Alright, let's see how this one goes. Finally building up to some big points in the story. Thanks for reading so far!

Even by train it had taken a day and a half to reach his destination. Achilles stepped from the passenger car and into the midday sun. The ride from Shady Sands had been uneventful and quiet, a welcome development. He would be lying if he said he was sad to leave that city of profligates. Every time he went there he felt a powerful urge to bathe afterwards. The alcohol, the crush of self-absorbed, directionless people, the chem-abusing vagrants; everything about it represented everything he hated about the NCR. The woman he had met though, Emily, had been a welcome diversion. She had actually made him wait more than half an hour to have her, which was different than most women he'd met there. He had almost forgotten how to seduce a woman; such was the ease he had in bedding Californian women. He knew his looks were part of the reason. And he had always had a way with words, both Latin and English. That was why he was a frumentarius. Tasked to wander, obtaining information and when possible sabotaging the NCR. The mission left a great deal to his discretion. It was why he had been drinking in the Four-Horned Bull, the night Emily had approached him. The establishment was relatively high-class, as far as Shady Sands went. He had been hoping to be able to eavesdrop on a drunk NCR representative or two; perhaps a military officer if he was lucky. And on that front he had been successful. He had learned General Lee Oliver was being sent to the Mojave to take command there. He had not, however, been expecting to be approached by a Follower of the Apocalypse. Achilles had always been somewhat dismissive of the Followers. Naïve do-gooders, he had thought, unwilling to do what must be done. She had been different, though. Over the course of the week they had spent together she had told him she approached him because she had seen him looking at her. He hadn't told her that he had been looking because of how shockingly revealing her dress was. Mission or not, he was still a man. He couldn't say why he didn't tell her that. She was in no way essential to the continued success of his mission. And the mission was what required his focus now. He had wound his way out of town and began walking down the Long 15 toward Mojave Outpost. The rail line off to the side of the highway was reserved for strictly military use, transporting men and supplies to the front. Many of the soldiers on the trains were fresh from basic training, a laughable eight weeks of learning to follow orders and basic weapons skills. Those with assignments to infantry units received follow on training once they reached the Mojave, with the support soldiers simply reporting to their units to learn their jobs. Achilles, on the other hand, had been trained since he was five-years old. It had hardened him mind, body, and soul; and made him ready to do what was necessary to ensure Caesar's victory. Achilles had never personally met Caesar or, for that matter, any other frumentarii that he knew of, outside of the men under his command. This way, in the unlikely event of his capture, he would be unable to compromise any other man working in NCR territory. And I am still in NCR territory, he reflected as he reached his safe house, as it were. A cave in an elevated outcrop of rocks. He was due to meet the three men under his command in it later that evening. Entering the cave, he was surprised to find them already there, alone with some unexpected company-four NCR soldiers, lying bound against the far wall. Fools! He raged to himself. If their commander reported them UA, NCR troops would fan out looking for them and risk all of their lives.

"What is the meaning of this?" he seethed to Julius, his immediate subordinate. The man looked confused.

"NCR troopers to make an example of, Achilles," he replied in English. Achilles noticed the captives watching them, a look of pure fear on the faces of the group, two men and two women.

"Fool!" Achilles yelled in Latin. They were isolated enough that he wasn't concerned about being heard. The change in the NCR soldiers was immediately apparent when they heard the Latin. What had been fear became terror. He heard one of the women try to scream behind the gag in her mouth. Their terror was somewhat heart-warming to Achilles. He operated in a different manner than Vulpes Inculta, although they had similar methods to their operations. No one outside the Legion ever saw Achilles in uniform and lived. When he attacked it was always far from anywhere there was a known Legion presence. His attacks were designed to spread fear amongst the enemy, reminding them that the Legion was everywhere, could be anyone.

"And why am I a fool?" Julius replied, also in Latin.

"Do you think the NCR won't search for them when they're reported as absent?" he replied heatedly. Julius laughed, further fanning his anger.

"Brother, I am not the idiot you think. All four of them were going home on leave. They won't be reported missing by their officers for two weeks, at least. By then we will be long gone." Achilles' anger began to subside. In fact, Julius had done well if this was the case.

"Do you have your armor?" Achilles asked.

"We do," Julius replied.

"Change into it. We'll deal with them tonight," Achilles responded, peeling out of his clothes before pulling his armor from its hiding place. He pulled it on; the weight reassuring in a way, before sitting around the fire his men had built.

"How did you take them?" Achilles asked, nodding his head at the soldiers.

"The local bar. They had been in the Mojave and got drunk at the earliest opportunity. The women approached my boys," he said, gesturing to the two men sitting next to him. Anyway, the boys convinced the women to leave with them. The two men objected to that, eventually caught up to us when we were halfway here. We took them all at that point. One of our assassins was with us, he moved on this morning. Dragged them here and decided to wait for you."

"How kind. Were the women raped?"

"No. We thought you may want them first." Achilles felt a flash of annoyance at that. The annoyance was compounded by a fleeting thought of Emily.

"Julius, do I ever take women like that?" he asked.

"No," the man admitted. "But there's a first for everything."

"No, Julius. You know that is not he we work. We are frumentarii, not recruit legionaries unable to govern our cocks."

"Very well, Achilles," Julius replied. The rest of the wait until darkness passed in silence. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Achilles judged it dark enough to move.

"Do you have nails and wood?" he asked Julius.

"Yes," the man replied, a look of eager anticipation in his eyes. Achilles felt no joy in what had to be done. It was simply his duty. The legionaries pulled the troopers to their feet and, with the necessary supplies, marched the NCR soldiers toward the train tracks. Evenly spaced along the rails were electrical poles, carrying power from Hoover Dam back into the NCR. The troopers seemed to realize the fate that awaited them as they neared, attempting to resist moving further. Their resistance was feeble, however. Achilles looked at his men.

"What is the command?" Julius asked. Achilles surveyed the group of legionaries and cowering prisoners. Disgust filled his heart as he looked upon the NCR soldiers. The oldest was perhaps 22.

"Crucifigamus!" he replied coldly.

Waking up alone still felt odd after the final week with Lucy. They had done what they had set out to do, though-it had counted. They had traveled by day, first to Arefu and then to places she had never been, and by night they had each other every way they could. John wasn't willing to admit it to anyone, but on some level he missed her now that they weren't romantic with each other. He wasn't sure if it was her or just the sex he missed, though. Getting out of bed, he realized the date. July 13. His birthday. Ugh. Another year closer to the grave. His house was in a state of disarray, a result of the packing he had been doing for the trip. There were at least some stray clothes lying around, however, and he pulled them on. He did a double take at the desk, before picking up his Pip-Boy and strapping it to his wrist. He hadn't worn it regularly in years, not since the war had finished. It seemed like a good time to get back in the habit of wearing it, as it would be a necessary tool on the trek out west. He glanced quickly at the time, surprised to see it was already 10:00 AM. John bounded down the stairs and out the door in one motion, stopping in his tracks at the sight of Fawkes waiting for him.

"You're back. How is Leo doing?"

"He is well. Happy birthday, my friend," Fawkes replied, rising to his feet. John smiled at the birthday greeting.

"Thank you, Fawkes. Will you be staying here until we leave, then?" he asked as they made their way into the center of town. John spotted Lucy, already at work at the Brass Lantern. He made his way over and pulled up a chair. Lucy smiled as he did, Fawkes taking a seat next to him.

"Morning, Luce. Got any sugar bombs lying around?" he asked, smiling back at her.

"Sure do," she replied, going inside the shack and returning a moment later with a bowl of sugar bombs and Brahmin milk.

"Thanks," he said to her as she placed it down in front of him. She smiled, a hint of sadness mixed with it. John secretly felt awful when he saw that look. He was beginning to think that there was no such thing as a clean break. It seemed all the women he had been with consistently-Amata, Sarah, Moira, and Lucy, all had some strange place in his heart. Even if he wasn't with them, the last thing he wanted to do was cause them pain. It had been idiotic of him to assume it would just remain sex for Lucy too, he realized now. All he could do, though, was hope she wouldn't be hurt for too long and would know that he wasn't leaving her specifically. They sat making small talk, Fawkes and Lucy and him, while he ate his breakfast. It had felt like they had been there for a long time when John sensed something behind him. The look on Lucy's face gave it away. He spun around in his chair to see Lucas Simms, Doc Church, and Susie Mack in front of a small crowd of people.

"Happy birthday!" they yelled as a group. John burst out laughing. He was actually surprised, which was rare for him. He stood from his seat and walked to them, shaking Lucas and Doc's hands and hugging Susie. He spotted lots of familiar faces in the crowd. There was Nova, and Butch was there, standing with a group from Vault 101. He smiled widely at them, scanning the crowd, secretly hoping to see Amata's face in it, before looking up to see Moriarty raising his glass in salute. John nodded at him, before turning back to Lucy.

"Did you know about this?" he asked her. She laughed at him.

"Of course I knew. I convinced Jenny and Andy to donate some of the drinks," she replied. John followed her gaze to a table at the far side of the crater, stacked with bottles of alcohol.

"How did you get all that?" he asked, gaping at the huge supply.

"Bought what we didn't already have from Moriarty," Doc replied from behind him. John turned around to face the crowd. His heart swelled at seeing the group, full of friends and people he cared about.

"Thank you. All of you, thank you. I can't tell you how much it means to me that you're here. Now let's have fun!" he yelled to them, before walking over toward the booze table. He heard laugher and talking behind him as the crowd broke into groups and people began introducing themselves to each other. Susie and Butch met him halfway to the table.

"Jesus, JJ," Susie began. "You don't even look like you were in a fight. What the fuck?" He laughed at that.

"Nice to see you too, Susie. I heal quickly, what can I say," he replied, pouring himself a Scotch. Butch mumbled an agreement under his breath, drawing a laugh from John. Susie smiled at him, eyes quickly flitting back to the crowd.

"Well, that's probably for the best. I have a surprise you for," she replied, barely able to contain the glee on her face.

"And what's that?" John asked, taking a sip from his drink.

"Hi, JJ," a soft voice said behind him. He nearly choked on the mouthful of Scotch. That voice still lived in his dreams. He slowly turned around to look into a pair of hazel eyes that he knew with an absurd familiarity. He had spent 19 years looking into those eyes…

It was his 10th birthday and he was looking into her eyes.

"Do you like your party? I planned it," she said proudly.

"It's great, Amata! Thanks for this," he replied.

"And I have a surprise for you…"

"Is it a date with Christine Kendall?"

"What? Ew, I didn't even think you liked girls like that…" I do like girls like that, Amata. Just not Christine, he thought, pining as he looked into the face of his secret crush…

He was 13 and they were in the Vault's social hall for a dance. They had been dancing and laughing all night. He was having a hard time controlling how much he liked her now. Impulsively, he leaned forward and pecked her on the lips. She looked shocked for a moment before giggling. John felt horror at what he had just done as he blushed furiously.

"Do you want to be my boyfriend, JJ?" she asked, stifling laughter.

"Yes," he stammered out, looking at the floor. She giggled more.

"Ok," she replied, kissing his cheek. "I'll be your girlfriend." He looked at her in disbelief.

"Really?" he asked. This was almost too good to be true.

"Yes," she replied, laughing more. "What took you so long?"

They laid pressed against each other in the darkness of their secret room in the Vault. They had found it in the past few months and had promptly appropriated it for their own use. Of course, once they hadn't had to worry about someone walking in on them, their make-out sessions had escalated quickly. Everything was still new and exciting. Thankfully Amata had kept her wits about her and made John get her birth control from his father. James had simply nodded, well aware of their relationship and secretly glad that they were using common sense when John had asked him about it. And now they spent as many nights as they could this way. Tonight was a celebration, though. They had just taken their G.O.A.T. that day and gotten their placements.

"So, the Overseer and the chaplain. Odd couple, huh?" she asked, head resting on his chest as she lay in his arms. He laughed softly. They always whispered when they lay together in the dark.

"I don't think so," he replied, stroking her hair idly. "I don't think anything is odd as long as the people love each other." He felt her head move to look up at him. He glanced down, just able to make out her features in the dark.

"Do you think it will last forever?" she asked.

"What?" he replied, caught off guard.

"Us. This."

"I hope so," he said, looking at her. He was 16 years old, and couldn't remember a time when he didn't love her. What was more, he didn't want to imagine a time where he might not have her. So instead he just reached down and kissed her.

Amata looked in John's eyes as they stared silently at each other. Susie and Butch shifted uncomfortably in the silence. Perhaps they had been expecting something more dramatic. Internally, Amata was in turmoil. Her stomach felt like it was doing backflips, and her heart had started fluttering as he had turned to face her. She had braced herself for John to look injured, as Susie had described the fight to her. She was surprised, then, that he didn't have a mark on his face to show for it, less than two weeks removed. Amata couldn't stop herself from running an eye over him. He was wearing a white t-shirt and green pants. Mostly though, John looked the same to her-same light brown hair, same green eyes, same handsome, albeit more worn, face and broad shoulders. He had gained some weight, too. Not fat, just not as lean as he had been when she had last seen him. The silence had become near unbearable, as she decided to take a gamble and break the silence.

"You got fat," she said, hoping he'd remember the playful ribbing they had always given each other growing up. He stared at her for a brief second in surprise, before a corner of his lip twisted up. He looked at her with an appraising eye.

"I see your huge ass hasn't gone anywhere," he replied, eyes cast over her body. He was thrown off not seeing her in a Vault uniform. Instead she was wearing a spring dress. Even in the dress you could see her curves, though. She burst out laughing as he broke into a smile, the two of them covering the ground between them quickly. Leaning forward, he wrapped her up in his arms and lifted her off the ground. She buried her face in his neck as he did, trying to hide the tears of relief.

"I missed you," he whispered as he held her.

"I missed you too," she replied, kissing his cheek as he set her back on the ground.

I will not hurt Lucy. I will not hurt Lucy. The words went through his head like a mantra as he looked at Amata. While he was beyond happy to see her, he was painfully aware that there was another girl, one with feelings for him, nearby. So he looked at Amata and smiled, fighting the urge to kiss her.

"Why are you here, Amata?" he asked.

"For your birthday. Duh," she replied sarcastically, before turning serious. "I just…had to see you. Susie told me about Rivet City, and said you might be leaving, and I just could feel that I had to come." In one sentence his world began crumbling. He was supposed to leave in four days. He had not been expecting to see her before he did. And now that she was there he remembered how agonizing it had been to leave her before. Remain strong, his mind whispered.

"I'm glad you came," he replied. "Have you met anyone here?" She shook her head no. "Come on then. Let me introduce you to my friends," he said, putting his hand on her back and guiding her towards Lucas and Doc, talking to Fawkes near the bomb. Susie and Butch watched as they walked away.

"Three years and they still love each other. That's some serious shit," Susie whispered to Butch. He grunted back, apparently not as moved by the sight.

"I hope this doesn't mean he's staying. I was hoping to use his house while he's gone," he replied, drawing laughter from Susie.

"I guess some people never do change. Thanks, Butch," she replied, before wading into the crowd and back to the group from 101.

John wasn't alone with Amata until that evening, after the festivities had ended. They sat outside the gates of Megaton, watching as the sun sank below the horizon. Without realizing it, or even meaning to, they had reached out and grabbed each other's hands. He had explained his plans to her as they had sat there, told her that he was leaving in four days. She had been less upset than he had expected by that, had simply said she wanted to spend the next three days with him before he left. The group from Vault 101 was spending the night in the common room in Megaton, but John had assumed Amata would stay with him. And though he hadn't said it, he couldn't wait to hold her in private again. Once the sun had finally disappeared, he turned back to her.

"You spending the night at my place?" he asked.

"I can stay in the common room, if you prefer," she replied. Her tone made it obvious what she wanted.

"No. I want you with me," he replied as they began to make their way to his house. It was a short walk, and the town was largely quiet now. Wadsworth greeted them as they entered, Amata looking around the now disorganized house.

"It's not normally like this. I've been packing," he said, noticing her wandering eyes. They looked at each other across the room as the door shut behind John. He took a moment to appreciate how beautiful she was. Her skin was soft and unweathered by the sun and wind; her body was toned and nicely curved, a side effect of the body image issues she'd had as a teenager. They looked at each other for a moment before silently deciding on the same thing and setting on each other, hungrily kissing as if they would never have another chance. John cupped her face in his hands as they did, before they set about undressing each other.

"God, I missed you," she gasped out as he unbuttoned the back of her dress. She shrugged out of it as he did, letting it drop to the floor and revealing a body that was even better shaped than John remembered. She began to unbutton his pants as they continued kissing, breaking apart as his pants tumbled to the floor. The words spilled out as he unfastened her bra.

"I love you, Amata," he whispered as the last of her clothes came off.

"I love you too," she replied, pulling his shirt off as she did. John didn't want to wait to have her. He pulled her close to him, kissing her as he picked her up and laid her back on the table. They broke apart for a moment, staring at each other intensely.

"I want you," she whispered, her hands running through his hair as the other wandered his back. He nodded and entered her, both their eyes going wide as he did. And then, as she moved her hips with him, they tried to make up for lost time.