Carrying a full bucket of water back to her mother's cabin, Ash grunted from the heavy weight she had to haul up the steep incline. This was something she didn't like about the location that Joshua and the others chose to build another home for themselves. Since they were up on the cliffs, they were away from any natural sources of water; if you needed it, you had to climb down a steep rocky path to get to a river down below. Some of the settlers were working on a way to set up an easier method of gaining easy access to it, but they couldn't settle on the right method. Ash cursed at them under her breath for taking so long to decide; without a constant supply of water, their settlement would be in trouble.

Panting heavily with exertion, she finally got to the top and gently settled the heavy bucket on the ground to catch her breath. Though it was less than half a mile, it was hard work and Ash was already sweating profusely, her body steaming in the cold air.

'Just a little further to go', she thought, wiping the dripping sweat off her brow before picking the bucket up again and making a bee line for her mother's kitchen.

"Ashlee, are you going to help me with the dinner or not?!" Dawn's irritated voice called from the kitchen, eliciting an eyeroll from her daughter.

"Mother I just got back from the river", she huffed, setting herself down on the couch and reclining back with an exhausted exhale.

"The river?" Dawn's voice was filled with concern and she hurriedly came out of the kitchen, her shocked expression fixed on Ash, "Please tell me you didn't go alone again".

Ash's eyes shifted, "…No…"

"Ash!" Dawn stood in front of her, her arms folded in front of her chest and that familiar disapproving expression on her face, the same one she gave her when she was a child, "You know how I feel about you going down there on your own!"

"Oh don't treat me like I'm a child mother", Ash scoffed, "I'm a grown ass woman and I can fend for myself".

"Watch your tongue!", Dawn's eyes widened threateningly, "And you are my child! If anything should happen to you, I don't know what I would do with myself! Why couldn't you take that boyfriend of yours?"

"Mother!" Ash's cheeks blushed, "It's not like that".

"Oh? Well why else would a couple be spending so much time together, let alone sleeping in the same bed?" Dawn cocked an eyebrow.

"Just drop it mom. We're very good friends, that's all", Ash denied her mother's claims. Truth be told, she did feel that things were moving in that direction for both of them, though it was taking its sweet time.

"If you must go next time, take him with you. No exceptions!" her mother stated with a serious look in her eyes, "These are still dangerous lands and we're new here. We need to be careful and prepared for anything".

"Alright", Ash sighed, picking herself back up to follow her mother in the kitchen and help with preparations.

"I do hope you'll wash before dinner tonight, dear. It's not proper for a lady to be so…odorous".

Ash rolled her eyes and nodded, "Fine… I still don't know why you're insisting on having this dinner tonight though".

Dawn huffed and handed her daughter a metal bowl with ingredients already pre-mixed in, "Just mix and kneed this on that countertop", she pointed in the corner with an annoyed look in her eyes, "And I already told you why we're having it tonight. Since the wedding we haven't had a chance to get all the family together for some quality time, let alone have a meal together".

Ash grabbed the heavy dough in her hands and slammed it on the floured countertop, making Dawn jump, "We all see each other every day, it's not like we're living in different settlements".

"That doesn't mean we can't have a family meal", Dawn sighed, "And now with everyone here…well, almost everyone… I think it would be a nice thing to do".

Ash exhaled, taking out her frustration on the dough with quick punches and turning it over when she flattened it. Whenever she saw Joshua with his new wife, envy reared its ugly head. They both doted on each other to levels that made Ash's stomach want to heave, and she couldn't imagine spending an entire evening with them. And her mother only enabled this behaviour.

"Oh for goodness sake, Ashlee", Dawn groaned, gently pulling her daughter away from the heavily cratered and flattened dough, "If you can't do it properly, then don't do it at all".

"Fine! I won't bother then", Ash exclaimed in frustration, not even bothering to wipe her messy hands before hurriedly storming out. Her mother called behind but all Ash could hear was her pulsing blood rushing in her ears as her anger overcame her sensibilities.

After many years of being away from her home and family she hoped that they would have changed, or that some of her mother's irritating qualities would have quelled by now. Unfortunately it was just as she remembered everything being before she left those many years ago, and it reminded her why she hightailed it out of New Canaan in the first place. The smothering and subtle condescending manner in which her mother addressed her was enough to make her want to take another break from life with the New Canaanites. It wasn't that she was ungrateful for finding her family again, simply that she wished some things could be different.

"Hey, where you headed?" Aelius' voice called behind her. She hadn't realised it but she was walking out of camp, heading towards the river. He jogged up to her, a confused look on his features, "Everything alright?"

"Oh, hey", she turned, suddenly feeling very self-conscious with how filthy she was from the day's work, "Yeah, fine just… Had to step away for a bit".

"You going down to the river?" he looked over her shoulder and down the steep path that would take them to the rushing waters of the Colorado River.

"Uh… I dunno", she rubbed the back of her neck, trying to come up with an answer without delving into her family problems, "Maybe".

"I'll come with you, just give me a minute", he jogged back to their cabin and shortly after came back out with a bag slung over his shoulder, stuffed with thick cloth that the settlement used for towels.

"Uh, okay", Ash looked at the bag then back at him, "You know you could take a bath in the bathing area, right?"

Aelius grinned awkwardly and nodded, "Yeah, but I prefer running waters".

"Uh huh", Ash folded her arms in front of her chest and looked up at him suspiciously, "You wouldn't happen to be going down the river to keep an eye on me, would you?"

Aelius' face flushed and his eyes darted away from her.

"I knew it", Ash huffed and turned around with a mind to go back to her mother's cabin.

"Wait! Where are you going?"

"I'm gonna go have a word with my mother, or Joshua, or whoever else I can think of that would put you up to this".

"Ash, no one put me up to anything", he answered, the lines in his brow deepening with confusion as he tried to figure out what Ash was referring to, "I just wanted to spend some time with you, but if you are busy with family then I can meet you later".

The sincerity in his voice and manner made Ash feel guilty that she had accused him of spying on her. It was needless to say that she needed to take some time away from her overbearing mother and do something that made her feel more like herself.

"Alright", she gave in, "You go ahead. I'll meet you there. Just got to get some towels for myself".

"No need, I have them", Aelius smiled proudly, tapping his bursting bag, "C'mon, let's go".

Without another word and trying to push her frustrations to one side, she followed Aelius down to the river, taking solace in the knowledge that at least she had him to confide in. If there was anyone who would never judge her, or try to manipulate and control her it was Aelius, and it made her gravitate to him even more than she cared to admit.

"Hey… Hey! Over here!"

Andrew Moore, a 1st Recon sniper that was keeping an eye on the Legion from the cliffs on the other side of the Colorado River, called out to his comrades. Being one of the finest snipers in the NCR, his keen eyesight followed the woman's body down the river and to the shore almost a mile away from the Legion camp. He could feel his heart pounding in his throat, praying he wasn't too late to save her.

"She's over here!"

He ran down the side of the steep base of the cliff, skidding down the gravelly dirt and bringing up a cloud of dust behind him in his haste. She was cold to the touch, unresponsive and her lips had turned a worrying shade of blue. Hooking his arms underneath her armpits and around her chest, he pulled her out of the freezing cold waters and checked for a pulse. Nothing.

"Shit!" he exhaled and immediately started performing CPR. Not long after the other two fellow snipers appeared and took positions to help, with one of them keeping an eye out in case of enemy attack.

"One, two, three", Andrew counted before leaning down and breathing air into her lungs, "Come on… Come on, wake up".

His fellow sniper, John McAdams, assisted him with the resuscitation efforts with a dubious look in his eyes.

"Drew, she was under that water a long time. I don't think-"

"Just hold her head steady", Andrew answered calmly, keeping his attention focused on the woman.

After almost a minute had gone by when he was beginning to lose hope, he felt her body twitch and water gush out from her mouth.

"You're okay!" he exhaled in relief, grabbing his blanket from his bag and wrapping her in it to get her warmed up. Now that she was breathing again her whole body was starting to shiver in response to the cold.

"We need to get out of here", John looked around the area, noticing how exposed they were. Andrew nodded in agreement and picked the woman up in his arms.

"You're okay now. We got you, you're safe", he spoke gently when he saw her eyes flutter for a brief moment before closing again.

The group climbed back up the side of the cliffs with Olivia, making their way to Camp Forlorn Hope where they could get her some proper medical attention and inform command that they lost their only informant in the Legion camp.

The air was still, she could feel the sun beating down on her and the water lap at her body. Bright flashes of light interrupted the black nothingness and Olivia wondered if this is what it was like to be dead…until she felt a jolt like lightning spread through her body and her lungs expelled the freezing water.

Pain. Searing pain like her lungs were being burned. No, this wasn't death.

"You're okay!" she heard a man's voice speak above her, though she was too exhausted to open her eyes and see.

'He has a kind voice', she thought.

She felt herself being wrapped up in a cloth, hands rubbing up and down her torso to get her blood moving through her body again. Though her mind was somewhat aware of what was happening, she had no control over her own body. Her muscles were unresponsive to her demands and her head lolled back as one of the men lifted her up and carried her in their arms. She wanted to speak, to tell them that she's alright and that she could handle it on her own now, but her body refused to cooperate. All she could do was trust them, believe that they were not going to do her harm. Even though she was hesitant to allow herself to trust that these people had the best of intentions for her, something in her core felt that she had left the worst of her life behind her.

When she finally came to, she found herself lying in a darkened room hooked up to medical monitoring equipment and an IV drip. Confusion overwhelmed her as the world began to come into focus; she was not in the Legion camp anymore, and there was no one around for her to tell which faction she was in. Every part of her body ached painfully when she tried to sit up, making her groan with the strained effort.

"Where…am I?" her voice was hoarse and she couldn't shake the feeling as if there was a pressure on her throat, "Hello?"

No one came, but she did hear activity outside. With care and a lot of effort, she got on shaky legs and explored her surroundings. She was in a tent which, from the looks of it, was used solely for treating the sick and injured. There was a man, another patient, in the corner of the room partially hidden by a curtain. Olivia approached cautiously, dragging her IV bag along with her. When she saw him she thought her heart would stop. He was an NCR soldier.

"What are you doing?!" a man's voice called in surprise behind her, making her stumble back. Luckily he was standing just close enough to reach out and stop her from falling, "Woah! Easy there, you're still not well to be on your feet"

"No, please, don't touch me!" Olivia pulled away.

"I'm a doctor", he let her go and held his hands out in front of him in case she were to lose footing again, "I'm not going to hurt you".

"Where... Where am I?"

"Camp Forlorn Hope, in the medical tent", he answered sincerely, keeping two paces between them so she wouldn't feel threatened, "A couple of the 1st Recon snipers found you across the river and brought you in. You're lucky to be alive".

Her wide and startled eyes blinked as she tried to remember the events that led her to this place. Her heart raced in her chest when the memories came flooding back; the look of broken hope and anger on Aurelius' face when he snapped, the horrifying realisation when she was underwater that there was no escape, and feeling the cold take over her body when her lungs breathed in water instead of air.

"My throat", she gulped, her brow furrowing in pain, "I can't… breathe".

The doctor's eyes widened but he kept calm and collected, sitting her back down on her bed and taking out his kit to check her over and see what was going wrong. When he couldn't find any obstructions in her throat, let alone anything wrong with her physically apart from the marks of abuse she had suffered from the Legion, the only logical deduction he could make from her symptoms was that she was experiencing a panic attack.

"You're okay, you hear me? It's just a panic attack, it will pass", he placed a reassuring hand on her arm, but that only seemed to make things worse.

"No! Don't touch me!", she pulled away, falling off the bed and darting to a dark corner in the room away from him, crouching behind one of the beds for cover.

The doctor clenched his jaw, a look of concern and determination on his features before he turned and left the tent. Not long after he re-entered, though this time he was followed by another man wearing a red beret behind him.

"This is Drew. He's the one who found and carried you back to camp", the doctor introduced them, hoping that she would remember him and feel more at ease in his presence.

"Hello", he said in a gentle voice, his eyes locking with hers. She recognised his voice. It was the same kind voice that told her she was going to be okay when the waters lefts her lungs. Her tense body relaxed a bit as she looked up at him.

He was a strikingly handsome man, standing at about 6'1" and no older than 30 years of age by Olivia's estimates, with incredibly vivid hazel eyes, light auburn hair, and freckles that gracefully peppered his nose and cheeks. What drew Olivia to him were his eyes; those almond shaped eyes that had the warmth of the wide-open sky on a summer's day, inviting and radiant. He smiled at her, but it wasn't the kind of smile from a man she'd seen before. There was no malice or the all too familiar look of hunger in the way he gently approached her, rather the opposite. He showed concern for her, his arched brows dipped in trepidation as he held out his hand; a gesture of trust and aid.

Olivia bit back a sob, clenching her jaw and taking deep breaths to calm herself. Experience taught her not to trust men, but instinct pushed her to reach out and take his hand.

"There you go", his eyes smiled at her, "No one is going to hurt you ever again".

Hearing his words sent a wave of relief through her body. For her whole life in the Legion she never had respite, never knew peace; now that it was given to her freely she didn't know what to do with it. In fact, the sensation of freedom was so overwhelming that the only response Olivia had to this realisation was sorrow; sorrow that she got to experience this given right while her family and the other women in the Legion had to continue enduring their oppression.

Her body shook, tears flowed freely down her cheeks as Drew helped her back up to her feet and back to the bed where he patiently waited with her until the doctor finished his tests. When everything came back clean, he helped her dress and took her outside to show her the camp so she could stretch her legs and see that she wasn't in danger. It was early morning and the sun was peeking through some dark and heavy rain clouds above them. It must have rained the night before because the ground was damp and the air smelt clean and fresh.

Olivia clung to Drew's arm, keeping a watchful eye around her as other soldiers, men and women, passed them by busy with their own tasks and duties. Some of them gave her odd stares, pity written all over their faces.

"There are women here! In uniform", Olivia said in awe under her breath, "They're soldiers too?"

"Yes", Drew nodded. He looked up and around them, squinting in the early morning light and pointing some of his colleagues out, "There's Donahue, Clarke, and Williams. They're snipers just like I am".

"Were they also at the cliffs?" Olivia looked up at him.

"Donahue was, Clarke and Williams are normally based here at camp to make sure no enemies get through", he nodded, "McAdams was there when I found you, though this early in the morning I imagine he's still sleeping in his bed".

Olivia looked over to where the soldiers were having their breakfast; she caught a whiff of cooking food and her stomach began to grumble.

"Looks like I'm not the only one who's hungry", he chuckled, "How about some breakfast?"

Not wanting to think that she was ungrateful for saving her and his efforts to introduce her to the others in the camp, Olivia gave a slight nod of agreement; even though all she wanted to do was go back in the medical tent and curl up in a corner. Compared with the life she led in the Legion, this one was so unfamiliar and startling for her. What was she going to do now that she was free? How was she going to survive? She couldn't expect these people to feed, clothe and shelter her from here on out, nor would she even want to. But she bit her tongue and followed behind Drew, her eyes lowered to the ground in a display of submissive behaviour.

"So, this is the girl?" one of the soldiers asked in curiosity, looking up at them from his meal as they came up to a pot of cooking stew and Drew loaded two bowlfuls for them.

"Yes, this is Olivia", Drew gave her a warm smile, "She's the one responsible for getting us the critical information that's helping us to defeat the Legion".

The soldier's eyes widened in surprise and he stood up to give her a salute, "Well I'll be damned! You are most welcomed here Olivia". The other soldiers sitting at the table followed his example, all saluting Olivia, making her face flush.

"I didn't do anything", her gaze averted to her feet.

"You are too modest", Drew chuckled, "The information you gave us stopped at least two Legion incursions, helped us find over half a dozen spies inside the NCR and New Vegas, and is helping our leaders come up with strategies for combat".

Some of the other soldiers nearby were listening in on their conversation and began to gather round, listening with curiosity and their eyes scanning her as if expecting her to start revealing Caesar's war plans. It only made her want to retreat into herself until she was invisible to the naked eye.

Drew noticed her discomfort and pulled her away from the small crowd to a secluded bench under one of the tents, bringing her a bowl of bean stew with what looked like a handful of chopped cured meat on top. The smell was so good it was making her mouth water.

"Eat up", Drew nodded at her bowl as he dug into his own.

Although the taste left something to be desired, Olivia didn't care. It was food, freely given to her; and she was so hungry. Not wanting to come off as unmannered, she ate slowly, taking her time and observing her surroundings. The camp was a bit of a mess with miscellaneous junk left in piles here and there. Not too far away she could see a larger tent with a guard at the front.

'Must be their leader's tent', she thought curiously.

"Have to say, I've never seen anyone admiring the command tent as much as you are", Drew looked up from his bowl at her with a playful grin.

"Is that where the leader of the NCR is?" Olivia asked curiously.

Drew chuckled and shook his head, "No… No, the command tent is just used by our camp's leader, Major Polatli".

"Oh…" Olivia sighed, feeling a little foolish for asking, "Who is your faction's leader then?"

"That would be President Kimball", Drew answered, "You know he was once an NCR soldier?"

Olivia shook her head with a curious look in her eyes, "Is that what you want to do?"

"What? To be president?"

Olivia gave a slight nod, making Drew chuckle nervously.

"No, that's not the life for me", he stared warily at the command tent as a cold shiver ran down his spine at the thought of becoming a President, "Why do you ask?"

"That is the goal of every man in the Legion", Olivia answered hesitantly, "To gain powder, until one day they are chosen to sit in Caesar's place".

"Hmm… I guess that explains a lot about them". He finished his bowl of food and pushed it to one side, his attention now uncomfortably focused on Olivia, "Can I ask you something?"

Her eyes darted up at him, searching his face for a hint of why he was being so kind to her.

"Yes".

"How did you do it?"

At first the question didn't make sense to her, then she began to understand that what he really meant to ask was how she managed to survive and carry on in the Legion, knowing that rescue may never come. She heard stories from Legionary soldiers of how NCR soldiers would often times kill their captured comrades in arms, sniping them from a distance as a way of saving them from being tortured or becoming slaves to the Legion. She often wondered if Drew and the other snipers she was in contact with ever thought about doing the same for her.

"It was…difficult", she said, finding her throat threatening to close up again and making it difficult to swallow, "There were many times where I lost all hope and was overcome with despair… In those times I thought about ending it all, but… Then I was afraid for my family and what would happen if they found out I'm gone".

"Your family?" Drew sat up straighter in his chair, his attention fully devoted to her words, "Were they with you at the camp?"

Olivia thought for a moment before shrugging uncertainly, "No. We were split up when the Legion enslaved us. I haven't seen my mother and sister in years… My brother since he was taken to be trained as a soldier".

"I'm sorry", the creases around Drew's eyes and his forehead deepened with sadness, "I know how tough that can be…"

She tilted her head slightly, wondering if he had family that was enslaved by the Legion, though she thought better about asking.

After a moment of appreciating each other's company in silence, just as they were about to get up and go back to the medical tent, they were interrupted by another one of the 1st Recon snipers; one of the women who Olivia recognised when Drew pointed her out.

"Hey", Williams came up to their bench, not even acknowledging Olivia's presence, "Thought we were going to have breakfast together".

There was something about her body language that was very alien to Olivia. She was confident, stood tall and had as much a commanding presence as any of the other men, though there was something in the way she was looking at Drew that made Olivia feel awkward.

"Oh, right. Sorry I forgot, I wanted to help out my friend here", Drew's gaze turned to Olivia and he gave her a smile, "I don't think you two have met yet. This is Olivia, she was our informant in the Legion camp; one of the bravest women I know". His answer seemed to displease his colleague.

"Then you owe me lunch", she said, folding her arms in front of her chest and casually leaning on her right leg with a playful but determined look in her eyes.

"Sure, alright. I'll be there", Drew nodded curtly and gave her a dry smile.

"I'll hold you to it. See you later".

Just before Williams departed, her eyes flitted towards Olivia, giving her a thinly veiled contemptuous look. What Olivia had done to her to deserve such a cold stare, she didn't know; but she wasn't going to let it dwell in her mind. Afterall, she had more important things to worry about, such as finding and rescuing her family. Now that she was free, she had ample opportunity to gather the necessary resources to help her.

Standing at the edge of the water, Ash clung to her cloth towel as a chilly wind threatened to blow it away. She was beginning to regret her decision to follow Aelius down the river to clean up. Despite the cold he was more than waist deep in the water, already busy cleaning himself with a bar of soap while she stood by the side looking foolish and shivering.

"I've changed my mind. It's too cold!" She said, raising her voice slightly so she could be heard over the rumbling sound of rushing water.

Aelius turned around to face her, a surprised look in his eyes, "Really? It's not that cold".

"Maybe for you!" her teeth chattered.

"Come on Ash, as soon as you get in the water you'll be fine".

Ash looked doubtfully at him, "No…Nope, I don't think so", she moved to get her things but before she could pack up and run back up the long incline to their settlement, Aelius got out of the water and took hold of her hand.

"Oh Jesus!" Ash pulled away from his hand dripping with cold water, "Don't do that!"

"Do what?"

"Don't touch me when you're skin's freezing cold like that".

"It's not, it's just the water", Aelius insisted, this time taking hold of her hand tenderly to prove his point, "See?"

He wasn't wrong. Ash marvelled at his ability to stay warm while exposed to the cold.

"You're not human, you know that", she jested, eliciting a chuckle from Aelius.

"Come on, you can hold onto me for warmth", he pulled her with him to the water.

"Aelius NO!" Ash shook her head, but it was pointless to argue with him. Her towel fell to the side as Aelius picked her up in his arms and held her close as he waded slowly into the water. Though they were both wearing underwear, she still felt very self-conscious about being this exposed around him, even though she knew he had absolutely no problems with walking around stark naked, as evidenced by the encounter she had with him at the Johnson Valley Reservoir.

"You ready?" he asked.

"No!" Ash exclaimed, digging her fingers into the back of his shoulders, "Aelius, I'm serious".

"Alright fine, but if you want to go you're going back out on your own", he said with mirth in his voice, knowing she had to wade through the water anyway to get back to the shore. The look of incredulity and frustration on her face was priceless.

"You know very well I don't like the cold".

"I know", he nodded, the amusement in his gaze replaced with a soft tenderness, "Just hold on to me, I'll keep you warm".

Ash felt her entire body flush with his words and her icy frustration with him was melted away by his warm tenderness. She wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders, choosing to stay with him despite the discomfort she felt when he finally lowered himself shoulder deep in the water. His eyes, beautiful and blue as a deep lake, never left hers. It was somewhat unnerving and thrilling at the same time; as if he only had eyes for her.

The waters were so cold her skin became rough all over with goose bumps and her body shivered almost uncontrollably. She clung tightly to him, desperate for the warmth his skin was providing, feeling his muscles tense and relax in symphony with the river's flow.

"There, see? Not so bad", he sighed, tenderly tucking a loose strand of her hair behind her ear.

"Aelius…what are you doing?" her voice trembled.

"What do you mean?"

"What are we doing here?" Her eyes gazed deeply into his, wanting nothing more than to give in to her desire for him; a desire that had secretly started to build itself within since they left the reservoir. But she had to know if he felt the same before they did anything.

She felt him shift, his gaze breaking from hers as he tried to think of how to reply.

"I… I, uh…", he stumbled, and Ash could see that words were the wrong kind of communication now. He had already told her how he felt with his body, with the look in his eyes, the tenderness of his touch; and all she could muster in response was 'What are we doing here?'

All she had to do was tell him, in kind, if she wanted him the same way.

"I'm sorry… I shouldn't have suggested this, I'll… We better get back up to the others", he let go of her gently and started wading out of the water. He was already wrapping a towel around his waist by the time Ash got out, keeping his gaze averted from hers.

Without a single word she removed her underwear, standing stark naked and shivering to one side and waiting for his attention to circle back to her. When Aelius turned to grab her towel on the side and caught sight of her, he stood rooted to the ground, eyes wide and a startled expression on his handsome features. She watched his eyes as they followed the curves of her body, a deep yearning in them that made her think he could pounce at any moment. When he'd taken his fill and his attention focused on her features once again, she approached him; reaching out and stroking her fingers up his hand, arm, shoulder and neck. He was so tall that, from her height, the tips of her fingers couldn't even reach the top of his head unless he leant down to let her.

"You promised to keep me warm", she said softly.

The bag and towels dropped out of Aelius' hands and, with a quivering sigh, he leant down and softly wrapped his arms around her waist as Ash nuzzled his neck. She felt his deep breaths quicken and it made her heart flutter with excitement. Who needs the obstacles that come with verbal communication when body language conveys the message of needs, wants and desires oh so aptly?

"Ash, I can't", he breathed, his body tensing up as he tried to reign in his passion before it galloped away from him, "I'll lose myself".

"Then let's lose ourselves in each other".