Thus guards to join together with fortitude (9)

I believe the answer is:

stoically

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'with fortitude' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'thus guards to join together' is the wordplay.
'thus' becomes 'sic' ('thus' in Latin).
'guards' indicates putting letters inside (inserted letters are guarded).
'join together' becomes 'ally' (I've seen this before. I am not sure about the 'together' bit.).
'sic' going around 'to' is 'stoic'.
'stoic'+'ally'='STOICALLY'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Another definition for stoically that I've seen is " With fortitude".)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.

Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.