Nick's hand reached out for me, blindly, desperately, an' I reached back. I don' know why… He probably ha'n't been lookin' for me—but if he had been, I'm glad he was. Our hands locked together, like familiar lovers; perfectly fit for each other. It was in tha' instant tha' I suddenly felt safe. Like nothin' in the world could hurt me. Then Nick glanced back, his startlin' green eyes findin' mine for only a moment, but enough of a moment ta send my heart beatin' furiously in my chest with—excitement—was… was tha' the right word? Maybe not… Nick smiled, slightly, almost as if ta say, "Thanks for being there, Overalls" an' I smiled back too.

I felt safe. Safeness like I ain't never felt before—even 'fore the infection. An' it's confusin'. I know tha' there are things out there, things lurkin' 'bout, searchin' for us, ready ta devour us whole—or maybe even piece by piece. I can feel the rain an' the hail poundin' down on me, leavin' bruises an' tendering my flesh. I can feel the mud sloshin' through my shoes, feel it creeping up my pants an' weighing me down, I can feel the miserableness, I really can…

But, God… I feel so safe.

Please, Nick. Please don' let go.

Ellis' eyes fluttered opened and he let in an intake of breath that racked his whole body painfully. Man, he felt like someone had sucker punched him in the gut, hard.

"Holy, shit, you're not dead," came Nick's rough voice—filled with something else. Relief? Yes, Ellis was sure that's what he heard. Ellis squeezed his eyes shut tight, his hand lifting, searching blindly for the conman. Nick took it and gave him a reassuring squeeze, "I can't believe you're alive, Ellis… Jesus. How do you feel?"

"Safe." It was the only word Ellis could think to choke out. He shifted slightly and it sent a shock of pain down his abdomen. Tears escaped the corners of his tightly closed eyes.

"Yeah, you're safe, now, Ellis," Nick reassured quietly, reaching out with his free hand to gently pat Ellis' shoulder. "Just be still. We're not sure how bad that Witch hurt you. We just bandaged you the best we could when it happened… Jesus, I still can't believe you're alive."

Nick released Ellis' hand and the mechanic let out a little whimper, turning his face towards Nick's voice, weakly, pathetically, grasping at the air. Nick frowned slightly and gently took the others hand again. Ellis relaxed, sighing contently.

Nick glanced over to where Rochelle and Coach were sleeping against the wall. It had been his turn to watch the mechanic. Ellis had been unconscious for almost a day now. They hadn't known what to do; sit and wait for Ellis to recover (or die), or try to move him in his delicate condition. Everyone had mutually decided Virgil could wait. They needed Ellis. They all did. Ellis was their glue.

Nick kept a vigilant watch over the mechanic, but Ellis had slipped back into a quiet slumber. His face seemed at perfect peace—like it always seemed to be when he slept—but his body showed signs that it wasn't nearly as resilient as his mind.

Ellis' shirt was stained red all about his belly and there was a ragged tear in the shirt. His arms were badly bruised and scraped and Nick was amazed that the kid had even been able to lift a weapon all this time. Yet, he seemed perfectly content. What a weird ass kid.

Nick shifted back, leaning against the wall, but careful to keep his hand still clasping the others. If that was all Ellis needed to stop fussing, then so be it. Nick couldn't exactly say he found it… cumbersome… More like… Nick searched for the word, chewing at his lip. Jesus, what was he feeling? The conman's mind, unable to cope with the implications his heart seemed to be hinting at, shifted against him. It always did.

Whatever he felt, it didn't matter. They'd never get out of this alive, would they? They'd all be dead by the end of the week. He was sure of it. They'd get back to the dock, find out that Virgil had Turned and they'd be left alone to fight horde after horde of Infected until they were slowly picked off, one by one.

Nick hoped he'd be first. Hoped to God that He'd be merciful and take him first. It wasn't because he was too scared to keep fighting—okay, maybe he was afraid he was going to die choking on his own blood as it pooled around him as the Infected shoved their disgusting fingers inside of him, tearing him apart as he watched, helpless to stop it—but he was more terrified than anything that he'd have to watch them die… Well… watch him die.

Nick had sworn he felt something crack inside of him as he had held Ellis' bleeding body in his arms. Something inside of him had shattered watching the mechanic almost dumbfounded gestures to stifle his own bleeding body. Ellis' face hadn't been one of horror—but almost one of simple 'well, goolie gee, this don' look good'. Like Ellis thought he was indestructible. Like this was all one big game. Each time Ellis had reached down to swipe his fingers into that gushing stream of blood, Nicks heart had broke a little more. The water around them had began to stain red, leaving little licks of cloudy red streaming away… and Nick had cried.

Nick had been sure he had been watching Ellis die. Watching the kid keep this strangely indifferent attitude of invincibility even as he bled to death there right in front of all of them.

Yet, here the kid was, smiling as he slept, hand in his, still alive. Shit, maybe the kid was indestructible. Nick smiled slightly at first, but his demons quickly unsheathed their claws and stabbed painfully into his mind.

Sure, you all had escaped death this time, but now you're even more hurt. Even more vulnerable.

Their arms were growing heavier with each day, they had bruises on top of bruises, cuts on top of cuts. Nick was always hungry, always tired, always ready to just fling down his weapons, throw out his arms and scream his surrender at the Heavens. God, he was ready for it. He was ready to die.

He was sick of creeping through this shitty southern state, heart always, always, racing in his ear. He hated the way he would always press himself up against a wall to look around it and make sure nothing too terrible waited on the other side. He hated how he would cower behind something to try and avoid a monstrous Tank lumbering about. He hated having to sneak past those sobbing little Witches, praying to a God he didn't believe in that she'd not notice him. He hated the sound of a growling Hunter somewhere above, knowing that it could pounce on any of them out of the darkness. He hated it. He hated not knowing when he was going to die, not if. He hated it. Hated it, hated it, hated it.

"Nick…"

Nick jerked forward, eyes opened instantly as he looked around, then down. It was Ellis. The mechanic shifted again, "Nick…"

Nick blinked slowly, leaning forward. "I'm right here, Ellis…"

"Cold…"

Nick blinked again, before letting go of the other only long enough to shrug off his dirty and bloodied jacket. "Sorry, Overalls, but that's all I have," Nick voiced tenderly as he draped it over the other. Ellis let out a little whimper, hand reaching out to grab at him again. Nick smiled slightly. "All right, all right. I guess I can keep you warm."

It took him a moment to figure out how to lay close to the other without disturbing his wounds too badly, but Ellis seemed to not notice the pain anymore because he shifted right against him, face nuzzling into the conman's chest. At first, Nick didn't know how to respond and simply laid there in a blinking stupor. Then he relaxed, let out a sigh, and gently rested his arm around the other.

"Thanks, Nick…" If there were ever a safe room before, it paled in comparison to the security Ellis felt now.

Nick nodded slightly, staring up at the ceiling. As he laid there, in complete silence, he realized for the first time that he didn't feel alone.

"Well, aren't you two just cute," Rochelle laughed. Nick blinked awake and beside him he felt Ellis stirring. For some reason, Nick could only smirk slightly. "Ellis, sweetie, how are you feeling?"

Ellis awoke to find his face pressed into Nick's neck and he took a moment to inhale slowly and enjoy every second of it. Then, reluctantly, he rolled onto his back, blinking up at the ceiling as he reached down to pat at his abdomen.

"It don' really hurt tha' bad, ta be honest." And it didn't. For some strange reason, he felt almost perfect. Like lying beside Nick had suddenly healed his wounds. Not even his bumps and bruises stung. Well, awesome! Ellis bolted upward, grinning widely, but his grin soon became a grimace. Well, okay, maybe he didn't feel that great.

"Ellis! Jesus!" Nick snapped from beside the mechanic, sitting up too. "You were just about gutted out the other night. What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Ellis flushed, looking down at the bandages. He fingered them experimentally. "I guess tha' di'n' feel so good."

"You're god damn right it didn't. Jesus, use your head." Nick made an annoyed noise before stepping over Ellis, "Here get up against that wall so we can change your bandages and see how bad you are."

"O-Okay." Ellis scooted—with Nick's help—against the wall and then hiked up his shirt. Together, Rochelle and Nick began to poke and prod at him, unpeeling crusty and sticky bandages away. Ellis bit at his lip, tears stinging his eyes. "Man, it felt fine, whatcha have ta go an' poke at it for?"

"Because, sweetheart," Rochelle cooed in that motherly voice she always seemed to use on him, "underneath all of these bandages is a pool of nastiness that needs to be cleaned up so you don't get an infection."

It was a little comical watching Nick and Rochelle pulling away blood and dirt stained bandages and tossing them over their shoulders, both looking apprehensive as hell. Finally, underneath it all, exposed for them all to see, was a large gash, little beads of blood now showing after the scabs were torn away with the bandages. The good thing was it didn't seem as serious as they had all thought.

Nick let out a breath of relief and beside him Rochelle began to unpack bandages and sterilizing wipes. "Here, clean the wound while I get some bandages ready." She shoveled a handful of little sterilization wipes into Nick's hand and he gave her annoyed look, dropping most of them into Ellis lap.

"Hold these, Overalls." Ellis fumbled with them and he realized Nick probably had done this to distract him from the stinging burn of the antiseptic. Ellis hissed a little as Nick pressed the little wet cloth to his wound. Nick's face softened, "Sorry, just bare with me."

Nick was surprisingly tender as he cleaned the rest of the wound. His eyes were intensely focused but his calloused hands were gentle. Occasionally his rough knuckles would touch Ellis' skin and Ellis couldn't help but feel a shudder of anticipation. He tried to hide it, but Nick started giving him curious glances and Ellis realized he wasn't as subtle as he had hoped. Ellis forced his eyes shut and sat with a deepening flush spreading on his cheeks.

Before long, there was a pile of used antiseptic wipes and little empty packets scattered around. Rochelle nudged the conman, "I think it's about as clean as it's going to get, Nick."

Nick coughed, fingers lingering over the mechanic's skin for a moment before he sat back and allowed Rochelle to begin to wrap the wound. She did it expertly, almost as though she had done it a million times—well, damn it certainly felt like it was getting up there. To be honest, Rochelle probably had the most tenderness and comforting motherly touch when she was wrapping others wounds, but she seemed exceptionally gentler with Ellis. Nick felt a little jealous—not of him. But of her. He wished he was the one bandaging Ellis back to health. Nick blinked once at himself in surprise at the thought.

He reached over to tug his jacket away from Ellis. The mechanic gave him a sheepish look as he did and Nick eyed him as he pulled it back onto its rightful place on his body.

"Well, Ellis. I think that'll have to do it. Can you stand? How bad does it hurt?" Rochelle stepped back, offering her hands to Ellis and helped the southerner to his feet. Ellis winced a little, though he managed to smile after righting himself.

"I thin' I can manage, thanks, Rochelle…" He nodded his head down, one hand rubbing through his locks, "Thanks, Nick… An'—um… an' Coach." Ellis glanced to the hefty former football player, "I don' quite 'member much, but thanks for not leavin' me guys."

Nick scoffed, "Like we could."

Ellis tilted his head at him, smiling a little.

"Well," Coach rumbled, "if you're good to go, boy, suit up. We've got some zombies to kill."

Holy shit, it was still raining. Hard. Like a mother fucking—fucker. Jesus! Any indication that they had been able to wring out the rain had disappeared the second they had thrown open the door. It was like walking into a typhoon. A big ass, pissed off, ready-to-tear-you-apart typhoon.

Every few seconds, practically like clockwork, a huge streak of lightening would light up the sky and give them a few precious moments to reorientate themselves. They had become lost more than once. After trying to avoid particularly deep flooding, they had finally given up going around. It was only making them more confused and they couldn't afford to get lost. Even with the weather, the Infected seemed unbothered by it. They still came at them in waves of blood-thirsty vengeance.

The four stuck close, and maybe unconsciously, they surrounded Ellis who was having a hard time keeping up. Every time his hand faltered and he lurched forward trying to keep his breath, someone—usually Nick—was there to protect him. Each time Ellis was sure his sides were burning too much for him to continue, the conman would slip his arm underneath his and whisper words of encouragement as he tugged him along. God, and every time Ellis couldn't help but grin like an idiot. It felt strangely good having the conman fussing so much over him.

"Hey, it's the playground we saw on the way there!" Nick exclaimed, pointing at it, "Come on, we're almost there!"

"Hey, can I go down on the slide?" Ellis asked—and he was half serious. I mean, he couldn't really remember the last time he'd been down a slide—well, except for those slides back at Whispering Oaks. He hadn't been able to help himself back there. As the other three had taken the stairs, Ellis had slid down the hilly ride, arms in the air, grinning and hollering like a little kid the whole way down.

"Ellis, save it for later," Coach called, shaking his head at him, although he was grinning.

Ellis grinned back, "Okay, okay…"

As they ran, their hearts thundered with excitement as a nearby house came into a view. Then someone—no one was really quite sure—it was pretty damn hard to see with all the rain after all— must have accidently let a few bullets stray into a parked car. It may have not been so bad had it not been alarmed.

They all froze as the siren blared, like some little kid telling their mother that their sibling was trying to sneak out of the house. Around them the shrieks and groans of Infected began to close it.

"Ho-lee shit," Ellis breathed, backing away from the car as he glanced about hurriedly.

Rochelle grabbed at him, "Run, Ellis." He didn't need to be told twice.

The four of them hurtled themselves towards the house, shooting into the mist behind them, hoping that they'd at least hit something. As Ellis glanced back, a streak of lightening lit up the horizon—and he could see that the Infected were plentiful still and, presumably, still riddled with an overpowering urge to eat their faces.

Coach grabbed the door, jerked it opened and turned back to the others, "GET INSIDE, NOW!"

Nick came next, practically throwing himself inside while behind him Rochelle continued to tug along Ellis. She shoved the mechanic inside, toppling over into the wall, gasping for air.

"Close the door, Coach!" Nick cried, jumping forward. Coach grunted at him, pulling at the door. But God, the water was so deep. There was too much water. Nick grabbed hold of the door along side Coach and with all their strength they pulled it back.

It was barely a fraction of a second after the door was shut safely that the Infected had reached them. They pounded against the door, throwing themselves like make-shift battering rams, screaming and clawing at it. Coach and Nick stumbled back, heaving breaths shuddering through them as they watched the vigorous attempts the Infected made to tear down the door.

"Bar it up," Coach said somberly. "Help me bar it up."

Nick nodded wordlessly and began to search for random items to pile before the door. Rochelle soon joined the search, but Ellis had collapsed back against a wall, gasping raggedly for breath. He was smiling though, and so no one bothered to check on him. Not at least, until the door was safely barricaded.

"Shit, Overalls, are you all right?" Nick asked, standing over the other.

Ellis nodded, "Yeah, man. I'm good. Jus' gatta catch my breath, ya know?" He pounded his fist against his chest, "Jus' gatta catch my breath…"

Nick studied the other. It seemed those wounds really had been pretty taxing. Usually Ellis was the first to bounce to his feet and begin searching their new safe room for supplies. He hadn't moved since they arrived and the way he was still breathing, cringing in between breaths, showed that he still was far from recovery.

"Three beds and four people," Rochelle said, coming out of one of the rooms, one hand rubbing her chin thoughtfully. "Sorry, boys, but I'm going to call the Ladies card." She smiled, "We're almost there so I suggest getting some sleep now. All right? I'll take this room." She offered another winning smile before backing into the middle room and closing the door.

Coach grunted, "Well, I'm taking this room." He walked to the far right, pushed opened the door and then glanced back at the other two men. He about laughed, "Be a tight fit, my friends." Nick gave him an uncomfortable look and Coach laughed heartily as he moved inside. It became clear that Coach had no interest in sharing as the door clicked shut.

Nick sighed, looking down to Ellis who was breathing more normally now. "All right, Overalls. Looks like it's you and me." Ellis, oddly did not meet his eyes, and instead sat there silently, his fingers working together nervously. Nick offered him a hand, "Well, let's go."

Ellis took the offered hand and together the two went to explore their room. It was a decent size, with a decent bed. It would do. Nick sat at the edge of the bed and began unlacing his once-upon-a-time expensive shoes. Ellis sat at the other side, doing the same. The mechanic's face was burning with embarrassment and he was thankful it was ungodly dark and their eyes hadn't quite adjusted yet. Otherwise, he was sure Nick would think he were queer or something. Then again…

Nick let out a huff as he fell onto the bed, jacket and dress shirt abandoned—neatly folded—on a nearby dresser. He crawled underneath the covers. This was the first time they had been in a bed since—well, since… Ah, hell, it was too hard to remember that far back.

Ellis wormed underneath the covers soon after and the two laid in silence, Nick with his back to the other, Ellis laying on his back, arms folded over the top of the covers.

"Hey Nick?"

"Please don't tell me you have a Keith story for this," came the muffled reply.

Ellis grinned slightly, "Nah, I need ta ask ya somethin'." His smile quickly fell and he reached up to worry his lips with his hand. "Nick… do ya still wan' ta die?"

Silence. It was so silent that Ellis almost thought that Nick had fallen asleep, but finally Nick sighed. "Ellis…"

"Really, man. I need ta know."

"We're in the middle of a god damn zombie apocalypse, Ellis. Every day we're fighting for our lives. Some days we get through with only a bruise or two, other days we're laying in the streets bleeding our guts out." Nick let out an annoyed noise, "I don't enjoy wondering when my time is going to be."

"…Tha' di'n' answer my question, Nick…"

Nick rolled over so that he faced the other, "What the fuck do you think is waiting for us if we get out of this alive, Ellis? Huh? Do you think we're just going to stroll into fucking Happy Land where they'll give us a big handshake and a fucking hot shower, good meal and warm bed to sleep in? Is that what you think?"

Ellis swallowed, still staring at the ceiling, but uncomfortably aware of how Nick was staring daggers at him. "I don' know wha' we'll find, Nick. But tha' sure does sound nice."

Nick choked out a laugh. "Yeah? Does it? Well, fuck, Ellis. I don't think like you do. I know that nothing will ever be the same again. Everyone I knew is probably dead. Everything I knew is useless now. Everything I've spent my whole life building up for myself means nothing now. So yeah, Ellis. Yeah, I still want to die. And if I can do it on my own terms then that's how it's going to be. I'm sick of this fucking infection. I'm sick of fighting for my life when I know that there's nothing waiting for me on the other side."

Ellis was silent for a long time, mouth pressed into a thin line, tears of frustration in his eyes. "My Ma always told me tha' anyon' tha' killed themselves was a fool. Tha' they di'n't bother ta look aroun' an' see everythin' tha' they had. She told me people tha' killed themselves were cowards."

Nick snorted, rolling onto his back and running his hands over his face. "You listen to everything your Mother tells you, Ellis?"

"O' course," came the quick reply.

Nick let out a short laugh. "Well, Ellis. Maybe your mother's right. Maybe I am a coward, too afraid to change the man I am."

Ellis finally looked to Nick, "Ya don' look like a coward ta me, Nick."

It was Nick's time to be silent. He sat there fuming for a moment, wanting to punch the stupid hick in the face. Jesus, who the fuck did he think he was? Don't worry, just listen to my Mama and you'll be fucking set! Bullshit. Bull-fucking-shit.

"Nick?"

"What?" Nick snapped, glaring at him, "What, Ellis? What the hell do you possibly have to say now?" He regretted saying it. He regretted how he said it. Ellis' eyes filled with tears.

"Please don' die, Nick."

Nick let out a stunned breath that had caught in his throat as he watched Ellis slowly crumbling beside him. The mechanics face twisted with emotion and he tried to hide it with his shaking hands. Trying to shove his fingers into the corners of his eyes to keep the tears from coming. He began to sob. Terrible sobs that shook his body, ragged sobs that sounded painfully. The little champion who had always shook off the worst of the worst, who was always annoyingly optimistic, always making the rest of them bite their cheeks to keep from ginning, was crying.

"E-Ellis…" Nick started, unsure how to continue. He just blinked, widely, openly astonished. Jesus, Ellis was crying hard. Ellis shook his head, slowly turning away, curling onto his side and sobbing harder. "Ellis… Hey… Hey, I'm sorry…" Nick's chest tightened painfully as he felt the others tremors when he gently rested his hand on his shoulder. "Come on, Ellis…"

"No, Nick. It ain't fair. It ain't fair tha' we came all this way together… tha' I've been watchin' your back all this time, makin' sure ya were gonna be okay at the end of the day only ta have ya wan' ta go an' kill yerself. Tha' ain't fair, man. I-I've always watched out for ya, ya know? I always made sure ya were gonna be okay… But man, I can't even do tha' right. It ain't fair.. I don' wan' ya ta want ta die. I wan' ya ta live. For me… I wan' you to be there for me like ya were today. I wan' ya there ta grab my hand when I'm scared, to help me up when I feel like I can't go no further. I wan' ya there. I need ya there, Nick."

"All right, Ellis, okay," Nick was whispering gently the entire time, trying to coax the other away from his noisy crying. It was hard to understand anything Ellis was saying anyways with his accent and the choking sobs weren't helping. God, Nick felt awful. He felt like the biggest asshole in the world and for once he wasn't proud of it. "I'm sorry, Ellis, all right… I'm sorry."

It took Ellis a long time to stop crying and Nick was relieved when he had. The mechanic rolled over to face him and Nick felt his heart wrench with guilt at that pink, tear-stained face. God… Ellis was crying because of him.

"Promise me ya won' do it, Nick. Promise me you'll be there." Ellis hand shook as it came up to touch the side of Nick's face, stroking at the stubbles, feeling the rough texture under his fingertips. "Please…"

"All right…" Nick finally agreed softly, "All right, Ellis. For you… Just… don't cry anymore."

"Yeah… Yeah, okay…" Ellis sniffed loudly, burying the side of his face into the pillow. He let out a nervous chuckle, "Sorry…"

Nick breathed out and eased himself back into the bed. He didn't comment as Ellis scooted close to him and buried his face against him. Instead he just rested his head against Ellis' oddly soft fluff of hair and closed his eyes.

Christ, who would have thought that Overalls would get so damn worked up? Over him?

Despite the fact that Nick did feel pretty awful for making the kid cry, there was also this strangely warm feeling in his chest that he wasn't quite sure if it was making him want to cry or to laugh. And for the life of him, he didn't know why.

A/N: I love how my spellcheck goes insane whenever Ellis is talking. Ahem...anyways.

It took me all day to write this and I was interrupted about 234893 times so I'm not 100% sure if this runs smoothly. I hope it does and I hope it seems plausible. I'm realizing that this is slowly becoming a really big fic real quickly.

Thanks to everyone who's been reading. And thank you so much for the reviews, I really appreciate it.