Disclaimer: I don't own Fallout. I just play the game.

Yeah, so, this isn't normally something I'd write about, but I just finished Boone's quest, and I was like :O :S that's so sad and angsty. And I loved it. And then I had little ideas pop up into my head, and then I discovered a whole bunch of other stuff and I was like :O mind blown. So, here is part of my little plot bunny for you to enjoy.

WARNINGS: It's fallout. To be specific, it's Fallout: New Vegas, which means drugs, sex, and rock and roll. Well, maybe not the rock and roll, but you get the point. Sex will be implied in my piece, but swearing is present all the way through. If you can't play the M-rated game, you can't read this story. Heavy violence, suicide, drugs, death, and sensitive subjects such as rape and child abuse (although, they are not the focus) may be present throughout my story, like in the game. Fancy that right? The characters may also have differing sexual orientations, like in the game. In short, if you are uncomfortable with things in the game, you will be uncomfortable with things in this story. Nuff said? Good, don't complain.

I also took some liberties...okay a lot of liberties...with dialogue. If you've played the game, why would you want to read the same dialogue over and over again anyway? I've also added in a few different "quests" that were not present in the game. Again, it's fanfiction. You don't have to read it if you don't like it.

It's a Boone and Manny friendship kinda but yeah piece. Manny will be absent throughout most of it, but you'll see at the end where it really comes into play. Got this one all sketched out, no worries.

It's also not Boone x Courier, for those that care about that. (?)

...or Manny x Courier.

Moving on...

Goddamn Dinosaur

It made her so angry.

She bitterly dragged her foot behind her as she took another forceful step across the road. She had traveled all this way, and all she wanted to do was find the fucker who shot her in the face and stole everything she owned. It was foolish of her to start to travel without any real semblance of where she was going. All she had was a magnum revolver with six shots left, a knife that was so bent in the middle it was starting to resemble a boomerang, and a half a bottle of water that had visible chunks of god-knows-what floating in it.

Growling as she tripped over yet another god-damn crack in the road, she cursed for the hundredth time that she had given her last shot of med-x to that guy back in Nipton. Hell, sure, he had been through a lot, what with the Legion holding a fucking murder lottery and leaving him to rot in that old general store with both his legs permanently crippled. It made her even angrier that she couldn't do anything about it, unless she wanted their dogs to rip out her insides and for them to throw her on the burning pile of bodies with the rest of the townsfolk. It also didn't help that their leader was a pompous, A-grade asshole with a superiority complex. Tried to feed her some story about how the whole town deserved it. She would've just shot the bastard in the head, but then she'd only had a shotgun with 10 shots at the time.

Well, at least then she had the shotgun. Fucking raiders.

She had eaten all of her food a while back, and she was practically starving to death. Not that the food that she had was particularly nourishing; fancy lad snacks and a box of potato crisps do not make a meal. The thirst was getting to her too, but she refused to drink anymore of her disgusting particle water until she was sure that she was going to drop dead.

To top off her mood, she had made it to a Ranger Station, but had they been any help? Noooo, of course not! The guy had even bragged about how they had been sent extra medical supplies, but then refused when she tried to get him to share. What an asshole.

They had pointed her in the direction of the nearby town, Novac, or whatever it was called. But that was another problem. She had very little money on her; nowhere near enough to buy any food, water, and definitely not any hotel rooms. She would head back to Goodsprings, where at least she knew the people were kind and understanding; if she weren't so sure that she would bite it on the way back. At times, it made her want to just give up and lie on the fucking road. Just lie the fuck down, and forget about it. That bastard, whatever his name was, just didn't seem to be worth that much effort.

But it was her goddamn optimism that kept her going. She hoped that these people at least had some heart left in them.

She knew that she was getting close. She had been staring at that fucking dinosaur on the horizon for a good hour and a half now. Of all the things to survive a nuclear apocalypse, it had to be that eyesore. And who built that hideous thing in the first place? Pre-war people were fucking stupid.

Although, she would be lying if she said that it didn't spread hope through her chest when she noticed that it was getting much closer now with each pained step she took.

Even if it was still another half an hour before she managed to hobble through the boundary of the town.

The sun was just setting, sending beautiful shades of pink and orange across every structure. Crumbling though it was, she gratefully noted that this town looked a little more tidy than the ones that she had come across on her way here. That is to say, it wasn't on fire, wasn't full of raiders, wasn't full of those fucking scary looking mutated anythings, and from the looks of it, some of it even had running electricity.

She just hoped the people passed the test.

"Hey!"

And now she would find out.

She squinted ahead behind the long broken lenses of her sunglasses. An intimidating looking dark-skinned man was standing in her path. Her was dressed in some kinda green looking army wear, but it was the size of the sniper in his hands that was really drawing her attention. The way he stood and the way he held it told her that he knew how to use it. The scope suggested a long range, so she knew that even if she ran (or rather, hobbled) away she was still fucked.

Being at the mercy of other people sucked.

"Hi." She rasped. Maybe she was thirstier than she thought. "I was just, passing through. I don't mean any harm."

The man shifted, but his hands stayed on the gun. "Passing through, huh. Looks like somebody mauled up your leg. You wanna tell me about that?"

Her eyes narrowed. "You wanna tell me your name first, Mister Scary Sniper man?"

His mouth twitched in an almost smile. "The name's Manny. I'm just looking out for my town here. Gotta make sure you're not here to cause trouble."

The pain was really starting to get to her head.

"Yeah, cuz the half-dead cripple is gonna cause ya some real big problems. I don't suppose you got anyone in this town with a shred of decency in them, do ya? Cuz I'm feeling kinda sick and tired at the sheer lack of humanity in this entire universe. Why is it that no one in the entire fucking Mojave cares for anyone but their fucking selves? You know what! I try and help people and I get shot, robbed, and dumped in a fucking grave to die for all my trouble. I show some charity and some decency towards other people, and then when I need help, no one in the entire fucking Mojave will lift a finger to help me! And you know what else..." She felt suddenly woozy and she trailed off. What was she even talking about?

"Hey, are you okay?"

That guy was really close. Like really close. How did he get so close? He had a big dangerous gun and she just let him waltz up to her face? What the hell was wrong with her? She squinted and tried to reach for her revolver, but found that she was unable to move. What, was she drugged or something? Nice, real nice. Probably the raiders. Motherfuckers, the lot of them.

"Hey, lady!"

Goddamn, did she look like a lady? She was like, what, 23? 24? When was her birthday anyway...

Her head hurt.

A lot.

"Fuck."

It was the most awkward time of the day.

The shift change.

Nobody liked it when he came out of his room. They all averted their eyes and scurried away from him like little mice when they saw him coming. Not that it really bothered him; being a soldier, he got used to people avoiding him.

No, what he really hated was who he would have to walk by.

You'd never be able to tell, looking from the outside, how much he hated that man. They were supposed to be friends, comrades, but he should've known that she would be the one to tear the rift between them.

Because Manny and his wife never really got along.

But he never expected the rift to be torn as a result of her death.

But he didn't want to think about that.

Every evening he slung his rifle over his shoulder and walked steadily to his post in the dinosaur's mouth, and every morning he would walk back to his room and barricade himself from the rest of the town.

Because the rest of the town apparently hadn't gotten along with his wife either.

Well, it was all done now, because she was dead.

But he didn't want to think about that.

So he trudged along dutifully, his combat boots laced tightly and his sniper cleaned to perfection. He may have defected from the military, but that didn't mean that the habits left. He was still a soldier at heart.

And he probably always would be.

Until he decided to end it.

Or, someone ended it for him.

With those thoughts floating in his head, Boone looked up, bracing himself for the moment of passing. When, inevitably, he would cross paths with Manny. He refused to duck his head down like a coward. Manny knew why they weren't on good terms anymore. And it certainly was no fault of his. Manny knew that.

But he was puzzled, when his former friend was no where to be seen.

Feeling suspicious, Boone un-holstered his sniper, creeping around the edge of the dinosaur. He could see no sniper sticking out of the jaws, meaning that Manny had indeed left his shift. Maybe he was just chatting with Cliff, stocking up on supplies, or something.

Even though Manny usually did that during the day.

It didn't stop the sudden bloom of concern that twinged through his ribcage.

He didn't like it.

"Hey, lady!"

Boone perked up when he heard Manny's voice, just beyond the chain link. Well, he was still alive. Sticking to the shadows, Boone crept up to the entrance with his sniper drawn. It never hurt to be cautious.

Manny was standing, his arms wrapped around the shoulders of a bedraggled looking young woman. She was dressed in what looked like a Vault jumpsuit, with sunglasses with broken lenses barely hanging on her face. Her rucksack was curled around her feet, and her arms were limp in Manny's grasp. Blood was smeared down one leg, and her lips were opening and closing in what looked like an attempt to speak. Manny shook her slightly, looking up at her face with concern.

"Hey!"

And suddenly, she collapsed in his arm, body going limp like a wet noodle. Boone barely heard the quiet murmur of a curse coming up from her lips.

"Fuck."

He holstered his weapon, and took a few paces forward.

"Manny." He stayed a good 10 feet away as Manny looked up, his eyebrows coming forward in a scowl.

"Craig, she just...collapsed. Was swearing a blue streak before. Shit. I'm going to take her to see the Doc." Manny hoisted her up over his shoulders, being careful to avoid her injured leg. He glanced over at her rucksack. "I'll be back for her things. I..." He glanced up, staring at Boone's emotionless face. "I'll just...go. Let you get to your shift."

Boone felt numb as he looked into the eyes of his former best friend. That was the most words he had spoken to him since Carla was taken. He shifted his weight slightly, hands self consciously twitching by his sides.

"Yeah."

And he watched as Manny carried the girl in the direction of the doctor's tent.

He waited a few moments, staring out into the Mojave, before going to take his post in the dinosaur's mouth.

Wow, did her head ever hurt.

She was vaguely aware of something covering her body. It felt light and fuzzy, and it was making her far too warm for her comfort. Gagging on the taste of her own dried spit, she tried to sit up, but found resistance. A hand.

And suddenly, she was looking into dark eyes of a young looking woman.

"Hey, and look who's awake! Am I good or what?"

Groaning and letting her head settle back into what she assumed was a pillow. "Where the fuck am I?"

The woman laughed.

"Manny did say you had quite the mouth on you. My name is Dr. Ada Straus, and you're in the town of Novac."

Novac, right.

"What happened to me?"

The doctor grinned at her. She found it almost disturbing.

"Well, apparently you stumbled into Novac late in the evening. Manny went up to make sure you wouldn't be causing any trouble, but then you started on some kinda swearing tirade and fainted into his arms." Ada leaned in closer, her grin reduced to more of a sly smirk. "Between you and me, fainting in that man's arms ain't all that bad. He's not too shabby looking, if ya hear me."

Cautiously reaching up to rub at her eyes, she looked back at the smiling doctor. "So, you're a doctor. Does that mean you're gonna help me?"

Ada sprang back with a laugh.

"Already did that! And get this, I didn't even botch it up! Not even once! Your leg will be in top condition in no time! As for the rest, you were just a little dehydrated, and you could use some more meals, but ya know, everything's gravy when ya got two working legs!"

Gravy. Right.

Wincing, she sat up right in bed to take a good look herself. Her leg seemed okay. Wrapped up thick in dirty looking white gauze, but okay. The pain was lessened; it was only really her head that was bothering her. She smiled.

So there was some good in the world.

"Thanks so much!"

Ada suddenly got an almost catlike look on her face.

"Now, about my fee..."

She felt her face fall as she realized that there was more to this than met the eye. So it wasn't charity after all.

Fuck.

"Listen, thanks, but I really don't have the caps to pay you."

Ada's face fell.

"What? How do you expect to get medical treatment if you can't pay for nothing!" She scowled, slapped her hand down on the side table, rattling some nearby medical clipboards. "C'mon, how much you got on you, then?"

She scowled, crossing her arms. This wasn't helping her headache.

"Three."

Ada looked confused.

"What?"

"I have three."

Ada scowled and put her hands on her hips.

"Whaddya mean, three? Three what?"

"Caps."

Ada's eyebrows were in danger of disappearing into her cowboy hat. God, she hated cowboy hats. She was sure that they reduced your intelligence.

"Three caps! You only have three caps!" Ada fumed, throwing her hands up into the air. She thought for a moment, smoothing her hands down the front of her doctor's fatigues. "Listen here, girly. You owe me big time for saving your leg there. If you ain't got the caps to pay, whaddya say you run a few 'errands' for me and we call it even?"

That didn't sound good. She leaned forward, clasping her hands together. Just woke up half dead and people were already dragging things from her. Excellent. She grit her teeth.

"What kind of errands?"

Ada grinned. "That's the spirit!" She looked around, peering to see if there was anyone around to hear.

This wasn't going to be good.

Ada leaned forward to whisper.

"You see business has been real slow around here lately. With our lovely pair of snipers guarding the entrance, very few people around here ever end up with any injuries that they can't just treat themselves. Now, I've been running low on caps, and I need to cultivate some business. But, short of murdering our two snipers, I have no way of doing that." She laughed. "My mercs have no chance against Manny or Boone. So, if you were to just, cause a few 'injuries' around town, I could make enough caps to cover up your debt, and maybe even a little extra! And, I mean, what town doesn't need a good scare now and then? It's good for business and it keeps people on their toes! So whaddya say?"

She stared at Ada incredulously. What the hell?

"And if I refuse?"

Crossing her arms, Ada glared at her. "Boys, could you come in here for a minute?"

She leaned back into the bed in surprise as two very intimidating, very armed men ducked into the tent, coming to stand behind Ada.

This was not going to end well.

Shit.

"Well, I guess I'll just have to get my caps another way then, hmmm? It would be easy to just break your leg and sell you off to the Legion. I know a friend who's got contact." Ada's face was absolutely feral. "I'm in this business for a reason. It's a business. One way or another, girly, I'm getting paid."

Her blood ran cold. Those options, weren't so good.

Ada gestured towards her mercenaries. "I'll give you a few minutes to mull it over. I'm not asking you to kill anyone, just cause a few injuries that would require my specialized attention. It's that or slavery, baby. Think about it!" And with that, Ada left the tent and left her with the very unwanted company of two armed, annoyed looking mercenaries.

What a fucking way to start the day.

Boone shuffled down the stairs. The night had been uneventful, aside from the run-in with Manny before his shift. A few ghouls, and that was it. His eyes felt bleary, and the sunlight was starting to nag at his vision. He had taken night shifts for so long, that he didn't even really know what the world looked like fully lit anymore.

"Good morning Boone! How was the shift?" Cliff looked up from his desk where he was meticulously rearranging his set of toy dinosaurs. Boone never understood his obsession with the things. Carla had even convinced him to buy one at one point.

She thought they were cute.

But he didn't want to think about that.

"Fine, thanks." He looked around, deciding that he should probably pick up a few supplies while he was here. He was running low on food. Not that he ate much, these days.

"Much to shoot last night?" Cliff was always one to at least try and strike up a conversation with him. The man seemed to have a good heart. Boone wouldn't have minded it if it weren't for the pity lurking behind the man's eyes.

He didn't like to be pitied.

"Nothing really." He gathered a few items off the shelf, pausing when he looked at the stocks of ammo. "Do you have any new weapons in?" He might as well attempt. It was early and he didn't want anything more awkward than it had to be.

Cliff smiled.

"Yeah, actually I do!" He pulled out a box from behind the counter. "I got a new one, called the 'Caravan Shotgun'. Bought it off a couple of traders coming through here not too long ago. Takes 20 gauge, fairly light weight, and it's in pretty good condition from what I can see. Want to take a look?" Cliff leaned eagerly over the counter, offering the shotgun to Boone.

Boone frowned but took it anyway. He could see from a distance that the condition wasn't all that great. That, and he was never really a shotgun person. Too much noise, not very accurate.

He handed it back.

"Thanks, but, I was never really a shotgun person."

Cliff sighed and put the shotgun back in the box. "You and Manny and your sniper rifles. Can't part with them, can you?"

Boone opened his mouth to make a remark about how a shotgun wouldn't do very much for targets at a distance, but was interrupted by the clang of the door opening.

Manny.

He'd taken too long.

"Thanks Cliff. I just need these and then I'll go." He turned to avoid looking to were Manny was apparently frozen in the doorway.

Cliff paled visibly and fumbled with the cashier. "Right. I'll be a moment, not to worry!"

Boone had never seen Cliff tally up numbers so fast.

"There you go! Rest up some Boone!" Cliff handed him over his items and change hastily before swinging around the counter. "So, Manny, how's the girl doing?"

Boone curved around Manny to get to the door, intent on not making eye contact. He'd down enough talking with Manny for the next month or so. He didn't need any more.

"Wait Craig."

So much for getting past him.

He turned.

"What is it?" He was tired and not in the mood. And Manny looked uncomfortable.

"I hate to...well. The girl's stuff, I left it outside. I forgot."

Boone sighed and scowled.

"And that's my problem?"

Manny frowned and took a step towards him. Cliff backed up behind the counter, eyeing the two of them warily.

"Look, you and I don't see eye to eye-"

"An understatement."

"Listen for a fucking second!" Manny huffed, crossing his arms. "I left that girl with Dr. Strauss, but you know that she isn't exactly qualified in medicine. I'm concerned, alright? And I did forget to bring her rucksack to the tent. I figured you, of all people, could appreciate a young woman's safety!"

Boone felt his temper reach the simmering point.

"Don't you dare to think that you understand. You were fucking glad, weren't you? Maybe you should go get some practice in actually caring when 'young women' are in danger."

Manny slammed his fist down on the counter, causing Cliff to flinch and move back. He leaned forward, his face inches from Boone's.

"That's not the point Craig! Fuck, it's not like I'm the one that sold your wife! If you care so fucking much why aren't you out there shooting legionaries for the bitch?"

And the line was crossed.

In under two seconds, Manny was sprawled across the floor, blood dripping from his teeth and eyes wide in shock.

Boone had actually punched him.

"I already looked for her."

Cliff's face was turning lighter by the second, and Manny stared from his position on the floor.

"What?"

Boone turned. "I'll get the girl her things. You should get to your post."

And he slammed the door behind him.

Wanna express something? Wanna critique something? Wanna correct my spelling? Review :P