A/N: Sorry this chapter took so long! I've been editing and rewriting it for weeks! My hubby would point out parts he disliked or what he felt needed to be changed. Plus, I kept rereading it and getting annoyed by certain parts. I think I got it right finally!

Thanks to all of my reviewers! You keep me going! I also have a question for you! What states would you like to see Sophia and Charon travel through? It has to be along the Mississippi River or just South of DC. They will travel through Texas, but I'm open to other states! :) Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 7 Playing With Her Trusty Steed

Sophia shrugged confusedly as Charon turned to glare back at her. As soon as he turned around she smirked. Her plan was working perfectly. She had made a bet with her two "guards" that Charon could kill more super mutants than anyone in the wastes. Now those two were shooting up a storm and she was making sure to take out her fair share too! This left next to nothing for Charon. Plus, Glade and Colvin had started a game of kill it before he does, or better yet, while he's trying to kill it! Oh Lord, it was too good!

Charon wasn't usually competitive. He didn't go out of his way to be nice. He didn't want to be the hero. Hell, most of the time he couldn't even if he wanted to try and help someone. He did his job and that was it. Having his job taken away from him wouldn't normally piss him off. Good, let someone else do the dirty work. But that smug smile on her little face pissed him off. Oh, she thought she was being slick, but he hadn't lived for well over 200 years not to learn when someone was trying to pull one over on him. Still, her little game was confusing as much as it was frustrating. What had he done? Everything had been going better than he had ever dreamed. Now she was being a fucking brat. He was keeping her safe. What more did she want? Taking out his frustration on a super mutant, he fired several shots into its face. As he turned to fire at another mutant, bullets whizzed past him cutting the the monster down. He looked over his shoulder and growled at the man with the heavy artillery.

"Clear!" Sara shouted and they moved on. With Sara and Charon taking point, the small militia walked between a pair of crumbling buildings toward the Potomac Bridge. They walked down a set of steps and turned the corner beginning to walk the ramp up to the bridge.

Sofia heard Charon mumbling that this place didn't seem safe as he eyed the crumbling buildings on either side of the road. Nodding, she cleared the steps and turned to see a skywalk that spanned across the road. Her weapon drawn, she saw what looked like possible movement, as did Glade and Colliver on either side of her. Before they could shoot off a single round, the sound of a missile pierced the air.

"Take cover!" Sara yelled, diving toward a ruined car across the road. The missile whizzed past Charon as he turned and watched it head straight for Sofia, the other two men having moved away from the soon to be blast radius. She dropped to the ground just as the missile flew past her toward the top of the platform behind her. Getting up she sprinted toward Charon. The missile exploded in the street throwing Sofia into the ghoul. Charon wasn't expecting an armful of woman, and fell backwards with the tiny courier on top of him. Sophia started to get up, but Charon pulled her back down as the mutants began firing a tribeam laser toward them. Sophia looked up his body and smiled at him in thanks. Charon crab crawled back to sit behind some fallen rubble and a car. Now he had a lap full of Sofia and the start of a hard on.

Sofia stood up giving the ghoul a face full of cleavage. She aimed for the super mutants head, firing off two shots from Pew Pew, hearing a scream.

"I think I got him!" Sofia winked, sitting back down to straddle the ghoul.

Charon rolled his eyes and slid her off of his lap. He pushed down on her head and growled, "Stay down!" jumping out from behind the rubble to assess the situation. Lyon's Pride wasn't the best for nothing. They had already taken out the remaining super mutants. He turned around to help Sofia, but she was already up and breezing past him. Seeing a spot of dust on her long coat, Charon stopped. It was at the perfect level. Should he? Thinking back to the game she was playing, he felt it was well within his rights. Besides, he was just getting dust off of her long jacket, right? With his blood pumping he picked up his pace and just before he passed, slapped her bottom. He couldn't feel much through the jacket, but his hand tingled.

Sophia's eyes were wide and she froze. The last time someone had slapped her ass, she had killed them. Literally! Benny had it coming. She could remember luring him up to his hotel room at the Tops with promises of what she'd do with him once they were alone. Right before they entered his room, he slapped her on the ass and told her to, "Get on in, baby doll!" As soon as he closed the door she gave him a silent .44 injection to the face.

She watched as Charon passed and the beginnings of what could have been a smirk on his face shot straight between her legs. Not expecting the feeling she gasped.

"Just a little dust." Charon grumbled, just loud enough for her to hear.

Sophia stood still for a moment debating her options. She could end the game. She could be the adult she knew she should be and try and play nice. Honestly, he was a taller, broader shouldered Sydney, the ghoul from Gomorrah. Did she have a crush on the dancer? Maybe a little, but a relationship with a prostitute seemed doomed from the start. She wanted someone who would have sex with her without her having to pay for it. If you asked her what kind of guy she liked, she might not mention one with his muscles showing, but it sure seemed like that's what the last few men she liked had in common. Hell, she even hit on Raul once when she was too drunk to know better. He had been so polite, which she knew meant he was embarrassed as hell. If he wasn't being sarcastic, he must have been so mortified he couldn't think! So here was a tall, muscled, brooding man who fit her type to a T...except for the whole contract thing.

Colvin and Glade came to stand on either side of her. She had momentarily forgotten they were behind her still.

"Need me to help you get dust off that jacket?"

Her pride suddenly ached.

"Well, shit," drawing out the word so it had two syllables when it really shouldn't. Blowing at her bangs, she readjusted Pew Pew. "First one to ten kills gets a new bottle of Absinth!"

The two men began marching a little faster as she looked around for the next target.

By the time they made it to the Citadel, Sophia was laughing with the two men in power armor walking on either side of her.

"Nothing dies like an ugly! I once saw Colvin snipe the leg off one at 200 yards. Thing pirouetted like a figure skater!"

Sofia's laugh filled the courtyard of the Citadel. Charon looked over his shoulder at her, and turned back with a grunt.

"Ahh, you and the courier can wait here. I have the letter in my locker. I'll be right back." Sarah headed in with most of her team following her.

"Well, you boys earned this!" Sophia smiled handing them a bottle out of her pack now sitting on the ground at her feet.

"Never had any before. Heard of it though. How good is it?"

"Well, out in New Vegas you can't get it just anywhere. I got that bottle for a...friend of mine from a casino called the Ultra-Luxe. Thought if I couldn't persuade her to do something for me, that bottle would do the trick!"

"What were you trying to convince her to do?"

"Umm...change of employment." Sophia smiled sheepishly thinking of the ghoul cow girl out in New Vegas that was now a dominatrix. "Yeah, apparently she didn't really find her previous job all that exciting...but her new one sure is!"

Sara Lyon's saved her from having to say anymore by walking out with a letter in hand.

"Do I owe you anything?" Sara asked.

"Naw Sugar, trust me, Veronica's saved my neck more times then I could ever count. She's more than paid up front, in advance, for years to come!"

Taking the letter from Sara, Sophia smiled and gave a jaunty salute. "Thanks for the hospitality! Y'all make the Brotherhood almost decent!" She winked at the two men and Sara, before shaking their hands and bidding them farewell.

Sofia turned to Charon and smiled. "Come on big guy, let's head back to Underworld and get some rest. We have a few more deliveries before we head home."

"Home?" Charon looked down at the courier puzzled.

"Well, yeah. I'm from New Vegas. That's as close to a home as I'll ever get. I'll stop by the ranch in Texas and make sure Carolina and Raul are doing alright, but other than that..."

Charon hadn't thought of leaving the east coast. Hell, he hadn't thought of leaving the Capitol Wasteland! He always assumed his employers would stay here. Huh.

As soon as they were out of the Citadel and a far enough away for the guards to no longer hear them, Sofia stopped. "Now, let's finish that heart to heart we were having earlier. What happened? You were perfectly fine with letting me handle my own, and then today you act like I'm a puppy in a deathclaw den!" Sofia took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"You are a capable fighter, but I have seen you are not always capable at assessing a dangerous situation."

"What do you mean by that? Hold up, is this how you treat all of your other contract holders?"

"Uh, well." Charon coughed. "As your employee I feel..."

"No, no, no, sugar." Sofia turned to Charon and wagged her finger at him. "I asked you a question. Is this how you treated your other contract holders?" Sofia punctuated her words with a jab at his chest.

Charon would not meet the petite woman's eyes. He seemed awfully interested in everything around them. Boulders, rubble, a rock, some debris, a car.

"Charon?"

"No. This is not how I normally treat the contract holder." Charon's eyes slid down to look at her before quickly darting away.

"Then why are you treating me like this? Is it something I did? Shoot, you'd almost think..." you were sweet on me, Sophia thought in her head. She had seen the way her father would sometimes treat her momma when she was a kid. He'd act like he was a darn fool! Her momma could kill a deathclaw with a look, but her daddy would always tell her to stay back. He was always protecting her. Sofia looked up at the tall ghoul and felt her ears get hot. Was it just her imagination? Was she looking for something and seeing what she wanted?

"Well, let's just agree that I can take care of myself. We're a team, best start acting like it."

"If that is what you wish." Charon finally made full eye contact with her and noticed the blush on her cheeks and the small upturn of her lips.

"It is exactly what I wish. Shit, if wishes were caps, I'd be richer than Mr. House! Come on, partner, let's get going."

Their trip back to Underworld was almost pleasantly void of any dangers. The only small hiccup was when they saw a mire lurk after crossing over the Potomac back into the city. Before Sofia could do anything, Charon picked her up and started running away.

"I think we can both agree that this is the best course of action!" Charon grunted as he ran with Sofia over his shoulder.

Sofia held herself up with her arms and rolled her eyes.

"Well, I will admit this sure is a faster way to travel! Hi-Yo Charon! Away!" Sofia's laugh filled his ear and he couldn't help but grin.