The sun was setting in a sullen red haze when Valeria and Veronica set up camp under a rocky overhang away from the cooling asphalt of highway 95. Both women wore large leather backpacks stuffed with tools, supplies, and food, although Valeria's contained most of the heavier items. Veronica had insisted on leaving Jonastown as soon as she awoke and Valeria hadn't argued. Veronica's independent soul was already chaffing at the weakness she had displayed in front of her big companion, and she was determined to show she was capable of pulling her own weight. Valeria simply handed her a pack, neglecting to mention that she had skewed the weight heavily toward her own. If Veronica noticed, she didn't mention it.

The journey into the desert north of the Mojave was grueling and hot, despite the coming of fall. Their route was along the crumbling stretch of the old route 95 highway, and although alert for hazards, they saw nothing else along the desolate road. Veronica didn't complain, but although Valeria restricted her pace to half for her friend's benefit, she knew Veronica was getting tired. When the sun began to dim into late afternoon, Valeria declared that they had to find shelter off the road, and it was best to do it while the light was still bright enough to see by. Veronica nodded and wiped her streaming face as Valeria led them toward a series of nearby hills. Veronica didn't argue, even though she knew Valeria could see perfectly well in the dark.

When Valeria found their shelter on a rise looking down on the plain, they immediately set their packs down and ate a small meal of trail mix and water. A fire could be visible for miles, so they simply leaned against their packs side by side and watched as the sun sank below the horizon and the stars began to blaze in the sky.

"How long can you go without…eating?" Veronica suddenly asked. Valeria started and turned to see her friend staring into the sky.

"A while." Valeria replied as she looked away after a moment of hesitation. "It depends on how much I'm healing or exerting myself."

"What…happens if you don't?" Veronica asked turning to look at Valeria's profile.

"I passed out for several days once." Valeira said in a monotone as she remembered a grim battle with a Supermutant Behemoth in the ruins of Washington D.C. Even though she had confessed her secret to Veronica, she was still very uncomfortable talking about it. However, she felt she owed her friend information about her ghastly condition, including its dangers.

"It's possible I would have died, but I was treated by a doctor who was an…expert in wasteland mutations. He told me what I had to do to control the craving." Valeria drew her knee up to her chest and rested her chin and arm upon it.

"Using blood packs was an idea I got from a tribe of mutant vampires I encountered." Valeria fell silent as she remembered a desperate struggle in the darkness with a savage vampire raider. The raider had almost killed her, but her bestial rage had surfaced for the first time saving her life.

"Have you ever lost control of the…craving?" Veronica asked as she watched Valeria keenly for her reaction. The more she learned about the big woman, the more amazed she was at the breadth of her experiences. It was even more impressive as Veronica was certain there was a great deal Valeria wasn't telling her.

"Once." Valeria admitted, refusing to meet Veronica's eyes. "Some mercenaries got the drop on my father and I. I'd been through a lot already, and when I saw him with a gun to his head I just…lost it."

"What happened?" Veronica gently prodded.

"When I got control again, I was crouched over one of the mercs with his throat torn out." Valeria hid her eyes in her arm as she waited for sounds of disgust or horror from her friend. There was a moment of silence before Veronica spoke.

"Your father survived?"

"Yes." Valeria answered without raising her head. "He saw everything and still insisted on staying with me."

"Parents do that Val." Veronica replied as she drew both her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms about them. "I like to think mine would have if they hadn't been killed." Valeria raised her eyes and turned to Veronica, meeting her eyes and seeing her quirky half smile.

"It's okay Val." Veronica said reassuringly. "The Brotherhood's a militant order which doesn't encourage close family ties. I didn't know my parents very well before they were killed. But that's not the point I'm making."

"Your point?" Valeria asked with a puzzled frown.

"You went into a…feeding frenzy I suppose." Veronica explained. "You had a choice of eligible targets, and instead of your father, you went after a presumably better armed and armored opponent."

"I was in a rage." Valeria objected. "I was just lucky."

"I don't think so." Veronica declared as she shook her head. "I saw what happened in the Thorn. You didn't look…human anymore, but somehow you heard me and came to the rescue. You may be berserk, but I think you're aware enough to select certain targets over others."

"That's fine as long as I have a choice." Valeria growled as she looked out at the darkness.

"I trust you, you big lug." Veronica said with a smile. "Even if you don't trust yourself."

"Thanks Ronnie." Valeria replied with a sniff as her eyes began to tear uncontrollably.

"Hey Val." Veronica said as she looked again at the sky as her friend regained control of herself. "I know what its like to have a secret everyone would condemn if they knew about it."

Valeria said nothing, waiting silently for whatever else her friend meant to say.

"The Brotherhood doesn't allow any outside recruitment." Veronica began. "At first I imagine it was a security measure, but now it's just the way things are and nobody questions it."

Valeria turned to look at Veronica her eyes still shining from unshed tears.

"As you can imagine, that puts a lot of pressure on the female members to make brotherhood babies." Veronica said with a shrug as she stared straight ahead. "I've known ever since I was a teen-ager that I didn't like boys in that way. As you can imagine, the Brotherhood isn't very sympathetic toward homosexuality. I never told my parents, and they died before my secret was found out."

"Found out?" Valeria asked cautiously.

"I thought I was in love." Veronica explained with a wry chuckle as she continued to stare into the darkness. "It's kind of hard to keep secrets when everybody is living in a bunker. When Elijah asked me to go with him, he only asked me. It was pretty clear he wanted us separated, so I had to choose between someone I loved and the only family I had left."

"It's hard to lose your family." Valeria rasped, as once again the image of her father crumpling to the floor appeared in her mind.

"Well, the decision was taken out of my hands." Veronica said with another shrug. "She was given a chance to join the Circle of Steel, which is militant even by the Brotherhood's standards. She was always a bit hardcore, and she didn't even say goodbye. She was just gone, and I left with Elijah."

Both women were silent for a long time as coyotes yipped and howled in the distance. Finally Veronica spoke.

"So there's my deep dark secret." Veronica quipped. "Do you still want to travel with me?"

"I'm a mutant hematophage." Valeria said quietly. "And you still trust me. Why would I turn from you because you're a homosexual?"

"I'm not questioning your loyalty Val." Veronica whispered. "I want to know if that changes anything else."

Valeria was silent for a long time, and Veronica turned to look at her profile, her white eyes and hair pale in the darkness.

"I…don't know." Valeria finally said.

"You don't know?" Veronica asked incredulously.

"Nobody's ever asked me before." Valeria admitted. "When I was growing up in the Vault, all the other kids called me "the mutant", and not behind my back. I knew I didn't belong, so I never considered being with anyone." Valeria shrugged her massive shoulders and turned to looked down at Veronica. "After I mutated, everyone's reaction to me was either fear or pity. The only ones who seemed interested in me…intimately were freaks and would be rapists." Valeria closed her eyes as she remembered her imprisonment by slavers at Paradise Falls.

"Actually." Veronica interrupted. "I was wondering if you have something against homosexuality, not if you wanted a date."

"Oh." Valeria said blushing furiously.

"My tastes run to petite, leggy brunettes, who you're pretty much the polar-opposite of." Veronica said with a smile.

"I'm sorry Ronnie." Valeria said as she turned away in embarrassment. "You just caught me by surprise. I…think I like men, but I've hardly ever had friends, let alone a relationship. I knew I would never be close to anyone, so I never asked myself what I want from one."

"Wow, I guess I touched a nerve then." Veronica quipped.

"You are the only friend I've had for a long time." Valeria said earnestly. "I thought I was fine with being alone until I met you, but I was lying to myself."

"You kind of grew on me too you big lug." Veronica said with a smile. "I was alone for a long time too. With one noteworthy exception, you're the most honest and kind person I've ever known."

Veronica shook her head and sighed. "It's so hard to hide such a big part of yourself. Sometimes you feel like you'll explode if you don't just blurt it out. It's a relief to be able to trust someone else."

"Yes, it is." Valeria agreed with a deep sigh. Once again both women were silent, then Veronica shivered uncontrollably.

"Damn it gets cold out here quick!" She complained as she began to rub her arms. Valeria looked down at her friend in concern as Veronica glared up at her.

"I'll bet you hardly notice." She accused.

"I'm aware of it." Valeria admitted. "It just doesn't really bother me."

"Well I'm a mere mortal and it bothers me!" Veronica exclaimed.

"I didn't pack bedrolls to make room for more provisions." Valeria admitted with a stricken look. "I forgot how different I am from everyone else."

"Well that makes it all better, doesn't it?" Veronica growled. "If we light a fire, every predator within ten miles shows up looking for a snack. If we don't, I'll be dead of hypothermia by morning."

"I'm sorry Ronnie…" Valeria apologized as she turned to open her pack.

"Don't waste time looking for something we don't have." Veronica snapped. "It's simple, we'll just share body heat. You have so much body I'm sure you have some to spare."

"Uh ok." Valeria said uncertainly as she shifted her position to lean against the rock wall. Still shivering, Veronica curled up against Valeria's side in a tight fetal position. Feeling her tremors, Valeria wrapped her arms around her friend and tried to cover her as best as she could. Veronica had been close to Valeria before, but never quite like this. The huge woman seemed to give off an almost feverish heat from her exposed skin, which Veronica gratefully drank in as she waited for the shaking to stop.

Veronica wasn't a short woman, but being held by Valeria made her feel almost like a child. The woman was just so…big, and her bizarre physiology gave off such mixed signals. Her huge limbs devoid of subcutaneous fat felt decidedly male, while her large breasts were unmistakably female. It was the first time Veronica had been held in such a way by Valeria, and as her chills began to recede she was struck by how strange her friend was. What also struck her was that the experience wasn't unpleasant, and that she was actually enjoying the warm security of being in Val's powerful arms. She hadn't felt secure for so long, and now she felt safer under a rock in the middle of the desert than she had felt with the Brotherhood bunker back in California.

Suddenly she felt Valeria stiffen and push away. Concerned that she had somehow offended her friend, Veronica was about to make a sarcastic comment when Valeria touched her lips with her fingers.

"There's something out there." She hissed as she rolled to her feet and reached for her hammer.

Veronica didn't question her friend, and immediately reached for the AER Laser Pistol she had strapped to her pack. She pulled it out and peered into the darkness as she saw Valeria's look about, her hammer ready in her fists.

"Okay mutant, drop the hammer or I'll drop you." A female voice demanded from the darkness. Valeria's head snapped around as she oriented on the sound, leaving Veronica to peer futilely into the night, her pistol raised.

"I said drop the hardware." The voice demanded again. "Last warning."

With a growl, Valeria carefully set her hammer down, then waved her hand at Veronica indicating she do the same.

"Where is she?" Veronica hissed as she put her pistol on the ground before her and slowly raised her hands.

"About fifty yards to the southeast." Valeria whispered. "She's got a rifle and night vision goggles. There's someone else with her too."

"So what do we do?" Veronica demanded.

"They've got the drop on us." Valeria replied with a growl of disgust. "The woman's coming this way, but her partner's covering her. All we can do for now is wait."

Veronica could just make out movement in the darkness when the woman spoke again.

"Identify yourselves before we kill you."

"I'm Valeria and this is Veronica." Valeria said, her hands still raised.

"You sound human, but you sure as hell don't look it!" The woman snapped. "If it hadn't been for your little friend we'd have shot you."

"Who the hell are you!" Veronica demanded.

"You've got spunk for someone caught dead to rights." The woman replied with a note of amusement in her voice. "I'm moving closer, but make any sudden moves and my partner will shoot to kill. Understand?"

Both women nodded, as a shadowy figure approached, then was suddenly illuminated by the dim glow of a light attached to her belt. Veronica could see that she was wearing the baggy brown uniform of an NCR soldier with a red beret covering her hair.

"I'm Corporal Betsy of First Recon." The woman announced. "The NCR has been attacked by Supermutant Raiders, and your big friend here looks a lot like one."

"We're just passing through on the way North." Valeria said. "We don't want any trouble."

"Well you found some." Betsy replied gesturing with her rifle. "With the Legion and the Supermutants, you picked a bad time to take a little nighttime stroll."

"So what are you going to do?" Veronica demanded.

"You walk out of Legion Territory with some kind of Supermutant." Betsy snapped. "My partner and I should just shoot you, but we have our orders."

"And they are?" Veronica growled.

"To bring anything suspicious back for questioning. But make no mistake." Betsy raised her rifle slightly for emphasis. "If you give us any trouble or try to run, my orders won't mean shit to me. Now move!"