Life after the vault was very pleasing. After finally making my mother's dream come true by making Project Purity a reality and saving the Wasteland from the Enclave, I was pretty relaxed nowadays. Barely anything to do anymore since I had helped and saved everyone I could save. Got Agatha's violin, saved the towns of Arefu and Canterbury Commons from freaks, killed every slaver in Paradise Falls, you know basic stuff. I also had to take it easy since I sustained a ton of injuries while fighting in that godforsaken air force base. I allowed Fawkes, my Super Mutant ally, to help out the Brotherhood of Steel while I was taking time off to recover myself from the burns those fucking assholes of the Enclave. I usually had Dogmeat, my guard dog, follow me around since I had rarely taken him anywhere as it was too dangerous for him. But life was nice this way, not a worry in the world. I had decided to travel to Rivet City and spend a few weeks there since I hadn't been there in over a month. I had befriended everyone on that ship, it felt like being in the vault there. So before I departed, I told Wadsworth, my robot butler to keep things neat in my Megaton house for me as I left. The walk was fairly normal, every now and again I would see a wild animal come charging at me but it was okay I was in my T51-B armor so barely anything could penetrate it well enough to hurt me. As soon as I saw the sign for Rivet City I looked in my bag for something to wear that wasn't so weird looking that people thought I was going to blow up the place. The only thing I could find was something I forgot to put in one of my lockers in Megaton, the Tunnel Snakes uniform. To be fair, Butch did know style and with that blue jumpsuit contrasting the dark leather jacket. Hesitantly I placed the jacket over my blue vault jumpsuit and walked up the ramp to the bridge with Dogmeat at my side. As I entered the Marketplace people waved at me friendly like and asked me how I was doing. I met up with everyone at Gary's Galley eating some Mirelurk Cakes and a Nuka-Cola to drink.
"Hey there's our Hero from the Vault!" Gary exclaimed. Most of the people in Rivet City visited me and the kids, Bryan Wilks, C.J. Young, and James Hargrave were playing with Dogmeat on the metal floor of the ship.
"So how have you been, Caitlan?" Shrapnel asked me.
"Good, I'm still resting after that Enclave battle, you know needing to take it easy." I replied
"You know, the Youngs decided to have a little shin dig on the flight deck to celebrate a year of fresh water thanks to you, and since you're here I'm sure you would join." Gary spoke. I saw the very pleased look on everyone's faces and I knew I just couldn't resist. I had always been a good soul and my dad always taught me to accept any invitation that was in good taste.
"I would be delighted to do so." I nodded at their invitation. They started planning who to invite in their little party but Vera spoke openly about someone new on the ship.
"Well as long as we don't invite that new guy I'm sure our party will be in good taste." Vera said.
"What new guy , Vera?" I asked with one of my eyebrows up.
"This guy who just came on our ship about two months ago. As a matter of fact he was wearing the same outfit you're wearing." Vera pointed at me.
"This exact outfit?"
"Yeah leather jacket and all, he's not a good role model for any of the kids on the ship and he frequently gets into bar fights. Plus he talks about forming a gang and the last thing Rivet City needs is a bunch of hooligans terrorizing our shops."
I rubbed my head in annoyed manner. Indeed I knew exactly who she was talking about by the description but my main question was why he was here.
"I think I know who's harassing you guys." I said
"Well we know who he is it's just he's a nuisance that's all." I gat up from my seat and stretched my legs.
"So, where would I find him?" I asked.
"He's in the Muddy Rudder more than likely." Shrapnel replied. I waved goodbye to them and decided to head to the lower level of Rivet City.
As I headed towards the door to the Muddy Rudder I was quite nervous as to what I would suspect. I was never nervous about meeting Butch in my entire life, but it felt so strange to see him again like meeting him for the first time again. I took a deep breath and opened the steel door to the Muddy Rudder. It was still the same old Muddy Rudder: messy as hell. But to be quite honest nothing would be as clean as Vault 101 was. As I looked down I saw the whore of Rivet City, Trinnie, talking to a very familiar man with a Tunnel Snake jacket. I smirked, I always knew Butch was attracted to any girl that would always want a good bed partner. Hell he would always brag about how great he was in bed. But I knew who he was always was in bed with: his hand.
"I know I can't resist you Butch Deloria." Trinnie purred. I rolled my eyes, if there was anyone on this ship I hated, it was her. I always gave my caps to her to buy drinks so maybe she could die from alcohol poisoning.
"Yeah no one can resist the Butch-man!" Butch boasted. I decided to make my presence a little subtle by approaching the bar and ordering a nice wine.
"Hey Belle! May I please have a nice bottle of wine?" I could see Butch tense up at the sound of my voice.
"Sure, Caitlan, lay your caps on the table." Belle said as I scanned my pockets for the exact amount of caps to give her. As soon as she heard the noise of the caps hitting the bar and she gave me in return a bottle of wine. I rarely drank alcohol but wine and beer was the only alcohol I could tolerate. Butch turned around but I didn't look at him.
"Cait?" He asked. God I hated that nickname and only he called me that! I just hated how it sounded coming from his lips.
"Hello Butch I see you're quite preoccupied." I gestured to Trinnie. Butch looked back and for some reason got off his stool and actually ignored Trinnie, I didn't think it was possible for Butch to do so.
"Well if it isn't my hero, the gal who sprang me from the Vault! I think I owe this lovely lady a drink." Butch said.
"Are you drunk, or did you just call me a lovely lady instead of nosebleed?" I asked in disbelief. Oh there was something wrong with him I knew it. He probably had radiation poisoning because this was…weird.
"Nah, not at all Cait! Here, a bottle of whisky for ya." Butch handed me the bottle and I put it away. I would sell it later for some caps.
"Now all I need is a gang, and I could take over this whole Wasteland!" Butch said to my relief. Good he's back to normal.
"Butch, your telling this to the Lone Wanderer and Regulator, if you do anything bad your face will meet my combat shotgun." I threatened him.
"Whoa, relax Cait, just a bit of fun."
"How did you get out here in the first place?" I asked him.
"Ah I just you know fight my way through, got some nasty scars from some crazy guy with a knife, but he shoulda known better to wrestle with a Tunnel Snake!" He replied. Liar, I thought, probably got it from tripping and falling running away from a Radroach. But I smiled in a half assed way. Trinnie scoffed and left feeling ignored by Butch but I didn't care at all.
"Right well I'm going now so um-" I started but Butch grabbed my wrist. I thought he was going to grab me rough but to my surprise, once again, his calloused hand softly gripped my wrist.
"Stay with me, I feel alone on this goddamn ship and no one gives a fuck about me in this shithole, so please stay." He said. I knew there was something wrong with this picture, Butch was begging for MY company? Oh god now this was the apocalypse right here! My eyes looked as if they would pop out and land on the floor.
"What the HELL is wrong with you?" I asked in astonishment. Butch looked absolutely bewildered at my comment as if he had said something like paying me for a "good time".
"Uh nothing's wrong with me, why?- Wait!" He said as he stood out of his stool. He circled around me as I played with my prim and proper hair.
"You're wearing my jacket, the jacket I gave you a year ago." Butch said very puzzled, "You kept it all this time?" That was actually a very good question and in my mind I questioned it as well. Why had I kept this stupid jacket I mean every moment I saw this jacket it reminded me of that stupid Butch and for weeks I pondered on whether or not I should burn it. I guess I decided to have it because for that one moment, Butch was nice to me and for some reason it meant a lot.
"C'mon Butch, I'll give you a special tour around the place." Maybe we should start over, maybe we should become friends, I thought.
"Alright, Cait, whatever you say." He said with a smirk as he followed me out of the bar. Another first.
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