[Only read if you came from Chapter 26]

They kept a good eye on each other till dawn. The wasteland was quiet and left them lots of room for conversation, though they didn't make much use of it. Most of the time the green-haired woman was watching the shadows behind the boulders and the dusty dry tops of the plateaus in the distance, her gun always drawn. That's what unnerved Fox the most. She seemed pretty apple-butter until now: now she's all bad news in a helluva good dress. It'd been a long while since Fox had stepped foot in the wastes, so he wasn't as wise and kept his revolvers holstered the entire time.

The sun yawns over the desolate rocks and dust, cacti bristle in the whispering young breeze, and calm white clouds drift over. It's finally morning.

Suddenly the woman grabs his arm. "There." She's pointing to something in the distance. "Do you see that sign?"

Fox squints. Something rectangular comes into focus. It's made of wood and has white lettering. "Yeah."

She lowers her pistol. "We're almost to Goodsprings."

"Goodsprings?" The word's like honey on his tongue. Everyone adores that town to death, it's one of the few respectable towns in the Mojave: all the others are either disgusting or corrupt.

The Prospector Saloon and General Store slowly ascend from the dust as a tumbleweed skids across the broken road.

"I'm sure we can get a room in the Visitor's Shack. Victor won't mind, I'm sure. He doesn't sleep in a bed anyways."

"Victor? Who's that?"

She chuckles, and Fox can see her previous icy survival attitude's starting to melt. "You don't know? Damn. Victor's a robot. He kinda likes to bash ears but the town adores him. Real nice guy, er, robot."

"Hm."

She's still smiling, "You really haven't been here for a while...Wait. Have you ever been?"

"I went once when my dad and I first came to New Vegas."

She nodded, "It's a cute town, but it sure does a good job of makin' the rest of the Mojave seem like a dump."

"Yeah."

Dust encircles their feet and the sign creaks by.

"And here we are." She holds his shoulder, "I'm gonna check inside real quick. Wanna come with?"

—

The Prospector's Saloon is warm and humid, the floorboards creaky, the lights dim, just as it should be. They pass the table and chairs and enter the bar area, where customers sit in contemplation and Trudy takes their orders. Trudy welcomes them both with a wave, but when her eyes fall on the woman, her eyes widen. "Oh my God! Is that really you?" She puts a dirty cup down, "You've changed so much since I last saw you!"

She laughs, "Yeah, it's been a long time."

"And who's this troublemaker you're runnin' around with?" She gestures to Fox and smiles jokingly. "You two gonna cause any trouble?"

"Him? He ain't a troublemaker. He's one of the nicest guys you'll meet here, Trudy. I got in a shuffle with that nosebleed Benny at The Tops and he helped me out. We ran like hell and he's travellin' with me now."

Trudy leans in on the counter and shakes her head, "Benny is nothin' but trouble. Be glad you got out alive." She nods to Fox, "And thanks for protecting her. She's got a habit of gettin' into trouble with bad men. Now, you two need any water before you shrivel like dry sponges?"

Fox notices his parched lips. Now that he thinks about it, he's thirsty as hell.

The green haired woman sits on the stool across from Trudy, "Sure," and she motions for Fox, "Come sit."

He smiles a little and sits on the next stool over.

"I went to school here before the old schoolhouse was overrun by giant mantises. It was a good place to grow up."

He gives both of them a long stare, "So...is Trudy your...mom?"

Both women laugh.

Trudy sets their glasses on the counter and they both gulp it down in one go. "Aw, no honey. It's flattering, but no. We ain't blood-related."

After wiping her mouth, the green-haired woman continues, "I was a big troublemaker back then. Goodsprings took me in when I ran away from my parents. They're members of The Legion and I was tired of their shit, so I escaped across the river."

Fox is taken aback. He knew there was something off about her, and this proves it. "God damn...Seriously?" Fox glances at her face. She didn't look at all sad. Her cheeks're still pink, her lips still curved into a smile. "That's insane."

"Ah, it's fine. They taught me how to fight at least before I left. Really comes in handy out in the wastes."

Trudy refilled their glasses with a sparkling pitcher, "So, are you two staying in the Visitor's shack for tonight?"

"Yeah. Is that okay with Victor?"

"What do you mean? Of course it's okay with Victor. It's always okay with him."

She giggled, "No truer words."

They spend the next hour and a half reminiscing about the past: her times in school, the battles against Powder Gangers, the Fire Gecko hunts. It's rich and full of adventure, yet her name was never once mentioned.

Then the woman gets up. "Alright, Trudy. I think we're ready to hit the sack. Been walkin' all night, I'm surprised we got this far. So see ya. We'll be leavin' tonight."

"Alright. You two stay outta trouble." She smiles and cleans their glasses. "Have a good sleep."

To continue your story, go to Chapter 42