The First Morning of Many

Warmth.

That's all the young redheaded Irishwoman felt, save for the grogginess that came from waking up.

The warmth of a soft sleeping bag. A foreign feeling that she was very unfamiliar with. Much different compared to the cold hard floor of The Combat Zone that she had been so used to for the past three years. Slowly, Cait's eyes flickered opened to the morning light of the post-apocalyptic Commonwealth. They scanned her immediate area, searching for anything hostile that may be approaching her, something she learned to do ever since then, now dead, Raiders had taken over The Combat Zone. Then her memory kicked back in and reminded her of how some random man waltzed in and proceeded to gun down every single one of them like it was nothing.

She remembered how he entered, and upon one of the Raiders noticing him, called out to the rest to kill him. To which he instantly pulled out a pistol and shot the announcer before swiftly jumping into cover to avoid all the incoming gunfire from the others. She remembered how instead of moving and jumping in a sloppy style like most people did in a gun or fist fight, he moved with an actual form. Almost tactically. When he shot, his hits were precise. When he punched or did a counter, they had actual power and fluidity behind them. And once all was said and done. When the smoke from the barrels of the weapons had cleared and all laid dead, save for herself, Tommy and the random man, he began checking over his assault rifle and pistol before his equipment, then himself where he then moved to the two still in the fighting cage.

"Is it over? Well, that could've gone worse." Tommy said with a hint of relief in his voice.

"Heh. I dunno. Seemed quite the performance from where I was standin'." Cait quipped with amusement, causing Tommy to look at her with disbelief as he asked,

"Are you fucking high or something?" He paused for a moment before stating, "Why am I asking, of course you are."

"Still won the fight, didn't I?" The redhead stated with pride in her voice. But Tommy only looked her in the eyes and said with annoyance.

"You're strung out and getting sloppy is what you are." He then looked to the man and continued, "Course, I suppose you ain't got to worry about that now. Seems this one just put us out of business." The man simply raised an eyebrow as Tommy then said, "I don't know if I should kiss you or have my little bird here feed you your own entrails." This in turned caused the man to let out a laugh at the threat as a hint of sudden rage filed his eyes while the "little bird" in question said with annoyance,

"I told you to quite callin' me that!"

"Way I see it, your cliental needed to learn some manners, so I taught them some." The man said, a small smile blooming on his face. "Even if the lesson was taught with a round in their skulls." It was Tommy's turn to have a bit of rage fill his own eyes as he shot back,

"Yes, well your "lessons" just cost us our meal tickets. Keeping those idiots entertained is what kept the lights on!"

"To hell with 'em!" More'll come. Just need a quick breather and I'll be ready to go." Cait said with impatience.

"A breather? What?" Tommy said, turning his attention back to Cait with disbelief once again. "So you can slam more of that junk into your arm? No, no. You know what? I think this was a blessing in disguise." He looked back to the man. "You caught the end of that bout. What'd ya think of Cait's work?" The man glanced at Cait before taking a shrug.

"Really wouldn't know, considering I had to kill the idiots you were keeping entertained when they tried to kill me." He paused for a moment and made a second glance at Cait. "But, from what I did just barely catch, she's got some talent."

"See." The Irishwoman said with pride. "Least someone knows skill when they see it."

"It ain't your fighting skills I'm concerned with." Tommy stated before taking an annoyed sigh before focusing back to the man. "So here's my predicament. I suddenly got no audience. No audience means I got no caps coming in." He looked back to Cait, a harshness in his tone, but also a hint of worry at the end. "And if you ain't brining in caps, little bird, you ain't an asset. You're a liability. To me… and to yourself." He looked back to the man. "So… this is what I'm thinkin'. What say I let you take over her contract? She goes with you, watches your back… look you'd be doin' me a favor while I try to get the place back in order. What do ya say?" Cait's eyes widened in shock as her gazed shot from Tommy to the man.

"Me? And him?" The man returned the gaze and held it before looking back to Tommy, clearly thinking it over in his head as the two kept their eyes locked to each other's.

After a minute or two of contemplation, the man simply gave a shrug.

"Sure. Guess having someone watching my back wouldn't be so bad."

"Good. It's settled then. And here. Take this It's the purse from the last fight. Exterminator's fee." Tommy said as he handed the man the purse full of caps.

"Now just wait a second." Cait suddenly interjected. "What exactly are you gonna do without me here?" Tommy smirked at this as he responded,

"You don't need to worry about me. I'll get this place set up right, maybe find a less bloodsoaked clientele. Now get the hell out of here." He paused for a moment before finishing, harshness back in his voice. "You ain't welcome here, little bird." Cait sneered back at the Ghoul while saying with anger,

"You're a real son of a bitch. You that, Tommy?" Causing him to chuckle as he said,

"You don't have to tell me."

Cait let out a low sigh before looking to the man and said to him while walking past out of the fighting cage,

"I guess you just come find me then when you want to head out." And though she couldn't see it, he nodded to her words before pocketing the caps and following her.

It wasn't until 20 minutes had passed of the man searching the bodies for supplies along with grabbing a few things from The Combat Zone itself that he finally walked up to Cait, who sat in one of the chairs, bored out of her mind and looked down at her and said,

"You ready to go?" She nodded in response, causing him to smile a bit before motioning for her to follow.

The rest of the day had been spent wandering around Boston, getting into the occasional gunfight before finally finding a random building and settling down for the night. It wasn't until food was beginning to cook via a makeshift fire pit near a window so smoke could escape that the two finally took a moment to gather their situation. Both hadn't said an actual word to one another, save for comments like, "Get that cock sucker on the left!" from the man or "Nothin' like a gunfight, am I right?" from Cait. When it was halfway cooked the man was the first to speak,

"So, guess you're my new buddy, huh?" Cait looked up from her knuckles, having been looking them over for signs of new wounds from the day. She smirked at the question and let out a laugh,

"Heh. If that's what you want to call it. Then, yeah. I guess so." The man nodded in response before popping his neck and jaw while leaning back against the apartment wall.

"It's Cait right?" The woman in question gave a nod. "So, is it K A TE or some other strange spelling out here in this apocalyptic wonderland?" Cait let out another laugh, this one more genuine.

"No. C A I T. No harm in askin'." The man snorted as he stared into the flames of the fire. Cait gazed into his eyes for a few moments, searching for any emotions and when she couldn't see any, it was then she noticed just how pale his blue eyes were. His shifted to hers before he raised an eyebrow.

"You good?" The redhead shifted her own green orbs back to her knuckles, looking them over for possible open wounds. This also caught the man's attention as he lifted his head to see for himself. "You get some cuts on your hands?" Cait didn't answer, instead poked at an open wound to test what kind of pain came from it before giving it a light shake and tried to find something else to occupy her time till the food finished cooking.

"Hey," The man said, trying to get her attention. "If your hands are injured let me see them." But when she again didn't respond, he grunted in annoyance while getting up from his seat and kneel down in front of her.

Cait ignored him further, but when he went to reach for her hands, she immediately shot them away from his own as a look like that of an animal trapped in a corner filled her eyes. The man saw this, but kept his gaze locked with hers, not backing down. After a few moments had passed, the man slowly brought his hands back to hers, grasping them gently. He slowly brought them up and examined them before moving to his pack and rummaging through it to grab medical supplies. He then moved back to in front of her, this time sitting down while dousing a small piece of cloth in alcohol. He then gently grasped one of her hands, which had a large gash on her middle knuckle, and gently dabbed at it.

"Ah, shite!" Cait exclaimed, trying to jerk her hand back in pain, but the man's gripped kept it there.

"Stop it!" He suddenly said with a harsh tone, causing her to surprisingly stop as her eyes locked back with his. This time though, she could read his pale blue orbs. Care. An emotion she hadn't seen in a long time. Granted, he had a hardness to his eyes, but it quickly softened as he shifted his gaze back to her hands. "I know it hurts, but it needs to be disinfected. Can't have my new buddy losing a finger. Now can I?" He asked in a sarcastic tone as he resumed dabbing at the cut finger.

By now, the pain had dulled and the young Irishwoman could barely feel the sting that came from the alcohol soaked cloth. It wasn't until he had moved onto the second to last gash that Cait finally said,

"Since we're goin' to be 'buddies', as you put it, what's your name?" The man glanced up at the redhead and smiled a bit before focusing back on cleaning and bandaging the cuts.

"It's Adam." Cait didn't respond. Instead she watched as the man, now revealed as Adam, meticulously mended to her wounds. She couldn't help but notice how well he seemed to do it. Making sure the wound was completely clean. Checking to see that the bandage didn't cut off her circulation, but still had enough pressure to stop any possible bleeding.

"Are you a doctor, Adam?" The blackette in question suddenly let out a laugh as a smile bloomed on his face, looking into her green orbs.

"Me? A doctor? Do I seem like the type of person that mends to bullet wounds and broken bones?"

"I supposed not, considering how well you took care of those Raiders back at The Combat Zone. Seem more like the type that makes 'em." And Cait was correct. After all, she did see him fight. Multiple times now throughout the day.

One example of how well he fought was when a Raider charged at Adam with a machete during one of the gunfights today. He took a swing only for Adam to jump back, dodging the swipe before shooting back in while grabbing the Raider's arm and snapping it at the elbow with a hard hammer fist, then stomping on his knee, followed by giving a hard punch to his face while then using the momentum to lift the man of the ground and bringing his head into his arm and snapping his neck. Immediately thereafter he brought the then lifeless body to its feet and used it as a shield to protect himself from incoming fire and as moveable cover as he shot a few raiders with his pistol. He then noticed a few behind some random rubble being used as cover, and upon seeing the lifeless body had a grenade attached to it, he pulled the pin and rushed to the rubble before throwing the body behind it. He then swiftly rolled into cover behind a ruined car, shielding himself from more gunfire, but also the explosion that soon came after.

"Yeah." Adam let out a little chuckle followed by breathing out a sigh. "No. I'm not a doctor. But a long, long time ago, back in my previous profession, you needed to know how to do things like this if you wanted to keep your buddies alive." Cait raised an eyebrow.

"Why such an emphasize on time. You don't look that old."

"Yeah, well, looks can be deceiving." Adam replied as he began to bandage the last finger. "There. All done. Now we know you won't get an infection." He began packing the medical supplies back up before leaning back against the wall of the apartment in his original seat.

As Adam did so, Cait looked at her now bandaged fingers and stared at them. And with the staring, an odd feeling began to take over her being. She couldn't understand what it was, but she hated it. A strange swelling in her chest along with her stomach feeling like a pit. She glanced at Adam, who now had his eyes fixated on the ceiling with a strange vortex of emotions in his pale blue orbs. She tried to read them, but once again couldn't decipher what they said. The only thing that stopped her from staring at the blackette was the smell of cooked meat filling the air. This, causing both to look at the makeshift fire pit and see the Mutant Hound was finally done.

Both took their respective pieces and ate eagerly, eating their fill with a bottle of Nuka-Cola to wash it down. After finishing said meal, Cait leaned back against the wall and proceeded to stare at the ceiling while allowing the warmth of the fire to wash over her. Every so often she would glance at Adam, only to see him inspecting his assault rifle, followed by his pistol, then checking his supplies before doing something with his Pip-Boy. After what must have been an hour, he began to unbuckle the sleeping bag on his pack and lay it out. Cait watched with a bit of envy as she just now realized she should have gotten one for herself. But Adam must have taken notice to this as when he stood up, he looked to Cait and simply said,

"Shit." He stood for a minute, eyes shifting every so often from side to side. Almost as if he was waiting for something before giving a light shrug. "You can have the sleeping bag. I'll be fine without it. Doesn't seem to be that cold tonight, plus the fire will keep me warm." Cait felt shock fill her being, which Adam must have also took notice to as he let out a little chuckle. "Something wrong?"

"Uh, n-no. Just a bit surprised is all." Adam smirked at the wide green eyes of the Irishwoman before motioning for her to get up.

"Well, come on. Let's get some sleep." He said as he sat back against the wall, just a bit closer to fire so he could get as much warmth as possible before closing his eyes.

Cait stared at the man for a few moments, not really knowing how to react towards the act of kindness before slowly getting up and allowing herself to crawl into the sleeping bag. Immediately she felt even more warmth wash over her being, more than what she was used to. And it was with that she realized just how tired she was. Her eyes became extremely heavy and now found it quite hard to move.

'Shite, guess that fight took more out of me than I thought…' Cait thought to herself as she allowed her eyelids to fall, causing only blackness to be seen. Save for a faint orange glow that came from the fire. And within a minute the young brawler was asleep, her mind having drifted off into some random dream.

And with that, so began Cait's new life as the companion of some random man she barely knew. All because he had to walk into The Combat Zone and some fools tried to kill him.

Slowly, she looked around the apartment again. Her eyes scanning for anything of interest, and it was then she noticed that Adam was gone; along with his pack. 'What the hell?' Cait thought. 'Did he just run off or somethin'?!' The young redhead began to think of what the chances were that Adam would indeed leave her behind, not even after a full 24 hours of the two becoming "buddies". She glanced down at the sleeping bag. 'If he left, why would he leave this behind? What? As some parting "gift" or some shite?' Soon a sense of anger began to fill her being at the thought, and just as she was going to begin tearing it off her, she took notice to the constant sound of a clicking. Her ears perked up as she listened closer she realized it was almost like that of an empty firearm.

Slowly, she got up and walked towards the door that lead to the main room of the apartment and peered outside into it. It was here that she saw a strange sight: that of Adam moving in a tactical manner, just like all he did yesterday when the two of them got into skirmishes. Every few meters Adam would "shoot" a few imaginary rounds at some invisible target before holstering or slinging his weapon and switching to the other that was not in use and proceed to "shoot" it as well. Then whenever he ran out of his imaginary rounds he would reload his weapon in a quick and, Cait had to admit, skillful manner before getting back into whatever fight was going on inside Adam's head.

The young Irishwoman watched this for at least 15 minutes before sitting down, and even then it continued for at least 15 more. 'What an odd sight this is.' Cait thought to herself as she continued to keep her gaze locked on the man how continued this ritual for another minute or so before he suddenly stopped, eyes pale blue orbs now locked onto Cait's own green. She took notice to this and gave a slight wave, causing him to do the same back before he gave a slight cough.

"Hey." He began as he straightened up and slung his assault rifle across his back. "You been up long?" Cait smirked at the question as she replied,

"Oh, only about half an hour. Watchin' you doin'… whatever it is you're doin'." A slight blush formed on Adam's tan skin as he rubbed the back of his head in an embarrassed fashion.

"Yeah. Part of my little morning ritual. But like one of the many sayings went in my previous profession: Train how you fight. Fight how you train. After all, how do you think I'm so good at being able to switch between my weapons and reload so fast?" Cait saw the logic in it as she gave a slight nod. She did notice how well he could perform reloads or switch to his secondary on the fly. "I was about finished anyway." Adam said as he walked towards the redhead. "What say we eat then head out?" Cait only nodded before getting up and headed back into the room.

After the two had sat down and chose what they were going to eat, it was Cait this item that initiated the conversation,
"You mentioned something like a 'morning ritual?' Care if I ask what you mean?" Adam glanced up from his food and smirked.

"No problem. Every morning I check my gear, take account of inventory. Then practice my reloads and movements. Granted, I have to do it with empty magazines, but it's better than not practicing at all. Then, when I'm done I eat before moving on with my day. Usually takes me an hour or so." Cait gave a simple nod to the answer before focusing back on her food.

After finishing their morning meal and packed everything up that the two made their way back onto the streets. With both ready to move out, Adam looked to the redhead and asked,
"Ready to go?"

"Aye." She answered and was about to get up but stopped when Adam suddenly said,

"Wait. Almost forgot." He sat down next to her and gently took ahold of her hands. Cait, mostly through instinct, almost punched Adam from the sudden contact when she remembered about the bandages on her fingers.

And it wasn't until he had unpacked his medical supplies, made sure her wounds were clean and redressed them in new bandages that he allowed her to get back up.

"Sorry about that." He said with a small smile. "Almost forgot about those." He then lifted his pack back on before holding his hand out to her. "Now are you ready to go?" Cait only stared at the hand, not knowing to react at what just happened. Never had she experienced that. Indeed he helped her last night, but that was only because the wounds were in need of proper attention at the moment. And even then, but the fact that he had just used more medical supplies just to make sure the wound stayed clean? It genuinely baffled the woman.

"Hey? You good?" Adam's words snapped the redhead from her thoughts. Her eyes shifting from his hand to his own blue.

"Y-yeah." She stumbled while taking hold of his hand and getting to her feet.

"Good to know. Let's get moving, then." With that, he turned and began leading the way out of the building and onto the ruined streets of the Commonwealth. The sun shining brightly, with the occasional cloud as the cool morning air blew throughout the city.

And as Cait followed him, she couldn't help but think to herself,
Who the hell have I just made as my partner…?