MacCready
Two weeks ago Deacons tracker stopped working though we all doubted it worked to begin with being as the tracker showed he was in Sanctuary the whole time. I sat against Avery's bed on the floor wondering how the hell we could let this happen… the two of them just disappeared off the damn face of the wasteland. I feel alone even though any day now Duncan was going to be brought over here, I knew I should be happy but without Avery I feel lost.
"How are you doing?" Paladin Danse's voice catches me off guard, I look up at him faking a smile.
"I'm fine." Danse sighs and sits on the bed next to my head.
"I miss her too…" He says softly as he stares at his hands.
"I don't know why I let them go. Why I thought it would be okay for me to let them find the institute without us." I nudge his leg with my shoulder.
"It's not your fault. We need to focus on finding them. There any chance your brotherhood friends could find out if there is anything here technology wise. What we need to know for sure is that they truly aren't right beneath our noses." I say as Danse nods.
"I called upon my squad they are bringing scanners to see if there is anything worth finding around here." I sigh feeling like it's a complete waste of time but I know that if I don't do this we will be ruined. Just as our conversation ends I can hear the sound of the vertibird close to landing.
"Shall we go meet them?" He says offering me a hand and I take it following behind him. I run into his back as he abruptly stops in his tracks.
"What the hell Danse?" I look up at him seeing his body go ridged.
"Elder Maxon welcome." He says saluting this strange guy who gets off the vertibird followed by Danse's subordinates who look fairly guilty.
"Why did you not tell me Knight Avery found the institute?" Danse swallows hard looking at the ground.
"He had no idea, I came to him after Avery left to find them." He glared at me and something about this guy clicked in my mind. He looks really f- freaking familiar.
"Arthur… Arthur Maxon." I say trying my hardest not to laugh.
"I become a gunner and you… you end up becoming the leader of the freaking brotherhood of steel?" Danse looks at me like I'm out of my damn mind.
"Mayor MacCready?" He questions looking at me confused.
"It's nice to see you again squire." I mock him with a laugh and Maxon's face turns to that of a smile. He steps forward offering me his hand to shake it.
"It's been too long; I didn't expect you to come here after the incident in the capital wasteland." I shrugged.
"You know me I love trouble." Maxon nods.
"Obviously if you are in bed with my newest knight." I smirk at that.
"What can I say?" Maxon just rolls his eyes.
"I need to find her Maxon. Help us please." Maxon sighs and gestures for the other two with him to begin doing a sweep of Sanctuary.
"They will do a sweep of Sanctuary if anything high tech is around here they will find it." I smile thanking him as Danse looks between us confused.
"We met in the capital wasteland as children when Miss Lyons did a raid on little lamplight. A small haven for young children where MacCready was the mayor." Danse looked at me surprised.
"How is Sarah these days?" Maxon looks over his shoulder towards where the pilot of the Vertibird is seated. He waves her over and I stare in shock as Sarah comes out of the vertibird.
"Sarah!" I callout to a woman who is ten years my senior. I run over to her wrapping my arms around her tightly.
"Hey kid!" She says with a laugh as she pulls away from me.
"How have you been?!" She says taking in my appearance.
"I've been good just waiting to find news on Avery and hear from the caravan bringing my son up here with us." They both look shocked.
"A son?" They say together almost frowning at the realization.
"Yeah, had a wife a while back." They read my expression easily and express their condolences. I shove away the thoughts of Lucy.
"I'm surprised that someone as strong as this girl has gone missing even against the institute." Max on says looking towards Sarah.
"She's not missing, her son has her. Shaun is the director of the institute." Maxon freezes as those words leave my lips.
"She claimed her son an infant." I shook my head.
"Turns out he was released from his cryo sleep 60 years before her." I say causing Maxon to frown.
"SIIIR we found something!" We all turn to see Haylen and Reese waving at us from atop the mountain that had that vault. We all run over to them watching as they looking around the area.
"The scanner its picking up a lot of technology centered here." Haylen says as she looks around the barren area.
"It has to be reacting to the Vault beneath us." Maxon says with a sigh. They frown all accepting it as the tracker wasn't working to begin with and now with its signal gone there's no way to find her.
"MacCready, we should head back." That's Danse at my side again.
"I think I'm going to spend the night in the Vault." I say looking up at him. Everyone was well on their way down except for us. I heard a twig snap not too far from us. I look over to see a man dressed in a courser uniform like Avery had described when she came back.
"Courser!" I screamed as I pushed Danse towards the nuclear shelter before us.
"FUCK, get in the damn shelter hurry!" The gunshots were already flying towards us, one slid across my cheek barely grazing it. I pushed Danse inside and slammed my hand on the button to close the doors. My heart is kicking into double time as the bullets hit the outside of the shelter that I'm now crammed against Danse inside it. I'm trembling as I try to think of a way out of this a way to get passed that courser. But he will easily be able to take us down. Danse leans back against the opposite side of the shelter to give me a bit more room. When he does he hits a button that begins lowering us into the ground.
Then before we know it we are being lowered into something that I have no fucking words for. We look up at each other before looking back down at Sanctuary that I swear we were just standing on. "What in the world?" Danse says voicing the thoughts in my head.
Nate
Immediate discomfort is what I felt despite entering my own home, when Deacon was the one to greet me I thought nothing of it until Avery arrived behind him. She seemed calm a little too calm for being so close to Deacon while knowing exactly who he is. Part of me wonders if he's told her the truth but I don't think he's that stupid…. He loves her too much. Love…. I don't know if I can feel that for her or anything else. How could I when I'm reminded every day by father that I am just a synth with his father's face.
But I can't help but grit my teeth watching the way they unconsciously react to each other, the way they gravitate towards each other until they are just barely grazing the other. It's almost as if they need to be touching, to be close to one another. It's sickening, she's mine even if it is until she's pregnant.
The thought of letting Deacon win her is what's really pissing me off. Her emotions wont easily be swayed but she could have loved me if it weren't for that asshole begging father to let him back. Since he was fathers favorite courser of course he caved but at least he got the railroad leaders location. I try to swallow away my anger as he pulls her close kissing her cheek before waving good bye.
I look back to Avery who is looking at the door with a frown. "Did I interrupt something?" I say getting her to look back up at be. But she doesn't even look guilty.
"Of course not, Deacon was already leaving, he just wanted to make sure I was alright." She lies but for whose sake? Hers or mine? I walk closer to her watching as she stares at me curiously I place a hand on the back of her head using it to pull her against my chest.
"I missed you… did you miss me?" I whispered into her ear as her hands raised wrapping around my waist.
"Of course I did Nate." She doesn't even question where I've been, though I doubt she cares. I pull back only to lift her chin so she's staring up at me, even now her eyes stray away from me just a fraction. Looking behind me rather than at me, it really makes me angry. I go to kiss her lips my lips hovering over hers just an inch away. She squeezes her eyes shut can she even look at me anymore? I feel strange emotions well up inside me, I can't force myself on her. I can't force her affections; I don't want to force them.
I pull away from her burying my face into my palms as the tears come. Did he feel something for her after all? "Nate?" She whispered looking up at me confused.
"Hah… you can't look at me, my touch disgusts you don't it. After being with him for one night. Is that really all it takes to forget me Avery?" I say dropping my hands from my face to look at her. She slaps me so hard that if I were human I'm sure my brain would have been rattling.
"Fuck you." She hisses as she goes to hit me again, I catch her wrists in my hands and slam her hard against the wall. Her eyes seem to widen as a wave of familiarity crashes over her.
"Let me go." She growls while I stare at her face. She pushes me off of her walking back to our bedroom, the anger in me fuels me to follow after her. I stop short when I see the bed is a fucking mess I look to the side to see Avery's dress in a torn heap by the closet. I swallow hard as the betrayal sets into my heart, I grab her again my hands wrapping around her so her back is against my chest. I whisper the question into her ear.
"You slept with him?" I say my voice hoarse.
"I did." she growls in frustration.
"I'm your husband how the hell could you do that to me?" I feel a tear roll down my cheek.
"You aren't my husband, I watched Nate get shot in the head before my eyes. I watched him die as our baby boy was stolen from his dead hands. My husband is dead." She screams as she tries to push me off of her. She's struggling but I don't move, I watch as she breaks down in tears. While I play my part, I stare at her as though she's lost her damn mind. My hands go to her pale cheeks cupping them to make her look at me.
"Listen to yourself Avery? Do you realize how fucking crazy you sound? I'm right here, I'm alive and you just cheated on me using this as an excuse? What the hell?" She's shake her head pushing me away as I stare at her looking as distraught as I possibly can. Though with how I'm feeling now it isn't much of a leap.
"Deacon is here and that's proof enough whatever this place is, is a lie." She says it confidently but I can only glare at the name leaving her lips.
"Did Deacon tell you that? That this life we have is fake?" She shakes her head and part of me is angry, I wish he would have told her. That way I could get rid of him.
"He didn't say that… he didn't have to…" She swallowed hard at how tightly I held her.
"So you slept with this stranger that resembles someone you used to care about based on a delusion that I am not really your husband?" Avery frowns almost as if the gears in her brain are turning, the exact words she must be saying in her head are 'when he says it like that it really does sound crazy. Deacon is here but he didn't confirm nor deny my thoughts.'
"He claimed he didn't know me. But those scars on his body, those were real I was there when those burns on his back were made." She speaks again and I use Nates background without Avery to make up the cruelest of lies.
"Deacon was a part of my regiment when we took back Anchorage. The man that you saw and you slept with is not the same person your delusions are leading you to believe he is!" I yell at her pushing her away, she spins to stare at me glaring as if she's questioning everything that's ever been said to her.
"I need to talk to Deacon." She says and I can tell she's feeling anxiety creep into her veins.
"Go right ahead, in fact lets both go over there right now and see what he says." I take her by her wrist once more and drag her out of the house until we are at that assholes door. Just as I was about to knock X6 opened the door leaving Deacons house his eyes narrowing as he passed me.
"What's going on? Let go of Avery you're hurting her!" Deacon says pushing me away from Avery.
"Get the fuck inside now!" I growl quietly towards both of them so none of the others have to see this. Avery walks behind Deacon rubbing her wrist.
"What is going on?" He asks looking between us for a moment before examining Avery's wrist to assure there is no damage.
"Tell me, did you know Avery before yesterday?" Deacon swallows hard his forest colored eyes dimming as he understands what's about to happen.
"What's this about?" I look up at him staring straight into his eyes as I reply flatly.
"You had sex with my wife after only knowing her for not even an hour Deacon?" He rolls his eyes at me as Avery clings to his side.
"You don't understand anything." He says his answers trying to remain neutral without giving me an answer and suddenly a though pops into my head.
"Did he come inside you?" Avery looks up at me almost mortified as realization sets in.
"We need to get you to a doctor… Do you truly enjoy going through this all over again?" I question as she begins to tremble her face becoming unbearably pale.
"Come here, I'll take you to get checked." I whisper and she pulls away from Deacon walking towards me as the tears roll down her cheek. I wrap an arm around her.
"Let's go." I call over my shoulder glaring at Deacon who has no idea what's happening. He follows behind me getting in the back seat of the car as Avery purposely chooses the seat next to me. We are all quiet on the way to the hospital Doctor Li had set up down here.