A/N: Sorry this took so long to update. I've been so busy lately with working 40+ hours a week while still managing to maintain my gpa in my college courses. Anyway, I'd love to hear feedback and reviews on the story as well as ways I could better it. Every opinion counts

As the dirty outsider approached me, I began to notice the scars that intertwined around her legs and arms, and those that danced across her face. Does everyone from the outside look like that; all beat to hell? It wasn't until I noticed the pale scar that ran from the middle of her upper lip to the tip of her nose that I realized who she was. That's Doc's kid; she got the scar when Butch hit her full-force with a Nuka-Cola truck when we were kids. It split her upper lip right in half. There's nothing there but a light pink memory.

"You look different," I stated stupidly obvious as I gazed upon the girl. When she escaped the vault, her hair was long and brown, and gave her face an illusion of sweet innocence. Her hair was now shaved on the sides and spiked into a giant black mohawk. She was still beautiful, but it was a different type of beauty than before. Before she looked innocently beautiful, and now.. now, it was a crazy, scary beautiful.

"I can't believe they almost shot you!" She exclaimed, like it was the last thing she ever expected to see down here. I couldn't understand how that could shock her, because she looks like she's seen so much worse than that.

"Christ. This is crazy." She sighed, scratching the sides of her shaved head. She looked hardened and tough. I could tell by one glance that she could easily handle the whole security force single-handedly. In her eyes, though, you could tell she was the same scared, lonely girl she'd always been. She looked tough on the outside, and she already proved she was tough by surviving this long, and surviving all those scars. While that's true, her eyes showed pure terror and sadness. I immediately felt compassion for her, knowing she's seen horrors beyond that of anyone in the vault. Her voice stirred me from my thoughts, making me realize she'd been talking, and I hadn't heard a word she said.

"What?" I asked stupidly, as she stopped biting her lip long enough to speak.

"You vault kids have it hard." She sighed with a shaky voice, and returned to biting her lip. Realizing she may do this for the same reason that I fumble with my hands makes me smile.

"Hey, you're one of us still. You may have escaped and seen some fucked up shit, but that doesn't change that you were born down here. You're still one of us." I wanted this to make her smile, but instead she looked at me with something I hadn't seen before. She looked as if she knew something I didn't, but it was too painful to talk about.

"Where's Amata?" She asked with a straight, emotionless tone. I think the outside world really broke her. I'm not so sure opening the door is a good idea anymore.

"C'mon, follow me." I led her through the winding hallways, heading toward Amata. I'd hoped to get straight there without running into anybody. That idea died hard when we ran smack into Butch DeLoria. I meant, literally ran into him.

"Hey! Watch where you're goin', man! Who do'ya think you are?" He asked angrily as he picked himself up from the ground, and wiped the dirt off his jacket.

"I think I'm the one that saved your fucking mom, you asshole." This statement caused him to pause and look slowly toward her, dumfounded. The look on his face resembled someone's reaction to being told time travel was possible.

"Well look who's back." He grinned, looking her over. I immediately felt worried. He'd always been such an asshole to her. I don't see how things could've changed since she left. Granted no one was really ever nice to her, but Butch was, hands down, the worst.

"Yeah. I, uh, heard you guys could use a hand. So, ya'know, here I am." She smiled sadly, and let her fingers trace one of the many scars that decorated her arms.

"Whatever you do, make sure this vault opens. This place gives me the creeps. I want out. I know the best way to do it, too. Sabotage. Just hear me out, lab-rat." I really don't know why she listened to him. Then again, stranger things have happened. Speaking of strange things, they seemed to be getting along alright. Maybe he really had changed after she saved his mom. I hoped to whatever God there was that it was the truth. Though, I knew in my heart that idea didn't really hold a candle to the idea that he may've been just using her to get out of the vault. Once again, I had zoned completely out of the conversation. She could've done stuck that shotgun right up his ass, and I would've been too busy with the voices in my head to realize it. I looked at both of them, trying to figure out if I missed anything important. He looked calm, and she looked slightly frustrated.

"Either way, I'm not sabotaging the vault. I'm not even sure I should let you guys out of here. You just don't understand what's out there."

"I want out." Butch barked.

"I wouldn't have come back if I'd known what this was about. It's dangerous out there. You have no idea. There's some lethal shit out there that should not be taken lightly. This is not Grognak The Barbarian, okay? It's not some fucking adventure. It's hell. It's fucking hell out there, and nothing less. Goddamnit!" She yelled, thrusting her tiny fists against the wall. She caught me and Butch so off guard with the yelling that we both stood startled for a moment just looking at each other.

"Look," I began, "Though I don't agree with Butch's reason or need for wanting to get out of here and stay out of here, he's right. We do need to get that door open. The rest of us just want to go in and out to trade and what-not. We'll eventually die down here if we don't."

"Yeah? Well you'll die out there a helluva lot faster, trust me." She scowled. I was a bit taken back by the look on her face. There was anger there, sure. There was also worry. I couldn't be completely positive, but I think I saw sadness there as well. She stole a glance at me, before looking to the ground. It was probably an attempt to hide whatever she hid behind that anger in her eyes.

"Then why aren't you dead yet?" Butch narrowed his eyes. "If you can make it, so can I. Aside from that, I'm a guy. I'm pretty sure I could survive more easily than you did. Why do you think you had a better chance than I will?" She paused for a long while, letting her eyes drift to everything possible just so long as she didn't meet Butch's eyes, or mine. She looked like she was going to say something, but hesitated, bit her lip, and let her eyes wander again.

A single tear escaped from her eye, before she let her statement be heard. Under her breath she scowled, "Because I was born out there."