Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize. Fallout New Vegas and it's characters belong to their respective owners.

Savior

06

Elise couldn't sleep. She had been up and wandering around the tent for hours. She got lonely on nights like these, Joshua was out working with Caesar and it was too late to bother Nina. She sighed and dropped down to the floor.

She felt awful. She should be grateful for this life. She was lucky. By some sort of Divine intervention, Joshua Graham had become interested in her, after killing a man for hitting her. A slave. She was a wife now, not just a kitchen slave. A slave, yes, but to a different master at least.

She leaned her head against one of the support beams and looked up through the open tent flap. Out here, Elise could see the stars. Not only that, but you could see the bright gleam of New Vegas not far away.

Caesar would put his plan into action soon. He would sit here at the Fort, safe, while Joshua was on the front lines, fighting for something Elise wasn't all that sure that he even believed in. Fighting for a couple of casinos. More slaves to end up in mass graves. Thinking of it sickened her to the core.

Joshua... Even after two years of being by his side, he was an enigma. Elise was never sure what he was thinking. He was completely relaxed when he was with her, but she had happened upon him while training his soldiers. Brutality shined out of his beautiful eyes then and she wasn't sure she recognized him. But, despite that, she knew she loved him. And she was almost sure he felt the same way. It was bizarre to think about. She knew who he was, what he'd done, but loved him anyways.

A shadow darkened the doorway before Joshua walked in, stopping when he saw her leaning against the beam. "Elise, what are you doing up?"

She shrugged nonchalantly. "Can't sleep sometimes, I guess."

His brow furrowed, wrinkling his pale skin. "Are you feeling alright?" He was facing her still, but was busy taking off his vest. She watched as he threw it on the floor carelessly and set his favorite pistol on the stand next to it. "You're not feeling ill, are you?"

Elise shook her head. "It's pathetic, but I'm just a bit lonely. It will pass." She started playing with the hem of her beige dress. "I sound spoiled."

Joshua's face softened. "Come here." He held out his hands and Elise took them without a second of hesitation. He led her over to the bedding and sat down, pulling her onto his lap. "You are not pathetic. Loneliness is normal, and I'm sorry that I have not been here often. Once New Vegas is ours, I will have much more free time."

"Hmm." Joshua started planting kisses on her throat, "I just wish there was something I could do. Not that I don't love doing laundry."

Joshua laughed against her throat, sending shivers down her spine. "If you're really that bored, why don't you go talk to the other wives?"

"The other wives seem to feel entitled now. Most of them came from my tribe, but it's like I don't even know them anymore." Elise was thinking particularly of a girl she had known in her youth, May. Since becoming a wife of a Frumentarii, she wouldn't even look at Elise when she worked in the kitchens. However, when Joshua came into her life, May tried and tried to "reconnect" so to speak.

Joshua gave her a stern look. "This is your tribe now, Elise. But I understand. What about that slave down in the kitchens, Nina?"

Elise pulled away. "You're giving me permission to go talk to a slave?"

He rolled his eyes. "If you have everything done here that needs to be done, then yes, I am giving you permission to talk the slave. Although I know you sneak down there already."

Elise smiled brightly at him and kissed him, her lips just ghosting over his until he caught her hair and pulled her closer.

Elise sat up with a start, panting heavily. She ran her hands over her face and groaned. She was sticky from sweat and her head was pounding. She took a quick glance at her surroundings and was confused before she remembered the night before. The smug bastard gave her the Presidential Suite to stay in.

The room really was nice. The bed was soft, the sheets were the cleanest she had ever slept in. Besides the bed, it had a wardrobe and a desk with a broken terminal on it. It also had two amazingly white couches and a table in the center. From what Elise had seen, the entire casino had a deep burgundy theme.

A knock on the door startled her out of her thoughts and she looked up to see Boone poke his head in. "You alright?"

Elise nodded and waved him in. "Yeah, I think. How long was I out?"

Boone moved in and sat on the white couch, Elise winced when she saw the grease on his pants mark of the stark white fabric. Oh well. "You've been asleep about a day now. Next time you want to sleep forever, let me know so I can tie the dog up outside."

A startled laugh made its way out of her throat as a mental image of Boone walking Rex popped up. "I'm sorry!" She giggled. "I've never had a dog before."

The usually stoic Boone pulled a face. "It's alright. Just a little warning next time."

Elise hummed happily while playing with the bands on her undershirt. "Hey, do you think it's normal to have..er.. flashbacks happen to you in your sleep?"

"I don't know. When did this start?"

"After I was shot. I never really dreamed before, and now I'm having memories as dreams, I guess." Elise chewed on her lip thoughtfully. "It's not really unpleasant, just kind of odd."

Boone frowned. "Did you lose any memories from before you were shot?"

"I don't think so, I can remember everything I used to. I think. I guess it's hard to know if I don't remember everything." She laughed nervously and rubbed her scar.

"I don't know." Boone sighed. "You should probably ask the Followers next time we go through there. That doesn't sound normal, but then again, living after a shot to the head isn't normal, either."

Elise smiled. "I'm not normal. How do you like this place?"

Boone shrugged. "It's decent. It will make for a good base. Did you look around?"

"No, I kind of just laid down and passed out. Sorry." An apologetic smile crossed her face and she ran a hand through her hair. "Do you ever think about Bitter Springs?"

"I try not to." Ah, there were the short answers again. His eyes had gone hard.

"You know if you want to go back or even just talk about it-"

Boone breathed a big sigh. "Just drop it. I'm not talking about this with you."

Elise rolled her head back. There was the brick wall again. Just when she thought she was getting somewhere with him, she overstepped and fell face first. She bent to look at her dirty hands."Ew. I need a bath."

Surprisingly, Boone chuckled. "The bathroom is a couple doors down."

Elise raised any eyebrow. "Where are you staying?"

"There's a bedroom right next to this one. It has two beds."

"Hmm." Elise looked thougtful for a minute. "That means we have room for expansion."

Boone looked skeptical. "Expansion?"

"Sure. If we find someone else to travel with. Why not? Besides, if I find someone else, you won't have to follow my clumsy ass everywhere. You can, you know, take a break."

"I'd rather not." Elise looked up, startled by his admission. "I know now, following you is what I'm supposed to be doing. I can feel it."

"Don't say that like it is a death sentence." Elise felt the hurt bubble up within her. "Though, to be honest, it probably is."

An hour later, Elise was clean and was pulling on her worn leather pants. She looked around the bathroom for her top and started to panic before she heard a soft 'woof' from behind her.

There was Rex sitting, her red shirt in between his paws. She smiled and leaned down, rubbing behind his ears affectionately. "Thank you, boy! I would have never found it if you hadn't helped. How're you feeling?" The poor cyberdog let out a whine and Elise forced herself to look into his brain casing. The gel looked coagulated and the brain wasn't much better. "Poor boy, I promise we're going to sort you out soon." She gave him a light hug and laughed when his cold nose was pressed into her neck.

She stood and pulled on her shirt and then the leather vest that went over it. She missed her favorite armor, but she had to admit, wearing pants was a little more comfortable than running around the wasteland in a skirt. She looked at herself in the cracked mirror and felt disappointed. The scar was still there. Sure, it had faded a little, but it still stood stark against her pale skin. The scars on her back didn't bother her, no one saw them but her. But this, the angry red mark right above her eye, it told of a weakness Elise wasn't proud of.

She shrugged it off and opened the door to the bathroom, whistling for Rex to follow. She found Boone in the kitchen, staring into space. "I'm heading out, I think. Gonna go find him."

If he were a lesser man, Boone would have jumped. Instead, he stood and made his way to her. "Let's go, then."

Elise bit her lip and he knew she only did that when she was anxious. "Listen, I was thinking of going by myself. I mean, this is kind of personal-"

"No." Even Boone was a little surprised by the tone of his voice. "This fucker shot you once, he's liable to do it again. We're a team. If you don't want a group, leave the robot and the dog. I am coming with you."

Elise studied him. She looked him over from head to toe but her gray eyes lingered on his brown ones, usually covered by his dark sunglasses. After a long moment, she smiled and in a split second, had her arms around him. She burrowed her face into his chest, Boone too stunned to do anything but wrap a single arm around her. She pulled away a little and her smile only intensified. "Thank you, Boone. Really." She pulled away more and winked at him. "Ready to catch my murderer?"

The Tops was nice. Not nearly as nice as the Lucky 38, but that was understandable. The Tops was full of customers, some dressed to the nines, some dressed like the wasteland just spit them out. Elise felt a little out of place, but at least her armor was clean.

As she surrendered everything but her holdout .22 she just bought and grinned when she heard Boone grumbling about his favorite rifle being taken away. She moved over to the next man at the desk who looked her up and down before smirking at her.

"Hey, baby. Welcome to the Tops. What can I help you with?

Elise smiled. "I'm looking for Benny. Is he around?"

"Awe, baby. What're you looking for him for? I can do you right."

Giggling, Elise shook her head. "Alright, alright. What do you do here?"

"You haven't been on the strip long, have you? Name's Swank, I run the place."

"I thought Benny ran it?" Elise raised an eyebrow.

"Benny oversees the business, sure. But I run the Tops day to day. I'm his right-hand guy, you dig?"

"Do you have any work that needs done?"

"Baby, stick with me and you won't have to work another day in your life. Just sit there and look pretty for me." The man was handsome, not a doubt about that. But he wasn't her type, as cute and flirty as he was.

Elise laughed, especially hearing Boone's disgusted snort behind her. "Sorry, I'm more of an independent woman. I'm sure you understand. Now, about Benny.." Elise trailed off and gave him a look.

"Alright, Benny is on the casino floor. In the checkered jacket, you can't miss him."

Elise smiled and waved, before walking to the floor. Boone wasn't far behind her, grumbling. "I take it you didn't like Swank?"

Boone rolled his eyes behind his sunglasses. "The Chairmen are slimy, all of them."

Elise's heart started hammering in her chest when she spotted the checkered coat, flanked by two other Chairmen. She took a deep breath and felt Boone's hand touch her shoulder. "I'll be right behind you."

Elise nodded before stepping onto the floor and striding to the other end. She tried to seem confident, but when she stumbled, she knew she wasn't pulling it off.

Benny had his back to her, talking to the guards and looking over a clipboard. She could see the familiar mop of styled hair and the olive skin. Elise closed her eyes before reaching the end.

One of the guards noticed her and motioned. Benny turned around and as soon as his eyes hit hers, his entire face went white. "What in the goddamn-"

Elise couldn't help the feral grin on her face. "Hello, Benny."

If possible, he paled further. "Let's keep this in the groove, hey? Smooth moves, like smooth little babies."

Elise's eyebrows almost went up to her hairline. Was this man insane? "Seems like you need to work on your marksmanship."

"I hit what I was aiming for. Guess you had brains to spare. Or are you just thick-skulled?" Elise glared at him. "Either way, baby, this is good news. Maybe I can finally sleep at night, knowing you didn't die. What say you and me cash out, go somewhere more private-like? Any questions you got, I'll answer."

"What'd you have in mind?"

Benny looked almost... eager. The color returned to his face and there was a new gleam in his eye. Elise wasn't sure she liked it. "To start, I'll comp you the Presidential- best suite in the house. You deserve a taste of the VIP lifestyle. I'll hangout down here for awhile to make everything look business-as-usual, then come to you. Any questions you've got, I'll answer."

"What, so you can have your guards kill me? I'm not quite that stupid, you know. Just because you got me once doesn't mean I'm going to let you do it again. If we're going to do this, you come with me now. And lose the body guards. Boone will stay here with them."

Elise heard Boone shuffle behind her and his hand was on her shoulder again. "Elise-"

Benny cut him off. "If that's what it takes to win your trust, that's what it takes. Follow me." Benny nodded to his bodyguards and started walking, but Elise hung back.

"Listen, I'm gonna talk to him and then I'll be right back down." Boone gave her a hard look. "I promise."

She stalked off after Benny. This day was turning out to be.

Elise found Benny slouched in front of the Presidential suite, his arms up on the bar. Elise walked closer and Benny looked to the side, grinning at her. "Now that you and me's got some privacy, I gotta ask- how the hell are you still alive?"

Elise smirked and sat on the stool next to him. "Let's call it luck."

Benny scoffed. "Luck is for losers, baby. Someone pulled the strings. How did you track me down?"

"The hows really don't matter. I'm here and still, thankfully, breathing."

"A magician doesn't explain his tricks. Right. So, which way are you gonna take this, baby?"

"Hmm." Elise put her chin on her hand and trained her gray eyes on him. "If you're thinking we can work together, let's hear it."

This seemed to be the right answer because Benny lit up. "You help me, and before long the Chairmen will rule all of Vegas, dig? With enough robot muscle to back it up. You'll get a juicy cut of that action. But until that day comes, I'll keep you on the back burner. I'll even pay bonuses for 'special missions'. What do you say?"

Elise frowned. This was a huge deal. But she already knew what felt right in her heart. "Alright. I'm in."

A/N: This one's a little short because I've been busy the past couple of days. I've written a few things from Joshua's point of view, but I can't figure out what to do with them. Find a way to add them to the story or post them as one-shots? What do you guys think? Keep the alerts coming, every single one encourages me more and more.