Disclaimer: I do not own Fallout 3 nor do I own any of the characters portrayed in this story.
I got this idea when I was playing the game and remembering how mad I was when I got the 4th letter. I just remember thinking it was such a big waste of time to look forward to letters and I actually went to Tenpenny tower to see if he was there and he wasn't! I was so mad that I had to write a short story about it so here it is! I never actually describe what the female looks like so I leave that up to you to fill in with your own imagination!
Feel free to leave a review cos' I can't judge my own writing!
'I wish that I could have you, and the thought of another man getting to have you, breaks my heart. But I'd rather you were set free, than waiting eternally for me...Good luck my love-bird. Fly free and be happy! Your's truly,
Burke'
She read it one more time, fresh tears coming from her eyes. She crumpled the worn piece of paper to her chest as a fresh set of sobs consumed her. The jukebox in her house continued to play the same sad song over and over and she couldn't help but feel the song was specifically for her as she cried herself to sleep for the 4th time this week.
Most of her days were spent thinking of him and reading the other letters he had sent her. She thought back to the first time she encountered him.
She only spoke to him to tell him to stop motioning to her to come over and talk to him because it was giving her the creeps. She nearly spit the beer at him when he asked her to commit the unthinkable and blow Megaton to bits. She had established a home by then and had already disarmed the bomb so she didn't know what to say to him. She ended up just leaving him waiting for an answer as she left the bar.
That night she couldn't stop thinking of the possibility of him finding a way to re-activate it and blowing the place up himself so she made the decision to go talk to him and tell him the bomb was disarmed and that he should leave Megaton alone. She felt weird going to his house empty handed so she went to her fridge and grabbed a full bottle of wine she would give to him as a gift and a reason to let her inside.
She threw on a tank top and her favorite sweats and left her house locking it up as she made her way down the steep stairs to Burke's home. She was nervous and didn't know what she was doing and the bottle of wine shook in her hands making small sloshing sounds.
She stood in front of his door and turned around to look at the reason she was there to begin with giving it a glare. If that bomb hadn't been here she wouldn't be in this situation. She turned back around and lightly tapped on the door. She waited for a couple minutes before knocking a bit harder.
She was about to leave when the door swung open to a very tired and angry looking Burke glaring at her.
"What could someone possibly want at this hou...Oh." His face softened as he realized it was her. "Forgive my rudeness." He said rubbing the back of his neck.
"Oh no, no it's my fault for coming so late..I, uh..just wanted to talk..and..this is for you." She said quickly shoving the bottle at Burke who eyed it curiously.
He didn't look like he did in Moriarty's bar when she first met him. His normal striped suit was replaced with a form fitting white shirt and boxers and his glasses were no where to be seen. She had to admit he was a handsome man but what he wanted her to do was terrible and she didn't feel bad for waking him up so late.
"I hope this is about my proposition." He said grabbing the wine. "Please, come in and take a seat." He turned around leaving the door open and making his way over to the kitchen counter.
The place was smaller than hers and that was saying something, at least her place was two stories. She sat down at his table and fidgeted with her thumbs watching him. He pulled a bottle opener from one of the drawers in the kitchen and began working the cork off the wine. It came off with a light popping noise and he grabbed the two glasses that lay on the counter pouring some into the both of them.
He handed her a glass as he took a seat across from her and she took it taking a drink. It was bitter and she couldn't tell if she hated it or liked it so she took another sip. There was no alcohol in Vault 101 so the whole thing was completely new to her.
"It's really not that big of a deal." He said taking a sip of his own glass. "This place is an eye sore and the lives lost won't count for nothing I assure you."
She was getting more nervous as he continued to talk knowing he won't be happy at the news. She drank the rest of her wine and set it on the table not looking into Burke's eyes.
He poured her another glass smirking a little bit. Maybe if he got her a little drunk she would give in and just do the blasted thing so he could get out of this vile place.
She began to drink despite the slight fuzzy feeling she felt rising in her stomach.
"I don't know Burke. The whole thing is very...drastic."
"I can pay you if that's what you wish." He finished his drink and set the cup aside but poured more into her glass.
The nervousness she felt quickly dissipated and she was beginning to jumble her thoughts together as she drank more.
"In caps?" She said looking into her empty cup.
He leaned over the table putting one finger on the corner of her cup pulling it towards him with her hand still on it and poured more wine not hiding the smile that spread across his face. "With a lot of caps." He sat back into his chair. Maybe this is going to be easier than he though.
"Well.." She began. "I could always use the caps.." She said slurring her words slightly and finishing off her glass. She looked over at Burke and let her eyes wonder as she checked him out again. She could see every part of his body through the thin fabric of his shirt and she was getting a different fuzzy feeling in the pit of her stomach.
"I have a "Proposition" of my own. Would you like to hear it, Mr. Burke?" She smiled feeling confidence make her way through her body as the alcohol coursed through her veins.
His demeanor changed as he sat straight in his chair looking her over. "Color me intrigued. Go on..." He said as his eyes raked over her body just as hers did his.
"You see. I live here lover, and surely you wouldn't want to hurt me..." She was surprised, if not more than Burke at the words that came out of her mouth.
"Well...I...I mean... Of course not... I must admit, I've never met a woman quite like you before. This changes everything..." He said as he leaned over putting his elbows on his knees and crossing his fingers looking as if he was thinking about something.
She got up from her seat and made her way over to him placing her hands on his shoulder and leaning him back into his chair. She got on top of him straddling him as she looked into eyes waiting for him to do something. He cautiously placed his hand on her lower back and began to speak.
"My, my...how beautiful you truly are." He leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. "I would love nothing more than to ravish you right here and now but I'm afraid we can not just yet. Our first contact should be in a place less...dirty. I'm sorry."
He helped her off him and made his way to the door opening it and gently motioning for her to leave. She was dumbfounded as she walked outside his door turning around to look at him not knowing what to say.
"You wait here my dear. I have some important business to attend to. But you won't be waiting long. I shall send for you soon." He grabbed her hand and planted a kiss on it before shutting his door.
She walked her way up to her home wobbling and bumping into anything she was close to. She was too drunk to be hurt by his actions, it's not like rejected her or anything. He was just asking her to be patient. She collapsed onto her bed and fell asleep almost instantly.
She woke up with a piercing head ache and she groaned as she tried to remember everything that happened last night. She remembered what Burke had said and felt her face flush pink as she remembered what she had said.
She took a shower and when she was finished, made her way down to Burke's home to apologize for the way she acted last night but no one answered when she knocked. Lucas Simms saw her there and hollered for her to come over and talk to him. He told her that Burke had left early this morning and she instantly became angry.
She stomped her way back to her home and sat on her bed crossing her arms. Who does this guy think he is telling her to just wait here? She had a father to find! There's no way she could wait here.
She thought about what happened last night a bit more. She was very very drunk so he must have been the same right? He was drinking wine too, maybe he said it in a fit of the moment and he left because he was too embarrassed to confront her? It wasn't impossible she felt like digging a hole and hiding from him in her own embarrassment.
Whether she believed it or not she decided she wouldn't think about him any further. He was sketchy anyway and she didn't want this to be her first out-of-the-vault experience so she brushed him off and got ready for her first day out in the wastes.
A couple weeks after that incident she got the first letter and the second came a month later. By the time the third letter came she couldn't lie about her feelings any longer. The way he made an effort to write to her and the sweet things he said made her fall in love even though he wasn't there.
The third letter was hard to read as the longing for him grew harder and harder each day. He had told her the pain of their separation was unbearable for him and that he cherished the brief moment they had together. That was the first time she cried over him as she clung the letter to her chest and crumbled to the floor.
Thinking about it made her cry even more at the thought of not receiving any more from him. She got up from her bed and walked to the cabinet she kept all her precious items. Inside had her dad's bobble head figurine wrapped in her old Vault 101 jumpsuit along with the last holotape he made her. Underneath all of it were the letters Burke had sent her neatly tucked inside one envelope.
She pulled them out and made her way back to her bed reading the first one out loud as she clung to her chest.
'Have patience my love. Soon.
Soon we shall be together once again!'
"You liar." She said as she placed the letter back in the envelope and picked up the second one reading it. He said the work he was doing was to better shape mankind and that eased her wondering thoughts because people had told her he was a very bad man. Placing that one back she picked up the third one.
'Send me a letter, won't you? Send it to Tenpenny Tower.
They'll be sure to get it to me.'
"Tenpenny tower.." She said looking up from the letter at the wall thinking if she'd come across a place like that in the wastes. "I wonder if he's still there.." She said as she placed the third letter back in the envelope along with the newest edition. She couldn't bring herself to read the fourth letter again. It was just too sad to hear him tell her they have to 'cease this charade' as he put it.
She flipped open her pipboy and flipped to the Map she had. She had been scouring the wastes looking for her dad and helping anyone she came across so she had quite a few places mapped out. She looked over each place looking for Tenpenny tower. Having no luck she shut it off and got up from her bed putting on her armor and holstering her laser pistol to her side as she left her home.
