April 2013- Seven months after the blackout

Nora had no idea what happened. One minute, they had been walking calmly through a campground and the next, Miles was dragging her into a cabin while bullets chased after them. He threw her onto the wooden floor as he kicked the door shut and dropped down next to her. No, on her, she realized when she felt him against her back. The loud gunshots continued and seemed to come from every direction. Glass shattered over their heads as bullets penetrated the windows and he pressed closer to her, a hand against the back of her head to shield her.

"Stay down." it was a quiet but gruff order in her ear and she gave a slight nod to show she understood even though she couldn't find her voice. The weight of him disappeared as he moved off her and she turned her head slightly to see him crouching under the broken windows and checking his pistol. He turned, rising just enough to see out the window, and began to return gunfire.

She lost track of what was happening but finally there was silence and he was pulling her up into a sitting position.

"You okay? You're not hurt, are you?"

"No. I'm fine." she looked around the cabin and instantly, her panic level rose. "Where's Mia?"

"Bass has her."

"We need to-"

"No. We're not going anywhere until morning. It's too dark out there and too many hiding spots. Who knows who else is out there. We wouldn't stand a chance. Bass grabbed her. We split up when the shooting started and took off in opposite directions so we didn't get caught together. I know they're across from us. I saw him. Trust me, she's fine. We have a system worked out. He would let me know if something is wrong and nothing is wrong."

"This isn't the first time this has happened, has it?"

"No. We can't stay in here with the windows open like this." he spotted a doorway at the back of the room and gestured in that direction. "Come on,"

She looked around as she followed him. They were in a large, opened area split into a living room and kitchen. A small bathroom was off to the left and straight ahead was a bedroom. He stopped in the kitchen, looking for candles, and waved her on. She obeyed silently, her thoughts still on her sister. She prayed that he was right and that Mia was perfectly fine. She would never forgive herself if something happened to her.

"Help me move this." Miles stood by a small desk, which he deposited three large Yankee candles onto, and Nora realized he had shut the door behind him. "Extra layer of protection."

She pushed at the table as he pulled and together they barricaded the door. The only other way into the room was through the window, which took up the upper half of the wall. No one was getting through that unless they had a ladder.

"So when do we leave?"

"Sunrise. We'll meet out front." he was digging blindly through his bag, then there was a flicker of light as he found a lighter. The candles were lit, casting a warm glow around the room. In the new found light, she saw him grimace and turn away from her. He didn't turn quick enough however and she grabbed his arm, pulling him back around.

"You're bleeding."

"It's fine."

"It's not fine. Sit down."

"You're being stupid. Mind your own business."

"It is my business because if you're going to be a stubborn jackass and allow yourself to bleed out, I'm left with no one to help me."

"Maybe you should learn to protect yourself then."

"Maybe I should. For now, you can sit down though." her eyes danced dangerously in the candlelight and he regarded her with a wary eye momentarily.

"It's just a scrape."

"Shut up."

The back of his knees hit the side of the bed and he sat, moving back until he hit the wall, while she rummaged through their bags for whatever first aid supplies they had.

"Don't waste that stuff. We'll probably need it for something more important later and God only knows when we'll be able to find more."

She rolled her eyes as she turned to face him. She gave him a pointed look when she saw him try to hide the fact he had been holding his side.

"I thought it was just a scrape."

"Doesn't mean it doesn't hurt like a bitch." he tugged his shirt over his head, biting back a hiss when the pain shot up his side.

She did her best not to stare but it was difficult to not sneak a peek at him. Despite the bloody wound located on his right side, stretching from his back to his chest like a neat slice, he was in excellent shape. He was no body builder but he had a defined look to him, more so than she had expected.

"I could do this myself." he tilted his head back against the wall and stared up at the ceiling. He tried his best to ignore the feel of her hands on him and the taunting sound of Bass's immature giggling in his mind.

"I'm returning the favor. Plus, considering the job you did on me, I'm sure you'd take care of yourself wonderfully." she snorted.

"Always so grateful."

"I'll admit it held me together. Stitches could have been a little neater though. I'll have a weird scar."

"Sorry, I didn't perfect my needlepoint. Besides, scars give you character." he yelled a little as she cleaned his side with an alcohol wipe. "Fuck!"

"Sorry." she lifted her eyes to his, looking a bit remorseful. "It's not that deep so you've escaped my handiwork, at least this time. Maybe you got hit with glass."

"No, the bastard grazed me. Awful, or I guess for me lucky, shot." he glanced down to inspect the wound and looked more aggravated than pained. "I've been shot at enough times to know."

"Do I want to know?"

"Probably not."

She didn't question him any further and went about bandaging him up. She kept her eyes focused there and thought of chemistry equations instead of how his muscles moved underneath her fingers. It had been a little over one month since she met him and two weeks since their chat over books. Since then, she made more of an effort to engage him in conversation and she was pleased with how familiar they were beginning to get with each other. The only thing she wasn't pleased about was the increased attraction on her part. She was going to get herself in trouble.

"There." she finished applying the bandage and slid her fingers over the area, smoothing it down as much as possible. She stared there for a moment, feeling his gaze on the top of her head. Slowly, she met his eye and dropped her hand, feeling embarrassed.

"So," he paused, licking his lip slightly, "what's the prognosis?"

"I think you'll live."

"Always nice to hear."

She hummed in agreement and moved away from him to sit at the top of the bed. She pulled her legs up to her chest and pressed her mouth again her knees as he reached for his shirt. He turned his head slightly, looking at her out of the corner of his eye, and said, "Thank you."

"Mhmm." she bit into her jeans a little. Yeah, she was screwed. Now, she was trapped with him in this tiny bedroom for at least eight or nine hours. She noticed the tattoo on his bicep, almost at his shoulder, and tilted her head. It resembled Bass's by the fact that it was the same encircled M. Underneath, it said Matheson rather than Monroe and it was smaller than Bass's too, not quite as obnoxious and prominent. "What's the deal with the tattoo?"

"Just something we came up with a long time ago. I was smarter with my placement." he sat back down and took a small sip from his water bottle. He tilted his head towards her, regarding her with a slightly amused look. "Are you going to surprise me now and tell me you have one?"

"Unfortunately, no. I don't like needles. I'll never get one. Besides, I've never had something that meant that much to me to ink it into my body. I wouldn't know where to get it either. I mean, the point of having one is so people see it but I wouldn't want it in such a visible place so that sort of defeats the purpose."

"If it means something to you, then does it really matter if other people see it?"

"Depends on how you look at it, I guess."

"Good point." he twisted the cap back onto the bottle and tossed it onto the mattress. "Well, this sucks."

"Sorry I'm lousy company."

"I didn't mean it like that. I meant, getting attacked like this. People are animals, I swear."

"They're scared. We're all just trying to survive."

"Shouldn't mean all the rules go out the window though. We'd survive a lot better if we got our shit together and put a plan into action."

"True."

They lapsed into silence and she tapped her fingers against her legs, thinking, how awkward. If they were going to be stuck together for hours, they couldn't act like this.

"You should get some sleep." he said quietly. Sleep was the last thing on her mind.

"No, it'll never happen. I'm too worried about Mia."

"She's fine."

"We don't know that." but somewhere within her, she did. After all, she didn't put up much of a fight when Miles refused to go look. Maybe it was because she knew he could and would overpower her if she tried to leave. Or maybe it was because she trusted him.

"I will never understand older siblings." he commented.

"What?"

"You guys act like the younger one is your responsibility."

"She is my responsibility. I've always looked out for her. It's not just the older ones. You're going to find your brother aren't you?"

He didn't respond to that and she leaned into the wall, adding, "Anyway, I look out for her. That's my job."

They fell into silence again. She watched as he picked a loose thread in the flannel comforter. He kept his eyes on his hand but asked, "So who is Lucas?"

She looked confused for a moment, then remembered the conversation they had been having prior to all Hell breaking loose. Mia had been complaining that she was tired of walking-after two days of leaving their temporary home-and Bass had tried to shift her focus by having her talk about the places they had gone since leaving San Antonio. She had been vague in some areas and descriptive in others but made sure to tell the men, "We stopped and stayed with Lucas for a few days but he wouldn't come with us when Nora asked him to."

"No one special."

"Ex-boyfriend I take it."

"I guess, sure, yeah, if that's what you want to call him. I don't really care at this point." she was quiet and he didn't seem like he was going to press the topic. Still, she found herself talking. She hated the silence and it would do her good to vent for a while. "I went to A&M and I was home for the weekend when the blackout hit."

"You drove that far for the weekend?"

"I had no Friday classes and my Thursday class let out early and my Monday class was late. I could leave College Station around noon on Thursday and get to San Antonio by three or four the latest. If I didn't go back on Sundays, I'd leave early Monday morning and be back in time for class. Besides, it was my mom's birthday so the trip was worth it. After the blackout hit, I couldn't go back to school. Even if I wanted to, my mom would never have let me leave. When we started out for Galveston, I made sure we went by the campus. A few of my friends were still in the area. Lucas had an apartment off campus and they were hiding out basically. I wanted him to come with us. I didn't want to go alone but he refused. He was too scared, I think."

"Pussy."

"Pretty much."

"He obviously didn't care about you enough to sacrifice his safety for you so I wouldn't worry too much about him."

"It's not like he was the love of my life or anything. He was an asshole, didn't... didn't really respect me. I was stupid, thinking he would come with me."

"What made you go to A&M?"

"It's where my dad went."

Something about the way she said it and the look on her face told Miles all he needed to know.

"Trying to make him proud." he commented quietly.

"If I was, it didn't work." she flashed a weak smile at him.

She woke up first and didn't really comprehend the situation they were in. Instead she pressed further against his chest, which in turn made him tighten his arm that was hanging over her shoulder. Then, it clicked. She opened her eyes slowly and found herself face to face with his throat. She tilted her head up slightly and saw him blinking tiredly. Then he glanced down at her, face furrowed in confusion. Yet, neither of them moved.

"Hi." she mumbled awkwardly.

"Hey."

"I ah, I should um, y'know, probably, check your uh, uh, side." she poked at his shoulder gently and he rolled onto his back, rubbing his hand over his eyes. She sat up, sliding his shirt up as she went, and ignored the heat running through her. A million thoughts were running through her head. They were just sleeping. There was only one bed and it was cold. Neither of them had meant anything by it. They apparently both liked to cuddle. Maybe she would try and find him a teddy bear somewhere.

"Did the gangrene set in yet?" his sleepy voice broke through her inner conscious and his sarcasm made her smirk.

"No. Thank God I was here."

"I'm in your debt."

"Not really. You saved my life twice now."

"You really owe me then."

She blushed as she stood to get a new bandage. She sat back on the edge of the bed and quickly went to work.

"You're good as new."

"Thanks." he pushed himself into a sitting position and she felt her pulse race, noticing how close in proximity they were. They were inches from each other, though neither of them moved-either towards each other or away. It seemed like the most intense staring contest ever. One of them had to do something. Both of them were really still half asleep. Maybe they didn't even know what was going on. She tilted her head slightly, leaned about half an inch inwards, and he followed suit, as though they were magnets.

"Miles!" Bass's sudden, unexpected shout sent Nora scrambling backwards. She fell off the bed with a loud thud, wincing at the pain that sliced through her tailbone. Miles stood quickly, moving over her without concern, and shoved the desk away from the door. The blond barreled through a second later and he looked between the two with a frenzied expression. "Good, you're both alive."

"Yep." Nora jumped to her feet and skirted around the marines to Mia and Jeremy. Bass glanced around the small bedroom, the even smaller bed with its mussed blankets, and the redness in Miles's face. His worry turned into amusement and he smirked.

"Nice."

"Shut up."

"Did you need a couple more minutes?"

Miles pushed Bass roughly in the shoulder as he moved by, which only resulted in his best friend chuckling to himself.