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

A/N: Hi, guys! Sorry again for the delay! When I write the sequel there'll be no danger of long periods of time between uploads because it'll be completed or almost completed when I start to publish chapters. I'm pleased to announce that I've almost completed this fic. I reckon another two chapters will do it, so it'll be about thirty chapters long in total. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter and I want to thank all of you for continuing to stick with me.

Shin Maxwell: Thanks so much for reviewing again! And yes, ouch... Nick boo-booed somewhat. You'll have to read on to find out if he can fix it. ;)

~ Not So Forsaken ~

- Chapter Twenty-Three -

Nick had never been so angry with himself before in his life.

How could he have said those awful things about Julia's former relationship? How could he have started to question her strength and her ability to deal with what was happening? Why the hell had he decided to do that when he knew that she was likely to be in earshot? He felt as though he was as bad as her ex. God only knew how hurt she was by what he'd said. How the hell was she supposed to trust him now, never mind forgive him?

He watched her as she stayed close to Ellis, her mind clearly on anything but the task at hand. As they passed through a dark house onto another street, the rain seemed to pick up its pace and was already starting to create large puddles on the ground ahead of them. They were all worried that it was going to flood, and if it did, it would make their journey even more dangerous than it already was. Wading through the water while trying to outrun a horde or a Tank didn't exactly seem appealing to anybody, so they were all silently hoping that the rain would soon pass.

The lack of infected that were around them was unnerving to say the least. It made them wonder whether the weather was keeping them all out of the way or if it was something more sinister. Thankfully, a safehouse came into view within a minute or so, giving the group a chance to get out of the rain before making a decision about what to do next. Once they were inside, Coach asked Ellis to help him gather up some supplies, while he asked Nick, Rochelle and Julia to head down the nearby stairs to see what was waiting at the exit.

Taking the hint that he was giving them, Nick and Rochelle did as they were asked, and Julia reluctantly followed, her head lowered and her bottom lip already trembling with the realisation that she'd now have to listen to Nick try and excuse what he was saying about her. Why Rochelle needed to be there, she didn't know, but she was sure she'd find out. Once they reached the bottom of the stairs, Julia found Rochelle almost right in her face, the older woman's expression one of worry and panic as it had been earlier. It was uncomfortable for the redhead, and she wanted nothing more than to be out of their way.

"Sweetie, I am so sorry if anything I said upset you." She whispered, "I was trying to calm Nick down. He was getting into a bit of a panic that's all."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Julia's voice came out stony and cold, and in response, Rochelle and Nick both slowly recoiled, unsure as to what to do.

Her lip was no longer trembling which told the rather wary pair that she wasn't getting upset, and she clearly wasn't in any mood to talk about what had transpired earlier in their journey. They weren't going to push the topic either, no matter what Coach's opinion on the matter was. Julia was now in control of this situation and when she felt ready to talk about it, they'd talk about it. Nick headed back up the stairs to tell Coach that there wasn't anything to worry about at the exit of the safe room and then had to explain to him that Julia was pretending nothing had happened, even though they all knew that she was aware what had taken place in that conversation.

"If somethin' happens to that girl..."

"Nothing's gonna happen to her." Nick said quietly.

"I told ya I'd kick your ass if ya hurt her, Nick." Ellis said darkly from his place near the supply table, "She's worth a million of you and ya know she is."

"Ellis, come on, man..." Nick sighed in a low voice, "I was having a freak-out, for fuck's sake. I didn't mean anything that I said, and I certainly didn't mean for her to hear us."

Ellis' eyes narrowed, but before he could respond, there was a panicked cry from Rochelle accompanying the sound of the safehouse door being opened followed by pounding footsteps. The three men barrelled down the stairs to find Rochelle disappearing around the corner ahead of them, screaming Julia's name frantically. Their youngest team member, unable to take it anymore, had broken free, sprinting out of the safehouse with the sole intention of getting as far away from her group as possible.

"Jules, wait!" Ellis joined in with the yelling, breaking into a sprint to try and catch up with their friend, who had disappeared into the sugar mill ahead.

Coach shook his head as he and Nick raced to catch up to Rochelle, listening intently for any signs that Julia might be in distress or danger. Ellis was now gone too, and the three older members of the group were now separated from their friends by heavy rain and poor visibility. Then, a horrible, familiar but very much unwelcome sound came floating along on the wind, causing fear and dread to settle in the pits of their stomachs. Julia and Ellis had run into the path of not just one, but multiple Witches. Their cries could be heard all around, and with the terrible visibility, there was a very big chance that Ellis and Julia could disturb one, or all of them.

Heading into a derelict yard, Rochelle, Nick and Coach had to slow to a walk, turning their flashlights off. Thankfully there weren't too many infected nearby but the Witches were proving hard to spot. They were desperately searching for any signs of Julia and Ellis while also trying to avoid attracting any unwanted attention. Passing under the various conveyor belts and other pieces of machinery, they came across a small cabin-type building, where they thankfully heard Ellis' voice, which sounded unusually angry but also was obviously full of fear and panic.

"Why'd ya run off like that?" He was demanding, "Ya scared us somethin' awful, Jules!"

"I don't wanna listen to people making excuses for talking about me behind my back!" Julia was shouting, her voice unusually loud and laced with anger, "I'm sick and tired of letting people walk all over me and treat me like shit!"

Coach and Rochelle cast a look at Nick, who clenched his jaw as yet another wave of shame started to wash over him. Hearing Julia sounding so upset was horrendous to him. He didn't want her to be feeling that way at all and certainly not because of his stupid mouth. Cursing to himself, he cleared his throat and moved past both Coach and Rochelle in order to step into the cabin. Ellis turned to look at him with those abnormally angry, narrowed eyes, putting himself purposely between Nick and Julia like a human shield to offer her any protection she needed.

"Ellis, we don't have time for this!" Nick said with annoyance, "We gotta get that gas and get back to Virgil. This rain's getting worse."

"Then get to it." Ellis snapped, "Jules and I are right behind ya."

"You're kidding me, right?" Nick asked, his irritation getting worse as he realised that Ellis was actually not allowing him to talk to Julia at all.

"We're right behind ya." Ellis said again, looking past Nick at Coach and Rochelle.

This moment was enough to give Nick a glimpse at Julia's face. It was a deep shade of red, probably with anger and a hint of embarrassment, but her eyes were lowered to the floor purposely so she could avoid looking at him which felt strangely hurtful. Looking upwards at the ceiling in a fashion that screamed annoyance, Nick turned away from the pair before lashing out and kicking a nearby table, taking the front right leg clean out from underneath it. The loud crash caused Julia to startle, her hand immediately gripping the back of Ellis' shirt.

Panic and anxiety hit her like a wall and her knees lost a little of their ability to hold her up as Nick stormed out of the cabin, angrily telling Rochelle and Coach to get moving. The angry yell, the loud bang of the table crashing and the sudden impulsive act of violence from Nick gave Julia a horrible feeling of dread that settled deep into her stomach... Just like it did when Kevin used to get angry...

Ellis reached back to put an arm around Julia's shoulders carefully before he eased her forward and out of the cabin after them, bringing her out of the dark thoughts she was suddenly having about her relationship with Nick. She held her rifle tightly in her hands, trying to concentrate on anything but what had transpired so far on this journey. Things had been so great that morning. She and Nick had spent time together in those few hours making out a little and then falling asleep for short, fifteen-minute bursts and then waking again to kiss some more. It really had been wonderful, like one little silver lining amongst the hell that they were going through... And now, everything was ruined.

"Ellis, for God's sake, don't let her wander off." Coach murmured to the mechanic, "There's Witches all over the damn place, and we can't see too good in this rain."

"I won't." Ellis replied with a nod, "I promise."

When he noticed her falling behind, Ellis reached back and carefully took Julia's arm, pulling her along with him gently while encouraging her to keep going. He couldn't stop himself from glaring holes into the back of Nick's head though. Coach had explained what happened back in the first house they'd searched and it had made Ellis incredibly angry to think that Nick had said such insensitive things about Julia. He didn't know whether to believe that Nick had said those things while in a state of panic, although, for the conman to even admit that he'd been anxious and scared was pretty miraculous on its own.

The mechanic kept glancing worriedly at Julia, who was clearly distracted and not concentrating on what was going on around her. As Nick's combat rifle could be heard ahead of them along with the pained cries of infected, Ellis made sure to move Julia in front of him so that he could at least see where she was walking. The last thing they needed was for her to accidentally bump into a Witch. The easily recognisable, high-pitched gibbering of a Charger was enough, seemingly, to bring her out of her state of distraction. Spotting the large zombie up ahead, she yelled out its name, aiming her rifle as it let out that horrifyingly loud bull-like roar and began sprinting towards them with its enormous arm ready to take them out. Everyone was able to step out of its way, and as it bounced off a nearby pipe, everyone opened fire on it, taking it down within seconds.

"Good call, young 'un!" Coach praised Julia loudly over the falling rain, "Let's keep movin'!"

At the front of the group, Nick pressed on silently, his mouth drawn into a tight line. He knew he shouldn't have kicked that damn table. He was almost certain that Julia would've been upset by that. He was freaking out once again because of the fact that he'd just displayed his propensity for violence right in front of a domestic abuse victim, who happened to be his... Well... What was she? Was she his girlfriend? They hadn't exactly put a label on their relationship yet.

'Focus on what's important, you idiot.' He thought to himself, 'You just flipped out and kicked the leg off a table while your formerly abused girlfriend... Yes, your damn girlfriend, who's already pissed at you for talking about her behind her back, was standing there, clearly upset! You are the most worthless...'

"Nick?"

He looked back to see Rochelle moving to catch up with him, her face the picture of concern. He almost rolled his eyes. He and Julia specifically said that they didn't want anyone else's opinions or anybody interfering with their relationship, and yet everyone was interfering and everyone had an opinion about it. He was so fed up that he was sorely tempted to just throw his gun down and let them go on without him.

"What is it, Ro?" He asked with a sigh.

"I'm sorry..." She began quietly, "I don't know if I made things worse back in the safe room or not, but if I did, I'm sorry."

"Nah, don't worry about it." Nick waved her off, looking unusually glum, "It's my own stupid fault. I'm really not cut out for this relationship shit, y'know... I never have been."

"The ex-wife was a bit of a giveaway on that score." Rochelle said, clearly as an attempt at humour.

He managed a small smile in return, which eased Rochelle's brief anxiety at the thought that maybe she'd upset him this time.

"I dunno how I'm gonna fix this." Nick said, not speaking to her in particular, but saying it loud enough for her to hear it.

"Keep trying." Rochelle said softly, "And be patient with her. She's had a lot to deal with recently, and you know she has very little confidence in herself. She won't be upset about this forever."

"I'm really trying to be patient, Ro." Nick replied with a grimace, "I'm treading on fucking eggshells with her, and I don't normally do that for anybody."

"I know that." Rochelle said softly, "You've done pretty well so far, Nick. Relationships can be hard at times, but if you really care for each other, it'll work out in the end."

The crying of the Witches that had been growing increasingly louder as the group had been moving seemed to reach its loudest as Nick and Rochelle passed by another old, decrepit part of the mill. It was loud enough to stop Nick from being able to form any kind of response to Rochelle's comment. There was a Witch patrolling the area that they were just about to pass through, her clawed hands hiding her hideous face from their view.

"Shit..." Nick muttered, taking Rochelle by the arm, "Back up..."

As the others caught up to them, there wasn't time to discuss a plan since Julia passed all of them and immediately started to edge around the Witch. The others were pissing her off. Ellis was being unnecessarily protective, Coach was trying to be the voice of reason but was just sticking his nose into business that wasn't his, Rochelle was sucking up to Nick like there was no tomorrow, and Nick... There were no words for him. Not right now.

"Jules!" Nick hissed, his face a picture of horror and panic, "What are you doing?!"

Julia ignored him, keeping her eye on the Witch that was standing nearby before moving across near some pipework, her gun held tightly in her hands. Ellis moved forward next, following Julia's lead faithfully, which caused the redhead to roll her eyes. She was sick of being escorted everywhere. Coach ushered Rochelle and Nick to follow them and they quickly worked their way around the Witch, while Ellis and Julia could be seen walking up a conveyor belt behind her.

Just as Nick moved around the building they'd passed behind, he saw Julia and Ellis talking about something at the top of the conveyor belt. The vision of what appeared to be pleasant conversation was suddenly cut away as, almost in slow motion, Nick watched a long, pink, slimy tongue wrap around Julia's midsection and tug her with considerable force from the conveyor belt. Ellis screamed her name and bolted after her, which of course, led everyone else to follow.

Ellis could see Julia in the distance with one arm broken free from the Smoker's tongue as she tried to beat the creature into submission with the butt of her M16. It hit her in the face, causing her to drop the gun, but as a bullet fired from ahead of them, the Smoker released her due to being wounded, limping away from the group, no doubt to try and find a better spot to attack from. Julia looked up as she coughed in the thick, putrid smoke that the zombie's injuries had left behind and met eyes with Nick, whose Magnum was still held out in front of him, his face a mixture of panic and determination.

Part of her wanted to run to him and embrace him and to thank him for helping her, but then she suddenly remembered as the haziness of the moment passed that she couldn't really trust him now. Not with her emotions and her demons. He doubted her ability to deal with the situation and to survive it, just like he'd said that she hadn't really survived her relationship with Kevin. How could she trust him to support her now?

"We'd better go look for that Smoker." Coach said quietly, "Nick, you get Jules back on her feet."

Both Nick and Julia glared at the older man as he walked away with the others, wishing he'd just keep his nose out of their business. After a brief staring contest, Nick walked over to Julia, put his Magnum away and held his hand out to her to get her on her feet again. Not looking at him, Julia took his hand, allowing him to help her up. He knew that he had to say something and to apologise for what he'd done and said, but he just found it so hard to do that he didn't believe in a million years that anything he said would make her feel any better.

"I know I've been an asshole." He blurted the words out suddenly, swallowing hard as she looked at him with an expression that was a cross between anger and shock at the outburst, "I'm sorry for the things I said about you. I didn't mean them, okay? I was getting a little panicky and trying to think of any damn excuse to keep you in my sight 'cause I worry about you all the time. And I'm sorry I kicked that table back there. I shouldn't have lashed out, especially not in front of you after... Well... After what you've gone through."

"Kevin used to say that to me..." Julia murmured, her eyes slightly glazed as though she was wandering off into her own thoughts again, "He used to tell me he worried about me... It was a way to control me... And he used to tell me he didn't mean the things he said..."

"I'm not him." Nick said, his voice taking a slightly angry tone, "Don't compare me to that son of a bitch. I'd never lay a hand on you, and you know it. I'm not trying to control you, either. I..."

"You what?" Julia asked, her cheeks now reddened with both embarrassment and the cold.

Nick knew what he wanted to say, and he knew he needed to say it before she'd deny him the opportunity to. Taking in a deep breath, trying to ignore the cold of the rain and the chill of the wind that was starting to creep through the abandoned mill, along with the sobbing of the Witches ahead of them, Nick cleared his throat and reached out to carefully touch Julia's arm.

"I'm scared of losing you." He admitted, looking away from her, "You don't know how much you've actually impacted my life, Jules... It sounds so fucking corny, but you've changed everything. You've made me feel again, and you've shown me what it's like to have someone actually give a fuck about me."

Her features softened at those words. She hadn't looked at their relationship that way before. She'd been trying not to push any kind of label on them or have any expectations because she didn't know how he was going to adjust to being with her, but to have him openly admit to her that she'd changed his life for the better over a few short days was really quite stunning.

"After what happened back in the swamp with those Hunters, I just want to keep you in my line of sight and I want you near me so that if anything happens I can be there to protect you." He said quietly, "I know that I said some really shitty things. I wasn't thinking clearly."

"I've never had someone give me such a thoughtful apology before." Julia said quietly, blinking as the rain started to fall into her eyes, "I'm sorry too."

"You don't need to be sorry for anything." Nick said with a sad smile, "Honestly... I don't expect any kind of apology from you. You had every right to be upset. C'mere..."

He eased her forward to hug her, feeling relief wash over him when she wrapped her arms around him in return and squeeze him against her, resting her head against his chest, her hair soaking his polo shirt even more than it already was. Nick happened to glance up to see the others watching them with grins on their faces, and the sudden discomfort he felt at the others seeing him being so affectionate with Julia was enough to make him ease her off of him.

"We need to go." He said softly.

"If you feel better having me where you can see me, I'll stay with you." Julia said, offering him a weak smile, "By the way... Seeing the sensitive side of you is nice. I'd like to see it more."

"I guess I can try." Nick said, feeling the heat rise to his cheeks at the thought of her mentioning his sensitive side, "Let's go."

As they approached the others, they were met with warm smiles of relief. Coach asked if they were good now, and they both agreed that they were, but Julia couldn't hold back her upset at everyone's interference and asked the group to let her and Nick deal with any problems they had on their own and in their own time. It was hard enough adjusting to a new relationship for both of them as it was, without the others sticking their noses in and being more than unhelpful. They continued to make their way through the nearby area, avoiding the crying Witches while trying to take out threatening infected that kept charging at them from all sides of the area, making it rather tense since there were a few close calls where the survivors had almost hit a Witch or two.

"Shit, I'm gonna start cryin' in a minute..." Ellis murmured looking around and the various crying females who wandered aimlessly nearby, "Nick, did ya ever see so many Witches?"

"The last time I saw this many crying women was at my wedding." Nick replied with a smirk.

Rochelle and Julia both rolled their eyes in unison, while Coach shook his head with a soft, amused grin. They soon came to a big puddle of water that separated them from another large, derelict part of the mill, but the group didn't hesitate this time before starting to walk through it. The rain was already soaking them through and they knew there was no other way to cross to the other side, so what was the point in waiting?

They moved carefully, creeping by a Witch who was heading through the water, her sobs seemingly so much louder and much more mournful than the others. The sadness was starting to infect the others now, with Ellis, in particular, looking glummer than the others had ever seen him. Julia was watching the Witch worriedly, and it wasn't out of concern about being attacked.

"Do you think they know?" She asked Nick quietly as they reached the mill, "You know... Do you think they know what's happened to them?"

"I don't know, babe." Nick murmured, easing her forward, "Let's hope they don't, huh?"

"Let's get up high." Coach said quietly, "We might get an idea of where we are and where we're goin'."

"These stairs aren't very safe." Julia said with a grimace, "We should be careful."

After reaching the third storey, the group moved to the far side of the building, and amongst the rain and the mist, a huge sign which read, 'Ducatel Diesel' could be seen on the other side of a cane field at the back of the mill. Nick spotted an elevator that could take them to the lower floor.

"I'm gonna hit this button... Let's just hope this doesn't attract any unwanted attention." Nick said, rolling his eyes as his hand hovered over the switch, "But we all know it's gonna... 'Cause that's just our luck."

He hit the button, and as the elevator kicked into life and began its ascend towards them, there was an all too familiar scream that came from all around them, echoing over the rumbling thunder and the pouring rain. Every zombie in the area was racing towards the source of the noise, and as soon as bodies started to charge up the stairs towards them, all five survivors started hoping and praying that the elevator would be with them sooner rather than later.

"They're coming..." Rochelle said worriedly, raising her AK-47 with a grimace.

The sound of neighing came from behind them, and just as Nick turned around to look for the oncoming Jockey, he was pounced by one that had been climbing up the elevator shaft. It started to drag him to the right, laughing wildly as it dug its fingers into his scalp.

"Get this thing off my back!" He yelled angrily, trying to regain some control over his movements.

Coach swung around, using the butt of his shotgun to hit the Jockey off of Nick's back. It stumbled to the ground with some force but managed to swing itself back around and launch itself at Coach instead, who managed to duck out of the way. Amazingly, all that Nick and Coach were then met with was the sight of a denim-clad leg sticking out, a black-booted foot kicking the Jockey so hard that it fell from their floor of the sugar mill, crashing to the ground with enough force to kill it instantly. Julia was now standing there, a look of anger plastered on her face as she moved towards the ledge that she'd just kicked the Jockey from to make sure it was dead.

"That'll teach you to ride my boyfriend, you son of a bitch." She growled, watching with relief as the elevator finally reached them.

Quickly killing the last of the infected, Ellis and Rochelle made a run for the elevator while Coach and Nick followed, with Nick pulling Julia along with them by the arm. Once they were inside, Ellis hit the buttons to close the doors and set the elevator descending this time, and once they were locked inside the metal box, everyone seemed to relax momentarily.

"Nice save with that Jockey, sweetie." Nick said quietly, "I owe you one."

"You owe me nothing." Julia replied with a grin, "Besides, it felt pretty good to kick its ass."

Once the elevator came to a stop, everyone shared concerned looks with each other as the cries of Witches continued to echo around them, and they tried to brace themselves for the awful, but hopefully short task of having to try and navigate the cane fields ahead.

~ To Be Continued ~

I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Thanks for reading this so far!