Chapter 19: Mister Popularity

Rebecca slept for a good three hours before she started to stir. She was still upset when she awoke as evidenced by the couple of tears that ran down her dirt covered face. I hadn't even really taken the time to look her over until now. She was a good looking young woman, probably around my age. She had cropped orange hair, blue eyes, and a small nose. She wore a semi torn tank top and torn blue jeans.

"Jen!" she suddenly shouted before lying her head back down. No doubt Jen was her sister.

I walked over to her and knelt at her side. I held a bottle of water up to her mouth and she downed it all in seconds. I helped her to sit up and she placed her arms around her legs and rested her chin on her knees.

"How are you feeling?" I asked.

She didn't respond.

"Fair enough. Where are you from?"

"Nowhere really. My sister and I were business partners. We owned a trade caravan that dealt in weapons and armor, and had a good little thing going until we were ambushed by those damn Super Mutants." she replied in a weak voice.

"Are you proficient with a firearm?" I asked.

She nodded, "Moreso than most wastelanders. It doesn't help much when you're caught off guard though." she answered.

She then glanced back at the church. "My equipment should be back there but…could you get it for me? I don't think I could handle seeing…" she trailed off.

"I'll get it." I answered, and then headed for the church. "Kirk, you keep an eye out." I said as I walked off.

I had to plug my nose upon re entering the church. I spotted an old safe in the back corner of the building and headed over to it. I fiddled around with the lock until I eventually got it open. Inside I could see three separate packs, two sets of clothing, and a single Laser Pistol.

She took her own bag and her sisters, as well as the Laser Pistol. Kirk and I split the supplies and ammo from the third, which must've belonged to the man. Rebecca took one of the sets of clothing, which was a Merc Charmer outfit and put them on.

"What are you going to do now?" Kirk asked the young woman as she threw the bags over her shoulder.

"Well I hoped I would be able to accompany you fine gentlemen to repay you for saving my life." she said with an emotionless look.

I looked over at Kirk who nodded, but I was a little hesitant to let her join. I didn't want to get in to any inappropriate situations. I did have a woman pregnant with my child waiting for me back at the Citadel. It's not that I didn't trust myself, but this girl might try and pay me back by offering herself to me or something.

In the end I gave in to my pity for her and allowed her to journey with us, but not before telling her how dangerous our road would be. Despite all this, she still agreed to come with us, which I found a bit odd, but didn't give it much more thought than that.

We had covered a good distance from the church when Rebecca started to act a bit strange. She kept stealing looks at me and whenever I would catch her she would act like nothing was going on.

"I've got it!" she suddenly shouted, which startled me.

"You're the one they've been talking about on the radio. The Lone Wanderer, Savior of the Capitol Wasteland!" she shouted excitedly.

A slight grin came across my face and I shrugged my shoulders, "In the flesh."

She clapped her hands together and jumped around in front of me. Kirk gave me a strange look, which I returned with another shrug.

"I can't believe I was rescued by the Lone Wanderer! The girls will never believe this!" she spouted out.

"The girls?" I questioned.

She stopped her prancing and looked at me, "Oh, umm, yeah…the girls back in Megaton. You see, my sister and I would make frequent stops there and had sort of formed our own little group with some of the other girls in town who were our age." she quickly answered.

Kirk suddenly began to cough profusely as he had done the day before. I glanced back and he held his throat as he hacked and wheezed. He reached for the rag in his back pocket and brought it up to his mouth. The fit continued for much longer than before, and when he finished, I saw trickles of blood on his lips.

"Jesus Kirk, you're coughing up blood!" I said as I came to his side.

He wiped the blood away and stuffed the rag back in his pocket. "I'm fine. No need to worry about me." he tried to say.

"Coughing up blood isn't what I would consider to be fine." I replied.

"It's the cigarettes, they get to me sometimes. Really, you don't need to be concerned." he said as he coughed a few more times.

I looked at him with a raised brow until he finally signaled for me to get moving. Kirk always like to stay near the back, said he liked to think about lots of different things.

Rebecca walked up next to me and leaned in as we walked, "Is he alright?" she asked.

I shook my head, "I honestly don't know. He can be pretty stubborn when it comes to his health sometimes. I think it's best we leave it alone for now." I advised, and she nodded.

We travelled late in to the evening and when we came across an old power station we decided to rest for a time. There were a few feral ghouls waiting for us inside, but we made short work of them. Rebecca thoroughly impressed me with how she handled her Laser Pistol during the short fight. She managed to drop two of the ghouls in a little over one second. Even Kirk couldn't believe how good of a shot she was.

We took the bodies and tossed them outside so their stench wouldn't spread through the entire station. Kirk chose to sleep in a separate room so he could collect his thoughts. In reality though I presumed he chose to do so because he expected Rebecca, or me, to try something on each other. I tried to coax him in to staying nearby, but he just looked over at the young woman and then left.

I slept in the corner of the room on an old tarp I had found, and Rebecca slept a few feet away on a roll out sleeping bag she kept in her pack. I made sure not to fall asleep until she did, and when I was sure she was out, I drifted off.

I suddenly found myself awake again and realized that Rebecca had curled up next to me. My breathing had grown short and I had become completely rigid. I felt so uncomfortable, but at least she only wanted to be near me.

Great, just great. I was afraid this would happen. Okay, just stay calm and don't try anything. She's probably still dealing with her grief and needs someone for comfort. Just go with it and it should pass.

Rebecca placed her arm on my chest and sighed in her sleep. I gulped hard and carefully moved her arm back to her side.

This is going to be a long night.

The next morning I awoke to the sound of music coming from the next room. I looked down and noticed that Rebecca was still curled up next to me. I gently pulled myself away from her and made my way over to the room where Kirk had been sleeping.

He sat at an old metal desk and had a cigarette between his fingers. A small radio sat atop the desk and Kirk bobbed his head to the beat of the song playing.

"Where'd you find that?" I asked as I walked over to him.

The older man glanced over at me and smiled softly, "I found it in the back. With a little tweakin' I was able to get it to work. Sound comes through pretty clear don't ya think?" he asked before taking a puff of his cigarette.

"So." He started as he blew a ring of smoke at the wall, "You show her a good time?" he asked bluntly.

I knew that's why he slept in here.

I pulled a chair up next to him and sighed, "No, actually, I didn't." I replied.

Kirk chuckled to himself, "Everything workin' down there?" he asked, and then coughed a bit.

I placed a hand over my face, "Yes, everything work's down there. Look, I've got a woman waiting for me back at the Citadel and she's kind of with child so that's why I didn't try anything with Rebecca." I explained.

"Funny, that didn't seem to stop you from lettin' the girl cuddle with you."

I sighed once again, "I didn't want to upset her. She's probably still grieving on the inside and got scared or something so she decided to bunk up with me." I said in my defense.

Kirk simply nodded his head and then went back to listening to the radio.

A short time later Rebecca came in to the room and sat herself down on the desk. She brushed a few strands of hair from her face and smiled at us.

"So are we heading out soon?" she asked.

I looked over at her and gave her the best smile I could, "Yeah, let's get a move on."

Kirk threw his cigarette to the ground and stomped it out. "You two wait outside, I'll catch up with you in a few."

I gave him a puzzled look, but he just ignored me and so Rebecca and I headed outside.

Rebecca ran her foot across the dirt and held her hands behind her back.

"Why are you travelling with us Rebecca?" I asked without even looking her way.

It seemed like the question had caught her off guard as she stumbled with her words. "Because you rescued me from those Super Mutants. I thought I told you this already." she said in a frantic manner.

I laughed at this, "Come on, with that stunt you pulled last night it's clear that's not the case."

"I thought I heard something outside, so I got scared and decided to curl up next to you for protection." she told me.

I wore a stoic expression on my face, "Rebecca, I'm not stupid. Look, I figure I should tell you this now before anything else happens. I'm already involved with someone."

Rebecca looked down at the ground, "Good for you, but that doesn't have anything to do with me."

I shook my head and then looked back as Kirk emerged from the building, "Whatever you say." I said under my breath so she couldn't hear.

"You ready?" I asked the old timer.

"Yeah, let's get goin'." he answered.

An awkward silence had settled over the three of us as we travelled closer to our destination. Rebecca would look over at me every once in a while, but other than that everyone kept silent.

God, why did I ever agree to let her come with us?