Chance Meeting

This is a story that mainly takes place during the Fallout 4 timeline, as well as some of the DLC. There will be some flashbacks to events before Vault 111 opens up. The Sole Survivor is not the main character, but the paths of familiar faces will cross quite often. I hope you enjoy this story and I welcome reviews.

Ev walked up the stairs to the roof of the inn. It was her favorite hide away. Her mother was in her room, crashing from her most recent chem bender. She just needed to get away from everything for a few minutes.

As she opened the door, a familiar face turned to greet her. His smile spread across his face and his bright blue eyes shown in the moonlight. "Hello, sunshine." He said to her.

She smiled back and walked to the waiting man. "What the hell are you doing up here, John."

"Me? I'm just looking at the scenery. I was wondering what was keeping ya from joining me." He said and looked up at the stars that shown through the hazy radiation clouds above. He sat down on the roof and, without pulling his eyes from the glistening dots above, patted the place next to him for her to join him.

She sighed heavily and rolled her eyes before sitting down. "Only for a minute. I have to go back down there. Someone has to watch the place." She said and pulled out a cigarette. Placing it between her lips, she took a long drag before turning her eyes upwards as well.

"Didn't know the sky could look this good… No wonder you come up here so often." John said, still smiling that perfect smile. His soft blond hair flowed down his shoulders, the back pulled into a low ponytail. His strong features and glistening eyes added to his overwhelming charm. Women of any age could get lost in his looks, but when paired with his mellow, deep voice and his friendly yet strong attitude, they would often melt for him.

She puffed out some smoke. "Yeah, it's a great place to get away." She added, but fell silent again. She always felt comfortable around John. Their friendship had started only a few months ago, but she felt as if she could depend on him for anything and he felt the same for her.

After a few minutes, John turned his head to her. "Ya know… I think coming to Goodneighbor was the best thing that could have happened to me. I got a roof over my head, I got a job helping people… and I got someone like you to help me through this… this life." He said and scooted closer, putting an arm around her.

"Whoa, easy there, Casanova." She laughed and scooted away from his out stretched arm. "Those charms of yours aren't gunna work on me."

"No?" He asked, his smile widening, enjoying the challenge.

"Nope. Not with this girl." She said and stood to walk towards the door.

"Ev, wait…" He said, jumping to his feet. She stopped and looked over her shoulder at him, waiting for him to continue. "Well… why not? I mean… Why not us?" The young man asked, the smile still there but he seemed more serious.

"Because you'll break my heart, Mr. McDonough. And we can't have that." She said with another grin and opened the door to return to the real world, leaving John in the moonlight.

10 Years Later

"We're being followed." Twoey said, looking through the scope on his sniper rifle. The man's massive frame hugged the ground as he laid on his stomach in the rubble, aiming down his sights.

Evelyn looked down at the man as she stood next to him. She always found it amusing how her second in command and best friend's body looked laying prone to take a shot. His legs spread apart, and his massive shoulders towering over the stock of the rifle. Sitting atop those shoulders was a head with a mop of black, unruly hair on it. "How far away, would you say?" She asked.

Twoey thought for a second. "800 feet… looks like he is in one of them vault suits… It looks pretty damn clean too." The man opened his closed eye from taking aim and turned to look at her. "Well? What are the orders? Do I take 'im out?" He asked, his faded green eyes looking hollow as always.

Evelyn was about to respond before Boomer chimed in. "Awe come on…. It's just a little vault dweller. He's probably from 81, like the last one we caught. Had nothin' good on him and I felt bad when we made him wet his pants." The smooth voice was followed by the young man in a bomber jacket and black pants. He jumped down from the second story of the building that they were scavenging. His dirty blond hair stood up in a spikey style as he lifted the aviator sunglasses to sit on top of his head. Brown, bright, youthful eyes smiled at his traveling companions.

"You wouldn't stop laughing at him as he high tailed it away when Cap finally let him go." Twoey added before looking back down the scope. "Where's Cookie?"

Evelyn smirked. "Out investigating the vault dweller who has been following us for the last two miles." She said and gestured in the direction that Twoey's scope was pointing.

Twoey huffed. "Well why didn't you just tell me you knew he was already there?!" The big man bellowed, standing up straight. He pulled off his scarf and wiped the sweat from his ebony colored forehead.

Boomer laughed. "Where's the fun in that, right Cap?!" He said as he lowered the glasses again.

Evelyn nodded. "Exactly Boomer."

Ryan had been following this group for a while now. How he hadn't caught up to them yet made him suspicious. He had stumbled upon their handiwork when he saw a pile of Super Mutant bodies in a building on the outskirts of the ruins of Boston. Each had minimal gunshot wounds, meaning whoever put them down knew their weak points and were damn good shots.

He felt as though he was getting closer to them. He figured a group of 4, probably raiders, if Preston's information about the ruins was correct. Ryan deduced that he could get the drop on them and get some decent gear. Plus, a raider group like this probably had a sizable bounty on their heads. He could definitely use the caps.

The vault dweller stood at six feet tall and was built like an athlete, muscular frame but seemed agile as well. His dusty brown hair sat in a pre-war hair style, and was well trimmed, which was out of place in the wastes. He had some stubble on his face from not shaving for a few days now. He had classic good looks, which were not very common in the Commonwealth.

Ryan crouched down in the rubble of a building to take a closer look at the footprints that he had been following, his vault suit stretching at the knees. Looking up, he thought he saw glare from a scope hitting the sun. Had he been spotted? So much for his plan. Couldn't let the group know that he saw the scope, lest he get shot as well. As he stood up, he heard the click of a gun cocking behind him and felt the cold metal of the shotgun barrel on his neck.

"Big mistake…." A gruff, scratchy voice said to him before everything went black.

Off in the distance, Ryan could hear voices, speaking in low, hushed tones. His head was hurting terribly and he groaned instinctively. He tried to bring his hand to his head, but his wrists were bound behind him. Just perfect…. He thought to himself. He tried to open his eyes, but there was something tied around his head, blocking his view. The voices seemed to grow closer the more conscious he became.

"Well well…. Looks like someone is finally awake." A female voice said as a pair of large hands grabbed him by the arm and pulled him towards a crackling fire. With a push, Ryan was on his knees, hunched forward slightly. With his vision cut off, his other senses heightened. He heard maybe four people moving. It felt like they were inside of a building and the wet, rotting smell of old papers made him think it was an office of some kind.

"You must be the raiders I have been following…" Ryan broke the moment of silence. He didn't know who he was dealing with, or how he was going to get out of this, but he figured talking would put things in motion, whether in a good direction or a bad one.

A slight chuckle was heard and then, "Raiders? I didn't know that's what we were classified as." The woman spoke again.

"I don't know, Cap. I feel like we could be called worse." A young man said with a laugh.

"True. So… Vault Boy… What's your name?" The woman spoke again.

Ryan paused for a moment. Since he left the vault, he had been trusting the people of the Commonwealth more than his instincts told him to. Now, at the mercy of God knows what these people were, he had no choice but to try to get himself into a better position. "Look, I don't mean to be rude… but I would much rather look the people who are threatening my life in the eyes when I talk to them."

In response to that, the group broke out in laughter. "For a vault dweller, you sure got a pair on ya, don't ya?!" A young man chortled. After a second or two, the rag over his eyes lifted and Ryan saw he was in a room with four other people. Part of the left wall was blown out, but the rest seemed fairly stable. He had been right about the office building, as the desks around the room made make shift barricades. In front of him was a crackling fire, which felt great against the cold autumn wind of late October.

He saw the three men first and noted their appearances. There was a large, dark skinned man whose face looked like stone, a young man in a brown bomber jacket, and a ghoul wearing road leathers and armor that looked pieced together. His milky white eyes bore into Ryan's grey ones. Ryan seemed to flinch at the sight of him, having very little contact with ghouls beyond the description that Preston gave him, and a few ferals in the wastes that he had gunned down.

His eyes then fell on the woman who spoke before. Her black hair was tied back into a bun with strands falling around her face. Her blue eyes were faded but seemed kind. Her pale skin and slightly pink cheeks were a contrast to her dark hair and her red lips was curved into a smile. She looked to be about five foot seven, muscular build from a life of survival in the wasteland. She was dressed in a long black leather coat, black pants, and wore black combat boots.

"Well? What's your name?" The woman asked, waiting for the vault dweller to stop staring. The other four smiled as Ryan snapped out of it.

"Ryan. My name's Ryan." He said with a nod. "And who are all of you?"

"Why were you following us, Ryan?" The woman asked again before any other introductions could be made.

"As I thought you all were raiders, the plan was to sneak up on you, kill you all and take your gear to use or sell." Ryan said, honestly. "But, since I was hopefully mistaken, that plan must not have been a good one." He said in an attempt to lighten the mood.

The woman's grin widened. "My name is Evelyn. These guys call me Cap. That there is Twoey, Boomer and Cookie." She pointed to the big man, the young guy in the bomber jacket, and then the ghoul. When his name was said, the ghoul placed a pot over the fire to start cooking their dinner.

"Cap?" Ryan asked after a moment of silence.

"Short for Captain." Boomer said, leaning back on his arms to be more comfortable.

Twoey walked over to Ryan and cut the binds around his wrists. "Do anything that I don't like, and I will cut you into little pieces." The giant said in a low voice for Ryan to hear. The vault dweller smiled a bit nervously, rubbing his wrists.

"So, Ryan. What's with the suit? You really from a vault or what?" Boomer asked.

"Yeah. It's… It's a long story." Ryan said, keeping the information to himself.

The rest waited for more from the stranger but nothing else was spoken from him. "Well? We got all damn night!" Boomer continued with a chuckle. "Out with it, man."

"I was in a vault but I had to leave to find someone. My son. He... he was kidnapped and my wife was gunned down right in front of me. I couldn't do anything to stop it." He said, looking into the fire.

Cookie hit Boomer for pushing for more information in such a rude manner. "Ow. Hey. I'm sorry, alright? That's… that's some bad luck, VB. Real sorry, pal."

Ryan looked at Boomer with a cocked eyebrow. "VB?"

"Yeah…. Vault Boy. What, would you rather it be VD?" Boomer chuckled.

Ryan smirked. "Neh. VB works better, I guess." He said and wanted to change the subject from himself. "What about you guys? Who are you supposed to be?"

Boomer, the obvious chatter box of the group, was all too eager to oblige. "We are a rag tag group of mercs who are just trying to make it out here." He said. "Cap over there is our leader. She tells us what to do. Best shot you have ever seen. Trust me."

Evelyn rolled her eyes and motioned for Twoey to take first watch. Twoey shouldered his rifle and walked to the opening in the wall. Using a half broken ladder on the side of the building, he climbed up to the roof.

Ryan wanted to know more about this group. "What's your story? As you said, we have all night." He smiled.

Boomer continued. "Well, we all came to meet Cap in different ways. I was a slave, just being transported to Paradise Falls. That's in the Capital Wasteland. Anyway, my drunk, asshole of a big brother thought I was worth my weight in caps and sold me to some slavers while I slept. While I am walking with these two guys who were armed to the teeth, this collar flashing on my neck, I see something catch the sun light off in the distance. Just some rubble from a building, I figure. Nope, it was the Cap's scope. Next thing I know, the two men are dead and I am stuck standing in the open with nothing more than the rags on my back. I try to pick up one of their guns to defend myself but another bullet shoots the gun away from my hand.

I look over and I see this… this person covered from head to toe in clothes and rags, their gun pointed at me. I raise my hands and I say, 'Don't shoot. I don't mean no harm.' The person with the gun motions for me to get on my knees and I think Well, this is it. I'm dead. But instead, the person pulls out a knife and starts to fiddle with the collar around my neck. With a few twists, the thing pops off and falls to the ground. I look back up at the person and I see Cap's pretty face smiling back at me. We have been friends ever since. That was… what… 8 years ago now."

Evelyn nodded. "Yeah… It was right after I found Twoey at that farm." She said.

Boomer nodded. "Yeah. Poor Twoey. His family was killed by raiders. He was working in their fields when this group came and shot up the place, killing his wife and kid. When he got back, he ripped the whole lot of 'em limb from limb with his bare hands. Shortly after, Cap came across him sitting in a pile of bodies, unable to get past the sight of his murdered family. Cap pulled him away and gave him a new purpose in life."

Ryan let the story hang for a minute. Seems like life was hard for everyone out here. He looked over at Cookie, who was tasting their dinner, and tried to change the subject. "And what about Cookie over here?"

Boomer's smile returned to his face. "That one is a buddy of mine. After traveling with Cap for a while, I told her about this friend I had. He was workin' at a bar in the in this small town. Only his boss was a complete dick. Cookie was no better than a slave. He just didn't wear the collar. His boss had this contract that had our ghoul friend here working for him for free. Hell, he even owed the dick for room and board. "

"It wasn't that bad…" Cookie chimed in.

"He beat the shit outta you on a weekly basis!" Boomer said with a smile. "Anyway, I says to Cap that this guy could use our help. Cap, Twoey and I show up, I say hi to my friend here and introduce him to Cap. The bar owner comes out, and Cap asks how much does Cookie owe him. The dickhead says this ridiculously high amount. Couple thousand caps, or some shit that didn't make sense. Without batting an eye, Cap pulls out this huge bag of caps, dumps 'em out on the bar, and says that they have a deal. The owner starts to stutter and argue, but the Cap just looks at Cookie with a smile and says, 'You're with us now.' At first, Cookie doesn't know what that means. But I assure him that he is free to come and go, but that he won't find a better group to stick with."

"And he was right." Cookie said with a dopey smile. He started to dish out the food from the pot.

Boomer laughed as he grabbed a bowl and handed it to Cap. Once everyone had their bowl, including Ryan, they all started to eat. The food actually tasted good. Better than anything Ryan had eaten since leaving the vault.

"And what about you, Cap? What's your story?" Ryan asked, feeling more comfortably then he should have, as he was just a captive of theirs a short time ago.

Boomer's and Cookie's smile dropped off when he asked. "Um… Not a good question to ask, VB." Boomer said and looked at Evelyn.

She just smiled. "Just think of me as a Mysterious Stranger. I come into people's lives when they need me the most." She joked and ate more of her food. Ryan didn't know how true her statement was, but he smiled politely as they continued to eat in silence.

After dinner, Twoey came back into the room and Cap went to take his place. They all started to settle down for the night but something was bugging Ryan. "You all have nick names, right? Where do they come from?"

Boomer smirked. "As I said, Cap is short for Captain. We stumbled into a military base early on and found all of these old military files. Captain was a ranking officer back in the day, and since Evie was in charge... well, you get it. Twoey is second in command, or in other words, Cap's number two. Cookie is pretty obvious. And me? I like explosives. I prefer grenades and rocket launchers to the more traditional weapons. Hence Boomer. And now you are VB. Not every hostage we take in gets a nickname. Feel honored." He joked.

Ryan smiled. He liked this small team. He didn't know if he could trust them or not, but they looked like a group that could get shit done. Each person took a sleeping bag. Cookie stayed up to tend the fire and make sure Ryan didn't turn out to be a psychopath. For the first time since the bombs dropped, the man out of time was able to sleep soundly.

In the morning, Ryan woke to an empty room. The group that he had been caught by had packed up and left. His belongings and weapons were lying by his side, along with a new set of clothing. On the fire, he found warm leftovers from the night before and on top of his bag, he found a note that read:

Good Morning, VB. Here are some new clothes and armor so you don't look like you are easy pickings anymore. Left you some food too. Good luck with your son and I'm sure we will see ya in the wastes.

Hugs and kisses, Boomer and friends.