"The area clear?" the Sole Survivor asked as she assessed the room one more time for hostiles. She didn't look towards her companion when she tossed the question, and instead moved towards the terminal in the center of the room.
"Yeah," Nick replied as he scanned the area, "Nobody in sight, and my sensors aren't picking up anything. Looks like we cleared them all out."
Nora only cast one more look around before she settled in front of a terminal, "Watch my back for me though, okay? I'm wanna try to hack this terminal, see if we can get any more information on what happened here."
"Sure, sure," he replied, keeping his gun in hand as he continued to scan the area, every now and then casting his gaze over to the Survivor.
The Vaultie and him had been traveling for only a little while, now, but Nick could already pin what type of person she was. The Survivor was fierce and sarcastic, never willing to back down from a fight when it found her; she was strong, capable, decisive-
And a wonderfully good person.
In the short time he had spent with her, Nick was able to witness to the kindness that existed within the Survivor. Yes, she was always willing and ready for a good fight, but Nora always strove for peace between others before it came down to violence. If she had enough determination, she almost always found a way to calm others down, change their minds before it was necessary to pull out one of her many weapons. Nick had seen the way she smiled after she did something good for someone, like returning a valued item or eliminating some nearby hostiles to help the civilians of the Commonwealth feel safe. Then whenever they compensated her for her troubles, she always looked surprised at their returned thanks, and reassured them it was no trouble offering these people a helping hand.
She's a good kid, Nick decided quietly, his glowing optics staring at her. As if feeling his gaze, Nora looked up from where she typed at the terminal, both eyebrows arched over her startling green eyes. "Everything okay, Valentine?" she asked.
The old synth blinked, and shrugged away his wandering thoughts as casually as he could, "Yeah, sure, just thinking."
She looked back to the terminal screen, but asked off-handedly, "Anything on your mind in particular?"
He shrugged one shoulder casually, "Just about doing good for the people of the Commonwealth."
From what he could see of her, a smile curled halfway up her face, "I wouldn't expect anything less from you," she replied warmly, which sent a jolt of electricity shooting down the detectives wiring. If he was human, he probably would have blushed, but he kept his eyes forward, continuing to watch the Survivor as she worked her magic.
There was only the tapping of keys from the keyboard, and finally, a chiming from the computer, letting the synth know she got in. Nora hissed a quiet, "Yes!" before peering at the screen so she could get more clues about this old building they were in. That was one of her favorite things about roaming through the Commonwealth, exploring the old ruins and trying to get a taste of her previous life, her first life almost.
"It must feel weird," Nick had commented to her, several days ago after going through the Hubris Comic building. The pair were still tensed up after fighting the hordes of feral ghouls, and the Glowing One had caused some trouble, but they had made it out all right. Nora had taken the blunt of the attack, being human and prone to radiation, but she was putting on a brave face for now.
"Hmm?" she had replied, skimming through the messages on the terminal. She tapped at the keys audibly. "Weird about what?" she echoed.
Not wanting to offend her, Nick continued his thoughts carefully, "Being a Woman Out of Time. You've only been out of the Vault for a short while now. It must feel like hardly any time has passed."
Her neutral expression at the time had sobered a little at that, a darkness shadowing her eyes. "Yeah, a bit," she admit, though she didn't pursue his prompting words. Out of respect, Nick didn't press her; if she wanted to talk to him about it, she would, and he wouldn't hold it against her if she chose to never tell him.
He started back to the present when she moved, and he tensed, only to relax when he saw she was just pushing some hair back behind her head. She removed her eyeglasses to wipe them against the flannel she wore beneath her armor, and placed them back onto her nose to peer at the screen. Her fingers continued tapping frantically at the keyboard, and she paused briefly as a chime sounded from the terminal, announcing her success at hacking into the computer. Nora hissed out a triumphant "Yes!" from where she sat as she began reading the history of what had happened here. Nick felt a half-smile curl up his face, and the words were out before he could filter them through the reasoning part of his mechanical mind, "Is there any machine you can't charm?"
The air grew still, and Nick felt his coolant suddenly begin pumping at a rapid pace. His metal hand that held his gun tightened, and he pressed his lips together as his mind suddenly went haywire.
Why did he say that?! Where did that come from?!
Sure, he always considered himself to enjoy a little word-play now and then, some light banter with people he was comfortable with (meaning, pretty much just Ellie, though she was never the best at it, sweet girl), and he was always particular to throwing some sarcasm around in the face of negativity, but what he just said was close to something much different than light banter or word-play. In fact, it was something more akin to-to-
"Well, I have been told to have a very electric personality," and Nick was startled when he locked eyes with her to see she had that smile again, the one filled with mischief and a flickering light that reminded the old synth of fire.
All at once, the tension broke.
Nick couldn't hold in the huff of laughter that escaped him, and he grinned her way. "Well you have been rather shocking in the time we've known each other."
It was Nora's turn to laugh now, and she did not disappoint as she threw her head back, teeth flashing in the dim light of the building. Nick felt his internal sensors warm considerably (though he didn't know why- the room had not turned cold, had it?) and grinned her way, pleased with her response to him.
"Okay," she said, covering her mouth with her left hand as she spoke through spurts of laughter, "that was a bad one. You've got to be- no wait!" she suddenly stopped, both palms held up as she stilled. Her mouth twitched, trying to hold back that grin, and ultimately failed as she continued, "Wire you doing this to me, Valentine?"
He threw his own head back now, falling into another fit of laughter while she joined him, and for a few moments, there was no wasteland, no Commonwealth, no Institute, no faction with an agenda; for a few moments, it was just him and her, two partners enjoying each other's companionship in the crazy post-apocalyptia.
"Okay, okay, no more, no more!" she conceded, wiping at her eyes that were sparkling with tears. She fought to control her breathing, holding back the laughter as best she could. Nick kept his smile in place, the warmth refusing to leave his circuits. After Nora got her breath back, she sighed lightly, and Nick was pleased to see the levity that covered her face, now.
"You ready to head out?" he asked.
She sighed again, though it sounded content, and she pushed back from the terminal. "Yeah. I think I'm ready to head home. I need to add a mod to Mah Baby," she patted the gun at her side. "And honestly, my own bed sounds fantastic right now."
"I certainly don't blame ya," Nick replied, watching as she stood up, and approached him from around the desk. He took notice at the slight limp to her gait, favoring her right leg. "It's only a short walk-think you can make it?"
She cast a half-smile his way, "I'm fine, Nick. Nothing a short nap can't fix, and then we can head out. Is that okay with you?
"Sure, sure," he agreed amicably, though the worry continued to gnaw at his wires. He trailed behind her, keeping his optics on her limp as they went.
"We need to get ready, anyway," she went on, ignoring her injury. "I have to make sure my Power Armor is fully repaired before we go into the Glowing Sea. Getting rad sickness isn't going to fit on my agenda, anyhow."
Nick chuckled at that. "Gonna have to agree with you on that one, doll."
-2 months later-
The great doorway to Diamond City loomed ahead, and Nick had never felt such relief as he did in this moment.
The fight against those radscorpions proved to be not that difficult on their way back from the Glowing Sea, and their radiation damage did nothing against Nick, as usual, but they had gotten Nora's leg a few times, and she was favoring her left one more and more and more as they walked.
"Why don't you use a Stimpak on that?" he asked, nodding at one of the guards as they went past the perimeter of the city into the depths of the stadium. The sun had set over the horizon from where they stood at the top of the entrance, looking down on the city as he scanned for any signs of hired Trigger Men before they descended the stairs. Thankfully, he detected none.
Nora clenched her hand over her arm as she moved forward ahead of Nick, nearly losing her balance as she went. "Not bad enough to constitute a Stimpak," she replied, her tone laced with pain. "Besides," she continued, "my radiation levels are high enough that a Stimpak isn't going to do much for my nausea right now. I'll take some RadAway when we get to Home Plate."
God, she was so strong.
Either that or incredibly stubborn.
And stupid.
Nervously, Nick tailed behind her, his right hand twitching with uncertainty as it shadowed her form. When the limping gait turned into a stagger while they were halfway through the Diamond City market, he found his hand bracing itself against the small of her back firmly. "You sure you okay, Doll?" he asked worriedly.
"'M fine, Nick," she brushed off. "You need to stop-"
In her next step forward, her right leg gave out, and she collapsed. Nick's reflexes were swift, and he managed to bend his knees quick enough to catch her in his arms before she hit the ground. Nora cursed under her breath, grasping at his trenchcoat, and Nick chuckled lightly as he lifted her up to her feet. "Hey, thought I told you not to fall for me," he teased lightly, placing her arm around his neck while he shared her weight. He kept one arm around her waist, pulling her hip against his, and gripped his hand over the wrist on his shoulder.
"God, I'm sorry Nick. I guess I'm not doing as well as I thought," Nora muttered, and Nick was struck at the tone of shame that strung through her voice.
"It's nothin' to say sorry for, doll," he reassured. "Let's just get you feeling better and we'll be on the road in no time, okay?"
Her answer was silence, and after a few hobbles down towards Home Plate, she murmured a quiet, "Okay," and allowed him to lead her into her home. Nick helped land her semi-gently on the couch just inside the door, and the Sole Survivor released a long exhale of relief as she settled into the plush cushions.
"You need help getting up to that bed?" he asked her.
"No," she murmured, then moaned contentedly as her body relaxed. "I think I'll just crash right here," her voice lowering until it was softer than a whisper. "Can you get the lights?" she asked.
Relieved she was safe, Nick nodded, "Sure, sweetheart." Wait, what was that? Sweetheart? He cast a glance over his shoulder to where her icebox was, ignoring the sudden trembling in his hands. "You mind if I grab a drink?"
The Sole Survivor yawned, her arm resting over her eyes. "Go for it."
He patted her knee gently, then rose to turn off the lights from the fuse box. He headed towards the ice box, fishing around for a minute before grabbing a beer. "I'll head up to the roof until you get up, alright?"
"Actually, can you get me up in an hour?" she asked. "I'll be ready to go, then."
Nick stared at her through the musty light of her home, her form barely visible in the semi-darkness, "Will do," he lied easily. Like hell I will, he thought. I'll let her sleep all day if she needs to. When was the last time she even took a nap?
Nick would never claim to be an expert on humans, but he knew at least that sleep was imperative functionally, and worked as some kind of reset for the human brain. Nora never got enough sleep as it was. No, he would let her rest as long as she needed to, consequences be damned.
The old detective walked quietly up the wooden steps of the apartment, sensitive to the already-snoring Vaultie. He glanced down at her briefly, walked past her bed and dresser, and lifted himself through the trap door in the roof.
The cool night air was a welcome sensation against his worn face, and Nick felt some of the tension release from his own body as he moved over to the single couch overlooking the city.
He sighed long and slow as he sat down, the compressors in his lungs hissing soft in his ears as he lounged, his feet hanging over the edge of the platform.
So he waited.
The city was quiet that night, the sky blessedly clear of storms -radiation or otherwise- allowing the stars to decorate the inky expanse above the Commonwealth.
Nick hummed appreciatively as he tilted his head back to gaze at them. He opened the bottle of beer he had brought with him, and lifted the bottle against his lips. The alcohol against his tongue sent the pleasure receptors in his mind buzzing, and he squinted for a moment as a strong flashback of the real Nick Valentine flickered through him. A memory of sitting on the roof of the police station, just like this, with a cooler of beers at his side and perhaps a companion of his own sitting along side him in his own chair.
As the flashback ended, and Nick found himself back in the Commonwealth, he blinked while he looked back around cautiously to gain his bearings. Time hadn't seemed to pass much, but he could never really tell when it came to the flashbacks; some tended to go longer than others.
The beer still felt cold in his hand; that had to mean something, and no condensation had formed on the glass, either. He looked at the watch on his wrist. Nope. Had only been about a minute.
He settled back into the chair, and took another sip.
The hours began to melt away as Nick watched over the city. Guards below made their patrols through the alleys; Takahashi stirred noodles endlessly and Percy called aimlessly for customers to come see about their "24 hour service!" Just a typical night in Diamond City.
Near the end of his drink, Nick stirred the few drops of beer left at the bottom aimlessly, swishing the amber liquid around and around and around. His thoughts turned to Nora, and he allowed the worry to creep back into his mind. She had been pretty injured when they got back; maybe he should have looked over her leg before letting her go to sleep, just to make sure it was nothing serious. . . But then again, Nora probably would recognize if an injury was serious enough to need taking care of, especially with that Pip-Boy at her disposal.
It almost unsettled Nick, really, with how fragile humans could be. Scratch their skin hard enough, it would break and they would bleed. Push against their bones with enough force, and the bones break, taking weeks and sometimes even months to heal.
But humans were so resilient, and that part of them amazed Nick. The ability to regenerate on their own was something he would never be able to do, as a synth. If something in him broke, he needed to either fix it or replace it, but a human body could repair itself, assuming the wound wasn't too great. Even if a limb was lost, it could at least mend over the lost limb if given the right attention.
There was even more to it though. There was an emotional resilience in them, as well, a determined resilience. The human spirit that always fought to get back up no matter how desperate or overwhelming the odds. The ability to push back, whatever may happen. If anything, Nora was a spectacular example of such human resilience. With a husband killed before her eyes, and an infant swiped right from under her nose, it was amazing she didn't immediately give up in the Vault or be taken out by the first raider she stumbled across. Instead, she gave everything she had, used all her ability, all her strength, cunning, and resourcefulness to push back against what Fate gave her, and then she had the guts to punch it in the face by determining not just to survive, but to find and save her infant child. Such was a mission that many people born in the Commonwealth would have given up on ages ago. After being out of the Vault for about a month, heck, even a couple of weeks even, and she had figured out ways to survive that some folks raised out here would never learn.
"Heh," Nick chuckled quietly to himself. "Guess you can't teach common sense," and he brought the rim of the bottle against his lower lip.
A sound of heavy metal creaking interrupted his thoughts, and the old synth turned his head to see none other than the Vault Dweller herself peek out from the floor of the trailer behind him. From what he could see of her, her dark hair was tousled from sleeping, and she had a relaxed half-smile over her face. "Hey," she called, only a hint of tiredness echoing in her voice, "can I join you?"
"Mmm. . . Just this once," he allowed jokingly.
She laughed quietly, already halfway out of the hatch as she lifted herself into the trailer and walked out into the open night air, noticeably without a limp of any sort. Nick was already standing up to let her have the chair he was sitting in, which would have been much comfier, but she paid him no heed as she went down the stairs to the lower level of the roof, and grabbed the blue and white patio chair. Easily, she lifted it up and moved it to the level Nick was on, and placed it next to his before she sat in it. Nick placed himself back down.
"Need a drink?" he asked her, offering the last bit of beer in his bottle.
She glanced at it, and shook her head. "Nah, you go on ahead. I'll at least wait until it's not early in the morning."
Nick shrugged, "Suit yourself," and downed the rest of the lukewarm beverage, the flavor sloshing against his sensors one last time before it was all emptied. "What time is it, anyway?" he asked, glancing at her.
"It's only about. . . four in the morning." She cast him a glance as she said it.
"Oh," he replied lightly. "And we got here at about, what, eleven? No, I think it was two-"
"Try eight," she interjected.
A half-smile of his own curled up his face, "Hey, that's a full eight hours of sleep, just about."
When he glanced at her, he was relieved to see she did not appear angry with him. However, her smile lowered a tad as she gazed directly at him, "Why didn't you wake me up?" she asked.
Under her accusing stare, Nick shifted in his chair to try to dispel the discomfort that suddenly shuddered through his wires. "You need your sleep," he muttered. "It's good for you. If you don't get enough sleep, you'll probably start to shut down from pure exhaustion."
His explanation wasn't good enough for Nora, and she dispelled a puff of air in a quick and fast sigh, like a punch. "You don't need to babysit me, Nick. I'm a big girl; I can take care of myself." In her moment of anger, she crossed her arms over her chest, and chewed on the interior of one cheek bitterly.
Irked by her reply, Nick turned his gaze to her from the side. "Your health is important, Nora."
Her response was quiet, but immediate, "Other things are more important right now."
Nick frowned at her statement. That got his attention at once. He turned himself in his chair to face her directly, "Like what? Your son?"
He must have said the right words to stoke a fire in her, because the flickering lights in her eyes ignitedinto a bonfire in and of themselves. She turned to face him with a wrath all mothers seemed to possess, "Of course my son! Why else do you think we've been wandering the Commonwealth for the past two months?!"
His own anger reared, "Well it's not gonna do any good to the both of you if you're a corpse by the time you find him!"
"That's not going to happen!" she rebuffed bitterly. "I know how to take care of myself, Nicholas."
If he was human, his right eyelid would have twitched in his anger and the pure ignorance of this woman! The human Nick Valentine could recall times when he and Jenny would fight like this over dumb things where he was obviously right, and she would say his name in that exact way with that exact tone of voice, just because she knew how quickly it stirred his boiling pot of anger.
How did women do that?
"You don't know what's going to happen," he returned hotly. "None of us do. What good are you going to be out there in the Commonwealth if you can't even move because you didn't get enough sleep to stay awake during the day?"
Her glare on him was fiery, but he saw the brief flashes of resignation that showed in her eyes because she knew he was right. She cast her gaze down, and Nick felt a sigh building up in him. He released it quietly, "Look, we're in Diamond City; it's safe here, and it's a good chance to catch up on some much needed sleep where you don't have to start awake at every sound, where you can actually get a good night's rest. . ." Nick had noticed early on in their traveling together how fidgety she was in her sleep, how the smallest sound set her off.
Not to mention the nightmares.
The moaning, the soft crying, the gasping, the words that would echo from her lips while she slept, "Nate, Shaun, no, oh God, no, please no," and it never stopped until Nick carefully stirred her back into the waking world, trading one nightmare for another.
Here, however, she never struggled to sleep, and was always quiet, no signs of nightmares.
Nick kept his eyes on Nora, gauging her expressions that dashed across her face. Going with his motto that honesty was the best policy, Nick braved the words out of his mouth, "Nora, doll, listen. . . I worry about you, probably more than I should, because I know you can take care of yourself. The thing is," and he cast his eyes down, embarrassed about having to speak so candidly, "you're always trying to take care of others, too, and it just makes it easier to forget your own needs." Moving carefully, Nick reached his synthetic hand over to rest lightly on her own hand in her lap. She didn't react to it, which he took as a good sign. "I just. . ." His confession softened his voice. "I like knowing that you're safe. . ."
Her head lifted to lock eyes with him; the fiery dragon behind her gaze snarled. Relentlessly, she growled as she moved her hand away from his, "I'm not Jenny, Nick. I don't need to be protected."
Nick's body stilled, and his hand lingered on empty air as he leaned back in his chair to place it back on the armrest. Nora at least had the decency to look ashamed of what she had said, and she cast her eyes down. "I'm sorry, Nick," she apologized. "That wasn't fair of me."
He tried to hide the sudden pain that shot through his wires as he looked away. "It's okay," he murmured. "I know you're not her," he allowed. "You're stronger than any woman I've ever come across, Jenny included." His metal fingers picked at a stray piece of cloth coming out of the couch's armrest. His thoughts continued, "But you're more than just a woman to me, Nora. You're my partner." His coolant pumped faster. "You're my friend."
She blinked her eyes up to meet the old detective's when she saw him move, and her figure stilled under his gaze. "Is it really so wrong for me to want you to be safe?" he asked, his voice softening with each passing word.
There was a careful frown that etched over Nora's expression, and she looked down into her lap, where her hands were entangled together. "No one is safe in the Commonwealth, Nick, not ever. Even in Diamond City, Trigger Men are sent to kill me. Safety is an illusion, here."
He acknowledged her words, "True, but is it so wrong for me to want you to at least be safe? Or at least in the closest sense of the word?"
"I suppose not," she allowed. "I mean-" and Nick didn't miss the flush that swept over her face, "I feel the same way about you-wanting to make sure you're safe too, but it's so unrealistic."
Nick cast his eyes down, unable and unwilling to address his own tumultuous feelings about the Vault Dweller, but he did allow a second to process his thoughts before replying simply, "I know."
Then it was her hand stretching his way and latching onto his hand that rested on the couch's armrest. He looked her way, his optics blinking, and he started at the sudden sincerity that was in her eyes. "I'm sorry for arguing with you, Nick. You're right. I should take better care of myself out here." The small half-smile forming over her face was warm. "I suppose it's just easier to forget about myself when there's so much going on, so many people wanting our help but still trying to cram in the clues to find Shaun . . ." She heaved a sigh, and tightened her hand over his. He stared at it, disbelieving. "I guess it is good to know, though, that I have someone who's there to watch my back and make sure I take care of myself," and her smile was warmer than the sun. She squeezed his hand. "Thanks, Valentine."
His whole body would have been shaking if he was human, but Nick remained still, synth that he was, and turned his hand over so he could hold her hand just as firmly. "Anything for you, doll."
He couldn't find the proper words to describe her soft smile, then, nor the warmth that spread through his chest when he saw it.