A few more days in Goodsprings of alternating rest and sessions in the autodoc found Benny strong enough to make the Mojave Outpost on his own feet. Honor seemed to strengthen right along with him, allowing Doc Mitchell to give his blessing for her to travel to DC as well, allaying Benny and Charon's last concerns for her health. Honor noted, on the trip between Goodsprings and the Outpost, that Charon kept himself between her father and Benny. It struck her as odd, as it sometimes required him to be both between them and at her shoulder or back, but he always managed to manipulate the group until he'd placed himself just so.

Thinking back, she realized he'd done the same with Boone until the latter had left Goodsprings to head home to Novac.

But as of reaching the Outpost he'd still not addressed it with her, so she left it alone. She had every confidence that, if it turned out to be important, he would tell her his reasons.

She loved how easy it was to trust him, even if she couldn't remember why.

After a brief word with Jackson about the impounding of the DC vertibird ("Tell that bitch Moore that the NCR only has as much authority in the Mojave as we say they do"), the group found themselves airborne. Of the Vegas contingent, only Arcade had flown before, or at least remembered flying, so the first leg of the trip consisted of a lot of questions and peering out of the one tiny window. The last leg of the trip involved a lot of sleeping, for both groups.

The vertibird eventually landed outside a metal-rimmed crater near a river. Honor woke to Sarah gently shaking her shoulder. "You're- home," she said awkwardly. "Though I suppose it won't seem like it to you." As they all began to wake and gather themselves, she continued. "We radioed ahead as soon as we got in range. Your father's first choice of doctors for treating Benny has agreed to come here to do it. We figured you would be more comfortable in your home than in the Citadel. And maybe it'll help you recover your memory."

"Thank you." They exited the vertibird into a world at least 30 degrees cooler than the Mojave. "Who's the doc?"

"A Brotherhood doctor, Devlin. He's very good."

"Well, that was the point." Honor stopped when she realized they'd lost Cass. She turned to find her with her head thrown back, soaking up the cool breeze. "You okay?"

"Can we stay here?" Cass asked without opening her eyes.

Honor laughed and turned back, but the furrow of Benny's eyebrows as she rejoined him quieted her. She tilted her head at him, catching his eyes, and he smiled back and shook his head. Another mystery, she figured; he'll tell me if it matters.

The approached the steel-clad crater and a Protectron greeted them. "Welcome, partners."

"Ooh, somebody needs cowboy lessons from Slim," Cass said.

The massive sheets of steel before them shifted up and aside, revealing a gate. "Welcome to Megaton," the robot continued. ED-E beeped at it and the robot beeped back.

"That is Deputy Weld," Charon said, and Honor waved at the bot before following the others through the gate.

The city before them was a nice settlement, well-protected by the steel walls and clean by wasteland standards. She was concerned about the bomb in the center until Charon explained that she had disarmed it. She had just opened her mouth to ask where "home" actually was when Cass asked from behind her, "Nice town- does it have a decent bar?"

Charon pointed across the crater. "Gob's Saloon. We need to go there anyway."

Cass happily took point and as they fell in behind her, Honor asked, "Why there first?"

"You have a good friend there," Charon replied, "who will want to know you're safe. And I left your dog in his care."

"We have a dog?"

"Yes, you do."

"What's his name? Or is he a her?"

"His name is Dogmeat."

She frowned. "Why?"

"I do not know."

"Might explain why you get along so well with Rex," Benny said.

"Who's Rex?" Reilly asked.

"Her part-time dog in Vegas," Cass called back over her shoulder.

"'Part-time dog'?"

"He splits his time between the King and Honor. The King gave him to her, but when things are hectic, she sends him back so he can still get all the attention he wants."

"Things were hectic?" Honor asked as they reached the door to the bar.

Cass and Benny shot each other panicked looks. "Ah, baby, maybe we should talk about this later."

"Great," Honor said, opening the door to the saloon, "something else I don't remem-"

A sudden blow to the midsection both cut her off and knocked her down. Her first urge was to go for her gun, but Charon's amused expression and the happy dog tongue slopping over her face killed the impulse pretty quickly. The great beast sat back, his tongue hanging out of the side of his mouth, his mismatched eyes positively alight with joy. He barked at her, looked to Charon, then back to her and barked again.

"Dogmeat?" she asked, and his tail thumped wildly against her knees. He was easily as big as Rex- maybe bigger; it was hard to tell from her angle- but gray and wolfish. He slathered another kiss on her before she pushed him aside. Benny and Charon both offered her a hand up, and she took both. "Thanks." She took a step through the door and got whammed again.

This time she was caught in a ferocious yao guai-like hug from a man. "Honor! You're all right! I told Nova you must be okay, but..." She turned worried eyes to Charon.

"This is Gob," he said, and the man released her to look at Charon.

"Why wouldn't she know me?"

"Don't take it personally. I don't remember anyone." At the confusion in his eyes, she gestured to the bar. "We might need alcohol for this."

~#~

The story exchange took them well into the night, and through many rounds of drinks. Honor found Gob to be a dear, and it broke her heart to hear him go on to Cass about how kind Honor had been to him- that she'd never yelled or raised a hand to him for any reason, let alone just because he was a ghoul. He made a comment about Honor's friends being "lovely," and Cass went on to flirt with him shamelessly, earning herself no end of glares from the saloon's barmaid, Nova. When she realized she was getting under the other woman's scantily-clad skin, she escalated her flirtation until Honor asked Charon to take Benny and her home, claiming she didn't think she was old enough to hear the kinds of things Cass was saying. With assurances that Cass could find her own way and that the others already had overnight arrangements, Honor and Benny followed Charon back across town, ED-E and Dogmeat in tow.

The house was a nice little place for a wasteland dwelling, with a living area and kitchen downstairs and two bedrooms upstairs, one obviously Charon's, the other hers. Benny laughed aloud when they looked into her room to find a bed (and floor) utterly covered in stuffed bears- "I guess some things don't change"- and then Charon abruptly excused himself for the evening, closing his door behind him.

Dogmeat took the cue and hopped onto the bed, curling himself up among the teddy bears. Honor tossed a few of the bears into the floor to make room for Benny and herself and began disrobing.

One gigantic bear dominated one corner of the room, and Benny leaned forward to look it in the eyes. "This one makes me nervous. I think this one's got a shady past, dig? He's seen things. Done things. It changes a bear."

Honor dropped onto the bed, grinning at Benny's impromptu backstory for the stuffed animal, and scratched Dogmeat on the ear. His tail thumped. "So what was hectic on the Strip when I got smacked on the head?"

Benny stiffened. "I don't really think now is the time..."

"When will be the time?"

He looked at her a long moment before coming to stand in front of her. "It's pretty big league. You sure you want to hear it now?"

"Will it be better later?"

Benny glanced at the wall dividing this room- her room- from Charon's. "Fuck if I know."

"Then tell me." She drew her knees to her chin, her arms wrapped around her lower legs.

He took a long moment to start, but she was patient, and let him. At last, he said, "The Boot Riders had a sort of...tradition...several of the tribes in the Mojave did...that if a couple'a people wanted to be together, long road, you know...they'd wear something to show that they were taken." He stared at the floor through his awkward explanation, but now raised his eyes to hers. "Remember our first date? I told you I was yours as long as you wanted me."

She smiled. "I remember."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a wrapped bundle. "I got this the day you...got hurt. I was sure you'd wake up, and we'd just pick up where we left off..." He unwrapped it and held it out to her so she could see the ring with its tiny, shiny gemstone. "I wanted you to wear this. I wanted the world to know you're mine." He shrugged a little. "Swank says I have an ego problem." He reached up to brush her cheek with the back of his rough fingers. "I don't think it's a problem." He gently took her hand, but didn't try to place the ring on it. Instead, he closed his other hand around the paper, ring and all. "But one of us wants out, we're out. No ties, no nothing. None of that 'until death do we part' bullshit. 'Cause the way I feel about you, honey baby, that ain't near long enough." He smiled as he spoke, but couldn't help a quick glance at the wall at the foot of her bed. "I know that was before...well, before. If you want to call us done right now, I und-"

She cut him off by leaping forward and kissing him with as much passion as she could put into it. She drew back and held his face in her hands. "Nothing, Benny, nothing has changed how I feel about you. You understand that? Nothing can."

He tipped his head down so that his forehead touched hers. "You could already be spoken for, for all we know."

"That isn't any different than before. We had no idea what my life was. Besides, spoken for by whom? Surely someone would have said by now."

He gave her a mock glare and cocked one eyebrow. "'Whom' do you think, Oppenheimer?" He indicated the wall with a nod. "Okay, maybe not hitched, exactly, but there's some serious unresolved emotional content between you and Mr. Merc-for-Hire."

She cast her gaze down.

"Have you talked to him yet?"

"Ah, no. There was this whole thing with you and Arcade and Boone and my new father being kidnapped..."

"You're funny. You should follow Hadrian at Aces. Tommy'd love you." He leaned over and placed the bundle in the giant bear's lap. "Here. Shady Bear can hold this for us until we know what we're doing with it."

"Benny, I told you-"

He turned to her and caught up her hands in his. "Baby, I want you to be happy, and I want you to be mine, just mine. And that can't happen if you wake up one day next to me realizing you'd rather be next to him." He brought her hands to his mouth and kissed her fingers. "We'll figure it out, Pussycat."

She wrapped her arms around his neck and brushed her lips against it where it joined his shoulder. "Well, can I try to convince you that I love only you?" she murmured into his skin, and she lipped at his throat before nibbling her way along his collarbone. He sighed and closed his arms around her.

"Baby," he replied, his voice low and rough, "the day I can say no to you is the day the last light'll go out in Vegas, dig?"