Had this idea… again when I was playing Swamp Fever with my other brother; I was Ro' and he was Coach. Haha, and for the record I do not ONLY play Swamp Fever… it just happens to be when all the dramatic Nick stuff happens… hee…. So I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own L4D or any of the characters.

AN: This is a Nick and Ro' romance all the way.

LEFT4DEAD

"C'mon, c'mon!" Rochelle said, patching up Nick; a Tank well on its way over. "C'mon!" She said, her fumbling hands not wrapping the gauze properly. "There! I got it."

"Great, now I'm back!" Nick said, continuing to fight at the never ending zombie horde.

Rochelle turned around, nodding her approval that Nick was indeed alright. Rochelle turned back to the table that was set outside of the large house and moaned when she saw only one more First Aid left.

She grabbed it hurriedly and wondered if she should use it on herself and grab the defib she had dropped earlier to help Nick. She was interrupted when Ellis screamed out in pain.

"Ellis!" She screamed and ran towards the young man's scream. Only to find she was too late, running top speed towards his body she examined him as she ran but to find Ellis was pummeled to the ground by the tank. His eyes were still opened wide in fear, his young and innocent face forever frozen in horror and pain.

Rochelle gasped as she slowed her speed trying to stop when a Tank came from the bushes beside her and threw her across the yard and against the bushes; the impact knocking the wind out of her and definitely taking a toll on her ribs.

Rochelle screamed.

"The boat is here! Quick get on!" Coach screamed from the docks.

"On my way!" Nick yelled in return, firing his pistols into a zombie group behind him, running away towards the boat himself.

Rochelle grabbed at her AK-47 that she had dropped in her fall and fired at the Tank that was attacking her. She looked towards the docks, she had a clear view of both Coach and Nick on the docks.

"Go! Just go!" She screamed, gaining her footing and running in the opposite direction of the docks, hopefully taking the Tank away from her friends and the boat. She ran past Ellis dead and limp body, and gagged at the sight of his swollen face and twisted limbs; but kept running, firing her AK behind her as the Tank followed in close pursuit.

Rochelle screamed as his oversized fist collided with her back and sent her flying again, stumbling in the grass, one more hit and she was down for the count and then it was all over.

LEFT4DEAD

Nick jumped into the boat with Coach. "Where's Rochelle?" He questioned the large man.

"I don't see her…"

"What do you mean you don't see her!" Nick turned around and looked over the plantation grounds.

He saw the Tank and added two and two. "She's not gonna make it on her own!" Nick said and jumped back out.

"Nick stop!" Coach yelled but Nick paid no mind and ran towards the Tank.

"Hey!" Nick shouted so the Tank could hear him. Rochelle was struggling to keep her gun aimed or even stand.

Nick fired at the Tank with his SPAS. "Nick no! Just go…" Rochelle screamed, also shooting at the Tank.

"The hell I am." Nick shouted over the fire and the Tanks rampage. "Get to the boat, and wait for me." Nick ordered her.

"No I won't leave you to this alone!" She screamed also, continuing her onslaught of bullets.

Nick huffed and then yelled out in surprise and frustration when a group of zombies came up behind him and pulled at his arms and neck. He turned to face them and shoved them back shooting at each of them.

When he turned back around he was met with the Tank. "Aww shi-" He was cut short by the fist colliding with his chest.

Nick fell to the ground with a thud, the Tank chasing after him, he looked to where he'd last seen Rochelle to find she was being attacked continuously by several common infected.

Damn it he cursed. He reached for his gun but couldn't quite reach from his position. He crawled the rest of the way and grabbed it flipping onto his back and sitting up a little he continued firing at the nearing Tank.

"Come and get it!" He cried, shooting shot after shot. Nick watched it stumble and fall to the ground, sliding to stop.

Nick sighed and laid down flat on his back his head falling against the mud, breathing in deep, relieved. He stared at the blue sky before looking to his side to his left. "Ellis" he breathed looking at the body of the young mechanic. "Damn." He closed his eyes against the morbid sight of his young friend.

Rochelle's scream brought him back to his feet running to her and the group firing at each of them; she was laying near the wall that surrounded the large house, trying to sit up to get a better aim and the infected.

He stood in the middle of the group, standing over top Rochelle, protecting her. He shot at any zombie that tried to come to close to her lower half. She shot at any that neared her upper half.

Nick reached down, when there seemed to be a break in the horde, and bent to bring her back up.

"Look out!" Rochelle screamed, mere moments before Nick was pounced on by a Jockey, leading him away from Rochelle.

"No!" He yelled out, trying his hardest to resist the Jockey's influence. To Nicks joy the Special Infected's ride did not last long, as Nick fell to the ground, no longer even able to hold himself up.

Nick pulled out his side arm and shot at the Jockey and killed it, followed by any remaining infected that were coming after him.

Nick heard the boat rev and pull away. Coach with it. Nick cursed and looked to where he'd last seen Ro' and winced. She wasn't fighting anymore, and the zombies had dispersed. He pinched his eyes closed and shook his head, trying to shake the grogginess.

Nick cursed and tried to stand up, but fell back to the ground; too weak. Nick grunted and dragged himself to Rochelle's still body, ignoring the darkness that was threatening to take him.

"Ro'… Rochelle." He whispered shaking her gently. He put two fingers on her neck, she had a pulse and she was breathing. "Thank god." He said quietly before he succumbed to the beckoning darkness.

LEFT4DEAD

Rochelle moaned. She felt something stabbing into her back and gasped; she rolled over a little and reached her hand underneath and grabbed at a small rock that had been grinding into her lower back.

"Damn rock." She muttered and threw the offending piece of earth away from her and laid back down on the cold damp ground.

Rochelle was sore all over, everything hurt and she was tired as hell. She tried to think of what had happened and why she was sleeping outside.

She remembered fixing Nick up while he shot at the oncoming horde. She had turned to help Ellis too but he was already dead. She felt a lump in her throat at remembering seeing Ellis dead body.

Rochelle sobbed but cursed when it jostled her battered body too much, instead she continued to go through the recent events, clearing her fogged up memory.

The boat had arrived, Coach and Nick had left but she got stuck with a Tank. Nick had come back though…

Nick had come back….

"Nick!" She shouted and shot up, ignoring the pain that shot up her entire body.

All around her were bodies of dead infected. She gagged at the amount of blood that covered them all, and the grey matter that was splattered over the half wall in front of her.

She wanted to get away from it all, she turned to get up, half rolling to her right side when she saw a white suit with a body in it laying on his stomach next to her. "Nick!"

Rochelle got on her hands and knees facing him before rolling him over onto his back. "Nick?"

Rochelle placed her ear over his chest, listening for a heart beat or feel him breathing; he was.

"Thank god… Nick? Nick can you hear me? Wake up..."

Nick moaned and tried to push her away at first but after a moment his eyes fluttered open.

"Oh thank you…" She sighed, relieved.

"Ro'?" He squinted, his eyes studying her face.

"Yeah…" She nodded her head, affirming.

"Are you okay?"

Rochelle half laughed half sobbed. "Yeah… yeah, I'm okay." She nodded her head again. "Are you okay?" She stroked the side of his face gently.

Nick nodded his head. "Yeah, I'm alright Sweetheart."

Rochelle closed her eyes, they were both okay. And alone… a voice said somewhere in her head.

"Where's Coach?" She asked, looking around for yet another body of someone she cared for.

"He's gone." Nick growled.

"Gone? What happened to him?" Rochelle asked, afraid of the answer.

"Gone as in left… not gone as in dead. He left…." Nick tried to sit up and groaned and started to fall back when Rochelle caught him and held him in a sitting position, allowing him to rest his head on her shoulder for support.

"He left us?" Rochelle asked, hurt.

"I guess he figured us dead…" Nick shrugged a little. "Damn this hurts." He said through gritted teeth.

Rochelle sighed, her chest was killing her from so many hits from the Tank and other infected.

"We have to get away from here…" She started but was interrupted by the sound of another group of zombies, their moans filling the silent air.

"Damn it…" She said under her breath.

"We should get inside the house…" Nick suggested, trying again to stand.

Rochelle helped him up while at the same time using him for support to stand herself.

"Not a bad idea…" She said once they were both standing, however unsteady.

The two limped inside, both of them using each other for support. The house was still cleared from when the four of them had come in. She closed the door to a 'secure' room; it didn't have any holes in the floors or walls and the windows were still intact. She lowered him onto the single twin bed before moving a book shelf in front of the door a bookself over the single window. Rochelle moved to the end of the bed, sitting next to his outstretched legs and brought her own legs up to her chest rather than letting them dangle over the edge.

Rochelle sighed, "I can't believe he left us…"

"We all would have done the same thing…" Nick said quietly, leaning against the pillows, closing his eyes.

"You didn't." She said quietly.

Nick continued to lie on the bed but opened his eyes and stared at her. She was staring at the wall opposite them, tears glistening down her bloody and dusty face. Her hair was out of the bun, and was matted around her face with blood and sweat.

Nick started to sit up, pain shooting up his battered chest but ignored it, he swung his legs over the side of the bed and sat next to her.

Rochelle bent her head down and laid her forehead on her arms, successfully hiding her face and tears.

Nick drew his already thin lips into a thinner line as he watched the small woman cry for the first time. She looked so much smaller now from being in a ball, she looked like a child who was getting put in time out for stealing her mom's cookie.

Rochelle sniffed and brought Nick out of his little reverie; he slowly brought his hand to her back and rested it there, rubbing his hand up and down her back. "We're gonna be alright, Rochelle."

"Nick… he left us. Ellis is DEAD… we're alone Nick." Rochelle shook her head still not looking at him.

Nick winced at her tone when she spoke about Ellis. "He left us…" Rochelle just couldn't believe their friend would leave them like that; dead or not.

"But that's NOT what I'M gonna do." Nick said determined to make her feel safe again, seeing her like this was as if he was looking at Ellis without his hat, it just didn't look right.

Rochelle brought her head up and looked at him. "Promise?" She asked timidly. Mentally she smacked herself for sounding like such a child, but she had lost two of her friends in just one hour; though a voice in her head stared to wonder if maybe one of the two wasn't really a friend at all.

Nick nodded slowly, afraid of promising her something he couldn't really keep. "Yeah I promise, Rochelle. I promise I won't leave you."

Rochelle wiped on her tears before moving slowly to him and wrapping her small arms gently around his neck.

Nick stiffened at first both from expecting pain that never came and from not being used to such a gentle gesture. Soon after he relaxed and wrapped his own arms around her waist just as gently.

"We're together, we're not alone because we still have each other." He said quietly in her ear and stroked her back.

LEFT4DEAD