Author's Note: Well, I found some time in my "busy schedule" to pull another chapter out of my hind end. I've been going over and over in my head how I want this chapter to go; trying to put the puzzle together piece by piece. While I certainly hope I'm not having another case of writer's block (I get this A LOT), I decided to just start writing it and see how it goes. It's my usual style of editing the story while writing at the same time, but in this case it's going to be a lot of improvisation. Hope you guys enjoy it, and thanks for the reviews and subscriptions and adding this story to your favorites, guys. Seriously. And for the constructive criticism of one or two people ( andyou know who you are, ;) hehe).

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Fallout characters, nor the source material. The only character who came from my own imagination is the name and personality of the Courier, (and I don't own the "Courier" name, either). Oh, and I will probably make some references to Elvis Presley and his songs (and I don't own those either).

Chapter 9: Bringing It Back

For a second, Raven thought she heard Julie wrong. Maybe the courier managed to get a chunk of ghoul flesh in her ear at one point. Maybe she was having side effects from one too many grenades exploding near her. Or maybe the woman's mind was playing tricks on her, though considering her luck, Raven highly doubted any of the above was the case. When it came to chance, Raven Wagner had the worst luck at the worst times. Or perhaps the best luck at the worst times, depending on how she could look at it. So after the green-eyed female made her way over to a possible squatter area and passed the "quiz", Raven strolled on over to the northwest side of town. She had time to kill, so as she walked, Raven started kicking a rock along. She was procrastinating, and haphazardly nudging a piece of stone around would help slow her down. Many thoughts rushed through the courier's head, the King's dog being one them and Elizabeth Kieran taking a backseat.

While she was certainly the type to run head first into things, Raven began really thinking about the trip to Jacobstown. "God dammit. I'm all for helping, but doing this because of a dying dog?" she thought to herself, quite aware that Rex was not the reason she offered to bring the animal to Jacobstown. She quickly clarified it in her head. "Yeah, the King saved your ass so this will make you and him even."

Raven rarely ever helped people because of an obligation. She helped people because she wanted to. Why was this any different? That's when it hit her. It wasn't different, at least not in that way. Raven truly wanted to help Rex and his master, but that was not the reason why alarms were going off in head. The courier offered passage through very dangerous Cazador territory to the mountains possibly full of Super Mutants and who knows what else with a very sick dog and just herself. She wasn't afraid for her own life; she was afraid for Rex's life and her capabilities to keep him from harm.

"No, don't even fuckin' think that. Don't you dare second guess yourself."

Distracted by her thoughts, Raven didn't realize until looking up from the ground that she was near the old train station. Her eyes scanned the area before they settled on a couple of men standing outside one of the buildings. As she moseyed on over, she lost interest in her game of rock kicking. They spotted her right away and one of them held up a hand when she got close enough.

"Hold up," a man in mercenary attire said. "What's the password?"

"Hope," replied Raven.

The man nodded. "Head on through."

"Well, at least security isn't that tight," she thought. It didn't take a genius to pass the NCR quiz, especially when having a former NCR soldier as a side kick.

As she opened the door, she heard a female voice. "Here you go. I hope this helps."

Raven stared in the direction of the woman who belonged to that voice and sighed as she approached the counter. Her hair was blonde and swept neatly, her eyes a dark brown, her lips pursed lightly; and the Major's overall stance was all too familiar. Yep, the worst luck at the best time. It didn't take long for Elizabeth to notice her.

"Welcome. There's food and water here for any citizen of the NCR. Please, have some." said Elizabeth. Raven crossed her arms and smirked lightly at the other woman, almost chuckling when Major Kieran's jaw dropped. "My god. Raven, is that you?"

It was official. Raven had not heard the Follower doctor wrong. "Wow. Took ya long enough," the courier answered. "How's it going, Elizabeth?"

Elizabeth laughed and walked around the counter before wrapping her arms around the courier. Raven mirrored the affection with a full heart and strong arms even thought she hadn't expected it. Maybe she had good luck after all. After all, how often did she get to run into family?

"It's great to be up here, looking down at all your smiling faces. That won't last long."

The King took a long swig of the clear liquid from his glass, savoring the slow burn that traveled down his throat to his insides. He set the glass down on the circular table and relaxed his body on the chair. He stared up at the insult comic on the stage, a ghoul in a suit that did nothing to take away the necrotic features. A few patrons in the Atomic Wrangler, drunk and disorderly, laughed at the mediocre comedian. It was nice to see someone trying to bring laughter into the lives of others, even though the ghoul had no logical reason for humor. The Mojave Wasteland was a rough place to survive. Still, the effort was much appreciated. The King filled his glass with another shot of scotch and raised it as a silent toast to the ghoul comic Hadrian before downing it completely.

Hadrian seemed to notice the gesture and appeared to smile. "Ah, it seems the King of Freeside decided to grace us with his presence. It's not hard to spot a King when his hair is so bright and shiny. I bet all that hair gel you have is so radioactive it could power a rocket ship!"

More drunken laughter ensued, and even the King had to chuckle. Hadrian was a brave comic and this was reason enough for the King to take the bait. "Hey, watch the hair!" and to prove his ruse, the King patted his hair gently. "You're gonna hurt the gel's feelings, you know. Make my hair stick out when it shouldn't. You know how long it took me to get it this perfect?"

Cackles and guffaws filled the bar as the ghoul continued the 'assault'. "Yeah yeah, we know. Mr. Pretty Boy loves his hair gel. If the look isn't recognized right away, the smell of that stuff sure will strike up recognition. That stuff smells so bad it probably soured that singing voice of yours."

"Ha!" responded the King. Hadrian knew how to stick it to him. "Consider it aromatherapy!"

Barks of laughter followed the comment, and the ghoul smirked defiantly. "Really, now? You still have your guitar?"

The King knew exactly where this was going. It sure had been awhile since he performed any songs. While he wasn't in any particular mood to sing, the King wasn't finding many excuses to object to the challenge. He filled his glass once more and shot it down swiftly. Perhaps the alcohol had something to do with it. "Hey Kevin!" he yelled to one of his underlings, a dark-toned man with a suit to match. The man shot his boss a glance. "Would you be so kind as to fetch my guitar for me please?"

"Which one?"

More laughing. "Let's go with Bessie on this one." the King replied.

A couple minutes after the initial 'reunion' Elizabeth brought Raven to the back room, leaving one of her guys to handle the food supplies. As Raven walked into the room, Elizabeth shut the door and smiled. The dark haired woman couldn't help but return the gesture. "So, Major Kiernan now, is it?" Raven snickered.

Elizabeth pouted playfully. "Yes. I'm a major in the supply corps, which is where this food and water comes from."

"So why don't you serve the locals?" asked Raven.

The major replied with, "That's not really a pleasant topic of conversation. Let's just say we have our reasons."

"Julie Farkas told me to ask. She said it was important."

"You know Julie? Not everyone in the NCR sees eye-to-eye with the Followers, but they're ok in my book, mostly because of her." Elizabeth explained as she offered the girl a seat. Raven sat down in a somewhat wobbly chair as the major took her own seat behind her own desk. "If you really want to know, we sent an envoy to the King offering to coordinate the relief effort."

The courier tilted her head to the side with intrigue and a touch of suspicion. "And the King refused?" she asked.

"...In a manner of speaking," Elizabeth said. "Our envoy was brutally beaten, and only barely survived. My superiors ordered the relief mission scrapped. I managed to to get clearance to carry out the mission anyway, but with greatly reduced support. Now there's not enough supplies to go around even if I wanted to serve the rest of Freeside," she hesitated for a moment. "Which I don't."

"I see," Raven replied skeptically. "So, how have you been Lizzy?"

The courier watched the major relax with a casual gesture of the head. "Could be worse, but the family and I get by. What are you doing in Freeside?"

"I have...'delicate matters' that require my attention," the girl replied calmly.

"That doesn't surprise me. You always were a trouble maker, and quite the explorer." teased Elizabeth.

"Both being Wagner traits. You should know that. You married my brother, after all."

Elizabeth's face softened to a look that Raven didn't expect. "Yeah," she said. "Jason was always stubborn. He never quit anything in his life."

The courier suddenly had a lump in her throat, not liking the sudden tension in the air. "Lizzy? Is Jason ok?"

Elizabeth lowered her head. "He's alive, but...he lives at the REPCONN facility now. Started up a group called the Bright Brotherhood or something."

Raven's heart fell into the pit of her stomach.

It hadn't taken long for the man to grab the guitar and run back. By the time Kevin returned, the King was all set to go on stage. Even in the short amount of time, however, the place had already filled up tremendously. People were more than delighted to hear that the King was going to perform a song at the Atomic Wrangler, and news traveled fast in Freeside. While the Garretts had initially scorned the idea, their minds changed when they saw the business increase. They were going to have a lot of caps tonight. The King smiled warmly as Kevin approached him with a black guitar case.

"I trust you were gentle with her?" the King asked.

"Of course."

As the King stood with the case handle now in hand, people began cheering and whistling. The man made his way up on stage and shook hands with Hadrian before walking to a single stool and microphone. As he flipped the clips of his case, the King heard a familiar bark and smirked to himself before looking toward the door. Pacer had just walked in with Rex, who seemed to know exactly what was going on. Nothing got past that hound. The King pulled out a simple black acoustic guitar from the case as well as a black and white pick before pulling the instrument's strap over his head. As he sat down, the cheering roared to new heights and Pacer took a seat at the King's table with Rex at his heels. The dog barked and howled with excitement to match the attitude of the crowd. The King positioned himself with his right hand over the sound hole and strings, his left hand placed intricately on the neck. The man's eyes fell on the crowd with an anxious but content feel. The crowd slowly quieted down in anticipation.

"Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. Do you have any song requests?" he said into the microphone.

The courier walked through the streets slowly, her head lowered to hide the somewhat defeated gaze she carried. Raven wrapped her arms around herself as if to protect herself from the memories that came with a chilly breeze in the night. The sun had only set an hour ago and she already felt cold. Goosebumps appeared on her skin as the night wind hit her. A gentle but painful reminder that she was still among the living. How the hell did it happen? And what's worse, why the hell didn't Jason 'Bright' tell the courier who he was? It tore her heart in two, knowing that she could have possibly sent her only sibling to his death because of some stupid visions. Even still, Raven helped them out anyway because he believed it to be true and like any good but crazy person like her would do, she agreed. Raven didn't even know if her brother recognized her.

Then again, Raven sure as hell couldn't have recognized him. If Jason had even given a cue as to being her estranged brother, she wasn't sure she would have believed it. Denial and anger swarmed through her brain but as Raven stalked onward like a woman on a mission, it hit her like a ton of bricks. It made her stop dead in her tracks. Raven recalled the nickname that Jason had given her when they were kids. 'Little Wanderer' is what he used to call her. And the ghoul known as Jason Bright kept calling her 'wanderer'. Had that been some sort of cue that she failed to notice? Raven leaned against a building to brace herself for the echoing thoughts that followed. She was never going to see her brother again...because Raven helped him on what was probably a mass suicide. Her body slumped to the ground as she tried to breathe.

"My brother is probably dead because of me..." she thought to herself.

The girl didn't want to think about it. She wanted it to go away, if only for the night. And climbing into a bottle of scotch or whiskey was the only way her needs could be satisfied. Luckily for her, the Atomic Wrangler wasn't that far. As she made her way to the place that would surely drown her sorrows for the time being, Raven could have sworn she heard cheering Her ears strained to listen and as she got closer to her destination, the sound became louder. Raven turned the corner and once she reached the door of the Wrangler, she concluded that the loud applause was coming from inside. Slowly she pressed her hand on the door and peered inside.

What Raven saw was unexpected. "You've got to be kidding me," she mumbled to herself.

I'm soooooo bad for sneaking this one in...and I might just sneak in another soon. Hope you enjoy this chapter though.