Author's Note: With the last chapter, this story now has over 5,000 views. I would just like to thank everyone who has taken the time to read the story. You guys are the reason I keep writing. Enjoy the chapter, and please keep sending me reviews.

Mark awoke the next morning, remembering the events of last night, which brought a big smile to his face. He looked over at Amata. She was still sleeping, her back turned to him, with the blanket coming up to the middle of her bare back. The sun was streaming in through the windows, so Mark checked his pip-boy: 8:51 AM. He got out of bed carefully so he didn't disturb her. After finding his underwear, which somehow were lying on the desk a good fifteen feet from the bed, and a t-shirt and a pair of pants, he put them on, and started to walk out of the room. On his way out, he noticed the dress that Amata was wearing the night before. He guessed he must have literally ripped it off of her, because all it resembled now was one giant piece of red cloth. He chuckled silently and walked into the hallway, closing the door quietly.

He went into the kitchen, turned on the light, and went to the refrigerator. He grabbed a bottle of water and chugged it down in a few seconds, so he decided to get another one. He also saw that he had left the bag of caps from last night on the table. Just then he saw Veronica walk into the kitchen, wearing her robe. "Mornin,'" said Mark. Veronica gave him a smile. "Good morning to you too. You, uh, have fun last night?" "I have no idea what you're talking about," Mark said in a faux-innocent voice. "Oh, come on," she said as she grabbed some water out of the fridge, "I'm pretty sure the entire Strip heard you two last night. You were really giving it to her, weren't you?" "Well," said Mark, "I'm usually not one to kiss and tell, but I'm pretty sure I rocked her world." "Nice," Veronica said as she gave him a high five.

"Well, I guess it was technically my wedding night, so I didn't want to disappoint my wife." "Ooh," Veronica said as she sat down at the table, "did I miss the ceremony?" "Eh, she was basically my wife anyway, so we made it official, kind of. Maybe someday we'll have an actual ceremony. Anyway, sleeping in our room is the new Mrs. Franklin." Cass then came into the room, wearing her pink plaid shirt and her jeans. She slapped Mark on the back, causing him to choke on the water that he was drinking. "Mornin', tiger. I would ask how your night went, but I think I already know." "Good morning, Cass," said Mark. "Hey Cass," Veronica said, "Guess what? They're married now." "So yer hitched now, eh lover boy?" "Yes, and for the love of god, stop calling me that. Like I said to the both of you last night, just call me Mark." "Eh, I'm jus' kiddin' captain. This calls fer a celebration." She took a bottle of whiskey out of the fridge and started drinking out of it.

"Seriously, Cass?" Veronica asked, "It's 9 am." "Hey," she said as she put the now-empty bottle on the counter, "I'm a high –functioning drunk. Plus, I've heard worse excuses ta drink." With that, she left the room. After a few moments of silence, Veronica spoke. "Hey Mark, could I ask you a favor?" "If you're asking for a three-way, I'd be up for it, but I don't think Amata wants to share," Mark said, grinning the entire time. "You wish," Veronica said, grinning as well, "but that's not gonna happen unless you turn into a leggy brunette, with a C-cup, at least." "So Amata's all set then?" "Hey, I wasn't joking yesterday. No, the favor has more to do with the Brotherhood."

"Ok, I'm listening. Go on." She lowered her voice, just in case Cass or Boone walked in on them. "For what seems like forever, I've been trying to get our Elder to try to be more like the Brotherhood chapter that you worked with in DC. I was thinking that maybe…maybe you could talk to him?" "Well, like I said, they gave me a ride out here because I helped them out and they were trying to reconcile with you guys. Did that not go well?" "I don't know. I don't think anything came out of it. It was all considered to be top-secret, and I don't have access to those records. I mean, you worked with the Brotherhood, saw what they were like, but you're not Brotherhood. I think that an outsider's perspective may be the thing that changes his mind, because I've tried talking to him multiple times, and I'm out of ideas." Mark didn't think that he could change their minds if their own people couldn't, but he saw a glimmer of hope in Veronica's eyes, and he was never one to extinguish someone's hope. "Sure, Veronica. If you think it'll help, I'll go with you and talk with him, just not today, though. Once I get settled, then we'll go."

"Thanks, Mark. You know, it's weird. I was beginning to think that maybe that I should just give up, but then you show up at the 188, like the answer to my prayers." "Yeah, I get that a lot. By the way, do you know of any places that provide medical treatment around here?" "Can I ask why?" "Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you. Amata's pregnant, and I just want to get her checked out. I mean, there are medical facilities here in the 38, but I wouldn't know how to use any of the machines. We didn't have any of those in the vault. Everything was done by hand. Plus, pregnancies rarely happened, and they didn't want a teenager dealing with that kind of thing." "So you knocked her up did you? You remember that fort-like structure we passed on the way here last night?" Mark nodded. "The Followers of the Apocalypse set up shop there, and they provide medical treatment, so they would probably be your best bet."

Mark heard the door to their room open and close, and then Amata came into the kitchen wearing a t-shirt and grey sweatpants. "Morning, honey," she said as she went over and kissed Mark. "Morning to you too, baby." Amata grabbed some mutfruit out of the fridge and sat down. "So what are we doing today, Mark?" she asked. "Well, Veronica told me there's a place that provides medical treatment in Freeside, so I want to make sure everything is going ok with you and the baby. Right now, however, I am going to take a shower." Amata got up, grabbed him, and pulled him close. "Would you, um, like me to join you?" she said quietly. "I would love that." Just then, however, she pushed him away, ran over to a trash can next to the fridge, and threw up. Veronica got up and ran over to her. "Amata, are you okay?" "She's fine," Mark said as he rubbed Amata's back, "it's just a little morning sickness. It's normal. But that kind of killed the mood, baby, so I'm gonna take a rain check on that dual shower."

A little while later, after everyone had eaten and showered, Veronica, Mark, Amata and ED-E walked out the front door, heading into Freeside. Boone said that he was going to get some "target practice," and Cass seemed to be having a love affair with all of the alcohol in the game room, so they let her be. As they walked out, Amata noticed that everyone on the street was staring at them. "Mark, why is everyone staring at us?" Before Mark could say anything, Veronica spoke. "If I was a bettin' gal, I would say it's because we just walked out a place that no one had entered in two-hundred years." "Oh, yeah, that makes sense," Amata said. "Yeah," said Mark, "just ignore them and keep walking."

Freeside seemed less dangerous during the day, but Mark wasn't taking any chances, so he kept his assault rifle at the ready. About a half-hour after leaving the Strip, they arrived at the Old Mormon Fort. The name "Fort" was deceptive, as the only defenses were the walls, which Mark estimated were only about twenty feet high, tops. When they first entered, they saw a couple of guards sitting behind a sandbag wall. In the center of the courtyard was a flagpole with a white flag that had a black cross surrounded by a black circle, the symbol of the Followers of the Apocalypse. There were also a few rows of white tents with beds in them.

Mark looked around for a doctor, when one approached them. She was wearing a lab coat with a patch with the Followers symbol on her right arm, but it was her hairdo that was the most interesting. The sides of her head were shaved, and she had a pointy orange Mohawk on the top of her head. She spoke to them in a gentle voice. "Hello there. My name is Julie Farkas. Are you here to drop off medical supplies?" Mark spoke. "Julie, I'm Mark, and this is Amata, Veronica, and ED-E. Sorry, no we're not. We're actually here because my wife," he said, pointing to Amata, "is pregnant, and I wanted to get her checked out."

Her face fell. "Oh. Well, I have good news and bad news. The bad news is that we can't do that here. This is a free clinic, and we only offer basic medical support and a place to rest for those in dire need. The good news is, there is another clinic a couple miles outside Freeside run by another one of the Followers, Dr. Usanagi. She has an auto-doc and other equipment, so she should have no problem in helping you out with that." "Wait," Amata said, "if you have auto-docs, why aren't they here?" "Unfortunately, maintaining the equipment costs caps, so Dr. Usanagi has to charge for her services." Mark turned to leave when Amata spoke again. "Are things really that bad here?" Julie shook her head. "It's a mess. Freeside townies are always picking fights with NCR civilians, thieves run amok, and the local families sit back, taking advantage of it all. We could use all the help we can get, but no one's stepped up."

Amata turned and looked at Mark, and he knew what she was going to say before she said it. "No, Amata." Amata grabbed him and dragged him about ten yards away. "Come on Mark. You helped all those people in DC. How is this different?" "It's different because when I did all of that, I didn't have a wife, and I wasn't expecting a kid." Amata didn't say anything, instead giving him a sad puppy-dog face. "That's not gonna work." She continued to stare at him. He hung his head and sighed. "Fine, I'll help, but I'm getting you checked out first. That is non-negotiable." "Deal," she said as they walked back over to Veronica and Julie. "Is there anything we can do to help?" Julie's face lit up. "There are always things that need to be done. A couple souls in Freeside could really help us out, if they could kick their addictions. We also need to get a regular supply of medicine organized, but the Crimson Caravan wants too many caps for what we need. Also, tensions between townies and NCR citizens have been going downhill lately, and someone is going to get hurt."

"Tell us about the drug addicts," Amata said. "Their names are Jacob Hoff and Bill Ronte. Bill is an exceptionally skilled mechanist, and he could fix the problem with Freeside's water pump if he was clean. Jacob got hooked on chems working for the Garretts at the Atomic Wrangler. It's ironic because he's a natural chemist, and he used to homebrew detox chems." "Do you know where they are?" Mark asked. "The drunks and drug addicts flock to the Atomic Wrangler, so I'd start there." "Ok, Julie. We'll see what we can do." "Thank you. You have no idea what this would mean for the Followers." She walked away, and Mark turned to the two of them. "Veronica, I'm going to get her checked out. Would you mind going to the Wrangler and seeing what you can find out?" He tossed her a small bag of caps. "Bribe someone if you need to." "On it," she said as she walked out of the Fort.

An hour or so later, Mark and Amata were in the Followers clinic outside of Freeside, and Amata was being examined by an auto-doc while another Followers doctor monitored the results. Mark saw Veronica come in, and motioned her head towards the door. "Amata," Mark said, "I'll be just outside with Veronica. Call me if you need me, ok?" "Ok." They stepped outside. "Okay," said Mark, "what's up?" "I found Bill Ronte. Turns out he was in an abandoned building near the Wrangler. I got him back to the Fort." "Wonderful. What about Jacob Hoff?" "Well, he's over in the eastern part of Freeside, so I figured we could do that together." Just then, Amata came out the front door. "Everything's fine, you worrywart," she said to Mark. "Now, let's go help those addicts."

After grabbing some food from a roadside stand, they made their way to the east side of Freeside. After greasing a couple of palms, they found out where Jacob Hoff was. He was in what was once a two-story building, but now it was barely standing. He was balding, with stubble on his face, and he was dressed in rags. He also appeared to be sleeping. "Is he dead?" Veronica asked. "No," Mark said, "I can see him breathing. It's shallow, but he's alive." Mark went over and shook him. "Wha', what is it?" he said, as he awoke groggily. "Are you Jacob Hoff?" "Yeah, yeah, I'm Jacob. Hey, uh, you got any psycho?" "No, Jacob, we're here because Julie Farkas is worried about you," Amata said. "Ah, Julie's a saint, but I'm fine. I feel as young and strong as I ever have." "Really?" Mark said, "Because you don't look so young and strong." "Jacob," Amata said, "the drugs aren't helping you. I've seen firsthand what drug abuse can do to a person. Who's supplying you?" "Uh, guy named Dixon. Actually, that's him across the street right now." The three of them looked across the street, and saw a man in his mid-to-late thirties, wearing a red baseball cap with goggles on them, a black vest with a white t-shirt under it, and black pants.

Before Mark knew what happened, Amata was across the street, talking to Dixon, who motioned to a nearby alley that they went down. Mark got very worried. "Veronica, get him up. I need to go see what the hell she thinks she's doing." Mark ran across the street, and when he got down the alley, he saw Dixon pinned against the wall, with Amata holding her pistol to his head. "Amata," Mark said as he approached them carefully, "what are you doing?" "WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE I'M DOING?" she shouted, her face red and her voice more intense than Mark had ever heard, "I'M SOLVING THE DRUG PROBLEM." "Amata, first of all, calm down. Tell me what's going on." "I just told you," her voice calming a bit, but still seething, "he's a piece of trash. He doesn't care whose life he ruins, as long as he gets paid." Mark looked into her eyes, and saw a look of pure hatred in them. "Amata, killing him in cold blood isn't the answer." "Sure it is. He dies, Freeside starts to clean up. Everybody wins."

Mark turned to Dixon. "You, if I get her to let you go, you have twelve hours to leave Freeside. If I hear that you are still here, I will not stop her a second time. Are we clear?" "Yeah, man, whatever. Just don't kill me," Dixon said. Mark turned back to Amata. "You hear that, Amata? He's gonna leave. Now, give me your gun." Amata looked back and forth between Mark and Dixon a couple of times. "Can't do it," she said. Bang. Dixon's body fell to the ground. "Amata, what-" "Don't, just…just don't. I'm going back to the 38." She walked back towards the street and turned the corner. After the shock wore off, Mark walked back into the street, where Veronica was helping Jacob walk. "Mark, what happened? I heard a gunshot, and then Amata walked by me without saying a word." Mark stood there for a few moments, staring at the ground. "I-I honestly don't know."

Hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Until next time.