Author's Note: Please read and review. This is the first story I've started to publish. I don't own any of these characters. Thank you!

Our Lifetime for Theirs

(Scarlett's POV)

It wasn't long before the eight of us turned into the five of us. It was the sniper that killed them oddly enough not the infected. Luckily, we had our own sniper with us to keep us safe and get us out of the inner city. He had left his post for the same reason I left mine. The city had gone to hell in seconds.

I knew where it had started. Andy's and Tammy's mother had been a carrier. While I disagreed that our only option was to kill her, she was the only possible way the infection could have started again. I needed to keep the children safe. Andy was our only fighting chance to find a cure or a vaccine to stop the infection.

The people in charge had wasted no time in using bombs to blow up the streets and buildings of district one. We had sought cover in the underground tunnels, thinking we'd be safe but Doyle and I should have known that the army would be extra thorough in torching the place. The ten or so minutes of rest was enough for the five of us to at least catch our breath. Then the side of the tunnel started to glow orange.

"Go! Go!" Doyle was up and hurling everyone towards the exit without even an extra second's worth of registering his actions.

We ran, our legs already burning from the escape and our blood pumping in our veins. We made it out just in time to be knocked to the ground by the blast. Our bruises were multiplying but we quickly got up and continued moving. We couldn't stop yet, not for a break, not for anything. They were still out there. It wasn't that easy to kill them. We needed as much distance between them and us as we could.

The kids were getting tired. Tammy was holding onto Andy to keep him walking straight. They were going to have to rest soon or they'd make a mistake from exhaustion.

Scarlett nudged Doyle next to her. She nodded towards the kids then looked at him. She said quietly, "We're going to have to rest soon. Your friend said it would still be a couple hours before he could pick us up."

Doyle gave her a long glance. "I'm more worried us lasting those couple hours then Flynn picking us up."

"I know but they aren't going to be able to go much longer." Scarlett said, motioning to the two young children in front of them.

Doyle thought for another moment then finally agreed. "The building over there, second floor." Louder he announced, "Alright we're stopping at this building coming up for an hour to get rest. We're going to the second floor. No fire, no lights, and stay as quiet as possible. If any of the infected come by they'll go right on past us."

Scarlett saw the children look both tense at stopping but grateful for the break. The other guy in the blue shirt that she wasn't fond of spoke up loudly. "We can't stop! What if they surround us!"

Doyle stayed calm where as Scarlett was about ready to read the guy the riot act. Very firmly Doyle said, "We're stopping. We have time. Feel free to keep on moving and we'll meet you there."

The guy looked over at Scarlett, apparently thinking she'd side with him, but she merely gave him an unfriendly look.

"This way," Doyle said and they all turned to follow up the back way down an alleyway to the designated building.

Ten minutes later they were all thankfully sitting and relaxing as best they could. There had been a tarp in the corner that Scarlett and handed to the children to wrap themselves up in and get comfortable. "Get some sleep if you can. We're not going to let anything happen to you." She said quietly.

"Thank you Scarlett," Tammy said with tears in her eyes.

Scarlett smiled and set her hand on the side of Tammy's face. Andy reached out and grabbed Scarlett's other hand and squeezed it. "I'm going to talk to Doyle. I'll come wake you when it's time to go."

They both nodded and leaned against each other further to sleep. Scarlett stood up with a small smile. They were a very close pair of brother and sister. They had been through a lot. She wished there was more hope of them all getting out alive.

Turning, Scarlett started towards the stairwell where Doyle had set up to rest. He wanted to keep an eye out in case there was any movement on the first floor. She passed by the man in the blue shirt who gave her a grumpy look. He had curled up in the far corner of the room. She didn't necessarily want to leave him alone with the children but she doubted he would do anything. He was too worried about saving himself and that wouldn't happen if he harmed the children in any way, big or small.

The hallway was lit softly with a mixture of moonlight and the coming dawn. Doyle was in the middle of unclasping his vest as Scarlett rounded the corner. "Hello," she whispered to announce her presence.

"Hey," Doyle replied softly. He pulled the vest off as quietly and carefully as he could. He laid it open on the banister so that he could grab it in an emergency.

Doyle turned to look at her and their eyes met across the short space.

"Andy and Tammy asleep?" He asked.

"Yeah," she answered. Why was her heart suddenly beating so far? She unzipped the jacket she was wearing to try and get more comfortable. She had a gray tank top on underneath that was somehow just as dirty as her jacket. She also unclipped the gun holster on her thigh as Doyle removed his army jacket.

They kept their guns close to them as they both sat on the stairs. Doyle stretched his legs outwards with a heavy sigh. Scarlett leaned against the banister so she could see him and the entrance to the room where the children lay innocently.

"Been a rough week," Doyle said with a laugh.

"You could say that," Scarlett said. "They didn't tell me they were allowing children in until they were already here. What were they thinking…" She shook her head in frustration.

"They were thinking we had beaten this thing. Arrogance is one of our many faults." Doyle maneuvered his leg up so he could lean and arm on it.

Scarlett felt the anxiety of it all suddenly overwhelm her. She fought to keep her tears at bay. "We all lost so much the first time… Now everything's gone again. How many times are we going to have to do this?"

Doyle looked at her and she looked back at him. "Do you really think the kids have the cure?"

"There's a very good chance, yes." Scarlett said quietly.

Doyle nodded and with heat in his eyes he said, "Then we do this however many times it takes until that cure is found so that children like Andy and Tammy can live normal lives again."

"We sacrifice our lifetime for theirs." Scarlett said it and believed it with all her heart.

Doyle nodded, "Yes."

There was another moment of intensity in their shared look. Scarlett looked away first, resting her head back on the rail again.

"You know I've seen you before," Doyle said with a grin. He too leaned back and rested against the railing.

Scarlett's eyebrows went up. "Oh really?"

"You work some late hours in the medical labs."

Scarlett narrowed her eyes at him. "Have you been stalking me?"

Doyle smirked. "Not at first... Then perhaps yeah."

"Well that solves why I always felt like I wasn't alone in there," Scarlett said, holding in a laugh.

Doyle laughed. "Not much to do when you're up on the roof all night looking for signs that had long since disappeared. I couldn't come up with a good enough reason to come meet you."

Scarlett grinned. "Since we're being honest, I saw you once before too."

"Yeah?" Doyle said returning the grin.

Scarlett nodded. "You were walking with one of the helicopter pilots through command center B. I happened to be there for a meeting with one of the leaders. I was waiting outside the office when I saw you walking down the hall and waiting for the elevator."

Doyle's smirk widened as he listened to the story. He actually remembered that day. It had been Flynn he'd been walking with. If only he had looked up, he would have met Scarlett months ago.

"And you thought I was sexy didn't you," Doyle added.

Scarlett blushed so suddenly it startled her. She looked to the side and laughed. "This coming from someone who watched me through his scope for days on end."

Doyle shrugged, "What can I say. You were so... so beautiful when you worked. It caught my attention."

When Scarlett looked back at him, startled by the word beautiful and how soft it had sounded, Doyle was looking away. Had he surprised himself too?

"You should have come over to meet me. You wouldn't have needed a reason once I saw it was you.," Scarlett said.

There was a pause. Doyle looked back at her, "We still have now."

Was he suggesting-? Scarlett took a deep breathe. Her mind had been completely foggy with everything that had happened in the past twenty four hours. Now there was suddenly this handsome man, obviously propositioning her in the middle of another apocalypse. You would think that this would only add to the murkiness but instead it shined like a beacon through all the bloody memories and bloody regrets.

"Doyle," Scarlett said softly.

At his name, there was a scrape from his boots as he scooted towards her and Scarlett moved to meet him. Their lips met and the weight inside Scarlett melted away. All she wanted was to be held and touched by Doyle, a man she barely knew but who had risked his life for hers in more ways already then she could count. Their first kiss was delicate, a test for what they were about to do. They parted only for a moment, in which Scarlett let out a shaky breathe. Then Doyle laid his hand on the back of her neck and held her as their second kiss started and grew with fierce intensity.

After the initial ice had been broken the two of them were pawing and exploring each other with hungry hands and lips. The lust that was suddenly there between them was so deep and defining that Scarlett knew she'd never forget this moment nor ever regret it.

Doyle pulled her possessively onto his lap. There were no thoughts of impending death or the blood thirsty animals that waited outside for them. There were no thoughts on the ending of the world again or the fates of the two young children fast asleep in the next room. There were no thoughts on what any complications could come from this moment.

All there was, was the pure and simple need for two humans to touch and be touched. To feel skin on skin contact, to feel connected to someone through passion, to feel the sense of love that came from their movements… To make something beautiful happen amongst so much horror.

"Doyle..." Scarlett moaned.

"Oh Scarlett..." Doyle responded breathlessly.

Doyle leaned against the stairwell with Scarlett comfortably encircled in his arms. She leaned against his body like a comforting weight. They seamed to fit together, like they were meant to be bonded this way. Scarlett laid her head back on his chest. She felt safe and secure here, with his heart pounding against her back and the sweet silence around them.

"I wish we could stay like this," Scarlett whispered.

Doyle kissed the top of her head, "Me too."

As if on cue, the last ray of the morning sun spilled into the hallway and the both looked at it with dread.

"We need to get going," Doyle said. His arms however, squeezed her tight against him. Scarlett welcomed the gesture and she curled there, pulling him around her and tried to memorize the way his muscular body felt, his faint cologne, and the beat of his heart.

Scarlett sighed and nodded her head. They both stood up, Scarlett somewhat shakily, and began putting their gear back on. Scarlett finished first with just her jacket and her gun holster. "I'll go wake everyone," she said.

"Wait," Doyle said, buttoning his jacket as he walked over to her. He cradled her face and pulled it up to meet his. Scarlett went willingly and they kissed deeply and overly passionately for two people who had only known each other not yet twenty four hours.

They parted slowly and looked into each others eyes. A smile lay faint on both their lips.

Without another word between the two Scarlett turned and went into the next room to wake Andy and Tammy- and before Doyle could says her eyes brimming with tears.