"Blue.. Blue we have to go."

"Please Madame... I am afraid Piper is correct, we must leave immediately."

Tessa ignored her lovers as Piper and Curie attempted to help her, hands snaking beneath her shoulders to lift her up to her feet. She was still staring at where Paladin Danse had vanished into the night, imagining the paladin staring back at her with hate in his eyes. "Come on!" Said Cait urgently in her ear, shoving Tessa to her senses.

Green eyes stared at them widely, Tessa still reeling in what had just happened, and then cleared her throat. "Right... Start gathering what you can-"

"Tessa I don't think we should waste any time," interjected Piper with a worried frown, "with the Prydwen in the Commonwealth, who knows how quickly the Brotherhood can respond to a... threat..."

"We have until Danse gets back to the police station that's acting as an outpost and hail in a call," replied Tessa with a bit more certainty, shaking her head. Paladin Danse's words echoed painfully in her ears and she struggled with blocking them out. "That should take him at least three hours in that armor. I don't want to leave anything for the Brotherhood to take... And I don't think we should come back here."

MacCready gave a frown, and gestured around them. "There's more stuff here than any of us can carry," he said, "lots of weapons and other stuff worth plenty of caps..."

"Caps don't matter," countered Tessa, the shock fading as she realized that they were in very real danger. She would have time to grieve the loss of her friend later, right now she needed to focus on surviving and not getting her friends killed. The Brotherhood of Steel made examples out of traitors, and the deep burning guilt in her chest was enough to assure her that's what she was. "Get the mines and rig them around the power armor station, there's no way I'm going to let them have those suits." He gave a nod and quickly jogged to her workshop. "Curie, you know where the medicine is kept right?" She gave a nod. "Good, I need you and Piper to get everything you can and make sure the turrets are running. Let's give these bastards a fight when they get here." The pair gave her a nod each, and darted across the movie lot.

"Whatcha need from me?" Asked Cait, Codsworth floating nearby expectantly.

Scratching her head in thinly veiled panic, Tessa let out a jagged breath. "We're going to need guns if we're going to fight, get every weapon you know we'll need and scrap the rest. Codsworth, time to use those bags we gave you," she said. The robot gave an affirmative noise and floated off after Cait. The gnawing guilt in Tessa's gut wasn't fading anytime soon, and she glanced down at where Dogmeat was staring up at her with soulful brown eyes. "Hey bud," she said softly, "looks like I just got us into another big mess."

He whined, nuzzling her leg with his head and she rubbed him between his ears before rushing to her house. There were things she kept in there that no matter what she couldn't imagine losing. Having already lost her world before, Tessa had learned to let go of possessions and the like, they withered and faded in time and the thing that mattered most were the people connected to them. There was a safe beneath her bed in the floor, and she quickly shoved the metal frame to the side, Dogmeat whining in her ear but she ignored him for now. Fishing the key out of a nearby drawer, she unlocked the safe and stared at the contents. It wasn't much, the few things that Tessa dared hold onto anymore, but meant the world to her in terms of possessions. A photograph of Nate and Shaun from before the war was the first thing she picked out, and she slipped it into the breast pocket pocket of her army fatigues quickly. The article Piper had written about her when she'd first arrived in Diamond City was next, and she took great care in folding it up and tucking it into one of her pockets. A scrap of a Vault 81 jumpsuit and the empty syringe of Curie's cure-all was added to her pockets, followed by her wedding ring.

Straightening up, holding onto the only objects she truly cared about anymore, Tessa quickly set about rummaging through her house. She loaded her pockets with ammo and stimpaks, other needed items for the impending fight and she kept having to check her PipBoy to make sure she wasn't carrying more than she could though the ache in her back was starting to remind her not to bite off more than she could chew. As she emerged from the shack, exhausted and yet driven, MacCready was quickly approaching. "Hey boss, the explosives are ready to go."

"Good," she said with a nod, taking a small detonator from him and checking the time. "Do you have everything you'll need?"

"Course, I travel light anyways."

"Can you get the chems?" She asked softly, glancing to the side where she spotted Piper and Curie coming towards her.

He cocked a brow at her. "For caps or for use?"

"We don't have time for this," muttered Tessa with frustration, "both, we'll see okay just can you get them?" With a soft sigh he turned on his heels and made a bee-line for a shack on the far side of the lot. "Got everything?" She asked the two women that'd stolen her heart as they approached.

Curie gave a vigorous nod. "Oui, but where are we fleeing to?"

"There's a place not far from here to the east, Taffington Boathouse. I cleared out some bloodbugs a few weeks back, we'll be safe there."

"Alright but... Does Danse know about it?" Asked Piper warily.

With a shake of her head, Tessa started making her way to where Cait was shoving guns into the bags attached to Codsworth's chassis. "Nick helped me with that, Danse doesn't have a clue." Looking to the redheaded woman, she gave a thin smile. "Almost ready?"

Grunting, Cait closed the flap to the leather bag and cocked a brow. "Just about, ya got what ya need?"

"Piper, Curie?" Tessa asked, the pair nodding their heads. "Alright, I know you guys don't like wearing them but I need all of you to take a suit of power armor, take the best ones and leave the junkers behind."

"I thought MacCready rigged them to blow," interjected Piper.

"I've got the detonator, you'll be fine."

"What would the Brotherhood do with them?" Asked Curie curiously, worry lacing her voice.

"Power Armor is pretty much their bread and butter," said Tessa sourly, "that and other tech. I don't want to give them any more resources and ten repaired suits is a pretty sweet deal. Once you're suited up head to the gate, Cait you too." They each gave a nod and made their way towards the metal shack that held her prized trove of power armor. MacCready was soon at her side, and the pair entered the shack together with steeled expressions. The five of them donned in power armor, gleaming plates of metal and protecting their bodies, met at the gate to the Starlight Drive-In, Codsworth bobbing up and down besides them and Dogmeat whining at their heels.

"Ready?" Asked Tessa.

"We've burned enough time," grumbled Cait, "Let's go."

Nodding in agreement, Tessa turned around and stared at the place that had become her home, and gave a bitter sigh before pushing the detonator. The mines went off in a blaze of fire and explosions, sheets of metal wrenching from the detonation and shrapnel blew outwards in a flurry. She could feel the blast of heat even in the armor, and watched through the helmet as her home was destroyed. Gritting her teeth with a pain in her chest, she turned around and followed her companions that had already started heading east.


They were all tired by the time they arrived at the Taffington Boathouse, mud on the armored legs and Curie seemed like she was near to panicking from being inside the metal shell for so long. There was a river behind the house, curving along with the land out towards the sea a ways down, some ruinous neighborhood in the hills on the other side. A patio circled the entire house, a boathouse to the side with a glass shattered door leading inside, a fence encircling the whole house save for the water. Stepping out of the armor, Tessa breathed in relief, sweat trickling down her sore body. Cait muttered a few swears under her breath as she rolled a shoulder, while MacCready was already walking to the door into the shelter. Piper crossed over to the blonde woman, putting a hand on her shoulder but she shrugged it off and followed the sniper inside.

The first floor had been cleaned up, no bugs or debris to be found with a kitchen was on the far side. The upstairs however was another story, the roof missing the middle section of its wood and the night sky was on clear display. The wallpaper was peeling and a few sleeping bags had been thrown in a corner while the worn down furniture offered a place for the travelers to unload their gear. Curie quickly set about to organizing the bedding on the moist wooden floor, water dripping from the ceiling from some recent rainfall. Codsworth happily joined her in tidying up the place. Tessa watched with a blank face, and wasn't all that surprised when Cait turned to her with a fierce scowl.

"We should've killed him."

"The Brotherhood knows I betrayed them, it wouldn't have kept them from hunting me down," said Tessa with exhaustion, sitting down on the floor and rubbing her temples. "I'm a traitor."

"Danse was her friend," countered Piper, growling at Cait, "even if he's our enemy now. You can't blame her for not being able to shoot him."

"She's shot plenty of other people," said Cait, crossing her arms, "this one's one of the few that actually mattered."

"It wouldn't have stopped them from coming after her though."

"It would've saved us some time."

"I hate to admit it, but he's not our ally so that means we shouldn't act like it. Danse was going to kill her if we weren't there. That's not a friend if you ask me," piped MacCready, checking his bullets passively to the side.

"Why must the solution always be violence?" Interjected Curie, glaring at the man from where she'd set up a place to sleep where a roof was still above their heads.

He gave her a fierce scowl back. "Stop being so darn naive," he growled, "the Commonwealth is as shi-terrible a place as the rest of the world, violence is as commonplace as caps."

"I say," cooed Codsworth, "there seems to be no point in debating it now. What's done is done."

Tessa groaned softly, looking up at those she called her friends and stood up. "Can we not- do you hear that?" She turned around, looking out one of the windows to the west. Something was bright on the horizon, and a pit formed in her stomach as she realized what it could only be. Great plumes of smoke rose into the sky, an orange light easily seen between the dead trees in the way and the rolling hills. "They're... They're burning it down..." She uttered in shock, picturing the wooden shacks she'd spent so much time building catching flame. Lights flickered in the sky, the silhouettes of the vertibirds visible through the scope of Tessa's sniper rifle, hovering over what could only be the Starlight Drive-In. Missiles sailed through the air up at the hovering vehicles, gunfire and streaks of lasers lighting up the sky. One of the vertibirds exploded, the wreckage vanishing in the dark. "They're actually destroying it..." She whispered, lowering the weapon and her knees grew weak beneath her. Some part of her had refused to believe that they'd go so far, that they'd burn down the one place that had become home to her after the bombs had fallen. One thing was perfectly clear however, the Brotherhood was now her enemy and she would make sure she treated them as nothing but.

There was an eery silence amongst the group as they watched the Starlight Drive-In burn from afar, Curie's face awash in shock and fear while Piper tried to keep a strong front, one hand on the blonde woman's shoulder while the other was clasped with the synth's. Cait stared hard into the orange glow, hands balled into fists and ready to fight while MacCready grew quiet and busied himself with calming down the whining dog. Codsworth uttered something about the horror of it all before floating downstairs. Tessa watched silently, green eyes distant as she witnessed her new home burning from afar. They were still like that for several minutes, trapped in silence as the Starlight was razed to the ground.

"Madame?" Curie asked softly as the fires grew dimmer, the smoke still billowing into the cloudless sky. The synth seemed unsure if she should reach out to her or not, lingering besides her and Piper.

"Not now," said Tessa, "we need to rest. I'll try to have a plan by morning." She looked to the others, and gave a heavy sigh. "I'll take first shift, you guys get some sleep." Cait grumbled softly before nestling into one of the sleeping bags, MacCready shooting her a wary look before following suit.

Piper squeezed her shoulder, but Tessa's gaze was anywhere but on her. "Blue, maybe you should just let Codsworth do it, he doesn't need to sleep after all. You've been up all night."

"And the day before," said Tessa flatly, finally looking up at her with a rueful smile, "I'll be fine really. I won't get any sleep anyways so might as well do something good with it."

"Madame," chastised Curie softly, "the human body can only go so long without proper rest before suffering consequences."

"I'll be fine you two, get some rest... Please."

"The doc's right," said Piper, squatting down until she was eye level with the sitting woman, "You can take watch if you want but you're not doing it first okay?"

Green eyes flicked between the pair of determined brunets, and she gave a heavy sigh. "Alright you win... But if you don't wake me up for a shift I'm gonna be pissed," she said, getting up and joining the others in the sleeping bags. Dogmeat whined softly as she lay down, and nuzzled against her. "Sorry bud," she said softly, stroking down his back, wet licks on her face making her grimace softly. "You need a new doghouse." The german shepherd gave a soft whine, burying his face in the material of the sleeping bag. She could hear one of her two lovers moving, and felt a pair of hands on her side after a moment. She closed her eyes as Curie curled against her, the synth's soft breath falling on her neck.

Curie snuggled against her closely, as if hoping to hug all the pain she was feeling out of her but the fact of the matter was nothing was going to get that ache out of her. The thought that she'd brought this down upon herself was hovering in her mind like a heavy storm, a part of her wondering if she should have tried to stop Danse from leaving, should have begged him not to or even shot him as Cait suggested. Her stomach flopped at the notion of turning on him, pulling her gun on him all the harder than the others in the Order. It had been one thing to shoot the nameless knights and soldiers, it was another to draw her weapon on the first person to offer her some hope. Now her new home was gone, she was no doubt being hunted at that very moment and most likely her friends as well. She felt a pang of guilt to imagine she'd put her companions in more danger simply because they'd been loyal to her.

Clenching her eyes shut tight, the woman tried to clear her mind and rest but it was nigh impossible. All she could picture was the Starlight burning, soldiers in power armor checking to see where she'd gone and squads fanning the area around it. Paladin Danse stood besides Elder Maxon as she was led in chains to her trial, only to be immediately shot for her crimes, Curie and Piper's screams filling her ears as she slowly felt her life ebb away, the same coldness as cryo-sleep taking hold of her and she soon fell into nightmares.


Tessa woke up with someone shaking her, jolting to alertness and stiffly looking around the house expecting someone to be holding a gun to her head. Instead, hazel green eyes watched her and a soft smile was pulled on Piper's face. "See, I woke you up," she said softly.

"Seems so..." She replied, carefully removing herself from the synth's arms and blinked at her softly. "How long was I out?"

"Only a few hours..."

"Have you been the only one on shift?" Tessa asked with a touch accusing tone, their words hushed.

Shaking her head, Piper pointed to where Cait was snoring quite loudly. "Everyone else has already had a shift each."

"Oh, alright then," said Tessa, trying to forget the disturbing images of her dreams, most of which involved dead friends. "Your turn to sleep then."

"You're going to call me a hypocrite but pass," said Piper, "I'll join you." The blonde woman gave her a pointed glare, but offered no argument as she climbed through a window and onto the roof of the patio, staring out into the darkness of the Commonwealth. Piper sat down besides her, silent as Tessa settled down where someone had put a sofa cushion. She held the sniper rifle that was sitting nearby, scanning the horizon with the scope and not saying a word to the reporter at her side. Keeping an eye out for any Brotherhood that might have managed to make their way to the boathouse wasn't enough to stop the trickling thoughts of Danse from entering her mind, of wondering if she should have shot him or not. She clenched her jaw, and put the rifle down.

Piper frowned softly at her, and reached out to the freckled woman besides her, hand resting on her knee. "Blue... What's wrong? You haven't been talking to me as much, not since you found a way into the Institute. What's the matter?"

Tessa ran a hand through her short blonde hair, and glared intently on some rotting plank in the wooden roof she was sitting on. "Everything."

"I'm afraid I'm going to need you to be a little more specific."

She sighed in exasperation, and leaned back against the roof, staring up at the sky. Endless stars stared back, no clouds in sight unless they were from the still burning settlement in the west. Her heart ached to think of all her hard work up in flames. "Shaun... He's the director of the Institute Piper. How do I- How can I possibly accept that?"

"He's a smart boy like his mother?"

"More like a smart man... He's older than me now! Biologically at least..." She sighed once more, and straightened up. "Worst of all the only way I could get to him was if I lied to him! I wasn't expecting the leader of the great evil of the Commonwealth to be my son and I was willing to do just about anything to find him. I figured, I could go in and free the synths and my son in one fell swoop, that'd I'd rescue them all and perhaps even take out the big bad wolf while I was at it!" She laughed bitterly, "Instead I find this... fake boy who looks like me and I think it's really him! I was so relieved and angry at the same time, I wanted to fight every last one of them to free him, to get back my son but then... Then the real Shaun walked in and shut down the boy. We get to talking and naturally I don't know what to feel. They'd raised him as one of their own and he began their leader, and he's the reason behind the doppleganger synths, behind the abductions and replacements, behind the third generation of them, behind the kind like Curie!" She gestured towards the house behind them, and Piper was frowning softly as she listened. Tessa scanned the horizon once more, but truly she wasn't looking, all she was imagining was the son she'd never had and the man she'd discovered to be him.

"So it's not what you'd hoped..."

Gritting her teeth, Tessa slammed a fist down. "It's not just that! I went in there ready to kill them all Piper!" She looked at her with pained eyes, "I was so angry and furious and felt like I was about to have my revenge for everything that'd happened. I went to the Railroad because I didn't want to go in guns blazing, because I thought my son wouldn't understand, and yet that's all I wanted when I stepped into that transporter. Desdemona wants me to lie to them, because they're not going to let the synths go easy and so I have no other choice. I'm playing my son for a fool and he's dying Piper."

The reporter blinked, confusion knitting her brow. "What? How-"

"Cancer," she bitterly said before giving a hysterical laugh, "The best part is it's probably because of how he was involved in making third-gen synths!" Tessa paused for a moment, trying to reign herself in but Piper gave a heavy shake of her head.

"This is the first you've mentioned this," she said softly, "what else have you been bottling up?"

Green eyes stared at her, and she swallowed dryly. "You really want to hear it all?"

"Of course," encouraged Piper.

"Alright but you asked for it..." She said before taking in a deep breath. "I'm not a good person Piper... At least not like I used to be." There was obvious disagreement on the brunet's face but she didn't say anything just yet. "I've killed so many people, and not all of them deserved it. Sometimes I just get so angry and then people end up dead. Covenant for example..."

"Those people were killing others out of fear and superstition and conducting sick experiments in the name of science. The entire town was a ruse," countered Piper softly, watching the conflict and shame rolling through her love.

Shrugging, Tessa stared down at her hands. "That doesn't change the fact that when I discovered what was going on I grabbed my gun and I started shooting. You'd be surprised how much death you can dish out with a bit of pyschojet in your system and a combat rifle in your hands. You saw what I did, you know how bad I snapped." She clenched her hands into fists. "I try to be kind, to not let this place taint me, but it's nearly impossible. I've lied more than I ever did as a lawyer, and I think I've killed more than Nate ever did and he was in an actual war. I can't even remember how many people I've shot."

"The Commonwealth is a tough place," said Piper gently, "nothing pure lasts for long. Just look at Curie, even she'll kill if she has to and we all know how she feels about that."

"I can't help but wonder if I've brought more darkness into people's lives than made it better. Sure, I cleared out some raiders and saved a settlement here and there. I saved some folks trapped in a museum, I do this or that to help and be generous and then something comes along and just ruins it. I lie so much it's hard to even turn it off Piper..." She was clutching her chest, filled with self-hate and she hissed between her teeth. "I can't even tell my son to his face that I disagree with everything he's become. Instead I'm scheming to break out his legacy because he and everyone else in the Institute view them as slaves and property. I have to make him think I'm on his side so I turned against the first people who gave me hope of finding Shaun, and I killed so many people who once thought I was on their side. All for what, strangers?"

"I know those synths will appreciate everything you're doing for them when they're no longer under the Institute's control," said Piper slowly, "you're saving them, and you're going to stop the Institute!"

Sneering, Tessa stared at Piper intently. "They'll just make more, I've seen them do it. They can have a fully grown synth in minutes. The only way to stop them is to destroy them, which means destroying my son."

Sighing softly, Piper looked out to the dark wasteland around them. "I can't pretend to know what that's like, or what you're going through. But having to make hard decisions and do something that's not entirely good doesn't make you a bad person either. What you're trying to do is just as important as to how you get there, and sometimes you just don't have another choice. Making mistakes doesn't make you a bad person, I've done that plenty."

"Should I have killed Danse?" She asked bitterly.

"I don't know... He's just doing his job but that means bad things for us. Maybe it would have meant the Starlight wouldn't have been destroyed, maybe it means we wouldn't have seen the Brotherhood for a few days more, but sooner or later they would have sent someone after you."

"I just want to protect you and Curie... You two mean the world to me now, you're all that matters."

Piper wrapped her arms around Tessa, pulling her into a deep and long hug. "I'm not running from you because you do something bad... Just as long as it doesn't become a trend. I know you're trying to do good because that's who you are. You're a good person who's caught up in a lot of bad things."

Tessa pulled away from her and ducked her head. "I have a terrible feeling that I'm going to just fall further into the darkness before I see the other side."

Taking hold of one of her hands and giving it a firm squeeze, Piper smiled. "I promise you, Curie and I both will be there for you, no matter what."

"Even if that means killing more of the Brotherhood?"

"The Brotherhood of Steel can go fuck themselves," said Piper fiercely, "I've never liked them and they're nothing but a 'holier than thou" group who hordes all the technology they can get their greedy hands on and refuse to do any good for anyone else. I honestly can't believe you ever got mixed up with them."

"It was before I met you," she said softly, "I needed some hope to find Shaun and some people like that... They seemed like they might be able to. Or at least give me a purpose when I failed." Green eyes stared intently at the brunet. "What about when I have to betray my son and reveal that I've always been lying to him?" She asked, heart aching anew at the thought. "That until I knew who he was I was getting ready to blow his head off? That a part of me still wants justice for what happened when I know I should let it go... Even after Kellogg I want to tear them apart for what they did."

Piper brushed her cheek. "You have every reason to be angry, these people ruined your life Blue! You wouldn't have lost your husband or you son if not for them!" She then added, "you also probably wouldn't have ever woken up..."

Tessa smiled softly. "I guess there's some good in all this... I met you and Curie."

She gave a soft smile, and kissed the blonde woman. Tessa tried to push the depressing thoughts from her mind and focus on the lovely woman before her, arms wrapping around her and pulling Piper close. They shifted a bit, Piper being pulled into Tessa's lap and her hands found their way into short hair, legs tucked against Tessa's hips. A soft moan escaped Tessa as the kiss grew more intense, and Piper gave a throaty chuckle as she pulled away. "You'll wake the others," she chided softly.

"I was supposed to be on watch..." she said with a small smirk, the pain still present in her chest but it was easier to ignore with Piper's lips inches from her own. "You're distracting me from my duties."

"Can you blame me? This is the first time I've had you all to myself in weeks," she purred sensually, nuzzling against her neck and pushed her hips forward. Tessa eagerly responded and had to silence her noises with another kiss. "I've missed you... We both have," whispered Piper as she pulled back.

Grimacing, Tessa looked away. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to upset you two."

"We know, it's why we've been patient. But if it's been about all this... We're here for you you know right? We can't help you if we don't know what's going on."

"I know," admitted Tessa.

"Good!" She rewarded the blonde with another heated kiss, leaving her aching for more. The physical contact was very effective at running her other thoughts to the hills and demanding all of her attention.. "Now I'll leave you to your watch on one condition."

"Oh yeah? What if I want you to stay now?"

Sticking her tongue out, Piper gave her a cheeky look. "Too bad, I'm tired." Her playful tone slipped away when she spoke next, "Promise me that no matter what happens next you're not going to blame yourself. You're not a monster Blue, and I refuse to let you think you are because you've done a few bad things. You're in a lose-lose situation, and so long as you don't lose yourself then I promise you will make it. Curie and I are both here for you and so are Cait, MacCreadry and Codsworth. You're a strong woman but you don't have to bare this burden alone."

Breaking into a breathless smile, Tessa kissed Piper once more, and when they broke apart she nodded her head. "So if I don't promise you'll stay here and I can steal more kisses?" She teased.

"I'm serious Tessa."

"Using my real name? Seems so," she replied, Piper glaring at her intently, and then gave a nod. "Okay fine. I promise I won't unreasonably blame myself for what's to come and remember that I'm fucked anyways."

Mulling over the response for a minute, Piper nodded her head. "I'll take it." She slipped off the blonde's lap, and took hold of her hand, lingering for a few moments. "If you see any bucket heads I want you to scream as loud as you can," she joked.

"Got it," simply said Tessa, holding tightly to Piper's hand as she stared out into the night. The reporter hesitated, and then with a sigh she got up and headed back into the house, leaving Tessa to her swirling mind of thoughts.


AN: Half of y'all that reviewed suggested the story continue, and after some debating and planning I decided to do just that. This story is going to be a few chapters long, and I hope you enjoy the ride along the way! Thanks for all the reviews on the first chapter and for reading!