Author's Note: What's this? An update on time? I have mid-terms and papers due and I spent all week writing this instead. Love it when the muses work with you.

Thanks for reading!

It ended up being Riley, Boone, Arcade, and ED-E. Much to Arcade's distress, Veronica had persuaded Riley to take the bucket of bolts on an extended distance test-run, as she called it, to test the reach of his transceiver. Goodsprings had been a good test, but she wanted something with range. Bitter Springs, apparently, was range.

So far, Riley used him as a radio. After a few hours, Arcade was already sick of hearing Johnny Guitar. Mr. New Vegas updated them sporadically, crediting the Courier with the 'success' in Freeside. Riley's mood had soured after that, which made their already awkward journey even more awkward. Boone hadn't exactly been thrilled, to say the least, about Riley's plan. She'd pulled him in after talking to Arcade, laid it out, and then the doctor was forced to sit there while they glared and sniped at each other verbally. Considering how Arcade had found them that morning in the Wrangler, he was more or less confused. Now, on the road, the two snipers stayed as far away from each other as possible, with Boone taking point and Riley following up in the rear. Arcade was, figuratively, stuck between a rock and a hard place.

They took the road east out of Freeside. Past the overpass freeway that sat derelict and crumbling to the south. East would take them near Camp Golf, by Raul's shack, through towards Lake Mead. Riley had it mapped out for them on her Pip-Boy, was confident in the route and supplies. That didn't mean Arcade didn't see her constantly checking over her shoulder, that he hadn't seen her jump at every rock that fell loose in the hills around them. He was sure Boone noticed it too, despite being what felt like a mile away at times. He paused here and there, scoping the road ahead of them and giving them time to catch up. Once they did, his eyes were always on Riley, concerned.

By noon, the desert sun had beat the energy out of them. Boone slowed at the crest of a hill until they caught up with him, sweat pouring down his neck. He pointed to the right, where a set of train tracks led down the hill towards a quarry and a train station. Beyond, Arcade could make out the hazy shape of what he thought was Camp Golf. "Could rest down there," Boone said. Riley swung her rifle up without a word and scanned the area. Arcade turned to look at the craggy red hills forming to the north.

"The train station," Riley eventually agreed, lowering her scope. "Good shade there. Let's get out of this heat."

They took two steps before Boone's arm shot out, blocking their path. He dropped to his knees and yanked Riley down with him. "Deathclaw," he hissed, causing Arcade to drop right next to them. He couldn't see anything, but by this time he had faith in Boone's senses. They sat there, still and quiet, listening and watching as the desert heat pounded down against them and the wind kicked up dirt and sand as an added insult. It took a few minutes of patient waiting, but wait they did until the great lumbering beast finally stalked out of the shadows behind a box car. Arcade's mouth went dry. It stretched out its head, sniffing, big whuffs of hot, fetid-air. ED-E's speakers, which had just finished out a song, suddenly burst into the opening notes of "Something's Gotta Give".

"ED-E shut up," Riley hissed, and the radio dropped off accompanied by a sad beeping.

"Now's a good time to move, yes?" Arcade whispered, watching as the deathclaw swivelled its head this way and that. Had it heard the eyebot? Could it smell them from there? Suddenly their sweat seemed more than a mild irritant.

"Move," Boone agreed. "Now."

They backed up, low and slow, until they were on the other side of the road. Riley ushered them down a ditch and then up the slope into the red rock of the hills above them, her Pip-Boy out so she could check their options. They came to a stop on a ridge overlooking the road and the train station beyond. Behind them, an outcropping of rock offered the shade they were looking for. None of them moved to it. Instead, they pulled out sights to see where the deathclaw was, their breath slowing into comfortable rhythms once they saw it still in the same place they left it. It belted out a long and drawn-out roar that shook their stomachs before it took its first steps back towards the quarry.

"Jesus," Arcade breathed, and let his legs give out so that he was sitting in the dirt. "You take me to the nicest places."

A laugh bubbled out of Riley and she turned, wiping the sweat from her brow underneath the stetson. "We'll take lunch here. I want to be able to see where that thing is before we move on."

Boone didn't move. He likely wouldn't, Arcade knew, until Riley told him to. Which she did, almost on cue, calling him back to where they sat in the shade and setting ED-E on lookout duty. Boone didn't look any more thrilled about trusting watch to a robot than Arcade did, but neither put up any argument. One, because it had worked before on the trip back from Goodsprings, and two, because Boone and Riley were on weird speaking terms and likely he didn't want to start another argument with her.

They ate quickly, quietly, and after a check on the deathclaw, they went on their way.

It was close to sunset by the time Boone slowed his pace. A graveyard of old world vehicles greeted them on the side of the road, burnt-out husks of buses and campers. A familiar sight in the Mojave anywhere tourists used to gather. The sound of people drifted down the hill, the muted murmur of chatter and everyday life. Far above, Arcade could make out the lone form of a soldier standing at the peak of a small mountain, watching them. Great.

Boone hesitated near the centre of the old parking lot, his hands fisted at his side. Riley and Arcade waited, figuring he needed a minute. When he still didn't move, Riley motioned for Arcade to hang back and he watched as she walked slowly to his side. He wondered at their relationship, how it worked that despite whatever tension was between them that they could still hold intimate moments like this. She spoke quietly and he spoke tersely. They never touched, but whatever she said pulled the tension out of his shoulders, his neck, his posture. He said something else, then she nodded and gestured for Arcade to follow as they continued up the hill.

The soldiers guarding the entrance to the camp barely spared them a passing glance, only nodding once in Boone's direction. They looked tired and worn out, reminding Arcade of the soldiers they'd seen at Camp Forlorn Hope. A wooden sign greeted them, with Bitter Springs painted on in white paint, with the double-headed bear of the NCR below it. Boone paused again.

"This is it," he said, turning to face them. He folded his arms across his chest and fixed his gaze on Riley. "We got sent from Camp Golf, looking for some Khans who'd been making trouble with one of our settlements. I guess one of the settlers was connected," he added bitterly. "Because we sent everything we had. We figured this was a gang hideout, but… they'd led us to their home."

He looked around them, jaw set in a stubborn line. "There's a ridge called Coyote Tail on the south side. That's where we set up. We should check in first," he said. "Let them know we're here."

Riley nodded, leading the way. The camp was not much better than Forlorn Hope. Communal shower areas, communal sleeping areas. Re-purposed Khan tents laid open with the rules of the NCR plastered on the doors. Rusted sheets of scrap metal serving as shade and flooring, and not a lot of people had proper footwear, Arcade noted. It was a refugee camp, he knew, but as the Followers weren't allowed on NCR relief missions since their falling out, he'd had no information on how bad things were. And looking around, he thought, they couldn't get much worse.

The slope up to the NCR tents was steep. The first tent was a medical centre, and a blood-splattered doctor greeted them as they walked up. He froze when he saw Riley, really took her in, his mouth agape in a wide, disbelieving smile.

"Wow," he said. "Hey. It's you! What are you doing in Bitter Springs?"

Boone and Arcade glanced at each other.

Riley stared. "It…is me," she agreed cautiously. "Have we met? I don't think I remember you."

He smiled. "You're the Courier, aren't you?"

She didn't move. Arcade caught the angry flush of her embarrassment, and the friendly demeanour fell off her face. She spoke now in a quiet, measured tone. Too reserved for her, he thought. "Right now I'm just a friend," she said, and Arcade watched as the doctor's excitement died at the change in her. "Trying to help someone. Is there a command tent around here?"

"Sure." He hooked a thumb over his shoulder. "Just behind this one."

She left without saying anything else, her pace quick. They rounded the corner, coming across a huge bonfire pit with a square set of tents surrounding it. Some of the tents had beds that were filled, soldiers sleeping or reading, but not many. The largest tent was occupied by a single woman. Boone and Arcade hung back while Riley talked to her, and Arcade could tell something was up when Boone cursed beside him.

"You know her?"

"Something like that," Boone said between his teeth. The woman glanced at him over Riley's shoulder, but kept her tone even and measured as they spoke. By the time Riley returned Boone was agitated enough that he was beginning to pace.

"They have room for us," she said on a sigh. "Food if we want it. Our pick of beds. There's not enough soldiers here to fill them anyway."

"She say anything else?" Boone bit out. Riley blinked.

"Um. Mentioned 'the incident' as the catalyst for her being assigned here, if that's what you're referring to."

"The massacre, you mean."

She nodded. "That's not what she called it, but yeah. Said she was demoted."

He let out a long, drawn-out sigh. "Demoted. Yeah. Christ. Least they could do, I guess. I need to walk." He turned on his heel, walking off without another word. Riley stood there awkwardly. Arcade waited for instructions, because he was there solely at her request. He doubted Boone would want the doctor for company, anyway.

"Hell." She blew out a breath, rubbing at the back of her neck as the urge to follow him grew too great. She looked at Arcade. "Will you be okay?"

"Go." He moved aside. "I'll find something to keep me occupied."

She nodded, still staring in the direction Boone went off in. But not moving. "Keep ED-E with you," she said finally. He pulled a face, which she ignored. "I can contact you with the hand-held if something goes wrong."

He didn't want to ask what exactly she expected to go wrong. She promised no missile strikes, after all. She waited another moment before finally running after Boone.

Riley wasn't sure if Boone wanted her company either, which was why she hesitated so much. She ran to catch up with him. He'd already made it down the hill to the camp proper and was veering off to the right towards a canyon, with high cliffs on each side. There probably wasn't more refugee camp down that way, she figured. It was more likely, she thought, to lead to Coyote Tail. She adjusted the strap of her pack and picked up her pace.

By the time she caught up with him, he'd come to an abrupt halt. In the dim light of the setting sun, the red rock of the canyon above them was awash in hues of gold and brown, and the growing shadows placed them in a still and quiet juncture.

He didn't acknowledge her. He drew his shades off and rubbed a hand over tired eyes. She thought he was going to tell her to go away when he finally spoke. "They put the graveyard here," he said. "Christ."

She looked around. Two neat rows of crosses and grave markers lined the canyon walls. She didn't know what to say. Didn't know the significance of what they were looking at. The details of Bitter Springs were never really given to her. What Noah had told her was vague, an abstract story without the emotional impact of Boone's side of it. A miscommunication, he'd said. A lot of people died.

Sighing, Boone moved forward, and when Riley didn't follow, he stopped and turned to look at her.

"Riley?"

She glanced back at the camp. She could find something to do. She knew that the captain probably had a list of things for her already. She cleared her throat, steeling herself. "If you want to be alone," she said, facing him. "I can head back. Find Gannon."

"This is the last place I'd rather be alone."

When she still didn't move he held out a hand, and simply waited until she slipped hers into his.

They walked between the rows of dead and didn't speak.

Outside the canyon, they came to a ridge that overlooked the road and Lake Mead. Boone helped her up, holding her steady when her boots slipped on some loose dirt. Behind them, the canyon stood like a gaping maw trying to welcome them back, an avenue of death and bad memories. Boone dropped his bag, his entire body tense and somehow tired at the same time. He let go of her hand.

"That's canyon 37," he told her. "It's what the NCR called it anyway. On a map that doesn't mean much. Seeing it now—" he thought for a moment. "It's different. It was the Khans' only escape, so we set up here to guard it while the main force attacked from the front, where we came in."

Riley said nothing.

"Standing orders were to shoot on sight," he went on, his words spilling out one after the other like they couldn't be helped. "Main force got spotted too soon. We heard shooting. Then Khans started coming through canyon 37 in bunches. But it was wrong. We were wrong. They were women, kids, elderly. Then wounded started coming through, too. We radioed to confirm our orders but command didn't get what we were seeing. They told us to shoot till we were out of ammo. So," he took a long and ragged breath. "That's what we did."

Her stomach dropped out from under her as everything fell into place. A miscommunication. A lot of people died.

Boone's guilt made a lot of sense.

"That captain back in camp," she said. "She was here?"

"She was the one that—" he exhaled sharply, suddenly angry. "She was in command. Gave the order. Then she froze up once she realised what was happening. What—who we were killing. Kids were dying in front of us and she didn't stop it."

"I—" she took a moment, gathered her thoughts. "I get it. It's orders. They beat it into us right in basic, Boone. They say shoot, we shoot. I just…"

He looked at her, a sad, knowing expression on his face as he watched her struggle with it. "Doesn't seem like much of an excuse now, does it?"

She didn't know what to say to that.

"You wouldn't have done this," he said, turning back to the canyon. She moved so that she was standing next to him. The sun dipped lower, casting long shadows. The graves were still visible from here.

"You don't know that. Hell, I don't know that."

Would she have pulled a trigger on children? Could she have? Her problem in the military was not following orders. It's what got her and Noah into trouble in the first place. It was sad, in a way, that Boone's problem was the exact opposite.

"I guess it doesn't matter now. It's done. Anyway." He turned away from the canyon, from her. "I don't know why we're here. You shouldn't have even left the Strip."

She ignored that. "I keep my promises, Boone."

"Yeah. Guess you do." He looked out over the road. Riley still had her eyes on the canyon, trying to imagine what he saw. What he did. But all her mind could see was the damage this place had done to him. What the NCR had done to him.

"I figured coming here would help see things differently," he said quietly. "You want to head back to the camp before it gets dark. I'm gonna stay here tonight. Think some things over."

Alone.

She dropped her bag next to his and plopped herself down in the dirt. She could radio Arcade and let him know later.

There was a long beat of silence, and then Boone sat down next to her.

"Riley."

She jerked awake, neck sore and back screaming. The rock she was leaning against was jabbing into her side. Boone knelt next to her, just a shadow in the darkness, his voice quiet and low. She felt around for her rifle.

"I'm up."

"Legion raiding party," he whispered. Her fingers grasped the cool metal of her rifle barrel. "It's big. Look."

Her head swivelled in the direction he was pointing, but her eyes weren't adjusted yet. She couldn't see, but she trusted him.

"They follow us? Is this—" She didn't want to voice it completely. Were they after her? Did they lead them right to a vulnerable camp?

"Doubt it. This camp isn't well-guarded, and there were already Legion in the area," he reminded her, referring to what they found at Raul's shack weeks ago. "Probably been watching the place for a while now. Easy target for grabbing slaves."

Right. Shit.

"I'm radioing Arcade," she said, reaching for the hand-held hanging from her belt. Boone didn't say anything. He moved closer to the edge of the ridge, watching the road while she gave Arcade the warning. She had to trust that he would be okay, that he would warn the Captain and the soldiers would do their best to get people to a more defended position. She tried not to worry about the number of soldiers she saw when they first came in. Barely a dozen, she thought. Not enough.

When she was done, she groped for her bag, looking for extra ammo.

"You want out," Boone was saying as she pulled out the small boxes. "I won't blame you."

"I'm not running," she snarled, tossing the boxes at his feet. Her eyes were beginning to adjust, and she could just make out the group of Legionnaires congregating in the distance. She guessed at maybe twenty, maybe less. It was hard to tell. Her ears picked up the distant sound of dogs barking and she swore inwardly. This was Nelson all over again, and she had no Cateye.

"You have more to lose," Boone reminded her. Riley hated the resigned tone in his voice. She set up next to him, swinging her scope down so she could see clearly. "You should—"

She reached out and grabbed his collar, jerking his face forward so that it was inches from hers. "Stop it," she hissed. "If you didn't want me here you should have let me go to fucking Montana. You should have told me to stay in camp. I'm here, so I'm staying." She let him go, her hands and breath shaking. Boone watched her carefully.

"If—"

"Don't," she warned, and lifted her rifle with a steadying breath. The raiding party was separating into groups. "Get ready."

It was chaos. They took out a handful of Legion within seconds, and then it was chaos. They dispersed into the hills, dogs were loosed, spears thunked and clinked against the rock around them. Boone pulled her away to reposition and there was a scramble as they grabbed their gear and ammo, sliding against gravel and dirt as they tried to stay low.

They found another hill, another vantage point, and started firing again.

Shouts went up in the camp and her head swung around. Screams and the echoes of returning gunfire fell off the canyon walls. She cursed, worry for Arcade suddenly hitting her. Boone nudged her.

"Go. I can hold here."

"But—"

"Go!"

Cursing, she took off down the hill, stopping once to take out a Legionnaire coming out of the darkness, stopping again when she saw the pack of dogs tearing into a soldier. She pulled out her handgun, putting two dogs down before the rest turned on her. She pulled the trigger again, another dog fell. Now two were still bearing down on her, but this time when she pulled the trigger nothing happened. A useless click. Her gun was jammed. Screaming in frustration, she reached for her rifle just as the first flashes of plasma fire hit the dog closest to her. The second crumpled to ash a second later. Riley stared.

Wide-eyed, she looked up and saw Arcade waving at her to hurry from behind a bus. She ran past the soldier's mangled body, shoving a shoulder against the metal hull as she joined him.

"Never aim that in my direction," she huffed.

"You're welcome, by the way. Where's Boone?"

The crack of a rifle shot filled the air and she just lifted her brows. "Holding the front. You hurt? What's going on here?"

"I'm fine. Got the refugees in the back of the camp. A few Legion got through," Arcade breathed, flipping a hand through his hair as he looked around them frantically. "Think we got them."

She looked at his weapon. Thought about the pile of ash at her feet. "Do no harm, huh?"

"Doesn't extend to things that are trying to kill me," he said grimly, peeking around the corner. "More coming."

They set up, taking aim and firing in quick succession as Legion came up the hill. Another pack of dogs rushed them but the bottleneck of the entrance helped to keep the situation contained. A few made it through as she was reloading, and she tackled one as he ran past, her hand already on the hilt of her knife, Arcade yelling behind her. They rolled in the dirt until he pinned her, his hands on her throat, his legs trapping her knife hand so that it was useless. She had only a brief moment of panic before he jerked from the bullet that hit him before the dead weight of his body collapsed on top of her.

She couldn't breathe. He was crushing her lungs. She felt the sticky warmth of his blood seeping onto her, pooling around her. There was so much, and the smell of it was filling her senses, taking up too much space when she couldn't get any air. Then the weight was gone and she was gasping, scrambling in the dirt to get away. A hand gripped her shoulder and she whirled, ready to fight. Boone stared down at her, his eyes hard as he took in her blood-stained clothes.

"Stay down."

She exhaled swiftly, felt the adrenaline crash as she took in one, two, three big gulps of air. Boone knelt beside her, and Riley looked down to see blood covering half of her torso.

"It's not mine," she said, sitting up. Her hands were shaking. Damn it. But Boone just pushed her back down, his hands already pulling up the hem of her shirt, fingers pressing, wiping away blood as the light from the campfires washed over her. She leaning back on her elbows, forcing herself to hold still even as Arcade joined them at her other side.

"They're gone?" she asked. Boone sat back as Arcade took over checking her for injuries.

"Yeah."

"You're okay?"

Boone looked down at his hands, covered in blood. "I guess."

Arcade sat back, nodding at her so she could sit up now. "I'm going to help with the injured," he said, and left them.

Boone helped her up, watching her warily as she put space between them, as she focused on her breathing, as the shaking in her hands slowly began to subside. He gave her a moment, and once she felt steady enough, they looked around the camp, taking in the damage. One tent was on fire. Legion bodies, dog and human, littered the ground. A few soldiers lay groaning as Arcade and field medics tended to them. Captain Gilles was already directing people in the clean-up effort.

"Could have been worse," she said eventually. "But we made it."

"Not sure what to make of that," he said. She looked at him, curious. "I thought it'd make sense. When I saw them gathering, coming here suddenly made sense."

"Like it made sense when you took the Mark?"

He said nothing.

"No one's judging you or punishing you," she said quietly. "Things just… happen."

"That's not really comforting."

"I'm just saying there's no script. What happened happened. You can't take it back, any more than I can take back what happened to me and Noah." Her mouth pulled back, because the topic of Cottonwood wasn't something she wanted to bring up when they were already knee-deep in bad memories. "You just try and make up for it. Every day."

"How?"

She smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. "Doesn't always work. We're only human. You think it's all about checks and balances, keeping score. Karma. It can work the other way too. Even out the bad with some good."

"Nothing can even out what I've done."

"Does that mean you shouldn't try?"

Boone was silent. She tried again.

"You know what was a good thing? Us being here today. I think this would have been another massacre if they didn't have two snipers out on that ridge. I think the Legion would be marching more slaves over to Cottonwood right now, and they would have these soldiers up on crosses."

She could see him coming around to it, the slow nod as he acknowledged what she said. But it was so late now, and she couldn't stop the yawn from creeping up on her. Still silent, Boone took her hand in his, both caked in dried blood, and quietly led her through the settling chaos.