The birds started singing as sunlight lit up the distant mountains and shone brightly onto a small house perched on a low cliff. A woman with curly red hair opened her eyes and stretched letting the sunshine bath her skin. She turned to a man next to her and smiled as she wrapped her arm across his chest and snuggled closer. She felt him move as he ran a hand through her loose curls and down a long scar on her back. She heard him mumble quietly "Good morning Scarlet." The woman smiled as she held him tight. Out of everything she's done in the last few years marrying this man was by far the best.

"Good morning Craig Boone." She said with a smile as she sat up and looked down at his face. He hardly smiled but she knew by how calm he looked that he was finally happy. She leaned closer and kissed him softly on his lips. As she pulled away he reached for her and pulled her in for another more passionate kiss. She felt his other hand gently rest on her waist then slide down to her thigh. She giggled knowing where his hand was headed to next.

A sudden series of beeps and electronic chatter made them both break away and stare at the bedroom door.

Boone looked at the door then at the red head sitting next to him. "Scar, what's Eddie saying?"

The woman quickly got up and grabbed a pair of pants. "He says there is a…Doctor approaching?" The woman quickly grabbed a shirt and slid her petit muscular arms into it as it covered her many scars.

Boone got up and quickly dressed as he motioned to a trunk. "Should we get the guns?"

The woman's hair shimmered in the sunlight as she shook her head. "No, according to Ed its an older man and he appears to be happy." She started to reach for the door handle.

"Hay, Scar…"

Scarlet turned to look at Boone. He kissed her on her forehead and placed a combat knife in her hand. "You have got to stop talking to strangers without some kind of weapon." He kissed her again then sat on the bed to finish tying his boots. Scar put the blade in her boot and opened the bedroom door just in time to hear someone knocking at the front door.

Eddie started giving off a quick series of beeps as he floated excitedly through the air. "Calm down, I'm getting it." Scar opened the door and looked at the man before her. He was wearing a dirty lab coat and his hair was dark gray. Scar looked at his face and saw his eyes were a soft green. He looked to be about in his fifties and had a rifle slung across his back.

"Hello mam, I'm looking for someone called the courier, I've asked around and I've been told to look here." The man looked past Scar when he saw Boone walk out of the bedroom. "Is that him?"

Scar glared at the man and crossed her arms. "I'm the courier that your looking for. I'm sorry you've wasted your time though. I've retired and I don't do any of that kind of work anymore." She started to close the door but the man put his boot against the bottom of the door and stopped her.

"I need your help, please!" He took a step closer to Scar and pushed the door wider.

Boone quickly pulled out a hand gun and aimed for the man in a lab coat. "My wife said no! Let go of the door and go find another person to deliver whatever it is you want sent." Boone glared at the man through his scope.

The man put his hands up and backed away. "I don't mean any harm, please I just need someone to help escort me to Boston. I've discovered something that could save lives!" he looked at Scar then at Boone. "Three thousand caps, half now the other half when we get to the institute at the MIT ruins."

Scar sighed as she turned to look at Boone. "What do you think love?"

Boone shook his head. "I think he needs to take his caps and shove em up his ass. Then he needs to get the fuck out of here and get the hell off our property." He took a deep breath then glared at the older man. "What do you know that's worth my wife risking her life?"

The man put his hands down and kept his eyes on Boone. "I've discovered how to repair damaged tissue that stimpacks can't. I've discovered a way to reverse ghoulification ." He smiled as he looked at Boone and Scar.

Scar looked at Boone then back at the man in the lab coat. "Let Boone and I talk this over for a moment." She looked up at the little floating eye bot "Keep an eye on him Ed." She then walked towards Boone and into the bedroom. Boone shut the door behind them. "I don't like this Scar. But…if it helps save lives." He pulled Scar close to his chest and held her tight "I don't want to risk loosing you though, I've already lost so much…"

Scar closed her eyes. Its been a little over five years since she helped House and the NCR destroy the legion. The Mohave has been peaceful since then. So many people along the way needed her help and she had helped them without any thought of herself. She still had headaches from that bullet that put her in a grave. It was because of that one shot everything changed. She couldn't remember much of her past life. Didn't help she at one time had her brain removed and replaced with a machine. She got it back but her spine and heart was still machine. It was all thanks to a horrible choice to visit the Big MT. Boone had seen her fresh scars and her bald head when she returned. He almost lost it when she had told him everything that had happened. At that time they were just partners. It was also at that moment she realized he cared about her. She loved him, didn't know how the battle at the Dam was going to end. Because of that uncertainty she refused to show any feelings or emotion for him to keep him from hurting too bad if she had died.

Scar looked up at Boone. "Maybe a vacation would be nice. A kind of delayed honeymoon for us."

Boone blinked and looked down at Scars green eyes. "To Boston? That's across the entire U.S. it will take weeks maybe months to get there. Are you sure? Is it worth leaving our peace that we have created here to travel to only God knows what?" he kissed her forehead and let her go as he walked to the window and looked out at the tall tower of the Tops casino in the distance. "Your safe here. We built a home and…" he looked down at the ground where a small grave had been dug.

Scar stood next to her silent husband and stared at their sons grave. He died at birth a year ago. She placed her hand on Boones and leaned onto him. "Our son is here too. But maybe we need this. It's a sad peaceful here. We both lost so much here. Maybe if Boston's not too bad we can start over again."

Boone held her close. "Are you sure that's what you want?" he asked as he stared at her emerald eyes.

She smiled and nodded, in a quiet voice she looked up at him. "I love you." Scar then looked out the window at the grave then at new Vegas in the distance. She nodded and looked back at Boones soft face. "Yeah, its what I want, but only if you truly want it too."

Boone sighed as he closed his eyes. He opened them then smiled as he glanced out the window. "Then lets go to Boston."

(((Four months later)))

"Welcome to Boston" Scar smiled wearily at the sign. It had been a long and hard journey. Many times she thought she had maid a bad decision. She looked back at Boone as he walked behind her with a wagon following them. "We finally made it!" She ran back to him and embraced him tightly. The NCR ranger dusters they wore made it hard to fully embrace. She let go of Boone and looked at the scientist sitting on the wagon. He had a big smile on his face. "Home sweet home!" he took a deep breath and looked at Scar and Boone. "The institute isn't far from here." Eddie beeped excitedly as he floated behind the wagon.

Scar stopped walking and looked up. "So, are you finally going to give us the final coordinates to this institute you speak of?"

The scientist smiled "It's a highly guarded medical facility and it's a little tricky to find." He stood up and jumped down to the ground. He stood next to Scar and pointed at her pip boy. "I don't want to speak the coordinates out loud, ok if I dial it in? I've got a chip that will update your map of Boston and its got the directions of the institute programmed in it."

Scar looked at her pipboy. The map had been blank since Colorado. She nodded as she held her arm out. "Be careful with it Shaun. Its very valuable to me." The scientist had explained he was originally from Boston and was head of a research division at the institute.

Shaun nodded his head. He smiled as he winked at Boone. "Were closer then you think." He plugged the chip in and symphony music started playing from the pip boy. Shaun pulled out a gun suddenly and pointed it at Boone. "You both did your jobs well."

Scar aimed her gun at Shaun. "I had a feeling you were going to double cross us. Keep your caps and just go!" Shaun laughed as Beethoven played his last symphony.

He glanced at Scar but kept his eyes on Boone. "You're wife's a walking miracle of robotic human science. She's both human and machine."

Scar glared at Shaun with confusion. How the hell did he know about the modifications done to her at the Big MT.

Shaun smiled as if he was hearing her thoughts. "When an old signal was sent to the Institute about a successful machine to human intergrade we had to find the specimen. Took me a years to track down where that signal was coming from. Then it was merely a few months to track you down. Had to visit the Big MIT my self to see the research first hand. When DR. Mobius told me all about you and everything you had done, I knew I needed to get you back to Boston for our Synth research. With you we can prolong human life." Shaun smiled big when he heard a skip in the music playing from the pipboy. He shot at Boone then rushed at Scar wrapping his arms around her restraining her with unnatural strength. Scar screamed as she struggled to free her self then looked up at Boone. He had blood dripping down his arm and had his gun aimed at Shaun. She saw his gun flash. Scarlet stopped struggling and gasped as pain exploded in her chest.

Boone's eyes went wide as he shook his head. Scarlet coughed as she struggled to take another breath. "SCAR!" he started to take a step towards her. Shaun laughed as his lab coat blossomed with crimson blood. Suddenly the air around Scar shimmered as she managed to free an arm and reached out for Boone. With a bright flash of blinding light Scar and Shaun disappeared.

Boone stared at the emptiness and the blood puddle that was left behind. He shook his head as Eddie started flying around wildly making all kinds of distressed beeps and whirs. Boone shook his head and snapped out of it. He caught Eddie and held the little bot still. "Well find her, calm down and stop making so much noise!" the little eye bot let out a sad beep.

"I agree, we should have never came here." Boone saw blood on his glove and let go of the bot. Boone followed the blood to a small wound where he was grazed by Shaun's bullet. Old knowledge of field first aid kicked in and he quickly stopped the bleeding and found a stimpack. Boone quickly administered the shot and tossed the empty syringe aside. He grabbed a pack and loaded it with weapons and supplies. He hated leaving the wagon with all there belongings, but it would only slow his search for Scarlet. He grabbed a ranger helmet and put it on. He looked at Eddie and nodded. Boone started walking down the road with a little eye bot floating behind him.

(((Institute)))

Scar screamed when the bright light blinded her. The light got brighter then it faded. When she opened her eyes she saw she was in a round room. Shaun was still holding her tight restraining her. A door suddenly burst open and a tall woman walked into the room with a confused look on her face. She looked at Shaun then at Scar. "Shaun?" Scar felt the man let his grip loosen as a confused look blessed his face. He slowly turned with scarlet still tightly held in his arms.

Scarlet felt his body stiffen with shock as his grip on her tightened harder. Her ribs felt like they could break at any moment. "How did you get here? You were frozen!" His voice full of anger and rage. Scarlet tried to talk but his ever tightening grip was slowly getting tighter.

The dark haired woman shook her head as she stared at Shaun with sadness and anger in her eyes. "Damn it! He must have made a Synth of his self. Epsilon Nordea Deameion."

Shaun started to speak but he suddenly went limp dropping his arms from around Scar. She fell to her knees and was gasping for air. Scarlet could still feel deep throbbing pain in her chest as she looked down to see her chest was covered in blood. Somehow Boones bullet went through Shaun and caught her in an unprotected spot where her armor was damaged already.

She stared as blood kept trickling out of the bullet wound. Scar blinked when felt hands pulling on the ranger helmet she was wearing. She jerked back as she pulled out a combat knife from her boot. The woman that had spoke to Shaun put her hands up. "I mean you no harm." Her voice was strong and sad.

Scar laughed quietly. Her voice was week and failing. "That's the same thing he said back at the Mohave." Scar nodded at Shaun as the taste of blood spread in her mouth with every ragged breath.

The woman kept her hands up as she spoke calmly. "I apologize for any wrongdoing this man may have done to you. I will fix, repair or replace anything you need." The woman looked at the blood that was oozing out from under the duster. "But it looks like you need medical help more then anything, please let me help you."

Scar kept the knife between herself and the woman. The more Scar looked at her face, the more she looked like the old man standing silently next to them. Her hair was a dark chestnut and her eyes were green with flecks of gold, just like Shaun's eyes. The tall woman looked young and must be Shaun's daughter or some other kind of related family.

Scarlet just shook her head slightly as she struggled to talk. "Just… give me a stimpack, send me back ..." Scar felt her head spin and her stomach turned with nausea. The knife fell from her hand as she fought to stay sitting up.

The woman immediately grabbed the knife and threw it aside. She grabbed the latches on the helmet and opened it to pull it off. Scar felt her hair fall in a cascade of ringlets and matted sweaty chunks. She closed her eyes as the cool air hit the sweat on her face. She blinked her eyes to readjust her vision and tried to take a deep breath only to feel the air rattle in her chest and force her to cough.

The woman quickly dropped the helmet and shook her head at Scar as she coughed up more blood. "Your beyond what a stimpack can heal and I can't send you back to those coordinates in this condition. What is your name?" She asked as she moved closer to Scar and with surprisingly strong hands laid her on her back as she pulled out a stimpack.

Scar tried to struggle but was too weak and felt dizzy as she tried to sit back up. The older woman gently pushed her back down. Scar let out an odd laugh as she looked at the woman's eyes. "Why does it matter? Your just going to do experiments on me anyway" Scar was taking short shallow breaths as she fought to stay awake.

The sighed then glared at the motionless man standing next to them. "I don't know what his intentions were, but there not mine." She looked up and spoke to the air. "I need a med team and a Synth recovery crew here immediately!"

A soothing female voice replied. "Yes director Nora."

Scar looked up at the woman and gave a faint smile. "Nora? My name… Scarlet ." She closed her eyes as a trickle of blood fell from the corner of her mouth. She tried to speak more, but it only came as quiet whispers. Scar felt her armor being taken off in pieces as she faintly heard Nora talking. She opened her eyes long enough to see more people in lab coats come in with a stretcher. She tried to push their hands away but they fell limp to her sides as she let out a final breath and closed her eyes.