Verity was in the kitchen when she heard the knock on the door. She dropped the dishcloth in her hand and threaded through the rooms to the front door to open it.

"Howdy, stranger," said Cass. "Been a while, huh?"

"Son of a bitch," said Verity, grinning. "It really has." She pushed the door open. "Come in! We'll have drinks. You want to stay the night?"

"Well, I was planning on heading into Boulder," said Cass. "But if you're offering-"

"We have about a thousand rooms," said Verity, shaking her head. "Come on, you're staying. And you don't want to make the trip to Boulder City wasted, anyway. That's a long way to walk."

"How many drinks are we planning on having?" Cass asked, stepping inside.

"Like a million?" Verity said. "I don't get to drink much these days. You better believe I'm going to make the most of it."

Cass grinned. "Alright. I'll stay as a special favour."

"That's more like it," said Verity. "I'll grab the whiskey."

Cass was looking around. "I like what you've done with the place."

Verity followed her gaze. The double staircases on either side of the House Resort lobby had been polished until they shone, and the chipped tiles on the floor had been replaced.

"Hey, is that-" Cass didn't finish the sentence, walking into a room off the side of the lobby. She came to a stop in front of a large framed photograph.

Verity stood beside her. "Yeah," she said. "That's House." The painting showed a man, in a dark blazer and white trousers, standing in front of two huge metal legs.

"Little morbid, isn't it?" asked Cass quietly.

Verity sighed. "It was there when we got here," she said. "And I keep it there to remind me where I came from. And – some of the mistakes I've made."

"You think killing House was a mistake?"

Verity was still staring at the painting. "I don't know," she said. "And I don't think I'll ever know. If I hadn't – maybe things would be better. Maybe things would be worse."

Cass looked at her sidelong. "You should take it down," she said. "It's gonna mess with your head up there."

"Maybe," said Verity. "That's what Craig says. Anyway. Drinks."

Cass followed Verity around to the kitchen, off the lobby on the right, and watched as she reached up to the top shelf. She brought down a bottle of whiskey and raised an eyebrow.

"You know me so well," said Cass.

"Nothing but the best for my favourite girl."

"Aww," said Cass. "Am I really your favourite?"

"Well, Ronnie and Christine were around a couple weeks back," said Verity. "I quite like them too." She picked up two glasses and handed them to Cass to carry.

"Oh, they're still together?" Cass asked. "Good. How's Veronica doing with her – whole Brotherhood thing?"

"I don't think she spends much time down in the bunkers," said Verity, leading Cass out of the room and up the stairs.

"Don't blame her," said Cass. "Don't they get claustrophobic down there? I couldn't handle it."

Verity pushed open the double doors leading out to the balcony. There were two chairs and a small table on the balcony, overlooking Lake Mead. The sun was setting behind them, turning the sky red and purple. She set the bottle down on the table and took a seat, as the suns dying rays sparkled off the water.

"Hell of a view," said Cass.

"Yeah." Verity grinned. "Think that's the thing I like most about this place." She poured whiskey into the two glasses.

Cass accepted one of them. "It's been too long since I was here last," she said. "I always forget how beautiful it is."

"Sometimes I forget too," said Verity. "It can take someone else appreciating it to really point it out."

"I heard Lily went east," said Cass.

"Yeah," said Verity. "While back. I'm not quite sure what she's looking for, but – I hope she finds it."

"Yeah," said Cass, taking a long swallow of her whiskey. "So. Guess who I saw last time I was in New Reno."

Verity looked at her curiously. "Who?"

Cass shook her head. "No, seriously, you're going to have to guess."

Verity pressed her lips together.

"He asked about you, you know."

"Did-" Verity cleared her throat. "Did he? How – uh, how's he – he doing?"

"He said, give her my best."

Verity blinked rapidly. "Really?"

"Mm-hmm. He's got some kind of job – he says it's a not scam, but I don't know – something to do with – what are those things? Wanamingos or something?"

"Jesus," said Verity. "I have no idea what that even is."

"I remember my dad telling me stories about them when I was little," said Cass. "They sounded fucking weird. Glad I never ran into any."

"If you see him again – can you tell him that – that I'm sorry things turned out this way?"

"He's doing fine," said Cass, rolling her eyes. "That asshole can look after himself. Seriously."

Verity looked down at her hands. "I still miss him sometimes."

"That's fucked up," said Cass.

"Yeah, I know," Verity acknowledged. "Doesn't make it any less true. But – don't tell him about that bit. Just that – I wish him all the luck in the world. And not to get into too much trouble. That boy always liked to push his luck."

"He has this look when he talks about you, you know?" Cass said. "He-"

"I don't want to know," said Verity. "Please. It's just better if I don't."

"You always had that weird soft spot for him," said Cass.

"Y-yeah," said Verity, reaching for her drink. "I don't really understand. Still – I'm glad he's doing okay. Asshole."

"Cat always lands on his feet," said Cass.

"Ugh," said Verity. "That sounds like something he'd say."

"It was."

Verity rolled her eyes. "Of course it was." She shook her head, and looked down to check her watch. "Almost time for dinner. Come downstairs with me, I need to get everyone inside."

Cass made sure to refill both of their glasses almost to the brim before following Verity back down the stairs and out the front door.

"Libby!" Verity yelled out. "Gabe?"

There was an answering howl in the distance.

"Come on!" she called.

Cass smiled. "I bet your dog loves it out here."

Verity looked out over the sun-scorched hills. "Yeah. Lot of space. He hates being cooped up, after – well, after all that time in the fucking dark in the Big Empty." She frowned. "Poor baby. Things are better for him here. We generally have to keep him away from the bighorners, though. That sonic bark thing he does scares the shit out of them. Craig wanted him to be able to round them up but it's not good for them to basically be a terrified huddling mass, apparently."

Cass shook her head. "It's fucked up, the things you have to worry about."

"As opposed to the things I used to have to worry about?" she asked, then turned her head suddenly. "Hey!"

Gabe was running towards them. There was a small child on his back, clutching handfuls of his fur, her blonde hair blowing in the wind.

"Get down from there!" Verity yelled. "I have told you a million times!"

The dog slowed and sank to the ground, ears flattened.

The girl slid down to the ground, and looked up at Verity with baleful green eyes. She had bare feet, and her dress fluttered in the breeze. "Why?"

"Because it's dangerous, Libby," said Verity. "If you fell off you could hurt yourself."

"Gabe wouldn't let me fall," Libby said.

Verity rolled her eyes. "I've fallen off him before, okay? You can ride him when you're a bit bigger."

"Maybe you weren't as good at riding as I am."

Verity took a deep breath. Behind her, she could hear Cass making a choking sound. "Could you go inside, please?" she said. "And wash your hands, we'll be having dinner soon."

"Who's that?" she pointed to Cass, who pressed her lips together and smiled innocently.

"Don't you remember Aunty Cass?" Verity asked. "I guess the last time you saw her was a while back."

Libby shook her head vehemently, gripping the hem of her dress with both hands. "Is she married to uncle Raul?"

"N-no," said Verity. "I'll explain later, alright? Inside."

With one last, mistrustful, glance at Cass, she trotted inside.

"Oh, my god," said Cass.

"Don't you even fucking say a word." Verity glared at her.

"She's just like you!" Cass crowed.

"You mean like a little shit?" asked Verity. "What the fuck am I going to do, she's only four."

"Imagine what she'll be like as a teenager!"

"I really don't want to," said Verity.

"I'm kidding," said Cass, grinning. "She's going to grow up not taking shit from anyone. That's one of the most important things you can teach a girl out here."

Verity smiled.

"She looks like Boone," said Cass.

"Got his eyes," said Verity. "I'm expecting her hair to darken up, but, you never know, might not."

"Liberty," said Cass, quietly.

"It's cheesy as shit," said Verity. "But once I heard the name I couldn't get it out of my head."

"It's cute."

"You honestly don't have to pretend," said Verity.

"No, seriously. Libby. It's nice."

Verity put her glass down on the edge of a concrete planter and walked down the stone ramp towards Gabe. "And don't think I've forgotten about you, buddy," she said.

He whined.

"Don't give me that shit," she said.

"Does he really understand you?" asked Cass.

"Course," said Verity. "Always has."

"Make him do something."

"Um. Okay. Roll over?"

Gabe rolled onto his back obligingly.

"What if you, like, tried to stand up on your back legs or something?" she asked.

He lifted one huge paw off the ground, then the other, and then growled.

"It's fine," said Verity. "You don't have to if it's too hard."

He wagged his tail.

"Good boy," said Verity. "I'll be out later. You need another walk?"

He lay down again, and rested his head on his paws.

Verity grinned. "She wore you out too, huh? I'll come feed you in a couple of hours, then."

They watched as he trotted away, wagging his tail.

"That thing is a monster," said Cass.

"He's a sweet little puppy and I won't let anyone tell me otherwise," replied Verity, grinning.

"Who's cooking this dinner, anyway?" asked Cass, glancing back towards the building.

"Oh, Christ," said Verity. "We got a goddamn robot. I think it's a Mr Handy? Cooks better than I do. Not quite as well as Craig does, but-"

"He cooks now?" Cass asked with a grin.

"Yeah, loves it," said Verity. "Always has, I think. I feel like it's kind of relaxing for him."

Cass raised a hand to her eyes to shield them from the sun. "Is that him coming down over there?" She pointed out to the left, past the old water pipe that led to the lake.

Verity squinted. "Yeah," she said. "Think so. That's some good eyesight you got there."

"Well, in my business you need it," said Cass.

They watched as he made his way up towards them. He raised a hand in greeting when he saw Cass, and when he made it up to the house he reached out a hand. "Cass," he said. "Been a while."

Cass shook it. "Boone," she replied. "Good to see you."

He took a step closer to Verity and put an arm around her. He paused. "You smell like whiskey," he said.

"I can't even deal with you people and your enhanced senses," said Verity. "I just can't." She laughed as he gave her waist a squeeze.

"You're staying tonight?" he asked, turning to Cass.

"Sure am," she said.

"Good. You got a room set up yet?"

"No," said Verity. "Kind of forgot."

"I'll get it set up," he said. "Don't stay out here too long." He gave Verity a quick kiss before heading inside. She have his hand a squeeze, and smiled after him as he walked into the house.

"You like it out here?" asked Cass, after a moment.

"Yeah. Craig worried that I'm going to be bored or something, but, you know. Always stuff to do. We get a lot of visitors, too."

"How's he doing?"

"He loves this place," said Verity. "So big and empty and quiet. He's the kind of person that needs a lot of space. And there's a lot of it out here. And not much else."

Cass cocked her head. "You don't sound like you love it."

Verity smiled. "Well - I don't know. I guess it's a little quiet sometimes. I mean, I love Craig and Libs and Gabe, and I couldn't imagine life without them. And I love how beautiful this place is, and the way the wind sounds in the grass and how you can see all the stars at night and how so many people I love come and stay. And we get back to the Strip every now and then, and Boulder, and sometimes a little further away. Still haven't risked heading too far into NCR territory, but I make trips back to the Big Empty with Arcade pretty often." She looked out over the lake, to the eastern hills. "Christ, it was a crazy few years."

"You ever think about heading back out there?" Cass asked, after a moment. "Sounds like you've got a case of itchy feet."

"Yeah." Verity smiled. "Sometimes. Have to be something big to get me back out, though."

"Tell you what," said Cass. "If I run into the next big adventure, I'll send a courier here with a note for you."

Verity turned to her with a grin. "Might have to take you up on that," she said. "But – then again – maybe not."

I honestly wasn't sure I would ever come to this point. Oh my god I am actually freaking out a bit about this being the last chapter! This has been a huge part of my life for a good three years now, and I want to say thank you so much to everyone that has read it, favourited it, or reviewed it, because I don't think I would have kept going without the support that I got from you guys. I actually love you all. I have learned a lot about writing and building a story and somehow I have made it this far without ever writing a chapter plan! This whole thing was basically winging it. I have also made some great friends. It's been absolutely unforgettable. I'm on tumblr if you'd like to keep in touch! Address in profile.

A few last stats:

Wordcount: 268,828
Chapters: 121
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Reviews: 713

The end.