Lillian was nearly finished packing up when she suddenly heard screaming. She ran outside with MacCready, who had his rifle out. Marcy was shrieking in the middle of the road with Jun desperately trying to calm her down.

"What's happened?" Lillian asked.

"THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE HOUSE DOWN THERE!" Marcy screamed and pointed down the road to the last intact house. Preston and Sturges were already headed towards it, guns out, followed by MacCready.

"Marcy, it's probably just a fly or a dog," Jun said, but his voice was wavering.

"It wasn't that! It was something else!"

"It's nothing to be afraid of," Mama Murphy said calmly.

"Yeah? Well let's see how afraid you are when it's MURDERING YOU!"

"Okay, let's just calm down, okay?" Lillian said loudly, "They're checking it out. We'll be fine."

Marcy scoffed and pushed Jun away as she started pacing, not taking her eyes off the house where Preston, Sturges, and MacCready had entered. A moment later, MacCready emerged with his rifle over his shoulder and approached them.

"Well?" Marcy demanded.

"Seems you forgot all about someone else you invited here," he smirked at Lillian.

"What? Who?" Lillian thought hard until she realised. "OH! Oh my god, is he okay?"

"Startled, but he wants to talk to you."

"Goddammit, are you just inviting EVERYONE here?" Marcy yelled.

Lillian ignored her and followed MacCready quickly to the house. Inside, Preston and Sturges were standing near the Vault-Tec rep, who was sitting at a table, shaking with fear.

"Hey, you okay?" she asked him gently.

"Sorry, I just... I didn't want to bother anyone," he said.

"It's okay. I'm sorry, I completely forgot I had invited you here."

"A lot of people forget about me," the Vault-Tec rep said sadly.

"I didn't mean to, I just... I have a lot on my mind." She sat down across from him. "Do you remember when you came to my house? To make sure we were registered for the vault?"

"Yeah, you made that joke about the apocalypse."

"I take that joke back," she smiled. "But you remember my husband? And my son?"

"Yes, and you said you were the only one who survived."

"Well, my son might have."

"I don't understand."

Lillian took a breath and explained what had happened. The Vault-Tec rep's eyes widened in horror.

"But.. who would take a baby?"

"I don't know," she said quietly, "But I'm going to find out."

"Sorry for scaring that lady."

"It's okay, she'll get over it," Sturges said. "Now, let's get you introduced to everyone."

"Oh, but would they be okay with a ghoul?"

"Of course we will!" Charlie suddenly appeared in the doorway with Canigou limping behind her. "And if they don't like it, then they can shove off."

"Charlie!" Lillian tried to keep herself from smiling, "But she is right. If they don't like it, they can find somewhere else to live. Though, I think with this group, it's best to just try to get along."

"Yeah, we've had a bit of a hard time the past couple of months," said Preston, "We'd rather not have to kick anyone out."

Charlie took the Vault-Tec rep's hand and led him out of the house. "So what's your name? I'm Charlie, and this is Canigou. He was Lillian's dog, but he had an accident and now I get to take care of him."

"So I think he'll be fine," said Sturges with a grin.

"Glad that's sorted," Lillian followed them out of the house, "I can't believe I forgot I had invited him here."

"Sounds like you've had a lot on your mind," Sturges looked back at her, "So that really true? You were frozen in a vault for two hundred years?"

"Yeah. The vault's just up the hill," she pointed to the hilltop. "But there's nothing of any use there, I don't think."

"But... everyone's still there?"

"Yeah."

"We'll make it off limits," said Preston. "No reason for anyone to be poking around in there."

"Thank you." Lillian hadn't taken her eyes off the hill. She could see the Vault-Tec security trailer still standing beside the platform. So many people were still outside when the platform was lowered. How many of them survived? How many had burned to death from the radiation and how many had managed to continue on as ghouls? There were many skeletons littering the area when she had emerged, but she ignored them. There were already too many down in the vault.

"So, uh, you ready to get going?" MacCready interrupted her thoughts.

"Yeah," she blinked back the tears that had started to form, "Yeah, let's go."

"Hey, before you go, I had word of a settlement that needed help," Preston said, "They're located at Tenpines Bluff, east of here. Any chance you could stop by and see what's going on?"

"I don't know," she looked over at MacCready who rolled his eyes, "I mean, I already have a full plate, and I don't know if we'll be in the area."

"Here, I'll show you where it is," Preston gestured to her Pipboy which she held out to him. "I can't do it myself because we're still settling in here," he said, inputting the location into her map. "But if you could, that would be great." He tried not to sound too desperate.

"I'll see what I can do, but I can't promise," she said.

"Great! The sooner we can start building up trust in the Minutemen, the sooner we can build up our ranks again!" Preston turned and started whistling happily.

"Did I just get recruited?" Lillian asked MacCready once Preston was out of earshot.

"I think you did," MacCready laughed as they returned to her house to retrieve their packs, "C'mon, let's get out of here before anyone else tries to get you to join their cult or something."

Paladin Danse sat in the lock up, tapping his pen on the desk. Lillian's letter lay unfolded next to some old, faded sheets of paper he found in the filing cabinets. He knew he didn't need to write her back, but he wanted to. But where to start? He had already scratched out To Initiate Parker (too formal) and Dear Lillian (too informal). To whom it may concern was right out of the question. Why was this so hard?

He took a deep breath and started writing.

Lillian -

I hope this letter finds you safe and well. How is your dog? Haylen did an excellent job and I have already made a note in my report that she is to be commended once again for her medical services. I have also put in a recommendation that scribes be trained to treat animals. The Brotherhood don't usually have dogs around, but perhaps we should change that.

I have passed on your regards to Haylen, who hopes you and Canigou are doing well, and to Rhys, who did acknowledge them but did not say anything. He has been busy with patrols as have I. So far we haven't spotted any ferals and we haven't had any major problems. Only a couple of Raider attacks, but they were easily chased away.

Please be careful while you're out there. I know you say you trust that MacCready, but people will do anything to take advantage of you out here. He might even be building your trust and lure you into a trap. I know you don't want to hear it, but I have seen it happen many times. -I- We can't lose you.

Good luck finding your son. I hope to see you soon. -I- We miss you.

-L-

Paladin Danse

There. That should do. Now he just had to wait for another caravan to come by.

Lillian and MacCready had made it to the crossroads before Concord, with a quick stop at the Red Rocket station to see if there were any supplies they could use. MacCready happily claimed a carton of cigarettes, but there wasn't anything else of use.

"So I know how to get to Malden by road, but if you know a better way," she opened her Pipboy's map.

"Roads are good for now. We can head down here, past Concord, and go east along this road here," he ran his finger down the route.

"Sounds good." She lowered her arm and they walked around Concord, now silent except for the sounds of scavenging flies and roaches. They reached the crossroads just before the Drumlin Diner when MacCready stopped.

"Hold on, I just want to go ask that Trudy for a favour. Not that, you perv!" he added when Lillian raised her eyebrows at him. She laughed as he rushed to the diner. What kind of favour did he want to ask Trudy for? She supposed he'd tell her later. That is, if he wanted to. She waited outside until he was done, nodding a quick hi to Wolfgang and his companion, Simone.

"All good?" she asked MacCready when he came out.

"Yep, let's go."

She waved to Trudy and they continued on their way. She couldn't help but notice that MacCready kept trying to hide a smile and looking back at her. They had just reached the old drive-in when she stopped.

"Alright, what did you do?" she crossed her arms.

"Me? Nothing!"

"You've been grinning at me since we left Trudy's and I don't know if I should be worried or what."

"Okay, so I asked Trudy to send a message on to someone for you."

"What? Who? Why?"

"Just a message to that Danse guy about how much you want to jump his bones next time you see him."

Lillian smacked him in the shoulder. "Shut up. No, really, what was it?"

"Well, I sent a message on to Diamond City. But I don't know if it'll work, so I don't want to say in case it doesn't and you've already gotten your hopes up."

"Is it a time machine? Please god tell me it's a time machine," she grabbed him by his coat lapel.

"No, sorry," he looked apologetic, "It's something else and you have to wait."

"So unfair," she pouted jokingly.

"Yeah, yeah," he put his arm around her, "Everything is unfair. It's unfair that there is this gigantic movie screen and no movies to watch on it."

"Yeah," she sighed, looking up at the screen, "I wonder if we could make it work, see if the projector could be fixed up."

"But you'd need a car, wouldn't you? I mean, look at all these ones here."

"Well, we'd figure something out. Maybe play a silent movie instead."

"Boring."

"Some of them are really good! My granddad showed me 'The Phantom of the Opera' and the unmasking scene made me pee my pants," Lillian laughed.

"Ha, how old were you?"

"Seven. But I loved it. I've seen most of the remakes but my favourite is the silent version."

"Was it a ballet? Did you dance in it?"

"Nah, it was made into a musical but not a ballet."

"Oh." he looked around the drive-in lot. "We should see what we can do about this place."

"Yeah."

"So which movies are we seeing tonight?" asked Lillian.

"'The Curse of the Wasp Woman' and 'Space Rangers from Mars'," Nate replied as he parked the car, "Not that we'll be doing much watching." He winked at her.

"You know, just once I'd like to actually watch both movies we pay to see," she unbuckled her seatbelt, slipped off her shoes and put her socked feet up on the dashboard.

"Where's the fun in that?"

"I was looking through all the ticket stubs and I don't recognise most of them."

"I'm so good I can make you forget movies. Tell your friends."

"And have to fight off all those bitches? No, thank you." Lillian giggled.

"You can always join in."

"Shut up," she punched him lightly in the shoulder. "Just for that, you can go get the snacks."

"I have to pay for them too, don't I?"

"Yep, you do," she grinned at him.

"Pfft, making me pay for everything," Nate pretended to sulk as he got out of the car.

Lillian smiled as she watched him go back to the concession stand. She felt so lucky and so happy. Despite everything going on in the world, Nate made everything better. When he proposed only a few weeks before, she didn't let him finish asking when she kissed him and said yes. Even though they had only been dating for a year, she knew she wanted to spend her life with him. She looked down at her engagement ring, a modest emerald instead of the traditional diamond. They were going to be married by the end of the year, possibly sooner if Nate was to be deployed.

She sighed and fought back the tears that were forming as she tried not to think about being separated from Nate. She tried to convince him to find another job, something that would keep him nearby, but he vetoed the idea saying it would be unprofessional of him to leave the army before he was officially discharged. Not to mention the military was issuing stricter punishments to those who went AWOL and were denying all discharge requests.

"Two large popcorns, extra butter, and two large Nuka Colas, extra caffeine," Nate opened the door after placing the popcorn and drinks on the roof of the car. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," Lillian wiped her eyes. "Just being stupid."

"Tell me."

"I'm just worried you'll be sent out before we get married and before we get to enjoy being married," she burst into tears, "I don't want anything to happen to you."

"Oh, Lilli," he got in the car and pulled her to him, "No matter what happens, I will always come home to you."

"You can't promise that," she sobbed into his shoulder.

"No, I can't, but I'll always be with you," he drew back and wiped her face with his thumbs, "Because I plan on haunting you until we're together again."

"Idiot," she laughed.

"I'll always be your idiot," he kissed her. She kissed him back as they forgot all about the snacks still on the roof of the car and the movie that had just started playing.

Lillian followed MacCready across the drive-in lot. Was that what her dreams of Nate were? Was he haunting her now? But if so, why was he being so mean, saying she didn't love them because she hadn't found Shaun yet, or because she wasn't able to stop that man from killing Nate. She hoped Nate wouldn't be angry with her for helping MacCready. If he were here, they'd probably get along quite well. They were both easy-going and always making jokes.

She tried to imagine Nate meeting Paladin Danse and she smirked to herself. Nate would've hated him. Well, maybe not hate, but strongly dislike. While Nate was always professional when he needed to be, he did goof off a lot and he much preferred to be around people who can take a joke. Like the time he was in charge of teaching Lillian and the others how to use power armour and he kept talking like a demented Protectron. She giggled as she tried to imagine Danse goofing off.

"What's so funny?" MacCready turned back to her.

"Just imagining Danse as a Protectron," she laughed.

MacCready burst out laughing, "Why the hell are you imagining that?"

"I don't know!" she couldn't stop laughing. MacCready was bent over, trying to catch his breath. Lillian wiped away the tears from her eyes as she calmed down, but when they looked at each other, they burst into laughter again and fell against each other.

They didn't know how long they were laughing, but by the time they finally calmed down, they were lying on the side of the road.

"My stomach hurts," MacCready said, holding his middle.

"Mine too," Lillian sat up, "God, I haven't laughed like that in a long time."

"Heh, me too," he sat up as well, "Guess we both needed that."

"Yeah. My granddad always said laughter was the best medicine."

"I suppose laughter only goes so far for use as medicine."

"Ha, I told my granddad when I was a kid that laughter wouldn't fix my leg if I broke it and he told me, 'No, but it might help take away the pain.'"

"I guess it would distract you enough."

"For a little while, yeah." She took a deep breath. "Okay, I think I'm good."

"Yep, me too." They walked about five steps before MacCready spoke. "Protectron Danse."

They both fell over laughing again.

Dusk was approaching and they needed to find somewhere to sleep soon. Lillian pointed out a building near the lake.

"Wanna check that place out?" she asked, "It used to be a retirement home."

"If it's clear, we'll stay." They both took out their guns and swept the home until they were satisfied no one and nothing was around.

"Jesus, these rooms are tiny," Lillian looked in one of the rooms. "These poor people."

"So what exactly are retirement homes? Just somewhere for people to rest?"

"They're usually for people who no longer work but need assistance with basic living, like cooking and housework, and sometimes also with bathing."

"Sounds terrible."

"I suppose most people these days don't quite live to that point," she said sadly.

"Well, there are plenty of elderly people out there, but I guess they're still able to do things themselves."

"Yeah. Anyway, do you want to sleep in separate rooms or share one? The beds seem to be okay." Lillian sat down on the bed and bounced a little. Only a slight creak emerged from the bedframe.

"Let's share, but let's find a bigger room."

They wandered throughout the home until they found some sightly larger rooms. MacCready dropped his pack in one. "This looks good."

"Okay, I'm going to go set up some bottle alarms." Lillian left her pack in the room and went around retrieving all the empty bottles she had seen lying around. She set them up near the front door and throughout the main lobby. She set a few rows of bottles at either end of the hallway they were staying in.

"All good?" MacCready was sitting on the bed, wiping down his rifle.

"Yep." Lillian set the alarm on her Pipboy. "If we set out early enough, we should be at Med-Tek by ten or eleven, noon at the latest."

"It still doesn't seem real," said MacCready, "I've been trying to get into that damn building for ages, but there were always too many ghouls. But now I feel like I have a chance." He looked earnestly at Lillian. She smiled back at him.

"We're going to get that cure," she said, removing her Pipboy and setting it on the side table. "And you are going to make your son better."

"All thanks to you."

She sat next to MacCready, took his hand, and squeezed it in reassurance. He squeezed back, then leaned over and kissed her. She pulled back in surprise, then smiled and kissed him back. God, it felt so good to kiss someone again. He removed his hat, tossing it aside, and leaned her back on the mattress. She grasped the back of his head, keeping him close, and hooking her leg around his.

After a few minutes, they sat up long enough to remove their coats, throwing them to the floor. MacCready removed her t-shirt, kissing her neck and shoulder before removing his own shirt. Lillian unbuckled his belt and undid his pants before he broke away to remove them along with his boots. She unzipped her pants, kicked off her own boots, and he pulled her pants off. He kissed her again as she unhooked her bra and tossed it on the floor. He ran his hands over her soft skin, gently cupping her breast.

"Oh, Nate," she moaned softly.

"Lucy," he sighed at the same time.

Their eyes widened as they suddenly realized what they had said and quickly sprang apart.

"Shit, I'm so sorry," Lillian said, suddenly feeling very exposed. She covered her chest with her arms.

"No, I'm sorry," MacCready replied, "Dammit."

They silently sat apart on the bed for a few minutes, feeling embarrassed. MacCready handed over her t-shirt which she quickly put on. He slowly put his own pants and shirt back on, then handed Lillian her pants.

"I guess I'm not ready to move on yet," she said quietly, putting her pants on.

"Me neither," he sat next to her. "I'm real sorry for putting you in this position."

"Don't be sorry," she said, "It's not like I didn't do anything too."

"I'll sleep in another room."

"Please don't." He looked at her questioningly. "I don't want to be alone."

"Okay." They smiled at each other then lay back down on the bed. She curled up against him as he put his arms around her.