Dusk was falling right as they got back to the tower, hardly any light to spare. They barricaded the door as before and re-settled in. Nick immediately set to filling his now sixteen magazines with rounds, Coach and Rochelle following his example with their new handguns; and Ellis took out the cleaning kit to go over his new baby, teaching himself how to dismantle and reassemble the military weapon with quick ease. Nick watched him from afar, just glad to see a smile on the kid's face again, whatever the reason. Within the next few minutes they all four headed towards 'bed', each finding themselves a place to lie down inside the room.

Rochelle was kind enough to pull some blankets out from the luggage that she had stumbled across in her earlier search, what would serve as their 'comforts' for the night. Lot of comfort they were– too thin to really supply much additional warmth, or serve as proper padding either. Nick gave a grumble, fiddling with the hem of his in his lap. The fucking thing was kind of scratchy too.

Since the control tower had proven itself against the bombardment of infected for several hours beforehand, they didn't choose to establish a watch, all laying down to catch a little extra sleep they probably all sorely needed. The plan was they'd all awaken at the same time in the morning, refreshed and refurbished, and make tracks out of Jacksonville.

Now if only he could get to sleep. Nick sat propped against the wall, wide-awake, unable to get his eyes to shut despite the darkness now overwhelming the room in the night hours. His eyes had fully adjusted though, able to see through the pitch. Coach was sawing logs in a chair a few feet away, his large chest rising and falling in lumbering breaths, and Rochelle seemed to have found sleep as well, curled over a suitcase to rest her head. No doubt the fact that the two had gotten up six hours before either he or Ellis had something to do with their ease in falling unconscious. He peered over at the mechanic. Ellis repositioned again, wriggling against the hard linoleum floor. Poor kid was probably attempting to find some way to lie comfortably– Nick had already given up that futile quest himself, resigning himself to his current semi-reclined position. He watched as Ellis tugged his blanket higher on his shoulders, but doing so left his bare feet to stick out the bottom. He nearly laughed; you'd think with how short he was it wouldn't be an issue, but apparently he wasn't short enough even for crappy airplane blankets. He heard the southerner give a wearied sigh.

"You're not sleeping either, huh, sport?" he spoke up, his voice still carrying a slight amusement at his plight.

Ellis gave a chuckle, sitting up. "Nah, not too well," he admitted. Nick merely nodded. The blue eyes seemed to flash as they met one another's gaze through the dark. There was some hesitation, but Ellis moved closer… joining him against the wall, until their sides were nearly touching; Nick had to repress the urge to throw an arm over his shoulders… though at this point, he didn't know why he did. Ellis wouldn't protest the action, hell, he'd probably even welcome it. But maybe he just didn't want to delude himself…

The mechanic reached out, scooping his hat up from the floor to put it back over his hair. "We didn't really get our talk tonight…" he pointed out in a murmur, propping his elbows on his knees and sort of absently twiddling his thumbs.

Nick was quiet a moment. It was true, they hadn't. And it had become commonplace, something… cathartic, to look forward to when the day was done, when they had survived another day. They'd have to keep it down so as to not disturb the others, but a quick chat couldn't hurt, maybe they'd both get to sleep better afterwards. "Well, what did you want to talk about?" he asked.

"Shucks, man, it don't matter," Ellis gave a quiet laugh, leaning his head to the side so it rested on his jacketed shoulder; Nick's heart responded with a couple of fast beats. "Not tuh me anyhow," the mechanic continued, "I jus' wanna…" he stopped himself short.

"Want to what?" Nick picked up on it.

"Get to know one another better…" he added shyly, drawing his blanket back up on his lap.

Nick felt himself grin in the low light, beside himself. "I'd like that too, sport."

There was a short silence before Ellis seemed to finally settle on what to talk about. "I heard'ja mention yer dad tuh Ro'…" he opened quietly.

Oh, yeah, he had. A frown tugged at Nick's lips. He wasn't surprised Ellis had overheard, though he was a little leery of discussing the subject even now. Sure, he was comfortable with Ellis, but he still didn't like to think on, let alone talk about, the man that had been the bane of his existence the majority of his childhood. "Yeah," he merely confirmed, not sure where this was going.

"Was he…" Ellis started, then stopped, as if second-guessing himself. "Was he abusive?" he asked in a meek voice, clearly quite worried.

Nick couldn't help but give a little chuckle, his gaze at the ground. "That depends on how you view it," he admitted, wetting his lips before clarifying. "He was disciplinary."

"I see," the southerner nodded.

Nick flattened himself against the wall, straightening his spine. "Not saying that I didn't sometimes deserve it. I did a lot of shit I shouldn't have."

The young man paused in thought. "Well, there's a big difference between punishin' someone an' well… like, tellin' them what they done wrong an' why… tryin' tuh help them out, give 'em guidance…"

"Different era, kid."

"S'pose…" Ellis trailed off.

Nick blinked, the dialogue culling up memories in his head. He could remember the first time he had stolen one of his father's credit cards. The man always kept his wallet on the nightstand beside the bed– it wasn't habit, it was rule– and Nick had nabbed it during one of his mother and father's more violent sexual nights while they were plenty distracted from his entrance and exit of the master bedroom suite. And he'd thought he had been being rather smart, choosing one of the lesser used cards, as his father would be less likely to notice its absence over the course of his day. Nick had taken it to school, showed it off to a few peers– who were quite in awe considering it was fifth grade– and on his way back home, stopped at the record store which had just started stocking CDs and CD players– the new thing!– and bought a few that struck his fancy. The manager of course questioned him, but he lied smoothly that his father had said it was okay to use his card and presented him with a forged note and signature as proof. Plus it was easy to believe a kid in a blazer; he probably looked like he was from the fancy private school.

He thought he'd gotten away with the $300 some dollar purchase for about a month, successfully having returned the card without his father's knowledge that it had ever been gone and keeping his prize tucked away except when doing to and from school. He'd just neglected to remember the bill would say where the purchase was made and that his father rarely shopped there.

He'd been dragged out of his bedroom by the ear and belted severely. And then his father searched his room until he found the device and CDs hidden away in his backpack, and rather than return them to the store, he'd smashed them all to pieces right there before his eyes on the living room floor. Fuck he could remember how angry he'd been, still smarting from the punishment that had raised welts on his skin and seething at the unfairness of it all. If he wasn't going to take it back and get his money refunded, why not let him keep it?

Nick guessed that it was supposed to be a lesson of some sort, not to steal and then lie about it, but it hadn't worked all that well.

The next time he stole the card he went to the hardware store and bought himself a sturdy bolt lock and the tools necessary to install it into his bedroom door. And ever after he hadn't had to endure his father's physical punishment again– unless the man was waiting for him after school at the front door… Either way, he kept wearing those blazers.

Nick moved to put his arm around the kid at last, giving him a reassuring smile. "It was a long time ago, I'm past it. Don't worry about it."

Ellis didn't look entirely convinced, and he probably shouldn't be, but he nodded. "Yeah, alright." The mechanic gave a small wriggle against him. "S'too bad ya couldn't meet mah Pop," he wondered aloud. He gave a firm nod of his head. "He worked hard, but he was always there for ya if ya needed him tuh lend a hand or whatever. To his family, us kids, friends, neighbors, acquaintances, didn't matter, was all the same tuh him. Well… in a way, y'know, obviously he done cared about Ma an' us kids more than anyone else, but ya know…" he rambled slightly.

Nick nodded, just glad to be off the subject of his own family. "Yeah, I get you."

"I guess m'sayin' that I bet he would'a been willin' tuh be there fer you too…" Ellis scratched the back of his head, looking a touch awkward as he peered up at him.

The gambler gave a small laugh, amused at the southerner's odd, impossible offer of sharing his father. At the same time, it was a bit touching, and he appreciated the sentiment. Another father, any other father, would have been more than welcome at the time, shit, that was for sure. "Sounds like he was a good guy," he spoke.

"Ain't the half'a it," the younger male shook his head, staring forward into the darkness. He took a brief pause before speaking again. "I keep tryin'… tuh be like him, y'know? Tuh do what he taught me, live by his example, but I…" He dropped his head, looking upset. "I always feel like I fail."

Nick's eyebrows knotted, a little surprised by the admission that had popped out of seemingly nowhere. "How's that?" he said with some incredulity. "You're like the nicest kid I know, El."

"Well, thanks fer that," Ellis chuckled, moving underneath his arm to kind of hug at himself. Nick rubbed his back gently with his palm as the southerner went on. "He was more than jus' nice though. He was patient, an' dependable, an' charitable... An' I dunno if he ever had a bad thought about anyone."

"Pssh," Nick scoffed. "I'm sure he did, he just might not have ever let on," he said sneakily, lifting an eyebrow.

The mechanic gave a laugh. "Yeah, ya prolly got that one right." He gave a sigh and fiddled with his hat. Nick studied him, trying to puzzle out this new well of information. The kid sure must idolize his old man. And from what El was describing, probably too much; he sounded impossible to live up to. He wondered at the younger man's need to imitate him, not sure what would have made it so strong within him. "I jus'… I feel so bad about what I said to Coach an' Ro'…" Ellis breathed, going on. "Mah Pa, he wouldn't'a said those things… he wouldn't'a been insistin', tryin' tuh get his way like I was." Oh, so that's why this had come up; he was feeling guilty for earlier. The blue eyes looked at him forlornly.

"Well, maybe not," Nick said. Not knowing the man himself of course he couldn't know, but that didn't matter for the point he intended to make. His voice was firm as he delivered his next statement. "But you said them, El, and why did you say them? Because you meant them. Because that's the way you saw things."

Ellis tugged the bill of his hat down a little further, as if shameful of the words being spoken on his behalf. But slowly he gave a nod.

"And honestly, you convinced me," Nick went on, motioning his other arm. "What's another couple of days? New Orleans can wait that long. Let's go see what's down there." He chuckled and shook Ellis playfully. "Worst thing we could find is more fucking zombies."

The southerner turned his head to look at him, wetting his lips. "Yeah?"

He nodded.

Ellis smiled softly, quite obviously a little beside himself that his words had actually swayed him, seeing as he had been pretty against it initially when they'd discovered the map upstairs. Nick honestly just hadn't put much thought into it, but the youngest member of their party kept bringing it up, causing the gears to start churning in his head. Though El's methods hadn't been as smooth as they could have been with the other two, the southerner had put up a reasonable argument, and Nick had never been one to put much trust in the government anyhow. In the case that they had found a map the government didn't want people to have– thus posing a possible explanation for their brutal execution– it could be valuable. Dangerous, but valuable.

Hell, it could even serve as a bargaining chip. His expression momentarily turned grim. From the littering of bodies they had seen today, they just might need one.

In any case, curiosity had gotten the best of him too. And Nick figured that by joining El's side, the idea would hold more weight with their compatriots. Ellis' thoughts seemed to follow his own as they sat. "Still gotta convince Coach an' Ro' though," the mechanic pointed out as he shifted anxiously again.

Nick gave a shrug. "You know, after a good night's sleep and once we're back on the road, maybe it'll be easier," he suggested. Sometimes timing was everything. He was willing to bet both of their fellow survivors would be more receptive to the idea after thinking over what Ellis had said to them overnight. If not, well, he'd have a word with Coach himself.

"A'right, sounds like a plan." The mechanic's head returned to his shoulder, issuing a deep contented sigh. "Thank ya, Nick."

"No problem, kiddo." He pressed his mouth to the top of the baseball cap, but stopped short of a kiss, instead just shutting his eyes.

Ellis went silent, breathing methodically against him and Nick just held him close. They spent the next several minutes in the position, unmoving from one another; Nick savored every second.

"Guess we oughta get some sleep now, huh?" Ellis stirred with a chuckle, lifting a hand to knuckle some of the sleep out of his eyes, obviously almost having dozed off there beside him in the interval.

Nick nodded. "Yeah."

He expected the mechanic to pull away from him then, go back to his spot on the floor and his too-short blanket, but Nick was surprised when he stayed instead. "Ya mind if I stay here by you?" Ellis asked, cozying up to him further, snuggling right up into his armpit.

"Not at all," he understated with a smile.

There was another couple of minutes of silence until the southerner broke it again. "Kin I…?"

"Hm?"

"Well," Ellis sounded sheepish, "I was gonna pray, that okay?"

Nick blinked. "Yeah, sure, of course," he assured him. No skin off his nose.

"A'right. Ya… ya wanna bow yer head?"

This new part of the request put him into momentary shock, freezing up in response. He couldn't remember the last time he had done this, actually participated in prayer. Fuck, the last time he had he'd probably been drunk off his ass, thrown out of a bar after-hours into the street, desperate and pleading for some kind of forgiveness. He winced. His faith had been broken into pieces and reassembled so many times in his life. Accepting as a child, rejecting as a teenager, accepting again after Al passed on, rejecting after the dissolution of his marriage… and those were just the flip-flops that composed his first twenty-five years on this God-forsaken planet, saying nothing of the last ten.

Hell, he didn't even know where he currently stood.

Nick swallowed his shame and did as asked.

Ellis' voice took over the painful stinging silence, clearing his mind of anything else but the softly-spoken words. "Dear Lord," he began, "thanks fer bein' with us today, keepin' us safe from harm an' keepin' the each of us healthy an' able'ta fight," he breathed; Nick felt himself tingle as the southerner went along. "M'sure ya got a lot on yer hands at the moment, lotsa people tuh help, not jus' us." The gambler gave his lower lip a nip, Ellis' expressed thankfulness despite their ugly situation pooling guilt in his gut as if he had drunk lead. How many prayers had he made just begging for a favor, not a single thank you spoken nor in mind? The boy's voice only seemed to gain confidence. "But please give us all the strength tuh keep goin', tuh stay solid, together. We got a long road ahead'a us yet."

The younger man hesitated, but Nick waited with his eyes still shut, his head bent in full reverence. "Keep mah family safe, if they're out there anywhere." He took a large breath of air, his next words obviously hard to let go of. "They're… they're in your hands now. An' Ro's family too, an' Coach's, an'…" his words trailed off, coming to an awkward halt as he was forced to leave off what would have come next had Nick not been sitting right there next to him.

Nick drew a deep breath. "And my parents too," he whispered, barely vocalizing the words that fought against an entire childhood of contempt and unforgiveness.

Ellis' hand found his thigh and squeezed tight.

"In Jesus name, amen," the mechanic finished.

"Amen," Nick followed up, allowing his eyes to flutter open. That hadn't been… so hard.

Ellis wriggled into his side again with a happy hum. Though the formal prayer was over, he found himself hugging the younger man tight, thanking God over and over for the blessing of having the southerner in his life.

He guessed that clarified where he stood.