Chapter One: A New Beginning

My eyes open to see the roof of my re-built bedroom. It took a while, but hard work, and help from some really good new friends of mine, I was able to restore Sanctuary. My home. It still saddens me that everyone from my old life is gone. Even if they made it to a vault, 210 years have passed. My mother and father, my sister, even my husband. Oh, Nate. A day hasn't gone by that you haven't entered my thoughts. If you were here, would you approve of what I've done? Hunting down the man who took you away from me and ending his life. Going head first into gun fights, nearly getting killed every time I turned around. Even killing Shaun, our son, even after searching for him for so long.

But none of that compares to what I did next. It makes me question how I can still wear this damn ring. How can I bare what symbolizes my undying love for you and still be with her? How can I replace my late husband with some noisy news reporter? I look down to see her there, lying next to me, arm resting on my torso. She was always cute when she slept, looking so innocent. Though, that was far from the truth when she was awake. Always had quite the mouth on her, and not too bad in a fight. Hell, if it wasn't for her, I'd be six feet under a dozen times over by now.

I can still remember the first time I actually started to feel something for her. About only a month had passed since I awoke from cryo, I was still getting over Nate's passing. And every now and then I would just breakdown, unable to handle it. This mostly happened when alone, but sometimes it crept up with company. God I was a mess that day, in my bed, sobbing like someone just shot me. My tears where drenching my mat, then I began to hear foot steps followed by a very concerned voice.

"Hey," she said casual as ever, "you okay, Blue?"

"Y-yeah, I'm fine, Piper," I lied, "Just go back to sleep."

I was kidding myself, I was a fucking wreck. Choking on my words, tears very clearly in my eyes, too embarrassed to look at her. I was anything but fine. But of course I couldn't show that, I had to be a total badass right. That nothing can get to me. A stone cold killer with attitude. She saw right through it.

"Look, Blue, I know it's hard getting used to the Commonwealth after being on ice for two centuries. And I know it doesn't help that you lost your husband," she said with sincerity in her voice, "Trust me, I know how it hurts. After the loss of my father, it sometimes felt like too much, taking care of both me and Nat."

At this point I began to really listen. She told me her father was killed but not that she had trouble with it.

"I had people to help, friends and family to have a shoulder to cry on," she continued, "And although you feel like nobody is here for you, I'd like to say, well... you've got me. I'll always be here."

When she said that something just clicked, and I rose up from the mat and turned to face her. I rubbed the tears out of my eyes and bared a weak smile. She slowly walked over to the bed and sat down and opened her arms. I quickly accepted and held her close. It felt nice, being held by someone in this cold new world.

"Thank you, Piper," I said choking on my words again.

"Any time, Blue," she said holding me, "us girls gotta stick together."

That was several months ago, so much has happened since then it feels like a completely separate life. I got over the Nate's death, but still think about him at least once a day. It's almost like a routine now. I wish I can forget and move on, but it can't be helped. Every time I look at her, every time I hold her in my arms, I feel just a tiny bit guilty. Like I'm having an affair, but cheating on a ghost. I don't want this. I just want to be happy, with her. She's kind, considerate, and sweet, but she can stand for herself and others when she needs to. She's the perfect combination someone like me needs in this post apocalypse.

I can feel warmth as the sun begins to shine through the window, signifying the time to start a new day. It won't be long before we'd have to get up and gather supplies for another day of exploring the Commonwealth. As if on cue, she began to stir, and her eyes begin to open as she looks up at me. So beautiful. With her soft dark brown hair and stunning green eyes, and that gorgeous smile of hers. If I could I would stay here all day and just look at her. A shame there's actual work to do.

"Morning, Blue," she greeted as always with a kiss ever so passionate and sweet.

I could just stay here, and enjoy this moment of peace and passion. Get lost in the feeling of her soft lips push against mine, her tongue begging for entrance and me giving her what she wants. My mind numbing at the sensation, I didn't want it to stop. So of course it did right as I thought that.

"Mmm, good as always," she said with the ever so seductive smile, "Just like a Nuka Cola."

"You're comparing the lips of your girlfriend to a soft drink," I commented sarcastically, "I'm honored, Piper."

"So what's new today, Blue?" she as she sat up causing the covers to fall to her waist, exposing her upper body.

Blushing, I looked away. It was still new, being with another woman. Up until the feelings started to stir, I always considered myself straight. I guess you could say my heart disagreed with my mind. Seeing her in the nude though, that had only come recently, and would still take some time to get used to. And trust me, that made sex slightly awkward, but still completely enjoyable.

"Mom, can I take Dogmeat for a wa-" I heard the voice of a young boy say.

I looked to see Shaun in the doorway. This is not the same Shaun I searched for, I killed him. This was a synth created by the institute, reprogrammed by Shaun to think he is my child. He was given to me, as well as a holotape explaining everything. I guess Shaun thought of it as an apology for the time we never got to share, maybe for everything that happened. I "adopted" him as my own, not to accept the apology, but to fill the hole in my heart. At least I could kid myself and have a chance to really be a mother.

"Shit!" Piper exclaimed covering her breast with her arms, "Shaun, cover your eyes!"

Shaun did just that, quickly closing and covering his eyes with his hands. As soon as his eyes were sealed, Piper got up to look for her clothes. I decided to save her time and open the dresser next to our bed and pulled out a sleeveless white shirt.

"Here, Piper," I said giving her the shirt.

"Thanks, Blue," she gratified while putting on the shirt, "You're a life saver."

She finished putting on the shirt, covering up her curves. Once done she did a once over to check if anything a young boy shouldn't see wasn't showing. When sure, she gave me the okay.

"Alright, Shaun," I clarified, "You can look now."

Shaun slowly uncovered his eyes to see his mother in bed and Ms. Piper sitting on the edge of it. Heh, Ms. Piper. Synth or not, Shaun was still a sweet little boy. He told me how he considers Piper as an aunt or second mother. It's good to know that he's happy. He may be a synth, but he's still my son.

"Sorry, Ms. Piper," Shaun apologized trying to avoid eye contact, "I didn't see anything. I swear."

"It's okay, Shaun. It's not your fault," Piper stated as she stood up, walked to Shaun, and got to eye level, "I should have known better that since there's no doors here, I can't be taking these kind of risk anymore. I'm not in Diamond City."

Piper gave him a small kiss on his forehead. I could see a smile come back to his face once he knew he wasn't in trouble.

"Now, what did you want to ask me, Shaun?" I asked wondering why he came in our room.

"I wanted to take Dogmeat for a walk," Shaun said as he looked to me, "So can I, Mom? The sun is up. Please."

I silently laughed at the request.

"Yes, Shaun. You can go play with Dogmeat," I permitted and almost immediately did he run off, "Just no crossing the bridge!"

As he left the house I could feel the corners of my mouth form into a smile, as if I were a proud parent. No, because I was a proud parent. I must keep telling myself that. Shaun IS my son. If I don't think so, who would?

"Shaun's such a nice kid," Piper stated before looking to me, "You're doing a good job at raising him."

"You do remember that he's a synth, right?" I spoke with an ever so sarcastic tone in my voice.

"Oh Blue, like that matters," she said rolling her eyes, "Nick's a synth, but he's just as human as you and me."

Nick Valentine was a detective who helped me find Kellogg, the man who killed my husbanded and took Shaun away from me and handed him to the institute. Him and I became good friends, mainly because we both can remember what it was like before the bombs dropped.

"The problem there is, Nick knows he's a synth, Shaun doesn't," I said with a hint of depression in my voice, "What am I going to do? Eventually he'll question why he doesn't age, or why his hair never grows. And the Brotherhood of Steel. Oh god, if they found out... I... I don't want to think about what they would do!"

"Calm down, Blue. You're gonna have a heart attack at this rate," she told me sitting back down next to me, "When the time comes, we'll deal with that. Like we do for everything. And don't worry about the Brotherhood. You got Nick, Deacon, Preston, Cait, Curie, and myself to back you up if they dare come storming the place to take Shaun away. Like I said, I'll always be here."

Those last words. Those were the exact words she said to me when I broke down. Here I thought she'd forget about that. It all brought a smile to my face. I knew what I had to do right then. It was just the right time. I got out of bed and moved to the dresser. I opened it up and shuffled around until I found it, the final key to completely letting go of my past life.

"Piper, thank you. Not just your kind words, but for everything you have done for me," I said sitting back down on the bed next to her, "Ever since you entered my life, I always liked you. At first it was as a friend, then it grew, and then it came to what we are now."

"Blue, what's with the speech?" she said with worry very clearly in her voice, "Usually when someone starts making speeches to their girlfriend, it's not always a good sign."

"Piper," I say before opening my hands, "This is my late husbands wedding ring. I want you to hold onto it for me from now on."

I could see her eyes widen. Her hands went to cover her mouth before uncovering to speak.

"Blue, are you," she said waiting for a response.

"Piper Wright," I gave a brief moment of silence, "Will you marry me?"

Her hands went back to covering her mouth. I could see tears filling her eyes, spilling out down her beautiful cheeks which were now flushed red.

"Oh, Lucy," she said with tears in her eyes.

"Wow, my real name. Haven't heard that in awhile," I spoke sarcastically as usual, "I guess I should take that as a yes."

"Yes! Yes! Of course I will!" she yelled ecstatically, letting me put the ring on her finger, "I can't believe this is happening. Getting married before I'm knocked up by a random drunk."

"So, let's go tell people the good news," I suggested knowing that they'd be happy to hear it.

"Alright, Lu," she said with interestingly a new nickname, "So who's first?"

"We should start with Nat," I said and then saw a discomforting look, "Does she even know about us?"

I witnessed the look get worse in an instant. I could tell something was up and decided to pry into it.

"Piper, does she know about you swinging that way?" I asked with a more stern tone in my voice.

"Come on, Lu, what am I supposed to do?" she asked, "Walk up to her and go 'Hey, remember that vault dweller I interviewed a few months back? Well, turns out your big sister is sleeping with her now.' It's not really something that comes up in conversation."

"Well, let's tell her everything," I said placing my hand on hers, "Together."

I heard her sigh in defeat. She looked me in my blue-green eyes and saw her beautiful smile come back into view. She raised her hand up to my face, rubbing her fingers against my dark cheeks, nearly brushing my auburn hair.

"Okay, let's go, Lucy" she said giving me one last sweet kiss before getting up.

We both got dressed in our usual attire, grabbed some stimpaks, purified water, a few Nuka Cola's, loaded a few of my favorite weapons like Itchy Trigger, Grave Digger, Huntsman's Toy, and my sword. Once all set, we left the house to see everyone working. A few noticed us and waved us off as we walked down the street to the bridge. There we came across an old fossil named Nick.

"Well, where are you two ladies off to?" he asked with the same tone as always.

"Hey there, Valentine," I greeted as I do for my best friend, "We're about to go to Diamond City to tell Nat some good news."

"And what prey tell would this news be?" Nick asked once more now curious.

With no response, me and Piper looked to each other and gave a nod. Piper lifted her left hand to show Nick her wedding ring. The look on his face was perfect.

"Well I'll be damned," Nick said with his eyes widened, "And here I thought I'd never live to see the day you two stubborn fools would ever tie the knot. Congrats."

"Thanks, Nick," Piper spoke up.

"Hey, if you want, I could come along for the trip to the Great Green Jewel of the Commonwealth," Nick said offering company, "I've been meaning to check up on the office to see if anymore case files have popped up. Whaddaya say?"

"Sure, bigger the group, safer the travel," I said accepting his companionship.

With that the three of us were off. Me, my best friend the synth detective, and my now fiance investigative journalist. I have a feeling that this is the beginning of an all new life. I finally can let go of the past. Let's see what the world has in store for us.