Picnic

It could have been a trap, but Tex didn't think there was any reason to fear a trap set by someone in Blood Gulch. They were way out of their league going up against her. So when she saw Caboose sitting alone on the top of a cliff, she went to investigate.

Caboose reacted as if she'd never attacked anyone or caused any trouble. "Tex! What're you doing here?"

He asked the question playfully. She couldn't help but be intrigued. "Taking a walk. What are you doing here?"

Caboose beamed behind his helmet. "Having a picnic!"

Tex took in Caboose's 'picnic'. A few lumps of something wrapped in white tissue paper were scattered around him, and he had a couple canteens. One of them was open and smelled like orange juice. "Looks nice. Can I join?"

Caboose was surprised, but instead of being afraid he was delighted. "Sure. Okay."

Tex sat down beside him. "Whatcha got? I'm hungry."

Caboose held out one of the white tissue paper packages. "I got some sandwiches..." He stopped and furrowed his brow, trying to think of what else he'd taken from the base.

Tex didn't wait for him. She took the wrapped lump of food. It turned out to be a cold hamburger wrapped in the cheap toilet paper Command always sent. She took off her helmet and took a bite anyway. "It's good." Not really, but it was about as tasty as food for sim-troopers got. She appreciated his willingness to share. Anyone else would have bickered or told her to find her own food.

Caboose beamed, abandoning his line of thought. "Thanks! Tucker made it. He doesn't make anything good except sandwiches."

Tex smiled at him. She was content to play nice and keep him talking. After all, she was only mean when it was necessary.

Caboose dangled his unopened canteen in front of her. "Want some orange juice?"

"Sure. Thanks." Tex took the canteen and popped it open. She ate another bite of cold hamburger and took a swig of the orange juice. Unsurprisingly, it was the powdered stuff. It tasted more like KoolAid than orange juice, but she was pretty happy with it. There was something disarmingly simple about eating kid's food.

Caboose took off his helmet and tore through his hamburger instead of staring at her like most people would've done. He didn't seem to consider her a threat at all. Humming aimlessly, he washed down the hamburger with orange juice.

Tex thought of how many Freelancers would have considered Caboose's behavior an insult. A lot of them would have. Maybe the only four in her group that wouldn't have were North, York, Wash, and Wyoming. Of course, there were a lot of Freelancers she hadn't known. The program had been too big to know everybody. She ran through her memories of them freely, allowing the simple meal and contented silence to soothe her. North wouldn't have wanted anyone to be afraid of him, especially not someone as innocent as Caboose. York was pretty much the same. Wash – the old Wash – would have wanted to befriend Caboose. Wyoming would have been amused.

"What are you thinking about?" Caboose asked, startling her.

Tex said without any shame for the huge lie, "I was thinking about how delicious this hamburger is."

Caboose's pleased reaction told her she had been right not to burden him. He blushed a little and looked away, smiling. "Oh, well, you know...I can steal Tucker's sandwiches whenever you want another one."

"Thank you, Caboose. That means a lot to me." At least about that, she could be sincere.