#// he's like two scoops of maccready
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lacontroller1991 · 1 month ago
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Fluff/WhumpTOBER Day 11: Deacon x F!SoSu x MacCready (ft Shaun and Duncan)
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Day 11: Ingredients and Spells/Seeing Double Masterlist Warnings: 16+ for suggestive language, language Word Count: 771 Author's Note: It's very tooth rotting. Very cheesy, but I LOVE the dynamic.
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You knew that cooking for two men and two boys was going to be a hassle, but you didn’t think it would be this bad. Despite Codsworth’s plentiful offers to assist you in cooking, you denied him each time, suggesting that you wanted to do something special for your boys, all four of them. And now? You’re kind of regretting it.
“You guys are setting a bad example for the children,” Mac and Deacon’s eyes flick towards you, their attention off the bowl of batter while Shaun and Duncan look on in earnest. MacCready proceeds to dip his finger into the batter before bringing it to his mouth and licking it clean, amusement and seduction clear in his crystal blue eyes, but you’re not buying it. “Mac, if you’re going to eat raw batter, I do NOT want to hear about your tummy aching.”
“Pfft, I’m a tough guy. I don’t get tummy aches.” Deacon snickers from beside him, pouring out some sprinkles onto his hand before bringing them to his mouth.
“Not you too! I swear, you boys are far more trouble than the kids,” Deacon and MacCready grin as you look down to where Shaun and Duncan sit, playing with some Grognak figurines you found the other day. “I don’t know where those two got their calmness from, because it’s definitely not me or you, Robert.”
MacCready looks over to the table with a fond smile. If you had told him a year ago that he would have his son happy and healthy living with another widow and their son and their boyfriend, he would’ve shot you in the head, but now, he wouldn’t have it any other way. “Don’t get it wrong, Duncan,” he turns back to you, fingers playing with a wrapper on the counter, “he is still my child. He gets most of his traits from Lucy, but he also has some of mine too.” MacCready grins, knowing exactly how much of a handful Duncan can be.
Scoffing from beside him, Deacon shakes his head in denial. “No way, Duncan is ALL Lucy. I don’t even know her but Duncan is nothing like you.” Mac rolls his eyes in response, reaching over the counter and scooping some batter despite your tsk of disapproval before smearing the batter over Deacon’s head, causing the boys at the table to stop playing with their toys and giggle. “Oh, is that how you want to play MacGreedy?”
“Hey, I told you not t-” MacCready is interrupted by a face full of flour, causing him to sneeze when it goes up his nose while Deacon erupts with laughter. “Oh it’s on, old man.” Deacon is tackled down onto the floor, Mac on top as the two of them roll around, wrestling each other while you huff out in annoyance, looking at the flour on the floor. 
Shaking your head, you gesture for Shaun and Duncan to follow you into the kitchen before reaching into the fridge and pulling out some cheese. “Ok, Shaun, I want you to dump this cheese onto Mac and Duncan, I want you to slap this cheese onto Deacon. Once those idiots stop, then I’ll finish making us some cake. How does that sound?” Both nod with smiles before running toward the two adults on the floor, throwing cheese onto their heads, causing them to stop their wrestling.
“What the?” Mac shakes out the shredded cheese from his hair while Deacon peels off the slice that stuck to his head, giggles erupting from you and the boys.
“I told you guys to quit horsing around with the children nearby, you’re setting bad examples,” despite the severity of your words, you struggle to maintain a stern tone, painted lips ticking upwards at the ridiculous sight. “Now, you two are going to clean up this entire kitchen and then maybe if you do a good job, I’ll let you have cake. Understood?”
Both men grumble in response, casting glares at each other. For a couple of highly trained killers, they sure are immature. Noticing how they slowly move around the kitchen area, you let out a huff of annoyance before scooting the two children out of the room to the backyard before shutting the door behind them, turning to look at your lovers.
“Oh and boys, whoever cleans better gets an extra treat,” you wink at them, knowing that you’ll still have both of them in your bed tonight. But still, Mac and Deacon spare a glance at each other before tripping over their feet, picking up cleaning supplies while you laugh, returning to the counter top.
“Never fails.”
-fin-
@unrepentantweirdo
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theflowerofthecommonwealth · 1 year ago
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Fallout 4 Companions as Miis
I attempted to transform the companions into Mii characters. I did by best to make sure they all looked different while making sure to stay as true to their original designs as much as possible.
Let me know what you think.
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MacCready: I really love his face, the little squiggly smile I gave him is adorable for some reason. Little rat guy, precious.
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Piper: The first time I made her she looked too timid and generic. So I made sure to put some more reporters determination in her face during the second try.
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Deacon: Smooth spy egg who was the easiest and fastest. If you remove the glasses he looks like One Punch Man lol.
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Danse: His mouth would not cooperate with me. It kept moving in the two photos until I made one higher than the other between screenshots.
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X6-88: I tried to make him as intimidating as possible, and I think I got it pretty good. Imagine boxing against him in Wii sports or putting him up against the famous Matt.
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Curie: I wanted to give her bright eyes filled with optimism and a huge smile cause she’s happy to see you. :)
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Cait: Honestly, I really like her hair here I feel like it fits her perfectly. She has a little smirk and a happier look because I’m tired of her being angry all the time. Let the woman have some peace!!!
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Preston: I wanted to make him look very friendly but at the same time if I tweaked his mouth and eyebrows he could have a mean face for fighting raiders.
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Old Longfellow: All the hair they had felt too young and crisp. He’s a crusty shaggy old man, I tried my best with what I had.
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Gage: I am not a Gage person at all, I barely travel with him and he gets killed every playthrough. But I still tried my best cause I know some people like him. He’s wearing orange because it’s a prison uniform.
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Jasmine: I made her so smol and squishable! She’s so freaking cute! LOOK AT HER LITTLE FACE!!! I just wanna scoop her up and swing her around but she’ll probably maul me if I do.
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shellheadtmarc · 6 years ago
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@fairglenned gets a rando thing
“Great, now my socks are wet.”
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vault-heck · 2 years ago
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WIP Wednesday
A scene for a future chapter of What God Doesn't Give You (chapter 15ish, probably).
Valentine spread his hand on the table with some flair. Four aces and a two of hearts.
“Tough luck,” he told MacCready, who grimaced and tugged his cap lower over his brow. “Or maybe not– I have been playing this game for hundreds of years.”
Nick scooped the pile of caps into an aluminum can, and Preston snickered.
“Whatever,” MacCready muttered. “Not like I was going to be able to pay off Winlock and Barnes, anyway.”
“Don’t trust them, huh?” Nick asked as he collected the cards and shuffled the deck. “I’m inclined to agree with you.”
Preston listened with renewed curiosity. It didn’t seem like Noah had told him anything about MacCready’s situation.
“Yeah, they might decide to just keep the caps and put a bullet in my head for good measure,” he said. “If I set up a place to meet them, they’d roll in with a small army.” 
“I’ve been thinking,” he continued, “about paying them a visit before they even know what’s going on. I might ask Noah to go with me.”
“Absolutely not.” Preston’s tone had a bite.
“Or maybe several people– and I wouldn’t be asking if I didn’t think we could handle them.” He stuck his chin out in defense. “Isn’t there anyone around here who would be excited to off a few gunners?”
Preston huffed an evasive laugh. “Be careful what you wish for. You practically still wear their uniform.”
Nick took a cautious glance at each of them over his continuous shuffling. This conversation no longer involved him. Preston rolled the bottom of his beer bottle on the table.
“It’s a terrible idea either way. Anyway, with Radio Freedom up and running, I need Noah here to help coordinate responses.”
MacCready crossed his arms. “This is why I was going to ask him. I’ve got a funny feeling he actually cares what happens to me.” 
Preston rolled his eyes.
“No, I get it, everyone in the Commonwealth deserves help from the Minutemen except for me.”
“It’s going to take more than a couple of games of poker to convince me that you’re not leading my men into a trap, MacCready.”
“So send me with a scout or something. It’ll be pretty obvious that they want nothing to do with me,” he insisted.
“Answer’s no.”
“But–”
Nick interjected. “Christ’s sake, Mac, don’t talk back to the General of the Minutemen.”
MacCready rose and shouldered his rifle that rested in the corner of the room. “Fine. But I’m going, even if I have to go myself. Good luck trying to save the world, General.”
He had one foot out the door when Preston called out.
“Wait.” He sighed at the ceiling.
MacCready turned around. “I’m listening,” he said from the doorway.
“Take Adelaide and Mark,” Preston told him, still staring directly upwards. “I trust them to retreat if even the slightest thing looks off. Worst case scenario, they’ll have to incapacitate you and flee. Best case, we rid the Commonwealth of a handful of gunners.” He gave him a serious look.
“Wow.” MacCready’s face was slack with surprise. “Thanks, General. I didn’t expect you to hear me out.”
He sighed. “Don’t make me regret it.”
Mac saluted the two of them and left the building with slightly more relaxed body language.
“Seems like the kid might be growing on you.”
Preston’s eyes widened in chagrin. “Not even a little.”
“Well in that case, why’d you agree to help?” Nick dug a cigarette from his trench coat pocket. “He’d probably be okay out there on his own.”
He leaned his elbows on the table, and swallowed. “Because if he dies, Noah will be devastated.”
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andyfire122 · 3 years ago
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Fictober day 7: That could have gone better.
Fanfiction Fandom: Fallout. In Fallout 4. Mentions description of injuries and treatment. Slight drug use but just for medical treatment
“That could have gone better.”
MacCready lowered his rifle as he started to limp over to the last place he saw Alice head over. Super mutants weren't exactly supposed to be in this area but then again nothing ever really goes to plan. Though it was odd. Alice is was usually the first to say something.
She’s fine. She’s always fine.
His eyes widened as he saw her. There she was lying face down in a pool of her blood. Two other bodies were right beside her. It seems she collapsed after taking out the two coming after her. It was then his mind finally kicked into gear.
“No, no-no-no. Alice! You are not doing this now." She was always ok. There wasn’t a moment since he met her that she wasn’t ok. Everything they had couldn’t be gone so quickly. Not like it did with Lucy.
He pushed back his panic to scoop her up. From what it looked like she took a few rounds in her stomach. The area around her side looked like a bomb went off. What worried him was how the wound wasn't bleeding much.
What was the first thing to check again? She's breathing right?! She should be breathing.
He reached a shaky hand to check her pulse. He almost didn't find it but it was there and that was enough to send a wave of relief. Even the light breaths she made just sent even a fragment of hope. Though that meant he had to act fast.
“For once I'm really glad you end up caring all this crap." MacCready used to tease her all the time for having a medicine pouch constantly stocked up. He can even remember telling her that it would be better to stock up on bullets instead.
Now he was thankful the stuff was even there.
He grabbed one of the stimpacks from the pouch and injected it near the wound. It started to stitch itself up but it still looked raw. She would still need a doctor but at least she was going to survive the trip to even find one.
She took a deep breath as she shifted to almost fit better in his arms.
I can hear her making some joke about this now. I’ll even let her once this blows over.
He took one of the other stimpacks and injected himself. Sure he was going to be tired later but at least he'll be able to carry her without falling over himself. The closest town seemed to be Goodneigbor. At least with Hancock there, he knew she could get some help.
“Bet you are glad your friends with the mayor now. Just sit tight, I'll take care of everything. Just...don't go anywhere. I don't think I can take that again." MacCready knew she wouldn't be able to hear him. It was more of a plea to calm his fears.
All she had to do was to stay alive. She always did what he asked.
000000
“Wow, you guys did have shit poor luck."
MacCready was too exhausted to argue with Hancock at this point. He was just glad the ghoul was even in town at the moment. Somehow they made it to Goodneigbor without anything else going wrong.
His real focus was the body resting on one of the couches at the statehouse. Alice looked a lot better at this point and was sleeping peacefully. Her wounds were patched up and were even connected to a blood pack.
He sighed as he sat down on the floor next to her. "Yeah, thanks again, Hancock."
The ghoul just chuckled. "It's cool man. At this point, your girl has done enough to be part of the town. Goodneighbor takes care of its own."
MacCready wasn't even going to correct him when he called Alice his girl. The exhaustion of the day's events was far too fresh.
Glad someone sees it like that. Still, if Hancock had been out again or if he was still at Sanctuary hills. No, I don't think I can think about that right now.
He put his hand in her to almost reassure himself. She was still a little cold but she was still alive. He managed to save her.
“I pay you back for this. You have my word.”
Hancock just shook his head. “I’d have to be a pretty rotten asshole to just leave a friend bleeding out like that. Though if it will make you feel better I can give you two a special job later.”
“If it’s easy enough I can do it myself.” He wanted to get up and ask about it but he just couldn’t. The thought of even leaving her now was almost impossible.
When did I start caring this much? She's my boss and partner. Of course, I should just look after her.
“Nah, we wouldn’t want miss chuckles to miss out. Besides, sunshine can wait on this one. The ghoul walked out of the room to give the two some privacy. He even got his guards to stand watch over the two.
If that’s who I think it is then she can wait. Though I am surprised Paige is back in town.
“Hey, you better say sorry when you wake up. Thanks to you I’m gonna be nervous around super mutants as well.” He took a look at Alice. He used to think her red hair was almost too bright. People could spot her easily.
That also meant he could find her no matter where she was.
The worst part is that she would do this all over again. The woman goes above and beyond for everyone she's close to.
He didn't even know when they even got this close. Though he can't exactly regret a moment since she hired him that first time. The entire situation just put everything into perspective. Even though it was never on purpose, she told him everything.
He’s never gotten the chance to tell her.
This just shows what I already know. If I tell her about Duncan she'll go straight to medtec without a second thought.
He could almost hear Lucy laughing at how stupid he was being.
“Yeah, I'm not risking it in case you can hear me but I'll tell you something important later. Just...try and get better.”
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Later that night Alice woke up. It took her a moment for her mind to catch up with everything that happened. The last thing she remembered was she got hit during that super mutant ambush. Though she was aware of being carried.
At the very least she wasn't in pain. She wasn't complaining though. Whatever they have her hooked up on was working very well.
She moved her head to finally notice. Slumped over asleep was Macready. Almost like he was standing vigil. She had to smile a bit at that. Part of her was worried about him but he seemed to walk out of it all in one piece.
Silly sniper man should get a pillow.
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fallout4reactsblog · 5 years ago
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Companions react to in-game glitches and other inconsistencies happening around (/being used by Sole)? Flying on an engine, cars jumping around spinning at crazy speed, corpses/items moving like they're possesed, settlement structures hovering in the air with a single ladder piece attached, people "swimming" on land, instantly getting all items from a smallest piece of meat... (Just not normal gameplay features like saveloading and Pip-boy stopping time, but 100s of items in pockets will do)
 Cait: She wiped the sweat off her brow, letting her ball bat hang loosely at her side. A trail of blood followed her fingers as her eyes surveyed the room, taking in the blood, guts, and general gore that now decorated the floor and walls. Her and Sole sure had made a mess.
They folded their arms, a satisfied smile on their face. “The loot’s gonna be great. You take that half of the room, I’ll take this half?”
“Yeah, alright.”
She moved toward her half as sole crouched down in front of a man whose head had been cracked open like a walnut, brain spilling out of the ruined shards of his skull. Without hesitation, sole picked up a lump of brain flesh, turning it over in their hands before sinking their fingers in.
“Sole, what the fu-”
Her words stopped short as sole pulled a 10 mm pistol from the chunk, looked it over and made a face, then tossed it to the side. They pushed their hand in again, this time emerging with a stimpack, which they tucked into their pocket.
“What the fuck?” Cait whispered as sole pulled out several pieces of armor, a set of road leathers, and a tattered but still-intact box of InstaMash.
Sole looked up, the box still in their hand. “What’s wrong?”
“You just- all that- from one chunk of brain?”
“Uh, yeah? That’s the stuff they had on them. Not much of interest.”
“Normal people don’t do that.”
They just laughed.
“I’m serious, sole. That’s fucked up. You can’t pull a pistol out of somebody’s brains and not expect people to look at you funny!”
“I’ll take your word for it.”
Curie: “Madame/Monsieur, do you think that man is
 alright?”
“Which one?” Sole looked up from their drink, peering around the bar.
“The man over there, who is having a seat on, ah, nothing.”
Sole squinted toward where Curie was pointing, and sure enough, some strange man was relaxing next to a table, seemingly comfortable in a ninety degree squat. He took a sip of beer as if to prove it.
They hummed, eyebrows furrowed. “Goodneighbor folks sure are strange, huh?”
“I do not think he is well.”
“Maybe he’s just had a bad dose of Jet? Or too much to drink?”
“Best not to stare, I think. It is not polite, oui?”
They laughed a little and turned into their drink. “I suppose so. let him do what he needs to do.”
“At the very least, it will be an excellent workout for his thighs.”
Danse: He’d pinch the bridge of his nose, if not for the power armor, so he settled for folding his arms instead.
“Sole. Carrying all of that junk around is just going to slow you down. Let it go.”
They huffed, shoving another tin can into their pocket. “They have more uses than you think they do.”
“Is the same to be said for the empty beer bottles?”
“Actually,” they said, scooping two up and shoving them into the same pocket, “it is.”
“The alarm clocks?”
“Even more useful.”
“The typewriter?” he asked, watching them shove a whole one into the chest of their vault suit, never to be seen until they found a workbench.
“The most useful of all.”
He eyed how smooth the pockets of their suit were, despite the number of items he knew they were carrying. He was surprised they had room for junk at all, given the number of weapons, ammunition, and armor they were carrying.
“Sole, how strong are you, exactly?”
“Not sure,” they replied, scooping up a screwdriver and a hammer, tucking them into the same pocket the tin cans and beer bottles had gone into.
“Better question, how do you manage to pack all of those items into your pocket?”
They looked down at the pocket, which hadn’t even begun to look full. “I don’t know. I just put stuff into there until I can’t carry any more.”
“That works?”
They shrugged. “Somehow. How do you think I get you to carry all that stuff?”
His eyebrows shot up. “I’m carrying things?”
“Uh-huh. You’re great at it.”
“What am I even carrying it in?”
They just smiled at him. “Does it matter if I take it all out after?”
“Yes. It does.”
They refused to answer, and all Danse could hope was that they didn’t try to store things in his power armor joints.
Deacon: “Hey, sole, come over here a sec.”
Sole wiped the super mutant blood off their arm, flicking it to the side as they picked their way over to him. “What’s up?”
He pointed wordlessly at the body of a super mutant that was slowly sinking into the ground, headless. Sole stood silently at his side, watching the Earth slowly devour the carcass, inch by inch consuming it. They seemed to stand there for hours as it sank. There was no sound, no wet sucking or movement of Earth. Simply a super mutant defying any laws of physics that Deacon had ever known.
When all was said and done, and the last of the body had disappeared, Deacon nodded sharply. “His soul and body are with Todd now.”
Sole stared at him a moment before laughing, an ugly snort-laugh that turned their voice up an octave. “Todd? Who the hell is Todd?”
“I don’t know,” he said, giggling a little himself. “Someone who likes super mutants I guess.”
“He must like them a lot!”
They laughed a moment longer, then sole sighed and reached into their pocket for a tin can. Solemnly, they placed on the spot that the super mutant had disappeared.
“Here lies Howard, consumed by Todd. May he find his peace.”
“Howard is a terrible name for a super mutant.”
They stuck out their tongue at him. “I don’t see you coming up with any ideas.”
“Super mutants need weird names, like ‘Blood’ and ‘Guts’ and, uh
”
“Hamburger,” sole supplied.
He nodded sternly. “Exactly. Now you’ve got the hang of it. Here lies Hamburger. May he find peace with Todd.”
Sole placed another tin can on top of the other with a flourish, and they walked away, discussing other good super mutant names.
Gage: “Boss, I’ve got a question.”
“Shoot.”
“How, uh, solid would you say the average ghoul is?”
“Depends on the ghoul. Bloated ghouls are about ten percent, because they’re all, y’know, bloated. Your standard run-of-the-mill crazy ghoul is about forty percent. They get pretty squishy because of the rads. Sane ghouls are a solid eighty, which is higher than the human seventy, because they lose a lot of soft tissues.”
“So they should not be able to be halfway through walls?”
They hummed thoughtfully. “Not unless they’re in a hole.”
He eyed the wall the ghoul was stuck in, nudging it with the butt of his gun, and determined it to be quite solid. “No hole. Just a ghoul through a wall.”
“Gage, ghouls can’t go through walls if the wall is solid. Someone chopped a ghoul in two and mounted it on either side of the wall.”
He poked at it a little more. “It’s definitely in one piece, boss.”
“Gage.” Their tone was warning. “I’m going to come over there, but if I find out you’re fucking with me, or pulling my leg, I’m going to kick your ass. Got it?”
“Yeah, sure.”
They appeared at his side, almost scarily quiet. He gestured to the body vaguely, half-disgusted.
“Yeah, they shouldn’t do that.” Sole nudged at the thing with their boot, making a face. “Just leave it.”
“Doubt I could get it out of the wall anyway.”
They snorted, then leveled their pistol to put one round in its back. Gage leapt away as the wall suddenly decided the ghoul shouldn’t be in it and launched it across the room. Sole’s hand shot out as if to protect him, and they stared at it a moment.
“Just leave it,” he echoed.
“No kidding.”
Hancock: He stared down the road at the body of a now-dead raider, one hand gently rubbing his forehead. He turned back to sole, who was now shaking out their wrist. He looked back down the road.
“Damn, this batch of Jet is fucked.”
“What makes you say that?”
“I swear you punched that guy all the way down the street.”
“Oh, uh, yeah. That actually happened.”
“Huh?”
He peered back down the street, suddenly trying to put reality together where he thought there was only illusion. “So, how strong did you say you were?”
“Definitely not strong enough to punch a guy down the block, I’ll tell you that.”
He considered that. “So the Jet’s not fucked, but physics is?”
They laughed. “Seems so. Gravity decided to not come in today.”
“Hey, he earned it. Hardest worker around. Let him take a vacation, right?”
“As long as I don’t go floating off, I’d love to keep punching people and watching them fly away.”
“Pretty entertaining if you ask me.”
They turned to him with a mischievous smile. “Bet it’s even better on Day Tripper.”
“I’ve got some of that. Right, ah, here.” He pulled a bottle of pills from his pocket, shaking it enticingly.
“Well, let’s go find some more raiders and see if we can make it happen again.”
MacCready: He stretched out, listening to the bones in his back pop. “I say we call it a night. It’s dark, and I’m getting tired.”
“I could go for a nap,” they replied, though they didn’t look all that tired. “I think that Outpost Zimonja is close to here, we can catch some shuteye there.”
“It’s safe?”
They chuckled. “Should be. I built the place myself.”
“I guess it’ll have to do then,” he said teasingly. “Though how good your judgment is, no one knows.”
“Jury’s still out,” they replied, happily playing along, “but the other settlers aren’t complaining yet.”
They made their way to the settlement, sky darkening around them. Sole pushed through the gate at the front of the settlement, and showed him past the turrets and guard tower to the rest.
It was small but otherwise cozy, and sole beckoned him over to the workbench. “I need the stuff you’re carrying for me.”
“Sure.” 
He rifled around in his pockets, passing every item to sole’s outstretched hands. That it took a few minutes was expected, but after the tenth desk fan and thirtieth ball peen hammer, he was getting suspicious at the amount of stuff he was finding on him. How did he carry that much weight? It seemed, well, impossible.
“That should be it,” they said after nearly twenty minutes, tucking a handful of pencils into one of the workbench drawers. “Thanks.”
He stared down at his thin arms, trying to imagine how he hadn’t even noticed all the items he’d been carrying. “What the heck did you do to me?”
“Oh, with all the stuff you were carrying. I just asked you to pick it up. You don’t seem to notice when I ask you to grab it for me, as opposed to when I hand it to you myself, so I just asked you to grab the junk I couldn’t carry.”
“But- I- I don’t-”
They slapped a hand on his shoulder. “Try not to think about it too hard. Let’s just get some rest, okay?”
“Sure,” he said, but the way his thoughts were spinning told him he wouldn’t be sleeping at all.
Nick: “Sole,” he said, honestly trying his hardest not to laugh, “you can’t do that.”
“And why not?” They grinned at him, hands on their hips, clearly pleased with their work.
“It’s just- It’s not right sole. You can’t put beds in walls and expect everything to be okay.”
“I think I can,” they replied. “The settlers can sleep in it just fine.”
“How the hell do they do that?”
“Simple. They lay in the wall too.”
That was enough to make Nick Valentine, synth detective, lose his composure, and he burst out laughing. Not a small giggle, either, a full laugh, one that left him doubled over and leaning against the wall for support. He hadn’t laughed so hard in a long time, but the thought of some poor settler laying in a wall to sleep had him in absolute fits.
When he finally calmed, only a smile lingering on his face, he gestured to the half-inside, half-outside bed and simply said, “How?”
“Oh, silly Nick,” they teased. “It’s on a rug! Don’t you know that if it’s on a rug, it can do anything? I can put beds through walls, I can put bookshelves though walls, I can put anything through a wall, as long as it’s on a rug.”
“Oh my God.” He pinched the bridge of his nose, still smiling. “I don’t even want to know how you figured that out. So you saw the ways you could break all the rules and immediately decided you’d put beds through walls.”
“Of course! What else does one do with such power?”
He shook his head. “I don’t know. Are you going to put the bed back inside?”
“Heavens no. Then it wouldn’t be funny at all, just boring. It’d look like every other house out there.”
“It does add a certain, ah, uniqueness I suppose.”
They bumped his shoulder with theirs. “Now you get it.”
Preston: “Sole, when I asked you to build a settlement in Hangman’s Alley, you know this isn’t what I meant.”
They shrugged. “You said to build a settlement, so I did.”
He raised an eyebrow, still staring at the supposed settlement they’d built. A single staircase touched the ground, and the rest of the building expanded from that, hovering above a grid of garden plots that held the crops and water pumps that fed the settlement. As impressive as it was, he couldn’t imagine it was safe.
“I know what you’re thinking.” They spoke before he could even open his mouth. “I promise that it’s safe. I just got tired of building the same old buildings over and over again, so I wanted to do something different. I tested it before I let anyone in and I did the math, and I swear that it’s not coming down anytime soon.”
He glanced over at them, and though they were his general, all he saw in their eyes was a need for approval. Maybe a hint of embarrassment at having been caught, but mostly a need for him to trust them and like it as much as they did.
“Well,” he sighed, turning back, “it’s definitely new. And practical, given the small space.”
“Do you like it?” Their voice was so hopeful, so bright, and yet so fragile.
“Yeah,” he said with a smile. “I like it a lot.”
“Do you want to have a look inside.”
“I’d love to.”
X6: “You cannot fly.”
“Yes I can,” they said cheekily.
“No, you cannot.” He folded his arms. “Not without the assistance of some sort of machine.”
They held their hand out. “Give me your jacket.”
He raised an eyebrow, clearly conveying his displeasure with that idea.
“I promise to give it back,” they huffed. “I’ll even clean it for you after. I just want to show you that I can, in fact, fly.”
He considered the offer a moment, then begrudgingly removed his coat. Their face lit up and, for a brief moment, he almost didn’t regret it.
“Alright, X6. Watch and learn.”
He watched, slightly curious, as they laid the coat on the floor, the crouched down and positioned themselves so they were standing on it. He almost protested their dirty boots on the leather, but they had offered to clean it, so he decided against it.He simply observed them grab to solid handfuls of fabric, getting a good hold on it, and then he watched them jump.
And somehow, they stayed there, floating in the air on top of his coat.
He slid his glasses down his nose, and softly murmured, “Holy shit.”
“See?” They jumped again, rising further into the air. “I told you I could fly.”
“You did. My apologies, ma’am/sir. Though I would recommend you bring this to the attention of our scientists immediately.”
They released their hold on the coat, falling gracefully to the floor. “Why, you think they’d be interested?”
He leveled a stern look at them over his glasses. “You just broke physics, ma’am/sir. I think the term ‘interested’ is an understatement.”
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lone-survivor-six-tales · 4 years ago
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MacCready was fourteen when Allison, the Lone Wanderer, returned to Little Lamplight with an offer.
"You know, I've seen Big Town. It's not that that great. Maybe you could come and live with me at Megaton." Allison looked at the teen cleaning his rifle. MacCready had stopped wearing his usual hat and let his shaggy hair that desperately needed a haircut show.
MacCready scoffed. "Yeah because I wanna stay with a fucking mungo and her giant zombie."
Charon rolled his eyes at the comment. He knew damn well the kid was bluffing since he was just calling him a badass earlier when MacCready saw him blow the head off a feral that wandered into the cave.
"What are you? Fourteen? You're not too far away from being a mungo too so you can't use that excuse for long." Allison snorted, taking a sip from her nuka cola. "I'll show you the location on my map anyway. If anyone could get there it's you."
MacCready didn't respond and just memorized the location he showed her.
--------------------------------------------
MacCready had turned 19 a few weeks ago when he stumbled into Megaton bruised and bloody, the baby in his arms crying softly against his chest. 
It didn't take him long to find someone to point him in the direction of Allison's house. Allison opened the door on the second knock, visibly surprised when she recognized the young man in front of her.
"MacCready?"
"Is that offer still open?"
Allison let him in and MacCready sat down on the couch while Allison went to get Charon and asked him to run to Moira's and buy everything he could find to help take care of a baby. After Charon left Allison sat down next to MacCready, passing him a bottle of water which he gladly took.
"So, what's the baby's name?"
MacCready smiled lightly, looking down at the bundle in his arms who had finally fallen asleep.
"His name is Duncan. We...we lost his mom coming here
"
Allison placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. MacCready couldn't fully relax. He could still hear Lucy's screams as he ran through the subway with Duncan wailing as if he knew that was the last time he'd see his mother.
"I'll get the spare bedroom set up. The two of you can stay as long as you want."
--------------------------------------------
MacCready was 21 when Duncan began to fall ill. 
MacCready had set up a small farm not too far from Megaton and occasionally traded his extra crops for caps to buy Duncan some toys. When the fever started he thought it was just a cold until the boils started to appear. He was soon racing to Megaton and to Allison who he only trusted to thoroughly look over his son.
--------------------------------------------
"Mac, I've done all I can to keep this fever at bay but he's weakening. There's only so much watered down med-x and stims can do." Allison looked over at Duncan who was sleeping in the guest bedroom after his latest treatment from Allison.
"There has to be something to help him." MacCready could feel his nails digging into his palm as he looked at his sleeping son. He had been all over the Capital Wasteland looking for a cure and had come up empty.
"If there is then I don't think you'll find it here. The only ones who could maybe help him here is the Brotherhood and ever since Maxon took over I haven't been on good terms with them due to my relationship with Charon." Allison sighed, rubbing her temples as if just mentioning the new Brotherhood elder brought on a headache.
"No way would I let those bast- I mean those jerks near him."
The corner of Allison's mouth turned upward when MacCready corrected himself.
"Then I'd say head outside of DC. Maybe there's a cure somewhere out there."
MacCready hesitated at Allison's suggestion. There's no way Duncan could take the trip out of here.
"Could you take care of him while I'm gone?"
Allison looked at him like he was stupid.
"Did you think I'd leave Duncan alone while you went traveling? Of course I'll take care of him. Just promise to send some letters through the caravans so I know you're still breathing."
With that promise MacCready was on the next caravan heading to the Commonwealth.
--------------------------------------------
MacCready was 22 when he found the cure and received the best news of his life.
Mac, the cure worked! Duncan's fever broke and the boils have faded. He's slowly gaining his strength back and he's excited to see you again.
Charon and I decided we'll be heading up your way when Duncan is completely better. We'll send a letter on the caravan before we leave and meet you at Bunker Hill.
Allison
P.s. Duncan says he loves you.
Tears stained the paper as MacCready began to cry. His son was safe! He was going to see his son soon! MacCready wiped his eyes and went to see Nora who was helping Shaun tinker with an old protectron that her and Danse brought back from their last trip to keep him from messing with Danse's power armor when he wasn't looking.
"Hey Nora, I got a surprise for you." MacCready said with a grin, chuckling when both Nora and Shaun jumped in surprise at his sudden voice.
"Oh really? What's up?" Nora asked, standing up to walk over and kiss his cheek. Shaun rolled his eyes at his parents being lovey dovey again.
"I just got a letter from my friend taking care of Duncan. He's cured and they're planning on bringing him here as soon as he gets his strength back." 
Nora smiled brightly at the news and hugged him tightly.
"That's great news! Did you hear that Shaun? You're going to finally meet your little brother."
It was Shaun's turn to grin as he got up to hug MacCready. 
"Really? Do you think he'll like tinkering with me?"
MacCready chuckled and ruffled Shaun's hair.
"He's a little too young for tinkering with electronics but I'm sure you two will get into a lot of mischief when he's a little older."
That earned him a playful smack from Nora.
"Don't give him ideas! Codsworth is still trying to recalibrate after Shaun messed with his balance system!"
--------------------------------------------
MacCready was 23 when he saw his son running to him at Bunker Hill.
"Daddy!" Duncan cried as he ran ahead of the caravan to his father waiting on the stairs to Bunker Hill. MacCready ran to meet his son halfway and scooped him up into his arms, holding him tightly as if Duncan would disappear if he let go.
"Duncan, there's someone I want you to meet." MacCready carried Duncan over to where Nora and Shaun waited for them. 
"Duncan this is Nora, she's your mom and this is your brother Shaun."
Nora laughed when Duncan became shy and hid his face in MacCready's neck.
"Here Duncan. I thought you'd like this!" Shaun held out a bear to Duncan. When he squeezed the bear's stomach a little tune began to play. Duncan looked at the bear with wonder and took the bear, hugging it tightly and making the melody play again.
MacCready smiled as Duncan reached out to Nora and passed him to her. The excitement from the traveling and meeting his new family finally caught up to Duncan and soon he was asleep in Nora's arms, clutching the bear tightly even in his sleep.
Allison nudged MacCready in his side and smiled at the scene in front of them.
"Not a bad life for a bratty ex mayor from a cave."
MacCready smiled back, looking at his new family and thinking about the future ahead of them.
MacCready was 23 when he felt like his life was complete.
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returnn-of-the-mac · 5 years ago
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This is part 2 of this prompt asked by @thegamingduck88. There’s going to be one more part that’s going to take place several days later, when Sole has a prosthetic limb and has to learn how to walk again. No Codsworth, Ada, Strong, and Dogmeat to be found here. Thank you for your patience and please enjoy!
Part 1
Part 3
FO4 Companions React: Sole Losing Leg To a Mirelurk (Part 2)
Once they got Sole to shore, [companion] lay Sole down gently and investigated their injury. When they realized that an attempt to reattach the leg would be futile, they realized they would have to find another way to help Sole regain mobility.
MacCready:
“Well...this sucks. Leg reattachment isn’t going to work.” MacCready looked around and found a stick. He then used a plate, wonder glue, and a rope to make a stable peg leg for Sole, “Guess this junk wasn’t completely useless after all. Good call.”
Sole tried walking, but the leg kept sinking into the sand. MacCready put an arm around Sole and guided them to the raft they had taken to the island.
“It’s not perfect, but it’s something,” MacCready stated, “Practice makes perfect, right?”
Cait:
“Now what are we gonna do with ye?” Cait asked, her hands on her hips. “Yer helpless.“
An annoyed Sole tried to stand, but fell right back into the dirt.
Cait signed and held out her hand, which Sole graciously accepted.
“Look. I don’t know what where gonna do with ya, darlin. Ye can’t even stand on yer own two fe—er, one...foot. I can’t lug ye around like some kinda meat sack here, there, and everywhere.”
Sole stared sadly at their companion.
“Maybe we can find ye a doctor,” Cait suggested, “I don’t know how to help ye. I really don’t. But I’m going to try.”
Sole cracked a small smile, and Cait returned the gesture.
“There’re no doctors to be found on this island, so we havta go back to the mainland. We can come back once yer healthy again.”
The redhead scooped up Sole and placed them on a beached rowboat. She then hopped in and began paddling back to the Commonwealth.
Preston:
“I don’t think I can get that leg back on, General. I’m sorry,” Preston apologized, “But what you really need is medical attention. How about we get you to a doctor on the mainland.”
Sole sighed.
“We can come back when you’re better, don’t you worry about that,” Preston promised, “We just have to make sure you’re healthy. I think our best bet would probably be Greygarden. Those Mr. Handys and Ms. Nannys are adept at these kinds of things.”
Danse:
Danse sighed and gently helped Sole off their feet, putting an arm around them to stabilize them.
“The prognosis on your leg is bleak,” Danse began, “But I’ll take you to Cade and you‘ll be all right. He’s an expert at dealing with these injuries. It is not uncommon for our soldiers to lose limbs.”
Sole frowned at the news, and Danse sensed their disappointment.
“Proctor Ingram is missing a leg as well,” the Paladin reminded his companion, “And individuals don’t usually notice until she points it out. She has custom power armor and a high-quality prosthetic limb that was specially crafted for her. You will receive the same treatment, soldier. It’ll be alright.”
With that, Danse partially lifted Sole and leaned them against his body, helping them sit upright as he flared to a nearby Vertibird for help.
Hancock:
“That leg is in pretty rough shape, my friend,” Hancock admitted. He thought for a moment. “I mean all I can really do now is offer you some chems and bring you back to Goodneighbor to see Doctor Amari.”
Sole sighed.
“I know that’s not what you wanna hear, [brother/sister], but that’s the best option we’ve got. You don’t want that leg getting infected, do you? If that were to happen...that’s a whole cesspool of shit that you don’t wanna deal with. Trust me.”
Hancock wrapped an arm around Sole, helping them to their feet. He guided them to a beached rowboat.
“The good news is that we know where Spectacle Island is now, so we can always come back when you recover.”
Deacon:
“That leg isn’t coming back on, pal,” Deacon stated, “Sadly, humans aren’t as easy to put back together as Mr. Pumpkin Heads.”
He looked around, almost immediately spotting the beached rowboat.
“Leaving you here isn’t an option, obviously. It’s against the tiny print of our contract,” Deacon joked.
An unamused Sole squinted.
“Hey, hey! I’m only teasing! I wouldn’t even think of abandoning you here; I’m not a Brotherhood member, after all! We’re all bog dysfunctional family, right?”
Deacon helped Sole to their feet and guided them to the rowboat, “I’m going to bring you back to the HQ. Those guys know more than I do when it comes to this kinda medical mumbo-jumbo.”
Piper:
“Oh Blue you’re leg...it isn’t good,” Piper states, biting her lip, “I don’t think we’re gonna be able to save it.”
She mournfully looked at Sole, and then scanned the area for anything she could use to aid them.
“What you need is a doc, Blue. Someone with medical training. And that’s not me, sadly. We can probably use that little boat over there to get you back to Diamond City. Dr. Sun is good at what he does.”
Piper helped Sole to their feet and guided them to the rowboat. She struggled a bit before noticing a large stick on the ground.
“Blue, here. Why don’t you use this stick as a can and put some of your weight on it,” the reporter suggested, “I’m a journalist, not a body builder you know.”
Curie:
“Hmm. This is going to be...um...tricky,” Curie began, stroking her chin, “The salt water— or maybe the time it took for us to get to shore— made the leg near impossible to reattach. I sincerely apologize, [Madame/Monsieur].”
She sat in the sand, dumping all the contents of she and Sole’s bags on the ground. She picked around their combined inventory for nearly an hour, pulling out various odds and ends. When she was finished, she turned to Sole, purified water, Med-X, and stimpack in hand.
“I will be making a prosthetic limb out of what I was able to scavenge —giddyup butter cup legs, gears, other items— and I will be attaching it,” Curie gently held Sole’s hand, “I will use Stimpacks to help you through the process, and Med-X as anesthesia so you do not have to see or feel anything.”
Sole gulped and Curie giggled.
“No need to panic, had a been a human , I would have had the equivalent of a— PhD, is it? I would have been one of the most certified medical specialists in the Commonwealth. You are safe. Do not fret, [Madame/Monsieur].”
X6-88:
“You need professional medical assistance, [sir/ma’am],” X6 plainly stated, “I know this isn’t what you want to hear, but I’m going to transport you to the Institute.”
Sole frowned.
“[Sir/Ma’am], I don’t think you fully understand the magnitude of this situation. That injury is severe. If it were to get infected, you would die. No doubt about it,” the Courser continued, “The Institute has among the most certified medical professionals around. All operations are also undergone in a safe, sterile environment to minimize the risk of infection. Are you ready to go, [sir/ma’am]?”
Sole nodded and X6 approached them. He wrapped an arm around them helping them to their feet and teleported them to the Institute.
Nick:
“Sorry to break it to you pal, but I’m going to be frank: there is no way that leg is going back on. It’s just too risky.”
Sole fought back tears, frustrated by the news.
The detective sensed their anguish and sat down next to them. “Hey, don’t feel defeated, now,” he reassured, “Do you know how many times I’ve had to be repaired? And I think I’m still pretty damn good at what I do.”
Sole took a deep breath, slightly comforted by their companion’s support.
“Now let’s get you into that rowboat and back to the Commonwealth. Dr. Amari can probably fix you right up. We can come back and establish this settlement once you’re feeling better, alright?”
Sole nodded in agreement and Nick helped them to their feet. He put his arm around Sole’s waist and carefully guided them back to the boat.
Longfellow:
“Hm. That’s quite the leg injury you’ve got yourself there,” Longfellow commented, “Now, I’m not a medic. I don’t have the slightest clue how to even approach this operation. I’ll I know is that I need my magic water.”
Longfellow took a swing of his whiskey and offered some to Sole, “Might help ya hurt less.”
The old man thought for a moment. “I suppose we could get you to the Mariner via,” Longfellow sloppily pointed his whiskey in the direction of the tiny rowboat, “Her.”
Sole nodded and Longfellow helped them into the rowboat.
“All hands hoy! Yes? Very good; anchors aweigh!”
Gage:
“Boss I ain’t gotta clue how to reattach ya leg over here. Hell, I don’t even know anyone competent enough to even reattach that sucker.”
The raider picked up the leg and studied it. He grimaced, and tossed it into the water. Sole gasped.
“We ain’t gonna be needin that anymore. Mirelurk food,” Gage shrugged, “What? Just bein honest, boss. What’re we gonna do? Mount it?”
The raider approached his companion, picked them up, and slung them over his shoulder, “Whatcha need is not me bullshittin around tryna pop in a limb that ain’t gonna connect. Ya feel? Ya need the real deal. I’m sure ya got some fellas in at least one of your settlements that’s a bona fide Doc.”
Gage plopped Sole beside him in the middle of the rowboat and began paddling to the Commonwealth.
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atombombbagel · 6 years ago
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Companions carrying injured Sole to safety
HELLO! So like I said I’ve managed to actually finish a reaction and although it may not be the best, I’m rusty af. Also, anything over a thousand words is going to be under a keep reading thingy and that is only because I don’t want to clog up peoples dashboards. :) Hopefully it is good enough and ENJOY. :)
1 request down and about 144 to go. 
Cait: “Find Cover!” Caityelled as a small hand grenade was tossed by the enemy in the direction of herand Sole. The grenade bounced off the ground a few times before coming to a halt,landing next to Sole’s feet. Sole only had a few seconds to react, swan divingto safety behind an old pile of sandbags. Small bits of debris and bits of rubbleflew into the air as the device exploded. Cait quickly shuffled to her feet, immediatelylooking around for Sole, who she found in a matter of seconds. She rushed totheir side.
“That looks nasty there Sole,”Cait commented as she looked at Sole’s ankle, it was red and twisted out ofplace. “Can yer move it?” She asked and Sole shook their head wincing. “Don’t chaworry, I got yer.” Cait carefully lifted Sole up and carried them into a nearbybuilding, away from the enemies that had given up on fighting them. Cait slowlyput Sole down on an old worn chair before going off to find a box to prop Sole’sankle onto. Sole tilted their head as they looked at Cait in disbelief.
“What are ye lookin’ at?” Caitasked, examining Sole’s ankle a little closer.
“You’re a lot stronger thanyou look.” Sole laughed which caused Cait to playfully punch Sole in the arm.
“Yeah. Appearances aren’t everythingyano. I could kick yer ass easy,” She joked. “Now stay still and let me patch yerup.”
Curie: Sole carefullystepped across the old wooden planks that lined the upper floor of a decrepitbuilding. Curie had suggested to Sole that together they should find a fewmedical supplies for the growing settlements. But they’d had no luck, untilthey stumbled upon an old, abandoned raider den.
“Bingo!” Sole exclaimed,pleased with themselves as they handed the various chems and medical suppliedto Curie so she could put them in her bag.
“Wonderful,” Curie agreed.What a great find, these supplies would be more than enough for a fewtreatments but Sole being, well Sole, they didn’t want to leave any of thebuilding unchecked.
Sole reached for the door knobto what appeared to be a closet, only when Sole opened the door, they were greetedto a small swarm of hatched bloatflies. Startled, they flew into Sole’s facemaking them stumble back and step on a rotten floorboard. The board creaked loudlybefore giving way and snapping in half, sending Sole through the floor.
“Oh no!” Curie gasped turningback and hurrying down the stairs in which they’d came up. She flew through thedoor and over to Sole’s side. “Your leg madam/ monsieur!” Curie knew it wouldbe unsafe to treat Sole’s leg here so she somehow manged to pick Sole up cradlingthem in her, apparently strong arms, which definitely left Sole speechless to saythe least. Curie backtracked to one of the houses they’d already cleared out,making sure to help Sole to the best of her ability.
Danse: Danse pressed hisback against the wall as he avoided countless laser rifle shots from a handful ofgeneration 1 institute synths. He tactfully reloaded his weapon before peakingaround the wall to fire a few shots at them. He looked to his left, where Solewas standing, when he noticed one of the synths had snuck up behind the two ofthem.
“SOLE!” he shouted but as Solewent to look over at him they were hit over the back of the head by the synth holdinga shock baton. Danse fired at the synth, blasting its head off and turning itto dust. Danse then continued to kill the remaining synths before dashing toSole’s side. He quickly picked up Sole and hurried back to the police stationwhere they would be safe from any danger.
Sole woke up to Scribe Haylenwrapping a bandage around their head. They gazed up at Danse, who was standingwith his arms crossed, a worried look etched on his face. His eyes lit up whenhe noticed Sole had woken up. He moved closer to the mattress Sole was lyingon.
“How are you doing soldier?”He asked, kneeling beside Sole, inspecting their head. He smiledsympathetically.
“I’m fine,” Sole said beforeadding, “How did I get back here?” Danse scratched the back of his head.
“I carried you back after youwere hit,” he explained.
“Thank you.”
“We’ve got to stick together,”Danse said with a smile.
Deacon: “Do you hear that?”Sole asked as they cautiously down at the ground with furrowed eyebrows. Deaconstopped in his tracks as he tried to listen to whatever Sole was referring to.He shrugged and shook his head. Sole shook it off, continuing towards theirdestination. Sole stopped once again. “I swear-” Sole was cut off when theywere knocked to the ground after being attacked from below. A mole rat had burrowedits way out of the dirt and had sank its teeth into Sole’s leg. Sole winced inpain, falling to the ground as the mole rat continued its attack on them.Deacon reacted quickly, kicking the mole rat off Sole, before shooting it inthe head.
“Frickin’ little bugger,” Solecried, clutching their bleeding leg. Deacon scooped Sole up in his arms.
“That looks pretty nasty,” Hecommented.
“It is!” Sole whined, makingDeacon let out a little chuckle.
“Don’t worry I’ll get you backto base. You’re going to need a couple of shots for that one.” He laughedagain, causing Sole to groan.
“You’re not helping!” Solehuffed, crossing their arms.
Hancock: A loud siren alertedHancock and Sole who were both chilling on the sofa inside Sole’s home. It wasn’tvery often they got to spend time just relaxing, there was always something todo. Sole quickly jumped to their feet, rushing to the front door to see whatall the commotion was about. The crackling noise of gunfire broke out andHancock grabbed his gun, following Sole into the heat of the fight.
A small group of raiders hadsomehow grown the balls to try and attack Sanctuary. Hancock watched from afaras Sole went to finish off an enemy only to be shot by a second raider who hadbeen hiding behind a stack of tires. In a burst of anger Hancock shot at theman in the burlap sack mask, his face exploding along with fragments of his mask.Hancock killed the other raider, overkilling her when he sent the butt of hisgun through her face. He turned to Sole, assessing their injuries with his eyesbefore leaning down and picking Sole up.
“Fucking assholes,” Hancockmuttered to himself taking a very injured Sole back into their house. He put Soledown on their bed. “Stay here until I get back. Do you understand?” It wasn’t reallya question, but more of a demand, he knew what Sole was like. He was going to finishoff all those goddamn raiders before he’d come back and patch up Sole. Nosurvivors, not for this.
MacCready: MacCready pulled the trigger of hissniper rifle, his bullet flying through the air, landing between the eyes of alarge super mutant. He cocked the bolt back, lining up another shot. He smirkedas he watched the clueless super mutants through his scope. Sole, who was standingnext to MacCready, stepped forward accidently slipping on a muddy patch ofgrass. They fell on their ass and slid down the hill, on the way down Sole hadhit their knee on a rock. Sole had also alertedthe super mutant group, but Mac was more worried about sole then the mutants.
“You blew our cover,” hewhisper-yelled, hurrying down the hill to Sole’s aid. The super mutants whereapproaching them but instead of fighting MacCready knelt down letting Soleclimb onto his back. He stood up with a groan, Sole was heavier than theylooked, either that or is was down to MacCready’s scrawny arms. Although it wasslippery, Mac made his way up the muddy bank, completely evading the buff greendudes. MacCready was tired but Sole was enjoying the piggy bank.  
Nick: “How badly did theyget you?” Nick asked, crouching down beside Sole. He reached forward examiningSole. “Looks rough kid,” he added when he noticed the slashes and scratchesacross Sole’s waist.
“It hurts like mad” Solefrowned.
“I bet. Look, I don’t know ifI’ll be much help with this old thing,” Nick joked referring to his exposedmetal hands. Sole laughed for a moment before grimacing in pain, clutchingtheir side. Nick helped Sole off the ground, wrapping their arm around the backof his neck. Nick slowly walked Sole to a secluded building away from the feralghouls’ corpses that had attacked them. He gently put Sole down onto an old woodenchair.
“Take this,” Nick handed Solea stimpak, offering a sympathetic smile as they infected it into their side. Itwasn’t so much carrying but more of a friendly helping hand.
Piper: “How did I let yourope me into this.” Sole sighed with a huff, looking over at Piper who wassmiling widely to herself.
“The gift of the gab,” Shereplied. “Now hush.” Piper lifted her index finger to her lip to silence Sole.If they were too loud, she couldn’t capture the picture she wanted. She’dwanted it for days, a picture of Yao Guai, caring for its cup. Piper quicklysnapped the shot, the bright flash of the camera alerting the animals. As anyprotective mother would, the Yao Guai growled moving closer Piper. Sole grabbedher sleeve and initiated for them to run the hell away from the angry beast.
As they were making their quickgetaway Sole stumbled over, nearly bringing piper with them, Piper bent downand picked up Sole by there are, wrapping it around her neck as she tried topull Sole along.
“God you weigh a tonne,” Shejoked, hurrying along. Piper tried her best to carry Sole to safety, not evenresiding the mutated bear has given up chasing them. She dropped to the ground.
“Hey!” Sole shouted as theyhit the floor with a thud.
“I’m sorry, but you’re heavy.”She laughed before offering Sole her hand to help them up from the ground.
Piper offered her shoulder onceagain, carrying a hobbling sole to a clinic.
Preston: “We’re trapped!” Soleobserved in a panicked tone. Preston and Sole had been chased by gunners into asmall two-story house.
“No where to run now!” one ofthe gunners taunted as they approached the narrow staircase. Unfortunately, itwas too narrow to escape from. Preston smashed one of the already brokenwindows with the stock of his laser musket, clearing the rest of the glass forthem to escape.
“General! This way.” Prestonnodded his head towards the window before he climbed out onto a garage roof,stepping carefully on the weathered tiles. Sole climbed out next, walking overto the edge of the roof. It was safe enough for them to jump down. As Sole wentto jump down they lost their footing, slipping off the roof and landing ontheir leg. Preston immediately jumped down after them and didn’t even hesitateas he lifted Sole into his arms.
“It looks broken,” he said sadly.All Sole could do was let out a groan, unable to muster up any words. Preston didn’teven wait for the gunners to catch on, he ran as fast as he could, clutching Soletightly to his chest. He had to get them some help.
X6-88: “I detect enemymovement nearby,” X6 announced, holding his gun steadily in front of him. He’salways ready before the fight even starts. Sole followed him around a cornerwhere they were ambushed by three brotherhood soldiers. X6 managed to fight offand kill two of them but that wasn’t before the third manged to knock Sole tothe ground.
Sole struggled to get thesoldier off them, wrestling about. Sole yelled out as a stinging pain ripped upthrough their leg. The soldier had managed to get out a knife and plunge itinto Sole’s leg. X6 hit the soldier in the back of the head with his gun, knockingthem off Sole and onto the ground. The soldier clutched his head as he writhed abouton the ground. A single laser shot, ended the soldier and X6 focused hisattention back to Sole, who had also been squirming around in immense pain.
Without saying anything X6picked sole up and threw them over his shoulder. Although it wasn’t the bestway to carry an injured Sole, it’s the thought that counts, right?
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raiders-r-us · 6 years ago
Text
Headcanons-How Gage Feels About the Other Companions
Cait- Doesn't get along with her at all if he meets her before she gets clean, sees her as just another junkie commonwealth raider type.
If he meets her after she's clean, he has a quiet respect for her, since she worked to better herself. Her constant drinking annoys the hell out of him though. She wants to fight him every time she's drunk and he's within eyesight; he's not interested in a fight that doesn't end up with someone's guts on the floor and their money in his pocket. He figures Sole wouldn't be too happy with him if that happened to Cait.
Curie- It's not a secret that the idea of synths creeps him the hell out, but with Curie it's a whole new level. It's one thing to build a person in a lab, you can almost forget they weren't born like normal people; but Curie started out as a robot. What does that say about humanity if you can take a programmed personality and slap it in a human shell? Doesn't help that she's so damn nice all the time. "Monsieur Gage, if I may, perhaps I could help you with your eye." He shudders every time he hears that accent, and he avoids her like the plague. He is not at all pleased if Sole forces him to see her when he's sick.
Preston Garvey- Hahahahaha fuck you.
Danse- Gage and Danse don't get along at all and it's very mutual. Danse is quick to dismiss Gage as just another piece of raider scum. Considering Gage's thoughts on the Brotherhood, he thinks Danse ought to look in the mirror before he goes pointing fingers.
If Gage is romanced by a Fem!Sole, Danse makes him very insecure. The "white knight" military man probably has more in common with Sole's late husband than a busted up old raider ever could.
Codsworth- Gage does not like robots; especially creepy robot butlers with stupid accents. He thinks it's super annoying the way he nannies Sole; and he'll probably break his fist on a wall if the damn thing compares him to Sole's husband one more time. He'd smash the damn thing and scrap it for parts if it were up to him, but for some reason Sole considers it a comfort to keep around.
Deacon- Gage, for all his faults, is not a liar; and he can't stand liars. He doesn't trust Deacon half as far as he could throw him, and it drives him crazy that Sole does. He's forever keeping a cautious eye on the railroad spy, waiting for some shifty shit to go down.
Dogmeat- Gage tries to act all tough and indifferent to the "mutt" at first, but soon falls in love with man's best friend. When he thinks no one's looking, he even sometimes shares his food with Dogmeat. Sole has caught him more than once passed out curled up on the couch with fluffbutt over there.
Hancock- Hates him at first; chem downing junkie ghoul that he is. Gage warms up to him though, as he realizes that Goodneighbor is a thriving town that doesn't judge, and Hancock worked his ass off to make it that way. He respects and identifies with the need to walk away from family when they make a choice you just can't respect.
He does wish he'd stop offering Sole chems though.
MacCready- Gage just can't believe a word MacCready says about his past. A cave full of kids who kick people out once they grow up? Nope, too weird, not buying it. Because of this, he doesn't believe a word the young mercenary says, and feels about the same for him as he does for Deacon.
Nick Valentine- Resents the hell out of him. Sole looks up to this guy-robot-synth-thing like a father figure; and like any prewar father figure, Nick doesn't have many nice things to say about a guy like Gage. Gage finds it hard to look at Nick, he freaks him out almost as much as Curie does, just in reverse. This obviously robotic looking thing has the mind and memories of a prewar lawman, it's not just programming, he used to be a person...but what the hell is he now? Creepy, if you ask Gage.
Piper- Oh God just so damn annoying. Does she ever shut up? Not every cause matters, and his business certainly doesn't belong in a fucking newspaper for all to read. He hates it when Sole indulges her with tales of their exploits. Gage thinks if Piper REALLY wanted to keep her sister safe, she'd worry more about combat training than journalism. Piss the wrong person off and kiss your family goodbye; and Piper doesn't take any care in who she pisses off. What's more important? He'd like to ask her. Your family, or the scoop?
Strong- When he first meets Strong, Sole narrowly stops Gage from killing him on sight. At first, all Gage sees is a goddamn fucking mutie. Gage and Strong form something of a strange and unlikely friendship, full of lots of boasting and chest slapping. Gage takes an interest in Gatorclaw hunting, he likes bringing back trophies to rub in the mutant's big dumb green face.
X6-88- At first, Gage trusts him about as much as he trusts the institute as a whole...which isn't saying much. Surprising to himself though, he finds himself on weirdly good terms with the courser. Not too many of Sole's companions can relate to Gage's quiet, somewhat calculating disposition; he appreciates X6's tendency to leave him alone. He also appreciates how X6 judges by skill, not by a warped sense of black and white morality. Neither of them are very fond of words, so the extent of their communication is a friendly nod of the head in passing.
Longfellow- Gage sits in childlike wonder when Longfellow tells the stories of his youth and the sea. He wouldn't admit it, but he sees Longfellow as the strong father figure he wished he had in his own youth. Usually Gage doesn't give a shit what people think of him, but it cuts him deep when Longfellow looks at him with disappointment upon finding out about Gage's position as a raider. Longfellow's life actually makes him consider leaving it all behind; running off to a secluded and inhospitable wilderness to build a life with Sole away from all the bullshit. Something to consider anyway.
Preston Garvey for real this time- It's no secret that there is heated animosity between the two, but Gage can't help but note the similarities between them. They both placed Sole in charge, taking a back seat as second in command; both of them with a fire in their hearts to accomplish their goals. Garvey's goal however, is futile to Gage. The commonwealth, and the wasteland as a whole, is just not a peaceful place. There will always be a bigger badder monster or stronger force of manpower lurking around the corner to fuck up your day; sending in Sole to rescue people who don't even have what it takes to stand up for themselves does nothing in the long run. Gage usually prefers to keep his distance from Garvey and his holier than thou speeches, but he always tags along when Sole goes to speak to him. He's not above knocking Garvey's teeth in if he tries to trash talk him to Sole again.
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nukagalreacts · 6 years ago
Text
Part Two of Fo4 Companions reacting to Sole having telepathy!
Alright y’all here is the final part thanks again for this request and hope you enjoy reading it!
Hancock: He did a double take at Sole when they started talking about telepathy and how they had it, then he looked at his jet container wondering if he hit it to hard and he was hearing shit. Sole rolled their eyes and said they were being serious and why else would they always know what he was thinking before he did or they completed missions so easily or could rat people out who were conspiring against him. He had always figured Sole just did a lot of digging around and spying. But in the end that wouldn’t make sense because they were around him 99% of the time, so telepathy didn’t seem so far fetched. Once he came down from his jet high they began talking more in depth with Hancock asking Sole question after question because he genuinely wanted to know everything about it and what it was like for Sole.
Piper: Piper was psyched to learn Sole had telepathy after her skepticism was put to rest by Sole proving their powers to her. Now getting real stories for her articles and making the people of Diamond city take her work seriously and making them aware was a breeze with Sole helping her out. It was easy for Sole to look into anyone’s mind and get leads or the scoop on whatever was going on, also they had dug up more scandals then they could keep track of and were able to expose corruption from within the city, successfully stopping it in its tracks. Piper owed a debt she would never be able to pay off for all the help Sole had given her and she knew it was sometimes risky for Sole to always use their powers like this because a good chunk of people were starting to wonder just how her and Sole were able to get all their information so quickly. No one but Piper though even was aware telepathy was even a thing, so for now Sole’s secret was safe.   
Danse: Being kicked out under penalty of death from the Brotherhood had allowed Danse to be more open minded about everything out in the Commonwealth now that he wasn't being weighed down by creeds, rules and regulations. Sole figured it was safer now to reveal their telepathy to him after all they had been the one who knew Elder Maxson had wanted him killed before he even did and had gone out looking for Danse and found him first. Sole was always listening to Danse’s thought’s and whenever they heard him putting himself down for being a synth they would push their own positive thoughts about him into his head until the bad ones were completely drowned out. When he finally learned about the telepathy he kinda freaked out because he already knew for sure now that it was weird that he was always hearing Sole’s voice in his mind! Sole calmed him down though and said they only did it because they couldn’t stand seeing their best friend beat himself down all the time. Danse was less creeped out when Sole told him as such and it made him feel all warm inside that Sole cared about him so much that they always used their telepathy in such a way that benefited him.
Nick: Nick was one of those people who Sole couldn’t help but let them selves read his thoughts all the time because it wasn’t just his thoughts it was the old Nick’s thoughts as well. Nick didn’t know what was going on but recently he started always feeling like his mind wasn’t his own, almost like the feeling he got when Kellogg took over him for a brief moment, but not as unpleasant and more of a warm but curious presence. Overtime he got use to it and just figured it was his faulty wiring and decaying synth body, but he did find it odd that it only felt strange when Sole was around. When he brought the problem up to Sole he immediately noticed how sheepish Sole looked and how they were avoiding eye contact with him, he just kept staring at them waiting for a response before Sole blurted out that they had been looking into his mind with their telepathy abilities. Nick leaned back in his office chair, looking at Sole’s face for any signs that this was a joke before he really analyzed that they were dead serious. Sole nervously fidgeted with their hands as they apologized for looking into his thoughts and memories it was just they felt so drawn to him because it was two minds living in one body. Nick forgave them but preferred if they stayed out of his mind from now on and if they really wanted to know something they should just ask, for now though he wanted to hear more about this thing called telepathy.   
Deacon: Sole tried to keep the usage of their telepathy to a minimum within the Railroad agency because everyone around them was already so paranoid and Sole didn’t want them to think they were un-trustworthy. Over time though it became harder and harder to not use their ability as much especially if a mission was going slow and they knew all they had to do was look inside someone’s head for the information they needed or put a well placed thought in Deacon’s head to nudge him off in the right direction. Sole finally got tired of keeping secrets from Deacon, sure he was a liar and kept a lot of things hidden about himself but over the past few months they had become rather close and Deacon had been really open with Sole. Deacon didn’t even act surprised when sole brought it up, stating he knew there was something different about Sole from the moment they met he just didn’t dig into it because he knew Sole would come to them when they were ready.  
MacCready: Even though the world he lived in now was full of monsters and things that seemed to defy all logic he was a pretty superstitious man and was weary of anything that came off as supernatural, and Sole knew this so they never brought up the telepathy thing. Sole could understand that it unnerved a lot of people, but at the same time they wished more people could be understanding it’s not like they gave themselves this ability. It really started to wear Sole down having to hide a part of themselves away all the time and Mac caught on that something wasn’t right and he hated seeing Sole like this so he decided to have a talk with them. Sole felt so scared they were worried that Mac would hate them or call them a freak and leave forever, the exact opposite happened when they told him though. He couldn’t even begin to express to Sole how sorry he was that they felt this way and that he had come off as the kind of guy who would push them away or despise them for being different and he promised to do everything in his power to make it up to them.  
Dogmeat: Sole always seemed to know what he was thinking and it made him so excited he had never come across a human that could understand doggo before! Sole knew when he was hungry, when he wanted to play or when he needed a good rest and they always saw to his every need. They worked really well in combat together to because Sole never had to shout out commands at him instead they could ambush enemies and Sole could just show Dogmeat what they wanted him to do instead which was a lot easier instead of screaming across the way or yelling over gunfire or grenades going off. Sole was always talking out loud and mentioning how glad they were to have telepathy in situations like this, he didn’t know what that was but if it made Sole happy he was happy! *insert tail wag*.
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boarix · 6 years ago
Text
Wraith in the Ruins: A Fallout 4 Story Part XIV
Gen 4
Trigger warnings: canon violence/language/gun, alcohol and drug use. Animal injury/distress. Death of named/game-canon characters. Suggestive/mature content.
Bloody Mess warning!
Game Spoilers!
Please enjoy!
 “DOWN RANGE! DOWN RANGE!”
“I AM!”
Marcy Long and MacCready stood with their noses practically touching as they yelled into each other’s face.
“And for the last TIME, KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF OF THE TRIGGER! Are you trying to kill me?!”
“You just keep talking that way to me
 I KNOW HOW TO HANDLE A GUN, YOU ASS!”
“Watch your language you
 spoiled
 brahmin patty!”
Cait, who was also taking part in the morning lesson, stepped back with an amused smile, “Oi, you two gonna snog or what?”
“I’d just as soon kiss Strong!”
“You should be so lucky, wench!”
Only a few yards away, Sturges, Shaun and Danse worked on Sanctuary’s large walk-in fridge/freezer. Duncan was within their view and was being entertained by both Panther and Dogmeat. As the argument’s volume was increased by Cait’s ire, Sturges had stopped and was alternating concerned looks toward the young boy and frowning deeply at the vocal combatants.
“How is it possible that I’m more annoyed by the sound of folk’s voices than gunfire?”
Danse, his face calm, holding a pipe wrench, walked with determined steps toward the three-way argument.
“Umm, Mr. Sturges
 should we
”
“No way kiddo; I wanna see how this plays out.”
Large and imposing, Danse towered over the quarreling trio. Taking in an enormous amount of air, he bellowed at them with as much volume as if they were truant squires hiding in the Prydwen’s engine room, “LOUD NOISES!”
The resulting confused silence was so complete; it seemed as if time had stopped.
Wearing a smug smile, Danse stopped and tousled Duncan’s hair on his way back to work, “Okay, now what where you saying about condensation?”
Marcy holstered her pistol and quickly walked away toward the house she shared with her brother. When she passed Sturges, he could have sworn she was trying not to laugh. Cait was laughing and after a few confused blinks, MacCready joined her.
“Captain Danse, how did you know that was going to work?”
“I have some experience in dealing with difficult children.”
 The day wore on and after morning lessons were over, MacCready surprised Sturges’s group by bringing them all lunch. Sitting together in the warm sun with full stomachs, it was no wonder when they all began to doze off.  
Jerked awake when his head bobbed to his chest, Sturges stood and stretched, his joints popping pleasantly. Smiling at the assorted piles of napping people and animals he debated on whether or not to let them sleep: Duncan was using his father’s chest as a pillow and had a fairly sizable drool pool forming, Dogmeat had draped himself crosswise across Shaun, the two making an almost perfect “X” and Panther was in a cat-loaf on Danse’s chest and stomach, rising and falling with his breath.
“Sleepy synths and friends
” Deciding that there would be plenty of daylight hours left for repair lessons, Sturges sat back down and propped his back against the free-standing fridge. Just as he closed his eyes, Panther began to growl.
The enormous cat grew even larger with every hair on end. Panther had climbed off of Danse’s chest and was now stalking purposefully past the MacCreadys toward the settlement’s northern wall. Dogmeat was following close behind, his deep growl merging with the cat’s creating a sound that was almost harmonic.
“Danse, take my son. Get them all in the fridge. Now!” MacCready had rolled to his stomach and was low in the grass.
Duncan whimpered but allowed the large man to pick him up, “Daddy?”
“It’ll be okay, little man.” Training his eye just above Dogmeat’s head, MacCready could see a slight shimmer in the air as something moved between the houses. “Great. Just, flippin’ wonderful. And of course, I don’t have a walkie!” Unwilling to shoot without a clear target, he watched the ripple advance on the snarling animals, “Speak! Bark, Dogmeat! Call for help!”          
Tilting his muzzle to the heavens, the German shepherd let loose with a long mournful howl.
Phasing into view, the young chameleon deathclaw answered with a challenging roar. Focusing a baleful eye on the sniper, the beast dropped to all fours and leaped.
Rolling out of the way, MacCready vaulted to his feet and ran toward the wall. He hoped to lead it away from the freezer and possibly back through the fence breach. A pained yelp stopped his sprint and he turned to see Dogmeat narrowly avoid a swinging hit, bright blood already flowing down the dog’s right flank.
Panther seemed to fly through the air as it came to the canine’s defense. Once atop the monster’s shoulder, the cat dug in with both fang and front paws, raking the deathclaw’s ribs with its scythe-like rear claws unmercifully.
Taking the opportunity of a stationary, visible target, MacCready fired round after round at the beast’s closest knee.
The deathclaw decided that perhaps this herd was entirely out of his league and that retreat was the best option. Contracting the chromatophores in its skin, the creature blinked out of sight. Raking a claw across its own back, it dislodged Panther and cast the feline into the side of a nearby house.
Danse emerged from the freezer just in time to see the cat hit with a sickening crunch, “NOOOOOO!” Able to see the monster by the damage on its side, he rapidly closed the distance and with every last ounce of his strength, impaled the deathclaw through its wound with the handle of his pipe wrench.
The creature came back into view even as the light left its eyes.
Cradling the still form of Panther in his arms, Danse didn’t even acknowledge his astonishing victory. “CURIE!” Anguish and fear were clear in his voice as he dashed to the clinic.
Waving the all-clear and leaving cleanup to the Minutemen, Sturges and the children watched as MacCready gave Dogmeat a stimpak. The sniper scooped the dog into his arms and they all followed Danse.
“Looks like you’ve earned yourself some stiches too, puppy dog.”
  “Do you have to eat?”
“Wha...?”
“Shaun asked me if you, Bear and Billy have to eat. I told him I didn’t think so, because Billy
 are you laughing at me?”
“No! Heh, I would never laugh at you, sunshine.” Hancock’s bed shook slightly, revealing his lie. “Now, strictly speakin’, I’ve never tried going without chow. I enjoy good food. Eating is
 pleasurable. And we’re all aware how pleasure-centric I am!”
“Mmmhmmm!” It wasn’t just the ghoul’s own pleasure he focused on. “Ugh
 I don’t wanna get up.”
Hancock pulled her closer and nuzzled her neck, “So don’t. I’ll get up in a minute and bring us breakfast. As ghoulish as you are, I know you still need to eat. Heh, we burned a lot of calories last night, you feel me?”
Wraith had spent almost two months in Sanctuary after returning with Duncan MacCready.  The group had stopped on the way to pick up Shaun and Nat and the children had formed fast friendships. Shaun and Duncan were already referring to each other as “brother”.  Nat had been sad when it came time for Wraith to take her home but she held her head high and said her goodbyes with grace. Hancock had tagged along and he and Wraith had continued on to Goodneighbor after. Now, almost a week later, Wraith felt her schedule creeping up on her.
“I’ll have to dine-and-dash; if I’m gonna get to Diamond city by noon.”
“I thought Davidson was on top of things over there. You feel like you gotta babysit ‘im?”
“George is dead.” Wraith sighed, “I don’t have a official replacement yet.”
“Shit
”
A few minutes later, Hancock returned with eggs to find Wraith standing next to his bed, rotating her left shoulder.
“That arm still buggin’ ya?”
“No actually, it’s felt better in the last few days than it has since my surgery. Weird
”
A strange smile appeared on Hancock’s lips, “So your ghoulishness has you heal by radiation, right?”
“A little. Not as much as you
 now why are you laughing?”
Doubled over in mirth he could hardly speak, “You
 we’ve been
 ha ha
 a lot
 *wheeze*
 so you’re
 I’m helping
”
Wraith blushed but joined in his laughter, “Sexual healing, huh?”
  “How do you like the new pad?”
Wraith had wanted nothing to do with Kellogg’s property and Piper had tried to gift the home to Valentine and Ellie right after their wedding but they had resisted.  She had suggested that the home could be considered payment for years of dedication to the city and the detective’s aid in locating Wraith’s son. After much debate, they finally relented.
After working on Minutemen affairs for several days, Wraith had been invited to dinner at the Valentine’s. Now, enjoying a quiet meal with her friends, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of nostalgia; the domesticity reminded her of time before the war.
“It took a while to get the smell out from those darn cigars but it’s nice to have a separate place from the agency.”
“Ellie makes sure we keep all our work at work... keeps the clutter down.”
Wraith smiled as the pair made what could only be described as love-sick googly eyes at each other, “Speaking of work
”
“It’s been fairly steady lately. In fact, I just wrapped something up and surprisingly enough, I don’t have another case that I’ve immediately got to jump on. A little brake will be nice...” As if on cue, there was a knock at the door. When Valentine set his eye to the peephole, his smile vanished, “It’s Edward Deegan
”
“I’m sorry to bother you at home detective but this is a matter of some urgency.”
Valentine stood in the doorway, reluctant to let the ghoul in, “Don’t tell me, Jack’s got another wacko, alien abductee that I’m supposed to interview
”
“No, and I’m sorry about that, but Jack’s been shot.”
Wraith was under the detective’s arm and in Deegan’s face in the blink of an eye, “Is he alive? Who shot him?”
The bodyguard took a surprised step backward and tipped his cap awkwardly, “Oh
 ma’am
 I didn’t think I’d find the pair of you together
 I suppose that’s lucky for me
”
“I’ll pack your kit, Nick. Now invite the man in!”
“I
 I’m not getting a say in this, am I?”
 After the destruction of the Institute, Wraith had introduced Dr. Virgil to Jack Cabot in the hopes that he might curb some of Jack’s more “mad scientist” tendencies. The two had apparently hit it off to the point where Virgil was invited to move in and was granted his own lab space. Satisfied that they might keep each other occupied and out of trouble, Wraith had all but forgotten them.
Now allegedly, Virgil had kidnapped Jack’s sister Emogene, shooting her brother when he attempted to intervene.
“That doesn’t sound like Brian to me; he’s really not the violent sort.” Wraith and Valentine moved quickly through the ruins on their way to Cabot House, “He left the Institute because they were hurting people after all.”
Valentine agreed, “His first love has always been his research; doesn’t strike me as the type to lose his marbles over a dame. Let alone run off with her.”
“Someone isn’t telling us the whole truth here.”
“He’s bewitched by her and mad with desire!” Jack was lying in his bed with shoulder in a sling, “I’m not sure why you came here. I told Edward everything that happened. You should be out looking for her! Them
 you should be out looking
 for them.”
Wraith’s voice was gentle, “Jack, we really want to help but we need a better idea of what happened.”
“She
 he shot me. He took them
 her! I’m very tired now, please
”
“Mr. Cabot I’ll have no more nonsense today. It’s late and I left half my dinner and my patience at home. Tell us the truth. There is not a snowball’s chance in hell we’ll find them if you’re hiding information. Facts. Now.” Valentine had folded his arms and was glaring at him.
“Jack
 they came all this way
”
Wraith was surprised to see fear cross the scientist’s face and tears in his eyes. She reached out to pat his arm, “Hey, it’s okay. No one’s going to hurt you.”
“You might, once you know
” Jack made an attempt at gathered himself but when he spoke, the words tumbled out in a confusing, panicked rush, “Emogene shot me. I know I told you I was going to destroy my father’s body but I was so close to removing the artifact
. His corpse had not even begun to decompose, even after all this time! Virgil and I began research on possible medicinal applications. Emogene was in a fury after I told her the serum would no longer be available and when she found out that we still had his body
 she has Virgil! She’s going to make him implant the artifact in her! She hired some
  RUFFIAN THUGS! They took equipment and Brian
 I tried to stop her but she
 she SHOT ME! You must stop her!”
“Oh
 Jack
” Deegan shook his head sadly.
“Am I right in thinking that if this ‘transplant’ is successful, we’re going to have a full-on, telekinetic psychopath running around?”
“Actually, she might be able to propel herself through the air
”
“Oh? Swell.”
Wraith had not spoken and she stood with arms crossed, face like a thunderstorm. “You. Promised. Me.”
Blubbering like an infant, the scientist pleaded for her forgiveness, “You must understand! We were going to save lives! We had you in mind
”
“Oh, no. You were not thinking of me at all.” She turned her back on him, “Ruffian thugs? Do you suppose she hired mercs from Bunker Hill?”
Although Wraith technically owned the trading hub, she left most of the day-to-day to Kessler. The Minutemen were responsible for security and Hancock managed trade routes, barter agreements and the regulation of independent mercenaries. Kessler made regular reports to the ghoul and if there were matters of concern, Hancock would usually take care of them.  
“Stands to reason, options are limited now that you’ve nixed the Gunners.” Valentine gave a mirthless laugh, “She’s not going to go to the Minutemen for help.”
Deegan seemed surprised when Wraith headed for the door, “You’re going now? It’s the middle of the night!”
“I’m sorry; did you not just hear what’s going on?!” She motioned for the ghoul to follow, “You are coming with.”
“Edward! Promise me
 promise me you’ll save her!”
“Jack
 I promise.”
 “They didn’t come back yet.” Irritated at being awoken, the usually helpful Kessler was giving clipped answers through a clenched jaw, “I don’t know where they were going either.”
“How many mercs? What group?” Wraith wasn’t about to back down.
“Everybody’s filing nice, neat records now that John’s keeping tabs on the place, right? Just point us to the company cabinet and we’ll get out of your hair.”
Kessler frowned, “I can’t let just anyone
”
“Am I ‘just anyone’?” Wraith’s tone was steel.
As if she suddenly remembered who she was speaking to, the now pale Kessler briskly led them to the correct file cabinet, “If you need anything else
” Trailing off, she retreated back to her bedroom.
“Found it; ‘equipment and resource allocation and relocation’ for E. C. Looks like they were heading to Vault Ninety-five. You familiar, partner?”
“Yes, I’ve been there. They might be planning on repurposing the vault’s medical equipment.” Wraith stifled a yawn, “That’s a helluva ways from here
”
“They have a big head start too...”
“Brahmincart!” Wraith smacked a fist into her palm.
“Bless you
”
“No, no; I mean that we’ll head back through Diamond city, grab some more heavy-duty ordnance and sleep in the wagon on our way down to Somerville Place.”
“It’s too bad the Hounds don’t have more
 hounds.”
Wraith was surprised, “You would ride puppy-back, Val?”
“Sure! You only live once, right?”
 Wraith set a blistering pace on the return to the ballpark. Outfitting themselves and hitching up the fastest possible brahmin team took longer than she would have liked; making the prevention of the transplant seem less likely. The delay strengthened her resolve for an upcoming conversation with Deegan that she knew neither of them would enjoy.
“I want you to take this,” The trio had just finished a perimeter sweep of the vault and Wraith wasn’t sure if she should be concerned or relieved that there wasn’t a posted guard. She handed the ghoul an anti-materiel rifle, “It’s technically Mac’s birthday present so
 maybe don’t mention it to him if you get to use it first.”
“What exactly do you want me to do with this?!”
“I want you to stay here. Stay well back from the entrance. It’s the only way in or out, so if she gets past us
”
“Now wait just a damn minute! I promised Jack I was going to save his sister, not turn her into red mist!”
“I know you might think that an AMR is overkill
”
“You’re FUCKING RIGHT I DO!”
“You won’t if that gal comes floating out of that vault and comes straight at you!” Despite his scolding tone, Valentine’s face was sad, “We are talking about telekinetic powers; she might have a debris-field shield. You’ll be thankful of a gun designed to destroy military equipment.”
“And that it’s precision enough that it won’t completely annihilate everything else around
 her.”
“I can’t, Wraith.” The family’s bodyguard for over two centuries, Deegan could not picture himself pulling the trigger, “I know she can be a
 a handful. But she’s not some monster; she’s not her father!”
 Wraith grabbed the large ghoul’s substantial biceps and gave them a squeeze, “Who knows what it’s been whispering to her. She already shot Jack. If she comes out of that vault first, then Val, Virgil and I will be dead and she won’t be Emogene Cabot anymore.”
 The elevator ride down was a tense affair. When the door slid open, Wraith and Valentine stood well back, weapons drawn and ready to fight.
“Who iiiiisssssss it?”
Wraith jumped as an oddly tinny and sibilant voice seemed to come from just behind her ear, “Emogene? Is that you?”
“Of course, lovely. Don’t be coy.” She seemed amused, laughing unpleasantly, “I came to greet you. I just knew Jack would send his two favorite gumshoes.”
Feeling an intense malevolent force emanating from the next room, Wraith reluctantly holstered her revolver and stepped forward into the atrium with her hands raised, “Emogene, Jack is worried abou
”
“DON’T LIE!” Looking once again as if she was in her early twenties, Emogene stood midway down the stairs. Her face momentarily twisted in fury as she interrupted, “That selfish fool only cares about himself.”
“Well, at least she’s not floating.” Valentine had exited the elevator to stand next to Wraith.
“That’s not true; he sent us here to save you.”
“Save me? Oh, dear we are confused, aren’t we? I’m not the one who needs saving, Wraith.” Continuing her decent, the woman moved with an almost snake-like sinuousness, “Just look! I’ve been reborn!”
“Where is Virgil, Ms. Cabot? I would very much like to see how the good doctor is fairing.” Valentine kept his hands raised as well, “We aren’t here to raise a ruckus; I think your family and friends are all a little worried.”
Now only a few feet from Wraith, Emogene locked eyes with her and completely ignored the detective, “I’m immortal, Wraith and brimming with power. I can feel it move through me. It feels so good.” She ran her eyes over her from toe to crown, “I can feel you
 you’re like me. I don’t know how... Join with me. Spend an eternity with me. Be mine.”
“That’s
 very flattering but I’m in love...”
“Yes. The ghoul
 he’ll join us as well. John Hancock is rumored to be the Commonwealth’s most proficient lover. I’ll have him.” A pensive look crossed her face, “I have no use for your common human male, however. The mercenary is worthless.”
Wraith fought hard against a building anger. “Where is Brian? Where are the mercenaries that you hired?”
“They are no longer worth my consideration. You will grow out your hair; I want something to hold on to
”
“That’s enough!” Valentine lowered his hands, his anger getting the best of him, “Leave her be!”
“Mind your tone synth! You who threw his immortality away! And for what
”
“Love. Love, Emogene.” Standing tall, he lifted his chin with pride, “Haven’t you gotten tired of watching the folks you love grow old and pass on without you? The pain of almost continuous loss? Scared to see love die so you stop looking for it; only to become blind to it?”
“Weren’t you and Brian together? Don’t you care for him?”
“This fool?” Casting her eyes upward, she fanned her fingers and Virgil descended from the ceiling to hang over their heads like a marionette, “I believe I’ve told you; he is of no consideration.”
Wraith moved under the suspended doctor and raised her hands as if to catch him, “Brian! Can you hear me?” Overcome with a sense of impending doom she sent a pleading look to Emogene, “Please set him down. It looks like he’s choking!”
“Ms. Cabot, you can’t want this
”
“You know nothing of us!”
Emogene made an almost negligent twisting motion with her hands and Wraith watched in helpless horror, as Brian Virgil’s head was slowly torn from his neck. Although he couldn’t cry out, his eyes spoke of the intense fear and pain. Blood spewed violently forth, raining down on Wraith like a macabre waterfall.
Valentine drew his revolver and fired in the space of a breath but even that was too slow. Flicking her hand as if swatting a fly, the possessed woman cast the bullet aside.
“Tch
 covered in that fool’s worthless bile
 Worry not, I’ll wash you clean with my love. Join me, pet.”
Fighting her berserker’s rage, Wraith stuttered over her words as she shook, “For
 how long? When will you get bored, hmm? Tear
 tear my
 my head OFF LIKE A CAP ON A FUCKING NUKA COLA?!”
“You don’t know what love is. You’re bitter and cruel, Emogene.”
“Fucking bitch.”
“So
 ‘No’, is it?”
Raising herself from the floor, Emogene tucked her body into a fetal position even as the air shimmered and distorted around her. Raising the temperature through the power of the artifact, flames gathered around her until she resembled a small star. Then, reaching her limit, she flung her limbs outward, casting a powerful shockwave that ripped through the room.
Valentine was sent flying, coming down hard amongst debris that impaled him through his lower abdomen.
Wraith left a streak of Virgil’s blood as she was thrown violently across the floor. Caroming hard off of the wall between the stairs, she gasped as the air was knocked from her lungs.
It might take a monster

Vaulting to her feet before she could even breathe, Wraith ran straight at her enemy. Just before reaching her, she activated a stealth-boy and vanished. Positioning herself behind the unconscious detective, she checked to make sure he was still breathing. After administering a stimpak and dosing herself with Med-X, she moved closer to the vault’s entryway security office.
As soon as she lost sight of Wraith, Emogene pulled items to her, including the remains of Virgil, and sent them spinning and flying around her in a protective shield.
I guess Val called that one

Drawing both her revolver and Kremvh’s tooth, Wraith hooked a can on her toe and kicked it at the floating psychopath. Still under the effects of the stealth-boy she changed position again trying to find any available shadow in the fire-lit atrium.
“Come now, Wraith. We expected more from you!” Cackling madly, Emogene caught the can and settled back to the floor, “Death-in-the-Shadow! Ha! We know how to draw you out.”  Blood flowed freely from Valentine’s wound as soon as Emogene lifted him.
Seeing him dangle in the air with his life ebbing rapidly away, Wraith lost control. Unloading a clip from her .44, she then threw the gun and dagger before casting around for a larger projectile. Had she kept her senses she might have noticed that her enemy seemed to be having trouble with the volume of items she was mentally controlling. Instead, Wraith lifted a bed, stacked it on yet another bed, and heaved them like a spear.
The detective was dropped unceremoniously to the ground as Emogene instinctually lifted both hands to block the furniture. Her eyes widened in surprise when she was punched in the stomach.
Growling menacingly, Wraith kicked her for good measure. Picking up a bedframe she brought it down hard but the other woman was able to roll away.
Stunned, hurt and suddenly afraid, Emogene’s thoughts turned to escape. Levitating and propelling herself through the vault’s entryway she slammed the elevator call button.
Wraith saw her smirk just as the doors slid shut between them.
  “Val! Wake up! Stay with me, partner.”
“Uuugghhhh?”
“Oh, thank you. Here, have some water.” Wraith held the detective in her lap as she helped him drink, “What’s your pain level; how do you feel?”
“I feel
 I feel like the south end of a northbound brahmin.” He blinked groggily, “What in the world happened?”
“You were skewered on some junk and I lost my head. I think I was whipping stuff at her but
 she escaped. I know that much at least.”
“She took the elevator topside?! We have to go
 uggghhh
” Making as if to stand, he was overcome by weakness and sagged back into Wraith’s embrace.
“Take it easy! You’ve lost a lot of blood.” She gently squeezed him, “I did my best to fix you up but you’re going to be weak for a while. I think the wire missed anything super necessary but I’m worried about infection. Heh, when was your last tetanus shot?”
“Never would have thought I’d need one.” He smiled weakly up at her, “Thanks for patching me up for the hundredth time.”
She kissed his forehead, “Remember these gentle feelings toward me when I have to make you climb out of here.”
“Climb
”
“Emogene destroyed the elevator car.”
“Oh? Swell.”
 Despite what she had said, Wraith had no intention of making Valentine climb the cable to the surface. Instead, she proposed tying him to her in some way and hauling them both up, with the aid of chems, hand over hand.
“No, Wraith.”
“Okay
”
“That‘s a terrible idea and not just because of the Buffout.”
Eyebrows pitched she shook her head and swept her hands out in front of her, “So, you have a better one?”
“Check your Pip-boy; they ought to have had some sort of parallel access shaft for maintenance and elevator repair, right?”
“Ummm
” Studying the maps on her device, a slight flush crept across her cheeks, “Now, why didn’t I think of that?”
Valentine chuckled, “Because you were gung-ho about showing off your Marine rope climbing skills?”
“I was really good at it; no legs all arms.” The screen cast a green glow on her face and she bit her lip as she concentrated. “It looks
 it looks like you’re right.”
“Naturally.”
“Still, it’s a ladder. That’s going to be a lot of climbing...”
“I’m not going to let you truss me up to dangle from you like a bindle!”
 The trip up was long and arduous. Valentine went first so that if he lost his grip, Wraith might catch him. And they had to make frequent stops so the weakened detective could gather what little strength he could to make it “just one more floor”.
At one point, noticing how hard he was breathing, Wraith climbed up and positioned her limbs around him, “Let go and rest, Val. I won’t let you fall; your wife would never forgive me.”
“Would
 I
 be
 a
 good father?”
Despite the lack of context, she didn’t even hesitate, “Yup. You’d make the best pop ever!”
“Don’t even
 know if
 we can
”
“Worth a shot, right?” Wraith felt herself start to choke up, “If not, there are a few kids without parents that would be very happy to be Valentines.”
“It’s
 a little
 I’m scared actually.”
“Of course! You wouldn’t be the responsible Detective Nick Valentine if you didn’t appreciate the gravity of the situation.”
“Uhhgg
 don’t mention gravity!”
 Once on the surface, Wraith carried the now unconscious Valentine to Somerville Place. The clinic there was small, and he would need follow-up care but the medic was proficient and the detective was soon stable and resting comfortably.
“We have a problem, General Wraith.” The settlement’s head had pulled her aside and pointed toward the river, “That Edward Deegan fella is still here. He’s drunk, scary and won’t leave.”
“Oh
”
When the ghoul saw her he couldn’t stop the smile of relief that crossed his scarred face. It was quickly replaced by anger and he staggered to his feet and rushed her while pointing a shaking finger at her face, “You! YOU ASS!” Balling up his fist, it looked as if he might strike her. Instead he started to sob and dropped to his knees, “Why
 why did I have to kill her?”
“Deegan
 I’m so sorry
”
“No
 I
 this is all my fault. I was supposed to protect them. How could I let this happen?! How will I ever tell Jack?”
“I will be there with you when you do. I’ll help you.” She set a gentle hand on his shoulder, “Physical labor and cleaning.”
“What
 what?”
“Two things that help me work through grief. While I’m waiting on the transport for Val I’m going back in the vault to get Virgil’s remains.”
Deegan watched her walk away for a minute before sighing deeply and following after.
 Later, Wraith sat in a chair next to Valentine’s bed, trying to decide if she had failed. Waking up, he reached out and patted her hand.
“Doll face, don’t go thinking that you’re somehow to blame for this.”
“I didn’t make sure Jack destroyed his father’s body. I didn’t make sure the artifact was destroyed or hidden or
”
“You trusted them, that’s not on you.”
“You can’t trust everyone
”
“You,” He flinched as he sat up straighter, “you sound like Deacon.”
“Yeah
” She faked a smile; trying to put on a brave face for her friend, “I sent a courier so there should be a cart here soon. The ride back to the city is going to be a little rough
”
“Suppose I’ll just have to have some more Med-X, huh?”
“Shocking! Detective Valentine on chems!”
“Yeah, yeah. Don’t tell John, he’ll never let me hear the end of it. Also, Wraith
 the caps on Nuka Cola aren’t supposed to be twist-off
”
 When Hancock didn’t answer her knock, Fahrenheit took a deep centering breath before letting herself into his office. Her relief to see he wasn’t engaged in anything embarrassing quickly dissipated when she saw the melancholy look on his face. Seated at his desk, he stared out a window with a letter in his hand and an empty container of Mentats at his elbow.
“That a letter from Wraith?”
Jerking slightly he turned and smiled at her, “Oh, hey Fahr. Did I miss a meeting?”
“No. It’s been a while since Wraith left and you’ve a tendency to become
 lugubrious, the longer you’re without her.”
He smiled at her verbiage, “Fancy depression, huh?”
“Yes. I try to make it a point to check in on you.” She stabbed a finger at the letter, “What is that?”
Irritation and sadness passed over his face, “It’s a update from the Sunglassed Ass.”
“Things are bad.”
“No, no they’re just fine
 don’t really want to talk about him
”
“Very well, would you like to play chess?”
“Always!”    
A few minutes into the game Fahrenheit noticed that the ghoul was toying with a defeated pawn. It was unlike him to fidget during matches and combined with his obvious distress over the letter she decided to push the issue. Subtly of course.
“Regrets over your gambit?”
“Hmm?” He frowned at the piece in his hand before setting it back on the table, “Sorry, I took too much and now I’m spinnin’ in my mental loop.”
“It’s interesting what some individuals consider acceptable loss.” Advancing her knight she took another pawn, “That’s why I think Deacon would have been a worthy opponent; his agenda is paramount. Very few distractions.”
Hancock scoffed, “Unless you count Wraith.”
“Did he?”
“I said I didn’t want to talk about it.”
“Right.”
Suddenly standing, the mayor crossed his hands behind his back and began to pace, “He’s always been a pain in my ass; showin’ up outta nowhere
 but he was here. Helping. I’ve been a part of the Railroad since I took over but he’s always made sure no one knew. He told Wraith that I ‘turn a blind eye’...”
“Lies from a liar.”
“You know, he was on this faux fruit kick for a bit; would leave bananas in my boots. Complete fuckin’ nonsense from him, all the time
”
“The balloons.” The memory made her frown.
“Exactly! So why is it that I’m missing him being
 here?” He was gesticulating wildly now, “I’ll fuckin’ tell you why; Wraith! She loves him! I know she does. And he loves her. And I love her. If she can love someone, then there must be some worth to ‘em.”
“It’s interesting how you don’t apply the same logic to yourself
”
He dismissed her with a wave, “She would have died without his help. It’s possible that, at some point I could have been axed, had he not been there to prevent it!”
“And so, what?”
“He could have come back by now. He’s repaired their infrastructure, set up new safe houses, appointed new agents
 He’s not comin’ back though. You know why?”
“Do tell.”
“Because he knows that he loves her and that is dangerous. And he doesn’t think that he’s good enough. He told me himself he doesn’t deserve
”
Fahrenheit’s laugh was humorless, “This from the ghoul who staged a fight with her because, ‘it’s what’s best for her’.” She drummed her nails on the chessboard in irritation, “She is one of the most capable people I’ve ever met, and you foolish men treat her like a child.”
Looking abashed, Hancock sat back down, “Suppose
 yeah.”
“Your self-sabotage knows no bounds, does it?” She leaned forward and caught his eye, “Do you really want him to return, profess his love and carry her off into the sunset? Do you find her so fickle? Nonsense indeed!” Leaning back she folded her arms, “No, she’s chosen you and MacCready; may the heavens have mercy!”
“I’m being stupid.”
“You
 need her. She levels you out.”
“Sorry, Fahr. Wanna finish the match?”
“No. I see the empty box of Mentats, there’s no way I could defeat you tonight. This was a ruse.”
He feigned shock, “Using my beloved chess against me? No Fahr, tonight you definitely defeated me.”
“I’m pregnant.”
Hancock froze. He stood up. He sat back down only to stand up immediately again.
“You
 going to keep doing that?”
“Baby?”
“Yes, potentially; if the pregnancy is successful, I will give birth to a baby.”
He sat back down, “Baby?”
“Oh, boy... It’s going to be like that, huh?”
He stood back up and began rushing around his office, grabbing various items and putting them in his coat pockets, “We should leave right now!”
Alarmed and confused she stood up as well, “Leave and go where? Hancock? Hey stop! Dad, stop!”
“You
 called me
 you called me dad?”
Taking his scarred hands in hers, she led him to the couch, “Yes, dad. Leave and go where?”
“Sanctuary. Amari doesn’t have ultrasound. Pregnant daughter needs ultrasounds.”
“All those chems and I still managed to shock your intelligence down to a super mutant’s.” She pulled him to her and hugged him tightly, “I’ve already talked to Amari; she sent a letter to Curie and everything will be fine.”
“Does Michael know?”
“Yes, this was all carefully thought out and planned.”
“Of course.” He sniffled, fighting tears.
“You can cry if you want, grandpa.”
So he did.
  “
 and daddy and Pants-her and Doggy and Mr. Cap’n all fought it! The kitty was hurt bad and Mr. Cap’n was very sad but he’s all better now and Curie is a really good docker!”
“Wow Dunk, that sounds scary!”
The small boy puffed his chest, “No I wasnit, Waif! Daddy ‘nd Mr. Cap’n are really good and Shaun was there!”
“Thank you very much for telling me.”
Wraith held Duncan’s hand as he and Shaun escorted her from Sanctuary’s main gate. She had already been updated when she met with Cait at the Red Rocket but she enjoyed his enthusiastic story-telling.
“Your daddy on duty?”
“Yup. He’s the best shooter-man!”
“He sure is, honey.”
“Hey grandma, Curie says she needs to talk to you as soon as you got back.”
“Okay,” Passing Duncan’s hand to his she stopped and stared hard at Shaun, “You grew.”
“Jeez, grandma! You say that like it’s bad.”
“I’ll have to measure you again
 ugh. That’s it; I’m teaching you both to sew!”
Shaun laughed, “If I’m making my own clothes does that mean that they can look however I want?”
She stuck out her hand, “Deal!”
 After visiting briefly with MacCready, Wraith jogged to the clinic. The loveseat in Curie’s office was over-full with napping Danse, Panther and Dogmeat. Wraith stifled a giggle as all three were snoring.
“Psst! Madame
” Curie waved Wraith into her lab, embracing her once she was inside, “Bonjour! I am so very happy to see you return safe.”
“Thanks, Baby Bird. Shaun said you wanted to see me?”
Suddenly nervous, Curie knit her fingers together and held them to lips, “I have made a discovery. It might be shocking to you, so please sit.”
“Uh, oh. What is it?”
Pulling another chair across form Wraith’s, the doctor sat and reached out to hold her hands, “We have long suspected that Panther was a synth, oui? As you probably know le chat was gravely injured defending against the deathclaw. Mon ours was so distraught!” She frowned at the memory, “I did my best and thankfully I was able to save our dear friend.”
“Thank you, Curie. We all love that cat.”
Curie’s face was grave, “I analyzed some of the blood samples I obtained, for science, and I found that
”
“Tell me.”
“DNA from your late husband was used to create Panther.”
“Yes, I know.”
Shocked, Curie’s mouth worked, opening and shutting as she tried to find the words, “How
 who
 when?”
“Okay, probably should re-phrase that. I have long suspected that at some point Father would have harvested some of Nate’s
 information.” Wraith smiled, “I know it sounds odd but when I first saw Panther, my thought was ‘that’s Nate’.”
“Why have you never told me this? I could have verified for you
”
Wraith took her by the shoulders and hugged her again, “Don’t worry about it! The cat isn’t literally him
 Sure they act alike in some respects but
 No, it’s fine. I will always love Nate. He is gone now though, and I have done my best to move on. I can’t be always looking for his shadow in everyone I meet.”
“That is most poetic, madame.”
“Thanks, Baby Bird.” Wraith stood up, “Was there anything else? I need to go meet with Sofie.”
“Mademoiselle Fahrenheit is pregnant and Ellie Valentine as well.”
Wraith sat back down.
  Thank you so much for reading! Like what you read? Looking for more? Please see my master-link post tagged under Wraith in the Ruins in my bio. As always, if you have any questions/comments/concerns, my ask is open to you. Anon too! I’d love to hear from you. =^..^=
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fallout-4-reacts · 6 years ago
Note
Yay! How would the companions (+nick) react to Sole dying before their eyes, only to have Sole walk in a month later, battered and bruised, telling them it was a clone from the institute. Lotta details on this one sorry 😅 An lots of luck with starting this blog!
Cait platonic: she couldn’t believe it, Sole was back and they were really there, she ran her hands over their face and demanded that they explain, “it was an institute synth.” They answered simply with a shrug, she nodded and gave them a hug before giving them a small slap with tears eyes and a chuckle, “I really missed ya sole!” She said
Cait romanced: she wrapped her arms around Sole and kissed them roughly, “where have you been?!” She cried as they hugged her back, “it was an institute synth.” They told her as they both walked back to sanctuary to show the others Sole was somehow alive and ok.
Curie platonic: she was walking down the road in sanctuary like always but then she saw sole and after rubbing her eyes to check and see if it was really them she decided they were in fact there she ran towards them and wrapped her arms around their waist and hugged them tightly with slightly teary eyes, “I’m so happy your back!” She said as they held her tightly, they would of course have to explain the synth that was pretending to be them.
Curie romanced: Sole was running towards her and wrapped their arms around her, picking her small frame up and spinning her around, cupping their face she placed a small kiss on their lips while they smiled at her, the two were quite the sight to everyone in sanctuary, Sole would explain the synth to her when they made it to the others.
Piper platonic: she didn’t even stop to explain why she was running towards the bridge at sanctuary but it was clear once she stopped informs of the vault dweller, “blue?” She asked with a smile, they nodded and gave a smile back, “yeah it’s me piper.” They hugged their friend as she grabbed them by the neck and brought them close.
Piper romanced: she stopped in front of them, “so there was this synth.” They said, she shook her head and hugged them, “that’s gonna be a nice news article.” She said giving them a kiss.
Preston platonic: he watched as the new person entered sanctuary looking beaten up, until he realized that wasn’t anybody, that was sole and once he realized that he was on their case immediately, “what happened?” He asked grabbing them and looking them over, “you know the usual, I was replaced by a synth.” They shrugged with a smile, he shook his head and hugged them.
Preston romanced: he kissed them once he met them at the opening of sanctuary, “sorry, it’s been a while since I got to do that you know.” He listened as they explained their story, “the institute got me and you’ve been living with a clone, sorry” while they shrugged with a nervous look, he hated that Sole was beaten up without him there to protect them.
Hancock platonic: he was high for sure but this hallucination was crying and solid, that’s when he realized it was sole, “y
 you’re alive?” He asked, they nodded and without hesitation the mayor planted a kiss on his friends cheek, “Institute got me and cloned me, the usual.” They said with a smile, Hancock shook his head and swung an arm around the vault dweller.
Hancock romanced: he thought they were part of the hallucination but, they didn’t look right. They were bruised and teary eyed, once he realized he wasn’t hallucinating he placed his lips on soles and cried, “what happened?” He asked, sole “the institute, that was a clone.” They said as he held their face, he was happy they were back.
Deacon platonic: when deacon saw sole walking into sanctuary he smirked and met them as they were walking up to them and looking them up and down, “yeah, I was wondering when you show up, sole.” He smirked down at them and put an arm around them as he walked back, “been watching you since you busted out dude.” He said as they sighed.
Deacon romanced: he of course knew when sole walked into sanctuary he was watching them, “ha!” He grabbed them and picked them up, sure he was sad but he knew they were ok and back at sanctuary, so many kisses and cuddles were in order, “so what happened while I was here?” He asked scooping them up.
Danse platonic: he didn’t believe it when he saw them walking toward sanctuary, he ran and almost crushed sole in a hug but soon realized that that couldn’t be sole, “sorry you looked like-“ he looked them with wide eyes, “tell me everything that has happened!” He dragged them back to one of the many houses, “it was the institute- dude!” Sole had a lot of explaining to do all right.
Danse romance: he ran to sole and made sure it was really them, when they nodded he stared at all their bruises and softly ran his fingers over the bruises with teary eyes, “I thought they killed you I was so sure-“ he leaned into sole, “it takes more than evil scientists to get rid of me.” Sole smiled as they kissed him. Danse dipped them and they each smiled.
Maxson platonic: he marched straight up to sole, “I demand you explain!” He couldn’t stay pissed long after he saw their bruises, then he made them go see someone to patch themselves up and soles pushed his hand away, “evil scientists Maxson don’t worry about it.” They waved him off, that was sole though.
Maxson romance: he scoops them up and demands to know if they’re a synth, “sorry it’s me the real deal Maxson, institute can’t take me down.” He kisses them roughly and picks them up off the ground as he spun them, “I have some stuff for those brusies” he sits them down and cleans them up, listening to their tail while stealing looks at them.
Nick platonic: he walked up to sole and shook his head, “you’re really Sole then?” He asked, they nodded and he gave them a pat on the cheek and a smile, “lets go.” He said waking them toward the others nearby.
Nick romanced: he stared at the bruises up Sole with teary eyes, “is that really you Sole?” He asked, “yeah.” They smiled and shrugged, they would later explain that, “I was replaced by a clone and I managed to escape.” He held them tight, placing kisses on their lips as he sat on the couch with sole.
X6-88 platonic: awkward, they walked up and stared at x6, “tell me, did you know they had me?” They asked with teary eyes, “no, I would never let them take you away you’re my friend Sole.” He kept his hands gripped on their shoulders. He never thought he would see sole again. he is so relieved they’re back.
X6-88 romanced: he takes soles bruised face into his hands and starts to tear up, “Sole I’m so sorry I had know idea.” Sole stopped him and leaned into him, “I know X Its ok, I’m here and it’s really me this time.” They smiled and he gently placed his hand on their back, the two of them stayed that way on the bridge until finally he kissed them.
Gage platonic: he watched sole walk into sanctuary and he dropped everything to run to them and grabbed them, “Sole?” He asked with scared eyes, “institute cloned me and I’m back.” They said simply, he smirked and gave them a small slap and started to help them with their bruises.
Gage romanced: he wanted to scoop them up right there but the state they were in as they walked into sanctuary was awful enough that he feared he would break them if he picked them up, so he took their hands and held them, “is it really you sole?” He asked, “takes more than the institute to get rid of me! It was a clone.” They said with tears streaming down their face. He smiled as he kissed them with a little smirk.
Dogmeat: he found them!!!!!! He barked happily and rolled over, “institute doesn’t stop the love of a pet and their owner!” Soles said with a bruised face.
Strong: “immmmm back!” Sole said, strong sighed and shook his head, “puny human.” Good ole times, sole didn’t know what to expect but they went and got some ice for their black eye and sat down.
Codsworth: he spun with glee, “my word it is so nice to see you again.” He said, “institute can’t make a copy of me!” Sole smiled with a black eye, codsworth was so happy to see his friend back.
MacCready platonic: sole stopped and smiled at the merc, “sole is that you for real?” They nodded and smiled, “institute cloned me but I’m back.” They said, he smirked and started to get them cleaned up, they looked bruised and beaten but he could fix it.Maccready romanced: he almost cried when he saw them, “Sole are you really here in sanctuary in front of me?” He asked while holding them, “institute is not match for sole!” They smiled with a black eye and they gave maccready a small kiss on the cheek as the two walked to the house they shared.
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tonks32 · 6 years ago
Text
Vault 95
I borrowed Gentlezed’s Boston again for this little snippet. I know that black-rose4 already went down this road, which can be found here (go read it as it’s fantastic) but I had this knocking around in my head.
Ao3
  They should’ve set out for Vault 95 the moment Cait mentioned it. That was his plan at least. But nothing, as Boston was learning, ever went according to plan in the fucking Commonwealth. The Brotherhood showed up. He stumbled his way through the damn Freedom trail and was now engaging with an organization whose sole purpose was to liberate Synths. Then he had to track and kill a courier for any hope of breaching the Institute to find Shawn. And while Boston found himself being pulled all across the wasteland, Cait’s health declined.
  Now, as they breached the vault, Boston feared they waited too long. That fighting Gunner after Gunner would mean nothing. That, once again, he would lose the woman he loved.
  “We’re almost there!” Boston yelled slamming another magazine into his modified hunting rifle.
  Cait, paler than death with blood trickling from her nose, only nodding before squeezing off two rounds of her shotgun. The kickback itself nearly knocked her over.
  He held her behind their cover. “Stay here.”
  “Sodding-.”
  “Cait! Listen to me!” Boston took a precious moment that they probably didn’t have to take her face between his calloused hands. “You can’t fight.”
  “Watch me.”
  “Please, Cait.” There was a small hitch in his voice as he stared at her. “I need-I can’t
” Boston cursed, words escaping him like they always did. She must’ve understood regardless since she laid a hand against his cheek. “I’ll be back.”
  “You better.” She swiped the sleeve of her other arm to mop up the blood. “Don’t make me come save yer ass.”
  Despite the bone-deep fear coursing through him, he let out a bark of laughter. “It’s a very fine ass.”
  Cait smiled. “Verra, verra fine. My opinion may be a tad biased.”
  “Cait.” He held his tongues where the words sat ready to be let out. No! He wouldn’t tell her like this. When they both thought her on death’s door. It would be only another thing to haunt him. Instead, Boston gave her a quick and hard kiss. “I’ll be back. Dogmeat, stay with her.”
  More Gunners. More robots. Enemies were around every corner it seemed. Was the Commonwealth fully of just mercenaries. Was there that little good left in this desolate world?
  The question echoed in his mind as Boston took out the last Gunner held up in the experiment chamber. After a few quick clumsy strikes of the keyboard, the terminal hummed to life. He pounded his fist against the desk in triumph. Finally something in the fucked up world was going in their favor.
  Of course, he spoke too soon. He felt the hot sting of a blade in his lower left back from a Gunner he failed to check was dead in his rush. “Damn it.” Boston slumped forward, his knees starting to buckle under his own weight. His sluggish movements left him open for another blow. This time catching him closer to the spine and being enough to take him down. Willin his brain to block out the pain, Boston swung around to put a round into the Gunner’s head.
  “Fucking, idiot,” Boston mumbled at himself while looking over his shoulder trying to figure out how to remove the blade still lodged in his back. It took far too long for his liking before the bloody knife clattered against the floor. He had to get back to Cait. Gripping the edge of the desk, Boston pulled himself up. The pain shooting down his left leg proved too much and ended up sprawled out on the floor in a small pool of his own blood.
  Stim pack!
  Frantically, Boston flipped through the pockets of his gear only to come up with a pain blocker. God damn it to hell! That wouldn’t work. He tried sitting up again, hand slipping on a metal cylinder.
  Psycho.
  After a quick glance, Boston found it all over the room. Taking it wasn’t exactly the most ideal situation, but it would be what he needed to spike his adrenaline enough to get back to Cait. Hopefully, the blocker would help ease to pain for now.
  The shot of Psycho worked instantly, giving Boston the energy needed to get to his feet. He injected himself with the blocker before ignoring his wounds and made his way back to Cait.
  Dogmeat was curled protectively around the semi-conscious woman. He lifted his head from his paws, saw the blood leaking from his master’s body, and let out a small whine.
  “No time to worry about me, boy.” Despite the blocker, pain radiated through his weakening body as he bent to scoop Cait into his arms.
  Stirring slightly, the redhead draped an arm around his neck and gave him a weak yet breathtaking smile. “You look like shite, Boston.”
  He pressed his lips to her clammy brow. “And you’ve never looked better. Time to go.” With the continuing blood lose and weaning effects of the drug, Boston had to hurry before his body gave out on him. “Come, Dogmeat.”
  Cait struggled to hold onto consciousness. Everything hurt. Even the simple task of breathing was too much. Closing her eyes, she pressed her face against his shoulder forcing herself to concentrate on the smell of him. Sweat. Musk. Dirt. Under all that was a hint of cedar that always clung to his skin. So many nights, when the cravings took hold, Cait would curl up in her bed, face buried in a shirt of his she stole long ago. Before they even started to tangle up in one another.
  Through the haze of what Cait could only figure was approaching death, Cait felt something slick on Boston’s back. To her horror, she found her hand drenched in blood. “You’re hurt.”
  Boston adjusted his grip, holding her tighter and forcing all his effort into putting one foot in front of another. “Only a flesh wound.”
  “Yer a horrible liar.”
  He let out a soft chuckle. “So, I’ve been told.” MacCready especially, constantly reminding him of how horrible his poker face was. Turning the final corner, Boston couldn’t hold back the sigh of relief. Carefully as he could muster with the pain starting to worsen, he laid her down in the chair. He looked at all the equipment, struggling to remember what the instruction said to do.
  “Boston.” Cait wrapped her fingers weakly around his wrist, stopping him from sliding one of the many needles into her arm.
  Confused, he blinked down at her. “what is it?”
  “What if
If
” Cait wrestled with the words tangled in her throat. “Ima afraid.”
  Her admission broke Boston’s heart. Giving no mind of the blood on his hands, he touched her cheek. “I’m right here.”
  Her tired eyes found his. “I donna know who I am without the drug. I donna know how exists. What if ye-.”
  Boston silenced her with a gentle, yet needy kiss. “we’ll figure it out,” He vowed. “Together.”
  The corner of her mouth lifted. “Together,” She echoed. “I like the sound of that.”
  Quickly, Boston finished hooking Cait to the machine. “It says it’s going to hurt.” The fact already put a sour taste in his mouth. “I don’t know how much.”
  She kept his gaze locked with his. They’d gotten this far and Boston bled for her. “Whatever happens. No matter how much I scream, don’t stop it.”
  “Cait.” Emotions clogged his throat. “I don’t know if I’m that strong.”
  “Yer the strongest person I know.”
  He pressed his lips to her brow. “we’ll agree to disagree at the moment. Are you ready?”
  “I trust you, Boston.”
  God, he prayed he didn’t let her down. Sharing one last kiss, Boston limped out of the room to the terminal. His hands trembled, hovering over the keyboard as he looked through the lass at his fearless warrior. Dogmeat leaned against his legs spurring him into action. Mere moments after engaging the program, Cait let out a blood-curdling scream that grated against Boston’s very soul.
  Stumbling, he caught himself by gripping the edge of the desk. With Cait’s scream of agony in his ears, Boston’s vision began to grey. Please don’t take her. Not one for praying, he sent his plea up to whoever was listening. He couldn’t lose another woman he loved. “Cait.”
  The name fell from his lips before the darkness claimed him.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
  Boston came awake with a start. Disoriented, he swept his gaze around the room to find himself still in the vault, face down on one of its preserved beds, and shirtless. He tried to move only causing him to erupt into a cursing fit at the sharp pain in his back. Wounded, his hazily remembered. “Cait.” Pushing past the discomfort, he managed to roll on to his side finding the woman in question already approaching him with a can of purified water. For the first time since their fateful meeting at the Combat Zone, there was color in her once pale skin and a light shimmer in her eyes. “you’re okay.”
  “Canna say the same for ya.  Careful now or ye gonna undo my patch job.” Carefully, Cait sat on the edge of the bed and lifted the can to his lips. “Drink.”
  He did until it was empty and pushed it away in order to lay his hand against her cheek. No longer clammy and sweaty. Sighing, Boston pulled her down until their brows touched. “God, you’re okay.” Tears caught in his throat. “I thought
 Your screams
Then everything went black.”
  “Because ye allowed yerself to get stabbed twice wi’ no mind to patch yerself up.”
  Hearing the twinge of anger beneath her seemingly calm voice, Boston fought a smile. “No stimpacks.”
  “They were all in the dog’s vest ye left with me.”
  “Had to protect you.” Boston drew back to meet her gaze dinging them swimming with emotions and damp. “Don’t you understand, Cait?”
  Cait shook her head. No, she didn’t. Couldn’t understand him or the feelings he stirred in her. No one, not a single soul, in her entire life gave a damn about her. All the kindness, patience, couldn’t be free. There was always a price. Wasn’t there?
  He wiped the single tear that escaped her defenses with the pad of his thumb. “I love you.” God, it felt incredibly good to finally say the words allowed after struggling with them for so long. “I love you, Cait.”
  “How?” For the first time, Cait allowed herself to let go of the emotions surging through her and, by God, it felt good. Maybe it was because, for the first time in her life, she felt free. Felt like she was no longer shackled by the pain and turmoil of her past. Maybe because her mind was clear and her heart was full of hope instead of hatred. Bitterness and anger. All because of this man before her. “How can you. Ima bloody mess.”
  “That’s the great thing about love.” Boston gave her a gentle smile. “It doesn’t have to make sense. It just is.”
  A teary laugh escaped her. “That must be logic from the old time as it sure in the hell doesn’t make a lick of sense.” Regardless, Cait accepted it. Accepted how he made her feel even if it scared her shitless. “I love ye too, Boston. I thought myself incapable after everyin’ Iva ben through. Iva nevva been so happy to be proven wrong.
  He moved forward, stopping when he felt the shift in the metal against his skin.
  “Boston, look at me.” Cait touched the ring hanging around his beck by a leather cord. “I know ye still love her and that she holds a part of yer heart that will always belong to her. Ima not gonna ask you to forget that love, to forget her, and I nevva will.”
  And that made him love this woman all the more. He pulled her close, his mouth finding hers, trying to pour every ounce of that love into that single kiss as he didn’t have the words. He may never have them. Feeling Cait’s hands in his hair, Boston carefully fell onto his back, dragging her with regardless of the pain. He needed her and by god, he was going to have her. To worship and ravish her until his love was branded in every inch of her skin. Sense told him to wait until they were either back in Sanctuary or to a nearby town, but Boston couldn’t wait that long. It was a bit poetic if look at with the right angle.
  They entered the vault looking for salvation, in Boston’s mind, and they would leave it together with a renewed purpose. Stronger than when they entered it. And Boston knew without a shadow of a doubt that together they would face any challenge the Commonwealth threw at them. More importantly, they would find his son.
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fallout4reactsblog · 6 years ago
Note
That death scenes one has awakened a thirst for blood by which I mean a thirst for angst. How about whatever other named NPC(s) each companion primarily associates with (so nat for piper, ellie for nick, ect. some companions left out because not all of them have any particular associated characters) finding out that they died as described in the previous feels-puncher of a react?
Deacon: Glory is the first to know.
She’s about to leave when sole comes in, Deacon in their arms, and then suddenly the whole church knows, because Glory is yelling loud enough to be heard over the roar of a Deathclaw.
“What the fuck do you mean he’s dead? How the fuck is he dead? You were supposed to have his goddamn back, so you better start answering some fucking questions.”
“Glory.” Dez’s voice has the heavy stopping in her tracks. “Enough.” She turns to sole, level-headed as always. “What happened?”
“There was a courser. We couldn’t get out.”
“A courser?” Glory is back to yelling. “How many of those have you killed, huh?”
“My cover with-”
“Damn your cover!” She’s inches from their nose. “Your cover doesn’t mean shit in the face of Deacon’s life. He’s fucking dead for that sake of your cover? You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“Glory.” Dez’s voice is harder this time. “That’s enough.”
She sneers, but turns away, stalking further into HQ. Her boots are loud and echo in the catacombs. Dez turns back to the person in front of her.
“I’m sure you did all you could,” she says. “Deacon always believed in you. He’d have been happy to give his life for this cause.”
They nod. “I’m gonna just
 leave him. I don’t think I should stick around.”
“Probably not,” she agrees. “I’ll send for you when it’s okay to come back.”
They set the body on one of the empty coffins and leave, and Desdemona turns to her spy.
“Oh, Deacon.” She sighs heavily and lights a cigarette. “I should have known better. I really should have.”
HQ feels too quiet, suddenly. She wishes he would laugh or say something rude about Carrington or joke with Tom about conspiracy theories. But Tom is sobbing in the corner, Carrington is searching for a place to put the body, and Deacon is dead.
She closes her eyes a moment.
Deacon is dead.
For the first time in years, she lets herself cry.
Hancock: The smell of acid and something else that’s strongly unpleasant hits her as soon as she opens the door, and she flinches, trying not to gag. It’s heavy like it’s been sitting for a while, and she feels irritation begin to coil in her stomach.
“Christ, John. Did you throw up or what?”
She can’t see him sitting on the couch, so she steps a little further into the room. A glimpse of red peeks out from the floor, and she glances down only to turn away just as quickly. Because there he is, face down in his own vomit. His eyes are open. His lips are smiling.
She knows without checking that he’s gone.
When she thinks she can bear it, she looks back again, hoping that she’ll find something different. She doesn’t. It’s still him, and he’s still dead.
“You just couldn’t help it, could you?” The room reeks of stomach acid and Jet and rotting flesh, glazed over with the smell of his cologne. “You just had to push it too far.”
He doesn’t answer, of course. She looks at him a moment longer, feeling the emotions starting to bubble up in her chest. She tries to hold back, tries to stop them, but that’s John Hancock on the floor. The mayor of Goodneighbor, a hero in his own right. The man that gave her a purpose in this nightmare of a world.
She bursts in a scream, knuckles slamming against the wooden wall. She screams and punches and screams and punches until there’s blood running down her knuckles, and then she sinks to her knees on the floor and screams some more, fingers digging into her scalp. She can’t stop, doesn’t want to stop, just shuts her eyes and screams, because all she can smell is his cologne and all she can see are those dead eyes, and all she can hear is the voice in her head that’s telling her she could have saved him, could have done more. She screams until she can’t hear it anymore, and then until she runs out of breath.
She slumps against the wall, panting, breaths broken by the sobs that wrench themselves free. The voice is back, reminding her of everything John ever did for her, chastising her for repaying him like this.
“Dammit,” she whimpers, and it sounds broken in the empty room. “Dammit, John, don’t do this to me. Don’t do this.”
It’s already done, so she leans against the wall and cries.
MacCready: “Did Robert send you?”
The woman behind the door has eyes that regard sole with suspicion, but they nod anyway. They’ve made promises. Promises that need keeping.
“I’m here to take him home.”
She nods. “I’ll have him gather his things.”
The door shuts on them, and they stand in the cold. Waiting. Who knew D.C. was going to be an icebox, huh?
When the door opens again, it’s like getting sucker punched, because they’ll be damned if those aren’t Mac’s eyes staring right back at them. Today, though, they belong to a little boy, one that looks far too much like his dad to make this easy.
“Duncan, this is the lady I was telling you about. She’s gonna take you home, okay?”
They smile down at the child in front of them. “Hey, buddy.”
His eyes are suspicious. “How do I know you know my dad?”
They laugh a little, and it sounds forced, even to them. “Let’s talk, okay? I’ll tell you on the way.”
He follows them, and they lead him to a park bench. His legs swing, and his hands adjust the straps on his bag, which they assume contains everything he owns. It’s small, and it hurts to know he has so little because they’re about to take away one of the few things he has left.
“Here,” they say, digging around in their bag. “Your dad wanted you to have this.”
The toy looks far bigger in Duncan’s hands, and he turns over the little soldier. “This is Dad’s.”
“You asked how you could be sure I knew your father, and there it is. It’s yours, now.”
He puts it in his tiny pack. “Who are you?”
“I’m a friend. You can call me Sole. I’m gonna be taking care of you from now on.”
“Until we get home to Dad,” he corrects, and all they can do is give him a sad smile.
“I’m so sorry, kiddo.”
His face twists into one of fear and uncertainty, the face of someone who knows the answer but is afraid to say it. “Where’s Dad?”
They thought the words over for hours on the walk to D.C., but now, at the moment, they find they catch on their teeth. It’s hard to spit them out, but they tell themselves they have to. They owe it to Mac. “Your dad’s in a better place, now.”
“No,” he whispers, and they wrap him in a hug.
“I’m so sorry.”
“Dad can’t be- can’t be dead.” His voice is broken and stained with tears. “He’s gonna come get me when I get better, and we’re gonna play catch like we used to, and he’s gonna take me home. We’re-” He chokes on a sob. “We’re gonna be happy.”
“He wanted to be here,” they whisper as their own tears slide down their cheeks. “I promise you. He really did.”
“Dad-” the words break into a wail, and all they can do is hold him. He’s too young to go through this, too young to grieve, but life is cruel and unkind, and so they clutch him tighter as he cries.
His body shudders with the weight of his sadness. They scoop him up, trying to hold their own grief at bay as they walk. It’s a long way back to Sanctuary. People stare as they pass, but they focus on the child in their arms, clutching onto their shoulders.
“Your dad loved you, Duncan. He wanted to be here for you. He wanted to see you again.”
Duncan sobs again, shoulders trembling, and they bite back tears.
“I’ll do what I can for you. I promised that to your father, and I’ll promise it to you, too.”
Nothing will lift the weight from his shoulders, and they know it. There is nothing that heals grief. Nothing that can fill the void death leaves in a soul.
“Dad loved you, Duncan.”
Nick: The agency never smells like alcohol, and that’s the first sign that something is amiss. It’s not one of Nick’s vices, or hers, and the only one that ever drinks in the agency is sole. But that’s a rare occasion.
Nonetheless, there they are, slumped in Nick’s chair. A bottle of vodka dangles loosely from their fingers as they stare at the metal grasshopper on the table in front of them.
“Where’s Nick?” she asks.
They don’t respond, and that’s red flag number two. She can practically hear the alarm bells going off as sole takes another drink. She knows she shouldn’t, but she asks again, more forcefully.
“Where is Nick?”
“I heard you the first time.” Their words are a drunken, slurred mess. “He’s dead, Ellie.”
It hits her like a Behemoth punch to the gut, and she collapses onto her desk. They don’t even look over at her.
“How?” She manages to just barely choke the word out.
“Super Mutants. They were protecting this piece of shit.” They gesture with their bottle to the grasshopper.
Every breath aches as she tries to understand and tries to process how Nick Valentine, the hero of Diamond City, dies. He was one of the few constants in her life. Nick. Now dead.
“The agency’s yours,” they say, standing. “Everything’s yours. He was very insistent on that. Now, if you’ll excuse me.” They wave the presumably empty bottle. “I’m off to pay the Bobrovs more of my caps.”
She’s not sure whether to scream or cry, but as the door shuts behind them, she gets a bit of both. A loud, angry sob escapes her, and she shoves herself off the desk. There’s no time to waste.
Tears drip down her face as she pulls out one of the drawers in Nick’s filing cabinet. This needs to be organized. It needs to be cleared up, people need to be informed that their cases aren’t going to be solved.
The drawer is full of ties.
She whimpers to see them, hands trembling with the pressure of holding back the sobs. She picks one up, black with a white paisley pattern. She’d bought it for him as a joke last Christmas, but he’d worn it diligently, mixing it into his tie rotation. She pulls it from the box, sinking to the floor, clutching it as her grief slowly makes itself known.
Nick Valentine was dead. The man who’d given her a purpose here, who’d made her feel at home, who’d held her up when she was low, was dead. It seemed impossible. Nick was too good to die.
She sinks against the cabinets, sobbing as she stares at the tie in her hands.
“I’m sorry,” she whispers. “I wasn’t there. I couldn’t- I didn’t-”
On the floor of the agency, she grieves alone.
Piper: They’re waiting for her when she gets home from school. They’re on the couch, shoulders slumped, elbows on their knees. They straighten when she walks in the door, and she shoots them a strange look.
“If you’re looking for Piper, she’s not home. She went out a few days ago, looking for some lead.”
“I know.” Their voice is barely a whisper. “Have a seat, Nat.”
She takes a chair, apprehension curling in her stomach. Their face is serious, and they can’t look her in the eyes. Everything in her body and mind is telling her that something’s wrong. She tries to figure out what it is.
“Your sister, she-” They let out a long breath, and Nat’s fingers dig into the chair’s cushion. “I’m sorry, Nat. She’s gone.”
Nat’s stunned into silence for a moment. It feels like there’s no air in her lungs like there’s no air in the room. She can’t breathe, she can’t move, she can’t do anything but listen.
“She asked me to stay and take care of you, and I- I promised her I would. I’m here for you, okay? It’s gonna be weird for a while, but I’m sure we can-”
“No!” She suddenly finds her voice and springs to her feet, tears pooling in her eyes. “No, Piper’s not dead. She can’t be. She was with you and you said you’d protect her.”
“Nat-” They stand, too, reaching for her arm, but she slaps them away. Hard enough to hurt.
“Don’t touch me!” Tears streak down her face as she yells. “This is your fault! You were supposed to keep her safe. You were supposed to save my sister. How could you let her die?”
“I know what you’re going through, Nat. I’m here for you.”
“I don’t want you here! I want my sister!”
She runs, slamming the door behind her. She doesn’t know where she’s going, but she knows she can’t stay there. Not in that moment, with their soft, helpful eyes and the memories of her sister surrounding her. She sprints through the market, wiping angrily at her eyes. She needs to get away. She needs someone who cares.
She bursts into the Valentine Detective Agency, its neon sign like a beacon of hope. Nick can’t even manage a greeting before she’s launched herself at him. No explanation, not even a word is managed before she breaks into sobs. Her sister is dead. The only family she had left, the girl who made her laugh after she got detention, who brought her power noodles when she was sick, who called them a team when it came to the paper, even if she did most of the work. Her sister is gone, gone forever, and will never smile or laugh or make a funny voice during a story ever again.
Her world shatters in Nick Valentine’s arms.
Preston: The first thing Sturges notices is that Preston isn’t with them. Dogmeat is, trailing at their heels, oddly quiet. His mouth sets into a hard line, but he wipes off his hands and goes to greet them at the bridge.
The second thing he notices is the coat in their arms, the way it’s draped, the hat that’s resting at the top of it. When he looks into sole’s eyes, sees the tears, he puts two and two together and knows. They say nothing, but nod.
“Here.” He reaches out despite the spike that’s been driven into his sternum. “Let me take him.”
They relinquish the body, and it’s lighter than Sturges expected. Something coils in his chest, tight and painful, but he sets his jaw and heads for the only yellow house in Sanctuary Hills. The closest thing to a meeting place there is.
Mama Murphy is sitting outside, and as soon as she sees sole following Sturges up the road she closes her eyes. The Sight is murky sometimes, and she knew it would be either them or Preston and by the fact they’re still alive she knows everything. She tells herself she’s seen enough death that it doesn’t bother her anymore, tells herself that there’s no more room for grief in her heart.
She reaches for him as he passes, fingers brushing his arm. She can’t look. If she looks, her lie comes crashing down, and she’ll be forced to admit that she’s not as comfortable with death as she’d like to pretend. She comforts herself by thinking she’ll see Preston again soon.
Jun and Marcy are inside when they come in. Jun is the first to notice, and he whimpers, “Oh, God,” before he turns away. He doesn’t stand, but Marcy does, coming to inspect the body. When they pull the hat back to reveal Preston’s face, serene as ever, she steps back a half-step. The room is still a moment.
Then, there’s a crack as her palm makes contact with sole’s face. Their head snaps sideways, and then she’s screaming, filling the room with every word she can think, hurled straight at them.
“You let him die! He trusted you. How could you just let him die? Didn’t you care about him? About any of us? How are we supposed to live now? How dare you come back here without-”
“Marcy,” Sturges snaps, and sole flinches to hear the real anger in his tone. “That’s enough.”
She glowers at them again, opening her mouth, but Sturges catches her wrist and forces her to look him in the eyes.
“Why don’t you take your husband and try to comfort him?” It’s not a question.
“Fine.” Marcy stalks to the back of the room toward her husband, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. The glower she shoots sole tells them that she’s not done with them, but they focus on trying to breathe.
“Sole.” Sturges’s voice draws their attention. “Do you think I could
?”
“Yeah, of course.”
They step out, and Sturges turns to the man in front of him. The spike in his chest is ice-cold. His fingers curl against his thighs.
“Well, Preston.” He laughs a little. “I guess it’s almost funny. After everything we went through, you died where we couldn’t- where we weren’t-”
He stops, tries to breathe around the tears.
“All those times I thought I’d have to watch you die, all in vain.”
Softly, he takes the other man’s hand. The skin is cold.
“I hope you find some peace.”
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antiquechampagne · 6 years ago
Text
Chapter 5
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Upon entering Hancock’s room, his “office” mused Payne, Fahrenheit’s presence was joined by several more guards who stayed out in the hallway. Payne took a seat on one of the dusty sofas, making sure everyone saw her movements. She removed her hood and felt the tender red welts and a few small blisters forming across her face. Luckily her exposure was only for a few seconds, they would be fading soon, but not soon enough. The hours dragged on and the sun set. Payne started to feel like she was waiting outside the principal’s office while they called her parents. Her face started to burn from more than just singed sun.
Hancock strolled in, his scarred fingers pinching the bridge of his nose. “I gotta tell ya, what MacCready told me didn’t make a whole lot of sense. Would you mind bringing some light to the subject?”
Payne was on edge, her black hair pulled back into a tight bun giving her a fearsome visage. She stared directly back at Hancock, goading him to continue.
“You both took out the raiders, yes?” Payne nodded. “But after that things gets a little sketchy.” Hancock started to pace a bit.  “MacCready said things like one of them bashed your head pretty good and that your face looked like batch of bad brahmin chili. And that you chomped into another raider after that like a kid ripping into a pack of snack cakes. He said you didn’t have a single stimpak to heal yourself with. Looking at you now, it seems he must be lying to me.” He let the statement hand in the air.
“Here’s the thing, MacCready has always been straight with me. He’s never outright lied to me before.” He stopped and looked hard at Payne. “But none of that jives with what I am seeing in front of me.”
“We cleaned out the raiders, I saved his sorry ass from a raider with a fucking stealth boy AND I got us past a patrol of super mutants. I lost my damn rifle in this shit show, too.” Payne rose defensively. Fahrenheit shifted her weight, priming herself if she needed to spring to defend Hancock. “On top of that, I hauled his ass all the way back here for help! He is lucky his isn’t in some super mutant’s guts right now!” Payne blood was boiling.
“That’s not what I am asking, lady.” He pointed a finger at her. “What kind of merc doesn’t carry chems, can shrug off head wounds and can run faster than the fucking wind? What the fuck are you?”
“I don’t need this shit!” Payne turned to leave.
“Walk out that door, and you are no longer welcome in Goodneighbor.” Hancock’s voice was low and steady.
Shoulders squared, Payne continued to stride forward briskly before stopping in the doorway to the room. She had meant to go through it, but something stopped her. Her emotions raged. Up till now she had never stayed in one place for more than a few days since leaving Vegas. She was tired of always wandering the wastes without a space to herself, a home base. Goodneighbor, with its seedy residents, mobster mentality and gritty streets reminded her of Vegas. She didn’t want to leave but she was afraid to share her secret. She wrestled with her want to find an anchor and the need to protect herself.
Again, her fist shot out, this time the splintered wood of the door frame embedded between her knuckles. Instinctually, Fahrenheit started to raise her massive gun, but Hancock motion for her to hold.
Payne stood silently, arm out stretched as her blood began to run down the wood.
“What are you?” Hancock prompted again, this time taking some of the edge out of his tone.
“You said before that ‘we freaks have to stick together’.” Payne turned her head, her steady gaze landing on Hancock’s. “How much do you really mean that?” She turned away from the door to face him.
Hancock studied her reddened face and bleeding fist. “Every word of it, sister.” He purposefully walked to the couch and sat down, nonchalantly crossing his legs, and motioned for Payne to join him. She did, but as she sat, she eyed the open door. “Fehr, could you close that for us.”
Fehrenheit followed his orders, but her body language made it was clear she was not in agreement with his course of action. She stayed in the room, standing in front of the now closed exit. The only exit.
Payne swallowed. She had never even though of divulging this information freely about herself. Choosing her words carefully, she began.
“Radiation really is a bitch, changing things, people, in a lot of different ways.” She pursed her lips and thought. “I don’t carry chems because they don’t work on me. At best, they are ineffective, but some cause worse effects than what they are supposed to treat.  My face looks like shit because I am extremely sensitive to the sun.” She motioned to her current condition as evidence. “I burn almost instantly if I get exposed. I can be extremely quick, but it takes a lot out of me. I couldn’t even try to run like I did at least for a day or two.” She stopped, it was obvious she didn’t want to go any further.
“MacCready thinks I am a cannibal, doesn’t he?”
Hancock nodded. MacCready had damn near fallen off bed with his insistence of that fact.
“He’s wrong. I don’t eat people.” Payne spat out the words with pure disgust. She slowly reached into her back and drew out two empty blood bags, red dregs still caught in the corners of the collapsed plastic, tossing them on the table before Hancock. “I was badly hurt. I saw my chance to kill two birds with one stone, “she winced at her poor choice of words” so I took it. MacCready just happened to see me at a bad time.”
Everyone was still for a moment, the silence thundered in Payne’s ears.
“So,” started Hancock “You’re a
 what did Kent call them, a vampire?” The word stung at Payne but Fahrenheit was clearly confused. “One of the Silver Shroud stories Kent goes on about
 it involves these ruthless and cunning monsters that sleep during the day and feed on people’s blood at night. He called them ‘vampires’.” He turned to Payne.
“Yeah, well, you’re not the first one to call me a monster, but vampire? It’s been a while.” Though was very apt term, she thought. Even if they kicked her out of town or attacked her out right, she did feel a bit of relief telling someone.
“Well, sister, we all have our hang ups, me included. Chem addicted mayor and all that. You’ve had been in town for a while now and hadn’t attacked anyone you weren’t paid to. You even brought that pain-in-the-ass MacCready back. You didn’t have to. You could have left him for dead or
 “ He stumbled for the right word. “eaten him?” His shrug and coy smirk were easy and relaxed, given the circumstances. “As long as you keep that track record, there is no reason for me to throw you out.”
Indifference was not the answer she expected. Payne was not sure how to reply. “What about MacCready. He pretty much hates my guts.”
“He’ll get over it. I might avoid him for a little while though. Especially if he gets drunk. He has a tendency to run his mouth.”
Payne rose to leave.
“You’re forgetting something.” Hancock tossed a bag of caps on the table before her. She scooped them up. “You still did the job. I’ll make sure Dr. Amari keeps some blood bags in stock.”
Payne shook her head. “Give’em to Daisy. I don’t do doctors.” With that, she left as Fahrenheit moved aside.
Watching her leave, Hancock turned to Fahrenheit and chuckled. “Glad I didn’t send her out to Pickman’s Gallery. Imagine what a shit show that would have been!? Better not tell her about that place, just in case they really hit it off. I don’t think downtown could handle that kind of
 collaboration.”
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