Ahh just smell that air! Can't you just drink it like BOOZE!?

Cactus Springs was a small town, and quite peaceful, despite it's location. Stuck in a desolate wasteland destroyed by a nuclear war about two centuries before hand, the town lies outside the jurisdiction of the New California Republic. However, the order of that federation is not far enough to leave Cactus Springs in great danger, considering the horrors that lurk in the wastes of the Southwest...

Like every small town, Cactus Springs had a doctor on hand to make sure that radscorpion stings and gecko bites didn't decimate the population. Their doctor happened to be Arthur Kirkland, a well read man who was said to have a young body but the mind of a crotchety old man. Those rumors were quite well-founded, frankly. Despite Arthur's rudeness, he was a competent doctor and so the community accepted him, albeit grudgingly.

"Doc Kirk! Doc Kirk! We found a man passed out by the wells!" some local children burst into his house.

With a tired sigh, Arthur got up and grabbed his medical kit. "Alright, take me to the fool, and let's see what I can do," he grumbled, not happy about the intrusion.

Arthur was promptly dragged down to the well that was just outside the down, where a man was lying face down next to the precious water source. "Well, if he is dead, at least he had the courtesy to not poison are water suppy," he commented dryly before gingerly reaching out to turn the man over to see if he was still alive...

The sun was merciless to those that aren't prepare for the trek through the wasteland... which the young man, who was trying to force his body to keep on walking found out.

Although, to be fair. Alfred Jones did have what he need before, just that he lost his jacket and hat when he was attacked by a some ghouls. Also, he overestimate how much water and food he had, and how long it will take him to get to get to the next town.

Ignoring his body's cries to just curl up and sleep, he raised his head and dry lips broke into a grin after he saw a town in the distance. Alfred croaked out laughter, he only needs to last a bit longer and he will be able to get some water. And food.

His body decided to give out right when he near the well and Alfred landed face into the ground, he fought to stay conscious.

A voice broke through the entrenching darkness"-not poison are water suppy," and Alfred felt himself being nudged onto his back, he tried to force his eyelids open and croaked out a word.

"W-w-ate..."

"Water, hm? Looks like dehydration. Well, I don't want to make you vomit, so we're going to have to do small amounts of water at frequent intervals until I can get you back to my house," Arthur explained as he searched his bag for a bottle of purified water.

Using the cap as a ladle, Arthur carefully dispensed the water to the dehydrated man. He had learned the hard way that giving dehydrated people too much water merely served to make the symptoms worse.

Looking up at the kids, the doctor grumbled, "You can go off to play. I'll take it from here." As the kids ran off, Arthur went back to focusing on the prostrate man. "Try not to speak. We don't want to waste the water, and I can hear your life's story and get paid when you're not dying from thirst."

When he was satisfied with the amount of water he had given the other, the short Englishman tried to lift up the larger man and drag him back to his house, which served as a medical clinic. Dragging the fallen man was not an easy task, even for the fit doctor.

Somehow he managed to get the wanderer in and onto one of the clinic's cots. "Now then, I need to figure out how dehydrated you are... When was the last time you had water?" Arthur spoke as he began to examine the man for more symptoms.

He managed to open his eyes for a moment before closing them due the brightness of the sun. From what he saw, the person talking was a male with green eyes.

Oh, wonderful life-giving water! He drunk the water eagerly and listened to what the man was saying, Alfred tried to nod his head to show he understand what was being said.

It's really a good thing that he had the caps in a bag on his belt and not in his jacket. ...at least Alfred was fairly sure that the caps weren't in his jacket. Um... he was going to have to check as soon as he could.

Getting dragged because your body doesn't want to move freaking HURTS, nor does it help that the ground dig into some of the wounds he got from the ghouls.

When he felt himself get put on something that seems to be a bed. ...Oh? A question? Alfred thought about it, after a minute or so he rasped out his answer.

"..Two... days."

"Two days... That's not good, though it could be worse. Let's play it safe and get you some intravenous fluids to make sure you'll recover. You'll definitely have to rest here for a few days. Don't exert yourself," Arthur explained with a sigh.

He began to search his things for an IV and a needle so he could get the fluid into the wanderer's veins and hopefully rehydrate the other man so he could recover. Arthur was not going to have a patient die on him, well, a patient that could be saved. There had been the few poor souls that had nearly been torn apart by the deathclaws. Arthur shuddered at the memory. The only thing he had been able to do was administer some whiskey in the hope of dulling the pain before they passed away.

Once he found the necessary equipment, Arthur reached for the other man's arm. "Hold still, I don't have much of this, and I don't want it to be wasted. I think it would be best if you looked away." Arthur explained. Water was a very precious thing after all. Deciding that the other might react adversely to the IV, Arthur decided to start asking the other questions, in the hopes of distracting him from the needle. "Do you have a name? Where are you from? How did you end up here? You don't have to answer, I know prying is quite rude."

While he was speaking, Arthur held the other man's arm down as he looked for the vein on the underside of the elbow. With great care and caution, Arthur tried to insert the needle while the other man was distracted.

For a active person like Alfred the fact he has to rest for a few days made him grumbled, still.... maybe he won't have to stay in bed for those few days.

"I will do my best." He rasped out with a grin and opened his eyes again, cause... hey the sun won't blinded him again.

Looking through scratched glasses, the blue-eyed wanderer got a better look at the doctor that was treating him. Dude, those eyebrows are huge! Still, even so, he looked handsome...ahem. He looked at the IV and then the doctor again, he nodded to show that he understand and made sure his arm never moved.

"Ripon, I'm part of the NCR," Alfred broke into a another grin, "Been wandering between towns offering what aid I can do. Name's Alfred F Jones, Mister...?"

(...here have the normal first notice of the eyebrows! >_>

Edit: *pop up* Hey, don't mind me, just editing some things. :D *sneaks away again*)

Arthur did not fail to notice the grumbling that went on when he mentioned bedrest. "Unless you'd like to have a repeat of the incident in front of the well, I suggest you stay in bed. If you do something stupid, I will not treat you, since I'd rather not waste my limited resources on someone with a death wish." Arthur was rather blunt, but it was true. He wasn't part of the NCR, he was merely a small town doctor, and therefore didn't have many supplies. Yet, Arthur resolved to do the best he could. After all, good work meant good caps and good caps meant living a decent life. Well, as decent as things could get in a barren wasteland.

Judging from the stupid smile and the nearly constant talking, Arthur knew he was dealing with an extrovert who enjoyed attention. Then there was the grammar... Arthur wanted to grab one of his grammar books and lob it at the wanderer's head. However, doing so would mean more work for him, and he didn't think damaging the book would be worth it.

"Doctor Arthur Kirkland, the locals refer to me as Doc Kirk. So, you're an NCR man? Do you work for the government, or do you just live there? Might I ask that you try to speak with proper grammar? Your accent is aggravating, to say the least."

Alfred doesn't want a repeat of what happened time, so he will try to be a good (man) boy and stayed in bed until he figured he can move or maybe when the doctor said he can moved, he nodded and said, "I will stay in bed."

Which means to starved off boredom, he will be bothering the doctor by talking to him or asking questions.

Of course, maybe giving him a book may entertained him for awhile as well.

Because a bored Alfred spelled trouble. Really, really bad trouble.

"Alright, alright, I will try to use more proper grammar," Alfred grinned at Arthur, at least when he doesn't feel like be a annoying jerk, "Nice to meet ya, Arthur. I'm part of the NCR military, I'm on leave right now."

The wanderer pretty much called everyone he meets by their first name.

"So, what's the name of the town that I'm in now?"

Edit: (So... looking back at my post and I just noticed that I forgot that I was planning on having Alfred ask where he was. ....oops. *edits*)

"A military man, hm? Most of your sort go home and visit family, instead of trouncing around in the wilds with no supplies." Arthur was not particularly happy that his newest patient was a soldier for the NCR. After all, there was a reason a talented and educated (as well as greedy) doctor was in Cactus Springs and not one of the big cities in the NCR, where he would certainly have better supplies as well as a better salary. However, one could not go back and change the past, and Arthur would prefer if the past stayed right where it belonged, repressed in the back of his mind.

Realizing he wasted too much time on musing and not replying to the other's question, Arthur quickly spoke up to answer it. "Cactus Springs. Looks like you didn't make it too far out of NCR territory. If we were bigger, they'd probably focus on assimilating us."

Arthur did not dislike the NCR. Sure he had his issues with the way things were going and what not, but the NCR would always prove preferable to the Legion or the roving gangs of Fiends. Both groups were barbarians in the doctor's eyes, while the NCR at least had order and some sense of honor.

"If I were you, I'd head back into the NCR and go home for a spell. It's certainly preferable to getting yourself killed while on leave."

"I have already visit my family for some days in the beginning of my leave!" He had forgotten that his brother Matthiew had volunteered to join his brother on this exploration journey and that they were separated.

...Matt was sadly very easy to forget about, but he still loved his family. Thankfully, he would be able to make it back home safely even if Alfred doesn't remembered that he lost his brother any time soon.

"...I had supplies, I just didn't have enough as I thought," Alfred pouted, the supplies were divided up by the brothers.

At least Matt probably stopped sooner than Alfred and got more supplies.

Given his curiosity and time, Alfred would probably find out the reason why Arthur was here and not elsewhere.

Cactus Springs, huh? The wanderer thought he saw it on a map somewhere, "Thanks!" He didn't see what could be wrong with assimilation, because the towns/cities get more protection.

"Haha, nah. I'm will be fine, besides there are still things that I haven't seen yet of this county and I want to see them." Alfred laughed as he grinned, there was still old ruins he never saw yet, the things he could find and the things he could learn about the old world before... the Great War.

(*thud* Gah, sorry it took so bloody long. :| *kept getting distracted*

...and I kinda of feel sorry for Matt. >_>)

"Then why didn't you stay with them? It would certainly be safer. In fact, if those kids hadn't spotted you, you'd be food for the geckos right now," Arthur commented dryly. Every once in a while, there would be some foolhardy person who thought they could brave the wasteland, Arthur had only seen one return mostly intact. The rest, well, usually they never returned, or they were dragged back by an NCR patrol, or they returned, but were never quite whole, whether it be physically or mentally. The wasteland changed people, usually for the worst.

"If you can't get enough supplies to get to Cactus Springs, I suggest you turn back now. The wasteland only grows more sparse from here, and you're more likely to run into Deathclaws and raider gangs than generous souls such as the people of this town," Arthur tried to warn the other man. After all, he had spent valuable resources on reviving the man, and was not too keen on the thought of a patient dying shortly after Arthur saved them. Arthur idly wondered if he should have just left Alfred there, saved himself the resources if the lad was so hell bent on dying in the wasteland.

"Learning new things?" Arthur snorted, "That's an odd excuse for a death wish." It was readily apparent that Doctor Kirkland was quite the pessimist. That is, he had the amazing skill to see the bad side of almost anything. While it made his personality unpleasant, it was a quite effective way to survive in a post-apocalyptic wasteland such as this.

Alfred always had wanderlust since he could walk and his parents always worried about him.

Although, he always managed to come back to his family safely.

"I can't stay in once place for too long before my wanderlust gets to me," Alfred replied and kept his grin, "Do you know the names of the kids? I will make sure to thank them before I leave this town."

The wanderer had seen what the wasteland can do to a person, but he wasn't going to let that stop him. Besides, he might be one of the few that changed for the better.

Alfred nodded his head, "Aye, I will make sure to get more supplies." Maybe he should actually get a cooking pan, so he could actually cook the geckos and other animals. Heck, maybe he could tried to cook a deathclaw if he ever managed to kill it.

As for the raiders? Pfft, he isn't scared of them, he can fight them off easily.

"Heh, learning new things is worth the danger," Alfred smirked as he responsed, while the doctor was a pessimist Alfred was too stubborn to let the threat of death stopped him from see the country.

Besides, perhaps his determined nature and the crazy luck he has sometimes will be enough to keep him alive.

Arthur rolled his eyes and decided not to comment any more on Alfred. The doctor decided that he couldn't help "stupid", and that he was not a psychologist. Therefore, arguing with Alfred seemed like a futile effort, which was not appealing to a busy doctor such as Doc Kirk. He had patients dealing with broken arms, radiation poisoning, gecko bites, and even simple colds and allergies. Arthur had essentially taken the town under his wing, despite his rough nature and sharp tongue.

And so the next few days passed like normal, Arthur spending a fair amount of time visiting patients, and the rest making sure Alfred recovered. Unfortunately, about a day or so before Arthur wanted to kick the lad out, trouble arrived. Trouble in the form of bounty hunters looking for one Arthur Kirkland, that is.

Born in the slums of one of the larger NCR settlements, Arthur never had been on the right side of the law. As a child, he and his siblings resorted to petty theft in order to scrounge enough scraps to survive. Through some miracle, though more accurately termed a theft gone wrong, Arthur had been taken to a juvenile detention center and had been forced to clean up. Using that as a new start, he began to study as a doctor. Until, that is, some old faces reappeared, and things started to go wrong.

Afraid of the debts of a poor student leading to falling back into the slums, Arthur listened to his brothers, who had decided that stealing medical supplies would prove to be a good source of income. Sadly, that robbery only led to Arthur being a wanted man, and having to disappear into the wastes.

It hadn't taken particularly long for those bounty hunters to find him in Cactus Springs, apparently.

Realizing that they were there for him, Arthur panicked. He couldn't go back, but neither could he remain in town, not when he'd destroyed the townspeople's trust like that. He hoped he could count on what remained of their good will to stall the bounty hunters long enough for him to escape out the back door and off to god knows where.

So, Arthur began cramming what supplies (both ordinary and medical) into his bag, ignoring the patient who was still resting in one of his beds.

"Damn it all, I need to get out of here."

Alfred spent the first few days of his recovery bothering asking Arthur whatever questions he has or just talking to him.

While the doctor worked on his other patents, the wanderer mentally when over what supplies he needed for his journey and which direction he should go... well, not counting the direction he come in from.

On the last day of his bed rest, Alfred watched in surprise as Arthur began to shoved supplies into a bag in a panic. The town wasn't being attacked or he would have been hearing screams.

Which means... the doctor was a wanted man or he managed to pissed off someone in the town, Alfred figured that it was the former, because unless there was another newcomer most of the town would be used to Arthur's personality.

So what did the doctor do to get hunted? The wanderer had a feeling that it wasn't murder, perhaps he stole something. Either way, Alfred got off his bed and walked over to the doctor. He ignored any protests as he started to help the doctor packed, "Here, let me help ya."

There was a knock at the door.

...Oh dear.

Stimpaks, Radaway, Rad-X, Med-X, water, Mentats, and so many other items.

Arthur grabbed what he could before the bounty hunters arrived to knock on the door. He felt his blood grow colder with each knock, the threat of imprisonment inching closer at an unbearable pace. He couldn't go back to his old lifestyle, Arthur would rather die. Well, it would probably kill him, but that was a different story. Either way, he was not going to just sit around and wait for the bounty hunters to get him.

"What the hell are you doing?! Either distract them, or leave with me." Arthur hissed at his patient. After all, this unfortunate turn of events had left Arthur in an even worse mood than usual.

He closed up his bag, unable to stuff anything more into it, and very nearly out of time. He idly wondered if he would get the chance to sneak back to this house to get anything left behind. Arthur doubted it. Slinging the bag on his back, Arthur grabbed his marksman carbine. Seeing as he had a high gun skill, the weapon was quite deadly in his hands, though he was not too keen on using it too much.

Either way, now was the time to leave his house. Reluctant as he was, Arthur did not want to get caught by bounty hunters or the NCR. Considering that his patient was an NCR man, things were not good. Perhaps Arthur could fool the other into thinking that he had a bad run in with Raiders or some other gang. After all, Alfred didn't seem particularly bright.

With those thoughts in mind, Arthur went about sneaking through his back door and hopefully out of town before anyone besides Alfred caught on.

Alfred looked around for something to make a trap out of and checked to see if he had any grenades, he does but... he figured he should keep them. He decided to just rigged the door with a bomb and he quickly grabbed what he need.

"I think I will go with ya at least until I'm sure we are out of the hands of the hunters," Alfred said as he worked to rigged the door to give the bounty hunters a not a pleasant shock.

Alfred may seem to be not very bright, but he could hacked/worked with any technology. And he was actually good with math, strangely enough. But Alfred doesn't minded being think as non-bright, it means he would be underestimated and that always very useful to surviving.

He finished rigging the bomb to the door and sneaked quickly to catch up with Arthur, he noticed that the doctor had a gun. Well, at least it looked like the doctor can at least defend himself somewhat.

Alfred kept his hands near his two guns as they sneaked out of the backdoor, Alfred resisted looking back at the sound of the bomb going off and the screams of pain(or surprise.).

Good.

That should at least take out one of them and distracted them, Alfred fought down his grin, they need to continue to escape.

"That should distract them for a bit, but we better keep going." Alfred mused aloud as he followed Arthur out of the town.

Hopefully they will get out of here before the hunters noticed them.

Arthur simply could not believe that Alfred was helping him. There had to be some ulterior motive to the other's actions. Perhaps he wanted credit for capturing Arthur. But Arthur wasn't that infamous. It had only been a small (but botched) hospital robbery. He wasn't some serial killer or spy or anything interesting. There had to be another reason then... Perhaps the other was helping Arthur escape so he wouldn't have to pay the doctor for his services. Arthur hoped it was the latter explanation, but the former was quite enticing to the pessimistic doctor's imagination. What if Alfred just wanted to catch a criminal to impress his boss? ... Things really did not look good for Doctor Kirkland.

Making his way out of town and into the wastes, Arthur had no idea where he was going or how he was going to survive. Yet, he didn't bother looking back, going back there would only send him to his grave, and the young doctor was not ready for that yet.

He sped up as he walked, not sure why the other man was still following him. Perhaps the other would get the hint and leave, because Arthur felt like crying, and he was not fond of crying in front of others. 'Keep calm, old boy. Stiff upper lip and all that. There'll be another Cactus Springs that's out of the NCR's reach,' Arthur steeled himself, refusing to show vulnerability. He was a tough doctor, not a whiny brat. Even if he was a criminal that was forced to run to the wastes. It was an insult to his gentlemanly sensibilities! That's right, he was supposed to be outraged, not teary and regretful. He had to harness the rage and... do something.

Of course, there was still the problem of Alfred F. Jones, and the loud American was anything but forgettable.

"Why are you still following me?! the doctor hissed at the other, when they were a decent distance from the town.

Alfred always wanted to be a hero since he was younger, he helped anyone that needed it and Arthur had needed his help. So, no, he wasn't going to turned Arthur in for credits nor was he helping so he wouldn't have to pay. He was doing this to help Arthur and the feeling of being helpful was enough even if he never got any rewards excepted perhaps thanks.

He resisted cheering when they got away from the town without the bounty hunters noticing them, but he had decided to stay with the doctor. It wouldn't be right to have the doctor got away from the hunters and then died due to the dangers of the wasteland. ...Who had sped up as if he wanted to be far away from Alfred, ahaha... no, sorry, but that wasn't going to happened. The wanderer quickly caught up and answered the question that was hissed at him, "I'm here to help make sure you actually survive the wasteland and make it to the next city, Arthur."

While he was scanning the wasteland, he finally had to ask, "So, what did you steal or tried to steal that made those bounty hunters go after you?" He gave a sleepy grin and continued, "You don't have to tell me."

It hadn't cross his mind that he should have also said that he wasn't going to turned Arthur in.

(*so late, sooo late* ....yeah, i got distract again. >_>;;

I'm wondering whether to have Alfred tell Arthur now that he would never actually turn Arthur in or later.

*wonders what should be the first thing(that wants to eat/kill them.) they run into*)

"The next NCR city you mean? You're just going to turn me in, you military dog," Arthur snapped at the other man. He was stressed, to say the least. He had just lost his home after all. Doctor Kirkland wondered how foolish he was for thinking that he could have really stayed in Cactus Springs for long enough to truly call it a home. He had been happy there, that's probably why he had grown complacent. Would he ever be able to escape the NCR and their bounty hunters? Would they chase him to the ends of the Earth?

Either way, Arthur would prefer to run than turn himself in. The NCR didn't care much for prisoners, not when they had so many innocents to protect from the nuclear wasteland and it's many horrors. Perhaps being a doctor would help be a bargaining chip, then again, being a criminal stacked the odds in the NCR's favor. Using Alfred as a hostage wouldn't work either, he probably wasn't high ranking since he didn't turn Arthur into the bounty hunters.

But there had to be a way to escape both the NCR and this man who wanted to turn the bitter Doctor in. Arthur took a look at his Pip-Boy 3000 and tried to figure out the layout of the area nearby. There had to be a nearby town or suitable landmark. With a simple distraction, Arthur could simply ditch the other man and disappear into the desert wasteland, heading east and perhaps towards a better life... That is, if he managed to avoid deathclaws, hostile super mutants, radscorpions, raiders, and the legion... Things were not looking good.

Dog!? Why you.... Wait...

"Wha?" Alfred blinked in surprise and looked confused at Arthur's reaction before it clicked, he raised his hands up in a sign of peace and shook his head, "Oh, No! I was just curious! I promise that I will not turn you in to the NCR." And he was sure that he won't ever break that promise, although whether or not the other would believe him remained to be seen.

He scratched his head a bit and smiled sheepish, "So... haha, I'm sorry. I'm too nosy for my own good." It's not like Arthur was a mass murder or something.

The wanderer would have said more but he had a bad feeling creep up on him, he looked at his Pip-boy to make sure nothing wasn't coming their way just yet.

(Yeah! It's Mutant Kingy! /shot at cause it could be a bit earlier for him. Or not, since we are actually out in the wasteland. *shrug*)

Arthur was about to protest further, when he suddenly recalled something that Alfred said.

"When did I ever tell you why I'm in trouble? Either you have no idea what I've done, and you're hoping I'm some big guy you can turn in, or you know exactly what I've done and the reason you're here is to arrest me. Well I'm not going back to the NCR!" Arthur's eyes narrowed, the green eyes darkening with suspicion.

"I have no reason to trust you, and I probably have more reason to distrust you, so why don't you just leave?" Arthur continued to be hostile to the other man. He wasn't going back to jail, so he couldn't take any chances. So then... he needed a distraction.

Alfred didn't seem to be the brightest bulb, so perhaps Arthur's plan would work. If not, he could play it off as a joke. So then, it was certainly worth it to try. "Look! Over there! What is that?!" Doctor Kirkland pointed as he spoke loudly. The moment the other man turned his head, the doctor planned to run as fast as he could.

Hm, there was nothing on his Pip-boy and yet he couldn't shook off the feeling, Alfred scanned the terrain for trouble, because who knows? Maybe his Pig-boy got messed up... but no, he saw nothing but the terrain, the grumpy doctor and himself.

Speaking of grumpy doctors, the wanderer turned his attention back to Arthur and his question about whether the man believe him or not was answered in the negative, he sighed in frustration, "I figured out as much with your reaction to the bounty hunters! And no, I don't know for sure what you actually did, but I'm not going to turn you in." Maybe if he kept on repeating that Arthur would believe him? ...Yeah, probably not. "I just want to help people, I don't care that much about getting promoted."

"Fine, you don't trust me, I got that... But," Alfred gestured at the wasteland around them, "I figure that ya odds of surviving the Wasteland will be higher if I help you."

Now it's not the fact he was stupid, but it's was more to the fact that even if there wasn't something there, it was better to be safe than sorry... which was why Alfred turned his head to look behind and saw nothing.

...Why would Arthur said that for-, oh. Of course, the doctor was probably not going be standing there when Alfred turned back to him.

Arthur could not believe that the other had fallen for his trick. Either way, Arthur was running for the hills by the time Alfred's attention had returned. The doctor decided that he just needed to get as far away from Alfred as he could, then he'd worry about where to go next. After all, with Alfred gone, Arthur just needed to leave NCR territory and find a nice little town to settle in. Then he'd just set up another practice and hopefully his bounty was too insignificant to warrant a bounty hunter to chase him so far into the wasteland.

Arthur's sense of triumph quickly vanished as he heard a telltale groan from nearby. Ghouls, and not the sensible kind. No, feral ghouls, and from the sound of it, there were at least five. Arthur cursed loudly, he had to grab his assault carbine before they got any closer.

Head, arms, legs, or torso... Where was Arthur going to aim? Head caused the most damage, but was the easiest to miss. Torso caused the least damage, but his bullets were sure to hit. Using VATS, Arthur fired one batch of bullets towards the head, and two others towards the torso. One ghoul down, four to go, and he still needed to recover.

Arthur shouted in pain as he felt something bite him from behind. He had not noticed the sixth ghoul coming up behind him. He tried to scramble away, firing bullets at the fast approaching hoard of ghouls. Was he going to die? He certainly hoped not. Especially not after he had fought so hard just to get out of Cactus Springs and escape that blasted NCR man.

Alfred mumbled some choice words toward the doctor when he saw that Arthur wasn't there, "I better find him before he gets himself killed." Even if the doctor didn't trust him to not turn him into to the NCR, he won't allowed a person to get murdered. And if he had to, he supposed he could managed keeping a eye on Arthur from afar until he got to a town. The wanderer nodded his head and took off, he kept his eyes open for the other man, while stopping once awhile to looked at the ground to see if there was anything pointing to the fact he was going the right way.

One of the times he was kneeling on the ground looking for clues, Alfred almost gave himself whiplash with how fast he throw his head back up after hearing a noise. Ghouls and it sounds like they found someone... That could be Arthur or someone else, he shook his head if even it was someone else, he should help them and he took off toward the ghouls.

Well.... it was Arthur and he was getting menaced by five ghouls, there was no way he would be able to do headshots without possible missing the ghouls or hitting Arthur, so...body shots and he should try to get the ghouls to turned their attention to him. He drew out his guns and started to fire at the ghoul that was closer to Arthur. "Hey! Uglies! I will taste better than the grumpy dude! COME AT ME!" He shouted at the ghouls, maybe if he get their attention and had enough room, he could used a grenade...

"Come at me! I bet you won't even be able to kill me!" He kept shooting at the ghoul's chest and gave a savage grin when the ghoul fell and the grin widen the other ghouls turned their attention to him.

Good.

(...rightie, i need to get better at writing fighting scenes. *will work on this oys*)

Arthur was going to die, he had decided. Being torn apart by feral ghouls was not a pleasant death, however. It certainly wasn't one many people, if any, wished for. The doctor hoped he could manage to take out a few of the blasted fiends with him as a sort of payback. It was just such a shame he had to die so young, and without managing to really escape NCR influence. Restoring his good name had been something Arthur wished for, even if it seemed impossible, especially at this moment. He had so many regrets, and wondered how he had managed to lead such a puny and insignificant life. Either way, there was only one thing to be done at this point. Arthur raised his gun and-

His plan to go out in a blaze of gunfire was interrupted by some idiot yelling at the ghouls. Arthur almost wanted to angrily lecture his savio- no, the person who was attempting to help in the stupidest way possible. However, the doctor reminded himself not to look a gift horse in the mouth. Maybe the ghouls would fill their bellies with the other guy and not bother with Arthur.

When the other man yelled, the feral ghouls turned away from Arthur and let out another hoarse hiss. The hiss was so gravelly and disgusting that it sent a shiver down Arthur's spine. It was unbelievable that these... things used to be human or were even close to the sentient ghouls of the wastes. Shortly after the warning hiss was let out, the pack of ghouls raced towards the NCR soldier as Arthur tried to collect himself and come up with a plan. The shots Alfred had fired at the group had managed to kill one ghoul, leaving five more. Arthur considered himself lucky that Alfred had missed him.

The bitter doctor hated himself for thinking this, but he had to at least try to help the other man out. Perhaps if they were lucky, both of them would make it out alive. After all, this happened to be the second time the daft fool stuck his neck out for the Englishman, and well, Arthur did have a sense of honor, no matter how much he grumbled.

"Fool! Why did you even come back?! Now we're both going to die!" he snapped at Alfred, trying to figure out how to kill the ghouls without injuring Alfred.