A/N: Quick side note: Kate from DC is actually a carbon copy of my Lone Wanderer from FO3. During that playthrough, she was inspired by Kantata's Kate from "On A Deeply Personal Level." Funny I'd already named my LW Kate before reading their story. Anyway, I'd toyed around with continuing their story before, but it sucks lol

25. Reunion

MacCready POV

Wait by M83

"How much further?" Beth asks me.

"No idea. I never traveled by boat from Boston to DC." We've been gone for nearly two days now. The sun is setting and we've already talked about turning in for the night. Normally, I'd want us to take turns making sure we don't beach ourselves—however, right now, I just want us both to be rested by the time we make it to Megaton.

And as if on cue, Beth points to a large figure ahead of us, silhouetted in the sunset. "What's that?"

I look at it for a second, before I nearly yell, "Rivet City!"

"That's Rivet City?" She squints and looks at it as if for the first time—which, it sorta is. "I was imagining it to be bigger…"

"Is that not big to you? It's fu—frickin' enormous! You can't be serious."

"I know Nate wasn't in the Navy, but I have seen aircraft carriers nearly twice that size. Now those were enormous."

"Alrighty, then," I say, shaking my head. How is that not big to her?

We decided it'd be a good idea to leave the boat near Rivet City, as there are guards almost everywhere and few enemies due to that. We stopped into the marketplace quickly to tell Chief Harkness that the boat isn't anything dangerous—we were just going to be leaving it there for a little while as we journeyed between two of the biggest settlements in the Capital Wasteland.

Although we're both really tired from the travel, finally knowing we're this close perks us up. It would be smart to stay overnight in Rivet City, but we can't keep still long enough to sleep a wink. She laughs as she makes jokes about us acting like we're on "energy drinks," all the while knowing I'm lost as she makes her Pre-War references.

She can't believe it when I tell her that Chief Harkness is a Gen 3 synth. "No, he's not."

"No, really," I try to convince her. "Kate figured it out when one of the Institute jerks came down looking for him. He'd gotten a mind wipe and face change, so he was safe. Kate made sure the dude—Zimmerman, I think she said his name was?—didn't even have the chance to catch on. So, in a way, I guess you could say Kate is considered an ally with the Railroad. As well as the Brotherhood. She still holds rank as Paladin, even though she earned it years ago and rarely sees BOS personnel."

Beth's face expresses shock. "Really? Kate's in the Brotherhood, too?"

"Has been for a decade or so. They helped her father's dream come true: Project Purity. Remember the tidal basin we passed?" She nods. "Kate got that running with the help of the Brotherhood. Almost died in the process. She hasn't had too much to do with them ever since."

Her eyebrows are still raised. "Wow." I chuckle.

Beth can see some of the monuments on the walk to the giant crater of a town, and as much as she wants to see them up close, she's afraid to. "They'll be so much different from the last time I saw them. I could handle Bunker Hill, but seeing more than one… I don't think I could do it."

Once we get far enough away from the city, we start talking about what might happen when we get there.

"He was not even two when Lucy died. It has been four years. I wonder if he remembers her at all… Seemed like he was having a hard enough time when I went to the Commonwealth as it was. Be a shame if he forgot his own mother…" Just thinking about it gets me upset.

"I hope he remembers her, too. …But you know it's a small chance that he does, right?"

"Yeah. Unfortunately."

We're now nearing Grayditch—one of the up and coming settlements. "I never hear you talk about this place," Beth says as we stroll through the town. She looks all around her, taking in the similarities and differences of the towns in the Capital Wasteland versus Commonwealth.

"It's pretty new. Like, under a year old. Houses are being built, brahmin stables are being put together. All the while, the mayor of the place, little eighteen-year-old Bryan Wilks runs the show in his father's memory. He works just as hard as the rest of them to build up the settlement. Kate's proud," I tell her as I point to the kid, who is at the moment literally pushing a brahmin into one of the established pins. "She saved his life ten years ago. Fire ants killed his dad and the rest of the town. They nearly got him. He moved to Rivet City with his aunt for a while, but decided to come back. He thought Grayditch could use a bit of revival."

"One brave kid," she comments, then looks confused. "Wait, how do you know all this since you lived in a cave?"

I chuckle. "Like I said, Kate saved his life. She told me all about it. As for the 'newer' news, like the restoration happening under a year ago—after I left—she told me about it in one of the handful of letters we sent to each other."

"Oh, okay. It's cool you could send letters to keep in touch while you were gone." She continues to absorb the town, now nearing the size of Megaton itself.

She goes silent for a little bit, but once we leave Grayditch, she quietly asks, "What if he doesn't like me?" I know who she means.

I'm baffled at her question. At first I don't say anything, which probably makes her even more nervous than she already sounds. She looks up at me with sad eyes.

"How could he not?" I ask her in just as quiet a voice. "You're amazing, Beth. There's no way he'll like you—he'll love you. No doubt about it." I try to give her an encouraging smile. She grins back and nods a little bit. Why doesn't she believe me?

"Well, what about Kate and Butch? What if they don't like me? They're important people in your guys' lives. I'm afraid we won't get along." So pessimistic. Why so pessimistic?

I pull on her arm to make her stop. She looks at me with rounded eyes. "Beth. Everybody is going to like you. Ellis… he might be a different story—just don't worry about him too much. But everyone else—Duncan, Kate, Butch—you'll be just as awesome to them as you are to me. So, stop worrying. It's not like you're meeting the in-laws or anything. Just calm down—deep breaths." Did I just say in-laws? Oh, boy… Like I advised, she takes a deep breath. I continue, "I mean, it was you who said that everything will work out alright back at home. So, listen to yourself, Beth. There's nothing to worry about. Period."

"Welcome to Megaton. Enjoy your stay." That protectron deputy will never not creep me out.

We walk up to the house and look at each other. Why does it seem like I don't know what to do from here? Just reach your hand up and knock. That's what you did when you came here the first time. I raise my hand up and stop. Am I ready?

I think of my little boy, just yards from me. How he was so weak when I saw him last, how he was so devastated when I told him I needed to leave. How he looked at me with those hazel eyes he got from Lucy, the sadness so deeply rooted in them, and his lower lip jutted out into, not a pout, but actual anguish. I know he's not that sick boy anymore—thanks to Beth—but I am still somehow… dreading… seeing him. I try to convince myself that he's fine—and for God's sake, what am I waiting for?—but my hand doesn't make a move toward the door. It just stays still. Am I afraid he'll be mad at me? Or that maybe he's forgotten me, like his mom? What if he wants to stay here in Megaton with them? I couldn't handle that…

Beth meets my eyes—hers also cast in a bit of fret—but nothing even close to mine. She sees my want to knock, but understands my hesitation also. She makes the call and knocks for me, to which I'm thankful.

I hear someone scurrying around inside the living room, followed by, "Mom! Someone's at the door!" Ellis then runs upstairs as I hear footsteps coming toward us. It opens and I'm faced by an expression of utter bewilderment.

Kate stands on the other side, her mouth shaped into an O. After a few seconds, she mutters, "You're here…" She smiles hugely and comes up to me, throwing her arms around me in a vice-tight hug. Suddenly, she almost jumps and says, "Where are my manners? Come in! Please!" She shuffles to the side as Beth and I move into the small living room.

I put my arm around Beth and say, "Kate… This is Beth. Beth—Kate."

Beth steps forward and grips Kate's hands. "I've heard so much about you. Thank you so much for doing this for Robert—for Duncan."

Kate chuckles. "It's nothing he wouldn't do for us, I guarantee it." Beth steps back to me and wraps her arm around my back. She smiles up at me. Kate continues, "I've heard some about you, too." She chuckles again.

"Oh, yeah?" Beth glances between Kate and I to which we both laugh a little.

"He didn't tell you?" she asks her. Beth shakes her head. "Oh. Well then." Kate eyes me with a bit of a dubious expression before she tells her, "He wrote me about you." Beth looks at me, and I can feel a small blush blooming on my face. "When you hired him, he sent me a letter. He told me that he finally got hired by someone, and maybe his new employer could help him with finding Duncan's cure.

"Anyway, he goes on about how beautiful you are, and how much you'd changed in just a month. To me, it sounded like love in the making—and I guess that I was right, seeing you two now—I know how it goes. I still have that letter, if you want to see it sometime."

"I'd love to," Beth responds, looking at me with a small grin, making my cheeks turn all the more pink. Please. Not that letter. Please, God.

As Kate is about to go to her filing cabinet, Butch walks in the front door, sees Beth and I, and exhibits a similar reaction like Kate had when she saw us. We talk for a bit before I notice a small head poking down from upstairs. Ellis must remember my face, as his mouth turns into an O like both Kate and Butch's had. Kate wiggles her finger at him, signifying to come over. She quietly reintroduces us and asks what Duncan is up to. "He's asleep."

Butch replies, "You can go back to bed, but don't wake him up, okay?" Ellis nods and runs off rather noisily, not getting the memo or just not connecting the whole quiet warning with how loud his tread is.

Kate speaks up, "He's been doing great here, Robert. He's missed you horribly, but he's gotten along with Ellis and the other kids. The adults love him, that's for sure. You raised an amazing son."

This makes me smile. I've spent so many nights awake, worrying about how my boy was mixing in with the rest of the Megaton population. To know that he was not only accepted, but actually loved, makes me regret having to leave just a little bit less.

After a minute, I heavy sigh and mutter, "Well, I guess I've stalled enough…"

Kate smiles sympathetically. "Nervous?"

"Oh, yeah." I chuckle, it's sound proving my point.

"Wait right here. I'll be right back with him." Kate goes up the steps and disappears. Although we're on two separate floors of the house, I can still hear her. "Duncan." Pause. "Duncan? Can you come downstairs with me real quick? The lights are on so keep your eyes closed, okay?" I hear the smallest of noises as he sets his feet down on the floor from his bed. I see Kate slowly guiding him down the steps. Even his legs, which I can see from him wearing shorts, are stronger and meatier than the last time I saw him. It's been almost a year… So long… Kate stops him at the foot of the stairs and lets me look at him for a moment.

He's a little taller now, and his boils are all gone. I can see some scars where they were—some on his arms and legs, others across his bare abdomen. Last I saw, his muscles were starting to deteriorate just the slightest bit—he was so weak, he couldn't play like a normal kid to keep them healthy. Although he was just woken up suddenly, and for no apparent reason, his expression almost seems… happy. He looks so good. I'm now finding it hard to hold some tears back. Once I've gotten a look at him, Kate finally says, "Okay, you can open your eyes now."

He rubs his eyes with his little hands and opens them, blinking the sleep out of them. They're slightly unfocused at first but then he sees me and they go into focus in record time. Looking at me with wide eyes, he can't believe what he's seeing—even more so than Kate, Butch, and Ellis combined.

"…Dad?"

I crouch down as he takes a hesitant step toward me, then another, and has built up so much speed by the time he reaches me, that he slams into me, wrapping his arms around as much of my torso as his little arms can manage. I'm already sobbing by the time he starts crying. We just sit here on the floor—having had fallen at the point of impact—holding onto each other and just letting out all the built up emotions from all the time we'd been apart.

Finally.

I have my son back.

Beth POV

Wait by M83

When Robert and I get to the door he says belongs to Kate and Butch, he stands in front of it and raises his hand to knock. But he just stands there with his hand in the air—he doesn't make a move. I look at his face. His brows are furrowed and his mouth is almost set in a frown. He's overthinking it. His upset expression continues on for a bit more before I manage to make eye contact with him. What I thought I'd seen in his expression before is definitely evident in my eyes. He's scared. I'm leery of the whole situation myself, but nothing like him. He's downright terrified. But I know he's been looking forward to this moment—the moment where he is reunited with his healthy son—so I knock on the door for him, to which he looks eminently grateful.

There's movement on the other side of the door and I hear a young boy shout, "Mom! Someone's at the door!" Then there's the sound of the child running up some steps. I chuckle internally. Everything is always the mom's job.

I now hear someone coming to the door, and when it opens I see a woman of about thirty, which I assume is Kate. She looks at Robert with complete shock, and you can tell she had no idea about our arrival. She mutters, "You're here…" then steps up to him and gives him a massive hug. Suddenly releasing him, she says, "Where are my manners? Come in! Please!" She moves a bit to let us in.

Now standing in what I presume is the living room, Robert puts his arm around me and looks at Kate with a smile. "Kate… This is Beth. Beth—Kate." Listening to the excitement in his voice at our meeting, I know he's thrilled to have me meet the woman that helped him in his most dire hour.

I go up to her and grip her hands in my own. "I've heard so much about you," I tell her, thinking of all the stories Robert has shared with me in the past. "Thank you so much for doing this for Robert—for Duncan."

Her expression of shock from my sudden grip fades and she smiles with a chuckle. "It's nothing he wouldn't do for us, I guarantee it." Being proud of him, I step back next to Robert and wrap my arm around his back and smile up at him. "I've heard some about you, too." She laughs.

"Oh, yeah?" What has she heard? I look between her and Robert as they share a chuckle.

"He didn't tell you?" I shake my head as Kate looks to Robert with a look that says, Of course he didn't. "Oh. Well then." She glances back at me and says, "He wrote me about you." I look up at Robert, who I swear is turning red at the mention of it. Kate continues, "When you hired him, he sent me a letter. He told me that he finally got hired by someone, and maybe his new employer could help him with finding Duncan's cure.

"Anyway, he goes on about how beautiful you are, and how much you'd changed in just a month." He wrote about me that soon? I didn't know he liked me that early on… "To me, it sounded like love in the making—and I guess I was right, seeing you two now—I know how it goes." She goes to turn toward a filing cabinet. "I still have that letter, if you want to see it sometime."

"I'd love to." I look up at Robert with a grin, and see his face turning an even darker shade of red.

It's then that a man walks through the front door and cuts the letter conversion short, to Robert's approval, as I hear him breathe a small sigh of relief. The man's just as shocked as Kate was to see him standing here, so I assume that this must be Butch, Kate's husband. He greets him warmly and then I'm introduced to him. Several minutes after this, Robert suddenly looks over to the stairs. Following his gaze, I see a boy around the age of seven. He resembles both Kate and Butch, so I know it can't be Duncan. After Kate prompts him to come closer, we're introduced to him as well. When his mother asks him what Duncan is doing, he responds that he's sleeping. Butch then tells their son, Ellis, to go back to bed, and the boy runs up the steps.

Kate catches my attention by speaking. "He's been doing great here, Robert." I presume she means Duncan. "He's missed you horribly, but he's gotten along with Ellis and the other kids. The adults love him, that's for sure." She smiles cheerfully. "You raised an amazing son." Robert now smiles, with no reservations.

A bit later, he sighs heavily, and says, "Well, I guess I've stalled enough…"

Kate seems to understand, as she asks, "Nervous?"

Robert chuckles, the sound proving the answer he gives. "Oh, yeah."

"Wait right here," Kate says. "I'll be right back with him." She goes up the stairs and I can hear her trying to wake Duncan, but I'm not really listening, as I'm too busy looking at Robert's face—his expression showing his nerves, his wondering thoughts. I'm engrossed in watching him, but as I hear footsteps coming down, I turn my head to it. This is it…

Kate walks down with a boy holding her hand, and I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't this.

A boy of five years, dressed in sleeping shorts, stands at the foot of the stairs, holding onto Kate's hand, showing his trust in her. He has skin that matches his father's but his hair is more brown—matching the colour Robert described as the colour of Lucy's. He seems a bit small for five years old, but very healthy—as he only sways a little from being tired, rather than being weak from his sickness. I see no evidence from said sickness, other than some scars left behind from the boils he once had. They're pretty small and he's young enough that they should disappear as the years pass. As all this registers, the only thought I have is, He looks good, happy. Kate speaks again, saying, "Okay, you can open your eyes now." He rubs the back of his hands over his eyes before opening them. Slightly out of focus at first, but once he catches sight of his father, they snap into alertness and grow to be very wide.

"…Dad?" He can't seem to believe his own eyes, taking small steps toward Robert, as he crouches down to receive his son. Duncan then realizes that this is real and bolts toward his dad, knocking him down as they collide.

Duncan's arms are so small, but he wraps them as far as he can around his dad. Robert is now, not only crying, but sobbing, overjoyed from having his son back in his arms. They sit on the floor, both of them crying from the reunion.

I notice Kate and Butch embracing, happy to see them together again. In the back of my mind, I wonder how many times they had to tell him that his dad will be back, that he loves him, and that's why he had to leave. How many nights they witnessed him cry himself to sleep, knowing his daddy wasn't there to tuck him in…

However, these thoughts are just in the back of my mind, because I'm too busy crying myself. Seeing Robert this happy is something I've never seen before—and I've seen him extremely happy. And to finally see Duncan with my own eyes… It's more than I can handle. And I thought I couldn't handle something as simple as those stupid monuments…

Roughly half an hour has passed since Duncan first came down the stairs. Kate and Butch have moved to the second level, and I've seated myself on the couch, facing the bundle of tears sat on the floor.

Robert's eyes have finally run dry, but he doesn't break his embrace with his son. He looks up at me with eyes full of hope and the smallest yet happiest grin I've ever seen. Duncan is laying on his lap, nearly passed out—from the excitement or being woke up in the middle of the night, I'm not sure. Maybe both.

Nudging him, Robert finally speaks, as he hasn't muttered a single word to Duncan yet—he couldn't through all the emotion. "Duncan?" The boy stirs and drowsily looks up at him, a smile on his face. "I want to introduce you to someone." Oh shi—shoot, here we go… Robert nudges Duncan again, and they both stand. Leading him over to me on the couch, Robert says, "Duncan, this is Beth. She's the one that helped me find your cure. I wouldn't have got it if it wasn't for her." His son looks up at him, then at me. What he does next… I never would have expected it.

He walks over and puts his arms around me. Not shyly, or just to be polite—he actually hugs me in gratitude. Breaking away, he glances up at me. "Thank you." Then he runs back to his dad, nearly hiding behind him.

Robert just laughs. "There's no need to hide, buddy. She doesn't bite." He turns and kneels in front of him. "She's really nice. How about you talk to her?"

Duncan peeks around Robert and looks at me. He decides to trust him, and walks back over to me, however hesitantly. Looking down at the floor, he asks me, "What's your favourite colour?" A simple question, but always a start.

"Either green or pink," I say. "It's used to be blue, but I changed my mind a little while ago." I think of Vault-Tec's colour of choice and internally cringe. "What's yours?"

"I like red. I have for a long time now."

"Red's a nice colour," I tell him with a smile. He looks up and grins, then looks away again. I chuckle at his shyness.

Robert puts his hand on Duncan's shoulder. "You look tired, buddy. How about we all go to sleep now—I know Beth and I are tired from our trip. We can talk more in the morning, okay?"

Duncan looks up at his dad, his neck looking like it could break at any moment from the harsh angle. "Okay, Dad."

I end up taking one of the armchairs and leave the couch to Robert and his son. As I cram myself into the small chair, I look over to them. Duncan is laying lengthwise on top of Robert, his arms wrapped around his father—Robert's hand resting on Duncan's back. They both fell asleep quickly, and even now in their unconscious state, their glee is unmistakable.

Although I would have been far more comfortable in a bed, I couldn't be any more pleased to be here, in this very moment. And even though I couldn't have that happy reunion with my own son, I'm more than elated to see Robert with his finally.

I think back to the conversation I had with him before we left home. He was right. He's definitely shy—and even though I've only known him for a little while… I can see myself loving him like he's my own… I smile as I start to drift off.

A/N: This is seriously one of my favourite chapters. Just thinking about it makes me happy.

There's an artwork of what the artist calls "concept design" on both Tumblr and DeviantArt. They'd made a drawing of Duncan, and this is how I'd pictured him all along. They go by both Verena-Senpai and Pancake-Senpai, so there's that.