(Dezbe)

Charon and I were able to sneak away without anyone noticing this time. Not even the kids, since they weren't even home when we left. And I didn't bother leaving a note because I'm an adult and fuck that. I haven't talked to Charon much today, since there's been a lot of distractions. Rebuilding a town isn't easy, but I'm glad it's almost done. Charon wants to pack up and head somewhere, fight some baddies, and do some 'us' time like we used to. Problem is there's not a goddamned thing left to fight around here, and telling Charon that is pointless. It'll probably turn into an 'I'm right you're wrong' argument. I don't need to be able to tell the future to know that. We're on really thin ice in our relationship.

All day I've been wondering if this is the last ditch effort married people give their marriage before calling it quits. I can't say I know for sure, since I've never been married before. All of my worries throughout the day today could very easily be wrong, but I've never been one to think rationally like that. One night of passion can't ignite a fire that's been out for twenty-years. It takes work. We're both willing to do it, but since finding out Gob and I slept together, I can tell Charon has his doubts. His doubts, give me doubts. It's a very vicious cycle. I think so, anyways.

We're heading towards Springvale at a pretty slow pace. I don't think either of us knows what to do in the company of one another anymore. Or maybe we're just tired. Dunno. But I do care.

"I have been thinking."

Charon says, and the sound of his voice in the dead-quiet Capital Wasteland makes me jump. I light a cigarette, you know, for precaution, and exhale smoke.

"About what?"

Please, please, please do not say 'I want to end this marriage'. Because this time we have guns. And I might kill him. Or myself. Or both. Could be a murder-suicide thing, all dramatic and such. I'd dig it.

"Just…memories. I have spent the day working, and daydreaming, about our life, and how it was in the past. It seems I had forgotten, how much fun we had together in between the fighting, and how many tender moments we shared."

Good. He's been thinking about the same things I have, then. Putting my hand in his, I smile, happy.

"Me too. If my heart was a house, Charon, you wouldn't need a home."

"And why is that?"

"Because you'd always be home."

It's corny, but he smiles at me anyway, and pats the top of my head. I feel like a dog.

"You are one of a kind, Dezbe."

"You know what I've been thinking about?"

"What?"

I get sort of sad, and drop my cigarette to the ground.

"…How I've lost my mother's framed bible verse. I wish I still had it."

"Revelation 21:6?"

"You remember…"

"Yes. It is hard to forget. Each time I think of it, I think of…"

"What?"

We stop walking, just at the edge of the old, nearly gone town. The moon casts eerie, yet calming shadows over everything. From the corner of my eye, I see an old car.

" When you activated the purifier. I had thought I lost you…"

From nowhere, Charon brings me in close to him, and wraps his arms around me. I feel him rest his head atop mine, and I close my eyes. After all these years, his smell still calms me, no matter what I'm feeling, and puts all my doubts to rest.

"I remember that, too."

I remember it differently than him. I remember waking up, alone, scared, with Lyons there. Back then, we didn't know who he was exactly. Just that he had a vendetta against ghouls, and Charon in particular. And that he let Charon think I was dead.

"You never told me, how you got to Underworld."

I never told him, because I didn't want to. Back then, it simply never came up. Over the years, as we began our family and started to talk late at night about our past in jest, it simply seemed too heavy a burden to speak of. Just like we never speak about what Butch did to me, or what he was feeling when I was in The Pitt. I only know he spent time with Greta. I don't know what he felt about me, or anything. Maybe, tonight, it's time to talk about those things.

Sighing, I bury my face in his leather armor, just like I always have. I grip the back of it tightly, as I remember my journey from the Citadel to Underworld.

"You know how weak I was when I got there. It was the same in the Citadel. Lyons wanted me to stay, to get my strength back. But…even though we weren't together back then, just being away from you drove me mad. I was so upset that you weren't there. I was angry at Lyons, and I also felt abandoned. So I forced myself out of bed, grabbed my pack, and stumbled down the hall. Eventually, I ran into Star Paladin Cross. She helped my dad. She offered to help me home."

"I never saw her with you."

"I made her leave outside the museum. I didn't want anyone to get freaked out, but I could hardly walk. She really helped me, get back to you. She was nice, and I was mean, as I always was back then. It hurt to walk, it hurt to move, but all I wanted…was to just see you. It's all I wanted back then, and if it happened again…it'd be all I want now."

Charon squeezes me gently, but hard enough to where I know what he's feeling. And I bury my head into him again, and want him to take all those bad and painful memories away, and throw them to the wind.

"I am sorry I was not there."

"It's not your fault. It…really wasn't anyone's fault except Lyons'."

We part, and Charon smiles at me. Charon's smile, isn't like a normal smile. A full smile for him is a smirk. But over the years, I've just learned how to read him.

"Come on, it feels like it will be cold tonight. We should get inside."

Agreeing, I walk beside him, holding his hand and remembering how when we first met, being away from him was like a stab in the chest. I hadn't felt like that in a long time. Until after last night. I felt that feeling today, when I was working without him. When I hadn't seen him. I began to look around for him, like I once did, and I felt like a lost child without their precious toy. It was…refreshing, to feel that way again.

Getting inside the house, we put down our guns. Charon removes the top half of his armor, while I stretch and loosen the straps on my Leather Rebel armor. I unzip the top a bit, too, and take off some of the plates. It's more comfortable that way, anyways. The moon shines inside this old house. It lights it up, making it feel like I'm back to being nineteen and reckless. Sitting down on the bed, I stretch and yawn a bit.

"Do you remember Point Lookout?"

I ask him as he fumbles around in the kitchen. I can watch him, because the house isn't small, and the walls are beginning to rot, since they've gone so long without care.

"I try not to, why?"

"Because I remember. And I remember going home from there with you. I remember fighting in the mud with you. I remember…that all I wanted, was for you to love me again."

He stops shuffling around and comes to sit with me. I look at him, while he lights two cigarettes for us. I keep my eyes patiently focused on him, and wonder in the back of my mind, if maybe we could live together in Tenpenny Tower again. It feels like I'm trying to relive who I was, but in reality, I'm trying to remember who I was, who we were, before we decided to settle down. Now that everyone is an adult, and everyone can care for themselves, it's time for me, and Charon, to care for ourselves. We've put this on hold long enough. It's time for us to be us again.

"I never, ever stopped loving you, Dezbe."

"I know. I just, forget sometimes. Especially now."

"Dez, there is a lot going on right now, I understand. But do not think that I no longer care for you."

Looking up at him, I smile and nod. In the back of my mind, I hear a piano playing softly. It's been so many years, since I've played, that I think I may have forgotten how. But I'll never forget how the music feels, or the sounds the keys make, or the feel of them against my fingers. A familiar feeling of calm serenity washes over me. The kind I would feel alone with Charon in our small cave at Rockopolis. Looking out the window behind me, I realize how lonely it was, to watch stars without Charon by my side.

"Charon?"

"Hm?"

Water wells in my eyes, as I remember those five years I spent alone. It seems like a lifetime ago now. And it was, with all that's happened.

"Those five years…we were apart…"

Tears fall down my cheeks, the pain still fresh from that time. I feel Charon take my cigarette and put it out, as he wraps his hand around mine, comforting me.

"I don't ever want to feel that way again. And I know that's how I'd feel, if you left me now."

"I have no intention of leaving."

"But you did."

He hesitates, and I look at him, wiping my face clean.

"Yes. I did, as we started to rebuild Megaton. I began to miss how it felt, to feel the gun in my hand. To feel the feelings of adrenaline. I miss the feeling, of being so important to you, in knowing that you relied on me for survival."

"I still feel that way. I may know a lot more than I did when we first met, but all of that, was learned with you. How do you think I'd fare in a fight alone? I'm so used to your motions, patterns, how you fight, that my guard would be down. With radiation being near-gone…I get scared. I get scared of having to fight alone now."

"Just as you forget that I care, I often forget that you need me."

"I need you. Do you know what I did then? In those five years?"

He nods, leaning against the wall for support while he sits on the bed with me.

"You were alone."

"I was alone, yeah. I didn't talk to anyone. Nobody. I never left my house, unless it was to get more food. I just stayed in there, and cried every night. Until Gob came. I felt like I couldn't…manage life, without you. Because of everything we've done together, I didn't feel like I could support myself. I felt weak because of that. It took me such a long time, that that isn't weakness."

"What is it, then?"

"It's like trying to walk without legs. You're my legs, I guess you could say. I tried to walk without you."

It's silly, but it gets the point across. Looking at him, I kiss his cheek.

"I used to ask myself, how you could leave me alone in this world when it was so cold. I figured that maybe I was being selfish and demanding. I felt like my father must have felt when my mother left. I was so mad, because you left. Then I would get sad, because you weren't there to make it better."

"It will never happen again."

"I was scared last night it was going to."

He shakes his head at me, as I lie down, with my head in his lap.

"I would have come home in the morning. I am not prepared to leave you, despite my anger. I understand why you felt that way."

"What did you do in those years?"

"It is not important."

"Charon…"

I hear him sigh, as he begins to stroke my hair. He would do this a lot, in the past.

"I sought vengeance on everyone who had ever ordered me to kill. On their descendants, really. Following every lead, making amends in the best way I knew how. I tried to come to terms with my past. Staying away from you, was what I thought was best. I did not want to hurt you any further than I had. Yet had I known, I would have returned to you."

I close my eyes, not wanting to feel like that ever again.

"Dezbe?"

"Yeah?"

"Look at me."

Sitting up, I cross my legs in front of me. Charon toys with my armor, analyzing it as he tries to figure out what he's trying to say. I know his monotone facial expressions fairly well now.

"I know you have been hurting, but I am here. And I have been waiting, for the right time to tell you that I am waiting to be there for you."

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Because it did not feel right. It has not felt as right as it does now, in a very long time. Moments alone, Dezbe, are precious and rare. Now that we are able to have them, I am feeling safer in this with you. My doubts are leaving, and I am remembering just how and why I allowed myself to feel this way towards you."

"Because without me, you would have failed your contract."

"That is the start, yes."

"And then my dad died…"

My tone is dark, but it's true. Charon and I weren't very close until then. But that night, we were. That night changed everything, because he knew I needed and loved him, and I knew he was going to be a forever constant in my life. We didn't know how hard it was going to be back then. We didn't know anything. All I knew, is that he was there, and that I needed and wanted him there.

"Yes. I remember."

"That night, Charon? What were you thinking? When all that was happening?"

I never got to hear it. I never…get to hear how he felt back then. I'm not in his mind. I want to know that back then, there was something on his end, and it wasn't just me. Before, I'd believe that there was something else. Now, I just need to hear it. Hear him say it.

"…When you held me, I thought it was beautiful. It was strange, but feeling someone that close, and the backdrop of Megaton…I felt emotions for the first time that night. I did not know what to do. I held you, and looked at the atmosphere. It was calm, and serene, and in my arms a girl cried for her father. I…felt as if I was not myself. As if I was watching the scene in third person. I had never been needed so badly, for emotional reasons. Never, felt like I was important enough, to be relied on for that. And in the midst of my amazement, with how everything felt, there you were. Crying, sobbing, a mess and tragically so. You looked up at me, and begged me to stay. When I saw your face, I know today the emotion, but I did not know it then. When we went inside, and I laid with you, while you slept I lied awake. I lay there, wondering what inside me was changing."

"You thought…it was beautiful?"

"In a tragic way, yes. It was very different for me back then, than it was for you. You remember things with your own emotions, whereas I remember things void of them. It is why we remember our past together so differently."

Hearing his side of it, makes everything seem more…romantic, than how it felt. I guess you could say. I like hearing it, though. I like hearing about how he didn't feel, about how he was to me, about everything. I want to hear more. I want to talk until the sun rises. But, most of all, I want these nights to happen more and more. Not with the kids down the hall, or Megaton behind our walls, but with nothing around us. Nothing, just us, and the stars. It's something I feel we need to do.

Looking Charon in the eyes, I remember what I thought when I was so young. Taking his hands in mine, I smile at him.

"I need you."

I never want this love to fail. We've come so far, and it's been so long, that leaving now would kind of be like a slap in the face to our past selves. I remember the Dezbe I once was, so brazen and determined to have nobody but Charon. Egging him on to chase me, getting him to come and find me. And in turn, he'd get so angry. He'd get so mad and we would fight. We'd bite, kick, punch and hit until we couldn't anymore. Until we were both too exhausted to even lift a finger. And then together, we'd lay there, silently, just resting. Our anger would subside, and we'd be alone together. Alone, with just us, and the world to fight. Charon pulls his hand from mine, and brings it to my face. Gently, his fingertips trace the three, white, diagonal scars across my face. Ones I got in Point Lookout, and often forget are there. I forget about most of my scars, since they're a part of me now. Like fingertips, or toes. You never pay much mind to them, because you're just so used to seeing them.

Smiling as he tickles my nose, Charon wipes some dirt from my cheek. He's lost in thought, and I stare at his never-changing features. I'm still going to follow him until he loves me.

"You have, the same high cheekbones. Your face is oval, with a slightly pointed chin. Your nose is small, like a button, and your eyes…are still almond shape, and deep brown. You have grown, but your face…has stayed the same, Dezbe."

"Same could be said for you, you know."

I tell him as he takes his hand away. A silence falls over us, but it's a comfortable one. The kind where two people, who have been together so long, can sit and remember how it all came to be. All the emotions, it was truly passionate. How we always fought for one another, how we never gave up, even if our biggest enemy was ourselves. There's a lot to show for our efforts. We raised a family in a safe town, overcome the prejudice against us, protect the same people who wanted us dead. Gave the land rain, and fresh water. We've grown crops, and killed armies. Charon and I have done every imaginable thing possible out here. Everything to do, we've done. All the fights there were to fight, we've fought.

"I would dream about you."

Charon says, breaking the silence between us. I remember him telling me about those dreams, so long ago. But I want to hear them again.

"I was in a field of grass. It was warm, like spring. There was a single tree, a willow, in that field. I was human, and there was no Capital Wasteland. The skies were blue, and the clouds white. You wore a halter dress, white, with yellow flowers, and a large brimmed hat. Your hair was long and flowing down to your waist. There was no hint of radiation, and you were smiling so bright. That dream used to haunt me, but now, I would give anything to have it again."

"I think you dreamt that, because you missed me, and wanted to live in a world different from this one."

Charon stands up, and I know there's too many thoughts in his mind. There's an itch that needs to be scratched, but we don't know what or where that itch it.

"Perhaps. But I have been human again. It did not turn out so well, and we never did find those fields, did we?"

He asks me, his back to me. I shake my head, though he can't see it.

"No, we never did."

Charon sighs, and turns to face me. I want to figure out what's wrong with us. I want us to be as in love as we were so many years ago. I want to know what's wrong. But it's not that simple. It's not ever that simple, and really I didn't expect it to be. Doubts start to flood my mind again, Charon sees this, too. As he comes closer to me, my hands start to shake. His puts his fingers under my chin and gently raises my head to look at him.

I stare into his milky blue eyes, against the darkness of the house, and the shadows the moonlight casts.

"I love you."

He says, kissing me. But it doesn't put my fears to rest. Gently, he helps me take off the top of my armor. I don't want to have sex right now, but once my top is off, I realize, that Charon doesn't want to either. His motives for getting me half naked, I realize, aren't for sex. Gently, he touches and skims my scars with his fingertips. Remembering each one as it happened, remembering how they all came to be. Imperfection never felt so beautiful before. Scars from guns, Deathclaws, knives, energy weapons, you name it, I have it.

Pulling me to my feet, Charon traces the scar that winds down my back. The one he wasn't there for. The one I got in The Pitt. The one that nearly killed me, but didn't. It didn't kill me, because I refused to die. Because I had to return to Charon. I had to get back to the Capital Wasteland, and tell him I was okay. Tell him that I was still here for him, and that I loved him, and wanted to be by his side no matter what the costs. That scar is the deepest I have, and over the years remained a dark shade of purple and red. It winds around my body, like it's trying to squeeze me to death, and creates an indent like a river does to the land. It tickles, as he traces inside of it.

"I'm scared."

I admit to him, as his fingertips reach the end of that scar.

"Of what?"

"Being alone. Without you. Of this entire relationship falling apart."

Charon's hand rests on the top of my pants. With his other hand, he feels the gunshot scar I got from fighting the Talons when I was saving him.

"I don't want you to stay with me, because you feel like you should. I want you to stay with me, because you love me."

Silent, Charon takes his hands away. He goes and takes the top half of his armor. For a minute, I think he's going to put it on, take his gun, and leave. Instead he just stares at it, like he's about to say goodbye to an old friend. He toys with it in his hands, his fingerless gloves smoothing down the rough leather. From nowhere, he looks at me. His stare is icy, cold. I almost don't recognize it, but then, I remember it. It's the same icy and cold stare he would give to me when we first paired up. When I first bought him.

"Charon?"

The stare chills me to the bone. I'm not used to it. He'd only ever have it under contract, or when he was really not happy with a situation…while under contract.

"…And if I did not love you?"

Swallowing hard, I stand up, still only in my bra. Slowly, I walk towards him, and gently take the armor from his hands. I haven't felt so intimidated by him in a long, long time.

"I'd chase you down, and follow you, until you loved me."

Placing his armor down gently on the table, we stand between the doorway that leads to the kitchen.

"After all these years, and all that you know of me, you still care for me as you once did?"

Charon asks, his glare not changing. I find the courage I once had deep down inside, and regain myself.

"I care for you, more than I did back then."

I know what's happening. Charon's…well despite all his progress, he will always have issues. Memories, pain from his time at the compound he was raised in. I know he's going to regress, rather than deal with the difficulties, and possibilities, of losing me. I smile softly at him, because I'm the only one in the world, who can bring him out of his moments like these.

"You know that I love you, Dezbe. That I would never dream of leaving you, or Dizzy alone out here. That leaving my family, leaving you, would be suicide for me."

"I'm not going anywhere, either."

"I have fought far too long, and far too hard, to leave now. I have fought armies, my captors, and my own self, for this to end now."

"It's not ending now, Charon."

He pulls me close, and I take comfort in knowing that still, I can help him out of his own mind.

"I need to remind everyone what happens when they harm you. They have forgotten."

"I think they still remember, Charon."

"No. Had they known, Caesar's Legion would not have attacked us."

"They're from New Vegas. They didn't know. Don't fault them."

In his cold, white and blue eyes, I see the Charon I fell in love with. He looks at me, as if to say that's not a good enough excuse.

"Come. I will not sleep tonight."

Come? Come where? Charon and I suit up together, our armors nearly matching. He says nothing, as he straps his gun to his back, and begins to lead the way out into the Capital Wasteland.

"Charon, where are we going?"

He doesn't respond. I figure this is his way of remembering. His way of fighting his own demons. Or maybe, he wants to prove to me, that he still loves me. I never thought that he would have doubts, too. I'm so used to seeing him so stoic and quiet, that it just never crossed my mind. But I realize, now, as I follow him upwards through the hills of the Wasteland, that he does have doubts. And that he's been thinking I'll leave him. I wish I had known sooner. Then maybe, this whole mess could have been avoided.

He leads me into the tunnel that leads to Vault 101. They sure as shit weren't happy to see me a few weeks ago, when the missile hit Megaton, and I bet ten caps they're not going to be too happy to see me now.

"Charon, what're we doing here?"

I ask as he punches in the keys to open the door to the vault. The alarm sounds, as the gear begins to open.

"I would like to see, if perhaps there is another paper with your mother's bible verse here."

Oh, Charon…

"Charon, it's been too long. It won't be here."

"Then we can visit the library in the morning. Megaton does not need our services just yet. Things are running smooth as it is. As long as Gob is there, things should progress fine without us."

I take his hand and smile up at him. He looks down at me, and we being to walk into Vault 101. It's weird, being back here under different circumstances. It's always so clean, and fresh down here. Like time stopped. Everything is as it was when I left, no matter how many times I see it. But there's no dust anywhere, and the sign saying 'Hard Work is Happy Work' still hangs in the Atrium. I laugh now, at how the Overseer was back then. I was terrified of him, but now I see that he was just a sad little man, doing sad little man things.

"My father didn't like it here. I could tell. He told me, though, that up above wasn't the life my mother would have wanted for me."

"He kept it well-hidden from you, that you were not born here."

"Because he know I'd go snooping for answers. He knew I hated it here, and never fit in, so any excuse to leave would have been a good one."

For the most part, we walk around to the Atrium lower level without getting into anyone's way. Mainly because we don't see anyone. When we reach the entrance to below, down to where I would live, where my birthday party was thrown, and so many other memories, is when we run into Vault Security. Oh gee, I'm shaking in my boots.

"You two-"

One of the guards says, as he raises his weapon. But he doesn't finish his sentence, and his partner drops his gun as Charon appears behind me. I've forgotten how it feels to rely on him. And let me tell you, it feels damn good.

"What about us two?"

I ask the guard, walking down the steps. The guards back away, terrified of Charon's appearance. I'd be more scared if he had his gun out, but that's just me.

"You need to leave!"

One of them chokes out, trying to raise their guns.

"I'm from here, I just need to look around for something."

"I've never seen you before!"

There's no need to shout, really. I sigh loudly, and look at Charon. He nods, and takes the gun off of his back.

"That's unimportant. I'm going to do what I need to do, and leave. We can do this the easy way, my way, or the hard way."

I point to Charon, who cocks his shotgun. Needless to say the vault guards comply, and let us pass. Well, they don't 'let' us do anything, we just kind of do.

"Were your guards as impotent?"

Charon asks, keeping his gun in his hand and finger on the trigger.

"Yup. Just as. If not worse. Look! There's my old classroom. I took the G.O.A.T there. I was assigned to be a marriage counselor…"

And look how well that turned out. Luckily the clinic is right around the corner, and my old apartment downstairs. Charon follows, looking around. We've been here before, but he's always been one to assess the situation and surroundings.

"Still smells the same."

I say to nobody in particular, really. The clinic is brightly lit, and the same bed I sat on to try to avoid my G.O.A.T is still there. I smile, remembering how my father really wanted me to go take it, lest I became a garbage burner.

"There wouldn't be anything in here, or in my old apartment."

Charon comes and stands beside me. There's no place to keep old pictures of members, no place to keep memories of the families who were here before. Eventually, they all get tossed into the incinerator. Pictures, home movies, birthday cards…everything except the furniture and vault suits. Unless they're far too damaged to be repaired, that is. It's kind of depressing. Everyone I've known here is dead. My family, the people I wouldn't really call my friends, but still kinda knew, the familiar faces I ran into in Rivet City. I even sort-of miss Harden. He died of a fever a few years back. But watching everyone you love die around you…is that the price of longevity?

Looking up at Charon, I know he's far older than me. But I also know, that he's going to refuse to die, unless I'm about to die beside him. It's still such a depressing thing to think about, that I decide I don't want to be here anymore. That I don't ever want to come back to Vault 101 ever again. Because there's too many painful memories.

As we leave the clinic, I shut the lights off. My dad always yelled at me to, and it's just a force of habit I never really outgrew. Some things, like remembering what my father would tell me, don't make me feel so sad. Although I was angry at him for about 90% of his time alive out in the Capital Wasteland, I loved him. And he loved me, too. He was just really bad at showing it sometimes. Just like I'm sure one day Dizzy will blame me for all her issues. It's just how parenting goes.

"I want to leave."

Right when the words leave my mouth, Charon is blazing a path to the exit. Apparently he really does want to show he loves me, and can still do his job as my bodyguard and companion. Though I never really doubted that last part.

Leaving the vault is like a giant weight lifting off of my shoulders. I never want to go back there. I don't want to see all the changing faces, in a place that never really changes. Sitting atop Scenic Overlook, I let my legs dangle over the edge, staring out across the starry night sky of the Capital Wasteland. Charon stands behind me, silent, but his presence known. I guess living this long comes with a price. Eventually, there's nobody to fight, nobody you recognize, and nothing much else to do. It's depressing, and I don't like it.

"Charon?"

"Hm?"

"I'm restless."

"I agree."

In silence, we sit atop the overlook together. Wondering about what there could be for us to do on this short night. Wondering, what's going to happen next. We could abandon everything for a few days. Go running amuck in the Capital Wasteland. Claim that it's 'important business' and leave most of the responsibility of caring for the town up to Dizzy and Cain. But…that's not something someone grown up and mature would do. No, that's…that's something Dezbe would do.

"You know, I've always wanted to check out Alexandria Arms, and the library is right across the way from that."

I mention, to gauge Charon's reaction.

"Oh?"

"It would take a couple of days, there's a few Raiders laying around that area…"

"I see."

"Dizzy and Cain could hold responsibility for the town for a few days, and I'm sure they wouldn't mind having some time alone for themselves…what do you think?"

I turn behind me to look up at Charon. When he peers down at me, I can instantly tell he agrees with my suggestion. He helps me up, and I dust my butt off. It's pretty late to be heading into the city, but I need to dump all this responsibility. I really need, Charon and I really need, to take some 'us' time and scoot on out of Megaton, if only for a few days. And it's not like I'm really leaving Dizzy in any danger.

"You did want to remind the Capital Wasteland of what happens when they mess with me, right?"

"Yes, that is right."

Charon follows me down the well-walked path that leads to the old pre-war street, now buried and cracked beneath the dirt.

"So this is a really good idea, I think."

Biting my tongue, I half expect Charon to start complaining, and say we need to stay with the children. But to my utter shock and surprise, he doesn't.

"As do I."

We walk side by side, talking about what we're going to do, how we're going to get there, and everything in between. We're obviously going to take the metro tunnels, and we're going to simply see what there is to see. I plan on leaving a note for Dizzy, telling her Charon and I went to find supplies in the city. Which isn't all that of a lie. I mean, if I find something useful, I'll bring it back. But really, and I hate to admit it, the thought of running away for a bit is utterly enticing and appealing and downright needed. Besides, Charon and I have left Megaton alone in the past before. Worse that happens is Dizzy spends all her time running around naked. But that's probably more something I would do nowadays.

Lucky for me Dizzy and Cain are asleep when we get home. Finding something to write on, and write with, on the other hand, is a different matter. Charon and I stumble around with only my Pip-Boy light, to try and figure out a way to send a message without waking up the kids, or having to wake them up. We both want this so badly.

"Fuck it, let's just go."

I say, growing frustrated with everything. Charon shrugs, and looks up, a bit worried about leaving his daughter behind. But then I get an idea.

"Hey, why not go tell Roy we're going into the city? He can let everyone else know, and then that's that."

"Will that be enough?"

"It'll get us the fuck out of here for a few days."

Charon nods in agreement, and luckily, Roy isn't that hard to find. It's his job to patrol Megaton at night after all. He's not happy about hearing his two main line of defenses are leaving for an undisclosed about of time, but you know, Roy can just deal with it. I have marital problems that can only be solved by killing a shit ton of Raiders, getting shot at, and being reminded as to why I came to settle down in Megaton in the first place.

Goddamn. It feels good to be selfish again.