Just a short chapter today focusing continuing Jack and Arthur's story, Sarah and the rest of the Brotherhood will return in the next chapter.

Jack gently laid out the sleeping squire on one of the old beds that he had dragged into the garage. He discreetly checked for injuries and nodded happily to himself when he could not find any. Turning away from the child he took in the dingy grey room that was his Safehouse. It wasn't he admitted to himself the best looking place he owned. There were at least 10 metal shelves lining the walls covered in all manner of spare parts and junk which he used to maintain or create weapons.

Shaking himself to try and dispel any tiredness Jack moved to the workbench and placed his weaponry on the table. For the next hour he meticulously cleaned his weapons replacing any worn out parts with newer ones. When that was done he walked outside scanning the surrounding buildings for any sign of movement. Jack saw nothing but still scanned constantly as he set down a couple mines outside the door to the garage. He gave them a light covering of earth to try and camouflage them before retreating backing into the relative safety of the garage.

Now, Jack thought happily, he could relax, the frag mines going off would wake him up if there was any danger. He lay down on a second bed and looked over to make sure that the young squire was asleep. Confirming that he was he pulled out a holodisk with the words 'Better Days' written over it, sighing sadly he played the tape and, listening to the words of the mother he never knew, fell into a troubled sleep.

The pip boy's alarm jolted him awake and Jack jerked up quickly knife in hand, he relaxed as remembered where he was and that he was safe, well as safe you can be in the middle of a super mutant infested city. He put the knife back on the floor and clambered off of the mattress, stretching as he did so to loosen his muscles for the coming day. Glancing round he saw that Arthur was awake and staring at him.

"Alright Arty?"

"Yes sir"

"Call me Jack, everybody does...well not everybody...in fact no one does, they just call me the lone wanderer...but you'll call Jack won't you buddy?"

"Yes s..Jack" Arty said the last word with a shy smile and Jack gave him a grin back, it was nice to actually be called his name for once, it made feel more like a person and less of a symbol slash weapon.

"So breakfast? I have a wide range of delicious meals none of which are under a hundred years old."

"Do you...do you have sugar bombs?" Arty seemed to growing more confident and the smile on face was beginning to widen.

"I certainly do. Any Brahmin milk with that? I'm afraid that's only a couple of days old though"

"That's...uh...fine"

"Suit yourself" Jack gave him a wink and grabbed a bowl from one of the shelves and handed it to Arthur along with a spoon, a box of sugar bombs and a plastic bottle of brahmin milk. "You probably have the right idea actually Arty" Jack said grabbing a bowl himself.

They sat in a companionable silence together as they ate their breakfast. Jack was pleased to see that Arthur seemed to like his new nickname of Arty. It was probably a lot better than the more pompous ways that the Brotherhood addressed him. When he'd visited it was always 'Squire Maxson' or 'Arthur Maxson, last of the Maxsons'. That last one especially was a bit of a mouthful. When he'd first met him the kid had seemed a bit pompous as well, reminding him of the people he'd met at Tenpenny Tower. It was, Jack decided, good to see the kid had a sense of humour. Poor Arty, the life he had at the Brotherhood didn't seem like a real childhood. Hell, Jack thought, even him, the Lone bloody Wanderer had had a proper childhood even if it was in a vault. With that thought Jack made a decision, it would piss the Brotherhood off but what the hell. How much more angry at him could they get? Jack smiled to himself as a plan began to take shape.

He could probably give Arty a week, any more than that and the Brotherhood would probably find the kid anyway. He could use the time anyway, he had some contacts he wanted to speak to, some people he needed to threaten. Jack knew something was going on in the wasteland, he could feel it, he just needed to figure out what the hell it was.