A note on chronology: Not everything is necessarily happening at the same time; just within the same time frame, as would be expected when we're dealing with two separate sides of the country. Anyway, thanks for reading and the feedback; and hopefully I will finish this blasted assignment this week and can have more up soon.

Amata was shaken from her sleep by one of the Vault security officers. Blinking to focus her eyes on the man, he spoke.

"Ma'am, you're needed in the infirmary. There's been an incident." That got her attention. She sat up and yawned out a question.

"Incident?"

"Yes, ma'am. Something at Rivet City. Couple of our people got hurt. I don't know anything else," he replied. Shit.

"Let me get dressed and I'll meet you outside," she said. The security officer nodded and as he left, Amata sat up on the edge of the bed and rubbed her eyes. Walking to her locker, she silently worried about her friends who had gone to Rivet City. Maybe I should have gone…she quickly shut the thought down. Her father insisted that she should stop second guessing herself. Being 22 and overseer already lent itself to being insecure in her decisions. She was worried about her friends, though; Susie and Christine and Wally. She hoped they were safe. Zipping on a jumpsuit, she walked out of her room and met the security officer who had roused her. Wordlessly, they wound their way through the dimly lit corridors to the clinic. The door hissed open as they approached, revealing the new Vault physician, Jane Shapiro, examining the group that had gone to Rivet City. Susie Mack was off to the side, arms crossed over her chest, looking slightly ruffled but otherwise unharmed. Next to her Christine Kendall was pinching gauze over her nose. Amata immediately made her way to them.

"What the hell happened, Susie?" Susie sighed.

"Where should I start?" she replied.

"Try the beginning," Amata responded, her voice rising slightly.

"Ok, calm down," Susie replied, drawing a glare from Amata. Christine smirked under the gauze. "So we went over to Rivet City and were in the bar, having a drink with Butch. He's doing well, by the way. Anyway, we're sitting there and guess who shows up?" Amata's stomach knotted slightly. She had a good guess, but didn't want to say it out loud in case she was wrong.

"Who?"

"JJ. JJ walks in with a buddy from Megaton." Fuck! I should have gone! "Anyway, he came in, looking like his old self. Serious, Amata…the look in his eyes was like when we were young. So we're all there, having a good time, when these Brotherhood assholes show up. That woman there were rumors about JJ being with, a couple others," she began. Amata felt a flash of jealousy thinking about him being with someone else. Susie continued, oblivious. "I think he knew them from the war. Either way, long story short, JJ and this big fucker started jawing at each other…"

"Bigger than JJ?" Amata asked.

"Yeah, couple inches taller and a bit heavier. Anyway, JJ had drank a fair bit and he managed to provoke the guy. So they squared off, JJ got busted up a bit and ended up beating the shit out of the guy. It was bad. I was beginning to think I was going to have to stop him but a Brotherhood woman, different one, clubbed him over the head with a bottle." Amata felt a slight flash of anger on hearing that.

"And then?"

"Then me and Christine took the bitch down," she said, smiling. Amata felt a smile flash across her face, before quickly suppressing it. She couldn't appear to condone what had happened. Susie continued before Amata could say anything.

"We aren't doing anything with Rivet City soon, by the way. The security chief, Harkness, banned John for a year and didn't do shit to the Brotherhood. He said we could still come there, but I told him if he banned one of us, he banned all of us." Amata thought on that.

"Fair enough. No trade or trips to Rivet City. We got by without them before," she began, Susie and Christine nodding in agreement. "How is JJ? Is he ok?" Susie smiled.

"He sends his love, just so you know. He misses you," she began, before the smile faded. "He got messed up though, Amata. Bad. Broken nose, ribs, probably a concussion. I think you should go up with us on his birthday. You need to see him. And he needs to see you," she continued. "Amata, tell me the truth here. Do you still love him?"

"Yes," Amata replied simply. She shrugged her shoulders. "I can't help it. I have since we were kids." Susie nodded.

"Ok. Because I'm pretty sure he still loves you," she replied.

"Yup," Christine confirmed, removing the gauze from her nose and revealing a decent sized bruise. "It's kind of pathetic, really," she continued, smiling. Amata laughed.

"Thanks, Christine. I'm going back to bed. No more trouble for you two, ok?" They nodded.

"Good night, Amata," Susie said as the overseer left the room. Amata was suddenly wide awake as she walked back to her room. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't excited at Susie's opinion about JJ. Maybe there's still hope for us, after all. She was certain now, though: she had to go to Megaton on his birthday. No one had said what had happened to make him seem to care again; but maybe if he was reconnecting with the rest of the world; it would be a good time for them to reconnect. Reaching her room, she stripped off her vault uniform and crawled back into bed, her mind still racing; memories of the past morphing into dreams for the future.

Lucy had not expected to be woken by knocks on her door in the middle of the night. She was doubly surprised when she opened her door to see Jericho standing there. She was immediately put on guard, his reputation lingering in the back of her mind. As if knowing what she was thinking, he put his hands up in front of his body.

"We need you down at the Clinic. It's John." That was all he had to say.

"Shit," she replied to no one in particular. She slammed her door in Jericho's face, before hurriedly throwing on clothes. She rushed back to the door, opening it to find Jericho standing in the same spot she had left him.

"Let's go," she said, marching past him and toward the clinic. Lucy was surprised to see Lucas Simms standing by the crater with Doc Church and a man she didn't recognize; doubly so to see John lying languidly in the pool of water around the bomb. He looks beat to shit. Black eyes, nose that looked to have been freshly set, swollen cheeks.

"What the fuck happened?" she asked no one in particular.

"Fight at Rivet City, from what I gathered," Doc Church replied. She felt her temper flare at that.

"God dammit, John! You promised me no fights!"

"Didn't start it," he croaked back; the Geiger counter on the Pip-Boy in his lap steadily beeping away. The man Lucy didn't know spoke up.

"He really didn't, miss. By the way, I don't suppose you guys need a barber?" John broke out laughing at that, the laughter quickly becoming pained coughs. That doesn't sound good.

"Why are you lying in that water?" she asked him. "It's radiated to hell."

"Trust me," he mumbled back. Doc Church sighed at that.

"He says that each time we ask him. I thought maybe he was delirious." As if responding to that, they heard John splash out of the water, Pip-Boy extended to Butch.

"That's all I need," he said. "This might not be pleasant to watch." He gritted his teeth in pain. Lucy thought at first she was seeing thing, before realizing that the swelling in his face truly was going down. Scanning the rest of him, she saw the black eyes fading, the nose healing before their eyes.

"What the fuck," Doc Church whispered; voicing the shock they all felt.

"Go get some Rad-Away, Doc," John said in reply. The doctor stood frozen in place, too engrossed to immediately move, before processing the request and running inside the clinic. By the time he returned the injuries to John's face had all but disappeared, leaving him clutching his side as the ribs knitted themselves back together. Silently Doc Church handed the Rad-Away to John, watching him the entire time. Another minute passed before the look of pain subsided. He popped the Rad-Away in his mouth before rising to his feet. Lucy only then realized he had stripped down to his boxer-briefs. It took John a moment to realize that they were all staring at him.

"What?" he asked, semi-innocently. There was a pause before Doc Church responded.

"Kid, I've seen some shit in my day. But what the fuck was that? Self-healing? Is that why you're indestructible?" John laughed.

"Ask Moira. I'm not indestructible, either." He turned to Lucy. "Sorry they woke you up. Want to come back to my place?" She sighed in frustration. She really shouldn't reward his misbehavior, but at the same time, it gave her an extra night on top of the week she had set.

"Alright," she replied, nodding at him. He flashed a smile at her. The other men just stared.

"Lucas, my friend Butch here is going to stay in the common room tonight. Doc, thanks for your help. I need to go crash now," he said, before taking Lucy by the hand and leading her back to his house. The four other men stared after him.

"That is not the JJ I grew up with," Butch said. "And who's the broad?"

"That's Lucy West, his…friend," Lucas replied, as Jericho snickered in the background, muttering something about a piece of ass as he left for his house. "You want to tell me what happened, Mr…"

"DeLoria. Butch DeLoria. And trouble with the Brotherhood happened." Lucas sighed.

"That young man really needs to figure his shit out," Lucas replied. "Or his grudges will be trouble for us all."

Elder Lyons woke before dawn, as was his custom. He found in his old age that he needed less sleep. Putting on his robes, he stepped into the hall outside his chambers to find his old friend, Reginald Rothchild, waiting for him. That was unusual.

"Owyn. You should get to the infirmary. There's been an…incident." That got the Elder's attention. With the drastic decrease in violence throughout the Wasteland, any incident that warranted being reported to the Elder in the early morning was a cause for concern.

"What sort of incident?" he asked guardedly as them made their way to the infirmary.

"Something at Rivet City. I only caught snippets of it," Rothchild replied. Lyons' stomach twisted at that.

"Sarah…"

"Is unharmed, Owyn. I don't know much else," Rothchild said, cutting Lyons off. They made the rest of the trip to the infirmary in silence, Lyons' mind turning over as they did. The two men entered the infirmary, Lyons staring in shock at the sight before him. On the far side of the room, McPherson lay on a table, being held down by Kodiak and Glade as the medics attempted to work on him.

"Just give him Med-X!" Sarah screamed at them, eyes watery. Owyn's heart dropped for his daughter. Her relationship with McPherson was a secret from no one, and contrary to what she may have thought, he had no problem with it. McPherson was from an old Brotherhood family; his parents had been proud members who had traveled east with him, and he felt certain that the elder McPherson sibling, Emily, would be a Paladin back in California by now. Owyn Lyons looked at his daughter, standing next to a seated Knight Dusk, who had scratch marks covering her face.

"Sarah, what happened?" he asked her in a gentle voice.

"The Lone fucking Wandered happened, Elder." Owyn's nostrils flared in anger at her response. That man.

"Tell me what happened. All of it," he commanded her. She nodded.

"We went to Rivet City to get drinks last night. There was a group from Vault 101 there, and he was with them. It was quiet for a while, until Dusk noticed him," she continued, gesturing to the woman next to her. The Elder sighed. Dusk was not the most diplomatic of women. "Anyway, he had been drinking, and we had been drinking, and there was some shit talking. It was about to end, but then Liam heard one of the Vaulties call him JJ, and laughed. It went to hell from there," she finished.

"That doesn't explain why one of my knights has multiple medics attending to him."

"They fought. Liam had him down but John managed to turn it around and got a dominant position," she replied. Dusk smirked.

"I clubbed him over the head with a bottle, for what it's worth," she said. Kodiak spoke up from where he stood.

"Pretty sure I broke a couple of his ribs, too," he called out, attention still on McPherson.

"Was it worth it?" the Elder asked, exasperation in his voice.

"He insulted the Brotherhood. He called us a taxi service, said that his super-mutant friend did more in nine months than we did in 20 years. Said we were never better than him at anything," Sarah replied. Anger flashed through the Elder's normally calm mind.

"The arrogance of that boy is boundless," he replied, cold fury in his voice. He turned to Rothchild.

"When is the next water caravan due to go to Megaton?" he asked.

"About two weeks, I believe. Why?" he asked, concern in his voice.

"Put a larger guard on it. I want that man brought in. He will answer for this," Owyn said. Sarah immediately spoke up.

"Elder, I request that the Lyons Pride be given the honor. It's our man he assaulted," she said. Owyn looked at his daughter with pride. There was a hard ferocity in her eyes.

"Granted, Sentinel." Rothchild couldn't contain himself any longer.

"Elder, is this wise? He still commands a great deal of respect…"

"He is a chem and alcohol addled boy-"

"Yes, one that just severely injured one of the best fighters in our chapter. Owyn, this is…"

"I've given the command, Reginald. Send word to Three-Dog. Tell him to stop airing those ridiculous radio programs. The Wasteland needs to see him for what he is-an ordinary man. The Lone Wanderer is not needed anymore. The Wasteland has us," he finished, before taking his leave from the infirmary. Rothchild watched him leave. This won't end well, he thought.

John woke much later than normal, head throbbing. Yup, definitely a concussion. Apparently the mutation doesn't work for brain injuries. Lucy wasn't in bed. She must have already woken. Staggering from bed, he resisted the impulse to immediately inject Med-X. He didn't want to risk it with a concussion. He instead limped downstairs to find Lucy with the radio on, eating a bowl of Sugar Bombs. She looked up and smiled at him.

"There you are. Was beginning to worry."

"My head is throbbing. How're you?"

"Fine," she replied. "Three-Dog reported on your fight. He's already trying to turn people against you. Also, you apparently got your ass kicked," she continued, giving him an appraising eye. "Which is odd, because I don't see any injuries," she continued, smiling. John sighed and sat in the other chair at the table. He really didn't want to talk about his mutation. Time to change the subject.

"So…one week. What'd you want to do?"

"Besides you?" she asked, smiling. The smile faded quickly. "You know, I don't think we've ever traveled together. And I can't think of a better guide than you. So why don't we go somewhere?" John thought for a moment before nodding.

"Ok. Go ahead and get your stuff together and we'll set off," he replied, catching her off guard.

"Right now?" she asked, mildly incredulous.

"No time like the present," he replied, leaning in to kiss her. She giggled.

"Why don't we take care of some…business here first?" she asked, kissing him back. He laughed before picking her up and carrying her upstairs, ignoring the shooting pain in his knee. Once there, they started their attempt to make the week count.

Emily woke up, light streaming through the window of the place Achilles rented in Shady Sands. It was a reasonably comfortable apartment. Their first date, earlier that week, had gone well enough to warrant a second. And a third. And the third had been good enough to warrant sex. Emily had almost forgotten how enjoyable that could be. She had wound up spending most nights that week at his place. She was intrigued by this man. He was friendly, seemingly kind hearted; but there was an air of mystery too. As if there was something in his past he was running from. He was always vague about his upbringing. Emily figured she didn't have much of a right to complain about that. She hadn't exactly been forthcoming about her background with the Brotherhood. She climbed out of bed and went towards the sounds, and smells, coming from the kitchen. She walked in to find Achilles standing over the stove shirtless, frying something. He turned to greet her, smiling. He looks even better with his shirt off. He was lithe but muscular, solid without being bulky. Must be from all the walking he does.

"Want breakfast?" he asked.

"Sure," she replied, kissing his back before going to sit at the table. He joined her as soon as the food was done, tearing into his like a starving man. She had worked him hard the night before…

"You have to go back to the Mojave tomorrow?" she asked. He nodded as he swallowed what was in his mouth before responding.

"Yeah. Should be gone maybe two or three weeks before I get back." She tried to hide her disappointment at that. She was enjoying the time she spent with him.

"Sounds good," she said, before silently finishing her food. She had to remind herself not to get attached. Especially not to someone who wandered around like he did. For all she knew, he had a girl in every city. And she had her work to focus on. She had managed to bury her frustration, but the Capital Wasteland was still nagging at the back of her mind. All she could do, though, was bide her time and hope something would happen to change her friends in the Followers' minds.