The room was quiet outside of the droning noise of the ceiling fan. He could hardly feel a thing but he knew the moment he moved he would feel the pain. Heavy eyelids attempted to lull him back to sleep. Something he hadn't done much over the past few days. After the beating he got yesterday he definitely needed the rest.

Parker wasn't quite sure where he was as he fought back against the weariness in his mind. He remembered his attacker as clear as day, but he couldn't manage much past that. The lack of sleep over the past few days have hardly helped with his attempt to remember. At that current moment he was content to just falling back asleep.

Sleep didn't come to him as he thought about where he was. The bed beneath him and the peeling paint walls of the small room confirmed his suspicion that he was still at the Tops. It had to be Jennifer's room as Chairmen would surely be looking for the culprits of two dead bodies, especially if one of them was theirs. A sense of danger filled his mind as he shot up. He grimaced from the pain in his forearm and side. Ignoring the fact that both were bandaged, Parker moved quickly to the door of the room.

The door was closed but he could hear someone moving on the other side. Parker shook his head at how ridiculous he was being. Bits and pieces of the night before flashed through his mind with the clearest ones being Jennifer crudely stitching and bandaging his wounds. Looking back at the bed he noticed a few empty bottles of whiskey piled on the nightstand. She had likely used it to help cleanse the wounds though he had a feeling he drank most of it.

"Jennifer?" Parker called out as he opened the door. To his surprise, a little girl sat at a desk opposite the door.

The girl peered over her shoulder with a slight concerned look on her face. "Mommy!" she called out timidly.

It took a second before he understood the girls' shyness. Looking down at himself he could see that his clothes were stained with blood. The bandages on his forearm were freshly soaked with blood as well. He poorly attempted to straighten the wrinkles out of his clothes. There was a first aid kit sitting on the coffee table to his right which moved to. The child watched him from the desk as he went about re-bandaging his wounds. He didn't even have to look over to see her expression to know that she was curious even if she was afraid.

Parker was hardly through bandaging his side when the door to the bathroom opened. Jennifer stepped out with his knife in one hand. She had a wary look on her face as she glanced between him and her daughter. Placing the knife on the desk, she placed her hands on her daughters' shoulders spoke quietly to her.

"Thank you," Parker spoke after a few moments. Jennifer gave him a smile but otherwise kept whispering to her daughter who seemed upset at what was being said.

After a few complaints, the little girl grabbed the piece of paper that she was scribbling on and headed for the room he had been laying in. Parker couldn't help but notice that Jennifer picked the knife back up. With a sigh, she leaned up against the desk and rubbed the shoulder that was stabbed.

"You look like shit," she said bluntly.

"Kinda feel like I do," he nodded slightly in agreement. "I know you probably want me gone, but I have to know."

"Who put the hit on you?" she raised an eyebrow. "I honestly can't say. Just that whoever it was offered something like ten thousand caps for man named William Parker."

This didn't make any sense to him. For the past month he has done nothing to get on some ones bad side. The man couldn't have been from the Brotherhood either as they had let them go. Parker had no intent on telling anyone about those bunker dwellers either. Benny would have sent his goons or lured him into a trap easily. Only one situation during the time sparked in his mind. It could have been those Viper druggies from the scrapyard dogged him around since the incident waiting for a chance? As likely as it was for the Vipers to put the hit on him, Parker found it difficult for them to hand over ten thousand caps let alone have that much.

"Quite the price for a disgraced soldier, wouldn't you think?" Parker poorly joked.

Ignoring what he said, Jennifer responded, "I think that you should leave. I can't afford being caught with you." She bit her lip at the harshness of what she was saying. Parker could see it in her eyes that she didn't want to kick him out. She merely wanted to protect her daughter and him being around only increased the chance of harm coming.

A running a hand through his brown hair Parker replied, "I understand." He truly did understand. The whole reason he left Kaylee was to protect her though he should have known that wasn't going to be enough.

The room was silent as he finished re-bandaging himself. As soon as he was done he stood up and made his way for the door out. Jennifer stopped him and handed his knife while mouthing the words I'm sorry. Parker only nodded the slightest bit before opening the door and walking down it.

Kaylee was on his mind as searched for a stairwell. The awkward kiss they shared as they made their way back to Novac from the scrapyard. He could never forget that or when he woke up at Doc Mitchel's place. Even though she was scared out of her mind he found himself attracted to her. When came to her, he only wanted to protect her. There was only one way to be sure that she wouldn't chase after him. He knew that they both would be hurt in the end, but Kaylee will get the best of it. Time will heal the wound he'll leave behind, but his won't. Just like the being a prisoner to the Legion and the event at the divides, it will be another unseen wound that would always feel fresh.

"By the end of the day," Parker mumbled to himself as he found a door leading to a stairwell. "I have to break her heart."

Kaylee sat at the edge of bed in the back room of the penthouse suite. It had almost been an entire day since she was called up to the suite. Parker should have been here hours ago yet he wasn't. She wanted to trust what Benny promised her the night before but she was learning to have suspicion in situations like these. She spent most of the night picking the lock of the safe behind the bar. Her hair was a mess since she had to use the bobby pins holding her hair in place. Inside of it was a silenced .22 pistol with a box of ammo which gave her comfort should Benny go back on his word.

She spent the rest of the night lying on the bed with the pistol in hand. She knew better but a bottle of wine kept her company. The alcohol helped to calm her thoughts which helped put her at ease. The thought of what Parker would do once he found that Benny was gone. He would likely still chase after him though to what ends? Would Parker being willing to follow one man across the country? Kaylee couldn't really pin down a single thing past that he was going to try to leave her behind again. If only she knew what happened between being a captive of the Legion and him meeting her. Maybe then she would have a chance of truly understanding his actions lately.

The sound of a door opening drew her from her thoughts. She rushed to the bedroom door and swung it open. A smile spread wide across her face when she saw Parker standing in the door way. She wanted to rush to him but she held herself back while he scanned the room. As she took the sight of him in, her smile dimmed slightly. He clearly went through trouble just to get here. The left shoulder and right side of his shirt were covered in dried up blood. There were a few dark black and purple bruises on his face.

When his gaze finally settled on her, all of her excitement drained from her body. There wasn't a hint of happiness or even relief. Those sea green eyes of his only stared coldly at her as if he was mad at her. She could understand if he was but not to this extent. He didn't even look at her like this when he found her at the scrapyard.

"Where is he?" was all Parker said. Kaylee couldn't even determine his mood. He looked angry but his tone was neutral.

She took a deep breath before responding, "He's gone, though he did know you wouldn't settle for that so he gave me a key to his room."

Kaylee fished the key out of the tiny pocket on the dress and held it up. Parker crossed the room and snatched the key from her hand without his expression changing. She stepped back from him in uncertainty as he had never acted like this to her before. He just turned and left without a word leaving her there confused. It took only a few seconds but she was right on his heels when she gathered herself together.

Finding Benny's room proved easy since the room number was on the key. There wasn't even a Chairman in sight when they got onto the floor. Not a single person showed up the entire time that Parker spent in the room. Kaylee wanted to say something to him about how he pushed her back when he opened the door. The heels she wore didn't help as she lost her balance long enough for him to slip inside and lock the door. Pounding on the door did nothing for her except to assure the fact he was ignoring her.

Nothing she could think of could make it okay for him to treat her this way. If anything it should be the other way around. The entire situation was just making her blood boil as she paced back and forth outside the door. Then when he finally came out an hour later, it was as though she was invisible and everything she said went unheard.

Parker even made her wait again as he spoke with someone at the NCR embassy. Due to her not being a soldier, she had to wait by the front door. The entire time she waited, she brooded on how she was going to react once he came back. Just the anger she felt coursing through body made her think that she would just explode on him. She wanted to scream at him. Never had he treated her so poorly. Even when he was so focused on chasing Benny, he treated her kindly. After an hour he finally walked out of one of the back rooms with his duffel bag slung over a shoulder and rifle in hand. His expression hadn't changed and he walked by without a word.

"Parker," Kaylee spoke firmly as she followed him out the door. "Parker," she repeated again. Finally she yelled while grabbing his arm, "Parker!"

"What!" he yelled far louder than her and with such intensity that she stumbled back a few steps.

The glare he gave her brought her anger back to replace the momentary shock. "Will you stop being an ass and talk to me?"

"There isn't anything to talk about."

With that he turned to walk away but Kaylee caught his arm again. "What the hell is wrong with you? Benny got away big deal! You're lucky to be alive after whatever happened to you at the Tops." She took a step forward and began poking at his chest with a finger, "Then you treat me like I'm trash."

"Benny got away because of you!" Parker growled at her. "You had a chance to kill him, yet you did nothing."

Kaylee stood for a moment in disbelief that he was trying to pin Benny escaping on her. She could feel her entire body trembling with fury. "How dare you try to put that on me. It's you who wants him dead. Not me."

"Because you're weak," he stated. Kaylee held her ground and didn't let her expression change though it felt as if he took a stab at her. "After seeing how much you fawned over me, I thought might be able to use you to an advantage."

Kaylee smacked him across the face. She wanted to say something but nothing came out every time she attempted. How could he just look at her with angry stare? There was no way he was just using her. He was always nice to her and tried to help her out whenever she needed. The whole situation made no sense to her.

"Just go home Kaylee."

"Why?" she gasped out. She could feel the tears building up but she refused to let them out. "This doesn't make sense. What about everything you said? That I keep you from doing stupid things." Parker stiffened at her response though she hardly noticed as she didn't know whether to feel angry, upset, or both. "William please, just be truthful with me," she pleaded. A small glint of hope filled her when his expression softened. She expected him to say something but he didn't. Parker simply turned and began walking down the strip, leaving her there with an expression torn between anger and sorrow.

There had to be a reason to why he was acting like this. She refused to believe that he cared nothing for her. Whatever the reason, she knew that he cared for her. If only he would tell her everything so that she could understand, then she could help him. It was that moment that she decided to stop leaning on Cass and him. She would prove to him that she could handle herself.

"I'm not useless Parker!" she called after him. "I'll prove it!"