(AN: Like with The Dragonborn and the Lioness, some things will happen in a way that is more or less time-sensitive. This will fuel Nathan's inner frustration, and may lead to some more explosive things later on. Originally the main quest was going to be derailed immediately following this chapter, but I made an executive decision not to do that just yet, since eventually that happens just the same at some point. That, of course, necessitated a change of the title of this chapter [which was originally going to be "Two if By Land", a pun on the Longfellow poem about Paul Revere.)

(Also, and I want to make this perfectly clear, there was no mistake made with the reference in the last chapter. Sure, a clever person may be able to divine potential spoilers from that reveal, but I don't want anyone getting on my case about that: as Gimli said in Lord of the Rings, "It was deliberate!")

Productive Grief

Piper led Nathan out of Publick Occurrences and into the pitcher's mound marketplace. As they went, she pointed out each of the folks in their shops and what they sold. She seemed to have lived here for some time and was on a first name basis with most of the folks around here. Unfortunately they gave her foul looks and refused to open up to her as they went. Sometimes she would tip her press cap until it almost covered her eyes, or take it off and hide her face behind it until the person in question - usually one of the "football guards", Diamond City Security - passed them by. Despite the discomfort of such proceedings, Piper was able to point out most of the whos-whos of the market.

On the outer ring of the market were most of the names she pointed out. Doc Sun handled medical procedures, particularly in the way of healing and treating radiation sickness. His was one of the few places in the Commonwealth where Radaway could be procured: a semi-addictive solution that could effectively cure the short-term effects of gamma radiation. To hear Piper describe it, though, was quite unpleasant; aside from the nausea, stomach aches, and headaches, one could usually experience glowing green diarrhea and urine as the chemical purged radioactive material from the body.

"It definitely works, but it's usually best to keep away from radiation, if you can," she noted.

In the basement of Doc Sun's lab was the Facial Reconstruction services of Doc Crocker. Piper hadn't gone, but she heard that they could, for the right amount of caps, give you a brand new look. Next was the Diamond City Surplus, where most people did their shopping. The owner was a paranoid Asian woman named Myrna - the "Crazy Myrna" Piper had mentioned - who wouldn't sell to anyone she suspected of being a synth. Aside from this, she had decent fare to sell, which Nathan made a point of going back to see. After the surplus shop was the Commonwealth Weaponry, a guns and ammunition store run by Arturo Rodriguez. Directly adjacent to his weapon stand was a stocky fellow in his 50s wearing a baseball jersey selling bats, which he called "swatters" in as loud a voice as he could usher from his bristly mustache. On the final side was the clothier and after that the hair salon. In the center of the market was the Power Noodles stand, run by a Protectron with a chef's hat atop its domed head; this was where most people ate.

Piper then led Nathan back across the market square towards the direction of second base. When they arrived there, she turned left and led them towards a series of shacks that lined the alley from first to second. A little down this alley, there was a neon sign with a heart and the words 'Valentine Detective Agency' written inside it. Nathan was pleased with Piper, despite her probing questions a few minutes ago: she was actually keeping true to her word. They walked in and found a young woman sitting at a desk, looking over some documents in rather dirty folders.

Nathan cleared his throat. "Excuse me, miss?"

"Hmm, what can I do for you?" she asked.

"I'm here to see Nick Valentine."

"He stepped out yesterday, working on a case," she replied. "He's sure to be back tomorrow, though. Nicky's real good at what he does."

"Thanks, Ellie," Piper said, then stayed behind as Nathan stepped back outside. She seemed to be talking to the girl named Ellie about something in hushed tones, which Nathan couldn't quite hear. Instead he turned back around to Dogmeat. The dog gave him a quizzical look and cocked his head to one side.

"Yeah, boy?" he asked. "What do you think?" Dogmeat nodded. Piper then came back out, a rather disappointed look on her face.

"What's wrong, Piper?"

"Hmm? Oh, nothing, Blue. I just wanted to clear some things up."

"So is that it? There's nothing we can do?"

"At least until Nick gets back, unfortunately," she sighed. "I know, that's not the answer you want to hear. But, trust me: Nick's really good at what he does. He'll be back tomorrow and he'll help you find your son."

Nathan sighed. "Thanks, Piper."

"Sure thing. So, what sort of trouble should we get ourselves into, huh? Wanna head on over to the Dugout Inn?"

For a while, Nathan was lost in thought. The realization of the delay was properly setting in: who now knew where Shaun could be? Yet he had to be delayed: there wasn't any other option. He was getting angry and sad, and longed to put the holotape back into his Pip-Boy and hear Nora's voice again. A hand with a finger-less glove passed before his face.

"Hellooo, Earth to Blue," Piper said. "You there?"

"Hmm? Oh, yes. Uh, what's the Dugout Inn?"

"It's the only place little folk like us can get a decent drink," she returned. "And, of course, you can get a room for yourself there to wait until Nick gets back tomorrow."

"Lead the way, then," Nathan sighed.

The Dugout Inn was built into the third base dugout, quite a way across from Valentine's office. Inside it was dimly lit, with a bar on the far side and two balding men talking about something or other behind it. It was mostly empty, as it was still morning and most folks were busy working, though a few people lurked about on business, eating late breakfasts; a young woman was sweeping up the floor in one corner, she likely worked here. Piper led Nathan up to the bar and hailed down one of the balding men.

"Vadim!" she called. "Get my friend here something to drink. On me."

"Right away, volynshchik," replied the man with a thick Russian accent.

Nathan took a seat at the bar while Vadim prepared his drink. While he worked, he continued talking to the other balding man. From what Nathan perceived, these two were related: they both spoke with the same accent and they both looked similar. By and by the talk continued, until Vadim turned to Piper and asked for the caps. She presented them to him and he slid a drink over to where Nathan sat. He took a whiff of it and realized it was alcohol: part of him wanted to drink it, just for the hell of it. After all, here he was, in the middle of an irradiated hell of a world, and had to wait a whole night before he could hope to begin the search for his son. He downed the drink and winced through the burn.

"Hey, you," Vadim interjected, speaking to Nathan. "I have question for you: you heard Diamond City Radio, da?"

"Uh...yes?" he replied quizzically. He didn't speak a word of Russian.

"Then you know how much the DJ sucks," Vadim stated.

"Oh, here we go again!" exclaimed the other balding man, rolling his eyes.

"Bud' spokoyen, Yefim!" Vadim snapped at the other man, then turned back to Nathan. "Like I said; it sucks. Makes you want to cut your own ears off. DJ Travis is disaster! We need to do something, seychas! We will have customers shooting themselves before long!"

"Vadim..."

"Don't listen to my brother," Vadim dismissed. "It's true. Someone needs to 'get rid' of Travis. We need a new DJ for the radio, da? I don't think anyone would mind if he...you know, disappeared?"

"What?" Nathan exclaimed. This was getting a little too far. Safe my ass, he thought. Was this a common occurrence of the post-War world? "Are you...isn't that a little too much?"

"Yeah, Vadim!" Piper interjected, equally surprised. "Honestly, what the hell's gotten into you?"

"I tell you, it would be easier than you think," Vadim continued, hardly bothered by their qualms. "You just have to talk him into following you out of town."

"Alright, that's enough!" the other one interjected. His brother scowled and said something in Russian as the second one, Yefim, made his way behind the bar and spoke to Nathan. "Please, forgive my brother Vadim. He isn't serious; he doesn't really want to kill Travis."

"Oh, so he's just saying that for a laugh, then?" Nathan quipped.

Vadim laughed. "Da, it's true. Only joke. Travis is good friend; Yefim and I worry about him."

"Poor Travis," Yefim remarked; he seemed the more down-to-earth of the two. "He means well, but he doesn't really have the confidence he needs for the job...or anything else, really. So he's always awkward. He doesn't believe in himself, you see? He expects he'll fail at everything and so he does."

At this Nathan perked up his head. This seemed to speak to him personally. While he hadn't had nearly as much trouble with self-confidence as this Travis, he certainly had his moments. He recalled himself, some two hundred ten years ago (plus a day), staring into the mirror on his bathroom wall, rehearsing his speech. Once more Nora came into his mind: she would know exactly what words to tell Travis to get him to feel better about himself. It always worked for him. But now she was gone, and...

"That'd be quite a challenge," he muttered.

"Nyet, it's easy," Vadim interjected. "I tell brother over and over." He then dismissed Yefim and confided in Nathan his 'plan' to bring Travis a fair amount of confidence. He said that he wanted to have Travis win a fist-fight, which he claimed would boost his self-confidence. Apparently Vadim knew some people, he would not say how he knew them or from where, but he said that he could invite them over to help. Nathan was unsure of this plan, but conceded to it: after all, he had gotten over his own issues of self-confidence by knocking the block off a blond-haired blue-eyed kid named Jerry who had been giving him trouble back when he himself was young.

He wasn't Nora, and had to help in the best way that he knew how.

After agreeing to Vadim's plan, there was nothing more to do but wait. The bartender told Nathan that he could get hold of his friends within a few hours, and have Travis down here by 6: still some seven hours later. More waiting, but at least now he had something to busy himself with today. He promised to come back and pay for a room after his business with Travis was completed.

From the Dugout Inn, he went to Diamond City Surplus to sell what he could and gain a few caps. Piper was with him and whispered advice into his ears on how to get the best deals for his trade-ins. He hadn't found too much in the ArcJet Systems, and reminded himself to keep an eye out for useful things outside of Diamond City. He left "Crazy" Myrna with twenty caps to his name. Now he had a measure of "total freedom" where all he had on him was time. For this, he decided to help the folk of Diamond City if they needed anything. Piper and Dogmeat followed after him, watching and keeping company. The first place he went was the one place, for the present, where there were fewer eyes glaring at Piper: the right part of the outfield.

Whether by rain, a weak point in the foundation, or a broken water-main, the right-field had become a shallow lake about six feet deep at its deepest point. Present in the pool was a water purifier run by a little bald boy named Sheng Kawolski. The young man seemed to be in a bit of trouble as Nathan approached: apparently there was some problem with the water being polluted. The boy was being talked down to by one of Diamond City Security, and yet he seemed to be holding his own against the man nearly twice his height. After the guard left, glaring at Piper as he went, Nathan approached Sheng and asked him for work. The young man told him about the cleaning problem, which Nathan agreed to help with.

Unfortunately this meant having to wade through the water, and possibly even swim. Nathan was long out of practice, and he only had his underwear beneath his Vault-suit. He gave a shrug and started peeling off his jump-suit: it clung to his skin as he removed it, having been a part of himself for over two hundred years. Piper, meanwhile, was gazing at his body from behind, biting her bottom lip and her eyes wide open with surprise and delight.

"You...uh...you sure it's safe to swim in there?" she asked him, her eyes going down to his rear end as his jump-suit passed over his hips.

"Don't see a reason why not," Nathan replied. "Unless you know of one."

"Uh...well, I...I don't think it's that bad...uh...I hope..." she returned, blushing as he turned back around to her. He then turned about to wade into the water and she looked after him. Half an hour passed and Nathan came up from the water back to Sheng: Piper's eyes were fixated on his chest, a few hairs in the middle of his breast but otherwise hairless and well-sculpted. Then her eyes drifted to what looked like a skull in his hand. The pumps were cleaned and now Nathan wanted an explanation for the skull from the little kid. He was not pleased with the explanation of someone coming across a live grenade; and Piper was not altogether pleased seeing Nathan's dripping wet body get zipped back up into his Vault-suit.

After Sheng, Nathan continued looking for work around Diamond City, while Piper excused herself for a few hours. She said that she had to do some paperwork and ask questions around Diamond City. She hoped that things were quieting down and that folks would be up for talking. While she was away, Nathan busied himself with his work. Primarily he helped with things that had broken down, using his engineering skills where they were most useful. The people of Diamond City were hesitant at first, but slowly word began to pass around about a helpful Vault-dweller, going around helping the people of the city. As for Nathan, he found himself viewed with less suspicion and more like a helpful stranger: a welcome oddity, but still an outsider. Apart from that, he found that his own sorrow was fading and he thought less and less about Nora and the pain of his loss. It irked him, for it felt dishonest, replacing his world and sole driving force with something else. Still, there was something pleasant about putting himself into a productive state, where he could help folks without any burdens upon his own heart.

The day wore on, and the shadows of the shacks in Diamond City slanted eastward, mirroring the setting of the sun. Around five fifty on the Pip-Boy, Nathan was seated at a bench outside the Dugout Inn. It had been a hard day of work, and he now had another twenty caps to his name. Now he had only the task of helping Vadim and Travis, after which he would sleep at the inn and then begin again his quest. Dogmeat was at his feet, laying down on his stomach: he had been more of a hindrance than a help today, sticking his whole head underneath Nathan's arms while he was working, and licking his face when he tried to tell him off. Now they were both resting, and waiting for the time appointed. At that moment Piper appeared, a paper to-go box in her hands and bringing noodles up to her mouth with a pair of chopsticks.

"Hey there, Blue," she said. "Finished up the latest edition of Publick Occurrences. There's a free copy for you tomorrow."

"Thanks," he replied. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I came to see the outcome of this little incident," she returned. "I wonder if this little stunt will be able to give Travis some confidence."

Nathan sighed, his thoughts drifting back to Nora and what she would say to comfort the DJ. His hand went instinctively to his Pip-Boy: he had been without viewing the holo-tape practically all day. It had been too personal to play in front of Paladin Danse, and he was so busy afterward that he hadn't had his fix. He stopped; there was no time for that. Instead he got himself onto his feet and made his way into the Dugout Inn, with Piper and Dogmeat following on behind.

Inside the Dugout Inn, he saw two ill-favored and ill-intending men standing by one of the couches, mocking and bullying another man who appeared to be wearing a letter-man jacket. The fellow on the couch was a wisp of a man, with his head down and his face twisted in abject sorrow. Nathan cast a glance over to Vadim behind the bar, who gestures to the man at the couch: true to what he feared, this dejected looking featherweight was Travis.

He swallowed hard, cracked his knuckles, and walked over to the man at the couch. The two thugs stepped aside at the newcomer, but continued throwing pieces of garbage at the young man and laughing as he kept his head down and refused to retort or defend himself. The young man didn't seem to notice his approach, so Nathan cleared his throat. He looked up, a dejected look on his face, and, assuming the newcomer wanted him to move, started to get up.

"You don't have to leave," Nathan said.

"I, uh...no, i-i-i-it's fine," stammered the young man. "I just, uh...I like it better. Uh, over there." The thugs started mimicking Travis and continued throwing trash at him.

"Hey, is something wrong?"

"N-No, nothing's wrong, I guess," he continued. "I don't..." Something which looked like a baseball came flying over and hit Travis on the back. He let out a whimper and cowered. "I have no idea what I did to deserve this! I...just wish they'd leave me alone!"

"Then why not do something about it?"

"I...uh," Travis stammered. "Uh, look, I...appreciate it, but I...really don't want things to...well, I-I-I you know...end badly? I..." Another piece of junk sailed over Travis' head and struck the wall in front of him. He leaned down and turned to Nathan. "I mean, have you seen those guys over there? It...it could turn violent!"

"Don't you want this to stop?"

"I...I do..." Travis stammered. "But I...I..."

"Come on, Travis," Piper interjected. "You don't want to live like that, do you?"

"Well...no..."

"Then let's do something, right here, right now," Nathan replied. "Don't worry, I've got your back."

"We're right behind you," Piper added with a smirk.

Travis turned to the newcomers, a glimmer of hope in his fear-stricken face. Just then a fruit that looked vaguely familiar to a half-gone tomato came flying through the air and hit him on the back. Travis turned to Nathan, who gave him a furtive glance. At this Travis rose up from the couch and let out a strained cry of: "That's enough!"

Some of those who were still in the Dugout Inn peeked up from their drinks to watch what was happening. The two men now rose from their table, menacing looks on their faces as they twisted their knuckles in their hands and beat their fists together.

"What did you say, ass-wipe?" the closest one challenged.

Travis blanched and turned around as if he would run. Nathan rose up and placed himself between Travis and the door. There was now no way of escape. He gave him the look again, and Travis slowly turned around, a look of fear on his face as he wrung his hands together.

"I said...th-that's enough!" he returned. "Leave me alone."

"'I said that's enough! Weave me awone!'" mocked the one in the rear, and let out a laugh that exposed most of the teeth missing from his gaping mouth.

"Little punk ass bitch," the first one returned. "I think you said, 'More, give me more.'"

"Leave me alone!" Travis shouted again, his hands moving down to his sides and clenching into fists. "I...I mean it!"

The larger one in the rear continued mocking Travis, while the mean-looking one in front struck his fist into his open hand and took a step forward.

"Yeah? And what the fuck are you gonna do if I don't wanna stop, huh? You gonna piss your pants again?"

"Leave me alone, or..."

"Or what, you little bitch? No, no, I ain't deaf. Or else what, shit-stain?"

"I'll...I'll beat you up!" Travis yelped, trying to sound strong as his fists shivered.

"Oh, boy, Travis," laughed the mean-looking thug. "Biggest mistake of your shit-sucking life." He took a swing at Travis, but suddenly Nathan's hand came up and seized the thug's fist in his own. With a strong thrust, Nathan shoved the thug's fist back into his face and sent him staggering back.

"Well I'll be damned!" the tall one said. "Little Travis got himself a bodyguard!"

"You're dead, asshole!" the mean one roared as he charged at Nathan. He swung wildly, but Nathan blocked the blow and jabbed him on his pock-marked cheek. Now the leather-clad thug was really mean. He swung with a wild left, and just as Nathan's wrist came up to block it, he struck with a right into his left eye. Nathan staggered back, dazed but not beaten.

"Is that it?" he replied, the angry side of him starting to build up. "I've fought bugs who hit harder than you!"

"Kick his ass, Gouger!" the mean one shouted.

The larger man attacked Nathan from the right. He was taller and stronger than the mean-looking one, and could take more of Nathan's blows without being staggered. Indeed, every time Nathan made a strike, he left himself open for Gouger to retaliate with a blow of his own. The tide was quickly turning and Nathan now found himself on the defensive as the larger one, Gouger by name, started whaling away at him. Now he was backed against a wall and Gouger laid his hands upon him, seizing him in a choke-hold and turning him around for his companion to hit his unprotected front-side.

"Not so tough now, are you, soldier-boy?" the mean one sneered as he began his attack.

"Hey!" Piper interjected, coming to Nathan's aid. "Let go of him." She tried to pull the mean-looking one off, but got a fist in the face. "Oh, now I'm mad!" The mean-looking thug swept Piper's legs out from under her, sending her rear-first onto the floor. He let out another guffawing chuckle and turned back to face the bloodied fool who had dared stand up to him.

Wham! At that moment, a wild fist struck him right on the jaw; he staggered backwards, seeing stars for a solid minute. To the surprise of anyone watching, the one who had thrown the blow was none other than Travis. He stood frozen in place, his fist still clenched, a wild expression on his face.

"Bull!" Gouger cried out to his fellow.

But Nathan hadn't been idle. A well-placed stomp to Gouger's foot sent him hobbling back; following up, he thrust his right elbow in an arc, breaking Gouger's nose. He fell back, sobbing as blood began to pour from his nose. By now Gouger had recovered, but wasn't looking at Nathan or Piper: instead he was looking towards the bar.

"He broke my nose, Bull!" wept Gouger.

"Shut the fuck up, you big bitch!" Bull retorted. "Do I look like your fucking mama?" He turned towards Vadim, a threatening finger pointed at the Russian bartender. "You crossed the line, rusky. This ain't what we signed up for! You're dead, do you hear me? Dead!"

"Bah! Preodolet' eto uzhe," Vadim laughed, waving his hand at the two thugs dismissively.

"Bull, I ain't gonna die, am I?"

"Get your shit together, you're embarrassing me!"

"But I'm bleedin', Bull!"

"Come on, Gouge, let's blow this joint," Bull replied, trying to sound cool and more collected than his fellow. He led him out of the Dugout Inn, all the while slashing his throat with his hand and glaring threateningly at Vadim.

Once they left, Nathan turned his attention to Piper, giving her a hand to help her off the floor. She was sporting a bruise on her right cheek, and her rear was sore when it hit the ground, but she was otherwise fine. Nathan, on the other hand, was looking rather worse for wear: his lip and left eyelid were busted open and he was bleeding. He turned then to Travis, who was gasping and shaking all over.

"Hey, buddy," Nathan said. "You alright?"

"That...was...amazing!" Travis exclaimed. "I...I can't believe it. They...we...I hit him and they...they ran! You were right!"

Nathan smiled ruefully: his face hurt when he attempted it. "Good to hear."

"Yeah, yeah," Travis replied, then let out a whooping yell as he finally registered the pain of striking Bull's face as hard as he did: the surge of adrenaline had kept it under wraps all this time. "I...I have things I have to go to do now. I...thanks a lot!" He then went on his way. Nathan, meanwhile, hobbled over to the bar, where Vadim was punching the air, imitating the fight.

"I am thinking that went well," he said.

"Well, Vadim?" Piper asked. "You're crazier than usual."

"Ah, you're both still alive, da? So it's nyet problem." He turned to Nathan and handed him a few caps and a bottle of Bobrov's Moonshine: it was still cold.

"What's this for?"

"For helping with problem," Vadim said. "You want help with second part of my foolproof plan, there'll be more caps for you, huh?"

"And the bottle of moonshine?" Piper asked.

"It's for his face."

Nathan sighed. "Look, I appreciate the offer, but I'm gonna be heading out of town tomorrow. Right now, all I want is a room to rest what's left of the day away." He groaned as he pressed the cold glass of the bottle against his face. "Maybe if I'm back in town, I'll see about helping you."

"Whatever you say."

(AN: A few things about this chapter. First, you get to see Nathan's sarcastic side starting to show itself: it will become more and more apparent the more fed up he gets with the world. Second, I made some reference to my initial plan to start this story from the prologue [to set it apart from The Dragonborn and the Lioness, which also began "in media res": it gives Nathan some desire to help Travis.)

(Third, I did cut Vadim's humorous line-flubbing. It seemed absurd to keep, since it reminded me of a rather infamous moment in Oblivion where female elves remark on the Thieves Guild end-quest where you rob the Arcane University, Imperial Legion Compound, and the Temple of the Nine all on the same night and then say "wait a minute, let me do that one again." Can't quite give it a rational explanation, so it got the chop. Fourth is about Sheng Kowalski: despite being possibly Chinese/Polish, he reminds me of Elmer Fudd. If you kill Travis and Sheng becomes the Diamond City DJ, he will even go "uhhh" like Elmer Fudd. And fifth, when I heard Piper ask to see a Grognak comic "for research purposes", I started wondering what she does when Nat's asleep [redacted!].)

(I was going to have Nathan make a racy remark to the two thugs during the "Confidence Man" scene, if only to reflect his own character flaws and how the pre-War era was, but decided against it in the end. I think "impatience" isn't good enough for a character flaw, though.)