Hurrah to my reviewers and new favourites, you guys are the reason I'm still writing! Named one of the cranky NPC ghouls here for dramatic effect.


Winthrop blinked reflexively as bloody spray flicked into his eyes. "Oh yech, kid, cover your...kid? Oh, damnit." Winthrop wiped the blood off his face and reached down to the figure crumpled at his feet. The dog was going absolutely ballistic, pawing at his legs and leaping away again. "Yeah pooch, I get it. Carlo! Come here and get her other end." Winthrop looked over to the closest ghoul as he shook Cort loose of her pack and started dragging her towards the Chop Shop, leaving a red smear behind.

"No way, I'm not touching it. It's leaking."

"Oh for fuck's sakes Carlo. Then go get Tulip and get her down here. Faster than that." Winthrop snapped at him as he started sauntering towards Underworld Outfitters, Tulip's supply shop. The little woman came running out a moment later. One thing you could count on from Tulip aside from helping was the fact that she was never too busy not to. "Tulip! Get her legs will ya?"

Together, the two ghouls manhandled the girl though the doors to the clinic and swung her onto a gurney, Doc Barrows coming over, his brows scrunched together.

"Well someone's had some fun today." He started peeling the armour off her, motioning for Nurse Graves to come over. "Graves, start up an IV pole with a blood pack and get the instruments ready. There's at least 3 holes in this girl."

Winthrop turned around when the doors opened, and watched the dog drag in the kid's pack. "She managed to make it all the way inside and then dropped like a ton of bricks. Her name's Cort."

Barrows pushed off Cort's helmet and firmly patted her face. "Cort. Hey Cort, can you hear me? She's totally out, probably a blessing for her. What the hell? Where'd the mutt come from?" He balanced on one leg as the dog crept under the gurney. "Get it the hell out of here, and go with it. I'm going to need the room clear."

Winthrop reached for the animal and jerked back when it snarled and firmly wrapped its mouth around one of the gurney's supports, clamping down. A steady growl rose up out of it as it stared at him. "Doc, I don't think I wanna try it. It's hers, and it definitely doesn't want to go."

Barrows pressed a hand down onto Cort's bleeding shoulder, swearing. "Fine, but you two leave. Now. I don't have time to fight with the furball or deal with a wrestling match." The sounds from the dog stopped.

"Doctor, there's severe blunt trauma to the right leg as well."

"Of course there is. Nurse, put..." Winthrop listened to their voices drop to a murmur as he closed the door behind Tulip and himself, plucking at his jumpsuit and sighing. Well, it's no worse than anything else I crawl through in the ducts. It'd have to be my last clean one, of course. Waving thanks at Tulip, he headed back to work.


"Cort. Cort, you have to calm down." The kid was moving around again. Doc Barrows had come over from the computer terminal where he had been sitting through most of the night, going over the blood samples he had thought it safe enough to take from the girl for his research. He had sent Nurse Graves to bed when the surgery had been completed. Every few hours the girl started writhing, but he was loathe to sedate her again considering the amount of drugs he had piled into her. Looking at how altered the readings on the blood were, he was positive he had used too many already. The dog was still firmly planted beneath the gurney, whining whenever she started to go off. He was seriously considering restraints when Cort stopped and opened her eyes.

"Cort?" Her eyes rolled onto his face, not registering anything. "Cort?" Barrows tried again.

"I have to get up."

"You can't Cort, you're hurt."

"No, I have to find him. He's gone, he left and it's my fault and he's gone and I have to find him. He's a doctor. He'll fix me. All of it."

"I'm the doctor, Cort. I haven't gone anywhere. You're in the clinic, see?"

"Did I fall down the stairs again?"

"Something like that." He watched her eyes wander around. She still wasn't really seeing. Probably shocky as hell. Barrows concluded. Who wouldn't be after 4 bullets and a fractured leg. Switching the IV to a new bag and spreading another blanket over her, he pulled her left arm out and examined her Pip-Boy. One convenient thing about injured Vault dwellers, they came with a health monitor already installed. Barrows started mildly when her left hand wrapped around his. She was definitely out of it if she didn't notice anything wrong with the way that felt.

"I'm sorry, Daddy. I didn't mean to be clumsy again. Don't leave, please. Please, Dad." Oh, Christ. Completely, ragingly out of it. Kid's on the moon, she's so looped. Barrows pulled a stool over and sat down as Cort's hand tightened almost painfully.

"I'm not going anywhere, Cort. I'm right here, and you can go back to sleep." He watched her shut her eyes and relax, still not letting go of him.

"You sound funny. Are you sick again?"

Barrows sighed heavily, running his free hand over his face. Oh for the love of- "Yes, honey. I've got a cold. Now go to sleep."

Cort did.


"Oh my God, what the hell hit me. Wait. Giant boogers. Dogmeat?" Cort groaned and cracked her eyes open. She heard a whuff from the vicinity of her feet and jerked her head up, instantly regretting it. "Ow. This is getting depressingly familiar."

"Put your head back down. You're not ready to move around yet." A pink-haired ghoul woman in medical fatigues was coming over to her, Med-X in hand. "Want this? You're allowed to have another today if you need it."

Cort laid back again against the pillows and experimentally flexed, looking around the room. She was in a low bed against the middle of a wall. Torso feels like shit, head feels like shit, leg's in a splint. Another wonderful installment of 'This is Cort's Life'. "No, I don't think so. I feel horrible, but I don't think I should have any more, I don't need to get addicted to the stuff. How did I get in here? How long was I out? I need to take care of Dogmeat. Who are you?"

The woman held up a hand and sat down on the edge of the bed. "Well, the drugs have definitely worn off of your mouth. One thing at a time, human."

"Cort."

"Cort. I'm Nurse Graves. You got into Underworld on your own, and Winthrop and Tulip dragged you the rest of the way in here. Do you remember Winthrop?"

Flushing, Cort looked down and bunched the blankets in her hands. "Uh, he's the one I effused blood all over the front of. I need to apologize. I think I got him in the eye."

"Good, you've got no memory loss. I think he's gotten over it in the last four days, to answer your next question. He's also been looking after your dog, whenever he could coax him out from under the bed."

"I need to get up and get going. I have an errand to run."

"You're not going to be doing any running for another half a month, I'm afraid." Both women turned to look at the door as Doctor Barrows walked in, scribbling on a clipboard. Cort winced again from moving her head too fast. "If we hadn't been lucky enough to have a full stock of Stimpaks, you'd be down for at least three times that amount, and we're out now until Quinn gets back from trading." Walking over to the bed, he gave her an odd look. "What's the very last thing you remember?" Cort gave him an odd look back.

"Humiliating myself all over Winthrop. What kind of mess was my leg in, oblique fracture right? Incomplete?"

Barrows stared at her hard. "Yes, and several holes in the rest of you."

"So I can at least get around on a crutch then." She pointed to the corner and grinned flippantly. "Just like that one."

Barrows crossed his arms and frowned down at her. "Young lady, as your doctor, I can't recommend getting out of that bed."

"As your patient, I can be totally insufferable stuck in this bed. I'll go bonkers." Cort schooled her face into something resembling contrite. She couldn't afford to be sloppy again, and waiting was better than dying. She also didn't think asking for something dangerously irradiated to eat or soak in would go over like gangbusters either. "I promise I won't be clumsy. Pretty please, Dad?"

Both women looked at Barrows questioningly as he suddenly jerked. Ignoring it and composing himself, he nodded. "Fine, but not today. Tomorrow. And then only around the inside of Underworld, for the entirety of your recovery, and you come back here whenever you feel tired. If you bleed out on the floor, don't blame me."

"Deal."


Cort spent the next two weeks hobbling barefoot around Underworld with increasing efficiency, alternately charming or irritating the hell out of everyone. Graves had helped her dress in her tank top and leather pants after digging out the amount of caps she had owed for her treatment. Once she was ready to leave, Cort decided at least an additional day or two would be required to scavenge and sell things to any merchants to replace them.

After her crutch had been 'mysteriously' knocked out from under her for the second time, she made a point of only walking around whenever Winthrop, Barrows, Graves, Tulip or Carol was there to be tagged along with. She could have sicced Dogmeat on whoever had been doing it, his bristling at certain persons made it obvious he had noticed who they were. Probably would not make the best impression on the people who do like me. Besides, not like it's the worst thing that's happened to date. Pft, by a longshot. So for now me and the dog will both roll over.

She had met Carol after finally getting confident enough to tackle a flight of stairs, and was too tired to go farther than through restaurant's door. She was almost sent flying off her crutch again after asking the ghoul in the blue dress if she was 'Gob's Carol'.

"So heeey, I-guess-that-means-yes." Cort hugged the blonde woman back, closing her eyes and grinning like an idiot. Hugs were good. It had been forever since her last hug. After Carol let her go, Cort hopped backwards into a chair, Dogmeat flopping under the table next to it. Carol slid into the seat across from it and folded her hands on the table, positively glowing.

"So, tell me everything! I haven't seen my dear son Gobby in years. Where did you meet him, what is he doing?"

Oh crap. Start omitting things, girl. Like slavery. "I uh, ran into him in a settlement to the north and made friends after I moved into a house there. He works as a bartender, very safe. He made me promise to say hi if I ever found myself here."

"Oh, I was worried for so long after he left! I'm so happy he's successful out there. And making friends with pretty smoothskins, my!" she brightened even further and looked over Cort's shoulder. "Greta! You won't believe it, it's so wonderful. The new girl knows Gob!"

Blushing, Cort turned around and looked at the new ghoul staring at her and wiggled her fingers. I don't get the wonderful feeling here. I get the 'I want to kill you with my brain' feeling. For mentioning Gob? Hm. Let's see if I can make it worse, then. "Soo Carol. How would you like me to bring a nice fat letter back to Gob when I go home?" Cort turned back to her, smiling.


"Where are we going, Tulip?" Cort hopped after the redhead towards a section she hadn't explored yet. She had a copy of 'Paradise Lost' under one arm, and had squealed when the ghoul surprised her with it. She had spent a lot of time hanging out with Tulip after unloading all of the extra things in her pack for caps, since it didn't seem anyone actually needed(or wanted) things from her store. Cort could relate to being lonely.

"I'm gonna introduce you to Snowflake, kid. I don't know if you've noticed, but your hair's had a mishap at some point."

"Yeah, there was a thing. With a bus. And some exploding."

"Well whatever it was, we're going to get your hair done and make his day." She wiggled a finger in her ear canal as Cort squealed again.

"Haircut?"

Cort was happy and relaxed after spending the afternoon with Snowflake(and that was bizarre even for out here, a pyjama clad hair-dressing ghoul), who was ecstatic after being told by Cort to 'have fun with my head'. She had let him fool around for hours, reading her new book and chatting. Her hair was still too short for her liking, and had a tendency to flare into a crest if she even breathed too hard, but at least it was even and the melted chunks were out of it.

"There you go kid. Come back anytime, no charge."

"Thanks tons, Snowflake." She hobbled over to the entrance and looked towards the stairs. Greta was on one side, and Carlo was on the other. Fantastic. Sunshine and Rainbows. And Sunshine will probably go back into Carol's if I decide to duck in there. Rainbows will just try to maim me. Cort looked down at Dogmeat and sighed. "We can take 'em both boy, but do I really want to kill my buzz?" Casting about for options, she decided to go into the 9th Circle across the way. She hadn't been in yet, and Cort decided she'd take unknown adventure over passive-aggressive angst any day.