Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, Valve does. But Daisy is mine and I'm trying my damnedest to make her likable.

Daisy had eaten three cans of food, as Nick had offered her his share for the evening and the others had pitched in so he wouldn't go completely hungry. She wasn't saying much, all they could get from her was that she had fallen for the fake gas signs on 10 just like they had. Other than that, she didn't want to go into details, not right now. He just watched her while she ate, barely listening to Coach going over the next move. She glanced over at him, and raised her eyebrows.

"I'm not going to, like, disappear or anything, Dad, you don't have to stare," she said, voice more concerned than annoyed.

"I know that," he said, deciding that maybe he should listen to what Coach was saying and not act like she was made of glass. No teenager appreciated that, especially the independent ones, which described Daisy to a t.

"Now that we're back on the road, we should just follow 90," Coach was saying when Nick dove back into the conversation. "We're a little ways off from Gulfport, which means we're probably a little more than a day and a halfs walk to New Orleans. If we make it before the four day mark, that's great, but we need to be there by…. Hell, I don't even know what day it is anymore."

"It's Sunday," Rochelle said, and then paused. "I think…?"

"So Wednesday," Coach finished. "Which means no more goofing around. We put all our energy towards getting to New Orleans."

"An' if we're lucky we might even find another car!" Ellis stated, and looked at Nick for some kind of reaction, but Nick was too preoccupied watching Daisy eat, even though he said he'd stop.

"Dad, seriously, stop," Daisy groused, turning away, and Nick rolled his eyes and crossed his arms in a huff.

"Fine, that sounds like a good plan, Coach," he said, nodding, trying to move his attention to something else.

"That's the first time you've openly agreed with me on anything," Coach replied. "Have to admit I'm surprised." Nick kind of was too.

"On the radio the guy said that we had to get to a Bridge," Rochelle pointed out, fiddling with her fingers. "How many bridges are in New Orleans and which one do you think he means? Coach, Ellis, you've lived in the South the longest of any of us. Any ideas?"

"Well," Coach began, scratching his head, "there are three that I can think of. There's the Green Bridge, the Clairborne Avenue Bridge, and the Causeway. Maybe there will be signs in the city."

"We could take bets on which bridge it is," Ellis suggested, but no one seemed keen to take him up on it.

Since it was yet another night without a safe house, they went back to their watch routine. Nick stood about five yards from the fire, cleaning out his shotgun as best he could, ruminating on how lucky he was. He had finally accepted that this wasn't a dream, that Daisy was asleep inside the circle and out of danger, to a point. He hoped that sometime she'd share with them just what she'd done to stay alive so long, on her own, though the blood and scum stains on her clothing and bag were fairly tell tale. He had wanted to shield her from the nastiness of the world by keeping himself out of her life, but now he understood that it was up to him to keep her safe.

"Are you going to sleep okay?" he asked her as she pulled the hood of her pullover onto her head.

"I think I'll manage," she replied. "Honestly, the ground isn't much harder than the cot I was on the past few nights, so it won't be too different."

"Okay…. If you need anything, find me, or just yell for me, I'm just going to be over there on patrol, so-."

"I will," she cut him off. "… You can stop doting, Dad, it doesn't really suit you."

"Hey, I can dote like the best of them," he said, and she chuckled. "But okay, I get the hint. No more doting… Alright, well…." Fuck, how was this supposed to work? It wasn't like they were in his one bedroom apartment of the moment after all. She averted her eyes, and then did her best to smile at him.

"Night, Dad."

"Yeah… Yeah, goodnight Aces."

He sat down in the soggy grass, and lit up a cigarette as he leaned against a tree. New Orleans was so close and yet felt an eternity away. He was preparing himself for another let down, not trusting anything the Government said anymore. What was left of the Government anyway. The Military he supposed, though that scared him a bit, being so anti-authority. He wasn't sure what their tactics would be, though anything seemed better than CEDA.

He jumped a bit when he heard a noise to his side, but it was just Ellis, and he exhaled.

"Sorry," Ellis apologized.

"I still have to get that bell for you I guess," Nick said, and Ellis sat next to him, also settling against the rough bark. "You should sleep, your shift is in an hour."

"Nah, remember? I work better with less sleep," Ellis assured him. "…. Really good day today." Nick laughed quietly, and nodded.

"No shit," he replied, and looked at his lover briefly. "Probably the best since the world ended… You were right."

"About what?"

"She was alive this whole time."

"Oh…. Yeah, well, honestly I was just tryin' to be strong-."

"I know, but it was appreciated," Nick acknowledged. "I don't even want to think about what she had to go through to get here…."

"I guess," Ellis replied. "Whatever it was, she's tough as nails."

"So it seems," Nick said, nodding. Believing them to be unnoticed he paused for a few seconds, and then took Ellis' cheeks in his hands, kissing him deeply. Ellis smiled as they kissed, and set his hands on Nick's shoulders, squeezing them affectionately as the con man pulled the mechanic into his lap.

Nick raked his hands up Ellis' back, moving them under the shirt so he could feel skin, and Ellis clutched the lapels of the white coat to pull him more into his mouth. Nick exhaled as the kisses moved from his lips down his neck, and was about to start on the hick's shoulder, but then stopped himself, grabbing Ellis' wrists.

"Hold on, wait," he gasped out, and Ellis pulled away, eyes wide and face attentive. The older man then cleared his throat, gearing up to breach a subject he'd wanted to avoid. Especially since the kid was in his goddamn lap and so, SO willing. "….. Ellis….. Since Daisy is here now…. Well, she doesn't know….. She hasn't seen me with anyone besides her Mom, and…."

"….. Oh," Ellis replied, quietly, eyebrows crinkling, and he immediately pulled himself back a bit. "You don't want her to know that we're… whatever we are-."

"Just for now," Nick cut him off, trying to sound reassuring. "It's not because of you, okay? And she isn't an excuse for me to just… To just dump you or something, because I don't want that."

"…Kay." The younger man completely removed himself from the lap, and sat back down on the grass.

"I just need time," Nick continued, voice a bit strained, as he didn't want to take a break from Ellis. Far from it. But he felt he owed it to Daisy to focus all his attention on her for now. He'd screwed up when it came to her so often before, he didn't want to do it now or ever again. "Just need to get a feel for how she's doing, and then I'll tell her."

"I understand Nick," Ellis said. And even though it hurt to hear it, he DID understand, ultimately. When he was a kid and his Mom would start seeing a new guy, she would introduce them right away, believing that it should be done fast and therefore without much pain, the old bandage adage. And it made him really uncomfortable and bitter towards the new man in her life. He definitely didn't want Daisy uncomfortable with him, as he didn't want to end up like all of his Mom's suitors. "That's fine…"

"It won't be for long," Nick said, moving to put his hand on Ellis' leg, but hesitating. The kiss was hard enough to break as it was, and he thought that if he touched him again he'd forget the whole thing and bury himself in the kid. Ellis, however, saw the hesitation, and it just made him feel even bluer.

"Kay Nick," he settled on, swallowing his hurt as best he could, and grinning that huge grin of his, even though it was forced now. "Just let me know." Nick gave a half smile, and turned back towards the trees. "…. Well, I'll be back in an hour."

"Alright." As soon as Ellis had trudged back towards the camp, Nick swore at the how unsatisfied his dick was at the moment.

Ellis stepped into the circle, but knew he wasn't going to sleep. Instead he just curled up on the ground and stewed in his thoughts and insecurities. After all, even when Nick DID tell her about the two of them, that wasn't a guarantee for the two of them to start up again. And he knew from experience that if the kid doesn't like you, and if the parent is decent, the lover is out. Perhaps this was karma for scaring off all his mother's boyfriends, those who were decent people whom he simply didn't want to share with. Had his mother kissed them the same way Nick had just done, right before saying goodbye? He ran a hand down his face, and heaved out a weighted breath. Dammit, he wasn't ready to say goodbye.

When it was his turn to patrol, Ellis didn't look as carefully as he might have other nights. Yes, he was able to pick off some infected with his katana so as not to wake anyone, but if there were lone and non-curious zombies in the bushes, he didn't notice them. He sat on a log, listening to Coach snore in the short distance, and stared up at the sky. So he didn't notice Daisy get up until she was seated next to him on the log.

"Hey," she said, and he glanced her way.

"Oh. Hey," he replied. Oh boy.

"Ellis, right?"

"Yep, that's me."

"Does that big guy always snore like that?"

Ellis gave a sharp guffaw, and then nodded. "You'll get used to it."

"We'll see…. Any zombies?"

"Not many," he replied, shaking his head. "… So when you were sleepin' in the swamp, what noises did you hear?"

"Noises?"

"Yeah," he said. "Did you hear bugs? Or gators maybe?"

"I guess. How come?"

"Well, cuz this one time, me and my buddy Keith were campin' in the bayou and I couldn't sleep because I kept hearin' the gators hissin' and bellowin'," he said, figuring a story would keep his focus off his discomfort. "That and Keith kept yellin' about bugs chewin' on his ass, so that kept me up too. That's not exaggeratin' either, apparently he had huge bite marks all over his ass. I didn't seem 'em or nothin', but he sure wouldn't shut up about it, so I assume they were pretty bad."

"…. Didn't you guys bring bug spray?"

"Well we did, but he'd wasted most of it makin' a flame thrower," he answered, and she arched her eyebrows a shook her head. "I called dibs on the last of the spray, so he had to be eaten alive by the bugs."

"He sounds kind of funny," she said.

"Oh, he's REAL funny," Ellis grinned. "He makes me laugh all the time. He can just make any situation funny, even if he doesn't mean to! That's what I like best 'bout him."

"Is he… still alive?"

"Last I saw he was," he replied. "Leavin' notes on safe houses and stuff. Said he was goin' to New Orleans, so maybe I'll see him there."

"Maybe…" she said, and smirked a bit, charmed by the thought. "So what were you before?"

"Before what?"

"Before this," she replied, gesturing to the sleeping people in the camp and his gun. "What were you? What did you do?"

"Oh….. I was a mechanic in Savannah," he said. "Hung out with Keith an' Dave, fixed cars with 'em, lived with my Mom…. I guess I wasn't too interestin' before all this."

"Me neither," she agreed.

"Oh, I was in a band though, I play bass," Ellis said, proudly.

"Yeah?"

"Oh yeah, some people think bass is borin' but I really like it."

"Bass isn't boring, it holds a rhythm."

Hm, this isn't so bad, he thought, and got a little bolder. After all, she was only human, just like him. He could talk to anyone else, why should she be any different? "Well, what about you? What's your story?"

"Heh, it's not too interesting," she admitted, wrinkling her nose in thought. "Lived with Mom and her husband. Got As and Bs in school. Was on the track team. Even had a boyfriend, sort of, we went out for milkshakes a couple times…. I was pretty much the average American girl before all this…. Now I'm Buffy the Vampire Slayer."

"Aw hell yeah, that was a CRAZY show," Ellis said, excitedly, and her lips spread into the wry smile her Dad had. "… He's real happy he found you." She nodded, and ran a hand through her messy hair.

"So tell me. How'd you guys hook up?"

The phrasing was unfortunate, and he tried to figure out just what she meant by it. Her face seemed pretty neutral, so he decided to take it in the non-sexual context. "Just met after the Infection got to Savannah. Thought we'd team up, and met Coach and Rochelle too. Been with them ever since."

She nodded a bit, and clasped her hands together, resting her elbows on her knees. "…. Is it really twisted that I kind of like myself better now than I did before all this shit happened?"

Ellis had gotten over feeling awkward around her, as her opening up to him made him more at ease than he had been previously. So he shook his head. "Naw, I don't think so. I mean…. Shit, I don't know. In some ways I like myself better now too. I hate this world we're in, but I like me. And I like all the people I've met, like Ro and Coach, and your Dad…" He trailed off, and removed his hat, starting to feel a bit nervous after all. Just let Nick and Daisy work things out, don't try to speed up the process by buttering her up.

"… So you and my Dad get along okay?" she asked, and Ellis wished she would stop dwelling on Nick. "Because you seem real nice, and he can be kind of a bastard."

Ellis knew all too well, and smiled grimly. "Kind of a bastard, huh?"

"Oh, don't get me wrong," she said, holding up her hands. "I love my Dad. We get along just fine, most of the time. But yeah…. He can be kind of a bastard." She pursed her lips in thought, and scratched her head, uncomfortable.

"…. He sure can," Ellis agreed. "He ain't been too bad though. We get along just fine."

"That's good," she said, and stared off into the woods. "… I told him that I knew he'd come for me, but… Honestly? I was sure he'd just given up and run back to California when the shit really hit the fan."

"…. That's not how it happened at all," Ellis said, not really sure what to say to her now. "He…. He was real worried, Daisy…. He almost went crazy tryin' to find you. At times I thought he DID go crazy."

"Hm… Well, good," she said, voice cold, and stood up. "It sounds like Coach turned over, so I'm going to try and get some sleep before it kicks up again."

"Heh, sounds good," Ellis said, and put his hat back on. "…. Hey, it was nice talkin' to ya." She nodded, and smiled at him.

"You too, Ellis," she said. "I'm glad my Dad found you… All of you, I mean… Well, goodnight." She waved, and walked back towards the embers. Ellis couldn't help but smile to himself, relieved. They got along fine. So the first and hardest part was out of the way, and in his favor. The rest of his patrol went by much quicker, now that it was off his mind, and after he traded off with Rochelle he found himself able to sleep better than he thought he was going to, even if he was missing Nick's embrace.

"New Orleans always had the best pastries," Coach mused, nostalgically. "Maria and I went there for our tenth anniversary, and we stayed at this place that had the finest beignets and coffee."

"Somehow I doubt the zombies will have that waiting for us when we enter the city limits. Sorry to disappoint, Coach," Nick grinned, and Coach pretended he didn't hear him.

"I would sell my soul for a pastry," Rochelle said, trying to ignore her stomach grumbling. "I never want to eat another can of vegetables again."

"Still have some time before you can rid yourself of them forever," Coach reminded her. "We're still a day away from New Orleans. And if the roads into the city are as congested as they were getting into Jacksonville…" He trailed off, not liking to think about the time it was going to take.

Nick turned around to check on Daisy, as he barely kept his worried eye off her for more than five minutes (even if he didn't get too close), and saw that she was walking comfortably with Ellis, chatting away with him. He wasn't really surprised that they got along. After all, Ellis was the closest to her in age, being twenty three, but Nick was still relieved. Of course, had she been given the context of Ellis and his relationship, maybe she'd think differently. For now, though, they were playing a rousing game of I Spy as they walked down the road.

"I spy with my little eye somethin'…. Green, big, and… well, wet, I guess," Ellis said, squinting his eyes to stave off the sunlight. Daisy looked around, and pointed towards a wetland area.

"Swamp," she answered, matter of factly.

"Shit, I shouldn't 've said 'wet'," he muttered, and she shrugged, biting her lip, trying to find something to give hints about. "Well, come on, your turn."

"I'm thinking," she replied, and knit her brow off the side of the road. "I spy with my little eye something that begins with Z."

"… Zombies?"

"Whatever makes you think that?" With that, she aimed her gun at an infected leaning against a tree, vomiting. The kickback made her hop backwards about a foot, as the weapon was a bit powerful (even for a smaller gun), but it did it's job and the zombie fell into the marsh. Ellis whooped, and high fived her. Nick turned around to see them celebrating, and whistled.

"Hey!" he snapped, and they both turned. "Try and keep up you guys!"

"Oh, yeah, sorry Nick!" Ellis called, and he and Daisy exchanged amused glances.

They stopped briefly to search a few cars that had stalled by the side of the road. When none of them were salvageable, they decided to try to open up the trunks and see what supplies they could find. Nick wedged his ax blade into the trunk of a Prius, and smashed the handle under his foot. Unfortunately, as he did so, the ax head snapped off the wood.

"God dammit!" he shouted, and threw the remnants on the asphalt. He kicked it, and slammed his hands down on the metal.

"What happened?" Ellis asked, coming up behind him, and Nick pointed towards his broken weapon. "Aw no. Nick, that sucks. That ax has been pretty trusty this whole time."

"Yeah," Nick mumbled, and leaned forward, putting his face in his hands. "It's really stupid but I feel like I just lost a part of myself."

"Naw, that ain't stupid," Ellis said, shaking his head. He pat Nick on the shoulder, but didn't linger, as per Nick's request the night before. The older man was about to say something, but Ellis was already off and trying to pry open other trunks. He sniffed a bit, and kicked the head of the ax.

"Suck," Daisy said, stopping next to him.

"Could be worse."

"Yeah, a zombie could have popped out of that trunk right after it broke."

"True! Sure glad that didn't happen."

"I don't know, it coulda been funny."

"To you."

"Like a freakin' Jack in the Box…" She trailed off, and continued to walk, propping her gun up over her shoulder.

"Hey Aces," he called after her, and she turned, briefly. "… If you ever want to…. I don't know, talk-."

Before he could finish his sentence, an infected man rose up from behind the car she was standing next to. "DAISY WATCH-!"

He didn't have to finish, though, as she had heard the noise and spun around, whipping her hammer out of her bag. The skull was blindsided by the metal head, and it gave way with a sickening 'crack!', blood spurting onto Daisy's face. She pushed the stunned creature away, and smacked it in the back of the head as well. As it fell to the pavement, she locked eyes with her Dad, who was staring at his daughter, mouth agape. All he could think was 'I used to play Legos with her….'

"I'm good. And besides, you hate talking, don't you?" she asked abruptly, wiping her face, and turned back, rushing to catch up with Ellis. He twisted his face into a frown, and it began to slowly but surely occur to him that things were not as good as they seemed the day before. When they had found each other in the swamp she wouldn't let go of his arm, but now she would barely look him in the eye. So Ellis was respecting his wishes and keeping his distance, his daughter was barely acknowledging him, and his ax was broken. It was turning into a hell of a day, and he was finding himself in a gloomier and gloomier mood as they searched the trunks.

It only made him feel a tiny bit better when a tire iron was part of the bounty, and Rochelle tossed it to him. He caught it, and swung it a couple of times. "…. I miss my ax."

"I know you do," she said, rubbing his arm. "You okay Nick?"

"Yep," he lied. "Anything else in the trunks?" Rochelle sighed, and crossed her arms.

"Canned peas," she muttered, rolling her eyes, and he snickered, and pat her on the back.

"Tough break."

"I hate peas, Nick. I really and truly hate peas."

Ellis shoved Daisy playfully as she caught up with him. "Shooot, you sure know your way around a hammer."

"It's not that hard, it's kind of like Whack a Mole," she replied, shoving him back.

"An' where'd you learn ta shoot? I mean, yeah, I've met girls who can shoot, but from what your Dad told me about your Mom-."

"Oh, no, that was Hank," she replied. "Wanted me to learn how to shoot a shotgun so he could take me hunting with him and his buddies. Closest thing he had to a teenage son to take with, I guess. First time I used a shotgun I really fucked up my shoulder. Then my Grandpa got me this Mossberg 20 Gauge and I could at least, you know, fire it without killing myself."

"Were you close with your step dad?"

"No. Right after I got this stupid thing he lost interest in doing anything with me, so…." She trailed off, and rolled her eyes. "Whatever, doesn't matter. Grandpa still took me every once in awhile, so it wasn't a complete waste."

"…You know who'd like you? Keith," he stated, hoping to change the topic. "When everything gets back to normal, you'll have to meet him, and I bet we could all go shootin' or ridin' on ATVs or somethin'! Of course, ever since he flipped that ATV once and broke his ribs, he's been kinda hesitant to get back on one, or jump it over cars anyway. In fact, now that I think about it, there was this one time…"

As much as they all wanted to get to the outer city limits by nightfall, they had to settle for ten miles off. Coach started a fire outside the safe house, and tossed a few cans of soup in the flames. As he cooked, and as Rochelle patrolled the perimeter, Ellis explored the safe house with Nick and Daisy. He threw open a footlocker and found some blankets and a pair of first aid kits.

"Jackpot! We won't be cold tonight," he said, tossing a blanket at Daisy. She caught it but got a bit tangled in the cloth, and giggled sardonically. Nick helped her pull it off herself, and dropped it on the floor.

"Any pipe bombs or Molotovs?" he asked.

"Naw, not that I see…. Hey, what the hell're these things?" Ellis mused, pulling out a couple syringes from the box. He handed one to Nick, who examined it with his flashlight beam. He read the side of it, and he snorted in surprise.

"What the fuck?" he asked. "It says it's from CEDA….. and it says it's epinephrine."

"What, like… adrenaline?" Daisy asked, plucking the other from Ellis' hand. "That's totally weird. Why would they have those in shots?"

"To give you an extra boost, Aces," Nick replied, shaking his head. "How many are there?"

"Only the two," Ellis replied, and Nick took the second from Daisy's hand and placed them back in Ellis' palm. He curled the mechanic's fingers around them, and glanced down below the loft.

"Hold on to those," he said, quietly, and Ellis was about to protest, not feeling comfortable keeping them from Coach and Rochelle. "Ellis, I know you don't like this, but please just humor me. If they're needed, I want you and Daisy to use them."

"…. Nick," Ellis started, quietly, and Nick quickly pat his arm.

"El…. Trust me," he said, voice almost demanding. And after pausing a moment, Ellis nodded, sticking the shots in his bag.

"I just want to let you know that I don't like hiding this from those two," he said, voice disapproving. Nick stifled a frustrated sigh, and instead pat Ellis on the shoulder, squeezing it reassuringly.

"Tell you what, Overalls," he said, deciding that compromise would have to do, "if either of them REALLY need it, then they can have it. But otherwise, it's for you two."

"What about you?" Ellis asked, skeptical. "What if YOU really need it?"

"I won't."

"But what if you do-?"

"ELLIS," Nick snapped, and then glanced at Daisy, who was watching with interest. "…. I won't need it, and if you try and give it to me, I will jab it into your eyeball."

"You will not!"

"Okay, FINE, I won't do that, but I will use it on you before you can use it on me, got it? I will wrestle it the fuck away from you," he said, and Ellis snorted, shaking his head.

"Fine," he said, and stalked ahead, leaving father and daughter in the safe room. Nick clenched his hands into fists to numb his irritation, and then noticed that Daisy was trying not to smile to herself.

"What?" he asked, defensively.

"Nothing."