AN: Alrighty, finally decided to put this one up! More fun times on the boat.

Left 4 Dead is property of Valve.

Happiness Is Not a Smoking Gun -10- Trial and Error

Ellis and Cas shot up at the sudden noise, their eyes landing on the fallen blond.

"What's goin' on?" Ellis questioned wide eyed. "Yew okay?"

Noting her spot on the floor, Sophie quickly picked herself up and rubbed her head. Though it now throbbed, there were more important matters to deal with. The lack of boat movement was topping the list.

"Backup motor," she reminded herself. "There should be one, but whether or not there's gas is iffy."

Nick nodded his understanding, but the awoken pair kept their confused looks.

"Why do we need the backup motor?" Cas questioned. As she voiced her enquiry, realization slowly crept onto her face. "Shit. The wind stopped?"

"Mmhmm."

"And we're stuck?"

"Mmhmm."

"Sounds wonderful."

Seeing as the girls were done, Nick nudged Sophie. "Should we get the motor running?"

"Well," she started, "we'll have to check if the boat even has one. After that, we'll wait it out to see if the wind will pick up. If not, the remaining gas can be used to get us to the closest island."

The two blinked a few times, the information slowly processing.

"Nick, let's go," Sophie instructed.

Ellis stood up suddenly, only being able to take a step forwards before Sophie waved her hand dismissively. She knew he only wanted to help, but with one look she could tell that he needed sleep. Cas too.

"It's okay, Nick and I can handle it," she informed. "You two can get some rest."

Ellis nodded. "If yew need a hand with the mot'r just holler."

She rolled her eyes and pushed him back into bed. "I think we'll be fine," she turned then to mumble, "I am the hick of the north, after all."

She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and she stumbled onto the deck. Hissing from the sudden sunlight, she shielded her eyes. She smacked her head pretty hard during the fall. The waking up from sleep wasn't helping all that much either.

They got into the shade of the navigation cabin and her eyes finally adjusted. She propped herself up on the table and stared at Nick with her still half-lidded eyes. "Did you even bother looking before you woke me up?"

"No," he admitted without guilt.

"Excellent," she drawled sarcastically.

"Hey, you're the expert here."

"Pfft. As if. I don't know squat about sail boats. I'm winging it."

His look of confusion was quickly replaced with one lacking amusement.

"She's so infuriating!" Nick vented to Coach.

Coach let out a low chuckle. It sounded like him with his wife when they first got married. "I'd say woo her, but that girl's somethin' else."

He stopped his pacing a looked directly at Coach. "Woo her?"

Coach put on a worried face. "Well, it worked with my wife, but we're talkin' 'bout two different people, Nick. I don't think Sophie's one to take well to being swept off her feet."

"It's worth a shot."

"I don't know."

"What harm could it do?"

"Boy, she could put you in your place even further than she already is."

"She's not putting me in my place."

Sophie found the trap door to get to the motor, finding that they indeed, did have one. Checking everything over, she couldn't find anything wrong with it. It was low impact, so they wouldn't move very fast, and there wasn't much gas left at all, but with any luck, it would get them to an island.

She emerged from the floor and called the two over.

"Okay, so it looks like we're getting to the little island after all. I'm gonna turn it on and Coach, I want you to steer."

He nodded and went to the wheel, leaving Nick to follow Sophie below deck.

"That's awfully sweet of you," he said, running a hand down her back, "You wanted to get me all alone, didn't you?"

She looked at him incredulously. "Actually, the reason you don't have a job is because you're pretty much useless in this situation." She flipped the switch and brushed past him.

A few hours later Cas and Ellis were on deck, enjoying the breeze as they moved. Cas noticed Nick walking towards Sophie, who was sitting Port, and she nudged Ellis to watch the show with her.

"Hello, beautiful," he greeted, taking a seat next to her.

"I've got bags under my eyes, my hair is knotted beyond belief, and I'm slouching. You've got sun in your eyes." She stood and patted his shoulder, "And you're probably dehydrated. Drink some water."

He could hear Ellis and Cas laughing as she walked away.

"I love you," he tried again later.

"I know," she dismissed, "We've been over this."

"I have this," he grumbled to Coach later, who was sitting with Ellis.

Ellis looked up, "Nick, even I know she don't like normal stuff."

Nick rolled his eyes. "What do you know?" he asked. "She's my wife. You're content because you're whipped and your girl's pregnant."

"Well, that's just it, Nick. If yew want t' make 'er happy, then yew gotta realize that she ain't yer wife. Yer her husband."

Both Coach and Nick turned to fully stare at Ellis with disbelieving faces. Coach was the first to speak. "Boy, when'd you get so good with women?"

Ellis shrugged, redirecting his gaze to Cas across the deck. "Maybe she c'n help."

Nick glanced at the girl in question. "Everything I've done would've worked on her."

"But she'd know her better than any of us," Coach defended. "The boy's got a point."

Nick weighed his options. Unfortunately, it was the best one.

"You're kidding," Cas laughed.

It was hard to keep a straight face after hearing the man's situation. Of course she'd help him, but that didn't mean she wouldn't enjoy it.

"Your best bet would be to wait 'till we get to the island."

A skeptical look washed over his face. "Why?"

"'Cuz then you can..." She trailed off into her own thoughts. She knew the man would need to do something innovative to impress her friend; she just needed a second to come up with something. "Alright! Think you can make a hammock?"

Nick felt his brow furrow. "Yeah, but-"

"Don't worry. All you need to know is that it'll work."

She waited for his approval, then continued. "You're going to setup a hammock somewhere on the island and create a treasure map so she can find it."

"The treasure's the hammock? It doesn't seem—"

The smirk on her lips stopped his sentence. To say the least, he was alarmed.

"The treasure will be you. In the hammock. Naked."

His jaw dropped. "Why would that work?"

"'Cuz it's Sophie," Cas excused. "Think about it. You supply her with a game of sorts which leads her to you. Even if she wouldn't see you as a prize, the game makes you one."

"I resent that comment. And why do I have to be naked?"

Cas face-palmed. "I said 'if'. And what do you think will happen if she finds you in a hammock naked? It's all worth it."

Nick grumbled a bit before reluctantly agreeing. He'd been through a bunch of ideas already and none of them worked. It was worth a shot.

"Alright, I'll trust you on this."

The girl's smirk grew wider.

"As I said, it's all worth it."

FN: Hook, line, and sinker... or should I say, sucker? XD lol let us know what you guys are thinking, pweez?