As much as they both tried to pretend her panic attack the night before didn't happen, it was like there was a film over the both of them. A protective bubble between them, keeping things a safe distance apart.

Amber only vaguely remembers what happened. She'd been dreaming about the day Shaun was taken, feeling so trapped and helpless. MacCready brushing the hair away from her face woke her up, and suddenly he was the only thing keeping her from falling apart.

They were making the trek to sanctuary in silence, the only sound was the low voices coming from her Pip-boy radio. She sung along softly with Elton Britt's Uranium Fever. MacCready eyed her with a smirk and she couldn't help but smile back.

"Uranium fever has gone and got me down!" Amber all but shouted, dancing in the most ridiculous way she could manage. MacCready laughed loudly and stopped walking, shaking his head.

"Real classy, boss." He said through his laughter. Amber stopped and switched off the radio. "You have a really nice voice, by the way." Amber smiled and shrugged. "You could make some serious caps with a voice like that." Amber rolled her eyes.

"Hey, let's stop a second." She walked over to an old bus stop and sat on the ground, patting the concrete beside her.

"What's up?" He asked lightly, sitting down facing her, resting his elbows on his knees.

"I just wanted to check in. See how we're doing."

"I think we're starting to see eye to eye on a lot of things." He said simply, though he didn't meet her eyes.

"Look. I think we need to clear the air. You've been really honest with me, and I think I need to do the same. You know about Shaun, and that he was taken. You know they killed N-Nate." She still choked a bit on his name. MacCready eyed her carefully, like he was waiting for her to break, but she just sighed.

"Nate and I met during my last year of college. We shared friends and met at random. We didn't really hang out. He was a jock and I've always been kind of bookish and nerdy." MacCready gave her a look that clearly said 'Oh really, I never would have guessed,' but she chose to ignore it. "One night we were at a mutual friend's house for a party. There was a loooOOT of alcohol and I honestly don't remember most of the night. I do remember waking up next to Nate the next morning, and then missing my next period. That drunken night got me pregnant.

"Nate was a total gentleman and we were married before my second trimester started. He was good to me. Being in the military meant he was gone almost the entire pregnancy. By the time Shaun was born, we'd only spent a grand total of maybe two weeks in the same house. But we were both committed, and Shaun was the most perfect baby in the world." Amber brushed away the tears she hadn't noticed falling with the hand she hadn't noticed was laced with MacCready's.

"We just never clicked as a couple. We got along, sure, but romantically...it was never there. Nate was home two months before he started sleeping with the neighbor. Her name was Heather. She was a tall, lanky woman with honey blonde hair. She played tennis and volleyball and went hiking every weekend. She was probably my polar opposite. He hid it pretty well, but I found out the week before the bombs fell.

"Up until recently, actually the day we took out Winlock and Barnes, I couldn't seem to forget that. But riding that lift up with you, knowing we might not come back, I realised that I didn't even want him. Shaun was the only good thing from that relationship, and that's all I want back from it. Nate and Heather are both dead, and that's in the past." She huffed out a long sigh and reached into her pocket, pulling the large wedding band that once belonged to the father of her child. "I don't think I can bring myself to get rid of this, despite everything, but can you put this with that holotape and keep it away from me?" MacCready took the ring from her slightly shaky hand, letting their fingers brush a little longer than necessary.

"No problem, boss." He whispered.