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

A/N: Hi, everyone! I'm so sorry for the lack of updates! I've had a LOT of work to do this past few days and it's only going to get worse for the rest of the week, so I'll try to keep writing and update when I can. Chapter twenty-six is complete, and I actually can't see there being that many more to write before we've reached the end of the fic. I'd like to thank PhoenixLord27 for favouriting and following this story. I do have to enter a warning at the point for mentions of domestic abuse and violence in this chapter.

I hope you continue to enjoy the story, and thanks to everyone who has read this and kept going with it so far. You're all amazing.

~ Not So Forsaken ~

- Chapter Twenty-One -

"This is so creepy..." Rochelle murmured, looking around the lower floor of the abandoned house with wide, fearful eyes.

A wheelchair was randomly perched in the corridor they'd just walked into, the breeze drifting through the open front door causing random creaks and groans that set almost everyone on edge. Coach and Ellis went to check upstairs, while Nick took Julia and Rochelle to explore outside. There was a huge gate blocking their way, with massive walls surrounding the large house that would prove to be a good obstacle for any infected that may come towards them from those particular directions.

"Let's see if we can find any way over this damn wall." Nick said quietly, drawing Julia in front of him, "You ladies stay close to me."

Approaching the large gate, the trio was confronted by the odd sight of a radio of all things, sitting on a small wooden table. Nick stood there silently, his mouth slightly agape as he pointed to the radio, turned around to look at the house and then back at the radio, his face a picture of comical confusion. It was almost like a scene from a sitcom, and both Julia and Rochelle were finding it very difficult to mask the amusement they felt at the look on the conman's face.

"What is this?!" He asked in a harsh whisper, "Who the fuck put this out here?! There's no-one in this house! I don't understand!"

"I think your boyfriend's starting to have a bit of a breakdown..." Rochelle said quietly, leaning towards Julia to tell her while eyeing Nick warily.

"It's probably just a sign of his age." Julia said, waving her off with such a nonchalant look on her face that it was almost impossible for Rochelle to stop her grin.

Nick, however, looked deeply affronted by Julia's comment and stopped mid-rant to stare at her with disbelief and a look of horror plastered over his handsome features. Then, he relaxed and found himself able to smile. She really was getting sassy. And he really liked it. She smiled back at him in a reassuring manner and patted his arm, taking the opportunity to kiss his cheek and play comfortingly with his hair while Rochelle fiddled with the radio.

"Try not to get too worked up. Look at the big gun up there. I'm pretty sure the military put this stuff here." She whispered sweetly, smiling warmly at him, "If you keep having little freakouts like this, you'll go prematurely grey and I'm sure you don't want that."

"Would you mind if I did?" He asked her with an arched eyebrow.

"I find that the first signs of greying hair make a man look distinguished." Julia replied warmly, blushing a little as Nick seemed to approve of her comment.

They looked up as Rochelle's voice filled their ears, talking to anyone who might be there to listen as she pleaded for someone to respond to her on the radio. For a tense few moments, there was no response coming through to her, which caused all their hopes of a potential rescue to begin to fade. Suddenly, the radio crackled and then burst into life, startling Rochelle so much that she almost dropped it.

"Who dat there?" A voice suddenly asked, "Where y'all at?"

"We're at the big plantation house." Rochelle said, her chest heaving with her sudden panic, "There are five of us here."

"Alright, now... Stay right where you is." The voice instructed with a jovial tone, "I'll come for ya."

"Thank you very much!" Rochelle cried, putting the radio back down with a grin on her face, "Let's go tell the guys."

They ran back towards the house, all of them looking slightly worried when they saw Ellis waving around a heavy machine gun which was on a stand, and the trio knew that if he accidentally fired the damn thing, whoever it hit would be torn to pieces. Nick, feeling somewhat worried for Julia's safety since he knew how stupid Ellis could be, screamed at the younger man to get his damn hands off the big gun, allowing himself, Julia and Rochelle to join their friends on the top balcony of the house in one piece.

"We've got help coming." Rochelle said breathlessly as she reached the balcony, "We just gotta hold out until our rescue arrives."

"Let's hope that ain't too long." Coach said with a sigh, "Always seems we attract the attention of every zombie in a five mile radius just as we're about to get outta wherever we are."

"I wanna be prepared for this, guys." Nick said sternly, "Nothing's gonna catch us out, okay? We stay focused and sharp, we keep our eyes out for each other, and no-one gets left behind."

"Alright." Coach said with a nod, "Ya heard the man. We all stay up here. I'll man this big gun while y'all pair off and take a side of the balcony each."

Nick and Julia took the right, while Ellis and Rochelle took the left. It was scarily quiet. Julia pressed closer to Nick's side, feeling a horrible sense of dread and unease settle into the pit of her stomach. Rochelle also seemed to be staying close to Ellis as though she was feeling what Julia was. It really was way too quiet. The only sounds they could hear apart from their own heartbeats was the soft song of the swamp critters and insects that surrounded the area.

"I hate this." Julia whispered, so quietly that Nick almost didn't hear her, "What the hell's going on?"

"I dunno." Nick whispered back, "Stay alert."

A horrifically loud roar startled everyone in the group, causing them to almost jump out of their skins. Coach tightened his grip on the heavy machine gun as the thunderous approach of a Tank could be heard to their right. However, the confusion began when Ellis yelled at everyone about the Tank now climbing over the wall on the left side of them. Coach aimed at it to start firing at it, but just as Nick and Julia were about to turn to fire at it as well, Nick caught a fleeting glimpse of pink as another Tank climbed over the wall to their right which had obviously been the cause of the thumping they'd heard seconds earlier.

"We got a second Tank up here!" He yelled as loudly as he could, realising that the others couldn't hear him over the sound of the heavy machine gun.

The Tank on the left was already taking a lot of rounds, which made them wonder how long it was actually going to last. The second their Tank came into sight, Julia and Nick opened fire on it, hearing it howl in pain as the bullets started to strike it all over its torso and face. Suddenly, it tore a slab of concrete from the floor, and before they had a chance to react, the huge chunk of ground was flying towards them. It hit one of the pillars supporting the roof above them, shattering into pieces which ricocheted everywhere, a rather large chunk striking Nick straight in the side of the head which sent him stumbling backwards, yelling out in pain.

"Nick!" Julia cried out, rushing to check him for injury.

"Shoot the Tank!" He told her with a grimace, "I'm fine! Kill the fucking thing!"

With the left Tank now taken out, Coach turned his attention to the one on the right, which was now starting to make its way towards the house. Rochelle grabbed Nick to check on him when she saw he was bleeding, while Ellis moved to help Julia and Coach kill the second Tank. Almost tearing her bag open, the producer fumbled about for her first aid kit, quickly opening it to try and find something to clean his wound with.

"Rochelle, I'm fine." He said, hissing as she placed an alcohol wipe against the cut on his temple.

"I just wanna clean this up and get it covered." She said quietly, "I'll be as quick as I can."

The sound of the Tank crying out in agony for the last time signalled the end of that battle, and Nick was thankful that Rochelle had indeed made quick work of his wound. He now had a band-aid on his temple, just big enough to sufficiently cover the small cut. It had bled way more than it probably should've, but then again, the smaller wounds always did seem to bleed the most and be the most painful.

There was a sudden whooshing sound which seemed to snap everyone out of their exhausted daze, and the group of five turned just in time to see the gate ahead of them exploding, splinters and bits of the wall and ground flying all over the place. There was a boat waiting for them at the end of a rather long wooden walkway, and they knew that this must be their rescue and it was now time to haul ass.

"Let's go!" Ellis yelled, grabbing Julia's arm, "Now!"

The five broke into a run back into the house, racing towards the staircase. A scream filled the air which signalled the approach of a horde, obviously attracted by the sound of the gate being blown to pieces. They ran like hell, feeling more and more anxious with each step as zombies began to scale the walls to the garden, appearing in droves of what looked like hundreds. Another Tank could be heard approaching from behind and Coach looked over his shoulder to see one almost swinging from the house's roof.

"Go, now!" He ordered loudly, turning around to shoot some of the oncoming infected as they sprinted towards the boat.

They were half expecting a Charger attack or a Smoker to grab one of them, but much to their relief, for once, they actually made it to the boat with relative ease, leaving the horde far behind them. They were comfortably aboard as their rescuer started the boat moving to take them to safety, and for the first time in a while, the five survivors were actually able to relax. Out of breath and exhausted, they each looked at one another and shared real, genuine smiles of gratitude, joy and God only knew what else at the relief of being rescued.

Nick looked over at Julia, who was clearly shaken up but relieved to be okay. She was still there, she was unharmed for the most part, and she was looking more alive than he'd ever seen her. Not caring one bit that the others were watching, he scooted closer to her, brought a hand to the back of her head and drew her closer, pressing his lips to hers.

Julia had been surprised by the sudden contact, but for once, she felt no anxiety or embarrassment about what was happening. She grabbed his dirtied dress shirt in her hands and pressed closer to him, returning the kiss with as much passion as she could just to let him know that she was as relieved as him that they were safe and that everyone was okay. Rochelle found herself smiling at the sight, while Coach was smirking to himself at the fact that Ellis didn't know where to look.

The sound of footsteps brought Julia and Nick out of their kiss, and they found themselves face to face with their saviour. He was a small, kindly old man with grey hair and the scruffy beginnings of a beard. His face was wrinkled and weather-beaten, his clothes shabby and tattered, but he had a lovely grandfatherly twinkle in his eyes that put everyone at ease in an instant.

"Hell, that was close, huh?!" He laughed heartily, "Pleased to meet y'all! I been hopin' to find some folks still alive out here."

"Thanks for comin' to get us." Coach replied warmly, "I'm Coach. This is Nick, Julia, Rochelle and Ellis."

He indicated himself and everyone in turn, who all gave their own greeting to their rescuer, whether that be a wave, a smile, a nod or a thumbs up. The man introduced himself as Virgil, and after a few minutes of discussing where they were headed, he was quick to offer them some food and drink, as well as some spare clothes, which the group politely declined. The offer of food was taken up so quickly, however, that Virgil had laughed for a good three or four minutes about it.

"If y'all wanna shower, I'm afraid I ain't able to help much with that." He said with a grimace, "I can drop anchor and y'all are gonna have to climb overboard and take a bath in that there river. But, if y'all ain't comfortable usin' the river, I could boil up some water in my bathroom sink and y'all can take sponge baths. I got plenty of nice, soft towels ya can use."

"Sponge baths sound great, Virgil. As long as we ain't gonna use too much of your water supply." Coach said softly, earning a laugh and a dismissive wave from the older man.

After bringing them some of his provisions, he told them to just let him know when they wanted to drop anchor so they could clean up a little. As the group and their friend got to know one another a little better, Virgil told them the heartbreaking story of how he'd lost his wife to an infected bite. It had been very hard to hear how much he missed her, and as he told his tale of woe, Nick found himself looking at Julia, wondering how he'd feel if anything happened to her. His answer came pretty quickly when he remembered that Hunter attack back at the gas station on the edge of the swamp.

His throat tightened, his heart lurched as did his stomach, and he felt a pang of pain shoot through him, causing him to swallow hard. Oh, yeah... If anything happened to Julia he'd be devastated. And while usually, he would've panicked about being so attached to another person, he felt abnormally calm. He knew it was okay to feel what he was feeling. It was just natural for a person to feel that way when they cared for someone; he knew that much to be true.

"I'll show y'all where ya can sleep. Unfortunately, I don't got much room below deck. There might be just enough room to squeeze the five of ya in there, but a couple of ya might have to sleep in close quarters." Virgil said with a frown, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Don't worry. That's not a problem." Nick said, putting his arm around Julia with a grin, "We're fine bunking in together if we have to."

Virgil smiled warmly, but it seemed to falter very briefly into sadness, almost as though he was remembering something. He shook it off pretty quickly though and offered to show them to where they could sleep. The lower deck of the boat wasn't particularly spacious, but Virgil had utilised it rather well. There were two sleeping spaces that were crudely shielded by tattered cloth curtains, each of which had double mattresses in them that were tightly cramped into the space. They sat inside wooden frames that ended just below the mattress' height, at least giving the impression that they were proper beds rather than just mattresses thrown on the floor. The last sleeping area was a booth-like seat next to a small, square dining table, which was readily taken by Coach. Ellis was happy to share with Rochelle, while Nick and Julia took the sleeping space opposite.

One by one, the group had a sponge bath, feeling grateful to at least be a little cleaner. A shower would've been preferable but this was better than nothing. Once clean and in their fresh clothes, Virgil bid them goodnight and announced that he was going back to driving the boat for a little while before dropping anchor for the night, leaving them to get some rest. The five survivors said goodnight to each other and moved to their separate sleeping quarters.

Heading into their room, Julia and Nick piled their belongings up in the corner next to the door, leaving them very little room to manoeuvre. Making sure their curtain was in place, Nick turned to find Julia sitting on the bed carefully. It looked comfortable enough, if a little small. There were two nice, clean pillows and thick covers which seemed almost luxurious in comparison to where they'd been spending their nights. Even Coach had been provided with a pillow and some blankets.

"I hate sleeping in jeans." The redhead muttered quietly, running her hands over her face, "It's so uncomfortable."

"Then take 'em off." Nick said with a shrug, "I'm not gonna look if you don't want me to. Just get undressed and get under the covers."

"A-Are you sure?" She asked, her brown eyes wide and full of uncertainty.

"Yeah." Nick nodded, "I'll even turn my back while you get into bed."

She smiled up at him, that beautiful face bathed in the glow of the small battery-powered lamp that was sitting in on top of their bags, and she started to ease up her long-sleeved shirt, which gave Nick his cue to turn his back. He didn't see any harm in teasing her a little as he went, so as he turned away, he slowly removed his shirt, allowing her to admire the muscles in his back rippling a little with the motion.

Her mouth suddenly went dry, but she shook herself back to reality and hurried to get her jeans off and climb into bed. Folding up her clothes, she placed them in the doorway and got into bed, leaning back against her pillow and pulling the thick, surprisingly warm covers up to cover her bra-clad breasts. She watched Nick look over his shoulder at her innocently, smiling at her rather deviously before turning back to her, unfastening his belt so slowly that she felt as though he was torturing her. She could see how he'd ended up being quite the ladies' man.

"I'll be done in a sec." He said quietly, his voice deep and gruff which Julia found incredibly sexy.

He unfastened his black dress pants at the same languid pace, glancing up at her through his eyelashes to see her staring at him with those big, dark, innocent eyes. Damn, did that turn him on... Finally freeing himself from his clothes, he piled his up next to hers and climbed onto the bed with her, grinning at her when she pulled the covers back for him.

It was this action, however, that was about to reveal to Nick the one part of Julia's body that she hadn't been ready for him to see. In the light of the lamp, he caught sight of what looked like scar tissue on the outside of her left thigh. Now, normally, he wouldn't have thought anything of seeing scars on someone's body. He had enough of his own for it to be normal to him. But this scarring was different. It registered in his head as the letter 'U'. Before Julia could stop him, Nick was easing the covers back to try and get a better look at her thigh, very much aware of the fact that she clearly didn't want him to see it properly.

The more that the light revealed of Julia's scar, the angrier Nick could feel himself becoming. Now, her conversation with Ellis back in that stupid tattoo parlour in Georgia made complete sense to him. Ellis had asked her if she had any tattoos, and she'd told him that she did, just not the conventional kind. The scar on her leg spelt out one word that sent a cold chill down Nick's spine. It read: 'SLUT'.

"What's this?" He asked, his voice unbelievably calm considering how the quickly the fury in him was rising up into his throat from the pit of his stomach.

"Don't..." Julia breathed out, her eyes now tearful as she snatched the covers back from him, rushing to cover her leg up, "It's nothing... Please, just forget it."

How could Nick possibly forget that? His mind was reeling. What on earth could've possessed whoever had done that to her, whether it was her boyfriend, herself or someone else? Why the fuck would someone want to carve a word like that into someone's skin? How the hell could he calm himself down enough so that he didn't do something stupid and upset Julia?

"Did that son of a bitch do that to you?" He asked, his voice now a harsh whisper as he carefully pulled back the covers to look again, "I need to know, Julia."

Julia was dumbstruck, her eyes now reddened and tearful while her lower lip trembled violently, her mouth pressed into a tight line. Nick couldn't look at her. He'd lose it if he did. He knew in his gut that this was her ex's work and it made him so angry that he wanted to hunt the fucker down and beat his sorry ass to death. He heard a whimper and could see her nodding animatedly in his peripheral vision. He started to tremble almost violently with the rage he was trying to suppress.

"Why?" He asked with a growl, clenching his fists so tightly that he thought his left hand was going to go through the cotton of the covers, "What the fuck could you possibly have done to warrant that?"

"I..." She let out a harsh breath that sounded like a sob, and Nick could see how much she was shaking when he caught sight of her brushing her hair behind her ear, "We were at the mall... I just... I looked at another man... And because he was looking at me too..."

She stopped speaking suddenly, her hands clasping over her mouth. She remembered that night too well. Kevin had been fine up until they'd finished eating dinner back at home, where he then chose to bring up what had happened in the mall, telling Julia that she needed to be punished for what he perceived to be flirting with someone else. All she'd done was happen to look up at the same guy that was looking at her and that was all it had taken to cause the horrific pain she was about to suffer. After calling her some of the most despicable and disgusting names imaginable, he'd pinned her down on the kitchen table and sliced the word into her leg with a large carving knife to serve as a reminder that her behaviour had consequences.

The first real sob that Nick heard coming from Julia seemed to actually be enough to start to slowly quell his anger. Something else inside him was starting to take over and replace that emotion, and that was his need and desire to comfort and protect her. She was vulnerable, half naked, exposed and the one thing that she was so ashamed of was on display for him to see. Carefully taking a long, deep breath, Nick tried to compose himself. He was angry, hurting for her and he was even a little upset. The thought of someone doing that to her was just unbearable to him.

He gingerly took the sheets back into his hand, wrapping his free arm cautiously around her waist. He didn't dare look at her face because he knew that seeing her so distraught would hit him too hard, and he was already dealing with too many emotions at that moment as it was, so he coaxed her a little closer to him, returning the covers to her body with such gentleness that Julia didn't know how to take it.

She felt so ashamed. She had never wanted him to see that or to have to explain it to him, but it an instant it had happened, and now she could see that he saw her in a totally different light. And it wasn't a good one. Everything was ruined... Just as she'd finally started to gain confidence and rebuild some of her self-esteem, it had been torn out from under her once again.

"C'mere." Nick whispered in a softer voice than expected, his now spare hand moving to draw her closer, "It's okay."

He pulled her towards his body, carefully running his hand up and down her back in an attempt to soothe her. Her face was now pressed into his shoulder, her mouth still covered by her hands. She was shaking so badly, no doubt due to the trauma of remembering what had happened to her. Nick now found himself feeling rather guilty for indulging his own curiosity.

"I'm sorry..." He murmured, moving to run his fingers through her hair in what he hoped was a soothing manner.

"W-Why are you sorry?" She asked, letting out another mournful series of sobs.

"I'm just sorry." He answered her, his face now twisted into his own expression of sadness as she continued to cry, "Shhh..."

He continued to keep his arms around her, holding her tightly but not enough to hurt her. Sometimes, words were meaningless, and in this situation, he felt like there was nothing he could say to make up for what had just happened and for what she'd just revealed to him. Her arms were around him then, her hands gripping onto him almost for dear life, her face still buried in his shoulder.

"Shhh... It's alright." He said quietly, swallowing down the lump that had started to rise in his throat, "I'm sorry, sweetheart."

Thankfully for him, she seemed to be calming down now, and thankfully for her, her initial fears that he had a negative opinion of her was unwarranted. His apologies and his clear wish to comfort her and calm her told her that he was angry and upset on her behalf and that the only bad opinion and feelings he had were towards her ex, not her. She wiped at her eyes furiously, taking deep breaths.

"Does this change anything?" She asked, her breath hitching slightly.

"Only makes me hate your ex more, but other than that, no." Nick promised her, brushing her hair out of her face carefully.

An idea suddenly came into his head. A way of maybe rectifying what had happened in some way so that she didn't have to feel ashamed anymore. And he knew it could be a while before the procedure could be carried out for her but if it helped to conceal what she'd gone through, it might help put the painful memories for her to the back of her thoughts rather than her being reminded every time she looked at her leg.

"You know when all this over, and we're settled someplace safe, and when the world's getting itself back to a state of normality...?" He began, cupping her damp face in both hands to brush the last of her tears away, "We're gonna go to a tattoo parlour. You can pick any design you want, and we'll get your scar covered up. Okay? I don't care how much it costs, how colourful it is, or what it is, just as long as its something you want. I'll take care of it."

He watched those big brown eyes fill with tears again, but he knew this time that it wasn't because of any pain he'd indirectly caused her. It was because he'd offered her a solution so that she didn't have to look at that painful memo that had been so cruelly etched into her skin whenever she did something as mundane as shaving her legs or dry herself off after a shower. If she could look down and see something that she'd chosen to put on her body, something that she loved and that she thought was beautiful, she already knew she'd feel so much better. Unable to speak, Julia simply leant forward and kissed Nick on the lips with such passion that he almost lost the ability to breathe. Pulling her closer, Nick guided her into his lap, feeling those smooth, slender legs wrap around his waist, his hands carefully cradling her to him as they deepened their kiss.

A sense of pride washed over Nick at that moment, and as he basked in the glorious knowledge that he'd just managed to erase some of the pain that this whole incident had caused, he tightened his grip on his girl, content to hold her and kiss her for as long as she wanted.

~ To Be Continued ~

I know... There are no words to describe Julia's ex... And for those of you wondering if you'll ever get to see the infamous Kevin, you may have to wait a little while, but there is a possibility that he might appear at some point soon, whether in this story or the sequel. You'll simply have to read on to find out ;)

Thanks for reading this so far!