"Oh shit," Leyah grumbled.

The duo immediately set out for the Jefferson Memorial right after they visited the market and of course things were already looking grim. The large yellow shapes of Super Mutants could be seen in the distance. Some were on the bluff overlooking the memorial and there were more on the scaffolding outside the building.

She heard Maverick curse and he pulled out the parts for his sniper rifle from his pack. "I think there's a woman up there. The muties take prisoners sometimes…goddammit and I thought today was going to be a good one."

Leyah shrugged and put a scope they were able to buy from Flak on her own rifle. "I think it's my fault."

Maverick snorted, glancing over at her. "How?"

"Well, like you said outside Arlington, my luck is shit."

She felt proud of herself when she saw Maverick barely hold back a laugh. She found herself trying to make him laugh more often lately. The way he smiled and how his eyes crinkled up always made him look 10 years younger and he actually looked happy.

Leyah knew she was getting in over her head, but she didn't have time to truly worry about that right now. She could sort out feelings and all that bullshit after she found her dad.

Wow, now she knew she was hanging around Maverick too much.

She used to never curse before leaving the Vault, now she was almost like the typical wastelander.

They set up behind a large pile of rubble and Leyah looked through her scope toward the bluff. Sure enough, there was a Super Mutant with a minigun standing near a tied up woman.

"What's the plan, Super Soldier?" she asked, glancing toward Maverick, who now had his sniper rifle set up on top of the rubble.

"I'm going to take out the muties on the scaffolding to draw the bastards on the bluff toward them. That way they'll all be in one area."

Leyah nodded and dug around her pack for a moment.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going to help that woman."

"And how the fuck do you plan to do that?"

Leyah pulled out one of the many Stealthboys she had managed to find over the last few weeks. "While you distract them, I'm going to go up there and free her."

"Leyah, no. There could be more up there."

"They won't be able to see me. I do know how to sneak around you know."

"No."

"I'm not going to be much help down here. My gun won't be able to shoot that far."

"I don't give a shit. You're not going up there alone."

Leyah frowned and stubbornly stuck the Stealthboy to the front of her jumpsuit. "I'm not some dumb Initiate you can boss around you know."

"No, you're my friend and would be shitty of me to let you do this. Sit the fuck down."

Leyah held his hard stare for many moments before finally ducking down behind the rubble.

Maverick started to shoot and Leyah peeked around the side of the rubble, impressed with how he was able to take down the mutants on the scaffolding from their position. Sure enough, the mutants on the bluff started to race toward the memorial and Maverick took them out on the way.

"Alright, now for the big bastard," Maverick said, reloading the rifle.

Leyah then did something she didn't think she would have the courage to do. She activated the Stealthboy, cursing when she saw that the extra big Mutant was still standing next to the woman.

"Vaultie? Leyah, fuck, get back here!"

Leyah quickly crept away before Maverick could kick up dirt and find her. Maverick cursed and started to shoot toward the mutant to catch its attention as Leyah made her way up the trail. She finally reached the camp and had to hold back a gag when she saw the bags full of gory limbs and organs.

Fucking hell, why did they do this?

The Mutant with the minigun was now shooting toward where Maverick was and Leyah looked around. She let out a silent sigh of relief when she saw that it was the only mutant there. She snuck up behind it and lifted her rifle so that it was aiming at the back of his head and pulled the trigger…only to have it stop on her.

She stared down at it in horror. This could NOT be happening right now. The mutant unfortunately heard the click of the trigger and he turned around, kicking up dirt. Leyah quickly dove behind a dilapidated wall, gasping in pain when bullets whizzed by her bicep and calf.

Shit, shit, shit, shit. Leyah quickly pulled out her 10mm pistol and waited for the mutant to reload before peering around the edge of the wall. Thankfully, the Overseer's pistol was still in good shape and shot true and the mutant finally fell to the ground with a bullet in its brain.

Leyah deactivated the Stealthboy and peered around the wall again. "Hey," she said breathlessly at the woman.

The woman was sobbing now and Leyah quickly moved toward her, trying to ignore the stinging in her arm and leg. She cut the woman loose.

"Leyah!"

Leyah helped the woman to her feet, looking over her shoulder to see Maverick sprinting toward them.

"What the fuck happened?"

"My rifle's trigger got stuck. Everything's okay."

Maverick didn't look pleased in the least. "No, it's not fucking okay. Do you know what I thought when I saw that bastard turn around and—" He started to pace and he looked so angry that he couldn't speak. He ran his fingers through his hair. "I thought he got you. Son of a bitch! Never a-fuckin-gain. Hear me? We go in together from now on. Don't ever pull a stunt like that again."

Leyah stared at him in shock. She knew Maverick could be protective, but he almost seemed…afraid. Afraid and Maverick was never something Leyah would have put together. Biting her lip, she gently reached out and grabbed at the sleeve of his shirt, forcing him to stop and look at her.

Yes, that was fear she saw in his eyes. Leyah was surprised to feel her heart stutter and her stomach flutter at the thought. He was that worried about her. She knew she told herself that she couldn't think about this stuff now, but good God did she want to.

"I'm sorry."

He stared at her for many moments and he surprised her when he pulled her close and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, tucking her against his side. "Never again," he repeated, letting out a long sigh.

He let her go and looked at the shaken woman standing nearby. "Where are you from?" he asked, squatting down to take apart his sniper rifle.

Leyah stepped forward and winced when she felt her arm and leg sting. She knew the bullets never made contact, but the heat of them still burned her skin. She ignored the pain and started to inspect the woman for injuries. She seemed fine, just shocked.

"I was from Big Town," she squeaked, letting Leyah check on her.

Maverick's brows pinched. "Big Town, huh? I've heard of it."

Leyah wondered why he was acting so nice as he kept asking her questions, but remembered that the Brotherhood must have done this with the people they saved in the past. He had told her that he enjoyed helping people with the Brotherhood, hence why he helped Sarah start the Pride. She was happy to see this new side of him.

"Yeah…t-the mutants…they t-took me and—" the woman's lips started to quiver as more tears trailed down her cheeks.

Leyah gave the woman a bottle of water and they waited until she stopped shaking. "What's your name?"

The woman wiped some dirt from her dark skin, giving Leyah a shaky grin. "Daisy."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Leyah," Leyah grinned, holding out her hand.

Daisy shook it, looking bewildered. "You're the nicest people I've met since leaving Little Lamplight."

Maverick snorted. "She's nice. Too nice if you ask me," he grumbled, carefully putting the pieces of his rifle in his pack.

Leyah then argued with Daisy about keeping supplies and not needing anything in return for helping her. Maverick was fixing Leyah's rifle the whole time they debated.

"Really, keep them. We have plenty," Leyah insisted.

Daisy bit her lip and shakily held the pistol, ammo, and one stimpak she had to her chest.

"Go to Rivet City. Press on the intercom and tell the man named Harkness that Maverick and Leyah helped you and sent you there. If you're still out there when we get back, I'll kick his ass for you," Maverick ordered, slinging his pack over his shoulder.

"Y-yes! Thank you," Daisy squeaked. She followed them back down to the main road and Leyah watched the woman until she saw her tiny form make it to the loading dock. They only started moving again when they saw the bridge start to swing around.

"You got hit."

Leyah looked back at a scowling Maverick. She held up her arm, seeing the scorch marks running across her tricep. "Not really. I think I just got a little burnt."

"Remind me to start looking for new armor when we are able to trade again. You need something better than that damn jumpsuit," Maverick growled, turning to make his way toward Jefferson Memorial.

Leyah tugged on the end of her ponytail as she caught up with him. "Maverick, I really am sorry about earlier. I—"

"Don't."

Shit, he was still mad at her.

Leyah knew they could have saved Daisy using a different tactic and she wondered why she was so adamant about doing it the way they did. You didn't want to feel useless while Maverick played super soldier, a tiny voice hissed in her mind.

Leyah once again was reminded of how much younger she was then almost everyone out here when it came to survival and how the real world worked.

She remained quiet as they entered the memorial only to find more Super Mutants. Leyah was almost frantic by the time they reached the rotunda. She had to use every ounce of focus she had to stick to her and Maverick's usual tactics and listen to his orders. This couldn't be happening. She couldn't have come this far only to find her dad's body.

A huge tank stood in the middle of the rotunda and Leyah raced up the stairs and looked around.

It seemed as if every part of her was sinking to the floor.

He wasn't here either.

"Leyah."

She glanced down to see Maverick gesture toward a door nearby. "He may be downstairs," he suggested quietly.

James wasn't downstairs either. All they found were Centaurs, more Mutants, and junk.

"Fuck," Leyah hissed, looking into every room in a hallway.

She halted in her tracks when she looked into a room to see holotapes and a half empty bottle of scotch. Her dad loved scotch.

"Maverick!" she called out, picking up the holotape at the top of the stack.

"What?"

Leyah stuck the tape into her Pip-boy and listened intently. Some of the tapes were from before she was born while others were made recently. One made her stiffen up. Instead of her dad's voice, it was her mom's. She knew because she almost thought it was her own voice for a moment.

Her heart swelled and her throat closed up when she heard how happy and hopeful her mom sounded.

She and Maverick stood in silence for a moment and Leyah couldn't stop the tears from trailing down her cheeks.

"You both laugh the same," Maverick suddenly stated, breaking the silence.

Leyah scrunched up her nose as she wiped her tears away. Her mom had a girly, squeaky laugh. She really didn't sound like that…did she? "No I don't."

Maverick suddenly poked her side, causing her to let out a giggle.

Leyah's face fell in mortification while he just smugly grinned at her. Oh God, she and her mom did have the same laugh. Confusion slowly took the place of her horror. Wait, did this mean Maverick wasn't mad at her anymore?

Maverick stepped back out into the hallway. "C'mon. There may be more of those holotapes lying around here."

Tucking some loose flyaways behind her ear, Leyah followed. Her frustration started to slowly disappear as she kept listening to the holotapes. If anything they only increased her curiosity about the whole project. It truly was fascinating and it was incredible to think that it was almost possible.

She glanced up at Maverick as they listened to the last holotape they found. He had brought his fingers toward his mouth and his brow was furrowed as he listened intently. His rugged features were shadowed in the dim lighting and Leyah felt a fluttery feeling form low in her belly. She quickly turned her attention back to the holotape and was able to catch that her dad thought the G.E.C.K was in Vault 112.

"Well, this holotape was made a week ago. He could be on his way back by now," Maverick guessed, glancing over at her.

Leyah tilted her head as she thought. "Or he could be hurt somewhere."

Maverick sighed, rubbing the back of his neck as they both thought about what they should do.

Well, they knew where James was, that was a start. "Leyah, from what I can tell, your dad can take care of himself. I suggest we leave for a few days and come back to check to see if he's here. If not, we head out to Vault 112. It will give us a chance to restock and make a plan before making that trip."

Leyah nodded, biting her lip as she stared down at the holotape. She had a nagging feeling that her dad wasn't okay, but she knew what Maverick said made sense. They didn't have the supplies, ammo, and apparently in her case, the armor needed for a trip like that. Taking a deep breath, she started to walk back down to her dad's room. "Let me leave him a note, just so he knows I'm out here. Then we can head back to Rivet City."

He nodded and Leyah hurried down the stairs to scribble a quick note before meeting him in the rotunda again.

"Ready?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah."

The walk back to Rivet City was tense and silent between them. Leyah kicked at a pebble, biting her lip. She didn't want it to be like this between them. "Maverick?"

"Hm?"

"I really am sorry about earlier. I was trying to play hero and wasn't thinking about the consequences," she mumbled, tugging at the cuff of her jumpsuit sleeve.

Maverick sighed. "I'm not mad. I just…what happened just reminded me of some bad shit, that's all."

Leyah's heart dropped when the pieces finally fell into place in her head. She remembered how he told her what he was scared of in the Metro when she was terrified herself.

"I'm scared of losing people…that was my worst fear whenever I went out on a patrol or mission. I would look at the members of the squad or the Pride and wonder 'Who will make it back?' and it was terrifying."

She could understand why he would feel that way now. He was the leader of those groups. It would have been his responsibility to make sure they were safe and came back alive and he probably blamed himself if they didn't.

She was such a damn idiot.

"Mav-"

"Don't. Let's just get back."

Leyah halted in her tracks, hands balling into fists at her side.

"No! Don't just brush me off like that. I—"

"I thought you knew that I don't get touchy feely about shit like this, Vaultie!" he snapped.

Vaultie…she was Vaultie again.

"Why do you have to be like this?! I thought friends were allowed to talk shit out!"

"Not this shit."

"Bullshit!" she exclaimed, stomping her foot. She knew she was acting like a brat, but she didn't care. "Just tell me what the problem is?! I don't want it to be tense like this between us. What do I have to—"

"You can't do anything about it! That's probably not going to be the last time we'll be in a situation like that and I just—I just—I…" he trailed off and shook his head. "I just need to get over it."

Leyah rolled her eyes. "Quit the macho bullshit. You have no other guys to impress out here and I sure as hell don't find that impressive," she spat.

His flashing blue-green eyes met hers and Leyah forced herself to hold the stare, glaring as hard as she could.

Finally, his eyes started to soften and his face fell and Leyah could see the weariness settle in. He let out a sigh, rubbing the back of his neck. "You never know when to quit, you know that?"

"If I did, we wouldn't be here," she retorted, crossing her arms.

He huffed out a tired laugh. "No…we wouldn't." His eyes met hers again. "What do you want me to say, Leyah? You're not the damn problem. The whole fucking wasteland is."

"I just wanted to know what was wrong. And I can't help if you shut me out. I can't read minds."

The young Vault girl suddenly realized that they had stepped close to each other as they argued and they were now standing inches apart. Every part of her body seemed hyper aware of his presence and Leyah felt like her blood was simmering from the energy that awareness provided.

Maverick finally sighed and reached up, tucking a lock of hair that escaped from her ponytail behind her ear. The backs of his fingers brushed her skin and it felt as if her skin was tingling where he touched. "I was scared today. When that mutant started shooting toward where I thought you were…Fuck, all I could see was that Knight we saw in front of GNR."

Leyah's heart was racing when she realized that his hand never lowered. Before she could really think, Leyah was moving forward and wrapping her arms around his torso. She pressed her face into his shirt. She inhaled and his unique, musky, metallic scent overwhelmed her senses. She pushed the feelings that it caused aside and focused on the task at hand. She knew he would never admit that it worked, but she felt that he needed a hug more than anything.

One of his arms slowly wrapped around her shoulders and he pulled her even closer.

After what seemed like hours, he finally started to pull away and Leyah stepped back. Their eyes met again and Leyah was surprised to see sadness settle in his eyes. He quickly looked away and started to head toward Rivet City again. "C'mon. I was told that an old bastard named Pinkerton in the shitty part of the ship would know more about the history."

Leyah couldn't help but grin as she hitched her pack higher on her back and followed him.

"You asked around?"

"I might have mentioned it to the bartender last night."

A light, fluttery feeling settled in Leyah's chest and she just basked in it as they walked up to the door leading into the half sunken part of the ship.

She was starting to get in over her head when it came to her feelings, but she found herself not caring.