Although Mason knew Heather and Codsworth had something to tell him the previous night, he couldn't get to them about it due to the event from the sewers and jobs the settlement needed to be done. Getting up and stretching, Mason took the armor off, opting for a more comfortable flannel and vest before going to find Codsworth. He couldn't be too far, especially since he didn't normally like to roam too far from Mason while following him. It was a bit more difficult than usual though since it was three in the morning. Turning on the Pip-Boy light, Mason found him hovering near the partially built walls of the place and approached him.
"Sir, perhaps now would be a good time to speak?" Codsworth asked Mason as he stepped up to him.
"Sure," Mason told him. "What's on your mind, Cods?"
"So gracious, sir! I do appreciate it," he remarked happily. "I've always had such admiration for you and your family, ever since that day my visual sensors were first switched on. You and the missus."
Of course Mason trusted him. Couldn't trust anyone more than him. Even if he was programmed for it, he still had his own personality.
"So good with young Shaun, and so trusting of me to look after such a newborn bundle of joy. It just warms my nuclear core. So, you can imagine the distress I felt when the bombs fell after you fled to the vault. I searched but found no evidence of your death. I could only hope you all made it in time! And when you returned, I was overjoyed! I admit I ran a full diagnostics scan just to be sure I wasn't malfunctioning. But the news. The news of the missus and young Shaun. Believe me when I say it takes a true hero to live through that."
Mason wasn't a hero. All he had done was help out a few settlements and paved the way for three more while traveling. Any halfway decent person would have done it.
"I'm no hero, Codsworth," Mason told him. "Believe me, I am far from one."
"Don't sell yourself short, sir," Codsworth said joyfully. "In such a bleak world as this, think all you've witnessed, and all you've done. In my two hundred years, I've seen it tear men and women apart. But you sir, you have remained the very model of what humanity should aspire to be."
Mason never knew. He just did what I felt was necessary to find Shaun. If he was too weak, he wouldn't be able to get to the bastard who took him, and he could get killed instead.
"I didn't realize you felt that way, Cods. I don't know what to say."
"You have nothing to say, sir. I just… felt you should know what you've come to mean to me. I truly believe if the Commonwealth is to turn itself around, you're the one to do it. Now not another word! I stand firm in my belief. Let's get back to it."
After he finished telling him what was on his mind, they got to work on the walls. Codsworth was building up the walls, Mason reinforcing them from behind. With them working together, along with the help of settlers as they woke up, they got the walls built in nine hours. Grabbing his bag from the bed he had slept in the previous night, he grabbed some food from it, sat at the table set up outside, and quietly enjoyed the food. After five minutes, he felt Heather sit next to him and asked, "What's on your mind?"
"I have a couple of presents for you," she said as she handed him a 10mm and some ammunition. "And I'm increasing your discount again. I hate charging you, but I need to stay in business. You know, it feels like we've been together forever. Struck gold the day you agreed to travel with me. I love being with you."
"There's more to this, isn't there?" Mason questioned.
"More to me and you? I'd like that."
Was she flirting? Mason really couldn't tell, even if it had happened to him a lot before the war, so maybe she just meant being best friends. He'd worry about it later. After grabbing their bags and stuffing his armor into his, they walk out the gates of Red Rocket and go to Sanctuary.
"Hey, Buff Man!" Mason yelled happily as he approached the gates. "I'm back a day early!"
"So you are," Sturges joyfully said. "I knew you couldn't stay gone for too long."
"It was only six days, Sturges," Mason said as he climbed the watchtower and stood next to him. "Do you remember the zones I showed you on my Pip-Boy?"
"Sure do."
"Well I'm heading here in two days," Mason informed him, pointing to zone three. "Make sure everyone knows to get plenty of sleep tonight. Tomorrow, we're going to be working on upgrading this place. For instance, because we have no lights, you can't see very well at night, can you?"
"No, we can not."
"Okay then. I'm going to be going to my house and drawing up some plans for tomorrow," Mason told him with joy. He couldn't wait to see how the rest of these settlers' building skills were.
When he walked into his house, Mason set his bag on his couch before walking back out to the workshop. It looked like they had managed to contact a trader while he was gone because now they had the supplies to last a lifetime and used the one he had given Sturges. After grabbing an oil lamp and some oil, Mason walked back to his house, putting the oil into the lamp and setting it on his bar. Grabbing some paper from his bag, Mason sat down at the bar and got to writing. Hunching over, he began to think about the walls for the building that would house the generators. Wood would be too flammable and likely rot from getting rained on, and concrete would take too long to settle. Remembering the ways some warehouses were built, something he had watched his father work on all the time as he grew up, he began writing the plans for the walls and roof.
When he was done, he got to work on the design for the power pylon. They didn't have to be too large since the street lights that would be built would take care of getting the electricity around. However, the conduit still had to stay off the ground, so decided on a simple design to keep it off the ground. Regarding the street lights, he was gonna make sure they were planted at intervals, so they weren't placed randomly. After he was done with streetlights, he had to work on the lights that'd be on the walls, as those would have to be different from streetlights. He had two copies of each when he was done, one for himself and the settlers. After three hours of non-stop work, he put the plans away and lit the lamp due to it getting dark out. Planning on having the generator building next to the house across the street, Mason marked where streetlights and pylon would be built. Putting together a bell for people to hear when he rang it, also putting together some decent tables for them to sit at when lunch rolled around. It was outside the wall, but they'd build more walls eventually. Holding the plans in his hand, he rang the bell for three minutes, his arm feeling numb afterward, and did a headcount. Counting fifteen people, he knew the bed situation would be crunched for a while but knew they needed walls and power first. When Tyler came up to him, he asked, "What are we doing today? This isn't normal."
"I'll explain, but first I need you to gather everyone at those tables," Mason told him, pointing to the area outside the walls. "And I'm gonna need your help since a little over half these people don't know me."
Seeing the papers in Mason's hands, Tyler sighed. "I see. I'll get everyone together."
Mason stands with the papers in his hands, waiting by the tables, gesturing for Garvey and Sturges to stand by him. When Tyler was done gathering everyone, he stood by Mason, hands on his hips, and spoke.
"Alright everyone, listen up," he commanded, and everyone turned their attention to him. "This is the General. Of the Minutemen. Without him, we would not have this place. For the purpose of this meeting, he has my authority. He has some plans, which he will share with us now."
"Alright," Mason said, stepping forward. "What I have here are plans for four things; generators, lights, pylon, and walls. The two people I came in with last night, Miss Casdin and Codsworth, will be helping with the generators. You're going to be split into groups of five, with Sturges, Garvey, and Kynigan picking who's helping them. Now, these are things you're gonna need, so I don't wanna see any slacking off today. Turning to Sturges, he handed him the plans for streetlights. "Sturges, I need you to take four people and start working on the streetlights. When those are done, which shouldn't be until tomorrow, you'll need to work on the lights for the walls."
"Good deal," Sturges said, and grabbed the Longs and two other settlers to help him, and sat down at a table near the front. When they were done, Mason turned to Tyler,
"Mr. Kynigan, I need you to grab four people to help with walls," Mason told him as he handed him the plans. "These are for the building the generators will be in, so don't slack on the job."
"Won't be a problem," Tyler said as he started to look over the plans. Handing the nylon plans to Garvey, Mason continued.
"These are for pylons. Not as many of these need to be made as lights, so you could be done by the end of the day. But, if you are, I'm gonna need you to help Mr. Kynigan with the walls.
"Of course, General," Garvey said, making Mason sigh as he remembered Garvey's description of him.
"Alright, you know what we'll be doing. I trust you guys to pick the right people for the job. Casdin, Codsworth, let's go."
Walking to the workbench to the resources, Mason began to pick up the nuclear material and aluminum they'd need while Heather and Codsworth collected the rest. They'd need six generators to power the place, though two more were in the future if they needed more power. Wouldn't be too much of a problem if they could just make a fusion reactor, but that was beyond Mason's knowledge. Made him wonder if he'd be able to find plans for one. He knew he was gonna have to make copies of the plans and send them to other settlements, but that could wait for the time being.
"It'll probably take all day just to build one of these," Mason remarked as he set the materials down on the foundation. "You guys alright with that?"
"We're making generators. Large ones. It'll be fine," Heather replied.
"I don't require sleep, so I'll be alright sir," Codsworth beamed. At least as far as Mason could tell.
"Okay then. Heather, you'll be in the corner over there," Mason said, pointing to the front left of the place. Pointing to the back right, Mason told Codsworth he'd be over there. "Alright, now if you guys have any questions, don't hesitate to ask."
"On it," Heather said with a smile, with Codsworth agreeing.
Grabbing the materials he needed, Mason walked between where Heather and Codsworth were working and got busy. Taking off his flannel about three hours later, he had to wipe the sweat off his head due to the heat. May have been winter, but working made him hotter than summer heat.
While the others were working, Mason stopped at one point to check on everyone's progress. Sturges group was making progress with the lights, and Garveys were almost done with the power pylons. Kynigan's group was making good progress with the walls around them, being careful not to get in the way of the generators, opting to work on the opposite side first to avoid messing with the generators. When noon rolled around, Mason walked over to the table area and hit the break time alarm. When everyone got there to see what the alarm was, Mason grinned. "Alright now, everyone, get something to eat. Won't do anyone any good to work on an empty stomach, and don't forget to drink water."
Sitting down at one of the tables, Mason ate his food while talking to some settlers. Most had been traveling for weeks, looking for a place to call home. Something Mason was going to change for them. As they finished eating, Mason hit the work signal to let them know to go back to work and was about to walk back when he heard a bark in the distance.
"You two head on back," Mason told Heather and Codsworth, looking north in the direction he heard the noise. "Gotta check something out real quick."
Walking north took Mason ten minutes of walking through the woods before he came across a dog. A Golden Retriever of all things.
"Hey boy. What are you doing out here all by yourself?" Mason asked as he approached it and crouched. Holding his hand out, the animal found itself coming up to Mason, allowing him to pet it.
"You wanna come with me, pal?" Mason asks before it barks in joy. "All right then. Let's head to Sanctuary."
Walking back into Sanctuary, Mason decides on a name for it.
"How do you feel about the name Zeus," Mason asked it, where it barked happily, liking its new name. Finding one of the old dog houses, Mason pulls it to the front of his place, fortunate it wasn't too far from his own. Grabbing a bowl from the storage, Mason walked back to his home and grabbed two cans of dog food and some water from the water pump. After using his knife to open the two cans of dog food, he walked back out and poured a can of dog food into Zeus's bowl and the other into Dogmeat's. After pouring water into the other side of both, both Dogmeat and Zeus came over. They began eating, allowing Mason to crouch and pet them.
"What are you doing?" Mason heard someone ask. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Tyler standing there and smiled.
"Just petting these two," Mason told him. "It amazes me how there are still normal animals. You wouldn't have thought they would survive, but they did."
"They probably had them in a vault," Tyler said, sitting down next to him. "They probably would be mutated by the radiation otherwise. Now tell me: you're not from here are you? You've got too many teeth to be a scavver."
"I came from a vault, that's all," Mason told him, not bothering to lie. No point in it if he's going to be leading this place.
"You were a vault dweller? No wonder you know how to make all these contraptions," Tyler said with a grin.
"It's not that, I just studied engineering books in my time off. I worked security before the vault went to hell."
"What caused the vault to fail?"
"Ran out of supplies. People turned on each other to survive. Had to leave just to live."
"Well, you certainly know how to survive. Weren't you traveling for a week before coming back?" Tyler mentioned, not completely accurate.
"Six days," Mason told him. "I finished searching the area a day early.." After standing straight up and stretching, grinning. "Come on, we've got to get back to work."
Mason finished the conversation, walked back to the generator areas, and saw Heather and Codsworth working on their second generator. Mason got back to finishing up his second one, having finished the first one well before lunch and having started on the second one, and after three hours, got it finished. Helping Heather and Codsworth with theirs, each taking ninety minutes, nearing seven when they were done. Grabbing the hem of his shirt, Mason wiped his face with the bottom, making a few settlers' eyes widen when he did. Probably didn't see people without a shirt often. Grabbing two water bottles from his place, he handed one to Heather.
"Take a breather," Mason told her, opening his bottle as he began to feel weary. Guess not sleeping for two days will do that. After he finished his water, he checked the walls of the place, noting they were halfway put up around the place already. Heading to the table area, he hit the quitting time alarm, alerting the others it was fine to stop for the day.
Grabbing some wire from the workbench, Mason connected the generators together, then connected one to a pylon in front of the foundation. When the lights to the place turned, Mason sighed in relief. While it wasn't the neatest job, they had light. Would have to get fixed over time to last longer, but it was good for the time being.
Heading back to his place, he found Heather and Codsworth waiting for him, with Heather looking like she had cleaned up.
"Long day, sir," Codsworth asked as Mason sat down. Sometimes he forgets he's a machine, and time passed normally to him.
"Yeah, fortunately we got a new dog," Mason told him cheerfully.
"I noticed," Heather said. "He seems nice."
"Treat a dog right, and they're a man's best friend. Besides, they're adorable, especially when young."
Standing up, Mason remarked, "With the exception of Tyler's group, can you let them know it okay if they go back to their normal jobs tomorrow?"
"On it," she answered.
Walking to his bedroom, Mason took off his clothing besides his underwear and crawled into bed, closing his eyes for the night.
Waking up the following day, Mason got dressed and walked out to Preston, who was standing guard at a watchtower.
"Anything you need," Preston asked.
"Come with me. After I give you some equipment I'll need your help."
"Sure thing General. I think the folks here can manage on their own thanks to you."
"Mr. Garvey," Codsworth said. "I'm sure you will take good care of my master. Good day to you both."
Mason turned to Codsworth, giving him a hug. "I'll need you to stay here and take over Preston's guard duties. Can you do that for me?"
"Of course, sir."
"Alright. Come on Preston. You'll need to wait in my house for a bit while I fix up your gear."
"Whatever you need, General," Preston said as he followed Mason.
When he walked in, Mason grabbed his bag, pulled out the desert outfit, taking it over to the armor workbench. Improving the armor a bit to take more damage, he added a holster for a pistol. Knowing Garvey likes to use his laser musket, Mason knew he couldn't always rely on it. He could run out of ammo in the middle of a fight. How does he have so many fusion cells in the first place?
After fixing up the armor, Mason walked to the back and grabbed a pipe revolver. Improving it a bit as well, Mason grabbed the armor and brought both things to Preston.
"Here," Mason said as he handed the items to him. "Go put this armor on and keep this pistol on you. That way if you get into a tight situation, you won't have to rely solely on your rifle."
"Thanks, General," Preston replied. "Are we heading out after?"
"We are after I make sure we've got food to last a few days. Just meet me by the gate in thirty minutes."
Finishing his conversation with Garvey, Mason walked into the house, grabbed one of the coolers off the counter, opened the fridge, and put the radroach and molerat meat into it. After he finished putting the meat into the cooler, Mason grabbed his bag and strapped it to the bottom of it. After putting dog food and a bowl in the bag, he put his bag on, then grabbed Heather's bag before walking out to her.
"Here," Mason said as he gave her the bag. "We're heading out soon, so be ready. When we stop by Drumlin Diner, I'll see if they have any armor you could use."
Heather smiled and said, "Nice!"
"Before we go, Codsworth won't be coming with us. He'll be staying. Preston will be taking his place. You alright with that?"
"I don't really know Preston, but if he's good with you, it's fine with me," she smiled.
"All right, meet me by the gate in twenty-five minutes."
Walking around Sanctuary, Mason thought about how he could use the space. Figuring at the most they could house two hundred here, and that's if they built up. And if the Abernathy's and farmers could produce enough food to send here. Most of the settlements could probably hold that many, but he would have to build enough water purifiers here first. After putting his armor on, he took some paper from his bag and began to write down ideas for all possible solutions to the problems until it was time to go. He had about three pages worth of ideas, but they would remain as ideas until the problems arose.
"Come on, boy," Mason grinned, petting Dogmeat's head. "Time to get this show on the road."
Walking up to Codsworth, who was at Garvey's post by the front gate, Mason rubbed the top of his dome.
"So Cods, will you be good here for a couple weeks?" Mason asked him with a smile.
"As long as Mr. Garvey can protect you, I will be fine, sir."
"Just checking. I'll see you in a few weeks."
"Of course, sir."
Walking to Garvey and Heather by the gate, Mason spoke up.
"Alright, Garvey, you'll be at the front, setting the pace. You're likely slower than Heather and I, so you'll be leading."
"I can follow behind if you need me to, General," Garvey said, making Mason sigh.
"It's fine, Garvey," Mason said before turning to Heather. "You'll be following behind him, providing him with support if we're attacked from the front."
"What about you and Dogmeat," Heather asked, making Mason smile.
"We'll be following behind, mostly because we don't want Dogmeat dying any time soon, and Garvey's likely weaker than the both of us. No offense," Mason said,
"None taken," Garvey remarked as Mason continued.
"I do apologize if it seems I'm more demanding than before," Mason stated. "Just wanting to make sure we all live."
"At least you're using your head," Heather said, grinning at Mason.
"Alright. Garvey, at the Museum of Freedom, take a right. I'll give directions as we move."
"Whatever you need, General," Garvey responded as he started walking.
"Alright," Mason said before yelling back, "See you in a few weeks, Cods!"
"Good day, sir!" Codsworth yelled back to him, making him smile. Turning on the Diamond City Radio, Mason noted the host needed a confidence booster.
"Smile a little," Mason told Garvey as they approached Lexington. "I know you've been through a lot, but you'll look better with a smile."
"I'll try, sir," Garvey said before trying to smile.
"Don't force it," Mason said before bringing up what he needed to talk about. "Please don't tell people I have muscles that would make a Super Mutant jealous. Don't even know what that is."
Garvey laughed, making Mason smile as they neared a fork in the road before Mason felt a chill run down his spine.
"Hold position," Mason commanded, making Heather and Garvey stop.
"Is everything alright, General," Garvey asked, Mason looking at him with a stern look.
"Heather," Mason said, turning to look at her. "Stay with Garvey and Dogmeat. If I hit the transponder, come prepared for a fight with them."
"Of course," Heather said, already making sure her rifle was loaded, Garvey cranking his rifle.
Walking ahead, Mason crouched as he snuck forward. Whatever was ahead could probably cause problems, something they didn't need but would deal with. Nearing the end, Mason saw two suits of Power Armor stand over a man in one. He was about to back away when they moved!
Quickly hitting the button on the transponder, Mason took out his helmet and put it on, securing it in place before pulling out his combat rifle. Taking aim at the nearest one's fusion core, Mason pulled the trigger. As the bullet hits, they notice him, making him sprint in one direction to keep them from seeing the others. Turning to fire their lasers at Mason, he grimaced. Why did they have weapons when they could lift trucks? Firing at him, two shots hit; one in the shoulder, the other in the head. The armor kept the lasers from burning, and while they didn't pierce it, the force still hurt. Holding onto the rifle with his right hand and grabbing his shoulder with his left, Mason continued moving while his vision turned blurry. He already had terrible eyesight; he didn't need it to get worse! Turning away, he saw the outlines of Heather and Garvey and began to hurry towards them. As he did, a laser hit him in the leg, making him stumble and fall. Although he couldn't see clearly, he saw Heather firing at the suit of armor that was still standing, Garvey helping him up, wrapping an arm around his shoulders.
Setting Mason down, Garvey pulled out a stimpak and passed it over to Mason before getting ready to fight.
"You should be fine here," Garvey told Mason as he aimed his rifle before pulling the trigger. Mason heard the sound of metal burning and knew Garvey had hit his mark. "Heal up; we'll take care of this thing."
Before Mason could protest, Garvey moved forward, ready for a fight. AS the pain in his head and leg went away, Mason growled. Why did this happen? More specifically, why were two empty suits moving on their own? When his vision began to clear up, Mason grabbed his rifle, got to a knee, and downed a bottle of water. Turning back to the suit, Mason got an idea and went the other way, sneaking around the back. When he saw the fight, Heather rolled to the side, avoiding lasers that hit the area she was in before.
"This is probably the dumbest idea I've had," Mason said as he put his rifle away. Grabbing a car door on the ground, Mason charged forward, slamming the suit in the back, making it fall forward to the ground. Mason took hold of the fusion core and pulled, kicking off the back when it tried to get back up. When Mason fell back onto his rear, the suit stood and attempted to move toward him before visibly shaking and powering down. After a minute, it looked like it hadn't been moving before, making Mason sigh in relief as he caught his breath.
"Is it dead," Heather questioned as Mason stood with his hands on his knees.
"Should be. Took out its source of power," Mason informed them. "But when we have settlers at Starlight, I'll send them to collect the suits. Make sure they don't power up again until I'm sure they won't attack us again.
Looking at the fusion core in hand, Mason put it away before Garvey spoke up.
"We could get a fair amount of caps for that," he remarked, making Mason sigh.
"Better to use it for Power Armor," Mason remarked, closing his bag. "There's likely a lot spread across the Commonwealth due to all the military outposts."
Turning to leave, Mason picked up a laser rifle off one and looked at it. "Grab that rifle, would you," Mason told Garvey as he stood over the other destroyed suit. Heather picked up the one from the corpse, and they turned to go to Starlight.
"We're gonna stop at the drive-in for the night," Mason told them as they backtracked. Walking through the gate of place, Mason was glad to see they had started building walls and guard towers. Walking through the gate, a settler walked up to him, a hammer in one hand.
"Can I help you?" the woman asked as she approached him.
"Sorry, I haven't introduced myself, Mason Black," he said as he held out his hand. "I had the beacon built up here."
"Alice Carter," the woman said, shaking his hand, Mason noting the firm handshake. "Sorry, but that's sort of hard to believe."
"When you or whoever was here first got here, there were probably seven corpses, six molerats and one radroach."
"Guess you did have it built then," Alice said, grinning. "Again, sorry, but good people aren't exactly common."
"It's alright, I understand," Mason told her as he grinned, taking his helmet off. "But I do have to ask, are you the one who led the people in building the walls?"
"Yes, how could you tell?"
"Hammer in hand, likely to keep working on the walls to make them sturdier, hair in a ponytail, to keep it from falling in your face as you work, and pants and a tank-top, the pants for holding nails while you work, and the tank-top to keep cool while working. That, and you had a firm handshake," Mason remarked, surprising the woman.
"You know a lot of words for a scavver," she said before noticing the Pip-Boy. "You were a vault dweller, weren't you?"
"Yeah," Mason said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Though the morals come from my father. Had plenty of connards around growing up."
"I suppose no place goes without its bad apples," Alice remarked, making Mason laugh.
"Alright, well, do you have any spare beds? Just stopping here for the night."
"Only two for the time being," Alice informed him. "Working on making more, but we also-"
"Have a couch in the building over there," Mason finished, turning to sit at the bar since Garvey had to talk about something. "Miss Carter."
"Yes, Mr. Black?"
"Can you make sure… half the people living here work on scavenging for the time being, while the other half is on guard duty?"
"You alright, General?" Garvey said, noticing Mason pause for a minute.
"Fine, just tired," Mason said, and Alice looked at him, surprised. "But can you do that for me, ma'am?"
"Of course," Alice said. "If you need anything, I'll be on the walls.
"I was gonna ask if it was a good time to talk, but it can wait," Garvey said and almost stood up to leave before Mason put a hand on his shoulder. Looking at Mason. Garvey looked confused.
"That's why I sat here," Mason said. "Now what's on your mind? We got time."
"Casdin, can you make sure he gets rest," Garvey said, removing Mason's hand. "He needs it."
"I gotta write down some plans anyway," Mason said, refusing to give up. "May as well talk while I'm here."
Taking his armor off, Mason placed it by his bag while pulling out some paper, Garvey turning to him.
"Well, we can finally start thinking about more than survival," Garvey began, making Mason grin as he drew the plans. "We've gotten big enough that we're having trouble communicating with all our settlements. It's a good problem to have, and I have a solution. I think it's time to retake the castle. It used to be the Minutemen HQ, way before my time. Well fortified, centrally located, and most important, it has a powerful radio transmitter that can broadcast across the whole Commonwealth."
"Well, what happened to the 'Castle' if it was fortified so well?"
"It was long before I joined up, but I heard some kind of monster came out of the sea and destroyed the fort." Made Mason think it was a bigger crab than what was in the sewers. "A lot of them were killed in that battle, and I guess nobody ever felt it was worth the risk to retake it. I've always wondered if losing the radio station was the beginning or all our later problems. So should I have an assault force assemble near the castle?"
Finishing the quick sketch of the plans, Mason sighed. "I'm sorry Garvey. Not yet. Too far for the time being, and if I'm gonna have to travel that far, I'm gonna want the power armor in Sanctuary for protection."
"Your call. Just let me know when you're ready to pull the trigger. I'll let you know if I hear of any settlements that need our help. In the meantime, make sure to offer help to anyone that needs it. That can only help our cause," Garvey responded before standing to go get some water from a pump.
"Heather, you can tend to my wounds now that we're safe," Mason told her, putting the plans away.
"On it," she said as she looked at his wounds. While she was doing this, Mason pulled out some water and drank, feeling thirstier than usual.
"Hey, can you give these to Alice?" Mason asked Garvey as Heather wrapped his arm. "They're plans to make the walls sturdier."
"Of course, General," Preston replied as Mason turned to look at Heather, who was finishing the wrapping on his arm.
Standing up and leaning onto his right leg, Mason turned to Heather.
"Come on," Mason tells her. "Let's head to the room in that building for my leg wound."
"Sure," she smiled, and he grabbed his bag and armor and led her to the room of the large screen building. After closing the door, Mason laid on his stomach since he got hit in the back of his leg.
"So is it fine like I thought, or is it bad?" Mason questioned as Heather looked at the wound.
"It's just a minor burn from being hit by a laser. Another stimpak should heal it," Heather replied, holding one out for him.
"Keep it," Mason replied. "The pain will be gone by morning. Besides, those dehydrate people. Heals wounds fast but makes you need more water. So I'll be fine."
"Alright. Will you be fine here for the night?" Heather asked.
"Yeah. I'm just going to get some writing done, then go to sleep for the night," Mason answered. Standing on his good leg as he got in front of her, he noticed for the first time how the top of her head reached his nose.
"You know, I don't believe I've told you this, but you're extremely lovely to look at," Mason remarked.
Her eyes went wide before turning her head to the side, avoiding his gaze.
Scratching the back of his neck, Mason continues. "I guess you need to find a bunk to sleep in for the night. Well, I'll see you in the morning."
After that little exchange, Mason opened the door for Heather to head to the bunkhouse. Closing the door behind her, he laid down on the couch, pulling some paper out to write.
All he really had to write was what had happened the past few days, but the only mildly interesting thing that had happened was the power armor suits walking and shooting like raiders. Actually, they managed to hit him, so they were better shots than them.
After about four hours of writing, Mason checked the time on his Pip-Boy and realized it was getting late. Putting the paper away, Mason closed his eyes and went to bed for the night.
