Nicole:
"I thought no one would come back for me, this was it, I'm going to be dead in this closet and come back as one of, them. But you kept your promise and found me."
"Nobody's dying on my watch." While Ashley had meant to grin confidently, the expression faltered slightly as memory rudely intruded upon her hero fantasies. It was only a moment, and she recovered quickly, but her expression came off a bit more as 'grimly resolute' rather than 'beamingly confident'. She did, at least, match the girl's embrace, an arm wrapped around Nicole's shoulders, holding tight for a good long moment, simply savoring the attention. By the time she let go, she was all smiles again.
Elsewhere in her meandering mind, she silently wondered at Nicole's understanding of the plague and its effects. It was always morbidly interesting to her, to see what others assumed of the situation, and what they had experienced. In the early days, everyone thought it was a bite or scratch that did you in, but Whitehaven infirmary cleared up that misunderstanding quickly and violently for her. She could only presume that Nicole had had a similar experience -- most of the still-living probably had, by now.
"We're uh... meeting back at the church. ...Yeah." Ashley soured on that idea before she even finished speaking it. "Not exactly our finest tactical decision, admittedly, but we don't have to go
in. Or even anywhere near it, really. We'll just walk down the road and I'm sure they'll be along in two shakes. Three, tops. Not like they've got anywhere else exciting to be." She did at least spare a smirk for that.