A/N: TRACK LIST: "Curious" by Holly Brook, and "The Guilty Party" by While She Sleeps.

Someone tell me what to do,
I feel like I must be a fool
For ending up right back at the start.
The things that we don't comprehend
Are laughing at my mind again;
I think that I think too hard
And I don't give enough credit to my heart...

I'm so
Damn curious to know;
And there are too
Many unanswered questions
That we hold on to.

Caps. That was what Evelyn had come here for, and she was about to walk away nearly empty-handed. Surely there was something else available in area? Someone that needed a building cleared of ferals, or maybe had a Mirelurk problem in their basement?

She convinced herself that that was the reason she was currently heading toward the Old State House. She'd follow Fahrenheit's advice, pay her 'due respect' to the mayor, and while she was at it, ask him about any potential honest jobs in the area that paid more than a handful of caps...

Yeah. That's what it was. That's all it was.

But if that was the case, why couldn't she get Fahrenheit's words out of her head? "Besides, he likes you. He won't admit it, but he's been wondering when he'll see you again."

Evelyn paused when her hand touched the doorknob to the run-down building. She didn't like him, did she? Her dance with him in the Rail kept assaulting her mind when all she wanted to do was forget about it.

Or did she? Did she really? Was that what all this was? She was infatuated with Hancock? No… It couldn't be. She had many, many reasons not to be infatuated with the mayor of Goodneighbor, foremost ones being the fact that she was married, and she was currently searching for her kidnapped son.

But she was alone now. Nate was dead. Was she truly married anymore…?

Either way, she had a mission to accomplish. She had a child to save. Her child. Shaun. She didn't have time to think about romance — and besides; Hancock was a… ghoul. Evelyn was still getting used to the state of the world, ghouls included. Before the vault, everyone's skin was as smooth as hers; now there were people walking around with horribly scarred skin, living proof of the damage of the war, of the bombs that rained down on the earth. It was strange. It should have been horrifying. But for some reason Evelyn still found herself drawn to him.

Curious.

Her hand turned the knob, and she went inside.

He leaned against the wall, arms folded over his chest, whole body rigid like a leopard about to pounce. Evelyn could feel his dark eyes on her the moment she came up the stairs, and they never once left her as she slowly made her way into the room. Once again, she couldn't seem to read the mayor of Goodneighbor; whether he was pleased or pissed, she had no idea. Although Fahrenheit had told her that he liked her, his current enigmatic expression told her that that could very well be a lie.

"Well, if it isn't my favorite dance partner," Hancock greeted, unmoving except for a slight curve of his scarred lips. His tone could have been teasing, or condescending, or a little bit of both. Evelyn's brows drew in and she shifted her weight from one foot to the other uneasily.

"Look, I —" she began, but she was interrupted by a wave of his hand.

"Took a lot of guts, turnin' on Bobbi like that," he said. "Even more to convince her to give up. I've known her for years… when she sets her mind to somethin', she gets it done. No exceptions. But a few words from you made her change her mind. What did you say to her?"

"Just... the truth," Evelyn responded with a frown.

Hancock snorted. When he leaned off the wall and unfolded his arms, he made his way over to a table and picked up a medium-sized cloth pouch. Turning, he chucked it at Evelyn. "This is for protecting my stash."

The ravenette didn't have to look inside the pouch to know what it contained: caps. She could feel them jingling merrily inside their container as she caught the bag. There had to have been at least three hundred in there… and three hundred would be enough to get her some much-needed ammo. Three hundred wasn't enough, but it was a start. And it certainly wasn't something he'd had to give her. Evelyn swallowed the sudden lump in her throat and pocketed the satchel of coins. "Thank you," she managed.

Hancock tilted his head, squinting at her; though it seemed his thoughts were turned inward, as if he was doing some self-reflection. Evelyn, still feeling confused about — well, everything — took that as her cue to leave and turned away. She took about two steps before his voice stopped her. "I think this fashionable little tricorn hat of mine is getting… heavy."

She turned her head to look back at him, brows drawing in. He had more to say, it seemed, and he wanted her to be his audience. The ravenette lingered in the doorway, her gaze patient as he searched for the right words. Finally, it all came tumbling out. "I feel like I spend all my time nowadays puttin' down people I would've been proud to scheme with just a few years ago. I'm not the same man I used to be. I've changed, and I don't think it's for the better. Am I… turning into the man? Some sort of tyrant?"

When he went silent, Evelyn waited patiently before giving her own thoughts on the matter. Quietly, she said, "You don't seem like any tyrant I've ever met."

Black eyes drifted up from the floor to focus on her. He was staring at her again… like he was taking off all her armor, her clothes, her skin, and revealing every secret she ever kept. Maybe even secrets she kept from herself. She shuddered, about to say her goodbyes, when…

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

The noise was faint, as if it was coming from somewhere outside, possibly from the opposite side of the building, but it was unmistakable. The gunfire that suddenly echoed outside confirmed her suspicions, and the ravenette acted on impulse: she charged at Hancock, slammed him to the floor, and covered him with her body. "What the —" the ghoul began, rough hands grabbing her shoulders to throw her off, but he never had the chance to —

— because the opposite side of the State House exploded, wooden planks went everywhere, and the whole building began crashing down. "Jesus H. Christ!" Hancock shouted; as the floor beneath them began tilting, following the rest of the building to the ground, he wrapped two arms around Evelyn's body and held her tightly to him to shield them both from the impending collapse.

And down they went.

Wood, glass and debris covered them; very little light filtered in, distorting Evelyn's vision as she slowly lifted her head from Hancock's chest and attempted to analyze their surroundings. Gunfire and shouting surrounded them on all sides; amongst all the panicked voices, Evelyn could hear the unmistakable sound of Super Mutants. Her gaze moved to Hancock, who was spitting out splinters and squirming beneath her; after a quick assessment she could see he was okay other than a small cut on his forehead and various scrapes on his skin from the crash. It was clear from his expression that he was shocked and enraged. "Super Mutants," he wheezed, one hand moving to attempt to remove the section of floorboards that covered them. "Goddamn them. Fuck — I can't move it… it's too heavy."

"I've got an idea," Evelyn said quietly, attempting to roll over. When she achieved success, her back pressed against Hancock's chest and her legs began shifting to press her feet flat against the wood. In one giant push, she managed to kick the debris off of them — only to find that the air was filled with dust and there were at least four bodies surrounding them; some riddled with bullets, some crushed by wreckage. Still more people dropped like flies as the battle raged on.

Super Mutants had attacked Goodneighbor and had started the fight by sending a suicider right into the Old State House.

Evelyn scanned the area, keeping her head low to avoid any incoming fire; when Hancock tried to sit up to take a look, she shoved him back down onto the ground. "Listen, Sister," he growled, eyes glinting dangerously, "normally I would have no complaints about being shoved onto my back by a gorgeous woman, but in case you haven't noticed, my people are dyin' out there. I'm the fucking Mayor. I have to help!"

Gray eyes narrowed on him, her expression grim. "You can't help your people if you're dead, mister Mayor."

This was a fucking mess.

Hancock didn't have to see anything to know what was happening out there; Super Mutants were attacking, much earlier than Fahrenheit had predicted he might add, and his people were being slaughtered.

When he tried to get up, to help his people, the woman shoved him back down. In any other situation he would have been incredibly turned on — but as it was, he was furious. But his threat only made her narrow her eyes on him. Staring up at her, Hancock saw something in her piercing gray hues —

Fire. A rage, a survival instinct that bordered on bloodlust. She was speaking calmly, acting practically and with control, but he could clearly tell that this woman would rip the spine from someone if it meant she would survive. Something about it made his gut tighten, his whole body going rigid with — desire? Fear? Eagerness?

Life.

For the first time in a long time, Hancock felt alive.

She finally tore her gaze from him and assessed the area, eventually loosening her grip on his collar. "Alright; they've focused their attention on the snipers on the next roof. We need to get ourselves out of here and get to a safe space so we can give out some orders, figure out what to do, and turn the tides of this battle."

"Leave it to me," Hancock assured her, feeling his blood pumping already. His fingers were itching for the shotgun that was currently buried underneath him, digging into his back. "I know this town like the back of my hand. Follow my lead, Sister."

"Evelyn," the woman said, her gaze shifting back down to his face. Her red lips curled into a half-grin. "My name is Evelyn."

Evelyn. After all the trash she talked that night at the Rail, leaving him hanging without so much as a goodbye, he'd finally gotten her name… although Hancock couldn't say he'd imagined that this was how he'd get it. He grinned back at her, fire in his eyes. "Well, Evelyn, let's go kick the irradiated shit out of those ugly bastards."

Hancock hadn't been lying when he said he knew the town like the back of his hand. Following his lead, Evelyn had somehow managed to get up onto the roof of the Hotel Rexford without any encounters with the Super Mutants. The ghoul seemed to be as perceptive and intelligent as she was, if not moreso; as they got onto the roof, he took charge like the natural leader he was. "Daisy," he said, setting a hand on the female ghoul's shoulder and pulling some chems from his pocket. Offering her a syringe of Med-X, he said, "get downstairs and help gather folks inside the hotel. Fortify it. You've done enough up here. Tell KL-E-O to get to the front gates and seal 'em up tight. If those stupid assholes wanna get in here, they're gonna have to file in one by fucking one."

"You got it, boss," Daisy rasped, slinging her pipe rifle onto her back and leaving the rooftop.

The rest of the shooters looked to Hancock for direction, and he began issuing orders with authority. "When those things come rampagin' in here, you're the first line of fire," he said loudly. "I'm gonna be on the ground with a few others, pickin' off the ones that make it past your bullets!"

The firing ceased; when Evelyn didn't hear any more, she assumed that the rest of the Super Mutants inside the town had been taken care of. She saw the figure of KL-E-O, the Assaultron who ran the weapons shop at the entrance to Goodneighbor, fortifying the front gates quickly and efficiently. The tides were turning quickly due to Hancock's firm leadership. When the ghoul prepared to leave the rooftop, Evelyn caught his sleeve. "It'd be wisest if you gave commands from up here… but I bet you know that."

His black eyes glinted mischievously, but there was no humor on his lips. "If you think I'm just gonna sit back and let everyone else have all the fun, you've got another thing comin'."

"In that case," Evelyn responded seriously, pulling a combat shotgun from her hip, "I'm coming with you."

Hancock peered at her for a moment, as if waiting for her to change her mind, before gesturing for her to follow. As they exited the Rexford's roof, the ghoul pulled his own sawed-off shotgun from its place on his hip and held it firmly in anticipation.

When the Super Mutants came this time, they were ready. They began climbing over the walls or shooting from nearby buildings, and the snipers on the Rexford's roof did well at taking most of them down; the few that made it to the ground were quickly put down by Hancock, Evelyn, and a couple of other gunners who seemed bloodthirsty, even eager for the fight. "Two more, coming from the front," Evelyn said to Hancock, who had his back turned to help patch up a bullet wound. "I've got them — take cover!"

The two green brutes took cover near the ruins of the Old State House; one of them was firing at the folks up on the hotel's roof, while the other was waiting for an opportunity to attack those on the ground with his melee weapon. Evelyn raced toward them, tucking and rolling behind the corner of a building to take cover when the fire focused on her. The mutant with the gun was pelting her with bullets from his rifle, and she couldn't seem to find an opening to get close enough to hit them with her shotgun… this was bad. She didn't expect the dumb creature to notice her when he was so focused on the gunners on the roof nearby.

Suddenly a voice rang from inside Daisy's Discounts; when Evelyn narrowed her eyes on the building, she could see Hancock waving his hands and shouting. "HEY, you big ugly son of a bitch! You want Goodneighbor in ruins? Why not start with the Mayor?! Or are you too fucking stupid to shoot me? HUH?"

Evelyn grit her teeth. He was being incredibly brave but incredibly dumb, trying to use himself as a distraction — but it turned out that his stupidity was just what she needed. Suddenly the Super Mutant's fire was aimed at the building, and Hancock threw himself behind a counter to dodge bullets.

WHAM.

Evelyn was perceptive enough to move mostly out of the way just as the barb-wire wrapped bat swung at her, but the attack was still able to rip into her shoulder, tearing her clothing and leaving a nasty gash in her skin right above her shoulder-blade. God, it stung — but she barrel-rolled out of the way and lifted her shotgun up just in time to land a solid hit right in the creature's stomach. He doubled over, groaning in pain, and she took the opportunity to land the second buck-shot right in his head.

Which splattered.

Wiping mutant blood from her cheek, the ravenette dashed forward, her body working on pure adrenaline, and reloaded while she ran. She fitted the second shell into the magazine loading port just as she reached the gun-toting Super Mutant and by the time he noticed her, she'd put both shells into his chest. He dropped to his knees, eyes glazed over, and she lifted the butt of her gun, slamming it into his face.

He fell.

When Evelyn retreated into Daisy's Discounts, she found she was short of breath, her eyes were wide with rage, and she felt no more pain; but despite that, on instinct she took a syringe full of Psycho off the counter and jammed the needle into her leg, injecting herself with the drug. Distantly she heard a noise in her ringing ears; dully, she realized that it was her own animalistic yelling. All she knew now was rage; rage, and power.

Kill them.

Kill them all.

Goddamn that was brilliant. He could see now that this woman's expertise was in close-quarters combat, which was probably part of the reason she insisted on coming along with him. When she raced back to Daisy's store where the rest of the ground fighters were recuperating, Hancock noticed that Evelyn had a nasty gash in her shoulder that was bleeding profusely. Pursing his lips, he reached for a med-kit to procure some bandages for the wound, but by the time he turned back to her she'd gone and stabbed herself with a syringe full of Psycho.

His mouth dropped open.

The raven-haired woman was now practically foaming at the mouth; maybe his brain was deceiving him, but did he detect literal red in her eyes? "Didn't take ya for a Psycho kinda gal," he muttered, but she didn't even hear him. He knew better than to try and keep her still or calm at this point, but her shoulder was pretty concerning; if he didn't staunch the bleeding soon, she'd begin to suffer from the blood-loss. She most likely didn't feel a fucking thing, but he could see the damage clearly.

Before Hancock could force her down to wrap the wound, she was running right back out. Tossing aside the gauze, he grabbed his shotgun off the counter and followed her out; if she was going to keep going, the least he could do was watch her back. Besides, if anyone should be on the front lines defending Goodneighbor… it was the mayor.

"Goodneighbor is of the fucking people, for the fucking people!"