It was almost second nature to her; putting together microchips and vacuum tubes. Alexei didn't even have to think about what goes where, which was a relief to her, as she still felt her her head pulsing from the stitches and painkillers.
Alexei tried to talk to Doc Mitchell, wanted to know who and where she was, but everytime her mouth opened, nonsense poured out. She could think clearly, but what came out was a mess. "What's wrong with me," she wanted to ask, as tears rolled down her face. It took Alexei all her courage not to fall to the floor in a crumpled heap.
Doc Mitchell embraced her slowly, and pat her shoulders in a paternal manner. "There, there, it's okay," he said with a calm tone. "I've seen this happen to other patients like you. What comes out doesn't match what you want to say, is that it?"
Wiping the tears from her eyes, Alexei nodded. She tapped her bandaged head as her mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water, and grabbed his vest with her other hand tightly. It took a minute for her question to be understood by him: "Can you fix this?"
He smiled sadly as he grabbed her hand calmly, and shook his head. "If there's a device out there to fix this, then I'm sad to say that I don't own it. Maybe in some far-off location or in some Brotherhood outpost, but for now, there's nothing that can be done to help you. When you leave, maybe you'll find something to help. Alexei nodded, and hugged Doc Mitchell before she got up and stretched before leaving his clinic. "Here's hoping," she thought, before stepping out into the Mojave.
After a few minutes of hand gestures and pointing, Alexei was sitting on a table of the Prospector Saloon picking apart and repairing the radio for Trudy. She didn't even want the caps for fixing it; for her, discovering what made the radio hum and sing was all Alexei needed to be happy. Although, the caps she got were able to get her a few bottles of Nuka-Cola, and the caffeine in the first sip she took helped her headache tremendously. She waved Trudy goodbye, as she followed Sunny Smiles outside towards her future.