"Well gosh… This isn't good."

"Call me crazy, but I think I remember last night."

"Really?" David sits up. "Let's piece it together then."

"We went to The Tops…"

"To ACES..." David added

"Back to your place…"

"Then back out…"

"Gomorrah, Wrangler then…" She sighed. "King's School of Impersonation."

"They don't serve alcohol to guests. Why did we come here?"

"You proposed to me… We asked the King to marry us, and he did."

"No… No, come on..." he said, without belief. "Shit! Seriously?" Cass nodded. "I cannot believe this!"

"We were too drunk to know."

"How could anyone have known?" David examined the nightstand and saw a file on it; he quickly read it. The only paper that was next to their jewellery.

"What is it?"

"Congratulations, we're officially married. Mrs Wesker," he said lazily and quickly to avoid mentioning his last name. David handed Cass the marriage certificate. "Don't know what to call you now. There is no way in living hell I'm calling you Wesker. It'll have to be Sharon."

"What's wrong with Cass?"

"That's not your last name anymore. I really wish you hadn't taken mine. I liked your nickname."

Cass read the marriage certificate and smiled. In their full printed names, she was happy to take it. "Say hello to Sharon Cassidy Wesker, honey."

"What? Cassidy is still in your name?"

"My maiden name is now my middle name, how about that. Never really had one before, so that's cool."

"That's… great! That way I can still call you Cass and not feel disgusted about mentioning that asshole. What do we do now?"

"What do you mean?"

"What do you mean 'What do you mean?' Don't you know how serious of a predicament this is? Marriage is a life-changing opportunity and shouldn't be taken lightly. It's not for everyone you know."

"Did you enjoy the married life?"

"Every minute of it, I was old fashioned back then. I spent a lot of my time with Sam, in time I just loved spending time with her, more so than anyone else. When we started dating, I cherished the times we shared and talked and even more when we lived together, hearing her thoughts and seeing her friends. Cliché may be, all that foundation gave us so much depth."

David sat up more and cleared his throat. "I loved Sam," he continued, "a part of me always will… memories we shared are eternal. Marriage can make most people nervous - even me and my parents sometimes - but when the time is right nothing is wrong."

Cass stared at David with concerned eyes. "You seem to hold on to the past quite a bit…"

"It was death 'till we part. As long as I still remember who I once was, she still lives on in my memories." He rolled over to face Cass. "How could I not hold on to the past? One day in 2018, during an illegal black market trade, her work and mine ended in a clusterfuck. A couple of her friends were killed, and I nearly was too. After our mission, when I was allowed home from the hospital, we had the night to ourselves at her place."

"You lived an exciting life, honey. Please go on; I like this."

"Aw thanks, that's so good to hear, but I hope you know why I never let go of Sam. I mean she was my first love after years of negligence during high school, and when we spent that night together we…" He smiled and locked his fingers.

"We took each other's virginity," he continued, "Our first and best milestones in life. Adulthood." His smile faded away slowly. "I've moved on in my time here in the Mojave since then, though. Nearly everything is trying to kill me, and life is much shorter. It's high time for some new memories in this new world."

"I see where you're getting at, David, I really do. Guess the ballsy thing would be for us to see how deep this rabbit hole goes. We're obviously compatible."

"You actually sure? Gotta say, it's not an easy choice to be dropped on the hat like this, I feel ya. We'd have to consider leaving our bachelor ways for a more traditional relationship. I'm giving you this choice because I don't want to be the one to tie you down or get in your way. If your lifestyle is more important to you than I am, then I'll understand. I'm fine either way. I just want your honesty."

Cass sighed and sat up from her pillow and picked it up, groping it with a bit of a thinking look in her darting eyes. "All those days I wasted away back in the outpost, I always dreamt of having a man at my side, taking me away from my miserable life. Now, after years of searching, I finally got lucky when the right one found me. You are the perfect candidate, and I'm not going to pass up the chance to at least give you a test run."

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

Cass was caught in deep thought while she stared at her wedding ring. She discarded the pillow and smiled. All those years of drinking and fucking were fun, no question, but it all had no honesty or decency. It got stale very quickly.

Now there's this hulking, younger man who can actually keep up with her, one that will keep her safe and treat her well. Was that better than a new fuck a week?

"I do," she said with a smile, as big as her last one. She gave no warning and leapt at David, locking him in a mighty hug. She rubbed her naked body over his, blushing.

"I-I don't know what to say…" He breathed. "That's… great! Only I figured you'd take more time to consider your choice."

"What can I say? I'd be lying if I said I have a great life here. One night stands are okay for some, but the lifestyle itself is massively overrated, apart from the drunken brawls. I want to be someone, not another N.C.R. drunk or failed business woman." She retracted from David and stared into his golden eyes; she didn't notice they were fading their shine, but they were still beautiful nonetheless. "Plus the sex with you is incredible! Best sex I ever had!"

David was very excited; he breathed slowly from the sudden rush of joy. "My chest is soaring above the clouds right here, Cass. I haven't been this happy in a long time, the spring in my step is back My hands are sweating too..."

"As much as I'd love to stay in bed with you I feel we're burning daylight. Can we get this show on the road?"

"Anything for you." David kissed Cass on the lips and went on and on, saturating each other's lips with their love.

"That's what I'm talkin' about."

David got out of bed and put his boxers on before looking around the room; he seemed to be looking for something. "Things tend to go missing on nights out. Phones, wallets, keys - all that shit. I hope it's all here."

"I'm sure the Kings kept their word on bringing our stuff here safe. I fucked a King up here once, I should know." Cass crawled to the nightstand and took both of their necklaces. "After how much you spent at the reception, they'd best keep their word."

David rummaged through his footlocker under the love bed. His armour, apparel gear and weapons were all inside. Miraculously they all fit. He couldn't find his caps despite the footlocker holding all his sack's contents. "How much did I spend last night? Can't find my caps."

"You went broke during the ceremony. You were really going all out on occasion. When you started running out one of the Kings let you off the last few caps after… I didn't catch much, but you and the guy were going at it. Like, a lot of tongue..."

"Oh yeah, I remember. I came up short, and that guy let me off because - oh God, I kissed him - I made out with a dude. Eugh!"

"You did more than kiss him, honey." Cass chuckled. "I'm glad no one got caught with their pants down..."

"Dammit! First proper night out in a long time and I get wasted, married, and I kissed a guy. To top it all off, I spent all my caps."

"Made out with a guy," Cass corrected.

David sighed. "I feel like my life is a cheap sitcom, and everybody's laughing at it. I deserve a fuckin' medal. You know what? A fucking trophy!"

"Do they do trophies for making out with guys back in your time? I would have like… twenty or thirty by now compared to your one."

"That's not how I roll. Argh, I'm not gay, damn it! Well, we better get dressed." David got dressed and equipped like he always does. Armour, weapons and then munitions. Belt, boots and anything in between. "My only regret is that I wish I could remember the ceremony as good as you can. Really took advantage of my accurate memory."

"Was it worth it? For me? I'm no prize here, David. I'm loud and violent and pushy. I just hope you know what you're getting into."

"As clear as daylight, Cass. Besides, no harm in giving marriage a fair shake since I'm really starting to enjoy your company."

"How sweet." Cass smiled. "You'll get better handling hangovers after the first few blackouts, trust me." She crawled to get her backpack, resting in the corner of the room. "At least my stuff is still here."

"Just my luck to live long enough to get married and get wasted the entire time of it, one of the best moments of my life and I'm the one pissed. Just another way life gets its kicks. Well, apart from me having no money I think everything's all in working order. Wouldn't you say?"

"Damn straight." Cass picked up her backpack in the corner and slumped in onto a chair outside the bathroom. There was a knock at the door; it was sounded soft on the solid oak door. "Hey, can you get that? I gotta freshen up."

"Sure. Sure."

"Thanks."

At the door was a balding man in a tuxedo. He stared at David square in the eyes, had a British accent and stood firm. "Good morning, sir," he greeted. "I hope you and your lovely wife are very well and happy this beautiful morning."

"We're getting along famously, thanks for asking."

"No, no, it's our pleasure. I wish you two a long, happy life together, oh and try not to get hurt out there, it's bad for business." The man bows and held out a hand, expecting a tip.

"Oh, I see where this is going"

"Is there a problem, sir?"

"I kinda spent all my money at the ceremony." David scratched his head. "Sorry about that."

"This is unfortunate," the man bitterly said.

David took a few pre-war dollars from his wallet. "This is all I can give."

The man politely rejected David's dollars. "I'm sorry, we only accept N.C.R. money."

"Since when?"

"Since now. We have a nice establishment with the N.C.R.; caps are for trading and gambling here and there. A tip would place you in our good graces."

A naked Cass crept over David's shoulder and handed the man some N.C.R. money; looked like it consisted of a few single bills. "Here you go!"

The man took a moment to inhale the N.C.R. money Cass handed him and pocketed it quickly. "Thank you, my fair lady." He tipped his hat and left the door.

"Don't spend it all at once." Cass closed the door and turned to David. "Was that so hard, luv?"

"If I knew I was going to die and get sent to the future, I would've drawn out more walking-around money from the bank. The value in these dollars is fucking shite." David put away his money and wallet. "Shame. That's fifty American gone to waste."

Cass stood naked with just a towel covering her thin nubile body, with her hair in a bun under her straw hat, all she needed was her clothes. Before David went to question Cass about her nudity, a beige cardigan landed over his head.

The surprise of her cardigan landing on David was so unexpected, as more of her clothes fell on David from the ceiling fan shortly after, Cass was laughing hysterically. David looked like a clothes horse. One by one each piece of Cass' clothing dropped from the fan onto David's straight face.

"I… Uh, I found your clothes." David pulled Cass' cardigan off over his head. "They were on the ceiling fan..."

Cass' laughter began to fade. "I don't even want to know how they got up there." She plucked off her clothes from David's person and got dressed. "What didn't we do last night?"

Out of respect, David turned away from Cass to give her some privacy to get dressed. "Thanks for bailing me out back there with that guy. I don't go around handing tips to just anybody, but I'll always be willing to give one for a job well done."

Cass peered over David's shoulder and pecked his cheek. "I'm so lucky to be married to a real man like you, honey, and not a complete scum of the Earth. I'm the type of girl that craves the full package." She retracted and went back to getting dressed, only had the white shirt and beige cardigan to go. "You looked like you were gonna be a while at the door so I helped speed things up. You did pay for the whole ceremony."

"That'll set me back quite a bit." David folded his arms and waited patiently. "How much did you give him anyway?"

"Hundred N.C.R."

"I only had eighty American dollars on me. They're no good here."

"If it makes you feel better, you can watch me get dressed. I don't mind. You are my husband."

"Just being polite and… wait. Why am I looking away?" He turned around quickly just to catch Cass in the nude. Shirt bare, breasts and everything. Never too early see such a wondrous sight. "You're my fuckin' wife."

Cass fully dressed and slung her Caravan shotgun over her shoulder. Her shirt was a bit dirty though; the cardigan hid the sticky white stains away. "Shit. Don't we forget like, three bodies?"

"They should be at Lucky 38. Come on." David went to part, but Cass puts his necklace on him from behind his back. "Oh, my necklace! Thanks."

Cass felt around David's dog tags, and just past his old wedding ring, there was a large calibre round resting on a separate chain looped under the tags. The cartridge was as long as the .45-70 Gov't round only it was in mint condition and personally crafted.

The head was jacketed with a transparent alloy, but the projectile wasn't made of lead, it was a capsule filled with tacky, black bile. Cass has never seen a bullet like this one before.

"What kind of bullet is this?"

"Hmm? Oh, that? That's a bizarre shell that my dad personally crafted. Inside the bullet is a cancerous mutagen called the Progenitor virus."

"A virus?! That sounds dangerous."

"Definitely. They were never fully mass-produced, though, only six of them were ever made. This one I keep as a trophy and a symbol of a personal achievement of mine."

Cass looped her arms around David's neck. "Of what?"

"Of the time, Dorian and I killed each other for the first time. Ironically after dying, I never felt so alive."

"First time? When did that happen?"

"In 2020. My granddad and I killed Dorian sometime after he kidnapped my dad. I died shortly due to cardiac arrest at the hospital later that week. I was buried after the ordeal, had to dig myself out of my own grave and everything. It was horrible clawing my way outta the dirt."

"You're joking? Right?"

David held up his hand. "I swear to God. At that point, I was declared legally dead."

"Oh my God, that's terrible. Wait, wouldn't that mean you died twice now?"

"Naturally, the first time. The second was a huge mistake."

"It's all in the past now, right?"

"Yeah, where it belongs. This is my life now, and I'm happy with it. Balanced, as all things should be."

She kissed David's lips. "Let's not keep the world waiting."

"Yeah, I'm just about bored here now myself. I'll just leave a note at the reception desk. I don't want to get too attached to this place. Otherwise, they'll keep asking for tips. It's how places like these operate."

"I'm right by ya. Time to blow this joint; I'm running low on N.C.R. dollars."