"Come with me, child." The old ghoul with the wide brimmed hat coaxed. "You're safe now." Tatum cautiously crawled out from her hiding place and took the ghoul's hand. It was like touching a hand that had been soaked in water too long, but was completely dry.

"Isn't she beautiful?" The female ghoul gasped as she looked at Tatum. "What are you doing all by yourself?"

"I don't have anyone else." She replied to the woman. "Raiders killed my dad and I've been alone since."

"Well not anymore." The man said with a wide smile. It was infectious as the ghoul woman smiled too. Tatum followed suit and tears poured over her cheeks. For the first time in several years, she was home. Her new family didn't look like other people's families but that made them even better. They were unique, and all her's.

At 6:30 AM Elder Maxson stormed his way through the Prydwen, straight to Tatum's bed. He reached out to rip the sheet from her body but froze mid-grab. He watched as she sniffled, a tear dropping to her pillow. He didn't move an inch as he watched the sleeping girl, his body still bent forward and his hand still firmly grasping the sheet. He had seen this before, in himself.

The day after his first night at the Citadel, he woke to find that he had been crying in his sleep. He remembered the dream he had been having, even to this day. He was at home with both his parents. His father wasn't dead, he was sitting in the living room reading the newspaper and his mother hadn't given him away, she was humming happily in the kitchen as she prepared dinner and little Arthur Maxson was playing with a Nuka Cola truck on the floor in front of his father.

A cold sensation, like ice water running down his back, made him release the bedsheet and stand up straight. The anger he had felt as he came to find why his newest headache was thirty minutes late, had completely vanished. He stood, watching the tears fall from her eyes, unsure of what to do.

We're already behind schedule. He scolded himself and backhanded her foot. She awoke with a start and, upon seeing Maxson standing at her bedside, she scowled.

"What do you want?" She asked angrily.

"I wanted to know why you didn't show up at the arranged time. But now I see." He glared back at her, tired of her bullshit.

"What?!" She looked at her clock, it was frozen at 4:26 AM. "Damn it!" She grabbed the clock and threw it across the ship. Quick as a snake, Maxson grabbed her by the front of the shirt and lifted her off the bed, bringing her face close to his.

"Do NOT disrespect Brotherhood property. Did you even look before you threw that? No, you didn't. You could've hit someone. This may come as a surprise to you, but there are other people in this world, it doesn't revolve around you." He violently released her and she fell back on to the bed. "Now put your fucking suit on and get your ass moving!" His voice echoed through the ship and everyone knew to steer clear as he made his way back to the meeting room.

Tatum scrambled out of bed and immediately started taking off her clothes, so was so afraid that Maxson might kill her that she didn't care if anyone was around to see her naked. She slid the suit on and zipped it up. It was light weight but felt tough, like she could take a bullet and not even notice. However she still wasn't in any hurry to test that theory.

She rushed to the meeting room, not meeting anyone's eyes as she ran and fixed her hair into a ponytail. When she arrived there were several other people in the room with Elder Maxson. She recognized the scribe woman from before and Paladin Danse was there too. He still didn't look happy to see her.

"Elder." Danse said in a gruff voice. Maxson turned his attention to the paladin and Danse pointed towards Tatum. "We're all here." He sounded as if he hated that she was included in their group. The feeling was mutual.

"Good. Brothers! Sisters!" Maxson raised his voice slightly and silenced the group. "You know our mission," Everyone nodded except Tatum who had no clue as to what was happening. "I don't want any heroics." As he said this he looked directly at Paladin Danse. "I am going to accompany you on this mission but do not make any unnecessary actions." Again it seemed he was speaking to Danse. The Paladin glared at Tatum the moment Maxson looked away from him. "Move out."

Mission? Tatum's mind raced to keep up with the conversation. Everyone made their way to the vertibirds and Tatum followed along. Elder Maxson fell in step with her.

"What's going on?" She looked directly at Maxson. "Where are we going?"

"We have found an old Vault that may have valuable prewar tech. We are going to retrieve it."

"And that includes me?"

"Yes. This mission is part of your new job." He shot her a sideways glance. "I'm sure you can handle it."

His tone didn't sound sarcastic but she knew it was. Whatever they were about to do would be awful. Her stomach knotted up and she felt like vomiting. A strong wind blew the moment they stepped outside and the walkway swayed. Maxson latched on to her upper arm and pulled her, forcing her to advance. Two vertibirds were filled with Brotherhood soldiers and scribes. Maxson pulled Tatum on to the same bird he would be riding. She took a seat and buckled herself in, Maxson sitting beside her did the same.

After a moment the vertibird took flight and they glided through the air. Tatum couldn't stop the terrifying thoughts that kept playing in her head. She needed a distraction.

"Elder Maxson." She said just loud enough for him to hear, but the vertibird drowned the sound out for everyone else. "What are those big metal things?" She pointed to Paladin Danse's metal suit. Maxson leaned in towards her, their heads only inches apart.

"It's called power armor. It was actually around before the bombs fell."

"Really?" She didn't know that. In fact, she was realizing, there was a lot of things she didn't know.

"Yes. The suits were worn by the United States army during the Great War. They help protect against bullets, energy weapons and radiation."

"They're cool." She said and she meant it. Maxson turned his head and looked at her. Their eyes met. Tatum gave up the staring contest first. "So… uh…" She tried to think of a new topic, feeling nervous that he was so close to her. "This mission. Am I going to actually be doing anything?"

"You are going to stay very close to me. Do not leave my side for any reason unless I tell you to. Is that understood?"

"Yes sir." She nodded seriously. The commonwealth was a dangerous place and she didn't really want to be alone. As much as she hated being with the Brotherhood, being alone was worse.

"My men have already scouted out the location, there shouldn't be any real danger. However," He leaned in a little closer and Tatum could feel his breath on the side of her face. "They were unsuccessful at entering the vault. The console on the outside was broken beyond repair. But they did locate a small hole. That's where you come in."

"Me?"

"You will be crawling in to that hole."

"But you just said that I'm supposed to stay by your side." Her palms started to sweat and she felt a chill run through her. "What if there are... things in there!?" She could barely hide the panic in her voice.

"That will be the only time you will leave my side. And if there are enemies inside, we will pull you back through the hole, faster than you can blink. I give you my word that I will protect you."

"Alright." Tatum was sure that Elder Maxson did not give his word lightly. It did make her feel a little better, but the knot in her stomach wasn't going away.

Tatum spent the rest of the trip in silence. On occasion one of the Brotherhood soldiers would strike up a conversation with another, but nothing of importance was said. When the two birds finally touched down at their location, the soldiers hopped off and started to secure the area. Maxson helped Tatum off the bird and on to the ground. Her head spun and she grabbed on to his forearms with both hands.

"Little dizzy." She said quietly and hoped no one was looking.

"Take deep, slow breaths and keep your head up. Looking at the ground will make it worse." Tatum nodded slightly and raised her head. Their eyes met again, but she didn't look away this time. There was a softness in his eyes that she hadn't seen before.

"Elder." One of the knights called. Maxson nodded to him then looked back at Tatum, she was pale.

"Scribe Haylen." Elder Maxson called to the female scribe that had been present when Tatum's family had been murdered. She came over and immediately took Maxson's place. He gave her a nod before leaving and joining the other members.

"Vertibird Vertigo?" She asked.

"What?" Tatum didn't love the idea that she was now leaning on the scribe instead of Maxson. Especially since she was with the group that killed her family.

"It's pretty common amongst the new recruits. But it does go away. Not for everyone though..." She added thoughtfully. "Some people never get over it. They're the ones that are usually stuck in some research lab or something." Haylen explained happily.

"Why am I really here? Is it punishment?" Tatum asked quietly.

"I'm not sure about punishment, but we need someone small enough to fit through the hole so that we can gain access to the vault." She said as she checked Tatum's eyes.

"I'm alright now." Tatum said as she pushed away from the scribe. Haylen looked like she was about to object but remained silent.

After a few more minutes the group began their journey in to a cave. Paladin Danse and a knight in power armor led the exploration. Soldiers, in similar uniforms to Tatum's, were in two rows behind Danse and the knight. Another two knights in power armor were in the back while the scribes were clustered in the center with Maxson and Tatum in the very middle.

The cave was pitch black, the only lights were from the headlights on the power armor helmets and the occasional glowing fungus. There didn't feel like there was any kind of air flow and the only sounds were the heavy stomps from the metal armor, everyone's breathing, and Tatum's rapid heartbeat. She clutched the suit above her chest and hoped that her heart would slow down. A bead of sweat dripped from her hairline down the side of her face.

Maxson, to the right of Tatum, looked as calm as can be. Relax. He said they already scoped the area and nothing was here. She repeated this over and over in her head. There's nothing here.

After several minutes of walking, nothing had happened. No hidden mole rats, no sneaking raiders, nothing. Finally Tatum's heartbeat started to slow to a normal rhythm. Until they reached the large vault door, then her heart gave an excited leap. She had never been to a vault. The circular mechanism had the numbers: 117 painted on it in yellow. Next to the security door was what looked like a stand for some kind of computer terminal. Except this terminal had been smashed to pieces and the cables cut.

"It's time for you to do your job." Maxson looked at Tatum expectantly. She nodded and tried to swallow the ever-growing lump in her throat. She stepped forward and examined the small hole behind the smashed computer. It did look like she could fit inside, but only barely. "Take this." Maxson held out a modified 9mm pistol that had a light attached to the top. "Be careful with it. We're trusting you."

"And I'm trusting you." She reminded him that he had given his word that she would be safe. He nodded and gave her a gentle push towards the hole. With a deep breath she got to her knees and flicked on the light on top of the pistol.

Please nothing jump at me. Please. She silently begged as she peered inside the hole. She took a couple looks around before crawling inside. She squeezed through the four-foot-long hole and quickly got to her feet.

"Tatum, can you hear me?" Maxson asked from the other side.

"Yes." She answered, her voice trembling.

"What do you see?"

"Um… there's lots of strange computer things."

"Any of them that look like they may be attached to the door?" She looked around and saw one that stood out. It wasn't against the walls like the rest, instead it was out in the middle and facing her and the door.

"Yes, I see one."

"Does it have power?" Maxson was crouched next to the hole, listening intensely. Tatum quietly walked towards the computer. She looked at the screen, it was blank. She pressed a couple buttons but nothing happened.

"No, it's dead!" She yelled towards the hole.

"Damn it." Maxson muttered under his breath. "Can we blow it?" He asked looking at the nearest knight.

"Its four feet of solid concrete…" the knight said as he scratched his head. "I mean, we could, but it would take a while. And probably attract everything in a 50 mile radius." Maxson shook his head.

"Tatum, come back." He called through the hole. He didn't have to tell her twice. Inside the vault was eerily quiet and it wasn't doing her nerves any favors.

She hastily made her way back towards the hole, not paying attention to where she was stepping. The sound of something being crushed echoed through the vault. She looked down at her feet, a large egg shell was splintered and cracked where she had stepped on it.

"Tatum?" Maxson called again.

"There's eggs!" She cried. "There are eggs in here and I just stepped on one!" She stood frozen in place, terror spreading through her body as she looked down at the huge brown egg.

"Tatum! Get out of there, now!" Maxson pounded against the wall. "Hurry!" Everyone looked around at each other, and immediately put up their guard. They didn't know what kind of eggs were in there but they were certain it wasn't a bird's.

The sound of Maxson's voice calling for her, worried, brought her back to her senses. She stepped backwards, away from the eggs. A strong, hot gust of air blew on the top of her head followed by a low growl.

"Tatum!" Maxson yelled again. The giant reptile with horns longer than its head and teeth bigger than Tatum's hand let out a mighty roar. She shrieked and covered her ears, ducking forward to escape the beast. Maxson's heart leapt out of his chest. "Deathclaw…" He barely breathed the word but the entire crew felt the weight of the situation.

"Tatum!" Haylen screamed. "Oh God! Get out of there!" She ran up next to Maxson and pounded the wall.

"Stop!" Maxson grabbed her arms. "Quiet." He held a finger to his lips and lowered himself so he could listen through the hole.

Tatum screamed and fell over as the drooling monster reached for her. She landed on her butt, next to the nest. The Deathclaw froze, not wanting to risk hurting its babies. Tatum and the Deathclaw stared at each other, neither one moving.

Please let it end quickly. She prayed as a second, larger, Deathclaw approached. The two beasts growled to each other before the bigger one turned and stalked to its right. Tatum didn't dare turn her head but she followed it's movements with her eyes. It let out an angry roar before charging at the wall of the cave, all rock, not concrete like the rest of the room. She tried to scream but her voice wouldn't work.

Rocks went flying as the Deathclaw broke through the cave wall. The Brotherhood scrambled to action. Laser shots filled the cave and the field scribes rushed to help those crushed by the rocks. Maxson sprang to his feet and dove between the Deathclaw's legs. In one swift movement he dove, rolled to his feet and sprinted towards Tatum. He breathed a quick sigh of relief to see she was still alive and unharmed.

The Deathclaw that had been watching Tatum growled menacingly at Maxson, daring him to come any closer. The young Elder took a deep breath, he had done this before. With a mighty roar from both Maxson and the Deathclaw, the two charged each other.

The Deathclaw ran forward until it was only a couple feet away from its target. It pounced with both arms spread wide. Maxson seemed to be expecting the attack because he knew exactly how to dodge it. With a quick spin he avoided the enormous claws and maneuvered out of the creature's path. Maxson didn't stop moving for even a second. He bolted towards Tatum and pulled her roughly to her feet.

"Get out of here!" He shoved her hard and she stumbled towards the hole that she had used to get in to the vault. She dropped to her knees and frantically crawled through but stopped when her head hit a rock that was blocking her escape. She cursed and rubbed her head, she didn't feel any blood.

Unsure of what to do, Tatum laid on her stomach and massaged her aching head. She could hear the screams and cries of the Brotherhood, she could hear the Deathclaws and their ground shaking roars, but she could not hear Elder Maxson. She tried to focus her hearing on the Deathclaw that was behind her. It still sounded angry, which had to be a good sign that Maxson was still alive.

"Damn it!" She kicked her legs in frustration. What should I do? Should I just wait? But what if it collapses? She grit her teeth and pushed herself back through the hole, feet first. She sat on her knees and looked over her shoulder at Maxson. The look in his eyes was terrifying, his concentration was unshakeable. His normally slicked back hair was hanging in all directions as he held his ground, shooting at the overgrown reptile with a laser pistol. The light on the gun that he had given her was still on and shining towards the middle of the room. A thick red, almost black, puddle covered the floor around Maxson and the monster.

He's hurt. It felt like a bucket of ice was poured on Tatum's head as more blood leaked from Maxson's body as he fought against the beast. He's going to die. Tears welled up in her eyes as she watched the man who had risked his life to save her get thrown across the room by a powerful backhanded smack.

"No!" She screamed when his body hit the wall and landed on the ground, unmoving. Her sudden outburst caught the Deathclaw's attention. It looked towards Tatum once before looking back to see that Maxson wasn't going to attack anymore. Maxson didn't move and the Deathclaw approached Tatum as she screamed and tried her best to run from it but she barely even get to her feet before the beast was upon her. She closed her eyes tight and pressed her back against the wall.

She felt a large mass against her body, hitting her hard enough to knock the wind out of her. A guttural cry escaped Maxson's mouth as the Deathclaw's tooth embedded itself in his arm, just below the elbow. Tatum's eyes snapped open and she grabbed on to Maxson's body as he pulled his arm, Deathclaw tooth and all, out of the beast's mouth. In his hand was a blood covered army knife that had just been shoved through the monster's brain. The Deathclaw's eyes rolled up in to its head just before one last hot breath escaped the creature's mouth. It collapsed in front of them and Maxson did the same. Tatum held on to him with all her strength as all of his strength left him. The two of them slowly fell to the hard floor.

"Please don't die!" She sobbed, tears falling on Maxson's face, where she cradled him in her lap.

"I'm fine." He told her but his voice was weak and his face was pale.

"Help!" She screamed between sobs. "Elder Maxson is hurt! Help! Please!" She clung to him and wiped his hair out of his eyes. "You can't die."

"I won't." He promised with a cough. He licked his dry lips and they turned a bright red.

"You're all I have left." The words spilled from her mouth as she shook her head defiantly. "You can't die." Maxson looked up at the girl that was holding him like the world would end if she let go. Her hazel eyes were bloodshot from crying and speckles of his blood were decorating her face. The only warmth he felt was not from his own body, but from hers.

"I…" He swallowed hard, determined to get the words out. "-Kept my promise." He had sworn to protect her and that's exactly what he did. His hand fell off of his stomach where he had been applying pressure to his wounds. Tatum watched in horror as it hit the ground with a deafening thump. His eyes were locked on to Tatum's face, until they closed and his world went black.

"Help!" She screamed again. "No. No!" She leaned forward and embraced Maxson's body as Scribe Haylen sprinted over.

"Get off of him!" She commanded but Tatum couldn't hear her. After all the fighting Maxson and Tatum did, none of it mattered. He had still sacrificed himself to save her. Haylen roughly shoved Tatum's shoulder. "Get off!"

"He's dead." Tatum sat up straight, feeling hollow. "He's dead."

Scribe Haylen pressed her fingers against his throat. "No. No he isn't!" The look on her face mirrored the joy that was in Tatum's heart. Haylen got to work immediately, throwing her medic bag to the ground and unzipping it as quickly as possible.

"What…" Tatum took a breath, steadying her nerves. "I want to help. What can I do?" She blinked the tears from her eyes.

"Here," Haylen handed her some scissors. "Cut the front of his uniform, I need to get to his wounds." Tatum didn't even think, she just cut. Grabbing the bloody material she slid the scissors through it with ease. Haylen pulled three stimpaks from her bag. She inserted them near his wounds. Four gaping holes went across his chest and abdomen.

"Oh my god…" Tatum held her breath, feeling queasy from all the blood.

"He's not gonna make it…" Haylen bit back the sob that threatened to escape. "No." She shook herself. "I just need to close these wounds. Fast." She looked at Tatum with determination. "I'll need your help."

Tatum swallowed and nodded firmly. She would save him, if it was the last thing she did.

The two women rushed to sanitize and close all of Maxson's wounds. They worked well together, Tatum listening to every word Haylen said, but it wasn't enough. He had lost a lot of blood and desperately needed a transfusion. They did what they could to keep him from bleeding anymore and had the team get him back to the vertibird.

The ride back to the Prydwen felt like an eternity as Tatum watched Haylen and a couple other scribes tending to Maxson. He was unconscious for the entire ride, pale faced and bloody lipped. When they docked back at the Prydwen several medics were already waiting, including Cade. Everything happened very quickly once they landed. Maxson was rushed away and when Tatum tried to follow, Paladin Danse blocked her path and glared at her.

"Let them work. You're the reason he's in this condition." His deep voice shook Tatum to her very core. But if she was good at one thing, and one thing alone, it was standing up for herself.

"I never asked to go on this crazy mission! Besides, isn't your job to protect him? I'm just a civilian." Danse's expression went from murderous to genocidal. He knew she had a point.

"If you had never come here—"

"And you think that was my choice?!" Tatum wanted to punch him in the face. "It's not like I wanted to be here. Your leader forced me to." She wanted to say: He brought this on himself. But something deep inside stopped her.

"He was just trying to make up for the mistake that some of his men made. That's what a great leader does!"

"I never said he was a bad leader." Tatum amended, still yelling. "I'm just saying that this was his choice, not mine." She ducked past Danse and ran as fast as she could back to her bed. He didn't chase after her.

She leapt in to bed and hugged her legs tightly. Please be ok. She sobbed with her head on her knees. Please don't die.