Uncharted Fan-fiction

Chapter Five: Aftermath

Nathan opened his eyes and awoke slowly after sleeping a dreamless sleep. It was the first time since he could remember that he slept well and felt rested.

He blinked a few times to clear the morning haze from his eyes. It wasn't until he looked down that he realized he had a sleeping Elena wrapped up in his arms. He barely remembered how he had gotten into this position as he was exhausted and half asleep at the time.

He could feel the rise and fall of her breath on his chest. She was warm and looked so peaceful, he didn't want to wake her. She needed a good night's sleep just as much as he did.

He had never had the time to really look at her. They were always on the move dodging bullets and running for cover. He gently brushed the hair from her face with his finger and tucked it behind her ear, causing her to stir a little.

He was startled by her movement and quickly decided he shouldn't be found with her like this when she woke up. He slid out from underneath her carefully, making sure her head found the pillow instead of where it had formally been resting on his chest. He began to walk away when...

"Nate?" Elena slowly blinked her eyes awake and saw him walking away.

He turned around and slowly walked over to her as if he hadn't just slept in her bed with her all night. "Hey, how are you feeling?"

"Like I need to get out of this bed already" she motioned to get up, but her body was not used to the movement and angrily fought back causing her to shake and cry out in pain. She was able to get herself to sit upright and began to force one of her legs down towards the floor in an attempt to stand. Her muscles had atrophied from lack of use and she stumbled instantly and began to fall.

Nate's quick reflexes took over and he ran over to her in time to catch her before she hit the ground. "Hey hey hey, take it easy alright?"

"Damn it!" she shouted in frustration with her disability.

"Hey, it's okay, you're okay" he tried to calm her as he could see she was getting upset. His voice was sympathetic and soft towards her, he could tell she was having a hard time acknowledging her weakened state. He helped her up and she pushed him off of her, determined to walk on her own. She stumbled again trying to take the first step and Drake grabbed her before she could fall even slightly.

"Here" he offered his arm for support "Let me at least help you get started".

She begrudgingly took hold of the explorer's upper arm with both hands and thought to herself *Woah, his bicep muscle is huge!* It made sense after all the climbing he's done as a treasure hunter.

He was patient with her as she took her time putting one foot in front of the other. It was as if she was learning how to walk all over again. When she stumbled, he would lift her up and encourage her. He'd say things like "You've got this" and "I know you can do it". The doctor's had prescribed a time table that was progressive stating how long she was to have physical therapy each day and how long she was to rest. Nathan and Elena continued this routine together for the next week. He would report every morning to help her out of bed and work on her physical therapy together and help her back to bed when she was to rest.

*One week later*

It was dusk and the sun had just begun to paint the sky an array of yellow, orange, and pink. The silhouettes of birds passing through the mountains danced upon on the ground. Nate had been ruminating over his conversations with Schafer while Tenzin prayed a ritual around Schafer's memorial. He was deep in his thoughts asking himself if he had done the right thing and if he was a good man when Chloe walked over and engaged him in a conversation.

"So…it's been a long, strange trip hasn't it?" she pulled him from his thoughts.

"Yes it has. Y'know you should play the hero more often, it suits you"

"Nah." she replied after pausing to think about it only for a split second. "Tell me something Nate" she had to ask him.

"What?" he had no idea what she was going to say next.

"Do you love her?" she motioned to where Elena had been staying.

It was a question he never really asked himself. He tended to shove his feelings aside and replace them with sarcasm. He was taken back, a surge of emotions coursed through him all at once; shock, confusion, fear, guilt, all of which left him momentarily speechless until he realized he had unintentionally hurt Chloe ever since they ran into Elena in Nepal.

"Chloe, I'm sorry. I -"

"No. It's fine. Really, it's alright. Just do yourself a favor, cowboy. Tell her" she directed his attention to Elena easing her way down the stairs with Sully. Elena was fighting his help the entire way down insisting she could do it on her own.

He thought about what she had said for a short second. "Chloe -"

"No" she patted his face twice "My turn to walk away. But admit it...you're gonna miss this ass" as she walked away he chuckled once with a side smile remembering the scandalous part of his relationship with Chloe and felt resolved closing that chapter in his life. He turned around to Elena walking over with Sully holding onto his arm.

"Well, look who's not supposed to be out of bed" he poked humor at her knowing her prescribed schedule and that this was a time she was supposed to be resting.

"Yeah" Sully took the cigar out of his mouth and held it in his hand. "She's a lousy patient. Stubborn as all hell".

"I'm not stubborn I'm just restless" she pushed his arm away from her so that she was standing on her own.

"So, no giant sapphire" Sully said.

"Once again, no" Nate replied.

"And you're sure of that?"

"Yes" Elena chimed in.

"Just a metaphor I'm afraid" Nate shook his head slightly.

"Metaphor ain't gonna pay your bills, kid" Sully returned his cigar to his mouth.

"Eh something else will come along...just gotta have faith" he offered his arm out to Elena as he could see she was using all her energy to stand by herself. She wrapped her arm under and around his for support.

"Yeah, that and a quarter will get you twenty-five cents" Nate smiled at yet another one of Sully's terrible jokes. He loved him for it.

"Uh, which way did Chloe go?" he didn't stop after his bad joke. Nate pointed in her direction. "See ya later" Sully waved and turned around to find Chloe.

"Oh, no..." Elena realized what he was up to.

"You're a dirty old man Sullivan" Nate remarked. It wasn't the first time they had this conversation. "Uh-huh" Sully replied as they parted ways.

Nate and Elena walked over to Schafer's memorial and he sighed and looked down in his hand. He had been holding the necklace pendant Schafer had given him when he told him he had to believe.

Seeing his internal struggle, Elena said "You did good Nate". He stepped down and placed the pendant at the foot of the memorial. "I think he'd approve" she could tell it was hard for him.

"Yeah?" he looked at her in disbelief.

"Mm-hm". she shook her head yes confidently.

They walked slowly towards the edge of the mountainside. "So where do we go from here, huh?" Elena had been thinking about this for quite some time considering the way they had left things off after they had found El Dorado together. It was always the elephant in the room when it came to the two of them.

He had thought about what Chloe said to him and what Sully had said before her. Never before has a girl made him feel the way she does. Like he has purpose. He grew up fending for himself and only looking out for himself most of the time, just trying to get by. Then he met and partnered up with Sully who was in it mainly for the treasure at first until they began to develop a strong bond and became best friends. Then Elena came into his life and she became like his moral compass, directing his heart to a place where it felt right for the first time.

When he looks at her, he feels more alive than ever, like someone finally understands him to his core, not just the smart ass act everyone else sees on the outside. She calls him out on his bullshit and he loves her for it, yet he couldn't ever bring himself to tell her.

He turned to look at her, she was staring directly into his eyes. Her eyes sparkled causing his heart to skip a beat, but he was unable to look away. The setting sun bounced off her hair and radiated a golden blonde. The more he looked at her the harder it was to resist his now uncontrollable desire. His heart pounded in his chest as she looked longingly at him awaiting his response. "I don't know…" he said coyly and acted on his impulse, pulling her close to him and embracing her lips with his in a passionate, but tender kiss. His mouth felt warm on hers, his lips surprisingly softer than she had expected. It threw her off guard.

He pulled away, not wanting to overdo it and scare her away. He wanted it to be different with her this time. She looked confused. "I haven't thought that far ahead" he chuckled awkwardly in response to her confusion.

"Of course not", she joined in his awkward chuckle acknowledging the part of his personality that was always thinking on the fly, never planning ahead. "But then again, neither have I" she reassured him that it was okay he was that way.

"Good" he said, feeling relieved. She held his hand and walked backwards so she could face him and look at him while he walked forwards.

"So, on a scale of one to ten how scared were you that I was gonna die?"

The truth? The truth was there was no way to rate how scared he was on a numerical scale. Seeing her get hit by the grenade, carrying her out of a crumbling Shambhala and feeling her body go limp in his arms and the life drain out of her, seeing her covered in blood, waiting by her bedside for her to wake up wondering if she ever would, watching her fight for her life each day, panicking when she was convulsing thinking that was it, every time wondering what the last thing he said to her was and if he would ever get the chance to tell her how he really felt about her. The truth was he had never been more scared in his entire life.

But Drake would never admit that to her. "Four" he lied.

"Four?!" she pushed his arm away from her and looked up at him aghast.

"Yeah, why?"

"A four." she attempted again in disbelief.

"Yeah." he remained steadfast to his lie.

"You were at least an eight"

"An eight?"

"You were a total eight"

"An eight?! Those guardian things were an eight!" he knew he was really pushing it now.

"Are you kidding me?"

"Yeah, those were terrifying!"

"Then what's a ten?!"

"Clowns." he shrugged and made something up on the fly.

She took a step back "Clowns over my death?"

"I – I hate clowns" he turned away from her a looked out towards the mountains. He had to maintain his lie and looking at her made it harder.

"Clowns? Oh my word, you thought I was dead"

"No" he put his arm around her.

"No, you thought I was gone"

"No"

"Yes you did"

"No, I had you all along"

"I saw you shed tears, you shed a bunch of 'em"

"Tears?" that part he knew to be true, but he had to convince her otherwise.

"Mm-hm"

"It was raining" he lied again to hide the very real tears he shed.

"No it was not"

"You were unconscious and it was raining" he used her being unconscious to his advantage.

"It was totally sunny out and you were bawling"

"It wasn't sunny and you were unconscious"

"Whatever. I kept your tears in a jar. I have proof"

"I'll give you a five, how's that?"

The end.