A/N: Whew! Even with splitting the chapter this ended up being a long one... almost as long as the previous two combined! Hopefully it's worth it.

Fair warning, this chapter has some pretty intense gore (not really, when you account for the fact that it's set in the Fallout universe, but pretty intense for ffnet), so much so that I've bumped the rating up to M. ...Which, looking back, I probably should have done for all of the f bombs in chapter 2, but oh well. It's done now. I've also tweaked the teaser to better fit where the story will be going. I confess, I wrote and posted chapter 1 without having any kind of an overall outline for this fic. That has since been remedied, and these changes reflect that.

You may also have noticed that SFA now has cover art! This was drawn by me, badly and with a mouse, (and in improper dimensions, argh!) but hopefully it will help to bring my characters to life just a little bit more. (If you're curious, Noah and Dani are American of European descent, while Evelyn is American of European and Indian descent.)

Lastly, despite the gore this chapter is half fluff, so depending on why you're reading this... sorry/you're welcome?

Let's get started!

Warnings: Strong language, violence, gore, romance between two women, some hintings of PTSD.

Chapter 3: Commiserate

It took them nearly twenty minutes to walk around the perimeter of the town. It was now the full heat of the day, and they were all sweltering, exhausted, and burnt to hell. That's what the leader of those crazies had told them—that they had nasty sunburns. The sun—that big ball of plasma floating 90 million miles away—was so strong that it could burn their skin from that great distance. It was incredible. Painful, but incredible. None of their books had mentioned this phenomenon. It was common knowledge before the war, Evelyn supposed.

Of course, once they had figured it out they tried to take measures to prevent further damage, but apart from getting out of the sun there didn't seem to be much they could do. Evelyn considered putting her hat on, but even if she hadn't used it to cushion her pipboy, the thought of being more restricted was too much for her. She already wanted to tear her jumpsuit off as it was. But her darker skin seemed to be providing her some additional protection somehow, because although she was hotter than she'd ever been in her entire life, the burning sensation hadn't yet progressed past intense discomfort. The others were not so lucky. Noah in particular had turned a brilliant shade of pink and his face had been scrunched in a permanent grimace since they'd returned to walking.

Needless to say, Alpha Squad was looking forward to finding some shade and a place to rest... provided this was a hospitable town.

The gate, when they came to it, was fairly small. Better for defense, Evelyn supposed. It was guarded by a person on either side, each of them inside of their own little guard post that was shielded from the sun. There also seemed to be a sniper's nest above the gate, though it was currently unoccupied. All-in-all it was a pretty good setup. The wall would be nearly impossible to climb or breach without large equipment that would no doubt draw attention and attack, and between the sniper and the guards they would be able to take down any small threats, or raise the alarm on anything larger. The terrain was so flat that you could see miles into the distance, and there were very few trees in this area. Their approach had probably been noted some time ago.

As they drew closer, one of the guards stepped out from her post to greet them. She was wearing a light gray uniform underneath an impressive set of studded leather armor. The ensemble was much more practical than the clothing they had seen thus far, and gave Evelyn hope that they might be able to find some clothing that didn't look like refuse from a junkyard. Still, said the voice, you wouldn't have objected to seeing Dani in a leather harness, would you?

Evelyn fought off the urge to begin an internal argument. Now wasn't the time.

The guard looked to be in her mid-twenties, only a few years older than Evelyn herself. She was armed with a shotgun, which she held at her side. She wasn't pointing it at them, only making it clear that she wouldn't tolerate any funny business.

"Hi there. Haven't seen you folks around here before. First time?"

"Sure is," Dani said with a smile. "What is this place?"

"Trenton City. Biggest town for miles. Where you guys from?"

"Down south."

The guard nodded. "Thought you might be. NCR, yeah? Don't get a lot of you up this far north."

Dani shook her head. "Sorry, no affiliation with NCR." Whatever that was.

"Oh? I just assumed because of the fancy packs and the matching uniforms... anyway, none of my business, right? You're free to enter the city, but I'll have to hold your weapons here. They'll be returned to you when you leave."

Noah raised his eyebrows but said nothing. Evelyn was equally hesitant to relinquish their protection, but waited for Dani to make the call.

"City policy, huh?" Dani asked.

"Yeah. One of the few unanimous decisions we've made."

"Right... well, I can't say I'm comfortable with it, but rules are rules."

As Dani pulled her gun from its holster, Evelyn observed that the second guard (an older man who didn't look nearly as friendly as his coworker) had his rifle trained on her until she handed it over. Evelyn and Noah followed suit, handing their pistols to the guard without comment.

"I appreciate the cooperation. Most people raise a big stink about it, but it's worked well for us over the years," she said as she unlocked a sturdy-looking metal trunk inside of her guard post and stowed their weapons inside. Once she'd refastened the lock, she walked to the gate and knocked twice. The doors opened inward.

"Welcome to Trenton City. Hope you enjoy yourselves. If you get turned around feel free to ask a guard for directions... the layout can be confusing for first timers."

Dani offered her thanks and the squad made their way through the gates.

Trenton City was laid out in a roughly rectangular shape, surrounded by high walls of metal. Nearly all of the buildings were composed of the same material. Evelyn immediately saw the reason for the guard's words; though the area within the walls was not small, it was very limiting in terms of town growth. The populace had worked around that limitation, choosing to build up rather than out. Buildings were stacked upon buildings, with dozens of walkways interconnecting everything. There were three main levels, with a fourth level that consisted of a walkway that ran the perimeter of the wall. Evelyn's eyes were drawn to a bustling open-air market situated on the second level, above what appeared to be a hospital. There was another building above the market, shielding it from the sun (and presumably from the rain).

Evelyn marveled at the place. It had none of the elegance of the cities from the past that she'd seen in films, but it was sturdy and functional and had a rugged charm. After spending her entire life in the vault's sterile, streamlined environment, there was something about the patchwork nature of the town that fascinated her. Where had they obtained so much metal? How long had it taken them to build this place? It took Dani pulling on her arm to shake her from her thoughts.

"Come on, this guard said he would show us to a place where we can rest."

They were led through the town's cramped ground level, which necessitated their weaving through the many support beams that held up walkways and buildings alike. They passed a section of town that was dedicated to farming, and Evelyn saw some familiar plants growing alongside many that she didn't recognize. The guard stopped outside of a large building that spanned two levels by itself. It was marked with a sign that bore the name "Mercury" and indicated that it was both a restaurant and an inn.

"Best food in town, and the best beds. If you're looking for a drink, Paulman's is up there," the guard said, pointing to a smaller building on the second level.

"Thanks," Noah grunted before leading the way inside.

The ground floor was apparently the restaurant portion of the building, and it consisted of one large room. Instead of being hidden away in the back, the kitchen was located in the center, and though it was surrounded by a counter, it was otherwise completely open. There were a dozen tables of varying sizes dotted around the room, but only two were currently occupied. Dani steered them to a small table situated near the stairs. The reason was obvious; all of the furniture inside the place appeared to be scavenged, and this table had a comfortable looking booth seat on one side. She let out a soft groan as she nearly collapsed onto the worn leather, her eyes fluttering closed in complete relief at being off her feet and out of the sun. Evelyn pulled up a chair as Noah took a seat next to their squad leader.

They rested for a few minutes without speaking, but it wasn't nearly as satisfying as Evelyn had hoped it would be. In fact, she felt hotter now that she was sitting. Sweat was literally dripping down her face. She wiped her brow, and grimaced when she saw that dust and grime had mixed with her sweat, effectively caking her in mud. She heard Dani stifle a laugh and slowly brought her eyes to meet those glittering baby blues.

"Sorry, just—your face," Dani giggled.

"Don't worry, Parker, we'd be just as filthy if we'd been grubbing around in the bushes. ...Thanks for that, by the way," Noah said.

Evelyn dropped her gaze. She didn't want to think about that. She groped for a subject change, and as luck would have it, worries were never far from her mind. She shrugged a shoulder and cleared her throat.

"Hey—what are we gonna do about, y'know, money?"

She could feel Dani scrutinizing her, but she evidently picked up on the fact that Evelyn still wasn't ready to talk about it, so instead she sat up straight and considered the question. "I've been thinking about it. We'll have to try to barter some of our supplies, I think."

"But we only brought essentials," said Noah. "What do we have that we could afford to barter?"

"We—" Dani began, but was interrupted by a man seated at the next table.

"Hey, I, uh, couldn't help overhearin' your dilemma," he said.

Given the hushed tones they'd all been using, Evelyn doubted that very much. She eyed him warily. He was an older man, perhaps in his late fifties. He was thin, and the greasy brown hair she could see peeking out from underneath his fedora was liberally streaked with gray. He looked nice enough, but looks could be deceiving. He offered them a smile.

"I'm Randy. You folks lookin' for a job?"

"...Uh. Thanks, Randy, but I don't think..."

"Got a message I need delivered. Just here in town, nothin' special. Guy lives on the third level, and my knees aren't what they used to be, y'know? I'll pay ya twenty caps. How 'bout it?" he spoke rapidly, cutting Dani off once again.

The squad exchanged hesitant looks. Not only was this suspicious as hell, but what were caps? Evelyn would have asked, but she felt that being unaware of a form of currency (if that was indeed what it was) would probably lead to some uncomfortable questions.

Randy noticed their reluctance and laughed. "Alright, alright, I get it, you drive a hard bargain. Twenty-five caps. Final offer. C'mon, it's not like I'm askin' you to run all the way to Goldenrod, it's just up a couple-a flights of stairs."

"...We'd need to see the money first," Dani said.

Randy raised an eyebrow. "Shrewd girl, huh? I like that. Alright, hold on." He pulled a bulging drawstring pouch from his pants (not from his pocket, Evelyn noted—from his pants) and shook it so that they heard the clink of metal-against-metal. "Got plenty, y'see? Here, a little taste," he said, reaching inside and flicking something at Dani.

She caught it and held it up, a blank look on her face. It was a bottle cap. Nuka-cola, it looked like, though it was hard to tell with most of the paint worn off. This is what they were using for currency up here?

"So that's twenty-six caps now, just for deliverin' a letter. You game or what?"

Dani still appeared conflicted, but Noah took the decision off of her hands.

"Yeah, okay. Sure. Why not?"

Randy beamed. "My man! Alright, here's the letter—take it up to Manny, on the third level like I said. Guy's a ghoul, real easy to spot. You'll get your money after it's done."

Noah took the folded paper from him and slipped it into his pocket as he stood. Dani was sporting an annoyed expression but she stood, too. Evelyn followed them out the door and toward a set of stairs that led to the second level.

"What the hell, Noah?" Dani huffed.

He held up his hands. "I know, I know, but we need money and it sounded simple enough. I was looking at the prices in there and this'll be enough to get us a couple of rooms tonight. Honestly, you should be thanking me. I don't think you guys want to sleep out in dinosaurville any more than I do."

Evelyn rolled her eyes. "We'll thank you if this guy doesn't end up gutting us or something. What did he say he was? A ghost?"

Dani giggled. "A ghoul, I think. Not that that makes any more sense."

"Maybe it's a gang thing."

They were headed to the third level now, with Noah still taking the lead. He waited for his squadmates at the top, pointedly avoiding looking down. Evelyn considered scaring him a little bit—he'd annoyed Dani, after all, so he deserved it.

"Better not," she muttered to herself. With her luck she'd end up really pushing him over the railing. Dani evidently heard her, because she caught her eye and snickered.

"Okay, so now we just gotta find this Manny guy," Noah said when they'd joined him.

Evelyn looked around. The third level was mostly housing, with the exception of the building above the market, which appeared to be a kind of game parlor. It seemed like the logical place to start, unless they wanted to start knocking on doors. She said as much, and the others agreed.

It was a dingy, dark sort of place, despite being exposed to more sunlight than most of the buildings around (and below) it. The windows were shuttered, and it was smoky inside. Evelyn wrinkled her nose in distaste. She knew of cigarettes from movies, but the vault had either banned them or else the supply had run out years before, so she'd never experienced cigarette smoke firsthand. It was vile, she decided.

"Hm! Smells kinda nice," Noah said.

Of course he would think that.

Evelyn shook her head. "You're crazy."

"Crazy is as crazy does," he replied with a smirk.

"...I don't think that casts you in a better light, exactly," Evelyn muttered, but he was already moving past her, approaching a man that was standing beside a pool table that was not unlike the one they had in their own vault game room, waiting for the woman he was playing with to take her shot.

"Hey, guy, you know where I could find a Manny?"

The guy in question snorted and looked Noah over. "You're an attractive fella. I think you oughta be able to find a man without resorting to asking strangers for help."

Noah blushed (which was an amusing effect given that his face had already been bright pink from the sunburn). "That's... not what I meant."

The man laughed, but cut off abruptly when the woman smacked him in the back of the head. "Don't be a dick," she said, before turning to Noah. "Sorry. He's just messing with ya. Manny lives in the little place two doors down on the right. Should be home right now. Dunno why you'd wanna talk to him, though, guy's a cranky old ghoul if ever there was one. ...Not that there's anything wrong with ghouls," she tacked the addendum on hastily.

They offered their thanks, Noah awkwardly, Evelyn and Dani with big grins, and followed the directions they'd been given.

The woman hadn't been kidding when she'd said it was a little place. The shack was small enough that it must've been a single room affair. Noah took the lead again, knocking on the rusty metal door. They heard a gravelly voice telling them to "hold [their] damn horses," then the clattering of a lock being undone, and then...

They all jerked away from the open door.

"Holy shit! What... are you?" Noah blurted before Dani could hush him.

Manny's face fell (at least, Evelyn thought it did—it was a little hard to tell with all of the missing flesh). He observed them through milky eyes that were sunken into the most grotesque face Evelyn had ever seen. It was like something out of a horror film. No—it was worse. The little flesh that remained was cracked and leathery; the nose was totally gone, replaced by a dark, oozing hole; the exposed muscle was the color of spoiled meat; there was more than a slight odor. His expression grew darker as the squad continued to gape, and then he spoke in the raspiest voice Evelyn had ever heard.

"Oh, boy. This is real fuckin' rich. You guys oughta be a comedy troupe. Show up on a man's doorstop outta the blue, make fun of him for bein' a ghoul... fuckin' hilarious. You know I'm probably six times your age? But that doesn't matter at all, huh, 'cause why bother respecting your elders if they're ghouls, right?" Evelyn was still staring open-mouthed, though now it was for multiple reasons. They'd been on the receiving end of this exact sort of stern talking to before from a few of the vault's older residents. (Dani and Noah had been tricksters in their youth, and Evelyn had, of course, been drug along with them. ...Well, okay, so she'd been the quiet mastermind half the time, but who was keeping track?)

You, apparently, said the voice, in a rare show of non-Dani-related commentary.

Anyway, it didn't matter now, except here was an eerily similar speech coming from a zombie. What sort of rabbit hole had they managed to fall down?

"You're the kinda fuckers that give smoothskins a bad name. Get outta here before I kick your ass."

He made to slam the door, but Noah stopped it with his boot. "Uh... look, I, uh... I'm... sorry? I really didn't mean to... offend?"

Evelyn wondered if he was aware that all of his statements were coming out as questions.

"No? Well ya did, anyway, buddy. Now fuck off."

He tried to slam the door again, and again Noah stopped him. And Evelyn had thought he was pissed before.

"You got two seconds to get outta my face, Blondie. One," he held up a decaying finger.

"I have something for—" Noah began, reaching into his pocket for the letter, but he wasn't quick enough.

"Two!"

Despite the presumable muscular atrophy, Manny had a good right hook. Noah doubled over, clutching his nose while blood poured from between his fingers and dripped onto hapless passersby below.

"When are assholes like you gonna learn that it's not the 2100s anymore? You can't exile me to Rotterdale, you bigoted piece of shit! I live here! Get over it!" Manny roared.

Evelyn moved to help Noah while Dani snatched the letter from where it had fallen and presented it to the raging ghoul. It took him several seconds to realize she was trying to hand him something (meanwhile, Evelyn was tensed and ready to pounce if he showed any sign of turning on Dani). His assault on Noah must have cooled him off a little, because he took the envelope and tore it open without further comment. As he skimmed the letter, his entire demeanor changed.

"Hey—Randy sent you guys? Why didn'tcha say so?" He guffawed. Noah groaned as Evelyn popped his nose back into place. "That old sonuvvabitch couldn't even drag his ass up here himself, huh? Bet he toldja his knees were aching."

"Uh... yeah," Dani conceded.

"Did he pay you to bring me this shit? What a dumb bastard." He studied the paper for a moment longer, then continued, "This is great. Good guy, Randy."

Evelyn had a hard time keeping up with all of these conflicting statements.

He gave Dani a smile. "Thanks for this. I've been aching for a new tune to play. Or, I guess it's an old one, actually. Heh." He spared Noah a glance and shrugged one shoulder. "Sorry about the nose. But hey, any consolation, you don't really need it. Anyway, you guys stop by Paulman's some night and I'll play it for you, yeah? Tell Randy thanks for me." His final door slam was successful.

Dani stared at the closed door for a beat, then turned to goggle at her squadmates. "...What just happened?"

"He broge by fuggig dose," Noah lamented.

"Yeah... Hold on, I'll use one of those stimpacks we found," Evelyn said as she shrugged her pack off and began rooting through it. She offered him a clean handkerchief, which quickly became bloodsoaked, before fishing one of the syringes from a hard plastic case. Dani's hand on her shoulder stopped her.

"Wait. We need to save those for emergencies, or we won't have any left to bring back to th—" she stopped herself. "...Home."

"...Dice save," Noah couldn't help but mutter.

"Oh, hush. I'm sorry, but it's not like it's life threatening, and we need to conserve as much as we possibly can."

Noah shook his head, bloody handkerchief still clutched to his face. "S'okay. I udderstad. I'll jusd be disfigured for life. Doh big deal."

"Worth it for a handful of bottlecaps, though, right?" Dani quipped.

That got a laugh out of him, though the groan that followed indicated that laughing wasn't a very good idea right now. "You're brudal, Hardy."

Evelyn returned the syringe to its case and re-donned her pack. "I'll bandage you up when we get back to the hotel, okay?"

"Yeah, fide. Led's jusd go ged our bodey. I godda sid dowd."

"Our buddy?" Evelyn asked, cocking her head in confusion.

"Our bodey. ...Bodey! Our boddlecabs! Oh, fuhg you guys," he finished when his squadmates could no longer contain their laughter.

They started making their way back to the inn, the women flanking Noah this time in case he started to feel dizzy. But a broken nose couldn't stop him from getting the last word.

"You bedder hope they have dice, big beds ad this place, 'cause we cad odly afford two roobs ad I'b dot sharig with either of you cacklig heds."

That gave Evelyn pause. Shit. Why hadn't she realized the implications of his "enough for a couple of rooms" statement earlier?! But Dani just smiled.

"What, like Evie and I haven't shared a room before? I'm more worried about you slipping into a coma during the night. You didn't even try to block, did you?"

Evelyn considered that while her squadmates continued to bicker back and forth. True, they had shared a room several times... as children. But sleepovers where you read comics together and gossiped all night while eating sweet rolls you'd stolen from the cafeteria were one thing, and this was another thing entirely. ...Wasn't it? Or was she reading way too much into it?

Wouldn't be the first time. Won't be the last, either.

Evelyn spent the rest of their walk contemplating how a single facet of her personality could be such an insufferable asshole.

==#==

Randy was waiting for them when they reentered the Mercury. He didn't seem at all surprised that Noah was sporting a broken nose. In fact, he said he would take it as proof of delivery. He opened his pants, out came the bag of bottle caps, and they had their pay. He took his leave soon after, but not before extending them the same invitation to Paulman's, which he apparently owned. That at least explained his abundance of caps, Evelyn thought. As the owner of the only bar in town he must've been raking them in.

Evelyn had wanted to ask him about Manny. What had happened to him? Why did he look the way he did? How was he even alive? He'd mentioned being six times their age—that would make him a hundred and twenty years old. Even accounting for exaggeration, that was old. People in the vault tended to live into their sixties, perhaps their seventies if they were healthy and lucky. She'd recognized, though, that it was a question in the same vein as asking what a "cap" was. It would only show their ignorance and rouse suspicion. They needed to wait until they found someone they could trust, and ask them what the hell made a ghoul, and how to prevent it from happening to themselves.

God, she hoped it didn't come from sunburns.

It turned out that Noah was right; their earnings were enough for two basic rooms, with six caps left over. Evelyn browsed the menu options while Dani and a still-grumbling Noah went to book their rooms.

The restaurant's fare was... exotic, but very limited. Chipmunk and weasel featured heavily, as well as something called a "tato". Most of it was outside of their current price range, however, and while Evelyn wasn't above the application of a five finger discount, the thought of eating weasel really didn't appeal to her. Besides, they still had plenty of rations. But something at the bottom of the faded menu board caught her eye and she craned her neck to try to decipher it.

"Anything look good?" Dani's voice sounded about an inch from Evelyn's ear and startled her so badly that she knocked her knee against a nearby stool. She hopped in place for several moments, clutching her knee and producing a series of very unladylike squeals.

Dani apologized profusely while Noah laugh-groaned behind her. Evelyn was feeling less and less sorry for him.

==#==

"It's fine. I'm fine," Evelyn repeated for the third time as they picked at their rations, seated around what was becoming their regular table. The proprietor didn't have any problem with them eating their own food inside, considering they'd already paid for their rooms.

"Interesting how you're so concerned about her knee, but you didn't bat an eye when I had blood streaming down my face," Noah observed around a mouthful of Salisbury steak. His nose was now bandaged and allowed for a bit of airflow, though he still sounded much more nasal than usual. He also had the beginnings of a spectacular bruise forming below both of his eyes, and all of this on top of his sunburn. All-in-all, he was looking pretty rough for his first day out of the vault.

Dani colored a bit at his accusation, causing the butterflies that resided in Evelyn's stomach to take flight. "That's because I'm not the one who broke your nose, silly," she fussed. Noah gave a noncommittal hum and continued to eat, though there was a distinct smirk on his battered face.

After eating they lounged around for a while, discussing their plans for the following day in hushed tones (and after the incident with Randy, their hushed tones were perhaps overly-hushed, which led to everyone having to repeat themselves a lot in an increasingly irritated manner). It was decided that, in the morning, they would explore the town and try to make some contacts, both for recon purposes and for help or information on their dinosaur problem. They also decided it wouldn't hurt to try to find some more work (they would need money for new clothes), though Noah qualified this with an assertion that if a job led them to any more irate townsfolk, it was Dani's turn to deal with them.

It was around 5 when Evelyn started nodding off in her chair and Dani suggested that they all turn in. It had been a long, exhausting day, both physically and emotionally, and they were all ready for it to end, despite the early hour. They trudged up the stairs and, after agreeing to meet Noah in the restaurant the following morning, split up to go to their separate rooms.

The rooms were very spartan. Theirs housed a single bedside table, the bed itself, a chair whose back had broken off so that it was now a stool with a few jagged points at the back, and a cracked mirror which hung crookedly on the wall. The bed was indeed big enough for two, but it was only a bare mattress laid upon a rickety wooden bed frame, with no sheets or blankets of any kind. Evelyn tried not to think about probable sources for the many stains, or of the sorts of people that had likely slept here before them. She, of course, failed in her attempt. Then Dani set down her pack and started shucking her armor and suddenly nothing was quite so important to Evelyn as fussing with her own hair in the mirror and trying not to think about what was happening behind her.

That proved difficult, considering the mirror gave her a pretty decent view of it—which was entirely unintentional of course.

Yeah. Who knew mirrors worked that way?

"Shut it," Evelyn muttered under her breath.

"Hmm?" Dani asked, now clothed in what she referred to as her "sleepytime suit" (which was really just another vault jumpsuit).

"Oh, uh, nothing, I just... nothing," was Evelyn's quick-witted response.

She watched as a strange smile ghosted across Dani's features. It almost appeared coy, but Evelyn shook the thought off, sure it was just her imagination running wild, as per usual.

"Right. Well, go ahead and get ready for bed," Dani said, fishing around in her pack and pulling out a toothbrush, toothpaste and a water bottle.

She was halfway through brushing when she noticed Evelyn hadn't moved an inch. Her eyes lit up with equal parts amusement and exasperation. She motioned for Evelyn to remove her pack, which she did, though not without some hesitation. Then, Dani stepped forward and began helping her to remove her armor, toothbrush dangling from the side of her mouth all the while. When Evelyn was down to her jumpsuit, Dani grabbed the zipper and nearly gave her a heart attack before she batted the "helping" hands away. Dani just giggled and went back to brushing, though she turned her back to give Evelyn some much-needed privacy.

It took some time and a lot of glances over her shoulder to make sure Dani's back was still turned, but Evelyn was eventually clothed, brushed, and ready for bed. "Umm, do you care which side you sleep on?" she asked.

"Nope, not really. But you always sleep on the left, right?" Dani paused, then adjusted her choice of words. "I mean, you always sleep on the left side, correct?"

Evelyn blinked. That was true, but how did Dani know that? "Uh—yeah, I do."

Dani smiled. "I remember from when we were kids," she said, answering Evelyn's unasked question.

That seemed like pretty useless information to hold onto for so many years, but the fact that Dani had held onto it made the corners of Evelyn's mouth twitch into a shy smile.

"This'll be fun!" Dani said, flopping down on her side of the bed and stretching out. "Too bad we don't have any Unstoppables or Grognak to read, then it'd be just like old times, huh?"

"Um, yeah," Evelyn conceded. She hesitated only slightly before taking a seat on the bed, all too aware of how rigid her posture was, but unable to force herself to relax. Her hands clenched and unclenched in her lap and she kept her eyes trained on them, hating that she felt this way. Hating that no matter what she told Dani, it wasn't like old times, not at all.

She'd always liked Dani, but it wasn't until her mid-teens, when she'd started to question whether she was really cut out to be a scout, that her... romantic feelings for Dani had developed.

Yeah, think about the moment you fell in love with her, that's a great way to calm yourself down. Not awkward at all, the voice goaded.

The short nails biting into her palms were becoming painful when she felt Dani shift on the mattress and a familiar weight settled on her shoulder. "Hey. If you're uncomfortable with this, I can go bunk with Noah. I can always smother him with something if he starts snoring."

Evelyn could hear the smile in her voice. She sighed. "No, I'm... I'll be fine. I'm just not used to..." God, she was burning up. She didn't know how to finish her sentence, so she left it hanging there like a train over a blown-out bridge.

The room was quiet for a moment, though Evelyn could hear noises drifting up from the restaurant below. Then Dani shifted again, crawling forward to perch next to Evelyn on the edge of the bed. She didn't touch her again, didn't even try to make eye contact, but when Evelyn sneaked a glance at her she had this serene smile on her lips that somehow made Evelyn feel like everything would be okay. Some of her tension slipped away and she let out a slow breath.

"Do you trust me?"

The question was so out-of-the-blue that it took Evelyn a long time to process it. "I—yeah, of course I do," she finally stammered.

She was treated with a flash of blue eyes and a soft smile. "Good." Then Dani retreated back to her side of the bed, rolling to get there rather than standing or crawling. The action was so very Dani that Evelyn couldn't help laughing a little.

"You don't ever have to be uncomfortable around me, Evie."

"...I know."

It took Evelyn another minute to settle down, but when she did, Dani rolled onto her side and turned off the light. It still wasn't dark, per se, given that it was still daylight outside, but the building and walkway above them paired with the the thick coating of dirt on their window only allowed a dim glow to seep in.

It was hot, so the lack of covers didn't bother her, but the lack of a pillow prevented her from getting comfortable on her back. She rolled onto her side and curled an arm under her head. That was better. But now she could see Dani's form outlined in the low light, lying in almost the same position, facing away from her. She forced her eyes closed, not wanting to be a creep and stare, but unbidden thoughts cropped up, as they often did for her. Thoughts of what it would feel like to scoot forward just a bit—to pull Dani in close and snuggle her face into the crook of her neck and fall asleep like that.

Her face was on fire by the time she put a stop to the (admittedly tame) fantasy. She was in the middle of thoroughly berating herself when Dani's voice rang out.

"Evie?"

She swallowed. "Yeah?"

"You know you can talk to me about anything, right?"

Evelyn was quiet for so long that Dani rolled over to look at her, presumably to check that she hadn't fallen asleep. Their eyes met in the gloom and Evelyn's heart crawled up into her throat.

"Yeah, I know," she managed to choke out around the misplaced organ.

Dani nodded and Evelyn didn't have to be able to see her mouth to know she was smiling. "Okay," she said, and she rolled back over.

It was some time before Evelyn fell asleep.

==#==

Two gunshots, in quick succession. Bang-bang. A deep, vibrant red spreading out from the bullet wounds. A screamed question. A harsh response. Another gunshot. Another blooming flower of crimson.

Evelyn watched the events play out exactly as she had the last time: motionless. She didn't do anything, not until Bloody Shirt had finished all of his friends, then turned toward her squadmates. A sick feeling pooled in her gut, but she pulled the trigger and watched the spray of gore that indicated she'd hit her mark. All was silent.

Then she watched, still motionless, as one by one the fallen men stood and turned toward her.

The right side of Bloody Shirt's head was gone, and chunks of bone and gray matter stained the rest of his body. He stared at her with his one remaining eye, saying nothing.

Her eyes flicked to Leader, peppered with bullet holes. He spoke, in his strangely proper way. "You could have stopped him, you know. I didn't have to die. It was a simple shot—you hit him in one attempt. I didn't have to die."

She felt a heavy weight press down on her chest, making it hard to breathe. Machete Man spoke next. "Ya didn't even try to help us. Didn't do a fuckin' thing!"

Sack Head grunted. "S'amatter, we ain't worth your time? Our lives ain't worth a shit so long as your crew comes out safe?"

Evelyn's throat was closing up. She couldn't breathe. She stared at the three of them down the barrel of her still-raised pistol.

...Three?

Someone grabbed her, violently flipping her onto her back. Her pistol slipped from her hands. Bloody Shirt loomed over her, straddling her, gripping her throat with his left hand while he probed his shattered skull with his right, assessing the damage. She recoiled as a thick, warm liquid splashed onto her face and ran down into her hair.

"What, kitten, you afraid of a little blood?"

The smell of it was thick in the air. But she couldn't breathe, so how...?

"Maybe ya shoulda thought of that before ya burst my fuckin' head open," he hissed, bringing his slick right hand down to join his left around her throat.

The motion must have torn something loose, because she felt a moist and spongy glob land on her cheek. She gagged. The shock of it freed her from her paralyzed state, and she brought her hands up to claw at his, but they were solid as stone.

"Nasty, ain't it? Nasty, nasty, business... and ya didn't even give me a chance to explain myself. 'Cause who needs reason when you've got a gun in your hand, right?"

A gun!

She scrabbled around on the ground, squeaking when her knuckles met cool metal. She raised her weapon, pressed it against the still-intact side of his face.

His eye darted to her gun, and he smiled a truly horrific smile.

He tsked and brought his face in so close that droplets of spittle misted hers as he spoke. "Ya can't hurt me anymore, kitten. I'm already dead."

She tried to pull the trigger, but found she no longer had the strength. She was dying. Her vision was tunneling, her focus shrinking to the ruined face of the man she had killed. Her final breath was expelled as a sob.

==#==

"Evie? Evie!"

Someone was calling her, but their voice was coming from far off. She tried to call back, to let them know where she was, but her throat wouldn't work.

Curious.

After pondering her predicament, she realized that her throat wasn't the problem, it was her chest. It felt strange. Heavy and solid, as thought it were filled with concrete, but also empty. The thought niggled at her mind. It didn't really make sense, did it? How could something be full and empty at the same time? It was like a riddle. She loved riddles!

She was about to begin puzzling it out, but her train of thought was derailed when she realized the voice was still talking. It was a familiar voice, so she forced herself to listen, to try to make out the words.

"Breathe, Evie!"

Oh, so that was the problem.

She drew in a huge, shuddering breath. Her lungs burned, but she sucked in as much oxygen as she could handle, then coughed it out and repeated the process. Her eyes shot open and the world came into focus.

The first thing she noticed was that she wasn't in her bedroom. Memories of the previous day (or perhaps it was still the same day?) flashed across her mind in an instant and made her stomach roil. Then, she noticed Dani kneeling over her with an almost palpable look of relief on her face. She didn't notice her own tears until a second later. She tried to sit up but found she didn't have the strength, so she hid her face in the crook of her arm, trying to hide her shame even as she heaved and sobbed.

Dani seemed to understand that she needed some space and sat back, but she didn't look away. She had a hand pressed over her heart, her eyes were misty and her breathing was labored. Evelyn frowned and forced herself to calm down so that she could check if Dani was okay. She wiped at her cheeks and drew in some deep breaths (in through the nose, out through the mouth, like she'd been taught). As soon as she felt her voice could be trusted, she spoke.

"Are—you alright?" she asked, her voice cracking.

Dani let out a short, humorless laugh. "Am I alright? Jesus, Evie, I thought you were dead!"

Evelyn's eyebrows shot up. "I... what?"

Dani shook her head, clasping both hands around Evelyn's left. Even Evelyn's butterflies didn't have the oomph to take off right now, so her stomach settled for warm fuzzies instead.

"You were hyperventilating, and I tried to wake you, but then you just stopped breathing and I..." she paused here to sniffle and wipe the excess moisture from her eyes. "Shit, I swear you took ten years off my life. I've never been so scared."

Evelyn was torn between guilt at having caused Dani distress, and a twisted delight at the fact that her own well-being had such an impact on the blonde. "S-sorry," Evelyn croaked. "I had a... bad dream."

"A bad dream," Dani echoed quietly.

Evelyn braced herself for the inevitable questions—questions that she wasn't sure she could face. Not now. Maybe not ever.

Dani drew in a breath, opened her mouth, and... closed it. She looked down. Clenched her jaw. Squeezed Evelyn's hand a little. When she looked back up her crystal blue eyes were so warm, and she was doing that closed-mouth smile of hers that showed off the dimple on her left cheek.

"I'm so glad you're okay."

Evelyn's jaw dropped and she dazedly acknowledged that, yes, it was possible for her to fall even harder for this woman.

Dani giggled and wiped at her eyes again. "Jeez, my heart's still going a mile a minute."

Evelyn silently agreed, though she thought it was probably for a different reason.

Then Dani gave a soft "Oh!" and stood from the bed, crouching next to her pack and rummaging around in it before pulling out a bulging handkerchief. Evelyn took the opportunity to clear her own face of tears and to attempt to sit up.

"Here, let me help," Dani said, hurrying over and offering her hand. Evelyn took it and soon they were sitting side by side.

"What's that?" Evelyn asked, nodding toward the handkerchief.

"This? Mmm..." she made a show of considering the question, tapping her lips with the index finger of her free hand. When she shifted her gaze to Evelyn, she had a playful twinkle in her eye. "Close your eyes."

Evelyn raised an eyebrow, but Dani just waited patiently. This was a ploy to cheer her up, she knew, and she wasn't really in the mood for it, but she couldn't bring herself to turn Dani down. Not when she looked so hopeful and...

Cute is the word you're looking for.

Alright, so she was playing along. She closed her eyes and waited expectantly. She heard Dani fiddling with the handkerchief, unwrapping the whatever-it-was.

"Open your mouth."

After a brief internal struggle wherein she managed to convince herself that Dani wouldn't put anything disgusting into her mouth without at least warning her about it first, she complied. Something soft and sweet was slipped into her mouth and she chewed by instinct. It was good! It was also incredibly familiar. Her eyes popped open.

"Where'd you find a sweet roll?"

Dani flashed a conspiratorial grin. "I took a leaf from your book; snuck into the cafeteria last night and swiped a couple for us. I figured we might need something to cheer us up out here."

That brought a smile to Evelyn's face. "Aha! See, my evil plan is working already," said Dani. She handed the roll with a small chunk missing to Evelyn, keeping the other for herself.

Evelyn couldn't help noticing that there were only two. No sweet roll for Noah. The observation cheered her almost as much as the treat. She wondered if she should feel guilty about that, but dismissed the notion quickly. What Noah didn't know wouldn't hurt him, right?

"Thanks," she mumbled.

"You're welcome."

They lapsed into silence as they both chewed on the familiar treat. It was so sweet of Dani to think of bringing them. But then, Evelyn wasn't surprised. Sweet was Dani's MO, after all.

Unfortunately, it wasn't long before details of the nightmare started creeping back to her, shattering the glass bubble of calm in which Dani had encased them. Evelyn found herself shaking a little bit, despite the comfort the roll and Dani's presence brought. It had all been so vivid... and although she knew it hadn't been real, that she was in no danger of being strangled by a dead man, it didn't make the whole thing any less disturbing. She'd killed a man. Taken a life. And she'd purposely stopped herself from saving at least one life, to conserve ammunition. She hadn't even considered that before now, but apparently her subconscious had.

She set the remaining half of her sweet roll down on the bedside table. She hoped Dani wouldn't take offense, but she didn't have the stomach for it anymore.

"You wanna talk about it?" Dani asked in a soft voice.

Evelyn's eyes darted to Dani's, then away just as quickly. The funny thing was, reluctant as she'd been only moments before, Evelyn did want to talk about it. It was eating her up inside; the nightmare was proof of that. But she knew if she started talking, she'd start crying again, and she felt she'd already embarrassed herself enough for one night.

Dani scooted closer until their shoulders were touching. "Hey," she murmured, waiting until Evelyn hesitantly met her gaze and held it. "It's okay to be upset, you know? This has been a helluva day. I don't expect you to be fine. I know I'm not."

Evelyn swallowed thickly while Dani continued to nibble at her sweet roll.

"...You don't have to say anything if you don't want to, just know that I'm here for you, okay? If you ever wanna talk or cry or whatever—I don't mind."

Evelyn felt her lower lip tremble. She considered Dani's words, and decided the safest response was a nod. This proved to be a grave miscalculation on her part, because the motion dislodged a tear, and of course the other tears all lined up behind the first one, but somebody pushed and it turned into a mob and suddenly they were flooding out all willy-nilly and before she knew it she was sobbing into Dani's shoulder and she wasn't sure how that had happened because she didn't remember hugging Dani and she was pretty sure she'd have remembered something like that but here they were, hugging anyway, and she was getting Dani's jumpsuit all wet with tears and probably snot and drool and, God, this was not the way she had planned for this night to go at all.

Dani rubbed her back and whispered things like, "It's okay, let it all out," while Evelyn cried and cried.

It was ten minutes or more before she was able to regain control of herself. By that time she had a wicked sinus headache going, but she felt a lot better already.

She reluctantly broke their embrace, grimacing when she noticed that she'd been right about Dani's jumpsuit. She brought a hand up to cover her nose and mouth because she was sure she looked disgusting, but Dani only smiled kindly. She produced the handkerchief she'd used to wrap up the sweet rolls and, after shaking it out, she offered it to Evelyn. Evelyn first used it to wipe Dani's shoulder off (ignoring her protests) before removing the various fluids from her own face.

Dani waited until she was finished, taking the opportunity to eat the last of her own slightly-mangled sweet roll. Their eyes met.

Evelyn sighed and twisted her fingers together. After everything that had transpired between them since they'd awoken she felt a little silly not explaining herself, so she cleared her throat and gathered her thoughts.

"I just... I'm having a hard time with... well, I killed a guy," she blurted.

Dani nodded. She didn't seem thrown by the outburst at all. Well, with the way she could read Evelyn it wasn't surprising that she'd already known the reason for her distress. She met Evelyn's gaze, somehow managing to impart some warmth and comfort to the smaller woman from the eye contact alone.

"You know you saved our asses out there, right? Twice, really, if you count the dinosaur things beforehand... which you totally should."

Evelyn shrugged one shoulder, unfazed by the compliments. She'd only been doing her job in both instances. It didn't make the killing any less nauseating.

"You did what you had to do."

She knew Dani meant well, but that didn't make her words true. Evelyn hadn't had to kill him. She could have shot him in the arm, couldn't she? Or the leg, or virtually anywhere else on his body? He'd been distracted—he hadn't even known she was there. She hadn't given him any chance to explain or negotiate. She'd put a bullet in his head without a second thought. Well, now she was having seconds. And thirds, and fourths...

She tried to convey this to Dani, but she was silenced halfway through her soliloquy by a hand on her shoulder. Dani held her gaze and spoke very slowly to her, as if she were explaining that two plus two equals four to a particularly thick-headed child.

"Evie, that man was crazy. He killed his own friends—or, coworkers, or whatever they were—because he thought we might be from a vault. He would have killed me or Noah, maybe both of us, if you hadn't stopped him."

Okay, she couldn't really argue with that. She'd had him pegged as a nut from the start. But just because someone was insane—

"Yes, him being crazy makes it justified."

Evelyn blinked. God, that mind reading thing was spooky sometimes. Dani sighed and sat back. Evelyn immediately missed the contact, but that was silly (and a bit creepy) so she told herself to stop it. Her self didn't listen.

"Okay, look at it this way," Dani began. "Even if he hadn't been crazy; even if he'd just been a lone guy trying to rob us... you remember what Mr. Clark used to say?"

Mr. Clark had been their instructor in the vault's improvised shooting range. He'd also taught them things like battle strategy and how to move silently—all things combat related, basically.

"Well, he said a lot of things," Evelyn hedged.

Dani snorted. "Yeah, but more specifically, he used to say that when you point a gun at someone, you do it with intent to kill. It doesn't matter if you're actually trying to intimidate or bluff or whatever... if you point your weapon at someone you're threatening their life, and you'd better be prepared to face the consequences."

Evelyn nodded. She remembered the speech. It was one that had been repeated to them many times, for good reason.

"He was threatening our lives, Evie. You protected us." The hand was back on her shoulder and her heartbeat quickened to a steady allegro. "I'm sorry you have to go through this—I'm sorry Noah and I were both chickenlivers and the burden ended up falling to you—but I'm glad that you were strong enough to do what had to be done. Because it did have to be done, no matter what you keep telling yourself."

Her eyes were burning again. How was it possible that her body could produce more tears after all of that? Then Dani pulled her into another embrace, and she was distracted by the sudden heat creeping up her neck.

"Thank you," whispered Dani.

She didn't respond at first, but that felt kind of insulting, so after a few seconds she gingerly wrapped her arms around Dani and returned the hug. It was nice, much nicer than the one they'd shared earlier, which she'd been far too distressed to enjoy. That is, it was nice until Dani started giggling. She tried to pull back, but Dani held her firm.

"What's so funny?" Evelyn mumbled into a tangle of thick, blonde curls.

"Nothing, just... I can actually feel you blushing right now," Dani snickered.

Which, of course, made Evelyn blush even harder, which made Dani laugh even more, which was really cute but also annoying. Evelyn attacked Dani's sides, feeling justified in taking advantage of a known weakness under such outrageous circumstances. That did the trick and forced Dani to let her go. It also made her shriek loudly, which was probably disturbing to their neighbors, but Evelyn didn't care about them right now.

"N-nooo, stop, I'm sorry! Mercy!" Dani choked out amidst laughter and squeals.

When Evelyn decided she'd been punished enough (which took another minute or two, and that was only partially because Dani was so adorable) she sat back and folded her arms while Dani caught her breath.

"You turd," Dani said between aftershock-giggles.

Evelyn frowned and raised her hands again, wiggling her fingers threateningly. But instead of being scared, Dani was sporting a predatory grin that made Evelyn very nervous. She was just starting to back away when Dani pounced on her and began exacting her revenge.

It was very unfair, Evelyn decided, because Dani was so much bigger than her that she could—and shamelessly did—hold her down with one hand while she tickled her unprotected armpits (Evelyn's own weak spot) with the other. Dani only stopped when Evelyn threatened to wet the bed.

"Fine," said Dani, her eyes sparkling with mirth. "But only because I know you'll really do it."

"I was seven!" Evelyn said defensively.

Dani released her arms but didn't back away, and it was only then that Evelyn realized how close their faces were. If her heart hadn't already been racing from the tickling, well, it would've been now. She felt like she was getting lost in Dani's eyes—almost like when she'd been staring up into the endless sky.

When Dani started moving closer, Evelyn went rigid and her gaze flicked to Dani's lips, so full and pink. She wondered, not for the first time, what they might feel like. She wondered (not quite daring to hope) if she was about to find out.

Well, it turned out she was, but not in the way she'd imagined so many times. Instead of meeting her lips, Dani pressed a kiss to her forehead. It was a pretty long kiss, though. Like, at least two or three seconds. Definitely enough time to recognize that she'd been exactly right about how soft those lips would be.

When Dani pulled away, Evelyn continued to stare up at her, wide-eyed and, she was sure, blushing brightly. But Dani didn't show any signs of discomfort or embarrassment, she only smiled and rolled over to lie next to Evelyn. She consulted her pipboy.

"It's only 10:40 right now. Do you feel up to sleeping for a few more hours, or do you want to stay up for a while?"

Evelyn had to swallow a few times before she trusted herself to speak, and by the end of the process she still wasn't sure what her answer should be. On the one hand she was exhausted, even moreso than she'd been before she went to sleep, no doubt from the nightmare and all the crying that had followed. On the other hand, she was afraid that if she slept she would dream again. She settled on, "I don't want to keep you up."

Dani rolled to face her with a blonde eyebrow raised. "Evie, I'm not going to go to sleep if you're going to be lying there terrified. What kind of a friend would I be?"

"My best friend," was Evelyn's automatic, and terribly embarrassing answer.

But Dani didn't laugh, she only smiled her gap-toothed smile, and Evelyn fell a little more in love with her. "Yeah, well, you're my best friend, so I'm not gonna sleep until you're ready."

It was the first time they'd used the term in years—not that it hadn't been true, just that it hadn't really needed to be said. But it felt good to hear it, anyway. The firm declaration and show of selfless loyalty (because Dani was obviously just as tired as her) was enough to bring peace to Evelyn's troubled heart, at least for the night. She pushed her fears away and took a deep breath.

"I, um, I think I'm ready now," she mumbled.

Dani eyed her suspiciously. "Hmm... really? You're sure you don't need me to tickle you for a while longer? I'm reasonably sure you wouldn't be the first person to wet this bed."

The truth of that made Evelyn want to grimace, but she found herself laughing instead. Dani just kept smiling until she was finished. "Really, I'm sure." Dani nodded, then asked if she wanted the light on or off.

"Off, please."

"Mmkay," said Dani, turning to click it off as requested. It was well and truly dark now.

Evelyn wasn't sure whether Dani was still facing her or not until she spoke again and she could feel the faint whisper of her breath, which of course set her heart racing again. Dammit. She wouldn't get any sleep for an entirely different reason if this kept up. "Do you feel a little better?"

She took a moment to think about it before speaking. "I... still feel weird, and I still feel sick when I imagine it, but... yeah, talking about it helped. And just, y'know..."

She wanted to tell Dani how much it meant to her to know she had her support. Just the fact that Dani cared about her so much, even if it wasn't in the same way that Evelyn cared about Dani, made everything infinitely more bearable. Even the things that made her want to curl up in a corner and stay there forever. Of course, she'd already known that Dani cared about her, but it never hurt to be reminded. Also, the kiss had been nice. But she couldn't bring herself to say any of that, so she just trailed off into silence.

"Well, good," Dani said after a few moments. "I'm glad I could help. And if you ever wanna talk again, or have a tickle fight rematch... I'm here."

Evelyn chuffed and smiled into the darkness. "I know. Thanks."

She heard Dani roll onto her other side, and her pulse slowed.

"G'night, Evie."

"Night."