A/N:

So, it's been about a month right? I'm really sorry about the wait guys! It was a really busy season for the companies that I work for and I got a lot more hours than I normally do. Between that and sleep, it took up most of my time, plus I just couldn't figure how to end this chapter! But I do hope that you all enjoy and this will eventually (hopefully) be beta'd, I was just too excited to have finished it finally so I decided to post it anyways.

Woo! I also want to thank each and everyone of you for the favorites, the reviews, the alerts and all that stuff that makes my day so much brighter. :) I really do appreciate it you guys! 3 Mucho love from me!

THIS CHAPTER IS NOT BETAD

Just a small warning lol

Valve owns L4D2. Not me.

ps. happy holidays. :D

------------------------------------------------------------------Hard Rain----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nick found himself settled on the ground, cross-legged, wincing as Ellis started prying pieces of ripped shirt and jacket away from his skin. Coach stood guard at the door, shooting stray zombies that happened to stumble into range, protecting them on their short break. With a sigh Nick looked around the small tin trailer they were in. The brown wood paneling was chipping away and the light flickered every so often as the generator chugged. Oh how pleasant.

"You know, it'd be easier if you'd just take his shirt off Ellis." Rochelle said matter of fact, as she observed the two on the floor. With her pink shirt stained with brain matter and blood, she sat down in front of Nick. Handing him a few pain pills and giving him a drink of her water. She winced as the man across from scowled in pain. Another painful rip of clothing made him second guess letting the mechanic patch him up. He may know how to patch a gas tank but he sure as hell was rough patching up a person. After a particularly harsh pull, Nick gritted his teeth and whipped his head around and growled.

"Stop."

Ellis looked at him, his eyes slightly wide at how fast the conman could move while in pain. Before he could fight back or give an objection he watched as Nick peeled the blood and rain soaked jacket off of his shoulders. The older man gave a gasp as he ripped the rest of the ruined material away from his back, fisting the article of clothing in both hands when he finished. Damn that fucking hurt. He squeezed the jacket and closed his eyes briefly before he let go, dropping it on the floor. His hands were shaking as he went to undo the buttons of his light blue undershirt. It took him a few seconds to steady his hands enough to finish unbuttoning the flimsy shirt before slowly peeling it off as well. The back stuck to him with dried blood, the wounds attempt to repair itself was kicking in. He tugged it off with one swift pull. Scowling he placed the rest of the shirt with his jacket. He sat back down on the floor and waited for the mechanic to get to work.

This wound wasn't the worst he'd ever received in his line of work, but it sure was up there on the pain scale. The southern boy sat behind him and pulled out his healing kit. Ellis' eyes wandered over the pale back of his comrade, assessing the new wounds as well as some old scars. Pressing what was left of the peroxide onto a stray piece of cloth, Ellis began to clean out the dirt and infection in the claw marks on Nicks back.

Coach looked over to see Nick grit his teeth from the not so gentle cleaning process, Ellis work as diligently as he could and Rochelle waving around Nicks shirts. He raised an eyebrow in question, "Ro, what on earth are you doing?"
She stopped waving the tops around, and turned to look at the man guarding the tin can they were stationed in.

"Well, I'm trying to dry these a little so they won't stick too bad when he puts them back on."

"Oh. Right." He turned around and shrugged, letting her continue doing whatever it was she thought was best.

"I don't have a lot of gauze, but I do have the wrap. Is that gonna be okay with you?" Nick felt a wisp of warm air on the back of his neck as Ellis asked his question. He nodded and kept staring a hole in the wall in front of him until he saw arms that weren't his in his lower peripheral vision. Ellis' long tan arms wrapped around his torso as the mechanic started to wrap him up. Warmth roamed through Nicks back as Ellis continued to wrap around his chest, then the cold would was over him as the country boy would lean back to wrap around the actual wound. Nick held his breath as he felt the warmth again, spreading itself over his back before it was gone again. It felt like a tantalizing dance that never seemed to end. The warmth, then the cold. He felt himself relax a little, enough that he closed his eyes and let out a smal inaudible sigh.

Ellis pulled the last of the wrap around to Nicks back and tucked it under the latest layer then pulled it up to tie a knot in it. He was done but didn't feel like leaving. He carefully placed his hands on Nicks shoulders avoiding any contact with the wound and gave Nick a small squeeze before leaning closer and-

"You boys done yet?" Coach asked looking at them. Ellis jolted back, a light pink faded into his dusty cheeks. He slapped Nick on the shoulder, causing the conman to scowl and turn around to glare.

Rubbing the back of his neck Ellis grinned, "We sure are! He's good as new!" He turned to grab his machete and pistol before going to stare out the window.

Nick stood up, wincing as the wrap pulled a bit on his scabbing wound but gathered his shirt and jacket from Rochelle, muttering a faint thanks before gingerly putting the clothes on. He turned and grabbed his guitar off of the table and stood behind Coach.

"Let's get going. I'd like to make it back to the boat in one piece and I'm sure there'll be more of those bastard things out towards night."

Coach nodded and stepped out into the rain, followed by the patched up conman. Ellis watched them through the window and he jumped a little as Rochelle put her hand on his shoulder.

"You okay El? You seem a little off." She was concerned for him, he was like a little brother to her.

He nodded and gave a weak smile before going into the rain with the others. Smiling let everyone know you were okay, even if you weren't. Rochelle started at the three of them. What a team they made, but she wasn't too sure about Nick just yet. She'd have to keep an eye on him. Reloading her own weapons, she proceeded into the storm with her fellow survivors. They made their trek through a small brick opening and worked their way into another open area that was littered with rubble, metal pipes and tracks above their heads. There was a shift in the atmosphere. Ellis looked around and got his machete ready. A lone ghoul stepped into sight and gurgled up some blood before stumbling forward.

Coach took aim, but Nick stopped him and whispered, "Let's do this more quietly. Lets not alert the horde, okay?" The larger man nodded in agreement and gave Ellis a gentle shove towards the meandering creature, "You have the quietest weapon of killing, go on!"

The mechanic frowned and decided he'd take all of his mental frustration out on this particular zombie. Grayish hands grabbed at him as he sliced its arms off. The creature leaned forward to bite him and Ellis pulled back and swung at his head like a baseball. And it's a home run! Bullshifters win! Wooo! He chuckled and turned around, only to see his teammates covered in green bile. The rotten stench filled the air, wafting in all directions and attracting a lovely group of starving, brainless cretins. The came crawling from beneath rubble, from the shadows, off of the pipes and there were even gray zombies falling off of the buildings, breaking their legs and crawling towards the biled on survivors. Some even ran past Ellis, not even acknowledging his existence. Nick jumped away from Coach and Rochelle as he started to swing his guitar around, smashing into the skulls of the surrounding predators.

Trying not to hurl, Rochelle wiped the slime away from her eyes and shot the obese man looking down on them. He exploded instantaneously, littering them with spare organs and blood. They all gagged and tried holding their breath as they fought off the groaning zombies.

Ellis ran up and started hacking at the zombies surrounding Nick, not wanting to get caught in the line of fire if he'd made his way in front of Ro and Coach. The number of attackers dwindled as they all fought their way through the crowds. Finishing off the last of them the four got together trying to wipe themselves free of the goo.

Ellis laughed and plugged his nose, "Oh man you guys stink! That reminds of this one time, me an Keith were camping out and he decided he wanted to mess with this skunk. The skunk wussn't too happy to see Keith I guess, cause he sprayed this nasty green stuff and Keith threw up! I don't know what he'd eaten before then but oh man-"

"Ellis, sweety, is now the time?" Rochelle sighed and shivered as she slid the bile down her arm and on to the ground.

"Okay." He kept his nose plugged for the first couple of minutes, but let go when his hand got tired. It didn't smell too bad now since the rain was washing most of the bile off of his teammates.

Coach mumbled something about how he was lucky for having a strong stomach before he stepped forward.

"We still got ta get that gas guys."

Nick frowned but nodded and continued to wipe himself off as they made their way around the cement jungle. The rain continued to fall at a steady pace as the survivors quietly crept through. The dulled suctioned pops that their feet made were the only sounds besides their breathing and the pitter patter of the rain drops. Navigating their way around the corner of a brick building they all heard a weeping sound. The wails of despair filled the stale air as they all came to a sudden halt, looking around for the witch who the sound was emitting from.

"Sounds like my ex-wife." Nick glared and felt a shiver run down his spine. He winced. Damn that hurt. All three remaining survivors looked to Nick, surprised he'd released any sort of personal information. Ellis found himself fidgeting with his machete, a dull twinge in his chest at the mention of Nick's ex-wife. They stood still or a scarce amount of time before the crying had carried on and faded.

Moving swiftly, they made their way further into the sugar mill. The puddles sloshed around them as they saw the upcoming building. Dark gray, it stood towering over them. As they continued to look at the building a few zombies teetered out of the open windows, splitting their heads on stray pipes and bars as they fell.

"Well doesn't this look like fun." With dry humor, Nick rolled his eyes and he took a carefully aimed swing at a snarling zombie's face.

"Looks less fun then the carnival. Oh man, did I love that place! Even infested with zombies it was still a blast! Damn I can't wait to go back." With a wide smile, Ellis watched as Nicks face was splattered in blood as he his the zombies head off. His grin was subdued into a weak smile. He probably would never get too used to killing zombies, they used to be people too.

Rochelle cringed at the familiar twang the guitar made, but brushed the sound off as she looked at the run down building.

Rain seemed to fall harder as the sloshed their way into the building. Stairs weaved into the interior, cascading through at least three stories of dark gray. With a silent nod of agreement, the quatro stumbled up the stairs, pushing back zombies on the way up. A faint weeping sound was head as the passed by the second floor. They fully intended to by pass any witch they'd hear. Rumors on the wall said that they were everywhere.

"Ya know? I don't really like sugar all that much. One time, Keith told me that sugar made you feel good if you snorted it, but it just burns and-"
"Boy! We ain't got time for your non-sense." Nick glanced over as Coach halted the southern mans story. He watched as tanned, scratched, and healthy muscles flexed as they crossed up onto the third floor.

Rochelle budged past Nick, shoving him not so gently out of the way, breaking his concentration. She inspected the caged elevator, then peered over the outside edge of the mill, looking into the field. Deeming it impossible to survive a scale down the wall, they would have to alert the horde.

Nick stood adjacent to the stairs as he listened to the desperate cry of the witch. She seemed to be getting louder. Puzzled, he walked over towards the inner edge, kneeled and looked around for her. Coach took stand by Rochelle, telling her a game plan he'd though up. Ellis strolled over to Nick and kneeled to looked over the edge as well. After all, they were partners.

"What you lookin' for?" He scanned the lower floors, observing a zombie fight on the second floor. He winced as he saw the stronger zombie pull off his opponents arm.

Nick put his finger up to his lips as his eyes darted around, looking for any trace of the sobbing infected. Ellis nodded and listened for her as well. The weeping got louder and Nick peered further over the edge only to find the witch was making her way up the stairs. Ellis was about to shout out a warning to Coach and Rochelle, but a loud, scraping noise infiltrated the air as they had started up the elevator. Shit.

Nick stood up fast, his back aching from his earlier encounter as he pulled Ellis up by his arm as well. Panic filled his eyes as he watched the horde make its way up the stairs, masking the cry of the witch as she made her way up the stairs with her undead comrades. With all the extra commotion, she seemed to blend in perfectly.

Rochelle and Coach shot at the oncoming mass of zombies. Snarls and gasps filled the air as blood littered the surrounding area. Nick swung his guitar careful to avoid Ellis, who was fighting a little in front of him. Even in all of this filth and blood, Ellis was probably one of the purest people he'd ever met, it made his heart hurt. He swung extra hard to get away from whatever he was feeling.

All hell broke loose as a horrified screech pierced through the survivors ears. Someone had startled the witch. Her enraged cry startled the survivors themselves as they looked forward to see the surrounding horde being shredded to bits and pieces with her razor sharp claws. Her eyes glowed a fiery red as she screamed her petite heart out, running towards Coach and Rochelle.

Ellis surged forward, making an attempt to stop the distraught special infected. Her howl of madness sent shivers down his spine but he wouldn't allow anything to happen to his teammates. He was about to take a swipe at her head but she took a swing back with her mighty claw, hitting Ellis square in the face and pushing him backwards towards the inner edge. Despair filled his face as he stumbled back. Unable to stop himself he looked to Nick as he slipped off of the edge, his hand stretched out as the con mans name slipped from his chapped lips.

"ELLIS!"