DISCLAIMER: I do not own Bethesda, Fallout 4, or any of these characters, except for partially Vera. She is my Sole Survivor, after all. Be prepared for ramblings, fluff, emotions, and drama.

"To sum up, in the last two weeks I have successfully killed Godzilla, built half a house for an army from the past, and been attacked daily by giant cockroaches. My greatest fear. Am I 100% sure this isn't really a nightmare?" I pinch myself again before speaking into the giant ass watch on my wrist. "Nope, this still seems pretty real." I sigh, sinking down against a rock. Crouching so much has put a strain on my legs; I can hardly walk straight lately without them aching. "I'm coming baby, I promise. I'll save you. And, one day, when you hear these, you'll know just how much I love you, in case I'm not the one that lives to rescue you." With a sudden influx of emotion, I stop the recording, and shove the holotape deep into my pack. I can't think about dying, not yet.

Dogmeat whines beside me.

"I know pal, I know," I moan, uncapping my last Nuka-cola and taking a sip. The initial burn of radiation sizzles on my tongue in the place of the classic soda fizz. I make a face, the same face I grimace every time I swallow one of these. "Ugh, they don't make 'em like they used to," I murmur to my furry friend, scratching him between his ears.

Two weeks. Two weeks since I watched Anton die, two weeks since Shaun was taken, two weeks since I woke up to a whole new, nuclear world. Two weeks or two hundred years? They're one and the same right now. I sigh, closing my eyes as I take another hideous sip, running my thumb over the bottlecap in my hand. I keep telling myself that means I'm two weeks closer to Shaun, but, I feel lightyears away.

Working from nothing, that's what I told Mama Murphy. Her crazy, drug-induced, fortune-teller vibe caught me off guard and definitely rubbed me wrong. Hell, I almost accused her of stealing Shaun away from me! The helmet of that big-ass suit certainly kept my judgmental face at bay, hiding it from those scared settlers. Saved my ass in more ways than one, that suit did.

Groaning, I finish the irradiated soda and tuck the bottle into my pack. Worst case scenario, if I run out of ammo again, I can just smash the glass bottle over a Raider's head, just like in those old Western movies. "C'mon Dogmeat," I exclaim, pulling myself to my feet, "Diamond City's not that much farther away!" He yips at me in anticipation. He's such a good dog, I've honestly considered adopting him and just calling him my second son, to hell with the strange looks.

I need more sleep. Or any sleep.

I check my Pip-boy. According to my map, Diamond City is just over the bridge and a few blocks down and to the left. Almost there. Surely, someone there has to have a better idea where to start with finding my baby. They just have to…

We pick up the pace, trotting over the bridge. If I wasn't avoiding a swim in radioactive water, I'd be skipping over the bridge, just like I did when I was a little girl, with my sister Ethel…

Stop.

I pull nervously on my earlobe, gnawing on my upper lip. Can't…slip…now…

My steps stagger. A voice grunts. My breath hitches.

No.

Below me, a disembodied voice begins frantically calling out to his friends. "Did you hear that?" he hisses. I turn my head to Dogmeat, who is starting to crouch into attack mode.

"Shhh," I whisper, praying he understands what I mean.

Post-apocalyptic world, and dogs didn't mutate the ability to understand human-speak. Astounding.

Dogmeat growls menacingly and launches off his hind legs, practically jumping down to the ship wrecked below us. I pull myself from the hole I'd half fallen in and crank my laser musket. Damn those ferals. Damn those Raiders. Damn everything I had to shoot along the way here because now, I am stuck with the worst gun ever and oh, great…Power Armor.

I shake my head. I can't get stuck focusing on the impossible. That's how I almost died fighting that Deathclaw demon thing. No, I have to choose to accept the challenge. It's the only way I've gotten this far.

Dogmeat tears into the Raiders on the wreck. Already, he's taken down one of their dogs and has a Raider by the leg. "Get down here bitch and fight us!" I hear one shout. Taunting, how mature.

"Yeah," another one chimes in, "only a fucking coward hides!"

I wince and crouch deeper. My muscles are screaming at me and I start to shake. It's now, or never. I jump up, take aim and the one in Power Armor, and fire. I duck behind part of the ship as they shoot back. Based on the sound he's making, I hit him. Good.

I crank the musket and jump back out into the open. Hardly taking the second to aim, I fire another shot at the Power Armor, this time chucking a grenade as well. Apparently, my throwing is a bit off, considering I can't feel my legs. The grenade goes high. Scrambling with my arms, I drag myself towards the other side of the bridge, shrieking for my dog. Oh please, oh please let me miss him. The explosion seems close, too close. "Dogmeat?!" I yelp. Frantically, I clamor for the railing. I can't win this fight. I can't win this fight, not today.

I slump back down to the mangled concrete. I try to reach in my pack for something, anything, to help me. My hand squeezes around a small pack of long syringes. I was saving these for caps, but…

I scream. I can't help it. The Med-x hits my system like a boulder before a strange sort of numbness takes over. I chuck the empty drug to the side and wince to my feet. Just in time.

"I'm really going to enjoy this!" The Raider swings at me.

I duck. I can't outrun him, but maybe, I can bash him unconscious!

I hold my musket over my head and swing back. Whoosh. I was always pathetic at sports. There's a reason I always read instead.

Maybe it's a good thing Shaun is gone, I would have made a terrible boy mom.

"No!" I shout, swinging my musket recklessly. "I. Will. Not. Fail." I screech.

I feel a strange tug on my leg. Looking down, in my numbness, I see Dogmeat, bloodied and limping, yanking on my Vault suit. Slowly, I turn my head back around to see the mangled body displayed before me on the bridge. Gasping down the bile, I drop my musket, turn, and run.

"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry." What have I done?

Tears blind my vision. Reckless, I keep going. I have to get away, get to Diamond City, get Shaun back. Live. Love.

Tears don't blind my ears.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" A voice yells, an arm grabbing mine and pulling me down.

"What-?" He shushes me. "Shut up and shoot or stay still!"

I wipe the tears from my eyes, coming into focus on a man wearing…an umpire's uniform? As armor? The hell? "What?"

"HUMANS! YOU DIE NOW!"

Oh shit.

A/N: please read and review. I would love your honest feedback. I often feel like my writing doesn't translate as well as it could from my brain to my fingers to the page. I don't want this to be like every "walkthrough", I still want it to keep interest. Any suggestions, feedback, comments, criticisms, compliments, would be GREATLY APPRECIATED!