Chapter 38

She was thirsty.

Parched.

Rachel cracked an eyelid and grimaced. The light hanging from the center of the tent was too damn bright. She eased herself up and sucked in a sharp breath through her teeth.

The light momentarily forgotten she pulled the blanket aside and found the source of the pain.

Bloodstained bandages were wrapped tightly around her torso.

She'd been in a fight…that was right.

Legionary Assassins had come out of nowhere. Like Mojave demons. They'd fought long and hard. With the NCR troopers on their side they'd won. Rachel remembered looking around without seeing a single skirt wearing bastard left alive.

That must mean they'd won.

She also remembered catching a spear in her side. It had opened a gash but not enough to put her out. Hell it hadn't even slowed her down at the time so why couldn't she remember anything after that?

And she was so thirsty.

Rachel took a deep breath and eased her legs over the side of the cot she was on. Her head pounded brutally but she stood up anyway. As it turned out that was a bad idea.

The room spun and her center of gravity swung violently. Rachel staggered sideways and caught herself on a table loaded up with paperwork and science equipment. Most of it clattered onto the floor. It sounded like something glass shattered but she wasn't sure, she was too busy holding onto the table to keep from fainting.

Outside Rachel's tent Boone and Charon stood on either side of the flap. They were power smoking through a pack of cigarettes like they were about to meet a firing squad. The men hadn't left her side for more then a few minutes at a time since they'd brought her into the Old Mormon Fort.

Neither man spoke but they were both thinking about the same thing. That moment when the fight was over, feeling the euphoria from a fight well won and then having it crushed when Rachel's eyes rolled up into her head. Her legs folded like paper under her and she collapsed onto the hard pack dirt. Neither of them would ever forget the image of her seizing on the ground.

From inside her tent there was a horrible crash and they both dropped their cigarettes. Charon and Boone ran into each other trying to get through the tent opening at the same time. Charon got a shoulder in first and grabbed a fist full of the tent flap. With one hard jerk he ripped it from the seams.

Charon spotted Rachel half keeled over a table and lunged a cross the small space. He slid one hand around her waist and the other a crossed her chest before he pulled her gently back against his chest.

"What the hell are you doin' smoothskin?" He growled gently in her ear, "You shouldn't be out of bed. The doc said you took a nasty dose of poison from one of those assholes."

Boone watched the big merc handle his daughter like she was made of glass and his respect for the ghoul grew intensely. Charon scooped her up and carried her back to the cot, ignoring the garbled protests from the woman. Boone pulled the sheets aside and Charon settled his smoothskin back down.

"Charon," Rachel groaned with her eyes squeezed shut. "light…"

Boone pulled the chain and the tent went dark. Rachel sighed in relief, "Water?"

"Sure kid, are you in pain?"

She shook her head and forced a smile passed the dizziness and nausea. "I'll survive. Where's Boone?"

"I'm right here, how you feelin'?" He stepped into her line of sight and handed her a bottle of water.

"Like I got hit by a nuke."

"You should be dead." Charon told her seriously. "The doctor said whatever poison they used was potent and it took hours to get you here."

Rachel sighed and fell back against the pillow. "It was probably Cazador venom. I have a tolerance. You know that scar on my thigh?"

Charon nodded.

"That's from the last time I tangled with a Cazador." She sighed and closed her eyes briefly.

"Where's Claws? And where are we?" She asked but she suspected she knew the answer.

"The Old Mormon fort in Freeside." Boone told her. "Your pet is outside the walls. He seems good at keeping out of sight."

Rachel nodded and a smile tugged the corner of her lips when Charon's fingers laced with hers.

"What about the others? Did we lose anyone?"

"No, but your boyfriend here decked one of the followers when he tried to put you in a tent with a couple de-toxing addicts." Boone smirked and Rachel looked at Charon. The big ghoul was unapologetic.

"I didn't want you in a tent full of strangers while you were out cold."

She squeezed his hand. "Thank you, I appreciate that."

She fell asleep after that with Charon's hand in hers. He never moved. Boone brought him a cup of coffee around midnight and ended up falling asleep in a chair around one.

Charon didn't sleep.

It bothered him that there was so much in the Mojave he didn't know about. This whole place was dangerously unfamiliar. It was the first time he seriously doubted his ability to protect the woman sleeping next to him.

Had they been alone he wouldn't have known to bring her here and he wouldn't have known that legion boys liked to poison their spears. She would have died in agony and he would have been helpless to save her.

Rachel woke up again just after dawn. Charon helped her to sit up and after a small argument about how she should wait for one of the doctors he helped her to her feet.

Rachel was overjoyed that both her stomach and her center of gravity stayed where they were supposed to.

"If I go get a doctor will you promise to sit right there and not move?" Charon asked seriously, pointing at her cot.

"I will not," Rachel stretched slowly and cracked her neck. "I've been trapped in that spot for too long already. I want to pay the Followers what we owe and head into New Vegas. Charon you're going to love it!"

"I'm sure I can wait another few days if you need more rest."

"I will rest in the casinos. I'll sit right down and take them for everything they're worth at the black jack tables." She grinned and Charon shook his head, unconvinced.

"Rachel-"

"Charon you are not going to convince me I need more sleep but if it makes you feel better I will let one of these nice doctors take a look at me. Alright?"

Charon grumbled to himself. "Is it going to matter what they tell you?"

"Probably not," She told him honestly.

Charon rubbed his left temple with two fingers in an effort to dissipate the rising headache she was giving him. "Come on smoothskin, Boone is outside along with the others. Let's go let them know you survived."

Rachel grinned and took his arm.

The relief on her new found friend's faces felt wonderful but not as wonderful as the relief on Boone's. The ex-sniper had started to believe he'd lost another loved one to the legion. He was less pleased that she was walking but when he glared at the ghoul Charon pointed at the girl with an equally annoyed expression.

After they paid for the medical treatment the group left with a new Medic in tow. The blonde man wearing glasses grumbled a little and didn't look like much but Cass told Rachel in hushed tones not to be fooled. Six collected strays, but her strays were all tough as nails in their own ways.

Charon scowled at the securitrons guarding the gates but submitted to the credit check when Rachel assured him that it was okay.

The ghoul's mouth fell open when they were finally allowed to step through the gates. Charon's eye's traveled over the neon lights and the pre-war dressed people laughing in the streets. It was like stepping back in time.

For just a second he was nineteen again, heading to a club with his buddies before shipping off to basic.

An NCR soldier on their right was puking in a bush while his buddies laughed and a couple hookers danced outside a casino called Gomorra. An MP stopped to berate the sick man and a couple different men whooped at the dancing women.

The Lucky 38 was on the left and nobody was going near that one. It looked abandoned and it unsettled him that that's where they would be staying. Rachel had no such uncertainness. She had him by the wrist and was dragging him after Six as the girl jogged up the steps.

"Welcome back, I see ya brought along some new friends!" Greeted a Securitron with a cowboy face when Six waved to it.

"I sure did Victor! How's Vegas? Survived without me I see." She grinned with a hand on the door.

"We've gotten along. The Tops is all calmed down since you took care of that rascal Benny too."

Six's grin widened. "Perfect!"

Six lead them through the deserted casino floor to an elevator guarded by the same securitron. She took them up to her floor and told them they could go anywhere they wanted except up the see Mr. House. That was fine with Rachel, she had enough to get into without meeting Mr. House. For now anyway.

Rachel spun around on her heel, trying to see everything at once. "I can't believe we are standing in the Lucky 38! This place has been sealed since the war!"

"Rachel, Charon." Six called, waving them over. "Usually this is my room but since you guys are my special guest you can use it while you're in town."

She led them into a master bedroom and grinned. "What do you think?"

"It's perfect! Thank you so much!" Rachel threw her arms around the girl's shoulders and hugged her tightly. Six laughed and gave Charon a mock salute before backing out of the room, closing the door as she left.

Charon chuckled and pulled Rachel against him. "I really wish you would stop almost dying on me."

"Why is it that it's always me? You don't get nearly as roughed up as I do."

"That's simple." He told her, flashing a rare grin at her. "I'm a better wastelander,"

Rachel hit his shoulder. "Oh fuck off. You are not."

Charon laughed and kissed her. "Yes, I am. But I've had a lot more experience then you too."

Rachel smiled. It was a smile she only ever used for him and it was enough to get him hard right then and there. "So what do you want to do first?" she asked silkily, running a hand down the side of his face.

Charon growled and set his shotgun down on a nearby chair. "It'll be easier if I show you."

Rachel stretched and curled against Charon's warm body. His exposed muscles were soft and silky but his skin was like well worn leather. She loved the way it felt against her own skin.

His arms tightened around her and her leg slid over and up his thigh. Charon made a sound like a purr and opened his pale eyes. He smiled down at her and smoothed her hair back away from her face.

"Good Morning," he smiled.

Rachel nuzzled his collar bone. "It's only four-thirty. We didn't sleep that long."

"Does that mean we have to get up?"

"No," she kissed his throat. "But I would like to hit the Strip and see Michael Angelo tonight."

Charon propped himself up on his elbow and cocked an eyebrow. "Who is Michael Angelo?"

Rachel laughed at his tone and the look on his face. "We have been together for over two years and in that time we have almost never been more than a few hundred feet away from each other. You can't really think I have a secret lover here in New Vegas."

Charon didn't say anything because she was right but he still didn't like the way she'd smiled when she had said the other man's name. He didn't know what to do about that though because at the moment he couldn't recall ever being jealous before Rachel was in his life.

Rachel rolled on top of him and braced her hands on his chest. "He's the man that did my tattoo remember? Part of the reason I want to come was to get it fixed."

"I remember smoothskin," reassured he rested his hands on her hips. "I suppose we she get up then."

Rachel nodded and tossed the blankets aside. She slid out of bed and Charon pointed her in the direction of her pants. He whistled when she bent over and Rachel shimmied her ass just because she could.

"Charon, do you remember that suit Moira found for you?" Rachel asked as she clipped on her bra and reached for her pack.

"The one I refused because owning a suit in the wasteland is pointless?" He asked, reaching for his leather pants.

"That's the one, I have it with me." She tossed a canvas wrapped package on the bed.

"No," he told her, "I am fine in my armor."

Rachel propped her fist on her hips and grinned. It was unsettling. "Charon, the strip has really tight security. They aren't going to let you wander around looking like you're ready to go to war."

"I am ready to go to war."

"Come on, put on your suit and let's have a fun night. We're here to relax. How could we find trouble here?"

Charon laughed. "With you smoothskin? The possibilities are infinite."

"Oh fuck off and put your suit on… please?"

Charon sighed and unsnapped his pants. Orders were orders. "Fine, what are you going to wear if not your armor?"

Rachel plucked another canvas wrapped package from her pack and waved it in the air in front of her. "When I get back from the bathroom you'll see."

Charon plucked at his collar and grumbled. The dark grey pinstriped suit fit well but it felt wrong. Without the weight of his armor he felt dangerously exposed and at the same time vastly over dressed.

Charon put on his hat and lit a cigarette while he waited for Rachel to come back. He stuffed one hand in his pocket and felt something cold meet his finger tips. He pulled the thing out of his pocket and blinked down at a gold pocket watch. It was tarnished a bit and scuffed but when he opened it the second hand ticked steadily around the clock face. On the inside cover behind protective glass was a scrap of paper that said To Charon from Rachel.

"Do you like it?" Rachel asked from the doorway.

"Smoothskin it's gr-" Charon looked up and choked on his words. Rachel was in a black halter dress that stopped just above her knee. It had a red belt that cinched around her waist and she'd curled her hair on one side. The other side was pinned up with a pretty feathered clip from a bird whose name he couldn't remember at the moment.

"It's what?" she asked, stepping into the room in strappy black high heels. She'd put on makeup too. The sight of her had crashed all thought processes in his brain.

"Beautiful," Charon told her when he got his mouth working again. "Absolutely beautiful,"

Rachel reached up and straightened his tie. "Good, you look wonderful by the way. Are you ready to go?"

"As I'll ever be," he told her, gazing down into her cleavage. "Rachel…are these bigger?"

Rachel laughed and winked at him. "Why yes, I'm wearing my good bra."

Charon gave them a squeeze and she giggled, batting his hands away. Six whistled when they left the bedroom. She'd been coming out of the kitchen. Boone was with her, beer in hand. He looked the pair over, nodded and walking into the lounge.

Rachel yelled goodbye loudly through the suite and Charon grunted, following her into the elevator.

He didn't like not having his gun out here in the open.

Still, as much as being weaponless bothered him the looks the drunken soldiers on the strip were giving his woman was making him grind his teeth.

Men were slapping each other on the shoulders and pointing her out to their buddies with grins on their faces as she passed by. People largely ignored him.

"What's the matter?" Rachel asked after a few minutes of walking on the sidewalk.

"What?"

"You've been grumbling under your breath since we left the Lucky 38." She explained has they passed through a gate. Two more casinos towered on either side of the road. The signs on them advertised the Tops and the Ultra-lux.

Charon glanced at yet another group of young men and whispered, "I don't like the way these guys are looking at you."

Rachel looked over at the men and they all grinned wide. One of them whistled and she smiled at him while she talked to Charon. "You should take it as a compliment. Clearly they think I'm something to look at and look whose bed I like to be in."

"They don't know that." Charon growled as a blonde man broke away from his friends and started walking towards them.

"Then show them who I belong too," she whispered, daring the ghoul with a sly little grin. For reasons he decided he didn't want to examine the sentence started his engine in ways only she could.

The blond solider was only ten feet from them when Charon snaked an arm around her waist and pulled her into a hard kiss. Rachel pressed herself against him, her hand slipping up to caress the back of his neck. When they broke apart they both glanced at the soldiers and smirked.

Charon pride soared at the astonished and partially disgusted looks on the boys faces.

"Feel better?" Rachel whispered, taking his hand.

"Immensely. Come on gorgeous, let go find this friend of yours."

"Rachel? You're alive?" the dejected little man they'd found in the back of a machine shop asked. Somehow he sounded both awed and cynical at the same time.

"I am. I've been on the east coast. This is Charon," she introduced. "He's my partner."

Michael nodded but didn't offer to shake the ghouls hand. Charon likewise didn't offer his hand. Before they'd come in Rachel had explained that the man they were meeting was eccentric and easily spooked so Charon took no offense to his anxious manner.

"I'm glad to see you again. Have you come for a new tattoo? I don't have many costumers for those."

"Actually," Rachel said, turning so he could see the skin revealed by the dresses low cut back, "It needs a little resurrection."

"What happened?" the smaller man cried, looking over the scarred flesh were his master piece once was displayed.

Rachel blushed a little. "Car exploded too close to me. It's a dangerous world. Can you do it?"

"Of course I can," he chattered, offended that she might think he couldn't.

"Could you change the image for me?" Rachel asked, facing him. "I have a nick name back east that I'd like to immortalize."

"What do you mean?"

Rachel grinned at Charon. "Michael, I want you to give me wings."

"Wings? Yes…yes, I could do that. They will take some time though. Come back tomorrow and I'll have a couple of templates drawn up." He told her and turned to go back to his work.

"Michael," Rachel called patiently. "There's one more thing. Can I barrow your camera tonight? You know I'll pay."

The man studied her for a long moment and then shrugged. "Fine, don't damage it."

He pointed to an old camera on a table and left them. Rachel took it and a fresh roll of film, shouting a thank you over her shoulder.

"Why do you need that?" Charon asked.

"We are on vacation." She explained. "People on vacation take pictures."

Charon snorted. "You're insane."

"I know. I'm okay with it."