Chapter 10: Blue Moon
Six and Boone sat in their small camp, set up a short distance from the NCR camp. Six lay back on the sand staring at the stars while Boone was staring into the fire. Three iguanas on a stick were roasting over the fire. In the distance was the din of the NCR camp, the soldiers celebrating the safe return of their friends.
"Does the name Benny mean anything to you?" Six asked into the quiet. She got no response. She looked toward Boone who was still staring into the fire. He was quiet. He was always quiet. But this was different. He'd never outright ignored her before. He always answered her questions, ever if they were about obvious things. Something was bugging him. Had she done something wrong? He hadn't spoken since before she went into talk to the Great Khans. She sat up and checked on the iguanas. They were slightly burnt on one side so she flipped them over. She then sat back and hugged her knees as she too stared into the fire.
Soon the iguanas were done and she removed them from the fire. She went over and sat about a foot away from Boone. With the iguana sticks in her hands, she reached over and nudged Boone in the side with her elbow. That got his attention and he started alert. "Dinner." Six said handing over two of the sticks. He took them silently. "Wanna talk about it?"
"What?"
"Whatever it is that's bothering you."
"No." Came the blunt reply.
"Okay." Six had been expecting that. "Then we'll talk about something else." Six debated her next words. "Tell me about Carla."
"What?"
"Carla. I spoke to the people in Novac about her when I was looking for evidence but I want to hear about her from you."
Boone was quiet for a long time. Six thought she'd overstepped her bounds. She was framing an apology in her head when he finally spoke. "I met Carla while I was at the Strip on leave. She said I looked lost. She talked a lot. Suited me fine - I never know what to say. And listening to her, it could... make you forget. She stuck out, pretty much everywhere we went. Like she was from a different time. A better time. I never met anyone like her."
Six smiled at Boone. "She sounds lovely. I would have liked to have met her." She leaned back in the dirt and tossed the iguana stick aside. "Ranger Andy said she was beautiful and sweet." She paused for a second smirking at the sky. "He also said whenever you were around her; you had this funny grin on your face like you couldn't believe your luck. That would have been a sight to see." She grinned at the thought of a happy Boone. Boone grunted from behind her. She laughed at his choice of response.
She then sat up, pulled her pack over to her and rummaged through it. She pulled out some potato crisps and held them for Boone to see. He opened his hands and she tossed them over before rummaging for the other package she knew was in there. Eventually she found them and pulled them out along with Benny's lighter. She flicked the lid open and closed a few times. "The man who shot me is a Chairman at the Tops casino on the strip. Apparently he's a big shot." Six considered and then giggled. "But not a good shot."
"So on to the strip?"
Six considered. "I think so." After a moment she continued. "You don't have to come with me. I mean I appreciate the company but it's not the Legion hunting I promised." She didn't want him to go. She was starting to get used to him being around. But she knew he had only one major interest at the moment. She was also worried if he left, he'd go and do something stupid and she'd never see him again.
"When I said I got your back, I meant it."
Six smiled at him. "You want first watch?"
"Yeah"
"Alright. I'm gonna get some sleep" Six crawled over to the already laid out bedroll and flopped down. "G'night." She said as she snuggled in.
Boone watched the Courier until she fell asleep. Boulder City had been trying. Everything she had said about living with your decisions had him thinking. She saved a lot of lives today, whether she knew it or not. After everything she'd said today; she wouldn't understand Bitter Springs. She would have done something different. What would she think of him if she knew? She'd probably think of him as the murderer he was. She'd distance herself from him and that tenuous trust she was showing would vanish. She may even ask him to leave. What would he do if she did that? Where would he go? He could only think of one place and he wouldn't get out of there alive.
He looked over at the Courier who was sleeping fitfully. Nightmares? He was familiar with those. She'd probably been having them since Nipton. He'd been having them for years. Hardly a night went by without a nightmare about something he'd done. He rarely slept more than a few hours without being jolted awake by one horrible scene or another. He'd learned to function on a few hours of sleep.
Off to his side the courier started to whimper and her hands were clawing at the blankets. He could wake her. She'd only been asleep about an hour though, and waking from a nightmare rarely made you want to go back to sleep. Eventually she settled and was back to sleeping fitfully. Tomorrow they'd head to the strip, a place with more memories. If he was going to try and protect the Courier, he'd have to deal with it. He remembered the picture back in his room in Novac and sighed. He still missed her. He'd probably always miss her.
He stared into the wasteland, watching and listening for signs of trouble. The Courier's breathing started to become erratic and shallow. His shift was almost up; he'd wake her. As he was standing up, Six bolted upright on the bedroll and gasped for breath. After a few deep breathes she calmed herself, and then rubbed her eyes.
"Just one night…" she grumbled, shaking her head. She looked over at Boone. "My turn?"
"Yeah." Boone replied.
"Okie dokie." She said, springing up from the bedroll and stretching. Six plopped down beside the fire and took up watch. Boone removed his tactical vest then laid down on the bedroll, noticing it was still warm and tried to get some sleep.
Boone lay still for quite some time before Six heard his breathing even out. This was the first time she'd actually seen him sleep. He always went to sleep after her and was miraculously awake before her. He must get even less sleep then she did. At least when she was really exhausted, like after Nipton at the Mojave Outpost, the nightmares didn't wake her. She still remembered them, but they didn't wake her. She watched the Mojave for signs of danger but it was mostly quiet. A trooper wandered out of the NCR camp to relieve himself then wandered back. It was almost dead silent when she heard him whisper.
"…Carla…"
She held her breath as tears welled up in her eyes. He loved her so much, even still. Maybe she had someone out there who loved her. Maybe a family, a mother, a father. Maybe a husband. Wouldn't they be looking for her? Maybe they were looking for her. No. She thought. Don't get your hopes up. Even if there was someone; right now? Now, there was no one. She was alone. The only person she had was him; a suicidal soldier with PTSD who also had nobody. Well, he had her but she doubted she was anything more to him than a traveling companion. But that was ok; all she wanted right now was a friend and that was still possible.
