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

A/N: Hello, everyone! I'm sorry it's been a couple of days since my last update. I'm trying to get into the writing process properly again and I'm hoping to actually get the story almost, if not completely finished this week. Chapter twenty-two has been completed this evening so I'll start on chapter twenty-three tomorrow. I hope you're all enjoying this so far.

Guest: Thanks for reviewing! I'm glad you're enjoying the story. I hope you continue to do so.

~ Not So Forsaken ~

- Chapter Seventeen -

Sometimes, just when things seem to be going so well, something will happen that literally tears any hope you ever had into pieces.

After one stop for refuelling, the five survivors and their pilot were back in the air, heading for Louisiana. They were passing over a swampy area when it happened. Everyone had just been awakening from another short nap when the pilot had suddenly thrown up all over himself, and turned while he was flying the chopper. He'd started climbing towards the others in the back when Nick had pulled out his Magnum and blown his head off. That left the five survivors in a very dangerous situation. Rochelle had gone to the controls, despite her injuries, to try and find any way of landing the chopper so that if it crashed, it didn't blow up and kill them all.

Fortunately for them, she'd managed to make it land in such a way that a crash wouldn't have been devastating enough to seriously injure anyone, but the downside was that the chopper had crashed in an area where there was only one derelict house and then a crashed train ahead of them. They had no idea where they were, what time it was or if there was anything like a safe house or somewhere safe nearby to stay overnight. Julia's torso was still causing her a lot of pain, and while some of her bruises had healed over the past couple of days, a lot of them were still rather fresh, and she was now finding it harder to keep moving because of her injured ribs. Rochelle's rib injuries had also been aggravated due to the crash, so she and Julia were kept in the middle while the men formed a protective wall around them.

Ellis had a gash above his right eyebrow that needed looking at when they got to safety, Nick had a small cut near his left temple, and Coach, amazingly, had only escaped with a minor scrape on his left arm. The women had both been given more pain pills before they'd set off walking towards the train car, but it was clear that they were both in a lot of pain.

Passing through the crashed train car, which had a few rolled up sleeping bags inside that the girls offered to carry, the five survivors were confronted with a well-lit gas station and a big sign on the fencing surrounding it which said:

'NO CEDA. NO MILITARY. STAY OUT.'

"Oh, 'cause that's reassuring." Nick grumbled, spotting the gas station's convenience store, "I wonder if there's any way into that store... Might make a good place to stay for the night."

"We could just use the train car." Coach suggested.

"No. I'm not sleeping in there." Julia protested, "It's too dark and too claustrophobic."

Ellis, who helped Julia take a seat on the edge of the train car when she felt the need to rest, had a feeling that all five of them trying to fit in that train car probably wasn't the best idea, and he knew that if there was a way into that store, there'd be more supplies and more space. It looked secure enough.

"I agree with Nick." He said quietly, "Ro and Jules are hurt. We can't sleep in this train car... If we get attacked by somethin' there ain't much time to get out, and with them hurt, they're slower..."

"Alright." Coach replied with a nod, "Okay... Nick and I will go and check out the store to see if we can find a way in. Ellis, you stay with Ro and Jules. We'll be right back."

"You'd better take care of 'em, Ellis." Nick warned the younger man, casting one last look at Julia, who was hunched over in pain before setting off towards the store with Coach.

The two men walked in silence for a few moments until Coach saw Nick looking over his shoulder at their three friends, who were waiting by the train car, both women sitting and Ellis stood but on alert, listening and looking out for anything unusual.

"Ellis is gonna take care of 'em, Nick." Coach said soothingly, "Them girls are gonna be just fine."

The men found a door to the left of the building that was, to their astonishment, unlocked. Pushing the door open carefully, Nick stepped inside to scout out the place, while Coach stood on guard outside. Nick felt relieved. It was plenty big enough for all five of them, with space for them to have privacy due to the shelving units breaking the store up, and it was attached to a rather big garage which Nick thought they might have access to from the back of the store somewhere. Either way, the place was empty, and there were plenty of things that they could use to barricade the door with. The lighting still worked, the beer refrigerator still worked, and after a quick sweep of the building he found out that the bathrooms were working too, which meant that the group could probably have a sponge bath each, even if it was a cold one.

Once he was able to tell Coach that the area was clear, the two headed back over to the boxcar to retrieve their friends. Ellis supported Julia across to the convenience store, which neither she or Nick wanted, but it kept the others from growing too suspicious about their current situation which made things easier for the time being.

Using some of the supplies that they'd picked up back in the mall in Savannah, Julia and Rochelle went and took their sponge baths first. Julia took the ladies' bathroom while Rochelle went in the men's and both were in there for a while since they took the opportunity to shave for the first time in days, which felt pretty fantastic. Dressing in their original outfits, they tried to clean up their newer ones, and then hung them over the stalls to dry.

Nick and Ellis went next and also changed their clothes, but this time, Nick left his suit jacket in the bag and instead, rolled up the sleeves of his dress shirt, deciding to only use his suit jacket if it got cold. Then, after applying some deep heat gel to both Rochelle and Julia's torsos, Coach went to use the bathroom himself, returning in his purple and yellow polo, and his lighter coloured pants. Despite their efforts to clean their clothes, they doubted that they'd ever be able to get them back to the states of cleanliness that they'd like to.

When they returned from the restrooms, Nick headed over to the girls with a beer in each hand, and both took them thankfully, taking a sip of the cold liquid. They'd all decided to sit in the middle of the store together to eat and hang out for a while, but when it came to sleeping arrangements, Coach was going to be near the back next to the beer refrigerator, Ellis was going to sleep near the doors to the restrooms, Rochelle was going to sleep opposite him in an aisle full of potato chips and other snacks, while Nick and Julia were going to sleep in the storeroom, where Nick had found the entrance to the building in the first place and which was shielded from the view of the others by a thick fabric curtain.

Their excuse was that Nick would probably sleep lightly, so if anything tried to get in through the door, he'd be the first to know, and Julia would be his back up if there was an emergency. Nick had said that since everyone had been through so much and since their journey had been so tiring, they needed a good amount of sleep before progressing any further, and they decided that no-one would be taking watch.

Every window had been boarded up within an inch of its life, as had the main entrance, so the others weren't concerned. Despite this, though, Coach and Rochelle once again became a little suspicious as to why Nick and Julia were spending so much time together. Ellis seemed oblivious and was just grateful that finally, Nick and Julia seemed to be making an effort to get on with each other.

Once everyone had eaten, Julia excused herself to the back room, taking her sleeping bag with her. Rochelle then announced that she also wanted to sleep, and this then led the guys to call it a night too. Ellis settled near the bathroom doors Coach disappeared behind the shelving near the refrigerators and Nick set off towards the storeroom, a sudden feeling of anxiety settling into his chest. Now he and Julia would be alone, undisturbed, not feeling pushed for time or feeling obligated to return to the others. They'd be able to be together almost freely... And while Nick realised that sex wasn't going to happen and that probably very little intimate interaction was going to happen due to Julia's injuries, he did know that this time together may involve them getting to know one another more. It may involve some physical contact that might drive him to want more from her. He remembered suddenly that he was dealing with a victim of horrific domestic abuse. What if her boyfriend had treated her the same way that Nick's father had treated his mother? What if Julia would have difficulties when it came to any kind of sexual relationship?

'And why in the name of fuck are you overthinking this so much?!' He thought to himself angrily, 'Jesus Christ, it's not like you're fifteen. You're thirty-fucking-five. You shouldn't be freaking out like this!'

Now, he was at the curtain, and as he gently pulled it back to walk into the surprisingly large storeroom, he found a small battery powered lantern sitting in the far corner, casting the form of Julia in a warm glow as she was knelt on the floor trying to arrange the sleeping bag. It was a large one, one big enough to fit both him and her inside of it if they were pressed tightly together. With a gasp of pain, she hunched forward, almost losing her balance.

"Hey..." He whispered, approaching her and kneeling down to help her, "Take it easy."

She looked up at him with those pretty eyes of hers, her lips curving into a pained smile. He finished arranging the sleeping bag for her and then helped her to sit against a nearby shelving unit where he joined her, kicking off his dress shoes. Julia went to remove her boots but struggled due to her injuries, so Nick carefully took them off for her, earning a whisper of thanks from her and a gentle caress of his face, which he hadn't expected.

He moved towards her again slowly, as though one wrong move would send her flying across the room, and he sat beside her, turning his head to look at her. She looked so tired. It was obvious that this whole situation was taking its toll on her, probably mentally more than it was physically.

"You need to sleep, sweetie." He told her quietly, "You look exhausted."

"I don't wanna sleep yet." She whispered, leaning against his shoulder.

"Why?" He asked, taking that movement from her as a cue to put his arm around her.

The second his arm curled around her, she felt relaxed. It was amazing to her that someone who was probably the type of person she'd avoid like the plague before the world ended could make her feel so safe. But, she really did feel safe in his arms like this. He was strong, he was brave, and he'd proved himself to be dependable and even trustworthy. She sighed contentedly as he seemed to tighten his hold on her, despite the fact that it hurt a little, and she pressed her lips to his neck in an innocent, but in Nick's head, totally alluring way, before settling against him once more.

"I just want this for a while." She murmured, curling further into him, "This feels safe. And I wanna feel safe, even if I can only feel safe for a short time."

"I make you feel safe, huh?" Nick whispered, moving his other arm around to secure her petite frame to him.

'I damn well shouldn't.' He thought bitterly, 'You shouldn't want to trust me as far as you can throw me... Yet, here you are.'

"Yes." She whispered softly in return, "You do."

He moved to look at her, and she lifted her head to look at him, their eyes meeting and locking in a long gaze. The warm, soft glow of the lamp beside them made them feel comfortable and cosy in their own space, with that thick curtain separating them from the others. Nick brushed a lock of her copper-coloured hair out of her face, cupped her face with his fingers curling gently around the back of her head, and then he leant closer to her, pressing his lips to hers.

Julia felt a wonderful, electrifying jolt strike through her body at the contact, her hand immediately moving to the back of his shoulder. She gripped him tightly with those dainty fingers, the intensity of the feelings she was experiencing growing even more as he moved his mouth against hers slowly. She wasn't used to this type of kiss. She was used to rough, awkward, bruising, painful kisses that weren't enjoyable, pleasant or coordinated. And funnily enough, Nick wasn't used to this type of kiss either. He was used to the rough, heated, messy kisses that came with the consumption of a lot of alcohol, the neediness of whichever woman he'd scored with and with the lack of coordination that you could expect from people who've never kissed each other before.

This time, things were slow, movements were experimental, touches were gentle and dare they think it, loving. Julia touched him with such tenderness that it almost made him pull away from her out of a pure inability to deal with it. He was so used to harsh groping, biting, the scratching of long, fake nails and the quick sliding of hands all over him as whichever woman he was with tried to feel all of him at once. But, Julia was slow, unsure, even a little anxious, and it was adorable. It was new. And Nick found that he liked it.

When they parted, they were both breathless, but it felt good. He wanted her so badly right now. He could just put her on that sleeping bag and fuck her senseless if he wanted to. He knew how to charm women into bed well enough, but he wasn't going to do that to her. She'd been through so much already, and he didn't want to wreck whatever this was by trying to pressure her. He'd simply have to learn to be patient.

Julia, on the other hand, while feeling very nervous and unsure, wanted to have a little more contact with him than just kissing. Yeah, she wasn't going to just let him have his way with her but she didn't see any harm in showing a little skin. It wasn't as if Nick hadn't seen her badly battered body already. She doubted it'd be a shock to him, and skin to skin contact was something she felt like she needed.

She felt him tugging gently on the zip of her hoodie, his eyes silently asking her if this was okay. She told him it was without a word, just a nod, and Nick continued to unzip the apple-green jacket while dipping his head to drop a kiss to her temple, her eyes closing in response. She swallowed hard, feeling his hand slip underneath the jacket as he then squeezed her hip gently which sent another jolt through her body.

He heard a quaking sigh near his ear, and it sent a thrill rushing through him that he hadn't experienced before. She seemed so inexperienced... Maybe her ex-boyfriend hadn't ever focused on her in the bedroom before. Maybe it had all been about him and she was experiencing the attention being on her for the first time.

Easing the jacket away from her arms, Nick pressed another kiss to her cheek this time, almost grinning when he felt her tilt her head, leaning into the kiss he'd given her. She helped him get her arms out of the jacket when it got caught at her wrists, and they set it on the floor behind her.

"This isn't comfortable." She murmured, "The floor... Sitting like this is hurting my back."

Nick smirked at her and moved towards the sleeping bag, beckoning her to follow him. It was more comfortable than the floor, and Nick had an idea as to how to keep her back from hurting. As she came closer, he couldn't help but notice her bruised arms which looked worse than they actually were in the dim light. He knew he had to be careful with her, not only so that he didn't hurt her physically but so that he didn't scare her off. He'd finally made some progress with her and he wasn't prepared to go back to square one.

"C'mere..." He whispered, leaning back against the wall that the sleeping bag was laid out next to, stretching his legs out in front of him.

She seemed to understand what he was asking her to do. She wasn't uncomfortable with what he wanted at all, and she made sure to let him know that she wasn't by climbing straight into his lap, straddling him carefully before tentatively leaning down to kiss him again. She didn't care that she knew very little about him. She didn't care that he was fourteen years her senior. She didn't even care that he'd done some really bad things in his past. She wanted him so badly...

She cupped his face in both hands, shivering with delight as she felt his left hand cradle her lower back and his right move to hold the back of her head. Her heart was hammering. He was being so gentle and it was the last thing she'd expected. She'd expected him to be taking the lead and for their kisses and touches to be rough, fast and heated, but they weren't. It seemed almost as if he was giving her control. She was grateful for that. After eighteen months of not being given a choice about any intimate contact she shared with Kevin, having this freedom with Nick was more than wonderful.

Breaking their kiss, Nick ran his hands under Julia's t-shirt, being sure to touch her gently so as not to hurt her while he moved to kiss her neck. Everything was still being done very slowly. He wanted to make sure she knew that there was no rush and no pressure. He didn't know how to talk about this with her, so he hoped that his actions were enough to get the message across. He heard that wonderful sigh again, feeling her tilt her head away from him to give him better access to her skin. He smiled against her neck as he felt her fingers against the buttons of his blue shirt, and as she steadily started to unfasten them, he slowly began to lift her t-shirt. She stilled briefly, hesitant all of a sudden. Anxiety seemed to grip her out of nowhere.

'Don't let it beat you...' She thought to herself, 'You're safe... He's being gentle with you. Don't stop now.'

"Julia?" Nick's voice came out as a very quiet whisper, almost inaudible, "You okay?"

She smiled shyly, nodding in response as she swallowed hard to try and rid herself of her sudden nervousness. She continued to unfasten the buttons of his shirt which gave him the indication that he could continue to remove her t-shirt. As he lifted it past her bra, she stopped unfastening his shirt to lift her arms so that he could remove her t-shirt properly. Regardless of the pain she felt in her torso when she stretched, she allowed him to remove her t-shirt, leaving her bare skin on show for him to see. She instinctively moved to cover herself with her arms, both because the air was a little cold, but also because of her battered body. She knew he'd already seen it but...

His fingers gently brushed against her face. It was an attempt at comfort, she knew that. She knew that if anyone could understand what she was feeling right now it was him. He'd been through what she'd been through. She smiled weakly, not wanting to look at him at that moment, but instead trying to focus on getting her confidence back. She felt him take her hands in his own and bring them back to his shirt again before moving his own to rest on her waist and hips.

She found unbuttoning his shirt to be a good distraction from the anxiety and self-conscious thoughts she was experiencing. He moved to kiss her neck again which also proved to be a rather brilliant distraction, and as the last button of his shirt was unfastened, she started to push it off his shoulders. When it was removed, it was placed on top of her t-shirt which had been dropped just behind her, and he allowed her a couple of minutes to adjust to seeing him topless for the first time.

Her pupils seemed to dilate as she looked at his naked chest for the first time, which caused Nick to arch an eyebrow. She placed a hand against his chest, savouring the warmth she felt when she splayed her fingers against his chest hair. It was thick, but not overly so, dark and attractive as hell. There was a thick line of hair that ran down his torso and it thinned out as it grew towards the outer edges of his stomach, leaving it looking surprisingly neat. She wondered if he groomed it or if it grew naturally like that. It was unbelievably sexy. He did have the odd scar, only a couple and not glaringly obvious, but they made him seem more attractive to her.

"Like what you see?" He whispered huskily, running his hands up and down her small waist gently.

Julia nodded shyly, brushing her fingers against his toned stomach. He wasn't incredibly muscular, but she could tell he used to be in pretty good shape. Well, he still was in pretty good shape. He couldn't help but smile back at her as her lips curved up into a sweet grin. She was so not his type and he was certain that he wasn't her type, but here they were. This time that they were sharing on their own, distracting themselves from the horror of the world outside their room wasn't to be wasted. They knew that.

Deciding to test the water, Nick started to move them, being careful of her injuries as he leant forward to kiss her again. By this point with any other woman, he'd probably have his tongue down her throat and his fingers in her underwear, but not with Julia. She seemed to feel vulnerable enough with just her jacket and t-shirt off, and given the severity of her bruises, he could understand that so he was going to take it slow, and if she wanted him to stop, he'd stop. It was so strange to be with someone so shy and so unsure.

He noticed how light she was as he slowly started to ease her onto her back, pausing momentarily to grab her hoodie so she could use it as a pillow. She was thin, and her frame was small to a point where she virtually disappeared underneath him, but despite this, her body itself was pretty darn attractive. He'd half expected her to be rather flat-chested, and yes, while her breasts weren't enormous, they weren't tiny either. He reckoned they'd fit almost perfectly in his hands, and that was enough. Not that it really mattered in the grand scheme of things anyway.

Setting her down carefully, Nick kept his arm around her, using it as support for himself as he lowered his hips to hers in an experimental movement. The denim of her jeans caused some restriction where she probably couldn't fully feel him grind against her but she'd clearly felt something. She broke their kiss and took in a breath, quietly and quickly, her brow furrowing for the slightest moment as though she'd been hit with some intense feeling that she'd never experienced before. Her hands were slowly trailing up and down his back, his sides, his shoulders, and it was both soothing and encouraging. She must've been able to sense his slight anxiety about this too.

After a few more minutes of slow kisses, touching and even a little grinding, Nick wondered if he could maybe take things a little further. It felt right to do it, the mood felt okay and Julia didn't seem to have any problem with what he was doing so far. However, the second his hand touched the button of her jeans, her hand wrapped around his wrist.

"Wait..." She whispered, "Just... Wait a second..."

The reason that she'd stopped him was that there was a part of her that she wasn't sure she was ready for him to see. She knew deep down that she'd eventually have to let him see, but it seemed too much for her to deal with at that moment in time. So much was happening at once. She'd gone from being terrified of this guy to developing romantic feelings for him and now she was in his arms, making out with him.

Thankfully for her, Nick took his hand away from her jeans, moving it instead to brush some of her hair out of her face. He didn't say anything, probably because he didn't really know what to say to her. The first time he'd experienced this kind of nervousness was with one of his high school girlfriends and he hadn't exactly handled it well. So, he kept his mouth shut, rather than risking saying something that might anger or upset her.

"It's not you..." She said softly, her eyes sparkling with what he hoped weren't tears since he didn't know if he could handle it if she started to cry, "There's... There's something that I'm not ready to show you yet."

"That's okay." Nick promised her, "I know this ain't gonna be easy for either of us, so... We can stop if you want to. It's okay if you wanna wait."

Julia was stunned. She hadn't expected him to be so understanding about it, but she was grateful that he was. She didn't want to stop completely, but she didn't want to take this any further. Not until she'd had some time to prepare herself for the inevitable. She kissed him again softly, murmuring an apology against his lips. He seemed totally fine with it, and he was fine with it. He was a lot of things, but he wasn't one of those dicks who'd get angry with their date or girlfriend for not putting out. If she needed time, he'd give her time. Even if he didn't fully trust that they had a lot of time left.

A shuffling from the other room caused them both to startle, looking at each other warily as if to decide whether or not they needed to put their shirts back on. Then, Nick started to feel pissed off. So what if the others found them curled up together half naked? It wasn't any of their damn business anyway, and after the contact that he and Julia had just shared, it was clearer to both of them what this thing was between them. While he still didn't want to give it a label, it certainly wasn't just something casual.

When he saw Julia reaching for her shirt, he took a hold of her arm, drawing it back towards her body before moving to hold her hand. She could tell by the way his fingers gripped and released her hand experimentally for a few seconds that he wasn't actually quite sure what he was doing, but at least he was trying, and she found herself arranging their fingers so that they interlocked rather than him just groping at her hand a little.

"We can stay as we are if you want." He whispered, "Who cares if they find us together in the morning? It's none of their business."

"You're right, it isn't." Julia murmured, "And we can just tell the truth. We can tell them that we like each other, but we're taking things at our own pace because we're not exactly sure where this is going."

"And if they don't like it, fuck 'em." Nick said, smiling as she leant up to kiss him again.

They both moved to get inside the sleeping bag. It was big enough for both to get inside, but it wouldn't fasten around them, so Nick used his suit jacket and shirt to cover his back so that he wasn't too cold. He pulled Julia closer to him, her bra-clad chest pressing against his bare one, her left arm wrapping around him while her right arm was bent and was tucked between them.

"You're really willing to wait for me?" She asked him suddenly, tilting her head up to look at him.

"Yeah." Nick said with a grin, "Let's face it, I'm the only fuckable one here. You'll give in, sooner or later."

She smirked at him, rolling her eyes playfully before tucking her head under his chin. He felt her shiver briefly, so he pulled her closer to him and started to gently rub her back to try and warm her. After about five minutes of this, he heard and felt her breathing even out, and he knew that she'd fallen asleep.

Pressing one final kiss to the crown of her head, Nick closed his eyes, hoping that maybe he'd be able to get some sleep.

~ To Be Continued ~

I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Thanks for reading this so far and for continuing to support me!