My eyes blinked open slowly as I tried to figure out where I was. Gage was still gripping me to him and I smiled as I studied his sleeping face. I gently pulled his arm away from me as I got up. I walked to the balcony and looked out at the park. A small grin spread across my face as I tried to image the park restored to its original self. I closed my eyes almost hearing the families laughing as they walked the park together, happy to finally have made it Nuka-World.

Suddenly, I felt Gage's hands around my waist "Good morning."

I jumped as I turned to face him "Good morning, how are you feeling?"

"Better, thanks to you. What were you thinking about?" his hands slipped from my waist and gripped the handle bar as he looked out at the park.

"Nothing I was just…" I hesitated "just wondering what this place was like…before the bomb."

"It's hard to say, probably just some money scam." He chuckled.

I looked at him a little upset. "Well, I think it was a place that people could go and escape from their mundane life for a while. A place they could bring their family and make memories." I looked back at the horizon staring at one spot angrily.

"Whoa, Whoa, I'm sorry, Boss." I rolled my eyes "I didn't realize how passionate you felt about this." I felt the sarcasm drip from his lips "I thought this was a rhetorical question, not something I would get my ass chewed out for."

I ignored him "It is something I'm passionate about. I think it would be a good idea to re-open the park. Rebuild and have it be a place people can go to escape from this shitty world." He laughed so hard, harder then I'd ever seen him do before "I'm serious!"

"And how do you propose we do that?" he said wiping a tear from his eye. I just stared at him. "Oh, come on, Boss. Do you know what that would entail? Hundreds of hours of work and resources and not to mention the whole city of raiders you lead would have to find a new home." He swatted his hands at me and went to pack up.

I was furious now. The fact that he blew off my idea like I was insane really bothered me "Well maybe they could get their act together and help rebuild, instead of laying around like trash. Don't you realize the money we could make if we reopened the park? We know where the generator is to get the lights working. It would stimulate the Commonwealth, provide hundreds of jobs and bring in tons of caps for us. We could keep the market the same so travelers can still come and use it as a trade post."

"You think you can convince those animals to do this? You're talking crazy. It's not going to happen."

Who did he think he was? I'm the Overboss. I call the shots. Well, maybe I was taking this new position a little too seriously. "Well, frankly" I shouldn't have said what I said but it just burst from my mouth like water from a broken damn "I think it's being wasted now."

He stopped packing and turned to me. He didn't say anything as he approached me. I stood my ground "Don't make me regret fighting to put you in charge. Now, stop talking stupid and lets go. We have two more parks to clear."

I was so mad. I grabbed my bag in a huff and made my way to the elevator and descended to the ground without waiting for Gage. My body was shaking in rage. It felt like the nights in the tree house didn't even matter. What was I thinking? He didn't give a shit about me. I was realizing that I was just a puppet and Gage was pulling the strings.

We cleaned out the bottling plant quickly. The only thing infesting that park were mirelurks. We split up and took down most of the monsters separately. I missed having him by my side but I didn't like being dependent on someone else. I gave the park to the Operators. I didn't wait for Gage's opinion on the decision. I did what I thought was best because I was the boss.

We didn't speak as we cleared Kiddie Kingdom. What a nightmare. Not only was I fighting with Gage but the park was being protected by some guy who tried to kill us with radiation. It spewed from a pipe system that was all over the park. We moved from one building to the next trying to shut off the toxic mist. This guy was everywhere and knew the park like the back of his hand.

Finally we made it to the top of the castle. We confronted the mask man. He was a ghoul but before he turned into one of those hideous creatures he was a person. I had read the terminals. He use to work at the park and him and his friends were working when the bomb hit. He had to watch his friends turn into flesh eating monsters one by one. I couldn't imagine how that felt. He spoke highly of his girlfriend. Told us she was out there trying to find the cure to this horrible disease and he wasn't going to let anyone in his home. He promised her he would keep it safe.

Rachel… Rachel I thought. That name sounded so familiar. Wait, I knew where the name as from. I dug in my bag and pulled out the holotape I had found when exploring Bradberton. I stretched my arm towards him "I think you need to hear this."

"Stop wasting our time and just kill the bastard." Gage whispered from behind me. I ignored him.

"I'm sorry, Oswald." I tried to comfort him after I saw the defeat on his face.

"How…how could I let this happen? I should've went with her. Now…now she is gone and I will never see her again." I felt my heart ache for him. I knew too well the pain of losing a loved one.

"Oswald. You can't blame yourself. I heard the way she spoke about you in her holotape. You both had to do what had to be done. The important thing is that…you both knew how much you loved one another." I looked down as I saw Gage from the corner of my eye.

"You're right. I'm going to go and finish what Rachel started. I will find the cure in her memory. Thank you, I'm sorry for misjudging you, take these in apologize. I will take my friends and leave this place in your capable hands. Thank you again."

Then, just like that, he vanished. I stood idol as my words sunk in. They loved each other. I wish I had that luxury… to love and be loved. I turned and walked past Gage "Let's go."

He grabbed my arm "Wait. What are we doing here, Boss?"

"What does it look like? Clearing the parks." I said sarcastically. I didn't make eye contact.

"No, us. I don't know about you but I didn't forget that night in the tree house. The kiss we shared."

"You don't have to worry about that. I know you don't feel the same way, just consider it forgotten. I know how this relationship works. I'm just the face as you call the shots."

"What are you talking about? I…I thought that..."

"Gage, just stop. I'm hurt enough." I tugged my arm away but he wouldn't let go "Gage please just-" I was cut off by the feeling of his lips on mine. When he pulled away I just looked at him "Wha…what?"

"I want to be with you, if you want to be with this old, stubborn asshole, who is sorry for how he acted." His face flushed as he looked at the floor. "When you took care of me in Adventureland I…well let's just say I hadn't experienced that care from someone before. This whole time I had felt close to you but I figured you wouldn't want to be with some washed up raider like me."

"Gage…I…" I was staring at him searching for what to say.

"I've never met someone like you. The way you think, and act is just something I have to get used to. You're smarter than anyone I've talked to and I just…it's kind of intimidating." He scratched the back of his head. "Your plan about re opening the park is a good one and I'm willing to talk more about it with you…if you'll forgive me." I didn't say anything, just looked at him "Listen, I've never done anything like this before. If you don't feel the same way, I understand. I can be a real hard head sometimes and I always think I'm right but I would try. Who knows it probably wouldn't even have worked out and I don't know I just-"

I interrupted him, a huge smile spreading across my face "Shut up, Gage." Then I planted my lips on his. The usual spark ignited the feelings that flew through my body. We kissed repeatedly.

When we pulled away he looked at me his face lit up "Wow, Boss." I giggled and kissed him again "I don't want to get all sappy but…I feel like I've found a piece of me that had been missing for a long time. Thank you."

I felt the tears in my eyes and tried to fight them off "I feel the same way, Gage. Let's go home." We shared a smile and then went on our way out of the park. I was in such a daze I didn't really think before I picked The Pack to run this park.

We approached the Nuka-town USA gates. I was latched on to his arm as we walked side by side. It had been a long time since I had felt this way about someone. As much as I enjoyed this feeling, it scared me.

When we walked in we were greeted by The Pack and the Operators. They were all pooled together in a huge conglomerate as they cheered and chanted Overboss, Overboss. I was in shock. I walked through the crowd trying to get to fizztop. They slapped me on the back and cheered for finally having the whole park to themselves. Gage followed closely behind me as a huge party irrupted. Music blared through the speakers, and everyone was dancing and yelling.

I was laughing uncontrollably as I finally pulled myself from the mob of people. I couldn't find Gage, but before I could try to look I was confronted by Nisha. She got in my face, hooking the collar of my shirt in her fist "I warned you." She was furious and spoke between gritted teeth "I warned you not to get in the way of my group and you fucked us over."

I gave her a disgusted face "What are you talking about?"

"You know damn well what I'm talking about." She released me and pointed to the party in the middle of Nuka-town. "Those idiots all got a piece of this park and what did you give my people?! One measly little area. You didn't even try, you never liked me from the start." She got in my face again "I knew this would happen, so I prepared myself. I will destroy you."

Suddenly, Gage released himself from the crowd laughing and then he stopped when he saw Nisha. He quickly strode toward us and got in front of me, towering over the angry woman "Is there a problem?"

It was cute that he wanted to protect me. She gave him a devious smile as she peeked around to glare at me one last time before walking away "…just congratulating the Overboss on a job well done."

When she was out of eye sight he turned to me "You ok?" I nodded "Well" he pointed to the celebrating raiders "This is all thanks to you, how does it feel to be adored?"

I stared absently at the group of misfits. I wanted to be happy but what was I really doing here? Now that the park was in full control of the gangs what was left? What about the rest of these people? I've tried so hard to be like them, trying to convince myself that I was a shameless marauder but it's not me. I realized that everything I had done on this journey out of the vault was what I had to do. I saved so many people by choosing the path I did and no matter how heavy the guilt I carried of the lives lost, there was nothing I could do about that. I am made up of the people I've met, loved and lost and they are all good souls, not pillaging raiders that show no mercy. Preston, Nick, Piper are all people fighting for justice and for the people of the Commonwealth. I realized now I'm more like them then the people that surround me now. I just can't believe it took me this long to realize. Now I'm worried I am stuck here. Then I looked at Gage. My heart thudded. Maybe this was the reason I was here, destiny pulled me to him.

I remembered the look in Gage's eye when I said what we were doing here was a waste. If I decided to leave…or take the offer from that slave in the market place, would he follow?

He saw that I was lost in my thoughts as he lifted my chin with his thumb and forefinger. I looked into his eyes "you want to join the party or go up to bed?" He brushed my hair behind my ear. I closed my eyes as I felt his finger caress my face. I brought my hand to his and pushed his palm firmly against my cheek. This is what I wanted. I wanted him. This strong and sturdy man. He would protect and be with me no matter what, I was sure of that.

I opened my eyes and looked deeply into his "I want to go to bed...together."

I saw his face flush as he started to stutter "I...well...whatever you want boss."

"I want you" I said as I got on my tippy toes and pressed my lips to his. We kissed rapidly as our breath became heavy. I giggled as we raced to the elevator. As we ascended up we continued to hold each other, our lips never separating. We pulled off our armor. The first to go was his eye patch so that could see his full face without any obstruction. My hands explored his body and tugged on his belt buckle. We stumbled off the elevator and continued our rampage to the bed.

We were laughing uncontrollably in between kisses. Probably in pure shock that this was finally happening. I threw him on the bed and took off his shirt. His exposed muscles stared back at me. I gentle traced the scar from the gator claw attack. He watched my fingertips. Then we looked back at each other. My heart was thudding so fast it ached. We were both transported back to our first kiss in the tree house. The first time in a long time he was vulnerable and I was there to love him and not abuse him like the people of his past.

I stepped out of my last article of clothing and stood before him with nothing but a smile. "My God..." He whispered. I laughed and jumped on top of him.

Our hips moved rhythmically together. No matter what happened to the world, the one thing that never changed was sex and it felt so good. Sweat rolled off of his muscles. I arched my back as my pleasure sky rocketed. I clung to him as his energy flowed from him into me.

Our breathing became steady again. I looked up at him as he held himself above me. I touched his cheek "I love you, Gage."

I said it and didn't immediately feel regret like times before. I didn't even need a response I just needed him to know.

Then I watched his serious expression on his mouth cruel up at the corners. "I love you too...Boss." we laughed as I smacked his chest playfully.

We laid together as I watched him sleep. I had a smile on my face as I lightly caressed his arm. He was beautiful. The night cloaked the area around us, except for the few candles we lit around the bed. It was finally quite beneath us as the population of Nuka-World was partying in the center of Nuka-Town USA. I figured I would be lost in my thoughts but I wasn't. In this moment laying here with Gage, listening to the party irrupting in the streets, I was happy. I snuggled into the crook of Gage's neck and fell asleep.

When my eyes fluttered open I felt cold and realized Gage wasn't next to me. I quickly sat up "Porter?!" He was by the bar, getting his clothes back on. He grabbed two ceramic mugs.

He smiled at my panic "I'm right here, Boss" he grabbed the cups and walked over. He placed one knee on the bed as he knelt down to kiss me good morning.

"Where are you going?" I pouted like a 5 year old.

He chuckled again "Why are you so cute?" he kissed me again "I'm getting you your favorite drink in the morning."

"Whisky, good call." I said sarcastically as I threw on a big Nuka World t-shirt. I walked up to him and hugged him from behind, pressing my hands firmly against his chest. "Let's just stay here all day."

I felt his low chuckle vibrate his chest "I wish we could, lots of work to do."

I grunted as I released him "Let's at least enjoy our coffee first."

"You got it, Boss." He winked at me. Planting one last kiss on my cheek, he ascended to the ground and made his way to the café.

I walked out on the elevator and looked out on the town. Everything was back to normal. The party was over. I looked down and saw the disciples sharping their knives and polishing their guns. I felt a small ping in my chest. Then out walked there leader. She looked up at me and smiled. She brought her thumb across her neck as she laughed deviously. I watched her make her way to Gage's direction. My heart was pounding. What was she planning?! I quickly got dressed, getting ready for a fight.