Teufelszeug Yay for Charon potrayal win! I think at first I was so worried about getting him right, but as the chapters come to me so does his personality past and future bit by bit. And thank you for liking the raider's den. I've always seen it as important to see enemies, especially human ones as more than just faceless combatants. They have stories like everyone else - which will also come into play later.

SarahIntheSky God, I know. Daniel is so fun to write. He's really a big dork inside. Him and Charon are going to make interesting partners.

Rosethorn Oh, whew! I'm glad. Sometimes I feel like I can't pace fight scenes (such as also the one is this following chapter) but I'm happy you enjoyed it. I'm also happy you're liking Charon's past.

Now on to the next chapter! Thanks to everyone reading and still with me.

Chapter Seven

While You Were Sleeping

After enduring such emotional trauma as she had during the last twenty-four hours Eleanor Blake was surprised by her ability to sleep peacefully throughout the night in her little rented bed in Carol's Place. Part of her felt a little guilty by being able to rest like that, but the other realized that Charon would not have wanted her to lose sleep over his state. The loss of sleep would cause her to make mistakes, put her own life in danger, and if that one thing he treasured above all was her well-being. She still wondered if that was only because of his contract, or if he cared about her beyond it as well. Regardless of the reason it was a very important part of him. Knowing this had helped allay some of her anxieties of the issue, especially when she considered what she had decided to do as she waited to fall asleep. It would something that he wouldn't have approved of in the slightest, but something she felt she needed to do none-the-less.

A much more pleasant mood filled her as she dressed and bought herself breakfast. It was hope that everything was going to be okay. Silly as it was Crowley's talk with her the night before had put many things in perspective and had let her think about others that eventually came into focus during the night. Nora had yet to see everything that was required for her improvement, however was confident (at least for the moment) that she was on the right path to fixing everything. She even was able to push her panic about Charon's physical injuries to the side, making her believe that in the end he was going to be okay. He's just got to come out of this okay. As cruel as the world was she just couldn't see whatever higher power that was in charge giving her a series of life-changing epiphanies only to rip away that which was most cherished in respect to those epiphanies.

When her breakfast had been significantly devoured she took two stairs at a time down to Underworld Outfitters. Before completely entering she waved her fingers in front of the door in a manner of greeting and then leaned in while grasping the door facing. "Good morning!" She chirped.

"Nora, you're back!" Tulip always seemed so surprised to see her. Well, the ghoul seemed surprised to see anybody really. Winthrop poked his head in the shop every now and then to see how she was doing, but for the most part Tulip did very little business and had an even smaller amount in visitors. Nora couldn't really figure it out because it wasn't like what she had in stock was faulty, in fact she'd found quite a few interest items there, including the book Tulip had given her on her first trip to Underworld, and she was a fairly pleasant individual to converse with, albeit a little… verbally needy. That last bit could be quickly remedied by more visitors however.

"Yup!" Nora replied. "Got anything I might want to add to my collection of stuff?"

"Actually I have a few things." Tulip grabbed a box from under the counter and hauled it up to the top and started digging around. "I set them aside for you last time Quinn was back around. I don't think he wanted to sell them to me, but I convinced him to part with them." She produced a fairly decent pair of binoculars from the box and handed them over to Nora to try.

She eased the adjustment knobs until the view came into focus. With a smirk spreading on her face she asked, "how much?"

"For you, they're 20 caps."

"Only twenty caps?" Nora frowned, "I've never seen a good pair of these out there, most people just use their rifle scopes! These are worth way more than that."

"Last time I checked the customer was supposed to haggle the store owner down not up." Tulip replied with amusement.

"Hey now, I'm not complaining here, I'm just sayin' that it seems unfair and you know me, I can't stand by and let unfair things happen. How about we say 40? Aaaaand," she pointed behind Tulip to a row of leather strips, "are you selling those?"

"I am if you're buying."

"Brilliant!" Nora dug through her pockets and produced the number of caps needed for the exchange. "I'm glad you have those. I have to do some repair work on Charon's leather outfit and it would have been such a pain without good leather pieces."

And that was an instant mood killer. Tulip's expression melted into something serious and sympathetic. "I heard what happened to you guys on the way here last night. Is he doing all right?"

Nora sighed as she began to recount the caps again out of nervous habit. "Doc said he's still in the 'wait and see' stage, but he's pretty sure he's going to be fine. I mean," she forced a smile, "he's as tough as they come so I don't see him going down over this. That's why I wanted to fix up his outfit. Its been a while since he's patched up that thing, I mean hell, he treats that gun of his better than his own clothes."

"Ah," the ghoul storekeeper said, taking the caps and putting them in her worn cash register, "so its kind of your way of saying thanks."

"Yeah, since they were all out of greeting cards that read 'really appreciated you saving me from those feral ghouls that wanted to eat me!' this was the next best thing." That and what she was going to do next. "When you see him tell Quinn thanks for letting you have those binoculars, okay? These are going to be great."

"Will do." Tulip told her. As Nora turned to leave she said, "You're not going to stay and talk?" It was what she usually did. She would come in, buy some things, and then the two would chat for a little while about anything and everything.

The Lone Wanderer looked over her shoulder at her, "yeah, I'm sorry. I have a few errands I need to run and then I wanted to check in on Charon again now that I'm not so upset."

"Oh, ok! Well, come back soon!"

"I will!" If I don't get eaten before lunchtime…

X-X-X

Nora slipped out of Underworld as inconspicuously as possible; the last thing she needed was people thinking she was just leaving when the going got rough. In fact, she was doing just the opposite. After dropping her purchases off in her 'room' in Carol's she'd grabbed her best gun and headed out for the metro again. In the back of her head she could almost hear Charon's deep voice telling her that it wasn't wise what she was doing and that she should wait for him. Its not important, Eleanor, just leave it alone. He would probably say, but that wasn't the point. It was important; it was important to him and therefore it was important to her and damned if she wasn't going to do something about it. She would go stir crazy just sitting in Underworld thinking about the things she'd done wrong and what she should have done differently. This was her new beginning, a sign to both him and herself that she could do better.

Willow called out to her as she slowed to check her ammo once again. "Where are you going?" The smoothskin couldn't be going far because she only had a weapon and a small pouch of supplies dangling from her belt. By the look of determination on her face she was on a mission.

As if she had forgotten all about Underworld's guard the girl stopped and looked at her. Caught in the act. "Back to the metro."

"Why the hell would you want to do a stupid thing like that?" Willow couldn't contain her feelings on the matter. She remembered how messed up Charon was when the two had to drag him back to Underworld and Nora was just as bad, but emotionally. She had been scared out of her mind and nearly useless. The thought of her wanting to return to the place that all of that happened was the most ridiculous thing she'd heard in a long time – and she'd been around long enough to say that that made it pretty goddamned ridiculous.

"You remember Charon's shotgun don't you?"

"… Yes." Who didn't? Even before he had started following this little vaultie punk around the wastes it was obvious that that damned shotgun was his metaphorical baby. It was modded to high heaven and kept in such a top condition that it was likely worth more than most slaves to the right buyers. Not that Charon would ever sell that thing.

"It wasn't in Charon's belongings that Barrows put together. I remember him having it on the top platform and then it was gone when we were running for the exit. I'm pretty sure it got lost back there somewhere."

"Wait… you're going to get it?" Willow corrected herself. This wasn't just ridiculous it was crazy. She was beginning to wonder if they only made insane people down in those vaults.

"Yes." Nora answered quite placidly.

"You're going to get yourself killed is what you're going to do. What then?" She'd never been particularly close to Charon, heck no one was, but ghouls had to stick together and if Nora went down there and got herself gnawed to death then he'd be hell to live with. For some reason the little idiot was important to him.

"I'm not going to get myself killed. Its not an option."

She looked indomitable on this issue. "Do you want me to help?" Willow would probably regret offering, but she felt like she couldn't just let the girl walk into a deathtrap.

"No. I mean, I'd feel bad if something happened. Enough people have gotten hurt because of me. Really, I'm pretty sure I know exactly where it is, or at least the general area. I can be stealthy when I need to be. Shouldn't take me long at all." She gave the guard a smile. Crowley had reminded her that she had once been able to take care of herself, that she had been strong. If she was once she could be that again. Certainly a few ferals weren't enough to take her out. Were they?

"You sure?"

"Absolutely. Back before you know I'm gone."

X-X-X

She had never been afraid of the dark as a child, and if the monster under her bed really existed it had been a coward. It wasn't until she was out here in the wasteland that Nora began to feel real fear for things that were unknown. Out here there very well could be a monster under your bed, or at least around the next corner. Down in the metros was where one could claim creatures were born and she might agree with them. The ever-present blackness, the chilling silence, it was all too creepy for even the toughest men sometimes. She could deal with dogs, bash molerats around with no problem, but when the rotted animalistic face of a feral came at her out of the darkness it was more than just a little disconcerting.

Despite her uneasiness she ignored the urge to turn on her pip-boy light. It wouldn't necessarily make things easier to see and would make her a much better target for what lurked down here. She skirted along the cold concrete walls, listening for anything that might tell where any potential enemies might be. If she was lucky she might be able to get in and out without being sensed at all. The only problem with that thought was that lately she was very rarely lucky.

Yes, but this isn't for me, God, so give me a break. After all this Charon deserves something nice.

Somewhere in the dark she could hear the scuffing of a few pairs of uncoordinated feet. Ferals. Probably some of the same ones that had attacked them. There was nothing more she wanted to do than get a little payback for the harm they had caused, but she knew there was no way to combat that many of them when they had such an advantage. Instead she worked herself around to a vantage point and squinted through the black, trying to make out their shapes.

Squatting against the wall, she reached into her small pack, movements minimal enough to not make any undue noise. Finally she came out with a few fragmentation mines and her lips curved upward.

Perfect.

X-X-X

The gun was the easy part. Nora snatched it off the ground from where it had fallen amidst the dusty concrete before she had even stopped moving. She shifted directions quickly, her boots scratching against the floor and sending up little clouds of debris around her feet. As she came to face the way she had come a gnarled arm came out of the dark towards her face and she ducked under its grazing blow and sprinted passed it as quick as she had come. Behind her she heard the familiar screams of the damned as they followed her. Just like before, except Charon wasn't here to protect her.

So she had made a contingency plan. Nora counted in her head and when she reached that magic number she jumped over a line of subtle blinking red dots; the frag mines she had placed down before she had gone to fetch Charon's shotgun. When she landed she skidded against the ground and hit the wall a few feet in front of her. The ferals were too close behind to stop and when they hit the mines the explosion would most likely knock her off her feet if she was too close. She could only hope that it got all of them or at least disoriented them enough to allow her to get a good lead.

Perhaps she would actually make it out without a scratch this time.

BLAM-WHOOSH.

Apparently placing that many mines in such a small proximity was not a good idea. She was thrown forward with such force that her legs almost went over her head. Her chest hit first and then her cheek scraped against the pavement, eliciting a vicious cry and a curse. The shotgun, which she had hurriedly wedged into the top of her bag went spilling out and smacked onto the hard surface, landing just out of reach. Damnit.

On hands and knees she started to crawl towards it to grab it again, but a pair of claw-like hands descended on her back, digging into her flesh and tearing. Nora threw back her head in surprise and screamed. "Let go!" One kick to its shoulder forced it back long enough for her to move again. This time her fingers gripped the gun right before one of its hands closed around her ankle and pulled, dragging her back. Teeth sunk into her calf. The pain made her seethe and she felt warm blood already dripping down her skin.

"You're not—" Nora flipped around, tearing her foot from out of its hands, "—eating me today!" This time her boot bashed into its face. It didn't exactly hurt it, but it sure as hell pissed it off. Moments later it was leaping on her, claws slicing at her eyes. The Lone Wanderer brought Charon's gun up in front of her, holding the barrel in one hand and the stock in the other to block its attack. One last kick to its chest and it was thrown back far enough for her to swing his gun around and aim. "Fuck you."

Blood, skin, and flecks of other rotted matter rained down around her. For a few moments everything was quiet and she breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed against the cool concrete, hugging Charon's gun to her chest. He would probably throw a fit – well, at least give her one of those glaring looks of disapproval – if he knew what she was doing. It was strange though because she felt even though he wasn't with her that he was still there protecting her somehow. Maybe it was just because his gun had almost seemed like an extension of his being, therefore it felt like he was with her. No matter what it was she was safe, and once more she would thank him for her safety despite his absence.

Somewhere she heard more hungry cries and she got to her feet. "Time to go."

X-X-X

Willow was beginning to think she'd never see the Vault Rat again – at least in one piece. Then she heard the metal door swinging open and then closed to the metro followed by a happy, light-hearted humming. The ghoul guard crossed her arms over her chest and watched the top of the stairs until Nora appeared, shotgun clutched in her slender arms. The girl was walking with a limp, blood droplets tracing the path behind her right leg, and she was covered in grey dust, blood, and scrapes. However, none of that seemed to faze her.

"Hello, Willow!" She chirped.

The ghoul blinked at her and dropped her arms at her sides. "You should probably see a doctor."

"Oh this?" Nora frowned, looking down at her wounds. "Nah, I've got some business to take care of first. Its nothing serious."

"I see." Willow replied, watching as the human girl continued on towards the door to Underworld. She wasn't about to start singing her praises, but considered that maybe somewhere beneath all that childish foolishness might actually be a decent person. No one else – no one smoothskin, and probably not many other ghouls – would have gone down into the darkness alone to retrieve an inanimate object for someone like Charon. Yet Dr. Blake's little girl cared to notice it had meant something to her employed man and did it despite being afraid. "Hey, Tourist!"

Nora turned around as her hand brushed the door. "Yeah?"

"Good job, kid." No doubt that Charon would be proud of her.

At first Nora's mouth fell into a serious, but thoughtful expression, then once more turned upward, the gentleness reaching up to her eyes as well. "Thanks." She disappeared inside.

Next Chapter: Nora pays Charon a visit at the Chop Shop.