Another Unoriginal Oneshot Book

To Have and To Hold

The Lucky 38, February 2283.

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Sage strummed lightly on her guitar. Why did there have to be so many chords? The holotapes always made this seem easy, but her mind couldn't quite grip the patterns long enough to be able to call the end result music. She blamed Benny.

A familiar quiet presence entered the master bedroom. Sage, relieved at an excuse to stop practicing, laid the guitar across her bed.

"Need to talk with you," Boone began without greeting. He was direct in a way that might come across as rude. But not to Sage.

She stretched out, propping her chin in her hands. "That sounds not-so-good."

Boone frowned blankly. "Depends, I guess."

"On?"

He shifted. "Depends."

"Oh."

He sat on the bed. Seconds ticked by. She lay next to him, waiting. He sat on the bed some more.

"So," Sage pressed. "We gonna talk?"

He looked down at his hands in his lap. "Yeah. We are." Sage expected another long silence, but he plunged one hand into a pocket and excavated a ring. "This is my wedding ring."

"I've heard of those," Sage interrupted him. "Isn't that a pre-war marriage thing?"

"Yeah. Some people still do it. In Vegas, mostly."

She quirked an eyebrow. "Am I being proposed to?"

"What?" Boone blurted, perplexed. A wide grin broke out on her face, and he relaxed to see he hadn't been so badly misinterpreted. Humor entered his voice. "No. Don't think you need my pension that bad."

"Well, someone's gotta marry me! I still don't have a last name. I'm starting to feel left out."

Boone chuckled under his breath. "'Sage Boone.' Sounds bad."

"I'd take it. But if you're gonna be selfish, tell me about the ring."

He shook his head, smiling. "Not much to say. We went out and bought them the day before our wedding." Some of the tension had released from his shoulders; apparently he found the thought of marrying the Courier darkly comical. Truth be told, she'd have said yes. Even though there'd never been anything between them, she enjoyed the thought of being legally bound to stay best friends for life.

"That's sweet." Sage smiled, but Boone's eyes were transfixed on the ring. "Her idea, I assume."

"Her mother's." Boone sighed gently, the tension seeping back into voice. "This is a lot to ask."

"Ask it."

He frowned.

"I can't answer until you ask, Boone."

Finally, he relented. "I want the other one back."

Ah. A tangible goal, and bad odds. "Sounds like a good time." Sage rolled over onto her back and grinned up at him. "Better than chords, anyway."

"Gotta find it first," he added, heartened.

"Any ideas?"

"No. I went back to Cottonwood Cove to check. Wasn't there." So that was where he'd been. She wished he'd brought her along.

"At least we know where not to look." Sage finally sat up and turned back around to face him. "I know who to ask. C'mon." She hopped out of bed, donned her longcoat and helmet, grabbed the Dinner Bell, and pressed the elevator call button. "Come on, ED-E!"