It was raining the next morning so Lillian and MacCready decided to wait until it stopped. She did her exercises in an empty room while he cooked up some breakfast (grilled radroach leftovers). Neither had spoken much since the night before, only exchanging brief apologetic smiles before going about their morning routines.

Lillian felt awful. Her stomach felt more queasy than usual. She worried that nothing would be the same between her and MacCready. Even though she had only known him for a short time, they had become good friends and she trusted him. Was that trust broken now?

Not only that, she worried about what Nate would think. Sure, she imagined that Nate and MacCready would get along, but that camaraderie would probably shatter. Well, of course it would if Nate were still alive. Is it considered cheating when she's widowed? She had been thinking about Nate the whole time. MacCready seemed to be thinking of his own wife as well.

When she finished her exercises and stretching, she still felt stiff. She headed to the main lobby where MacCready was sitting on a ratty couch.

"Hey." She sat down next to him.

"Hey." He didn't look at her, but handed a piece of cooked radroach in a folded napkin to her.

She stared down at it for a few moments before speaking. "Are we okay?"

"Are we cool?" he asked at the same time. They shared a small smile and he gestured for her to go ahead.

"I'm sorry. I don't know if what happened last night was because I led you on, or if we just both miss our spouses. I didn't mean for it to happen."

"Well, if I'm going to be honest, I can't deny that I do like you," he kept his gaze on his hands. "I just... I couldn't help but kiss you. I guess I'm just so grateful for everything you've done for me. And when you kissed me back, I couldn't help but think of Lucy. I wanted you to be Lucy. I guess that sounds kind of crazy, huh?"

"No, I get it. I wanted you to be Nate." Lillian burst out sobbing, "I just miss him so much!" MacCready pulled her to him as she cried loudly into his shoulder. He hugged her tightly and rubbed her back. When she had calmed down, he kissed her forehead.

"Hey, it's okay," he said softly, "I know you miss him. You'll always miss him. Just like I'll always miss Lucy."

"I guess we're kind of the same, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess we are." he sighed, "I don't want this to change things."

"I don't want it to change either," Lillian wiped her face on her shirt. "But I don't know if I want to go any further."

"Like, as more than friends?" she nodded. "I don't know either. I mean, I like you. If you asked me to be more, I'd probably say yes. But I don't know if I'm ready for that."

"I like you too, but I don't think I like you as more," she sniffled. "It wouldn't be fair to either of us if we tried to pursue this further."

"I get it. It's okay." he paused. "Do you regret it?"

"Last night? No. But I think I might have if we had gone all the way."

"Oh."

"You're a sweet man, funny, and handsome as hell." MacCready scoffed with laughter. "You are! But I don't think we're right for each other. Not long term, anyway."

"Yeah, I guess not," he sighed then reached forward to gently brush a strand of hair away from her face and behind her ear. "You're not so bad looking yourself."

She laughed. "So, we're good?"

"Of course we are. Just glad we got this sorted out."

"Me too." She stood and went over to the window. "I guess the rain isn't going to let up any time soon."

"Don't know about you, but I could use some more rest," MacCready joined her by the window, "I didn't get much sleep last night."

"Neither did I. I was too busy worrying myself sick." she rubbed her stomach which still felt a bit uneasy. "I could do with a good lie down."

"You go rest, I'll stay out here and keep watch."

"You sure?"

"Yeah," he took her hand and squeezed it, "Go sleep. I'll wake you when the rain stops."

She squeezed his hand in return. "Thank you."

"So. Didn't take you long to find someone new."

Lillian opened her eyes to see Nate sitting on the edge of the bed.

"It's not like that."

"Oh no, just getting mostly naked with another man."

"Please don't do this."

Nate sighed then moved to lie down next to her. "I guess I can't blame you."

"I don't know what to do." She tried reaching for him, but her hand went through his arm. "Why did this have to happen?"

"You remember when your mother always said things happen for a reason?"

"Yeah?"

"She can shove that saying up her-"

"Nate!" she giggled.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I miss your mother."

"Me too."

"She made the best turkey at Thanksgiving. Because it wasn't burnt."

"The one time I mess up cooking a turkey..."

"It was on fire!"

"Barely!"

"The look on your parents' faces when they showed up expecting a Thanksgiving feast and instead are greeted by the fire department and a pizza delivery guy."

Lillian laughed. "What about that time you burned soup?"

"Hey, I was being distracted by a beautiful woman in my bed." He winked at her. She tried to elbow him in jest, but her arm went through him again.

"I miss you so much."

"I miss you too, hon." He turned on his side toward her. "I won't get mad if you bunker up with someone else. Just so long as you're happy. And he's not better looking than me," he added with a wink.

"But I'm happy with you."

"I'm not even here."

Lillian woke up sweating, realising she was alone. Her stomach lurched and she rushed out of the room. MacCready rose up from the couch he was sitting on, but she pushed him out of the way as she ran past. She barely made it outside the door when she vomited.

"Jesus, you okay?" MacCready joined her outside.

"Sorry, just... felt a bit sick," Lillian wiped her mouth and took a deep breath.

"Yeah, I figured," he rubbed her back, "At least the rain stopped."

Lillian looked up to see strips of blue sky through the slowly dispersing clouds. "What time is it?" she asked as she looked down at her Pipboy. "You let me sleep until two in the afternoon?"

"Seemed like you needed the sleep," he shrugged.

"Dammit, you should've woken me up, we could've been there by now." She hurried back inside to retrieve her pack. She came out to see MacCready sitting on the couch again with his head in his hands. "What's wrong?"

"What if it's not there?" he asked quietly, "What if there is no cure?"

"Well, let's find out."

"And if there isn't anything?"

"If there isn't, then... " she tapered off. "Then you need to go back to your little boy."

MacCready nodded slowly. "I can't fail him."

"You won't. But if we don't go, then we won't know for sure." Lillian was stern, but inwardly she was worried. What if there really isn't a cure for Duncan? What if it's a cure for something else? Or something more ... sinister? She had heard rumours about Med-Tek, but that's all they were. Rumours. She didn't pay much attention since it didn't directly affect her, but thinking about it now, maybe she should have.

"You're right. Let's go." MacCready stood, looking more determined.

Paladin Danse stayed on patrol all day, waiting for a caravan to pass so he could send off his letter to Lillian. Or better yet, that Lillian would stop by on her way back to Diamond City. He knew deep down that the letter was unnecessary, but he still wanted to send it to her.

"There you are, Paladin." Haylen's voice broke the silence behind him.

"Scribe," he greeted her, "Is there a problem?"

"No, just... can I ask you something? Off the record."

Danse frowned. "Sure."

"Are you taking all these extra patrols in case Lillian comes by?"

"Now why would you think that?"

Haylen said nothing, but removed some folded sheets of paper from her pocket which Danse recognized as his first attempts at writing the letter.

"I can explain."

"You don't need to," she said with a smile, "I'm just concerned you aren't getting enough rest because you're worried about her, and also because-."

"I'm fine," he interrupted sternly.

"Uh huh," Haylen crossed her arms. "You know, there might be a way to send her messages without having to send a letter."

"I'm listening."

"I've been doing some research and I think I might be able to sort out a messaging system to her Pipboy."

"Like the terminal messaging system at the Citadel and on the Prydwen?"

"Yes, but those are short-range. This would need to be more long-range since we don't know where exactly she will be. But we could use the transmitter from Arc-Jet. It's just a matter of making sure the messages are only received by Lillian and vice versa."

"And how do you propose to do that?"

"Well, Pipboys have their own identification code within them, much like our own terminals. If we get the code from her Pipboy, I should be able to work something out."

"Right. So now all we need is Lillian to come back."

"Yes, and you trying to do 24-hour patrols on your own isn't going to make her come back faster." Haylen moved closer to Danse. "You do seem happier when she's around." She winked at him.

Danse watched Haylen return to the police station. A moment later, he spotted a brahmin laden with cargo being led by an older woman. He rushed down to the road to meet her.

"Excuse me, can you deliver a letter for me?" he asked.

"No manners these days, not even a 'hello, how are you?'" the woman sighed. "Where's it going?"

"Sanctuary Hills. To Lillian Parker."

"Yeah, I know the place. 10 caps."

Danse handed over the caps and the letter.

"Is there another person you want this delivered to in case the recipient is unavailable?"

"Um, I don't know. Oh! Look for a three-legged dog. His name is Canigou."

The woman stared at him, raising her eyebrow. "You... want the letter delivered to a dog?"

"No, there will be a young girl caring for the dog. Give the letter to her. She'll make sure Lillian gets it."

"If you insist."

"Here. An extra 10 caps to make sure it makes it to Sanctuary."

"Yeah, sure." The woman pocketed the caps and the letter. "All sorts out here," she muttered as she continued up the road.

"Goddamn, is that all of them?" MacCready asked, exhausted. He and Lillian had reached the lowest levels of the Med-Tek research building. It was swarming with feral ghouls, which they learned through terminal entries were former employees and test subjects. But none of the terminals so far had mentioned anything about a cure for diseases with blue boils.

"Hey, I think I have something here," Lillian called from another room. MacCready rushed to join her. She was leaning over a terminal and reading. "Listen to this.

'Subject: 4529-B2

Symptoms: Headache, second degree burns on arms, boils on back, no fever

Treatment: 0.5mL Prevent 45M

Observations: Subject displayed signs of hair loss, cysts, and red spots on chest. Erections lasting more than four hours is no longer a problem.

Notes: After two days, all symptoms have dissipated, as have the cysts and red spots. Will need more time to see if the hair loss is temporary or permanent. Recommend a higher dose of Bacteria J34 in the next subject.'

Lillian stopped reading and looked over at him.

"So, is that it? This 'Prevent'?" he asked.

"I guess so, they mention the boils but not if they're blue or otherwise," she shrugged, "But it's the best we got so far. Some of the other research entries seem to be treating people with different symptoms, but all with Prevent and those results were varied." She stood straight and looked him in the eyes. "Are you sure you want to do this? Knowing that all these people suffered for the development of this cure? And knowing all the possible side effects?"

"Yes! I have to do it," MacCready frowned at her.

"Okay, I'm just making sure you understand," she gave him a small smile, "It's in Laboratory 2C."

MacCready turned and rushed out, following the faded signs on the walls towards Lab 2C. Lillian followed until they reached the door. He put his finger to his lips and nodded toward the door. She crept over to a window and tried to look through the tiny openings in the blinds.

"I think there are three in there," she whispered, "Including one that's glowing."

"Damn, those are tough bastards," he whispered back, "I'll take that one if you take out the other two."

Lillian nodded and used the terminal to open the door. The ghouls inside didn't notice right away until MacCready fired a couple of shots at the glowing ghoul. Lillian focused her aim on the normal looking ghouls while MacCready shot off one of the glowing ghoul's legs. He finished it off then helped Lillian take out the other two.

"So that glowing one, is it just super radiated?" she pointed towards the green glowing ghoul's body.

"Pretty much. Even worse, if you don't take those ones out right away, they can do this thing where they resurrect nearby dead ghouls."

"What the fuck," Lillian's eyes widened. "Just when I think this world can't get worse, I learn more bullshit like this."

"Oh, wait until you hear about mirelurk queens and kings," MacCready grinned.

"Fuck off, I don't want to know," she flipped him off jokingly and started looking through the dirty lab. After a few minutes, she spotted a red syringe with the faded letters of 'Prevent' written on it. "Found it!" she held it up.

"Holy crap, we did it!" he ran to her and took the syringe carefully, "We actually did it!" He kissed her and hugged her tightly.

"Yep, we did it," she hugged him back.

"Sorry, didn't mean to kiss you, but..."

Lillian waved him off. "It's fine. But can we get out of here, please?"

"Absolutely. Let's go." Lillian could've sworn MacCready nearly skipped back to the elevator. She shuddered as she stepped in, still not trusting these damn things.

"So I guess this means you're leaving," she said as they exited the building.

"Well, no," he said thoughtfully, "If I get this to Daisy in Goodneighbor, she'll make sure it gets to Duncan."

"But don't you want to go yourself?"

"You hired me, remember? Even though I paid back your caps, and we're friends, I don't just abandon jobs."

"Don't be stupid, you are going to bring that to Duncan yourself."

"But-"

"Don't even think about arguing with me. I was a lawyer, you know."

"Pfft, you weren't that kind of lawyer."

"Still, I insist. I DEMAND you return to your son. If you don't, I will never speak to you again."

"Well at least things will be quiet," he grinned at her.

"Fuck off," she elbowed him in jest.

MacCready was about to say something else, but a beeping from Lillian's Pipboy interrupted him. She looked down. Unknown Signal.

"What's that?" he asked.

"I don't... wait. Maybe it's a distress signal from that missing Brotherhood patrol," she turned, taking a few steps in different directions until the signal beeped more erratically. "It's coming from this way."

"Be careful, you don't know what's waiting for you," he gripped his rifle. She nodded in response and removed her laser rifle. They followed the increasing beep to a ruined house. There was a crater in the middle with bits of power armour embedded inside. Another suit of power armour was leaning against the desk and Lillian realised there was a decomposed body inside.

"Well, looks like this one didn't make it," MacCready approached the body.

"Guess not," she looked at the crater. "Doesn't look like there are more bodies. Just the suits of power armour. But why would they leave it all here?"

"Here, maybe this will have something," he tossed a holotape to her. She put it in her Pipboy and let it play. It was frantic and a different people were shouting.

"... ambushed on the road, we're outnumber five to one! Varham, report!"

"Core's down to 5%!"

"We'll have to scuttle the armour. We can't let them have it."

"Varham!"

"Dammit! Astlin, set the self-destructs! Faris, fall back! We'll head for the old military base, then try to make it to our holdout. The code will be our callsign. Move, move!"

The holotape clicked off. Lillian and MacCready looked at each other.

"Damn, that sucks," he said.

Lillian's brow was wrinkled in thought. "I think that military base they're talking about is the training yard. It's not too far from here. At least, I don't think it is."

"You're not going there now, are you?" he asked.

"It might be on the way back to Goodneighbor, depending on which route we take," she said, consulting her Pipboy's map. "Hmm, only if we detour slightly to the east here." She pointed it to him. "But right now, our priority is getting you and the cure back to Goodneighbor."

"Well, if it's on the way, we could look in, just to see."

"Thanks, maybe there will be a clue to where their holdout is supposed to be."

"For now, we should find somewhere to hole up for the night. This is too open," MacCready gestured around the ruined building.

"Should we head back to MedTek? We know it's clear now, and sturdy."

"Well I don't have any other ideas. Let's go."