CHAPTER 1
Birth
The moment it happened, Charon fell to his knees in pain, catching himself with a hand to the ground.
"No," he growled, teeth grit and face twisted in anger and agony. "No!" Fate would not be this cruel. "Not again." He groaned, the pain close to unbearable. He could feel his every nerve flare to life, the sensation burning all the way from his scalp and down his spine. It spread out, down his legs and out his arms, settling at the tips of his fingers and in his toes. And then it returned, back into his spine, all the way up to his scalp, worming into his brain, giving him a terrible headache. Lightning flashed before his eyes, his vision blurred, and then he saw.
Blood, sharp light stinging their eyes. A sickening, wet sound as they were pulled from warmth, cold air against their fragile skin. They were choking, and something slapped their back, they coughed on reflex, gurgling, their lungs burning. And then they cried, the sound was thin and helpless, whimpering and shaking. Their newfound sight caught a glimpse of faces, a man and a woman. The man was wearing a white coat, doctor, the woman looked filthy and scarred and old. Mother perhaps?
"It's a girl!" the man announced. Charon could feel something rough, a blanket most likely, was rubbed against their skin, wiping them dry. Wiping her dry. Then another piece of cloth was wrapped around their flailing limbs, securing them inside it like a cocoon. She was still crying, a terrified and confused and reflexive cry. Out of instinct, he pushed his feelings through the bond, calm, reassuring feelings. The crying settled into helpless and thin little hiccups.
Then the sharp sound of a woman screaming pierced their ears, and no matter how much calm Charon poured into the bond, the infant began shaking in a new kind of terror. It grew dark as the infant closed her eyes shut. Her thin little cries mixed with the woman's sharp and painful screams. The urgent voices of the older female and the doctor mixed into the sounds.
And then he was released from the vision.
Charon took a moment to just breathe while the pain in his brain settled, his mind splitting in two while his consciousness struggled to accommodate the new presence inside. "Not again," he repeated with a groan, collecting himself enough to stand. He could not go through with this again.
He wanted to cry, his throat was thick and his eyes moist. He could still feel her, scared and confused and so small and vulnerable. A part of him wanted to rush off and find her, make sure she made it, protect her. The other part of him wished she would just die along with her mother.
Gripping his shotgun, Charon bit his teeth hard. The Capital Wasteland was a hard and unforgiving place. If he just stayed out of it, thinned their bond to a minimum, she would be dead soon. Very few made it into adulthood.
His new soulmate had just been born.
A/N: Alright. I've deleted a story I had discontinued a long time ago, and now it's back, in a new skin with a new plotline. I've read some AU Soulmate fanictions of the Fallout universe, and I gotta say I'm thoroughly intrigued. So I'd like to give this one a go. I know Fallout 3 is oooold news by now, but I can't stop myself from going back to it every now and then. Also; Charon *insert dreamy face and hearts* Silly, I know. I'm a grown woman and should be above this.
I'm doing a kind of different approach to the soulmate part though. The feelings and bonds are all there, but I'd like them to be able to communicate as well. Like telepathy. You'll see what I'm getting at, eventually.
This story is a SLOW BURN!
Comments are appreciated, good or bad, I'll take them all. Although I prefer polite ones ;) More A/N's will follow, with trigger warnings and other comments I deem it necessary for you to know about.
Enjoy!