"Really... do you have any vocabulary apart from curse words?" The guard asked.

Sandra blinked humorlessly at him as the rain continued drenching her and her friends to the bone.

"Alright, alright. Come inside, but mind yourself. I'm watching you." The guard threatened, then stepped aside and allowed the three of them to enter the town deck of the ship.

The evening was setting in and the storm was only getting more hellish, but Sandra and her friends quickly sought shelter inside the marketplace of Rivet City. It was incredible; the entire ship had been fashioned into a society, with hotel rooms, a museum, a clinic, a bar, a ship deck for viewing the sights up top, and best of all, the marketplace, containing many different shops and numerous colorful individuals. Sandra, Charon, and Bryan, however, were the only ones in the place who were thoroughly soaked. Everybody quickly guessed that they were outsiders right away; it was obvious that they'd been traveling in the storm.

"My aunt runs the hotel." Bryan said when the three of them found themselves sitting at Gary's Galley and overlooking the menus. "I think it's called... the Weatherly?"

"We'll go by there later." Sandra replied with half interest. "You really wanna see her again, huh?"

"Yeah..." Bryan stared down at his menu and sighed.

Sandra glanced at him.

She'd already grown attached to the child and she wasn't looking forward to letting him go - but from what she had seen of Rivet City already, the place was secluded, large, and heavily guarded, which meant that it was a much safer place for the child than traveling with her.

Bryan was shifting his attention from the menu to two other children who were tossing bits of food at one another at a nearby table. Gary, the owner of the galley, kindly waved at them and asked them to stop.

"We'll get a room at the place and you can decide over night if you wanna stay." Sandra told him. "We'll relax here for a bit and give you time to make up your mind."

"Okay." Bryan agreed.

"Hey!" A young girl's voice chimed in.

A small hand was yanking on Bryan's leather jacket. He turned in his seat to see a girl who appeared to be only a couple years younger than him. She was smiling at him brightly.

"Me and James are gonna play hide-and-seek, but we need one more person." The girl told Bryan. "Wanna play?"

The girl was standing beside a grumpy, cross-armed child who he assumed must have been James.

"Uh... sure." Bryan replied, giving Sandra a look. "I'll uh... meet you at the hotel later, I guess."

"Have fun." Sandra told him with a grin, and she watched the three children disappear from her company.

Now, only she and Charon were sitting at the counter.

"So..." Sandra eyed him. "Wanna go to the bar?"

Charon turned his head to face her. "Whatever you want, Mistress."

"Ugh... I'm asking what YOU want." Sandra grumbled. "You wanna go buy some liquor? Or just beer, or...?"

"I hate beer." Charon exhaled raspily. "Stuff's just piss water... and it doesn't even work."

"Me too." Sandra responded with an almost childish smile forming on her face. "You know... there's something I've been wanting to ask you since the day we met."

"And that is?" Charon asked.

Sandra's grin became devilish.

"Charon... will you have a drinking contest with me?"

Charon blinked at her. He looked as stoic as ever, though Sandra swore she caught a glint of astonishment in his milky eyes.

"You're serious." He uttered.

"As serious as death." Sandra replied.

Then, Charon did something that she'd never seen him do before. He cocked his head and let out a dry, muffled laugh.

Sandra looked stunned. "What? You don't think I can hold my own?"

"19." Charon said, shaking his head and pressing his fingers into his temples. "A 19 year old kid's tryinna' best me at drinkin'... ah hell, I've seen it all now..."

"Get up." Sandra ordered him as she reached her feet. "Let's go to the Muddy Rudder then, tough guy."

They left the marketplace, both of them completely forgetting that they were hungry. But they both knew that liquor worked better on an empty stomach, anyhow. After weaving through the stairways and greeting the people of Rivet City along the way, Sandra finally located the Muddy Rutter, and she and Charon claimed their seats at the bar.

Sandra chose to chase her scotch with ice water. She and Charon swallowed their first six shots with no difficulty.

Around the seventh, however, Sandra was beginning to feel warm and woozy, though she tensed up and hid it best she could. From what she observed of him, Charon didn't seem to be showing any signs of intoxication at all yet.

"You got guts kid, but that ain't enough." Charon said with his charmingly ghoulish voice, his crackled face portraying a smug smirk. "You're gonna drink yourself into a coma, I hope ya' know..."

"Shaddup..." Sandra laughed while she poured her next shot and downed it disdainfully. "Yum! More please. And water. Oh oh oh - and Nuka! Doya' have Nuka?"

The bartender slid a Nukacola across the bar without saying anything. The scent of the carbonated treat hit her face and sent a fuzzy sensation of pleasure throughout her body, thoroughly eliminating the musk of cigarette smoke and whiskey which was rather prominent in the Muddy Rudder.

Something was off, something she couldn't place. Sandra had never felt this sensation before... alcohol had never affected her like it did most other people. She always prided herself for her tolerance of the stuff... but this was new... everything was simpler... the same, but less... complicated... simple, warm, and... and...

"Nice." Sandra breathed aloud.

Charon examined her.

"Kid. Just took my eighth shot. You ready to bail out or what?" He asked.

Sandra didn't hesitate. She poured her next shot and swallowed it, ignoring the disgusted lurch in her stomach. Her body didn't want any more of the poison, but for some reason, she very much did.

Her forethought abandoned her entirely; she poured a ninth shot, drank it, then began pouring a tenth when Charon took the bottle from her.

"Aaaaaall right. You made your point. You smoothskins are so damn stubborn about your fragile little tolerances..." He said, chugging what remained in the bottle and placing it on the counter once he emptied it. "You're done for the night."

"Wait.." Sandra said dazily. "No I... fuck... Doctor Li... I forgot..."

The girl spun in her chair and stood. Her stance swayed and her balance almost failed her, but she managed to regain her footing and crookedly strolled out of the Muddy Rudder. Charon followed her closely behind.

Sandra didn't want Charon to follow - she was weakening. She was losing control of herself, and that wasn't ever meant to happen... and it surely wasn't something meant for anyone else to see... no... she didn't want Charon to see her vulnerable... damn it... why was that scotch so damn strong...? So strong... but... so good... such a good, calming feeling... like it... could stay this way forever...

"Aaaarugh, kid." Charon yanked her arm and pulled her upwards. She blinked up at him, trying to remember when she had started to fall in the first place. They were standing alone in one of the narrow hallways now, and his hand was clamped onto her wrist forcefully. "You fucking lightweight."

"Am not..." Sandra moaned.

Her legs attempted to give out on her again, and Charon wrapped an arm around her.

Sandra lie against Charon's torso now, her head resting on his collar and his arm holding her upright.

"Auugh..." Charon growled. "Alright... you can talk to your Doctor Li tomorrow. We're getting a room so you can sleep it off."

"But I need-"

"Shut it."

"I-"

"Shut. It."

Charon glared sternly into the face of his Mistress, which was only inches away from his own now. Her shining blue eyes peered up at him almost innocently, if innocence really existed, and her crimson hair was going slightly crooked against his leather armor.

Sandra hardly felt Charon scoop her off of her feet; he carried her like an infant through the hallway until he located the Weatherly Hotel. He purchased a room from Vera Weatherly, then ventured a little further down the hallway until he found it.

There was only one bed, but the room was unusually clean. It was quite refreshing compared to what they were used to.

Charon laid the girl on the bed and gently placed the blanket over her body. She'd drifted into a deep sleep after Charon had picked her up. Something about him made her feel safe; safer than she'd ever felt before, even when she lived in that wall-to-wall vault buried miles underground and concealed from the rest of mankind. No... a vault was nothing compared to this. This was a sort of paradise that Vault-Tec couldn't create for anyone. This was friendship... compassion... loyalty...

This was love.