The sun was bright, breaking through the thin layer of cloud cover when they approached the Coleman farm. The repurposed ship was too large to pull completely ashore, meaning someone had to take a small dinghy to the shore and then walk the two miles inland to the homestead. There were discussions as to who would go and if it would be safer for a group to go instead of one person but, in the end, it was Mr. Kravos who agreed to go, grinning mischievously when someone asked if he'd be able to make the journey quickly.

Ashe watched from the deck of the ship as the small figures of Kravos, Rena, and Dogmeat vanished over the horizon. By her side, Natasha and Westley watched with her.

"Do you think he'll be okay?" Westley asked, bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet. "Pop always said that there are a lot of dangerous animals around."

"I doubt there is much in the world that could harm that man, let alone the Commonwealth," Miss Natasha replied. "He'll be fine."

"I'm surprised you let Mr. Kravos take Dogmeat with you," Ashe said.

"I don't let Dogmeat do anything; he is his own man," the woman shrugged. "Kravos suggested it though. He said that it might be good for him to stretch his legs back on land again. I saw no reason to argue and, when the time came, Dogmeat wanted to go. I'm confident he'll be back soon; Meaty never wanders far for too long."

She looked down at Westley and smiled. "How does it feel to almost be home?"'

The boy froze, gripping the taffrail so tight that his knuckles grew pale. "Like a dream," he admitted. "I didn't think I would ever see my parents again."

He looked up at Miss Natasha. "This is real, right? I'm safe? I'm going home?"

Wordlessly, the redhead pulled him into a hug. "Oh, sweetie, this is absolutely real! The slavers are dead and the Minutemen are going to wipe the rest of their cohorts out. I can't promise that nothing bad is ever going to happen again and I can't tell you tomorrow is going to bring, but today you're going home to your family."

Ashe said nothing, respectfully looking away as Westley started sniffling. After a long moment, the pair pulled apart and Miss Natasha addressed her once more.

"So I hear that Wendy and her twins are coming home with you and Kravos," she said. "How do you feel about that?"

"I'm... happy they're going to be happy," Ashe said after a moment of thought. She didn't know how much Miss Natasha -and Westley for that matter- was aware of the situation and didn't want to share secrets that weren't hers to expose. "It will be nice to have other kids to play with, even if they are babies."

"I always wanted a younger brother," Westley said, rubbing his red eyes with the back of his hand. "I think Mom and Pop wanted more kids too but it just didn't end up working out."

Ashe wrinkled her nose. In Tough Seed, having more than one child was a sign of (greater) wealth; the town council was very strict about making sure no one had more children than they could afford due to worry that the rest of the community would have to provide for the extra mouths. In all honesty, Ashe was pretty sure her parents could have afforded a second child but Papa hadn't even wanted her -something he'd always been more than happy to tell Ashe whenever she'd done something to annoy him- so he'd never let one Mama have a second one either. Mr. Kravos liked kids though -he must like them to have taken in and raised so many of them as his own.

'Does he want Ethan and Cindy to be his kids too?'

Shoving down the fear, Ashe scolded herself for the thought. 'Ethan and Cindy came from the same situation you did! Of course, Mr. Kravos would want to save them too, it's why he is a Good Man.'

"I don't have brothers or sisters either, so it'll be weird to have other kids in the house," she admitted. "What about you, Miss Natasha? Do you have any?"

"...Once, a long time ago."

Something about the way she said it told Ashe that the conversation was over.

The tears had started before Shannon and Marcus Coleman even arrived on the ship and they didn't stop until long after Westley reunited with his parents.

"My beautiful baby boy," Shannon cried, kissing her son's face over and over again and again. "I thought- I thought- I just can't believe you're back!"

Marcus said nothing, gripping Westley's shoulders tightly as he cried.

Everyone -Natasha, the dogs, Mr. Kravos, and all the other freed captives- watch on from a respectful distance. Everyone was either smiling or tearing up themselves and Ashe could only imagine that they were picturing themselves in Westley's place, reuniting with the loved ones they'd been ripped away from.

But Ashe was seeing something else -a happy family.

'Mama used to hug me like that,' she thought. 'Papa never did.'

"It's understandable if you don't feel happy for Westley."

Ashe looked over at Kravos and frowned, whispering back, "I am happy for him! I'm glad he gets to go home! It's just..."

"It's just that seeing him with his parents is making you think of your family?"

She looked down, ashamed.

"They were so worried about Westley and they're so happy to have him back. Papa threw me out and doesn't know if I'm alive or not, probably doesn't care either way," Ashe said. "And you know what? I don't know if he is alive or dead either! And I don't care."

Ashe looked up at the man who'd saved her and showed more love to her in under a year than her own father did in her entire life. "You're my family now, right Mr. Kravos?"

"I am," he said, soft and gentle. "Forever and for always. Until my dying day and beyond, I will love you as my own."

At that moment, Ashe felt like crying. She ducked her head, happy others were crying because it meant no one would pay any attention to her. "I love you! I love you so much, Daddy! Thank you! Thank you for loving me too!"

Mr. Kra- Dad's heartbeat was steady, comforting music against Ashe's ear as she was cuddled against his chest. She didn't think she'd ever get tired of being hugged like this, even if she got a hundred of them every day for the rest of her life. And she didn't want to.

"Thank you," she whispered again. "Thank you."

"So, are you going to miss me?"

Ashe rolled her eyes at Westley's teasing. "I'm not going to miss your jokes, that's for sure."

The older boy laughed, "Yeah, you will! Especially since you're about to just have a dog and some babies for company."

"Rena is better company than you."

Westley only laughed harder for a moment before growing serious. "You know, I'm going to miss everyone. Miss Wendy, Miss Nat, Mr. Kravos, you... I never really had friends before. I mean, I played with the kids in town when I helped Pop take the harvest to market, but that wasn't often enough for us to be close. But we've been through something big together so I'd like to think that we're friends now."

"Me too," Ashe said with a smile. Sure, it wasn't the same as her friendship with everyone back in Tough Seed but, annoying as his sense of humor could be, Westley had become important to her. "Maybe I could convince Mr. Kr- Dad to bring me over for a visit sometime?"

The word 'Dad' felt odd on Ashe's lips. She'd never called anyone that in her entire life; oh, she'd said it before -talking about her friend's fathers or the vague position in life- but that was very different. It hadn't had personal meaning before.

'I like saying it but it'll take some time to get used to.'

"That would be cool!" Westley said, perking up. "There isn't much to do at my house but we've got a radio and I can show you some of the cool spots around the farm that I like exploring."

"Or maybe you can even come to visit us on the island!" Ashe suggested, excited at the possibility. She used to love having sleepovers with her friends back at Tough Seed. And this time, she could have others at her house instead of going somewhere else. She'd have a lot of room and food and toys to play with.

Westley chuckled, "I'd like that but I don't think my folks are going to be letting me out of their site anytime soon."

"Well, they can come too."

"Are you sure that Mr. Kravos would let you?"

Ashe opened her mouth to say, "Yes, of course." but then paused. While she was certain that the man would allow it, the fact that she was so confident and so comfortable with offering such a thing made her hesitate. Was that really her place?

'Mr. Kravos is my dad now,' she reminded herself. 'And his home is mine now too. I have the right to invite people over, even though I'd still have to ask first.'

"Yes, I think he will," she said. "I'll have to ask first but I don't think it will be a problem. Mr. Dad's house is really big; there are a ton of rooms and extra beds. He's mentioned that he used to have friends over and host parties all the time. He might even like being able to host company!"

Westley cocked his head to the side and grinned evil, "Mr. Dad, huh?"

.

.

.

"Oh, shut up!" Ashe punched the older boy in the arm as he cackled. Her face was bright red, "I'm still getting used to calling him that!"

After he was done laughing at her, which wasn't for a good long while, and gave her a contemplative look, "So you're really calling him Dad now?"

Ashe shrugged, trying to make it seem like it wasn't as big of a deal to her as it was. "I guess so. It feels right and I- I love him. I want him to be my dad, not just my guardian."

"Let me guess, you're an orphan?"

"...My mama is dead, yes."

The question caused a noticeable shift in the atmosphere between the two of them, turning the warm, friendly energy turning stilted and awkward. in many ways, this final stretch of her journey back to Mr. Kravos'… to her home was symbolic of Ashe accepting her new role as the man's daughter. Her new life was being and Ashe wanted to, despite her love for Mama, leave her past in the past.

To his credit, Westley seemed to recognize this. He scratched the back of his neck, looking away, and said, "Sorry... That must have been hard on you."

"It was... and thank you."

The silence the two lapsed into was not an unpleasant one, just staring out over the ocean and enjoying one another's presence. Ashe leaned against her friend's shoulder and let herself relax, happy and safe.

It was hard watching the Coleman family walk out towards the horizon, once again accompanied by M- Dad and Rena. Once again, Ashe was out on the deck, balancing on her tiptoes to keep them in her sights for just a little bit longer as the sun began to set. She hadn't wanted Westley to leave and, selfishly, hadn't wanted Mr. Dad to go with them. Not that she'd said anything about either.

"I wish they'd stay here tonight and leave in the morning," Miss Natasha said, appearing by her side. The red-haired woman draped one of the thick wool blankets they'd found onboard around her shoulders. "Here, it's getting cold out."

"Thank you."

The woman sighed, looking on towards the land as well. "I know Kravos has nothing to worry about -he's tough enough to handle anything that comes his way- but I just..."

"Worry? Yeah, me too." Ashe crossed her arms on the taffrail and slumped down, "Mmmmmmy dad said that he'll probably end staying the night at the farm. That means this will be the first night I've been alone since we were rescued -even Rena is gone."

It was a silly thing to complain about, Ashe could admit that, but she was dreading it nonetheless.

"Oh? Will you be alright?"

Ashe shrugged. "Sure, I've done it plenty of times before."

.

.

.

"You know, maybe it would be better if I said with you tonight?'

"Huh?" Ashe blinked at the woman.

"Kravos asked me to keep an eye on you until he gets back and that'll be easier to do I spend the night in your guys' room," Miss Natasha said. The woman smiled at her, "What do you say?"

"So... it would be like a sleepover?"

"Yeah, I guess so."

Ashe ducked her head and grinned, "Yeah, that would be fun."

"Hey, I just realized I never asked how you and Kravos met," Miss Natasha asked, reclining back on Kra- Dad's cot. "I know he adopted you from a bad situation but... Sorry, you don't have to tell me. I understand if it's hard to talk about."

Ashe fiddled with the fraying edge of her blanket, "No, it's fine. After my mama died, my... my not-papa didn't want to take care of me anymore, so he threw me out. I wandered around, finding food and places to sleep where I could. It wasn't easy but I got good at hiding and stealing. Still, by the time I got to Far Harbor I was so sick and hungry that I was going to die soon."

Miss Natasha's green eyes went wide with horror, "Oh, sweetie, I'm sure it wasn't-"

"No, it was. I had to drink water from rivers that I had bad radiation poisoning, and I wasn't eating that much," Ashe shrugged. She wasn't sad about it; that was simply the way things had been. "One day, I was trying to steal some food from one of the docks, but the workers caught me. They started throwing things at me and trying to grab me. I ran away and jumped into one of the little boats tied to the dock. I guess this one wasn't tied down right, and the boat ended up drifting off into the water. It was scary, but we drifted onto the island where Mr. Kravos lived before it got too dark. Two days later, Mr. Kr- Dad found me."

The woman gave her a thoughtful look that caused Ashe to look away -she hated pity.

"You've had a hard life, Ashe," she said gently. "I'm glad you found somewhere you can be safe."

"I found someone who will keep me safe," Ashe corrected. "As long as I'm with Dad, no matter where we go, I'll be safe."

That got her a wide smile, "Ain't that the truth! I'm guessing you're still excited to be getting home, right?

"Definitely," Ashe said, nodding her head. She would wait to be back in her own bed, surrounded by toys. She couldn't wait until could be in the kitchen with her new dad, helping him make dinner. She could wait to nap in front of the fireplace with Rena. She was even happy about being able to help feed the deathclaw again.

"Well, we should be there soon. It'll just be a couple more days now."

Alright guys, I'm hoping to hit over 100 comments with this chapter. Don't suppose you can help me out lol?