"How's your food, Lil?" Rachel asked, running a hand through her sister's tangled red hair. The ten-year-old smiled up at her as she chewed eagerly. Despite 200 years of nuclear fallout, the Salisbury steak she was tearing through was the best food she'd had in weeks. As Lily tried to reply, Red quickly clamped a hand over her mouth.

"Shhh. What did I tell you about talking with your mouth full?" She chided, using the corner of her shirt to wipe her mouth clean. Lily nodded, more than happy to savor her food for as long as possible. Red sighed and leaned back against a wall. Only Lily's greedy chewing interrupted the silence of their surroundings, making it hard to focus on anything else.

"Do you want some?" Lily asked, her mouth covered in sauce. Despite what she'd told her, the girl was talking with her mouth full; Rachel was painfully reminded of her aching stomach as crumbs and bits of meat dropped to the dirty subway floor.

"I'm not hungry, Lil." She said with another drawn-out sigh. "Eat up."

Lily looked at her with suspicious green eyes for a moment, before the hunger quickly won her over and she tore into the last of the steak.

They'd been camping in the subway for two months now. At first, the barely-lit platform and gaping black tunnels had sent forth a constant stream of horrors, boh real and imagined. Ghouls, Molerats, Radroaches; a whole week had gone by before Lily managed to get a night's sleep. And even then, the slightest sound would jolt her awake, her skin pale and her lip trembling.

Thankfully, someone had already cleared most of the subway out; the abundant bullet casings and ghoul carcasses sprawled across the platform and tracks made that obvious. The ghouls seemed to avoid the area, maybe out of reverence for their fallen brethren, maybe out of fear for the one who'd killed them.

Considering that the two of them had slept on the ancient remains of a subway seat last night, whoever had cleared out this place hadn't bothered to settle in. And it was unlikely that this place would be a permanent set-up for them either. The infrequent but ominous moans and groans coming from the subway tunnels served as a constant reminder that the ghouls would eventually come back to reclaim their territory.

Rachel's chest tightened at the thought. Last night had been one of the worst in her short life. Clutching a knife with one hand and covering Lily's ears with the other, she'd peered into the darkness surrounding their subway car as ghouls groaned and moaned outside their car. A whole pack of ferals had moved through the station, eventually disappearing down a subway tunnel. If even one ghoul had entered their car…

A sharp cry brought her out of her thoughts. Lily was looking up at her with tears in her eyes. Rachel looked down to see the poor girl's pale hand caught in her vice-like grip. Instantly she let go, and Lily winced in pain as she nursed her hand.

"Hey, I'm sorry, Lil." Red said softly, reaching towards her sister. Lily allowed Rachel to pull her close, taking comfort in her sister's warm presence. For a moment, everything was quiet in the subway. Lily's rapid heartbeat and gentle breathing were all Rachel wanted to hear.

"Lily, we're going to have to leave this place soon." Rachel said, rubbing her sister's arm.

"Where will we go?"

"I don't know. The Commonwealth is a big place." Rachel sighed. Fear and adrenaline had kept her awake all night, but now she was losing her battle against exhaustion. "Maybe somewhere up North."

"You should sleep, Rachel." She insisted, reaching up with a grimy hand to cover Rachel's half-closed eyes. Rachel smiled, but allowed her eyes to close.

"If you hear anything, see anything, you'll wake me up, right?" Rachel asked, her voice trailing off. She was asleep before Lily could nod, still chewing on the last of her meal.

"Thank you for coming over, Cassie." Piper's smile was warm, a perfect fit for an unusually warm winter evening. She was leaning on the doorframe of her home, one hand on her hip. From a certain angle, with her raven hair swept to one side, Piper could easily be mistaken for the General.

"It was my pleasure, Ms. Wright. Nat's a great kid."

"Book two seats on a caravan to Diamond city and take her with you. I'll give you my hat if you're saying the same thing on the ride back."

"I think she'll fit in just fine, Ms. Wright. She's got plenty of spirit."

"Judging by the hair pulling and pencil chewing I saw, spirit isn't helping her with math."

"She's not too far behind. As long as she keeps calm and learns from her mistakes, she'll be fine."

Piper nodded slowly.

"You've been wonderful to us, Cassie. I can see Nat's taken a liking to you." Cassie thought she detected a hint of envy. "But you don't have to come here, you know."

"What do you mean?"

Piper bit her lip, then took a step forward. The door swung shut behind her.

"I mean, if Blue's making you come here to check up on us, you don't have to." She tilted her head to one side, curling a lock of hair around her finger. Her lips thinned into the faintest of smiles. Cassie realized it wasn't envy she'd heard. It was loneliness. "Just…let her know we're doing fine."

"I will, Ms. Wright. But I really do enjoy spending time with Nat."

Piper's smile widened.

"You might be the first non-related adult that's ever said that about her." She tapped her chin. "Maybe there's hope for her after all."

Cassie grinned.

"Just leave it to me, Ms. Wright. I'll try to swing by around the same time tomorrow."

"Please do. I heard mixed fractions are up next." Piper gave her a look of such believable horror that Cassie tossed a glance over her shoulder, just in case a Mirelurk was sneaking up on her.

"Oh and Cassie?" Piper's voice caught her right as she was about to turn and leave. "How old are you?"

"Eighteen, Ms. Wright."

Piper winced.

"Ouch. You're a lot younger than I thought. Still…I'd like for you to call me Piper."

"Of course, Ms. Piper." Cassie's hands flew to her mouth. "I mean, Pi-"

"I know what you meant. Thank you. For everything."

Cassie Shaw found herself smiling on her way back to the barracks, and she couldn't quite figure out why. Some of it had to be Piper's doing. The reporter could be blunt at times and she radiated confidence in a way that was guaranteed to intimidate, but Cassie couldn't help feeling…drawn to her. Every person she'd met seemed to have their eyes lowered to the ground, searching for their next meal or keeping an eye out for minefields. Even her mother had kept her sights low, trying to build the Minutemen up piece by piece. Piper was the first person she'd met with her eyes aimed at the sky.

Her smile began to fade as she got closer to the barracks. It disappeared completely by the time she'd reached Dyson's office. She took a deep breath, reached out slowly, and knocked twice.

"Come in."

She pulled the door open, taking care to slip in as quietly as she could.

Dyson's office wasn't big, not even by Minutemen standards. Cassie woke up every morning in the soldier's barracks, usually with someone else's leg lying across her chest or a hand tangled in her hair. She had to crawl over a minimum of four or five bodies to reach the bathroom.

She shouldn't have felt suffocated when the door closed behind her.

Cassie slid into the empty seat on the other side of Dyson's desk, kept her eyes on the floor. He was reading, and he didn't like being disturbed.

"Where have you been?" He asked.

She winced at the sharpness in his voice.

"I was at Ms. Wright's house. Her sister needs help catching up in school."

Dyson looked up, offered her a smile.

"That's good, Cassie. It's good when you tell the truth. Makes me happy."

She nodded.

"Do you know anything about a woman named Maria?"

"No sir."

Dyson frowned, shifted through the papers on his desk. "I have your name…here." He pointed to a spot on one of the papers. "Authorizing the entry of one Maria Gonzalez on the authority of the General."

Bill. The man was meticulous about his reports. She resisted the urge to clench her fists or show any signs of frustration. Dyson would be watching for those.

"I'm sorry sir, I didn't know her name. Yes, I authorized her entry."

"Did you know she'd failed the SAFE test?"

"I did know, sir. But Ms. Wright was insistent on letting her inside."

"Does Ms. Wright command the authority of the General, Cassie?"

"No sir. But she was here by direct request of the General, so I thou−"

"You thought wrong." He crumpled the report into a ball and tossed it into a trashcan without looking. "She can't stay."

"Perhaps the General should know−"

"No. She doesn't have to be bothered for every little thing. Someone fails the SAFE test, they're sent to Covenant. No exceptions."

Cassie couldn't keep a straight face any longer. She leaned forward, hands pressed on the desk.

"But she had a child! A little baby boy!"

"What's this, Cassie?" A small smile spread across the man's lips. "Why so emotional?"

She realized she'd risen out of her seat. As she slowly sank back down, Dyson tapped out a tune on the desk.

"Perhaps you feel a certain…camaraderie? A kinship of sorts?"

She shouldn't have understood the meaning of any of those words. But somehow, she knew what camaraderie meant, understood what kinship was. And she was reminded of the truth, of what she was.

"Maybe I should speak with Jennifer. Ask her if she really remembers what Old Ronnie Shaw's daughter looked like. Maybe we should conduct weekly SAFE tests on the members of the Castle guard."

She could hear the blood rushing past her ears, feel her heart thud with every beat. These were human emotions, right? Only a human could feel fear at the nape of their neck, feel it trickle down their spine to the small of their back, right?

"Don't worry, Cassie. I don't have to do any of those things. And I don't want to either." He held up Bill's report, gave her a half-smile. "More paperwork, you see."

Cassie nodded, not really understanding. Dyson didn't need to threaten her to get her cooperation. Last week he'd ordered her to greet Piper when she arrived, and Cassie had agreed without question. With the information he had, he could end her whenever he wanted. She knew that. There had to be something else he wanted.

"How is our guest doing, by the way?" Dyson's voice betrayed no emotion, but for once his eyes locked onto hers.

"She's settling in. I don't know what she's planning on doing, though."

"Nothing, from what I can tell." Dyson muttered, not really talking to her. "She's just here because the General asked."

"Her sister's doing well in scho−"

"You know what?" Dyson looked up from his papers. "That's all I needed from you."

She took her time getting up, trying not to look eager to leave. One hand was on the door when he spoke again.

"Also, stay away from Preston Garvey." Cassie's eyes went wide. "Or I'll tell him what you really are."

Cassie practically tumbled out of the door, her heart racing. As she headed down the long hallway leading to the barracks, she couldn't shake the unsettling feeling that he was still watching her.