I like to imagine the passing in between Dead Center and Dark Carnival, I also like to assume each campaign takes about a weeks time. So for the sake of this story, the survivors have known each other for about three weeks at this point.

One week for Dead Center

One week for The Passing

And One for Dark Carnival

Disclaimer: I don't own left4dead

Enjoy!

X.x.X.x

Nick growled as he looked through the barred door and into the deserted hallway leading to the stadium outside, "Does ANYBODY have a plan?"

Everybody looked up from what they were doing to look at the con man, but none of them said anything.

Nick rolled his eyes and sat on on the ground; his back against the wall one leg brought up to his chest, the other stretched out in front of him.

Nick had put himself in front of the door leaving the saferoom, Rochelle was sitting in front of the pile of tables, crates and coolers that were stacked in front of the way they had come.

Coach and Ellis were sitting behind the wall, out of Nick's view; Ellis was sitting on the table cleaning his shotgun while Coach sat on the ground twiddling a bottle of pills through his fingers, the sound of the pills rattling around inside was really the only noise that could be heard and it was grinding on Rochelle.

Her headache added to her own irratability. "Coach!" She shouted and turned to her right to look at him.

Nick's head shot up to look at her, surprised.

Coach froze and stared at her, Ellis went wide eyed, surprised, and spoke first, "Ro… you alright?"

Rochelle growled and pulled herself off the floor and huffed. "Peachy."

The three men watched as she walked to the door and walked out, turning into the bathroom aread to the right of the hallway.

Nick watched from the floor and after a moment stood up as well, unholstering his magnum and left as well.

"Lock the door." He ordered as he stepped outside.

Ellis jumped off the table and did as he was told, he turned to face Coach who was standing and looking around the corner. "What was that about?" the large man wondered.

Ellis shrugged and went back to his shotgun and held it up for Coach to see; holding it by its barrel, "Looks good don't it?" He smiled as he admired his own handiwork.

Coach chuckled and nodded at the optomistic boy, after all this time he was still smiling and still as flippant as ever, the older man would admit that it was a rather nice relief.

Nick heard a door close and walked down the hallway and looking to see that the women's bathroom door was closed. He smiled at the sense of normalcy that she seemed to need in that sense. One of the 'little' things she seemed to enjoy, beside shaving her legs and wearing makeup. But he doubted that counted… Nick shook his head to shake the thoughts and focus on the task at hand.

Nick holstered his magnum and knocked on the door quietly, "Occupied." The young women's voice said from behind the door.

Nick laughed lightly and smiled, "Well make it quick I have to go."

"Use the men's." she shot back.

Nick made a face. "The girls room smells nicer."

There was a pause and he could hear her laugh a little, the door opened soon after, but despite the previous laugh she did not look amused not even the slightest bit.

Nick froze at the sight of her, even pissed she looked beautiful. Her hair was down and around her face, it looked so different now. She was already pretty but with her hair down she looked… breathtaking, and the wounds and bloody lip just made her look bad ass.

"You know what… if I look THAT bad…" She started and started to pull her hair up and reclose the door.

Nick stopped the door with his hand, his large hand falling ontop of her small one. "No…"

Rochelle stopped and made an, almost, pouty face. "Then what?" She demanded her voice still holding a tone of irratation and frustration.

"I just wanted to make sure you were okay…"

"I'm fine."

Nick huffed, "I was born at night… but I wasn't born last night Sweetheart."

Rochelle huffed. "I'm just… I'm tired." She half lied.

Nick growled and pushed her further inside the bathroom and closed the door behind them.

"Rochelle neither of us is leaving here until you tell me whats eating you." He ordered taking off his jacket and hanging it on the bathroom door handle.

He looked so different without his jacket and the funnier thing is that it looked clean aside from the large red stain in the middle which made her shudder.

He watched her carefully as he rolled up the sleeves on his blue shirt and smirked, "So… we gonna talk or are we spending the night here?" She did everything she could to not pay attention to the sewed together arm. The wound was healing nicely, a healthy pink color but it still looked nasty and painful.

Rochelle's eyes widened for a moment before she rolled them and huffed.

Rochelle watched him as he looked at her a cockily. She admitted that she was attracted to him, she would also admit his slightly receding hairline put her off at first but he was very attractive… and despite being a total jackass now and again he could be pretty sweet.

And when he was sweet that made it more difficult for her not to get mad at the moment.

Nick seemed to sense she was getting more and more irratable. 'Sweetheart… what is going on with you today?"

"I AM! I am what is going on. And you!" She pointed at him, "YOU are what is going on." She put her finger between the two of them rapidly "Us… US is what is going on."

She stopped and turned towards the sink, resting her hands on the ends of the sink and staring at herself in the dirty mirror.

"My plans are what's going on." She admitted quietly. "I'm the problem because I fucked up last time, you're the problem because you aren't made at me. And the plans… because they are the reason you got hurt."

Nick unconsciously put a hand to his bandaged chest. Did she really blame herself for that?

He sure as hell didn't.

X.x.

Rochelle grabbed the gas can, "I got this one!"

"Great, let's get it back to the car!" Nick said the two of them ran back down the stairs and near the car, just then another horde came through, Rochelle took the pipebomb off her belt she'd been saving for just an occasion.

"Throwing a pipebomb!" She shouted over the noise of the chaos around them.

Nick picked up the gas can she had dropped to light the bomb and started to run towards the car. "Let's get this gas in the car people!"

"Three more and we should be good." Ellis said running in with his own can.

Rochelle watched the pipebomb go out and in slow motion she realized that it was bad timing.

As the bomb left her hand it seemed to set off a chain of reactions; Nick threw the gas can down and turned to face her, the pipebomb bounced off the floor, dozens of infected ran after it, a smoker appeared from behind a half wall and threw out his tongue snaring Nick, the smoker pulled Nick towards him… and the pipebomb.

Rochelle watched helplessly before running after Nick's body.

The beeping began to go faster and became more shrill. "NO!" Rochelle ran as fast as she could after him, Nick had his hands wrapped around the tongue that had tied itself around his neck, trying to pull it off.

The two of them made eye contact as they both heard their time run out. Time seemed to slow as she watched the explosion blow up around Nick, the infected, and the smoker.

Rochelle fell back as the explosion blew her backwards.

She sat up and watched as the bodies landed with sickening thuds.

The mall seemed to be silent for a moment, but the ringing in her ears told her that it wasn't the mall it was just her own ears recovering from the blast. She got to her hands and knees and half crawled and half walked over to where Nick was lying.

He was covered in cuts and large abrasions. "Oh god. Nick…"

His chest seemed to be where the most damage was and soon she realized why, a rather large piece of shrapnel was sticking out from his chest.

"NICK!" She screamed and reached down to his neck, feeling for a pulse she prayed was there.

It was.

She looked him up and down for other injuries; she noticed the angry red mark around his neck from the tongue, scratches covering his face and neck, a long gash running down his forearm. It looked to run from his elbow down to right above his wrist, it was difficult to tell with his jacket though.

Rochelle gently placed his head in the crook of her arm and helpd him close, "Nick… c'mon you gotta get up… we have to go." She said loud enough so he should be able to hear her.

The roar of a tank resounded in her ears and she began to panic. "NICK! GET UP NOW!" She shook him and tried to stand him up, the ground began to shake and her body told her to run for her own life where as her heart told her to brave it out and stay with the conman until the end.

But that didn't keep her from being afraid for her life. "NICK WAKE UP DAMNIT!"

Nick opened his eyes groggily and when he became aware of his surroundings he screamed in pain; feeling coming back to him.

"Garhh!" He screamed. Rochelle wanted to celebrate his waking up but her adrenialine was kicking in and she went down to buisness. "You gotta get up Nick!" She ordered and helped him stand.

Nick screamed in protest but it was more his body screaming than himself, because he fought to stand and continued nonetheless to get up.

The two of them limped to the car and got in the back and Coach got in the passenger seat, while Ellis jumped in the driver seat.

Rochelle moved behind the drivers seat and put Nick's head in her lap and held him close to her as his blood started to pulse around the shrapnel and onto her lap and the seat; she had one arm under his head, propping it up and placed the other one on top his chest in a lame attempt to slow the bleeding.

"START THE CAR!" Coach shouted at the boy.

"I'm trying!" Ellis screamed as he turned the key in the ignition repeatedly.

The sound of the car stalling every two seconds made Rochelle scream in anticipation. She looked out the window to her right, pointing outside, watching helplessly as the tank rammed the right side of the car, letting out a continous scream the whole time.

Nick screamed himself and pulled himself closer to her side of the car, pushing away from the right side to the left with his legs.

Everyone in the car was screaming as loud as the ycould, Ellis never stopped trying to bring the car to life. The tank was coming in for another ram when the car came to life. "C'mon baby!" Ellis screamed as he put it in gear and tore out the front doors, the tank missing by mere inches.

…..

Rochelle had her right hand pressed against Nick's wounded chest as hard as she could her left arm was still under Nick's head.

The man had long since passed out and she feared he was nearing death his breathing was shallow and it was scaring her.

"Ellis we need to stop somewhere… now." Ellis nodded, "How about a hospital?"

Rochelle was about to start agreeing but Coach shook his head violently, "No. No hospital's that's a bad idea."

Rochelle growled, much like she had hear Nick do over the past week. "Then what do YOU suggest? A bar?"

Coach looked over his shoulder to look back her, "Actually… yeah."

Rochelle's face was the image of confusion as Ellis pulled off the highway and up the on ramp.

X.x.X.x

It was at Al's pub that she had stiched him up awfully good, saving him from certain death. He owed her his life and she was mad at herself for it?

Nick couldn't understand that.

He was a little surprised at the true attraction he had felt for her all that time ago. No lust involved no perverted thoughts.

He'd admit, at first it most certainly was. Hell she was the only woman left for all he knew.

But now… now it was different.

Nick came out of his daze and stopped looking at the floor and up to Rochelle when she moved from her spot in front of the sink and started to walk towards him.

He refused to move and when she tried to move past him and he grabbed her arm, "Ro…"

"What's going on?"

"I don't know."

"That's not an answer sweetheart and you know it." He looked her right in the eye, Rochelle felt as if he was staring straight into her soul.

She shook his grip and squared off, "I said I don't know!"

Nick huffed and ran his hand through his hair. "Ro…"

"My timing was off and you paid for it!" She threw her hands in the air and pointed at his being as she lowered them.

Nick looked down at himself and observed, really, for the first time just how much damage the pipe bomb had done to him. He figured if he ignored it he would get over it faster.

He had a large red stain covering the middle of his chest, staining his blue shirt. He had his sleeves rolled up so he could easily see the bandage that covered his right forearm. The burning around his neck reminded him both of the cuts and the deep red makr from the tongue. He was pretty messed up.

But it wasn't her fault.

It was an accident.

Nick shook his head. "Rochelle stop. Just stop. You're wrong."

Rochelle stared at him, as if to say what the hell are you talking about, I'm never wrong?

Nick smirked and repeated the phrase. "You're wrong. I'm not angry at you. I don't' blame you. I'm still alive because YOU" he pointed at her, "STAYED with me." He said gently.

"I'm HERE because of YOU." He finished and put his hands on her shoulders. "You're BRILLIANT and your plans always work. They really do. What happened back at the mall was NOT your fault. We can't even REALLY call it an accident."

Rochelle looked at him directly, her eyes searching his face and taking him in. "It was just bad timing…" He looked to the wall and rolled his eyes and then looked back at her, "on the SMOKER'S end." He said smirking.

Rochelle smiled. "Yeah that smoker had some timing issues didn't he?"

Nick nodded and pulled her into a hug, Rochelle relished at hearing his heart beating in his chest and smiled when he spoke, "I'll be honest, while I was in that car I never felt safer than I was in that moment." He wrapped one of his arms around her waist tighter and raised his other hand to the back of her head, tangling her hair in his fingers.

Rochelle remained in the hug, her head still laying on his chest and looked up at him. "And I'll be honest. While I was in that car I never felt more scared. But in this moment..." She lowered her head and held onto him tighter, but careful not to hurt him. "I've never felt safer."

Nick's laughter rumbled in his chest and she smiled even wider.

They pulled apart and Nick released her and ran his hand through his hair and was about to say something else when there was a knock on the door.

"EEHH. You guys are being modest right?" The young mechanic said from the otherside of the door.

Rochelle gasped and started to pull her hair back up and moved away from the door, and Nick.

Nick rolled his eyes at the hick and pulled his jacket back on. "We're talking." He opened the door and glared at the innocent looking boy.

"Just gotta make sure." He winked and then started to walk away. "Oh and Coach has gotta plan."

Nick looked back at Rochelle, "See? It all works out." He winked at her and smiled.

Rochelle grinned and grabbed his arm when he walked out the door. "Nick?"

He looked back at her over his shoulder. "I'm glad you stuck around…"

"Me too sweetheart." He grinned and in one swift motion wrapped his arms around her and kissed her gently on the lips.

Both of them hoped silently that beyond this apacolypse the two of them could… be together.

The two of them broke apart slowly and stared at eachother, both of them going over, in their heads, what this was exactly. She smiled and bowed her head as she squeezed past him and back into the saferoom.

Nick smirked and followed suit, as long as he can he'd stick with this group.