*I know I said I don't like the F-bomb, but I'm using it here for emphasis on Manny's and Boone's anger. Hope it doesn't bother anyone! Also, I think this is it, unless I want to add an afterthought. Thank you so much for the support. It means a lot!*

Dear Boone,

I write this letter knowing the choice you are to make when the time comes. I won't lie. It hurts. The feelings I developed for you were real, and what we did, the way we bonded, I had a hope.

But this isn't about that. I wrote each person a letter, addressing what happened between us personally. This is yours, obviously.

When I first met you, I wasn't sure whether I wanted to punch you, hug you, or just leave you behind in Novac. I gave you a chance, and despite not getting along at first, you were the best damn sniper I'd ever seen. And then... you started opening up to me. I don't know what it was about you, but you were different than the rest. I wanted to help everyone, but you... you, I wanted to save. I hope to God I did. Because I could see that beyond that fissure of a torn soul was a light brighter than the Mojave sun. The kind of person you were and the kind of person I knew you could be, I saw them both. If I managed to save just a little of that gentleness, then... I'll be happy.

I am so glad to have met you, sniper rifle pointed at me and all. Regardless of the differences we had and the separate ways we have gone... I just want to let you know. You are my best friend... and that is the truth. I never blamed you, Boone, for anything that was said or done. Not once. Even if we are to never meet again, you hold a dear place in my heart.

Be happy.

Zion Jovie Pruitt

"...Jove..." he whimpered, his hands shaking as he read the letter that had been attached to the plush dinosaur.

XXXXXX

He stepped through the gate of Novac, the dust at his feet stirring. Quiet as ever... He knew Manny was up at the mouth of the dinosaur on his shift, so he quietly walked to his hotel room, used the key to unlock it, and opened the door, the sunlight lighting the inside. The bed was still in a mess from... He sighed and closed the door, tossing his backpack on a chair that was next to the door. He then opened up the front zipper... and hesitated a moment before reaching down and pulling out the plush dinosaur, setting it on his nightstand.

He sat down on the bed and just stared at the dinsoaur.

"I'm with you."

"As always?" she asked.

He couldn't stand to look at it any longer.

"As always."

He laid back on the bed, putting his hands behind his head. He smelled her... That familiar scent he knew to only be hers. In his mind, he recalled parts of the night they shared in the bedroom, and he rose up in a hurry, a flustered groan escaping his lips.

He heard a knock on the door.

"Boone? Ya back, man? Chris Haversham told me he saw you."

"Yeah," Boone replied, getting on his feet. "It's open, Manny."

Manny opened the door, and with a smile came forward and wrapped his arms around Boone, giving him a couple pats on his back. "I was afraid I wouldn't get to see you again, Boone. Gotta say, shocked the hell outta me." He looked him over. "Were you hurt?"

"I was shot in the stomach, but nothing major," he answered.

"That's a relief. I heard it was kind of a bloodbath." He looked around the room. "Where's Jovie?" Boone didn't answer. Manny grinned. "If she's in the john, that's okay. We all gotta go. I just wanna see her. If you're okay, she's gotta be okay, too, right?"

"Yeah," Boone nodded, "she's okay."

Manny's smile faded. He looked around the room then at the plush dinosaur before his eyes went to the window. "She's not here."

"No."

Tension filled the room as Manny put his hands on his hips. "She coming later?"

"No, Manny."

Boone heard one of Manny's knuckles crack. "Wanna tell me what the hell is going on?" Boone didn't open his mouth, and instantly regretted it as Manny's fist collided with the side of his jaw. Half-expecting it, he stumbled slightly, but it still stung like hell. His sunglasses went askew, falling to the floor.

"Jesus, Manny."

"What did you do to her? Huh? Did you use her then leave her?" Boone's eyes locked onto Manny's, and he nodded. "Yeah, I know what happened that night. I was on my way over to apologize to you when I heard what was going on." He laughed in disbelief. "So, what? You can't get over Carla, but you need a good fucking from a woman who has done everything for you, only for you to leave her?"

"It's not like that, Manny. Christ..." Boone nearly growled. "It wasn't just a one time deal... it happened twice. The day before the dam... and here." He shook his head. "I... Manny, I felt something with her, but there's more to this."

Manny's fist collided with the other side of his face, this time pissing Boone off.

"All right, Man. Do that one more time, and we're gonna have problems."

Manny shook his hand, his knuckles aching from the impact of the punch. "You're an absolute jackass." He punched him again. "She sacrificed so much for you! She helped you out of that dark tunnel you were in made you see that you were meant to do better things than being here at this dinosaur, alone!"

Boone punched Manny this time, tired of getting punched for his decision. "Lay. The fuck. Off."

"No!" Manny yelled. "I kept my mouth shut about Carla, and look what happened! I won't do that here." He punched him again, Boone's vision starting to shake. If they didn't stop fighting... "You had a chance with her! I even liked her, Boone! She was sweet and kind, and she sure did a hell of a lot for a bunch of people she didn't know hide nor hair of. She shined onto you like you wouldn't believe. I could see it in her green eyes... those eyes like I'd never seen before. She was perfect for you. But you couldn't handle that. All you wanted was a dream that was long gone."

"You son of a bitch," Boone growled, punching Manny hard enough that he was sure he broke a knuckle... and Manny's nose. Manny reeled back as the blood exploded, his hands up to his nose. "I wanted a new dream, don't you get it?!" He staggered backwards until his back hit the table then turned around, pressing his hands on the table. "...I wanted a new dream... with her..."

He heard the door to his room open and close, and in about ten minutes, Manny came back with beer, two shot glasses, and medical supplies. They treated each other then started drinking. Boone coughed, Manny nodding as he downed his first shot.

"Still not much of a drinker, huh?"

"Nah."

Manny poured another shot for the both of them. "You love her, Boone."

Boone didn't hesitate. "Yeah... yeah, I do."

"Then what's keeping you?"

Boone leaned back in his chair as he looked out his window. "What do you think?"

"She's different." Manny took a sip this time. "She can hold her own."

Boone scoffed in agreement as he took a swig. "You know... the other night, I had a dream. About Carla."

"Yeah?"

"She told me that I deserved a chance at happiness. That she was happy here, but just didn't belong." He medically taped his broken index finger to his middle finger. "Manny, you remember. Her eyes were blue, and she was blonde... you remember?" Manny nodded. "In the dream, she begged me to give Jove a chance... and her eyes changed to green, her hair to dark brown."

Manny sat up in his chair. "...Jovie's colors."

Boone filled in shot glass again. "What the hell does that mean? Huh?"

"C'mon, man, you know I don't believe in that dream shit."

"Manny, listen," Boone implored. "She changed."

Boone threw back the swig, filling the glass again. "Whoa, Boone. You may wanna call it. You're not much of a drinker, so you'll probably be a lightweight."

"Maybe I wanna get drunk."

"You're more than halfway there."

Boone shot Manny a look. "Cut the shit. That dream meant something."

Manny exhaled and leaned forward. "Okay, so maybe it did. I gotta admit, it is a little weird." He moved his shot glass around on the table, his eyes on it. "Maybe, man. I think Carla would want you happy." He stood up. "Listen, I'm gonna get back to my shift. Told Cliff I was taking one. He's gonna be confused seeing me roughed up like this."

Boone could feel the alcohol starting to take affect. He tried to stand up, but that didn't work. He just sat back down. "...Sorry."

"Nah, man, I was the one who started that fight," Manny waved off. "Look, I'll come back later and check on you, okay?"

Manny left, leaving Boone to his thoughts and a shot glass, along with some beer. He decided enough was enough and shoved the shot glass off the table, contents spilling on the carpet. Not that he cared. He stood up, staggered again, but made it to the bed. He sat there a minute and just stared. Then, in his peripheral, the dinosaur caught his eye. He grew angry.

"What the hell you lookin' at?" He rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands, the room seemingly moving around. He shook his head, but that made it worse... and what made it even more worse was that stupid dinosaur. "I don't need you to judge me!" He then laughed and put his hand on his forehead. "I'm talking to a plush dinosaur, what the actual hell..." He shrugged. "Fuck it. I don't care. You know why I didn't go with her? Think I didn't want to go with her? You're wrong." He pulled out his pistol and idly waved it around. "Shh, don't worry. Safety is on." He then put it on the table. "I'm an ex-soldier with PTSD and depression. I've thought about using that pistol to put an end to it all way more times than I would ever tell Jove." He leaned toward the dinosaur. "But don't tell her I told you that, okay? It'll be our little secret." He then sat upright, shock on his face. "Come to think of it... when I was with her, I didn't think about it as much. Sure, there were days where the depression was worse than others, but I mean, hey. Who doesn't have those days, amiright?" He sighed. "She... calmed me. I was way more harsh to her than she ever deserved, and I should've apologized more. I should've been better. I should've- oh god!" He hurried, ran staggeringly into the bathroom, and threw up. He was in there a good while, throwing up just as much liquor as he drank. When he was certain he was done, he half-crawled out of the bathroom and opened his fridge, pulling out a bottle of water and downing it, then a second bottle, downing that one as well. He sat beside his refrigerator for a second, breathing heavily from hurling and chugging two bottles of water-

"Shit! Shit shit shit shit!" he repeated as he scrambled to get to his feet. He ran to the dinosaur and placed it gently in his backpack, then picked up his pistol, putting it in its holster, and slinging his sniper rifle on his shoulder. He ran out the door, up the stairs of the dinosaur, inside-

"Well, if it ain't Cra-"

Boone didn't let Cliff finish as he opened the door to the sniper's roost, where Manny was standing, sniper rifle in hand. Manny jumped and turned around.

"Jesus sakes', Boone!"

"I made a mistake!"

Manny realized that while, sure, he was a lightweight, he sobered up pretty quickly. "Yeah, you did."

"What do I do?"

Manny reeled back. "What the hell you mean, 'What do I do?' You go after her."

Boone shook his head. "She's always helping people. She told me she was going to make Goodsprings her home, but that's only when she's not traveling."

"Then you go to Goodsprings and you wait."

Boone shook his head again. "What if she gets hurt? What if-"

"Boone, shut up a second and calm down," Manny interrupted. "Knowing her, she's tired. Goodsprings isn't that far from here. If you hurry, I'm sure you can catch her before she sets off again to help someone."

"Right. You're right," Boone nodded, sweating profusely. Manny knew he was sweating his hangover out. "You're a lifesaver."

"Just bring her to see me when you get her back, okay?" Manny called as Boone left.

XXXXXX

Three days, and that's without sleeping. He ate and drank as he walked, popped off the stray raider or animal. He saw the water tower, and he remembered Jovie telling him that's one of the first things she saw when Benny pulled the bag off her head. That's where the cemetery was. He picked up his speed, not caring how tired he was or that his feet hurt. Hopefully, she was there.

The first house he came upon, a man was outside tending to his garden. He stopped alongside his fence and leaned over it slightly.

"Excuse me," he called. The man stopped hoeing and looked up at Boone, then at once became wary.

"NCR First Recon? What's a man like you doin' out here?"

"Retired," Boone answered. "Can you tell me something? I'm looking for someone named Jovie. She here?"

"Jovie? Why, yeah, she's here." Boone nearly fainted. "She's in that house right there, second one over." He inched toward Boone. "She ain't in any trouble, is she?"

"God, no," Boone hastily replied, walking. "Thanks so much."

He practically ran to the house and tried to open the door, but it was locked. He started knocking, loudly, with his unhurt hand, until the door swung open-

"Good lord, I said I was comin- oh my go- oof!"

Boone wrapped his arms around her, hugging her so firmly that they moved an inch or two backwards, knocking Jovie out of her shoes. For the longest time, they just stood there, him enveloping her, his injured hand on the back of her head, caressing it. She could scarcely breathe, he was holding her so tightly.

"B-Boone?" she muttered, unmistakably startled to see him there.

"Jove... Jove, I made a mistake. And I'm sorry."

She tried to look up, but couldn't. "I don't understand."

"You did so much for me... you told me you loved me, and I... I let you walk away. I let you leave." He shook slightly. "You saved my life, Jove. Not just when we fought together, no. You literally saved my life. I had plans to end it all, but you... And I let you walk away..."

She felt teardrops on her arms. She finally looked up at him to see his glasses gone, tears streaming down his face. "Huhn... that's twice you've done that... I'm sorry to be the one to cause them."

"Don't talk like that," he shook his head. "This was my fault. Jove, it took Manny beating the shit out of me, me getting so drunk I talked to that plush dinosaur, and throwing my guts up to realize that I had made the biggest mistake of my life." He held her tighter again. "I couldn't stop thinking about you. As soon as I sobered up, I made it here in three days. I hoped, prayed you'd be here... and here you are." He let her go and looked at her. She was in an old pair of ripped up jeans, a white t-shirt, and tennis shoes, dirty. The house was being gutted.

"Sorry... about the house," she grinned nervously. "It's one of the ones they had bolted up. Until we get it situated, I'm staying in Victor's old shack." She took a step toward Boone. "Boone... I understood. I did. It hurt, but I-"

"You shouldn't have to understand. You shouldn't have to have hurt," he interrupted her. "God, I was such an idiot. I had Carla and Manny, the gang- everyone was telling me what I couldn't and refused to see." He put his hand on her cheek. "I love you, Jove." A tear fell and hit his thumb, which he then wiped away. "I've loved you for a long time. I just... I was blinded by the past. I'm sorry."

She smiled, closed her eyes, and leaned her head into his hand. "Is it... is it okay if I call you 'Craig'?"

"It hurt when you stopped."

"It hurt when you left."

"Fair enough."

She opened her green eyes and focused on his. "If you want... this place can be ours. Think... that's possible?"

"I do," he nodded. "I'll help. I can bring my stuff from the hotel- it's my stuff, I paid for it, and God knows Jeannie May don't need it anymore. We'll make this our home."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Jovie smiled. She then stood up on her tiptoes and kissed Boone softly. "I've missed you."

He hugged her again, picking her up off the ground as he kissed her back. "That's the last time you'll ever have to say that to me. I promise you."

XXXXXX

Ten years later

They stood at the entrance to Goodneighbor. It had been ten years... Ten long years since they had seen each other. They had kept in touch from time to time, sending letters. But, god, had they missed each other. Age had crept on them, a couple had spouses now, and they were ready to see what was in store.

"What taking so long?" Lily roared. "Ready to see grandson!"

"They're coming, Lily, just hold your horses," Cass laughed, patting the Supermutant's muscular arm.

"Wait... I think I see them coming," Veronica spoke. "Oh my god..."

Over the hill walked Jovie in a light green dress with dress shoes, Boone in blue jeans and a plaid button-up shirt and cowboy boots. Jovie was holding onto a small boy's hand while Boone was holding onto a small girl's hand. Rex and ED-E saw Jovie and Boone and started barking and making noises, and everyone could surmise they were excited. The King was there with Rex, and even he couldn't help but to smile to see Jovie. They reached the group, and they exchanged hugs and handshakes. Raul gave Jovie a kiss on her cheek, Arcade on her forehead as usual. The children just sort of looked at each other.

"Haha, sorry, guess introductions are in order," Jovie laughed.

Cass nodded, glancing at her husband and daughter. "I guess so. This is who I've been tellin' ya'll about. This is Jovie and her husband Boone and their kids, Cooper."

"Oh, all right," Cooper nodded. "Finally great to get a face to the crazy stories I've been told all these years."

Boone laughed. "Yeah? I'm sure she told you I was sort of a bear."

Cooper gave a slight nod. "Eh."

"It's okay. I know I was."

Cass looked at her daughter. "Wanna tell 'em your name?"

The little girl with freckles, red hair, and blue eyes, just like her mother, nodded. "Prairie."

"That's so pretty!" Veronica beamed. She pushed a woman forward, who had short black hair and indigo eyes. Her skin was pale, and she had a beauty mark under her lip. "This is my wife, Anna."

"Nice to meet you, Anna," they all greeted.

"I know, I know. Finally settled down after all these years. Crazy, right?" Veronica grinned.

"Especially after knowing your pa- ouch!" Arcade was interrupted when Cass elbowed him in his ribs. "Not married yet, but we're getting there, aren't we?"

His boyfriend (pepper hair, beard and mustache, tall and thin with glasses- they only surmised he was just as nerdy as Arcade) nodded. "I'm James. I've heard so many things about all of you, and I'm glad to meet you."

Boone looked down at his and Jovie's children. "Wanna tell them what makes you two so special?"

"We're twins!" the boy grinned. "My name's Phoenix."

"I'm Raven. Named after birds," the girl beamed.

They then noticed... Boone had let his hair grow out. Light brown, unkempt. It looked... right. The twins had dark brown like their mother, but the boy had green eyes while the girl had heterochromia- her left eye was green while her right eye was blue. She pointed out that's also what made her special. Prairie awed at her eyes.

"That's so cool! How come you didn't get it, Phoenix?"

"I dunno. But I have this cool thing where I can see pretty well in the dark and pretty far away."

"Ah, something he inherited from Boone, I see," Arcade nodded. "It is interesting, this heterochromia. Think-"

"No," everyone chimed in.

Then, it got serious. Jovie stepped up and smiled.

"I'm glad you're all here. I really am."

"Of course we'd be," Veronica spoke.

"And I'm glad to see you all doing well," Jovie continued. "We went through a lot together ten years ago, nearly didn't make it out that last battle. And seeing you here, happy..." Her lip quivered. "It makes me happy."

Cass wiped away a stray tear. "You always were an emotional one."

Jovie laughed. "But, uh... what made you come back?"

"Come with me. We'll deal with Legion together," Jovie told Boone.

"Huhn, the Outpost lost its appeal three bottles ago. Sure. I'll tag along," Cass agreed.

"I may not have all the answers for how to fix Freeside's problems, but Caesar taking control isn't part of the solution," Arcade told Jovie.

"So, uh... where are ya headin'?" Veronica asked Jovie.

"Took ya long enough! Can I go home now?" Raul asked after being freed by Jovie.

"Take care o' him... will ya?" the King asked, petting Rex.

"Naughty children run from their punishment, but we'll find Benny, won't we, Leo?" Lily asked.

"We were in this together. Or, you put us in this together, from the start," Boone answered, taking hold of her hand. "We stand by each other, even after all these years. Right?"

Everyone nodded.

Tears fell from Jovie's eyes. "Right."

"Think about it. Most of us were pretty unhappy where we were," Veronica spoke up. "Then you showed up, helped us out, and here we are today."

Boone leaned toward Jovie and kissed her cheek. "That's right. Here I am today."

Jovie had never felt happier or more whole. Eleven years ago, she was left for dead, two bullet holes to her head. Eleven years later, here they were, families of their own. She and Boone, twins as unique as the two were themselves. And with friends that were even more unique, who had stayed around for over a decade.

Whatever life she had before, sometimes she wondered about. But for now, she was content with this life she had before her.

Nothing else mattered.