5. Sunrise: Nora watches the sunrise after a long and stressful journey.

Nora had staggered back to Sanctuary in the dead of night. She didn't bother an attempt at cleaning herself before collapsing in the bed in her old home. She would deal with Preston tomorrow. She hadn't caught a good nights sleep in what felt like forever. An alarm went off in her head and she pushed herself up to her elbows. She should have gone to Goodneighbor to see if Hancock was there. She didn't see him in any of the beds set up, and he wasn't up walking around, nor was he in her house, so he must have gone home.

Nora's body protested as she tried to get out of bed, so she gave up and laid back down. She rolled over and shook off her boots. With a wince she rolled up her left pant leg. Blood. Lots of it. Nora ripped off part of her right pant leg, poured some purified water on the fabric, and cleaned her leg. One bullet. Nora took a few deep breaths. She probably should have staggered to Diamond City, have Dr. Sun look at it. But her feet had turned her to the north. It was either dig the bullet out now, or wait and have Preston and Sturges do it tomorrow morning. Nora tried to stand once more, but the shock and adrenaline had worn off and fire shot through her legs.

It was coming out now. Nora overturned her bag and dumped its contents on the floor. She picked up a hit of jet, a stimpack, and a bottle of bourbon.

"Desperate times call for desperate measures." Nate's voice was a whisper in the screams of pain in her head. She downed the bourbon, ignoring its foul taste and resisting the urge to gag. She gave herself a few seconds after tossing the bottle aside to shudder in disgust before she took the hit of jet and dug her fingers into the wound before she could overthink it. The pain was almost blinding. Hot white spots flashed in her eyes. Her fingers brushed the bullet and her mind went reeling. The jet was wearing off. She grabbed the bullet and pulled it out. Nora was sure she'd heard a pop somewhere, but she took her free hand and jabbed the stimpack into her leg. The result was instant. Cool healing flooded her veins and Nora flopped back onto the bed, sweaty, heart racing, body aching.

She thought about Hancock, glad she didn't bring him along. She didn't know what she'd do if he'd gotten killed. Sure they'd had a few close calls, the radio tower with the super mutants, and the ghoul den in the comic book store being the most recent examples, but those were injuries, not death. And Nora had never felt so close to death than when she stood before Fort Hagen.

"At least he's safe in Goodneighbor." Nora thought as she settled onto her bed with a tired groan.

She woke to the sounds of hammering at an ungodly early hour.

Eyes wide with rage at being woken up, and still sore from her long walk home, Nora painfully shuffled out of her house. Pain shot through her leg with every step, but she ignored it.

Preston was hammering away at the roof across the street. He noticed her when she slammed her door open. "Morning, General!" He called down, "When'd you get back?" He didn't seem to notice the murder in Nora's eyes as she marched across the street. Nor did he seem to notice the blood on her leg and hands and the fact that she was barefoot.

"Preston, it is," she checked her Pip-Boy, "five in the morning. What. The hell. Are you doing?" She put her hands on her hips.

"I'm fixing the roof." Preston smiled.

"Before sunrise?!" Nora was not impressed. She didn't like using the "I'm the General" card often, but perhaps it was time she did. At this rate he'd wake up the whole settlement, if their loud conversation hadn't already.

"Trust me, ma'am, you'll see why." Preston grinned. He got in two more hammer strikes before he stood up, "Come on up, General." He waved her up. Nora noticed the ladder leaning against the house and then glared up at Preston. He just smiled and waved her up once more. Nora huffed, rolled her eyes, and walked over to the ladder. After making sure it was secure, Nora climbed up. It was slow, but Nora tried her best to ignore the pain. She accepted Preston's hand as she gained her balance on the roof. "Come on," Preston pulled her over to the far side of the roof, sat down, and made her sit beside him with a tug of her arm.

The view on top of the house was beautiful. In the small playground between several backyards was a flourishing garden. The new gate and bridge into Sanctuary looked secure, puffs of exhaust coming from the turrets that surveyed the land. In the distance she could see the sun peeking over the horizon. Daylight bloomed over the wasteland, setting everything ablaze. Hues of red, orange, yellow, and pink all but erased the dull, drab, greys and browns that was post-nuclear-fallout Boston. Clouds, non-radiated clouds, were spots of blue and purple in the warm sky. Nora watched as the world slowly began to wake up, and for the first time since leaving the vault four months ago, she felt hope. Hope that the world, her home, could recover from the havoc the past had wrecked.

She looked at Preston, tears in her eyes, and he looked at her, smirked on his face, and knowing nod.

"Thank you, Preston." She was breathless, though whether that was from the view or her leg she wasn't sure.

"No need, ma'am." He tipped his hat and stood up, "I'll let you rest a bit before I tell everyone you're back and ready for action." He nodded to her leg and walked away.

Nora smiled.

And watched the sun rise. Alone.