Charon stared down at the young smoothskin grinning up at him. She'd been an anomaly ever since she'd walked up to him at Underworld and flashed his contract in his face. He'd had plenty of people hold that damned piece of paper. He'd resented every single one of them. He'd gotten used to being treated like a tool, no better than a trained pet that could haul shit and take out whoever his owner pointed their finger at. He'd gotten used to not being spoken to and so therefore he'd gotten used to not speaking much.

There was no getting used to this girl.

"Well?" she said.

Charon shook his head and grunted, "I don't care."

"Aw come on, you've got to have a preference."

He peered at her hands as she offered up their dinner choices. In one hand she held brahmin steaks, the other was uncooked squirrel on a skewer. No one had asked him what he wanted to eat before. It was always just whatever they decided to give him. Most of the time they didn't offer anything and he'd become accustomed to fending for himself when it came to his basic needs. It wasn't that hard of a decision. It was just that she was asking him to make one in the first place. He raised his arm and pointed at the steaks.

"Perfect, I'll start the fire."

Another quirk. She insisted on doing so many things for herself. He sat awkwardly on the ground to watch her, not knowing what else to do with free time. As she gathered a few stray sticks and set to work, he eventually pulled out his shotgun for a cleaning. Azrukhal bits were still splattered all over it.

The memory of his former employer's face exploding in a shower of blood, bone and brain brought a small smile to his lips. It had been forever since he'd smiled. A small, quiet part of him began to hold the tiniest hope that maybe, just maybe, this one would be different. Not that anyone who owned someone else could be thought of as a good person, but something about her made him dare to hope that he wouldn't be itching to turn the shotgun on her within a few weeks.

...

Hel cooked the steaks as her new companion cleaned his gun in silence. She'd learned early on that he wasn't big on small talk. She knew his name and that he was good with explosives and the gun in his lap. Any other inquiries into his past or character had been met with a cool stare and tight lips.

Settling back on her heels as the steaks sizzled over the tiny fire, Hel pulled out her most precious possession, unfolded it, and read it for what had to be the hundredth time.

Beloved,

I must beg your indulgence a little while longer. I am not yet able to send for you. Stay in Megaton. Once my business has concluded, I will send for you, and we will live happily as man and woman.

The memory of your beauty and sweet aroma lingers in my memory...

Have patience my love.

Soon. Soon we shall be together once again!

Your's very truly,

Burke

Hel could have recited it from memory, but she loved looking at his handwriting and his endearing grammar mistakes. Her stomach did a little flip every time she read the part about living together as man and woman. It sounded like a proposal to her. Gently, she folded the letter back up and kissed it before slipping it into the pocket over her heart. She'd taken his advice on waiting in Megaton and found a semi-permanent residence there. Lucas Simms had let her have the abandoned house as a thank you for disarming the bomb. It had been several weeks since she'd been back. She'd been making her way towards Rivet City where Moriarty claimed her father had headed. It was slow going through the ruins of DC and she'd stumbled across the ghoul sanctuary, Underworld, on her way.

She glanced over at Charon and smiled when he made eye contact. Stoic, he gave a slight nod of acknowledgement and bent back to his task. Hel giggled to think what Burke would make of her choice in friends. She could have hired Jericho but she had a feeling if Burke found out there would be hell to pay.

She flipped the steaks and looked out towards the setting sun. They were heading back to Megaton and she knew they probably could have pushed on through the night, but she didn't want Charon to feel like she was a literal slave driver. It already made her uncomfortable, holding a contract that said she owned another person. She'd offered to give it to him or to burn it but the look that had come over him had scared her so much she'd folded it and slipped it right next to Burke's letter. He'd looked at her like she'd threatened to kill him. Shivering, Hel peered sideways at the ghoul. He'd put the gun away and had pulled out a cigarette. He was staring at the fire, his eyes far off, not seeing the flames.

Pulling the steaks off the pan, Hel plated them and brought him his portion, "I've got some Fancy Lady Snacks for dessert," she said as she settled down next to him, folding her legs under her.

He took the plate with a grunt and began eating. They ate as the stars came out, not a word being spoken between them. Hel offered the box of cakes once they were through and with another grunt, he took one. Hel didn't mind his silence. She couldn't imagine being a slave and what sort of scars that would leave on someone's psyche. He'd blown his previous owner to smithereens as soon as the contract had traded hands, but the other ghoul didn't seem to have expected it. She figured it wasn't the norm and didn't really worry about what might happen if she were ever to lose the contract. She didn't want to pass him onto someone else that might treat him badly again. Deep down, she held out a hope that maybe she could rehabilitate him. That sooner or later he would let her destroy the contract and set him free.

He pulled out his pack of cigarettes and held it out towards her, wordlessly offering her one.

"No thanks," she smiled. Yes, there was some hope.

...

Charon ducked his head to fit through the doorway of the saloon. It was early morning and the last thing he wanted was a drink, but Hel had insisted they stop there before anything else. She didn't smoke, so he figured her vice was booze. The smoothskin strode up to the bar where another ghoul smiled at her.

"Good to see you, friend," he said and Hel extended a hand.

"Hey Gob," she said, as they shook hands, "How're things?"

Gob shrugged and hesitated as he eyed Charon coming up behind her. Hel noticed and waved towards him, "Oh, this is my new friend, Charon. Charon, Gob, the best bartender in the Wastes."

Charon had never been introduced as anyone's friend, let alone a smoothskin. Gob gave him a toothy grin and held his hand out as he had with Hel. When Charon didn't take it, he awkwardly pulled it back and cleared his throat, "Well, uh, any friend of Hel's is welcome here. What can I get you?"

Hel was practically bouncing as she asked, "Has the mail come lately?"

Gob shook his head, "Not expecting them until tomorrow or the next. Sorry."

A solemnity fell over the girl, "Oh."

"Are you expecting a letter from Tenpenny Tower again?" Gob asked.

Charon's ears pricked with interest. He'd no idea his new master was connected with people as well off as the residents of Tenpenny.

Hel's cheeks flushed slightly and she shifted her feet, "Yes..."

"I can let you know as soon as it arrives," Gob offered.

"Thanks Gob," she smiled warmly, "I'd appreciate it." She turned to go and Charon blinked.

"You're not getting a drink?"

She stopped and turned on her heel to look up at him, then back to Gob, "Oh. No, I-" her cheeks flushed again, "Um, two beers, Gob."

"Coming right up."

Hel paid and lifted the beers up, holding one out to Charon. Her eyes slid past him to the tables in the alcove behind him and he turned to see who she was looking at but there wasn't anyone there.

...

Burke ran his hands through his hair and stared at the wall. The courier that was awaiting his response was still standing in the doorway. What did he say? How was he supposed to respond to this without undoing months of work? He let out a deep breath and sat at his desk. Dragging a clean sheet of paper over, he began to write. Choosing his words carefully, he did his best to keep his hand from trembling with the anger that flowed through him.

On the corner of his desk another envelope sat, sealed and addressed, ready to travel with this one, only to a separate destination. He wished he could tuck himself into that envelope and mail himself to its recipient. He pulled his mind away from it and focused on the current letter. Sitting back, he reread it before signing his name and folding it into another envelope. Hastily scrawling the name across it, he scooped it and the other envelope from the desk and went to the courier.

"Deliver the Megaton letter first."

"That's backtracking on my route," the surly young man said.

Burke laid a healthy sum of caps into the boys hand and repeated the order.

"Yeah, sure, whatever you say," the courier pulled his cap down and went away grinning.

Burke watched him go. Completely unaware, the boy carried two of the most powerful letters in the Waste. Turning to close the door, Burke grit his teeth at the sound of Alistair calling for him.

"Coming," he called out, voice projecting none of the exhausted rage he felt towards the old man. To himself he muttered consolingly, "Just a little longer..."

...

"You always read the same two letters over and over again," Charon said as they settled down for the night just on the outskirts of DC. Rivet City was within visual distance, but they'd come through more than one harrowing experience with Super Mutants within the last twenty four hours and neither was willing to go through another without a rest.

Hel gave a squeak and a cough, clutching the letter she'd been reading to her chest. "How do you know that?" she asked defensively.

Scowling, Charon tossed a piece of wood onto the fire, "Your lips move when you read them. They're the same words over and over again."

Hel narrowed her eyes, skeptical, "You can't know-"

"Beloved, the pain of your absence is at times crippling-," Charon started.

"Okay, shut up, shut up!" The smoothskin blushed so much he could see it in the low light. She stuffed the letters away into her front pocket and crossed her arms, staring intently into the flames.

Charon chuckled. "Who's this lover boy of yours anyway?"

"No one," she huffed.

"Mhmm..." he didn't say anything else. He pulled out a cigarette and used the end of a stick to light it. Leaning back against his pack, he stared up at the stars as the smoke curled from his mouth.

After a long silence, Hel said, "He's going to send for me. You'll meet him then."

Charon didn't answer. All he could think was why she had to wait for whoever her lover was to send for her in the first place. Why isn't she with him?

...

Another long trek across the Wastes. Hel was beginning to see what Burke had hated about this place so much. Her father hadn't been in Rivet City and the helpless people of the Wastes had found numerous problems to lay at her feet as she followed yet another possible dead end. Back aching, mouth gritty with dust, Hel lead an equally miserable Charon up the ramp to Moriarty's saloon.

I should have blown this place up when I had the chance, she thought bitterly.

"Heeey, little lady," Jericho's voice sidled up next to her out of the dark before Charon slammed an arm against the ex-Raider's chest and knocked him into the wall.

"It's alright," she waved him off half-heartedly, "He's harmless."

Charon's signature wordless grunt came gruffly from behind and above her as Jericho righted himself.

"Harmless?" Jericho looked halfway offended, "C'mon on, girlie. Why don't ya give me a chance n' I'll show ya how harmless I am?" His eyes traced down her body as he leered at her from under his eyebrows.

"I guess you've forgotten, Jericho, I'm taken," she sighed.

He laughed, "Oh sure. That suit's never coming back fer ya. He slummed with ya fer a bit, got his fill. Now he's up there in his shiny palace, probably porking some other lil' bitch."

It shouldn't have affected her, it was just Jericho trying to get a rise out of her. But lately the exact same fears had been running around in her head. Swallowing the bile that rose into the back of her throat, Hel fought down the hot tears that accompanied it and turned to continue up the ramp.

A dull thud and the sound of a body falling over proceeded Charon's footsteps following her. "That man's an idiot."

She smiled a little. The big ghoul had become a friend over the time they'd been together, whether he would ever admit it or not. "I know someone that would agree with you wholeheartedly on that." She reached out and patted his shoulder, "Thank you."

She shouldered her way into the saloon and Gob waved her over, an envelope already in his hand. For a moment, everything melted away and for just a second, she convinced herself that this would be it, this would be the one that would call her to Burke's side. At this point, she didn't even care about finding her father, she just wanted to tell the world to go fuck itself.

Charon stayed behind at the bar as she went to the table Burke had been sitting at when she'd first spoken to him. Tearing open the envelope, Hel began to read.

Beloved,

The pain of our separation is unbearable. I miss you terribly.

I cherish the memory of our brief time together.

Send me a letter, won't you? Send it to Tenpenny Tower. They'll be sure to get it to me.

Oh, be patient a little while longer, my little song bird. Soon we will be freed of our cages and our love will soar to the heavens above!

Your's very truly,

Burke

Hel felt foolish for never thinking of writing him back. She had his letters to sustain her, but all he had was the memories of her. He must think I've forgotten about him. She lurched to her feet and headed for the door. Once outside she made a beeline for her home. Charon's footsteps sounded behind her and his long stride caught him up to her in no time. Like a gargantuan shadow, he followed her up to their shack. As soon as she was inside, she rummaged around the clutter for paper and something to write with. She ended up tearing the title page out of an old book and writing on the back of it.

Love,

Each of your letters have breathed new life into me. But they aren't the same as having you here. I miss you.

She stopped to wipe a stray tear from her eye.

I hope you will send for me soon. I know your work is important but sometimes I wish it was just you and me on this planet. Everyone else is keeping us from being together.

I hope the next letter you send is the final one. Then I can be by your side forever.

I love you,

Hel

She read it over then, blushing, made an addition.

P.S. I think about our last night together often. I long for you.

Folding it quickly, she slid it into an envelope and sealed it. On the front, she hesitated before writing simply:

Burke

Tenpenny Tower

She hoped it would be enough to get it to him. Biting her lip, she wondered if she should leave it with Gob to send out or march over and deliver it herself. No, he wants me to stay away until it's safe.

She sent it off with the courier the next day, eliciting repeated promises that he would be sure to deliver it immediately. Shouldering her pack and nodding to Charon, she headed back out on the endless search for her father.

…

Susan Lancaster leaned against the security desk in the lobby, flirting shamelessly with Chief Gustavo. He wasn't one of her usuals, but every now and then she could coax him into a quick tumble and earn a few extra caps. Not that she needed them. Honestly she was in it more for the fun than anything.

"I know we're all very grateful for your protection," she smiled and laid a hand on his wrist, "Maybe I can show my gratitude?"

He sighed, "I'd love to take you up on that offer, Susan. Unfortunately I'm hip deep in shit right now. This ghoul problem isn't gonna fix itself and Burke says Tenpenny wants it taken care of immediately."

"What is it with Burke lately anyway?" she asked, carefully feigning disinterest. "He's been cooped up for months."

Gustavo shrugged, "Not a problem I'm concerned with. Orders are still flowing through, I really don't much care what he's doing up there."

The main door opened and a courier came jogging in, quickly followed by one of the other guards.

"Chief, you're gonna wanna come quick! That ghoul's out here with a whole group demanding we open the gates."

"They armed?" Gustavo got to his feet and gave the dusty, panting courier only the briefest of glances as he dropped his mailbag on the counter.

"Can't tell. They accosted that courier there on his way in but none of 'em pulled any weapons out."

"Goddamn ghouls," Gustavo growled as he made his way around the desk.

"You people need to sort them out," the courier said to his back.

Gustavo gave him a hard look, his lip curling, "Mind your own fucking business, mail boy. Unless you want me to toss you back out there to 'em, I suggest you find somewhere in here to lay low for a while."

The young man huffed but didn't say anything as Gustavo left to deal with the problem. Susan smiled sweetly when he glanced at her.

"Where'd you blow in from dear?" she grinned at the way the young man struggled to keep his eyes above her neck.

"Megaton."

"Oh? Susan came round the edge of the desk and eyed his mailbag, "We don't usually get much mail from those folk."

"It's just the one for a Burke," the young man licked his lips and finally dragged his eyes up to meet hers, "Some lady was adamant that I come straight here."

"Burke's a dear friend of mine," Susan tossed her hair so her shiny, clean hair gleamed in the light, "I can take it to him."

He hesitated, "Sorry, ma'am. I'm to deliver it directly to his hands."

"I'm afraid you'll be waiting a while then. Burke is a busy man." Susan gave a sultry smile and brushed a hand down the young man's arm, "You look like you could use a shower, sweetheart. How 'bout you come up to my room while you wait?"

Hello my lovely readers! I'm sorry about the late update. Life's still rocky. We're still in our home and it's starting to look like our landlord is going to fix everything so we won't be evicted. Thank you to those that sent their well wishes! Hopefully January's update will be on time, but if not, please understand I'll get it to you guys asap!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful and safe holiday season!

Fanfiction is glitching on me and I can no longer view my traffic stats. I'm totally in the dark on whether people are still reading this or not. I've attempted to contact them about it several times but for whatever reason they're claiming that my email isn't letting their mail through. Which is bs because I changed which email I was having everything sent to and the confirmation email from them made it through to me, so I don't know. :( Anyway, the only way I've been able to tell if this is still getting readers is when new people follow or favorite the story.

Enough complaining. You're all fabulous and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Much love always,

Meg