Piper turned to Cait, a helpless expression marring her face. Cait mouth was twisted halfway into a scowl and halfway into a worried frown.
Nate was still silent as he gazed at sky, eyes distant.
Every since the destruction of the institute - which was a few days ago - he hadn't uttered a word. Silent as a shadow, he would drift from settlement to settlement, helping out and listlessly sustaining himself enough to live. When he had gotten back, the three prominent women in his life who loved him (to which none of them had worked up the courage to confront him with said realization) locked eyes and made a silent pact at that moment.
They would keep him safe from himself until he healed.
The anxiety of all of his friends as Nate was cautiously stepping into the teleporter was palpable and heavy.
Cait was demanding she go too because there was no way in hell he would go somewhere she couldn't follow (she claimed trouble followed him like a dog tracking a bone). Curie was crafting as many stimpacks as she could and shoving them in Nate's arms. Piper tried to make a joke about an interview on the institute when he got back, but the way her shoulders had been stiff and her voice trembled made it clear she was not okay with this. Valentine had already downloaded the codes into his database and made several backups just in case. MacCready and Preston had been been trying to figure out a way they could see what was going on and promised that if Nate didn't get back within two weeks, MacCready would tell Hancock - who was already chomping on the bit to give the institute hell if they didn't give Nate back in one healthy piece - how to get to the institute. Danse was grumbling about how they honestly should just eradicate the Institute for their abominations and contacting Maxson. Deacon was trying to key in to the frequency in case of an emergency so they could deploy a group of railroad operatives in for a emergency evacuation if need be. Dogmeat constantly whined and whimpered. Strong was uncomprehending about the whole thing but knew that human would be fine.
After the flash of light and the machine exploding, people panicked and screamed about how they just killed the general of the minutemen.
After a week of perpetual worry and sleepless nights for all, he finally came back, and was tackled by Curie, Cait, and Dogmeat the moment they saw him.
Curie hadn't been pleased with Nate's condition, but she was sure that he simply needed time, and as long as he got that and was given the ability to process, it would be the best way for him to recover. As much as Piper wasn't usually a fan of the Ms. Nanny-turned-very-attractive-synth (which had everything to do with jealousy), the journalist knew that of almost anyone in the Commonwealth, Curie was probably the most knowledgable when it came to medicine. Cait had wanted to be more active, but had come to the same conclusion as Piper.
So they had waited (aiming many dubious looks at the child synth that wandered around and occasionally did some work around the settlements).
But days stretched into three weeks and finally after numerous inquiries that no one knew how to answer, a fight snapped him right out of it.
Piper gritted her teeth from the strain of pushing the female raider off of her and placing one right in between her eyes, emptying the last bullet her clip. She let out a short exhale as she watched Nate back away from another clad in a hulking suit of power armor, ducking wide swings and using two power fists to try to even the battle. They hadn't planned on a harsh run-in with power-armor-clad raiders, but it had happened and now she regretted trying to shave off time in trying to return to Diamond City by cutting through the city's more dangerous areas. They had done it before and got through just fine, they could do it again.
Her thoughts were interrupted when felt the equivalent of the time a raider stabbed her with a pool cue in her shoulder when she was stupider and younger.
She fell, gasping in pain at the sharp sting of the hit and saw a male raided with a smoking pipe-gun in hand, grinning lecherously at her. She scowled angrily and rolled away from before raising her gun, only for it to click at the lack of ammo.
She hadn't reloaded and was dry.
"Well..." He drawled, "Aren't you a fiery little broad? Probably make for a good fuc-"
And a power fist crashed against the man's skull, pulverizing skin, muscle, and bone into red paste before sending him crashing four feet away with a wet splat. Nate was there, blood in a spray of red staining his suit and dripping off the armor he was clad in. Steam hissed from the power fist he had been wielding and he was panting, black eyes glinting with a fury and purpose that she hadn't seen in what seemed to be too, too long.
"Are you okay Piper?" He rasped, kneeling and checking her shoulder.
Thank god (or maybe The Railroad) for the ballistic fiber he insisted on weaving into all of their clothing.
She nodded and cast her eye around before she saw the raider rolling around in the power armor, the helmet crumpled beyond repair, probably suffocating him as he clawed at he metal encasing his skull.
Nate didn't dither and stomped over to the doomed raider and slammed a gauntleted fist into his skull.
Bundled up in Piper's house, Piper told her Nat to leave for a bit while she talked to Blue.
Nat gave The Sole Survivor a concerned look but acquiesced.
"Blue?" Piper asked, gently shaking his shoulder, "Hey Blue?"
He blinked, and turned to her, question in his eyes that could be translated to, 'Yes?'
"Can we talk?" She inquired gently.
He turned to face her and waited patiently.
"Do you regret what you did to the Institute?" She wanted to make sure that they got this out of the way as soon as possible.
His expression twisted into a conflicted frown and he rubbed a hand across his face.
"I don't know..." He whispered, voice hoarse from disuse.
Piper wanted to cheer at the fact he said something that wasn't from the extreme stress of battle, but scooted closer to him to wrap an arm around his shoulders, "Was it because of Shaun?"
"Father." Nate replied quietly but fiercely, "He was called Father."
Piper nodded, she knew how coping worked when it came disassociating something you knew from something that was different. It was a common thing in the Commenwealth and every had more than their fair share of grief. Shaun was Nate's son, and whether it was fair, or Nate wanted to acknowledge it or not, he always would be.
Nate leaned into her, hiding his face in her shoulder, "I... I investigated the institute... I wanted to make sure whether they really deserved what happened for all that they did..."
He told her everything.
How he put the pieces together.
How they released Supermutants into the Commonwealth, failed tests they discarded to terrorize the innocent when they never needed to.
How they lied and brainwashed scientists into soulless masters of synths.
How the very synths they deigned as the best hope were little more than slaves.
How when he tried to talk to his own son, he had the truth he knew shoved in his face.
His son may have well been dead as a babe.
And Blue, who fought so hard, gone so far, did so much, suffered so much pain for his lost son only to realize it didn't matter at all -
Wept.
He sobbed into her shoulder and clung to her like a lifeline as he let out his whole journey's pain. Piper grasped him just as tightly, heart aching in sympathy, and tears leaking over the pain that this world had put the man she loved through for nothing. When he finally stopped shaking and managed to bring his breathing back under control, he looked up, a small, sad smile on his face.
"Thank you." He coughed, "I really... I really needed that."
She nodded and they stayed like that until Nate breaths became deep and even and he slipped into unconsciousness.
She pressed a kiss to his forehead and gently maneuvered him down on her bed before laying down herself and hugging him, "Anytime, Blue. We're all here for you, no matter what."
After he was asleep, she managed to whisper a soft, "Love you, Blue."
Finally, when they returned to Sanctuary, Nate was smiling his old crooked grin, eyes bright.
And Piper only gave Curie and Cait a very smug look.
When asked exactly what they did, she said she had a great night of sleep.
She made sure to neglect mentioning the embarrassment Blue demonstrated upon waking up and realizing he'd been spooning with Piper.