Four years later...
Valerie wrapped her coat even tighter around her. The snow outside hadn't let up for almost two days, it was near impossible to leave her office due to the pile of snow outside her door. It was unseasonably cold, even for Seattle. It was no doubt the worst she'd experienced since she came here.
Puget Outpost was a reasonably large settlement, larger than other places she'd traveled. Enough protection and resources that she decided to settle down there after wandering across the United States for two years. She was welcomed with open arms, as the town was desperate for someone with even a minor medical background, if she hadn't come along they might've settled with someone who only knew CPR. And her military service made her an even more valuable asset to the settlement.
The winter was the second worst season for her line of work, hypothermia and colds were much worse and deadly without the medication and treatment from the former world, but she was able to make do and keep the body count minimal. The only time of year worse than this was summer, people spending more time outside meant more heatstroke and more getting ripped apart by the wildlife. People seemed to misunderstand healing illnesses wasn't the same as bringing people back from the dead. There was little she could do to help when some fool tried to go for a swim and got his legs bitten off by a radwhale, except make his wife cry with the blunt truth.
That was a bad day.
She got up from the black couch to put another log on her fireplace. She pushed her hair behind her ears as she bent down into the flames. She had grown her hair out so that it reached her upper back, she decided to abandon her once trademark short hair when she settled in Puget Outpost.
The absent howling of the wind outside was interrupted by a knock at her door. She paused for a moment, wondering who had dug through almost five feet of snow to talk to her? It had better been urgent, she wasn't willing to open her door and let the cold rush in for an old man with a stomach ache.
She opened the door and saw a man much taller than her, he had an unkempt beard that matched the long, fluffy blond hair on his head that nearly reached his shoulders. He wore a long coat that had been stained brown with dirt, and had a hunting rifle slung over his shoulder.
"May I come in?" He asked, his voice oozing with charm. An unaffected Valerie stepped away from the door and motioned him inside. He stepped into the hospital and she followed a few paces behind.
Valerie surveyed the man, he looked uninjured, unless he had some weird head problem then he was wasting her time. "Can I help you?" She asked. He smirked, as if she had done something to humor him.
"You seem very familiar." He said. Valerie was confused, but tried her best to hide it. The man sounded as if he was teasing her.
"If you don't have a medical problem then I'm going to have to ask you to leave." She grew impatient.
"Four years and you still haven't shaken that accent." He said. Valerie's eyes widened.
"Excuse me?"
"You're a hard woman to find Curie. Or do you go by Valerie now? That's what I've heard the locals call you." He stepped closer and she stepped back, she reached behind her back and unholstered her .10 mm pistol.
"Leave. Now." She ordered.
"You wouldn't shoot an old friend, would ya Curie?" The mans smirk grew bigger, she lowered her weapon and felt her heart sink and tears fill her eyes as she realized who she was talking to.
"Is it... really you?" She whispered.
"Yep, It's Mac." The fucking merc. She raised her pistol again and pushed it against his forehead, his smirk disappearing.
"You piece of human filth, leave my office now! If you ever come near this place again I'll kill you myself! Do you understand me?" She fumed. MacCready nodded. "There is a reason I left the Commonwealth. I don't know what you're doing here, but if you're trying or bring me back," she blinked away a tear that threatened to spill and pushed down a voice crack. "it's a lost cause."
MacCready gulped. He carefully sidestepped out of the office and out the door. He stood outside in the cold as Curie slammed it shut behind him. He looked towards the marketplace, dreading the talk he was about to have and what he'd say. He walked towards his traveling companion, "Was it her?" He asked, desperation heavy in his words. MacCready had to decide what to do.
"Uhh..." He said, the man stood staring at him, waiting for an answer. They had found who they were looking for, but it certainly wasn't her.
OOOOOOOOO
Curie retreated to the upstairs area, the downstairs too cold now after her unwelcome reunion with MacCready. Her assistant, Michelle, ran to greet her. "Are you alright Valerie? I heard you yelling downstairs." Curie breezed past her. "Okay..." She stuttered.
Curie looked the door to her quarters and laid in the bed. She still had an iron grip on her gun, that she refused to release until her palms became extremely sore. Downstairs, Michelle recuperated from her bosses cold silent treatment and returned to her work. Unfortunately, another interruption burst through the door. It was a man, very tall and muscular. Michelle was too busy eyeing his broad shoulders, she almost missed the inelegant robotic arm. She was too focused to miss the first wave of shouting from the man.
"I'm sorry what?" She stammered.
"Where is Cu-..." He angrily groaned "Valerie?!"
"Dr. Muller is upstairs, only patients and staff are allowed, but even if you were sick she made it very clear-" The man stomped towards the stairs. "Sir? Sir, you can't go up there! Sir!" She trotted behind him in vain. The man bolted up the stairs and opened the first door he saw. When he discovered it was a closet, he opened the next one.
Curie sat up, picking her gun back up with her, clicking the safety off when she saw the stranger in her doorway, like MacCready, he had shaggy blond hair but with less of a beard, it was gracious to even call it stubble. "Get out now!" She yelled with her weapon raised. The man didn't move, just stood in the doorway, like he was in a trance.
"Curie... I thought I'd never see you again." He said. Curie forced down the lump in her throat.
"Michelle, go home." She ordered, the short girl obliged, leaving the two alone in the hospital. "I don't know who you are, but go. Never come back here."
"Curie... it's m-"
"What kind of cruelty is inside you?!" She yelled. "Why would you come here and pretend to be... him?" Tears started to form in her eyes. "Just to torture me?" Her voice cracked, and she cleared her throat. "Get out of here. You have 30 seconds, or you'll be dead long before the guards get here." She threatened.
"Curie, what can I do to convince you it's me... I'll do anything." The gun in Curies hand shook, before she reluctantly lowered it.
"If you are... Nate" she nearly broke right then and there. That was the first time she'd said his name in almost three years. "Tell me something only he would know, I told him plenty of secrets. Shouldn't be hard."
The man gulped. "Ok... your real name is Curie, contagions vulnerability robotic infirmary engineer. You were programmed to work in the subsection of vault 81, to develop cures to various viruses through mole rats and eventually the vault population. You were given free will by Doctor Collins and buried two of the scientists you worked with and cremated the other."
Curie was shaken, nobody except she, Nate and Piper knew that much about her...
"My god... Nate." She wrapped her arms around him and let the tears fall down her cheeks, her eyes already turning red. "I thought you were dead, we all did..." she suddenly noticed his left arm lacked the familiar warmth of the rest of his body. She looked down, and saw his forearm had been replaced with what seemed to be an assaultron arm. The fingers were altered to function more human-like. "How did this happen?" She asked
OOOOOOOOOOO
Nate felt the explosions rocking the vault. The dirt rose above him, forming a dust cloud that floated a foot above the ground. Li still lay crying in front of him, crying bitter tears for the death of her vengeance. He had nearly dozed off, hoping to go in his sleep, when he felt a large explosion beneath him. The floor ripped apart, he felt the ground beneath him give out and his body fell down two stories. He hit the ground and a horrible pain shot through his body, the worst of it in his arm. He looked over, a metal vault piece had fallen with him, and landed on his arm. It was useless as unbaked dough now.
The grand finale finally came as the vault generator erupted above him. Cloaking everything in blinding light.
OOOOOOOOOOO
"A group of raiders was investigating the crater a few hours later." Nate sat on the bed with Curie wrapped around his arm. "They kidnapped me and held me in their hideout for nearly four months. When I was able to get free, I ran to the nearest Minuteman settlement, which happened to be Graygarden. They contacted the Castle and had me taken back for medical care." He raised his metal appendage. "My arm was way too damaged to be salvaged. So they grabbed a few parts from a sentry bot and some assualtrons and made this." Curie compared his remaining arm to the artificial replacement. It had been welded to be a close in size to his real arm as possible.
"Its worked well enough." Nate continued. "They brought me up to speed about what happened to the Brotherhood after I recovered. Apparently I wasn't pretty."
Several Years Ago...
"Have you gotten in contact with Commander Shaw?" The Minuteman asked.
"Not yet sir. But I'm still trying to rea-"
Gunfire went off in the armory. Lasers lit up the hallway and sent bright lights outside through the window. The defectors from the Brotherhood charged outside. Covered in blood, they were fighting each other and the Minutemen that were stationed inside the armory.
The courtyard erupted in fire and fistfights. The Brotherhood squad had gone berserk, killing each other, Minutemen, and the Brahmin they had grazing in the courtyard grass.
Ada turned her head outside, alerted by the chaos. She charged outside, seeing the mania. She immediately started spraying the Brotherhood with the mini-gun attachment Nate had so graciously given her.
Soon the defectors were dead. The minutemen were gasping for breath, confused about what had taken over the troopers that were seemingly unwaveringly loyal a few moments ago.
"Well... that was strange."
Present day...
They sat together in silence. Curie nestled against the love she thought for so long was dead. Nate drowned in the warmth of the only light he had in his life that had been darkness for so long.
"Why did you leave?" He asked.
"I had to get away from the Commonwealth. It held nothing for me but memories of you. I couldn't live with myself for much longer if I stayed." Nate couldn't believe what he was hearing. She blamed herself?
"Curie. Listen to me." He looked her in the eye and forced her to meet his gaze. "I love you, and what happened to me wasn't your fault. It was completely my fault for leaving without you."
She snuggled back into him. He didn't let her stay there for long though, he stood up and pulled her up with him. "Listen, we managed to get a blueprint of the Prydwen from Cambridge police station shortly before the Brotherhood left. We built one of our own, and its waiting for us." Curie felt her heartbeat speed up. "Wanna head back home? There's some old friends dying to see you." She laughed and kissed him.
"Let's go, but you've got four years to make up." She whispered seductively. "We need to get to work as soon as we get on board."
Nate chuckled. "Can do. I think the captains quarters is soundproofed." The two snickered as they kissed, Curie felt her insides turn inside out as he kissed her. If she was asked four or five years ago to explain what she felt right now, she'd be at a loss. Because all the textbooks and science articles can't explain the strongest force known to man.
Love.
And... my first major story is officially wrapped up! And it only took me nearly a year!
Thank you to everyone who read this story and I hope you enjoyed it. It was super fun, (if not mentally straining at times) to write.
Thank you again,
- Skaterbob2 :)