When Jericho had left the sheriff's fine company and returned to his disheveled little hellhole, he had done so without letting on that Lucas's words had gotten to him. In fact, the moment he was sure the metal door had shut behind him he threw his bottle clear across the room, shattering it against wall.

"Son of a bitch," He muttered to himself, "If that prick thinks I'll take his bullshit, he has another thing coming." He pulled off his Chinese assault rifle and dropped it on the table before he walked back to his bed and plopped down, resting his head in his hands. Lifting his eyes, he saw a worn down wooden chain with two items atop it.

The first was a teddy bear. A memento from his raider past that Mister fucking Sheriff wouldn't let him forget for even a second. The second item, was a gun. A small 10mm handgun with a single round in the chamber. The bear was a reminder, the gun was a promise. If he were ever to use it, it would only be once.

Jericho reached out for the teddy bear and trailed his calloused fingers over the once-soft surface. It was in perfect condition except for two bullet holes in the bears stomach where bits of fluff were poking out. He brought the teddy bear close to his chest as he leaned over, grabbed the handgun and put it to his right temple.

"Now?" Jericho's voice was quiet and somewhat choked, "Are you gonna do it now you fucking pussy?"

He closed his eyes tight and put his finger around the trigger. Flashes of his past raced through his head. Visions of the people he had killed… Men. Women. Children. Those he had once called "friend". He could feel beads of sweat begin to form on his forehead. Was he finally going to hush the cries of terror he heard calling out to him night after night?

He sat like that for hours. He'd done the same thing every week. Jericho forced himself to recall the faces of every single person who's life he had cut short, not for food or out of self defense, but for the sheer thrill. He had, at first, convinced himself that he had liked watching people suffer, stringing women up on chains and watching as their arms and legs were slowly pulled out of their sockets. As time went on he found he really was starting to enjoy it. He lived on the pain.

He knew he was a monster. He did what he wanted, when he wanted, and he'd be damned if anyone would tell him what to do. The man didn't care who he hurt as long as he got some satisfaction from it. Fuck it. He couldn't kill himself. Not tonight.

He found himself laughing awkwardly, "You really are just a bitch, aren't ya?" He tossed the gun and teddy bear back on the chair and got up, "I need some fresh air…" Angrily, he kicked open his flimsy metal door, leaving a dent near the bottom of it and walked straight to the railing and threw up. He wiped his mouth still staring at the pile of vomit that had somehow managed to land on Mr. Burke's home below.

Looking up, Jericho saw that girl from before. What was her name? Carrie? Casey? Cassie. Whatever.

"Don't mind me princess," He snapped taking his hands off the rail and backing against the wall of his house with his palms flat in the air, signaling that it was safe to pass. The girl looked at him nervously before rustling up enough courage to walk past the man who had humiliated her earlier.

Just when she thought she was in the clear, one of the ex-raider's hands shot out and grabbed her by the wrist, "Wait don't go," He grinned, using his other hand to put a new cigarette in his mouth, "I want to congratulate you." He released her arm and reached for his lighter.

"For what, looking like a complete dumbass in that bar?" Cassie shot back, crossing her arms and vaguely wondering why she was even dignifying this cretin with a response. He said nothing, just looked away and lit his cigarette, "Look, I think you've pissed me off enough today. So if you don't mind, I'm going to check out the house Mr. Simms gave me."

She tried again to leave but he reached out and pulled her back a little closer, "You don't have to be a bitch you know. I heard about the bomb being disarmed and felt like being friendly," He put his arm around her waist and pulled her into him, "You know about being friendly don't you?" He could feel it. The monster was rising up inside him, hungry for her fresh, unmarred flesh.

Her face went pink again and she tried to push away from him but he was too strong. He only needed the one arm to hold her there. Jericho took a drag on his cigarette and exhaled in the kid's face making her cough. He chuckled at the small torment and flicked the half-smoked cigarette away before using his free hand to pull off her baseball cap and toss it to the ground as well, "You have a nice body," he fiddled with the zipper, pulling it down slightly, "You shouldn't hide it under this silly jumpsuit."

Frantically, the girl tried to push away again as the former raider began sliding the vault 101 suit off of her shoulders. Suddenly she stopped struggling. Jericho, confused abandoned tugging at her undershirt and looked into her crystal blue eyes, "What the fuck are you lookin' at?"

"Have you…" She leaned in a bit, examining his face, "Have you been crying?"

"---the fuck?" Where did that come from all of a sudden? "What are you talking about?"

"Your eyes. They're all puffy," Cassie reached up and brushed his cheek with the backs of her fingers, "And your cheeks are damp…"

He reached up and wiped under his eyes to confirm the kid's accusation. Shocked, more than anything, he dropped the girl and pushed her back, "Get the fuck out of here," He gestured violently to his right, "Your place is up that way."

She hesitated, "Are you--"

"I said get the fuck outta here!" He snapped, "You'll have to suck me off some other time!"

"Ugh…" She groaned, snatching her hat up from the ground and zipping up her vault 101 jumpsuit, "You're such an asshole."

He watched her trek up the metal path between their houses and disappear into one of the nicest places in Megaton. He picked up the still-smoldering cigarette from the ground and stuck it back in his mouth.

"Yeah… I guess I am."

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Author's note: I noticed not many people write about Jeri so I decided to put one up…

--- In this I decided to make him suicidal because of his past as a raider and Lucas Simms being a dick to him about it all the god damn time (in the theatre of my mind anyway)

--- While playing Fallout 3 I'd always break into Jericho's house so that I could give my evil a bit of a boost, and every time I went in there I saw a teddy bear. So that's where that came from.