Roger's hands were shaking as he fused two wires onto a new processing unit. It had been over six hours already and he felt as if he weren't even close to being finished. In truth he had to take a break every couple hours to keep from losing his cool. He was avoiding the RAM, saving it for last, hoping he could get up the courage to tamper with it long enough to fix it. There was worry clouding his mind, what if he could never switch Nick back on? What if when he did he was violent? What if he had no memory of anything? Roger sat back and exhaled. He had taken off his pipboy for the operation, he let his focus hang onto it, the time was just a little before 4am. "Alright, calm down, nearly done." He lied to himself to provide any kind of comfort.

He looked at Nick's exposed hand. Designing the synthetic skin to cover the metallic structure is something he didn't know if he could manage. "Well if it ain't broke, right?" Roger returned to the peeled open panel of Nick's chest and looked at his handy work. There were several strips of technology that ran through him that would light up once power was restored, but for now they lie dormant. He got a screwdriver and removed a fan that looked partially damaged. As he pulled out the containing wall that held the fan there was a gut wrenching snap that could have shook the entire building. Roger froze up, his eyes wide, his breath caught in his chest. He couldn't move, he was terrified. A minute passed before Roger realized that the popping noise was supposed to happen, it was just the releasing of the compartment. He let out a long unsteady breath.

He opened up the fan box and blew the dust out. He polished the blades and tightened a few screws. He shrugged after he replaced the parts. He had ignored it long enough. He closed the lid over Nick's chest and smoothed out the skin over the metal. Roger looked down at Nick's face and clenched his jaw. "Maybe I never told you, Nick, but you're the best friend I've got. I don't know if you can hear me, like when patients are in a coma or there's some sort of divine intervention involved with synths. I don't know where your consciousness goes when you're gone, I don't know, I just… I don't know but-" Roger choked on tears that he refused to cry out. His breath was shaky, he rubbed his hands over his face and looked up at the ceiling. "I don't know if I ever believed in God, I remember going to church as a kid with my mom but that was forever ago, a whole lifetime ago, I was a different person then. I've done things, so many bad things, I've hurt so many people I let my son-" Roger finally cried out, tears streaming down his face. "I let my son die and I couldn't save my wife. Please God; if you're there just let me save him." Roger collapsed to the floor, he couldn't see through the tears, his eyes burned, his body was aching.

He didn't know how much time passed before he finally calmed down. He knew that he wasn't helping Nick by crying. No one was ever helped by praying. If there was a God he wouldn't have let humanity do this to itself. Roger cleared his throat and settled himself back in his seat and looked at Nick's face again. "Okay, here we go."

/

The motor behind Nick's eyes whirred loudly at first then slowed down to a low hum and eventually became silent. A few sharp beeps sounded off. Nick's eyes opened. He saw the brightness from the lights, but nothing had come into focus. The sensor display that lay just within his vision were evening out, his vitals were normal. He blinked. He lifted his arm up to observe his hand. 'Error. Minor epidermal malfunction. Seek manufacturer assistance' flashed over his vitals display for a moment before it disappeared.

He blinked again.

The display in his lower peripheral finally disappeared all together and he looked around slowly before seeing someone asleep in a chair a few feet away. He thought about speaking but didn't know what to say. He sat there just staring at the sleeping man. It was then that Roger woke up, gasping and breathing hard. He had had a nightmare about something that he couldn't quite recall. He calmed himself down once he realized he was awake and then he saw Nick.

"Your diagnostics must have taken longer than I-" Roger's heart sank when he saw the blank expression on Nick's face, almost as if he didn't recognize him. He stood up slowly and walked over to him, trying not to startle his friend. "Nick?" The synth turned his head to the side and repeated him, "Nick." Roger put his hand up to his mouth, trying not to let on how concerned he was. "Do you know who I am?" Roger asked, hoping with all he had that Nick was just playing some horrible joke on him. Instead of answering, Nick just looked around again, taking in his surroundings. Suddenly there was a static-like sound coming from inside of Nick's faceplate and Nick's left eye started twitching furiously. Roger grabbed Nick's head and blew as hard as he could into the hole on his neck, thinking that maybe there was just a buildup of dust or that the lubricant didn't dry completely.

The static silenced and Nick cleared his throat. Roger stepped back, releasing Nick's head and watched him cautiously. Nick coughed hard and cleared his throat again, pounding his chest with his fist. The two met eyes and there was a momentary silence before a grin spread over Nick's face. "Had you there, didn't I?" Roger felt his ears get hot and it spread over his face. He pushed over the chair and seriously considered punching Nick but instead he embraced him. "You incredible asshole, Nick, I thought I lost you." Roger finally stepped away from Nick to get his shirt from the dresser.

Nick stretched out and heard a few quiet popping sounds. "I'm surprised you didn't take it upon yourself to fix this hand of mine." Roger handed Nick his shirt and crossed his arms. "I kinda like it." Nick smiled and shook his head as he buttoned up the last few buttons. He was relieved that he was able to fasten the buttons at all. "Roger, thank you for everything. I knew I could trust you." Roger sat down and pulled out the lighter he had found a couple days ago and tossed it over to Nick. "Maybe you can find some use for this, can't get the damn thing to work." Nick held up the lighter and flicked it open, igniting a flame. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're just looking for an excuse to give me a gift." Nick pocketed the lighter and slid off the table. Roger smirked, "let's get you back to the agency, Ellie's probably worried sick." Nick rolled up his sleeves and tucked his shirt into his pants. "You go on ahead; I've got to straighten myself out. I'll catch up with you."

Roger nodded and left the building, leaving Nick to his own devices. Nick sat back down, feeling a strange sensation in his gut. There was an annoying blinking light in his HUD that he was curious about. Once he addressed it a message flashed before his eyes: begin video playback? Nick shifted uncomfortably as he watched Roger operating on him. Then he watched Roger's breakdown and he couldn't watch anymore. Nick realized that he was breathing heavily; he didn't understand what he was feeling. He was filled with great remorse but at the same time could not be more proud to have such a friend, finally someone he could call a true friend. Nick finished getting ready before leaving the home, a head full of hope and a new outlook on this man he called a friend.

AN: That's it folks! I hope I did alright. I'll be coming up with more garbage later on so keep an eye out! Also I'd love to know what you thought or if you've got a future prompts for me. I'm not great, but I'm ambitious so I'll do my best! Thanks for sticking around!~