The tranquil hills of Sanctuary had not seen a new body in some time, but for the first time in a while a fresh face had graced the derelict houses and makeshift shops.

"So, what do you want?" You asked Curie as you gazed upon your stockpiles of loot that you had snatched from the foul hands of raiders and super mutants. Her anxious eyes darted from weapon to weapon, over every inch of the plastic mat.

"I am not so sure... I was created to help people, not to hurt them." Her slender fingers wrapped around the tatted leather handle of a baseball bat, she gawked and carefully inspected the slightly rusted razor blades that sat adjacent to the shaft. "Everything just looks so dangerous." She promptly put the slugger back onto the mat.

"Maybe a pistol or something?" 'A pistol' she nodded in hesitation, you scanned the sheet and found some rusted old 10mm that had been given to you as a reward for helping someone and made sure that it was loaded before handing it over to her.

"Don't point it at anything that you don't intend to shoot, and always presume that it is loaded." She quietly repeated the points to herself and nodded with a smile. "Past that, you just point it at whatever you want dead and pull the trigger." You urged her to take a few practise shots at a few bottles lined up on a fence, she hesitated to begin with, but you convinced her that she had to learn sooner or later.

Her trembling finger compressed the trigger, birds scattered from the trees as the compact firearm knocked Curie almost to her backside. You couldn't help but giggle as you picked her up from the sidewalk and helped her brush off her previously clean lab coat.

"I am afraid that in the search for data, I am going to prove quite ineffective as a travelling companion." Solemnly, Curie handed you back the gun and returned to her position overlooking the makeshift arsenal.

"We'll find you something, I promise."

"I just wish to make myself useful, you have already done so much for me, yet I cannot seem to help you."

"You will help me keep my sanity. You may not be human exactly, but it's nice having somebody to travel with that speaks something other than dog." She smiled and tried to hide it from you, but to no avail. "I like having somebody by my side, I like having you by my side."

~*~

Written by Aaron.