Francis was familiar with the blazing look in Zoey's eyes as they stood together on the balcony. He had seen it many times before, many times in the past, on their travels, but the things a look like that promised were not appropriate in present company.

Not to mention, her father would murder him in her sleep. He had been around long enough to know fathers KNEW things without being told, and he didn't particularly feel like dying tonight or anytime soon, so he was going to keep his hands and his lips to himself no matter how fiery her gaze got.

Small talk seemed redundant… what did they have to talk about? When had they ever done much talking? Francis rubbed the back of his head and grunted softly, turning his gaze away.

"What?" Zoey demanded with a giggle. "Aren't you happy to see me?"

"More than happy, doll." He smiled down at her and she tilted her head to the side. He glanced over his shoulder, Zoey following his gaze with a muffled snort.

"She brought me here despite my dad protesting. I wasn't exactly shy about telling them the truth about us, Francis, she knows what we have between us."

"Doesn't change the fact that she's your mom and I'm the guy your dad would turn my own damn shotgun on if I touched you." Francis held up his hand as she began trying to protest. "And don't say what he doesn't know won't hurt him because he'll know. They always know."

"You have experience with this, then?" Zoey raised an eyebrow, turning away from him and leaning against the railing. She gazed down at the city below, bustling and noisy and lit up brightly. It was a far cry from what they had suffered through, wasn't it?

Francis regarded her for a long time in silence, then turned and leaned against the railing himself with a gentle sigh, rubbing the back of his head again.

"I… wish I could take you away from him. From the life you're living. I wish I could put you on the back of my bike and drive away from all of this. But I got nowhere to go and nowhere to take you. I got a dingy apartment and no job, and you deserve better than that." He finally said, Zoey glancing over at him with a frown before looking back at the city below.

"Who says that's a bad thing? Who says I don't want that?" Zoey said heatedly in return, finally turning to look at him. "God, I live in a prison, Francis!"

"You live in a nice house. I've been to prison, you definitely don't live there." Francis muttered, Zoey rolling her eyes.

"You know what I mean! I don't have any FREEDOM there. My dad is super controlling, even more so than he was before this whole zombie bullshit thing! My mom is understanding, but in her eyes I'm still a little girl for the most part! I wanna be back out with you guys, back out on my own, scraping a living off of nothing and watching your back and… and…" Zoey seemed to run out of steam, huffing a breath out before turning her back and crossing her arms beneath her breasts.

Francis gazed at her with a lost expression, scratching at his beard slightly before looking down at the ground and half closing his eyes.

He knew exactly what she meant, even if she hadn't been able to finish saying it. He knew exactly what it was she missed.

…

…

…

Francis dragged Zoey in through the door, tossing her rather unceremoniously into the room while he locked and barricaded the door to the safe room. He didn't pause in his work until he was sure they would be safe for the night, finally turning to the rather hysterical young girl and approaching her.

She let out an anguished cry and beat at his chest with both hands when he caught her arms, hushing her softly and giving her a firm shake.

"Stop it! You're fine, alright?! You're hardly even bleeding and you're still on your feet. C'mon! If you break now, you'll never make it!" He growled, the girl opening her blue eyes to gaze up at him in horror. Francis grimaced, then released her arms, wrapping his own around her in a firm embrace. She seemed so incredibly tiny, cradled against his chest while she sobbed like a child, fingers clutching at him and face pressing into his soiled leather vest.

She had been pounced by one of the Witches they had come across, the female infected falling prey to Francis' shotgun before the biker had managed to drag the girl to her feet and into the nearby safe room before anymore damage could be inflicted.

It was understandable that she was hysterical… Those Witches were nasty pieces of work, but she wasn't even hurt. She was just startled…

Francis had to get Zoey to come to her senses before he lost her. He needed her out there as much as she needed him, and he was starting to like her. He would hate to see something horrible happen to her just because she couldn't pull it together.

Sinking down against the wall with the girl cradled in his lap, Francis pressed his lips to her hair and screwed his eyes shut tight, holding her tightly to his chest still and grumbling a few words of comfort to her. He had never been good at this sort of thing, and when it came to girls like Zoey, he was particularly useless.

"I almost died." Zoey suddenly gasped, pulling away to look at him with wide eyes. "Oh… God… it could have KILLED ME!"

"But it didn't, Zoey. C'mon." Francis murmured, trying to pull her close again. She resisted his efforts, raising both hands to clutch at her hair. She ran fingers down her cheeks, blue eyes still wide, fingers trailing lower to touch her neck and shoulders. She ran them over her torso, then shuddered, slumping against him. "See? Still intact. Even your clothes weren't shredded, doll."

"But… I still could have… I could have died." She whispered, Francis sighing in defeat and leaning his head back. "Fuck, I'm still a virgin. I could have died out there!"

"Zoey!" Francis snapped, the girl jerking in his arms. "Snap out of it, alright? You're fine! You're not a broken record, you're not dead and you're not gonna get dead as long as I'm still alive and kicking zombie ass!"

Zoey blinked at him a few times, then let out another shuddering sigh and leaned against him again, closing her eyes. Francis rubbed her back with one hand, silent for some time as he tried to offer her comfort. Outside, infected threw themselves at the barricaded door in an attempt to break it down, but he ignored them. They couldn't get in…

For now, he and Zoey were safe.

It took her nearly an hour to come around, Francis not even able to drift off in this position for fear of her losing it on him. He stayed awake and alert, though he startled when she finally looked up at him with a much less hysterical expression on her face and in her eyes.

"Welcome back." he grumbled, voice seeming a little more hoarse from disuse than before.

Zoey didn't speak, staring at Francis for a long moment before leaning forward and pressing her lips to his in a sudden, rather awkward kiss. Francis stiffened and let out a squeak of protest, Zoey cutting it off as she put both hands on the back of his head and pulled him into her.

For the life of him, Francis couldn't remember what this sort of thing would be considered. Zoey was distraught, felt like she had barely escaped death, she wanted…

She wanted…

Affirmation of life. Was that what it was? Was that all it was?

There was a long moment of hesitation, but it was soon overcome as Francis shifted ever so slightly, tension draining from his body with the soft groan that escaped him, his lips moving against hers to take charge of the kiss and chase the awkwardness away.

She wanted to feel alive, he wasn't going to argue with that. He was going to make her feel more alive than she ever had before. He wasn't going to question anything, any part of this…

After all, in this day and age, in the middle of this hell on earth, what did they have to lose? What if they had only five minutes together before the world crashed down around their ears? What better way to go than this?

Hey wait… I guess those are questions too, he thought to himself, a smile touching his lips briefly. Zoey's breath grew quick, and Francis could feel her trembling when he broke the kiss to look at her, carefully searching her face.

"I'm scared." She breathed, Francis brushing a strand of wavy brown hair from her face and shaking his head.

"Nothin' to be afraid of, Zoey. I'm not gonna hurt you."

"No. I'm not afraid of this." She protested, frowning. "I'm afraid of dying, Francis. I'm afraid those things are going to kill me. I'm afraid they'll get us both, tear us apart, I'm afraid they'll take over what's left of our world. I can't… I can't think about the future, or I'll lose my mind. I don't want to wonder what's next for us out there. I don't want to care about the world outside these red doors."

"Are you asking me to help you forget?"

"… just for a little while…"

…

…

…

When Zoey and Francis moved out onto the balcony, where it was much less crowded and probably far more quiet, Cheryl's gentle smile was contagious, Louis returning it fondly.

"It's been awhile since they saw each other." Zoey's mother murmured, Louis nodding in return. "Things have changed so much since the infection."

"How do you mean?" Louis' brow knit slightly, and Cheryl let out a soft laugh, shaking her head. She passed her cup of wine from one hand to the other a few times, cleared her throat and continued, not yet raising her head.

"Humans who lived so very well off were suddenly thrust into a terrible situation, forced to fight or die under a wave of hatred and rage that may very well have been planted inside the infected by our own mistakes, or some sick will of nature or the powers that be… one thing or another. We were forced to forget about material things, money, possessions, everything of that sort. We were good enough with knowing our family members had come home alive and untainted." She looked up at Louis, who couldn't help but notice her eyes were the same shade of blue as Zoey's were.

"But your husband…" he ventured to continue, Cheryl making a soft noise and nodding again.

"He refused to let go of the way the world was. He still fusses about his money, his mansion, his cars. He still worries about saving face." As she spoke, she looked out at the balcony and her daughter. "He refuses to believe what she went through and can't see how much she's changed."

"Maybe he can see it, he just can't accept it. Give him time…" Louis put his hand on her shoulder in a reassuring gesture, his smile growing when she put her hand over his and nodded once more.

"I just hope he doesn't take too much time. I wish he could see how much Zoey needs that man in her life." She whispered.

"In our world now, we all need a little more love. There's a lot of rebuilding to be done and the wounds are just starting to close. He may not like it, but there may not be anyone else Zoey needs in her life more than Francis. And despite his appearance and general attitude, I couldn't have put my life and the life of my colleagues in more capable hands." Louis regarded Cheryl with a gentle smile, the woman letting out another soft laugh and following his gaze to the balcony.

"Are they fighting?" She asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Nah. Probably just discussing something." Louis waved his hand dismissively. "Give them some time to catch up."