Disclaimer: I do not own Left 4 Dead 2


Coach watched them go, his mind offering up silent prayers for the injured man laying beside him and the two people he considered family out there, searching for better safety. Leaning back, he massaged his knee, grumbling as the old injury that took away his football career came back with a vengeance. It always liked to act up at inopportune times, and he couldn't think of any other time that was more inopportune than this. Nick was seriously injured, and could possibly die from his wound reopening. He had used a glove and applied pressure until the wound had stopped bleeding, and was currently using the few bandages Rochelle had as a temporary fix. A stopgap, really. The wound needed proper cleaning and bandaging, to keep infection from setting in.

He knew that the 'storm' sewer they passed through was definitely unsanitary, and if any of that horrid mess had gotten into Nick's wound, they might even have a serious infection on their hands. Reaching over, he gently turned Nick onto his uninjured side, letting the man continue to rest quietly. He had no words to say to the conman, he felt as if everything he could say would be just be a false reassurance. Nick's life literally depended on whether or not Ellis and Rochelle found safety, and if they could reach it quickly.

He remembered the day that they had no choice but to evacuate, how they met and climbed the thirty flights of stairs to the nearest evacuation center. Nick had teased him about his complaints on the trip, making a comment about a helicopter made of chocolate that had irked him. The bond that the four would soon share began on that roof, when they watched the helicopter fly away. A shaky truce, formed on that roof, deepened as they made their way down, their first test beginning with evading the flames. Coach smiled to himself when he remembered their reluctant faces, doubting the idea of climbing out onto a ledge to get around the flames, and how Ellis had eased himself out onto that ledge, followed by Nick.

Even at the beginning, Nick had a sort of me-first attitude, being the first out of the group to get on the only working elevator. He had waited for them to get on, but when the introductions began, he openly voiced that he wasn't staying long. When the elevator stopped however, and the whole group was forced to fight their way out through the burning floor to reach the outside, the conman had stuck to the group like glue, his instincts getting the better of his pride and attitude. Coach laughed softly at the memory of the gun store, his hand covering his mouth and trying to mask the chuckles so Nick could rest.

Nick had been so livid about the idea of retrieving Whitaker's cola that he threatened to kill the man with one of his own guns if he so much as tried to double cross them before leaving the store, in a fury. The trip to retrieve the beverage ended with the opening of the path to the mall, the group temporarily taking refuge on the lowest floor of the mall, only to rest and regain strength. Coach stopped reminiscing when he heard a wail, cocking his gun with a startled expression and creeping to the window, looking outside.

A female common was arguing with a wall out there, her wails failing to dent the inanimate object. Coach breathed a sigh and slumped against the wall of the ambulance, rubbing his forehead. The Witch in the mall... another memory. She had been wailing and wandering around on the second floor, Rochelle unfortunately mistaking it for a regular common infected in the heat of battle and shooting it. The result had brought about a unwanted confrontation between the Witch and the group, to which they fought with a determination unlike they had ever known. Coach himself had been surprised by how fast Rochelle had sprinted down the hallway, and how Ellis and Nick had thrown aside their differences in a heartbeat to protect her by shooting at the Witch, along with him. With the three of them working in unison, the Witch had gone down in no time, with minimal damage to the group.

If that had been a trick play, they would have scored a touchdown for sure.

After that incident, they met up with the Tank, another feat being pulled off. Coach knew little of the situation, since the Tank had been aiming for him, and he had been knocked unconscious by the mutated beast. Rochelle had told him later in the safe house that Nick had pulled him to safety while Ellis kept the beast busy, earning a few bruises to show off as he and Rochelle did everything in their power to keep it from charging after it's first target. Rochelle had also told him that once Coach was safely tucked inside the safe house, Nick had returned to the fight to lead the others back a safer spot he had found along the route and let a well-thrown Molotov cocktail finish the Tank. Rochelle had treated his injuries later, and relayed the story to him while the two heroes of the day slept. He had personally thanked Nick later, the well-dressed man shrugging and acting as if it was nothing. Ellis had talked enthusiastically about the event for an hour after that, the group eventually having to distract him to get him to talk about something else.

Coach had gained further respect for the other two men that day, and his respect continue to grow as they made their way through the mall. If they were a football team, he would have been proud to coach them all the way to the finish line. As it was, they relied on him to come up with ideas or the knowledge of where to go next. For all purposes, Nick and Rochelle were tourists, and it fell to him and Ellis to guide the way. He would have to concede the credit for their escape plan to Ellis though, the idea of refilling a car and using it to escape the mall hadn't even crossed his mind once. Though Ellis and Nick had bickered the entire time, they had made it out safely, heading for New Orleans. Looking at the bottle of medicine, Coach amused himself by reading the label while keeping a wary eye out for infected or his team.

Nick was treading the line of consciousness, occasionally drifting in and out of a resting state to a somewhat alert state. The medicine was working wonders on him, keeping the injured man from feeling too much pain, yet Coach knew that the dose would only last so long. He silently prayed that Rochelle and Ellis got back in time for them to move Nick while he was still under the effects of the numbing drug. He stopped and chuckled to himself. Praying. He had been doing a lot of that lately. Offering up silent prayers every time they walked into a new place, or had to do something that would draw the infected to them. Every time, he offered a quick word to god to get them through the challenge ahead.

" Dear god, find it in your heart to not take this man from us. We still need him here on this earth." Coach said softly, folding his hands in prayer. " We all need him, and he needs your protection now." He cast a glance at Nick, who had opened one green eye to look at him. He ignored the injured man's stare and continued. " You've done a fine job of protectin' us all, lord, but please, watch over us just a little bit longer."

Nick coughed, getting Coach's attention. " I knew you were a praying man, but I don't think I've heard that prayer before." he said with a smirk, a bit of the man they had come to know emerging from the shell.

Coach unfolded his hands and set them on his knees. " When prayin', you don't need to know what to say sometimes. He'll hear."

Nick coughed again, the wet sound making Coach nervous. " Where's Ro' and Overalls?"

Coach grabbed the bottle of water. " Searchin' the cemetery. I think there's a safe house on the other side of it, but we can't be spendin' all day in there." he offered it to Nick, setting it back down when he shook his head. " How's the wound?"

Nick lifted his hand slightly. " Sticky. It's trying to close, but as soon as I move, I'm sure it'll try to open again." He looked at his fingers. " Really screwed the pooch back there, didn't I?"

Coach shook his head. " You ain't screwed until you breath your last, and it sure as hell ain't gonna be in this place. You're the gambler... isn't it your job to play the odds in your favor?"

Nick fell silent for a moment before laughing softly, his chest vibrating with the sound. " Never thought I'd hear that line out of you... I was expecting something like that from Ro'." Coach stretched his leg out.

" Yeah, we're all full of surprises." he said after a moment. He didn't know what to talk about with Nick, the conversations usually started by Ellis or Rochelle. Without the two, he didn't quite know what to say, and " How's the weather?" was 100 percent not the greatest conversation starter. He tore his mind away from trying to say something as he heard the familiar shout of Ellis, who was loudly calling for Coach to allow them entrance into their temporary shelter. Throwing the door open, he eagerly greeted the two, Rochelle climbing in beside him, Ellis taking a place beside Nick.

" We found the shortest way..." Ellis panted, checking the ammunition on his grenade launcher. " There's a safe house on the other side of it. Reason me an' Ro' took so long is cause we did a little cleanin'."

Rochelle held out a medical kit. " And we took this from the safe house... we hurried back as fast as we could."

Coach took the medical kit. " Thanks, Ro'. We'd best get going while all the infected are busy arguin' with somethin' else." He helped Nick to his feet and motioned for everyone to go out the doors, a fast but not too rough pace being set. Nick was quiet the whole trip, saying only little snippets before falling silent. Coach figured it was as an attempt to save energy, hurrying through the cemetery. Thanks to Rochelle's and Ellis's infected cleanup, there were few infected to be seen, the group hurrying into the safe house.

Once inside, Coach gently slid Nick's arm from his shoulders and laid the man on the ground after Rochelle found a sleeping bag and laid it out. The conman was losing his battle with consciousness, his eyes drooping closed as Coach undid the buttons of his shirt, gently tugging on the fabric to see if any had gotten stuck in the wound. Thankfully, none had, the wound raw and red, but otherwise unmarred. Taking the bottle of water, he poured it over the wound and with a gloved hand, scraped away the collected blood to clean it of impurities.

Nick remained still, his eyes opening one last time to scan the area. It wasn't one of the bigger safehouses, and the act of laying him down on the ground had taken up a lot of room. There was still room for the others to rest though, the group laying around the room. Ellis was watching the door, too wired to do anything else, Rochelle setting down her axe and collapsing against the wall. Coach finished cleaning the wound and set about dressing it properly, the bigger man chuckling.

" All dressed up, and can't take you anywhere without you getting torn up, can we?" he said with a smile, Nick lifting his head to look at Coach.

" Oh, like you're one to talk? What about that scare Ellis gave us in the swamp, or your accident in the sugar mill?" Came the sarcastic retort.

Coach had to admit the man won a point with that one. " Just don't move so much or else we're gonna have to keep bandagin' it up again."

Nick placed his hand on his side. " Don't worry, I'm not moving an inch. I have not come this far to die now..." his sentence trailed off as the second dose of pain medicine and his exhaustion forced him to drift off, his slight snores being heard a moment later.

" None of us have." Rochelle said softly, pulling her legs to her chest.