James wiped his brow. He'd done it. He fixed the roof. One down, whole neighborhood to go. James carefully placed the hammer back in the red toolbox before closing it. He took a look at his work. A bit rough around the edges in most places and looked completely different from the original blue house and black tile roof. He shrugged and whisteled and he made his way down the ladder. Katherine stood by the ladder and offered to take the toolbox from him. He rejected her offer and leapt the remaining distance to the ground.

"What's that song you're whistling?" she asked him. It had been a few weeks and Katherine was finally making attempts to get to know him. James smirked and rubbed his hands on his jeans.

"Uh, just a song that used to play all time back home. Reminds of me of my Dad acutally." James admitted. He didn't know why he added in the last part. Katherine's face softened.

"What's it called? It sounds familiar but I just can't remember it."

"I think it's I don't want to set the world on fire or something." James relented. He even knew the group that sang it. It was secretly one of his favorite songs and he hated letting anyone know that he liked the simple, slow and somber tune.

"Oh, by the Ink Spots!" Katherine gasped. "Right?"

"How did you know?" James asked.

"Uh duh? I was alive during the '60s okay? When the 'oldies' revival repopularized some of the tunes of the 20th century." Katherine said matter-of-factly.

"My bad." James said.

"Personally though, I liked It's All Over much better."

"But it doesn't have the same feel!" James complained.

"That's not a good argument." Katherine rejected. James plopped the toolbox down next to the workbench made at the house that he and Marie currently occupied. In the past couple weeks, James traveled to adjacent towns and buildings to scavenge wood and parts. He made an actual bed for Marie, complete with a straw pillow fashioned by Katherine. He ran out of cloth for stuffing a second matress, but luckily Katherine found an old sleeping bag that James used. James walked into the house, where Marie reread the books and comic books that James had brought with him from the Capital.

"Hey, Uncle James." Marie said without looking up from her book.

"Hey, kiddo. Which one are you on now?"

"I'm reading 'A boy's will'" she responded. James frowned. He opened the refrigerator door and grabbed a bottle of nuka cola and milk. He poured the milk into a cup and placed it carefully on the coffee table by Marie.

"A boy's will?" James asked. "That's not one of mine."

"It's mine, actually. Robert Frost. One of the things that somehow survived at my house." Katherine said. She smiled. James found himself again transfixed with her eyes. He loved her smile and admitted that she looked beautiful when she was happy. But when she was sad…

"Robert Frost? The poet?"

"yeah. One of my favorites."

"When'd you read it?"

"I read it for pleasure while I studied for my law degree." Katherine interjected matter-of-factly. James frowned. He popped open the nuka cola bottle.

"What's a law degree?" He asked. He sipped the flat soda.

"Ew! Milk!" Marie complained.

"You know you have to drink it!"

"But it's gross!"

"I know it is! Drink!"

"No!"

"Fine!" James gave up. Marie went back to reading. Katherine kneeled beside Marie.

"Hey, you know how James is big, strong and tall?" she whispered. Marie looked up from her book and nodded. "you know how he got that way?" Marie shook her head. "Well, he drank plenty of milk."

"No, I didn't." Katherine shot him a dirty look and James backed off.

"So you want to be strong like Uncle James?"

"Yeah." Marie admitted.

"Then you have to drink your milk." Katherine said.

"Okay." Marie frowned and pouted. But she drank the milk.

"How'd you do that?" James asked, impressed.

"I just have a way with words."

"Yeah? So do I." James finished the bottle of soda. "And guns. C'mon. I promised I'd teach you how to shoot." He gestured for Katherine to follow. He walked across the street and into Katherine's house. James grabbed Charon's shotgun from the shelf and slung a hunting rifle onto his back. He took a few boxes of ammunition and walked back outside. "Codsworth! Kat and I are headed across the bridge to shoot, watch Marie!"

"Will do, sir!" Codsworth cheerfully replied.

Blam!

"I got it!" Katherine cheered.

"See? Nothing to it. Just need someone to teach you." James grinned again. "Now reload and try to hit that bottle on that chair by the Red Rocket sign."

"Are you sure no one is around?"

"Trust me. I've gone this way a hundred times, nothing around here for miles." James reassured her. He had come this way many times, nothing had ever happened. Katherine lined up the targets to her sights. She pulled the trigger, but the bottle was still there.

"Dammit!" She cursed under her breath.

"Miss. You can't miss when we're in a fire fight." James taunted. Katherine ignored him and aimed again. She pulled the trigger and the bottle shattered into a hundred different pieces. She heard a yelp after the bottle exploded.

"Did you hear that?" She asked.

"What?" James asked, stooped over. Katherine rolled her eyes. That was his way of taunting her for having such a soft voice.

"Did you hear that sound after I hit that bottle?" she asked once more. James frowned.

"No. Wanna check it out anyways?" he asked. Katherine shrugged. James pulled out his 10mm pistol. "Let's go." They walked together towards the Red Rocket Gas station. Something was growling and making sounds inside.

"Hold up." James said. He held his arm out to stop Katherine, she didn't notice so she walked into him anyways. He glared at her. "Here." He handed her his 10mm pistol and drew his shotgun. He slowly walked forward. Katherine held the pistol away from her, pointed at the ground the way James had shown her.

"I don't like the sound of this." James muttered. Katherine, though behind James, nodded in agreement as if he could see the gesture. Suddenly small mounds of dirt began to swirl around the pair. "shit. Mole rats!" James shouted. "Wait 'till they're out of the ground, then shoot!" As if on cue, one shot up and was blasted away by James. One. Two. Four. The More rats came from the ground in an instant. Katherine aimed and blasted away. One. Two. She missed and crused herself. She pulled the trigger and heard a click. She was out of round. Somehow she was wasted all of the magazine in shooting one mole rat. The last mole rat jumped at her.

"Get of the way!" James shouted. Katherine froze. She didn't know what to do. She saw the mole rat's huge yellow teeth about to chomp at her leg.

Suddenly, a brown ball of fur tackled the mole rate and ripped out chunks of its flesh. James kept the shotgun trained on the new target. Katherine blinked and reloaded. Then the brown fur ball stopped and turned around. It was a dog.

"What the hell?"

"What are you doing here?" Katherine asked. The dog skipped up to Katherine and barked, as if she were an old friend. "Where's your owner?" she asked. The dog whimpered.

"Huh. Reminds me of Dogmeat." James snickered.

"What a terrible name!" Katherine scolded him.

"Hey, that was his name before I found him, I just happened to keep it." James shrugged and flashed his white, toothy smile. Katherine smiled back at him. She was enjoying alone time with James. She petted the dog and got a good look at the gas station.

"I like this place. Maybe we could use it for something?" Katherine commented. She turned to James. He placed the shotgun on a counter and inspected the insides.

"Looks safe enough. It's also close to Sanctuary. Yeah, we could definitely use it for something." James said. "You'll just have to figure out what." He grinned again. Why he did, Katherine never knew. She didn't care. She just played with the dog. Gunfire in the distance caught James's attention. "Gunfire. Somebody might need help."

"Why don't you take the dog back. I'll check it out." He suggested. Katherine stood up.

"Oh no you don't. You promised to teach me how to shoot. What better way to learn than through an actual gun fight?"

"By not fighting. You can get hurt."

"So?"

"Katherine, this is serious."

"I know. But I need this." James thought about it for a moment. He wouldn't always be there to protect her. He conceded and slung his shotgun. He brought out the hunting rifle and handed it to Katherine. "Two rules. You stay behind me and do what I tell you." Katherine took the rifle carefully. She looked up and nodded eagerly. James smirked. She was growing on him.

"So this is what Concord looks like now." Katherine mused.

"Shh." James hushed her. The gunfire grew loaded. Glass shattered and a small explosion lit the walls of the buildings. James motioned for her to stay while he crouched forward. A man on the roof of the building fired down at a few raiders. James turned back.

"You stay here. I'll get closer and take them out."

"What do I do?" She asked him, her eyes wide, her breathing growing louder and more erratic. Adrenaline was taking over, James thought. He pressed his finger to her lips.

"Shh. Remember what I taught you. Aim and shoot." James whispered. "Just not me." He flashed a grin. Katherine punched him.

"I hate it when you do that." James didn't answer he simply took off running towards a building. He slid into cover behind an old truck. A raider ran into the street. Katherine aimed, took a breath and pulled the trigger. The man fell down and stopped moving.

"Nice one." She whispered to herself as she chambered another round. James darted out from behind the truck and caught a glimpse of a raider still on the street. He blasted a shotgun round at the man. The man dove to the ground from the gunshot. James drew his 10mm and fired twice, the man didn't get up.

"Hey you!" a voice called from above. James looked up. A strangely dressed man waved at James with his arm. "Grab that laser musket and help us out! They're almost through the door!" The man rushed back inside. James turned around and waved Katherine ahead. Katherine shouldered James rifle and turned to the dog.

"I got one!" she said. The dog barked in agreement. Katherine ran to James and was stopped by him handing her a new weapon.

"What's this?" she asked.

"Dunno. The guy called it a laser musket. Thought I'd take my rifle back." James said. Katherine nodded and let him lift the rifle by its strap off her shoulders.

"How does it work?"

"That thing sticking out the side looks like a lever. I'm guessing you crank and shoot."

"Oh." Katherine cranked it once and saw a red arc of energy shoot into the chamber. "Oh! Got it!" James nodded. He checked his rifle and kicked in the door to the museum of freedom.

James spotted two raiders and took aim immediately. He pulled the trigger and watched a raider fall backwards from his platform. The other took notice of James and fired at him. James hid behind a pillar. Katherine rushed in and fired the laser musket. The red beam of energy glanced the raider's arm causing him to duck. Katherine ducked behind another pillar and cranked the laser musket once more. She looked out the corner and saw the raider moving between pieces of cover. She saw the raider stand, she stepped out and fired. The beam cleaved the raider's head straight off his body. Katherine shuddered. She wasn't sure if she was really going to ever get used to the killing. James moved like a machine, he moved methodically through the next few hallways, always checking his corners and clearing rooms. He never let his guard down. As the pair walked up the steps to the second floor, the dog began to growl. It rushed forward and Katherine chased after it.

"Wait!" she called after it.

"Katherine, stop!" James hissed. It was too late, Katherine ran up the stairs and straight into a huge raider, at least a full head taller than her.

"uh. Hi?" she tried, but her voice failed her. The man growled and swung his rifle at her. Katherine flinched and tried to block the blow with her laser musket. She felt the blow connect with the gun and she flew backwards from the force of impact. She braced herself for collision with something when she realized someone had already caught her. James let her down gently before tackling the man into a nuka cola machine. The man shouted as the momentum of James's weight brought both men to the ground. James had his combat knife out and stabbed it into the man's ribs. He twisted it and felt the man's fist slam into his jaw. A door opened and another man walked in. Katherine fired her musket, but nothing came out. She forgot to crank it. The dog leapt at the second raider and sunk its teecth into his leg.

"Agh! Stupid dog!" the raider shouted. James slammed his fist into the man's head before finding his knife still embedded in the man's torso. James grabbed it and tore it out of the man's body before stabbing the man in the neck with it. Katherine dropped the musket and drew her 10mm. She aimed quickly and fired twice. The first round missed, but the second connected with the raider's head. The raider fell back against the door frame and slumped to the floor.

"Nice shot." James panted. He wiped his knife with his gloved hand before sheathing it. He grabbed his shotgun, which lay on the side of the room before standing up. "Are you okay?" he turned to Katherine. One of his eyes was swollen and his lip was cut.

"I'm fine." Katherine whispered. She was ashamed of herself. She'd gotten him hurt. "I'm sorry."

"Don't." James reassured her as he reloaded. "you didn't know." He tried to smile, but the blood and white teeth weren't doing it for her. Katherine grabbed her laser musket from the ground and cranked it once.

"Wanna find the others?" She asked hopefully. James nodded. They stepped over the body by the door and ran into yet another man. James had his shotgun trained at the man's chest.

"Don't move." James growled.

"Whoa, man. It's okay. I'm one of the Minutemen." The man stated matter-of-factly.

"Who?" Both James and Katherine asked in unison. They looked at one another before looking back at the man.

"What? You've never heard of the Minutemen?" he asked in disbelief. Katherine shook her head. James stayed silent. "Well whatever, c'mon. It's safer if we talk in the room over there." The man nodded in the direction of the open door behind him. James gestured for Katherine to go check it out. She strode into the room and saw a number of other people in the room.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa lady!" one of the cried. He was standing by the computer, he reached for his pistol.

"Don't you try it." Katherine growled.

"It's okay, Sturges, they're cool. Just had a rough morning." The other man's voice called from outside. James gestured for the man to walk. They entered the room, Katherine closed the door while James kept his gun trained on the man. The man put down his hands.

"Man, am I glad that you guys came when you did. We were in a real pinch."

"Glad to help." Katherine smiled. James didn't say anything. Katherine looked at him, confused.

"Well, I'll introduce myself then. I'm Preston Garvey, the last Minuteman."