Chapter 9, Pest Control

Upon entering the room, the first thing that came to my mind is how it smelled of death. Not like the usual corpses I've left in my path, but the smell of rot and despair filled the room. There were control panels to my right, filing cabinets lined the walls, a table next to a door on the left, and there were blood stains litter throughout the room. Guess those blood stains lead to wherever death lies. Before I could continue to think, a giant, orange working ant comes out behind the control panel and reaches for me. I dodged to my left as it crashed into one of the filing cabinets and drew my 44 magnum. I clasped it in both my hands to steady it. As the ant turned around, I pulled the trigger and its body exploded, leaving behind a trail of discolored green puss on the floor. Before I could catch my breath, I heard to my left a faint cry come down the hallway and another ant scurried out and charged at me. I raised my arms again to aim at the ant and pulled the trigger. The ant exploded the same as the last one did.

I pulled the 44 back to my right hand and made my way down the hallway of where the second ant was and was taken back a bit by what I saw. Two Boomers laid dead with one rested against a desk and the other lay dead next to some metal cabinets. These must have been some of the Boomers that tried to come in earlier and judging by the scorch marks, they must have blown them up and the shockwave of the blast killed them. They must have eaten some strong explosives to trigger something like that. I pressed on forward and made a right at the nearest door. I was met with another style of an office space with metal cabinets and desks lining up and as I continued forward, I was stunned for a bit on what I saw. I felt the cold air of the generator room with the metal walkways guiding me down and across from me. The air smelled extremely musty but also I could smell literally shit. No doubt it was the ants leaving their excrement everywhere, so I hope I don't step in any of it.

Regardless, I made my way down the stairs and noticed the switch for the main power. "I'll reset the generators after I get these ants cleared out," I thought to myself.

I continued down the stairs and was met with concrete rubble everywhere as well as light green containers stacked on each other in corners of the room. I could spend minutes guessing what happened here, but I'll leave that for another time. As I marched forward, I saw in the distance a giant ant mound made with the debris of the building. Strangely enough, it wasn't guarded at all. Either they are out feeding, or doing something else giant, man eating ants do. As I walked to the top of the mound, I noticed that to my left two bright lights and took a quick glance at them. It was the two array generators that I would need to reset after clearing the ants out. Noting that, I continued forward to the top of the ant mound and once I stood there, I put my backpack on the ground to get the Sonic Emitter. I fished around it, but then I heard a loud screech faintly behind me. I stopped digging to listen for a moment. I could hear more of the screeching and I realized that they were coming back soon. I continued to dig around and I found the Sonic Emitter. I put it on top of the mound and using the key, I turned it on. I stepped away and I could hear a faint whistling sound go off. It was then accompanied by the screams of the ants, but this time, it sounded like they were in pain.

The building soon was filled with all of them screaming in pain and as they were, I felt myself getting a bit sick to my stomach. I sat down, trying to prevent myself from throwing up, and continued to listen to them all dying. It sounded horrible, like nails against a chalkboard or the sound of a dying cat and honestly, I don't know how much more of this I can take. After what felt like long, agonizing minutes, the screeching stopped. I lifted my hands from my ears, and all I could hear was the faint whistling noise from the Sonic Emitter. I quickly ran and turned it off, but left the Emitter there in case they needed it again.

"Ok, now let's reset the generator," thinking to myself.

I ran back to where the two array generators were and turned both switches off. As soon as I did, I could hear the generators slowly turning off.

"Now, let's get back to the main switch and see the magic happen."

I made my way back to where I saw the main switch and flipped it on. The place wasted no time in lighting up quickly, making it feel much more alive despite how it looked with all the rubble everywhere. I gathered myself and I started to make my way out of the power station. I opened the door and made my way back to Raquel, but I saw that she was on top of a makeshift watch tower that was just some sandbags lined up across a container and chair for someone to sit on. I saw a ramp that led up to the top being supported by destroyed cars and walked up it. I could hear the wood creaking and shifting as I was walking up, giving the idea of how makeshift this watchtower really was. I saw Raquel smoking a cigarette and she noticed me approaching her.

"I see the power's back on. The ants are all dead," She asks, holding the cigarette in her fingers after taking a puff.

"Yes, it's safe to go down there now," I replied.

"Maybe Pearl is right about you, because I don't know how you pulled that off. I'll tell Loyal to send someone down to clear out the eggs and repair the generators. Good work."

I nodded my head in agreement and I headed back down to report to Mother Pearl. I entered her bunk and saw she was back reading the book she was. She took notice I entered, closed the book, and got up to greet me.

"Both you and your companion have done well to earn the trust of my people, child," she states.

"Well, I'm glad we were able to help," I acknowledged.

"I can see why you like traveling with her. She has such a youthful energy I have not seen in someone in so long and it's just the kind of energy my people need. Pete really likes her as she was so intrigued with the story of our people. By the way, I never asked for your name."

"I'm Evan."

"I see. Elizabeth told me her name earlier after I sent her to gather some supplies for our big party tonight."

"Party tonight, " I asked, confused by what she meant.

"Yes, Elizabeth saved everyone that was injured from the escapade at the power station and Doctor Argyll has expressed how grateful he is for that. He even got to learn some things he never knew. And with the ants cleared out of the power station, we finally have consistent power after so long. I felt we needed to celebrate not only bringing both of you outsiders in, but that we did not lose any more people from that horrible incident."

I guess that's why she jumped to help the Doctor. With how Elizabeth came off, I didn't think she knew that much about medicine or the human body for that matter.

"Well I am glad she was able to help. I honestly didn't know she was that good with medicine."

"Really? I figured you two were a couple and knew a bit about each other."

I felt my face turn hot. Has every one I've come a crossed thinks the two of us are a couple? I hope not. Not that I am against that at all, I'd love to go further like that. Maybe. I don't know, but I don't want to make this awkward for her. I mean she's only been back from the dead for not long and I wouldn't want to give off a wrong impression.

"No, we…just met. A few days ago," I replied, stumbling my words.

Mother Pearl stared at me with a look like she was doubting at all what I was saying, "I see. Well if you are wanting to do that one day, don't wait years. Women don't like to be kept waiting."

I scratched the back of my head. I decided to change the topic, "Well, I think. I've done everything I can to help out."

"I believe the time has come for you to show your value in full. The people have come to accept having you around. Find Loyal and ask him about our people's fondest dream. He will tell you what to do next."

"Ok, I'll go talk to him."

I made my way outside and to the hanger. I walked in and saw that he was not at the table this time, but was tinkering with something on the couch in the corner. I walked towards him and as he saw me coming his way, he set it aside and stood up to greet me.

"Pearl sent word saying it's all right to tell you about the Lady in the water.

"Lady in the water? What's that," I asked, crossing my hands.

"A long time ago - long before the war that killed just about everything that ever lived - a bomber crashed not far from here. A bomber was a flying contraption that could drop explosives down on anything it flew over. But anyway, moving on...This bomber crashed down in Lake Mead, pretty damn near intact. When we got to Nellis, see, I found this article in a magazine all about it. There was another B-29 around here, part of a museum. Couldn't fly, but had a lot of spare parts, see? Get where I'm going," He asks, making sure I was still paying attention.

"Kind of," I replied.

"Since I was a young man, I've dreamed of raising that Lady from the lake and bringing her back to life. What do you say?"

"How do you expect to raise a bomber from the bottom of a lake," I questioned.

"Simple! Attach deployable ballast to the plane and float it on up! Here is a remote detonator. Once the ballast is attached to the plane just hit the detonator from the shore and let buoyancy handle the rest," He replies, handing me a remote detonator.

I grabbed them and put them in my backpack.

"All right, I'm game. I just hope this works."

"Good. Here's the deployable ballast. Go find the plane, attach the ballast, and hit the button," Royal stated, excitedly.

I took the two deployable ballasts and put them in my bag. It was really hard to fit them in well and I had to settle with one of them sticking out. As I zipped it the best I could, I asked, "How am I going to get to the bottom of the lake? I don't have gills."

"Might try holding your breath. If that doesn't sound good enough, talk to Jack. He was working on a rebreather once," he replied, sarcastically.

"Ok, I'll go see him."

I found Jack sitting on a bench, just staring off in the distance. Was probably thinking about something. He had blonde hair slicked back and gray eyes and was wearing the same attire as everyone else. Regardless, I approached him and tapped him on the shoulder. He snapped back to reality and stood up to greet me.

"So, you're the outsider. Lived your whole life out there, huh? Wow. I always thought you savages probably spoke a different language, but I hear you sound like us," he stated.

"Yeah. It's not much different from here. Anyway, Loyal said you can help me breathe underwater."

"I just need some parts from a pressure cooker to create a hermetic seal for the rebreather," he stated.

In my time in the vault, my Dad taught me a few things and One of them being that corn silk, rubber hose, and removable adhesive are a great way to seal things as a home remedy. We had to repair so much in the vault that we had to come up with crafty ways to repair things.

"Corn silk, rubber hose, and removable adhesive would make a good hermetic seal," I replied.

"That's a brilliant idea! I can put that together right now," He answers, starting to fiddle with it. After a few minutes, he turned around and had it ready for me.

"Here you go, a new rebreather," he exclaimed, handing me it.

I took it in my hands. It definitely looked home made with a mask to cover the mouth and nose. It had two hoses that connected to a yellow part on the pack to hold the oxygen. I opened my backpack and struggled to put it in given I was running out of space. I made it work and put the bag back on and headed out the hanger. Looking at my Pipboy, it was at least an hour and half long walk to Lake Mead, so I put the music back on my Pipboy and was greeted by Mr. New Vegas

"Welcome back to the Mr. New Vegas Show, the show with, in my opinion, which I respect, the best looking audience around. Somebody prove me wrong. Anyway, Here's Bing Crosby reminding us of those times when you absolutely have to kiss the person you love. "Something's Gotta Give," up next," he states.

Oh you got to be shitting me. Leave the radio to start mentioning something like that after what I had just happened with Mother Pearl. Now I really want to turn the radio off. But then again, how else am I going to pass the time as I make it there. I begrudgingly let it play as I made my way to the gate entrance. As I walked out of the gate and made my way out, I noticed the Boomer guard from earlier still had his finger on the trigger of the rocket launcher. This dude really likes shooting things huh? Anyway, I started to make my way to the lake.

After a long trek across the desert, I saw the lake in the distance. As I got closer, I saw the remnants of the dock with sheets of metal covering the holes of what was left of the hold dock hangers. I made my way to the dock itself and saw a concrete ramp going into the water. Best place to go into the water to try to find this thing. I took off my backpack and rested it against a destroyed car as I dug in the bag to take out the rebreather and the deployable ballasts. I put on the rebreather and I think I was starting to smell the Corn silk in it. Nevertheless, I set my bag to the side and started to step in. The water felt really cool, but not crazy cold to dive in without me screaming that it was really cold. So, I dove in, holding onto the ballasts in each hand and swam around for a bit. After a few minutes, I couldn't find the damn thing and was ready to give up, but then I saw a faint glimmer and swam towards it. Then I started to see the B-29 and I saw just how big the thing really was. It was almost perfectly preserved, so I am sure the Boomers could scavenge the parts enough to fix theirs nicely. I swam underneath the left wing and attached the ballast to the wing and went over to the right side and did the same thing. After I was finished, I swam back to the dock and resurfaced. I took off the rebreather, relieved of the smell of Corn Silk, and made my way back to my bag to dig out the detonator. I flipped the switch to turn it on.

"I hope this crazy old man's idea works, " I said to myself, as I pressed the trigger.

A few seconds later, the plane started to come out of the water and bobbled for a moment before settling. "Well, I am glad that is done. Would hate to have to report back and say it failed," I thought to myself.

I put the bag back on and was relieved to know it had less weight after taking the ballasts out. I took a look at my Pipboy's clock and saw it was 5:10 p.m. "Better head back before they start the party without me," thinking to myself again.

I started to head back, with the sound of my feet squishing against the water in my boots. Given how the Mojave is, I'll be more or less dry by the time I get back. I continued to walk back and started to notice the sun coming down and turning the sky a shade of red. Pressing on, with the sun beating on me, I felt myself slowly getting dry as I made my way back. As I saw Nellis, I only saw a different Boomer guard and Loyal was there as well. I approached the gate and they let me in.

"Well, " Loyal asked.

"Your plan worked. The plane floated up. Seemed to be intact," I replied.

"That's tremendous! I'll transmit instructions to the robots to start packing up the plane to bring it back to Nellis," He excitedly stated.

'Well, glad I could help. I better go tell Mother Pearl."

"Hey, I better get rolling. Jack and I have a lot of work ahead of us. Right after the party." he replied, walking off.

As I was walking towards Mother Pearl's bunk I checked my watch. It was now 6:51 p.m. The sun was almost gone, leaving only the faint light blue of the sky and the sun starting to come down. As I continued to walk, some kids ran by and one of them stopped to talk to me. He had brown shaggy hair and had blue eyes almost similar to Elizabeth. Funny enough, he kind of looked like Elizabeth and I had a kid given his hair was the same color as mine and he looked like a morph of both of our faces.

"You must be the outsider," He declared, "Your friend Elizabeth is so sweet. We spent so much time talking I ran out of history to tell her."

This must be Pete, the historian of Nellis. Elizabeth is going to have a bit to tell me about what he told her about how Nellis is.

"Yeah. She's really curious about how things work here," I replied, looking down at him.

"Anyway, I'm Pete and I've got some more things I have to do to set up for the party. See you soon," He hollered as he ran away.

I continued walking to Mother Pearl's bunk and I could tell by the noise that the party had already started. People were gathering around in a circle off to the side in front of the hanger and I could hear music being played. I walked into her bunk and she was moving around frantically. Once she saw me, she walked towards me.

"Hello Evan. Did you help Loyal with raising the Lady in the water?"

"Yes, I've spoken to Loyal. The B-29 is on its way" I answered.

"What you both have done for us today is a miracle, child. You have fulfilled the only dreams we ever had outside our walls. You and Elizabeth are both trusted friends of us all. If there is ever a way for us to help you, child, tell me and I will make it so."

I paused for a moment. Now might be the best time to bring up the Battle coming to Hoover Dam given how excited she is for the party.

"There may be a battle in the near future at the Hoover Dam, can you offer any assistance," I requested.

"Of course my child. After all that you both have done for us we would love to help you in the upcoming battle. After all the training in virtual reality, the young ones would relish an opportunity to put their skills to battle. We'll be there when you need us."

"Awesome. I'm assuming the party has started?"

"Yes, it has! I will be sure to give the good news to everyone about the Lady in the Water and our support to the both of you."

"Awesome, where is Elizabeth?"

"She should be outside right now. Go on and enjoy yourself."

I walked out of Mother Pearl's bunk and joined the crowd of people. I pushed through some of them to see there was a group of people dancing around, arm to arm with each other around a fire. There were some chairs setup and some makeshift stereo system that was playing the music. With how many people were dancing I almost didn't notice Elizabeth was dancing with some of them as well. She didn't have her brown jacket on, but just her short sleeve buttoned up shirt. She kept jumping from people to people, sharing arms as she moved around. Her face told the story of how she felt. Her smile was the brightest I have ever seen and it was a far cry from how I saw her first reaction to the post-apocalyptic wasteland. Her movement gave off a graceful attitude as she danced around to the music, twirling and moving her body to it. I'm really happy for her that she's able to finally enjoy herself and put what happened to her in Rapture and maybe even her previous life behind her.

The music came to a stop and everyone started to gather themselves from all the dancing. Elizabeth immediately noticed I was standing in the crowd and ran up to me.

"Oh Evan, this is so wonderful. You have to dance with me when the next song comes on," She says, with her body unable to contain its excitement.

"I…don't really know how to dance, " I begrudgingly revealed to her.

"Oh it's easy. Just follow my lead," she replies, taking my hand as she pulls me to the center of the circle.

Not going to lie, I was getting a bit embarrassed by this. I'm not used to all of a sudden being the center of attention in a big group like this. As we got closer to the center, I could feel myself sweating more and my face feeling much hotter. Elizabeth took my right hand and set it on her waist, further increasing how nervous I felt. She then lifted her head to meet my eyes and in the background I could hear Big Iron playing. Knowing the song, this was going to be a fast pace dance. Immediately once the lyrics started, we began to dance. We moved in sync and thankfully I was keeping up with Elizabeth's wild energy. The way she moved her body felt like it was gliding across the sand, carrying me with her. I was doing well surprisingly keeping up with her and the crowd seemed to enjoy it given the cheering in the background. Once Big Iron stopped playing, the two of us stopped and our eyes met again. I noticed this time that Elizabeth's pupils were getting a bit wider the longer I stared.

She laughed, "That was fun. You did well despite it being your first time."

I laughed as well, "Well, I can tell I need more practice."

Before we could continue, Mother Pearl shouted, "Well I'm glad the festivities are going well for everyone. But I want to make some announcements real quick!"

Elizabeth and I found our seats in some folded chairs and got ready to listen.

"I have very exciting news for everyone. Thanks to our new allies, we have brought the Lady in the Water out and are beginning repairs!"

The crowd cheered and applauded almost as loud as a party in a casino winning the lucky pot. I'm glad Elizabeth and I were able to oblige in helping.

"Not only that, I have pledged our group to help assist in a potential upcoming Battle of Hoover Dam, which I know our young ones will be more than happy to be able to experience."

Once she finished, the crowd applauded, but the kids screamed the loudest with excitement filling the entire area with their screams.

Mother Pearl waited for everyone to calm down and continued, "That is all. Let us continue to enjoy ourselves and enjoy our new outsider friends!"

The crowd rejoiced once more and everyone got out of their seats to continue partying.

"Well, how was your day," I hear Elizabeth asked.

I faced her, "Let's see. I helped take down the Ant nest and got the power working. And also made my way to where the Lady in the Water, a B-29, helped raise it to the surface using some Ballast. Didn't really have much exciting out of that. What about you?"

"Well I was able to help and even teach Doctor Argyll a few things by showing him how to help save a man's life from an Allergic reaction, helped another's face stop swelling so much, helped treat an infection in another, and was able to save someone's leg from being amputated."

"Wow, sounds like you did much more lifesaving than I did," I replied.

"Don't sell yourself short. If you hadn't restored the power, more people would have had to be sent in and could have been killed. You helped save maybe more lives down the road than I did."

I smiled. It's nice to have positive reinforcement from someone and acknowledgement of something I did.

"So, you want another lesson in dancing? This time teach you not to step on my feet," She said, standing up and extending her hand.

I stood up and took her hand, "Well, guess I better start learning now."

Elizabeth smiled and pulled me back into the center to continue dancing.

The party went on for a few hours and I was starting to feel my eyelids getting heavy. I let out my first yawn, "Well, I should talk with Mother Pearl about getting some housing for us. I'm not walking home this tired."

Elizabeth yawned as well, "Yeah same here."

I walked around and found Mother Pearl sitting in her chair with her head down. I approached her and shook her to try to wake her. She immediately opened her eyes and looked around and finally saw me.

"Oh, dear me. I fell asleep," She stated, with a laugh, "What can I do for you Evan?"

"Is there a place Elizabeth and I can stay for the night? I don't think we should go home this tired."

Mother Pearl immediately stood up. "Of course not child! I can show you a spare bunk we have."

Mother Pearl got up and started walking towards the bunk as I motioned Elizabeth to follow us. We walked to the bunk and Mother Pearl opened the door inside. It looked like her bunk except there was one room across from us that had a bed. I was hoping Mother Pearl wasn't trying to force one bed on us. Again, I really don't want to make this awkward for Elizabeth.

"There is a room right there for one of you, but around the corner here is another room for Elizabeth," She states, showing us the location of the second room just to our right.

In my head, I sighed with relief.

"Thank you Mother Pearl, " Elizabeth replies.

"No problem dear. Let me know if you both need anything. Good night," she acknowledged, leaving the bunk.

"I can take the room to the left if you want," I stated.

"Sure, I'll take this room. Do you want the bathroom first," She answered, pointing to the end of the hall.

"Yeah."

I walked to the bathroom, noticed that they had spare toothbrushes and toothpaste. I forgot to pack mine and Elizabeth's before we came here, so this was welcomed to have. I took a look in the mirror real quick and saw my rugged, brown haired, and brown eyed face. I noticed a bit of facial hair growing on me, but I left the razor back at the strip. I brushed my teeth, went to the bathroom, and headed to my room. I closed the door, took off my armor down to just my underwear, set it on the chair, and got under the covers. Looking at the ceiling, I just started to think about everything. After the party tonight, I do feel really good about trying to convince Mr. House with the help from Elizabeth on how to run New Vegas. If she knew what the U.S. was before both of our times, we might have a chance to correct the mistakes they did make and prevent it from ever happening again. But on the other hand, I just hope he doesn't stab us in the back. Maybe we should have some sort of failsafe to prevent that from happening. I don't know what they should be, but maybe Elizabeth has some ideas. I'm sure she does. She's really shown how smart and capable she really is underneath all the attractive vibe she gives to anyone. I'm glad to have her not only as a companion, but as a really good friend. Maybe more one day. But I won't get ahead of myself. Time will tell. I shut my eyes and started to fall asleep.

I opened my eyes and was staring at the staircase leading to the purifier. Oh No, Not this again! I looked down and saw I was in my T-51 Power Armor. I know where I am and started to shake. I hesitantly walked up the stairs and heard the familiar voice of Colonel Autumn.

"By the authority of the President, this facility is now under United States government control. The person in charge is to step forward immediately, and turn over all materials related to this project."

I approached the top and turned to see my father, behind the glass with his radiation suit on and Colonel Autumn.

My father replied, "That's quite impossible. This is a private project; the Enclave has no authority here. I'm going to have to ask you to leave at once."

"Am I to assume, sir, that you are in charge?"

"Yes, I'm responsible for this project."

"Then I repeat, sir, that you are hereby instructed to immediately hand over all materials related to the purifier."

"I'm sorry, but that's..."

Colonel Autumn interrupted, "Furthermore, you are to assist Enclave scientists in assuming control of the administration and operation of this facility at once."

My father refutes, "Colonel... Is it Colonel? I'm sorry, but the facility is not operational. It never has been. I'm afraid you're wasting your time here."

Colonel Autumn repeated, in a more strict tone, "Sir, this is the last time I am going to repeat myself. Stand down at once, and turn over control of this facility."

"Colonel, I assure you that this facility will not function. We have never been able to successfully replicate test results..."

He pulled out his gun and shot Janice, one of my father's scientists in the head. No, there has to be a way I can stop this. I can fix this somehow.

Colonel Autumn continued, "I suggest you comply immediately, sir, in order to prevent any more incidents. Are we clear?"

"Yes, Colonel. I'll do whatever you want; there's no need for more violence," James begrudging agreed.

"Then you will immediately hand over all materials related to this project, and aid us in making it operational at once."

This is my chance. I need to open this door. I couldn't break the glass. I saw the lever that opened the door. I quickly tried to use it to open the door.

"Hold on Dad," I shouted, "I'll find a way in!"

"Very well. Give me a few moments to bring the system online," my dad responded.

The lever didn't work. I looked down and remembered I was in my power armor. I can use this to force the door open.

"I'll pry this fucking door open," I screamed.

My dad continued, "Nearly finished..."

I pried with all my might to open the door, and it wouldn't move. I finally tried shooting the glass with my bolt action on my back, it only dented the glass, not doing anything.

Then, like it always happened, the purifier short circuited and leaked radiation into the chamber. Colonel Autumn stuck something in him immediately showing he survived, and all I could do now is watch in horror the events that always unfolded.

"...run...Run!," I heard my Dad say, facing the door screen to see me as he fell to the ground. I started hitting the glass screaming his name with Doctor Li, trying to pull me away to leave.

"We have to go, Evan. There is nothing more we can do," I heard her say.

"NO! We can't leave him to die. I need to get it open. I NEED TO SAVE HIM!"

"Evan, wake up, "Doctor Li said.

"What," I replied, confused about what she meant.

I then felt Doctor Li shaking me , "Evan, Wake up!"

Before I could say anything else, everything faded to black and I opened my eyes.

"Evan, wake up," I heard a voice shout, and felt something shaking my body.

I stood up and saw Elizabeth staring at me with her hair a mess and had a look of both anger and concern on her face.

"You were shouting and I thought something was wrong, only to see you flailing around screaming Dad repeatedly," She responded.

I rubbed my eyes, "I'm sorry. Bad nightmare."

"What happened," She asked, sitting down on the bed next to me, with that hint of anger on her face going away to just full concern.

"Just a bad dream with my Dad," I replied.

"Must have been a really bad dream for you to start kicking and shouting like that. Did you want to talk about it," she questioned.

"Maybe in the morning when we get up and move around. I want to try to go back to sleep."

"Ok," she replied, "Do you want me to sleep with you for a bit?"

I felt my face turn red. I just started to come back to reality and I fully realized she was in just her bra and panties. I just felt pure anxiety kicking in as I had never slept with anyone before. Seeing how Elizabeth looked, despite how messy her hair was, a part of me really wanted to do it. The other half of me was just so nervous I would somehow screw it up somehow. But, the more I thought about it, the redder I felt my face get. I finally took a deep breath.

"Yeah, that would be great."

I saw Elizabeth smile, got up off the bed and started to walk to the other side. As she walked around the corner to the other side, I noticed my eyes drifting to watch her the entire time. They continued to her face as she pulled the covers and got under them.

"Good night Evan, "She said, pulling the covers up to her head, and turned her head to face me with her eyes closed.

I put the covers up to my head as well and started to close my eyes, drifting back to sleep.

The next time my eyes opened, I saw Elizabeth still asleep with her face in front of me. But I noticed that she was much closer than she was when she laid down. Or maybe I was imagining it? I mean I was still shaken when I fell back asleep so I could have imagined her further away. Before I could think any further, I heard her moan a bit and she opened her eyes. We stared at each other for a few seconds until she broke the silence.

"Good morning, did you sleep better," she asked, quietly.

"Yes, thank you for…doing this," I replied.

"Of course, if you get any more nightmares, I'll let you know I'm jumping in bed."

I blushed hard. I hope she couldn't see the red on my face with it being dark. Part of me really was hoping for more nightmares just to have her sleep with me more. But then again, is it really worth going through relieving the death of my father just for her to sleep with me? No, it really wasn't.