At some point Ellis had half drug, half carried Nick inside the safety of the boats cabin to get out of the storm. Nick hadn't been very helpful. He had gone limp like a rag doll. It was unnerving.

And now the conman sat silently, staring blankly, hunched forward with his hands folded together between his knees. Water dripped from his hair and down his face. He refused to show any signs of life underneath that emotionless mask.

"Nick… come on, Nick…" Ellis said softly, pulling a towel around Nick's shoulders. "Ya gatta snap out of it, Nick… Come on, man…"

Nick did not move. Did not speak. He barely blinked, almost as if he kept forgetting. The only thing steady was his slow shallow breaths. Like he was suddenly broken.

Eventually Ellis was forced to give up trying to get a verbal response out of the other. Ellis coaxed the man of his wet clothes with gentle reassuring touches and smiles. He managed to dress the conman in a dry, unattractive bulk of clothes that Virgil had offered to the sopping wet survivors.

Nick remained silent, remained like a doll. After being redressed he had laid himself down on one of the uncomfortable beds, eyes staring above in complete detached ignorance.

Ellis reached out to run his fingers through Nick's damp hair. It had softened under the heavy rains.

Everything about the conman had seemed to have crumbled under those heavy rains—his mind, his body, his heart… his will.

Finally, the mechanic stood.

"I'm gonna go find ya somethin' to eat, Nick… I'll be right back." He gave Nick one last long stare before he exited the cabin. He passed Rochelle and Coach along the way, both sitting at an uncomfortably small table, looking somewhere between being intensely relieved and entirely spent. They both looked his way but Ellis only half smiled as if to say 'I'm workin' on it, guys. I'm workin' on makin' him better.'

Ellis opened the door to the wheelhouse and poked his head in.

"Um.. hey, Virgil?" The jolly man turned to look at him. Virgil was a wiry little guy, with an ever-always arched eyebrow and a slight mischievous smirk. He was dressed in overalls that were entirely too big for his scrawny body and he was smoking so much that the entire room was a thick cloud of white. Ellis squinted against the burning smoke. "I was wonderin' if… I know it's a lot to ask… if ya have food to spare?"

"Ooo, righty, right!" Virgil exclaimed, slapping at his thigh. He took a drag of his cigarette as he knocked a few levers, sending the Lagniappe into cruise control. "I knew I was forgettin' somethin'. Righ' this way." With a bound and a leap over a broken floorboard, the older man led the other back down the stairs.

"Hey… Virgil?" Ellis ventured. He squeezed alongside the other down a small hallway of the not-so-spacious fishing vessel, "I was wonderin' if maybe you could spare a cigarette… Just one would be real great."

Virgil came to a stop and looked over at the mechanic. Ellis was afraid he was going to say no. But, then the captain smiled and shoved opened the door. "Spare one? Kid, I got a million. Take wha'chu want." Virgil's pantry was a stockpile of canned foods while, easily, the other half was cigarettes. Ellis laughed out loud.

Hol-ee Shit.

Ellis returned a half hour later with a bowl of soup in his hands. It took some coaxing, but eventually Nick sat up and began to eat.

Nick didn't even know what it was. He didn't really care. His taste buds had abandoned him along with any real thought. Each motion he made to bring food to his mouth seemed like too much of an effort. But he ate because of how Ellis stared. He simply consumed the food just so Ellis would stop staring at him like he was dying… All the while, he could feel everything inside of him grinding to a halt.

When Nick finished, the conman simply sat there again until Ellis took the empty bowl away. Then the mechanic began to smile sheepishly. Nick half-heartedly wondered what sneaky thing the kid had thought up.

Ellis reached into the pocket of his borrowed pants and flicked open the cigarette pack. He slid one out. Beaming, he held it up before Nick's eyes.

Nick stared at it for a long time, utterly surprised. Then he blinked and for the first time since they had arrived on the boat, looked Ellis fully in the face. Tentatively, as if he was unsure if it was actually an illusion, Nick reached out and took it from the other and slowly, still unsure if it was real, stuck it between his lips. He leaned over to grab his pants drying on the nearby rack and pulled his lighter from it.

Click. Click. Click. The flame came to life and Nick lit the end of the cancer stick eagerly. Then he inhaled.

His eyes fluttered closed as an intense feeling of satisfaction overwhelmed him. His lungs filled with the warmth of nicotine and he probably would have cried had he any tears left. God, it tasted so good.

Nick sat with his eyes closed, puffing at the cigarette in deep breaths, enjoying every bit of it. It was halfway done when he finally opened his eyes. Ellis was sitting on the nearby chair, his legs pulled up and his arms wrapped around them, smiling at him. God, he looked so damn proud of himself.

Nick half smiled back at him, unwilling to trust himself to speak still. Nick leaned back into the bed again, resting his free hand behind his head as he stared absently at nothing in particular above. The room filled with the smell of cigarettes and the smoke wafted about the room in gentle coils.

Ellis, maybe because he didn't like the smell of cigarettes, or because he felt that Nick needed a moment to relax, stood up to leave. He fished into his pocket and then tossed the rest of the pack of cigarettes onto Nicks chest. The conman jerked slightly, looking down at it in complete and honest surprise. His gaze fell on the retreating form of the mechanic.

"Hey," he called. Ellis came to a stop, turning around to give him a wide-eyed stare. Nick lifted the pack up. "Thanks."

Ellis smiled once again before he left the room, leaving Nick to sit in dumbfounded amazement, one cigarette burning between his fingers, a near full pack in the other.

It took Nick four more cigarettes until he finally mustered the courage to get out of the bed and go searching for Ellis.

Unable to stand the clothes he was wearing, Nick pulled back on his old suit—not very concerned that it was still filthy and damp. It made him feel more secure… The familiarity of it eased his nerves.

He left the room, puffing worriedly at a cigarette. He came through the kitchen, intent on finding the mechanic. To his left he saw Rochelle and Coach chatting tiredly at a small cramped table.

"Ellis?" Nick asked, not really caring that he hadn't really formed a full sentence.

Coach nodded towards the door leading outside and Nick gave him a nod of thanks before exiting. In all honesty, Nick was expecting rain. He found nothing but clear skies and he paused in his search; maybe giving himself more time to stall.

He was fucking nervous as hell, truth be told. Nick stood outside the door, just before the corner. He glanced quickly around it. And damn it, there Ellis was, standing there staring out at the ocean in perfect silence. Jesus. Nick leaned back against the wall, reluctant to go any further. He sucked more insistently at the cigarette, aware of how he was starting to shake.

"Nick." The conman about jumped out of his skin and turned to face Rochelle. The woman smiled apologetically. "You need to sort out whatever you've got going in your head right now. You two need to sit down and have a talk. And you need to do it before this boat pulls up to the next dock." She was completely serious in her tone, but her face was soft. She reached out to gently squeeze Nick's shoulder. "Figure it out, Nick. We need you. We need you both."

Nick gave her one last bothered frown until he sighed loudly and stepped around the corner. He moved cautiously towards the mechanic.

"Ellis…" The southerner turned, blinking at the conman. He eyed Nick up and down for a moment, lips pursed in a slight scowl before his gaze returned back to the ocean.

The sun was setting. The sky was a brilliant violet, a soft red-orange and a flaring yellow all at once. It was beautiful. It almost made Nick feel like all this zombie shit hadn't really happened. But the feel of a once-expensive unwashed suit sticking to his body reminded him that yes, this was really happening.

Nick leaned up against the railing along side his companion, still chain-smoking anxiously.

"Nick," Ellis finally said, "What do ya think is gonna happen to us after all of this is over with?"

Nick busied himself with finding another cigarette, the last one abandoned over the side of the boat (hell this was a zombie apocalypse after all, all the environmentalist were probably fucking dead anyways). He lit it in his mouth, took a long draw and then let it smoke lazily between his fingers.

"You know the answer to that, Ellis."

Ellis head dropped slightly and he sighed. "Yeah… they'll probably jus' shoot us, right?" He shrugged slightly. "That'd really be somethin' awful. I'd like to think that they'll be happy to have us. That they'll do their best to make sure we get better… That when we're done with all this fightin' an' shit, that I can find Ma an' Keith an' Dave an' everyone else an' we'll just give each other hugs an' laugh 'bout all this like it's been one big horrible nightmare." Ellis laughed mirthlessly. "But I know you're right, Nick—'bout probably bein' alone an' all. I ain't stupid. I know tha' Ma an' everyone else is probably dead. But…" He smiled, despite the tears that were in his eyes, "It feels nice to think that they're waitin' for me to come home. Ya know?"

"Yeah, Ellis. I know." Nick swallowed thickly. Shit, it would be nice if Overalls were right on the money. But hell, Nick had this sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that everything wasn't going to end with rainbows and lollipops.

There was another long silence. "Nick?"

"Hm?"

"Why do ya keep gettin' all weird?" A sigh came from the conman and Ellis looked at him, continuing somberly, "I thought ya said ya weren't gonna go an' die on me."

"Shit happens, Ellis. I'm powerless to stop the will of the gods. If they're going to take me, it's going to happen whether you like it or not." Ellis made an annoyed face and glared towards the horizon.

"That just sounds like some shitty ass excuse to get yourself killed." Ellis huffed. "I mean, I know that I probably don't have no one from before no more… I know that. I ain't dumb. All I got now is probably Coach, Rochelle an'... an' you." He risked a glance at Nick who was staring at him, cigarette forgotten as it burned away, leaving sprinkles of ashes on his calloused knuckles. "Man, ya'll might be the last three friends I got left. Ya can't go an' die."

"Ellis…"

"Yeah?"

Nick licked his dried lips. God, how his heart thundered. "I didn't want to get attached to you. But shit, you had to go and make me care about every little thing that happens to you. Every little bump you get, every little scrape and bruise that finds its way on your body tortures me…" Nick shook as he brought the cigarette to his mouth, but he seemed to forget about it halfway there and just continued, "If you died, Ellis… God, if you died, it'd destroy me. It'd fucking destroy me. Christ, Ellis, I'm afraid to keep living because I'm afraid to watch you die." There. He had said it. Plainly. His cards were out on the table and now Ellis knew the hand that he held.

"Nick…" Ellis frowned slightly, shrugging. "I don't plan on dyin', so you better start plan on livin'."

Nick gave him a startled stare, before a smile crept onto his lips. Jesus. Didn't plan on dying? Christ. He probably didn't.

Overwhelmed by the cuteness Ellis was emitting, Nick leaned over to the other, his intentions only being to lay an affectionate kiss on his cheek, but Ellis turned at the last moment and their lips met. It was a soft kiss, one that was gentle, inquiring. Ellis leaned closer, hands rising to place themselves slowly onto Nick's chest. The kiss became a little firmer, more confident. Nick rose one hand to brush softly at the others auburn locks, amused by how the kid was not wearing that silly hat.

Then the kiss was over and they were staring at each other.

Nick opened his mouth to speak, but then shut it. He was unsure of what that kiss had just meant.

"God damn, Nick…" Ellis said, letting out a soft breath of gentle relief. "I've been waitin' for ya to do that since forever ago."

Ah, those sweet butterflies were back. Nick didn't know what to feel, but he felt happy. "Jesus, are we really doing this, Ellis? Do you really want this?"

Ellis chuckled, "Nick, I've been wantin' this since the day we first held hands."

Nick couldn't help himself. He smiled and pulled the other close for another, less innocent kiss. Ellis melted against him, enjoying every second of it, enjoying the faint taste of nicotine, the softness of the others hair, the firmness of his rough hands.

A/N:

O la-la.

I thought about this all night long (and lost so much sleep over it, gawd I'm tired) and I think for now I'm happy with where it's going. I'm a little unnerved that I have so much left to write through the Parish, but I'm hoping I can get a good pace through it to keep interest for both myself and the readers.

Thank you again for reading and for the comments. I really, really appreciate it.