With the sun beginning to turn the sky into a sharp orange and pink contrast, Nick squints through a halfway boarded window to try and determine if the clouds looming overhead meant a storm later that evening or not. With the way the wind is picking up, he's guessing the former, which is never a good sign given he's going to be travelling pretty damn soon, and he's not just thinking of a jaunt to Diamond City either.
At least he's feeling up to it now, Rufus down at the Rexford is pretty good at what he knows, which is pretty exclusive to chems and maintenance. Much of Nick's anatomy is lost on him, but from what he was able to determine, his framework wasn't damaged, thankfully, but he found a significant mass of craters on his upper back that disfigured the general shape. He took to that with a hammer after removing it. His knee, however, was a lost cause, hyper-extended, leaving the joint coupling bent to hell. Rufus offered to fix it free of charge if Nick could find another part like it, but that would mean a man-hunt for the boogeyman himself, he settled for a good wad of duct tape to prevent it from bending abnormally.
His skin, although it wasn't anything like human skin, could be wiped clean with a towel and some water, which took care of his 'dragged-through-the-sewer' look. His clothes could do with a proper washing, but that would mean lounging around in nothing for a good hour while they dripped dry. He'll take a walk when the storm hits to take care of his apparel.
Hancock managed to convince Clair Hutchins, the owner of the Rexford, to give him and Darla a room at a 'mayoral' rate, and Nick managed to convince him not to go overboard with hospitality. He'd offered them separate rooms, supplies, new clothes, the whole nine yards, but Nick refused on all but an overcoat for Darla, and a few more doses of Med-X. He didn't mind staying in the same room, besides, he wanted to keep an eye on her while she dozed in and out, make sure she didn't accidentally take more than her recommended dose of local painkiller. Amari managed to set her leg, told him she couldn't do much else and said it wasn't a guarantee if it would heal straight, but she should be able to walk just fine in a month or two.
Nick is shaking out the stiffness of his shirt when there's a knock on the door of the hotel room; he dresses and quickly buttons half way before he answers, expecting no one else but Hancock as he stands in the doorway with a lopsided smirk, holding up a bottle of purified water and a box of Dandy Boy Apple Chips.
"For the damsel," He states, "How's she doing?"
"She'll be fine once I get her home to her folks," Nick admits, "I don't want to move her, but the sooner the better."
"Right, you look like you're just about ready to head out," The mayor nods mildly, "Listen, I want to send a few Watchmen with you to Diamond City, to make sure you get back alright."
"I appreciate it," Nick smiles solemnly, "I'd stay longer, but..."
Hancock waves him off, "Don't worry about it, I understand, you have a job to do, and besides, it's not like you'll never come around when things settle down..." His blackish eyes glance up at him hopefully, "Right?"
Nick catches that little glimmer of anticipation in his eyes, and then sighs, "...I'll try."
Hancock nods, "Okay, well... just remember, there's a fiery red-head stalking around with your name at the top of her shit-list, so... if you won't do it for me, at least do it for her."
"John, look..."
"Don't do that, okay?" The mayor practically shoves the food and water into his arms, "I'm not asking you to be her dad. She liked you Nick, hell, she might have even loved you, but I can't read her. Hell, I don't think she ever really knew, but I know that she liked you, and that was important to her. Alright?"
Nick fumbles with the bottle and box for a second, about as gracefully as he fumbles with his words, "I'm not saying I'll won't be around, John, I just don't think that I should-"
"You don't have to explain yourself to me, you do what you gotta do, all I'm asking is that you consider her feelings. At the very least, pop in and say hi to prove you aren't going to disappear until the next big disaster, you hearin' me?"
Nick, bristling in defense, sighs, "Yeah."
"Alright, good talk," Hancock props his fists on his hips, taking a moment to look the detective over, "I need to get a few things in order so I can't walk you to the door. There's two boys waiting at the gate, they know the drill. Just don't take any detours, yada-yada..."
"Sure, sure."
"You look a lot better by the way, try to keep yourself out of trouble next time, okay?"
Without waiting for a response, Hancock turns and begins to march down the hall, prompting Nick to step out and call after him, "John."
The mayor stops and pivots in a sharp turn to glance back at him with a high implied brow, expectant, as the detective formulates the right words to say, coming up with gratefulness at his hospitality given he had less an any reason to help him, but instead he sighs heavily, his sorrow threatening to stop in his throat and forcing him to choke around it.
"You don't need to tell me to consider her feelings," He says slowly, purposefully, "I think about Fahrenheit every day."
Hancock looks back at him without a change in expression, for the first few seconds, until his cheek creases with a familiar smirk.
"I'm not the one you need to convince, Nicky."
The detective watches him swing back around with a confident swagger and descend the stairway, a familiar unease settles over him at the notion of speaking with Fahrenheit about anything to do with the hurt feelings between them. At any rate he can't just yet, not with as much sincerity as he'd like, he has to get Darla home along with a dozen other things. He's been gone too long, he'll need to get things straightened out before he can even consider heading out again.
... Damn, he's really going to go through with it, isn't he?
Corvega.
The trip back to Diamond City wasn't nearly as unceremonious as he thought. The Watchmen managed to deal with the handful of ferals that crawled out of their storm drains, and waved their guns at several Gunner lookouts they paid off regularly to keep the Raiders away from Goodneighbours gate. Sometimes it surprised him at how well they'd been managed considering he remembered them being nothing but brutes before Fahrenheit and John whipped them into respectable shape.
Nick hesitantly allowed himself to swell with pride, and it hurts about as much as he expected.
The Watchmen split when they reach the junkyard gate where a Diamond City guard is actively patrolling, Nick thanked them politely and they nodded their own farewells. The guard looked surprised to see him and even offered to walk him the rest of the way, talking his ear off about how he and some of the other guards took bets on whether or not he'd make it back at all, and that he himself didn't doubt and would end up making a nice pocket full of caps thanks to his return.
Nick slowly comes to terms with the fact that this might be the extent of his welcome party.
That is...until he recognizes a figure exiting the gate as they approach, her bright red coat distinguishable from anywhere in the Commonwealth, her walk haughty and haunches raised, ready pounce on whatever it is that has her worked up, and as well as Nick knows her, it could be a handful of things. Piper Wright, Diamond City's sole journalist, is about five steps from blowing right past Nick and the guard before she staggers in realization, turning her head with wide and surprised eyes when she recognizes the missing detective. Nick isn't too sure at that point whether or not he's relieved or exasperated.
"NICKY!" She kicks up dust with her heels as she sprints over, with what he assumes is the intent to tackle him to the ground with an embrace, but she stops short when she realises he's carrying Darla, "Ohh my god, what happened?"
"That's a loaded question," Nick admits.
"Are you okay?" Piper studies him, hands hovering anxiously, "Are you hurt? Did they do anything to you?"
"I'm fine," He waves her off as best he can with both hands occupied, "But I need to get our damsel here to Doc Sun if you'll lend me a hand."
"Yeah, absolutely, come on," Piper helps him to the gate, opening it for him and running ahead to prepare Doc sun, all the while Nick is greeted by that familiar ominous energy that is Diamond City, and all of the eyes that turn to him with a mixture of expressions ranging from relief, to suspicion and concern.
Good to be home.
"Oh my god, Nick?!"
Nick stumbles back, almost hitting the client chair near the door as his secretary, Ellie, literally jumps into his arms, not unlike Piper must have been planning to before, but now he could actually receive it given that Darla is in better hands.
Doc Sun gave her a once-over to make sure she didn't excite her wounds during the trip. She managed to keep her eyes open long enough to stare up at Nick with some unreadable expression that he took as general gratitude. She didn't have time to say much when her parents arrived and enveloped her in their relief, so he smiled at her and left. He figures she'll come by on her own to thank him properly if she really wants to.
"I can't believe it's you!" Ellie bawls into his shoulder, "Oh god, I thought you were dead!"
"Come on now, El," Nick pats her back gently, feeling awful guilty he had worried her so much, "You ought to know it takes more than a vault full of gangsters to keep me away."
"Don't joke about that!" She lets him go enough to glare through tears and puffy red eyes, "You got lucky this time, but what about the next time you decide to get mixed up in something like that!?"
Nick smiles, "Made it this far, haven't I?"
Her lower lip suddenly pooches, "Now I'm mad at you."
"I'll pretend I believe you."
Nick chuckles when she relents and hugs him again, cries a little more, and then finally lets him go. He offers her something to clean her face; she's still sniffling when the three of them sit in a semi-circle within the confines of the Agency. Piper is eager to determine exactly what it was that Nick experienced, and he wasn't exactly happy to tell the story a second time, but he figures he ought to have expected it, being gone for this long.
As a matter of fact, the topic made him suddenly antsy and he began to sift through his files to keep his hands busy while he answered questions, his eyes unconsciously scanning for a familiar name but coming up with nothing, then Piper asked him about the Vault Dweller.
Nick perks up, looking at reporter and her studying intensity, her pencil poised as she'd been taking notes this entire time, wanting to make a story out of it and put it in Publick Occurrences no doubt. It's not as thrilling as a possible synth infiltration, but Nick's become a bit of a novelty around here, and people might be interested in a story about him and a hundred mobsters.
"What about him?" Nick asks.
"You said he was there, the one in the red suit, right?" Piper says, "And you said he took off, do you know where he went?"
"I have an idea, but it sounded like he didn't want me to know."
"Right," Piper scribbles a few notes, "So his friend, the one he was looking for, you said she's still in the vault."
Nick sighs, "Yeah."
"And the leader, this... DiAngelo guy, he wants the Vault Dweller-"
"Don."
"Right, Don, he wants this guy to clear out that old factory because...?"
Nick shrugs, "Apparently it belongs to him."
"Wow," Piper exhales, "So... that means this guy, Don, is going to try and take out the raiders in Corvega, so that this DiAngelo guy will let his friend go."
"Yeah."
Piper taps her pencil against her chin, "And you... want to help him do that?"
Nick presses his mouth flat, not entirely confident in his own decision, "Mhm."
"...Because he rescued you?"
Nick closes his eyes for a moment as the hilarity of the statement hits him, "His involvement resulted in me being let go. To say I was rescued is... generous."
After sitting in relative silence, Ellie finally speaks up, "Nick, I understand that you want to help these people, but you were in the hole for two weeks. Maybe you should sit back and let this one sort itself out. Give yourself a break, you're just one man."
"I know you don't want me going out there again," Nick responds gently, "But this is more than just good Samaritan work, there's something about these people, they're not from here."
Piper scoffs into her notes, "You got that right."
"And I can't explain how," Nick continues, "but that woman back in the vault keeps ringing bells that I can't seem to find."
"What do you mean?"
"It's like... I know her from somewhere and I can't figure out if it's from my memory, or..."
Nick's voice trails off and Ellie watches him, knowing and sympathetic.
"...your other memories?" She asks gently.
He glances at her from just below the rim of his fedora, and nods lightly, "...yeah."
Ellie sighs, "I understand, Nick. Look you... you do what you need to do, just... be careful, alright?"
"When am I ever not careful?" Nick smiles.
Piper suddenly groans, swinging around to stand up, "Well, if you're going to risk your ass for answers, then so am I, there's no need to do it alone, and besides, I need to give that smartass a piece of my mind."
"I'm not asking you to come with me." Nick says.
"I know," Piper shrugs, "That's why I'm inviting myself."
"Well... do me a favor then, when it comes to you jumping down that johns throat, try and keep me out of it."
"Nicky, for you... I'll consider it."