SO, I'm going to warn everyone now. I am the absolute worst person when it comes to starting stories. I can never get the first chapters right because I am a very impatient writer, and I beat myself up over it ALL the time. I want to write about one thing, but I have to go through several other things and it ends up being a complete MESS. It's an ongoing disaster that takes place inside what I like to call my brain. This is an outcome of serious writers block, much to my own dismay. HOWEVER, i'm going to try my best with this little bit of fiction. It's something I've been pondering up since I bought Fallout 4 on release day, and have decided upon doing a Sole Survivor/MacCready fic. I mus advise that this is going to be complete trash, but I hope that everyone who takes the time to read it will like it. Feedback will be helpful. Also, I am unbearably sick right now which means if I make any mistakes, I am terribly sorry, my brain is on a shut down mode. (This story will also more than likely contain major spoilers.) Alright, please enjoy.

Chapter One: Satisfied Mind

The bar she sat in was nothing she could compare to her old life. It was rundown, dirty, filled with stale air. The entire place smelled like a cesspool, and that's exactly what it was. This seemed to be fitting around her more and more as the days passed. She was no longer an honest housewife with a newborn son and loving husband before the war. Now she was a killer, fighting to survive in the world as she searched for the child that had been taken from her. She would admit, living now was a lot harder than she could ever have imagined in the past. She had been 23 when she was frozen, starting what would have been her wonderful life with the man she loved. But now? Now she loved the feel of a combat rifle in her hands, loved the little bit of push it pumped into her shoulder upon shooting. She loved the way eating a bit of pre-war food made her body feel all fuzzy, she also loved the way that the world held almost no rules; at least not in the wasteland. Some days she would forget why she was searching and instead help others instead of herself, earning some caps along the way. It had been a few weeks since she did anything, however. Almost 14 days of nothing but wandering, drinking and shooting. Melody Caparelli was sure falling into the life of a wastelander easily.

The redhead sat at the bar, two beers being sat in front of her by the Mister Gutsy bartender. It was her second night being there after arriving the evening before, and the atmosphere still caused her a bit of surprise. As the hours went on into the night, more people arrived and the music would get louder. Sometime around midnight, Melody would have to leave and head back to her room at the Hotel Rexford due to the crowd getting too rowdy for her liking. For the moment, however, things were going nicely. Only a handful of people loitered around in the main room, watching sweet Magnolia sing on the makeshift stage. Melody was enjoying it indefinitely until someone slithered up onto the stool beside her. From the look of him, she could pin that he was a Gunner.

"Hey there, what's a fine gal like you sitting alone at a bar for?" he grinned.

Since leaving Vault 111 and making it to Diamond City, Melody could have understood why men and even women drooled over her. She had the exotic post-cryo look to her. Recently unfrozen, expecting it to still be just after the bombs had fell in Boston. She was fresh faced and unscathed on every degree. Now, however, she found it hard to believe. Choosing to wear a corset with jeans and combat boots, she had been sure to attach all the little armor mods that she could. Chest plate and the whole nine yards. Her hair wasn't even the same as when she arrived in Diamond City. She was about 30 days out of the Vault at that point, and wanted to be able to look more like a wastelander. That is where the unladylike cut came into play. She grew into loving it right away, but others tended to stay away. Unless someone was this stupid.

"Staying away from cretin like you," she spat, teeth baring slightly.

She promptly stood up, picking up both her bottles of beer before turning her back and stalking off to one of the lounges. Inside she sat down, only to regret it immediately upon the sight of the two Gunners trying to intimidate another man. Deciding it best to stay out of the matter, Melody put her beers down and brought her Pip-Boy up, scrolling through her files. She blocked most of the conversation out until she was suddenly addressed.

"Ay, remember to mind your own business, girl," he spat.

Melody looked up at him, her eyes narrowing into thin slits.

"Last I checked, I was. Why don't you fuck off and bother some other unlucky pricks? You're disturbing the peace,"

Two of the three men shot her a nasty look, each in turn, before they sauntered out of sight. Melody released a small breath and brushed her hair out of her eyes. The remaining man stood nearby, his eyes watching her. She turned her own towards him, silver meeting blue. They remained like that for several minutes until he spoke first.

"You looking for a hired gun?" he asked.

She stood up at that, choosing to stand and pop out a hip for her hand to rest upon. She looked him up and down, studied his form, eyed the way he carried himself. A small smile worked its way onto her plump lips.

"Hmm... I'm not sure. How much are you charging and most importantly, how good are you?"

"250 caps upfront, then you can call me as good as yours. Trust me, you'll be impressed,"

Melody gave no thought after he said that. Why shouldn't she give him a chance? In truth, she had been feeling quite alone since she had left the Vault, and asking Nick to return to Diamond City didn't help her much on that part. Roaming aimlessly without a partner in crime was something she had been missing out on, and so even if it cost her 250 caps, she wasn't going to pass up on the opportunity for some company. She reached into her back pocket and pulled out a small pouch of caps, tossing it into his direction. A small smirk played on her features.

"There's 300, don't worry about giving me the extra 50 caps back," she hummed out.

He caught the pouch and looked up at her, surprise written across his features.

"What's your name?" she finally asked.

"MacCready," he replied. "Yours?"

She gave him a wistful smile, "Melody Caparelli, but you can call me Mel."

She held out her hand for him to shake and he took it, meeting the strength behind her grip.

Melody sat back down after that and offered him her untouched beer. They sat like that for a while, not really talking. After some time Melody pulled out a pack of cigarettes and took one out. She held the pack in MacCready's direction, indicating for him to retrieve one if he smoked. To her liking, he did, and she promptly put away the pack afterwards. She replaced it with a gold encrusted flip lighter, sparking her cigarette fluidly. She inhaled the first puff deeply, blowing it out some seconds following. MacCready did the same as her, and there they sat. Silently puffing away at the sticks of tobacco, Melody admiring the way the tendrils of smoke fluttered up, and MacCready watching her curiously. This carried on for an hour until the man finally broke the silence.

"Who are you?" he asked.

The question not only surprised Melody, but it startled her as well. She was on her sixth cigarette and her third beer at that point. Taking a swing of her beer, Melody sunk into her seat a little bit.

"You want to know my story? I guess I won't blame you, so many people do. No one's asked me in a while, though," she smiled, lopsidedly.

MacCready took a small drink of his own beer.

"I guess I do want to know your story, yeah. It's not everyday that I have a female hire me. Most have their own little digs like Magnolia does," the dark haired male stated.

The redhead gave a small release of breath.

"My full name is Melody Caparelli. I was… born before the bombs fell. I had a husband and I had a son named Shaun. Right before the bombs fell we made our way to the vault near our community. We had been authorized entrance. Inside we were cryogenically frozen, and when I first 'woke up', my husband was shot and my son taken. I only recently was unfrozen, and I'm just looking for my baby. The Institute has him," Melody frowned.

The redhead took a long puff off her cigarette, holding in the smoke before she released it into the dingy room. The air had grown thick with cigarette smoke since she had been there sitting with MacCready. The man was sitting beside her, his head turned to face her; studying her. She couldn't blame him. Who signed up to work with someone only to figure out their baggage afterwards? Only those unlucky, like what he would have labeled himself if it didn't strike close to home. Melody could tell by his eyes that he pitied her, and the look caused her to be uncomfortable. In hopes of a change of mood, Melody stood up and stretched.

"I have a room at Hotel Rexford, if you'd like to tag along. If not, I'll meet you by the gate at around 8,"

MacCready nodded and stood up as well. He was at least a foot taller than Melody, towering over her small frame as she finished off her still lit cigarette. Quickly afterwards she stumped it out into a nearby ashtray. Picking up her short combat rifle, she slung it over her shoulders and finally looked up to meet his face.

"I'll tag along," he stated. "There's nothing left for me here, anyway. Goodneighbor has been good to me, but it's not very welcoming."

Melody nodded in understanding, and the two made their way out of The Third Rail and back to the hotel. MacCready pointed certain things out to her about the small Ghoul settlement as they made the short walk, informing her to stay away from people with certain looks ("See them over there? You never want to get caught up with those sorts. Junkies. You ever come across one of them? They'll rob you blind, even gut you where you stand, just to get a fix. Never try to befriend one of 'em, I'm telling you.")

Melody was content to have someone talk with her, even on the short walk. Nick was always good for talking, but Melody could feel that MacCready was a lot different than the synth detective. Nick Valentine never would have been so unbearably blunt about people, such as Junkies. She respected that, but maybe having MacCready around would help her more with certain conversations and better understanding groups of the wasteland. Particularly she was interested in the Gunners and why they were such shitty people. Most of the other groups she understood just fine, much to most peoples dismay. Luckily for Melody, she had a knack for lobbing off their heads.

"Well, this is my room. Do you have your own? I'm sure you could afford one with the caps I paid you today, but if you're saving them up or going to buy some supplies, we can bunk together," she smiled, using her key to unlock the door they had stopped at.

MacCready seemed to weigh the information around a bit.

"You don't mind bunking?" he inquired, eyebrow raised.

"Nah. I used to travel with someone else and we'd bunk together. I had to let him go back to his detective duties," she replied.

Melody stepped into the room and turned the light on. Inside the room was a bit of disorder. On the table in the corner sat a pistol, completely dismantled and sitting untouched. A pair of dirty clothes lay on the floor near to the door. A pack sat at the foot of the bed, contents spilling out and onto the floor. Melody looked at him sheepishly.

"Sorry about the mess. I can sometimes be a walking disaster," she quiped.

Maccready entered into the room behind her and gave a shrug, looking around and glancing at all the stuff he could see for the moment. His eyes caught Melody moving towards the desk and sit down, her slender fingers and nimble hands quickly getting to work on fixing the gun she had taken apart. MacCready watched as she cleaned each part and inspected them before she swiftly put the weapon back to work. By the end of it all, 20 minutes had gone by and the man stood behind her, intent and speechless.

This woman was an absolute wonder to the world.