his side, he quickly gave chase, firing his gun when he had a clear shot.

He lost track of one in a house and ran through to get him but felt an arm go around his neck as he went out the other door, "Gotcha asshole!" the man sneered, increasing his hold on Joel. Out of the corner of his eye, he seen another one approach with a knife in his hand and tried with all his might to get himself free, "Finish him off!" the one holding Joel demanded.

"Hold him still!"

As he got closer, Joel knew he had to act fast or die when suddenly someone ran into the knife-wielding bandit and pushed him off his feet before slamming a brick into the side of his head. Not letting this distraction go to waste, Joel threw his head back and felt it hit the other bandits head and managed to twist out of his grip. Grabbing the bandit, he slammed him face-first into the side of the house and watched as he crumpled to the floor, turning to see who his saviour was, he felt the breath escape him as he seen Melanie standing shakily before him.

"Joel?"

Joel looked over her and seen that her front had blood on it and there was a cut on her cheek, "Melanie…" he whispered and walked forward to engulf her in a hug. Relief running through him.

She gripped him hard and he felt her tremble as he held her, "I heard them shouting and didn't know if it was you," Melanie murmured against his neck, "I didn't think you were ever going to wake up…"

"It's all right… it's gonna be alright," Joel said reassuringly, as he leant back, he seen her face crumple and he frowned a little, "'Mel, what's wrong?" he asked quietly, "Where's Ellie?"

Melanie averted her eyes as she stepped backwards out of his arms, "They took her… there was so many of them that-that I couldn't do anything…" she stopped and looked at him pleadingly, "I'm so sorry Joel, it's all my fault… I lost her…"

"Hey, hey, it's not your fault okay," Joel said slowly, hearing the bandit groan behind him, "it's these fuckers fault," he walked over and punched the one who was starting to come too hard in the face, "you're coming with me."

Melanie frowned as he started to drag one of them towards a house, "Wait, what? Joel, what are you gonna do?" she asked worriedly as she seen the look on his face.

"I'm gonna find out where they've taken my girl," Joel said in a dangerously serious voice, "and then I'm gonna get her back."

As he dragged the bandit away, Melanie heard him groan loudly, "Let me go! I'll fuck you… up."

"Come on."

Melanie had hated this side of Joel back in Boston… back when they had started to fight almost every night and it was because of his actions that she had left. But Melanie hadn't realized that if Joel hadn't done those things, then she would have died. Because of him, they survived. This was the way of the world now… and she wasn't the same Melanie as back then.

She had changed too.

Hearing the other one come too, Melanie walked over and pistol whipped him in the back of the head and he groaned in pain as he landed on his back in the snow. Standing back from him, she pointed the gun at his head "Get up dickhead," she said firmly, "do anything stupid and I blow your brains out, got it?"

Joel hated hospitals.

He remembered being in here almost every week when Sarah was first born, worrying himself half to death everytime she got a little cold or breathed funny. The nurses had come to know him and always reassured him that his baby was fine and this was normal behaviour for every parent.

Glancing over at Lucy, he seen that she was gripping her bag so tight that her knuckles had turned white. She had barely spoken on the ride to the hospital and instead stared into space with wide eyes, looking on the verge of tears.

"Hey, 'Luce…" Joel said gently, putting his hand over hers, "She's gonna be okay… try to relax."

"She was in a fucking car accident Joel…" Lucy whispered, her voice breaking at her own words "they can be bad. Not everyone comes out alive."

Joel sighed, "Thinking like that isn't helping any," he told her quietly, "do you want me to phone Garrett or-"

"He's at work…" Lucy's face crumpled and she covered her face with her hand, "I can't lose her… she's all I have left."

When she began to cry, Joel reached over and put his arm around her shoulder, trying to keep strong for the both of them. Scenario's ran through his head – ones of Melanie coming through the doors and smiling at them, telling them they were such worriers and she was fine and other more sinister ones of a doctor coming out and telling them she didn't make it.

He closed his eyes and felt genuine fear that he was never going to see her again.

If he hadn't been such a fucking idiot and let her walk away, she wouldn't have been in this mess. She would have been with him, safe and sound.

"Are you Melanie Colt's sister?"

Looking up, Joel seen a nurse giving them a sad look as Lucy nodded quickly, "Yes, yes I'm her sister," she wiped her eyes "How is she? Can I see her?"

"Your sister is stable for now, the truck driver suffered a heart attack and hit her side on. She has severe bruising and a few broken ribs," the nurse looked at them both sadly "but I'm afraid there was some internal trauma and she suffered a miscarriage. She lost the baby."

Joel froze on the spot and looked down at the ground as the nurse began to talk more to Lucy who had begun crying again. Melanie had been pregnant with his baby but now… he forced himself to breathe through his nose and felt an overwhelming urge to see her.

"-she's resting just now, but if you are quiet, you can sit in the room with her," the nurse's voice brought Joel out of his thoughts, "the doctor will be in shortly to speak to you. You are both family yes?"

Lucy nodded again, "This is her fiancé," she lied quickly "they've been together for ages."

"That's fine, if you would follow me."

Joel felt numb as he followed Lucy and the nurse down the corridor and into the lift, all he could think about was Melanie… had she known she was pregnant? Should they even tell her? He didn't want to inflict more pain on her. Never.

Lucy was the first to go into the room and let out a small sob of pain as she looked at her sister, Joel felt his heart aching when he seen her sleeping on the hospital bed. Cuts and bruises on her face with a drip in her arm. She looked so fragile lying there.

"I can't believe she lost the baby…" Lucy whispered, then glanced at Joel, "I'm so sorry Joel."

He shook his head and stood over Melanie, cupping her cheek tenderly, "So am I," he said quietly, "so am I…"