The old man sat at his desk, huddled over it as he continued to peer over at and review the newest reports from the Synth Retention Bureau. All positive. Then again, ever since his father arrived everything ran smoothly. In a way he was more effective than Kellogg ever had been and without the senseless violence.
Time. Time was a cruel mistress. Time had stolen him from Vault 111 where he was cryogenically frozen with his parents. His mother was dead. He could never fix that. But his father? He crawled out of that vault and instantly went looking for him. Even now Shaun couldn't fully understand it. All he had known was the institute and as it's director it always came first to his mind. But his father? Frank had been a soldier, a father and a husband. He had everything before the bombs fell sealing mankind's fate.
And his desperate search to reclaim it made all the sense in the world to his son, who had aged well into his seventies by the time his father had found him. Even of he understood he still could not emphasize. What did it mean to have familial love for a son? What did it mean to love a woman? For sure Shaun had felt these attractions in his youth but they were never allowed to be nurtured. The Institute had a vision for him and they did not allow him to entertain the thought anything else, especially romance.
Shaun can't help the grimace that spreads across his face as he remembered a conversation he had with his father about synths and free will. His father had protested that if synths had agency and a desire for freedom of choice then they should be allowed to be free. He had responded that the synths, no matter how close they appear to humans, are still their creation, meaning the institute.
Apparently the Institute's restriction of freedom did not only apply to synths. He had been forced to act in accordance with their wills for decades and he didn't even utter a word of defiance. With his old age he had come to see many things differently and his father, assisted by his time and experience in the Commonwealth, was gifted in the art of persuasion. Slowly but surely, Frank had been elevated to the head of Synth Retention, replacing doctor Ayo. The change in leadership brought about changes in procedure. While Gen 1 and Gen 2 Synths were slowly upgraded with the help of the Robotics wing, they slowly took over the tasks normally assigned to the newer Gen 3's. The Gen 3's were granted the same education that other members of the Institute were.
Naturally this ruffled many feathers, but the results could not be argued. The Gen 3 synths were offered a choice. Have their memories wiped and replaced before they are dropped into the wasteland or stay and serve the institute. Most stayed on, fearful of what the outside world held for them and the results were that escaping synths became a rare phenomena. They became less slaves and more willing foot soldiers.
This paid dividends in the Commonwealth as well with the populace beginning to fear the institute less and less. After all, being open about their goals and allowing a certain degree of visibility was good for propaganda purposes. Of course the Brotherhood and the Railroad were not happy about this and continued their respective crusades. Something would have to be done about them but that was in the future.
The problem that Shaun had at the moment was simple. He could see the sadness in his father's face. Since becoming a member of the institute he had been barred from leaving until such a time as he was deemed to be safe. After his enlistment with the institute many former friends had turned on him, actively seeking to do him harm. In fact it had been a close thing when he was sent to retrieve a biometric scanner from Medford hospital. What was supposed to become a simple fetch mission turned into a firefight as Deacon and other railroad members had set up an ambush for him.
Frank barely escaped with his life, having refused to fire on them. He teleported back into the institute quickly, blood dripping from his many wounds. He was treated of course and his life saved but the feeling of betrayal was strong.
They seemed to be compiled over the next month as more and more found out about what he had done. The Railroad had leaked the information to whoever would listen, leading to the Brotherhood declaring him a criminal to be shot on sight, and the Minutemen publicly disavowing him as their general.
The newspaper out of Diamond City, Publick Occurrences he believed was the name of it, had printed it all, gathering up as many testimonies and personal anecdotes as it could. Anyone who Frank had travelled with or helped seemed to turn on him. Nick Valentine had some particularly scorching words for his former friend, the man who helped him track down the man who murdered the original Nick Valentine's lover. Even Piper, the editor of the newspaper, turned on her one time friend.
Shaun frowned again as he remembered his father's face when reading the paper that day. This was perhaps the greatest betrayal to him. After all, Shaun had watched him travel with her. He knew that his father had feelings for this woman. He could tell from the way he'd look at her or speak with her, hold her hand.
But from the way she spoke about him in the paper you would think he was a monster. A monster for choosing his family. Shaun couldn't help but ask himself, trying to be as impartial to his own views of the Institute he led as he could, what Piper would have done if she had searched for Nat after losing her and found her to be head of the institute? Could she destroy what her sister had worked so hard for? He doubted it. Very highly.
But such ruminations on possibilities and the use of logic were useless, especially to those on the surface. His father was destroyed. Everyone had forgotten the good he had done for them, and choose instead to focus on his one failing, that of familial love.
He worked, as soon as he was healed, throwing himself back into his work. Shaun had gone to see him, trying to inform him that he would not be allowed back on the surface. He was hoping that he could lessen the blow, make it simpler for him. He found his father, bent over a terminal as he input information to be passed along to Bioscience. He looked awful, haggard and unshaven.
"Father, I have to talk with you about something" he said, uncomfortable still with calling him something that he was used to be being called himself, even if technically Frank was his biological father.
He turned and nodded, looking as if he was waiting for the next set of nuclear bombs to drop.
"I'm afraid, we cannot allow you back onto the surface. With how much of a high profile you have in the commonwealth and the attempt on your life we feel it would be too dangerous. I am quite sorry about this. I wish it could be different" he had said, hoping that he hadn't pulled the band-aid off too harshly in his attempt to get to the heart of the matter.
Frank simply nodded and smiled, a sad little smile before turning back to his terminal. "Don't worry Shaun. There's nothing up there for me anymore anyway". The clicking of keys had commenced and it was as if he wasn't there. Shaun waited and nodded, leaving his father to grieve for yet another loss on his own terms.
But it had been too long. He had not changed and had noticeably seemed to deteriorate. Of course he still worked and his work was as usual amazing, having stretched his hands a bit into robotics as he was something of a self taught engineer at this point, but he ate alone and conversed with only Shaun and those had become rarer and rarer. Something had to be done. And he knew what. After all it wasn't hard to diagnose what was wrong. His father had lost his mother only to find himself falling in love again as he travelled with that nosy reporter. And then he lost her, before he had even gained her.
The world simply did not give his father any breaks. Luckily however, luck was no longer the variable that progress and happiness depended on. There were many options he was considering and in the sanitized area of his office all were possibilities to be mentally explored.
He needed love. Someone to be there and to talk with him. Understand him and empathize with him. After all Shaun had an academic understanding of romantic love. He had seen a few couples in the institute over the years. But was what he had seen good for his father? These relationships seemed fit only for procreation and companionship. Somehow he didn't think that would be enough for his father. The loves his father had had seemed to be passionate and loving, gentle and yet possessive. It was strange the way he talked about his mother Nora and the few times it had come up, Piper.
So this left him a few options. The first he thought of was to kidnap one of his female companions from his time on the surface. But this was almost instantaneously overruled in his mind. Aside from the ethical dilemmas of doing such a thing there was the fact that all had turned on him, hating him for joining the institute. No that would not work.
He could create a synthetic copy of one of them, inserting false memories into said synth of an overpowering love for his father. But that would not work either. His father would only be reminded of their betrayal and of the fact that it was not a real relationship. So that would not do either. For the same reason that a copy of Piper or Cait would not work, a unique female synth would not work either. His father would inevitably know that no new scientists had been added to the institute roster and the idea of an outsider gaining entry at this point in time would be far fetched to say the least.
That left him with only one option.
There were many women in the institute of course. Most were already in some form of relationship with another but of the single ones he quickly pulled their files. After a quick rundown of what kind of characteristics would most suit his own father, courtesy of the personality tests done on every member of the Institute, he found himself with two options. Dr. Madison Li and Dr. Rosalind Orgman. After a few more moments of conscious deliberation it was down to Dr. Orgman. Madison was….somewhat of a unknown quality. She had worked with the Brotherhood in the Capital wasteland and wandered into the Commonwealth where she was promptly recruited by the institute.
A loner, and quick to angry outbursts and known to be rather condescending, he knew she would not be a good match for his father. Aside from that her age presented a problem. She was much older than him, even if technically he was over 200 years due to him being frozen, which led to the distinct possibility of him having to deal with losing yet another partner if he were to become entangled with Dr. Li. No she would not be a good match.
Dr. Orgman then. From what he knew of her she was very brilliant, having done much work for Advanced Systems that others were quite jealous of. However, she was a bit of a loner, others scorning her company due to her rather "strange", the term they use, obsession with her work. Her work being firearms or rather fusion arms. Her work on the institute blaster was a necessary part of keeping the synth forces in the Commonwealth strong and battle ready.
Not to mention her invention of the synth relay grenade. Remarkable. It truly was. No Shaun didn't find anything strange about it. Not at all.
He continued to read into her records, wondering what else he would find. She was known to be warm and rather humorous, liking to tell jokes. She was an accomplished pianist and painter, all skills she had learned from growing up in the Institute under her parents tutelage. She was prone to bouts of depressive behavior however, most likely due to her ostracism by her peers. Did not make friends easily but something did raise his eyes as he continued. The only person she had seemed marginally close to was his own father, who she had tested multiple weapon systems with as well as ate with at almost every meal before his father secluded himself. According to footage taken from synth camera feeds, she seemed to enjoy his company vastly.
She would laugh and his father would smile, her hand moving across the table to entangle with his while while he would blush and return the gesture. It was intriguing to say the least. However this behavior stopped after the incident with the Railroad after which Frank had withdrawn from everybody, but the one who most felt the effect was Dr. Orgman who now felt herself isolated once again. She ate her meals alone in solemn silence and barely spoke to anybody , only working on her projects before returning to her quarters. She would try to engage Frank whenever she saw him, her smile fading as he quietly returned her niceties before moving off. She clearly was at a loss for what to do, not sure what she had done to lose his friendship.
As the footage was turned off Shaun smiled and nodded, leaning back in his chair before reaching for the intercom button. "Dr. Orgman, would you please come to my office? I wish to speak with you" his voice echoes through the speakers in the Institute. He knew the young woman would receive many glances, most assuming she would be in trouble for something. Despite the minor discomfort this would cause her in the meantime, he hoped that the payoff for her would be great. And for his father, hopefully an even greater payoff. That of a happy life and romance.
The door of his office opened, the hiss off air being pushed between the two metal slabs echoing in the highly sanitized room. "Yes father? You called for me? Is there something I can help you with?" She asked, the nervousness in her voice incredibly apparent. Shaun couldn't hell his smile. She seemed very much like the young woman who always wanted approval. The woman he remembered walking into his office and asking about her appointment. After all he had seen her grow up. He almost laughed. He was older than his father and choosing his stepmother. What a brave New world the bombs had made.
"Sit down please Rosalind. Please, make yourself comfortable. We have something to discuss" he says, a gentleness in his eyes comforting the nervous woman. She complies, folding her hands in her lap and waiting for what was to be said. She was rather beautiful. A finely sculpted face and dark hair, coming to just about her shoulders. She was finely curved if Shaun were to offer comment on a woman's physique. Hmm yes. She was very physically attractive.
"Now, I saw, and this does seem to have been in times past, that you and my father were becoming quite….close" he says, an unasked question hidden within his grandfatherly tone. "Might I ask why that has stopped?" He continued, watching as the woman fidgets in her seat. "Well, I...that is...I am not quite sure why sure" she says with a frown, her sadness over the events quite apparent. "Maybe he just got tired of hearing me talk about kinetic infusion" she said quietly, to which Shaun smiles and lets out a laugh. "I highly doubt it is anything you did . No. As a matter of fact I would say that he was quite interested in your thoughts on...kinetic infusion. If the footage I saw was anything to go on" he says, turning a bit in his chair.
"Footage sir?" She asks, not quite aware of what the head of the institute was saying. "Ohh yes the synths monitor everything. And with...recent events I saw fit to go over all footage I have of my father over the past few months. Utterly awful what has happened to him. Another tragedy all over. All those people he helped turning on him for choosing family, for choosing progress. What do you think on that ?"
The woman is caught off guard by the question but answers quickly, letting the emotion get the better of her. "They're utter bastards sir" she almost snarls, remembering the horrible things said about the object of her secret infatuation, and by people he had risked his life for. If Rosalind had been able to she would have gone to the surface and done something most uncivilized to Frank's "friends". She quickly realizes that she let on more than she intended, something Shaun realizes if the quirk of his eyebrow is anything to go by.
"I see. And what do you think of ? I thought the two of them would make a splendid couple" he says, working towards his endgame. After all, Shaun knew much about human nature and as much as he liked the young woman, she was as easy to play as a fiddle.
Rosalind's lip curls and she can't help the grimace that spreads across her face. "I….she's a horrible person sir" she says, learning her lesson from last time and coaching her words much more carefully. She couldn't let on to the director just how much she cared for his father. "After all he had done for her, the work he did for the paper, for her city. And not to mention how he helped her with her sister. How could she not notice the way he looked at her? How could she throw that away?"
Rosalind had other thoughts while saying these things. She would do anything for Frank to look at her the way he looked at Piper. She would cut off her hand and dig her way out of the Institute with a fork to spend the rest of her days in the Commonwealth in order to get Frank to hug her the way he held Piper. But there was no way she would let Shaun know that.
"Ohh come now. Surely she is not that bad? Of course I have seen the negative affect she has had on him. Which is why I am coming up with a plan to bring her her amd reconcile the two" he said. He would never consider such an idiotic move. After all he hated Piper Wright very much. But, Rosalind did not know that and the only way to get to normally shy woman to act decisively was to goad her into it. He had applied this tactic when she was working on the synth relay grenade by pretending to think about outsourcing the work to the robotics department. After that a fire was lit under the woman's rear and she was able to finish the project a week before schedule. This was going to be a repeat of that situation.
And he could tell that his tactic was working instantly by the way the scientists fingers gripped at the arm of her chair. "Excuse me sir, can you repea-" she begins to ask but is cut off. "Ohh you heard me Dr. After all. She's the perfect match for him. She'd outgoing and loving, and despite her recent mistake she is the only woman aside from my late mother for him. Surely you agree that this is the right course? To bring her here and convince her?" He asks with a smile playing on his lips as the woman fumes. She takes a moment to collect herself, breathing gently before refocusing. "And when, ….were you planning on bringing her sir?" She asked to which Shaun leaned back in his chair as if he was contemplating her question. "Ohh I would say in about two or three weeks. The only thing that would put this off would be if he found someone else. After all, if he falls in love no need to bring her here. But there are no women here interested in him in such a way. After all most are married, or dating. In fact I even asked Dr. Li what she thought about Frank, testing the waters so to speak. She was quite unenthused by the idea. Anyways Dr. That is all. I hope all is well with you and most certainly come by my office anytime" he says with a smile, dismissing her with a pat of her hand.
The fuming woman nods, standing and respectfully leaving, his office, her head spinning in anger. Shaun however, just leaned back once more and smiled, hoping for two things. That his father would never find out about his machinations and that they would work.
He had no doubt Rosalind would figure it out one day but he would most likely be gone by then, and she, hopefully having gotten what she wanted anyway, would be too thankful to be truly angry. Head of the Institute and matchmaker. What a strange world in deed.
Institute Atrium
Rosalind was furious. There is no way in hell that she would allow Father, no matter how much she respected him, to bring that...that…..harlot into the institute. Not even to work let alone be Frank's wife. She had hurt him too much and despite Rosalind's general peacefulness her thoughts always turned to the dark things she could do to that filthy reporter for what she had done to Frank.
It had started out so simple. He had seen her shooting the new institute rifle and wanted to try it out. He walked up behind her, smiling as he touched her on the shoulder. She remembered being shocked and how she turned so quickly as if struck. "ohh, umm hello?" She had asked, being taken back by how handsome he was. She was not expecting the head of the Institute's father to be so...handsome. He gestured towards the rifle and smile again. "That's a real nice rifle you have there. Used a few in the Commonwealth. You the designer?"
She had nodded then and straightened out, chastising herself for starring. "Yes" she had said, smiling brightly at the newcomer. "Dr. Rosalind Orgman. Advanced Systems" she punctuated by shaking his hand.
And like that she was doomed. They became fast friends and no matter how goofy she was, or how awkward or how annoying he was always by her. He would eat with her, work with her and talk with her, things her co-workers and colleagues had never done, always keeping her out of things and at a distance thinking her too quirky or strange. Frank didn't care about that and even joined in on her quirkiness, having gone as far as to test a new robotic rabbit with attached Geiger counter by having four coursers chase it.
It wasn't long until she was in love. After all, for a woman who had never had a boyfriend to have a man suddenly lavish so much attention on her was rather amazing. He was handsome, smart, caring and gentle. Everything she wanted in a man. When he officially joined the institute she was relieved, fearful that they would be separated. Of course the others kept their distance, not liking how Frank had so quickly ingratiated himself into the hierarchy of the institute. Rosalind didn't care about that however and was just glad that nobody would interfere with her valuable Frank time. After all, now she had the opportunity to work on him at the pace she wished.
That aphad all changed when Piper and the rest had turned on him. She had rushed to the medical bay when she heard about what had happened, trying to get to him before anyone else did. She wanted to be there for him, hold him close, let him cry on her shoulder. At least that's what she assumed he'd want to do from what little she knew about friendship.
Things didn't work out that way.
Sure Frank had seen her, assuring her that he was alright despite the many blood stained bandages that littered his body. She could hear it in his voice. The damage that had been done was huge and she thought, her mind racing for an answer, of numerous ways to try and fix it.
The worst of it was Piper and his feelings for her. Before the incident that was something that gave her pause. How was she going to deal with that? How could she compete? After all, Piper, as much as she hated her was a gorgeous and experienced person, having travelled the Commonwealth with him and fighting by his side. Rosalind really didn't know how she looked to Frank. She didn't think of herself as beautiful or sexy, but she hoped that she was at least attractive. Nor did she have the experience of the reporter, having spent the entirety of her life in the Institute. When she had first discovered her feelings for Frank she had been worried on how she would make a case for choosing herself over Piper, and when Piper had closed herself off to him she had been secretly ecstatic.
After all, the competition was out of the way and Frank was now forced to stay in the Institute. Who else could he fall in love with?
Her heart hurt for him as well. She found it curious that she would fix it all for him if she could, finally realizing through scientific experimentation and experience that love was primarily about prioritizing someone else above self. That was strange to her. But a good strange.
But instead of trying to mend his relationship with Piper, how would she have done that anyway, she worked on trying to build a new hope within Frank. She did all sorts of things while he was in the medical bay. She had made him a miniature approximation of a Mr. Handy and had even tried her hand at baking although that had ended in disaster.
None of it worked though.
Frank would smile and thank her, but nothing more. The warmness and friendship they had shared was gone, and nothing hurt Rosalind Orgman more than losing her only friend. She wouldn't allow it.
She walked, purposefully into the Synth Retention wing, knowing that Frank would be holed up in his office, doing work after hours.
As she opened the door she came face to face with X6-88, the courser who seemed to always hang around Frank. "Hello ma'am" he said, his voice the same monotone that was handed out to all of the synths. She smiled at him but eagerly moved on her way, calling out behind her, "Hello X6", before moving on into the empty wing. Well not exactly empty. She sees him, sitting at his terminal, typing away. She can't help but smile, remembering how everyone had protested that he was not even a scientist and thus did not deserve a place in the Institute. He had so quickly proved them wrong, soaking up information and learning skills quicker than she had seen anyone ever do, even in the Institute. But his intelligence was not why she was here.
She walked up, purposely behind him, placing her hands on his shoulders and starting to rub them. She had no idea what she was doing but she realized that biologically speaking, she had to have some knowledge of how to seduce. Hopefully being in the situation would bring that information to the forefront.
Somehow she doubted it.
Frank turns and looks up at her, seeing the nervous smile and obvious blush. "Umm, what's up Rosalind" he asks before looking at her hands, still placed on his shoulders. "And what are you doing?" He asks as she begins to move her hands again, working his shoulder muscles out. She can't help the blush. She really can't. She forgot how built he was under that Institute lab coat.
"Just giving you a massage. Why you don't like it?" She asks, expecting to be given a quick brush off like she normally is. He however seems to sink in his seat a little. "It feels good" he says, nonchalantly as he allows her to continue. "But Rosalind, I have to apologize. I've been...well pretty awful to you. I'm sorry about that. I really am" he says, placing his hands over hers as she continues to work her digits into his flesh. He's instantly forgiven, after all she really understood why. She couldn't remain angry at what he had done. After all, how would she have reacted if put in his shoes? He had gone through things others could scarcely imagine. He had a pass for all the things he had done to help the people of the Commonwealth and Far Harbor.
"Water under the bridge" she whispers, leaning in against his ear and kissing his cheek, nervous she might explode from even that small amount of contact but the result it had on Frank made her giddy. He laughed nervously and blushed himself, turning his head to look up at the woman. "What's gotten into you?" He asks almost jokingly to which she just giggles and leans in again, her hands moving around to his front and inserting themselves between the folds of his coat, unbuttoning his under shirt a bit before Slipping her long digits in to tease against his name flesh, feeling how muscled he is and resisting the urge to rip off his clothes and jump him right on the desk.
She had to admit, no matter how advanced humans became some instincts would always be with them.
"Rosalind, what are you doing?" He asks, swallowing from nervousness as her hands move up and down his chest.
"What do you think?" She asks, whispering in his ear as she turns his head and presses her lips quickly to his, moving into his lap and forcing the chair to its limit with two people in it. Rosalind didn't know what had gotten into her, being so….well there were words for it but no positive word came to her mind in that moment. She wraps her arms around his shoulders and kisses him deeply, making sure to wiggle her rear, hoping that even through the lab coat he would be able to enjoy her ministrations. When she feels a bulge she quickly realizes that he enjoyed what she was doing. Very much.
She releases his lips, smiling at hoe bruised both of them are before leaning in to suckle at his neck, tracing along his pulse point. "We should uhhh, go back to a room, if we're going to continue this Rosa" he says, his hands going to her waist as he leans in and initiated a kiss, sending her heart hammering against her chest. Okay. So she knew he was attracted to her. That was a good first step even though she knew she was way out of bounds of normal courtship. She had to assume that good girls usually didn't throw themselves into a man's lap and arouse him with their ass but she was willing to cut corners.
"Rosa. I like it" she teases before getting up, brushing herself off and smiling over her shoulder. "I'll be waiting in your quarters. Come soon" she says with a smile as she walks out of the wing and to the elevator, happy that everyone was asleep and that only synths roamed the halls. She was desperately happy that his room was so close as well, knowing that if anyone had seen her blushing and wrinkled state that they would know what she was doing and she didn't want anyone to know until Frank was fully hers.
She thought of what she was wearing, under her lab coat and decided that the frumpy shirt and skirt would not do. The stockings and bra however? Well she thought they could stay for now.
When she got up to his room she quickly removed the offending garments before placing her lab coat back over them, wondering what Frank would think when he walked through the door to find her sitting, stockinged legs crossed over each other, in his chair. She hoped, desperately hoped he would enjoy the view and what would come after.
The hissing of the door exposes his presence and she smiles as she hears him lock it behind himself, waiting for him to come into view and preparing herself for it.
When he does he stops instantly, seeing her with a smirk on his chair. "Hi" she says, a purr seeming to be in her voice. 'where had that come from?' she asked herself before she stands and turns around, undoing the sash of her lab coat and opening the front up, before reaching upwards and pushing it off her shoulders. As the garment falls she hears Frank breathe in and out, obviously very much as aroused as her. She is bare, except for the stockings, panty and bra. And even then those garments are lacy and almost shear, making Frank very happy indeed. He's on her instantly, his lips going to her neck as his hands move around her front to grope at her breasts, kneading the fleshy orbs like she had worked on his shoulders. "Ohh God Rosa" he whispers into her neck, "you're beautiful" he says which sends her into a ecstasy of emotion. She turns her head and kisses him passionately, turning in his arms and pushing him back towards the bed, forcing him down onto his back as she follows him and straddles his waist, looking down on him like a predatory cat.
"You know just the right things to say baby" she coos, a smirk splitting her face.
Two Hours Later
'Wow' is all she can think. Over and over again the word circulates through her mind, remembering not only how much she loves Frank but discovering how much she loved control, at least during lovemaking. Now? She was fully the submissive, laying next to Frank as his strong arms are wrapped around her waist, almost possessively as he continues to lazily trace a burning path of kisses down the side of her face and neck. "If you're not careful you might wind up on your back again" she teases to which she hears him chuckle, a magical sound to her.
"I can think of worse things" he says, one of his hands moving up to grope her breast, gently moving over the expanse of flesh and teasing at her nipple with his thumb. She winces, feeling her bud harden as he does so. "I uhh, gotta admit I have never well….been come onto like that Rosa. I've never even thought you would be such a….I don't even know to call you. Hell you were a wildcat" he says teasingly to which Rosa quirks an eyebrow, liking the comparison but secretly. "Well, wildcats are known to be very possessive over their mate" she says teasingly, her hand going to his side and rubbing as she turns in his arms and cuddles into him, laying her head on his chest.
This was harder than making love, and much scarier. "I love you", was a lot harder to say then, "ohh yes right there", after all but it needed to be said. And if it was returned then the payoff would be so much greater as well. It was almost a scientific rule that high yield risks were worth taking.
It's silent for a minute, the sound of the Institute's internal cooling system blowing air through the facility the only thing that can be heard until she feels his arm tighten around her. "I love you too Rosa" he says, whispering it into her ear as he kisses her cheek. She could burst, the idea of finally being loved, especially by him, making her heart beat quickly. "And here I thought you science types were all fun and no play" he adds teasingly, nuzzling her cutely. She laughs lightly, the conversation going a lot differently than she had initially expected.
"Well love, maybe if you keep sweet talking me I can show you more about what they say about us science types" she says teasingly to which his eyebrow quickly quirks. "And what do they say about science types Rosalind?" He asks, liking this rather flirtatious side of his former friend. Well, still friends just more. What was a relationship worth if you weren't friends?
She turns in his arms, wiggling in such a cute way as to imitate a cocooned caterpillar under the blankets. She stares deeply into his eyes, her hand moving up to caress the side of his face. He moves in, pressing his cheek against her hand, his hand rising and gently clasping over hers. "Well" she began, smiling nervously. It was cute how she could still be nervous even after all that. "I can't speak for all 'science types' but I can speak about me. Let's just say I've had a crush on this guy for a long time. He was the first one to be nice to me. Hell he became my best friend. He was slated to be great, especially in the Institute. Rumor has it he'll be the one replacing father" she says teasingly, giving away the fact that she was talking about him.
He smiles and kisses his forehead, rolling his eyes as he does it. "Wow. Seems like I have a lot of competition when it comes to you huh?" Frank says teasingly to which Rosalind laughs. "It's not even a contest. He's the best man I've ever met and…..I love him more than anyone else I've ever met" she says, her eyes boring into his like she was looking into his very soul.
"He sound like the luckiest man alive. Aside from me anyway. There's this girl I know. Gorgeous and sexy as all hell when she's wearing a labcoat. She's smart, funny and so loving. Not to mention the best lovers I've ever had" he says with a smile, again talking about her. She blushes, turning beat red. She was the best lover he ever had? The thought of that was amazing. She loved the thought of it. The idea that even if she wasn't his first, she would be his last and most remembered. She can't help it. She leans in and kisses him, quickly moving to straddle the man and repeat the events of moments before.
Meanwhile a light turns on in Father's office, the old man himself having stayed up late to see if his hypothesis proved correct. He smiled and chuckled to himself as he looked at the personnel tracker he had installed on his terminal. It appeared that his Father was in his room with a certain Dr. "Well then" he says to himself turning off the terminal so as to not feel like a voyeurism. "Mission accomplished" he said leaning back with a contented smile.
Seven Years Later
"Shaun, you will come back her this instant" cries the usually monotone voice of X6-88 who chases after the dark haired boy. It is a losing battle. A bona fide killing machine he was but X6 had no chance of getting into the small nooks and crannies the institute offered a young boy. And soon his sister, Nora, eagerly tore off behind her older brother, adding to the coursers trouble. Rosalind followed behind, rather waddled, her swollen belly evidence that she was not up to the task of chasing the two.
The synth looked at her, exasperation in his eyes as he made to apologize. "No need sweetie" she says patting his shoulder gently, before looking at the two youngsters mockingly sticking their tongues out at their synth caretaker. She narrows her eyes and gives a sharp whistle, attracting the attention of many synths and scientists alike in the surrounding area. However the two children react instantly walking over sullenly to their mother, ready to be yelled at.
"Now you two will behave for X6. Or...I will tell your father to revoke your firing range privileges. No more testing cool blasters. Understood?" She asked to which both nodded. "Yes Mommy" they say in tandmen before both take the black clad synth's hand ready to follow his directions finally. He looked up at Rosalind, shock and reverence written on his face. "I sometimes wonder if these two are synths and that you have the recall codes on them" he says walking off with his two charges.
Rosalind just laughs and sits, finally tired by the exertion of walking down the stairs. She pats her belly lovingly, whispering to her child. "I hope you are like your daddy. My hands are too full with Shaun and Nora to have to have another me running around" she coos, loving when she feels a gentle kick. "I'll take that as a yes" she said teasingly before she feels hands on her shoulder, rubbing gently. She already knows who it is but can't help but turn to smile up at her husband. He was older now, the hair around his temples quickly turning gray but he was still so handsome and as the leader of the institute he had done marvelous.
"I'm sorry I hadn't gotten her sooner love. X6 paged me but I was dealing with Dr. Ayo's new complaints" he said, the tiredness she felt echoed in his voice. She understood. And instead of nagging him as many other women would've she just kissed him again, silencing his apology. "No need. Those kids of yours listen to reason" she says while he laughs and leans down, his hands going to her swollen belly.
"We've done the right thing Rosalind" he says, convincing himself more than her. After they had finally admitted they loved each other the fragile peace of the Commonwealth broke apart and the institute had to destroy both the Brotherhood and the Railroad. The Minutemen were spared but it was tentative. Due to Father's sickness Frank took over, replacing his son. Shaun lived long enough to see his own dad complete his dreams and now? Well the institute spent more time on medical science than anything else, the synth program having been phased out with all remaining synths freed.
"I know lover" she said truly meaning it as she held his hand, letting it drift over her belly more and more. "I won't tease you and say this is our last one. I've made that mistake twice already" she adds looking at her husband with a false pout which makes him laugh, his mind drifting from the melancholy past. "If I do recall it does always seem to be you who enjoys making children the most" his teasing is followed by a kiss on her cheek which earns him a smile from the side of her mouth.
It was true. It always seemed that as soon as they started they didn't stop. After the war, almost instantly, they worked on their first and no matter how much she screamed or how much she threatened during labor she always found herself making love to her husband like a rabbit afterwards. It was comical to the rest of the facility, even the usually taciturn Dr. Li jokingly referring to her as "mother" whenever she saw her quirky colleague. Well Superior now. Rosalind had been promoted to head of Advanced Systems, working on all sorts of mayhem she thought fit of her time. Anything from talking teddy bears to floating coffee dispensers. Few complained. After all her vital work was done. Who cared if she works on a few toys for her children in the spare time?
Frank's at down beside her, taking her hand as he smiles. He looked alot like his late son, even having taken to wearing the same type of sweater under his lab coat.
"He played us very well" she whispered, watching as Frank smiled. She had told him about how Father had tricked her into believing Piper would be brought into the institute forcing her to act and thus securing her place as his wife. It was an inside joke to them now and they thanked him profusely for it.
"I love you Mother" he says teasingly, poking fun at her as he pulled her to his side kissing her passionately.
"I love you too Father" she returns, her head resting on his shoulder as they hear hear X6 shout, "Don't touch that!"