Amata and I spend a very uneventful day avoiding each other's gazes bashfully, instead passing the time talking to the rebels. I learn mostly things I already knew about the rebellion, though I hear someone talking about Mr. Brotch. He had never struck me as too taken by the Overseer, and I wonder why he isn't hiding out with the rebels.

"Hey Susie," I ask, catching her arm as she walks past me, "what happened to Mr. Brotch?"

She looks at me strangely as though I'm both a freak of nature and asking to most stupid question known to man. "He's in the jail," she answers, her eyes going past me to where Butch is standing guard.

I frown concernedly and excuse myself, slipping into the office and grabbing a Stealth boy from my bag. Mr. Brotch had always been a friend of my dad's, and he helped me cheat on the G.O.A.T., so freeing him feels like the least I could do.

I pause thoughtfully before sliding my boots off, knowing that sneaking around will be much easier in bare feet. Boots tucked safely out of the way, I hook the Stealth boy on my wrist and activate it. A glance down at my now-invisible hand assures me that it's working and I go ahead and walk out of the office.

Seeing Amata standing and glancing around gives me a strong urge to go mess with her, play with her hair, or something just to freak her out. I can't resist and sneak over behind her, gently blowing on the back of her neck. Amata lets out a little gasp and turns around, looking adorably confused.

I grin in spite of myself, leaning over and kissing her cheek lightly. "Be back soon," I whisper in her ear, watching as even more confusion floods her face, then a blush darkens her cheeks as a secret, shy smile appears on her face.

I smile again and sneak away, heading off to the jail.

Upon arriving and glancing in the window, I can see Mr. Brotch in his cell, with a security officer in the room between me and my old teacher.

The officer presents a problem for me. I have to either figure out a way to distract him long enough to break into Mr. Brotch's cell or end up in a fight, probably killing him. I'd prefer the former, but I'm not sure how to pull it off. The best course of action will be the wait it out. Maybe the guard will need a bathroom break soon.

A few minutes into that plan, a flaw occurs to me. The battery in the Stealth boy will run out if I wait too long. I make a face, fingering my gun regretfully. The only thing I'll have to worry about if I end up killing this guard is Amata and the rebels' reactions.

It crosses my mind how convenient it would be for the guard to fall asleep or something, and I roll my eyes. I'm not that lucky. I'd have to drug him to knock him out.

A second later I want to smack myself. Drugging the guard is the perfect plan. I scurry back to the clinic, turning off my Stealth boy to conserve the battery. I head straight into the office, going for my father's old supply locker. Unused braces and wraps fall out on top of me, and I swear, rummaging around in the mess, praying that there will still be some sedative syringes.

"Ha!" I crow when I see the wonderful little shots, grabbing a few and running back out.

Amata gives me a strange look as I dart through the clinic, smiling and shaking her head when I grin and wave.

I pause for breath at the atrium stairs, reactivating my Stealth boy and making my way back to security. It makes me a little uneasy being so close to the Overseer's office, but I ignore that as best I can, getting a syringe ready. I'll have to inject the medicine quickly, especially since I've got to open the door. There's no way I won't catch the guard's attention with that.

I take a deep breath before moving toward the door switch. With a quick tap of my hand, it hisses open.

"What the..." The guard's chair creaks as he gets to his feet and comes toward the door. He steps out into the hallway, looking around. I seize my opportunity and jab the needle into his thigh, injecting all the medicine as quickly as I can and withdrawing the needle before he can lurch away and snap it off in his leg.

He lets out a little yelp of pain and takes a wild swing in my direction, his baton connecting with my shoulder. I bite back a yelp of my own and watch as he passes out and drops like a rock.

I grab the syringe between my teeth, hooking my arms underneath the guard's and dragging him back into the security office. It takes almost more strength than I have to get the guard off the floor and onto his cot. Once I'm sure he's safely on the bed, I take the syringe out of my mouth and toss it into the nearby trashcan.

A glance at the cell window reveals a confused, somewhat alarmed-looking Mr. Brotch. I grin at him before remembering to turn off my Stealth boy.

When I come into view, Mr. Brotch looks stunned, then cracks a smile.

I lean over the guard and rummage through his pockets, looking for a key of some sort to open the cell. I find a keycard in a pocket inside his armored vest, cheering silently and using it to unlock Mr. Brotch's cell.

"I don't know how you managed it, kid," he says as he walks out of the small room, "but thanks."

I grin. "Anything for my favorite teacher. I guess you didn't manage to escape with the rest of the rebels?"

He flashes me a dry smile. "Figured out I wasn't a loyal Overseer supporter, huh? Yeah, they all made it off to your dad's old clinic. I wasn't so fast."

I'm all ready to head back to the clinic with my teacher in tow when I realize that I have no good way to sneak him back. I only had the one Stealth boy and I'm definitely dead meat if I get spotted.

Mr. Brotch apparently has a plan, as he's gone over to the supply lockers and is pulling out a security uniform. After donning the armored vest and a helmet, he looks over at me. "Shall we?"

I nod, my cheeks heating with an embarrassed blush. Why didn't I think of that? I try to console myself by reminding myself that I hadn't planned this in advance. Shaking the thought out of my head, I activate my Stealth boy.

Soon, we're heading away from the security office, and I'm confident that the pseudo-security uniform will keep people from asking questions.

As we near the clinic, I catch Mr. Brotch's arm. "They might attack you if they think you're a guard."

He nods. "Way ahead of you, kiddo." He begins shedding his disguise as we near the first few overturned lockers that signal the beginning of Butch's barricade. My teacher stops and stashes the costume in one of the lockers, grinning in what he assumes is my direction.

Just then, the battery in my Stealth boy runs dry and I flicker into view. A sort of giddy excitement beings to flare up in the pit of my stomach. I'd managed to rescue him without making a near-fatal mistake, a rare feat for me.

We walk into the clinic together, and I announce our presence. "Look who I found, guys!"

There's a confused, surprised silence as all eyes turn on us, and then a few whoops. I'm surprised by that; I was one of the only students in a long time to actually like Mr. Brotch. Everyone else resented him for one reason or another. I guess having an adult on their side balance things out.

People start asking him questions, and I tune the conversation out, searching the room for Amata. I find her standing back near the office, smiling proudly at me. I return the smile, stepping through the throng of people and going over to her.

"Nice job," she tells me. "We'd kind of forgotten about him in the thick of things."

I nod, leaning against the wall beside her. "I wondered. Hopefully having him around will help boost morale or something."

She nods back, glancing at the crowd and chewing on her lip thoughtfully. After a moment, she tugs at my arm. "C'mon."

I follow her into the office, my mind heading straight for the gutter when she closes the door behind us. She sees the look on my face and gives me a dry look.

"Keep it in your pants," she mutters, stepping over to me and wrapping her arms around me. "I missed you."

I smirk while returning her hug. "I was gone for all of twenty minutes, 'Mata."

She pushes me away playfully and swats at me. "Yeah, well. I missed you anyway. I was craving a hug."

I strike a dramatic pose. "And yet you push me away! I just can't believe it!" I stagger backward and collapse on the cot. It creaks dangerously under the sudden burden of my weight, and I thank my lucky stars when it holds.

Amata groans, coming and sitting on the edge of the cot beside me. "You're so corny."

"You've never complained," I retort, grinning at her as I stretch out.

She grins, caught, and lays down beside me, cuddling into my side.

We're both quiet, relaxing and settling into an innocent embrace.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" she asks quietly, snuggling a little closer to me.

"Of course." I wrap my arm around her a little tighter, smiling to myself. I never mind her questions, and her last important one got us here, so I'm definitely not going to refuse it.

"Did you have to fight anyone to get Mr. Brotch free?" she asks after a moment.

"Nah, not really. There was a guard, but I just shot a sedative in his leg and he passed out. That was it." I smile, pleased with the peaceful solution.

"Good." She seems to hesitate, playing a few loose threads on my shirt absently. "So, um... a while back... When you said 'kill or be killed'... does that... I mean..."

I purse my lips, instantly feeling slightly trapped by the question. "Yeah," I answer finally. "I've killed some people."

Amata's silent, and when she finds her voice again a moment later, it's lost some of its warmth. "How many?"

I cringe. "I... don't know." I can almost feel her crushing disappointment in me pressing down on my chest.

"Oh," is all she says.

A sigh escapes me. "Look, 'Mata, I had to. It was that or get shot in the face as I tried to reason with people. The... the way of life, the culture, that's the way it is up there. You have to defend yourself to the death if you want to make it."

She shifts in my arms, echoing my sigh. "I know. I just... I can't imagine killing someone."

"I only do what's absolutely necessary," I assure her. "It's not like I'm going around saying 'oh, dude, I like your hat' and shooting him for it."

I'm rewarded with a little half-chuckle before she sighs again.

"Let's just... forget about it," she murmurs, sounding tired.

"All right." As I let her snuggle back against me hesitantly, I can't help but wonder if forgetting about it will just be an impossible dream. I can't shake the feeling that the conversation will come back to haunt me.

The rest of the day passes relatively quickly, with Mr. Brotch providing the main entertainment with stories from the "other side."

Whatever tension there had been between Amata and me after our discussion during our cuddle session seems to have dissipated and I keep catching her staring at me. We're both constantly fighting blushes all evening.

Finally, dinner time rolls around, and soon enough, it's bed time. Amata and I still aren't super talkative, but we meander to the office when it's time for bed, getting ready and sliding into our separate beds.

"Good night," I murmur from my pad on the floor, listening to the quiet sounds of the Vault and Amata's breathing.

A few seconds of silence pass, and I hear Amata shift and the cot creak as she sits up. "Hey," she calls softly.

"What?" I roll over to face her and prop myself up on my elbow, listening for her response.

"I'm ready," she answers quietly.

My heart stops and then starts up again, quickening its pace. "Ready?" I echo, wondering if I'm just jumping to conclusions.

I hear her slip out of her bed and move across the floor toward me. Her fingertips ghost across the blanket, searching for me. She finds my face a moment later, cradling it between her hands. Then she kisses me softly.

"Yes, ready," she repeats, resting her forehead against mine. "I thought about what you said last night, about taking things when you can, and how stupid I felt to push away the chance to get what I've been dreaming about for years. I thought I'd lost my chance when you left, and now you're here and I just..." She kisses me again, her hands leaving my face and fisting in my shirt. "I'm ready."

I grin in spite of myself, my insides buzzing nervously. "Quite the speech there, 'Mata," I mumble, sitting up a little better and curling an arm around her. She buries her face in my shoulder, and I can imagine her blush. "Just one thing, though."

She pulls away, and I can feel her looking at me in the dark, waiting for me to say something.

"Don't do this out of guilt or because of me wanting it." I swallow, having thought through this last night as much as Amata must have thought about her little monologue. "I only want this if you want it. I'm not going to force you into something you're not comfortable with because I'm not satisfied."

Amata seems to hesitate for a moment, thinking over her reasoning. A second later, she pulls herself close to me and finds my lips with hers once again. "I want it," she murmurs decisively. "Just... now, before I lose my nerve."

My insides clench nervously, but I can't stop a smile from forming on my face. I hold her to me gently, my hands slipping under her pajama top and brushing against her stomach. She tenses and I stop my hands from going farther.

"Sorry," she says instantly. "I'm just nervous. I've, um... I've never done this before."

I blush in the darkness; I hadn't even thought about being her first. "Me neither," I admit, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "We can stop if you'd like."

"No way," she retorts. "Believe me, I feel like I'm on fire down, um... down there. It's just nerve-racking."

A grin breaks out on my face at her awkward phrasing; I feel the same way. "Do you trust me?" I ask softly.

"Of course," comes her whispered reply.

"I've never done anything like this, either. I'm not sure what to do, but I promise I won't do anything to make you uncomfortable or hurt you. I'm going to take care of you and love you, just like I always have. Can you trust me on that?"

She relaxes a little in my arms and answers me with a kiss and a barely audible "yes."

We fall back onto my bed, hands wandering. Soon our actions are conveying our feelings better than words ever could. Little gasps and stifled moans fill the air, and when we reach our highs, we gasp out each other's names.

Afterward, we curl up in each other's arms, sated and happy.

"I love you," she whispers, making my heart soar.

I kiss her warmly. "I love you, too."

After a while, I hear her snoring softly, and a smile grows on my face. I can't believe what's just happened is real, though I know it is. I press a gentle kiss to her forehead, pulling her a little closer to me. I drift off to sleep soon after, feeling like the luckiest girl in the wasteland.