Chapter Eleven

Tigress awoke to a burning campfire. Looking down, she saw she was bandaged in several places. Looking up, she saw David, tending the campfire.

"Well, that's a damn sight faster recovery than the last time I operated on you," he said with a warm smile. Tigress smiled back, but then asked,

"What happened?"

"Legion motherfuckers – they happened across us and opened fire. Someone tipped them off that we were headed this direction, likely our Enclave friends due east," David explained. His smile faded, replaced by a look of genuine concern. "What were you thinking, shielding me like that? What were you trying to prove?"

"I merely did for you what you did for me," Tigress responded.

"And I appreciate that, Tigress. You saved my life. But... I came close to losing you," he said, looking deeply concerned. He took her hand, holding it tightly, but gently, as he told her, "You're supposed to live eternally with someone, not because of them. Please... don't risk your life like that again?"

Tigress reached up and put the hand David was holding on his cheek, and David put his own hand over it. "I promise," she whispered to him. David smiled, letting tears fall as he closed his eyes, leaning his head into her hand. Tigress felt a swelling in her chest, along with a feeling she'd long wanted to feel. She gently pulled David down to her and held him in her arms.

"Why did you save me, Tigress?" David asked, laying down beside her and wrapping his arms around her. Tigress smiled and chuckled.

"Because I care about you, David," she said. "I don't want you to wander for eternity alone... just as I had been doing." She held David tight and added, "All my life, I've never felt for anyone as I do for you. You... are so much like me. Strong. Tough. Resilient, yet still a feeling person. I look at you... and I see myself. Aside from that, we have been going at this for some time, and I have, shall I say, grown attached to you?" She and David shared a light chuckle. Tigress then changed the subject and asked, "How long till I am back on my feet?"

"Given how fast you recovered from that blast... I'd say as early as tomorrow morning. Get some rest, Tigress. If you need anything, I'm right here next to you," David told her. Tigress smiled, holding David close as she drifted off to sleep.

Tigress awoke to find she was no longer snuggled in David's arms; instead, David was cooking. "Good morning," he said. "Nice to see you awake. Hungry?"

"As a matter of fact, I am," Tigress affirmed. David handed her a bowl of stew while Tigress looked around. In direct contrast with the American wasteland she'd grown accustomed to, the area she found herself in was lush, green, and beautiful. "Where are we?" she asked as she began eating.

"Oh, right," David said. "You were out cold for five days; a result of the sudden Legion attack. The armor saved your life – after I drilled those legion motherfuckers, I patched you up and dragged you here, to Zion Valley."

"Zion Valley, huh?" Tigress asked. "It almost looks as if it was never affected by the Nuclear warheads."

"Oh, it was – just nowhere near as severe as everywhere else. Water's clean, flora and fauna are plenty... the only problems in Zion at present are Legion troops and their Tribal friends running amok. Right now, they're inactive – but we aren't getting out of here without running into some of them," David said. He sighed, then added, "There's a few things I need to do here in Zion before we head for Vegas. Things I need to pack, and... I want to pay one last visit to Sylvie and Micheal's graves."

Tigress gave David a gentle kiss on his forehead. "I'll help you," she told him. "I'll be right here beside you, if you need a shoulder to cry on."

David smiled, placing a hand on Tigress's cheek. "I know," he said.

After finishing their meal, Tigress and David armored up, armed themselves – David with the TDR he picked up in Pittsburgh, and Tigress with the Raptor she'd nabbed prior to Pittsburgh – and moved into Zion Valley. In stark contrast with the American Wasteland Tigress had grown so accustomed to, Zion Valley was so beautiful. Green trees, abundant wildlife – some hostile, some not – thriving flora and fauna. It made Tigress long for home.

They'd been in Zion no more than ten minutes, heading for a cave, when Tigress heard someone gibbering in a language foreign to her and felt something hit her from behind – something sharp. The shields deflected the blow completely, and Tigress turned to fire on what appeared to be several coyote tribals armed with a mix of hand-crafted weapons and guns in bad repair. David turned to fire, but by the time be brought his weapon to bear, Tigress had already nailed all three tribals.

"I swear, woman – you are getting to be just like me," he chuckled. Tigress smiled at the comment, and the two went into the cave, avoiding traps and mines that David himself had set up. When the reached a large chamber, David went about gathering things in the area. While he did that, Tigress explored the area, noticing a small gathering of arms and ammo – 10mm SMGs and Pistols, a 9mm SMG, and a pair of rifles, one meant for sniping, the other meant for general purpose combat.

"Go ahead and pack those up, Tigress – no sense in leaving it for the White Legs or those damn Legion assholes to get their hands on 'em," David said. Tigress complied, packing the weapons and ammo in her emitters. When they finished, they were about to head back the way they came when a scream alerted them to danger. Judging by the voices and familiar language, she assumed there were Legion troops in the cave. David led Tigress out of the cave via a secondary exit, and they moved to another area, avoiding Legion sentries and Tribal patrols where possible, silencing them when needed. They came into another cave, and saw the traps had already been triggered by hapless tribals, and when David and Tigress came into the main chamber, where David's stuff was, they found Legion troops going through it all. Tigress and David moved in, drilled the Legion soldiers, and put an end to their search, then policed and booby-trapped the bodies, secured David's effects, and were out of there by the time the next Legion patrol came in. Though removed from the area, Tigress and David heard the distant boom when the booby-trapped bodies were triggered.

For the next six hours, Tigress and David bounced from one cave to the next, slaying Legion troops and Tribals while securing David's effects. During one of those battles, they secured a radio, and were able to hear the Legion commander in the area order a retreat. Though unclear as to why, David and Tigress took the opportunity to secure the last of David's gear, and when no Legion troops were seen and no Tribals attacked for three hours, David led Tigress to a grave spot. Tigress immediately got the implications when she read the names "Sylvie" and "Michael" on the crosses marking the graves.

Tigress was about to say something to comfort David when he spoke, "I know what you're gonna say. And I'm sorry. I've been busy; a lot's happened since the last time I was here. I wanted to pay my respects to you both one last time before I cross the point of no return." David gently reached out and took Tigress's hand, who gripped it tightly, a symbol she was there for him. "I know you two are up there with Char and Alex. I hope the lot of you can forgive me. This... this wasn't how I expected this to turn out. But I have to do this. You lot picked a hell of an angel to guide me back to peace... but... thank you. Goodbye... and good luck."

David and Tigress then left the graves, and moved high into the mountainside ledges, heading for the pass David intended to use to get to the Nevada region. When they finally reached it, David stopped, turning to take one last look at Zion. "Goodbye, Zion," was all he said before walking with Tigress out of Zion.

For the next seven days, Tigress and David traveled the passes and canyons to Nevada. The Legion kept at them, but not nearly as much as they'd expected. Listening in to their radio chatter, they surmised that the Legion's attention had suddenly shifted to something else, and while Tigress and David were curious as to what that something else was, they were relieved that – even if for the time being – they were no longer the primary target. They came to a tunnel-like passage, at which point, David stopped to rest and take a drink. Tigress took that moment to ask a question:

"David... is there anything I should know about the Vegas region? Any dangers I should be aware of?"

"For one, there's the Legion. They know who we are, and they will take any opportunity to strike at us; Then there's the New Vegas chapter of the Brotherhood of Steel – bunch of jackasses and hoarders for technology; then, the gangs of raiders – the Fiends, Vipers, and Jackals," David explained.

"Seems we can't go anywhere without running into Raiders. Lemme guess – the New Vegas raiders are all generally the same as the ones in DC, as in, crazy, jacked up on chems, violent as hell, and not too bright?" Tigress scoffed.

"Aren't they all like that?" David chuckled. "Well, except for Ashur's raiders. Those fuckers were more disciplined than most other raiders. Just not as well-equipped as perhaps they could have been."

"Right. What of Vegas?" Tigress asked. "Is it safe there?"

"The Vegas strip is, yes – plenty of life there, and they don't allow guns in any of the casinos. But Freeside? Fucking slum. I wouldn't want to live there, and I doubt anyone does by choice. Why do you ask?" David responded.

"Well... I figured, before we... I... go back to my time," Tigress said, quickly correcting herself, "You and I can go enjoy the Vegas night life."

David chuckled and smiled. "Certainly – you and I could use some down time after everything we fought through," he agreed.

They then rose to their feet, and continued down the passage, and out into the light of day, where Tigress saw what she assumed was New Vegas, with a massive tower sitting at the center. "That Vegas?" Tigress asked, indicating the tower.

"Yep," David affirmed. "But we gotta drop off the power module at the hideout before we hit up Vegas. Now where did I put that teleporter...?" He began digging around in a hollowed-out rock formation, and finally retrieved an odd device. He took Tigress's hand, and pulled her close, then activated the device. In a rush of lights accompanied by a dizzying sense of velocity, Tigress found herself in a Vault-like place.

"Ahh," David sighed, "Home sweet home."

"This is your Personal Vault?" Tigress asked, still recovering from the sense of vertigo.

"Yeah," David responded. "Follow me, I'll show you the device that's gonna take you home."

Home... Tigress thought, now finding she was dreading the thought of returning home. She followed David to a large room where a ring-shaped structure sat. "What... what is that?"

"That, dear Tigress, is a Temporal Gateway," David answered. "It's the road home. Speaking of which, would you mind handing over the power module?" Tigress complied, materializing the Power Module and handing it to David, who went about installing it, but paused. He sighed, took Tigress's hand, and looked her in the eyes. "Look... if it means anything, I've been back and forth a hundred times about going with you to your time. I still haven't made a firm decision, but I promise you, by night's end... you will have an answer."

Tigress placed a hand on David's cheek. "And I promise you... whatever you decide to do... I will respect your decision," She assured him. She gave him a quick, gentle kiss on the lips, before wandering off to hide her red-flushing face. She stopped just shy of one door marked "Armory" while David went about installing and bringing online the power module. Tigress opened the door, and was greeted by a massive collection of weapons. Sniper and Assault Rifles, Submachine Guns, Marksman and Assault Carbines, Light Machine Guns, Pistols, Varying Energy Weapons, Rocket and Missile Launchers, Shoulder-Mounted weapons, Flamethrowers, Gatling Guns, Melee Weapons of varying origin, grenades of all kinds, and all sorts of different ammunition. Tigress was shocked at the sheer volume of this armory. But then she paused, realizing that David was two centuries old; he's had a very long time to build and stockpile this vast assortment of weaponry.

"Incredible, isn't it?" David said from behind. Tigress turned to see him standing in the doorway. "It took many years to amass this amount of weapons, explosives and ammo. I even have armor in this room."

"It'd be a shame to leave all this behind if you do go with me," Tigress said with a grin. David smiled and chuckled softly.

"Indeed," he agreed. "It does present something of a conundrum, doesn't it?"

"You install the power module that fast?" Tigress asked.

"It wasn't difficult," David admitted. "It's charging up now; best guess, we – or at least you – will be able to head back come tomorrow morning."

"Then let's make tonight a night to remember," Tigress suggested.

David smiled broadly. "We're thinking the same thought." He motioned for her to follow, and Tigress complied, and followed David, her heart racing...