.

THIRTY-SIX

Abandoned Fire Station

July 9th

08:41

"Miss En?"

En woke up, blinking against the morning light creeping in through the boarded-up windows, and looked into Ringo's face. "Unnh?"

"Time to go."

Every bone and muscle in her body felt impossibly heavy, the warmth of the sleeping bag holding her fast. Her head pulsed with pain, like always, but it was joined by a leaden feeling in her eyelids, and her face felt completely numb, trying to will her to fall asleep again.

"Come on, Ennie!" Watkins singsonged in her ear. "We've got bounties to cash in, and I wanna be in Vegas by tonight!"

"Yeah, yeah," En groaned. "Shut up and make some coffee."

"Corporal Betsy is currently in the process of providing hot beverages," Ringo said. Leaning in towards her, he confided, "I'm not certain what she brews will be suitable for consumption, however."

Her joints aching, En sat up straight. "I'm sure it'll be fine. It's hot and it's got a flavour. All I need to wake up." It was a bit of a lie, because no way a cup of mucky coffee would wake her up after only three hours of sleep. And Watkins could stand on her head for all En cared, she was resting before she headed into Vegas, even if it meant waiting another day. The walk back to Freeside would already take long enough, and then they still needed to get those passes made. But still, if all went well, it'd be the last night in the Atomic Wrangler, and the last step before finally finding those answers she'd been looking for all this time. She couldn't believe it had already been over two weeks since she'd woken up at Doc Mitchell's place. She wondered how he was doing, but she was sure he was doing just fine. She'd really have to pass by Goodsprings when this was all done and say a proper thankyou.

Sunny sat up in her sleeping bag too, her arms crossed over her knees, enjoying the nudges Cheyenne was giving her. "Hey you should've woken me up too," she told the others. "Now I feel bad for sleeping all night."

"Aw, Sunny, don't worry," Watkins said cheerfully. "Feeling better?"

"Yeah. Thanks." It seemed to be slightly painful to say. Sunny's mistrust for Watkins seemed to still simmer. Oh, Sunny, why couldn't you just stop worrying and fretting about things so much, and jump to less conclusions… Watkins hadn't made a single move on Ringo yet and didn't seem at all inclined to. En had a feeling the reason Sunny pushed people away was because ironically she was so scared of pushing them away. If you try to force people to stay close to you, you always get the exact opposite. Ah, at least she meant well. She simply had to stop constantly being jealous. Same with Melissa. That made her wonder how Melissa and Meyers were doing. Alright, probably. She hoped Melissa had rested a bit instead of dragging a few victims to her room. And it did En pleasure to realize she really looked forward to seeing Melissa again. Meyers too, but especially Melissa. Because despite how she looked, and despite the history she had with En, Melissa was really the most normal of the entire group. She never complained, never made things difficult, just kept her good cheer and stayed relaxed. Who'd have thought it?

"Army-style coffee, civvies," Betsy announced, holding a metal pot with steam curling above it. "Sit yourselves down and get invigorated."

"Nauseated, more likely," Ringo said quietly to En.

The coffee wasn't so bad, actually. It wasn't like Ringo made it – he was the Prince of Adding Water to Powder – but manageable. No one dared to ask exactly what 'Army style' entailed, but it probably meant using very little powder and a whole lot of water.

After the coffee, En's morning pee became too urgent to hold up, and she excused herself, going to squat behind a wall outside the fire station. The sun was warm already, and it would be sweltering hot within an hour or two. Damn, why'd she have to take that courier job at the beginning of the damn summer. Taking a breath, she squatted down and waited for the pain, but the burning she'd braced for didn't come, only a mild stinging, that felt heavenly compared to the searing pain she'd felt before. Holy shit she could pee! Closing her eyes, she enjoyed the business, a relieved smile on her face. It stung, but the stinging might as well have been a gentle massage. The meds she'd taken every day started to help!

Hitching up her pants, she smiled at the sun and told it quietly, "See that? I can pee."

It was a burning ball of helium in the sky, and En doubted it heard or cared, but it felt good to let it know she was finally getting rid of it.

Now if only the headache would go away. The analgesics helped a bit, but you can't just keep on taking painkillers, and the antidepressants would take a while to show results, Usanagi had said. Still, that they might work on the seizures was a bit of a comfort already.

She went back inside and found everyone ready to pack, except Watkins, who was rolling up her sleeping bag, grumbling that the last person to sleep in the sleeping bag should be the one to roll up the sleeping bag.

They walked the rest of the trip, and the sun was high in the sky when they reached the gates of Camp McCarran. En's shirt was drenched with sweat already, and they'd drunk the last water bottle at the beginning of the trip, so the NCR camp was a welcome sight. The two guards stood lounging next to the gate, one smoking a cigarette, the other picking at his fingernails. They briefly looked up, nodded at Betsy, and didn't even say a word when En and her friends followed the Corporal inside. En could almost hear Ringo frowning in disapproval behind her.

"Major Dhatri's on leave for a day or two, Corporal," one of the NCR Captains informed Betsy when she asked where En could cash her bounty.

"Hm," she said to En. "Then it'll be Colonel Hsu's office."

They walked to the concourse, but as they did so, they heard a furious voice shout, "BETSYYYYY!"

"Ugh," Betsy groaned. "That'll be the LT. He'll be beet-red and frothing at the mouth, I'll bet." She turned to face him and quietly said, "Yep."

Lieutenant Gorobets didn't even give her the time to salute and barked at her to get her butt to the exercise field on the double, one lap for every hour past reveille she was late. With a weary, "Yes, sir," Betsy got a move on, but not before telling the others, "Thanks, and goodbye!"

"Bye Betsy," En waved back. "Take care."

"She seems to have warmed up," Sunny remarked without much interest.

"Yeah," En said. "We had a good talk when we were standing watch."

"Ennie," Watkins insisted, sounding giddy. "Bounty, passes, Vegas?"

En smiled at her enthusiasm despite herself. "Alright, alright, let's go."

They passed Lieutenant Carrie Boyd on the way to the Colonel's office and actually got a terse nod out of her, which En supposed was better than 'promise me this is the last time you're here'. Colonel Hsu seemed a bit ambivalent to their entrance, but then he remembered the bounties and he eagerly asked, "So? Which one? Violet or Cook-Cook?"

En couldn't resist beaming when she said, "Both."

"No shit!" Then he remembered himself, scraped his throat and said, "Errr, I mean, you're kidding?"

"Nope." En placed the three dog collars on the Colonel's desk and then said, "Betsy was with us when we killed Cook-Cook. She said I should give you her word and that after the incident at Nelson, you'd know she always kept it."

Grinning, Hsu nodded. "That I know, all too well. Well, I must say, I'm impressed."

Bobbing on her feet, En said, "So's your wallet, right?"

Hsu laughed and rose, unlocking a sturdy cabinet behind his desk. "Definitely. I'll need you to sign a receipt though. I'm a bit more cynical about people than Major Dhatri.

"Sure, yeah."

He sat down at a typewriter. "Full names?"

"En Tessara."

"En or Anne?"

Well, it was an improvement over people just assuming it was Anne. "No, En. Ee-en."

"I'll need your full name, is it short for something?"

Ding! Question number two. There was no need to spell out her full name again, it'd just embarrass her further. "Uh, no. Just En. Tessara, double 's'."

Watkins wisely kept silent.

He clacked a few keys. "Right. Next?"

"Ringo Quinn."

Hsu started typing, then stopped. "Hold on a sec. You're Thomas and Naomi's boy, aren't you?"

Slightly embarrassed, Ringo admitted, "Uh... Yes, Colonel."

"Your father was a fine soldier, son. How's Naomi? Been ages since I've seen her."

"Thank you, Sir, and she was fine, last I heard."

"Good… Good." He finished typing Ringo's name, and then said, "Next?"

"Alejandra Reyes."

Clack-clack. "And finally?"

Insecurely, Leza looked at Ringo and En, who both nodded. It didn't seem all that dangerous to say her name, it wasn't like they'd run them through an Evil People database or something. "Uh… Melissa Watkins. But everyone calls me Leza."

"Right. Me… lis… sa… Wat… kins." Right, that's all of them.

For some reason, En had expected Ringo's last name to be something completely outlandish.

Hsu typed on, writing up a receipt, then tore it off the typewriter and told everyone to sign next to their names. A few signatures later, the amount of caps indicated on the paper was paid out, a whopping six hundred, good for passes all around and some change for entertainment when they hit Vegas. Whoo!

When they were outside, Watkins dug her nails into En's shoulders and ecstatically shouted, "Vegas, baby, Vegas, yay!"

"Easy there," En said. "We still need to hike all the way back to Freeside. And I don't care how eager you are, we're resting before we head into Vegas."

"Aww," Watkins whined. "But I wanted to go now."

"It's just a day, blondie," Sunny said sourly. "Won't kill ya."

Watkins' spirit abated somewhat. "Yeah you're right. It'll be a hard trip for you. Sorry, I was just… you know, looking forward to it?"

Stuffing the caps in the bag on En's back, Ringo said, "It's only a day," sounding as if he was soothing an overenthusiastic child. Which he kinda was.

Well, except for the fact that Watkins was at least sensible enough to realize that a day wasn't a year. She bounced, smiled again and said, "You're right. But we're taking a night on the town tomorrow, promised?"

En didn't like promising things, especially things that involved too many factors she had no control over. "Uh…"

Watkins glared at her. "Ennie."

Fine, fine. "Alright, alright, promised. But I'm not carrying you to your bed, got it?"

Watkins gave a lopsided grin. "We'll see."

"I'm not. Believe me." Deciding it might be good to show some consideration, En asked Sunny, "You feeling okay?"

Sunny managed a pained smile. "I'll be alright. Let's go."

After a quick meal of cereal bars at the extinguished campfire, they set out, back to Freeside. The walk had taken a few hours to get to Camp McCarran, so En figured they probably wouldn't be back before the late afternoon. Sunny's legs were particularly painful today, so they had to stop for a breather several times, and with the sun being searing hot and leaden, the water supply they'd bought in Camp McCarran probably wouldn't last longer than the walk back to Freeside. Water wasn't that expensive, thankfully, though En had heard that on the East coast, water was almost priceless due to its scarcity. She found that a bit hard to believe.

Watkins and Ringo had apparently had a decent time while standing guard, and they seemed to have warmed up to each other a bit, Ringo acting less indifferent and Watkins less obnoxious. En took the liberty of seeing that as a good thing, but she hoped Sunny wouldn't be too peeved by their slightly less chilly interactions.

Even with periodical breaks, the walk didn't take all that long. Sunny had been a trooper, slogging on despite the pain and fatigue in her legs, and not giving a peep. Cheyenne on the other hand, seemed chipper as always trotting along with her mistress, occasionally looking up at her, and then back to the road.

It was three thirty when they reached the Freeside gate. They'd made damn good time. Watkins' wish might still be fulfilled. But then En realized how utterly beat she felt and she decided that no way, they wouldn't be playing slots and blackjack in Vegas tonight. One more day wouldn't hurt. If that Benny prick had his base of operations there, surely he'd be there tomorrow too. And the day after.

She sure was curious to see what Melissa and Meyers had been up to during the day or two they'd been away. Meyers would probably have spent the days reading, and Melissa… well, she'd just have to ask and see, wouldn't she?

"Whew," Melissa breathed. "The Atomic Wrangler. We're home."

"As home as a dive in Freeside can be," Sunny muttered.

"Regardless," Ringo said, "a real bed will feel quite invigorating."

"Bunking with me again, Leza?" En asked.

With a grin, Watkins replied, "Not with Melissa or Meyers, that's for sure, I don't feel like covering the keyhole every time I shower?"

"Come on," Sunny said, "I need a cold beer."

Didn't they all.

There weren't many people in the Wrangler, and Meyers and Melissa were nowhere to be seen. Meyers would probably be in his room reading (the man was a maniac), but where Melissa was… that would be a more difficult thing to ascertain. "I'll go see if our two left-behinds are in their rooms, okay?" En said. "Order me a coke? And none of that sarsaparilla crap please."

"Will do," Ringo said, walking up to the bar.

En gently knocked on the door of Meyers' and Melissa's room, and sure enough, she heard Meyers' hoarse voice gravel, "Yeah?"

"You decent?"

"I wouldn't be indecent if I was naked, but yeah, you can come right on in, little lady."

Meyers lay on the bed, propped up against the headrest, one leg over the other, and reading – predictably – a book. The night light was on, even though it was still afternoon, and he'd closed the shutters, probably for a relaxed and cosy reading atmosphere.

"So we're back."

With a smile, he lowered his reading glasses (where'd he found those?) and said, "So I see. Was your adventure fruitful?"

"Oh yes. We've got more than enough for passes. The others are downstairs, having a drink. You coming?"

He flung his book onto his nightstand. It had a cover of two hands holding an apple. "Most certainly. This book is the biggest piece of pulpy trash I've ever read anyway."

"Uh… okay. Any idea where Melissa is?"

Grining, Meyers said, "She had a little… errand to run at the Old Mormon Fort."

En blinked. "What would she possibly be doing at an old Mormon Fort?"

Meyers' grin widened. "It's a Followers of the Apocalypse field hospital now. The head doctor's… quite the looker."

Right, Melissa had been on a poaching run again. "Say no more."

"Nice young woman, by the way," Meyers told her as they went down the stairs. "Ran into them both when they were having a drink downstairs. Terrible haircut, but Melissa would probably disagree."

"Probably. I mean, if you look at her…"

"I'd wager our amazon needs a shower more than a haircut. But don't tell her I said that."

"Hell no, she'd kill us both."

"Melissa not here?" Sunny asked as they sat down at the table.

"No," En said. "She's… out for a bit."

"Now then," Meyers said. "Tell me all!"

Tell him all they did. Ringo made a fuss of having to get him a scotch at the bar when he'd just returned with drinks, but apart from that, they could tell him the whole story, about En's interrogation, the night in the cell, the search for the bounties and the sleepover at the fire station. Ringo and Sunny were quiet for the most part, with En and Watkins falling over each other to tell parts of the story.

Finishing his second scotch, Meyers only commented, "So you return victorious and bearing the spoils of war?"

"Yep," En beamed. "Enough to get us all into Vegas."

"… and finally get your questions answered," he ruminated, swirling the last of the scotch around in his glass. "Excited?"

"Kinda, yeah," she had to admit.

"So, Ennie, let's go get those passes made already!"

Shit, yeah, they'd have to get that done before the shop closed. "You're right," En said, draining her cola. "And I promise, tomorrow we're all heading into Vegas and gambling all our excess cash away."

"That's a responsible way to treat our finances," Ringo said sourly.

"In a manner of speaking, stuffy-man," En was quick to inform him. "We won't ruin ourselves, don't worry."

"See to it that you don't."

"Ugh, yawn, Ringo!" Watkins whined. "Don't be such a buzzkill all the time?"

"Someone has to make sure you kids behave."

"Now, now," Sunny soothed. "Surely they can have a bit of fun."

"What do you mean, 'they'?" Watkins protested. "Sunny, you're totally coming with us?"

"Uh… we'll see. I've got nothing to wear and stuff."

That only encouraged Watkins even further. "Then we! Are! Going! Clothes-shopping!"

Sunny managed a thin smile. "We'll see."

"Guys," En said, "we need to go get those passes made before the shop closes, come on."

As they walked to Mick & Ralph's, they saw Melissa approach from a side street.

"Jillarooooo!" she shouted enthusiastically, a wide grin on her face. "I was gettin' worried you'd been eaten an' crapped out of some deathclaw's arsehole or sumthin'."

"You're such a charmer, Melissa," En said.

"Good to see you've all made it back, though. An' let me guess, you're on your way to those mongrels who forge passes?"

"That's right," Leza said with a bounce. "This time tomorrow, we'll be in Vegas, baby!"

En had lost count of the times Leza had said, "Vegas, baby" in the last few days. Silly girl.

Mick and Ralph were their usual cheerful selves, but when Soul Patch Ralph saw the sack of caps, he suddenly became a whole lot more cooperative. "Alright, how many do you need?"

"Six in total."

"That'll be six hundred. No group discounts, sorry." He was clearly anything but sorry.

Counting out the caps took a while, and as En did so, Ralph handed each of her friends a paper, telling them to fill it out and then get their pictures taken, one by one. Ringo and Sunny were done with their papers even before En was done counting off the caps, and they followed Ralph to the back of the store to have their pictures taken, while Mick stood guard by the store window.

Meyers was next, closely followed by Melissa.

Watkins, predictably, needed the most time, probably having to write words letter per letter, her tongue sticking out the side of her mouth. "Um… under 'place of residence', do I put 'Brotherhood bunker', or what?"

"Shh, Leza, don't make me lose count."

"Geez. Sor-ry."

"What's the problem, Leza?" Sunny asked, browsing the clothes in the shop without too much interest."

"Well, under 'place of residence'," she repeated, "do I put 'Brotherhood bunker', or what?"

Sunny snorted. "Only if you want to get arrested the second you show your pass to anyone. Just put… I don't know, Novac or something. Something that's plausible, but not too close so they won't bother checking."

"Alright, and ummm… under, 'grounds'? Tourist, or something?"

"Just write something logical, that fits your look," Ringo said. "In your case, say… promo girl or something."

"Right." Her tongue again out the side of her mouth, she resumed scrawling.

"Promo girl?" Sunny asked him. "And you told me to write 'pest control'."

"I uh… well," Ringo explained awkwardly, "… your beauty is more… well, rugged. Less… plastic."

Watkins had heard, but she kept quiet, realizing what he was doing wasn't meant to insult her. Sometimes she could be perceptive. Not often, but sometimes.

"Still," Sunny said with a sour face. "Pest controller?"

"Whatcha worried about, Sunny?" Melissa asked, returning from the photo booth. "Not like there's no such thing as a pretty pest controller?"

"Hmph," Sunny grunted, not satisfied. "What'd you put?"

With a grin, Melissa said, "Bodyguard, of course."

"Might arouse suspicion," Ringo pointed out. "Bodyguard travelling alone?"

Melissa shrugged. "Maybe Sunny's such an envied pest controller that she needs protection?"

"… Might work."

"What'd you write, stuffy-man?"

"Just 'trader'. Figured that was generic enough not to raise any eyebrows."

En was finally done counting out the caps, and she started filling out her own paper. The boring stuff like name, date of birth, place of birth, blah blah… Under 'grounds' she simply wrote 'Courier'. She figured it was fitting.

"Come on, you're last," Ralph said curtly. He told her to sit on a stool and try to look as little ugly as possible. Charming. A flash, and her picture was taken. She'd probably look like a total dumbshit, like people always did when they had to pose for a photo.

Well, Watkins would probably have made the awesomest picture in the history of the universe.

"Passes should be done by tomorrow morning. Come pick 'em up at ten, and not a second before."

"Alright, thanks for the kind and friendly service," En said. "It's always nice to see people take our money with a smile."

The sarcasm was lost on him. "Yes, well, like I said, ten."

"And not a second before."

There were still around two hundred caps left after the payment for the passes and a quick selection of supplies at Mick & Ralph's store. Jolly. En was determined to keep at least a hundred for gambling, but the rest could be spent on ammunition or clothing. En had her evening attire (well, casual outfit at least), Ringo would probably just traipse around in his regular get-up, as would Melissa, Watkins had her sexy body-hugging black tank top and bluejeans, Meyers was all set too, but Sunny didn't really have any casual clothes yet. It might be a good occasion to spend some time with her to have a talk, as tiring as the prospect seemed.

"Hey Sunny, why don't you and I go buy you a nice and sexy outfit?" En suggested when they stood outside again.

"Uh…"

"Yes!" Watkins cheered. "Clothes-shopping for Sunny, I'm in!"

Right, she should have seen that one coming. "Um, Leza… I was kinda hoping to spend some time with just Sunny."

Watkins' enthusiasm changed inversely proportional to Sunny's. "Oh. Right, um, sorry, didn't mean to intrude?" Ugh, now she felt short-changed.

"C'mon blondie," Melissa saved the day. "Let's all go have a drink together while these two gawk at clothes."

Still against her will, Watkins conceded and said, "Alright, fine. You two have fun?" The disappointment was legible on her face. Ugh, damn drama all the time. At least Sunny would feel self-satisfied at the thought of En making time for her and her alone.

"There's a little shop down that road there," Melissa pointed out. "Got a few tacky bridal dresses, but some more normal clobber as well."

"Alright, cool, thanks."

"Take care of Cheyenne for a bit?" Sunny asked Ringo, who shrugged and took over the leash. Together, En and Sunny walked to the shop.

"So what's the occasion?" Sunny asked.

"Well… you didn't have any casual clothes yet," En half-lied. "So I figured we could go buy you some."

Sunny snorted. "You could practically hear Watkins' heart break when you told her you didn't want her to come." There was a very slight trace of enjoyment in her voice.

"Well, I just thought it'd been ages since we've spent some time, just us, you know. Like in the beginning."

"That's true, I suppose."

"Come on, let's go see what they've got."

The store clerk was a flamboyantly gay dude in his late forties, who had an uncanny eye for style. After Sunny had explicitly told him, 'nothing that leaves the legs bare', he'd chirped and sought out several dresses, ("We need something that makes you appear taller!") and after a series of try-outs, a deep-cut red one and a slightly more modest but tighter black one remained.

"Now," Sunny said, holding both dresses by the coat hangers and looking back and forth between them. "Which one?"

Both En and the salesman stroked their chins and simultaneously buzzed, "Hmmmm…"

"The black one's more classy," En said.

"… but the red one's sexier," the salesman finished, complete with jazz hands.

"What do you think, sweetie? Am I classy or sexy?"

"Classy." "Sexy."

En and the salesman had spoken simultaneously, and they seemed to differ in opinion. Before En could say anything, the salesman leapt from his seat. "Come on, darling!" Standing behind her, he pulled at the back of her shirt, tightening it in the waist and chest. "Show off those puppies!" He did have a point, Sunny was kinda boobed, but she always tried to hide her assets.

Awkwardly, Sunny said, "I'm not keen on showing off… uh, any puppies."

En nodded. "Go for the black one, it's more your style. Feminine but not too naked."

The salesman put his hands in his sides. "What's wrong with naked?"

"Uh…" Sunny said, "Everything?"

"Exactly. Pick the black one, Sunny."

"Alright. Black it is."

The salesman seemed satisfied regardless, settling for telling Sunny she'd made the second best choice of all his merchandise. The dress was rather expensive, but that was alright, En figured. Everyone had bought him- or herself a set of casuals, no reason why Sunny didn't have the right to be spoiled a bit.

"Well, that was fun!" Sunny said. "I'll wear it tomorrow."

"You better. Wanna go for a coffee or something before we head back."

"Uh… sure."

They sat down at one of the several tables set out on the sidewalk in front of the coffee shop close to the clothing store. After ordering a coffee each (it was getting late and the air was getting a bit chillier), En decided it was high time the dreaded conversation was started.

"So hey, Sunny…"

"Mm?"

"How are you um, you know, feeling and stuff?"

"Me? I'm fine, why?"

"Is there… anything you'd like to talk about?"

"Oh, we can talk about anything you like?"

Ugh, she didn't mean it that way. Sunny clearly wasn't about to step forward of her own accord, so En bluntly asked, "I mean, are you afraid that I'm going to stop caring about you?"

Sunny shifted in her seat. "Not really. I mean, it's your choice who you're friends with, right?"

"Yes, but… sometimes you really act as if you're unhappy with other people being friends with me."

Sunny blinked. "You saying I'm possessive?"

Yes, Sunny. That's exactly what you are. "Not… possessive, no. Just… insecure?"

Sunny shrugged, even though she clearly wasn't indifferent. "No I just… I don't know, feel a bit underappreciated sometimes."

Dammit, Sunny, you feel that way because you're insecure, not because I don't give you enough recognition. "But you do know I do appreciate you, right? I mean, I don't give you the impression that I take you for granted or anything?"

"No, it's just…" Sunny weaved her head out of the way as the waitress put down the coffees. "Thanks. It's just… I don't know, me trying to look out for you, you know?"

Now was the time, there might never be another chance. "Sunny… do you feel the need to protect me so much because of something that happened in the past?"

Sunny took a sip of her coffee and looked away. "What… makes you say that?"

She had to go all the way on this, it was now or never. "I uh… I know you used to have a younger sister."

At that, Sunny visibly stiffened. "Who… who told you that? Ringo?"

"It doesn't – "

"If it was Ringo," Sunny said fiercely, "then tell me now so I can break up with him for betraying my trust."

"It wasn't Ringo, Sunny," En insisted. But she had to add, "… at least, not willingly."

"What do you mean, 'not willingly'? Did you torture it out of him or what?"

Alright, she told herself, fess up. "Sunny. Don't get mad at me, but… back in that cell in Camp McCarran… well, I could hear everything you said."

Sunny was quiet, picked up her coffee cup and slowly took a drink. "Then you know, I guess. Yes, I used to have a younger sister. Was crazy about her. My parents weren't around much, and when they were, they weren't all that interested in us. So we took care of ourselves, you know?"

En let her talk.

"But Diana was always quiet, you know? A bit shy, naïve. Too good for this world. I stood up for her when she was in trouble, when other kids bothered her."

"M-hm."

"It just… felt like I had a purpose when I took care of her." Tears were standing in her eyes. "And then the thing happened with my parents. I was out hunting when some fugitive stormed into my house and took my family hostage. Federales were too lazy to negotiate or make a decent plan, so they just…" Her lower lip trembled, and in a tiny voice, she said, "… fired at the house until nothing moved anymore. When I came running back, the Federales told me my parents were dead instantly, but that my sister had lived for a few more minutes." Tears came running down her cheeks when she said, "They just stood there… told me without a shred of sympathy. Like it was the most normal thing in the world. Just like that: 'your parents didn't suffer, but your thirteen-year-old sister still clung to life for a few minutes with her guts shot out'. Fuckers even managed to sound impressed."

"Geez, Sunny…"

Pulled back to the present, Sunny hastily wiped her tears, ashamed of showing them. "Anyway, after Diana died, I swore to myself I'd never turn my back on people long enough for something to happen to them."

"Why didn't you tell me before?" Their coffees were going cold, but that didn't matter.

"What was I supposed to say? That I'm damaged goods?"

En shrugged. "Pft. Isn't everyone these days?"

"Everyone except Watkins maybe."

"Okay, Sunny, you really need to put this idea out of your head, that it's like, a competition or something." She looked Sunny straight in the eye, and meant it when she said, "Sunny, there is no one in this group I feel more closely connected to than you. You try my patience sometimes, but I'll never forget that it was we three who set out first. I never told you how happy I was that you broke into a run on that sunny morning and ran after us, and maybe I should have. I'll never forget seeing you in the bar in Goodsprings and just… looking up to you. Thinking, wow, this is a woman I respect."

"Yeah," Sunny said with a humourless chuckle. "Bet there's not much of that left now."

Come on, Sunny, stop being so needy. "You kidding? Just because things are rocky between us sometimes doesn't mean I respect you any less."

Sunny wiped the last of her tears with her sleeve. "I swore I'd never cry again too. Crying is for losers."

"You're not a loser, Sunny. But what you do need to understand…"

"Mm?"

Now, how to put this delicately. "… is that I'm not your little sister. I never will be. Nothing can bring her back, no one can replace her. You need to find some way to leave this little-sister fixation behind."

"I know," Sunny said calmly, looking out at Freeside and the setting sun. "I was just so happy when you came along, you know? Then there was Melissa, being all invincible and badass. And Watkins, all giggly and carefree. It felt like they were stealing you from me. It's just… Something told me that this was my chance to do it right this time."

"You're my friend, Sunny. As long as we both keep that in mind, everything we do is right."

Sunny nodded. "Yeah, guess so."

"So stop thinking someone's going to become more important to me than you. I haven't been giving you so much appreciation because I assumed you knew I cared about you implicitly. I guess that was wrong of me." Now, say what you want, but this situation was being masterfully dealt with.

Sunny set the coffee cup to her lips. "Ugh. Cold." She set it down again. "We're still B.F.F., whatever that means, right?"

"You bet yer ass."

En mentally congratulated herself on a job well done. Damn, keeping people loyal was a tough job. Always saying stuff they wanted to hear. But she'd succeeded yet again. That'd keep Sunny satisfied for a while.