Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Lucy trudged through the ruins of the city, her eyes boring into the Ghoul’s back. He had hardly said a word to her since she agreed to come with him. She didn’t know what she had expected. There hadn’t been time to think about it enough to expect anything, but this silent treatment wasn’t it. He talked to the dog more than her. Not that there was much she really wanted to talk to him about. Just one thing, really.

“So, we’re just not gonna talk about what happened last time?” she asked.

The Ghoul didn’t even bother looking back at her. “What’s there to talk about?”

Lucy crossed her arms and turned her glare up a notch. “You tied me up, dunked me in a radioactive river, dragged me across the desert with no water except for a dirty puddle that was probably animal pee, cut my finger off, and sold me to organ harvesters!”

“And you got yourself outta there in one piece, and with a brand new finger to boot.”

“I wouldn’t call it brand new,” Lucy muttered. Honestly, she was surprised the graft had taken, considering the finger still looked necrotic. “And that’s not the point! I wouldn’t have been in that situation in the first place if it wasn’t for you!”

He finally turned around. Lucy stopped. She had no intention of getting any closer to him than she had to.

“I wouldn’t have had to resort to that if you hadn’t busted up all my vials!”

“Which wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t been using me as bait!” Despite Lucy’s intention to keep her distance, they stalked towards each other. As if she didn’t know who would win if it came to a fight.

“And let’s not forget you chomped off my finger first!” He pointed it at her, making her wonder how he had replaced it. She ignored that question for now.

“I was defending myself!”

“And I was tryin’ not to go feral!”

“You might as well have been! No, you were worse ! You knew what you were doing! You knew it was wrong! And you f***ing did it anyway!” She was just out of arm’s reach of him now. Far too close. “Whoever you’re looking for are you sure they’ll even want to be found by someone like you ?”

He grabbed the front of her shirt and hauled her up so her face was less than an inch from his. “You don’t get to talk about my family!” he dropped her and strode away, leaving her with her ass in the radioactive dirt.

Tears stung Lucy’s eyes. Her hands curled into fists, gathering up dirt. One found a rock. She considered throwing it at him. There was no point escalating the situation. The dog followed him like nothing happened. Wasn’t that the same one he stabbed in Filly? Stupid mutt didn’t have any sense. Well, she did.

Lucy took a deep breath, swiped the spittle from her face, stood, brushed herself off, and announced, “I’m leaving.”

He didn’t stop. “You’ll get yourself killed on your own.”

“I seriously doubt there’s anything out there more dangerous than you.”

“Fine.”

“Okie Dokie,” Lucy sighed and started walking in a random direction. Getting back on course could wait until she had put some distance between herself and him. She didn’t need him, anyway. She had been surviving on the surface for weeks now. Granted, most of that wasn’t on her own, and she had made one mistake after another, but she had survived. She never should have agreed to come with him. It had seemed like she had little choice, but after what happened with her dad and Max, she wasn’t thinking clearly. She had seen what the Ghoul was like. Having the same or compatible goals didn’t change that. He didn’t even want to acknowledge what he had done, let alone apologize. Had she really expected him to? Her pace slowed as her anger faded. She should have known better than to push him like that. It changed nothing he had done, it didn’t make it better, but she should have known better. And that comment about his family… It wasn’t even really him she was angry at. That was her father. The Ghoul had just been unlucky enough to be there when she was ready to lash out. Because he was the one who hadn’t left her behind.

Something moved by the remains of a building. Lucy froze, staring. A purple lizard slithered out. Lucy took a step back. The lizard moved closer, sniffing. Lucy reached for her gun. The lizard stood on its hind legs, nearly as tall as her. Lucy backed away, drawing her pistol. A frill spread around its neck, and it spat fire. She screamed.

#####

The Ghoul stalked through the remains of the city alone. That was all right. After over two hundred years, he was used to being alone. Well, not quite alone anymore. Dogmeat trotted up to him. Not paying much attention to whether the long, thin object in her mouth was a stick or a bone, he took it and tossed it in the general direction he was going. She took off after it. He took a swig from his canteen of whiskey. It was early in the day to start drinking even for him, but he needed the distraction.

The problem wasn’t that Lucy had left. He couldn’t blame her for that. In another life, if he had seen a man drop a girl on her ass, he would have slugged the guy and offered her a ride out of there. Maybe that damn golden rule of hers got under his skin because it reminded him that there was a time when he believed it. But that wasn’t the problem either. Not at the moment, anyway. The problem was that she had asked exactly the question that had been worrying him. Not that he let himself think about it much. Still, it had been there in the back of his mind, ever since he had stopped caring about being a good person and just started doing whatever it took to survive. And find them. Even if that meant being the bad guy. He told himself the answer didn’t matter. Until the moment came, there was no way to know. But he was afraid he did. Even if he didn’t, he knew that the man he was two hundred years ago would never have let someone like him anywhere near his little girl.

Lucy screamed. A gun fired. Dogmeat barked toward the ruckus. The Ghoul kept walking. She had made her choice. She would have to live with the consequences. More gunshots. Another scream. The Ghoul paused. She could take care of herself. He knew that. The image of her outside the Super Duper Mart was burned into his memory. Covered in blood not her own, carrying a weapon she definitely hadn’t had when he sent her in. A warrior goddess standing over him in judgment.

She screamed again. “Aw fu—c’mon!” he ran towards her, Dogmeat at his heels.

Between the noise and the dog, she wasn’t hard to find. Surrounded by fire geckos, she had gotten herself backed up against the wall of a crumbling building. At least they wouldn’t be able to sneak up behind her. One of them sprang forward. Lucy shot it down. A few more lay scattered on the ground. The Ghoul counted. Damn! She would need to reload after that one. He drew his rifle. Lucy fumbled with her pack, trying to reach her ammo. Another Gecko spit fire. Lucy shielded her face. Dogmeat growled. “Stay!” She obeyed, but she continued growling, eager to be set loose. Yeah, that wasn’t gonna happen. They’d bar-b-cue her before she got close enough to use her teeth. A gecko charged. The Ghoul fired. The gecko fell. The others turned their attention to this new threat. Shit. A few of the geckos broke from the group to charge him. Dogmeat barked. The Ghoul fired. Lucy started firing again. Must have reloaded while they focused on him. Now he had to reload. He ducked behind the closest piece of rubble just in time to avoid a streak of flame. A shot fired, followed by a very satisfying thump as the gecko hit the ground. It shouldn’t have surprised him. He jumped back out and started firing. Lucy reloaded again while he covered her. A few minutes later, the fire geckos were gone. Lucy slid down the wall to sit in the dirt.

The Ghoul took a puff from his inhaler and made his way over to her. “Now how did you mange to get yourself surrounded by a bunch of fire geckos?”

“It was just one at first!”

“What part of everything up here wants to eat you do you not understand?”

Lucy pouted and looked down. “It’s not like I was trying to pet it. They came out of nowhere.”

The Ghoul took a breath and surveyed the scene. Dogmeat had wasted no time tearing into a carcass. “At least we got dinner out of it.”

Lucy looked up. “We?”

The Ghoul shrugged. “Why not? There’s plenty here. You took down most of them yourself. Might as well split it. Even if you are still hell-bent on going solo.” He turned back to Lucy. “You’re right about one thing, Vaultie, I’m just about the most dangerous thing out here. Which means the other monsters know to leave me alone.”

She gave him what she no doubt thought was her fiercest glare. A chihuahua facing down a wolf. “I hate you.”

He smirked. “I know.” He offered her his hand. “But I’m the one who can get you through the Wastelands alive.”

She took his hand.

#####

It surprised Lucy that the Ghoul didn’t demand she help prepare the meat. He just got to work butchering the lizards himself. She wondered if it was because he had forced her to help make jerky out of that other ghoul, if he was trying to prove this time would be different. Not wanting to just stand around, and feeling she should meet him halfway she built a fire. By the time she had done that he had enough meat cut up for her to start on the jerky. They continued working like that until he got to the last lizard, then she banked the fire, and found a slab of sheet metal to lay across the coals, tossing meat on it to cook. The Ghoul even pulled some seasonings out of that bottomless bag of his. Lucy tried not to think too much about what else he may have used them on. Still, she had to admit it was the best meal she had had on the surface so far. Even though they ate in silence.

She couldn’t blame him for not wanting to talk to her. She was surprised that he came to help her after their fight. After what she had said. She had heard what he asked her dad. She knew he was looking for his family, that he had been for over two hundred years. To suggest they didn’t want to be found was just as cruel as anything he had done to her.

Lucy looked across the fire to where the Ghoul was petting the dog. “I’m sorry,” she blurted. “About what I said before.”

He looked up at her, studying her. Probably trying to figure out if she was serious. “You weren’t wrong.”

“That doesn’t mean I should have said it.”

The Ghoul sighed. “I reckon I owe you an apology too. For droppin’ you on your ass, and…” he waved a hand, “everything else.”

Lucy nodded. “Thank you. But if this is going to work, it can’t happen again. And that goes for me too.”

“I’d say sellin’ you for parts is worse than sayin’ somethin’ a little mean-spirited.”

“At least you were trying to survive. I was just being mean.”

“You really just wanna pick a fight don’t you?”

“No I’m—” she cut herself off. She was making the point for him.

“To tell you the truth, I was kind of glad to see you got some bite to you.” He smirked and held up his hand, wiggling the trigger finger. “Of course I already knew that.”

Lucy stared at him and burst out laughing. “That has got to be the worst dad joke I’ve ever heard!”

The Ghoul chuckled and mumbled something about being out of practice while he lit a cigarette.

“Should I take a watch?” Lucy asked, more to steer away from the touchy subject than anything else.

The Ghoul shook his head. “Dogmeat will let us know if there’s trouble.” He patted the dog on the head.

She would have been more surprised if he called it Fluffy.

“Besides, I don’t need as much sleep as you do.”

“Should we keep going, while it’s not so hot?”

He took a draw from the cigarette. “Problem is just about everything else out there had the same idea, and it all—”

“Wants to eat us. I got it.”

He gave her that infuriating smirk. Why did it seem familiar? “Nice to know you can learn after all.”

“I was top of my class back in the vault!”

“Sure you were, Sweetheart, they just didn’t teach you nothin’ that does you any good out here.”

He had a point there. “Why did you offer to let me come with you? You clearly don’t need my help. You could have left me at the observatory, or when those lizards showed up.”

“They’re called fire geckos. You could have left me back at the Mart, or finished me off yourself. Hell, you had a right to. I would’ve in your place. But you didn’t.” He puffed on his cigarette. “Guess I thought I owed you for that.”

Lucy smiled. “Thank you.” Chalk one up for the Golden Rule.

“Doesn’t make us friends,” he muttered.

Lucy had to agree with him there. They weren’t friends by any stretch of the imagination. But at least now she didn’t feel like he could turn on her any minute. Maybe up here that was the best she could hope for.

#####

Norm slapped his Pip-Boy. He had lost track of how many messages he had sent to Chet, with no response. He couldn’t even be sure the messages were getting through; the thick lead-lined walls of the vault could very well be blocking the signal. Even if he could get to the computer the robobrain, Bud Askins, used to communicate with Overseer Betty, Chet didn’t have access to the other end of that line. He was going to have to get himself out. Hacking the door with his Pip-Boy was his only option. Which was why he was slapping it. As if that would help. The terminal by the cryo pods wasn’t much help either. It seemed to mostly contain files on the people in them, which could be useful if he actually got out of here, but escape was his first priority.

“Come on, come on,” he muttered, which also wasn’t helpful.

“That’s not going to work,” the robobrain behind him insisted. “Really, if you don’t want to starve to death, entering a pod is your only option. Of course, if you’re stubborn enough to refuse it’s your own fault. I would just rather not have to clean up the mess.”

Norm ignored him. Finally, he was in. A menu appeared. Open 31? Norm hit yes. A pneumatic hiss signaled success.

The door stayed closed.

Norm heard Bud Askins fretting behind him. “Oh no! First an intruder, now an unscheduled release from cryo! What else could go wrong!”

Oops. At least whoever came out might help him. Norm turned around.

A small figure huddled on the floor.

“Really miss, I must insist you get back into your pod at once!” The robobrain circled the little girl, tugging at her vault jumpsuit.

“Hey! Leave her alone!” Norm shouted.

The girl jumped. The bot backed off.

“Just give her a minute.”

The bot rolled back and forth. “This is getting out of control. I can’t leave her out here. I’m contacting Betty.”

“Yeah, you do that,” Norm muttered as the bot zoomed off to whatever private corner he would send the message from. He turned toward the girl. “Sorry if I scared you.”

She stared at him with wide dark brown eyes. “Where am I?”

Norm slowly moved toward her. “Vault 31. I got stuck in here. I was trying to get out and accidentally opened your pod instead of the door. Sorry I woke you up.”

“Woke me up?”

“Yeah. You’ve been in cryo sleep.”

“How long?” The poor girl couldn’t have been more than six years old.

“As far as I can tell about two hundred years or so.”

“Two hundred! What about my Daddy? My mom…”

Norm motioned to the rows of pods. “They’re probably here.”

She shook her head. Ice crystals clung to her mass of black curls. She shivered. Norm knelt next to her and tentatively wrapped an arm around her in an effort to share body heat.

“My name is Norm, by the way. What’s yours?”

“Janey.”

Chapter Text

Once she had warmed up Janey pulled away from Norm and stood to look back at the sleeping chambers. “That was my mom’s.”

Norm followed her finger to the pod next to the one she had come out of. It was empty. “What about your dad?” he asked.

Janey dropped her finger and shook her head. “He’s not here.”

She was so certain Norm didn’t question her further. “Well, there should be records. Maybe I can at least find out where your mom is.” Hopefully not 32. He went to the terminal and scrolled through the list of pods. He tapped the number for pod 30, hoping it would take him to information about the occupant. It did. “Is her name Barbara Howard?” Janey nodded.

Norm frowned at the display. According to this she had been released from cryo nineteen years ago. Why hadn’t she come back for her daughter? Of course that was during the plague that had led to his own mother’s death. With a sinking feeling he scrolled down to the end of the entry.

Barbara Howard was released from cryogenic sleep in 2277 at the request of Henry MacLean. She accompanied him to the surface in search of his wife, Rose MacLean, and their children, Lucy and Norman. They found them in the settlement of Shady Sands, capital of the New California Republic. Henry MacLean returned to Vault 33 with his children, leaving Rose MacLean and Barbara Howard behind on the surface. He began the campaign to destroy the NCR cuminating in the bombing of Shady Sands in 2283. Both Rose MacLean and Barbara Howard are presumed to have died in the blast.

“She’s dead, isn’t she?” Janey asked, probably reading his face.

Norm nodded, not sure what to tell her. He had more questions than answers himself. He hadn’t even known he had ever been to the surface. Shouldn't he remember something like that? He should have been old enough to, even if just barely. Then he remembered the way his dad had relentlessly corrected them whenever he or Lucy mentioned the sky or the sun. He had convinced them they hadn’t seen what they had. Worse, he killed their mother and Janey’s and lied about that. But why? Why go looking for his wife, why bring Barbara Howard with him, only to abandon them both on the surface and drop a bomb on them? Even as suspicious as he had become of what was really going on in the vaults, even as bad as his relationship with his dad had gotten, as much as he had dreaded being left alone with that man when Lucy moved out, he had never imagined anything like this. His dad had bombed a city. His dad had killed his mother. If what Bud had said was true, his dad was part of a plot to wipe out everyone on the surface. His dad was a mass murderer.

And Lucy was looking for him.

Had she found him yet? Did she know? What would she do if she found out? What would their dad do to her if he knew she did?

“I have to get out of here! I have to find Lucy!”

Janey stared at him.

Norm closed his eyes and focused on breathing. And what to tell Janey. The truth. He would not be like his dad. He opened his eyes and crouched in front of her. “My dad killed your mom, and mine. He was taken by raiders a couple of weeks ago, and my sister, Lucy, went to the surface to look for him. I don’t think she knows. Even if she does I can’t let her face him alone.”

“You aren’t going anywhere.”

Norm stood, and turned to see Overseer Betty accompanied by security guards, blocking the exit. “Did you know?” he demanded. “About my dad and Shady Sands?”

Betty gave him a stern look. “Your mother’s actions jeopardized the safety of the vaults. Your father did what was necessary to remedy that.”

“Except it didn’t work, did it? Those people who attacked us weren’t just random raiders. They were survivors.”

“If that is true, and I don’t know for certain if it is, the fact remains that none of it would have happened, had your mother not ventured to the surface in the first place.”

“Why did she?”

“When she found that something was siphoning our water supply she believed it meant civilization had returned to the surface. She thought it was time to abandon the vaults. The rest of us disagreed.”

Disagreed because the ones pulling the strings knew they wanted to wipe the surface clean first. And that didn’t explain why his mom had taken him and Lucy, but left their father. Norm suspected he knew the reason for that anyway.

When he didn’t ask any more questions, Betty said, “Now, it’s time you explained yourself. What are you doing in Vault 31? And why is Janey out of her cryo pod?”

She knew who Janey was? “I got turned around trying to get back to 33 from seeing Chet off. When I accidentally locked myself in, I didn’t know how long it might be before anyone came to let me out, so I hacked the system to open the door and opened Janey’s pod by mistake instead. Since her mom wasn’t here I looked up her records. That’s how I found out about Shady Sands.”

“No one wanders into 31 by mistake. You hacked my computer and sent a message so Bud would let you in. The question is why?”

“Yes, I would like to know that myself.” The robobrain’s wheels whirred as he rolled in front of Betty.

Norm hesitated, but there was no point trying to hide it. He was in plenty of trouble already. “I saw 32 before your guys cleaned it up. I wanted to find out what’s really going on.”

“It seems you inherited your mother’s inquisitive nature, Norm MacLean.”

“MacLean!”

Norm turned to look down at Janey. She looked more frightened than ever. “What’s wrong?”

“Your father was Barbara Howard’s assistant at Vault-Tec,” Betty said. “Janey probably met him once or twice.”

Norm looked back up at her. “I guess that explains why he got her out to help him look for my mom.” There was much more it didn’t explain. Like why his dad’s name would scare a little girl.

“In any case it’s past time we return Janey to cryo.”

“No!” Janey cried.

Norm stood between her and Betty. “Why? She’s out now, why not just let her stay in one of the other vaults? She can stay with me! Or if you would rather have her with a family then maybe Chet and Steph—“

“That’s not going to happen. Ms Howard made it very clear that Janey is not to be released from cryo until the surface has been safely recolonized.”

“There are colonies on the surface!”

“It’s not safe. There are still too many factions fighting for control.”

“And you expect that to end? War, war never changes! You can’t just leave her in there forever!”

“It’s not up to you. Her mother—“

“Is gone. What, do you think she’s gonna come back and haunt you if you don’t follow her instructions?”

“There’s no need for such disrespect, young man,” Bud Askins protested. “Besides, nothing’s changed. You’re still going into cryo yourself. We can’t let you back into the general population with everything you know.”

“You mean the truth?”

Janey shot past Norm, barreled around Betty, and dodged the startled guards. Norm raced after her.

Behind him Betty yelled at the guards, “Catch them! We have to get them into cryo!”

Norm caught up to Janey and scooped her up. She kicked, hit, and strained to escape. He dragged her into a random storage closet. “It’s okay! It’s okay!” he let her go, slammed the door, and flicked on the light, counting on the guards to be running too fast to notice. Janey stared at him wide eyed, breathing hard, hands in fists at her sides. Norm crouched down.

“I’m not taking you back there. You have to be quiet so they don’t find us.”

Janey nodded. They stayed silent until they heard the guards pass. Once he was sure they were gone, Norm whispered, “We should stay here for a while, then I know someone who can help us get to the surface. If I can talk him into it.”

“You said your sister is up there?”

“Lucy, yeah. But I don’t know exactly where, or how long it will take to find her, and it is gonna be dangerous.”

“Why does everyone keep saying that?”

“Because it is. The surface hasn’t recovered from the Great War, when the bombs fell. People are still fighting and making things worse. People like the raiders just go around stealing from anyone they can. Honestly I don’t know much more about it except that there are factions that keep fighting each other, and mutants that just attack anyone. But it’s that or cryo.”

Janey shuddered and wrapped her arms around herself. After a moment she asked, “Your daddy is Henry MacLean?”

“Yeah. You knew him?”

“A little. He helped my mom bring me here. You’re not much like him.”

Norm smiled. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“You should.”

“So, what do you think? Wanna take your chances on the surface?”

“Yes.”

#####

Lucy pulled the blanket up to shield her closed eyes from the first rays of the sun. She breathed in the scent of leather, whiskey, and cigarettes. Her blanket didn’t smell like that. She didn’t have a blanket. Or at least she hadn’t had a blanket when she laid down to sleep. She had had difficulty falling asleep in the surprisingly cold night without one.

The Ghoul jerked it off her. “Time to go,” he announced pulling his coat on over a faded blue shirt.

Lucy stared at him, dumbfounded, wondering if she should say something until he gave her a look that answered that question.

“Okie dokie.” She stood and collected her things. She didn’t complain when the Ghoul obviously wanted to get moving right away. With his stolen power armor her dad had a significant lead on them, and jerky was easy enough to eat on the go.

The dog on the other hand, was making things difficult. It would run ahead to the Ghoul, whine until he broke off a piece of jerky for it, then run back to Lucy and start whining again. When Lucy didn’t respond the whole routine would start over.

After the third time the mutt blocked her path, Lucy had had enough. “What the hell is wrong with your dog?”

When the Ghoul turned around and saw Dogmeat halfway between them with its mouth open and tail wagging, he laughed. Lucy was sure she had never heard him laugh, really laugh before, yet something about the sound was familiar.

Once he got himself under control the Ghoul said, “She’s tryin’ to train you, Sweetheart.”

“What?”

He gestured to the jerky in her hand. “She wants a bite.”

Lucy pulled her hand closer to her chest. “I’ve seen what those teeth can do.”

“Which is why you wanna get on her good side, so next time somethin’ tries to eat you, she’ll use them on it instead of you.”

“I still don’t want them anywhere near my fingers!”

“So toss it. She probably ain’t too sure about you yet either.”

Lucy hesitated, but broke off a piece of jerky and tossed it. Dogmeat snatched it out of the air. Lucy flinched at the snap of her jaws.

The Ghoul chuckled. “I thought you liked dogs, you were so worried about leaving her at that river.”

So it was the same dog. Lucy decided against reminding him that at the time he had said she wasn’t his. Evidently he had changed his mind. Instead she said, “I do like dogs. Prewar dogs anyway. There aren’t any in the vault so I’ve only seen them in the movies. You know like Lassie , or A Man and His Dog .” She smiled. “I used to have a stuffed Roosevelt.” Of course she’d had to give it up so it could go to another child when she was ten. No one really had anything of their own in the Vault, not even the Overseer’s family. She had tried passing it on to Norm, but her dad saw right through that.

“I get the idea,” the Ghoul grunted and started walking.

Lucy frowned, not sure what she had said to sour his mood so quickly. “My point is I don’t know anything about actually interacting with them. The movies made it look easy, but I know there was actually a lot of training involved.”

The Ghoul looked over his shoulder at her. “Just don’t rush it. Let her decide when she wants to come to you. Offering her a bite of food now and then will go a long way to getting on her good side.”

Lucy smiled and couldn’t resist asking, “Do you have a good side?”

“Nope.” He turned back around and passed Dogmeat another bite of jerky then scratched behind her ear.

Lucy wasn’t sure if he was joking, but she suspected getting on the dog’s good side would go a long way toward getting on his.

#####

Janey clung to Norm’s arm as he led the way through the vault. It was quiet and empty. They had waited in the closet a long time, until Norm said everyone should be in their own apartments. Unless the guards were still looking for them.

Every strange sound made Janey jump. Norm usually knew what they were, and would try to explain. Most of the time she didn’t really understand it, but it made her feel better anyway.

They came to a big round door with the number 32 printed on it in yellow. Norm did something on his Pip-Boy and it opened. They continued through more dark hallways. Lawn furniture lined the walls between huge windows. What was the point of lawn furniture if you couldn’t go outside? Finally Norm stopped in front of an apartment door and rang the doorbell. The door opened and a man who towered over Norm filled the space. He had to duck to avoid hitting his head on the top of the door frame.

“Norm? What are you doing here? Security was looking for you! What’s going on?”

“It will be easier to explain if you let us in,” Norm said. The big man’s eyes went to Janey. She pressed closer to Norm. “Please.”

“Okay.” The tall man moved, and Norm pulled Janey into the apartment. The door closed behind them.

“Janey, this is my cousin, Chet.” It was hard to believe this giant could be related to Norm, who barely seemed taller than her. “Chet, this is Janey. She’s from 31.” Norm started to explain how he had found her.

Janey heard a voice she knew better than anyone’s. She looked around the small space and darted around the couch into the living room. She froze when she found the source of the voice. She should have known. It was nothing but a TV set playing the black and white moving pictures that were the closest she would ever get to seeing her daddy again.

A blond woman sitting on the couch turned to see her. Janey thought she might have seen her at one of her mom’s parties, but now she wore an eye patch the same shade of blue as the vault jumpsuit.

Blue and yellow. Her daddy’s colors. He had hated that Vault-Tec used them. Hated the idea of everyone being made to wear the same thing every day. He would have hated it that she was stuck here. She started crying.

The woman stood. “What’s wrong?” she asked gently.

Norm came around and got on his knees in front of her. “Janey? Are you okay?” he shook his head. “No, of course you’re not!”

Janey threw her arms around his neck and cried into his shoulder. Norm wrapped his arms around her and rocked. He didn’t say anything. She was glad he didn’t try to tell her it was okay. But she wished someone would turn off the TV. She could still hear the ghost of her daddy’s voice.

#####

Norm laid Janey down on the couch after she cried herself to sleep. He didn’t know what specifically had triggered the break down, but she had plenty of reasons to cry.

“What is Janey doing here?” Steph demanded.

“You know her?” Chet asked.

“Betty did too. Her mom worked for Vault-Tec,” Norm said.

“She shouldn’t be out here,” Steph said.

“It was an accident. Just give me a chance to explain.”

The three adults went into the kitchen. They sat at the table and, keeping his voice low to avoid waking Janey and the baby who was laying in a bassinet in the living room, Norm told them what had happened, leaving out what he had learned about his dad and trying to imply that his intention was to return Janey to 31. Steph was from 31. She was the Overseer in 32. Betty chose her. She was one of Bud’s buds. He couldn’t trust her.

When Norm finished Chet stared at Steph. “You knew.”

Steph laid a hand on his arm. “I couldn’t tell anyone. Not even Bert.” She looked at Norm. “Or Lucy. Those are the rules. I’m sorry. It was hard to keep it a secret from everyone, but I had to.”

“Dad never said anything either,” Norm said.

“Of course not.” Steph looked at Chet. “Is everything okay?”

Chet sighed. “It’s just a lot.”

Steph smiled. “I know, and it’s late. We should all get some rest. In the morning we can get Janey back where she belongs. Then we can talk.” She stood and started toward the door. “I’m going to step out and contact Betty to let her know that she can call off security and you’ll be at 31 in the morning.”

When the door closed Chet said, “You aren’t taking her back to 31, are you?”

Norm shook his head.

“But the only other option is—“

“The surface.”

“That’s crazy! It’s bad enough Lucy went out there!”

“I know, but there’s more.” Norm explained what he had found out about his dad. “I thought it was just me he…that I just wasn’t good enough for him, but if Mom went to the surface to get away from him, and he was willing to drop a f***ing bomb on her…” He buried his face in his hands. He should have told Lucy a long time ago, but he was afraid she wouldn’t believe him. He was even more afraid of what she would do if she did. She had always bought so completely into the perfect image their dad wanted everyone to see. So had he. After all, he was the one that didn’t fit. He should have at least said something before she went running after that maniac. Maybe he could have talked her out of it. But it wasn’t like he wanted their dad to die on the surface. He was still their dad. They were still a family. At least he had thought so. “I can’t let Lucy face him alone. I just can’t!”

“I understand, but taking a kid up there? She’s safer going back into cryo.”

“For how long! Another two hundred years? Longer? When will they be satisfied? What if they decide not to let her out at all? These people have been lying to us since they built the vaults! Bud said they were going to wipe the surface clean! I don’t trust them! Any of them!”

“What did he mean by ‘wipe the surface clean’?”

“I don’t know exactly. And I know that sounds even more like going the surface is the last thing I should do, but it’s one more reason I can’t leave Lucy alone up there. Or trust these people with Janey. Besides I’m the one who woke her up. I’m responsible for her. She doesn’t have anyone else. Her parents are gone and everyone else wants to put her on ice. They don’t care about her, they just want her out of the way. I can’t just abandon her like that.”

Chet looked towards the living room. “I know how you feel, but it’s dangerous up there.”

“I’m starting to think it isn’t really any safer in here.”

Chet sighed. “Okay. I can give you some supplies and get you out the door. But we have to move fast.”

Norm nodded. “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me. You might end up wishing I had talked you out of it.”

#####

Baubles, bangles, and beads…

Lucy stopped.

Baubles, bangles, bright shiny beads…

“Am I going crazy or…”

“Nope. That’s definitely Kismet. Judging by the song choice there’s a trading post ahead.” The Ghoul responded without breaking his stride.

Lucy grinned. “ You know Kismet?”

“Lots of people up here play that shit.”

“Hardly anyone in the vault even knew Kismet, though. I only did because it was one of my mom’s favorites.” More to distract herself from where thoughts of her mother would inevitably lead than because she thought he would be interested she chattered on. “I insisted on doing it for the vault play one year. I got tired of circulating through Oklahoma , South Pacific , and Meet Me in St Louis . Not that there’s anything wrong with those of course, it just gets old doing the same three over and over again.”

“I suppose you got to play Marcina.”

“Well, yeah. I like to think I did a good job, even if I mostly got the part because nobody else knew it. And my dad was the Overseer.” She frowned at the thought of just how much of her life had been shaped by that fact. “He was Hoj of course. Didn’t really have the voice for it, but no one wanted to tell him.” At the time she had been happy to have her dad play her on stage father. “I always though Cooper Howard would have been good in that part.” She didn’t mention her fantasies of playing his La Loom.

“Nope. Ruined his voice on cigarettes.” The Ghoul tossed the butt of one away.

“It wouldn’t have to be for the musical version.”

“There’s the trading post.” He pointed and headed for it.

“Do we really need to stop for supplies? We just picked up all that meat.”

“You don’t need ammo? Stim packs? Rad Away? Out here you pick up what you can, when you can. Not to mention they might be able to tell us if we’re on the right track to find your daddy.”

All of which were good points, and she knew he probably need to stock up on those vials, but… “I don’t have any caps.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

Lucy frowned, following him. After their conversation the night before she knew he probably saw it as paying her back for helping him and maybe making up for how he had treated her before, but that didn’t make her feel any less like a moocher. It made her wonder whether she really contributed anything worthwhile to this partnership. Still, she didn’t have many options.

The Ghoul ordered Dogmeat to stay outside. The little building was stuffed with junk. They found ammunition not far from a shelf stacked high with mechanical and engineering supplies, which seemed like a hazard. While the Ghoul supplemented their food supply with canned goods, Lucy found a decent blanket in a pile of rags, setting the sadly deflated stuffed Roosevelt on top when she finished going through them. After picking up some extra canteens they approached the counter. The little man standing behind it frowned at them.

“How many vials?”

“Depends how many we can get with the rest of this,” the Ghoul said.

“And some stim packs, Rad-x, and Rad Away,” Lucy added. She leaned across the counter in a way that showed off her figure, ignoring the side eye the Ghoul gave her. “Please. Oh, and have you seen anyone come through here in Brotherhood armor with no helmet?”

“Night before last.” The man’s eyes were definitely not on hers.

“Can you tell me which way he went?”

The man shrugged. “Looked like he was heading east. Don’t know where to.”

“Thank you so much. Now about the vials for my…travel companion here…”

Numbers were exchanged, the Ghoul handed over the caps, and the shop keeper went to fetch the chems while they packed the rest. He brought the Ghoul’s vials first. Taking the hint the Ghoul stepped out while Lucy waited for the rest. She didn’t have to wait long. She pocketed the bottle of RAD-x, and grabbed the stim pack. When she reached for the RAD Away the man grabbed her arm.

“What’s a pretty young lady like you doing with that thing ?”

“What?”

“You’re from a vault?” his eyes flicked down to her jumpsuit. “Maybe you don’t understand. These f***ing ghouls are nothing but trouble. You don’t wanna be around if he runs out of those vials.”

“I understand just fine.” Lucy pulled her arm free and scooped up the pouch of Rad Away. “I don’t have much of a choice.” She turned to leave before he could ask anything else. She didn’t owe that jerk any explanations.

“You ready?” the Ghoul asked when she met him outside.

Traveling with him was going to be difficult for more reasons than she had realized. She forced a smile. “Okie dokie.”

#####

Norm gently shook Janey awake. “Time to go,” he whispered. Janey rubbed her eyes, nodded, and slid off the couch. Steph was in bed asleep.

Chet lingered by the bassinet a moment. “I’ll be back.”

Norm picked up the backpack full of supplies in the kitchen and the three of them left the apartment. Janey stayed attached to Norm’s arm all the way to the vault door. They waited by the door while Chet went to the console.

“I was afraid you might try something like this.” Betty emerged from the shadows. Security guards filed in and took aim. They were not armed with tranquilizers. Norm pushed Janey behind him. Betty continued. “It’s time to put an end to this. Chet, step away from the controls. Norm, bring Janey back to 31.”

“No.”

“You have nowhere else to go.”

Chet looked from Betty to Norm. “Save Lucy.” He pushed the button to retract the bridge. A gun fired. Chet slumped over the console, pushing the button to open the vault door with his last breath.

Norm turned, picked up Janey, and ran. He heard gunfire. Bullets pinged off the vault door. He launched himself over the steps outside. He hit the ground, and rolled to shield Janey under him, holding her there until he heard the vault door close.

He sat up, pulling Janey up with him. As she got her feet on the ground he held onto her shoulders, looking her over. “Are you okay?”

She nodded. She looked terrified, but unharmed. Maybe it had been too hard to hit a moving target, maybe the opening and closing of the vault door got in the way, maybe they were just lucky.

“Is your cousin…”

“He’s dead.” Norm released Janey and sat back on his heels. “I called him a coward. The last time I talked to him before I went into 31. He agreed with me. And Steph…” she had practically been widowed twice. Norm may not have trusted her, but she was Lucy’s best friend. She didn’t deserve that. Unless…had she guessed his real plans? Maybe even listened to him and Chet from outside the door before calling Betty? Did she know they weren’t using tranquilizers?

“Will they come after us?”

“I don’t think so, but we can’t stay here. Are you ready? It’s probably going to get even scarier.”

Janey lifted her chin. “Us cowpokes take it as it comes.”

Norm smiled. “Okay, let’s get moving, Cowgirl.”

Chapter Text

Norm tried to lift his canteen for a drink, but was stopped by a tug on his sleeve. He looked down at Janey.

“You’re drinking too much. You’re gonna run out,” she said.

“A full canteen isn’t gonna do me much good if I get dehydrated,” Norm pointed out.

“I know. Just try to take little drinks.” She held her thumb and forefinger up, close together. “Slow and steady.”

Norm sighed and lowered his canteen. He didn’t know much about surviving on the surface, but Janey had a point about trying to make the water last. At least there was no one else around, no reason to get embarrassed that a six year old knew more than him. Okay, maybe he was a little embarrassed, but it was easier to deal with when no one else was around to laugh at him.

As the sun started to set they came to some abandoned houses. Norm looked around for a relatively intact one. “Come on, let’s find a place to spend the night.”

Janey nodded and followed him. They entered one of the homes and were greeted by a family of skeletons sitting around a table. They both stopped, staring. Norm noticed the pill bottle on the table. Had people really been that desperate after the war?

“Do we have to stay in here?” Janey whispered.

Norm shook his head. “I’ll look for an empty place. You can wait outside if you want.” He didn’t want to see any more skeletons himself, and he certainly wasn’t going to subject Janey to that. If he couldn’t find an empty place he’d toss the skeletons out a window.

Janey tugged on his arm. Norm let her pull him back out the door.

“Let’s just sleep outside,” Janey said.

Norm shook his head. “I don’t even know how to start a fire.”

“I do!”

“Okay.” He didn’t really like the idea of sleeping in one of those haunted houses either.

He helped Janey gather fire wood, mostly broken bits of furniture, or shutters and siding that had fallen off the houses, and followed her instructions when she asked for help stacking it in a pyramid shape. Soon a fire was blazing.

“Good job, Cowgirl,” Norm said. He opened a can of cram and passed it to her before getting one for himself. Chet hadn’t been able to get them much, with security searching for them there hadn’t been the time or the access to resources that Lucy had. He hoped they would be able to get more soon. “How do you know this stuff?” he asked, mostly to distract himself.

“My daddy taught me. Mom said it was a waste of time, but he would take me camping and show me how. Mom never came, she didn’t like it.”

“Sounds like they didn’t always get along.”

Janey shook her head. “They got divorced. Before the bombs.”

That explained why her dad wasn’t in the vault.

“I didn’t wanna go to the vault. I wanted to stay with my daddy. But my mom and Mr. MacLean took me anyway, and he couldn’t stop them. He tried. He promised he’d find me.”

“I’m sure he tried to,” Norm said. If he lived long enough.

“Do you think they just left him like that?”

“Try not to think about it,” Norm said. He knew that wasn’t good enough. “Whatever happened to—to his body, that doesn’t matter. He’s not really there. He taught you this stuff,” he gestured to the fire, “so in a way he’s been helping us. He’s really here,” he tapped her forehead, “and here,” he tapped her chest, “and that’s what matters. Just try to think about that, and remember what he taught you. Not just about surviving, but stuff that didn't even seem important. Like a stupid joke or something.”

That made Janey smile.

“Was he funny?”

She nodded. “He liked to joke when he was nervous, or sad. I think it made him feel better. When they had their big fight, I hid in the barn. He found me and asked if he could move out there with me. Then he told me they were getting divorced, and he promised that no matter what else changed he would always be my daddy. He pinkie promised.”

Norm smiled. “Sounds like a better dad than mine. I wish I could have met him.”

“Me too. He would have liked you.”

“I hope so.” He had to wonder though, what the man would think of Norm’s efforts to take care of his daughter. Would he approve of Norm’s decision to bring Jany to the surface or like her mother, would he have preferred leaving her in the safety of the vault?

#####

The Ghoul didn’t bother looking back when he heard Lucy’s footsteps slow behind him. Dogmeat went back as if to check on her, and he slowed his pace so she wouldn't fall too far behind. It wasn’t like they were going to catch up to her daddy anyway. Not when he was zooming along in power armor and they were trudging behind him on foot. Besides, she wasn’t used to all this walking. Or the heat. Or anything else up here. Honestly he was impressed she had made it this far. Not that he was going to tell her that.

Dogmeat came back to him, whimpering. That wasn’t her “I want a snack,” whine.

Was she slowing down again? He finally looked back.

“When was the last time you took a drink?” She didn’t look as bad off as when he had been dragging her to the mart, but it was obvious she had waited too long.

Dogmeat wandered off, apparently satisfied that he was handling the situation.

“I’m trying to save water,” Lucy panted.

“A full canteen ain’t gonna do you any good if you don’t use it. Of course you don’t wanna guzzle it all down at once, but just remember to take a sip now and then, slow and steady.”

Lucy nodded. He stared her down until she took a drink. “I ain’t dragging your ass across the desert ‘cause you don’t have the sense to stay hydrated.”

“Okie dokie.”

Dogmeat ran up to the Ghoul. As usual he took whatever she was holding and tossed it without paying much attention. Judging by Lucy’s grimace it was probably a bone or something she found equally disgusting. Maybe it was just the idea of touching something that had just been in the dog’s mouth.

He started walking again, keeping to the slower pace. Aware that Lucy was probably watching him for cues on how long she should wait between drinks he took one a bit more often than usual. He didn’t mind pushing his limits, didn’t even mind pushing hers a bit, but dehydration was nothing to f*** around with.

Once she got some water in her Lucy sped up until she was walking right next to him. He didn’t pull ahead again. It was easer to keep an eye on her this way.

He was starting to scan for a campsite when he saw people coming towards them. He reached for his revolver. Lucy grabbed his wrist. She let go when he glared at her.

“Can we at least see what they want before you start shooting?”

“If they shoot first—“

“You’ll shoot faster.”

How was he supposed to argue with that? Besides he’d known when he asked her to come along that she’d be bringing that Golden Rule with her. He nodded. He drew his revolver anyway, just in case they did start shooting. She gave him a look, but said nothing. It seemed being prepared was an acceptable compromise.

“See?” Lucy said when they got close enough to make out the other travelers more clearly. “It’s just a family.” She was right. A woman and two men, the older of which was carrying a little girl about two years old.

The Ghoul holstered his gun, refusing to think about what would have happened if Lucy hadn’t been there.

Lucy stepped forward, hands raised, to greet the other group. Apparently deciding it was better if she did the talking. That was fine with him. The other woman approached similarly. He didn’t pay much attention to the names they gave in exchange for Lucy’s, or offer his when she awkwardly looked back at him as she realized she didn’t know it. There was a reason he didn’t tell anyone. It probably wouldn't mean anything to these people, but Lucy had mentioned his movies a couple of times now, and he was nowhere near ready for that conversation, especially not in front of a group of strangers.

“So, where are you folks heading?” Lucy asked.

“Caesar’s Legion is overrunning smaller settlements in the Mojave.” That could be a problem. “We heard the NCR still has a base, so we thought we’d go there.”

Lucy’s face fell. “Oh, um…”

The Ghoul stepped in. “Just came from there. The base has been overrun by the Brotherhood of Steel.”

“Oh. Oh no.” The three adults looked at each other, clearly at a loss for what to do.

Lucy spoke up again. “Vault 4 takes in refugees from the surface. Although you might not want to mention it was me who sent you. I got kicked out for breaking their rules. They aren’t crazy rules or anything either. I was just snooping where I shouldn’t have been.”

The Ghoul wanted to object to sending this family to a vault, but what other choice did they have? He knew Lucy wouldn’t send them somewhere she didn’t think was safe. Not that he entirely trusted her judgment on that. Still if this vault was letting in refugees then it probably wasn’t under Vault-Tec’s control anymore. Besides, it wasn’t his problem.

Lucy showed them where to find the vault’s entrance on her Pip-Boy’s map. They thanked her, and at some point in the conversation it was decided that the two groups would share a camp for the night.

The Ghoul kept his distance from the others. The younger man certainly wasn’t keeping his distance from Lucy, but she didn’t seem to mind, so he kept his mouth shut. It was none of his business. Lucy remembered to toss Dogmeat a bite of food, the young man did the same. The little girl giggled and tossed some of her own. Her mother scolded her so the Ghoul called Dogmeat over to him and fed her a can of cram to keep her from begging. The little girl kept staring at him. She had probably never seen a ghoul before.

After a while he stretched out and lowered his hat over his face. Dogmeat lay beside him head on his stomach. He had worried about that at first, but it actually helped to have her so close. He felt eyes on him. He lifted his hat. The little girl had crept closer to him while her parents talked and the younger guy focused on Lucy. He let the hat fall. Looked again. She was closer. Dropped it again. This time the girl picked it up.

“Boo!”

She squealed, dropped the hat, and jumped back, giggling. Her mother rushed over, scooped her up and carried her to the other side of the fire. He didn’t know whether she thought the kid was bothering him, or if she was afraid he would hurt her. Probably both. It didn’t matter.

He dropped the hat back over his face and pretended not to notice Lucy and that other man sneaking off to find someplace more private.

#####

Janey screamed. Norm jolted awake. A rad roach crawled on Janey, heading towards her face. Norm jumped up and grabbed the biggest stick from the stack of firewood. He pushed the roach off of her. It landed on it’s back, legs wiggling in the air. Janey scrambled up and ran behind him. The rad roach turned itself over and came after them. Norm swung his stick as hard as he could. He struck the roach with a satisfying crunch. He looked around as he caught his breath. There were more of them. All turned towards the camp, antennae extended.

“Janey! Put out the fire!”

She did while Norm warded off more of the beasts. Once the fire was out they began to wander aimlessly. Norm watched, making sure no more came after them before he settled down next to Janey.

“Are you okay?”

She nodded. “Are you?”

“Yeah.”

“I didn’t know bugs got so big.”

“They mutated, after the war.”

“I thought fire kept wild animals away.”

“Warm blooded animals like bears, sure. But insects are attracted to the heat. I should have thought of that sooner. I’m sorry.”

Janey stared at the remains of the fire. “What are we gonna do?”

“We’ll just have to remember to put our campfires out before we go to sleep.” He looked down at the stick in his hand. “I should see about getting a real weapon too. Not that I could have shot that first one off of you, I’m not that good, but it would have helped with the rest.”

Janey scooted closer. Norm put an arm around her. “Try to get some sleep. We’ll start walking again when the sun comes out.”

“I don’t think I can sleep after that!”

Norm smiled. “Me either. It’s probably safer to wait until it’s light anyway.”

Janey did drift off to sleep eventually. She seemed to feel safe with him, which was ridiculous. He had no idea what he was doing, and no business dragging her along with him. She was the only reason he had made it this far, and not just because of the skills her dad had taught her. If he had been on his own when those roaches showed up he would have frozen. It wasn’t because he was less afraid that he hadn’t. Having someone else to protect seemed to unlock a whole new kind of fear.

#####

The sex was okay. Of course, Lucy only really had Chet and Monty to compare to. And Monty had stabbed her afterwards so that bar was as far below ground as a vault. None of it lived up to the steamy scenes in the sort of novels she wouldn’t have dared include in the family book cub with her dad. Probably just another way fiction tended to exaggerate romance. Still, she couldn’t help feeling like she was doing something wrong, like she was missing something.

He had asked her if she wanted to come with them. She just reminded him that she got kicked out of Vault 4 for breaking their reasonable rules. She didn’t explain where she was going or why she was traveling with the Ghoul. So they parted ways. The little girl waved “bye-bye” over her mother’s shoulder. Lucy pretended she didn’t see the Ghoul waving back while she finished packing her supplies.

When they started walking the Ghoul stayed beside her instead of pulling ahead. Dogmeat wandered as usual, but stayed in sight, occasionally returning to ask for a snack, or pets, or to have the Ghoul throw something for her.

“So, what’s this vault you sent them to like?” The Ghoul tried to sound like he didn’t care, and he was almost convincing, but Lucy had seen him playing peek a boo with that little girl.

“It’s nice. They overthrew Vault-Tec there. They were doing these experiments, turning people into mutants, I saw some of the records.” She shuddered.

“That what you got kicked out for?”

“Not exactly. I thought it was the people there doing it. When they caught me snooping I attacked them. Then Max tried to rescue me so he got kicked out too. The violence was the the problem.”

“You got kicked out for violence?” There was that smirk again, teasing her with how familiar it seemed.

Lucy scowled at him. “I thought I had a good reason.”

“Everyone does. And what raised your suspicions so much you had to go snooping in the first place?”

“There was this weird…cult, centered around Moldaver. The survivors from Shady Sands started it. They saw her as some kind of savior. All I knew at that time was that she was the one who took my dad.”

“You sent them to a f***ing cult?”

“It wasn’t everyone. I don’t think they would force anyone to join it. The only real problem they might have is running out of space. It didn’t seem like they were there yet when Max and I were there though.”

“Max is the fella you were crying over at the observatory.”

“Yeah,” she admitted through gritted teeth. She hated that he saw that. It almost seemed silly now; she barely knew Max, but he was the first person to be nice to her since she left the vault. And she had just found out about her dad—no. She wasn’t going to think about that.

“You sure do get around, Vaultie. Speaking of which, you should probably take a stim pack.”
“I’m fine!”

“Is he?”

“As far as I could tell.”

“You don’t know where that boy’s been. If you wanna treat sex like a handshake, that’s your business, but be smart about it. Last thing I need is for you to slow me down ‘cause you caught somethin’.”

“I don’t treat it like…what is that even supposed to mean?”

“Hey, you ain’t the only who takes what you can get when you can get it. I’m just sayin’ if you ain’t gonna bother gettin’ to know somebody first you should exercise a little caution.”

Lucy fumed. The night before, watching him with that kid, she had caught a glimpse of someone she might actually be able to like. Then he had to go and say something so infuriating. Was he trying to get her to hate him? He did have a point about potentially picking up diseases. She would use a stim pack the next time she found some privacy to relive herself. But she wasn’t going to tell him that.

“You’re an asshole,” she said.

“Tell me somethin’ I don’t know, Vaultie.”

“My name, apparently. It’s Lucy. I know I’ve told you.” She tossed Dogmeat a bite of jerky. Of course, there could be a reason he refused to use her name. “I still don’t know yours, by the way. Which is rude. Of me, I mean. We’ve been traveling together for days, and I haven’t even asked.”

“Most people just call me the Ghoul these days.”

“That’s not your name! It’s your…species? Condition? I don’t even know that.”

“Both I s’pose. Anyway, that’s who I am now.”

“So, you’re just going to let that one thing define you for the rest of your life?”

“Why not? It’s all anyone else sees anyway.”

Lucy wanted to say that wasn’t true, but she knew she was as guilty as anyone else. What are you? she had asked. What, not who. Still, that wasn’t all she saw. Not anymore. She just wasn’t quite sure what it was she did see. But she was determined to find out.

“Okie dokie, Cowboy.” He scoffed, but didn’t object to the nickname. She had to call him something after all. He called her annoying nick names often enough; he could take some of his own medicine.

The two other ghouls she had seen going feral had repeated their names, clinging to their identities with their last thread of sanity. When she found him face down outside the Super Duper Mart, he hadn’t said anything. Barely nodded to tell her she was right when she asked if the vials were what he needed. What did he have to hold on to if not a name? Just who was the Ghoul?

Chapter Text

Norm and Janey trudged into the town the man who had pointed the way had called Filly. He had said he’d seen Lucy which was encouraging. He also listed people he knew who had been killed in Filly, which was not.

Janey clutched Norm’s arm, looking around. “This is a town?”

“Pretty different from what you’re used to, huh?”

She nodded. Norm had only seen pictures and movies of course, but he knew how strange this must be for her. It was strange for him, and he hadn’t just woken up from a two hundred plus years nap.

Not to mention people kept staring.

“More Vault Dwellers,” someone muttered.

Norm turned to the man. “Excuse me, have you seen another Vault Dweller?”

“Yeah. Came through a couple weeks ago and got half the town shot up.”

“What!”

“Go ask Ma June about it. She sent her off somewhere,” the man pointed to a storefront.

“Thank you,” Norm headed to the sore indicated, Janey still in tow.

“Not another one!” grumbled the old woman behind the counter, presumably Ma June. This was the right place.

“I’m Norm MacLean. This is…my niece, Janey. I’m looking for my sister, Lucy. I think she came through here a couple weeks ago?”

The woman pulled a paper from under the counter and set it in front of him. “That her?”

Norm stared. It was a wanted poster. “Yes, but why?” He picked up the poster and studied it. Above the drawing of Lucy’s face was a large number followed by the instructions Deliver alive and well to Henry MacLean , with an address for a city called New Vegas. “She was looking for Dad! Why would he put out a reward for her?”

“Don’t know. Last I saw her I sent her to Moldaver with an Enclave scientist she could use to bargain for your dad. Don’t give me that look! He wanted her to take him.”

“I don’t understand.” He let Janey take the poster.

“That scientist, Wilzig, had a bounty on him. Had some tech everybody wanted. He wanted to take it to Moldaver. Lettin’ your sister bargain him for your dad was the best chance for both of them to get there.”

“Does that mean other people are after them?”

Ma June nodded. “Two that I know of. A Brotherhood Knight, and a bounty hunter, the Ghoul. He’s the worst of them. No one had seen or heard of him for years until he strolled into town and shot Wilzig’s leg off. That’s when your sister got involved. Tried to talk down the Ghoul. Didn’t work of course. Then the knight showed up. I fixed Wilzig up with a new leg and sent him and your sister out the back while the knight and the Ghoul fought it out. They both made it out alive, unfortunately.”

That didn’t sound good. And none of it explained why their dad was the one paying people to find Lucy.

“What’s a ghoul?” Janey whispered, looking up from the poster.

“Mutant,” Ma June replied. “Looks like a half burned up corpse. Eventually they go feral—crazy. They start attacking anyone and anything that comes near them. ‘Course what makes this particular ghoul dangerous is that he can still think. Nice folks like you, your sister, and that little girl should stay as far away from him as you can.”

“I can’t. Not if he’s going after my sister.”

Ma June sighed. “Well, your best chance is to start at Moldaver’s base, and try to pick up her trail from there. I can mark it on your map. I’ve heard the Brotherhood have taken the place over. Might have somethin’ to do with why your dad’s looking for her now.”

Norm nodded and let Ma June access his Pip-Boy. When she finished he said, “We’ll need some supplies, but I don’t have any…” he glanced at the poster in Janey’s hand, “caps.”

“Well, we can always use some help in the store. Leave the little girl and I’ll call it even.”

“What? No! I’m not selling Janey!” Janey’s grip tightened on his arm.

“I’m doing you a favor. She’s safer here than in the Wastelands. Especially if you’re gonna cross the Ghoul.”

“No.” He pushed Janey slightly behind him. “There has to be another way for me to get caps.”

“Suit yourself, but don’t say I didn’t warn you. Check the job board in the square. You’ll find somethin’.”

Staying between Janey and the crazy old woman, he left the shop.

#####

Lucy fell behind the Ghoul again. Not as far as when they first started. She wasn’t sure if he was slowing down for her, or she was getting better at keeping up. Dogmeat wandered ahead and fell behind depending on what smells caught her interest. If she got too far away the Ghoul would whistle or call, patting his leg, and she came running.

It was Dogmeat’s barking that first alerted them.

The Ghoul looked around, drawing his revolver.

“What is it?” Lucy asked.

“Don’t know.”

Lucy drew her pistol. She turned her back to the Ghoul to scan behind them. They had left the ruins of Las Angeles behind. The area around them was open, sandy, flatland. There was nowhere for someone to hide to launch an attack. But Dogmeat had to be barking at something.

The ground shifted beneath Lucy’s feet. She stumbled back as the ugliest creature she had ever seen erupted from the dirt. The Ghoul caught her and shot it.

“Mole rats. Watch your feet. Those teeth will bite clean though your legs.”

Looking at the size of them she didn’t doubt it. In her periphery she saw another mound of dirt building behind the Ghoul. She spun and fired. The Ghoul turned just in time to see the animal collapse.

Another mound. Lucy aimed. The Ghoul shot first.

“Hey! I had that one!”

“You’re gonna have to be faster than that, Vaultie.”

Oh, it was on.

Every shot fired brought down a mole rat as they kept count.

“Seven. I do believe that puts me in the lead.”

Lucy fired twice. “Not anymore, Cowboy.”

Three shots. “I ain’t about to let a Vaultie out-shoot me!”

Finally they ran out of targets.

The Ghoul lit up a cigarette. “Looks like I win.”

“By one! How many did Dogmeat get?”

“One.”

Lucy crossed her arms and threw the dog a look of mock annoyance. “So it’s your fault.”

“Don’t go blaming her ‘cause you were too slow.”

“I’m not slow!”

“All right, I’ll give you that. If there had been one more it would be a draw. Where did you learn to shoot like that, Lil’ Killer?”

“In the Vault. I was part of the riflery club.”

The Ghoul raised a brow. “Really? I though they wouldn’t allow weapons in there.”

Lucy shrugged. “I don’t know about other vaults, but we all had to have basic weapons training. I guess so we could defend ourselves. I wasn’t very good.”

The Ghoul looked pointedly at the mole rat bodies surrounding them. “As I recall, your aim wasn’t the problem in Filly.”

“Okay, so maybe I won a few awards. My little brother, Norm never did, but he didn’t like being in clubs much anyway. But he can fix anything, and no one’s better with computers.” She fell silent, wondering how he was doing. He and Chet had probably gotten in trouble for helping her get out.

The Ghoul watched her for a moment before flicking his cigarette away. “Well, I better get started harvesting some of this meat. Tastes like shit, but at least we won’t starve.”

“Dogmeat doesn’t seem to mind.” After all the reason she had only gotten one was because she immediately started eating it.

“Dogmeat occasionally eats actual shit.”

“You’re not serious?”

“Dogs are dumb like that. You’d think after puking it up a few times she’d learn.”

Lucy shook her head, not sure she believed him. It was hard to tell when he was joking.

He smirked at her. “Have I ever lied to you, Sweetheart?”

She had to admit he hadn’t.

#####

Norm picked a job harvesting produce from a greenhouse, mostly because Janey could help which would make it easier for him to keep an eye on her. When they found the place he introduced her as his niece again.

“Call me Stan,” the old man who seemed to be in charge said. “Not much to it. Just go around and pick anything that looks ripe. If you’re not sure, just ask.”

Norm nodded. He and Janey each took a basket and started down a row of cherry tomatoes.

“Not more Vault Dwellers!” one worker grumbled when he saw them.

“Least this one hasn’t got the town shot up. Yet,” another said.

Norm looked up at them. “From what I heard it wasn’t her fault. She tried to deescalate the situation.”

The first worker shook his head. “Ain’t no reasoning with a ghoul. Especially not that ghoul.”

“You really think that was him?” the second guy asked.

“Who else is gonna take time out to grab a snack with half the town shootin’ at him?”

“It was him all right,” Stan said. “I’ve seen him around before. Granted that was years ago, but you don’t forget something like that.”

“I take it this ghoul has a reputation?” Norm asked.

Stan laughed. “He’s only been the most ruthless bounty hunter in the Wastelands for the last two hundred years.”

Janey’s eyes widened. “Really?”

“There’s no way he’s actually been alive that long,” Norm said. True he had seen the cryo pods, but that was different from actually being out and about. Janey was still a kid after over two hundred years in one.

Stan shook his head. “You don’t know much about ghouls do you, son?”

“I know they’re mutants, and they eventually go feral.”

“Well, they age slow and heal fast, not to mention they can take a lot of damage and keep going. Makes them damn hard to kill. Bunch of us shot him in the back during that fight and he just shook it off. And then he went toe to toe with a knight in full power armor and won! Gotta admit, I never thought even he could pull that off!”

“He was just toying with that guy too,” one of the other workers said.

The other nodded. “Did you see how he cut that breathing tube? He knew exactly what he was doing.”

“Who is this guy?” Norm asked.

Stan shrugged. “No one knows, really. All I’ve ever heard anyone call him is the Ghoul. They say he was one of the first ghouls, that he was turned by the first bombs.”

“The bombs can do that?” Janey whispered, her hands shaking as she dropped tomatoes in her basket.

“It’s the radiation. Other than that I can’t tell you how it works, I’m no scientist.”

“Can they really live that long?” she asked.

“I’ve never heard of one dyin’ of old age. Most go feral before long though. The bounty hunter’s been around longer than most, whether or not he really goes back that far. Mostly because he guns down anyone who gets in his way.”

“He sounds scary,” Janey said.

“He’s just about the scariest thing you can meet out here,” Stan agreed.

Norm stared down at the plant he was harvesting. This was the guy who went after his sister? It sounded like he wouldn’t hesitate to kill her to get at that scientist. But if he had their dad wouldn’t be looking for her, right? What if the Ghoul found out about the bounty on her? Would he care that it said she was wanted alive and unharmed?

There was nothing he could do about any of that for the moment, so he turned his attention to something he could do.

“The soil around some of these plants looks pretty dry. Are you watering them by hand?”

Stan nodded. “There’s just not enough clean water to go around.”

“I could set up an irrigation system. With a more efficient delivery system, you might even use less water.”

“Well, if you can rig up something like that, it would be worth some extra caps.”

Norm nodded. He turned to Janey. “You wanna be my assistant?”

She looked up at him and forced a smile. “Okay.”

#####

The Ghoul knew Lucy was watching him while he butchered the mole rats. He was used to be being stared at. He ignored her. Until he looked up to ask her to get started on the jerky while he moved on to the next carcass.

“There’s smoke comin’ out your ears, Vaultie.”

“What?” she clapped a hand over her ear.

He bit back a laugh. “I just mean you look like you’re thinkin’ real hard. Some of those robots really will smoke if you confuse them enough.”

“Oh,” she lowered her hand, and got started on the jerky. He got back to his own task. For a moment he thought she wasn’t going to tell him what she had been thinking, after all he didn’t tell her everything on his mind. That’s what he got for thinking.

“It’s just, you’re a lot calmer doing this now, and with the lizards than…before.”

Oh. She meant with Roger. “Well, it had been a while since I had anything more to eat than that handful of cherry tomatoes back in Filly.” That and he hadn’t wanted to think too much about what he was doing. Just because he was willing to commit cannibalism to survive didn’t mean it was his first choice. Especially when it was someone who had been a friend. He didn’t have many. He was down to one really, if the dog counted. Of course, he had also been playing up the monster bit for her back then.

He glanced over at Lucy, wondering how much she had put together. If she realized that he would have given Roger a vial if he had any. She kept her eyes on what she was doing, but from the look on her face her thoughts were far away.

“You were probably right. About my dad being first in line for the cookout. Assuming the plague was even real. My mom didn’t starve, he dropped a bomb on her! He killed a whole f***ing city to get to her! And he lied to me! My whole life! I can’t even trust my own memories because of him!”

Tears streamed down Lucy’s face, her shoulders shook with sobs.

Now what the hell was he supposed to do? The Ghoul looked over at Dogmeat as if she could offer a solution, but she was busy sleeping off her meal. He was on his own.

Lucy ranted on. “I don’t even know if hunting him down is worth it! How can I believe any explanations or excuses he gives me?”

The Ghoul reached out to put a hand on her shoulder. Realized his gloves were covered in blood. Took them off. Reached again. Stopped. With their history and the state she was in that was a terrible idea.

“And Norm is still back there! He doesn’t know any of this! How am I supposed to tell him? Oh god! I shot Mom myself! How am I gonna explain that ?”

The ghoul at the observatory? He hadn’t questioned it at the time. It was obvious the feral creature was beyond help. He had assumed Lucy just wanted to put it out of its misery. Maybe show him she could do what it takes to survive. He should have shot it himself.

Lucy had given up talking. She was just sobbing, barely able to catch her breath.

This was ridiculous. He was roughly two hundred and sixty years old. He had survived the end of the world. Wandered the Wastelands mostly alone for over two centuries. Been buried alive and tortured for more than a decade. Yet here he was at a loss over a crying woman.

“Sounds like your daddy’s giving me some competition for worst man you ever met.”

A bitter laugh escaped between sobs.

“Of course, I doubt he ever used you as bait for a gulper.”

Lucy shook her head.

“Or cut your finger off, or tried to sell your organs. So, I’d say I’ve still got good lead on him.”

Lucy started trying to wipe her tears away, although a few were still falling. “At-at least I can understand why you did some of that. I smashed your vials, so I can see why you thought using me to get more was fair. And I did bite your finger off first, of course I was just defending myself.” She gave him a glare he only knew was fake because he’d seen the real thing. “You could have found something else to bait the gulper with.”

“Sure sounds like I’m still in the lead.”

She shook her head. “He wiped out a city just because he was mad at Mom for leaving him.”

“Sounds like my ex-wife.”

That got a real laugh out of her. She had no idea how true it was.

“He left me there.” You didn’t hung unspoken between them. “And at least you never lied to me.”

“Well, that’s one thing I can promise I’ll never do. Matter of fact, I trigger finger promise,” he lifted his hand and wiggled the finger.

Lucy stared at him. “Are you serious? And isn’t it supposed to be a pinkie promise?”

He nodded. “Traditionally, sure, but seeing as that was our first honest exchange it seems appropriate.”

She rolled her eyes, but said, “Fine, trigger finger promise it is,” and hooked her finger around his. She stared at it. He grinned, waiting for her to realize. “Wait! Is that my finger?”

“Not anymore, Sweetheart.”

She let go. “Why would you use my finger?”

“Maybe I just wanted to hold on to a little piece of you.” He wiggled it at her.

“That is disgusting!” she squealed, but she was smiling.

The Ghoul couldn’t help smiling back.

#####

Stan gave Norm and Janey a room for the night, saying it was to make up for not being able to pay the caps the irrigation system was worth. It wasn’t a big space, just enough room for them to lay on their separate palates. Close enough for Norm to see that Janey was having trouble getting to sleep. He could guess what was on her mind, but didn’t know what to do about it. Lucy would have known.

“You okay?” he asked, as if he didn’t know.

“Yeah,” Janey said. She wasn’t convincing. “Why did you tell everyone I’m your niece?”

“It was the first thing that came to mind. It’s easier to explain why we’re together if we’re family, and that way people won’t wonder too much about you calling me by my first name.” That and the truth would make it sound like he had kidnapped her. Technically he had.

“Is that gonna make people think Lucy is my mom?”

Norm smiled wryly. “Yeah, probably.” That was fine with him. If people assumed that they wouldn’t ask where her parents were, and he wouldn’t have to come up with a story to answer them.

“What’s she like?”

“She’s really nice. Everyone in the vault loved her, and she’s in a lot of clubs. She’s a history teacher. The kids love her. She’s always looked out for me, even when I drive her crazy. She’s brave too. When the raiders who took our dad came, she was in the thick of it fighting them. In her wedding dress!”

“She was getting married?”

“That’s how the raiders got in. They were pretending to be from Vault 32, there for the wedding. She was gonna marry someone from there and in return we were giving them supplies.”

“Like a mail order bride from the old west?”

“Something like that, yeah. Anyway, the guy was one of the raiders, so I don’t think it counts.”

“And then she left to find your daddy? By herself?”

“Yeah. Chet wanted to go with her, but she wouldn’t let him. She wouldn’t have let me either.”

“Do you think the Ghoul is still after her?”

“I don’t know. I hope not.”

“Is he really from before the war?”

“That sounds like a tall tale to me.”

“You mean like John Henry, or Pecos Bill?”

“Exactly. I think people are scared of him, so they exaggerate, or make stuff up. I guess it makes them feel better about being scared if they make him sound even worse.”

“But if ghouls really can live that long, what if my daddy is one?”

There it was. “It doesn’t sound like that happens much. If it’s true at all. I think they would go feral sooner than that.”

“Is it bad if I hope he died?” She was so quiet he barely heard her.

“I don’t think so. At least that would have been quick. If he survived as ghoul…well it doesn’t sound like a nice way to live.” Especially the part about going feral.

Janey started crying. “He would have found me anyway. If he wasn’t dead. So, he must be. He-he wouldn’t just give up!”

“Of course not.” Just like Lucy wouldn’t give up until she found their dad.

“Are you gonna leave me here? Like that old woman in the shop said?”

Norm sighed. “I don’t know. It’s not that I want to leave you, but it might be safer.”

“I don’t wanna stay! I can help! Just like I did on the way here!”

“I know, but—”

“What if somebody from the vault comes after me?”

“I don’t think they will.”

“But if they do, they could take me back! They could put me back to sleep and you wouldn’t even know it!”

“I’d come back for you. Once I found Lucy.”

“What if they took me somewhere else? I don’t want you to leave me! Like everyone else!”

“Your parents didn’t want to leave you,” Norm said softly. Her mother may have willingly left the vault, but she must have had every intention of coming back for Janey. Before his dad blew her up. He stared up at the ceiling. What should he do? He’d had no right to take her from the vault in the first place. He certainly didn’t have any business dragging her across the Wastelands, in the wake of a ruthless bounty hunter who would probably kill them if he realized they were looking for the same person he was. But he wasn’t convinced Filly was safe. People had seemed merely annoyed by the firefight. They talked about it as if the most surprising thing about it was the vault dweller and the Ghoul. Besides she had woken up to a strange world where everyone and everything she knew was gone. He was all she had. So how could he leave her here? But how could he bring her? He could barely take care of himself! He wondered what her dad would have done. But he couldn’t keep worrying about that. If her dad was around, they wouldn’t be in this situation. He may not have had a right to bring her with him, but he had. Janey was his responsibility now.

“Okay. I won’t leave you behind.”

“Promise?”

“I promise.”

She reached out a hand, pinkie extended. “Pinkie promise.”

Norm smiled and hooked his pinkie around hers. “Pinkie promise.”

Chapter Text

Norm stood in front of the tunnel that led out of Filly, pack on his back heavy with supplies and the more uncomfortable weight of a gun on his hip. He looked down at Janey. “Last chance to change your mind, Cowgirl.”

She shook her head, and adjusted the pack she had insisted on buying with the caps Stan paid her.

Wondering for the umpteenth time whether he was doing the right thing by letting her come Norm led the way out of the settlement.

The trees surrounding Filly soon gave way to more desert. Norm suspected that was what most of the surface was like, deserts dotted by settlements and oases. Maybe the fact there were green trees at all meant that the world was healing.

Janey never complained, probably didn’t want to give him a reason to doubt bringing her, but after hours of walking he was tired and he knew she had to be. When he saw the crashed satellite ahead he figured it would give them some shade to rest in until the sun wasn’t quite so high.

“What’s that smell?” Janey asked, coming to a halt.

Norm stopped next to her. He recognized that smell. It was the same odor that had permeated Vault 32.

“Something dead,” he said.

They tentatively made their way around to the shaded side of the satellite. Janey screamed when she saw what was left of the headless corpse. She turned away from it and buried her face in Norm’s shirt. He held her as he studied the scene, then he turned and with an arm around her shoulders guided her away from the gruesome sight.

“Who was that?” Janey whispered.

“I think it was that scientist, Wilzig. It had a mechanical leg.”

“Who would take his head?”

“Probably the Ghoul, so he could prove he killed him and collect the bounty.”

“Does that mean he got Lucy too?”

“There was only one body, so if he did he must have taken her alive.”

“I hope she gets away!”

Norm couldn’t help smiling at how worried Janey was about someone she hadn’t even met. Just like Lucy.

They took a break once the satellite and the smell were well behind them, then continued until nightfall. That became their routine, walk as far as they could, rest during the hottest part of the day, continue until sunset. They each took a Rad-x every day; there was no telling how much radiation they were being exposed to just breathing. They refilled their canteens at a river, careful to collect water upstream from the giant rotting carcass on the shore, though Norm used the water purification tablets he had picked up in Filly. As they left the river behind, the greenery once again faded to desert sand.

As the sun went down they approached a building that looked like it used to be a super market. The door was open, but Norm hit the button on the call box anyway.

“Hello? Is anyone there?” He heard a clinking sound and turned to see Janey picking up and examining some small glass vials. Whatever they had contained was long gone. Norm tried the call box again. Still no response.

“Looks like no one’s here.” He looked back at Janey. “Should we go in? We might find something useful.”

Janey hesitated. She was probably worried about finding more dead bodies. He wasn’t thrilled with that idea himself, but he was curious, and if they found more supplies, even better.

“You could wait out here, while I check it out,” he offered.

Janey shook her head and grabbed his arm, dropping the empty vials. “I’ll come.”

“Okay. Stay close.” He didn’t have to tell her twice.

As they entered the building a few lights flickered. The only sound was the soft echo of their footsteps. They came across what looked like a clinic. Norm opened a drawer full of dessicated fingers. He closed it. He forced himself to keep searching and was rewarded with a couple of stim packs, a bottle of Rad-x, and few pouches of Rad Away.

They left the clinic and came to a large room that had probably once been the main area of the store. An area had been set up as a living space. In front of an old TV set one section of the sofa had tipped over, a syringe dart stuck in the back cushion of another. A broken robot lay in the floor. Glass cases behind the TV stood open and empty.

“What happened?” Janey whispered.

“Some kind of fight I guess. That or someone had a hell of a party.”

Janey smirked. “Doesn’t look like an ice cream social to me.”

Norm chuckled. “Come on, let’s see if we can find the kitchen.”

They made their way across the room. Janey tugged on Norm’s arm and when she had his attention pointed to something long and white in the floor. “Is that…?”

“Bones.” It didn’t smell bad at least. “If that’s all that’s left then whatever happened here was probably a long time ago. We should be fine.”

He tugged her along. They passed through a door marked employees only to a room with stainless steel refrigerators and freezers. Janey released Norm’s arm so he could search through them. Most weren’t working, but he found one that hummed with power. He opened the door. “No way!” He pulled a carton from the freezer and lifted the lid. It smelled fine. Which meant those bones hadn’t been there as long as he thought.

“Janey?” She had wandered towards a doorway at the far side of the room.

“I heard something.”

Norm listened. He heard it too. A hacking, guttural cough. He shoved the carton back into the freezer and slammed the door.

“Let’s go!”

“They’re sick. What if they need help?”

Something that looked disturbingly human sprang through the doorway and tackled her.

“Janey!”

She screamed, kicking and hitting the creature, twisting to keep it from sinking its teeth into her.

Norm pulled out his gun. He couldn’t shoot! He might hit Janey! Dropping the gun he ran, grabbed the monster and pulled. He fell back with it on top of him. He scrambled to get away. It grabbed him. Teeth gnashed towards his face. He punched it. It reeled back. Stood. Lunged at him.

Three shots fired. The monster staggered and fell.

Norm sat there, panting and staring at it before his mind caught up to what must have happened. He struggled to his feet and turned. Janey stood there, clutching his gun in her shaking hands.

“I used to watch Daddy practice. I wasn’t supposed to touch them.”

“That’s okay. This was an emergency. He’d understand.” Norm moved towards her one slow step at a time.

Janey let the barrel dip toward the floor. “I killed it! It was a person! And I killed it!”

Norm shook his head, crouched in front of her. “Not anymore. I think it was one of those feral ghouls they told us about in Filly. It’s just a monster now.” He took her hands in his.

“It was trying to eat us!”

“I know.” Norm gently pried the gun from her hands.

“I had to stop it, right?”

“Yes. You did what you had to. You saved my life, and probably a bunch of other people it would have attacked.” Norm set the gun on the floor, wishing they didn’t need the damn thing. That Janey hadn’t been the one who had to use it. That he hadn’t put her in that position.

Tears filled Janey’s eyes the moment before she collapsed into his arms.

He held her tight. “You were so brave! Your daddy would be proud of you. I’m proud of you.” He just wished it could be for something else.

“Is that what’s after Lucy?”

God he hoped not. “They said that one isn’t feral.”

“But he could be! He could go feral anytime! What if Lucy’s with him when he does!”

“If he’s been around for two hundred years and hasn’t gone crazy yet, I don’t think he’s gonna just happen to lose it when he meets my sister. She might even teach him some manners.”

Janey giggled at that.

Norm pulled back and brushed some curls from her face. “Hey, you’ll never believe what I found in the freezer!”

“What?”

“Ice cream!”

“Really!”

“Yeah. Let’s go get some, and maybe we can see if that TV still works.”

Janey nodded. Norm holstered the gun, stood, and held her hand on the way back to the freezer.

#####

The night after their run in with the mole rats Lucy woke up hearing the Ghoul moving around. That was nothing unusual. Neither of them seemed to sleep well most nights. Sometimes after waking from her own nightmares she would hear him, calling for someone in his sleep. Dogmeat would wake him, and he would pet her until he went back to sleep or decided it was time to get moving. Lucy couldn’t help wondering who Janey was, but didn’t dare ask.

This time though, it looked like he hadn’t gone to sleep yet. He was going through his bag. As she watched he pulled out what he had left of the gecko meat and replaced it with the supposedly foul tasting mole rat meat. Lucy said nothing. She didn’t think he’d even noticed she was awake.

The next morning he simply said he had already taken his share and for her to take the rest. She wondered whether the taste mattered to him without his nose, or if he figured he was more used to eating whatever he could find regardless of taste. It was a small gesture, one he apparently didn’t want her to know about, but it was a far cry from making her drink from an irradiated puddle.

Over the next couple of days they settled into a routine. They walked mostly in silence during the day, when the Ghoul wanted to stay on guard, but once they had found a place to camp, in an old building whenever they could, she would tell him about life in the vault. Nothing too personal, she was afraid talking about her family would lead to another breakdown. She started out talking about how the vault worked in general. How they elected the Overseer. How the three of them traded. The rules they were supposed to follow. Then she started telling him about the clubs she was in. Then her job. He seemed to like hearing stories about the kids, though at times she thought his smile was sad.

Finally she decided to ask him a question. They sat across the fire from each other, Dogmeat at his side. “Were you really around before the war?”

“Yep.”

She wasn’t ready to ask about her dad. “What did you do back then?”

“My first job was on a ranch.”

“Really? With cows? And horses? Did you ever ride one?”

He nodded. “Used to ride all the time. Even after I left that job.” His accent faded, leaving his voice frustratingly familiar. “Had to put my horse down after the bombs fell. Don’t know if it was the radiation that made him so sick, or if it was how hard I rode him trying to put some distance between us and the bombs. Doesn’t matter. He wasn’t gonna get better.”

Lucy stared at him, questions swirling through her head. When he said “we” did he mean just him and the horse, or had someone else been with him? Janey maybe? Whoever she was. She didn’t ask. The story was already more personal than she had expected him to get. She knew why though. She had been freaking out over shooting her mom. Maybe he had even heard enough to know that moment was often repeated in her nightmares. He was telling her he understood. She knew that already. She had seen him shoot his friend who was minutes away from going feral. He had even taken the time to nudge his thoughts toward a happy memory. She was the one who hadn’t understood. Still she appreciated the effort.

“What was his name?” She asked, not sure he would answer.

He hesitated, while she tried to figure out how to signal that it was okay if he didn’t want to talk anymore, but would listen if he did. Finally he sighed and said, “Sugarfoot.” That was almost worse than Dogmeat. It didn’t sound like something he would come up with. Maybe Janey named him. Probably after Cooper Howard’s horse.

The next day Lucy walked beside the Ghoul, the silence almost companionable. He stopped when they approached a stand of trees. Lucy looked at him. He scanned the area. Looked at Dogmeat. The dog sniffed around a bush, tail wagging.

“This could be a good spot for an ambush, so stay alert,” the Ghoul said.

“Why would anyone ambush us?”

“Raiders. Doesn’t have to be us they’re after specifically. They’ll just take advantage of anyone they can.” He shifted his coat so his revolver was clearly visible. “If we’re lucky there won’t be any. Or they’ll just decide we’re not worth the trouble. Problem is I’m not lucky.”

Lucy smiled. “Well, I wouldn’t have gotten this far without luck, so maybe we’ll be okay.”

The Ghoul smirked. “I was wonderin’ how you were still alive.”

“I’m sure my positive attitude helped.”

“Nope. That’s what’s gonna get you killed.”

Before she could think of an answer to that he strode ahead.

Lucy couldn’t help staring up at the trees as they passed. It amazed her how quickly the landscape changed up here. She wondered if that was normal or if it had to do with the radiation and how the world was recovering. Maybe she could ask the Ghoul about that when they stopped for the night.

A shot rang out. A man stepped into the path, gun raised.

“Next one won’t be a warning shot.”

The Ghoul already had his revolver aimed at him. “Neither will mine.”

Lucy fumbled for her pistol. Other raiders peered out from between the trees.

“Let’s make this simple, ghoul. Hand over the girl and we’ll kill you quick.”

“That ain’t gonna happen.”

The man grinned. “Good. This’ll be fun!”

The Ghoul fired. The man fell. Before Lucy could make a move the Ghoul grabbed her and pulled her behind a tree.

“Don’t move unless you’re shooting or avoiding gettin’ shot,” he growled.

Lucy nodded. He left her there. She heard guns firing. Recognized the sound of his revolver. She closed her eyes and leaned against the tree, her breath shaky. This wasn’t like the mole rats. These were people. Even when she had fought the raiders in her vault she had used a tranquilizer. The only person she had deliberately killed was her own mother. And she hadn’t really been a person anymore. Her, and the feral ghoul from the Super Duper Mart. Martha. But that had felt less like a choice. She had been under attack. It was kill or be killed, and she acted on instinct.

She had been prepared to kill those men in the Super Duper Mart. She had hoped it wouldn’t be necessary, but she would have done it. They were a threat. Not just to her, but to other innocent people. These raiders were no different. They were monsters.

Lucy took a deep breath, steadied her hands on her gun and leaned around the tree. One of the raiders aimed at the Ghoul while his back was turned. Coward. Lucy fired. The raider fell. She didn’t hesitate again. She didn’t take out as many as the Ghoul, but she watched his back. And he watched hers.

It was over quickly. The sound of the guns rang in her ears long after they stopped firing.

Dogmeat barked. Lucy followed the Ghoul to where the dog stood guard over a raider who had propped himself against a tree. He was bleeding. Had to be one she shot. The Ghoul would never have left him alive.

The Ghoul pointed his revolver at the raider. “Now, what was this about?”

“It was just a job! Boss said something about a bounty from New Vegas.”

The Ghoul cocked his head. “Vegas? Who’d I piss off in Vegas? I ain’t been out that way in a long time.”

“That’s all I know!”

“Well then, I guess you’ve outlived your usefulness.”

Lucy stepped in between them. “Wait! It’s one thing to shoot people who are attacking us, but he’s not! And he’s hurt!”

“And if we let him live he’ll come after us, if not for that bounty, then for revenge.”

“If he does we can deal with him then. When he’s actually a threat! Not li—“

The Ghoul shoved her aside and fired. Lucy turned, opening her mouth to object and saw the raider fall forward, dropping a knife.

“There. I did it your way,” the Ghoul grumbled.

Lucy couldn’t deny that. She knew she should probably thank him, but she couldn’t bring herself to.

The Ghoul picked up the knife and held it out to her, hilt first. Lucy took a step back. His expression softened. “We ain’t makin’ ass jerky, Sweetheart. We’ve got plenty of meat to last us to the next settlement. You’re gonna need more than that little gun out in the Mojave, and a good knife has plenty of uses.” He smirked. “Making ass jerky for one.”

She couldn’t help smiling at that. She took the knife. “Thank you.”

“Check the others. See if you can find something similar to what you used for that riflery club. Small guns have their uses, but you’re gonna need somethin’ bigger. Not to mention ammo.”

Lucy nodded. She hated the idea of going through the belongings of a dead person, especially one she had killed, but she knew it was practical. And the Ghoul didn’t know what kind of gun she could handle.

One of the bodies groaned.

Lucy froze. She looked around until she found the one that was still breathing. Now what? The last man she had assumed was wounded enough to be harmless had attacked her. But it just didn’t seem right.

Helping the Ghoul had earned her an ally. Maybe even a friend. The Golden Rule didn’t always work up here, but it didn’t always not work either. I may end up looking like you, but I will never be like you. Maybe she should be more like the Ghoul in some ways. He had survived over two hundred years after all.

But not like this.

Lucy took a step toward the injured man. He would need a stim pack at least.

A shot rang out. The man’s head exploded. Lucy whirled to face the Ghoul as he holstered his revolver.

“That’s what I’m here for, Sweetheart. To pull the trigger when you can’t.”

#####

Norm found a holotape sitting in front of the player while Janey settled on the couch with her ice cream.

“Man from Deadhorse,” he announced. He looked at Janey. He and Lucy had watched it as kids, but suddenly he found himself wondering if she was too young for a movie that ended with the hero shooting the villain in the face.

But Janey lit up. “My daddy’s in that one!”

“Really?” He looked back down at the tape. The name Cooper Howard was scrawled across the label. “Look it’s even been signed! I didn’t think anything like this survived outside the vaults.”

“Let’s watch it!” Janey said, kicking her feet in excitement.

“Are you sure? This one’s kind of scary. We could see if there’s something else around here.”

“Not as scary as fighting a real ghoul! Besides if we wait the ice cream will melt!”

She had him there, except for the fact that she had already eaten half of hers. “Okay. Let me know if you wanna turn it off.”

“I found the remote, I can turn it off myself. When it’s over.” She grinned and lifted the remote over her head. “The power is mine!”

Norm chuckled at the Grognak reference, wishing they had found one of those holotapes instead. It seemed more age-appropriate. Then again she had just shot a ghoul, and if her daddy was in this movie, it might be nice for her to see him. Even if he was just a stunt man or something. He pushed the holotape in and pulled the dart out of the back cushion so he could sit next to Janey, scooping up his own bowl of ice cream from the floor.

As soon as the hero appeared on screen Janey pointed. “That’s my daddy!”

“What? Your daddy is Cooper Howard! ”

Janey laughed. “My friends at school didn’t believe me either. So, I brought him for show and tell. He wore his rodeo costume and did rope tricks.”

“Not career day?”

“I brought my mom for career day. She said it made more sense because Vault-Tec was a more ‘practical career’.” She rolled her eyes. “Daddy said it was only fair for her to get a turn.”

“I guess that makes sense.” Norm started eating his ice cream. Janey had nearly finished hers. “I should have known. I mean it’s not like Howard is an uncommon name, but when you said your daddy was in the movie, I should have realized. I even knew his wife worked for Vault-Tec!”

Janey giggled. “Always happy to meet a fan,” she said exaggerating her drawl.

Norm shook his head. “Lucy and I watched his movies all the time growing up. We had the biggest crush on him as kids!”

“You did, huh?”

“Lucy did!” Norm felt his face heat up.

“Mmhm.” Janey smirked.

As they watched the movie Janey shared stories her daddy had told her about filming it. “He didn’t like this part,” she said when they got to the end. “He thought he should have arrested the bad guy instead of shooting him.”

“That’s what Lucy always said. Dad said it was meant to show that even a good man can do bad things, if you push him far enough past his limits.”

“Daddy said that’s what the director told him. But he would never do something like that!”

“Neither would Lucy.”

Janey gave him that smirk that was so much like her daddy’s. “Sounds like they would get along.”

“Don’t tell Lucy that. She’ll probably invent a time machine just so she can go back and try to be your step-mom!”

Janey giggled. “Then you really would be my uncle!”

Norm laughed. It sounded better than the family he was stuck with now.

#####

Lucy didn’t speak to the Ghoul while she searched the bodies. He made no attempt to explain himself. He didn’t have to. She understood. The raider was a potential threat. He needed more help than she could give him. Even with a stim pack, which were expensive, and they didn’t have many, they would have had to drag him with them to the next settlement to get him to a real doctor, which they would probably end up paying for. All with no guarantee that he would survive, or if he did he wouldn't come after them later. He wasn’t worth it. Killing him outright was better than leaving him there to suffer for hours, maybe even days before succumbing to his injuries. That didn’t make it right. Lucy knew the Ghoul was trying to help her, but the only reason he cared enough to do that was because she had helped him. Was it really so hard for him to believe that would work on someone else? He knew she wouldn’t like it. That she would be angry. That it could damage what progress they had made towards getting along. Which made it oddly selfless of him, in a way. Assuming he cared what she thought of him.

As she searched the bodies she tried to not think too much about what she was doing. She found a rifle, along with some ammunition for both it and her pistol. One raider had a stim pack. In another raider’s pocket she found a slip of paper. She gave it a quick glance, then stared. It was wanted poster. Of her.

“You about done there, Vaultie?”

Lucy stood. Turned the poster so he could see it.

“What the hell!” The Ghoul snatched the poster. “Your daddy did this? What the f*** is he thinking? He’s gotta know what kind of f***ing low-lifes are gonna come for you when they see this!”

“Like you?”

“Exactly!”

“It does say ‘alive and unharmed’.”

“You think raiders and bounty hunters care about that? Most of ‘em can’t even read it! They see your face with a number over it, and that’s all they need to know! If that bastard really wants you in one piece he should f***ing be out here looking for you himself! What the hell kind of a father sends f***ing bounty hunters after his own kid!”

Lucy laughed.

“There ain’t nothin’ funny about this, Vaultie!”

“Careful, Cowboy. You’re starting to sound like you actually give a damn about me.”

“I ain’t got no damns left to give and you know it!” The Ghoul crumpled the wanted poster in his fist.

Lucy considered calling him out on the lie, but decided it was obvious enough not to count.

“How did they know where to look for me? They didn’t even seem surprised that we’re together,” she said instead.

The Ghoul’s eyes shifted to the body at her feet. “You didn’t notice whose pockets you were picking there, did you, Sweetheart?”

Lucy had avoided looking at the raider’s faces. Partly because the Ghoul preferred head shots, partly because it made it easier not to think about what she was doing. She forced herself to look.

It was the young man from the camp they had shared with the refugee family barely a week ago.

“Either he was scoutin’ for them, or he got this bunch together after he saw which way we were goin’. Explains why Dogmeat didn’t sound an alarm.” He scowled at the dog. Lucy could tell he was faking it. “I didn’t see the others.”

She shook her head. “I don’t think that couple had anything to do with this. They said they met him on the road.” It didn’t surprise her that he Ghoul hadn’t been paying much attention to the conversation. “I think they really were refugees. Hopefully they’re safe in Vault 4 by now.”

The Ghoul nodded with a grunt. Lucy had to smile. He could be so callus, even cruel at times, yet here he was, worried over a random little girl. Lucy wondered if she would ever really understand him.

She looked down at the corpse. Shot through the heart, not the head. She had killed him and she hadn’t even noticed.

“He asked me to go with him,” she whispered.

“Thought he could get you without any trouble from me, huh?”

Lucy looked up. Was he implying there would have been trouble? He hadn’t tried to stop her when she left so soon after they first started traveling together. But he had come when she needed him. That didn’t mean he would have wasted time making sure she was safe with some random man while her father’s trail grew cold.

Her father. Nearly every man in her life had lied to her. Monty. Max. This guy. Even Norm seemed to be hiding something sometimes. But none of them were worse than her father. And now he was offering to pay someone to to bring her to him.

The Ghoul was a bounty hunter. She should have been worried that he would be tempted by the offer. That he would at least consider trading her for information about his family. About Janey, who meant enough to him that he still called her name in his sleep after over two hundred years. He had sold her before. Yet she felt safer with him than the man who raised her.

“I’m going to kill him myself,” she said.

The Ghoul just looked at her.

“I know you think I can’t, but I will. I’m going to kill Hank MacLean.”

The Ghoul smirked. “Just as long as you make sure we get our answers first, Lil’ Killer.” He patted her shoulder. “C’mon, I wanna get outta these trees before nightfall.”

Lucy collected her loot and followed him out.

When they stopped for the night and got a fire going the Ghoul tossed her wanted poster into the flames.

Chapter Text

How much further could it be to the next settlement? Lucy bit back the question she was dying to ask. This trip didn’t end at the next settlement. Her former father was in New Vegas. If it was in the same place as Los Vegas had been then she had a pretty good idea of where it was and how far they still had to go, thanks to the map on her Pip-Boy. A long way. So there was no point asking how much further it was to the settlement.

“We should get there before sundown tomorrow,” the Ghoul said.

“What?”

“Mountveiw, the next settlement. After that it’s a few days before we get to the mountain pass, then a day or two more to the Mojave. Altogether maybe a week before we hit the desert, depending on how smoothly things go. Probably best not to stop at another settlement in between seeing how your daddy got the bright idea to put a price on your head.”

“Should we skip this one?” She didn’t want to. She wanted the chance to stay someplace with a bed, get something to eat that wasn’t the slightly less bad tasting jerky, maybe even get a bath. But if it was that or get dragged to Vegas by a bounty hunter she knew which was the better option. Of course, they would have to get past the bounty hunter she was already traveling with first.

He shook his head. “That last group of raiders probably came from the area, so there’s not much chance of someone else hanging around looking for us. Besides it’ll take at least two weeks to get through the desert. We need to stock up on supplies.”

Lucy didn’t voice her doubts about carrying enough supplies to last that long. She would have to find a way to manage.

As the sun began to set the Ghoul nodded toward an old building. Lucy followed as he changed course for it. It didn’t look like a house. The roof was pitched steeper and a steeple topped by a cross sat at its peak. Spots of color peeked through the grime on what was left of the windows.

“Is that a church?” Lucy asked.

“Yep.”

Dogmeat was calm, but the Ghoul insisted on circling the building and kept his revolver drawn as they approached the double doors. After the incident with the raiders Lucy didn’t blame him. The area was surrounded by sand, so the only place for anyone to hide was in the building. She kept her hand close to her pistol. The Ghoul swept off his hat as he entered the building, Dogmeat at his heels.

Lucy followed them through a small entry way into a larger room with a row of long benches on either side. On the far end of the room rose a platform with a podium centered at the front. Behind that sat two more of the long benches, one behind the other. A wooden cross hung on the wall.

The Ghoul made his way down the aisle between the rows of benches, spurs jingling. He looked between each of them, ensuring no one was hiding. Lucy trailed behind him taking it all in. When they reached the front the Ghoul sank down onto one of the benches facing the platform. Dogmeat jumped up beside him, laying her head in his lap. Lucy passed them to examine an object to the side of the platform. She ran her hands along the wooden top, then sat on the small bench in front of it and lifted the hinged cover to reveal dusty black and white keys.

“Is this a piano?” she asked softly.

“Yep. Don’t try to play it. Poor thing hasn’t been tuned in over two hundred years, assuming it still works at all.”

“I wouldn’t know how.” Lucy gently lowered the cover.

“Wouldn’t surprise me if you did, with all the clubs you were in.”

“We didn’t have instruments in my vault. All our music was recorded.”

“Now there’s an oversight.”

Lucy looked over at him. His hat dangled loose in one hand over the side of the bench while the other petted Dogmeat. He usually cursed a lot more. More than she was comfortable with. She wondered if he was refraining because of where they were. This place still felt sacred somehow.

Lucy shrugged off her pack and pulled out a piece of the gecko jerky she was supposed to think was mole rat. Dogmeat lifted her head and whined. Lucy broke off a piece of jerky and tossed it to her. She caught it without leaving the bench.

“Spoiled mutt,” the Ghoul muttered, fondly.

Lucy rolled her eyes. “You’re the one who told me to start feeding her.” She took a bite of jerky herself and thought while she chewed. Once she swallowed she asked, “Did you ever go to church?”

His eyes went from her, to the cross on the wall, to the floor. “Used to. Every week.”

“Every week? I thought people just went for weddings and funerals. Maybe holidays.”

“Some did, but they had services every Sunday, unless there was some reason not to; weather making it too dangerous to to go out or something like that. ‘Course, God and I haven’t been on speaking terms for a long time.”

“Did people really talk to God?”

“It’s called praying, but that was the idea.”

“How would you know if He was listening?”

“Why do you think I quit? After the bombs fell I figured He wasn’t. Besides I got nothing to say that He wants to hear.”

Lucy had more questions. What were these services like? What did the people who came to them believe? Did he believe it? Did anyone anymore? She didn’t ask. It seemed too personal. So she ate in silence tossing Dogmeat a few more bites.

Every so often the Ghoul’s eyes drifted back up to that cross.

#####

Norm felt Janey’s grip on his arm tighten as the observatory came into view, near sunset. It had taken them a few more, thankfully uneventful days to get there. He hoped Lucy was there. That she was okay. That the Brotherhood were the good guys. If one of them had been fighting the Ghoul there was at least a chance they would be on the same side. Maybe if Lucy wasn’t here they could at least tell him where she was. Not far, he hoped. He wanted her to meet Janey. She would love her. He wasn’t sure what they would do then. They would just have to figure that out once they were on the same page about their dad and Vault-Tec.

A knight in power armor flew out from the observatory and landed in front of them.

“You are approaching a base of the Brotherhood of Steel. Identify yourselves, trespassers.”

Norm raised his free hand. “My name is Norm MacLean. This is my niece, Janey. I’m looking for my sister, Lucy. I was told she came here. If she’s not here I’m happy to move on. I would appreciate it if you could tell me where she went. If not I understand. I don’t want any trouble.” He hoped the knight couldn’t tell how terrified he was. Then again if he could maybe he wouldn’t see them as a threat.

“You’re from a vault?”

“Yes.”

“Why does your niece have a different number than you?”

Why had no one else questioned that? “We come from three vaults that work together. We trade with each other and occasionally people move from one to another to ensure genetic diversity.”

“Three vaults?”

Norm swallowed around the lump in his throat and nodded. Had he made a mistake, telling them that?

“Come with me. The Elder Cleric will want to speak with you.”

Norm hesitated. It seemed like Lucy probably wasn’t here, but he didn’t have much choice. That little gun of his wouldn’t do much good against the knight’s armor. The knight didn’t even bother taking it. He followed the knight, Janey still clinging to him. Maybe someone in the base would know something about Lucy.

The knight led them though the gate and past tents and flimsy wood buildings where knights and other men were busy doing tasks Norm assumed had to do with keeping the base running, or maybe getting ready for missions. They stopped in front of the door to the observatory where another knight came out to meet them.

“Why have you left your post?” the new knight demanded.

“I found these two approaching the base. They’re vault dwellers. I was bringing them to the Elder Cleric.”

“I just want to find my sister! Lucy MacLean! Is she here or not?”

The second knight looked down at Norm. He couldn’t see the face under the helmet, but he felt like he was being studied.

The second knight turned back to the first. “I’ll take them from here. You get back to your post.”

The first knight hesitated, then said, “Very well,” and marched away.

“Why does it matter so much that we’re vault dwellers?” Norm asked as they followed the second knight into the observatory.

“The Brotherhood’s mission is to collect and preserve prewar technology. A vault would be a valuable source of it.”

“But that’s stealing!” Janey objected.

Norm shushed her, but the knight said nothing. She was right of course. Norm’s faith in the vaults and their mission may have been shattered, but there were innocent people down there. People who had no idea how they were being manipulated. He doubted 32 and 33 could survive another attack. And the people in 31 were helpless. Surely Janey hadn’t been the only child in there. He couldn’t tell the Brotherhood where to find them.

They followed the knight down into a dark room. The knight closed the door and turned on the lights.

They were surrounded by knights!

“It’s all empty,” the one who brought them said. Norm looked again. The suits were all open in the back. “These were damaged during the battle to take this base. They’re being stored here until they can be repaired, or their parts can be used to repair others. No one comes in here. You should be safe.”

Norm turned to him. “Why?”

The knight opened his helmet, revealing a Black man about Norm’s age. “My name is Max. I’m a friend of Lucy’s.”

“You know Lucy? Is she okay? Where is she?”

“I don’t know. During the battle here I got knocked out; when I woke up she was gone. I think she made it out alive, but I don’t know where she went.”

“So this is a dead end,” Norm said.

“Now what?” Janey asked.

“You can hide in here for now,” Max said. “You’re Norm, right?”

“Yeah, and this my niece, Janey.”

Max looked at her. “Lucy never said anything about a kid.”

“She doesn’t know.”

“Huh?”

“I’m adopted,” Janey said.

Norm looked down at her. “Oh, is that what we’re calling it? I practically kidnapped you!”

Janey crossed her arms and stared up at him. “You rescued me!”

“Right. I rescued you from a nice, safe vault and brought you out into the Wastelands, where we’ve been attacked by rad roaches and feral ghouls. Some rescue.”

“It’s better than sleeping forever!” Would her dad agree?

Max looked between them, confusion on his face.

Norm sighed. “It’s a long story.”

“You’ll have to tell me later. There’s something else you should know. Lucy found your dad. He was here when we took the base. We had been separated and when I caught up with her I let him out, but…” Max took a deep breath, “he bombed Shady Sands. The capital of the New California Republic. I used to live there as a kid. I don’t know all the details, but Lucy was devastated. I just thought I should tell you.”

Norm nodded. If nothing else this proved he could trust Max. “I found records in the vault. It’s part of why I left. I don’t know why he did it, but our mom was there, and so was Janey’s. That’s why she came with me.”

“I’m sorry,” Max said. “I wonder if Lucy knows.”

“Probably, if she found out the rest, but we won’t know for sure until we find her.” Norm sighed. “I just don’t know where to look.”

“I have to go before I’m missed. Try to get some rest. In the morning I’ll get you off the base, and then I’ll help you find Lucy.”

#####

Lucy dreamed of her mother. She held her mother’s hand as they left the vault behind. They played in the fields of Shady Sands. Her mother smiled and held her hands out to her. Lucy fired her gun. Her mother collapsed. Her father smiled at her.

“Let’s go home,” he said.

She turned her gun on him. He disappeared.

The Ghoul took his place, back to her, just waiting for her to fire. She should. He deserved it. But she couldn’t pull the trigger. She needed him.

A hand grasped her shoulder. Lucy turned and relaxed when she saw the familiar face of a cowboy who had frequented her dreams before, but somehow his hazel eyes were more vivid than she remembered.

“Wake up, Sweetheart,” he said, “you’re gonna wanna see this.”

Lucy startled awake on the floor of the church between the front bench and the platform. The Ghoul withdrew his hand from her shoulder and sat back. Dogmeat snored on the bench behind him.

He smirked. “Guess my ugly mug ain’t the best sight to wake up to.”

Lucy rolled her eyes and sat up. “You’re not ugly.”

“ What did the men in that vault of yours look like?”

“Okay, so you don’t look normal and that takes some getting used to, but it’s not the same thing.” There was something strange about the light on his face. Instead of a steady stream it was broken up, forming a pattern of different colors.

“Used to it or not I expect you’ll like what you see over there better.”

Lucy looked where he indicated. The rising sun lit up the most intact window, filling it with brighter colors than she had ever seen. She stared, feeling as if she had woken from a nightmare only to find herself in a dream.

“It’s beautiful,” she whispered.

“Sure is,” the Ghoul agreed. For once he didn’t seem in a hurry to get moving which was good, because Lucy couldn’t tear her eyes away.

The sun moved on, dulling the colors just enough that she could turn from the windows to look back at the Ghoul. His hazel eyes were already on her, his expression gentler than she’d ever seen.

“Thank you.”

“All I did was point it out.” He stood. “We better get moving if we want to make it to the settlement today.” He whistled. Dogmeat jumped down to follow him as he strode out of the church.

Lucy gathered up the few things she had unpacked, knowing he wouldn’t leave without her. He probably just wanted to check for threats again. Maybe use his inhaler. As far as she could tell he seemed to need a vial a day. She tried not to worry about how many he’d used already, and how many he had left. She knew from experience he was good at getting them when he needed to. Maybe she should have been more worried about what he might be willing to do to accomplish that.

A shard of glass in the floor reflected the light, catching her eye. She picked up a roughly diamond shaped piece of one of the windows, one corner coming to a sharp tip. Lucy smiled and ran a thumb along the long section of the cross imprinted on it, careful of the edges. Each of the colors from the windows surrounded the image. She slipped the shard into one of the smaller pockets of her pack. Maybe she could ask the Ghoul what all the crosses were about later.

It wasn’t until they were well on their way that she remembered how dirty those windows had been when they arrived.

#####

Norm and Janey slept in the corner furthest from the door, the empty power armor hiding them from anyone who might come in. Janey woke from a nightmare. Norm did his best to calm her, remembering what Lucy would do when he had nightmares as a kid. She eventually went back to sleep. Norm didn’t. He’d been having his own nightmares involving ghouls and his father. Just for something to do he studied the armor, using tools he found stored in the room.

He found the breathing tube the harvester in Filly had mentioned the Ghoul cutting. He was surprised it was so exposed. It was a design flaw that should have been corrected before the armor went into production. It wasn’t the only one. There was a welding fault just under the chest plate. That was where most of them were damaged. It was a precise shot, one that required intimate knowledge of the armor. Knowledge you couldn’t get from a manual. Norm’s biggest concern though, was the tracker.

The door opened. Norm ducked behind the armor and drew his gun.

“Norm? Janey?”

Norm relaxed. It was Max, helmet open, minigun strapped to his back. Norm holstered his gun and stepped out from behind the armor.

“Are you ready to go?” Max asked when he saw him.

“Not yet. If you’re coming with us, I need to take the tracker out of your armor.”

Max looked surprised, but nodded. He set aside his minigun, opened his armor, and jumped out of it. He wore a red jumpsuit covered with straps and pieces of metal, the purpose for which Norm could only guess at. Max stepped aside to allow Norm to climb into the armor. With the tools he had found he had the tracker out in minutes.

When he jumped out he said, “We should leave it here, transmitting. If we disable it, they’ll know something’s wrong right away.”

Max nodded. “I disabled the main power grid as a distraction. We should get going.”

Norm woke Janey while Max got back into his armor.

“Come on, Cowgirl, time to go.”

Janey rubbed her eyes, and Norm helped her to her feet.

Max kept his helmet off until she saw him. “Stay close,” he said.

Norm and Janey nodded. Max closed his helmet, slung the minigun across his back, and led the way out of the storage room.

As they made their way through the observatory people ran around shouting. No one seemed to notice them. Until they were outside.

A wiry person who Norm couldn’t tell whether they were a man, or a woman ran up to them.

“Max! I mean, Knight Maximus! The power’s out, what’s going on?” they said. Norm wondered how they could tell it was Max in that armor.

“It’s being handled, Dane” Max said. The chaos inside suggested otherwise. Just what had Max done?

“Are those vault dwellers?” Dane asked, staring at Norm and Janey.

“Yes. I’m dealing with them.” Even with the distortion from the helmet Norm could hear the strain in Max’s voice. So could Dane.

“Max, what are you doing?”

“Nothing for you to worry about. You should get back to your duties.”

“You’re running.”

Norm reached for his gun.

“Come with us,” Max said. He must have taken off his helmet. Norm didn’t look away from Dane.

“There’s no leaving, Max! You know that! They’ll kill you!”

“I have to try.”

Dane shook their head. Took a step back. Norm’s grip on his gun tightened. He didn’t want to shoot anyone, but he would do what he had to. He would protect Janey.

“Dane, please, if you’re not going to come, at least give us a chance! You can tell them you saw me with the vault dwellers, but you didn’t know I was leaving. Or that you tried to stop me, that’s not even a lie! What can they expect you to do when I’m the one in armor?”

Dane’s eyes darted from Max to Norm and back. “You won’t get far.”

“They haven’t caught Hank MacLean yet.”

“You’d rather risk your life than stay?”

“Yes.”

Dane took a deep breath. Nodded. “Okay. You should knock me out or something. Make it convincing.”

“Are you sure?”

Dane nodded.

Norm heard Max’s helmet close. Max brought an armored fist down, gently on Dane’s head. Dane crumpled. Norm released his gun.

“Hold on to Janey,” Max said.

Norm picked her up. Max wrapped his arms around them, bent his knees, and launched himself into the air. Norm screamed. Janey laughed. They were flying!

Chapter Text

The Ghoul could have been at the settlement by now if he was on his own. Probably already stocked up on supplies and on his way again. He didn’t mind. He had waited two hundred and nineteen years for answers, and Lucy deserved hers too. A little extra travel time wasn’t going to make much difference. So he was happy to slow his pace enough for Lucy to walk alongside him. Dogmeat wandered hither, thither and yon as usual.

Dogmeat growled and barked, sounding more aggressive than he had heard her since she came after him in Filly. Lucy froze, standing stiff as if she expected the dog to turn and attack them. The Ghoul was more concerned about what had set her off. He saw it, a scaly bipedal creature with horns and long claws on its front limbs charging toward them across the sand.

“Shit! Rifle!” he told Lucy, reaching for his own.

“What is it?” she asked drawing hers.

“Deathclaw. Aim for the legs, I’ll get the head.”

She nodded, taking aim. He wanted to tell her to run but he knew she wouldn’t. She hadn’t left him outside the Super Duper Mart when she had every reason to hate him. She certainly wasn’t going to leave him now. Besides, even if she did, it would just chase her.

He fired, trusting Lucy to know when she could make the shot. She did. It kept coming. Dogmeat launched herself at it attacking its legs. It ignored her. Lucy stopped firing. The Ghoul didn’t. It kept coming. Too close!

“Flank it!”

Lucy nodded. They ran in opposite directions, Lucy taking the side farthest from Dogmeat. The Ghoul ducked behind a boulder to reload. He heard Lucy firing, Dogmeat barking.

He came out, rifle at the ready. It was going for Lucy. He couldn’t get a good angle on its head. He ran around it. It swiped at her. She went down.

“Lucy!”

Dogmeat latched onto its arm. It shook her off. Lucy struggled to her feet, bleeding. The Ghoul aimed. Lucy raised her rifle. They fired.

The Deathclaw finally went down.

Lucy scrambled out of the way. The Ghoul ran to her and caught her before she collapsed.

“I’m okay,” she gasped.

“The hell you are!” He shifted to hold her slightly farther away so he could see her injuries. The side of her vault suit was torn open, along with the skin underneath. He couldn’t tell how deep it was, but it was bleeding. A lot.

Lucy gave him a tight smile. “It doesn’t hurt much more than when I got stabbed.”

“That’ll be the adrenaline. Maybe shock. Wait, when did you get stabbed?”

Dogmeat whined. The Ghoul spared her a glance. She looked up at them with big concerned eyes, but didn’t seem hurt. Good.

Lucy leaned against him, forehead on his shoulder. He sat her on the ground, took off his duster, spread it behind her, eased her pack from her back and laid her down.

“I’ll get blood on it,” Lucy said weakly.

“Better than getting sand in you.” He pulled off his gloves and and poured whiskey on his hands. “I’m gonna have to take that suit off, so I can see what we’re dealing with.”

She nodded. He unzipped the suit and peeled it off her. She tried to help, but she couldn’t move much. She barely managed to get the Pip-Boy off her arm and pull her arms out of her sleeves. After a moment’s consideration he removed her boots and took the suit off entirely. She still wore the tank top, and a matching pair of formerly white shorts. He rolled what was left of the tank top up from the injury, trying to keep as much of her covered as possible. Three long gashes stretched from her side, halfway across her stomach. It didn’t look like they had hit any organs at least.

“All right, Sweetheart, this is gonna hurt like hell, but I’ve got to clean it.” She nodded, eyes squeezed shut. He picked up a glove and held it to her mouth. “Here, bite on this.” She opened her mouth and he slid it in.

He placed one hand on her sternum while he poured whiskey over her injuries. She bucked, a muffled scream escaping through the leather in her teeth. He held her down the best he could.

“I know, Sweetheart, I know, but it’s gotta be done.” He tried to keep his voice low and soothing. Tried to keep the the tension out of it. He was an actor. He could do this.

She went limp under his hands. Unconscious. Good. That would make the rest easier for both of them.

The Ghoul retrieved the needle and thread from his saddlebag. His hands shook too much to thread the needle. He closed his eyes. Breathed. He had done this hundreds of times. This was no different. He threaded the needle and got to work, using his knife to cut the thread for each suture.

Despite knowing she was unconscious he talked to her as he worked. Told her she was gonna be okay. He knew what he was doing. He had even stitched Janey up once after the divorce. Barb had been furious with him for not taking her to a doctor. Janey told him later that the doctor her mom took her to said the stitches were fine. There was no need to redo them. So he knew what he was doing. She was gonna be okay.

He finished the sutures and gave her a stim pack. He should have gotten some Med-x. Something to add to the supplies they’d pick up at the settlement. As he bandaged her up he saw the scar on her stomach across from the fresh wounds. That must be from the stabbing she mentioned. He would have to get that story from her later. With the bandaging done, he watched her until he was satisfied she was breathing normally.

When he did look up Dogmeat stood guard on Lucy’s other side, head up, ears pricked. She hadn’t even touched the deathclaw.

“Good girl. Stay.”

He took one last look at Lucy, resisted the impulse to brush hair from her face, picked up his knife, and got to work on the deathclaw wondering what he had gotten himself into.

#####

Max flew south, then when the observatory was out of sight and he saw no pursuers he looped back around to the northeast. He landed near some crumbling buildings and set Norm and Janey down.

Janey grinned. “Are we gonna fly like that the whole time?”

Norm looked like he was gonna be sick.

Max opened his helmet and said, “Probably best to save it for emergencies. We don’t want to fly right over Lucy.”

“Oh.” Janey looked disappointed. Norm seemed relieved.

“How long do you think it will take them to find us?” Norm asked.

“Without the tracker, I’m not sure. I’m hoping changing direction will throw them off too. It would take about a day to get this far on foot, even in a straight line. If we stay on the ground for a while they might overshoot us.”

“They’re coming after us? Your friend said they would kill you!” Janey said.

Dane. Max wished he could have talked them into coming along. He didn’t like the thought that the next time he saw them, they could have orders to kill him. Maybe Norm and Janey too. He would have to deal with that when the time came.

He forced a smile. “They have to find us first.”

“Have you eaten yet?” Norm asked, pulling off his pack. Janey tossed hers down and sat next to him.

“No, I wanted to get moving as soon as possible.”

Norm tossed him a can.

Max caught it reflexively. “Oh, you don’t have to…”

“You got us out of there, the least we can do is share some food.” He dug out another can for Janey and one for himself.

Max stared down at the can in his hand. “There’s a trading post not far from here. I’ve got some caps. We can pick up some more food, and other supplies. Lucy might have even stopped there if she came this way. It wouldn’t hurt to ask.”

“Sounds good,” Norm said. “We earned some caps in Filly, so you don’t have to pay for everything.”

Janey gave Max a concerned look. “Can you eat with your armor on?”

Max sat on a piece of rubble and opened the can. “It’s a little awkward, but I’ll be okay. I’d rather not take it off this close to the base. If they find us it will be easier to get away if I’m wearing it.”

“My daddy used to wear armor like that. He was a marine. He said he’d tell me more about it when I got older, but the bombs fell before he did.”

Max smiled sadly. “My parents died when Shady Sands was bombed. I was about your age. The Brotherhood took me in. For a long time all I wanted was to be a knight, but lately, since I met Lucy I’m not so sure. I don’t think they’re really the good guys.”

“So, you were going to leave anyway?” Norm asked.

“Yeah, with Lucy. She was gonna take me back to your vault. But then she found out about your dad, and Shady Sands, and I got knocked out and she disappeared. I don’t blame her for leaving. The Brotherhood would have assumed she was with the NCR and killed her along with the rest of them. Anyway, I stayed because when your dad put the bounty on her they were talking about finding her to trade for the armor he stole. I figured they had a better chance at finding a lead than I did on my own. So far I haven’t heard anything.”

Norm shook his head. “So the Brotherhood is after her too? How does she keep getting herself into these situations? She never got in trouble in the vault!”

“She always tries to do the right thing. Sometimes that means she gets in the way of some dangerous people.” Like the most ruthless bounty hunter in the wastes. Hopefully he had lost interest in her once she no longer had the head.

“But that’s the Golden Rule!” Janey said. At Max’s confused look she recited, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

“Well, Lucy’s the only one up here who follows that rule.”

“She would,” Norm muttered. “How did you meet anyway?”

“We should get going, I’ll tell you on the way.”

Walking side by side, with Janey between Max and Norm he started with being assigned as Titus’ squire. Dane’s injury didn’t seem relevant. But he told them the truth about Titus, about how the knight, had bullied, belittled, and threatened him. He hesitated to tell them about how the knight had died, but decided it was best to be honest.

“I would have done the same thing,” Norm said when Max paused after admitting he sat there with the stim pack in his hands and let Titus die.

“He shouldn’t have been so mean,” Janey said.

“Yeah, but then I lied about it. Not just that I didn’t help him, I reported in as Titus. I told Lucy I was a knight too. But I’m getting ahead of myself.”

He told them about Filly, Janey’s fear when he mentioned the Ghoul, and the fact that they had heard the basics when they passed through giving him an excuse to skim over the embarrassing fight.

He told them about Thadeus being sent to be his squire and how the two of them found the head in the gulper.

“Gross!” Janey grimaced.

He told them about Lucy finding him after he reveled himself to Thadeus who stole his fusion core and the head, and from there caught them up on what she had been through to that point, sparing the details of the Ghoul’s treatment of her for Janey’s sake.

“He sold her? And she still helped him?” Janey said, wide eyed.

“She should have killed him,” Norm muttered.

“Maybe. Sometimes I think she’s too nice for her own good.”

He went on to tell them about Vault 4, recovering the head, and how they had been separated.

“Why did you bother with the decoy head if you were just gonna tell them where the real one was?” Norm asked.

“To buy her time to make the trade. I thought once the Brotherhood got there I could find her and we could leave together. I thought I could protect her. I just didn’t count on your dad being…”

“A psychopath?”

“Yeah.”

“What’s a psychopath?” Janey asked.

“Someone who doesn’t feel things like most people. It can be hard for them empathize with others—understand how they feel. Some of them end up not caring who they hurt,” Norm explained.

“Oh. Like my mom.”

Norm stopped in his tracks. “What do you mean?”

“I wasn’t supposed to know. They told me to go play so I wouldn’t hear them, but they got so loud!”

Norm put a hand on her hunched shoulders. “You don’t have to tell us anything you don’t want to, but we’ll listen if you do.”

Janey looked up at him, then Max. Max nodded.

Janey took a deep breath. “She knew Vault-Tec was doing bad things, like those experiments in Vault 4. She was helping them! Daddy found out. I don’t know how. Mom said he spied on her, but he wouldn’t do that. She said she was gonna get us into a good vault. He told her if some of them were bad, they all were. I think she slapped him. That’s when I ran out to the barn.”

Janey looked up at Norm with tears in her eyes. Max felt as if he were intruding, but there was nowhere for him to go, besides he needed to be there with his armor in case the Brotherhood or another threat showed up. So he just stood there awkwardly as Norm pulled Janey into a hug.

“She didn’t care!” Janey sobbed. “She didn’t care that people were gonna die! She didn’t care that the people she promised to keep safe weren’t! She didn’t care about leaving Daddy behind! She didn’t care that I didn’t wanna leave him! And she said she was doing it for me!”

“My dad was the same way,” Norm said holding her a little tighter. “No matter what he did he always said it was for my own good. You know how that turned out.”

“It was the same with the Brotherhood,” Max said. “They said they were giving us purpose. That their harsh training methods were for our own good. That they were using the technology they collected to help people. I only realized after meeting Lucy that all they really want is control.”

Max was afraid he shouldn’t have said anything. The Brotherhood weren’t his parents. They had never pretended to be. He hadn’t been betrayed in the same way as Norm and Janey. But then the two of them looked up at him and shared sad, but understanding smiles.

He didn’t feel like an intruder anymore.

#####

Dogmeat stood guard while the Ghoul kept himself busy until Lucy woke up. It wasn’t hard. Just butchering the deathclaw and making jerky took long enough. After that he built a fire then cut some of the the meat into small enough chunks to add into the cans of vegetables from the trading post. He left those by the fire and went to retrieve Lucy’s vault suit and his needle and thread. He dropped them when she moaned and opened her eyes.

“Have a nice nap?” he asked flippantly, as if she hadn’t just given him the worst scare he'd had in over two hundred years. Not that being buried alive wasn’t scary, but having someone else to protect unlocked a whole new kind of fear, one he hadn’t experienced in a long time, but remembered all too well.

For a moment Lucy looked like she was going to snap at him, then she seemed to realize he was teasing. She smiled. “Best I’ve slept in weeks.”

“Nothing like a deathclaw attack to chase away the other nightmares.”

Her smile faded and her eyes slid from his. “They’ll be back.”

“Well, that’s one problem I can’t solve by shootin’ it. Come eat.”

He helped her to the fire and threw his duster over her shoulders. She mumbled her thanks as he handed her one of the cans, lid bent into a scoop. He sat and picked up the other. Dogmeat flopped down between them. Lucy stiffened, but didn’t move away, and dropped a bite of meat on the ground for her. The Ghoul scratched her behind the ears.

“She stood guard over you, the whole time you were out,” He told Lucy. She smiled down at the dog, but didn’t try to pet her. “Don’t know if you remember, but you said somethin’ about gettin’ stabbed earlier. And I saw that scar. I didn’t give you that one.”

Lucy shook her head. “It happened in the vault.”

“One of those raiders that took your daddy?”

“Don’t call him that!”

What had he said? Oh. Your daddy. He hadn’t even thought about it. “Sorry, Sweetheart.”

Lucy sighed. “I’m mad at him, not you. And yes it was one of the raiders that came with Moldaver.” For a moment he thought she was going to leave it at that, but she tossed Dogmeat another bite, and continued. “They pretended to be from Vault 32. We were having the triennial trade. It was supposed to be my wedding. I couldn’t find a suitable marriage partner in 33 so I applied to participate in the trade, and the council approved.”

“You were gonna be some kind of mail order bride?” Somehow he couldn’t picture her going along with that.

“Actually he was transferring to our vault from 32, so he would have been the mail order groom, but that’s the basic idea.”

He nodded with a grunt, still surprised Lucy was willing to settle for a random man she hadn’t met before. Then again she didn’t seem too picky.

“Anyway, he wasn’t really from 32, none of them were. Everyone from 32 was dead. I guess the raiders killed them. I don’t know how they got in there. Everything seemed fine at first. We had the wedding. I danced with Da—Hank, and Norm. Then I took Monty, the raider they picked to be my fake husband, back to the apartment we were assigned and…after I realized he was from the surface, when my Pip-Boy picked up his rad levels, that’s when he stabbed me. I hit him in the face with a blender. Cut open his cheek.”

“Good for you, Little Killer.” He shouldn’t ask. “At what point did your Pip-Boy pick up these rad levels?”

“Yes, we had sex first.”

The Ghoul was glad he had emptied the can already as his grip suddenly tightened enough to crush it.

“Hank beat you to it.”

“What?”

“You’ve got that ‘I’m gonna kill someone’ look. He tried to strangle me during the fight and Hank drowned him in a pickle barrel.”

“Well, at least he did somethin’ right. You’ve got rotten luck with men though. That’s two for two that turned out to be raiders.”

“Two out of three. Chet really is from the vault.”

“Why didn’t you just marry him?”

“He’s my cousin.”

Again he was glad he had finished eating or he would have choked. “Did I hear that right? Are you seriously tellin’ me that you and your cousin…?”

“Engaged in sexual activity, yes. It was just for practice. So we would know what to do when we got married. Although, he kind of wanted it to be more, but it’s not a sustainable long term sexual practice.”

“It ain’t much of one in the short term either.”

“We never went as far as full penetration.”

“That’s not the issue, Vaultie. People don’t f*** their cousins.”

She was looking at him like he was the crazy one.

“How else would you get experience?”

“I waited ‘till I was married, for all the good that did. Some people just hook up, or hire a whore. Might date a person for while before f***ing, even if they do that before they get married. Cousins is just about the last thing on the list.”

“But some people do? Cousin stuff, I mean.”

“Maybe,” he allowed, given the state of the world, it was possible, “but it ain’t normal.”

He collected her vault suit and his needle and thread.

“What are you doing?” Lucy asked.

He held the suit up and peered at her through the tears. “Figured I’d fix this up. Unless you wanna walk the rest of the way to Mountveiw in your skivvies. You might wanna consider picking up a change of clothes once we get there.”

“I’m sorry. We’d be there by now if I hadn’t gotten hurt.”

“That’s the deathclaw’s fault not yours. You survived which is more than most people who get that close to one can say. Most ain’t sayin’ much of anything.” She gave a little snort of laughter. “In any case, Young Henry ain’t goin’ nowhere if he expects someone to bring you to him in Vegas. He might even expect me to bring you. Of course he might be surprised you came along willingly. For the reasons you did anyway.”

She watched him as he got to work. “How do you know how to do this stuff? I just used a stapler on the stab wound, well that and a stim pack.”

“In another life, I was marine. Learned quick if we didn’t patch each other up no one else would.”

“That’s—that’s horrible!”

“I’ve seen and done worse since.”

When he finished the job he handed her the suit. She took it and passed him his gloves. He smiled when he saw the teeth marks in the right trigger finger. They were never going to let each other forget that. Maybe they shouldn’t.

Feeling her eyes on him he looked up. She was giving him that look again. The one like she was trying to figure out where she recognized him from. He used to get looks like that all the time. He’d be out and about minding his own business and someone would wonder why he looked familiar. More often than not they figured it out. But that had been before the bombs. These days when people recognized him it was as the most feared bounty hunter in the Wastelands. That didn’t seem to be what Lucy was seeing. The more time he spent with her, the more he told her, the more he wondered if she would see through the Ghoul to Cooper Howard.

#####

Baubles, bangles and beads…

“I know that song! It’s from Kismet!” Janey said when she heard the music.

“Lucy was Marcina for the vault play once,” Norm said.

“I told Daddy I wanted to play her when I got old enough, and he was gonna have to be Hoj.”

“Lucy always wanted him to play that part. Of course she wanted to be La Loom. Don’t you dare tell her I told you that!”

Janey giggled. “No promises.”

“There’s the trading post,” Max said.

“Oh, good! Can we please get something to eat that’s not cram?”

“Sorry, Cowgirl, no promises. Depends on what they’ve got.”

Janey nodded, making an admirable effort not to pout.

Norm squeezed her shoulder. “I’m tired of cram too.”

“Maybe we can find something better when we stop at a settlement,” Max said.

Max stashed his armor in a nearby abandoned building rather than wear it in the small shop. Norm supposed the shop owners had picked the most intact building rather than the largest.

Inside the place was packed with shelves full of junk. They picked up some food, not only cram, but also some canned vegetables and some crackers. Janey grimaced at the selection and wandered to a pile of rags in the corner. The place was so small Norm didn’t worry about letting her go. When they picked up ammunition he saw the shelves full of maintenance and engineering supplies. Not the safest arrangement, but that wasn’t his problem. He examined the pieces of scrap metal, selecting the hardest alloy he could find, then picked up a spool of metal wire, a blow torch and welding mask, gloves, and wire cutters.

“What is all that for?” Max asked.

Norm glanced at the little man behind the counter. “I’ll explain later.”

Janey joined them at the counter, carrying a nearly flat stuffed animal, some rags and a sewing kit.

Max started to say something, but Norm stopped him with a hand on his arm. “She make her own caps in Filly,” he whispered. Max nodded. Norm didn’t explain that the stuffed dog was modeled after her daddy’s dog that had once starred in a movie with him, and had probably died along with him when the bombs fell. It was up to her, if she wanted to talk about that.

The shopkeeper shook his head as they handed over their caps. “Never thought I’d see a vault dweller come in here, let alone two in as many weeks.”

“I’m actually looking for my sister,” Norm said. He brought up her picture on his Pip-Boy and turned his arm so the man could see. “Was it her?”

The man glanced at the image. “Yeah, that’s her all right. Came through here about two weeks ago with some ghoul.”

Janey gasped. “What was she doing with a ghoul?”

“That’s what I asked her. She just said she didn’t have a choice.”

“This ghoul,” Max said, “Was he tall? With a strange accent, sort of slow and slurred? Wearing a cowboy hat and a long, tattered coat?”

The shopkeeper nodded. “Sounds like him.”

Max looked ready to faint.

They left the shop and didn’t say another word until they reached the building with the stashed power armor.

“It’s him. The Ghoul. It has to be,” Max said, sinking to the floor next to his armor.

“The bounty hunter?” Janey asked.

Max nodded.

“Why would Lucy be with him?”

“He must be taking her to our dad, for the bounty. I just don’t understand how he could have found her that quickly. It must have been right after the bounty went out.”

“He was at the observatory. When we—when the Brotherhood took it. He didn’t even bother taking us by surprise. He whistled! And he started monologuing ! He even told us he’d worn the armor himself. Mentioned the welding fault. Then he started shooting. Knights, real knights in full power armor went down! And I…I just ran. I don’t know if he didn’t see me or if he just didn’t think I was worth the trouble.” Max lowered his head, hand on his forehead.

Norm sat next to him and put a hand on his shoulder. “I hid. When the raiders attacked the vault. Everyone else fought back, but I just hid.”

Max shook his head. “You’re supposed to earn the armor through acts of bravery. The only reason they made me a knight after the battle was because Dane told them I was the one who killed Moldaver, but that’s not what happened! I had just woken up when she came in. She was already wounded. She died without me doing anything. I’ve never done anything brave in my life!”

“You helped us,” Janey said.

Norm nodded. “And you helped Lucy in Filly and in Vault 4.”

“I made things worse in Vault 4!”

“You didn’t know they were gonna let her go!” Janey said.

“And you did know intervening meant you would have to leave, but you did it anyway,” Norm said.

“I’m glad you ran! If the Ghoul killed you, you couldn’t have helped us!” Janey looked at Norm. “And I’m glad you hid! If the raiders killed you, I’d still be stuck in Vault 31!” she shuddered.

“I’m glad you made it out of there too,” Norm said. He turned back to Max. “I don’t blame you for being afraid of the Ghoul, especially since he seems to know all the weaknesses in that armor. I got this stuff so I can try to fix some of them, but I understand if you don’t want to help me find him and Lucy.”

“You can’t go after them on your own!”

“I have to try. I can’t leave Lucy with that monster!” Not the Ghoul, not their father. “It’s going to take me a few hours to fix up your armor, and then you should wait until morning to use it, so the hot metal has time to cool. You can wait until then to decide.”

“You mean, you’re going to fix it either way?”

“What else am I gonna do with this junk?”

Max took a deep breath and nodded. “When we find them, we have to shoot first. We have to take down the Ghoul before he knows we’re there. It’s the only way we’ll stand a chance.” There was a new steel in his voice.

Norm nodded. He would do whatever it took to save his sister.

Chapter Text

Before Norm started work on the armor, they ate supper, and he told Max about his investigations in the vaults and how they had led to him finding Janey and escaping to the surface. He didn’t go into the details about what he found in 32, only that everyone there had been dead for at least two years and that the raiders got in using his mother’s Pip-Boy, which made a bit more sense now that he knew she had died in Shady Sands, even if he still didn’t know exactly how she had gotten there, why his dad had brought him and Lucy home without her, or why he dropped the bomb afterwards.

Max shook his head when Norm explained how long Janey and everyone else in 31 had been in cryogenic sleep. “I remember the bombs falling.”

“You remember the bombs that destroyed Shady Sands. The first bombs fell over two hundred years ago,” Norm said. The Brotherhood’s education system must suck.

“But that was such a long time ago! And the world’s still so messed up!”

“Yeah, because people like my dad keep messing it up.”

“And my mom,” Janey said.

Norm patted her shoulder. “Why don’t you tell him the rest? I should get started on that armor.”

He put on the gloves and got to work as she animatedly took up the story, starting with their escape from 31. Her voice quieted when she got to Norm taking her to Chet’s apartment.

“I heard my daddy, but it was the TV.”

Norm paused in winding the metal wire around the tubes to the helmet. He hadn’t even remembered that Steph was watching a Cooper Howard movie when they came in.

Max frowned. “I don’t understand. The TV in Vault 4 just showed a waterfall. Why would you hear your daddy?”

“He was in the movies,” Janey said.

“Movies?”

“It’s like a play,” Norm said. He cut the wire and moved to the next tube. “They record it so you can watch it again.”

“A…play?”

Wow. Max must have been really lost when he and Janey were talking about Kismet earlier.

“A story,” Janey said, “but instead of writing it down or telling it, people act it out so you can see it.”

Max nodded. “Okay, I think that makes sense.”

“We’ll have to show you, if we find a working TV,” Norm said.

“I kept the holotape from the Super Duper Mart! We could show Max that one! So he can see my daddy!”

Norm smiled. “Sounds like a plan.”

Janey resumed the story of their escape, sobering again when she got to the part about Chet getting shot.

“He sounds really brave,” Max said.

“He was. We wouldn’t have made it without him,” Norm said, wishing he could tell Chet that. He finished wrapping the wire around the tube and jumped down to get the blow torch and welding mask. The torch was loud enough to pause the conversation while he melted the wire over the tubes.

“Why did you do that?” Janey asked when he finished.

“So the Ghoul can’t get a knife in the space between the wires.”

“That’s really smart,” Max said.

“Whoever built these things should have thought not to leave vital components exposed like that in the first place. Not to mention that welding fault.” Norm picked up the scrap metal. “This won’t stop an armor piercing bullet from damaging the armor, but hopefully it will keep it from reaching you.”

“Thank you. I spent my whole life thinking that armor was almost invincible. Seeing the Ghoul take it down so easily was terrifying. I’m not looking forward to going up against him again, but at least I can feel more prepared.”

“Well, if we can take him by surprise like you said, you might not even need the upgrades, but I feel better about it with them too.”

“Why is he so mean?” Janey asked.

“Almost everyone in the Wastelands is mean,” Max said.

“I guess it’s just easier to survive out here that way,” Norm said.

Janey crossed her arms and scowled. “We survived without being mean!”

“Maybe you should tell the Ghoul that,” Norm said.

“Lucy tried. That didn’t work out so well for her,” Max reminded him.

Norm nodded. It didn’t matter. He wasn’t letting that monster get anywhere near Janey.

#####

Lucy knew the Ghoul slowed down for her on a good day, but the pace he set to accommodate her injuries was unbearably slow. Dogmeat seemed to agree as she kept running ahead, then looking back at them as if wondering what was taking them so long.

“I’m fine!” she insisted. She passed him, trying to entice him to move faster.

He grabbed her arm, just firm enough that she couldn’t get away, and pulled her back. “No, you ain’t. Don’t forget I saw that deathclaw’s handiwork. You ain’t shaking that off in a day. Now slow down, or do I have to put a leash on you again?”

“You wouldn’t!”

“You really wanna test that?”

She slowed down. Of course her injuries hurt, and the stitches pulled uncomfortably if she moved the wrong way, but she still felt like she could go a little faster.

“We’re almost there anyway,” the Ghoul said.

Lucy sped up again. The Ghoul sighed, and adjusted his pace to stay next to her.

“You realize I'm never going to believe you when you threaten to tie me up again,” Lucy said, grinning.

“I still could,” the Ghoul muttered with a smirk.

Dogmeat barked before Lucy could think of a reply. She looked around half expecting another deathclaw to attack.

The Ghoul shook his head. “She probably just smells the settlement.”

Sure enough a few minutes later the ramshackle walls came into view. The guards at the entrance gave them unfriendly looks, but let them pass.

The Ghoul scanned the area around them. “First thing is to get you to a real doctor.”

“What? I’m fine, I don’t need a doctor.”

“You just got nearly gutted by a deathclaw!”

“And you stitched me up. You know what you’re doing, right? So I’ll be okay.”

He gave her a strange look. “Fine. We’ll stay here a few days, let you recover before we move on, and if you tear those stitches or get an infection you’re going to the doctor if I have to tie you up and drag you.”

Lucy gave him her brightest smile. “Okie dokie!”

“In that case let’s start with dinner.”

“I thought you liked mole rat jerky. Not to mention all the meat you got off that deathclaw.”

“Better save that for the road, and take a hot meal while you can.”

The Ghoul led the way to a bar. They left Dogmeat outside guarding Lucy’s pack and his saddle bag. He kept his guns, so Lucy did too. A hush fell over the room when they entered. The Ghoul acted like he didn’t even notice. Did they know he who was or could they just tell he was potentially dangerous? Lucy stuck close behind him as he ordered their food and took a table in the corner, positioning himself so he could see the rest of the room. She took a chair across from him.

He seemed more at ease here than in the Wastelands. Of course even the most dangerous of these men would be nothing compared to a deathclaw. Eventually people seemed to realize he wasn’t going to cause trouble and resumed their own meals and conversations. A song played through speakers she couldn’t see.

Two lost souls, on the highway of life,

We haven’t even got, a sister or brother,

But ain’t it just great?

Ain’t it just grand?

We’ve got each other!

After a few bites Lucy said, “So if you were in the marines, did you wear the power armor?”

“Yep. Older model than the Brotherhood had at the observatory, the T-45. Of course it seems like they didn’t bother much with fixing all the problems with it.”

“Why bother with a new model if they weren’t going to improve it?”

He shrugged. “Same reason most people do anything, money.”

Lucy nodded. Currency was a necessity on the surface were there was no means to distribute resources evenly as they were in the vaults, but she had learned greed was a powerful motivator, more often than not to do terrible things.

The Ghoul continued. “I met one of the men responsible for building those suits. Bud Askins.” He shook his head. “Couldn’t care less how many people died because he couldn’t be bothered with quality control.”

How many people had he killed by taking advantage of those flaws? Did he not value life as little as he made it seem, or was it the fact that those deaths were the result of carelessness rather than necessity that bothered him? Or maybe it was just because it was people he had fought alongside who had lost their lives. Maybe he hadn’t always been so callus and it was the memory of that time that affected him. How would he have gotten the opportunity to meet someone like that anyway? It didn’t seem like someone a foot soldier would have been introduced to. None of those questions seemed safe.

“T-45? So, were you in Alaska?” she asked.

He nodded, and told her more about his time in the Marines while they ate, as careful to avoid anything too personal as she had been when talking about the vault. He did mention his friend Charlie, who he had apparently gotten in and out of trouble with a few times.

After they finished the Ghoul stood. “I’m going to see about getting a drink.” He headed for the crowded bar.

That was when Lucy realized that none of the servers had stopped at their table, despite frequently checking the others. They probably found the Ghoul intimidating, not that she could blame them.

A man slid into the seat across from her. “Hey there. I haven’t seen you around.”

“We just arrived earlier today,” Lucy said with a smile, ensuring her pistol was in easy reach.

“You and that ghoul you mean.”

“That’s right.”

“How long you staying?”

“A few days.”

“So, how much for a night?”

“What?”

“I’ll settle for an hour or two.”

“Am I correct in understanding that you are offering to pay me for sex?”

“That’s right, babe.”

It would be a relatively easy, maybe even pleasant way to earn caps. Lucy glanced to the Ghoul sitting on a bar stool, apparently unaware of the exchange. She didn’t buy that for a minute.

“I can guarantee I’d be better company than rot face over there. Could probably pay better too.”

Lucy snapped her attention back to him. “What?”

“How much is he paying you?”

“He’s not! We’re just—”

“You don’t expect me to believe a pretty girl like you would waste your time on something like that with nothing to show for it?”

Lucy pushed back from the table, giving him a tight smile. “Thank you for the offer, but I must decline. Good evening.” She stood.

The man rose as well. “You seriously telling me you’d rather wake up to that ugly face?”

She didn’t bother answering. Just started towards the bar aiming for an empty stool next to the Ghoul. Hadn’t there been more people there a minute ago?

The man grabbed her arm.

“Let go!”

His grip tightened. The Ghoul grabbed the man’s wrist. The man released her. The Ghoul punched him, sending him sprawling to the floor, blood spurting from his nose.

“If you’re smart, you’ll stay down,” the Ghoul growled.

The man stayed down.

“Come on, Sweetheart, let’s get out of here.”

Lucy nodded. She relaxed as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and, glaring at anyone who so much as looked at her, guided her out of the bar. The song which had faded into the background with its repetition came back to Lucy’s attention.

We’ve got a lot, because we’ve got, each other!

#####

"Do you need to stop to rest?” Norm asked when he noticed Janey slowing down when the sun was at its highest point. They had been walking since early that morning, Max excited to try the power armor with its upgrades. Of course they wouldn’t really test them until they caught up to Lucy and the Ghoul, and hopefully not even then.

“I could carry you for a while,” Max offered.

Norm’s first thought was to explain that it would be better to stop. He reconsidered. That had worked when it was just the two of them because he couldn’t have carried her far without needing to rest anyway. Max was fit enough he could probably carry her all day even without the power armor. So, when Janey looked up at him as if asking permission he shrugged and said, “It’s up to you.”

She nodded and Max scooped her up. By the time they stopped for the night Norm had to admit they made better time that way.

After setting Janey down Max exited his armor. The three of them chatted as they set up camp and ate supper.

“So, how good are you with that gun?” Max asked when they finished eating.

“Not great,” Norm admitted.

“Maybe I can help with that. Show me what you can do.”

It couldn’t hurt. Norm set up the cans from supper on a crumbling wall, stood back and fired. He missed every one.

“Okay…yeah we need to work on that.”

Janey giggled. Max nudged her shoulder. “Be nice.”

He came to stand next to Norm. “Let’s start with your stance. Here I’ll show you.” He took Norm’s gun and took aim at the cans. He passed the gun back to Norm who tried to mimic him. Max moved behind Norm. “Here, shoulders back, straighten your arms a bit,” he reached around Norm, guiding his arm into position. Norm could feel the heat of Max’s body pressed against his back, his breath on his cheek. His heart sped. Surely Max could feel that. His hands shook. Max steadied them. “Relax,” Max said, laughter in his voice, not mocking, just amused which actually helped Norm relax. He turned to Max. “Eyes on the target.” Right. Norm fired. One can fell over.

“Great! You’re already improving!” Max patted him on the shoulder and stepped away, leaving Norm breathless.

“Can I try?” Janey asked.

Max looked at Norm.

Norm sighed and nodded. He didn’t like it, but she should know how to defend herself.

Janey shot all three cans on her first try.

“Oh, wow! You’re really good at this,” Max said.

“I learned from watching my daddy.”

“She was the one who shot the feral ghoul that attacked us at the Super Duper Mart.” Norm wondered if it was the same one Lucy had escaped from.

Janey handed Norm the gun and looked down. “It was scary.”

“Of course it was. Not being scared isn’t what makes you brave, doing the right thing even when you are scared is,” Max said.

“Like how we’re gonna help Lucy even though we’re all scared of the Ghoul.”

“Exactly,” Norm said, patting her shoulder.

Max sighed. “I just hope she’s okay.”

Norm forced a smile. “Are you kidding? She’ll probably escape before we even catch up!”

He hoped it was true.

#####

The Ghoul wasn’t sure what exactly had gone wrong between Lucy and that man. Maybe she was hurting more than she let on. Maybe she was just being more cautious after the last two men she’d been with turned out to be raiders. Maybe she just wasn’t in the mood. It didn’t matter. What mattered was that she had said no, and when she tried to walk away he tried to stop her.

When the Ghoul heard her yell, “Let go!” he had moved without thinking. As if protecting her was instinct. Hadn’t even thought about the unfinished drink he left there. At least he’d already paid. Shit, everyone in this town was going to think he was f***ing her now weren't they? Well, if they did maybe they’d leave her alone. Or maybe it would cause her more problems.

Dogmeat jumped up to greet them outside, and he removed his arm from Lucy’s shoulders to pet the dog while Lucy gathered their packs.

“Thank you,” she said, handing him his saddlebag.

“You could have handled it yourself.” He started walking, looking for a hotel.

“I couldn’t have knocked him down that quick.”

“Sure you could, you just have to aim a little lower.”

It took her a moment to realize what he meant. She laughed. Making her laugh was getting to be a habit. So was smiling when she did.

“I did that with Monty actually, before I hit him with the blender. Of course he was actually trying to kill me, not just being rude.”

“Looked a little more than rude to me.” Seeing a sign for a hotel he moseyed in that direction.

“It did seem like the situation could escalate.”

“Just so long as you know that if some bastard don’t take no for an answer you’ve got every right to punch him in the balls. Or bite his nose off.”

“That’s not what happened to yours is it?” she asked, tone teasing.

He chuckled. “Nah, that’s a ghoul thing.”

“Does it hurt?” She sounded like she wasn’t sure she should ask.

“Like hell at first. Not anymore. Can’t smell much though. Course you probably guessed that.”

“What about taste?”

“Not much of that left either.”

“Which would be why you didn’t mind taking all the mole rat meat.”

He stopped. Looked at her.

She grinned. “I saw you swap it out.”

He shook his head and started walking again.

They made it to the hotel, and he paid for the room. When he reached for the key in the hostess’s hand she set it on the counter. He picked it up without comment.

“That dog better not make a mess in the room.”

“She won’t.”

It wasn’t until they got to the room that he realized he had forgotten to specify they needed two beds. He threw down his saddle bag and his rifle and settled into the armchair between the solitary bed and the door, revolver still on his hip.

“You take the bed.”

Lucy hesitated but nodded. “I’ll probably feel safer with you guarding the door anyway.”

How long had it been since someone felt safer with him around?

Dogmeat flopped to the floor at his feet. Lucy unzipped her vault suit. The Ghoul pulled his hat down over his face.

Lucy laughed. “You just saw me without my vault suit on yesterday!”

He just grunted. He wasn’t about to explain that yesterday sex had been the farthest thing from his mind, but now they were in a tiny room, with only one bed, and she had just turned down another man, and it had been a long time, and it wasn’t quite so far from his mind anymore. It wasn’t like she would be interested anyway. She would probably be disgusted by the idea. At best she would go along with it out of curiosity. Or pity. So he just strategically adjusted his duster and tried not think about it as she settled in.

Chapter Text

Lucy spent the few days they stayed in Mountview doing jobs to earn caps, starting with the least physically demanding jobs she could find. The first thing she spent them on was a chance to use the public baths. Maybe that was a waste, considering how quickly she would get dirty again, but she couldn't pass up the opportunity to get clean. That was probably what she missed the most about the vault, aside from her brother and her friends, of course.

She spent caps almost as quickly as she earned them. A change of clothes was next after the bath, a few sets of undergarments, denim jeans, a cowgirl style shirt with long sleeves that was thin enough to keep her from overheating, and a cowboy hat and boots. It wasn’t until she got back to the hotel room where the Ghoul sat cleaning his guns that she realized she matched him, she had just been trying to be practical.

After the clothes she started stocking up on food, water, and medical supplies. She even got a handful of those vials the Ghoul needed, stashing them in her pack in hopes of avoiding them all getting smashed at once again. She didn’t tell the Ghoul, unsure how he would react.

Once she was confident she had taken care of the necessities she found a jeweler to put a chain on the shard of window glass from the church which she wore tucked under her shirt. It was silly, but she kind of liked having something that was just pretty. So much in the vault had been purely practical, and that seemed to be the general rule on the surface as well. It was nice to know that rule could be broken.

No one bothered her after the incident at the bar. She did occasionally get recognized as the “girl who came with that ghoul,” she didn’t bother reminding them she had a name. It didn’t seem fair when she couldn’t also tell them his. If he could handle being the Ghoul, then she could handle being the girl, or the vault dweller. They wouldn’t be here long anyway.

She saw the Ghoul around the settlement, Dogmeat following him around, but he kept to himself. She let him. Norm could be like that too. He was probably tired of having her around all the time, and they still had weeks to go traveling together. He usually beat her back to the hotel in the evenings, where she would tell him about the jobs she did. It was a relief to have something to talk about other than the vault. He didn’t share much, but he would occasionally mention another dog, or some kids Dogmeat had played with. She wondered if he was doing jobs too, and what, but he never brought it up, and she didn’t ask.

When a week had passed and the Ghoul said nothing about moving on, Lucy decided to bring it up herself.

“We should probably leave today.”

“After a week? With an injury like that?” The Ghoul shook his head.

“I left my vault less than a day after I got stabbed! I’m fine, I can show you-- "

He stopped her with a raised hand. “Not so fast, Gypsy Rose Lee!”

Lucy crossed her arms, “Whose Gypsy Rose Lee?”

“She was a Burlesque star in the old world. They made a musical about her. Considering how goody two shoes folks in your vault seem to be I’m not surprised you don’t know that one.”

Lucy didn’t know what a Burlesque star was, but decided to get the conversation back on track rather than ask.

“I know I don’t heal as fast as you, but I’m fine. The jobs I’ve been doing around the settlement prove that.”

“Is that so?”

“Why don’t you come with me today and see for yourself?” When he hesitated she added, “The other options are for me to strip down so you can have a look—purely for medical evaluation—or I walk out of here right now, and if you want to stick together you’ll just have to come with me, Cowboy.”

“Fine, let’s go see what’s on the job board. Dogmeat needs to go out anyway. How did you get so stubborn?”

“I’m a teacher. I had to be more stubborn than a classroom full of kids on a daily basis.”

“Right. Shoulda known.” He led the way out of the hotel.

At the job board Lucy pulled down a paper. “Rad roach infestation. Sounds like a good trial run for getting back on the road.”

“Fine. Dogmeat can help out too.”

Lucy smiled. “The first time I saw her she pounced on a rad roach that was sneaking up on me. Doctor Wilzig warned me not to light a fire at night.”

“You ran into them before Filly?”

“Briefly.” Lucy started following the directions on the paper to where the job was. She hadn’t forgotten what happened in Filly, or afterwards, but she had managed not to think about it. “How did you end up with her?”

“Well, I fixed her up at Filly, and she followed the scent to where the Doc lost his head,” when Lucy ignored his questioning look he went on, “After I left her at the river I guess she took up with whoever found the head there. Seems they didn’t want her following them around. Next time I saw her she was shut up in an empty fridge outside a Red Rocket. Haven’t been able to get rid of her since.” He reached down to pet the dog who wagged her tail.

Lucy shook her head. “They just left her trapped in there? Did they at least leave her some food or water?”

“Not that I saw. Don’t know how long she was in there.”

“It must have been Thadeus. He did basically the same thing to Max. They were the ones who got the head out of the gulper, but then they…had a disagreement.” Max hadn’t told her exactly why his squire had turned on him while they were traveling together, but after his confession she could guess it was because Thadeus found out the truth about him. It didn’t seem like her place to the tell the Ghoul the story. “Thadeus took the head, and the fusion core from Max’s armor, and left him trapped in it. When I found him there were rad roaches swarming him, looking for way into his armor.” Lucy looked at the ground. That had been right after her escape from the Super Duper Mart. She had been half convinced the Ghoul would come after her, and nearly hadn’t helped Max at all for fear he would treat her just as badly. Now here she was walking alongside the Ghoul, trusting him to use those guns on rad roaches instead of her. And she had left Max behind. She knew she hadn’t had a choice, but she couldn't help feeling guilty. Would he have wanted to come to find her father, instead of going to her vault? If he did would he have been willing to travel with the Ghoul? She knew which of them she would have chosen in that moment if the answer had been no. Didn’t she?

“This the place?” the Ghoul asked.

Lucy looked around, then checked the paper. “Looks like it.”

The Ghoul cast a critical eye over the small farm. “Needs more work than taking out a few rad roaches.”

It did look pitiful compared to the farm in the vault. What crops there were wilted in the sun. But growing things on the surface was probably harder. Of course the Ghoul had worked on a ranch at some point, so maybe he knew more about it than she did. Crop rotation had never been her favorite job.

“Maybe they’re just getting started.”

“You better let them know we’re here, before we start shooting,” the Ghoul said. He hung back with the dog while Lucy knocked on the door to the house.

A man opened the door, gun at the ready.

Lucy smiled, and offered a hand to shake. “Hi, I’m Lucy. Are you Mr. MacDonald?” he nodded. Lucy continued. “My friend and I are here about the job you posted. To get rid of the rad roaches.”

“Barn,” he pointed towards the building. “No animals in there to get in your way. Not with those damn bugs.”

“Right. I guess we’ll get to it then.”

“Can I watch?” a boy who looked about eight years old appeared behind the farmer.

“Jack, I already told you not to go near that barn ‘till the roaches are gone!” Mr. MacDonald scowled at Lucy. “Well? What are you still doing here? Get to work!”

“Yes, sir,” Lucy smiled. The door closed in her face. The Ghoul and Dogmeat joined her on the way to the barn. “He’s almost as rude as you!”

“I’m gonna have to work on that.” Lucy looked up at him. He smirked. “If some farmer can come close I must be goin’ soft.”

Lucy rolled her eyes, fighting a smile.

As soon as she opened the barn door a rad roach flew at her. She squealed and jumped back. The rad roach exploded.

“Looks like I’m a already pulling ahead,” the Ghoul said. Lucy didn’t have to look to know he was smirking. She drew her pistol and fired three shots, each hitting a different roach scattered around the barn.

“It surprised me, that’s all.”

The Ghoul strode into the barn behind her. “Shoulda had your gun ready before you opened the door. If you freeze up every time you’re surprised you ain’t gonna live long out here.” He fired four times. He just had to one-up her.

“I thought that’s what you were here for?” Five shots.

“I didn’t reckon on keepin’ you alive bein’ a full-time job.” He emptied his revolver.

She watched his back while he reloaded. “You got a break this week.” Her turn to reload.

“Tell that to the bastard at the bar.”

“Weren’t you the one who said I could have handled it?” She took out more roaches. She started to wonder if the caps offered for this job would even cover the ammo.

“Sure you could. You’re just too nice for your own good.”

Lucy thought the roaches were gone, but the Ghoul smacked a wall and more came swarming out.

“It’s better than being mean all the time! I’d rather try being nice first and not fight unless I have to.”

He took out a roach that came at her while she reloaded. “It’s the Wastelands, Sweetheart. More often than not, you have to.”

Lucy kicked a wall, partly to see if more roaches would emerge, mostly out of frustration because she knew he was right. “Being nice works sometimes! It got you to help me, didn’t it?”

“Guess I can’t argue with that. How many did you get?”

“About a hundred.” She had stopped counting at some point.

“One fifty.” She didn’t believe he had really kept better track than she had, but didn’t call him out on it. Chances were good he got more than she did anyway. “You’re off your game today.”

“I don’t like bugs.”

“I would think that would be an incentive.”

“How many did Dogmeat get?”

“Two or three.”

The dog crunched happily on one.

“I guess we should go tell old MacDonald we cleared them out.”

“After you.”

Lucy knocked on the farmhouse door again. Mr. MacDonald came out to see the barn for himself, not arguing when his son followed. Dogmeat jumped up to greet Jack who laughed and petted her before tossing a stick for her.

After inspecting the barn Mr. MacDonald said, “Looks like you got the job done.” He reached into his pocket.

Lucy held out her hands for the caps, then frowned when she saw how many he gave her.

“Excuse me, sir, I think you must have made a mistake. This is only half of what your job posting advertised.”

He crossed his arms and scowled past her at the Ghoul. “You never said your friend was a ghoul.”

“What difference does that make?”

“It’s not like he’s feral, Dad,” Jack said. “He’s been at the settlement all week and hasn’t caused any problems.”

“Tell that to Jimmy.”

“If you’re referring to the…gentleman we encountered at the bar he was attempting to take liberties with me. My friend merely came to my defense.”

“Either way, that’s all you’re getting. Be glad I’m paying you at all.”

Before Lucy could argue further the Ghoul’s hand came down on her shoulder. “Come on, Sweetheart, it’s not worth it.”

“Ghoulf***er.”

The Ghoul maneuvered Lucy behind him. “Say what you want about me, but leave the lady out of it.” He shot the farmer a glare so fierce Lucy was almost surprised the man didn’t drop dead.

Jack gave them an apologetic look which earned him a hat tip from the Ghoul before he steered Lucy away.

“It’s not right!” Lucy grumbled as they left the farm.

“No it ain’t and you shouldn’t have to put up with that shit just because we’re traveling together, but that’s how it is, and there ain’t much we can do about it.”

“But why? I thought that after the war people moved past that sort of bigotry. We all had to work together to survive after all. At least that’s how it was in my vault.”

“This ain’t the vault, Sweetheart.”

“I know, and I know there’s still a lot of fighting on the surface, but I thought it was just about survival, or like Max said, disagreeing on how to save the world. Not what people look like!”

“That’s part of it, people don’t like anything different, but with ghouls there’s also the fact goin’ feral is real risk. Of course, my personal reputation doesn’t help.”

“First of all your behavior has improved considerably since we started traveling together.” The Ghoul scoffed at that but she forged ahead. “Secondly, these people don’t even care about your behavior. They’re just being prejudiced!”

“You get used to it.”

Lucy sped up to get in front of him, planted her feet, crossed her arms and glared, stopping him in his tracks. “You promised not to lie to me, Cowboy.”

“I didn’t say it’s not irritating. But you do learn to live with it. You just can’t make a scene every time someone says something stupid. Not only is it exhausting, but it don’t do shit to change anyone’s mind.” His eyes slid away from hers. “Look I understand if it’s too much to deal with. If you’d rather go ahead on your own, or go back to your vault—”

“F*** that! I don’t want anything to do with those bigots anyway!”

A smile tugged at his mouth. “You do realize those bigots make up a majority of Wastelanders? And not all of them are gonna stop at cruel comments or short changing us.”

“Then I’ll have to learn to live with it and if being nice isn’t going to convince them not to shoot just because you’re a ghoul then I guess I’ll just have to shoot back.”

“Just as long as you’re quicker on the draw than you were with those rad roaches.”

When they got back into the settlement Lucy noticed the disgusted looks people gave them. Both of them. She had never been called something as crude as that term MacDonald had used before, just because she was with a ghoul. She couldn’t imagine how much worse it was for him, having the idea that someone might want to have sex with him thrown around as an insult, as if there would have to be something inherently wrong with them, and yet he had taken it until he felt she was the one being insulted.

No one had ever called her a lady before either. She had heard the term before, mostly in old movies, and was vaguely aware that it indicated some form of respect. Cooper Howard generally referred to the love interests in his movies as one. Not that she thought the Ghoul saw her that way. She glared right back at the settlers, and just to show them she couldn’t care less what they thought she linked her arm in his.

#####

“Norm!”

He reached Janey before he was fully awake. “Are you okay?”

Janey shook her head, then nodded. “Bad dreams.”

“The bombs?”

She nodded. “And Daddy. This time the Ghoul was helping them take me away. He was the one that shot Roosevelt instead of…”

Instead of his dad.

Max, who had been on watch in his power armor said, “That makes sense. I mean, I know that’s not what happened, but he is a bounty hunter, and you’re scared of him. We all are.”

Norm squeezed an arm around Janey’s shoulders. “We won’t let him get you.”

“Daddy tried!”

“Your daddy didn’t have my power armor, and with Norm’s upgrades the Ghoul won’t be able to take it down.”

Janey nodded, relaxing against Norm. He rocked her, singing the inchworm song Lucy always had when he had nightmares. The gentle repetitive tune soothed Janey back to sleep. This had become an almost nightly routine.

“I shouldn’t have told told her about the Ghoul,” Max said, voice low.

“It’s not your fault. Everything out here is scary. Besides we heard about him in Filly first.”

“I tried to leave out the worst parts at least.”

“How much did Lucy tell you?”

“All of it. I think.”

“What exactly did that thing do to my sister?” Norm kept his eyes on Janey, not sure he really wanted to know.

Max hesitated. “He used her as bait for the gulper that swallowed the head. Strung her up on some kind of rig and dunked her in and out of the water. On the way to the Super Duper Mart, he didn’t give her any water. He actually poured out his water in front of her! She had to drink from an irradiated puddle. She had radiation sickness when we met again because of it. Luckily I had some Rad Away. When she tried to escape he caught her… She said he lassoed her? I’m not sure what that means I was embarrassed to ask.”

“You tie a rope in a loop and throw it over an animal—or a person I guess—then you pull on it so it gets tight enough they can’t escape. Janey’s dad used to do it in the movies. Then he’d do tricks like that at kid’s parties,” Norm explained.

Max nodded. Norm wondered if he had been old enough to remember any parties before the Brotherhood took him.

“Is that all?” he asked.

“Well, after he caught her, when she tried to escape, she bit his finger off, so he, he cut hers off. He said it was an honest exchange.”

Norm’s stomach churned.

“They gave her a new one at the Super Duper Mart, but I’m not sure why they bothered. They weren’t slavers. They were organ harvesters.”

“He sold her to people he knew were gonna kill her?” He shouldn’t have been shocked. The Ghoul was a bounty hunter. Selling people was practically the job description. Why would he care what happened to them afterwards as long as he got paid?

Lucy had been stuck with him for weeks now.

After a few minutes of silence Norm said. “You should get some sleep. I’ll take the next watch.”

“Yeah, okay.” Max climbed out of his armor. He gave Norm a pat on the shoulder. “Hey, Lucy’s tough. We might catch up to them and find out the Ghoul needs rescuing from her!”

Norm forced a smile and nodded. Lucy was tough. But if the rumors were true the Ghoul had over two hundred years of experience. How was she supposed to compete with that? How were he and Max? And how were they going to keep Janey safe? He wished her dad had been in Vault 31. That he could have opened one of those pods to find Cooper Howard. It would have been nice to have a real adult along. Someone who know how to fight. Someone who might stand a chance against the Ghoul.

#####

Lucy zipped up her pack, checked that she had extra ammo on her gun belt for the third time, and slung the pack on her back. “Ready.”

“’Bout time,” the Ghoul muttered and strode out the hotel room door, Dogmeat at his heels.

Lucy smiled and shook her head as she followed them. Yesterday he had been the one trying to convince her to stay longer. Not that she blamed him for wanting to get out of this settlement, with the way the people treated him.

In the street she made a point of walking right next to him, though with her pack she couldn’t hold his arm. He didn’t seem to mind, at least he didn’t pull ahead. He paused when Dogmeat ran off to greet a group of kids who enthusiastically returned her attention. They let out cries of disappointment when the Ghoul whistled for Dogmeat to come back.

“Sorry, we’re headin’ out.”

“Wait!” Jack ran right up to the Ghoul. “I have the rest of the caps for the job you did yesterday.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a little bag.

The Ghoul made no move to take it. “Your daddy know about this?”

“Well…he said I could have them, since he didn’t pay you.”

“How ‘bout you share them with your friends? For keeping the dog busy for me.”

“That’s not a job! We were just playing!”

“Well, she’s got a lot of energy. It’s not a problem when we’re on the road, there’s plenty to keep her occupied out there, but in a settlement, that’s another story. I’d say you kids helped me out quite a bit.”

Jack frowned. “You just don’t want me to get in trouble with my dad for giving them to you.”

Lucy giggled. The Ghoul shot her a look before turning back to the kid and saying, “Consider it a reward for tryin’ to do the right thing then.”

“Golden rule,” Lucy added.

Jack nodded and put the bag of caps back in his pocket. “My dad’s usually nice; he just doesn’t like ghouls.”

“Most people don’t”

Jack looked at Lucy. “But you do.”

“I didn’t like him much at first, but, yeah, he’s kinda grown on me.”

Jack petted Dogmeat. “You’re not coming back, are you?”

“Probably not anytime soon,” the Ghoul said.

“Good. I hope you find a place where people will be nicer to you.”

Lucy smiled. “Me too.”

Chapter Text

Lucy stared, fascinated by the colors painted across the sky as the sun set. After a month on the surface she still couldn’t get used to it. She knew the sunset in the vault was a recording, but somehow it hadn’t occurred to her that the real thing would be different every time. Even exhausted she mustered the energy to appreciate one of the few good things about the surface.

“Wake up, Vaultie!”

She jumped at the sound of the Ghoul’s voice. “I’m awake.”

“Pay attention then.” He pointed to a small farm.

“Do you think we can stay there tonight?”

“Depends on what we find.”

Dogmeat ran ahead, barking. The Ghoul kept his hand on his revolver, but didn’t draw. No one came out to investigate the barking.

The Ghoul had taken them in a loop around the next settlement rather than straight through the space between them. Lucy wasn’t sure why, but she assumed he knew what he was doing. He wouldn’t add extra days to a long journey without a good reason.

They passed through a field of grain. The Ghoul paused when they reached the other side, studying a coop full of chickens scratching at the dirt.

“They seem fine,” Lucy said, although she knew she had much less experience with animals than he did.

“So why hasn’t anybody come out?”

Lucy shrugged. “Maybe they’re scared of you.”

“Scared people tend to do a lot more shootin’ than hidin’ up here.”

Dogmeat barked again, nosing at something on the ground. The Ghoul strode over to investigate. Lucy trailed behind him, then froze when she realized what Dogmeat had found.

A body.

The Ghoul had no such hesitation. He petted Dogmeat as he crouched next to the man.

“Dead,” he confirmed, though Lucy had already guessed that. “Probably about a day.”

Lucy drew her pistol. “Raiders?”

“Probably.”

The Ghoul stood and drew his revolver. “We’ll check out the barn, then the house. If nobody’s here we might as well stay the night.”

Lucy followed him into the barn. The two-headed cows he called Brahman occupied a few stalls. The Ghoul checked the empty stalls, and a small room at the back, then glanced at the food and water troughs for the Brahman. Apparently deciding they were fine for the time being he gestured for Lucy to follow him out of the barn.

“Why wouldn’t the raiders take the animals?” she asked as they crossed the yard to the two-story house.

“Too much trouble. The whole point of raiding is that it’s easier to take shit from people then do the work yourself.”

A curtain moved in one of the upper windows.

“Someone’s in there!” Lucy pointed to the window.

The Ghoul looked up at it. The curtain had fallen back into place. “At least they ain’t shootin’. Yet.”

“Maybe we should leave them alone. We could stay in the barn. Or just camp out.”

“Could be the raiders ain’t done lootin’ the place. Better to find out who it is sooner rather than later. Wouldn’t want them to surprise us out there.”

Lucy doubted anyone could take the Ghoul by surprise, but she nodded and followed him.

He started up the steps to the porch. The second step gave way under him. He cursed and hauled himself up onto the next step.

“Are you hurt?” Lucy asked, stopping on the first step.

“Just my pride.”

Lucy smirked. “That shouldn’t take long to recover.”

He scoffed, holstered his gun and extended his arms toward her. Lucy put away her own gun and grasped his arms as he placed his hands on her waist, lifted her, spun, and set her down on the porch. She was almost eye level with him.

“Thank you,” she said, still holding his arms, his hands still on her waist.

Dogmeat whimpered at the base of the steps. He released her. She took a step back.

“Stay,” the Ghoul told Dogmeat. She laid down and rested her head on her paws, looking up at him with pitiful eyes.

Lucy walked up to the door and knocked. No response. The Ghoul’s spurs jingled as he joined her on the porch. She tried the doorknob. The door opened. Before Lucy could register what was swinging toward her face the Ghoul threw her to the porch boards, himself on top of her, his face hovering over hers. When the whoosh of whatever it was had died down he rolled off. Lucy sat up to see a baseball bat with nails driven though it swinging from a length of yarn in the doorway.

The Ghoul stood. “Let me go first from now on. I can take more damage than you.”

Lucy nodded and let him help her to her feet. She followed him into the house.

When they stepped into the kitchen a trip wire snapped. Lucy yelped as the Ghoul whirled, wrapping his arms around her. She instinctively clutched his vest. He rocked with the impact of something hitting his back. His arms loosened. He staggered back a step, causing Lucy to pull back his vest just enough to glimpse what was left of the embroidery on his shirt. A scorpion. Where had she seen that before?

The Ghoul took another step back. “I’m gonna need some help with this.”

“With what?”

The Ghoul turned. Oh. With the knives sticking out of his back. He braced himself on the counter and Lucy pulled the knives out.

“We should clean these, and bandage them,” she said.

“I’m fine.”

“But—”

“I can take it. We can worry about first aid when we’re done. Let’s just find whoever set this up.”

Lucy sighed and followed him out of the kitchen, resolving to press the issue once this investigation was over.

Soap covered the stairway to the second floor.

“Stay behind me, and hold on to the railing.”

Lucy considered pointing out that him falling on top of her would do more damage than if she fell on top of him, but she knew that wasn’t his concern so she did as he said, keeping one hand on his back to steady them both. At least he wasn’t bleeding. Maybe he wasn’t exaggerating about how much damage he could take. He had taken quite a few hits in Filly, and just shook them off.

The Ghoul stopped just short of the landing.

“What is it?” Lucy asked, leaning around him to see.

“Baby gate,” he grunted, wrestling with it. “Shit. I never could get the hang of these damn things. Janey could get through them faster than I could. Defeated the whole damn purpose.”

Lucy bit her lip to keep from laughing.

The gate finally popped open. A bowling ball rolled out, and struck the Ghoul’s shin. He stumbled and slipped on the slick steps, losing his grip on the railing. Lucy grabbed him with one hand, still clutching the railing with the other. She pulled him back until he managed to twist himself around to grab the railing with one hand on either side of her. He was so close she could feel his breath on her face.

He smirked. “We have got to stop meeting like this, Vaultie.”

She smirked right back. “What’s the matter, Cowboy? Aren’t you having fun?”

“I’ll have more fun once we find the sadist behind these death traps.”

“They’re just trying to protect their home from the raiders,” Lucy pointed out.

“Yeah, I know,” he muttered. He let go of the railing with one hand and pulled himself up the last few steps. Lucy carefully followed.

The Ghoul counted the doors down the hall until he came to the one that held the window where Lucy had seen the curtain move. He drew his gun. Lucy did the same. He gave her a questioning look. She nodded. He opened the door and stepped in, Lucy behind him just outside the door. He froze. Slowly holstered his revolver, and raised his hands. He stepped aside, looked back at Lucy and inclined his head to indicate she should enter. She holstered her own gun and and stepped in.

Huddled against the far wall, a gun in his shaking hands was a boy about ten years old.

#####

Max slowed as an abandoned building came into view.

Janey lifted her head from his metallic shoulder. “It’s a church!”

Max set her down. “Stay here with Norm while I check it out.”

She nodded. She knew the routine by now, but he still didn’t release her until Norm had a hand on her shoulder, the other on his gun. He’d had opportunities to practice, taking shots at bloat flies, rad roaches and other nuisances along the way. Max had to admit he was improving, though he still wasn’t as good as Max or even Janey. They talked almost every night about whether or not to get her her own gun, going round and round as they discussed the risks versus the benefits. She was so young. Max had trained with guns when he was her age in the Brotherhood, but they hadn’t used live ammo, and he hadn’t carried one of his own. According to Norm you had to be eighteen to join the riflery club in the vault. Max doubted they had used live ammo to practice either, and he knew Lucy had been using tranquilizer darts in Filly, and probably against the raiders in the vault too.

Max carefully inspected the inside of the building, the church as Janey had called it. Once he was confident it was empty he stepped outside and signaled for his companions to join him.

Janey stopped to pick something up. “They were here!” She held up one of the glass vials that would have contained the chems ghouls use to stave off going feral. An unnatural extension of an unnatural existence. It wasn’t the first time they had found them. Not every night, but enough that Max was confident they were on the right track. He just wished they could close the distance more quickly. They had only flown once more since leaving the observatory. A few days ago when they had been traveling together almost a week they had come to a stand of trees. Worried about a possible ambush Max had suggested flying them over it. Norm had reluctantly agreed when he caught the smell of death coming from among the trees. Max had stayed in the air until Norm’s Pip-Boy showed he had covered an extra day’s worth of travel. Flying was risky. Not only could they pass up Lucy and the Ghoul, but they would attract attention. So they stayed on the ground.

Inside Janey ran down the aisle between the two rows of benches which she called pews. Max shed his armor and joined her and Norm at the front. While they ate Janey pointed up at the cross hanging on the wall and chattered about a man who had been killed on one only to come back to life three days later, which somehow made it so that people could go to heaven even if they weren’t good all the time. It sounded like a fairy tale to Max, and judging by Norm’s indulgent smile he felt he same, but Janey seemed to take it seriously, and at one time enough people had that they built a place just to get together and talk about it.

When she finished eating Janey pulled out the little stuffed dog she called Roosevelt and her sewing kit. She tore or cut rags into thin strips which she rolled up to stuff down into the legs, or the tail. Tonight she was working on the head. While she worked she talked about what she did at church, telling them about her Sunday School teacher who sounded nice, and her preacher who sounded stern in a genuinely “for your own good” kind of way.

“We stopped going so much after the divorce,” she admitted. “Mom said she was too busy and Daddy got tired of people telling him they shouldn’t have got divorced.” She yawned. “I miss it. Do you think people still go to church?”

“No idea,” Max said. The cult from Vault 4 didn’t sound much like what Janey was talking about.

“Maybe we can find out. After we save Lucy.”

Norm patted her shoulder. “Come on, Cowgirl, time for bed.”

Janey laid down on the pew right under the cross with Norm on the floor next to it. Max took the first watch as usual. They were sheltered enough here that he opted not to get back into his armor. He should have enough warning to do that if he needed to. He wandered around the church, occupying himself by studying the colorful windows. Some were more intact than others. He wondered if anyone still knew how to make glass like that. He flipped through some of the more intact books that sat in racks on the backs of the pews. They seemed to all be copies of the same two books. One looked like a music book, the other seemed to tell the same story Janey had tried to summarize. Would the longer version make more sense? He shrugged and replaced the book. He was more concerned with surviving than where he would end up if he didn’t.

For once Janey didn’t wake up from a nightmare so after a few hours Max woke Norm to take the next watch. He took Norm’s place on the floor. He woke to Janey shaking his shoulder.

“Max! Wake up!”

He bolted up. “I’m awake!”

Janey giggled. “Come see! Before the light’s gone!”

Max got to his feet and let Janey drag him down to the main floor.

“Good morning,” he said to Norm sitting next to him on the front pew.

“Those two words don’t belong together.”

“Would it help if we switch shifts?”

Norm shrugged.

“We should reach the settlement today. We can get a room, and both have a chance to sleep all night for once. Maybe we can try switching it up after that.”

“Worth a shot I guess.”

“You’re not looking!” Janey scolded.

Max followed her finger to one of the more intact windows. Light streamed through turning the colors even brighter.

“That is really pretty,” Max admitted.

Norm nudged Max’s shoulder and Max diverted his attention from the window to accept a can of food.

“What’s wrong?” The serious look on Norm’s face seemed like more than morning grumpiness.

“It’s probably nothing. I was just thinking. Shouldn’t those window be filthy? This place has been sitting here for over two hundred years, and it doesn’t look like many people have been here.”

“Maybe Lucy cleaned them off. So she could see the colors,” Janey said.

Norm smiled. “That does sound like something she would do.”

“Would the Ghoul let her though?” Max asked.

“Maybe he’s bing nicer to her now. Because she helped him,” Janey said, doubtfully.

Max looked at Norm and saw his own doubts about that reflected back at him.

By the time they finished eating the light had moved on, returning the colors to normal. Janey packed a copy of each of the books. Max didn’t say anything. Sooner or later she would learn to prioritize what she actually needed, even if she had to learn the hard way. Max slipped back into his power armor and led the way out of the church. He froze at the door.

“Stay inside,” he said to Norm and Janey. He took a few steps forward, then came to a halt just a few yards away from another full set of power armor.

#####

Hands raised, Lucy slowly made her way past the Ghoul to crouch in front of the boy. She gave him a smile she hoped he would recognize as friendly.

“Hi, I’m sorry we scared you. We were just looking for somewhere to stay the night and we thought this place was abandoned.”

“Are you raiders?” The gun shook between her and the Ghoul.

“No. I’m Lucy, the cowboy over there is my friend.”

“But he’s a ghoul!”

“I know. He’s not as scary as he looks.”

The Ghoul scoffed. “You know better than that, Vaultie.”

“Ghouls eat people!”

She couldn’t truthfully tell him that her ghoul didn’t so she said, “He’s not going to eat you. He won’t admit it, but I think he actually likes kids.”

“The scrawny ones can be a little chewy.”

“He’s joking.” She turned back to the Ghoul and scolded him in her best teacher voice, “Could you not be an asshole in front of the terrified child?”

He smirked, crossed his arms and leaned against the door frame. “Sorry, Sweetheart, I don’t think I’m that good of an actor.”

“I thought you said he was your friend!”

“Yeah, you gotta stop tellin’ people that.”

Lucy replaced her smile and turned back to the kid. “He doesn’t mean it. He just likes for people to think he’s meaner than he is.”

“Why?”

“People can be mean to ghouls. I guess he thinks if he’s mean first they’ll think it doesn’t bother him.”

“I don’t recall payin’ for a therapy session.”

Lucy ignored him. “Anyway, he’s been helping me.”

“Really?” He let the barrel of the gun drop.

“Really. He helped me get away from the Brotherhood, and these lizards—”

“Fire geckos,” the Ghoul corrected.

Lucy rolled her eyes. “Fire geckos, raiders, and even a deathclaw.”

“You fought a deathclaw!”

“Yep. It almost got me.” She lifted her shirt to show him were the wounds were healing into scars. He finally put the gun down as he leaned in to see. She slid it behind her.

“What’s that one?” he asked, pointing at the older scar.

“That’s from where a raider stabbed me.” She lowered her shirt.

“What happened to your finger?”

“Oh,” Lucy stared down at the mismatched digit. “That was…a robot. It was this place where they were going to sell my organs, but all they got was my finger. I got this one to replace it.”

“I think I heard about that! A Super Duper Mart that got wrecked by a ghoul!” his gaze shifted to behind Lucy. “Was that you?”

“Sure was.”

Lucy stood and turned to face the Ghoul, sliding the gun further away with her foot.

“Is that so?”

“That’s what I told the sheriffs.”

Lucy crossed the room to stand in front of him. “And why would you do that?”

“Well, they found me right in the middle of what was left of the place. It’s not like they would have believed me if I told them otherwise.”

Lucy raised her trigger finger.

The Ghoul looked away from her, dropping the smirk and exaggerated accent. “It was that or help them hunt you down. I think you know why I didn’t want to do that.”

“So…he saved you?”

“Yeah, I guess he did.” Lucy turned back to the kid. “You haven’t told us your name.”

“Kevin.”

“What happened here, Kevin? Where are your parents?” She suspected she knew where at least one of them was.

“Raiders came yesterday. We were working in the fields. We heard them coming, so I hid. They shot my dad and they took my mom. When they left I came inside and set up the traps in case they came back.”

“That was really smart, Kevin.”

“It didn’t work. You got in.”

“I’m sturdier than most folks,” the Ghoul said. “Raiders probably wouldn’t have made it.”

“Really?”

“That bowling ball almost got him,” Lucy said.

The Ghoul gave her a look, but nodded.

“Do you know anyone you can stay with?” Lucy asked.

“Yeah, we’ve got family in Mountpass, it’s the closest settlement. But it’s too far to go on my own.”

“We can take you tomorrow. That is if you don’t mind letting us stay here tonight.”

“Yeah, I guess that’s okay. We’ve let people stay on their way to the settlement before.”

“Good. Don’t worry, Kevin, you’re gonna be just fine.”

#####

“What are you doing here?” Max demanded.

“Looking for you.” The other knight opened their helmet.

“Dane? How did you find me?”

“That was the easy part. All I had to do was ask around about a knight traveling with two vault dwellers. A shop keeper told me you were asking about a girl traveling with a ghoul. I figured it must be the Ghoul taking Lucy to Vegas for the bounty.”

“And the Brotherhood gave you armor to come after me?”

“They said I earned it by standing up to you when you had armor and I didn’t.”

“I’m not coming back, Dane.”

“I know. Just give me your armor and the artifact. I’ll tell them I had to kill you to get them. They’ll stop looking for you.”

“I can’t! The Ghoul has Lucy! I need this armor if I’m even gonna have chance to rescue her!”

Dane shook their head. “We both saw what that abomination can do to power armor. You don’t stand a chance with it.”

“I have to try.”

Dane looked down. Max wondered where their squire was. Had they come out here without one? Maybe there weren’t enough left after the bloodbath at the observatory.

“They might accept just the artifact. I can tell them the armor was too badly damaged when we fought.”

Max considered it. But he knew how the Brotherhood would use it. They would wipe out all the other factions along with any settlements that didn’t fall in line. How could he give them the power to do that? How could he face Lucy or look Norm in the eye if he did? Not to mention the example he would be setting for Janey. It’s okay to do the wrong thing as long as you’re saving your own ass. She had told him enough about her daddy that he knew that wasn’t the kind of lesson he would have wanted her to learn. Maybe it was silly to worry about disappointing a man who had been dead for over two hundred years, but there were plenty of other reasons to refuse.

“No.”

Dane’s face fell. “They aren’t just after the tech, Max. They want her.” Their eyes shifted to where Janey and Norm were no doubt peeking out of the church.

“Janey? Why? She’s just a kid!”

“I don’t know. All I know is that someone from the Enclave is looking for her. They want her badly enough they were willing to make a deal with the Brotherhood.”

“What does the Brotherhood get out of it?”

“The artifact. They don’t know how to use it, they don’t even know how to turn it back on when they get it back. The Enclave says they have someone who does. This could be the start of a real alliance! We could actually bring order back to the Wastelands!”

“By crushing everyone else!”

“If that’s what it takes.”

“They’re not getting Janey.”

“You can’t protect her, Max. The Enclave aren’t the only ones looking for her. They said the Ghoul would be too. That’s why they didn’t go through the bounty hunting agencies.”

Max’s blood ran cold. What could the Ghoul possibly want with a little girl? And they were taking her right to him!

At least let me take her back to the Enclave,” Dane said. “She’ll be safer with them than out here.”

“No!”

Max turned to see Norm standing in front of the church, gun drawn. There was no sign of Janey. Norm had probably sent her to hide when he heard Dane say the Brotherhood wanted her.

Max turned back to Dane. Echoed Norm’s answer. “No.”

“I can’t go back empty-handed!” Dane pleaded.

“You don’t have to go back at all! Norm can take the tracker out of your armor. You can come with us! Or go wherever you want!”

Dane shook their head. “The Brotherhood will never stop looking for the artifact! Or her! The only way to stop them from coming after you is to give them what they want!”

Max leveled his minigun at Dane. “That’s not gonna happen.”

Dane didn’t move. Probably hoping to call his bluff. It wasn’t a bluff. Max didn’t want to shoot Dane, but he would. Having someone else to protect unlocked a whole new kind of fear. The kind that could drive him to do things he never imagined.

“Dane, I don’t wanna hurt you, but you’re standing where I’m about to shoot.”

Dane took a step back. “You’re gonna get yourself killed. All three of you.”

“That’s what the armor and the gun are for.”

Dane closed their helmet and launched into the air. Max watched them until they disappeared, his last bridge to the Brotherhood well and truly burned.

Chapter Text

Lucy took advantage of spending the night in a house to get clean, filling buckets for the bath from the pump outside while the Ghoul stood guard. While she bathed, the Ghoul helped Kevin dismantle his traps. Lucy was not sure what they talked about while they worked but by the time she and her clothes were clean, her clothes draped over the edge of the tub to dry, and she dressed in some of Kevin’s mother’s old work clothes Kevin seemed much more at ease with the Ghoul.

They ate supper from their travel supplies and Lucy went to sleep in the guest room wearing a borrowed nightgown. She didn’t sleep well.

She dreamed of clinging to her mother’s hand as they left the vault. Knowing Norm was on her other side, but not knowing where their dad was, or why he wasn’t with them. Walking through a strange city. Hearing the jingle of spurs down an ally and releasing her mother’s hand to search for the source of the sound she had only heard in movies. Screaming as a man grabbed her and ran. Sinking her teeth into the hand that tried to silence her. Running as soon as she hit the ground. Being stopped by a man who wore cowboy boots with spurs. Lashing out. Hitting kicking. Screaming for her mother.

“Whoa there Lil’ Killer!”

Looking up, but not being able to see his face under his cowboy hat. Hearing him and the other man talk, but not being able to understand or remember what they said. A hand on the back of her head.

“Close your eyes, Sweetheart.”

She did, clutching at the tattered coat hanging around his legs. Jumping at the first real gunshot she ever heard. The cowboy dropping to a knee. Seeing the embroidery of a scorpion on his shirt. A thumb wiping blood from her chin as he lifted her face so he could see her, asking if she was okay. Intense hazel eyes assessing her. Nodding. Gasping when the shadow under his hat shifted, revealing he had no nose. Immediately feeling guilty for the reaction. Hearing her mother frantically calling.

The nose-less cowboy asking “That your mama?”

Nodding.

“Better go on then.”

Throwing her arms around his neck as she thanked him. Receiving and awkward pat on the back in response. Running to her mom. Her mom wrapping her in her arms. Repeating her name. Asking where she went. Telling her this isn’t the vault she can’t wander off like that.

“I’m okay. The cowboy saved me.”

Pointing to show her. The mysterious stranger was gone. A paper with a picture of her mother under the word “wanted” fluttering to the ground where he had been.

Lucy stared up at the ceiling trying to sort dream from long-buried memory. He had been around since before the war so it was possible. Would he really have passed up a bounty that could have taken him to Vault-Tec? To her father? To a chance for answers? Why? Because of her. Because she was just a kid. Maybe he saw Norm too. There would have been no way to drag Rose MacLean back to the vault without hurting her children. If there was one line she was sure the Ghoul would never cross it was hurting kids. That certainty convinced her. The memory was real.

It explained why even at his worst she hadn’t been afraid of him. She had known he was dangerous, she had been angry, and had felt inexplicably betrayed when she realized he was selling her, but not afraid. This memory explained everything. Including why she trusted him enough to follow him from the observatory.

Did he know? There you are Lil’ Killer. He knew.

Why was he surprised her last name was MacLean? Had her mother’s last name not been on the wanted poster? Had the Ghoul just not cared about that detail at the time? Maybe Hank hadn’t wanted anyone to know he had to pay someone to bring his wife back to him. Or someone else had put the bounty on her. No. It was Hank. It was exactly what he would do. Only when all else failed would he leave the safety of the vault to search for her himself. By then Rose MacLean had fallen in love. With the surface. With Shady Sands. Maybe with Moldaver.

Lucy closed her eyes and concentrated, trying to remember more, but whatever other memories she had remained out of reach at the edges of her mind. She couldn’t force it. She would remember or she wouldn’t. It wasn’t like she had true amnesia, she had just been very young. And her father had done everything in his power to drive the memories from her.

When sunlight began to filter in through the curtains Lucy rose knowing that Cooper—that the Ghoul, would already be up.

She took a moment to hold the shard of colored glass up to catch the light. It wasn’t quite as impressive as the full window had been, but it was still pretty. It still made her smile. She slipped the chain over her head and dressed in the old work clothes from the night before, since hers were still down stairs.

She could smell something cooking, but couldn’t identify what. It didn’t smell like anything she’d had in the vault or on the road. She reached the kitchen to find the Ghoul at the stove tending three separate skillets.

Lucy leaned on the door frame and smiled, watching him. He had taken off the coat and rolled up the sleeves of his worn blue shirt, exposing more of his radiation-burned skin than she had seen before. He seemed cleaner, he must have taken a bath himself.

He was so focused on his task he didn’t seem to notice her. She didn’t mind, happy to watch. She was impressed with how quickly he switched between the skillets never seeming to miss a beat. She had known he could cook of course, but this a little more elaborate than jerky, or few chunks of meat mixed with canned vegetables. She stifled a giggle at the sudden mental image of him donning a lacy pink apron with the words “kiss the chef” embroidered on it.

The Ghoul finally looked her way and actually smiled when he saw her. “Mornin’.”

“Good morning! Can I help?”

“I’m guessing you didn’t have bacon and eggs in the vault. Not the real thing anyway.”

Lucy shook her head. “No animals in the vault. Anything we couldn't grow had to come from a can.”

“Best leave it to me, then.”

“I can at least set the table,” she said, not wanting to let him do all the work.

"If you insist.” There was note of amusement in his voice that told Lucy he knew exactly what she was thinking.

A quick search of the cabinets easily yielded dishes and cutlery which she laid out three sets of on the table. She returned to the cabinets paying closer attention to the ones that held canned food this time.

“Whatcha lookin’ for?” the Ghoul asked.

“Milk.”

“In the—? Oh! Right, probably just had the powdered shit in the vault.” He grimaced. “They got theirs straight from the cow. It’s in the fridge.” He jabbed a spatula at the appliance.

Of course. They were on a farm. The refrigerator must run on a battery, since the house didn’t seem to have electricity. Lucy retrieved a liter sized glass bottle full of white liquid. She knew that milk came from cows and other herd animals, but it felt strange to drink it without it being processed. She brought it to the table, followed closely by the Ghoul with the bacon, eggs, and pancakes.

“I’m surprised the raiders didn’t take all this.”

“My guess is they were after people. Probably selling them to Caesar’s Legion.”

“They’re in the Mojave, right?”

“Lucy,” a warning note entered his voice.

“We’re going that way anyway.”

“We can’t save her, Lucy. Even if we catch up, and the chances that we will are slim to none, she’ll be dead or sold by then.”

“You don’t know that!”

“Yes, I do. But even if you’re right, and we pull it off, then what? We bring her back here then turn around and head back into the Mojave? Cross the same territory three times? Triple the chances that someone who actually wants to collect on that bounty catches up to us?” He shook his head. “Gettin’ that boy to the settlement is the best we can do.”

“Getting his mother back is the best we can do!”

The Ghoul lowered his voice. “I’m already on one wild goose chase. I’m not about to drop the only lead I’ve had in over two hundred years to chase a different goose!”

His family. Lucy’s anger evaporated. “I understand why you feel that way,” she said softly. “I just don’t like the idea of abandoning someone if we can help.”

“We can’t save the whole damn Wasteland. The two of us can’t take on Caesar’s Legion. The raiders maybe, but not the Legion.”

Lucy stared down at the table. The Ghoul had taken down a squad of knights in full power armor. He didn't let long odds stop him. If he didn’t think they could handle the Legion, they couldn't handle the Legion.

“Okay,” she said.

Before the Ghoul could respond Kevin came charging into the kitchen. He froze when he saw them.

“Sorry, kid, just us,” the Ghoul said with a sympathetic smile.

“Why don’t you come eat some breakfast?” Lucy said, trying to sound cheerful.

Kevin nodded and took a seat at the table. Lucy and the Ghoul sat across from each other. Lucy had to admit the bacon and eggs tasted better than the imitations they had in the vault.

The Ghoul chuckled at the look on her face when she took a sip of milk. “Better than the shi—crap you had in the vault, huh?”

Lucy nodded, holding her breath so she wouldn’t spit her milk out laughing at his attempt to censure himself.

“You’re from a vault?” Kevin asked.

Lucy swallowed and nodded. “Yes, I am.”

“And you never had real milk before?”

“No, we had a powder we mixed with water. I could never quite get it mixed well, it always came out gritty. My mom was better at it. Oh!” she stared at her glass. “No she wasn’t. That must have been at Shady Sands.”

“You were at Shady Sands too?”

“A long time ago, before it got bombed. I don’t remember much, I was younger than you.”

Kevin took the hint and stuck to questions about the vault while they ate.

“Thank you for breakfast,” he said when they finished.

The Ghoul shrugged. “I just used what you had lyin’ around. All that’s missin’ is a bowl of grits.” Lucy and Kevin gave him blank looks. He sighed. “It’s a southern thing. Hot cereal, sorta like oatmeal, but it’s made with corn. Comes out thicker, less…slimy,” he grimaced getting a laugh out of both Lucy and Kevin.

If it was made from corn than Lucy could probably find a way to make it in her vault. She would need him to tell her more about it, or maybe he could make it himself. He seemed to enjoy cooking. What would he be doing in her vault?

Lucy stood and started gathering dirty dishes.

“I’ll do that,” the Ghoul said, tugging a plate from her hand.

“You did all the cooking, I can at least help clean up!”

“You two need to go pack so we can get on the road.”

“I need to take care of the Brahmin, and the chickens,” Kevin said.

The Ghoul shook his head as he dumped dishes in the sink. “Already turned ‘em loose. They can look after themselves for a day or two, ‘till someone comes to round ‘em up.”

Kevin nodded. “Thank you Mister Ghoul.”

Lucy helped Kevin pack before collecting her own supplies. They filled canteens at the pump, including the ones Kevin’s family used while working the farm. Brahmin and chickens wandered around making Lucy nervous, but the Ghoul assured her they wouldn’t bother her if she didn’t bother them.

Dogmeat came running when the Ghoul whistled.

“Is that a dog?” Kevin asked, ducking behind Lucy.

“Yes, it’s okay, she’s friendly,” Lucy said. She pulled a stick of jerky out of her pack. She had stuck to tossing it, but she had seen the Ghoul feed her right out of his hand and she never bit him, and Lucy needed to reassure Kevin so she held the treat out to the dog, keeping her fingers on the end furthest from Dogmeat’s nose as she sniffed.

“Easy,” the Ghoul rumbled, so close Lucy could feel his heat. She wasn’t sure whether he was taking to her or the dog.

Dogmeat delicately took the end of the jerky stick between her teeth and tugged it from Lucy’s grasp. She looked up and wagged her tail, still holding it.

“Good girl,” the Ghoul said.

Dogmeat scarfed the treat down.

Kevin laughed. Lucy pulled out another jerky stick and handed it to Kevin.

“You can break bites off and toss it to her if—”

Kevin held the treat out to Dogmeat. She repeated the process of carefully taking it, then looking up for approval. Lucy looked up at the Ghoul and could have sworn she saw something like pride on his face.

As they made their way across the fields Lucy worried about Kevin seeing his father’s body, but when they reached the spot there was only a fresh mound of dirt marked by a cross that seemed fashioned from two fence posts lashed together. The Ghoul removed his hat and let Kevin stop at the site. Lucy felt they should say something, but couldn’t think what. She hadn’t known the man. She barely knew his son.

When Kevin was ready they set out for the settlement.

#####

Norm watched Dane fly away. He looked back at the church. Janey stayed out of sight. Good.

Max’s body language was hard to read in the armor, but Norm knew he had to be feeling something like he had when he left the vault, when he realized he couldn’t go home. Lost, scared, confused. Norm had no intention of offering sympathy.

“What is this artifact the Brotherhood is looking for?” he demanded.

Max turned to look at him. “It’s…it’s what Wilzig was taking to Moldaver. It’s why he was so important.” He opened a panel on his arm, withdrew a small jar and offered it to Norm. Norm took it, turning it to study the glowing blue filament inside. He scanned it with his Pip-Boy, but couldn’t make sense of the readings. It was too much power in too small a package. “I think it’s like a fusion core,” Max said. “It powered this machine Moldaver built. Or maybe Vault-Tec built it. She turned it on right before she died and all the lights in the city came on. She said it was limitless power. The Elder Cleric called it cold fusion.”

Norm’s eyes snapped back up to Max. “That’s not possible.” Even though it might explain what his Pip-Boy was telling him.

“I don’t know how it works, but I know it does. I saw it.”

“And you’ve had this the whole time?”

Max nodded. “That’s how I disabled the power at the base. All I had to do was shut down the machine and take it out.”

“And they know you have it?”

“They must have realized I took it with me when I left.”

“And you didn’t tell me?”

“I didn’t think it mattered.”

“You stole the key component to a cold fusion generator, and you didn’t think it mattered! Do you have any idea what this could be capable of? In the right hands it could rebuild civilization! In the wrong hands it could wipe out what’s left of it!”

“Why do you think it took it? I knew the Brotherhood were the wrong hands!”

“Yet you didn’t even warn me!”

“You knew they would come after me anyway!”

“One knight and a suit of power armor they might give up on eventually, but this,” Norm brandished the little jar, “this is the sort of thing people stop at nothing to get their hands on! Especially the wrong hands!”

“I couldn't just leave it there!”

“I’m not saying you should have. But you should have told me you were giving them one more reason to hunt us down. Especially this big a reason!”

Max seemed to shrink inside his armor.

Norm turned his back on Max, closing his fist around the artifact. It was ridiculous to think he could protect it any better than Max in his power armor, but he didn’t want to hand it over. He told himself he was holding on to it because the Brotherhood would expect Max to have it. Max didn’t ask for it.

As he returned to the church for Janey his thoughts shifted to the more disturbing question. What did the the Enclave and the Ghoul want with her?

#####

The Ghoul scanned the horizon for threats while Lucy kept the kid entertained with stories of life in the vault. Trees were less scarce this close to the mountains, but spread apart with low bushes scattered between. Not impossible for an enemy to hide in, but they would have to reveal themselves to attack and that would give the Ghoul plenty of time to shoot them first.

It was a good thing he had decided to take the long way around. There was no telling how long that kid would have been alone there before his family in the settlement realized something was wrong and came looking. He was just glad it had been raiders that came through and not the super mutants he’d heard rumors of in Mountveiw. Not that that would make things any better for his mother.

Dogmeat ran up to Lucy carrying a stick. The Ghoul prepared to signal her to bring it to him as he usually did, but remembering how Lucy had handed the dog her treat directly that morning he hesitated, watching closely. Sometimes when he went to take a stick from her Dogmeat would growl and pull back on it. She didn’t do that to Lucy.

Lucy carefully tugged the stick from Dogmeat’s jaws and tossed it. Dogmeat took off after it. Lucy turned to him with a grin. He tipped his hat. Dogmeat came back, dodging around Lucy to offer the stick to Kevin instead. Kevin took it and threw, farther than Lucy had. Of course, as far as he could remember none of those clubs she’d been in involved throwing, or maybe she just didn’t want to risk it going too far.

The next time Dogmeat returned she dodged both Lucy and Keven to bring her stick to the Ghoul. She made him work for it, but he won the tug of war and hurled the stick farther than either of them had.

“Show off,” Lucy grumbled. He just smirked.

Dogmeat growled.

The Ghoul drew his rifle. Lucy did the same. Without a word they positioned themselves between Dogmeat and Kevin, on either side of him. The Ghoul whistled for Dogmeat to come back. She kept growling, the hair on her back standing up.

Something streaked out of the bushes. Teeth and fur flew as it crashed into Dogmeat. The Ghoul kept his rifle trained on the fight. More growls. Lucy fired. He kept his focus on the mongrel dog attacking his. Another growl. Another shot. Dogmeat finally put enough distance between her and her attacker for him to pull the trigger.

After his target fell the Ghoul surveyed the scene. Three mongrel dogs lay dead around them. That explained Kevin’s reaction to Dogmeat if these were the only other canines he’d seen.

Lucy grinned like the cat that ate the canary. “I got two.”

“So?”

“You only got one.”

“You know that’s only because I was focusin’ on the one goin’ after Dogmeat!”

“I still won.”

“She did!” Kevin said.

“This time,” the Ghoul grumbled, trying to hide his proud smile. Based on Lucy’s grin he didn’t succeed.

Something whimpered in the bushes. The Ghoul strode over and moved branches aside with the barrel of his rifle. A pup lay underneath. It’s eyes weren’t even open yet. The rifle was too much. So was the revolver. He couldn’t stomach the idea of seeing this tiny thing blown to even tinier pieces. But it wouldn’t survive. Best to end it quickly.

The Ghoul holstered his rifle, drew a knife, knelt next to the bush and picked the hairless, squirming thing up by the scruff of the neck. When he brought his knife under its chin a tiny pink tongue darted out and licked his trigger finger. Aw shit.

“What’s wrong?” Kevin asked.

“You helped take care of the animals on that farm?”

“Yes, sir.”

The Ghoul sheathed the knife. “Ever raise any orphans?”

“A Brahmin calf once, Buddy. She’s our best milker now.”

“Good. This’ll be easy after that.” He turned and deposited the squirming pup into Kevin’s arms.

The rest of the walk to the settlement was spent alternating between the Ghoul giving advice on how to raise and train a dog and Lucy helping Kevin brainstorm names.

“He’s a slimy, manipulative little suck-up, you could just call him Henry,” the Ghoul suggested.

Lucy smacked his shoulder. “We are not naming that sweet, innocent little puppy after him !”

Kevin glanced back and forth between them, clearly not getting the joke.

“The dog in my favorite movie was named Roosevelt,” Lucy said.

Of course that was her favorite.

“It’s better than Dogmeat,” Kevin said. “I think I like Chip better though. You know, cause chips make things work right.”

“Perfect!” Lucy said.

The Ghoul let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding.

Kevin slowed as the walls of the settlement came into view. Lucy looked back at him. The Ghoul stopped. He knew what was coming.

“They…they don’t let ghouls in,” Kevin said, looking down at Chip nestled in his arms.

“I know. Been a while since I’ve been out this way, but I didn’t think they’d have changed their minds. It’s not a problem. Lucy can take you in. I’ll wait out here.”

“Thank you, Mister Ghoul!”

The Ghoul smirked, ruffled the kid’s hair, and nudged him towards the settlement.

“What about the bounty?” Lucy whispered.

“I doubt anyone in there would try to collect when you’re bringing a kid to safety. Besides, New Vegas is a long way off. Folks used to staying in a settlement aren’t gonna wanna go all the way out there. You’d have to worry more about the raiders, and they’re probably well on their way to meet the Legion. Take the dog. Just in case.”

“But then you’ll be all alone out here!”

“Sweetheart, I’ve been all alone out here for the better part of two hundred years. A couple hours ain’t gonna do me in now. Pick up some extra supplies while you’re in there.” He leaned back against a tree and lit a cigarette.

“Okie dokie. I’ll be back soon.”

He lifted a hand in farewell and watched as she disappeared into the settlement with Dogmeat and Kevin, still carrying Chip.

Once the cigarette was spent the Ghoul shrugged off his duster and got to work repairing the damage done by Kevin’s knife trap. Clever kid. While Lucy had been taking her bath the night before the Ghoul had helped Kevin dismantle what was left of his traps. Mostly they had talked about the traps themselves, how he had set them up, what made him think of them, and the best way to take them down without anyone getting hurt. After the others had gone to bed the Ghoul had spent most of the night digging a grave. It had occurred to him to say something when they stood by it that morning. He considered scraps of scripture that had stubbornly clung to his memory. The bit from Ecclesiastes about how there was a time for everything came to mind. He had recited that one when he burned Roosevelt and Sugarfoot’s bodies, unwilling to make use of the meat. Even now he couldn’t bring himself to regret the waste. He had survived after all, and there had been plenty left to scavenge back then. He’d had no idea that some day he would be desperate enough to eat another man.

The Ghoul finished patching his duster, snapped the thread and looked up. Lucy came out of the settlement gate, Dogmeat at her heals. The Ghoul smiled, put his duster back on, threw his saddle bag over his shoulder and went to meet her.

“The family insisted on paying me,” Lucy said. “I tried to talk them out of it, but well…” she shrugged.

“You take what you can get when you can get it out here,” the Ghoul said, taking the iguana on a stick she offered him. He decided against pointing out that he had never actually seen an iguana that wasn’t on a stick.

Lucy smiled wryly and nodded. Not that he would have complained if she hadn’t gotten paid. He knew that wasn’t why she had helped. Neither had he really. Shit, she was starting to rub off on him wasn’t she?

“I refilled our canteens, Kevin gave me the ones from the farm, he said he didn’t need them, and if he did it would be easier for him to get more than us. I also stocked up on Rad-x, Rad Away, Stim packs, and Med-x. They didn't have any of your vials.”

“Didn’t expect them to,” he said. He started walking. Dogmeat and Lucy followed. “There’s a place in the pass where we can get some.” He hadn’t been planning to bring her there when she first joined him, but now…well he couldn’t seem to think of a good reason not to. “I should have enough to last to Vegas, but better safe than sorry.”

“Yeah, some idiot might come along and smash them all.”

“Only if some other idiot uses her as gulper bait.”

“Well, I don’t think we’re going to have to worry about that in the desert.”

“Just deathclaws, and cazadores, and rad scorpions.”

“Oh my!”

“How’s the kid holding up?”

“He seems okay, considering. I think having the puppy to take care of helps. They have a goat, so they’ll have plenty of milk for him.”

“Good.”

Lucy grinned. “Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone.”

“Won’t tell anyone what?”

“That you have soft spot. Two actually. Kids and dogs.”

“Everyone likes kids and dogs,” he grumbled, knowing full well that wasn’t true. He reached over and pulled her hat down over her eyes, as if that would keep her from seeing he didn’t have two soft spots. He had three.

#####

Janey didn’t know why Norm was mad at Max. Wasn’t Max the one who got rid of the other knight? Not that she had seen what happened. As soon as Dane had mentioned they were looking for her Norm shoved her back into the church and told her to go hide. She had, huddling under the pew where she had slept the night before, praying the wrong knight didn’t come find her. When Norm came back for her he was mad. At first she thought he was mad at Dane, but it didn’t take her long to figure out he was mad at Max. At least they weren’t screaming at each other, but they weren’t talking either. She was afraid that if they didn’t make up they would decide not to stay together.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“It’s my fault,” Max said. “I stole something from the Brotherhood, they want it back, and they’re gonna keep chasing us until they get it.” He looked at Norm. “I should have told you.”

“It wouldn’t have changed anything,” Norm said.

“Maybe we should give it back,” Janey said. That was what they did when someone took something at school.

Max shook his head. “We can’t. They’ll use it to hurt people.”

“Like Vault-Tec did?”

Norm nodded. “Exactly.”

“So…we should hide it.”

“But we can’t just leave it somewhere! The Brotherhood could find it! Maybe even someone worse!” Max said.

“There’s worse than the Brotherhood?” Norm asked.

“This is the Wastelands, Norm. There’s always something worse.”

No one knew what to say to that, or what the solution was.

They stopped when they came to an old campsite.

“Why would they stop again so soon?” Max wondered.

“Maybe it wasn’t them,” Norm said.

“It was!” Janey picked up an empty vial that had been laying in the dirt next to a crushed tin can. “Maybe the Ghoul didn’t want to go to the settlement?”

Max shook his head. “He would still need supplies, especially if he’s taking Lucy all the way to New Vegas. Even if they weren’t going to the settlement, this would still be stopping too soon.”

“Maybe they didn’t spend the night at the church. They might have just rested there in the afternoon,” Norm suggested.

“Maybe, but it’s a good shelter, it seems more like the type of place they’d stop for the night.”

Janey wandered around the camp while they talked. Until she saw the skeleton.

“What’s that?” she asked, pointing to it.

“That’s a deathclaw!” Max said.

Norm ran over to look at it. “I don’t think this is that old. It’s been butchered and scavenged. Maybe that’s why they stopped here.”

“You don’t understand. Do you remember the yao guai I told you about?”

“You said Titus didn’t stand a chance even with his armor,” Janey said.

“Deathclaws are worse. And the f***ing Ghoul took one down single handed!”

“Could he really do that?” Janey asked.

“Well, the deathclaw is the only body here. You saw what he did to the armor at the observatory.”

“I don’t know about that. There are two shots to the skull, from different directions,” Norm said. “Maybe Lucy helped.”

“I don’t see the Ghoul trusting her with a gun when he’s taking her in for a bounty,” Max said.

Norm shrugged. “Maybe she grabbed it during the fight. Maybe he just changed position after shooting it the first time. Or it turned and came after him.” He looked up from examining the skeleton. “It looks like there’s blood on it’s claws. Maybe they stopped because one of them got hurt.”

“The Ghoul wouldn’t let it get close enough for that,” Max said, grimly.

“Does that mean Lucy’s hurt?” Janey asked.

“The good news is that might give us a chance to catch up with them. If the Ghoul was hurt he probably would have been okay by morning, but if Lucy was they might have had to stay at the settlement for a while.”

“And what do we do once we catch up?” Norm said. “How are supposed to beat someone who can take down that thing?”

Max patted his minigun. “Why do you think I brought this?”

They arrived at the settlement that night, just as the sun went down.

Norm pointed to a hotel. “Let’s go ahead and get a room for the night. We can ask around and pick up supplies tomorrow.”

The lady behind the desk smiled when they came in.

“Are you all together?”

“Yes,” Max stepped up, “We’ll need one room and a place to store my armor.”

“There’s a shed out back, I can show you. I take it you’re not with the Brotherhood?”

“Not anymore.”

She nodded and glanced past him to Norm and Janey. “So, two beds?”

“Oh, um, if that’s all you’ve got, but we’d prefer three if possible,” Max said.

“Oh! You two aren’t…?”

Norm turned the brightest shade of red Janey had ever seen on a person. She giggled. Max looked confused.

“My apologies for the misunderstanding. We don’t have any rooms with three beds available, but we do have some spare cots. I’ll have one brought up for you.”

“That would be great, thank you,” Max said.

He followed her to store his armor while Norm took Janey up to the room. Before long Max came in with the lady and helped her set up the spare cot. Once she left Max asked, “Why was she so confused about us not wanting to share a bed if we could help it?”

“She thought y’all were in lo-ove!” Janey said, bouncing onto the cot.

Norm turned red again.

“Is that a thing? With two guys I mean? I thought that was just a…boy/girl thing?”

Janey shrugged. “Daddy had some friends who liked other guys, or other girls.”

“What about in the vault?”

“Not officially. The whole point was to repopulate, and that doesn’t work like that. There were a few people who just never got married, but had a very close ‘friend’. I always kind of wondered about Woody and Reg, but we just…didn’t talk about it. Dad didn’t like it.”

Max flopped onto his bed. “Great so se—romance is even more complicated than I thought.”

Janey rolled her eyes. She didn’t know exactly what sex was beyond whether you were a boy or a girl, but she had heard the word before, and she knew it was something grown ups liked to do together, especially if they liked each other.

Norm settled onto the other bed. “Yeah, I guess it is.”

Janey didn’t see what was so complicated about it. You liked someone or you didn’t. They liked you back or they didn’t and you found someone else, maybe after crying for a while. Her parents liked each other until they didn’t. Maybe that was the complicated part.

She pulled out out her stuffed Roosevelt. That gave her an idea.

“Norm, did you see A Man and His Dog?” she asked.

“Yeah, it’s Lucy’s favorite.”

That made her wonder what his was, but she could ask later. “Do you remember how Daddy hid the map to the mine?”

“Under the dog’s collar.” His eyes widened. Janey help up Roosevelt. “You’re a genius!”

“Um…did I miss something?” Max asked, raising up on his elbows.

Norm dug though his pack until he found a small jar with something blue glowing inside it. He held it up. “We can hide this in the stuffed dog!”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

“Whose gonna think to look there? They’ll definitely check your armor, and our packs.”

“I guess that makes sense.”

“Here,” Norm popped something out of his Pip-Boy which he handed to Janey along with the jar, “Put this in there too. It’s a tracker. If we get separated I’ll be able to find you, as long as you hold on to Roosevelt.”

“If anyone tries to take him I can just…” she stuck out her lip and made her eyes so big they teared up.

“That should do it!” Max said.

“Has anyone ever told you you inherited your daddy’s acting skills?” Norm asked.

Janey dropped the act. “My mom did. She made it sound like a bad thing.”

“It’s not,” Norm said.

Janey rolled the jar and the tracker up each in its own rag. She stuffed the rest of the rags into Roosevelt, making sure those two were in the middle. When she was happy with that she got to work sewing him up.

“Where did you learn to do that?” Max asked watching her like he’d never seen anything like it.

“I wanted a costume like my daddy’s, for when I got to help him at parties. He helped me make it. He already knew how to sew some, but he had to learn some of it with me. When we finished I loved it so much I used to wear it at home too. Daddy’s home. Not Mom’s she didn’t like it. I was afraid she’d throw it out.”

Norm gave her that look like he knew exactly how she felt.

“All done!” Janey announced holding up Roosevelt. She turned him around to make sure the blue glow didn’t show through his fur. It didn’t.

“Great job!” Norm said.

She knew he would have said it even if she hadn’t hidden the…whatever it was in there, but it still made her proud that she could help.

Chapter Text

“By the way, we never finished that conversation back at the farm,” the Ghoul said. He normally preferred to keep the talking to a minimum while they walked, not wanting to risk being taken by surprise, but he couldn’t leave that hanging. Dogmeat would warn them if something was around.

Lucy looked up at him with those huge innocent eyes. “You mean about trying to rescue Kevin’s mom? You made it pretty clear that’s not going to happen.”

“You really expect me to believe you’re just gonna let it go?”

Lucy looked away. “I don’t like it, but you’re right, we can’t save everyone in the Wastelands, and if we try we’ll never make it to New Vegas.”

So she was finally starting to understand how the Wastelands worked. Cooper hated it. Hated the way her shoulders drooped, eyes downcast, defeated. It made him want to tell her that if they caught up to the raiders, and they still had the woman then they could try. As long as they were on this side of the mountains, they wouldn’t have to backtrack too far to get her home, a few raiders shouldn’t be too much of a challenge. But he couldn’t dangle that in front of her knowing how unlikely it was. She had probably already been sold to the Legion, and there was no telling where they took her. Even if they knew, Lucy wouldn’t want to stop at saving one slave. And they couldn’t take down the whole Legion. This wasn’t one of his old movies where they could do the right thing and come out on top despite the odds. Even back when he had made those movies his military experience had taught him how unlikely the happy outcome of those films were. If he pointed that out he was told that people didn’t go to the movies for realism, they wanted to be entertained and inspired; they wanted to see good win in the end. And because he wanted that too Cooper went along with it. The Ghoul couldn’t afford to think that way. Not when it could get Lucy killed or worse. So he said nothing, just pushed forward, quietly keeping an eye out for signs of the raiders.

Trees grew closer together as they drew nearer the mountains. That would abruptly change when they reached the other side. For now they were a mixed blessing. More shelter from the hot sun, more cover for threats. The Ghoul wondered how Lucy would handle the Mojave. The deserts she had encountered so far were nothing compared to it. There was no preparing her for that. They would just have to take it as it came.

A gap in the trees opened to a lot full of empty, rusting cars.

“What’s that?” Lucy asked, pointing.

“That is a movie screen. They used to project films up there so people could watch them from their cars.”

“Why would they want to watch it from their cars instead of going inside?”

“Some of it was for the novelty. Mostly I think the appeal was the extra privacy. Especially for the teens.” He had taken Barb to one when they were dating. They had taken advantage of that privacy, to a point. She had been disappointed they didn’t do more. He never had gotten around to taking Janey.

Dogmeat explored around the cars, darting between, under, and in some cases through them.

The Ghoul pointed to a building. “That’s where they controlled the projector. Should make a decent shelter for the night.”

“Do you think it still works?” Lucy asked, following him to the building.

“I doubt it. The film’s probably all rotted anyway. Even if you could get it working, it’s not a good idea. Could draw attention.” Not to mention he didn’t want her to end up playing one of his old movies. Didn’t want to watch her mooning over the man he used to be. Didn’t want her to ask even as a joke why he couldn’t be more like that. Especially since he found himself wishing he could be like that for her. Never mind that he knew she stood a better chance of surviving the trek through the Mojave and the confrontation that awaited them at the end of it with the Ghoul at her side than Cooper Howard.

The Ghoul stepped into the building. He froze. His own ghost stared back at him.

#####

Norm, Max, and Janey spent the morning working in Mountview’s community garden. They had decided it was best if Max waited until they were leaving to retrieve his armor.

After they collected their caps they bought lunch at a street vendor. Norm wondered if it was really sanitary, but with the radiation everywhere it was a moot point.

“I’m going to start asking around about Lucy and the Ghoul,” Max said when they finished eating. Norm nodded. They had heard a few comments about vault dwellers and mentions of one accompanied by a ghoul, so they were probably on the right track, but the more information they could get the better. Maybe they could avoid having to cross the Mojave.

“I’ll pick up some supplies.” Norm turned to Janey, “You wanna come with me?”

Janey nodded. “And Roosevelt!” she had been carrying around the stuffed dog all day, despite leaving her pack at the hotel.

“Of course,” Norm said, playing along with the image of her as a little kid who just needed her comfort item. Not that there wasn’t some truth to that.

They split up. Norm took Janey to the closest weapons shop. He took her to a shelf full of knives.

“Since we know there are people after you, Max and I decided you should have something to protect yourself. The idea of you carrying a gun all the time makes us nervous, so we thought a knife might be a good compromise,” he explained.

Janey nodded and picked up a few of the knives, testing how they fit in her hand and how heavy they were until she found one she was comfortable with. Well, comfortable might not be the right word, but one she was reasonably confident she could use.

Norm picked up two pistols, one each for him and Max that they could use as backup or hand to Janey in an emergency. He didn’t tell her about that part of the compromise. If it came to that, and he hoped it wouldn’t, she would know what to do. They would let her practice with them to be safe. As safe as a child with a gun could be.

They collected ammo for all of the guns and paid. Janey insisted on paying for her knife herself.

Next stop was to get them all a change of clothes. Norm and Janey would stand out less without the vault suits, and it would be good for Max to have something that would blend in more in the settlements. Not to mention all their clothes needed washing. Norm pushed away the mental image of Max sitting around the hotel shirtless while his knight gear dried.

Norm let Janey pick out most of the clothes. They were going to look like a herd of cowboys. He wasn’t sure how much that was because she actually thought that was best for the desert, and how much she just liked the style. Considering who her daddy was he suspected more the later. He had worn the same thing his whole life, so it didn’t make much difference to him.

They took advantage of the changing rooms in the store. It felt strange to wear something other than a vault suit, but good too as if he was telling Vault-Tec he wasn’t their property anymore. Janey was probably more relieved to get out of it than he was. She remembered having a choice. Norm wondered what that was like, to choose for yourself. Not just little things like what to wear, but big things, like what job you wanted, if you wanted kids, if you wanted to get married and to whom. There didn’t seem to be anyone telling anyone what to do on the surface, unless you were part of a faction. Maybe he would get the chance to find out.

When they left the shop Janey had tied her vault suit into a sling to carry Roosevelt. While Norm looked around for the next place to get supplies a boy a little older than Janey broke off from a group of kids to approach them.

“Hi! My name’s Jack. Do you wanna come play with us? If it’s okay with your dad.” Janey looked up at Norm.

Norm hesitated. He didn’t want to let Janey out of his sight, but the last time she was around kids her own age had been at the party when the bombs fell, and even then she had been helping her dad—her real dad—not playing.

He nodded. “I’ll just be picking up food and medical supplies.”

Janey grinned and turned to Jack. “I’m Janey. Norm’s my uncle.”

It shouldn’t have bothered him that she corrected Jack. It was for the best they kept their story consistent. He knew how much she missed her daddy. He couldn’t expect to live up to Cooper Howard.

As he shopped he resisted the urge to constantly check his Pip-Boy for Janey’s location. She wasn’t so far that he wouldn’t hear her scream if something happened, and he shouldn’t tip people off that he had a tracker on her. He stocked up on food and moved on to the pharmacy, pausing when he saw Janey with the other kids. She seemed to be having fun.

At the pharmacy he collected as many stim packs, Rad Away, and Rad-x as he could afford.

“You from a vault?” The pharmacist asked, eying the vault suit slung over Norm’s arm.

“Yes.”

“You with the one that came through here with that ghoul?”

“I’m actually looking for my sister.” Norm nearly dropped everything trying to bring Lucy’s picture up on his Pip-Boy.

“Yeah, that’s her,” the pharmacist confirmed. “Picked up the usual stuff along with some vials of anti-feral chems for her ghoul. I tried telling her he already got some, she didn’t care. Said she wanted a backup supply. Smart if you ask me.”

“You mean…she came in here on her own?”

“Yep. Not sure if he knows about this backup supply of hers. None of my business. You sure you don’t wanna pick some up? Might be a good idea if you’re lookin’ to meet up with them.”

Norm gathered his purchases. “If we catch up to them, she won’t have to worry about him going feral.”

#####

Janey had fun running around with Jack and the other kids from the settlement, kicking a ball, and playing with the dogs. It had been a long time since she got to play with other kids. She wondered what had happened to her friends from school. Some of them had parents who worked at Vault-Tec too. Maybe they got into one of the good vaults. Maybe some of them were still frozen and she could find them someday. But she knew most of them probably died when the bombs fell. Or in one of the bad vaults. She didn’t know which was worse. She didn’t want to think about it. Luckily the other kids kept her busy enough she didn’t have to.

The others started trickling home to supper until it was just Janey, Jack, and a girl named Jill.

Jill asked Jack, “Do you still have some of the caps from that ghoul?”

Jack shook his head. “No, we used them up the other day.”

“What ghoul?” Janey asked.

“He stayed here last week. His friend took a job from my dad to clear out a bunch of rad roaches in our barn. My dad only paid half because the Ghoul helped her. He gave me the rest of the caps. I tried to give them to the Ghoul before they left the settlement, but he wouldn’t take them.”

“Was his friend from a vault?”

“She was!” Jill said. “I saw her wearing a vault suit their first day here.”

“I think she said her name was Lucy,” Jack said.

It had to be them. Lucy and the Ghoul weren’t friends, but these kids didn’t know that.

“Why didn’t he take the caps from you?” If he was willing to sell people it was hard to imagine him turning down caps from a kid.

“He tried to tell me it was to pay me back for keeping his dog busy, but he really just didn’t want my dad to get mad at me.”

That didn’t sound like the same ghoul at all!

“He has a dog?”

“He called her Dogmeat,” Jill wrinkled her nose.

That was the weirdest name for a dog Janey had ever heard. Even weirder was the idea of the Ghoul being nice. Maybe it was a different ghoul.

“What did he look like?”

“He didn’t look as bad as some ghouls. His nose was missing, but his skin wasn’t peeling off, and there were no bones showing,” Jack said, sounding almost disappointed. Of course a boy would want to see a ghoul like that.

Jill added, “He was wearing a cowboy hat and boots with spurs and a long coat that was all torn up at the bottom.”

That sure sounded like the way Max described the Ghoul.

“What’s his name?”

Jack shrugged. “He never told anybody. I don’t think I heard Lucy call him by name either.”

That sounded like him too.

“Are you sure they’re friends?”

“She called him her friend when they came to the farm. She did say didn’t like him much at first, but they seemed to get along. She was mad when my dad didn’t want to pay him. The Ghoul said it wasn’t worth it. He didn’t get mad until my dad called Lucy a dirty name. Then he just told Dad to leave her alone and they left the farm. They left the settlement the next day. I think they were planning to anyway.”

Were the Ghoul and Lucy friends now? That didn’t make any sense! Unless…maybe he really was being nicer to her because she helped him. But why wouldn’t he tell anyone his name? Who was he?

#####

Max walked up to a table full of gamblers in the bar. “I’m looking for Jimmy.”

A man with a bandage on his nose looked up at him. “What does a knight want with me?”

“I heard you got into an altercation with a ghoul passing through here last week.”

“Yeah. So?”

“I need whatever information you can give me.”

“I’m a little busy right now.”

“I can come back later. With my armor.”

Jimmy laid his cards down. “Nothin’ much to tell. I was talking to that vault dweller that came with him. Just looking for good time, ya know? Next thing I know her ghoul decks me.”

“You forgot the part where the girl hollered at you to let her go first,” one of the other gamblers said. He looked up at Max. “Don’t get me wrong, I ain’t fond of ghouls or ghoulf***ers, but Jimmy’s a pig and everyone knows it.” The other gamblers nodded.

“Gee, thanks, Kenny,” Jimmy muttered.

“And yet, you’re playing cards with him,” Max said.

Kenny shrugged. “Easy caps.” The others nodded again.

“I make enough to get by!”

“Only cause we go easy on you.”

“Do you know when the Ghoul and the vault dweller left the settlement?”

“A few days ago? Maybe a week? I steered clear,” Jimmy said.

“Better check with the hotel for that information,” Kenny said.

Max mentally kicked himself for not thinking of that sooner. “Thank you for your cooperation,” he said and left the bar.

Kenny had made it sound like the Ghoul came to Lucy’s defense. That made no sense. He was the one she needed protecting from! Maybe he had just stepped in because he needed to get her to New Vegas safely in order to collect the bounty. As for the suggestion about their relationship, that obviously wasn’t true.

Max met Norm and Janey for supper, and they filled each other in, speculating on why the Ghoul would defend Lucy, then let her run around the settlement earning and spending caps on her own.

“If she left he could just track her down. He knows the Wastelands better than she does, and that’s literally his job. He probably doesn’t care what she does as long as he gets paid,” Max concluded.

“She probably wants to talk to Dad again. It doesn’t sound like there was much time at the observatory. Maybe she agreed to come quietly so she could get some answers,” Norm said.

“Or he could have threatened her to get her to cooperate,” Max said.

“Maybe he’s helping her because she helped him,” Janey said, her tone suggesting she knew that was wishful thinking.

“I guess that’s…possible,” Norm said, doubtfully.

When they got back to the hotel Norm approached the receptionist and showed her Lucy’s picture on his Pip-Boy.

“Yeah, that ghoulf***er was here.”

Norm looked taken aback. “What do you mean by that?”

“Exactly what it sounds like. She came in with a ghoul.” She held up one finger. “They got one room with one bed. Do the math.”

While Norm was still shocked by the crude suggestion Max put a hand on his shoulder and asked, “Can you tell us when they left?”

“They checked out five days ago.”

They were less than a week behind! “Thank you ma’am,” Max steered Norm upstairs, Janey behind them.

When the door to their room closed behind them Janey said, “She shouldn’t call people names like that!”

“No. She shouldn’t.” Norm said.

Max wondered how much Janey really understood the accusation, after all Lucy had had to explain a few things to him, which he was not going to admit to Norm, and she was just a kid. Maybe all that mattered to her was that it was clearly meant as an insult.

“It doesn’t matter,” he said, sitting on his bed. “We know it’s not true. The Ghoul just didn’t want to fork over the caps for two beds. He probably made Lucy sleep on the floor.” At least he hoped that was worst the Ghoul did to her. Alive and unharmed.

Janey bounced onto her cot. “Maybe he let her have the bed, and he slept on the floor.”

Max wanted to say that the Ghoul didn’t seem like the chivalrous type, then he remembered why he had punched Jimmy. “Maybe. We won’t know for sure until we can ask Lucy.”

#####

Lucy reached for her gun when the Ghoul froze ahead of her. He didn’t draw, just stood there. She couldn’t see what he was staring at. Dogmeat trotted up to the Ghoul and pushed her head under his hand. He petted her and seemed to shake himself out of whatever daze he’d been in.

“Are you okay?” Lucy asked.

“Yeah, it’s nothin’.” He moved further into the building, beginning his routine of checking for threats.

Lucy stepped into the entryway and saw the poster of Cooper Howard hanging on the wall. The larger-than-life illustration showed him smirking, wearing a blue shirt with yellow trim and scorpions embroidered across the chest.

Lucy raised her thumb to cover his nose. The eyes weren’t right, but she supposed she couldn’t expect a drawing to capture the shifting shades of hazel.

She found the Ghoul in an office.

“The building’s empty,” he said when she came in. “This looks like the best place to bed down for the night.”

Lucy nodded. She made her way over to the wall across from the door and started unpacking for the night, knowing that the Ghoul—that Cooper would place himself between her and the entrance. She could feel his eyes on her as she set up her bedding. She didn’t look at him until she sat with her back against the wall and pulled out a few sticks of jerky. She passed one to Dogmeat who took it as carefully as ever. The Ghoul still stood, arms crossed watching her. Was he waiting for her to bring it up? Or was he hoping she wouldn’t?

Dogmeat laid her head in Lucy’s lap. The Ghoul lowered a hand to his knee, ready to signal the dog to come to him she realized. How many times had he done that and she hadn’t noticed? She tentatively scratched behind Dogmeat’s ears, smiling when the dog’s tail thumped on the floor. She petted Dogmeat with more confidence. Cooper finally relaxed, sitting with his back against the wall by the door.

There was no point pretending she didn’t know. Neither of them was fooling anybody.

“So, should I call you Cooper, or Mister Howard?”

“Cooper.”

“You don’t have to tell me anything, Cooper, but I can listen. If you want.”

“How much do you know? Outside of the movies?”

She skipped to what he didn’t already know she knew. “We had some scans of newspapers and magazines in the vault, but a lot of that was speculation. I know your film career fell apart around the same time as your marriage. I’m not sure how much one had to do with the other. People accused you of being a communist. I never believed that. I always thought you made it into a vault, but I guess I was wrong about that.”

“Didn’t have a spot after the divorce. Wouldn’t have taken it if I did.”

“You’ve hated Vault-Tec that much, for that long?”

He nodded. “My ex-wife, Barb worked for them.”

Something in Lucy’s chest that had no right to twisted. She just nodded. She had read something about that.

“Well, she asked me to do some commercials for them. I thought they were really doing something good. I thought Barb always tried to do the right thing. So I agreed. I lost acting jobs over it. People, some I had considered friends for years, refused to work with me. They didn’t like that I was the pitch man for the end of the world.”

“But Vault-Tec was saving people!”

“That’s what I thought, but Vault 4 wasn’t the exception, Sweetheart.”

His tone was gentle as if he knew how hard it was for her to hear. She took a bite of jerky to stop herself from arguing. Right now she needed to listen.

“I filmed a commercial in Vault 4. I met those scientists. I shook that bastard’s hand. I had no idea I should have been warning people to stay away instead of encouraging them to sign up.” He closed his eyes and took a breath.

“What they did isn’t your fault. They lied to you too.”

“Anyway, I met some people who were suspicious of Vault-Tec. Didn’t believe what they had to say at first, didn’t want to. But then Barb said some things that made me wonder. Told me dogs weren’t allowed in the vaults.” His eyes went to Dogmeat. “I guess you know that didn’t go over well.”

Lucy looked down at the dog she was still petting. She had always wished there were dogs in the vault, mostly because of his movies. Of course he would put up a fight over that.

“Probably the biggest red flag was when she said she was trying to get us into a good vault. I tried to brush it off at first, but if there are good ones there must be bad ones. Then she said something about how that was the best we could hope for. As if the bombs falling was inevitable. That should have been when I knew.”

“The no dogs rule was the last straw, wasn’t it?”

He chuckled. “Yeah. Made me wonder who was making all these rules. I didn’t fight for our freedom in Alaska so a corporation could tell me what to do. So I bugged her Pip-Boy.” He looked at Lucy as if to gage her reaction.

“Not the worst thing you’ve done,” she said, holding up her trigger finger.

“Not by a long shot,” he admitted, with a smirk.

“So, what did you hear?”

“I listened in on a meeting. Vault-Tec was offering other companies the chance to sponsor vaults and run whatever experiments they wanted in them.” He paused, giving Lucy a moment to digest that.

“So…all the vaults were experiments?” She remembered Birdie asking what the experiment in hers was.

“Maybe not all, but a lot of them.”

She wanted to ask if he knew anything about Vault 33, but again she didn’t want to derail the conversation when she was supposed to be listening, offering emotional support; the fact that she was getting answers out of it was an unexpected benefit. She could ask questions later.

“I kept waiting for Barb to speak up. Tell them they were crazy, that they couldn’t do the kinds of things they were talking about. All she did was encourage them. And when they asked how Vault-Tec could guarantee results, she told them they would drop the bombs themselves.”

Lucy gave Dogmeat the last of her jerky. “Vault-Tec dropped the bombs?”

“I don’t know. But they were willing to. She was willing to. Things went downhill fast after that. I refused to do anymore Vault-Tec commercials. They called me a communist. Anyone who was still willing to work with me when I did the commercials wasn’t anymore, and the ones who refused to work with me because of them didn’t change their minds. Barb kept trying to talk me into working with Vault-Tec again, I kept trying to talk her into leaving. I didn’t tell her what I heard. I had tried to talk her into leaving before, so I let her think it was just more of the same. Discussions turned into arguments. Then she found the bug and things really exploded. I should have taken it out, but I kept hoping I would hear that they weren’t really gonna go through with it. That it was just an act to get the money. That Barb at least would argue against it. Everything I heard just confirmed the worst. After it all came out she tried to convince me that Vault-Tec was gonna do it with or without her, and if she stayed at least we could be safe. She was a high enough ranking executive I thought that if she spoke out people would have to believe it, or at least someone would have to investigate. She wouldn’t do it. So we got divorced. Vault-Tec replaced me with that f***ing cartoon character, and I ended up doing rope tricks at kid’s parities to pay alimony. As if Barb wasn’t making more than me by that point.”

There was a bitterness in his voice that Lucy suspected had nothing to do with money. She remembered how he had shot through the Vault Boy’s face on that billboard they passed on the way to the Super Duper Mart. At the time she had been confused why he would waste ammunition like that, though it had shown her how much contempt he had for Vault-Tec. Now she knew why. But there was something he wasn’t telling her. It wasn’t Barb’s name he called in his sleep.

“What are you going to do when you find her?”

“If she’s alive? I don’t know. Some days I just wanna put a bullet between her eyes myself. Some I find myself hoping that if she sees what Vault-Tec did to the world she’ll come to her senses. Even if she does, I don’t know if it would matter. Mostly I want to find my daughter, Janey.”

There it was.

“Barb tried to use her to talk me into going along with Vault-Tec. Said we couldn’t save the world, but we could keep her safe. I gotta admit, that almost worked. But I couldn’t stop thinking about what kind of example that would set for her. ‘It’s okay to do the wrong thing if you’re saving your own ass’.” He scoffed. “Now that’s exactly what I do on a daily basis. Maybe that’s why that comment of yours when we first started out pissed me off so much. I knew you were right.”

“You didn’t blow up any cities.”

“No, but I probably killed enough people in the last two centuries to amount to it.”

“And how many of those were unprovoked?”

“Just the mercy killings. And selling you.”

“I think smashing your vials counts as provocation. And I’m guessing you didn’t have a lot of other options.”

“Wouldn’t have been my first choice. You’re gettin’ to know me too well, Vaultie. Better than anyone has in the last two hundred years anyway.”

“You haven’t let anyone else stick around long enough.”

“Nobody else is dumb enough to put up with me.”

“It’s not dumb to join forces with someone who shares a common goal.”

“It is when they previously used you as gulper bait, dragged you through the desert with no water, cut off your finger, and sold you for parts. Then dropped you one your ass.”

“Why did you pour out your water? It’s the one thing you did back then I can’t make sense of.”

He sighed. “I wanted to see how far I could push you, and what you’d do when you reached your limit.” He held up his trigger finger. “F***ed around and found out, didn’t I?”

She snorted. “You weren’t even mad. You almost seemed to like it. Which is a whole other kind of concerning.”

He shrugged. “Like I said, I liked seein’ you had some bite to you. I thought I won, that I was right about that golden rule goin’ out the window as soon as it was tough. Then you had to go and prove me wrong.”

“Not entirely. You can’t always do the right thing out here. And if you try it can get you killed. Sometimes there isn’t a right choice,” Lucy admitted.

“Well, you’re better at doin’ the right thing than anyone else out here.”

“There are still good people too. Max was nice.”

“You sure he didn’t just want somethin’ from you?” His tone made it clear what he meant by something.

Lucy decided Max wouldn’t appreciate her defending his motives by telling Cooper he didn’t even know how sex worked so she changed the subject.

“Why did you cut the rope? When you sent me into the Super Duper Mart.”

“Maybe I just didn’t wanna lose a good rope.”

“You completely ruined it!”

“Okay, so I was tryin’ to give you a fightin’ chance. I didn’t think you had much of one but those fellers weren’t exactly commandos, and,” he held up his trigger finger again, “I knew you were a fighter.”

She almost wanted to ask if he would have come after her once he got the vials, but she was fairly certain the answer was no. She filed away the idea in case they got desperate for vials again.

Now that she had heard his story she thought she understood why he had offered to help her at the observatory. Not just because he owed her, but because he had been betrayed too. Which explained why he didn’t think helping anyone else would win them over. There was just one more question she couldn’t wait any longer to ask.

“What makes you think Hank knows where they are?”

“He was one of Barb’s assistants at Vault-Tec. And he was there when they took Janey. If he doesn’t know where they are, he knows someone who does.”

“He was alive before the war?”

“He was probably in cryo. I’ve heard rumors of that sort of thing before. That’s the only reason I have any hope I might find Janey alive. It’s a long shot, but I can’t give up until I know for sure.”

“And you met him? Because he was working with your—with Barb?”

“Yeah. He was a fan. Asked for an autograph. Said Man from Dead Horse was his favorite.”

“Is that why you quoted it? To let him know who you were without telling me?”

“Honestly, I was just bein’ dramatic. Still an actor I guess.”

“Was there a reason you didn’t want me to know?”

“At first? Not really, I just don’t tell anyone. It wouldn’t mean anything to most anyway, and for the ones that it would…well, that’s not who I am anymore. That’s why I didn’t tell you later.”

Except on some level it was. He was still looking for Janey. After two hundred years.

“You’re sure it was him?” she asked, knowing he would know who she meant.

“Yeah.”

Her head spun. Her father had been alive before the war. What about the others from Vault 31? Betty? Steph? Was there a chance that was where Janey was? Should she say something? If she did would he insist on going there instead of New Vegas? If they did would she lose her chance to get some answers from Hank?

Vault-Tec had dropped the bombs, or at least had been willing to. All to make a profit. Her dad had been part of it. If he had worked for Barb there was a good chance he had known what was going on. At the very least he had had a hand in ruining Cooper’s life. Had helped take his daughter from him. And then he’d sat next to her smiling while they watched those movies. Just like he smiled whenever he talked about her mother. As if what he had done to them didn’t even matter. Her mother. Her friend. The innocent people in Shady Sands. How many other people had he hurt without remorse? She needed to face him. She needed to be the one to bring him to justice. Even if it was just her own revenge.

Chapter Text

The biggest, healthiest trees Lucy had ever seen grew close together in the mountain pass. It made sense that the mountains had been less damaged than almost anything else. There were no strategic targets in the mountains, and their size meant that parts of them were shielded from the worst of the radiation. They weren’t untouched, Lucy saw a stag with an extra head and set of forelimbs take off into the foliage, but this was probably the closest to the old world she would ever see, outside of black and white images on a TV. She tossed a stick for Dogmeat.

“Did they really change colors?” The question popped out of her before her good sense could catch up to her curiosity. Trees meant cover for threats, which meant they needed to stay alert.

Cooper didn’t remind her. “Yeah. Mostly shades of red, orange, and yellow. Then they fell off. Usually turned brown somewhere in there. Saw more of it when I lived down south than in California. We did have this big maple tree in the yard, leaves used to get everywhere. I’d rake them up just for Janey and Roosevelt to jump in the pile and scatter them all over again. Of course if I tried to stop ‘em I’d just get a face-full of leaves, which left me no choice but to fight back.”

Lucy giggled at the image of the Ghoul throwing leaves around then remembered he would still have looked like the movie star she grew up watching at that point. “Did you win?”

“Of course not! I was outnumbered two to one! And those little varmints fought dirty!”

Lucy laughed. She was glad Cooper felt like he could talk about his daughter with her. How long had it been since he had been able to do that? She wanted to know more about Janey, she didn’t even know what the girl looked like. One of the few things her parents seemed to agree on even after the divorce was keeping their daughter out of the press. There were no pictures of her in any of the gossip magazines scanned into the vault’s records. She couldn’t imagine what it was like to lose a child, and the uncertainty of what had happened to her had to make it even worse. Did he think about her constantly, or try not to? But she wouldn’t ask. If she pushed too hard he would shut down. She would let him bring it up on his own terms.

So they fell back into silence. Lucy never liked silence which had been one of the frequent sources of annoyance between her and Norm. Hank usually took her side in the arguments, telling Norm he should socialize more. Somehow it didn’t bother her so much with Cooper. Maybe that was because she knew he was looking out for danger, or maybe it was just that Norm was her little brother so everything he did was annoying.

Something wet fell on her head. Lucy jumped and looked up. The sky was unusually dark for the time of day, not black, but deep gray, and there were no stars. More drops hit her face. She reached out a hand to catch more, staring as a small puddle formed there. It was just water.

She didn’t realize she had stopped until she looked up and saw Cooper watching her. “Is it…raining?”

“Sure is.”

An explosive sound echoed off the sides of the mountains.

Dogmeat whimpered. Lucy yelped and jumped closer to Cooper.

He chuckled. “It’s just John Henry building the railroad in Heaven.”

“What?”

“Thunder. It’s just thunder. Loud, but it won’t hurt you.”

A streak of light flashed across the sky, followed by another explosion of thunder.

“Lightning on the other hand could be a problem.”

He took off his coat and threw it over her so that it covered her head.

“You’ll get wet!” Lucy protested.

“I’m a lot less prone to hypothermia than you are, Sweetheart. Come on, we need to get away from these trees.”

“Won’t they give us cover from the rain?”

“Lightening goes for the highest point. Standing too close to a tree when it gets hit ain’t good for anybody. We’re almost to the next stop anyway.”

Lucy followed Cooper, clutching the coat around her. Dogmeat stayed close; Lucy wasn’t sure whether she was worried for herself or trying to protect them. The rain fell so fast and thick that Lucy couldn’t see through it. She hoped Cooper knew where he was going.

“Here we are,” he said at last.

Lucy looked around. She saw no signs of a settlement, or homestead.

“Go ahead and turn on that light on your Pip-Boy.”

She did. Cooper pulled aside some branches, revealing a cave entrance. He motioned for her to go in. She did and he ducked through behind her with Dogmeat.

“At least it’s dry,” she commented.

“Not much farther and you can get into some dry clothes. Assuming everything in your bag didn’t get soaked. We should be able to find you something though.”

Lucy followed him farther into the cave. “What was that you said about John Henry?”

Cooper sighed. “He was—”

“I’m a history teacher. I know who he was. But building a railroad in heaven?”

“That’s from the folklore part of his story. After he died he got the job building Heaven’s railroad. Guess it makes sense that part wouldn’t get passed down in a vault where you can’t hear the thunder.”

“Why would Heaven need a railroad?”

“Well, it’s a big place, ain’t it? After all people are just dyin’ to get there.”

Lucy snorted and rolled her eyes.

“It’s what I used to tell Janey when she got scared durin’ storms.”

“My mom said it was the angels bowling.” She froze. “I didn’t even realize I remembered that.” She tried to remember more, the storm, whether she had actually seen the rain or just heard the thunder, if Norm or Moldaver had been there, but nothing more came to her.

Cooper left her to her thoughts as he led the way down the tunnel.

“Stop! Who goes there?” A ghoul guarded the entrance to another tunnel.

“Just a couple of travelers lookin’ for a place to wait out the storm.”

“Password.”

“Cut the shit, Freddie. You know it’s me, and I know there ain’t no damn password.”

“According to Charlie you thought there should have been.”

“Yeah, well, you know who won that fight. Heard from him lately?”

“Not since the last time you came through here. Must have been at least ten years ago now.”

“Thirteen.”

“You headin’ that way?”

“Vegas. Might have to swing by just to see if he’s still alive.”

“Charlie from the Marines?” Lucy asked, letting the coat fall around her shoulders.

“That’s the one,” Cooper nodded.

“Whose the smoothie?” Freddie asked, petting Dogmeat.

“Just a job.”

When she first started traveling with him Lucy would have been offended by that, but she knew Cooper was really just telling Freddie to mind his own business.

“You don’t usually bring them through here. Not alive anyway.”

“She’ll keep her mouth shut.”

“If you say so. Go on in.”

The opening Lucy had assumed was a tunnel actually took them into a cavern. Lucy knew her eyes had to be popping out of her head as she looked around. There had to be at least as many people here as in her vault. She turned off the light on her Pip-Boy. Phosphorescent plants, plentiful enough that they must have been cultivated covered stalagmites and stalactites. It wasn’t as bright as day, but there was enough light to see. Stalls selling food and goods were scattered around with no rhyme or reason. It reminded her of Filly except for the lack of buildings, she supposed there was no need for them in a cave. She watched as some people raised or lowered curtains around their stalls. Some seemed to be preparing to sleep in the space while others headed for tents around the edges of the cavern or disappeared through openings to other parts of the caves. Everyone she could see was a ghoul.

“They built a settlement inside a cave?”

“Sure did. Welcome to Ghoulsville.” Cooper chuckled.

“Is everyone here…”

“Ghouls? Most. Started with a few hiding out when the factions were getting organized and decided that exterminatin’ mutants was as good a rallying cry as any. Not many left from those days.”

“Are there more places like this?”

“A few. Settlements that are mostly ghouls, or let in all sorts. I ain’t heard of any more that are hidden like this, but that would be the point.”

“So this place is a secret?”

“Not so much that it exists as where exactly it is. I’m sure the Enclave and the Brotherhood have heard rumors. Even if they found it, they’d have to blow off the side of the mountain to get to it, by the time they actually managed that, everyone here would be long gone.”

Lucy followed Cooper through the market. Other ghouls greeted them, or whispered to each other as they passed. Dogmeat stayed close for once.

“Why wouldn’t all ghouls stay in places like that?” She asked.

Cooper shrugged. “Personal preference, I guess. Different reasons one place or another doesn’t appeal to ‘em. When it comes to this place, not everyone likes the idea of livin’ in a cave. Can’t say I blame ‘em. I’m not too fond of small, enclosed spaces myself.”

“This place is huge!’

“And the mountain on top of it is even bigger.”

She didn’t have an answer for that.

They stopped at a clothing stall where Cooper chatted with the vendor while Lucy examined what was available. She felt strange being the one who was overlooked while Cooper was welcome. At least no one here called her foul names. “Smoothie” seemed more like a distinction than an insult. It was good to know there was a place where Cooper wasn’t treated like a monster.

She selected a shirt and slacks made from a soft, light material, opting for comfort for once. She had two sets of clothes suited for trekking across the wastes already, as far as she could tell that was more than Cooper had, but he showed no inclination to get anything for himself. She grabbed a set of underwear and paid, then followed Cooper through one of the openings into a tunnel and another cavern. Lucy heard hushed voices and running water.

“Natural hot springs,” Cooper explained. “No need to pay, just find an empty spot and clean up.”

Lucy nodded and they split up, Dogmeat staying with Cooper.

Curtains hung to provide privacy, with the front open on the empty spaces. Lucy picked one of the smaller ones. It was only when she started to strip that she realized she still had Cooper’s coat. Rather than immediately track him down she decided to wash it along with her own clothes, trying to not imagine him shirtless while he washed the rest of his clothes.

Lucy found herself humming “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair” as she scrubbed at what she suspected were bloodstains from the deathclaw attack. After she gave up on the stains she washed herself, then just relaxed in the water. Even in the vault she had never been able to soak like this, they only had showers to save on space, and this water never even got cold. Finally she dragged herself out. She dried off as best she could with the provided towel and dressed in her new clothes. The ones she had washed were mostly dry which told her she had taken longer than she realized. She stuffed them into her pack along with her Pip-Boy and scooped up Cooper’s coat.

She found Cooper waiting for her at the entrance back to the main cavern. She had never been shy, but the way his eyes lingered over the places where her new clothes clung to her still slightly damp skin sent a shudder through her for reasons she refused to think about.

Cooper pulled his hat down. “Took you long enough.”

Lucy tossed his coat at him. He caught it and pulled it on as he turned to lead her out. Cooper continued to attract the other ghoul’s attention. He just tipped his hat in return for the greetings and kept moving. Lucy stayed close to him, nervously waving back and noticing the looks of surprise and confusion when ghouls saw her. She did her best to ignore them. Until one ghoul approached her directly.

“It’s you right? You’re the Vault Dweller who let us out of the Super Duper Mart!”

Cooper flinched. Lucy forced a smile. “You were there? I’m glad you made it to a safe place. My name’s Lucy by the way.”

“Shaggy,” he pointed to the few hairs still clinging to his scalp by way of explanation and offered his hand. Lucy shook it. “It’s nice to officially meet you. Whose your friend?”

“He was there,” Lucy said without thinking.

Shaggy looked up at Cooper. “She rescued you from that place too?”

“Something like that,” Cooper muttered.

“He was outside. You would have passed him when you left!”

Shaggy looked confused at her sudden hostility.

“We better get goin’,” Cooper said. He laid a hand on Lucy’s shoulder and steered her away. “What was that about?”

“He went right past you! They all did! They had to know you needed vials and they just left you there! And he acted like he didn’t even see you!”

“He probably didn’t. They had other things on their minds. Like high-tailing it outta there before they got caught again.”

“Someone should have helped you!”

“Someone did, remember, Sweetheart?”

“Where are going?” Lucy asked just to change the subject.

Cooper pointed to one of the openings off the cavern. “We’re gonna go see George the Crook. Dinner, drinks, and vials all in one convenient location.”

“You sound like you’re doing a commercial.”

“Rather do it for him than Vault-Tec.”

“Why do they call him George the Crook?”

He smirked. “’Cause he’s a crook.”

The opening took them to a smaller cavern which was set up like a restaurant with tables and chairs and a bar stretching across the far end with another opening behind it. A teenage boy waited tables. A human teenager. When he saw them he almost dropped his tray, then dumped it on the closest table and ran to the bar.

“Dad! The Hunter’s back!”

“That kid didn’t even come up to my knee the last time I came through here,” Cooper muttered.

The man behind the bar, a ghoul, looked up from serving drinks. “I thought we’d seen the last of you! Last I heard some Mexican warlord got the better of you.”

“He did. I’m just too damn stubborn to stay buried,” Cooper took a seat at the bar and Lucy clambered onto the stool next to him, wondering who this warlord was, and how he could possibly have gotten the better of Cooper, even temporarily.

A human woman came out from the opening behind the bar. She stopped when she saw them. “Is that…?”

“Yep!” George grinned.

Cooper tipped his hat at her.

“And who is this?” the woman asked, approaching the bar.

“I’m Lucy.”

“Now what’s an ornery old son of a bitch like you, doin’ with a pretty young girl like that?” the man asked.

“You’re one to talk!” Cooper turned to Lucy. “George here is almost as old as me.”

George nodded. “Pre-war, but I was younger than this old geezer when my nose fell off.”

Lucy started to protest that Cooper wasn’t that old, remembered he was well over two hundred and shut her mouth.

Cooper chuckled as if he knew exactly what she had been thinking.

“This lovely lady is my wife, Kate,” George said, gesturing to the woman.

“Wife, huh? How’d you let this old crook talk you into that?”

Kate smiled. “Didn’t have much of a choice once Billy started calling him ‘dad’.”

“Which I’m sure he didn’t encourage at all.”

Billy shrugged. “He’s the only dad I ever had.”

“How did you two meet? If you don’t mind my asking,” Lucy said.

Kate said, “I escaped from the Legion. Took advantage of the chaos when the NCR was expanding into the Mojave. I had some help from a courier, but he could only take me as far as the nearest settlement. I was afraid that if I stayed there they would find me, so the Hunter brought me to the pass. When I went into labor he brought me into the cave. George was on guard duty and helped get me the rest of the way to the settlement.”

“What about the father?” Lucy asked.

Cooper dropped a hand on her knee. “Lucy’s from a vault. ‘Fraid I haven’t gotten around to explaining the Legion to her.”

So that wasn’t to be discussed.

“Someone in Vegas had a bounty out on a vault dweller. I heard about it from the last trade caravan,” Billy said.

George scowled at Cooper. “You’re not turning this girl in, are you?”

“We both want answers from the fella puttin’ up the caps. I’ve got no intention on collectin’ ‘em.”

“Why not?” Lucy asked. “You are taking me in after all.”

“You do realize the only way that’s gonna work without you gettin’ dragged back to a vault or whatever he has in mind is if I shoot him once he pays up?”

“I told you, once we have our answers I’m gonna kill him. Might as well let him pay you first.”

Cooper shook his head. “I’ve been a bad influence on you! It’s too risky.”

Lucy let the subject drop, at least until she could work out a real plan.

“And you call me a crook,” George said with a grin.

“Only ‘cause it’s true.”

“Maybe, but he’d give you the shirt off his back if you needed it,” Kate said.

Cooper smirked. “Well, off of someone’s back.”

George laughed and poured him a drink. “Well, I think we’ve hogged your attention long enough. We should get back to work, we’ve got quite a crowd.”

Lucy looked over her shoulder. The place was packed with ghouls that had filed in while they talked.

Cooper groaned. “Every time I think I’m done with this shit.”

“Dad, can’t I—”

“After your shift, son,” George patted Billy on the shoulder.

“Just like the old days?” Lucy teased Cooper as the family moved to greet their new customers.

“Too much like the old days,” Cooper groused.

Lucy didn’t escape the crowd’s attention. Most of them wanted to talk to Cooper, or the Hunter as they called him, but word had gotten around about her releasing those ghouls from the Super Duper Mart and plenty wanted to talk to her about that. She found herself repeating the story over and over again, between turning down offers for drinks. Every time she mentioned Martha she received reassurances that she had done the only thing she could. It was for the best, for Martha as well for saving her own life. A few even mentioned that they hoped they would be lucky enough to be put out of their misery so quickly if they ever turned, which made her think of Roger again, and the fact that Cooper had done the only thing he could for him. She managed not to give away that he was the one who brought her to the Super Duper Mart, saying only that someone had sold her. No one seemed to care about those details. She didn’t lose her temper again either. Cooper was right, those ghouls had been desperate to escape, probably didn’t even notice him, and may have assumed he was beyond help if they did. It still bothered her that none of them had tried.

Lucy had always been socially active in the vault; she had thrived on interacting with her friends and neighbors in the many clubs she had been part of, but even she found the experience tiring after a while. She kept looking at Cooper, worried about how he was handling it since he usually kept to himself, but he seemed more relaxed than she had ever seen him. He kept accepting drinks, nodding, or tipping his hat as he answered questions with a smile. Except it wasn’t a real smile. This wasn’t her Cooper, the Ghoul who had guided her through the Wastelands. This was Cooper Howard, star of stage and screen meeting his fans.

#####

Norm paced around the living room of the abandoned house they had taken shelter in while the storm raged outside.

“Calm down,” Max said. “They’ll have to stop too.”

“Are you sure about that? I wouldn’t put it past the Ghoul to force Lucy to keep moving through this.”

“He might be able to handle it, but there’s too much chance Lucy would get sick, which would just slow them down more. I don’t think he’ll take the chance. Your dad wants her alive and unharmed, remember? The Ghoul has to keep her that way if he wants to get paid.”

Norm stopped pacing and stared out a window at the pouring rain, wishing there was a way they could take advantage of the weather to close the distance between them and his sister. “We’re just so close, but…”

“So far, I know. But there’s nothing we can do about it right now. Can you come help me service this armor? I haven’t kept up with I like I should.”

Norm nodded, knowing full well that Max wasn’t asking for help so much as offering a distraction.

He jumped as another clap of thunder exploded around them. He swore it was getting closer.

Janey giggled from her perch on the mostly intact sofa.

Max shot her a look. “Be nice. You know he’s never heard thunder before.”

“It’s just John Henry building the railroad in Heaven!”

Both men gave her blank looks.

“That’s what my daddy said. You don’t know who John Henry was?”

“My sister’s a history teacher, of course I know who he was.”

“I don’t.” Max said.

“Do you want to tell him, or should I?” Norm asked.

“I’ll tell him!”

Norm got started servicing the armor while Max listened to the story.

“A long, long time ago, when America first got started some of the rich people had slaves, until there was a big war between the people who thought slavery was okay and the people who thought it wasn’t.”

“It was a little more complicated than that,” Norm added, “but that was a big part of it, and it’s the part that matters to the story.”

Janey nodded and continued. “Well, the people who wanted to stop slavery won. John Henry was one of the people who was freed because of it. He got a job working on the railroad hammering in the spikes that held it together. They say he was so strong he did the work of four men!” she help up four fingers. “The former slaves didn’t have their own home so the railroad company promised that when they were done building it, they would each get a piece of land to build a home on. But when they got close to finishing it the company bought a machine to hammer in the spikes instead, and backed out of the deal!”

“That’s not right!” Max said.

Norm smiled. Janey hadn’t even mentioned that the skin color she and Max shared had been a factor.

Janey nodded. “That’s what John Henry said. So he made a bet with the railroad company. If he could beat the machine in a race then they had to give the people what they promised.”

“Did he win?”

“Yes, but he died. I think he had a heart attack, ‘cause he was working so hard. That’s why people say thunder is the sound of him building the railroad in Heaven.”

“Why does Heaven even need a railroad?” Norm asked.

“Well, it’s a big place. People are just dyin’ to get there.”

The three of them laughed.

Norm didn’t mind the thunder so much after that.

#####

Lucy took a seat at a table in one of the poorly lit alcoves at the edges of the cavern. No one seemed to notice her return from the bathroom where she had excused herself as much to catch her breath as because she actually needed it. There was still a crowd around Cooper. Someone had taken her seat at the bar. They probably would have moved if she asked, but she couldn’t sit next to him pretending everything was okay when she didn’t even know why it wasn’t. She knew Cooper was an actor; she knew he was good at it. Seeing him put those skills to use shouldn’t have been so disconcerting. It wasn’t that she was worried about him tricking her, the fact that she could see through this act was all the evidence she needed that she didn’t need to worry about that. So then what was it?

A plate of food slid onto the table in front of her. She looked up to see George standing there.

“Figured you’d be hungry by now. Don’t worry about the caps, it’s covered,” he said.

Of course it was. Cooper had probably noticed when she came back and her avoidance of the crowd.

“Mind if I sit down?” George asked.

“Go ahead.”

He sat as Lucy dug into the food, trying not to worry about the source of the mystery meat.

“Something on your mind?” George asked.

“I’m not sure how to explain it,” she admitted.

Following her gaze George said, “He’s a loner. Bit strange seeing him surrounded like that.”

“Is it always like this when he comes through here?”

George chuckled. “Yeah, pretty much. He’s something of a living legend. I hear humans call him the Ghoul.”

Lucy nodded. “That’s all I heard anyone call him, until we got here. I guess it makes sense other ghouls wouldn’t call him that.”

“If you wanna get your mind off things, I could show you a magic trick.”

“What kind of trick?” Lucy asked skeptically.

“I’ll show you for a cap.”

Lucy hesitated, knowing it was a waste, but she liked George, he was one of the friendliest people she had met on the surface. She fished out a cap and set it on the table. George swiped it and stuck in his pocket.

“So, what’s the trick?” Lucy asked.

George grinned. “Making it disappear.”

Lucy laughed. “You are a crook!”

“Made you laugh didn’t it? That’s the real trick.”

“Well, then I guess it was worth it.”

She felt something nudge her knee and heard a familiar whine. She looked down at Dogmeat and smiled. “Aw, you didn’t think I forgot about you, did you?” she dropped a bite of meat in the floor. Once she scarfed it up, Dogmeat turned her attention to George, oblivious to the fact that he wasn’t eating. She seemed happy to settle for a scratch behind the ears.

“I gotta admit, the dog was less of a surprise than you,” George said. “What’s her name?”

“Dogmeat, I think he was trying not to get attached. He failed.”

“Obviously.”

Did the fact he wasn’t surprised to see Cooper with a dog mean he knew he’d had one before? Had he seen Roosevelt? Did he know Cooper before the war? Did he know his real name, or that he had been a movie star? Not wanting to say something that would reveal something she shouldn’t Lucy considered how to phrase her next question while she ate. Finally she said, “How long have you known him?”

“I don’t. Not really. I don’t think anyone does, except maybe Charlie. I know they served together in Alaska, that’s about it. We met a few years after the bombs dropped. When some of the factions were getting organized and started hunting down mutants. Me, Charlie, the Hunter, and a few others looking for a place to lie low. A few humans too. One of them was the scientist who figured out the chems to keep us from going feral. Just the three of us left now. I was beginning to think it was just me. Don’t know for sure if Charlie is still out there, but I haven’t heard otherwise.”

“Speaking of those chems—”

George raised a hand. “He’ll leave here with plenty of vials, don’t worry about that.”

“I’ve been trying to hold on to a few myself, just in case. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket, you know?”

“Nice thought, but I’m pretty sure he’d rather keep an eye on them himself.”

Lucy put down her fork and looked George in the eye. “Not long after we first met I smashed his last few vials. I didn’t know what they were, and it was an accident, but he almost went feral, and it was my fault.” It didn’t excuse anything he had done that day, but she couldn’t pretend she hadn’t contributed.

George stared at her. “You’re really worried about him, aren’t you?”

“Why is that so surprising?”

“Most smoothies don’t like ghouls. There are exceptions,” he glanced at Kate who was trying to keep up with drink orders at the bar, Billy seemed to have joined the crowd, “but they are exceptions. And he’s not exactly friendly.”

“We didn’t get along at first.” Lucy admitted.

“I’d be surprised if you did. You know, I had my suspicions about how you ended up in that Super Duper Mart in the first place.” When she didn’t respond to that, he stood and collected her plate. “I’ll be right back.”

After he left Lucy turned her attention back to the crowd lingering around Cooper, oblivious to his charade. She knew why it bothered her now. It reminded her of how easily he had fooled her on the way to the Super Duper Mart. He had seemed so strong, only to collapse as soon as he thought she wasn’t looking. If something were wrong with him, she might not know until it was too late. That, and the realization of how alone he had been for the last two hundred years. He kept everyone at a distance whether it was with the facade of the bad ass bounty hunter known only as the Ghoul scaring them off, or the Hollywood star, nice, polite, but distant, and firm in maintaining that distance. She was worried about him.

George returned and placed a box on the table in front of her. “There’s an extra inhaler in there too.”

Lucy opened the box and stared at the rows of carefully packed vials. The inhaler was strapped to the top. “I don’t have enough caps for all this!”

George waved a hand. “He never took any caps for bringing Kate. That’s worth more than any amount of vials I can cook up.”

“You make these?”

“Learned from the original scientist.”

“Could you teach me?”

“You would still have the problem of getting the ingredients. Besides it would take more than one night, and I doubt he wants to stay longer than that.”

Lucy closed the box. “No. Maybe on the way back.”

“You might not make it back. Not if this man you’re looking for is Vault-Tec.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know what his grudge with them is, all I know is that when it comes to Vault-Tec he doesn’t think straight. It’s going to get him killed. Him and anyone standing next to him. Unless you can talk him out of it.”

Lucy shook her head. “He’s not giving up.” If George knew what Cooper was looking for, he would understand that.

“Then you may want to consider parting ways. Before it’s too late.”

“I have my own grudge with Vault-Tec. I’m not giving up either.”

George sighed and nodded. “Well, who knows, maybe the two of you will manage to keep each other alive.”

“That’s the plan.” She just hoped they could actually pull it off.

Chapter Text

Cooper leaned against the wall near the cave’s entrance smoking a cigarette while he waited for Lucy. He hadn’t slept well, which was nothing unusual, but that was part of why he decided to wait out here, rather than deal with the crowds again. Before he headed out he got some vials from George along with confirmation that the raiders had come through the pass and there were super mutants in the mountains. So far they hadn’t found the settlement so they hadn’t caused any trouble there. They probably wouldn’t. Most of them were too dumb to find it, and even if they did they were too big to easily reach it. It sounded like he and Lucy had avoided their preferred territory; taking the long way had been the right call.

He tossed the cigarette away when he heard Dogmeat coming down the tunnel. She bounded up to him and he petted her until Lucy caught up.

“Did you sleep at all?” she asked. She wore the cowgirl get up she got in Mountview, her Pip-Boy back on her arm.

“Enough,” he said, even though it was barely true. He hadn’t thought much about how long he was in that coffin. Thirteen years was nothing, less than a tenth of the time he’d been alive, but he’d missed that kid’s whole life. Granted he would have missed a lot of it anyway. He had passed them up entirely after the last time he saw Charlie, he just hadn’t been ready to face them and admit his oldest friend wanted nothing to do with him anymore, but he hadn’t meant to never got back. There was a difference between missing a few birthdays because he was doing his job and looking for Janey and not even having the chance to check up on the closest thing to friends he had left because he’d been stuck in a box six feet under.

When he straightened up from petting Dogmeat concern was all over Lucy’s face. What was she worrying about him for?

“Ready to go?” he asked.

“If you’re sure you don’t want to stick around a day or two and meet some more fans,” she teased.

Cooper scoffed. “I’ve had more than enough of that.” He picked up his saddle bag, slung it over his shoulder and headed for the exit.

“Come see The Great Egress,” he quipped as he moved the branch aside. Lucy giggled and ducked through.

“Did you ever meet P. T. Barnum?”

“I ain’t that old, Sweetheart!”

Once they were properly on the road again Lucy said, “George kept trying to talk me into staying longer and getting you to.”

“I’m sure he did. We’re good for business.”

“I think he was worried about you, actually.”

“Well, it has been a long time since I’ve been out here.”

“Thirteen years, right?”

“Somethin’ like that.”

“Why?”

There was no way he was telling her the whole story. But he had promised not to lie to her, and she had an uncanny ability to notice when he tried. “Like George said, I ran into some trouble with a Mexican warlord. Let myself get distracted and him and his men got the jump on me.”

“ You got distracted?”

He sighed. “I saw Barb,” he admitted. “Or I thought I did. I’d heard rumors someone like her was in Shady Sands and got out before it blew up. Thought she might have had something to do with it. I tracked her down, but before I could be sure it was her Dom Pedro caught up to me. Seems I took out a few too many of his men on the way.”

Lucy didn’t ask any more about it. She knew better than to push too much when it came to his family. Which made it an excellent deterrent for other things he didn’t want to discuss.

“We should go back,” she said.

“What?”

“Hank came from Vault 31. He always said he spent his whole life there until he transferred to 33 to marry Mom, but obviously he was lying. If he worked with Barb, and he was in cryo in 31, then it makes sense that she would be there, and of course Janey would be with her. If she really was in Shady Sands, then he could have brought her when he was looking for my mom. Either way Janey could still be there. It has to be worth looking, right?”

Cooper froze staring at her. She was actually suggesting going back, risking letting her daddy get away, on the off-chance his little girl might be in that vault. And he knew she wanted to find Henry, badly enough she had been willing to come with a man who had tortured her to do it. She made a good argument, considering the information she had. But was she right?

“Barb was tryin’ to get into a special vault for management. I’m not sure Henry qualified.” Of course, one of his objections had been that he wasn’t convinced Vault-Tec wasn’t lying about this special vault, or Barb’s chances of getting into it.

“He was the Overseer. Did you know Betty Pearson?”

He nodded. “Another one of Barb’s assistants.”

“She was the Overseer before Hank. She was from 31 too. If two of her assistants were in there, doesn’t that make it more likely she was?”

“They still weren’t the same level of management.”

“What about Stephanie Harper? She was from 31 too. She always wanted to be Overseer someday.”

Cooper hesitated. He seemed to remember a young blond woman introducing herself as Steph and a big fan at one of Barb’s Vault-Tec parties. He had avoided her. Things had been going downhill with Barb, but not quite unsalvageable yet, and it was obvious the girl wanted more than a handshake and an autograph. “Maybe. It’s been a long time.”

Lucy nodded. “How many vaults full of people cryogenically frozen from before the war can there be?”

That was an excellent question. “No idea.”

“Do you know anything about the experiments in 31, 32, and 33?”

He considered. “Bud Askins said something about three vaults working together. He also talked about a program for training managers, called it Bud’s Buds. Said time was the ultimate weapon. Putting all that together sounds a lot like what you’ve been describing. But Barb outranked him. He wouldn’t have had the authority to get her in there.”

“But she could have pulled some strings to get herself and Janey in there if she didn’t get in the one she wanted.”

“Maybe.”

“So we should check it out! I don’t know where the surface entrance to 31 is, but I can get us into 33 and Norm and Chet could help us get to 31 from there. And it would give me a chance to catch them up on everything, so it’s not like I wouldn’t be getting anything out of it.”

She was f***ing serious! In fact she seemed excited about the idea. It was tempting, although the thought of meeting Chet rubbed Cooper the wrong way for some reason. Probably just the idea of ‘cousin stuff’ as Lucy called it.

“And what would you do after?”

“Probably go back to looking for Hank. Maybe I can convince Norm and Chet to help. Although Norm said he would be too chicken to leave the vault.”

“You do realize that by the time we got there and found out if you’re right he could be long gone from Vegas?”

“You said he would wait there.”

“To a point, but if we turn around now, we’ll more than double the time it takes us to get there. Sooner or later he’ll give up and leave, even if it’s just because whoever’s in charge tells him too. I doubt he’s the one calling all the shots. If it turns out Janey’s not in 31 we could loose the only real lead we’ve got. It might be best to finish what we started, and see what we can get outta him first. If he says you’re right, or Vegas turns out to be a dead end then we can try 31. I’d rather have more to go off of than ‘maybe’ before we start breaking into vaults.” We? Was he really just assuming she would keep helping him look for Janey once she had her own answers? Then again she was the one who suggested giving up on Henry, at least for the time being to follow a possible lead on Janey.

“I guess that makes sense,” Lucy said. “I just thought I should say something before we got to the desert. Or Hank did.”

He nodded.

Dogmeat barked as if wondering what was taking them so long.

“Better get movin’ so we can find out one way or the other.”

“Okie dokie.”

#####

Norm checked his Pip-Boy to make sure they were still on course. They had decided to take the most direct route to the pass, which according to Max meant passing up the next settlement. That was alright, they had loaded up on supplies in Mountview, the next settlement was close enough they wouldn’t need much by the time they got there anyway, and skipping it to reach the pass sooner would mean going through even less. Maybe if Max flew them through the pass they could catch up to Lucy and the Ghoul before they made it too far into the Mojave.

Trees grew between rusted cars and abandoned houses, offering some relief from the sun. When Janey got tired Max lifted her onto his armored shoulders.

“When do I get a turn?” Norm joked.

“Right after you carry me for while,” Max replied, grinning.

Janey laughed. “If we could find some horses we could all ride.”

“I don’t think there are any horses left. Even if there are, would they be able to carry my armor?”

“A Percheron might be able to; they used to carry the medieval knights. Norm could ride something smaller, like a Shetland pony!”

Judging from Janey’s giggle Norm guessed a Shetland pony would be ridiculously small, even for him. “What would you ride?” he asked.

“A quarter horse, like Sugarfoot!” She sighed. “I miss animals. Nice ones, like dogs and horses.”

“There are still dogs,” Max said. “Wilzig, that man the Ghoul was after in Filly had one. It followed us when we got his head, but it wasn’t with Thaddeus when Lucy and I ran into him after Vault 4. I’m not sure what happened to it.”

“I got to play with some dogs in Mountview, and the other kids said the Ghoul has one. He calls it Dogmeat!” Her grimace told Norm exactly what she thought of that name.

“I wonder if it’s the same dog. I think he used Wilzig’s dog to track down Lucy. Maybe Thaddeus ditched her and the Ghoul figured she could lead him to the head again.” Max said.

“I don’t know if it’s more of a coincidence if it is the same dog, or if the Ghoul just happened to pick up a stray,” Norm said.

“He doesn’t seem like the type to take in strays out of the goodness of his heart, but dogs can be useful, so I guess it could go either way,” Max said.

“I just hope he takes good care of her,” Janey said.

“He will. He has to if he expects her to be useful,” Norm reassured her.

Janey rested her chin on the top of Max’s head. “I miss Roosevelt. The real one.” The stuffed one was safely tucked away in her pack. “Daddy got to keep him after the divorce, Mom didn’t want him, so I didn’t get to see him much after that. I asked Mom if we could get a dog to live with us, and she said there was no point.”

Max glanced at Norm as if he would know how to respond to that. All he could think of was his own dad, smiling while he watched those movies knowing he had kidnapped the star’s daughter, killed his dog, and left the man to die on the surface. But Janey was alive because of it. Did that mean he was right to take her?

A house exploded. All three of them hit the ground. Janey rolled off of Max. Norm dragged himself over to her. She had nothing more than minor cuts and bruises. As far as he could tell the same was true for him. With his power armor Max didn’t even have many of those.

Dogs barked as the smoke and debris cleared to reveal five huge humanoid figures. Even the smallest of them was at least a head taller than Chet, and all of them bulged with muscles. Maybe it was the light from the explosion or the setting sun, but their skin appeared to be green.

The largest of them laughed. “Found dinner!”

“Take Janey and run!” Max stood, closed his helmet, drew his minigun and opened fire.

Norm picked Janey up and ran back toward Mountview. They wouldn’t make it. They were already a day’s travel away. Max couldn’t hold those things off on his own. One, maybe, but not five. The settlement was too far away. Even if they made it, even if someone there was able and willing to help, they wouldn’t make it back in time for Max.

And he was running.

Lucy didn’t just escape the Super Duper Mart, she got everyone else out too. Max gave up his chance at a safe, comfortable life in Vault 4 to help Lucy. Janey shot a feral ghoul to save him.

And he was running.

He could tell himself it was to keep Janey safe, but there was no safety nearby, and she could run just as well on her own.

He didn’t have a weapon that could take down those monsters. He would just get himself killed. Janey would be on her own. He couldn’t leave her like that. But he couldn’t leave Max either.

Norm stopped. He set Janey down. Tried to catch his breath. He heard the minigun firing, and the roars of those creatures. He handed Janey the holster with his spare pistol, for all the good it would do. “Keep running. Try to get back to the settlement.”

Janey shook her head. “I don’t wanna leave you!”

He didn’t have time to argue. “Then find a place to hide and stay there until we come back, or the fighting’s over and they’re gone.”

Janey hesitated, but nodded. Norm didn’t wait to see where she hid. He would be able to find her with the tracker. Besides if he didn’t know where she was he couldn’t give her away. He turned and ran back toward Max and the monsters.

#####

Max concentrated his fire on the largest super mutant. A behemoth? It didn’t matter. What mattered was that it was clearly the leader. Hopefully if he took it down the others would scatter and maybe he would have a chance at getting out of this alive. Or at least Norm and Janey would.

He spared enough bullets to keep the others at bay. The smallest used a car door as a shield, but seemed happy to let the big brute take the lead. Unfortunately even the behemoth could move faster than he could in power armor. It struck him with a tree trunk. Max dug his heels in and managed to stand his ground, but it knocked the minigun from his hands. His instinct was to try to retrieve it, but he didn’t see where it went. He refused to die running. He just hoped Norm and Janey got away.

The trunk swung toward him again. Max braced himself and caught it with both hands. He held on as the behemoth tried to pull back for another swing. His armor shrieked around him as he pulled. There was no way he was winning a tug of war with this thing, but maybe he didn’t have to. He released the club just as the behemoth pulled again. It careened back, knocked into one of the others. It grabbed the other one’s arm, trying to catch its balance, but just pulled the other down with it. A car flattened under them. Max heard the minigun fire and the car next to them exploded. The two super mutants screamed. Max turned to see Norm balancing the minigun on the hood of a car.

The behemoth shoved the smaller one down. A sickening crack filled the air as it used the smaller one for leverage to get to its feet. It didn’t move again. The behemoth stumbled toward Norm. Pieces of the destroyed cars protruded from it’s green skin. It took hit after hit from the mini gun and kept going.

Dogs strained at their leads to get to Norm, but the mutant holding them kept them in check, probably didn’t want them getting mown down by the minigun.

Max activated the jets in his armor and launched himself at the behemoth. He flew right at its face. It swatted at him. Max flew over its head. He swooped down at the wreckage of the cars and the mangled body of the other super mutant. A mini nuke lay in the rubble. Max scooped it up and looped around the behemoth to Norm.

“Outta ammo,” Norm said when Max reached him.

“I’m not.” Max hurled the mini nuke at the behemoth, grabbed Norm and took off flying.

The shock wave knocked them to the ground. He shielded Norm the best he could. Max’s armor would protect him from the radiation, but Norm would probably need Rad Away. Janey might too. Max wasn’t sure how far they had gotten before Norm decided to turn around, but he doubted she would keep going without either of them.

Before they could recover the remaining super mutants had them surrounded. One picked Max up, shook him and thumped his chest plate.

“Tough nut!” it grunted.

“I can get him out,” the smallest said. There was something familiar about that voice, but with the blast still ringing in his ears Max couldn’t place it. Maybe he was imagining things.

The third picked up Norm. “Scrawny. That all?”

“Yes!” Norm said.

It was a good thing super mutants were dumb. Human raiders would have realized he was protecting someone.

“Fine. We go now,” the one holding Max said.

“Why you in charge?” the one with Norm challenged.

Max’s shoved it. “I biggest. That why.”

“Could we maybe talk about this later?” the smallest piped up.

The other two both shoved it, knocking it over. “Well, at least you agree on something,” it muttered.

If they were going to try reasoning with them, that would be the one to talk to. Max doubted it would work, but anything was better than giving up.

As the mutants carried them toward the mountains, he just hoped Janey would make it safely to Mountview.

#####

Janey huddled in a cluster of trees. She had been afraid to hide in a house in case those monsters decided to blow up another one, and a car seemed just as risky. At least if they wanted to grab a tree, she would see them coming. She had thought about climbing a tree, but she was afraid that if the dogs found her, she would be trapped. She had never been afraid of dogs before.

She covered her ears at the sound of an explosion. A wind swept through the trees so much like the day the bombs fell she looked up and held up her thumb. She didn’t see a mushroom cloud. She didn’t hear any more gunshots or explosions.

She waited.

Norm and Max didn’t come back.

Janey left her hiding spot. She didn’t see the monsters. She didn’t see Norm and Max either. She started back toward where the monsters showed up. The setting sun gave her plenty of shadows to hide in.

Two of the monsters were dead. At least she thought it was two of them. One was in so many pieces it was hard to tell. There was no sign of Norm or Max.

She found the giant’s footprints heading for the mountains. It looked like there were still three of them.

She should go back to Mountview. It would be safer, and she might be able to get help. It was what Norm and Max would want her to do. But what if no one would help? And even if they did it might be too late. It might already be too late. Even if it wasn’t, what could she do? She wasn’t a hero, like her daddy. Except he hadn’t saved her. He hadn’t found her. Her daddy wasn’t a hero; he just played one in the movies.

But he had tried.

Janey fastened the belt with the pistol so that it looped over her shoulder and stared at the trail in front of her. “Us cowpokes take it as it comes.”

She followed the trail.

Chapter Text

Janey followed the monster’s trail into the mountains. They were so big it was easy. Even when they didn’t leave footprints they had just knocked over anything that got in their way. She wasn’t worried about finding them. She was worried about finding them in time.

Instead of following in their footsteps she kept to the side, hiding in the trees as much as she could. She couldn’t help Norm and Max if she got caught.

She kept going after it got dark. She didn’t want to waste time, besides there couldn't be anything more dangerous than those monsters out here.

A stag with two heads and two extra legs growing out of it’s shoulder ran across the trail ahead of her. Janey froze. Did she scare it? Or was it running from something else?

Then she heard them.

The trail led to a clearing. Dogs wandered around gnawing on bones and scraps of meat. Two of the monsters sat in the middle eating something. Janey was afraid it was Max and Norm, then one of the monsters waved a drumstick and she realized it has too big to be human. Maybe one of those deer. The monsters carelessly tossed the bones around laughing when they hit the smallest one who sat alone by a tree. Two cages made from pairs of shopping carts hung from the branches. Norm and Max sat inside. They should be able to break out, the problem was getting caught. It was up to her to create a distraction. But how?

The monsters reminded her of the trolls from The Hobbit. Her daddy had read it to her once. Just like Bilbo, the hero in that story, Janey wasn’t very big, she couldn’t fight these monsters. But she could be clever. She didn’t think she could get them arguing over how to eat their prisoner’s the way Gandalf had, they would probably realize her voice sounded nothing like any of them right away, but there had to be something she could do.

One of the dogs whimpered. He was smaller than the others. She wasn’t sure if that was because he was young, or if he just wasn’t getting enough to eat. Every time he tried to get a bite one of the others chased him off and took it from him. Poor thing.

Janey took off her pack and pulled out a can of cram. She waited until the scrawny dog came close to open it. The dog smelled it. He came closer, head and tail low. Janey dumped the cram out on the ground. The dog crept closer. Janey backed away. The dog watched her as it carefully took a bite. When Janey didn’t move he scarfed it all down, then looked up at her for more.

“I can’t give you too much at once or you’ll get sick,” she whispered.

He whimpered.

She held out her hand and let him sniff it.

He rolled over and let her rub his belly.

He didn’t look exactly like Roosevelt. He was mostly black, with a white stripe down his chest and belly, and white socks on his feet. She thought he might be a husky mix. Maybe even part wolf.

Janey picked up a stick and stood. The dog got back on his feet, tail wagging. She threw the stick into the trees. He took off after it and brought it back. They played fetch a few more times. Finally Janey took the stick, turned toward the clearing and hurled it to the side farthest from Norm and Max.

#####

Max realized why the smallest of the super mutants seemed familiar when it opened his armor and pried him from it before shoving him into a cage made of two shopping carts.

“Thaddeus?” he whispered as the super mutant hung the cage from a tree.

The super mutant froze then leaned in to get a better look at him. “Max?”

“You two know each other?” Norm hissed from his cage already hanging in the tree.

“From the Brotherhood. He’s the one who took the arrow to the neck right before Lucy and I separated.” Max looked Thaddeus over. He was about seven feet tall, with the same green skin and overgrown muscles as the larger mutants. “Guess I was wrong about you turning into a ghoul.”

“Doesn’t make much difference. I still can’t go back,” Thaddeus said. He flinched as a bone thrown by one of the others hit the back of his head.

“They don’t want you talking to us, do they?” Max said.

Thaddeus shook his head. “They’re not smart enough to care about that.”

“They pick on you because you’re the smallest,” Norm said, his voice sympathetic.

“And the newest. It’s only been a few weeks since I mutated. After that I kind of just wandered around until I ran into these guys. I don’t like it, but I don’t have anywhere else to go.”

“That doesn’t mean you have to put up with that!” Max said. “I left the Brotherhood. You can leave these jerks. Just get us out of here!”

Thaddeus shook his head. “They’ll kill all three of us!”

“If I can get to my armor and my weapons then we can take them down together!” His armor had been unceremoniously tossed onto a pile of weapons in the clearing, about halfway between the tree and where the bigger super mutants were feasting.

“They’d kill you before you got to them!”

“So you won’t even try! You coward!”

“They're the cowards!” Norm said, shooting Max a glare. “They’re just bullies. I bet if you stood up to them they’d back off.”

“Or they’d kill me!”

“Look, I get it. I was always the smallest back home and there was this guy who loved to beat me up. Until I punched him back. He never bothered me again.”

Thaddeus sat down by the tree. “But there’s two of them.”

“And you’re smarter than both of them put together. There has to be a way out of this without any of us getting killed. We just have to out smart them!”

“That shouldn’t be too hard,” Max said. “We just need to distract them long enough to get to the armor and weapons, then we’ll have a chance.” He wasn’t much of a planner, that wasn’t how the Brotherhood operated, but he tried. “When do they sleep?” He asked. It was already dark, but the super mutants showed no sign of being tired.

“They don’t sleep much, and they wake up easily.”

There was no way they would cross half the clearing to get to his armor without stepping on a bone or alerting the dogs.

“Maybe I could keep their attention on me while Max gets the armor,” Norm said.

“The dogs would notice him.”

That was the biggest problem. They needed to distract the super mutants and the dogs. Max watched the dogs wander around the clearing fighting over scraps from the super mutant’s meal. The scrawniest of them crept into the trees, probably hoping to find a meal it wouldn’t have to fight the others for. Minutes passed as Max and Norm continued suggesting ideas only for Thaddeus to shoot them down. The other two were just too stupid to be distracted long.

Something flew out of the tree line. A dog took off after it, and the others chased it. “What they got?” the super mutants stood and followed the pack.

Thaddeus wasted no time. He pulled Max’s cage down and opened it. Max stumbled and took off toward the pile of weapons while Thaddeus turned his attention to Norm’s cage. Max heard the dogs barking and snarling, and the super mutant’s yelling. What had set the dogs off? How long would it keep them busy?

Max reached his armor, got into it and started grabbing weapons before he even caught his breath. Thaddeus and Norm joined him and started collecting weapons themselves. Max picked up his minigun and started loading it. Norm took a belt of grenades and a rifle. Thaddeus picked up a pair of mini nukes.

“They’re coming!” Janey ran to them across the clearing, a dog at her heals.

“What are you doing here?” Norm demanded, then shook his head. “Never mind, we can talk about that after we get out of this.”

“Take her back the way we came,” Max said, pointing at the trail the super mutants had left. “I’ll find you after Thaddeus and I deal with the others.”

Norm nodded and grabbed his pack. “Come on, Cowgirl, let’s get out of here.”

The dog barked.

“Yeah, I guess you can come too.”

The three of them ran for the trail just as the super mutants broke through the tree line. Max flew at them, peppering them with fire from the minigun. They swatted at him but he stayed out of reach, circling them.

“Max!” Thaddeus shouted.

Max shot straight up as Thaddeus hurled a mini nuke.

#####

When Norm heard the explosion he flung himself forward and wrapped his arms around Janey, shielding her from the shock wave that shook the trees and sent needles cascading down around them. When it passed he sat back, unintentionally pulling Janey with him. She settled on his lap and rested her head on his chest. The dog laid it’s head on her knee and she started petting it.

They should move. There was no way to be sure if the fight was really over, or who had won. They should at least hide in the trees until Max, or the super mutants came looking for them. But he was just so tired.

Heavy footsteps came down the trail. Norm slid Janey off his lap and forced himself to his feet. He placed a hand on a tree to steady himself and squinted down the trail. Max came toward them with his friend. Their friend. Norm knew he had heard his name, but the headache made it hard to remember. He raised a hand to greet them.

Max opened his helmet. “You’re okay?”

“Yeah. Are you guys?”

“Yeah, but those other super mutants aren’t!” Max grinned.

“Whose the kid?” their friend asked.

“Janey,” Norm said, then leaned forward and vomited all over the roots of the tree.

He heard Max’s armor open and felt arms catch him just before he fell unconscious.

#####

Cooper resisted the urge to keep looking back at Lucy. She had fallen behind again in the heat of the Mojave. At this rate it would take them longer than the two weeks he had planned to get to New Vegas. It almost made him wish Henry really would come out looking for her. At least then they could get this over with and get back to a somewhat less inhospitable climate. Not that she ever complained. Which only made it worse. How was he supposed to know she was really in trouble if she didn’t say something? Of course, the last time she had asked him for water hadn’t turned out so well. She knew he wouldn’t do that again though, didn’t she?

He hadn’t felt anything akin to guilt or regret in a long time, but he found himself facing just that for how he had treated her back then. She hadn’t deserved it, even then he knew that, even if he had tried to convince himself otherwise. The only thing she did was get in his way. He could have just gone after another bounty, or made a deal with her when she said she needed the head to get her dad. Anything but use her as gulper bait. The fact that he had intended to let her go, that he had kept the gulper from actually eating her, didn’t make it right. As for everything that had come after, well none of that would have happened if he had just done the right thing in the first place. He hadn’t worried about doing that in a long time either. Except for helping Kate, but leaving a woman and her unborn baby at the mercy of the Legion was one crossed line too many, even for the Ghoul. If he really wanted to do the right thing he would have taken the courier up on his offer to help take down the Legion once and for all. If he had maybe he could worry a little less about Lucy.

He spotted an old gas station ahead. “We can take a rest in there, wait out the hottest part of the day,” he said, taking advantage of the excuse to look back at her.

She nodded, looking tired, but otherwise okay. At least she’d had the sense to get a hat that shielded her face from the sun, even if it did make them look like a matched set. Dogmeat stuck close to her side, probably as worried as he was.

Lucy trailed behind him as they entered the gas station and he walked around the small building, making sure they were alone. Once he was satisfied she settled into a shadowy corner. He stationed himself by the window, keeping a lookout. When he looked back at Lucy she was fiddling with something on a chain around her neck. A shard of stained glass.

“You been carryin’ that around since the church?”

She started, then looked embarrassed. “I just…thought it was pretty.”

He resisted the temptation to give her a corny line like from one of his movies. Something like “not as pretty as you.” He didn’t mention the caps she must have spent on the chain, or to have someone put them together either. She had earned her own caps after all, she could waste them however she wanted.

“I’ve been meaning to ask you about it, actually.” She dangled the chain so he could see the cross imprinted in the glass. “I know it was a Christian symbol, but what did it mean exactly?”

“They didn’t teach you about that in the vault?”

She shrugged, dropped the chain, and buttoned her shirt over it. “We were told religion was divisive. The only reason I know anything about it is because it came up in books and movies. All I really know is that Christians believed good people went to Heaven and bad people went to Hell.”

“Not exactly. They believed no one was good enough to get into Heaven on their own.”

Lucy frowned. “What’s the point of having two different afterlives if no one can even get into one of them?”

Cooper sighed and looked out the window. “Look, it’s been a long time and I’m not sure I’m the best person to—” Something in the desert reflected the sunlight.

“What is it?” Lucy asked.

“Hopefully nothing.” He drew his revolver.

Lucy joined him at the window. Something glinted again. “What is that?”

“Considering it’s coming closer, probably people. Out here that probably means Legionaries.”

“You mean from Caesar’s Legion? You’ve mentioned them before, but you never actually explained.”

“No time to explain now.” He didn’t intend to let her find out through experience either.

“Should we go, or stay here?”

If he was on his own he would stay, and fight. If he couldn't win he would take as many of them down with him as he could. But he couldn’t take that risk with Lucy. “Let’s go. If we get on the other side of the highway we should have enough cover to get away.”

Lucy grabbed her pack and they headed out. Even Dogmeat stayed quiet as they darted across the remains of the road to duck behind the cars that had been sitting there useless for over two centuries.

Cooper led them farther from the highway, revolver in hand. With his experience and the map on Lucy’s Pip-Boy there wasn’t much chance of getting lost. The ruins of a prewar city should be nearby; they would have plenty of cover to wait out the Legionaries there. Except he was so worried about the Legionaries behind them, he forgot to look ahead.

Until he saw the Legionary standing guard.

The sentry shouted, and threw his spear. Cooper fired. Lucy screamed. Cooper staggered and dropped his revolver as the spear pierced his chest. He chocked out one word. “Run!”

Chapter Text

Lucy didn’t run. She refused to abandon Cooper. When he fell she rushed forward to catch him, but it was all she could do to control his landing so the spearhead sticking out his back wouldn’t be forced back in when he hit the ground. She knelt next to him, examining the spear. Dogmeat stood guard.

“Go!” He tried to push her away, coughing up blood.

“No!” The spear was thick, hard, wood. She didn’t have the strength to break it off. She would have to pull it all the way through.

She pulled his glove off. She could still see teeth marks in the trigger finger from when she’d bit it after the deathclaw attack. She thrust it between his teeth and moved behind him, ignoring the sounds of the approaching Legionaries. She grabbed the spear, planted one foot on the ground, the other against his back, grit her teeth, and pulled.

As Cooper screamed through the leather in his teeth Lucy tried not to think about how much more damage the spear must be doing on its way out. He shook off the bullets in Filly like they were nothing. The knives at Kevin’s farm had been no more than an inconvenience. He had survived the Wasteland for over two hundred years. He could pull through this. He had to.

Lucy fell on her ass when the spear finally came free. Dogmeat barked and snarled as the Legionaries drew closer. Lucy pulled a stim pack from her pack. Thank goodness she had had the sense to put it in the easiest to reach pocket. She gave Cooper the injection through the hole in his shirt, then leaned over him to pull his inhaler from his coat pocket, a vial already loaded. He took it from her and emptied the vial.

Dogmeat’s barking became even more frenzied. Lucy looked up to see her trying to fend off a group of men dressed as Roman soldiers. There were too many of them. If the dog attacked they would kill her.

“Dogmeat, stay!” Lucy ordered.

Dogmeat backed down, but stayed on alert.

Cooper grabbed her arm. “Get out of here!”

Lucy shook her head. “If I can’t talk them into letting us go, cooperating is our best chance for them to at least take us alive.”

His grip on her arm tightened. “Lucy! You don’t want them to take you alive!”

One of the men, the plume on his helmet larger than the other’s and carrying a gun rather than the spears that seemed more common, stepped forward. “You are trespassing in the territory of Caesar’s Legion!” He pronounced Caesar as Kaizer. Lucy didn’t correct him.

“We didn’t realize you were here. We’re just passing though on our way to New Vegas. Please, just let us go and we won’t bother you anymore.”

“What business do you have in New Vegas?”

Would telling them that her father was there, that he worked for Vault-Tec and wanted her brought to him help them or hurt them? Surely being handed over to him wouldn’t be the worst possible outcome. But then what about Cooper?

“It’s Vegas!” Cooper said, still struggling to breathe. “What does anyone want there?”

The man sneered down at them. “Is that why you’re traveling with her? I hear they don’t let your kind in on your own.” When Cooper didn’t answer the leader said, “Bring them to Caesar.”

As they pulled her away from him Lucy saw real fear in Cooper’s eyes.

#####

Norm woke up leaning against a tree with a needle in his arm. Janey sat next to him, a needle in her own arm, petting the dog with her free hand.

“Oh, good, you’re awake!” Max said, looking up from a fire. He stood and checked the RAD Away pouches fastened to the trunk above them.

“Max said we have radiation sickness,” Janey said.

Max nodded, took down the RAD Away pouches and removed the needles first from Janey’s then Max’s arm. “You should be fine now.”

“Why didn’t you get sick?” Norm asked.

“My armor,” Max gestured to where he had left it.

“Where’s…your friend?”

“Thaddeus. He went to get the rest of the weapons, and some supplies from their camp. He doesn’t have to worry about the radiation.”

“That’s good,” Janey said.

Max retrieved what he had been cooking over the fire. Neither Norm nor Janey questioned the meal’s origins. At least it was a break from cram.

“You know, you shouldn’t have come after us,” Norm told Janey gently. “You should have gone to the settlement for help.”

“Then it would have been too late! Besides, I helped didn’t I?”

“I’m guessing you had something to do with the dogs taking off?”

Janey nodded. “I made friends with Lincoln, then I threw a stick so he’d run to the other side of the clearing and get the others to chase him. I’m glad they didn’t hurt him.” She kissed the dog on top of his head; he wagged his tail.

Norm and Max exchanged looks. So, they had a dog now.

“Look you’re right, you helped, and thank you for that, but it was really dangerous. You could have gotten hurt, and you did get sick.”

“So did you,” Max said. “And really you shouldn’t have come back for me.”

Janey rolled her eyes. “That’s different ‘cause he’s a grown up!”

Norm fought a smile. “Well, in a way that’s true. I knew what I was getting into.”

“So did I! I saw those…those…what did you call them?” She looked at Max.

“Super mutants.”

“Yeah, those. I’m glad one of them turned out to be nice.”

“Aw, thanks,” Thaddeus said, approaching down the trail. He carried the shopping cart cages, full of weapons from the clearing.

“Do you need something to eat?” Max asked, looking doubtfully at what was left.

“Nah, there’s plenty in the mountains, and radiation doesn’t bother me now, so I don’t have to be picky.” He set down the shopping carts and sat.

“So you weren’t always a…super mutant? Is it okay to call you that?” Janey asked.

Thaddeus shrugged. “I can’t think of anything better. And no, I was in the Brotherhood with Max.” He threw a guilty look in Max’s direction. Max kept his eyes on the fire. “I got hurt, and a doctor gave me something that healed me really fast, but then it turned me into this. Probably FEV I guess.”

“What’s that?”

“It stands for Forced Evolutionary Virus. The idea was to accelerate human evolution to survive things like radiation better, but clearly there are some drawbacks, for one thing super mutants usually lose a lot of their intelligence. So far I haven’t, but it’s only been a few weeks, so I guess I still could.”

“Oh! Is there a way to make sure you don’t? Like how ghouls have medicine so they don’t go feral?”

“I don’t think so.”

Norm said, “It might be worth seeing if the same stuff would help. You’d probably need a bigger dose.”

Max added, “Hopefully it just won’t be a problem. I have heard of intelligent super mutants before.”

Thaddeus nodded. “I guess I’ll find out.”

“We should get going soon,” Norm said. He pulled up the map on his Pip-Boy. “We’ll make better time if we curve around the mountain instead of going straight down.”

“I could help, at least as far as the pass. Which way are you going?” Thaddeus offered.

“We’re heading for the Mojave,” Max said.

Thaddeus looked at Janey. “Is that a good idea? The Legion has been more active lately.”

“What’s the Legion?” Janey asked.

“Bad guys. They’re especially mean to girls. We should be fine with my armor. They hate technology, they blame it for the bombs. At least that’s the excuse, it might be as much about control as hoarding tech is for the Brotherhood,” Max said.

“It would probably still be better to stay away from them,” Thaddeus said.

Max looked at Norm, silently asking how much they should tell him.

“We don’t have much of a choice,” Norm said. “We’re looking for my sister, Lucy. I think you met her the last time you ran into Max.”

Max nodded.

Norm continued. “My dad put out a bounty on her and the Ghoul is taking her to New Vegas to collect on it.”

“Why would your dad put a bounty on his own kid?”

“Lucy found out he bombed Shady Sands. We were at the NCR base, the Brotherhood was taking it. She didn’t want to leave with him. He knocked me out, so I don’t know exactly what happened, but I’m guessing he left without her. Somehow she got away and now he’s looking for her.” Max explained.

“By putting a bounty on her?”

“It does say he wants her alive and unharmed,” Norm said.

Janey crossed her arms. “If he wants her alive and unharmed, he should be looking for her himself!”

“You’re right,” Norm said, afraid his dad didn’t really care if Lucy was brought to him safely, he just wanted to be able to claim he did. Henry MacLean wanted control as much as the Brotherhood, and if people like that couldn’t control something they destroyed it.

#####

What did the Legion do to ghouls that would make Cooper so afraid? Lucy wondered as the legionaries tied them up and dragged them through the camp, leaving Dogmeat behind. Up close Lucy could see that most of their armor was actually a hodge podge of sports equipment and pieces of scrap. They had taken their bags and their weapons, searching Cooper more thoroughly than her, which was a bit sexist, but she couldn’t deny he was the more dangerous of the two. Or he would be once he recovered. For now he stumbled after the man pulling the rope tied around him. Lucy hoped he was exaggerating how badly off he was to put them off guard before escaping, but she suspected he wasn’t. Surely even a ghoul couldn’t shake off being impaled that quickly. Which meant it was up to her. She hoped Caesar would listen to reason; it was all she had.

They passed tents set up between abandoned buildings some of which the Legion seemed to be making use of.

The legionaries brought them to a large building. Roman style columns decorated the front, inside the floors were scratched and chipped marble. A man who could only be Caesar sat on a throne. They shoved her and Cooper forward, causing her to land on her knees, barley catching herself with her tied hands.

“We caught these two trying to infiltrate the camp!”

Lucy pushed herself up to sit on her knees. She decided against trying to stand, partly because it would be awkward with her hands tied, partly because she thought it couldn’t hurt to let Caesar think she was showing him respect.

“This is just a misunderstanding,” she said. “We didn’t know the camp was here. We’re just trying to get to New Vegas.”

“Then why did you kill the sentry?” one of the men asked, smugly.

“He attacked us first, which I realize was his job, but we were just reacting. I regret the loss of life, but if he had given us some warning we could have avoided all of this.”

“Stupid woman! You think you know better than we do how to defend our camp?” the butt of a spear struck the side of her head, knocking her down. She tasted blood. Cooper jerked against his restraints. Lucy was too dazed to respond.

Caesar stood, he was not tall, but he was powerfully built. He seized the rope around Lucy’s arms and dragged her to her feet, reminding her too much of how the Ghoul had held her when cutting off her finger. She struggled and kicked Caesar’s shin. He didn’t even wince.

“Too much spirit for your own good,” Caesar said, his voice rich and deep; under other circumstances it would have been pleasant to listen to. He loosened his hold just enough to let her stand on her own. “We’ll fix that soon enough. Take the ghoul to the arena. I’ll deal with her myself.”

“You want a show? Put her in the arena! She’s useless to you anywhere else!” Cooper tried to give Caesar his careless smirk, but Lucy could see it was forced. “Look who she’s been camping with.”

What was he talking about?

Caesar’s eyes shifted to Cooper, then back to Lucy’s face where her confusion must have been evident. With a sinister chuckle he said, “You haven’t touched her, have you?”

Cooper strained against his restraints again. “She’s wanted by Vault-Tec! Henry MacLean is offering a shit-ton of caps for her safe delivery!”

“I don’t care what Vault-Tec wants or what they’re offering. I have my own plans.” He signaled his men.

Cooper fought, spitting curses and threats. His spur caught one of the Legionaries, gouging his leg open. The leader struck Cooper on the head with his gun, dazing him enough for them to drag him out. Others carried the injured man away.

What did Caesar have planned for her that Cooper would rather they sent her to fight in an arena or sold her to her father? Thinking of Kate and the refusal to discuss Billy’s biological father Lucy had a sickening feeling she knew.

Chapter Text

Norm had never been so cold. The constantly fluctuating temperatures were one of the hardest things to adjust to on the surface, but when he woke up covered in cold white powder that had to be the weirdest thing yet.

“What is this stuff?” he asked, trying to brush it off.

Janey laughed. “It’s snow!”

“I haven’t seen it before either,” Max admitted, looking around.

“Me either,” Thaddeus said, scooping up a handful. “It fell during the night.”

“It’s too hot in California!” Janey said. “Daddy took me to the mountains to see it for Christmas one year!”

The dog, Lincoln didn’t seem to mind the snow at all, he ran around kicking it up and jumping into the deepest piles. Janey laughed whenever his antics sent it flying her way.

While they waited for the cram to heat up for breakfast Norm ducked behind a tree and pulled on his vault suit under the cowboy get up from Mountview, hoping the extra layer would help against the cold. Max seemed to have a similar idea, since when Norm came back he was wearing his clothes from Mountview over his knight jumpsuit.

“Are you gonna be okay?” Norm asked Thaddeus realizing the super mutant was stuck with the sparse clothing he had.

Thaddeus nodded. “Yeah. I can tell it’s cold, but it doesn’t really bother me.”

They ate breakfast. Janey tried to teach Lincoln tricks by rewarding him with bites of hers. Mostly he got rewarded for trying. Norm didn’t think that was going to be effective, but didn’t say so.

As they prepared to set out Max hesitated to get into his armor.

“What’s wrong?” Norm asked.

“I don’t know how effective my armor will be at keeping out the cold,” Max said.

“Daddy said that it was freezing in there when he was in Alaska,” Janey said.

“If you want, I could carry it for you,” Thaddeus said. “We shouldn’t run into too much trouble this high up the mountain. Everything still thinks it’s the super mutant’s territory.”

Max hesitated. Norm wasn’t sure what his relationship with Thaddeus had been. Max hadn’t gone into details about that, sticking to what was most relevant to Lucy. Norm knew that Thaddeus had taken the head and the fusion core from Max’s armor after learning that Max lied about Titus. Max made it sound like he understood why Thaddeus turned on him, that it was out of fear that the Brotherhood would kill them both when the truth came out. And of course Thaddeus had returned the head when they realized he was mutating, in exchange for Max buying him time to escape the Brotherhood. All of which left Norm confused as to whether or not they were even friends.

Finally Max nodded. “Okay.”

“There’s something we have to do before we go,” Janey said seriously.

Norm turned to see her standing with her arms behind her back. “What is it?”

Janey looked at each of them. When she was sure she had everyone’s attention she yelled, “Snow ball fight!” and hurled the snowball she had been hiding at Norm. It burst against his chest and he staggered back in surprise.

Max caught his arm.

“Hey! That’s fighting dirty!” Norm laughed.

“Good luck getting back at me!” Janey stuck out her tongue and ducked behind a tree.

Before long everyone was throwing snowballs at everyone else, except Lincoln who darted around trying to catch them. When he did they fell apart in his jaws and he would bark, wag his tail and take off after the next one.

Norm learned when he got hit by one of Max’s that packing the snow too tight made it hard. Thaddeus was careful not to make that mistake which was good when he hit Janey with a snowball big enough to almost bury her. She popped out of it, laughing and flung a tiny one back at him.

“Oh! I almost felt that!”

The others ganged up on him, pelting him with snowballs until he fell over laughing. Lincoln jumped on top of him and howled as if to announce the victory.

“Looks like I found somebody to beat the shit out of after all!” Max said with a grin.

Thaddeus sat up, nudging the dog off of him. “Asked for that one, didn’t I?” he grinned too.

Janey gave Norm a questioning look. He shrugged.

Thaddeus noticed and looked guilty. “I uh, used to beat Max up, back in the Brotherhood. The others used to do that to me, so when Max showed up with the new recruits I thought if I beat him up instead maybe they would leave me alone. It worked. Your advice was better. I should have just beat up the guys coming after me.”

“Never worked for me,” Max said. “I guess it’s more likely to work against one guy.”

Norm smiled sheepishly. “I made that up actually. There was someone who would beat me up, but I never had the guts to punch him back. I was afraid it would get worse if I did. I never even told anyone.”

“Not even your daddy?” Janey asked.

Norm looked down at the snow. “Would you have told your mom?”

Janey shook her head. He hated that she understood.

“So, no one knew?” Max asked.

“No one wanted to know.”

“The Brotherhood knew. They just didn’t care,” Thaddeus said.

Max rolled his eyes. “Even though they lectured us about not using violence against another brother.”

“And then they were gonna kill Thaddeus for something that wasn’t your fault!” Janey said. “I’m glad we found each other, ’cause everyone else out here is horrible!”

“I’m still an abomination,” Thaddeus said.

Janey ran to him and wrapped her arms around one that was as big as she was. “No you’re not! You’re just different! And that’s okay!”

Norm could have burst with pride, even knowing he wasn’t the one who taught her that. Cooper Howard wasn’t here, so he would just have to be proud for him.

Thaddeus smiled. “Thanks. I guess I’ll get used to it eventually.” He stood. Janey squealed when, arms wrapped around his she dangled off the ground. He bent over so she could let go. Lincoln knocked her down checking if she was okay. She laughed.

“All right, kids, we gotta get going if we’re gonna catch up with Lucy any time soon,” Norm said.

“They, didn’t come through the super mutant’s territory, did they?” Max asked.

Thaddeus shook his head. “The Ghoul probably took them the long way around.”

“Good, that means we should be able to catch up,” Norm said. He hoped it was true.

#####

Lucy struggled as Caesar dragged her into the back of his tent. It was as pointless as her attempt to escape the Ghoul had been, but like then she had to try.

Caesar grabbed the arm her Pip-Boy clasped. “I have little use for technology but I am aware that this device has a means to detect radiation. I am convinced your ghoul was lying, but I would prefer to be sure I am not wasting my time and resources on you. Now, show me how it works.”

“He’s not a liar!” Lucy said, trying to wrench her arm free.

Caesar jerked her back towards him. Lucy sank her teeth into his hand. With his free hand he seized her hair and pulled until he forced her head back. His flesh tore away in her teeth. She considered swallowing it, just to try to freak him out, but settled for spitting it in his face.

Casar didn’t bother to wipe off the blood. “I’ll show you what happens to those who defy Caesar!” he dragged her from the tent, blood pouring from his wounded hand. Lucy could barely stay on her feet as he pulled her through the camp, ignoring the Legionaries that cried out in surprise and alarm as they passed. Finally Caesar stopped near an old telephone pole. He pulled back on Lucy’s hair, forcing her to look up.

“We may not have crosses such as the old Romans used, but we can still crucify our enemies.”

A man hung on the “cross”, his outstretched arms, chaffed and bleeding under the ropes that held him there. His head hung low, his chest barely moved.

Lucy heaved. Caesar adjusted his grip so he stayed clean. When she finished he shoved her at the nearest Legionary. “Put her with the other women. No food or water until I say otherwise.” He pulled her hair again, forcing her to look him in the eye. “Tomorrow your ghoul dies in the arena. If I do not find you more cooperative afterwards, you will be the next to be crucified.”

#####

Cooper paced barefoot around the cage the Legionaries had left him in, in the tunnels leading to an old sports stadium. They had stripped him down to this pants, and thoroughly checked for hidden weapons in those. They hadn’t even left him any vials. That wasn’t a surprise really, they hated the use of chems, but did they want him to go feral? Yes. Probably. They would probably think that would make for a quite a show.

It hadn’t escaped his notice that they had caged him with the animals. Not that he thought they would give him such an easy opponent as a human gladiator. Not when he could hear deathclaws close by. If this new Caesar was anything like the original, he would want more of a show than that.

Cooper had heard rumors of Caesar’s death the last time he had been in the Mojave. Some said the courier killed him, others that he died from some sort of brain tumor. Cooper hoped it was the later, that it was Caesar’s own stubborn refusal to utilize medical technology that brought him down. There was a poetic irony in that, it was the sort of death they might have given a villain in one of his movies so the hero wouldn’t have to kill him. He could respect a man who stood by his beliefs knowing it would cost him his life. At least he could if it weren’t for the other things those beliefs led him to do. This new model, however he had risen to power didn’t seem to have made any changes there. Which was why he needed to get out of here and find Lucy.

He should have warned her. But he knew if he told her what they would do to Kevin’s mother she would never have accepted abandoning the other woman to that fate. And he couldn’t explain in front of Kate who had lived it. He had meant to tell her in the pass, before they reached the Mojave, but then she had brought up the possibility of Janey being in Vault 31 and he forgot all about it.

He hadn’t wanted to tell her really. He had hoped they could get across the Mojave without dealing with the Legion and she would never have to know the horrors they were responsible for. As if she were still that little girl who ran smack into him trying to escape one of those bastards. She wasn’t a child. He should have told her what she was getting into. Even if he had, he wouldn't have known they were so close. She still wouldn’t have left him. It wouldn’t have made any difference. Or so he kept telling himself.

He had really only had one option left when the Legionaries took them, and he wouldn’t do that. He had realized that back at the observatory when he heard that gun cock behind him. He had be convinced she was going to shoot him. Had known he f***ing deserved it if she did. There was only one way he could have stopped her and he refused to do it. Instead he stood there, waiting. But when the shot came it was to put the feral ghoul that had once been her mother out of its misery. Not that he didn’t think she had considered it.

What if she was right about Vault 31? How could he even try to look there without her? How could he look her brother in the eye, let alone ask for his help if he didn’t get her out of here? But there was nothing he could do about that if he didn’t get himself out, and if the cage was built to hold a deathclaw his chances weren’t good.

“You smell of death and fear, but I do not think it is your death you fear.” The dry, raspy voice came from the cage next to him.

“What makes you say that?” Cooper asked, trying to position himself to see into the other cage.

“You move like a predator. You seem less like you are trying to escape, and more like you are ready to kill.”

“I’ve killed plenty. Wouldn’t mind killing more, especially these Legionaries or better yet, Caesar.” All Cooper could see was a large dark shape against the far wall.

“Then it seems we both know who the real enemy is.”

“No argument from me there.” Could it be a super mutant in there? “But there’s not much I can do about it in here, and they took my weapons.” It took him a moment to realize the sound coming from the other cage was laughter.

“Yes, that is unfortunate.” The shape moved into the light. Cooper stepped back as he took in the clawed hands, spiked back, and curved horns of a deathclaw. “Thankfully my own weapons are far less…detachable.”

“What the f***!”

The creature’s shoulders shook with that strange laughter. “Yes, I can speak.”

Lucy had only given him a stim pack right? And he’d only had the anti-feral vial loaded into his inhaler. He’d avoided anything else since she joined him, not wanting to risk the distraction costing her. Even if there had been some sort of mix up this didn’t feel like a drug trip. He didn’t see how it could be a trick either. What would be the point?

“A talking deathclaw?” Cooper shook his head. “After over two hundred years wandering the Wastelands I thought I’d seen it all!”

“There are not many of us. I was created in a laboratory by the Enclave. They abandoned it during the NCR’s expansion, and the Legion found me. I thought it best to hide my intelligence from them.”

“Probably smart.” He wondered how the deathclaw knew about the different factions and their conflicts. Maybe the Enclave scientists just didn’t think it mattered if they discussed it in front of him. Then again, this thing talked better than he did. Maybe someone actually cared enough to give him an education, even if it was part of the experiment.

“You are human, but not human. Are you also the product of an experiment?”

“No. At least not directly. I’m a ghoul, human mutated by radiation.”

“A ghoul. I have heard of such things, but never before encountered one in person. The Legionaries spoke of you. I believe they are planning to pit us against each other in the arena tomorrow.”

“So why not stay quiet? Give yourself an extra advantage?”

“They will only give you a spear to fight with, if anything. I will not need any extra advantage.” The deathclaw bared his teeth. “It would not be a fight. It would be a slaughter.”

Cooper didn’t ask about his experience in the arena, how many men he had slaughtered. He knew what he would have done. He was in no position to judge. “Doesn’t explain why you decided to talk to me.”

“I believe that together we may have a chance against our true enemy.”

“Sounds good. Even if we don’t make it at least we’ll go down on our own terms.”

“I knew it was not your death you fear. But then whose?”

“My…friend. Lucy.” Not that death was the worst he feared for her.

“Names! How rude of me! It’s been so long since I’ve had anyone to talk to I forgot to give you my name!”

“Been a while since I gave anyone mine.” Lucy had practically pried it from him.

“Call me Zog. And what do they call you?”

He hesitated, but if they were really going up against the Legion together Zog deserved to know who he might die alongside. Besides if he had his his way the deathclaw would be hearing it from Lucy soon anyway.

“Cooper.”

Chapter Text

Norm stared down at the caravan in the pass from the trees higher up the mountain. “Should we head down there, or avoid them?”

Max, wearing the power armor now that they were away from the snow, studied the caravan before responding. “I see some ghouls in there, so chances are good we won’t run into the Brotherhood or the Enclave. We could definitely use the chance to stock up on RAD Away and RAD-x, maybe even a few stim packs. I know we’ve got plenty of food and water, but it wouldn’t hurt to get some more before heading into the Mojave.”

Norm nodded. It was one thing to pass a settlement in favor of a faster route, but a chance to resupply that wouldn’t take them out of their way was too good to pass up.

“Why would they stop in the pass?” Janey asked.

“There’s a settlement made up mostly of ghouls somewhere in the area, or at least there have always been rumors there’s one. The Brotherhood never found them.”

“What about Thaddeus? If they’re okay with ghouls will they be okay with him?” Janey asked.

That was a good question.

“I think I’ll stay up here, rather than test that,” Thaddeus said.

“Would you mind watching Janey then?” Norm asked hoping he wasn’t overstepping. They hadn’t even discussed whether Thaddeus would be staying with them after the pass.

“Why can’t I come?”

Max answered, “We don’t know if the Enclave have changed their minds about getting bounty hunters involved since Dane found us. Even if they didn’t word could still have gotten around. It’s safer if no one sees you.”

“I don’t mind,” Thaddeus said.

“I do!” Janey crossed her arms.

“We’re not leaving you behind,” Norm said. “We’ll just be right down there, and we’ll come back as soon as we can.”

“Okay,” Janey grumbled and plopped onto the ground under a tree. Lincoln ran over and licked her face, making her laugh.

“You might want to leave your armor here too, so you don’t stand out so much,” Thaddeus said to Max.

Max nodded. “You’re right. Anyone looking for us will expect me to be in it.” He got out of the armor and ducked behind a tree to change into his civilian clothes.

“We’ll be right back,” Norm assured Janey one last time before they started down the mountain. When he was sure they were out of earshot he asked Max, “Do you think it’s normal to worry this much about whether or not you’re doing it right? Taking care of a kid I mean.”

“I have no idea,” Max said.

Norm sighed. “Right. I guess out of the two of us I had the more normal childhood. My dad always seemed so sure about everything, but he was…”

“A psychopath?”

“Yeah. I’ve actually been trying not to do what I think he would. And I know I didn’t really know Janey’s dad, but I keep trying to figure out what he would do. I keep telling myself it’s pointless, all I’ve got to go on are his movies and what Janey says about him, and she’s not exactly unbiased, but I keep doing it anyway.”

“Well, we must be doing something right. She helped rescue us from the super mutants.”

“Was that because we did something right, or her dad did?”

“Maybe both. I mean she wouldn’t have bothered coming after us if we were as bad as your dad, right?”

“Lucy did.”

“Yeah, but she didn’t know what he was really like, did she?”

“No, she always was his favorite.”

They reached the caravan and mingled with the shoppers. They asked around and received directions to a trader in pharmaceuticals. When they arrived a ghoul was already bargaining.

“Aw, come on, George, you crook, what am I gonna do with vials?” the caravaner moaned.

“Sell them to the poor souls who can’t do without them at the same unreasonable rate you always do,” the ghoul, who was apparently named George answered. They exchanged goods as they complained. Norm got the idea that his was an old routine between them.

“By the way,” the caravaner said as George packed his purchase, “are the rumors true?”

“You’ll have to be more specific.”

“That the Ghoul is back,” the caravaner lowered his voice as if saying it too loud would summon him.

“The Hunter? Yeah, he came through a few days ago.”

“I hear he’s traveling with a vault dweller, taking her to Vegas for some bounty. Seemed strange, he doesn’t usually take them in alive, does he?”

“I wouldn’t know anything about that. You know he keeps to himself.”

“He still around? If we could hire him for protection it might actually be worth crossing the Mojave ourselves.”

“’Fraid not. He only stayed one night. Last I saw he was heading up into the mountains. Alone.”

“Must be looking to lay low. A couple of Dom Pedro’s men were asking about him. I hear he’s wanted for destroying a Super Duper Mart and killing a couple of sheriffs too.”

Norm and Max exchanged looks. Lucy was the one who destroyed the Super Duper Mart. Why did this guy think it was the Ghoul?

The caravaner continued. “Bet Dom Pedro pays better. He wants him alive, probably so he can finish the job himself.”

George stiffened. “Well, he’s long gone by now, and that old son of a bitch is as bad as a rad roach. Too damn stubborn to stay buried, he said so himself. Next time Dom Pedro’s men ask about him, tell them they’re gonna be in a lot more trouble if they find him than if they don’t.”

“He’s just one mutant. A warlord like Dom Pedro’s the one I don’t wanna mess with.”

“I heard that one mutant shot up a whole town a few weeks ago. A place called Filly,” Norm said.

The caravaner nodded. “I heard about that, but there’s a difference between a bunch of amateurs and the army Dom Pedro’s got.”

“What about Knights of the Brotherhood? Because I watched him take out a whole squad of them,” Max said.

“And how did you live to tell the tale?”

“The only way I could. I ran. You try watching an abomination take down a knight in full power armor and see if you have the guts to go after him without it.”

“Fair enough. But I ain’t here to trade gossip. You gonna buy something or not?”

Max approached the trade booth.

Norm followed George away from it.

“Do I wanna know why you decided to try and scare him out of passing information on to Dom Pedro?” George asked.

Norm showed him the picture on his Pip-Boy.

“That’s Lucy! You from the same vault?”

Norm nodded. “She’s my sister. I thought you were lying about her not being with him.”

“Well, you can probably guess what Dom Pedro’s men would do to her. He pays well enough I don’t think they’d bother crossing the Mojave to collect that bounty.”

“Exactly. At least the Ghoul seems to be honoring the ‘alive and well’ part of the bounty. And there’s only one of him.”

“He’s not collecting the bounty.”

“He’s a bounty hunter. She has a bounty on her. Two and two make four.”

“And one plus one is eleven!”

“What?”

“My point is you’re missing something. Look, I don’t know the whole story myself, but they said they both want answers form the man who put that bounty on your sister. She even suggested collecting on the bounty before dealing with him, and the Hunter said it was too risky. I don’t know how they ended up together or what answers they’re after but one thing I’m sure of is that Lucy’s traveling with him because she wants to. And she’s not scared of him either, if that’s what you think. I even tired to warn her off, not because of him, because they’re going up against Vault-Tec. She said she wouldn’t give up.”

Norm hesitated. “You’re sure he’s not tricking her? Saying he won’t turn her in when that’s exactly what he’s planning to do?”

“He may be a ruthless son of a bitch, but in my experience he’s an honest one. In the two hundred years or so I’ve known the Hunter he’s always had it out for Vault-Tec. I don’t think he would take their money anyway.”

“If you’ve known him for so long, do you know who he is? All I’ve ever heard anyone call him is the Ghoul, and you calling him the Hunter. I guess it makes sense ghouls would call him something else, but no one seems to know his name.”

“I’m no exception. If you make it to Prim without catching them you might want to try talking to Charlie Whiteknife, if he’s still there. He’s known the Hunter longer than anyone. They were in the Marines together. He won’t tell you anything the Hunter doesn’t want spread around, but he might be able to help you find them.”

“Charlie Whiteknife? The actor?”

“Yeah. I haven’t heard from him in while, so I can’t be sure if you’ll find him.”

Norm’s head spun. Charlie Whiteknife had co-starred in some of Cooper Howard’s movies. Janey had known him. Did that mean the Ghoul had known Cooper Howard? Could he have met Janey? Did that have anything to do with why he was looking for her? He couldn’t ask. He would have to explain too much about Janey, and he wouldn’t risk that when he knew there were people around willing to sell information. He wouldn’t mention Charlie to Janey either. He didn’t want to get her hopes up if they couldn't find him. He certainly didn’t want her jumping to the conclusion that if Charlie had lived this long her daddy could have too. Charlie could answer that if they found him.

#####

The Legionaries tied Lucy to one of the support poles in the women’s tent; central enough that they could easily watch her while keeping her out of the way. Women huddled throughout the tent. Men constantly came and went. Some dragged women back out with them, others didn’t bother. Worse than the ones who screamed and fought were those who accepted their fate, placid and empty eyed. All while Lucy could do nothing.

This was what Cooper had been afraid of. Lucy didn’t regret not leaving him. She didn’t know how much of difference it really made that she stayed, if they would have killed him or if they still would have taken him to the arena. She doubted they would have given him a stim pack. Caesar’s ominous words replayed in her mind. Tomorrow your ghoul dies in the arena. But he didn’t know Cooper. Lucy didn’t know what he would face in the arena, but she had no doubt Cooper could handle whatever they threw at him. He had survived the Wastelands for over two hundred years after all. But if Caesar wanted him dead they might not fight fair. Would they give him his vials? She couldn’t wait for Cooper to escape and come find her. She had to get out herself. If he managed to escape they would find each other. If not then she would rescue him.

Night fell. Men still came and went, but with less frequency, and with the darkness on her side Lucy twisted until she could hook her fingers though the chain on her neck. They had taken her guns and her knife, but they hadn’t even found the glass shard from the church. She stretched her arms up and ducked, pulling the chain over her head. She glanced around to ensure no one had seen her. The men were too preoccupied to notice.

Lucy lowered her arms to a more comfortable level and pulled and twisted the chain until she could wrap her fingers around the shard. She pressed the sharpest edge against the rope and sawed at it. The glass wasn’t as good as a knife, it was slow going, but she kept at it, even as light crept back into the tent with the sunrise. She was afraid that with daylight activity in the tent would pick up again and one of the men would see what she was doing, but she wouldn’t stop until they did.

True to Caesar’s orders no one had brought her any food or water, but she had fought through dehydration before.

Some of the women were taken to serve the men their next meal. None of the men noticed the fraying rope. One of the women did, but she said nothing.

Lucy’s wrists chaffed under the rope, and the edges of the glass cut into her palms and fingers, but she kept going.

The women returned, passing out food and water to those who had remained. Some had to coax others to eat and drink. The men left. For the first time since Lucy had arrived only women occupied the tent. The woman who had noticed Lucy’s escape attempt brought a bucket of water and lifted a ladle to her lips. Lucy drank, trying not to think about how unsanitary it was that everyone had drunk from the same container and utensil. At least it wasn’t radioactive animal pee.

The woman glanced at the rope and whispered, “Most of the men are going to the arena. Now is the best time to escape.”

Lucy forced the the shard through the last threads of the rope. “Let’s go.”

The woman dipped the ladle back into the bucket. Something scraped against the wood. She lifted the ladle, a knife balanced on it. “You’re not the only one who wants to escape.”

Lucy looked around and saw other women pulling knives forks, and even spoons from various hiding places. “The Legionaries really didn’t think about the fact that the kitchen was a perfect place to get weapons, did they?”

“They don’t think we’re capable of fighting. We’re only women after all.”

“There’s nothing only about being a woman.”

“Try telling Caesar that. Better for us that they underestimated us anyway.”

Lucy nodded. “My name’s Lucy.”

“Sally.”

Lucy rubbed a wrist with one hand, still holding the glass shard with the other. “How long have you been here, Sally?”

“Just a few days. Raiders attacked my farm. They killed my husband and sold me and few other women they took to the Legion. My son is all alone! He can’t take care of the farm himself! I’m not even sure he knows how to get to the settlement on his own! I have to get back to him!”

“Kevin?”

“How did you know?”

“My friend and I found him! He set up a bunch of traps in the house in case the raiders came back. He’s really smart. We took him to Mountpass.”

“So he’s…safe?”

Lucy nodded. “And you’re going to get back to him.” She looked around at the other women. “But we’re going to need some better weapons. Does anyone know where they Legion keeps them?”

“I do!” one of the women called, and grinned. “And most of them should be there, since the Legionaries are busy watching that ghoul they caught yesterday face off against Caesar’s favorite deathclaw.”

Lucy’s blood ran cold. Even Cooper would have difficulty against a deathclaw. She had to get to him! She gripped the shard. “Right. Lead the way.”

Lucy found herself near the front of the group of women. Those most willing and able to fight surrounded those who were pregnant or needed constant encouragement just to keep moving. She tried not to think about whether they would ever fully recover. Right now the priority was to escape with their lives.

The woman leading them stopped. She pointed down an ally. “The weapons cache is to the left on the end. If we all go the guards will notice us. There are two of them. We should send two people to take them out simultaneously so they don’t have a chance to raise an alarm.”

“I’ll go,” Lucy said.

“So will I,” Sally said.

No one argued. On the way down the alley Lucy wrapped the chain attached to the glass shard around her wrist. Maybe she should have let one of the women with a knife come instead, but she couldn’t stand the idea of standing around waiting. Not when Cooper needed her.

At the end of the alley Sally went around behind the building. Lucy waited until she reached the other side before moving towards the front. She didn’t hesitate. She plunged the shard into the closest guard’s throat. Sally slit the other’s with practiced ease, and returned to the ally to signal the group.

Lucy stared down at the man she had killed. Not a man, a boy, probably still a teenager. Had he wanted to join the Legion or been forced to? Was this the only life he knew? Did he really believe in what Caesar stood for, or did he have doubts? Could they have convinced him to help them? She opened her hand and looked at the shard, covered in her own blood as well as the guard's. She rubbed her thumb down it spreading a crimson stain over the cross. Now that she knew what they were used for the blood covering it seemed perversely appropriate.

A hand rested on her shoulder. “We had no choice,” Sally said.

Lucy nodded. There was too much chance trying to reason with the guards would have gotten them caught. She would have to process that later. Right now she needed to get some real weapons. She followed Sally into the tent where she quickly found both her weapons and Cooper’s along with most of his cloths and both their bags. She pulled the inhaler from his coat pocket and dug in his saddle bag for more vials. She smiled when she found a tangled clump of faded yellow tassels that must have come from his shirt. She retrieved the vials and stashed them in various places on her person, not knowing how many he would need after going nearly a full day without. One vial usually lasted him all day, taking puffs as needed, but he would need more if they got into a fight. She should have asked, but it had seemed too personal.

Once the weapons had been distributed the other women started discussing the best route back to the pass. Lucy quietly made her way to the door, leaving the bags and the clothes. They would only get in the way during a fight. Hopefully they would be able to come back for them.

Sally caught her. “Where are you going?”

“The arena. They took my friend there. I have to get him.”

“Your friend? The ghoul?”

“Yes.”

“The Legion hates chems and anyone who’s dependent on them. They see it as a weakness. He’ll be dead or feral before you can get to him.”

“I have to try! I can’t just leave him! He wouldn’t leave me!”

“You’re seriously willing to risk your life for a ghoul?”

“Yes.”

Sally turned back to the group. “Listen up! Lucy’s heading to the arena to find that ghoul! If you want some revenge this your chance! The rest of you should get moving. Maybe we can buy you some time.”

“You don’t have to come!” Lucy said as some of the women began to gather around her.

“I don’t care much one way or the other about the ghoul, but if there’s a chance we can hurt the Legion I’m in,” one said.

Lucy turned to Sally. “You should go. You have to get back to your son.”

“And what kind of example would I be setting for him if I let you go alone?”

Lucy smiled.

“What?”

“It’s just, my friend said something similar, about setting an example for his daughter.”

Sally looked surprised. Lucy realized it hadn’t occurred to her that a ghoul could be a parent. She didn’t explain, it wasn’t her place.

Lucy looked around at the women who had volunteered to help her. “Thank you. None of you have to do this, and I understand you all have your own reasons, but thank you.”

She turned to lead them into battle.

#####

Thaddeus watched Janey playing with Lincoln while they waited for Max and Norm to return. She told him that she picked the name Lincoln because that was the name of an American president like Roosevelt her daddy’s dog who had been in a movie with him. Then she had to explain what a movie was and tried to demonstrate by acting out scenes from A Man and His Dog which Thaddeus guessed was the one Roosevelt had been in, but Lincoln wouldn’t cooperate and the two of them just ended up chasing each other while Thaddeus laughed.

Janey threw herself on the ground, panting. “I give up! How did Daddy get Roosevelt to do it?”

“Don’t ask me,” Thaddeus said.

Lincoln flopped down with his head on Janey’s stomach. She reached up to scratch behind his ears.

“What did you do to those two?”

Janey and Lincoln jumped up and ran to greet Max and Norm.

“That was fast!”

“We split up,” Norm explained, returning her hug. “And we found out that Lucy and the Ghoul were at a settlement nearby just a few days ago.”

“That’s good,” Thaddeus said.

Norm nodded. “George, the ghoul I talked to, confirmed they’re heading for New Vegas. He even told me about someone who might be able to give us more information about the Ghoul on the way, if we don’t catch up to them first.”

“That’s great!” Janey said.

Norm glanced at Max. “The thing is, George thinks the Ghoul isn’t taking her for the bounty. He thinks they’re working together.”

“Why?” Thaddeus asked.

“Apparently the Ghoul hates Vault-Tec, and he thinks my dad knows something important. Like the old saying, ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend’.”

“Like in Gun 2! When Daddy had to team up with the bad guy from the first movie to beat the new bad guy!”

“Just because that’s what some ghoul thinks is what’s going on doesn’t mean it’s true,” Max said.

Norm nodded. “You’re right. I just thought everyone should be aware of the possibility. Even if it is far-fetched.”

Everyone? Did that mean they expected him to come too?

“So, I guess you wanna get going soon,” Thaddeus said.

Max looked up at him. “What are you going to do?”

Thaddeus shrugged. “Stay on the mountain, I guess.”

“Is that what you want?” Norm asked.

“I don’t know what else to do.”

“You could come with us!” Janey said.

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea. People don’t like mutants, and you’ve seen what other super mutants are like. They’ll assume I’m no different, they could attack us before they find out otherwise.”

“I doubt there’s much that could beat the combination of an intelligent super mutant and Brotherhood power armor,” Max said.

Norm nodded. “The fact that you’re traveling with three humans, and one is a kid might be enough for some people at least to ask questions before they shoot.”

“What if I lose it? Like the others.”

“You’d still be our friend,” Janey said.

“I might not know that! Feral ghouls attack anybody, even their families! And the other super mutants never mentioned any friends or family from before they mutated.”

“It’s been long enough, surely if that was gonna happen you would be showing some sign of it,” Norm said.

Thaddeus shook his head. “It can take years before a ghoul shows any signs of going feral, before they even need the chems.”

“We don’t know it works the same way for super mutants.”

“We don’t know it doesn’t!”

“Okay, so we know it’s a risk,” Max said. He looked at Norm and Janey. “I think it’s one the rest of us are willing to take.”

Norm and Janey nodded.

“So, it’s up to you. Having you along would be a big help, especially going up against the Ghoul. But if you don’t want to risk it, we understand.”

Thaddeus stared at them.

Janey gave him her best puppy-dog eyes.

“Well, the others were angry all the time and I’m…not. Maybe it would be okay. I guess I can try it.”

Janey cheered and jumped up to hug him. Wary of his enhanced strength he gingerly patted her back, glad they wanted him along, but still unsure. Funny how he fit in more as a super mutant than he ever had in the Brotherhood.

#####

Cooper heard the roar of the crowd building as legionaries packed into the stands.

“Reckon they’ll send you after me right off?” he asked Zog.

“It depends on how badly Caesar wants you dead. If he is willing to wait in favor of a good show he may send other opponents first.”

Cooper clutched the bars of the cage door to hold himself up through a coughing fit.

“You are not well,” Zog said.

“No shit. Better make sure Caesar wants me dead quick.” Even if things went according to plan he wouldn’t be able to fight his way out of here, and get to Lucy. He wouldn’t have time. But he doubted she would sit around waiting for him to come to her rescue. He would just have to do whatever he could here and trust her to take advantage of any opportunity he could give her. And hope she didn’t get too distracted trying to help the other women. Who was he kidding? That was exactly what she was going to do.

The door moved. Cooper released it and stepped back, allowing it to open. The cages’ arrangement ensured there was only one way to go. When he reached the end of the tunnel, he took a deep breath and drew himself up, summoning what he could of the Ghoul’s presence without the costume. Show time.

He missed the jangle of his spurs as he strode to the center of the arena. A good costume really did help an actor get into character. Cooper reached the center of the arena and faced Caesar who stood in his box and raised his arms.

The crowd quieted.

Caesar spoke. “War. War never changes. Ever since mankind discovered the killing power of rock and bone, blood has been shed in the name of everything from God to justice to pure psychotic rage. Other factions seek to break this cycle. We, the children of Mars, embrace it! And never more than here, in the arena!”

The crowd roared.

Cooper grit his teeth and resisted screaming at Caesar to get on with it, wondering if he gave the same speech every time.

A Legionary tossed a spear down to him. “Salute Caesar!”

Cooper didn’t pick up the spear. He raised his right fist and slowly extended his middle finger. The crowed exploded with angry shouts. Cooper grinned.

Caesar gave a signal. Cooper picked up the spear as a deathclaw stalked out. He hoped it was Zog, otherwise this could get really awkward.

The deathclaw roared and charged. Cooper stood his ground, spear at the ready. The deathclaw passed him. Zog stopped in front of the stands, stretched to his full height and roared. Cooper scrambled up his back using the spikes. Zog crouched when Cooper reached his shoulders. When the deathclaw sprang up Cooper launched himself into the air, spear raised. Before the Legionaries knew what was happening the Ghoul plunged the spear into Caesar’s throat. Caesar reached a hand to the spear. Cooper grinned when he saw the bandage.

“I should have warned you. My Lil’ Killer’s a biter.” He yanked the spear free. Blood sprayed, splattering him. He didn’t have time to watch Caesar die. He spun, impaled the nearest Centurion and caught the man’s gun before his body hit the ground. Maybe he hadn’t had time to fire, maybe he had fired and the Ghoul just hadn’t noticed. It didn’t matter.

A blur of blood and death ensued. It was the closest he had come to recapturing his old joy in killing since the Super Duper Mart. These men deserved it if anyone he had killed did. On the arena floor other creatures Zog had broken free from their cages contributed to the carnage. The Ghoul didn’t bother avoiding them. If it tried to attack him it went down.

Zog tore apart a Legionary that tired to take advantage of another coughing fit to attack the Ghoul. If he was going to go feral this was the place to do it, surrounded by enemies he wanted to kill anyway who just might be able to take him out before he hurt Lucy.

Then Cooper saw her, covered in blood leading a posse of women, and ruthlessly taking down anyone or anything foolish enough to get in her way as she cut a path toward him. As Cooper collapsed, he had to admit it wasn’t a bad sight to go out on.

Lucy reached him before he hit the ground. She managed to support him into a kneeling position. He tried to tell her to run, he was too close to going feral, but all he got out was a racking cough. She held him up with her hands braced on his shoulders. When the fit passed she released him and he tried to find words again, tried to push her away, but then she shoved the inhaler into his mouth, cradling his head with her other hand, and pressed the plunger.

His lungs and mind cleared as he took an instinctive breath.

Lucy’s eyes stayed locked on his face as the bloodbath raged around them. “I don’t know how much…”

He placed a hand over hers on the inhaler. She pressed the plunger again. Once the vial was empty he released her hand and reached for her face, hovered short of touching her, shaking. She drew the inhaler away from his mouth.

“Are you…?” He wasn’t sure how to ask.

“I’m okay.”

His hand cupped the side of her face and she leaned into the contact.

“Caesar wanted me to show him how to use the Geiger counter on my Pip-Boy so he could be sure he wasn’t wasting his time.” She grimaced. “I bit a chunk out of his hand.”

He brushed his thumb along her cheekbone. “I knew that was you, Lil’ Killer!” He stood and helped her to her feet.

Her eyes roved over his bare chest. When she lifted those enormous eyes back to his face there was none of the disgust he had gotten used to over the last two centuries, just concern. “There are so many!” she whispered, fingers brushing the new scar where the spear had impaled him.

“Well, I’ve been around a long time, Sweetheart.”

A legionary screamed only to be cut off as he was mauled by a deathclaw.

“Excuse me, but you may want to pay more attention to your surroundings in the current circumstances.”

Lucy backed up, reaching for her rifle.

Cooper caught her arm. “It’s all right. That’s Zog, he’s a friend. Zog, this is Lucy.”

Zog laughed. “I thought as much.”

Cooper was glad he couldn’t blush anymore.

“Is that a talking deathclaw?” Lucy asked.

“Yeah. Long story. Let’s just focus on getting out of here before I try to explain.”

Lucy nodded and handed him his guns.

The Legion was in complete disarray. It wasn’t a fight anymore. It was a slaughter.

Chapter Text

Lucy sighed in relief when the shower started. Apparently the Legion’s hatred of technology didn’t extend to hygiene. She grabbed the bar of soap off the shower stall’s shelf and set to work scrubbing. Over the rush of water she heard the other women taking their turns in the nearby stalls. Cooper and Zog had gone to track down any remaining Legionaries.

As she cleaned up, Lucy allowed herself to think about the men and boys she had killed. Some of them had tried to run. She hadn’t cared. They had at least been complicit in the Legion’s atrocities. But how many of them had been raised to think that was normal? Had they ever had a chance at another life? Would they have taken it if they did? Should she have tried harder to let them live? She would never know the answers. How long had Cooper lived like this? How long had it been before he stopped caring?

Lucy dragged herself out of the shower. Her pack sat against the wall. She dressed in her vault suit and pulled out the clothes she had taken from the farm and the ones she got in Ghoulsville, leaving them for other women to claim if needed. The cowgirl clothes from Mountveiw sat soaking in a faded mop bucket and she set to work scrubbing them. Once they were as clean as she could manage she laid them out to dry not caring if someone else took them too. She picked up her pack and left the locker room.

Dogmeat charged and jumped on her. “Oh! Hey! Yeah, I missed you too!” Lucy leaned her head back, laughing as the dog tried to lick her face.

“All right you mangy mutt, get off of her.” Cooper pulled Dogmeat down.

“We managed to dispatch the remaining stragglers,” Zog said.

Lucy had been so distracted by Dogmeat she hadn’t noticed the deathclaw just a few feet away. At least he was on their side. Besides, Cooper would have dealt with it if he caused any trouble. He didn’t, just started collecting the Legionaries bodies into a pile. “Did you find…?”

“Yeah. The fella Caesar crucified was dead by the time we got to him,” Cooper said.

She wasn’t surprised. He had clearly already been there for hours at least when Caesar showed her. “What could he have done to deserve that?”

“I have no idea what he did to piss Caesar off, but if it makes you feel any better, I’m pretty sure he was a Legionary.”

“No it doesn’t make me feel any better! I hate that I killed all those people! I didn’t even stop when they ran away! And the worst part is it was…” she stopped, sobbing, not sure how to explain.

“It was fun,” Cooper said.

Lucy looked up, saw the understanding in his eyes, remembered how the Ghoul had laughed in Filly.

“You don’t become a monster in one day, Luce. It’s not one big decision that defines the rest of your life. It’s the choices you make every day.”

“You’re not a monster.”

“I’ve got two hundred years worth of history that would make most people say otherwise.”

Not so long ago, she would have too. “Caesar and his Legion were monsters.”

“Keep tellin’ yourself that, Sweetheart.”

Lucy took a deep breath and asked the question that had been haunting her. “Did Romans really use crosses like that?”

“You tellin’ me a history teacher don’t know the answer to that?”

“The Vault-Tec curriculum didn’t bother with much outside of American history.”

“Of course not. Yeah, Romans crucified people, mostly the worst criminals, although what exactly qualified depended on who was Caesar at the time, and their idea of a crime was different to yours. This one fella, Spartacus, got crucified for trying to free slaves.”

Lucy shuddered. “There were crosses all over that church. Why would Christians celebrate something like that?”

“That’s not really what that was about.”

“So what was it about?”

“I’m not really the best person to tell you.”

“You’re the only one who can tell me!”

Cooper sighed. “Remember I said Christians believed no one was good enough to get into Heaven on their own?”

Lucy nodded.

“That’s because ‘the wages of sin is death,’ if everyone had to pay the price for their own sins they’d all end up in Hell. God loved people too much to let that happen, so He decided to pay it for them. He sent his son, Jesus down to earth to die on that cross to pay for everybody. Second part of that verse is ‘but the gift of God is eternal life’. Anyway, that’s why Christian’s decorated with crosses, as a reminder of that.”

“That’s kind of beautiful, actually. But if God loves people enough to do that, why wouldn’t He stop the bombs?”

“That’s what I’d like to know.”

#####

Once the decision to let Thaddeus come with them was made, Norm felt the need to address the obvious issue. “We’re going to need more food.”

“My metabolism is actually pretty slow, so I don’t need as much as you might think, but still more than normal people,” Thaddeus said.

“What’s a metabolism?” Janey asked.

“It’s how your body processes food, to make energy,” Norm explained. "I would guess slowing that down is one of the things the scientists who came up with this virus actually wanted to do.”

“Why?”

“To make it easier to survive with more limited resources,” Max said.

“Okay, that makes sense.”

“Anyway, we should stock up while we can,” Norm said.

“Are you going back to the caravan? Can I come this time?”

“Actually I was thinking we could go hunting,” Max said. He looked at Norm. “You could use the practice.”

Norm groaned. “Isn’t that what you’re here for?”

“You make it sound like I’m the target! Of course, I’d probably be safer that way.”

Norm rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I know, I’m terrible.”

Max clapped him on the shoulder. “You just need more practice. Come on.”

“Maybe you should take Janey. She’s actually a good shot.”

Janey’s curls bounced as she shook her head. “I don’t wanna shoot somethin’ that ain’t tryin’ to kill me!”

“You do realize that’s where most of our food comes from, right?” Thaddeus said.

“Just ‘cause I wanna eat the burger doesn’t mean I wanna meet the cow! Especially if I gotta kill it myself!”

That made them all laugh.

“I got her. You guys go,” Thaddeus said.

“How did your sister get to be such a good shot?” Max asked as Norm followed him into the trees.

“Rifelry club. She didn’t mention that?”

“No, we didn’t talk much about the vault. We didn’t have the time. What was it like?”

Norm shrugged. “I don’t think there were any experiments as crazy as Vault 4. They were just using us as breeding stock. In 33 anyway. I’m still not sure what happened in 32 that they all ended up killing each other. I guess I’ll never know now. I can’t exactly go back. I’m not sure I want to.”

“What are you gonna do after we find Lucy?”

“I’m not sure. I haven’t really thought that far ahead. Maybe find Dad and get some answers, but having Janey makes that more complicated. I don’t her anywhere near him.”

“Maybe we could find a settlement to live in. Or build our own. Power it with that cold fusion thing.”

Norm smiled. “That sounds nice actually. We could give people like Thaddeus a real home. But Dad wouldn’t stop looking for Lucy.”

“We’d have a defense system. Something that could take down power armor, maybe even vertibirds.”

“That shouldn’t be too hard, with cold fusion to power it. Of course, we’d have to find a place to put this hypothetical settlement first.”

“Maybe we could rebuild Shady Sands.”

Reality came crashing back. There wasn’t much they could do against nuclear bombs, even with cold fusion. Bud Askins had talked about wiping the surface clean. Hank MacLean had proved he was willing to drop bombs on people he claimed to love. No where on the surface would be safe until Vault-Tec was stopped for good. But how were they supposed to do that?

#####

By the time Lucy and the other women had all cleaned up and eaten it made more sense to stay until morning, so they decided to settle down in the restaurant the Legion had been using as a mess hall. Cooper had joined them for dinner, back in his cowboy gear having cleaned up himself once all the women had a chance. Zog stayed outside. Lucy tried not to think too much about what the deathclaw found to eat.

“We should set up a watch. We don’t know how many Legionaries escaped,” Sally said.

“None. Don’t know what else might come around looking for an easy meal, but Zog and I got that covered,” Cooper said.

“You need to rest too!” Lucy objected.

“I’ll be fine. Even if any of those boys got away, which they didn’t, they won’t be stupid enough to come back and cause trouble.”

Lucy frowned at him. She hadn’t slept the night before, too busy cutting herself free. She doubted he slept much either. “I should take a shift too.”

Cooper shook his head. “I don’t need as much sleep as you remember, Sweetheart. You say here with the dog. Nothing stupid enough not to run the other way when it sees Zog is gonna get past us, but better safe than sorry.” He leaned closer to her and whispered, “They trust you. You can help by showin’ them there’s nothin’ to worry about. They’ll rest easier that way.”

Lucy, bit back that she would rest easier knowing he was safe, petted Dogmeat as he left, then helped rearrange tables and chairs to make room for everyone to sleep. Because of Dogmeat, she made sure she was near the entrance.

“So, how long have you two been together?” Sally asked, settling down near her.

“It must be about a month now,” Lucy said. Somehow it seemed much longer and much shorter at the same time.

“That’s all? Really?” one of the others asked.

Lucy nodded.

A teenager who Lucy would have refused to let stay and fight if she had realized how young she was asked, “Can he still…you know?”

Lucy stared at her.

Sally rolled her eyes. “She wants to know if his manhood is intact.”

Lucy felt her face flush. “Oh! Um, I, uh, wouldn’t know.”

“Are you serious? I mean I’m no ghoulf***er, but if that’s what you go for,” the woman whistled.

“We’re not…we’re just traveling together!”

Sally raised an eyebrow. “Is that why you were so determined not to leave without him?”

“Well I wasn’t going to let them kill him!”

“He calls you Sweetheart all the time,” the teenager said.

“He doesn’t mean it. That’s just how he talks.” After all he had called her that while using her as gulper bait. Although she had to admit it sounded a lot less condescending and sarcastic lately. When exactly had that changed?

“Not to mention the way you flew to him in the arena.”

“He needed his vials!”

“Your hands were all over each other!”

“All right, stop pestering her. We all need to get some sleep,” Sally said.

As everyone quieted down Lucy petted Dogmeat and tried to figure out why their questions and assumptions had her so flustered. She had never been embarrassed to talk about sex before. True she had had a crush on Cooper Howard, but that had been the star on her TV screen. By the time she had realized he was the Ghoul, that was irrelevant; she didn’t feel at all the same way about the man she actually knew. Besides he was so much older than her he probably saw her as a child. None of which explained why the idea of having sex with him was embarrassing. Sex had been nothing to be embarrassed about in the vault. It was just a natural part of life, what you did to ensure future generations. It had all been so clinical. Emotional intimacy, including romance, was treated as a separate issue, even secondary. That clearly wasn’t how these women saw it. They assumed sex meant emotional intimacy as well. Cooper seemed to think the same way. He had mentioned getting married before having sex, as if emotional intimacy came first, was maybe even more important. And she knew when he cared about someone he would do anything for them; so much so that he had spent over two hundred years looking for his daughter and broken most if not all of his own rules along the way. It was a different kind of love, but still, the thought of loving someone like that, of being loved like that was intense, even scary, but there was something appealing about it too. She had thought her father loved her like that when he locked her up away from Moldaver. Now she knew he just hadn’t wanted her to learn the truth.

She could only hope she really would find a love like that someday.

#####

Max froze when he saw the tracks.

“What is it?” Norm asked, voice low.

“Yao guai, I think.” He was no expert. He didn’t know how old the tracks were, how close the animal could still be, or how big it was. “We should go.”

“Okay.”

They crept back toward the camp. Norm followed his lead, staying as quiet as possible, but there were no real paths away from where the super mutants had roamed. He should have gotten back into his power armor. Hunting required more stealth than strength, but he shouldn’t have assumed they were safe. All he had was an ordinary rifle from the super mutant’s stash. Granted he had killed the last yao guai he encountered with a much smaller gun, but it had still killed Titus, even with his armor.

Max heard it before he saw it. It ambled through the trees ahead of them. They were still a good way off from the camp, so at least Janey and Thaddeus weren’t in immediate danger. Of course, that also meant that Thaddeus wouldn’t be able to help them. Max aimed his rifle at the yao guai. Their best chance was to shoot it before it saw them. It raised its head, sniffing. It stood on its hind legs. Max fired into its stomach. It slammed onto all fours and charged. Had he missed or just not done enough damage?

“Run!” he didn’t wait to see if Norm listened, just kept firing.

Another gunshot joined his. He should have known Norm wouldn’t run.

The yao guai collapsed, it’s momentum carried it sliding across the ground. Max stumbled back, tripped, and landed on his ass. Norm fired one last shot into the yao guai’s head before he approached.

“Are you all right?” he asked, holding out his hand.

“Yeah,” Max took the offered hand and let Norm help him to his feet.

Norm grinned. “That was almost easy, after the super mutants!”

Max grinned back. “Not to mention your aim has improved.”

“Kind of hard to miss something that big.”

“True, but you still have to hit it somewhere that will actually do some good. All I did with that first shot was piss it off.” That was something to remember when they caught up to the Ghoul.

He wasn’t sure which of them had actually killed the yao guai, but it didn’t matter. What mattered was that it was dead and they weren’t.

“We’re gonna need Thaddeus to help move this thing, but I think we solved the problem of how we’re gonna feed him. For a while at least.”

Norm nodded. “Here’s hoping we run into more monsters in the Mojave.”

Max laughed. “That shouldn’t be a problem!”

He didn’t realize he was still holding Norm’s hand until he let go to lead the way back to camp.

#####

Lucy helped set the pile of bodies on fire before everyone left. No one wanted to stay to make sure it didn’t burn out of control. It didn’t matter. Without the Legion the ruined city was empty.

All the clothes she had left in the locker room had been piled on her pack when she woke up that morning; the glass shard sitting on top, scrubbed clean. She had hesitated before pulling the chain over her head. Part of her didn’t want it anymore, knowing what crosses were really used for, even after hearing what it meant to Christians; but it had helped her escape. It could be useful again. So much for having something that was just pretty.

“Are you sure you don’t want to come back through the pass with us?” Sally asked.

Lucy shook her head, moving away from the heat of the flames. “We’re going to New Vegas.” These women had proved they could fight, and there were enough of them to watch each others backs. They didn’t need her and Cooper. She waved as the other women left.

Cooper’s spurs jangled behind her.

“Do you think the fire will burn down the whole city?” she asked without turning around.

“My guess is it’ll burn out before all the bodies are burnt. Somethin’ or other will come along to clean up the mess. We should get outta here before that.”

“What’s Zog going to do?”

“There’s a settlement up in the mountains called Jacobstown that takes all sorts. Don’t know if they’ve ever had a talking deathclaw before, it might be easier for him not to get shot if we’re with him, but it would take us out of our way.”

“You know, having a deathclaw on our side could come in handy if Hank still has the power armor.”

“The thought crossed my mind, but it’s too risky. It’s still a long way to Vegas, and most people aren’t gonna wait for him to open his mouth before they start shootin’. Speaking of which,” he grabbed her shoulder and spun her around to face him. “Your reaction to seein’ me about to go feral is to run towards me? What the hell were you thinkin’?”

“I had the vials!” Lucy didn’t try to pull free. He didn’t hurt her, but she knew she wasn’t going anywhere until he decided to release her.

“That’s not the point! A few minutes later and I woulda ripped your throat out before they did any good!”

“This isn’t the best time to discuss this. You haven’t slept in at least two days, during which we had to fight for our lives. You’re exhausted, probably still coming down from the adrenaline, and recovering from getting so close to going feral, and…and just in a bad mood!”

Guilt flashed in his eyes. He released her and stepped back. “Sorry, Sweetheart. I just…I need to know that if it comes to it, if we run out of vials, or it’s too late, you’re not gonna let me kill you trying to help when it ain’t gonna do no good. Or…or chain me up like Moldaver did your mama. If the worst happens, you put a bullet in me, understand?”

Lucy swallowed around the lump in her throat. She didn’t want to think about Cooper ending up like her mother, didn’t want to admit it was possible, but that was the reality she had signed up for when she came with him.

She nodded. “I will. I’ll do everything I can to make sure it doesn’t come to that, but if it does, I’ll end it as quickly as I can.” She held out her discolored trigger finger. “I promise.”

Cooper hesitated, smirked, and hooked his finger around hers.

Chapter Text

Lucy noticed that as they traveled Zog positioned himself to shield her from the worst of the desert sun. Dogmeat stayed close, taking advantage of the shade as well. Cooper kept between her and Zog, not she suspected because he thought the deathclaw would actually do anything to her but because he probably knew being so close to one might make her nervous after the last one they ran into had nearly killed her. She wasn’t nervous though. That first deathclaw was as different from Zog as feral ghouls were from Cooper. Besides Cooper had said he was a friend, and explained how he helped kill Caesar which was why the Legion had already been in chaos by the time she and the others arrived at the arena. Not to mention that if Zog wanted to kill them he could have done it by now.

“So, where are you from, Zog?” she asked.

“What you really want to know is why I can talk.”

“Well, yes.”

“I was created in an Enclave laboratory. From what the scientists said I do not think I was the first, but I have never met any others.”

Lucy looked at Cooper.

He shrugged. “Zog’s the first one I ever met. Doesn’t mean there ain’t more of ‘em.”

Lucy studied Zog, trying to figure out what deathclaws mutated from. He looked more like illustrations of dinosaurs she had seen in the vault than anything else. “Why would they want a deathclaw who could talk?”

“They did not explain their motives to me.”

Cooper said, “My guess is that it wasn’t so much about talkin’ as intelligence. The government had them engineered for the war against China. I saw a few in Alaska, it was remote enough I guess the higher ups figured they could test them out without too many people gettin’ wind of it. Problem was they were uncontrollable, just as likely to attack soldiers for the side they were supposed to be on, and it was basically impossible to call them off once you turned ‘em loose. The Enclave probably thought they would be easier to control if they could make ‘em smarter. Course the problem with bein’ able to understand orders is you can also question them.”

“What about the soldiers who saw them? Why wouldn’t they tell anybody?” Lucy asked.

“I didn’t find out it was our government behind that until I started spying on Vault-Tec. At the time none of us knew what the hell we were lookin’ at. If we reported it the officers would insist it was just a bear, or we were hallucinating. We didn’t know if the Chinese cooked ‘em up or if it was just some animal we never heard of before. I actually started reading up on cryptids when I was discharged, tryin’ to find somethin’ that matched. Barb told me to forget about, said it was a waste of time, if the officers said it was nothin’ it was probably nothin’.” His steps faltered. “Gatdamn it! She f***ing knew didn’t she? I mean, I knew she did by the time I was listening in, but I didn’t think she was in that deep with them that far back!”

“Barb?” Zog asked, looking at Lucy over the top of Cooper’s head.

“His ex.”

“Ex?”

How could she explain that? Would he understand the concept of husband and wife? It didn’t seem like something the Enclave scientists would bother explaining.

“The bitch I used to be married to,” Cooper spat.

“A mate? I thought…Oh! Used to be, but not anymore.”

“Not after I found out she was willin’ to destroy the world for a few bucks.”

“Bucks?”

“Caps,” Lucy translated, absently. Her focus was on Cooper as he settled to simmering over his new realization. Over two hundred years and apparently he still hadn’t fully processed just how deep Barb’s betrayal really went. Lucy found herself hoping they really did find Barb alive, just so he could get some real closure. Then again could they trust her explanations or excuses any more than Hank’s? Maybe this whole trip was a waste of time, but she knew neither of them would give up until they had whatever answers they could find.

To steer the subject away from Cooper’s history Lucy said, “I was actually kind of created from an experiment myself. I was born and raised in a vault. I don’t know what the experiment was exactly, but we were encouraged to have children, told it was our duty. We were told it was so future generations could reclaim the surface, but I think there was more to it. A lot of us didn’t choose our own marriage partners. It wasn’t that we weren’t allowed to exactly, but every match had to be approved, they said to make sure we weren’t too closely related and that we would produce healthy children, but I think maybe they were breeding us for specific traits. I just don’t know what or why. That’s why we’re going to New Vegas. There’s someone there who could give us some answers, assuming he tells us the truth.”

“We’ll make sure he has plenty of incentive to,” Cooper said.

“I thought you said, ‘torture don’t do shit.’”

“Who said anythin’ about torture?”

“Well we don’t have anything to offer him as a reward.”

“Caps, Sweetheart. Vegas is a good place to get ‘em.”

“Or loose them!”

Zog roared.

Cooper and Lucy jumped, reaching for their guns.

“Let me handle this!” Zog said as another deathclaw charged.

#####

Norm saw smoke rising in the distance as they left the mountains behind. “Is that gonna be a problem?” he asked Max, keeping his voice low. Janey was preoccupied with Lincoln, but he knew better than to assume she wasn’t listening.

“It’s probably farther away than it looks, the desert’s really flat. Chances are it will burn out before we get there,” Max said.

“I wonder what’s burning,” Thaddeus said.

“It reminds me of when we burned the bodies at the observatory.”

Norm’s stomach dropped. Why would anyone be burning bodies? Did it have anything to do with Lucy and the Ghoul?

“I’m sure she’s fine,” Max said, with an attempt at a reassuring smile.

The next day the column of smoke had disappeared.

Thaddeus scooped Janey up as the day got hotter. The sun heated Max’s armor too much for him to carry her. Lincoln slowed and stayed closer, trying to keep to Thaddeus’s shadow. A group of people approached from the direction the fire had been in.

Max stopped. “Norm, maybe you should go meet them, let them know we don’t want any trouble.”

“Why me?”

“Because aside from Janey, you look the least threatening, and I don’t think we should send a six year old to do the talking.”

“I could!” Janey said.

Thaddeus tightened his hold on her slightly as if to keep her from jumping down and running to the other group.

“They wouldn’t listen though,” Norm told her. “Fine, I’ll go talk to them.” He wished Lucy was here. She was better with people.

He raised his hands as he approached. A woman who appeared about middle aged came to meet him.

“We don’t want any trouble,” Norm called when she was close enough.

“We’ve had enough of that ourselves, but what are you doing with a Brotherhood knight and a super mutant?”

“He’s not with the Brotherhood, the armor’s stolen.” Funny how stealing was actually a point in their favor. “And the super mutant’s not like the others, he can still think clearly. He actually helped us escape from some others. My name is Norm, by the way.”

“Sally. As for the super mutant, a couple of days ago I wouldn’t have believed that, but I just met a talking deathclaw, so I guess anything’s possible. Anyway if he was gonna attack he would have by now, wouldn’t have to trick us.”

“Wait, did you say you met a talking deathclaw?”

“Yeah, calls himself Zog. He helped us escape from the Legion along with a vault dweller and a ghoul.”

“I-I’m a vault dweller. I’m looking for my sister, I heard she’s traveling with a ghoul. Her name’s Lucy.”

Sally nodded. “Yeah, that was her name.”

“Is she okay?”

“She’s fine, heading to Vegas with her ghoul.”

“That’s what I hea—what do you mean her ghoul?”

She shrugged. “Don’t know what else to call him; he never told us his name. I think she said it at some point, but it didn’t stick. There was a lot going on.”

“But he’s taking her to Vegas to collect on a bounty!”

The woman crossed her arms. “Now that I don’t believe for a second.”

“He’s a bounty hunter! Our dad put out a bounty for anyone to bring her to him in New Vegas.”

“Now what kind of father puts a price on his own kid’s head?” She shook her head and continued before Norm could answer. “Maybe she wants him to take her in. One thing I know for sure, if she wanted to get away from that ghoul she had her chance, but she refused to leave without him. They had him fighting Zog, the deathclaw, in their arena, but instead they joined forces and assassinated Caesar. It was already chaos by the time we got there, and the Ghoul was half feral—Legion doesn’t like chems. Well, Lucy ran right to him with those vials, didn’t even hesitate, and anyone in her way got shot. Those two were so busy making sure each other was okay the rest of us had to keep the Legion off their backs. I don’t know exactly what’s going on with them, but it’s obvious they care about each other, and she’s with him because she wants to be. So, do your sister a favor and don’t shoot him on sight. At least give her a chance to explain what’s going on herself.”

Norm nodded. “Thank you. I’ll remember that.” Even if it didn’t make any sense.

#####

Lucy watched, rifle in hand, as the two deathclaws clashed. Unlike Cooper she didn’t keep her weapon trained on the fight, afraid to pull the trigger lest she hit Zog. She stayed at the ready in case the other attacked her or Cooper, though she knew if that happened it would be too late for Zog. This wasn’t the sort of fight the loser could walk away from. She just hoped that if it came to that Cooper would be able to take out the other one before it was too late. How could he stay so calm? And he kept his rifle completely steady as if he had one stationary target instead of two snarling beasts one of which was a friend. She wished she could be that confident, but her father had always found fault with her technique in riflery club, no matter how high she scored, and she couldn’t afford a mistake now.

Zog fell, bleeding from a gash in his side.

Lucy gasped and raised her rifle.

“Wait,” Cooper said.

Lucy did, watching.

Zog didn’t move as the other circled, sniffed, and slowly approached.

Lucy glanced at Cooper. Surely he would do something before the creature finished off their friend.

It prodded him with the claws of a forelimb.

Zog didn’t move.

The other deathclaw’s triumphant roar cut off as Zog’s jaws clamped around it’s throat.

Cooper relaxed and lowered his rifle. Lucy almost dropped hers in relief.

Zog twisted and Lucy heard the crack of the other deathclaw’s neck snapping. He dropped the limp body, sending up a cloud of sand.

His roar went uninterrupted.

Lucy followed Cooper to join Zog, Dogmeat running ahead.

“Thank you!” Lucy said. “That was amazing!”

“It seems instincts and intelligence are a formidable combination,” Zog said.

“No shit,” Cooper said with a smirk. “You gonna let us do somethin’ about that?”

Zog twisted to look at the gash in his side. “I suppose it would be advisable to stop the bleeding.”

“You might wanna find somethin’ to bite down on,” Cooper glanced at Zog’s claws, “and hold on to.”

Zog dug his teeth and claws into the remains of his opponent while Cooper emptied his whiskey flask to clean the wound. When he finished Lucy injected a stimpack at the site. Cooper returned with his needle and thread.

“Can you show me how?” Lucy asked.

Cooper nodded. “This is probably gonna take both of us anyway.”

Dogmeat stood guard while they worked. Cooper patiently instructed Lucy, staying alert for any adverse reaction from Zog, though Lucy didn’t know what he thought he was going to do if the deathclaw suddenly lashed out. His fingers were gentle and delicate as they worked. He had taken his gloves off for the task and Lucy tried not to dwell on it when they inevitably brushed hers, hoping he was too focused on the job to notice her blush.

“You should be a doctor,” she said when they finished.

Zog released the carcass and laid his head down.

“I think that’s more up your alley, Sweetheart.”

“Not according to the aptitude test I took in the vault.”

“That how they decided who got what jobs?”

“Yes and no. Officially we weren’t required to do the jobs it said we were suited for, but it was encouraged and that’s what most of us did. I actually liked the idea when mine said I would be good at teaching, and Hank was excited, so it never really occurred to me to try something else outside of the clubs.” She took some jerky out of her pack and sat on the sand. Zog’s breathing was deep and regular. She thought he was asleep.

Cooper sat next to her. “What about your little brother? What was his name?”

“Norman. Norm.” She was surprised Cooper remembered she had mentioned him at all. “He scored high in technical skills, but he got reassigned a lot. He just couldn’t find anything he was enthusiastic about. I think Hank was disappointed in him for that. I always thought if he could just find a job he actually liked he’d be really good. Or maybe the problem was just that he didn’t have many friends. He’s always been kind of a loner. I tried to include him, to get him join some of the clubs, but he just didn’t care about any of it. Not even our family book club. Hank said he would join when he was ready. I think Chet was his only real friend, besides me.”

“Cousin Chet?”

“Yeah.”

“The two of them didn’t…?”

“What? No! Chet’s a man.”

Cooper quirked an eyebrow. “You do know it’s possible for men to prefer men? Same goes for women.”

“Well, yes, but the whole point of our vault was to produce new generations and that doesn’t work like that.”

“Did it occur to you that Norman’s problem was with the whole point of your vault?”

Lucy wanted to say of course not. He didn’t even know Norm. But there was that time he had agreed with her when she said something about how handsome Cooper Howard was. Hank hadn’t liked it, had told her to go on to bed while he talked to Norm after the movie. She had never heard him say anything like that again. She had forgotten about it. That didn’t mean Cooper was right, but she would have to remember to talk to Norm about it when she made it back to the vault.

#####

“That doesn’t make any sense!” Max said when Norm finished relating what Sally had told him as they resumed their journey.

“I know, but that’s two people saying she seems to be staying with him willingly. She probably would go back for him whether he deserved it or not, but I think it’s at least worth considering that we may have misread the situation,” Norm said.

Thaddeus shrugged. “You can end up with strange allies in the Wastelands. I mean, look at us.”

He had a point. He and Max hadn’t been friends in the Brotherhood. Max had considered killing him when he had joined him as a squire, and again, when he told Thaddeus who he really was, after which Thaddeus had left him to die, trapped in his power armor. Yet here they were working together. Granted Thaddeus was mostly here because he was lonely, but Max trusted him. Was it really so far fetched to think that Lucy found herself in a similar situation with the Ghoul? Even if she only trusted him to get her to her dad so he could collect the bounty.

“If he is her friend, she probably won’t like it if you shoot him,” Janey said.

Max sighed. “Yeah, but we can’t just walk up and say hi either. What if he shoots first?”

“I’ve been thinking about that,” Norm said. He held up the arm with his Pip-Boy. “When we get close enough I can send her a message. We’ll be able to avoid any misunderstandings either way if I can give her a heads up that we’re coming and ask her about the Ghoul. The problem is knowing when we’re close enough.”

“What is the range on that thing?” Max asked.

“No idea. I never had to worry about it until I got locked in 31, and I don’t know if the problem there was distance or the vault walls.”

“I don’t think it’s very far. My mom had one, and people from work called her at home all the time,” Janey said.

“So, how do you know when you’re close enough?” Thaddeus asked.

“It should be able to tell me whether or not it can connect to Lucy’s.”

“What if you can’t? I mean, distance isn’t the only way it wouldn’t work, right? If something happened to Lucy’s she might not get the message,” Max said.

“Then I guess I’ll try talking to them in person. I’ll get Lucy alone if I can. It’s better than going in guns blazing anyway.”

“What if the Ghoul shoots you?” Janey asked.

“Then I guess the rest of you will know what to do.”

No. Max would not let that happen. If he saw the Ghoul, he would take him out, and if Lucy had a problem with that, well he would just have to deal with it.

#####

Cooper tossed his duster over Lucy; on top of the blanket she had already rolled up in. Dogmeat lay beside her. At least she wasn’t shivering as much.

“Wouldn’t it be more efficient to share body heat?” Zog asked.

How long had he been awake?

“I don’t think she wants me that close.”

“She did not object in the arena.”

Cooper shook his head. “This is different. She ain’t awake to tell me she’s okay with it, so I’m gonna assume the answer’s no.” That was one boundary he wouldn’t cross unless explicitly invited, no matter how practical a solution it might be.

“I do not understand.”

“People don’t like being touched without consent—permission. Especially when it comes to being intimate, or vulnerable,” he gestured to where Lucy lay. “And it don’t get much more vulnerable than being asleep.” Even after a month traveling together he was surprised she felt safe enough to sleep around him.

“But I understand it is not uncommon for humans to sleep together.”

“When people say that they’re not really talking about sleeping.”

“I know what they meant. I could smell it on them.”

Cooper groaned. “I think you’ve misunderstood what exactly our relationship is. We’re barley even friends. When we first met,” he hesitated, not really wanting to go into details, “Well, let’s just say we didn’t get along at first. Then we found out we have a common enemy, and here we are.”

“Risking your lives for each other.”

“Well, I did promise to get her through the Wastelands alive, and I wasn’t about to let the Legion make a liar outta me. Lucy just makes a habit of risking her life for folks—even if she doesn’t like ‘em. Anyway, we look out for each other. Like how you helped us with that other deathclaw and we patched you up afterwards.”

“Like a pack.”

Cooper smiled. “Yeah, I s’pose so.”

“I am not accustomed to having a pack.”

“Me neither. Used to be, but it’s been a long time.” Even before his falling out with Charlie he had been seeing less and less of his old friend. He’d known the writing was on the wall and it was only a matter of time before Charlie decided enough was enough.

“You should rest. I will keep watch.”

Cooper wanted to argue, but he was running on fumes. “Wake me up if somethin’ happens.”

“If necessary.”

“I’m serious! Don’t go pullin’ them stitches out tryin’ to do everythin’ yourself. That’s the whole point of bein’ in a pack.”

“Which is why you should rest and let me keep watch for now.”

“All right, point taken.” He settled down and stared up at the stars. He couldn't help thinking how strange it was that he was going to sleep between a deathcalw and a vaultie with complete confidence that neither would attack him. It had been a long time since he trusted anyone. It was actually kind of nice to be part of a pack again.

Chapter Text

Cooper slowed on the way up the mountain when he saw the smoke from the cook fires of Jacobstown between the trees. He looked up at Zog. The deathclaw seemed to be holding up well enough. Like Lucy it was worrying how little he let the stitches slow him down.

Zog twisted his head around, reaching back toward the stitches.

“Ah-ah!” Cooper lightly smacked him on the snout. “How many times do I gotta tell you to keep your mouth off of ‘em?”

Zog hung his head. “It itches.”

Lucy stepped toward him. “Here, let me.”

Zog lowered himself to let Lucy carefully scratch around the stitches. His rumble sounded suspiciously like purring.

Dogmeat pushed her head under Cooper’s hand. He petted her, wondering if he could find one of those cones big enough for a deathclaw. Zog would probably just take it off.

“We’re close to Jacobstown,” he announced. “You should probably wait here while Lucy and I give them a heads up about you. No sense risking them opening fire before we can explain you ain’t gonna eat ‘em.”

“Is that really going to take both of us?” Lucy asked.

“They’ll be more likely to take the idea of a talking deathclaw seriously if there’s two of us tellin’ the same story.”

“Will you be all right on your own?”

Zog laughed. “Do not worry about me, worry about anyone who tries to cause me trouble.”

Cooper considered leaving Dogmeat with Zog, but she was more likely to get in his way than help if there was trouble, so he whistled for her to come with him and Lucy.

Unlike the haphazard walls of the other settlements they had been to, Jacobstown was protected by a wall of sharpened tree trunks. Lucy froze when she saw who was guarding the gate.

“Super mutants,” Cooper said before she could ask. “Humans mutated by a virus. Some of ‘em hold on to more of their intelligence and sanity than others. Not sure what makes the difference.”

“So, they’re like ghouls?”

“In some ways.” He didn’t bother explaining how they were different, she could see enough of that for herself. He waved as they approached the gate. “Marcus still in charge?”

“Yeah.”

“We’re gonna need a word with him.”

The super mutant pointed into the settlement. “At the lodge.”

Cooper tipped his hat. “Much obliged.”

Lucy stayed close to him as they passed the green giant.

The lodge dominated the settlement as the largest and most central building surrounded by a few smaller cabins left from this place’s time as a resort. Newer buildings had sprung up since the last time he’d been here.

Marcus was easy to find, standing in front of the lodge. Lucy shot Cooper a glare as he flagged him down, probably for not warning her that Marcus was a super mutant.

“Haven’t seen you in years!” Marcus said when he reached them. “I was starting to think the rumors that Dom Pedro got the best of you were true.”

“They were, but I’m back.”

“And who is this young lady?”

“Lucy. We’re working together on a job.”

“Anything to do with those wanted posters with her face on them? The last caravan was showing them around.”

“I ain’t turnin’ her in if that’s what you think.”

“I didn’t. Not to Vault-Tec, but you don’t usually make friends.”

“Gettin’ to be more of a habit lately,” Cooper said, trying to sound annoyed. “We got another one waitin’ outside the settlement. He’s a bit unusual, so I thought I’d better run it by you before I brought him in here.”

“Unusual? Compared to super mutants and ghouls? How so?”

“Would you believe he’s a talking deathclaw?”

“That is unusual! But not unheard of. I’m friends with one myself, Goris.” He looked around. “He should be around here somewhere.”

“Really?” Lucy asked.

Marcus nodded. “Go get your friend. I’ll wait at the gate to ensure there is no misunderstanding. Then we can exchange stories over dinner. I’ll see if Goris might join us.”

“That sounds great!” Lucy said.

Cooper groaned internally. He felt like he had done more socializing since getting dug up than he had in the last two hundred years. It was almost enough to make him miss the coffin. At least he could count on Lucy to do most of the talking.

#####

Thaddeus tried to position himself to shield the others from the sun as much as possible. He knew the heat didn’t bother him as much and even he was getting uncomfortable.

Lincoln whimpered and slowed down.

“What’s wrong with him?” Norm asked.

Janey gasped. “It’s the road! It’s too hot for his feet!”

They had been following the old interstate into the Mojave. They could all feel the heat radiating from the asphalt, but with the sun beating down on them as well, none of them had given it much thought.

“I’m sorry!” Janey said, ruffling Lincoln’s fur. “Daddy was always careful not to let Roosevelt walk on the road when it was hot! I should have known!”

“It’s okay,” Thaddeus said. He picked Lincoln up and laid him across his shoulders, “I can carry him.”

Janey sniffled and Thaddeus picked her up too, positioning her so she could reach to pet Lincoln who wagged his tail, panting.

“Is that gonna be too much?” Max asked. Thaddeus still had the shopping cart cages strapped to his back full of weapons and supplies.

“Nah, I’m fine. I could probably carry you two if I could figure out how to fit you.” He started walking again, partly to prove the point.

Janey giggled. “Maybe we don’t need horses after all!”

Norm grinned. “So, if Max would ride a percheron, and I’d ride a Shetland pony,” Janey giggled again, “and you’d ride a quarter horse, what about Thaddeus?”

“I’m probably too big to ride anything.”

“Maybe a Clydesdale. They’re one of the biggest kinds of horses, maybe the biggest, I don’t remember for sure. They were the ones that pulled the beer wagons. Daddy took me to see them once. One of the horses got his foot stuck in the harness. Daddy sent me to get their trainer while he held the horse’s foot so he wouldn’t hurt himself. When the trainer came they got him loose, and he was okay.” Janey paused, petting Lincoln. “Mom got mad when I told her. She said Daddy shouldn't have taken me cause of the alcohol. But I didn’t drink any! Neither did Daddy! He never did when he had me! And she always had alcohol at those stupid Vault-Tec parties!”

Thadeus looked at Norm and Max and saw that they had noticed too. It seemed every conversation about Janey’s parents went like this, a good memory with her father, followed by a mention of her mother’s disapproval if her mother wasn’t absent entirely. Norm had explained why neither of her parents had been in Vault 31. Thaddeus was actually glad her mother hadn’t been. It was a horrible thought, but he hoped she really had been in Shady Sands when the bomb fell.

“We shouldn’t have to worry about the road long,” Norm said, changing the subject as he always did when the conversation took this turn. “We’ll have to leave it to go to Prim, and I think we should. There seems to be a good chance that the Ghoul will take Lucy through there. It might even be the best place to catch up to them.”

Thaddeus tightened his hold on Janey. Max had told him about Dane catching up to them and warning them about the Enclave looking for her, and that they claimed the Ghoul might be as well. If the worst they had heard of him was true, how were they going to protect her?

They came to an old gas station as the sun started to set.

“Should we stop here?” Max asked.

Norm checked his Pip-Boy. “There’s a city not too far from here, or there used to be.” He pointed across the road. “We might be able to find better cover there, and it would get us off the road.”

They arrived at the city to find it was mostly crumbling buildings. A few tents stood between them. Scavengers had scattered bones everywhere. They found a house that was relatively intact. As they crowded into it, Thaddeus set Janey and Lincoln down.

Norm tested the sink and found it even had running water. “The Legion must have been using this place,” he said.

“That makes sense, the tents must have been so they wouldn’t have to be scattered across the city for usable buildings,” Max said.

Janey looked around, “So, this is where Lucy and the Ghoul helped those people escape?”

“Maybe not here specifically, but it was probably this city; it’s the only place close enough to where we met them to make sense,” Norm said.

“Do you think they’re still here?”

“Probably not. Sally said they wanted to get going to Vegas.”

“What about the Legion?”

“Looks pretty abandoned to me,” Thaddeus said.

They settled down in the living room rather than separating into the bedrooms.

“My turn to take second watch, big guy,” Max reminded Thaddeus. He didn’t need as much sleep as them so Norm and Max alternated which of them took over the watch from him.

Janey pulled that book she called the Bible out of her pack and read to Lincoln who would lay right next to her all night, which seemed to help when she had nightmares.

Once everyone was asleep Thaddeus quietly went outside. He walked around the building, head on a swivel.

Until a feral ghoul jumped on him from the roof.

#####

Lucy had expected a super mutant’s appetite to be on par with a deathclaw’s but while Zog and Goris each got a full big horner to themselves Marcus didn’t eat much more than she or Cooper did. Even Dogmeat got a bowl to herself.

“I founded Jacobstown as a safe haven for mutants,” Marcus explained. “Ghouls are always welcome too. We don’t get many humans, but as long they don’t cause trouble I don’t object to letting them in either.”

“I noticed it’s grown since I was here last,” Cooper said.

“Doctor Henry found a cure for the Nightkin’s mental instability. Word got around. He’s passed away since then. It has been a long time since your last visit.”

“Not many bounties take me up this way.”

“Not to mention that trouble with Dom Pedro.”

“That too. Unfortunately I didn’t get the chance to take him out. Better keep a look out in case he gets the idea to come looking for me up here.”

It hadn’t occurred to Lucy that Dom Pedro could still be looking for Cooper. She hoped he wouldn’t check Jacobstown, or New Vegas. She wanted to believe that Cooper wouldn’t let himself get distracted enough for the warlord to get the upper hand again, but George’s warning about him not thinking straight when Vault-Tec was involved haunted her. She would have to stay on alert for him.

Zog looked up from his meal. “If he comes here, I will be glad to take care of him.”

Goris chuckled. “You are not the only deathclaw he would have to deal with.”

Maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad thing if Dom Pedro came to Jacobstown.

“How did you come by your current companions?” Marcus asked Cooper.

“Well, that’s a long story, and good chunk of it ain’t mine to tell,” Cooper looked at Lucy.

She took a deep breath and said, “I’m from a vault. My father was the Overseer, and he was taken by the NCR. I didn’t know who they were at the time, but I left the vault to find him. When I did I learned he was responsible for bombing Shady Sands. He got away. That’s when…” she hesitated, not sure if she should use Cooper’s name; she settled for gesturing towards him, “he offered to help me track him down.”

“He’s Vault-Tec, I was goin’ after him anyway, I just let her tag along. Of course,” he turned to Lucy, brow raised, “I can’t help noticing you left a few things out.”

Lucy shrugged. “Nothing he needs to know.” She wasn’t lying, she just didn’t see the point in telling Marcus exactly how badly they had gotten along at first. After all they were friends now.

“I see,” Marcus said. He turned to Zog. “And what about you?”

“We rescued each other from the Legion,” Zog said.

Goris growled. “I hope you didn’t let any of them escape.”

“I would like to hear more about that myself,” Marcus said.

They told them. Lucy grew quiet when it came to the fight in the arena and noticed Cooper glossed over how close he had come to going feral.

“So, what about you two?” Lucy asked.

“I was an experiment myself,” Marcus said. “A scientist who called himself the Master created the first generation of super mutants to build an army and replace humans. The problem with that being that we’re sterile. Anyway, eventually he was beaten, with help from another vault dweller actually, and we set out to make our own lives. There have been ups and downs to that, but they eventually led me here.”

“Like Zog, I was an experiment by the Enclave,” Goris said. “Marcus helped me escape. Since then I have traveled much of the Wastelands, with Marcus, and occasionally other companions, studying the different factions and their cultures that have grown since the Great War. Jacobstown remains my home.”

“How many of our kind are there?” Zog asked.

“I don’t know. Probably not many. The Enclave tried to wipe out all of us who escaped. Hopefully they think they got them all and they aren’t still looking.”

Lucy wondered if there were any female talking deathclaws. Probably not. The Enclave probably wouldn’t want them breeding.

Gunfire echoed through the settlement.

“Raiders!” Marcus said as they all jumped to their feet.

“We can help,” Cooper said.

Marcus nodded.

As they grabbed their weapons and followed him out Lucy wondered what kind of raiders were crazy enough to attack a settlement full of super mutants.

Chapter Text

As soon as they left the lodge, Lucy saw exactly what kind of raiders would attack super mutants. Other super mutants. Would any of her weapons even do any good against them?

Goris and Zog jumped in with no hesitation. Zog stayed close to Goris ensuring he didn’t attack any of the Jacobstown residents.

Marcus handed Lucy a grenade belt. “These will be more useful than those guns. You two try to get up higher. If you stay down here, you might get trampled.”

“You know how to use those?” Cooper asked.

“Pull the pin and toss it,” Lucy said. How hard could it be?

“Right. Come on.” He led her around the lodge to a metal staircase that had probably been meant as a fire escape. A super mutant followed them, brandishing a crude club.

Lucy turned to face it, pulled a grenade off the belt, and raised it to bite down on the pin. Cooper snatched it, pulled the pin and threw the grenade.

“Hey! I had it!” Lucy objected as bits of super mutant rained down on them.

“You don’t pull the pin with your teeth, Vaultie! Damn movies! Head on up.”

Lucy climbed the stairs, hearing his spurs behind her. When they reached the top of the stairway Cooper boosted her up onto the roof and she turned to help pull him up after her.

Lucy looked down at the fight and realized the only people she knew were Marcus and the deathclaws. How was she supposed to know who to aim at?

“Looks like Grandma Lily could use some help, over by the big horners,” Cooper said, pointing towards the enclosure.

“Which one is…?”

“Hat and glasses.”

She was surrounded by three other super mutants, swinging a giant sword at them. Lucy pulled the pin from a grenade and hurled it, obliterating one of the attackers. Cooper took out another with his rifle. Lily dealt with the third herself. She looked up at them, grinned and waved. Lucy couldn't resist waving back.

“Don’t encourage her,” Cooper grumbled.

They continued providing cover from the rooftop, Cooper pointing out to Lucy which super mutants they were supposed to be helping. It didn’t take Lucy long to recognize the ones from Jacobstown herself. Some, like Lily, were dark blue rather than green.

Finally the raiders retreated, significantly fewer in number than when they had arrived. Cooper jumped down to the fire escape. Lucy sat on the roof and slid off. He caught her, and held her while she caught her balance. Lucy stood pinned between him and the wall staring up at him. The air was chilly, so why did her face feel warm? Cooper released her and stepped back.

“So, why don’t you pull the pin with your teeth?” Lucy asked, starting down the stairs.

“You’re more likely to pull your teeth out than the pin, if you do get it you’ll blow your face off. They did it that way in movies ‘cause directors who didn’t know any better thought it looked cool.”

Lily met them in front of the lodge. Goris and Zog helped move the bodies. Marcus seemed to be checking the damage.

“It’s so good to see you, dearie! It’s been such a long time since you visited your grandma!” Lily said.

“Sorry about that. Ran into some trouble with Dom Pedro,” Cooper said, his tone indulgent.

“Well, if he bothers you again, just let me know, I’ll take care of it.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. This is my friend Lucy by the way.”

“Nice to meet you!” Lucy said with a bright smile she hoped covered her confusion. Surely this super mutant wasn’t really Cooper’s grandmother.

“It’s good to meet you too, dearie! I’m glad he’s finally made a friend!”

“Yeah, he’s not too good at that, is he?”

Lily laughed.

“Did it occur to you that maybe I don’t wanna make friends?”

“Everyone needs friends,” Lily insisted. “Speaking of which, I’m sorry to say Calamity’s moved on. I don’t know where to.”

Cooper gave her a forced smirk. “Well, ain’t that a shame.”

Calamity?

Marcus approached them. “Lily, why don’t you go see to the big horners?”

“Of course. See you later, dearie.”

“Sure thing, Grandma.”

After she left Cooper turned to Marcus. “I thought you said they found a cure.”

Marcus sighed. “There’s only so much damage that can be reversed. She volunteered as a test subject for Doctor Henry, I’m afraid he may have caused more damage in the process. And you know she only takes half-doses.”

Cooper’s jaw tightened. “At least she wasn’t talking to Leo.”

“Leo?” Lucy asked.

“Voice in her head. Like the other Nightkin Lily had schizophrenia from using Stealth-Boys, Pip-Boys that make the user invisible. That’s under control at least, but she still confuses people for her grandkids,” Marcus explained.

“She doesn’t usually react badly if you correct her, but I didn’t know that when I met her so I played along. To a point.” Cooper said.

Marcus chuckled making Lucy wonder at what point exactly Cooper had drawn the line.

“I suppose you two will want to get cleaned up.”

“That sounds wonderful!” Lucy said. Blood from the super mutant Cooper had tossed the first grenade at had dried all over her.

“The rooms on the top floor are unoccupied. No humans live here at the moment, and we’re too heavy for that. Don’t worry about paying, after your help with those raiders it’s the least we can do.”

Cooper tipped his hat. “Much obliged.”

“I don’t suppose I could talk you into staying more than one night.”

“’Fraid not. We’ve got business in New Vegas, but we owed it to Zog to see that he got here safely.”

Marcus nodded. “I’ll let you go get settled for the night. Take any room, or rooms you like.”

Lucy followed Cooper into the lodge, pausing to say good night to Zog and Goris on the way. Dogmeat ran to greet them. Once she had gotten enough attention they grabbed their packs and headed upstairs.

“At least we won’t have to worry about a bed shortage this time,” Cooper muttered.

Lucy bit her lip. There was no reason they shouldn’t take separate rooms. They were safe here. Even if someone did try to come after them they would have to get through a settlement full of super mutants, and two deathclaws first. And with the fire escape they wouldn't be trapped on the top floor if someone did make it that far. They had taken separate rooms in Ghoulsville, and at Kevin’s farm. She still didn’t like the idea. After the Legion, she was reluctant to let Cooper out of her sight, though she wasn’t sure whether she was more worried for him or herself.

When they made it to the top, Lucy blurted, “So, who’s Calamity?”

Cooper groaned and looked up at the ceiling as if searching for his patience. “She was Doctor Henry’s assistant when he was searching for a cure for the Nightkin. Grandma Lily got it into her head that I’m sweet on her just because she happens to be a ghoul.”

“So, you’re not?” Lucy tried to keep her tone nonchalant despite the knots her stomach had tied itself into. What was wrong with her?

“Nah. She offered to keep me company a night or two, but I’ve never been one for that.”

“Wait, have you not been with anyone since Barb?” Lucy clamped a hand over her mouth and shook her head as her face burned. “Sorry! That’s none of my business! You don’t have to answer that!”

He didn’t say anything, just stepped into one of the rooms and closed the door, leaving her in the hallway with Dogmeat. Which was practically an answer.

Two hundred years was a long time to go without sex. She was getting antsy after just a month. Maybe staying in separate rooms for the night wasn’t such a bad idea. Unless…No. They still had a long way to go together and she knew he didn’t want a one night stand. Maybe that wasn’t what she wanted either.

She sighed and entered the room across the hall from him, Dogmeat following her. It was going to be a long night.

#####

Fighting off one feral ghoul was no problem for Thaddeus. The problem was that there were more of them and they kept coming. He let out a battle cry as he swung at them. How many were there? It didn’t matter. He couldn’t let them get inside.

Max charged out in his power armor, strafing approaching ghouls with fire from his mini gun. Thaddeus stepped aside to let Max move in front of him, mowing down ghouls as they charged. Any who made it past Max were crushed by Thaddeus.

One made it past him. Janey screamed. Before he could go in he heard a snarl and the distinct sound of tearing flesh that left him no doubt Lincoln had dealt with it. He could leave anything that passed him to Norm and the dog, but he would make sure that wasn’t many.

Thaddeus had never been brave. Even when he beat up Max in the Brotherhood it had been with a large enough group that the bigger man wouldn’t get the upper hand. Having someone else to protect seemed to unlock a whole new kind of fear, and somehow that made him braver. Finally he ran out of ghouls to crush. He stood there, panting, looking around until he was sure another wouldn’t spring out.

Max opened his helmet. “I think that’s all of them. But why were there so many?”

“We knew this was the city the Legion occupied, before Lucy and the Ghoul wiped them out. They must have come for the…leftovers,” Thaddeus lowered his voice, hoping that if Janey heard she wouldn’t understand.

“I can’t believe that woman expected us to believe they’re friends!”

“Who would have thought we’d ever be friends?”

“Even if they are, how long can it be before he turns into one of these?” he kicked one of the corpses. “He’s a ticking time bomb and we have no idea how long Lucy has until he goes off!”

Thaddeus looked around at the bodies. They all seemed emaciated despite the feast that must have drawn them here. “You don’t seem to mind that I might be one too.”

“We don’t know that! And your our friend, it’s worth the risk!”

“Maybe Lucy feels the same way about him.”

Max sighed. “It’s just, hard to believe. I mean he tried to kill her without going feral.”

“How many times have we tried to kill each other?”

“All right, I get the point. I just wish we knew for sure what’s really going on. What does he want from MacLean? And…Dane said he’s looking for Janey. And we have no idea why!”

Thaddeus had no answer for that. What would a bounty hunter want with a kid from a vault?

“We should go let Norm and Janey know we’re okay.” And find out if they were.

Norm stood backed into a corner, Janey behind him, clinging to his arm. Blood trickled down her arm. Lincoln stood facing them, muzzle bloody, tail wagging. Norm held his gun.

“Should we…? He killed one of the ghouls. I didn’t know if that meant…is he dangerous? To us?” Norm stammered.

“It’s fine.” Thaddeus patted Lincoln, then picked him up and took him to the kitchen sink where he rinsed the blood from the dogs fur. “He did exactly what a guard dog should do. He protected his pack.” One thing he could say for those other super mutants, they knew how to train dogs. He took Lincoln back over to Norm and Janey and set him on the floor, keeping hold on him and pretending not to notice Max watching, ready to use that mini gun again at a moment’s notice.

Janey reached out with one hand. Lincoln gently nudged it with his snout, then licked it. Janey giggled and released Norm to pet him with both hands. Norm relaxed and holstered his gun. Max put down his mini gun and stepped out of his power armor.

“Just like Roosevelt. He knows we’re his family,” Janey said.

Max crouched next to Norm and petted Lincoln. “We must be the weirdest family in the world!”

Norm’s face turned red when his hand bumped Max’s while petting the dog. “Best family I’ve ever had. Except for missing Lucy.”

“And my daddy!” Janey added.

Norm wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

“Too bad we’re only going to find one of them,” Max said.

Thaddeus released Lincoln and sat back, thinking. The Ghoul was looking for Janey. He wanted answers from Henry MacLean. MacLean had helped take Janey from her father. It could be a coincidence, but it was enough to make him wonder.

#####

Cooper ran. He didn’t know what he was running from or where he was going. It didn’t matter. Nothing mattered but finding Janey.

He saw them. Barb and Henry had Janey. The Ghoul shot Henry without hesitation. Turned his gun on Barb. Janey screamed and cried. He called her name, tried to tell her it was just him come to find her like he promised. He was gonna save her.

She ran.

Cooper sent his lasso flying after her. When he pulled it back Lucy squirmed on the other end, hands bound in front of her. The Ghoul drew his knife and cut off her trigger finger. He released the rope, letting her fall back into the grave behind her while she called his name.

“Cooper! Cooper!”

He jolted awake. Lucy jumped back hands raised. He was glad he had left his guns just out of reach. He sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. They were at the lodge in Jacobstown. They were safe.

Dogmeat whimpered. Cooper swung his legs over the side of the bed so he could pet her without letting her up. Barb had always hated Roosevelt getting on the furniture. He hadn’t worried about that after the divorce when he had a place more or less to himself, but this wasn’t his home and he wasn’t about to make the job harder for whoever had to clean up here.

“I thought she needed to go outside, but she came over here instead. I guess she heard you.”

“You’re supposed to be a guard dog, not an emotional support dog,” he grumbled, scratching behind her ears.

“She can do both.”

He heard the smile in her voice and had to fight an answering one. How did she do that?

Lucy lingered, clearly uncertain whether or not she should stay. He should tell her to go; let him deal with this on his own. He’d been dealing with it on his own for over two hundred years. But that meant alcohol and drugs, and aside from the fact he didn’t have much of either at the moment, he couldn't afford to get black-out drunk or high when he had her to protect. Besides, that never really worked, as soon as he sobered up it would all come back as painful as ever.

Maybe he didn’t want to deal with it on his own anymore. But he couldn’t ask her to stay, not after he had practically slammed the door in her face. So, he just kept petting Dogmeat and avoided looking at her.

Slowly Lucy sank down onto the bed next him, leaving enough space that a third person could have sat between them. She rested her hand just far enough over the halfway point to let him know it wasn’t an uncrossable line.

“Would it help if you talked about it?” she asked, her voice low enough he wouldn’t have heard her if she had been any farther away.

He didn’t answer right away. She had nightmares just as much as he did, and she had never once unburdened on him. Of course, he had never offered to let her. Maybe he should change that.

He wasn’t even sure what to say. Should he tell her that at least part of it was about the way he had treated her? That he was afraid Janey wouldn’t recognize him, or want anything to do with him? Lucy sat in silence while he considered it. He started talking before he really decided.

“We were at a kid’s birthday party. One of the ones I was hired for. Started out like always, doin’ rope tricks, takin’ pictures. The dad wanted to get one with me doin’ the thumbs up like in the Vault-Tec commercials. I wouldn’t do it. When all the kids went in to get cake Janey helped me clean up outside and asked me why. I couldn't tell her what the folks her mama worked for, the folks I used to work for were plannin’ so I told her about how when I was in the marines they taught us that if we saw a mushroom cloud we were s’possed to hold up a thumb, and if the cloud was smaller head for the hills, if it was bigger don’t bother. After that I went to get her a piece of cake. When I came back she had her thumb up, asked if it was her thumb or mine. I tried to convince us both it was just a fire, then the shock wave hit. People panicked. The same people who had just been celebrating together started fighting each other to get to their cars or the nearest shelter. I grabbed Janey, got on Sugarfoot, and rode as fast I could. He practically fell out from under us by the time we got home. Before I could go get my gun to…you know, Barb and Henry showed up with a bunch of Vault-Tec goons. Janey wouldn’t go to Barb. She tried to hold on to me. Told them she didn’t want to go to a vault. Begged them to at least let me come. Begged me not to let them take her. A couple of those goons dragged her away from me. I punched one of them. Roosevelt went after the other, but…” No. He wasn’t gonna tell her it was her daddy who shot Roosevelt. “There were too many of them. They had guns, I didn’t. There was nothing I could do.” Not then. Maybe the Ghoul could have stopped them. But would Janey have wanted that? “I promised I’d find her. You know how well that’s gone.”

“But you haven’t given up. I think wherever she ended up—wherever she is, she knows that.”

“I hope so.”

Cooper finally sat back from petting Dogmeat. His hand just happened to land on top of Lucy’s.

Chapter Text

Cooper never did get back to sleep. Lucy did, curling up on the end of the bed where he covered her with the blanket. He alternated between sitting in the chair by the window, cleaning his guns, and pacing around the room for a few hours. He needed a hobby. Maybe Grandma Lily could teach him to knit.

When the sun rose and activity resumed outside Cooper headed down, leaving Dogmeat with Lucy. She probably needed to go out, but she didn’t make a fuss. Lucy could take care of that if she woke up before he got back, he didn’t want her thinking he had left her. He smoked a cigarette, stocked up on fresh water and food, mostly big horner meat, and turned down Marcus’s offer to stay another night again. If Lucy slept in much later they might talk him into it, but the clouds promised snow and the last thing they needed was to get stuck up here.

He got a couple bowls of stew and carried them upstairs. He hesitated in the hallway, uncertain which room Lucy would be in if she had woken up. All her things were in the other room, she might have gone in there to change clothes. Pushing aside that image he went to the room where they had spent the night. It made sense to start where he had last seen her and if she wasn’t there it would be easier to knock on her door if he put the bowls down.

She wasn’t there. Cooper set the bowls down on the bedside table and turned to see Lucy standing in the doorway dressed and carrying her pack. Dogmeat greeted him, tail wagging.

“There you are,” Cooper said with mock annoyance.

“You’re the one who wandered off,” Lucy said with a smile.

“I had to do somethin’ while you were snoozin’.”

“You could have woken me up.”

“Nah, you needed the rest. How’d you know I was back in here anyway?”

Lucy gestured toward the bedside table. “I smelled the food.”

Of course. “Well, come eat then.”

There was only one chair so she sat next to him on the bed again, maybe a hair closer than the night before. She didn’t say anything about their talk then. It occurred to Cooper that after the way he reacted the first time she brought up his family she might be afraid to. For the first time in a long time he didn't like the idea of someone being afraid of him. Of course, it was his own fault. She didn’t seem scared though. She kept up the same friendly chatter as usual, not seeming to care when he responded with little more than the occasional grunt. He would miss this, he realized. When they got their answers and inevitably went their separate ways. If she was right about Vault 31, or they didn’t have any better leads he would at least have an excuse to tag along when she went back for her brother. Then what? He doubted she would want to keep wandering the Wastelands. Would Lucy want to go back to living in a vault? Would her brother want to leave? Would she leave without him? If by some miracle he found Janey, if she had been in cryo all this time and was still a child, he would need to settle down somewhere himself. Ghoulsville, or Jacobstown were the obvious choices, even though neither of them would have many kids for Janey to interact with, not to mention school. Would Lucy be willing to help with that? This was why he hadn’t allowed himself to think about the future for a long time. All he could do was take it as it comes.

They finished eating and made the rounds to say their goodbyes. Marcus yet again tried to talk them into staying another night, which they declined. Grandma Lily waved and blew kisses, telling them to come back soon. Lucy blew kisses back. Cooper just tipped his hat.

“Are you certain you do not want me to accompany you to New Vegas?” Zog asked.

“It ain’t that I object to havin’ you along, but if we had met outside those cages where I had my guns, I would have shot you no questions asked. I doubt there are many who wouldn’t. You’re better off stayin’ here,” Cooper said.

“We could come back, once we’re finished in Vegas,” Lucy said.

Cooper nodded. “I don’t see why not.” We. She expected him to come with her.

“Then I will look forward to your return. And if you require any assistance you know where to find me.”

“We’ll keep that in mind,” Cooper said, tipping his hat. He was doing it too, acting like they were a package deal when he knew good and well that couldn’t last.

By the time they made it out the gate of Jacobstown they were off to a much later start than usual. Cooper didn’t complain, but he did set a quick pace. Lucy didn’t seem to have any trouble keeping up. She kept grinning at him.

“What?”

“You have more friends than you’ll admit.”

“I don’t got any friends.”

“Aside from me,” she started counting on her fingers, “there’s George and Kate, granted I’m not sure Billy counts since you’ve only seen him once since he was a toddler, and then there’s Marcus, Lily, Goris, Zog, and of course Charlie.”

Cooper didn’t have the heart to tell her he wasn’t so sure Charlie counted anymore.

Dogmeat barked.

Lucy ruffled her fur. “Of course I didn’t forget about you, but you’re more like family.”

Cooper shook his head. “Most of those are acquaintances at best.”

“Marcus and George both kept trying to talk you into sticking around.”

“They just figure I’m useful to have around. You do realize that not tryin’ to kill each other don’t necessarily make us friends.”

“Up here it practically does.”

He chuckled. “You got me there, Sweetheart.”

Lucy jumped and touched her face. “That was cold!” she stared at her wet fingers. “Is it raining again?”

“Nope. Snow.”

“Snow?” Lucy looked around as the white flakes fell.

“I brought Janey up here so she could see it once. For Christmas.” It had been the last Christmas before the divorce. Barb had stayed in the lodge the whole time. Probably on the phone with Vault-Tec.

He allowed himself a few minutes to watch Lucy, looking more beautiful than Barb ever had with wide eyes and wider smile, snowflakes caught in her hair, hands outstretched for more.

“We should get goin’. Don’t wanna get stuck up here.”

Her face flushed, which did not make it any easier for him to look away.

“We’ll have to come back. When we’ve got time for you to actually enjoy it.” Cooper said.

Her eyes lit up. “We should bring Norm! And maybe by then we’ll have Janey too, and—” her face fell. She bit her lip. Probably thinking she shouldn’t have mentioned Janey.

“She’d probably start a snowball fight.”

Lucy’s smile returned. “You’d protect me.”

“What makes you think I won’t be on her team?”

“Norm can be on her team.”

He could picture it all too easily, despite not knowing what Norm looked like. The four of them tossing snowballs back and forth, Dogmeat running around trying to catch them. Hope could be a dangerous thing, but he found he didn’t care when Lucy offered it.

He resisted the urge to reach out and take her hand as they started back down the mountain.

#####

Janey had never been so hot in her life. She knew California was hot, but she was used to that, and to being able to stay inside when it was too hot.

“I miss air conditioning!” she whined.

“Me too,” Norm said.

“Why couldn’t Mister MacLean stay in the mountains?”

“Sure would have made things easier,” Max said.

Janey sighed. “Us cowpokes takes it as it comes.” It was what her daddy would have said. Her mom would have told her to stop complaining. It was weird having grown ups just agree with her.

“Need a lift?” Thaddeus asked.

Janey nodded. She flinched when Thaddeus picked her up.

“Are you okay?”

She nodded. “My arm just hurts a little where that ghoul scratched me.” It had been trying to grab her, but Lincoln pounced on it and Norm pulled her away. It was hard to believe some of them were still…normal. Even harder to believe that Lucy might actually be friends with one.

When the sun started to set they just made camp where they were. The desert looked the same in every direction.

Norm checked the map on his Pip-Boy where Max had helped him plot out their route.

“Looks like we should be able to get to Goodsprings tomorrow.”

“Do you think we’ll find Lucy there?” Janey asked.

“Maybe, if they stop for a few days like they did in Mountview.”

“With as hard as it is to cross the desert, I’d be surprised if they didn’t,” Max said.

Thaddeus nodded. “They’ll need supplies, and Lucy could probably use a rest.”

“Because it’s too darn hot!” Janey tried to sing it like the song from Kiss Me Kate.

“I’m glad you made us get these hats, we’d probably be all burnt up without them,” Norm said, fanning himself with his.

Janey giggled. “We used to have sun screen. I don’t know how, but it kept you from getting sunburned. When Daddy was doing commercials for Vault-Tec they made him do one for some. He thought it was silly since they sold underground vaults.”

“What are commercials?” Thaddeus asked.

“They used to show them on TV to tell people to buy stuff.”

“Why would your dad be doing that?” Norm asked.

Janey shrugged. “Mom asked him to. That’s why they started fighting, he didn’t wanna do it anymore. I think because he found out about the experiments.”

“Like Vault 4,” Max muttered.

“I wish he told someone. Someone who could have stopped them,” Janey said.

“Maybe he tried. Maybe nobody could,” Norm said.

As they settled down for the night Janey pulled the Bible from her pack to read to Lincoln. She stumbled over the long names.

Norm looked over her shoulder. “Yeah, I have no idea how to pronounce that. I’m not even sure it’s English.”

“I don’t think it is,” Janey admitted, squinting at it. “Well, this chapter is nothing but a list of who begat who,” she smirked, “I think we can skip that.”

“Maybe we can find something closer to your reading level in Goodsprings.”

“I was reading the Little House on the Prairie books before the bombs fell. I never got through all of them.”

“Do you miss school?” Max asked.

“Some of it. I didn’t like sitting for so long every day, but I liked learning, and I miss my friends.” She tried not to think about what had happened to them.

“Maybe once we find Lucy we can find someplace to live that has a school. Or Lucy could teach you,” Norm said.

Janey liked that idea. Would it be like having a mom again? Her mom had never helped her with her homework though. And even though she was happy to have Norm, Max, and Thaddeus, it didn’t really feel like she had a daddy again. It did feel like she she had a family again, just a different type of family. Like they her uncles or big brothers. Maybe once they saved Lucy and she could go back to school it would feel like she had parents again. She fell asleep imaging what her new life would look like.

It was already hot when she woke up the next morning. So why couldn't she stop shivering?

Chapter Text

Norm fought the urge to break into a run. He knew they were too far from Goodsprings for that to get them there any faster. Their pace was already more urgent than ever, but it would be better if they didn’t have to stop for breaks.

Janey had been burning up when he woke her that morning. He barely managed to get her to swallow some water. Lincoln had nosed her arm. Thaddeus told him she had complained about it when he picked her up. Norm looked at it. He was no medical expert, but he knew it was bad. Swollen and seeping with angry red lines spreading out from it. The words blood poisoning floated through his mind, but he didn’t dare say them out loud.

How had he let it get this bad? It had seemed like such a minor injury at first, just a scratch. He couldn’t even remember if he had made sure she cleaned it. He hadn’t paid enough attention to notice when it started getting infected. Janey was just a kid, of course she didn’t know how bad it was. But he should have. And now all they could do was keep moving and hope they made it to Goodsprings in time to get her help. He didn’t even want to try giving her a stim pack, afraid that closing the wound would seal in the infection.

Finally Norm saw the smoke that signaled they were approaching the settlement. They picked up their pace. Thaddeus hung back despite carrying Janey, probably not wanting to startle the guards into firing. Norm ran to the guards.

“We need a doctor!”

“What are you doing with that thing?” one guard demanded, jabbing a gun in Thaddeus’s direction

“He’s our friend!” Max snapped. “He’s not gonna hurt anyone!”

“We’ve got a sick kid with us! Please! We have to hurry!”

The guard looked back at Thaddeus, taking in the gentle way he cradled Janey, holding on to Lincoln with his other hand.

The guard nodded. “I’ll take you to Doc Mitchell.” He looked at the other guard. “Shouldn’t take too long.”

His companion nodded.

They followed the guard through the settlement to the clinic.

“Probably best to leave the mu—your friend and the armor out here, not much room inside.”

Max stepped out of this armor and Thaddeus passed Janey to him. “I’ll keep an eye on Lincoln and the armor.”

“Thank you,” Norm told the guard.

“I better get back to work.” He looked at Thaddeus. “Don’t smash anything.”

“I won’t.”

Max carried Janey inside, Norm followed. An older man greeted them.

“Oh dear! This does look urgent! What seems to be the problem?”

“She got scratched by a feral ghoul, it’s infected,” Norm explained while Max adjusted Janey to let the doctor look at her arm.

Doc Mitchell took her from him. “What’s her name?”

“Janey Howard,” Norm answered as Max handed her over. Maybe he shouldn’t have given her real name knowing the Enclave and the Brotherhood were looking for her, not to mention the Ghoul who might very well be in the settlement, but he couldn't think of anything else. At the moment he was more worried about making sure she survived.

“I’ll take good care of her, don’t worry,” he said with a smile that was probably meant to be reassuring.

Norm started to follow the doctor, but was stopped by Max’s hand on his shoulder. “Let him do his job.”

Norm nodded. After everything he had been through on the surface, it seemed the hardest thing he had to do was hurry up and wait.

#####

Cooper slowed their pace once they were back in the desert. The last thing he needed was for Lucy to collapse in the middle of nowhere.

“So, two weeks until we get to New Vegas?” Lucy asked.

“More or less. We’re off course. If we head there in a straight line, we’ll miss most of the major settlements, which is probably for the best with that price on your head.”

“Won’t we need supplies?”

“There should be smaller ones here and there.” Assuming the Legion hadn’t wiped them out. Hopefully with Caesar and the bulk of their army dead whatever remnants were scattered around wouldn’t be too much trouble. The trick would be getting though the desert without running out of water, or his chems. They were well-supplied on both, they should be fine. Of course there was always that Golden Rule of the Wastelands. Food was a non-issue between what they had picked up at the last couple of stops and the creatures that roamed the desert. If they could avoid becoming food first. That wasn’t going to happen either. That was the whole point of doing this together.

Dogmeat barked.

Cooper turned to see sand being kicked up by a creature scuttling towards them on six legs, awkwardly supporting a vaguely humanoid head and torso. He drew his revolver. Lucy drew her pistol. A massive three-pronged tongue lashed out and wrapped around Lucy’s arm. She screamed and dropped her gun. Cooper fired at the grotesque aberration until it stopped moving. He holstered his gun, drew his knife and hacked the tongue away from Lucy’s arm. She didn’t even flinch when he cut away the fabric where the acidic residue was eating through it.

Her arm appeared uninjured, but she shook, hyperventilating, eyes wide as she stared at what was left of the thing. Cooper, cautiously put a hand on her shoulder. She collapsed into him, and buried her face in his chest, clinging to him. He hesitated, then wrapped his arms around her.

“It’s all right, Sweetheart. It’s dead,” he murmured, resisting the temptation to kiss her hair.

“What…what was that?”

“They call them centaurs.”

“Did the radiation do that?”

“That and the same virus that made the super mutants.”

“So…it was another experiment?” She pulled away just enough to look up at him.

“Seems to be.”

“Was it Vault-Tec?”

“From what I heard it was the Master, same fella that made the first batch of super mutants.”

“Are they all…like that?” She shuddered.

He tightened his arms around her. “All the ones I’ve seen. I’ve never heard of any being in their right mind.”

“Before Zog you never heard of a talking deathclaw either.”

She had him there. It was almost worse to think of something that twisted, almost beyond recognition retaining some semblance of sanity. With a tongue like that, too large to even fit into its mouth, would it even be able to try to communicate? Even if there was a person in there somewhere, it was probably a mercy to put them out of their misery, same as with any feral ghoul.

“How could they do that to people?” Lucy whispered.

“Some people don’t care what happens to anyone else as long as they get what they want.”

Lucy had the grace not point out that that was exactly what he had been like when they first met. He still was really. What he wanted had just shifted to include protecting her. At the end of the day he was still the same selfish coward he had been two hundred years ago.

#####

Norm tried to distract himself by playing games on his Pip-Boy while he and Max sat on the couch in the waiting room. He had never gotten such terrible scores. The game over screen played yet again. Max took his hand before he hit replay.

“She’s gonna be okay.”

“You don’t know that! Even if she is, this never should have happened! I should have paid more attention! I should have cleaned it better! I should have shot that thing before it got that close to her!”

“And I shouldn’t have let it get past me. I’m sure Thaddeus feels the same way. It wasn’t your fault we got attacked by feral ghouls. I should have thought to check around.”

“I never should have taken her out of the vault.”

“What was the alternative? Leaving her in cryo for centuries? Maybe forever?”

“Apparently that’s what her mom wanted.”

Max snorted. “Right, because she was such a model parent. She couldn’t be bothered with her most of the time, except to tell her dad what he was doing wrong. Sounds to me like she wanted to leave Janey in cryo so she wouldn’t have to deal with her. I don’t understand why she didn’t just let her dad have her.”

“Same reason my dad didn’t leave me with my mom in Shady Sands: control. Like you said she was alway complaining about the way he did things. It didn’t matter if he was really wrong or not, what mattered was that it wasn’t what she wanted.”

Max squeezed his hand. “At least you’re trying to think about what’s best for her.”

“Her mom though she knew what was best for her too.”

Max shook his head. “She wanted what was best for herself. She dragged Janey into that vault while she was begging to stay with her dad or let him come. At least you asked if she wanted to leave. And you tried to make sure she understood it could be dangerous.”

“My dad always said being a parent means that sometimes you have to do what’s best for your kids whether they like it or not.”

“Is he really who you want to take parenting advice from?”

“No, I guess not.”

“Even if he’s right about that, it can’t hurt to listen to the kid, right? Try to understand where she’s coming from, and try to explain where you are.”

“That’s what I’ve been trying to do. She keeps winning.”

Max laughed.

“Maybe I should have at least left her back in Filly.”

“You didn’t leave her there because you didn’t think she would be safe. And after Dane caught up with us we knew it wasn’t safe to leave her anywhere. I don’t know what the Enclave wants with her, but it can’t be good.”

“So instead we’re taking her straight to the Ghoul!”

“We won’t let him get her.”

“We didn’t stop that feral from getting to her!”

“There’s an old saying from before the war: Shit happens.”

Norm chuckled. “I doubt they had to deal with shit quite like this.”

Max shrugged. “People are people. Shit still happens.”

“I’m never having kids. I wasn’t sure I wanted to anyway, but now I know I suck at it.”

“You do not suck at it. It’s just hard. Even with three of us looking after one kid.”

Norm leaned over to rest his head on Max’s shoulder. “I wish her dad had been in there.”

Max’s cheek rested against the top of Norm’s head. “For what it’s worth, from what she’s told us, I think he’d be glad you got her out of there. And I know he’d be glad she has people who care so much about her. Even if we do suck at actually parenting.”

Doc Mitchell came in. “Mister Howard?”

It took Norm a moment to realize he meant him. “How is she?”

“She’s recovering.”

Chapter Text

Lucy stayed even closer to Cooper after the centaur attack. So close that her hand kept brushing against his until he caught and held it. Neither of them acknowledged it, even when Dogmeat forced her way between them and nudged their hands with her nose until they separated to pet her. As soon as she had enough and ran off they linked up again.

Of all the things she had seen since leaving her vault nothing had rattled her as much as the centaur. Ghouls and super mutants were still human, crazy or feral, maybe, but still human. Talking deathclaws were practically something straight out of Narnia. The centaur was more alien than any of them, made all the worse by what semblance of familiarity remained. And someone had deliberately created them. Every time Lucy thought of it she shuddered, and Cooper gently squeezed her hand.

She was glad he hadn’t insisted on harvesting meat off the centaur. Lucy couldn’t stomach the idea, even though she knew Cooper probably could. He had just pulled his hat down to give her some privacy as she changed into her undamaged shirt, the one she had taken from the farm. She stuffed the cowgirl shirt into her pack thinking that if they found some material Cooper might be able to sew a new sleeve onto it. There wasn’t much left of the one he had cut off. She was lucky he had gotten it off before that acid ate through to her arm.

The day after the incident Lucy was finally starting to get over the jitters, though that didn’t stop her from holding Cooper’s hand. The Wasteland actually seemed peaceful for once, even the heat was less intense as clouds rolled in to block the sun.

“Aw, shit,” Cooper muttered, looking up at the sky.

Lucy shrugged. “So? It’s going to rain. What’s the big deal?”

Cooper shook his head. “That’s a rad storm, Sweetheart. You don’t wanna get caught in that.”

Lucy looked around. She could see noting but sand. “So, what do we do?”

“There’s a vault near here. Can that thing get us in?” he tapped her Pip-Boy.

Lucy nodded. If he was willing to hide out in a vault rad storms must really be bad news.

Cooper led the way as the clouds gathered over head. Unlike the dark rain clouds these glowed a poisonous green.

They reached the vault door, marked with a yellow number 25, and Lucy released Cooper’s hand to open it with her Pip-Boy. Thunder rumbled. Dogmeat whined. Lucy hoped that whoever was inside wouldn’t mind them seeking shelter there. Surely they would understand. They wouldn't make them leave Dogmeat outside would they? What about Cooper? She hadn’t even known what a ghoul was before meeting him, what would the people of this vault think of him?

“Hurry up, Sweetheart,” Cooper muttered, unhelpfully.

Lucy wished Norm was here. He was better at this sort of thing. Maybe she should have let him come along, chicken or not.

The door rumbled open. The alarm blared. They ran inside. Lucy rushed to the controls and closed the door, sealing the noise of the storm outside. She stopped the alarm. The silence was deafening.

“You gonna be able to get us outta here?” Cooper asked.

“Nope, ‘fraid we’re stuck.”

“Lucy…”

“Relax, Cowboy, I can get us out whenever you want.”

His spurs and Dogmeat’s nails echoed as they paced the entryway. “If that alarm was supposed to let them know someone broke in…?”

“Where is everyone?” Lucy finished. She wrapped her arms around herself, shivering. The lights were on. The air seemed to be circulating properly though it was unnaturally still compared to outside. Why did it seem so empty?

She watched Cooper pace. Even Dogmeat got tired of it and came to sit next to Lucy. He didn’t like small enclosed spaces. She had almost forgotten. He had been fine in Ghoulsville, but he had known they could leave whenever they wanted. The space wasn’t the problem. No matter how easily Lucy could open that door, until the storm passed they were trapped. That was the real problem. The only thing she could do was get his mind off of it.

The next time Cooper passed close to her she grabbed his hand. “Let’s go see if anybody’s home.”

#####

Cooper let Lucy drag him though the empty, echoing halls of the vault, mostly because doing otherwise would mean letting go of her hand, and for some reason that may or may not have to do with how fast his heart was beating he really didn’t want to do that.

Dogmeat’s nails clicked on the floor as she trotted ahead of them, alert and sniffing everything, especially the dark stains on the floor that Lucy seemed oblivious to.

They passed through a corridor lined with apartments, lawn furniture sitting in front of them. He had sat in a similar spot to film that stupid sun-screen commercial. She chattered away about how much like her own vault it was, even naming who lived in the corresponding apartments. Most of the names meant nothing to him, only a few she had mentioned before stood out. It didn’t matter. He knew what she was really doing. Distracting him.

He didn’t like small spaces. Never had. Growing up on a ranch he had gotten used to wide open spaces. His time wearing power armor in the marines, constantly worried something would go wrong and trap him in it, and of course the years Dom Pedro had kept him in that coffin had only exacerbated his claustrophobia. He knew it was ridiculous when he was in a vault the size of a city, but that didn’t matter. He couldn't get out.

It didn’t help that as empty as this place seemed, he couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched. He didn’t have a hair left on his body, so why could he feel it standing up on the back of his neck? Maybe it was just the idea of being trapped setting him on edge. Dogmeat didn’t seem concerned. But he hadn’t survived this long by ignoring his instincts.

“This should be the Overseer’s office,” Lucy said, letting go of his hand to open the door. Cooper hovered in the doorway until she dragged a chair to prop the door open. “Maybe we can find out what happened to everyone.”

“Isn’t snooping what got you into trouble in Vault 4?”

Lucy shrugged. “There’s no one to kick us out here.”

Cooper sighed and followed her around the desk, stepping over more of those tell-tale stains. Lucy sat in front of the computer. Dogmeat sniffed every inch of the room while Lucy clicked away.

“Norm’s better at this,” she muttered. “I’m in! There’s a personal log, looks like the latest entry is from…2291.” She brought up the video.

A crackling voice came though the speakers as a woman appeared on screen. “They’ve escaped! We have to get out! I have to get—” Lucy stopped the video as a creature leaped on the woman from off-screen.

“Ferals,” Cooper snarled.

“How did they get in?”

“Sounded to me like the problem was they got out.”

“Were they…studying ghouls? Why?”

“You’re the one who wanted to snoop. See what else they’ve got on there.” He had a feeling he wouldn’t like it, but they might as well finish what they started.

Lucy clicked a file from a year before the last one.

The woman reappeared on screen. “The Overseer of Vault 33 claims he has had more success building on our research. It won’t be long before Management decides to shut us down. As Overseer I can protect Todd for now, but I don’t know how long that will last. It’s become clear that I will be dead of old age before he reaches adulthood. The only option is to get him out and hope we can find someplace on the surface where he will be safe. I’ll have to take my time. See what I can learn about the existing settlements. If only they hadn’t listened to Hank MacLean’s call to eliminate Shady Sands.”

Lucy frowned at the screen. “What was their experiment? And why did Hank think he could do it better?”

“You sure you wanna know?”

Lucy clicked another file.

“Todd’s aging has slowed as he’s grown older. At present he appears roughly half his actual age. I expect that when he reaches adulthood he will all but stop aging entirely.”

Another video. Cooper felt like he was watching this woman age backwards.

“Thus far Todd exhibits no signs of the worst drawbacks of his condition, and remains the longest surviving subject not to.”

Cooper didn’t like where this was going, but didn’t stop Lucy from playing another video.

“I’ve started teaching Todd to read. They won’t let him around the normal children due to the inherent risks, despite him seeming fine so far. Anyway he seems to be picking it up as fast as any of them.”

Just like the day the bombs fell, Cooper knew he didn’t want to see this, but couldn’t look away. Lucy played the oldest video.

“Doctor Beth Esda, personal log. I am happy to announce our first success! My test subject has survived and thus far appears to remain sane.” A child cried off screen. Doctor Esda turned to pull him up on her lap. “Sorry, he’s still a little cranky on account of his nose falling off, which, you know, fair enough. His official designation is two zero one five four four. I’m calling him Todd. It just works.”

Lucy stopped the video when Doctor Esda turned the toddler toward the camera. He was unmistakably a ghoul.

“They were experimenting on f***ing kids!” Cooper’s fist slammed the desk. The wood cracked.

“But why? Why would they turn kids into ghouls?” Lucy whispered.

“Oh, there’s all kind of benefits once you get past extremities falling off, and the chance of goin’ feral. Ghouls are stronger, age slower, heal faster, not to mention radiation doesn’t hurt us. My guess is they were tryin’ to get the good parts without the bad ones.”

“But kids? And what does any of it have to do with Vault 33?”

“Hell if I know!” He turned away, unable to stand looking at that innocent, nose-less face any longer. “Damn it! I told people to buy a spot in the vaults! I told them take their kids there!”

“If it hadn’t been you it would have been someone else.”

Cooper whirled on her. “Now you sound like Barb!”

Lucy flinched.

Cooper took a step back then turned and headed for the door. It was too much like his last fight with Barb. She had said nearly the same thing. After her ploy to claim they should go along with Vaut-Tec to keep Janey safe failed she accused him of wanting to let their daughter die. He nearly backhanded her before he caught himself. That was the moment he realized divorce was his only option.

“Cooper!” Lucy grabbed his hand. He froze. Her trigger finger lined up with the one that had once been in its place. How could she stand to be that close to him?

“I just meant it wasn’t your fault,” she said, softly. “They were going to do what they planned whether you helped them or not. And you stopped helping them when you found out what they were doing. It wasn’t your fault! I didn’t mean…”

He sighed. “I know.”

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have made you watch that. I should have known seeing their experiment would be hard for you, no matter what it was. And it was obvious something went wrong.”

Cooper turned to wrap his free arm around her. “None of this is your fault, Sweetheart.”

Dogmeat barked.

Cooper and Lucy followed her into the hallway just in time to see her take off running.

#####

Janey woke up in the first real bed she had slept in since before the war.

“Feeling better, Cowgirl?” Norm stood next to her, Max behind him.

“Uh huh.” She tried to sit up.

Norm helped her. “Careful, you’ve still got a couple of IVs in you. That scratch from the ghoul got infected. They cleaned it out and gave you some antibiotics and Rad Away. The doctor wants to keep you here tonight. We’ll stay in the settlement for a few days after that, just to be safe.”

Janey frowned. “Isn’t that gonna cost a lot?”

“Not as much as as not getting you taken care of would have,” Max said, seriously.

Had she really been that sick? She didn’t remember much of how they got here, just that Thaddeus carried her, and they had been in a hurry.

“It looks like there’s a rad storm coming, so we’d have to wait that out anyway,” Max said.

“Where’s Thaddeus?”

“Outside with Lincoln. The guards weren’t sure what to think of him, but they don’t seem to mind since he’s not causing any trouble. Or maybe they’re just afraid to mess with him,” Norm smirked.

“We’re lucky,” Max said. “Some settlements won’t let any mutants in.”

“What about Lucy and the Ghoul?”

“We’ll ask around tomorrow. Right now I’m more worried about making sure you rest and get better,” Norm said.

Max nodded.

Janey stared down at the clean, white sheets. At her daddy’s home her sheets had been blue with yellow cowboy hats, boots, and lassos; her favorite blanket had a horse that looked like Sugarfoot on it. Or maybe it was him from one of her daddy’s movies. She couldn’t remember.

“I wanna go home.”

“I know,” Norm said softly.

“I miss my daddy, and Roosevelt, and Sugarfoot, and my friends, and…and everything from before! Everything’s scary now! And people are mean!”

“People were always mean,” Norm said, “or the war wouldn’t have happened.”

“But now they’re mean all the time!”

Janey rubbed at the tears on her cheeks. Her mom would have told her not to cry. Her daddy would have hugged her and told her it would be okay. Norm sat on the edge of the bed next to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

“I know. It’s not fair. You never should have had to deal with any of this.”

“Not everyone is mean. You’ve got us. I know it’s not the same, we can’t replace your daddy, and Lincoln’s not Roosevelt, but we’re still a family.” Max said.

Janey nodded. “Lucy too, when we find her.”

“That’s right,” Norm squeezed her shoulders. “And who knows? If she and the Ghoul really are friends now, maybe him too.”

“I don’t know about that,” Max said, but he was smiling.

“Sure, he can be the grumpy grandpa,” Norm said.

Janey laughed. It was something her daddy would have done, making a joke to cheer her up.

“More like the scary grandpa,” Max muttered.

“He is scary, but you know what they say: us cowpokes takes it as it comes,” Janey reminded him.

“As long as something like this doesn’t happen again,” Norm tapped the bandage on her arm. “There are some things this cowpoke can’t take.”

Max wrapped his arms around Norm from behind. Norm leaned back into him. It reminded Janey of the way her daddy used to hold her mom, before they started fighting. She hoped her new family would stay together.

#####

Lucy followed Cooper and Dogmeat through the vault hall. A feral ghoul would have attacked Dogmeat, not run from her. Could there be survivors after all?

Dogmeat stopped running, barking at a vent.

“Sit,” Cooper ordered. She did. Cooper crossed his arms and stared up at the vent. “How’d you get up there?” The lawn chair sitting under the vent probably helped.

Lucy stood next to him. “Cooper, I can’t fit in those vents. If someone’s in there—”

“I know.” He turned his scowl on Dogmeat. “Stupid mutt probably scared the poor kid half to death.”

“So, now what?”

He shrugged and turned his back on the vent. “It’s probably nothin’,” he said a little too loudly considering she was right next to him. “We’re stuck here ‘till that rad storm blows over anyway. So,” he gestured at the row of apartments, “take your pick. We’ll get some grub, rest up, and be on our way in the mornin’.”

Lucy smiled and nodded, catching on.

She picked a two bedroom apartment; small enough to get to each other quickly if they had to while still giving them each some privacy.

Why would they even have normal apartments, normal families in a vault with an experiment? There were too many for just the scientists. Lucy’s stomach turned as she realized the obvious answer. To ensure a steady supply of new test subjects. She wondered how they decided which children would be test subjects and which would get to grow up normally. Not even normally, just to serve the vault and perpetuate the cycle.

She took the opportunity to shower and wash her clothes. She doubted she would ever take hygiene for granted again. When she finished, she dressed in her vault suit. Because she couldn’t wear it on the surface without drawing attention, so she might as well save her other clothes for that. Maybe because being in a vault had her feeling a little nostalgic, never mind the reality she had learned about the vaults in general and this one in particular. Mostly she wore it hoping it would put the kid no doubt still watching from the vents at ease to see she was from a vault too.

She went into the living room to find Cooper sprawled on the couch, hat pulled down over his face. She knew he was awake because he was petting Dogmeat.

Lucy swatted him on the shoulder. “Scoot over.”

He did, propped his feet still in his boots on the arm at the other end, and promptly leaned back against her when she took the spot at the end. She didn’t complain, even though he hadn’t bothered to shower yet. He was probably paranoid about leaving her unsupervised with a potential threat running around. After Kevin, Lucy had no illusions about how dangerous kids could be. At least his claustrophobia seemed to have taken a back seat. She wondered if he was as comfortable as he seemed, or if he was just trying to appear less threatening. Probably the latter.

What if the kid never came out? Would they just leave him here? What else could they do? If they kept trying to chase after him, they would just scare him and for all it’s similarity to her own vault he knew this place better. And what if he did come out? Logically the child ghoul from the videos, Todd, was the only one who could have survived and still be small enough to fit in the vents, which meant the only place they could be sure he would safe would be Jacobstown or Ghoulsville, which would mean doubling back again. She remembered Cooper’s Golden Rule of the Wastelands: Thou shalt get sidetracked by bullshit every single gatdamn time. It certainly seemed to be holding true. The next best thing would be to let him stay here while they went to Vegas and pick him up on their way back, which they could try even if he didn’t come out. But there was no guarantee they would come back. Which was why they couldn’t bring him with them to Vegas.

“I can hear you thinking, Vaultie,” Cooper grumbled.

“I’m just trying to figure out what we should do.”

He sighed. “You know what they say: us cowpokes takes it as it comes. In the meantime, how ‘bout we see what’s left in that kitchen?”

Lucy elbowed him in the back. “I’ll see what’s in the kitchen, you go wash up.”

“We don’t know if any of those ferals are still around.”

“I can handle it. Besides, I’ll have Dogmeat.”

Cooper groaned, stood, and stretched. “You realize I’ve washed up more since meeting you then I ever did in the last two hundred years.”

“Nice to hear I’ve been a good influence.”

He shot her a look and headed for the shower.

Lucy went into the kitchen and rummaged through the cabinets. There wasn’t much. She was beginning to consider searching another apartment even though she knew Cooper wouldn’t like her wandering off when she found a tin of cornmeal. Perfect. He had said grits was like oatmeal, so she decided to try preparing it the same way, keeping in mind what he had said about the difference in texture.

She was nearly finished when she heard Cooper behind her.

“What do we have here?”

“I thought I’d try making grits.” She ladled some into a bowl and turned to hand it to him, then froze when she saw he was wearing a white shorts and tank.

“Figured I’d wash my clothes too.”

“No vault suit?” she struggled to keep her voice light and her eyes on his.

“Had enough of that filming those damn commercials.”

He took hold of the bowl. Lucy pulled it back, he moved with it, leaning toward her.

“If I got it wrong, I need you to tell me so I can do better next time.”

“Didn’t I promise not to lie to you?”

“I just want to be clear that that includes sparing my feelings.”

“When have I ever worried about that?”

“Cooper, I’m serious.”

“All right, Vaultie, I promise.”

Lucy released the bowl. Cooper stepped back, the sudden absence of his irradiated heat making her almost chilly. She filled another bowl. Cooper took it and carried both to the table while she filled a third which she left on the counter.

“There’s Nuka Cola in the fridge,” she said.

Cooper grimaced and shook his head. “I’ll stick with water.”

Lucy filled a glass at the sink, grabbed a Nuka Cola for herself and joined Cooper at the table.

“You forgot spoons.”

Lucy nearly jumped out of her skin at the unfamiliar voice, which set Cooper howling with laughter. Dogmeat sat up and barked. The kid, who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere jumped back towards the vents.

“Sit,” Cooper said, waving the dog down. She did, keeping her ears perked up.

Lucy crossed her arms and scowled at Cooper. “It wasn’t that funny.”

“What was that you were sayin’ about how you could handle a feral ghoul all on your lonesome?” he chuckled.

“You know I’ve done it before.”

That sobered him.

“Well this one seems friendly enough. Todd, right?”

The kid nodded. He looked about twelve, but Lucy knew from the dates on the records that he was at least two years older than her. He wore a vault suit with the number 25 and a Pip-Boy was clasped on his arm.

“You saw the records?”

“Some of them anyway. I’m Cooper, by the way, this is Lucy.”

Todd threw a wary glance in her direction before turning his attention back to Cooper. “Are you Cooper Howard?”

“Seen some of the holotapes, huh?”

Todd nodded. “I heard you mention filming commercials, they were on some of the tapes, before the movies.”

Hank had always fast forwarded through the commercials. Lucy had never thought much of it, now she wondered if he had been trying to avoid questions.

“Yeah, that was me. Used to be anyway.”

“Why weren’t you in a vault?”

“Because I found out they were doin’ experiments like they did on you and I didn’t want any part of that.”

Todd cocked his head. “Why not?”

Lucy’s heart broke at the thought that being experimented on was so normal to him.

“’Cause they promised to keep people safe and a lot of those experiments hurt people,” Cooper said. He gestured at the counter. “Why don’t you get that other bowl and join us? Grab the spoons while you’re at it.”

Todd did, helping himself to a Nuka Cola as well. Lucy noticed he scooted his chair a little closer to Cooper.

“Beth was always nice to me. She was the scientist studying me. She was kinda like my mom.”

Cooper’s jaw tightened, but he said nothing.

“She was worried when Vault 33 stole our research. Especially when their Overseer said he could do it better.” He looked at Lucy. “Is that why you’re here? To find out more?”

Maybe wearing her Vault 33 suit had been a mistake. “No. We really were just trying to get out of the storm. I didn’t know anything about the experiment here until we saw those records. I didn’t even know the vaults were doing experiments until after I left mine.”

“So you don’t know why they thought they could do it better?”

“I’m not even sure what the experiment here was.”

Todd seemed to consider before answering. “They wanted to find out how ghouls work, and if they could get people to live longer and do other things ghouls can without turning into one. Management told Beth that the Overseer of 33 succeeded. She said we might have to leave. I don’t know why we couldn’t still live here just because the experiment was over.”

Lucy looked at Cooper. They could both guess exactly what Beth had been worried about. At least it seemed she really did care about the kid.

“I don’t suppose you know anything about this management? Where they’re at? Any names of whose calling the shots?” Cooper asked.

Todd shook his head. “Beth just called them Management. I’m not sure she knew more than that.”

“Was it you that cleaned up, after the ferals got out?” Lucy asked.

“Yeah. I didn’t have anything better to do, and even I might have noticed the smell after a while.” He pointed at the hole where his nose would have been.

“And how did you manage to survive that?” Cooper asked.

“I hid in the vents.”

“What happened to all those feral ghouls anyway? There don’t seem to be any around.” Lucy said.

“They…most of them killed each other.”

Cooper raised a brow. “Most?”

“There’s only one left. The glowing one.”

Chapter Text

Max stared at Lucy’s face on the wanted poster pinned to the job board in Goodsprings. So far it was the only sign of her here. Had she and the Ghoul been and gone already? Were they still here? Had they passed up the settlement entirely? He had hoped they would be here, that they could put an end to this search and then…what? Find someplace safe to raise Janey. But where could she possibly be safe with the Brotherhood and the Enclave looking for her? And what about the Ghoul? What did he want with her? The idea that Lucy might actually be friends with that abomination was more frightening than thinking he had captured her. At least they knew what to do if she was being held against her will. If she wanted to be with him, then what were they supposed to do? What if she sided with the Ghoul when it came to Janey? If he had to choose between Lucy and Janey, or Lucy and Norm he knew which side he would take. He hoped it wouldn’t come to that.

Norm elbowed him. “Could you stop staring at my sister?”

Max’s face flushed. “Sorry,” he mumbled and tore his gaze away to study the other jobs listed.

Norm pulled down the notice for help in the community garden. “That could be dangerous,” he said as Max pulled down the notice next to Lucy’s bounty.

“Not with my armor,” Max said. He turned to Thaddeus. “What do you think?”

Thaddeus squinted at the paper. “It pays better than anything else here.”

They needed the caps. It had taken everything they had after selling most of the weapons they took from the super mutant camp to pay for the doctor and a place to stay. They had to pay extra before the hotel would agree to accommodate Thaddeus, and even he wouldn’t have wanted to be stuck out in the rad storm that had blown through during the night.

“It pays more because it’s dangerous!”

“What is it?” Janey asked. Her injured arm was in a sling, she petted Lincoln with the other hand.

“A Legion outpost. They’ve been interfering with Goodsprings’ trade.”

Norm shook his head. “It’s not worth the risk.”

“There won’t be many of them. The two of us should be able to handle it,” Thaddeus said.

“I doubt they have anything that could take out my armor, especially with your upgrades. And it’s not like they can get reinforcements; Lucy and the Ghoul took out the main army. Who knows? They might be going after these guys too. If they are it would be a good chance to see what side everyone is on.” And they could deal with the Ghoul without worrying about Janey. Norm’s eyes flicked toward her. The thought had crossed his mind too.

He sighed. “You’re really not going to let me talk you out of this, are you?”

“I think there’s more reason to do it than not. Aside from all the ways it could help us we’d really be helping other people.” That would have worked on Lucy.

“I’m more worried about you!” Norm said. He looked up at Thaddeus. “Both of you,” he added as if that hadn’t been obvious.

“We’ll be fine,” Thaddeus said.

“Don’t forget we’re trained for stuff like this.” At least it was the sort of thing he’d thought he would do as a knight.

“It’s not like you need my permission,” Norm grumbled.

Max put a hand on his shoulder. “We’ll be fine.”

“Be careful,” Janey said.

Max crouched down to hug her. “Sure thing, Cowgirl.”

She hugged Thaddeus next. “We’ll keep each other safe,” he promised.

“You better,” Norm said.

“We should be back by tonight,” Max said. He and Thaddeus would be able to move faster without Norm and Janey. He hesitated. Unsure if he should hug Norm. It had felt so natural when they were worried about Janey. He settled for another pat on the shoulder, trying not to think about how he had said goodbye to Lucy.

“See you soon,” Thaddeus said with a wave.

Norm nodded.

Max refused to look back as he left to retrieve his armor. He was afraid if he did he wouldn’t leave.

#####

Once Todd mentioned the glowing one it had been easy enough to piece together what happened here. Those idiot scientists had decided to see what would happen if they kept exposing a ghoul to radiation. The ghoul in question had accumulated radiation until it became luminous. The scientists failed to recognize just how much that enhanced it’s other traits, especially its strength. It had broken out, turning the other ferals loose in the process and they had gone on a rampage.

Cooper had dealt with glowing ones before. Those scientists never stood a chance. He almost felt sorry for them. Almost.

The night had been spent preparing. Todd found a Pip-Boy from Vault 25 and marked the glowing one’s territory on the map, warning him that it didn’t always stay there. They had checked the vault’s armory, but unsurprisingly there wasn’t anything useful there, just tranqs and small-calibers that Lucy had packed away saying they could at least sell them. Maybe she was getting the hang of Wastelanding after all.

Cooper had been tempted to sneak out while Lucy slept, but he knew she would never forgive him for that, especially if he didn’t come back. So, he had waited until morning getting what rest he could. The four of them, Cooper, Lucy, Dogmeat, and the kid had shared breakfast like it was an ordinary day then Cooper donned his familiar costume and headed out. Lucy wanted to come, but that was out of the question. Skill wasn’t the issue, a glowing one was simply too irradiated for her to get close. She had already gone longer without Rad Away than he had expected, there was no sense tempting fate. So he had left her there with the kid and the dog, staring up at him with doe eyes full of worry as he refused to promise he would be back. He knew better than that.

It all felt so familiar, like he was back in the marines, minus the armor, marching into a death trap he knew he had to find a way out of because someone was waiting for him. Only this time she wasn’t safe a thousand miles away, she was right upstairs and if the glowing one got past him…No. He wouldn’t think about that. It wouldn’t get past him; he would deal with it, get back to Lucy, and then they would figure out what to do with the kid.

Cooper made his way deeper into the bowls of Vault 25 occasionally checking the map on the Pip-Boy. He held it in his hand rather than strapping it to his arm, concerned that the unfamiliar weight would throw off his aim; at least this way he could drop it at a moment’s notice. He tried not to dwell on what would happen if he lost or damaged it and couldn’t find his way back.

He drew his revolver as he approached the glowing one’s territory, not bothering to quiet the sound of his spurs. If it had enough sense left to realize he was coming and come out to meet him so much the better. It liked hanging out near the generator, which meant if he was going to use any of those grenades from Jacobstown he needed to draw it out.

It was darker down here. Maybe the glowing one had broken the lights, maybe they just burned out; either way Todd wasn’t stupid enough to try to replace them. That was alright, he could see better in the dark than most.

Cooper’s toe struck something that rolled away. He looked. Human bones littered the floor. Todd never had said what he did with the bodies. It was all too easy to imagine the kid dragging them down here, hoping they would satiate the glowing one enough to leave him alone. God he hoped Janey hadn’t had to deal with anything like this in whatever vault Barb had dragged her off to.

“Where are you, you ugly bastard!” the Ghoul called into the darkness.

Nothing.

He didn’t want to go any deeper into this thing’s den than he had to, but it wasn’t coming out.

He continued weaving a tapestry of swear words and insults as he made his way toward the generator. He didn’t bother to avoid the bones, or broken glass in his path, the more noise he made, the better. Finally he saw the glow ahead.

The glowing one paced around the generator room, too close to the equipment to risk firing at it. Cooper wasn’t sure what would happen if he hit the generator, but he doubted it would be good. Best not to risk it. So how could he get the glowing one where he needed it?

He aimed at the wall opposite the generator and fired.

The glowing one turned toward the noise.

“That’s right, you got a challenger. Come get me!” the Ghoul taunted.

The glowing one turned toward him. He fired at the wall again, dropped the Pip-Boy, and ran back the way he came. He could hear the glowing one galloping behind him. The Ghoul knew he couldn’t out run it, not super charged on all that radiation, but he didn’t have to; he just had to get far enough away from the generator to shoot.

He tripped. The gun skidded away across the floor. The Ghoul flipped onto his back just in time to raise an arm to ward off the glowing one’s teeth, protected by the leather of his duster. He drew his knife, stabbing wherever he could only to watch the wounds heal as soon as he retracted the blade. The glowing one kept gnawing at his arm. The Ghoul pushed his arm into its mouth, used it as leverage to flip them so he was on top. He brought the serrated edge down on the glowing one’s neck. He sawed at it. If he could just get this thing’s head off!

The glowing one flailed and bucked, knocking him off. The Ghoul scrambled to his feet and backed up. The glowing one stood nearly headless until its head flopped forward and the gaping wound in its neck shut.

“Almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades,” the Ghoul grumbled. Well, he happened to have one of those, and it wasn’t horseshoes.

The Ghoul backed away as he pulled a grenade. The glowing one approached slowly, probably wary after he had come so close to beheading it. The Ghoul reached an intersecting hall, pulled the pin, tossed the grenade and ducked around the corner. His ears rang with the explosion. He peered around the corner. The glowing one staggered forward, skin reforming over burns and shrapnel. Not close enough. The revolver lay on the floor behind it. It was too close now to risk another grenade. The Ghoul drew his rifle. Aimed. Fired. The glowing one staggered, but kept coming. He needed the explosive rounds from his revolver.

Something dropped down from a vent onto the glowing one. Arms wrapped around its neck.

The Ghoul dropped his rifle, darted around them and snatched his revolver.

“Let it go, kid! So I can shoot!”

Todd dropped to the floor.

The glowing one turned to attack him.

Shots fired.

Cooper’s stomach dropped. He wasn’t shooting.