(This chapter is following Natalie so it's a bit more on the romantic aspect for now. The next Chapter will follow Nate. Hopefully I'll be finished with the next chapter by tomorrow evening. Thanks for the support! Reviews, Favorites, Follows, all are much appreciated!)

Chapter 10: Break

Natalie stared at the dusty old ceiling of the hotel room. She focused on a particular particle that fell slowly in the dim sunlight. It was late afternoon, her first week without Nate by her side went by slowly. She was worried, not about his safety, but more that he would leave her once he finished everything he needed to do in the Glowing Sea. There was no reason for him to come back to her unless he needed to, for her safety. In Piper's watch there would be no danger, so there was no reason for him to hurry back to Natalie.

There was a knock on the door, then Piper's muffled voice as she twisted the knob slowly. "Hope you're decent"

"Never." Natalie meant it in a joking tone but the word came out harsher than expected.

"Got a good story out of one of the neighborhood watch fellas. He enjoys reading my paper, even asked me to feature him." She chuckled lightly.

"That's great, Pipes." Natalie mumbled quietly, looking for the speck of dust that she lost sight of.

Piper stood at the foot of the bed, her hands on her hips. "You alright, kiddo?"

"Please, don't call me that." Natalie grumbled.

"Sorry…" She turned her lips into a small pout before asking the question. "So how are you holding up?"

"Fine, I guess…" Natalie mumbled in response.

"Worried?" She sat at the end of the bed, next to Natalie's feet.

"Yea, a little…" She sighed softly.

Piper tapped the bottom of her foot. "Come on, let's get a drink."

Natalie sat on the old tattered sofa, silent. She sipped on her drink every now and then. Piper ended up getting them some light drinks, just so they had something while they listened to the music. Magnolia sang softly in the dimly lit subway station. Whitechapel Charlie could be heard every now and then, talking to patrons as they sat at the bar.

There was a round of applause at the end of the song. Natalie lazily clapped her hands together. To be honest, she wasn't even listening to the music anymore. She was already tired, ready to get some sleep. But Piper was enjoying herself and she didn't want to ruin the fun for her. So she sat quiet, finishing up her drink.

"Want another?" She asked as she tipped her own glass back.

"Sure, why not?" Natalie handed her the empty glass to bring back to Charlie.

While Piper was away, Maccready must have spotted her from across the room, because he ended up in the seat next to her, a drink in his hand. "Hey, how's it going?" He asked, a flush over his cheeks. He had been drinking. "I haven't seen you in a while… You've been busy?"

"Not really," She smirked at him. "I've had a really slow week."

"Oh, geez, not me." He pushed the edge of his hat up, making his face a bit more visible under the cap. "Just had a… Huge payout!" He threw his hands up exaggeratedly.

"That's great." Natalie chuckled a bit.

"You mind if I buy you a drink?" He asked, throwing back his own drink.

"Oh, Piper's already grabbing something." Natalie leaned forward, her chin in her hand as she giggled at the way his face fell in disappointment. "Don't worry, you can get the next round."

"Great, sounds great." He swallowed hard, leaning back into the corner of the couch. "Hey, I know my… apology sounded kind of weird earlier… I just wanted to say sorry if it seems like all I wanted was sex." His words slurred a bit as he spoke, a blush ran over his face.

Natalie blushed herself at his statement. "No, it wasn't even you. Besides…" She covered her cheek with the palm of her hand, as if the hide the blush somehow. "Honestly, it was me… I told you, it's fine." She stumbled a bit as she tried to reassure him.

"I know, but I can't help but feel… Maybe I shouldn't have even talked to you… I think it would've been better…" He looked down at the floor, avoiding her eyes.

"Don't feel that way… You helped me take my mind off of things, for a while, anyways." She smiled at him.

Piper sat the drinks down on the table in hurried movements. "Hey, Natalie. I'm going to get an interview from a couple of the caravaners that just walked in." She slid her drink towards Maccready. "I'm going to be a bit, so don't wait up." She winked at Natalie.

Natalie felt a blush crawl over her cheeks. Damn it, Piper. Natalie cleared her throat before taking a sip from her drink. "Maybe we can, uh… start over, I suppose?"

"Yea, yea… Let's, uh… Let's do that…" Maccready smiled at her softly. "So, Natalie… Where are you from?"

"Boston, actually." She tried to ease herself up. She still had butterflies, but they were just making light conversation. Relax, she told herself. "I actually grew up near Lexington."

"Really?" Maccready looked surprised. "How have I never seen you? I mean, everyone usually passes through Goodneighbor at some point."

"Well, uh… Unless you have a time machine, it would have been a little difficult to run into me before a couple weeks ago." She nervously laughed, pushing her hair behind her ear.

Maccready's jaw fell in shock. "N-no way." A grin crossed his face shortly after, he covered it with his hand, a snicker escaping underneath it. "There's no way. How? You're from… From back…?"

"Before the bombs fell, yea." She laughed along with him, realizing how crazy it must sound. "I know it sounds insane, but I'm from Vault one-eleven. Apparently they were doing some crazy-"

"Experiments." Maccready finished for her. "I actually grew up next to a vault, believe it or not. Some pretty terrible things came out of that vault." He grimaced at the thought.

"Really?" Natalie mimicked his expression. "I mean, I suppose it's not that hard to believe, considering all the things I've seen so far."

"Yea… Wow, I mean… I knew you were from a vault, because you were wearing the jumpsuit before. I had no idea that Vault-Tec even had such technology, though… Like something from a comic book…" He trailed off in thought. "Hey, so did you ever get to read any of the old comic books back then?"

Natalie laughed a bit, trying to remember if she ever read them. For some reason she never really felt interested in them, but Jeff had a huge collection. "Well… I know my fiancé had a ton of them. I never actually read them myself…"

"Ah, man. My favorite things to find out here are those comics…" He grew quiet for a moment, a serious expression crossing his face. "So, your fiancé didn't make it…?"

"Well, actually… He did…" She turned away from him a moment, worried over what kind of expression she might be showing. "He turned into a ghoul…" She sighed heavily, not feeling any remorse in the statement. "… but he doesn't live in Boston anymore… I think he went to the Mojave."

"Would you ever try to find him?" He asked softly. "I mean, the Mojave isn't too far…"

"I don't think so… He changed his name and everything. Said he wanted to move on after all these years… God, sometimes I wonder about what if he found someone else…?" She turned back to face him, unable to read his expression.

"So, does that make you worried?" Maccready asked as he sipped on the drink Piper left for him.

"No, not like I thought it would. It actually makes me feel better…" She smiled softly. "I mean, that way he isn't suffering anymore, waiting for me…"

Maccready nodded his head slowly, "Yea, I get what you mean." He looked as if he was taking something into deep consideration. "Hey, want to go for a walk?" He asked after a moment.

Natalie didn't answer right away, looking to see if Piper was anywhere to be found. She disappeared, that cunning... "Sure…" She set her drink on the table. "As long as you have me home by ten." She said jokingly.

"Is that an old world thing?" Maccready chuckled.

As they began to exit the bar, Natalie took the chance to ask Maccready a couple of questions of her own. "So, you said you grew up near a vault? Which one?"

"Eighty seven. It was in the Capital Wasteland."

"Capital… Where is that?" Natalie squinted her eyes in a questioning look.

"Oh, uh… Washington… I grew up in a place called Little Lamplight."

"Like the Lamplight caverns?" Natalie gasped, recalling a memory from her childhood. Her family was visiting D.C. because her dad needed to attend a meeting with some very important military figures. She remembered exploring the caves with her father by her side. Taking in the wonders of the structural rocks.

"You've been there? Well, I'm sure it looks different now." He held onto the rail as he stumbled up the stairs. "Sorry, guess I've had a bit too much to drink…"

"You're ok. Should we just stay here?" She was worried about him having a hard time walking around the streets, and there was no way she could drag him if he passed out on her.

"Well, I've got an idea, if you're up for it…?" He gave her a sly smile.

They were on the roof of the Old State House. Luckily, Hancock was distracted by some mayoral business and hadn't even noticed them walking into the building. Not that he'd mind their actions, anyways. Natalie was surprised that Maccready climbed onto the roof without falling over the edge. Somehow, he even managed to pull her up onto the roof as well. Luckily, the roof wasn't too slanted so it also made it easier to walk across.

"Are you sure this is a good idea, what with you being… intoxicated?" Natalie asked nervously.

"Well, I'm going to have a harder time getting down now that I'm up here." He sat down. He leaned back, staring up at the stars in the sky. "Wow, this is beautiful." He rested his head against the palm of his hands as he used them for a pillow.

"Yea, it really is." Natalie stared up as she pulled her knees to her chest, staring at the black sky freckled with lights. "It's crazy that despite all the shit this World has been through, the sky pretty much looks the same."

"Really makes you feel small, huh." Maccready sighed. "I noticed that the big guy hasn't been around almost all week… Did something happen?" He asked softly, treading lightly on the question.

"Oh, Nate… He went out to the Glowing Sea… He's trying to find his son, you know. We managed to get a lead to someone who could help us out there. I guess he's just having a hard time making it back." She looked at her hands, scratching at an old scab she hadn't even noticed before.

"Are you worried about him?" Maccready peered at her from the corner of his eyes.

"No, not about him. I'm worried that… I'm going to be left here…" The scab began to bleed, she smeared the blood across her palm, trying to wipe it away. "I'm not a very good fighter… I think I hold him back more than anything…"

"Don't think like that…" Maccready said with genuine concern in his voice. "You've got to keep your head up."

"Yea, I guess so…" She mumbled, still trying to wipe the blood. She was just making a mess with it.

"If you need any help I can… Maybe I can take you for some practice shooting? I mean… I can do a couple lessons on the house." He cleared his throat. "It'll be like one of those free trial things."

"Oh, so do I have to pay in advance for the other lessons." She joked.

"Only if you feel like I'm a good teacher." He joked back.

It felt nice being next to him. Feeling small in the big, scary world. Feeling as though she weren't important enough to mess things up, yet still important enough to keep trying. When she met his eyes she felt something familiar wash over her. She wanted to kiss him, but she blamed that mostly on the scenery and the way his eyes looked over her with a haze of alcohol. Blue eyes, beautiful blue.

"I got something on my face?" He joked, tilting his hat down to cover his eyes as he leaned back again.

"Wh-what?" She blushed, turning her eyes to the sky quickly. "No, sorry… I guess I was just thinking too deeply." Everything about his appearance was familiar, but his personality was so new to her. She wondered if she was feeling more than just lust.

They sat up there for a few hours, Maccready even trailed off to sleep. When she woke him up to help him down the roof he was mostly sober. They parted ways at the entrance to the Rexford Hotel. Before she walked inside she stopped herself. "Where do I meet you, for the free lesson?" She asked quickly.

"Huh?" He rubbed his eyes a bit. "Oh, uh. Meet me in front of Daisy's store." He gave a little smirk before waving goodbye. "See you tomorrow."

"Ok." She smiled at him, waving in return.

When she returned to the room, Piper was sitting on the bed, legs crossed as she watched Natalie with a suspicious look. "How'd it go…?" She asked with a tone of excitement.

"What do you mean? I spent the whole night by myself after you left." Natalie said sarcastically.

"Fine, I'll just let you tell me when you're ready." Piper gave a knowing smirk.