Hey guys, I'm back with a new chapter. This chapter is kind of a short one, but I hope you guys enjoy it none the less. With that, let's get started...

"This place smells like piss," Cait muttered under her breath as the trio entered Goodneighbor. Her companion grunted, but otherwise remained silent. The brawler cast a glance at him, but stayed silent as well. Even the dog neglected to make a sound, as if he preferred to keep the unspoken silence. The small trio had just traveled here from Diamond City. They had returned from Fort Hagen, after tracking a man named Kellogg there.

It was there, in the bowels of the pre war military instillation, that Cait bore witness to the kind of man her companion was. Nate had shot his way through the virtual army of synths standing guard, not slowing down even once. She could still see the confrontation between the two as if it had just happened.

Nate had strode into the Fort's command center, the ever present cigarette hanging from his mouth while he held both of his 10mm pistols at his side, their barrels smoking and actions locked back, signifying that they were empty. Kellogg had come out and informed him that his son was in the Institute. Then, Nate had done something that surprised everyone who was present in that room.

He produced a snub-nosed .44 and shot Kellogg at point blank range right between the eyes. Cait had to admit, her companion was one cold hearted son of a bitch, and any plans she may have had for double crossing him or just turning on him for her own gain flew right out the window. That, and part of her actually felt sorry for him.

On the way back to Diamond City, Nate had reluctantly given her the basic details of what had happened to him over the past few months. His wife had been killed, and his infant son kidnapped. Cait admired the strength the old world rifleman displayed. He wasn't looking for a shoulder to cry on, or even a whiskey bottle to climb into, he was channeling his pain and rage into completing his goals.

That being said, he was still the most tight lipped man she'd ever laid eyes on, and most of the time just trying to have a basic conversation with him was like pulling teeth with a pair of pliers. After getting back to Diamond City, and conversing with Nick Valentine and Piper about their finds, they'd set off to Goodneighbor to talk to a Doctor Amari.

Truth be told, Cait didn't understand half of what was going on. She'd been traveling with Nate for a few weeks now, and even though he'd opened up a little about his past, the man was still a mystery to her as ever. Aside from the incident in Fort Hagen, he'd been nice to her, kept her supplied with a steady stream of food and caps too. Couple that with the fact that Nate always seemed to stumble head first into danger, and she figured that was reason enough to stick around.

Nate led the way onto the main street, heading for a building with a set of double red doors. A sign reading 'Memory Den' sat just above the doors. The inside was mostly made of brick and dimly lit. A few pods sat scattered about what appeared to have once been a theater or something. Nate lit a cigarette as they approached Nick and a woman in a red feather dress who was lounging at the far end of the Den.

"Well well, Mr. Valentine, I thought you'd forgotten about little 'ole me," the woman said.

"May have walked out on the Den, Irma, but I'd never walk out on you," the old synth replied as the trio approached. The dog let out a whine and rubbed up against the detective's leg affectionately. Nick smiled and patted the dog on the head. Irma smirked at the sight.

"Hm. Amari's down stairs, you big flirt," she said. Both the detective and the rifleman tipped their hats to the woman before Nick led the way downstairs. They entered a room with two of the pods from upstairs sitting in the center. Various bits of machinery and equipment lined the walls, while a single woman in a lab coat stood over a console at the far end of the room.

"Doctor Amari?" Nick asked. The woman raised her head and turned to look at them.

"Yes? I take it this isn't a social call," she said. Nick looked to Nate as if he was waiting to explain, but he simply took a drag on his cigarette.

"All yours, Nick," he said as he exhaled a cloud of smoke. The Doctor made a face, but otherwise remained silent.

"We need a memory dig, Amari, but it's not gonna be easy. The guy, Kellogg, is already cold on the floor," Nick said. A look of horror came over Amari's face.

"Are you two mad?! Putting aside the fact that you're asking me to defile a corpse, you do realize that the memory simulators require intact LIVING brains to function?" she asked.

"Technically, the corpse was defiled already," Nate said, earning a snicker from Cait.

"This dead brain had inside knowledge of the Institute, Amari," Nick said, ignoring the other two, "the biggest scientific secret of the Commonwealth. You need this, and so do we." Amari sighed.

"Fine, I'll take a look, but no guarantees. Do you, have it with you?" she asked.

"Could you say that like Doctor Frankenstein? 'Igor fetch me the brain!'"

"No, I will not. Now do you have it?" Amari asked, annoyance becoming clear in her voice. Nate reached into his pack and handed her what Cait had always dismissed as a hunk of junk covered in brain matter. It was some kind of implant that he'd recovered from Kellogg. Personally she'd found that to be a waste of time, and disgusting on top it. But he'd taken it anyway.

"What's this? This isn't a brain, wait, that the...and those things attached to it...a neural interface?" Amari said as she looked the bit over.

"Those circuits look awfully familiar," Valentine muttered.

"I'm not surprised. From what I've seen, all Institute technology has a similar architecture."

"So it's still good?" Nate asked.

"Possibly. There's no sign of decay, so the tech is probably preserving the tissue. But there's no way to access the memories inside without a compatible port," Amari replied.

"You're talking about me, right?" Nick asked, "I'm an old synth. If the Institute built me out of similar parts, we might have an in."

"There could be long term side effects, I don't even know where to begin listing the risks."

"Don't bother. Plug me in, doc," Nick said.

"You think this will work?" Nate asked.

"No idea, but we got a missing kid on the line. That's worth the risk," the detective replied. As Nick took a seat and Amari began tinker with his head, Nate turned to Cait.

"Why don't you head over to the Third Rail or something, get a drink, I know you're board just standing here," he said. Cait looked past him to the synth before looking back at him.

"Alright. But if you need help just yell and I'll come runnin," she said. With that, the Irish woman left the Memory Den. But rather then head into the bar, she sat down on a bench outside. Part of her wanted to shoot up with Pysco and curl up into a ball. But, considering that they might be leaving soon, and the fact that she was sitting the middle of Goodneighbor, that wasn't the best idea.

The dog had followed her out of the Memory Den, and was currently sitting next to her. His head was cocked to the side as his big brown eyes studied her curiously.

"What are ya lookin' at, flee bag?" she asked, a little harsher then intended. Cait had actually gotten kind of use to the mutt over the past few weeks. He wasn't the pet dog she'd first made him out to be, but rather a loyal faithful companion that obeyed his masters commands. And while she didn't care much for dogs, this one was the closest she'd ever come to liking one. So why was she being a little hostile to him now, despite the fact he hadn't done anything wrong?

Simple.

She was itching for a fix, literally. Her hands were starting to get jittery and her skin seemed to itch everywhere. When she got like this, Cait's already short fuse was practically non existent. Last time she'd gotten like this, Nate had almost knocked out two teeth in self defense when she'd tried to take his head off with her bat. The only thing she could hope for was that they'd set up in a motel for the night and she could shoot up there.

Needless to say, she was surprised when Nate came storming past her. Cait jumped to her feet and hurried after him, eager to see what was going on. The anger was rolling off of him, so much so that she could feel it when she got close.

"What happened?" she asked.

"We found a way to get into the Institute."

"And?"

"And the man we're looking for is in the Glowing Sea." Cait blinked in surprise. She'd seen Nate hunt people down for less, why would this make a difference?

"So?" Nate stopped and spun around to face her.

"So it's the Glowing Sea, Cait. A literal hellscape, complete with radiation and all kinds of nightmarish creatures. I got no way of penetrating that. The fucker might as well as be on the moon," he said in frustration.

"So...where we goin'?" Cait asked after several moments of silence. Nate sighed before sticking a cigarette in his mouth.

"I need a place to think. We're going to Sanctuary."

Sanctuary

"Not a bad set up so far, still waitin to see if it's a shite hole," Cait commented as they stepped off the old foot bridge. Nate didn't say a word in response. In fact, he'd barely made a noise since they'd left Goodneighbor. Now this would have bothered Cait, if it wasn't for the fact that her companion very rarely spoke at length.

So, rather then worry about him, she decided to focus on her surroundings.

The settlement of Sanctuary only contained about half of the pre war neighborhood it was built in. A barricade wall that was a mix of buses, trailers, and junk lined the ring of the hill in the eastern side of the neighborhood, while the houses in the western half had been totally picked clean and left as little more then rusting old shells waiting to crumble.

A marquee sign, advertising the promise of booze and protection in the settlement, was lit up next to the point where the road turned toward the settlement's main gate. Said gate was in fact a rusty old blue boxcar that had been thrown down in the road, spanning the length between two houses. A wooden railing lined the top of the car, with a guard post centered directly over the sliding door in the car's side.

The door, or gate in this case, was closed up tight. A few guards up on the wall were glaring down at a single figure standing in front of the gate. Even a turret that was situated on a house roof was trained on the person, ready to fire if need be. As they drew closer, Cait realized that she knew who this person was.

"What the fock is she doin 'ere?" she asked. The shoulder length dark hair, the press cap, the faded red trench coat, Nate knew Piper when he saw her. Although he hadn't spoken up yet, he had the exact same question as Cait. What was she doing here?

The two had encountered her when they'd gotten back to Diamond City after Fort Hagen. Piper was following Nate's story from afar, gathering up as many details as she could when she could. The rifleman's tight lipped tendencies certainly hadn't made that any easier. They thought they'd managed to give her the slip when they'd headed to Goodneighbor. Now, it seemed, they'd been found again.

"Blue, can you tell them to open up, please?" Piper said when she turned and noticed them standing there. Nate dropped his cigarette from his mouth and put it out with the toe of his boot.

"What are you doing here, Piper?" he asked.

"After you two gave me the slip in Diamond City, I headed to a place where I knew you'd turn up again. I'd been meaning to come up here and do a story on the new settlement of Sanctuary anyway so here I am," she explained.

"You just don't know when to stop, do you?" Piper flashed an apologetic smile.

"No, I really don't," she said. The Rifleman sighed as he placed his hands on his hips.

"Open the gate," he finally said up to the guards. The men all looked at each other before back at him.

"But, sir..."

"Is that you, Bob?" Nate asked, focusing on the man who'd spoken up.

"Yeah, it's me. Sir if I may, Preston said that..."

"I don't care what Preston says, get this damn gate open before I shoot you off that wall," Nate said, his tone carrying authority rather then it's usual hushed softness. The men all looked at each other again before the one called Bob vanished from sight. After a few minutes, the sliding boxcar door slid open, revealing Bob and another person armed with a pipe rifle.

The small group stepped through the door and into the settlement itself. What existed on the inside of the wall was a far cry from what was on the outside. Several junk buildings and shacks had either been built onto already existing houses, or they had been set up in the yards between the houses.

What had once been old car ports along the sides on the houses had been converted into shops. A clothing store had been set up in the car port of the blue house to their left, while what was more of a workshop and armory was in the yellow house to their right. A set of wooden stairs led up to a box like shack that had been constructed on top of the yellow house car port.

Nate led the way past all this, past a small shack that, judging by the sign handing above the door was the settlement's general store, to a large shack that stood alone on an old, bare concrete foundation. The building was two story, and mostly made of tin siding and wooden planks that had been thrown together. A red dog house sat next to the corner of the shack, which the dog happily trotted over to and laid down in.

"Cute little guy, what's his name?" Piper asked. Nate cast a glance down at the dog as he walked up to the faded red door of the shack.

"Dog," he said after a moment of silence before throwing the door open. The first floor of the shack was a wide open room. A set of stairs sat directly in front of the door, leading up to the second floor. A dining table sat in the center with a few chairs around it. A dresser sat against the wall directly to their left, while a single bed sat in the corner beyond that.

An olive drab footlocker sat at the foot of the bed, while an oil lamp sat on the nightstand between the bed and the dresser. A single red armchair sat in the middle of the room at the foot of the bed, with a radio setting on the end table beside it. To the back of the shack, on the other side of the stairs sat a single desk with a chair facing the wall, a few candles sat on top of the desk to help illuminate the space so whoever sat there could work. A stove and cooler sat in the corner next to the desk, on the opposite side of the stairs from the table.

"This is my place," Nate said as he leaned his rifle against the dresser, "You can stay the night either here or at the bar. Either way, in the morning you're going back to Diamond City."

"Hey, I came here for a story. I ain't going anywhere till I get it," Piper said. But her words fell of deaf ears as Nate went up the stairs and vanished from view. The reporter clenched her teeth and stomped her foot in frustration.

"Gah, he has got to be the most frustrating man I have ever met," she said.

"Kinda like pullin' teeth, ain't it?" Cait asked as she dropped her pack on the table before flopping down in the armchair.

"How have you stayed with him without snapping?" Piper asked. Cait shrugged.

"The caps are good, 'n so's the view if you don't mind..." she trailed off while waving her hand in front of her face, indicating the scars on Nate's face. Piper sighed and shook her head.

"I'm gonna go for a walk, get a feel of the place and cool off a little," she said. With that, she turned and walked out the door, closing it behind her. Cait sat for a moment before she stood and walked up the stairs after Nate.

The upstairs was much smaller then the downstairs, the only thing that was up here was an old bobblehead stand, a large red chair, and a small side table next to the chair. A bottle of bourbon sat on the table, along with a few glasses. Nate was sitting in the chair with a lit cigarette in one hand and a glass in the other. His hat hung off the side of the chair, while his legs were crossed out before him.

"Startin' without me?" Cait asked. He motioned toward the bottle with his glass, silently giving her the go ahead. Cait picked up the bottle and a glass before pouring herself a drink and leaning against the wall.

"Think you might be a little too harsh on the reporter," she said before taking a swig.

"Maybe," he replied, "I don't like people prying into my business, you know that."

"Yeah, I know. So, if we're not goin' after this prick in the Glowing Sea, what are we gonna do?" she asked. Nate sighed before he stared off into space for a while.

"You can still go your own way. I'm not asking you to follow me anywhere," he said.

"Where you wanting to go?" she asked. Nate reached into his pack before pulling out a folded piece of paper.

"I found this on a dead courier outside Bunker Hill a while back." Cait took the paper and looked it over before looking back at him with a bewildered look on her face.

"You're outa your fockin' mind," she said. Nate simply smirked.

"Maybe. But hey, if Piper wants a story, maybe this will get her off our backs," he said. Cait looked back down at the flier in her hand.

'Come and see the Treasures of Jamaica Plain!'

"If this doesn't get her a damn story, I don't know what will."

And cut. A short one I know, but next chapter will be longer as we delve into the treasure of Jamaica Plain. Now a lot of you have put forward your support of Nate hooking up with Cait, or Nate, Cait, and Piper hooking up. I'm not going to announce which pairing will happen for a few chapters so I ask that all of you keep voicing your support for the pairing you want.

But other then that, you all know the drill. Drop a review, leave a PM, send a smoke signal. Let me know what you liked or didn't like, and I'll see you all in the next one.