OoO( 49 )OoO

After having a short lunch in the hotel, courtesy of Mister Buckingham, John donned his normal regalia, minus the armor, and set out to investigate the synthetic situation. A few thoughts over his meager lunch of InstaNoodles had him concluding that his best bet was to find the doctor who had actually done the surgery, if he'd had it done at all. That led him down the halls of the carrier city to the clinic, and Doctor Preston. But when he entered the small medical bay, the first thing he saw was Bryan sitting up on the bed.

To the boy's right sat Vera, who was gently rubbing his back with a smile, and behind them in the chairs against the wall, was Sheila and Will Jr. The wanderer walked up to the pair with a large smile. "Hey! You're looking a hundred times better." he said.

Bryan looked up at him with a grin. "Yeah! The doc said there's going to be a scar!" said the boy as he lifted his shirt, showing a small pock mark where the bullet had gone through underneath his ribs. "Isn't it cool?" he asked excitedly.

John chuckled and patted the young boy on the head. "Sure is. But I wouldn't make a habit of collecting them. I can tell you from experience, it gets a lot less cool after the first time." he said with a smile.

"Moooom...I want one!" said Will from the back, who seemed to be pouting.

Sheila, who was wearing a new dress now, looked at him darkly. "I'm afraid to say I won't be getting you one William. Let the thought escape your head immediately." she snapped, getting a dramatic sigh from her almost teenage son.

"Well, in any case, you'll be coming to live with me once you're all better." said Vera as she continued to rub his back. She looked up at John with a bright smile. "Thank you again very much for bringing him here. You have no idea how much it means to me to see him safe."

The gunman cringed slightly at her choice of words, but seeing the sincere look on her face cheered him up. "No thanks necessary. I'm just glad he's somewhere safe from the wastes." he said as he looked up at the other two. "And I see you two are settling in nicely." he remarked, seeing them both in new clothes. The woman was wearing a blue sun dress that only seemed to intensify the 1950's style that had such an impact on their world before the bombs fell. Her hair, which he had read was called The Bob back when people actually recorded that information, was just the icing on the cake, making her look like she belonged behind a white picket fence with a tray of lemonade for the kids.

Will however, was wearing a pair of shorts and a t-shirt with 'Nuka-Cola Victory' scrawled across it in curvy writing, with a bottle of the brand named soda in the center. The cap had flown off, and shooting out were fireworks. His shorts looked like survival shorts, made from tough material with large pockets on the sides.

Sheila smiled up at him. "Very nicely in fact. Mister Bannon said I was a candy to look at, and that if I worked for him, his business would boom!" she said, excited about the prospect of her new job in selling clothes.

Will looked to the side with a grumpy expression. "He just wants to stare at my mom all day." he said, scoring him a smack in the back of the head.

John chuckled at the pair. "Well, I'm glad to see you're fitting in here." he said. Then he spoke to them all. "I'm happy to see you are all doing great. But I'm afraid I have to speak with the doctor now." he finished, getting a look from the man. The wanderer nodded towards the hallway, and the doctor, who had a curious look on his face, stood and followed him out of the room.

When they were away from the others, the doctor finally spoke up. "What can I help you with?" the man, who was graced with silver hair and a short, but rugged matching beard, asked.

Immediately, John pulled out the picture and showed it to the doctor. "I was wondering if you recognized this man."

The doctor peered at the picture through his thin glasses, stroking his beard all the while. "I'm afraid I don't recall him. Was he a patient of mine?" he asked, looking up at the wanderer.

After tucking the picture away again with a sigh, he answered the man's question. "I was hoping you could tell me. The man you just saw was...is a synthetic android created up north. When he came here, he was looking for a doctor to perform facial reconstruction on him. I take it this means you've never seen him before?" he asked.

"Synthetic? Like those holotapes said?" he asked, surprised. When the wanderer nodded the man looked flabberghasted. "You're sure? He's...he looks so real!"

"The picture came straight from the man who supposedly created him." remarked the gunman. "Do you know of any doctors who might be able to pull something like that off?"

Doctor Preston just shook his silver head. "Sorry. My surgical talents are limited to pulling things out of people and sewing them up." he said. "I can't say much for anyone else. I've only been here for a couple of years, and I was taught enough to be a doctor by Pinkerton before he bailed on Rivet City all together."

"Hmmm..." mumbled John as he fell deep in thought. Whoever this Pinkerton character was, he was definitely going to have to talk with him eventually. "Alright, thanks doc. If you need anything from me, I'm probably going to be around for a while." he said, getting a nod from the man. With a somewhat defeated sigh, he walked down the hall and away from the clinic.

OoOoO

"So, this turns out to be harder than we thought." remarked Elsa from his pipboy.

"Yeah. I thought it'd be a piece of cake tracking down the one who was able to perform the surgery. As it turns out, nobody in existence knows how to perform reconstructive procedures anymore." he said with a sigh. "Whoever it is, they did a damn good job of hiding themselves." he said as he walked down the hall, his boots clanking against the grated metal floor. His eyes locked onto a curious dark skinned woman that was approaching him with a grim look on her face. She wore a pair of overalls and a long sleeve shirt underneath, with a worn pair of work boots, and had her hair work in a ponytail that consisted of finely sewn braids. Considering his history with confrontation, it was no surprise to him that she stopped him in the hall.

"Who do you think you are?" she asked.

He just stared at her for a long moment. He'd never actually been asked that question before. "Uhhh...my name is John?" he responded, hoping that was the answer she was looking for.

It wasn't. "Very funny smartass. I saw you talking to Zimmer in the lab, and I saw you questioning Doc Preston! So I ask again, who the hell do you think you are?" she asked again, this time more forcefully.

He placed his hands on his hips and looked at her oddly. "Look lady, I'm a busy man. If you have something to get off your chest, I'd suggest you do it while I still have the patience to stand here." he remarked.

She looked taken aback for a moment, but then she stamped her foot and her glare returned. "He's happy! He's living his life normally! And you'd take that all away from him just so that slave driver can take him back and 'reprogram' him." she said quietly. Despite her whisper however, the anger in her voice was potent. He just stared at her for a moment, then cracked an amused smile. She took immediate offense to the humor. "What the hell is so funny."

"What's your name?" asked John curiously.

Taken aback once more by the curve ball question, she quickly answered. "Victoria."

Holding up his pipboy, John said, "Elsa, tell Victoria to shut up."

"Victoria, shut the hell up." came the digitized voice. Victoria was stunned by the non presence and looked around.

"Now tell her she doesn't know what the hell she's talking about." said the gunman.

"You reeeeally don't know what the hell you're talking about." said the cartoon woman.

"And finally, tell her that if she knew who I was, she wouldn't be here talking to me like this." said John, who was almost chuckling by this point.

"Too long. Do it yourself." said the girl. John looked down at her right as her avatar yawned widely.

"Really?" he asked, an unamused look on his face.

"Really." she said with a chipper smile.

"Who is that?" asked the woman, who was now peering at his arm computer with uncertainty. John held the computer screen up for her to see, and the woman gasped. "Is that an AI?" she asked in awe.

"In the pixels." remarked Elsa as she waved at the woman. "Trust me lady, you're reeeeally barking up the wrong tree here." she said, thumbing towards the human above her.

Victoria looked up at John. The wanderer finally spoke again. "I have no intention of turning him in to Zimmer and his goons. Nor do I have any intention of disturbing him. In fact, I fully intend to help him." he remarked.

She looked at him scrutinizingly, as if questioning his words. "How are you going to help him?" she asked.

"First, once I find him, I'm going to get rid of Zimmer. If he can spare the parts, I should be able to convince Zimmer that the android has been destroyed. Then he can live in peace without people hounding his steps." said the gunman as he glared down at the woman. Her fiery temper immediately dissolved when she heard his words.

"Oh..." she said, reaching up and scratching her head.

"You know where he is?" asked John curiously, watching her features to see if she was lying.

The woman shook her head. "No...I mean, I did. But after he found someone to do the surgery, he left. In case someone came looking for him, I don't ask where they're going, or what they look like so that..."

"So that you don't end up giving up the information under torture." he said with a sigh.

"You're stupid." said Elsa in a more serious tone than usual.

"W-What?" asked Victoria, who looked down at the digital girl in surprised.

"Let's do a little math here. You seperate yourself from the knowledge of where their target is and what he looks like so that if you're ever caught helping them, you don't end up giving them up." she said, pointing at the woman. "Yet, you go and angrily confront someone actively looking for the android, which may or may not give them the idea that you may know where they are?" she asked, shrugging as she looked at Victoria. "Two plus two equals you're an idiot."

"I...I didn't..." stuttered the woman.

"IF...and that's a big IF, you wanted to help this android, you'd stop confronting people that Zimmer hired to find the android, and you'd work on getting him out of the city." she growled.

"She's right you know. I mean...about what you should do, not about you being stupid." he said, waving the words off as he said them.

"I'm right about that too. That's like walking up to a starving deathclaw and slapping it in the face. If the man you confronted didn't happen to be the Archangel, I doubt you'd be walking away from the encounter under your own terms." said the AI as she continued to sternly look at the woman.

"Elsa...I think..." said John as he tried to cut in.

But she cut him off as well. "You shut your whore mouth for a second!" she shouted, pointing at him with an amused smirk. He about burst out laughing, but bit his tongue.

"But...Rivet City security would..." said the woman.

"Shut up for a second and take a look around you." she commanded. The woman did as she said. The hallway they were in was one of the side hallways that led to a set of stairs. The stairway gave access to any number of floors on the ship. "Do you see anything?" she asked. The woman shook her head. "That's right! Nobody around. That means no witnesses to see you being dragged off into the dark, dank depths of the ship. But don't worry, I'm sure they'd find your body eventually." she said in a brutally sarcastic tone.

Victoria stared at her, a look of utter shock on her face. "I...don't know what I was thinking." she commented as she leaned herself against the wall, as if her legs were about to buckle.

"You weren't." said the gunman, who finally had a chance to speak. Victoria looked up at him, as if seeking some kind of shelter from her beratement. "In your haste to help him, you did what you thought was right. But just because you're right doesn't mean people are going to stop doing bad things." he said as he unzipped the jumpsuit top that he wore. Pulling up his shirt, he revealed his muscular abdomen, along with numerous scars that were left behind by bullets and explosions that had graced his skin before his radiation healing had become so natural to him. He could still scar of he allowed his wounds to heal normally, however. "These were made by people who don't give a shit whether you're right. They'll kill you anyway."

She nodded. "I...I understand. I'm sorry I just...want them to stop looking for him. But I can't confront him because of his guards. I...was hoping I'd be able to convince you to stop looking." she said as she stood straight again.

He reached up and squeezed her shoulder gently. "Don't worry, me and Elsa are going to help him. We aren't out to hurt anybody." he said.

She nodded. "Alright."

Almost as if on que, another woman turned the corner at a quick pace and beelined straight for him. He looked up at her, noticed her grim look and took a step back. "Oh god...not again..." he said, looking for a way out. But before he could register an escape plan, the young woman of Asian descent stopped in front of him.

"Please...you have to help me!" she cried, immediately getting his attention. He looked at her darkly, knowing a true cry of desperation when he heard one.

"What is it?" he asked as his eyes hardened and locked onto hers.

OoOoO

"How can this be happening?" asked the man as he drunkenly slammed his fist on the table. He grabbed another drink and slammed it as he worked himself into another furious fit. But the bar owner of the Muddy Rudder wasn't having it.

"Look asshole, that's the last time I'm telling you. You hit my table again and you're going to be working the damage off in lashes!" shouted Belle Bonnie, the sharp tongued proprieter of the tavern.

He just ignored her and slammed another glass of whiskey, before reaching up and itching the scar on his cheek. The one left by that man. He snarled at the shot glass. "Why can't it go back to the way it was?" he asked in self pity as he let his head slam onto the table.

"Alright dirtbag. You asked for it." said Belle as she pulled up a radio given to her by Chief Harkness. "Officer White, I've got a trouble maker down here slamming the furniture around. Could you send a unit to come throw his ass out?" she asked.

"Roger. Sending Officer Kent, he should be on your level." a voice reported from the radio.

But the bartender wasn't listening. Instead, she was staring wide eyed at the figure that just walked into the Muddy Rudder. He wasn't all that imposing height wise, but anyone who thought that height was the source of intimidation never looked this man in the eyes. His shoulders were broad, his chest, even covered in a jumpsuit showed that he was muscular, and she felt the heat from his gaze, as if he were firing lasers from his eyes. That was when she noticed those eyes locking onto her annoying patron. The red alert signal in her brain that warned her about trouble immediately started blaring.

"Hey, cowboy!" she said, almost startled when he looked directly at her with those piercing, glowing eyes. "I don't want any trouble in here! If you've got beef, take it elsewhere." she commanded. The other patrons in the bar turned to look at him as well, including the loud drunken asshole. But any attitude the intoxicated man had withered like a stalk of corn before a plague of locusts when he saw the figure standing at the door.

"No..." shouted the man as he tried to stand up and rush from the table. In his drunken stupor however, he only managed to trip over one of the stools and slam face first into the ground. Thump. His footsteps echoed softly through the floor, the sound like a defibrilator that restarted his escape attempt. Jerking to his hands and knees, the man scrambled away from the visitor and sprinted for the door. Unfortunately, he didn't get far before he was jerked backwards by the jacket he was wearing. His back hit the bulkhead in a flash, driving the breath from him, right before an iron strong hand shot out and grabbed him by the throat. It was those eyes again, staring back at him. His memory flashed back to that day, when he watched this man rip another man clean in half with nothing more than his bare hands.

"Sister..." growled the wanderer as he looked down and saw the scar that he'd left the last time they met.

"Nobody move!" shouted another voice from across the room. John turned his head and saw a man in Rivet City body armor with the same helmet as the others approaching them from behind with a pistol raised. "Drop him, now!" shouted the man. John growled, then threw Sister to the ground and spun around, staring at the officer. Suddenly, the face shielded officer almost immediately lowered his weapon. "Wait...Archangel?" asked the man incredulously. John stared at him oddly, trying to get a look through the reflective face shield. Reaching up, the man pulled his helmet off, which revealed a waterfall of long blonde hair, as well as a rugged, handsome face with another X shaped scar on his cheek.

John's eyes widened as he recognized the man. "Kurtis?" he asked, remembering the man revealing his name the last time they spoke. "What're you doing here?" he asked.

Kurtis turned to look at the man cowering in the corner, then back to the gunman before him. "Can we take this elsewhere?" he asked.

OoOoO

"So you and your father came to Rivet City?" asked John as he sat in a containment cell higher up in the ship with both of the men he had encountered. The man, formerly known as Sister, was curled up on one end of the bed at the far side of the room. Kurtis, formerly known as Jotun, was standing across from John, leaning against the wall, still dressed in his Rivet City Security armor.

"My father brought us here, saying that we could get as far away from the people who 'knew us'." said Kurtis, giving the air quotes hand sign. "Though that wouldn't have mattered if you'd spread the word on how you marked us. I'm eternally grateful that you kept that bit of information to yourself."

John nodded. "It wouldn't do you much good to start a new life if everybody on the planet is already judging you for your old one." said the wanderer. "So why don't you tell me why I was in the bar?" Kurtis looked at him oddly, and John looked over at Sister. "Earlier, I had a woman run up to me crying, saying that she had a slaver stalking her, trying to capture her again. She said that his old name was Sister, and imagine who I find down in the Muddy Rudder." he said, his gaze making the man cower even more.

Kurtis reached up and rubbed his head in frustration. "Was she Asian?" he asked. John nodded. The man just sighed and sat down in one of the chairs he'd brought with him. "Look, I'm going to be straight up with you, alright. Since we've gotten here, nobody looked at us as anything more than wasters. We got jobs, and have chosen to keep our past selves from those around us for obvious reasons. I...I did tell Chief Harkness though. He was very understanding, and allowed me to enlist anyway." he said, smiling lightly at the memory, and the surprise on his face when not lying actually got him the job. "Phil here, he worked with the heavy lifters down in the lab, under a guy named Garza. We were making a life for ourselves."

John nodded as he stared at Kurtis through his radioactive green eyes. "And where does Miss Mei Wong come into this?" he asked.

The guard scratched his head. "Well, she and Phil actually met when she came in with the merchants. She was planning on starting her own place up here in the markets. She's a painter, a really good one, and uses all kinds of stuff as her paint. I swear if you give her a bucket of chemicals, she can turn it into a portrait in a single night." he said, chuckling lightly. When John's gaze didn't shift, he cleared his throat and continued. "Well, as dumb as Phil is, he has a real eye for art. And he kept going back to her shop. Eventually, they started seeing each other. After a couple of months, he came to me about popping the question to her..." he said, then his tone darkened and he reached back and began rubbing his neck. "Well, I found out a short while later from one of the merchants that Mei was actually a former slave. She belonged to a lot of bad people, even worse than Eulogy. When she was finally freed, she wouldn't talk for months, and she freaked out everytime someone tried to take her collar off of her." he said.

"Seeing the expression on your face right now gives me hope that you have changed. I'm glad to see you feeling compassion for someone else." said the gunman.

Kurtis nodded. "It was a hard thing to break, not caring about others. But being around people who aren't treated like cattle helped. Having to work with them, be friends with them, it...changed me for the better." he said with a sigh. "Anyway, while I was hearing the story to the first time, Phil had popped the question. She had said yes, but only under the condition that he tell her where he got the scar."

"I told her for the longest time that I got it fighting raiders. But, she saw right through me." said Phil, for the first time since they had met again.

John looked at him, then looked back at Kurtis, who just chuckled. "And you're a bad liar." said the man. But his mirth died as he continued. "Anyway, he didn't know about her past, and thought that if they really loved each other, she would accept him for who he was, not who he used to be. So, they shared a drink, and he told her."

"And it wasn't the heartwarming scene he would have thought..." said John, who loosened up his stance as the picture started to piece itself together. Kurtis nodded, and John looked over at Phil. "So why did she say you were stalking her?" he asked.

"I just wanted to talk to her. To show her I wasn't like that anymore. But...any time I found her alone, she ran from me." said the bowl cutted man as he buried his face in his knees.

"He came to talk to me about it, and I just told him to stay away from her for a while. Maybe the distance will clear the air. But...well, this settlement isn't THAT big." he said with an irritated sigh.

"I accidentally bumped into her at the market. The crowds when the merchants arrive are pretty big. I didn't see her, and backed into her when someone stepped on my foot. She ran again, and I went to the bar." said Phil as he sighed heavily.

John was quiet for a long time as he stared at the man. Phil began to shrink back in on himself to try and get away from the intimidating gaze, but the wanderer's voice snapped him out of it. "I'll have a word with her. At the very least, you two should be able to look at each other without one of you running to security. So don't worry." Looking over at Kurtis and his handsome features. "But, in order to talk to her, I'll need him there with me, and you there in uniform." he said.

Kurtis nodded. "If it gets this drama off the ship, I'm more than willing to help."

OoOoO

She was nervous. A few hours ago, she had finally had it. It wasn't enough that his stupid ass had made her fall in love with him. But then he told her, the horrifying truth, about the scar on his face. Every feeling she had for him turned to disgust in that moment, which vanished when she left him. Then it turned to hurt. He had betrayed her, lied to her, used her! She didn't really know what she wanted the legendary gunman to do when she ran up to him, but she wanted him gone, out of her life for good.

She expected to hear about it, perhaps from the guards later, or maybe in the market gossip. But nothing was heard about any of them. Then, she got a message from one of the sergeants of Rivet City Security that the gunman wanted a word with her. Now she sat in a room with one of the guards of Rivet City, that same sergeant, standing next to the door. While waiting, she found herself fidgeting with her clothes, her bandana that she wore over her buzzed hair, even the necklace she wore with several sea shells.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the hatch opened and in stepped the man she had asked for help. Somehow, seeing him there didn't make her feel any better about the situation. He closed the hatch behind him and stepped in front of her, looking down at her with that piercing, yet pondering gaze. Finally, after a minute longer, he spoke. "I assume you know who I am." he said. She nodded nervously. "That's why you came to me?" She nodded again. He thought for a moment longer, then spoke again. "I'd like to tell you a quick story before I get to my point." he said.

"A-Alright..." she said nervously, looking down at her lap and fidgeting with her hands.

"A long while ago, I infiltrated the slaver camp known as Paradise Falls." he said. She immediately flinched at the name of the place, but he didn't stop. "I acted like I was unconscious to get inside the gates. And when night fell, I broke out of the cage I was in and killed everyone I got my hands on. Except for a lucky few who got to witness what I do to slavers." he remarked. Turning, he nodded to the guard, who knocked on the door. It suddenly opened up, and Phil walked in. Mei immediately stood to her feet, fear flashing across her features as she backed up. She looked at the door desperately, like she was looking for an escape. But the wanderer stepped up to her before she could make a decision. "Mei, look at me." commanded John. She looked at him, her eyes wide in terror. "I'm here with you, and so is Security. He can do nothing to you right now. But, more importantly, if you run right now, you're allowing yourself to be terrified the rest of your life." he said, getting a stunned look from her. "Stay with me now, and listen to what I have to say. You don't have to live the your life looking over your shoulder every single day."

She seemed to calm at the statement, but looked no less nervous. "I-I understand." she said, still standing away from the bowl cut ex-slaver.

Turning, John looked at Phil. "Why don't you tell her the rest of the story?"

Phil just nodded, his own eyes closing as he did. "I...I was tied up. So were others. He had us tied to posts through the night so we couldn't escape." he said, the memories flashing through his mind like a vivid nightmare. "When the sun rose, he brought out the leader of a group of raiders that Eulogy was working with. He let two of Eulogy's personal slaves detonate the collars that he'd strapped around Eulogy's own body..." he said, and at this Mei smirked slightly at the personal satisfaction that must have given them. "Then, he told us to watch him, because he was only going to make his point once." he said. Shaking his head to clear it of the nightmore, he looked at her through broken, weary eyes. "He lifted the raider boss up and tore him in half while he was still alive. The screaming, it was...horrifying." he said, shuttering.

Though she didn't smile, the woman now crossed her arms as if to express she had no sympathy. John began speaking again then. "So, coming from the witnesses mouth, you know how I deal with slavers." he remarked. She continued to stay silent, but nodded. "Do you know why I didn't kill all of them?" he asked as he took a step closer.

"You should have." she said simply, glaring at Phil.

"Perhaps. But I didn't, because life is not to be taken lightly." he said as he walked over to Phil. "Show her the scar." The man turned his head slowly, as if ashamed of what he was about to show her. The slashing X shaped scar ran from the front of his ear, almost to the corner of his mouth, and had a slash running perpindicular as well. "Those that I left alive received this mark, from this." he commented, whipping out a sharp looking knife with a serrated backside. "I left these as a reminder to both me and to these men and women, of the horrible things they've done. I told them they were going to have one chance to change themselves, or else I would find them, and do to them what I did to that raider."

She snorted as she finally looked at Phil with a bit of contempt. "Why give them a second chance?" she asked spitefully.

"Because they asked for it. They surrendered themselves to me, showing that they believed their lives were worth more than continuing with slavery. Those who chose slavery over life, died by my hands, and by my allies hands. They can no longer hurt anyone else." he remarked.

"So what's your point?" she asked impatiently.

John stepped forward until they were looking eye to eye, his eye twitching slightly at the fact that this woman stood almost as tall as him. "I want you to think back when you first met Phil. Did he seem like a slaver to you?" he asked.

"N-No. He was very sweet and he liked my paintings." she said, lowering her eyes. "He kept coming back and buying more and more." she said, feeling herself smile at the thought. Then her face turned to contempt as she shook the memory from her head. "Is that why you're here? To get me back together with him!?" she asked, bewildered.

John shook his head. "The state of your relationship is not my concern. What is, however, is this man, and the others I gave a second chance." he said, nodding to Phil. "These men know that if they cross the line even a little bit, I'm going to come for them, and they're going to be on the receiving end of what I did to Rocco. They're not going to go back to slavery if they can help it." he said, then turned to Phil. "As for him, I've spoken with him. He is not the same man he was when I gave him that mark. Nor are you the same girl you were when you were in a collar." he said, turning to look at her. "You've both changed. You may think him a liar, but consider the fact that he didn't have to ask you to marry him." She gasped at the proclamation, as if she had forgotten that it happened. "And he certainly didn't have to tell you what he used to be. He did because he loves you, and didn't want to lie to you anymore."

"B-But..." she said, flopping down into the chair again, her expression defeated.

"I'm not asking you to love him, or even to trust him. But to let him live his life. You don't have to be best friends, but he's worked hard to change himself, and you throwing everyone that swings a gun at him for the rest of his natural life will end that. He could turn back into what he was, and hurt someone else like those who hurt you did." he said solemnly.

She covered her mouth with a hand, tears coming to her eyes. "I...I'm sorry..." she said.

He just smiled and rubbed her shoulder gently. "Don't be sorry. Just give him a chance to make it up to you. Besides..." he said, then whispered in her ear. "You'll have me to kick his ass if he pisses you off again." She immediately smiled, hiding a giggle behind her hand.

"Okay, you win." she said, then looked up at Phil. "I don't trust you, I want you to know that right now. But...I'm willing to let you prove to me that you have changed." she said, slightly standoffishly. He nodded eagerly as John stepped up beside him.

The man immediately stiffened as the words left the gunman's mouth in a whisper so quiet, that only he heard it. "If you hurt her, or go back on your word, I'll make a painting for her out of your blood." he said in a voice so deadly that the ex-slaver swore the temperature in the room had dropped. "You two kids have a nice time!" he said in a cheery tone again, then patted the security officer on the shoulder before leaving the room.

OoOoO

Author's Note: Woo! One more chapter til the big five oh! As such, I'll be commemorating this achievement (not only of having 50 chapters, but also of this becoming my longest story ever written.) with a nice long chapter for the next one. So enjoy this for now, because not only will the next chapter be mind blowing...hopefully...assuming most of you didn't see this coming already, but it will also be a huge chapter by my standards. You won't have long to wait, so prepare yourselves! Also, credit to where credit is due, the next chapter, as well as one of the characters involved in it, was inspired by Myetel and her amazing Mass Effect fanfiction known as Spirit of Redemption. If you're a fan of ME and you haven't read this fic, you're doing it wrong. The character in question, will be illuminated upon in the next chapter. Until then, keep reviewing! As I've come to notice, this story is making its way to the top of the Fallout 3 favorites list. And is currently in the top 10! With your help, its rise will pierce the heavens!