Drew sat on the hood of an old pre-war car as he stared out towards the highway that ran past the Robco plant. Amy, Sarah, Veronica, and Suzy had headed out with three Gutsies to the hospital in the town to the north. Sarah had wanted to grab a few more things from there and while at first, he had intended on going with them, he had ultimately decided to stay at the factory and get to work with clearing out and cleaning up more of the production floor with the help of Jack and Gemma.

It had taken most of the day and there was still more to do, but he was happy with the progress. A few more days and he believed he’d have a line fully working. Though since the Greenclaws weren’t as hostile as he’d once believed, the sense of urgency had gone. It was nice to know that he could take it easy and go at his own pace.

Drew glanced back as he heard steady thumping from behind him. It was Gemma.

“Still not back?” she asked as she stood next to him.

“No, not yet,” he said as he checked the time on his Pipboy. “Another hour and it’ll start getting dark.”

“Worried?”

“A little. I always worry when either Amy or Jack are out. You know that.”

“I’m sure they’re fine.”

He hoped so. His only fear was that they had run into trouble. He would never forgive himself if anything happened to any of them.

“Have you thought of fixing that up?” Gemma asked suddenly.

“What?” he asked, confused as to what she was talking about.

“That pre-war military vehicle.”

He followed her gaze to see that she was looking at the old pre-war tank. “That? Yeah, I have. But it’ll be a project for the future once I’ve finished bringing the factory back online.”

“How long do you think it will take?”

“Honestly? I’m hoping sometime in the next few months, but there’s likely unforeseen issues that will delay that.”

“I’ll help as best I can.”

He smiled at her. “Thanks.”

Drew’s attention turned back to the highway as he heard something on the wind. It sounded like Greenclaw footsteps, but there seemed to be two sets of them. Unless it was an echo?

“You hear that?” he asked.

“What?”

He waited a moment, looking down the highway as far as he could. The trees blocked most of his view, but he caught a glimpse of what appeared to be a Greenclaw through the trees.

“I think some of your friends have come for a visit.”

“Huh?”

A moment later the two Greenclaws emerged from behind the foliage, fully visible on the far side of the steel fence that surrounded the factory. They were carrying some stacked crates which appeared to be from the Red Rocket Mega Stop. One of them was bigger than the other by quite a bit and judging how she appeared when compared to the fence, she had to be over ten feet tall. Maybe even over eleven. Also, her breasts were so big that the crates were partially between them, pushing them apart, a sight that Drew found uncomfortably arousing

“What are they doing here?” Gemma asked.

“I have no idea,” Drew answered, despite knowing the question was rhetorical. “They’re your friends.”

“Has Lotte decided to cut our stay short?”

Drew jumped off the car’s hood. “Let’s find out.”

The two of them walked to the security gate to meet the two Greenclaws. Drew thought he recognized one, the shorter one, but he couldn’t recall her name. Though it was one of those that had defended him against Charlotte when she had wanted to eat him.

“Afternoon,” he called over to them.

The shorter one responded. “Wait, did you know we were coming?”

“No,” he answered.

The much taller one, who was bigger than even Gemma in every way, put down the three crates she was carrying as they reached the gate.

“We figured you’d want these,” she said.

“Thanks,” Drew said, before asking, “Remind me. What are your names?”

The bigger one answered first. “Sekka.”

“Axa,” the smaller one said. “But you knew me as Lexa. I’ve been thinking of changing it back to my old name. From before. Thanks to you, I’ve been remembering things.”

Drew felt happy knowing that he was having a positive effect. “Glad I could be of help.”

“So am I.”

He looked at the crates. “And what’s in those?”

Sekka answered. “Tools, some grease fluid, and other stuff.”

Axa added, “Lotte sent us out to see if there were any last supplies we might need. She wants to stop sending us out this way. Too many settlements and people.”

“Find anything you want?”

“Not that we needed,” Sekka said. “But thought that you might, so we brought them here.”

“Thanks,” Drew said again, before glancing back at the turrets on the roof of the factory.

“Something wrong?” Axa asked.

Drew looked back at them. “I’ve put the Greenclaw profile into the turret’s green list so they don’t open fire, but that’s based on Gemma and Veronica. Not sure how they’ll react to you two.”

Sekka frowned. “Gemma and Veronica?”

“Gemma is what Drew called Ayma back when… Well, you know,” Axa said. “I guess Veronica is Neka’s real name.”

Gemma nodded. “Yeah, we’ve been remembering more about our pasts.”

Axa looked up towards the roof. “So the turrets might shoot us?”

“They shouldn’t, but I should probably switch them off to be sure.”

Sekka stepped forward into the parking lot. “I’ll test them out. How close do I need to be before they shoot at me?”

“A few more steps should do it,” Drew said.

Sekka ran forward, the ground trembling with every step. Though the ground wasn’t the only thing that responded to her heavy footfalls, her huge breasts did too, which bounced, swayed, and swung. Drew couldn’t help but ogle, something that he felt embarrassed about but he honestly couldn’t help it. They were a sight to behold, one that he couldn’t pull his eyes away from.

Thankfully, the turrets ignored her which either meant he had profiled them correctly into the green list, or he had accidentally disabled them.

“Seems fine,” Sekka said as she stomped back over to the three stacked crates and picked them up.

“Yeah, it does,” Drew agreed, feeling a little flush from seeing her bouncing bare chest. “Uh-come on, I’ll show you inside.”

He took the lead, forcing his fear down as he felt three sets of heavy footsteps shake the ground behind him. There was something deep down, something primal within him that still feared them, particularly the two newcomers who he hadn’t had much experience with. There was nothing to fear, he knew that, but his body reacted the way it did because of the innate built-in sense of self-preservation. There were large creatures near him that could tear him apart and devour him with ease and he had absolutely no recourse against it.

“Through here,” Drew said as they reached the front doors.

“Seriously? Through there?” Sekka asked in disbelief. “I don’t know if I can fit through them.”

“The rooms and hallways inside are bigger,” Gemma told her. “You’ll just have to squeeze through the doors.”

Drew opened them and used the small hooks to hold them open. Axa stepped inside the foyer area and placed the two crates she was holding down in the far corner before returning to the entrance, but not before Gemma had squeezed herself through on her hands and knees.

“Put the crates down, Sekka,” Axa said. “I’ll bring them in one by one, then you can squeeze yourself through.”

Sekka placed the three crates she was carrying down in front of the door. One by one, Axa carried them inside, placing them down by the others.

“Is it alright to leave the crates here?” Axa asked.

“Of course,” Drew answered. “They can always be moved later. Come on, I’ll show you the cafeteria.”

Sekka rested a clawed hand on her stomach. “We’ve already eaten.”

“That’s fine,” Drew said. “It’s just that it’s one of the larger rooms. It’s sort of become a common room where we hang out. There is an actual common room upstairs, but it’s a mess right now. We might clean it up eventually.”

Drew and Gemma led the way to the cafeteria with Sekka and Axa stomping along behind them. They were much louder than Gemma and he wasn’t sure if it was because Gemma was more light-footed, or if it was because she had learned to walk lighter as to not unsettle him or the others. One thing was for certain, there was a lot of dust that was now falling from the ceiling.

He pushed the doors to the cafeteria open and they all entered, with both Gemma and Sekka having the most difficulties, though Axa who was only slightly shorter than Gemma, still had to practically crawl through due to being over nine-foot tall.

Gemma immediately went and sat on the corner on the same wall as the door, while both Axa and Sekka took a look around.

“Bigger than I expected,” Axa commented, referring to the large cafeteria.

“Sorry, there’s no chairs you can sit on,” Drew said.

Sekka walked over to Gemma and sat down next to her. “Don’t worry, we’re used to not having anything to sit on. Just the other day I tried sitting on a bed back at our place and I broke it in two.”

Drew snickered at the thought. “Well, I’m gonna go fetch Jack. Tell him we have guests.”

“I look forward to meeting him,” Axa said.

“Same,” Sekka agreed.

Drew wondered where Jack could be as he stepped out of the cafeteria. His first thought was the main factory floor, but stepping inside he found it empty. Well, not completely as there was a Gutsy standing guard by the door.

“Evening, Commander!” the Gutsy barked. “Nothing to report!”

“Excellent,” Drew said. “We have two new Greenclaw guests, so don’t shoot at them.”

“Understood, Sir!”

He stepped back out and decided that it would probably be easier to find Jack if he knew he was looking for him. He made his way upstairs to the office and decided it was time to see if the old intercom system still worked.

With the press of the button, he spoke. “Jack, if you hear this, head to the cafeteria, thanks.”

As he headed back out of the room and made his way down the stairs, he saw Jack walking past in the direction of the cafeteria.

“Hey, Jack!” Drew called to him as he quickly made his way down to the bottom of the stairs.

Jack stopped and turned to him. “Are they back?”

“Not, yet,” Drew said. “What have you been up to?”

“I was clearing up one of the back rooms.”

“That’s great.”

“Why did you want me to go to the cafeteria?”

“We have some visitors,” Drew told him.

Jack frowned. “Visitors? Who? Has Gemma hidden herself so she’s not seen?”

“She doesn’t need to. The visitors are Greenclaws. They’re friends of Gemma and Veronica.”

Jack didn’t look happy. In fact, he suddenly looked nervous. “More of them? Here?” He sounded nervous, too.

“Yeah, I was wondering if you wanted to say hello?”

“I guess,” he said, scratching the back of his head. “How big are they?”

“One is smaller than Gemma and the other is bigger. By maybe a foot or two.”

“Shit. Well, I hope they’re as friendly as Gem and Veronica.”

“Don’t worry, they are.”

As Drew turned to head back to the cafeteria, Jack stopped him.

“Hey, one more question before we go.”

“Yeah?”

He held out his hands in front of his chest. “Do they have? You know?”

Drew knew what Jack was talking about but decided to play dumb. “Have what?”

“You know what I mean. Both Gemma and Veronica have big you-knows.”

“Tits?”

Jack’s face went flush. “Yeah.”

Drew snickered. “Yeah, they do. I try not to pay too much attention. Kinda distracting, especially Sekka the big one. Her boobs are fucking gigantic.”

“Wow,” Jack muttered.

“Yeah, wow.” Drew waved forward. “Now, come on.”

The two of them headed to the cafeteria. Drew headed straight in, while Jack hung back, probably to psyche himself up.

Drew was sitting down when Jack finally stepped inside. He turned his head and gasped at the sight of them.

Axa waved. “Hello.”

“Uh, hello.”

Sekka didn’t say anything. Instead, she stared at him as he sat himself down next to Drew.

Axa nudged Sekka on the arm. “See, I told you Lotte was wrong.”

“Wrong?” Drew asked.

“She thought that Ayma and Neka would be forced to kill you all.”

Jack frowned. “Why would they kill us?”

Sekka answered. “Because she thinks you’ll be so scared and intimidated by our kind that you’ll turn on us. But I know you won’t, Jack.”

Jack glanced at Drew nervously. “Did you tell them my name?”

“I think I mentioned it when I said I was gonna go and look for you,” Drew said with a shrug.

“Yeah, he did,” Sekka said, continuing to stare at Jack which was clearly making him uneasy. “You also mentioned Jack and Amy to Lotte.”

Drew decided to quickly change the subject. “I know this place isn’t much to look at right now, but that’s gonna change. By the time we’re done, this place is going to be producing robots like it used to before the Great War.”

All the focus fell onto him. “What kind of robots will you make?” Sekka asked.

“Gutsies, some Assaultrons, some Sentry bots, and Protectrons. Those are the lines and parts we have available. Will probably drop making Protectrons for now, though. The others are more useful.”

Sekka thought for a moment. “Will a Sentry fit through the front doors?”

“There’s big shutters to the warehouses,” Drew told her. “There’s one that is a sort of a stock warehouse that is towards the front of the factory and another for dispatch at the back.”

“Why didn’t we come in that way?” Sekka asked. “It would have been easier.”

“I don’t know if the shutters work,” Drew explained. “I’ve yet to test them, They’re big thick things designed to take a blast I think. Besides, you’d still have to crawl through all the internal doors.”

“I suppose,” Sekka accepted. “Pity they didn’t have the forethought to make them bigger.”

“I doubt they expected people to be turned into giants,” Drew said.

“Yeah, they probably didn’t,” Sekka accepted as her gaze once more fell onto Jack.

With the way Sekka kept staring, Drew was starting to suspect that he knew who she was. Or rather who she had been before the change. He knew he could be wrong, but if Sekka was Grace, the girl Jack had been in love with, then it made sense that she couldn’t take her eyes off him. She hadn’t been able to back then, either. Regardless of who she was, it was clear that all the attention was making Jack uncomfortable.

Thankfully, Gemma noticed. “Sekka, you’re staring.”

Sekka glanced at her before she turned her gaze downwards. “Sorry,” she apologized.

For a moment, Drew thought he felt a thump. His ears strained and sure enough, he heard heavy footfalls growing louder from outside in the hallway. Not ten seconds after that the doors swung open and Amy and Sarah entered followed by Suzy and Veronica, who ducked below the door.

“Got some stuff,” Sarah said, before letting out a yelp as she saw Sekka and Axa sitting in the corner with Gemma. Without missing a beat, Sarah moved behind Veronica, something that didn’t get past Drew’s notice.

“We have some guests,” Drew said unnecessarily.

Veronica frowned. “Has Lotte called us home?”

Axa shook her head. “No, Neka. We were in the area and thought we’d come for a visit.”

Gemma decided to introduce them to Amy and Sarah. “This is Sekka and Axa. The humans and the robot are Amy, Sarah, and Suzy.”

Amy offered a shy wave as her gaze fell on Sekka’s bountiful bosom. “Hello.”

Sarah patted Suzy’s outer shell. “Yes, nice to meet you. Suzy and I should really go through the equipment we brought back. See you later.”

Sarah quickly rushed out, dragging Suzy along with her by her pincer arm.

Veronica chuckled. “She’s a shy but sweet little thing. Don’t mind her.”

Amy moved over to the table Jack and Drew were sitting at and perched herself on a chair.

“Did you get everything?” Drew asked.

“Not quite,” Amy answered. “She wanted some things that were too big for us to carry.”

Drew thought for a moment. “If she wants them we should probably go get them. I’ll take Sarah, Suzy, and a few Gutsies with me into town tomorrow and see if Leanne is available to rent. She can drive us there and we can grab those things.”

“They’re pretty heavy,” Amy said. “I don’t know if we can move them.”

“None of them?”

“Well, some of them.”

“Can they be taken apart?”

“I think so,” Amy said. “But that would take all day.”

“It might. I guess it depends on how beneficial they are. I’ll talk with Sarah about it later.”

“From what Sarah said, she’d like to have them but it’s not necessary.”

“Then we’ll leave it,” Drew said. “I have been thinking of heading into town at some point, regardless. I want to grab some supplies and maybe sell a Gutsy or two to Devon’s Caravan Company. I also want to sell some of that wine we grabbed the other day. Should get a nice price for them.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Amy said.

Drew couldn’t help but notice that Sekka was once more staring at Jack. It was clear that he was going to have to get the two to talk to each other, preferably alone, but at that moment he knew it was unlikely if not impossible. There was no way Jack would even entertain the idea of having a private conversation with Sekka, even if Drew suspected that she was Grace. After all, his assumption was based solely on the fact that she wouldn’t stop staring at him.

Though perhaps there was even more evidence. While Drew would never say it out loud, Grace had always had big tits and Sekka’s were considerably bigger than the other Greenclaws he’d seen, to the point where they had to be a hindrance.

Drew cleared his throat before speaking. “How long will you be here?”

Axa was the one that answered. “We were thinking of staying the night if that’s okay?”

It was perfect. “Yeah, sure. Sounds good.”

Gemma slapped Sekka on the arm. “Why are you staring at Jack again?”

Sekka’s cheeks went flush. “I-uh… I’m not sure.”

Drew saw an opportunity and took it. “Sekka, what do you remember from before?”

“Before I was this?” she asked, gesturing to herself.

Drew’s eyes unintentionally flicked down to her enormous chest, but he forced himself to look back up at her face as he nodded.

“Not much. Kiki is the one that remembers the most.”

“I want to know what you remember?” Drew said, glancing at Jack. “Do you remember him?”

Sekka looked at him but didn’t answer. At least she didn’t immediately. She took a good look, almost as though she was studying his face. Jack meanwhile struggled to maintain eye contact and kept looking away.

Sekka shook her head as she looked away. “I’m sorry, Jack.”

“You don’t remember him?” Drew asked, feeling sure that she did.

“That’s not what I meant,” Sekka said, tears forming in her eyes. “I do remember him. I-I… I think I was in love with him.”

Jack clenched his jaw as well as his fists as he stared at her.

She stood up. “I was in love with you. I remember. We were staring up at the stars. You kissed me.”

Jack slammed his fist on the table as he jumped up on his feet. “You are not Grace!” he yelled as he stormed out of the room.

Sekka started after him, but Gemma grabbed her by the arm, stopping her.

“He needs me!” Sekka said, pulling her arm free.

Gemma disagreed. “He needs time to process what he just learned. I think we all do.”

Sekka glanced towards the door before she sat back down on the floor with a slump, tears glistening in her eyes.

Drew looked away. He felt guilty for what had just happened. It was his fault. He was the one that had pushed due to his suspicions. While it appeared he had been proven right, he had hurt those he cared about in the process.

Slowly, he pushed himself onto his feet. “I’ll talk to him,” he said as he turned his gaze onto Gemma. “I know what he’s going through.”

“Thank you,” Sekka said.

Drew headed out of the cafeteria and looked both ways down the hallway. There was no immediate indication of which way Jack had gone, but then he noticed the door across the way was ajar.

He stepped over and gently pushed it open to see Jack sitting there, his head in his hands.

“Are you okay?” Drew asked, before realizing it was a stupid question.

Jack wiped his eyes as he looked up at him. “I don’t know what’s worse. Grace being dead, or her being one of those creatures.”

“It’s not pretty,” Drew accepted. “Not many people have to deal with what we’re dealing with. I never expected Gemma to be alive, let alone be a ten-foot green deathclaw. It’s been really difficult.”

“I want to remember her as that beautiful sweet girl. Not some horned giant lizard monster.”

Drew rested a hand on the younger man’s shoulder. “I know it hurts, but just think what she’s going through. If you had been mutated into a deathclaw, would you want Grace to despise and hate you or would you still want her to love you?”

“I’d want her to be happy,” Jack said. “I wouldn’t want her to feel like she had to love some monster.”

“Is that how you really see her?”

Jack shook his head. “I don’t know. I love her, but I can’t love what she’s become.”

Drew gave his shoulder a squeeze. “I think the two of you need to have a long talk.”

“I don’t know what I would say.”

“Maybe not, but I think you’d regret it if you don’t. Grace is alive and she’s in the cafeteria right now. Do you really want to alienate her simply because she doesn’t look the same?”

“It’s not the same, you know that. She didn’t find some hair dye in some store and give herself green hair. She’s an eleven-foot monster with horns, sharp teeth, and claws.”

Drew slowly nodded. “Which is why you need to talk to her. See past that frightening exterior.”

“Can you see past Gemma’s exterior?”

“It’s tough, but yeah, I can. Inside she’s the person I fell in love with. Does her new look bother me? Sure, I’d be crazy if it didn’t, but it’s only skin deep.”

“It’s more than skin deep,” Jack said. “They’re deathclaws.”

“Not quite.”

“So they have tits, so what? It doesn’t make them human.”

“You seemed pretty excited before when I told you one of them had giant knockers. Turns out she’s Grace.”

Jack clenched his jaw. “I was trying to cut the tension. I was being dumb.”

Drew wasn’t convinced. “Were you?”

“Listen, Drew. Their tits are really distracting. They’re these lizards apart from their chest down to their crotch and ass where for some reason it’s smooth like skin. I’m a guy, they look good. Their tits I mean. But no matter how good their tits look, I don’t think I can love one. Even if it is Grace.”

“You need to talk with her.”

“Why?”

“Because I think she deserves it, don’t you?”

Jack took in a deep breath before letting out a long sigh.

Drew patted his shoulder. “You know I’m right.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Jack agreed hesitantly, “she does. But I don’t know if I can face her. How can I look her in the eyes and tell her that I can’t love her?”

“You don’t,” Drew said. “All you have to do is talk. Maybe, just maybe, you’ll find a way to look past what she’s become.”

“Like you and Gemma,” Jack said before he took a deep breath.

Drew wished that he could say that he had looked past what Gemma had become. In reality, he couldn’t. It was getting easier, but he knew deep down that if his love for Gemma hadn’t been as strong as it was, then he would have discarded her like an old busted robot. Loving a lizard lady was not something he felt he could do, yet he also couldn’t not help but love her.

It was complicated.

Jack rubbed his eyes. “I’ll talk to her.”

“I’ll make sure no one bothers you.”

Jack hesitated. “Could you… You know…”

“I can be there for emotional support if you want me to.”

“I’d like that.”

The two of them left the small room and made their way back to the cafeteria.