Little bit of smut at the end, If that's not your thing it's only about a paragraph :3

Juniper watched Elle reuniting with Nick, and it reminded her of something.
When Al finally came home
She blinked the tears away and fingered at her wedding ring,
" You keep laughing at death one day, death will laugh back" Elle scolded
" Not when I have friends to back me up" Nick looked over at the doorway.
Juniper looked up and saw both of them staring at her.
" Oh, uh I'm a sucker for a damsel in distress. What can I say?" Elle looked confused and Nick laughed. Elle walked over to Juniper and held out a small bag..
" I know we never talked about a reward, but You saved Nick and this agency. Here it's not much but I'm throwing in a little something extra." Elle smiled and Juniper looked past the cap stash, and saw a fedora and a worn trench coat. She looked back up at Elle,
" Nick could always use a partner, especially one with skills such as yourself." Juniper must have looked panicked because Nick chimed in quickly.
"Whoa, slow down there Elle one case at a time, our new friend here needs our help first. Here come on over and take a seat." Nick sat down at the desk and Elle looked sad but went to grab her notepad. Juniper walked over to the worn chair and sat down hesitantly.
" I know this maybe painful, but the devil is in the details. Tell me everything about what happened." Nick's eyes flashed serious yellow,
" We're looking for a...baby, my baby Shaun." Nick looked surprised
" He's less than a year old..why would anyone take him?" Juniper swallowed hard
Nick leaned back in his chair and looked off to the side.
"That's a good question, why your family? Why take an infant, someone would have to take on all that care, and babies need quite a bit of it." Juniper looked down at his hands folded into each other.
That's right he still wasn't even on solid food yet
"What else can you tell me?"
"We were in a vault when it happened vault 111, some sort of cryo facility. Northwest from here, by Sanctuary." Elle looked up and almost dropped her notepad, Nick had a similar reaction but then a sort of ah ha moment happened.
" So, you were on ice, more importantly you were in an underground sealed facility. That's alot of obstacles to take just one person. Is there anything else, what happened to your husband?" Nick had been eyeing her wedding band, and Juniper abruptly stopped moving it on her finger. She smiled and sighed.
"My husband Alfonso, he was...murdered. He was just trying..to keep Shaun safe." Juniper felt drops on her hands, she didn't realize she was crying. Elle walked over and put a hand on her shoulder.
" I'm so sorry, we can help you." Nick looked at the two of them and ran his good hand over his jaw and chin. Dogmeat put his head on her lap and whimpered up at her, Juniper smiled and scratched behind his ear.
" So we're talking about a group of cold hearted killers, but they waited until something went wrong to resort to violence." Nick leaned forward and put his arms on the desk.
" That confirms it, this isn't a random kidnapping. These people had an agenda, lot's of people in the commonwealth take people. Raiders, the Gunners, Super mutants, and there the Institute."
Wait the institute? Don't they make synths or something?
" You don't think, the institute did this do you?" Juniper watched his eyes flicker away.
" They are the boogeyman of the Commonwealth, something goes wrong, everyone blames them. Can you blame them? Before their synths destroyed whole towns now the newest models can impersonate a human without the synth even knowing what they are." Juniper kept a ping of guilt at the mention of what he was, but Nick just kept going.
" No one knows why they do it, or what they're trying to accomplish. Not even me a discarded prototype." Elle looked away and Juniper could feel the pain in his words.
" You're a prototype?" Nick shrugged,
" As far as I know, and I'm the only one. The other's are either dumb as rocks, or almost human. I'm somewhere imbetween."
How horrible, people already fear synths so badly here. What has he had to go through?
" Either way, I need to find my son." Juniper tried to change the subject.
" Right we're getting sidetracked, speculation will get us nowhere fast. What did these kidnappers look like?" At that Elle was ready to jot down every detail.
Juniper started to describe the woman in a hazard suit, Nick was surprised at that since those suits are apparently highly sought after. Then Juniper started to describe the man that killed her husband, she knew every detail by heart. His voice, his clothes, and his face.
" He had a scar across his left eye, after he killed my husband he walked right up to me" Nick's eyes shot so far open they looked like they were going to short circuit.
" It couldn't be...Did they say the name Kellogg at all?" Juniper thought back and couldn't remember.
" Who is he? Do you think he has Shaun?" She watched Nick think long and hard.
" It's way too big of a coincidence, Elle what note do we have about the Kellogg case?"
Elle looked through her note and smiled excited.
" The description matches, down to every detail. No one ever knows who his employer is though, even though he runs all the dangerous merc jobs."
" He bought a house in town here didn't he? There was a kid with him too."
" That's right and the kid was about 10 years old, that was awhile ago though." Elle tried to remember more but Juniper couldn't hear her anymore.
Oh my god, Al he could be 10? We missed so much of his life, He's not going to remember me at all. All of our plans, has he had to grow up here?
" I've missed so much of his life, that boy...It's Shaun isn't it?" Juniper searched both of them for an answer.
" Don't jump the gun on me here, last I remember an infant and a 10 year old that's a 9 year difference." He sounded more worried, but was trying to be firm.
" They disappeared a while back, but we can still go poke around his house to search for clues." Nick got up and walked over to the door.
" You two be careful, security doesn't really go over there but still." Elle looked worried as Juniper got up and Nick held the door open for her.
" I always am" with that Nick and Juniper started walking to Kelloggs house.

Nick was walking ahead of her and the morning sunrise was almost blinding. When he got out of earshot from the nearest person getting up to start their daily routine he started to talk more about Kellogg.
" Eveything I've ever dug up about him has been bad news, he's a professional. That means no loose ends ever" His amber eyes glowed back at her grey ones.
" Expect for you, all of his enemies are dead." Juniper felt her chest tighten.
They walked up the stairs and Juniper watched everyone in the city, she saw all the children walking into the makeshift school building.
Did Shaun goto school there? Did he walk up these stairs everyday?
This was the closest she'd ever felt to her son since he was in her arms, and It felt comforting.
" Hey, It's the last house up here" Nick was already up the stairs and watching her.
Nick walked up the door, and turned around.
" I'll give this a try, and if I can't get it open maybe you can." Nick crouched down and started to fiddle with it. After a few minutes he sighed,
" That's one hell of a lock, here you try" Juniper walked over as he got up and out of the way, but she had just as much trouble.
" Lock's really strong." Juniper grabbed the handle and put her head against the door.
" Go try and find the key in the mayor's office, I'll keep at it." Nick put his hand on the handle, and looked at Juniper. She saw all of his features up close for the first time, he just kept looking at the lock on the handle.
" The mayor's office is just over there in front of the town entrance." He broke her train of thought,
" Right I'll go see what I can do" Juniper quickly trailed off and Nick sighed in relief.
Not sure If I could get use to all this female attention,

Juniper reached the top of the platform and heard a familiar voice.
" I bet if I was the institute the mayor would come running out of his office" Piper was arguing with what looked like the mayor's secretary.
"Honey, You'd get a man's attention more easily if you used sweeter words and yelled a bit less." This woman had the typical bitchy haircut that Juniper couldn't stand. Before the war and after.
" That reminds me of an article I'm writing now" Piper walked from one side of the desk to the other.
" About an air headed blonde having an affair with a certain mayor." It took a few seconds for this to process in the woman's brain but when it did she turned the color of a Tato.
Juniper walked up behind the scene and Piper turned and saw her.
" Oh it's you, What brings you to the mayor's humble office?" Juniper crossed her arms and smiled,
" Depends on what the press is doing here first" Piper walked across the room and told Juniper about the courier that come and goes so quickly no one can ever ask him anything. The same person each time, and nobody recognizes him from any caravan or settlement. Her eyes darkened,
" After this, the mayor won't be able to keep hiding the truth" The secretary was trying to listen and when she couldn't she told Piper to leave.
" Hmmp I was just leaving anyway, see you later Junie" Piper winked and walked to the elevator and was gone.
Junie?
Juniper had success with the secretary, Geneva. After she told her, about Shaun the woman looked like she was moved almost to tears.
" Your baby's lucky to have a mother like you, most mother nowadays aren't like that." She looked off into the distance and started to blink more than normal.
" I'm just going to leave this here, good luck finding your son. I mean that" With that she got up and walked away.

Nick saw Juniper speeding up the stairs with Dogmeat and he knew she got the key.
" Alright you do the honors" Juniper nodded and quickly opened the door.
Right when she opened the door the smell hit her, stale cigar, and stagnant air.
" Take a look around, He must have left something behind." Nick started to look around the first floor, and Juniper started to remember something.
You can't just do whatever you want! Not if you want us to keep paying for all of these excursions. You're all over the television, we can't just keep paying reporters not to put our name into the papers.
Juniper looked down at the tv, and crouched. She ran her hand along the bottom near the dials, and she looked at the screen and saw her reflection. Within an instant she started to remember what her mother looked like.
Bleached platinum hair, to cover up the greys. Skinny petite figure from when she was in the movies, and traveled everywhere. Her skin was pale, she kept out of the sun to prevent any more wrinkles. She was smoking using a cigarette holder, which always made her look nastier.
She looked at the speaker part of the machine and tried to remember what her father looked like.
" Did you check the desk over there?" Nick interrupted her and just like that, her small window into her memories faded.
" Good catch Dick" Juniper mumbled, a little annoyed. She saw a wire, and followed it to a button.
" Show me, Mercenary secret room for 500!" Juniper pointed her hands to the left then wall slide open and she gasped. Her mouth could have dropped to the floor.
" That's one way to hide a room" Nick smirked and walked through the door.
" Be careful you don't know what's in there" Juniper rushed over and examined the room.
" Look at all of this, it's like Christmas for a merc." Nick looked through the shelves and Juniper walked over to the cigar box.
" That smell...San Francisco Sunlights" She picked up the cigar and felt it through her fingertips.
" Interesting brand, won't lead us anywhere on there own though." Juniper kept looking at them and then looked at Dogmeat, he was spinning in circles by the door.
" What's with the hard look, say something" Nick had a cigarette in his hand and looked impatient.
" Could Dogmeat track him down? These already have an intense aroma, It must be even worse for him" Nick looked over at him and nodded.
" Some dogs in the commonwealth have been known to track a man for miles. He looks like he may have already picked up the scent" Dogmeat whined and scratched at the door. Juniper started to walk over to the door and Nick grabbed her by the arm.
" Look I know this is personal business, so if you have to face Kellogg on your own, or if you want me to go.." He trailed off and Juniper put her hand on his right hand.
" Thank you for helping me, I'm going to go see where he ends up being. Afterwards the place looks a little gruesome, I'll come back and get you but only if you want to that is." Nick was still looking at her hand on his.
No one has ever touched this hand, except for me. It's the part of me that can't hide the fact that I'm a synth
" You've helped me get back on my feet and back to the agency. I'd help you come hell or high water." He smirked at her and she smiled back.
" I'll keep in touch." She squeezed his hand and quickly walked out the door.
" Good luck kid" Nick managed to say before the door shut behind her.

After finding a few more Cigars and bloody bandages while on the trail of Kellogg, she started to get worried. The farther out of the city she got the harder enemies were to handle, even with Dogmeat. The giant Yao Guai, was a first for her, and it was almost as bad as the deathclaw she faced back at Concord.
I'll just figure out where he is, and come back with reinforcements, if I have to.
Dogmeat stopped suddenly and Juniper almost tripped over him, then she saw it.
" What the hell is this place..?" She looked at the huge building surrounded by turrets and guard lights. Whenever she tried to get close the turrets started to fire right away, without a long ranged weapon it was impossible to get to them. Juniper wasn't going to let Dogmeat get hurt either, so she decided to head back to Sanctuary to drop off a few things and check in on Preston.
Oh god I hope there okay,

Preston was patrolling when he saw her walking up the bridge, it had been over a week.
"General!" Preston slung his musket over his shoulder and went running to meet her.
" Pres! Whoa!" Right as she said his name he had grabbed her and lifted her up.
" Sorry, I just have been worried." Preston put her down and stroked Dogmeat, Juniper looked around Sanctuary. Preston tried not to let his embarrassment show,
I can't believe I just ran up and grabbed onto her, she's the general now...
" All of the lamps are lit? Wait how many people have come here since the radio beacon?!" Juniper held her head in amazement, He stood back up and looked down the street.
" All of the houses that you had made livable again are filled, the generators also have been useful like you said they would be. At first when you told me, you wanted electricity in every house I thought it would be nearly impossible. All the plans you drew up for future settlers have also been highly useful, which reminds me of your house." Preston motioned up the oil lamp lit street towards her old home, when Juniper saw it she was ecstatic.
" Look at all of those Tato, and Carrot flowers! Wait… did you paint the house?" Juniper looked back and forth at Preston and her house down the street. He nodded and started to walk towards the house, when she ran by him in a second.
Same old General, Wait where's her son?
Preston looked behind him, and saw nobody else coming up the bridge at all. His smile faded and he looked back over to Juniper who was now inspecting all of the flowers happily. He walked over to her, and offered her a hand up.
" You haven't even seen the inside." Juniper took his hand and got up to see the inside. The coches had been replaced with bigger and cleaner ones, electricity was running through her house too. She didn't want to waste supplies on powering her house when she might not even be there that much. She also wasn't sure if she'd want to bring Shaun back here, but now since he might have grown up in the wasteland she had some second thoughts. Preston walked into the kitchen and opened up a curio and it was stocked full of all sorts of liquor. Juniper bit her bottom lip and smiled.
" Preston thank you, but this is a little much." She felt guilty as she inspected all of the bottles, he shook his head.
" Most of this was Codsworth, he told Sturges and me what your house use to look like. Along with a bunch of other details, like the Picket fences magazines he said you hoarded. She looked up and scrunched her forehead up,
" I did not hoard them! They just would come in the mail every month… and I never threw them away?" She cringed and and Preston started to laugh.
" Hey Preston, I know it's late and you probably have alot to report to me about the settlements. Could you do me a favor?" Preston looked worried, and Juniper walked over to the the old living room's windows and pulled all the makeshift curtains. She looked around and sighed and flopped onto the couch.
" I need to talk to you, friend to friend about something important." Preston walked over and sat across from her in the newly refurbished armchair.
" Anything you need General" Juniper frowned and looked annoyed,
" Not as a General, as just Juniper." Preston looked nervous,
" You can tell me anything Juniper." She smiled and got more comfortable, Dogmeat went to the other couch next to the window and was about to fall asleep.
" Ok, so I went to Diamond city and found the detective agency, turns out he was missing so I went to the vault he was being held in got him out and all, oh and I met a reporter named Piper, she's a total nut, but I feel like we're really similar, oh right Nick, then we went back and I told him all about Shaun and Al, and the kidnapper, turns out he was living in town, and with a 10 year old, so I was super worried it could be Shaun, then we got into his house and found out more and more about him, then Dogmeat tracked his scent and it took almost 2 days of just tracking and we finally found where he was, Here's the tough part, he's in Fort Hagen, Al told me about how fortified that place was before the war, so you know it's going to be insane now right?" Juniper had said so much so fast she felt dizzy, Preston just stared at her and nodded mindlessly.
" So either, I could get Nick valentine to come back with me, or I could go alone, But that place is so insane, You should have seen it. There's so many turrets and There's no noticeable entrance to get into. I think I need a rifle or someone who's good with long distance shooting." Preston's eyes went dark and he looked away, Juniper leaned in closer and tried to meet his eyes.
" Pres, I know that look. Do you know somebody? Preston?" Juniper said his name sweetly the second time and He looked annoyed.
" He's nothing but trouble, and He's an ex Gunner. To make things worse he's been hanging his hat in Goodneighbor. You haven't even been that deep into the commons have you?" Juniper frowned and crossed her arms.
" That's not fair, I went and saw the swan or whatever that thing is, and I've been all over in the past week." Preston looked surprised,
" You saw the swan?! What were you thinking going so far into the city?"
" I don't know how fragile you think I am, But I've been able to take care of myself for awhile now. Beside I'm some General now right? That's what you said, last I heard a General of an army can manage a walk on park street." Juniper was standing up and her voice was getting louder, Preston looked hurt.
" I'll stay here for the night and make sure everyone is doing alright. After that I'm going to find Goodneighbor, If you want to treat me like a fucking General then let me be one."
No, No, No, I shouldn't have said that
Preston stood up and was standing like he was an army recruit his back was so straight.
" Understood General, am I dismissed?" He looked back at her with cold eyes waiting for an answer. Juniper looked back at him, the damage was done. For tonight they were done talking.
" Dismissed." She muttered it quietly, but he still heard it and walked right out the door without another word.
Why can't he just talk to me like a person? He expects me to be a General to the Minutemen but doesn't want me to stray too far? The castle is even farther away..
Juniper sighed and walked over to the curio and took a bottle,
Russian booze roulette, I like these odds.
Juniper had locked all of the doors and every curtain was pulled. She walked over into her bedroom and unzipped her vault suit. It peeled off of her and she shuddered, kicking it into the hallway. She untied her hair and let her filthy hair fall onto her shoulders.
I should t least take a bath
She walked into the bathroom and was met with all new appliances. The bathroom was almost as clean as the day the bombs fell, there was a new bathtub next to the shower and there were two handles.
OH MY GOD, THEY DIDN'T!
Juniper turned the handle and felt the water, slowly hot water started to flow from the tap. She cupped her hands and tossed water onto her dirty face.
"This is amazing" Juniper put the plug into the bottom, after a few seconds she peeled her under garments off and jumped into the tub. She let it fill to the top, and opened up the bottle of booze.
I feel bad for yelling at him, especially since he did this for me,
She ran her fingers across the water's surface and took a gulp from what tasted like maybe vodka. She cringed and set the bottle to the side of the tub, letting her hair get fully immersed into the water she looked up at her ceiling. Before there were holes all throughout the house, now she searched for them.
Everytime I get use to something, it changes. I know change is the only constant, but I feel like I'm never going to catch up.
She ran her hands along her legs rubbing the dirt that was plastered onto her, even though she wore her suit all the time she still ended up filthy. The suit had started to mean something, people started to know who she was just from seeing it. When she would visit the settlements they knew her right away, she thought about changing but she didn't know what she would wear instead. She finished cleaning her calves and knees and was running her hand inside of her leg.
Instinctively she closed her eyes and a soft moan escaped her lips. Juniper opened her eyes and looked around, her cheeks were bright red. She leaned back into the tub and ran her hand along the curve of her breast. Her other hand found her sensitive hood, slowly she started to make soft circles with her pointer finger.
It's been so long Nobody's here either,
She opened her eyes just to peek around and kept going. Her moans got more and more intense, while her other hand found her nipple. She thought of Al and how he use to suck on her skin while he worked his way down between her legs. His shaven face always was a bit rough, and she remembered the sting that trailed down her body from it. She bit her lip trying not to scream from being pent up for so long, her eyes opened fast and she looked around the bathroom. She looked all over the floor hoping for something that would work, when she found nothing fell back against the side and slid her finger inside. Juniper shuddered so overcome with both arousal and relief. She worked herself until she felt like she was about to unravel, then she heard a loud knock. She tried to ignore it but it got louder and louder, then it stopped. Juniper started to drain the tub and stood up and reached for a towel.
" Juniper I'm sorry about earli-" Preston stood in the doorway shocked, Juniper stood there frozen. Preston walked up closer and took her all in. He wasn't wearing his normal minutemen attire, he had a loose white shirt on, without his normal hat. Juniper felt her heart beating so hard it hurt. He reached out for her and just in time she turned away, he still wrapped his arms around her from behind. She should have smelled him from doorway, he reeked of booze.
" Preston.." Before she could say anything else he leaned his head against her neck and started kissing her softly.
" You don't even know how I felt, You just left, you could have died" He whispered into her curly ginger hair. Juniper looked across the room and grabbed the worn towel covering her front, Preston tried to turn her so she faced him, he stumbled almost trying.
" General, no Juniper, I was crazy when you left. Please don't leave me again." He whimpered the last few words, and Juniper pushed him away from her softly.
" Preston, you need to go home. We can talk about this when youre sober in the morning, I'm sorry I yelled earlier." He looked so hurt it broke her heart, she tied the towel on the side and rubbed his arm, he shook his head and looked at her with his dark eyes.
" Juniper, " He reached his hand out one more time and she backed away.
" You don't feel the same do you?" Juniper looked away and shook her head, Preston sighed.
" Preston, You're like my brother. Don't you see that?" Juniper tried to look him in the eye and he just turned away.
" I'm sorry General." He ran his hand down his face and stumbled through the hallway, she waited until the door shut softly and she exhaled. Juniper walked to the front door and locked it again and made her way to the bedroom where laid down and looked at the ceiling. She trusted Preston and knew he was a good person, that's why she felt so bad. It wasn't that he was unattractive, but he was never going to see her how she really was. She wasn't just a General and she certainly wasn't a housewife anymore. She was something else.
I don't even know what I am anymore..OH a hole.
She smiled and reached her hand up and pointed a finger at the hole. She looked at her hand and saw the wedding band. He retracted her hand and held onto her ring, slowly she jimmied it off of her finger.
I'm definitely not a housewife anymore.