Last chapter was heavy in terms of the content but this one has all the feels and angst. Enjoy.

Edward's POV

I rubbed my jaw and heard the small bones in the joints crack and pop. Nate had gotten a lucky hit in and he was strong. God was he strong.

"Let me go!" He snarled.

None of Nate's humanity was visible as the creature he worked so hard to keep inside of him busted forth. He clawed out at me and slashed across my leg. Part of the blow glanced off the combat armor I wore but the rest of the swipe connected with the muscle in the back of my leg damn near hamstringing me. I collapsed to one knee and growled back at him.

If that was how Nate wanted to play it then so be it.

Adrenaline and two and a half centuries of para-military training surged into my mind blocking out the pain in my leg and Nora's cries. Nick would see to her. I had bigger fish to fry.

I rushed at Nate and my shoulder hit below his hips. He was a big man — tall and solidly built — but I had over thirty pounds on him. He went up and over my shoulder while I straightened my back like a fulcrum and slammed Nate down on his back.

The sound he made was awful; he shrieked a throaty roar like a feral. He took the full force of the blow on his back where damn near half of his skin had been cut to ribbons. The pain he felt distracted him just long enough for me to hogtie him.

The pain didn't keep him distracted for long and he thrashed against the bonds. Nick barked out a question at me and I barely got out my response as I kept my weight on Nate to prevent him from escaping.

The synth nodded and carried Nora out in his arms. The poor woman's skin was ashen with a twinge of indicating that in addition to severe blood loss she was also dealing with hypothermia. Nate jostled again and writhed like a snake. I kept my hands away from his face; he wouldn't drink from me but he wasn't above biting me. The rope around his wrists and ankles frayed a little from the stress of holding him, and I knew I had to do something more substantial. If he broke free, he could easily catch up to Nick and Nora and finish the job.

"You don't want this Nate." Although it came out as an out of breath growl. I kept my voice soft and low and (hopefully) somewhat soothing. I scooted off of him just long enough to pick up the ten foot chain that had been connected to Nora, and I wrapped the length around Nate's torso and legs. Just as I did, the rope holding him exploded into shreds of fiber.

The racket he made was unnerving. If I hadn't personally killed the five raiders who were on post, I would've been afraid they'd all come running in as backup. Although the backup was a possibility as I hadn't seen hide nor hair of 'daddy.'

"This is gonna hurt me way more than it'll hurt you Nate." I growled.

With my hefty rifle, I jammed the stock down on the vertebrae at the base of his skull. It snapped like a chicken bone and Nate's body went limp. I broke his neck.

"Sorry kid." I murmured. I brought a tarp with and spread it out on the ground. We wouldn't make it back to Parson's before sunrise but I'd be damned if I let Nate stay here until sundown.

I rolled his body onto the tarp, wrapped the canvas around his body, and tied everything together with the rest of the rope that he hadn't managed to bust out of. Nate told us vague details about what sunlight did to vampires. It sped up the rate of their blood lust, it made their cells degenerate at an exponential rate, and it allowed for decay to resume. What he never explained was whether a tarp would provide suitable protection, because if not, Nate might actually face a more permanent death.

I holstered my rifle, withdrew my .44 magnum as insurance against anyone who might get in my way, heaved Nate onto my shoulder in a fireman's carry. I was within five steps of the doorway when a figure rushed me from the darkness and slammed into us. I heard an audible pop as my shoulder dislocated. A rush of breath stealing pain tore through my chest, but I pushed the pain down

I aimed my gun into the darkness as a blurred shape in the vague shape of a man came at me with his fangs barred. My gun fired twice; I don't even remember pulling the trigger and the creature changed its direction and went off to the left and back into the darkness.

I tried to drag Nate backwards by grabbing him with my left hand but the slightest movement sent my vision spinning from the pain. I could switch hands but that also meant that I'd have to holster my gun to do so which would leave me open to the creature's next attack.

"Leave Nathan here and escape with your life." The creature hissed from the darkness.

"I'm a greedy bastard. I'd rather have my cake and eat it too." I gritted out.

The creature came at me again. I would've missed him if I hadn't seen a flash of movement out of my peripheral vision. I spun to my left and fired at him. I heard the shots connect as dull thuds but I didn't hear a cry of pain.

Son of a bitch. He was wearing a kevlar vest. Where in the hell had he found one of them?

"I will ask this of you only one more time." He said in a dangerously calm voice. "Leave Nathan behind and escape with your life."

He stopped just short of a thick sunbeam that fell through the broken ceiling, and it was the first time that I ever got a good look at the bastard's face. Something about him looked familiar but I couldn't put my finger on what it was.

"Choose now." The creature hissed.

Two more shots rang out, and this time, dark red blood exploded out from the creature's neck and the side of his temple. His body collapsed like a sack of tatos, but the expression on his face was one of utter fury. He wouldn't be down for long.

"Move." Nick's voice hissed as he dragged Nate's body out into the morning sunlight.

I scrambled backward and felt the sun's warm head on the back of my neck. I got to my feet and limped after Nick but I stumbled into a pile of sandbags. My leg and my shoulder screamed at me to stop and so I propped my back up against the sandbags while keeping a steady eye on the barn.

"We gotta go Deegan." Nick growled. "Nora's just down the hill. I don't wanna keep her there too long. She's in rough shape."

"Yeah well I can't fuckin' move until I patch my leg up and fix my dislocated shoulder. It'll go faster if you help me."

"What do you need me to do?" He asked impatiently.

"Grab a stim from my bag and give it to me. I also need a hand popping my fucking shoulder back into place."

Nick did what I asked without complaint. I didn't know the synth that well but I wouldn't have blamed him if he dragged Nate back down the hill and left me behind. I was injured and a liability, and we were in the middle of a war zone.

He injected the stim into my hamstring muscle through my tattered pants. I felt the cooling effects of the medicine knitting the injured flesh back together. The shoulder, however, would be far less pleasant. I went to lay on my back and forced myself to take slow, long breaths.

"Grab my wrist with both hands and keep my palm up. Then slowly but firmly raise and lower my arm like you're pumping up something small. Rotate the joint back into place, and I'll let you know when it's in."

Nick frowned but did as I asked. I gritted my teeth and squeezed my eyes shut. Sweat dripped down my face as the intense, pulsing heat from my shoulder radiated out to my fingers. The worst of the pain was when he began moving my arm. My other hand clawed at the dirt and I let out a scream so loud that I saw birds take flight from a nearby tree. Then suddenly the worst of the pain vanished and I choked out, "Alright, alright. That's good."

I kept my injured arm folded across my chest and tried to not move the joint any more than I had to. Jack would have to put it in a sling when I got back.

Nick helped me to my feet. I swayed slightly but stayed upright. Nick carried Nate's body with far more ease and grace than I could ever manage thanks to his synth strength and we descended the hill and went down the trail at a teeth-chattering jog.

I'd send Maria and a couple of her mercs up here to collect the two raiders I tied up. Jack would raise holy hell if he knew what I was doing, but I didn't care. When Nate healed up enough from the broken neck, he'd have a lot of bubbling guilt, anger, and hunger to deal with. Best let him work that out on the reprehensible scum of the world rather than let it fester like an open wound.

Thankfully Nora was able to walk on her own now that she had a chance to get her wits about her. She didn't look good and she had wounds of her own that Jack would need to look at, but I saw a defiant fire in her eyes. She wasn't going down without a fight and I respect her for that.

So there we were: a vampire, a ghoul, a synth, and a Vault Dweller walking back to an old insane asylum.

Damn, that sounds like the beginning of a bad joke.

Jack's POV

I set my glasses on the desk and massaged my temples. Nearly a week had passed since the whole fiasco up at Parsons Creamery. It took Nate a mere two days of blood infusions for the worst of his injuries to heal, but it would take him far longer to heal emotionally.

I decided it was prudent to put him in one of our observation cells where concrete and plexiglass could block out the worst of Nora's scent. But I didn't account for my scent. When I went in to check on him, he threw himself against the door that I was about to unlock. He ran into it so hard that he put a dent the size of a melon into the stainless steel.

I really had no other option. I pulled out a metal briefcase and opened the lid. Six vials of the serum sat in individually cut slits in the black foam cushioning and protecting it. I withdrew one vial, injected a syringe into the top of it and withdrew 20ccs of the serum - all of it - and put the empty canister back where it once sat.

I rolled up my left sleeve, tied surgical tubing around my bicep, and found my vein. With practiced efficiency, I inserted the needle and dispensed the plunger. I sighed in relief as soon as the substance entered my bloodstream. God, it felt good. Strength returned back to my muscles and limbs. The random aches and pains that were starting to annoy me vanished, and I felt like I had just injected myself with pure caffeine.

"Jack?" Edward called down the hallway.

I withdrew the needle and I slid the briefcase containing the serum behind my desk. My face flushed from fear of being caught and I hastily disassembled the syringe and threw it into a plastic bin to be sanitized later.

"Jack?" Edward's voice was closer.

"I'm here." I called out.

I didn't know why I felt ashamed. Maybe it was because of the serum's addictiveness. I thought that I could be better than my sister, outlast her, and prove to us both that we didn't need the serum. But as soon as I entertained that idea I saw the folly in it. I was going to be 418 this year. The serum had provided me with almost six lifetimes of existence. I needed this serum as much as Nate needed blood.

Edward entered the room. His arm was still in a white cloth sling but he was finally walking without any pain.

"Nora's awake." He rumbled. "She's asking to see Nate. I've given her his journal which more or less summarizes his condition, but she wants to talk to him in person."

I scowled. The last thing Nate needed right now was to be interrogated by his former wife whom he savagely brutalized while he was out of his mind in bloodlust. She is refusing to go back to Diamond City without talking to him first.

"He's not ready for that Edward." I said. "He's physically healed but he's harboring extreme guilt and grief over what happened."

"Maybe it would do him some good to see her. If he sees that she's alive and recouperating, he might get some needed closure, or at least build up a far scenario in his head that is far worse."

Dammit. Edward was right.

"I'll go in and talk with him first." I said. "That way he can prepare himself. But if he refuses, I'm not going to make him talk with her. Please tell her that." I said.

Edward nodded. "D'you want me to go with you as back up? Nate respond well to your scent last time."

I shook my head. "It won't be an issue." I replied briskly.

Edward scrutinized me. "You took the serum again."

My face flushed and I couldn't meet his eyes. "I don't really have a choice right now."

Edward nodded in understanding. "No. You really don't."

But that was the problem. Edward didn't understand, not truly, because I didn't have the heart to explain it to him. The five vials of serum that I had left were the last five vials in my possession. My father refused to give me more. The stubborn bastard couldn't kill me as a young man, so he's determined to outlive me through supernatural means. The serum's effects only lasted three days until the nagging withdrawal symptoms set in. I begin feeling the effects of the aging process a few days after that. Five vials could conceivably last me 5 to 7 weeks. After that...well…

"You okay Jack?"

I met Edward's eyes but I masked my expression, "Yeah. I'm just worried about Nate."

"Well let's go together and check on him. He needs a serious morale boost after all this shit."

I got up from the desk and gathered a handful of our research notes about his vampirism and finding a potential cure. "Grab that microscope and bring it with." I told Edward. "Nate might appreciate a little bit of a distraction while things settle down."

Edward nodded. He grabbed the microscope and the box of blood samples I had rescued from the lab when everything went to hell, and followed me out of our living quarters.

Nora's POV

Nick wheeled me down the dark hallway while Jack followed behind us like a phantom. None of us talked. Our collective mood was somber and slightly scared.

When I woke up, I discovered that a week had passed. Nick traveled to the agency twice to tackle quick cases, file some paperwork, and check in with Ellie. He assured me that he only traveled while it was still daylight and he was constantly aware of his surroundings as he traveled.

"Let me go in there first and speak with him." Jack said and then he looked at me. "Please don't take it personally if he doesn't want to see you. He's in … a very delicate mental state right now."

I scowled at the doctor. Nate was my husband, dammit. I was the one who sat up with him as he had nightmares of his troops dying on the battlefield. I encouraged him to contact the VA to talk to a therapist when he first got back. I was very familiar with Nate's 'delicate mental state.'

Nick cleared his throat. "We'll follow your lead then Doc."

Jack nodded and then rounded the corner. I craned my head to look at Nick which was quite the feat as the entire right side was covered with stiff bandages.

"We'll follow your lead Doc?" I repeated. I didn't bother to hide the sarcasm in my voice.

Nick frowned but kept his voice low, "Nora, he's not your husband anymore. This Nate is … has changed. Jack and Edward have spent a decade more with him than you have, and they're more familiar with Nate's challenging condition. We gotta listen to their judgement here."

"You'd be just as pissed if this was Jenny." I snapped.

Nick stiffened but said nothing. I sighed, "I'm sorry. That wasn't fair."

"Don't worry about it." He replied. "You're right. I would be just as pissed, but I'd also want what was best for her, even if that meant that I wasn't in the picture."

Jack came back around the corner adjusting his glasses. I couldn't accurately read his expression in the darkness so I looked at him expectantly.

"He says he'll talk for a few minutes but only with Nora."

My heart thudded in excitement and anxiety. I partially expected him to turn us away.

"Will I be safe?" I asked.

Jack nodded, "Oh yes. Edward put him in one of the few maximum security cells that survived when the west wing collapsed. He was here during the first eighteen months as he acclimated to human life; he was rather … wild … when we first met him. The cell is contained within a larger holding cell so it's impossible for him to smell you unless you make it a point to stand right next to his door. You will communicate with him through a PA system that I set up."

"If there's any issues, you just holler for us and we'll be there." Nick said.

I nodded and exhaled. "I'm ready."

Jack took my wheelchair from Nick and brought me down the corridor and into an observation room of sorts. On the right wall was a viewing window similar to the thick plexiglass windows that walled animals off from guests at a zoo. The interior cell set up to be a small bedroom. The gap between the interior cell's plexiglass window and my window was no more than a few inches but the added layer of protection was still welcome nonetheless.

"Speak into the receiver and Nate will be able to respond just by talking aloud. There are small microphones in the room to pick up his voice. Remember to keep your questions short and to the point, and try to not judge him too much. He is pretty torn up about what he did."

"Thank you." I said.

He nodded, "And remember, if you need us we'll be right around the corner."

Before Jack left, he flicked on two silver switches and then handed me a black telephone connected to a metal encased wire. The setup looked very similar to the visitation rooms in the Massachusetts State Penitentiary in Quincy. Granted, I had never visited anyone in prison before but I did visit the penitentiary with my school as a way to scare us away from drugs and crime.

"Nate?" I asked. "Can you hear me?"

"Yes." His voice sounded emotionless and tired.

Nate was lying on his back on a cot. The sheets beneath him were made up and pulled tight like he was taught in the military. He stared at the ceiling. His face was void of emotion, and if he hadn't been breathing and talking to me, I would've thought that he was truly dead.

"H-how are you?" God damn that was a dumb question. "I mean...how is your back doing? I-is it healing alright?"

"I am nearly fully healed thanks to you." He murmured.

"Well...I'm glad I could help."

A disgusted laugh tore from his throat, "Right...help. You didn't exactly have a choice."

"Neither did you." I countered. "I - I still don't understand a lot about what's happening, but -"

"- How are you here?" He interrupted. "Wasn't Vault 111 suppose to open after 100 days of receiving an 'all-clear' from Vault Tec? You should be long dead."

I frowned, "You really don't know?"

He turned his head to stare at me. I resisted the urge to flinch. His predatory eyes were brown, like my husband's, but his face was severe and angular.

"Jack told me that the Vault was an experience in cryogenics." Nate said. "Is that true."

I nodded. "When the bombs fell, I took Shaun and ran to the Vault. God, I was so scared Nate. They rushed us through the intake process and had us stand in 'decontamination' chambers...then…" My voice trailed off as I relived that horrible moment in my head.

"How's Shaun doing?" He asked.

I stared at him for a long moment, unsure of what to say, and I grief flash across his face. "Jesus Nora. I'm sorry."

I shook my head and blinked tears from my eyes, "I don't know if he's dead. That's what Nick and I are trying to find out. H-He's been kidnapped. A merc named Kellogg broke into the Vault about ten years ago. He took Shaun and re-froze me. I managed to track Kellogg down but then we hit a roadblock."

Nate swung his long legs off his bed and walked to the observation window. Seeing him move was alluring and terrifying. It was like he knew he wasn't human and didn't bother hiding it. There was no awkward jerkiness that often accompanied how he moved. I mean, when you're a 6'2" tall man who weighed maybe 175 pounds on a good day, you couldn't exactly say you were naturally graceful.

"Who's 'we'"?

"Nick Valentine." I replied. "Well...almost him. The memories from the Nick we knew were transplanted into the body of a Gen-2 synth but he gets confused sometimes. He's been working as a detective out of Diamond City for at least half a century. He managed to hack Kellogg's terminal to discover that Shaun was taken by the Institute."

Nate's face darkened. His voice was calm but dangerous, "And where's this Kellogg now?"

"Dead. I killed him" I said, my own anger bubbling in my gut as I thought back to his taunts and his arrogance. The bastard had a cocky grin on his face right until I pulled the trigger.

Nate smiled at that and I noticed that his teeth were normal and fang-less. "I'm glad I insisted you come to the shooting range with me."

I chuckled, "Yeah. You have no idea how many times that has saved my life out here."

A moment of silence fell between us and Nate's eyes fell on the wheelchair. "What did I do to you?"

"Jack says that I went into hypovolemic shock. He's been keeping me on an IV and extra fluids. He also said there wouldn't be permanent damage."

Nate shook his head, "I'm so sorry Nora. I - I never wanted you to see me like that."

"Nate...what happened? How did you become … a vampire?"

A sob tore at him and he turned away from me so all I could see was his bare shoulders and his bandaged back. "I cut through an alleyway to make it to catch the last train. He attacked me there. I-I thought he was going to kill me, but by the end of it, I wanted him to.. But he threatened your life...he threatened Shaun's life. And I -"

Nate's shoulder's heaved as he sobbed. They were the kind of chest heaving sobs that felt physically painful as well. They were the same type of sobs that he had when he came home from Anchorage - sobs filled with guilt, regret, and fear.

I clutched the phone, "Nate, baby. What happened to you wasn't your fault. He attacked you. You had no choice. I - I'm sorry that I had no idea. You didn't deserve this."

"Maybe I did." He croaked, " Maybe this was penitence for Anchorage...for what I had to do out there."

I bit my lip. Nate had never used language like "penitence" unironically before. He was a devout atheist. And I also had never heard him talk about Anchorage before. At least not with me. He spoke about the nightmares in vague terms only, and in some cases I was sure he lied about them.

"I doubt that's true." I said, but I honestly had no idea. My words rang hollow.

He growled and the sound was animalistic and feral, "I was a monster. I was ruthless Nora. Those awards, those medals, those fucking pins were for killing boys who were fighting a war they knew nothing but what they were taught...the bullshit their country indocrtrinated them with. Now the outside just matches the inside I suppose."

"You're not a monster Nate." I said. And I was surprised to actually believe my own words. No. Nate wasn't a monster. He was being forced to do monstrous things.

"Nate, look at me." I urged.

He spoke slowly and deliberately, "No decent man assaults their abducted, bound, and naked wife, and then ruts against her, and tears into her throat like some fucking animal. I was so close to killing you Nora. If Nick hadn't stopped me, I would have."

He said that with such conviction that a primal shiver went down my spine. He was right. He would've killed me.

We stared at each other in silence. I really took in Nate's appearance now that he was standing a mere six feet from me, plexiglass window notwithstanding. Nate was shirtless, and besides the small amount of bandages on his shoulders where the worst lacerations were, his chest was unmarred and flawless. The handful of scars that use to mark his body had all disappeared. He had an especially gnarly one on his hand from a dog bite when he was a kid, but now his skin was smoothed and unblemished. His hair was longer than I was used to and his eyes held a perpetually haunted quality that reminded me of his sleepless nights when he first came back, but all in all, he looked like Nate Whatever monster I encountered last night had receded away like a nightmare.

Nate broke the silence first, "Nora. Promise me that you'll do one thing."

"Okay…"

His eyes never left my face. "Ask Jack to give you some of his serum. You don't need to take it long-term but that serum is one of the best ways to keep vampires from feeding on you. We can't stand the stuff. And keep your traveling to the daylight hours. Don't leave Diamond City at night anymore. I wouldn't put it above my sire to start hunting for you in the city. He has better control of his bloodlust than I do."

"So I have to keep looking over my shoulder for the rest of my life?"

"You do if you want to live." He replied. "My sire takes pleasure in hurting me and now that you're here, he will try to use you. That's what he did by enthralling you. He knew I would trade myself to save you. But I should've known he'd twist the agreement around."

"What d'you mean?"

"I was supposed to kill you Nora." Nate said coldly. "In exchange for my freedom, he agreed to not harm you but then twisted the agreement to fit his twisted whims. Because you survived, the deal we made is forfeit."

I mulled over what he said. It was really a Catch-22 kind of situation. "You know there's one way to end all of this." I muttered.

"I know." Nate said softly. "But despite what that bastard has done to me...I don't think I can kill him."

"Why not?"

Nate pursed his lips. He sat back down on the cot looking weary. "I need him Nora. I can't explain it. He and I have been together for two centuries. He's beaten me, tortured me, enthralled me, and …" His voice crackled slightly and he brought his knees up to his chest, "... and raped me. But God help me, I can't do it. I don't know if its because of the thrall or because he's my sire or because I'm weak. I can't kill him and I'll suffer for the rest of eternity with that knowledge."

My heart broke. I set down the receiver to openly sob into the hospital gown I wore. I don't know why I didn't suspect that Nate had been raped by that monster. He was one step shy of raping me and the thrall wouldn't have let me say 'no.' I couldn't imagine how Nate handled two centuries of that sort of life.

"Nate." I said picking up the receiver again but he waved me off with a sharp gesture.

"Please … just go Nora. I'm done talking for now. We both need rest and as soon as you're better, I want you to leave."

"Nathan, please baby. Don't push me away - "

His head snapped to mine when I said his name and he spat, "Don't call me that. You need to leave now."

"But-"

"GO." He snarled. His eyes blazed with silver and his fangs glinted under the fluorescent lights. The change had been so sudden that I jolted back in the chair and rolled away from the console.

Before I could call for them, Nick was already at my side pushing me away. Jack picked up the receiver and said something to Nate that I couldn't hear. He caught up to us before we reached the elevator to take us back to the labs and the small clinic where I was sleeping.

"I'm sorry." I said. "I didn't know -"

Jack waved aside my apology. "I didn't think it was my place to tell you. His sire only calls him by his full name. After two centuries of hearing your name associated with abuse, I can only imagine the effect that would have on the psyche."

Nick cleared his throat, "Doll, Jack says you should be clear to head back to Diamond City in a couple of days. Right now, you both need your rest. Edward's left some of the journals that Nate's kept over the years to help you understand his condition."

I nodded but I barely heard him. None of this was fair. I spent all this time believing that my husband had left me and then died when the bombs fell. Now that I learned the truth, I was just expected to leave him here to be tortured some more at his sire's hands? No. I refused to let that happen.

I killed Kellogg when he kidnapped my son I shot that bastard right in his smug face. Hell, with all of the tech in that guy's brain, he was barely human anyway.

I didn't care if this monster was a vampire. He destroyed my family. He hurt my husband. He played with my mind and my body with his twisted sexual coercion powers. Oh no. This bastard was gonna pay.