I had a restless night. I woke up every hour or so and stole a glance at Charon. His expression was always the same, his eyes were closed sometimes, and other times they were open. I didn't dream, I just drifted in and out. Each time I heard a noise, I heard Charon rush to get up. I would hold my breath until I heard him sit back down. I didn't hear his shotgun once during the night, but I knew he had killed something. When I felt the sun rising on my skin was the only time I dared move.

I sat up and rubbed my eyes. Fuck I am tired. It was the worst sleep I had gotten in ages. Charon stood beside me, his arms still crossed. All of a sudden, I don't think I should be going all the way to the satellite dishes.

"Did you sleep?"

I shouldn't have asked, because I knew the answer. But I knew that it was polite. After all, the guy did stay up all night just to watch my lame-ass.

"Yes."

Liar liar, pants on fire. I didn't say anything as I stood up. I dusted myself off, and saw a dark purple and blue bruise on my wrist. The wrist Charon had grabbed when I tried to jump off the cliff last night. I stared at it. I didn't know he had held so tightly. I looked up at him.

"You…you gave me a bruise."
How strong was this guy, exactly? He looked at my wrist and I saw him shift his weight away from me.

"I am sorry. What shall my punishment be?"

"Punishment?"

"Yes. I have caused my employer harm."

So…? I was lost, and I found myself giggling. I haven't giggled since I was ten.

"Charon…you didn't hurt me."

"I did. The bruise shows I did. I apologize."

I shook my head.

"No, Charon, you didn't. You saved me and it happened. It was an accident."

He didn't say anything.

"What…what did Ahzrukhal do to you?"

"He would punish me for faulty behavior. I must not fail. It is not in my contract to fail."

I hated that. I hated he did that to him. Charon seemed like such a nice asshole. He was definitely making me rethink my own actions, that's for damn sure.

"Charon…I…I'm not like Ahzrukhal."

He stared blankly at me. I motioned for him to walk with me. Maybe it was time for some change. Maybe. I had been in the Capitol Wasteland for a little over two months, and I have done my fair share of evil deeds. Maybe Charon can be that one good deed that revokes all the bad ones.

"I mean…I'm not like that. I'm a bad person, but I'm not going to hurt you. Wait, I thought if I hurt you, the contract is null and void?"

Charon's back stiffened as we walked together.

"Ahzrukhal ordered me to harm myself."

"Oh…that's not nice…"

I'm not a good person to talk to. I just kind of listen. But then again, I've been completely alone for two months. I think I've forgotten how to interact with someone you're kind of stuck with.

"No."

Charon's voice was raspy and how do I say this? It didn't have a pace. It was jumping with each word and sentence he said.

"I…I'm not like that. I want you to…you know, think for yourself. If I order you to do something, and you think it's a bad idea, then don't do it. If you think you'll hurt me by saving me, then I want you to save me, if you want to. You know what I'm trying to say?"

I tried to motion everything with my hands. Charon looked at me, and seemed to relax a little. Okay a lot.

"Well, Dez, if it pleases you, I find it useless and inane for us to be wandering the desert looking for the satellite dishes."

I laughed. Charon was my kind of company. I lit a cigarette and offered one to him. We stopped so I could light mine, and I lit his for him. He inhaled it, closing his eyes.

"It has been over fifteen years since I have smoked."

"That's a long time."

"I have missed it."

I smiled and swayed my hips. I liked how I looked in the morning, just rolled out of bed. Charon looked around the desert as he smoked.

"Where do you want to go?"

I asked him. See, the problem with company is you have to make sure they're happy too. But somehow, I found I wasn't minding that much.

"I do not have a preference."

"There's Megaton."

"What?"

"A uh, city. I kind of have a home there. If you want we can go, I mean it's not too far and there's a woman I have to speak to about something."

"I know what Megaton is. Yes. We can travel there."

I nodded and jammed one of my hands in my pockets. Charon seemed more talkative now that I had made it clear I wasn't going to hurt him…or make him hurt himself. I half-wanted to give him his contract, just for good measure, but I knew he'd read it and find out he'd been lied to. I couldn't really deal with an angry, muscular ghoul right now.

Sighing, I flicked away my cigarette. You really didn't run into much out here. The city is a whole lot different, though. There's shit around every corner. I looked up at Charon, who had already tossed his smoke, and hadn't been speaking.

"There's a ghoul in Megaton, you might like him. He could be your friend."

"Is he your friend?"

I felt my throat tighten up. I didn't really have 'friends'. Sure, I had Gob back in Megaton, but he wasn't very close to me. I knew Lucy, too. She was nice and I had helped her with her brother, but that was it, really.

"I don't have friends."

"Why?"

I shrugged.

"Just don't. I'm a loner, really."

"I see."

I pointed at him.

"Are you my friend?"

Charon looked at me.

"If you wish it to be."

"I don't know yet. It's kind of a business deal, you know?"

He nodded at me. Charon my friend? Sure, he's traveling with me for an undisclosed amount of time, but other than that I don't know.

"Do you want to be my friend?"

"It does not matter to me."

I don't think I deserved friends, honestly. I had done too many wrongdoings to really feel like I was good enough to have a friend.

"Right, then we'll just play it by ear."

I saw Megaton coming up ahead. I hadn't been in my new home, but I did accept the key from Lucas Simms. I disarmed the giant bomb for them, and that was my prize. I can count all my on-purpose good deeds on one hand. Anything else I did was by mistake. I would have done more, if I could have, but I didn't. I got stuck in a shit-way attitude.

Swaying my hips, I walked in front of Charon with my gun drawn. I wanted to find something and shoot it to the heavens above. I was having a severe withdrawal from killing something.

"What are you doing, Dez?"

"Hunting."

"For…?"

"Something to shoot."

I know we're only a mile or so away from Megaton, and things usually don't come close to Megaton, but I wanted to shoot something. I saw an Enclave Eyebot in the distance, and ran over to it. It was spreading the message of the President, but I didn't care. I took aim, and shot it as it flew by my head. It sprayed into a million little pieces, and I laughed triumphantly.

"Take that!"

Charon walked over to me, and looked at the dead robot pieces.

"That was unnecessary."

I shrugged, and started walking towards Megaton. Walking backwards, I caught Charon eyeing me up and down.

"I think it was perfectly necessary."

I don't think I've smiled so much in my entire life. I had a buddy. Not a friend, but a buddy, with the same attitude and persona as me. I'd buy him a drink at Moriarty's once I scoffed some of my junk to Moira. Charon didn't walk beside me, he only did that if I did it, it seemed. He stayed behind me, sometimes grumbling things I couldn't understand.

"Are you tired?"

I asked him as we were nearing Megaton.

"No."

"Because you stayed up all night."

"As did you, apparently."

"Yeah but I huffed Jet. You should sleep, you know, when we get home."

"If it is an order."

"I order you to rest when you see fit."

"Very well."

We walked the rest of the way in silence. I opened the gate for him, and he stepped through. Lucas wasn't there to greet and harass me, thank god. I swear he was always watching me.

"Come on, it's this way."

Charon followed me up the steep hill. Jericho passed me, and grabbed my arm.

"Hey, where'd you get that outfit?"

I looked at Charon before I replied. He stared at Jericho with a fierce intensity. I pulled my arm from Jericho's grip and smiled.

"Knocked off a Raider girl. Looks good, huh?"

Jericho nodded and walked along. I looked back at Charon, and saw he was watching Jericho take his leave.

"He's an alright guy, you don't have to worry about him."

Charon nodded. I led him to my home, and unlocked the door. A robot greeted me, and I jumped a bit. Charon had his gun drawn, but it was no use. The robot was named Wadsworth, and he introduced himself as my butler.

"Huh…alright…give me two Purified Waters."

He obliged, and handed me two cups. I handed one to Charon, who gulped it down quickly. I gulped down my own, and sighed.

"Let's see what's upstairs."

Charon nodded and followed me up. There were two bedrooms, one with a couch and one with a bed. I figured that was good enough. Yawning I stretched.

"Man, I'm tired for some reason."

"You did not sleep last night."

"Oh, yeah, right."

Charon rolled his eyes at me. I unloaded all my gear back downstairs and crammed everything into the lockers.

"Want to go to Moriarty's with me?"

Charon shrugged and I sighed.

"Well, I have to go sell some stuff. You're free to…do whatever it is you do."

"I shall follow you."

"Whatever suits you."

I grabbed some junk and headed out to Craterside Supply. Moira was more than happy to give me a few hundred caps for it all. I thanked her, and Charon followed me out. He stood closer to me in Megaton, I wasn't sure why.

I took a seat at the bar, and waited for Gob to turn around. I had a grin on my face, and wanted to see his reaction.

"Dez!"

Gob reached over and gave me a one-armed hug. Charon had his head buried in his arms, and I figured he was trying to get a nap in. I looked back at Gob, smiling.

"Glad to see you missed me! Do you like my new outfit?"

I got up and spun around to show him. He nodded, laughing.

"Yes, it looks very nice on you."

He shifted his gaze over to Charon, and then back to me. He nervously wiped a glass with his rag and sighed.

"So kid, what can I get you?"

"The usual."

He nodded. He got a cold beer from under the counter and handed it to me. I gave him a few extra caps, Gob needed all he could get these days.

"If you wanted to, I could take care of Colin for you Gob."

Gob shook his head.

"No. I will earn my freedom the honest way."

I took a sip of my beer and shrugged.

"If it suits you."

Charon lifted his head and looked at me.

"Are we done here?"

"Charon, we just got here. Can't I relax?"

"You may relax at home. I do not feel comfortable here."

"So…you go home."

"No."

He put his head back in his arms and I looked at Gob. Gob was staring at Charon, and wiping the glass harder. He looked at it, and I sensed there was something going on between them.

"Do you two know each other?"

Gob shifted his gaze uneasily, and Charon didn't move.

"Kind of. We…knew one another from Underworld."

I heard Charon grunt in agreement from under his arms.

"Oh…alright."

It wasn't my place to pry. I didn't like when people pried about me, so why should I do it to them? I tried to offer Charon a beer, but he wouldn't have it. He just shook his head, and kept himself slouched over the bar. I finally got sick of seeing him like that and sighed.

"Gob, I think I'm heading home."

"Oh, you're staying in Megaton now?"

"I guess, for the time being. I have to figure some shit out."

"Well, good luck to you, kid."

"Thanks."
I tapped Charon on the back as I walked by. He sat up and followed me. I led him out the door and back to the house. His heavy footsteps made me count the rhythm in my head.