Uuh, again, written last year some time. I was bored and couldn't sleep most likely.

Sleepless Nights

They had been separated. During the last hurricane of a storm, a Tank had attacked, forcing them to run but ending up going in opposite directions. They had no choice but to wait until the worst of the storms had past before heading out to find where Rochelle and Coach had vanished to. They hoped they'd made it somewhere safe in time, that they were in a decent enough place like the half-dry house Nick and Ellis currently housed themselves in.

Nick just kept glaring at the ceiling, laid on a bed that was slightly soggy, jacket hung up in an attempt to at least try and dry it that would most likely fail miserably, but hey, there was no harm in trying. Ellis was somewhere else in the house, probably trying to find more guns or ammo or kill any infected that were prowling around. They had locked the door tightly, and sealed off as many windows as they could. They were lucky that the electricity still worked in this sector, as all the houses on the street they were in had their lights on. Another good thing, because it ment they wouldn't have to walk around in darkness to stop infected seeing they were in that particular house.

The stairs creaked, signaling that Ellis was climbing up the rickety stairs to join him. The door joined in the creaking chorus along with the house as the wind suddenly picked up, and the mechanic was just standing there, watching him. "Purdy much the safest place we could be." Ellis smiled shakily. The fight with the Tank had really shaken him up, especially seeing both Nick and Rochelle tossed around like that.

Which was the reason Nick was in the bed. His muscles were sore and bruised from being thrown against a van, and Ellis had insisted he rested while he checked the house. Not that the gambler minded at all. He was glad for the rest and sort-of relaxation. "Still not safe enough." Nick muttered under his breath as the younger man walked over, boots squelching with each step.

"Yeah, but I figure it's just as good as a safe house for now." Ellis tried to look on the bright side, he always did. "I found more guns and ammo downstairs." Nick finally noticed the large sports bag in the man's hand, which was held up before being deposited on the dresser nearby and unzipped, allowing easy access to the metal weapons inside. "Found a machete too. Wonder why they had a machete in here. 'Less it was used for the cane fields." Ellis was talking to fill the silence. Nick was still too winded to tell him to shut up. "Reminds me of the time-"

"No more Keith stories, for God's sake Ellis." Nick groaned, voice strained and breathless. He wasn't too winded to tell him to shut up after all.

"'Kay." Ellis replied obediently, coming to sit on the edge of the bed, which thankfully was a double. "You feelin' any better?" He asked, cocking his head to the side in a way Nick almost found cute, had it not been Ellis.

"Yeah, I'll live." Nick answered, wincing as he brought his hands up behind his head. He retracted one and rolled his shoulder. He'd forgotten he'd dislocated it earlier, before they got on Virgil's boat. The Tank smash had flared up the pain again.

Seeing Nick's grimace, Ellis produced a bottle of pain pills from the pocket of his overalls, handing them to Nick without a word. The gambler knocked a couple back, having to sit up to do so, pulling a face at swallowing them dry. He hated swallowing pills dry, but it was something he'd had to get used to during this whole fiasco. Sitting back, he watched Ellis take the pills and place them on the bedside cabinet, and finally noticed how carefully the young man was sitting on the bed. Very close to the edge, trying not to invade Nick's personal space while being as supportive as possible.

"Ellis, move, you look like you're gonna fall off." Nick sighed, shuffling over while the kid edged a little further onto the bed.

"Nick," Ellis sounded so frail with that simple word, not even looking the other man in the eye, "Do you think they're ok?"

"I'm sure they'll be fine, kid. They're a lot stronger than they look." We all are. Nick added silently, raking his eyes over the muscular frame of his current companion. He'll admit, at first he never thought Ellis to be capable of pretty much anything, but that thought had been thrown out of the window when the southerner had beheaded a Hunter with a guitar. That had been pretty spectacular, and had proved to Nick just how strong and capable the man was.

"Still doesn't make me feel better." Ellis muttered to himself, but Nick heard it.

Sighing inwardly, he reached out and grabbed the man's mud-coated arm, earning a confused look from him. "They'll be fine." He assured him, and Ellis' tentative nod and shaky smile told him that he believed him. "The best we can do is get some decent sleep and look for them when the storm passes. They're probably doing the same."

"Yeah, I s'pose." Ellis agreed relucantly. Nick shuffled sideways again, indicating for the younger man to lie down next to him. It was probably better to stay in the same room, no matter how uncomfortable it made Nick feel.

Silence fell between them as Ellis settled down and Nick turned away from him on his side, thankful that it didn't hurt too bed to sleep in that position. The only sounds that could be heard were the howling wind and shattering rain outside, occasionally broken by a crack of thunder. Halfway between dreams and reality, Nick's ears registered another noise. Whimpering. Or more specifically, crying. He strained to hear more, trying to figure out if it was a witch or not, but it wasn't shrill enough. It was Ellis.

Nick gingerly turned onto his other side, leaning up on his elbows slightly to lessen the pain of twisting so much. The southerner next to him was practically curled up into a ball, holding a hand to his mouth to stop his cried being too loud. "Ellis," Nick touched his shoulder gently, making the young man jump and uncurl to look at him over his shoulder. Nick could almost feel his heart break at the sight of those glistening wet blue eyes.

"S-sorry. Did I wake you?" Ellis apologised, wiping his eyes roughly.

"Nah, I wasn't asleep." Nick lied. He'd almost been asleep. "Still worried."

"It's like," Ellis paused, thinking of what he wanted to say while he sat up properly. "When I think of Ro' and Coach, I get worried 'bout 'em, an' then that make me think of... of Keith, and Dave, an' ever'one else out there I love." His bottom lip trembled at he let out another sob, bringing a hand up to wipe his eyes again. "S-sorry. It's stupid."

"You're stupid for thinking it's stupid." Nick teased him gently, pulling on Ellis' shoulder to make him lie down again, this time facing him. "I don't know about your redneck friends, but Ro' and Coach are fine. Get some sleep, and we'll find them in the morning."

Ellis nodded obediantly again, making to turn over again but Nick stopped him. Looking at the gambler silently, he knew what he was letting him do. Smiling gratefully, he snuggled carefully into Nick's arms, wrapping his own around the older man's back, trying not to knock anything painful.

When Nick was sure Ellis was asleep, he kissed the top of his curly head before settling down to sleep himself.

R+R for cute cuddles