Hullo ladies, this is my second update in a night. If this is the first chapter you are reading today, go back and check the previous one to make sure you haven't missed any. I'm saying this because one of my last chapters has less views and visitors than the chapter after it, which confuses me beyond reason.

I'm excited to get Annie back out into the wasteland! Read on!

The human mind was a wonderful thing.

All the guilt and pent-up anger that Boone had felt had been shoved into the crawl space of his brain. Now it was just a sort of numb feeling - only hurting occasionally in weak moments, like right before sleep or when he accidentally caught Annie in the scope of his rifle. Other than that, he was feeling better than he had ever felt - before Carla, and even before Bitter Springs. Of course, the pressure of a flooded crawl space would catch him sooner or later, but Boone figured he'd be dead by that time anyway.

The morning after the showdown, he woke up alone. Annie's side of the bed hadn't been slept in, which didn't bother the man at all. If anyone had seen him lay there, they would have thought he was the same old man – but inside he was the calmest soul in this side of the Mojave. It had been a while since he had… well…

"Morning." Annie was through the door, bringing food and water for them. With the extra caps they had accumulated during their stay in Freeside, they were living like semi-kings. It wasn't wise to spend their money so freely, but in reality Boone knew that there was no certain tomorrow. "The Kings gave me all this maize. Really sweet of them." She blushed, flustered by the attractive men in leather.

She handed him a stalk, crawling onto the bed and staring at him.

"I know it's not much, but it's fresh. They grow it in the share-crop farm beside Freeside." Grinning at him, coyly this time, Annie hoed into her corn. A lot of preparation had gone into that morning's breakfast; cold water, cooked maize, and it was even wrapped up in a clean cloth. The thought of the woman in front of him no longer sent his brain wild.

It was like a clean slate – a new playing field. He was no longer going to be humiliated by the freckle-faced girl. Instead, she would walk on glass around him instead of the rather.

"Do you, uh, want to talk about what happened last night?" Annie mumbled, mouth full of food. Boone just looked at her, uninterested, trying not to show the little discomfort he was feeling. The last thing he needed was for her to get 'emotional' about it.

He then began to panic, the gears in his brain running overtime to comprehend the sudden rush of thoughts that burst into his mind. What if she took it as some sort of 'relationship invitation'? He didn't want that… he didn't need that. Maybe Old Ben was just an asshole, trying to get him to do something stupid for his own personal entertainment…

"What about it?" His voice was as steady as it always was. Perhaps he was a great actor, because every time he looked into a dirty mirror the man he saw was not who he thought he was. All his brain did was work overtime, and yet his face was paralysed with no worries.

"Is it something that's going to be happening often from now on?" She watched his face tick with irritation. "Listen, buddy…" Annie reached out and punched his leg in attempt to defuse the awkward silence "One of the first things I said to you is that I don't want an 'ultimate friendship' with you. I don't expect you to gossip with me and talk about the 'meaning of life' or whatever – but if you have, ya know… needs… I'm more than happy to accommodate that."

What? Boone was taken aback. He caught the look on Annie's face, and it was probably the most flooring of it all. She looked shy, which would have amused if it were in a different context.

"Because, you know, you're a man, and you don't know what these prostitutes are doing anymore, and really, what are friends for?"

He was back to blinking like a broken robot, his already heavy head taking in her information like a sick, over-used sponge.

"It's not like we had sex, Boone, we didn't even kiss. Think of it as a sort of 'thank you' for saving my ass on a daily basis." Her face went bright red. "And I enjoy it. We're both winning… I get to feel like I actually do something in this partnership and you, well, you get to indulge yourself."

Annie did not know what she was saying the moment the words slipped out of her mouth. It was like all she did was speak directly what was on her mind, and more often than not it got her into some different situations. Boone was always risking his life to save hers and she literally had nothing to offer but her lack of tact in a conversation.

He was back where he had started – frazzled by her blatant disregard for social norms. Did women always offer themselves to men they'd only known a week or two? Sure, they'd spent every day and all night together, but for all she knew he could have been a murderer.

But then again, he was. This fairly attractive young woman was presenting herself to him - the man who could have actually killed her entire family and she didn't know a thing about it.

"All I want is to kill the man who shot me, and then find out who I am. After that you are more than welcome to go die in a hole, if that's what you want." She raised her palms, flattened against an invisible wall.

He had to applaud her subtlety.

"But for now, in return for your protection, I will keep you satisfied." The silence was unbearable for the both of them. "You are more than welcome to turn down the offer, I'm not going to be offended. The way I see it is that the world is fucked anyway. I've probably done some shit in my life, and it got me shot. But I'm still alive, and if living whatever is left of my life without pleasure, or happiness, or whatever other great feelings there are... how pointless is it for me to have a second chance?"

Being cramped up in a hotel room for a couple of days had to have sent him insane because Anna was actually making sense. For a girl who talked a lot of bullshit, she actually had an obtuse point for once. Why did he need to deny himself the pleasures of life? Just because he had killed a mass grave of innocent people and ruined the life of his dead wife didn't mean he didn't deserve to be happy!

It was the first time Annie had ever seen Boone laugh. A short scoff burst from his mouth and he shook his head. The old man had actually spoken some wisdom. Annie wasn't looking at him with that stupid, aggravating grin like she always did – she actually seemed a little taken worried by the look on her stony face.

"Are you going to say something, or are we going to pretend this never happened?"

She watched him chew the inside of his lip, remembering fondly back to the times she would have said something to make him feel uncomfortable in this situation. But now that he had turned around and had given her a taste of her own medicine – a spoonful of burning desire that was so obviously unrequited it sort of stung. He had laughed at her attempt to reach out and be friendly (her type of 'friendly' obviously wasn't normal) and it actually made her feel something…

What was it? Shame?

Boone was not someone to be fucked with. She realised this now. There was no point in playing a sick game with a man who had probably seen worse than she could even dream. He was always going to win, one way or another, be it playing on her promiscuity or simply shooting her in the head. He had her in a trap, and whatever 'feelings' had been birthed from the previous night told her that if she tried to escape it would just make the gaping wound much, much wider.