Fallout: Born Unto Trouble

27. Conclusion

The next few days were spent helping out her friends; Boone, Raul and Arcade made peace with what they've done in the past.

Elizabeth needed too as well.

It wasn't like she dwelled on it every second of the day. She would go into trances and think of her (ex-) husband, how she messed up Gloria's life, or made Camille feel like she sent her to her death.

But this wasn't the time to think about the past. There was a war approaching, and she needed to pick a side before it was too late.

She traveled to Fortification Hill on her own. A risky move on her part, but she couldn't bear to see any one of her friends killed because of her actions.

It was a massacre. Elizabeth killed almost every Legion soldier she came across, and marched into Caesar's tent.

Before anyone could attack, she sent a bullet into Caesar's head and proceeded to kill everyone else.

Benny was kneeling on the ground, hands tied behind his back, and looked a little worse for wear. He looked terrified, and honestly, Elizabeth couldn't blame him.

"You're a scrapper, miss. They didn't stand a chance. How about me?"

"What happens if I let you go?"

"Miss, that can go in any direction you want. We can take Vegas together, or I can head to the nearest sunset. Your call."

She cut his ties, threatening to take him out if he crossed her again. He seemed to get the message, and tossed her the platinum chip she lost her life over.

~~~

Mr. House was pleased that Elizabeth brought the Chip back to him. He showed her the upgrades to the Securitrons, and he gave her a mission to activate the Securitrons at Fortification Hill. She killed House after his speech. She tossed the chip into a gutter outside the Lucky 38 and made her way out of the city, towards the dam.

~~~

The battle of Hoover Dam ended like Elizabeth expected it would: peacefully.

General Oliver was none too pleased to hand over the Dam to some dumb courier, someone who could barely keep her impulses under control, let alone run a city. Elizabeth simply smiled, slapping him on the back harshly and wished him and his army well. They were welcome to go to New Vegas, but they sure as hell weren't going to run it anymore.

No, she had other plans. Bigger plans. She had found inspiration in Ace's words, to seek out those who could rebuild the areas around the Strip, starting with Freeside, so people could have a safe place to live. Securitrons could take the place of armed guards, and Elizabeth could definitely handle finances with the score she made at the Sierra Madre.

She decided to let Benny in on the fun. She assigned him as her advisor on what the hell to do about the money situation. She kept him at arm's length, but he swore up and down that he wouldn't try to jump her again. He kept on the promise, even after three years of working under her.

The Strip and areas around it had been fully renovated and welcoming to anyone who needed food, shelter, and medicine. The Followers of the Apocalypse helped out on that, with Arcade at the lead, and Julie retiring to get married to Elizabeth Kieran and handed authority to Arcade. He wasn't too happy about that, but it was better than trying to rebuild the Enclave, he realized, and reluctantly look control.

Boone ended up as a sniper again, only working for Elizabeth this time. He let go of Carla after all of these years, and started to date Arcade in 2282. They got married a year later.

Veronica and Stacy had gotten cozy and left to explore the world, sending postcards and pictures of them posing with decayed monuments and holding souvenirs shirts from gift shops they found. Eventually, they made it to the East Coast again, finding Vault 101 and Stacy payed her respects to the long-dead James and Catherine Hill, catching the members of the Vault she grew up in with what had happened over the past eight years. She told Veronica of the things Gloria had done, and they settled down somewhere in the Boston Commonwealth.

Ace and Gloria finally started dating in 2284, then had a child that same year. They named her Marigold, Gloria's mother's middle name, and they both loved her dearly. They got married a year later and spent their honeymoon in a bar fight and patched each other up as each other's wedding gift.

Cass proposed to Elizabeth on September 7, 2285 on a moonlit night. Elizabeth immediately said yes and they got married three days later. She'd never been happier in her entire life.

August 3, 2287. The air was cooler on the roof of the Lucky 38, much windier too, but Elizabeth didn't mind. The Strip looked busier than ever, the people looking like what ants used to look like before the War, bustling about, in and out of casinos, the new restaurant, and even the pawn shop.

She twisted the wedding ring on her finger, heart fluttering in her chest at the thought of being married to the woman she loved. It was liberating, in a strange way. She was going to spend the rest of her life with Cass, and she certainly wasn't regretting that.

The door behind her opened and shut, and Gloria moseyed next to the courier, plopping down on the bench next to her and opening a bottle of beer.

"It's nice up here," She said, gripping onto the railing. Even after all of this time, she was afraid of heights. Elizabeth nodded, "Yeah, sure is."

The wind blew Gloria's hair out of her eyes as she looked over the edge, then stumbled back into her seat. "The Washington Monument wasn't as tall as this, geez," She sighed.

Elizabeth took a sip from her wine glass, then set it beside her as she turned to the other, "Do you think this is... fate?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean. You saved the Capital Wasteland. I saved New Vegas. Just kind of... weird, I guess, that we're here now."

"You're certainly sure of yourself, aren't you?"

Elizabeth rolled her eyes, "You know what I mean."

Gloria downed her drink, "It is kind of weird."

"Looks like us heroines have to stick together, then?" Elizabeth smiled.

Gloria smiled back "Yeah, I suppose so."

They drank together in silence, finally at peace.

A/N: wh. Yeah.lfkjgh sdjghdfkjg jfghkhklajrhg I'm mcfucking done holy shit I can Finally move on. Sorry if this was so rushed and badly written I don't have time or energy I have depression