Hot damn! Look at what the cat dragged in: an update! Apologies again for the long pause. Another chapter that refused to be written until now. There is a small area towards the end that I'm still a little unhappy with and I do plan on rewriting it (yes I've said that before) in the future. I plan on at least doing a quick run through of all previous chapters soon and do some needed editing (mostly punctuation, etc), and when I do that I might add a little bit more to this chapter. It was extremely important and part of it just doesn't feel right. Then again! I could be doing that worrying thing I do.

I usually write review replies to everybody, but its extremely late/early depending on how you want to look at it and I just want to get this chapter out to you, so just let me say thank you for the reviews I received, you have NO idea how much they're appreciated.

A small warning about the very end of this chapter. It has some adult content there. I didn't go as graphic as I originally intended, but I think it works ok. And no, sadly, no sex yet.

This chapter is for my awesome rocks-my-socks friends, TheEnigmaticStranger, Lucidique, and Fortunesque.

For whom have helped me more than they know. Thanks guys!

Chapter XVI

Open Wounds

She was alone. That was the first thing she became aware of amidst the howling wind and swirling sands. The second thing was that she had somehow ended up in Ivanpah Dry Lake. Why she would be here when the last thing she recalled was being on the Strip was disconcerting. An uneasy feeling settled deep in her gut as she shuffled along the wind-torn desert, arms wrapped around her body as if attempting to protect her from the onslaught of the minor sandstorm that raged around her. Being alone shouldn't have bothered her this bad, in fact she should have been used to it after all these years of traveling in solitary. What really bothered her was that she had no weapons.

Her eyes passed over the desolate stretch of land and could see an ancient billboard through the haze. She recognized it as the one on the side of the road between the Mojave Outpost and Nipton. The race track then, she was closer to the race track than she was to Primm. She lifted her arm to look at her pip-boy to gain her bearings but found it bare. "What the hell?"

To her left she heard the skittering of many needlelike legs and turned to see a group of giant ants making their way towards her. With a curse she began to run. There was no way she could fight them without guns or some other type of protection. The ground in front of her twisted into a funnel-shaped horizon of horrors making her feel like she'd taken too much jet. A rock she hadn't seen jutting out of the ground tore her footing out from under her and she went sprawling across the sand, her gasp of shock and pain forcing her to inhale a lung-full of sand in the process. Still coughing she stumbled to her feet and kept going, knowing even a few moments delay could mean death.

In her hurry to escape the horde of ants she did not see the giant radscorpion blocking her path. Its stinger came down on her like the scythe of a reaper coming to claim her soul. The needle buried into the skin of her leg and she screamed in agony. Somehow she managed to rip it out of her and limp away as the ants caught up and swarmed over it. The two factions began to fight over which one had the honor of killing and devouring her. For an instant the image flickered and instead of the ants she saw a two-headed bear, claws extended, fangs bared. The radscorpion became a bull, horns lowered and ready to run its enemy through. As soon as the image flashed in front of her it was gone and the insects were back.

While they were busy she ran as fast as her legs would carry her, the entire time trying to ignore the crippling pain shooting up the right side of her body. By the time she came out of the nightmare tunnel into the shroud of a wasteland night she wanted to crawl. Before her stood the entrance to Nipton and inside she could see the flames that consumed the town. Déjà vu, anyone?

The panic was slowly fading, as she was able to take a breath to calm herself. Cautious she entered the town, not knowing what she would find this time around. Like before the streets were lined with heads on spikes and people hung up on crosses. The horror clenched tightly in her heart when she realized that the dead were not Nipton's residents but people that she knew. She wanted it to stop, she wanted to close her eyes, but she kept walking, her gaze never leaving the faces of the tortured and dying. At the end of the row her world shattered as she recognized the beaten and bloody façade of Vulpes Inculta, his features twisted in pain and despair.

"You killed me." He told her in a raspy whisper, a bittersweet smile curling his lips.

Behind her she heard the others pipe up in a chorus, even the heads on stakes who shouldn't have been able to speak without vocal chords. Their words were accusatory and not so forgiving. "You killed us all."

Tears blurred her vision. Desperately she tried to pull him down, begging him not to go. Everything she knew about crucifixion told her that this was pointless, but she was not going to let him die hanging up there like some common criminal. She stroked his hair as she laid him across her lap, pressing a trembling kiss to his lips. "I'm so sorry."

"It was a glorious way to die."

Almost inaudible above the sound of her sobbing came the whisper of wings and when she lifted her head she saw a dark figure perched atop a makeshift cross. At first she thought it was death, his black wings curled around him like a cloak, but when they parted she saw the familiar, albeit somber face of Benny. "I warned you it was all rigged from the start, but it's not over yet, pussycat, not by a long shot." He held out his hand, thumb and forefinger in the shape of a gun. "Its time to wake up." He pulled the trigger.

The shriek that tore itself from her lips came out muffled and hoarse as she jerked upright in the small cot in Arcade's tent. Sweat trickled down her face and she wiped it away with the back of her hand. The sudden jarring of her body reawakened the pain throughout it, making her head swim so intensely that she grasped for something to hold onto, afraid she would fall the pit of voidlessness that seemed to float around her. However even the pain had to take second fiddle to the undulating feeling rising in her stomach and up her throat.

"I'm going to be sick." She managed, trying to roll out of the bed. Her left foot hit the floor first and then her right. Her first step felt like she might be able to stand, but with her second she began to fall and felt a pair of arms grab her around the waist and hauled her back up, only to sweep her outside behind the tent. Gentle hands pulled her hair back as she emptied what little contents she had in her stomach onto the ground. Her back arched and strained against the action, protesting the position, each small movement.

"God, I feel like shit." Scarlet finally said as the retching stopped. She wrapped her arms around her trembling frame and tried not to pass out again.

"Not hard to believe," Arcade replied, helping her back to her feet again, "you have a very high fever caused by a serious case of septicemia." With one arm around her shoulders and the other around her waist he guided her back inside his tent where Vulpes was waiting, arms crossed over his chest and face solemn.

"Sepsis? Shit."

"Yeah, shit." Arcade agreed with her. "What the hell were you thinking – or were you not thinking at all?"

"Probably the second one to be honest." It was hard to admit when she was wrong like this, at least on the outside. The entire time she had known she was making the wrong decision despite all her assurances to herself that everything she had been doing had some logical reason to it. Then she noticed her leg was unbandaged and finally revealed just how serious her problem had gotten. It was discolored and the area that had once been the size of a fist had grown considerably. She could tell by the lack of pressure in the wound that Arcade had already drained the infection. "I tried to take care of it myself. I thought I could fix it."

"Well, you were wrong." Arcade picked up a bottle and a syringe and walked over to her. "You're lucky that you haven't lost your leg. This is your first dose of antibiotics. Don't squirm." He pressed it into some of the good skin around her wound and pressed the plunger down. She wrinkled her nose and looked uncomfortable, but didn't complain. "We're going to have to keep this up until you're better. I've secured a bed for you in one of the other tents for you to recover in."

The thought of staying for an extended period of time within the Mormon Fort with the Followers was not a pleasant one and it didn't have anything to do with the Followers but the people they took care of. "I don't want to stay here."

"The infection has gotten into your blood stream, Scarlet. You have a fever, swelling, and by the sound of it malaise to go along with it. Do you really think I'm going to let you out of my sight?" Arcade went back to his supplies and dug through them until he pulled out two med-x. She hid her pain well, but he could tell she was in agony.

Scarlet grabbed his wrist before he could inject her and gazed up at him with pleading eyes. "Arcade… I can't rest with a bunch of drunks and drug addicts wandering about. You know how I get with that kind of stuff. Don't make me stay here."

Arcade sighed as he studied her face. She looked rather pathetic at that moment, with the pale face and the begging. He understood her concerns. He also knew that she did have a hard time relaxing in this place, because the first time she was injured and brought to this place she'd lay awake both nights. Sleep was a big component in healing a lot of the time, and with Scarlet's wounds she needed all the rest she could get. With his free hand he rubbed one of his temples and looked between her and her companion. "I'll let you go home on one condition." Scarlet didn't say a word, but waited patiently for him to continue. He nodded his head over at Vulpes and told her, "if he's willing to watch you I'll let you go. And if after I explain to him how to take care of you I feel he's capable of doing it. I haven't patched you up as many times as I have just for it to be a waste." He was trying to sound hard and serious but her weak smile told him that she knew that he did care for her a lot.

"What do you need me to do?"

Scarlet swiveled her head around to look at the legionary. He had answered so quickly, without even enough time to really think things through. Behind Arcade's back her brows knit in confusion. It wasn't that she was ungrateful for his willingness to help her – it was just unexpected. Likely Arcade would be giving them a ton of medication for her and she knew how much the Legion looked down upon any sort of non-natural remedies. She could see how uneasy he was as Arcade treated her wounds, watched his eyes following the needles full of man-made chemicals. Would he – could he – use these 'profligate' medical tools?

She leaned back against the pillows again as Arcade busied himself gathering together what would be the essentials of her care. Each was held up and explained carefully and precisely to the undercover Legionary. In his usual manner Vulpes was taking in every detail. Scarlet could read the telltale signs behind his eyes that told her he was memorizing every word Dr. Gannon said and was sorting it painstakingly into his brain. As the two talked began to feel drowsy again, the medicine beginning to take effect, and as she begun to slip out she heard words like "saline" and "antibiotics" in addition to Arcade's grave, masterful tone.

For once Scarlet knew she had really gotten herself into a right good mess. Between the painkillers and the vision of Vulpes' handsome, sharp features she just couldn't find it in herself to care at the moment.

-X-

Scarlet didn't remember much about the trip home except that it entailed more leaning on her stoic companion than ever before while he attempted not to drop or lose the bag full of medicinal items Arcade had passed to them. On the outside it must have looked like she was fall-down drunk, especially with the way she fisted the back of his shirt and leaned on his side. The only sign that she was something other than plastered beyond her faculties was the heavy limp she had. Mick and Ralph's crier echoed through the air and blended through time, mixing with the heady night air, echoing through her head past the King's and throbbed painfully in her skull as they reached the Strip's gate. It had all seemed like one step to her, as if she'd walked into Freeside and tripped right on to the other. She couldn't tell if it was the medicine or the illness that was making her take a walk in the land of illusion, and she sure as hell didn't have the capacity to figure it out either.

"Almost there." Vulpes said. They were the first words he had spoken to her since Camp McCarran. Unable to concentrate on reading his tone she also couldn't figure out if he was irritated with her and was saying that to himself or if he was really letting her know she'd be safe and comfortable soon.

"Vulpes, I'm sorry." She murmured against his chest.

"Don't apologize. Learn from this." His strong embrace guided her up the steps to the wide double doors of the Lucky 38 Casino. She turned her face so that it was buried in the smooth leather of his outfit, hiding her expression from him. Ashamed of herself was putting the situation lightly. Usually she was gung-ho and confident about every choice she made, even the wrong ones, because wrong choice or not it was who she was; however, this time she was finding it hard to accept the fact that she had screwed up, and severely. Just like she had been surprised at how proud she was when he had complimented her abilities, she was surprised to find that now she was upset at his obvious displeasure. And begging a man like that for forgiveness would have likely just made matters worse.

Inside the Casino it was a few degrees cooler than outside, which was one of the new modifications of the upgrade. It allowed for better usage of the venting and cooling systems, allowing to have minimal, but at least operational, air conditioning. Scarlet realized just how lucky she was indeed to have a place such as this to call her home. Sure, she'd had to kill a man for it, but it was hers now, and luxuries that even the richest of wastelanders didn't have were at her disposal now. In the back of her head she reminded herself that one of those luxuries, despite being a woman, was having Caesar's favor. His support would make a huge difference in the coming months. She still wasn't sure what she wanted in life, or even in this situation, but being liked by your superior was a definite bonus.

The air felt like heaven against her feverish skin and she sighed happily, trying to shove Vulpes' silent composure to the wayside. It was hard to read that man at the best of times, and this… this was not the best of times. He shifted her to the side a little as he pushed the button for the appropriate floor. "Thank you." She told him, raising her head to glance at him. "I'm a pain in your ass, and right now I know I must not look a bit worthy to help the Legion."

"That you don't." His reply was honest, and although it held not a touch of malice it still bit like a knife deep into her heart. She was already sick from one infection, why not add a little poison?

They didn't say another word between them, at least none of consequence as he set the bag down by the elevator door inside the presidential suite and carried her over to her bed. Leaning back against the chilled pillows she closed her eyes and tried to forget what a fuck-up she was. A few minutes later Vulpes came back in and set the bag on her desk and dug through it until he found what he was looking for. More med-x, more antibiotics, and one of those little saline drip bags. Apparently her septicemia was causing some acute dehydration that Arcade was concerned about. She barely looked at him while he went about with the injections and when he seemed troubled with putting in the needle for the IV drip she walked him through it, voice almost mechanical as she recalled the procedure. How many times had she watched her mother do the very same to others? How many times had she done the same to others?

"That should be all you need for now. I will check on you in an hour, but hopefully you will be asleep by then." Vulpes said, closing the bag back up. His back remained to her as he spoke and his shoulders drooped. Not a lot, just a few millimeters, but it was enough to let her know that he was very tired – and more likely than not very disappointed in his charge. "Get some rest."

And he was gone, with a flick of his slender finger against the light switch and a brief pull on her door handle she was bathed in darkness. Alone, she had time to think about the choices she had made. She didn't get far before the drugs kicked in and she pulled back into slumber, back into her nightmares…

-X-

Over the next few days Scarlet didn't remain conscious much; whether it be by Vulpes' design or Arcade's she wasn't sure. She wouldn't have put it passed either one of them to want to keep her konked out for the duration of her illness. Vulpes probably because he knew that the circumstances between them had gotten complicated and he was avoiding the awkward conversation for after she was well, and Arcade, well, Arcade knew she was likely to go off chasing Deathclaws if someone told her to, even as sick as she was. When she was finally granted a reprieve from her constant sleep she felt degrees better. The swelling in her leg had gone down and the wound was beginning to heal, and quite nicely.

Sometime over the few days Vulpes had made himself busy organizing the meds with almost calculated perfection along her desk. They were lined up as if on display and organized by type. He had even changed out her clothes, removing the armor she had been wearing the day she'd fallen seriously ill and trading it for a pair of men's pajama's he must have found in her wardrobe. He had rolled up the sleeves and pants legs to help keep her cooler, which apparently had only mildly helped for she awoke with her sheet kicked off in the floor. It didn't even register until she was calling out to him that she had a reason to possibly be embarrassed by her clothing switch. She didn't know why either. When they had gone to raise the Boomer's plane she had practically stripped down to her underwear in front of him but here – well, the stripping had been under her control and this hadn't. What had he seen? And for how long?

Don't be silly, he's not a pervert. She told herself before calling his name a second time, noting how weak her voice sounded, even after these days of rest.

Finally he came in, a bottle of water in his hand. He wearing dress pants and a button-up white shirt, the top few buttons were open and she watched a small bead of sweat roll down the side of his neck and out of sight. What she wouldn't give to be that little bead… Vulpes held the bottle out to her, as if he had done this a million times. "Here, Scarlet, how are you feeling today?"

"Better, I – uh – don't remember much." She ran a hand through her hair and then tousled it, noticing how dirty it felt. God, she probably needed a bath. Add another notch onto the embarrassing list.

A nod. "You've only been conscious a few times, and even then you were not really all there." He admitted.

"Do this often?" She inquired, holding up the bottle of water he had brought without her even having to ask.

"Much of the time you called out for me you needed something to drink. I learned to come prepared."

"So I called out to you in my sleep?" She took a quick drink to distract herself from that thought, hoping she didn't blush. Knowing herself she probably spent most of the time calling his name. Before this ordeal was over she would win the "Most Humiliated Girl of the Year" award.

"Only when you needed something important." He was lying; she could tell by the way he turned his eyes just to the side, as if he couldn't look her straight in the face. Why he was trying to save her pride she didn't know.

"Well, thank you for being there." Scarlet pushed herself further up on her pillows. "I'm sorry for putting you in this situation. You were supposed to be my partner, my teacher. Not my nursemaid."

Vulpes sat on the edge of her desk with a sigh, linking his hands in front of him. "Injuries happen, Scarlet. Even to the best of us." He pulled the side of his shirt out of his pants and raised it so she could see a long scar running up from his hip, across the corner of his stomach and up to his side. By the way it looked it had likely been a very nasty wound.

"Yes, perhaps." Her brows furrowed as she examined the wound. "Still, I know how the Legion views … profligate medicine," she nodded her head to the desk full of drugs, "Why did you agree to use it anyway?"

"You are an invaluable asset to the Legion. Caesar would not have been very happy if something had happened to you. He does not need to know the methods in which you recovered, only that you did recover from a life-threatening illness. Sometimes… it is necessary to break the rules."

A smile slowly melted across her face as she recalled Caesar's story of how Vulpes became a member of the Frumentarii, the way he had gone against direct orders just to gain a victory for them, even knowing he would likely face punishment. "Why, Mr. Inculta, you're such a rebel."

For a moment he dropped his face, a smirk lifting the corner of his lips with amusement as he shook his head. "Yes, that's me, Vulpes Inculta, Legionnaire and Rebel." It was nice to see such a positive look on his face for once. Too bad it didn't last for too long. "Can I talk to you about something serious?" The smile had vanished as soon as it had come and the same business-like gaze was back.

"I guess after everything that's happened that's the least I owe you." Scarlet pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her head there.

"Why did you do this to yourself?"

It was the last thing she had ever expected to be asked and her head came back up, eyes wide. "What?"

"We both know that you have enough medical training to have properly cared for that wound of yours, yet you continually let it go, apparently made careless mistakes. You can be very…" He searched for an appropriate word and decided on, "scattered sometimes, but you are not stupid. This was stupid."

"Everyone makes mistakes." She replied, a nervous laugh touching her tone.

"It wasn't a mistake."

"Vulpes I don't know what you think happened, but I wouldn't do something to myself like this on purpose." No, she wouldn't. Not this bad. That was the accident.

"Lie!" The palm of his hand came down on the scarred wood of the desk. Scarlet fell back against the headboard as if she'd been struck instead. In that moment Vulpes looked more like a stranger than the man she'd traveled with. Then again they hadn't been traveling that long anyway. Perhaps she didn't know him as well as she thought. After a moment of awkward, threatening silence he took a breath. The hostility seemed to ebb from the room like a dark tide going back out to sea. "No, maybe you did not do this on purpose, but there is something bothering you, yes? Scarlet, why did you stop studying medicine? What in your life troubles you so deeply that you would be so careless with your own health, even when you are more than capable of tending to it?"

She dropped her head down again, this time wrapping her arms around it. "You wouldn't understand it. Not like it's a big deal or anything."

"On the contrary. It is very important. Something that is causing you so many problems will eventually begin to cause us problems. Its not just you running around the Mojave anymore, Scarlet, there's more at stake. You've got to understand that now you are part of something bigger."

"I'm not a part of the Legion yet." She said stiffly.

"No, because if you were I would not have been able to administer the drugs that saved your life. I acted out of your wishes and not my own. However, if you do not come to terms with whatever issues you are having then I will be forced to tell Caesar that you are too unstable an ally." Vulpes crossed his arms across his chest. He watched for her reaction, which didn't take very long to come. He anticipated that, hoped for it.

"That's ridiculous! My past is not the concern of an army. It is only my present, my future that they should worry with."

"Only fools think that these things are exclusive." Which was true. Everything in life tied together from the moment of birth from the moment of death. Every second that passed held a high impact on the next and so forth and so on. For her to sit there and say that her past would not effect the Legion, herself, why that was more idiotic than her stunt with her leg.

"I'm not a fool Vulpes!" She cried. "I just…" Biting her lip in resignation she dropped her hands to her side. "You really want to know about my past?"

"Everything." The more he knew about her the more he could predict how she would act in certain situations, how she might serve the Legion.

A low bitter laugh came from deep in her throat. The expression on Scarlet's face was not one Vulpes had ever seen before. "All right, but its not a pretty story, and please refrain from asking me questions until I'm through. I told myself I'd leave everything behind, in fact I had made a promise to do so; a promise I am breaking now – for you."

-X-

"I was seventeen when the world decided to set forth on its systematic destruction of my life and everything I loved." Scarlet began, clutching a pillow to her chest. "Remember how I told you I grew up on the coast?" Her eyes only crossed his form long enough to catch the wordless nod from the Frumentarius before she continued. "I guess if I have to blame anything I could blame that – or maybe just God. Hn. Anyway, I had a normal childhood. Normal for us profligates anyway... I had a mother, the one that taught me all about medicine. I also had a father, Emmerich Hughes." Her bitter tone shifted to accompany that sweet cadence that indicated nostalgia, affection.

"I was definitely a daddy's girl, but I guess a lot of girl's are. Probably has to do with how fathers have that overprotective streak in them, the good ones at least. My dad was like that. He also guided me, taught me everything I know about anything really important. When the first boy I ever had a crush on broke my heart he sat with me and explained why it was his loss and my gain. He was a merchant sailor, would take supplies up and down the coast to the small towns that had hired his services. I was always so happy when he would come home after a long trip away."

Scarlet shifted in bed and threw her feet over the edge of the bed to rest her elbows on her thighs. "One day Daddy didn't come home when he was supposed to. I hung out at the pier all afternoon, into the night, praying, hoping that I would see his boat come out of the darkness. It was a waste though. Later we would find out that there had been an accident – no one said exactly what – but it was understood that he was dead. At first I thought Mother was just in mourning. She had just lost her husband, a wonderful, kind, funny man. He was our family's rock. It took me quite some time to realize it was worse than that."

"Being the oldest of three children I felt the need to protect and care for my younger brothers. I was particularly close to Christopher. He was three years younger than me and I used to hate him following me around like a little puppy, but later we became best friends. We didn't have many people in our little village, much less kids, so we would busy ourselves with anything we could think of. That pretty much stopped when Dad was gone and Mom just…. withered. She would stay long hours in her room, smoking or drinking, crying. So it was our job to take care of Sebastian. He was only four and way too young to truly understand what was going on. I'd watch Mom and Chris would shield Bastian from the worst of it. Until she started with the drugs. I guess she just felt like they would help her forget, maybe move on. I don't know what goes through people's head like that; when they lose a loved one." And I never want to know. She thought, wringing her hands together and remembering her dreams. Those horrible, blood-filled nightmares.

"After the chems became her norm she'd sit on the front porch with her inhalers and bottles of liquor. For months it was the same. Every night she'd look out towards the sea and smile this eerie, lost smile and tell us that would be coming home soon. She began to talk like Dad was just gone on another trip. She started to confuse Bastian, whom we'd tried to make understand death, but she…"

"Finally I guess I couldn't take it anymore. I was losing it. I started to having panic attacks and it became obvious my psyche was less than stable. I guess Christopher had had enough. He came home one night with this expression on his face and told me to stay with Bastian. Then he spoke to mom. I don't know what he said, but it had to have been something about our father. Then they were gone. The next thing I remember was waking up with the village deputy at the door. Our mother had been drowned at the end of the pier. Christopher had held her head under until she stopped fighting; not too big of a feat considering she was so fucked out of her mind she probably didn't even know what was happening."

She took in a deep sigh, chest rising and then falling. When it settled she concluded her story. "Chris was put in jail – or what passed for jail. Not much of a trail really considering he admitted to killing her, although no one cared to listen for his reasons. Then I was left with Bastian, all alone. I tried to keep the family together despite all this, but it just all felt like my fault. I was weak, like her. I couldn't help her, and I couldn't even keep it together so Chris had to do something. It was my fault really that it all happened. Between feeling that way and having the stress of an almost five year old child around who had just been through the most traumatic year he would likely ever have in his life I didn't know what to do. My aunt arrived at just the right time to take advantage of my feelings and convinced me it was better if I just let Sebastian come with her. I was a teenager. What did I have to offer a child, right? Wouldn't I like to just scrape together the pieces of my life I had left and start over? I fought it, but finally I relented. Weak again. Life after that was empty. The house was empty. Chris eventually begged me to leave everything behind – too many memories. Not long after my nineteenth birthday I set our house on fire and walked away."

A hand reached beneath her pajama top and drew out a long chain. Upon the end of that chain was a key. "This is all that's left of that house. I keep it with me to remind myself that wherever I am is home. I have nowhere to go back to."

Vulpes had remained still throughout her story but now stood. "I assume that is when you took the courier job."

"Well, I wondered for a while, but none of that is too important. What's important is yes, that's how I came to the courier's job." The room was silent again as they both considered the magnitude of Scarlet's hidden suffering. Elaboration, of course, was something Scarlet know Vulpes was waiting for. "I know you must be asking yourself what does any of this have to do with my problems."

"I think it answers a lot of questions actually." Vulpes said. From the first moment he could remember he had always been sizing people up, learning how to read them. Until now Scarlet had been one of those that constantly surprised him, unpredictable and strange.

Scarlet's laugh was dry as she shook her head; she should have known he'd read right through everything. In fact, he probably saw things she would have never seen about herself. Likely she had done more than show him a physical key, but a metaphorical one as well. "Do you ever feel like there is something bigger than us out there?"

"You mean like a god?" He'd never thought about religion and the like. Yes, the Legion had its beliefs, but Vulpes had always been quiet about what his true view was – which was undecided.

"Perhaps. More like a force. I think, ever since then, its insisted upon watching me live in hell. I'm not even allowed to die. To be honest, for a moment as Benny held that gun at my head I was actually relieved. I thought it was going to be over. Instead I wake up in Goodsprings with 'miracle' stamped on my forehead. But it was no miracle, it was the will of whatever sick creature has ruined my life. No matter what I do, no matter what happens, I always squeak by okay. And the people around me? They die. Or they have something happen to them that they might as well be dead."

Vulpes' eyes flickered over her, recalling her words as they'd walked back from Jacobstown. He understood them now, though cryptic as they were back then. "Are you saying that this," he waved a hand at her leg, or at least in the general direction of, "was all a way to tempt a possibly imaginary force, to goad it into showing itself for another round of torture?"

"It worked didn't it?" Cold, that voice, yet amused. "I faced death once again, and once again I have been plucked from its icy clutches."

"I think you are being foolish again."

"I probably am. The drugs in my system are not helping me, and truly, most of this is better left for drunken talk anyway. Subconscious ramblings of the bat-shit crazy." She made the spiraling motion around her head with a finger to indicate insanity and then leaned back her head and giggled a little, arms holding her up in a sitting position as they stretched out behind her. When she was finished with her private joke she sobered up and shot him a look over her shoulder. "I'm sorry, Vulpes, really. You've put up with caring for me physically and now you're listening to me rant on about all this … this baggage." She climbed to her feet, wobbly at first, but steady enough to make it over to her wardrobe. "I don't want it anymore," she commented, more to herself than to him, "so the world can have it back."

"What are you doing?" Vulpes watched as she carefully picked through her clothing.

"I am going to take a bath. Perhaps I will feel better. I feel dirty."

-X-

Half an hour later and Scarlet was finally able to start distancing herself from the memory of her family once again. As long as Vulpes didn't bring it up when he left the bathroom then she could go the rest of the day in a relatively chipper mood, for in a way she did feel a little celebratory for having healed so well. Her injury was still not fully healed, but with some more rest and the mind to remember her medicine she should be right as rain in no time. When she emerged, a smile on her face, Vulpes was waiting to redress the bandage she had removed to bathe. Her eyes followed each movement of his deft fingers as they worked, but it was when she closed her eyes that the sensation lulled her into comfort. Each brush of his hand, the warm feeling of his touch was memorized in her mind and in her skin so that when he finally stepped away she knew she would be able to remember it.

"Vulpes."

"Yes?" He replaced the bandages back in their given space on her desk and turned.

"Do you really believe I'm being silly about this whole cosmic force thing?"

"I think the only one who makes your fate is yourself." He answered.

She nodded and lay back in bed. Another round of meds had been administered so it was only a matter of time before she was being lulled back into sleep. For the first time since her initial nightmare she actually felt like she might get some decent rest without being plagued by nightmares. It was hard to believe in monsters when someone like Vulpes was there, looking at you with that serious, confidant expression. It was why she had gone to the Fort in the first place because how could someone like him be wrong? "Ok. Just promise me one thing."

"What is that?"

"Be careful."

"I always am."

Satisfied Scarlet closed her eyes pulled the fresh comforter over her as he turned off the lights and left the room. When his footfalls had disappeared into another room she shifted beneath the sheets, the feel of his touch coming back again and she couldn't help but picture him still with her, hands gliding over bare skin, but this time in a less innocent, care giving manner. Her body had cooled from her bath, except for one remaining source of heat, a burning that ignited anytime the Legionary was around. Ignoring this would assure she would never get anymore sleep.

That just wouldn't so now, would it?

Her own hand slipped across her stomach and under the waistband of her pajama pants, fingers immediately finding the small nub that was already aching for another's touch. Each pass over the sensitive area did little to ease her arousal, yet the shockwaves were worth it. The medicine was making her head a little blurry and despite pulling her down into rest once more actually served to extenuate each little caress. She moaned his name with urgency, wondering what would take her first: slumber or completion. With Vulpes' face dancing through her mind she wasn't sure if she cared.

-X-

His name. Vulpes was sure he had heard his name. He lifted his head from his thoughts and listened, but heard nothing but silence once more. It was possible he had imagined things. That seemed to be the topic for the day he had decided after everything he had heard from her. True he understood the little blond enigma a little better, but questions still floated in the ether and their answers were as elusive as ever. In addition to his not-quite-successful-but-not-quite-victorious observation of Caesar's possible new ally he had no idea what he was going to tell the commander and chief. A report would have to be made soon, therefore a trip back to the Fort. Whether Scarlet returned with him this trip remained to be unseen.

The next time his thoughts were interrupted it was not by his name, but a sound, an all too familiar sound that gripped his insides and seized at choice muscles all through his abdomen. His head turned so that he could concentrate on it, trying to dismiss it once more as his imagination, but this time he couldn't. The Courier could be so quiet when she wished, however, other times, when she thought she was completely alone, she could forget herself. This scenario had never happened before. There was no mistaking that soft mewling sound and the images that his head began to concoct did not help matters.

Finally he cursed to himself. He had been trying to remain serious, think about the war, business. It was hard to do that when she was doing… that. He let out his own groan, but one of discomfort as he shifted in his chair. The pants that had just five minutes ago been more than comfortable had suddenly became too tight. For a little while he attempted to write his report to Caesar in his head to distract him from the temptation seeping into his blood and rushing through his veins like fire.

Scarlet repeated his name again, no mistake this time, and that was the clincher. Vulpes prided himself on control. It was one of his best assets. Still, it was hard to remain controlled when even the slightest movement washed waves of electricity from the cramped confines between his thighs outward to his other nerves. No one would ever have to know.

A relieved sigh escaped his lips as he released himself from the cloth prison. A smirk brushed his features as he considered just how sad Scarlet would have been to know she was missing out on this. Their attraction to each other was not just increasing, but doing so exponentially. His brain had already run multiple scenarios detailing completely different ends to their encounter in the forests on their way back from Jacobstown. More than one involving his insistence upon dominating and possessing her, and her submission to him. "Hmmm." He leaned back in his chair and wrapped his fingers around the his stiff shaft. For a couple heartbeats he allowed his thumb to run lazy patterns along the taut flesh before beginning to pump a slow rhythm, matching that of his little Courier's cries.

He hadn't left the door cracked on purpose, but he was glad he had. The sounds she was making were almost lyrical, beautiful and sensual. And the fact she was calling his name, not any of these other wasteland pieces of trash but his. You're mine, little nomad, he thought with relish, and I will pull more than soft moans and sighs from you when I finally claim you. He had not forgotten their little wager, the bet she had lost. Soon he would take what was rightfully his. The wonderful part of it all? He did not believe she would fight him. With the promise of her prone form beneath him, yielding and pliable to his every whim he was driven to the edge of climax, and with her gorgeous cadence accompanying him he spilled his ecstasy into his hand.

Eyes closed he sat in blissful reverie until the twitching of his softening member died down and he become more manageable. Then he plucked up a cloth and proceeded to clean himself. Despite his pleasure he realized this behavior was not befitting an officer of the Legion. Still, he glanced over his shoulder through the kitchen door, passed to her bedroom, as he had said before: some rules were made to be broken.

When the time is right, Vulpes said to his intended silently, I'll come for you. On that day nothing will stand between us.

Yes, so... Scarlet's past revealed! Which is actually the part I want to rewrite. Not the facts, but the way I did it. *shrug* As usual, I hope you enjoyed.

Next Chapter: Playing this one by ear. I have a story plan, but this is the one area that I get a little iffy for a bit. Originally it was meant to be the bit in the Ultra Luxe, but I think I might do something a little more original!