Title - Written By The Victors
Chapter title - The Reunion
Author - OblivionsGarden
Genre - Romance/Adventure/Friendship/Drama
Disclaimer - I do not own the Uncharted Series in anyway shape or form. I only own the plot points surrounding my oc's, not recognized from the games. For this chapter I own, Penny Kingsley.
Chapter Word Count - 3655 words.

A/n - Please leave a review, I'd greatly appreciate it. Hope you enjoy, xx (:

Indescribable pain was what Penny felt and for a moment she wondered if it were hell. Her skin felt like it was burning and someone or something was tugging her arms upwards, stopping eventually where it was cooler. She listened, unable to open her eyes.

"Oh god." A woman's voice, not one she was familiar with.

"Elena? You found him, yet?" A man, she knew that one. Sully? But he wasn't here, was he?

"No, it's the girl. Penny."

"She good?"

Sully's voice held an unusual tone and Elena bit her lip. She didn't know her but from Sully explanations of everything, she knew how close the two were. She didn't know how to tell him that the young girl was unconscious, covered in her own blood and paler than any natural red head should be.

"Elena?"

"She will be."

She was determined, no one would die. She pulled Penny's vest top up, the khaki green soaked in crimson red. The wound didn't seem to be bleeding as much as it had been but it hadn't stopped. Elena had no idea of the internal damage but she knew Penny had a pulse, she'd felt it in her wrist when she dragged her into the shade. Using her canteen she poured water over the wound, cleaning it out. Before it could bleed even more, Elena pulled the shirt from around Penny's waist, tearing a strip from the bottom and wadding it together to press over the gash. She replaced the vest top over it and tied the shirt back around her to keep the make shift dressing in place. Penny cried out as she double knotted the sleeves of her shirt.

"Penny?" She brushed the dirt from around her mouth. "Can you hear me? You need to wake up, we need to move."

"Sully?" She rasped, eyes fluttering open. Her throat felt like sandpaper. "I heard, Sully."

"Here, drink this." Elena lifted her head to rest on her lap, angling the canteen for her to drink from as she grabbed her two way radio. "Sully, she's awake. Talk to her."

"Hey, kid. You holding up alright?"

"Mm." Penny swallowed her water, regaining her senses. "I could murder a pizza."

Sully's laugh was like music to her ears as she tried to sit up, groaning at the pain that shot through her stomach.

"What happened? Where is everyone?"

"Long story." She gasped. "Sam's with Rafe and Nate... shit." She glanced at Elena who looked terrified at her expression. "He fell over the edge."

Elena leapt up, dropping to her knees at the edge of the cliff as Penny continued to talk to Sully.

"Sully, we'll find him. Please for the love of god tell me you brought that scrap metal you call a plane."

"Yeah..." Sully drifted for a second as he fought to find the right words. "Just, be careful alright. No goddamn dumb ass moves anymore. Find the boys and get outta there."

"Yes sir."

Penny managed to climb to her feet, stumbling over to Elena and placing a hand on her shoulder.

"How'd you get here?"

"I stole a car from Shoreline." She murmured, not turning to look at her.

"Good, less walking." She forced herself to stand straight despite the pain. "Let's go find your husband."

"You're the luckiest person I've ever met." Elena scoffed as they drove though Libertalia.

"Excuse me?" Penny frowned, gesturing to the blood stained clothes.

"Whoever stabbed you didn't hit any organs. If he had you'd be dead."

"Oh... right. Well, every cloud I guess."

Elena smiled, pulling the car over when she spotted a slope in the overgrowth a little below them. There was no way to drive down so they had to climb. Elena at first insisted that Penny stay with the car but Penny was stubbornly set on the idea that sticking together was the safest option.

Penny moved slower than Elena as she was trying her best not to move her stomach too much, which is physically impossible. You're stomach moves when you breath so the best she could do, was go slow.

"I found him!" Elena shouted from the muddy slope she'd dissapeared down. "He's breathing!"

Penny slid down, almost crying when she hit the bottom. Instead she muscled through and helped Elena with Nate. Once they'd managed to wake him up, they leant him against a fallen tree trunk and as Elena cleaned his wounds he told them about how he and Sam went from Morgan's to Drake's and discovered their mothers work on Avery.

Penny moved over to sit down for a minute whilst the couple talked. She was barely managing to keep herself together at that point. The pain she knew she would forget eventually, especially if she was given something else to focus on and as soon as Nate was set, they be looking for Sam. That would be distraction enough.

But what Sam wasn't a distraction from was... well, Sam. Her mind was still whirling, the initial anger having worn off. She was still pissed, beyond pissed, but, the more she thought on it, the more she could see Sam's reasoning. He knew Nate was more or less retired from that life, knew he was settled and married. Sam had never had that chance. Sam had spent fifteen years alone, obsessing over that treasure with no chance to grow and learn that treasure isn't everything. Sam was essentially still the twenty something man that got shot trying to escape Panama.

It didn't excuse his lying, of course it didn't. But maybe it was reason enough for a second chance. She had thrown her parents and her job in his face on the cliff edge but she didn't care about that deep down. She cared that she had indeed risked her life on this job and he hadn't said a word about his lie.

"Hey," Nate was knelt in front of her, reaching a hand towards her face. She hadn't noticed she was crying until he brushed the tears away. "He'll be fine." He tried to reassure her but she scoffed.

"Is it bad that I hope he's in a little bit of pain right now?" She bit the inside of her cheek and Nathan laughed a little. "I know he'll be fine. But only if we get to him. If not, Rafe will kill him."

"Yeah." Nate pulled her to her feet, eyes widening when he saw the blood. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine. You're lovely lady wife saved me."

"Yeah... She's good at that." He looked over at her with longing as she gave them both a wry smile. "So, you missing your home comforts yet?" He asked as they headed back up to the car.

"Call me crazy but I was actually having fun... Until Adler took Sam and I got the piercing I never wanted."

Nate and Elena were a god send to Penny as they made their way back to the car. They distracted her from her thoughts and from her stomach, keeping her focused on moving forward.

"Hey, Penny... What happened to you on that cliff? I thought you were gonna black out." Nate asked as the tried to get the lift working.

"Oh, I uh... I had a panic attack." She shrugged, turning away. "It happened once back in Egypt, that's why I managed it this time."

"A panic attack?" Elena bit her lower lip, sympathy in her eyes.

"Yeah. Almost getting blown up with an RPG and being inside a building when it collapses... Not good for the ticker." She patted her chest with a laugh.

"But you're good now?" Nate placed his hand on her shoulder and she nodded, grateful for having made such good friends on this journey.

Fighting the Shorelines Mercs proves difficult when two of your team are trapped inside a centuries old elevator and the other is clinging to the side but eventually they managed it.

Seeing Nate and Elena banter back and forth made Penny miss having Sam by her side. His teasing, flirting, playful looks, smirks and winks. She wondered that should everything work out and they get out of there, whether she and Sam would be together as long as Nate and Elena.

She'd felt herself mellow in regards to his lies. She knew he'd had good intentions, he'd just executed them poorly. She'd still give him hell when they got back to him but she also knew the want to hug or kiss him would be overwhelming. But as she'd said to Nate on the boat, she's a woman and she needs to be mad for a while.

"Guys, I need a minute." Penny dropped to the ground, panting as she pushed her hair away from her face. "Why is it everything you touch breaks, Nathan?" She laughed, looking back at the place when a tree had just fallen.

"I'm just that lucky." He laughed. "Are you alright? We can radio Sully, have him come get you?"

"And let Sam get off without a telling off? Now where's the sense in that?" She smiled, placing a hand over her stomach. "Honestly though, I need to come with you. Sully would drive me crazy with the way her worries."

"And it's not just cause you're worried about Sam?"

"It's a little of that."

Elena had a knowing look in her eyes as she stood behind Nathan. She knew how Penny felt, it was the exact reason she was there in the first place. No matter what Nathan did there wasn't a snowballs chance in hell she was going to leave him out there alone. Penny wasn't about to leave Sam to Rafe, even if Nate was capable of saving his brother. She needed to be there, she needed to see him safe and well. She needed Sam.

New Devon was beautiful. Penny didn't think that was something that would run through her head as they sat atop the wall looking out at the town. Elena was looking through the binoculars, at Avery's place as she contemplated how this part of the trip would be going if Sam were there.

She'd be mad that she had no camera, he'd say something cocky, Nate would tell them to focus and they'd laugh at him. That had been their routine so far. With the sudden ache for Sam that was running through her core she felt pangs of anger at Rafe for taking him from her. She was determined to see that wolfish smirk again away from this damn island even if she had to go through Rafe to do it.

"Shit. Shit!" Elena gasped suddenly.

"What?"

"The front door."

"Sam."

Penny took the binoculars, aiming for the door of Avery's place. When she saw Adler pushing Sam along that anger built within her. She thrusted the binoculars back into Elena's hand, stomping forward and diving into the water, the others quick to follow.

When Penny took a second to breathe as Nate took out a Shoreliner a little further on, she found it funny how her rage was fueling her to keep going. They should write it into survival guidebooks, she thought. Anger is the best way to survive a stab wound. Pure anger directed at one pompous haired, man baby, target.

Finding the table of long dead Pirate Captains was astonishing. Penny wondered if Sam had seen them as he and Rafe made their way through to Avery's mansion. She hoped he had, imagining the school boy look of wonder that would've crossed his features.

Avery's mansion or more so a palace, was incredible. Ivory marble with golden inlays and accents. Penny would've loved to come and do an entire shoot of pictures in this one place. Avery's didn't skimp on the lavish lifestyle that was for certain. She almost felt bad when Shoreline arrived and started shooting holes in the walls.

As they found their way to what she presumed was Avery's study, of sorts, Nate found Sam's lighter. He knew they'd come and he was leaving clues. Both he and Penny shared a look of relief, that Sam hadn't become so obsessed with this treasure he'd leave them alone.

The further they traveled through Avery's maze of caverns and tunnels, the clearer it became that Henry Avery was completely one hundred percent, certified crazy. Hanging hands, ribs, jaws, exploding mummies... Penny was swiftly loosing hope that Sam had made it through here. Every corner she turned she expected to see him blown into pieces.

With the exploding mummies and Nate and Elena getting swept up into a net, Penny was bordering on panicking again. She held her breath as Nate reached for the sword, only releasing it when they both dropped to the floor and they had to run. There were so many explosives through that next tunnel, that when they landed on the floor, Penny's ears were ringing.

As Elena pulled her prank on Nate, which also startled Penny, the younger girl, slipped off to the side, leaning against a rock as she calmed her breathing. She glanced over her shoulder at the couple who were sharing a kiss and that familiar ache shot through her chest. Luckily the explosion behind her reignited her hope and they were once again tearing through to find the man she was aching for.

With the amount of mercenaries around, she couldn't see them making it through but they did it, barely. The brief glimpses she got of Sam proved to her that he was fine and holding his own as they neared him.

"Hey, up here!" Sam shouted and Penny shot towards his voice.

She'd only known Sam for maybe a month or so, but the feelings she felt towards him were stronger than she knew possible. There was a distinct lack of love and emotion in Penny's life. The most she saw was from her grandfather, when he spoke of his wife. Her parents were no example, in her twenty four years the two of them had expressed their love maybe six times that Penny could remember. She was almost certain her father had married for status rather than love and she wouldn't put it past her mother to do the same.

Love wasn't something Penny saw in her future, especially when she'd attend a fundraiser at the museum and her parents would only introduce her to the wealthiest of men there, parading her around like a show pony. And then Sam came barreling into her life, guns blazing, literally. She didn't know how to describe how she felt about him but she imagined anyone could feel extremely close to someone they'd traveled with and risked their life for.

"Man, you're a sight for sore eyes." Sam said as the three of them looked up at him on the boat.

"Yeah, how about we get off this damned beach, huh?"

Sam kicked down a ladder and they climbed up to meet him. Penny didn't know whether to hug him or slap him again so she settled on a gentle smile which he returned. Sam Drake never thought he'd be so grateful to see a smile. The telling off she thought she'd have ready for him died in the back of her throat. His eyes flickered to the blood, stepping forward but she held up a hand, uttering a quick reassurance.

"You find my lighter?" He asked of Nate but the answer never came as an RPG exploded into the side of the boat.

"Fucking RPG's!" Penny shouted, rage in her voice when they landed after the floor collapsed. "I hate RPG's."

They took down the 'rocket man' as Sam called him and the other mercs that had found them, losing Nate beneath a sunken ship on the way. They met back up with him and Penny had never been so relieved to see Sully before. She practically ran over to him, biting her lip to keep from crying as she threw her arms around his waist. He laughed as he place her arms around her, holding her close to his chest.

"You alright, darlin'?" He asked in a low voice.

"I'm alright." She pulled back with a sniff. "Nothing I can't deal with. I'm glad to see you though."

"You sure you're good." Sully was staring at the dried blood covering one side of her shirt. "That doesn't look like the definition of 'dealt with'."

"It's on temporary hold." She shrugged. "I've been kinda busy."

Hearing Elena say how Sam covered her and Penny as they made their way through brought her back to the present situation as the elder Drake moved forward.

"Bullet grazed my shoulder." He laughed. "You?" He gestured to Nathan's face.

"Cliff side grazed my face."

"Knife, went through my gut. I win." Penny scoffed as she joined the two and Sam's faced dropped, eyes again falling to her stomach.

"Knife?" He swallowed hard, eyes beginning to shine. "Penny, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have left you there, I-I..."

"Hey!" Penny cut him off. "You had no choice. It's fine. I'm fine."

"You know I changed my mind." He stated, continuing when she frowned. "Before I said you're hot when you're angry but, uh... I don't think so anymore." He scratched the back of his neck. "Kinda scary actually. And you have a good hitting arm."

"I'm sorry about that." She made to reach for his cheek but stopped herself.

"You shouldn't be the one apologizing, sweetheart."

"Later."

They stared at each other for a long moment until Nathan broke the silence, asking about Rafe. (Sam had lead him and his crew into one of Avery's traps.) He tried to apologize to Nathan but he told him to save it for later, asking Sully which way out.

"Whoa, whoa." Sam stopped the group as they made to leave. "Sorry. What are we doing?"

"What do you think we're doing? We're getting the hell off of this rock." Sullivan answered.

"Right. We, we could do that... or we could head in that direction, which is a short cut."

"Short cut to what?"

"To Avery's treasure. I mean, Rafe's gotta got all the way around but we could just-"

"Hey, screw Rafe!" Sully interrupted.

"Hey, Victor with all due respect maybe just-"

"You just don't know when to quit."

"Look, we're all here for the same reason, right?" Sam was beginning to look desperate as he looked between them.

Penny sat down on a rock, listening to the rest of the conversation. She felt herself being torn between two minds. She had an unhealed bullet graze on her leg, a wound on her head that was probably covered in dirt and sweat, a wound on her stomach that could easily get infected if she didn't get it properly treated soon and not to mention the bruises, scrapes and general exhaustion running through her.

But on the other hand, she had never left a job unfinished before. She knew that this wasn't just another job, that the original premise was false but that didn't mean the end result was also a lie. Avery did have all of that treasure somewhere and they could find it if they wanted to, before Rafe got there. But Nate was right too. They had nothing to prove. The look on Sam's face as he asked Victor where his plane was nearly split her into two completely separate pieces.

"I understand your reasons." She murmured so only he could hear as they began to leave. "But I think Nate's right too." She added. "Maybe it's time to let this one go. Before you get yourself killed over it."

"I know." He nodded, sadness in his eyes. "I'm sorry... For everything."

"I know." She repeated his words. "Look, I'm not going to say all is forgiven, I'm still mad at you... But, I thought about it and I think I get it."

"You do?"

"You've been looking for this since you were kids right? Unfinished business, is the short version I guess."

"Yeah. Something like that."

Eventually the found a way to get across to a fairly easy route to Sully's plane but of course, being with the Drake's, their access broke with Sam stuck on the other side.

"Sam, c'mon." Nate called. "C'mon, just jump, I'll catch you."

Sam stalled, looking back up at the cave he knew held Avery's treasure. He looked back over to the others, catching Penny's eye. He could tell she knew exactly what was going through his mind. She gave no indication to what she was thinking. No pity or sadness, no shaking her head, she said nothing. Just watching him decide for himself.

"No, no, don't you even think about it, you hear me?"

"I'm sorry I got you into this." He called over. "All of you."

"Hey, all of that doesn't matter anymore, okay? Just jump."

"I gotta see this thing through, Nathan."

"Hey, listen to me! If you do this, I'm not coming after you! You hear me?"

Sam looked back one more time, looking at his baby brother with regret. "I'm sorry." And he turned heel and ran, still hearing Nate calling his name.

"He called your bluff." Sully stated, hands on hips.

"He's gonna get himself killed. C'mon."

"Penny?" Sully looked to the girl who hadn't said a word for the whole exchange. "Still good?"

"For now." She nodded with tired eyes. "But when we get out of here, Samuel Drake owes me." She followed Elena with Sully at her side. "I want a large pepperoni pizza with a side of fries and lemonade." She grumbled. "And then after I want ice cream in four different flavors. I want to eat until I'm sick and then I want to sleep until I'm hungry."

"And Sam's paying, right?"

"With his newly acquired riches, Sam's paying for it and serving it to me in a goddamn butler outfit."