Author's Note: I sincerely apologize for the three-plus month delay for this chapter. Some family issues coupled with my muse taking an extended vacation are not really conducive to writing. I can promise that it will not be nearly as long for the next update. Thank you for your continued support, and please enjoy the chapter.
(30 minutes later, Sierra Madre Police Station)
Despite the fact that Dean Domino seemed to be a bit of a stuck-up asshole, Mark managed to start a conversation. Dean was surprised that Vegas managed to survive, saying he might have to see it one day. Dean told him about the man who built the villa and the casino, Frederick Sinclair, and his obsession with Vera Keyes. Dean also told Mark about what happened in the casino the day that the bombs dropped, and how he was able to get out before security sealed the doors. Mark also learned that the radio broadcast that brought Mark and Veronica to that abandoned bunker in the first place was accidentally sent out over the frequency that was only supposed to be used in case of emergencies, although Mark was already aware of that fact.
Dean also turned out to be useful in a fight, using an old police pistol to help mark take out a couple of the villa's inhabitants, which Dean had dubbed, "Ghost People." Mark figured that it was as good a name as any for them. They finally got back to the police station. As he and Dean walked in and Dean closed the door behind them, he felt someone hugging him with a vice-like grip. He doubted it was God/Dog or Christine, so that only left Veronica. "Oh my god Mark, are you okay?" Mark struggled to speak. "Veronica…can't breathe." "Oh, sorry," Veronica said sheepishly. "So, are you okay?" "Yeah, I'm fine, thanks. Everyone, this Dean Domino, the last collar. Dean, this is Veronica, Christine, and…" Mark trailed off, not sure which nightkin personality was currently in control. "God," apparently God said. "Right, God."
He looked back at Veronica. Her expression had become indecipherable. "Veronica, are you okay?" She didn't speak, choosing instead to slap him across the face, and then she exploded in anger. "What the hell possessed you to go out there by yourself? Are you really that fucking stupid? Are you purposely trying to make Amata a widow?" "Okay," Mark said a bit indignantly, "this is the second time in two days that you've hit me, so that needs to stop." "Well, I tend to do that when my friend is acting like an idiot. Like yesterday in the damn bunker."
"Look, Veronica, I'm used to being by myself in less-than-hospitable situations. My intent was to keep you safe, and to have a chat with Elijah away from beings who've had past associations with him, and our chat was rather enlightening." Veronica calmed down a bit and bit her bottom lip nervously. "What…what did he say, exactly?" Christine had turned her head slightly, apparently also interested in what Elijah may have said to Mark. Mark debated as to whether he should tell them what Elijah had told him. He decided against revealing it, at least for the moment. It may come in handy later. "Let's just say I know why Christine is tracking him. I'll tell you later. Right now I just want to do whatever the hell it is he wants us to do so we can get the hell out of here and I can get back to my wife." "Mark, if whatever he said had anything to do with me, I deserve to know, and I want to know now." "Yeah," Mark said, "and after all of the shit that I've been through, I deserve to live a quiet, peaceful life with my wife without worrying about dictators or wars or being forcibly taken to some god-forsaken hellhole in the middle of fucking nowhere. Then again, we don't always get what we want in life."
Mark sighed and rubbed his temple, and looked up at the ceiling with a faraway look in his eyes. In a voice barely above a whisper, he said, "sometimes I wish I would have just died in that purifier…" "What purifier?" Mark snapped out of his daze. "What? What did you say?" "You said something about a purifier, and I was wondering what you meant." Fear at being discovered flashed across his face briefly, before returning to normal. "I didn't say anything about any purifier." "Yes, yes you did, I just heard…" Mark cut her off. "No, I didn't and stop talking about it." Veronica narrowed her eyes. "Why are you being so pissy all of a sudden? We're all under stress, but you don't see us losing our cool." Mark closed his eyes and shook his head. "I don't want to talk about it." Veronica pursed her lips, and decided not to press the issue. "Fine, I'll drop it…for now," she said, clearly emphasizing the last two words.
Mark looked around the room, and realized that the others were staring at the two of them. Dean, who was leaning up against a desk smoking a cigarette, chuckled and asked, "lover's quarrel?" "Shut up, Dean," Mark and Veronica said at the same time. He chuckled again. "Ah, to be young and in love…" "Dean," Mark said, "we're not a couple. She's a lesbian, and I've got a wife waiting for me back in Vegas." "Could've fooled me," was his response. Christine sent him a death glare, causing him to cower, and thankfully shut his mouth. "Alright, since everyone is here, I'm gonna contact Elijah, unless anyone else has any comments?"
He was met with silence, so he flipped to Elijah's frequency, but before he pressed the button to talk, he looked at God. "How does this work? Does Dog come out when he hears Elijah's voice, or…" Mark trailed off. "Dog will only come back out if Elijah gives him a direct order. Otherwise, I maintain control. Go ahead and get on with it." Mark nodded, and spoke into his pip-boy. "Elijah, we're all here. Go ahead."
(Same time, Freeside)
Cass and Amata brought Orris back to the Kings HQ and handed him off to a couple of the Kings standing outside. The guards took him off somewhere, although where and for what purpose, neither of them had any clue. They went inside and found the King standing in the front room, talking to one of the other Kings. He saw the two of them and went over to greet them. "Amata, Cass," he said jovially, "I've just been informed that Orris has been taken into custody. Can I get either of you a drink?" "Whiskey fer me, please," Cass said. "Water," Amata said a bit curtly, "and before we go any further, King, I believe we have some things to discuss." The King was confused for a moment, before he remembered her parting words from before.
He smiled a bit sheepishly. "Ah, yes, you wanted to talk about those comments that I made. Why don't we go to a more private setting." He eyed ED-E a bit warily. "Maybe that robot could stay down here? No offense, but it's creeping me out a little." "Maybe we should ask ED-E if he wants to stay," Amata said. She turned to ED-E. "ED-E, do you want to stay down here?" ED-E moved side-to-side slightly, as if he was shaking his head. Then an audio recording started playing. It was Mark speaking to ED-E the previous day: "Keep her safe, okay?" "Well, there you go, King, ED-E comes with us." "Umm, very well. Follow me please." They walked through a doorway off to the side of the room and up a couple flights of stairs. The King opened a door to one of the rooms and led them through. It was a fairly large room, with a jukebox, a couple of bookcases, a table and chairs, and a king-sized bed. Also, on the bed there were a couple of ladies wearing very revealing negligees and not much else. One had black hair that went down to her shoulders, and the other had brown hair that went down to her mid-back. The black-haired woman propped herself up on her elbow, and the brunette sat up. The brunette spoke, a bit of a sly smile on her face.
"Hey, King, will these ladies be joining us?" Cass snickered, while Amata raised an eyebrow at the King. The King couldn't help but smile. "No, girls, these ladies and I are here to talk some business, so I'm gonna need the room." They pouted. "Too bad," the black-haired woman said as the girls passed the three of them, heading towards the door, "maybe another time, then." "I'm happily married to a wonderful man, so I think I'll pass," Amata said. "And a very lucky man he is," the brunette said as she looked Amata up and down, before the two girls left the room and shut the door. It was then that Cass burst out laughing. "And what exactly is so funny?" Amata asked. Cass attempted to compose herself. "Nah…it's nothing." Amata shook her head. "Whatever. Can we please get down to business, King?" "Of course. Please, have a seat." Once they were settled, the King spoke.
"So you want to know why I made those comments, right?" "Yes, I do, King. I've been racking my brain, trying to reconcile between the guy that's been very kind to us with the guy who made those awful comments on the radio. Mark told me what you said to Pacer about wanting to create some semblance of order, and that Pacer was ruining it." At this point, Amata's face was a bit red, with a look of confusion, bordering on anger. "Tell me, King, how does calling everyone from the NCR "the devil," help create more order? If you think it does, then that is the most ass backward thing that I've ever heard. So what do you have to say for yourself, King? Come on, I'm waiting, I don't have all god damn day!" She banged a fist on the table, startling both Cass and the King.
Cass put a hand on Amata's shoulder, hoping to calm her down a bit. Amata closed her eyes, took a couple of deep breaths, and was able to calm herself down. It was happening again. One of the side-effects of being pregnant was irritability and mood swings, which could be severe, which would explain why she snapped at the King before he could explain. She had tried to control it, but sometimes it broke free like that. "Sorry, King. Pregnancy hormones. I didn't mean to yell at you like that." The King smiled, and then he spoke. "Don't worry about it. Let me start by saying that I made those comments in anger, and I do regret them. You're also correct in pointing out that I'm hurting my own cause. But to understand where all the tension in Freeside comes from, I think that a bit of a history lesson is in order." He looked Amata in the eye. "When we first met, you said you were new to the area. Where did you live before, if I may ask?" "King, did you hear reports on the radio about a courier being shot in Goodsprings a little while ago?" The King nodded. "Well, Mark and I had been living in Goodsprings for about two, three months, but before that we lived in DC, so you could say that we're both still relatively new to the whole Mojave."
The King then looked at Cass. "What about you, Cass?" Cass took a drink of whiskey. "I've been caravanin' fer as long as I can remember. I've been ta California, Washington, an' everywhere in between. I've heard stories 'bout all sorts a people an' places, although I usually tend ta avoid Freeside an' tha Strip. Neither places are really hospitable places fer conductin' business, 'specially with tha Crimson Caravan operatin' in tha area. Only reason I'm here now is 'cause I met her an' her hubby at tha Mojave Outpost an' they asked a down-on-her-luck caravaner ta come on their little revenge quest, although we've all gotten a bit more than we bargained fer, ain't that right, 'Mata?" Cass slapped Amata lightly on the shoulder. Amata looked at her and smiled. "Yeah, you could certainly say that, Cass." Amata looked back at the King, a smile donning his face. "Sorry King, you were saying something about a history lesson?"
The King cleared his throat, and his face drooped a bit. "Yes, well, years and years ago, before Vegas was as you see it today, there were a bunch of tribes living in the area, ourselves included. We had some scuffles, but for the most part, we got along well, traded for what we needed, help build the walls around Freeside and the Strip. Then, one day, House approaches us via those securitrons of his, asking three tribes to re-open the casinos and help restore Vegas. The three that agreed became the Omertas, the Chairmen, and the White Glove Society. I flat-out refused to join, but I didn't want to leave the area I called home. Some, realizing that they had no chance to fight back, chose to leave the area instead. A couple tried to fight back, and they were, well, systematically eliminated."
At this revelation, Amata gasped. She couldn't believe that someone would be so cruel to uncaringly kill people who were just trying to defend their home. She had come to terms that the wasteland would be different from the vault, but the old-world values that had been passed down since the vault was first sealed still resided in Amata's heart and mind, and she was certain they still existed, maybe to a lesser extent, in Mark. The King continued.
"So House cut off Freeside from the Strip, and we were left to fend for ourselves. All that was left in Freeside were the Kings, and the remnants of the other tribes. Next thing we know, the NCR comes in, negotiates this treaty with House, and then all of these people come from the NCR start coming in to see this wonderful pre-war city. Trouble is, people lose their caps faster than they realize, and then they don't have enough to buy supplies to get back home. They come into Freeside, looking for a handout, but we only have enough supplies for ourselves since the other tribes left. So people resort to stealing, killing, whatever they need to do to survive. The Followers setting up shop helped a bit, but they're struggling from a lack of supplies, too, although word is that they got a very nice donation from your husband recently." Amata smiled and nodded. That was Mark alright, always willing to help someone in need. The King finished his story.
"In the past year or so, the NCR military has been encroaching on Freeside, and some of the locals don't like that, so they start picking fights with soldiers, and people have been getting hurt or dying. The locals blame the NCR, the NCR blames the locals, and we've basically been at a standstill for the past year. That is, until you, your husband and this group of yours came in and started making waves." He paused for a moment and wrung his hands in contemplation. "Yes, I did make those comments, and I do regret them, but they were made in anger. I just wanted you to know where all of this is coming from." Silence reigned in the room as Cass and Amata absorbed the information. Amata eventually broke it.
"Well, it's obvious what you have to do, isn't it, King?" The look on the King's face, as well as Cass', made it obvious that neither of them knew what she meant. "King, you need to make peace with the NCR, starting with telling your boys not to instigate anything with them." "Look, Amata, that's a good idea, in theory, but with the way things are right now, I don't think my boys would listen." "King, you claim that you are trying to bring peace to Freeside, but keeping open hostilities with the NCR is only sowing more discord. You need to extend the proverbial olive branch of peace to the NCR." The King looked a bit pensive, drumming his fingers on the table. Amata tried a different tactic.
"King, one day you're going to die. How do you want to be remembered? Do you want to be remembered as the guy who was an ok leader who was able to just maintain the status quo, or do you want to be remembered as the great leader who was able to improve the lives of everyone in Freeside by bringing peace and stability? The way I see it, those are your only two choices." When the King failed to respond, Amata growled in anger and got up from the table. "Come on, Cass. Let's go. I think we've wasted enough time here." Amata headed for the door, and Cass looked between Amata and the King before slowly getting up. Amata opened the door and began to walk out, when the King called out, "Wait." Amata and Cass looked at him and stopped. "Look," he said, "it's not that I don't want peace. The fact is, the NCR won't even talk to us, much less negotiate anything with us. There's been too much animosity between us."
"You should've just said that, King. I will approach the NCR under a flag of neutrality, and see what can get done. There has to be an NCR officer in charge of the forces in the area. Would you happen to know who it is, King?" "No, I don't. The soldiers don't talk to us, so all I've got are rumors and speculation. Check with Julie. The Followers are on better terms with the NCR. They treat the soldiers sometimes. She can probably give you a name." "Thank you, King."
Amata began to walk out the door, but then she stopped and looked back at the King. "I hope you take what I said about your leadership to heart, King. I intend to raise a family in the area, and I'd prefer it if we didn't have to worry about getting mugged every time we walk though Freeside." With that, Amata walked out, and Cass closed the door behind them. Out in the hallway, as they walked towards the stairs, Amata rubbed her temple. "I really wish I could have a drink right now." Meanwhile, back in the room they just vacated, the King leaned back in his chair and groaned. "I really need a fucking drink," he said to the empty room.
Cass and Amata walked in silence as they made their way to the Old Mormon Fort. "So," Cass said, taking a swig out of her flask, "yer plannin' ta stay in tha area and raise a family? The Strip an' Freeside aren't exactly family-friendly." "Well, that's the point of this endeavor, isn't it? To make Freeside safer? I agree that the Strip isn't family-friendly, but at least it's safe. I mean, I don't know if House just needs Mark until the war is over and then we'll be out on our asses. Even if that does happen, I'm sure there are vacant houses in outer Vegas that Mark and I could fix up. I hope that it doesn't come to pass, though. I'm tired of moving, and I know that Mark is tired of being forcibly removed from the places he's called home." Amata looked a bit downcast at that last statement, knowing that her and her father were mainly responsible for both of those times. Cass looked on in concern, but didn't comment on it.
"Yeah," Cass said, "I hope it doesn't happen to ya, either. I like livin' with y'all, even Boone, Mr. tall, dark an' broody." Amata couldn't help but laugh at that. Cass continued. "What do ya think a yer kid callin' me Auntie Cass? I think it has a nice ring to it." "Well, we could always go with Auntie Rose, or Auntie Rose of Sharon, although that last on might be a bit of a mouthful." "Nah, Auntie Cass sounds loads better. Maybe we could get yer kid ta call Arcade grandpa? And, ya know, maybe when tha kid's older, I can teach 'em how ta drink like a pro." "Yeah, no, you will not be teaching my child or children anything about drinking like you do. No offense, but I'd like them to have fully functioning livers. You may have got your ability for hard drinking from your dad, but neither Mark or I drink that much." "Eh," Cass said, "maybe ya got a point there. I guess Mark told ya about my dear ol' dad?" "Yes, and for what it's worth, I'm sorry."
Cass waved it off. "Thanks fer yer sympathy, but it's not necessary, really." There was silence for a minute or two, when Amata spoke. "Speaking of the future, do you plan on getting back into caravanning at some point?" "Maybe. Maybe after this war is over, and after this whole thing with tha Crimson Caravan is settled. Ya know, I've been caravanning fer so long, I haven't really put any roots anywhere since I left home. I'm not gonna lie, I've forgotten how nice it is to have a place ta call home with people who care about ya." "I really do care about you, Cass. I didn't ask you to come with us out of pity." "I know. Mark told me about yer big heart an' all. Speakin' of Mark an' tha future, how many rugrats do ya plan to have?"
"Well, Mark says he wants three, and I was thinking maybe two, but we'll see how things go." "I got another question fer ya," Cass said, "growin' up in tha vault, did ya always know you an' Mark were gonna end up together?" "For the most part, yes. He's handsome, sweet, caring, and he's always been there for me. There was this one time, when we were both ten or eleven, I really don't remember clearly, I had this really high fever and I needed to stay in the vault's clinic overnight for observation and treatment. Mark's dad, he was the chief physician, and his assistant Jonas, told Mark that I would be fine, but he insisted that he stay the entire night, just in case I needed anything. He sat in the chair next to my bed, and when I woke up the next morning, I realized that he was holding my hand. His dad noticed that I was awake, and after I told him how I felt, he told me that Mark had never left my side."
"When I asked why Mark was holding my hand, his dad said that at one point during the night, I guess I had started shaking, and when he came over to see what was wrong, he said I stopped shaking almost immediately, and then he saw that Mark had taken my hand. Before his dad could say a word, Mark told him that it looked like I was having a nightmare, and he just wanted me to know that he was there and that there was nothing to be scared of. Until Mark told me he loved me, that was the most romantic thing I ever heard. And the thing is, he was right. Holding his hand, I did feel safe. It just felt…right, like everything was okay in the world." Amata smiled brightly as she remembered what had transpired that night/ early morning. "Then there was this one time when I let my foolish pride almost cost me the best thing in my life."
"What happened?" Cass asked. Amata paused for a moment, thinking on how to phrase this. "There was a…situation where Mark was forced to leave the vault, and I couldn't leave with him. After a while, he came back to help, but there were circumstances that necessitated him leaving the vault for good. My dad had been in charge the first time, but I was in charge the second time, and I was the one who told him he had to leave. Before he left, we had a fight, and I thought that I would never see him again."
"You have to realize something, Cass. My dad had groomed me to take over as overseer for the vault one day, and he drilled into me that when making a decision, you need to take emotion out of it, and think things through logically, so that's what I did when I told Mark to leave, and I couldn't understand why he was so mad at me. It took me a week to realize that all my life I had let my head overrule my heart. So for once, I told my brain to shut up, and for once, I listened to my heart, and it told me what my brain refused to: that I was head-over-heels in love with Mark Franklin, and I always had been. So I basically told the vault to go to hell, found him, we declared our love for each other, came out here, he got shot in the head, we found you and everyone else, and you know the rest." She paused for a moment. "I was lucky, Cass. If I had waited just one more day to go find him, I know for a fact that I would never have seen him again, because he would've already left DC." Amata took a deep breath. That had taken a lot out of her. Cass, who had been listening intently, could only manage a "huh," before they reached the Old Mormon Fort.
They spoke to Julie Farkas briefly, which revealed that the highest-ranking officer in Freeside was a Major Elizabeth Kieran, and that she was most likely at an old building on the other side of Freeside, handing out food to NCR civilians. The three of them were on their way over there, ED-E keeping a lookout from above. They were walking in silence, both lost in their own thoughts about their earlier conversation. Cass was wondering what this "situation" in the vault was, and figuring that there was a lot more to the story. Amata, however, was wondering if she had revealed too much. Mark wanted what happened in DC to stay in the past, and Amata understood why. He never wanted the fame that had been thrust upon him. He wasn't a glory-seeker by any stretch of the imagination. He was just a kid who wanted to find his dad.
As they were passing an abandoned, partially collapsed building, Amata heard what sounded like someone sniffling, like they had been crying. Amata motioned to Cass to remain silent, and to wait while she checked it out. She readied her rifle and looked into the dilapidated building. Hunched up in the corner was a small girl, who looked no older than six or seven. She was Caucasian, had shoulder-length blonde hair, was wearing ratty clothes, and what looked like a cut on her right cheek. She had a fair amount of dirt on her face, and she had her knees pulled up to her face, and had her arms wrapped around her legs. It did look like she had been crying. On the ground near her was a 9 mm pistol.
Amata turned the corner of the building slowly and spoke in a gentle voice. "Are you okay?" The girl's head shot up in fear, and she immediately grabbed the pistol and aimed it at Amata, although her hand was shaking badly. "What-what do you want? L-leave me alone! Don't- don't come any closer or-or I'll shoot!" Amata doubted that the girl would be able to hit her with the way her hand was shaking, but Amata slowly put her rifle and pistol on the ground anyway, and raised her hands slightly to show she was unarmed. "Look, I'm not going to hurt you. I just wanted to see if you were okay. You're hurt and it sounds like you've been crying." "I'm fine!" she screamed. "Just leave me alone!" Amata looked in the girl's eyes. They were an emerald green, but they didn't have any spark in them, like she had seen something traumatizing. She had seen the same look in Mark's eyes when he came back to the vault.
Amata realized that she would have to build some modicum of trust with the girl before she would be able to help her. "My name is Amata Franklin. Can you tell me your name?" The girl looked at Amata for a few moments before responding. "A-Abigail Fields." Amata smiled. "That's a very pretty name. Abigail, I noticed that you have a cut on your cheek, and it looks like need to be treated. I want to help you, but I'm gonna need you to put down the gun." Abigail shook her head vigorously. Amata pursed her lips, and thought for a moment. Then, she got an idea. She put down her satchel bag and started to look through it. She was glad that she had mistakenly put this in here from her duffel bag and forgot to take it out.
Amata pulled out a somewhat worn looking teddy bear. One of its eyes was missing, but otherwise it was in decent shape for being two-hundred plus years old. Abigail's eyes widened a bit when she saw it. "His name's Teddy. My father gave this to me when I was little. He used to make me feel safe when I was scared. Now I keep him just to remind me of my dad, because I have someone else who makes me feel safe. But right now, I think that you could use him more than I could." Amata approached Abigail slowly and held it out towards the small girl. She looked at it for a couple of moments, before tossing the gun away and grabbing the bear, squeezing it for all it was worth. Amata picked up the gun, unloaded it, and put the gun and ammo in her satchel. Amata squatted down to get on the same eye level as Abigail. "You can keep that, Abigail. Now, would it be alright if I take a look at that cut?" Abigail nodded. "Good. I also have a couple of friends with me. Would you like to meet them?" "O-o-okay," Abigail responded.
"Cass, ED-E, could you guys come in here, please?" Cass walked in cautiously, and ED-E flew in, and headed straight for Abigail. Abigail looked at ED-E in astonishment, and reached out to touch him, before quickly withdrawing her hand. "It's okay," Amata said gently, "you can touch him. I promise he won't hurt you." Abigail reached out and touched ED-E lightly on the chassis. He beeped, and for the first time, Amata saw Abigail smile. Amata smiled as well. "See? He likes you, and believe me, he is a very good judge of character. Alright, I'm gonna take a look at that cut now. Can you turn your head for me?" Abigail turned her head, and Amata examined the cut. "Ok, it doesn't look that deep, and it looks like it should heal completely." She looked through her satchel again, and pulled out a bottle with a clear liquid in it, and a white towel. "What's that?" Cass asked, indicating the bottle. "It's rubbing alcohol, and no, it's not drinkable alcohol. It's used to disinfect wounds. It was in a closet in our bathroom. I don't think a stimpak is necessary here."
Amata poured a bit of the rubbing alcohol onto the towel, and looked back at Abigail. "Abigail, this is gonna sting, but just for a few seconds, and I promise you'll feel better afterwards. Do you trust me?" Abigail looked at the teddy bear, and then looked back at Amata and nodded. She closed her eyes and held the bear close to her. Amata slowly dabbed the alcohol on the wound. Abigail winced, but it quickly passed. Amata taped some gauze over the wound. "Now, Abigail, if you don't mind me asking, do you know where your parents are?" Abigail looked down, and tears were forming in her eyes. "Abigail, are your parents, well, um, are they dead?" Amata didn't really want to ask that, but the more she knew about the situation, the better. Abigail nodded. "How long have you been out here?" Abigail held out four fingers. "Four days?" Abigail nodded again. "Ok, I won't ask what happened. Are you hungry? Thirsty?" "Y-yes." Amata assumed that she was. She took out some water and a Fancy Lads Snack Cake, and handed them to Abigail. Abigail put the teddy bear down cautiously, like it was going to disappear if she let go of it.
"I'm just gonna talk to my friends for a minute. I'll be right back, okay?" She nodded. Cass and Amata walked about ten feet away, and began talking quietly. "We need to take her to the Followers. I think she has a twisted ankle." "What about that thing yer doin' fer tha King?" "Cass, the mission I'm on right now is to make Freeside a better place, and I believe doing this furthers that goal. The world is full of enough pain and suffering. I'm not just gonna leave her here and be the cause of more of it." Just then, her pip-boy beeped, and a message appeared from ED-E. It was another quote:
"Helping to better the lives of others is the greatest of all achievements."
Alan Shawn Feinstein
"You see? I couldn't have said it better myself, ED-E. She is a scared little girl whose parents just died, probably killed, and she's been on her own for four days. I refuse to turn my back on her." Amata walked back over to Abigail, who had finished with the water and the snack cake. "Abigail, your right ankle hurts, correct?" She nodded. "Okay, I want to take you to see some doctor friends of mine, but I'm gonna need to carry you. Is that okay?" She nodded. Amata holstered her rifle on her back, and swung her satchel over her shoulder. Abigail picked up the bear, and let Amata help her up. Amata picked up Abigail, and Abigail put her arms around Amata's neck. Amata made sure that she was comfortable holding her before they set off. "Cass, lead the way. ED-E, watch the rear."
They made it back to the Old Mormon Fort without any issues, and they were able to get Julie to examine Abigail. Cass stayed outside the tent, but Abigail insisted that Amata stay while she was being examined. When Julie was finished with her examination, she asked to speak to Amata in private. Abigail didn't want Amata to leave, but told her she would be right back, and had ED-E come in to keep her company. Cass joined the two of them as they walled a little ways away from the tent. "Ok," Julie said, "she has a slightly sprained ankle. Fortunately, it's not that serious. It should heal in a week, and she can stay until then." "And then after that?" Amata asked. Julie looked hesitant. "Amata, she seems like a nice girl, but this clinic, we don't have the resources to care for anyone long-term. What about her parents?" "She said her parents were dead, and she's been living on the street for four days. So, what, you're just gonna send her back out there, aren't you?" Amata said, becoming increasingly upset.
Julie sighed. "Amata, I don't like it any more than you do, but until things improve around here, it's just the way it is. I'm sorry." Cass asked Julie a question, but Amata wasn't paying attention anymore. She was looking pointedly at the tent where Abigail was. She could hear some music, and Abigail was laughing. Abigail Fields, the girl who was now an orphan. Mark, she mused, knew the pain of losing your only remaining family when his dad died. It had affected him deeply, as he had confessed to her. It had affected her, too. She knew his dad about as well as he did, and she had cried for a couple days when she heard that James had died. She made up her mind, and she knew that if Mark was here, he would make the same decision. And if not, then, well, he was just going to have to live with it.
She walked with purpose back to the tent. ED-E was circling around Abigail's head, and Abigail was trying to touch him from her seated position. "Abigail, can I talk to you for a minute? ED-E, could you wait outside?" ED-E beeped, and flew out into the courtyard. Amata came down to Abigail's eye level. "Abigail, my friend Julie says that your ankle is sprained, but you should be as good as new in a week." Abigail looked down at her feet and frowned. "Abigail, what's wrong?" "What happens after that? My parents are dead. Where am I supposed to go?" She grabbed the teddy bear and started crying, breaking Amata's heart. Amata pulled her into a hug. Abigail tensed up for a moment, but then she relaxed. "Shh, shh, Abigail, please, don't cry. I wanted to talk to you about that." Abigail stopped crying, and Amata pulled back and looked her in the eye.
"You-you did?" "Yes, Abigail. You see, my husband and I, we're starting a family. Right now, I'm pregnant with his child." Abigail's eyes briefly flicked down to Amata's stomach. "Abigail, I-no we- we would like to adopt you. We'd like you to become a part of that family." The small girl's eyes widened, wondering if this was real. "Are-are you serious?" "Abigail, I am very serious. Now, we would never try to replace your parents. They will always be your parents, and you will always have your own special memories of them. But, if you choose to live with us, we would take care of you like a parent would, and maybe, in time, you would consider us to be family." "Wh-where do you live?" "Somewhere very safe, I promise. Come on, I can show you from here." She picked up Abigail, and brought her outside. She saw Cass looking at her out of the corner of her eye.
Amata pointed towards the Strip. "Do you see that large, red building in the distance?" Abigail nodded. "That's the Lucky 38 Casino on the Strip. That's where my husband and I live, with some other friends of ours. We can keep you safe and healthy there, I can promise you that." She looked Abigail in the eyes. "Abigail, do you want to be a part of our family?" Abigail nodded a couple of times, and started crying again. Amata pressed Abigail's head into the crook of her neck, as she started to cry as well. "You'll never be alone again, Abigail," she whispered in the young girls ear.
Hope you all enjoyed the chapter. That was a nice, warm, fuzzy moment at the end, wasn't it? This was the longest chapter that I've written, an apology of sorts for making you guys wait. Until next time (Again, I promise that it will not be a three month wait again).