Chapter Eleven

"Roots"

Don't throw stones at me

Don't tell anybody

Trouble finds me

All the noise of this

Has made me lose my belief

I'm going back to my roots

Another day, another door

Another high, another low

Rock bottom, rock bottom, rock bottom

Had to lose my way

to know which road to take

Trouble found me

All I look forward

Washed away by a wave

I'm going back to my roots

Jude

Posey didn't respond. Her enormous blue eyes were fixed on the crumpled form of the Raider behind him. The pale skin of her neck was marred with garish red, both from the Raider's hands and blood from her cracked scab. Jude stared at it for a moment, watching the muscles in her neck contract as she gasped for air, working double time to supply her deprived lungs of air.

Jude tore his eyes away and bent down, picking up all the ammo he'd found before the Raider brat had pounced and placing it and the water bottles he'd also discovered in his bag before slinging it onto his shoulder with his good arm. He held out a hand to Posey, who looked slowly up from his hand to his face. Her face was smudged with dirt, and he could see the whites all around the bright blue of her iris.

"Come on, Blondie." He said quietly.

"He-" Her voice cracked and she took a shuddering breath, closing her eyes tight. Jude was glad for that, it was like a very bright light being shut off. "He had-"

"Doesn't matter what he had." He said, "Come on, I need you to patch me up. They grazed me pretty good."

In truth, he hadn't had time to really appraise his arm. He knew it hurt like hell and was bleeding much more than when he'd been shot back in the Museum of Technology, but at least he could move all his fingers. If he were alone, he probably would've just slapped a bandage on it and kept going. But he was counting on this snapping Posey out of it and, thankfully, it seemed to do the trick. She looked back up at him and allowed him to help her to her feet.

"Not here." Said Posey, her eyes flickering back down to the corpse behind them.

"Not here." Agreed Jude, and she turned and carefully picked her way down the slope, avoiding looking at the fallen Raiders. Jude did a quick once over on each body, taking anything remotely useful before meeting up with Posey down on the path they'd been traveling down. Her back was to him, resolutely facing forward, gazing towards the horizon and refusing to glance left or right as they started walking. He kept a careful eye on her as they walked, but she she didn't notice or acknowledge him at all. Her fists were clenched so tightly her muscles shook.

So Jude didn't say anything, and they walked in silence, the only sound the dirt crunching beneath their feet and the wind whistling past the burned out husk of trees, rustling the brush and sending little eddies of dust blowing past their feet. He saw a billboard off to the side of the lane, it's wood splintering and lettering long since unrecognizable. Flecks of peeling paint had wilted off, scattering the dirt in front of it with white.

"Let's stop here," Said Jude, pointing at the sign, and wincing. Man, that sucker really did burn. "We'll rest for a bit, have some lunch and you can fix me up, Nurse Nancy."

Posey simply nodded and the two of them sat down in the shadow of the centuries old advertisement, their backs against the flimsy wood as Posey pulled out her med supplies.

"Let's see it then," She said at last, her voice just as brittle as the planks they leaned against.

Jude held out his arm and Posey started washing away the blood with a square of gauze. She winced once she cleared it all away, and Jude himself had to admit it wasn't a very pretty sight. The bullet had just grazed his arm, just below his bicep, but it had taken a decent chunk out of his flesh. A three inch long furrow of absent skin, and it was still bleeding.

"I might have to stitch it up." Said Posey with a frown. "But... I don't know. I've never done that before. I don't really want to try it out here. I'll just clean it and pack it with gauze and bandage it, and maybe if my dad is still at Vault 112 he can decide if you need stitches or not."

"You're the boss, Blondie." Said Jude, hissing as she started swabbing it with alcohol to disinfect it. "Damn that stuff stings."

"Be glad it hurts. It hurts because you're still alive. This could have hit your brachial artery and you would have been dead in minutes."

Jude watched her as she worked, her fingers gentle and hesitant, but sure in their work. Her eyes were still a little hollow, and her eyebrows were knitted together in concentration, but her hands no longer shook, so that was something.

"He would've killed you, you know." He said at last, watching as she rolled up more gauze to pack into his wound. Her long, thin fingers were stained with his blood. "He would have, and you know what? He wouldn't have felt any remorse about it, either. For him, that's the way the world is. Shoot first, ask questions never. I told you-"

"He had freckles." She interrupted, "Freckles." She repeated, looking up from the gaze in her hands to his face. "Just like you. And hazel eyes. Hazel eyes, like Jonas."

Jude looked down at her, and she met his gaze unflinchingly. She had a fleck of blood, high on her cheekbone, a bright red spot on her sunburned skin.

"Jonas' were different, but still, hazel. He's dead too." She wound a bandage tight around his arm, packing the gauze down tight. She tied off the bandage and tucked the ends in neatly and slipped her finger under the edge of the it to make sure it was snug but not tourniquet tight. Her fingers were warm and Jude fought the instinct to shiver. "Jonas and that boy are both dead and it's mine and my father's fault. If my father had never left the Vault, Jonas would still be alive. If I didn't insist on finding him, that boy would be too, maybe. I would never have met you and I'd probably would have married Freddy Gomez. I would have spent the rest of my life down in that Vault, and I never would have ended another person's life. I never would have seen the sky, or blown a Feral Ghoul's head blown apart, or breathed anything but recycled air for my entire life."

Jude didn't know what to say, so he remained silent, staring down at the girl from the vault with a blank expression.

"No one," She said, and her voice was strained now and her eyes overbright, "no one had freckles, down in the Vault. Nobody. How is that? How could no one have freckles?"

"Blondie,"

"I know, he was a monster. He would have killed me, and you. You did the right thing, I understand that. I just... He was starving. Did you see that? I could see his ribs, and I-I-" She was close to sobbing, through her eyes remained dry, "I've killed so many, Jude. I don't even know how many. I lost count. I've lost track of how many people I've killed in the past week. They were people's children. Maybe they had sweethearts or brothers or sisters or hell I don't know, dogs! I killed them. They're gone, forever and I...I..." She gulped and looked up at him, "I'm not cut out for this, Jude. My dad was right, I can't handle myself out here."

"You can handle it out here." Said Jude firmly, "For you, that's part of the problem. You're a natural with that gun. And as for being cut out for it, no one is, really. And if they are, then they're not the kind of people you want to rub shoulders with. Do you know how many people I've killed? Dozens. Maybe even hundreds. Raiders and Slavers and thugs, and you know how old I was, when I first killed someone?"

Posey shook her head, looking up at him with wide eyes.

"I was fifteen. I shot a Slaver, right in the throat. He was trying to take me in. I didn't even think about it, until about month had passed. And by then, how many more had I shot?"

Posey looked down at her hands stained with red.

"I know it's terrible to think you'll get use to it," He said softly "and it is. But you do. You get use to it."

"I don't want to get use to it." She said quietly, running her right thumb over her left palm, and for the first time, Jude noticed the red, half moon shaped marks, cut into her skin.

"You'll find a way to deal with it, Blondie." He said, "Just, don't think about that, right now. Think about finding your old man. How far are we from Vault 112?"

"We just left Mega-"

"I know, how far are we?"

"We still have forty miles to go."

Jude ran the numbers silently before saying confidently: "Alright so that's about thirteen more hours, right on schedule. We could get there today, but we're not gonna do that to ourselves. We go for about three hours then we'll take a break, and then go for another three. We'll do that until about sunset. Then we'll make camp. Sound good?"

"You're the boss, Colorado."

"Nah, I just work here. Here," He handed her a can of Pork 'n Beans he'd purchased from Moria and a banged up box of Potato crisps. "lunch time, Blondie."

They ate in silence, and Jude had to admit, his arm did feel a little better now that it was bandaged. He supposed he could have used some of their Med-X or a Stimpack, but he didn't want to waste those on a simple graze. He also didn't really want to mess with Med-X unless he really had to. That stuff was potent, and he'd seen what Med-X addicts were like. It wasn't something he wanted to experience firsthand.

"Thanks, Jude." Said Posey at last, looking over at him with a smile. It looked a little forced, but he knew that she was trying to make it seem less so. "For listening to my crazy rant. I know it doesn't make a lot of sense."

"No it makes sense," Said Jude, "you're still fresh from the Vault essentially. How long have you been out here, a week?"

"A week exactly."

"See? Come on," He got to his feet and Posey followed suit, pulling her duffel bag back up onto her shoulders, and hefting her Assault Rifle up in her arms. "let's get this show on the road, Blondie."

The journey was quiet, and yet not unpleasant. Posey spoke a little more about her life in The Vault and Jude eventually broke down and told her a few stories from his scavenging, to pass the time, he even recalled one from his short time as a mercenary.

"He hired you, to do what?" Asked Posey with a laugh,

"Track down Bigfoot, I kid you not." Said Jude, propping his shotgun up on his shoulder and shaking his head. "This old coot was convinced that Bigfoot was stealing his booze out of his private stash. He showed me these giant footprints around his place, and went raving on and on about how he'd seen a big shaggy thing tromping around, with his arms full of bottles."

"So did you take the job?"

"Hell yeah I took the job. Money was money and as far as Merc contracts go, this didn't seem too bad. This guy was drunk of his ass, it was probably nothing."

"Was it nothing?"

"No, it was his neighbor. Big guy, had this great long beard and he was pretty hairy in general. I might've mistaken him for Bigfoot at a distance. Bigfoot who was jonesin' for some hooch."

"So, did you stop him?"

"Yeah, I went up to him and told him that his neighbor hired me to take out the man stealing his moonshine, and if he didn't promise to stop I'd shoot him."

"What'd he do?"

"That big bastard broke my nose, that's what he did. Knocked me flat on my back. I'm not exaggerating when I say this guy was HUGE."

Posey was laughing and Jude found himself smiling as well as they walked along, kicking up Wasteland dust and both of them scanning the area for any sign of movement. They hadn't run into any trouble yet, not since their first Raider scuffle, but Jude wouldn't let that fool him into being lulled into a false sense of security.

"So what did you do then?" Asked Posey, shifting her grip on her rifle, and he could hear the smile in her voice.

"Shot him, in the knee, then I ran like hell. I guess he stopped stealing the other guy's stash, because I got paid and the old man didn't come back and hire any of us. I don't know why my company took that job in the first place."

"Your company?"

"Merc groups are called factions or companies. My company was pretty small, and not super renowned. Called themselves The Wasteland Warriors. There's two pretty famous ones, Reilly's Rangers and Talon Company Mercenaries. Talon company mercs bad news, but Reilly's Rangers are a decent group. My boss, a guy named Patrick, knew Reilly's Rangers, and I actually worked a job with one of their guys, Donavon, once. They tried to hire me, but I turned them down."

"How come?"

"I was sick of being a Merc. I didn't like having to be at anyone's beck and call. Patrick was a good guy, but there was a lot of jerks in that company. His second in command, Richard, I think was his name. He was a real piece of work. I think he was an Ex-Slaver, but he still got off and telling people what to do, and lording his authority over everyone else. Especially me."

"Why especially you?"

"'Cause I was the youngest." Said Jude, shifting his back a little on his shoulders, so it weighed more on his right arm than his still sore left. "Said he didn't know why Patrick brought me in. Patrick was too soft, bringin' in strays like me."

"How old were you?"

"Seventeen."

"Wow, you were a young 'un."

"Yeah. He was still a prick though. And I was one of the only one who actually buckled down and followed my contracts to the the letter and didn't waste time chasing booze or girls."

Posey smiled again and looked up at him, cocking her head to the side and saying coyly, "Do I detect a hint of bitterness, Colorado?"

"Hell yeah I'm bitter," He said gruffly, looking down at her with a frown. "I was the best damn merc they had."

Posey laughed, brushing a lock of hair out of her face and tucking it behind her ear, "So how much of the Wasteland have you seen?" She asked, looking out over the dessert like surroundings.

"Just about everything west of the Potomac and south of Fort Bannister." He said, running his fingers through his hair, and brushing it out of his eyes. "I haven't really been much further than that, apart from Rivet City. First time I went to the D.C. area was when I..." He paused. For some reason, he held back on saying 'When I went looking for you'. That seemed too intimate. Too telling.

"That's amazing." Said Posey, thankfully missing out on his internal struggle. "I can't believe you're familiar with that much."

"Familiar is a bit of a stretch, but yeah I guess so. I mostly stick to the areas around Megaton and Rivet City though, scavenging and such."

"You don't take any merc jobs anymore?"

"I haven't for a long time. I do occasionally, if the pay is good enough. Let's take a quick pit stop, this pack is killing my arm and it's getting hot."

It was nearing three o' clock, and the sun was really beating down, the cool spring morning they'd been enjoying replaced by blazing hot Wasteland sun. Posey had her jacket tied round her waist again and now took it off and stuffed it in her duffel bag before sitting down in a small patch of shade at the base of a mass of boulders, which sat atop a low hill, giving them a panoramic view of the Wasteland around them.

"Didn't you say the Tunnel Snakes had matching jackets." Said Jude slowly, lowering himself down next to her and looking at the still visible folds of black leather and green cloth. "And you have a jacket with a green snake on it. You didn't tell me you were a Tunnel Snake, Blondie."

"I'm not." She said, shoving the jacket further into her bag. "Well, Butch said I'm an honorary member after I saved his mom. And he gave me his jacket. Hmm," She frowned thoughtfully, "maybe I am a Tunnel Snake."

"He gave you his jacket, huh?" Said Jude with a smirk. "You know what that means. You're jacketed. That means you and Butch are goin' steady. Thought you said he wasn't your boyfriend."

"Don't be ridiculous!" Snapped Posey, blushing slightly and scowling at him. "He's not my boyfriend. Not even close. Besides, it's not like I'll ever see him again."

"Why do you still have his jacket, then?"

"Because sometimes it gets cold and it's nice to have a coat?" She said, raising her eyebrows. "You're looking into this too much, Colorado. And I like it, it reminds me of the Vault."

"And your boyfriend."

Posey kicked his foot, the only thing she could reach, and Jude laughed.

"Why do you have a too small baseball cap with the letters A.H. embroidered on them?" She challenged and Jude's smile froze.

"Found it." He said reflexively. "Thought it might come in handy sometime."

Posey narrowed her eyes, clearly not satisfied with that answer, but to his relief she dropped the subject.

"When did you quit being a mercenary?" She asked instead, leaning back against the rock.

"When I was nineteen. I only stayed that long because I owed Patrick, but by the time I was nineteen, enough was enough. I told Patrick I was leaving, and he was good about it. Richard well, he was predictably a dick, said I couldn't leave something about my contract. I didn't really even have contract, but he wasn't going to let me go."

"So what did you do?" Asked Posey, eyes round.

"I turned to leave and he shot me,"

"He shot you!"

"Yeah but he was a piss poor shot. He got me in the shoulder, with a pretty small caliber bullet."

"Then what did you do?" Asked Posey, who was as enthralled as if he were an episode of Herbert "Daring" Dashwood.

"Turned to shoot him back, but Patrick beat me to it."

"He shot his second in command?" Said Posey, raising her eyebrows. Jude simply shrugged.

"He shot me first, and no one really liked Richard anyway."

Posey shook her head, and Jude quickly changed the subject.

"What about you?" He asked, settling back against his pack and crossing his legs at the ankle.

"What do you mean, what about me?" She asked, looking back at him with raised eyebrows.

"I dunno, we've been talking about me too long." He nodded towards her, eyebrows raised "Your turn."

"We've basically covered all there is to know about me." Said Posey with a shrug. "I was the Vault's marriage counselor, my best friend was Amata, and I read a lot. That's about all there is to know."

"We never discussed fully about how good of a dancer Freddy Gomez is." Said Jude with a smile. Posey blushed and muttered,

"I still don't know how you know about that, but fine." She looked across at him for a moment, sizing him up before she finally began: "The Vault had dances on Fridays, kind of to pick up everyone's morale I suppose, like I said there's not much to do down there. And my sixteenth birthday just so happened to fall on a Friday, so Amata convinced her dad to let her combine them into a dance/sweet sixteen for me, which was sweet of her. Grandma Palmer made a really lovely cake, and Jonas painted a banner that said 'Happy Birthday Posey' on it, and he even painted some flowers, I don't know where he got the paint. I was sort of suspicious when he asked if I could borrow my book on gardening and botany, but I guess he wanted some reference. So, a lot of the Vault showed up, because you know, it was a dance and what else were they going to do. The Tunnel Snakes and Susie Mack had ditched that dance that week but I wasn't complaining. But, Freddy did come. I was surprised that he came, actually. He wanted so desperately to be a Tunnel Snake and they all hated me, well Butch and Wally anyway. Paul sort of tolerated me."

"But Freddy Gomez was just so desperately in love with you he decided to risk it." Said Jude with a wicked grin. "Tunnel Snakes be damned."

"He wasn't desperately in love with me." Said Posey with a scowl.

"How do you know? He came to your party, didn't he? So, you had two boyfriends down in the Vault. That's pretty smooth, Blondie."

"This," Said Posey, pointing an accusing finger at him. "this is why we weren't talking about me."

"Alright, alright, I'm done." Said Jude, though his grin still remained. Posey eyed him suspiciously before continuing.

"Well, he came one way or another, and he taught me how to dance. I mean I kind of knew, we had a dance section in the girls P.E. class, but," Posey blushed and looked down at the her hands, folded in her lap. "he was really good."

Jude was quiet for a moment, observing the way the bridge of her nose sloped down to the tip, which ended in a subtle turn up. He noticed her sunburn was peeling, and Jude was suddenly struck by how young she actually was. She still blushed over what were essentially school dances, and her skin had never seen the sun before.

"How romantic." Said Jude at last and he had to duck as Posey threw a her empty water bottle at him.

"I'm starting to see why Richard shot you." Said Posey sourly and Jude laughed. His muscles in his abdomen ached a little, and he wondered how long it had been since he'd laughed so freely.

"We should probably start looking for a place to make camp." He said, picking up the bottleshe'd thrown at him and stuffing it in his pack. "The light will start going soon and we'll have want to have found a place before that happens."

Posey got wordlessly to her feet, hauling her duffel back up over her shoulder. He narrowed his eyes as she shifted her weight, favorite her left leg and wincing minimally as she put weight on it.

"You okay, Blondie?"

She looked up at him in surprise, "Yeah, I'm fine."

He squinted at her again, looking distrustfully down at her leg. "You sure?"

"Yes, Jude, I'm fine." she said impatient now. "Let's go. Can we keep heading West while we look for a spot? I want to get as far as possible today."

"We will." Said Jude with a frown. "If we stop in an hour or two to make camp, we'll be about two hours out of Evergreen Mills. The garage can't be too much farther west."

"Okay then what are we standing around for?" She raised an eyebrow and, after checking her Pip-Boy, headed off down the slope. Jude shook his head. This girl was impossible.

"Hold up, Blondie." Jude held up a hand and Posey paused, looking back at him with a frown. They'd walked on for a few more hours, and Posey had vetoed all of his proposed stopping points, asking if they couldn't go a little farther, and each time he'd relented, but now his feet hurt and he was tired. He didn't know why she was still pushing on if she'd been favoring her leg before. "Right there." He said, pointing to a rusted pick up truck, half sunk into the Wasteland dust, nestled in an almost valley like depression between two low sloping hills.

"The truck?" said Posey with raised eyebrows.

"Yeah. It's got some decent cover with those hills, and the sides of the truck bed will keep off any wind. Well," He amended, "as long as they don't get too crazy. I don't think they will, though. It's a good a spot as any. It's not as good as some of the other places I pointed out..."

"Okay, okay fine." Said Posey glancing down at her Pip-Boy and biting her lip.

"We don't want to camp too close to the Mills, Blondie." Said Jude impatiently. "Unless you want to wake up to a bunch of Raiders first thing in the morning."

"Doesn't look very soft," Said Posey, ignoring him approaching the truck. "wouldn't the ground be a little softer than metal?"

"Maybe, but I don't want bugs or sand in my sleeping bag myself." Said Jude, dropping his pack on the tailgate. He untied his bedroll from the top of it and set to rolling it out. He saw Posey's face drop slightly and he smirked. "Problem, Blondie?"

"What? No." She said defensively. "I don't have a problem."

"No, you don't." Agreed Jude. He pulled back a flap of canvas from the bottom of his pack and tossed her the bedroll he'd purchased from Moria. Posey caught it in surprise and looked at Jude with wide eyes.

"Might smell a little funky." Said Jude, hopping up into the bed of the truck and shaking his own out. "I got it from Moria. I hope it doesn't have any crazy experimental components or anything. Then again you're rad resistent now, so it probably doesn't matter."

He hopped back down and rummaged in the bottom compartment of his pack and started gingerly removing his 'security system'. He walked about twenty feet away while Posey started spreading her bedroll in the back as well.

"What are you doing?" Called Posey as Jude kicked aside some dirt before crouching down and placing a frag mine down in the ground, arming it and kicking the dust back over it.

"Leaving a present for the neighbors." He said, carefully trailing a thin wire in a roughly circular trail around the truck, planting land mines about every seven feet until he had a decent perimeter. He double checked his handiwork before straightening up and dusting off his hands, satisfied with his work.

"What kind of present?" Asked Posey cautiously, her gaze darting around their campsite nervously. "And what sort of neighbors."

"Oh I'm sure it'll go over with a bang," Said Jude, "it's for the sneaky kind of neighbors."

"Doesn't this site seem kind of out in the open to you?" Said Posey as Jude lifted himself back up onto the tailgate, wincing a little at the shooting pain in his arm. "What if someone sneaks up on us."

"Bad news for them, then." Said Jude, "I set up frag mines around the perimeter. Linked them all together with wire so if someone steps on the wire, anywhere along it, the one closest to them will blow up."

"Wow," Said Posey, looking down at him with shock mingled with admiration. "That's pretty ingenious."

"No need to sound surprised." Said Jude with a scowl, "You're not the only one with a brain around here."

"I know that," Said Posey defensively, "I'm impressed! I never would have thought of something like that."

"You've never needed to." Said Jude, looking out over the Wasteland. The light was fading, and he thought he could see the faintest hump on the horizon that he knew to be Evergreen Mills. Not far now.

Posey joined him, carefully lowering herself onto the tailgate then turning her eyes up, as she always did when there was a spare moment, gazing into the grey blue sky that was slowly fading to hues of pinks and lavenders as the sun began its descent.

"If it gets really cold tonight," Said Jude, drawing his gun into his lap and disassembling it with quick sure movements, "which it might, we can zip our bags together. Conserve body heat, and it won't be so cold."

"Okay," Said Posey, keeping her eyes skyward. Jude turned his attention to his gun, checking over each part before cleaning it and slowly putting it back together again. He'd done it so many times, the same routine over and over again, that it had become an almost meditative act.

Take care of your gun, and it'll take care of you. He thought, sliding the last piece back into place and running his fingers over the familiar shape of it.

"You really like that gun, don't you?"

Jude looked and saw Posey looking over at him, a wry smile twisting her lip.

"Yeah. It's a good gun." Said Jude with a shrug. "Lots of parts for it around, and it packs a punch. What more do you need?"

"Nothing, I guess...Quick and destructive." Said Posey sardonically, looking out over the Wasteland. She was quiet for a little while longer, and her eyes took on that brittle sort of look again. "This place," She said at length, "I thought it'd be different."

"Different how?" Asked Jude, laying his shotgun at the head of his sleeping bag. He had a .44 Magnum pistol strapped to his hip for emergencies, but seldom used it except for the rare instance where his Shotgun would be out of reach.

"When I was a kid, I thought there would be cities." She said dully, "Real cities, I mean. Full of happy, healthy people. How could we know if we never left the Vault? I thought that up until I left. I felt sure, somewhere, that it had to be better than down there. I thought there would be grass and trees and flowers..."

"There are trees," Said Jude, he pointed to a the charred remains of one, it's length snapped in half, curiously jagged edges cutting a harsh pattern against the pastel colored sky. "And grass," He nodded towards a stubby greyish green tuft near their feet. "We are lacking in flowers though. I knew an old lady named Rose, in Rivet City. She might still be there, come to think of it."

Posey's lips twitched in a half smile. "I guess it does have those things. And cities. It's just..."

"A Wasteland." Finished Jude, "Kind of part of the whole 'Nuclear Armageddon' package deal."

"I thought it would be better." She said, "In some ways, it is. I mean, people still killed each other down in the Vault. Hell, look at Jonas..."

Her voice died and she looked down, taking a shuddering breath.

Ordinarily, Jude would have said something along the lines of 'Suck it up, Buttercup.' and he was prepared to do so this time, but...

He knew Posey would suck it up. He'd watched her suck it up a dozen times already. She'd clench her fists, toss back her hair and look it in the eye and make some dumb ass, heroic quip that would probably end up with a bullet in her, but she'd suck it up. She was a persistent little thing, if nothing else.

"What's that book, at your house. A Tale of Two Cities." He asked, bringing up one knee to his chest and looking over at her.

"Huh?" Posey looked over at him in bewilderment.

"I saw it on your shelf. What's it about?"

She stared back at him, her gaze almost defensive, like she was waiting for him to laugh at her, but instead he raised his eyebrows.

"Come on, Blondie, I only give you crap about your boyfriends. I really wanna know, what's that book about?"

"It's about the best of times, and the worst of times." Said Posey with a soft smile and Jude raised raised an eyebrow before turning back to the Wastes.

"Alright then, don't tell me."

"That's how the book starts." Explained Posey, "'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way-'." She recited the words with a sort of timbre and cadence that was completely foreign to Jude's ear. Low and smooth and rhythmic. Nothing at all like her normal voice.

"It was a historical novel, written by a man named Charles Dickens." She continued, her voice now back to it's usual pattern. "It was about two countries that use to exist, they might still, I'm not sure. England and France, and political unrest that lead to the French and the American revolution. It's one of my favorite books."

"Sounds thrilling." Said Jude, unable to keep the dry skepticism out of his voice.

"Check your sarcasm at the tailgate, Wastelander. It's a great book."

Jude had to smile at that, and Posey's lips turned up in a smile too.

"What other books have you read?" He asked, scooting back and resting his back against the wall of the truck's bed.

"I read everything I could get my hands on down in the Vault." Said Posey, still staring out over the ragged Wasteland's horizon. "A Tale of Two Cities and The Great Gatsby were two books that the Vault had enough copies to supply everyone in the grade with. I'm not technically suppose to have it, but there were lots of extras and Mr. Brotch, my teacher, he sort of smuggled me a copy."

"But not of The Great Gatsby?"

"No, they didn't have extra of that book. Which was a shame because I really liked that one too."

"What was that one about?" The fading light illuminated all the fuzzy flyaways coming out of her braid, making them glow golden in the evening sun.

"Well, like all great books I'd say it was about the human condition. It was about a practically ancient period of American History, the 1920's."

"Geez Louise," Said Jude, letting out a low whistle, "did anyone even have means to record stuff then?"

"Yes, a lot of books came out of that era actually." She said, matter of factly, and Jude noted the way her shoulders subtly relaxed and her fists loosened the longer she spoke. "And even a little earlier than that, actually. Jane Austen, she was a wonder. But anyway, The Great Gatsby's main character is a man named Nick Carraway, and he goes to a city called New York to pursue the American dream, which was basically to get rich. It's also about a man named Jay Gatsby, hence the name The Great Gatsby." She'd fallen into a different cadence now than the one before, still smooth and rhythmic but almost as if she were a professor talking to a crowd in a lecture hall, rather than sitting on a rusted out tailgate with the only company present a surly ex-mercenary. "Gatsby had ordered his entire life around one purpose," She continued, oblivious to the fact that Jude wasn't really listening, but smiling in amusement as she chatted on. "to be reunited with Daisy Buchanan, the love he lost five years before the book takes place. But Daisy turns out to be awful and selfish and in the end everyone is disillusioned with life and the jazz age and Gatsby ends up dead."

"Cheerful." He remarked, folding his arms across his chest.

"Isn't it though?" Said Posey looking at him with a smile, "It was actually really beautifully written. One of my favorite parts is when Gatsby is reminiscing about the first time he met Daisy, something about them walking together on an autumn night 'So he waited, listening for a moment longer to the tuning-fork that had been struck upon a star. Then he kissed her' '. I don't know why but that line," She smiled and shook her head, "I loved it."

"So it was a love story, then."

"Sort of. A tragic one, but I suppose all good love stories have some element of tragedy."

"Morbid." Commented Jude, "Which was better, A Tale of Two Cities or The Great Gatsby?"

"Oh, you can't ask me that." Said Posey, pulling a face. "They're way too different to even compare."

"Which one is shorter?"

"Gatsby."

"Then that one is better."

Posey rolled her eyes. "What time will we get to the garage tomorrow?"

"Depends," He said, reaching down and scratching at a new blood stain spattered across his leg. He wondered if the blood belonged to him, or a Raider. "We'll reach Evergreen Mills in about two hours, and I guess it just depends on how far West that garage is from there."

"Thanks for helping me, Jude." Blurted out Posey, finally jerking her gaze back to him. "I mean it. I don't know how I could ever repay you. I might be as indebted to you as Gob is to Moriarty."

"Are you comparing me to Moriarty?" Said Jude, tilting his chin down while simultaneously raising his eyebrows in indignation. "Because I will leave you in this truck right now."

"No, no, no," Laughed Posey, "I'm not comparing you to Moriarty, cross my heart. You're nothing like Moriarty."

"Cuz I'm nice, huh?" Taunted Jude with a smirk. Posey rolled her eyes again, but smiled none the less.

"Yeah," She agreed, "You're real nice, Jude. Real-" Her eyes suddenly widened and she sat up, crying out:"Shit!" while instantly turning bright pink. She looked towards Jude in horror and Jude couldn't help it. He let out a raucous laugh, clapping his hands together while Posey groaned.

"No! No, no, no, nooooooo you can't hold me responsible for what I said I was basically dying."

"What?" He said in mock offense. " I'm not a better dancer than Freddy Gomez?"

"How would I even know!" agonized Posey, once again hiding her blushing cheeks behind her hands.

"You can't take it back, Blondie." Said Jude, his lips twisted in a impish smirk, "I'm a better dancer than Freddy Gomez and I'm more handsome than Butch, you said it yourself."

"I don't know if everyone would agree with that statement," Mumbled Posey, her face now completely hidden in her hands. "Butch was the best looking guy down in the Vault."

"But you agree with that statement." Said Jude with a grin. "You're the one that said it."

"I'm going to sleep now." Said Posey, slowly lowering her hands, though her face was still scarlet. She unlaced her boots and started tugging them off while Jude drawled

"Awww, come on, Blondie. Just admit it, you think I'm handsome."

"Apparently I already did." Retorted Posey, looking miffed, crawling towards the mouth of her sleeping bag. "Now shush. I'm tired."

Jude smirked again, "Does this mean you don't think I'm a raging psychopath who preys on young girls anymore?"

"Lots of famous serial killers were handsome, Jude." She said witheringly, balling up her duffel bag under her head. "That's not proof."

"Ha!" He cried triumphantly, "So you do think I'm handsome."

"I'm not talking to you anymore."

Jude laughed as Posey turned over on her side, her back now to him and resolutely ignoring him. Jude slipped his armor off, leaving it at the end of the truck before slipping into his own bedroll.

"It's okay, Blondie." He said, shifting a little so he was laying on his good arm, "You're not half bad yourself"

Posey

Posey awoke a wall of white cotton.

Sometime in the night, both she and Jude had scooted closer together, seeking warmth unconsciously. She was curled against his back, her nose buried in his shirt, her shoulders up around her ears.

In truth, Jude did not smell pleasant. Which was completely understandable, she was sure she wasn't fresh as a daisy herself. Yet as she drew back, she couldn't help but feel that it wasn't as bad as it could have been. Sure, he smelled of sweat which was gross, but there had also been a trace of leather from his armor, and something else, that maybe was just him that wasn't entirely off putting. And he'd been so warm. Warm through.

Her eyes followed the curve of his shoulder and arm, disappearing into his sleeping bag. His bandage had rust colored spots seeping through, and the back of his neck was scattered with freckles.

She sat up quickly as the image of the boy from yesterday flashed before her eyes, his gap toothed smile and lips, speckled with blood. Posey picked her jacket up from where she'd been using it as a pillow and pulled it on, drawing the familiar leather tight against her to fight off a chill that had nothing to do with the brisk early morning air.

As it always seemed to do when her heart pounded, her ear ached and now along with it, her throat, the bruises there pulsing with each rapid beat of her frantic heart. She reached up and tentatively ran her fingers down her neck, prodding the tender flesh before moving up to her ear. She followed the curve of it, sucking in a quick breath as she felt the odd, triangular notch of now missing flesh. She'd collected a myriad of odd injuries out in the Wastes. The gunshot graze on her forehead from one of the Vault's guards. The scrape on her neck from the subway car's ragged edges from her first trek to D.C.. Part of her ear blasted off by a raider. The bruises on her neck from a boy who she wanted to spare, and the bruise on her leg from a man she'd wanted to destroy. The Wasteland was already chipping away at her, claiming her blood for itself, twisting her thoughts in ways she never would have imagined a week ago.

She heard a rustle and looked down to see Jude, rolling onto his back, his eyes still closed, mouth parted slightly in sleep. The light that was just beginning to fall on the pair of them illuminated the line of his cheekbone and nose. His eyelashes actually cast a shadow on his face, they were so long.

Boys always have the best eyelashes, thought Posey with a frown, it's not fair, they never appreciate them.

Posey dug into her bag, fishing out a water bottle and a mutfruit she'd bought from Jenny back in Megaton and moved to sit down on the tailgate again,still fighting off shivers. She heard a soft sigh and turned to look back at Jude. She couldn't really see much of him, he'd curled up under his sleeping bag and for some reason that sight brought a smile to her lips. To see Jude, who had at least six inches on her height, with his broad shoulders, muscled arms, and scruffy face from only one day without shaving, curled up, childlike, sleeping peacefully was...well it was adorable to be completely honest.

She turned back and watched as the sky slowly brightened, the pale yellow clouds slowly dissipating as the sun began to rise. As with everything in the sky, Posey was thoroughly enchanted, seeing as she could count on one hand how many times she'd seen a sunrise. But she did have to admit, sunsets, in her opinion, were much prettier. They seemed much more colorful.

She heard the truck groan slightly and looked over her shoulder to see Jude pushing himself up into a sitting position with some apparent difficulty. His dark hair was a mess, and his eyes were bleary and Posey bit back a laugh.

"Good morning, sunshine." She called with a smile. Jude glared at her, and Posey laughed.

"Not much of a morning person?" Asked Posey, cocking her head to the side and smiling.

"Mind your own business." Muttered Jude and Posey grinned.

"Maybe we should have brought Wadsworth, he could have brewed you up some coffee, then maybe you wouldn't be so grumpy."

Jude merely grunted and pulled his leather armor towards him and started buckling it on, still wearing a scowl.

"You said we're close now, right?" She asked once Jude had finished and joined her on the tailgate.

"Yeah, we're close." He said, rubbing his eye and yawning widely. "Two hours out of Evergreen Mills, and this garage can't be much farther than that. We're not heading any further north, though, we'll go straight West from here. Should be far enough away that we won't have to worry about any Raiders and... what are you doing?" He asked, brows furrowed. She'd been about to bite into her mutfruit, but paused as Jude looked at her with a frown.

"I'm eating breakfast," Said Posey slowly, looking uncertainly down at the oddly shaped fruit. "Why, did you want some?"

"You don't eat the skin of a mutfruit, Blondie." Said Jude, holding out his hand. "At least if you've got half a tastebud you don't. That stuff is so sour it'll make your tongue bleed. Here, let me see."

He took the mutfruit from her and reached behind him, pulled his knife from his belt and started peeling the thick purple skin away. The fruit's flesh underneath was a pale, almost transparent green, and Jude cut off a chunk, holding out his knife with the now peeled portion of mutfruit easily accessible. Posey took it with a word of thanks, hesitantly placing the mushy fruit in her mouth, letting the almost watered down sweetness spread over her tongue.

"That's not bad." Said Posey, looking appreciatively at the mutfruit.

"It's better than Crunchy Mutfruit anyway, which, by the way is not crunchy." Said Jude with a shrug, taking a piece for himself. "How're your legs feeling this morning?"

"Fine." Lied Posey. In truth, they'd never been so sore, and her left knee was really starting to ache. She'd landed on it awkwardly yesterday, diving away from the Raider's Frag Grenade.

"Are you lying to me?" He challenged, raising his eyebrows, "Because if they're something wrong and you don't tell me, then it's gonna slow us down or get you killed."

"Well they're tired and they hurt," Said Posey with a scowl, "but it's to be expected. I don't think it's anything serious."

Jude narrowed his eyes but didn't push the issue. Instead, he got to his feet and started rolling up both of their sleeping bags.

"I can carry my bedroll today," Said Posey, as Jude lashed his own, tightly rolled bag to the top of his back.

"Oh yeah? And where would you put it in your bag? It's not heavy, and it actually helps cushion my back from my pack. I'm keeping it."

"Alright, if you're sure." Said Posey, picking up her rifle.

"I'm always sure, Blondie. Let me just pack up the perimeter and we can get movie before it gets too hot."

Campsite packed, guns loaded, and facing West, they set out. The morning was crisp and cool, and they were so much closer to Vault 112 that Posey might have had a spring in her step if her feet didn't feel like they were about to fall off. The terrain in this area of the Wasteland was mostly brush, with a few outcroppings of rock here and there, and with no sign of civilization except for the distant shape of Evergreen Mills. Despite its barrenness, and the only color present being the muted grey blue of the sky, Posey felt her spirits lift a little at the openness around them. There was nothing around to hold them back, nothing above to hold them in, and they were on their way to find her dad. Everything was perfect, except...

Posey paused, squinting out to her left. There was a hulking, hunchbacked silhouette, about four hundred feet away. She couldn't quite make it out, but it appeared to have...horns?

"What's that?" She asked pointing towards the shape and taking a curious step forward, if she got a little closer she could probably make it out. Could it be a stray Brahmin, wandered away from a settlement nearby?

"What's what?" Jude asked, halting in his progress and following her arm, "I don't-" Jude's voice died then became suddenly frantic . "Posey, get back!"

"I just want to see." She said, taking another careful step forward. A breeze rustled her clothing, blowing from behind her, towards whatever the thing was and she saw it pause in its shuffling movement. "Do you think-"

She cut off abruptly as she suddenly felt herself hauled suddenly and violently backwards. She started to cry out in anger but Jude's hand was over mouth, his other arm around her middle and he was dragging her back over the rocks they'd just climbed down, scrabbling back up towards a slight overhang of rubble. She could hear his rapid breath in her ear as he unceremoniously threw her inside the cave like structure before diving in himself.

Posey fell hard, and Jude fell harder on top of her, keeping his hand firmly over her mouth.

"Don't move!" He hissed, His mouth was so close to her hear she could feel his lips brush it. "Don't speak! Just don't!"

Posey tried to ask, "But what-"

But he pressed his hand tighter and looked back towards the mouth of the little cave in terror.

That silenced Posey better than Jude's hand over her mouth ever could. Jude was scared. She didn't know if she'd ever even seen Jude look worried before, apart form the elevator in the Washington monument, but this, this was on an entirely different plane of fear. She could feel him shaking, and she saw the muscles in his throat contract as he swallowed hard. All she could see of him was the underside of his jaw as he looked back again, the pulse in his neck jumping.

Rocks jabbed at her back, and the seconds ticked sluggishly by, Jude's heavy weight pressing down on her made the rocks even worse. Posey gently moved his hand away and he looked down at her, his eyes wide, the dusty shadow of the overhang had diminished their usual emerald shade to a muddy greyish green, and the lines around them seemed more pronounced than ever.

Posey mouthed as clearly as she could 'What is it?'

Jude shook his head and Posey could feel his thundering heart beat through his armor. He was sprawled over her, propped up on his elbows, and her leg was starting to ache, it was twisted uncomfortably beneath his and the rocks jabbing into her spine certainly wasn't helping anything but she didn't move. As the seconds grew to minutes, Jude eventually eased off her, his movements slow and silent and she could see all of his muscles bunching under his armor, tense and ready to spring into action as he crept towards the mouth of the cave. She started to get up but he held up a hand and so she froze, watching as Jude took a careful step out of the cave. He looked left and right, still coiled tight, jaw clenched and eyes wide. Yet his hands as he raised his shotgun, didn't tremble. Another two minutes drug by. Posey counted each second.

"I think we're clear." Said Jude at last, lowering his gun and fairly collapsing against the cave wall.

"What was that thing?" Asked Posey, finally sitting up and brushing the dust off her back.

"A Deathclaw." Said Jude, not looking at her. The muscles in his jaw were still knotted, and she could see the vein in his neck jump. "Arguably, the most dangerous creature in the Wasteland, and you," He gave her a hard look. "wanted to go look."

"I didn't know!" Said Posey, "I wasn't going to go right up to it I-"

"I told you to get back and you didn't!" Shouted Jude, "How the hell am I supposed to help you if you don't listen to me!"

"I-"

"I tell you, 'You see a Raider you kill it' and instead you just stare at them!" He continued, gaze hard and voice steely, "I tell you: 'Get back' and what do you do! You move closer! God damnit, Blondie! If you have a damn death wish you better just tell me so I can stop wasting my time!"

The words stung more than Posey cared to admit. She dropped her gaze, feeling angry at both herself and Jude. Angry at Jude for yelling at her, and angry at herself for deserving it. She felt like a child being reprimanded by a parent, except her father had never had reason to yell at her before.

"I'm..." She swallowed hard, glaring at the rocks that had been jabbing into her back moments before. "I'm sorry." She said, sounding almost bitter even to herself. "It won't happen again, sir."

"Oh, now don't give me any of that shit." Said Jude wearily, sliding down the cave wall and coming to rest in front of her. "Sir? Really, Blondie?"

Posey didn't say anything, and Jude let out a sigh before getting laboriously to his feet.

"Come on," He said, holding out his hand. "Vault 112 has got to be close now. Let's get a move on."

Posey looked up at his offered hand, dusted in wasteland dirt and the skin of knuckles scraped from the rocks, bright red blood smeared across the back of his hand, which she could see were covered with dozens of tiny scars, and of course, freckles.

She felt calluses under her palm as she accepted it and he pulled her to her feet. She let go of his hand immediately and turned and walked out into the Wasteland sun without a second glance.

"Well, this is has got to be it."

Posey had to agree, looking at the lone building standing almost sentinel in the otherwise barren landscape. Smith Casey's Garage was painted along the top of the building, its lettering faded and the bricks visible through the paint.

"So there's a Vault down there, huh?" Said Jude, looking at the building apprehensively. It didn't look like much, but the fact that it was so far from even any sign of civilization, and the fact that it was remarkably still standing with all four walls still intact and a roof, made the hairs on Posey's neck rise. For some reason, seeing it sitting there, a beacon of Pre-War technology and life, almost untouched by Wasteland standards was unnerving. Not to mention the thought that her father could still be there set her heart pounding and her palms sweating. There were essentially three ways this was going to go down. Option one: Her father had been there and was gone again, and hopefully had left some kind of indication as to where. Option two: Her father was alive and well and busy researching up on the G.E.C.K. Or option three: she was about to stumble upon his corpse. All of them terrified her.

"You ready, Blondie?" He asked, looking from the scarred door to her face.

"No." Said Posey flatly, and pushed it open.

The first thing she heard made her stomach clench and she let out a screech and jumped back as the familiar form of a Radroach scurried across the floor, away from the sudden flash of light opening the door had caused.

"Radroaches!" She cried in disgust, shivering and shaking out her arms as if trying to physically shake off her goosebumps. "Why does it have to be Radroaches!"

"You'll scream when you see a Radroach," Said Jude exasperated as he chased after the bug and stomped down hard on its shell, the resulting crunch almost made Posey retch. "But you want a closer look at a Deathclaw? What the hell is wrong with you?"

"I hate bugs!" Said Posey, looking around the rest of the dank space with apprehension. "I hate the way their legs move and the noises they make and their antenna, ugh." She shuddered, "They're disgusting."

"Yeah well, Deathclaws," Jude ground his heel into another last roach, "are deadly."

"Bugs can be too." She argued, smashing one with a plank of wood she'd found next to the door. "Have you ever heard of West Nile Virus?"

"No," He said, kicking aside the roaches carcass.

"Well it was very deadly and caused by bugs, so there."

"Have you ever heard of dismemberment or evisceration?" He countered, "It's extremely deadly and caused by Deathclaws. So there."

"Okay, okay," Said Posey with a frown. "I get it. Deathclaws trump-" She jumped and let out another yelp as she felt something brush against her leg and she whirled around, bringing her board viciously down on the husk of what was hopefully the last of the radroaches. "bugs." She finished shakily.

"Fearless," Said Jude, smirking at her and Posey scowled. She threw aside her board and continued walked past him, around a counter littered with junk, which of course drew Jude like a moth to flame. He always had to make sure there wasn't any possibly valuable loot left behind.

She stepped into the other room, taking in the abandoned husk of a Pre-War car and the piles of tires scattered across the room, infusing the room with the smell of rubber. There was a motorcycle leaning against one corrugated tin wall, and plenty of lockers, but no Cog shaped door labeled 112. She headed further in and heard a slight scuffle, like a claw on stone, and she turned towards the sound to see a Mole Rat, hurling itself towards her.

BANG BANG BANG

Her Assault Rifle's rapid fire pounded against her shoulder, and her shots brought Jude running, but the two rodent assailants were already dead and Posey was busy combing the gun cabinets for ammo.

"Do you have any need for a ten millimeter pistol?" She asked, turning to him and hefting the one she'd found in the cabinet in her hand.

"No, but take it anyway, I can fix yours up with the parts from it." Said Jude, looking at an electrical box next to a unit of shelving with a frown. "This doesn't make any sense." He said, almost more to himself than to her and Posey joined him, looking at the box with raised eyebrows.

"The electrical box? What do you mean it doesn't make sense?"

"I mean it's not a breaker box, and the currents leading out of it don't seem to be going anywhere, but down." He ran his fingers down the metal encasing what she could only presume to be wires. "So what is it for? And I thought this was suppose to be a Vault?"

"Vaults are underground, so it's got to be in a basement or something." said Posey, looking around the room with a frown. "I just-"

She cut off as she heard an automated hiss and turned to see Jude, hand still resting on the lever of the electrical box, looking down at a newly revealed staircase with raised eyebrows.

"See," he said, looking back at her, "told you that box didn't make sense."

The air steadily grew cooler as the two of them descended the stairs. She could hear the whirring of a generator as they stopped at the bottom of the stairs, looking down at another level below their current one, which had a promising looking metal door facing them, leading deeper underground. Jude approached it with a mistrustful look, and when Posey pulled it open with a clattering of levers and gears, he jumped.

"So, that's it, that's the door to the Vault?" He asked nervously, peering around down another set of stairs, which descended down into murky darkness. "We're in the Vault now?"

"No," Said Posey with a smile, stepping over the threshold. "Vault doors are a little more... heavy duty."

"Oh," He said, joining her on the other side. "How far down will the Vault be?"

"Who knows, probably not much deeper. Come on, let's go find out."

They carried on down the staircase, Jude glancing around at the walls and shifting the grip on his shotgun anxiously.

"You alright?" She asked and he scowled, but refused to meet her gaze.

"Of course I'm alright." He said, "Come on, the sooner we get into this Vault the sooner we find your old man and get the hell out of here."

Posey smiled and shook her head as Jude pushed resolutely on, not glancing back at her and rounding the corner, where he stopped dead, mouth ajar.

Posey hurried to catch up with him, and saw that he was staring at the enormous, cog shaped door of Vault 112. "Well," She said, feeling a prickle of dread creep up the back of her neck. "Shall we?"

Jude looked down at her, and in the buzzing electric lights, he looked ghostly pale and much younger than out in the Wastes.

"Now or never." He said with a shrug, and Posey looked down at the lever under her hand,

"I'm coming, dad." She whispered, and shoved the handle down.

An:/ So I know this one is mostly filler and for that I'm sorry, but hey, you gotta have some good dialogue and character growth, right? Right? *nervous chuckle*

It's filler. I know. I'm sorry.

I had planned on them actually entering the Vault in this chapter and I actually wrote it that way but it ended up WAY too long and I had to split it into two chapters. I was thinking of you guys, come on, I was just thinking of you.

Also, I didn't put an Author's Note at the end of last chapter, because it just didn't feel right, you know? It was a pretty serious end, and my Author's Notes are very unserious. But as always, shout out to Latisha McPeanuts and tirechanclas for their reviews and constant support. Seriously, you are amazing.

You want a shoutout and lots of random love from a stranger on the internet? Of course you do! You know how you get the? REVIEW. Seriously guys, you're killing me! This story is getting a crazy amount of hits, I'm really overwhelmed by how much and I feel so lucky for that, but reviews really do mean so much, otherwise I wouldn't beg for them. It's heartening to know that so many people are reading my story, and I love that, but for all I know, they went away hating it and that's really discouraging to not know. If you did hate it, tell me! Especially if you hate it! Why did you hate it? Are my characters flat, do I not have enough detail, do I have too much? Am I just a crappy writer who should just quit now?tell me! It really helps motivate me to get stuff up in a timely manner.

I'm sorry to beg for reviews guys but they're really unbelievably helpful, and to those of you who have reviewed, I love you and want to make you cookies or some kind of baked goods and give you nine hugs.

Next chapter coming up REAL soon, I promise! And it'll actually you know, be exciting and stuff...I hope, anyway.

xoxoxo

Living Pretty