The dusty old robot rolled up to them as they approached the imposing gate. Anya hadn't realized how huge it would be, the rust colored walls seemed to reach up far into the sky, higher than even the trees that had been at the Oasis. She had remembered very specifically being impressed by those, of course, she hadn't been in her right mind then. She cringed, just thinking about the jet made her want some again. She had done pretty well for the trip, all things considering, only had to take a few small hits, but the urge to use was still there, deeply latched onto her like a parasite. She was grateful Gabe had agreed to hold them for and didn't pester her about why. A sheen of sweat had started to cling to her clothing, shortly after she would start to tremble again. She hated how dependant she was and she was grateful that they had finally made it.
"Hello. Welcome to Megaton. I am Deputy Weld. Panhandling is not permitted."
"Well that's a friendly greeting." Gabe smirked at the machine as it rolled away to make a wide circle in the front of the gate. As they stood there, Fisher giving the robot the stink eye, a rather hobbled old man came stumbling up to them.
"Hey man, can you spare some water? I've been drinking nothing but irradiated crap for days. I can't keep it down. Please, do you have some fresh water you could spare?" His eyes were sunken deeply in his skull, he didn't look like he had eaten for days and his skin draped across his bones like thin paper.
"Don't they have clean water in town?" Gabe asked, the man flinched and it was easy to see why. Gabriel, well fed and well build was an intimidating force compared to the stringy beaten down looking man. But he recovered well enough when he realized it wasn't a rebuke.
"Didn't ya hear," He jabbed his thumb at Deputy Weld. "Ain't a charity sort of place, Megaton."
"Of course," Anya spoke, reaching into her pack to grab one of the several plastic bottles they had filled up at their last stop. The weight was starting to make her shoulders ache anyway.
"Thank you miss, god bless." He bobbed his head up and down as he accepted the bottle like it was a pile of caps. He wandered off a little ways, casting suspicious glances around him as if expecting someone else to come take it from him, before sitting down on a bare rock.
"I don't know if you should have done that." Gabe grunted.
"Why not? After all, we've been so lucky with water, why shouldn't we share?" Gabe shot her a warning glance for her comment.
"He's right, honey, they're just vagabonds. They'll beg for anything other than a job." Fisher spit on the ground. "Taking away decent folks caps, ain't right."
Anya stared at the man's back as he slowly drank from the bottle, shivering in ecstasy as the clean beverage chased away the tangy flavor of whatever radiated puddle he had been drinking from. "We can't know that. We don't know what he's been through."
Both of the men looked a little sheepish at that, but Deputy Weld interrupted the awkward pause for them as he completed his circle again.
"Are you here for business? No panhandling." It waited a moment before slowly returning to its cycle.
"I get the feeling they have a problem with beggars," Gabe muttered out of the corner of his mouth and Anya stifled a laugh.
"Hey, tin man, why don't you go in there and tell that cowboy who's running the place that Fisher Simms is here to see him." Deputy Weld slowly turned back toward Fisher, acknowledging he had been heard.
"Certainly." The bot responded and started to roll back toward the gates of Megaton, entering through a small door. Fisher eyed the robot as it left, wondering how expensive something like that might be, and what kind of modifications he'd have to put on it to make it good at hunting mole rats.
"You know someone inside?" Gabe stared at him, openly curious now, he had thought it suspicious that Fisher had known whereabouts of Megaton, now this was further proof that he had been here before. Gabe suddenly realized that he didn't know anything about Fisher's past that wasn't in Vertville, and that realization was followed by a pang of guilt.
"Let's just say he's an old friend." Fisher was tightlipped and Gabe decided not to push it, it would probably come up sooner rather than later. They waited aimlessly in the desert heat, a dry breeze buffeting loose sand up against their unprotected faces. The groaning of the gates opening up was a welcome relief and a man stepped forward with the robot deputy behind him. He was dressed just like Fisher had pegged him, boots, hat, chaps, the man was a bone fide gunslinger from the old wild west.
"Fish?" He asked as he approached closer, tipping the rim of his hat back so he could see clearly. "That really you?" His face stretched into a slow grin and he quickened his pace when he appeared to recognize Fisher. Gabe noticed that they looked very similar, same dark skin, same sturdy frame, and he was pretty certain he had seen that same grin plastered on Fisher's face before. This newcomer had bits of gray flecking his beard, but there was little else to distinguish them as very different.
"Yeah Lucas. It's me." Fisher didn't seem quite as excited about the reunion. In fact, he seemed to be deliberately standoffish, his arms crossed on his chest and half a scowl on his face.
"Well come here ya big idiot!" Lucas didn't wait for an invitation but pulled Fisher into his arms for a hearty hug, thumping his back loud several times. "Jesus it's good to see you! Where you been?"
Fisher didn't totally warm up but Anya was relieved to see a small smile creep onto his face when Lucas finally released him and held him at arms length.
"I'm up in Vertville, got me a nice little café there."
"Hah!" The other man laughed heartily. "That ole rust pile? I remember the days they used to come all the way down here to scavenge for cars. Course, it's come a long way since then." He waved his hand in the air, dismissing such a long passage of time. "That's not so far though, why ain't you come to see me?"
Fisher's face sobered then, old resentment bubbling up. "You shot me last time, in case you forgot. Didn't think I was welcome back." Lucas' face fell a little as his own memories caught up with him.
"Hell Fish, you were a junky. And a criminal. What was I supposed to do?" He shrugged but his face was marked with remorse.
"I don't know Luke. I just didn't think it would come to shooting your own brother." Fisher shook his head slowly and crossed his arms once again. Determined again to be stubborn.
"Yeah, well. I was a little young and stupid back then too. Felt like I had to prove something. I'm sorry Fisher." He removed his hat and fiddled with the bill. "I shoulda helped you clean up, been a proper sibling to you. I know that now. I shoulda known it then." He rubbed his hand over the small patch on his scalp where the dark hair seemed to be receding. They both took in a deep breath and lost themselves briefly in their own thoughts.
"Thanks for saying so Luke." Fisher finally clapped him on the shoulder. "Bygones and such, yeah? It sure is good to see you."
"Sure is." His grin had reappeared and Fisher seemed to be in a lighter mood already. "Now, who are these fine folks you got with you?" He gestured with his hat toward Anya and Gabe before placing it back on his head. Even as their attention drifted toward her, Anya found her focus slipping, her nerves causing her to clench and unclench her teeth.
"This here is Gabriel, he's…" Fisher trailed off, searching for the diplomatic way to say exactly what he did. "he's a wastelander." He finished with a crooked smile, Gabe did his best to look polite. Lucas' eyebrows went up slightly, but he held his tongue and shook Gabe's hand when he offered it. "And Anya here, well, she needs to see your medic. She's got a problem that needs curing, and she's got a baby on the way, so she can't really afford to wait much longer." Anya wasn't sure if it was her twitching or general poor appearance that made it obvious she was a junkie, but Lucas didn't seem to need to ask for clarification. He gave her a knowing smile and shook her hand as well. Whatever judgments he seemed to have he kept to himself.
"Oh sure, Doc Church will fix her up fine." Lucas nodded politely as if they were discussing a bad cut instead of a jet addiction. "I'm sure you two will make mighty fine paren-" Fisher cut him off with an abrupt gesture that Lucas only caught halfway through his sentence. Gabe focused intently on the ground, pretending not to have heard. Anya found it was easy to look occupied with chewing away at one of her fingernails to avoid looking embarrassed.
"These two are just old friends, from when they were young." Fisher swallowed and lowered his voice slightly. "The baby is a result of more unfortunate circumstances, I'm afraid."
"Oh, well. I'm sorry to hear that." Lucas cleared his throat but recovered quickly and changed the subject. "We got plenty of space at my home to put you folks up. Church will probably have her out in less than a day, but you're welcome to stay longer. How bout we get miss Anya down to the clinic, and I'll buy you all a meal?"
"That'd be real nice." Fisher smiled again and they all followed him into town.