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sugar-soda · 3 months

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Kids Shouldn't be Here: Preston Garvey

Fallout 4 Platonic Companions x Child! Sole

Warnings: Canon Typical Violence, Child in dangerous situations

A/N: This is NOT romantic at all! This is all platonic relationships that explore how the Fallout 4 companions and game would change if the Sole Survivor was a young child. Any romantic suggestions or reblogs will be blocked.

Masterlist

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A kid shouldn't be here.

After the bombs fell, children became a precious rarity. The radiation left many women, even those who didn't become ghouls, unable to even get pregnant. Those that were able to had a whole new hosts of challenges to face. Lack of food, safe drinking water, and proper medical equipment meant that many pregnancies ended in tragedy. Even the act of being born was deadly in the Wasteland.

Not to mention, many had no desire to raise a child. Raiders obviously should never be trusted with anything, much less a child, but caravan merchants and guards typically had none. A life of constant walking and carrying supplies was hard enough without being impaired with another life growing inside you or on your hip.

Those who did have kids were typically settlers. Farmers who had plenty of food to feed another mouth or a shopkeep who had enough caps to buy a roof to go over the little one's head. A big, sturdy wall to keep the mutants and raiders away typically helped encourage more family units. Diamond City had a large enough wall to have a school. Even with those comforts, most kept their children glued to their hip until they were at least well into their teens. Even if a kid didn't have parents, they were kept close by grandparents, aunts, uncles, siblings, any family really. The only kids alone were ones who didn't have any family left at all.

____________________________________________________________

Preston had probably seen more kids than most as a Minuteman. Constantly moving around from settlement to settlement typically leads to that. Sometimes he would hold a baby for a tired mother so she could take a nap, or tell stories to a group of children following him on a patrol so their fathers could work in the fields. He even helped with a few births, when there was no other option. He would gladly not repeat that experience though.

However, he would rather deal with a hundred screaming mothers and bloody mattresses than be in this situation. Cornered in a decrepit museum as raiders closed in on their small group. He was firing his laser musket as fast as he could load it, but there was only one of him. The others had to stay back, knowing they would be more of a hindrance than help in a fight.

Sturges was a strong guy, but his aim left a lot to be desired. He couldn't hit a radscorpion if it was right in front of him. The Longs were farmers, not fighters, and were too distracted by the loss of their child to focus on any lessons Preston tried to give them in self-defense. Mama Murphy had apparently been a firecracker when she was younger, but nowadays she had trouble standing up on her own without the kickback of a gun to knock her over.

As Preston aimed and took another shot, he wondered if this place would be their grave.

He didn't notice them at first. The lasers were very similar looking to his own and the gunshots blended in with the raider's. It was only when he looked down his scope and watched a bullet pierce a raider's skull did he realize that someone was lending a helping hand.

As minimal relief flooded his mind, he checked his scoop, looking for their savior.

He noticed Dogmeat first. The canine was first introduced to him by Mama Murphy. Dogmeat would come on random days and sniff at her heels as the group walked, and then would lay down next to her as they made camp and ate their rations at night. Mama Murphy would insist on feeding Dogmeat when he was around, so he had taken to giving up some of his rations to keep the old woman from losing more weight. Preston wasn't ashamed to admit he had a soft spot for the stray, but Dogmeat didn't look much like the happy pooch Preston gave scratches behind the ears to, with a raider's crotch being clamped between his jaws and enough screams to prove the raider wasn't getting out of them alive.

The buzz of a saw led him to a Mr. Handy of all things. Shooting enemies with a built in laser when they moved too far away from his buzz-saw. This one was in the best condition he's seen, with small spots of rust being the only indication of its age. Hopefully, its internal programming was in good shape.

He saw the third last. Well, he didn't really see them. They had climbed up a building and set up a sniping spot, picking off raiders from above. They were almost completely hidden by the old air conditioning unit they used as cover. Preston could only see the barrel of their gun and the very top of their head poking out. Whoever it was, they were efficient with their shots. Whatever raider was wearing a helmet that prevented them from a clean headshot, got a bullet to their leg. That incapacitated them long enough for Dogmeat to pounce and get his fangs around their throat.

Efficient, if a little much for his taste.

As another raider fell to the Mr.Handy's buzzsaw, Preston yelled out to the sniper spot. He hoped that the mystery sniper would be willing to continue to lend their hand (and gun) to deal with the Raiders inside and their reinforcements to come.

"Don't worry, we're coming!"

If Preston had more sleep, more food, and less distractions and lives weighing his thoughts down, he would have noticed the response sounded too high pitched, too squeaky,

too young.

But Preston didn't, so instead he hurried back inside to give Sturges an update. He would have to remove the barricade on the door to allow their help to get to them, which would expose them to the Raiders inside.

Marcy protested angrily, yelling that whoever it was could just as likely kill them too. She was technically right, but they didn't have much of an option. Even with the extra hands (or paws, in Dogmeat's case), their best chance of survival was still the power armor and minigun on the roof, which meant someone would eventually have to go outside the room to the basement to get the fusion core.

Hopefully, the sniper was as good at hacking as they are shooting. Sturges was their most technologically savvy, but even he had trouble with the terminal.

The moment the barricade was removed, Preston started the same routine he did on the balcony. It was easier to land a hit now, all the Raiders funneled through a narrow walkway, but it gave him less time to reload.

Faintly, he could hear the sounds of more fighting near the entrance. Seems like they would have some backup.

As the fighting got closer, he started to hear more of the trio. Dogmeat's barks, growls, and yips were the first he could hear, clear as a bell. A bit later he could hear a faint, robotic accent firing along with a laser.

It was a good amount of time later that he could hear footfalls of someone sprinting toward their location.

One raider got too close, his armor thick enough to keep him from dying and his system filled with enough Physco to not fill the pain. A tire iron in his hand, the raider tried to muscle his way in. Preston shifted and slammed into the raider's torso with his shoulder, gritting his teeth as the tire iron came down on his back, focusing on keeping this madman out and away from the room.

Fate, it seems, had a similar thought, as the raider was suddenly yanked away and down. A small body had pulled him back by the neck and kicked the back of his legs. Combined with the surprise of the attack, it was effective enough to send the raider toppling onto his back and on top of the other person.

Dogmeat was here now, jaw latching around the raider's leg to keep him from getting his footing back. The Mr. Handy was also here, floating there with the same reason that Preston didn't immediately take aim at the raider.

Any shot taken at that moment would hit the other person, too. They had both arms wrapped around his neck, attempting to cut his airflow off but couldn't get a strong enough grip, as the fall seemed to knock the wind out of them. The raider seemed to realize this too, hand reaching down to feel for something.

The tire iron.

Preston swiped up the forgotten weapon and swung low like the golfers he's seen on faded billboards. He made contact with his ribs and used enough force to roll him off to the side and out of the chokehold and Dogmeat's teeth.

Which was all the signal the Mr. Handy needed. A laser shot out and hit the raider squarely in between the eyes.

Finally, a moment to breathe.

Preston closed his eyes and sighed. Can't relax just yet. There were still Raiders outside, and they were probably going to send reinforcements.

"Young Miss, I implore you to be more careful! You nearly caused my motor to give out,"

"Sorry, Codsworth, I saw the raider attack him and I panicked,"

Oh God no.

Preston opened his eyes to finally get a look at the sniper.

She had sat up now and was rubbing her shoulder, which was probably bruised in the fall. Dirt and blood were smeared across her face, though luckily it looked like the blood wasn't her own. A old military style duffle bag had been thrown off her shoulder and her twin braids were frayed. A pip-boy was clasped around her wrist and he could see blue and gold peeking out from behind a duster and leather chest piece. A vault dweller then.

A very, very young vault dweller. God, she was just a kid. Where were her parents? What was she doing out here joining fights she had no part in? What was he doing asking her to join a fight she had no part in? A kid shouldn't be here.

"Are you okay?"

She stopped and looked at him incredulously. "Shouldn't I be asking you that? You were the one who decided to tank a hit from a tire iron,"

All he could give was a breathless chuckle at that. "Man, I don't know who you are, kid, but your timing is impeccable," Preston held out a hand and helped her up to her feet. "Preston Garvey. Commonwealth Minutemen,"

"Minuteman? What the-," She questioned under her breath as she followed him back into the room. Her confusion made sense to Preston. She likely only learned about the original Minutemen in the Vault so seeing one now would seem strange. Despite her confusion, she responded. "You're welcome, Mr. Garvey. Do you mind telling me what happened?"

What didn't happen was a better question? Ever since Quincy, anything that could go wrong, did go wrong. More innocent people lost their lives everyday and he could do nothing to stop it. The closest thing to hope anyone has now is Sanctuary, which he wasn't certain was real. Mama Murphy's "Sight" has never been wrong, but he wasn't sure of it or how she used Chems to trigger her visions.

Not wanting to load everything on to the kid, Preston decided to give a very brief summary of what they were doing, he stated, "We were looking for a place to settle. Originally there were more of us but we lost a lot of people. We thought that Concord would be a safe place to settle. Guess we were wrong,”

“I'm sorry. It must be hard trying to protect everyone,” the girl frowned thoughtfully, “So, what's your plan to get out? There are still more raiders outside. If we go now they’ll turn us into swiss cheese with bullets,”

“Sturges. Tell her.”

“There's a crashed vertibird up on the roof. Old school, pre-war. You might have seen it. Well, looks like one of its passengers left behind a seriously sweet goody. We're talking a full suit of cherry T-45 Power Armor. Military issue.”

The kid seemed surprised, “Power Armor? That will certainly even the odds.”

“Heh heh heh heh, yeah, take every advantage we can. Protection, with an added bonus. We get the suit, Preston here can rip the minigun right off the vertibird. Do that, and those Raiders get an express ticket to Hell. You dig?”

Putting a hand on her chin, she replied, “Won't the suit need a power source? You can't move in those things without power. They're too heavy,”

“That's the one hitch. The suit's out of juice. Probably been dry for a hundred years,”

“What we need is an old pre-war F.C., a standardized Fusion Core. A high-grade, long-term nuclear battery. Used by the military and some companies, way back when. And we know right where to find one…” Preston said.

“But we can't get to the damn thing,” Sturges interrupted, “down in the basement, locked behind a security gate.”

Suddenly, the kid looked excited. “ A security gate? Hold on!” She quickly unzipped the duffle bag and dug around for a few seconds. “Is this it?”

There in such a small hand was the Fusion Core. If Preston wasn't already impressed and concerned by this kid, he was now.

“Well I'll be, kid. How'd you get to this thing?”

“I picked the lock,” She stated.

The Mr.Handy- Codsworth she said his name was- added, “An highly discouraged skill seems to have finally made itself useful,”

The kid grinned sheepishly then looked at Preston. “I hope you know how to use that armor, Mr.Garvey.”

“I'll be fine,” he managed. He did know to use Power Armor, but it's been years since he has used that knowledge. He never liked wearing the metal suits. They were slow, required too much maintenance, and were sweltering hot inside during the summer months. They're also, quite frankly, claustrophobia inducing. Every inch of your body is encased in thick padding and solid steel. The armor was strong, yes, but as a kid he had worried if Power Armor was strong enough to hold against a Deathclaw, or would it crush the armor alongside the person inside? Leaving them to a slow, painful suffocation and bleeding instead of a quick death of mutilation.

He never did get over his childish fear.

“You stay here with Sturges and the others. Sturges, you set the barricade back up and wait for my signal to leave.” Preston instructed.

“You got it, Boss-man.”

“Absolutely not.”

Sturges seemed fine with that plan, but the Vault dweller definitely wasn't. Her eyes narrowed and seemed to glare into his soul.

“Miniguns aren't accurate from long distances, so you’re going to have to jump to the ground. That leaves you more vulnerable, even with the Power Armor. What if one of the raiders pulls the fusion core out from behind you? Then you'll be stranded and can't move. You'll need someone to watch your back. I'll set up on the balcony you were on earlier.” She stated it as if it was the most sensible thing in the world, letting a child be a sniper while fighting off a group of murderers and thieves.

“I can't ask a civilian to join a fight like this, especially a minor,” Preston argued. He doesn't think he could handle another kid dying on his watch.

“Well then it's a good thing your not asking, I'm telling you,”

Preston had a feeling there was no changing her mind.

____________________________________________________________

Fate loved playing sick, twisted jokes on him. When they were down to the last few raiders and it looked like they could finally get out of this forsaken place, a terrible growl had shaken the ground beneath them. A giant, enraged Deathclaw had followed after, erupting from the ground and destroying an entire car.

Preston is pretty sure he aged ten years from that fight alone.

Luckily, the beast hadn't crushed him inside the armor. It did, however, damage the legs and right arm to the point of breaking. No use in it now unless they found a station to repair it.

Now that the Deathclaw laid dead, he listened. Trying to hear the next wave of enemies or disaster headed their way. Nothing. Guess the punchline was over.

Exiting the Power Armor, he looked up at the balcony. The kid had stayed there the whole fight, even when the Deathclaw had shown up. She would aim for the legs and head, keeping it distracted long enough for Preston to reload or inject a stimpack. He had seen fully grown Minutemen with worse aim than that kid.

He cringed internally, he should probably ask for her name instead of just calling her “kid”.

Now she wasn't there. That meant she was regrouping with the others.

Back inside, everyone else had already moved to the entrance. Mama Murphy was already being sat down by the young sniper.

“So is he your dog?”

“No, no. Dogmeat is his own man. He comes and goes as he pleases. It appears he is pleased to follow you for the time being, he knows your something special.”

“That or he wants the jerky in my pocket.”

That got a laugh from Mama Murphy. The first real laugh from her since Quincy. The ones she got from chems didn't count.

“Thank you for your help back there. I don't know how long we would have been messing with that terminal for if you hadn't shown up.”

She kicked at the ground shyly, embarrassed by the praise. “Happy to help, Mr.Garvey.”

“Speaking of things I don't know,” he smiled and put a comforting hand on her shoulder, “ I also don't know your name. Mind telling me what it is?”

“Oh!” She exclaimed, obviously not realizing she hadn't given her name. “I'm Sunny. Sunny Roberts,”

Preston kneeled down to be eye-level with her. “Well, Sunny, could you tell me where your parents are? I don't think they'll be pleased to hear you fought a raider band to save some strangers.”

Sunny's face fell like her namesake. “ Oh, that's- that's actually why I came to Concord. I need help.”

She took a deep breath, trying to stay calm. Now, she was acting like how Preston expected someone her age to act in this situation. Sunny’s whole body started shaking and her eyes filled with unshed tears, like the world was too scary and large and terrifying and all together not suited for the innocence of a child. Like she hadn’t looked down the sights of her gun at a raider and pulled the trigger with no hesitation.

“Hey, it's okay, it's okay,” he soothed, placing both hands on her shoulders, “Deep breaths, start from the beginning.”

Taking a shuttering breath, she started, “ A man came-a man came into the Vault. He wasn't-he wasn't Vault-Tec. He had a gun and-and a leather jacket. He did something-he did something that caused the pods to unthaw but mine-but mine wouldn't open. Mom's did. She was holding my baby brother. Her pod opened and he tried to-he tried to take Shaun. She wouldn't let him. She told him no and then he,” She took another breath. The unshed tears from earlier finally started to fall, “and he shot her.”

Just like Preston feared.

“He shot her and took Shaun and Dad tried to get to them but he shot him too and I couldn't get out,” She was sobbing now, panic, distress, and grief now grabbing a hold of her. “I couldn't get out and the pod refroze and unfroze but they were gone and everyone was dead and IneedtofindShaunIdon'tknowwheretheytookhimbutineedtofind-”

“Miss Sunny, breathe!” Codsworth interrupted. He placed a gentle claw gently on top of her head, which Preston guessed was the closest a Mr. Handy could get to soothing her. “You will make yourself sick at this rate. Come now, deep breaths.”

As she gulped down air to the best of her ability, one of Codsworth's eyes turned toward Preston.

“You'll have to forgive our state of distress Mr.Garvey. Miss Sunny was in a similar state when she left the Vault and I fear I haven't been much better. Your predicament with the raiders seemed to have acted as a temporary distraction but now I believe her grief is back in full force.”

“It's alright Codsworth,” Preston said. “I promise to help once I get everyone here to safety. We can't stay here.”

“And where do you suggest we go?” hissed Marcy Long. She had been surprisingly silent for most of this conversation but she had to speak now. “We can't go dragging a kid around on the road. It isn't safe!” She continued, a tone of anger and protectiveness usually reserved for her husband lacing her voice. After the loss of their daughter, she likely didn't want another child to die. Preston didn't blame her.

“We go to the place Mama Murphy told us about. Sanctuary is our best bet at the moment,”

“You mean she saw it while she was high during one of her crazy visions,”

“Now Marcy,” Mama Murphy started, “You know the Sight is never wrong. Just hazy. Sanctuary is close by. I know it is,” She turned a comforting gaze toward Sunny, who had calmed down to hiccups now. “Just like I know your brother is alive.”

Sunny froze. “You've seen him? Where is he?”

“I'm sorry, Sweetheart. I didn't see him, but I feel his life force out there. I know he is. The Sight may be hazy, but it won't lie to you.”

Sunny went from hopeful to confused, “The Sight?”

“It's the chems, dear. They let me see a little of what has been, a little of what will be, and sometimes, a little of what is right now. Been that way since I was a girl” Mama Murphy tapped her temple indulgently. “Your brother is alive. And even I don't need the Sight to tell you where to start looking. Diamond City, the Great Green Jewel of the Commonwealth.”

“Um,” said Sunny, who looked to be processing what she was just told. “I'm gonna need to know a little more information than that.”

“Look, kid, I want to help but I'm tired. You bring me some Jet and we'll see what else is I can see.”

“No, Mama Murphy,” Preston scolded sternly. This had been an on-going battle for as long as he has known her. She would sneak any chems she could to try to trigger the “Sight”. It had proven useful multiple times over now, but the drugs were far too hazardous to the old woman's health for him to let her continue to use them. So him and Sturges have taken to confiscating any chem they found before she could take it and would carry her pack whenever they could to feel for any unexplained shifts in weight. Despite their efforts, she still snuck a few in now and again. “We've talked about this. That junk- it will kill you.”

“Oh shush, Preston. We're all gonna die eventually. We're gonna need the Sight. And our new friend here, she's gonna need it too,”

He started to argue again when Sunny tugged at his coat.

“Mr. Garvey, Mama Murphy is right about Sanctuary. It's close by. Me and Codsworth just came from there.”

“Codsworth and I,” the Mr. Handy corrected, “but Miss Sunny is right on Sanctuary's location. Just past the Red Rocket Station and over the bridge and you'll be right there,”

That was great news, even with Mama Murphy's smug grin.

“Alright folks. Thanks to our little friend here, we know where we are going now.”

____________________________________________________________

Sunny led the way to Sanctuary, knowing the way the best. Codsworth took up the rear, with his three eyes pointing in different directions in search of any potential threats. Dogmeat jumped around all over the place, simply happy to be there.

When they finally got to the bridge, he could see why this place was called Sanctuary even before the bombs dropped. It was out of the way, surrounded by trees, and had a river separating it from the rest of the Commonwealth.

Some of the houses had collapsed in on themselves but a majority were surprisingly stable. Sturges found a workbench and immediately started to work on patching up the walls. Marcy found melons and gourds already growing behind the same house, setting Jun and herself the task of harvesting as many as they can. Mama Murphy sat down on an old loveseat with Dogmeat lying down to be her foot warmer.

Sunny kept herself the most busy. First, she helped Preston with dragging the wood and metal debris out of the yards and road and into a pile to be broken down for materials. After that, he started on cutting the wood down for firewood and Sunny dragged out all of the still intact mattresses from the houses. Once outside, she beat them with a bat, trying to get as much dirt and dust off of them as she could.

Once she finished that and deposited the mattresses down where they could safely sleep, she started zipping around the area, grabbing everything that wasn't nailed down and depositing it to whoever she deemed needed it. At least it all seemed to have a use. Hammers, screwdrivers, wrenches, any technology, and even a few bags of concrete powder were handed off to Sturges. Seeds, garden tools, and edible plants where given to Marcy. Water, first aid items, and packaged food was set by Mama Murphy for easy access. Ammo, weapons, and armor were left on the weapons table for him to assess later.

At one point, she snuck up to him, handed him a bag that was full of chems, and whispered, “I found a lot of drugs all over the place. I didn't want Mama Murphy to find them but I don't know what to do with them now. Burning them seemed like a bad idea.”

Codsworth had taken advantage of a cooking station near the front and whipped up some sort of stew for them by sundown. Preston was finishing off his second bowl when Sunny approached him again.

“Mr. Garvey, do you have a minute? I have an idea for something we can use for defenses against raiders but I don't think I can carry them by myself,” She asked.

“Sure, I got a minute,” he smiled, “but you know you don't have to call me ‘Mr. Garvey’, right? Just ‘Preston’ works fine.”

“Alright, Mr. Preston, this way,” She said, turning on her heel and walking away. Even as Sturges laughed at him good-naturedly.

“At least she’s respectful. Could have chosen another name for ya and kept at it till it stuck.”

Deciding that “Mr. Preston” worked just fine, he followed her to a dirt road that ran between two houses.

____________________________________________________________

“Vault 111 is up here. There were a few turrets up here that I think only need minor repairs. If Sturges could fix them, we can set them up around Sanctuary for protection. That way, even if we are all asleep, nothing can sneak up on us.” Sunny started up the overgrown path with Preston close by.

Turrets. Now that was firepower. Those things shot faster than any person and normally had a steel shell protecting it. Even one of those at Sanctuary would give him a better night’s sleep.

“I can see why you asked for my help. Those things can be heavy, especially if there is more than one. Though, are you sure you can carry one? I can go back and ask Sturges for help if we need to,”

Sunny stopped and blushed “I can carry a turret!” She crossed her arms and looked down at her feet. “I just can't carry anything else with it and I think there are at least three,” she whispered.

Preston laughs. Sunny seemed to be good at causing that to happen.

They kept walking and Preston was a bit concerned by the skeletons by the gate and overturned military vehicles past it.

“What happened here?”

“Vault 111 residents were speciality military personnel and their families, both active and former. Supposedly, it was to thank and honor them for their service. A good many lived in Sanctuary Hills so that's why this location was chosen. There were more non-military people who wanted in, but they weren't allowed and tried to force their way in, so the military was brought in to keep them out,” Sunny stated. Her face held a quiet sort of reverence, like she was afraid of waking the dead that laid here. She kept walking forward, toward a turret that was covered in fallen wood and started pulling it away. “The Vault closed just as the bombs fell,” She paused as she pulled the turret free.

“They left those people to die.”

Preston crouched down at a second turret. It had some burn marks on it, but didn't seem to have any internal damage. “I'm surprised that the Vault would teach that in their school. Doesn't paint Vault-Tec in the greatest light.”

She was quiet after that, which Preston took as his que to get the last turret. Its barrel was completely snapped off from rust. If its internal mechanisms were the same, he wasn't too sure if Sturges could fix it.

Supposedly. That bothered him about what she said. Something that should have been true but wasn't. Like how reinforcements were supposedly on their way at Quincy and they would just have to hold a little longer. Instead, no one came, innocent people died, and he was left to try to put back together what little remained of his and everyone else's hope.

“Sunny?”

“Yes?”

She sounded upset now. Not like the sobbing, wailing breakdown she had earlier, but still sad. Melancholy, like she was mourning the dead she didn't want to wake.

He took a deep breath and asked, “You said that Vault 111 was supposedly to thank and honor military personnel for their service, right?”

“That's right.”

“Well,” Preston started, “What was it actually for then?”

Sunny successfully lifted up the first turret. It was a little bigger than her torso and looked awkward for her to carry. There was no way she could carry anything else with it. Despite her heavy load, she answered him.

“Testing,” She stated “According to the terminals I read when I left, Vault 111 was actually made to test prolonged cryogenic suspension and its effects on the human body. It was just as unethical then as it is now but it was also very, very illegal.”

Sunny sighed. This story sounded personal to her, so Preston waited, “Vault-Tec knew they couldn't tell anyone outside of their crappy company, much less market it. So they lied. Spewed a bunch of nonsense about ‘protecting our future’ and ‘state of the art technology’ and no one questioned a thing. When we got to the Vault, the scientists told us we had to be ‘decontaminated’ and that we would only be in there ‘for a minute’, but it wasn't a minute,” She was getting angry now, throwing the turret down and waving her arms as she paced and ranted. “I don't even think they thought it would be that long. As far as I can tell, the guards in the Vaults got tired of waiting to leave and rebelled against the scientists studying us, and it ended with everyone not in a stasis pod dead and unable to wake us up. Vault-tec lied to everyone that placed their lives in their hands, thinking that they may have a shot of survival, only for them to die just like everyone else here.”

Okay, more personal than Preston thought. She was right, of course, but the way she spoke.

“That must have been hard. Growing up and hearing about the betrayal that happened,”

Sunny stopped pacing, and pinning him with a look that would have been intimidating if she was older. “What are you talking about? I was there. I grew up in Sanctuary Hills.”

Preston's blood stopped cold. The stasis pods. With no one around to open them, the frozen residents were unable to be released and procreate. Sunny had said they were in there for longer than they should be, and she kept using we and us when…

“Wait a minute, are you saying you were there when the bombs fell?” He asked. She had said earlier that she had been refrozen in her stasis pod when her brother was kidnapped. But Preston couldn't believe it, didn't want to believe it.

“Yep,” Sunny said, “I'm two hundred and twelve years old, give or take a few years. Codsworth's internal clock isn't entirely accurate anymore.”

Preston didn't know what to say. When he thought she had just lost her parents and brother, he already felt obligated to help. Now, it turns out she lost everything. The world as she knew it was gone and only hollowed ruins of it remained. For the pre-war ghouls, they have had time to adjust to the change, to the radiation, and crumbled buildings, and death. He had a feeling Sunny hadn't gotten that chance.

“How long?” Preston asked as Sunny picked up the turret again. His mouth felt dry and he had to lick his lips before starting again. “How long have you been out of stasis?”

Sunny shrugged, not meeting his eyes. “A couple hours at most. I had only been out about an hour when Codsworth and I left for Concord,” She turned on her heel towards Sanctuary, “Come on. It's getting dark soon and I don't want Codsworth worrying about how long we've been gone.”

Preston tucked the other two turrets under his arms and followed. He didn't know what to say.

The walk back was quiet and it was fully dark by the time they set the turrets down next to the workbench. Sturges could work on them tomorrow. By the time they got to the workbench, Sunny looked ready to pass out.

“Whew, what on earth do they put in these things to make them so heavy? I thought they were basically guns that shoot themselves?”

Preston smiled, “ I'm sure Sturges could tell you what is inside it if you ask,” his smile disappeared as quickly as it came. He remembered why Sunny came to Concord and the conversation she had with Mama Murphy before leading them here. “Are you really going to go to Diamond City all on your own?”

Diamond City is right in the center of the Commonwealth and a good, long walk from here. A walk that had ferals, radscorpions, super mutants and even mirelurks once you reached the river. As well as she handled herself at Concord, there was no way Sunny could be on guard the entire trip in order to stay alive.

“I have to, Mr. Preston,” She said, a desperate tone seeping into her voice. “Shaun's my brother. He's my family. The only family I got left. And he's so little, he's only a baby. I don't know what that monster is gonna do to him. I've got to find him and Diamond City is my only lead. And I won't be entirely alone, Codsworth is coming too, and Dogmeat, if he's willing to come.”

That didn't make Preston feel any better. While both could provide extra protection, neither would be any help with less direct threats. Slavers, scam artists, and thieves would see a Mr. Handy as scrap metal, Dogmeat as food, and Sunny as a target.

Looking around Sanctuary, Preston thought for a moment. This place was probably the most isolated of the attempted settlements and, therefore, the safest. And with how small their group was, it wasn't likely for anyone to know about them being there for a good while.

Preston made his decision right then. Gently pulling her wrist towards him, he punched in a marker for Diamond City.

“Sounds like you could use my help. I'll mark it on your map. We can leave after tomorrow.”

38 notes · View notes