Chapter 25

Carry on, my Wayward Son

"Of course you can come with me, Hancock. I might need the support . . ."

Hancock had ditched his power armor, too. Looks like I was going to have to find more. I was weak in the knees. Not only was I completely exhausted, but I was nervous about seeing my son again. I was destroying everything that he had worked so hard for and everything that he represented. The empire upon which he stood was the entire reason I lost him those sixty years ago.

Sturges got the elevator working again. We entered and went down one floor. There was another long hallway in front of us. I recognized this hallway . . . I knew that if I continued down, there'd be a right turn, and at the end of the hall was an elevator . . .

And there it was. I took a deep breath to steady myself.

Hancock's warm hand touched my shoulder. "You've got this."

I nodded and took the first step into the next elevator. We went up about three floors, and it opened for us. Inside was the first bit of Father's chambers, the part that I was allowed into when I arrived. We walked past the child synth's glass room. The child was missing from it. Further inside the room and up the stairs, we found Father, lying in a bed.

"I didn't expect to see you again." He spoke in a low voice, almost a whisper. "I don't suppose you're here because you've changed your mind." There was something different about him this time, like the light in his eyes were growing dim.

"What's happened to you? Are you sick?" I asked without thinking. Motherly instincts never die, I suppose.

"Don't pretend to care now. You had your chance to help me, and you cast me aside instead. It's not enough that I lay here dying, and now you plan on what? Destroying everything? Tell me, then. Under what righteous pretense have you justified this atrocity?"

"Seriously? All the enemies you've created, and you can't imagine why I'd be standing here?"

"Perhaps I didn't think to count you among them . . . Well, none of it matters now, I suppose. You'll accomplish your task and ruin humanity's best hope for the future. The only question left, then, is why you're standing here. Is it regret, or did you just come to gloat?"

His words stung. Why was I standing there? Why was I so concerned? Maybe I had a small hope that he would be the one to change his mind. "Shaun, I – I hoped there was something more I could do. I wanted to save you. There's still time to change your – "

"This isn't some fairy tale, mother."

My heart lurched. He called me his mother . . .

"There's no saving me. I'm dying, and you're going to destroy everything I've ever loved. You're going to have to live with that. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'd like to be alone for my last few moments. Go, do what you must. But I hope someday you realize what will be lost here." His words were laced with venom.

"Son . . ."

"Just . . . get out. There's nothing more to say."

"Shaun, I'm just so sorry it had to come to this."

"It's too late to be sorry. Just leave me."

Hancock put a hand on my shoulder.

I turned to him, his face pained. "Nora. I'm sorry, but . . . we've gotta move."

"I wish there was some other way," I whispered with a shaky voice.

He nodded. "I know."

Then, I took a breath to steady myself and moved away from Father to find his terminal. It was by the wall behind him on a desk. "I need the password."

"Lemme look around," said Hancock.

We searched for a few moments in his desk but couldn't find it. "I can't crack this terminal without a password. It's impossible. Ugh! Damn Institute tech . . ."

Shaun's voice came feeble and quiet. "Second drawer . . . by the desk . . ."

Hancock quickly rummaged through the second drawer of a small office cabinet by his desk. "Got it."

I breathed, "Thank you, son."

I entered the password quickly. I clicked on "Engage Evacuation Protocol BD-2" and a robotic female voice came on overhead, telling all Institute scientists to evacuate the premises immediately. Next, I clicked on "Director Access: Synth Shutdown" but it wouldn't authorize without the Director's code. Lastly, I clicked on "Master Security Lockdown Override" so that the doors would unlock again.

I took one last look at Shaun before I left. His eyes were closed, like he was sleeping. He didn't even look angry anymore. He looked peaceful.

Hancock pulled on my hand. "Nora."

"Right. Right." I turned away from Shaun and left him once more. Whether he was dead now or not, I knew what his fate was, and it pained me.

As we rushed down the stairs, Sturges came back overhead. "Alright, good job! Looks like that opened things up enough for you to reach the reactor. Some other good news: I've almost got the teleporter working. Should be ready to pull you out whenever you need."

"Sturges, you amazing son of a bitch," Hancock muttered on our way down a set of spiral stairs that just became available to us after the lockdown was lifted.

As soon as we got to the bottom floor, a synth was already attacking us. We wound up fighting our way through Advanced Systems. Preston and MacCready met us at the door.

"Glad to see you're in one piece," said MacCready.

"Me too . . ."

As we walked into the far room of Advanced Systems, Preston stopped us.

"This must be the reactor. We'll cover you while you plant the charge. Remember, we only get one shot at this. Good luck."

I nodded.

The fight was gruesome. As I made a beeline down the hall, I realized that it would be damn near impossible for me to get there on my own, with or without cover. The laser turrets seemed endless. There were at least two more special unit synths after us, and at least fifteen other synths. More of our Minutemen were dying by the moment, and we were almost out of ammo and frag grenades.

Once we were to the reactor, all that was left to do was to walk up these spiraling stairs and across a metal grate. I tried to make a run for it, but I was shot down, literally. A laser pierced me right through my side, front to back. I felt to my knees and held onto the bloodied fabric that was my General Uniform.

"Damn it," I breathed, trying not to throw up. I crawled behind cover of the stairs. It wasn't much cover, but it was something. I aimed my gun at the head of two synths who had caught onto where I was hiding and blew their heads off. After they were down, I stumbled to my feet, holding my side, and ran up the stairs. I looked below and saw a courser pursuing me. He shot off his laser right into my left shoulder.

"NNGH!" I almost fell, but I wouldn't let myself this time. I turned around and started firing the last few bullets I had left into the courser's eyes. He didn't last long after MacCready caught sight of us having it out and placed a few more bullets into the courser's temple with his sniper.

Everything was starting to calm down, but there were still a few hostiles left. I was at the terminal, ready to open the reactor door. Yet another terminal that required a password.

"Nora, how's it going up there?" yelled Preston from below, who had just shoved the bayonet of his laser musket into the neck of a Gen-2 synth.

"I need the password!"

Preston and Hancock started searching the bodies and found the password on one of the special unit synths. Hancock ran it up to me. "Nora, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, just give me the password."

He handed it to me, then started rummaging through the bag on my back for a stimpak.

"Don't bother, I used my last one earlier."

"Shit . . ."

"The sooner I get this over with, the better." I entered the code into the terminal. I clicked on "Reactor Status." The radiation levels inside were listed as "high." I clicked on "Initiate Reactor Shutdown Sequence" anyway. I slowly walked my way over to the reactor and opened the door. The wave of radiation that hit me was damn near enough to knock me off my feet. I doubled over as the radiation burned at my skin. The reactor was shining a bright blue, almost like a flow of water combined with electricity. I looked in my pocket for the charge and reached inside the reactor. My skin felt like it was peeling off just reaching into it.

"Nora, stop!" Hancock yanked my whole body away from the reactor's door and took the charge from me. "Why didn't you tell me it was irradiated?!" He popped the charge on the reactor and shut the door.

"We need to get out of here, and fast," said Preston. "Sturges, are you hearing me? We're done down here. Zap us back to the Relay room."

I sat on the metal grating with little to no energy left in my body. I glanced down at my hands and could see the radiation burns and flaky skin.

"Damn it, Nora," said MacCready as he caught up to us by the stairs.

A zap of light took us all back to the Relay room then. Everything went bright, then dark, then settled into the Relay room. Hancock helped me up so I could walk.

"Sturges, get us out of here!" said Preston.

"I would, man, but . . . this kid showed up. Says he's the General's son."

I was too week to form an expression of shock. "What?"

Hancock helped me into the terminal room where Sturges was, and sure enough, there was a little boy with dark brown hair. Like his father's. It was the synth from Father's room from before.

"Please, mom! Don't leave me here! I wanna go with you!"

"Why did you call me 'mom' just now?"

"What? You're my mother! Why else would I call you that?"

"Who told you I was your mother?"

"What do you mean? Nobody told me, you just are."

I looked back from Hancock to Shaun, to Preston to Shaun, to Sturges to Shaun. Whether he was really my son or not, I couldn't condemn him to death, especially at such a young age. Everyone was standing around me, waiting for me to answer. I took so long, they all probably thought I was going to leave him there.

Without thinking, I muttered, "Oh, this is just what I need right now . . ."

"I'm not a baby! I'm old enough to take care of myself. The only help I need is to get out of here. Now, can we please go?"

"All right, you . . . can come with me."

"Really? Do you mean it?"

"What, you don't believe me?"

"No, no, I totally do! What I mean is, thanks. Now let's get out of here!"

"All right, Sturges . . . fire it up."

"Didn't leave anything behind, did you? All set to get out of here?"

I checked my bag for Virgil's serum. "Absolutely. Let's get the hell out of here."

"You got it! I'm sending you to the detonation site, then set the Relay to shoot the kid here back to the Castle. You press that button extra hard when you get there. See you on the other side."

I adjusted myself on Hancock's shoulder and grabbed at my side with my good arm. I looked down at the little ten-year-old in front of me. "Shaun, Sturges is sending you to my fort. It's called the Castle. Lots of good people there that will take care of you, okay? I'll meet you there."

"When?"

"I'll see you first thing tomorrow. I promise."

"Okay. As long as you promise."

Hancock set me down on top of a building where we landed. Preston and MacCready followed shortly behind. Sturges was last to follow and the few Minutemen that we had left. I rubbed my head lightly; it was pounding. Then, a clump of my hair came out, and I had a small panic attack.

"Hancock, am I – ?"

"No, Nora. You're not turning into a ghoul. We need to get you some radaway, pronto, or else you might be growing an extra limb here soon."

MacCready took his bag off his back and looked through it for some radaway and some water. "Here, I've got some supplies on me. Can't believe you two went in there so unprepared."

"It was underwater," I clarified weakly.

"Alright, alright, who's ready to blow this thing up?" asked Sturges. He was so excited, his country accent was more noticeable than usual.

"Sturges thought this would be far away enough from the blast radius," said Preston. "Whenever you wanna see 'humanity's best hope for the future' go up in smoke, you just hit that button."

Sturges handed me the remote detonator. "You should do the honors."

For a moment, I thought about Father. My real son. It was a fleeting moment. It was gone within seconds, and I felt nothing. With the press of this button, all the remnants of my old life would be gone.

With all the strength I had left, I smashed my fist onto that big red button. A few seconds later, there was a rumble underneath our feet. Out in the distance where the CIT ruins were, a huge blue light formed from the building and grew as big as a blimp. Then, after a flash of white light, it exploded into a cloud of fire. It leveled the buildings around it, and the CIT ruins didn't even exist anymore. There was smoke rising up from the entire city below us as the shock waves rushed through the air and the ground like a miniature earthquake.

It was a sight to see.

"Holy shit," muttered Preston as the smoke and dust settled on the city below. "That was a hell of a bang, wasn't it? So, that's it. The Institute is destroyed. It's finally over. You did issue the evacuation order right? I didn't notice in all the chaos."

I nodded.

"Good. I thought so. It was just . . . watching that explosion . . . I just hope as many people as possible got out. I hate that we had to do that, but they left us no choice. It was war. And now, the war against the Institute is over. The way's now clear for the Commonwealth to finally come together and build something good for the future. But it's not all sunshine and rainbows from here on out."

"Of course. The Institute wasn't the Commonwealth's only problem. We've still got plenty to do."

"Couldn't have said it better myself, General."

"There's always someone out to make life harder for folks who are just tryin' to survive. I'm not willing to stand for that kind of shit," said Hancock.

"The Institute was the most insidious threat we've ever faced," Preston continued. "They kept the Commonwealth divided for centuries. But there are plenty of other problems left to deal with. I don't think the Minutemen are gonna be out of the job for a long time yet, as much as I might wish it. We deserve to enjoy our victory, but soon enough it's gonna be time to get back to work."

MacCready scoffed. "Preston, lighten the hell up. We're going to go back to Nora's and party."

"Drinks, chems, girls, good music, and good friends. What more could a hero ask for?" Hancock chuckled.

"Maybe a little less girls and a lot more booze?" I added.

"Right, right, I forgot."

"Forgot what?" asked MacCready. "What are you on about?"

Then, my vision faded. I lost control of my body, my limbs, everything. My head hit the hard concrete of the building's rooftop. The last thing I heard was the far away echoes of concerned voices shouting my name.

I moved around comfortably in what felt like a bed with warm blankets. Sunshine was shining through my window. For a moment, I thought that the last few months were just a horrible nightmare, and I'd find myself back in my prewar home with Codsworth making breakfast and Shaun cooing in his crib across the hall. But no. I wasn't that stupid or that naive.

I didn't want to open my eyes. I had rested so well. Where was I? When I finally got the courage to open my eyes, I could see that I was in my own room. Someone put a bed in my room. An actual bed frame and mattress and blankets. The sunshine was pouring through the windows. I tried to sit up, but my leg was stuck under something heavy and warm. It was Dogmeat and Isabella lying on the bed with me.

Dogmeat barked happily when he noticed that I was awake. I reached down slowly and petted him. My shoulder and my side was very sore. Someone had bandaged them up, though. I was also wearing something different. My Minutemen General uniform was laying in a chair across from my bed. Dogmeat continued to bark, and I heard footsteps coming into the house.

"Shh!" I hissed at Dogmeat, and he instantly laid his head down and whined. I laid back down, too and closed my eyes, pretending to be asleep. I wanted to see what exactly was going on here.

The bedroom door opened. "What's goin' on, boy?" said the familiar gruff voice of Hancock. I heard him walk toward the bed. There was movement where Dogmeat was laying, indicating that Hancock was petting him.

I peeked through my eyelashes. He had walked in the room with yellow flowers – wild carrot flowers, I thought – in his hands. He exchanged some dead ones in the vase with the fresh ones. He sighed heavily as he tossed the dead flowers into the little trash can there. They landed with a dry-sounding shift on top of something that sounded like more flowers. How many dead flowers were there?

"I wish you'd wake up. I'm beginning to wonder if you ever will." I heard him take a seat in the chair and breathe in a deep breath through his nose hole, and exhale heavily out his mouth.

I tried not to grin. It got deathly quiet in the room as the corners of my mouth started rising on their own.

". . . Nora? Are you . . . awake?"

"No."

Hancock stood up so fast, he knocked the chair back. "Nora! You asshole! How long have you been awake?!"

I laughed weakly. "Just a few minutes."

He wrapped his arms around me. "Don't ever do that again! That's not funny!"

I hugged him back, but my arm stung as I pulled his shoulder into mine. "Ow."

"Oh, damn, I forgot. You ain't even completely healed yet."

"I feel like shit."

"You sure don't look it, though," Hancock said softly, brushing my shaggy blonde hair aside on my cheek.

I blushed at his touch. Then my eyes went wide as I remembered my hair. "Oh, my god, Hancock, my hair fell out."

He chuckled. "Yeah, your hair fell out. It'll grow back. It's just a little patchy."

I groaned. "I'm just going to have to shave my head and start all over again."

"Whatever you wanna do."

"What time is it?" I searched for my pip-boy and found it on the nightstand beside my bed. The clock said it was almost one in the afternoon.

"Don't you mean, 'what day is it?' You've been in a coma."

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah, about a week now."

I checked my pip-boy again, and there it was. "March 6th, 2278? Wow. I really was out for a week . . ."

"You had me worried there. You had all of us worried."

"Sorry. I'll try not to go into a coma again anytime soon."

"You'd better. It was from a combination of a loss of blood, exhaustion, and radiation poisoning. Besides that, you hit your head pretty hard when you passed out."

"Damn. That's why I've got a headache."

"You just try to rest some more."

"No, I need to get up, or I'm going to go insane."

"Fine. It'll give you a chance to properly greet your son."

"Oh." I had forgotten about the little synth boy that we rescued from the Institute. The one who called me his mother.

Hancock helped me up. I found that I was wearing a white t-shirt and a pair of military pants and off-white socks with a hole on the bottom. I didn't even wanna know who dressed me. I slipped my shoes on and laced them up. I grabbed a coat from my couch in the living room and headed outside. The sun stung my eyes.

"Someone needs to turn that thing down," I muttered.

Hancock smiled. "My thoughts exactly."

There was a little boy with dark brown hair and a striped T-shirt and blue-jean pants playing at Sturges' workshop. Sturges seemed to be enjoying his company. When he caught sight of me, he jumped up and abandoned his items.

"Mom! Mom! You're awake!"

"Y-yeah, I'm awake."

"Oh, my gosh. I was so worried." He threw his arms around my waist, nearly knocking me down. Hancock steadied me. "You look sad," he noted, looking up at me.

"What? Why do you say that?"

"You just do. I . . . didn't disappoint you, did I?"

"Why would you think that? You haven't done anything."

"I just wanted to come with you. I didn't want to stay at the Institute without you. I don't want you to think I'm being a burden or anything. I can take care of myself. I'll stay out of your way."

I leaned down and put my hands on his little shoulders. "Listen. Everything is fine. We're going to be fine. Don't you worry. You don't disappoint me." I gave him a hug.

"I love you, Mom. I'm so glad you're feeling better."

A lump caught in my throat. I was so confused. I didn't know how to feel. But my heart was swelling for this child.

"I'm going to steal your mom for a few minutes, kiddo," said Hancock.

"Okay. Bring her home by seven."

"Oh, listen to you," he chuckled. Hancock steered me in the direction of the gate. "No more Institute, huh? Never thought I'd see the day. You did damn good."

"Me? You all helped. I'd never have been able to do it if it wasn't for you and Sturges and everyone else."

"The Minutemen took another big hit that day. Lots of lives lost . . ."

"Yeah . . ."

"Speaking of lives lost. I've gotta tell you something." He got all serious. His brow furrowed. "It's about Mama Murphy."

"What?"

"She asked for some psycho a few days ago . . . I gave it to her. She said she wanted to give you 'one last Sight.' In her vision, she saw you standing with the People, working together. United. She saw a land filled with hope again. She saw the brave stepping forward and the People losing their fear. She called you a hero. A symbol for a better world. Then . . . she looked me in the eyes and said, 'I saw this coming.' She chuckled. Then, she just . . . grabbed her chest and . . ."

"She had a heart attack?"

"Yeah. Yeah, it – it's all my fault. I'm sorry, Nora."

"No, it's not. I mean, it was her choice to keep taking them. She always asked me for chems, and I always gave the to her. I'm sure I didn't help matters along."

He sighed. "You missed out on a lot the last week. We had a burial for her and marked her grave. Shaun has settled in pretty nicely, though. So has Isabelle. You kind of missed out on the celebration after we beat the Institute, though."

"Seriously?"

He laughed softly. "Nah, I'm just messin' with ya. We only had a few beers. Didn't wanna properly celebrate without ya."

I shoved his arm.

"Mama Murphy did teach me one thing from her vision, though."

"What's that?"

We stopped in the road a few feet away from the gate. "That you're the best thing that ever happened to me. You're a woman of the People, for the People. And I dig that."

I gave him a little smirk. "Might even give you a run for your money as mayor of Goodneighbor one day."

"I don't doubt it."

"When are you going back?"

He looked ominously at the gate to the bridge. "Now, actually."

"Wait, what?"

"Yeah, Preston says I gotta leave since I killed Mama Murphy. He only let me stay this long 'cause you were in a coma. Said as soon as you woke up, I gotta hit the road. Pushy goody two-shoes . . ."

"Why do you have to leave just because he says so?"

"Eh, this ain't my town. Ain't my rules. You guys play a whole other ballgame here."

I grumbled.

"Come see me there soon, and we'll talk more about . . . us."

"I would like that." I leaned up and kissed him on the cheek, but the corners of our mouths brushed together briefly. He turned his head a little to meet my lips, then pulled away.

"I don't wanna make you uncomfortable or anything. I know, I'm not the most good lookin' guy."

"Oh, shut up, Hancock." I pulled him to me by his collar and planted a kiss on his lips. He deepened the kiss by pulling me closer to him. "Ow." His hand was on my wound on my side.

"Sorry, sorry. You're getting' me all hot and bothered, heh heh."

"Well, cool off, 'cause you have to go to Goodneighbor, and I have to get to know my . . . son."

He nodded and tipped his hat to me. I saw him out and waved him goodbye. On my way back inside the gate, I saw that little boy playing with Sturges' tools. Preston walked over to talk to him. I saw settlers outside their homes, harvesting crops, gardening, lounging in the sun, talking to one another. The world felt a little brighter. And I realized that I had to get used to calling that little boy "Shaun." Because that was his name.

My Shaun.

He came running up to me. "Mom, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"Is it true that you blew up the Institute? I was wondering why you'd do that."

I didn't really think about how he would be taking all of this. I wasn't sure if he thought of the Institute as his family. "I know it's hard to understand. Are you okay, Shaun?"

"I mean, I miss them, but if it means everyone else will be safe . . . As long as you don't leave me, it'll be okay. You . . . You're not gonna leave me, right?"

I smiled and mussed his hair. "Don't worry, kiddo. I'm here for you."

"Good! Oh, and before I forget." He searched around in his pocket and pulled out a holotape. He handed it to me. "Father, uhh, he told me to give this to you. I didn't listen to it, so I dunno what it says, but I think it's important."

"Okay. Thanks, Shaun. I'll listen to it when I get a minute."

"MUM!"

I turned to find Codsworth hovering down the sidewalk in a rush to meet me.

"When I had heard that you had awoken, I was absolutely ecstatic! You had me so worried, Miss Nora! You have no idea!"

"It's good to see you, too, Codsworth. I'm sorry I haven't been very social with you lately."

"It's quite understandable, Mum. And congratulations on your feat against the Institute! I am quite proud of you! And it's good to have young Shaun here. It's like we're a family again! I couldn't be happier, Mum!"

"Good. I'm going to need some time to adjust, but . . . I think I can get used to it."

"Absolutely, Mum. No doubt about it. Let me know if you need anything. Anything at all!"

"I will, Codsworth. Thank you."

When he left me by myself, I walked into the house and sat on the couch. I popped this "important tape" into my pip-boy and had a listen.

"If you are hearing this, then whatever conflicts you and I have endured are over. I am dying of cancer and won't be able to care for Shaun much longer. I have no reason to believe that you'll honor the request I'm about to make, but I feel compelled to try anyway. This synth, this . . . boy. He deserves more. He has been reprogrammed to believe that he is your son. It is my hope that you will take him with you. I would only ask that you give him a chance. A chance to be a part of whatever future awaits the Commonwealth.

"And I believe I owe you an explanation. The Institute kept you alive in the vault for sixty years because if anything were to happen to me, they'd need someone with non-corrupted DNA to make synths, as I had told you before. I'm the one that let you out of that vault. And I'll admit, when I had you released, I had no expectation that you'd survive out there. To not only do so, but manage to find me . . . to infiltrate the Institute itself . . . extraordinary. I suppose I wanted to see what would happen. An experiment, of sorts. I had no idea what kind of person you were. Would the Commonwealth corrupt you as it has everything else? Would you even survive? Perhaps most curious to me, would you after all this time attempt to find me? Now I know the answer. To see that you still cared about me . . . it's remarkable. I can accept that you may be offended. You must understand, though, that I have had no love to feel. We have been strangers until now, you and I.

"I hope it was not too presumptuous of me to believe that both you and young Shaun need to feel the love that I never had."

I leaned back on my couch and went into deep thought. Father, and the entire Institute, thought of all synths from Gen-1 to Gen-3 as machines, no matter if they developed feelings or opinions. What changed Father's mind? Why did he believe that this synth deserved my love? Maybe it was his last gift to me.

There was a knock on the door. I had left the door open, so I told Preston he could come in. He walked over and sat on the couch next to me.

"It's good to see you finally awake."

"I didn't mean to worry everybody."

"It's not your fault. Besides, you needed the rest. And I'm sorry about Hancock, but . . . I had to make the decision."

I sighed. "You did what you felt was necessary for this community. I understand."

"He doesn't exactly have a good reputation, with chems or women. And the way Mama Murphy died – "

"Or women? What are you saying?"

"I'm just saying it would probably be best for all of us if he just stayed in Goodneighbor with his people. He has a duty to uphold there, anyway. Like we have ours."

"Cut the shit, Preston. I know you're basically saying that you think it'd be better if he was away from me."

"I . . . didn't say that."

"But you're thinking it."

He laced his fingers together. "Okay, yes. I believe that it'd be . . . healthier for you if he wasn't around. But that's not the only reason. Mama Murphy died because of him."

"Because of her chem addiction. If we weren't giving her drugs, she would have found a way to get them. Trashcan Carla shows up here once, sometimes twice a week. She'd have just got some from her."

"'We?' You were giving Mama Murphy drugs?"

"Preston, please, can we just change the subject? Me and Hancock are . . . close friends. And nothing is going to change the fact that Mama Murphy has passed away. And nothing was ever going to change the fact that she was obsessed with chems. End of discussion."

He took a long sigh and leaned back on the couch. "Well, in any case, we defeated the biggest enemy of the Commonwealth. That's something to be proud of. Take all the time you need to rest up, General. You know where to find me." He got up and left just as MacCready was walking through the door.

"Knock, knock," he said. He had a bottle of vodka in his hand and two cigars.

"Hey, you."

"Hey, you." He took a seat where Preston was and handed me the bottle. "Drink up. You've earned it."

"Don't mind if I do." I took a swig of the vodka. "Damn."

"Yeah, that's the good stuff," he said with a smile. "Just don't drink it all." He put a cigar in his mouth and puffed on it. "So, that fight with the Institute? Best damn thing I've ever done. How was it for you?" I took a cigar from him and had him light it for me. I set it in my mouth, took a puff, and took a moment to think.

"Well . . ."

I could feel it washing over me. Heat, force, radiation . . . fear. It's the end of the world all over again. I close my eyes, I see my life before all of this. Before the bombs. Everything can change in an instant. Your whole planet can shift whether or not you're ready. It happens to all of us eventually. This was not the world I wanted, but it was the one I found myself in. The Commonwealth. My home. Ripped apart and put back together. I thought that – I hoped that – if I could find my family, I would be whole again. But now I know. I know I can't go back. I know the world has changed, and the road will be hard. This time, I'll be ready. Because I know that war . . .

. . . War never changes.