Authors Note: To user Hermyrubi, thanks for the info on Amata. I just wanted to make sure I was keeping the story as accurate as possible. Glad that you're enjoying the story. To all of you, enjoy the chapter, and keep the reviews coming.
For the first three days following Mark waking up, Amata forbade him from leaving their home. He thought about arguing with her, but he knew she must have thought he may never wake up, so he decided against it and let her take care of him. So, for those three days, she waited on him hand and foot. He tried to remember what happened, but all he was getting were bits and pieces that didn't make sense to him. He also realized that the platinum chip was missing from his belongings, and a search of the town and graveyard by Sunny and a couple other people yielded nothing either. By the end of the third day, Mark was starting to get a bit of cabin fever. He hadn't willingly stayed indoors this long since he left the vault.
Near the end of the third day, Mark couldn't take it anymore. He was sitting in the kitchen, and when Amata went into the bedroom, Mark got up and walked to the front door as quietly as he could. He opened the door slowly, and he was almost out when the door creaked loudly. "Fuck," Mark said under his breath. "Where exactly do you think you're going?" Amata said as she came back into the room with her arms crossed. "I was just going-. " Amata interrupted him. "If you finish that sentence with 'outside,' I swear that I will restrain you to the bed." "Is that a promise?" Mark said with a sly grin on his face. Amata was not amused.
"Mark, this isn't funny. You nearly died." Mark put his hands on her shoulders. "Amata, baby, I know that you're worried that I'm gonna get shot again, but I swear, I'll be fine. Look, here, we have this nice little life, with no real big threats. Back in DC, I fought raiders, and super mutants, and all those types of assholes every day. I'm sure that I got a bit complacent. You've been a great nurse, and I appreciate everything that you've done for me, but I need some god damn air." She just stared at him for a minute, and then ran a hand along the scar on his face. "Fine," she said, albeit reluctantly, "but you've got ten minutes. If you come back a minute later, I will make good on that threat to restrain you, got it?" "Yes dear."
Mark stepped outside and was hit with a nice nighttime breeze. He took a deep breath, and then exhaled. He heard a noise to his right, and immediately drew his pistol and pointed it in that direction. When he saw it was Victor, he lowered his gun. Victor was a securitron robot, a robot that rolled along on one wheel, was kind of box shaped, and had a monitor with a face on it. Victor had the face of an old-time cowboy smoking a cigarette. When they first moved to Goodsprings, Mark and Amata asked around about what Victor actually did, but no one could say for sure, or remember how long he had been here. "Howdy partner," Victor said as he approached, "might I say, you're looking as fit as a fiddle." "Hey Victor, thanks for getting me to the doc so fast." He waved one of his claw-like hands. "Ah, don't mention it. Always ready to help out when needed." Mark got curious. "Victor, did you see what happened that night?"
"Well, I was out for a stroll that night when I heard a commotion up at the old bone orchard," he said, pointing at the cemetery that overlooked Goodsprings. "I saw what looked like some bad eggs, so I laid low. Once I saw that they were gone, I dug you up and got you to the doc." "Do you know who they were?" "Afraid not, partner. You might want to check in town. Someone else might have seen something." "Well, thanks Victor. Have a good night." "You too, partner," he said, as he rolled away. Mark walked towards the saloon, trying again to remember what happened that night.
(10 days ago)
Mark's vision was blurry, and the back of his head hurt like hell. As his vision came back into focus, he could see he was in the graveyard near Goodsprings. He tried to move his hands, but he realized that they were bound. He saw three men standing over him. The man in the middle was wearing a black and white checkered suit, and had slicked back black hair. The two men on either side of him were dark-skinned men, both wearing black leather jackets with the insignia of the Great Khans on them. The man in the middle saw that Mark had woken up. "Time to cash out kid," he said as he took out what Mark recognized as the chip he was supposed to deliver. "Would you get it over with?" the man on the right said. "Hey," the man in the middle said, "maybe Khans shoot someone without looking 'em in the face, but I ain't a fink, dig?" He turned back to Mark. "You've made your last delivery, kid. Sorry you got twisted up in this scene." He then pulled out a 9mm pistol. "From where you're kneeling, it must seem like an 18-karat run of bad luck… truth is, the game was rigged from the start." As the man reached for the trigger, Mark's thoughts drifted to Amata. A shot, then darkness.
(Present day)
Mark realized that he had walked up to the saloon, so he opened the door and went inside. Trudy was the only one in there, and she was wiping down the bar. "Hey Mark, haven't seen you since you were unconscious at doc's house. How you feeling?" "A lot better Trudy, thanks. Amata's been taking good care of me." "Can I get you anything?" asked Trudy. "Actually, I was looking for some information. The men who shot me, two Khans and a guy in a suit, did they come in here that night?" Trudy thought for a moment. "As a matter of fact, they did. They were a bunch of freeloaders who expected a few rounds on the house. I got them to pay up, though." "Did they say where they were headed, by any chance?" "Well, from what I could figure out, they were headed towards Vegas. Sounds like they had come in through Quarry Junction. One of 'em didn't want to go back that way, and I can't say I blame him." Mark knew what she was talking about. That whole area was infested with deathclaws.
"Mark!" A voice came over his pip-boy. "You've got two minutes." "Coming, dear," said Mark over his pip-boy. "Goodnight, Trudy." "Goodnight, Mark." As Mark walked back to their home, he was thinking if he should tell Amata about what he had learned. 'Was it even worth it?' he thought. 'I mean, I did promise her that I wouldn't go on anymore adventures. Hell, I'm gonna be a dad. I did survive two gunshots to the head. Maybe I should just let it go.' As he reached for the door handle, he decided he would sleep on it.
The next morning, the two of them were in the kitchen. Amata was about to go patrol the town with Sunny, and Mark was drinking a bottle of water. He stared at the bottle, and then let out a sigh. "Amata, I have something to tell you." She turned around as she was fixing her hair into a ponytail. "Make it quick. Sunny's waiting for me." "Trudy told me where the men who shot me were headed." Amata knew where this was going. "Mark, I'm gonna stop you right there. You're not going after them." Mark sighed and walked into the bedroom. He got his BB-gun off a shelf, sat down on the bed, and stared at it. Amata stood in the doorway. "Before I woke up from my coma, I was talking to my parents. My dad told me that my work wasn't done. I think this is what he was talking to me about." "Mark," said Amata, "I don't know if you realize this, but you already have a job. You're a courier now, and in eight months, you're going to be a father. That was probably what he was talking about."
"Amata, when I left the vault the first time. I didn't ask to do all the things that I did. I didn't want to fight raiders, or super mutants, or corrupt paramilitary organizations. I didn't want to become some mythic figure that people spoke about in hushed whispers. A lot of that stuff I did, I did because I felt like I was supposed to be doing it. I don't know how to explain it. I kind of felt like…like it was my destiny. I'm getting that same feeling again." Amata stared at him for what felt like forever.
"You know," she said as she sat down next to him, "I think I felt something like that when I left the vault to come find you. So if you feel that you need to do this, go ahead, but I'm coming with you. Before you say no, let me tell you this: those assholes almost deprived our unborn child of a father, so I would be lying if I said that I wouldn't want a crack at them. I'm not staying here, worrying about if you're coming back or not. I did that when you left the vault the first time. I have no desire to do that again. We either do this together, or it isn't gonna happen at all." Mark put the gun down on the bed and looked into her eyes. Mark could see a fire in them. "You know," said Mark, "I think it's hot when you talk like that." She chuckled, shook her head, and said, "look out Mojave, the Lone Wanderer is about to take you by storm." "So is his pregnant, hormonally imbalanced girlfriend," Mark added.
Hope you all enjoyed the chapter. You know, something always bothered me about the storyline of New Vegas. If the courier was ambushed, and had no idea who these guys were, why would Benny not just knock him out, take the chip and run? I don't know, maybe it's just me. Anyway, please review. Merry Christmas.