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Nick was actually able to get a good night's rest after their talk on the Wall. He felt much more energized than he did the previous morning, leaving the Dugout Inn at around 7am.

He had breakfast with Judy's family, just like they'd planned the night before. He was a bit shocked when her mom handed him a plate full of scrambled eggs. He didn't expect for them to have any meat, since all the shops were still closed. Luckily her dad had gathered some radchicken eggs for him before he arrived, and they tasted divine. Certainly not like the eggs he knew back in the day, but they were still great regardless. He was surprised her mom even knew how to make eggs.

They all talked at breakfast, with her parents still having questions about his past, while her siblings wanted to hear some more stories. As the clock approach 8am, Nick and Judy excused themselves, hoping to get an early start on their day in Diamond City.

"So," Judy said as they exited her home, wearing the same flannel and jeans from last night. "You said you wanted to get some clothes first, right?"

"Yes please. This thing might be comfortable, but it definitely isn't for me." he said, putting his right paw on his chest.

"Alright, sounds good. Anything you wanted to do after that?" she asked

"Well, I was hoping to maybe get something so I wouldn't have to carry this thing all the time." he said, raising his laser rifle in his left hand.

"I'll probably have to get something new too. In that case, we'll head over to Commonwealth Weaponry after we're done. Arturo should be able to help us out."

"Lead the way then Carrots. I haven't had a good shopping spree in a while."

As they walked from her house into the center of town, Nick took in the view of the city, now bustling with life. Mammals of all sizes roamed the streets, talking to either each other, or to the various vendors. There was a pig dressed up in a baseball uniform, along with a bat, standing in front of a small shop. He was shouting something about 'swatters' whatever those were. An armadillo was at a stand with various weapons and ammunition on display. Nick guessed that this was Arturo. If not, he'd at least find out later. To the right of that, there was a doe standing outside what looked to be some kind of general goods shop. The deer looked to be scanning everyone that passed by, focusing a peculiarly long time on Nick. At the center of town, where the smokestack was, A protectron in a chef's hat appeared to be serving noodles, much to Nick's bewilderment. Behind that was a sloth standing in an open garage, talking to mammals about chems, albeit very slowly. To the right of them was a badger in a lab coat, with various pieces of medical equipment sitting on a desk behind him. A doctor obviously. Closer to the front gate was the butcher, judging by the hyena out front, cleaning off some kind of meat. Finally, two porcupines were operating what looked to be some kind of grooming station, each of them currently engaged in trimming Mayor Lionheart's mane.

'This place is certainly something.' Nick thought. Back before the war, it wasn't the most rare thing to see mammals of such varying sizes working so closely together, but it was never to this extent. Although most mammals tended to prefer the company of their own predatory classification, downtown Boston was a melting pot of all kinds of species. Even rodents had mixed in with everyone back then, though that was mostly due to the fact that the city didn't have a specific district for them. Boston was an old city, and by the time other places started making small districts for rodents, most of the area was already majorly developed. They still had a rodent specific transit system though, like most cities.

As Judy lead Nick to the stairs leading down to Fallon's Basement, he noticed that several mammals were eying him suspiciously. Although it could be the fact that he was wearing a vault-suit, he was more inclined to believe it was because he was a fox.

"Nice people you guys have here." he said, returning a glare at a coyote outside of the grooming station. Judy turned to see what he was looking at as they began to descend the stairs.

"Don't worry about them. The mammals here are pretty nervous around outsiders. They're probably just wondering if you're a synth, plus that suit makes you stand out quite a bit."

"I'm not worried. I'm used to a few stares by now." he said. He looked over to see Judy's ears droop slightly. He didn't mean to upset her, but he was just speaking the truth.

They entered the store, seeing mannequins of all sizes displaying various pieces of clothing, as well as several closets and tables against the back wall. A giraffe was standing behind the front counter, it's neck bent forward to prevent it's head from hitting the ceiling.

"How you doing today, Becky?" Judy said, sending a smile towards the giraffe.

"Ms. Hopps. Glad to see you back in town." she said, quickly eyeing Nick, raising an eyebrow at him. "Let me guess, you need some new clothes, right pal?"

"Did the jumpsuit give it away? I shouldn't be surprised." he said, earning a chuckle from Judy.

"Work your magic, Becky." she said. "We need Nick here to blend in."

Nick couldn't believe his luck in Fallon's. While the giraffe was finding some clothes in Nick's size, he'd been browsing the ties on the other side of the store. He found one that was almost exactly the same as the one he'd left back in the Vault. He was very pleased about this, being able to get back a small piece of his former life. When Becky brought him some shirts and pants though, he was astounded. There was a green hawaiian shirt, almost the same pattern as his old one, as well as a pair of pants that fit perfectly with the rest of the outfit. All of the colors were a bit shaded due to the passage of time, but still the resemblance to his old wardrobe was striking.

Not that anyone outside of the city would get to see it. Judy had made the rather annoying, but certainly not unwise comment that his new clothes would give him no protection from bullets, the elements, or anything else. She'd recommended that he get something else to wear for when they leave the city, maybe even get a piece of armor as well. He'd decided on thick, brown leather trench coat, along with some basic road leathers to wear underneath, putting the total cost up to around 50 caps. He now had just under 100 left to spend at Commonwealth Weaponry.

There, he was able to find all of the things he needed. A piece of combat chest armor took up most of the cost, at around 60 additional caps. The sling for his rifle and holster for his pistol, Arturo was able to quickly throw together, along with one for Judy. Those luckily didn't cost nearly as much. He attached his rifle to the sling, and placed his new armor piece and holster in his backpack, along with what Judy called his 'wasteland' outfit.

"Alright, after all that, I now have about… 20 caps left to my name. Joy." Nick said dryly.

"Hey, at least you blend in now. I have to say, you look a lot better in that outfit. The pip-boy kind of ruins the whole 'wastelander' vibe we're going for, and the shirt's a little tacky, but there's nothing I can do about that." she said, causing him to shoot her a questionable stare.

"Excuse me? Tacky? I don't think you have any fashion sense Carrots." he said, looking down at his new shirt.

"I could say the same to you, Slick. What's the plan now?"

"Well, it's only a little over 9." he said, checking his pip-boy. "Didn't Piper ask for us to come to her office yesterday?"

"No, she asked you. But I'm sure she won't mind if I tag along. You want to head over her place now?" Judy asked.

"Yeah. Let's do it."

They moved towards the entrance of the city, stopping outside a building near the front staircase, It's sign read 'Publick Occurances.' A young fox, probably no older than eleven or twelve, stood on a box out front, trying to get mammals to read a new article.

"Hey Nat, is Piper inside?" Judy asked as they approached the building.

"Sure is. Is that the vault dweller she wanted to talk to?" she asked, looking at Nick.

"Yep. Rest assured that the article she writes about him's going to sell well."

"I hope so. Give us a good story mister!" she yelled as they opened the door inside. Piper was sitting in an armchair, writing something down on an old notepad, before she saw them out of the corner of her eye.

"Hey Judy! Glad you dropped by." Piper said, before she turned her attention to Nick. "How you holdin' up Blue?" He put on a confused face.

"Uh, I'm sorry… Blue?" he asked.

"Yeah, Blue. You know, like the Vaults. I know you're not wearing the jumpsuit anymore, but the pip-boy and that 'fish out of water' look? Dead giveaways. I would've know it even if I hadn't run into you before.

"Oh, so suddenly you have a thing for nicknames now Piper? When did that happen?" Judy asked, raising an eyebrow at the vixen.

"A couple months ago, just kinda started handing them out. For instance, Arturo is Turtle. Sullivan is Branches. Lionheart is Lionfart, but don't say it around him, he'll give you an earful. Now that I think about it, I need to give one to you, Judy.

"Beat you to it I'm afraid." Nick said smugly. "She's already called Carrots."

"Really?" she asked with a chuckle, and he nodded in response. "Damn, that's good. Wish I would've thought of it."

"Yes, yes, I'm sure you do. Now about why we're here. You wanted Nick for something?" Judy asked.

"Yep, come sit down." they each took a seat on couch near Piper's armchair. She turned to look at Nick. "Here's the deal. I want an interview. Your life story in print. I think it's time Diamond City had a little outside perspective on the Commonwealth."

"You won't get better 'outside perspective' anywhere else, believe me." Judy said.

"I think I'd rather hear it firsthand, Judy." Piper said. "So, you up for it?"

"Sure thing. I always wanted my name on the front page." Nick said with a sly grin.

"Speaking of, can I get your full name please?" Piper asked, lifting her pencil to the notepad.

"Nicholas Wilde." he said.

"Middle name too please. I don't want to leave out any details." He let out a small groan.

"Piberius." he said, obviously not very thrilled about it. The laughter coming from the two ladies certainly didn't help that.

"Piberius?" Judy said in between laughs. "Oh, I'm sorry Nick, but I must've been wrong about your parents last night. They really must not have loved you if they gave you that middle name."

"Last night?" Piper said with an inquisitive look, but quickly shook her head to get back on topic. "Whatever, it's not like yours is any better. Laverne." Piper proclaimed. Now it was Nick's turn to tease.

"Laverne, eh? And here I thought Stu and Bonnie were nice mammals, Carrots. Such a shame." She gave him a light punch on the arm in response, but he barely reacted. Piper coughed to get their attention.

"As fun as all this is, I'd like to get this interview done so we can get a fresh edition out by tomorrow. So, I know you came from a Vault. How would you describe your time on the inside?" Nick became a little saddened upon hearing this, having to think again about Vault 111. He hid his emotions well though, maintaining a neutral expression.

"My son and I were frozen. I didn't spend much time in the vault." he said. Piper just gave a confused look, while Judy seemed to be trying to suppress a laugh, staring at the vixen.

"Wait. They boxed you up in a fridge? The whole time?" He nodded. "So, are you saying you were alive before the war?"

Nick put on a sly grin, determined to get the best reaction possible out of Judy. He stuck his arms out in a pose, like he was a god being praised by his worshipers.

"Behold. I am immortal." he said, causing Judy to put both her paws over her mouth to prevent her from laughing. Piper just stared wide eyed at him.

"Okay, seriously. You really are over two hundred years old?" she asked.

"Yes. Yes I am." he said. She turned to Judy with the same dumbfounded face.

"He isn't screwing with me is he? Has he told you this stuff?" she said. Judy took a brief moment to compose herself before answering.

"I guarantee he isn't screwing with you. If he starts, I'll make sure to tell you." she said, giving him her own sly grin.

"Oh my God. The Fox Out of Time" Piper said. "H-How old are you exactly? Not counting the two hundred years you were on ice?"

"Thirty two." Nick answered.

"So, that makes you..." she went silent as she added up the numbers in her head. "242 years old. Damn. You're looking pretty good for your age, eh?" she said, quickly turning her attention to her notepad.

While Piper wrote in her notepad, Judy nudged him with her elbow. He turned to her, seeing that she was looking quickly back and forth between him and Piper, wiggling her eyebrows. He just rolled his eyes, turning his attention back to the vixen.

"You said you were in there with your son. Where is he currently?" Piper continued. This was going to be the tough one, but Nick still tried to keep a neutral expression.

"I don't know. Shaun was taken from me just before I got out. He's less than a year old." he said, his ears folding back slightly.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. Do you know who took him?" She asked. He shook his head, looking briefly at the ground.

"I… Do you mind if we come back to this later?"

"Sure, that's fine." she replied, moving on to the next question. "Okay. So, you've seen the Commonwealth. Diamond City. How does it compare to your old life?"

"Can you even compare the two? The state of the world, it's not even close to the one I left." he paused for a moment, as she began to write down more notes. "That being said, seeing everyone surviving out here after all this time? Rebuilding the world? I'd be lying if I said it didn't give me a little hope." This earned a smile from both Judy and Piper.

"That's… surprisingly inspired, Blue. We're definitely quoting that." Piper said as she wrote in her notes. "Now, back to your son, Shaun was it?" He nodded. "You said you have no idea who took him. Do you know what the Institute is?" she asked.

"Yes. Judy gave me a brief crash course on them already." he said.

"So you know they take people. Do you think they might be involved in any way?"

"Honestly, I don't know. It's possible I suppose, but what reason would they even have?"

"Nobody knows. That's what makes them so dangerous." she said. "And people wonder why I can't just look the other way." she shook her head again, getting back on track.

"Let's lighten the mood a little." Piper said, readjusting herself in her chair. "For the final part of our interview, I'd like to do something different. I want you to make a statement to Diamond City directly. The threat of kidnapping is all but ignored in the Commonwealth. Everyone just wants to pretend it doesn't happen."

"Wait, mammals just ignore kidnappings out here?" Nick asked.

"Well, you grow up in the Commonwealth, eventually someone's going to get taken. Maybe not someone you know..." she took a quick glance at Judy. "But someone. I want my readers to hear what keeps you going. Maybe they'll find a little inspiration."

'Why did she look at Judy like that? Did something happen to her?'

Nick stayed silent. He wanted to know more, but now was not the time to ask her those kinds of questions. He took a moment the think over the words he was going to say. If everyone in the city was going to hear this, then he wanted it to be good.

"No matter how much you want to give up, don't. The world may kick you down sometimes, maybe hurt the ones you love most, but you can never give up hope that you'll see them again. Or, at least that you'll know the truth." Again, this earned a smile from both Judy and Piper.

"A strong not to end on, Blue. Thanks." she said, finishing up her notes. Judy patted his shoulder softly, seeming to like his response.

"Alright, that's everything. Good stuff, Blue. It's going to take some time to put this all together, but I think your story is going to give Diamond City plenty to talk about." Piper said.

"No problem Piper. Anytime." he said, getting up from the couch.

"I'll hold you to that. If you end up finding your son, you can bet I'm going to want a follow-up story."

"Hmm. I'll have to get some new material ready then." he said, as he began to walk towards the exit.

"Oh, hey Nick." Judy said, causing him to turn around just in front of the door. "I haven't seen Piper in a while, and I promised her yesterday that we'd catch up. Do you mind if we meet up later?"

"No, go ahead. I'll be at the Dugout Inn. Just don't gossip about me too much while I'm gone, okay?" he said with a smirk.

"In your dreams, Slick. See you later." she said.

"Later." he replied with a wink, as he walked out the front door.

"So you guys had to take down a deathclaw?" Piper asked, taking a sip of Nuka Cola as she and Judy talked on the couch.

"Honest to God. We had McHorn wear a suit of power armor, and even then it was still a heck of a challenge." Judy said, shuddering at the thought of the reptilian beast charging at them. She'd been catching Piper up on what went on with her squad over the past few months. From the fall of Quincy, to the founding of Sanctuary. Piper had already told her own stories about reporting, telling her about some of the more dangerous encounters she'd had. They'd already talked for close to two hours, each of them eager to hear more.

"Damn. Even if Blue hadn't given that interview, I think I still would've had a good story to tell."

"Speaking of Nick..." Judy said, putting a mischievous look on her face. "What was it you said? 'You look pretty good for your age?' I didn't know you had a thing for older men, Piper."

"Oh for crying out loud. That was just a complement, Judy! If I went after every fox that came through the front gate I would've had as many kids as your parents by now." she said, earning a scowl from Judy. "Besides, I assumed you two had a thing going on."

"Seriously? What makes you say that?" Judy asked.

"That wink he gave you before he left. Plus, you said something about 'last night' earlier. I kinda though maybe something happened between you two. You know, with bunnies being bunnies..."

"Piper!" Judy yelled, earning a laugh from the vixen. She'd always hated that stereotype about bunnies, so naturally Piper teased her about it whenever she could.

"I'm sorry! You know I'm kidding. Just a little curious is all." she said, taking another sip.

"Nothing even remotely close to that happened. We just climbed the Wall and talked for a bit, and that's why I said what I said earlier. Happy?"

"Calm down, Jude! I'm just having a little fun." she said, giving Judy a light shove. "What did you guys talk about?"

"His parents mostly."

"Oh, how romantic." she giggled, earning another big scowl from Judy. "Okay, okay, I've gotten it out of my system. Please, continue."

"He just described his parents to me. Near the end, he kind of admitted that he always thought he was an accident, and I told him otherwise. I just wanted to cheer him up a bit."

"Alright." Neither of the spoke for what felt like quite some time. "Hey… Judy?" Piper said.

"Yeah?" she replied.

"I'm sorry about what I said during the interview. I wasn't really thinking, and..."

"It's fine, Piper" Judy said, cutting her off. "You weren't trying to offend me, I understand." Another long pause lingered between them, before Piper broke the silence.

"Have you told Blue about Sam?" she asked.

"No. Why would I? He doesn't need to hear about my family's problems." Judy said.

"I mean, I get it. It's kinda private, but it seems like he's already shared a lot with you. Maybe this could be a way to make things… I don't know, less one sided."

'She has a point. He's opened up quite a bit to me. Maybe I should…'

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the front door flying open, with a fox in a tacky green shirt standing in the doorway.

"Carrots! We've got something!"

"Really? Did Ellie found out where Valentine is?" she asked, hopping of the couch.

"Well, yes and no." Nick said. "She found out he's somewhere in at the Park Street subway station, but when she tried to investigate the place, she was shot."

"What!? Is she okay?" she screamed. If Ellie had gotten hurt, and Judy could've helped protect her, she would never forgive herself.

"Calm down, she's fine. The bullet just grazed her arm. She's down at the agency right now if you wanna talk to her."

"Wait." Piper said, gaining the attention of both Nick and Judy. "You guys are gonna rescue Nicky? It's about time someone did. It's been getting boring around here without him. You can count me in on that."

"Piper, you're a reporter, not a soldier. You need to stay here." Judy said.

"And Blue here is a suburban parent, so I doubt he'd be any more useful in a fight than me." she said. "Besides, you know the kind of stuff I've managed to get myself into over the years. I doubt this'll be the worst of it."

"What about Nick's interview? Don't you have to work on that?" Judy asked.

"I can finish it when we get back. Maybe I can write another article on this little adventure. I can see the headline now, 'Unlucky Valentine.' It's too good to pass up."

"Come on, Carrots" Nick said. "I don't think a little extra help will do us any harm now will it?"

"You're damn right it won't. I'll meet you two at the front gate. I Just need to get a few things first." Piper said, as she moved deeper into her house.

"Well, that settles that. You want to go talk to Ellie?" Nick asked, his usual stupid grin on his muzzle.

"Uh, fine. Let's get to it, Slick."

As they walked back towards the agency, Judy's mind wondered to thoughts of Sam. Piper was probably right. Nick had shared so much private info with her, it only seemed fair that she shared a little of hers with him.

She'd tell him about her brother later on. When she was ready.

For now, they had a detective to rescue.