A/N: Here we go, chapter 4! Thank you so much for the reviews so far - they're the things that keep me going writing this! I promise things will start to get very interesting very soon. As always, reviews are welcomed and appreciated. Hope you enjoy the chapter! :)

Chapter 4: Secrets

So far everyone had been getting on civilly. Jack had remained quiet, even when B.A. tried to talk to him. He didn't touch his food or make eye contact. It was clear he was haunted by something that had happened. All four men knew there was something they weren't telling them. Liz and Narcer got snappy with each other and one night they'd had an argument about someone called Danny.

"Do you trust them, Colonel?" Murdock asked, lying on the bed on his back, staring up at the swirls on the ceiling. Face and B.A. were currently taking watch.

"Who? Liz, Narcer and Jack?"

Murdock nodded, "yeah."

There was a long pause before Hannibal spoke again, "I think they've seen something they're not telling us, but, if you've watched your neighbours ripping each other apart you're going to get a bit edgy."

"You reckon they trust us?"

"They don't have a lot of choice. I think Liz does but there's something about him that's making me keep an eye on him."

Murdock nodded in agreement, sitting up on his elbows so he could look at his CO.

"Faceman said the same thing; B.A. too." Then he shrugged and continued, lying back down again, "could be a normal guy who's just seen too much horror – like some guys at the VA."

"If that's the case then he should be in a psych ward and not protecting a woman and a kid."

Meanwhile, Face leaned on the wall and sighed heavily. This watch thing was getting tedious – there hadn't been one 'zombie' in sight. How were they supposed to believe Liz when she said her entire neighbourhood had been ripped apart by them when the only one they'd seen was Kate? A shiver ran down his spine and he shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts of how he'd shot her when she crashed the door down.

B.A. had been quiet ever since he'd tried to contact his mother again. No answer usually meant bad news, especially if this zombie thing was true. Face watched his friend for a long moment before asking him if he was okay. He nodded once, distracted by his own thoughts.

"She'll be fine," Face dared to say.

"Yeah, probably somewhere where she can't reach a phone. Survivors camp or somethin'," B.A. agreed but Face wasn't sure if the man was trying to convince him or himself of that idea. Mrs. Baracus was a tough woman who knew how to handle herself and probably had a good idea about how to fight off zombies too.

The talking from one of the rooms got louder and turned to shouting, and Face knew that it wasn't from their room. He shifted against the wall and watched as the room door opened and slammed shut again, Liz walking off on her own out to the road. There was a loud crash from inside the room and Face glanced at B.A. before pushing himself up from against the wall.

"I'll go talk to her," he said. It wasn't safe for somebody to walk off on their own at night. God knows what might be out there.

B.A. said he'd keep watch by himself and let Face follow Liz out to the road. Fortunately she hadn't walked off too far, only sitting down on the curb of the pavement.

"Hey." Face offered a smile as he sat down next to her but she just sniffed and wiped her eyes, obviously crying. He didn't have anything to offer to wipe her eyes on which was unfortunate, so he sat with her until she was ready to talk; if she was ready to talk.

"I swear if we weren't in the middle of being attacked by zombies I'd be shot of that man," Liz finally said, letting out a shaky breath and looking at Face. He said nothing and waited for her to elaborate, "At first I thought it would be good to be travelling with him, you know? He'd protect me and my brothers but…"

Liz bit back a quiet sob and Face put his arm around her shoulder to comfort her.

"What happened, Liz?" He asked quietly.

There was a long pause before she spoke again, leaning into Face's body.

"We were hiding out in a shop a few days before we found you guys. It was night time and we decided if we needed to go to the toilet we'd go in pairs a-and… Narcer, he was on watch so Danny got up to go. Danny was my other brother… We always said we could only really go if we were desperate and Narcer didn't believe he was… So he let him go on his own. It was only round the corner but he must have wondered off… I was asleep at the time and I got woken up to the sound of crying and Narcer was shouting at Danny. Saying he was stupid and should have waited until the morning – until it was safe…"

Liz's voice trailed off and she started to cry again, her face in her hands. You didn't need to be a genius to figure out what had happened; Liz had only introduced her brother Jack.

"Danny had been bitten and called out. Narcer killed the zombie – cut off his head – but… Danny… He was just a kid. He was only ten and he'd been bitten and he was bleeding and I… Narcer killed him – right there in front of us. He killed my little brother in front of me and Jack and said that there was no other way."

This time when Liz had stopped talking, Face pulled her into a proper hug and held her for a long time. So that's what they had been arguing about – mentioning somebody called Danny… That was why Jack had looked so haunted. It made him grateful he only had Hannibal, Murdock and B.A. to worry about and even then each man could hold their own. This had just been an innocent ten year old.

Liz pulled herself away from Face's grip and wiped her eyes, sniffing again as she tried to compose herself.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't put this on you," she said, rubbing Face's arm affectionately, grateful for his comfort. It was the only real thing she'd had since the outbreak.

"You don't have to apologise." Face shook his head and brushed Liz's hair from her face, "you have every right to be upset right now. I know I would be." And that God he didn't have a reason to be upset. He was angry at what Narcer had done, though. From the way she had spoken it sounded like she didn't even get a chance to say goodbye to her brother. If he had been in that situation, Face knew he'd want to say a proper goodbye before any serious action took place.

"Thank you," Liz said quietly, "thank you for listening to me. Things have been difficult with Jack because of what happened to Danny. Narcer doesn't seem to care about it."

"He might do. He might feel guilty about what he did… About not giving you a chance to say goodbye to your brother?" Face suggested but Liz laughed bitterly and shook her head, tears streaming down her face again.

"You don't know Ben Narcer as well as I do. If I thought he felt remorse for what he did I wouldn't be out here talking to you…. But I'm glad I am." She smiled weakly and looked down at the floor.

Somewhere during their conversation, they'd gotten closer together and Face only noticed now because they weren't talking anymore. Her hand was still on his arm and his own hand was resting against her face, his fingers stroking her skin lightly.

"You're a good guy, Face."

A good guy? Face wasn't sure about that, given the thoughts that were running through his mind but he smiled anyway, not caring as Liz got even closer to him and soon, before he knew what was really happening, she had closed the gap between them completely, her lips against his own. He hesitated for a short moment before kissing her back, his hand moving to cup her chin, noting how her grip on his arm tightened slightly.

Liz pulled back from the kiss, her eyes wide in horror at what she'd just done. Face glanced over his shoulder at where B.A. was and smiled when he saw the other man wasn't looking in their direction. Murdock and Hannibal were still in the room and Narcer hadn't bothered to look for his girlfriend either. Face figured they were safe enough from watchful eyes.

"I'm so sorry," she said, hand going to cover her mouth but Face moved it out the way and kissed her again. Liz was an attractive woman, there was no denying that, and the conman had a weakness for attractive women. He was about to go in for another kiss when a loud call of 'Liz!' broke the bubble of their little world. She stood quickly, brushing herself down before smiling at Face.

"Thank you," Liz smiled properly for the first time and the conman nodded as he returned the smile. She hurried off, over to her boyfriend and dared to glance over her shoulder at Face before she went inside the room, the door closing behind her.

Face sighed heavily and looked up at the stars in the sky.

"Oh boy…" He muttered to himself, "what did I just get myself into?"