"Hey, how many are there?"

"What? Sorry son but you're gonna have to speak up!"

Whitley was always a quiet man. He never was one to raise his voice that much and even then, was that much quick to anger. But this was an exception. One of many exceptions.

"I SAID, HOW MANY ARE THERE?" Whitley yelled, this time his voice getting through the roar of fire.

"There's about 3 squads worth in the ruins of the cathedral, and a machine gun nest right down the road on the 2nd floor of the building to the left, 3rd window to the right. Fuckers got us pinned down so we can't advance to the cathedral."

"Did you throw smoke?" Whitley asked, a bullet landing near the wall he used as cover.

"We did, except the fuckers just concentrate on us even more when we do." The veteran trooper said with a scowl.

"Squads able, baker and dog have already established good positions to start the assault, it's just us that are held back." He continued, with a displeased look.

Whitley took in the information quickly. Took a glance at the friendly squad and grinned a bit.

"When I say go, give me some covering fire. Also, turn that frown upside will you? You're demoralizing the whole squad."

"...Will do." The trooper said with a troubled look

"...Go!" Whitley said as he quickly darted on the road.

"You heard the man!, fire!" The trooper said just as quickly, The other squad members firing following the order down to a t and firing precisely at the target.

Pow Pow!

Whitley winced as a couple rounds hit his shoulder and lower chest.

"Hah, every single damn time it hurts." Whitley sighed as he carried on, judging the wounds as not serious.

He could see the brief flashes coming from the building. Short bursts of fire for maximum efficiency now rendered silent from the shots of the Ncr.

He was close now. Just a couple more feet and he would reach the wall of the building. Thank god for the training standards of the Ncr.

"How long are you going to charge in head first like this?"

Her words popped into his mind for the briefest of moments. It was enough to almost make him stop right then and there. No, he had a job to do. Quickly, he shook his head and made it to the wall.

He hastily searched through his bag laden with explosives and soon found the tool for a job.

A small bundle of dynamite.

Grining, he took out the cigarette in his mouth and used the lit part of it to light up the explosives he had on hand. Why waste the precious fuel of his lighter?

Hugging the wall, he winked at the firing squad and gave it a toss and threw it through the window sill.

A second passed before the word dynamite could be heard from the window sill, a millisecond later, a loud explosion erupted, blasting a rather large opening in the building and leaving….rather gory bits in its wake. Needless to say, the enemy had been wiped out.

Sighing, he took out some morphine and stuck it in him as the friendly squad ran up to him.

"That was one helluva home run! Why did you use morphine? Here, I got a stimpack for ya-" The veteran trooper said excitedly, with a wide grin on his face before he got cut off.

"Don't bother, I'll heal quickly." Whitley said with a small smile.

"...Hah, as it expected from the engineers, crazy bastards the lot of ya…." The veteran said with an exasperated sigh.

"Damn right we are, now come on, I have a heavy bag of explosives and I'm just dying to use em." Whitley said with an excited smile. Reminiscent of a child.

"...Roger that Goblin." The Veteran trooper replied back with an equal amount of joy as he nodded to his squad.

"...Now, lets go have some fun, eh?"

Laughter and excitement could be heard in the background as the Ncr troopers patted each other on their backs.

Whitley simply smoked his cigarette in peace as he sat on a pile of rubble in the cathedral. Another day, another victory. Taking another drag of his cigarette, he noticed something in the ruins of the cathedral, he noticed a trap door. Quickly, he shushed the troopers and pulled out his revolver.

Following his lead, the whole party fell deadly quiet, each one of them preparing for another firefight. Grim acceptance that another might die today.

Silently, Whitley opened the trap door, expecting a foe, he was met with surprise.

He was met with a little girl, with eyes of emptiness and anger, His eyes. Looking at him with complete and utter contempt as she aimed a .45 auto pistol right between his eyes.

She looked so pitiful. A bruise on her face, a gaunt face, skinny body. She looked half starved to death as she aimed her pistol at him. She impressed him, the little lady didn't even tremble as she had him at gunpoint, her aim steady. Breathing calm, and eyes that studied him as he studied hers.

Sighing, Whitely called out to his allies as he scanned the area behind her.

"No worries guys, it's just a bunch of children." Whitley said as he took note of the starving, terrified kids behind her.

"Don't worry, we won't hurt you, We're NCR." Whitley said plainly as he walked down to her, paying no mind to her pistol.

She was cautious of him, She didn't like the situation but she knew better then to shoot him. Everybody would die. Clicking her tongue, she looked away in fear and uncertainty as she tiredly dropped her pistol. Damnit! They were so close, just a little more and then they would have been free! A little more and they wouldn't have to live like this! Like...like things! A little more and they could have been actual human beings again!

A short pause as he studied her. Memories from years ago resurfacing in his mind as he smoked his cigarette.

A small smile to comfort her, a small pat on her head as he handed her some candy.

"You look hungry kiddo. Here, have a hersheys." Whitley said nonchalant as he ruffled her hair, earning a myriad of curses at him as he did so.

He looked at the children. All of them were scared, with bruises all over their bodies, it was clear what had happened to them.

He turned to the opening of the basement that they were in.

"Hey, Get out your rations on you and make some stew or something, these kids are starving." Whitley ordered casually as he picked up the pistol.

Studying it for a moment, he dug in his duster and pulled out a magazine with .45 bullets. A necessity in case any of his comrades were in a tight spot and needed some ammunition and needed a mag.

Pulling out the mag in the pistol, he fit his into it.

"You had a wrong mag, thing would have jammed up the moment you fired it." Whitley said with an amused smile as he put the wrong mag into the pocket of his duster.

"..."

The girl said nothing as her fists clenched in rage.

A nostalgic sight for him. He sees so much of him in her when he was a kid….It's downright heartbreaking.

"Here, you're gonna need this if you wanna live." Whitley said as he continued patting her head.

"!..." Her eyes, for the briefest of moments, sparked with confusion and relief, before quickly being replaced with mistrust and hatred as she hurriedly grabbed the pistol from his offering hand.

"...Kid's you must be hungry, come up, we'll fix ya some stew." Whitley said as he turned his head towards the entrance of the basement.

Seconds of silence from the kids showed that they were extremely reluctant to comply. But after a minute or two, they finally went up. Fear and mistrust evident in their actions as they all eyed him when they went up the stairs. With the girl with the pistol being last.

He knew the look she gave him.

He remembered the days when he had that look.

Hell, he never even lost that look.

Man, life was a pain in the ass.

"Oi Whitley, this is bad!" A trooper said to him as they watched the children eat, all of them glowering at them as they did so.

"Yeah i know, my pack is almost out and the bastards at Camp mccarran always charge me extra because they know i love them." Whitley sighed as he lit up a new cigarette.

"Hey, first off. If you're almost out then don't smoke them so much. Secondly, these kids totally hate us! We don't even know what to do with them!"

"...Uh, send them back home to California? Give them a chance to live a life worth living? Why are you acting like that isn't what we're supposed to do?"

"Damnnit, just damn it. The brass will chew my ass out for this!" The man said with a scowl as he imagined the trouble that was awaiting him.

"Calm down Richy, Just shift the blame on me. Bastards can't do anything anyways, I'm their most experienced engineer. And bastards like me are so fucking hard to find." Whitley said with confidence as he took a drag.

"...You really are an Oddball, you know that?"

"That's my nickname after all."

"But man….those kids shouldn't have those eyes, not at a tender young age like this." Richy said after a pause as he studied them sadly.

"...It's the Mojave after all." Whitley replied normally with a tinge of sadness, displeased as well.

"It's the Mojave after all huh…." Richy repeated quietly. Sighing, he reached into his pocket and put a cigarette into his mouth.

"Got a light?"

"...I always got one." Whitley said as he lit the man's cigarette.

Their cigarettes both burned away as they watched the children eat. They watched as the smoke from their tobacco danced high into the sky before dissipating into nothingness.

"Like I said little lady, you and the kids are getting sent to an orphanage in California, you'll live safe there!" The Ncr Admin said with exasperation, tired at the girl's stout refusal.

"And I said no! I'm not gonna go into some shady Orphanage, especially in Ncr territory, your whole country is corrupt, no doubt in my mind that it's people are too." The little girl quipped back with a reply that made even the Admin fisibly flinch.

Whitley watched all of this from a distance with an amused smile.

'The girl has some backbone, I'll give her that.' Whitley thought to himself as he chuckled at her harsh yet true statement, His Cigarette burning more intensely than usual as he took a drag.

"Now listen here-" The admin started, only to get cut off.

"I'll take her." Whitley said with a nostalgic smile.

"W-wha?" The admin asked, confused.

"I'll take her, Write her down as mine in my documents."

"...Why?" The admin asked after several moments of silence, his face now serious as he studied the girl more intently.

"She has my eyes." Whitley responded indifferently.

"If it's you, the brass will look into this, question you even. No way in hell they'll overlook a war hero all of a sudden having a kid."

"Heh, i'll just tell them that sometimes, a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do."

"Aren't you 16? She's like 6. That would mean you had her at 10."

"Well...you know, sometimes a mans gotta do what a man's gotta do." Whitley replied with a smug grin as the little girl looked at this exchange with a star struck look on her face,

"...Fine, It's your funeral." The Admin said with sad resignation as he slumped his shoulders in defeat.

"That was easier than expected." Whitley said with a visible look of surprise.

"It's you i'm dealing with after all. I just can't beat you." The admin replied with yet another sigh

"Take it easy man, no one beats me in an argument, you know that~" Whitley replied with a lazy

Smile.

"As for you…."

Finishing his sentence, he turns to look at the little girl, who in turn gulps as she looks at whitley.

"Welcome to the 88th division Kiddo~" Whitley said with a wink.

The little girl only looked at him with absolute confusion as she stood there, seemingly affixed to the ground.

This idiot right in front of her was going to take care of her?

Shit.

"...You leave mid argument." Whitley said nothing as the little girl watched in amusement.

"You come back covered with wounds, bullets still in you….And not only that, you bring back a little girl as well? And she's your daughter?" Pyrrha said as she glowered at him.

"H-honey-" Whitley started his weak defense, only to get cut off.

"You're sleeping outside tonight." His wife said the very words he never wished to hear.

"C-come on now~ i-isn't that a bit harsh?" Whitley said as he desperately tried to salvage the situation.

"You're sleeping outside. Tonight." His wife replied with a cold smile, her beautiful eyes piercing right through him.

"No one beats me in an argument my ass~" The little girl cut in, mocking Whitley as he left the tent in defeat.

"Hey watch it kiddo!" Whitley quipped back, only to pull off a quick retreat at his wife's deathly glare.

The two girls watched in silence, arms crossed as they saw Whitley leave the tent, shoulders slumped as he sighed in defeat.

As soon as the tent flap closed, Pyrrha looked at the little girl who was grinning smugly at her husband's departure.

Studying her, She merely sighed as she looked at her eyes.

'Seriously dear, like I said. You're way too kind for your own good.' She thought herself as she sighed.

"What's your name?" She asked the little girl as she turned on the portable burner on the table, heating up the Kettle that sat on it.

"..." The little girl hesitated at the question, she didn't know anything about them, anything at all….But nothing changes whether she gives out her name or not. There wasn't a point in fighting the red head. She could die at any possible moment.

"...Coco." She said meekly and quietly, looking away from the redheads green eyes.

"Coco huh….was a beautiful name!" Pyrrha exclaimed, clapping her hands together as she encouraged and cheered on Coco.

"...What?" Coco asked in surprise, not expecting the reaction from the wife.

"What? First day in and you're already expecting domestic abuse?" Pyrrha asked calmly as she started brewing some tea.

"Well, we're not that kind of family….My foolish husband took you in, I don't know you….but i stand by his decision." Pyrrha said as she took a seat and studied her new found daughter intently

."..." Coco frowned at this...could it be?...No! They were trying to soften her up!, it was all a trick, a lie, a ruse!

"...Why?" Coco asked quietly as she clenched her fists…..Why?

"Because you need help." was the red head's reply.

"H-hah? I need help? The only ones that need help are you and that dumbass husband of yours! Taking in a child who they know nothing about? What's stopping me from running away? From killing you? From rigging a fucking bomb here and killing everyone?"

"..." Pyrrha said nothing as she looked at Coco with sympathetic eyes. Her own memories flashing through her as well.

"...Why?" Coco whispered desperately, looking for anything, even the mere sliver of an ill intent would do! Any reason would do, just please! She thought.

Silence.

The redhead said nothing as she looked at Coco with warm eyes, full of kindness as she poured out tea and offered Coco some biscuits that were on the table.

Shit.

The tears were flowing now.

She never knew nor experienced anything resembling a mother's love.

She wasn't supid. She knew this wouldn't last. She knew that the woman in front of her wasn't actually her mother…..She knew, but she despite all of that, she accepted the biscuits, her hand shaking as her whole body trembled.

With a bite, she cautiously swallowed. Allowing the very thing she hated called Hope to burn in her heart once again.

It was small, But it was enough.

The biscuits were delicious.

"...Are you serious?" Mercury asked, His normally cool face now laden with disbelief and shock.

"I agree with black sergeant, Having a little girl accompany us to the field is just….to much." Ash said as she looked down at Coco with pity.

"Yeah, and she probably can't even fire a rifle with those little arms of hers!" Jade added in as she sighed in exasperation.

"...Sigh, Coco said she wants to go….won't take no for an answer, so i'm only bringing her as support, she won't actually be fighting." Whitley said as he took a drag.

"But-" Mercury started, only to be cut off.

"She's only going to be with us as support. Nothing more, Nothing less." Whitley said firmly as he tied a spare helmet onto her head.

"...Sigh." All three of them all sighed at this. There really was no winning against there winning against Whitley was there?.

"Our sergeant….really is a strange one huh?" Jade asked as all of them got into the back of the truck.

"Tell me about it."Mercury sighed.

The entire squad save for Coco sighed as the truck started to their objective.

Whitley sighed because of Coco's stubbornness and his wife's sudden deployment on a mission.

Mercury sighed because they had to fight.

Ash sighed for Coco, pitying her and resolving to protect the young girl no matter what.

Jade sighed because she didn't understand why Coco was so dead set on joining them.

Coco merely kept her poker face as she dangled her feet loosely above the floor of the truck. The gentle rumbling of the truck accompanying them all as it set up for another battlefield.

Amidst it all, Coco merely gripped the canvas bag that hung on her shoulder. Mulling the feeling she got when he tied her helmet to her.

She felt warm

But most importantly, she felt safe.

She hated herself for liking that feeling.

And yet, she still desired more of it.

She was a Hypocrite.

But then again, who wasn't?