Author's Note: Before we get going, I would just like to take a moment to thank everyone who has reviewed, favorited, followed, or just read this story. If you guys hadn't, I probably would have stopped writing this a long time ago. With that being said, enjoy the chapter, and reviews are always appreciated.

About an hour or so later, everyone sat down for dinner. Dinner that evening composed of gecko steaks that had been found in the fridge, and they were prepared almost expertly by Veronica, using some spices they had found in a cabinet. Mark wondered why there were gecko steaks in a fridge in a place that no one had supposedly entered in two-hundred plus years, but that wasn't his main concern at the moment. He had wondered if everyone would be getting along, now that Arcade joined the group, but as he sat down with them and ate, he realized that his worries were all for naught. There was a lot of laughing (except for Boone, whose face was as stoic as ever), and everyone seemed to be getting along just fine.

It was nice to eat with a large group of people again. He remembered meal times in the vault. His dad would ask him how his schoolwork was going, and Mark would ask how things were going in the clinic. Sometimes Amata would come and sit with them, and they would laugh at something funny that had happened, like the time Butch had gotten up from his school desk and tripped over his own feet, slamming his face into the floor. As he came back to the present, he looked over at Amata, who had already eaten one steak and had started on a second. He couldn't remember the last time she had eaten this much, but then he remembered that she was eating for two now. She noticed him looking at her, and she smiled, and he smiled back.

He looked around the table. It seemed like everyone had become such fast friends. It felt a little weird that everyone was getting along so quickly, but sometimes these things just happen, and there was no real way to explain it. Hell, his father told him that the first time that he had a playdate with Amata when they were toddlers, they seemed to naturally gravitate towards each other. He didn't know if it was fate, or just dumb luck that he met these people, and at the moment, he didn't particularly care.

As soon as everyone was done eating, Mark got up from the table and cleared his throat. Everyone quieted down, and Mark began to talk. "Ok. Since everyone is here, I think it's about time to tell you about the job that House has hired me, and by extension, all of you, to do. House seems certain that the NCR and Legion are going to war again, so he wants Vegas to be protected." He took the chip out of his pants pocket. "This chip, as I suspected, is not just some novelty chip. It upgraded the Securitrons on the Strip, which I'm sure that you've already noticed. These are not all of the Securitrons that House has at his disposal, however. The rest are located in an underground bunker, and those Securitrons need to be upgraded onsite."

Cass raised her hand. "Ok, Cass, you don't need to raise your hand, but go ahead." "Yeah, this sounds simple enough. Why do ya need us to help ya?" "I was getting to that. Unfortunately, the bunker is in a location that, at the present moment, is not easily accessible." "Why? Where is it?" Veronica asked. "The bunker is located underneath Fortification Hill." There was stunned silence in the room, before Arcade spoke. "You're talking about Fortification Hill, the same place that the Legion has set up shop?" "Well, unless there's another Fortification Hill that I don't know about, then yes." "Another question," Arcade said. "Go ahead." "Are you insane?" "Quite possibly. Any other questions?" There were none, so Mark continued.

"Ok. Now, Amata and I have only been living out here for a few months, so I don't really know my way around as well as I would like. You guys have lived here a lot longer, so I was wondering if you guys know the best way to get there." For the first time that night, Boone spoke. "The easiest way to get there would be through Cottonwood Cove." Everyone stared at Boone, although it was more that he had actually spoken than it was about his idea. He continued. "It's the only access point between Nevada and Arizona besides Hoover Dam, and the NCR isn't going to let us through there. Cottonwood Cove is where they hold slaves before they are ferried to the Fort." Mark looked at his pip-boy. Cottonwood Cove was southeast of Vegas, about a six hour walk. The only problem was that the pip-boy only gave him a general location of where it was, and not any of the terrain surrounding it.

"Alright," Mark said, "why don't we break for the evening? I need to talk to House about something. We can go into more detail tomorrow. Sound good?" Nobody said anything. "Ok then. Meeting adjourned." As everyone got up, Mark kissed Amata and headed towards the elevator.

(25 minutes later)

Mark stepped off the elevator and heard noises coming from the game room. He walked in and saw Arcade and Veronica playing a game of pool, and Cass was sitting behind the bar drinking (what else?) whiskey. There were two empty bottles next to her, and she was working on a third. Mark couldn't figure out how she could drink that much in a short period of time and still be conscious. 'She must have some kind of metabolism the likes of which no one had ever seen before,' he thought. Mark went over to the bar, grabbed a beer out of the fridge, and sat down in one of the easy chairs scattered around the room.

He watched the game of pool that Arcade and Veronica were playing. The only ball left was the eight ball, and it was Arcade's shot. "Eight ball, corner pocket," he said, indicating the pocket he was aiming for. He lined it up, took the shot, and sunk it. "Game," he said. "Two-out-of-three, Gannon" Veronica said, sounding a bit upset that she lost. Arcade grinned. "Alright, but I don't want you complaining when I beat you again." "Bring it on." Arcade re-racked the balls, and motioned for Veronica to break. "Ladies first." "Come on Veronica," Cass said, finishing off the third bottle of whiskey, "show him some girl power." Veronica put the cue ball down, slightly off-center-right, and lined up her shot. She hit the cue ball, and it struck the freshly racked balls, and a couple of balls went in the pockets. "Oh, you're going down, Arcade." Mark laughed silently to himself. He finished the beer, got up and left the room.

He went into his and Amata's room, and found her sitting on one of the couches, reading a book. "Hey, babe, what're you reading?" he asked as he sat down next to her. She showed him the cover. It showed a clearly pregnant woman in a red shirt and blue jeans, holding her stomach. "What to Expect When You're Expecting," Mark said reading the title of the book. "Where'd you get that?" "It was on that bookshelf behind the desk, among other books. I figured it might be of some use, just so we know what to, you know, expect." "Clever," Mark said as they kissed. Amata folded down the corner of the page she was on, closed the book, and set it down on the table. She curled up next to him and put her head on his chest. She could hear his heart beating, and if she had to guess, she believed her heart was beating in rhythm with his.

The two of them sat there for a few minutes, not saying anything, just enjoying each other's company. Amata broke the silence. "What do you think the others in the vault would say if they could see us now?" "Oh, they would definitely all be jealous, and I bet your dad would be pissed." She looked at him and gave him a questioning look. 'Why would my dad be pissed?" "Amata, we both know he never liked me. So the fact that that we're married, you're carrying my child, and we're living in a place that the vault can't hold a candle to, would probably make him pretty mad. I could only imagine the look on his face." Amata was silent for a few moments, and then chuckled. "Yeah, I guess it would be a sight to see. Oh, I almost forgot. I have a surprise for you. Close your eyes."

Mark played along and closed his eyes. He could hear a dresser drawer open and close. She turned to make sure that he wasn't peeking, and then went into the bathroom. A couple of minutes later, she called out "are your eyes still closed?" "Yes." She came out of the bathroom and closed the door. "Ok, open 'em." Mark opened his eyes, and saw that she was wearing one of her old vault suits, although the suit didn't quite fit like it used to, with a slight bump visible on her stomach. "I don't see how this is a surprise, babe." "Just play along. Trust me, you're gonna like this." "Ok." As she spoke, her voice dropped and became a bit more seductive.

"You see, back when I was Overseer, I believe that you broke a couple of rules." Mark had a hunch where this was going, so he played along. "What rules would those be, Overseer?" "Well," she said as she walked over to him slowly, "I believe that you left the vault, and that was still technically against the rules." "And what was the other rule?" "You broke my heart, and I don't think you were properly…punished for either act." She straddled him on the couch. "Now, as Overseer, it's my job to punish you. So how do you think you should be punished, you bad, bad, boy?" Mark grinned. "Oh, I have a few ideas." She started to take off his shirt, when there was a knock on the door. "Oh, come on," Amata said as she hung her head. She got off of Mark and opened the door, just enough for her head to look out of the doorway. It was Veronica. "Yes?" Amata asked. "Oh, hey Amata. I just wanted to talk to Mark about something." "Sorry, Mark can't come out to play right now. He's been a bad boy and he's currently being punished." Before Veronica could respond, Amata slammed the door shut and locked it. She turned back to Mark. "Now, where were we?"

(Next morning)

Mark awoke the next morning and looked at his pip-boy: 6:32 am. After realizing that he wasn't getting back to sleep, he got dressed as quietly as he could and left the room. He went into the kitchen, grabbed some water, and went onto the balcony outside that overlooked the Strip, and leaned on the railing. The casinos were lit as brightly as ever, and Mark could just barely make out a few people walking on the street. He looked up and watched the sun rise. After a few minutes, he heard the sliding door open and close behind him. Veronica joined him on the railing. "Morning," Mark said. "Morning," she said in response. "What're you doing us this early?" Mark asked. "Sometimes I like to watch the sunrise. It reminds me that beauty can still exist, even a world that was destroyed by war." "I know it does," Mark said, "because I get to look at the face of beauty personified every morning."

She smiled. "Amata's so lucky to have a guy like you." "No, I'm the lucky one. I almost screwed up big time and lost her forever." "Why, what happened?" Mark was silent for a couple of moments. "That's…something I don't really like to talk about. Let's just say that it would have been the biggest mistake of my life." "Ok. Fair enough." "What about you, you ever been in love?"

She stared straight ahead. "Yeah. There was someone, a long time ago. Her name's Christine." "What happened? Was she killed?" "No, although she could be dead for all I know. You know the Brotherhood. When we were founded, no one outside the original group was allowed to join. I know the DC chapter allows outsiders to join, but this chapter still sticks to the original ideals. Since we don't allow outsiders, they think everyone is obligated to procreate." "I'm guessing the higher-ups didn't like it when they found out that you're a lesbian."

"Yeah, that would be an understatement. Our elder at the time, Father Elijah, called it a 'disgusting habit that I would eventually grow out of,' and he was supposed to be my mentor." "What about your parents? Didn't they defend you?" She sighed. "My parents, they died a long time ago defending…something from the NCR. I don't remember what it was. I guess it seemed important at the time." "I'm sorry to hear that," Mark said sympathetically. "Thanks. Anyway, her parents sided with the elder, and Christine left. Nobody told me where she went. I still think about her every day." Veronica looked depressed. "I'm sure that she thinks about you, too," Mark said, "and I'm sure that one day you'll find her again, and you'll forget that she was ever gone." She smiled and looked at him. "Thanks. You really are a good friend." Mark looked at the sunrise.

"Last night, I heard you say you wanted to talk to me about something. What's up?" "Oh, right. I realized that I may have ambushed you when I asked you to talk to the Brotherhood for me. If you don't want to do it, I would completely understand." "Veronica, it's fine. I still intend to talk to them, because you're my friend, and friends help each other out. Actually, I was wondering if you could help me with something." "Sure. What do you need?" Mark looked at his pip-boy. "I modified mine and Amata's pip-boys so that we could talk to each other, as you probably remember from the other night, but I was wondering if it would be possible if you could make it so that we could track where the other one is." She smirked. "Come on, give me something difficult to do. Of course I'll do it." "Thanks, Veronica. Come on, let's go inside. I'll make some eggs." Mark turned to the door, but before he could open it, Veronica spoke again. "Last night, what did Amata mean when she said that you were being punished?" Mark laughed. "It was a sex thing." Her eyes dawned in comprehension. "Oh. Ok, got it."

Hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Until next time.