Disclaimer: I don't own Left 4 Dead 2 or its characters. I only own my OCs

A/N: Hi, everyone! I'm back with another chapter. I must include this warning as this chapter contains sexual/adult themes. Anyway, I hope you like it!

Shin Maxwell: I'm so grateful that you're continuing to review! It really is driving me to keep writing, so thank you, and I hope this chapter makes up for where I left the last chapter off.

~ Not So Forsaken ~

- Chapter Twenty-Five -

Another flash of lightning lit up Nick and Julia's room as the twenty-one-year-old arched her back and tilted her head back and into her pillow.

Nick was definitely a very experienced lover. He seemed to work out very quickly where and how to touch her to get better responses from her, and as he took her left breast gently into his mouth, rolling his tongue over her nipple in slow, methodical circles, Julia was certain that she was in the best hands that she could possibly ask for. He still wasn't rushing, and that meant the world to her. After spending so long having to focus solely on Kevin's needs, it felt amazing to have someone turn the focus onto her and to make her feel good for once.

Feeling her shiver against him, her fingers tightening in his hair, Nick smirked and let out a deep chuckle which sent small vibrations rippling around her breast and once again caused her to let out a soft gasp. He released her, moving across to toy with the other breast, while her hands cradled him, kneading and massaging him encouragingly to show that she enjoyed what he was doing.

He broke away after a few moments more to kiss her lips, feeling one of those dainty hands of hers threading gently through his chest hair while the other cupped his face to hold him, her hips moving up to meet his. His body felt so warm and so big that she couldn't help but feel safe, and as she wrapped her arms around him, he momentarily stopped kissing her to look at her, brushing her hair out of her face. He then slid his hands down her sides until he reached the waistband of her underwear, hooking his fingers into it expertly before carefully starting to ease it downward. She raised her hips for him, her face suddenly graced with the most beautiful, but shy smile he'd seen from her so far.

It disappeared rather quickly though just as the underwear started to be pulled past her upper thighs, and suddenly, her hands flew to her face so that she couldn't see his reaction to her naked body. This was something Nick wasn't used to, but that he had experienced before. He knew that some women felt very self-conscious and very nervous about letting a guy see them naked for the first time, probably because of some of the unrealistic expectations some guys had of women's bodies. He understood that his track record wasn't helping in this instance either. Yes, Nick had been with a lot of women, and yes, a lot of them had what a lot of guys would describe as 'perfect' bodies, but Nick actually didn't give that much of a fuck if a woman had big breasts or not, or if her skin was perfect or not. It wasn't that important to him when it came down to it since a woman's pretty face was usually the feature that attracted him the most to her, not her body. That certainly didn't sound any better.

He decided, given Julia's current state of worry and embarrassment, that he wouldn't prolong it any more than necessary. So, once her underwear was gone, his came off too, and now they were equal. He had no advantage over her now. He was just as vulnerable and exposed as she was. He was surprised, however, when she removed her hands from her face, realised he was naked now too, and visibly startled, letting out an embarrassed laugh.

"I'm so sorry..." She whispered with a now reddened face and a beaming grin, "I wasn't expecting you to be naked."

"That's okay. I wanted to level the playing field." He told her with a smile of his own, leaning down to kiss her again.

Feeling him against her for the first time was wonderful, and it sent the most wonderful set of sparks through her which caused her to involuntarily shiver, her face flushing a deeper shade of red. She bravely reached between them to take him in her hand and immediately, her eyes opened again, her face graced once more with that bashful smile. She bit her lip anxiously, realising that she was now going to have to admit something rather embarrassing to him, which she didn't know how he'd react to.

"This may be a little tricky..." She said quietly.

"Bigger than you're used to?" He asked her with an arched eyebrow, his lips curved into a rather smug smirk.

She nodded, her teeth still digging into her lower lip. Nick kissed her again, letting out a very quiet, but very deep groan as he felt her hand move against him experimentally. Was he really this turned on? It hadn't been that long. The hickey that had only just disappeared from his neck was evidence enough of that, but still... Maybe it was her. He didn't want to wait any longer to do this. She was driving him completely crazy. He reached to his right, grabbed the condom that he'd left sitting on the nightstand which had come from the box he'd picked up on the way to Whispering Oaks, tore it open and started to prep himself. The least he could do was suit up for this. After what she'd told him about her miscarriage and given the fact that they were in the middle of a zombie apocalypse, he didn't want to risk getting her pregnant. That and kids were something he knew he just shouldn't have. What kind of father could he be anyway?

She leant up to kiss him, allowing him to focus on supporting himself while she took him in her hand and guided him towards her. Nick suddenly felt unusually nervous. It almost felt like it was his first time again, and he realised why when he saw Julia looking up at him with those sparkling brown eyes, her lips curved into a warm, gentle smile. He'd never been with anyone like her before. She seemed so delicate compared to the other women he'd been with and the last thing he wanted was to hurt her.

"Are you alright?" She asked him quietly.

"Yeah." He whispered, leaning down to kiss her as she raised her hips a little to line him up with her entrance.

"Go slow, okay?" She whispered, cupping his face with her free hand.

He nodded to her in reply and as he pushed forward, he felt her tense up, watching her almost in horror when her eyes suddenly clenched shut. He was hurting her... He just knew he was... She took a deep breath, trying to relax with very little success. She was so used to things being forced that she found it difficult to keep calm and to let things happen naturally which made her worry that Nick would become angry and impatient with her.

"Sorry..." She laughed nervously, "I find it hard to relax."

"It's okay." Nick murmured, sliding an arm under her to hold her and support himself while the other hand moved another small copper-coloured curl out of her face, "We're going as slowly as you need to."

He then leant down and kissed her forehead, and the second he felt her relax around him, he gently eased forward again. He definitely was bigger than what she was used to. Nick watched her with what could only be described as wonder and fascination as she took another deep breath. She really was strong. After all his panicked doubts, she was showing him her strength right now, fighting a fear she'd held for a long time thanks to someone she was supposed to be able to trust. She looked beautiful, even though her brow was creased in pain, however little. Then, she relaxed again, and with one final, gentle move forward, he saw a smile come to her face, her eyes still closed and her head slightly tilted back into the pillow.

She then opened her eyes to look at him, and she cupped his face with the hand that had just been between them, drawing him closer to kiss him. Then, he started to move, their lips still entwined in a soft kiss. Julia's heart raced as he started to move, a jolt striking through her with such intensity that she couldn't hold in the soft moan that left her lips. It felt amazing in comparison to what she was used to, so much so that she wanted to cry. She bit her lip, and as he lowered his head to the right of hers, she drew her legs back, cradling the back of his head and neck with her right hand while holding his right arm with her left.

She heard him groan again in that same, deep voice in her ear and God did it turn her on. She turned her head to his, kissing him tenderly on the jaw. His right hand moved to cradle her hip, his hips still keeping that same rhythm that was driving her absolutely crazy. Sex with Kevin had never been as good as this, and he'd been the only man she'd actually slept with. This was gentle and tender, with no violence and nothing was forced. It was beyond amazing. She ran her fingers through Nick's now clean hair, clasping it in her fingers with a good grip, but not enough to hurt.

Nick moved to kiss her neck, trying to fight the urge to bite her since he knew she wouldn't appreciate him marking her. She moaned again, still quietly so as not to disturb the others, and as his pace started to quicken, her grip on him tightened to a point where it was almost painful, and he knew that what he was doing was working and making her feel good. With a shaking breath, he felt her tilt her hips a little more, and her moans started to become more frequent. She knew what was happening but she could scarcely believe that it was.

"Nick..." She whimpered, gazing at the ceiling with a furrowed brow as she bit her lip, trying to stop herself from crying out.

"I've got you, baby." He whispered to her, quickening his pace, his voice sounding a little higher than usual, "Let go..."

She bit down on her lip and then moved to draw her mouth into a tight line, her eyes clenched shut as she felt the rather unfamiliar arrival of an orgasm. She stopped breathing momentarily, her eyes opening and her jaw clenching as she felt it overpower her, almost removing her ability to move entirely. Her head fell back into the pillow and she let out a harsh breath, taking in another breath straight after and trying desperately not to almost scream in ecstasy.

Nick pressed his forehead to hers, and as her body tightened around him again, it was enough to bring him over the edge. She kissed him as he rode out his orgasm, his voice rising in pitch, but thankfully not in volume as he snapped his hips against hers for a few seconds more before slowing to a stop, being sure to keep himself from collapsing onto her as he regained his breath. Their heads were still touching, so Nick took that opportunity to kiss her again, cupping her face in the most tender way that he'd done so far.

She opened her eyes to look at him, her face flushed from her orgasm, and she smiled so brightly that Nick couldn't help but smile too. They kissed once more, this time more deeply, and Nick eased himself carefully out of her, moving to rest at her side. The storm was still raging outside, but neither of them could bring themselves to care. Julia moved to lay against him, beaming with joy as he drew her closer by holding the back of her head, kissing her warmly on the forehead.

"You doing okay?" He asked her quietly, still trying to catch his breath, "You're shaking..."

"I'm really good." She replied with a small laugh, "That was amazing... You're amazing."

Nick smirked, wrapping his arms around her as he turned her face so that they were looking at each other. She made him feel so damn young again, and while he knew he wasn't exactly old, he was starting to feel a little old. Lately, those one-night-stands and never spending more than a few days in one place had started to lose its charm and thrill, and now he felt somewhat revived and rejuvenated.

"Wanna shower with me?" He asked her with a half-smile, "It might be a tight fit, but..."

"Sure." Julia laughed softly, "Let's go."

They showered together, this time not caring if they disturbed the others, and throughout their time together, they got to pretend just for a little while that the world hadn't gone to shit. They kissed for a while under the spray, washed one another with the shower gel that was tucked neatly inside the caddy that was attached to the shower wall, and after they were clean, Julia tucked herself into Nick's arms and they shared a long, warm embrace. Julia even got a little emotional because of how wonderful their night had been.

Once they were out of the shower, they got back into bed, still naked, and curled up together to go to sleep. Nick kept her held close to him, running his fingers through her hair, and stroking her temple with his thumb to soothe her into sleep. As she drifted into slumber, Nick bit back the lump that threatened to rise in his throat. Whatever he was feeling really was so much deeper than infatuation. Maybe... No... No, it wasn't love. He didn't think it was love.

But he did know one thing. He had to fight whatever it took to keep this woman with him. They'd just connected on a deeper level and there was no point trying to deny it, but for her to wholly give herself to him with such trust was something else entirely. He kissed her forehead once more, closing his eyes and swallowing hard as she burrowed into him, tightening her hold on him while he continued to stroke her temple with his thumb.

"Sleep tight, beautiful." He whispered to her, settling down with her still held in his arms as he pulled the blankets tighter around them to keep them warm.

Within a few hours, it became apparent to Coach, who'd been unable to sleep, that the storm wasn't letting up. They didn't know how long they'd be stuck there if they continued to wait, so he knew that the only solution was to wake the others and signal Virgil. He knew that his friends had only had maybe three or four hours of sleep at best, and while he knew he had to wake them, he didn't want to. He woke Ellis first, who was surprisingly upbeat about getting on the move, while Rochelle flipped him the bird when he walked into her room and told her she needed to get up. He was as cautious as he'd been with Rochelle when he went to wake Julia and Nick, but he was astounded to find Nick already awake, holding Julia in his arms who was clearly at the very least half-naked.

"I'm sorry, Nick, but this storm just keeps comin' and comin'... We're gonna have to chance it." He said with a grimace, "Just apologise for me when you wake Jules, huh?"

"Sure." Nick groaned, running a hand over his face, "We heading out as soon as?"

"Yeah, if that's okay." Coach said with a sigh, "I'll leave you guys to it. Come out as soon as you're ready."

"Thanks." Nick said, also letting out a sigh as Coach closed their door before he turned to his girl, who was sleeping peacefully in his arms, unaware that she was about to be disturbed, "Julia? Wake up, sweetie..."

She stirred, grimaced and curled further into him, her eyes fluttering as she let out a deep breath, her arms tightening around his waist.

"Noooo..." She moaned quietly, "Not yet... It's too early."

"I'm sorry, baby, but the storm's not letting up... We have to go." Nick said quietly, sitting up with her still in his arms, "Come on..."

They dressed silently, and both felt a little sad that their time together was over. For now at least. They shared a long kiss, and Julia held Nick in lengthy, loving embrace, not wanting to let go. But, they soon joined their friends in the living area of the house, and as everyone glumly grabbed their things, they left the house and walked back into the still falling rain, fighting through a flooded yard to get back over the fence they'd climbed on the way in, finding themselves in front of the Burger Tank. Coach's plan, which was to activate the sign to signal Virgil, seemed almost crazy but it was the only option they had, and all they could do was hope that the sign would be bright enough through the rain and mist for him to see.

Wading towards the restaurant, Nick spotted a ladder that he'd seen on their way into town, amazed that it was still standing despite the storm. He climbed up first, followed by Rochelle, then Julia, then Ellis and then Coach, who found his friends standing around the power box on the roof, with Nick gingerly holding his hand out towards it.

"We ready?" He asked, looking at the others.

"Hit it." Coach said with a nod, and as Nick pulled the switch to activate the sign, it flared into life, beginning to spin above them.

"Give that a few seconds and we'll have a horde on our asses..." Nick said, starting to yell as the storm picked up, "We need to stay up here until we hear Virgil coming!"

"Stay together!" Julia yelled, "Back to back! We need eyes in every direction!"

Everyone moved together to form a star shape, focusing only on the areas ahead of them. Coach was looking in the direction they'd just come from, Rochelle was looking to the right, Nick was looking to the left, and Ellis and Julia were watching the back each turned left or right. Within about a minute, as the storm continued to rage, a scream echoed along the wind and sent a chill down everyone's spines as infected began to pour in from all directions.

"Get onto the roof!" Nick yelled, "Move back towards the edge of the building!"

Everyone did as he asked, and just as they managed to find another ladder that would lead them to the ground near the dock, they heard the horn of Virgil's boat blaring out above the thunder and the rain. Rochelle screamed at everyone to move, and as Nick and Ellis slid down the ladder one after the other, the girls quickly followed, trusting their friends enough to let go half way down and for the guys to catch them. Coach struggled down but moved as fast as he could, jumping from the last few rungs as Virgil's boat pulled into the dock.

Sprinting towards it, the five survivors were just about to actually make it out of somewhere unscathed, when a flying piece of concrete came from the top of the restaurant and hit Ellis so hard that it knocked him into the water on the other side of the boat. Coach yelled at Virgil to wait while the others rushed to find Ellis, whose cap was floating on the surface with no sign of him nearby.

"Fuck..." Nick cursed, immediately throwing his belongings on deck, "Cover me!"

He stripped his ruined, previously-white suit jacket off and leapt into the water without hesitation, immediately moving to search for Ellis. The rather muffled sound of gunfire above was enough to let him know he didn't have much time, but thankfully, he caught sight of Ellis slowly sinking below him, clearly unconscious. Swimming towards the mechanic, Nick grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, pulling him up enough to grab him under the arms and swim to the surface with him.

Gasping for breath as he broke the surface of the water, Nick started to swim towards the boat with Ellis in his arms, still unconscious. Together, but not without struggle, he and Coach managed to get Ellis on deck, and then Nick managed to pull himself onto the boat while the girls screamed at Virgil to go. As soon as they were out of the horde's sight, they turned to see what was happening with Ellis and were very thankful to see him slowly coming around despite the fact that he was obviously very confused.

"Quick! Get in here!" Virgil yelled, shielding his weathered face from the pelting rain and harsh wind, "Hurry!"

Nick hauled Ellis up with Coach's help as the girls ran inside first, with Julia holding onto Nick's jacket and Ellis' hat. Nick got Ellis into the boat's small seating area and without hesitation, he started to check the younger man's head over for injury. There was just a bump starting to form at the back of his head near the top, and he had some small scrapes on his face from where the concrete had broken and been blown against his face.

"Nick... Get yourself outta them wet clothes." Coach said quietly, "Before ya catch your death."

"Come on, baby..." Julia said worriedly, taking her can of diesel and handing it to Virgil before easing Nick away from Ellis, "Come on."

Nick went with her, starting to shiver from the cold of the water, and just as they were about to disappear into their sleeping space, Ellis' weak voice came from the sitting area, thanking Nick for saving him. Nick just nodded, feeling tired, freezing cold and also guilty. He'd just dived into the water without a thought for Julia. Yes, he'd done the right thing for Ellis by diving in there and saving his life, but what would've happened to Julia if something had happened to him? He was feeling horrible. She needed him, and even though he'd never say that to her, he knew she did. What if something had just happened to him, and he wasn't there to protect her anymore? How could he ever justify leaving her like that? Oh, God... What was wrong with him? Why was he even thinking like that?

"Baby, we need to get you warm and dry..." Julia's voice brought him back from his thoughts.

She'd been terrified from the second that they'd lit up that sign until they'd gotten Ellis inside to safety. Watching Nick drop everything to dive into the water after someone who he'd struggled to get along with for the majority of their journey had been amazing. He'd literally just thrown everything he had to the side and gone straight into the path of danger after Ellis. He could've been left behind with nothing to defend himself with... The thought brought a horrid lump to Julia's throat. He wasn't talking. He wasn't even focused. He was just staring at the corner of their tiny sleeping space with a blank look on his face. He was shaking, probably both with the adrenaline wearing off and the cold from the water.

"Nick?" She asked gently, "I'm unbuttoning your shirt, okay?"

She heard an indistinct sound come from him in response, so she assumed that it was okay to continue. She heard Rochelle call to her from the other side of their sleeping space, and she quickly poked her head around the curtain to see the older woman holding up some fresh towels for her. She took them gratefully and headed back to find Nick still staring into space. Was he in shock? She had no idea what to do or say, and she certainly didn't know what was going on in his head.

"Here, sweetie..." She whispered, handing him a towel, "Warm your hands with that while we get this shirt off."

Once the shirt was gone, she quickly threw it out of the room and then moved to take a larger towel and wrap it around his shoulders. The warmth seemed to wake him up a little more, and he then decided to draw it further around him, sighing shakily with the relief of having something to dry himself off with. Moving to get him out of his dress pants, Julia asked him to help her by removing his shoes, which he did rather awkwardly. Once he was totally stripped, she started to rub him down with the towels to dry him off. He was really struggling to get warm.

"Jules? I'm gonna hang these clothes up to dry." Rochelle called from outside, "Coach and I are gonna take care of Ellis, okay? Stay with Nick."

"Thanks." Julia called back, looking back to her man with a worried grimace, "Okay... We need to warm you up..."

She immediately started to remove her own clothes, which stunned Nick a little initially, but the second that she was as naked as he was, she grabbed the covers from their small bed and then removed the towels from Nick, throwing the larger ones outside while she kept the smaller one to dry his hair with. She then threw the bed covers around his shoulders, told him to hold onto the edges and then got in there with him, instructing him to wrap his arms around her. Cocooned in the covers, Julia could already feel her body heat warming him, and she took the opportunity to lift her arms out and use the spare towel to dry his hair. Once that was done, the redhead discarded that towel and then went to wrap her arms back around him again.

"Do you need to sit down?" She asked him quietly.

Without a word, he tightened his hold on her and eased them down to the bed, sitting on the mattress with her straddling him now, her frame wrapping around his as she started to rub his back to try and warm him.

"Are you alright?"

"Fine..." Nick murmured, resting his head tiredly on her shoulder.

"That was a really amazing thing you did." She whispered, "I'm proud of you. You didn't hesitate at all. You just went straight after Ellis. That takes guts, y'know? You're so brave, baby."

"Don't." Nick said quietly, "It was nothing."

Julia knew in her heart that something wasn't right. Her stomach dropped and her heart lurched, her basic instincts letting her know loud and clear that there was something he wasn't telling her. There was something that he didn't want her to know right now, and that was okay with her. She knew he'd done nothing wrong, so it wasn't as if he was hiding anything bad from her.

"Alright." She said gently, moving to look at him, "Are you getting warmer?"

"A little." He responded, swallowing thickly as he tried to stop trembling, "Am I making you cold?"

"Not at all." She laughed softly, "The adrenaline really got my blood pumping. I'm incredibly warm right now."

There was a knock against the wall of the outside, and after a quick check that they were both fully covered, Julia called to whoever was outside so that they could come in. Coach poked his head around the curtain and in his hands were two steaming mugs of something that smelt achingly familiar.

"Hot cocoa. Virgil hates the stuff and gave it to us instead." Coach said with a grin, "It'll have ya warmed up in no time, Nick."

"Thanks." Nick said quietly, still seemingly subdued, "Just set it down in the corner over there, Coach."

"No problem." Coach said with a grin, "That was a good thing you did out there, Nick. We almost lost Ellis back there... Thanks to you he's got nothin' more than a bumped head. He'll be fine."

"Good." Nick said with a nod, looking to Julia with what could only be described as pleading eyes.

He didn't want to talk about what had just happened anymore. He wanted Coach gone so that they could have their privacy. She could see it in his eyes that he just wanted them to be alone for a while, so she took the hint and tried to be as tactful as she could.

"Thanks, Coach." She said sweetly, "If you don't mind, I need to get Nick warmed up."

"Not at all." Coach grinned, "I gotta check on Ellis anyhow. Y'all get some rest. Virgil wants to fuel up and then give us a chance to get some more rest before we make for New Orleans."

"Awesome." Julia smiled, "I'll be out in a while."

Coach nodded, and with that, he left Julia and Nick on their own to have a little time together. Turning back to Nick, Julia pressed her lips against his cheek, gasping when he turned her face and kissed her lips deeply, holding her in place with his left hand. Without another word, he pulled her towards him again to hold her, and once again, he kept her in place, resting his head on her shoulder. Now, she was worried. This wasn't normal behaviour from Nick at all, and as she wrapped her arms around him in return, she couldn't help but wonder what the hell was going on with him now.

"Thanks, Julia." He suddenly whispered, and with a heavy sigh, Julia could only kiss him in response while her mind raced at would could have possibly caused this very sudden change in his usual snarky and cocky personality.

~ To Be Continued ~

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter!

Thanks for reading so far!