Chapter Twenty Five: Doctor Harley, Reporting for Duty
Kennedy had a look of worry in her eyes and she was the first one to stand up. It took me a second, but I got up, not sure if I should go outside or try to get to the roof from inside.
"Mom, you keep Kennedy here."
"But Miss Harley, maybe I can talk him down?"
I mean, I guess. "Okay, but we gotta be quick."
We ran into the elevator, and I asked the securitron in there how to get to the roof. He said to try the Cocktail Lounge, so that's where we headed. If we took too long...I feared the worst. My brain was thinking of all different reasons as to why this was my fault – you should have talked to him. You knew something was wrong. Yeah, I did, but I also knew if I pushed, he would distance himself again. That's a shitty excuse and you know it. You're an asshole who won't let him vent his fucking feelings. Now he's standing on a ledge of a roof on a pretty fucking tall casino. Look at me, fighting with myself like Boone. The elevator stopped and Kennedy rushed ahead of me, looking around - not at the windows, but behind the counter.
"What are you doing?" I asked as I headed over to the large, rectangular windows that were larger at the base than at the top.
"The windows are a weird shape. They probably are opened with a switch."
Oh. Okay. "First we need to find him."
"This is the only level with windows anywhere near a ledge, so he had to have gotten out from here. Aha!" She exclaimed as she hit a couple of buttons. Every few windows popped open, and I immediately ran over to the closest one. Kennedy started looking, too.
It wasn't long before I heard Kennedy yell, "Mr. Boone!" And I rushed over to her.
"Craig! What are you doing?"
The roof was shaped like a roulette wheel, so he had to have opened the window and stepped down to the next ledge. The windows must be on a timer to close on their own. There was fear in his eyes, and his big feet didn't even fully fit on the ledge.
"I'm sorry Harley. I love you, but...I just can't keep living like this," he looked up at me.
"Craig Boone, you get back up here right now and stop talking like that." I sound like my mother.
He took his eyes off of me and looked into the broken streets of Vegas.
"Mr. Boone!" Kennedy cried beside me, "Please don't do it! I didn't know your wife, but she wouldn't want this for you. She would want you to remarry and have kids. You'd want the same for her if you died. She doesn't want you to be lonely. She's not upset with you because you're with Miss Harley. She's happy for you. You're getting a second chance. Don't throw it away - embrace it. You would want the same for her. Please, come back up here."
The look in Boone's eyes was half melancholy, half what-the-fuck, which I'm sure mirrored my own expression. She's incredibly smart. I'm starting to think she's a 40 year old woman trapped in an eight year old's body.
It was a few minutes of Boone staring hopelessly downwards and me praying to whoever that he would not take that jump. Kennedy put her little hand in mine and it seemed like hours passed as we stared down at him, helplessly waiting for his choice.
His hand reached towards mine and he carefully changed his footing on the wet ledge so he could climb back up the roof. He climbed back in the window and they shut on their own. My hair was sticking to my forehead and the back of my neck. The sticky Nevada heat and humidity replaced the feel of the cool air when the windows were open. I was shaking; I could feel it bouncing from Kennedy's little hand, back into my bones.
"What the fuck was that all about?!" I yelled as he sat on the windowsill.
Kennedy squeezed my fingers in a death grip as if to tell me not to yell at him, so I sat down on the floor and put my head in my hands. I started crying, and I was so angry with myself.
"Fuck you, Craig. Fuck you," I could see the hurt in his eyes, "you just broke my heart. I have been working so hard...trying to give you space when you need it, letting you wait to tell me whatever's on your mind instead of me pushing you. And for what? For you to try and kill yourself? And in front of Kennedy!"
"I'm...I'm sorry..."
"If you were sorry, you wouldn't have even thought about it."
He sat down next to me on the floor, and pulled me into his lap. We cried in each other's arms, him rocking us back and forth. Kennedy sat down in my lap and stretched her tiny arms around both of us, resting her head under my chin and on Boone's chest, and we just sat there.
"I want to get better," Boone said.
"Then you wouldn't have stood out in a ledge!" I yelled.
"Miss Harley, I think Mr. Boone wants to get better because it was scary being up there. He was scared of doing to you what his wife's memory does to him. He loves you."
"Yeah, that's what I wanted to say. Just couldn't word it like that," Boone said.
"Kennedy, could you give us a minute alone? Maybe go see what Grandma is doing?" I asked.
She nodded eagerly, and when I heard the elevator stop and not move again, I kissed Boone hard.
"You're so stupid," I said, gasping for breath, "I can't believe you would do that."
"You're what kept me from it," he said against my lips.
We held each other, kissing with passion that could've burned the casino down. Every inch of me was buzzing with excitement and pleasure. I so badly wanted to hold him forever.
We made love on the cocktail lounge floor, the rain beating down on the windows and roof around us.
The thunder was still rolling outside as we made our way to Nellis Air Force Base. Veronica and Cass tagged along and Boone decided to stay behind to get to know Kennedy. We had a long talk about her - he said there was just something about her that made him really like her. Maybe it was the fact that she looked like me, or just the fact that she was such a sweet girl. I told him how she said she wanted him to get better so he could be like my dad, and his eyes got red as he tried furiously blinking the tears away. He did admit he didn't feel comfortable taking care of a kid when he couldn't take care of himself, but like he said earlier, he couldn't help but like her. Cass and Veronica were excitedly planning my "wedding" behind me. I rolled my eyes and huffed at them.
"Whoa, there. Do you know where you're heading little lady?" A black man in a sweater vest and ball cap asked.
"Boomer territory, right?"
"You're just willingly walking in there? You know they blow up anything that moves, right?"
"I know. But, the way the trajectory of the missiles is, they won't be able to reach me if I stay up against the rocks and move quickly, I should be able to get past them. Not to mention, it's raining and it will be a lot harder to see anything." Made me sound smart, but Boone is the one who told me all of that.
"Oh. Well, uh...you seem to know what you're talking about, little lady."
I nodded.
"Okay, well I can't stop you then. Godspeed."
"Veronica, Cass. Can you stay behind until I give you the okay?"
They nodded. I only get one chance to do this. Only one chance to get close enough that they will stop shooting. I was nervous, I couldn't hide that fact. My skin was covered in goosebumps and I was shaking. My hair was matted down from the rain and stuck in my eyes. There was a cliff directly to the left, so I booked it over there and a missile landed, blowing apart the skeleton of an old house. I kept running, and I felt the fire of an explosion behind me. Rubble and debris sprayed all over me, and I kept willing my legs forward. The fence was within view, and once I get about halfway there, they wouldn't be able to fire at me anymore. There was another missile shot through the air, and an old car blew to piece. I had to dodge the flying metal and car parts. There was a barrage of missiles as I got closer – shit was just flying at me. Rocks as big as my head, pieces of metal, something that looked like power armor, but I was not getting close enough to check it out. My boots were caked in mud and my arms and face were bleeding from being pummeled with debris.
"How in the holy fuck...?" A man wearing a Pre-War army-looking jacket adorned with pins and medals with a pair of holey jeans asked when I was outside the gate.
"Timing. Anyways, can I come in? I need to talk to your leader."
"Well, Raquel is coming. She'll take you to Mother Pearl."
Mother Pearl? Jesus Christ, I bet they are a bunch of weirdos here. I stood there for a good couple of minutes and no one was showing up.
"Where's Raquel? I'm drenched!"
"She's coming."
"Okay, well I have friends down the road, can I go get them?" I asked.
"I, uhm. I can't answer that. You'll have to talk to Mother Pearl."
I huffed and stood there for a few minutes more until a girl in combat armor unlocked the gate.
"I'm Raquel, the master-at-arms here. Mother Pearl will want to speak to you."
"I got that much. I'm soaked," I whined.
Nellis Air Force Base was...well, an old-world air force base. There were old world airplanes broken down everywhere. Even kids walked around in the old bomber jackets with pins and medals on them. Pearl's room was an old barracks and as soon as she saw me, light filled her eyes.
"Child! You took your sweet time getting here. I've been waiting a good five years for a sav - outsider to come along."
Was she about to call me a savage? "Okay. Well I'm here now. How can I assist you?"
"Oh my! There's lots to do. We'll give you small things at first, so the people can get used to having an outsider around. Raquel has a bug problem, Doc Argyll has wounded he needs assistance with, and Jack and Loyal probably need help with repairs."
"Okay, I'll help out. But first, can I go get my friends? They're standing in the rain above the base."
"Oh my goodness, those poor things!" Okay, you can go get them. I will allow you to come and go freely, along with anyone with you. My youngers think our guns can keep the world out, but I think we need to do the opposite and let it in just a little, or become it's victim. Hopefully you can show my youngers not all sav...outsiders should be blown up."
She was definitely going to say savage. I wasn't going to say anything though – as much as it hurt my pride – I need Pearl's big toys on my side at Hoover Dam. I nodded and went back up to get Cass and Veronica. The black man was still standing there and made it a point to say how surprised he was that I made it there and back. Veronica was talking my ear off on the way back, telling me about her ex girlfriend, Christina, and how she left the Brotherhood because they frown on homosexual relationships because they can't reproduce. She said she hasn't seen her since. Cass was telling me that they already planned everything for our wedding and asked how I hooked Boone in. I sighed.
A little girl tugged on my leg, and she looked up at me with big, sad eyes, "I lost Mr. Cuddles! He's probably dirty now!"
"What's Mr. Cuddles look like?" I asked.
"He's a brown teddy bear with red feet."
"I'll let you know if I find him."
"Thanks, lady!" The little girl exclaimed and walked away.
"So here's the low-down; we gotta help the Boomers out. Get them to fuckin' love us. When the time comes, I want their missiles and shit pointed at my enemies at the Dam," I said. Veronica and Cass nodded.
We were once again in Mother Pearl's barracks – I just wanted everyone to meet and greet. It was pretty early in the day, so we were going to do some stuff today, and we'd be back tomorrow. I figured that sick people were probably the priority – so I went over to Doc Argyll's lab to see what I could do. Cass went off to find that little girl's bear, and Veronica hung around because gross things are pretty cool.
Inside the little shack, the smell of dust and sick filled my nose. I crinkled it up and shook my head. Just the smell of sick people – vomit, puss-filled wounds, the like, was making me sick, too.
"Hi. I'm a courier, just helping out around here –"
"Yeah, I heard Mother Pearl is letting you just wander around, but I've actually go work to do."
"She told me you needed some help. I've got a pretty decent medicinal skill, so I can help out the best I can."
"Well, I guess. I'm stumped, so maybe you can figure something out?"
"I'll look," I said, sitting next to one patient whose face and neck were very swollen and it looked like he was having trouble breathing. I took my first two fingers and carefully checked his heartbeat – it was slower than should be. He had a large purple lump on the back of his neck, and after some feeling around, I pulled a large ant stinger out. It seemed like almost immediately, his face and neck started deflating. I poked and prodded more at the wound to get whatever other poison was in there and then took a bottle of anti-venom I found in a cabinet and shoved it down the Boomer's throat, and gave him a shot of steroids. I sighed with relief and cleaned the wound a little better.
"Holy shit…" The doctor whispered behind me. He didn't even take out the stinger? What the fuck kind of medicine does he know?
The next patient had a completely disgusting infection on her side. It was spitting out puss and blood, and made the entire area stink. Even Veronica had to walk away. I took a towel and wiped all that shit away (while gagging, mind you,) before pouring disinfectant all over it. The towel was covered by the second time I had to wipe it up. I still had a couple of broc flowers in my pack, so I put a mouthful in and chewed them into a paste. More disinfectant on the wound– and before it could fill up again, I shoved the broc flower paste in the wound. I gave Doc Argyll what I had left and told him to change it soon, as I wrapped her torso in a clean bandage and stuffed some pills down her throat that help with swelling and infection.
"Oh my god, I thought the infection was too bad to turn back now," He mumbled.
The third and last patient's leg looked like it needed to be amputated. It was stitched up, but the skin was puffy and purple, practically swallowing the stitches. I cut them off and cleaned the wound exactly how I cleaned the other, giving him the same medicine, and after I left the paste in the leg wound for a while, I took it out and the puss had died down considerably. I recleaned it, restitched it, and redressed it, telling the doc he might have to do it again tomorrow. The leg would more than likely be reusable.
Veronica cheered behind me, her face hanging out of a window, "I'm so glad you did it! Seriously, that puss was rank. But I'm glad you saved their lives! And here comes Cass!"
Doc Argyll clapped a hand to my shoulder, "Holy shit! You savages do know what the fuck you're doing!"
My eye twitched, "it was nothing, doc." I checked my Pip-Boy and…holy shit I had spent at least four hours in here.
"I'm gonna tell Mother Pearl how fucking awesome you are! Thanks again!"
"Okay. No problem, doc."
"So I found that fuckin' kid's Mr. Cuddles," Cass said Mr. Cuddles in a funny voice, like she was mocking it.
"Oh yeah?" Veronica and I both asked.
"Yeah. I gave it back, and she was super happy that I did, but it was rained on. So that's my fuckin' fault, right? So she starts screaming and freaking out and I'm trying to calm her down, and she's just like going of her fuckin' rocker, man!"
"Well, she got her bear back, so she can't bitch, I guess," I said.
"Oh yeah," Veronica popped in between Cass and I, "But if Kennedy lost her bear and it was all nasty and rained on, wouldn't you be upset?"
"No. I'd just wash it," I said simply, and my mind flashed over to Boone and Kennedy trying to get along. A sigh of defeat escaped. I didn't want to be here with these people I didn't know. Boone and Kennedy were back at the 38, and I'm at an old-world air force base trying to win over people I didn't fucking know. It was seven at night, so we stopped over to the museum to hear the Boomer's story before we left for the night. I am not staying here until I win them over – it could take a week or more. I'll walk the couple of miles every day.
It looked like an old school house on the inside with little chairs that were attached to desks and lots of books on bookshelves. I took a book out and smiled, Frog and Toad, one of my favorites. I wonder if Kennedy would like it…
"I'm Pete!" A little boy introduced himself, "And this is the Boomer museum! Have a seat, and I'll walk you through the mural."
The mural was bright and beautifully done. It took him about an hour, and when he was done, he clapped his hands together and held them in front of his chest, "What do you think?" he asked.
"That was an awesome story! Thanks for telling us!" I said, standing up. The Frog and Toad book was still on my desk, "Oh, Pete…can I ask you something?"
"Yeah!"
"These Frog and Toad books…can I borrow them?"
"Oh man! Take all of those books and keep them. No one reads for fun around here anymore."
I was like a kid in a candy store, shoving books like Frog and Toad (all four of them,) A Light in the Attic, Where the Sidewalk Ends, Rainbow Fish, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, If You Give a Moose a Muffin, and other books I've never even heard of into my duffle bag, before saying goodbye to Mother Pearl and making it a point to let her know we'd be back tomorrow.