Chapter Twenty-Five
Her eyelids fluttered. Evelyn sighed softly as she came back to consciousness. The first person she saw was Charon, slumped over in a chair beside her. He bolted upright as soon as she shifted her weight, his eyes flying open.
"Hey." She croaked out, a small smile tugging at her lips.
"Hello." He whispered. He had a strange expression on his face.
"Can I have some water please?" She asked. He dug through her pack immediately, handing her a bottle of purified water. She tried to open it, to no avail. "My arms feel like mush. Could you?"
Charon opened the bottle and held it up to her mouth. She gulped it down too quickly and began to cough. She spluttered all over herself.
"My apologies mistress." Charon said, leaping to his feet, searching for something to clean her up with.
"Don't worry about it Charon. And stop calling me mistress." Evelyn said, waving her hand at the chair he had been seated in. He sat down immediately and awaited her next order.
"Where are we?" She asked, looking around.
"The Mojave Outpost." He answered, looking at his hands, splayed out over his knees.
"How did we get here? What happened? Why the fuck do I have a needle in my arm?" Her voice was rising with each question.
"I carried you here after you ingested too much Med-X and collapsed. The needle was placed in your arm by the doctor here. She said that it would flush the Med-X from your system." He answered flatly, still staring at his hands.
"Oh. Shit. Shit. I remember. Shit." She groaned, fidgeting with her hair. "Charon, I'm so sorry."
"You do not need to apologize. I disobeyed your order." He blurted out.
"What order? I didn't order you to do anything." She asked, sounding confused.
"You ordered that I not touch you. I carried you here, despite that order." He said.
"I thought disobeying orders made you sick?" She asked.
"It does." He agreed. "My programming punishes me. Though I understand if you would want to punish me yourself."
"Are you kidding me Charon? You made yourself sick to get me here safely. I should be thanking you. Fuck that. I am. Thank you Charon. You saved my life." Evelyn said fiercely.
"I disobeyed you." He protested.
"I've never really been big on your whole situation. I'm proud of you Charon. And incredibly grateful. Can you please come here? You're too far to hug and I'm attached to this damn needle." She sounded grumpy and when he dared look up, he was shocked to see tears in her large brown eyes.
He moved closer and she clung to his hand. He stiffened. "Disregard any stupid orders I've made." She grumbled into his forearm. He immediately felt better and leaned over to embrace her. She wrapped her arms around his chest and buried her face in his neck. He drew back and stared at her. She smiled sweetly and something clicked for him.
"Evelyn!" Her name tumbled from his lips as he stared at her in amazement.
"What?" She asked. Her eyes surveyed his face, trying to understand. He looked as confused as she felt.
"I do not know. I just..." He trailed off hopelessly. "I want.."
"What?" She whispered. She reached out her hand and cupped his cheek. He nuzzled her hand and took a deep breath.
Very gently, he pressed his ruined lips to hers. She sighed happily, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"Employer my ass!" A voice scoffed from the doorway. Charon immediately stood defensively in front of Evelyn. A very pretty woman stood there, leaning up against the doorframe. She had red hair, under a beat up cowboy hat. Freckles dusted across her cheeks and nose, with full lips, pulled into a frown. She wore a brahminskin jacket and a pink and white checkered shirt under that.
"So handsome, what else ain't true? Your girlfriend there a junkie?" The woman asked irritably.
"She is no junkie." Charon growled, stepping forward. She woman met him halfway. She tipped her hat back and stared up at him, her mouth twisted into a snarl.
"You think you scare me cowboy?" She spat it him.
"Charon please!" Evelyn soothed from behind him. "I'm not a junkie." She told the woman. "I'm just here to deliver a letter. I'm looking for someone named Cass."
The woman didn't take her eyes off of Charon. "Well, you found her." She said.
"You're Cass?" Evelyn asked. "Charon, get her the letter please."
Charon glared at her for a few moments more before turning and rummaging through the pack on the floor. He found it and thrust it at the still glaring redhead. He turned to see Evelyn removing the IV from her arm with a grimace.
Cass just stared at the paper in her hand. "Who is this from?" She asked suspiciously.
"Amaya." Evelyn told her, struggling to her feet. Charon wrapped his arm around her waist to steady her. She sent him a grateful smile.
Without a word, Cass unfolded her letter and began to read. "Jesus." She hissed. She folded the paper back up carefully. "She's really gone?"
Evelyn nodded grimly. "I'm sorry for your loss. Boone and Arcade wanted me to ask you to meet them at the Lucky 38 at your earliest convenience." She said softly.
"Fuck. Guess I'll have to." Cass said softly, looking sad. "Did anyone tell Veronica?" She asked.
Evelyn sighed. "I'm so sorry, but Veronica passed away. That's why... Amaya took her own life." She whispered.
Cass swallowed hard. "Oh fuck. Yeah. That makes sense. Amaya loved her so much. All she wanted was to live a normal life with Veronica. What happened?"
Evelyn ran her hand over her face, fidgeting with her hair.
"Assasins killed Veronica while they slept. Amaya entrusted these letters to me. Then she shot herself." Evelyn explained.
"Legion?" Cass asked. Evelyn nodded. "Those dumb fucks!" Cass snapped, punching the doorframe. "They couldn't just leave her the hell alone!"
Evelyn stared at her feet as tears fell down the redheads cheeks. After a few minutes, she composed herself.
"Sorry I called you a junkie." She grumbled, grinding the tears out of her eyes with the heel of her hand.
"That's okay. Sorry for being unconscious." Evelyn offered.
Cass let out a short laugh. "Been unconscious a few times myself. It's pretty late, you and your buddy want to bunk here for the night?" She asked.
"We'd appreciate it. We've got a lot more letters to deliver." Evelyn said with a smile.
"Yeah. Amaya was pretty thorough. So you've seen Boone and Arcade?" Cass asked, leading them to a room full of beds.
"Yes we did. In Novac." Evelyn replied as Charon eased her onto the bed.
"Together?" Cass asked with a large grin.
"Yes." Evelyn said with a giggle.
"So they're fucking?" Cass asked.
"I think so. Boone almost shot Charon." Evelyn laughed.
Cass laughed loudly. "Welcome to the club buddy. Ya touched Gannon didn't ya?"
Evelyn giggled. "He did. Arcade grabbed me, Charon grabbed him, Boone threw a fit, I threw a fit. It wasn't funny at the time, but man we must have looked crazy."
"Ya fit right in here. We're all fucking crazy in the Mojave. Well, it was nice meeting you- shit, what's your name again?" Cass asked.
"Evelyn. It's nice to meet you too Cass." Evelyn replied.
"Well there's a bottle of whiskey with my name on it, so I'm outta here. See ya around." Cass walked out of the room.
Charon tucked both of their packs under the bed Evelyn was in and pulled off his boots and armor. He dropped into the bed next to her. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.
"You remembered." She squeaked happily, squeezing him. He shook his head.
"I do not remember anything. I just... Feel." He tried to explain. "I feel... I do not know. But you are mine." He whispered.
"Mind, body and soul." She echoed a sentiment that had all but faded from her mind.
"Exactly." He said, propping himself up on his elbow. He looked thoughtful.
She smiled brightly. "Told you! I knew you were in there somewhere!"