I haven't updated as often as I said I would, so I tried my best.

Forgive me for my failure with this chapter..

"GOD DAMNIT ELLIS! AS IF THE ZOMBIES WEREN'T BAD ENOUGH!."

Another bullet whizzed by, just missing his left arm by mere inches. That was when Nick whirled around pointing both pistols right at the hick's face, ready to teach the boy a lesson about shooting con men instead of zombies, and that's when his heart almost stopped. Ellis' face had heated up as a small blush appeared, simple add on to the sheepish grin that had spread across his face.

"Well hell Nick I don't mean ta shoot ya! just gotta stop walking in front of the bullets you know?."

Green eyes slowly opened, the body shivered against the cold of the concrete floor, and a sleepy mind could almost make out a smiling face laying there next to him.

"Ellis?"

Nick instantly snapped to attention and a shaky hand reached out to touch that warm cheek he had missed so badly, but as his hand hit thin air the image faded away, and once again the con man was alone. He bit his lip to keep the tears back and pushed himself up into a sitting position, wrapping his arms around his legs as he curled up into a ball and rested his chin on his knees. Fighting the ache in his chest Nick took a deep breath to try and calm himself down, focusing on other things in the room in an attempt to take his mind off the one thing he didn't really want to forget. A loud snore from the far corner told him Coach was still sound asleep, Ro's soft breathing was a little harder to make out, but if he trained his hearing on that one sound he heard her. She was sound asleep as well probably hiding in a sleeping bag by the door, they were both wore out from a hard day of fighting. Why couldn't he sleep like that? why did he have to be the one that always woke in the middle of the night? shaken from a dream he didn't want to be brought out of.

But Nick already knew the answer, he'd always known the answer, ever since that first night back on the boat. There was something missing, something so vitally important to his life that he just couldn't function right without it anymore. That soft sound of senseless whispers was gone, that sound of nonsense words being whispered into his ear as Ellis slept beside him. He'd taken it for granted the last time they'd slept together falling asleep quickly instead of staying up a bit to listen to the sweet words. Now he'd never get that chance again. That feeling of want, the feeling of need that came with missing that moment, it was one of the worst things he'd ever felt.

"Fuck Ellis.."

"Well hell Nick.."

The con man's eyes flew open expecting to see the boy's face close to his, feel that warmth of their bodies so close to each other again, but there was nothing. At first his shoulders slumped, but Nick couldn't shake the feeling that he really had heard Ellis speak. Closing his eyes he tried again to see if he would get an answer.

"Ellis?..."

"...Ellis?..."

"Please..."

He cried himself to sleep.