A couple of hours passed after McNamara and his team departed, and Maya had taken a turn for the worse. Boone was already worried about Maya after McNamara informed him that she had developed an infection; now, he was desperate. He covered her with his blanket because as she said she was feeling cold, even though it was a balmy 77 degrees in the safehouse. Sitting down next to her on the bed, he held her hand until she fell asleep. Sweat from her fever was beginning to trickle down her forehead.

'I have to do something' he thought. Instinctively he considered about giving her a stimpak, but that was only good for helping to heal injuries faster, such as a broken bone, stab or gunshot wound. If there was an underlying problem such as poison or infection, a stimpak wouldn't be sufficient. And he only had one left with him. Then the idea hit him. He gently got off the bed so as not to wake Maya, picked up his rifle and combat knife and exited the safehouse.

Snaking his way past some geckos, Boone got to a clearing and analysed his surroundings. The area seemed to be clear, but he checked with his binoculars just in case.

'Good, no one around' he thought, satisfied. Wandering around about a kilometre away from McNamara's safehouse, he found some broc flower and xander root and put them in his pocket. He was going to use it to make healing powder, but he picked a couple extra to make a poultice and place it on Maya's wound to draw out the infection, and he could add a bit of the healing powder in a drink for her to ingest and fight it on both fronts.

He stood there for a moment appreciating the sunset and the refreshing breeze. Then, something caught his attention in the distance. The dinosaur head.

'I wonder…' he thought, grabbing his binoculars again. He was searching for a barrel sticking out of the dinosaur's mouth. Nothing…

"Hmmm" he mused, trying to determine whether a trip to Novac was worth it. It would only take him five minutes to jog to there. If his room wasn't picked clean, there were a couple of things in there that could help them, as well as some much-needed medicines in the spare first aid box he hid in a secret compartment in the wardrobe. It was worth the risk. With his binoculars securely resting around his neck, and his rifle slung over his back, he began the trek up to Novac.

Boone made his way around the back of the hotel rooms at Novac, making sure he didn't make a sound and wasn't seen by anyone. It was quiet… too quiet.

'Where is everyone?' he wondered, his back pressed against the wall and trying to look into the enclosed area just outside his old room. After allowing a minute to pass by trying to listen for any voices or sounds of footsteps, he climbed over the fence as quietly as he could, and made his way to the front door. Luckily darkness was fast approaching, giving him an added stealth advantage. He reached his right hand out to grasp the door handle and noticed his hand was shaking. He hadn't been here since the courier found him and they took care of Jeannie May.

'Come on, get a grip Craig' he thought, annoyed at himself. He tried to turn the handle but the door was locked. Boone swore under his breath; he would have to pick the lock. Taking out a bobby pin, he tried to remember the instructions the courier gave him. It's been many years since Boone had to do this sort of thing, but he picked it back up without issue. Picking the lock on a safe on the other hand would be impossible for him. The locking mechanism clicked and the door swung open…

He could almost hear the radio playing in the background and Carla fussing over something. Shaking his head to get the ghostly sounds and images out of his head, he stepped inside and closed the door behind him. Someone had been through his room; the bed was torn almost to pieces, and all drawers and cupboards were raided for supplies. One thing Boone didn't understand: why bother to lock up behind you if you've already trashed the room? Unless… your intent was to come back. Boone hastened his efforts, not wanting to find out whether his theory was true. He got to the wardrobe and sure enough the meds were still there in the hidden compartment, much to his relief. Grabbing the entire first aid box, he made a run back the way he came, and up and over the fence, before breaking into a run in the direction of the safehouse.

About half an hour had passed after Boone had left the before Maya woke up, her eyes slightly crusted from dried tears and dust. She reached up and rubbed them, feeling the ache in her eye sockets from her exhaustion. Even though every muscle and bone in her body was in searing pain, Maya had to get up. Grunting in discomfort, she pushed herself up with her good arm in a seated position with her legs hanging off the edge of the bed. She took a few breaths before putting her weight on her feet, looking around to see where Boone was.

"Craig?" she called out weakly. No answer…

'Where is he?' she worried as her eyes scanned the room. 'Maybe he went out to get take away food. I could totally go for some Chinese food'. The last thought made her chuckle as a fond memory of hanging out with Danny, eating Chinese food, and watching 80s and 90s TV sitcoms popped into her mind.

With Boone's blanked wrapped around her and trailing slightly on the floor, she walked over to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. She downed almost an entire bottle in five gulps, the water soothing and refreshing her. Taking back the water bottle with her, she shuffled over to the bathroom to wash her face. The fluorescent light flickered and hummed to life, revealing a frightening sight staring back at her in the mirror and making her jump.

'Oh my god… I look awful' she thought as she studied her reflection in the mirror. Dark circles were prominent under her eyes, her face was dirty and had smudged black dirt and soot in patches on her cheeks, and her hair was still caked in crusted blood. Maya bit back a cry as she pulled her hair forward and watched the coagulated blood crack and fall off in bits to the floor; the events leading to Watkins' death replaying in her mind again. She turned on the faucet, gave her face a good scrub and then dunked her head in the clean sink, watching as the dark brown and crimson residue was washed down the drain. Once cleaned, she shuffled back to the bed. There was no towel so she had to make do with damp hair, but at least she was cleaner. Scuffling out of the bathroom, she went but to her bunk, curling up with Boone's blanket wrapped around her. Once again the feverish shivers found her and she pulled the blanket tighter around herself.

'Where are you Craig?' she worried, her eyelids growing heavy. She drifted off to sleep again as another wave of fever washed over her, and dreamt of being trapped in a horrifying wasteland alone…

Boone was almost sprinting up the hill, still about a mile away from the safehouse, when he caught movement in the corner of his eye. Built in reflexes from his training in the NCR took over, and he quickly ducked behind a man-sized rock covered in some long dead overgrowth.

'Shit' he thought to himself as he calmed his breathing. A hooded figure was making his way down the road towards Novac. Good thing Boone decided to avoid travelling on the road back, otherwise he would have been spotted. It didn't appear that the stranger had seen him, but Boone hunched down to the ground just in case. He put his right hand on his holstered 10mm…just in case. But the figure kept walking, unaware of his existence. He peeked around the corner to get a better look, and sure enough the stranger was making his way to one of the houses in Novac. The McBride house…

"Hmmm" Boone wondered, as he took out his binoculars and peered through the lenses. "The McBride house" he whispered under his breath as he saw Dusty McBride peer through the curtains of his window, notice the stranger, and come out of the front of his house with a shotgun in hand. Boone quickly got his own rifle out and peered down the scope, his crosshairs focused on the back of the stranger's head, trigger finger itching…

But the stranger came to a stop slowly just ten paces from McBride with his hands in the air and appeared to show him something that was in the palm of his hand. Boone didn't manage to get a glimpse of it however as it was obscured by the back of the stranger's palm. Whatever it was, McBride lowered his gun and Boone noticed a look of relief on his face. After a minute or so, Dusty went back in his house, followed by the stranger. Whatever this was, Dusty could take care of himself. It was apparent that he knew this individual, otherwise he would not have allowed him into his house.

"Huh… So, it's not abandoned after all" Boone whispered. Now that there was no one else around and the stranger was out of eyesight and earshot, Boone made his way back more carefully. It took him longer to weave through the rocks and shrubs, but it was more unlikely that he would get spotted by anyone this way.

It was going to be a cold night; Boone could feel a bitterness in the breeze. He was drenched in sweat as he hurriedly approached the entrance to the safehouse. Unlocking the door with the spare key McNamara left him, he dropped his loot on the couch and walked over to Maya. He sat down on the chair next to her bed and cocked his head in confusion. Her hair was wet…

'She must have woken up and done it herself' he thought. A couple of strands of hair were covering her face. He gently ran his fingers over her hair to pull them away, but as his fingers grazed her forehead, he felt the intense heat of her fever.

"Maya, you're burning up!" he exclaimed as he placed his palm flat on her forehead. It was covered in sweat and she was hot to the touch. But what worried him most of all was that she didn't wake up when he tried to wake her, not even a grunt of disapproval. Boone quickly checked her pulse and put his head on her chest. She was breathing and her heart was beating, slowly but steady. However, he needed to bring down her fever, fast! He was gone for almost two hours, and she was feverish before he left. Boone leapt to the couch where he dropped off his things, rummaged through his sack of loot and took out the first aid box he recovered from his room in Novac. Inside was a small pouch filled with the healing powder Maya sorely needed.

Going over to the cooking station, he warmed up some purified water and mixed in some healing powder. Sitting back down next to Maya, he tried to wake her up again, to no avail.

"Come on Maya, you need to drink this" he pleaded, "Wake up. Please". There was no way he could make her drink this while she was asleep without risking the liquid going into her lungs. He didn't have a surgical hose or funnel either to force feed her the medicine.

A horrible thought invaded his mind…. What if she was beyond saving, what if the infection had spread too far. He shook his head, pressing his face into his palms.

"No… This fever won't win" he whispered determinedly, getting up from the chair again and going into the bathroom, turning on the tap in the tub to run Maya a lukewarm bath so he could bring the fever down. He found a clean cloth in one of the cabinets, soaked it in cold water and placed it on Maya's forehead, hoping that would help wake her up a bit before he put her in the tub. He sat there for a couple of minutes watching her and hoping she would wake up. Nothing…

By this point the tub had filled about a quarter of the way, enough for what was needed. But first, he needed to take off some layers of her clothing… It didn't make him feel comfortable doing this without her permission.

"Alright… Maya… I'm going to have to put you in the tub…" he heaved a sigh, feeling rather awkward.

'Get a hold of yourself' he thought, 'Maya is very sick and you need to bring her fever down, and all you're doing is wasting time'.

Taking her socks, jeans, and sweater off, leaving her shirt and underwear on, he picked her up in his arms and carried her to the tub. Setting her down on the edge, he let her feet soak in the water first.

"Mmphff" came a groan from Maya. She was finally coming to.

"Maya?" Boone said, moving the already warm cloth on her forehead away. "Hey, Maya, wake up". He watched her temple wrinkle slightly at the effort of trying to open her eyes.

"Where…what are you doing?" she asked weakly, her head resting on his shoulder.

"You have a high fever Maya, I'm going to have to bring it down" Boone tried to explain, but it was no use. Her head lolled back and she was out again.

'Dammit' he cursed, hoping that he didn't have to completely dunk her, 'No choice now'.

Slowly and steadily he lowered Maya into the tub, letting her legs soak first as he didn't want to shock her system. When she was submerged to just above her waist, he turned off the tap and sat down on the floor next to her, checking her fever with his palm on her forehead. After about ten minutes she was feeling a lot cooler and Boone breathed a sigh of relief. Looking down at the floor, he caught a glimpse of the cut on his arm that he sustained during the fight with the sniper. The blood had coagulated and formed a thick crust over the cut; it didn't look deep but due to his exhaustion he was rudely reminded of the pain. He pushed himself off the floor and stood up, taking a few steps towards the mirror to check the cut on his face.

'Hmmm… looks like it's healing alright' he thought as he poked and prodded the cut. It would leave a scar though, as would the cut that ran down his left eyebrow and cheek. In the mirror's reflection, he caught Maya stirring.

Groggily, Maya opened her eyes, squinting from the bright flickering fluorescent light in the bathroom. She had no idea how she ended up in the bath tub.

"Boone?" she asked weakly.

"Here" he crouched down next to her, feeling her temple with his palm. Her fever was going down steadily.

"Why am I in the tub?" she asked confused.

Boone sighed and rested his chin on his folded arms over the edge of the tub. This was a good sign; she was going to be okay.

"You were burning up, I had to try to cool you down".

Maya nodded, then noticed that half her clothes were missing and started to blush.

Boone noticed her face redden and a concerned look crossed his eyes. He immediately reached for her temple to check her fever again. "I think your fever is getting worse!" he said.

Maya pushed his arm away gently, shook her head and explained she was feeling embarrassed as she crossed her arms in front of her. Boone tilted his head, puzzled.

"I'm half naked, in a drenched white t-shirt, and you are hovering near my chest" she said and caught Boone's gaze shift below her neckline.

"Oh…!" his ears turned red as the realisation hit him, and quickly shifted his gaze away.

Maya laughed weakly as an embarrassed Boone helped her up and out of the tub. She was starting to feel a bit better. And hungry…

"I'm starving" she commented as Boone gave her a towel to dry herself off and one of his cleaner t-shirts and trousers to wear, until they found her some new apparel.

"I'm not surprised, considering you haven't eaten since yesterday" he replied, "I'll prepare something for us. But before we eat anything, you must drink this" he procured the glass of water with the healing powder mixed in it and explained its contents and its effects to her. It had a very herbal smell to it, and the taste and powdery texture wasn't too unbearable. She downed the drink in a couple of gulps, then proceeded to change into the new clothes. Maya could feel the effects of the healing powder drink taking effect, calming her fever down and reducing the pain in her shoulder to tolerable levels. She still wanted to take it slow and not overexert herself.

Once Maya was changed into the ridiculously oversized clothing, Boone brought over some food for them.

"What's on the menu tonight?" she asked, trying to stifle the growling coming from her stomach as Boone handed her a small plate of what looked like eggs and beans with chunks in it.

"Yum Yum Deviled Eggs and Pork n' Beans" he stated as he sat down on the bed next to Maya. They were both so hungry and exhausted that they ate in silence, all their focus on replenishing the calories they lost. Boone was the first to finish, practically wolfing down his entire plate. Once done, he proceeded to change Maya's bandages and added some healing powder onto the wound itself. It was already beginning to look better; the redness and swelling was dying down.

"Alright, you're all patched up" he said.

Maya thanked him and gently reclined onto the bed, getting into a comfortable position, pulling the blanket over her. Although her fever was passing, she was still shivering slightly. Boone pulled the blanket up over her shoulders before he collapsed on the bunk bet next to hers. He was feeling a bit uncomfortable from not having cleaned himself in a couple of days, especially after breaking a sweat on his run back to the safehouse; but he was too fatigued to do anything about it. It would have to wait until the morning.

"Hey, Craig" he heard Maya call sleepily.

"Hmm?"

"We haven't heard from McNamara" she said, too tired to open her eyes.

"No… we didn't" mused Boone. With everything that was going on, it had completely slipped his mind that McNamara was going to call in.

"Do you think they're okay? Should we contact them?"

He thought for a moment, pondering the best way to reply. If McNamara had anything to report, he would have done so by now. There was the added matter that they were trying to find White to get some answers about the bunker's destruction. They could be maintaining radio silence…

"Yeah… He's a good leader, he's gotten his group out of tougher situations before", he turned to look at Maya, who was semi-conscious, struggling to stay awake. "Get some sleep. I will stay awake a while longer, in case he calls in". She nodded and sighed loudly as she pulled the blanket closer to her, almost burying her face in it. It made him smile.

He lay there for about an hour, trying to stay awake to listen for anything on the communication radio; but nothing came through that night. His mind was racing about the events that had transpired that day. He had too many close calls with Maya and he was still worried if she would heal properly. He turned to look at her, wondering if she was still struggling to sleep. But even in the dim light he could see she was fast sleep, her breathing steady and not a drop of feverish sweat on her forehead. 'Good' he thought happily. He watched her body rise and fall as she slept, wondering what she was dreaming about as he saw her hands and legs twitch slightly every couple of minutes; until his eyes became heavy and he reluctantly gave in to sleep.